On Night Patrol in Edgartown

By MANDY LOCKE

It's 10 o'clock on Friday night in Edgartown. Kids with ice
cream cones and fathers with strollers disappeared from Main street
hours ago. A sea of 20-somethings and 40-somethings who dream about
being 20-something again has replaced the crowds of families
shuffling through the streets of downtown.

Women glide down the brick sidewalks in runway fashion in
their newest brightly colored tank tops. Men trail them, staking
claims early. One cannot mistake a certain urgency in the crowd's
pace.

Three hours after renting a moped in Oak Bluffs Saturday morning, 30-year-old Katherine D. Miller tried to round a right curve on Beach Road near Harthaven, lost control of the moped and struck an oncoming car.

Investigations continue as state and local fire officials pursue the exact cause of the fire and explosion that cut Edgartown's Independence Day fireworks display short last week.

Transportation Chairman Speaks

By JULIA WELLS

This will not be a rush job.

That was the word yesterday from Rep. Joseph C. Sullivan
about the new legislation now under consideration to
dramatically change the Steamship Authority board of governors.

"This is a serious issue that needs to be studied and
evaluated in a serious way, and it will be," said Mr. Sullivan,
a Braintree Democrat who is co-chairman of the Joint Committee
on Transportation in the Massachusetts legislature.

It's one thing to hire cashiers, clerks and ice cream
scoopers, train them and trust them for a summer's worth of
work. But try hiring 42 summer cops, training them, handing them
guns and putting them on the street.

Scientists cast a wide net this week in the search for clues to why a rare disease called tularemia has a foothold on the Vineyard. They drew blood samples from landscapers, dragged for dog ticks and trapped rodents.

Against a backdrop of growing concern about the direction of
the Steamship Authority and also about a new alliance between
the Vineyard SSA governor and the mainland port communities, an
emerging grass roots citizens group on the Island has issued a
call to reunite Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket on boat line
issues.

"We want to make sure that the focus is on the two Islands
and that they are staying together.

Even though the sun took the Fourth of July off, people
across the Island found plenty of ways to celebrate Independence
Day.

The sharp breezes and daunting sky kept folks off the beach.
A survey of Norton Point Beach at midday showed only a handful
of people, most of whom traded sunblock for sweaters. In fact,
more state police than vacationers braved that territory.

The weather and slow morning nudged people toward their
favorite restaurants for a leisurely breakfast.

Fireworks Marred by Accident

By MANDY LOCKE

Quick response by emergency crews averted disaster when fire
broke out on the barge launching the Independence Day fireworks
over Edgartown harbor.

"It could have been a big disaster. It wasn't. No one was
hurt," Edgartown fire chief Antone A. Bettencourt said.

The accident began about 25 minutes into the half-hour,
$16,000 show, just before a sequence of rockets introduced the
grand finale.

On a Fibar-covered floor at the indoor riding arena at Red Pony Farm, celebrated modern dance choreographer Paula Josa-Jones found a new stage.

When Ms.