SSA Set to Vote on Fare Hikes Thursday at Cornell Theatre

By JAMES KINSELLA

When the Steamship Authority board of governors convenes next Thursday morning at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, Vineyard governor Marc Hanover anticipates voting for across-the-board rate increases to fund next year\\\'s $78.3 million budget.

But he said it will be the last time.

When the Steamship Authority board of governors convenes next Thursday morning at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, Vineyard governor Marc Hanover anticipates voting for across-the-board rate increases to fund next year\'s $78.3 million budget.

But he said it will be the last time.

\"We really have to get a handle on this,\" Mr. Hanover said earlier this week about the budget, slated to rise $4 million next year. \"We can\'t keep absorbing these additional costs.\"

Cong. William Delahunt describes himself as an eternal optimist. Still, his optimism comes easier now than it did four years ago.

Opposition to the agenda of President Bush and, in particular, his Iraq war were not so popular back then. Today he finds himself on the right side of history and the popular mood.

Oak Bluffs, Charter School Perform Well While Edgartown Scores Are Poor on Math, English Skills Exam Results released yesterday by the state Department of Education show the Vineyard's six elementary schools turned out an uneven performance on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test, ranging from 100 per cent of Charter School eighth graders scoring advanced or proficient in English language arts to a third of students failing math in the Edgartown fifth and six grades.

Doug DeBettencourt, coach of the regional high school golf team, is not shy about offering high praise for his star golfer Tony Grillo.

Trustees at the Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket hospitals this week announced their intention to join Massachusetts General Hospital and its parent