West Tisbury Voters Reelect John Early and Approve Eleven Override
Questions
By JULIA WELLS
Voters in West Tisbury stuck with the old ways and handed longtime
selectman John Early a tenth term in the annual town election yesterday.
Mr. Early, who was first elected 27 years ago and is the senior
selectman on the Vineyard, won easily over challenger Cynthia Riggs. The
final tally was 553-189.
Island Land Bank Buys West Tisbury Pondfront Under Blind Trust Cover
By JULIA WELLS
The Martha's Vineyard Land Bank Commission deliberately
concealed its identity as a publicly funded government land trust when
it bought two strategic waterfront properties in West Tisbury -
one on Ice House Pond and another on the Tisbury Great Pond.
For Steamship Governor, Heated Questions About Direction,
Accountability
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
Amid fresh eddies of controversy swirling around the Steamship
Authority, Vineyard boat line governor Kathryn A. Roessel came under
heavy fire this week from an array of county officials - including
members of the Dukes County Commission, her appointing authority -
who demanded better communication and more accountability.
Aquinnah Officials Ask for Public Input on How to Raise Revenues,
Hold Taxes
By JULIA WELLS
How to boost revenues without raising property taxes in the second
smallest town in the commonwealth - Aquinnah selectmen will tackle
the topic at a public meeting this week.
The selectmen voted to schedule the special session during their
regular board meeting last week.
Hospital Is Exploring Ties to Oak Bluffs Sewer Line
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
Leaders at the Martha's Vineyard hospital said this week that
the plan to build a new hospital also now includes an emerging plan to
tie into the Oak Bluffs sewage treatment plant.
"We have begun talks with the town of Oak Bluffs, and we know
that nothing would be better than getting everything out of here,"
said hospital board vice chairman Tim Sweet yesterday.
Acting through their Boston attorney, the managing partners for the Vineyard Golf Club have been engaged in a series of quiet threats and maneuvers in recent weeks - all aimed at avoiding a Martha's Vineyard Commission review of a new plan to build 16 luxury houses for members at the golf club.
The commission expressly denied all member housing when it approved the golf club five years ago.
Vote in Aquinnah Thursday Attempts to Pass Override, and Restore
Items to Town Budget
By JULIA WELLS
Voters in Aquinnah go to the polls this week to conclude the annual
town meeting which began two months ago - and to say yes or no to
a $130,000 general override to Proposition 2 1/2.
If the override is approved, town employees will get a cost of
living raise and funding will remain in place for the town's share
of the Martha's Vineyard Shellfish Group. Funding for a
town-sponsored summer day camp for children also hangs in the balance.
Amid conciliatory expressions and with the developer's representative waving a white hat in the air, the Martha's Vineyard Commission voted without dissent last night to approve a plan that is expected to close the final chapter in a bitter four-year battle over the development of the southern woodlands in Oak Bluffs.
"This has been a really trying time for the commission and for all those in the community that have been on both sides of the issue. I hope this is now time to put it behind us and heal the wounds," declared commission member Andrew Woodruff.
The early framers were the Thomas Jeffersons of the Vineyard - visionaries and idealists ahead of their time. They looked down the road, saw trouble and took action, with an eye toward a regional solution.
The result was the Martha's Vineyard Commission, a regulatory commission considered unique in American government, both then and now.