27Speaks

The bird flu epidemic has reached the East End. H5N1 bird flu avian influenza has been detected at Crescent Duck Farm in Aquebogue. The last remaining duck farm on Long Island was forced to shut down and euthanize its entire flock of roughly 99,000 birds. Whether it will be able to reopen in time is still up in the air. RiverheadLOCAL Co-Publisher Denise Civiletti joins the editors to discuss her coverage of the sudden closure.

South Fork school districts are reporting increased levels of anxiety among students and their families, and schools are planning how to support students while also doing everything they can to prepare for any number of different scenarios and crisis-level situations that could play out as a result of the immigration crackdown. Reporter Cailin Riley joins the editors to share what school administrators are doing to prepare and to assuage student's worries

Southampton High School varsity basketball head coach Herm Lamison joins the

editors to discuss his coaching career on the heels of reaching a milestone that few coaches do: 500 career wins.

A new half percent tax on real estate purchases in Southampton and East Hampton towns went into effect on April 1, 2023, to raise revenue for affordable housing initiatives. Since then, each town has accumulated millions of dollars to combat the region’s housing crisis. At this Express Sessions discussion, a panel of elected officials and housing advocates assessed how successful the Community Housing Fund has been at tackling a seemingly insurmountable task and discuss the promise the fund holds for the future. In this Sessions Report podcast, Express New Group Publisher Gavin Menu, Executive Editor Joseph Shaw and Managing Editor Bill Sutton share the main takeaways from the discussion.

Minerva Perez, the executive director of latino advocacy organization OLA of Eastern Long Island, joins the editors to discuss the challenges the East End's immigrant population faces and how they are bracing for a new presidential administration promising mass deportation.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a debutante? Recently, our reporter Cailin Riley found out for herself when she attended the 70th anniversary International Debutante Ball which was held at the Plaza Hotel in New York City on December 28. Among the several young ladies “coming out” that evening was Southampton summer resident Kelli Ford, daughter of Gerald and Kelli Ford.

The editors look back on the ten biggest stories of the last year.

The Southampton Village Ethics Board last month found that Southampton Village Trustee Robin Brown violated the village's ethics code on two occasions, each time by attending a fundraiser while not paying her own way. Brown has strongly pushed back on the Ethics Board's dispositions and says the complaints against her were politically motivated. On this week's 27Speaks podcast, the editors discuss ethics in government and journalism, and what constitutes a violation.

Lance Gumbs, the vice chairman of the Shinnecock Nation Council of Trustees, recently spoke to Express News Group Executive Editor Joseph Shaw about the Shinnecock Nation's gas station and travel plaza, which is currently under construction on the Shinnecock's Westwoods property just west of the Shinnecock Canal. While the Shinnecock say Westwoods is aboriginal land and may be developed as they wish, some Hamptons Bays residents say that is not the case and town zoning should apply. In this week's podcast, Shaw shares highlights from the interview and adds context.

A juvenile bald eagle that found itself in a precarious situation experienced a happy ending, thanks to the work of the staff at the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center in Hampton Bays. Executive Director Kathleen Mulcahy and animal care assistant Rose Lynch join the editors on the podcast to recount the rescue, rehabilitation and release of the bird of prey and also discuss the East End's eagle population and the rescue center's important work.