Fred C. Raskin: Meet New Head of the Boatline

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

Two days on the job - actually not even two days - and
already the message slips have begun to litter the desk like fallen
leaves.

A skateboard park, a new $3.8 million library and locker rooms for the ice arena - Oak Bluffs voters this week gave all three a resounding hurrah, affirming a commitment to Island youth and the literacy of their townspeople.

Oak Bluffs voters swept their incumbent leaders back into office
yesterday, giving both Richard Combra and Michael Dutton fresh
three-year terms on the board of selectmen.

In a marathon annual town meeting, Edgartown residents voted down
the Martha's Vineyard Commission's designation of
Chappaquiddick as a district of critical planning concern (DCPC).

Voting 195 to 134 not to establish the boundaries of the
Chappaquiddick district, the town eliminated the district designation in
one fell swoop.

The eminent biographer and historian who is a year-round resident of the Vineyard, won the Pulitzer Prize this week for his biography of John Adams.

West Tisbury voters may have a hot election race in their town, but their annual town meeting contains just 28 articles, few of which are expected to generate much controversy.

Fighting for a fifth term on the town's top board, West Tisbury selectman Cynthia Mitchell assured voters this week that her door is always open even as she apologized to them for keeping the door shut when it came to the recent controversy around Steamship Authority politics.

New Boat Line CEO Launches Hopeful Era After Contract Pact

By JULIA WELLS

Calling it an investment in the lifeline to the Islands, Steamship
Authority governors announced this week that they had signed a six-year,
six-figure deal with a veteran marine transport executive to take over
the top management post at the public boat line.

Fred C. Raskin will start work on Monday morning as the chief
executive officer of the SSA.

If Oak Bluffs voters approve the more than $600,000 in override
requests facing them this year, many homeowners could see their taxes go
up by at least $100 a year.

MVC Comes Under Fire; Leaders Assess the Future

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

For the first time in years, one Vineyard town has decided to take
steps to withdraw from the Martha's Vineyard Commission, leaving
the 25-year-old regional planning agency with a new set of quandaries
and new battles to fight. On the surface it appears that the commission
is under siege on a variety of fronts, both inside and out.