The Dukes County advisory board this week approved a $4.4 million county budget for fiscal year 2006 with one caveat - the $25,000 earmarked for legal expenses cannot be used to fund future rounds in the ongoing legal battle between the county commission and the airport commission.

Island charter boat captains say they have hit rough water this summer when it comes to business, which is off for some and way off for others.

Thea Ruckhaus, 13, stepped onto the deck of the Arabella, tucked her violin under her chin, and began to play The African Reel.

Anniversary: Conservation Is Crux of Mission Across 40 Years

By IAN FEIN

Forty years ago a group of Island residents formed the Vineyard Conservation Society to fend off a development threat in the Lobsterville moors of Aquinnah. The group convinced the state to put a limited access designation on West Basin Road, effectively prohibiting any future subdivision or development in the area and preserving the untouched strip of land that runs along the northern edge of Menemsha Pond today.