The East Hampton Town Board voted last Thursday to accept bids for the long-awaited construction of an aquatic center and multi-use cultural center at the Montauk Playhouse Community Center. While the plan initially called for two phases of construction, owing to the amount of money raised “we’re doing phase one and phase two together,” Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez said.

Shortly after Superstorm Sandy in 2012, Bruce Bates, then and still the emergency preparedness coordinator for the Town of East Hampton, told The Star that “getting assets and resources out here is difficult, at best. It seems that when supplies are heading east, they seldom get past Yaphank or Riverhead.” What, then, to expect of the East End’s ability to deal with a long-term emergency?

Is there such a thing as being “too young” to learn about money? Not at the Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreational Center, which is partnering with First National Bank on a financial literacy initiative for kids of all ages who are enrolled in its after-school programs.

Many years of diligent academic efforts have paid off for Nicholas Cooper and Leah Fromm, who have just been named East Hampton High School’s 2024 valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively.