Amherst is looking for ideas about the North Common at a forum April 1.

AMHERST – Town officials considering repairing the North Common are holding a forum Tuesday to present ideas and hear comments about the well-traveled patch of land between two downtown parking lots.

The forum begins with a visit to the common at 6 p.m., followed by the discussion in Town Hall at 7 p.m.

In 2012, the town applied unsuccessfully for a Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities program grant to do improvements even though Amherst was considered a strong contender.

Town Manager John P. Musante said at the time that they were told the grant could be even stronger with community comments and suggestions for use.

Senior Planner Christine Brestrup said the Department of Public Works staff is fine tuning some concepts they will bring to the forum.

The area is worn as people have created their own footpaths and tree roots have posed safety problems. The area is muddy when it gets wet and suffers from erosion.
People gather for all kinds of things including staging political rallies at the end near South Pleasant Street or for other kinds of assemblies.

Brestrup said they are considering putting in more seating, a platform that could be used for performances and space and seating around the fountain so people can appreciate the historic nature of it.

According to the Allen House website, “In 1904, the Women's Christian Temperance Union and the Young Woman's Christian Temperance Union dedicated a drinking fountain for humans over the old town well. The purpose was to encourage people to drink water rather than liquor.”

A granite drinking basin for dogs was added at the suggestion of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Brestrup said it’s too soon to think about how much money they would seek if they do apply for the grant this summer but would likely seek money to both design and build it.
They would need to come up with 30 percent of the project’s funding costs, one source could be the Community Preservation Act funding but there are competing interests for money.

State Auditor Suzanne Bump urges women to run for political office. Watch video

AMHERST &mdash Being honored with an award is just the beginning, State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump told the more than 130 at the University of Massachusetts Women’s Leadership Breakfast Friday morning.

She was speaking to the three students receiving awards about their responsibility to other women.

Bump also said it’s imperative that more women seek elective office.
A former state representative and former secretary of Labor and Workforce Development, Bump was elected auditor in 2010, the first woman to hold that office.

Bump said there are three stages when receiving an award. The first is when one is notified, the second the day its presented. But she said, “if you thought the award was a reward, think again. This is in fact the leadership challenge stage. You are clearly motivated by a set of ideals.

“You hopefully in your pursuit of your ideals you have excelled.” But now she said comes the time for them “to share your wisdom and your power. You better do it,” she said, and quoted former Secretary of State Madeline Albright. “There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.”

Bump talked about her mentors and role models and her mission to be that for other women as well. More women are needed.

She said the number of women in the state Legislature peaked at 53 in 2003 and now that number is 50. “Massachusetts isn’t alone in this trend.”

She said the reason the numbers are dropping is women don’t run. “We are just as likely to get elected…as male counterparts.

“Women are less inclined to take risks in public. We do feel more tethered to home and family. We are less likely to see one another as potential candidates.” She said it takes more people advocating that a woman run for office before she will run for that office than a man.

“Women tend to run to do something. Men tend to run because they want to be something,” she said.

She urged those in the audience, most of whom were women, to “look at your sisters and see if they should run.” Then urge them to do so.
She said, “Many of our gains are at risk.”

Women still earn about 78 cents on the dollar compared to a man “even though 40 percent (of women are) primary or sole source of income.” A bill in the Senate to address the inequity has not been acted on. According to Govtracker.us the bill introduced in 2013 Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Maryland, is in committee.

“A sense of fairness is fundamental,” Bump said. Until women are safe and “fairly compensated our work will not be done.”

At the breakfast three students were honored in memory of two UMass leaders who died in 2013, women’s softball coach Elaine Sortino and Commonwealth Honors College Dean Priscilla Clarkson.

The award to honor Sortino, the UMass softball coach for 34 years, was given to Emily Hajjar.

Joan Hopkins who presented the award, said Sortino was a “trailblazer in the game of softball.” She was also an administrator and “was truly a leader in every sense of the word.”

Clarkson, a distinguished Professor of Kinesiology, “was a champion of the Honors College,” said interim college Dean Daniel Gordon. Awards in her honor were given to Courtney St. Onge and Sarah Reynolds.

The fourth man police are seeking in the 2013 killing, Jose "Bugout" Rodriguez, is considered armed and dangerous.

HOLYOKE -- Three men are in custody and police Friday continued searching for a fourth in relation to the 2013 shooting death of a man at Cabot and South Summer streets.

A warrant for murder has been issued for Jose "Bugout" Rodriguez, 24, of Springfield, Lt. James Albert said.

"If anyone should encounter Jose Rodriguez, (also known as) “Bugout”, he is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached. Contact the nearest Police Department via 911 immediately," said Albert, of the Criminal Investigations Bureau.

Juan S. Quinones, 24, of Springfield, was shot outside and behind 16 Cabot St. June 2, 2013. He was pronounced dead at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. Police got the call about the shooting about 1 p.m. that day.

Rolando Colon, 37, of Ware, also known as "Rolo," was arrested in Harrisburg, Penn. Thursday on a warrant for murder. Officials are awaiting his extradition, Albert said.

Detectives served Joshua Santos, 26, of Springfield, currently in the Hampden County House of Correction in Ludlow on unrelated charges, with a murder warrant at the jail Friday. Santos, also known as "Macho," is scheduled to be arraigned on the murder charge Monday in Holyoke District Court, he said.

Jose Santiago, 21, of Holyoke was arrested here Thursday. Also known as "Mikey," Santiago was issued a murder warrant and received firearms and drug charges in relation to having a .25 caliber semi-automatic pistol, heroin and marijuana. Those items were recovered from him by the Holyoke Police Narcotics Unit. Santiago was arraigned Friday in Holyoke District Court and is being held at the jail in Ludlow, he said.

City police worked on the case with Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the office of Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni and the state police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Unit, he said.

The public is invited to the 30th anniversary of the Vietnam Memorial at Court Square.

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Veterans Activities Committee and supporters on Sunday will commemorate the 30th anniversary of the dedication of the Springfield Vietnam Veterans Memorial Monument.

The event begins at 1 p.m. at the monument at Court Square in downtown Springfield.

The committee extends an invitation to all veterans, their families and friends, and the public to participate and honor and thank the veterans who served during the Vietnam era.

Scheduled speakers include U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, and Donald Jernigan Sr.

State police arrested Gonzalez, a husband and father of two, Tuesday during a traffic stop of his truck on River Road in Agawam.

Updates a story posted at 8:53 a.m. Friday.

SPRINGFIELD — A federal magistrate judge released an accused cocaine trafficker from Holyoke on a $1 million bond after a hearing Friday afternoon in U.S. District Court.

Javier Gonzalez and Jamil Roman have been charged in U.S. District Court with conspiracy and distribution of five kilograms of cocaine, after seizures on Tuesday yielded approximately $1.5 million in cash from a hidden compartment in Gonzalez’s tractor-trailer truck and other sites.

State police arrested Gonzalez, a husband and father of two, Tuesday during a traffic stop of his truck on River Road in Agawam. A sworn statement drafted by a agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration stated that a former close associate of the pair — who has federal charges hanging over his or her own head — recorded conversations for government investigators from January to March, capturing the inner workings of a high-level Texas-to-Massachusetts drug ring with ties to Mexico.

The hub of the alleged drug ring appears to have been a littered truck sales lot guarded by Rottweilers and German Shepherds at the corners of South Bridge and Jackson streets in South Holyoke: JGL Truck Sales, a company state records show is owned by Gonzalez.

Federal prosecutors withdrew a motion for detention after Gonzalez's lawyer, Kevin G. Murphy, presented a bail proposal that included the family home at 100 Brown Ave. in Holyoke and several commercial plots owned by Gonzalez.

During Friday's hearing, Gonzalez's wife reassured U.S. District Magistrate Judge Kenneth P. Neiman that she had no fear that her husband would flee if she pledged the properties and remaining cash to free him.

"He's a good man. He's a good father. Everyone makes mistakes," Evelyn Gonzalez told the judge.

The family was required to surrender all passports; Gonzalez's next pretrial date has not yet been set. Roman's detention hearing is set for Monday, March 31.

A large crowd gathered just outside the doors of Boston City Hall on Friday to raise the flag of the Boston Fire Department in memory of the the two firefighters killed battling Wednesday's 9-alarm blaze in the city's Back Bay neighborhood.

BOSTON — A large crowd gathered just outside the doors of Boston City Hall on Friday to raise the flag of the Boston Fire Department in memory of the the two firefighters killed battling Wednesday's 9-alarm blaze in the city's Back Bay neighborhood.

The memorial service, lasting just under 20 minutes, featured remarks from city fire officials that praised Fire Lieutenant Edward J. Walsh Jr., 43, and Firefighter Michael R. Kennedy, 33, as heroic and brave.

"Their courage will never be forgotten. Words cannot repay the debt of gratitude that we owe these men and their loved ones for the sacrifice that they made," said Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh.

"Lieutenant Walsh and Firefighter Kennedy will be remember in Boston's history as men who embodied the highest virtues of this city and this nation. They were devoted to their families, they lived in service to their communities, and they were loyal dedicated members of the Boston Fire Department. Their courage will never be forgotten," said Walsh.

Longtime Boston Fire chaplain Rev. Daniel J. Mahoney of St. Francis DeSales Church in Charlestown said that Walsh and Kennedy represented the "the highest traditions of the Boston Fire Department.”

Local 718 President Rich Paris recognized all involved in responding to Wednesday's fire as well as the friends and family in attendance at City Hall Plaza.

"We couldn't had two better firefighters in this city than Eddie and Michael. I like to think that their legacy will be that the firefighters still here answering the call are going to try to be as good as they were," said Ed Kelly, president of the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts, a statewide labor organization for firefighters.

Kelly said the families of both firefighters are strong people. "Their strength is our strength," said Kelly.

Officials thanked the public, too, for its support in the aftermath of the 298 Beacon Street fire.

"The amount of food and donations we've received at that firehouse have really boosted our spirits. It really shows the people of the city and the people of the business community in District 4 are certainly behind us," said Boston Fire Commissioner John Hasson.

"The people of Boston have always respected what we do and we appreciate that," said Kelly.

The flags of the Boston Fire Department and International Firefighters Union were raised to half-mast at city hall as bagpipes played Amazing Grace.

A firefighter fainted on the temporary stage where the memorial took place after the flag raising. He was treated on site.

A vigil at Holy Name Parish in West Roxbury is scheduled for tonight at 7 p.m.

Walsh's wake will be on Tuesday from 3-8 p.m. at the Stanton Funeral Home in Watertown.

The funeral Mass will be held on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. at St Patrick Catholic Parish in Watertown.

Funeral arrangements for Kennedy have not been announced.

The funeral plans for one of the Boston firefighters killed in Wednesday's 9-alarm fire on Beacon Street have been announced.

BOSTON — The funeral plans for the Boston firefighters killed in Wednesday's 9-alarm fire on Beacon Street have been announced.

Lt. Edward Walsh's wake will be on Tuesday from 3-8 p.m. at the Stanton Funeral Home in Watertown. The funeral Mass will be held on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. at St Patrick Catholic Parish in Watertown.

Firefighter Michael Kennedy Wednesday April 2nd at the P E Murray Funeral Home in West Roxbury at 2:30-8 p.m. Kennedy's funeral Mass will be held at Holy Name Church West Roxbury on Thursday at 11:00 a.m.

A vigil for the two will be held at Holy Name Parish tonight at 7 p.m.

Need a cat? A dog? What about a hamster or a rooster? You can find all of these creatures at the Thomas J. O'Connor Animal Control and Adoption Center on Cottage Street in Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD — Need a cat? A dog? What about a hamster or a rooster? You can find all of these creatures at the Thomas J. O'Connor Animal Control and Adoption Center on Cottage Street in Springfield.

On Thursday night, someone left a tub with eight hamsters at the center's front door. This may sound odd, but it's not: Center director Pam Peebles says people drive up with all kinds of animals and often just leave them at the door if the Center is not open. Some leave injured animals in the hope that they will receive care the owner can't afford.

Some of the oddest are brought in by animal control officers, including a pair of Great Horned Owls found last week in Oak Grove Cemetery. There are 5 chickens currently at the center that were seized from a Springfield home. While a photographer was taking photos, officers were heading out to pick up a rabbit from a Holyoke home.

Some animals stay to be adopted, others are sent to shelters that may specialize in certain species, and some are rehabilitated and then released back to the wild.

Anyone interested in adopting an "exotic" animal or your basic cat or dog can reach the center at 413-781-1484, or on their website http://www.tjoconnoradoptioncenter.com/tjo/ .

The six members of parliament are on a mission sponsored by the Ruderman Family Foundation in order to educate Israeli leaders about the American Jewish community.

Six members of Knesset, the Israeli parliament, will visit Boston this Sunday through Tuesday to meet with Jewish communal leaders and with the state’s political leaders.

The Israeli delegation will have lunch on Monday at the Harvard Club with Gov. Deval Patrick, treasurer and gubernatorial candidate Steve Grossman, U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano and members of the state Legislature. (Grossman has strong ties to Israel as the former chairman of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, an influential pro-Israel lobbying organization.)

Patrick said in a statement, “We are proud of the growing economic and cultural partnership between Massachusetts and Israel because of our commitment to opening the doors of Massachusetts to the global economy. I welcome these Members of Knesset to Boston and look forward to discussing how we will continue to strengthen the Commonwealth's relationship with Israel."

The group is sponsored by the Ruderman Family Foundation, a Jewish foundation that focuses on inclusion of Jews with disabilities and on the relationship between Israel and the American Jewish community. It started its Ruderman Fellows Program in 2010, in which members of Knesset are brought to the U.S. for a week of briefings in Boston and New York.

Jay Ruderman, president of the Ruderman Family Foundation, said the goal of the mission is to educate Israeli leaders on the American Jewish community – what the community looks like, how it operates and how its connection to Israel is changing.

Ruderman, who grew up in Massachusetts and now lives in Israel, said he realized while living in Israel how different the Israeli and American Jewish communities are. “These communities are vitally important to each other, yet the conversation and the connection between the two communities tends to be focused on Israel, what are threats to Israel,” Ruderman said. “This is the only program that I know of that seeks to speak to Israeli leadership about what’s going on in the American Jewish community.”

Patrick is expected to speak to the group about economic ties between Israel and America. But Ruderman said the meeting will also be a chance for the Israelis to see how deeply American Jews, like Grossman, are involved in political and civic life – something that is not the case with many Jewish communities elsewhere in the world. He said he anticipates the Israeli delegation will learn more about the effort that the Jewish community puts into maintaining a relationship between the U.S. government and Israel, and how that relationship “is not something that can just be taken for granted.”

In addition to meeting with political leaders, the delegation will hold a town hall meeting at Northeastern University on Tuesday, will tour Boston and Cambridge, hold a panel discussion with academics at Brandeis University, and meet with Jewish students at Harvard.

The members of Knesset represent a diverse group from across the Israeli political spectrum. They include: Itzik Shmuli and Nachman Shai of the Labor Party; Michal Rozin of the Meretz Party; Shimon Ohayon of the Yisrael Beitenu (Israel is Our Home) Party; Shimon Solomon of the Yesh Atid (There is a Future) Party; and Shuli Mualem-Refaeli of the HaBayit HaYehudi (Jewish Home) Party.

Entergy Corp. agreed to pay $10 million for Windham County economic development and $25 million toward site restoration after Vermont Yankee is decommissioned.

The Vermont Public Service Board on Friday voted to authorize the operators of Vermont Yankee to close down the nuclear power plant by Dec. 31.

According to the Associated Press, the Public Service Board ranted Vermont Yankee a certificate of public good — essentially a state permit — covering its operation from March 21, 2012, when its last permit expired, through December 2014.

Plant owner Entergy Corp. announced last August the Vernon reactor would shut down in late 2014 for economic reasons. The company cited the declining cost of natural gas makes the cost of providing electricity through nuclear power too expensive.

Vermont Yankee, a single unit boiling water reactor, began commercial operation in 1972. Entergy acquired the plant from Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation in 2002. In March 2011, the NRC renewed the station's operating license for an additional 20 years, until 2032.

Because Entergy opted to shut the plant down prior to the terms in the most recent license, the board had to give its approval.

A memo of understanding between the state and the company has Entergy providing $10 million to promote economic development in Windham County, which faces the loss of more than 600 jobs at Vermont Yankee.

The company also will put $25 million toward site restoration after decommissioning.

According to Vermont Business Magazine, some critics have charged the agreement does not guarantee the plant will have enough money reserved to fully deconstruct the plant.

The cost to decommission the plant in 60 years has been estimated at more than $1 billion, according to the company’s 2012 Decommissioning Cost Analysis report. Entergy has reserved just over $600 million to date, according to the Department of Public Service.

The Brattleboro Reformer reports the board, in announcing the decision, admitted there remained some outstanding issues in need of resolution, including a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit that is 12 years old and whose application for renewal has been under review by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources for the past eight years.

"If the (Vermont Yankee) Station were going to operate for an additional 18 years, this evidence might cause us to conclude that Entergy VY had not met its obligation to demonstrate that the discharge would not adversely affect the water quality," wrote the board.

Connecticut River Watershed Council and Vermont Natural Resources Council issued a statement calling on the board to do more to address the impact on the river’s ecological systems by the continued discharge of warm water from the plant into the river.

Its statement read:

The Vermont Yankee proceedings were long and complicated and addressed many important issues. Vermont Natural Resources Council and Connecticut River Watershed Council were primarily involved in the proceedings to address Vermont Yankee’s discharge of hot water into the Connecticut River. While we recognize that the PSB certainly had the authority to require closed cycle cooling to stop the thermal pollution of the Connecticut River, we understand that this would have likely violated the terms of the MOU between Entergy and the State of Vermont.

The PSB has decided to implement the terms of the MOU between Entergy and the State of Vermont. The MOU and the CPG require the Agency of Natural Resources to pursue issues related the VY’s thermal discharge through the ANR permitting process. The Board stated that the MOU provides a short term mechanism to address discharge concerns; however, it is important to note that the Board also acknowledged that if the VY Station were going to operate for an additional eighteen years, the evidence put forward by CRWC, VNRC and the ANR might have led the Board to “conclude that Entergy VY had not met its obligation to demonstrate that the discharge would not adversely affect the water quality” of the Connecticut River. The PSB therefore recognized that there are concerns with the VY Station’s thermal discharge.

Updating VY’s discharge permit is long overdue, and we call on the ANR to swiftly implement a revised discharge permit that protects the ecological health of the Connecticut River.

Vermont Yankee Memo of Understanding uploaded by Patrick Johnson

The shooting victim was taken to a hospital in Springfield with a head wound and later discharged.

HOLYOKE -- Michael Santiago, 23, of Holyoke, is a "violent suspect" in the shooting Sunday of a 16-year-old male who suffered a head wound, police said Friday.

Police are seeking the public's help in finding Santiago, who also is known as "Mexico," in relation to the South Canal Street shooting, said Lt. James Albert of the Criminal Investigations Bureau.

"This suspect is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached. If you encounter Santiago you should call the nearest Police Department via 911," Albert said.

The victim was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield from which he has been discharged, he said.

The shooting was reported about 2:12 a.m. at 569 South Canal St.

Santiago is wanted on a warrant for assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, a handgun; home invasion; armed assault in a dwelling; and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, Albert said.

Attorney generals in 29 states, including Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont, have asked the U.S. Federal Drug Administration to reconsider its recent approval of the hydrocodone-based painkiller, citing its potential for abuse and addiction.

SPRINGFIELD - A member of the regional addiction task force praised Gov. Deval Patrick’s decision to treat the rising rate of opioid abuse a public health emergency.

Responding to growing number of overdoses from heroin and narcotic painkillers, Patrick Thursday announced an immediate ban on the powerful new drug Zohydro and commitment of $20 million to increase drug treatment and recovery services.

“It’s a remarkable position to take and the correct one,” said Steven F. Bradley, a vice president for Baystate Health and member of a recently formed addiction task force for Hampshire, Franklin and Quabin regions.

“This is an epidemic,” he said.

As part of a seven-step initiative to curb opioid abuse, Patrick announced an immediate ban on doctors prescribing Zohydro until stronger safeguards can be developed to prevent its abuse.

Attorney generals in 29 states, including Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont, have asked the U.S. Federal Drug Administration to reconsider its recent approval of the hydrocodone-based painkiller, citing its potential for abuse and addiction.

Drugmaker Zognix said the governor’s decision to block doctors from prescribing the hydrocodone-based painkiller Zohydro will force patients with severe pain to rely on alternatives containing acetaminophen, which has a high risk of liver damage.

Bradley said the controversy over the new painkiller highlights the need for a broader consensus on how narcotic painkillers are prescribed and monitored statewide and how patients are “stepped off” the medication once the medical necessity has passed.

He praised also Patrick’s decision to allocate $20 million more for drug treatment programs this year, but said a long-term commitment is necessary to treat addiction as a disease.

“We need treatment on demand; when people are making a decision to seek treatment, there’s a small window; if you tell them you have to wait 60 to 90 days, you lose them,” Bradley said.

Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan said Patrick’s announcement is “big step forward” in addressing a crisis that has caught up to western Massachusetts at an alarming rate. Heroin-related overdoses have resulted in 20 deaths in Hampshire and Franklin counties in the last four months.

“Taking concrete steps to prevent prescriptions drug addiction will significantly reduce the risk of heroin addiction and the human misery and death it brings,” Sullivan said. “I look forward to working with the Patrick administration and community to address this opioid epidemic.”

Patrick’s emergency order will allow first responders to carry the overdose drug naloxone and make the drug more easily available by prescription to friends and family members of people battling addiction.

Farnham's application for a special permit was denied following a public hearing on Thursday night.

WILBRAHAM - After the Board of Appeals denied a request for a special permit to Michael Farnham for a games and party store at 2460 Boston Road which would also sell air rifles and paintball supplies, Farnham said he will reapply for a permit for just the games and party booking store.

Farnham, 18, said he was disappointed his application for a special permit was denied, but he said he plans to reapply for a scaled down business.

The appeals board members said at a hearing on Thursday that they were not opposed to the proposed game nights for such fantasy tabletop role-playing games as Dungeons and Dragons and trading card games such as Magic: The Gathering.

They said they opposed the mixed use of holding card game nights with the proposed sale of air guns and paintballs and antique knives.

Board of Appeals Chairman Edward Kivari said that if Farnham were to return with an application to hold the game nights it would be considered as a separate application.

“I respect the board’s decision,” Farnham said Friday.

Kivari said that until the town has an ordinance which regulates the sale of paintball guns and supplies in the town, he is against the proposed use on the Boston Road corridor.

He added that he admires the entrepreneurial initiative of Farnham who is a senior at Minnechaug Regional High School.

Farnham said he will see what is required to propose adoption of an ordinance to regulate the sale of paintball guns and supplies in the town.

Farnham said he helped his father, Chad Farnham, operate a paintball guns and supplies store in the Eastfield Mall for four years. He said they closed the store at the end of January because there was less mall traffic to the store after the J.C. Penney closed.

At the Thursday public hearing Joanne Scagliarini of Grant Street said she opposed the sale of air guns, knives and swords at 2460 Boston Road.

“Paintball guns can do damage,” she said. She said she has had neighbors who have shot paintballs at her house.

At the trading card games and the fantasy tabletop role-playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons, Farnham said he expects mostly males, ages 14 to 27, would participate, although girls are welcome. He said he also would propose to sell the games paraphernalia.

“I would propose a family friendly atmosphere,” he said, adding, “I would propose a rated P.G. rule.”

He said he would call people out for any inappropriate outbursts or swearing.

Provost told the group he previously worked at the Hampshire Educational Collaborative and for the state Department of Youth Services.

NORTHAMPTON — The three finalists for the job of school superintendent got a final grilling Friday before the School Committee makes its ultimate selection next Tuesday.

Laurie Casna, John Provost and Jordana Harper-Ewert roamed back and forth between question and answer sessions with the general public and school staff at John F. Kennedy Middle School. Provost is the superintendent of the North Brookfield Public Schools; Casna is the Director of Personnel and Student Services at Pembroke Public Schools; Harper-Ewert is the Chief Schools Officer for Springfield Public Schools.

The School Committee appeared ready to hire a superintendent last October after identifying three different finalists, but restarted the process because of concerns that none of them had prior experience as a superintendent.

The schools have been looking for a permanent replacement for Brian Salzer, who stepped down as superintendent last July to take a job in Germany after two years. Salzer was the latest in a long line of short-term and interim superintendents Northampton has had over the last decade.

Some 30 staff and teachers questioned the candidates in the school library, asking each the same general questions. Casna told the group she can easily envision herself as part of the community.

"I'd love to be a part of this town," she said, drawing sighs when she mentioned walking her two chocolate labs.

Asked how she would engage families of color, Casna said it's important to avoid interacting with parents only when there's bad news.

"Call when something good happens," she said.

Casna described herself as a confident leader who does not mind doing more than her share of work.

Harper-Ewert, a Mount Holyoke College graduate, has a resume that includes serving as a principal in Chicopee and teaching in Thailand. She said that research shows integrating the arts with other parts of the school curriculum increases student performance.

"The arts drive school choice," she said, noting that attracting students through the School Choice program is a way to build revenues.

Asked her thoughts about standardized testing, Harper-Ewert said it's important to maintain a balance between methods for evaluating students.

"Standardized testing is here to stay," she said. "Resisting it is poor use of our energy."

Provost, who communes to his job from Easthampton, said he would love to work closer to home.

"There are a lot of late nights for a superintendent," he said. "I miss time with my family."

Provost told the group he previously worked at the Hampshire Educational Collaborative and for the state Department of Youth Services. Asked what he saw as the strengths and weaknesses of the Northampton school system, he said he has found the people a plus but thinks the system could be more unified.

"Some schools have kind of gone in their own direction," he said. "We could make this feel more like a district."

The School Committee is expected to vote for a new superintendent at a special meeting in Council Chambers on Tuesday.

The coalition of homeless agencies and service providers is seeking to increase state funding for the homeless shelters from the current minimum rate of $25 per bed, per night, to a new minimum of $32.

SPRINGFIELD – A statewide coalition of homeless agencies including Friends of the Homeless here, is lobbying the state Legislature for an increase in funding for shelter beds and services, saying the current system leaves many agencies in significant need.

The plea for additional funds occurs as the Legislature considers the state budget for the fiscal year 2015 beginning July 1.

William J. Miller, executive director of the Friends of the Homeless Shelter and Resource Center on Worthington Street, said that despite increases in the state-funded bed rate in recent years, there remains a disparity in funding across the state.

Friends of the Homeless and many other shelters are reimbursed at the minimum rate in the state of $25 per bed, per night - less than many other shelters despite being open around-the-clock, he said.

“Springfield has to fight for its rights, for adequate support and funding,” Miller said. “It’s an uphill battle. I know we look well-funded to the general public because we have such a nice facility. But we do have to pay to keep the lights on just like anyone else.”

The new homeless resource center opened approximately three years ago, along with renovations to the existing shelter building.

The Coalition for Homeless Individuals is proposing that the $40 million allocated for shelter beds and services statewide increase by $8 million.

Under its proposal, the minimum bed rate would rise from $25 to a new minimum rate of $32, the current state average, Miller said. In addition, the group is seeking a cost of living increase for other shelters and related services that have gone without an increase in more than a decade, he said.

The per-bed, per-night reimbursement rate currently ranges from the low of $25 to a high of $75 for the Somerville Homeless Coalition, according to the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance.

Statewide, 22 shelters receive a bed rate under $32, and 18 receive a rate of over $32, according to the coalition.

Friends of the Homeless receives approximately $1 million annually from the state for its emergency shelter, going beyond the requirement for overnight lodging by providing case management, meals and other support services, and a safe haven during the day, Miller said.

Under the coalition’s proposal for an $8 million increase in shelter funding statewide, the Springfield program would receive an increase of about $350,000, he said. Its 24 hour shelter service model currently costs the agency approximately $1.8 million annually, the difference being made up with grants and fund-raising efforts.

State Sen. Gale Candaras, D-Wilbraham, and state Rep. Sean Curran, D-Springfield, said this week that they support increasing the state funding for shelter beds.

“We have a crisis on our hands in homelessness,” Candaras said. “The need is tremendous. They cannot provide the kind of services needed to provide and run a safe shelter without adequate funding.”

Miller praised Candaras for taking a lead role in lifting the minimum per-bed reimbursement rate in recent years, with the Springfield shelter among those directly helped.

Prior to those increases, Friends of the Homeless was being reimbursed at a rate of $12.97 per night for 85 beds $17.02 per night for 48 beds in fiscal year 2011.

The minimum rate rose to $20 per night in fiscal 2012, and to $25 per night in fiscal 2013, benefiting Friends of the Homeless and many other shelters, Miller said. The state rate did not increase for the current fiscal year that ends June 30.

Miller said he wishes that he could say that another increase in the bed rate will lead to greater services, but the increase would serve to help combat that shortfall in state funding and maintain services.

“I certainly would support an increase to organizations like Friends of the Homeless,” Curran said, praising the priority on helping the homeless to find housing.

Curran also praised the homeless agencies from around the state for bringing their efforts to the Statehouse

Miller said there have been, and will continue to be discussions with some of the legislators and their staff.

The Samaritan Inn in Westfield is also listed as part of the coalition but did not return telephone calls for comment this week.

Approximately 25 shelters and service providers statewide are listed as in the coalition including Open Pantry Community Services in Springfield and the Western Mass. Network to End Homelessness.

It was a busy back-and-forth day for North Adams Regional Hospital that ultimately resulted in the shutdown of the century-plus-old northern Berkshire County facility.

NORTH ADAMS — It was a busy back-and-forth day for North Adams Regional Hospital that ultimately resulted in the shutdown of the century-plus-old northern Berkshire County facility.

Here are links to all of the stories we've published on Friday:

4:28 p.m.: North Adams Regional Hospital closes after tumultuous day, expected to reopen Monday »

3:03 p.m.: North Adams Regional Hospital: U.S. Rep Richard E. Neal weighs in »

1:23 p.m.: North Adams Regional Hospital unions say staff is in place, vow to occupy building »

1:08 p.m.: North Adams Regional Hospital emergency room might close this afternoon »

11:42 a.m.: North Adams Regional Hospital emergency room remains open, union lists priorities »

A lawyer working for the Middlesex Sheriff's Department was arrested for selling marijuana.

 

The Lowell Sun reports Emmanuel K. Flaris, 31, of Lowell, allegedly sold marijuana to a man as Tewksbury police watched. Police said they had surveillance set up on the store, the scene of possible drug activity, and watched as a man entered Flaris's car for a few moments, then left.

Police stopped the man and found he was holding 8 grams of marijuana he said he bought from Flaris. Detectives then detained Flaris and searched his car.

Police said they found 36 grams of marijuana as well as suboxone, a opioid substitute, in the back seat.

Flaris entered pleas of not guilty to possession of a Class D substance with the intent to distribute, possession of a Class D substance and possession of a Class B substance in Lowell District Court Friday. He will return to court May 22.

Flaris had recently passed the Bar, and was a temporary employee of the Sheriff's Department. A spokesman for Middlesex Sheriff Peter Koutoujian said Flaris has since been terminated.

Public safety officials said crews were inspecting bridges, dams, rail tracks and other infrastructure systems for signs of damage.

LOS ANGELES -- A magnitude-5.1 earthquake centered near Los Angeles caused no major damage but jittered nerves throughout the region as dozens of aftershocks struck into the night.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck at about 9:09 p.m. Friday and was centered near Brea in Orange County -- about 20 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles -- at a depth of about 5 miles. It was felt as far south as San Diego and as far north as Ventura County, according to citizen responses collected online by the USGS.

Broken glass, gas leaks, water main breaks and a rockslide were reported near the epicenter, according to Twitter updates from local authorities.

Eyewitness photos and videos show bottles and packages strewn on store floors. Southern California Edison reported power outages to about 2,000 customers following the quake.

More than two dozen aftershocks ranging from magnitudes 2 to 3.6 were recorded, according to the USGS. Earlier in the evening, two foreshocks registering at magnitude-3.6 and magnitude-2.1 hit nearby in the city of La Habra.

Public safety officials said crews were inspecting bridges, dams, rail tracks and other infrastructure systems for signs of damage. The Brea police department said the rock slide in the Carbon Canyon area caused a car to overturn, and the people inside the car sustained minor injuries.

"A lot of the glass in the place shook like crazy," he said. "It started like a roll and then it started shaking like crazy. Everybody ran outside, hugging each other in the streets."

A helicopter news reporter from KNBC-TV reported from above that rides at Disneyland in Anaheim -- several miles from the epicenter -- were stopped as a precaution.

Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully was on the air calling the Angels-Dodgers exhibition game in the sixth inning at Dodger Stadium.

"A little tremor here in the ballpark. I'm not sure if the folks felt it, but we certainly felt it here in press box row," Scully said. "A tremor and only that, thank goodness."

Tom Connolly, a Boeing employee who lives in La Mirada, the next town over from La Habra, said the magnitude-5.1 quake lasted about 30 seconds.

"We felt a really good jolt. It was a long rumble and it just didn't feel like it would end," he told The Associated Press by phone. "Right in the beginning it shook really hard, so it was a little unnerving. People got quiet and started bracing themselves by holding on to each other. It was a little scary."

Friday's quake hit a week after a pre-dawn magnitude-4.4 quake centered in the San Fernando Valley rattled a swath of Southern California. That jolt shook buildings and rattled nerves, but did not cause significant damage.

Southern California has not experienced a devastating earthquake since the 1994 magnitude-6.7 Northridge quake killed several dozen people and caused $25 billion in damage.

Preliminary data suggest Friday night's 5.1 magnitude earthquake occurred near the Puente Hills thrust fault, which stretches from the San Gabriel Valley to downtown Los Angeles and caused the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake, USGS seismologist Lucy Jones said.

"It's a place where we've had a lot of earthquakes in the past," she said.

The 5.9 Whittier Narrows quake killed eight people and caused $360 million in damage.

One homeowner was pistol whipped by two men, who forced their way into his home and took a safe and electronic equipment.

 

Springfield Police Capt. Harry Kastrinakis said the two black males, one wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, the second wearing red, forced their way into a home at 67 Dayton St. around midnight, and held the two residents at gunpoint. Police were called to the scene at 12:25 p.m. after they fled.

At one point the assailants beat the male resident with the handgun, leaving him bleeding, Kastrinakis said. The police report did not mention if the injured party required medical attention. The female victim was not injured.

Kastrinakis said police do not know how long the two were in the home, but long enough to remove a large safe and a quantity of electronic equipment. Police do not know what was in the safe.

The victims could not tell police how the robbers fled the scene and it wasn't immediately clear whether the house was targeted or if the incident was random.

Anyone with information about the man's identity or the robbery is asked to call the Detective Bureau at 413-787-6355 or use the anonymous "Text-a-Tip" service by addressing a text message to “CRIMES,“ or “274637,“ and then beginning the body of the message with the word “SOLVE.“

Two men were arrested on gun-related charges after a short high speed change in downtown Holyoke Saturday morning.

 

According to Holyoke Police Sgt. Charles Monfett, the two were arrested shortly after the chase started at 5:48 a.m. Police discontinued the chase when the car they were pursuing crashed into a wall near the intersection of Suffolk and Linden streets.

While conducting an inventory of the vehicle, police say they found a handgun. Neither occupant of the car holds a valid firearms license, police said.

Monfett said the incident began when officers Daniel Escobar and Stephen Norton tried to stop a vehicle for traffic infractions near the intersection of Appleton and Maple streets. The driver allegedly attempted to flee from police, and pulled away at a high rate of speed.

Monfett said the driver traveled at a high speed down an alleyway between buildings from Appleton and Suffolk streets, then down Suffolk Street until he lost control of the vehicle and it crashed into the wall.

An ambulance was dispatched to the scene, but Monfett said the report filed did not mention if either suspect was treated or transported to a hospital for treatment.

Both men will be arraigned in Holyoke District court on firearms charges, while the driver is facing additional charges of failure to stop for a police officer and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.