In 1822 Henry Packer Dering, the Sag Harbor customs collector, issued this “acknowledgement” that Benjamin Lord, “an American seaman,” had paid “into this office six months Hospital Money.”

Coming less than a week before Gov. Kathy Hochul detailed a plan to ban smartphone use in schools statewide from “bell to bell,” parents gathered in the auditorium of the Pierson Middle and High School on Jan. 15 heard from an expert on just how detrimental screen time can be to younger children.

The library at the John M. Marshall Elementary School has added 350 books to its collection since September, Patty Moyer, the school librarian, announced, and since the additions, monthly circulation has increased to 1,200 to 1,300 books per month.

Recently, the Springs School Diversity Club took a field trip to the local food pantry, and used their time there to make a difference in the community.

The Hedges Inn, now owned by John Cumming, is in contract to be sold to Andrew and Sarah Wetenhall, marking an end to a year of drama that saw the 1873 inn, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, actively courted by Scott Sartiano and his celebrity hangout, Zero Bond.

Keen-eyed observers may have noticed an intriguing “available retail space” sign placed over the holidays at the Long Island Rail Road Station in East Hampton Village. The space, 613 square feet total, is divided between 488 square feet that will be shared with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, including a bathroom, and 125 feet of exclusive retail space.

A chance to relive the time at the turn of the last century when the then-new internet wiped out a once reliable and interesting field of employment — the nation’s travel agencies. Plus a hundred years’ worth of other Star nuggets.

Programs for young nature lovers, craft sessions, and a family Creativity Lab are on offer for kids and teens this week.

On Sunday evening, the assistant manager of Sportime told police he’d seen two drunken men harassing the snack stand attendant and asked them to leave, which they did, briefly, but then ran back in and punched him.

The venerable Star comes in for some praise for a change. Plus more kvetches, of course.

Oil was a winner this week and wind a loser in the Trump administration’s first round of executive orders.

We hope that officials here are seizing the moment to come up with new ways to reduce catastrophic risks in a region underprepared for large-scale wildfires.

Sharpen your skates, East Hampton.

The first hat I produced after weeks of work was a bit of a disaster, looking like something a “Game of Thrones” extra would have worn before getting his head chopped off

The pashmina, with its many petal colors like varieties of April flowers, was the late-20th-century version of the Tulip Mania of the Dutch golden age.

Hard time as a captive to talk radio.

It’s been a long, lousy month since Danny Murray of the Fairway restaurant passed away.

Norman Abell of Amagansett, a former senior partner at Huber, Lawrence & Abell, a New York City law firm, died of thyroid cancer on Sunday. He was 95.

Stephen Grossman, a lawyer whose firm had an office in Sag Harbor for decades, died on Jan. 14 at NYU Langone hospital in Manhattan of complications of lung cancer. He was 83.

Behold the new real estate report, South Fork edition.