Striking a far more conciliatory tone, the Tisbury selectmen stood
their ground this week in opposing a set of proposed Steamship Authority
schedule changes for next year, also calling on boat line leaders to
play a role in creating a better traffic layout at the Vineyard Haven
terminal.

HYANNIS - In the latest skirmish in the continuing battle between the Tisbury board of selectmen and the Steamship Authority, the port council yesterday backed a boat line plan to shift three summer trips from Vineyard Haven to Oak Bluffs.

The decision by the council, which advises the SSA board of governors, came over the bitter protests of council member and Tisbury selectman Thomas W. Pachico and fellow selectman Tristan Israel. The council voted 5-1, with Mr. Pachico dissenting and Nantucket member Nathaniel Lowell absent, to back the SSA plan.

After nearly four years of negotiations between attorneys representing the town of Tisbury and Ernest Boch Jr. about the so-called Boch Park, no progress has been made, Tisbury selectman Tristan R. Israel announced last week.

Mr. Israel said at last Tuesday's meeting of the board that the town is closing the door on the saga surrounding the waterfront land and building near the Five Corners intersection that have been vacant for most of the last two decades.