Week in Review: Man Dies After Car Lands in Canal; Tighter Demo Laws

Take is a look back at the week's top headlines in Southampton, and some news you may have missed:

Town Opens Citizens' Response Center: Have you called Southampton Town Hall to ask a question or file a complaint, only to be bounced around from department to department without getting a response? Officials in Town Hall are trying to fix that problem — or jump out ahead of it — with the , a three-person office located near the front entrance of the building on Hampton Road in Southampton Village.

Plactic Bag Ban Advocates Not Lying Down: Advocates of prohibiting plastic check-out bags from Southampton Town stores decided that even though a Town Board majority voted down scheduling a public hearing on such an ordinance, .

Town Tightens Demolition Laws: Southampton Town has changed its code to . That includes older structures, which must now go before the Landmarks and Historic Districts Board for review and recommendation before they can be razed, a move intended to protect historically significant structures.

Board Puts Off Votes on Re-appointing Top Officials: At the board's first meeting of 2012, an organizational meeting consisting largely of housecleaning issues such as committee appointments and fee schedules, .

New Law Makes Going Solar More Costly: The Town Board has a, albeit with some board members expressing frustration that state law has forced their hands to vote for legislation that may make getting a solar system more complicated and cost prohibitive for some homeowners.

Supe Dispels Rumors She'll Take County Gig: In her second inaugural address, Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst that she would leave her current position to advance her career with a county position.

Pedro Moreno, Sag Harbor: Bryan Downey watches the weather forecast closely in the winter because he knows that if he doesn't offer his acquaintance Pedro Moreno a heated place to sleep when frigid nights are in store, Moreno will never ask. Moreno, 52, , often sleeping in sheds, garages and, in the summer, outside on the beach.

Man Whose Suicide Attempt Caused HazMat Scare Charged With Felony: A 50-year-old Bridgehampton man who tried to kill himself on Nov. 16 with noxious fumes in his car — then changed his mind and drove to the hospital, causing a hazmat team to respond — has been in the first degree, a class-D felony, according to police.

Cops: DWI Suspect Was Wanted for Deportation: A Southampton man pulled over in Bridgehampton on New Year's Day and turned out to be wanted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on a deportation warrant, according to police.

Village Police Log: Felony Cocaine Charges: A 24-year-old Manorville man was arrested Dec. 26 at 9:30 p.m. and , a felony. Police said they stopped Caine for a vehicle and traffic violation while operating a 2007 Pontiac on North Sea Road and found him to be in possession of more than 500 milligrams of cocaine.

Village Police Log: Teens Stole Range Rover From Dealership: Police said the teens were driving a 1998 Range Rover erratically eastbound on Hill Street, and, after investigation, they discovered the vehicle was from the parking lot of Southampton Range Rover.

Southampton Incident Reports: Taxi Passenger Didn't Pay Up: A New York Taxi driver reported to Southampton police that .

Sag Harbor Police Log: 3 DWIs Charged Around New Year's: Sag Harbor Village Police Department.

Town Police Log: 2 New Year's DWI Arrests Made: Southampton Town Police Department .

Man Dies After Car Lands in Shinnecock Canal: Southampton Town police confirmed Tuesday evening that . He has been identified as Simon R. Flaherty, 80, of Hampton Bays.

Fire Marshal: Junction Box to Blame for Blaze: A fire that tied up traffic on Southampton's main thoroughfare Wednesday for about an hour was electrical in nature, , according to Southampton Town Chief Fire Marshal Cheryl Kraft.

MTA Payroll Tax Cut Praised; Full Repeal Still Sought: An oft-decried payroll tax for subsidizing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority — a tax that is so reviled Southampton and Southold town officials fought in court, albeit unsuccessfully — has been rolled back, but .

Sag Harbor Cafe Gets the Boot: The proprietors of Java Nation, a Sag Harbor coffee shop at the Shopping Cove off Main Street, were to make way for another cafe, breaking their 17-year month-to-month agreement with their landlord, according to an East Hampton Star report.

Plum TV Files for Bankruptcy: Plum TV, a company with cable television stations in resort areas, including the Hamptons, .