New Bedford SSA Maneuvers Fail

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

The Falmouth Steamship Authority governor checked the city of New
Bedford in its own game of ferry chess yesterday, refusing to honor an
11th-hour request from the Whaling City to extend a trial high-speed
ferry project, after the city solicitor abruptly pulled the plug on the
project two weeks ago.

The developers of the Down Island Golf Club turned up the heat on
the Martha's Vineyard Commission last night, hammering home the
threat of a large low-income housing project if the golf club plan is
not approved.

If you're not feeling quite ready for the holidays, if the
festive mood hasn't grabbed you, don't worry. You're
not alone.

A friend recently said that "Christmas is about getting back to the basics, the basics that are so easily forgotten today."

A reporter was reminded of this walking through the doors of the Federated Church on South Summer street Saturday morning, where an elf workshop was in progress. Oblong tables were crammed with kids bumping elbows and building gingerbread houses. Parents stood behind them chatting with each other. Some leaned over to lend a hand, but they were ignored - so intently focused were the kids on their individual projects.

The gathering started off with just two friends, but there was no chance it would stay that way. The tenth grader had already let it slip, telling another friend the vital piece of information that can spread like wildfire among teenagers.

Vineyard Officials Clash in Fight Over Boat Line Appointment; Political Dialogue Grows Ugly

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

Political chaos broke out across the Vineyard this week in the
aftermath of the surprise vote by the Dukes County Commission last week
to replace J.B. Riggs Parker, the Island Steamship Authority governor
who has presided over the most divisive period at the public boat line
in recent memory.

Meet Kathryn Roessel: New SSA Governor Brings Law to Post

By JULIA WELLS

Her name is Kathryn but she goes by Cassie. She is 47 but looks 29.
She wears traditional Vineyard attire: jeans, windbreaker and a silver
scallop-shell necklace. She grew up in Pittsford, N.Y., and her speech
has the flattened O's that are uniquely associated with upstate
New York in general and Rochester in particular. She has a Cairn terrier
named Tugboat.

Housing Crisis Spurs Initiatives

Grim Housing Needs Assessment Underscores Important Search to Ease Lack of Affordable Shelter on the Vineyard

By MANDY LOCKE

Twenty-eight million dollars.

It's less than five per cent of the $6 billion Vineyard
housing market. It's only $6 million more than the recent $22
million sale of the former Sharpe house in Edgartown. It's but a
$233 contribution from each seasonal and year-round resident.

If there's a religious holiday that seems to encourage letting your hair down, it must be Hanukkah. At least that's how things looked over at the Martha's Vineyard Hebrew Center.

At least six deer carcasses were illegally dumped in the Oak Bluffs
harbor last week, sending bacteria levels sky-high and prompting closure
of the harbor to shellfishing two days later. Police have no suspects
but said they are confident they will find those responsible for what
one environmental official has called a hazardous waste site.