Villages

Despite a dozen hearings on its agenda, the East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals moved swiftly through its meeting on Friday, closing most hearings after the applicants had satisfied its concerns or requests.

The board’s effort to maintain the historical character of the village’s neighborhoods was underscored in a new hearing, in which the Corwin family of 25 Cooper Lane sought variances to alter and construct additions to the house and add a second story to a detached garage located in the front yard, where garages are prohibited.

Christine Sampson and Jason Nower have Guild Hall and the John Jermain Memorial Library to thank for bringing them together, Ms. Sampson said.

The two first met at a WordTheatre benefit for the Pushcart Prize held at Guild Hall in July 2015. Ms. Sampson was a guest and Mr. Nower was a crewmember working at the event. They reconnected more than a year later, in September 2016, at a board game night at John Jermain in Sag Harbor.

The next trip to Washington, D.C., for Honor Flight Long Island on Saturday will include not only World War II veterans but Korean War veterans, as well. Honor Flight Long Island, which has escorted over 1,300 veterans to view the war memorial for the first time over the past 10 years, has been expanded to include the Korean War veterans.

Priority is still being given to the aging World War II population, but applications are now being accepted for those who fought in Korea. Funded by donations, the not-for-profit organization takes the veterans to the nation’s capital for free.

A fund-raising campaign is underway to assist Dell Cullum, an East Hampton wildlife removal specialist, anti-litter activist, and nature photographer who was injured on Friday while trapping raccoons at a house on Napeague.

Organizacion Latino-Americana of Eastern Long Island has hired Gabriela Cabrera for the newly created position of civic engagement coordinator.

A day of films, fun, and conversations about water quality, sustainability, and conservation is set for Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Guild Hall.

Southampton Town’s spring cleanup begins today. Highway Superintendent Alex Gregor said leaf bags and brush placed on the side of the road will be hauled away as highway workers make their rounds.

The East Hampton Village Board received word that the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority may designate the village a “Clean Energy Community.”

Charlotte Binstead and Derek Smith, who met at the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, were married in February more than 3,200 miles away, in Barrow-in-Furness, a town in Cumbria in the northwest of England, near the bride’s childhood home.

Their Feb. 24 wedding was at Abbey House and Gardens, with Debra Jessett officiating. There was a reading by Ms. Binstead’s brother Andrew. Megan Leese sang “Your Song” for the couple.

One of the 20 floats in this year’s St. Patrick’s Day parade was presented by Montauk’s St. Therese of Lisieux Catholic Church.

The aquatic area at the Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter closed on Sunday for repairs and is expected to reopen on May 13. The RECenter will remain open for use of the other areas of the building.

A festival and street fair proposed for May 20 on Newtown Lane by the executive director of the East Hampton Chamber of Commerce became official on Friday when the East Hampton Village Board voted to approve a special live entertainment permit.

Organizacion Latino-Americana of Eastern Long Island has hired its first development and outreach associate. Itzel Nava, who grew up primarily in Southampton, is a recent graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in advertising and marketing comunications.

The East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals, meeting on Friday, was adamantly against allowing an outdoor patio at the Service Station restaurant to continue to be used for dining, as it has been for many years.

Jill Malusky has been named the new executive director of the East Hampton Historical Society. She will succeed Richard Barons, who has served in that role for the last 11 years, on March 21. Mr. Barons, who announced his retirement last year, will continue in the role of curator during the transition.

Ms. Malusky is director of visitor engagement at the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill in Harrodsburg, Ky. She grew up on a historical farm in rural Ohio, and previously managed a medieval hall in England.

The third annual Tom Twomey Series, a program of discussions held at the East Hampton Library and honoring the late chairman of its board of managers, will commence on March 15 with “The State of Our Town,” a talk with East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell.

A nautical shuttle service is expected to launch this summer in Sag Harbor, providing a new way to get to popular seaside spots.

February, that coldest of months, is the perfect time for chili. On Saturday afternoon, a big heaping cup sure to keep you warm will also raise money for the Springs Fire Department.

The new executive director of the East Hampton Chamber of Commerce pitched two big ideas at meetings this week: a street fair on Newtown Lane in May and a Sunday farmers market on the lawn of the East Hampton Middle School this summer.

After a brief pause during which it vacated its Sag Harbor quarters, Kadampa Meditation Center has reopened at 720C Montauk Highway in Water Mill.

East Hampton Village is considering charging for some private parties and mass gatherings that use village beaches and other public property.

As the South Fork population and summer visitors’ numbers continue to grow, pressure on the natural environment builds. An expert panel of environmentalists and farmers assembled by The East Hampton Star’s East magazine will consider how policymakers and individuals are responding to the challenges next Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the Mandala Yoga Center for the Healing Arts in Amagansett Square.

The central questions for the participants are whether the South Fork is a paradise lost and, if it is not quite lost yet, what can be done to save it.

Farming in East Hampton is increasingly taking center stage, and there are opportunities for those interested but new to the field to get involved.

North Haven Village residents and officials are gearing up to fight taller utility poles that PSEG-Long Island plans to erect as part of a federally funded project to strengthen the electric grid across Long Island.

The East Hampton Village Board reduced the speed limit from 25 to 20 miles per hour on several streets and adopted a few uncontroversial laws at its first regular meeting of 2017 on Friday.

The Sag Harbor Village Board brought its code in line with a state law on hunting last week, authorizing bowhunting on private property with the owner’s permission.

The Jan. 10 decision came after hunters challenged a bowhunting ban the board had enacted two years ago. On advice of counsel, the board decided against continuing the ban because it was inconsistent with New York’s Environmental Conservation Law. The Department of Environmental Conservation’s regulations on bowhunting allow the discharge of a long bow on private property as long as it is 150 feet from a house.

The Village of East Hampton is once again the recipient of an upbeat assessment of its fiscal health.

At its last meeting of the year on Friday, the East Hampton Village Board scheduled a public hearing next month on a significant amendment to the zoning code and other hearings on a few parking and traffic issues.

The proposed zoning amendment is designed to reduce the mass of houses on small lots, a change similar to amendments adopted in 2015 that were aimed at houses on parcels of one acre or more. The amendment is based on recommendations from the planning and zoning committee, which were detailed in a November presentation by Billy Hajek, the village planner.

The fire in Sag Harbor on Friday ravaged buildings and closed businesses, but at least two people, Fred Kumwenda and Michael Lynch, lost everything they owned when the blaze ripped through their second-story apartment above Compass real estate on Main Street.

Their building was between the Sag Harbor Cinema and the one that housed Sagtown Coffee. While Mr. Kumwenda was not at home at the time the fire broke out, Mr. Lynch was awakened by a village police officer and escaped with only the clothes on his back.

Craig Dershowitz, the founder of Artists 4 Israel, a nonprofit that uses the arts to “beautify the land, uplift the people, and enhance the understanding of Israel through creative humanitarian aid projects,” according to its website, will talk about his organization’s work in a public program on Sunday at 10 a.m. at the Jewish Center of the Hamptons.