The Kmart in the Bridgehampton Commons, the last full-size Kmart store in the continental United States, closed its doors for good on Sunday. But as the South Fork says goodbye to blue light specials, it appears that another big box store, Target, is preparing to take over the 90,000-square-foot retail space. On this week's podcast, the editors discuss the fate of the Bridgehampton Kmart, the reasons it went bust, and the possibilities for the space's future.

Blue Light Burns Out: Bridgehampton Kmart Closes, but Target May Have the Space in Its Sights

Since the recreational use of marijuana was legalized in March 2021, the rollout of the new industry has been erratic. Today, the state is still struggling with creating a legal network of private shops — though Native American tribes, including the Shinnecock, have successfully operated on their own. The Town of Riverhead is expecting a pair of cannabis shops to open in the months ahead, and plans for multiple locations in Southampton Town are underway. What will the final structure of a legal system of cannabis cultivation and sale in New York State look like? And, in particular, how will all of this affect Southampton Town in 2025 and beyond? 
The Express Sessions hosted a panel on October 24 at Union Burger Bar in Southampton Village with David Falkowski, founding president, Open Minded Organics; Greg Konner, general manager, Konner Development Corp.; Maria Moore, Southampton Town supervisor; Gahrey Ovalle, president, Long Island Cannabis Coalition; and Fred W. Thiele Jr., New York State assemblyman. In this episode of The Sessions Report, Co-Publisher Gavin Menu, Executive Editor Joseph P. Shaw and Managing Editor Bill Sutton play highlights from the discussion and offer further context.

Cannabis and Its Economic Role on the East End

Since the recreational use of marijuana was legalized in March 2021, the rollout of the new industry has been erratic. Today, the state is still struggling with creating a legal network of private shops — though Native American tribes, including the Shinnecock, have successfully operated on their own. The Town of Riverhead is expecting a pair of cannabis shops to open in the months ahead, and plans for multiple locations in Southampton Town are underway. What will the final structure of a legal system of cannabis cultivation and sale in New York State look like? And, in particular, how will all of this affect Southampton Town in 2025 and beyond?
The Express Sessions hosted a panel on October 24 at Union Burger Bar in Southampton Village with David Falkowski, founding president, Open Minded Organics; Greg Konner, general manager, Konner Development Corp.; Maria Moore, Southampton Town supervisor; Gahrey Ovalle, president, Long Island Cannabis Coalition; and Fred W. Thiele Jr., New York State assemblyman. In this episode of The Sessions Report, Co-Publisher Gavin Menu, Executive Editor Joseph P. Shaw and Managing Editor Bill Sutton play highlights from the discussion and offer further context.

Cannabis and Its Economic Role on the East End | The Sessions Report

After a woman was found dead last week at a high-end spa and wellness resort in Water Mill — an apparent "victim of violence," according to police — the suspect fled to Pennsylvania and took his own life. On this week's 27Speaks, reporter Michael Wright joins the editors to discuss how the police investigation unfolded, how it was reported by journalists and the sensitive nature of reporting on homicides.

Murder in the Hamptons

Southampton Town Councilman and State Assemblyman-elect Tommy John Schiavoni joins the editors to discuss the state and local challenges that he will confront — including affordable housing and transportation — when he heads to Albany in January to assume the Assembly seat held for three decades by Fred W. Thiele Jr.

Tommy John Schiavoni Takes On a New Role

As the holiday season approaches, there is an opportunity to take a moment to appreciate — and to support, financially — the many nonprofit organizations that enrich the cultural life of the South Fork, and provide a "Helping Hand" to so many families in need. This special Express Sessions event had multiple purposes: to shine a spotlight on the often underappreciated work of so many local charities and volunteers, to talk about the challenges they face in a difficult economy and a post-COVID world, and to provide an ongoing resource at 27east.com that catalogs the many organizations and shares information about how to support them financially or by volunteering, during the holiday season and all year long. The panel included: Molly Bishop, Executive Director, Heart of the Hamptons; Kasia Klimiuk, Co-Director, Our Fabulous Variety Show; Bonnie Cannon, Executive Director, Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreational Center; Dr. Georgette Grier-Key, Executive Director, Eastville Community Historical Society; Andrea Grover, Executive Director, Guild Hall; Susie Roden, President, Coalition for Women's Cancers; and Christina Strassfield, Executive Director, Southampton Arts Center.

A Helping Hand: South Fork Nonprofits Work Tirelessly To Uplift Communities | The Sessions Report

While the commercial harvest of bay scallops from local waters has been all but ended by six years of massive die-offs, the clam population is booming, and local baymen are enjoying a bountiful windfall. The rebound of clams in Shinnecock Bay has been so robust that baymen have asked the Southampton Town Trustees to impose new limits on their harvest to protect the resurgent clams from being overexploited by opportunistic harvesters, and even some rule-breakers. Reporter Michael Wright joins the editors on the podcast to explain how clam restoration efforts have been successful.

Shinnecock Bay Clam Stocks Have a Resurgence

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.

A Happy Ending for Injured Juvenile Bald Eagle

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.

Lance Gumbs on the Shinnecock Nation's Westwoods Gas Station and Travel Plaza

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. 


Ethics Board Finds Violations

The Sessions Report is a production of The Express News Group. In the podcast, editors form the newspaper group discuss the organization's popular Express Sessions panel discussions of current events happening on the East End of Long Island.

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