It would be the ideal night to kick off another season of SafeRides, but the student-run service that gives kids in trouble a free ride home won't be up and running this New Year's Eve. The service officially starts up Jan. 10.

A special superior court sitting is now set for next month in
Edgartown on a case that will ultimately decide whether the Wampanoag
Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) has the power to police itself when it
comes to local zoning rules. The case will also decide the much larger
issue of whether the tribe cannot be sued because of sovereign immunity.

The case has attracted little attention, despite the fact that the
outcome could have far-reaching implications for every town on the
Vineyard.

Greetings from the Tisbury planning board this year will come in the form of a survey that will be used to gather information for the development of a master plan.

"A well-constructed master plan provides the basis for decision-making regarding the long-term physical development of the town. It usually leads to specific zoning bylaw changes to effect the goals expressed and to set the tone for all land-use decisions. The plan also serves as valuable documentation when seeking grants or other forms of assistance," states the press release issued by the planning board last week.

Boatline Enters Wind Dispute

SSA Will Contact Political Leaders to Express Serious Concerns About
Sea Safety and Threats Posed by Wind Farm Plan

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

Steamship Authority governors will add their collective voice to the
growing list of groups now logging in with an array of concerns about a
giant wind farm that has been proposed for Nantucket Sound.

At Tony's Market in Oak Bluffs this week, the cashier is suddenly not just a celebrity but a good luck charm. Charlene Radcliffe, the one behind the counter wearing a Santa hat and a big grin, just scratched her way to one humongous Christmas gift.

Vineyard Haven has led the Island into the new year for nine years
running, but next week's celebration figures to be the loudest
ever. Organizers of Last Night, First Day 2003 have planned a more
sensational fireworks show as part of the three-day family festival
spanning New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

A huge storm that caused troubles for much of the nation ended up
sparing the Vineyard its worst wrath. Though the Christmas Day
northeaster passed over the Vineyard and Nantucket on its path out to
sea, it dropped an inch of snow and lots of rain. The National Weather
Service cooperative station recorded 1.41 inches of melted
precipitation.

For the first time since the mid-nineties, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) is looking at favorable odds in its bid to build a high-end casino in southeastern Massachusetts.

SSA Board Settles Bothersome Issue Of Cost Allocation

By JULIA WELLS

At a meeting marked by general good humor and a series of brisk
business decisions, Steamship Authority governors voted without dissent
yesterday to adopt a modified cost allocation policy that puts to bed an
internal accounting issue that has been at the center of a simmering
political feud for the last year.

"I feel we should vote on this and get it done," said
Nantucket governor Grace Grossman, who surprised her Vineyard critics by
leading a move to vote for the policy.

Housing Opens New Life for Two Families

By MANDY LOCKE

The phone call came at just the right moment for one Island family.

The couple - we'll call them Joe and Sarah - was
being driven out of yet another rental, this time because of the
owner's decision to put the house on the market. They know the
routine all too well, having moved more than a dozen times in their
eight years of living on the Island.