Boat Line Considers Merchandise Sales

By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer

The elusive Holy Grail of supplemental Steamship Authority revenue - the marketing of Authority cups, glasses, T-shirts and other marine-related items - reappeared Tuesday at the monthly boat line meeting in Oak Bluffs.

Nantucket governor Flint Ranney proposed issuing a request for proposals to market Authority-branded items.

"I think we're missing the boat," Mr. Ranney said about the SSA's mostly nonexistent efforts.

Safety Concerns Prompt State Proposal to Ban Truck Traffic Over Drawbridge

By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer

In an ongoing effort to ease the pounding on the troubled Lagoon Pond drawbridge, heavy trucks may be routed through the blinker intersection in Oak Bluffs or even through West Tisbury this summer.

MassHighway plans to ask selectmen in Tisbury and Oak Bluffs to help designate a truck route to divert such trucks away from the drawbridge, according to Fred LaPiana, the Tisbury director of public works.

Chilmark Man May Plead Guilty in Rare Map Theft

By JAMES KINSELLA

A Chilmark man is expected to plead guilty next Thursday to one or more thefts of rare maps worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to published reports in Connecticut newspapers.

Both the New Haven Register and the Hartford Courant have reported that E. Forbes Smiley 3rd, a dealer in rare maps who lives on North Road, may make pleas in back-to-back appearances in U.S. District Court and state superior court in New Haven.

The epic six-year battle over control of the Martha's Vineyard Airport has ended not with a bang, but with the mailing of checks.

In the end, the court case at the center of the battle cost at least $608,374 - in payments to the two airport managers who brought the lawsuit and in legal fees charged by the attorneys.

Power Research Institute Challenges Practicality of Tidal Energy Project

By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer

Engineering analysis has raised questions about the practicality of a proposed tidal energy farm near the Middle Ground in Vineyard Sound.

Roger Bedard, ocean energy leader at the Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto, Calif., said the tidal flow through the Sound is not fast enough to make a tidal turbine energy project feasible.

Boat Line Pursues Government Grants

Oak Bluffs Ferry Terminal Renovation Is Delayed Until Steamship Authority Acquires State and Federal Funding

By JAMES KINSELLA

The $10.1 million renovation of the Oak Bluffs ferry terminal and several other major Steamship Authority projects will remain on hold until the boat line succeeds in landing state or federal government grants.