This Morning’s Bulletin — 12.22.20

Good Morning!

• There’s a 20 percent chance of light rain before 9 a.m. and we’re expecting cloudy skies through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 45 degrees and a northwest wind 5 to 15 miles per hour, with gusts as high as 28. It will be mostly clear overnight, with a low around 26. Wednesday will be mostly sunny, with a high near 43. There’s a 20 percent chance of afternoon rain on Christmas Eve, with mostly cloudy skies and a high near 58.

• The long-dreaded federal auction of Plum Island has been cancelled with the approval by the U.S. Congress Monday night of the 2021 federal spending bill.  Here’s our full story.

• The federal spending bill also includes funding for projects in the Fire Island to Montauk Point Army Corps of Engineers plan along the South Shore, along with the Hashamomuck Cove Coastal Storm Risk Management Project in Southold, as well as authorization for feasibility studies for Wading River Creek in Riverhead, Reel Point Preserve on Shelter Island, Goldsmith Inlet in Southold and Lake Montauk Harbor in Montauk. Here’s our full story.

• Suffolk County reported 978 new cases of Covid-19 in the 24 hours ending Monday, with 7.4 percent of people tested testing positive. There are currently 556 people hospitalized with the virus in the county, with 89 of them in ICU. The county reported 13 new deaths from Covid, bringing the death toll here to 2,185 people.

• The Southampton Town Board will hold public hearings on battery storage facility regulations and parking requirements at Long Beach in Noyac at its 1 p.m. meeting this afternoon. Here’s the agenda.

• The Greenport American Legion hosts a community blood drive this afternoon from noon to 6 p.m. Appointments are preferred, online here.

• Here’s a secret link for readers of the Morning Bulletin to get half off our a subscription to our monthly print edition for a limited time — that’s just $10 to support our independent local journalism. (It makes a great gift, as well!)

The high tides on the East End for the next two days are as follows:

December 22
Plum Gut Harbor: 3:51 a.m., 4:11 p.m.
Montauk Harbor: 2:59 a.m., 3:19 p.m.
Greenport: 4:28 a.m., 4:48 p.m.
Mattituck Inlet: 5:10 a.m., 5:36 p.m.
Sag Harbor: 4:23 a.m., 4:43 p.m.
New Suffolk: 5:50 a.m., 6:10 p.m.
South Jamesport: 5:57 a.m., 6:17 p.m.
Shinn. Bay Entrance: 2:50 a.m., 3:02 p.m.
Shinn. Inlet: 12:59 a.m., 1:11 p.m.

December 23
Plum Gut Harbor: 4:49 a.m., 5:09 p.m.
Montauk Harbor: 3:57 a.m., 4:17 p.m.
Greenport: 5:26 a.m., 5:46 p.m.
Mattituck Inlet: 6:03 a.m., 6:32 p.m.
Sag Harbor: 5:21 a.m., 5:41 p.m.
New Suffolk: 6:48 a.m., 7:08 p.m.
South Jamesport: 6:55 a.m., 7:15 p.m.
Shinn. Bay Entrance: 3:40 a.m., 3:53 p.m.
Shinn. Inlet: 1:49 a.m., 2:02 p.m.

And that’s the way things look at dawn’s light here today.