The sea was rough on the night of Dec. 17, when David McConky went out in the Menemsha Coast Guard 41-foot utility boat and tried to rescue a fishing boat presumed sunk south of Noman's Land. Waves off Gay Head were anywhere from 10 to 15 feet high, and he had to turn back.
Fortunately a Coast Guard helicopter rescued the three men who were already ashore on the deserted island.
Road Plan Hits a Raw Nerve
Edgartown Neighbors Question Access to Pennywise Project, Selectmen
Cut Short Debate and Look to Town Meeting
By IAN FEIN
A handful of Arbutus Park residents are fuming over a plan by
Edgartown officials to build a road over Tenth street south as the
second access to the Pennywise Path affordable housing project.
Vineyard residents enjoy good health, especially compared with the general population on the mainland. They smoke less, they are thinner and they visit their doctors regularly.
Tisbury Great Pond Property Owners Claim Land Bank Attorney
Misrepresented Sale
By JAMES KINSELLA
A family that unwittingly sold land to the Martha's Vineyard
Land Bank has accused the public agency of misrepresentation - and
is calling for an amendment to the land bank statute to prevent such
practices in the future.
An unusual plan by a private landowner to build and pay for a
619-foot wooden walkway across property owned by the Martha's
Vineyard Land Bank will go before the Chilmark conservation commission
on Wednesday.
Business Leaders in Vineyard Haven Pitch Plan to Allow Sale of Beer,
Wine
By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL
A new initiative to allow the sale of alcohol in Vineyard Haven
landed without warning in front of the Tisbury selectmen this week. At
their regular meeting Tuesday the board received for review a draft
article that would allow restaurants to sell beer and wine to patrons.
The plan to convert Vineyard Haven from a dry to a wet town has the
backing of a group of local business owners and also the Tisbury
Business Association.
Steamship Authority Weathers Changes Through Long Year
By JAMES KINSELLA
As 2004 got under way at the Steamship Authority, there was some
question about whether there would be a Steamship Authority in the
future.
In mid-January Nantucket governor Grace Grossman confirmed that she
had been exploring since the previous summer whether that island should
secede from the boat line, an entity created by the state in 1960 to
ensure reliable, affordable ferry travel between Martha's
Vineyard, Nantucket and the mainland.
Wampanoags Ask High Court to Reconsider Sovereignty Case
By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer
The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) has asked the
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) to reconsider a case
freighted with long-term implications for the tribe's sovereignty
and land use powers.
The tribe's attorney, Douglas J. Luckerman of Lexington, filed
the motion last Thursday with the SJC, the highest court in
Massachusetts.
On Dec. 9, the SJC ruled against the tribe in the case.
Commission Begins Islandwide Planning
Three-Year Initiative Starts in January as MVC Updates Comprehensive
Plan with Eye Toward Deep Study of Issues
By IAN FEIN
The Martha's Vineyard Commission will kick off a three-year
Islandwide planning effort in 2005, hoping to develop a comprehensive
set of guidelines by which the commission and individual towns can
manage future growth on the Vineyard.
"It's long overdue and it's needed
desperately," said commission member Nathaniel Orleans, who
introduced the idea last spring.
