Oak Bluffs Building Torn Down Illegally

Army Barracks Building Is Demolished with No Permits and No Review;
Building Inspector Under Fire

By JAMES KINSELLA

The contractor who tore down the old Army Barracks building on
Circuit avenue in Oak Bluffs did the work with no building or demolition
permits, and town building inspector Richard Mavro failed to issue a
stop-work order on the project, even though demolition work had been
under way for several weeks.

The demolition of the building was completed last week.

Town Defends Tax Challenge

West Tisbury Assessors Dip Heavily Into Legal Spending Coffers;
Methods to Determine Values Come Under Close Scrutiny

By IAN FEIN

A pending property tax appeal in West Tisbury has triggered mounting
legal bills to defend the assessors' position in a complex case
that challenges their methods for determining property values.

Executive Director Resigns at Community Services; Heller Study Cites
Flaws

By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer

Longtime executive director Ned Robinson-Lynch has abruptly resigned
from Martha's Vineyard Community Services in the midst of a
searching reappraisal by the agency of its operations and organization.
Change now looms large at Community Services, one of the oldest and
broadest human services organizations on the Vineyard.

Mr. Turkington Lands a Chairmanship

By JAMES KINSELLA

Marking the first time in eight years that a Cape and Islands
representative has taken a committee chairmanship, Rep. Eric T.
Turkington on Monday was named House chairman of the newly formed
Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development.

The appointment by House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi places the
nine-term representative for the Island in a position of power to
influence important Island endeavors such as tourism and the arts.

Boat Line Board Goes Forward with Oak Bluffs Wharf Project

By JAMES KINSELLA

Revised plans for the reconstruction of the Oak Bluffs Steamship
Authority terminal have won the backing of Vineyard SSA governor Marc
Hanover.

"I think it looks great," said Mr. Hanover, a resident
of Oak Bluffs as well as chairman of the boat line board, of the $10
million proposal to rebuild the wharf near the North Bluff section of
downtown. At the monthly boat line meeting in Woods Hole yesterday, Mr.
Hanover said the new terminal will be a welcome enhancement.

The Vineyard Gazette won the George A. Speers Newspaper of the Year
award for 2004 last weekend at the annual New England Press Association
winter convention in Boston. The coveted honor was given to five
newspapers in five separate circulation categories this year, including
two weeklies, one alternative weekly and two small dailies.

The Gazette has won the award seven times since 1990.

Since last fall Estelle T. Burnham has had a new friend, a companion in hard times. Confined to a wheelchair, Ms. Burnham, 64, of Edgartown spends her day with a dog.

His name is Braun, and this one-and-a-half-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever offers her attention and care 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Aquinnah Town Leaders Scramble Anew for Fresh Revenues to Replace
Shortfall

By MAX HART

Aquinnah selectmen learned this week that the town now faces another
financial dilemma: a $25,000 budget shortfall for fiscal year 2005.

Wastewater Board Explains Mercury Mishap

By JAMES KINSELLA

The Oak Bluffs wastewater commission declared this week that the mercury exposure incident at the town treatment plant is no cause for public alarm and is being handled responsibly by plant superintendent Joseph Alosso.

"We are on top of this thing," said commission chairman John Leite 3rd. "Our manager has been on top of it. We don't micromanage. We give him latitude to run the plan. He has called us every step of the way. We are going to solve this problem, if it exists."

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has denied a petition by the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) to hold a new hearing on the much-watched sovereignty case, closing the door on the last option for the Wampanoags at the state level.

In a one-sentence ruling issued late in the day on Wednesday, the state supreme court denied the motion by the tribe to rehear the case.

The tribe will now pursue an appeal to the United States Supreme Court.