As the year comes to a close and a new one begins we celebrate people who went above and beyond to make their communities a better place in 2020's darkest of days. These are but a few of the many who inspired us this year through their strength, kindness, resilience, and bravery. 

Representatives from Orsted U.S. Offshore Wind and Eversource Energy will take part in a virtual meeting to address questions and concerns about the turbine installation's onshore and near-shore footprint.

The curtain that rang down with a thud on high school sports last March may soon be raised, at least insofar as the low-to-moderate-risk sports of boys and girls winter track, boys swimming, and bowling are concerned.

Local food pantries usually see the greatest need in the winter months, when those with seasonal jobs struggle to make ends meet, but because of the pandemic and job losses caused by the economic shutdown, they have been helping feed a record number of people all year. 

From a winter surge in house rentals to a spring shutdown of in-person showings and a subsequent boom in sales that continued through Christmas week, the pandemic led to an unprecedented year in the East End real estate business. 

By year's end, East Hampton Town's Human Services Department was on track to have provided around 57,300 meals, more than in the prior three years combined. It also makes thousands of wellness calls, coordinates with the Family Service League to provide free mental health counseling, provides virtual activities, and offers a support group via teleconference for those caring for a loved one, all in the service of keeping the town's senior citizens safe, nourished, and healthy. 

For many people, 2020 has been challenging, but as the chief of the East Hampton Ambulance Association, Lisa Charde has led a team of volunteers and professional paramedics in harrowing conditions. 

Eric Firestone, whose eponymous gallery opened on Newtown Lane in East Hampton 10 years ago, has always followed his own path. While most gallery owners learn their trade by working for other dealers, Mr. Firestone opened his first gallery, in Tucson, Ariz., in 1994, when he was 21. Just last month he launched a ground-floor space on Great Jones Street in NoHo.

The Watermill Center's annual series Viewpoints: Nights @ the Roundtable, which features conversations with artists working across a range of disciplines, will take place online via Zoom on four consecutive Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m., starting on Jan. 6 with the Daxophone Consort.

Joe Brainard's collages are on view downtown in East Hampton, while a pop-up show lands at Union Steak and Sushi in Southampton.