State High Court Denies Wampanoags New Trial; Federal Petition Readied

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has denied a petition by the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) to hold a new hearing on the much-watched sovereignty case, closing the door on the last option for the Wampanoags at the state level.

In a one-sentence ruling issued late in the day on Wednesday, the state supreme court denied the motion by the tribe to rehear the case.

The tribe will now pursue an appeal to the United States Supreme Court.

Read More

Health Report Unveiled: Depression Rates High, Lyme Disease Epidemic

Vineyard residents enjoy good health, especially compared with the general population on the mainland. They smoke less, they are thinner and they visit their doctors regularly.

Read More

Hospital Drive Gathers Steam

Hospital Drive Gathers Steam

$42 Million Capital Campaign Surpasses $30 Million Mark; Leaders Say
Islanders Key to Completing Project

By JULIA WELLS

Less than six months after launching the largest
capital campaign in the history of the Vineyard, Martha's Vineyard
Hospital trustees announced this week that the drive to raise $42
million to build a new hospital has exceeded the $30 million mark.

Read More

Anthony J. Rebello Dies at Age 71

Anthony J. (Tubby) Rebello, a well-known Oak Bluffs politician,
former selectman, town moderator, businessman and family man, died on
Dec. 5 after battling Alzheimer's disease for a number of years.
He was 71.

Read More

Caroline B. Kennedy Files Land Plan to Create Limited Family Subdivision

Caroline B. Kennedy yesterday filed a family subdivision plan to create six building lots on the stunningly beautiful and secluded 375-acre property in the township of Aquinnah that she inherited from her mother, the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

Read More

Boat Line Governors Approve Rate Hikes

Boat Line Governors Approve Rate Hikes

By JULIA WELLS

Citing an unyielding trend of flat car and passenger traffic on
ferries to both Islands topped by the high cost of fuel, the Steamship
Authority board of governors voted yesterday to approve across-the-board
rate hikes aimed at collecting an additional $4 million in revenue next
year.

Beginning Jan. 1 Vineyard residents of all stripes will pay more to
travel on boat line ferries. Nantucket residents will see a combination
of fare hikes and reduced service.

Read More

Hot Tin Roof Under Agreement for Sale to Rosenthal Brothers

Hot Tin Roof Under Agreement for Sale to Rosenthal Brothers

By JULIA WELLS

The Hot Tin Roof, the 26-year-old Vineyard nightclub that has
weathered the bumps of age alongside the baby-boomers who were its first
patrons in 1979, is slated to be sold to new owners before the end of
the year.

Barry Rosenthal, a West Tisbury resident and marketing and
communications executive who is president of B/R Creative, has signed an
agreement to buy the Roof along with his brother, Dr. Arthur Rosenthal,
a Ph.D. scientist who lives in the Boston area.

Read More

Record Herring Creek Farm Sale Investigated by Senate Committee

An investigation by the Committee on Finance for the United States Senate has thrust The Nature Conservancy and its conservation buyer program under a spotlight, and along with it the record $64 million sale of the Herring Creek Farm in Edgartown.

Read More

State High Court Upholds Edgartown

State High Court Upholds Edgartown

By JULIA WELLS

In an Edgartown case which is esoteric but has application for small
towns across the commonwealth, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
has ruled that a house on an undersized lot cannot be expanded without a
special permit - even if the expansion itself conforms to the
requirements under zoning.

Read More

Hospital Begins Formal Review

Hospital Begins Formal Review

Plans for $42 Million New Facility Set to Be Filed in Oak Bluffs;
MVC Land Use Committee Will Discuss on Monday

By JULIA WELLS

The Martha's Vineyard Community Hospital, much in the news
this year with its ambitious $42 million capital campaign, is now set to
file formal plans for a new hospital building off Linton Lane in the
Eastville section of Oak Bluffs.

Read More

Pages