It’s fitting that the winner of East Hampton’s first Holiday Spirit storefront-decorating contest should be a business known for having fascinating windows: The Monogram Shop on Newtown Lane has made national headlines not for its holiday décor but for the tally of political cup sales that, in election cycles past, has been a notoriously accurate predictor of presidential outcomes. The window cup count was wrong in November, but the window display in December is, according to a panel of judges, oh so right.

The East Hampton Town Board has proposed designating two structures at 66 Main Street in Wainscott, on a 30-acre property recently purchased from Ronald Lauder, as historic landmarks to be known as the John Osborn Homestead Historic Landmark. Some advocates say the whole property should be landmarked.

The Springs General Store has been shuttered since the end of the 2022 summer season, and while the new owners are getting closer to winning approvals for changes they plan, one of them, Daniel Bennett, confirmed via text last week that the store will remain closed for the summer of 2025.

Upward of 50 people attended East Hampton Village’s first workshop as it prepares to update its comprehensive plan, filling nearly every chair in the Emergency Services Building. Familiar themes peppered the conversation: traffic congestion and speeding, lack of affordable housing, the departure of mom-and-pop shops, and the constant clatter of the landscaping and construction industries.