News
Sky-high gasoline prices on Martha’s Vineyard — a universal truth here and an unending point of annoyance among Islanders of every stripe who pay dearly at the pump — are not the result of price-fixing, the United States Court of Appeals has found.
Wind, tides and sun are intense subjects for discussion on the Island these days and it’s not all talk about the weather. Alternative energy projects are under way on so many fronts, both private and public, that it is sometimes hard to keep track of them all. But the Vineyard is moving ahead on three projects independently to generate electricity for its own needs, beginning with wind farms.
A longstanding effort by the town of Edgartown to protect five ancient byways suffered a setback last week when a superior court judge sent a district of critical planning concern (DCPC) designation back to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission for another review.
The five paths are Middle Line Road, Ben Tom’s Road, Pennywise Path, Watcha Path and Tar Kiln Road. Their use as cart paths and byways dates to Colonial times, and in 2007 the commission approved a town-sponsored initiative to designate them as special ways under the Island Road District DCPC.
Oak Bluffs voters agreed this week to slash the town’s 2011 budget by a quarter of a million dollars, wiping out a deficit that has frustrated town officials since the start of the new year.
“Here we are again,” said town administrator Michael Dutton at the opening of the special town meeting on Tuesday night before asking the voters to cut $249,666 from the town’s fiscal year 2011 budget.
Correction
A story in last Friday’s Gazette about bees and the pollinator crisis provided the wrong date for a talk by Beekeeping for Dummies author Howland Blackiston. Mr. Blackiston will speak at the Wakeman Center in Vineyard Haven on March 15. The Gazette regrets the error.
If coach Michael Joyce’s varsity boys’ basketball team hopes to make any noise in the state tournament in the coming weeks it will likely come down to which team shows up: The one that went into halftime against Norton on Wednesday with their tails between their legs down 38-19, or the second half team whose stifling press and relentless intensity on offense earned them a thrilling 70-61 victory in their last game of the regular season.
It must have been some half-time speech.