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Hotel Tax Money a Boost for Lighthouse

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation on Monday amending the New York State tax law to stipulate that $250,000 of Suffolk County’s hotel and motel taxes be appropriated to help maintain and operate the Montauk Lighthouse. 

Jul 9, 2026

Incremental Progress at the Building Department

Richard Normoyle, the chief building inspector, detailed the organization of the greatly expanded department (it’s nearly doubled in size in just the last year, to 19 approved positions) and said it would be fully caught up on the permit backlog by the end of the year, five months ahead of his last estimate, offered in May.

Jul 9, 2026

Government

At Guild Hall’s first Hamptons Institute program of 2026, founders of the Indivisible movement promoted bottom-up, grassroots, local activism in the face of rising authoritarianism.

Jul 9, 2026

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.”

Jul 2, 2026

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.

Jul 2, 2026

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.

Jul 2, 2026

Arts

Monumentality in Montauk

Now at The Ranch in Montauk, a showcase for innovative large-scale sculpture, are Nancy Rubins’s “Friends of Pluto,” Matt Johnson’s “Meditating Figure,” and Paul McCarthy’s “Sisters.”

Jul 9, 2026

Featured in “Looking” at the Bridgehampton Museum are portrait paintings by Rainer Andreesen, photographs by Christophe von Hohenberg, and sculpture by Oscar Molina.

Jul 9, 2026

Philip Hartman came to the Sag Harbor Cinema to show his 1986 film “No Picnic,” a love letter to the Lower East Side that is having 12-week run at Manhattan’s Film Forum.

Jul 9, 2026

A busy week at Guild Hall brings contemporary dance, Second City comedy, a chamber music ensemble, a panel on the media landscape, and an artists’ conversation.

Jul 9, 2026

Villages

Schaefer Named Village Employee of the Year

Kevin Schaefer, crew leader in the Department of Public Works, was named the village’s first Employee of the Year at an organizational meeting on July 1.

Jul 9, 2026

Item of the Week: Before a Beachplums Reading, 1969

This photograph shows four members of East Hampton High School’s student-run literary magazine, Beachplums, as they prepared to appear at Guild Hall.

Jul 9, 2026

Amagansett’s West End Sees a Business Boom

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.

Jul 2, 2026

Food

News for Foodies 07.09.26

Omakase is coming to the East End at LDV at the Maidstone and Gurney’s in Montauk, and Lion’s Nook is open at the former Rowdy Hall.

Jul 9, 2026

South Fork Somm: Sparkling Wine for Your Sparklers

With July 4th on the horizon, The Star’s sommelier turns her attention to sparkling wines, with options including a great value from New Mexico and Champagnes that won’t break the bank.

Jul 2, 2026

News for Foodies 07.02.26

There’s a pop-up farm and artisans market coming to Sagaponack, daily beverage specials at Lobster Roll, a happy hour at Gosman’s, and small pies from Loaves and Fishes.

Jul 2, 2026