Opinion | East End Beacon

Column Opinion

Opinion: Greenport Can’t Park Its Way Into Prosperity

June 4, 2026June 10, 2026 East End Beacon

By Kelly Ferraro Greenport has long been one of the East End’s great small-town destinations. It has history, character, a working waterfront, restaurants, shops, galleries, the Shelter Island ferry, and the kind of walkable village center many communities wish they had. But charm is not a business plan, just as hope is not a strategy. At a time when local businesses face higher costs, thinner margins, staffing challenges, seasonal swings,

Editorial Opinion Recent

Editorial: The Endless Scroll and the Bottom Line

May 28, 2026June 3, 2026 East End Beacon

Any of us who’ve gone out into the work force or started a business have heard the tired aphorisms about the importance of projecting an image of success. After all, when you’re faking it ‘till you make it, you’re supposedly on a voyage somewhere much better. These messages make it easier to put on a suit of armor and go out to face your career. But projecting an image of

Featured Letters Opinion

Letters: Fact & Fiction on Vibrio, SEQRA, Immigration & Clean Energy

April 28, 2026April 28, 2026 East End Beacon

Vibrio, Fact and Fiction To the Editor: Last week, during a thirty-minute press event covering a multitude of environmental topics, a 20-second sound bite regarding the bacterium Vibrio vulnificus was extracted without context. This led to a series of headlines and social media posts that, while technically accurate, understandably caused public concern. While the term "flesh-eating bacteria" is colloquial and medically descriptive of how an infection progresses, and while CDC

Column Editorial Environment Opinion Recent

Editorial: A Viral Media Problem

April 27, 2026May 5, 2026 East End Beacon

It’s been a long time since we were this embarrassed to be part of the Long Island press corps. In case you haven’t heard, the local media landscape was blanketed last week with dire warnings about “flesh eating bacteria” making its way into our waters. These warnings came from the mouth of one of the most respected marine ecologists working here, Stony Brook’s Dr. Christopher Gobler, who mentioned flesh eating

Letters Opinion

Featured Letter: Enough is Enough on Riverhead Taxes

April 6, 2026April 10, 2026 East End Beacon

Enough is Enough Riverhead Town residents have seen their property taxes increase exponentially for the last two years in a row. Why? Because of a mistake (or was it incompetence?) in the assessment of an exclusive golf course located on Sound Ave. called Friar’s Head. A luxury golf club on a 350-acre property, a clubhouse, 3 guest cottages (which are currently not in our town’s code yet), and a helipad, which

Editorial Opinion Recent

Editorial: We Are The Ones We’ve Been Waiting For

March 30, 2026April 6, 2026 East End Beacon

We’re not glum these days, which may seem daft given the state of the world. Everywhere we turn, people are leaning on one another, sharing their knowledge and building deep networks of care and love for the people around them. The New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman picked up on this phenomenon when recently visiting his childhood stomping grounds in Minneapolis, where he noted that Minneapolitians had recently turned the

Column Opinion Viewpoint

Viewpoint: Why Declare America Does Not Have Kings?

March 27, 2026March 30, 2026 East End Beacon

by Abigail Field This Saturday, March 28, millions of Americans — including many Southold residents — will peacefully assemble to proclaim America does NOT have Kings. We fought a revolution to free ourselves from a king, after all. I will be attending for many reasons, but one I’d like to focus on here: War. Our Constitution is really clear: Article I, Section 8, Clause 11: [The Congress shall have Power

Letters Opinion Recent

Letters: Jasmine Lane’s Voices 0n the Chicken Farm

March 26, 2026March 26, 2026 East End Beacon

The following letters are about a proposed chicken farm on Ackerly Pond Lane in Southold, which is currently before the Southold Town Planning Board for review of a barn on the property, which would be placed near Jasmine Lane. Pictured Above: The fire hydrant and public hearing notice at the end of Jasmine Lane in January, 2026. To The Editor: The code has two principal means of reducing impacts. The

Lee Zeldin at his Jan. 16 confirmation hearing.

Featured Letters Opinion Recent

Letters: EPA Rollbacks & International Whirlwinds

March 17, 2026March 20, 2026 East End Beacon

Pictured Above: EPA Administrator and former East End Congressman Lee Zeldin at his 2025 confirmation hearing. Don't Breathe Easy with EPA Rollbacks Dear Editor, Twenty-five years ago, I founded the nonprofit Community Health and Environment Coalition (CHEC) to confront Long Island's unusually high cancer rates and investigate possible environmental causes. We worked with the New York State Department of Health, the Suffolk County Health Department, medical professionals, and residents, guided

A rendering of the Tesla Megapack. |. Tesla photo

Editorial Opinion Recent Southold Southold Comp Plan & Zoning

Editorial: Take the Incremental Path

March 3, 2026April 21, 2026 East End Beacon

It’s been nearly a year since Southold Town first unveiled its proposed Zoning Update, which has been in the works now for the better half of a decade after the 2020 adoption of the town’s Comprehensive Plan. When the first draft of the massive overhaul was unveiled to the public last year, reactions were all over the map. It was a lot to digest, and despite the town Planning Department’s

Featured Opinion Recent Southold Viewpoint

Viewpoint: Community Matters, Above All Else

February 24, 2026March 4, 2026 East End Beacon

by Anne H. Smith, Ed.D. Southold Town Councilwoman The opinions here reflect why I believe the work of town government in partnership with local organizations and nonprofits has value. These opinions are my own. How do we help our neighbors through the lens of humanity and friendship? Southold is a place where we come together as neighbors during a crisis or when there is a cumulative impact on basic needs.