Oak Bluffs Shakeup Continues as Inspector Fires Secretary

By JAMES KINSELLA

Newly appointed Oak Bluffs building inspector Jerry Wiener fired the secretary to the building department yesterday because he said she was not doing her job.

Eliza Usher, who has worked for the town building department since May of 2001, was terminated by Mr. Wiener on Monday morning.

"The work wasn't getting done," Mr. Wiener said yesterday afternoon.

Festival Attracts Readers Young and Old

Community Center Is Sunday Setting for Book Fair

By SAM TELLER

A new page was turned in Chilmark Sunday as hundreds flocked to the first Martha's Vineyard Book Festival to seek autographs and hear readings by more than 30 Island authors.

The Atlantic codfish, once the most important fish in the waters of southeastern New England, is on the verge of collapse.

Edgartown Fishermen Sound Off Over Changes to Dinghy Docks

By RACHEL KOVAC

A proposal by the new owners of the Navigator Restaurant in Edgartown to relocate the dinghy docks outside the restaurant has commercial and charter fishermen up in arms.

Slated to go into effect in May of 2006, the plan saw quick approval with little or no public discussion this week. It surfaced for the first time at the weekly selectmen's meeting Monday and was approved by the park and recreation department yesterday morning.

Fund-Raising Goals Seek Many Millions

Capital Projects Planned for Vineyard from Hospital to Town Libraries Expected to Cost $71 Million

By James Kinsella
Gazette Senior Writer

Few would dispute their worth: the updating of the Martha's Vineyard Hospital, the architectural restoration of a historic Island landmark, the expansion of services for residents seeking to recover from drug addiction.

But they all cost money - often more money than first expected, as construction costs race upward.

Telling Tales: Nicole Galland Finishes Novels at Record Rate

By TOM DUNLOP

How to account for the ferocious pace at which Nicole Galland is writing books these days?