Oak Bluffs selectmen clashed this week over whether a plan to convert the former town library at the corner of Penacook and Circuit avenue into a pharmacy and affordable housing should be referred to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission for review.
The project has been spearheaded by the town affordable housing committee and its chairman Ronald DiOrio, who is also a selectman.
In what has fast became a rite of spring, regional high school track and field teams again dominated their annual Mayflower League meet on Tuesday at Sacred Heart in Kingston. The girls team broke three league records en route to their fourth conference title in a row and the boys staged a late rally to capture their ninth title in a row.
Decades ago most visitors to the Island stayed in hotels, usually for several weeks and often as long as several months. At larger places like the Harbor View Hotel in Edgartown and the Pequot Hotel in Oak Bluffs, it was common for people to rent a room all summer long.
The economic downturn has created a buyer’s market for housing on the Island, and for the first time in decades there are homes selling for under $500,000, and even under $400,000.
These shifts in the market have prompted new questions about a number of projects in the pipeline that are backed by a network of affordable housing groups, including the Island Housing Trust’s project at 250 State Road in West Tisbury.
The questions center on the definition of affordability.
It was a jam-packed week in Vineyard sports, with high school teams playing a full slate of games, two charitable golf tournaments and the annual bike ride to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis. And recreational and youth teams — including youth lacrosse and little league — have entered the stretch run of their seasons.
Girls’ Lacrosse
T he regional high school varsity girls’ lacrosse team remains undefeated halfway through the season at 11-0-0.
A project by the Island Housing Trust to build eight affordable homes at 250 State Road in West Tisbury has rankled some elected officials who question why the cost of construction — which is partially subsidized by the town — is so high — and why the contractor hired to build the project is also a member of the trust’s board of directors.
