From thousands of feet above the blue-green waters of Nantucket Sound, reality seems to wait below.

Inside the cabin of the 1977 single-engine plane, Mike is the tough-talking washashore, piloting his Skylane 182 from the Vineyard to Hyannis. Joe, the co-pilot, is an Islander through and through, with a war story for every patch of water below. And for the moment, Bruce, who peers from the plane's window looking for his Lambert's Cove home, forgets about his battle with cancer.

Voters Approve Aquinnah Budget; School Money Faces Override Vote

By JOSHUA SABATINI

At a town meeting marked by lengthy debate and intermittent
confusion, Aquinnah voters approved a $1.78 million general operating
budget and agreed to put $271,000 of the budget for the elementary
school to a Proposition 2 1/2 override vote before deciding to cut the
meeting short about two hours in.

Former Tisbury selectman A. Kirk Briggs was convicted of drunk driving and vehicular homicide yesterday in Edgartown District Court and sentenced to 21 months in the Dukes County jail.

A third commercial airline has launched service to Martha's Vineyard Airport, joining Cape Air and the returning US Airways Express in serving Islanders while providing residents and visitors with additional airports to fly directly to and from.

Boston-Maine Airways, an affiliate of Pan American Airways based in Portsmouth, N.H., last Friday saw its inaugural flight from headquarters land at the Vineyard airport around noon. Airline officials proceeded to the terminal for a ceremony marking the start of the carrier's summer Island service.

New Bedford Politicians Begin Maneuvers for Boat Line Seat

By JULIA WELLS

The slumbering campaign by the city of New Bedford to overhaul the
Steamship Authority saw a bit of fresh activity this week when a state
representative hastily added an amendment to the proposed state budget
- and then just as quickly withdrew it.

A 22-year-old man was charged in district court yesterday with
escaping from Dukes County Jail and House of Correction in Edgartown
last weekend. David Luce, who was close to finishing a
two-and-a-half-year sentence for assault and battery and indecent
assault and battery, was discovered missing from the jail at
approximately 2:55 a.m. last Saturday.

Vineyard skateboarders finally got a nod of approval Monday night
from the keepers of the 150-foot square of land they see as a potential
home for an Island skate park.

Islanders Denounce Effort To Smear MVC Officials

By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer

A growing array of residents and public officials - both
inside and outside the Martha's Vineyard Commission - called
this week for an end to the smear campaign that targets three commission
members who voted against the Down Island Golf Club plan.

Blood Wedding

All in Spanish: Students Make First DVD Film

By ALEXIS TONTI

In October, students at the regional high school began an adaptation
of the Spanish play Bodas de Sangre (Blood Wedding) by Federico Garcia
Lorca. The project aimed to produce the school's first
student-made DVD film, complete with English subtitles. They thought it
couldn't be much different than a theatre production. As it turns
out, no one had any idea what they were getting into.

Aquinnah Voters Face Town Meeting Vote On $2 Million Budget

By JOSHUA SABATINI

The last town meeting of the Island's political season takes
place in Aquinnah on Tuesday, when residents will gather in the town
hall at 7 p.m. to vote on a $2,056,058 operating budget and 14 warrant
articles.

Although predicting the need for a Proposition 2 1/2 override,
selectmen are in the dark as to the exact status of the town's
free cash.