A 55-year-old Steamship authority crew member is in Providence
Hospital, recovering from a near-drowning suffered yesterday when a
routine man-overboard drill aboard the Steamship Authority ferry
Islander went suddenly and catastrophically wrong.

The Summer the Music Stopped: Local Venues See Crowds Thin

By CHRIS BURRELL

They're all tuned up and ready to rock and roll. There's
only one problem. The dance floor's empty, and there are just
three guys standing up against the wall waiting for the music.

Not even the band can avoid commenting on the dismal turnout:
"It's a lonely night at the Ritz," says Bear, lead
singer in Bear and Company.

NANTUCKET - Walter Beinecke's name is spoken with a sense of awe and an undercurrent of resentment. He's the fellow, people here will tell you, who in the 1960s awoke this sleepy little island. He's the entrepreneur, who, owning much of Nantucket's downtown and practically all of the working harborfront - jammed with more fishing vessels than tourists in those days, did the math. He figured the place could benefit more from 100 people spending $100 each than 1,000 people buying a $10 T-shirt.

Complaining that Edgartown officials turned a deaf ear to their appeals to limit operations at Katama Farm, a group of four Katama residents will go to court Tuesday - pleading with a superior court judge to evict the FARM Institute, newest tenant of the town-owned farm.

County Commissioners Delay on Manager Hire

By MANDY LOCKE

The Dukes County commissioners stalled again this week -
failing to resolve questions raised about newly hired county manager
Laurie Perry's college degree.

"I'm dismayed it's taken this long to resolve the
issue. It does sound like a broken record, but this will be resolved at
our next meeting. There isn't any more to talk about," said
John Alley, chairman of the county commission.

Unspoiled beaches. A quiet, rural island community. Canoes and kayaks for rent. Cool caps and T-shirts for sale. Hundreds of cars. Long ferry lines. Fresh talk about how to manage it all.

This is the latest sketch from Chappaquiddick, where discussion has begun to heat up around a new long-range plan for two key properties owned by The Trustees of Reservations: Cape Pogue Wildlife Refuge and Wasque Reservation.

For the 25th Year: Art Buchwald Heads Back to Auction Block

By C.K. WOLFSON

There are no similar versions of himself; he is that singular, that
irreverent, blunt, kind-hearted. Mischievous to an inch of trouble.
Without intention, without seeming to care, he is a finger-in-the-socket
current of unpredictability and compassion that, when added to almost
any existing whole, changes its entire composition.

New Transportation Plan Is Roadmap for Easing Congestion on Vineyard

By CHRIS BURRELL

The danger zones and hot spots on Island roads are all laid out in a transportation plan unveiled last week by the Martha's Vineyard
Commission.

The plan calls for a host of remedies that range from increased home delivery of mail to the construction of new connector roads to alleviate pressure on some of the worst and most heavily-trafficked stretches.

By Air and Sea, the Daily Trip to the Office

By MANDY LOCKE

NANTUCKET - It's 6:40 in the morning. The workmen
stepping off an Island Airlines puddle jumper are already through their
second cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee. In cut-off shorts, steel-toe
boots and sleeveless T-shirts, the new arrivals cradle Styrofoam mugs in
one hand and coolers in the other.

Fred Abrahams: Human Rights Research Took Him Into Iraq

By C.K. WOLFSON

He used to spend summers on the Vineyard; the son of David Abrahams
and Carole Cronig Abrahams, grandson of Mae and Henry Cronig, a family
that has become part of the Island's history. But most recently
Fred Abrahams has summered in places such as Kosovo, the Czech Republic
and Iraq, and he has become a part of global history.