NANTUCKET - Walter Beinecke's name is spoken with a sense of awe and an undercurrent of resentment. He's the fellow, people here will tell you, who in the 1960s awoke this sleepy little island. He's the entrepreneur, who, owning much of Nantucket's downtown and practically all of the working harborfront - jammed with more fishing vessels than tourists in those days, did the math. He figured the place could benefit more from 100 people spending $100 each than 1,000 people buying a $10 T-shirt.
NANTUCKET - On a hot Tuesday morning, tourists clog
Nantucket's cobblestone streets, strolling from boutique to art
gallery to coffee shop.
Walking from Main to Centre streets, they sip a latte, buy a hooded
island sweatshirt and brunch at the Jared Coffin House, knowing nothing
of the obstacles this old whaling city has overcome just to serve them.
On any summer day a few years ago, a light breeze
could carry a thick stench miles from the peak of the overgrown Madaket
landfill. Today, to a viewer atop the grassy mound three stories high,
only a few pieces of lingering debris around the perimeter recall the
22-acre landfill so noxious that the state forced its capping in 1999.
NANTUCKET - - The people of Nantucket had their crack at the
podium this week, turning out more than 150 strong to urge a special
governor's ferry task force to protect the Steamship Authority and
their lifeline.
"The rate-payers of the Islands are not responsible for
reviving the economy of New Bedford. Folks, the Steamship Authority is
not an entitlement program," declared Steve Tornovish, a member of
the SSA financial advisory board from Nantucket.
