Riding the wave of a sudden renewed interest in a possibly ignored
chapter of Vineyard history, an expedition made up of researchers,
diving experts and history buffs plans to travel to Noman's Land
this summer to help determine if Vikings visited here around the year
1000 A.D.

West Tisbury on Tuesday night became the third of four towns needed
to ratify the budget for the Martha's Vineyard Regional High
School.

Three Island residents walked away from the Tisbury selectmen’s meeting this past week with the opportunity to buy a home close to downtown Vineyard Haven for a dramatically reduced price.

It’s been two years since Island Housing Trust began the affordable housing project at 150 State Road. The Dukes County Housing Authority organized the lottery, held this past Tuesday night.

Dukes County and Cooperative Banks Will Announce Merger

By JULIA WELLS

The Dukes County Savings Bank and Martha's Vineyard
Cooperative Bank - two respected community banks whose presence on
the Vineyard reaches back for more than 50 and nearly 100 years
respectively - plan to announce this week that they will merge,
the Gazette has learned.

It is understood that employees and corporators at both banks were
informed yesterday about the planned merger, which is still subject to
approval by state and federal regulators.

This past Saturday, the Martha's Vineyard Public Charter
School held its seventh high school graduation. Seven students graduated
in the year 2007.

"We were going to do it on July seventh," said Sam
Berlow, president of the school's board of trustees, "but we
decided that was too much."

Speaking bluntly, Martha's Vineyard Regional High School
principal Margaret (Peg) Regan told a large gathering of Island
selectmen and finance committee members last week that if the school
does not have a budget approved by July 1, it will mean salary freezes,
hiring freezes, no new buses and a halt on scheduled maintenance at the
school.

Comfortable shoes selected. Sunblock and bug spray applied. Water
packed and muscles stretched.

This was the checklist for the 40 walkers gathered on Jetty Beach in
Oak Bluffs early Saturday morning. Ahead was the Cross-Island Walk, a
hike sponsored by the Martha's Vineyard Land Bank, led every year
to celebrate National Trails Day and to expose people to the
Island's conservation lands and the paths and back roads that
connect them.

It is either the biggest hoax or the most ignored chapter in Island
history.

There are people who believe that the mysterious - almost
mythic - Viking people once visited, and perhaps even colonized
Martha's Vineyard, hundreds of years before Bartholomew Gosnold
made land here and named the Island after a family member.

Plans for a YMCA Go to Commission for Formal Review

By IAN FEIN

Proponents of the YMCA of Martha's Vineyard go before the
Martha's Vineyard Commission this week with their plans for a
35,000-square-foot recreational facility behind the skate park in Oak
Bluffs.

YMCA officials are hoping to break ground this fall on the
community-funded project, which originated roughly five years ago with
an effort to build an indoor pool.

Caterpillars Munch Away on Island

By IAN FEIN

Armies of caterpillars made their annual spring emergence on the
Vineyard this week, munching away on Island foliage and swinging down on
silken threads to stick to unsuspecting passersby.