Ask most kids where their eggs, beef and milk come from and
they'll tell you the grocery store. Ask the same question of the
young people who have spent a week at Herring Creek Farm and
they'll answer differently: "It comes from a farm."
Final Debate Opens in Senate on Bill to Restructure Boatline
By JULIA WELLS
State Senate action on a hostile bill to restructure the Steamship
Authority was delayed in eleventh-hour maneuvering by Cape and Islands
Sen. Robert O'Leary yesterday, and with just two days left in
formal session at the state legislature, the bill will be taken up again
by the Senate today.
It's auction season here on the Island. Benefits are by now
part of the summer routine - held, it seems, on a weekly basis
- raising money for causes that range from youth sailing programs
to conservation and affordable housing. But the predecessor of them all
still has yet to make its annual appeal. That will come Monday, August
5, with the 24th annual Possible Dreams Auction, held in the garden of
the Harborside Inn in Edgartown.
Houses on Move Auction Raises $160,000
Islanders Press Drive to Ease Affordable Housing Crisis
By MANDY LOCKE
The scene was Vineyard ironic - hundreds of people gathering
at the agricultural hall to shuffle "houses" for the sake of
ending the Island's dreaded summer shuffle tradition.
On Saturday night, the handiwork of well over 100 Vineyarders who
hammered, painted and molded everything from owl houses to lighthouses,
playhouses to doghouses, brought in more than $160,000 at auction.
Hospital Picks Chief Executive Officer to Secure Future of Medical
Complex; Announces Plan to Build New Facility
By JOSHUA SABATINI
A new era promising a brighter future in the wake of yearly fiscal
woes has dawned at Martha's Vineyard Hospital, as the
hospital's board of trustees last week approved a new chief
executive officer and a plan for a possible $30 million project to
construct a new hospital facility.
Developer Threatens MVC Ruin in Campaign to Force Golf Deal
By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer
The developer who wants to build a luxury golf course and an array
of private homes in the southern woodlands section of Oak Bluffs
threatened to "bring down" the Martha's Vineyard
Commission last week if the commission refuses to sign on to a back-room
deal to approve the lucrative development scheme, the Gazette has
learned.
Cheers for Circus Smirkus: Wild West Performances Draw Big Island
Crowds
By MARCUS TONTI
The big top, a blue-and-white-striped number festooned with green
and yellow stars, beckoned to passersby from Old County Road. The smell
of popcorn and cotton candy filled the air as one approached the tent,
the sight of children already sticky with lemonade and sno-cones
lightening the heart.
But all this was prelude. It was the show inside that really soared.
When it came to the economics of health care, the message heard from
the big shots in the field couldn't have been more blunt. America
spends more on health care than any other country in the world but the
pay-off is marginal - its citizens don't live any longer
than people in Canada or Britain.
Camping Area Gains Support
Environmental Bond Bill Carries $3 Million Earmark Toward Purchase
of Old Webb's Site in Southern Woodlands
By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer
A $700 million state environmental bond bill is now set for a vote
in the state legislature, and includes a $3 million earmark toward the
purchase of the former Webb's Camping Area in Oak Bluffs.
Tisbury Voters Face Decision on Money for Treatment Plant
By JOSHUA SABATINI
Tisbury selectmen will convene a special town meeting Sept. 10 to
ask voters for an additional $2 million to fund a proposed wastewater
treatment project, having pushed the project over budget Tuesday by
accepting a bid for construction of a wastewater treatment center.
The board's action came this week at the recommendation of
Earth Tech Inc., the town's consulting firm for the project.
