Margot Pena and Douglas Steigerwald’s recent wedding is proof that true love comes when you least expect it. Married last month at Clearwater Beach in Springs overlooking Gardiner’s Bay, the soulmates found each other late in life.

The League of Women Voters is holding debates Monday between candidates for the First Congressional District and those vying to represent the East End in the New York State Senate. Both will be broadcast live on Southampton Town’s SEA-TV YouTube channel, where they will also be available for later viewing. 

While Election Day is still nearly three weeks away, there are several important deadlines coming up in New York. 

As Loretta Davis prepares to leave the Retreat, the domestic violence shelter has announced Cate Carbonaro as her replacement.

Fall festivals, homecoming, and Halloween-themed fun for kids.

In a review of students’ academic performance, extracurricular activities, college preparation, the quality of faculty, and other features by Niche, an online publication that ranks schools, the Ross School has been named the number-one boarding school out of 31 institutions in New York State for 2025. 

This month the Montauk Library has three giant boxes at its front entrance to collect donations for the Montauk Food Pantry, the Retreat, and ARF.

As has been generally expected, the East Hampton Town Board indicated this week that the town’s new senior center will not need to undergo a lengthy environmental review per the State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Work began late last month on a New York State Department of Transportation drainage project on Route 27 at Fort Pond that could ease flooding but add contaminants to the struggling water body. In fact, Concerned Citizens of Montauk says that if the project continues, and the group expects it will, the D.O.T. will be breaking state and federal law by sending unfiltered stormwater directly into the pond. 

Robert Gale Skinner, who taught art at Southampton College from 1966 until he retired in 1996 as a professor emeritus, died on Oct. 4 at home in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. He was 94.    

On the East End, we hear a lot about invasive species in the plant world, but the house sparrow was one of the original invasive species. House sparrows are bullies. They fight over dirt baths. They are nonmigratory, colonize habitat, and then profusely breed. When native migratory birds return to nest in the spring, these pugnacious birds force them away. 

Christine Yuska Cullum, a native of East Hampton, died on Oct. 9 from complications after a fall. She was 93.

The Rev. Benjamin Shambaugh will be back in the pulpit at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church this week after returning from a 10-day stint as chaplain aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Vigorous as it traveled from Panama to Virginia, part of an effort by the Coast Guard to help personnel reintegrate smoothly at home.

Henry C. White, who was a maker of specialty leather goods and wallets, died at home in Delray Beach, Fla., on Sept. 29 after a three-month illness. Formerly a part-time East Hampton resident, he was 86.

The size of a dune that East Hampton Town is considering building at Ditch Plain may ultimately be dictated by a Federal Emergency Management Agency calculation that would make it nearly 20 feet high.

To promote Montauk as a summer resort, Carl Fisher published this booklet with the Montauk Beach Development Corporation, detailing the amenities of the Montauk Manor hotel and the charms of the surroundings.

From the moment we heard about an East Hampton Village government dream of owning some or all of the Main Street inns we were wary, which might be an understatement.

There was something especially heartening about the universal awe and enthusiasm that greeted last Thursday’s rare northern lights display here. 

Only 19 days remain until the presidential election on Nov. 5. If you haven’t registered to vote, we urge you to do it now. 

The phrase “fifth column” came into common use during the Spanish Civil War.