Charles W. Clifford Will Leave Commission Post After 15 Years of
Service
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
Martha's Vineyard Commission executive director Charles W.
Clifford announced late last night that he will resign at the end of the
year from the unique regional planning agency where he has held the top
post for a total of 15 years, including the last 11 straight years.
Senior managers at the Steamship Authority knew months in
advance that the starboard engine on the New Bedford passenger
ferry Schamonchi was likely to fail, the Gazette has learned.
A professional marine survey prepared for the boat line
three months ago reported in some detail on the worn condition
of the engine. "The machinery, especially the starboard engine,
is approaching the end of its useful life, with major overhaul
due. The generators are of older vintage. Spare parts will be
scarce," wrote Michael L.
MASHPEE - A chorus of Cape Cod politicians and residents told
a governor's ferry task force last night that they want relief
from the Island-bound traffic they believe is clogging their roads.
And leaders in the town of Barnstable demanded a full voting seat
for their community on the Steamship Authority board of governors.
"We have been the unintended victims of the growth and
prosperity on the Islands," declared Barnstable town council
president Roy Richardson.
Hospital Nurses Union Takes Its Case to Island Community
By JULIA WELLS
Nurses at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital this week fired back
at chief executive officer Kevin Burchill, charging that he has forced
them into a bitter contract dispute that, left unresolved, could spell
the end of high-quality nursing at the Island's only hospital. The
nurses also said they will now take their case into the Vineyard
community in a public appeal for support.
Boat Line Forum Pushes Plan to Boost Passenger Traffic with Fast
Ferries
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
A plan to pump up passenger traffic to the Vineyard and pay millions
of dollars to develop the port of New Bedford in the years ahead was
pitched to the people of the Island this week as a way to increase
operating revenues for the public boat line, reduce car traffic in the
port towns of Falmouth and Hyannis and open up more space on ferries for
Island residents.
Herring Creek Farm, the storied and richly diverse Great Plains farm
in the rural coastal perimeters of Edgartown, is now set to be sold for
a record price to an eclectic group that includes two nonprofit
conservation organizations and two private buyers.
A formidable Islandwide transportation planning project and a slew
of fresh development proposals are expected to keep the newly configured
Martha's Vineyard Commission busy in the months ahead.
More land, less impact on the ponds and a pledge to be better
neighbors this time around - those were the promises made to the
Martha's Vineyard Commission last night from developers who want
to build an 18-hole private, luxury golf club in the last unbroken
stretch of woodlands in the town of Oak Bluffs.
One state senator, one state representative, one Steamship
Authority governor and a band of Nantucket residents and town
officials spoke out yesterday in favor of a voting seat for the
town of Barnstable on the boat line board but not for New
Bedford.
"My job is to make sure Barnstable gets a vote. But New
Bedford has to be proven to be viable before it can get a vote.
Now, they should not be on the board at all," said Barnstable
Rep.
Deep discussion was far from the minds of Edgartown voters this
week, who skipped lightly through their annual town meeting in less than
two hours, pausing only briefly for a bit of discussion before approving
a plan to allow building on substandard lots in the name of affordable
housing.
"It's an oxymoron to say it is satisfactory to build on
a substandard lot," declared town resident Walter Burns.
