EXTRA...

August on the Vineyard means politics

From fund-raisers in Oak Bluffs, above, to a shop in Vineyard Haven, all politics seems to be national on Martha’s Vineyard. cct photo

Politics at Play on Martha’s Vineyard

The paella has been ordered, the invitations have been sent out, and a large white tent has been reserved for the lawn. Next weekend, a few hundred guests, many who spend their summers on this dune-swept island off the coast of Cape Cod, will gather in Edgartown at the waterfront home of Frank Biondi, a former chief executive of Universal Studios and Viacom, and his wife, Carol, for a fund-raising party for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign.

Donations for the fund-raiser, which is also being coordinated by Jill Iscol and her husband, Ken, who was principal owner of Cellular One, have been set at $2,300 and $1,000. Helping with the event are Clinton friends like Mary Steenburgen and Ted Danson, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg and the Washington power broker Vernon Jordan.

Meanwhile, about 10 miles from the Biondis’ home, on the northeast side of the island in Oak Bluffs, similar preparations are being made for a fund-raising party for Senator Barack Obama, to be held the following Tuesday at the home of Ron and Judy Davenport, founders of Pittsburgh-based Sheridan Broadcasting... New York Times Escape section.
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Martha's Vineyard Headlines, August 16, 2009  

Island Real Estate Sales See Second Quarter Gain With Few Mortgage Ills
As a widening home mortgage crisis ripples through national financial markets, positive trends in the second quarter indicate that the Vineyard real estate market has stabilized and is even showing growth.Patience and supply and demand, the ultimate self-correcting economic process, was at work in the Vineyard market during the three-month period which ended June 30.

Galley Restaurant Closes for Season Early After a Fire
An early morning fire Tuesday caused extensive damage to the Galley Restaurant on the Menemsha harbor, forcing the popular ice cream and sandwich shop to close for the remainder of the season.  Barbara Fenner, who owns the shop with her brother Frank Fenner and his wife Merrily, said yesterday the restaurant will reopen as usual next spring. But that offers little comfort for the hordes of young children and other regulars who flock to the restaurant for a burger or a cone.

Ho for the 146th Livestock Show and Fair!
The gates opened half an hour early this year for the 146th annual Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Society Livestock Show and Fair because of the number of people milling in the parking lot. And at 10:45 a.m. yesterday the line in front of the West Tisbury firemen's hamburger booth was the shortest it will be all weekend. At peak hours, the wait for a grilled-to-perfection burger can take up to 15 minutes, but on this morning, only two people were waiting, their elbows up on the counter.

Cottages Sparkle on Illumination Night
Lighted old-fashioned oriental lanterns strung high in gingerbread house porches weren't the only memorable part of Illumination Night on the Camp Ground on Wednesday night.   (See an explanation and a YouTube of last's year's Illumination Night here.)

Former Ambassador Says Iraq Pullout Is Inevitable
You don't fix a watch with a hammer. And the force of blunt instruments is seldom any more effective in international relations.

Filmmaker Lynn Novick Works With Ken Burns on War Series
Addressing his Third Army troops before the Battle of France in World War II, General George S. Patton spoke these now-famous blunt words: "Boys, we all want to go home. We want to get this over with. But the quickest way to get it over with is to go get those bastards. The quicker they're whipped, the quicker we go home."

A Single Shake: By the Sea Salt Venture Grows
Reports of its addictiveness have come all the way from the other side of the globe - people who used up the stash they got from their friends or relatives on the Island as a gift, and who need a refill, fast.    Read the rest of the Vineyard Gazette here.