Affordable housing, Island health care, and the cost of education were a few of the hot spots Tisbury voters endured at their annual town meeting Tuesday evening.

Citizens plowed through 18 articles and four hours of discussion inside the Tisbury School gymnasium in a meeting which began at 7:30 and at continued past 11 p.m., when the floor voted down the option to take a recess.

SSA Problems and Rate Hikes

By JULIA WELLS

Steamship Authority governors will be asked this morning to consider
a mid-season fare hike, as the boat line faces escalating costs from
legal bills, rising debt and projected operating losses on the new ferry
run between New Bedford and the Vineyard this summer.

The proposed fare hike is set for discussion only; no vote is
planned until next month. If it is approved, passenger fares and the
popular auto excursion fares for Island residents will all go up.

Job Fair Seeks Placement for School Students

By KATHERINE WILEY

Maura Dickson needs a job.

So Wednesday afternoon she went to the high school gymnasium to chat
with area businesses who were taking part in a job fair.

"I'm looking for a summer job because it's really
hard to find a job at this time of year. All of the college kids call
up," the high school senior said.

So she slowly made her way around the tables that lined the gym,
picking up applications and asking questions.

Herbert Hancock, 71, Was Chilmark Selectman

Herbert R. Hancock, selectman, lobsterman, builder and artist, died
at home Thursday morning, April 26, after a short, brave battle with
cancer. He was 71.

Chilmark Casts Its Votes

By KATHERINE WILEY

In a meeting which ended minutes before midnight, Chilmark voters
gave the go-ahead to the library renovation and expansion project,
increased traffic control in Menemsha, and a slew of zoning bylaw
changes.

These decisions took place at the Monday evening annual town meeting
where 32 per cent of the town's registered voters - 243
people - filled the Chilmark Community Center to capacity.

Protection for Pond Shorelines

By JULIA WELLS

Amid a proliferation of applications for permanent piers, a new
district of critical planning concern (DCPC) has now been proposed for
the shorelines of two shellfish-rich ponds in the town of Chilmark.

Last week the Martha's Vineyard Commission voted to nominate
the Menemsha and Nashaquitsa Ponds as a DCPC on the Chilmark side.

Site problems, traffic impacts, resentment from two rival business owners and an exceptional program that has sparked a love of tennis in hundreds of Island children - all these were subjects for discussion at a second public hearing last week on the new building proposal by Vineyard Youth Tennis Inc.

West Tisbury voters fed up with rising taxes sent a message last week at annual town meeting when they reduced their town's share of the Up-Island Regional School budget by $250,000. That message, though, is about to be stamped return-to-sender.

Aquinnah Building Triggers Controversy

Tribal Officials and Town Leadership Collide Over Construction on
Indian Property Without Normal Permits

By COLE LOUISON

A shack beside the shellfish hatchery on the Wampanoag Tribe's
property has raised the question of building rights in Aquinnah and
sharp objections from some town officials.

Islanders Lambaste New Bedford Plan

Seabulk Proposal for Private Freight Service to Vineyard and
Nantucket Meets with Forceful Opposition

By JULIA WELLS

Vineyard residents spoke out last night against a proposal by a
private hauler to run year-round ferry service between New Bedford and
the Islands, calling the plan ill-conceived and one more burden on the
port of Vineyard Haven.