The Billionaire and the Bookstore

Wendy Schmidt, wife of Google CEO Eric Schmidt, is spending a fortune to preserve Nantucket's small-town character. But is the island helped -- or hurt -- by having its very own sugar mama?

With Wendy Schmidt's help, Mary Jennings (left) and Lucretia Voigt were able to save the island's beloved Mitchell's Book Corner. Schmidt sees herself as creating an "incubator" for locally owned businesses.

(Photos by Cary Hazelgrove) Schmidt is on the board of a foundation raising money to restore the historic Dreamland Theater.

By Kris Frieswick

August 31, 2008

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MAIN STREET IN DOWNTOWN NANTUCKET, even on a torrentially rainy August Monday, is packed tight with cars navigating its uneven cobblestone streets, steering around gaggles of tourists lugging suitcases and strollers. Below Main, Nantucket's world-famous harbor, filled with gleaming white yachts, meets streets lined with glitzy seasonal restaurants and a dizzying array of summer-only retailers - half a dozen designer-clothing ... (Full article: 2626 words)