Quantcast
Channel: News
Viewing all 62489 articles
Browse latest View live

After stalled talks, House embraces new charter cap proposal

0
0

.House lawmakers on Wednesday resurrected legislation that would lift the cap on charter school enrollment in underperforming school districts.

By Colleen Quinn
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, MARCH 26, 2014….House lawmakers on Wednesday resurrected legislation that would lift the cap on charter school enrollment in underperforming school districts, adopting a new version of the bill after the Education Committee failed to agree on a proposal.

During a lightly attended session Wednesday morning, the House adopted a plan offered by Education Committee Co-chair Rep. Alice Peisch that allows more charter schools without addressing increases in reimbursements to traditional public schools that some lawmakers and advocates have demanded.

Peisch said the new bill contains many of elements that were being considered by the committee, but is silent on reimbursement funding. The bill contains increased flexibility for certain underperforming school districts and a “modest” enrollment cap increase for charter schools in the lowest performing districts.

The financial impacts on traditional public schools if the cap on charter school enrollment is raised has been cited as a reason for the impasse between charter school advocates and those with concerns about allowing any additional charter seats located in districts labeled as underperforming by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The House vote effectively moves the issue out of the Education Committee, which was unable to agree on a bill after months of talks and in the face of a biennial reporting deadline. The Peisch bill is now being considered by the House Ways and Means Committee. Peisch informed Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, the Senate Education Committee co-chair, that she was filing her own version of the bill, known as act to improve student achievement.

“The subject matter of this bill, I think was too important, to die by using procedural rules and not allowing the bill to advance so there could be a full debate in the Legislature,” Peisch told the News Service Wednesday.

Over the weekend Chang-Diaz and Rep. Russell Holmes (D-Boston) offered a plan that would have tied annual increases in the cap to full reimbursement to local school districts that lose students to charter schools. Peisch and the Race to the Top Coalition, a group that has pushed for charter school expansion, opposed linking the enrollment cap to reimbursement, an idea Chang-Diaz promoted as a compromise.

Peisch said her plan could enable the issue to reach the floors of the House and Senate. “This does give an opportunity for the bill to be taken up in the Senate if and when it goes through the House,” she said.

Speaker DeLeo has said he was hopeful for action on the issue this session.

After the committee was unable to reach a compromise in time to meet the Tuesday evening deadline, Chang-Diaz released a statement saying she was “sad that obstinacy and polarized rhetoric stood in the way of compromise and progress.” She added, “The fact that too many parties could not get out of their corners to find a practical middle reminds me of the dysfunction in Washington DC right now. Unfortunately it’s children in all public school systems, district and charter alike, who are suffering for it.”

Charter school advocates, including the Race to the Top Coalition, a group of business, education and civic leaders, urged the committee to reject the compromise proposal, arguing it was "completely inappropriate" to tie the issue of funding with the cap.

The reimbursement program, which sends state aid back to districts based on the number of students who enroll in charter schools, was underfunded in the fiscal 2014 state budget by $28 million, at a total of $75 million.

The cap on charter school enrollment, under a 2010 education law, is scheduled to rise to 18 percent of total district enrollment by 2017.

According to a bill summary, Peisch’s bill (H 3984) authorizes the education commissioner to designate a subset of Level 3 schools as “challenge schools,” which include schools that score in the lowest performing 20 percent statewide that are most likely to be designated as underperforming (Level 4). “Challenge schools” would be required to develop two-year turnaround plans, similar to the turnaround plans required for underperforming (Level 4) and chronically underperforming (Level 5) schools.

The bill also maintains the statewide cap on the total number of charter schools that can operate at any given time, which is 72 Commonwealth and 48 Horace Mann charter schools.

The legislation lifts the current spending cap on charter school tuition in the lowest performing 10 percent of districts from 18 percent to 23 percent of net school spending, if the charter meets certain criteria, including an “opt-out” lottery process, or the charter school is specifically designed to serve at-risk student and/or dropouts.

In the “opt-out” lottery process all students would be eligible to attend the charter school under the district’s assignment policy without any required application process for the school. Parents of students selected for admission through the opt-out lottery process may choose not to accept the admission offer.

The Race to the Top Coalition thanked Peisch and DeLeo for the House’s vote on Wednesday.

“Representative Peisch has put forward a bill that would provide a much-needed expansion of charter seats, opening up opportunities for thousands of students currently trapped on waitlists in Boston and other cities,” Paul S. Grogan, president and CEO of the Boston Foundation, said in a statement on behalf of the coalition.


Construction worker Curtis Reissig describes acrobatic escape from Houston fire caught on video

0
0

Curtis Reissig, 56, suffered minor burns to his face and hand in Tuesday's fire, which destroyed the planned $50 million luxury apartment complex.

HOUSTON -- A Houston construction worker whose harrowing escape from a burning building was caught on video said Wednesday that he knew he had to act quickly when he realized he was trapped on a fifth-floor balcony.

Curtis Reissig, 56, suffered minor burns to his face and hand in Tuesday's fire, which destroyed the planned $50 million luxury apartment complex.

"I was trapped up there," he said. "The flames were getting closer and hotter. I knew I had to do something. So I swung down to the lower floor."

Houston Apartment fireView full sizeIn this image taken from video provided by Karen Jones, a worker lowers himself from a fifth floor balcony before swinging down to the one below as firefighters battle a five-alarm fire at a construction site Tuesday, March 25, 2014, in Houston. The cellphone video, shot by Karen Jones from her nearby office, shows the dramatic rescue of the worker from the burning apartment complex that was under construction.
Reissig, a construction supervisor, declined to call his own actions heroic, saying the real heroes were the firefighters who rescued him and battled the blaze.

Reissig described how he hung from the fifth-floor balcony ledge, swung his body and landed on the edge of the balcony below. He then was able to jump onto a fire truck ladder and escape the flames.

Karen Jones, who works in a nearby office, captured the rescue on cellphone video. The footage shows Reissig being pulled away by the ladder just before an outer wall collapsed nearby.

Reissig said he went to the roof after he heard a small fire had broken out there. He planned to douse the flames with an extinguisher, but strong winds quickly spread them.

He said he retreated to the fifth floor but soon was overcome by smoke, forcing him to the balcony. He told a crowd of media Wednesday that he feared the thick smoke would suffocate him.

The cause of the fire was under investigation Wednesday, but witnesses said it was caused by workers who were welding something on the roof.


Osama bin Laden son-in-law convicted for role as al-Qaida's fiery chief spokesman after 9/11; feds praise verdict

0
0

Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, Osama bin Laden's son-in-law, was convicted Wednesday for his role as al-Qaida's fiery chief spokesman after 9/11 — a verdict prosecutors said vindicated the Obama administration's strategy of bringing terror suspects to justice in civilian court.

By LARRY NEUMEISTER
and TOM HAYS

NEW YORK — Osama bin Laden's son-in-law was convicted Wednesday for his role as al-Qaida's fiery chief spokesman after 9/11 — a verdict prosecutors said vindicated the Obama administration's strategy of bringing terror suspects to justice in civilian court.

A federal jury deliberated six hours over two days before finding 48-year-old Sulaiman Abu Ghaith guilty of charges that included conspiracy to kill Americans and providing support to al-Qaida.

Abu Ghaith, a Kuwaiti-born imam who married bin Laden's eldest daughter about five years ago, is the highest-ranking al-Qaida figure brought to trial on U.S. soil since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Prosecutors said he played a leading role in the terror organization's post-9/11 propaganda videos, in which he and others gloated over the destruction and he warned of a "storm of airplanes" to follow.

He could get life in prison at sentencing Sept. 8.

In a statement, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said he hopes the verdict brings some comfort to al-Qaida victims.

"He was more than just Osama bin Laden's propaganda minister," Bharara said. "Within hours after the devastating 9/11 attacks, Abu Ghaith was using his position in al-Qaida's homicidal hierarchy to persuade others to pledge themselves to al-Qaida in the cause of murdering more Americans."

Abu Ghaith's lawyers had argued that he was being prosecuted for his words and associations — not his deeds — and that there was no evidence tying him to any of the terror plots that prosecutors suggested he knew about ahead of time.

Attorney General Eric Holder said the verdict was a success for the Obama administration's policy of using the federal courts instead of military tribunals to handle terrorism cases.

"It would be a good thing for the country if this case has the result of putting that political debate to rest," Holder said.

As the verdict was read, Abu Ghaith appeared composed. He smiled at a friend from Kuwait in the courtroom as he was led away.

His attorney, Stanley Cohen, vowed to appeal, complaining that the judge had pressured the jury for a verdict and had barred the defense from calling self-described 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed as a witness.

In a written statement, Mohammed had said Abu Ghaith had no military role in al-Qaida. Mohammed himself will be judged by a military tribunal at Guantanamo after plans to bring him to New York for trial were aborted because of political opposition.

In the trial's most dramatic testimony, Abu Ghaith described being summoned to a dark Afghanistan cave within hours of the destruction of the World Trade Center to confer with bin Laden, who told him: "We are the ones who did it."

Abu Ghaith testified that a worried bin Laden asked him how America would respond.

"America, if it was proven that you were the one who did this, will not settle until it accomplishes two things: to kill you and topple the state of the Taliban," Abu Ghaith said he replied.

Abu Ghaith said it was during that meeting that he agreed to a request from bin Laden to speak on the widely circulated videos that were used to recruit new followers willing to go on suicide missions like 9/11, in which 19 men hijacked four airliners.

"The storm of airplanes will not stop," Abu Ghaith warned in an October 2001 video played for the jury.

The jury also saw frames of a video made the day after 9/11 that showed Abu Ghaith seated next to bin Laden and two other top al-Qaida leaders as they tried to justify the attacks.

On the witness stand, the defendant calmly denied he was an al-Qaida recruiter and claimed his role was a religious one aimed at encouraging all Muslims to rise up against their oppressors.

Prosecutors did not accuse him of any role in 9/11 or any direct knowledge of the plot ahead of time. But he testified that he had been told al-Qaida was about to do "something big."

The conviction "means something. It means there are consequences," said Debra Burlingame, whose brother Charles was the American Airlines pilot of the plane that hijackers crashed into the Pentagon.

Two more major terrorism trials are scheduled for later this year in New York.

In one case set for next month, Egyptian preacher Mustafa Kamel Mustafa faces charges he conspired in 1999 to set up a terrorist training camp in Bly, Ore., and helped abduct two American tourists and 14 others in Yemen in 1998.

In the other, scheduled for November, two defendants extradited from Britain and a third snatched off the streets of Tripoli, Libya, in October will face charges in the 1998 bombings at U.S. embassies in Africa that killed 224 people, including a dozen Americans.


Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz in New York contributed to this report

North Adams Regional Hospital protest planned, 109-bed hospital to close Friday

0
0

North Adams resident Mike Wilber said in a news release Wednesday that he'll gather people at the hospital Friday at 9:30 a.m.

This story continues an earlier report on the closing of North Adams Regional Hospital.


Update 5 p.m. Wednesday: Gov. Deval Patrick: North Adams Regional Hospital too vital to close

NORTH ADAMS — Protesters are planning an "Occupy North Adams Regional Hospital" event Friday, the day northern Berkshire County's only hospital is scheduled to close after 129 years.

A community meeting is scheduled for 5 to 7 tonight at the American Legion on American Legion Drive in North Adams, according to the Massachusetts Nurses Association.

People working to save the hospital have also created a Facebook page.

The move will idle about 300 employees plus others who work for affiliates of parent organization Northern Berkshire Healthcare. Hospital administrators abruptly announced the closure Tuesday even as state and local officials work, and continue still, to save it. There is a possibility it will merge with Berkshire Medical Center in neighboring Pittsfield.

North Adams resident Mike Wilber said in a news release Wednesday that he'll gather people at the hospital Friday at 9:30 a.m..

"This is a fight for everyone. It's 20 miles to the next hospital," Wilber wrote to area media. "No one should be put in this situation. Someone could die because of greed."

North Adams Regional Hospital has suffered because government insurance reimbursements, like Medicare and Medicaid, are too low to cover the cost of care. The hospital has been in and out of bankruptcy and closed its inpatient mental health unit in September.


Public hearing on proposed party store on Boston Road which will sell paintball guns will continue today at 5:30 p.m. at the Town Hall

0
0

Farnham said he is planning to sell card games and collectible knives and swords and paintball guns and supplies in the 1,000-square-foot facility.

enterwilb.JPG 

WILBRAHAM - The Board of Appeals will continue to today at 5:30 p.m. at the Town Hall a request from Michael Farnham for a special permit for a games and party store at 2460 Boston Road.

Farnham said he is planning to sell card games and collectible knives and swords, as well as paintball guns and supplies, in the 1,000-square-foot facility. He also is seeking permission to hold card game and board game nights at the store on Friday and Saturday nights for teens and adults.

The public hearing was continued until today at 5:30 p.m. so input can be received from the town attorney and the Fire Department regarding the proposed facility.

If a special permit is approved for the facility, it will include a list of conditions, Edward Kivari, chairman of the Board of Appeals, said.

People in Business: Matthia Accurso of UMass Catering wins gold

0
0

Chefs from Yale University, University of Connecticut, University of New Hampshire, University of Rochester, University at Buffalo, Amherst College, Binghamton University, Rhode Island School of Design and the State University of New York at Geneseo took part in the cooking contest.

Accurso, Mattias cropped.jpgMattias Accurso 

AMHERST, Mass. – Matthia Accurso, a chef from UMass Catering, earned a gold medal during the Culinary Challenge Contest held at the National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS) Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Regional Conference on March 19-22 at Rutgers University in Brunswick, N.J.

Accurso’s winning recipe was lobster with kale lobster tortellini, sauteed celery root and citrus glazed carrots. The judges were impressed with his skill in using the entire lobster in a delicious way.

Chefs from Yale University, University of Connecticut, University of New Hampshire, University of Rochester, University at Buffalo, Amherst College, Binghamton University, Rhode Island School of Design and the State University of New York at Geneseo took part in the cooking contest.

“The competition was a lot of fun and I feel very honored to win, given how talented the other chefs were,” said Accurso in a prepared release. “I really appreciate the help from Executive Chef Willie Sng and Chef Tony Jung who came by while I was practicing to give me their opinions and feedback, which allowed me to really hone my dish and create a gold medal plate.

Springfield organization 'Seeds of a Father' hosts forum on families at American International College

0
0

The event begins Friday at 6 p.m. in the Griswold Theatre at American International College.

SPRINGFIELD - The Springfield-based organization Seeds of a Father, which promotes the importance of fathers in the upbringing of their children and the strengthening of the family structure, is planning a forum Friday night at American International College.

Beginning at 6 p.m. in the Griswold Theatre, 1000 State St, the forum will feature a showing of the documentary “Spit’in Anger,” about the affects of no father figure in the development of children and teens.

The event will feature Seeds of a Father CEO Kevin Green and guest speaker, documentary executive producer Kenneth Braswell, executive director of Fathers, Incorporated.

For more information go to the group’s website at seedsofafather.org, or sent an email to Green at kevingreen.soaf@gmail.com.

Opiate epidemic leads Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to declare public health emergency

0
0

Declaring a public health emergency, Gov. Deval Patrick on Thursday outlined steps to address an opioid addiction epidemic, including an immediate ban on one drug and the commitment of $20 million to increase drug treatment and recovery services.

This updates a story posted at 2:13 p.m. Thursday.


By Michael Norton, STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

BOSTON — Declaring a public health emergency, Gov. Deval Patrick on Thursday outlined steps to address an opioid addiction epidemic, including an immediate ban on one drug and the commitment of $20 million to increase drug treatment and recovery services.

“We have an epidemic of opiate abuse in Massachusetts, so we will treat it like the public health crisis it is,” Patrick said in a statement that followed testimony earlier in the week from Senate President Therese Murray who described a rise in reported overdose deaths as a “new normal” and recommended a series of public responses.

Patrick is directing state public health authorities to implement an immediate ban on the prescribing and dispensing of any hydrocodone-only formulation, commonly known as Zohydro, with the administration saying it poses “significant risk to individuals already addicted to opiates and to the public at large.” The ban would last until authorities determine measures are in pace to “safeguard against the potential for diversion, overdose and misuse.”

Other directives include:

  • Permission for first responders to carry and administer Naloxone, known as Narcan, a so-called opioid antagonist that can prevent deaths in overdose cases. State officials also announced Narcan will be made available through prescriptions in pharmacies so it will be available to individuals who fear a loved one might overdose.
  • A Department of Public Health mandate that physicians and pharmacies use prescription monitoring to guard against abuse or misuse of prescriptions. The program has been voluntary.
  • Requiring an expanded Interagency Council on Substance Abuse and Prevention to make recommendations in 60 days on further actions that can be taken.
  • Issuance of a public health advisory to educate the public about opioid addiction treatment options.

“These actions will help slow the rise of this dangerous addiction,” Public Health Commissioner Cheryl Bartlett said in a statement. “Together, these steps will raise awareness in our communities, help save loved ones who tragically fall down from their disease and build important bridges to long-term recovery.”

Patrick’s directives were released with supportive statements from top House and Senate officials.

Murray has created a special committee to address the problem and this week testified that Plymouth Fire Department Deputy Chief Michael Young, only a week after the department decided to begin equipping firefighters with Narcan, saved a 20-year-old man who had overdosed on opiates.

Saying the ages of those using opioids are getting “younger and younger,” Murray also applauded students at Plymouth North High School for producing a documentary on the dangers of addiction.

U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., who has been pushing legislation in Washington to help attack the growing drug problem, commended Patrick for taking such bold steps.

"This public health emergency requires urgent action at the local, state and federal levels," Markey said in a statement following Patrick's announcement. "The recent roundtables I have held around the state have made clear that there is no one solution to cure this problem. We need to bring together science, medicine, public health and law enforcement to comprehensively address this epidemic tearing our families and neighborhoods apart.

"It is our moral responsibility to respond immediately to the epidemic of heroin and prescription drug abuse, and I will continue to fight for the resources necessary to interrupt the cycle of addiction and help heal our communities."



Man jumps off Muller Bridge, rescued from Connecticut River by South Hadley Fire Department

0
0

This is an update of a story that was originally posted at 2:54 p.m. Thursday. SOUTH HADLEY - A man who jumped off the Muller Bridge into the Connecticut River in an apparent suicide attempt was rescued Thursday afternoon by South Hadley firefighters after he was found standing on a sandbar in the middle of the river, officials said. The...

This is an update of a story that was originally posted at 2:54 p.m. Thursday.

SOUTH HADLEY - A man who jumped off the Muller Bridge into the Connecticut River in an apparent suicide attempt was rescued Thursday afternoon by South Hadley firefighters after he was found standing on a sandbar in the middle of the river, officials said.

The man was brought to shore in South Hadley, loaded onto an ambulance and brought to Holyoke Hospital, officials said.

Firefighters tossed him a rope and pulled him toward the boat.

His name was not being released to the press. Officials described him only as an older man.

The man jumped from the midpoint of the bridge between Holyoke and South Hadley, just upstream from the Holyoke dam. The distance to the water is approximately 40 to 50 feet, officials said.

The South Hadley District 1 Fire Department was called to the scene a little after 1:30 p.m. and had a boat in the water within four minutes. The man was back on shore and in the ambulance by 2 p.m.

In addition to South Hadley firefighters, South Hadley police responded to the scene, as did Holyoke police and fire, and an American Medical Response ambulance.
This is the second such rescue in less than 2 weeks. Springfield firefighters on March 18 rescued a man from the Connecticut River after he jumped off the Memorial Bridge.


View Muller Bridge along Route 202 between Holyoke and South Hadley in a larger map

Republican Caucus set for April 3 in Wilbraham to choose candidates for the May 17 town election

0
0

The town election is May 17.

wilbraham town seal wilbraham seal small 

WILBRAHAM - The Republican Town Committee will host the Republican Town Caucus to choose candidates for the 2014 Wilbraham town election April 3 at 7 p.m. at the Wilbraham Middle School at 466 Stony Hill Road.

In the event of a school closing on April 3, the alternate date will be April 7 at the same date and location.

Candidates for the position of selectman, assessor, Water commissioner, library trustee, Planning Board, Housing Authority, two candidates for regional School Committee and two candidate for Cemetery Commissioner will be selected.

The town election is May 17.

For more information send an e-mail to daytripperskidoo@gmail.com with subject listed as “Caucus.”

Max Lavallee on trial in Palmer drug trafficking case

0
0

Palmer police found 18 grams of cocaine and pills in the false bottom of an Ajax container.

SPRINGFIELD - A prosecutor Thursday told jurors Max Lavallee is guilty of trafficking cocaine, possessing oxycodone and marijuana with intent to distribute and having ammunition illegally.

Assistant District Attorney David J. Gagne, in his opening statement in the Hampden Superior Court trial, said Palmer police executed a search warrant Jan. 22, 2013, at 20 Stewart St. in the Bondsville section.

Gagne said Lavallee was there along with a woman and a child.

In the bedroom police found a plastic container containing marijuana. The got a key to a locked closet from Lavallee, Gagne said, and in it found an Ajax container with a false bottom.

Police found 18 grams of cocaine and pills in the false bottom.

Lavallee gave officers the keys to two safes, where they found digital scales, drug packaging materials, and boxes of shotgun shells, Gagne said. There were also letters addressed to LaVallee in the safe.

Defense lawyer Joe Smith III told jurors Lavallee was visiting a friend at the home - sitting on the couch watching television - when the search warrant was executed.

Smith said jurors won't hear anything about male clothing or toiletries consistent with a man living at the house. The mail to Lavallee did not have the Palmer address on it, as Lavallee was living in Holyoke, he said.

Smith said there is no credible evidence to tie Lavallee to the contraband.

He said police "are simply going to try, for lack of a better word, to stick a square peg in a round hole."

The trial continues Friday before Judge Daniel A. Ford.


Suit against Chinese Immersion Chater School alleges imporper detention

0
0

NORTHAMPTON - The parents of a former Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School student are suing the school and its principal, claiming they violated their son's rights and caused him to suffer Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for giving him in-house detention over a series of infractions he says he didn't commit. Ellen Roy and Lyle Upright of Hadley maintain that...

NORTHAMPTON - The parents of a former Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School student are suing the school and its principal, claiming they violated their son's rights and caused him to suffer Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for giving him in-house detention over a series of infractions he says he didn't commit.

Ellen Roy and Lyle Upright of Hadley maintain that their son, who was a nine-year-old third grader at the school at the time of the March 2011 detention, cried inconsolably afterwards, clung to his mother and asked her to explain why the school would treat him in such a way.

According to the complaint, which was filed Monday in Hampshire Superior Court, Principal Kathy Wang and teacher Regan Hall escorted the boy to a small detention room on March 25, 2011, "their hands on his back," and made him stay there for the duration of the school day. Hall is also named as a defendant in the suit. Wang had previously told Roy that the boy intimidated another student in the school bathroom and poured water on a third student. The child denied both charges, saying the water incident was an accident.

Roy later learned that a teacher had also accused the boy of striking her daughter, who was a first-grader at the school. Roy's son denied this as well.

During a conference Wang called the student "bad boy" in his mother's presence and said the school would have notified police about his actions if he were older, according to the suit. Wang also reportedly told the boy his grandfather would have been ashamed of him. That evening, the boy was "extremely upset" and wanted to know if his grandfather still loved him, the suit states.

As a result of his detention, the boy missed lunch, recess, a classmate's birthday party and a party celebrating the end of MCAS testing, according to the suit. During detention, the boy was forced to write letters of apology to his alleged victims and had to be escorted to and from the bathroom by faculty.

Traumatized by his detention, the boy left the Hadley school and began home-schooling, the suit states. It seeks damages for reckless infliction of emotional distress, negligence, breach of contract and violated the child's due process rights.

The school declined to comment on the matter.

Boston firefighters recall Lt. Edward Walsh and Michael Kennedy's final hours, and the fire that killed them

0
0

Boston firefighters recall the heated smoke, the glow of the fire, the wind-fanned flames and their attempts to reach their fallen colleagues before it was too late.

On Wednesday afternoon, Boston Fire Lieutenant Edward Walsh and firefighter Dennis Keith were sitting in their fire truck outside Shaw's as their colleagues ran inside to pick up dinner for the station.

The wind was blowing and shaking the truck.

"(Walsh) said to me, 'Wow, Dennis. I hope we don't get a fire today because if we get a fire today, this would be something else,'" Keith recalled. "I said to him, 'Eddie, don't mention that f-word."

The "f-word" was fire. The men laughed.

Hours later, Walsh and firefighter Michael Kennedy were dead, killed while fighting a nine-alarm blaze on Beacon Street in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston.

The strong wind that Walsh had worried about fanned the flames. "I think the wind definitely contributed to whatever happened with the rapid advancement of the fire," Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald said.

A day after two of their colleagues died in the blaze, Boston firefighters recalled the everyday moments they enjoyed at the firehouse before the call. And they remembered the superheated smoke, the glow of the fire, the wind-fanned flames and their attempts to reach their fallen colleagues before it was too late.

"We did everything we could to perform our job, and the conditions were just horrific. In 20 years, I've never seen anything like that," said Capt. Neal Mullane, whose rapid intervention team was tasked with rescuing the trapped firefighters.

photo(11).JPGLadder 15 of the Boston Fire Department was one of the first to respond to the March 26, 2014 fatal fire in the Back Bay. Photo taken March 27, 2014. 

Colleagues of the men said there was little remarkable about Walsh and Kennedy's last days at the station. Kennedy took a shift at a neighboring firehouse on Monday, said James Cheatham, aide to the district chief. "(It was) just a simple day, no fire maybe, a couple of car accidents, a couple of sick people," Cheatham said.

Tuesday night, Kennedy helped the Boston Firefighters Burn Foundation, which helps burn survivors and their families, host an appreciation night for the city's medical staff. "He was there welcoming the doctors and therapists, making them all feel welcome," said Dennis Costin, district chief in charge of special operations.

Before the call came in on Wednesday, Keith said he and Kennedy were lying around the fire station "just talking, making fun of each other." They went to get lunch at Shaw's around noon, and Keith bought some scratch lottery tickets.

photo 2(4).JPGFirefighter Dennis Keith talks to reporters at the Boston Fire Department station on Boylston St. on March 27, 2014. 

"Mike saw me doing it -- he said 'Do you have enough money for dinner tonight?'" Keith recalled. "I said 'Don't worry about me, Mike. I have enough money for dinner."

The driver of the truck, whose turn it was to cook dinner that night, bought a package of chicken breasts and another of chicken thighs. "I said why'd you pick up chicken thighs?" Keith said. "He says, 'That's what Mike wanted for dinner.' He wanted chicken thighs." He never got them.

The 911 call from 298 Beacon St. came at 2:43 p.m., MacDonald said. The fire escalated quickly, fanned by the wind. The nine-alarm fire drew 160 firefighters to the scene.

Engine 33 and Ladder 15 from the Boylston Street fire station, where Keith and Walsh were working, were the first engines to respond. The fire was in a basement apartment. Keith, Walsh and their colleagues entered the building.

A rare mayday call signaled that the firefighters were in trouble.

Firefighters were able to evacuate Kennedy, who was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he died. They knew Walsh was trapped, but the fire chief ordered the building evacuated and firefighters could not reach his body until hours later. "The chief made the determination no one (was allowed) inside the building," MacDonald said. "Everyone wants to go in and try to find Eddie and get him out, but the chiefs have to do what they're trained to do, and that's make the hard decision."

Keith, on Ladder 15, was among the first responders into the building. He entered the basement apartment through two doors. But he saw a third door in front of him and felt the heat on the other side of it.

He walked out to get a hose and explain the situation to the chief. That's when something changed. "In that split second that I walked back out to explain to the chief what's going on in the basement, I couldn't gt back in because there was so much heat," Keith said.

"I couldn't even open the first entrance door because there was so much heat and smoke coming out of it," Keith said.

If he hadn't backed out when he did, Keith said, "I would be just like Eddie and Mike. That would be the outcome if I stayed one more second, five more seconds."

Incident Commander Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Finn said Wednesday that an explosive burst of air in the building, known as a backdraft, resulted in the call to evacuate firefighters.

Mullane was there. Mullane and his team from Ladder 18 in South Boston had entered the building through the front door. They grabbed a hose and tried to battle the fire down the stairs. But, Mullane said, "there wasn't enough water in the world" to beat the fire down. Smoke was everywhere as they moved towards the glow of the fire. "It was super heated gas and fire coming up the stairs at us. We were trying to get down the stairs, and you just couldn't," Mullane said.

"There was a backdraft," Mullane recalled. "About eight of us got blown down the stairs." The backdraft blew Mullane's mask off his face, burned his face and his eyes, and singed his hair.

"Our mission was to find them and get them out. It was impossible. It was just too much fire," Mullane said.

paris.JPGRichard Paris, president of the Boston firefighters' union, Local 718, speaks to reporters on March 27, 2014. 

When MacDonald learned there were fatalities, he stopped sending information over the Boston Fire Department's Twitter feed so nothing would get out before the families of Walsh and Kennedy could be notified.

That job fell to Richard Paris, president of Boston Firefighters Union Local 718; Eddie Kelly, president of Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts; Boston Fire Commissioner John Hasson; chaplain Father Dan Mahoney; and a close friend of the firefighters.

They called Walsh's wife and told her to expect a visit. "We don't tell people over the phone," Paris said. "We basically want them in our arms when we tell them."

They also had to tell Kennedy's mother. "The hardest thing I ever did in my life is tell a mother she lost her son," Paris said. "When we tell wives, it's hard. But something when you tell a mother that she lost her son."

"She just kept saying, 'Where's my Michael?'" Paris said. "'Where's my Michael?'"

In wake of deadly NYC explosion, Sen. Ed Markey pushes legislation to deal with aging natural gas infastructure

0
0

Markey's Pipeline Modernization and Consumer Protection Act addresses the actual infrastructure while the Pipeline Revolving Fund and Job Creation Act aims to spin the fix of the issue into an economic boost.

SPRINGFIELD - Natural gas is cheaper and cleaner than several other fuel options, but it can be dangerous or even deadly when the pipelines that carry the invisible gas are old or aging as is the case underneath many American cities.

Earlier this month, a suspected natural gas leak in Spanish Harlem, N.Y., caused an explosion which killed eight people, injured dozens more and displaced nearly 100 people.

In Springfield, a massive natural gas explosion occurred in November 2012 after a utility worker responding to a leak accidentally ruptured a gas line. The blast mostly leveled a downtown city block and caused millions in damage. Amazingly, no one was killed, but the damage done by the blast still defines much of the upper downtown business district surrounding the blast more than a year later.

Incidents like these led U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., to again push two companion bills he introduced late last year in an attempt to address the issue before more preventable tragedies happen, causing millions of dollars in damage, injuries and deaths.

"The explosion in New York City, much like the one that occurred in Springfield in my home state of Massachusetts, is a tragic event that has shaken a city. The unseen patchwork of aging natural gas pipelines in our country threatens our safety, takes money out of our pockets, and releases emissions that worsen climate change," Markey said. "Fixing these pipelines will save lives and create jobs. Now is the time to consider how we can protect the American public and first responders from this kind of event and push for updates to our natural gas pipeline system."

markey.jpgSen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., is again pushing two bills he introduced in late 2013, both of which aim to address the problem of aging natural gas pipelines underneath America's towns and cities. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Markey's Pipeline Modernization and Consumer Protection Act addresses the actual infrastructure while the Pipeline Revolving Fund and Job Creation Act aims to spin the fix of the issue into an economic boost.

The first bill specifically tackles the issue of the nation's aging gas pipelines, and would require each operator of a gas pipeline facility, public or privately-owned, "to accelerate the repair, rehabilitation, and replacement of gas piping or equipment that is leaking or may pose high risk of leaking." The second bill would make government grants available to utility companies only if the new piping being installed was made in the United States.

Related Editorial: Price too high for crumbling natural gas pipelines

The legislation followed a report from Markey's office (embedded below) which concluded between 2000-2012, almost 800 significant incidents occurred in the United States related to natural gas, including several hundred explosions, killing a total of 116 people. The report also showed leaky natural gas pipelines are costing American consumers tens of billions of dollars for fuel that may never reach their homes.

The report concluded that in Massachusetts, consumers paid up to $1.5 billion in extra charges from 2000-2011 because of tens of thousands of miles of old pipelines leaking gas underground.

"We can put people to work building a new natural gas energy backbone that is safer, cheaper, and better for the environment," Markey said."This legislation will create jobs, protect consumers from being charged for gas they may never get, and plug the dangerous leaks that cause accidents and worsen climate change."

Both bills were introduced in November and although they each have only the same five official co-sponsors in Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hi., and New York Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, Markey is hopeful that the recent incident in Harlem will spark new interest from other colleagues. The bills have the public backing of several utility operators, labor unions and advocacy groups.

Bert Kalisch, president and CEO of the American Public Gas Association, which represents publicly owned natural gas utilities, offered his support.

"APGA is proud to support Senator Markey's common sense and cost effective legislation to establish a State Revolving Loan Fund for the repair or replacement of LDC pipelines," Kalisch said in a statement. "This legislation provides a sustainable financing mechanism that will allow municipal utilities and other market participants to be eligible for affordable loans and loan guarantees that improve distribution system integrity and efficiency."

Shannon BakerBranstetter, policy counsel of Energy and Environment at Consumers Union said, "Many natural gas pipelines are in desperate need of repair and leaking large amounts of gas. This problem threatens public safety and the environment, and the waste is costly for consumers."

Both bills have been referred to the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee which will determine if they make it further in the legislative process.


Natural Gas report from Sen. Ed Markey's office


Michael Lebert, accused in Chicopee Dugout Cafe hatchet handle attack on woman bartender, said he still wants to represent himself

0
0

The attack of which Lebert is accused was Sept. 21 at about 10:30 a.m. at the Dugout Cafe on 134 Meadow St. in Chicopee.

lebert.jpg Michael Lebert

SPRINGFIELD - Michael Lebert, the 50-year-old Chicopee resident accused of attacking a woman bartender in the Dugout Cafe, Thursday again rejected a chance to have a lawyer represent him.

Lebert told Hampden Superior Court Judge John S. Ferrara he had met with lawyer Donald Frank in lockup at the courthouse and decided he didn't want Frank as either his lawyer or "stand by counsel," to help him defend himself.

The attack was Sept. 21 at about 10:30 a.m. at the Dugout Cafe on 134 Meadow St. in Chicopee.

Lebert is alleged to have entered the bar and used the restroom. He then struck the 57-year-old woman from behind with the handle of a hatchet, hitting her several times, police said.

She suffered significant injuries and was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield by ambulance after the attack.

Hebert's case has been winding its way slowly through the court system. He was initially held on $500,000 cash or $5 million bail, but that was later reduced to $100,000 cash or surety.

Two assigned defense lawyers were allowed sequentially to withdraw from his case and in March 2013 Lebert said he would represent himself.

He faces charges of armed assault with intent to murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Hebert has filed dozens of motions, and most times when he is before a judge the discussion becomes lengthy and Hebert has to be told to only address the precise matter at hand. He comes to the courtroom bearing a stack of documents and pulls papers out with his handcuffed hands.

Thursday he was asking Ferrara to get him the names of carriers for the landline at the Dugout Cafe and Chicopee fire/rescue dispatch so he could subpoena records for his "alibi defense."

"It's exculpatory evidence," he said.

As he went on Ferrara said, "Listen to me for a minute Mr. Lebert," and tried to explain the process necessary.

"One of the problems with representing yourself is you still have to abide by the rules of procedure, " Ferrara said.

Lebert's trial is scheduled for May 27.


Holyoke police investigate threatening phone message left at city clerk's office related to woman’s dog license issue; upset staffer taken to hospital

0
0

A staff member in the city clerk's office was taken out by ambulance after suffering an anxiety attack after the threatening phone message was played.

HOLYOKE — Police on Thursday were investigating a threatening phone message left on the machine at the city clerk's office in City Hall by a man in relation to recent stories about how a woman who happened to have cancer was arrested and jailed after failing to answer a court summons after not paying a dog license fee.

Also, City Clerk Brenna Murphy McGee said an ambulance had to be called after the phone message was played to take an office staffer for treatment after she suffered an anxiety attack. The staffer was recovering at home, she said.

"It was on the phone line this morning. It was a message, no name. I called (police) immediately," Murphy McGee said.

Police Chief James M. Neiswanger and a detective came to the office, she said. Lt. James Albert of the Criminal Investigations Bureau said the matter is under investigation.

Murphy McGee said she personally and the office in general have been barraged with criticism and media inquiries this week about how the case of Ann Musser, of Holyoke, was handled.

Musser, who has advanced ovarian cancer, was arrested Friday night at her home for having an outstanding bench warrant. The warrant was issued after she failed to appear in court after she received a summons to appear. The summons to appear in court was issued after she failed to pay a $5 fee to renew her dog license, and then failed to pay a late fee within a grace period.

Most of the steps in the matter predate Murphy McGee, a former city councilor who took over as city clerk in January after winning election to a four-year term in November. That came after longtime city clerk Susan M. Egan retired.

After what would have been a half-dozen notices, Murphy McGee said, the city clerk's office on June 27, 2012 referred the matter of the unpaid dog license fee to Holyoke District Court. It was unclear why it took so long between the referral to court and the arrest of Musser on March 21.

Murphy McGee said she was sorry to learn of Musser's illness. She understands why people feel frustrated at hearing about the case and how a seemingly cold government and court bureaucracy treated a woman who has cancer over something as minor as a dog license, she said, but she knows nothing from her office was done with the intention of harming Musser.

"The whole office was upset. These are just people who are trying to do their jobs. We're all just trying to do our jobs," Murphy McGee said.

"I'm very sorry about Ann's health condition and had the office known she had a health condition, this office would have handled the situation differently. ... I wasn't here at the time, but I know the staff in the office at the time didn't know about her health condition," she said.

Musser told The Republican / MassLive.com she and her husband tried to explain about her medical condition to a state trooper and how she was vulnerable to infection.She said they were told that nothing could be done and that Musser had to be arrested.

Musser was booked at the state police barracks in Northampton and then transferred to the Hampshire County House of Correction until her husband bailed her out 4½ hours later.


North Adams Regional Hospital: Unions react to court order keeping emergency room open

0
0

North Adams Mayor Richard Alcombright said the community has been in shock since Tuesday's announcement with many fearing the consequences of a hospital closure. The next-nearest emergency room is at Berkshire Medical Center 30- to 40 minutes away by ambulance.

This is a continuation of: North Adams Regional Hospital emergency room to stay open under court order


NORTH ADAMS - Protesters occupying North Adams Regional Hospital cheered Thursday when word came of a court order keeping the emergency room open for at least the time being.

But the court order, issued Thursday in Berkshire Superior Court, applies only to emergency services and is not clear on how an emergency room would function without the rest of the hospital, said David Schildmeier, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Nurses Association which represents about 100 of the 500 employees who could lose jobs in the closure.

"The injunction is an important first step," Schildmeier said. "We still need to maintain a full service community hospital. You can't really run an emergency room without other services to support it.

But the threat of imminent closure, once scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday, has been lifted, giving the state, the community and hospital parent organization Northern Berkshire Health Systems time to work out a permanent solution.

"An injunction is just to put the breaks on and give all these folks time to put a real fix in," he said. "Now that the pressure is off as far as locking the doors."

The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office obtained a court order Thursday , just hours before the planned closure.

According to a news release, a hearing on a permanent injunction has also been scheduled for April 3 where lawyers working for the state will seek to keep emergency room services operating for at least 90 days during any ownership transition or closure.

Lawmakers had been working on a deal to merge foundering Northern Berkshire Health Systems with a larger, stronger and more stable partner, most likely Berkshire Health Systems which has Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield.

Earlier Thursday, Berkshire Medical Center said it was helping to keep some doctor's offices associated with North Adams Regional Hospital open, establishing a blood-drawing station there for medical tests and providing a helpline to worried patients.

"Now that the pressure is off as far as locking the doors," he said. "An injunction is just to put the breaks on and give all these folks time to put a real fix in."

In a statement, the Attorney General's office said Attorney General Martha Coakley, who grew up in North Adams, is committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure an orderly transition that preserves critical emergency health services for the region.

Lawmakers said they are committed as well. State Sen. Benjamin Downing D-Pittsfield, said, through a spokeswoman, that he'd cleared his schedule and was concentration only on North Adams Regional Hospital.

U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, plans to be in the Berkshires Friday.

North Adams Mayor Richard Alcombright said the community has been in shock since Tuesday's announcement with many fearing the consequences of a hospital closure. The next-nearest emergency room is at Berkshire Medical Center 30 to 40 minutes away by ambulance.

"That's just unacceptable," Alcombright said. "That's what I hear from everyone."

Also, he worries about the loss of employment. Northern Berkshire Health Systems has a payroll of $800,000 a week, he said.

"You can't just take that out of a community," he said.

State Senate pushes legislation addressing leaks in natural gas lines

0
0

By MATT MURPHY BOSTON - The Senate on Thursday teed up legislation for debate next week that sets up a new classification system and timeline for utility companies to fix potentially dangerous gas leaks in the thousands of miles of pipe across the state. The bill would create a three-tiered classification system ranging from the most dangerous leaks to...


By MATT MURPHY

BOSTON - The Senate on Thursday teed up legislation for debate next week that sets up a new classification system and timeline for utility companies to fix potentially dangerous gas leaks in the thousands of miles of pipe across the state.

The bill would create a three-tiered classification system ranging from the most dangerous leaks to those considered non-hazardous to people or property. Gas companies would be required to immediately schedule repairs for the most severe leaks, while the utilities would be given a year to address the more moderate Grade 2 leaks that are deemed not to be an imminent threat, but probable to become a future hazard.

The Senate Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Sen. Stephen Brewer, released a version of the bill (S 2073) on Thursday, and the Senate scheduled an April 3 debate. Amendments to the bill are due Friday at noon.

The House unanimously approved a similar gas leaks bill (H 3873) in February.

The action comes after a suspected gas leak in Spanish, Harlem, N.Y., last month killed eight and after a gas explosion in Springfield in November 2012 caused millions in damage. That explosion occurred after a utility worker accidentally ruptured a gas line when responding to a report of a leak.

Related editorial: Price too high for crumbling gas pipelines

In addition to creating a uniform leak classification system and aligning civil penalties for pipeline gasoline safety with federal penalties, gas companies would be required to prioritize the repair of gas leaks in school zones and report annually to the Department of Public Utilities on the location, classification and schedule for repairs of all three grades of gas leaks.

The bill also would allow gas companies to seek increases in their rates prior to the completion of major infrastructure replacement projects designed to upgrade “leak-prone” infrastructure before it becomes a problem, according to a summary of the bill.

Rep. Lori Ehrlich, a Marblehead Democrat who has championed the gas leaks legislation in the House, has said that there are 20,000 known leaks of "flammable natural gas" in the state's network of 21,000 miles of pipe.

Under the proposed bill, gas companies would also be allowed to propose plans to the Department of Public Utilities to increase the availability of natural gas service for new customers.

The Department of Public Utilities would be required to issue a report on gas company compliance with the new laws and regulations and issue written findings and recommendations on the need for further investigation in cases of gas explosions.

The Executive Office of Public Safety and Security would conduct an assessment of the adequacy of safety standards for utility transformer vaults, and the DPU would be authorized to issue procedures for the winter surveillance of cast iron gas pipelines.

Official fund established to support families of two Boston firefighters killed in Beacon Street blaze

0
0

The Boston Firefighter's Credit Union has created the Lieutenant Walsh - Firefighter Kennedy Memorial Fund to help support the families of Lieutenant Ed Walsh and Firefighter Michael Kennedy.

BOSTON — A fund to help support the families of the two Boston firefighters killed during Wednesday's 9-alarm blaze on Beacon Street has been established.

The Boston Firefighters Credit Union has created the Lieutenant Walsh - Firefighter Kennedy Memorial Fund to help support the families of Lieutenant Edward Walsh and Firefighter Michael Kennedy.

Donations to the fund can be made online here or by mailing a check to the Boston Firefighter's Credit Union, 60 Hallet Street, Dorchester, MA 02124.

"In difficult times like these, I am so proud to be mayor of a city that comes together to help our neighbors in need," said Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh in a statement.

"Since yesterday's tragic events, we've experienced an outpouring of support from across the city, state, and country. So many people have expressed a willingness to help, in some way, as we grieve the loss of Lieutenant Walsh and Firefighter Kennedy," said Walsh.

Additional places to donate to support their families can be found here.

North Adams Regional Hospital emergency room to stay open under court order

0
0

Protesters are currently occupying the hospital's cafeteria.

Update: 6:15 p.m. North Adams Regional Hospital: Unions react to court order keeping emergency room open


NORTH ADAMS - The emergency department at North Adams Regional Hospital will stay open, at least for now, under a temporary court order issued Thursday.

The state Attorney General's Office said Thursday that the order maintains emergency services in North Adams until a permanent solution can be found. A hearing has been scheduled for Thursday, April 3.

The emergency room, along with the rest of the 109-bed hospital was to have closed Friday morning. The closure was announced Tuesday, giving state and local authorities only a few days notice. That lack of notice gave the state the grounds it needed to block the closure, according to the Attorney General's Office.

Closing the emergency room would force residents of northern Berkshire County to go elswhere. The next-nearest emergency room is 35 to 40 minutes away by ambulance at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield

Attorneys for the state obtained the order this afternoon in Berkshire Superior Court in Pittsfield.

Protesters are currently occupying the hospital's cafeteria.

This is a fast-moving story so check back with MassLive.com for updates.

Viewing all 62489 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images