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Main Newsletter March 21
March 21, 2026
Today: Mainly sunny, high 48, winds northwest at 5 to 10 miles per hour. Tonight: Partly cloudy, low 36. Tomorrow: Mainly cloudy with a chance of a shower, high 49, winds south-southeast at 10 to 15 m.p.h. Sunset tonight: 7:02 p.m. Sunrise tomorrow: 6:48.
Tears were shed on both sides of the courtroom when the driver in a June 2025 Springs car accident that killed one teenager and injured six others was sentenced in Suffolk County Criminal Court in Riverhead on Wednesday.
By Leigh Goodstein
 | In the Democratic primary race for town supervisor, the incumbent, Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, touted a series of endorsements from party figures this week, while her opponent, Village Mayor Jerry Larsen, said the only endorsements that matter will be those made by voters. By Christopher Gangemi |
 | Sag Harbor Village Mayor Thomas Gardella has taken heat over a social media post called insensitive to the L.G.B.T.Q. community. By Leigh Goodstein |
 | The East Hampton Town Trustees responded to intense criticism over their disposal of Canada geese suspected to have died of highly pathogenic avian flu, also known as bird flu. By Christopher Gangemi |
 | In the last few years, e-bikes have exploded in popularity, and the surge has caused some safety issues. Many municipalities, East Hampton Town among them, intend to implement new laws to keep up. By Christopher Gangemi |
 | Enticing private investors and employers to build housing units was a focus at a recent East Hampton Town Board work session, when the board discussed how best to build affordable housing in the town. By Christopher Gangemi |
 | “There is no single solution to the housing challenges we face, which is why we continue to explore a range of options,” East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez said at the start of a town board work session with an agenda heavy on housing matters. By Christopher Gangemi |
 | Scores of municipalities from New Hampshire to Pennsylvania have tightened enforcement and strengthened so-called pooper-scooper laws after the brown stuff, like, bloomed out of the melting snow, causing public outcry. By Christopher Gangemi |
 | Rising temperature and chlorophyll, decreasing salinity, high nitrogen levels, dense blooms of Alexandrium and Dinophysis, blue-green algal blooms, and some fecal contamination characterized town water bodies in 2025, according to Christopher Gobler of Stony Brook University. By Christopher Walsh |
 | Three months after Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill that would have provided for reinstatement and acknowledgement of the Montaukett Indian Nation, the New York State Assembly unanimously passed a new bill to that end. By Christopher Walsh |
 | As in past years, the East Hampton Town Trustees voted last week to permit the use of an aquatic weed harvester in Georgica Pond this year and through 2030, in what is seen as an effective means to discourage the harmful algal blooms that have beset the pond starting almost 15 years ago. By Christopher Walsh |
 | The East Hampton School Board voted unanimously on Tuesday to adopt three bond propositions — worth roughly $128 million — that will appear on the May 19 ballot along with the annual school budget. By Alison Morris Roslyn |
 | East Hampton Middle School’s Do Good Be Good Club delivered much-needed towels for the dogs and cats at the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons Adoption Center in Wainscott. By Alison Morris Roslyn |
 | At a workshop on Tuesday, the Montauk School Board discussed the district’s tax levy for the 2026-27 school year and also plans for a capital project approved by voters in December. By Alison Morris Roslyn |
 | This season, Kathy Masterson, East Hampton's athletic director, said “I expect big things from everyone. We have a great commitment here.” By Alison Morris Roslyn |
 | On Friday afternoons at the Clubhouse in Wainscott, a smiling group of high schoolers takes to the bowling lanes to let loose after a long week of school and get to know their fellow students. At first glance, it’s an unlikely bunch, with varying abilities and aptitudes, but it works in a million different ways. By Alison Morris Roslyn |
 | The Bonac Bolts youth track program is back. After a year’s hiatus, the club will return to the East Hampton High School track on Sundays from 1 to 2 p.m., from March 29 until the May Day 5K on May 3, except Easter Sunday (April 5). By Alison Morris Roslyn |
 | Hugh King, the town and village historian, will tell the story of East Hampton’s first performing arts venue on March 27 at 7 p.m. for the next Tom Twomey lecture at the library. By Andrea Meyer |
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Opinion | Columnists |
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