While many holiday traditions may be curtailed in light of Covid, the Riverhead Holiday Light Show promises to be as bright as ever. The largest drive-through light show in Suffolk County opened on Thursday.

With coronavirus infection rates far higher in Hampton Bays and Riverhead than in other parts of Suffolk County, the county is increasing the number of testing sites in those communities to understand why, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said on Thursday. 

Robert S. Schaeffer, a former member and vice chairman of the East Hampton Town Planning Board and a former editor at The East Hampton Star, died Tuesday morning at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital following a long illness. Mr. Schaeffer was 76. An obituary will appear in a future issue.

The Star had word this week of the death of Janet Zobel of Amagansett and Greenwich Village, on June 29 at N.Y.U. Medical Center in Manhattan. She was 78 and had been given a diagnosis of primary peritoneal cancer five years ago, although she was in remission until this year.

The activist group Progressive East End Reformers has set Dec. 1 at 3 p.m. as a tentative date to mobilize to support President-elect Joe Biden's apparent Electoral College victory. The group's gathering would take place at the Bridgehampton Community House.

The count of absentee ballots sent by voters in New York's First Congressional District is expected to begin Thursday, an official at the Suffolk County Board of Elections said on Tuesday. 

Ideas for addressing and mitigating climate change came fast at Monday's meeting of East Hampton Town's energy sustainability committee, with with Councilwoman Sylvia Overby, the town board's liaison, listing potential capital projects, including more solar arrays, pollinator gardens underneath them, and closed-loop geothermal heating and cooling systems for town buildings.

Stephanie McNamara Bitis, the former general manager of two Sag Harbor radio stations, 92.9 and 96.9 WEHM who is currently vice president of sales at Dan's Papers, pleaded guilty in a federal court on Monday to a felony charge of fraud.

Plans to create a wastewater management district for downtown Montauk took another step forward on Tuesday when an official from the East Hampton Town Natural Resources Department offered recommendations for the hiring of consulting and engineering services for the project. 

The fishing season is winding down, but the fishing for blackfish and sea bass remains strong and the bite is still good for striped bass from the ocean shoreline.

The East Hampton Town Board was expected to vote Thursday to accept a donation to the Police Department of approximately $53,000, which will be used to purchase a firearms training simulator.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Monday signed legislation that will create a state task force on recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters, but it came as surprising news to at least two local fire department chiefs.

A new program for girls from the Neo-Political Cowgirls, a photography contest for teens through the East Hampton Library, and more.

This year's Thanksgiving may be a more intimate affair than the usual feast, but even those hosting small gatherings will be looking for ways to make them as special as ever, and plenty of South Fork restaurants and catering companies are ready to help.

In “On Account of Race,” Lawrence Goldstone traces Supreme Court decisions regarding voting rights from the Constitutional Convention of 1787 to the present. It is a book that challenges your faith in the independence and fairness of the high court.

Lots of interesting things are happening in Sag Harbor this weekend and beyond.

The large lift boat that is conducting geotechnical survey work off the ocean beach at the end of Beach Lane in Wainscott is to move closer to shore on Wednesday evening, a spokeswoman for the developers of the proposed South Fork Wind farm said.

At 2 a.m. on Nov. 10, what sounded like an attempted break-in at a house on Walker Avenue, activating the burglar alarm, turned out to be a family of possums scurrying around the screened-in porch entrance.

I-Tri, an East Hampton nonprofit, met its goal last month of raising $200,000 over 11 days for its programs fostering positive body image, empowerment, and healthy lifestyle choices for adolescent girls.

The East Hampton Historical Society will hold a holiday event at the Mulford Farm on Nov. 28 and the Thomas and Mary Nimmo Moran House and Studio will open on Nov. 29 for a holiday exhibition of festive decor, postcards, period silver, and antique toys to evoke a 19th-century Christmas.