Offshore Energy Project Eyes Submerged Turbines Near the Middle Ground

By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer

A development company has quietly filed plans to build a large underwater tidal hydroelectric farm with up to 150 submerged propeller units between Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands in Vineyard Sound.

The applicant is Massachusetts Tidal Energy Co. of Washington, D.C., whose backers are largely unknown.

Arthur Railton Publishes Work of Intelligencer

By JAMES KINSELLA

Arthur R. Railton had just taken over what he had been assured was a temporary post as editor of the Dukes County Intelligencer when he began to make the acquaintance of Jeremiah Pease.

Gale Huntington, the founding editor of the Intelligencer, the publication of the Martha's Vineyard Historical Society, had been running continuing excerpts from the diaries of Mr. Pease, written from the 1830s to 1857, when he died on the street in Edgartown.

Pascagoula, Miss. - Machines howl and scream. Bangs, loud and sharp, echo through the steel-frame building.

State Bill to Force SSA Into Binding Arbitration Riles Managers, Islanders

By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer

A proposed state bill has raised the specters of lost management control over Steamship Authority labor costs and a possible work slowdown at the boat line this summer.

The SSA is digging in against Senate bill 2459, which would require the boat line under certain conditions to submit to binding arbitration on collective bargaining disputes.

NANTUCKET - The Steamship Authority is considering loosening restrictions on the transfer of regular tickets, as well as on the 10-ticket discount books that are a staple of ferry travel for Vineyard residents.

At present, the boat line restricts the use of regular tickets and of the 10-ticket books to their buyers.

State Law Eclipses Stalled Health Plan

Health Insurance Reform Bill May Spell an End for Vineyard-Based Project, but Backers Are Still Optimistic

By JAMES KINSELLA

The ground-breaking mandatory health insurance law signed by Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney last month could spell the end of a Vineyard-based health insurance program that has been struggling to get off the ground for the past four years.