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.
County Manager Carol Borer Signs Controversial Agreement with
Hospital Without Knowledge of Commissioners
By JULIA WELLS
At a scrappy meeting that saw plenty of disagreement but little in
the way of accountability for the disordered events of the last two
weeks, the Dukes County Commission this week tried to sort its way
through a jumble of conflicting facts surrounding a contract designed to
funnel $500,000 in taxpayer money into the Martha's Vineyard
Hospital.
A Massachusetts Land Court judge last week dismissed the central claim in a complicated property rights case that centers on an attempt by a group of developers to open up access to a vast area of landlocked lots off Moshup Trail in Aquinnah.
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.
Passenger Ferry Proposed for New Service From New Bedford Was
Centerpiece Of Financial Trouble in California
By JULIA WELLS
The high-speed passenger ferry that the Steamship Authority is
negotiating to lease and possibly buy was returned to the Washington
state shipyard where it was built because it had mechanical problems
- and because it was a financial disaster for the California
company that bought it, the Gazette has learned.
SSA Public Hearing Set Tuesday at Crucial Stage In Planning for Future
By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer
The Steamship Authority will host a public hearing on the Vineyard early next week, marking a crucial juncture in a tangled discussion about the future of the boat line that was established to serve the two Islands - and about the role of expanded ferry service between the Vineyard and New Bedford.
The hearing begins at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in the Oak Bluffs School.
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.
Vineyard Leaders Order SSA Governor to Return for Further
Consultations Before Final Decision on Fast Ferry
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
For the second time in a month, a large group of Vineyard selectmen
this week wavered on the subject of high-speed ferry service out of New
Bedford, asking the Island Steamship Authority governor to meet with
them one more time before he makes any decision on a trial fast ferry
project.
That was the word yesterday from Rep. Joseph C. Sullivan
about the new legislation now under consideration to
dramatically change the Steamship Authority board of governors.
"This is a serious issue that needs to be studied and
evaluated in a serious way, and it will be," said Mr. Sullivan,
a Braintree Democrat who is co-chairman of the Joint Committee
on Transportation in the Massachusetts legislature.
