Up until two years ago, Willy Mason had never played a gig off-Island.

Sovereignty is in the news these days.

It's in Rhode Island, where tempers are running hot in an ongoing skirmish between the Narragansett Indian Tribe and state attorney general over whether the tribe can sell tax-free tobacco.

It's in the Hamptons, where the Shinnecock Indian Nation has begun to clear land for a casino, contravening local zoning and state gaming laws.

Getting gypped out of a screenwriting credit for a movie that has grossed over $300 million and won seven Oscars would put anyone on edge. It's a good thing that Don Ethan Miller is an expert at tai chi, and he knows how to relax.

You can tell from his paintings that Stan Murphy likes work, especially the physical kind that toughens the hands.

Before Sheila and Charlie Flathers sat down for dinner and a couple of cold beers at Papa's Pizza Wednesday night, they seriously pondered over the specials that weren't on the menu - a thick wooden table for $120 or a chair for 15 bucks.

Just five years after a star-studded cast of investors revived the Hot Tin Roof, the legendary Edgartown nightclub partly owned by Carly Simon is closing down, the victim of a graying Island population and a hard-nosed town policy. The building is up for sale at a price of $1.1 million.