Eric Turkington Recounts Service to Vineyard On Needs, Issues

By JAMES KINSELLA

Eric Turkington, who has represented Martha's Vineyard in the state house of representatives since 1989, said he can drive through every town on the Island and see projects and initiatives that he helped make happen.

Mr. Turkington, 59, a Democrat who lives in Falmouth, is running for re-election in the Cape and Islands district, which in addition to the Vineyard includes Nantucket and part of Falmouth.

Returning Home to West Tisbury with Sunny Outlook on Farming

By IAN FEIN

Emily Fischer feels privileged to have grown up as she has - on her family's Flat Point Farm in West Tisbury - among sheep, chickens and bales of hay spread out over more than 100 acres fronting Tisbury Great Pond.

"I look around the farm some days and think, ‘Anybody should be so lucky to be me,' " Ms. Fischer said.

Judge Backs MVC in Robinson Case

Superior Court Says Decision to Deny Expansion for Hotel, Racquet Club Was Reasonable, Not Arbitrary

By JULIA WELLS

A superior court judge ruled yesterday that the Martha's Vineyard Commission did not stray outside the lines of its authority when it rejected an expansion plan for Jack E. Robinson Sr.'s bed and breakfast on New York avenue in Oak Bluffs last year.

And this year, for the first time since he took the job in 1976, superior court clerk Joseph E. Sollitto Jr. faces a challenge for his seat. The court clerk is elected every six years in Dukes County.

A quarter century ago, an elderly woman lived in an unwinterized house on Lambert's Cove Road with no running water and no car.

Jim Powell Stresses Island Roots in Campaign for Legislative Seat

By JAMES KINSELLA

Jim Powell of West Tisbury, the Republican candidate for the Cape and Islands state representative seat, is emphasizing the value of his connection to the Vineyard.

"We need a new, fresh, effective, results-oriented representative who really knows what it's like to work and survive on the Island," said Mr. Powell, 46, who ran unsuccessfully against the incumbent, Eric T. Turkington, in 2004.