Anniversary: Conservation Is Crux of Mission Across 40 Years
By IAN FEIN
Forty years ago a group of Island residents formed the Vineyard Conservation Society to fend off a development threat in the Lobsterville moors of Aquinnah. The group convinced the state to put a limited access designation on West Basin Road, effectively prohibiting any future subdivision or development in the area and preserving the untouched strip of land that runs along the northern edge of Menemsha Pond today.
State Concerns Aired in Trial
Department of Revenue Official Testifies West Tisbury Valuations May Have Been Massaged; Accuracy Is Questioned
By IAN FEIN
BOSTON - The state official who reviewed the 2002 West Tisbury revaluation expressed concerns in October 2001 that town assessors and their third-party consultant may have "massaged" the values of certain properties to fit their sale prices.
Political Snarl Over Police Pay Leaves Tisbury in Traffic Jams
By MAX HART
It is a few minutes before 11:30 on a recent morning in Vineyard Haven, and Five Corners is a dead zone.
Cars cruise past the post office on Beach Road heading toward Oak Bluffs. Trucks coming out of Lagoon Pond Road pull into an empty intersection, along with a lone bicyclist coming out of Beach street extension. A few tourists sit on benches outside the Black Dog Bakery reading newspapers.
Fund-Raising Goals Seek Many Millions
Capital Projects Planned for Vineyard from Hospital to Town Libraries Expected to Cost $71 Million
By James Kinsella
Gazette Senior Writer
Few would dispute their worth: the updating of the Martha\'s Vineyard Hospital, the architectural restoration of a historic Island landmark, the expansion of services for residents seeking to recover from drug addiction.
But they all cost money - often more money than first expected, as construction costs race upward.
Draft legislation for the proposed Martha's Vineyard Housing Bank will circulate around the Island this month as organizers seek public comment bef
Chairman Suspends Tax Hearing Until Attorneys Agree on View
By IAN FEIN
In a surprise decision this week, the chairman of the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board suspended a complex West Tisbury tax hearing until both parties agree on a plan to visit the Vineyard properties in question and take testimony from two more Island witnesses.
At press time yesterday attorneys on both sides were locked in a legal standoff and it remained unclear when the hearing would resume.