27Speaks

The Follow-Up: Local stories, deeper context A Bi-Lingual Partnership: WHBPAC and OLA discuss expanding access to the arts on the East End — and what’s next for the WHBPAC Recently, the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center and OLA (Organización Latino Americana) of Eastern Long Island teamed up to present a night of comedy. The twist is that the comedian, Colombian-born Pedro Gonzalez, present...

In this episode of the Express News Group's 27Speaks: Behind the Headlines podcast, host Joe Shaw is joined by Dan Stark, Jack Motz, Hope Hamilton and Michelle Trauring to discuss the week's latest East End news. This week, Stark discusses friction amongst the Southampton Village Board, Hamilton details important new tick disease information and more.

In this episode of the Express News Group's 27Speaks: Behind the Headlines podcast, host Joe Shaw is joined by Cailin Riley, Jack Motz, Michael Wright and Desirée Keegan to discuss the week's latest East End news. This week, Wright talks about the economic impact the U.S. Open had on Southampton, Motz recounts the story of a dead whale in East Hampton and more.

In this episode of the Express News Group's 27Speaks: Behind the Headlines podcast, host Joe Shaw is joined by Cailin Riley, Jack Motz, Dan Stark and features editor Michelle Trauring to discuss the week's latest East End news. This week, Riley recaps the end of the U.S. Open, Motz and Stark share local election news and Trauring tells a story that will touch any animal lover's heart.

In this episode of the Express News Group's 27Speaks: Behind the Headlines podcast, host Joe Shaw is joined by reporters Cailin Riley, Jack Motz, Michael Wright and Dan Stark to discuss the week's latest East End news. With the U.S. Open in full swing, Riley and Wright give an extended report on the goings-on at Shinnecock Hills, while Motz talks park developments in East Hampton and Stark discuss...

HamptonsFilm, home of the Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF), recently launched a new media partnership with The Express News Group and its digital platform, 27east.com. The collaboration names The Express News Group as an official media partner for HamptonsFilm’s year-round community programming, including the 34th annual Hamptons International Film Festival, which runs October 2 to 12....

In this episode of the Express News Group's 27Speaks: Behind the Headlines podcast, host Joe Shaw is joined by reporters Cailin Riley, Jack Motz, Hope Hamilton and Dan Stark to discuss the week's latest East End news.

In this episode of the Express News Group's 27Speaks: Behind the Headlines podcast, host Joe Shaw is joined by reporters Cailin Riley, Jack Motz, Hope Hamilton and Dan Stark to discuss the week's latest East End news.

In this episode of the Express News Group's 27Speaks: Behind the Headlines podcast, host Joe Shaw is joined by reporters Michael Wright and Jack Motz, Features Editor Michelle Trauring and Editor-in-Chief Bill Sutton to discuss the week's latest East End news.

In this episode of the Express News Group's 27Speaks: Behind the Headlines podcast, host Joe Shaw is joined by reporters Cailin Riley, Jack Motz, Michael Wright and features editor Michelle Trauring to discuss the week's latest East End news.

Patricia McCormick is an acclaimed author of young adult novels. Her 2006 book, "Sold," tells the story of a 13-year-old Nepalese girl who is sold into sexual slavery by her stepfather. Despite being named a National Book Finalist, in 2025 "Sold" was the most banned book in the country, according to the American Library Association. In this installment of "The Follow Up," McCormick, who lives in S...

In this episode of the Express News Group's 27Speaks: Behind the Headlines podcast, host Joe Shaw is joined by reporters Cailin Riley, Jack Motz, Michael Wright and features editor Michelle Trauring to discuss the week's latest East End news.

In this first episode of the Express News Group's 27Speaks: Behind the Headlines podcast, host Joe Shaw is joined by reporters Cailin Riley and Jack Motz, as well as editors Drew Budd and Annette Hinkle to discuss the week's latest East End news, from an eye-opening forum on human trafficking to a new girls' flag football team.

In a move that became official at a Section XI meeting a few weeks back, the high school football programs at Hampton Bays and Southampton will merge in 2026 to become one. Hampton Bays, which has recently seen a strong resurgence of the sport after taking two years off to rebuild, will be the host school, welcoming Southampton students who would like to play. Despite the two schools legendary riv...

In March, Sag Harbor Mayor Tom Gardella found himself in hot water after leaving a transphobic comment on a video posted by an Instagram user in Texas with more than 22,000 followers. The post gained traction and became the focus of numerous news stories far beyond the South Fork. Though he apologized for the incident, more reports of concerning social media behavior soon surfaced, including from...

Ice and Accountability: East End Municipalities Weigh OLA Proposal Organizacíon Latino Americana (OLA) of Eastern Long Island recently proposed a law that seeks accountability and transparency regarding federal immigration action. It was first introduced for consideration by OLA and director Minerva Perez in February to East End municipalities that have their own police departments. Written so tha...

Last week, Long Island Rail Road crews began installing new track sidings at the Southampton Village station, which local officials celebrated as a step toward improving limited train service on the South Fork. When completed, the project will accommodate the longer trains that LIRR runs in the summer months. While the MTA has not yet announced any plans for new scheduling, the hope is that additi...

Mark Parash and Anthony Meras, whose parents owned Sip’n Soda in Southampton and Star Confectionery in Riverhead, respectively, have known each other since they were kids. Recently, Parash and Meras teamed up to revive a family tradition by making chocolate Easter bunnies using the same nearly 100-year-old metal molds that their relatives worked with decades ago. The chocolate bunnies (and baskets...

This is the time of year when changes are afoot on the East End as new businesses open, old ones close and still others look to relocate. This year is no different, but already it seems as if more changes than usual are coming to Sag Harbor’s business district in the months ahead. From “Miracle,” a new restaurant expected to open at 29 Main Street in early May, to GeekHampton, the Hamptons only au...

Animal welfare advocates from across the region came together last week for the latest Express Sessions event, hosted at Union Burger Bar in Southampton Village, to discuss the challenges they face in caring for both wildlife and domestic animals, the issues they’re dealing with currently and the best ways for the community at large to help.

As a teacher, high school coach and athletic director, Kathy Masterson has shepherded a lot of student-athletes through high school sports programs over the years, beginning with her own alma mater, Southampton High School, in the mid-1990s. From there, positions followed at Shelter Island and Westhampton Beach — where she worked as a physical education teacher for several years before being named...

Last year, Crescent Duck Farm on the North Fork was hit by a devastating outbreak of avian influenza and had to cull its entire flock of Pekin ducks. The farm is now rebuilding its stock. But the latest strain of the disease, known as H5N1, is back. It’s now raging through its fourth winter season and is proving deadly to a broad swath of wild birds. This year, it's wild waterfowl — especially Can...

East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen is currently backing a herculean push to unseat nearly all 38 sitting members of the East Hampton Town Democratic Committee and replace them with committee members favorable to him, part of a purported effort to reshape the local party in his image. He’s also launching a Democratic primary challenge against incumbent East Hampton Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonz...

At a public hearing hosted by the Southampton Village Board on February 12, residents and some board members voiced opposition to a proposal that would extend the terms of office for the mayor and trustees from two to four years. The proposal would be subject to a mandatory referendum. It was recommended by the village’s Planning Commission, which argued that longer terms would save the village mo...

On January 26, as residents hunkered down in their warm homes to watch snow from a massive storm pile up outside, Sag Harbor’s Marit Molin and several volunteers from Hamptons Community Outreach headed out into the elements. With temperatures well below freezing, the group trudged through the South Fork’s wooded areas in search of the homeless who ride out winter in rudimentary shelters. The goal...