In the wake of a traffic experiment that appeared to show at least some success at speeding up the typical crawl of westbound traffic through Southampton during the afternoon rush hour, the Town of Southampton plans to ask the New York State Department of Transportation to take a hard look at the possibilities for relieving one of the South Fork’s most notorious and problematic bottlenecks for eastbound traffic in Water Mill.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the traffic signal installed in the early 1990s in the center of Water Mill’s small business district has long been seen as the main cause of the bumper-to-bumper eastbound traffic that forms on Montauk Highway between Flying Point Road and the hamlet center, often well before sunrise. The chronic backup on the highway also causes traffic jams on residential back roads, as thousands of motorists try to find bypasses each morning.

A task force that examined traffic congestion problems throughout Southampton Town championed a years-old proposal by the state to construct two roundabouts at either end of the Water Mill hamlet business district, which would allow the traffic light in the center of the downtown to be eliminated.

The Southampton Town Board last week had offered a resolution that asked the state to conduct a study of the possibilities for addressing the traffic issue and spotlighted the roundabouts plan. But after Water Mill’s Citizens Advisory Committee voiced hesitation about the roundabouts approach, town officials said they would like the state to take a comprehensive look at the traffic patterns in the hamlet and would welcome any suggestions about how the chronic congestion could be addressed.

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The number of people going to emergency rooms this month in the Northeast for tick bites is the highest since 2019. Suffolk County chief entomologist Scott Campbell said more lone star ticks are being found in the western part of the county. Lyme disease remains the most common tick-borne disease on Long Island and health officials are warning residents to protect themselves against tick bites this season. Lisa L. Colangelo reports in NEWSDAY that lone star ticks gained their name from the white spot on the back of adult females. They are one of the first tick species to emerge in the spring, followed by black-legged ticks in late May and June. Black-legged ticks carry Borrelia burgdorferi, the pathogen that causes Lyme disease.

"The lone star ticks are out in full force," Campbell said. "The black-legged ticks are starting to come out."

In 2023, over 21,000 Lyme disease cases were reported in New York — including 3,299 in Suffolk County and 697 in Nassau County, according to the state Health Department. Experts said the actual number of cases is likely much higher since many people don’t recognize the symptoms, which can include fatigue, joint pain, headache, fever, a rash and sometimes temporary facial paralysis. Dr. Luis Marcos, an infectious disease specialist with Stony Brook Medicine who researches tick-borne illnesses, said another problem is many doctors are not educated on how to treat someone who may have symptoms of Lyme disease.

Knowing which ticks can carry viruses is vital, doctors said. For example, lone star ticks can also carry Bourbon virus disease and Heartland virus disease, two emerging tick-borne viruses. Both have only been detected at "extremely low levels" in Suffolk County ticks, according to the county Health Department.

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A replica of the glossy black Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall is on display at the American Legion in Amagansett this Memorial Day weekend. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that the Amagansett “pop-up” is a replica of the memorial in Washington, D.C. The replica wall stands at three-fifths the size of its real counterpart. In total, it is 6 feet tall and stretches 300 feet from end to end. In Washington, D.C., the memorial is a glossy black granite wall completed in 1982. The names of all dead or missing service members who fought in the Vietnam War are inscribed into it. The number of names on the wall has expanded over the years, but currently, there are more than 58,000. Doc Russo, who travels the country with the wall, said his mission was to “give people that’ll never make it to D.C. a chance to start healing” from the conflict, whether they lost “a comrade,” “a buddy” or a “family member.”

A replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in D.C. is on display in Amagansett now through Monday.

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The Long Island Power Authority board yesterday took the unprecedented step of canceling a yearlong search for a new grid manager, voting 6-0 with two abstentions and one recusal to cancel the request for proposals. The vote means LIPA will move to extend its existing contract with PSEG Long Island, whose contract expires at year's end. A group "to be determined by the board" will negotiate a contract extension with PSEG. LIPA OK’d the new deal and scrapped a competitive bidding process after LIPA interim chief executive John Rhodes and his wife were found to have financial ties to Quanta Services, the company lined up to replace PSE&G. Rhodes defended himself against the notion that his ownership of stock in the recommended contract winner influenced his assessment. He said that his stocks are managed by an outside financial adviser and that once he learned in December that he owned the stock, "I reported that fact and sold the stock immediately."

Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that the board’s latest actions come amid a state inspector general’s investigation of the utility, and LIPA’s hiring of an outside law firm to handle issues surrounding the solicitation of a new grid manager. No one at LIPA discussed the IG’s probe, but Anthony LaPinta, LIPA’s newest board member, said it was he who "advocated for the board to hire counsel to help us navigate this complicated and highly sensitive process moving forward."

"To attempt to cast the board in a negative light because of our decision to hire prominent outside and independent counsel is disappointing and wrong," said LaPinta, a prominent defense attorney.

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Coopers Beach in Southampton Village was named the best beach in the United States, and East Hampton Main Beach the fifth-best, by the Florida scientist known as “Dr. Beach” in his annual “Top 10 Beaches” list.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that Dr. Stephen Leatherman ranks America’s beaches each year by scoring them on 50 separate criteria, from the width of the beach to the concessions, amenities, color and softness of the grains of sand, the “smell” of the beach, and the ease of access or cost of parking permits.

Both Coopers and Main Beach have held the top spot in years past but had fallen in Leatherman’s rankings because of the cost of parking permits, the challenges of access due to traffic, and aging facilities.

But improvements to the concessions offerings and facilities for beachgoers and free shuttle service between the Southampton Village and East Hampton Village downtowns have bumped them back up the list.

Coopers was ranked second by Leatherman last year, behind Duke Kahanamoku Beach in Hawaii.

“Coopers Beach is hundreds of yards wide, made of grainy white quartz sand,” Dr. Leatherman writes in his 2025 Top 10 Beaches assessment. “This year’s number one beach is backed by large sand dunes covered by American beach grass interspersed with extravagant mansions.”

Regarding the “Number 5 U.S.A. Beach” Leatherman says, “East Hampton’s Main Beach provides the perfect blend of nature and the built environment. Wealthy summertime residents flock to the beaches protected by a conservation easement that dates back over 300 years… the wide sandy beach, composed of grainy quartz grains, has towering sand dunes and beautiful clean and clear blue water.”

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As reported 27east.com, the Commission on Veterans Patriotic Events will host a Memorial Day ceremony at 11 a.m. this Monday, May 26, at Agawam Park, in Southampton Village following a parade starting at the First Presbyterian Church parking lot at 10:45 a.m. All veterans are invited to participate and asked to be at the church parking lot by 10:30 a.m. Cars will be available for those who cannot march. All are invited to Veterans Memorial Hall for refreshments after the Southampton service.

In Hampton Bays on Monday a ceremony at the Hampton Bays American Legion Memorial Park, 55 Ponquogue Avenue, next to Hand-Aldrich Post 924 will begin at 10 a.m. The guest speaker will be Jordan Isaac, a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and the owner of Cornucopia Consulting.

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At 10 a.m. yesterday, the Stony Brook East Hampton Emergency Department opened to receive patients at 400 Pantigo Place in East Hampton, becoming one of a very few number of stand-alone Emergency Departments in the state. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the new, 22,000-square-foot facility was designed to provide vital healthcare services to people in the Town of East Hampton, including Montauk, Amagansett, and Springs. Previously, anyone facing a serious medical emergency in East Hampton, and the ambulances that carry those patients, would have to fight crushing traffic to get to the Emergency Room at Southampton Hospital.

Local volunteer ambulances returning from calls would also face long delays, without lights and sirens, returning in traffic to go back into service in their home districts.

The off-campus facility was built using funds from a 2017 grant of $10 million from New York State and more than $32 million in donations through the Southampton Hospital Association’s East Hampton Emergency Department Campaign Committee.

The East Hampton Emergency Department is now open and operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days of the year, including holidays.

It is equipped with advanced diagnostic technologies and life-saving treatments including a dedicated resuscitation room; cardiac monitoring capabilities in every exam room; an on-site ambulance for hospital transport plus eco-friendly innovations including rooftop solar panels, a rain garden and native plantings.

“The East Hampton Emergency Department is staffed by Stony Brook Medicine specialists and board-certified emergency room physicians, nurses and professionals,” said Carol Gomes, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer, Stony Brook University Hospital. “

“At Stony Brook Medicine, we are committed to expanding access to high-quality healthcare where it is needed most,” said Stony Brook Medicine Executive Vice President Dr. William Wertheim. “The new Stony Brook East Hampton Emergency Department represents a significant step in ensuring that residents and visitors on the East End have timely access to expert emergency care, reinforcing our mission to deliver world-class healthcare closer to home.”