It is not surprising that the first book published by Michael
Pollan, who has built a national reputation for his magazine articles
and bestselling books about food and nature, was actually a
no-holds-barred travel guide to Martha's Vineyard.

Old House Pond Plan Allowed, but with Oversight from State

By IAN FEIN

The Martha's Vineyard Land Bank can open its 11-acre property
on Old House Pond in West Tisbury to the public, but not without ongoing
state oversight, the Massachusetts Secretary of Environmental Affairs
said this week.

The inventory of unsold Martha's Vineyard real estate is building, and prices are falling on those Island properties that do sell.

The latest property analysis from LINK, the listing service based in Vineyard Haven, confirms what Vineyarders increasingly have been sensing: that the Island real estate market is slowing down compared to last year, let alone the past few years.

Six cases of tularemia this spring and summer on Martha's Vineyard have been confirmed by the state Department of Public Health.

All six individuals who contracted the disease, who ranged in age from 33 to 67, either were landscaping or were outside near where landscaping was occurring. They contracted the potentially fatal disease by breathing in the Francisella tularemia bacterium between May 13 and July 5, health officials said.

All have been successfully treated with antibiotics for the disease, and are recovering.

With gasoline prices at an all-time high across the country, the
Vineyard stands in the top ranks for prices paid at the pump, as the
cost of premium gas climbed above the four dollar mark at most Island
stations this week and regular trailed not far behind.

MOSS POINT, MISS. - Marking history for the Steamship Authority and its fleet of ferries that ply the routes between the Cape and Islands, the Island Home - a 255-foot, double-ended ferry that will replace the venerable MV Islander - was launched Friday morning at the Gulf Coast shipyard where she was built.

More than 300 onlookers cheered and applauded, with air horns wailing, as the still unfinished vessel - freshly painted black and white - slid sideways on five greased tracks and landed in the calm Escatawpa River with a giant splash.

Jenney Lane Dispute Comes to an End

Edgartown Affordable Housing Project Is Now Back on Track for
Building After Long Delay in the Courts

By IAN FEIN

A two-year legal dispute over the Jenney Lane affordable housing
project was settled last week only days before a scheduled trial date,
putting the Edgartown development back on track for construction.

Celebration Saturday to Honor Life of Della Brown Hardman

The message on her telephone answering machine and the closing for
her letters, columns and e-mails was always the same: Savor the moment,
she said.

Della Louise Brown Hardman, artist, mother, grandmother,
great-grandmother, teacher and columnist for the Vineyard Gazette, died
suddenly on Dec. 13, 2005, at the age of 83. The Vineyard community in
general and the Oak Bluffs community in particular mourned the loss of
the artist and educator who had enriched so many lives.

Large Crowds Gather for Monster Catch, Children in Tow

Marcus Benker, 11, of Holyoke, had never seen a live shark prior to
the Boston Big Game Fishing Club's Monster Shark Tournament in Oak
Bluffs this weekend.

So when he first glimpsed a 321-pound blue shark on Saturday
strapped to the back of the Melissa Kate, a fishing boat out of
Scituate, he studied its lifeless eye, its rows of razor sharp teeth and
its streamlined body and wondered aloud if he was looking at the real
thing.

Commission Accepts the Nomination of Mullen Way as Critical District

By IAN FEIN

Suggesting that historical middle-class neighborhoods might be of
irreplaceable value to the Island, the Martha's Vineyard
Commission last week unanimously agreed to consider a narrow tree-lined
street in Edgartown for designation as a district of critical planning
concern (DCPC).