Long Island

• LIPA's program energy project tests has mixed results

  As fuel-related charges pushed electric bills to record highs, the Long Island Power Authority over the past 10 years kept up a lively program of testing a bizarrely diverse, and sometimes costly, range of energy projects, often with mixed results.

• Company with solar project gone

  In 2003, FALA Direct Marketing of Melville took delivery of what was billed as one of the largest solar-power installations in the world, most of it paid for with a $4.1-million gift from the Long Island Power Authority.

• Local Republicans seen as possible governor candidates

  For the moment, the biggest Long Island names in statewide politics belong to Thomas DiNapoli, the Democratic state comptroller, and Dean Skelos, the Senate's GOP majority leader. Fast forward to the 2010 governor's race, and at least five regional names pop out of the rumor mill, on the Republican side.

• Boat restorer Michael Kortchmar dies

  Michael Kortchmar was a self-described klutz, a carpenter who had trouble working with straight lines. When he tried to build something at home, it was a disaster.

• Baseball's Hampton Whalers: a new game in town

  The East End is known for its beaches, summer cachet and untouched landscapes, but Rusty Leaver wants it known for something else - baseball.

• Heat drives crowds to Jones Beach

  By 8:30 a.m. yesterday, Jones Beach's Field 6 parking lot was filled to capacity.

• Work starts in park on monument to deceased children

  After Brian and Christine LeMaire's baby boy Brandon died last October at 19 months, the Islip Terrace couple worried his memory would fade - not from their minds but from their friends' and the community's.

• Hundreds turn out for kin of 2 teens slain in crash

  The joking and laughing in the crowd of about 300 people who filled D.S. Shanahan's, a sweltering Kings Park bar, belied the somber nature of yesterday's event: to show support for the families of two Smithtown High School West students who died in a car accident in October.

• Hempstead man charged with murder in SUV-bike crash

  A Hempstead man was charged with murder after police said he intentionally ran over a man on a bicycle at an intersection early yesterday.

• Dr. Joseph M. Letteri, 75, expert in kidney treatment

  Dr. Joseph M. Letteri, a pioneer in the treatment of kidney disease, has died of a heart attack.

• Fuggedaboutit: Miss Brooklyn wins Miss New York crown

  Miss Brooklyn has been crowned Miss New York.

• North Shore Animal League sued over cat agreement

  In a legal battle that is something of a catfight, donors to the North Shore Animal League of America are suing the Port Washington-based shelter, claiming a written agreement to provide sanctuary for their 52 rescued cats is being broken.

• Father of 5 pulled from Northampton lake

  A father of five was pulled from a freshwater lake in Northampton yesterday, and police said his death was most likely a drowning accident.

• Pro welterweight boxer Joseph Miceli dead at 79

  Joseph Miceli, a welterweight boxer who fought 110 professional bouts against the likes of Kid Gavilan and Ike Williams, died Saturday at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore after a battle with lung cancer. He was 79.

• Friends take stock of Bohemia couple's murder-suicide

  Relatives and friends of the couple who died in a murder-suicide in Bohemia Friday struggled to find answers yesterday for why the brutal attack happened.

• LIRR RIDERS BEHAVING NICELY!

  As the LIRR continues its campaign urging customer courtesy on trains, Newsday asked readers for some examples of truly kind acts. Here is some feedback:

• Live racing canceled at Belmont Park's season closer

  Officials at Belmont Park canceled the final day of racing yesterday after a transformer fire Saturday knocked out power and forced the evacuation of employees at the racetrack.

• THE OIL SQUEEZE

  Can solar pool covers save you money?

• Massapequa man dies in Middle Island crash

  A Massapequa man died yesterday after his 2007 Pontiac strayed off East Barlett Road in Middle Island at 4:35 a.m., hitting a fence before slamming into a tree, police said. Steven Harris, 20, of Lincoln Place was transported by Middle Island Fire Department to Stony Brook University Medical Center where he died at 2:55 p.m. from his head injuries, police said. Police Det. Sgt. William Lamb said the cause of the accident was still under investigation. "There are skid marks in the road," Lamb said. "We're not sure exactly what happened." Police are asking anyone with information to call the Sixth Squad at 631-854-8652 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS Tips.