County Board Presses Its Case
Questions on Steamship Authority Are Explored at a Meeting:
Commissioners Worry on ‘Haphazard' Ways
By ALEXIS TONTI
Citing what they believe are missteps and backtracking by Steamship
Authority management, Dukes County commissioners this week criticized
SSA managers for their imprudence and pointedly questioned the boat
line's priorities.
"There seems to be denial and avoidance, and my gut tells me
that something isn't working right," said commissioner Paul
Strauss.
It's Preseason: What's in Store? Around Island, a
Retailer Shift
By NIS KILDEGAARD
You need a scorecard to keep track of the preseason business shuffle
in downtown Vineyard Haven.
On Tisbury Great Pond, a Family Feud
By MANDY LOCKE
A divided family, hundreds of feet of unlicensed docks and the
future of a cove on Tisbury Great Pond has sparked a drama in West
Tisbury.
Complicating the story is that the family member who installed these
unpermitted docks is a town selectman. Jeffrey (Skipper) Manter
reportedly installed four seasonal floating docks on Manter family land
over the last few years. This week his older brother, Whit Manter, said
it's gone too far.
Two Seized in Airport Mobil Break-in; After Search, Four Held on
Drug Charges
By MANDY LOCKE
A burglary investigation led Edgartown police to a house of drugs
this week.
"There were more drugs in that house than at Triangle
Pharmacy," said Edgartown police sergeant Ken Johnson, about a
Plainfield Way home searched in connection with the burglary.
For the last two summers, Stanimir Vasilev hauled Vineyard tourists back and forth across Beach Road between Oak Bluffs and Edgartown, practicing his English as visitors stepped aboard the purple and white Vineyard Transit Authority (VTA) bus. Mr. Vasilev came to the Vineyard early and stayed late - as did hundreds of other Bulgarians arriving each summer to help Island businesses through the busy tourist season.
Passengers May Stay in Vehicles on Ferry Crossing, Board Rules
By ALEXIS TONTI
The Steamship Authority board of governors overruled senior
management yesterday and abandoned a controversial new policy that would
have barred people from staying in their cars while on board the
ferries.
The boat line governors instead approved a policy to simply advise
passengers to leave their cars and to improve safety below decks through
an expanded set of fire prevention measures.
On Dutcher Dock: Menemsha's Seismic Shift: A Fish Market Faces
Sale
By JESSIE ROYCE HILL
In a place where generations of fishermen have hawked their seafood,
fathers and sons yearly descend to cast lines off the jetty and summer
crowds have applauded the glow of a setting sun, the news is out: Stand
by for the sale of a landmark Island fish market.
Three Stories, Balconies, a Roof Deck: A Garage Project Stirs the
North Bluff
By CHRIS BURRELL
When he applied for a building permit last fall, Joseph G. Moujabber
told the Oak Bluffs building inspector he was replacing an old one-car
garage in his backyard. It would cost just $22,000 to build and would be
used for storage space only, the application states.
But almost five months later, the building under construction
- three stories tall with balconies and a roof deck - looks
more like a Florida condo than a garage.
Auto Class Revs Up Vocational Program
By CHRIS BURRELL
Her school day is bookended by chemistry and global studies, but for
Lauren Richards, the three hours sandwiched in between are anything but
abstract and theoretical. They are grimy, noisy, hot, smelly hours.
Miss Richards is a car mechanic in training, one of nine students at
the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School who major in the
vocational automotive program.
Moving with a Brazilian Beat, Businesses Lure New Customers
By CHRIS BURRELL
Walk down aisle nine toward the meat department at Reliable
Self-Service Market in Oak Bluffs, and you quickly notice something
different about the stock that now dominates the left lane. The coconut
milk, the sacks of bulgur wheat and the jars of chocolate cream and
eggplant paté are geared toward consumers whom some Island
businesses say they can't afford to ignore - Brazilians.
