Survey Offers Snapshot of Businesses

By MANDY LOCKE

Daytrippers pump little revenue into the coffers of Island
businesses. Vineyard establishments are well-rooted; the majority have
survived more than 17 years. Despite the national economic downturn of
the last few years, Vineyard business owners weathered it quite well;
nearly three-quarters earned as much if not more in 2003 than the
previous year.

Boat Line Forecast: Steady as She Goes, Waiting on Weather

By ALEXIS TONTI

When Steamship Authority managers look ahead to the summer season,
they are hesitant to make any forecasts. Traffic may be a little off
right now, but everyone agrees that in the end the weather will be the
biggest influence on how many passengers ride the ferries.

"I think things are a little slower than we would like, but
that can reverse pretty quickly," SSA chief executive officer Fred
C. Raskin said this week.

In West Tisbury, ‘A Path Beside the Roadways'

By CHRIS BURRELL

A sidewalk may seem like the most hum-drum of amenities, but in West
Tisbury they refer to their walkways with great deference, calling them
"paths beside the roadways."

Until last year, this up-Island town with nearly 15 miles of paved
streets enjoyed only the barest scrap of sidewalk, about 200 feet from
Alley's General Store up around the corner of Music street to the
side entrance of the First Congregational Church.

After more than two years of trying to conceive a new purpose and
new life for an old building, Oak Bluffs selectmen are poised to sign a
contract to lease their abandoned town hall to the Steamship Authority
for roughly $46,000 a year.

An Hour to New Bedford, Starting June 24

By TOM DUNLOP

MAMARONECK, N.Y. - The next big thing in Island water
transportation stands three decks high in the shed. The blocklike
components of her stern face a rocky harbor and the morning sun. Her
twin hulls knife their way off into darkness. The aluminum hull of the
Whaling City Express, under construction at the Derecktor Shipyard here
at the western end of Long Island Sound, will be launched tomorrow. With
her maiden arrival in Oak Bluffs on the morning of June 24, an
interesting experiment begins:

Airlines providing regional service between the Vineyard and Logan International Airport could receive relief from proposed hikes in landing and takeoff fees under a plan submitted by the Massachusetts Port Authority to federal regulators earlier this month.

The exemption program is one element of Massport's peak pricing proposal, which would raise landing fees at the Boston airport during peak hours to $150 per landing and departure.

State's Gay Marriage Day Arrives, and Vineyard Couples
Celebrate

By MANDY LOCKE

For most couples headed down the wedding aisle, this is one of those
nagging details - an errand that claims more time and attention
than a couple wants to spare.

But for Sue Dawson and Alison Shaw, it was a task to savor.

Filling out the three-page notice of intention to marry at the Oak
Bluffs town clerk's office early Monday morning, this couple knew
they were part of history in the making.

State Ruling Backs DCPCs

Barnstable Process Is Upheld; a Town-Wide District There Parallels
Those on Vineyard; Vote for Planning Homework

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

In a key environmental protection decision for both the Vineyard and
Cape Cod, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) this week threw
out a lower court ruling and upheld a townwide district of critical
planning concern (DCPC) for the town of Barnstable.

Terminal Plan Would Pave Pizza Hill

By MANDY LOCKE

The Steamship Authority's visions for a revamped Oak Bluffs
terminal may have hit a snag this week when a town official questioned
whether the planned staging area infringes on a town park.

Pizza Hill, a North Bluff bank where townspeople take a slice of pie
and watch the moon over Nantucket Sound, could be transformed into an
asphalt parking lot - just one feature of a plan presented by
Steamship Authority officials Wednesday.

Boat Line Eyes Nantucket Freight Issue

By ALEXIS TONTI

A Steamship Authority agreement with the town of Barnstable turned
into a point of contention yesterday at the monthly boat line meeting,
where Nantucket officials and residents objected adamantly to taking any
steps that would force them to run freight service between that island
and New Bedford.