Multiple fire departments put out fire at Dockers Waterside Marina; New traffic patterns for summer in place on County Rd 39; and more East End news

State aid to Long Island schools is expected to total $5.5 billion for the 2026-27 school year, with most districts receiving at least a 2% increase in foundation aid, according to a Newsday analysis of state data.The majority of school districts in Nassau and Suffolk will get more funding from the state for the next school year, according to aid runs published yesterday, the day after Long Island voters approved 118 local budget proposals. Five failed and one district had not yet released results as of last night. The districts that are to see the highest jumps in state aid in Suffolk County are Amagansett (35.58%) and Montauk (23.62%). Five Suffolk districts are expected to see a dip in funding: Eastport-South Manor (-2.06%), Rocky Point (-1.71%), and Connetquot (-1.35%).Dandan Zou and Michael R. Ebert report in NEWSDAY that school officials said the latest aid figures did not come with any big surprises as most districts had anticipated receiving at least a 2% increase. However, they wished the news had arrived sooner.The NYS budget was due April 1 but lawmakers did not begin voting on budget bills until yesterday. School districts, meanwhile, had to present their budgets to voters on Tuesday, requiring them to guesstimate how much revenue they would get from the state.“We finally know what our state aid package is the day after our communities voted on our budgets. It's insane,” said Tim Eagen, president of the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association. “Thankfully it landed where we had anticipated it would.”Bob Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association, said the 2% increase is better than the 1% jump that Gov. Kathy Hochul had proposed in January but still isn’t enough.Total school aid for Long Island districts will grow by $230 million, or 4.35%, but Vecchio said that funding increase includes an additional $54 million in universal prekindergarten grants, as well as reimbursements for building projects. Foundation aid, the single largest source of state financial support for public schools, is considered "new money," he said.Foundation aid will rise to nearly $4 billion — a 3.51%, or $134 million, increase for 2026-27 from the current school year.In Nassau and Suffolk counties, 80 out of 121 districts would receive the minimum 2% increase in foundation aid. (Sagaponack and Wainscott districts receive funding under a different formula; New Suffolk is non-instructional.)***Firefighters from multiple departments were on the scene yesterday to put out a fire at Dockers Waterside Marina and Restaurant on Dune Road in East Quogue.The East Quogue Fire Department was the first department on the scene at 3:53 p.m. after those at the restaurant, which was closed Wednesday, smelled smoke, according to Dockers owner Larry Hoffman. Members of the Hampton Bays, North Sea, Quogue, Southampton and Westhampton Beach fire departments, as well as the Hampton Bays and Southampton Village ambulance, soon arrived. The fire was deemed under control 30 minutes later.Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that the fire was contained and a majority of the damage was limited to the interior, with exterior damage occurring on the eastern facing side, according to Southampton Town Chief Fire Marshal John Rankin. A firefighter said that the kitchen and bar areas were heavily damaged. Nobody was injured.The cause of the fire has not been determined yet and an investigation is underway, according to East Quogue Fire Department Chief Glenn Bullock.***Shelter Island Friends of Music presents Junction Piano Trio performing music by Dvorak, Zorn, and Beethoven this coming Sunday, May 24 at 6 p.m. in the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church.Admission Free.There will be a post-concert reception with the musicians.Comprised of violinist Stefan Jackiw, cellist Jay Campbell, and pianist Conrad Tao, the Junction Trio is known for its adventurous spirit and electrifying ensemble chemistry. Their performances combine intellectual rigor with expressive warmth, offering audiences programs that range from the classical core to daring new works.That’s this Sunday at 6 p.m. in the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church.For further info visit sifriendsofmusic.org/***Like it or not, the summer season is here — and the new traffic patterns on County Road 39 in Southampton are about to be truly tested.Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the Town of Southampton last fall embarked on a still somewhat experimental redesign of the travel lanes along notoriously congested County Road 39, known on maps as the “Southampton Bypass,” in particular between the intersections with North Main Street and Tuckahoe Lane.The new patterns are meant to mimic — in part — the experiment from the spring of 2025, in which the town turned off some County Road 39 traffic signals which allowed traffic to flow freely. The effort was perceived as successful at moving traffic west much faster than the usual crawl.But it was far too expensive, costing somewhere in the neighborhood of $20,000 a week for the four hours each weekday the lights were turned off and intersections were manned by police and Highway Department staff to ensure safety.So two of the lights — Magee Street and Tuckahoe Road — have returned to their usual red-yellow-green cycle. But to allow the town to keep the light at the Sandy Hollow Road merge green for both cars coming off Sandy Hollow and the County Road 39 traffic approaching from the east, the town has restriped lanes on both roads to create single lanes of westbound traffic that can come together without having to alternate who proceeds west.As was done with cones last spring, the town convinced Suffolk County Department of Public Works to restripe County Road 39 west of the North Sea Road intersection, just west of the Burger King, to force traffic to merge from two lanes down to one.That has caused a new congestion — though whether it is any worse than what was there before is a matter of debate.The traffic on County Road 39 between North Sea Road and North Main Street has also been restricted to a single lane recently, to reduce the clog of cars rushing into the area ahead of the Burger King merge with each green light cycle.But that constriction has worsened the back-ups at the eastern end of County Road — the junction of 27 and 27A {“the turn”} where Montauk Highway and Flying Point Road feed onto the bypass — which have extended on some days through the intersection and east on Montauk Highway as far as back as Hank’s Pumpkintown, and sometimes Head of Pond Road in Water Mill.The effort has trade-offs, Southampton Town Highway Superintendent Charlie McArdle conceded, and he said the town is still making adjustments as they learn what impacts come with which changes and working with the county on ways to make small improvements where they can.***More Long Island schools were named to the Advanced Placement honor roll for 2025, and the number of schools that earned the highest ranking rose by one-third, according to the College Board, which administers the tests.Lorena Mongelli and Michael R. Ebert report in Newsday that across Nassau and Suffolk, 110 schools received either platinum, gold, silver or bronze awards — up from 107 in 2024. Eight earned spots on the honor roll for the first time.And of the 110 on the list, 23 schools notched platinum awards, compared with 17 the year prior, according to a Newsday analysis.Some Long Island educators said they have expanded course offerings and sought to make classes more accessible for all students. They argued that the advanced coursework remains relevant, despite a move away from standardized testing — with the state poised to drop its Regents graduation requirement in 2027, and many colleges making SAT and ACT scores optional for admission. AP exams, they said, offer students a less expensive way to potentially earn college credit, while the rigorous coursework prepares them for higher learning.Studies have found that taking AP coursework helps students excel at four-year colleges.But some experts say low-income students and students of color are not equally represented in the program.***The Sag Harbor Whaling & Historical Museum will host a Colonial Village Living History Festival this coming Saturday, May 23, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to celebrate America250 and commemorate the historic Meigs Raid, also known as the Battle of Sag Harbor, when Continental Army forces raided British Loyalists occupying Sag Harbor during the American Revolution. You’re invited to join a free, family-friendly, immersive experience as the 3rd New York Regiment recreates an 18th century Continental Army encampment and conducts military drills throughout the day. Watch and interact with historic tradespeople dressed in period clothing as they demonstrate trades and crafts such as...