Possible Dreams Can Come True for All of You

Best ever Possible Dreams moment? That's a tough one.

In 1994, Carly Simon sang a few bars of Anticipation to the crowd.
They went wild, and a dream night of songs with Ms. Simon was auctioned
for $81,000. Twice.

In 1998, a similar situation arose, and Washington Post owner
Katharine Graham agreed to host three separate lunches. Each bidder
(Merv Griffin among them) paid $25,000, and Mrs. Graham made a donation
of her own as well. In minutes, $100,000 was raised.

Moving Houses Recycles Island History

Moving Houses Recycles Island History

By MANDY LOCKE

As hundreds of Vineyarders pile trucks with clothes, furniture and
children this fall to shuffle to another winter rental, two Edgartown
houses will join the mass migration.

Destined for the dump when the owners decided to build new homes on
the picturesque properties, both a 19th-century Victorian on the corner
of Davis Lane and Pease's Point Way and a 1960s gambrel-roofed
house off Meeting House Way will be relocated to town-owned property for
use as affordable housing.

FARM Institute Seeds the Minds of Youth

Ask most kids where their eggs, beef and milk come from and
they'll tell you the grocery store. Ask the same question of the
young people who have spent a week at Herring Creek Farm and
they'll answer differently: "It comes from a farm."

Final Debate Opens in Senate on Bill to Restructure Boatline

Final Debate Opens in Senate on Bill to Restructure Boatline

By JULIA WELLS

State Senate action on a hostile bill to restructure the Steamship
Authority was delayed in eleventh-hour maneuvering by Cape and Islands
Sen. Robert O'Leary yesterday, and with just two days left in
formal session at the state legislature, the bill will be taken up again
by the Senate today.

Volunteers Make Dreams Possible in Bids for Community Services

It's auction season here on the Island. Benefits are by now
part of the summer routine - held, it seems, on a weekly basis
- raising money for causes that range from youth sailing programs
to conservation and affordable housing. But the predecessor of them all
still has yet to make its annual appeal. That will come Monday, August
5, with the 24th annual Possible Dreams Auction, held in the garden of
the Harborside Inn in Edgartown.

Houses on Move Auction Raises $160,000

Houses on Move Auction Raises $160,000

Islanders Press Drive to Ease Affordable Housing Crisis

By MANDY LOCKE

The scene was Vineyard ironic - hundreds of people gathering
at the agricultural hall to shuffle "houses" for the sake of
ending the Island's dreaded summer shuffle tradition.

On Saturday night, the handiwork of well over 100 Vineyarders who
hammered, painted and molded everything from owl houses to lighthouses,
playhouses to doghouses, brought in more than $160,000 at auction.

Hospital Picks Chief Executive Officer to Secure Future of Medical Complex; Announces Plan to Build New Facility

Hospital Picks Chief Executive Officer to Secure Future of Medical
Complex; Announces Plan to Build New Facility

By JOSHUA SABATINI

A new era promising a brighter future in the wake of yearly fiscal
woes has dawned at Martha's Vineyard Hospital, as the
hospital's board of trustees last week approved a new chief
executive officer and a plan for a possible $30 million project to
construct a new hospital facility.

Developer Threatens MVC Ruin in Campaign to Force Golf Deal

Developer Threatens MVC Ruin in Campaign to Force Golf Deal

By JULIA WELLS

Gazette Senior Writer

The developer who wants to build a luxury golf course and an array
of private homes in the southern woodlands section of Oak Bluffs
threatened to "bring down" the Martha's Vineyard
Commission last week if the commission refuses to sign on to a back-room
deal to approve the lucrative development scheme, the Gazette has
learned.

Cheers for Circus Smirkus: Wild West Performances Draw Big Island Crowds

Cheers for Circus Smirkus: Wild West Performances Draw Big Island
Crowds

By MARCUS TONTI

The big top, a blue-and-white-striped number festooned with green
and yellow stars, beckoned to passersby from Old County Road. The smell
of popcorn and cotton candy filled the air as one approached the tent,
the sight of children already sticky with lemonade and sno-cones
lightening the heart.

But all this was prelude. It was the show inside that really soared.

Experts Address Exploding Costs of Health Care

When it came to the economics of health care, the message heard from
the big shots in the field couldn't have been more blunt. America
spends more on health care than any other country in the world but the
pay-off is marginal - its citizens don't live any longer
than people in Canada or Britain.

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