News
More than 200 children showed up at the Oak Bluffs Steamship Authority wharf on Sunday morning and not one of them left the Island. The gathering was for the annual Kids’ Day derby, an early morning fishing contest which recognizes that fishing starts with the young and can last a lifetime. For two hours the children ruled the wharf; the ferry boats arrived later.
The old West Tisbury town hall — a tall, 1870 mansard-roofed building that stands proudly between the Grange Hall and the Congressional Church — is ready for her makeover.
Up until last week she was still the center of the community, but time has clearly taken its toll on the three-story, high-ceilinged building that formerly housed the West Tisbury school and Dukes County Academy. Paint chips along windowsills resemble piles of potato chips and the wooden floor has warped to the point where there is a noticeable tilt.
Aquinnah gave up on an energy district of critical planning concern which gave the town the ability to pass its own municipal energy regulations when the Martha’s Vineyard Commission voted to rescind the special status last Thursday.
A moratorium on building which accompanied the energy district is now lifted.
Meanwhile, selectman Camille Rose told the commission last week that work on the pioneering energy bylaw can continue under the auspices of the townwide district
Following a tense few months for the Steamship Authority, things were palpably more relaxed at the boat line September board meeting: fuel prices were retreating and with them the prospect of fare increases or service cuts. And there was the happy prospect of a half million dollar windfall.
SSA management told the board the boat line could recoup half the design costs of its newest vessel, the Island Home, because Washington state ferries wants to build at least two new vessels and is looking to use the same design as the Island Home.
Ballet Moves
Martha’s Vineyard School of Ballet has moved. The new location, with professional barres, mirrors and ballet floor, is at Camp Jabberwocky on Greenwood avenue in Vineyard Haven. Classes begin Monday, Sept. 29. All students perform in The Nutcracker on Island. To register, call 508-693-0023
The Vineyard will lose Hy-Line Cruises’ high-speed ferry connection to Hyannis for the remainder of the season, following a major fire aboard the vessel Lady Martha last week.
Hy-Line vice president for marketing Philip Scudder said yesterday there was no way the damaged ferry could be back in service before the end of the season, Oct. 31, and he said the company’s efforts to find an alternative vessel had been unsuccessful.