Port Jefferson
In a filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission charging British-owned National Grid with “perpetrating fraudulent practices and illegally exercising market power,” the village of Port Jefferson hopes to put the energy company under the microscope and expose a business that it says has kept prices on Long Island high and excluded competition.
Among the accusations are that National Grid has coerced the Long Island Power Authority into an extension of the 1997 Power Supply Agreement (PSA) on unfavorable terms for rate payers and stalled opportunities to repower existing and inefficient power plants like the one that sits on the edge of Port Jefferson Harbor.
These practices, according to the claim, block competitors from offering reasonably priced alternative energy or upgrading of inefficient plants running at minimal output. In essence, the village claims that National Grid is a monopoly with Port Jefferson playing the part of trustbuster.
Three Village
Firefighters quelled a heavy fire in the basement of a home on View Road in Setauket Wednesday night in approximately an hour and a half.
The owners of the home and their dog evacuated the house safely before emergency crews arrived. No serious injuries were reported.
Public information officer Larry Hall said the fire started in the far corner of the basement underneath the garage, but said the cause is under investigation.
"Basement fires are notoriously difficult to fight," he said, calling the smoke condition "a very dark, choking black smoke."
Smithtown
After a complete makeover, from the paint to the furniture and a new brick patio, the Smithtown Library is well on its way to soon being open to the public.
Now that the shelving and furniture has been installed, library director, Robert Lusak, anticipates opening to the public within the next couple of weeks after a few more necessary steps.
"The workers first need to do a water tap, which is necessary to do so the fire marshal can give an inspection and then approve moving in content," said Lusack.
Commack
The scene outside the North Shore Baptist Church in Kings Park was quiet and somber as mourners gathered to say their goodbyes to Gabriel Philby-Zetsche Thursdy Night.
Philby-Zetsche, 22, a 2009 Commack High School graduate who lived with cerebral palsy, . His mother has been charged with his murder.
