Time Machine Terms
July 7, 2000
St. Pierre Camp Fills Each Summer Day with Fun for Children
It’s Monday morning, and Troy Cyphers is running across a lawn flapping his arms and pretending to be a turkey. If the enormous white building behind him were still a hospital, he might be committed.
But the building with three porches, two balconies and a commanding view from the hilltop over the Lagoon to the outer Vineyard Haven harbor is a summer camp, and Mr. Cyphers, freshly graduated from college, is the camp’s co-director. Behind him, in hot pursuit, is a pack of screaming six-year-olds.
July 4, 2000
Court Ruling on Impact Fees Has Import for Island Towns
In a ruling that could carry special importance for the town of Aquinnah — as well as for other Vineyard towns that want to adopt impact fees — the Massachusetts Appeals Court this week struck down a school impact fee in the town of Franklin.
The court found that the impact fee, charged to developers, is an improper tax.
“This is so totally contrary to tax philosophy as to require it to be stricken down,” declared Mel Greenberg, an associate justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court, who wrote the decision.
June 2, 2000
Tisbury Has Spirited Exchanges Over New Harbor Regulations
Loosening restrictions on land while tightening them on the water sparked considerable discussion at the Tisbury board of selectman meeting on Tuesday.
Sixteen proposed harbor regulations restricting when, where and how boats operate in Vineyard Haven harbor were debated during the public hearing.
A regulation stating “all commercial ferries shall operate within hours compliant to noise regulations” drew pointed comments from selectman Tristan Israel on the Steamship Authority’s adherence to harbor restrictions.
May 26, 2000
Aquinnah Sets Standard for Sound Planning: Voters Adopt New Laws to Control Growth
Making history and setting a new standard for community planning on the Vineyard, the people of Aquinnah voted this week to adopt a sweeping set of regulations for a townwide district of critical planning concern (DCPC).
“We’re leading the way. There has been a lot of talk about doing an Islandwide DCPC, and I hope this is going to be a first step for that,” said James Vercruysse, an Aquinnah resident who is a member of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission.
May 12, 2000
Land Bank Revenues Hit Record Levels In Heated Vineyard Real Estate Market
Million-dollar sales, mostly in Edgartown and Chilmark, are dominating the Island’s real estate market, as figures from the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank make abundantly clear.
Hard numbers illustrating the trend underscore urgent concerns about the lack of affordable housing, the subject of a standing-room-only forum last weekend.
A rising tide lifts all boats, and the evolution of million-dollar price tags from shocking rarities to barely remarked commonplaces has ratcheted up the cost of even the most basic shelter.
May 12, 2000
The Nature Conservancy Will Purchase Former Golf Club Land on Great Pond For Private Conservation Protection
In a move that is expected to knock down many established barriers to the land protection movement, The Nature Conservancy announced this week that it will buy and put into private conservation 103 acres of land along the Edgartown Great Pond. The property just last year was planned for a private luxury golf club.
Formerly owned by Katharine and Robert Bigelow, the property stretches from Meetinghouse Way to the Kanomika Neck shore of the Great Pond fronting Mashacket Cove, and includes a large expanse of globally rare sandplain grassland.
May 5, 2000
Land Agency Backs Town Growth Limits
The Martha’s Vineyard Commission has voted to accept without change an innovative set of regulations developed by the people of Aquinnah to protect their town from the effects of runaway growth.
“This is about preserving a modesty of scale and a lifestyle,” declared Marcia Cini, member of the commission from Tisbury.
March 24, 2000
Police Case Settled
Attorneys on both sides of a bitter, four-year dispute which centers on painful charges of racism against the town of Tisbury and its police department announced yesterday that a settlement has been reached in the case.
Attorneys for Theopholis M. (T.M.) Silvia 3rd and the town of Tisbury said yesterday that the terms of the settlement are extremely complicated and will not be disclosed until the agreement is approved by both the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) and a Superior Court judge.
March 10, 2000
Vineyard Voters Are Fond of Presidential Upstarts
Bucking the national trend on the Republican side, but closely mirroring the electoral mood of the country on the Democratic side, voters in Dukes County threw their support to Sen. John McCain and Vice President Al Gore in the presidential primary on Tuesday.
Texas Gov. George W. Bush did not take a single town in the county - which includes Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands - but former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley did very well here, landing the majority vote on the Democratic ticket in Aquinnah and Chilmark, and trailing by only a few votes in the other five towns.
February 11, 2000
Gus Ben David Reflects on Three Decades of Progress at Felix Neck Sanctuary
Gus Ben David is an Island institution. For 30 years he has directed Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary. Anyone walking the trails gets a sense of a wild place that is tended by loving hands. The open grassland is mowed at strategic times of year. Waterfowl find refuge in the small duck pond at the far end of the property.
