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What Now, Wainscott?

With the hope that voters will see it as a good-faith gesture that turns some no votes into yeses, Wainscott School District officials have slightly trimmed their proposed 2023-24 budget ahead of a June 20 revote. The new plan, totaling $6,144,331, “is effectively the contingency budget,” said David Eagan, president of the school board.

Sabotage on the Trails

The Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt, the Southampton Town Trustees, and the Nature Conservancy have installed 13 split-rail fences at sensitive junctures along the greenbelt to discourage mountain bikers, e-bikers, dirt bikers, and A.T.V. riders. But they get ripped out.

Pantigo Housing Plan Ready for Primetime

An East Hampton Town proposal for 16 affordable housing units on a vacant 12-acre parcel at 395 Pantigo Road in East Hampton is set for a public hearing Wednesday before the town planning board. It would be the third affordable housing project in the pipeline for the town, where both the public and private sectors are having difficulty finding and keeping employees, in part due to a lack of housing options.

Officials Push Back on Bass Slot Reduction

Three weeks ago, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and its Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board voted to approve an emergency measure to lower the maximum striped bass size to 31 inches. The current “slot” regulation in New York allows anglers to keep one bass between 28 and 35 inches in length per day. However, there has been pushback from local political representatives on the reduced slot for the highly-prized striper before the New York Department of Environmental Conservation moves forward with a formal ruling.

Wind Farm Substation Nears

As installation of the South Fork Wind farm’s monopile foundations nears, the first American-built offshore wind substation is making its way to the site. A ship carrying the substation set sail from Ingleside, Tex., on May 24. The 1,500-ton, 60-foot-tall substation will sit on a monopile foundation within the 12-turbine, 132-megawatt wind farm, collecting the power generated by the turbines and connecting it to the electrical grid.