Dominick Triofino was riding a Jet Ski in the bay near the end of Bay Avenue in Mattituck just before 2 p.m. when he struck the anchor chain of a boat anchored nearby, said police. Members of his family were on board the boat at the time.

The youth was rushed ashore, treated by members of the Mattituck Fire Department rescue squad and taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, according to police.

Islanders can expect increased seatbelt enforcement starting next week, Police Chief Jim Read said this week. The Shelter Island Police Department is joining in a nationwide program to crack down on those motorists who don’t buckle up. The “Click It or Ticket” campaign starts on Monday, May 21 and will be in effect through June 3.

The department has received a “Buckle Up New York” state grant to cover extra patrols, Chief Read said.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has reported 51 percent of the 21,187 passengers killed in crashes in 2010  were not wearing seatbelts. In the same year, seatbelts saved an estimated 12,546 lives, according to NHTSA statistics.

Nighttime drivers and passengers are particularly at risk — 61 percent of those killed in traffic crashes from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. were not wearing seatbelts, compared to 42 percent during daylight hours.

Shelter Island’s Police Department will be out enforcing the seatbelt law day and night, Chief Read said.

COURTESY PHOTO | Picton Castle will sail into Greenport next weekend for the Tall Ships challenge.

The barque Picton Castle is the most traveled of the tall ships that will drop anchor in Greenport Harbor this Memorial Day weekend.

In addition to many other trips, the ship has completed five global circumnavigations in the past 15 years, according to a spokesman for the ship, visiting the Galapagos Islands, Pitcairn Island, Mangareva, Takaroa, Tahiti, Moorea, Huahine, Bora Bora and other spots in French Polynesia. Soon, it will follow the wind to Tonga, Samoa and the Cook Islands, ending up in Rarotonga a year from now.

The ship and four others were built in 1928 as motorized fishing trawlers named after castles; Picton Castle is in Wales. The ships were hailed as marvels of their time by contemporary newspapers for their modernization; Picton Castle, for example, had electric lights and a depth finder. The vessel operated out of Wales for its first few years and later underwent several notable transformations.

Refit by the Royal Navy, the ship became a minesweeper during Word War II. After the war, it was renamed Dolmar and used as a freighter in the North and Baltic seas.

During the 1990s, Captain Daniel Moreland, who still commands the vessel, acquired Picton Castle and transformed it into a barque, a sailing vessel with at least three masts. The aftmost mast on a barque-rigged ship is fore-and-aft rigged and all other masts are square-rigged

The multi-million dollar refit took place in Lunenberg, Nova Scotia, the ship’s homeport. Picton Castle completed its first global circumnavigation in 1999, with Capt. Moreland at the helm. He has led all of the ship’s subsequent circumnavigations.

The ship’s website describes Capt. Moreland as one of the most respected sailing ship masters at sea today. He holds, it reports, “the rarest license issued to Merchant Marine officers today: Master of steam, motor, or auxiliary sail vessels of any gross tons upon oceans.”

gvolpe@timesreview.com

GIANNA VOLPE PHOTO | Home designer Eileen Santora at work in her Cutchogue office.

Cutchogue designer and builder Eileen Santora is no rookie, and her work can’t be pigeonholed, except for this: She has absolutely no interest in being a designer to the rich and famous.

And she needn’t worry. Whether the job is adding a deck, redesigning a bathroom or doing a complete home makeover, Ms. Santora is not lacking for work. She’s currently on her 389th project, and her designs can be found all along the North Fork.

A self-proclaimed “middle-class designer,” her projects rarely cost more $200,000, and she tackles about one complete house per year, along with smaller projects. McMansions, though, just aren’t her thing.

“I’m not the Hamptons or the 3,000-square-foot house designer,” she said, “I’m the middle-class architect and, out here, I cater to people who have two homes. If they’re middle-class, they might be able to afford the job but not to pay taxes on the house for the next 50 years, so a conversation has to take place to find out not only what they want but what they can afford.”

BARBARAELLEN KOCH PHOTO | The home in Reeves Park in Riverhead offers a whole new level of architectural interest and outdoor living space after being remodeled.

Granite countertops are a splurge for some folks, which Ms. Santora said she, as someone with a fabricated countertop herself, understands. When expensive countertop materials strain the budget, she said, she tells the client, “That’s fine, there’s some beautiful laminate we can use.”

She said working for construction companies in the past taught her a lot about building on a budget.

COURTESY PHOTO | A look at the house before the redesign.

“It also taught me not to just design a house on paper but also build it on paper. I design it thinking, ‘How am I going to make this structure fly?’ Some architects draw pretty pictures that can never be built.”

Ms. Santora’s first step in any project is to visit the client and get to know the family and their lifestyle, a step she said is essential because every client’s needs and desires are different. Because of this, she said, each of her homes has a unique look.

“You can’t look at a house and say, ‘That’s an Eileen Santora,’ ” she said.

If there were an Eileen Santora signature, she said, it would include big closets, kitchens that “work” and well-designed bathrooms.

“I like to open up the space in a home so that all of it is used and functional for today’s lifestyle,” she said. “In older homes rooms are all little boxes and living rooms were to be looked at, not messed up. People want to ‘live’ in their living rooms and be comfortable in their homes these days.”

With a summer home, she said, she focuses on bringing the outdoors into the house, which means adding decks and front porches. For those who live here year-round, it’s about adding a fireplace or an alternative heat source.

“I build a fireplace or another heat source in about every house I build because not everyone can afford a generator,” she said.

With older homes, Ms. Santora said, she becomes a detective, sniffing out clues to what that house looked like in its heyday, Many times, the investigation leads to returning to the original molding or reconstructing a removed front porch.

She researches older homes through town or local historical societies and locates the property card for the house’s original build date.

“I love it,” she said. “You can rip out a toilet and think to yourself, ‘This is a 1950s remodel and here’s a toilet from ’43.’ ”

The process has netted her a wide variety of cool finds. She’s discovered old newspapers and beer cans in walls and once found an arrow drawn on the wall, pointing to a nail, with the word: “Last nail in the house.”

In a New Suffolk project, when it came time to open the walls, she found the home was insulated entirely by bricks.

Ms. Santora hand-draws all her designs, so forget those fancy-schmancy high-tech computer design programs that some architects employ.

“I say to my customers, ‘When you’re planning a wedding, would you rather have a band or electronic music?’ That usually puts it into perspective for them,” she said.

She’s currently finishing up the transformation of a three-bedroom bungalow in Reeves Park, Riverhead, into a six-bedroom house. That project that will come to an end this Memorial Day.

She started out at Southampton College, where she said she fell in love with the East End, but returned to East Meadow, where she grew up, to attend Hofstra as an art student. She then moved on to interior design, graduating from the New York School of Interior Design in 1974.

At that time, she was working for Norman Harvey, a company that decorated model homes. During her stint there, she realized she didn’t want to decorate houses, she wanted to build them.

Ms. Santora attended Nassau Community College’s civil engineering technology program and graduated with a degree in architectural technology from SUNY/Empire College in 1986.

Getting there was no easy feat, she said, and opposition was around every corner.

“There weren’t many women in the field at that time,” she said, recalling a night class on the study of structure and strength, where she, the lone woman among about 27 students, was picked out by the professor and asked why she wasn’t “home coloring Easter eggs” with her family.

“I was horrified,” she said, “I just kept quiet as the men around me chuckled.”

gvolpe@timesreview.com

And there’s Mr. Altschuler, who never stopped vying for the position after narrowly losing to incumbent Tim Bishop in 2010, on constant attack against Mr. Bishop.

And there’s Democrat Bishop fighting back, focusing on Mr. Altschuler’s history of outsourcing jobs, especially to India — as is Mr. Demos.
“Comrade Altschuler” was the heading of a recent press release from Mr. Demos, a former U.S. Security and Exchange Commission prosecutor from Ronkonkoma and a former Shelter Island part-time resident. It declared that Mr. Altschuler, “in a move reminiscent of the Soviet Politburo, made a desperate attempt to throw George Demos off the primary ballot.”

Mr. Altschuler “can’t win an election because people won’t vote for someone who sent thousands of good American jobs to India.”

It quoted Mr. Demos as saying Mr. Altschuler is “feverishly” attempting to “prevent a primary election through shady backroom deals with party bosses and why he adamantly refuses to debate.”

Five-term incumbent Bishop has become a leader in Congress against outsourcing. One Bishop bill would bar federal government grants for U.S. companies that outsource call center jobs. Another, the “Outsourcing Accounting Act,” would require publicly traded companies to disclose employment figures broken down by country. “Americans deserve to know whether the jobs a company is creating are in America or overseas,” said Mr. Bishop.

And he has been demanding that the Agency for International Development suspend a program to train workers in the Philippines for jobs in English-speaking call centers.

Communication Workers of America, which represents U.S. call center employees, has been congratulating Mr. Bishop for his initiatives. Also, recent investigative journalism by the Sunday Times of London has added more fire to the outsourcing controversy by revealing how personal financial data has been culled from call centers in India and peddled on the black market.

“The Truth About Randy Altschuler” is a website set up by Mr. Demos. “Randy Altschuler made millions sending our American jobs to India,” it claims. “Now he’s using the millions he made putting Americans out of work to fund another failing campaign for Congress.” It includes statements by Mr. Altschuler like one he made in 2003 that “in India, you get a much higher standard of person” to do the work.

Mr. Altschuler seeks to downplay his creation of a company in 2000 called Office Tiger, highly active in outsourcing, which he sold in 2006, reaping millions. Instead, he stresses his current company, Cloud Blue, which specializes in recycling computers and other electronic equipment. Meanwhile, he’s been blasting Mr. Bishop for his support of the Obama administration and Democratic Party positions in general.

In the end, the contest’s hot rhetoric might not be as important as cold, hard voter numbers. The Independence Party leadership has thrown the party behind Mr. Altschuler. Its leader, Frank MacKay, describes Mr. Altschuler as “an exceptional guy, and he certainly has credentials from the private sector that I think would make him a wonderful congressman.” Mr. Bishop, in the past four elections, has run on the Independence line and it was vital two years ago when it got him 7,370 votes, He won the race by only 593 votes.

His camp insists this isn’t a fatal political setback. “Third-party lines are less important in big races where the candidates are well-known,” says Bishop spokesman Oliver Longwell.

Still, Mr. Bishop, who before being in Congress was provost of Southampton College, says of the 2012 contest: “Nothing should be taken for granted; this is not going to be a walk in the park. We’re expecting an extremely difficult race.”

It has already begun.

And Mr. Demos won’t let stand the widely reported claim that Mr. Altschuler lost by the narrowest margin in any race for Congress in 2010. He’s found a Republican in Illinois who lost by 290 votes.

JENNIFER GUSTAVSON | Five Branches Wellness owner Rachel Reich (left) with her sisters Carolyn Reich and Jenny Wood.

A new business offering health services such as massage, acupuncture and even hula hoop classes has arrived in downtown Greenport.

Five Branches Wellness, located at the former Temple Yoga Center on Main Street, was opened May 5 by 32-year-old North Fork native Rachel Reich.

Ms. Reich, of Mattituck, is a licensed massage therapist and has an associate degree in massage and a master’s in acupuncture from the Swedish Institute in Manhattan. Married with two small children, she said her goal is to help people lead healthier lifestyles.

“I’ve been wanting to expand my practice,” Ms. Reich said. “It’s about healing on all levels, not just the physical level.”

In addition to massage and acupuncture, Ms. Reich — along with her cousin Kimmy Nolan and her sisters Carolyn Reich and Jenny Wood — will offer aesthetic services and Zumba and hula hoop classes.

“When you exercise, it should be fun,” Ms. Reich said, adding she plans to add yoga, meditation and tai chi classes in the near future.

In the small retail section of her shop, Ms. Reich sells Zumba wear and hula hoops, as well as organic and natural products, including herbs and teas. Educational lectures and children’s health programs are also in the works.

During the month of May, customers will receive a free eyebrow waxing.

Ms. Reich said she teaches her clients how to overcome stress and fatigue and provides tips on weight loss and resolving digestive problems naturally.

The name Five Branches Wellness stems from Chinese medicine, about which Ms. Reich said she’s passionate.

The “five branches” of a holistic lifestyle include acupuncture, massage, diet, herbs and exercise, she said.

“It’s not just about getting one service and you’re done,” Ms. Reich said. “It’s a lifestyle change and a well-rounded approach to healthy living.”

For more information, visit fivebranchesgreenport.com.

jennifer@timesreview.com

Although my father died in a hospice program in Los Angeles eight years ago, it was not that experience that drew me to hospice’s compassionate end-of-life alternative to dying in a clinical setting. It was my training to be a registered dietician.

In that role, 15 years ago, I spent almost a year’s worth of rotations in various hospital departments. And even though I was at well-respected hospitals during this time, I witnessed the unfortunate results of choices that doctors, sometimes along with caregivers and families, unthinkingly make as a patient nears the end of life.

What I learned is that while hospitals are miraculous places to be if you’re going to get better, they’re often not set up to care for people who, unfortunately, are nearing the end of life. In their diligent effort to prolong life, hospitals at times seem to ignore the obvious and certain approach of death.

I saw a cancer patient, clearly near death, taken off to a chemotherapy treatment, during which he died. I was there when his wife arrived for her regular visit and was told what had transpired. Stunned, she was told to wait in his room until his body was returned. I waited with her.

I was listening when a doctor phoned distant family members to get their permission for an invasive procedure for their aunt, an elderly woman, curled on a gurney in a fetal position, demented, frightened and skeletally thin. He assured them that the treatment was necessary to keep her alive. Not having recently seen their aunt and so not understanding how ill she was, they agreed. The procedure was done and she died a few days later. I can still hear her feeble protests as she was wheeled away.

So I went to work for a hospice because it is everything the above isn’t.

Hospice is where the whole patient and the patient’s family are cared for with physical comfort and palliative care, and with emotional support and understanding of the goals.

Rather than a single doctor making medical decisions, a hospice-trained team of doctors, social workers, nurses, spiritual care counselors and even nutritionists (that’s where I come in) discuss each patient’s individual needs, offering choices as to how those needs can best be met with compassion and dignity as the end of life nears.

Rather than being robed in a generic, ill-fitting hospital gown with tubes entering and exiting their bodies, often leaving bruises and non-healing wounds and making patients so uncomfortable and inaccessible that family members can be afraid to get too near, the patient is at home, generally tube-free, dressed in their own clothing in a familiar bed — where study after study shows people want to be at the end of life, with loved ones as close as possible.

And, rather than hopeless, short-term life-prolonging treatments that often make the patient feel worse, timely hospice care can offer the dying a calm space and place to hold those all-important healing conversations with loved ones, along with the time to put affairs in order and make final wishes known. Patient, family and friends can have the priceless gift of peaceful closure.

I call my hospice co-workers “hospital refugees.”

All of us started our careers in hospitals. All of us saw what can happen there and we knew there must be something better, a more loving and natural way to leave life. All of us found that at hospice.

My co-workers are near-miraculous people—smart, dedicated, caring, yet realistic.

Not one of them does their job on “auto-pilot.” That’s because we know that each patient is special, each has a unique and important story, and each story gets to be told with the best ending we can manage.

All of my life, I have expected too little of myself. A lot of people say the opposite. They say, “I expect too much from myself, and then I get disappointed.” I would venture to say that we expect too little. Let me explain.

Today was a milestone in my little life history. If life is but a breath, then today was a case of bad halitosis. I am 30 years old, have been married for five years, recently gave birth for goodness sakes, and I failed my Manitoba road test. This is the story:

I was sitting in the test center, confident as could be (I know I’m a good driver — apparently, I’m too good) and I waited patiently for my name to be called. A few minutes into my wait, a teenage girl burst through the doors, followed by a woman wearing an orange vest. A few minutes later, sunglasses on and tears streaming, the teenager emerged from the bathroom and approached her wide-eyed mother. She shook her head and the mother’s expression fell. My heart started pounding.

Oh no, I thought, why did she fail?

She began murmuring something to her mom about not being “established in the — something.” What did she say? Did she say it was an automatic failure? Wait — what did she do?

In a panic, I speed-dialed my husband and rattled off a series of questions about what caused automatic failures and what would I do if I got one.

“What? Sara, you’re talking too … Dear, I can’t understand you. What?” he stammered.

“I just want to know …”

“Sara Verrr…wihh..merin..?” called the lady in the orange vest.

Slightly coarse expletive. “Dear … I, uh … gotta go!”

I arranged my hair as best I could and followed the smiling dealer-of-my-fate into the garage.

“Are there any questions you’d like to ask before we get started?” she asked, as we approached my vehicle.

“I … uh, yes. Could you remind me again of the items that result in, um, automatic failure?”

“Oh, gosh,” she said with a laugh, “There’s like a hundred things and combinations, you know? Can you check your brake lights and blinkers, please?”

“Oh … Okay. Yeah.”

I sat in the car, wondering whether or not I would get an automatic failure for putting on my seat belt before or after starting the car — shoot, which was it? Was she watching? And in a few seconds, we rolled out onto the parking lot where I was to attempt my parallel park.

Let me say, ahem, that I am an excellent parallel parker. I can get into any spot. But for some reason, those stupid little orange poles threw me for a loop. On the third try, I finally made it close enough to the curb.

“OK,” she said after scribbling in her folder. “Let’s make a right-hand turn onto the street.”

I was totally rattled. Asking questions (this was a test, of course) was forbidden. I had only my thoughts to myself.

Don’t go over 50. Don’t go over 50. Wait — did she say at the second light we’re taking a left? Slow down over those train tracks and look both — Are those kids coming my way? Stay in your lane. Stay. In. Your — shoot. Wrong lane.

“Establish yourself in the intersection!” she blurted, pointing to the place where I was supposed to be.

Established. Established. Wasn’t that what the teen failed for?! OMG I’m totally going to fail. What is she writing?

A few more commands from the instructor.

For my coup de gras, as I was about to enter the road where the test center was located, waiting for traffic to pass, I stopped too long and made the guy behind me brake. Hard, I’m guessing.

“You should have gone before. That almost caused an accident,” sighed Miss Orange Vest. More scribbling.

“Was … was that … my fault?” I stammered.

I failed I failed I failed I failed I failed.

“Turn left here … Here!”

After I parked in the lot, the tiny shred of hope that all her scribbling was a good thing followed me inside. I was led to a desk where, without looking up, the evaluator let out a noticeable sigh.

“You’re going to have to take the test again.” She then began to explain what the marks that seemed to be all over her paper, meant. Had she been drawing during my test or what?

“You were hesitant about everything. You’re a good driver, but you were so nervous,” she said, putting what felt like toilet paper over my gaping wound. I flushed and thanked her for her “help” and then went to book my next test.

I immediately called Nick, burst into tears and walked the few kilometres of highway back to my friend’s house, who was watching my daughter. Traffic whizzed by me and a thought entered my brain that I hadn’t remembered since college. One time, after I had totally missed a clarinet solo in band, my mother tried to reason with me.

“You set yourself up for failure, Sara. You just get it stuck in your head that you can’t do it and then when you almost do, you stop believing.”

I am notorious for hating to get in trouble. And sometimes I try so hard not to get in trouble, I actually do. I stop trusting who I know I am and wondering if the other person thinks I’m good enough. Trying to avoid failure isn’t trying. It’s avoiding. People who succeed do it because they trust their ability to succeed. They expect a lot and failure never stops them.

Earlier today, I watched a video of a man who was told by doctors he would never walk again. He worked hard, persevered and never, for one minute, gave up. Failure was not on his radar. And now this man runs.

We are built to succeed. We are also allowed to fail. If we always got it right the first time, would we know the true value of trying?

Needless to say, I will not be hesitant at my next road test. Or at least I will put earbuds in and try not to watch the faces of the last test-goers.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

— Winston Churchill

Sylvester Manor will host its second annual Open House at the Manor House, Saturday, May 26 from 2 to 4 p.m. There will be tours of the Manor, kids activities, garden and history displays and a visit with the farm’s animals. Farmstand samples will be available and seedlings for sale. Refreshments will be served. The Open House is free and open to the members of the community.

MEMORIAL DAY OPEN HOUSE

Mashomack’s Membership Open House, scheduled for Sunday, May 27 from 4 to 6 p.m., signals the beginning of summer for many Islanders. Enjoy the cocktail party on the Manor House lawn, view displays and learn about Mashomack’s conservation work. And bring along friends and neighbors who would like to support the Nature Conservancy.

HAULING A SEINE

Give a  helping hand at Mashomack by pulling in a 300-foot haul seine on Saturday, May 26 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Get a close-up look at the creatures and plants that live under the sea. This demonstration of a traditional East End fishing method is appropriate for the whole family. A marshmallow roast will follow the haul. The program is free for members of the Nature Conservancy, $5 for non-members. Call 749-1001 to reserve a place.

CELEBRATING BRIDG HUNT

Friends of Bridg Hunt are invited to a celebration of his life at his home in Dering Harbor on Saturday, May 19 from 5 to 8 p.m. Members of the community who would like to participate may RSVP by calling the Hunt residence at 749-1333

2012 GREEN EXPO

Learn all about solar power, conserving water, stormwater runoff, raising chickens and much more at this year’s Green Expo on Saturday, May 19 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Youth Center in American Legion Hall. You can get your car washed by Charlie Binder and Elias Fokine, high school sophomores, to help fund their trip to Peru. You will also be able to drop off outdated medications. The expo is sponsored by the Town of Shelter Island and the Green Options Committee.

GARDEN WORKSHOP

Help is needed to breathe new life into Sylvester Manor’s historic garden. A second volunteer workshop is planned for Saturday, May 19 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Horticulturalist and gardener Amedeo Teseo will be on hand again to provide his expert advice and know-how.

Coffee and refreshments will be served, but bring your own hand garden tools and wear gardening gear — gloves and boots. For more information, call 749-0626.

CITIZENSHIP AWARD DINNER

It may not be too late to honor the Lions Club Citizen of the Year, Howard Brandenstein, at a dinner at the Pridwin, tomorrow, Friday, May 18 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $37.50 per person with a cash bar; tickets will not be available at the door. Contact Lion John and Jane Babinski about ticket availability at 749-1097.

SECURITY SHREDDING

As part of this year’s Green Expo, the Town’s Recycling Center will offer free industrial shredding of confidential documents on Saturday, May 19 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the premises of the Youth Center in American Legion Hall.

ACROSS THE MOAT

CALLING ALL ARTISTS

The Retreat, the only domestic violence agency serving the East End, has announced its 4th annual Juried Art Show. The show is open to all artists with work in photography, painting, 2D, 3D and sculpture, providing the work does not measure more than 24 inches by 36 inches. There is an entry fee of $50 per submission, with a limit of three entries. The deadline for submissions is August 1; for more information and an entry form, visit hamptonsjuriedartshow.com or email heather@theretreatinc.org.

‘THE KING AND I’

The North Fork Community Theatre’s production of “The King and I,” a Rogers and Hammerstein musical based on the novel, “Anna and the King of Siam,” by Margaret Landon, will open tonight, Thursday, May 17 and run Thursdays through Sundays, closing June 3. Curtain is 8 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and  2:30 p.m. for Sunday matinées. Free pre-show receptions will be held on Thursdays at 7 p.m.; post-show talk backs with the cast will follow performances on Sunday, May 20 and 27.

Tickets for all performances are $20 and can be ordered by calling 298-NFCT or online at NFCT.com.

WATER MILL MUSEUM OPENS

The East End’s oldest commercial building will open today for its 46th year as a museum. On Friday, May 18, from 5 to 7 p.m., the public is invited to visit the mill, listen to readings from the book, “Water Mill: Celebrating Community.” Refreshments will be served and the books will be signed by editor Marlene Haresign. The Mill is located at 41 Old Mill Road in Water Mill. Admission is free.

POETRY MARATHON

Poetry lovers are invited to celebrate the work of Emily Dickinson on Saturday, May 19 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Hampton Library on Main Street in Bridgehampton. Participants will read non-stop from Dickinson’s works. The event is co-sponsored by Canio’s Cultural Cafe in Sag Harbor. For more information or to sign up to read, call the library at 537-0015.

THRIFT STORE OPENS

The Retreat will celebrate the opening of its second thrift store, The Retreat Boutique Too, 30 Park Place in East Hampton Village, on Friday, May 18 from 5 to 7 p.m. Following this preview, the store will be open daily, except Tuesdays, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Donations should still be taken to the Retreat’s other thrift store location in Bridgehampton Commons. Donations are tax-deductible and sales will benefit the victims of domestic violence.

BARN TOUR

The Bridgehampton Historical Society and Peconic Land Trust will host a Barn Tour on Saturday, May 19 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Ten barns will be open for self-guided tours. Some have been converted into houses, other are actively in use on farms. Several of the sites will host the artists of Plein Air Peconic, who will be painting on site. The cost is $25 the day of the tour, $20 in advance.

For more information and to purchase tickets, call 537-1088 or email bhhs@optonline.net.

AT BAY STREET…

Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theatre will celebrate Memorial Day weekend on Saturday, May 26 at 8 p.m. with an evening of song, “One Night, Two Voices, Three Cheers,” performed by Ana Gasteyer of “Saturday Night Live” and “Smash!” star Brian d’Arcy James. Tickets are $65 or $75; $100 includes an “after party” with the performers. Order online, baystreet.org, or call the box office at 725-9500.

The Chequit Inn will continue to be run by James and Linda Eklund this summer as they hammer out a contract for its sale to Cape Advisors of Cape May, New Jersey, and New York City.

“We’re fully focused on running it this summer,” Mr. Eklund said about the Chequit, promising there would be a lot of “exciting” events happening at the inn, an anchor business in Shelter Island Heights.

A deal could close at the end of the summer or early fall, according to broker Brandon Tarpey, director of sales for Massey Knakal Realty Services in New York City. He is handling the pending sale.

“It’s never a done deal until it’s done,” Mr. Eklund commented in a telephone interview Friday morning. “We’re optimistic” about closing a deal. He made a similar comment last winter after the Chequit won Zoning Board approval for variances needed to construct a pool and patio at the inn. The board’s approvals were conditions of the contract of sale.

Cape Advisors maintains several hotels in Cape May and is involved in renovations of the former Bulova Watch factory being converted to condominiums in Sag Harbor.

“It will be in good hands” if the deal closes with Cape Advisors, Mr. Eklund said. He said it was important to him that new owners continue to operate the inn in a way that would be acceptable to neighbors and to the rest of the community.

Representatives of Cape Advisors told residents at a private meeting last winter that there would be no deal with the Eklunds unless the variances were granted to allow for the pool and patio.

During the Zoning Board’s hearings on the case, residents voiced concerns about noise from the pool area. Sound experts hired by the Heights Property Owners Corporation, which formally opposed the application, and by Cape Advisors had some disagreements over what steps might be effective in containing noise. Finally, the ZBA agreed to allow the pool and patio with the provision that an 8-foot-high wall be constructed to contain noise.

ZBA member Patricia Shillingburg was the only board member who objected to the wall, arguing that while the pool would be used only a few months a year, the wall would stand all year and create a “hot spot” because there would be no breezes around the pool.

“I don’t see a noise problem,” she said, but she failed to convince her colleagues to reverse their stand.

In granting approvals, the ZBA added a caveat that SoundSense LLC of East Hampton, the sound engineers hired by Cape Advisors, be required to conduct tests after the wall is constructed. Other conditions to the approval limited use of the pool and patio to guests staying at the inn and restricted the hours of operation from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Water for the pool must be trucked in from off-Island, the ZBA said.

The ZBA also approved shifting the Summer Cottage on the property back from the street to accommodate the pool and patio but at a subsequent meeting approved demolition of the cottage. It will be replaced by a replica.

jlane@timesreview.com