Grind

Visitors to Suffolk County parks and golf courses can once again take advantage of free sunscreen, thanks to an extension of a summertime program launched by the county and Catholic Health Services in 2019.

Applications are open for New York State's Excelsior Scholarship, through which students from families that earn up to $125,000 in annual, adjusted gross income can attend two or four-year public colleges in the state tuition-free.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has issued a timely set of tips for people who plan to explore the great outdoors this summer.

Nothing says "summer's here" like an action-packed Memorial Day weekend in Montauk. 

On Sunday and Monday, honor guards and parades will pay respects to military men and women who have been lost in armed conflicts.

A bike safety program at the Southampton History Museum on Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. will include safety tips from police, helmet fittings, assistance mounting toddler bike seats, and the launch of a seven-mile bike route that will pass such spots of historical significance as St. Andrew’s Dune Church, the Southampton African American Museum, the Shinnecock Reservation, the site of the former Pyrrhus Concer homestead, Lake Agawam, and the Halsey House and its garden. Bikes will be available to rent through PedalShare.

In the aftermath of the racially motivated mass shooting in Buffalo on May 14, the New York State Education Department announced this week that it is canceling this year's Regents exam in United States history because of concerns that some of the test's content "has the potential to compound student trauma caused by the violence in Buffalo, which created an unexpected and unintended context for the planned assessment."

One of the first of many charitable events to come our way this summer, a barbecue party is to take place on Saturday at a private residence in Southampton as a benefit for Stony Brook Southampton Hospital's Edie Windsor Healthcare Center.

Lawn mowers and purifiers and dryers, oh my — for homeowners looking to upgrade appliances, landscaping equipment, and electrical fixtures to more environmentally friendly options, PSEG has announced that there are discounts and rebates are available.

For those who don't mind getting a little messy while supporting a good cause, Sunday's Color Run at East Hampton High School, a fund-raiser for the school's freshman class, offers a chance to do just that.

Canio's Books and the John Jermain Memorial Library have teamed up to have Donald V. Coers speak about John Steinbeck's World War II novel "The Moon Is Down" and how this story of resistance resonates today. It starts tonight at 6 at the library.

According to the National Safety Council, 70 percent of child safety seats are installed improperly and car accidents are the second-leading cause of death in children 12 months and under. With those sobering statistics in mind, the Southampton Town Police Department will sponsor free car seat safety checks on Saturday for parents and guardians who want to ensure their kids travel safely.

Young adults have lots of fun opportunities coming up this week at the East Hampton Library.

It isn't technically even summer yet, but Montauk is already bustling with activity.

From garden tours to guided walks, a few upcoming events will appeal to lovers of the outdoors.

The East Hampton Town Board voted last Thursday to recognize Juneteenth, or June 19, as a town holiday. 

The East Hampton Ladies Village Improvement Society's annual silent auction begins Wednesday at noon.

On Wednesday at 7, the Noyac Civic Council will host a virtual Meet the Candidates night to give community members a chance to get to know the four people seeking seats on the Sag Harbor School Board.

Chris Paparo, the manager of Stony Brook Southampton's Marine Science Center, is also birder, and on Tuesday at 5 he'll share some of his avian expertise at a virtual Accabonac Protection Committee forum titled "Birding From Your Beach Chair." 

For all those creative types out there, Tuesday is the day to flex those artistic muscles.

The East Hampton Star won awards for its East magazine and coverage of education in the New York Press Association’s 2021 Better Newspaper Contest, and its deputy managing editor, Christine Sampson, took third place in the writer of the year category.

The judges praised Ms. Sampson’s “ability to handle a variety of topics with comprehension and style,” and said her “work showed solid writing on a variety of assignments.” Annette Hinkle of The Sag Harbor Express took first in that category.

Patrons of the Montauk Library can now add children's toys, puzzles, and games to the list of books, movies, and other materials that can be borrowed.

The season for fluke, which opened on Sunday in New York State, will now run through Oct. 9 giving anglers an extra 12 days to catch them, and the minimum size limit has been decreased by half an inch. 

The first May Day 5K Run and Walk will set off from Main Beach on Sunday at 9 a.m., rain or shine, and the good news for participants and spectators alike is that the weather is expected to be perfect for the occasion.

The first-ever Hamptons Pride Parade, celebrating the L.G.B.T.Q.+ community, will take place in East Hampton Village at noon on June 4.

Its organizer, Tom House, founder of the nonprofit Hamptons Pride Inc., announced this week that he is seeking volunteers to help organize it as well as people to march in it. Those who would like to contribute their time or take part with a parade float or community group can sign up at hamptonspride.org.

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney, along with Nick LaLota, a Republican seeking election in the First Congressional District, and Alison Esposito, who is in the running for the role of New York State's lieutenant governor on Lee Zeldin's ticket, will hold a community event addressing crime, quality of life, and criminal justice on Wednesday evening.

The Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter's pickleball clinic this week comes at just the right time, with the relatively new sport rising in popularity locally and nationally.

Temple Adas Israel has raised $36,000 to aid Jewish organizations in their humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.

"About a quarter of our galaxy's two hundred billion stars are orbited by planets that are habitable in the way Earth is. Given so many worlds — fifty billion in our own galaxy! — with similar life-friendly conditions, it's very likely that intelligent organisms have evolved elsewhere," writes the astrophysicist Dr. Avi Loeb in his book "Extraterrestrial." He will give a talk for the Hamptons Observatory and BookHampton on Tuesday.

Cute, sly, and sleek, the river otter has been returning in numbers on Long Island, and on Wednesday a naturalist and writer hereabouts, Mike Bottini, will talk about the comeback and related conservation efforts, accompanied by a short documentary on the subject.