The Martha's Vineyard Regional High School was partially
locked down Wednesday while a team of Edgartown and Oak Bluffs police
searched for a student who authorities feared might have brought a gun
to school.

Edgartown police arrested a 16-year-old sophomore in connection with
a home burglary the previous day where a handgun was stolen. He was
charged with larceny of a firearm, breaking and entering during the
daytime and larceny from a house.

There was nothing out of the ordinary about the evening of April 25,
when Renato Da Rocha, a 48-year-old Island carpenter and native of
Brazil, disappeared into thin air.

A late afternoon rain shower had come and gone, leaving the Island
cloaked in a misty fog. Mr. Da Rocha had spent the day doing exterior
work on a home on Chappaquiddick, and he caught a ride back to his home
on Curtis Lane in Edgartown from a co-worker.

Citing the need to protect Sengekontacket Pond and better understand
the effects of build-out on water quality, the Edgartown board of health
voted last month to impose a moratorium on septic system and well
permits in the Ocean Heights and Arbutus Park section of town.

The moratorium, which amounts to a ban on new construction, is in
effect for 60 days and expires Nov. 19. It may be extended by the board.

Pentagon officials are calling for additional studies to determine whether the proposed wind farm in Nantucket Sound would impair a crucial missile detection radar system located on Cape Cod.

In a special congressional report released last week, the U.S. Department of Defense found that wind turbines located within the line of sight of military radar can adversely affect its ability to track aircraft and other aerial objects. The results were based largely on military tests conducted by the U.S. Air Force and United Kingdom Ministry of Defence between 2002 and 2005.

Striped Bass Derby at Mid-Term: Fish Scarce, Competition Light

By MAX HART

As the 61st annual Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish
Derby rounds the corner into the second half of the tournament, the big
story this week has been - well, that there is no big story.

"There's been a whole lot of standing around,
waiting," derby headquarters volunteer Martha Smith said yesterday
morning. "We're all waiting for the conditions to change,
waiting for the big ones to arrive."

Following a category two hurricane or a 50-year coastal storm, Beach Road and Eastville avenue would likely be buried under water, and the only remaining access to the Martha's Vineyard Hospital in Oak Bluffs would be Temahigan Road, according to preliminary results of a risk assessment study prepared by an independent consultant.

But even under a worst-case storm scenario, the actual hospital facility would avoid major flooding, the preliminary study suggests.

The Martha's Vineyard Regional High School class of 2008
scored significantly above the statewide average on the mathematics
portion of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS)
test, and scored well above average in English language arts, according
to results released Wednesday by the Massachusetts Department of
Education.

A new paved walking path is nearing completion along State Road in
North Tisbury, but the southern end of the town-funded, $90,000,
half-mile trail may not see much foot traffic.

Three of the first four buildings it passes on the eastern side of
the road are now closed and for sale, with no immediate plans to reopen.

The Oak Bluffs selectmen Tuesday ended years of debate on the
proposed roundabout at the blinker intersection, agreeing to build the
controversial single-lane traffic rotary to help relieve traffic during
busy summer months.

Chilmark Man Jailed for Rare Map Theft

U.S. District Court Judge in Connecticut Sentences E. Forbes Smiley
3rd to Three and a Half Years

By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - In the end, cooperating with the government
carried more weight for map thief E. Forbes Smiley 3rd of Chilmark than
the calls for punishment from the institutions he had wronged.