When Tisbury voters gather Tuesday to elect a selectman, they will
have plenty of choices.

West Tisbury Voters Back Incumbents

By IAN FEIN

With a narrow show of support for the West Tisbury political
establishment, town voters in the annual election yesterday returned to
office an incumbent selectman and the longtime chairman of the board of
assessors.

Selectman Jeffrey (Skipper) Manter earned 54 per cent of the vote to
edge James F. Alley, 395-342, and assessor Michael Colaneri fended off
two challengers with 40 per cent approval.

The ranking veteran on the Oak Bluffs board of selectmen held onto
his seat by a whisker yesterday during one the closest races in annual
town election history.

Roger Wey, who has served on the board for 18 years, defeated
challenger Christine Catherine Todd by 489 to 484, a margin of only five
votes. After the polls closed last night, Ms. Todd said she would
formally request a recount in the coming days.

Edgartown Sees Light Turnout; Override Spending Approved

By JAMES KINSELLA

In an election gripped by calm, Edgartown voters yesterday approved
12 borrowing and spending proposals and ousted an incumbent from the
board of health.

Cape Wind Project Snags in Politics on Capitol Hill

By IAN FEIN

When news broke last Friday that a Congressional committee on
Capitol Hill attached language to a federal bill that would grant the
governor of Massachusetts veto power over any offshore wind farm
proposed for Nantucket Sound, some called it a death knell for the Cape
Wind project.

And it does appear to be a significant setback, considering that
Gov. Mitt Romney has long been a vocal opponent of the project.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Predictably, the conversation begins with a string of jokes and the trademark grin that starts as a tiny twinkle in the corner of the eye and then suddenly and uproariously occupies his whole face.

West Tisbury Voters Gather Tuesday

By IAN FEIN

The fate of the West Tisbury town hall has been in limbo since town
voters rejected a cost overrun to the renovation project last November.
But a new direction may emerge next week when voters convene for the
annual town meeting to consider a series of articles that address the
town hall project in different ways.

Voters should be familiar with the topic. The town hall renovation,
in one form or another, has been discussed at six town meetings over the
last three years.

State High Court Ruling Protects Tiny Park Lands in Oak Bluffs
Subdivision

By IAN FEIN

Affirming the value of open space, no matter how small, the
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court this week blocked development on
three wooded lots behind Crystal Lake in Oak Bluffs.

The seven-page decision, which unanimously reversed two lower court
rulings, was issued on Tuesday.

The case has wider significance because it could help secure the
fate of dozens of similar parks throughout the town and many more across
the commonwealth.

Tisbury Voters Agree to Spend, but Argue Long on Sewer Plan

By MAX HART

After breezing through a 40-minute special town meeting last week,
voters in Tisbury had little problem approving all 21 articles at the
annual town meeting Tuesday night, saying yes to everything from
$600,000 in capital expenditures to a $17.5 million operating budget for
the upcoming fiscal year.

And while voters also supported a town-sponsored plan to allocate
$271,500 in embarkation fee money, the evening was not entirely without
debate.

Voters at the Oak Bluffs annual town meeting next week will consider
a number of articles that could radically alter the design and layout of
the town for generations to come.