While Schools Here Rank High in Per-Pupil Dollars, Enrollments Head
Down
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
School spending on the Vineyard is steadily rising on a flood tide
of property tax money and now ranks in the top third for the state,
while enrollment is steadily falling and expected to ebb even more in
the next five years.
This is the latest profile of public education on the Vineyard,
sketched through an array of statistics from the state department of
education and the local schools.
Operating Loss of $500,000 Is Mainly Attributable to Loss of
Medicaid Payments from the State
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
Leaders at the Windemere Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center
announced this week that the Island's only nursing home ended its
fiscal year with a staggering $500,000 operating loss, more than
$300,000 over the projected loss for the year. About half the loss can
be traced to retroactive cuts in Medicaid reimbursements.
Public Hearing Set for Monday on Appeal of Sovereignty Case
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
Under pressure from a growing group of townspeople to appeal the
controversial superior court decision on sovereign immunity, this week
the Aquinnah selectmen agreed to call a public hearing and take a new
vote on whether to appeal the ruling.
The hearing will be held on Monday at 5 p.m. in the Aquinnah town
hall.
The Martha's Vineyard Commission announced yesterday that it
will join the town of Aquinnah and ask a superior court judge to
reconsider his recent ruling in favor of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head
(Aquinnah).
Two months ago the Hon. Richard F. Connon found that the tribe
cannot be sued because of sovereign immunity.
Crowd of 300 Convenes To Debate Withdrawing Oak Bluffs from MVC
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
Pull out, go it alone, use the assessment money to pay for a
planner, stick to the town's own knitting. Stay in, continue to be
a member of the six-town team and use the protection and power of a
unique regional planning agency created by an act of the state
legislature 27 years ago.
Life at The Ledge: Skateboarders Soar, and Wait for New Park
By JULIA WELLS
It's a weekday afternoon in downtown Vineyard Haven, and the
sounds of early autumn are all around. On Centre street, a narrow side
lane that angles steeply west of Main street, a light breeze ruffles the
canopy of venerable old shade trees. But on this day there is also
another, more distinctive sound in the air. It's the whack of
composite hitting pavement, followed by the low thunder of wheels
rolling.
Boatline Governor Proposes a Return to Summer Standby
By JULIA WELLS
NEW BEDFORD - A $68 million operating budget, a $2.4 million
capital budget, a $3.3 million rate increase for the people of the
Vineyard and Nantucket and the prospect of a new head tax - the
talk was all about money yesterday at the monthly meeting of the
Steamship Authority governors.
Vineyard boat line governor Kathryn A. Roessel also called for
bringing back summer standby lines for cars.
Once More Before the Court: Power of the Commission
By JULIA WELLS
The unique power of the Martha's Vineyard Commission to review
low and moderate income housing projects under Chapter 40B, a section of
state law commonly known as the anti-snob zoning statute, will come
under scrutiny again later this month in the Massachusetts Land Court.
Texas Pollsters Open Oak Bluffs Campaign on MVC Withdrawal
By JULIA WELLS
Oak Bluffs voters began receiving calls this week from a Texas
polling company in what appears to be the opening salvo for a heated
political campaign prior to a special town election on possible
secession from the Martha's Vineyard Commission.
On May 13 Oak Bluffs voters will be asked to say yes or no to town
withdrawal from the MVC.
Architect Suggests Replacement at Current Site; Three Stories Would
Be Built in Phases; Estimate Is $30 Million
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
Picture this: A spanking new three-story building that houses a
state-of-the-art diagnostic center and a modern emergency room, a
"green" building that is efficient and easy on the
environment, a therapeutic place that is at once a holistic healing
center and a hub for health care on the Vineyard.
