Week in Review: Hit-and-Run Suspect Sought; NBA Star Charged With DWI

Here is a look back on the top Southampton news from the past week, plus some headlines you may have missed.

Click on the headlines for more on each story:

Eleven days after Sister Jacqueline Walsh was fatally struck by an SUV while on an evening walk on a quiet Water Mill street, Southampton Town police have released the name and photograph of the man suspected to have been behind the wheel. Carlos Armando Ixpec-Chitay, 30, was named as the suspect, described as a 30-year-old Hispanic male, with dark brown/black hair, brown eyes, 5 feet and 7 inches tall, and approximately 140 pounds. Police said he is known to frequent areas of Water Mill and Riverhead, and has a Guatemalan passport. Police Chief William Wilson said he hopes the manhunt gets national media attention, because investigators now know the suspect has fled New York State.

Drivers who haven't paid off their parking tickets issued by the Southampton Town police between June 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2011, are being offered relief. During the entire month of August, the Southampton Town Justice Court, with Town Board approval, will waive late fees and fines for delinquent unpaid tickets. Payers will only be responsible for a $5 service fee, on top of the original cost of their ticket. Those eligible for amnesty will be contacted by mail.

Republican challenger Randy Altschuler had outraised Democrat incumbent Tim Bishop in the previous three campaign finance filing periods, though the scales tipped to Bishop in the most recent filing.

As part of its ongoing effort to increasing recycling among residents, the town of Southampton's Plastic Bag Education Task Force gave away 1,000 reusable canvas tote bags at area beaches on Saturday.  During the event, residents who received a bag, which was funded in part by the Hampton Jitney, were asked to sign a pledge stating that they will reduce, reuse, and recycle when it comes to plastic bags. “The day was a great success,” said Councilwoman Christine Preston Scalera, the Town Board’s co-liaison to the group. “We had nearly 600 people sign the pledge."

A seasonal peak evening train from Hunterspoint to Montauk is among a series of "service investments" announced by the Long Island Rail Road Thursday. Beginning in May 2013, the LIRR plans to restore a 4:30 p.m. train due in Montauk at 7:35 p.m. five days a week, connecting Queens to the South Fork. The service was reduced to Fridays-only in September 2010, as part of a number of controversial cuts in East End service that came down the pike around the same time the MTA payroll tax was imposed. The restored service will be in season from May until mid-October.

Southampton Town Senior Bay Constable Chris Kohnken says his department has seen little action this summer when it comes to jet skis.  He believes the economy is to blame.  "I would say jet ski use is relatively low this year compared to other years," he said. "It seems they are in decline." In general, Kohnken said, he thinks the reason is solely the economy. However, others, who enjoy the bay, have stated that while there may not be as many jet skis on the water, they are still a nuisance.

John Jay LaValle said the Suffolk GOP committee would be wasting Jeremy Brandt's time if it put him up as a candidate to challenge New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele Jr.

For the first time in his 25-year political career, New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele Jr. will run unopposed. This week, challenger Jeremy Brandt, 36, of Hampton Bays, withdrew from the Assembly race.  Brandt, a registered Conservative, aimed to procure the support of the Suffolk County Republican Committee via a Wilson Pakula, a document in which a party grants its nomination to a non-member. However, Suffolk Republican Chairman John Jay LaValle refused to sign the document, which would have allowed Brandt to run on the Republican line. By not signing the Wilson Pakula, LaValle left the Republicans without a candidate.

NBA star Jason Kidd admitted to drinking at a club before crashing his Cadillac Escalade early Sunday morning in Water Mill, according to court documents released on Monday.  Kidd — who had just signed with The New York Knicks three days earlier — refused to submit to either a blood or breath test to determine his blood alcohol content, court records show.

Just days after signing with the New York Knicks, Jason Kidd was arrested Sunday morning on a drunken driving charge after a single-car crash, according to . Police said that Kidd's 2010 Cadillac Escalade struck a telephone pole and went into the woods near the intersection of Cobb Road and Little Cobb Road in Water Mill, not far from his Hamptons house. Police responded at 1:56 a.m.

NBA point guard Jason Kidd traded a basketball for handcuffs after he drove his car into a pole and a tree in Water Mill on Sunday. Basketball fans took to Twitter to express their dismay that the newly signed New York Knick was arrested charged with drunken driving. Here are a few of their remarks.

On Wednesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation implementing two refundable tax credits structured to support small-batch breweries based in New York, and creating a new classification of breweries in the state – farm breweries. It's a move that bodes well for the East End, where in the past three years alone, three microbreweries have opened their doors in the area, one more is under construction in Riverhead and a plan is brewing for another on Sound Avenue.

Stony Brook Southampton is moving closer to its goal of establishing a graduate program in film with the addition of a new faculty member who has a celebrated career as a film and television producer. Christine Vachon's credits run more than 60 films long, including serving as producer of "Boys Don't Cry," "I'm Not There" and the new release "Magic Mike."  Vachon is a principal of independent production company Killer Films, which she brings with her to the Stony Brook Southampton campus in Shinnecock Hills. Killer Films will split its operations between Manhattan and the college, and offer internships and learning labs to Stony Brook students in both locations, according to a university statement.

Several familiar young faces visited the on Monday, along with many new ones, as the inn hosted a pool party and barbecue for Fresh Air Fund children and the families that are hosting them for a week. The Fresh Air Fund is a nonprofit founded in 1877 that places New York City children for a week with families in a small town to enjoy a different kind of environment. Many children, between the ages of 6 and 18, stay with the same host family summer after summer. "You get as much out of it as the child you host does," said Michelle Malone, the Southampton chairperson for the Fresh Air Fund.

Jesse Amberstone, of Bridgehampton, charged with attempted assault of a police officer after struggle at Water Mill Commons.

Also among the week's reports, a Southampton motel customer smashes a fan after he can't get a refund, and a Hampton Bays couple report a swastika keyed into their car's hood.

Bayville man and Southampton woman arrested in separate incidents.

Also on the East End this week, a 65-year-old Orient man is charged with firing a rifle at construction workers.

Also among the arrest reports, a Southampton man charged with DWI after rolling his vehicle in Water Mill.

Art dealers and enthusiasts packed the tents at artMRKT's annual event on the grounds of the Bridgehampton Historical Society.

Arthur T. Kalaher Fine Art in Sag Harbor hangs new pieces by East End artist.

Maximilian M. Eicke hosts celebration at MAX ID NY Studio, his new workspace in Bridgehampton.

Theater critic Aileen Jacobson offered her assessment of 's current production, "Men's Lives," in The New York Times this past weekend. The production has a special significance to Bay Street for a number of reasons, in that the story is set locally and of the play the Sag Harbor theater opened with during its inaugural season 19 years ago.

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