House Backs New Bedford Vote on SSA Board

Whaling City Wins Most Issues; Two Islands Get Little in Return

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

BOSTON - Ending a four-year hostile crusade by the city of New Bedford to restructure the Steamship Authority, state legislators finally surrendered this week, approving a bill that meets nearly all the demands of the Whaling City, including an immediate voting seat on the boat line board of governors.

Vineyard Joins Cape Community in Compact to Offer Mutual Aid in Disaster Conditions

By MANDY LOCKE

Martha's Vineyard emergency rescue crews will no longer be left to battle disasters alone.

A simple phone call from an Island fire chief mobilizes additional manpower and equipment to the Island - thanks to a mutual aid agreement finalized this spring among Vineyard fire departments and emergency responders on Cape Cod.

The Vineyard could see as many as 7,032 more homes on its 17,475 remaining acres of developable land, officials from the state Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA) said at an Island forum held Thursday night.

"That's a relatively short time frame to be faced with some tough choices," said Christian Jacqz, director of Massachusetts Geographic Information System, in a presentation to Island officials at the Howes House in West Tisbury.

The keepers of Vineyard history are leaving the heart of the whaling community for a new home up-Island.

Community Services Management Appeals Designation of Voters in Union Dispute

By MANDY LOCKE

The Martha's Vineyard Community Services labor dispute, now almost three months old, faced the potential of further delays today when management appealed a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision to expand the pool of eligible voters for a June 20 union election.

Graduates Receive Generous Scholarships

By MANDY LOCKE

Christmas is coming early this year for 133 graduating seniors at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School, as it will for 115 of the school's recent alumni. Gifts will pour in from 123 community groups playing Santa who will deliver checks of all sizes this Friday night - paid to the order of colleges, universities and training institutions across the nation.

About $650,000 will be divided to make continuing education a reality for 248 Island youths.