Sewer Project Set in Tisbury

Leaders Release Four-Phase Plan for $10.2 Million Sewering, but
Frigid Weather Puts Start Date in Question

By CHRIS BURRELL

The construction crew hired to build Tisbury's $10.2 million
sewer system was supposed to break ground next Monday, but now
there's one more problem and another likely delay: The ground
might well break their shovels if they tried.

Islanders Brave Cold to Share Concern at Prospect of U.S. War in
Middle East

By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL

On one of the coldest days of the year, more than 170 people
gathered at Five Corners for a peaceful noontime rally expressing their
concern at the prospect of an American war with Iraq.

High School Girls' Team Is Family Affair

By BRETT FERRY

"The amazing thing about Mary MacDonald is how she's
adopted basketball as her family," says Rory Moreis, assistant
boys' basketball coach. "It's amazing. She lives it.
She eats it."

With both of Coach MacDonald's daughters on her varsity squad
of eight girls, it seems more like basketball adopted her family.

Dukes County Leaders Face Deepening Crisis, Admit Lack of Oversight

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

Admitting that their own house is now in chaos, county leaders
scrambled to assay the damage this week amid a flurry of charges and
counter-charges following the abrupt departure of county manager Carol
Borer last month. Mrs. Borer cleaned out her office on New Year's
Eve and left, taking with her a check for some $22,000 in vacation pay
and sick time that she had approved for herself.

Calvin Zaiko's Fitness Gambit Is Hypothermic

By CHRIS BURRELL

Innkeeper, guitar player and come mid-January, Calvin Zaiko would
also have to be considered something of a daredevil.

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His feat? Swimming seven days a week in the ocean waters just across
the street from his home on Seaview avenue, Oak Bluffs.

Island selectmen who traveled to Boston last weekend may have
learned firsthand how bad the state budget crisis has become, but they
still have no idea just how deep the cuts in state aid to their towns
will be.

Trash District Audit Issues Bleak Report

Auditor Cites Regional Refuse District for Sloppy Bookkeeping,
Points to Opportunities for Abuse

By MANDY LOCKE

The long-awaited draft audit for the Martha's Vineyard
Regional Refuse and Resource Recovery district delivered stern warnings
for the trash district's leadership to clean house.

In a five-page management letter, auditor John J. O'Brien
detailed sloppy and incomplete bookkeeping and pointed to the potential
mishandling of cash at local drop-off centers.

State Finance Crisis Places New Strains on Budget of MVC

By JULIA WELLS

State budget cuts are expected to hit the Martha's Vineyard
Commission hard in the coming fiscal year, and town assessments will go
up as grant money goes down - way down.

MVC executive director Mark London said this week that state and
federal grant money is expected to drop by some $200,000.

"We have tightened up every expense we can, but as we take on
new planning responsibilities it is important that we keep our staffing
intact," Mr. London said.

The lobster fishery in the waters south of Cape Cod is declining, so
sharply that a number of Island commercial lobstermen are wondering how
they will survive in the new year.

Boat Line Governors Dispute Legal Bills

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

Steamship Authority governors and senior managers said yesterday
they were overbilled by a Boston law firm that represented the former
Falmouth boat line member in his legal dispute with the town.

"There is no question that Smith & Duggan should receive a
fair fee for their service. The question is what is a fair fee,"
said SSA general counsel Steven Sayers.