A routine aspect of public-school finance is tripping up local school districts that find themselves having to borrow money during the months before tax revenue starts to flow in to pay for teacher salaries, classroom supplies, utilities, and just about every other type of budget line. This year, as an example, Sag Harbor is looking at spending more than $195,500 on interest on a $9 million tax anticipation note; by way of comparison, a far more favorable interest rate on the same amount last year cost Sag Harbor $11,921 in interest payments.



By Christine Sampson

A New York State Department of Transportation plan to install a traffic circle or stop lights at the intersection of Route 114 and Main Street/Route 27 in East Hampton Village has been halted, and the mayor says that's good news.

By Christopher Gangemi

Those interested in preserving John Steinbeck’s Sag Harbor home as a writing center must have been buoyed on Tuesday afternoon as the proposal coasted through a public hearing during a Southampton Town Board work session, with nary a single comment against it.



By Christopher Gangemi

Representative Nicholas LaLota of the First Congressional District had quite a wild ride in his opening days as a freshman Republican in the 118th Congress. There was the epic and very public battle to name Kevin McCarthy as house speaker — and then there was George Santos, the newly elected representative from Nassau County whose résumé turned out to be a pack of lies and who now faces ongoing opprobrium from almost all quarters.

By Tom Gogola

Dave Calone, a former chairman of the Suffolk County Planning Commission who has a background in law and business, is officially the Suffolk County Democratic Committee’s candidate of choice for county executive. Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman, who told The Southampton Press late last year that he was considering running for county executive, confirmed Sunday that he has opted not to run.

By Christine Sampson

Organizacion Latino-Americana of Eastern Long Island will receive $600,000 from Suffolk County over the next three years for opioid abuse prevention work among young people, the group announced Friday.

By Carissa Katz

While the bees are mostly hive-bound and slowed by the cold of winter, it’s not a time of rest for a beekeeper.

By Christopher Gangemi

Looking out your window and seeing a black-capped chickadee is easy. Finding one in the wild is more of an adventure. Listen for their simple yet effective language, which also gives them their name. If you hear three “dees,” no big deal. If they string together more than five, something, perhaps you, or maybe some unseen predator, is freaking them out.

By Christopher Gangemi

To date, no detailed design specs for a proposed wastewater treatment plant in Montauk’s Hither Woods have been put into the public record by the East Hampton Town, even as a conceptual diagram by the engineering firm that created it has become a key document motivating sewage plant detractors.

By Tom Gogola

Ongoing litigation in federal court between East Hampton Town and East Hampton Village over the use and storage of controversial firefighting foam at the town airport by the village’s fire department remains in limbo even as the state Department of Environmental Conservation “continues to oversee the town’s remedial investigation” at the site, the state agency said this week.

By Tom Gogola

The Siren Sisters, a trio of East End drag queens who will perform at LTV on Saturday, talk about the growing popularity of drag culture and how their own careers took shape.

By Christine Sampson

With a goal of helping young students get set up for success in school, Chelsea Petrozzo-Wilson recently launched The Wonderers, a tutoring and small-group educational program.

By Christine Sampson

East Hampton High School’s boys basketball team remained at the top of Division IV as of Monday given its two lopsided wins over Eastport-South Manor and Miller Place last week, and more from the week in sports.

By Jack Graves

The solitude that Kevin Shattenkirk enjoys at his house in Sag Harbor, on a three-acre parcel mostly surrounded by a nature preserve, is a far cry from his chosen occupation as a professional hockey player.

By Jon M. Diat

“It was an extraordinarily competitive meet, and our athletes performed at a very high level. We’re looking strong as we head for the states and nationals,” Tom Cohill, head coach of the Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter’s youth swim team, the Hurricanes, said on returning from a large regional Winterfest meet at the University of Maryland last weekend.

By Jack Graves

In this letter, Thomas Jefferson seeks the help of the Bridgehampton-born David Gelston, who had been appointed by Jefferson as collector of customs for New York in 1801.

By Andrea Meyer

Frederic Tuten’s short prose vignettes accompany his prints in pastels and ink, and the result is delightfully whimsical.

Reviewed by Regina Weinreich