Edgartown Set for Tax Review

Local Assessments Bureau Studies Abatements on Chappaquiddick;
Officials on Island and Beyond Monitor West Tisbury Case

By IAN FEIN

One week after testimony concluded in the protracted West Tisbury
property tax appeal, a Massachusetts Department of Revenue bureau chief
confirmed that the state will conduct a rare supplemental review of
Edgartown property values after a spate of unusual abatements were
granted on Chappaquiddick.

Steamship Authority Projects Rate Hikes on Vineyard Route for the
Coming Year

By JAMES KINSELLA

Steamship Authority managers confirmed yesterday that they expect to
recommend rate increases for the coming year on the state-chartered boat
line that provides the only year-round car and passenger service to the
two Islands.

SSA general manager Wayne Lamson said the staff is including
proposed increases in the draft boat line operating budget, which will
come before the SSA board of governors at their meeting next Thursday in
Hyannis.

School Boards Scramble to Cover Transportation in Time for Opening
Day

By RACHEL KOVAC

Uncertainty surrounding school transportation ran down to the wire
this week, with a flurry of emergency meetings that resulted in a
patched together plan to carry Vineyard children to school.

Bussing on the first day of school yesterday went without a hitch,
but the untested system - which calls for the school district to
manage bussing itself for six weeks - leaves many unanswered
questions for bus drivers, school leaders and taxpayers.

The fight to keep Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod open took another hit yesterday, when a federal judge denied a request for a temporary restraining order to keep the base from closing.

The ruling by the Hon. George A. O'Toole Jr., a federal district court judge in Boston, adds another element of uncertainty to what will become of the Coast Guard air/sea and air medical evacuation operations based at Otis. Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod has shared the Massachusetts Military Reservation airfield since the late 1970s.

An investigation by the Committee on Finance for the United States Senate has thrust The Nature Conservancy and its conservation buyer program under a spotlight, and along with it the record $64 million sale of the Herring Creek Farm in Edgartown.

Fishermen Press Ideas for Harborfront

By RACHEL KOVAC

Commercial and charter fishermen jammed a public forum this week to
air their concerns about a plan by the new owners of the Navigator
Restaurant to relocate the dinghy docks on the Edgartown harborfront.

If you need to talk to Steve Morris this weekend, you probably
won't find him working behind the counter at his store,
Dick's Bait and Tackle, in Oak Bluffs.

If you are looking to chew the fat with Patrick Jenkinson at
Up-Island Automotive in West Tisbury, you are also probably going to be
out of luck.

And if your water heater breaks and you need Steve Amaral to fix it,
you better call another plumber.

Governors Speak Out Sharply Against Union-Backed SSA Bill

By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer

The Steamship Authority board of governors has formally protested a
union-backed legislative bill that would shift control of the board away
from the two Islands.

First Day Thursday for Most Students; Enrollment Is Flat

By RACHEL KOVAC

Restless children will be sent to bed early Wednesday after a
summer of beach days and evening ice cream cones. On Thursday they will
don new clothes and grab backpacks filled with pencils and notebooks. It
is that time of year again: back to school.

Vineyarders Join Nation in Aiding Hurricane Relief

By IAN FEIN

Vineyard Haven neighbors Laura Kimball and Ashley Brede planned to
spend a good part of their Labor Day weekend selling lemonade outside
their Skiff avenue homes. But when news spread of the devastation left
by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and across the Gulf Coast region,
the pair found a new focus for their end-of-summer stand.