Who knew so many people with stomachs so full could dance so
vigorously?

Safety Concerns Prompt State Proposal to Ban Truck Traffic Over
Drawbridge

By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer

In an ongoing effort to ease the pounding on the troubled Lagoon
Pond drawbridge, heavy trucks may be routed through the blinker
intersection in Oak Bluffs or even through West Tisbury this summer.

MassHighway plans to ask selectmen in Tisbury and Oak Bluffs to help
designate a truck route to divert such trucks away from the drawbridge,
according to Fred LaPiana, the Tisbury director of public works.

Cronig\'s Asks Paper or Polypropylene?

By RACHEL NAVA ROHR

Starting soon, Cronig\'s markets will offer an eco-friendly
bagging alternative at the check-out counter: polypropylene shopping
bags.

Cronig\'s bought 5,000 of the bags from 1 Bag at a Time, a
company started last year by Aquinnah summer resident Lisa Foster.

Starting soon, Cronig's markets will offer an eco-friendly bagging alternative at the check-out counter: polypropylene shopping bags.

Cronig's bought 5,000 of the bags from 1 Bag at a Time, a company started last year by Aquinnah summer resident Lisa Foster.

"We're hoping that eventually we'll be using less of the paper bags," Cronig's general manager Sarah McKay said. "That will be cost saving for us, but also refuse saving for the Island - less will be ending up at the recycling center or the dump."

Change Eyed in School Pact

Up-Island Regional Agreement Could See a Major Overhaul if Aquinnah
Has Its Way; Cost Remains the Issue

By IAN FEIN

With tensions brewing and the fate of the Up-Island Regional School
District back in the spotlight, the regional school committee will meet
twice next week to consider changes to the agreement that formed the
district. And after the release of two separate financial studies about
the district this spring, school committee members are feeling pressure
from opposing fronts.

Chilmark Man May Plead Guilty in Rare Map Theft

By JAMES KINSELLA

A Chilmark man is expected to plead guilty next Thursday to one or
more thefts of rare maps worth hundreds of thousands of dollars,
according to published reports in Connecticut newspapers.

Both the New Haven Register and the Hartford Courant have reported
that E. Forbes Smiley 3rd, a dealer in rare maps who lives on North
Road, may make pleas in back-to-back appearances in U.S. District Court
and state superior court in New Haven.

The town of Oak Bluffs has at least 10 employees working under
personal service contracts, multiple year employment agreements
negotiated on an individual basis that usually reward the worker with
additional perks and a higher level of pay than other municipal and
union employees.

Piano notes ring out and fill the empty main room of the Outerland nightclub. Rather than enjoying the sunny Monday afternoon, the five-member cast of Ruthless!, an Off-Broadway musical that debuted here Thursday evening, is in full costume.

The epic six-year battle over control of the Martha's Vineyard
Airport has ended not with a bang, but with the mailing of checks.

In the end, the court case at the center of the battle cost at least
$608,374 - in payments to the two airport managers who brought the
lawsuit and in legal fees charged by the attorneys.

Patrolman to Chief: Meet Timothy Stobie

By MAX HART

You can call him chief, you can call him acting chief - you
can even call him police chief pro tempore if you must.

Just don't call Timothy Stobie, Tisbury's acting police
chief, newsworthy.

"I have never considered myself newsworthy, I can tell you
that," he said Wednesday. "Must be a slow news week."