Legislative Budget Proposals Salvage Many Island Programs

By MANDY LOCKE

There's potentially good news coming out of Beacon Hill this
week for the Island - as good as financial news can get in a
climate that brought a $3 billion revenue shortfall.

Island public schools, the Vineyard Affordable Child Care Project
and Family Planning of Martha's Vineyard could escape merciless
cuts this year, avoiding dire hits that the governor's proposed
budget announced in February.

But a showdown awaits the state Senate and House of Representatives.

In Annual Rental Shuffle, Some Exit

By MANDY LOCKE

The Island's great annual migration is underway as Vineyarders
hit the road in trucks loaded with all they own - moving out of
winter rentals into new spots for the summer season.

Oak Bluffs Turns to Healing Rifts from Election

Fault Lines Can Still Be Seen

By CHRIS BURRELL

The phones have stopped ringing, and the yard signs are down. In Oak
Bluffs this week, there is a weary sense of relief that the town finally
has its answer: They will remain in the Martha's Vineyard
Commission.

"People are so tired of fighting," said Renee Balter, a
resident and executive director of the Oak Bluffs Association.
"Now it's finally been settled."

In Oak Bluffs, ‘a Lot of Work' Lies Ahead as Town Tries
to Heal Rifts from Election

Stay in Commission, Says Record Vote

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

Marking history and closing one of the most divisive chapters in the
annals of the town, a record number of Oak Bluffs voters went to the
polls this week and said no to pulling out of the Martha's
Vineyard Commission.

Martha's Vineyard Commission Defers, Yet Again, Its Decision
on Elder Housing

By JULIA WELLS

In an effort to iron out a series of confusing events that began
last week, the Martha's Vineyard Commission voted last night to go
back to the drawing board and take a new vote on a plan for a small
addition at a well-known elderly housing complex in Vineyard Haven.

The new vote on Hillside Village III will not take place until next
week.

Fast Ferry Plan Gets Approval

Would Link the Vineyard With New Bedford Next Summer; Meanwhile,
Schamonchi Has Woes this Year

By JULIA WELLS

Steamship Authority governors danced a cha-cha this week over ferry
service between New Bedford and Martha's Vineyard, taking one step
back as they announced a delay in the start date for the passenger ferry
Schamonchi this year - and one step forward as they voted to move
ahead on a plan to develop high-speed passenger service for next year.

County Report Cites ‘Offensive' Behavior, but Sees No
Illegality

By JONATHAN BURKE

Though he found instances of improper treatment by Dukes County
officials, including "inappropriate and offensive behavior"
by one commissioner, a human resources expert concludes in a report
released yesterday that there was no unlawful treatment of Marsha
Smolev, county employee.

Capping off the Vineyard season of annual town meetings and
elections, voters in Aquinnah this week delivered an upset victory in
their selectmen's race, handing the post to challenger Jim Newman.

Oak Bluffs Heads to Polls; Commission Vote Casts Fate of Town and
Island

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

Oak Bluffs voters go to the polls Tuesday to cast ballots in a
crucial special town election whose outcome will set a clear course for
the town - and also the entire Vineyard - for many years to
come.

A simple majority of voters will decide whether to stay in or get
out of the Martha's Vineyard Commission.

In a surprise vote late last night, the Martha's Vineyard Commission narrowly failed to approve plans by Island Elderly Housing for a five-unit apartment building for low-income elderly on their Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road property in Tisbury.

Commissioners stopped short of a vote to deny Hillside Village III, deferring the decision for further discussion at the MVC's next meeting Thursday.