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Main Newsletter July 4
July 4, 2026
Today: Partly cloudy with a shower or thunderstorm possible, high 91, winds west at 5 to 10 miles per hour. Tonight: Evening showers expected, low 69, light winds. Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy, high 81, winds light. Sunset tonight: 8:23. Sunrise tomorrow: 5:22.
One of the worst early-season droughts in recent memory is hitting the East End just as a heat wave and July 4th crowds, expecting wall-to-wall greenery and willing to expend precious water resources to meet those expectations, converge on the area.
By Christopher Gangemi
 | “I don’t know how to respond,” Jerry Larsen said after hearing about the effort taking shape a little over a week after his Democratic primary loss to Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez. “I don't want to discourage them, but I’m not actively campaigning." By Christopher Gangemi |
 | A man was rescued three miles southwest of Montauk Wednesday free-floating in the ocean with no life jacket. The one thing the man did have -- an emergency position-indicating radio beacon, or EPIRB -- allowed the Coast Guard Station Montauk and Air National Guard to locate and save him. By Christopher Gangemi |
 | A decomposed humpback whale found on a rocky stretch of shoreline at Ditch Plain in Montauk on Friday morning was removed by Saturday afternoon, thanks to some hard work by East Hampton Town, a contractor, and about a dozen volunteers with the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society. By Christopher Gangemi |
 | House wrens are not shy of humans and are open-minded about where they construct their nests. A pair recently moved into a birdhouse under the eaves of our garage and I’ve watched them with interest. Conclusion? These birds are personable, noisy, and hard-working. They’re also evil little control freaks. By Christopher Gangemi |
 | Chris Gallant, who won the Democratic primary election last week and will face Representative Nick LaLota in November, calls CD-1 “a very flippable district.” By Christopher Walsh |
 | Gov. Kathy Hochul and Letitia James, the state’s attorney general, have sued the Trump administration to protect new state laws that are similar to the East End Public Safety and Accountability Law, a version of which was passed by both East Hampton Town and Village this spring. By Christopher Gangemi |
 | Like a fever breaking after a long illness, new businesses have sprung up in and around 136 Main Street, a 1920s-era building neighboring the Mobil station at the entrance to the hamlet’s business district. By Irene Silverman |
 | Following the departure of Rabbi Josh Franklin from the Jewish Center of the Hamptons, Rabbi Debra Stein, the center’s cantor, has assumed that role while the congregation continues its search for a permanent rabbi. By Christopher Walsh |
 | During a work session on June 25, the village board discussed the possibility of creating more stops and backups to make the village a less desirable cut-through for traffic heading to points east or points west. By Leigh Goodstein |
 | Three years after the Cranberry Hole Road bridge in Amagansett was deemed structurally deficient and closed to all traffic, the Long Island Rail Road has awarded a contract for its reconstruction, which is expected to start by early 2027. By Christopher Walsh |
 | Mickey the Wonder Dog, Lora Tucker’s 10-year-old Shih Tzu, is the happiest dog Ms. Tucker ever met. He’s a wonder for another reason, though, she said: Mickey is her service dog, helping her manage her anxiety and physical disability. By Margot Kohn |
 | The East Hampton Historical Society will reopen the extensively renovated Mulford Farmhouse, at 10 James Lane, on Saturday, coinciding with America’s observance of its 250th anniversary. By Christopher Walsh |
 | They were hard-working, kind team players with an impressive array of talents. Anyone looking to restore their faith in our future would have found great comfort at the East Hampton High School graduation on June 26, when 226 Bonackers flipped the tassels on their caps from right to left and officially became alumni. By Alison Morris Roslyn |
 | David Cataletto’s passions for education, history, and the environment merge in “Kings of the Coast,” set on the East End in the 1600s and telling a tale of Indigenous tribes and Dutch and English settlers struggling to control the land. By Christopher Walsh |
 | The blazing heat this week has cooked up the local fishing scene. By Jon M. Diat |
 | A composition for the new republic by a Suffolk County Militia member. You can learn more about the American Revolution here in a pop-up display starting July 8 at the East Hampton Library. By Kristen Ahearn |
Also in the News
Opinion | Columnists |
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