Mandy Locke
New County Manager Still on Hold; She Says Nothing Wrong with Resume
By MANDY LOCKE
One week after Dukes County commissioners hoped to restore their government image with a new leader at the helm, recently-hired county manager Laurie Perry has not yet reported to work.
Commissioners ducked behind closed doors again Wednesday night to discuss "non-union personnel contracts."
They took no action, and said they would hold another meeting next week.
New Fundraiser Just for Employee Pay?
It's the Latest Idea from Management in Community Services Dispute; Union Leaders Are Skeptical
By MANDY LOCKE
Management waved an olive branch across the negotiation table at Martha's Vineyard Community Services Friday - offering to add a new fundraiser to the agency's social calendar for the purposes of boosting the earnings of agency staff.
Yesterday, the union informally rejected what they termed as "a bake sale."
Refusing to let the fundraiser be a stage for escalating labor tensions, Martha's Vineyard Community Services officials this week denied the request of Possible Dreams poster child Carly Simon to earmark a portion of her gift's proceeds to staff wage increases.
Costs for Edgartown School Prompt August Town Meeting
By MANDY LOCKE
Edgartown voters are invited to a midsummer special town meeting to tie up some loose financial ends for the Edgartown School construction project.
An Island Couple with a Simple Wish: They'd Like a House to Call a Home
By MANDY LOCKE
Erin and Gary Simmons Jr. are nearly there.
Federal Mediator for Services Talks
By MANDY LOCKE
Acknowledging difficulties in wage talks, Martha's Vineyard Community Services management and union officials have agreed to invite a federal mediator to the negotiation table.
"After 20 sessions, we're still very far apart. To be in this place after so long, we realized we had a serious problem. Something had to be done," said Richard Perras, MVCS labor attorney, who requested the third-party facilitator after a day-long contract negotiation session last week.