The East Hampton Town Board held two public hearings last Thursday, one involving two amendments to the town’s code of ethics and the other to create a Bureau of Administrative Adjudication that would make it easier to pay fines for minor violations of the town code.

The East Hampton Town Board’s 3-to-2 vote last month to acquire three parcels totaling 1.92 acres on Green Hollow Road in East Hampton, using $4.2 million from the community preservation fund plus a $2.645-million donation from several unidentified neighbors, was again criticized by members of the public at the board’s meeting last Thursday.

A patron wrote us about this photograph, which has often caught my attention. The image, titled “The Hut Gang,” is part of a collection of early glass plate negatives. Luckily, in the case of this one, from 1884, a photographic print accompanied the negative

A Saturday morning rally organized by East End YIMBY, for Yes in My Back Yard, brought out about 100 people, who gathered by the Long Wharf windmill in Sag Harbor in a show of support for the group’s ongoing campaign for affordable housing in the village.

The Hampton Ballet Theatre School will present a magical rendition of “The Nutcracker,” a traditional harbinger of holiday cheer, on Friday, Dec. 17, Dec. 18, and Dec. 19. The studio’s 12th production of the beloved ballet is in person, marking a return to live theater after a long hiatus caused by Covid-19.

With Covid-19 again putting off the East Hampton Masonic Lodge’s community pot roast dinner, which raises money for scholarships, sports teams, and other activities for kids here, Brian Lester recently wondered to himself what could possibly be done to replace it, for now at least.

A family day at the Parrish Art Museum, decorating a tree for the birds at the South Fork Natural History Museum, and lots of winter and holiday-themed crafts are on tap for kids this week.

Along with his wife, a television news anchor recently fired from his job at CNN told police last Thursday that their children have been seeing photographers lurking about. According to the police report, “the paparazzi wait down by the beach parking lot for them to leave, and when they are out in public the paparazzi tries to get a reaction out of them to get on camera.”

An Amagansett woman was charged on the morning of Dec. 1 with drunken driving after an East Hampton Town police officer reportedly saw her car strike a bush and a business sign in the parking lot of People’s United Bank.

Fire district elections are to be held Tuesday in a number of communities across the South Fork, at least one of which, Montauk, will have a contested race. The candidates running for a seat on the board of commissioners are Joseph Dryer and Charles “Chip” McLean. Voting will take place at the Montauk Firehouse from 2 to 9 p.m.; masks are required.

Attention holiday shoppers who like to keep things local: two chances are coming up this weekend to do just that.

With demand for Covid-19 vaccinations continuing to be high, East Hampton Town has added several additional vaccination clinics to its calendar this month. 

The Southampton Town Planning Board will hold a virtual public hearing at 6 p.m. on Dec. 9, Thursday, to consider a request from Verizon for a special exception from the zoning code for a 153-foot-high cell tower along the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike, on a 24-acre property.

Angela Merkel’s high-mindedness and manifold good deeds are deftly, sympathetically described in Kati Marton’s new biography.

Two wine lovers bring knowledge and a personal touch to wine cellars from conception to construction to inventory and maintenance.

Sketches, paintings, and murals by the award-winning set designer Tony Walton at Mark Borghi in Sag Harbor

Healing in Southampton, modernism on the rise in Sag Harbor, artists' panel at the Parrish, and several holiday shows

The Moondogs cover the Beatles at Bay Street, Winston Irie at the Masonic Temple, upcoming shows at the Talkhouse

Online legal advice for artists is available for a nominal fee in an estate planning clinic from the Center for Art Law.

Native American horror film at LTV, holiday market at Madoo, seasonal concerts at Old Whalers, 'Music Man' returns