NANTUCKET - The people of Nantucket clashed openly with the
Steamship Authority yesterday, raising tough questions about boat line
spending and demanding that the SSA abandon a new marketing venture that
will allow J. Crew to hand out catalogues on ferries and in terminals
during the popular Nantucket Christmas Stroll.
State's Doug Foy: Guiding Four State Agencies in New Regime
By JULIA WELLS
He switched teams, changing from private to public, from advocacy to
bureaucracy, from an attorney who led the fierce charge for
environmental protection to an Uber-secretary with a lofty title and a
post in state government to match.
But on Doug Foy, the drape of the new uniform appears to be just
right.
Hospital Leaders Attempt to Blunt Financial Crisis at the Windemere
Facility
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
Leaders at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital stepped in this week
to try to contain an escalating financial crisis at the Windemere
Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center. Hospital senior managers said
the crisis at the Island's only nursing home could pose a threat
to the Island's only hospital.
Waiting List for English Classes Is Long; Indicator of Intent to
Stay
By CHRIS BURRELL
They are, said Jeanne Burke, the people who sustain the Island, the
ones who ring up the groceries, paint the houses and tend the gardens.
They are also the ones knocking on Ms. Burke's door in
staggering numbers, looking for a place in one of the six English
classes taught through the Martha's Vineyard Adult Learning
Partnership, where Ms. Burke is the director.
Boat Line Faces Decline in Revenues; High-Speed Service Meets Legal
Snag
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
The plan to run high-speed ferry service between New Bedford and the
Vineyard hit a major snag this week when Steamship Authority managers
learned that they may run afoul of the Pacheco Act, the state
anti-privatization law.
State House Compromise Clears Path for Special Vote in May on a
Petition in Oak Bluffs to Secede from Commission
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
After a week of back-room politics on Beacon Hill that left one Cape
and Islands legislator openly fuming at what he called "outside
muscle," a petition by the town of Oak Bluffs to withdraw from the
Martha's Vineyard Commission is now set to come before voters at a
special election in the middle of May.
Deck Collapse Injures Ten in Chilmark; Island Rescue Units in Quick
Response
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
A festive summer cocktail party in Chilmark ended abruptly in chaos,
fright and injuries last night when a second story deck collapsed on a
home overlooking Clam Cove in Nashaquitsa Pond.
Rental Market Season Begins Slowly, but Bookings Even with Last
Year; Ferry Reservations Filling Up
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
The war in Iraq, four straight months of vicious winter weather
followed by something that only vaguely resembled spring - perhaps
it's little wonder that the economy on the Vineyard this year is
like the lilacs: late to bloom.
Steamship Authority governors and senior managers said yesterday
they were overbilled by a Boston law firm that represented the former
Falmouth boat line member in his legal dispute with the town.
"There is no question that Smith & Duggan should receive a
fair fee for their service. The question is what is a fair fee,"
said SSA general counsel Steven Sayers.
Aquinnah Deadlocks on Appeal of Tribal Sovereignty Decision
By JULIA WELLS
The Aquinnah selectmen announced this week that they are deadlocked
over whether to appeal a superior court ruling that found the Wampanoag
Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) cannot be sued because of sovereign
immunity.
"We are unable to reach a decision on this matter," said
board chairman Michael Hebert following an executive session Tuesday
afternoon with town counsel Ronald H. Rappaport.
