Calvin Zaiko's Fitness Gambit Is Hypothermic

By CHRIS BURRELL

Innkeeper, guitar player and come mid-January, Calvin Zaiko would also have to be considered something of a daredevil.

His feat? Swimming seven days a week in the ocean waters just across the street from his home on Seaview avenue, Oak Bluffs.

Island selectmen who traveled to Boston last weekend may have learned firsthand how bad the state budget crisis has become, but they still have no idea just how deep the cuts in state aid to their towns will be.

Trash District Audit Issues Bleak Report

Auditor Cites Regional Refuse District for Sloppy Bookkeeping, Points to Opportunities for Abuse

By MANDY LOCKE

The long-awaited draft audit for the Martha's Vineyard Regional Refuse and Resource Recovery district delivered stern warnings for the trash district's leadership to clean house.

In a five-page management letter, auditor John J. O'Brien detailed sloppy and incomplete bookkeeping and pointed to the potential mishandling of cash at local drop-off centers.

State Finance Crisis Places New Strains on Budget of MVC

By JULIA WELLS

State budget cuts are expected to hit the Martha's Vineyard Commission hard in the coming fiscal year, and town assessments will go up as grant money goes down - way down.

MVC executive director Mark London said this week that state and federal grant money is expected to drop by some $200,000.

"We have tightened up every expense we can, but as we take on new planning responsibilities it is important that we keep our staffing intact," Mr. London said.

The lobster fishery in the waters south of Cape Cod is declining, so sharply that a number of Island commercial lobstermen are wondering how they will survive in the new year.

Boat Line Governors Dispute Legal Bills

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

Steamship Authority governors and senior managers said yesterday they were overbilled by a Boston law firm that represented the former Falmouth boat line member in his legal dispute with the town.

"There is no question that Smith & Duggan should receive a fair fee for their service. The question is what is a fair fee," said SSA general counsel Steven Sayers.