Aquinnah Override Is Rejected for Third Time in Five Months
By MAX HART
A large turnout of Aquinnah voters said no to a Proposition 2 1/2
override yesterday for the third time in five months, dealing a final
blow to the town selectmen on the subject of town spending -
except when it comes to plowing snow.
In the end, it was a 12.48-pound false albacore hooked in the
shallows off Memorial Wharf in Edgartown, and a 10.13-pound bonito
snagged in 60-foot seas off Noman's Land that proved to be the
grandest catches of all as the 59th Annual Martha's Vineyard
Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby came to a close on Sunday.
Proposed renovations to the West Tisbury town hall will once again be the center of public debate when voters gather for a special town meeting in the elementary school gymnasium on Tuesday. Town moderator Pat Gregory will open discussion of the 11-article warrant at 7 p.m.
Other topics to be considered include an amendment to the affordable housing zoning bylaw, as well as appropriations for a consultant to examine the up-Island regional school district and preliminary planning of a path from the youth hostel to the town center.
Candidates Vie for Cape and Islands Seats
By CHRIS BURRELL
On paper, the race for the Cape and Islands senate seat in the state
house looks like a battle of the brains.
A pediatrician with a Harvard MBA, Republican challenger Dr. Gail
Lese is trying to bring down a history professor, the incumbent Democrat
Sen. Robert O'Leary. A third candidate, Luiz (Lou) Gonzaga,
running as an independent, holds a doctorate in business administration.
All top-heavy resumes aside, the politics in this race are anything
but tepid.
Island Teacher Challenges Eric Turkington
By IAN FEIN
The race for Cape and Islands state representative pits an
eight-term incumbent Democrat from Falmouth against a Republican high
school Spanish teacher from the Vineyard.
Rep. Eric T. Turkington is well known throughout the district that
he has served for 16 years. James R. Powell is best known in West
Tisbury, where his ancestors reach back to the Mayhews.
"I don't think [Mr. Turkington] is doing enough for our
district. He's not hustling enough," Mr. Powell said.
Passenger and Car Fares Stay the Same But Commuters, Truckers,
Schools All Can Expect Sharp Increases
HYANNIS - Vineyard residents will shoulder the bulk of next
year's rate increases, which were unanimously approved by
Steamship Authority governors at their monthly meeting in Hyannis on
Wednesday.
Aquinnah residents head to the polls next week in the latest attempt
by selectmen to override the state-mandated tax cap and ease the
town's financial crisis.
At a special town election Thursday residents will vote whether to
approve a Proposition 2 1/2 override request. The override request
- the third since the beginning of the summer - comes in
conjunction with a $103,000 supplemental budget, approved at special
town meeting in late September.
Oak Bluffs Town Official Is Ordered to Pay Fines for Violating State
Laws
By CHRIS BURRELL
The enforcement branch of the Massachusetts Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) has found that Joseph N. Alosso -
an Island official in charge of two municipal sewage treatment plants on
the Vineyard - deliberately violated more than half a dozen state
environmental regulations last year during the construction of a septic
system for his new four-bedroom house in Oak Bluffs.
Bucking the advice of traffic and planning experts, Oak Bluffs
selectmen this week voted to abandon all efforts to design and construct
a roundabout at one of the Vineyard's most dangerous
intersections.
The split decision from the board - a 3-2 vote - came
just one month after selectmen reaffirmed their commitment to build a
roundabout at the heavily trafficked junction of Edgartown-Vineyard
Haven and Barnes Roads.
Reade Kontje's home is a work in progress. Outside the cedar
shakes are fresh; so too is the sawdust on the table by the front door.
The lawn is a mix of grass and weed. The trees have mostly been cleared
and are drying in a woodpile in back, but one old pine still stands by
the driveway. On it hangs a simple yellow sign: Reade's.
