Plans for a YMCA Go to Commission for Formal Review

By IAN FEIN

Proponents of the YMCA of Martha's Vineyard go before the
Martha's Vineyard Commission this week with their plans for a
35,000-square-foot recreational facility behind the skate park in Oak
Bluffs.

YMCA officials are hoping to break ground this fall on the
community-funded project, which originated roughly five years ago with
an effort to build an indoor pool.

Caterpillars Munch Away on Island

By IAN FEIN

Armies of caterpillars made their annual spring emergence on the
Vineyard this week, munching away on Island foliage and swinging down on
silken threads to stick to unsuspecting passersby.

Codfish Nursery Plan Promoted

Tom Osmers of West Tisbury Leads Effort to Bring Back Cod Through
the Use of Saltwater Hatcheries on the Island

By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL

Cod, once the most valued fish in Vineyard and New England waters,
has been in severe decline for years.

Now, to help the fish recover, a group of Island fishermen are
moving ahead with a plan to open and operate a cod nursery on the
Vineyard.

The sudden resignation of county manager E. Winn Davis last week was
followed by a noticeable atmosphere of calm and quiet this week.

Mr. Davis read his letter of resignation during a tense county
commission meeting last Wednesday that included a nearly two-hour
executive session and an accusation from one commissioner that a
subgroup of commissioners had somehow influenced Mr. Davis to resign.

The steadily increasing cost of home insurance has been a bone of
contention on the Vineyard for years, but a proposed increase to the
rates of the FAIR plan - the state-backed insurer of last resort,
and the only insurer for over 40 per cent of homeowners on Cape Cod and
the Islands - has many Islanders now crying foul.

Traffic was up, sales were up and spirits were up to match as
business owners across the board reported a generally busy Memorial Day
weekend and a healthy start to the season this year.

Steamship Authority traffic to the Vineyard between Thursday and
Saturday was up four per cent for passenger traffic and two and a half
per cent for car traffic over last year. And Saturday alone saw a 19 per
cent increase in passenger traffic from the previous year.

Memorial Day Was Busy and Crowded, Good for Businesses

By JULIA RAPPAPORT

Traffic was up, sales were up and spirits were up to match as
business owners across the board reported a generally busy Memorial Day
weekend and a healthy start to the season this year.

Steamship Authority traffic to the Vineyard between Thursday and
Saturday was up four per cent for passenger traffic and two and a half
per cent for car traffic over last year. And Saturday alone saw a 19 per
cent increase in passenger traffic from the previous year.

Tisbury Town Officials Receive a Wide Array of Complaints as
Redesign Project Begins at Lot on Water Street

Under construction but still open - that is the tag line for
the Water street parking lot in Vineyard Haven, which was the subject of
widespread complaints before the Tisbury selectmen this week.

The real estate market on the Vineyard has swung strongly in favor of buyers, as record stocks of unsold properties force agents and owners to begin to heavily discount prices.

Figures for the first quarter of this year showed the total inventory of residential property up more than 40 per cent over the same period a year ago.

The median sale price also continued a decline which began last year. For the March quarter this year it was $688,750, compared with $705,000 in the same quarter last year and $702,000 at the end of last year.

The capital campaign to fund Martha's Vineyard's new
hospital has ended with more than $46 million raised in cash and in
pledges over the next five years.

Confirming the successful conclusion of the fund-raising effort this
week, capital committee cochairman Warren Spector said $22 million of
the funds was in cash, and $6.9 million had been contributed by Island
residents.