Island Hockey Wins, Advancing to State Championship Play

By JOSHUA SABATINI

The Martha's Vineyard Regional High School varsity boys'
hockey team defeated the defending state champions Sunday, earning a
trip this weekend to Boston's Fleet Center to play for the state
championship title.

Through the regular season, first-year head coach Matt Mincone and
his players knew they had what it took to contend against the toughest
teams in their Division II South league.

For generations, the arrival of the herring at coastal ponds has
been the Island's harbinger of spring. Now, major initiatives are
under way across the Island to enhance waterways for the returning
alewife.

This week, work began and is almost complete on the construction of
a fish ladder at the head of Lake Tashmoo.

When Dave Medeiros started working at the West Tisbury post office three years ago, some things were bound to change.

U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock heard the case of
Aquinnah building inspector versus the Wampanoag Tribal Council of Gay
Head Wednesday and questioned whether the federal court has jurisdiction
over the civil action. The outcome of the case will determine whether
the town has zoning jurisdiction on tribal lands.

Wampanoag Tribal Sovereignty Case Raises Jurisdictional Questions in
Federal Court

By JOSHUA SABATINI

U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock heard the case of
Aquinnah building inspector versus the Wampanoag Tribal Council of Gay
Head Wednesday and questioned whether the federal court has jurisdiction
over the civil action. The outcome of the case will determine whether
the town has zoning jurisdiction on tribal lands.

Mediation Plays Central Role in Island Courts

By ALEXIS TONTI

The Martha's Vineyard Mediation Program is the silent partner
of the Edgartown District Court. While what happens in court is public
and sometimes pyrotechnic, mediation takes disputes off the docket and
behind closed doors. It's a voluntary alternative that allows
disputants, facilitated by two mediators, to work together toward a
mutually agreeable solution.

New Bedford Attack Exposed

Former Solicitor George Leontire Describes Assault on SSA and
Islands in His Deposition for Suit Against Boatline

By NIS KILDEGAARD

Over the past two years, the campaign of the city of New Bedford to
have its way with the Steamship Authority has seemed, at times, to be
filled with strategic contradictions.

Land Bank Aid for Woodlands

Land Bank Initiative Offers to Pay 80 Per Cent of Conservation Cost
for Southern Woodlands if Oak Bluffs Takes Land

By MANDY LOCKE

The Martha's Vineyard Land Bank gave a promise in the form of
dollar signs to the town of Oak Bluffs Wednesday morning -
agreeing to contribute 80 per cent of the cost if the town takes by
eminent domain some 276 acres of the southern woodlands.

The National Marine Fisheries Service and the New England Fishery
Management Council (NEFMC) have come under harsh attack from a number of
different environmental organizations for not having done enough to
protect fish stocks.

Politicians and citizens, librarians and state officials - all
were in Chilmark Wednesday afternoon to attend the groundbreaking for
the $2.1 million public library renovation project. But it was the
children in attendance who stole the show.