Having closed the books on 1997 late last week, Nassau's comptroller had some unsettling news for both County Executive Thomas S Gulotta and local residents Monday: the county would end the year with a deficit in its police district fund of $35.6 million. FULL STORY

Nassau Legislator Richard Nicolello, chairman of the Committee on Planning, Development and the Environment, has scheduled a public hearing on the recently released Nassau Hub Study. FULL STORY

A day after it was thrown into chaos and a mere 36 hours before it would, perhaps, be irreparably broken, the principals involved in the $195 million sale of the New York Islanders came to terms on an agreement that formally transfers ownership of the team to an investment group known collectively as New York Sports Ventures. FULL STORY