Aquinnah/Gay Head Community Association

Aquinnah land values drop slightly, but not for beach parking

MV Times — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:37:23 +0000

An unspoiled view of Aquinnah beach is not priceless. photo by Tim Johnson

Aquinnah’s recently completed town-wide revaluation has some unwelcome surprises for beach lot owners. But for a group of long-lost taxpayers, owners of nine parcels previously thought to be town-owned, the tax bill will arrive like a winning lottery ticket.

Aquinnah will experience a drop in real estate value of $3.2 million, or 0.5 percent, on a total valuation of $795,147,849, according to preliminary figures provided

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Study will illuminate lighthouse’s future

MV Gazette — Sat, 12 May 2012 00:28:48 +0000

The study will explore ways to slow erosion

As erosion inches the Gay Head Lighthouse closer to the edge, the Martha’s Vineyard Museum is moving ahead with a study to assess the urgency of relocating the 156-year-old structure.

The study will take place over the course of three years and provide a “more realistic” prediction of what the long-term needs are for the area, museum director David Nathans said yesterday.

“Hopefully each year we’ll gain more information and

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WAMPANOAGS BEGAN PLANNING FOR BINGO HALL IN AQUINNAH LAST FALL, DOCUMENTS SHOW

MV Gazette — Sat, 12 May 2012 00:04:20 +0000

Reports that the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) wants to open a bingo hall in Aquinnah came as a surprise to members of the Island community this week. But documents filed with the federal gaming commission show plans to conduct gaming on the Vineyard have been in the works since at least November.

Five months before they approached Gov. Deval Patrick to negotiate for a casino license on the Massachusetts mainland, leaders of the Aquinnah tribe were actively seeking

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Tribal Gaming News Coverage

AGHCA — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:53:02 +0000

Leaders of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) have announced their intention to open a casino in Massachusetts, on the mainland or in the tribe’s unfinished community center building in Aquinnah. In order to help Aquinnah residents and AGHCA members stay up to date with these events, we will be collecting news feeds and archiving this material on our site. You will find links to news stories about the tribal gaming situation, archived articles and a live Twitter

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Vineyard Tribe Votes to Back Bingo, Slots in Aquinnah Community Center

MV Gazette — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:53:57 +0000

The new tribal community center in Aquinnah could become a gaming hall with slot machines, table games and bingo under a proposal endorsed Sunday by members of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah).

Openly defying the Aquinnah town counsel, who says the tribe lacks legal authority to build a casino here, tribal members acting on an unexpected motion at a general membership meeting voted to set up a temporary Class II gaming facility on the Vineyard as early as

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Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe approves community center casino

MV Times — Tue, 08 May 2012 12:33:16 +0000

The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) has raised the stakes in the casino race. Tribe members met Sunday and voted to use their long unfinished community center for Class II gaming. The decision places Martha’s Vineyard’s smallest town in the middle of the state’s gaming scrum.

Class II gaming encompasses high stakes bingo, poker, pull-tab cards and associated electronic games that do not require coin slots. Unlike class III gaming, which encompasses all types of gaming and requires a

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Why Aquinnah Cannot Have a Casino

MV Gazette — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:03:05 +0000

Editor’s Note: The following is the text of an opinion written by the Aquinnah town counsel for the Aquinnah selectmen. By RONALD H. RAPPAPORT

You have requested that I provide the Aquinnah board of selectmen with an opinion as to whether the Wampanoag Tribal Council of Gay Head, Inc. (Aquinnah) can operate a gaming casino in Aquinnah. The simple answer to the question is no.

I previously did extensive research in connection with a lawsuit filed by the building inspector

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Of Indian casino in Aquinnah, town counsel says simply ‘No’

MV Times — Thu, 03 May 2012 17:03:35 +0000

Last month, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) again raised the prospect of a casino on tribal lands on Martha’s Vineyard. The three Aquinnah selectmen requested an opinion from town counsel Ron Rappaport.

“As to whether the Wampanoag Tribal Council of Gay Head, Inc. can operate a gaming casino in Aquinnah,” Mr. Rappaport said in a seven-page opinion dated April 27 addressed to Jim Newman, board chairman, “the simple answer to the question is no.”

The lands described

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Governor says Aquinnah tribe forfeited rights to casino

MV Times — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 14:43:46 +0000

Lawyers are making “good progress” negotiating a gaming compact between state government and the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, Gov. Deval Patrick said Thursday, as the tribe detailed its plans for a resort casino in Taunton.

The governor’s update on compact talks came as the Wampanoag Tribe of gay Head (Aquinnah) suggested potential legal action if Governor Patrick refuses to negotiate with them. The tribe was responding to a letter from Patrick administration lawyers who said they have not

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Wampanoag Tribe Says It Will Press for Casino Rights in Federal Court

MV Gazette — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:22:13 +0000

The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) has vowed to go to federal court if necessary to win the right to build a casino, after Gov. Deval Patrick rebuffed the tribe’s attempt to come to the negotiating table last week.

Claiming the state has the right to regulate gambling on Indian lands, an attorney for the governor wrote in a letter that the Vineyard tribe waived its sovereignty more than 20 years ago when it signed a settlement agreement. But

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Wampanoag Tribe doubles down on Martha’s Vineyard casino

MV Times — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 11:45:43 +0000

The entry page of the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe’s new gaming website features casino gambling scenes. [More Photos]

The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) has again raised the prospect of a casino on tribal lands on Martha’s Vineyard. The notion of a slot parlor overlooking the Gay Head Cliffs was tucked into a website the tribe unveiled last week to promote its mainland casino bid.

The prospect of a casino on Martha’s Vineyard was enough to generate headlines. Although

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Tribe Looks to Build Casino on Vineyard

MV Gazette — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 23:00:48 +0000

The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) has announced that the tribe is considering bringing gaming to the Island, according to a new Web site published by the tribe’s gaming corporation this week.

“The tribe currently holds land in trust on Martha’s Vineyard for economic development and we would consider that option,” the Web site states. “There is no legal impediment for us to open a casino on our trust land. Martha’s Vineyard is a very popular tourist destination that

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Wampanoag Tribe Lays Odds on Casino

MV Gazette — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 14:08:48 +0000

The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) has designated three areas in southeastern Massachusetts for potential casino sites and scheduled referendum votes in two of those locations, inching closer to being eligible for a state gaming license.

Chairman of the tribe, Cheryl Maltais-Andrews, confirmed this week the tribe has entered into a purchase and sale agreement to buy land in Fall River and has land under option to buy in Freetown and Lakeville, the three towns and cities being considered

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No Flip-Flopping, Winter Flounder Arrive, Hatchery Readies Nest

MV Gazette — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:51:12 +0000

The good news began in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, when 68 flapping fish were delivered to the Wampanoag Tribe’s hatchery in Aquinnah near the edge of Menemsha Pond. The adult winter flounder had just been caught earlier Tuesday by Greg Mayhew and his son, Todd, in the Menemsha fishing dragger Unicorn. The hatchery hopes to raise over 50,000 juvenile winter flounder this spring. Later in the year they’ll be released into Menemsha and Lagoon Ponds.

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Big Gamble – MV Gazette Editorial

MV Gazette — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 14:10:56 +0000

What do we know about the proposal by the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) to locate a casino in Southeastern Massachusetts? Almost nothing.

Two weeks after tribal chairman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais caught even her own tribal council by surprise with a flurry of public statements indicating the tribe wants to compete for one of the state’s new gaming licenses, the most basic questions remain unanswered. Where would the casino go? Who would the tribe’s partners be? And where is the

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