Parents and children can expect the experience of riding the school bus to be different in light of Covid-19 -- if, that is, they take the bus at all.

Most South Fork school districts are reporting that bus ridership will be down as more parents choose to drive their children to school themselves. And unlike in the past, when every child who qualified for transportation was automatically assigned a place on a school bus, most districts asked families to specifically opt in to transportation this year.

As of Tuesday, with the daily Covid-19 infection rate on Long Island hovering around 1.5 percent, school sports are still a go starting on Sept. 21. On Wednesday, the New York State Department of Health released further guidelines governing each sport, clarifying that football, volleyball, rugby, and now cheerleading will not start until March 1, 2021.

Capt. Paul Dixon, a fly-fishing guide with To the Point Charters of East Hampton, is a pioneer in this specialty fishing locally and thanks to his advocacy helpint to preserve the stocks of striped bass and other fish, was recently named to receive the 2021 Izaak Walton Award from the American Museum of Fly Fishing.

Sag Harbor Village Mayor Kathleen Mulcahy presented detailed goals for a proposal to impose a six-month moratorium on commercial redevelopment in the village's waterfront area at a board meeting on Tuesday. 

This has been a summer of consternation and intense debate for Jewish communities worldwide. How to bring people together for the High Holy Days, which begin on the evening of Friday, Sept. 18, while keeping them safely apart in the midst of a pandemic? On the South Fork, with a single exception, the answer, in the main, was Zoom.

The angry exchanges resumed on Tuesday when the East Hampton Town Board again discussed Stony Brook Southampton Hospital's planned emergency room annex ahead of a vote on the proposal's environmental impact that is expected next Tuesday. 

With mask-wearing mandates in place for every student, except in some cases those with disabilities, many school districts are now banning the use of masks with valves or exhalation vents.

Those "are not recommended, as they can allow exhaled respiratory droplets to reach others," according to the New York State chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The Bridgehampton School and the Sagaponack School are among those that are following that organization's guidelines.

I hope that if any of you know anyone who may be struggling with addiction during the pandemic, you might find a quiet moment to offer encouragement, to ask if there's anything you can do to help. Sometimes that's all it takes to get someone headed in the right direction.

Elections for East Hampton Village mayor and two open trustee seats will be held on Tuesday. Voting will take place at the Emergency Services Building at 1 Cedar Street from noon to 9 p.m.

East Hampton Library item of the week: On July 12, 1765, Thomas Dering (1720-1785) created this inventory of his personal effects, along with their value, listed as £700.48.