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.

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.

Island Leaders Act to Block Decisions on Fast Ferry Service to New Bedford

By JULIA WELLS and JOSHUA SABATINI

In an unexpected move that marks a new turn in the road for the Steamship Authority, the All-Island Selectmen's Association voted without dissent this week to tell the Vineyard boat line governor to put the brakes on plans for high-speed ferry service between New Bedford and the Vineyard.

The county manager and the chief executive officer at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital scrambled to contain the damage this week after the surprise revelation last week that the county will collect a $50,000 fee on an unusual contract that will funnel some $500,000 in taxpayer money into the hospital.

The taxpayer money is intended to help defray the cost of emergency services at the hospital.

Overall traffic on Steamship Authority ferries is either flat or down slightly for the year, but in fact peak-season summer traffic on ferries to t

Call It Evolve

Rosabeth Kanter Weaves Big Ideas Into a New Book

By JULIA WELLS

The book lecture was about to begin, and suddenly Rosabeth Moss Kanter, celebrated author and star of the event, spotted a friend in the front row. Against a backdrop of the grand Stanley Murphy murals in the Katharine Cornell Theatre, hugs were exchanged, lipstick smudged. "I had a big idea the other day - a very big idea - I'll tell you about it," Ms. Kanter said.

It was a classic Rosabeth moment.