Board Studies New Hospital

Audience at Open Forum Says: Don't Rush to Conclusions, and Be Sure to Include Public in the Debate

By JONATHAN BURKE

Island health care officials urged the Martha's Vineyard Hospital board of directors Saturday not to exclude the community at large in a rush to develop plans for a new facility.

Community Services and Union Far Apart on Economic Issues

By MANDY LOCKE

Three weeks shy of the anniversary of the landmark vote which brought a union into Martha's Vineyard Community Services, the health and human services agency and 35 of its employees have yet to nail down a first contract.

"The more difficult issues have been left for now. It's going to be arduous," said Rob Doyle, an employe of Island Counseling Center, one of Community Services' five programs, two of which are unionized.

The Rev. Arlene Bodge sees life as a journey whose prime function is to establish a relationship with God.

The Memorial Day weekend may be everyone's start to the summer season, but for the veterans of the Island it is also a sojourn into the memories of war and a meditation on the price of peace. This year's Monday morning parade will take place in Vineyard Haven. The march starts from the American Legion Hall at 11 a.m.

Legislative Budget Proposals Salvage Many Island Programs

By MANDY LOCKE

There's potentially good news coming out of Beacon Hill this week for the Island - as good as financial news can get in a climate that brought a $3 billion revenue shortfall.

Island public schools, the Vineyard Affordable Child Care Project and Family Planning of Martha's Vineyard could escape merciless cuts this year, avoiding dire hits that the governor's proposed budget announced in February.

But a showdown awaits the state Senate and House of Representatives.

A flap has arisen in Aquinnah over the illegal shooting of a large number of cormorants earlier this month on tribal land. The killings took place near the historic herring run, the oldest operating herring run on the Island. The incident raised questions about how laws are enforced by the tribe.