Please don’t take my sunshine away is the perfect background music for Memories of Long Island and the Sea. Talking to fishermen, back from a fishing trip, views of the water, sitting on a bench watching the sun go down over the sea.

It is a beautiful area. I can almost smell the sea, feel the breeze on my face and the sand between my toes.

Popularity: 1% [?]

The U.S. Coast Guard says a fishing vessel off the coast of Montauk was abandoned last Tuesday after the ship began to take on water.

At least four crew members were rescued from the 75 foot Johanna Lenore vessel from Point Judith, Rhode Island by Coast Guard helicopters. The doomed ship began to take on water at around 2:30 p.m., at which point the USCG was beckoned. They tried to help pump some of the water out of the ship, but any and all efforts to save the boat failed.

There  was high wind reported out at sea that day, but it is still unclear as to why the boat began to sink.

Popularity: 8% [?]

This time of year is known as a joyous time for friends and family – unfortunately, it’s also known as open season for drunk drivers. This was true for Long Island, as police made 177 arrests for drunken driving over the course of the holiday weekend.

Eighty-seven of those were made in Nassau County between 5 pm Wednesday and 8 am Sunday, which is 12 more than last year. Suffolk County police made 60 DWI arrests in the same time frame, while county sheriffs made nine DWI arrests – one arrest involved a sheriff arresting a man for DWI while transporting someone he arrested for the same thing minutes earlier. Amityville village officers stopped and arrested 13 people for DWI at a sobriety checkpoint from Wednesday night to Thursday morning. Other arrests came from Southold Town and Southampton.

With Christmas rapidly approaching, make sure you have a designated driver when you drink. You could face fines of up to $1,000, face up to a year in jail and have your license suspended for six months.

Popularity: 6% [?]

An elderly woman was rushed to the hospital Friday morning after being hit by a car on the Montauk Highway in Hampton Bays.

According to police, 78 year old Rebecca Elfant from Manhattan was hit at 11 a.m. as she was crossing the street.

The woman was hit by 84 year old Vincent Pepi as he was turning left from Lamplight Circle. Pepi told investigators that she just walked in front of his car.

The extent of Elfant’s injuries are not known at this time. The particular stretch of Montauk Highway that she  was hit on has long been considered too dangerous for pedestrians by local residents.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Halloween is known to be a joyous occasion with fun for everyone and happiness abounding – not true for one Hempstead man.

Angel Ortiz, 28, was arrested  for stabbing two men in front of his apartment in the early hours of Halloween. After a confrontation, Ortiz stabbed one guy in the back and another in the wrist. One victim ran home where he was found bleeding, the other went to a family member’s home.

The men were taken to a hospital where they are said to be in good condition.

Ortiz was charged with two counts of assault and possession of a dangerous weapon and is expected to be arraigned in Hempstead Monday.

Popularity: 2% [?]

The Montaukett tribe is fighting for recognition by New York state, even though a century ago, a judge ruled the tribe was extinct.

The Montauk Indian Nation is taking action, issuing membership cards and trying to locate members of the tribe nationwide. They’re pushing harder for recognition in the wake of the Shinnecock tribe’s recent federal recognition after an arduous 30 year fight.

The Montaukett are still recognized in textbooks as a factor in Long Island’s development, but the tribe says being listed as defunct is an injustice. It is an injustice that as an honorable people, Montauketts are now seeking to rectify. They’re aware that recognition doesn’t carry many monetary benefits, but they have their eyes set on their land – 1,200 acres which now contains Roosevelt Park. They say they would settle for a smaller number of acres, though.

Another main thing on the litany of complaints from the Montaukett tribe is the fact that they have no legal standing. Currently, the tribe has about 870 consolidated members known by tribe leaders and have filed a petition with the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs for federal recognition. They have taken their fight to the government and are now focusing on state recognition.

For more on this ongoing story, visit http://libn.com/blog/2010/10/22/montaukett-pushing-for-state-recognition/

Popularity: 100% [?]

A rarity for East Hampton occurred Friday  – a man was found with two ounces of cocaine, a sum of money and a drug-weighing machine at a house on Three Mile Harbor Road.

The man, 45 year old Pedro Rivera-Ortiz, was charged with third degree possession of a controlled substance and using drug paraphernalia.

Police say the man was being watched for a period of time before they went in to investigate and make the arrest. They are still investigating as to whether or not more people are involved and if he was a trafficker.

Ortiz has a history of drug troubles – he was arrested last November by a drug task force for selling cocaine. More charges may be pending for the man once the case goes to a grand jury.

Popularity: 5% [?]

A man in Holbrook was arrested for drunk driving after reportedly hitting and killing a 56 year old from Bohemia Sunday night.

Darrin Villa, 40, was driving his Nissan on Sunrise Highway erratically late Sunday. John Cain was crossing the road when he was run down by the drunk driver. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Villa was slapped with a DWI and further charges are pending for his death.

In other DWI and drunken news, 21 year old Deja Williams of Deer Park was hit with a DWI after running off the roadway and hitting many trees. No one was injured.

Popularity: 5% [?]

The 29th annual Montauk Fall Festival is this weekend, and the clam chowder contest is once again the most exciting part of the festival.

Other exciting draws are the games for kids – including a 30-horse carousel, face painting, karaoke, inflatable rides, drawings and much more.

For the older patrons, there will be food such as hot dogs, roasted corn, peppers, sausages of all kinds, and other foods in the vein of Oktoberfest. Beer and wine tasting will be a hit as well.

For the seafood lovers out there, you could head to the fish fry which benefits the Montauk Playhouse.

Head out this weekend! 11am to 5pm Saturday, and noon to 5pm on Sunday.

Popularity: 6% [?]

A male Abercrombie model was fired was fired immediately in Montauk yesterday. Was he making some obscene gesture? Did he call his boss a defamatory name? Was he posing the wrong way?

None of that – the guy was fired for eating a croissant.Yes, it’s not just female models that are put on Draconian and insane dietary limitations.

The man who fired him insists Florian Van Bael was fired because he was eating the delicious French pastry at the wrong time, not just because he ate. Well, that makes MUCH more sense, thanks for clarifying at least!

Stylelist.com reports that the 30 models were allowed a paltry $13 a day for meals while staying at their hotel, and they were being paid well below normal modeling wage.

So, let this be a lesson to all you aspiring underwear models and prettyboy narcissists out there – a meal a day keeps the camera away. It apparently also keeps your paycheck and regular bowel movements away.

Then again, that’s what you get for modeling for such a superficial, mass marketed pile of garbage like Abercrombie anyway.

Popularity: 3% [?]