It is no surprise that the St. Louis Cardinals are once again playing for the National League pennant, and possibly for a chance at their third world’s championship in nine years. The Cardinals, like the Yankees, are constant contenders, having made the playoffs 12 times in the last 19 years. But the Cardinals differ from the Yankees in at least one significant way. While the Yankees have always been a team of stars, the Cardinals are usually a team of kids. More than any other team, the Cardinals continually replenish their talent by bringing up young players that they have drafted and developed. more

A recent rash of vehicle thefts prompted an alert from Thomas Krumpter, acting Commissioner of the Nassau County Police, last week. Between Sept. 15, when a 2001 black Lincoln Navigator was stolen while parked on Long Beach Rd. in Oceanside, until Oct. 8, at least nine cars had been reported stolen in Nassau County. Most of the thefts were of luxury cars equipped with push-button starts that had been left unlocked, police said. more

Sky-watchers, both professional and amateur, last Wednesday were treated to the rare sight of a “blood moon,” a total lunar eclipse that made the moon look coppery red. The blood moon is an effect caused by the sun peeking around the periphery of the Earth, appearing as a sunset on the moon’s surface. more

Barry Hartman got a sinking feeling when he saw a recent report on WABC-TV’s “Eyewitness News” about contractor Barry Minsky. Minsky, according to the report, had been hired by Hartman’s neighbors, Lonnie and Jamie Green, to repair their home after Superstorm Sandy damaged it. Almost two years, and nearly $220,000, later, the Green home was still not finished, the work that had been done was not up to code and the Greens were paying a mortgage and disaster insurance on a home they couldn’t live in. more

The old John Lennon lyric says, “When I cannot sing my heart, I can only speak my mind.” For Beatles fan Brian Amato, an 18-year-old with autism, it’s just the opposite. Amato has always struggled to express himself with words, but has learned to allow music to be his voice. He didn’t speak until he was five years old, but when was nine, he started playing both the drums and the piano, and at last found a way to relate to the world. Last Sunday, he played with his band, Broken Chains, on the main bandstand at Jones Beach during an Autism Speaks benefit walk. more

Invitations to a dinner dance honoring retiring State Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg stirred up simmering resentment between political foes Glenn Ingoglia and Mark Tannenbaum last week. more

Frank Januszewski began his teaching career at Oceanside High School in 1956. From the start, he had a sense of history. “A school that has no past has no future,” he said. more

Knowing that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, Oceanside superintendent of schools Dr. Phyllis Harrington sent a letter to local families regarding the rare respiratory virus that has … more

Lisa Parisi of Oceanside is one of the lucky ones. When her home on Carrel Avenue was damaged by Hurricane Sandy, most of the reconstruction costs were covered by her flood insurance. For the … more

Any fan worth his crackerjack knows that the Hall of Fame has been baseball’s version of paradise ever since the museum opened its doors in the tiny village of Cooperstown 75 years ago. Cooperstown is the place where all things baseball are celebrated, and the greatest of the great are immortalized, starting with an inaugural class of inductees that included Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson and Honus Wagner. Little kids, and often big ones too, dream of the day when they will be guests of honor at the Hall. more