News
Vineyard homeowners who already pay some of the highest home insurance costs in the country will not see their rates go up this year.
After the state insurance commissioner last month rejected a proposed 25 per cent rate hike for the FAIR Plan, the state-backed insurance provider of last resort, some speculated officials for the plan would appeal the ruling.
But at a meeting last Thursday, the insurer’s board of directors decided not to appeal the ruling, at least for now.
Concluding an exhaustive 18-month study, the Dukes County Charter Study Commission issued recommendations for the future of county government in its final report released Thursday.
The report leaves intact much of county government as it is known today.
“The charter commission has opted for minimal change in the charter because in the course of its work it became apparent that governance structure was not the underlying cause of the problems that gave rise to the creation of the commission,” the report states.
Elected officials in Oak Bluffs failed to publish the warrant for last week’s special town election within two weeks of the vote as required by law, the Gazette has learned.
This means the town override election last week will require a special act from the state legislature to certify the results, or the town must call a new election.
The words “goofy” and “high school principal” are unlikely to follow one another in a game of free association. For Margaret (Peg) Regan, who will resign as principal of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School this month after nine years in the job, that’s been part of the problem, particularly recently. Sitting in her office last week she explained why it is time for a break.
The Martha’s Vineyard Commission on Thursday continued a public hearing on a plan to convert a building at the corner of Ryan’s Way and Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road in Oak Bluffs to a mixed use building with a Brazilian church, a community center and a day care center.
After two hours of testimony from applicant Valci Carvalho, pastor of the Assembleia De Deus Nova Vida (Assembly of God), and neighbors with concerns about the plan, the commission continued the hearing until June 28.
Shirley Donaroma Honored
Edgartown National Bank recently honored Shirley Donaroma for achieving 25 years as an employee of the bank. Ms. Donaroma began working for Edgartown National as a teller in 1982. She went on to work for many years as a customer service representative. At present, she is an operations specialist. She is a lifelong resident of Edgartown, where she raised her two children and now is a grandmother.