Heavy rains last Thursday night ended the Island's long
stretch of rainless weather, and even more precipitation arrived in the
form of showers yesterday.

Last Friday morning, the Vineyard community awoke to the first
evidence of significant rainfall all summer. There were puddles on
roadsides, and some dirt roads appeared washed out by the flash of heavy
rain.

Island Schools Set to Open New Academic Year

Enrollment Figures Show Slight Decline to 2,350 Students

By MANDY LOCKE

It's that time of year again.

Island schoolchildren are double checking their list of school
supplies and enjoying the last weekday morning of sleeping past seven
o'clock. Teachers are pinning the last of the laminated pictures
to bulletin boards and reviewing their lesson plans.

While the Island's young battle back-to-school jitters today,
school leaders can't wait to launch another academic year.

MVC Launches Golf Hearings

Third Round of Deliberations on Controversial Development Proposal
Begins Tomorrow; Voters Urged to Attend

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

The high-stakes crusade to convert the last unbroken stretch of
woodland in the town of Oak Bluffs to a luxury golf course and housing
development will come out from behind closed doors and into the public
spotlight this week when the Martha's Vineyard Commission opens a
pair of back-to-back hearings on the controversial development plan.

Labor Day Weekend Sends Island Toward Final Phase of Summer

By JOSHUA SABATINI

Celebrated each year on the first Monday in September, Labor Day is
dedicated to the achievements of American workers. In truth, the holiday
is probably better known as the impetus for one final long weekend
before the kids head off to school, and marks the occasion after which
workers start to bear down until summer rolls around again.

Craig Johnstone Kingsbury, 89, of Vineyard Haven, died Friday
afternoon, August 30, at Windemere Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in
Oak Bluffs. He was attended by the caring and skilled staff. Craig died
suddenly and without pain; he had been a patient at Windemere since
April.

The vocal critics and Monday morning analysts peddle doomsday
scenarios about the Steamship Authority with increasing regularity, and
while the voices may vary, the message is unchanged: The financial
condition of the boat line is precarious, the future is riddled with
uncertainty, and there is no money to pay for future capital projects.

Blame it on terrorism, the stock market tumble or the fine weather that kept tourists on their beach blankets and away from downtown shops. Whatever the reason, it's been a lackluster summer at the cash register for most, but not all, Island businesses.

John Ferguson Guides Hospital Into the Future

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

He's the quiet guy from New Jersey who kept his head down for
nearly two years while the Martha's Vineyard Hospital lurched from
one crisis to the next, unable to right itself in a stormy sea of bad
faith and poor community relations.

Now John Ferguson is the man at the helm, and he is determined to
steer the Island's only hospital in a new direction.

Manning the front lines of the Island economy, Vineyard harbor
masters often see business trends before merchants do. As summer draws
to an end, four of the five Island harbor masters told the Gazette that
a season typically busy in some regards was even busier than normal in
others.

Edgartown Great Pond Receives State Assistance

By MANDY LOCKE

Edgartown's beloved Great Pond, a delicate balance of fresh
and salt water that has become fragile as a result of the burdens of
development, is at the top of the state's priority list to receive
a comprehensive estuary restoration plan.

"They will essentially hand us the tools for managing the
watershed and an understanding of the mechanics of doing that,"
said Tom Wallace, president of the Great Pond Foundation, a nonprofit
group formed in 1999 to protect the health of the pond.