County Leaders Support Delay on Fast Ferry Plan
By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer
A bitterly divided Dukes County Commission voted to join the
collective voice of other Vineyard officials this week - and ask
the Vineyard representative to the Steamship Authority to throttle down
a plan to develop high-speed ferry service between New Bedford and the
Vineyard.
The vote was 4-3 to endorse the letter sent by the All-Island
Selectmen's Association to Vineyard SSA governor J.B. Riggs Parker
last week.
Tisbury Center Gets New Look
Officials Will Present Bold Plans to Beautify Main Street Area Beginning Early Next Spring at Annual Town Meeting
By JOSHUA SABATINI
At the annual town meeting in April of 2002, the Tisbury Business
Association, working with the town's public works department, will
present preliminary designs for an ambitious program to improve
Tisbury's appearance.
Fast Ferry in Washington Leaves Environmental Damage in Wake
By JULIA WELLS
As the Steamship Authority considers a plan to launch high-speed
passenger ferry service between New Bedford and the Vineyard, a new
scientific study has found that a state-of-the-art high-speed passenger
ferry is causing erosion and environmental shoreline damage in the state
of Washington.
The prescription for the Chinook, the ultra-high-speed ferry that
runs between the cities of Seattle and Bremerton?
Slow down.
The Martha's Vineyard Land Bank wants your ideas on how to
spend some $10 million of accumulated revenue. Plus, commissioners at
the land bank are game for fielding questions on policies that govern
the almost 2,000 acres of public lands it owns.
It began as a drill, and the more people became involved, the more
believable it got. More than 100 public safety volunteers gathered
Saturday for a mass casualty drill at the little bridge in Oak Bluffs.
There were sirens, fake blood on the ground and children screaming in
apparent pain.
The 56th annual Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish
Derby begins at 12:01 a.m. tomorrow, a minute past midnight. The first
groggy fishermen of the month-long contest will line up to weigh in
their catch when the derby headquarters opens at 8 a.m. in Edgartown.
Controversial County Deal with Hospital for $50,000 Fee Raises Legal
Questions
By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer
An unusual county contract set up to funnel taxpayer money into the
Martha's Vineyard Hospital continued to cause shock waves this
week as local officials tried to sort out the origin of a deal to pay
the county a $50,000 fee to administer the contract.
Yesterday, West Tisbury town counsel Ronald H. Rappaport questioned
whether the county has the right to charge the fee.
Work began on the fire breaks in the Manuel F. Corellus State Forest
this week, with the blessing of the state attorney general but over the
protests of a watchdog group which promises to seek a court injunction
today.
Island Leaders Act to Block Decisions on Fast Ferry Service to New
Bedford
By JULIA WELLS and JOSHUA SABATINI
In an unexpected move that marks a new turn in the road for the
Steamship Authority, the All-Island Selectmen's Association voted
without dissent this week to tell the Vineyard boat line governor to put
the brakes on plans for high-speed ferry service between New Bedford and
the Vineyard.
Justice System Often Fails in Rape Cases
By MANDY LOCKE
When asked about their experiences with the criminal justice system,
the women paused and then broke the silence with strained laughter.
For the four sexual assault and rape survivors who offered their
stories to the Gazette with the promise of anonymity, their hesitation
to proceed through the courts - or their frustrating experiences
once involved in the system - force these women to find meaning
and resolution outside the criminal justice system.
