Opening day for the bay scallop season is as much a part of the
Vineyard culture as any holiday. On Saturday, dozens of smiling Tisbury
residents turned out in Lagoon Pond to harvest bushels of the tasty
sweet bivalves, and they had little trouble finding them.

Holders of family recreational permits harvested 528 bushels last
weekend. Those bay scallops would be valued between $40,000 and $50,000
if they were sold on the retail market.

The numbers of Island school students passing and even acing the state MCAS tests increased significantly this year, according to school and district test results released yesterday by the state department of education. Raw scores across the Island were also higher than state averages.

New Bedford Summit Pushes Fast Ferry

By JOSHUA SABATINI

At a summit meeting held at the New Bedford Whaling Museum Saturday,
officials from Martha's Vineyard, New Bedford and Falmouth agreed
to urge the Steamship Authority to consider a new proposal for fast
ferry service from the city to the Island.

New Bedford mayor Frederick M. Kalisz Jr. invited Island officials
to the summit after the SSA board of governors killed the fast ferry
proposal by a vote of 2-1 last week.

SSA Studies New Deals for New Bedford Ferries

By JULIA WELLS

Steamship Authority treasurer and acting general manager Wayne
Lamson said yesterday that a freshly minted plan for a high-speed ferry
project laid out last week by the city of New Bedford is now just one of
three new proposals.

"We got a proposal last Thursday night, there was the one that
New Bedford showed everybody on Saturday, and we got another one just
last night," Mr. Lamson said from his office in Woods Hole.

For four years now, since its inception in 1997, the state-sponsored special English language program has been growing. From three classes that first year to seven classes today - and it's still not enough. Ninety-seven adult students enrolled, and 154 filled the waiting list during September registration earlier this year. Another 86 added their names to the list several weeks ago, when a second registration was held - a mid-session adjustment to enroll students replacing those no longer in the course.

On a crowded court docket last September, it was just another
run-of-the-mill drunk driving trial. But for the six jurors who spent
the day in Edgartown district court, it demanded a gut-wrenching
decision.

Threat of Housing Plan Overshadows Hearing on Oak Bluffs Golf Course

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

Reports on wildlife habitat, turf management and fiscal impact were
the scheduled fare at a public hearing last night on a proposal to build
a luxury golf club in the southern woodlands section of Oak Bluffs
- but in the end, discussion about the golf course plan was
overshadowed by a discussion about housing.

Tisbury Town Counsel Declares Contract with Hospital Illegal

BY JOSHUA SABATINI

Tisbury's town counsel said this week the controversial
amended contract among Island towns, the county and Martha's
Vineyard Hospital is not a legal document.

David Doneski, of the Boston law firm Kopelman and Paige, sent his
legal opinion to the Tisbury selectmen Monday afternoon.

County manager Carol Borer asked to address the town's
concerns at a selectmen's meeting Tuesday after learning last week
that the board questioned the legality of the agreement.

In a barrage of invective and noisy statements to the press, New
Bedford city officials lashed out at the Steamship Authority governors
from Falmouth and Nantucket this week for their vote to kill a pilot
high-speed ferry project between New Bedford and the Vineyard.