This has been a summer of consternation and intense debate for Jewish communities worldwide. How to bring people together for the High Holy Days, which begin on the evening of Friday, Sept. 18, while keeping them safely apart in the midst of a pandemic? On the South Fork, with a single exception, the answer, in the main, was Zoom.
The angry exchanges resumed on Tuesday when the East Hampton Town Board again discussed Stony Brook Southampton Hospital's planned emergency room annex ahead of a vote on the proposal's environmental impact that is expected next Tuesday.
With mask-wearing mandates in place for every student, except in some cases those with disabilities, many school districts are now banning the use of masks with valves or exhalation vents.
Those "are not recommended, as they can allow exhaled respiratory droplets to reach others," according to the New York State chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The Bridgehampton School and the Sagaponack School are among those that are following that organization's guidelines.
I hope that if any of you know anyone who may be struggling with addiction during the pandemic, you might find a quiet moment to offer encouragement, to ask if there's anything you can do to help. Sometimes that's all it takes to get someone headed in the right direction.
