p> After over a week of cool temperatures, rain and fog, the clouds
parted on Sunday morning just in time for the 47th annual commencement
of the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School. Before the ceremony
even began, Tyler Meyst was beaming.

Aquinnah Voters Adopt Balanced Budget

By IAN FEIN

It took a month and a good dose of grief, but Aquinnah voters last
week completed their annual town meeting and adopted a balanced $2.6
million town budget.

The approval did not come a moment too soon for town officials, who
needed to have a budget in place for the start of the 2007 fiscal year
only three weeks away.

Did you know that it is illegal to roller skate on most parts of
Circuit avenue in Oak Bluffs? Or that all raw milk and cream sold in
Edgartown is supposed to come from cows certified by the town inspector
of milk?

And don't even think about driving your horse at a furious or
immoderate gait in Tisbury or at an unreasonable rate in Oak Bluffs.
Both are also illegal, and could net you a fine, or worse, a night in
jail.

Selectmen Appoint Veteran Patrolman to Be Acting Chief

By MAX HART

The Tisbury police department remained in the spotlight this week,
as selectmen appointed one of the town's veteran officers to serve
as temporary chief of police after outgoing chief Theodore (Ted)
Saulnier announced he would step down three weeks earlier than
anticipated.

Shrugging Off Conventional Rules, Miss McCarthy Writes Own Script

By MAX HART

Ask high school valedictorians around the country what they like to
do in their free time, and you will likely hear a variety of
conventionally high-brow answers: write poetry, play a musical
instrument, paint watercolors, perform community service.

Now ask Simone McCarthy, valedictorian of this year's
graduating class at the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School,
what she likes to do when free from the constraints of studying.

Senate Debates Housing Bank

Legislation Laid on Table Twice, but Senate Vote Expected Soon;
Robert O'Leary Speaks Out for the Cape and Islands

By IAN FEIN

Special legislation to create a Martha's Vineyard Housing Bank
is nearing a vote in the Massachusetts state senate.

They have won prestigious awards in art, journalism and sports and
have played a stronger role in student government than any class before
them, taking the first strides against racial tension in the school.

When the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School class of 2006
graduates on Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. under the shelter of the
Tabernacle on the Camp Ground in Oak Bluffs, 204 young men and women
will leave their school a better place than when they first arrived.

Caterpillar Invasion Returns for Encore, Stripping Trees, Shrubbery,
in Our Hair

By IAN FEIN

They dangle down on silken threads and stick to your shirt or in
your hair. They crawl up the sides of homes and infest your trees. You
can hear them munching away on leaves, their frass falling to the ground
like rain.

Shellfish Beds Closed After Deluge

By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL

The state temporarily shut down shellfish beds on the Vineyard and
across Cape Cod Wednesday as a severe northeaster swept across the
region, bringing torrential rains and wind gusts of more than 45 miles
per hour.

Offshore Energy Project Eyes Submerged Turbines Near the Middle
Ground

By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer

A development company has quietly filed plans to build a large
underwater tidal hydroelectric farm with up to 150 submerged propeller
units between Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands in
Vineyard Sound.

The applicant is Massachusetts Tidal Energy Co. of Washington, D.C.,
whose backers are largely unknown.