Seven minutes before midnight Tuesday, Edgartown town meeting voters
wrapped up a long list of business - supporting a $19 million
operating budget and killing proposed house-size caps on Chappaquiddick.

But the night's liveliest debates for those in the crowded
pews at the Old Whaling Church, and perhaps the most interesting result
of the week, centered around a funding request to hire a housing
inspector to license the town's 1,500 rental properties.

West Tisbury Shows Town Hall Plans

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

A $10 million-plus annual operating budget, a laundry list of
override requests that adds up to more than $800,000 and a town hall
expansion project with a $3.7 million price tag - next week when
the voters of West Tisbury gather to conduct the annual business of the
town, the prevailing winds are expected to be out of the pocketbook.

Tisbury Approves $15.9 Million Budget; School Funds Win Town Meeting
Vote

By JONATHAN BURKE

Tisbury residents kicked off the Island's season of annual
town meetings Tuesday with a bow to education and an endorsement of the
Dukes County Regional Housing Authority.

The police department had the roughest time during the two-night
annual town meeting. Following a narrowly approved request to upgrade
from 45-calibre sidearms to Glocks, voters defeated the
department's $58,000 request for two new cruisers.

Voters Face Major Budget Issues at Annual Meetings in Three Towns

In Oak Bluffs, Expect the Unexpected

By CHRIS BURRELL

Voters in Oak Bluffs will be asked next week whether they want to
ban dogs from town beaches, declare their opposition to the war in Iraq
and borrow $750,000 to build an addition to the town hall on School
street.

Those are just three of the proposals on tap for back-to-back town
meetings that get under way Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Performing Arts
Center.

Seven Candidates Vie for Two Selectmen Seats in Oak Bluffs

By CHRIS BURRELL

Some people in town are calling it an outright horse race -
seven candidates running for two seats on the board of selectmen in Oak
Bluffs. It is the most hotly contested race in this year's
political season on the Vineyard. Voters will pick their selectmen at
the polls from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Oak Bluffs School on Thursday,
April 10.

Bottle Message Links Pen Pals Across Atlantic

By MANDY LOCKE

Ten-year-old Dylan Rice has a new pen pal.

This Edgartown school student wasn't exactly looking for an
extra hobby; he's pretty busy with school, Cub Scouts and the FARM
Institute. But ever since 17-year-old Juan Braìs Garcia Liz had
the courtesy to respond to Dylan's message in a bottle, this
Vineyard student has been paying extra attention in Spanish class.

Golf Course Developers Agree to Dismiss Property Rights Claims in
MVC Lawsuit

By JULIA WELLS

Attorneys for the Down Island Golf Club have backed away from a
portion of their massive lawsuit against the Martha's Vineyard
Commission, agreeing to dismiss two counts that involved property rights
claims.

Edgartown Overrides Appear on Ballot

By MANDY LOCKE

Scores of pocketbook-pinching articles and a few tough zoning
questions face Edgartown citizens Tuesday at the annual town meeting at
7:30 p.m. in the Old Whaling Church.

Voters will be asked to approve a $19-million operating budget
- swallowing a $707,000 general override to cover a
five-and-a-half per cent increase in town operations.

Questions of house size caps in certain neighborhoods - a hot
topic - come at the end of the 74-article warrant.

Affordable Housing Bylaw Passes at Tisbury Meeting

By JONATHAN BURKE

Tisbury voters approved an affordable housing bylaw at a special
town meeting Tuesday night.

Questions surrounding overall administration of the housing plan,
and an amnesty program within it, almost defeated the motion. In an
hour-long debate proceeding the vote, speakers suggested again and again
that the proposal - encouraging the creation of accessory
apartments - needed more work.

Headlining this year's 22-article annual town meeting warrant in Tisbury is a total budget of $15,856,073, an increase of nearly a nine and a half per cent over last year's $14,496,931.

Town moderator Deborah Medders will gavel the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 1, in the gymnasium of the Tisbury School.

According to Ray LaPorte, chairman of the selectmen, there is little in this year's budget likely to generate argument. Tim McLean, town treasurer, agrees.