By Mitchell Freedman, Newsday, Melville, N.Y. Jul. 30--The failure of some of Long Island's ocean beaches to build up with sand this year has local officials and residents concerned that powerful winter storms could sweep beachfront houses out to sea and cause widespread flooding.

By Jennifer Smith, Newsday, Melville, N.Y. May 20--Construction on a long-delayed new ferry terminal for Fire Island National Seashore could start this fall, pending approval of various permits, federal parks officials said.

By Mitchell Freedman, Newsday, Melville, N.Y. Apr. 2--The satellite photo projected on a screen in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn showed Montauk Point and -- just offshore -- what looked like two big fishhooks made of sand.

By Mitchell Freedman, Newsday, Melville, N.Y. Apr. 1--A dangerously shoaled channel through Shinnecock Inlet and into the Atlantic Ocean is being remarked by the U.S. Coast Guard to give fishing vessels and pleasure boats a measure of safety.

By Mitchell Freedman, Newsday, Melville, N.Y. Mar. 24--Seventy years ago, when the Hamptons were not much more than potato fields, Cynthia Hamlin Ireland's father, Brian, bought a small oceanfront lot on Potato Road in Sagaponack and built a summer retreat for his family.