Pennywise Path Gets Subcommittee's Nod

Martha's Vineyard Commission to Give Final Consideration
Thursday; List of Conditions Attached

By JULIA WELLS

A key subcommittee of the Martha's Vineyard Commission voted
last night to recommend approval of the Pennywise Path affordable
housing project in Edgartown, along with a hefty list of conditions
aimed at softening the blow to both the neighborhood and the environment
from 60 rental units.

As the sport-fishing boat Cookie Too backed into the slip in Oak
Bluffs harbor on Saturday evening, nervous chatter rippled through the
onlookers who had congregated around the dock.

Boat Line Treasurer Says He Is Willing to Return to Role of Interim
Chief

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

Marking an auspicious new tack for the embattled Steamship
Authority, Wayne Lamson, the respected longtime boat line treasurer, has
volunteered to step in as interim chief executive officer, the Gazette
has learned.

In a letter sent to SSA governors last week, Mr. Lamson offered to
take over the top spot at the boat line as CEO Fred Raskin prepares to
leave after barely two years on the job.

Oak Bluffs Hearing on Enlarged Garage Resumes Tomorrow

By CHRIS BURRELL

All set for Round Two of what has become a bruising political fight
in Oak Bluffs, the zoning board of appeals could decide the fate
tomorrow night of Joseph G. Moujabber's three-story garage in the
North Bluff, a project that has enraged neighbors since last March.

The board meets Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Oak Bluffs Council on
Aging on Wamsutta avenue, continuing last week's public hearing
that pulled in a feisty crowd of more than 70 people.

Annual Feast of Holy Ghost Celebrates Spirit of Giving, and Glories
of Sopa

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By ALEXIS TONTI

Vote in Aquinnah Thursday Attempts to Pass Override, and Restore
Items to Town Budget

By JULIA WELLS

Voters in Aquinnah go to the polls this week to conclude the annual
town meeting which began two months ago - and to say yes or no to
a $130,000 general override to Proposition 2 1/2.

If the override is approved, town employees will get a cost of
living raise and funding will remain in place for the town's share
of the Martha's Vineyard Shellfish Group. Funding for a
town-sponsored summer day camp for children also hangs in the balance.

The ghosts are quiet these days - if you believe in such things - but at the Vanderhoop homestead the screen door still bangs and the old wood sash windows rattle with the specter of a new future.

Purchased last year by the town of Aquinnah and the Martha's Vineyard Land Bank in a joint acquisition, the historic homestead is now set for its first fund-raising event.

The event will kick off a $300,000 restoration project aimed at converting the homestead to a museum and cultural center.

Tisbury Proposal: New Access to State Road

By ALEXIS TONTI

As part of its work on a master plan for Tisbury, the town planning
board is now circulating an ambitious proposal aimed at transforming
upper State Road from a commercial corridor into a traditional
neighborhood with a mix of residential and business development.

Pennywise Path Vote Next Week

Informally, Commissioners Seem Inclined to Okay Housing Plan, but
Voice Doubts on Access; Other Issues Linger

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

Early road signs now point to possible approval for the Pennywise
Path affordable housing project in Edgartown, but members of a key
Martha's Vineyard Commission subcommittee said this week that
access and impact on the neighborhood are stubborn trouble spots in the
plan.

Citizenry of Oak Bluffs Raises Chorus of Protest Over Disputed
Building

By CHRIS BURRELL

An indignant crowd of more than 70 people piled into last
night's hearing of the Oak Bluffs zoning board of appeals and
clamored for town leaders to tear down the three-story building in
Joseph Moujabber's backyard.

Zoning board members were just as thorny, repeatedly questioning how
Mr. Moujabber's $22,000 garage replacement could have turned into
something more than 30 feet tall with balconies and sliding glass doors.