SSA Proposal Shows New Bedford Plan

Boat Line Favors Whaling City Service Based on Long Season and Fast
Ferries Capable of Carrying Huge Volume

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

Against a backdrop of internal maneuvers and with no concrete policy
directive from the board of governors, senior managers at the Steamship
Authority are now moving ahead to develop New Bedford as an expanded
port.

The land search for a plane carrying two people that is believed to
have crashed near or on Martha's Vineyard Tuesday night was
suspended yesterday afternoon at 3 p.m., pending new information.

For two long days and a night, local firemen, police and volunteers
combed the woods of the Island in search of the remains of a
single-engine airplane that went missing in foul weather. As the Gazette
went to press, there was still no trace of the plane.

Fairwinds Housing Development Narrowly Wins MVC Approval

By MANDY LOCKE

Minutes shy of 11 o'clock last night, the Martha's
Vineyard Commission narrowly approved the Fairwinds affordable housing
development slotted for 4.9 acres of sloping land west of
Tisbury's center.

Final approval of the Chapter 40B project - with six members
in favor, four against and one abstention - was in question for
most of two hours of deliberation.

Speak English: That's the Goal for Newcomers

By C.K. WOLFSON

Antonio Santos is waiting.

The 42-year old Reliable Market employee, an Island resident for
almost two years, is fluent enough in English to have become a
department manager at the Oak Bluffs market and to teach Portuguese to
English-speaking Islanders. "So why do I need a tutor," he
says, explaining, "I want to improve my accent and grammar so I
can have more friends; so I can express my ideas in a clever way and
because I don't want to sound stupid - because I am not
stupid."

County Manager Announces Retirement

By JONATHAN BURKE

After giving a report on the fiscal health of county government,
Dukes County manager Carol Borer announced Wednesday evening that she
will retire from the position she has held since 1997.

The statement caught county commissioners off guard: "Well,
that's a surprise," said John Alley of West Tisbury.

Soaring health insurance costs combined with deep cuts in state aid
could force Island taxpayers to bankroll a regional high school budget
that's nearly 12 per cent higher than this year.

A general store, a delicatessen and a shellfish hatchery -
they were all supposed to add up to profits for the only federally
recognized Indian tribe in the state, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head
(Aquinnah).

We Remember to Honor Those Who Served Us

By JONATHAN BURKE

Monday is not a day off for veterans. It is a day when they recall
the cruelty of war.

"It stirs up a lot of the emotions. A lot of people are not
aware of some of the feelings that vets have. We fought for our freedom,
but also so we could come back home," said a two-tour Army veteran
of Vietnam during a Wednesday evening interview. "Sometimes people
can be very cruel."

"For me, it's a day of the dead. It's the day the
bodies come back," said a two-tour Marine veteran.

Question Four Fails By a Wide Margin

Five of Six Island Towns Reject Plan to Give Selectmen Appointing
Power Over Vineyard Steamship Governor

By JONATHAN BURKE

Perhaps sensing outside meddling, perhaps seeking to maintain an
established power structure, Islanders Tuesday voted to keep the power
to appoint the Vineyard Steamship Authority (SSA) governor with the
Dukes County Commission.

Mandate Reinforces Mission of the MVC

Vineyard Voters Back Nine Candidates with Clear Commitment to
Support Unique Role of Regional Agency

By JULIA WELLS

Marking a fresh mandate to stay the course, Vineyard voters elected
a solid slate of conservation-minded candidates - including six
incumbents - to the Martha's Vineyard Commission this week.
And for the second time in two years, two respected Island farmers were
the top vote-getters in the election for the regional land use
commission.