An ongoing political fracas over a plan to repair the Oak Bluffs waterfront spilled into public view on Tuesday when selectman Kerry Scott accused one member of one town board of delaying repairs to the beach along Sea View avenue.

West Tisbury selectmen on Wednesday revisited the idea of creating a town bylaw that would prohibit registered sex offenders from living or loitering near public spaces like schools and playgrounds — but tabled the matter after emotional debate.

Selectman Richard Knabel questioned the need for the bylaw, stating he preferred a preventive rather then reactive approach to address the problem. The two other selectmen — Dianne Powers and Jeffrey (Skipper) Manter — said the draft bylaw needs more work and legal review by town counsel Ronald Rappaport.

Enrolls at Bates College

Liane R. Fitzgerald of Chilmark is among 530 new students and 19 transfers who are starting at Bates College in Maine this fall. A 2007 graduate of the Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School, she is the daughter of Charles Fitzgerald and Kathryn Cerick.

All Vineyarders are invited to a community party at the agricultural hall in West Tisbury on Sunday, Sept. 21, from 4 to 6 p.m., for Rep. Eric T. Turkington.

The celebration will not be a fund-raiser or a political campaign event, but the Island’s way to honor Representative Turkington for 20 years of service in the state legislature, helping local interests on the Vineyard, on Nantucket, and in almost half of Falmouth. All are welcome. Please bring some finger food to share.

Martha’s Vineyard Community Radio station WVVY, broadcasting at FM 93.7, has appointed Paul Munafo as station manager. Paul brings experience in many community organizations. He has been an active member in the development of the Vineyard Playhouse where he served on the board for over 12 years; he served as chairman of the Tisbury Cultural Council for over 10 years and is a founding member and performer with the Fabulists theatre for children.

The statistics are sobering: Projections of how many buildings could built under current zoning on the Vineyard reveal that about 6,000 new homes could be added to the present number of 16,000 over the next 50 years. And if the Island were to maintain the current ratio of 56 per cent seasonal homes versus 44 per cent year-round homes, this would translate to a year-round population growth from the current 15,000 to about 21,000.

And those are conservative estimates.

Amid the excitement among his supporters about the rise of Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive nominee for president for the Democratic Party — particularly in Massachusetts where voters recently elected Deval Patrick the state’s first African-American governor — race still matters here, members of an Island panel convened on Thursday argued.

Sam Hayes of Edgartown affectionately pinned back the ears of his giant American pit bull terrier, Wallace, as owner and canine took a breather from Sunday’s dog show.

It was the last day of the 147th Annual Livestock Show and Fair of the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society. A total of 29,706 entrance tickets were sold, happily surprising organizers who were braced for recession-era frugality and low returns on a late summer start date.

Her aunt was four years old when American women won the right to vote on August 26, 1920. Today, on the 88th anniversary of women’s suffrage in this country, Maureen White will be at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Co. With her daughter by her side, Ms. White will watch Hillary Rodham Clinton, senator of New York and longtime Island visitor, take the podium and address her party.

They met on the equivalent of a blind date some 23 years ago, set up by a mutual friend. The subsequent marriage of Jim Reynolds and Ron Rappaport’s legal practices has worked because of complementary roles. One wears his suits off the rack; the other prefers custom tailoring. One works in a third floor office, out of view; the other can be found downstairs, unfailingly in the middle of the fray. One mostly hunts; the other mostly gathers. And the hair — well, what’s left to say?

Interviews by Mike Seccombe