West Tisbury Shows Town Hall Plans

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

A $10 million-plus annual operating budget, a laundry list of override requests that adds up to more than $800,000 and a town hall expansion project with a $3.7 million price tag - next week when the voters of West Tisbury gather to conduct the annual business of the town, the prevailing winds are expected to be out of the pocketbook.

Edgartown Overrides Appear on Ballot

By MANDY LOCKE

Scores of pocketbook-pinching articles and a few tough zoning questions face Edgartown citizens Tuesday at the annual town meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the Old Whaling Church.

Voters will be asked to approve a $19-million operating budget - swallowing a $707,000 general override to cover a five-and-a-half per cent increase in town operations.

Questions of house size caps in certain neighborhoods - a hot topic - come at the end of the 74-article warrant.

Golf Course Developers Agree to Dismiss Property Rights Claims in MVC Lawsuit

By JULIA WELLS

Attorneys for the Down Island Golf Club have backed away from a portion of their massive lawsuit against the Martha's Vineyard Commission, agreeing to dismiss two counts that involved property rights claims.

Bottle Message Links Pen Pals Across Atlantic

By MANDY LOCKE

Ten-year-old Dylan Rice has a new pen pal.

This Edgartown school student wasn't exactly looking for an extra hobby; he's pretty busy with school, Cub Scouts and the FARM Institute. But ever since 17-year-old Juan Braìs Garcia Liz had the courtesy to respond to Dylan's message in a bottle, this Vineyard student has been paying extra attention in Spanish class.

Voters Face Major Budget Issues at Annual Meetings in Three Towns

In Oak Bluffs, Expect the Unexpected

By CHRIS BURRELL

Voters in Oak Bluffs will be asked next week whether they want to ban dogs from town beaches, declare their opposition to the war in Iraq and borrow $750,000 to build an addition to the town hall on School street.

Those are just three of the proposals on tap for back-to-back town meetings that get under way Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center.

Tisbury Approves $15.9 Million Budget; School Funds Win Town Meeting Vote

By JONATHAN BURKE

Tisbury residents kicked off the Island's season of annual town meetings Tuesday with a bow to education and an endorsement of the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority.

The police department had the roughest time during the two-night annual town meeting. Following a narrowly approved request to upgrade from 45-calibre sidearms to Glocks, voters defeated the department's $58,000 request for two new cruisers.