In the Campground, a Feeling for What Oak Bluffs Will Gain

By CHRIS BURRELL

A splotch of fluorescent orange paint tags the trunk of a pine tree standing over what was once campsite Number 92 in the old Webb's Camping Area.

The tree is a survivor, proof that the chainsaws didn't make it this far and a sign that the southern woodlands in Oak Bluffs are truly an arrested development.

Two Seized in Airport Mobil Break-in; After Search, Four Held on Drug Charges

By MANDY LOCKE

A burglary investigation led Edgartown police to a house of drugs this week.

"There were more drugs in that house than at Triangle Pharmacy," said Edgartown police sergeant Ken Johnson, about a Plainfield Way home searched in connection with the burglary.

On Tisbury Great Pond, a Family Feud

By MANDY LOCKE

A divided family, hundreds of feet of unlicensed docks and the future of a cove on Tisbury Great Pond has sparked a drama in West Tisbury.

Complicating the story is that the family member who installed these unpermitted docks is a town selectman. Jeffrey (Skipper) Manter reportedly installed four seasonal floating docks on Manter family land over the last few years. This week his older brother, Whit Manter, said it's gone too far.

It's Preseason: What's in Store? Around Island, a Retailer Shift

By NIS KILDEGAARD

You need a scorecard to keep track of the preseason business shuffle in downtown Vineyard Haven.

County Board Presses Its Case

Questions on Steamship Authority Are Explored at a Meeting: Commissioners Worry on ‘Haphazard' Ways

By ALEXIS TONTI

Citing what they believe are missteps and backtracking by Steamship Authority management, Dukes County commissioners this week criticized SSA managers for their imprudence and pointedly questioned the boat line's priorities.

"There seems to be denial and avoidance, and my gut tells me that something isn't working right," said commissioner Paul Strauss.

Land Bank Bids for a Woodlands Preserve

Deal Would Protect 190 Acres; Developer to Build 26 Houses

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

A long, bruising battle over the fate of the southern woodlands in Oak Bluffs took a stunning turn this week when the Martha's Vineyard Land Bank announced that it has signed an agreement to buy 190 acres from developer Corey Kupersmith, including the old Webb's Camping Area.

The purchase price is $18.6 million.