27Speaks

In late December, Governor Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill that would formally recognize the Montaukett Nation. This, despite the fact that there was broad support for the legislation, which passed the State Assembly unanimously and the State Senate in a vote of 59-1. The bill sought to reinstate recognition to the Montaukett Nation by reversing a 1910 court ruling that improperly stripped it away by i...

Two of The Express News Group’s most enduring newsroom fixtures decided that 2025 would be the year they finally stepped away from journalism. At the end of December, photo editor Dana Shaw and reporter Stephen J. Kotz officially filed their last stories. For more than three decades, Shaw was a constant presence at the region’s most important moments — from protests and public meetings to wildfire...

The editors share the South Fork's top 10 stories of 2025.

What happens when kids put down their phones and step into the wild? Jen Skilbred knows firsthand. She’s the assistant director for environmental education at Group for the East End, where her job often means leading students off the pavement and into forests, fields and shorelines to discover the region’s plants and wildlife. Last year alone, Group for the East End reached more than 2,270 student...

The Express News Group is launching a brand-new 27east.com this month, a major step forward for local news coverage on the South Fork. The upgrade comes during the same month that longtime Executive Editor Joseph P. Shaw steps back to a consulting editor role while Bill Sutton steps up to become the ninth editor-in-chief in the history of both The Sag Harbor Express and The Southampton Press. In a...

Hamptons Doc Fest is back, and from December 4 to 11 will screen 33 feature-length and short documentaries at Bay Street Theater, Sag Harbor Cinema and, new this year, Southampton Playhouse, which hosts the closing night film, “Lost Wolves of Yellowstone.” This week, the editors talk to Jacqui Lofaro, founder and executive director of the Hamptons Doc Fest, about the festival’s 18th season and som...

The staff and volunteers at Heart of the Hamptons Food Pantry work hard year-round to feed hungry Southampton residents. But 2025 has been a particularly difficult year for those facing food insecurity. Reductions in federal funding for pantries and the added pressure of suspended SNAP benefits means the pantry is feeding more families than ever. This week, the editors are joined by Molly Bishop,...

The Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center was recently awarded $4 million from Southampton Town’s Community Preservation Fund. The money will be used for capital projects and enhancements at the historic 1932 theater. While the CPF, a 2 percent property transfer tax, was originally used for open space purchases, in recent years its use has expanded to include preservation of important structure...

On Wednesday, November 5, ICE agents swept into Hampton Bays and Westhampton, setting upon immigrant laborer gathering spots and businesses that employ or are frequented by immigrants. The officers made several arrests as part of the largest local federal immigration sweep since the start of the second Donald Trump administration. This week, the editors talk about the operation with senior reporte...

This Saturday, November 8, three generations of local veterans — Angelique Williams (Navy 1997-2014), Ed German (USMC 1967-1970) and Martin Sylvester (Army 1943-1945) — will be honored at Southampton Arts Center with a screening of a trio of short films about their military service created by USA Warrior Stories, which was founded in 2017. Ahead of the screening, USA Warrior Stories founders Matt...

Every Tuesday, an 8-year-old poodle/golden retriever mix clocks in for his shift at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. Known to staff and patients as “Dogtor” Cooper, he even has business cards made up by his owner and handler, hospital volunteer Eric Weston. Cooper is part of a robust therapy dog program at the hospital and one of seven dogs certified to visit patients on a regular basis. This wee...

The Hampton Theatre Company has launched a new initiative to open each of its next three seasons with a female-led production. Called the Jane Stanton Celebrating Women in Theatre Project, the initiative is funded by a recent anonymous grant from a private charitable foundation and the goal is to spotlight plays written and directed by women. This week, the editors are joined by HTC president Rose...

The first in a new series titled "Local Matters" focused on Southampton Village with an Express Sessions event at Union Burger Bar on October 9. Top of mind for area residents and panelists in attendance were traffic, affordable housing and the continued push to develop a sewer district in Southampton Village.

In a few weeks, the Suffolk County Department of Public Works will institute changes in traffic patterns on County Road 39 between North Sea Road and Magee Street in Southampton to test a pared-down version of an experiment run by the county and Southampton Town last spring. Local officials said the plan, as envisioned by Charles McArdle, Southampton Town superintendent of highways, brought marked...

Every summer morning, a dedicated group of open-water swimmers — each over the age of 60 — gathers at West Landing in Hampton Bays to swim the calm waters of Peconic Bay. But this ritual is about much more than fitness. Over the years, these daily swims have become a source of deep friendship, connection and joy. This week on the podcast, the editors are joined by filmmaker Doug Gallo and his moth...

The annual Hamptons International Film Festival returns this week for its 33rd iteration, and from October 3 to 13, will present screenings at theaters in East Hampton, Sag Harbor and Southampton. This week, the editors are joined by David Nugent, Chief Creative Officer of HamptonsFilm, HIFF’s parent organization, who shares some insight into the business of putting on a film festival. He also off...

This week, the editors are joined by Southampton Village Mayor Bill Manger who addresses some of the most pressing concerns in the village. Traffic, of course, is at the top of the list, but also on the table is workforce housing, a potential sewer system and rehabilitation of the arboretum grounds at Southampton Arts Center as well as the World War I monument in Agawam Park. Also discussed was so...

The Suffolk County Legislature recently voted to establish a mechanism for preserving working waterfronts from development. The law will allow the county to acquire conservation easements on properties housing businesses like commercial fisheries and marinas. Montauk is a likely candidate for some of these funds, and this week, the editors are joined by Inlet Seafood’s general manager Amanda Jones...

This week, the editors are joined by East Hampton reporter Jack Motz and Kurt Gottwald, a Hither Hills State Park lifeguard who, last year, converted his decades-old onsite trailer at the campground into a makeshift music studio. His latest project is a six-track indie rock album called “Montauk New York.” On it, Gottwald weaves tales of local stories into larger musings about capitalism, consumer...

2024 NY-01 congressional candidate John Avlon, a former CNN anchor and current host of the podcast "How To Fix It," joins the editors on the podcast to discuss redistricting, gerrymandering and the state of democracy.

It’s been a hot, dry summer, and in late July the Suffolk County Water Authority issued a Stage 1 Water Alert urging its customers to immediately reduce water consumption. The editors are joined this week by senior reporter Michael Wright, who has a story in the paper naming the South Fork’s biggest “Water Hogs,” and Daniel Dubois, SCWA’s director of communications and external affairs, who explai...

Late summer is the time for horses on the East End. This week, the editors are joined by reporter Cailin Riley and Shanette Barth Cohen, the executive director of the Hampton Classic Horse Show, who talk about 50 years of the prestigious event, including its history, evolution and the different competitions and activities that visitors to this year’s Classic will enjoy. The 50th Hampton Classic Ho...

This week, the editors are joined by Eric Kohn, artistic director of the newly revived Southampton Playhouse, who talks about how the historic, non-profit theater is establishing itself as a cultural cornerstone on the East End. Kohn discusses the Playhouse’s commitment to both classic and contemporary cinema, including its upcoming series "The Scorsese Family Experience," curated in collaboration...

Dan Stark and Hope Hamilton both returned to The Express News Group newsroom in 2025 for their second consecutive summer as full-time interns. Stark and Hamilton join the editors on the podcast to discuss their experiences and most memorable articles and to reflect on what they learned that they will carry with them into their future careers.

A year ago this week, Kristina Foster, supervisor of the Southampton Head Start Center, received some unwelcome news. During construction to expand the center at 271 Flanders Avenue in Riverside, the building was found to be structurally unsound. With less than a month before the start of the school year, the 88 children attending the free preschool education program had nowhere to go. Also at ris...