A plan by the owners of Big Sky Tents to build a 9,600-square-foot building in a wooded area off the Dr. Fisher Road in West Tisbury has sparked some strong reaction among neighbors who are concerned about added noise and traffic.
The concerns were registered at a public hearing before the Martha’s Vineyard Commission last week.
The structure is planned for tent storage and a party rental business.
Business leaders around the Island are feeling bullish following the Fourth of July weekend, which was marked by a jump in hotel room rentals, jam-packed stores and restaurants and the largest number of people traveling to the Vineyard by ferry in at least six years.
Many agreed it was no doubt due to the picture-perfect summer weather that prevailed all weekend.
It fills your shoes, ruins the kitchen floor in the summer and gets in your food at picnics.
But whoever thought of sand as a commodity?
On the Vineyard sand is emerging as exactly that, right up there with gold futures and pork bellies, as towns and private groups compete to get their hands on the stuff to use as ammunition in their ongoing battle against erosion.
The value of sand has skyrocketed, and given all the predictions that global warming will cause a rise in sea levels, it’s unlikely to come down anytime soon.
It was a busy but relatively smooth Fourth of July weekend for Edgartown police, who made several drunk driving arrests, assisted some intoxicated revelers who lost their way and handled crowd control during the jam-packed holiday parade and fireworks display on Sunday.
Officer Stephanie Immelt said police responded to 120 calls, not including routine calls for house alarms, suspicious activities and traffic stops.
By JIM HICKEY
A 20-year-old inmate at the Edgartown house of correction has been accused of attacking another inmate after a disagreement over a washing machine in jail laundry facilities last month. James Mettelus was arraigned in Edgartown district court last Monday on a single charge of assault and battery.
Mr. Mettelus came to the Island from the school for boys on Penikese Island. At the school he allegedly assaulted two counselors; after he was transferred to jail in Edgartown he reportedly attacked another inmate last August.
A fast-moving fire at the Morgan Woods housing complex in the Ocean Heights area of Edgartown early Wednesday evening severely damaged two homes and left three families homeless.
Edgartown fire chief Peter Shemeth said the fire likely started when a small propane tank attached to a backyard grill behind 26A English Oak Circle, part of a three-unit complex, began to vent and caught fire. The blaze ignited the rear corner of the home and quickly spread to the adjacent unit.
