County Fee to Hospital Is Eliminated, Ending Weeks of Controversy

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

The subcommittee charged with managing an unusual contract between the county and the Martha's Vineyard Hospital voted last night to eliminate a controversial fee from the contract - and the county manager issued a brief apology for setting up the fee in the first place.

Charles W. Clifford Will Leave Commission Post After 15 Years of Service

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

Martha's Vineyard Commission executive director Charles W. Clifford announced late last night that he will resign at the end of the year from the unique regional planning agency where he has held the top post for a total of 15 years, including the last 11 straight years.

An escalating contract dispute between management and nonprofessional workers at the Windemere Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center will now go to federal mediation - and workers at the Island's only nursing home will file a complaint charging unfair labor practices.

Last week's report calling for high-speed ferry service between New Bedford and the Vineyard was submitted without any financial information, and the acting general manager of the Steamship Authority said yesterday that he will now have to step in to finish the crucial financial piece of the report.

County Fee Contract Stirs Heated Debate

County Manager Carol Borer Signs Controversial Agreement with Hospital Without Knowledge of Commissioners

By JULIA WELLS

At a scrappy meeting that saw plenty of disagreement but little in the way of accountability for the disordered events of the last two weeks, the Dukes County Commission this week tried to sort its way through a jumble of conflicting facts surrounding a contract designed to funnel $500,000 in taxpayer money into the Martha's Vineyard Hospital.

County Leaders Support Delay on Fast Ferry Plan

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

A bitterly divided Dukes County Commission voted to join the collective voice of other Vineyard officials this week - and ask the Vineyard representative to the Steamship Authority to throttle down a plan to develop high-speed ferry service between New Bedford and the Vineyard.

The vote was 4-3 to endorse the letter sent by the All-Island Selectmen's Association to Vineyard SSA governor J.B. Riggs Parker last week.