Commissioners Open Review of Southern Woodlands Plan

By JULIA WELLS

Battles lines were drawn last night when a Bolton developer who wants to build a massive housing project in the Southern Woodlands gave the Martha's Vineyard Commission its first glimpse of the project.

In fact a glimpse was all that was available, as developer Brian Lafferty unveiled only the barest outlines of his plan to build 320 homes on 288 acres in Oak Bluffs.

Congressman Ties New Bedford to Full Pay for Any Ferry Deficit

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

If New Bedford and the state legislature want the Steamship Authority to run ferry service between the Whaling City and the Islands, then the port should agree to pay 100 per cent of any deficit incurred.

That was the opinion of Cong. William Delahunt, delivered bluntly in a conversation with the Gazette yesterday morning.

SSA Bill Draws Sharp Criticism

Boat Line CEO Fred C. Raskin Warns Politicians Against Moves to Force New Bedford Solution on the Steamship Authority

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

The newly appointed chief executive officer of the Steamship Authority jumped into the legislative fray over the public boat line yesterday, calling on the state Senate to take a time-out and let the SSA develop its own business solutions - especially when it comes to ferry service out of New Bedford.

In a three-way partnership that will protect the last key piece of undeveloped land at one of the oldest wildlife sanctuaries on the Vineyard, the

SSA Launches Plan to Tighten Security

By JULIA WELLS

The Steamship Authority will spend about $200,000 this summer to boost security on ferries and at boat line terminals on the Cape and Islands.

Senior managers at the SSA said this week that they are trying to incorporate a new awareness about safety and security into operations at the public boat line, although it is still unclear how much can be done that is meaningful - and also legal.

The Emperor of Ocean Park

Blockbuster First Novel Surprises Modest Author Stephen Carter

By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer

He is a law professor first and a novelist second, but he is also a lot of other things, in no particular order: a loving husband and father, a deeply religious African-American, a constitutional scholar, a conservative among liberals, a writer, a writer, a writer.