Community Corner

Week in Review: 16 Years to Life for Murdering Toddler

Also in the week's news, Southampton Town buys out East Hampton's share of Poxabogue and New York State approves funding for East End shuttle trains.

Review the week's top news and some headlines you may have missed.


After the Southampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals ruled his application for a camp in North Sea will require a variance, Jay Jacobs says he is moving forward with the variance request.


Noyac author Richard Cummings’ latest novel, “Prayers of an Igbo Rabbi,” has something to satisfy a variety of literary tastes — from suspense to historical fiction. Cummings, 74, aimed to tell a story about race and to educate about little known history, while being entertaining rather than preachy.

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Southampton Town’s is kicking off its campaign Earth Day weekend, asking shoppers to sign a pledge to reduce the number of plastic bags they use and recycle the remainder. The campaign, titled “A Greener Southampton: The Solution Is in the Bag,” begins April 21 at the and .


A memorial service will be held April 9 for Peter L. Eckerson, D.D.S., a long-time dentist in Southampton known as "Painless Pete."

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For seniors and individuals with serious medical conditions, Southampton Hospital has launched a new program to provide essential medical information to emergency personnel who respond to home emergencies.

Business


Southampton Village resident Victoria Rose is determined to make her business dreams a reality by starting her own perfume company called The Essence Collection. Rose says she had the idea two years ago but didn't have the expertise or confidence to start her own company at the time. Now after two years in the planning stage, she is launching her first perfume line called "Inner Essence." Check out the video to hear more about her experience taking a business risk in what some say is an unfavorable economic climate for new businesses.


With vintage style and fashion on the rise with a renewed hipster movement, the website Etsy.com has become the go-to place to buy and sell vintage goods, from clothing to home decor and accessories. Brittany Torres, who grew up in Southampton and now lives in East Quogue, said she jumped on the bandwagon about a year ago and has been selling strong on the site ever since under the name Hamptons Vintage.

Real Estate Pros See Hamptons Comeback in 2012
Real estate brokers, developers and analysts say the Hamptons market will continue to make a comeback in 2012, Gotham magazine reports.

Top 5


Haute Living magazine has gotten into the habit lately of making top 5 lists of places to eat or have fun in the Hamptons. Recently, the magazine shared its "Top 5 Hamptons Five-Star Restaurants." .


Haute Living magazine has gotten into the habit lately of making top 5 lists of places to eat or have fun in the Hamptons. Recently, the magazine shared its "Top 5 Italian Restaurants." Check out their list and see if you agree.

Crime & Courts


After , 22-year-old Pedro Jones, of Southampton, was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison on March 22. The Suffolk County district attorney's office said that Jones struck a 17-month-old he was babysitting so hard in the chest that the toddler, Roy Jones III, went into cardiac arrest. According to authorities, Jones said he punched the child to get him to calm down. Pedro Jones was not related to Roy Jones III, who was his then-girlfriend's son.


East Hampton real estate agent Charlotte DePersia is due to be arraigned April 10 for a violation of her probation, which she was after pleading guilty to driving while intoxicated and vehicular assault. Her guilty plea came after a she caused in Bridgehampton while drunk, striking a car with four occupants, including a pregnant woman.


One man was arrested while another got away on foot following a car chase that ended on the in Southampton on March 20, according to authorities and police radio chatter. Multiple Suffolk law enforcement agencies were involved, including town and state police and the Suffolk sheriff's office K-9 unit.


And from Flanders to North Sea, multiple cases of mischief reported.


Also in the Southampton Village police files, a man with a suspended licensed is turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.


33-year-old arrested in Noyac.

Government


The Southampton Town Board has agreed to take East Hampton Town's share of the in Sagaponack off the cash-strapped town's hands. Unanimously, the Southampton Town Board voted Tuesday to pay East Hampton $2.2 million in Community Preservation Fund money, ending their eight-year co-ownership of the facility, which includes a 9-hole golf course, driving range, pro shop and on 39 acres.


East End commuters will be able to ride the rails to work starting in 2014, as a finalized state budget agreement includes $37.2 million for new light diesel trains on the Montauk and Greenport branches, according to 's office.


As the Republican-controlled House of Representatives mulls how to tackle the pending expiration of federal funding for highways, the Democratic minority leadership has turned to Southampton’s . Bishop, a five-term Democrat, is tasked with being the primary sponsor of the House version of MAP-21, or Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, a bill already passed in the Senate that would extend transportation funding for two years.


Following the case of a local brother and sister who were  after the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation took 90 pounds of their fish last July and , South Fork Assemblyman Fred Thiele is proposing legislation to put a check on DEC searches. "Under the current process, the DEC is the police, the prosecutor, the judge, and jury, all before the case ever gets to court." Thiele said. "There is no check on the authority of the DEC. Citizens are entitled to some due process of law under the Constitution."


With school districts scrambling to prepare budgets that come in under the state's 2 percent tax cap, state lawmakers have agreed to increase state aid to area schools. According to , on Thursday, the state Assembly approved an $805 million increase in state aid as part of the final 2012 state budget; it is the first increase in three years. The numbers are also up from the governor's original state aid proposal.

Politics


Altschuler camp is excited about the endorsement while Bishop says he has prevailed in the past without needing the Independence Party line.

Slide Shows


New Water Mill gallery Hampton Hang opened its inaugural show, "Mind Over Matter," on Saturday. Paintings by Sagaponack artist Steve Miller from his "Health of the Planet" series, sculptures by Mike Chiarello, of East Hampton, and a collection of mineral specimens are on display through April 30.


Aerial photographer Jeff Cully took these photos of the new Parrish Art Museum under construction in Water Mill on March 20.


There was a beautiful sunset over Sag Harbor and the Lance Cpl. Jordan C. Haerter Memorial Bridge on Thursday.

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