Proposed renovations to the West Tisbury town hall will once again be the center of public debate when voters gather for a special town meeting in the elementary school gymnasium on Tuesday. Town moderator Pat Gregory will open discussion of the 11-article warrant at 7 p.m.

Other topics to be considered include an amendment to the affordable housing zoning bylaw, as well as appropriations for a consultant to examine the up-Island regional school district and preliminary planning of a path from the youth hostel to the town center.

Candidates Vie for Cape and Islands Seats

By CHRIS BURRELL

On paper, the race for the Cape and Islands senate seat in the state
house looks like a battle of the brains.

A pediatrician with a Harvard MBA, Republican challenger Dr. Gail
Lese is trying to bring down a history professor, the incumbent Democrat
Sen. Robert O'Leary. A third candidate, Luiz (Lou) Gonzaga,
running as an independent, holds a doctorate in business administration.

All top-heavy resumes aside, the politics in this race are anything
but tepid.

Island Teacher Challenges Eric Turkington

By IAN FEIN

The race for Cape and Islands state representative pits an
eight-term incumbent Democrat from Falmouth against a Republican high
school Spanish teacher from the Vineyard.

Rep. Eric T. Turkington is well known throughout the district that
he has served for 16 years. James R. Powell is best known in West
Tisbury, where his ancestors reach back to the Mayhews.

"I don't think [Mr. Turkington] is doing enough for our
district. He's not hustling enough," Mr. Powell said.

Passenger and Car Fares Stay the Same But Commuters, Truckers,
Schools All Can Expect Sharp Increases

HYANNIS - Vineyard residents will shoulder the bulk of next
year's rate increases, which were unanimously approved by
Steamship Authority governors at their monthly meeting in Hyannis on
Wednesday.

Aquinnah residents head to the polls next week in the latest attempt
by selectmen to override the state-mandated tax cap and ease the
town's financial crisis.

At a special town election Thursday residents will vote whether to
approve a Proposition 2 1/2 override request. The override request
- the third since the beginning of the summer - comes in
conjunction with a $103,000 supplemental budget, approved at special
town meeting in late September.

Oak Bluffs Town Official Is Ordered to Pay Fines for Violating State
Laws

By CHRIS BURRELL

The enforcement branch of the Massachusetts Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) has found that Joseph N. Alosso -
an Island official in charge of two municipal sewage treatment plants on
the Vineyard - deliberately violated more than half a dozen state
environmental regulations last year during the construction of a septic
system for his new four-bedroom house in Oak Bluffs.

Bucking the advice of traffic and planning experts, Oak Bluffs
selectmen this week voted to abandon all efforts to design and construct
a roundabout at one of the Vineyard's most dangerous
intersections.

The split decision from the board - a 3-2 vote - came
just one month after selectmen reaffirmed their commitment to build a
roundabout at the heavily trafficked junction of Edgartown-Vineyard
Haven and Barnes Roads.

Reade Kontje's home is a work in progress. Outside the cedar
shakes are fresh; so too is the sawdust on the table by the front door.
The lawn is a mix of grass and weed. The trees have mostly been cleared
and are drying in a woodpile in back, but one old pine still stands by
the driveway. On it hangs a simple yellow sign: Reade's.

Forest Officials Pledge Hearings to Discuss Massive Cutting Plan

By TOM DUNLOP

A key official with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and
Recreation said this week that the public will have its say before the
state moves ahead with any plan to clear hundreds of acres of planted
trees in the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest.

Vaccine Shortages Strike Flu Clinics

Health Officials Say Clinics Canceled as National Crisis Hits Home;
Common Sense Is Urged

By IAN FEIN

Public health officials across the Vineyard confirmed this week that
all of the fall flu clinics have been canceled indefinitely while the
Island waits to see just how many vaccines it may or may not receive.

Officials said they are in constant contact with the state
Department of Public Health, and will announce vaccination updates as
soon as information is available.