Villages

In the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, Alex Miller gave his friends something else to talk about — at least for the moment. 

The Springs resident found a rare purple pearl inside a clam he had just opened. But this is not his first such find. In May of 2019, he shucked a clam and found one then, too.

According to the Department of Health Services, there were 9,560 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Suffolk County as of Thursday. There were 477 cases on the East End. 

The county passed another milestone on Thursday as the daily number of new Covid-19 cases passed 1,000. Hospital capacity is also increasing, with 206 new beds and increases in equipment and staff.

Even as the hospital continues to marshal resources to deal with the virus, “We are not stopping any of the emergency services that we do,” Robert Chaloner, the hospital’s chief administrative officer, said by phone on Tuesday.     

The editor and writer Bill Henderson of Springs has won a 2020 Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts, the American Academy of Arts and Letters announced last week.

The East Hampton Library's Long Island Collection Item of the Week focuses on the architectural blueprint for the 1910 Woodhouse bungalow in East Hampton.

Another large segment of the South Fork’s work force was idled this week after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Friday halted all nonessential construction during the Covid-19 pandemic.     

“Our focus today is on what is true right now, to focus on the actual moment rather than letting the stories of your mind take you to a place that is not necessarily true,” Leslie Pearlman said in her virtual yoga class. 

Candidates for office in the upcoming East Hampton Village elections will no longer be able to circulate nominating petitions, under an executive order issued on Monday by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.     

The Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center is now offering child care at no cost to families of essential workers, including, among others, health care professionals, food service employees, utility workers, and first responders.  

After her grandson’s wedding in Italy was foiled by the Covid-19 crisis, Carolyn Snyder and her family, the owners of Round Swamp Farm in East Hampton, decided to spread some love here at home by delivering homemade soups and groceries, including chickens, eggs, milk, and pantry staples, to those who are housebound.     

An East End institution, Organizacion Latino Americana, is digging deep for the needs of children and families currently in crisis, with the help of volunteers and donors.     

The ban on restaurant dining during the Covid-19 pandemic has decimated the South Fork restaurant business, according to Mark Smith, a co-owner of the Honest Man Restaurant Group, and Jason Weiner, a co-owner of Almond in Bridgehampton. Both have had to lay off employees in order to remain finacially strong enough to reopen after the crisis has passed.     

Religious traditions and customary burials have been upended by the prohibition on gatherings as the coronavirus continues to spread. While the dead must still be buried, loved ones are somewhat stifled in their grief without being able to mourn as they normally would.

Golf is apparently the last game in town, and, according to the head pro at Montauk Downs, Mark Fretto, new rules have enabled the beautiful public course there to remain open for play during the coronavirus siege.

With elected officials likening the fight against Covid-19 to a “war,” you might also compare Nancy Nano to Rosie the Riveter, or Urban Reininger to Uncle Sam, or think of local libraries as home-grown victory gardens.   

Sixteen additional Suffolk County residents have died from Covid-19, County Executive Steve Bellone said on Wednesday, bringing the total to 69.

An East Hampton Town police officer who was diagnosed with Covid-19 has made a full recovery and is ready to go back to work, The Star learned this week.

The food supply is abundant, but so is the need at East Hampton Town's food pantries, which operating on overdrive to serve more residents amid the shutdown of commercial activity brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.

As confirmed cases of Covid-19 climbed to 5,791 in Suffolk County, a second drive-through testing site has opened in Riverhead. The facility, operated by ProHealth, a New York-based medical provider, is the first on the East End. 

Con el mayor número de casos de COVID-19 esperados en dos o tres semanas en el estado de Nueva York, los hospitales del Condado de Suffolk están añadiendo camas. Los profesionales médicos locales están estresados y hay escasez de equipo. A los oficiales de gobierno les preocupa que el público no está tomando la amenaza del coronavirus lo suficientemente en serio.

As of Sunday, cases in New York State were doubling every six days, a rate of increase slightly lower than earlier this week. The state had over 59,000 cases, with Suffolk County reporting 5,023 cases and 40 virus-related deaths.

The state revised an executive order on Friday to halt all nonessential construction during the coronavirus pandemic. 

An order by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has extended the distance-learning measure at least until April 15.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said Friday that eight more people in the county had died from COVID-19. There are now 331 cases across Suffolk.

East Hampton Town’s essential services are functioning, despite mandates to reduce staffing and implement the social distancing practices critical to controlling the now-explosive growth in COVID-19 infections in the tristate area. 

In learning to cope with the shutdown of public assembly and commercial activity amid a health emergency, many profess a new appreciation for life and its myriad joys. 

As Covid-19 continues to spread, first responders on the South Fork are continuing to work, albeit while taking extra precautions. 

Unable to sell a 1,000-pound catch of fluke last week, Capt. Chuck Morici of the dragger Act 1 spent three days filleting the fish at Montauk commercial dock and offering it for free straight from his boat. On Saturday morning, he gave it away from the back of his pickup truck in downtown Montauk, a big handwritten sign announcing, “Free Fish.”

“We need to support those on the front lines of crisis, particularly the health care workers,” Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said. “None of us have direct experience with this, even in my 27 years of government experience I’ve never faced anything like it.”