This Morning’s Bulletin — 7.4.14

Good Morning and Happy Fourth of July!

• We have a few rescheduled Fourth of July events to report, since today’s weather is looking pretty iffy. The New Suffolk Fourth of July Parade has been rescheduled for tomorrow, July 5 at 11 a.m., which has pushed the New Suffolk School’s pancake breakfast originally scheduled for Saturday to Sunday, July 6 from 8 a.m. to noon. Montauk’s Grucci fireworks display has been rescheduled to Sat., July 5 at 9 p.m. and the Fresh Air Home’s Southampton fireworks have been rescheduled for Sunday at 9:15 p.m. The Beacon’s full, updated list of Fourth of July events is online here.

•There’s a possibility of tropical storm conditions across the East End today as Hurricane Arthur barrels up the coast offshore, with winds becoming northeasterly and blowing steadily at 25 to 35 miles per hour by this afternoon. Arthur made landfall in North Carolina in the wee hours of this morning as a Category 2 storm. We’re expecting 1 to 2 inches of rain today with a high of 74 degrees, and dangerous rip currents all along the South Shore. There is a flash flood watch in effect through 10 p.m. tonight and a high surf advisory in effect until 4 p.m. tomorrow. Saturday is still forecast to be a beautiful day if you’re not caught in the undertow.

• Several members of Congress think the National Parks Service or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would love to manage Plum Island as a park. The problem is, those agencies can’t even dream of working on the project unless Congress repeals a directive that the island be sold. A new push is afoot for that to happen. The Beacon’s full story is online here.

• The East Hampton Trails Preservation Society is hosting their classic Accabonac Harbor kayak tour Saturday morning, an early morning paddle through one of the most scenic waterways on Long Island. They’ll be meeting at Landing Lane off Old Stone Highway at 8 a.m. Kayak and stand up board rentals are available. Contact kayak leader extraordinaire Mike Bottini for rentals and information at mike@peconic.org or 631.267.5228. Life jackets are mandatory.

• The Beacon’s Fourth of July edition of All in a Weekend, a round-up of events on the forks this weekend, is live online here.

• Have a safe holiday, and don’t forget the police have extra patrols on the waters and in the streets.

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