To those sitting in the booths near the lunch counter during one of
the final trips of the ferry Islander, the usual docking announcement
over the public address system was utterly indecipherable.

Wah, wah ,wah, it went. It didn't matter; people know the
drill.

A searing internal review prepared by two longtime Oak Bluffs
attorneys concludes bluntly that the former town administrator had no
legal authority to award personal service contracts and special one-time
bonuses to a variety of town employees.

Property owners wanting to put houses on undersized lots in Ocean
Heights and Arbutus Park may have to pay for the cost of bringing town
water to their neighbors, under a plan to avert a public health threat
that will be considered next week.

Substandard lot owners also may be required to pay for expensive
denitrifying septic systems under new regulations proposed as a solution
to groundwater pollution in the densely settled area.

Selectmen Back Late Initiative On Restaurant Alcohol Sales

By IAN FEIN

Buying a cold beer on the outdoor deck of the Aquinnah Shop may
become a reality, if town voters in the coming weeks support a
selectmen-sponsored initiative to allow the sale of beer and wine with
meals in restaurants.

Aquinnah selectmen added the question to a March 8 special town
meeting as a last-minute warrant article, which, if approved by voters,
would start the process of changing the historically dry westernmost
town on the Vineyard.

In the weeks ahead, a group of Edgartown residents plans to take a new step to preserve and protect the town's ancient ways and
roads.

As many as 30 volunteers will be sworn in by the town as byway
wardens. Their mission will be to keep an eye out for illegal dumping
and misuse.

Members Replaced, Town Zoning Board Approves Field Club

By MIKE SECCOMBE

The developers of an exclusive recreational club at Katama cleared
the final hurdle to the project on Wednesday night after a sudden change
of heart - and members - at the Edgartown zoning board of
appeals.

The board voted 5-0 to grant a special permit for the
multi-million-dollar Field Club.

The four big Island towns will for the first time allocate millions
of dollars in community preservation funds at their annual town meetings
this year, with recommended projects ranging from installing Edgartown
street-style lanterns to a revolving loan program to help Oak Bluffs
families install denitrifying septic systems.

When the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe received a telephone call from U.S. Department of Interior last week, formally announcing their federal recognition as a sovereign Indian tribe, members of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) looked across to the Cape with a warm heart and a jaded eye.

They had lived through a similar moment almost 20 years ago to the day, when they celebrated their status as the first federally recognized tribe in the commonwealth.

Someone referred to her as the Islander on steroids. Others called her the cruise ship. One Steamship Authority worker, gazing up at the huge bulk of the ferry Island Home tied up at Woods Hole, simply called her a monster.

Whatever the metaphor, you get the picture. This is a big boat.

Police Outreach Aims at Illegals

Oak Bluffs Chief, Lieutenant Ready Pamphlet in Portuguese to Educate
Brazilians, Ease Fears of Deportation

By MIKE SECCOMBE

Picture a road accident, one car rear-ended by another. The Oak
Bluffs police are in attendance, talking to the driver of the car that
was hit, who happens to be Brazilian. Another car drives by and a woman
shouts out the window: "Why don't you leave those people
alone?"