Nantucket, MA

PDF of print edition The CONSEQUENCES ofTHE CUT Smith's Point breach poses potential navigational, environmental problems BY PETER B. BRACE INDEPENDENT WRITER       Esther Island is likely to remain disconnected from Nantucket for quite some time because of strong tidal forces scouring out an old wound in this narrow section of Smith's Point. Heavy winds and high seas ripped through Smith's Point during last week's storm, separating yet again the western-most... More ... Residents, realtors question the fairness of rental regulations BY MARY LANCASTER INDEPENDENT WRITER       Health Inspector Richard Ray stressed several times that his proposed long-term rental regulations are meant to protect tenant's health and safety, but many at a Monday night forum to discuss the regulations voiced concern over how they single out landlords who rent year-round and could worsen an a... More ... I ON THE COURT Nantucket Court Report       In Monday's District Court, Kimberly L. Baker, 25, of Florida, was scheduled for a status review of her case. She was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol on Nov. 17, 2005 and on Feb. 5, 2006. More ... Accused kidnapper is held without bail Youth held on $6,500 BY MARY LANCASTER INDEPENDENT WRITER       After a set of special hearings in last Friday's District Court, the Polpis man charged with kidnapping and beating a former co-worker on April 12 was held in the Barnstable House of Correction without bail, and a high school student accused of threatening another student with a knife was held on $... More ... Selectmen to review restrictions on Muse license BY MARY LANCASTER INDEPENDENT WRITER       It has been two months since the selectmen restricted provisions of the entertainment license for the Muse nightclub, but the issues that led to that event may be resolved at tonight's board meeting. The restrictions that took effect Feb. 21 banned any music after 11 p.m. More ... Dorrit Hoffleit, notable astonomer, dies at 100 Had important ties to Maria Mitchell Association BY MARY LANCASTER INDEPENDENT WRITER       Renowned female astronomer Dorrit Hoffleit, who played an influential role in developing programs of the island's Maria Mitchell Association, died of complications from cancer at her New Haven, Conn. home on April 9 at the age of 100. Ms. More ... Bank of America, Postal Service agree to property easement terms BY PETER B. BRACE INDEPENDENT WRITER       "Return to sender" are no longer the words from Bank of America as the bank and new post office developer Al DeMarco have to come terms over an easement between their abutting properties on Sparks Avenue. "I think that it's a fair to say that we have a meeting of the minds and the only thing we ne... More ... Selectmen to vote on housing week proclamation       Because he believes Nantucket needs the people who need affordable housing, and because many island residents struggle to find reasonably priced, quality housing, Aaron Marcavitch, Executive Director of the Nantucket Housing Office, is asking the selectmen to proclaim the first week of May Affordab... More ... SHAB approves $1,000 for harbor temperature buoys BY PETER B. BRACE INDEPENDENT WRITER       For a thousand dollars, SHAB is going to help take Nantucket Harbor's temperature. The Shellfish & Harbor Advisory Board voted unanimously at its April 17 meeting to give the UMass Boston Nantucket Field Station $1,000 to construct two or three water temperature buoys that new SHAB member Peter Bo... More ... Getoor honored with education award       The state's Executive Office of Environmental Affairs has recognized Nantucket New School science teacher Chris Getoor with an Award for Excellence in Environmental Education. The awards honor individual schools, teachers and students across the Commonwealth who have distinguished themselves in env... More ... Sheep Pond Road house stays on beach, for now BY PETER B. BRACE INDEPENDENT WRITER       There are no immediate plans to remove Charles Warner's postand beam saltbox house, currently resting on its deck on his beach at 25 Sheep Pond Road, from the shore. More than a week after the Patriot's Day southeaster eroded the bank beneath the easternmost of Warner's two summer houses on Sheep ... More ... SNAPSHOT Town Counsel Paul DeRensis BY MARY LANCASTER INDEPENDENT WRITER       "I'm merely a servant to the goals of other people," Paul DeRensis said after Town Meeting. DeRensis has represented the island in litigation and at Town Meeting for 21 years now, but he stresses that he wants to stay in the background of government functions. He says he is a private person, and fo... More ... OBITUARY RICHARD KEMBLE       Richard Kemble died at his winter home in Key West on April 21st after a long series of illnesses. Richard was well known in Nantucket for his work with the Nantucket Historical Association especially along with his husband George Korn for being the chairs of the Festival of Trees and Wreaths at t... More ... I ON SELECTMEN       AT ITS MEETING ON APRIL 18, THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN: + Unanimously approved applications for a public assembly permit for the Nantucket Wine Festival and for a charity wine license for Nantucket Lighthouse School for an event at the Nantucket Yacht Club May 19 and 20. More ... Management of airport tank farm is considered BY PETER B. BRACE INDEPENDENT WRITER       If the island will eventually store most of its fuels at a four-million-gallon tank farm east of the airport off Bunker Road, the Airport needs to figure out who will manage such a facility. The feasibility studies on the practicality of connecting storage tanks to a fuel pipeline running off the ... More ... FITTING TRIBUTE       "The project is done," said Nantucket Land Council's director Cormac Collier during a lunch yesterday that commemorated the final filing of conservation restrictions on Linda Loring's Eel Point Road property. More ...