The popular low-cost excursion fares for Vineyard residents on
Steamship Authority ferries are now slated for major change, if a
proposal by boat line managers is approved next month.
Against a backdrop of growing concern about the direction of
the Steamship Authority and also about a new alliance between
the Vineyard SSA governor and the mainland port communities, an
emerging grass roots citizens group on the Island has issued a
call to reunite Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket on boat line
issues.
"We want to make sure that the focus is on the two Islands
and that they are staying together.
Trying to Follow the Steamship Authority Is Harder Than Chasing the
Poor Red Sox
By JULIA WELLS
It's hard to follow the players without a scorecard, as the
old saying goes, and when it comes to Steamship Authority affairs
it's getting tough to decipher the box scores these days.
There is now a swirl of public confusion around the boat line, and
this week the list of public meetings on SSA business suddenly grew long
and tangled.
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.
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?
This time around, the gloves are coming off. That is the word that's been quietly circulated for the last several months by spokesmen for the Down Island Golf Club, as they prepared a new plan to build a private luxury golf club in the southern woodlands section of Oak Bluffs.
NEW BEDFORD - Encouraged by hundreds of applauding onlookers,
New Bedford political leaders, transportation planners and tourism
promoters last night issued their demand for full ferry service to the
two Islands - and for a place on the Steamship Authority governing
board, all in the name of commerce and progress.
The Cape and Islands senate district - in place since the
founding of the Massachusetts legislature - will remain largely
intact thanks to the redistricting plan adopted by the state Senate
yesterday afternoon.
There is no access for people with disabilities on the New Bedford passenger ferry Schamonchi, and a Cape Cod advocacy group recently filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation about the problem.
Spokesmen for the Cape Organization for the Rights of the Disabled (CORD) said yesterday they filed the complaint after months of unsuccessful attempts to communicate with the Steamship Authority about the problem.
The Aquinnah building inspector filed a lawsuit this week against
the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) to test the question of
whether the tribe must follow local zoning rules.
"A genuine controversy exists on this issue requiring judicial
guidance," wrote Aquinnah town counsel Ronald H. Rappaport in the
complaint.
