Hy-Line Pitches Fast Ferry, Year-Round Service to Link Oak Bluffs
and Hyannis
By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer
In a move that would tie Martha's Vineyard even more closely
to the mainland, Hy-Line Cruises wants to launch year-round fast ferry
service between Hyannis and Oak Bluffs by next May.
The high-speed ferry operation proposed by the Hyannis-based company
would become the second such service started within a year between the
Vineyard and the mainland.
Join Hands: Message of Unity Heartens Island Over Christmas
By JOHN SCHULE JR.
The moods of the Christmas season are many and wondrous. They speak
of joy and of hope, of laughter and of love, of warmth and of peace on
earth, good will to all people. These moods, and the other emotions of
Christmas days, are familiar to many, each mood beautifully expressed
and each one touched with a special magic of the season.
Boatline Welcomes General Manager
Governors Set Wayne Lamson's Salary and Pay Tribute to Kathryn
Roessel in Monthly SSA Meeting
By JAMES KINSELLA
For the Steamship Authority, the gathering last Friday in a spartan
meeting room at the MBL Club in Woods Hole was one of hellos and
goodbyes.
The boat line welcomed longtime employee Wayne Lamson as its
permanent general manager and greeted Marc Hanover, the Oak Bluffs
resident taking his seat for the first time as the Vineyard
representative to the board of governors.
There are the reverberating smacks of the basketballs bouncing off
the wooden floors, the squeaks of rubber soles starting and stopping in
tandem, and the clanks and clatters of metal rims jarred to life by a
volley of shots.
The sounds emanating from the Tisbury School gymnasium on a recent
Monday night are a strong indication that the Martha's Vineyard
Youth Basketball league is holding court.
Top federal environmental agencies found fundamental flaws in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers review of the controversial Cape Wind project, the Gazette has learned.
Responding to an early version of the Army Corps draft environmental impact statement, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Mineral Management Service all questioned the objectivity of the Army Corps analysis.
Valuations Go Up in All Towns; Edgartown to Adjust for Flaws
By IAN FEIN
A strong real estate market sent property values across the Vineyard
skyrocketing this year, as four Island towns saw total valuations rise
by more than 25 per cent.
Tisbury assessments jumped 38 per cent from the last fiscal year,
from $1.7 billion to $2.3 billion; Aquinnah is up 35 per cent, from $450
million to $610 million; West Tisbury is up 29 per cent, from $2 billion
to $2.6 billion; and Edgartown is up 25 per cent, from $4.3 billion to
$5.4 billion.
General Manager Appointment Expected at SSA Meeting Today
By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer
Wayne Lamson, tapped five times to head the Steamship Authority on a
temporary basis, will be put forward today as the best choice for
general manager for the boat line.
At the monthly SSA meeting in Woods Hole this morning a search
committee plans to recommend that Mr. Lamson be appointed to the top
post, according to a source.
Familiar North Tisbury Bakery Forced to Relocate Amid Feud
By JAMES KINSELLA
A family fight is heating up over Humphreys bakery in North Tisbury,
a store beloved by Vineyarders for such offerings as the Belly Bomb and
the Gobbler.
The landmark establishment, whose roots extend back to a founder who
walked the streets of Vineyard Haven selling pies for $10 a week, is the
subject of a dispute between its owner, Joyce Duarte, and the couple who
have leased the bakery since 1996, Mike and Donna Diaz.
Split Vote Names Mr. Hanover as Governor
By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer
In a 4-3 vote, the Dukes County Commission on Wednesday opted for
stability over new ideas, choosing Marc Hanover of Oak Bluffs as the
next Vineyard Steamship Authority governor.
Commission members Leslie Leland, Leonard Jason Jr., Paul Strauss
and John Alley voted for Mr. Hanover, an Oak Bluffs restaurateur who has
served for the past two years on the port council, an advisory board to
the boat line.
Tapping the town's stabilization fund, Aquinnah voters
approved eight of nine funding measures presented by selectmen at a
special town meeting last night, effectively ending over six months of
fiscal turmoil.
"I think this chapter is finally closed," selectmen
chairman Carl Widdiss said after the voting. "I think the
townspeople wanted to resolve this, and for the most part they did
tonight."
