Fast ferries have been much in the news these days, especially on
the Vineyard, but here is a fresh question to ponder: What happens when
a ferry that plies what is arguably the shortest route in the world
suddenly becomes faster?
Of course the answer is simple enough - the ferry gets there
faster. On the Chappaquiddick ferry this means a route that now takes
about two minutes has now been shortened by about 30 seconds.
FALMOUTH - - Adding fresh fuel to the fire that has burned around the Steamship Authority for months, the Falmouth selectmen voted 4-1 last night to take steps to remove Galen Robbins as the town boat line governor.
"Townspeople are in an uproar about this and I recommend we begin the process of removal," declared selectman Edward Marks.
"I believe that what's on the record is significant grounds and we may begin the process," said selectman Virginia Valiela.
Future of Once Proposed Parking Lot Property Triggers Sharp Debate;
New Bedford Suit Runs Up Big Legal Bills
By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer
NANTUCKET - An old skeleton tumbled out of the closet
yesterday when Steamship Authority governors took up the thorny question
of selling the Blacksmith Shop Road property in Falmouth, in a
passionate discussion that revealed fresh fault lines on the boat line
board - especially between the Falmouth and Vineyard members.
An all-Island public forum was announced this week amid a perceived growing disconnection between the Vineyard community and its elected leaders over Steamship Authority affairs.
The developers of the Down Island Golf Club stand to clear more than
$70 million in profits if they are permitted to build a private luxury
golf club in the southern woodlands section of Oak Bluffs, while the
financial benefits to the town and the Vineyard community will be
minimal by comparison.
Steamship Authority Board Members Clash Over Chief Executive Officer
Role
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
Struggling with issues of governance and lines of authority, a
sharply divided Steamship Authority board of governors failed to find
common ground yesterday in an executive session that will ultimately
determine the future for boat line chief executive officer Fred C.
Raskin, who has been on the job for just four months.
New Boat Line CEO Launches Hopeful Era After Contract Pact
By JULIA WELLS
Calling it an investment in the lifeline to the Islands, Steamship
Authority governors announced this week that they had signed a six-year,
six-figure deal with a veteran marine transport executive to take over
the top management post at the public boat line.
Fred C. Raskin will start work on Monday morning as the chief
executive officer of the SSA.
In a quiet ceremony on the second floor of the Edgartown courthouse yesterday, Kathryn A. Roessel was sworn in as the new Vineyard Steamship Authority governor.
The appointment came amid a fresh wave of back-corridor politics, both on the Vineyard and on Beacon Hill, aimed at some kind of coup to overthrow Ms. Roessel by fast-tracking a piece of stalled legislation that would overhaul the SSA board of governors.
Third Round of Deliberations on Controversial Development Proposal
Begins Tomorrow; Voters Urged to Attend
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
The high-stakes crusade to convert the last unbroken stretch of
woodland in the town of Oak Bluffs to a luxury golf course and housing
development will come out from behind closed doors and into the public
spotlight this week when the Martha's Vineyard Commission opens a
pair of back-to-back hearings on the controversial development plan.
Call it a laboratory for learning about health care on
Martha's Vineyard. Or call it the Foundation for Island Health.
Either way you get the same thing: A young Island foundation aimed
at testing a patient-centered, self-funded community health system whose
cornerstones are prevention, education and state-of-the-art technology.
Now, two years after it was launched, the outlines for the
foundation have begun to take on a little more definition.
