Clawing their way through two nights and a combined seven hours of town meeting action, Oak Bluffs voters narrowly approved a decision to retain residential trash collection in town and call for a tax override.

FedEx: Not on Chappy

By JULIA WELLS

The company motto is The World On Time, and the phrase was good
fodder for the recent Tom Hanks blockbuster, Cast Away. But there is now
one place in the world where Federal Express is not on time.

In fact, it is more accurate to say that Federal Express is not On
Time, which is coincidentally the name of the Chappaquiddick ferry.

Chappaquiddick? No Federal Express delivery here.

Not On Time or anytime.

Deep discussion was far from the minds of Edgartown voters this
week, who skipped lightly through their annual town meeting in less than
two hours, pausing only briefly for a bit of discussion before approving
a plan to allow building on substandard lots in the name of affordable
housing.

"It's an oxymoron to say it is satisfactory to build on
a substandard lot," declared town resident Walter Burns.

A new traffic study of the notorious blinker light intersection in Oak Bluffs could push selectmen one step closer to putting up the Island's first traffic light.

The 1979 Jeep that crashed on County Road in Oak Bluffs just over
two weeks ago, killing 18-year-old Eric MacLean, had no seatbelts, no
emergency brake, a defective steering column and a phony inspection
sticker, according to Oak Bluffs police.

If West Tisbury voters approve a slew of money requests next week, first at annual town meeting and again at the polling booths, they could end up with an $8.8 million budget, 23 per cent higher than this year's.

Trying to Follow the Steamship Authority Is Harder Than Chasing the
Poor Red Sox

By JULIA WELLS

It's hard to follow the players without a scorecard, as the
old saying goes, and when it comes to Steamship Authority affairs
it's getting tough to decipher the box scores these days.

There is now a swirl of public confusion around the boat line, and
this week the list of public meetings on SSA business suddenly grew long
and tangled.

Brevity has rarely been a hallmark of town meeting season in Oak Bluffs, and next week's line-up of 52 articles spread across two warrants could well last more than one night. Voters will act on a range of issues - from affordable housing and funding for the hospital emergency room to new regulations for cell phone towers.

Casting aside deep differences, moped dealers and their politically active opponents formally agreed yesterday to implement a nine-point plan aimed at one goal - reducing injuries to moped riders.

Vineyard Hospital Hikes Rates to Ease Pressures on Rising Budget
Deficit

By JULIA WELLS

Fees went up at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital this week for
the third time in 18 months, as hospital leaders work to tame a stubborn
six-digit operating deficit amid an industry climate that is gloomy on a
good day.

"If misery loves company, then I guess we are okay, but we are
trying to present numbers here that really work," said hospital
chief executive officer Kevin Burchill this week.