News
The attorney for the Wampanoag Tribe of Mashpee told a federal judge in Boston Monday that the tribe is in active negotiations with Gov. Deval Patrick over a compact that will allow it to open a casino in Taunton by 2014.
Howard M. Cooper said the Mashpee Wampanoags hoped to complete negotiations with state in less than 60 days and submit the proposed agreement to the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs for needed ratification.
Mooring fee increases and pump-out program changes are on the horizon in Tisbury. At the selectmen’s meeting Tuesday, the harbor management committee proposed a 20 per cent fee increase for private mooring holders for next year, and two 10 per cent increases to take effect over the next four years. Harbor master Jay Wilbur said annual mooring fees currently range from $75 to $300 based on the size of the boat. There are about 800 private moorings in Tisbury town waters, Mr. Wilbur said.
Grace Audrey McDonnell, age seven, died tragically on Dec. 14 at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Grace came to Edgartown with her family every summer; her dream was to be a painter and live on the Vineyard. A beautiful and artistic soul, Grace was a gift from God and represented all that is good in this world. She was passionate about painting and loved the beach.
Island police officers began adding a new tool to their arsenal this month as a small group participates in a state-approved instructor development course. Jack Collins, counsel for the Massachusetts Police Chiefs Association, and Oak Bluffs Lieut. Jim Morse have been leading the officers in a six-day training session, which resumes in January.
Johnny (Seaview) Perry, an iconic Vineyard character, home-grown philosopher and friendly street-walker in a cowboy hat, died Dec. 12 at a care center in Malden where he had been living in recent years battling cancer. He was 84 and his real name was Oliver Perry, although he never used it. His nickname was earned in the 1960s when he tended bar at the old Seaview Hotel in Oak Bluffs.
“Want to know what the goal of life is? To relieve suffering, create beauty and make gardens,” he told the Martha's Vineyard Magazine in an edited oral history in 2005.
An up-Island school committee meeting to discuss and approve the annual budget Monday spilled into a heartfelt discussion about security in the public schools following the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., last week.