William Styron, the acclaimed novelist and leading literary figure of his generation whose summer home on the Vineyard Haven harbor has long been the hub of the area known colloquially as writer's row, died Wednesday at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital. He was 81.

The cause of death was pneumonia. Mr. Styron had been in failing
health for a number of years.

The current Martha's Vineyard Hospital building no longer offers adequate capacity and is in its final stages of usefulness, hospital officials told members of the Martha's Vineyard Commission last night.

The remarks came during a marathon five-hour session that kicked off the formal public hearing process for the proposed $42 million hospital renovation and expansion project, which the commission is reviewing as a development of regional impact (DRI).

When the Steamship Authority board of governors convenes next
Thursday morning at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, Vineyard governor
Marc Hanover anticipates voting for across-the-board rate increases to
fund next year\'s $78.3 million budget.

But he said it will be the last time.

\"We really have to get a handle on this,\" Mr. Hanover
said earlier this week about the budget, slated to rise $4 million next
year. \"We can\'t keep absorbing these additional
costs.\"

SSA Set to Vote on Fare Hikes Thursday at Cornell Theatre

By JAMES KINSELLA

When the Steamship Authority board of governors convenes next
Thursday morning at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, Vineyard governor
Marc Hanover anticipates voting for across-the-board rate increases to
fund next year\\\'s $78.3 million budget.

But he said it will be the last time.

Jim Powell Stresses Island Roots in Campaign for Legislative Seat

By JAMES KINSELLA

Jim Powell of West Tisbury, the Republican candidate for the Cape
and Islands state representative seat, is emphasizing the value of his
connection to the Vineyard.

"We need a new, fresh, effective, results-oriented
representative who really knows what it's like to work and survive
on the Island," said Mr. Powell, 46, who ran unsuccessfully
against the incumbent, Eric T. Turkington, in 2004.

A quarter century ago, an elderly woman lived in an unwinterized house on Lambert's Cove Road with no running water and no car. Every day, she walked into town for water. In the Camp Ground in Oak Bluffs, many seniors confined themselves to one room in the winter because their uninsulated homes were too expensive to heat. Countless more Island elders were doing the Vineyard shuffle along with the young people, moving twice a year between summer and winter rentals.

Eric Turkington Recounts Service to Vineyard On Needs, Issues

By JAMES KINSELLA

Eric Turkington, who has represented Martha's Vineyard in the
state house of representatives since 1989, said he can drive through
every town on the Island and see projects and initiatives that he helped
make happen.

Mr. Turkington, 59, a Democrat who lives in Falmouth, is running for
re-election in the Cape and Islands district, which in addition to the
Vineyard includes Nantucket and part of Falmouth.

And this year, for the first time since he took the job in 1976,
superior court clerk Joseph E. Sollitto Jr. faces a challenge for his
seat. The court clerk is elected every six years in Dukes County.

Judge Backs MVC in Robinson Case

Superior Court Says Decision to Deny Expansion for Hotel, Racquet
Club Was Reasonable, Not Arbitrary

By JULIA WELLS

A superior court judge ruled yesterday that the Martha's
Vineyard Commission did not stray outside the lines of its authority
when it rejected an expansion plan for Jack E. Robinson Sr.'s bed
and breakfast on New York avenue in Oak Bluffs last year.

Returning Home to West Tisbury with Sunny Outlook on Farming

By IAN FEIN

Emily Fischer feels privileged to have grown up as she has -
on her family's Flat Point Farm in West Tisbury - among
sheep, chickens and bales of hay spread out over more than 100 acres
fronting Tisbury Great Pond.

"I look around the farm some days and think, ‘Anybody
should be so lucky to be me,' " Ms. Fischer said.