Editorials

With the Omicron variant of Covid-19 on a rapid rise, the danger of being unvaccinated comes again into sharp focus. And yet, for many, even the recent threshold of 800,000 deaths in the United States is not persuasive.

As the cliché goes, endless ink has been spilled over a wide range of subjects here on the South Fork, and while measuring it all would be pointless, we can be certain that reasonably priced housing would make the top two or three. So it was with some excitement this week that a new idea came in over the transom in the form of a letter to the editor.

This is a good time to take stock of how the area is doing in keeping the sky dark at night.

In all the discussions of affordable housing, the voices that often seem underrepresented are those of real estate industry professionals.

Restaurants like John Papas Cafe carry something of a place’s soul.

What happens now that East Hampton Airport is under local control remains unclear despite years of talk. This is a sharp disappointment.

It was predictable that just as the first Tesla electric car-charging station appeared in East Hampton Village people would grumble.

In one of the more heavily debated purchases of its kind in recent years, East Hampton Town will soon close on the purchase of less than two wooded acres off Green Hollow and Buckskill Roads.

Trouble this year within the web of suppliers that bring goods from manufacturers to retailers has made holiday buying fraught.

The New York State Assembly’s damning report following an eight-month investigation of former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s behavior while in office should serve as a cautionary tale for government at all levels.

Fresh or frozen, brined or spatchcocked, roasting a turkey with all the trimmings can be a fairly expensive and labor-intensive holiday undertaking. For those who may find them too expensive, there’s help available in various forms. Food pantries, school groups, religious institutions, community-minded businesses, and even the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office have been distributing turkeys to those in need.

A change to the ways East Hampton Town ordinances are prosecuted would be a significant improvement over the antiquated procedure in use now, which requires a mountain of paperwork and takes officers out of the field. Under the present rules, only parking and other very minor tickets can be handled by mail or online; everything else has to be handled in town court. This leads to a sizable backlog, particularly as violations pile up in the summer and can take well into the fall to be dealt with.

A proposed revision to the East Hampton Town ethics law discussed this week goes too far.

Lee Zeldin was a House of Representatives back-bencher until Donald Trump announced his bid for president.

Back-of-the-ballot measures asking for a “yes” or “no” after a block of intentionally confounding text were never a good way for government to function.

Moving beyond the endless talk of how hard it is to find a place to live here on an ordinary income, the East Hampton schools aim to do something about it.

Landscaping rigs are getting bigger and more numerous by the day.

The Democratic establishment victory in the election that ended Tuesday was the expected outcome, but while the winners savor the moment, they must also realize that it is well past time to get moving in a number of areas.

The Bridgehampton citizens group has dissolved and come back as an independent community watchdog. This is probably how it should have been all along.

Voters should think hard and ask themselves if one-party control is a good thing.

Maintaining a status quo in East Hampton Town should not be an option, no matter who wins the important board election that concludes on Tuesday.

Early voting begins on Saturday, and Rick Drew’s name will appear on the Independence Party ballot line. He deserves a close look.

Sadly for those who want quick noise relief from East Hampton Airport, a majority of the town board does not appear eager to make any changes right away.

Early voting begins Saturday, and with it the direction of East Hampton Town government comes into play.

In an editorial last week, the election date that will establish staggered terms for East Hampton Town trustees was misstated.

Ken Walles, running for town supervisor, declared that a Zoom debate was not a debate at all. If ever we heard a bigger cop-out from a candidate, we can’t recall it.

Seeking re-election, East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc has proposed landing and takeoff curfews, something that was tried before and failed to cut down on noise.

Now comes word that Facebook’s leadership knew the harm that it and its apps did and that, far from being something they tried to stop, it was the company’s business model.

With voting to begin in three weeks in an important election cycle, a promising change to the way the East Hampton Town Trustees will be chosen is ahead.

A measure passed in the New York State Legislature could radically change how affordable housing projects on the East End are funded.