Developer Vows Total Clearing of Woodlands; MVC Votes for Review
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
The developer of the Down Island Golf Club went toe to toe with the
Martha's Vineyard Commission one more time last night, publicly
declaring his intention to clear-cut 270 acres in the southern woodlands
and openly challenging the commission to try and stop him.
Deck Collapse Injures Ten in Chilmark; Island Rescue Units in Quick
Response
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
A festive summer cocktail party in Chilmark ended abruptly in chaos,
fright and injuries last night when a second story deck collapsed on a
home overlooking Clam Cove in Nashaquitsa Pond.
Rental Market Season Begins Slowly, but Bookings Even with Last
Year; Ferry Reservations Filling Up
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
The war in Iraq, four straight months of vicious winter weather
followed by something that only vaguely resembled spring - perhaps
it's little wonder that the economy on the Vineyard this year is
like the lilacs: late to bloom.
State Finance Crisis Places New Strains on Budget of MVC
By JULIA WELLS
State budget cuts are expected to hit the Martha's Vineyard
Commission hard in the coming fiscal year, and town assessments will go
up as grant money goes down - way down.
MVC executive director Mark London said this week that state and
federal grant money is expected to drop by some $200,000.
"We have tightened up every expense we can, but as we take on
new planning responsibilities it is important that we keep our staffing
intact," Mr. London said.
Voters in Tisbury and Oak Bluffs go to the polls Tuesday to decide
whether to adopt a ferry passenger surcharge that was approved by the
state legislature earlier this year.
It's in Rhode Island, where tempers are running hot in an
ongoing skirmish between the Narragansett Indian Tribe and state
attorney general over whether the tribe can sell tax-free tobacco.
It's in the Hamptons, where the Shinnecock Indian Nation has
begun to clear land for a casino, contravening local zoning and state
gaming laws.
Federal Labor Board Charges Agency with Poor Treatment of Employees
During Union Organizing Effort
By JULIA WELLS
A dormant labor dispute at Martha's Vineyard Community
Services bubbled to life again yesterday when a newly formed union
announced that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a
complaint against the umbrella social service agency.
Waiting List for English Classes Is Long; Indicator of Intent to
Stay
By CHRIS BURRELL
They are, said Jeanne Burke, the people who sustain the Island, the
ones who ring up the groceries, paint the houses and tend the gardens.
They are also the ones knocking on Ms. Burke's door in
staggering numbers, looking for a place in one of the six English
classes taught through the Martha's Vineyard Adult Learning
Partnership, where Ms. Burke is the director.
Traffic is down, revenues are down, there's an economic downturn going on and the weather has been awful.
As a result of all this, the Steamship Authority will begin to sell advertising space on the ferries and in the boat line terminals to pick up some extra cash.
Boat line managers also said yesterday that they will continue to pursue a plan to change the winter ferry schedule on the Vineyard run as a way to save some money.
State House Compromise Clears Path for Special Vote in May on a
Petition in Oak Bluffs to Secede from Commission
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
After a week of back-room politics on Beacon Hill that left one Cape
and Islands legislator openly fuming at what he called "outside
muscle," a petition by the town of Oak Bluffs to withdraw from the
Martha's Vineyard Commission is now set to come before voters at a
special election in the middle of May.