Long Island

• DA slams brakes on scam

  A financial scheme operating out of two Lawrence car dealerships - and uncovered during a murder probe - helped drug dealers, pimps and gang members buy luxury cars and keep their names off motor vehicle records, Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice said yesterday.

• Focus on cleanup efforts

  ALBANY - To help jump-start redevelopment projects across the state, Gov. David A. Paterson signed a law yesterday that reforms the state's Brownfield Cleanup Program. The legislation caps redevelopment tax credits and increases incentives for the cleanup of affected areas.

• MTA plans call for transit fare hike in 2011, too

  And you thought a potential 8 percent fare hike next summer was bad news.

• Joye Brown: Training needed on drug to reverse heroin overdose

  There's a way to reverse a heroin overdose. And it's been available to addicts, their families and friends, in New York State, since 2006.

• Candidates navigate rough waters in 15th district

  Democratic legislative candidate DuWayne Gregory is under attack from opponents for failing to blow the whistle on his old boss, former Legis. Elie Mystal, for no longer living in the district.

• Search process begins for next Stony Brook prez

  A wide-ranging group of 21 people - from deep-pocketed donors and distinguished alumni to community leaders and student activists - has been tapped to find the next president of Stony Brook University.

• Long Islanders to join SF protest over Michael Savage comments

  Long Island autism activists plan to take part in a San Francisco protest Sunday of radio show host Michael Savage's remarks on autism. Hundreds of activists and parents of autistic children are expected to gather outside Savage's home base radio station, KNEW, to call for his ouster.

• Wantagh boosters ahead of plan on fundraising goal

  Barely a month after launching their fundraising campaign, Wantagh parents and other school boosters say they have collected more than half the record $650,000 sought to save district sports teams and extracurricular activities.

• Nassau construction inspector accused of extortion

  A veteran Nassau County construction inspector surrendered to FBI agents yesterday on charges of shaking down a contractor on several large-scale home-building projects.

• Legis. Mejias wants two-year freeze on assessments

  Saying Nassau's property tax assessment system "stinks," a Democratic county legislator yesterday called for a two-year freeze on assessments, finally giving Republicans the support they would need to pass a cap.

• Brentwood standoff ends after police Taser fugitive

  Officers used a Taser to end a tense standoff in Brentwood yesterday, arresting a fugitive wanted in two states on kidnapping, weapons and heroin possession charges.

• Babylon names first Hispanic to town board

  The Babylon Town board made history when it appointed a union organizer who fled war-torn El Salvador in the early 1980s as its first Hispanic American member.

• Freeport man to sue LI hospital over hepatitis diagnosis

  Thomas Robinson thought the worst of his medical woes were finally behind him when he was released from Nassau University Medical Center after 18 days.

• Rockville Centre man accused of killing ex-friend

  David Baez and Carl Perryman were best friends for many years while living in the Old Mill Court housing development in Rockville Centre.

• Weitzman skirts accused worker's calls for apology

  Nassau County Comptroller Howard Weitzman declined yesterday to directly address demands for an apology by a county worker whom Weitzman had portrayed as a potential abuser of a government gasoline card.

• Relief on way for flood victims in Smithtown

  Help is inching closer for flooding victims in Smithtown.

• Water main break causes flood on Woodmere street

  As residents along Saddle Ridge Road in Woodmere pumped out hundreds of gallons that poured into their homes from a water main break, officials from the area's private water company said they may never know the cause of the break.

• Sex abuse charges for Selden mosque custodian

  A Long Island mosque employee was arraigned yesterday on charges that he sexually abused a 13-year-old boy at the mosque, police said.

• Bill exempts small-boat owners from pollution permit

  A bill that would exempt recreational boat owners from paying the same permits as oil tankers and freight ships was approved in Congress yesterday, Sen. Charles Schumer said.

• Airport diagrams found in trash prompt policy change

  The Town of Islip will now require that contractors return architectural drawings of Long Island MacArthur Airport used to submit construction bids, after airport diagrams were found in a Holtsville deli garbage can.

• MTA plans to broadcast CNN at LIRR, subway stations

  The MTA is moving forward with a pilot project to broadcast CNN at Long Island Rail Road or subway stations as early as next year.

• SOUTH SHORE: Runoff closes five beaches

  Five South Shore beaches were closed yesterday because of storm-water runoff.