Fast Ferry in Washington Leaves Environmental Damage in Wake

By JULIA WELLS

As the Steamship Authority considers a plan to launch high-speed passenger ferry service between New Bedford and the Vineyard, a new scientific study has found that a state-of-the-art high-speed passenger ferry is causing erosion and environmental shoreline damage in the state of Washington.

The prescription for the Chinook, the ultra-high-speed ferry that runs between the cities of Seattle and Bremerton?

Slow down.

The Martha's Vineyard Land Bank wants your ideas on how to spend some $10 million of accumulated revenue. Plus, commissioners at the land bank are game for fielding questions on policies that govern the almost 2,000 acres of public lands it owns.

It began as a drill, and the more people became involved, the more believable it got. More than 100 public safety volunteers gathered Saturday for a mass casualty drill at the little bridge in Oak Bluffs. There were sirens, fake blood on the ground and children screaming in apparent pain.

Controversial County Deal with Hospital for $50,000 Fee Raises Legal Questions

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

An unusual county contract set up to funnel taxpayer money into the Martha's Vineyard Hospital continued to cause shock waves this week as local officials tried to sort out the origin of a deal to pay the county a $50,000 fee to administer the contract.

Yesterday, West Tisbury town counsel Ronald H. Rappaport questioned whether the county has the right to charge the fee.

The 56th annual Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby begins at 12:01 a.m. tomorrow, a minute past midnight. The first groggy fishermen of the month-long contest will line up to weigh in their catch when the derby headquarters opens at 8 a.m. in Edgartown.

School Bells Ring for 2,400 Island Children

New Academic Year With High Energy to Reach Goals

By MANDY LOCKE

The school children waiting at the ends of driveways Thursday morning confirmed what the empty shelves of school supplies at area stores suggested earlier this week.

Nearly 2,400 Island children - filled with stories from summer adventures - headed back to school yesterday.

And there to welcome each and every one were eager teachers and administrators.