As Edgartown and West Tisbury prepare to appeal the Martha’s Vineyard Commission’s approval of the roundabout in superior court, the West Tisbury selectmen closely questioned the commission chairman this week about the project, including why it was not referred for review earlier in the process.

MVC chairman Chris Murphy appeared before the selectmen at their weekly meeting on Wednesday.

Citing fixed costs associated with experienced teachers and the uniqueness of the Island’s school, the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School presented its budget this week at $16.9 million, an increase of $307,300, or 1.85 per cent, over last year.

Noting that the high school is unique as the only Island school that offers a comprehensive program, principal Stephen Nixon said the school tried to cut costs where it could while maintaining “the quality of education we’re used to here.”

Nutrient loading in coastal ponds has inevitably led town planners all across the Cape and Islands to the prospect of increased sewering. At a presentation on the Vineyard this week, Earle Barnhardt and Hilde Maingay of the Citizens for Economic and Ecological Sustainability of Falmouth offered a different vision. Rather than a centralized municipal solution, they offered a modular, personalized one.

In short, they were spreading the good news of composting toilets.

Vineyard property owners concerned about sky-high insurance premiums now have company; the Massachusetts Attorney General mounted a claim last month that faulty computer-generated hurricane models have contributed to unnecessarily high home insurance rates for property owners across the commonwealth.

To some, they’re a boon to the construction industry; to others, a blight on the landscape. When talk turns to whether the Martha’s Vineyard Commission should regulate so-called mega-mansions on the Island, there’s rarely middle ground, and there’s usually a crowd.

Blue Heron Farm, the Chilmark estate that President Obama and his family have rented for three past summer vacations, was sold last week for $21.9 million. The gentleman’s farm will be occupied by a high-profile European couple, Lord Norman and Lady Elena Foster of Thames Bank in Great Britain.

Every piece is different, even the socks.

That’s been the rule at In the Woods for the past 27 years, the eclectic woodcraft, rug, furniture, cooking wares and knickknack store in Edgartown. The store has stocked everything from woven wool socks from Afghanistan to sets of Noah’s Ark crafted in the backwoods of Maine. But at the end of the month the doors will close for good.

Criticism of the annual Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament resurfaced at the town selectmen’s meeting this week, with a local group asking the town to reconsider the role it plays in the popular event, citing ethical and environmental concerns with the way sharks are killed and displayed in the town harbor.

The Edgartown historic district commission took the first formal step Monday toward expanding the town’s historic district.

At their regular meeting, the selectmen approved the commission’s request to begin drawing up new boundaries for the oddly shaped district that leaves parts of downtown Edgartown outside of its boundaries.

The district should be “more concise,” James Cisek, chairman of the commission, told the board.

A long-running effort by an Aquinnah property owner to build a house on a lot off Moshup Trail was blocked by the town planning board plan review committee this week, which found the lot lacks adequate road frontage under new zoning rules adopted by the town eight months ago.

After a series of public hearings that began in October, the committee voted 7-0 on Tuesday night to deny a special permit for James Decoulos to build on the two-plus-acre property.