27Speaks

In this first episode of the Express News Group's 27Speaks: Behind the Headlines podcast, host Joe Shaw is joined by reporters Cailin Riley and Jack Motz, as well as editors Drew Budd and Annette Hinkle to discuss the week's latest East End news, from an eye-opening forum on human trafficking to a new girls' flag football team.

In a move that became official at a Section XI meeting a few weeks back, the high school football programs at Hampton Bays and Southampton will merge in 2026 to become one. Hampton Bays, which has recently seen a strong resurgence of the sport after taking two years off to rebuild, will be the host school, welcoming Southampton students who would like to play. Despite the two schools legendary rivalry for the Mayor’s Cup, a tradition on the South Fork going back 40 years, this new combined team program is a sign of the times and represents an effort to save football for both communities. This week, the editors are joined by news reporter (and former sports editor) Cailin Riley and Hampton Bays Athletic Director John Foster to talk about the rivalry, the plan and the love for the tradition of high school football in challenging times.

In March, Sag Harbor Mayor Tom Gardella found himself in hot water after leaving a transphobic comment on a video posted by an Instagram user in Texas with more than 22,000 followers. The post gained traction and became the focus of numerous news stories far beyond the South Fork.

Though he apologized for the incident, more reports of concerning social media behavior soon surfaced, including from members of the Sag Harbor community. In response, the Village Board retained labor attorney Vince Toomey to investigate Gardella’s behavior.

Presented at a Village Board meeting on April 14, Toomey’s report concluded that Gardella had violated both the social media policy and anti-harassment policy. Separately, Gardella was also called out for budgetary missteps, including assigning indiscriminate raises to staff and shifting accountability for his budget fi lings onto administrative staff. At the meeting, all four of Gardella’s fellow board members formally requested his resignation. But Gardella was defiant and refused to step down.

This week, the editors are joined by news reporter Cailin Riley to talk about the posts, the heated meeting and what might come next in this story.

Ice and Accountability: East End Municipalities Weigh OLA Proposal

Organizacíon Latino Americana (OLA) of Eastern Long Island recently proposed a law that seeks accountability and transparency regarding federal immigration action. It was first introduced for consideration by OLA and director Minerva Perez in February to East End municipalities that have their own police departments.

Written so that towns and villages can adapt it to suit their needs, the proposed law was drafted by former State Assemblyman (and current OLA board member) Fred Thiele. It encourages the establishment of protocols for local law enforcement in their interaction with federal agents as well as requirements for reporting ICE activity.

In the two months since introducing the proposed law, South Fork municipalities have made varying degrees of progress on it. This week, the editors are joined by news reporters Jack Motz and Dan Stark to talk about which municipalities have moved forward in considering the law and which have raised questions as they seek to learn more about it.

Last week, Long Island Rail Road crews began installing new track sidings at the Southampton Village station, which local officials celebrated as a step toward improving limited train service on the South Fork.

When completed, the project will accommodate the longer trains that LIRR runs in the summer months. While the MTA has not yet announced any plans for new scheduling, the hope is that additional sidings will allow for more frequent train service, not just for seasonal visitors but also for drivers who are currently stuck in highway traffic on their way to and from work.

This week, the editors talk about the sidings project and how it might improve options for year-round commuters. They also float a bold idea that takes a page straight from New York City’s congestion pricing program.

Mark Parash and Anthony Meras, whose parents owned Sip’n Soda in Southampton and

Star Confectionery in Riverhead, respectively, have known each other since they were kids.

Recently, Parash and Meras teamed up to revive a family tradition by making chocolate Easter bunnies using the same nearly 100-year-old metal molds that their relatives worked with decades ago.

The chocolate bunnies (and baskets) are now being sold at Sip’n Soda for the first time since 1986, just in time for Easter. This week, the editors are joined by Parash and Meras who share insight into the tradition, the trial and error that goes into making the bunnies and the coveted German-produced chocolate molds which their late parents guarded jealously.

This is the time of year when changes are afoot on the East End as new businesses open, old ones close and still others look to relocate. This year is no different, but already it seems as if more changes than usual are coming to Sag Harbor’s business district in the months ahead.

From “Miracle,” a new restaurant expected to open at 29 Main Street in early May, to GeekHampton, the Hamptons only authorized Apple service center, opting to leave its longtime headquarters on Bay Street for a new location in Hamptons Bays, the times, they are indeed a changing.

This week, the editors are joined by news reporter Cailin Riley who takes a tour of all the openings, closings and changes of venue that she knows about to date. But of course, there are likely to be more that come to light in the weeks and months ahead. So stay tuned!

Animal welfare advocates from across the region came together last week for the latest Express Sessions event, hosted at Union Burger Bar in Southampton Village, to discuss the challenges they face in caring for both wildlife and domestic animals, the issues they’re dealing with currently and the best ways for the community at large to help.

As a teacher, high school coach and athletic director, Kathy Masterson has shepherded a lot of student-athletes through high school sports programs over the years, beginning with her own alma mater, Southampton High School, in the mid-1990s. From there, positions followed at Shelter Island and Westhampton Beach — where she worked as a physical education teacher for several years before being named AD in 2006. In 2022, Masterson became the AD for the East Hampton School District.

Earlier this month, Masterson announced that she will retire from her East Hampton position at the end of this school year. This week, Masterson joins editors Annette Hinkle and Drew Budd as well as news reporter (and sports lover) Cailin Riley to talk about the legacy of championship high school teams on the East End, her dedication to local athletes and her passion for building the best athletic program that she can.

Last year, Crescent Duck Farm on the North Fork was hit by a devastating outbreak of avian influenza and had to cull its entire flock of Pekin ducks. The farm is now rebuilding its stock.

But the latest strain of the disease, known as H5N1, is back. It’s now raging through its fourth winter season and is proving deadly to a broad swath of wild birds. This year, it's wild waterfowl — especially Canada geese — that are catching bird flu in large numbers, sparking fears that the disease could decimate bald eagles and other birds of prey that feed on dead waterfowl. Recently, East Hampton Town oversaw the cleanup of 675 dead geese and ducks that were thought to have succumbed to the flu in and around Georgica Pond.

This week, the editors are joined by senior reporter Michael Wright and Kathleen Mulcahy, director of the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center in Hampton Bays, and Kevin Hynes, director of wildlife health for New York State DEC, to talk about the situation.