Caterpillars Munch Away on Island

By IAN FEIN

Armies of caterpillars made their annual spring emergence on the Vineyard this week, munching away on Island foliage and swinging down on silken threads to stick to unsuspecting passersby.

Codfish Nursery Plan Promoted

Tom Osmers of West Tisbury Leads Effort to Bring Back Cod Through the Use of Saltwater Hatcheries on the Island

By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL

Cod, once the most valued fish in Vineyard and New England waters, has been in severe decline for years.

Now, to help the fish recover, a group of Island fishermen are moving ahead with a plan to open and operate a cod nursery on the Vineyard.

The sudden resignation of county manager E. Winn Davis last week was followed by a noticeable atmosphere of calm and quiet this week.

Mr. Davis read his letter of resignation during a tense county commission meeting last Wednesday that included a nearly two-hour executive session and an accusation from one commissioner that a subgroup of commissioners had somehow influenced Mr. Davis to resign.

The steadily increasing cost of home insurance has been a bone of contention on the Vineyard for years, but a proposed increase to the rates of the FAIR plan - the state-backed insurer of last resort, and the only insurer for over 40 per cent of homeowners on Cape Cod and the Islands - has many Islanders now crying foul.

Memorial Day Was Busy and Crowded, Good for Businesses

By JULIA RAPPAPORT

Traffic was up, sales were up and spirits were up to match as business owners across the board reported a generally busy Memorial Day weekend and a healthy start to the season this year.

Steamship Authority traffic to the Vineyard between Thursday and Saturday was up four per cent for passenger traffic and two and a half per cent for car traffic over last year. And Saturday alone saw a 19 per cent increase in passenger traffic from the previous year.

Tisbury Town Officials Receive a Wide Array of Complaints as Redesign Project Begins at Lot on Water Street

Under construction but still open - that is the tag line for the Water street parking lot in Vineyard Haven, which was the subject of widespread complaints before the Tisbury selectmen this week.