For Second Time, Aquinnah Voters Reject Budget Override; A Difficult
Year Ahead

By JULIA WELLS

Voters in Aquinnah spoke - and loudly - for the second
time in four weeks yesterday, rejecting a $130,000 general override to
Proposition 2 1/2 by a decisive margin in a special town election.

The final count was 75-56 against the override to the state-mandated
tax cap. There was only one question on the ballot. The vote echoed a
special election last month, when voters rejected a $260,000 override by
three votes. The final count then was 40-37.

For the fifth summer in a row, a rare and potentially fatal disease called tularemia continues to surface on the Vineyard.

State public health officials yesterday confirmed this year's first case of tularemia: a male landscaper from Edgartown who became ill in early June. Another landscaper from Edgartown is listed as a probable tularemia case, pending follow-up blood tests.

Both men are under 30 years of age and have undergone medical treatment for the disease, public health officials said.

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.