A hearing officer assigned by the New York State Education Department to determine whether disciplinary charges should be brought against Maria Dorr, who was placed on paid leave in January of last year after being accused of stealing a $25 gift card, has found Ms. Dorr not guilty and ordered the district to reinstate her as principal and expunge the charges from her personnel record.
Birds Here Are in Trouble
Birds are in trouble everywhere, but it turns out our birds here on the East End are in even worse shape than most. On our beaches, shorebirds have lost 33 percent of their population since 1970, and in our trees, songbirds continue to experience significant population declines, losing 27 percent in the same period, according to the 2025 State of the Birds report from the North American Bird Conservation Initiative.
March 20, 2025
Police & Courts
A driver whose truck rear-ended a car in front of him told police he had been distracted by his dog and didn't notice that the car was braking.
Mar 20, 2025
Police at first thought that the water reported to be flowing onto Church Street last Thursday afternoon came from a water main break, but found upon arriving at the scene that it was being pumped from a nearby swimming pool, a violation of the village code.
Mar 20, 2025
As winds out of the northwest gusted at near 40 miles per hour early Saturday, it didn’t take long for the embers from a fire that began around 9:30 a.m. in a Manorville backyard, “following an attempt to make s’mores,” to ignite multiple brush fires that would grow to burn 600 acres in the Westhampton pine barrens. Suffolk County police arson detectives reached the conclusion after first reviewing 911 call from the hours leading up to the incident.
Mar 13, 2025
House-Size Formula Will Be Downsized
Despite division, the East Hampton Town Board was set to approve a plan to reduce the maximum gross-floor-area formula, a part of the town’s zoning code that ties the maximum square footage of a house to the size of its lot. With two holdouts on the board, there was still enough support for a cap of 7 percent of a lot plus 1,500 square feet.
Mar 20, 2025
Of Hidden Pools and Mystery Walls
Tom Preiato’s friendly, matter-of-fact style has served him well in the 25 years he has been a building inspector on the South Fork, working for East Hampton Town, Sag Harbor Village, and East Hampton Village. Though he has at times been a “building inspector to the stars,” the soon-to-be retired Mr. Preiato said, “I’m just a regular guy. I don’t get caught up with who they are.”
Mar 20, 2025
Government
Sag Harbor Village and the Suffolk County Department of Transportation do not know who owns the four-way intersection of the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike, Brick Kiln Road, Jermain Avenue, and Main Street. This became apparent during the March 11 meeting of the village board.
Mar 20, 2025
Aidan Corish of the Sag Harbor Village Board has announced his intention to seek his fifth two-year term.
Mar 20, 2025
Rick Martel, on the Republican and Conservative lines, defeated John Leonard, a Democrat who also ran on the Working Families line, in Tuesday's special election for the Southampton Town Board seat vacated by Tommy John Schiavoni.
Mar 19, 2025
“Press 3 if you want to get in the queue to ask a question, and press 6 to subscribe to my newsletter,” Representative Nicholas LaLota said, repeatedly, throughout his March 5 tele-town hall, when he answered questions about the Department of Government Efficiency, Ukraine, tariffs, and the border, among other topics.
Mar 13, 2025
Arts
An Artist and Her Famous Brother
The lives of the actor Jimmy Stewart and his sister Mary, an acclaimed artist, formed parallel stories of creativity and courage during World War II.
Mar 20, 2025
The energy brought by the three young actors in "The Railway Children" at the Southampton Cultural Center radiated throughout the rest of the cast.
Mar 19, 2025
"Eternal Testament," a new exhibition at The Church in Sag Harbor, engages with the Indigenous history of eastern Long Island.
Mar 20, 2025
The documentary "City Dreamers" illuminates the careers of four female architects whose influence on our cities over the past 70 years has been profound.
Mar 20, 2025
Villages
A Short Parade That’s Become a Big Success
For the first Am O'Gansett Parade in 2009, the organizers jokingly promised Clydesdales, Macy's balloons, and floats. With good humor and an enthusiastic response from the community, the very short parade has been an annual event ever since.
Supporting the Shinnecock at Sag Harbor Cinema
The Sag Harbor Cinema’s “Projections” series, the mission of which is to support the work of nonprofit organizations here, returns on Sunday from 4 to 5 p.m. to highlight the recent efforts of Hamptons Community Outreach.
Item of the Week: Portrait of Elizabeth Dayton Cartwright
This photograph from The East Hampton Star’s archive showing Elizabeth H. Dayton Cartwright (1851-1945) adorned with flowers and surrounded by white lilies, irises, and carnations evokes the eagerness many feel for the beginning of spring.
Sports
Mar 20, 2025
