What started out as a tick repellent blend made in a Springs kitchen has now soared to national heights. Its owners have doubled sales year-over-year, brought in a manufacturer, testified on congressional committees, and are now selling in all 50 states.

In the middle of a swamp in Sagaponack is a remnant of colonial history, a stand of Atlantic white cedar trees, as important and ubiquitous 300 years ago as iPhones are now. In fact, what is likely the largest Atlantic white cedar tree in the state, and certainly the largest on Long Island, grows there completely unheralded.

A proposed 10,500-square-foot house with a rooftop kitchen and pool, to be built atop rare and pristine duneland on Napeague, got the unanimous approval this month of the East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals, whose chairwoman called it a “significant environmental improvement” to a site that could accommodate three houses, three septic systems, and three driveways.

The East Hampton Town Board has set Aug. 15 as the date for three important public hearings. One deals with adjustments to the town’s lighting code, another with the alienation of parkland at the intersection of Three Mile Harbor and Springs-Fireplace Roads in East Hampton, and the third with increasing the maximum density allowed per acre for senior citizen-only affordable housing developments. 

The Eastville Community Historical Society has received an emergency $25,000 grant from the East Hampton Town Board to help pay for a new cedar shake roof at its headquarters on Hampton Road in Sag Harbor.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation closes Three Mile Harbor to shellfishing before, during, and after the Clamshell Foundation’s annual fireworks show there, but have the East Hampton Town Trustees ever tested the water before and after the event to gauge the impact of the increased boat traffic?

Southampton Town has announced that it is accepting applications from people living or working in town who are interested in buying a house or building an accessory apartment onto their existing home, “part of a broader strategy to address housing affordability,” the town said in a release.

The Hampton Lifeguard Association honored Tom Field, a CPR and first-aid instructor for 40 years, Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. for getting the state to recognize Jet Skis as rescue equipment , and Tom Casse, a surf instructor and trained lifeguard who made a dramatic nighttime save in Montauk in 2022.

Southampton Town police detectives and the Sag Harbor Village fire marshal are still investigating the drowning death of a 2-year-old boy at a house on North Haven two weeks ago, an incident that prompted the North Haven mayor to remind village residents about New York State’s swimming pool rules over the weekend.

A 75-year-old East Hampton was traveling west through Amagansett in a red Ford Escape on the evening of June 16 when a black sedan lost control and swerved into oncoming traffic, spinning 180 degrees and then striking his car and another.

East Hampton Village police made two felony arrests last week, one involving alleged drug possession, the other driving while intoxicated. 

An East Hampton man was arrested on the morning of July 16 on a felony charge of violating an order of protection following a domestic incident at a house on Central Avenue.

A postal worker was driving along her Oyster Pond Lane mail route with the windows rolled down on the afternoon of July 15, when, she told police, a man watering his lawn “decided to turn the hose at her,” splashing her in the face. Officers arrived quickly, and informed the man that he could be charged with harassment. This time, though, they simply documented the incident and let him off with a warning.

Some 80 young basketball players spent Monday afternoon at the Ross School in Bridgehampton drilling their footwork, practicing dribbling and ball-handling skills, shooting hoops, and simulating offensive and defensive tactics under the expert eye of a celebrity coach: John Wallace, a former Knicks player visiting for a junior basketball clinic.

The Hampton Ballet Theatre School will perform its long-running annual production of “Peter and the Wolf” at two locations this week. The show, involving nearly 50 young dancers, will open at LTV Studios in Wainscott at 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. Monday, and be repeated at the Children’s Museum East End in Bridgehampton at those same times on Wednesday. 

The curtain rises Friday on the latest black-box-style production from South Fork Performing Arts, “The Music Man Jr.,” an adaptation of the classic musical for young performers. Plus: arts and crafts, Magic: The Gathering and Uno games, tie-dye T-shirts, international snacks, a scavenger hunt, and more coming up for kids and teens.

Dianne Ryan of Lazy Point in Amagansett discovered nine dead starlings under one electrical utility pole over the last few weeks, prompting calls to PSEG and the State Department of Environmental Conservation.

The WNET radio broadcasting group on Tuesday announced that it is extending its coverage of WLIW-FM by launching a new Montauk radio station, 88.7 FM. As Long Island’s only National Public Radio station, its signal will now reach across the entire East End and into southern Connecticut and Rhode Island. 

Work has already begun on the Suffolk County Water Authority’s new construction project in the Wainscott area. Eight thousand feet, or about 1.5 miles, of new water main will be added, creating new connections along the water distribution system in the area. It is set to be installed along Wainscott-Northwest Road, South Breeze Drive, and Route 114. 

This photo shows David J. Gardiner’s livestock in front of his barns. Gardiner (1840-1924) lived in the Gardiner Brown House, at 95 Main Street in East Hampton Village, with these barns on the property.