Guestwords

In all, nearly a mile of East Hampton’s oceanfront shoreline could become off limits to the public if parallel lawsuits brought by a group of property owners prevail. There is a great risk that stretches of beach in Amagansett and on Napeague would be, in effect, privatized after centuries of being open to all who wished to pass. The property owners are claiming that a 19th-century sale by the East Hampton Town Trustees reserved for them alone the use of the area above the high-tide line. If they win in court, everything from beach driving to birdwatching could be blocked when the tide is up.

There are 35 Middle and Near East countries on a map offered as a free test on the Internet by Rethinking Schools, an organization dedicated to progressive education that publishes a magazine of that name, as well as books designed for, in the organization’s words, “educators who want to enlist students in thinking deeply and critically about the world today.”

Down in Miami a couple of years ago, they banned the use of residential property for commercial purposes. This came as a surprise to a wealthy couple who had rented a house for a 40th-birthday party in February, and then faced the threat of a police blockade.

After years of trying to pretend there was no problem, and letting potential solutions drop, Sag Harbor officials under a new mayor have gotten serious about potential health risks at the only bathing beach within village limits.

I have read with interest articles about Matias Pulgar Alfaro cooling his heels at his cousin’s home in Springs while the Springs School District, which has denied his request to attend East Hampton High School, and his guardian’s attorney wrangle over whether he is, in fact, a resident of the district.

I recently read that Tiger Woods is selling his yacht, Privacy, for $25 million. He bought it as a wedding present for his wife, Elin Nordegren, for a mere $20 million. He offered it to her in their divorce settlement, but she declined. Perhaps there were too many sequins and boa feathers and sticks of Orbit gum and bikini bottoms left on it from the lady friends he was entertaining while still married? He has downsized to a $3 million yacht named Solitude.

Comments that Americans have all but forgotten about the great outdoors are every where these days, from children’s television to the White House Council on Fitness. An e-mail newsletter from the Renewable Energy Long Island group brought notice this week of a new effort to get people off their duffs and doing something to connect with nature.

A judgment is coming down to the wire, and unless there’s some out-of-the-box thinking and quick action, a very dangerous precedent regarding privatization of public beaches may be set.

   Truth be told, we had our doubts about the official fisheries lobbyist for East Hampton Town when Arnold Leo was first appointed some years ago. However, in the time that he held the job and based on reports from people in the industry, our opinion changed.    

Sag Harbor Village will soon have a new and expensive maintenance responsibility when it takes over ownership of Long Wharf from the county.

That town, state, and federal officials are vowing to do something about the dangerous shoaling of the Montauk Inlet gives many people hope. However, the owners, captains, and crews of the large vessels that use the harbor should not let up their pressure until the equipment arrives and the job starts.

At this latitude the vast majority of the plants become dormant by the time of the first frost, many mammals and all of the frogs, land turtles, snakes, and salamanders go in

The village trustees’ idea that these garden follies be counted against the total allowable floor area amounted to fighting words.

Investigating an East Hamptoner’s Revolutionary-era absence leads to a deep dive into family history, the story of an old house, and a chase after spinning tangents.

The state of affairs in 2019 is scarier for Jews than it has been in my lifetime, enough to worry even an eternal optimist. Here are a couple of suggestions.

The New York State Legislature is considering a bill that would permit undocumented immigrants to apply for standard driver’s licenses. One of its co-sponsors, Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., writes in support of it.

Improving the health and welfare of women in countries most of us will never visit is in our enlightened self-interest. Their well-being affects ours.