Letter Shows Land Bank Position Misrepresented in Golf Deal
Maneuvers
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
In a confidential letter sent to the Oak Bluffs selectmen last week,
the executive director of the Martha's Vineyard Land Bank raised a
series of tough questions about the latest deal that was forged behind
closed doors between town officials and golf course developer Corey
Kupersmith, the Gazette has learned.
New Bedford Politicians Begin Maneuvers for Boat Line Seat
By JULIA WELLS
The slumbering campaign by the city of New Bedford to overhaul the
Steamship Authority saw a bit of fresh activity this week when a state
representative hastily added an amendment to the proposed state budget
- and then just as quickly withdrew it.
The chief justice of the Massachusetts Land Court heard arguments
this week in a groundbreaking case that will ultimately decide whether
the Martha's Vineyard Commission has the power to review low and
moderate-income housing projects under Chapter 40B, a section of state
law commonly known as the anti-snob zoning statute.
The pitch came fast and hard at the last Steamship Authority meeting
for new high-speed ferry service between New Bedford and the Vineyard
next summer. David J. Oliveira, the freshman member of the boat line
board from New Bedford, said a new ferry was under construction and
would be ready to go by spring. He urged the SSA to move quickly on the
license request from Boston Harbor Cruises.
New Bedford Suit Against SSA Brings Sharp Queries from Judge
By JULIA WELLS
BOSTON - In a courtroom grilling that went on for nearly three
straight hours, a federal judge put the lead attorney for the city of
New Bedford on a hot spot this week, prodding him to produce a set of
plausible legal arguments that show why he should not dismiss the
Whaling City's case against the Steamship Authority.
For the first time in years, one Vineyard town has decided to take
steps to withdraw from the Martha's Vineyard Commission, leaving
the 25-year-old regional planning agency with a new set of quandaries
and new battles to fight. On the surface it appears that the commission
is under siege on a variety of fronts, both inside and out.
A special superior court sitting is now set for next month in
Edgartown on a case that will ultimately decide whether the Wampanoag
Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) has the power to police itself when it
comes to local zoning rules. The case will also decide the much larger
issue of whether the tribe cannot be sued because of sovereign immunity.
The case has attracted little attention, despite the fact that the
outcome could have far-reaching implications for every town on the
Vineyard.
He's the quiet guy from New Jersey who kept his head down for
nearly two years while the Martha's Vineyard Hospital lurched from
one crisis to the next, unable to right itself in a stormy sea of bad
faith and poor community relations.
Now John Ferguson is the man at the helm, and he is determined to
steer the Island's only hospital in a new direction.
Public Health Forum Wednesday Precedes August Summit on Care
By JULIA WELLS
Call it a laboratory for learning about health care on
Martha\'s Vineyard. Or call it the Foundation for Island Health.
Either way you get the same thing: A young Island foundation aimed
at testing a patient-centered, self-funded community health system whose
cornerstones are prevention, education and state-of-the-art technology.
Now, two years after it was launched, the outlines for the
foundation have begun to take on a little more definition.
Attorneys for the town of Oak Bluffs and the Martha's
Vineyard Commission returned a serve this week in a high-stakes legal
dispute that will ultimately test the power of the Martha's Vineyard
Commission to review affordable housing projects under state law.
