Julia Wells
West Tisbury will allow the sale of beer and wine in restaurants for the first time in modern history, Oak Bluffs saw a vote of confidence in town government, with two incumbent selectmen reelected, and spending was approved for two major public library construction projects, one in West Tisbury, the other in Edgartown.
And public opinion is running strongly against the roundabout in at least two towns.
These were the highlights of the annual town elections held yesterday in three Island towns.
Mike Wallace, the CBS newsman who was a household name across America and a longtime summer resident of the Vineyard, died on April 7 at the age of 93. The familiar television anchorman for the CBS Sunday evening show 60 Minutes was also a familiar figure on the Island, where he had visited since boyhood and later owned a home on Hatch Road in Vineyard Haven. The house was sold late last year after Mr. Wallace’s health had declined to the point where he no longer came here.
The Bunch of Grapes, the landmark Vineyard Haven bookstore that has been the go-to place for Islanders and summer visitors alike — including sitting U.S. presidents — to buy their books for more than 40 years, will relocate, owner Dawn Braasch announced last week.
The Bunch of Grapes, the landmark Vineyard Haven bookstore that has been the go-to place for Islanders and summer visitors alike — including sitting U.S. presidents — to buy their books for more than 40 years, will relocate, owner Dawn Braasch said.
Ms. Braasch has signed a lease with the Hall family to take over the Bowl and Board building across the street from the bookstore. The move will be complete by Memorial Day or at the latest mid-June, she said.
A nine-month investigation by state and local police into possible fraud at the Edgartown wastewater treatment plant concluded this week with a criminal complaint against an Island septic hauler, alongside allegations of widespread mismanagement at the sewer plant and possible ethics violations by town employees and elected officials.
A long-running effort by an Aquinnah property owner to build a house on a lot off Moshup Trail was blocked by the town planning board plan review committee this week, which found the lot lacks adequate road frontage under new zoning rules adopted by the town eight months ago.
After a series of public hearings that began in October, the committee voted 7-0 on Tuesday night to deny a special permit for James Decoulos to build on the two-plus-acre property.