State Appellate Tax Board Hears Testimony in West Tisbury Case
By IAN FEIN
BOSTON - Attorneys for Island resident William W. Graham
charged in a legal hearing this week that West Tisbury assessors
deliberately falsified property records that inflated his land values
and increased his taxes.
"At heart this case is about fraud," Mr. Graham's
attorney, Richard Wulsin, told the chairman of the Massachusetts
Appellate Tax Board.
SSA Wins Injunction To Block New Fees:
Superior Court Judge Upholds Boatline In Standoff With
Town of Falmouth Over Open Air Parking Tariffs
By JAMES KINSELLA
The Steamship Authority this week staved off a move
by the town of Falmouth to impose monthly fees on the boat line's
3,200 parking spaces in the that town.
Embattled Oak Bluffs Building Inspector May Now Seek a Town Retirement Deal
By JAMES KINSELLA
After spending much of the last 12 months in a political hot seat,
Richard Mavro is reportedly preparing to close the door on his 16-year
tenure as the Oak Bluffs building inspector.
Mr. Mavro, who has been on a medical leave of absence from his job since
March 18, is in discussions with town officials about taking either a
regular or medical retirement from the town, according to information
obtained by the Gazette.
A community forum on depression and suicide prevention Tuesday night revealed a startling statistic: The number of suicide attempts on Martha's Vineyard has tripled in the last year compared to the incidence in the previous 12 months.
The FARM Institute angered many of its new neighbors this week with a plan to hold a two-night summer fundraising concert for as many as 10,000 people and 2,200 cars parked on Katama Farm.
The institute officially moves into the historic town-owned farm tomorrow.
The Edgartown conservation commission, which controls Katama Farm and signed a 10-year lease with the institute for the land only two months ago, will hold a special meeting on Wednesday at 6 p.m. to vote on the request.
Homegrown Forum Set to Tackle Energy Conservation for Future
By IAN FEIN
The total energy bill for Martha's Vineyard this year
will approach $65 million, according to a study conducted by an
energy consultant this winter.
And although more solar roofs are appearing on the Island
landscape, the consultant found that less than one-tenth of one per
cent of the Vineyard's energy is produced on the Island. The rest
comes from the mainland, either by boat or underwater cable.
Chilmark voters breezed through their annual town meeting on Monday
night without batting an eye, approved a $5.7 million budget and voted
in favor of the Martha's Vineyard Housing Bank and two versions of a
renewable energy resolution along the way.
But when they came to the final vote of the evening -- whether to use
$23,000 from the community preservation committee's open space reserve
fund to fight an invasive reed in Chilmark Pond -- the debate began over
how to vanquish the mighty phragmite.
Tisbury Voters Choose Thomas Pachico
By MAX HART
Tisbury voters chose the familiar over the untested
and handed selectman Thomas W. Pachico a third term in the annual
town election on Tuesday. Mr. Pachico beat challenger Jamie M.
Douglas 520-315.
Steamship Authority Sues to Block Fees:
Boat Line Seeks Superior Court Ruling
Over Hefty Falmouth Parking Fees;
Hearing Monday on Injunction
By JULIA WELLS
In a legal standoff with the town of Falmouth, the
Steamship Authority went to court this week to try to block the Upper
Cape town from imposing a set of hefty licensing fees on boat line
parking lots.
Board of Appeals in Edgartown Turns Down Library Expansion
By IAN FEIN
The Edgartown zoning board of appeals this week
denied a special permit for the Edgartown Free Public Library,
effectively killing the proposed library expansion project for at
least another four years.
Three of the five board members voted in opposition to the
project, which would have connected the Carnegie library and recently
purchased Captain Warren House by means of a 17,000-square-foot
addition.
