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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
After nearly two hours of debate at a special town meeting Wednesday night, Aquinnah residents voted to allow Vineyard Power to install 200 solar panels at the town landfill. The one article-warrant passed 29-13.
The 60,000 kilowatt system will power all of the town buildings and street lights.
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 ...
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 ...
You’ll find in the news columns today an update on the effort to build a distributed antenna system (DAS) to improve cell service in two of the up-Island towns. The effort began as a plan to end spotty coverage in all three towns, but West Tisbury dropped out, pleased with the quality of service in its town, or at least displeased with the promise of the three-town partnership.
From before the beginning of the partnership, the challenges were considerable,
A medical emergency in Menemsha last month highlighted the urgency of a two-town project to bring reliable wireless service to Chilmark and Aquinnah. A man collapsed and the first reaction by those near him was to reach for their cell phones to call for an ambulance — a futile effort in a section known for a lack of wireless signal.
A project to improve cell phone coverage in the up-Island towns is moving forward after a meeting between service providers and NStar this week took place to measure poles for the distributive antenna system (DAS).
If all goes as planned, up-Island residents could see improved cell coverage by July 1. Chilmark executive secretary Timothy Carroll met with Verizon, Comcast and NStar Wednesday morning to evaluate what needed to be changed on the existing poles in order to incorporate the system.
It has been seven long months since the investigation into the Menemsha fire began by top federal and state experts, including the state fire marshal, the United States Coast Guard and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. And now the investigation has ended, not with a bang but something far more open-ended: The cause of the fire that destroyed the Coast Guard boathouse and forced the evacuation of the village of Menemsha last July cannot be precisely determined.
The Aquinnah selectmen voted this week to accept a private donation to help underwrite the town’s participation in the Massachusetts Estuaries Project study of Menemsha and Squibnocket Ponds. Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg will contribute up to $15,000 to help pay for the town’s share of the project.
The donation stems from an agreement made when Mrs. Schlossberg subdivided the 375-acre property she inherited from her mother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, into 31 lots in 2006. The subdivision was for estate planning
This week, the chairman of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), in a press statement to The Times, said that allegations by a former employee of environmental violations on tribal lands are without merit.
In a separate statement, the chairman of the Tribal Housing Authority, said the claims of wrondoing came from a “disgruntled temporary contractor.”
The allegations were reported in a news brief published February 10. The Times reported that Corey Randolph, a licensed wastewater plant
On first blush it’s easy to be blasé about the new on-line digital assessors’ map in Aquinnah that can be viewed by anyone, anywhere, anytime from the comfort of their home.
At a time when you can do just about everything online — buy groceries, book a plane ticket, download music and even publish your first novel — the idea of an electronic assessors’ map might seem, at least at first, rather pedestrian.
Come one, come all to Saturday Coffee Hour, from 10 a.m. to noon, every Saturday from January through March, we’ll have hot beverages (coffee, tea and hot chocolate) and snacks for the community. See your neighbors and join us for some fun.
Winter Programs for Adults:
Book Discussion Group every Third Thursday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. (February 17, March 17, April 14,
Two commercial bay scallopers in Aquinnah are facing punishment for fishing without a permit in November. Selectmen voted at their Dec. 14 meeting to fine George Baird $200 for scalloping two days on Menemsha Pond without a license, but referred a complaint against Wilde Whitcomb to town counsel.
Mr. Baird said he did not have the money to apply for the $200 license until after he collected on his harvest, but the check is now in the hands of
In a continuing effort to improve the flow of information to residents and taxpayers, Aquinnah’s Board of Assessors found a company to provide an important and necessary service for hosting the Town On-Line GIS Mapping Program. The Board is pleased to present Cartographic Associates, Inc. (CAI) of Littleton, NH, which developed the program that offers expanded functionality, a single point of access to assessing data, property information, advanced mapping and aerial
At a special town meeting this coming Tuesday night, Aquinnah voters will be asked to buy land for a new affordable housing site and approve a new tax amnesty program, among other things.
Moderator Michael Hebert will preside over the special session that begins at 7 p.m. in the old town hall. There are nine articles on the warrant.
The community preservation committee is asking voters to approve borrowing $240,000 to buy a 6.3-acre parcel of land at 45 State
The decision to build land-based wind turbines on Wampanoag Tribe land in Aquinnah will likely come down to three factors: aesthetics, acoustics and economics.
The results of a wind feasibility study unveiled at the tribal administration building in Aquinnah last Friday showed that while turbines could deliver big environmental and economic benefits in an area with wind resources it characterized as “superb,” it could come at a cost to the scenic and acoustic values in town.
A study of wind energy feasibility concludes that vigorous winds blow over the tribal lands of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), and if they are harnessed they could provide the tribe with financial and environmental benefits.
Potential locations for a wind turbines studied in a feasibility study commissioned by the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) Photo
The state Department of Public Utilities is expected to decide this week whether the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm is a good deal for consumers.
Cape Wind and National Grid had asked for a decision by today but sources with knowledge of the proceedings said the agency’s ruling is likely to come later in the week.
The DPU first took up the question of whether Cape Wind is cost-effective after National Grid agreed in May to buy half the
The Aquinnah selectmen voted this week to approve a conservation restriction for newly-acquired property by the Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation on Menemsha Pond.
The 5.8-acre parcel abuts land that Yvette Eastman gave to the foundation over a period of years. The foundation has purchased a restriction on the property for $300,000 with a view easement on land next door. The restriction means the property will remain open and undeveloped forever.
“It’s exciting because it adds to the holdings of this area,”
Keep up to date with Aquinnah news. Fill out the form below to subscribe to our infrequent but useful newsletter. You may easily unsubscribe at any time.
