The couple came into the church well after the service had started. They sat near the podium, where the Rev. Judith Campbell was speaking. The man watched a spot between the floor and the altar. His eyes were red, and he did not blink. The woman remained composed for a few minutes but then began quietly to cry, working a tissue in her hands, folding it into squares.

The streets of Edgartown early Tuesday morning are nearly empty. The day breaks sunny, a lovely September morning.

9:49 a.m. Small groups of people gather in store entrances to listen in disbelief to the normally soothing broadcast voices of Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings. People exchange any tidbits they know as they try to piece together the sketchy details of terrorist plane attacks on the World Trade Center.

Four Survivors of Rape Rebuild Lives

By MANDY LOCKE

It's a story without an ending. Every page captures how the
four sexual assault survivors who've shared their stories with the
Gazette navigate through and reshape a world that was once safe and
predictable.

Since the attacks, some days have been good, others just bearable
and still others hard to endure.

While the experiences of Rose, Caitlin, Beth and Alex, whose names
have been changed for privacy, are all very different, their lives are
linked by trauma and uncertainty.

High school test scores revealed this week are raising concerns about whether a gender gap exists in math instruction at the regional high school. And after looking closely at the latest results from advanced placement (AP) tests, school leaders are also wondering whether some advanced and honors classes are over-enrolled.

False albacore have yet to make a strong appearance in the first
week of the 56th annual Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and
Bluefish Derby. So far only small, undersized false albacore have been
seen. The contest began on Wednesday morning with just two fishermen
weighing in their fish in the first half-hour of the contest.

County Fee Contract Stirs Heated Debate

County Manager Carol Borer Signs Controversial Agreement with
Hospital Without Knowledge of Commissioners

By JULIA WELLS

At a scrappy meeting that saw plenty of disagreement but little in
the way of accountability for the disordered events of the last two
weeks, the Dukes County Commission this week tried to sort its way
through a jumble of conflicting facts surrounding a contract designed to
funnel $500,000 in taxpayer money into the Martha's Vineyard
Hospital.

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.