Sometimes all you want in life is a little something that makes you happy, tiny tweaks to public spaces that would make your life better. Are you listening, State Highway Department or Department of Public Works?

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul did something of huge importance this week when she signed a bill that could lead the way for the state to make reparation payments to the descendants of the state’s enslaved people.

My parents’ generation had a pretty good idea of how to have a good time.

It’s important to “be of good cheer,” as the old folks used to say, not just during the winter holiday weeks but all year long.

Who says it’s passé? Good news and fine times in a YouTube music search.

If Greece and Turkey could reach a rapprochement it would not be too far-fetched to imagine that other ancient antipathies could be similarly dealt with. One can hope.

A nod to the hard-working, industrious folk slogging through the infamous East End traffic to keep the place functioning.

From Montauk to Southampton, a rundown of new property moves.

East Hampton Town has put out a reminder for residents and business owners to document and describe any damage they incurred as a result of this week's storms.

Electing an American president was Rupert Murdoch’s dream turned nightmare, Michael Wolff writes in his gossipy, occasionally obscene account of power and politics, “The Fall.”

Visiting hours for Andrew Strong, formerly of East Hampton, will be held at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in Sag Harbor on Thursday from 1 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. A celebration of his life will take place Friday at 10 a.m. at the St. Luke's Episcopal Church parish hall in East Hampton.

“Bob Dylan: Mixing Up the Medicine” is a massive compendium of text, photographs, lyric sheets, and other artifacts, published by Nicholas Callaway of East Hampton, who reflects on the book and on his own career as a publisher who aims to “make the printed page sing.”

The life and photography of Elliott Erwitt, who died last month, are chronicled by a writer who briefly met Erwitt in Amagansett as a boy and went on to follow his work, including a recent retrospective in Paris.

Unique and affordable holiday gifts can be found in gallery exhibitions, on South Fork art and cultural organizations' websites, and at the Parrish Art Museum shop.

At the Suffolk Theater in Riverhead this weekend the Long Island Concert Orchestra will perform a program of holiday classics, and the Lords of 52nd Street will celebrate Billy Joel.

Silas Jones and Reilly Rose, singer-songwriters who recently graduated from East Hampton High School and Sag Harbor's Pierson High School, respectively, will perform an evening of music Friday at 7 p.m. at LTV Studios in Wainscott.

Among the hundreds of international art galleries drawn to Miami’s December art fairs, reports from South Fork venues Eric Firestone, Harper’s, Halsey McKay, and Keyes Art confirm that the fairs were buzzing and the energy was high.

Now ensconced on Amagansett’s Main Street, Rowdy Hall still has wonderful French onion soup, impressive salads, terrific burgers and fish and chips, affordable prices, and throngs of happy customers.

Nick and Toni’s, 1770 House, and Almond have multicourse New Year’s Eve menus, Fresno will offer a la carte and other specials, and more.

Last-minute Christmas meal options from Citarella and Jean-George at Topping Rose House, plus some special breakfasts and brunches at Southampton Inn.