After hearing heated arguments from both sides of a shellfish licensing dispute, Tisbury selectmen at their Tuesday meeting voted to take no action regarding the question of revoking or suspending the license of commercial shellfisherman Tom Searle. The case concerned two incidents, one on Nov. 26, 2012 and one on Jan. 8, 2013, for which Mr. Searle received citations from Tisbury shellfish constable Danielle Ewart.

Plans for a town-run fuel facility at the Oak Bluffs harbor met with some resistance at a Martha’s Vineyard Commission hearing last week, with some abutters to the potential facility questioning why the town needed to be involved, and voicing concerns that the fuel dock will lower property values and cause safety concerns.

Oak Bluffs has plans for a fuel facility at the harbor master’s shack in the Oak Bluffs harbor, with the 10,000 gallon gas tank stored under the parking lot. Boats would be able to fuel up at a floating dock between May and October.

West Tisbury selectmen will continue to explore options regarding development of the town’s planned solar array at the landfill. Town counsel Ronald Rappaport appeared at Wednesday’s board of selectmen meeting to discuss the matter, reporting that the Cape & Vineyard Electric Cooperative (CVEC) had amended the contract he and associate Fain Hackney negotiated in December of last year. The original project lender had withdrawn, and CVEC had found a new lender, Deutsche Bank.

The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank reported revenues of $136,188 for the business week ending on Friday, March 15, 2013. The land bank receives its funds from a two per cent fee charged on many Vineyard real estate transactions.

A month after the conservation commission ordered the removal of a Chilmark house perched on an eroding bluff, the commission Wednesday heard plans for the home’s removal: the guest house is slated to come down immediately, with the main house dismantled in phases depending on the rate of erosion.
The 650-square-foot summer home on Stonewall Beach, owned by Natalie Conroy, stood eight feet from a cliff in late February. Ms. Conroy applied to move the house nine and a half feet back from the bluff, an application the commission denied because it would encroach on wetlands.

The future of the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks is looking bright — and a lot more comfortable, too.

When the Sharks, who play in the wooden-bat Futures Collegiate Baseball League, begin their third season in June, they will do so at a much-improved home field, situated at the regional high school.

Island selectmen joined volunteers Wednesday to deliver Meals on Wheels, part of an annual campaign to raise awareness of the program. Last year the Meals on Wheels program increased by almost 30 per cent, with 50 volunteers delivering almost 30,000 meals to home-bound seniors from Aquinnah to Chappaquiddick. Those interested in donating their time to the cause should contact Heidi Dietterich at 508-693-4393, extension 192.

Walking west on East Chop Drive on a tranquil spring morning, the only indication of trouble is a short metal gate with a spray-painted detour sign. The pavement is remarkably free of potholes and the two-lane road appears intact as far as the eye can see.

March madness is not just a college basketball tournament. It is also a season in flux. When spring wants to take center stage but winter refuses to go quietly. When the call of the pinkletink is interrupted by a late frost, when snowdrops rub shoulders with frozen pipes.

And yet it is also the time of the NCAA basketball tournament. With this in mind, the following bracket invites one and all to choose an eventual victor in this battle between the seasons.

The editors have made their picks.

long long long legs

pink pulsating noses

smooth hooves smelling of sweetness

they were the embodiment

of beauty in life