News Nearby: Historic Farm Burns; Illegal Housing Update

There's plenty of news happening on any given day in the Port Jefferson area, and the same can be said for the towns around us. Here's a look at what's making headlines in nearby Patch towns.

From Commack Patch: Fire Engulfs Historic Johnson's Farm. Flames engulfed a 110-year-old potato farm in East Northport late Monday afternoon. Johnson's Farm, located at 123 Cedar Road, caught fire shortly after 4 p.m. Owner Howard Johnson lives on the property, but the fire did not spread to the house. No one was home at the time of fire. The largest of the property's barns is nearly completely charred.

From Three Village Patch: Civic Leader, Town Officials Deliver Illegal Housing Update. There are about 100 known illegal college boarding houses in the Three Village area so far, according to the Stony Brook Concerned Homeowners organization, and there are about 50 Three Village cases presently going through the court system, town officials said.

From Kings Park Patch: Town Moves to Shut Down Kings Park Businesses. Smithtown officials voted on Tuesday to take legal action against 33 entities believed to operating businesses against town code off Lawrence Road in Kings Park. Town Attorney John Zollo said he will be filing a lawsuit against 33 entities, a combination of property and business owners at 1 Lawrence Road, in New York State Supreme Court within the next two weeks. The town will ask the courts to permanently restrain all entities from engaging in business activities against the area’s residential zoning code.

From Sachem Patch: MacArthur the Site of Union Protest Against Southwest. A burgeoning labor problem at Southwest Airlines was the focus of a small protest at Long Island MacArthur Airport on Thursday as union members sought to call attention to the airline’s hiring of temporary workers to save money.