Through his company Harbor Electronic Publishing, James F. Monaco put out such titles of local interest as “Oh, That’s Another Story: Images and Tales of Sag Harbor,” “On Montauk” and “Sag Harbor Is,” both subtitled “A Literary Celebration,” and, most recently, “True Stories of Old Sag Harbor,” a collection of Sag Harbor Express columns by Jim Marquardt.   

Paul H. Harry of East Hampton, a former manager at the Sperry Corporation, a developer of aviation instruments, died of complications from a broken leg on Dec. 9 at Quiogue’s Kanas Center for Hospice Care.

On the heels of the controversial construction of electronic billboards on Sunrise Highway last summer, the Shinnecock Council of Trustees is in the early stages of planning a gas station and a medical marijuana dispensary, both part of a multifaceted approach to broaden the tribe’s income to support much-needed programs for its 1,600 members, according to Bryan Polite, the council’s chairman.     

When an out-of-town animal rescue group showed up to remove domestic ducks from the Nature Trail in East Hampton a few days before Christmas, local wildlife advocates and stewards of the trail reacted with outrage, accusing the group of “terrorizing” the resident waterfowl.     

An East Hampton Village law prohibiting professional landscapers from using gas-powered leaf blowers from June 1 to Labor Day, and another that requires them to obtain licenses annually, took effect Thursday, the first day of the new year.     

The Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton will have another of its “sensory friendly” mornings on Saturday from 8 to 10.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has vetoed legislation that would have allowed residents of the five East End towns to vote on imposing a .5-percent real estate transfer tax to create the Peconic Bay Community Housing Fund.     

Construction of a new electrical substation to replace the antiquated substation on Industrial Road in Montauk is to begin next week, PSEG Long Island announced on Monday.     

The new year begins Friday night with the sixth annual Songwriters Share concert series at the Unitarian Universalist Meetinghouse of the South Fork. Each concert will support a local charity.     

A 17-year-old girl went to the East Hampton High School resource officer on Dec. 4 to report that she has been receiving harassing messages through her Instagram account since October.

Lisa Rooney of Montauk faces 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison but remains free without bail under New York State’s new bail reform law.

The news stories that captured East Hampton Star readers' attention in 2019 include headlines involving murder, drunken-driving crashes, major drug busts, fires, and a shooting.  

Our readers' comments

It may be self-serving for us to speak about the role of the local press in today’s closed-loop media ecosystems, but several responses from readers last week to an editorial about the sharp rise of anti-Semitism and its ties to a tone set by the president got us thinking.

Fires in two huge South Fork houses, one in Bridgehampton on Dec. 19 and another in Water Mill on Saturday, should remind residents and visitors of the tremendous commitment of our volunteer firefighters and ambulance personnel.

East Hampton Village Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr. is now former Mayor Rickenbach after stepping down on Dec. 20, closing out 27 years in the post. Mr. Rickenbach first began service when he joined the village Police Department in 1958. He became a village trustee in 1988. He has seen the village in times of boom and bust and ably oversaw and balanced the desires of residents first and foremost with summer visitors and businesses. This has been no simple task, but Mayor Rickenbach handled it with aplomb, and with the continued support of the community.

This time of year always reminds me of The Star’s origins: The paper hit East Hampton on the day after Christmas in 1885. The Star arrived on the doorsteps of East Hampton Village residents even before the Long Island Rail Road had an East Hampton stop. Think of that! In 2020, we will count 135 years of newspapering, and are proud to say so.

Keeping our 9-year-old away from electronic devices has been a struggle since he first figured out how to work the track pad on his mother’s Mac laptop. His is a generation saturated in all things digital that finds playing a video game while listening to something on television and keeping up with friends on social media hardly distracting.

Long Island real estate is suffering as sales decrease and homes lose value, and one reason is chronic flooding fueled by climate change.

Every day during these holiday weeks seems to me like Sunday, which, I hasten to add, isn’t a particularly good thing for someone who likes to think of himself as purposeful if not actually useful.