Privatizing Plan for Schamonchi

Steamship Authority Tells Union That Losses Could Be Stemmed If Another Operator Runs New Bedford Ferry

By JULIA WELLS

After only three years of owning the New Bedford passenger ferry Schamonchi, Steamship Authority senior managers are now proposing to convert it back to a private operation, the Gazette has learned.

Judge Rejects Neighbors' Pleas Over Katama Farm, Supports Current Usage

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

In a detailed decision that explicitly recognizes the value of a 190-acre, town-owned farm in the Great Plains section of Edgartown, a superior court judge late last week soundly rejected a request from a group of neighbors who are trying to shut down Katama Farm.

Southern Woodlands Hearing Is Set, but Developers Seem Primed to Fight

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

On the eve of a public hearing - now set for next week - to review a massive housing project in the southern woodlands section of Oak Bluffs, the developers of the Down Island Golf Club appear to be charting a fresh collision course with the Martha's Vineyard Commission.

In the face of federal laws which leave local zoning regulations powerless, West Tisbury officials are grappling with one of the first of a likely

Teaching Assistant Positions at West Tisbury Are Under Threat as Budget Shortfalls Loom

By CHRIS BURRELL

Faced with a $400,000 shortfall in their budget, school leaders from the three up-Island towns are now planning to cut back the roster of teaching assistants at the West Tisbury School.

The Up-Island Regional School District committee will decide next Thursday whether to lay off three teaching assistants or reduce all assistants to a four-day work week.

Oak Bluffs Library Plans Are Studied; October Start Seen

By CHRIS BURRELL

Groundbreaking for construction of the Island's newest and largest library may begin sometime in October if bids - set to be opened less than a month from now - fall within the $3.2 million budget.

The roughly 15,000 square foot library will rise up behind town hall on Pacific avenue in Oak Bluffs, replacing the tiny quarters on Pennacook avenue.