Bad communication between the bridge and the deck contributed to the
ferry boat accident that nearly drowned a crew member a week ago. A top
inspector with the U.S. Coast Guard, Lieut. Joshua Pennington, told the
Gazette on Friday: "I blame communication overall. There was poor
communication between the crew lowering the vessel [rescue boat] and the
bridge. Typically they communicate by radio, but they weren't
using radios at the time."

Said Jack Davies: "It doesn't rain on the Chilmark Road Race."

And for the first 25 years, it didn't. Runners last year, in fact, were reported as traversing the scenic stretch of Middle Road "against a canvas of shadows and golden light." That was hardly the case this year, as runners arrived at Beetlebung Corner decked out in homemade raingear, most of it fashioned from kitchen trash bags. But Saturday morning's thick gray clouds and spotty rain didn't faze the participants; it only put a damper on the takeoff and fostered some ironic humor.

Southern Woodlands Hearing Is Set, but Developers Seem Primed to
Fight

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

On the eve of a public hearing - now set for next week -
to review a massive housing project in the southern woodlands section of
Oak Bluffs, the developers of the Down Island Golf Club appear to be
charting a fresh collision course with the Martha's Vineyard
Commission.

In the face of federal laws which leave local zoning regulations powerless, West Tisbury officials are grappling with one of the first of a likely onslaught of requests for cellular phone towers dotting the town's rural landscape.

It's a familiar fight for the West Tisbury zoning board of appeals.

Teaching Assistant Positions at West Tisbury Are Under Threat as
Budget Shortfalls Loom

By CHRIS BURRELL

Faced with a $400,000 shortfall in their budget, school leaders from
the three up-Island towns are now planning to cut back the roster of
teaching assistants at the West Tisbury School.

The Up-Island Regional School District committee will decide next
Thursday whether to lay off three teaching assistants or reduce all
assistants to a four-day work week.

Oak Bluffs Library Plans Are Studied; October Start Seen

By CHRIS BURRELL

Groundbreaking for construction of the Island's newest and
largest library may begin sometime in October if bids - set to be
opened less than a month from now - fall within the $3.2 million
budget.

The roughly 15,000 square foot library will rise up behind town hall
on Pacific avenue in Oak Bluffs, replacing the tiny quarters on
Pennacook avenue.

Two Vineyard fishermen barely survived a boating accident south of
Noman's Land on Wednesday morning. Scott Terry, 51, a West Tisbury
artist and avid commercial rod and reel fisherman, has a black eye and a
few bruises, but is very much okay after the boat he was operating
flipped in a rogue wave. He and his crewman, 13-year-old Mitchell
Pachico of Vineyard Haven, were both in the water for a short time.

Thoughtful Night: Can Alliance of Blacks and Jews Cross Barriers?

By CHRIS BURRELL

Is George W. Bush's brand of conservatism so reprehensible
that it could create a new alliance between America's blacks and
Jews? Or is the economic gap between the two groups simply too great to
allow them to find common ground?

Art Buchwald opened last night's Possible Dreams auction with the same wit that over 24 years has helped raise $4 million dollars for Martha's Vineyard Community Services: "Despite the 250 cars waiting at the blinker light," he declared, "we're going to start."

Nearly four hours later, Mr. Buchwald ended the benefit by auctioning the hat off his head for $4,000, bringing the night's total to more than $500,000, organizers said, an auction record.

The Martha's Vineyard Commission announced yesterday that it
will join the town of Aquinnah and ask a superior court judge to
reconsider his recent ruling in favor of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head
(Aquinnah).

Two months ago the Hon. Richard F. Connon found that the tribe
cannot be sued because of sovereign immunity.