Over-manning on vessels run by the Steamship Authority costs more than $3 million each year, according to estimates by the Authority.

The boat line contends that its ships operate with crews more than 52 per cent above minimum Coast Guard requirements in the summer tourist season and more than 40 per cent above requirements in the off-season.

It was the eve of an election in which most Americans were preparing to pass judgment on the war in which Bertha Blake's two sons are soldiers, but she politely declined to talk about that election.

Except to say this: "I respect the right of people not to support the war. We all are entitled to our own beliefs, and my sons hold up that freedom for us."

Hospital's Building Proposal Draws Concern, Support at Final Two MVC Hearings

By IAN FEIN

An offsite parking lot emerged this week as a critical sticking point in the continuing Martha's Vineyard Commission review of the proposed Martha's Vineyard Hospital renovation and expansion project. Questions about the parking lot reflected longstanding concerns among some commission members that the existing 13-acre hospital location in the Eastville section of Oak Bluffs may not be appropriate or adequate for further expansion.

The brief but memorable playoff run for the high school boys' soccer team ended Tuesday, following a gut-wrenching 2-1 defeat to Hingham in the Division II quarterfinals. The game was decided by penalty kicks after two frames of scoreless sudden-death overtime.

The winds of change were in the air for Dukes County this past week as Island voters elected two new members to the Dukes County Commission and approved the creation of a new county charter commission by an almost four-to-one margin.

Tristan Israel, a longtime member of the county advisory board and Tisbury selectman; and Carlene Gatting, a member of the Martha's Vineyard commission, beat out a crowded field of challengers to win seats on the board.

Vineyard voters in the state election this week overwhelmingly said yes to a study of their county charter and swept two new members onto the Dukes County commission, but expressing a measured mandate for change, also returned two incumbents to the regional governing board.