It's not so much about the land anymore, it's about the
people - especially the neighbors.
This is the central theme that runs through a new management plan
released this week for two key properties owned by The Trustees of
Reservations on Chappaquiddick.
Little changed from a draft that was released last spring, the new
plan sketches the outlines for a future Cape Pogue Wildlife Refuge and
Wasque Reservation that could include:
The diver goes over the side and disappears into the shallow
saltwater pond with a small splash. Several minutes later he breaks the
surface, cradling his prize: a clear plastic cylinder that contains a
large plug of gravelly sand topped with pond water. A wisp of green
algae waves gently in the watery top layer like a slender flag.
It's going to cost a fresh pile of money, but Chilmark
selectmen said this week that they now have a handle on the source of
the physical plant problems at the town grammar school - and are
on track to repair them.
But first voters must agree. A special town meeting is set for next
Wednesday, when voters will be asked to approve another $200,000 for
repairs at the Chilmark School.
If Approved, Private Company Will Run Two Smaller Boats Instead,
Joining Fast Ferry
By JULIA WELLS
After a bumpy three-year journey that spawned some of the most
hostile politics in the history of the Steamship Authority, the New
Bedford passenger ferry Schamonchi will now become a surplus vessel,
boat line governors said yesterday.
Grace S. Grossman, the diminutive and crusading Nantucket Steamship
Authority governor whose love and work for her island knew no
boundaries, died last Thursday after a brief illness. She was 80.
"It's about the Nantucket people. I represent what the
Nantucket people want," she said in an interview with the Gazette
in January.
Steamship Authority chief executive officer Fred Raskin said this week that reports of his impending resignation are premature, although he did admit that the decision is now at hand: Will he stay in the top post at the boat line that he stepped into barely two years ago, or leave?
"I haven't made a final decision, although I think I will shortly and I'll talk to the board about it before I make a final decision," Mr.
Draft Legislation on Boat Line Break-Up Prompts Furor and Charges of
Bad Faith
By JULIA WELLS and ALEXIS TONTI
An underground group that wants Nantucket to break away from the
Steamship Authority is now circulating draft legislation on Beacon Hill
to establish a commission to study splitting the public boat line in
two.
The group is led by Nantucket SSA governor Grace Grossman, a
well-entrenched Democrat with powerful connections in the state house.
SSA Board Meets for First Time Since Nantucket's Decision to
Explore Secession from Authority
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
Steamship Authority news has been dominated by power and politics in
recent weeks, but when the boat line board of governors convenes for its
monthly meeting this Thursday morning, much of the discussion is
expected to center on rules - new rules for dogs, old rules for
excursion travel and some rules that are top secret in the name of
national security.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has denied a petition by the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) to hold a new hearing on the much-watched sovereignty case, closing the door on the last option for the Wampanoags at the state level.
In a one-sentence ruling issued late in the day on Wednesday, the state supreme court denied the motion by the tribe to rehear the case.
The tribe will now pursue an appeal to the United States Supreme Court.
Vineyard residents enjoy good health, especially compared with the general population on the mainland. They smoke less, they are thinner and they visit their doctors regularly.
