In a surprise vote late last night, the Martha's Vineyard Commission narrowly failed to approve plans by Island Elderly Housing for a five-unit apartment building for low-income elderly on their Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road property in Tisbury.

Commissioners stopped short of a vote to deny Hillside Village III, deferring the decision for further discussion at the MVC's next meeting Thursday.

Stalled Negotiations in New Bedford Endanger SSA's Schamonchi
Service

By JULIA WELLS

Stalled lease negotiations between New Bedford city officials and
the owner of the Billy Woods Wharf in New Bedford may force a delay in
the start date for spring service on the passenger ferry Schamonchi
- or worse, a shutdown in the service altogether - Steamship
Authority managers said yesterday.

On Monday morning the ferry Martha's Vineyard will arrive at
the Oak Bluffs Steamship Authority terminal. The landing will be without
fanfare, although it marks a milestone on the path to a new Island
summer.

When the Oak Bluffs dock workers and crew of the vessel exchange
lines for the first time, the season of summer can be said to begin. The
Steamship Authority's new summer schedule opens, and with it come
seasonal fare hikes for travelers to and from the Island.

Minnesingers Bring Broadway to Island

By NIS KILDEGAARD

It's been a common shorthand for years to describe the
Minnesingers, the elite performing ensemble of the Martha's
Vineyard Regional High School, as a singing group that also dances. This
past weekend's show at the Performing Arts Center left fans
groping not only for new superlatives but even for new ways of
describing the group. Perhaps it's best to call Minnesingers a
powerful weapon of mass entertainment, and leave it at that.

Aquinnah voters have much to talk about before their annual town
meeting on Tuesday, May 13. There is a race for selectman between the
incumbent Karl Burgess and a challenger, Jim Newman, 65, a former
educator. Both candidates have a history with the finance committee.

It’s 10 p.m. on a Thursday night. Steve Durkee, the Gazette graphics director, is in Dick Reston’s office, his head stuck out the open skylight, smoking a cigarette. Dick is at his computer, writing headlines.

It's 10 p.m. on a Thursday night. Steve Durkee, the Gazette graphics director, is in Dick Reston's office, his head stuck out the open skylight, smoking a cigarette. Dick is at his computer, writing headlines. Out in the newsroom, Chris Burrell is hunched over his own terminal, trying to get the tone just right on his West Tisbury backgrounder. I am rummaging around in the Gazette library looking for some poetry that will work for a skyline (the line of verse that runs across the top of the front page). I find an E.B.

SSA Planning to Enforce Its Policy on Late Arrivals

By CHRIS BURRELL

Steamship Authority officials plan to clamp down later this summer
on a policy that would force last-minute drivers with reservations to
change their habits, or risk getting bumped into standby.

With the advent of new electronic ticket scanners, SSA managers said
they hope to enforce the policy written in fine print on the backside of
tickets, requiring drivers to arrive 30 minutes before the boat
departure.

Crowd of 300 Convenes To Debate Withdrawing Oak Bluffs from MVC

By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer

Pull out, go it alone, use the assessment money to pay for a
planner, stick to the town's own knitting. Stay in, continue to be
a member of the six-town team and use the protection and power of a
unique regional planning agency created by an act of the state
legislature 27 years ago.

Prevailing winds so far have helped the Vineyard escape any real environmental impact from an oil spill Sunday that dumped almost 15,000 gallons into Buzzards Bay, killing at least five waterfowl and polluting more than 10 miles of mainland beaches along the bay.

Chunks of oil the size of hockey pucks were spotted in Vineyard Sound near the Elizabeth Islands, prompting Dukes County officials to declare a state of emergency Wednesday, but none of the oil has yet washed ashore on any Island beaches.