The Martha's Vineyard Catholic church is at risk for having no permanent priest, possibly needing to consolidate three church buildings into one and cutting Masses to three a month, according to a long-term planning document prepared for the parish.

The developers of a proposed exclusive recreational club at Katama have resubmitted their application, substantially unchanged, to the Edgartown zoning board of appeals only two weeks after withdrawing it in the face of opposition from some board members.

In an attempt to lift passenger numbers, the Steamship Authority is expected to ease restrictions on the use of ten-ticket discount books when governors meet on Tuesday.

Car and passenger traffic on the Vineyard run was flat in 2006. Statistics for the year to Dec. 21 show a rise in overall passenger traffic of just 0.2 per cent, with a sharp decline in the summer numbers, which were down for June, July and August by 5.8, 1.3 and 0.1 per cent respectively.

Receipts by the Martha's Vineyard Land Bank from property sales on the Island fell almost eight per cent in 2006, reflecting the general slowing of the real estate market.

The figures also point to a growing polarization of a market in which higher end properties continue to sell well, while sales at the less expensive end are stalling. The greater part of land bank revenues in 2006 came from sales worth more than $2 million.

The price of the typical home on Martha's Vineyard fell for the first time in six years in 2006, as buyers left the market and sales figures dropped by nearly 30 per cent.

The median price for properties was down to around $690,000 in the third quarter of 2006, a fall of almost six per cent compared with a year earlier when the median price was around $732,000.

It took just 13 minutes for the state of Massachusetts to end more than 80 years of independence for the Martha's Vineyard hospital, and transfer ownership to the state's biggest health care provider.