Government

The East Hampton Democratic Committee did not endorse two incumbent Democrats, Councilman Jeff Bragman of the town board and Rick Drew of the town trustees, at its Feb. 17 nominating convention, instead backing Cate Rogers for town board and David Cataletto for trustee.

The East Hampton Town Board voted unanimously last Thursday to create and appoint a Springs Park Committee to address concerns at the most frequented park in the town, which is heavily used as a dog park.

More than a year after elevated levels of volatile organic compounds were first detected at the Manor House, a 12-unit affordable condominium complex the development has been deemed safe.

East Hampton Town's nonresident beach parking permits will cost $500 this year, mirroring the fee in East Hampton Village.

Before moving ahead with its plan to require beachgoers to use a smartphone app to pay for daily parking at village beaches, the East Hampton Village Board has eliminated the Main Beach office staff that managed parking payments and performed other administrative duties.

Community efforts are underway to lobby State Department of Transportation officials for more safety improvements to Route 114. Among the requests is a turning lane for vehicles entering the Ross School.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is facing mounting criticism amid calls to curtail his emergency authority and even for his impeachment over an alleged cover-up of deaths from Covid-19 in New York State's nursing homes. The governor has been accused of deliberately underreporting the number of deaths from Covid-19 in nursing homes and of trying to conceal that information, fearing a federal investigation.

On Tuesday, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone pledged to work with local municipalities and nonprofit organizations on the East End to get Covid-19 vaccines to a region that is widely considered underserved.

A new Covid-19 testing site in Montauk is expected to begin operation next week and will be open every day. “Knowing that we’re trending in a positive way toward summer, the state will be looking for negative tests” in order for weddings and other large gatherings to be held safely, East Hampton Councilman David Lys said.

People who commit minor violations of the town code, as well as the code enforcement and marine patrol officers who catch them doing it, would no longer have to appear in court under a new plan being considered by the East Hampton Town Board.

The third of three public hearings on the South Fork Wind farm's construction and operations plan, jointly held by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Army Corps of Engineers, happened this week. The public has until Monday to send additional comments on the project.

Twenty-five members of the New York and New Jersey delegations to the House of Representatives wrote to Amanda Lefton, the new director of the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, on Friday to urge her to "jump-start the offshore wind leasing process" by issuing final Wind Energy Areas and subsequent lease auctions in the New York Bight.