Pope Francis died earlier today at the age of 88. The pontiff’s passing is being mourned by Long Island’s approximately 1.2 million baptized Catholics. This includes the combined populations of Nassau and Suffolk counties. The total population of both counties is about 2.9 million. So Pope Francis' legacy is profoundly felt locally, as well as by the 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide.

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The most aggressive experiment with alleviating traffic delays along County Road 39 in Southampton in more than 15 years will take place on weekday afternoons over the next two weeks, starting today. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that afternoon commuters should expect to see very different traffic patterns in several places along the roadway between North Main Street in Southampton Village west to Sunrise Highway during the evening rush hours. Starting this afternoon at 4 p.m., the three traffic lights on County Road 39 west of Southampton — at Sandy Hollow Road, Magee Street and Tuckahoe Road — all will be switched to blinking yellow or steady green for the three peak hours of the afternoon commute.

Likewise, the lights at St. Andrews Road and the southern end of Tuckahoe Road along Montauk Highway will be switched to flashing yellow from 4 to 7 p.m.

To safely halt the normal red-green cycle of those lights, all of the intersections will have to be closed to traffic crossing County Road 39 or Montauk Highway, or turning left off either side of the roadways, between 4 and 7 p.m.

Left turns onto County Road 39 also will be prohibited from North Bishops Lane and Tuckahoe Lane.

Southampton Town Police officers will be stationed at all the main intersections to ensure safety and prevent cars from ignoring the turn restrictions; and there will be a police car dedicated to patrolling the road to quickly address accidents and keep travel lanes cleared.

Police also will be using drones to track traffic conditions and spot problem areas that need attention.

Residents of side streets off the main thoroughfares are being warned to plan on taking alternate routes that allow for right turns onto the main roads during the 4 to 7 p.m. hours.

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The Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton invites you to join them tomorrow in Agawam Park for an Earth Day Cleanup!

Starting at 10 am, they will work to prevent plastic and other harmful pollutants from degrading our community. Meet at the Southampton Village monument. Gloves and other cleanup materials will be provided.

That’s tomorrow at Agawam Park in Southampton Village starting at 10 am.

All are welcome!

Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally through earthday.org including 1 billion people in more than 193 countries.

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A Westhampton Beach movie theater will reopen on Friday after three years of renovations and planning. Lee Meyer reports in NEWSDAY that the Sunset Theater is the latest in a series of shuttered East End cinemas that have been independently purchased or renovated to serve as cultural hubs for their communities — particularly in walkable villages like Southampton, Sag Harbor and Greenport.

Westhampton Beach resident Inge Debyser bought the theater, which originally opened in 1927, with a small group of investors in 2022 for $1.15 million.

"Small village movie theaters really attribute to the spirit, the heartbeat of a community," she said in an interview with Newsday. "A village cinema has personal ambience and warmth."

The theater is expected to have a positive economic impact on Westhampton Beach, said Kim Clark, the executive director of the Greater Westhampton Chamber of Commerce.

"The community is overwhelmingly happy to have a movie theater back," Clark said. "When patrons come to the theater, they will hopefully take a walk around our village and visit our restaurants. They'll come to the theater, have a bite to eat, stop by one of our galleries. It will bring another dimension to our village."

The theater, previously known as Hampton Arts I & II, has operated under several owners over the years.

The venue eventually closed in March 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, as did many other theaters across the country, and never reopened.

However, independent movie theaters have seen a resurgence since the pandemic, especially in small towns, said Bruce Nash, founder of the industry tracking firm The Numbers.

"There's been a rethinking of the model for these small theaters," Nash said. "There's [a focus on] 'how do we embed within the community?'"

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Tomorrow is Earth Day, and there are numerous local events celebrating the occasion including Tuesday evening's panel discussion at the Unitarian Universalists of Southold…where they will explore Gardening for Change…that’s tomorrow from 6:15 pm – 8:00 pm.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that April’s social action event at the UU Meeting House is all about nature, climate change, and practical things we can do (or advocate for) to help improve our environment, water, air – and potentially calm our nerves along the way. Several North Fork environmental groups will give an elevator pitch, followed by a panel of experts.

Expect practical advice on how homeowners can transform their piece of earth into a home for birds and pollinators. Panelists will discuss why each environmental choice we make creates a ripple effect, influencing friends and neighbors.

Tuesday evening’s theme revolves around gardening, landscaping and commercial plant growing.

That’s tomorrow at 6:15 pm (starting with a demo outside)

UU Meeting House, 51900 Main Road, Southold.