By STEVE ROTHWELL AP Markets Writer NEW YORK — The stock market held close to its all-time high on Thursday amid optimism that the economy is set to strengthen. Stocks are on course for their best weekly gain in seven weeks after investors got more encouraging news on the economy. A survey showed that U.S. service firms increased their business...

By STEVE ROTHWELL

AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK — The stock market held close to its all-time high on Thursday amid optimism that the economy is set to strengthen.

Stocks are on course for their best weekly gain in seven weeks after investors got more encouraging news on the economy. A survey showed that U.S. service firms increased their business more quickly last month as new orders rose. Separate reports earlier in the week had shown manufacturing strengthening, hiring picking up, and sales of cars and trucks rising.

The news came ahead of the government's monthly jobs report, which will be published Friday. Investors expect to see a strong pickup in hiring. Economists are forecasting that the U.S. economy added 200,000 jobs in March, according to FactSet. That would be the biggest gain in hiring since November.

"If you have a decent economy, a modestly growing economy, that's supportive of corporate earnings and stocks can continue to benefit from that," said John Fox, director of research at Fenimore Asset Management.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2.13 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,888.77. The index closed at an all-time high of 1,890 a day earlier after rising for four straight days. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.45 point, or less than 0.1 percent, to 16,572.55. The Nasdaq composite fell 38.72 points, or 0.9 percent, to 4,237.74.

Stocks started the day higher after getting a lift from a report on the U.S. service sector, a broad category of businesses that includes banks, transportation and construction.

The Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing index rose to 53.1 in March, up from 51.6 in February, indicating that growth in the service sector is picking up. The survey also showed hiring picking up.

However, by midmorning stocks started to drift lower. Investors seemed unwilling to place big bets on the market before Friday's key jobs report.

"Going into the employment report, a lot of people aren't anxious to open new positions," said J.J. Kinahan, chief strategist with TD Ameritrade. "They don't want to be taken by surprise."

Barnes & Noble was among the day's big losers.

The stock fell $2.99, or 13.5 percent, to $19.12 after Liberty Media said it was cutting its stake in the company. Liberty Media, the investment company controlled by billionaire John Malone, gave Barnes & Noble a lifeline in 2011 when it bought a 17 percent stake in the company.

Biotechnology stocks also fell.

After surging at the start of the year, biotech stocks have become volatile amid concerns about the cost of the drugs that they're developing. The S&P's index of biotechnology stocks fell 1.6 percent, paring its gains for the year to about 1.2 percent. The index had been up as much as 13 percent by the end of February.

Google's stock split took effect Thursday.

The technology company's new Class C non-voting shares rose $2.74, or 0.5 percent, to $569.74. Its Class A shares, which retained voting rights, rose $3.40, or 0.6 percent, to $571.50. The Class A shares, which have been traded since the company went public nearly a decade ago, now trade under the ticker symbol "GOOGL." The Class C shares inherited the "GOOG" ticker symbol.

In government bond trading, bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.79 percent from 2.80 percent on Wednesday. The price of oil rose 67 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $100.29 a barrel. Gold fell $6.20, or 0.5 percent, to $1,284.60 an ounce

Among other stocks making big moves:

Anadarko Petroleum jumped $12.55, or 14.5 percent, to $99.02 after the company announced that it had reached a $5.15 billion deal to settle claims arising from the 2009 bankruptcy of paints materials maker Tronox. A U.S. bankruptcy court judge said in December that Anadarko Petroleum may be liable for between $5 billion and more than $14 billion in the legal battle.

The Vancouver Police Department kicked off a Name The Puppy Contest on Thursday to find names for its newest members – two 8-week-old German Shepherd puppies.

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Police Department kicked off a Name The Puppy Contest on Thursday to find names for its newest members – two 8-week-old German Shepherd puppies.

The puppies made their public debut at the Vancouver Police Department's K9 facility in Vancouver. Though they will one day be fierce police dogs ready for duty at a moment's notice, they were just plain cute puppies playing with photographers.

According to the Vancouver PD's website, this is the third Name The Puppy contest in department history. The contest is for Vancouver students in kindergarten through Grade 7.

Children previously named Police Dog “Nitro” in 1997 and Police Dog “Diesel” in 2006.

The new puppies are littermates, born Feb. 6, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

"She was really cutting edge," said art historian Catherine Coleman Brawer, co-author of "The Art Deco Murals of Hildreth Meiere." ''Her work has been enjoyed by millions of people over the last 90 years without knowing her name."

By ULA ILNYTZKY

NEW YORK — Hildreth Meiere was a prolific Art Deco muralist whose highly stylized figures and geometric patterns adorn New York's Radio City Music Hall, Nebraska's Capitol, the National Academy of Sciences and many other noted buildings.

Yet the artist remains relatively unknown.

A new book is seeking to give Meiere her due, chronicling a career that broke barriers at a time in the first half of the 20th century when few women artists were working on such a grand scale.

"She was really cutting edge," said art historian Catherine Coleman Brawer, co-author of "The Art Deco Murals of Hildreth Meiere." ''Her work has been enjoyed by millions of people over the last 90 years without knowing her name. That's why we have written this book."

This 1924 photo provided by Hildreth Meiere Dunn shows her grandmother, muralist Hildreth Meiere.Submitted by Hildreth Meiere Dunn 

Meiere, who would go on to work on about 100 projects in 15 states, came of age as an artist at a time when many leading architects turned to the muralist to embellish their buildings.

She landed her first major commission in 1922 to decorate the Great Hall of the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., where she created medallions of Art Deco figures depicting earth, fire, water and air, among other imagery.

Among her many captivating narrative designs are the shimmering glass mosaics she created for the eight-story-high arch in the main sanctuary of Temple Emanu-El and the narthex of St. Bartholomew's Church in New York.

For the Nebraska Capitol, Meiere created designs depicting Native American life on the Great Plains.

Perhaps her most recognizable designs are on the facade of Radio City Music Hall, where colossal metal-and-enamel roundels depict dance, drama and song.

Meiere once said that a beautiful mural is "something that cannot be taken away without hurting the design of the building. If the building can look as well without it, it shouldn't be there in the first place."

In this March 24, 2014 photo, the colossal metal-and-enamel roundel created by art deco muralist Hildreth Meiere stands out on the facade of Radio City Music Hall in New York. “The Art Deco Murals of Hildreth Meiere,” a new book on the trail-blazing muralist who completed over 100 commissions in 16 states before her death in 1961, is set for May 1. The Associated Press photo by Bebeto Matthew 

In 1946, Meiere was the first woman appointed to the New York City Art Commission and later became the first woman to receive the Fine Arts Medal of the American Institute of Architects. Yet after her death in 1961, as architectural tastes changed, she became largely forgotten.

Meiere designed in a variety of media, collaborating with skilled European-trained craftsmen who executed her work in glazed ceramic tile, glass mosaic, stained glass, metal and wood inlay.

When she designed the roundels for Radio City Music Hall, "nobody had worked in mixed metal on a scale like that before," said Brawer, who curated an exhibition of her ecclesiastical work at New York's Museum of Biblical Art in 2012.

Adrianne Rubin, the museum's director of exhibitions, said Meiere's "ecclesiastical and secular work continue to impact viewers profoundly, so it is only fitting that her name be associated with her beautiful and innovative work."

To help reintroduce her to the public, a Meiere Crawl exploring her sites in New York City is planned for May 18. The book is scheduled for release on May 1.

Once named the MGM Grand hotel tower at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, the building is being renamed "The Fox Tower," to avoid any confusion with the expected licensure of MGM for the $800 million Springfield casino.

MASHANTUCKET, Conn. — As the Massachusetts Gaming Commission edges closer to awarding MGM Resorts International the sole resort casino license for the western region of the commonwealth, the MGM name is being replaced on another regional gaming facility.

Once named the MGM Grand hotel tower at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, the building is being renamed "The Fox Tower," to avoid any confusion with the expected licensure of MGM for the $800 million Springfield casino which will include a towering hotel of its own.

"This transition is the first of many changes and development taking place at the resort," said Vice President of Resort Operations Jason Guyot in a statement. "We are proud to announce this new name as it speaks to the Tribe’s long and storied history as the ‘Fox People’ and reconfirms our commitment to what the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe created over 22 years ago."

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, owners of Foxwoods Resort Casino, announced in October that the licensing deal which lent the name and trademark MGM lion's head logo to the hotel on the west side of the resort's campus would end.

Once known as the MGM Grand Hotel at Foxwoods Resort Casino, the newly-named "Fox Tower" will still dominates the skyline in Mashantucket, Conn.AP File Photo

The Associated Press previously reported that the licensing agreement was signed in 2006 as MGM was looking to increase its brand recognition on the East Coast. The tower bearing the MGM name opened in 2008 at a cost of $700 million and the new "Fox Tower" branding was immediately apparent on the Foxwoods website this week.

While MGM pushes forward with its bid to develop a multi-faceted entertainment venue on a 14.5 acre parcel in Springfield's South End, its former partner in Connecticut is stepping up its game ahead of new competition in the northeast U.S.

According to the tribe, which owns the Connecticut facility, the renaming of the tower is part of an overall campaign to reinvigorate the brand that will include new developments, promotions and improvements to the property.

The company reports that the Grand Pequot Tower renovation is nearing completion while a new food court has already opened in Great Cedar Square. At the same time, construction continues on the Tanger Outlet Mall at Foxwoods, which is expected to boast 85 outlet stores at the cost of $120 million. That facility is slated to open in May 2015.

MGM Resorts International is the last company remaining in a once crowded field of competitors battling for the sole Massachusetts gaming license to be awarded in the western region of the state. In addition to the projects that died on the vine, voters in West Springfield voted down a proposed Hard Rock International casino in 2013 and voters in Palmer dashed Mohegan Sun's hopes of building a casino in that town.

Now, Hard Rock pursues a variety of opportunities around the globe while Mohegan Sun, based in Connecticut, is competing for the greater Boston area's casino license along with Las Vegas-based Wynn Resorts.

A Clark University student reportedly had a gun held to his head while three men robbed him early in the morning on Tuesday.

WORCESTER — Police are investigating a report that a man held a gun to a Clark University student's head while he and two other men robbed him early Tuesday morning.

"One of the males pushed the victim against the fence, held a gun to his head and searched his pockets," according to a Worcester Police Department in a press release. "The suspect stole various items from the victim including an iPhone and wallet. The males then fled up Clifton Street toward May Street."

The 20-year-old male student was walking on Clifton Street toward Charlotte Street at around 1 a.m. when he was approached by three men who had been on the other side of the street, pushed against a fence and robbed at gunpoint, police said.

The student described the unidentified man with the gun as being a 5-feet 8-inches tall black man, possibly in his 20’s. During the robbery, the man with the gun wore a black ski mask, according to police. The student described the second man as a 6-foot tall black man with braids in his hair. He was wearing dark clothing. The student could not provide a physical description for the third man.

The college student was not physically injured, said police. Surveillance footage is being reviewed and the investigation is ongoing.

If anyone has information about this incident they can send an anonymous text to 274637 TIPWPD + your message or send an anonymous message on the Worcester Police Department Website. Calls can also be made to the Worcester Police Detective Bureau at (508) 799-8651.

By DINA CAPPIELLO and ERIC TUCKER WASHINGTON — The federal government on Thursday reached a $5.15 billion settlement with Anadarko Petroleum Corp., the largest ever for environmental contamination, to settle claims related to the cleanup of thousands of sites tainted with hazardous chemicals for decades. The bulk of the money — $4.4 billion — will pay for environmental cleanup and...

By DINA CAPPIELLO and ERIC TUCKER

WASHINGTON — The federal government on Thursday reached a $5.15 billion settlement with Anadarko Petroleum Corp., the largest ever for environmental contamination, to settle claims related to the cleanup of thousands of sites tainted with hazardous chemicals for decades.

The bulk of the money — $4.4 billion — will pay for environmental cleanup and be used to settle claims stemming from the legacy contamination.

The settlement resolves a legal battle over Tronox Inc., a spinoff of Kerr-McGee Corp., a company Anadarko acquired in 2006.

Kerr-McGee, founded in 1929, left behind a long legacy of environmental contamination: polluting Lake Mead in Nevada with rocket fuel, leaving behind radioactive waste piles throughout the territory of the Navajo Nation, and dumping carcinogenic creosote in communities throughout the East, Midwest and South at its wood-treating facilities.

The company, rather than pay for the environmental mess it created, decided to shift the liabilities between 2002 and 2006 into Tronox. Kerr-McGee, meanwhile, kept its valuable oil and gas assets.

"Kerr-McGee's businesses all over this country left significant, lasting environmental damage in their wake," said Deputy Attorney General James Cole. "It tried to shed its responsibility for this environmental damage and stick the United States with the huge cleanup bill."

The settlement releases Anadarko from all claims against Kerr-McGee.

"This settlement ... eliminates the uncertainty this dispute has created, and the proceeds will fund the remediation and cleanup of the legacy environmental liabilities," said Anadarko CEO Al Walker.

The settlement funds will be paid into a trust that covers cleanup of contaminated sites across 22 states and the Navajo Nation.

Among the sites targeted for cleanup under the settlement are a former chemical manufacturing site in Nevada that has led to contamination of Lake Mead and a Superfund property in Gloucester, N.J., contaminated with thorium. About $1 billion will be directed to the Navajo Nation to address radioactive waste left behind by the region's abandoned uranium mines.

The U.S. initially sought $25 billion to clean up decades of contamination at dozens of sites. A U.S. bankruptcy judge in New York in December found Kerr-McGee had improperly shifted its environmental liabilities to Tronox and should pay between $5.15 billion and $14.2 billion, plus attorney's fees. Cole said at a news conference Thursday that the government decided that the $5.15 billion amount was more than enough to cover the damages.

"It provides us with recovery now as opposed to years and years down the road," he said.

Tronox said in a statement that the settlement means environmental cleanup can begin and that people harmed by the pollution can be compensated.

After the settlement's announcement, Anadarko's stock rose 15 percent, to $99.43.

A native of Chicopee, O'Brien said that as a child she was always drawn to animals in distress.

GRANVILLE - A Granville woman who operates Rainbow Rescues, an adoption service for stray, abandoned and neglected animals, has been selected a top-ten finalist in a nationwide entrepreneurs contest.

Maria O’Brien, who founded Rainbow Rescues in 2008 with her brother, Shawn, said she didn’t quite know what to think when she was notified a few weeks ago that she had made the final ten.

“I was extremely excited. I couldn’t believe it,” she said Thursday. “I thought it was an early April Fools joke.”

The contest, sponsored by the retail supply chain Staples, is called “Make Your Idea Happen.”

Staples invited people from across the country to submit their ideas for a product or service for a chance to receive assistance in bringing it to life.

More than 16,000 people submitted entries.

The grand prize is $25,000 cash, and the first and second runners up will receive $15,000 and $10,000, respectively. The top three winners will also receive consulting sessions with small-business experts who will give recommendations for what they need to do to get their business off the ground.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity,” O’Brien said.

The ten finalists are each from different regions of the country.

O’Brien’s is the top entry from the Northeast.

Rainbow Rescue takes in primarily dogs, but it will also work with cats, pot belly pigs, lizards and just about any other animal in need, with the exception of large farm animals, she said.

After being assessed, the animals are then put placed with volunteers who provide individual care and attention from their homes. Once the animal is cared for to the point where they feel it is capable of being someone’s pet, they look for a permanent home.

Maria O'Brien, owner of Rainbow Rescues, a pet rescue shelter in Granville, comforts a dog.Submitted photo 

Since it opened Rainbow Rescue has relied on this network of volunteers to service as many as 30 animals at one time.

O’Brien said she would like to see the operation develop a permanent headquarters that could also house animals receiving treatment.

A permanent base would allow them to care for more animals, but it would also allow for more interaction between the animals and people who could benefit from being around animals, such as veterans afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder.

A native of Chicopee, O’Brien, 34, said she has always been drawn to animals.
She said that as a child, she and her brother were always bringing home every stray dog, cat or bird with an injured wing that they found.

In 2006 when her father died, she said spent a lot of time reflecting on what she wanted to do in life.

“I wanted to do something inspirational,” she said. In thinking of ways to make the world better, she returned to where she started and began to care for animals that were abandoned and in need of help.

Top ten finishers were selected for their passion and creativity by judges from Staples and a panel of experts including celebrity chef Roble Ali, business columnist Gene Marks and jewelry designer and entrepreneur Kendra Scott.

The top three winners will be decided by the general public voting over the Internet through April 16.

People can cast their ballots either through the Staples "Make Your Idea Happen" contest website or on Facebook.

People can cast as many ballots as they want but are limited to one per day. All voters will be entered into a drawing to win a $100 gift card from Staples.

Among the other finalists are a workshop in Connecticut that makes hats for cancer patients, a Michigan mother who makes specialty care packages for college students, and a New Mexico afterschool program that specializes in electrical and mechanical engineering.

The Gaming Commission voted to hold a May 1 public hearing on Boston's bid to be declared a "host community" for proposed casinos in the nearby communities of Everett and Revere.

BOSTON — The process for awarding casino licenses in eastern and southeastern Massachusetts will take at least two months longer than hoped, state gambling officials said Thursday.

The state Gaming Commission now says it won't be until August for a decision to be made on a Boston-area casino. The five-member panel also said it will push back the next deadline for casino applications in the Fall River-New Bedford area to at least late September.

At a meeting at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, the gambling commission voted to hold a May 1 public hearing on Boston's bid to be declared a "host community" for proposed casinos in the nearby communities of Everett and Revere.

If granted the status, Boston residents would have an opportunity to vote on — and potentially reject — casino proposals by Mohegan Sun in Revere and Wynn in Everett. If granted "surrounding community" status, Boston would reap some of the casino profits but not be allowed to seek voter referendum.

Mohegan Sun and Wynn are both opposed to granting Boston host community status.

Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby said the revised process means the state won't award a casino license for eastern Massachusetts until August, at the earliest. The commission had hoped to award the license in June.

"We're bending over backward to give the city a very fair opportunity ... and compromising a lot of other parties," he said Thursday. "I think it's the right thing to do, but a big price is being paid by a lot of people to try and accommodate the city."

In southeastern Massachusetts, the commission pushed back an application deadline from July 23 to at least Sept. 22 in an effort to give private developers more time on their proposals.

Fall River Mayor William Flanagan, whose administration has been in talks with Connecticut-based Foxwoods to develop a resort-style casino, had urged the commission to maintain the July deadline. But New Bedford officials and other casino developers had sought later deadlines.

Starting July 1, only individuals 19 and older will be allowed to buy cigarettes and other tobacco products in Newburyport, a Massachusetts city near the New Hampshire border.

By COLLEEN QUINN

BOSTON — Newburyport recently joined nearly two dozen other communities in Massachusetts that have raised the legal age limit to purchase tobacco products.

Starting July 1, only individuals 19 and older will be allowed to buy cigarettes and other tobacco products in the Massachusetts city near the New Hampshire border.

The board of health voted March 20 to increase the purchase age, in an effort to keep tobacco out of the hands of high school students, according to Robert Bracey, Newburyport director of public health.

Mayor Donna Holaday, who appoints board of health members, opposed the move.

Until 2012, Needham was the only community in the U.S. that prohibited sales to anyone under 21 – a change the town made in 2005. Since then, several Massachusetts communities have raised the legal age to 19 or 21, according to DJ Wilson, tobacco control director at the Massachusetts Municipal Association.

Most states, including Massachusetts, allow 18-year-olds to buy tobacco products. Alaska, Alabama, Utah and New Jersey are the exceptions, all of which have pushed the legal age to 19.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed legislation last year that raises the tobacco purchasing age from 18 to 21. It takes effect this spring. Newton is also considering a change.

Wilson said although there is scant data to show that raising the age limit to buy tobacco will reduce the number of smokers, it is a good theory.

"It worked in alcohol. It should work to the public health advantage," he said Thursday.

Retailers fear the restrictions will hurt sales of other products, particularly in communities that border other states.

"All these efforts are well-intended but they don't really understand that it is not really going to have an effect on how many people smoke. It is just going to affect where your local residents spend their money," said Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts.

Drug store giant CVS Caremark announced in February it will stop selling cigarettes and other tobacco products at its stores throughout the country starting this fall. The Rhode Island-based pharmacy is the first national chain to ban the products from its stores.

Along with Needham, communities that have raised the legal purchasing age to 21 include Sharon, Arlington, Canton, Ashland, Dedham, Dover, Wellesley, Scituate, Hudson, Norwood, Winchester, Wakefield and Reading. In addition to Newburyport, communities that raised it to 19 are: Brookline, Belmont, Watertown, Westwood, Walpole, and Sudbury, according to the MMA.

With demand for apartments surging, rents are projected to rise for a fifth straight year. Even a pickup in apartment construction is unlikely to provide much relief anytime soon.

By ALEX VEIGA

AP Real Estate Writer

These are good times for U.S. landlords. For many tenants, not so much.

With demand for apartments surging, rents are projected to rise for a fifth straight year. Even a pickup in apartment construction is unlikely to provide much relief anytime soon.

That bodes well for building owners and their investors. Yet the landlord-friendly trends will likely further strain the finances of many renters.

A 6 percent rise in apartment rents between 2000 and 2012 has been exacerbated by a 13 percent drop in income among renters nationally over the same period, according to a report from Apartment List, a rental housing website, which used inflation-adjusted figures.

"That's what we call the affordability gap," says John Kobs, Apartment List's chief executive. "I don't see that improving in the near future."

Demand for rental housing has grown as the U.S. economy has strengthened since the end of the Great Recession nearly five years ago. Steady job growth has made it possible for more people to move out on their own and rent their own apartments. Yet rising home prices are preventing many from buying.

A combination of rising rents and sluggish pay gains will likely continue to weigh on the U.S. economy, which relies primarily on consumer spending.

The trend is straining the finances of tenants like Michael Strane.

The geologist recently decided to move from Pasadena, Calif., to the L.A. suburb of Whittier, where asking rents jumped an average of nearly 14 percent last year, according to real estate data provider Zillow.

The location of Strane's new apartment cut his two-hour commute to work in half. But he'll be paying $1,045 a month, $200 more than he paid before.

"I'm actually paying more than I really feel comfortable paying right now," says Strane, 39.

RENTAL BOOM

Rental demand has risen in much of the United States since the housing market collapsed in 2007. A cascade of foreclosures forced many people out of their homes and into apartment leases. At the same time, construction of apartments was stalled until the last couple of years because many builders couldn't get loans during the credit crisis.

Add to that several recent trends, from rising mortgage rates to stagnant pay, which have combined to discourage many people from buying homes. It's resulted in fewer places to lease and a bump up in rents.

The national vacancy rate for apartments shrank from 8 percent to 4.1 percent from 2009 to 2013, according to commercial real estate data provider Reis Inc.

As a result, landlords were able to raise rents in many markets. The average national effective rent rose 12 percent to $1,083 during those years, according to Reis, which tracked data for apartments in buildings with 40 units or more. Effective rent is what a tenant pays after factoring in landlord concessions, such as a free month at move-in.

Over the same period, the median price of an existing U.S. home has risen about 14 percent, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.

Among major U.S. markets, rents rose the most in Seattle in 2013, up 7.1 percent from the year before, according to Reis. The second-biggest increase, 5.6 percent, was in San Francisco. Nationwide, effective rent rose 3.2 percent last year compared with 2012. Rents rose even as the nation added about 127,000 apartments, the most since 2009, according to Reis. The addition of those apartments hasn't been enough to absorb the surging demand for rentals.

The Picerne Group is among the apartment complex owners with buildings under construction. The company, which owns properties in California, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado, expects to break ground soon on luxury rental buildings in the Southern California cities of Cerritos and Ontario. The buildings, which have nearly 500 units combined, are due to open next year, says Brad Perozzi, managing director of the company, based in San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

"We definitely see demand improving, especially the younger demographic coming out of college and being in their prime renter years," Perozzi says. "Even though the single-family home market is coming back, it's still somewhat cumbersome to obtain a mortgage and come up with a down payment."

Jaswinder Bolina knows something about that.

An assistant professor of English at a the University of Miami, Bolina couldn't afford to pay the roughly $2,000 rent for his two-bedroom, two-bath apartment in an upscale area of Miami and still save enough money for a 20 percent down payment on a condo.

Ultimately, his parents pitched in, helping him buy a $340,000 condo that he expects to close on in May.

"It could have taken me 10 years to save enough for a down payment because property values have rebounded out here to the point where I'm priced out of the market," Bolina says.

CHASING LOWER RENTS

Rising rents in San Francisco compelled Marc Caswell to move to Los Angeles in September. He and his girlfriend couldn't get past the cost of renting a two-bedroom apartment in the San Francisco Bay area, where such housing listed recently on Zillow.com for an average asking rent of $4,100 — more than double what the couple hoped to pay.

"In a year or two, there would have been no money put away," says Caswell, who works for an environmental nonprofit.

The couple, who earn a combined salary of about $120,000, now pay $2,000 a month for a two-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles, the 12th-most-expensive rental market last year.

Even with more buildings under construction, rising demand will push rents up in many markets. Reis expects a stronger job market to enable more people to start renting their own places instead of living with roommates or parents. As a result, the firm predicts that effective apartment rents will increase 3.3 percent this year to an average of $1,118 nationally.

GOOD FOR INVESTORS

Higher demand and rising rents, unwelcome as they are for tenants, will produce more income for owners such as apartment REITS. These real estate investment trusts operate buildings they acquire or build.

Steadfast Income REIT, based in Irvine, Calif., is counting on rental growth and demand to continue rising in Texas, Illinois, Kentucky, Oklahoma and the seven other states where it's invested $1.6 billion to buy buildings with a total of about 16,000 units.

The company has avoided coastal markets, where apartment buildings for sale tend to command high prices, making it harder to turn a profit without charging rents that could price out many tenants. Steadfast likes to buy buildings where it can make money while serving tenants who earn between $45,000 and $75,000. On average, it charges $950 in rent, says Ella Neyland, Steadfast's president.

Steadfast has 40 percent of its holdings in Texas, where an energy boom is creating jobs faster than the national average. Those jobs are luring people to cities like San Antonio and Houston and driving up demand for rentals.

"Every single day I have some apartment home in my portfolio that's up for renewal," Neyland says. "As the market improves, I increase the rents."

BOSTON — Officials say weak corporate and business tax collections caused the state to fall short of its revenue goals last month. Department of Revenue Commissioner Amy Pitter said Thursday that preliminary estimates show overall tax collections were up 3.6 percent in March compared with the same month a year ago. But she said stronger than expected income and sales...

BOSTON — Officials say weak corporate and business tax collections caused the state to fall short of its revenue goals last month.

Amy PitterW. MARC BERNSAU | BOSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL 

Department of Revenue Commissioner Amy Pitter said Thursday that preliminary estimates show overall tax collections were up 3.6 percent in March compared with the same month a year ago. But she said stronger than expected income and sales taxes were offset by a more than 8 percent drop in corporate and businesses tax collections, causing the state to miss its revised monthly benchmark by $60 million.

Revenues through the first nine months of the current fiscal year remain $228 million above benchmark.

Pitter said the weak performance in business taxes might have been due to more taxpayers carrying over losses or adjusting their taxable income projections.

Berkshire Medical Center implemented a disaster plan to deal with the closing of North Adams Regional Hospital.

PITTSFIELD — It takes Annie Farmer 36 minutes to drive from her home in North Adams to Berkshire Medical Center's sprawling campus on North Street here in Pittsfield.

Pregnant with her first child, a daughter, due at the end of July, Farmer had planned to give birth at North Adams Regional Hospital, but plans were thrown into a tizzy last week when the hospital, and its maternity ward, abruptly closed.

So Thursday, as lawyers gathered in Pittsfield's Berkshire Superior Court to secure access to the North Adams hospital building, Farmer had the father-to-be test out different routes to North Adams as she timed the trip.They were coming to Berkshire Medical Center to visit a patient anyway.

But she had to know. Berkshire Medical Center took over doctors' practices associated with North Adams Regional Hospital. Those practices will open next week. But that doesn't mean her doctor will automatically choose to practice out of Berkshire Medical Center.

Where will she have her baby girl?

"It's so disconcerting," Farmer said.

For now, Berkshire Medical Center is handling the extra business spilling over from northern Berkshire County in the wake of North Adams Regional's shutdown, said John F. Rogers, vice president and general counsel for parent organization Berkshire Health Systems Inc. He said Berkshire instituted its emergency plan Friday when North Adams closed.

It's the similar to the emergency plans in place in case of tornado, flood or other natural disaster. That means a long-term solution must be found.

"(Disaster footing) can't last forever," he said.

The closure is also straining emergency responders. It takes 2½ hours for an ambulance and crew to respond to a call in North Adams, treat the patient, get that person in an ambulance, deliver the person to Berkshire Medical Center and return for another call.

Mary Beckman, a lawyer for the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office, told the court Thursday that ambulance services also change the medications they carry. It used to be that doses for needed drugs were measured out assuming a hospital was right up the hill. Those doses have to be larger now because patients have further to travel.

The jets will fly throughout New England and part of New York, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

WESTFIELD – The 104th Fighter Wing at Barnes Air National Guard Base is notifying area residents that fighter jets will be taking part in a homeland defense exercise Friday and Saturday, and residents should be prepared for the sound of jets overhead.

“We do not want to alarm the residents around the local area who may be startled by the increase in aircraft activity during the training exercise," said base spokesman Senior Master Sgt. Robert J. Sabonis.

The jets will fly throughout New England and part of New York, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

No flights are scheduled for Sunday.

The 104th Fighter Wing is also scheduled to conduct evening training on April 14 to 17 with flights scheduled between 5 to 6:30 p.m. each day.

Sabonis said the night-time training is critical to the base’s mission.

“The night-training is required to ensure our pilots are ready to respond to any airborne threat in the Northeastern United States, at any time, in any condition,” he said.

Members of the political panel included Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse, Denise Jordan, chief of staff to Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and state Sen. Gale Candaras, D-Wilbraham.

WILBRAHAM — Students at Wilbraham & Monson Academy’s academic conference, “The City,” wanted to know if state and municipal leaders believe a proposed MGM Springfield casino would be a plus or a minus for the region 10 years from now.

Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse said he thinks the casino will have a negative impact on surrounding communities, but he has tried to negotiate a surrounding communities agreement with MGM to mitigate the negatives.

Denise Jordan, chief of staff to Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, told students the casino will have a positive impact on the region. The proposed MGM casino is not just a casino, but “a gaming resort” which will bring jobs for Springfield residents, money for education, retail shops, world class dining, an outdoor skating rink and a professional bowling alley.

It will include 54 units of market-rate housing, she said.

In a lighted area with people on the streets, crime will be down, Jordan predicted.

State Sen. Gale Candaras, D-Wilbraham, said she believes the legislation was approved permitting a casino if a municipality approves it because of the recession. She said she believes the casino will bring an economic bounce to the area in the short-term, but she is concerned about market saturation in the long-term.

Hopefully, the casino will be “a neutral,” Candaras said.

The academic conference, “The City,” was a daylong event which included keynote speaker Xiangming Chen, director of the Center for Urban and Global Studies at Trinity College, Michael Mathis, president of MGM Springfield, and Marla Michel, director of the Business Growth Center, Springfield.

The final political panel included Morse, Jordan and Candaras. The panelists were asked about political polarization.

Candaras said the political polarization is occurring in Washington, D.C. “We work collaboratively, here,” she said.

She said many communities in Massachusetts have nonpartisan elections, but to run for election statewide, candidates need a party affiliation.

“Every two years we are fired or rehired,” she said.

Western New England University will collaborate with the private sector companies on cancer research efforts.

SPRINGFIELD – The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center announced Friday that it has awarded a $500,000 grant to Western New England University to fund equipment related to cancer drug research and development.

Administrators, faculty, students and city officials gathered at the university on Wilbraham Road to praise the state-funded grant presented by the center’s president and chief executive officer, Susan Windham-Bannister.

A key strategy of the statewide capital grant program is to promote academic and private sector collaboration in the life sciences, and the Western New England University grant is a “great example” of that initiative, Windham-Bannister said.

"Cancer is something that affects all of us," Windham-Bannister said. "All of us either individually or we have family members who have been impacted by cancer. So we are very pleased to support important cancer related work that is going on here at WNEU."

Equipment will be purchased for the development of "live cancer cell drug filtration and testing platforms," Windham-Bannister said. The university will collaborate with two research organizations, Cellular Engineering Technologies and FioDesign Sonics, to aid in the product marketing and research, she said.

University President Anthony S. Caprio joined in praising the grant saying the latest grant project is something the university "very much wants to do, and is very much equipped to do."

Anthony English, associate professor of biomedical engineering, said students will be very much involved in the project and it will be part of the curriculum.

"The grant will allow us to forge working relationships with our industrial partners, perform cutting-edge research, and introduce our young minds to the possibilities of cost-effective personalized medicine," English said.

The Massachusetts Live Sciences Center is an investment agency that supports live sciences innovation, research, development and commercialization. The agency is charged with implementing a 10-year, $1 billion state-funded investment initiative passed by the state Legislature and Gov. Deval Patrick in 2008.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and state Sen. Gale Candara, D-Wilbraham, joined in praising the grant program.

Representatives of four area high schools and Girls Inc. of Holyoke also attended the press conference to celebrate recent grants totaling approximately $300,000 from the Life Sciences Center for equipment and supplies. Those receiving the grants were: Westfield High School; the Springfield High School of Science and Technology; Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School; and Northern Berkshire Vocational Regional School District (McCann Tech).

The grants will promote STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) educational programs in the selected high schools, the center said.

Massachusetts has been a leader in life science efforts, Windham-Bannister said.

Ferrara noted that the defendant had already served two state prison sentences and had a past conviction for leaving the scene of an accident. Watch video

SPRINGFIELD — A 34-year old city man must serve between 4 and 5 years in state prison after pleading guilty in a vehicular homicide case last year.

Frankie Santiago, last known address 28 Maynard St., was sentenced today by Superior Court Judge John Ferrara after a change-of-plea hearing in Hampden Superior Court.

Santiago pleaded guilty to motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation and three counts of leaving the scene of an accident in the crash at Carew and Chestnut streets that killed Jeanne Lareau McLain, 55, of Westfield, on March 30, 2013. A fifth charge, manslaughter, was dropped in return for Santiago pleading guilty to the other charges.

Ferrara noted that the defendant had already served two state prison sentences and had a past conviction for leaving the scene of an accident.

A different man, 25-year-old Mark Perez, of Springfield, had originally been charged with motor vehicle homicide for the crash.

But in May, charges related to the crash were dropped against Perez after Santiago came forward and admitted he was driving the Jeep Cherokee that crashed into the car driven by 59-year-old Dennis O’Connor with McLain as his passenger.

Assistant District Attorney James M. Forsyth asked the judge to impose a sentence of 5 years and one day, and said O’Connor, who submitted a written statement, had asked for the longest sentence possible.

Defense lawyer David Rountree said his client deserved credit for turning himself in months after another suspect had been arrested.

“It was a huge thing to do... Ultimately, he (Santiago) did the right thing,” he said.

The two state prison sentences on Santiago’s record were rooted in his involvement with a street gang, an affiliation he has since broken off, according to Rountree, who asked that his client be given a 2½-year county jail term.

The victim’s daughter, Melissa McClain-Melloni, told the judge she grieves for her mother every day, and particularly regrets that her three daughters have lost a grandmother.

She added that Santiago never meant to harm her mother, and expressed concern for his family, as well.

“I know he’s not a bad person,” she said.

Lawyers for the state, unions representing North Adams Regional Hospital employees will appear in court Tuesday in Northampton to effect the reopening.

WASHINGTON — Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey along with U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal sent a letter Friday to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner seeking to reopen North Adams Regional Hospital.

The lawmakers asked Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to expedite the application of Berkshire Health System, which runs Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, to restore emergency medical and hospice services to the North Adams community.

"Given the importance of this facility to the northern Berkshire community, we ask that you do all that you can to expedite the application process for BHS," wrote Senators Warren and Markey and Congressman Neal, according to an news release. "BHS is a successful Medicare provider, and the NARH facility was operational as a Medicare provider just last week. We respectfully request that you work with the [Medicare Administrative Contractors], the Region I CMS office, [State of Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services] officials, and BHS to restore access to medical services for the North Adams community as soon as possible."

NARH served the northern Berkshire community since 1885 before closing its doors abruptly last week.

Lawyers for the state and unions representing North Adams Regional Hospital employees will appear in court Tuesday in Northampton to effect the reopening.

Now, North Adams residents have to go to Pittsfield, Bennington, Vt., or Greenfield for treatment.

NARH Delegation Letter

The bazaar will have an open policy for artists that want to offer their creations with a condition the wares be of quality and not kitsch.

HOLYOKE -- Works of local artists will be available for sale at the Holyoke Arts Bazaaar May 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Holyoke Heritage State Park, 210 Appleton St.

"The Holyoke Arts Bazaar is a platform for artists and vendors of all types and backgrounds to exhibit and sell their creations and wares," according to a posting on Facebook to which The Republican and MassLive.com was referred by Jeffrey C. Bianchine, city creative economy coordinator.

"We are dedicated to building an environment for the arts that establishes an inclusive community and free enterprise," the posting reads.

The bazaar will have an open policy regarding artists that can offer their wares, the Facebook posting said, but quality is the standard.

"We want to be open to all items for sale, but please make sure that your items are artistic, intentional, and appropriate for all ages to view. Furthermore, this is not a space for kitsch, junk or stuff your just trying to get rid of. This is a place for unique and thoughtful crafts and wares," the posting reads.

Artists and other vendors who want to reserve table space have options. Tables are $20 in advance and $30 the day of the event. Those who are 12 or younger get a half table free, the posting said.

Artists and other vendors can print out a contract by clicking here, complete it and mail it with a $20 check to: Holyoke City Hall, Attn: Arts Bazaar, 536 Dwight St., Holyoke MA
01040

"Or come the day of with cash or a checkbook (for $30) and contracts will be available," the posting said. "We’re making it easy! So don’t miss this opportunity."

For more information send an email to HolyokeArtsBazaar@gmail.com.

The case has been labeled "complex" because several years of bank records have yielded up to 20,000 pages of potential evidence, Levinson said.

This is an update to a story filed at 1:44 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD — A federal prosecutor told a judge on Friday that former Lee Police Chief Joseph Buffis can expect to face more criminal charges by June.

Buffis, a 30-year-veteran of the Lee police force, was last year charged in U.S. District Court with extortion and money-laundering in connection with allegedly fleecing a holiday toy fund for needy children. Federal investigators said a year-long investigation revealed that Buffis shook down two innkeepers under investigation for a prostitution ring for a $4,000 "donation" to the Laliberte Toy Fund, established by a late police official. In sum, police said Buffis was siphoning money from the fund for personal expenses.

Buffis pleaded not guilty to charges in U.S. District Court in August. He was fired soon after; but, higher-ups attributed the ousting to his family use of a police-issued cell phone.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow and Buffis defense lawyer Lori H. Levinson reported in court that they had hoped to reach a resolution through a guilty plea but that talks had broken down.

"Negotiations floundered ... and they concluded without a resolution," Breslow told U.S. District Magistrate Judge Kenneth P. Neiman, adding that he expected a superseding indictment tacking on additional charges by late June. "They will cover a substantial amount of conduct that is far longer in scope and includes far more detail," than the original charges.

The case has been labeled "complex" because several years of bank records have yielded up to 20,000 pages of potential evidence, Levinson said. However, she won a motion for a speedy trial and has said unequivocally that Buffis intends to take the case to trial.

The next pretrial conference is scheduled before Neiman on June 17.

A state police report made public in March stated that DNA evidence led investigators to Rosa-Roman, whom Plasse suspected of breaking into her apartment several weeks before she was killed.

SPRINGFIELD – The Hampden District Attorney’s office has turned over more than 3,000 pages of evidence to a lawyer for Dennis Rosa-Roman, the Springfield man charged with killing Amanda Plasse in 2011.

During a hearing in Hampden Superior Court, Assistant District Attorney Karen Bell said additional information will be shared with defense lawyer William J. O’Neil in coming weeks.

Superior Court Judge John Ferrara scheduled a pre-trial conference for May 6 and pre-trial hearing for June 30.

Rosa-Roman, 23, has been held without bail since his arrest in November for the 2011 killing of Plasse, 20, who was found stabbed to death on Aug. 26 in her third-floor apartment at 73 School St.

A grand jury indicted Rosa-Roman in late December, which moved the case from Springfield District Court to Hampden Superior Court and required a new arraignment.

A state police report made public in March stated that DNA evidence led investigators to Rosa-Roman, whom Plasse suspected of breaking into her apartment several weeks before she was killed.

The information was released after The Republican challenged Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni’s motion to impound the investigator’s report after Rosa-Roman’s arraignment in Springfield District Court.