Montauk residents rose up at Town Hall this week, alarmed that new, long-term planning for the hamlet was about to become law. More than a few of those who spoke complained they had not been told anything about the multiyear project now nearing completion. Ah, the information age.

One of the things governments and newspapers must contend with today is that they can no longer expect everyone to come to them. Rather, information must be walked directly to an increasingly fractured audience, wherever and however each segment of the public finds out about the world beyond their homes. Long gone are the days when the nightly newscasts on the big three TV networks told us how it was. Today, even for the civic-minded, there are too many distractions.

The Star learned this when the Army Corps Montauk sandbag fiasco began some years ago. Despite advance coverage running well past 100,000 words, when the bulldozers began tearing up a natural dune, surprise and outrage followed, expressed largely on social media, particularly via Instagram. We felt flat-footed.

As to the current hamlet work, The Star first started reporting on these studies about three years ago. As early as February of last year, this page lauded a blockbuster concept of moving Montauk’s motels and residences threatened by erosion inland. “This is headline-grabbing stuff,” we declared. Well, perhaps not. Perhaps we, like government officials, should seek additional pathways, or platforms, for bringing attention to the big stuff.

The natural reaction for those who worked for months and years on the hamlet studies, as well as those of us in the news media, is to be peeved when the cries of “Why weren’t we told!” ring out. Yes, it would be better if people were more knowledgeable about what was going on in their neighborhood, hamlet, or town, but ordinary, daily things get in the way. Busy lives, multiple jobs, a desire to step back from national and international problems by binge- watching Netflix all contribute to the gap between what we should be aware of and the extent to which we are in the dark.

A hypothetical document like the Montauk Hamlet Study or any of the others recently completed is less than likely to draw widespread attention until it is completed. Such is the nature of modern life, and perhaps human nature itself. Still, there were elements that The Star and Town Hall could have made a bigger deal about. To be charitable, it is an education for all of us when every new bit of tech or mobile app comes along. But the public, too, has its own obligation to stay informed, at least when they have the time.

New York State’s junior senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, made public her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination this week in an appearance on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.” This made national news, but in East Hampton, the announcement seemed to draw little notice. 

Ms. Gillibrand had been a member of the House of Representatives from the upstate district that includes Albany before her appointment as senator in 2009 by Gov. David Paterson. She was little known statewide at that point and that she was to succeed Hillary Clinton, whom President Obama had made secretary of state in his first term, surprised many observers. Time proved that Mr. Paterson was onto something in selecting her; since winning a special election in 2010 to fill out Mrs. Clinton’s term, she has scored landslide wins over her Republican rivals.

Yet 10 years later, Ms. Gillibrand might be as unfamiliar to East End residents as she was when she represented New York’s 20th Congressional District. From her start in the Senate, she has seen her role as that of a national figure, working on such issues as sexual violence within the military and health measures for 9/11 responders. Ms. Gillibrand has made few visits to East Hampton during her time in the Senate, but then, her colleague, Senator Charles Schumer, has not been around much either.

It is fitting perhaps that she chose to make her presidential bid known in a television appearance. At least Mr. Colbert’s show is seen throughout the state.

David Lys’s sweep of East Hampton Town’s 19 election districts in the unofficial results in Tuesday’s vote can be attributed to several factors. Top among them are his strong friendships and how active he has been both inside and outside of town government. Given the Democratic registration edge, the outcome might have been preordained following his victory in a September primary. The margin by which he surpassed Manny Vilar, the Republican candidate, tells another story.

Up to Election Day, Mr. Lys had been a registered Republican for as long as he had been able to vote. This was, he explained, a nod to his father’s views more than anything and because political affiliation meant little to him. It was enough for some on the Democratic side to grumble, and eventually David Gruber tried and failed to wrest the party’s nomination from him in a bizarre intraparty struggle.

For Mr. Vilar, David Lys was always going to be a difficult man to beat. Throughout the long campaign, Mr. Vilar was always a gentleman; he did not engage in impugning others’ characters. For the most part, he and his supporters ran a dignified race.

If the splinter Reform Democrats had succeeded in getting Mr. Gruber’s name on the ballot, the outcome might have gone the other way. The general election did not, in part because Republican-leaning East Hampton voters were comfortable voting for the overtly nonpartisan Mr. Lys, which could explain the resulting landslide. The party Mr. Lys was registered with did not seem to matter.

Though he was initially appointed over some objection to fill Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc’s vacant seat, East Hampton voters have now given him a solid thumbs up in his first victory at the polls. They may also have sent a message to both parties that the political tribalism infecting much of the rest of the country is notably less welcome here.

Expect Mr. Lys to operate with greater authority now. He has a number of areas he wants to pursue, top of the list being places to live for year-round members of the work force. With the strong voter backing he now has, he can press forward on the issues that matter to him most.

At some point in the last few years the traffic on South Fork roads passed a critical point: Nightmare drives are no longer just in summer; they can occur almost any time of year.

Consider Monday of this week, when a utility pole down across Route 114 in Sag Harbor near Lincoln Street stopped travel in both directions. This had an immediate effect on morning travel times, as drivers backtracked and then had to find alternate routes. Montauk Highway eastbound was far worse than normal; back roads were packed — all this on a Monday in November.

Taking a look at the a.m. tie-up on Monday, it was, as usual, mostly the so-called trade parade — vans, trucks, and delivery vehicles — heading for East Hampton Village and points beyond to provide materials and services for a resort and weekend home community that are no longer able to be provided by nearby businesses. It is an odd reality that fresh baked goods now come from bakeries in Queens, labor from mid-Island, and schoolteachers from farther than that.

The difficulty in getting to the South Fork hurts most businesses by limiting the pool of potential employees, especially as real estate speculation has mopped up so many of the once-affordable places to live. Better work force housing should be a critical long-term objective for the South Fork towns and incorporated villages, but leverage must also be applied to transportation.

A new local rail shuttle, to begin service in February, is a start and may serve white-collar workers and those in health and retail. It will have only a negligible impact on the twice-daily construction and services flow, none on trucking. Implicit in the shuttle concept is that buses or other means must be found to carry passengers the “last mile” to their homes and workplaces, thanks to the decentralized nature of workplaces here, as well as residential areas.

A road system that recognizes that current traffic conditions are going to persist is essential. Everything must be looked at, including replacing the Water Mill and Wainscott stoplights with blinking lights, at least during morning and afternoon hours. Studying whether the high-tension electric lines north of Montauk Highway could provide a backbone for a new service route must take place. And, as has been suggested before, using some of the Long Island Rail Road right of way for vehicles might be reconsidered. Overnight parking for work trucks near the shuttle stations would help, though few would be in neighborhoods where they would be welcome.

Bike paths, trains, and walking are all terrific notions, but getting the tradespeople in loaded vans to job sites will for the foreseeable future require the roads. And, as houses get ever bigger and more technically complicated, the trade parade is only going to get bigger. Answers will require a lot more than roadside beautification or litter patrols. The sooner we get going the better.

In what has been a quiet tradition for many years, the East Hampton Presbyterian Church has put on a free Thanksgiving dinner for anyone who wants to attend. This volunteer effort is but one of the good things that happen year round and give us a strong sense of pride in our community.

Not all good works emanate from our religious institutions, of course, but we were reminded of their central role, even now in the 21st century, after the shooting attack at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. Five days after this tragedy, leaders of the houses of worship here gathered with public officials and a crowd numbering in the hundreds — more than the sanctuary could seat — at the Jewish Center of the Hamptons in a spirit of togetherness at which believers and nonbelievers alike felt welcomed and reassured. Perhaps the most moving moment was when 11 members of the East Hampton Clericus, from across faiths and denominations, lit candles, one for each victim.

That sense of fellowship, albeit at a far less painful time, can be found in the winter soup dinners at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church’s Parish Hall. These gatherings, with soups donated by local restaurants, are free; the first of the season was held last night.

On Sunday, the community has again been invited to the Jewish Center of the Hamptons for an interfaith Thanksgiving service that the Rev. Leandra Lambert of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church will lead. Then, next Thursday, the interfaith dinner in the East Hampton Presbyterian Session House will take place from noon to 2:30 p.m. for those who may be alone, unable to cook, or simply wish to celebrate together with others. Then there are the volunteers who make this event and so much more in this small town happen. For them, the takeaway is a feeling of doing something good — and there is nothing better than that.

This evening at about 6:30, the East Hampton Town Board will hold a hearing on a more than two-year effort to write a new master plan for Montauk, the culmination of a hamlet study by consultants whose goal was to create more attractive, walk-able, and economically vibrant commercial centers.

Business is a big deal in Montauk. A 2017 inventory counted 309 different concerns, occupying about 1.1-million square feet of indoor space, while about two-thirds of the houses in the hamlet are second homes or seasonal rentals. Montauk also is burdened with 70 percent of East Hampton’s hotel rooms and a staggering number of day trippers in summer. The study’s authors identified three principal geographic areas: the downtown commercial center, the vicinity of the train station, and Montauk Harbor around Flamingo Avenue and West Lake Drive.

Environmental challenges include threats to groundwater from pollution, saltwater intrusion, and habitat loss, particularly along the Lake Montauk shoreline. The deer population has burgeoned, bringing unwelcome change to the woodlands, nearly eliminating herbaceous plants and saplings, as well as being a habitat for ticks, with the potentially fatal illnesses and meat allergy they can cause.

Sea level rise’s impact on low-lying parts of the hamlet presents a distinct set of problems. The entire first row of hotels and residences along the ocean shore is within a high-risk, 100-year flood zone, and a good portion of the remainder, as well as what is around the Montauk docks, is within a potentially catastrophic 500-year flood zone. As such, the study foresees a bridge being needed some years out to get east of Fort Pond. And, because the oceanfront remains zoned for resorts, significant redevelopment could still potentially occur. This will have to change, the authors imply. 

Among the recommendations are relocating houses and businesses from threatened areas to higher ground — likely paid for by the acquisition of property for open space and wetland restoration. The public is already paying dearly in a fool’s errand at so-called Dirt Bag Beach in Montauk. Temporary storm protection would be allowed there in order to buy time for some businesses to shift away from the vulnerable shore or use development rights credits elsewhere — rebuilding protective dunes where the oceanfront row of hotels had been. 

The consultants also warn of the possibility of a new project of “significant size” around the Gosman’s Dock properties near Montauk Inlet. Maintaining the fishing fleet as the harborfront is gentrified will be a challenge, they say. A real, working fishing industry, not a “Disneyland idealized version,” should be the goal.

One of the most pressing issues is how to expand affordable and seasonal housing for workers in Montauk’s service and fishing industries. Changes to town law after 2005 reduced the estimated total buildout significantly, but the study notes that more than 600 new housing units could still be constructed.

Other recommended changes involve downtown parking and traffic, better street lighting, and making the road around Carl Fisher Plaza at the center of downtown one-way only. And throughout the hamlet, development should be based on thoughtful new standards for buildings, streets, sidewalks, parks, and other public spaces, focusing on mixed-use pedestrian-friendly places.

Tonight’s hearing is more or less a formality at which residents can have a last say at the overarching goals within the plan. What happens next is up to the members of the town board. They have a very good basis to work with.

Reaction to the online giant Amazon’s announcement last week that it would develop one of two new East Coast headquarters in Long Island City has largely been along two lines of thought: What would it do to Queens, and did the city and state give away too much in tax breaks to reel in the company. A lot has been said about New York City’s deep pool of professional and tech talent, as well as the cultural attractions that might keep Amazon’s staff happy. 

Nothing much has been said yet, to our knowledge, about that other big draw for city dwellers, the East End of Long Island. It might be that one of the important factors Amazon considered was what its higher-level employees could do on the weekends. Buffalo? Tampa? Clearly, Jeff Bezos didn’t think so.

The Amazon work force’s average age is 31, according to a 2017 estimate. We might be half-serious pointing this out, but 25,000 new well-paying jobholders still in their party-hearty years less than 100 miles from East Hampton would be no small thing. Look out, Montauk, it’s clear enough where these folks in their helicopters, seaplanes, and self-driving Ubers are going to be headed. 

Having sucked the vitality out of the United States retail scene, the company’s minions are now going to be filling our beaches and clogging the longboard lineup at Ditch.

Welcome, Amazon, indeed. East Hampton: What are you going to do to get ready?

The report was at the top of news websites and on front pages everywhere by Saturday morning. But if you were anything like us, with our copy of The Times languishing in the driveway, you might have missed it. Burying bad news is nothing new; the government joke from Albany to Sacramento is to announce something on Friday afternoon before a long weekend if you want to be sure to get it ignored.

A rapidly warming earth, however, is hard to ignore, and that’s an understatement. Thirteen federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, Environmental Protection Agency, and the State Department, agree and prepared the fourth National Climate Assessment. It paints a terror-inducing picture. And, just so our readers can grasp how fully the Executive Branch is behind this, we briefly list the remaining 10 participating agencies: Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Health and Human Services, Interior, Transportation, NASA, the National Science Foundation, and the Agency for International Development. Eight of the agencies’ heads are members of the cabinet, reporting directly to the president. For his part, Mr. Trump has dismissed the report as “fine.”

The key points in the assessment are:

• Climate change creates new risks and makes existing vulnerabilities worse, with challenges to health, safety, quality of life, and the economy.

• Without sustained global effort, economic growth in the United States will be impeded and the infrastructure affected negatively.

• The true effects of climate change are difficult to predict, due to the interconnection of natural, built, and social systems around the world.

• Current emissions-reduction programs do not approach the scale necessary to avoid substantial damage to the economy, environment, and health.

• Negative impacts on the quality and quantity of water are already being felt, with costs to agriculture, energy production, industry, recreation, and the environment.

• Extreme weather, poor air quality, and the transmission of diseases via insects, pests, and food and water contamination already threaten the well-being of the American people, particularly vulnerable populations and indigenous peoples.

• Fire, extreme weather, and drought endanger the sustainability of the food supply and price stability.

• Coastal communities are at risk of floods, ocean acidification, decreased fisheries, and environmental losses. 

• Tourism and recreation will be degraded by the multiple effects of climate change.

Regional economies that depend on a healthy environment and a favorable climate will be increasingly vulnerable. Stronger hurricanes can take out power, with cascading bad effects on hospitals and waste treatment plants, and upend local food production. The East End certainly fits in this category, as a raw sewage overflow brought about by heavy rain this week forced the closing of the waters around Greenport.

Among national challenges will be the $1 trillion in coastal real estate that will be increasingly at risk. Again, this is a huge looming issue here.

Wind, floods, and temperature spikes will impact military bases and production facilities in all 50 states. Rising temperatures will decrease electricity generation and at the same time increase demand on the grid for air-conditioning and refrigeration, which could lead to blackouts. 

Airborne allergies are expected to increase. Higher ozone levels will bring yet more health risks. The rate of Lyme disease and other tick-borne afflictions will grow. Even mental health effects are anticipated as the result of economic changes and evacuations. And some large-scale impacts may last for thousands of years, such as the loss of coral reefs, the disintegration of ice sheets — and sea level rise. 

It all depends on the present. Adaptation, such as East Hampton Town finally is thinking about in several studies and dedicated coastal committees, can occur at the state and local level. Mitigation, however, requires a national and global strategy. Fossil fuels used in cars, industry, and power production supply about 85 percent of all the greenhouse gases in this country. New technology, alternative sources, and a price on carbon are among the potential solutions.

A side benefit is that efforts to limit climate change in the future can have immediate benefits for air quality, public health, reduced crop damage, and increased energy independence through greater reliance on American made sources — something the Department of Defense likes.

Adaptation will take money and equal amounts of will, the assessment concludes, and in some cases, lots of it. However, changes now can reduce the cost of future climate impacts by more than half. The long-term savings speak for themselves at every level of government.

The authors could have had eastern Long Island in mind in observing that communities have tended to deal with current risks and not prepare for the future. For example, responses in the coastal zone have been centered on making buildings and infrastructure somewhat less sensitive to climate effects rather than addressing the expected scale of future change and emergent threats. These include reducing costly taxpayer exposure by preventing building in high-risk locations and retreating from at-risk coastal areas. 

What a gift we could leave our children and our children’s children if we could make long-term investments now to not saddle the coming generations with the wreckage of our own inaction — and the bill to pay to make it right again, if that were even possible.

It is little surprise that the Trump administration is giving the go-ahead to renewed fossil fuel exploration in the Atlantic. What is hard to imagine is the potential environmental cost from both drilling and the seismic tests to determine where to drill.

Five companies recently were authorized to begin looking. They are to search from Delaware to Florida using powerful blasts to probe the seafloor. One respected marine environmental group has said the noise is so loud that it can be heard up to 2,500 miles away. And the work could continue around the clock for months, harming dolphins, the critically endangered right whale, and many less charismatic marine species. Studies from Duke University and the University of North Carolina indicated that fish had fled an artificial reef during seismic testing. How long it took them to return was unclear.

Beyond the immediate effect of the tests, they are but a precursor to oil and gas extraction, something opposed by nearly every sitting East Coast governor, as well as thousands of other officials, including the town boards of Southampton and East Hampton. Representative Lee Zeldin said he, too, opposes seismic tests.

Despite all this, the administration is undeterred. It may be that this will be settled in the courts. A host of environmental and fishing groups have filed suit. Let us hope they prevail.

With the fast approach of a planning deadline for Suffolk County’s mosquito control effort for 2019, there is a renewed call for a stricter limit, if not a total ban, on a chemical used to control the stinging menace’s populations. 

Methoprene spraying of salt marshes is a favorite technique of the county Vector Control Department, whose responsibility is to limit annoying and potential disease-carrying mosquitoes. Its methods have long come under fire from environmentalists concerned that the wholesale use of pesticides and other compounds causes excessive harm to other wildlife. This year, activists, the East Hampton Town Trustees, and the Nature Conservancy banded together to do something about it.

In a pilot program at Accabonac Harbor in Springs, volunteers conducted weekly mosquito larvae counts. After the data were entered on a smartphone app, the Nature Conservancy passed it on to the county, which had agreed to limit methoprene application as a trial based on the sample results. The program was, surprisingly enough, among the first evidence-based mosquito control efforts here; given the size of the county and limited staff and money, actual sampling was limited. Now, armed with information, the county Vector Control Department can make informed decisions about when and where to spray.

The problem with methoprene is that it appears to harm non-target insects as well as crustaceans. Strict restrictions on its use have been put in place in other areas, such as New York City’s Jamaica Bay. An increasing number of environmentalists and groups on Long Island, including Defend H20 and the Accabonac Protection Committee, would like to see it curtailed here. Bills are pending in the State Legislature to do just that, and a petition calling on Suffolk Executive Steve Bellone to end its use is circulating.

Vector Control has long sounded the alarm about mosquito-borne diseases, such as West Nile virus. However, given its rarity, that focus could be misplaced and its resources might be better directed to the demonstrated health risks posed by an exploding tick population. Mosquitoes may be irritating, but the real health crisis here right now comes from blood-sucking pests that crawl, not fly.

What the Accabonac test demonstrates as well is the power of cooperation among citizen volunteers, private organizations, and government officials. Agencies such as the Suffolk Health Department, the Department of Public Works, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation are stretched thin by tight budgets and vast and complex responsibilities. By gaining better knowledge of mosquitoes’ breeding, the county can further reduce the potential harm to other organisms or, we hope, eliminate the use of methoprene altogether.

Giving the public a way to get skin in the game to make a difference can be an asset both for policy and a healthier environment. Much credit is due to Suffolk Legislator Bridget Fleming for backing the mosquito larvae sampling. The program should be a model for other public-private collaborations to come on a range of issues.