A majority of Republican senators have made it clear already that they plan to acquit the former president after his impeachment trial begins. They have been given cover in this by citing the nonsense claim that, after leaving the White House, ex-presidents cannot be prosecuted.

This has been an extremely gratifying week for a team of us doing work to learn about the history of slavery on the East End and share our research with others.

I’m that person who cannot see the rare bird on the branch, no matter how hard someone points.

A decent snowfall for a change brings thoughts of yesteryear’s less-than-safe outdoor activities.

An emailed letter from Southampton Hospital addressed to “Dear Friends” says, in part, that while the hospital is beginning to see a decline in Covid-19 admissions, “we urge you to remain vigilant. . . .”

A two-mile stretch of road between two ponds in East Hampton has provided Treasury secretaries for F.D.R. and four Republican presidents in the 20th century, and now a secretary of state for Joe Biden.

The latest real estate transfers.

Our readers' views

Motivated by opposition to a plan to land the proposed South Fork Wind farm's export cable at the ocean end of Beach Lane, a group called Citizens for the Preservation of Wainscott is leading an effort to create an incorporated village in a 4.4-square-mile expanse of that hamlet. A petition supporting that move was submitted to the supervisor, as required by state law, on Dec. 30.

As East End residents face an ongoing lack of access to the Covid-19 vaccine, Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. and other local officials vented their frustration this week with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's handling of the state's vaccination program, and offered recommendations for fixing it.

After receiving feedback from Sag Harbor Village residents and business owners on a proposal to charge for parking on Main Street and in the Long Wharf lot between Memorial Day and Columbus Day weekends, the village board decided to hold off on including the Main Street spaces, Mayor Kathleen Mulcahy announced on Monday.

The Bridgehampton School District last week unveiled a rough draft of next year's school budget. Having been heavily affected by the pandemic, the district now has a lot of homework to do, school officials said.

"Montauk's skate park could become a destination," said John Britton, the father of an 11-year-old skateboarder who is working with Councilman David Lys to advocate for a renovation and expansion. 

The East Hampton Town Board on Tuesday discussed a plan to amend the town code to tighten restrictions on the use of leaf blowers, with a divided board debating even greater constraints than were proposed at a public hearing in December.

Recent weather has been a warmup for Hamptons Observatory's next virtual lecture, "NASA's Airborne Lab: Mapping Polar Ice," co-sponsored by the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. On Thursday at 7 p.m. Walter E. Klein, a navigator for NASA, will share details of his current work including as a project to map the world's polar ice.

Shown here is the account book that Daniel Hedges, a shoemaker in East Hampton, kept from 1765-1771. Hedges (1742-1831) was a son of John Hedges and Elizabeth Talmage Hedges. In this account, Hedges identifies each pair of shoes he sells, some listed as "pomps," or pumps, and others simply as "shoes." He also notes repairs to soles of shoes and caps put on heels.

Montauk's favorite son, John L. Behan, who, with broad bipartisan support, was the East End's voice in the State Assembly for the better part of two decades, and who, for three years afterward, headed the state's veterans affairs office before retiring from public service in 1999, died in his sleep of a heart attack at home last Thursday at the age of 76.

In many ways, there are few things in medicine as dangerous as the passage of time. By this, I mean that inexorable movement toward a place where the status quo holds reign. Patients who come in to discuss their concerns about a recent 5 or 10-pound weight gain over a month or two will often be fired up with the desire to make positive changes in their lives.

Eric Casale, who was principal of the Springs School for 15 years until his resignation in December, received a settlement worth $300,000 from the district last month following a leave of absence that began in August.

To prevent oversized buildings along the waterfront, the code would set a maximum height of 25 feet and two stories, unless the developer provided public waterfront access and at least three other benefits, such as installing environmentally-friendly building systems and sustainable landscapes, producing renewable energy, conserving water, or preserving historic resources.