For the first time in 13 years, there will be a new chairman of the
Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah). Donald Widdiss, the first
chairman to lead the tribe after it gained federal recognition in 1987,
returns to the top post after ousting incumbent Beverly Wright, 132-105,
in the tribe's annual election on Sunday.

Looking Glass: Jabberwocky Is Heading South with New Camp

By PAUL REMY
Special to the Vineyard Gazette

Jowharah Johnson enjoys dancing and having fun. Her parents
frequently take her out. But the 19-year-old African American teenager,
who has Cerebral Palsy, does not have friends to hang out with.

West Tisbury and Chilmark Selectmen Collide Over Up-Island School
Study

IAN FEIN

West Tisbury and Chilmark selectmen knocked heads this week over
whether a task force studying the Up-Island Regional School District
should consider closing the Chilmark School.

The dispute could end the task force study before it even begins,
and ultimately unravel the entire regional district, whose future is now
in question.

Committee Members Hash Out a New Vision for Superintendent

By CHRIS BURRELL

All-Island school committee members took their first crack this week
at defining the kind of superintendent they want to lead Vineyard public
schools.

Their suggestions ran the gamut. Some wanted a financial expert to
oversee an educational budget on the Island that exceeds $35 million a
year.

Endangered Green Sea Turtle Rescued

By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL

A 17-pound live green sea turtle found on Chappaquiddick more than a
week ago is recovering at the New England Aquarium. The turtle,
nicknamed Quiddick by a Vineyard veterinarian who first treated it, is
the first endangered green turtle recovered live from the Vineyard.

The signs around the high school all point toward a showdown.

Like the handwritten message taped to the wall inside the
boys' locker room.

"10-game preseason is over. KHUNA Nantucket!!!"

Or the chants echoing in the halls, through the gymnasium and out
into the crisp November air.

"Keep the Cup, keep the Cup, keep the Cup!"

When taken out of context, listening to Gustavo Simoes talk about
football can be quite confusing.

"I played football all the time as a kid in Brazil," the
high school senior and Vineyarders center said after practice Monday.
"And I had seen football on TV, too, but I never played it until I
came here."

Put in context, the confusion is easily sorted out.

Defenders of historic architecture in downtown Oak Bluffs this week shot down a plan to rescue a controversial, three-story garage that was built last spring in the North Bluff section of town.

Tisbury Zoning Board Approves Bridge Commons Housing Plan

By MARK LOVEWELL

Tisbury zoning board members last night unanimously approved a
comprehensive permit for a controversial 30-unit affordable housing
project on eight acres of land off State Road.

The board's action includes numerous conditions but clears the
way for construction of Bridge Commons, a housing project of 15
duplex-style buildings. Half of all the units will be dedicated to
affordable housing, restricted in perpetuity as low or moderate income
housing.

A coyote, whose carcass was found on the North Shore last weekend, may have swum to the Island from the Elizabeth Islands.

That’s what Augustus Ben David, director of the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary, is speculating.

The 40-pound, fully mature female adult coyote was discovered Sunday high up on the wrack line at Great Rock Bight in Chilmark by Tim Duys of Vineyard Haven. He delivered the carcass Tuesday to Felix Neck for examination.

Mr. Ben David said this is the first time any coyote has been spotted on the Island, either dead or alive.