Summit on Lagoon Weighs Dredging, Controlling Growth

By JULIA WELLS

Dredge the pond. Control growth. Upgrade septic systems. Encourage
homeowners to curb the use of high-nitrogen fertilizers on their lawns.

These were the central themes this week when an array of shellfish
officials and Vineyard residents gathered for a summit meeting of sorts
to discuss the latest water quality crisis in the Lagoon Pond.

Staff and colleagues at the Martha's Vineyard Regional High
School may have known for years about the actions of culinary arts
teacher Peter J. Koines, arrested July 11 by Oak Bluffs police on
charges that he stole school-owned kitchen supplies and diverted school
funds to buy food for his own commercial kitchen.

State's Doug Foy: Guiding Four State Agencies in New Regime

By JULIA WELLS

He switched teams, changing from private to public, from advocacy to
bureaucracy, from an attorney who led the fierce charge for
environmental protection to an Uber-secretary with a lofty title and a
post in state government to match.

But on Doug Foy, the drape of the new uniform appears to be just
right.

Golf Club Case Gets a Hearing

A Motion for Court to Reconsider Earlier Ruling Takes Lawyers to
Boston; How Powerful Is Island Commission?

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

BOSTON - An attorney who represents the Down Island Golf Club
developers tried to convince a Massachusetts Land Court judge this week
that the court's chief justice was wrong when he ruled last year
that the Martha's Vineyard Commission has full power of review
over affordable housing developments - including the power to
reject them.

A rare bacterial infection called tularemia that killed a Chilmark man three years ago appears to have hit the Island for the fourth summer in a row, possibly infecting as many as four people since May.

State public health officials said yesterday that they are evaluating four probable cases of tularemia, all of them either landscapers or people who work outdoors.

Shopping Around: In Search of Bargains

By CHRIS BURRELL

For the cost-conscious Island shopper, getting the lowest price at
the grocery store often requires a nomadic approach.

"It's insane but you have to go to all three
places," said Charlie Esposito of Vineyard Haven. "But
we're going around to get the best deal. You have to eat and be
able to afford to live here at the same time."

Mr. Esposito's tactics are not uncommon for some residents who
simply can't bear the cost of groceries and decide to go hunting
for relief.

Vineyard Haven harbor was lit up on Saturday evening by a fully
involved boat fire. Tisbury firemen and harbor masters from two towns
responded to a blaze aboard a 30-foot Catalina sailboat called Tippy
Canoe, owned by Tyler Weggel of Port Washington, N.Y.

There were no injuries. The vessel, a total loss, now lies partially
submerged, a black shell, in shallow water at the foot of Grove street.

Portuguese-American Festival Celebrates Vibrant Community

By Elizabeth Bomze

When Jesse Oliver attended his first Portuguese-American festival as
a kid in 1963, he must have figured that his lineage would some day
dictate his involvement in its future; after all, his grandfather, also
Jesse Oliver, was a founding member of the P-A Club. Now, 40 years
later, he is a four-year veteran at Anne-Marie Cywinski's grill
booth, and he expects his tenure has only just begun.

Sovereignty is in the news these days.

It's in Rhode Island, where tempers are running hot in an
ongoing skirmish between the Narragansett Indian Tribe and state
attorney general over whether the tribe can sell tax-free tobacco.

It's in the Hamptons, where the Shinnecock Indian Nation has
begun to clear land for a casino, contravening local zoning and state
gaming laws.

Island Agencies Win U.S. Health Grant

Half a Million Dollars Will Address Doctor Shortage, Add Rural
Clinic, Provide Brazilian Translators

By MANDY LOCKE

Three agencies on the Vineyard have won nearly half a million
federal dollars to ease the Island's shortage of primary care
physicians and break down language barriers for Brazilian residents
seeking health care.