Large Crowds Gather for Monster Catch, Children in Tow

Marcus Benker, 11, of Holyoke, had never seen a live shark prior to
the Boston Big Game Fishing Club's Monster Shark Tournament in Oak
Bluffs this weekend.

So when he first glimpsed a 321-pound blue shark on Saturday
strapped to the back of the Melissa Kate, a fishing boat out of
Scituate, he studied its lifeless eye, its rows of razor sharp teeth and
its streamlined body and wondered aloud if he was looking at the real
thing.

Commission Accepts the Nomination of Mullen Way as Critical District

By IAN FEIN

Suggesting that historical middle-class neighborhoods might be of
irreplaceable value to the Island, the Martha's Vineyard
Commission last week unanimously agreed to consider a narrow tree-lined
street in Edgartown for designation as a district of critical planning
concern (DCPC).

Schooner Accident Leaves Questions

Family and Friends Gather to Mourn Death of Concord
Eighteen-Year-Old Who Fell From Ship's Rigging

By MAX HART and JAMES KINSELLA

Family and friends of Benjamin Sutherland, a young man who died last
Friday after he fell from the rigging on the schooner Alabama, will
gather tomorrow and Sunday to celebrate his life.

Mr. Sutherland was shimmying across the spring stay, a cable
attached to both of the Alabama's masts, when he lost his grip and
fell 30 feet to the vessel's deck, witnesses said.

Housing Bank Legislation Languishes as Lawmakers Ready to Recess
Session

By IAN FEIN

With the state legislative session set to expire in 10 days, a
proposal to create public housing banks on Martha's Vineyard and
Nantucket appears to be effectively dead for the year.

With the state legislative session set to expire in 10 days, a proposal to create public housing banks on Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket appears to be effectively dead for the year.

The special legislation - which would tax some real estate transactions to fund affordable housing initiatives – was still stuck in the house committee on ways and means yesterday afternoon, and, even if approved on the house floor next week, would be subject to a gubernatorial pocket veto that could not be overridden.

Patricia Nanon is back in the barn. She may need her dancers as a
barre to balance herself these days, she may choreograph with the aid of
a rehearsal assistant, but there she is in the Chilmark studio that
bears her name at The Yard. Now in her eighties, the tiny dancer who
founded this unique performing arts colony is there entrancing the elite
dancers, preparing to debut another new work.

Robert Murphy Has High Hopes for the Vineyard of the Future

By IAN FEIN

Robert C. Murphy remembers his childhood winters in Oak Bluffs, when
there were no movie theatres open and the bowling alley was the only
source of social activity.

Island children today by comparison have a bounty of entertainment
and cultural opportunities - which Mr. Murphy sees as one of the
many positive aspects of the growth that the Vineyard has experienced
over the last few decades.

Island teachers have their summers off in a place that is arguably
one of the best in the world to spend the season - but few really
embrace the vacation in summer vacation.

With demands for post-graduate degrees and a rising cost of living,
many teachers leave the Vineyard to further their educations, and many
more take on seasonal work or run their own enterprises.

Alabama Crew Member Falls to Death on Board Tall Ship Off West Chop

By MAX HART and JAMES KINSELLA

A crew member working aboard the tall ship Alabama fell to his death
on Friday morning while the ship was heading out on a day sail.

Benjamin Sutherland, 18, of Concord, was aloft in the rigging 30
feet up when he apparently slipped and plummeted to the deck below.
Emergency responders who were rushed to the boat were unable to revive
Mr. Sutherland, who was later pronounced dead at the Martha's
Vineyard Hospital.

They sopped up the sopa, boogied to the brinquinho and munched down
the malasadas this weekend during the annual Portuguese-American Feast
of the Holy Ghost.

Organizers of the two-day event said the turnout was excellent, as
people of all nationalities converged under a canopy of clear blue skies
to celebrate all things Portuguese.