Editorials

In the midst of a growing struggle to free themselves from the most powerful nation on earth, the American colonial rebels recognized something about tyranny that reverberates in our time. It was not that there would be leaders who sought to concentrate power in themselves, but that there would always be people who sought the heavy hand of authoritarianism.

East Hampton Town police dispatchers were kept busy by a prodigious pace of calls last week; of these, a substantial portion were about noise as people kicked out the jams, celebrating summer and the beginning of Fourth of July week. The party really didn’t get going until last Thursday after about 8 p.m. From there it was thumping bass from Old House Landing Road to Montauk Downs.

Before you grab that beef burger or toss some packages of hot dogs and buns into your shopping cart, think about going local this Fourth of July. East End baymen and baywomen provide heavenly and healthy seafood year round. Rounding out your holiday eating with fresh seafood from nearby waters seems to us a fine way to celebrate.

A day after an East Hampton Democratic primary, voters could be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss was about. Candidates from what might be considered the old-line part of the party won with ease. In what appeared to be a very strong turnout for a down-ballot primary, the East Hampton Reform Democrats’ trustee challengers were defeated. The strength of an activated Democratic base could also be seen in Andrew Strong’s win over East Hampton Town Justice Lisa R. Rana, a Republican who had sought cross-endorsement.

Town officials edged close last week to fully allowing Stephen Hand’s Path in East Hampton to be turned into a major transit route. The modest two-lane road already serves as a bypass for drivers eager to skirt East Hampton Village, and for many, it is a faster or more direct route to and from their homes or workplaces in Northwest or Springs. This has led to backups at Cedar Street and hot tempers from residents who have to cope with speeding drivers and long waits to get safely out of their driveways.

Tuesday’s East Hampton Democratic primary comes at an important time for the town trustees, who have moved away from being mostly reactive, as they were in the past, to looking ahead and leaning in on a new role as environmental advocates. While the town board may have to cope with all kinds of problems, the trustees’ mandate as stewards of critical waterways and ancient lands gives them moral authority that goes well beyond the harbors, bays, and woodland roads. 

Tuesday’s Democratic primary for East Hampton Town justice is a strange one, and a Republican incumbent might walk away the winner. 

‘Star shines for all?” an old friend roared last Thursday when stopping by in the rain to pick up his Star. “Doesn’t look like it out there!”

The town lawyer at the center of a controversy over a lawsuit brought by the new owner of Duryea’s in Montauk has departed for parts unknown, but this is hardly the end of the troubling matter. Many questions remain about who knew what when in an improper — and possibly illegal — settlement arrangement he signed.

Degrees have an image problem. In the struggle to control global warming, we are told that unless the Earth stays within 2 degrees Celsius of 19th-century levels, catastrophes both natural and political will arise.

Primaries are good for local democracy in that they get voters thinking about government well before the general election.

If you have been in a car almost anywhere in East Hampton during the past several weeks — and especially if you have been out and about on a bicycle — you will have noticed the abundance of signs that have blossomed on the roadside.