Fast Ferry Catalina Was Repossessed

Passenger Ferry Proposed for New Service From New Bedford Was
Centerpiece Of Financial Trouble in California

By JULIA WELLS

The high-speed passenger ferry that the Steamship Authority is
negotiating to lease and possibly buy was returned to the Washington
state shipyard where it was built because it had mechanical problems
- and because it was a financial disaster for the California
company that bought it, the Gazette has learned.

Island Community Services Marks Historic Milestone

By MANDY LOCKE

Yellowing newspaper clips fill the pages of the Martha's
Vineyard Community Services scrapbook, tracing each program addition
through its 40-year history. Its history is one of growth - the
evolution of a single program in 1961 to an essential Island institution
in 2001. But the falls and flights that capture the organization's
resilience and commitment won't all be found in the newspaper
archives.

The Chilmark Public Library expansion project is the talk of the
town. Proponents of the project are scurrying about the community,
holding meetings in homes in an effort to raise the necessary votes in
the next special town meeting, scheduled for Nov. 19.

It is a more significant political contest than any
selectmen's race in years. For many it is a reminder of the
building of the new elementary school, which opened in 1999.

The Cape and Islands senate district - in place since the
founding of the Massachusetts legislature - will remain largely
intact thanks to the redistricting plan adopted by the state Senate
yesterday afternoon.

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.