Government

In a rare political occurrence, a sitting Republican justice is seeking the Democratic nomination to remain on the East Hampton Town bench.

Lisa R. Rana, who has Republican, Independence, and new EH Fusion Party support, will face Andrew Strong in a Democratic Primary on Tuesday. Whatever the outcome in the primary, Ms. Rana’s place on the ballot for the November general election is secure.

In an interview last week, she said that she decided to try to force the primary to give Democrats a choice for town justice.

In what environmental advocacy organizations are calling a victory for wildlife and the ecosystem, both the State Senate and the Assembly approved bills Friday setting up a marine mammal and protection area around Plum Island, Great Gull Island, and Little Gull Island.

The East Hampton Town Board is expected to vote tonight on a resolution to support four recommendations made last month by its Energy Sustainability and Resiliency Committee. The goal is to achieve 100 percent of the town's energy needs from renewable sources. 

The State Senate voted narrowly on Monday night to approve a bill that will afford undocumented immigrants an opportunity to obtain a driver’s license. The vote closely followed the bill’s passage in the Assembly, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed it into law soon after the Senate’s action. 

Anyone interested in obtaining a grant from the Town of East Hampton for water quality improvement projects can now request an application through the Natural Resources Department’s website or by email. Up to $1.25 million is available for the first round of awards.

The East Hampton Town Trustees have retained an attorney to begin a civil investigation into the apparent electronic eavesdropping in the conference room at their Amagansett offices that began at least eight months ago.

The fashion designer Stella McCartney, who is a daughter of the musician Paul McCartney, and her husband, Alasdhair Willis, are seeking a long-term extension of an expired emergency permit to allow a 100-foot double-tier sandbag revetment on Gardiner’s Bay to remain in place until they can build a new house at the site.

A divide among neighbors and generations was apparent on Tuesday as the New York State Public Service Commission hosted its first information sessions and public hearings on the proposed South Fork Wind Farm, a 15-turbine installation that would be constructed in a federal lease area some 35 miles east of Montauk.

Lower gas prices, on par with those found in other areas of Long Island and New York State, may be on the horizon for the South Fork.

The East Hampton Town Board voted to accept an anonymous donation of a BearCat tactical response vehicle at its meeting last Thursday.

A proposal to allow food trucks to operate at farm stands in Southampton Town was embraced by farmers and denounced by restaurant owners at a public hearing at the town board meeting on Tuesday.

After a member of the Amagansett Citizens Advisory Committee complained at last month’s meeting that the Amagansett School had not allowed “holiday decorations” to be placed on the lawn in front of the school building in April, the committee wrote to the school principal, Maria Dorr, requesting clarification.