How Two Islands View Boat Line
It Threatens to Become an Issue: Nantucket Is Feeling Isolated,
After Long Run of Unity with the Vineyard
By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer
Fresh fault lines at the Steamship Authority these days may threaten
to undermine the traditional bedrock of unity between the Vineyard and
Nantucket.
The 43-year-old public boat line is chartered to provide dependable
year-round ferry service to the two Islands.
CDs, Concerts Are in the Mix Aboveground
By CHRIS BURRELL
When Mike Mackey informed his boss Wednesday that he was going to a
Foo Fighters concert and would be late to work the next day, he probably
knew he wasn't going out on a limb.
At most any other workplace, such a declaration might brand the
employee a slacker, but at Aboveground Records in Edgartown, store owner
Michael Barnes lives - and works - by a whole different set
of standards.
"That's okay," he told his 19-year-old staffer.
"We support the rock."
Marguerite A. Bergstrom Left Her Mark on Island Hospitality, Housing
and Politics
By MANDY LOCKE
Marguerite A. Bergstrom, a celebrated Island humanitarian, died in
her Wing Road home Tuesday at the age of 81.
Better known by those who loved her as Bergie, Ms. Bergstrom was a
war veteran, a retired nurse and hospital administrator, former
innkeeper, veteran Tisbury official, affordable housing champion and
prominent church leader.
Fire Safety Ratings Slide to a New Low, Insurance Costs Up
By MANDY LOCKE
As insurance bills make their way into the post office boxes in West
Tisbury this month, homeowners are facing some steep premium hikes.
The increases - reported to be as low as eight per cent and as
high as 100 per cent - come less than two months after the
town's fire safety rating dropped to the lowest possible score.
Fire Safety Ratings Slide to a New Low, Insurance Costs Up
By MANDY LOCKE
As insurance bills make their way into the post office boxes in West
Tisbury this month, homeowners are facing some steep premium hikes.
The increases - reported to be as low as eight per cent and as
high as 100 per cent - come less than two months after the
town's fire safety rating dropped to the lowest possible score.
High on Gay Head Cliffs, a Land Bank Beauty
New System of Trails May Result from Sale in Aquinnah
By CHRIS BURRELL
In a move that could resurrect a long-lost museum in Aquinnah and
create a network of trails over a dramatic south shore seascape, the
Martha's Vineyard Land Bank has agreed to buy the six-acre
Vanderhoop homestead just south of the Gay Head Lighthouse.
Vineyard Question: Would Paramedics Save More Lives?
By JONATHAN BURKE
A proposal by Island medical personnel would establish a regional
squad of paramedics on Martha's Vineyard.
Unlike the Island's basic and intermediate emergency medical
technicians (EMTs), paramedics can dispense prescription medication and
perform other advanced skills. The Vineyard and Nantucket are the only
two communities in Massachusetts that do not have access to paramedic
care.
In a land-use decision that has potentially far-reaching
implications for every town on the Vineyard, a superior court judge
ruled last week that the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) cannot
be sued because of sovereign immunity.
If allowed to stand, the ruling by the Hon. Richard F. Connon has
the power to turn a landmark 1983 Indian land claims settlement on its
head.
The Martha's Vineyard Preservation Trust received an
extraordinary financial boost from contributors participating in the
18th annual Taste of the Vineyard on Thursday and the Patrons Party and
Auction on Saturday night. As of yesterday the preservation trust
reported income of $170,000 from both events after expenses.
A Shadow Looming on Possible Dreams
Carly Simon Has Been Big Fundraiser for Community Services Auction;
Now She Backs Union Workers
By MANDY LOCKE
The poster child for the Possible Dreams Auction stepped into the
middle of an escalating salary dispute at Martha's Vineyard
Community Services last week.
