According to an audit released on Dec. 24 by the New York State comptroller's office, the Montauk Fire District failed to file three years' worth of required financial reports, paid out unauthorized longevity and overtime to employees, and lacked oversight and consistency in administering its length-of-service award program (LOSAP) for Montauk's 131 volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians.

The auto repair classes housed at the East Hampton School District's new bus depot are the talk of the district, and with good reason — dozens of students are engaged in meaningful work that merges traditional academics and career-oriented training for which they don’t have to go very far.

After learning that he would not be reappointed chairman of the East Hampton Town Planning Board, Samuel Kramer announced at the board’s Dec. 18 meeting that he has decided to leave the board altogether, a year before his seven-year term was set to expire.

Two separate $30,000 donations from the East Hampton Village Foundation, accepted by the village board at its Dec. 18 meeting, will pay for the installation of 10 Flock Safety license-plate readers, which will be placed at each entry and exit point to the village.

This installation of the column for teens and tweens focuses on a selection of favorite books from the mystery, fantasy, and dystopian genres.

“There’s been some pretty significant glimmers of hope — only to have our hopes dashed again,” Peconic Baykeeper’s executive director, Pete Topping, said at the start of a panel discussion the group hosted in December on this year's scallop season and prospects for the future.

This fall, Sharon McCobb, widely considered an ideal citizen here, lost the lease on the house she rented with her husband, falling victim to the town’s affordable housing crisis. So they packed up and moved to Chester, Vt.

A petition urging East Hampton Town to allow licensed cannabis retail dispensaries popped up recently on change.org, arguing that a regulated cannabis market would increase community safety and foster opportunities for economic growth.

A church seeking to stockpile construction materials on its site was front and center on the Dec. 4 agenda of the East Hampton Town Planning Board.

The developer Jeremy Morton’s proposed renovations for the K Pasa and former 7-Eleven buildings in Sag Harbor took another step forward last month, with more review ahead.

A dock on West Water Street next to the Beacon restaurant in Sag Harbor has “reached the end of its lifespan,” according to Chris Duryea, who with his fellow harbormaster, Robert Bori, at a village board meeting on Dec. 10 presented a plan to completely replace it.

The Sag Harbor Village Zoning Board of Appeals voted on Dec. 17 to close a public hearing on the planned expansion of the restaurant Page at 63 Main Street, plans that involve the use of the second floor. The village attorney will draft a decision to be voted on.

After 35 years as a mainstay on Sag Harbor’s Main Street, Sylvester & Co. will close its doors for the last time next week.

Of dozens of proposed new rules for East Hampton Village beaches, the one that generated the most discussion would prohibit dogs on the Main Beach Pavilion between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. “It’s dangerous to have animals on the pavilion at the same time as when it’s busy,” the deputy mayor told the village board last month.

The year just past was an inspiring one when it came to sports here, from Cole Brauer’s circumnavigation of the world in a sailboat solo and nonstop, to the community volunteer work of Dylan Cashin and Ryleigh O’Donnell, top East Hampton track athletes.

David Brandman and the Artists and Writers Softball Game’s impresario, Leif Hope, recently handed out $10,000 checks to four beneficiaries — the Eleanor Whitmore Center, the Retreat, Phoenix House, and East End Hospice.

This still image from a 1988 video from the LTV Archive features a spoof by the artist Robert Janz, as he tries to draw a clock face on a timepiece in motion.

Rick Whalen of the East Hampton Trails Preservation Society will lead a hike at a moderate pace through the woods and fields of the former Talmage Farm in northern Springs on Saturday.

Springs School recently had its annual Winter Spirit Week. Every year, the school celebrates by giving students a fun week to dress up and be creative with their holiday outfits.

The youth sports training facility Hub 44, on Tan Bark Trail in East Hampton, will host a glow dodgeball session for children 8 to 12 on Saturday from 5 to 7 p.m. Plus: board games, trivia, book buddies, and a new fort-building club at the East Hampton Library.