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.
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.
After a lengthy partisan debate, the Massachusetts state senate yesterday afternoon approved special legislation to create public housing banks on Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.
But with a only a month left in the legislative term and a gubernatorial veto expected, the controversial bill - which would tax some real estate transactions to fund affordable housing initiatives - still faces on uphill battle on Beacon Hill.
Boat Line Considers Merchandise Sales
By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer
The elusive Holy Grail of supplemental Steamship Authority revenue
- the marketing of Authority cups, glasses, T-shirts and other
marine-related items - reappeared Tuesday at the monthly boat line
meeting in Oak Bluffs.
Nantucket governor Flint Ranney proposed issuing a request for
proposals to market Authority-branded items.
"I think we're missing the boat," Mr. Ranney said
about the SSA's mostly nonexistent efforts.
To most Americans, soccer is considered a second or third-tier sport
that hardly deserves a mention on their nightly edition of Sports Center
on ESPN.
