Week in Review: There's No Place Like Home

Public Water, Short-Term Rentals and Recovering from the Cyberattack, Celebrating Home & Veterans

Author

Beth Young
December 07, 2025

North Fork

Water Authority Deems Itself Exempt from Local Review of North Fork Pipeline

Southold Plans Its Own Monroe Balancing Test

Southold Councilman Greg Doroski, Town Clerk Denis Noncarrow, Town Attorney Paul DeChance and Councilman Brian Mealy at the Town Board’s Dec. 2 work session.

The Suffolk County Water Authority has deemed itself exempt from local review of its proposed North Fork Pipeline, as Southold Town officials announced Tuesday that the town plans to hold its own “Monroe Balancing Test” on whether the easternmost portion of the project should be subject to local review.

Bringing It All Back Home to Greenport

For the second time since it opened its doors in 2024, the North Fork Arts Center in Greenport hosted art galleries from across the North Fork on the Saturday after Thanksgiving for the opening of a show about what it means to be home.

Give The Beacon to the Lovers of a Free Press on Your List

On The North Fork

Greenport Passes New Short Term Rental Code

After years of debate, the Village of Greenport has settled on a strategy for managing short-term rentals within its boundaries — only allowing them in properties that are also being used as peoples’ homes, with no minimum stay required.

On Stage: Celebrating Veterans This Holiday Season

The Southampton-based boots on the ground theater is celebrating both the holiday season and the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II the next two weeks, with the staging of “World War II Radio Christmas Play” at the Southampton Cultural Center Dec. 5 through 14.

Government

Southold Departments Begin To Come Back Online After Cyberattack

Southold Town is working through a meltdown of its town communication due to last week’s cyberattack, with the Police Department, Justice Court and Waste Management and other departments beginning to return online, said Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski on Tuesday.

Montauk Food Pantry volunteers (l-r) Andy Harris, Sally Richardson, Jackie Tyrell, Alice Houseknecht, Steve Byrne, Tara Coleman and Lorraine Kelly at the Nov. 9 run to benefit the food pantry.

Dave’s Desk@Ditch

A Concern for Others

“When we enhance our sensitivity toward others’ suffering through deliberately opening ourselves up to it – it is believed that we can gradually extend out compassion to the point where the individual feels so moved by even the subtlest suffering of others that they come to have an overwhelming sense of responsibility toward those others.”

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Editorial

Yes, This Is About Public Safety

Everything has changed, for all of us, in the past month on the East End.

If you don’t interact that often with people who weren’t born on U.S. soil, you’d be forgiven for not seeing the subtle signs that things are askew. 

But if you witnessed what happened in Hampton Bays and Westhampton Beach the day after U.S. citizens participated in a free and fair election this November, you would know that nothing about what happened that day was normal.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Warmth of the Season

Sunday, Dec. 7

“Rejoice and Sing”

The Choral Society of the Hamptons presents its annual holiday concert this afternoon and evening at the Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church

Tuesday, Dec. 9

ABCs of Gardening with Native Plants

ReWild Long Island’s North Fork chapter and the Southold Peconic Civic Association host this discussion with Derek Gerson on plant choices, easy design ideas and how to support butterflies and birds in your own garden.

Friday, Dec. 12

Winter Watershed Walk

The Peconic Baykeeper and PEP host this monthly Watershed Walk at the Seal Haul Out Trail at Montauk Point.

ON THE AIR

Behind the Headlines

At this week’s Behind the Headlines on 88.3 WLIW-FM, Beacon editor Beth Young joins a panel discussing the talk last year of closure of the Shelter Island Reporter with Jake Williams, who once worked for the paper and has now launched a podcast, “Out of Print: The Unmaking of American News” about the ongoing saga on the island.

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Words
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We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion.

— Walt Whitman

See you next Sunday,

Beth