State Appellate Tax Board Upholds Town Assessors in William Graham
Case
By IAN FEIN
In a highly anticipated decision that reverberated across the
commonwealth, the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board ruled unanimously
this week that the values West Tisbury assessors placed on the North
Shore estate owned by William W. Graham were largely correct.
To protect a large group of coastal birds nesting on Norton Point Beach, The Trustees of Reservations have closed the stretch of barrier beach between Chappaquiddick and Katama to off-road vehicles. The closure came Friday when a number of birds hatched, and will remain in place until further notice.
Fishermen, sunbathers and swimmers, however, will find that much of the two-and-a half-mile beach remains open to passive recreation. Access by foot is available from the Left Fork in Katama and from the beach on the Chappaquiddick side.
Public school came to a screeching halt last week - tests and
final projects one day, sweet freedom the next. But at least 16 Island
youths will merely slow their studies, instead of stopping altogether.
Some may not even acknowledge the two-and-half-month academic bump in
the road called summer vacation.
Decision Set for Today in Graham Tax Case
By IAN FEIN
The Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board is expected to rule this
morning in favor of the town of West Tisbury and against resident
William W. Graham in a property tax appeal that began three years ago
and has attracted attention across the commonwealth and beyond.
Commission Decides to Review Chilmark Girl Scout Camp Plan
By IAN FEIN
The Martha's Vineyard Commission last week voted to review as
a development of regional impact (DRI) a plan to demolish and expand a
Chilmark summer camp owned by the regional council of the Girl Scouts of
America.
The commission considered the project on Thursday after a rare
discretionary referral by the Chilmark selectmen. The two commission
members from Chilmark said the regional planning agency should grant a
review any time it is requested by a town board of selectmen.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has
found elevated levels of lead in two samples of the Edgartown water
supply, a violation of state clean drinking water standards.
The violation forces the Edgartown water department to perform
additional testing on the public water supply and to inform the public
of the violation. An advertisement alerting residents to the violation
and paid for by the town appears in today's edition of the
Gazette.
Tennis Program Offers Lessons with No Strings
By MAX HART
In 2002 when he first walked onto the court at the Vineyard Youth
Tennis center, four-year-old Connor Downing was barely big enough to see
over the net, let alone hold a racquet.
Chilmark Resident Admits Map Theft
Mr. Smiley Pleads Guilty in Connecticut to Stealing and Selling Rare
Maps; Sentencing Is Set for September
By JAMES KINSELLA
NEW HAVEN - Edward Forbes Smiley 3rd of Chilmark yesterday
pleaded guilty in federal and state courts in New Haven, Conn., to the
theft of rare maps from a Yale University Library - part of a
string of 97 maps that he stole between 1998 and 2005.
North Tisbury Bakery Owners Abandon Well-Known Eatery
By IAN FEIN
One year after forcing out family members who ran a popular
up-Island bakery there for roughly a decade, the owners of the Vineyard
Foodshop in North Tisbury appear to have abandoned the business and
reportedly plan to sell the landmark property.
They are also now the subject of a lawsuit, filed by the West
Tisbury board of health in Dukes County Superior Court last week, that
seeks to compel them to cease and desist from discharging wastewater
into a failed septic system.
Vineyard-Born Mayhew Brothers Hope to Preserve Rural Lifestyle
BY IAN FEIN
When the time comes to raise a family, Jeremy Mayhew hopes that his
children will be able to enjoy the same small-town, rural lifestyle that
he has shared with many generations of Mayhews before him. He wants them
to be able to leave their keys on the car seat, without locking the
door, and to be able to see all the stars at night.
