Editorials

Five hundred people, from a population of at least 22,000, have been vaccinated locally in East Hampton Town for Covid-19. This is far from enough, and allegations are that other parts of the region are faring better.

It is unfortunate that the East Hampton Town Democratic Committee decided to throw Councilman Jeff Bragman overboard by not nominating him to seek another term for asking too many questions.

Time is running out for East Hampton Village to get things right with a looming summertime fiasco over parking.

In the last week, the shiny halo that many New Yorkers had thought hovered above Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s head may have dulled a little as it became clear that he had withheld data about Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes and then refused to answer questions about it. More than 15,000 people have died from Covid-19 in the state’s nursing homes and long-term care facilities. At one point last August, when the Legislature and state attorney general asked for information, Mr. Cuomo decided to keep the toll secret.

Last spring, after the Black Lives Matter protests had begun, the New York Legislature voted to change a portion of civil rights law that had blocked police disciplinary records from public disclosure. The section of the law, known as 50-a, had made the records confidential, meaning that even the most serious repeat offenders might be shielded from scrutiny.

News that the Shinnecock Indian Nation had renewed plans for a casino development on its land may have come as a bit of a shock to some this week, but it was a long time in coming. The small community has a minimal tax base, which leaves it chronically lacking the kind of amenities enjoyed by residents of the nearby towns and villages. These include some basics, like roads and other infrastructure and social services. Income from a casino — and the tribe’s two giant illuminated billboards alongside Sunrise Highway — could fill that gap.

The position that a president or any other government official could avoid conviction simply by resigning is indefensible, both in terms of historical precedent and common sense.

A victory handed to a group of Napeague homeowners associations in the State Courts Appellate Division will almost surely have ripple effects elsewhere in East Hampton Town.

All along, it has been difficult to accept at face value that the motive to carve out a new Wainscott village was the wind farm cable alone.

A majority of Republican senators have made it clear already that they plan to acquit the former president after his impeachment trial begins. They have been given cover in this by citing the nonsense claim that, after leaving the White House, ex-presidents cannot be prosecuted.

Sag Harbor Village appears ready to hand Main Street and Long Wharf over to a private corporation to manage paid parking during the summer months in a major change taken without a trial run or enough public input before the contract stage.

This week, federal health officials may have confirmed something that has become increasingly clear as the pandemic drags on: Kids should be in classrooms.