Gone are the days of coming home from school and telling Mom and Dad
there was no homework. With about 80 per cent of teachers at the
Martha's Vineyard Regional High School using school Web sites to
post assignments and a host of other information, parents know
what's due tomorrow - and down the road.
Cape Air Stops Service to Providence Earlier Than Planned: Columbus
Day
By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer
Cape Air will suspend service between the Vineyard and Providence
after Columbus Day this year, rather than flying the route through
Thanksgiving, its president said, but the airline also is considering
new discounted off-season fares targeted at Vineyard residents.
Tisbury to Pay More, and Oak Bluffs Less Under Regional School
Funding Scenario
By IAN FEIN
A state-driven shift in how regional school districts fund
themselves could penalize Tisbury and benefit Oak Bluffs by hundreds of
thousands of dollars.
The state rules use wealth rather than enrollment to determine how
much each member town of a regional school district is assessed.
The Martha's Vineyard Regional High School football
team's 42-6 drubbing of Cathedral High School on Saturday could be
summed up when Panther kicker Kancley Val lined up for an on-sides kick,
rushed the ball furiously, and missed.
Whether Val actually made contact, or the rush of his body created a
gust of wind, the ball did manage to come off the tee and roll a good
two or three inches. The only problem was it rolled in the wrong
direction.
The Steamship Authority likely will accede to a requested two-month delay in the delivery of its new 255-foot passenger and vehicle ferry, the Island Home.
SSA general manager Wayne Lamson said members of the boat line board of governors have indicated that they are prepared to honor the request by VT Halter Marine Inc. of Moss Point, Miss., to deliver the Island Home by Jan. 27, 2007, rather than by Nov. 29 of this year.
Dukes County Is Due for Test of Its Charter
By JAMES KINSELLA
Hopes were high over a decade ago when a newly reorganized
government went into effect for Dukes County.
Voters in the county had bought the vision put forward by a charter
study commission in 1992 that reorganizing rather than eliminating
county government offered an effective way to confront regional issues,
such as solid waste disposal and affordable housing.
Years later, the vision retains its appeal.
Vineyard Backs Deval Patrick
Following Commonwealth Trend, Island Democrats Throw Support to
Gubernatorial Front-Runner in Hotly Contested Primary
By IAN FEIN
Dukes County voters mirrored the rest of the commonwealth and
offered strong support for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deval L.
Patrick in the state primary election on Tuesday.
Sentencing Is Near in Map Theft Case
By JAMES KINSELLA
Federal authorities have asked that E. Forbes Smiley 3rd of Chilmark
serve more than four years in prison and be fined at least $10,000 for
stealing a rare 1578 map.
U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor said that although the court
should take Mr. Smiley's cooperation into account when sentencing
the felon next Wednesday, the court should not depart from standard
sentencing guidelines.
Boat Line Fares Set to Go Up
Steamship Authority Governors Review $78 Million Budget; Managers
Say Tariff Hike Needed to Cover Costs
By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer
Passenger fares are expected to rise more than eight per cent on the
Martha's Vineyard route under a set of across-the-board rate hikes
proposed Tuesday by Steamship Authority managers.
A 54-year-old New York woman died after an incident in rough seas
off a remote beach in Chilmark on Tuesday afternoon, where she was
swimming with two friends.
The accident took place off the south-facing ocean beach on the
Chilmark Pond Preserve, a property owned by the Martha's Vineyard
Land Bank.
