Talk Centers on Preserving Character

By IAN FEIN

The chairman of the Martha's Vineyard Commission said last week that Vineyard residents will inevitably love the Island to death.

Commission Rejects Hotel Plan for Second Time in One Year

By IAN FEIN

Citing the need to contain increased commercial use in an eclectic residential neighborhood at the fringe of the Oak Bluffs business district, the Martha's Vineyard Commission voted last week to deny a proposed expansion to a small inn and tennis center on New York avenue.

The 9-0 vote marked the second time in 12 months for the commission to turn down Jack E. Robinson's plan to expand his Martha's Vineyard Hotel & Racquet Club.

West Tisbury Selectmen Defend Principal Assessor on Spending

By IAN FEIN

West Tisbury selectmen this week criticized a story in last Friday's Gazette about costly travel expenses submitted by the town principal assessor.

Among other things, the story reported that principal assessor Jo-Ann Resendes stayed in luxury Boston hotels at a cost of more than $250 per night throughout the first seven weeks of the ongoing tax hearing at the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board.

Riparian Landowners Grumble at Tribal Aquaculture Venture

By IAN FEIN

A public hearing called by Aquinnah selectmen to discuss the management of Menemsha Pond turned instead this week into a debate about private aquaculture licenses and the Wampanoag Aquinnah Shellfish Hatchery.

Vineyard House Plan Wins Approval Amid Praise for Community Benefits

By IAN FEIN

The Martha's Vineyard Commission last week unanimously and enthusiastically approved a new Tisbury campus for Vineyard House, a grass roots Island program that runs homes for Island men and women in the early stages of recovery from alcohol and drug addiction.

Reviewing the project as a development of regional impact (DRI), commission members said last Thursday that the many benefits Vineyard House offered to the community far outweighed any detriments.