Vineyard skateboarders finally got a nod of approval Monday night from the keepers of the 150-foot square of land they see as a potential home for an Island skate park.

A 22-year-old man was charged in district court yesterday with escaping from Dukes County Jail and House of Correction in Edgartown last weekend. David Luce, who was close to finishing a two-and-a-half-year sentence for assault and battery and indecent assault and battery, was discovered missing from the jail at approximately 2:55 a.m. last Saturday.

New Bedford Politicians Begin Maneuvers for Boat Line Seat

By JULIA WELLS

The slumbering campaign by the city of New Bedford to overhaul the Steamship Authority saw a bit of fresh activity this week when a state representative hastily added an amendment to the proposed state budget - and then just as quickly withdrew it.

The bugs are coming. This is the year of the locusts.

Actually, these cicadas have been around all along, but have yet to emerge from underground. They come out of hiding, taking to the bushes and trees once every 17 years.

William Wilcox, water resource planner for the Martha's Vineyard Commission, is getting ready and he'd like the community to do the same. Just listen for their sound and watch for their appearance. He'd like to document all the reports.

A federal judge ruled in lawsuits brought by conservation groups and last week issued a new set of restrictions for the fishing of groundfish in waters off the Cape and Islands. But the tight new regulations regarding cod, yellowtail flounder and haddock have spurred an avalanche of criticism from fishermen up and down the northeast coast.

Moped dealers like to look at the numbers this way: Of the thousands of people who rent mopeds every season, only a few end up crashing.