A moratorium on the taking of river herring, instituted three years ago because of dwindling stocks, appears set to be extended for another three years.

A decision will not be announced until next Friday, but a public hearing attended by Vineyard fishermen last week made it clear the fishery was still far from recovered.

Paul Diodati, the director of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, said there had been some improvement in stocks, but populations were still low.

Trying to find a balance between encouraging small businesses and respecting homeowner rights, Oak Bluffs selectmen on Tuesday held a pair of public hearings on requests for home businesses in the middle of residential neighborhoods.

The separate hearings were for a home photography studio owned by Joseph Mikos of 48 Vineyard avenue and a commercial fishing operation owned by Luke Gurney of 26 Shawanue avenue, off Worcester avenue.

The Martha’s Vineyard Commission last Thursday voted to include Checamo and Stoney Hill Paths in a special protection district that among other things will prevent them from being clear-cut and widened in the future.

Commissioners voted 8-2 to include the two West Tisbury roads in the commission’s special ways district of critical planning concern.

The Farm Neck Foundation has issued a call for applicants for the foundation’s 2008 grants. All Island nonprofit organizations whose goal is to improve the quality of life in the Vineyard community are eligible.

Island educators began to analyze the good and less good news contained in the 2008 Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) scores released Wednesday, while they voiced continued frustration at what they say are unrealistic provisions in the federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for the tests.

Some of the good news: all six Island schools met state targets for the school’s overall average percentage, known as the composite performance index, in both English and math.