The current friction on the Sag Harbor Village Board may provide one small benefit: It’s going to put any idea through a wringer to see if it can hold up... more
It was just a couple of years ago, during the height of the COVID pandemic, when it seemed very likely that the days of movie theaters were numbered, or at least the idea of a small-town cinema was beginning to look endangered. At the time, of course, nobody was going out much, and gathering places like theaters were largely closed. But that crisis started to feel like a death knell: In 2020, global box office revenue went down by 70 percent. That came on the heels of an evolving climate for moviegoing. Streaming services offering 4K resolution on home television ...
27 Aug 2025 by Editorial Board
As the 50th annual Hampton Classic takes place this week, please do keep in mind just what an enormous undertaking it is, how much devotion it takes to put on such a high-quality international event, and how deep its local roots really do go. Detailed in a special publication last week that The Express News Group was proud to produce, the Classic began in 1976 with a more modest name: The Southampton Horse Show, though that first event actually was held in East Hampton. It was a revival of a tradition that dated back to the early 20th century, when ...
by Editorial Board
We, and others, have been shouting across the abyss at U.S. Representative Nick LaLota, trying but mostly failing to engage him in a conversation about the long list of historical developments in the first eight months of his second term in office. He speaks almost exclusively in press releases, probably written by his staff, and his interactions with the public are largely scripted and/or stage managed. He touts his “tele town halls,” where constituents can call in live with questions, but callers are screened and the discussions are largely superficial. He’s mischaracterized a list of “public” events, and he’s been ...
20 Aug 2025 by Editorial Board
For the League of Women Voters, controversy is anathema. It’s an avowedly nonpartisan organization that takes great pains not to take sides in the political world, even as it helps provide lots of information to voters, and to encourage “everyone to fully participate in our democracy,” as its website outlines its mission. Even in this time of mudslinging, there’s no way anyone can besmirch the objective bona fides of the League. Which makes this week’s “Viewpoint,” from Judi Roth of Southampton, all the more startling, and impactful. Roth chairs the Unite & Rise Committee for the League of Women Voters ...
13 Aug 2025 by Editorial Board
There’s just something special about the junior lifeguard programs in both East Hampton and Southampton towns. The two towns have lifeguard programs that involve friendly competition but a lot more cooperation, and that’s also true of the junior lifeguard programs, which have had the spotlight in recent weeks. The two towns come together in the Hampton Lifeguard Association to send a team of both adults and youths to Huntington Beach, California, for the United States Lifesaving Association’s National Lifeguard Championship. That was held last week — and the U19 lifeguards crushed it, despite 10-foot waves at times, and were the ...
by Editorial Board
A bad idea doesn’t improve with age. Suffolk County is about to discover this. In November, the county will ask its voters, once again, to sign off on four-year terms for county legislators. That’s double the current two-year term, and it comes on the heels of a 2023 state law that will switch local elections to even-number years — when federal and state positions are on the ballot, too. There’s almost nothing new about the proposed switch to four-year terms when comparing it to 2020, when seven out of 10 Suffolk County voters rejected the idea. Columnist Karl Grossman offers ...
6 Aug 2025 by Editorial Board
Last Wednesday, a utility work crew thought the middle of morning rush hour was the best time to do some maintenance work along County Road 39, closing one eastbound lane. The result, not surprisingly, was a backup that stretched nearly to East Quogue, and bungled things up for much of the day. It’s a fact: The traffic problem on the South Fork gets worse every year, and there are precious few workable solutions on the table. Credit Charlie McArdle, Southampton Town’s highway superintendent, and Southampton Village officials in particular for trying some things, hoping to hit on a silver bullet. ...
by Editorial Board
People often speak wistfully about young people being the future of this country. They certainly are — but let’s take a moment to recognize that the next few decades are actually going to belong to senior citizens. Which makes a group like Seniors Taking Action, founded by Mary Mulvihill of North Haven and Judy Loeb of East Hampton six years ago, even more impactful. Their small gathering of seniors is growing, in size and stature — it now has 1,400 members — and could well become an advocacy group that serves as a voice for those 65 and older. And ...
30 Jul 2025 by Editorial Board
Whichever side of the political aisle you sit on, there’s a reality in play in 2025: Government spending is going to be on the chopping block, and only the most compelling arguments are going to save individual investments. Why, then, does federal spending on estuaries seem so precarious? The argument is rock solid, the benefits are clear and demonstrable, and it seems unlikely that the dollars going to places like the Peconic Estuary are raising ire among voters. If this funding is at risk, nothing is sacred. U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was in Riverhead last week pledging to fight proposed ...
by Editorial Board
East Hampton Town Councilwoman Cate Rogers deserves credit for doing a deep dive into an issue that should be top of mind in both town halls and every village hall on the South Fork: the impact of short-term rentals on the overall housing market. Affordable housing is a constant conversation, but too often the focus is on the price of real estate. That’s clearly a key factor in making communities less affordable to live in, but it’s not the only one. In fact, the impact of short-term rentals, particularly via the explosion of booking websites and apps, arguably has had ...
23 Jul 2025 by Editorial Board
