Tisbury town government lacks direction.
That’s not a political criticism, just a statement of fact. If you tried to set your bearings by the magnificent copper, brass, bronze and gold leaf weather vane on top of town hall, you would end up lost.
The vane itself shows which way the wind is blowing all right, but the attached compass, the bit which should point north, south, east and west, doesn’t point in those directions and has not for an indeterminate period of time.
The town of Oak Bluffs emerged a winner from Tuesday’s monthly Steamship Authority meeting, which set next year’s summer and fall operating schedules. Vineyard Haven was a loser, as was the boat line itself. Marc Hanover, the Vineyard’s governor, was just angry.
Credit hard economic times for all of the above.
The average year-round resident in Tisbury will pay an extra $110 in property taxes next year, following a successful push from town businesses to shift the tax burden off commercial property.
A nonresident property owner whose Vineyard Haven home is of average value — $860,425, according to the town assessors — will see an even bigger increase of almost $138, while business properties of the same value will see their taxes decrease by some $1,015.
Some people, if they shared an award with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. might be pleased to think they’d made it, big-time. Not Brendan O’Neill. He was gratified to think he’d made it, small-time.
Mr. Kennedy, of course, is famous both for his family name and for his record as a crusading and aggressive environmental lawyer. He plays on a national stage.
Vineyard voters came down decisively on the winning side of history on Tuesday, turning out in record numbers to help elect America’s first black President.
Vineyard election officials are expecting a record turnout for Tuesday’s election following a rush of new voter registrations and a huge number of absentee ballots already cast.
The number of absentee ballots as of yesterday was in some cases close to twice that normally seen at a presidential election, a sure sign, Island town clerks said, of an engaged electorate, and a likely indicator of an unprecedented turnout.
