MVC Advises Additional Review of Draft Bill for Housing Bank
By IAN FEIN
The Martha's Vineyard Commission last week recommended that draft legislation for the proposed Martha's Vineyard Housing Bank receive one more round of public comment across the Island before it is filed with the state legislature.
Housing bank representatives said yesterday they do not think it is necessary.
Chappaquiddick Residents File Appeal to Stop Homesite Plan
By RACHEL KOVAC
A small group of Chappaquiddick residents went to state court last week to try and block a decision by the Edgartown zoning board of appeals to allow three affordable homesites on substandard lots.
The appeal will delay the real estate closings on the three lots for five young Island residents.
Edgartown Set for Tax Review
Local Assessments Bureau Studies Abatements on Chappaquiddick; Officials on Island and Beyond Monitor West Tisbury Case
By IAN FEIN
One week after testimony concluded in the protracted West Tisbury property tax appeal, a Massachusetts Department of Revenue bureau chief confirmed that the state will conduct a rare supplemental review of Edgartown property values after a spate of unusual abatements were granted on Chappaquiddick.
Vineyarders Join Nation in Aiding Hurricane Relief
By IAN FEIN
Vineyard Haven neighbors Laura Kimball and Ashley Brede planned to spend a good part of their Labor Day weekend selling lemonade outside their Skiff avenue homes. But when news spread of the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and across the Gulf Coast region, the pair found a new focus for their end-of-summer stand.
Key Witnesses End Longest Tax Appeal Case
By IAN FEIN
BOSTON - On the final day of a protracted property tax appeal hearing that poses broad implications for West Tisbury, selectman John Early yesterday undercut critical testimony from the town's principal assessor.
Mr. Early bracketed the case as both the first and last witness to testify in the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board hearing that began May 3 and became the longest and costliest residential property tax appeal in the history of the commonwealth.
Ending months of speculation, a federal advisory commission voted unanimously Friday to close the Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod, a move