“Regionalization,” a New York State Education Department project that asks schools to consider partnering up to achieve savings and efficiencies, has garnered considerable controversy in UpIsland communities that view the initiative as the early stages of forced consolidation. But according to school officials here, the South Fork is ahead of the game. Individual districts are already sharing services extensively, they say, and the regionalization initiative is getting far less pushback locally.

Want something nice to talk about on Thanksgiving? Allow yourself to indulge in a little schadenfreude and take joy in the struggles of the hated, the feared, the disgusting, and yes, the misunderstood tick.

PSEG Long Island unveiled its final plan last week for a 69-kilovolt underground transmission circuit that will pass through Sag Harbor, and not the Long Pond Greenbelt.

With the Republican Party winning the White House and both houses of Congress, local immigration attorneys and the nonprofit OLA of Eastern Long Island are preparing for major changes to immigration policy.

The Amagansett School principal, who has been on paid leave since January after being accused of taking a $25 Amazon gift card meant for another staff member, denied the charges as a disciplinary hearing investigating the matter came to its conclusion last week.

“Market hardening” is the insurance industry buzzword of the day. It refers to insurance companies taking steps to preserve their profitability, often by hiking premiums and imposing stricter terms for customers. And when it comes to home insurance, it’s happening right here and right now.

The town planning board, which would need to give site plan approval, has reviewed the Devon Yacht Club's project for over two years before deciding that it could not move forward until knowing whether the Z.B.A. would approve the many variances required, 20 in all: nine for wetland setbacks, eight for dune crest setbacks, and three for front yard setbacks along Abram’s Landing Road.

The town board tackled a quirky piece of legislation at last week’s work session, involving the temporary storage of prefabricated homes. The problem arises when trucks arrive with their oversize loads. They often sit idling, sometimes for hours, while they wait for a local builder to arrive to pick up the goods.

Construction work at a long-controversial nightclub on Three Mile Harbor Road was set to begin three months ago, at which point it became strikingly apparent that the building had no basement at all, as had been assumed during the planning process. Rather than being retained, it would have to be built. This created an issue: Is excavating a new basement an expansion of a nonconforming building?

A bill that would designate Plum Island as a national monument has been passed by the House Natural Resources Committee, paving the way for a congressional vote.

The town board awarded about $120,000 in community development block grants to four organizations last week, Maureen’s Haven and OLA among them.

The owner of the Huntting Inn, spurned by an October decision of the East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals that a pool and other improvements it had planned for its historic property could not be considered, filed papers last week to sue the board and the village.

By 1971, after almost 200 years of use, Clinton Academy was finally starting to show some wear. In this Star photo, the tulip-shaped cupola gets freshly clad in shingles.

Springs School does a lot of things to make learning fun. One thing in particular is Pick a Reading Partner, called PARP, an annual program that makes kids want to read with their friends and family members. The idea is for students to read with people in their lives as a way to celebrate reading and literacy. Having a partner makes reading more fun and intriguing.

In partnership with the East Hampton Town Police Department, East Hampton High School will host a workshop for parents next week at the East Hampton Library to address trends in youth drug use. There will be a presentation in English on Wednesday at 6 p.m., with an equivalent Spanish-language program next Thursday at the same time.

The coast is clear, fellow sufferers from seasonal agoraphobia! For those of you who, like many of us, just want to be alone, winter is actually the very best time to enjoy so many of the pleasures of the South Fork.

The South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton has a lineup of family-friendly events for its fall open house on Saturday. Plus: Project Most's gingerbread house competition is coming up, the Sag Harbor Cinema will have three days of kids' movie matinees, and Goat on a Boat will be at CMEE for a Minkie the Monkey puppet show.

The Southampton Town Police Department will run a Civilian Police Academy, which will teach residents about department operations, starting on Jan. 16 at 6 p.m.

Three men were taken to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital Saturday night after a collision on Abraham’s Path, south of Springs-Fireplace Road.

An Egypt Lane woman reported a deer stuck in vines on the afternoon of Nov. 18. Village police arrived, but the deer was no longer there. It “must have escaped,” they reported.