Final Debate Opens in Senate on Bill to Restructure Boatline

By JULIA WELLS

State Senate action on a hostile bill to restructure the Steamship Authority was delayed in eleventh-hour maneuvering by Cape and Islands Sen. Robert O'Leary yesterday, and with just two days left in formal session at the state legislature, the bill will be taken up again by the Senate today.

When it came to the economics of health care, the message heard from the big shots in the field couldn't have been more blunt. America spends more on health care than any other country in the world but the pay-off is marginal - its citizens don't live any longer than people in Canada or Britain.

Camping Area Gains Support

Environmental Bond Bill Carries $3 Million Earmark Toward Purchase of Old Webb's Site in Southern Woodlands

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

A $700 million state environmental bond bill is now set for a vote in the state legislature, and includes a $3 million earmark toward the purchase of the former Webb's Camping Area in Oak Bluffs.

Tisbury Voters Face Decision on Money for Treatment Plant

By JOSHUA SABATINI

Tisbury selectmen will convene a special town meeting Sept. 10 to ask voters for an additional $2 million to fund a proposed wastewater treatment project, having pushed the project over budget Tuesday by accepting a bid for construction of a wastewater treatment center.

The board's action came this week at the recommendation of Earth Tech Inc., the town's consulting firm for the project.

Beautiful Road Returns Star to Home on Stage

By ALEXIS TONTI

Friday night at the Hot Tin Roof, Kate Taylor came home. She took to the stage with confidence and launched the set with a clear voice, her petite frame radiating enormous energy and vitality. And, as with any proper homecoming, she was greeted by friends and family, all who had come to celebrate the release of her new album, Beautiful Road.

On Call: Hospital Emergency Team Cares for Island with Skill and Commitment

By MANDY LOCKE

A heat haze hangs over the Island, and gray-haired men chat about the need for rain as they make their way to the door. Just inside, a visitor leans over the counter and jokingly asks for a cure for summer. A nurse replies: "We have a pill in the form of a ferry ticket off the Island."

The scanner is quiet. No one rushes. No tears. No sign of crisis. Not yet.

But the day is young for the emergency department staff at Martha's Vineyard Hospital.