When voters gather within the newly painted walls of the Old Whaling Church in Edgartown next Tuesday, they will take on a town meeting warrant with 66 articles and a $30.7 million town budget.

The topic of what to do about the Mill Pond, if anything, has been before voters for several years and will be again at the annual town meeting Tuesday, April 8.

The heath hen is currently being proposed as a possibility for de-extinction by an organization that aims to coordinate projects that use genetics to rescue endangered and extinct species.

The announcement that the Tisbury selectmen have made a million-dollar deal to throw the town’s support behind the Stop & Shop expansion threatens to make a mockery of the whole review process.

Often called the purest form of democracy, town meeting government remains alive and well here. Voters, check your warrants; there are many important issues to consider this year.

Increase in high school enrollment from Oak Bluffs has prompted town officials to consider new ways of calculating the town tax assessment ratio. This year, Oak Bluffs had 22 additional students enroll in the high school.

Overtime fines in Tisbury are currently set at $15 per offense. By comparison, fines are $20 in Oak Bluffs, $25 in Edgartown and Aquinnah, and $30 in Chilmark.

This spring’s field test of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exam may spell the last days of MCAS, the state’s standardized test since 1998. Nearly all Island schools are participating in the trial.

Oak Bluffs has hired an off-Island accountant John Sullivan to resume an investigation into the possible mismanagement of funds at the council on aging, selectman and board chairman Walter Vail said Wednesday.

Our Island is blessed with committed and skilled health professionals. We have all the components needed to achieve an integrated and accountable health care experience for residents.