The South Fork Natural History Society will host a lecture on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. that will feature slides of rare Antarctic penguins. On a recent visit to Antarctica, the photographers Irene and Myron Brenton were able to photograph colonies of gentoo and chinstrap penguin chicks, among other unusual birds.

Dessert and coffee will be served at the society's museum in Amagansett. A call to the society's Natureline will bring directions.

Also on Saturday, the East Hampton Trails Preservation Society's Abbie Barber will lead an 8 a.m. walk along Main Beach in East Hampton and the vicinity. Hikers will meet in the beach parking lot.

The wildlife rehabilitator Mindy Washington, whose specialty is box turtles, will talk about these long-lived reptilian residents of the South Fork at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, at the offices of the Group for the South Fork in Bridgehampton. Members of the audience will be allowed to bring in box lunches.

On Sunday, the Southampton Trails Preservation Society has scheduled a 10 a.m. horseback ride, limited to 10 horses, along the Long Pond Greenbelt in Bridgehampton. It will meet at the corner of Norris and Narrow Lanes.

The Hampton Garden Festival, a nine-day bonanza of horticultural exhibits, lectures, panel discussions, show gardens, and related events to be held at Dune Alpin Farm in East Hampton in June, will not take place this year after all.

The show has been postponed until next summer, when, it is hoped it will coincide with the celebrations of the 350th anniversary of the founding of East Hampton.

The event, which would have been a major fund-raiser for the Harbor for Girls and Boys, whose summer camp is on Three Mile Harbor, was fully underwritten and ready to go. All the major nurseries and many East End garden designers and retailers planned to participate.

Easement In The Way

That the festival fell through can be laid partly at the door of ABC Carpet, which tried to mount a huge outdoor sale at Dune Alpin last year.

That event was canceled at the last minute after much protest from local businesses, who called it unfair competition.

It was discovered at that time that the large field at Dune Alpin, which had been used for outdoor events for many years, was covered by a scenic easement for 17 out of its 21 acres that lie on town land.

The easement does not allow the ground to be dug up or buildings and structures to be erected there.

Needed: Six Acres

Boys Harbor had hoped some way around the restrictions might be found, but, as the flower show needed needs six acres with many tents, water, electricity, and telephone, the Dune Alpin management preferred to err on the side of caution and said the field could not be used.

"We really don't want to move it out of East Hampton," said Charlotte Moss, who is co-chairwoman of the festival with Luly Duke. "It would be a shame."

She said organizers were "still looking for six acres in the village, and I'm not above knocking on doors if that's what it takes."

The Hamptons Garden Festival has no relation to A Celebration of Gardening, a five-day indoor-outdoor horticultural exposition that will take place as planned from May 22 to May 26 at Southampton College.

Sotheby's International Realty, which has offices in Southampton and East Hampton, has purchased Braverman Newbold Brennan Real Estate, which has offices in East Hampton, Sag Harbor, and Bridgehampton.

The firm has long been "interested in acquiring a company of this caliber" to strengthen its position on the East End, and Braverman Newbold Brennan "was interested and available to discuss it," said Stuart Siegel, Sotheby's president. The deal, in the works since the summer, was completed last Thursday.

Michael Braverman, who founded his company in 1978, will join Sotheby's in New York, where he will work in corporate development. Frank Newbold will manage the East Hampton office, and Paul Brennan will be in charge of the Bridgehampton office. Philip Elliot will continue to manage Sotheby's Southampton office. There will be 55 agents associated with the company.

Build Or Buy?

For the time being, the firm will maintain two offices in East Hampton, the Sotheby's office at 87 Newtown Lane and the Braverman Newbold Brennan office at 6 Main Street. Once renovations are completed at the Main Street location, the company will give up its Newtown Lane office. Braverman's Sag Harbor office will also be closed.

For Sotheby's the question was "to build or buy," according to Mr. Siegel. In acquiring Braverman it has obtained "a great team of owner managers" and a firm with a "compatible culture" and "good, visible locations," he said.

Sotheby's will now find itself in "a perfect position of strength," according to Mr. Newbold. He said Braverman had wanted "to add a Southampton office" for several years, and Sotheby's will now "get the top office in Bridgehampton."

Important Niche

With an average sales price of $1.5 million, Sotheby's has held an important niche in the high-end market. In acquiring Braverman it will increase its market base, Mr. Siegel said.

Sotheby's currently has offices in Manhattan, Greenwich, Conn., Palm Beach, and four in California, in Los Angeles, Brentwood, Beverly Hills, and San Francisco. Internationally, the company has offices in London, Paris, Sydney, Melbourne, and Hong Kong and has ties with more than 180 independent brokerages.

Sotheby's has been in the real estate business since 1976. Its well-known auction house was started in 1744.

Although Sotheby's specializes in higher-priced houses, Mr. Newbold said the company is still interested in listing houses of all price ranges. "People should not feel intimidated that we are not interested in listing their home," said Mr. Newbold.

AMAGANSETT

KGWL Inc. to Chateau Const. L.L.C. and Daniel Errico, Shipwreck Drive, $200,000.

KGWL Inc. to Chateau Const. L.L.C. and Daniel Errico, Shipwreck Drive (two vacant lots), $195,000.

KGWL Inc. to Gail Elliot, Shipwreck Drive, $215,000.

BRIDGEHAMPTON

Sandford to Ruby Beets Inc., Montauk Highway, $350,000.

Druek to Annella Barranco and Karen Lupuloff, Woodruff Lane, $250,000.

Auchincloss to Susan Cohn, Church Lane, $400,000.

EAST HAMPTON

Lyon to Jocelyn Palmer, Buell Lane, $350,000.

Distler to Claudia Librett, Barsdis Lane, $220,000.

Mangiapane to Joanna Paitchell, Buell Lane Extension, $275,000.

Evan Frankel Foundation to Seafields L.L.C., off Montauk and Cross Highways (two vacant lots), $800,000.

Patalano to Dennis and Carol McCrone, Two Holes of Water Road, $187,500.

MONTAUK

511 Equities Corp. to Donna and Harold Clark 3d, Soundview Drive, $247,500.

Dolan to John Fraser and Olympia and Maria Mottola, Adams Drive, $215,000.

Passage East to Harrington Prop. Assoc., West Lake Drive, $250,000.

NORTH HAVEN

Kinsey to Raymond and Linda Pettigrew, Baldwin Drive, $181,500.

NORTHWEST

Shapiro to Mitchell and Heidi Iden, Hedges Banks Drive, $480,000.

NOYAC

Leonard to Martin and Selma Rosen, Eastview Court, $230,000.

Gemini Prop. to Farrell Dev. Co. Inc. and Robin Levitt, Fourteen Hills Court, $240,000.

SAG HARBOR

Manzo to Ingrid Krinke, Noyac Road, $233,500.

Shore to Lilly Lambert, Harborview Drive, $200,000.

Wright to Maria Grosjean, Howard Street, $375,000.

SAGAPONACK

Smith to Charles O'Byrne and Robert Towsin (trustees), Sagg Road, $475,000.

SPRINGS

Baris to Daniel and Amy Weiss, Fireplace Road (10.2 acres on Accabonac Harbor), $1,160,000.

WAINSCOTT

Rothschild to Thomas and Jane Dillon, Westwood Road, $258,500.

WATER MILL

Friedman to Daniel Shedrick, Brennan's Moor, $601,000.

Bosand to Richard Weinert and Sylvia Hewlett, Upper Seven Ponds Road, $530,000.

Brennan to John and Annalia Idol, Ambleside Road, $700,000.

The parking lot and hallways of East Hampton Town Hall were full of news reporters and television cameras last Thursday. A normal session of East Hampton Town Justice Court rarely attracts much attention, but this was not an ordinary day: Alexis Stewart, the daughter of the author and television personality Martha Stewart, was in court to speak against an ex-boyfriend.

Ms. Stewart, a resident of East Hampton, had accused Seamus R. Mahoney of assaulting her on Dec. 26, at the East Hampton Gym on Fithian Lane, which she owns. Mr. Mahoney, 38, a law school graduate, is a resident of St. Paul, Minn.

Based on Ms. Stewart's complaint, village police charged Mr. Mahoney with second-degree harassment, a violation. Ms. Stewart was not happy with that.

D.A. Didn't Agree

She attempted last Thursday to press more serious misdemeanor charges of assault, menacing, criminal mischief, and criminal trespass. The Suffolk District Attorney's of fice, however, refused to go along.

Sean Conroy, an assistant district attorney, told Town Justice Roger W. Walker he would not prosecute the additional charges.

Justice Walker listened to John R. Cuti, Ms. Stewart's Manhattan attorney, argue that Ms. Stewart, who also owns the Bridgehampton Motel, had a right to pursue the charges privately, without the D.A.'s involvement. When the lawyer finished speaking Justice Walker told him he had no standing in the court and asked him to sit down.

Mr. Cuti said afterward that there was "a long history" in New York State law that allows private citizens to prosecute criminal charges. Ms. Stewart is said to be considering an appeal.

Community Service

As for the harassment charge, all parties but Ms. Stewart agreed Mr. Mahoney should settle it by performing 28 hours of community service. Justice Walker also granted a six-month adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, meaning that if Mr. Mahoney stays out of trouble for the next six months, his record will be clean.

An order of protection against him will continue during the six-month period.

Ms. Stewart told the court she "strongly object[ed]" to the plea bargain, and later told reporters she was "disappointed, upset, disgusted" with the way the matter had been handled.

A violation-level charge was "too lenient," she insisted.

The Star does not normally report violations but made an exception in this case because of the unusual me dia attention.

Outside The Gym

In statements filed with the court, Ms. Stewart claims Mr. Mahoney screamed curses at her and placed her "in fear of imminent physical injury" inside the gym. She escorted him outside, where he struck her "on the right side of her face with his hand, causing lacerations to the inside of her mouth, swelling, bruising, and sharp and substantial pain that lasted for five days."

Then, Ms. Stewart claims, he went to her house on Georgica Road, entered the property without permission, and "intentionally defaced and damaged property by smearing shampoo, shaving cream, toothpaste, and other items" on the sides and roof of the house, and on its porch, door, and walkway.

"After defacing the home, [he] littered the lawn with debris," she said, arguing that the alleged incident constituted crim inal mischief and trespass.

Village police said Ms. Stewart had not reported anything amiss on Georgica Road to them.

Harassment

Police said Ms. Stewart was told after the incident in the gym that it constituted harassment and not assault, as she insists it was. Police said swelling and bruising were the extent of her injuries, which does not constitute "physical injury" from an assault under state law.

She did not immediately press charges, but returned to headquarters the following day and filed a civilian complaint.

Mr. Mahoney was notified, police said, and returned to East Hampton to be served with a criminal summons and arraigned. His Hauppauge attorney, Kevin Fox, said he initially entered a not-guilty plea and was willing to go to trial, but later decided to accept the plea bargain offered by the District Attorney.

Assault Defined

Ms. Stewart and her attorney criticized Christopher Williams, the executive assistant D.A., for saying in a TV interview that "bruising is not enough" to pursue assault charges. Mr. Williams also said there was no evidence to prove Ms. Stewart suffered lacerations on the inside of her mouth.

A charge of second-degree harassment may be brought when someone "strikes, shoves, kicks, or otherwise subjects [another] person to physical contact, or attempts or threatens to do the same."

Third-degree assault, the charge Ms. Stewart was hoping for, is defined in part as causing "physical injury to another person." Physical injury is defined as "impairment of physical condition or substantial pain" and is commonly understood by law-enforcement agencies to mean, for example, a broken bone or injuries requiring stitches.

The day before she appear- ed in court, Ms. Stewart's attorn- ey filed a complaint against the D.A.'s office with the State Commission of Investigation, stating that the office had "ignored its duty to enforce the criminal laws and to take victim's rights seriously."

Mr. Cuti suggested the D.A.'s actions may have been a matter of "protecting a native son." Or, he said, "it could be insensitivity to domestic violence."

Mr. Mahoney spent much of his youth on the East End, where his mother still lives. He made the news here in September 1994, when he helped rescue swimmers caught in a dangerous sea puss off Georgica Beach.

Mr. Williams said the outcome of the case was fair. The D.A.'s office had not turned its back on domestic violence, he said, adding that the state had no "history of private prosecution of criminal charges." Mr. Cuti's charge of insensitivity, he said, was "grandstanding by a high-priced attorney with a celebrity client."

The Bridgehampton High School boys basketball team, known in years past as the Bridgies and more recently as the Killer Bees, brought home yet another New York State Class D plaque from Glens Falls this weekend, the seventh such in the tiny school's history, gilding further its remarkable record as the state tournament's winningest school.

Thus '97 will be added to the sign at the entrance to the village, replacing the ellipsis that as of last week followed a line listing 1978, '79, '80, '84, '86, and '96 as the years in which Bridgehampton, whose male enrollment at the moment is 25 in its high school grades, has won it all.

Carl Johnson's intrepid crew, which had lost only two times this season - to Forest Hills at Christmastime, a game the Bees gave away in the final minutes, and to William Floyd on March 8 by virtue of a shocking last-second three-pointer that deprived them of an unprecedented all-classification county title - "took care of business" on Friday and Saturday at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

The De Facto Final

On Friday afternoon, in what was the de facto final, the Maurice Manning-led Bees shrugged off a sluggish first half, and, following a tongue-lashing they received at halftime from Johnson, the only coach in the state to have played for and coached state champions, ripped through Notre Dame Of Batavia, the state's second-ranked D school, in the second half on their way to a joyous 63-34 rout.

And on Saturday night, before another large crowd that again included about 400 feisty local fans who had followed their young heroes to the city that lies an hour north of Albany, the Bees put away Hammond, a surprise 49-41 semifinal winner over Hamilton, 79-55.

There was plenty of tension going into the Bees-Notre Dame semifinal inasmuch as the upstate team had height, a penetrating point guard, was said to be accurate from the outside, and was undefeated. Granted, the Fighting Irish probably hadn't played schools the caliber of Forest Hills, Westbury, William Floyd, Amityville, or Edwin Gould Academy, but they were 25-0.

Tension Showed

The tension, moreover, was not confined to the faithful. The Bees showed abundant evidence of it as they shot a miserable 20 percent from the floor in the first half, including a half-dozen errant three-point attempts over Notre Dame's packed-in 2-3 zone.

Going into the locker room down 20-17, the team got a lecture from Johnson, who vowed that the next player to throw up a 3 would be yanked.

It was clear once the third quarter began that the Bees had listened to what their coach had said as Kareem Coffey, the staunch sophomore who plays down low, stole the ball and fed Manning for a 10-foot jumper. When, a moment later, Manning was stripped of the ball, the Bees' star - who was to be named the Class D tournament's most valuable player for the second year in a row - returned the favor and laid it in for a 21-20 Bee lead.

Championship Form

A basket by Mike Sisson, one of Notre Dame's guards, put the lead back in the hands of the Fighting Irish, but that was the last field goal Notre Dame was to score for a long while as the Bees, with Antwon Foster's slashing drives ripping through the seams of the zone and with the Bees' man-to-man defense shifting gears, the state champions began to look like state champions.

The 17-0 tear began with a steal by Foster and a basket by him with an assist from Manning. Following a miss by Vin Fanara, Notre Dame's 6-foot, 3-inch senior guard at the other end, Foster slashed into the lane and banked in a layup to put Bridgehampton ahead 25-22. After Fred Welch had missed a fastbreak layup following a block by him and a Manning steal, Foster, dribbling right to left into the paint, found his favorite receiver, Cof-fey, down low for 27-22. A tip-in by Ronnie White and, following a Notre Dame timeout, a thundering three-pointer by Manning took the fight out of the Fighting Irish, who were suddenly down by 10.

More In Store

But the Bees had more of the same in store. Stealing the ball from Thomas, Manning fed Matt White for 34-22, Foster, drawing a foul from Notre Dame's man in the middle, the 6-4 Mike Redick, made both free throws for 36-22, and, with the Bees' fans now shouting, "Defense! Defense!," Foster stole the ball and went coast-to-coast, capping the stunning run.

"They're stealing the ball every time downcourt," enthused an ardent Bee fan, one of about a dozen sportswriters, broadcasters, and photographers who made the trip up - arguably the largest entourage following one team at the tournament.

Two foul shots by Welch put the Bees up by 16 in the first minute of the fourth quarter, after which a couple of traps by Notre Dame served to pare five points from the bulge. But Manning then made it very clear that Notre Dame would come no closer than 11 as he promptly drained two more 3s and jammed Foster's alley-oop pass, savoring the crowd's jubilant cheers a moment, hanging from the rim.

Beyond Redemption

Those heroics extended the Bees' lead to 50-31 and set the scene for even more dazzling Killer Bee basketball. By the time the 10-0 run that Manning had begun was over, Bridgehampton led 60-31 and had left the once-game Notre Dame straggling in the dust, as it were, far beyond redemption.

With two minutes left, Johnson pulled his starters, who were loudly applauded, and brought in the subs - Courtney Turner, who was to score the final basket, Kwame Opoku, B.J. Walker, Mike Dombkowski, and Paul Jeffers.

"Offensively, we were stagnant," Johnson's assistant, Michael Jackson, said later, when asked to describe how the Bees had come to hit their stride. "We told the kids to forget the 3, and be patient. Antwon broke their defense down, and we began to hit the open shots. Maurice, with his 27 points, 13 rebounds [the official scorer tallied 17], and six steals, had an all-state performance. He's a man among boys - even up here."

Big Game For Foster

Foster, who was to be named along with Manning to the state tournament's all-star team the next night, finished with 12 points, five assists, five rebounds, and four steals. Coffey chipped in with 11 points, but even more important, limited Notre Dame's high-scorer, Redick, who was four inches taller, to a measly seven. Fanara was the sole Notre Dame scorer in double figures, with 15.

Bridgehampton's reserves got to play on Saturday night, too, but this time for most of the fourth quarter, by which time the Bees led by 33.

Hammond, making its debut in the state tourney, was not given much of a chance against the Bees, and, indeed, the final was a mismatch, so much so that the referees, in an apparent attempt to balance the scales, made some questionable calls - especially as regards Manning, whose early alley-oop attempt [Foster had lobbed him the inbounds pass from under Hammond's hoop] was labeled by the refs as an offensive charge.

Manning Sits

Early in the second quarter, the Bees' 6-2 junior forward, who may well be named the best small schools player in the state, received two more demerits, including a technical foul, for having reportedly said, "All ball" after making what appeared to be a clean block of a layup attempt by 6-0 John Arquitt.

So, with 6:23 left in the period and the score 22-11, Manning, who had only seen 40 seconds of action in the stanza, sat with three fouls.

It mattered little, for the Bees, who, having learned their lesson the day before, continued to drive to the hole and to play Killer Bee defense, or bee-fense as Joe Zucker's sign has it.

In Manning's absence, Foster's drives to the hoop drew fouls, and he, Charles Furman, and Tat Picott, among others, extended the Bees' margin to 19 by the end of the half. Manning returned to action when the third quarter began, but had to come out again at the midway point on being assessed his fourth foul.

Manning Flurry

Foster, meanwhile, upped his total to 20 by the period's end, draining two 3s - one of which he followed with a free throw for a four-point play - and two other free throws.

Lest there be any doubt that he should be the tournament m.v.p., Manning, who only played 14-and-a-half minutes of the final, put on a show in the opening minute-and-a-half of the fourth, scoring six of the Bees' first eight points and assisting Matt White with the other two after making a steal.

When the Bee starters left the floor, as their fans cheered and chanted in the direction of Hammond's hordes the familiar victory refrain, "NanananaNa nananaNa nanaNa Na . . . hey, He-ey, good-bye," Bridgehampton led 74-41, a giant gap that Hammond, whose starters remained in the game, narrowed to 24 in garbage time.

"We executed our plays and played Killer Bee defense," a smiling Manning said to a television crew amid the post-game courtside celebrating.

Consistently Bad

"Our experience made the difference," said an elated Foster, who had saved his best basketball of the season for the tournament. "Yes, the refs called a tight game, but they made bad calls both ways, so they were consistent."

Foster, whose 20 points led Bridgehampton, had played for the Bees in his freshman year, and then moved to East Hampton where he played in his sophomore and junior years. "I didn't know what it was like to win," he said, basking in the afterglow.

Johnson had had some doubts about Foster's defensive ability at the beginning of the season, but that was a long time ago. He had granted Foster's request to guard Hammond's best player, Jeremy Nelson, that night - a 6-3 senior who'd scored a game-high 21 points in the semifinal with Hamilton. The goal was to keep him under 20. Foster did much better than that, limiting Nelson, who frequently brought the ball up before going down low, to eight.

"Killer Bees Never Die"

"Killer Bees never die," Manning was heard saying to the television announcer. "We keep coming back - again and again."

"I'm glad to see they're keeping up the tradition," said a Bridgehampton alumnus, Amos Wyche, a state trooper who played with Johnson on the 1978 and '79 state-championship teams and now lives in Saratoga Springs. "They show poise . . . they act like professionals on and off the court."

"People didn't think we'd be here, but we felt it was OUR year too," said Manning, who next year will have a chance - a pretty good one, observers say - to match the three-championship record shared by Johnson and Wayne Hopson.

Rather than "Repeat," which he had had a Southampton barber scroll into the hair on the back of his head, he would have to have "Threepeat" written next year, suggested a bystander.

"Got Together As One"

"You're Suffolk's player-of-the-year," a Newsday sportswriter told Manning as he headed off for another interview.

"We stuck together like a family - we really got together as one for the Edwin Gould game," the Bees' star continued, in answer to a question. "Like Nick [Thomas, last year's captain, now a freshman at New York University], I wanted to play till I couldn't play anymore."

"I'm really happy," said Johnson. "Last year when we won I was relieved. This year, I'm really enjoying it. I know we were the heavy favorites, but I didn't want to give them a chance to think they could win. I did not want them to make history." [No Section 10 team has ever won the state Class D championship.] I've told Mo I want him to come back with me next year. He played well tonight, but Antwon had an outstanding game."

Picott Too

Manning, in his 14-some minutes, still managed to score 17 points, and haul down seven rebounds - five of them on the offensive glass, to which he added two assists, two steals, and two blocks. Foster, in addition to his 20 points, had three assists, one steal, and one block.

Tat Picott came off the bench to score 11 points; Coffey had eight and six boards; Furman had seven; Matt White had six, and Welch had five.

"We lost three key seniors [from last year's state champions] . . . I was worried at the beginning of the season," Johnson said, in reviewing the past few months. "We had a young team, but from Forest Hills on, we stepped up. Antwon and Fred had the tools to be leaders, and Mo [Manning] led by example. It was a combination of all three. Now, the younger kids have got a taste of it."

He would go on a vacation, the happy and weary coach said when asked about his immediate plans. "To the Virgin Islands. To somewhere where they've never heard of the Killer Bees."

The Sag Harbor Golf Course has won a reprieve.

Marshall Garypie, the club president, said yesterday he had been informed that the State Department of Parks had agreed to let the club manage the course for at least another year.

Mr. Garypie said he had learned the news from State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr.'s staff. Mr. Thiele was on his way home from Albany and unavailable for comment by press time.

"The state is going to bend a little bit," Mr. Garypie said. "I guess they heard the people on the East End were raising a stink and it finally got through to the government," he said.

PUSH Into Act

The club's worries began earlier this year when the State Department of Environmental Conservation announced it was going to lease the course to a private manager when the club's contract ran out on April 30. The D.E.C. intended to find a tenant willing to invest up to $1.2 million over the next 20 years to upgrade the course and apparently to build a clubhouse.

Last week, however, amid protests about the decision to change the nature of the course and about the timing of the bid process for its private management, the D.E.C. announced it would turn the course over to the State Parks Department. The Parks Department said it would run the course itself.

Meanwhile, Lona Rubenstein, a local political strategist who usually works with Republican candidates, attended an East Hampton Town Board meeting on Tuesday to announce that she had formed PUSH, People United Behind Sag Harbor, to fight the Parks Department's intention to take over the course.

Potential Candidates

Accompanied by Mr. Garypie, Bruce Hulse, the greenskeeper, and other supporters, she said three local officials, all potential Republican nominees in the fall East Hampton Town election, were helping drum up statewide support for keeping the course as it is.

Edward Deyermond, a member of the Sag Harbor Village Board who is the Southampton Town assessor, Brian Gilbride, another Village Board member, and East Hampton Councilwoman Nancy McCaffrey were writing to assessors, fire chiefs, and town boards all over New York to seek support, she said.

Mrs. McCaffrey is almost certain to seek re-election to a third term on the Town Board. Mr. Deyermond and Mr. Gilbride, who live on the East Hampton side of Sag Harbor, have been mentioned as possible candidates for the Town Board, with Mr. Deyermond also reportedly considering a run for Supervisor.

Past Victories

In forming PUSH Ms. Rubenstein recalled a fight 20 years ago between haulseiners and sportfishermen over the rights to striped bass, and the haulseiners' statewide lobbying effort. She said she hoped to duplicate that effort on behalf of the golf course.

"We fought this fight over Barcelona once before. Now we're back there," said Supervisor Cathy Lester. She was referring to the Northwest Alliance, of which she was a founder, and its successful effort to preserve all of Barcelona Neck, including the course.

The D.E.C. bought Barcelona in 1989, creating a 341-acre park that includes, in addition to the course, waterfront on both Northwest Creek and Harbor and more than 20 mile of old roads owned by the Town Trustees.

The State Parks Department is under pressure to make golf more accessible to the public and at the same time to bring in more revenue. It was expected that under its management it would put in an irrigation system, open the course to the public at large, and raise fees.

Supervisor Lester, a Democrat who is expected to run for re-election, wrote her own letter of protest to State Parks Commissioner Ber na dette Castro, and the Town Board sent a resolution of protest to Gov. George E. Pataki.

"We need to make a whole lot of noise because we're just a little fishing village," said Ms. Rubenstein, handing out bags of soil taken from the golf course and golf balls with the PUSH acronym written across them, for inspiration.

Lieut. Christopher D. Buckley, a U.S. Navy Seahawk pilot and an East Hampton native, is presumed dead following a helicopter crash during a training exercise off the coast of North Carolina late Friday night.

One of four crew members not yet recovered from the Atlantic Ocean crash site, he had celebrated his 30th birthday two days before the accident.

A Navy investigation into the cause of the accident continues, though the search for the four victims has ended. Like the victims, the hel icopter, which was assigned to Hel icopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Three and operated off the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy, an aircraft carrier based in Mayport, Fla., has not been recovered. The search for the aircraft was still under way yesterday.

Never Came Back

The night of the accident, Lieutenant Buckley's helicopter had transported Navy Seals to a North Carolina beach, then flew to the frigate U.S.S. Taylor for a planned refueling stop. In what pilots call a "missed approach," the helicopter approached the ship but was apparently waved off before it could attempt to land.

What happened next remains unclear. A spokeswoman from the public affairs office of the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Fla., where Lieutenant Buckley was stationed, said there were rough, eight-foot-high seas the night of the crash. The helicopter never returned to the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy, as it was scheduled to do.

Neither ship was involved in the accident, according to the Navy, which would release no further details.

Well-Liked Lifeguard

In his hometown Lieutenant Buckley was known to many as a talented lifeguard. He was certified at 16, the youngest age possible, and worked at an ocean beach each summer thereafter until he finished college. He worked first at Indian Wells in Amagansett, then at Kirk Park Beach in Montauk, where he became a lieutenant lifeguard, then returned to Amagansett to guard the Atlantic Avenue Beach.

"Chris was a great guy, very responsible, very easy to get along with," said John J. Ryan Sr. of East Hampton, a retired East Hampton High School teacher who trained Lieutenant Buckley as a lifeguard. "It's such a tragedy."

Above all, he was known as a good person, said Lieutenant Buckley's godmother, Lucy Olszewski, also of East Hampton. "He was just such a good kid; everybody liked him."

Grew Up Here

The only son of David Buckley and the former Elaine McGinnis, he was born on March 11, 1967, at Southampton Hospital. His father is a retired chief of the Suffolk County Police Department, and his parents, who are wintering in Boynton Beach, Fla., live on Toilsome Lane in East Hampton.

Lieutenant Buckley attended the former Most Holy Trinity Catholic School and graduated from East Hampton High School in 1985. He was involved in many student activities, including the track team at the high school.

He earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry at the University of Maine, and while studying there enrolled in the Navy Reserve Officers Training Corps through the Maine Maritime Academy. In December 1990 he was commissioned into service with the Navy.

The Navy sent Lieutenant Buckley to graduate school at the University of South Florida, where he earned a master's in business administration before successfully completing flight school at the Naval Air Station Whiting Field in Milton, Fla.

He began his training in flying the Seahawk helicopter at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville with the Hel i cop ter Anti-Submarine Squad ron One, and was transferred to his most re cent assignment, Squadron Three, in July 1994.

During his service Lieutenant Buckley was honored with the Armed Forces Service Medal, the Navy Achievement Medal, the Navy Unit Commendation, the Sea Service De ploy ment Ribbon, and, for his participation in the Southwest Asia Cease-Fire Campaign, the Southwest Asia Service Medal with a Bronze Star.

He enjoyed playing golf and did some volunteer work in Florida during his spare time, his father said this week. Lieutenant Buckley was a member of Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in East Hampton as well as of a parish in Florida.

Besides his parents, Lieutenant Buckley leaves four sisters, Maureen Payne of Carleton, Tex., Kathleen Boak of Wilton, Conn., Patricia Haggerty of Boca Raton, Fla., and Susan Scott of New Canaan, Conn., and a grandmother, Dorothy Haberstroh of Weekiwachee, Fla.

A service for the families of the four victims will be held Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station. Lieutenant Buckley's family plans to arrange a service in East Hampton at a later date. Memorial contributions have been suggested to the Stella Maris Regional School in Sag Harbor.

MASUO IKEDA

Masuo Ikeda, a Japanese artist who lived year-round in Springs from 1972 to 1979, died of a stroke in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, on March 8. He was 63.

Mr. Ikeda, who was formerly married to Li-Lan, an artist who still has a house in Springs, was the winner of the International Grand Prix for printmaking at both the Tokyo and Venice Biennales, in 1960 and 1966.

Born in China on Feb. 23, 1934, and brought up in Japan's Nagano Prefecture, Mr. Ikeda learned printmaking while making portraits on the streets of Tokyo's Ginza district.

An acclaimed copperplate artist, he came to America for the first time in 1965 for a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art. He exhibited regularly in New York City at the Associated American Artists Gallery and the Staempfli Gallery, and was a member of several workshops around the country, including the Tamarind Lithography Workshop in Los Angeles.

He and Li-Lan were together from 1966 until they separated in 1979, when he returned to Japan. While living in Springs, Mr. Ikeda exhibited at Guild Hall and at the Elaine Benson Gallery. In 1985 he moved to the hot springs resort of Atami, and began working with ceramics.

Mr. Ikeda was also a writer. He won the Akutagawa Prize in 1977 for his novel "Ege Kai ni Sasagu" (Homage to the Aegean). Two years later the book was turned into a movie, which he directed.

A funeral service was held at the Ioji Temple in Atami on March 10.

At an afternoon press conference yesterday, Gov. George E. Pataki and others announced a deal for a partial state takeover of the Long Island Lighting Company - a deal that is expected to result in rate cuts higher than 20 percent in the next five years for Nassau and Suffolk residents, as well as a cash refund for every Long Island ratepayer.

"The war is over between Long Island's electric company and its residents," declared the Governor.

The deal, which involves the merger of the Long Island Lighting Company with Brooklyn Union Gas and a partial takeover of the utility by the Long Island Power Authority, needs approval from a number of state and Federal regulatory agencies as well as shareholders.

Granny Poo's, an annual guide to restaurants on the North and South Forks, is slated to be sold to a Manhattan resident, Emmy Neidick. She plans to distribute it not just in the metropolitan area but around the country, she told The Star this week.

Renee Schilhab, a former reporter for The Southampton Press and the wife of former East Hampton Town Supervisor Tony Bullock, owned and published Granny Poo's for the past two years.

"I'm sad to be giving it up," Ms. Schilhab said this week. Granny Poo's was "a lot of fun."

Ms. Neidick, who owned a house in Noyac some years ago, has both writing and food in her background. Her mother was a caterer in Montreal and her grandmother a baker there. She has worked for corporations in human resources.

Ingredients

The freshness and quality of ingredients will be a focus of Granny Poo's reviews, said Ms. Neidick, who used to work at Manhattan's Union Square green market in the late '70s. "Everything has to do with ingredients, and where they're from," she said.

Ms. Neidick noticed Ms. Schilhab's offering to sell the publication in The New York Times. She had recently been downsized, she said, was looking for something new to do, and was intrigued.

She will follow "the same basic philosophy" as Ms. Schilhab in her approach to Granny Poo's, she said. The biggest change will be in broadening distribution.

Farther Afield

In addition to the East End and New York City, the publication will be available in places where people who live on the East End in the summer might spend their winters, including Florida's east coast from Palm Beach south to Key West, Scottsdale, Ariz., Albuquerque, N.M., and Boulder, Colo.

It will be distributed by Bookazine, which is based on the East Coast.

Writing the reviews will be Ms. Neidick, many members of Ms. Schilhab's staff, and some new faces. This year's edition of Granny Poo's will be available locally by Memorial Day, and in other areas by January 1998.

House, Too

The publication, by the way, isn't the only thing Ms. Schilhab has sold.

The Amagansett house where she and her husband lived has also been sold. The couple has just bought a house in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C., where Mr. Bullock is working as chief of staff for Senator Daniel P. Moynihan.

Some have suggested Ms. Schilhab write a restaurant guide to the Washington area, which she said is a "possibility." For now, however, she hopes to return to newspaper reporting.