Internal debate over how business should be done at the Island’s only commercial airport continued when the airport commission met for the first time since August. The commission tended to a few business items, but much of the meeting was marked by tense exchanges.

Oak Bluffs officials stood in a semi-circle on Monday, shovels ready, to mark the beginning of a major construction project. They faced a gray structure that’s been home to the fire department since 1973, but will soon be razed to make way for a new station.

On Cape Cod ambitious efforts are underway to remediate ponds and estuaries. And when coastal ponds decline, so do property values, the executive director of the Cape Cod Commission, told a meeting at the Katharine Cornell Theatre.

Sand mining was the talk of the town in at least four Island communities this week, as officials lined up on both sides of whether to support dredging for sand in waters off the Vineyard.

Oak Bluffs EMTs and paramedics will now add firefighting work to their regular duties. The change is part of an effort to consolidate the town’s firefighting and ambulance forces. Volunteer firefighters will continue to assist in the event of a large fire or accident.