The East Hampton Town Board will hold a public hearing next Thursday at 2 p.m. on a recommendation from its water quality technical advisory committee that it award more than $500,000, or possibly more than $750,000, to four, or possibly five, projects using money from the portion of the community preservation fund allocated to water quality improvements.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has announced that the plastic bag ban will be enforced as of Oct. 19.

At its meeting last Thursday, the East Hampton Town Board passed a resolution declaring that the Car Free Day Long Island designation applies in the town, that the town supports residents and visitors who "conduct their daily activities car free or car lite for the day thereby lessening congestion on our roads and improving the quality of the air," and asking town employees to be mindful of vehicle use.

At the beginning of September, Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences released three new varieties of apples.