Government

Two areas off the South Shore of Long Island that had been identified as potential federal lease areas for development of offshore wind will not be considered for leases, an official of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said last week.

A proposal that will allow East Hampton Village restaurants, including those at its historic inns, to operate outdoor dining areas, and one that will allow the village to sell monthlong nonresident beach parking permits, were approved in party-line votes at a village board meeting on Friday.

The developers of the South Fork Wind farm filed an Environmental Management and Construction Plan for the proposed installation with the New York State Public Service Commission on Tuesday.

A seven-acre property at 403 Abraham’s Path in Amagansett is the site for a proposed new East Hampton Town senior citizens center.

East Hampton Town is seeking additional volunteers to help staff a first-dose vaccination clinic on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. at its Center for Humanities on Stephen Hand's Path. Those interested have been asked to call Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc's office on Friday.

Bay Street Theater’s plans for a new theater complex adjacent to Steinbeck Park in Sag Harbor may be too ambitious for the good of the village, Mayor Kathleen Mulcahy said. “We want to keep Bay Street in Sag Harbor, but we don’t want to be a local theater surrounded by a village.”

Summer water temperatures are rising in East Hampton, stressing organisms including bivalves and seagrasses. Meanwhile, the water quality in Wainscott Pond is rapidly worsening, with 2020 measurements of a toxin "unlike anything we'd ever seen," the town trustees were told on Monday.

The removal of a mulberry tree, native beach plums and roses, and other plants in late March was one outcome of Southampton Town maintenance workers coming to "scrape" the parking lot at Long Beach to prevent vegetation from encroaching. But not only did the plants serve as habitats for many native animals, environmental advocates say, they also anchored the beach against erosion.

CSEA members ratified the agreement in an April 7 vote, with 74 percent in favor. The ratification, announced in a statement issued from Town Hall on Tuesday, comes more than two years after the previous contract expired. Negotiations commenced in 2018, prior to its expiration, but a mediator was called in when the parties reached an impasse.

For elderly residents still in need of a Covid-19 vaccination, including the homebound and those lacking the computer skills needed to schedule an appointment, East Hampton Town is offering help through the Human Services Department, and other organizations are also looking to help.

The East Hampton Town Board took a step closer to adopting a more stringent building code at its work session on Tuesday. Among other things, the new law would require new construction and major renovations to achieve maximum efficiency through technology and design, in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This year, high school seniors can expect graduation ceremonies that inch closer to the traditional norms of past years, thanks to new guidelines announced by New York's governor on Monday which expand capacity over 2020's limitations.