Boat Line Terminal Plans in New Delay; Questions Include Scope,
Funding

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

The Steamship Authority Oak Bluffs terminal reconstruction project
is now in a state of growing disarray, as town leaders struggle to
understand the status of the project and boat line managers continue to
draw lines in the sand - and withdraw their environmental
applications.

The SSA yesterday pulled back its application from the Oak Bluffs
conservation commission for the reconstruction project.

Neighbor Says Cease and Desist Ignored at North Bluff Garage

By CHRIS BURRELL

All work on a controversial garage project in the North Bluff
section of Oak Bluffs was supposed to grind to a halt last month under a
cease and desist order issued by the town building inspector, but at
least one neighbor says the saws were running over the weekend inside
the three-story building.

State Lists Alleged Violations at Home of Wastewater Chief

By CHRIS BURRELL

An investigation underway by the Massachusetts Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) has found nine alleged violations of
state environmental codes on property in Oak Bluffs owned by Joseph N.
Alosso, chief operator of two municipal sewage treatment plants on the
Island and former board of health chairman in Oak Bluffs.

SSA Pressures Oak Bluffs on Pier Plan; Boat Line's Tone a Sore
Point for Town

By ALEXIS TONTI

Amid controversy over a Steamship Authority proposal to renovate the
Oak Bluffs pier, boat line managers are now using plans to lease the
abandoned town hall for a new terminal as leverage.

In a letter to Oak Bluffs selectman Richard Combra, SSA director of
engineering Carl Walker says any permitting delay will undermine the
entire project. He puts pressure squarely on the town conservation
commission to fast track its review of the SSA proposal.

The state legislature has given final approval to the Island Health
Plan to make use of millions of dollars in state subsidies for the
grassroots health insurance initiative.

After more than a year of inching toward legislative approval, this
week's senate override vote gives the needed clearance to begin
offering low-rate insurance to Islanders without it.

Innkeeper Stephen Caliri chats about golden retrievers with his
guests in the parking lot of the Victorian Inn after directing them to
lemonade and cookies on the back patio. The cordless phone on his belt
rings, and Mr. Caliri begins rattling off room rates to a prospective
guest on the other end of the line. He even mentions the third-floor
mahogany deck he laid over the winter.

Time for Guaranteed Standby? an Old Idea Gets New Airing

By ALEXIS TONTI

A Steamship Authority plan to reinstitute guaranteed standby on a
trial basis this summer has at least one Oak Bluffs committee
campaigning for a complete revival of the old standby policy, and has
sparked an Islandwide debate on the boat line vehicle reservation
program.

Chilmark Will Vote on School Repairs

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

It's going to cost a fresh pile of money, but Chilmark
selectmen said this week that they now have a handle on the source of
the physical plant problems at the town grammar school - and are
on track to repair them.

But first voters must agree. A special town meeting is set for next
Wednesday, when voters will be asked to approve another $200,000 for
repairs at the Chilmark School.

And now another bit of bad news for the already troubled West
Tisbury town hall: Rats have taken up residence there. T.J. Hegarty,
county rodent officer, was called in and found plenty of evidence by
just taking a walk around the building. He found a network of tunnels.
"There is a well-established colony," Mr. Hegarty said
yesterday.

With a contract that expired more than a year ago and no real end in sight at the bargaining table, tension has begun to escalate between management and vessel workers at the Steamship Authority.

Union workers picketed SSA terminals on both sides of the sound over Memorial Day weekend, waving signs that put the spotlight on a simmering and now long-running dispute over manning levels, wages and retirement benefits.