Three Dissenting Commissioners Speak Out About Class Divide; Others Agree, But Vote Yes on Edgartown Field Club
Despite bluntly expressed concerns about the changing character of the Island and a widening economic divide among its residents, the Martha's Vineyard Commission last week approved an upscale members-only recreational facility proposed for Katama.
Island residents and visitors have been warned about the high prevalence of tick-borne diseases and skin cancer on the Vineyard. But meanwhile, another medical malady has been quietly eating away at the health of the Island population.
For reasons that still remain unclear, people on Martha's Vineyard suffer from fractures of the fifth metatarsal - the small bone that runs along the outer edge of the foot - in unprecedented numbers.
State Appellate Tax Board Upholds Town Assessors in William Graham Case
By IAN FEIN
In a highly anticipated decision that reverberated across the commonwealth, the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board ruled unanimously this week that the values West Tisbury assessors placed on the North Shore estate owned by William W. Graham were largely correct.
Commission Decides to Review Chilmark Girl Scout Camp Plan
By IAN FEIN
The Martha's Vineyard Commission last week voted to review as a development of regional impact (DRI) a plan to demolish and expand a Chilmark summer camp owned by the regional council of the Girl Scouts of America.
The commission considered the project on Thursday after a rare discretionary referral by the Chilmark selectmen. The two commission members from Chilmark said the regional planning agency should grant a review any time it is requested by a town board of selectmen.
Decision Set for Today in Graham Tax Case
By IAN FEIN
The Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board is expected to rule this morning in favor of the town of West Tisbury and against resident William W. Graham in a property tax appeal that began three years ago and has attracted attention across the commonwealth and beyond.
North Tisbury Bakery Owners Abandon Well-Known Eatery
By IAN FEIN
One year after forcing out family members who ran a popular up-Island bakery there for roughly a decade, the owners of the Vineyard Foodshop in North Tisbury appear to have abandoned the business and reportedly plan to sell the landmark property.
They are also now the subject of a lawsuit, filed by the West Tisbury board of health in Dukes County Superior Court last week, that seeks to compel them to cease and desist from discharging wastewater into a failed septic system.