With the summer season approaching at long last, PSEG-Long Island hopes that homeowners with central air-conditioning take up its offer of free, remotely programmable thermostats that will cut electric bills and help the utility deal with high demand. It is a program very much worth considering.

The South Fork Peak Savers program brings a range of power-saving options to PSEG customers, including free Nest thermostats, rebates on more efficient pool pumps, and residential and commercial consultations at no cost. These are part of the company’s larger initiative to avoid the use of highly polluting diesel backup generators, which have been used in several locations here during the summer months, as well as to cut down on how much electricity PSEG must buy from the grid. A bonus: By reducing demand, the need for expensive and unsightly new transmission lines might be avoided. Then, too, each watt unburned in cooling a house or circulating water in a pool means a little less greenhouse gas emission.

For homeowners with central air-conditioning, the Nest thermostat deal is a no-brainer. Participants get the devices, then sign up for a program that allows it to make small short-term temperature adjustments, usually no more than one to three scarcely perceptible degrees, which can be overridden by hand. Customers who already have two or more Nest thermostats in their houses can get up to $500. Either way, participants get a $25 annual check just for staying with the program, in addition to savings estimated at around 10 percent. Over all, a Nest device reaches out to an individual thermostat about 6 to 10 times a year.

More information is available at southforkpeaksavers.com.

This editorial has been updated to more accurately reflect how often and when Nest could adjust a homeowner's thermostat each summer.

Several weeks ago the idea was floated that at least one of the often-packed ocean beach parking lots at Ditch Plain in Montauk be made residents-only. This came in response to complaints that the number of people had overwhelmed the lots, making it almost impossible on sunny summer days for East Hampton Town taxpayers to find a spot unless they arrived shortly after dawn. 

Town stickers are supposed to be valid for as long as the vehicle is owned by a resident or yearly renter, and an apparently unlimited number of permits is available for people from away. This adds up for a limited number of ocean parking areas. Given all that, it is no mystery why griping from all sides is the result.

There is precedent for making certain beaches residents-only to improve the parking situation. A few years back, after complaints that out-of-town renters were filling the residents-only lot at Indian Wells in Amagansett, a small shed for attendants was placed at the parking area entrance, turning back nonresident cars; order — and places to park — was restored.

Ditch Plain creates a different headache for town officials. It has one of the most popular surf breaks on the East Coast and is a favorite for visitors as well as those who call Montauk and the rest of the Town of East Hampton home. A hard-to-pin-down number of surf school operators have set up shop there, too, adding to the general mayhem. Change is needed. Our suggestion is simple.

On a trial basis, the town should make Ditch Plain’s three parking lots residents-only on Saturdays and Sundays from July through Labor Day weekend from 9 a.m. to noon. That way, taxpaying families would have a chance to get to the beach with their kids and all their gear. Nonresident permit holders could begin arriving at noon and likely find spots as the morning crowd moved on. Longer-term, the town might develop additional parking on Montauk Highway and offer expanded shuttle service — with surfboard racks! — to take beachgoers to the sand.

We believe that people who own property or actually live within the town’s borders year round must take precedence in meeting that demand. Visitors and nonresidents can be accommodated with a little creative thinking.

The million dollars it cost the Town of East Hampton to pile new sand on a row of massive sandbags on the Montauk ocean shoreline is perhaps the most immediate reason why officials are eager to find another way to respond to ongoing erosion there. But money is not the only argument in favor of a new approach. The so-called first row of motels, condominiums, and private houses, about 11 in all, are being protected to some degree by a seawall whose very existence comes at the expense of the public beach, one of the town’s greatest assets.

One answer may come from a plan outlined this week by consultants. Property owners along this threatened stretch would be given transferable development credits, or rights, in exchange for agreeing to walk away from at-risk sites. This would be a financial mechanism by which an earlier idea for replacing Montauk’s oceanfront structures hundreds of yards back from the beach could become a reality. Over time, the motels and other buildings would be taken down and high dunes created in their place. The property owners could build again on a safer site or sell their development credits to others.

As things now stand, taxpayers will be tapped indefinitely to pay to keep the sandbags covered. This is not only expensive; it does not protect the Montauk downtown from catastrophic inundation during a hurricane. Either way, the first row is going to come down eventually, whether through strategic, planned retreat or in chaos. The town is right to try to get ahead of this wildly expensive — and inevitable — disaster.

A little more than two weeks from today, it will once again be Memorial Day. The East End will get an early look at the coming summer, eager crowds, lines, headaches, but also a sense that we are all in it together, lifelong local and visitor alike.

Truth is, the high season does not really get going at the end of May anymore, if it ever did. June is quiet, at least until the kids get out of school, with weekends the exception.

One thing on our minds lately, is how new shorter-term rentals affect life and business in and around the South Fork. Anecdotally, some retailers say that Airbnb people passing through don’t spend money the same way monthly or seasonal renters might. In one example, a woman who used to sell a lot of throw pillows to people looking to add a splash of color to rental quarters no longer sees that kind of traffic. A lingerie shop owner’s take is that short-termers bring everything they need for two or three nights, while people in town from June through early September might come in to stock up on a whole drawer full of what she offers.

Chances are high that we will look back on this era as one of tremendous change. It used to be that to get a piece of East Hampton or Southampton one had to ante up five figures or more. Now, just about anyone who can scrape together $1,000 and a gas card can buy into the game for a couple of days.

Local governments have made half-hearted attempts to tamp down the short-term scene. Nonetheless, many property owners, hosts in Airbnb parlance, have just carried on with impunity. It is not that short-term visiting is all bad. It has certainly been a boost for restaurants and helped pay the bills for many people. But there is little doubt that the trend is transformational. The problem is that none of us even remotely understands yet how transformational it will be in the end.

Questions about how Deepwater Wind’s 15-turbine project some 30 miles out in the Atlantic could affect East Hampton’s electric rates have emerged as criticism of the plan. At a joint East Hampton Town Board and town trustees hearing this evening at LTV Studios in Wainscott that issue is likely to be one of many. 

Deepwater has done itself no favors in keeping key terms of its contract with the Long Island Power Authority secret, notably how much LIPA will pay for the power generated offshore. This has allowed suspicions to grow that the cost to ratepayers will be exorbitant. However, even if Deepwater’s electricity is pricier, it would provide only a small fraction of the sources that travel over the Long Island grid. PSEG-Long Island supplies about 1.1 million customers; running at full tilt, Deepwater’s output is expected to be enough for about 50,000 households, and therefore have a negligible impact on electric rates.

Critics of the deal are right that the absence of price details makes it appear that Deepwater and LIPA are trying to avoid criticism and sneak something past the public. They are also right to question why LIPA and New York residents are being treated differently than the customers of other states, where Deepwater disclosed its contracted rates for electricity in the process of pitching its projects. Moreover, the mystery has made it difficult for those interested in sustainable energy to make the case for this project. 

It may be heresy to beleaguered taxpayers point out that there could be a positive environmental effect to higher prices for electricity. When gas prices rise, consumers in the United States have driven fewer miles and selected vehicles with greater fuel efficiency. Conversely, when the price at the pump drops, sales of gas-guzzlers increase. Higher electric bills could help move more people toward power-saving appliances, lighting, and habits. This is important. In fact, the power authority has made demand reduction a key part of its long-term strategy.

Several key points remain in favor of town officials’ cooperation with Deepwater and LIPA. These include the fact that the company could bring the cable ashore on state land, without town involvement. East Hampton’s goal is to have 100 percent renewable energy as soon as practical; Deepwater could help it meet that target. And, most important, the Earth is warming at a potentially catastrophic rate thanks to human activity. Fossil fuel-fired electric plants are a major source of the greenhouse gases responsible. Here in the Northeast, solar arrays can help but wind remains the most viable source of nonpolluting power.

If the issue is money, the cost of dealing with climate change, which will far outpace that of alternative electricity sources, is the most important calculation of all. While considering the potential impacts of the cable landing site is in the public interest, any further stalling by town officials is a mistake.

Sag Harbor’s already stunning waterfront will be even more beautiful once a deal is completed to expand public access west of the bridge to North Haven. This is something many people feared would never happen after a corporate development firm acquired about an acre and a half of derelict property there with the intention of building a 13-unit luxury condominium complex. In a 2015 artist’s rendering, massive structures, designed in  faux-Colonial style, virtually walled off the rest of the village from any view of Sag Harbor Cove and its spectacular sunsets.

Amid community opposition and threats from elected officials to condemn the site, the development firm unloaded it. The buyer, Jay Bialsky, had other ideas. He was more than eager to strike a major preservation deal with the village and Southampton Town, while planning three new townhouses on an already-built part of the property. 

And so, what seemed almost impossible a year ago appears to be becoming a reality. Using money from its community preservation fund, Southampton Town will pay the new owner $10.5 million for the portion of the property that will become public. Sag Harbor Village will manage the site, creating John Steinbeck Memorial Park, with walking paths, an outdoor performance space, and perhaps a pier and small beach. 

Much credit must be given to the Sag Harbor Partnership, which kept the pressure on officials to create a park there. That the group managed to do so while taking on the complicated work of rebuilding the Sag Harbor Cinema, and fund-raising for it, deserves note.

Almost forgotten now, Sag Harbor was among the first New York municipalities, more than 30 years ago, to complete a state local waterfront revitalization plan. The core idea was to protect existing recreational and commercial maritime activities and access along the shore, by public acquisition where possible. This deal is a reminder for other local governments: Seemingly far-fetched dreams can become a reality, with the public and the environment the big winners.

A letter to the editor from a reader and a message from our electric utility company this week reminded us that balloon season is once again upon us — and that does not bode well for wildlife, or for power lines, it turns out. 

That marine animals are at risk as helium balloons loose their lift and end up in the water is well known. According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, seabirds, marine turtles, and fish can mistake them for food. Few balloons, even those marketed as biodegradable, go away when they hit the water; many persist for months and years as they divide into smaller and smaller pieces. Photographs on the website Balloons Blow illustrate the grim toll, including several stricken Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, a threatened species that visits our waters in summer and fall.

Other wild creatures can also become entangled in tough balloon strings, with strangulation or starvation a possible result. In some beach sweeps here, balloon strings have been the single most found foreign objects, a testament to their persistence. Some municipalities, in places that host many weddings and sports events, have banned them altogether, eager to do something positive for the planet. Environmental groups encourage weights to keep children’s balloons on the ground when their little hands inevitably let go. But it’s not just kids.

One person we know told us about finding a massive Holy Communion balloon conglomeration along the shore at Rocky Point in Montauk the other day. Popping them with a broken clamshell, she gathered it all up and took it with her as she headed back up the trail.

PSEG-Long Island’s advice to customers was a bit more prosaic. Metallic Mylar balloons, which conduct electricity, can cause short circuits if they get into power lines, with outages, fires, and injuries among the possible results. If you are curious, there are plenty of videos online illustrating how this can happen, often with astonishing outcomes. The utility urged that balloons be securely tethered or weighted and that they be punctured before being disposed of, lest they float away.

A pet theory here is that the balloons found on South Fork beaches are a problem created, as with many others, by people from away. That might be so, given the prevailing west-to-east wind during the outdoor gathering season, but all of us would do well to be more careful when helium balloons are around — or forgo them entirely.

A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month suggested that the United States is virtually awash in ticks — and the illnesses they can spread. Here, they include Lyme disease, a debilitating condition marked by lethargy and aching joints, among other symptoms. Over all, the C.D.C. estimated, some 600,000 Americans were affected by tick-borne diseases from 2004 to 2016, at a rate about three times that of the 12-year period before 2004.

Consider that on the East End, as well as in several other places around the country, ticks, specifically those of the lone star variety, can cause a dangerous allergy to red meat and meat byproducts such as gelatin. This allergy can be easily identified by a blood test, but those affected can often make an armchair diagnosis by noticing the onset of hives, coughing, and itching about three to eight hours after consuming meat, which can sometimes be followed by severe anaphylaxis requiring hospitalization.

Physicians here are increasingly familiar with this allergy, known as alpha-gal, after the carbohydrate suspected of triggering the condition. It is important to note that not all meals with meat trigger symptoms. For some, a lean cut of beef may be okay, while a fattier hamburger may mean a potential late-night trip to the emergency room. In almost all examples, the delay between a meal and the reaction is the telltale; those who suspect they may have the allergy should visit a specialist for confirmation. Unfortunately, the Centers for Disease Control have not caught up with the spread of the alpha-gal allergy.

Money is an issue at the C.D.C., as far as tick-borne illnesses go. Just as its May report came out, Senator Charles E. Schumer called for millions in already-appropriated funding to be freed for research and prevention. According to Mr. Schumer, New York, and especially Long Island, have more tick-borne disease than anywhere else in the country.

East Hampton has not suffered so shocking a loss in modern times as the deaths on Saturday of four people when a small plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. Ben Krupinski and his wife, Bonnie, both 70, were influential members of the South Fork community, as builders, restaurateurs, and quiet philanthropists. Their only grandson, William Maerov, 22, was a promising young man with the world in front of him. Jon Dollard, a pilot aboard the twin-engine Piper aircraft, was 47 and also anticipated many good years ahead. We grieve for the losses that their families and friends now must endure.

Ben and Bonnie Krupinski were at the top of a multi-faceted empire here. The Krupinski company was known for high-end houses, as well as a string of public and charitable projects, from the now-iconic new Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill to the restoration of a modest house in East Hampton that had been the home of George Fowler, a Montaukett Indian whose tribe was the victim of the brutal dispossession of their ancestral lands in the late 19th century. Ben and Bonnie Krupinski understood that they had benefited from having grown up here, and they were dedicated to giving back. 

They were restaurateurs, too, operating the local favorite Cittanuova and the consistently impeccable 1770 House on Main Street in East Hampton. They also were founders of the East Hampton Business Alliance. Ms. Krupinski, a member of the Bistrian family, was a force independent of her husband, advocating for her extended family’s interests, lately on the future of land they owned in Amagansett. They also were politically active, contributing to local Republican candidates and speaking out frequently at town and village government meetings.

But beyond the Krupinskis’ business and political accomplishments and their considerable charitable giving, they cultivated and maintained ties to others who helped make this place a real community. The Krupinski organization has been described by many since Saturday as like a family. Its members were loyal and had the ability to excel at what they did. Mr. Maerov and Mr. Dollard were part of that extended family.

This feeling of family is perhaps the greatest legacy that Ben and Bonnie Krupinski leave behind — and though the pain is unfathomable to their families and friends, their kindness to others and guiding hand will be what we remember most.

To hear farmers and other purveyors describe it, a proposed Saturday morning market in East Hampton Village, possibly in Herrick Park, is a nonstarter. The problem is that East End growers, food producers, and craftspeople who take advantage of existing markets already have a full weekly schedule. Asking them to take part in another on Saturday would require additional staff as well as vehicles and equipment. 

East Hampton’s Friday market in the Nick and Toni’s restaurant parking lot opens for the season tomorrow at 9 a.m. and runs until 1 p.m. On Saturdays this summer there will be markets at Ashawagh Hall in Springs and on Bay Street in Sag Harbor. Montauk has its market on Thursdays, and Calvary Baptist Church in East Hampton, which had one on Thursday evenings last summer, is expected to revive it. We were sorry to learn that the market that had been at the Hayground School in Bridgehampton on Friday afternoons will not be held this year.

Herrick Park in the village does not seem to be the right place for a market anyway, even if farmers and vendors could make time for it. Though the park is large by local standards, it is well used by sports leagues, schools, and members of the community. Farmers markets and the foot and wheeled traffic they produce would be hard on the grass, requiring more groundskeeping and eventually perhaps additional footpaths. Parking in the village on summer Saturdays already can be a problem, and vendors’ trucks and customers’ vehicles would add to the headaches. 

The Nick and Toni’s lot can be difficult to reach, what with its being near two traffic choke points. A market there on Friday afternoons seems out of the question since the restaurant needs the space by early afternoon. An idea that has circulated for some time is relocating the market to the East Hampton Historical Farm Museum on North Main Street, though access would remain an issue and there is some question about whether a market would be appropriate since the property was purchased with money from the community preservation fund.

One alternative might be for the town to buy or convert some land elsewhere for the express purpose of a farmers market. Thought then could be given to locating it nearer to where people live, for example, within walking distance of the Accabonac Apartments or Windmill Village. At best, the Nick and Toni’s market should be viewed as an interim answer for getting fresh food into consumers’ hands. With a little more foresight and creative thinking, a better solution could well be found.