Government
Want to mingle with the cast of The Wire while showing your support for President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign? On August 15, longtime Obama supporters and Oak Bluffs residents Judy and Ron Davenport will host a fundraiser at their Oak Bluffs home featuring the cast of the hit HBO show. Actors Jamie Hector, Clarke Peters, Wendell Pierce Andre Royo, Sonja Sohn and Michael K. Williams are expected to attend, as is senior presidential advisor Valerie Jarrett. The president, however, will not be making the trip.
Martina Thornton was sworn in as the new county manager on Wednesday evening. Mrs. Thornton, who served as executive assistant to the county manager for four years, said she is pleased with the contract she negotiated with the seven-member elected commission last week in executive session.
The terms of Mrs. Thornton’s contract include an annual salary of $67,709.
Martha’s Vineyard voters will weigh in on a contested congressional seat and see several new faces vying for spots on the Martha’s Vineyard Commission when they go to the polls this fall.
In the new 9th congressional district, formed by redistricting last fall, Democrat Cong. William Keating will face a primary challenger in Bristol county district attorney C. Samuel Sutter, who lives in Fall River.
A controversial bill that could dramatically affect property rights for some of the Vineyard’s barrier beaches was left stalled as the state legislature wrapped up its session Tuesday.
Gov. Deval Patrick signed a compact with the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe on Monday, cementing a deal to grant the Mashpee tribe an exclusive casino license for southeastern Massachusetts over the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah).
After a weekend that the police chief called one of the busiest in years, with several fights and more than 20 arrests, Oak Bluffs police and town officials said they are looking at better ways to manage the crowds that come to the town for the annual monster shark tournament.
“Our calls for service were way up, our incidents were way up, at times we were pretty much overwhelmed on Saturday night,” Oak Bluffs police chief Erik Blake told the selectmen at their meeting Tuesday.