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Main Newsletter Aug. 1
August 1, 2026
Today: A mix of clouds and sun, high 81, winds southwest at 5 to 10 miles per hour. Tonight: Partly cloudy to cloudy, low 68. Tomorrow: Clouds early, followed by partial clearing, high 79, winds SSE at 10 to 15 miles per hour. Sunset tonight: 8:04. Sunrise tomorrow: 5:46.
“We’ve sunk nine wells and we’re going to be sinking more,” Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine said of the county’s investigations into the origin of the contamination that caused two Suffolk County Water Authority wells to be taken offline. “These findings are off the charts!”
By Christopher Gangemi
 | The woman who police said drove through an art show on the downtown green in Montauk in the overnight hours in June 2025 and was subsequently charged with driving while intoxicated pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years of probation in East Hampton Town Justice Court. By Leigh Goodstein |
 | A woman was injured after the car she was driving was rear-ended by a Jeep and pushed through a fence at the Watchcase Factory condominiums. By Christopher Gangemi |
 | Stacey Abrams, political leader and author, picked apart the rapid transformation of American government and culture in a 90-minute discussion with Ken Miller, a financial executive and activist, for the Thinking Forward Lecture Series Tuesday. By Christopher Walsh |
 | The seven-time Grammy Award-winning recording artist John Mayer will perform at the Stephen Talkhouse on Aug. 26 in this year’s edition of the annual SiriusXM satellite radio concert held at the Amagansett live-music venue. By Christopher Walsh |
 | A demonstration in Springs unveils a 348-pound, carbon fiber Helix Personal Flying Vehicle that requires no license and is touted as “perfect for the Hamptons.” By Christopher Walsh |
 | A widely circulated social media post last week from Craig O’Connell, host of Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, raised the possibility that an orca was spotted 10 nautical miles off the tip of Long Island. By Christopher Gangemi |
 | The Bourbon virus, a potentially deadly tick-borne disease first discovered in 2014 in a man from Bourbon County, Kansas, has recently shown up in New York State, and the most common tick on the East End, the lone star tick, can spread it. By Christopher Gangemi |
 | “A model in Paris, a secretary in Belgium, a columnist and candidate in Brooklyn, and the long-serving, unofficial mayor of Amagansett,” The Star wrote of Joan Tulp on the occasion of her 90th birthday, in August 2019. By Christopher Walsh |
 | Attorneys for Ryan Benitez, a former East Hampton Town building inspector who is facing bribery and official misconduct charges, and his former co-worker, Evelyn Calderon, facing the same charges, appeared in court in Riverhead on Tuesday, where they conferenced with the judge in his chambers before leaving the courtroom. By Leigh Goodstein |
 | Companies controlled by the billionaire industrialist Ira Rennert agreed last month to a $150 million settlement with 1,373 Peruvians who claim they were exposed to lead and other toxic substances as children growing up near the companies’ metal smelting and refining complex in La Oroya, Peru. By Margot Kohn |
 | There is no timeline for the gravel lot off Bridge Street to reopen. That means approximately 93 parking spots have been suddenly removed from the village in the height of the summer season. By Christopher Gangemi |
 | Two East Hampton Town Trustees vented their continued frustration with the town board to their colleagues recently, exasperated over being found in civil and criminal contempt for failing to prevent vehicles from using a 4,000-foot stretch of Napeague beach that a judge had ruled was privately owned. By Christopher Walsh |
 | Seeking to make it easier and cheaper for residents to update their aging septic systems, which have been found to be a main cause of excessive nitrogen in ground and surface waters, the East Hampton Town Board seemed supportive of increasing funding for their installation at the board’s July 21 meeting. By Christopher Gangemi |
 | After 47 years behind the wheel, a much-loved Amagansett school bus driver, Russell Schaefer, has retired, leaving a void that won’t easily be filled. By Alison Morris Roslyn |
 | The 34th annual East Hampton Town Junior Lifeguarding tournament, the culmination of the town program that teaches ocean safety and lifesaving techniques to kids ages 9 to 15, will take place at Atlantic Avenue Beach in Amagansett on Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. By Margot Kohn and Carissa Katz |
 | The 37th annual East Hampton Ocean Lifeguard Tournament returned to Main Beach on July 23, drawing a crowd for an evening of high-stakes, high-energy competition. By Alison Morris Roslyn |
 | Alyssa Bahel and her father, Mike Bahel, completed the Ironman in Lake Placid, N.Y., on July 19, each finishing 17th in their age groups. By Alison Morris Roslyn |
 | On July 26, the community where Lance Cpl. Jordan Christian Haerter grew up remembered his sacrifice with the annual Jordan’s Run, a 5K run and walk. By Alison Morris Roslyn |
 | It only took a minute or two to scan the fish finder and see that that the bottom was paved with porgies. With nary another boat in sight, it was time to drop our hi-lo rigs baited with sliced skimmer clams into the 72-degree water. By Jon M. Diat |
 | This depiction of Hook Mill was hand-painted on a ceramic tile by Hamilton King sometime before 1950 at the request of Maude Sherwood Jewett, a fellow artist who founded the Tile Painters Club of East Hampton. By Christina Pelligrino |
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