Kevint Smith News Today

The appeal of the Beal Commons project will be heading to trial. Beal Commons is a proposed 53-unit, 7,000-square-foot development.

Oak Bluffs will no longer be funding the controversial turf field appeal, calling into question how the lawsuit will continue. The town’s select board decided in a 3-2 vote to halt funding for the litigation. Board members Emma Green-Beach and Gail Barmakian cast dissenting votes.  Last month, the Oak Bluffs planning board filed an appeal […]

Plans to tear down the bleachers, sports lighting, and scoreboard on the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School’s varsity athletic field are underway, as school representatives have filed an application for a demolition permit. In the filings, which were submitted to the Oak Bluffs Building Department on Dec. 22, 2023, Island schools’ superintendent Richie Smith says […]

A land court judge has issued a final ruling in the lawsuit between the Oak Bluffs Planning Board and Martha’s Vineyard Regional School District, finding that the board did not have the authority to deny the school a request to construct a turf field. The planning board was most recently hoping that the judge would […]

Though both sides have agreed to avoid a trial, the MVRHS school committee and the Oak Bluffs planning board are still in disagreement about next steps for the development of a new turf field and track at the high school.  In a joint filing, the planning board asked the court to remand the turf project […]

The MVRHS School Committee voted to spend more money on legal fees pertaining to the high school athletic field project, this time to engage the school’s attorneys for a written statement regarding the legality of accepting and using anonymous donations.  A motion from committee member Kris O’Brien to get the legal opinion in writing and […]

In his Sept. 5 decision, Land Court Judge Kevin T. Smith interpreted the so-called Dover Amendment (G.L. c. 40A, § 3) to reject the town of Oak Bluffs’ attempt to protect the sole-source aquifer serving the Island. At issue before Judge Smith was whether the town’s water-protections bylaw required a special zoning permit before the […]

A land court judge has ruled against the Oak Bluffs planning board for rejecting a request for a special permit from the Martha’s Vineyard Regional School District to build a synthetic turf athletic field, citing concerns over per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Judge Kevin T. Smith ruled Tuesday that the planning board acted “beyond its […]

WATERTOWN — Rachael A. James, 21, West Main Street, was charged by city police Sunday with second-degree assault, a felony.

AMHERST — Both Amherst College and the town’s Public Shade Tree Committee will join together to mark Arbor Day with events on Friday.The celebration will have tree enthusiasts and green industry professionals over the course of the day.Arbor Day comes...