Citizens Reject Town Hall Plan at West Tisbury Meeting
By JULIA WELLS
Calling it a potential note of discord in the distinct rural melody
of their up-Island village, voters in West Tisbury this week scrapped a
$3.7 million plan to expand and renovate the historic town hall.
With a final vote of 160-89, the project failed to win the needed
two-thirds majority by a wide margin at the annual town meeting on
Tuesday night.
Open Space Bond Funding Faces Cuts, Legislators Say
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
Cape and Islands Rep. Eric T. Turkington and a growing group of
state legislators took sharp aim at the Gov. Mitt Romney administration
this week as reports surfaced about plans to slash funding for the state
open space bond bill.
Before Any Appeal, Tribal Case Judge Will Be Asked to Reconsider
Ruling
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
The attorney who represents the Gay Head Taxpayers Association said
yesterday that he will ask a superior court judge to reconsider a
decision made last week in favor of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head
(Aquinnah).
Septic discharge from the Bridge housing project could pose a
problem for neighboring wells, the Martha's Vineyard Commission
water quality planner said last week.
Boat Line 2004: Big Challenges, with Some Internal Tensions
By JULIA WELLS
The monthly meeting was canceled, but there is no shortage of
business news at the Steamship Authority these days, where revenues are
down, a new but poorly defined marketing push is under fire and fissures
between Nantucket and the Vineyard have grown wider.
Steamship Authority Tells Union That Losses Could Be Stemmed If
Another Operator Runs New Bedford Ferry
By JULIA WELLS
After only three years of owning the New Bedford passenger ferry
Schamonchi, Steamship Authority senior managers are now proposing to
convert it back to a private operation, the Gazette has learned.
Martha's Vineyard Commission Defers, Yet Again, Its Decision
on Elder Housing
By JULIA WELLS
In an effort to iron out a series of confusing events that began
last week, the Martha's Vineyard Commission voted last night to go
back to the drawing board and take a new vote on a plan for a small
addition at a well-known elderly housing complex in Vineyard Haven.
The new vote on Hillside Village III will not take place until next
week.
A Motion for Court to Reconsider Earlier Ruling Takes Lawyers to
Boston; How Powerful Is Island Commission?
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
BOSTON - An attorney who represents the Down Island Golf Club
developers tried to convince a Massachusetts Land Court judge this week
that the court's chief justice was wrong when he ruled last year
that the Martha's Vineyard Commission has full power of review
over affordable housing developments - including the power to
reject them.
Poor preparation, faulty communication and the uncharacteristic
failure of an experienced captain to keep proper command of his vessel
- these are key factors that led to an alarming accident on the
ferry Islander five months ago, a Steamship Authority report has found.
At the Troubled Shellfish Hatchery, Good Work Depends on Good Water
By JULIA WELLS
This place runs on water.
Filtered salt water fortified with home-grown algae to feed the baby
shellfish. Pure pond water pumped straight from the Lagoon to feed the
adolescent shellfish. Fresh water pumped straight from a well to keep
everything - as Eloise's aunt would say - clean,
clean, clean.
