HAPPY BIRTHDAY

On the street where you live

Not to make some of you feel OLD … but it's the Big 4-0 for “;Sesame Street.”;

Yes, that venerable, comfy, safe haven of Big Bird, Elmo, Oscar the Grouch (at left, when he was orange), Grover, Bert and Ernie and other old friends celebrates four decades on Tuesday.

At least two generations now have been gently soothed and schooled in ABCs, numbers (love The Count!), humor, culture and character building.

Here's to many, many more sunny days.

BITTERSWEET

Victorino gets the closing 'honors'

It was exciting to see Maui's Shane Victorino be the last at bat in Wednesday's World Series finale — though his fans, no doubt, were hoping for a much different ending. At the plate, final inning, two outs, 3-2 count, his Phillies trailing 7-3, Victorino swings, he hits, he runs ... then is out before making first. Series over. No, not the ending his fans were rooting for — but still, congratulations to Victorino, the Phillies and champion New York Yankees for a stellar series.

CLUNK!

Cash for Clunkers' green scene falls short, except for auto dealers

You can lead a Ford owner to a Prius, but you cannot make him buy.

Despite the popularity of the government's $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program, figures are showing that old Ford or Chevy pickups were replaced by new ones that aren't much more gas-friendly.

It seems truck and pickup owners remained true to their gas-guzzling vehicles: The single most common swap — occurring more than 8,200 times — involved Ford F150 pickup owners who traded up to ... new Ford F150s, an Associated Press analysis found.

So much for the rebate program aimed at putting more fuel-efficient cars on the road. Well, at least it charged up the economy with new-vehicle sales.