The Martha's Vineyard Land Bank Commission is no longer
actively negotiating with Corey Kupersmith for the possible purchase of
his property in the southern woodlands, but in a letter to the
Martha's Vineyard Commission this week, the executive director of
the land bank did not rule out the prospect of future talks.

You know exactly who they are - your son's second grade teacher, your neighbor whose spouse left last year, the EMT who revived your father last month. It's the regional high school class of 1997.

This is but a snapshot of the nearly 2,000 faces of those unfortunate enough to struggle month after month, year after year with the lack of affordable housing on Martha's Vineyard.

You've heard their stories dozens of times, but do you know just how severe the affordable housing problem is?

Fran Resendes lit the tree of lights on Wednesday.

A long-time friend of Martha's Vineyard Hospital and its
volunteers, Mrs. Resendes flicked the switch at dusk before a small
gathering, and hundreds of red and white lights lit the familiar 30-foot
tree at the entrance to the hospital. Anyone driving past this holiday
season has an opportunity to remember friends, both here and gone.

"You should have seen their faces at the end of the
testing," said regional high school history teacher Corinne Kurtz.
"They were skeletons."

Officials in Tisbury and Oak Bluffs Say They're Willing to
Rejoin Refuse District

By MANDY LOCKE

Tisbury and Oak Bluffs selectmen voted Monday afternoon to rejoin
the Martha's Vineyard Refuse Disposal and Resource Recovery
District as customers if the district completes negotiations to build a
composting facility.

The decision could bring all the Island's trash to a single
facility for the first time since eight and a half years ago, when Oak
Bluffs and Tisbury pulled away to start their own transfer station at
the Oak Bluffs landfill.

Since 1938

Red Stockings Fill with Spirit Of the Season

By ALEXIS TONTI

The Gazette library seems to have files on any topic. Some are slim
(Finnish prefabs, for example). Others are so fat they have spilled over
into second and third envelopes. The Red Stocking file is just such a
case. The envelopes are thick with clippings and creased from use. They
have surprising weight in the palm of the hand.

Consultant John Ryan this week provided firm statistical underpinnings for what Islanders have known anecdotally for years as they watch the struggles of friends and neighbors: The housing crunch on Martha's Vineyard has become a full-blown crisis.

The Island Affordable Housing Fund hired Mr. Ryan of Development Cycles to study the Vineyard's affordable housing problem.

Football Team Looks to Super Bowl: Island Varsity Wins Divisional
Trophy In Home Game

By JOSHUA SABATINI

After rolling to a 24-point margin in their first home playoff game
ever, it's little wonder if the Vineyarders marched off the field
with only one thing on their minds. As the game clock ticked off the
final seconds of Martha's Vineyard's 36-12 win over West
Roxbury Tuesday night, the almost 2,000 Island fans in attendance
chanted "Super Bowl! Super Bowl!"

County Commissioners Face Decision On Three-Year Appointment to SSA

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

The Dukes County Commission faces a crucial battle this week that
will set the course for Island policy at the Steamship Authority in the
years ahead, as it prepares to appoint a Vineyard boat line governor at
a special meeting Wednesday night.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the community room of the Oak Bluffs
School.

Tribal Chairman Wins Election with Plurality

By JOSHUA SABATINI

The three-way race for chairman of the Wampanoag tribal council
concluded Sunday afternoon with the tribe re-electing incumbent Beverly
Wright.

Mrs. Wright will serve a fourth consecutive three-year term. After
her victory, Mrs. Wright spoke with the Gazette about her plans for the
future.

Mrs. Wright said she wants to create a better communication with the
surrounding Island towns and residents of Martha's Vineyard.