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

Police identify Julio Perez as driver of car that injured two people in crash on I-91 in Springfield

0
0

Julio Perez is being charged with operating under the influence of liquor.


Updates story posted at 10:30 a.m.

SPRINGFIELD — Police have identified the man arrested in a crash that injured two people on I-91 as Julio Perez, 27, of Springfield.

Perez is being charged with operating under the influence of liquor, leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and operating with a suspended license.

The initial crash happened just after 1 a.m. in I-91's northbound lane between exits 3 and 4 , according to a Massachusetts State Police official.

As vehicle occupants involved in the first crash were inspecting damage to their car, which came to rest near the guardrail in the passing lane, the driver of the second vehicle struck one of them and crashed into the damaged car, police said.

The person who was hit and a passenger in the suspect's car were taken to Baystate Medical Center for treatment of unspecified injuries. Updates on their conditions were unavailable

Perez fled the crash scene, but he was caught a short time later on Orange Street in Springfield, police said.


Cape Cod man charged with stealing $40,000 worth of oysters, other fishing violations

0
0

A man allegedly responsible for a series of 2013 thefts from Cape Cod oyster farms has been indicted by a Barnstable County grand jury.

Patrick McMurrayA man allegedly responsible for a series of thefts from Cape Cod oyster farms has been indicted. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, FILE) 
BOSTON — A man allegedly responsible for a series of 2013 thefts from Cape Cod oyster farms has been indicted by a Barnstable County grand jury.

The Cape Cod Times reported on Friday that Michale Bryant, 37, was formally indicted on multiple charges of larceny, fishing license violations and shellfish license violations.

Bryant allegedly stole more than $40,000 worth of oysters and equipment from Barnstable’s Marstons Mills River and Crowes Pasture in Dennis during the summer of 2013. The Boston Globe reported at the time of the thefts that over 23,000 oysters were stolen from the two popular spots.

Investigators said that they witnessed Bryant leave Joe's Lobster Mart, a longtime seafood distributor owned by Joseph Vaudo, after they were tipped off by an informant in October.

The Massachusetts Environmental Police were involved in the investigation.

Vaudo was initially uncooperative with the investigation and later pleaded guilty to charges of receiving stolen property and willfully misleading police during an investigation. He was fined $6,250 and may face stiffer penalties from fishing regulators.

Rural residents confront higher costs under Affordable Care Act

0
0

Health care has always been more expensive in far-flung communities, where actuarial insurance data show fewer doctors, specialists and hospitals, as well as older residents in need of more health care services. But the rural-urban cost divide has been exacerbated by the Affordable Care Act.

DENVER (AP) -- Bill Fales wanted a new baler and a better irrigation system for the 700-acre ranch where he raises grass-fed beef cattle, but he scrapped those plans when he saw his new health insurance premiums.

His Cold Mountain Ranch is in western Colorado's Rocky Mountains, a rural area where outpatient services are twice as expensive as the state average. Fales recently saw his monthly premiums jump 50 percent, to about $1,800 a month.

Health care has always been more expensive in far-flung communities, where actuarial insurance data show fewer doctors, specialists and hospitals, as well as older residents in need of more health care services. But the rural-urban cost divide has been exacerbated by the Affordable Care Act.

"We've gone from letting the insurance companies use a pre-existing medical condition to jack up rates to having a pre-existing zip code being the reason health insurance is unaffordable," Fales said. "It's just wrong."

Geography is one of only three determinants insurance companies are allowed to use to set premiums under the federal health care law, along with age and tobacco use. Insurance officials say they need such controls to remain viable.

"If premiums are not allowed to keep up with underlying medical costs, no company is going to survive," said Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman with America's Health Insurance Plans, a Washington, D.C.-based industry group.

The nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation recently rated the Colorado region where Fales lives as the nation's priciest, based on rates for the lowest-priced "silver" plan, a mid-level policy. In this part of the state, a region that includes Aspen, the cheapest mid-level plan is $483 a month. In Denver, the same plan is about $280 a month.

Other insurance price zones on the most-expensive list include rural areas in Georgia, Nevada, Wisconsin and Wyoming. But the cost differences between densely and sparsely populated areas shouldn't come as a shock, Zirkelbach said, because it's simply more expensive to deliver care in such communities.

"That's not new at all. Health insurance premiums track the underlying cost of medical care. This was true before the ACA, and it's true now," he said. "Hopefully, the exchanges will shine a spotlight on the variances that exist in the cost of medical care."

States have only one option to reduce the premium divide between their urban and rural areas. They can set a single statewide rating zone, an option that would reduce premiums for those in rural areas by shifting costs onto more-populated regions.

It's something officials in all but the smallest states are reluctant to do. Only five states -- Delaware, Hawaii, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont -- chose a single rating zone, in addition to Washington, D.C., according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

"There's always been geographic variance in insurance," said Craig Garthwaite, an economist at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management who has studied the economic consequences of the new health care law.

The difference now, he said, is insurers have fewer levers to adjust premium pricing. Garthwaite also said the health care law makes it easier for rural health insurance shoppers to see what city residents are paying.

"That's forcing them to confront the market, which is a new thing," he said.

It's a bumpy confrontation for many in rural areas who earn too much to qualify for premium subsidies but not enough to easily afford premiums that can approach or exceed $1,000 a month.

"I have people mad enough to bite a nail in half down here, saying, 'Why are my prices so high?'" said David Hardin, an insurance broker in the southwest Georgia community of Albany, in another of the nation's priciest private health insurance zones.

"Either they're mad as all get-out, or I can hear them crying on the phone. It just breaks your heart," said Hardin, whose customers are seeing monthly premiums that cost at least $500 a month more than if they'd lived in Atlanta. "I think there was the idea that it might reduce costs, and now they're seeing that it's not."

Some are even considering moving to avoid the premium increases.

In Gardnerville, Nev., about 50 miles south of Reno, freelance writer Tim Plaehn is considering moving to Uruguay, where he and his wife lived for a time and still have friends.

Plaehn pays about $400 a month in premiums but expects his tab to rise above $1,000 when his current plan expires. He makes too much to qualify for insurance subsidies but isn't sure he can afford the jump.

"I'm hoping something will change in the law to make it more affordable, because otherwise, something's going to break," he said.

Some premiums in Las Vegas are about $600 a month cheaper, but he said he doesn't want to live there.

Colorado Insurance Commissioner Marguerite Salazar has traveled to several rural regions to explain the rates to angry customers.

At the meetings, state insurance officials pass out the actuarial data behind the premiums, including details from Colorado's All Payer Claims Database, which lists hospitalization rates and other factors used to determine the cost of health care in a region.

Salazar then walks residents through the differences and says that state officials cannot lower rural rates without driving insurers out of the market.

"They've got to have rates that will allow them to pay the doctors," Salazar said at a November meeting in Greeley, a northeastern Colorado town where rates are higher than Denver.

Salazar recently announced a task force to review the rating zones, but added in a public statement that any changes would have to be based on new data.

Her spokesman, Vincent Plymell, said there is nothing state regulators can do. There are no easy short-term fixes to reduce costs in rural areas, where everything from MRIs to baby deliveries costs more, he said.

"Costs are higher like they are for housing or food or everything else. Health care costs aren't something we have the ability to control," Plymell said. "It's easy to kind of point the finger and say it's the big, bad insurance companies, but it's a lot more complicated than that."

U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, a Colorado Democrat whose district includes part of the state's expensive mountain region, appealed last year to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for a waiver for such areas.

Sebelius replied that the matter is a state issue. There would be no federal assistance for variances in state-approved health insurance rating areas.

"I'm somewhat frustrated that there are waivers being extended to small- and mid-size businesses, yet individuals are being faced with costs that they can't afford," Polis said.

For now, health advocates in rural Colorado say they have few answers for patients who want to buy insurance, but simply can't afford it because of where they live.

"People really see the value of insurance up here, and they're mystified about why our premiums are so much higher," said Tamara Drangstveit, executive director of the Family and Intercultural Resource Center in Frisco, Colo., about 25 miles east of Vail in the heart of the state's ski country.

"They want insurance," Drangstveit said. "They don't want to break the law and get a fine, but they live in a certain area and they have no choice."

Greenfield closes Nash's Mill Road as a flooding precaution

0
0

The street does flood and is closed on a case-by-case basis.

GREENFIELD – City officials have closed Nash’s Mill Road because of concerns of flooding. It was not known immediately when it would open again.

The street runs along the Green River. The town’s swimming area and park and playground facilities are located along the road, police said.

The street does occasionally flood and is closed on a case-by-case basis when the water is high. It is currently not flooded but is closed as a precaution in case there is a problem, police said.

The street connects Conway Street and Colrain Road.

There is a flood watch in effect for all of Western Massachusetts after more than two inches of rain fell across the Springfield area so far this weekend. That is complicated by melting snow, according to CBS 3 Springfield, media partner to The Republican and Masslive.

Temperatures are expected to get close to the freezing mark overnight resulting in sleet, especially in the hilltowns and Franklin County, according to CBS 3.

Springfield fire destroys house, damages duplex on Oakwood Terrace

0
0

The fire spread to the duplex next door. Watch video

SPRINGFIELD – An afternoon fire destroyed a vacant single-family home and damaged a neighboring duplex, displacing two families.

One Springfield firefighter was injured fighting the blaze at 3 Oakwood Terrace and was treated at Baystate Medical Center for a cut to his hand, said Dennis G. Leger, executive aide to Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant.

Fire investigators are searching for the cause but said it is likely suspicious. The home has been vacant for some time and was the site of a smaller suspicious fire around a year ago, Leger said.

The fire was reported at about 3:30 p.m., Sunday. By the time firefighters had arrived, flames could be seen in the one-story home, Leger said.

“It was a total loss,” he said.

There was a small space between the ranch and the neighboring duplex on 7 and 9 Oakwood Terrace. The fire caught the duplex on fire, damaged the siding and melted wires, Leger said.

 

The electricity was disconnected to the duplex because of the damage to the wiring. The Pioneer Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross is assisting the two women and four children living in the duplex, Leger said.

“There was about $10,000 to $15,000 in damage. There was damage outside and water damage inside,” he said.

Yellowstone shaken by 4.8 quake, strongest there since 1980

0
0

But the Sunday quake was still considered relatively light, and its location didn't raise concerns about the park's supervolcano.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. -- The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude-4.8 earthquake that shook northern Yellowstone National Park is the strongest there since 1980.

yellowstone.png
But the Sunday quake was still considered relatively light, and its location didn't raise concerns about the park's supervolcano, which experts say has the potential to erupt with a force about 2,000 times the size of Mount St. Helens and would have worldwide effects.

The University of Utah Seismograph Stations says the earthquake occurred at 6:34 a.m. about 4 miles north-northeast of the Norris Geyser Basin. It was felt in the Montana border towns of West Yellowstone and Gardiner.

There were no immediate reports of damage. The park has few visitors and staff this time of year.

Yellowstone sees frequent earthquakes. Since Thursday, there have been at least 25 recorded.


Deep trench in Malaysia Flight 370 search area could swallow debris forever, scientists say

0
0

Planes that have searched it for two days have spotted objects of various colors and sizes, but none of the items scooped by ships has been confirmed to be related to the plane.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- Two miles beneath the sea surface where satellites and planes are looking for debris from the missing Malaysian jet, the ocean floor is cold, dark, covered in a squishy muck of dead plankton and -- in a potential break for the search -- mostly flat. The troubling exception is a steep, rocky drop ending in a deep trench.

The seafloor in this swath of the Indian Ocean is dominated by a substantial underwater plateau known as Broken Ridge, where the geography would probably not hinder efforts to find the main body of the jet that disappeared with 239 people on board three weeks ago, according to seabed experts who have studied the area.

Australian officials on Friday moved the search to an area 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) to the northeast of a previous zone as the mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 continued to confound. There is no guarantee that the jet crashed into the new search area. Planes that have searched it for two days have spotted objects of various colors and sizes, but none of the items scooped by ships has been confirmed to be related to the plane.

The zone is huge: about 319,000 square kilometers (123,000 square miles), roughly the size of Poland or New Mexico. But it is closer to land than the previous search zone, its weather is much more hospitable -- and Broken Ridge sounds a lot craggier than it really is.

And the deepest part is believed to be 5,800 meters (19,000 feet), within the range of American black box ping locators on an Australian ship leaving Sunday for the area and expected to arrive in three or four days.

Formed about 100 million years ago by volcanic activity, the ridge was once above water. Pulled under by the spreading of the ocean floor, now it is more like a large underwater plain, gently sloping from as shallow as about 800 meters (2,625 feet) to about 3,000 meters (9,843 feet) deep. It got its name because long ago the movement of the Earth's tectonic plates separated it from another plateau, which now sits about 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) to the southwest.

Much of Broken Ridge is covered in a sediment called foraminiferal ooze, made of plankton that died, settled and was compacted by the tremendous pressure from the water above.

"Think like it's been snowing there for tens of millions of years," said William Sager, a professor of marine geophysics at the University of Houston in Texas.

Like snow, the layer of microscopic plankton shells tends to smooth out any rises or falls in the underlying rock. In places, the layer is up to 1 kilometer (half a mile) deep.

But if the fuselage of the Boeing 777 did fall on to Broken Ridge, it would not sink much into the muck.

"The surface would be soft, it would squeeze between your toes, but it's not so soft that you would disappear like snow," Sager said. "Something big like pieces of an airplane, it's going to be sitting on the surface."

Searchers will be hoping that if the latest area turns out to be where the plane crashed -- and that remains educated guesswork until searchers can put their hands on aerial debris sightings and check what it is -- the fuselage did not go down on the southern edge of Broken Ridge.

That's where the ocean floor drops precipitously -- more than 4 kilometers (2 1/2 miles) in places, according to Robin Beaman, a marine geologist at Australia's James Cook University. It's not a sheer cliff, more like a very steep hill that a car would struggle to drive up. At the bottom of this escarpment is the narrow Diamantina trench, which measurements put as deep at 5,800 meters (19,000 feet), though no one is sure of its greatest depth because it has never been precisely mapped.

"Let's hope the wreck debris has not landed over this escarpment -- it's a long way to the bottom," Beaman said.

The Diamantina trench, named after an Australian navy vessel, is one of the deeper sections of the parts of the oceans that surround Antarctica, according to Mike Coffin, the executive director of the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies at Australia's University of Tasmania.

The trench's rocky crags and crannies would make it difficult for ships using instruments like side-scanning sonar or multi-beam echo sounders to distinguish any debris from the crevices.

Searchers will especially be hoping to locate the jet's two "black boxes," which recorded sounds in the cockpit and data on the plane's performance and flight path that could help reconstruct why it diverted sharply west from its overnight flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing on March 8. The black boxes were designed to emit locator pings for at least 30 days, and are projected to lose battery power -- and thus their pings -- by mid-April.

The pinger can be heard as far as 2 1/2 miles away, but the distance can vary widely, depending on the state of the sea and the wreckage location, said Joseph Kolly, director of research and engineering for the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. Black boxes can get buried or muffled by other wreckage, and thermoclines, which are layers of water with great variations in temperature, can refract the signal, he said.

The sediment on Broken Ridge is unlikely to inhibit the ping -- but on the escarpment or in the trench, rocks could scatter the sound, making it harder to detect, according to Mike Haberman, a research scientist specializing in acoustics at the University of Texas, Austin.

To pinpoint the ping they hear from the surface, searchers likely will run a submersible equipped with sonar several hundred feet above the ocean floor. The unmanned underwater vehicle will putter along at a slow jog, able to "see" objects on the floor that may seem out of place. But its vision is limited -- in a day it could cover an area only about the size of Manhattan, Sager said.

The observations stored in the vehicle's memory can be accessed only by bringing it to the surface.

Under the best conditions, to survey the entire new search area could take between three months and up to nearly two years, depending on the quality of data needed to identify the debris, according to calculations by David T. Sandwell, a professor of geophysics who specializes in seafloor mapping at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego.

Because it is such a painstaking -- and expensive -- process, most mapping has been focused on things that people consider useful, like underwater shipping hazards and potential oil deposits. With nothing much to interest people in the this part of the Indian Ocean, the maps tend to follow features like the volcanically active mid-ocean ridges, leaving big blank spaces in between.

There are 80-kilometer (50-mile) -wide strips of the search area where no shipboard measurements have been taken and scientists use less detailed satellite measurements and educated guesswork to depict what the floor actually looks like.

Precisely what the seafloor looks like in detail in the area of the new search is another in a long line of Flight 370 mysteries.

Veterans commemorate the 30th anniversary of Vietnam Veterans Memorial Monument in Springfield

0
0

Veterans and their families gathered at Court Square in Springfield to honor Vietnam Veterans.


SPRINGFIELD — Veterans and their families gathered at Springfield City Hall Sunday to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Monument.

Local dignitaries and veterans recalled the establishment of the monument, which occurred when U.S. Rep. Richard Neal was mayor of the city.

"Most of us are at an age where we can't remember where we were yesterday, but I remember where I was 30 years ago, right here dedicating this monument," Neal said to the crowd packed in the entrance of City Hall. "You served with honor and distinction," Neal added.

Guest speaker for the event Donald Jernigan, Sr. recalled the effort it took to get the monument in Springfield and he touched on the struggles Vietnam Veterans and all veterans face today including unemployment, high suicide rates, lack of healthcare benefits and more.

"Monuments are important, but they are not enough," he said.

Jernigan, a Vietnam veteran of the U.S. Army said unemployment rates for veterans are as high as 50 percent and homelessness is a problem as well.

Springfield Veteran of the Year Roland Blanchard and Winchester Square Vietnam Era Veterans President Thomas M. Belton also spoke.

"The story of Vietnam is a story of service and diversity where soldiers came together to complete a daunting task," he said.

He said many veterans came back with visible and invisible wounds and were shunned and neglected on their return.

"I ask you now to take pride in the impact you had upon the country and the veterans who followed," he said.

The event included a rifle salute by the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 11 as well as a wreath laying and reading of the names.


Agawam man admits to Medicaid fraud

0
0

Defense lawyer Daniel R. Bergin asked Kinder to continue the case against his client without a finding.

NORTHAMPTON — An Agawam man was ordered to repay $63,453 Monday after pleading guilty to Medicaid fraud.

James Lynch, 45, also admitted in Hampshire Superior Court to larceny over $250. According to Massachusetts Assistant Attorney General Angela J. Neal, Lynch overbilled for Medicaid-funded services he provided to Patricia Cook, of Ware, as a personal care attendant. Lynch spent 15 years caring for Cook, grooming her, helping her to the toilet and cleaning her house, Neal said. For 4½ years of that time, in a scheme he concocted with Cook, Lynch billed for 4,875 hours he did not work, Neal said. As a result, the Stavros Center for Independent Living, which funneled Medicaid payments to Lynch, overpaid him $63,453, about half of which he rendered to Cook.

Cook died a couple of years ago, Neal told Judge Jeffrey Kinder. She described Cook as the "mastermind" of the scheme.

Defense lawyer Daniel R. Bergin asked Kinder to continue the case against his client without a finding. Bergin said Lynch, who drives a bus for the Hampshire Educational Collaborative, could lose his job over the felony conviction. He also said Lynch was contrite about his crimes and wept while talking about them.

Kinder did not continue the matter but sentenced Lynch to five years of probation in addition to making restitution. The judge also prohibited him from working as a personal care attendant.

About 200 rally in support of Amherst Regional High School math teacher Carolyn Gardner

0
0

About 200 educators, parents, students and others rallied at the Amherst Regional High School Monday l in support of Carolyn Gardner.

AMHERST – More than 200 parents, teachers, students and others held a vigil outside the Amherst Regional High School to support high school teacher Carolyn Gardner who has been the subject of racial attacks, the latest of which came last Wednesday.

The Amherst-Pelham Education Association organized the rally held after school.
“Your presence makes a statement,” Jean Fay, president of the union said, “that we are united in the belief that diversity is a value we strive to promote.

“Let’s use this opportunity to dedicate ourselves to striving toward greater civility among one another.”

She said there’s work to be done in every community and that the Amherst community must join together “to provide a safe and nurturing environment for children to learn.

“We must remember school is no place for hate.”
Gardner was not at the rally and has not been in school for more than a week.

She was expected back Monday, Amilcar Shabazz said but a fourth incident of graffiti in a school bathroom last Wednesday set her back, he said. Shabazz is a member of the Amherst School Committee.

At the vigil, participants sang songs such as “We Shall Overcome” and “This Land is Your Land.”

Those attending also were given orange ribbons, created by Wildwood Elementary School speech therapist Ashley Nkosi to wear in “solidarity with our sister Carolyn Gardner.”

The pin tells Gardner and staff, “children and families of color and all people of difference in our midst that we will not stand idly but we will work in each moment to fight for the oppressed and to take an active role in fighting racism in Amherst and our world…”

High School Principal Mark Jackson said he appreciated the vigil and said the school is continuing to address the issue.

While the school has held a number of programs to address diversity, “we need to do a better job of establishing expectations,” he said after the rally.

The school will also have more adult supervision of student bathrooms.
Police meanwhile, have lifted fingerprints from the area surrounding the graffiti and is pursuing all leads, he said.

The school has also set up an anonymous tip line and asking that anyone with information “to bring it forward” on-line.

While Jackson declined to reveal the specifics of the graffiti he said one of the four messages used the “N” word and he characterized all the messages as aggressive and hostile.

Gardner told the School Committee last week that she is afraid and is always looking over her shoulder.

When she returns to school, she will be escorted to and from her car and members of the math department will be in her classroom during prep and lunch periods among the other precautions to her address safety concerns.

Jackson said he is trying to be responsive to what she needs.

Gennesee Wright, a senior said she has become friends with Gardner, and was at the rally to support her. An African American student, she said she was surprised to hear about the graffiti. She hasn’t felt threatened and said, “The school is very diverse.” She said she’s not sure why Gardner was targeted and thinks an ignorant student left the message.

Springfield man arrested, charged with murder in strangulation death of Agnes Street woman

0
0

Police charged Frederick Pinney with murder in the March 23 death of Tayclair Moore.


SPRINGFIELD - Police on Monday arrested a 45-year-old city man in connection with the killing of an Agnes Street woman whose March 23rd death has determined to be a homicide, police said.

spd frederick pinney murder homicideFrederick Pinney 

Arrested was Frederick Pinney, 45, of 48 Agnes St. He was arrested Monday after police obtained a district court warrant for his arrest, said Sgt. John Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William Fitchet.

He was charged with murder in connection with the death of Tayclair Moore, 29, on March 23, Delaney said.

He is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Springfield District Court.

Moore, 29, who also lived at 48 Agnes St., was found dead inside her residence. Police were called to the scene at about 1 p.m. for a report from another resident of the apartment who found her body, Delaney said.

The man who called police identified himself as Moore’s boyfriend, Delaney said. He called police after finding her dead in the bedroom of another roommate, he said.

Police initially said they did not know how Moore died and would need to wait for results of the autopsy from the Massachusetts Office of the Medical Examiner.

Delaney said autopsy concluded that Moore had been choked and died from asphyxiation.

At the time, there were no visible signs of trauma, Delaney said.

Delaney declined to comment on possible motives for the homicide.

The case was investigated by Detective Bureau’s homicide unit under the command of Lt. Trent Hufnagel.

This is a developing story and more information will be posted as it is known.


View Larger Map

South Hadley's FestForward to help finance July's FallsFest

0
0

Organizers purposely planned the event in the South Hadley Falls Neighborhood, at the municipal park called Beachgrounds across from town hall, as a way to also raise awareness of the neighborhood’s burgeoning potential and rich historical past.


SOUTH HADLEY – With last year’s successful summer bash under their belt, organizers of the second annual FallsFest are busy preparing to make the upcoming July 26 event even better.

The popular party along the Connecticut River attracted 5,000 last year, with family-themed music, food, entertainment, along with beer and wine for adults. Organizers planned the event in the South Hadley Falls Neighborhood, at the municipal park called Beachgrounds across from Town Hall, as a way to also raise awareness of the neighborhood’s burgeoning potential and rich historical past.

The group has organized a Saturday fund-raiser to defray some of the costs to hire musicians who perform for 10 hours and to pay for various equipment rentals.

The April 5 event, known as FestForward, takes place from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the South Hadley Town Hall auditorium.

Carol Constant, a co-organizer for FestForward and the upcoming FallsFest, light-heartedly refers to the Saturday fund-raiser as a pop up party.

Performing Saturday are the Midlife Crisis Band and renowned Jazz pianist Mark Gioddnfrio. He grew up in Holyoke and teaches at Mt. Holyoke College.

The admission cost entitles ticket holders to food provided by the following: Yarde Tavern; Log Rolling Catering; and Four Brothers and a Blonde Market and Deli.

Tickets can be purchased at the South Hadley branches of PeoplesBank, the South Hadley Recreation Department and at The Yarde Tavern in South Hadley. Cost is $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Beer and wine will also be sold.

California Rep. Darrell Issa concerned about security of Massachusetts' Health Insurance Exchange

0
0

Darrell Issa, a Republican overseeing the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, wrote to governors of 10 states requesting documentation about the security of their health insurance exchanges. Issa is holding hearings this week about the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in the states.

U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, a California Republican and chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, wrote a letter [embedded at the end of this article] to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, a Democrat, last week outlining security concerns related to Massachusetts’ Health Insurance Exchange.

Issa said an independent report, conducted in September 2013, identified security problems with Massachusetts’ Health Connector, and it was not clear if those concerns had been addressed. Although the federal government deemed Massachusetts only a “moderate risk” – which meant its security was better than in a majority of others states – Issa said allowing Massachusetts to connect to a federal database could put at risk the personal information of individuals who bought insurance through the exchanges.

"Due to the decision of the Obama administration to launch the exchanges on October 1, 2013, before states could properly test their systems and government security experts could properly review security documentation and address known problems, the personal information of millions of Americans who have sought to obtain coverage through the exchanges was put at risk," Issa wrote.

The letter was also signed by Rep. James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican who chairs the oversight committee’s subcommittee on energy policy, health care and entitlements, and Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican who chairs a subcommittee on economic growth, job creation and regulatory affairs.

Jason Lefferts, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Health Connector, said in order for the state to connect to the federal data services hub, it had to meet high data security standards set by the federal government. Massachusetts was one of 33 states that met those standards by Oct. 1, when the site went live. “The Commonwealth’s strong protections are safeguarding personal information every day and their effectiveness is backed up by the fact that we still haven’t had a data breach,” Lefferts said.

Massachusetts has long been at the center of the debate over the national Affordable Care Act. Massachusetts’ health care reforms, instituted in 2006 under Republican Gov. Mitt Romney, were the template for Democratic President Barack Obama’s overhaul, which became law in 2010. Now, Massachusetts’ problems implementing its new health care website have again become part of the national debate.

Massachusetts hired CGI, the same contractor used by the federal government, to develop its new health insurance exchange. Massachusetts, like the federal government, severed tied with CGI after massive problems with the rollout of its website. The state continues to be unable to process applications for subsidized health insurance coverage through its online system. State officials received federal extensions of enrollment deadlines, and the state has been insuring people through temporary Medicaid coverage and by extending existing state-subsidized plans until it get can get its exchange working.

Issa’s committee is holding hearings to oversee Obama’s implementation of the Affordable Care Act. The Boston Herald first reported that Jean Yang, the executive director of the Massachusetts Health Connector, will testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Thursday.

Committee spokeswoman Caitlin Carroll said Yang will testify at a 10 a.m. joint hearing of the subcommittees on energy policy, health care and entitlements and economic growth, job creation and regulatory affairs. The hearing will focus on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in the states.

Last Thursday, the House committee announced that it had sent letters to governors in 10 states, including Massachusetts, and the mayor of Washington, D.C., expressing concerns about inadequate security testing prior to the state exchanges connecting to the federal data hub. Carroll said the committee chose these states because they all had problems with their sites, with functionality or security.

The security issues stem from the fact that people applying for health insurance enter personal data – such as birth dates, Social Security numbers and income – into an online system, and that data goes through a federal hub where it is verified by agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service and Social Security Administration. A breach in a state system could then potentially reach the federal data hub, according to Issa’s letter.

The Massachusetts letter states that a report conducted for Massachusetts and required by the federal government in September 2013 found that there were security problems with the exchange and there were not plans in place to fix them. They included:

  • Massachusetts failed to give employees required security awareness training, including how to handle federal tax information;
  • did not require background or credit checks for employees before giving them access to the system;
  • and did not plan regular tests to determine the security vulnerabilities in the system.

Massachusetts was not unique. According to the committee’s letter, the chief information security officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services deemed 35 states high-risk and 10 states, including Massachusetts, moderate-risk. Yet most of those states were allowed to connect to the federal data hub when open enrollment for new plans started on Oct. 1, 2013.

The letter is asking the Patrick administration to provide copies of all communications between state officials and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or the White House about its insurance exchange; and all assessments or audits of the exchange’s development, readiness or security.

Patrick, asked about the letter on Monday, said he had not yet seen the letter, although he was aware of it. “I think we’re going to be fine,” he said.

Asked whether there are security issues with the Connector website, Patrick said, “There haven’t been that I know of.”

The conservative-leaning Pioneer Institute emailed out a link to the letter, along with a citation from a monthly update, issued in early March by a consultant for Massachusetts, which identified numerous technical issues with the site, including the fact that security logs were not being monitored. The report said the state was working on addressing the issue.

The persistent problems with the state website have led to calls for reform among critics of the national law.

Republican Richard Tisei, a former state senate minority leader now running for Congress, has said Massachusetts should have sought a waiver from the federal law, since it already had a successful health insurance system. “Our experience here in Massachusetts has been a disaster as far as the Health Connector is concerned,” Tisei said Monday. “There are a lot of different areas that people should be worried about and obviously security should be really high on the list. I think there needs to be a lot of oversight into exactly what happened here in Massachusetts, how we went from one of the best electronic application and carrier systems to the worst in the country.”

Massachusetts Exchange Letter

WMECo to start aerial inspection of transmission lines in Western Massachusetts

0
0

Western Massachusetts Electric Company is conducting aerial inspections of its transmission lines.

SPRINGFIELD - Western Massachusetts Electric Company is conducting aerial inspections of its transmission lines, towers and rights-of-way as part of its maintenance program to assess the overall condition of lines and towers, according to a press release from the utility.

The helicopter used for the inspection may hover over certain electrical equipment for a period of time before continuing on its way.

The work will be conducted 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday in the following communities:

Northfield, Erving, Wendell, Warwick, Montague, Greenfield, Leverett, Shutesbury, Pelham, Amherst, Granby, Chicopee, West Springfield, Springfield, Belchertown, Ludlow, Wibraham, Hampden, East Longmeadow, Longmeadow, Agawam, Westfield, Shelburne, Conway, Ashfield, Plainfield, Windsor, Puru, Hinsdale, Dalton, Cheshire, Lanesborough, Hancock, Pittsfield, Lenox and Lee.


Live coverage: Holyoke city councilors question Police Chief James Neiswanger about Sgt. John Hart, who misplaced 2 guns in 2 years

0
0

A police sergeant misplaced a gun in a mall rest room, later recovering it, two years after losing a sniper rifle, which the department also later recovered.

HOLYOKE — Among the questions of city councilors at a 5:30 p.m. meeting at City Hall Monday will be why a police sergeant who lost a gun in a mall restroom for the second time in two years was suspended only 10 days.

MassLive.com is planning to provide live coverage of the meeting of the City Council Public Safety Committee regarding Sgt. John P. Hart.

Hart, a 19-year veteran, was suspended 10 days without pay for leaving his gun, which was recovered, in a restroom at the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside Nov. 24, Chief James M. Neiswanger said in February.

That came after Hart was suspended five days without pay in 2011 for misplacing a department sniper rifle, also later recovered.

City Council President Kevin A.. Jourdain filed orders with numerous questions about how the Hart incidents were handled, leading to Monday's meeting.

Live coverage of the meeting might be delayed or not be possible at all.

The meeting should be in open session because the public has the right to hear such answers, Jourdain said. But it was unclear if that would happen, and Ward 2 Councilor Anthony Soto has said the council would be outside its authority discussing such personnel and police disciplinary issues in an open meeting.

It also appeared Mayor Alex B. Morse would be unable to attend the meeting. As mayor, he is chairman of the School Committee, which has a meeting Monday at 6 p.m. at Dean Technical High School.

The committee might be asked to table the matter so Morse could attend at a later date.

But Jourdain said Morse and Neiswanger had ample notice about the meeting. Council aide Ryan Allen on Feb. 21 sent notices to Morse and Neiswanger about a committee meeting on the Hart orders that originally was scheduled for March 17. When the meeting date was changed to Monday, Allen sent additional notices to the mayor and chief on March 13, Jourdain said.

Also, the committee has a full agenda of items in addition to those dealing with Hart. Sometimes councilors opt to deal with items that might be dispatched more quickly, however numerous, and then spend the rest of a meeting discussing a controversial topic such as Hart.

Follow our live coverage in the Comments section below:


Second man accused by police of participating in an international drug-smuggling ring makes bail with a little help from his friends

0
0

Jamil Roman, 36, of Chicopee, was released on a $150,000 surety bond, along with firearms possession and travel restrictions, after a bail hearing in U.S. District Court on Monday



This is an update to a story first posted at 1 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD - A federal magistrate judge released a second defendant in an alleged international drug-smuggling conspiracy the judge characterized as having "poured cocaine into Western Massachusetts."

Jamil Roman, 36, of Chicopee, was released on a $150,000 surety bond, along with firearms possession and travel restrictions, after a bail hearing in U.S. District Court on Monday.

Roman's wife and three friends were required to post a half-dozen properties - including Roman's own on Walsh Street - in order to free him from prison pending trial.

Roman and Javier Gonzalez, 45, of Brown Avenue in Holyoke, on March 25 were charged with conspiracy and distribution of 5 kilos of cocaine. Gonzalez, portrayed as the alleged ringleader by law enforcement authorities, was released on a $1 million bond last week. If convicted, the men could face up to 20 years in prison.

Police and federal agents said they uncovered $1.5 million in a hidden compartment in a tractor-trailer truck Gonzalez was driving through Agawam. They seized $350,000 from Roman's home during his arrest, they said.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was tipped to the scale of the drug ring by a onetime close associate of the defendants who was arrested previously, and turned government informant, according to a court filing in connection with the case. The unnamed witness recorded phone conversations and meetings with Roman and Gonzalez from January to March, drawing a remarkable picture of an alleged Mexico-to-Texas-to-Massachusetts drug-smuggling operation that flew under the radar for nearly a decade.

A sworn statement by DEA agent Scott P. Smith states that the witness told investigators Gonzalez made quarterly trips to Texas for the past eight years, retrieving 50 to 60 kilos of drugs each time to bring back to Western Massachusetts. He drove a tractor-trailer hauling various automobiles - most equipped with hidden compartments, according to the affidavit. The witness told investigators Roman was in charge of distribution.

The hub of the operation was allegedly JGL Truck Sales in Holyoke, a littered lot guarded by a cluster of Rottweilers and German shepherds and owned by Gonzalez.

"My concern is that you are charged with a conspiracy that has poured cocaine into Western Massachusetts," U.S. District Magistrate Judge Kenneth P. Neiman told Roman during Monday's hearing.

Law enforcement officials say the discovery of the alleged drug ring represents the biggest drug bust in the region in recent history.

Of three friends who put up rental properties and their homes to help Roman make bail, one told Neiman he had gone to high school with the defendant and felt confident Roman would not flee or do anything to jeopardize his home ownership.

"I know that he won't let me down," said Raul Lopez, of Springfield, who then joked: "If he did, I'd be the one running after him instead of the U.S. marshals."

Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Fisher to file convention court challenge Tuesday

0
0

Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Fisher will challenge in court on Tuesday the results of the party convention denying him a spot on the September primary ballot, according to his campaign.

BOSTON — Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Fisher will challenge in court on Tuesday the results of the party convention denying him a spot on the September primary ballot, according to his campaign.

Fisher was denied access to the ballot when he failed to gather enough votes at the GOP convention two weeks ago, as determined by party officials, and will challenge that result in Suffolk Superior Court.

Fisher insinuated on Friday that a possible deal to avoid a legal battle with the Massachusetts Republican Party might be in the works, but after the weekend passed without any new developments a spokeswoman for the Tea Party candidate’s campaign said Fisher’s lawyers would be filing their challenge in court on Tuesday morning.

In the meantime, spokesman Deborah McCarthy said Fisher continued to campaign and loaned an additional $50,000 of his own money to the campaign.

According to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance, Fisher had already loaned his campaign at least $165,000 since November.

Fisher has raised questions of possible voting irregularities at the convention in Boston on March 22, including the party registration of some delegates, possible instances of delegates being allowed to vote by proxy and the counting of blank ballots toward the total.

Fisher fell six votes shy of the 15 percent of voting delegates required to make the primary ballot. McCarthy said the Fisher campaign also received the necessary approvals on Monday from OCPF to set up a legal defense fund to raise money to offset the costs of the court challenge, and had approximately $2,000 in contributions to that fund pending OCPF approval.

The campaign of independent candidate for governor Jeff McCormick knocked Baker, who received his party’s endorsement at the convention when he received a majority of the vote of delegates, for what he characterized as Baker’s silence on the issue.

“This all could have been avoided if Baker or someone around him had simply spoken up for what was right on the day of the convention. Through all of this controversy, candidate Baker has remained silent. The most anybody has heard from his camp is from his staff who have said Baker wants a fair shake for Fisher. In politics, that's called ducking the issue,” wrote Frank Ciota, a “staff writer” for the McCormick campaign.

Attorney general candidate Maura Healey proposes stricter gun laws for Massachusetts in new plan

0
0

Democratic candidate for Attorney General Maura Healey has released a plan that calls for strengthening the background check system and embracing new technologies that make it easier to trace guns if they are used in a crime

BOSTON — Even though Massachusetts has some of the toughest gun laws in the country that is not stopping some candidates for higher officer from calling for even stricter ones.

Democratic candidate for attorney general Maura Healey has released a plan that calls for strengthening the background check system and embracing new technologies that make it easier to trace guns if they are used in a crime

In a release Healey, a former bureau chief and assistant attorney general, said she wants to enhance the background check system with the inclusion of additional information like recent restraining orders, pending indictments, parole and probation information as well as anything related to domestic violence.

"There are some gaps in what we have in terms of background checks," said Healey.

In her plan Healey acknowledges that the majority of guns used in crimes in Massachusetts come from out of state. Healey plans to organize a national network of attorney generals and work closely with national law enforcement agencies like the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to do a better job of tracking stolen and missing guns.

"Most of the AGs in this area are really committed to reduce violence and promote public safety," said Healey.

Healey said she would like to see gun makers incorporate fingerprint trigger locks and firearm micro-stamping on all guns sold in Massachusetts. The practice of firearm micro-stamping involves the stamping of a serial number on fired casings.

"This is a common sense plan to fight gun violence in the Commonwealth, a problem that tears at our families and our communities," said Healey.

Healey raised concerns about the spread of 3-D printing technology that allows people to manufacture nearly anything with the proper schematic and materials. She supports 3-D printing technology but is weary of the devices being used to print untraceable guns.

"They are really cool and have all kinds of cool uses. What's not cool is printing 3-d guns, using them in a crime, and then melting the evidence," said Healey.

Healey said she wants to expand programs like YouthConnect that send social workers into communities and places where young people are likely to get sucked into the world of violence. The state needs to do better when working with inmates as they reenter society after spending years in prison, said Healey.

"If we're really going to combat gun violence we need a multi-prong, multi-faceted strategy," said Healey.

Whately selectman Jonathan Edwards ends campaign for lieutenant governor

0
0

Edwards said debilitating back pain left him unable to continue the campaign.

Jonathan Edwards, a candidate for lieutenant governor from Whately, ended his gubernatorial campaign on Monday, citing health reasons.

Edwards said he had been experiencing debilitating back pain, caused by a disc problem, that made it difficult for him to stand or walk for more than 15 minutes at a time without intolerable pain.

“After consulting doctors and physical therapists, I have been told that my back problems will leave me out of action for at least several weeks,” Edwards said in a statement to supporters. “As a result, I have come to the conclusion that I cannot effectively campaign with these limitations. Therefore, I have arrived at the difficult decision that I will end my campaign for Lieutenant Governor.”

whately selectman jonathan edwards.jpgWhately selectman Jonathan Edwards 

Edwards is a four-term selectman from Whately, a small Franklin County town. In 2002, he helped found and became vice president of SmartPower, a non-profit marketing firm dedicated to promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency. He has since left to start his own marketing and communications firm, Pioneering Strategies.

Edwards was competing in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor against four other candidates – Steve Kerrigan, a former aide to Senator Ted Kennedy and CEO of the Democratic National Convention; Mike Lake, executive director of the World Class Cities Partnership; Cambridge City Councilor Leland Chung; and former USDA administrator James Arena-DeRosa.

Edwards was little known throughout the state. It is unclear whether he would have gotten the necessary signatures and support from Democratic delegates to make the primary ballot in September.

Edwards said he believes he would have had enough support to get on the ballot, but he could not continue to campaign due to his back issues. He said he will continue to stay involved in the Democratic Party.

“I look forward to working with all my friends and supporters in the near future as we continue to work together to strengthen our Commonwealth, grow jobs and fight for social, environmental and economic justice,“ Edwards said.

Springfield resident Frederick Pinney charged with killing housemate in East Forest Park home; neighbors shocked by crime

0
0

The victim, Tayclair Moore, had only been living at the house for about a week before her death.

This is an update of a story originally posted at 4:36 p.m. Monday

SPRINGFIELD - Police on Monday arrested a 45-year-old city man in connection with the killing of an Agnes Street woman whose March 23rd death has determined to be a homicide, police said.

spd frederick pinney murder homicideFrederick Pinney 

Arrested was Frederick Pinney, 45, of 48 Agnes St. He was arrested Monday after police obtained a district court warrant for his arrest, said Sgt. John Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William Fitchet.

He was charged with murder in connection with the death of Tayclair Moore, 29, on March 23, Delaney said.

He is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Springfield District Court.

Moore, 29, who also lived at 48 Agnes St., was found dead inside her residence. Police were called to the scene at about 1 p.m. for a report from another resident of the apartment who found her body, Delaney said.

The man who called police identified himself as Moore’s boyfriend, Delaney said. He called police after finding her dead in the bedroom of another roommate, he said.

Police initially said they did not know how Moore died and would need to wait for results of the autopsy from the Massachusetts Office of the Medical Examiner.

Delaney said autopsy concluded that Moore had been choked and died from asphyxiation.

At the time, there were no visible signs of trauma, Delaney said.

Delaney declined to comment on possible motives for the homicide.

The case was investigated by Detective Bureau’s homicide unit under the command of Lt. Trent Hufnagel.

The death is the city’s first homicide of the year.

There were 19 homicides in Springfield in 2013, and by this date a year ago, there had already been five.

The day before Moore was found, police learned of another suspicious death when the body of Craig Sheridan, 61, was found on Temple Street. Police are still waiting autopsy results to determine the cause of death.

In front of 48 Agnes St. on Monday afternoon, a large-screen television and a piece of furniture were stacked on the tree belt.

In the driveway, three men were loading items onto a truck.

One of the men identified himself as Pinney’s son, and said he was there to collect his father’s belongings.

He declined to give his name, saying he is in the military police and is not supposed to be talking to the press. The man said when he learned of the case, he obtained leave from the military and drove up to Massachusetts from Fort Campbell in Kentucky.

He said Pinney had only been staying at the Agnes Street location temporarily because he recently became separated from his wife, the man’s mother, and needed a place to stay.

Pinney worked with the other man who lived in the house.

The man said he did know now much about Moore and that she had only moved in “one week prior" to her death.

He said police have no motive for the crime and is convinced his father will be found innocent when the case gets to court. Some evidence in the case has not come to light yet, but when it does, his father will be acquitted, he said.

He declined to elaborate.

Along Agnes Street, neighbors expressed surprise about the killing on their street, a quiet road between Island Pond Road and Arcadia Boulevard in the city’s East Forest Park neighborhood.

The last time any sort of news happened on their street was when several houses were damaged from the Jun 2011 tornado.

Neighbors said people on the street generally watch out for each other, children play in the street, and everyone knows most everyone else.

The house at 48 Agnes St. stood out because it is one of the few rental properties on the street and its occupants had only moved in a few weeks ago.

“Everyone on this end of the street has lived here 20 years or more,” said neighbor Todd Hawkins.

He said he knew the owner of 48 Agnes but about two months ago, he moved out and began renting the property out.

A few weeks back, he noticed “a guy and a girl moved in,” Hawkins said. “I didn’t even know their names.”

Another neighbor, Pius Kamau, said he did not any of the residents of the house.

He knows the owner, but “he moved like two months ago and rented his house.”

He said he did not hear anything unusual coming from the house since the new tenants moved in. He had no indication anything was amiss.

“I didn’t hear any commotion or a fight or anything like that,” he said.

He said he went to church that Sunday and when he came back, there were police cars.

A woman who lived across the street knew Pinney, Moore and the 3rd tenant by sight and would wave to them, but did not really know them. This, she said, was due to the weather more than anything else.

“When you get new people who come in the winter, you don’t really meet them until the spring,” she said.


View Larger Map
Viewing all 62489 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images