Southampton - The news is what pushes us along from day-to-day, keeping apace of the changing world we all live in and the influences today that will dictate the paths of the future - 2009 was definitely eventful for newshounds across the South Fork, with one Town Supervisor resigning in disgrace while another was voted out of office after an untimely run-in with the law, a new American President took the stage and a faltering economy kept homelessness and joblessness on the front page.

Southampton Town Supervisor Linda Kabot made her first public appearance since being charged with DWI on at Southampton Town Hall.

Inauguration
By Aaron Boyd
On January 20, Barack Obama was inaugurated at the 44th President of the United States, consistently voted across the web as one of the most important stories of 2009 and a historic milestone to mark the early years of the new milenium. Hamptons.com was on the ground in Washington with New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele (then Republican, now Independent from the 2nd District), then Southampton Councilwoman, now Supervisor-elect Anna Throne-Holst and Southampton Town Clerk Sundy Schermeyer, and we weren't the only ones from Long Island and the East End.

Supervisor Kabot Pulled Over On Labor Day
By Kelly Carroll
Speculation as to whether events in the early morning hours of Monday, September 14 were the end of Southampton Supervisor Linda Kabot's re-election hopes may never die, but the fact of the matter is that the embattled, yet otherwise proactive supervisor lost to challenger Anna Throne-Holst, getting only 42.16 percent of the vote. Whether or not it was the deciding factor, news of Kabot's alleged DWI was talked about throughout the town up to and after the election.

East Hampton Town Supervisor Bill McGintee officially resigned from office on Monday, October 5.

Supervisor McGintee Resigns
By Aaron Boyd
After more than a year of controversy, including the arraignment of East Hampton Budget Officer Ted Hults, Supervisor William McGintee resigned on Monday, October 5. "After a long period of reflection, I have decided to step down as Supervisor of the Town of East Hampton, effective immediately," McGintee wrote in a letter submitted to the Town Clerk, "As Supervisor and the Town's Chief Fiscal Officer, I accept responsibility for the position we are now in." On June 11, Hults was arraigned on charges of defrauding the government and filing misleading statements; his trial has been postponed several times. While the Suffolk County District Attorney has acknowledged the existence of an official grand jury on whether to indict McGintee, no charges have been filed.

Unemployment
By Aaron Boyd
2009 was a difficult year for many, but for those without a job it was a nightmare. As the national unemployment figures broke double-digits, we took a look at the numbers in New York and Long Island and caught up with local people struggling to find a way through.

Homeless In The Hamptons
By Aaron Boyd
We shined a spotlight on the darker side of the Hamptons this November with a look at homelessness and the people who work to help those without a roof in the winter. Maureen's Haven, a program of the Peconic Community Council, brings the homeless in from the cold with a network of host churches and hot meals.

The homeless gather at Saint Mary's in Hampton Bays on a stormy fall night.

Sports
The South Fork showed their mettle this year in the sports department, with the East Hampton Boys Basketball team coming close to back-to-back state championships and Southampton Boys Baseball winning their first County Championship in 31 years. Older boys came in from colleges across the country this summer to play baseball on the East End and in their first year the Westhampton Aviators brought home the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball (HCB) and Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League (ACBL) Championships.

Jerome Russell tries to finish on the break but is instead ticketed with the offensive foul.

East Hampton Comes Close To The Title
By Brett Mauser
It was just this shy of magical. Last year's run to the Class A state championship game had trained the members of the East Hampton boys basketball team how to perform under pressure. Yet despite being a returning state finalist and having plowed off Long Island in convincing fashion, the Bonackers had to be considered the underdogs against the highly talented, highly athletic Red Devils of Peekskill. And after a dramatic effort that came up seven points shy of victory, you had to say they went the distance.

Southampton Gets Long-Awaited County Title
By Brett Mauser
It had been a long time for the Mariners, dating back to when their parents were their age. Their coach was just learning the game himself. Since 1978, the county championship for which the Southampton baseball team annually vied was celebrated elsewhere, to schools down the street (Hampton Bays), to ones that don't even exist anymore (Commack North). That drought ended with one last high fastball that evaded the bat of Southold's Darrin Standish. Mariners pitcher Brandon Alvarado set off the pandemonium that the school and community had longed to experience.

Aviators Get It Done In Their First Season At Bat
By Brett Mauser
In the inaugural season of the Westhampton Aviators, they finally scaled the peak they first set out to climb two months before, bringing the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League championship to the East End with a 7-5 victory over Wolff Division champion Jersey Pilots. Westhampton earned the second seed in the Kaiser Division playoffs, knocking off Southampton 16-0 in the semifinals, and benefited from the home field advantage with a win in the inter-division all-star game.

The Mariners pile on top of each other in celebrating the school's first county championship since 1978.

Remembering Those We Lost
2009 saw the passing of many memorable East Enders; from media kings of every format, Suffolk Life publisher David Willmott, publisher and columnist James Bradley, broadcast pioneer Don Hewitt and South Fork staple Paul Sidney; to masters of business Christian Wolffer and Bruce Wasserstein; to local heroes and working men like Kurt Billing, Donald Sharkey and Buzz Schwenk.