The decision on Nov. 13 by U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor 4th was a sweeping legal victory for the town of Aquinnah, the state and the Aquinnah/Gay Head Community Association, which argued that the tribe must submit to local and state gambling prohibitions.

Coast Guard members from around the region gathered in Menemsha Thursday morning to inaugurate the Island’s first volunteer flotilla in 35 years. Timothy Carroll is the commander of the 18-member volunteer flotilla 11-9.

Following a long search, the Chilmark selectmen on Tuesday signed a purchase-and-sale agreement for a property behind town hall where the town hopes to build a new fire station. Voters will be asked to approve at a special town meeting next month.

The selectmen on Tuesday strongly backed a proposed bylaw to ban the use of single-use plastic bags in town. The idea will be voted on at the annual town meeting.

As striped bass begin their annual to migration to the Chesapeake Bay, fishermen can look forward to another few years of decent fishing. But a sudden drop in the number of juveniles in 2012 will eventually reverberate up the coast.

A major overhaul of the state zoning, planning and subdivision laws is gaining support from Island planning board members and members of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission. The changes would bring the state more in line with national standards.