News
A longstanding dispute between the Steamship Authority and Ralph Packer’s barge operation over the annual transport of rental cars to the Island for the summer appears set to be fought out in court before this year’s tourist season.
For several years now, Mr. Packer’s Tisbury Towing and Transportation has moved cars for the Hertz rental company to and from the Island, much to the chagrin of the SSA, which has a legislated monopoly over the movement of people, vehicles and freight to and from the Islands.
The Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation and state environmental authorities have finally reached agreement on a restoration plan for two areas of land from which trees and other plants were removed last year, in breach of the Endangered Species Act.
The settlement provides that Sheriff’s Meadow will improve more than five times as much land as was affected by the removals, which were done by an Island landscaping firm for the benefit of a north shore landowner, and will set aside $27,000 in perpetuity for the ongoing management of the land.
The town of West Tisbury, a breeding ground for property tax rancor in recent years, had a record high $289,000 in tax abatements in 2008 based on approximately $68 million in total adjusted property values.
While town officials say the high number of abatements can be tracked directly to the current triennial real estate revaluation and a spike in waterfront property values, some residents insist that they signal a continued level of discontent with the current assessment system and the company hired to help conduct the revaluations.
For weeks the solemn sound of a foghorn has spread its message across the Vineyard. Day and night, under clear skies, in snowstorms and rain showers, the horn has been heard on the north shore in West Tisbury, across Vineyard Haven, in Oak Bluffs and in Edgartown.
The Nobska Light foghorn in Woods Hole has sounded four times every minute since before Christmas. It finally stopped yesterday, after being fixed.
A faulty fire sprinkler system has been blamed for a flood which severely damaged two Main street Vineyard Haven businesses last week, forcing them to close probably at least until mid-February.
Water flooded Ronni and Peter Simon’s gallery and also parts of Louisa Gould’s adjoining gallery last Friday night after water in a sprinkler pipe apparently froze, rupturing it, and later thawed, releasing a torrent of water.
Dardanella Slavin told him they were happy tears but her 20-month-old son Quinlan was having none of it. He began crying soon after selectman chairman Frank Fenner drew the winning ticket for a 2.1 acre plot of land in Chilmark’s High Meadow development and bawled through much of the remaining lottery draw, drowning out the selectmen in the process.
“He saw me crying and that made him upset,” said a widely grinning Mrs. Slavin after the draw.