The Martha's Vineyard Land Bank has agreed to purchase one of
Chilmark's quintessential homesteads - the Hollis Burton
Engley home off Middle Road.

The question of whether claims of sovereignty entitle the Wampanoag
Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) to skirt local and state laws will be
decided in Dukes County superior court, rather than a federal district
court in Boston where lawyers for the tribe wanted the case tried.

Sheriff Michael McCormack Takes Case for New County Jail Public

By JOSHUA SABATINI

Amid the uncertainty of acquiring land for a new county jail on the
grounds of Martha's Vineyard Airport, Dukes County sheriff Michael
McCormack has kept busy reminding Island officials that the present jail
and its site at the gateway to Edgartown's historic district is
simply inadequate.

He launched a similar campaign when he first took office in January
1999.

Oceans and Coastline Face Environmental Troubles; Report Urges New
Policies

By JOSHUA SABATINI

A report that details the findings of the U.S. Commission on Ocean
Policy halfway through its 18-month study of the nation's seas
paints a bleak picture of coastal waters.

"The oceans are in trouble," the report says. "Our
coasts are in trouble. Our marine resources are in trouble . . . all,
perhaps, in serious trouble."

Undercover police in Newport, R.I., have busted a ring of alleged
drug dealers from Martha's Vineyard, who traveled to Newport last
week to buy a supply of the highly addictive prescription drug,
OxyContin.

Rainstorms that crossed the Island last month were exactly what the
Vineyard needed. After a September that was the wettest month of the
year so far, lawns are once again lush and plants are looking healthy.

According to rainfall data collected at the National Weather Service
cooperative station in Edgartown, the total rainfall for the past month
was 6.15 inches. The Vineyard hadn't seen that much rainfall since
the 6.11 inches that fell in August of last year.

Commission Votes to Reopen Hearing on Gas Station Plan

By MANDY LOCKE

One week after the Martha's Vineyard Commission rejected a gas
station slated for Tisbury's State Road corridor, Tisbury Fuel
Service principals asked the commission to take a step back and reopen
the public hearing for their proposed High Point Lane station.

While commission members wrangled over the details of information
they hope to hear in the next phase of the public hearing, a majority of
members acceded to the developers' request.

Island Celebrates Rebirth of Agriculture

Farm Day Educates Public on Vineyard Agrarian Tradition

By ALEXIS TONTI

At noon on Saturday, the Jacobs family gathered around the cider
press at Nip 'n' Tuck Farm. Wendy Jacobs watched as her
daughter, Dana, tried to turn the fussy crank that sent the apple halves
through the masher. "It takes a lot of muscle," Mrs. Jacobs
said. "Keep it going, use two hands."

Celtic Music Fans Are Island Impresarios

By NIS KILDEGAARD

A visitor to their woodworking shop near the ice arena finds Gregg
Harcourt and Mary Wolverton hard at work, wearing headphones and goggles
to protect them from the sounds and sawdust of power drills and planers.
When they turn off the machinery to greet their guest, another sound
becomes apparent. From speakers mounted throughout the shop come the
sweet strains of Irish music - reels and jigs and airs played
lightly on the fiddle, pipes and concertina.

That Place Called Home on Halcyon Way: Vineyard Builders Give Back
to the Island

By MANDY LOCKE

The steady banging of hammers and hum of table saws drifting across
Old County Road in West Tisbury offered every indication that the
Halcyon Way work site was just another Island home under construction.

But the concentration of construction vehicles from a half-dozen
different contractors, a three-year-old running around with a half-pint
tool belt strapped to her waist and the crock pots full of chowder and
chili suggested otherwise.