This week on 27Speaks, 2021 New York Press Association Writer of the Year Annette Hinkle, past Writers of the Year Stephen J. Kotz and Michelle Trauring and past Sports Writer of the Year Cailin Riley discuss the craft of feature writing — its methods, its challenges and how it differs from typical newswriting.

Wordcraft: Writing That Brings Stories to Life

Many East End towns and villages have adopted more stringent restrictions on gasoline-powered leaf blowers in recent years and in some cases outright bans seasonally or year round. Noise pollution, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions are among the concerns that advocates for the bans raise, while members of the landscaping industry say battery-powered blowers are inadequate replacements and more time is needed for a transition. Joining our editors to discuss the merits of the arguments over leaf blowers are Ivan Roman, the owner and founder of landscape design, install and maintenance company Heirloom Gardens, and Andrew Messinger, the writer of the Hampton Gardener column for more than four decades.

Blow Out: Bans Target Leaf Blowers as the Industry Says Transition Time Is Needed

Rob Wiesenthal, the CEO and founder of aviation company Blade Urban Air Mobility, which operates shared helicopter and seaplane flights to the East End, joins the editors and reporter Michael Wright to discuss his company’s origin, how the service works and the plans that Blade has in store for the future on the East End and elsewhere, including electric, emission-free aircraft that are much quieter than the helicopters that are a point of contention in many East East communities that are under flight paths or near airports.

Blade CEO Chats About the Service’s Future on the East End

Real estate appraiser and market analyst Jonathan Miller of Miller Samuel Inc. joins the podcast this week to share his insights on the state of the Hamptons real estate market, how it has behaved throughout the pandemic and what he's looking out for to get a sense of where it is headed next.

Taking the Pulse of Hamptons Real Estate

Goats don't actually eat tin cans, as cartoons would have you believe, but they do have voracious appetites and eat plants that other ruminants leave alone — making goats excellent at controlling unwanted plants. East Hampton Town and the Concerned Citizens of Montauk are planning to use goats in their effort to restore the coastal shrublands along the southern edge of Old Montauk Highway just west of downtown Montauk, and in Southampton Town, the highway department is already employing goats to remove overgrowth and invasive plants on medians and road ends. Southampton Town Highway Superintendent Charlie McArdle and reporter Michael Wright join the editors on the podcast this week to discuss the many benefits of using goats for ecological management.

The Kids Are All Right: Towns Use Goats to Tackle Invasive Plants

This school year, Pierson High School instituted a new cellphone policy that requires students to put their phones away in locked bags, called Yondr pouches, at the beginning of the school day. The phones stay in the pouches until the security team unlocks them at the end of the day. On this week's podcast, report Cailin Riley joins the editors to discuss how the policy is working out, what other school districts are doing, and the benefits and detriments of no-phone policies in schools.

How a Cellphone Ban Has Been Received In Sag Harbor Schools

The Express News Group and WLIW-FM are collaborating on separate, issues-based interviews with incumbent Republican U.S. Representative Nick LaLota and Democratic challenger John Avlon. The interviews serve as a way to drill down on topics of importance to the East End and the entire 1st Congressional District and get the candidates on the record about their plans and positions. Diane Masciale, the vice president and general manager of WLIW21 and WLIW-FM, and Gavin Menu, a co-publisher of The Express News Group, join the editors on the podcast this week to discuss the project.

Express News Group, WLIW Collaborate on Congressional Candidate Interviews

A replica of the Amistad docked in Montauk in August, during the same week in 1839 when the original Amistad came aground at Culloden Point in Montauk. The schooner became famous after the Mende people onboard, who had been abducted in Africa to be sold into slavery, revolted against their captors. The ship was seized, and the Mende were put on trial in Connecticut for mutiny. Ultimately, the court sided with the Mende and defended their actions to secure their freedom. Brenda Simmons, the executive director of the Southampton African American Museum, Mia Certic, the executive director of the Montauk Historical Society, and Paula Mann-Agnew, the executive director of Discovering Amistad, join the editors on the podcast to discuss the significance of the Amistad and the planning that went into bringing the replica to Montauk for the first time.

Discovering Amistad

Westhampton resident Jack Weber is 100 years old and the subject of “Lessons From 100,” a forthcoming short documentary that will feature Weber in conversation with his grandson as they explore his life, how the world has changed over the last century and what has led to his incredible longevity. Joining the editors this week to talk about his life and the film are Jack Weber, his grandson, filmmaker Matthew Floyd, and his daughter, Barbara Weber-Floyd, the film’s producer.

Jack Weber, Here!

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.

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