Following the recent measles-related deaths of two unvaccinated individuals in Pennsylvania, the United States’ first confirmed measles-related deaths of 2026, medical officials at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital are urging the community to remember the importance of vaccination, herd immunity and the potentially life-threatening risks of the virus.

Hope Hamilton reports on 27east.com that the deaths come on the heels of countrywide measles outbreaks. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of August 26, the U.S. has seen 2,777 cases of measles since January — the highest number of cases recorded in a year since measles was declared eliminated in 2000 — with particular hot spots in South Carolina (670), Utah (526) and Pennsylvania (371).

To put that in perspective, the United States saw 2,289 confirmed measles cases over the whole year of 2025, which resulted in three deaths. Ninety-three percent of those cases came from unvaccinated or unknown vaccination status individuals, with the majority (44 percent) occurring between the ages of 5 and 19.

Melody Butler, the director of infection prevention and control at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, warned in a recent interview with THE EXPRESS NEWS GROUP that just because the deaths happened out-of-state does not mean that this should not be of concern to Long Island residents.

“A measles death anywhere is a threat to everyone, everywhere,” Butler said. “Vaccines save lives, and we know that had these two individuals been vaccinated, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

Butler said that the measles vaccine is 97 percent effective, and becomes 99 percent effective if there is “community immunity” — that is, when everyone in the community is vaccinated. The United States has seen relatively low mortality from the measles due to immunization. However, Butler said her concern comes from the fact that there are pockets on Long Island that delay vaccination to at least age 5, and people who do not vaccinate at all.

The risk for delaying vaccination is not just the measles virus, Butler said. There are many complications that can occur from measles, including subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), an inflammation of the brain due to underlying measles virus that is nearly always fatal. According to Butler, this albeit rare complication occurs mostly in preteens who had measles when they were 3 or younger, and the measles has lain dormant in their brain stem.

“The scariest part about this is you think your child has recovered,” Butler said. “Then, around ages 10 to 12 — or even in high school — you start to notice a personality shift.”

SSPE progression starts with difficulty walking, slurred speech and eventually death within a few months to a year. There is currently no cure for SSPE.

“I am so fearful that because we’ve had so many measles cases here in America, in a few years we’re going to see this upsurge of complications,” Butler said. “People need to understand that their decision not to vaccinate can possibly have lifelong consequences.”

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The shopping center that for decades was home to the Hampton Bays UA movie theater has been sold, its longtime owner confirmed.

Walter Morris, who had owned the shopping center since 2003, said that the deal closed in late June.

Morris would not say who the new owner is and said he never actually met them and does not know what their plans are for the 2.7-acre property on the south side of 27A in Hampton Bays.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that Gelmer Mendez, who owns the Melrose Deli in the shopping center, said that he has met with the new property owner, but that he did not shed any light on what the plans for the building are. Mendez said that construction crews removed the movie theater seats recently, but that no other renovation work has been taking place.

Mendez said he has seven years remaining on his current lease and hopes that he will be in his same space long after that.

“My sons, my wife and sister work here,” he said, “and I am not trying to retire.”

The Regal UA Hampton Bays 5 Movie Theatre first opened on December 19, 1997, in a converted supermarket space at 119 W. Montauk Highway and permanently closed on January 29, 2026.

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The East Hampton Historical Society cut the ribbon Thursday, August 27, on a new state-of-the-art collections center, which will house an array of nearly 70,000 artifacts in pristine environmental conditions. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that storage for the historical society’s collection had been scattered, with the artifacts spread out among the Osborn-Jackson House, Clinton Academy and the Thomas and Mary Nimmo Moran Studio. So this new 5,700-square-foot storage center will offer a centralized, climate-controlled alternative.

“Our collection includes extremely rare and important items that would be treasured in any historical collection in the nation, so it’s very important to take good care of them,” said Steve Long, the historical society’s executive director. “Today, finally, we have a centrally located, climate-controlled facility worthy of housing our world-class collection.” The new collections center has been built at the site of a now-demolished barn at Mulford Farm that was constructed in 1976. The new structure is meant to resemble the barn. In 2024, the East Hampton Historical Society broke ground on the new facility, which received a boost in the form of a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts.

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The surging cost of homes across Suffolk County has turned affordable housing into one of the county’s most pressing challenges.

For government leaders, the question has become how to make owning or renting a home more affordable while preserving the area’s suburban character.

Joe Werkmeister reports in NEWSDAY that the debate has exposed a divide between two of Suffolk’s Republican leaders: County Executive Edward P. Romaine, who has publicly supported some large developments, and Presiding Officer Anthony Piccirillo (R-Holtsville), who has argued that government policies and subsidies are part of the problem.

Piccirillo described an “ideological battle” brewing over the county’s future direction during a May 19 capital budget working group meeting. His stance on housing — opposing high-density development and rentals while advocating for single-family homes — puts him at odds with housing advocates and other lawmakers who view those as part of the solution to what the county has labeled a “crisis.”

Romaine has cited boosting affordable housing as a priority since the start of his administration and has publicly supported developments such as the 262-unit apartment complex under construction in Patchogue called The Carriage House.

“I will continue to support housing,” Romaine told Newsday. “People need places to live that are affordable.”

In an interview, Piccirillo said: “We all want affordable housing. But it’s how do you get there and what’s affordable?”

He said the county legislature’s goal is to “break some of the government bureaucracy and the red tape” that create barriers for builders to put up the types of homes people want.

“Homeownership is the pathway to the middle class,” he said.

While housing approvals rest largely with towns and villages, the county offers several programs that can increase supply through land acquisition, incentives to developers and assistance for low-income renters.

Adding a diverse housing stock, which can include townhouses, multifamily apartments and accessory dwelling units as examples, is critical to addressing the problem and providing adequate housing for people at various stages of life, housing experts said.

Lawrence Levy, executive dean at Hofstra University’s National Center for Suburban Studies, said there’s consensus among members of both parties, as well as business and environmental organizations, that Long Island lacks adequate affordable housing and doesn’t have the space to meet demand “the old-fashioned way”: single-family houses on a typical suburban plot of land.

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A planned expansion of the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center would significantly increase seating capacity, enlarge the stage and position the theater to attract more popular acts.

The project calls for increasing seats from 425 to nearly 700, adding about 8,900 square feet of building space, and expanding the stage and backstage area to accommodate larger productions, theater executive director Julienne Penza-Boone told Newsday.

“After this happens, we will be the only venue in the Hamptons that has that kind of capacity,” she said.

The plan is to complete the expansion by July 2028, in time for the nonprofit theater’s 30th anniversary, Penza-Boone said. The project still requires Westhampton Beach Village approval.

Penza-Boone said the total cost of the project has not yet been determined. The theater set a fundraising goal of $25 million for the renovations, and $18 million has been raised so far, she said. In June, the theater was awarded $6 million from the New York State Council on the Arts' Capital Projects Fund.

The theater’s current size makes it difficult to absorb rising artist fees. The added seats will allow the theater to spread the cost across more attendees and charge lower ticket prices.

Alek Lewis reports in NEWSDAY that the expansion would be built on property owned by the nonprofit behind the theater. Additional planned improvements include a new terrace and bar area for hosting donors and special events.

The project requires a village permit to exceed zoning limits, but officials have expressed support.

Westhampton Beach Village Mayor Ralph Urban said the theater is “an integral part of our community, and we very much look forward to this expansion and improvement of their facility.”

Still, the village must resolve infrastructure concerns before approving the project, Urban said. The village has halted approval of all site plans and building permits in the downtown area that includes the theater while it studies wastewater treatment and parking capacities.

Urban called the theater’s goal of completing renovations by July 2028 “ambitious” but said it could be achievable if those issues are resolved by winter.

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The Southampton Town Youth Bureau is recruiting students in grades seven through 12 to join its Youth Advisory Committee for the 2026-27 school year.

The youth-led organization, guided by an elected youth board, gives students an opportunity to participate in community service projects, meet students from other schools and help shape the program.

Youth Advisory Committee meetings will be held every other Tuesday from 6:30 to 8 p.m., with the first meeting scheduled for Tuesday, September 15, at the Hampton Bays Community Center, 25 Ponquogue Avenue.

Projects include leaf raking for senior citizens, toy and blood drives, fundraisers for community organizations, and meetings with elected officials to advocate for youth issues. Participants can also earn community service credit hours.

For information or to register, go to southamptontownny.gov/youthbureau or call 631-702-2425.

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Conservationists and birders have reported far fewer surviving osprey chicks along the Atlantic coast this summer, and they say many of these chicks have starved...including here in Southampton and the east end.

Marine scientists are attributing the starving ospreys to far smaller schools of menhaden, the ospreys’ main source of food, in the past couple of years, after quotas for industrial fishing were raised.

The body that determines the limits - Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission - will meet in late fall to reconsider the caps.

Tracy Tullis reports in NEWSDAY that populations of ospreys and other birds of prey across the globe were plummeting 60 years ago because of the widespread use of the pesticide DDT. The chemical was banned in the United States in 1972, thanks to the ecologist Rachel Carson’s book "Silent Spring," and ospreys, eagles, falcons and hawks slowly began to recover.

Long Island and the East End in particular, "with its protected shallow bays, was just ideal habitat for ospreys to forage and to breed," according to John Turner, senior conservation policy advocate at the Seatuck Environmental Association. Decades after the DDT ban, ospreys have once again become a common sight on the Island, becoming one of the most visible achievements of the environmental movement.

But today these birds of prey are once again at risk.

All through the mid-Atlantic, from the Chesapeake Bay to New Jersey to Long Island, ecologists, birders and boaters have reported significant declines in the number of osprey nestlings during the summer breeding season. They also say the loss of menhaden is a significant cause: osprey pairs are not finding enough of these calorie-dense and nutrient-rich fish for their young, and the young have been starving.

Last year the 385 osprey nests monitored by the environment organization Group for the East End averaged one chick each. That was down from 1.3 chicks per nest in 2022 and 1.7 in 2020.

Some observers have reported worse outcomes. Joanna Steidle, a photographer and videographer from Southampton who films Long Island coastal wildlife, said in the past three years she hasn’t seen surviving chicks in the four or five nests she regularly watches on the East End.

Chris Paparo, who manages the seawater lab at Stony Brook University, regularly monitors and photographs a breeding pair he calls Ral and Mary, who nest near Old Fort Pond off Shinnecock Bay. Three chicks hatched in May, but later that month Paparo reported to the ospreys' followers on his Facebook page that Ral was bringing freshwater fish to the nestlings. "Considering this nest is surrounded by saltwater, the fact that he’s turning to freshwater prey is a sign that bunker aren’t around in large numbers," he wrote.

None of the chicks survived. After the last one died in June, he spotted Mary perched on a wood piling, holding the dead chick in her talons.

"She sat there staring at it and calling loudly," he wrote. Then she flew around the pond, still holding the chick, returned to the nest, then flew to the piling again, "continuing to look at the lifeless chick while calling out repeatedly. It was a difficult thing to witness."