Specifically, the federal review is examining compliance with Title IX, a law prohibiting gender discrimination at schools receiving federal funds.

Updates a story posted Thursday at 12:04 p.m.

AMHERST — The University of Massachusetts has taken steps to improve its response to sexual assault complaints while federal regulators have been examining the school’s handling of sexual violence on campus, a spokesman said today.

Edward Blaguszewski, executive director of news and media relations, said the student conduct code has been revised, a campus climate survey was conducted, and bystander intervention training provided to students and employees, among other measures to make the campus safer.

“We’ve been very concerned with this; it’s an issue here and across the country,” Blaguszewski said.

UMass is one of 55 college and universities targeted for review by the U.S. Department of Education over their handling of sexual abuse complaints. Five other Massachusetts colleges and universities – Amherst College, Boston University, Emerson College, Harvard College and Harvard University Law School – are also on the list.

The list was released Wednesday after a White House task force promised greater government transparency on sexual assault in higher education. A school’s appearance on the list does not mean that it has violated the law but that an investigation is ongoing, federal education officials said.

In Amherst, Blaguszewski said the federal review was examining school policies and programs, and was not in response to a complaint filed against the school..

The federal review began in 2011 and is ongoing, according to Blaguszewski, who said no conclusions have been reached. The review has coincided with several high-profile sexual assault cases at the school, and the school’s continuing attempts to improve how such cases are handled, he said.

“We’ve invested time and resources to make improvements and adopt best practices from around the country,” he said.

Specifically, the federal review is examining compliance with Title IX, a law prohibiting gender discrimination at schools receiving federal funds. Among other things, the law regulates institutions’ handling of sexual violence and increasingly is being used by victims who say their schools failed to protect them.

Schools on the list range from big public universities like the Ohio State University, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Arizona State University to private schools like Knox College in Illinois, Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and Catholic University of America in the District of Columbia.

Ivy League schools like Harvard, Princeton and Dartmouth are also on the list.

The agency previously would confirm such an investigation when asked, but students and others were often unaware of them.

Citing research, the White House has said that one in five female students are assaulted. President Barack Obama appointed a task force composed of his Cabinet members to review the issue after hearing complaints about the poor treatment of campus rape victims and the hidden nature of such crimes.

Another law that campus sexual assault cases fall under is the Clery Act, which requires colleges and universities to report crime statistics on or near their campuses. It also requires schools to develop prevention policies and ensure victims their basic rights. Investigations under this law are not included in the list that was released.

UMass Vice Chancellor Enku Gelaye characterized the federal inquiry as a standard compliance review. Under Title IX, the Department of Education regularly conducts reviews of schools that receive funds.

In two broadcast e-mail communications to the campus community, the university explained the purpose of the review and encouraged participation. A message from the Chancellor's Office noted, "Compliance reviews are designed to address systemic issues and ensure that violations are readily identified and promptly eliminated. We applaud the work of the OCR and are confident that any information that results from this compliance review will have a direct and positive impact throughout the University."

Gelaye observed that prevention of sexual assault is a major concern of the university as reflected by the launch this year of the Umatter at UMass campaign, which includes bystander intervention training for students and employees. A Men and Masculinity Center is also being launched to engage men on the issue, she said.

Tolman would repeal mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent offenders and advocate instead for sentencing guidelines that emphasize probation, house arrest, and substance abuse and mental health treatment programs.

Warren Tolman, a Democratic candidate for attorney general, said Thursday that he wants to focus on criminal justice policies that help offenders reenter society.

“We must end the damaging cycle of incarcerating people, inadequately addressing underlying mental health and substance abuse issues, and returning them to society with the misguided hope that they will not return to crime. They are set up for failure,” Tolman said in a statement.

In a plan focused on the criminal justice system and released Thursday, Tolman said he would repeal mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent offenders and advocate instead for sentencing guidelines that emphasize probation, house arrest, and substance abuse and mental health treatment programs. He wants to create more drug courts, veterans’ courts and mental health courts, which are specialized courts that often steer people toward treatment rather than prison. He would focus on job training and counseling programs directed at at-risk youth.

He also wants to support expanded job-training, education, substance abuse and mental health treatment programs in the state’s prisons and houses of correction.

Tolman’s plan is in line with the tactic that a number of state Democrats have taken in recent months, focusing on rehabilitation rather than incarceration. Gov. Deval Patrick laid out his own proposed reforms in a speech in February, which also focused on helping inmates reenter society after incarceration and improving treatment for individuals with substance abuse problems.

Tolman is facing Democrat Maura Healey in the race for attorney general.

Council President William H. Dwight predicted Thursday that much of the public comment session prior to the council meeting will center not on the appropriations but on the rainbow crosswalk recently painted on Main Street at the request of the former director of the annual Pride March, which is scheduled for Saturday.

NORTHAMPTON - The City Council will vote whether or not to authorize expenditures for a range of purposes when it meets tonight, including renovation of the municipal parking garage, resurfacing the high school track and preserving a chunk of land in a growing conservation area.

The biggest appropriation is the $264,200 to buy some 50 acres of land adjacent to conservation land already preserved in the Saw Mill Hills. The Conservation Commission is hoping to get state or federal grants to offset the cost. If so, the city will be reimbursed. The Saw Mill Hills are on the south side of Sylvester Road, just below the Mineral Hills Conservation Area. The new acquisition would help connect the two areas. According to Planning Director Wayne Feiden, the new land also contains a high elevation brook that serves as a wildlife corridor.

A $10,950 appropriation for the E. John Gare Municipal Parking Garage will help upgrade the 25-year-old structure. The City Council has already approved $275,000 for water-proofing and structural repairs.

The council will also vote on an $85,000 appropriation to replace deteriorated fire escapes at the Academy of Music, which the city owns. In February of 2013, the Building Commissioner closed the building because of concerns about the fire escape, forcing a Young@Heart concert to move to John M. Greene Hall.

In addition, the council will vote whether or not to authorize the expenditure of $6,691 to resurface the track at Northampton High School.

Council President William H. Dwight predicted Thursday that much of the public comment session prior to the council meeting will center not on the appropriations but on the rainbow crosswalk recently painted on Main Street at the request of the former director of the annual Pride March, which is scheduled for Saturday. Although the council did not vote on the project, and the crosswalk is not on the agenda, Dwight said he and his colleagues have received emails and other communications from constituents about the crosswalk.

The final clearing and cleanup of the former school should be completed by late August, creating opportunities for redevelopment of the North End property

SPRINGFIELD – Demolition crews have begun a $2.1 million project to finish razing and clearing the former Chestnut Junior High School, long vacant and destroyed in a fire last September.

City officials and North End residents gathered at the school site on Chestnut Street on Thursday, saying the project, that includes removing the underground foundations and asbestos, will leave the property as a prime site for redevelopment.

“I think the neighborhood for being very, very patient,” Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said.

The city partially demolished the school after the fire, to protect public safety, and then made plans for the full cleanup while making sure the project could be afforded with city funds through borrowing. The building is city-owned.

Associated Building Wreckers of Springfield was hired to finish the project, deemed the lowest bid meeting all specifications among seven bids received.

The cleanup should be completed by late August, and the city will then solicit proposals for redevelopment, officials said. Debris was being removed Thursday and the project will also entail demolishing a rear portion of the school and a condemned house across the street.

Kevin Kennedy, the city’s chief development officer, said potential redevelopment could be a residential project, medical buildings, or mixed uses, depending on the type of proposals received by the city for consideration.

Jose Claudio, a resident and member of the New North Citizens Council, said the city and neighborhood will confer on the future development of the site. The redevelopment is an opportunity for new tax revnues, and will have a positive impact on the neighborhood, he said.

Sarno said the site had been vacant for many years, and redevelopment efforts were unsuccessful. The fire was tragic, but “with tragedy, comes opportunity,” Sarno said.

With enrollment in the Greenfield schools growing, Lunt said Harper-Ewert brings the expertise of dealing with a larger school system.

GREENFIELD - A month after Northampton turned her down for the same job, the School Committee unanimously chose Jordana Harper-Ewert as its new school superintendent Wednesday.

Harper-Ewert, the chief schools officer in the Springfield Public Schools, beat out James O'Shea, a school principal in the town of Harvard, for the post.

Last month, Harper-Ewert was a distant third among three finalists for the Northampton school superintendent job. That committee voiced it preference for Laurie Casna, the director of personnel and student services at the Pembroke Public Schools, and John Provost, the superintendent in North Brookfield. It ultimately chose Provost, who accepted the job a few days later after Belchertown also named him their choice for superintendent.

None of this mattered to the Greenfield School Committee, which expressed its elation over having Harper-Ewert on board Thursday.

"We're very pleased," said Jonh Lunt, one of seven who voted for Harper-Ewert. "We felt we had two great finalists, but her skill set was the best match for Greenfield."

With enrollment in the Greenfield schools growing, Lunt said Harper-Ewert brings the expertise of dealing with a larger school system.

Donna Gleason, another committee member, said she liked the straight-forward and thorough way Harper-Ewert answered their questions.

The committee interviewed her just before the vote. O'Shea was interviewed on Tuesday. Another point in Harper-Ewert's favor, Gleason said, is her familiarity with diversity within a school system.

"She's done everything we need somebody to do," she said.

Now that she's been named, Harper-Ewert will negotiate her contract. The School Committee hopes she will be available to begin work on July 1. Harper-Ewert replaces Susan Hollins, who is retiring.

City Solicitor Susan C. Phillips said Thursday that under the agreement negotiated between defendant Mayor Daniel M. Knapik and the plaintiffs Westfield is liable for the legal fees incurred by the mayor.

WESTFIELD – The city’s attorney has determined the mayor’s $53,000 in legal expenses associated with a civil rights lawsuit brought against him two years ago is an indemnified cost that will be covered by the city.

City Solicitor Susan C. Phillips said Thursday that under the agreement negotiated between defendant Mayor Daniel M. Knapik and plaintiffs David Flaherty, city councilor, Jane Wensley, a member of the Municipal Light Board, and property owner David Costa, Westfield is liable for the legal fees incurred by the mayor.

A one-page judgment in favor of the plaintiffs issued April 28 by U.S. District Court Judge Michael A. Ponsor and agreed upon by both the plaintiffs and the defendant absolves Knapik of any intentional wrongdoing when he ordered Public Works employees to remove Flaherty and Wensley’s political lawn signs from Costa’s East Silver Street property the night before the Nov. 8, 2011, election.

“The official language is on that one page,” Knapik said. “It’s not even close to their allegation” that the sign removal was politically driven.

Phillips said Ponsor issued an amended order of judgment after meeting with both parties who agreed on a settlement to avoid a costly court trial.

“We have to balance what’s best for the city,” she said. “The mayor made the decision that the best thing for the city was to accept the judgment and end it.”

According the April 28 amended judgment, “The removal of political lawn signs on Nov. 7, 2011, by order of Defendant Daniel Knapik constituted content-based, but not intentional, discrimination in violation of the rights of the plaintiffs as guaranteed under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution,” Ponsor wrote.

On Tuesday, Flaherty said Knapik, not city taxpayers, should be personally responsible to pay the legal bills, and he has contacted the state Office of the Inspector General to determine if the City of Westfield is liable.

In response, Phillips said the city’s indemnification ordinance clearly states the city must pay the legal fees in the event of an unintentional violation of civil rights.

5.1.14| WESTFIELD| Photo by Manon L. Mirabelli| Westfield City Solicitor Susan C. Phillips. Manon L. Mirabelli 

Under Section two of the city ordinance, “the city shall indemnify” city employees “from personal financial loss and expense, including legal fees and costs…arising out of any claim, action, award, compromise, settlement or judgment by reason of an intentional tort or by reason of any act or omission which constitutes a violation of the civil rights of any person under federal or state law.”

Ponsor’s judgment also referenced attorney fees and noted those issues were resolved as well.

“The parties have resolved all other outstanding issues in this case, including attorney’s fees,” Ponsor wrote. “Any remaining claims offered in the complaint are hereby dismissed by agreement.”

For his part, Knapik has broken his two-year silence on the matter and said Thursday his decision to order the removal of the signs was based solely on his concerns for public safety.

Knapik’s professional background includes 25 years in safety management with certifications in transportation safety and as a member of the faculty of the Region 1 OSHA Educational Center at Keene State College. He is also trained in accident investigations, traffic zone safety and spent many years working with companies where workers have suffered serious on-the-job injuries and fatalities, he said.

“Dave Flaherty dismisses the safety argument as a made-up, after-the-fact issue, but he never once questioned documents he was provided with or asked to meet with me so it could be explained,” Knapik said. “Instead, they immediately cooked-up the conspiracy and ran with it, and in the end, the American Civil Liberties Union, (ACLU) by settling with much less, recognized the weakness of the original theory.”

Knapik also noted the lawn signs were removed from the tree belt, which is public property, and the signs on Costa’s lawn were left in place.

The suit filed against Knapik stated, "The Mayor of Westfield had instructed the public employees to remove the signs, including signs endorsing the candidacy of a city councilor with whom the Mayor had a long-standing, contentious relationship." Attorney Luke Ryan said at the time the alllegation was the "essence of the complaint."

The move was a largely procedural step, which allows the bill to proceed to a committee of conference.

BOSTON - The Massachusetts Senate passed – again – a bill raising the state’s minimum wage and reforming unemployment insurance.

The move was a largely procedural step which allows the bill to proceed to a committee of conference.

The Senate had passed in a bill in November raising the state’s $8 an hour minimum wage to $11 an hour. It passed a bill in February reforming the state’s unemployment insurance system.

The House combined the two policies into a single bill, a strategic move since businesses typically oppose the minimum wage hike but support the unemployment insurance reforms, which would lower their costs.

There were, however, significant differences between the House and Senate bills.

For example, the House would raise the hourly wage to $10.50, while the Senate would raise it to $11. Only the Senate bill includes an economic indexing provision so that after 2016 the minimum wage would rise each year at the same rate as the consumer price index for the Northeast. Political maneuvering had blocked the bills from legislative action. 

The Senate on Thursday voted on the House bill, but replaced the portions dealing with both minimum wage and unemployment insurance with the Senate's language.

State Sen. Dan Wolf, a Harwich Democrat and chairman of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development, urged senators not to take too long to debate the bill.

"The task before us is not to rehash the substance of those bills we passed in November and again in February, which were balanced and well delivered and well thought out," Wolf said. "The task is to get a vehicle we can get to the governor's desk."

Wolf said legislators were there to discuss "process, process, process."

Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, a Gloucester Republican, said debate was important to send "the right bill" to committee. "Not to merely say these questions have been asked and answered but to say these continue to be asked and need to be answered appropriately," Tarr said.

There have been passionate debates in the legislature regarding both the impact of the minimum wage hike on businesses and the best way to reform unemployment insurance. However, after several hours of discussion regarding a variety of amendments, none of which passed, the Senate passed the bill as proposed.

The Senate’s vote sends the bill on to a committee of legislators from both bodies who will try to iron out their differences.

Patrick mused about the possibility of Westover becoming Massachusetts' air cargo handling hub Thursday during an extended editorial board meeting with The Republican and MassLive.com.

CHICOPEE - Accommodating air freight traffic squeezed out of Boston's congested Logan International Airport may provide a future for Westover Air Reserve Base and is associated civilian airport, Gov. Deval Patrick said.

Patrick mused about the possibility of Westover becoming Massachusetts' air cargo handling hub Thursday during an extended editorial board meeting with The Republican and MassLive.com.

"Seeing as how it is located at the intersection of two major highways," Patrick said at the meeting.

He was reacting, in part, to news breaking this week that Westover will lose half of its 16-jet fleet of massive C-5b Galaxy Air Force cargo jets and 334 positions at the base. It's feared that the loss of these eight jets is but the first of many cuts at both Westover and Westfield's Barnes Air National Guard Base as the Pentagon embarks on postwar belt tightening.

Patrick established the Massachusetts Military Asset and Security Strategy Task Force in 2012. And last month, the state legislature approved Patrick's $177 million spending capital plan for improvements at all the state's military bases including Westover and Barnes.

Patrick said the state's plan is to leverage the advanced technology at bases like the Natick Soldier Systems Center which prepares food and equipment for the Army and the Air Force Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford.

"I don't know if we have cracked that code for Westover, yet," Patrick said.

But the idea is to make Westover attractive so that as the military consolidates missions to fewer bases, Westover becomes an attractive place to locate those consolidated operations.

Patrick said air freight is a good civilian use. Logan is hemmed in on three sides by water and can't keep up with increasing demands for air freight handling. He wants to work with MassPort to shift more of that work to Westover. while recognizing that much of this region's air freight now comes through Bradley International Airport in Connecticut.

Allan W. Blair, president of the Westover Metropolitan Development Corp., said not only is Logan hemmed in, but planners at MassPort, which runs Logan, are under tremendous pressure to provide more facilities for passenger traffic.

"Something's got to give," Blair said.

Blair said the $177 million capital bill includes $160,000 for a market study on freight at Westover. The study, which could begin soon and take four months, would tell Westover what the market potential is and what would need to be done, besides MassPort cooperation. It would also tell planners where Westover fits in a changing air freight economy.

Westover Metropolitan Development Corp. is in charge of the civilian development of the airport.

Freight at Westover is not a new idea, Blair said. But he is happy to hear it spoken about by the governor.

The facilities needs would not be great given the six of the runway and the available hangar space.

Freight traffic would also help retain military missions, Blair said. Because if there were more freight traffic the cost of running the airfield would be spread out across both the military and the civilian users.

Johnny Nunez, 31, of Boston's Roxbury section, was charged with heroin trafficking and motor vehicle violations following a police traffic stop on I-93 south in Andover.

ANDOVER — A Boston man was charged with heroin trafficking after a drug-sniffing dog allegedly found a kilo of the dangerous opioid in his car following a traffic stop in Andover.

Massachusetts State Police Trooper James McTeague pulled over Johnny V. Nunez, 31, of Roxbury, on Interstate 93 south at about 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

Police said McTeague spotted drug paraphernalia in the Acura MDX as he spoke with Nunez, so he called Trooper Brian Cooper and his K-9 dog, Drako, for assistance. A subsequent search of the car found 1 kilo of heroin, police said.

Nunez was arrested and charged with heroin trafficking. He also was cited for a marked-lanes violation and for driving without an inspection sticker.

Arraignment information wasn't immediately available.

A reported break in at the Webster/Dudley Food Share turns out just to be a mix-up between volunteers at the food bank

WEBSTER — A reported break in at the Webster/Dudley Food Share turns out just to be a mix-up between volunteers at the food bank.

"After examining the scene, reviewing surveillance tape, and speaking with all parties concerned, we have determined there is no evidence that a crime has occurred," Webster Police said on their Facebook page.

The break-in was reported on Thursday, when volunteers called police to say a large amount of food had been stolen from the pantry. So much, that they didn't believe they'd have enough for the rest of the month, police said.

Community donations began pouring in. Late Friday morning, Webster police said enough food had been donated to replace what had gone missing.

Donna Farrow, director of the food share, spoke to local reporters Thursday about the break-in and the overwhelming community response.

A few hours later, police said the whole thing had been a misunderstanding. It was unclear exactly what caused the mix-up.

"There was some misunderstanding between the principal parties involved with Food Share regarding the stocking of shelves," police said. "Again, no food is unaccounted for."

Check back on MassLive later for more on this story.

A fire at a Spencer appliance store has been ruled arson, and authorities are asking for help identifying suspects.

A fire at a Spencer appliance store has been ruled arson, and authorities are asking for help identifying suspects.

Spencer Fire Chief Robert Parsons said the small fire at Whitco Sales Inc., a discount appliance and electronics store, was ruled "incendiary."

The fire was in a two-story addition to one of four buildings owned by the business. On the second-floor of the building is an apartment, from which two people were evacuated, the chief said in a Facebook post.

The fire did not reach the actual store, at 140 Main St., the chief said.

A Spencer man posted video of the fire on Facebook:

Fire officials asked that anyone with photos or video of the fire send them in to help the effort to track down whoever set the fire. A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the conviction of the arsonist.

Anyone with information can contact the Spencer Fire Department at (508) 885-3555, Spencer police at (508) 885-6333 or the state fire marshal's office.

The candidates for Senate in the First Hampden-Hampshire District, will have opening statements followed by a question-and-answer period

SPRINGFIELD — A public forum is scheduled Saturday morning at Nathan Bill’s Restaurant, featuring the Democratic candidates for state Senate in the 1st Hampden-Hampshire District.

The Ward 7 Democratic Committee is sponsoring the forum that begins at 10 a.m., at Nathan Bill’s, located at 110 Island Pond Road.

Candidates planning to run for the Senate on the Democratic ballot were invited to participate. They are: Tim Allen of Springfield; Chip Harrington of Ludlow; Tom Lachiusa of Longmeadow; Eric Lesser of Longmeadow; and Aaron Saunders of Ludlow.

The candidates will have opening statements, and then the audience will ask them questions, according to the format.

‘It is a great opportunity for Springfield area residents to get all candidates under one roof to check their pulse and where they stand on the issues,” said Paul Edwards, a member of the Ward 7 Democratic Committee.

“It’s a great opportunity for the candidates to come forward and be able to present themselves to the voters,” he said.

State Sen. Gale Candaras, D-Wilbraham, is not seeking re-election in the 1st Hampden-Hampshire District.

The Senate district includes parts of Chicopee, parts of Springfield, and East Longmeadow, Hampden, Longmeadow, Ludlow, Belchertown and Granby.

Friends of Lake Warner are now trying to raise $50,000 toward cost of the dam repair.

HADLEY - Those hoping to save Lake Warner and repair the dam are delighted and relieved with the Town Meeting vote Thursday night approving Community Preservation Act money for the project.

But, now “the work is just beginning,” said Andrew Morris-Friedman, vice chairman of the Friends of Lake Warner group.

“We have to raise the rest of the money, get permitting,” and other things,
The group is trying to raise at least $50,000 toward the cost of repairs.

The Massachusetts Office of Dam Safety officially ordered Kestrel Land Trust, which owns the dam, to remove or repair it by December 2014.

Kestrel Trust has committed $75,000 of the estimated $350,000 cost of repairs. Town Meeting agreed to spend $100,000 from the Community Preservation Act, a necessary step in the funding process.

The vote, he said, “Demonstrates that the pond is worth keeping and worth spending the money to preserve it.” Morris-Friedman said he counted just six “no” votes and about 270 attended the meeting.

They are now waiting to find out of the project will receive a $125,000 grant from the state in historic restoration funds and then will proceed.

“Hadley's nearly unanimous vote to invest in the restoration of the Lake Warner dam is a clear demonstration that the whole Town cares deeply about this historic millpond,” Kristin DeBoer, Kestrel Land Trust executive director, wrote in an email.

“Kestrel Land Trust is extremely pleased with the community’s broad support for this collaborative effort.”

She said they will continue raising money to “insure that there is enough to cover all repair construction contingencies and to build a significant endowment for the dam to support ongoing maintenance.

“Once all the funds are secured, we will contract an engineer to do final design and permitting work. If all goes well, repair work would begin next spring.”
Andrew-Friedman said he is hoping all this attention on the lake will inspire people to get out there and enjoy it.

“It belongs to the people of Massachusetts.”

The recruit training program is a 45-day class that prepares new firefighters the basic skills they will need to perform their jobs safely and effectively, officials said.

STOW - Greenfield firefighter Tony Thurston was among 22 men representing 12 fire departments to graduate Friday from 211th Recruit Firefighter Training Program at the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy.

The class, a 45-day training program provided at no charge to communities or participants, is, a rigorous program that “provides our newest firefighters with the basic skills to perform their jobs effectively and safely,” said to state Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan,

Thurston was the only graduate from Western Massachusetts. Other communities included Devens, Franklin, Holbrook, Lowell, Medway, Needham, Plymouth, Rockland, Salem, Seekonk, and Wrentham.

The graduation ceremony was conducted at the Department of Fire Services in Stow. The Firefighting Academy is a division of the Department of Fire Services.

The guest speaker was Massachusetts House Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, who is also a member of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security.

Less than 24 hours after Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh made a friendly bet with Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre on the Bruins-Canadiens series he was issuing a statement rebuking fans for some racist post-game comments on social media.

BOSTON — Less than 24 hours after Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh made a friendly bet with Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre on the Bruins-Canadiens series he was issuing a statement rebuking fans for some racist post-game comments on social media.

Several Bruins fans took to social media immediately following P.K. Subban's double-overtime winning goal to hurl racially tinged invective at the Montreal defenseman.

Walsh, a diehard Boston sports fan, was appalled by the comments.

"This is a disgrace. These racist comments are not reflective of Boston, and are not reflective of Bruins fans. I've said before that the best hockey in the world happens when the Bruins and Canadiens play each other, and there is no room for this kind of ignorance here. Yesterday Mayor Coderre and I made a friendly wager on the series, and we closed the conversation by wishing each other the best. I would hope that fans on both sides would follow this example," said Walsh in a statement.

On Friday Bruins President Cam Neely and Head Coach Claude Julien said that the comments do not represents the organization or its fans.

Here is Walsh making a bet with Coderre on Thursday:

Making a friendly wager with #Montreal Mayor @DenisCoderre on #StanleyCup quarterfinals! #Bruins @NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/re5wq7WecR

— Mayor Marty Walsh (@marty_walsh) May 1, 2014

Sullivan spoke of working on Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's campaign when he was 13 and expressed the hope that the students at Law Day will embrace their right to vote and engage in the democratic process.

NORTHAMPTON — Students from several area schools got a first-hand account of justice Friday from lawyers, judges, probation officers and the Northwestern District Attorney as the toured the Hampshire County Courthouse on Law Day 2014.

Included on the tour was the reassurance that the justice system works hard to rehabilitate juveniles such as themselves as opposed to punishing them. The students from the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts School, the Chinese Immersion Charter School and Amherst Regional High School don't stack up to be very problematic, however. They voted in a sample ballot to retain Northampton's smoking ban and to not lower the age when drivers can get a learning permit from 16 to 14.

Because nearly all the students are 17 or younger and are under the age when they can be prosecuted as adults, much of the focus was on the juvenile justice system. Yvonne Pesce, a prosecutor with the Northwestern District Attorney's Office, called many crimes that children commit "knucklehead" crimes that stem from opposing their parents.

"We really want to keep your record clean," Pesce said. "The goal of the juvenile system is rehabilitation, not punishment."

Vincent Penna, the chief off probation for juvenile court in Hampshire and Franklin counties, echoed that theme.

"Our job is to work with the children who come to court," he said. "It's not all about crime and punishment."

Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan told the students it's never too early to educate and engage them on legal matters.

"We want students to know that democracy is a participatory sport," Sullivan said. "Being passive and just complaining is not the way to make positive change."

Sullivan spoke of working on Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's campaign when he was 13 and expressed the hope that the students at Law Day will embrace their right to vote and engage in the democratic process.

The students visited Northampton District Court and Hampshire Superior Court, where Judge John Agostini explained the difference. Defendants in Superior Court, he said, must be indicted first and are often sentenced to state prison instead of to a county jail.

"The pace here is decidedly slower than in district court," Agostini said.

Ware Town Manager Stuart Beckley is proposing a 0.6 percent budget increase to $26,095,709.50 for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

WARE — The wages of 20 municipal employees will be cut if the town manager’s proposed budget [see document at end of this article] is approved at town meeting this month.

Ware Town Manager Stuart Beckley is proposing a 0.6 percent budget increase to $26,095,709.50 for the fiscal year that starts July 1. Achieving that reduces by three hours each week the hours of employees he directs.

“The proposed budget would cut the hours of 20 employees. In most cases, the cut to full-time people is three hours, so administrative staff will go from 35 to 32 and department heads from 40 to 37,” Beckley said in a statement.

Data provided show him taking a 6 percent pay cut of $5,604.35 to $86,097 for fiscal 2015. His predecessor, Mary T. Tzambazakis, earned $98,000 annually before she resigned Sept. 30, 2011.

Employees interviewed are unhappy about the proposal lowering their wages, saying it would also lessen their retirement income, force them to work longer to be eligible for the same benefits, and disproportionately impacts women age 50 and older.

“You can’t ignore the fact that nine people, all women – this will compromise their retirement,” one of the employees, Maggie Sorel, said in an interview. She is an administrative assistant with the building department and hopes to retire in seven years.

Sorel said she currently works 35 hours per week, and that is the minimum number required for full-time employee status when retirement years of service are calculated.

“We are getting hit twice – by money and by the amount of credited time for the retirement system," she said of reducing the workweek from 35 to 32 hours means. "We all need to be treated the same.”

Sorel said the “lesser of two evils” would be keeping the hours at 35 and only reducing the pay.

She also said that she expects each particular wage line items for all the affected employees to be available to residents for review at the May 12 annual town meeting.

“If this passes and is in effect the next seven years, I will have to work an additional seven months to obtain the same benefit,” she said. “The lesser of two evils for me is to just take a pay reduction and keep my status at 35 hours per week.”

Selectmen are meeting jointly with the finance committee May 6, when the boards are expected to offer their recommendations on town meeting articles including the town manager’s proposed fiscal 2015 budget.

The budget document shows Beckley is recommending a 0.3 percent increase in net school spending for Ware public schools, although a 6.6 percent hike was requested.

In a related matter, the town manager recently told selectmen that the town’s persistent funding of the schools at levels below the minimum amount required by the state should end starting in the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2015.

Draft Budget Summary 041814

A large low pressure area fizzles over southern Canada. This circulation will move spokes of moisture through our area through tomorrow. Each one brings the threat of a shower, mainly for the afternoons. A cold front pushes in Sunday with one last round of showers and the chance for a thunderstorm. This ushers in a spring chill to start the...

A large low pressure area fizzles over southern Canada. This circulation will move spokes of moisture through our area through tomorrow. Each one brings the threat of a shower, mainly for the afternoons.

A cold front pushes in Sunday with one last round of showers and the chance for a thunderstorm. This ushers in a spring chill to start the work week. However, we'll quickly recover with a strong May sun.

The next 14 weeks feature the strongest solar strength of the year. Remember sun gear and protection even if it isn't very warm. We've had a break from tree pollen, but those counts will rise with dry weather much of next week.

Tonight: Clouds and stars. Low near 45.

Saturday: Morning sun and clouds, p.m. scattered showers. High near 66.

Sunday: Clouds with midday and afternoon showers and t-storms. Breezy, high of 62.

Radar | 5 Day Forecast

- The ramp at exit 14 on Interstate 91 Northbound that leads to the Massachusetts Turnpike and to Route 5 is shut down Friday afternoon because of a fallen tree, according to officials.

Update: Michael Verseckes of the Mass DOT said the agency was notified at 3:53 p.m. that a tree was down. They immediately put a notice about it on four of the message board signs on the highway to alert motorists to expect delays.

He said he is awaiting more information about how long the ramp will be closed.

WEST SPRINGFIELD - The ramp at exit 14 on Interstate 91 Northbound that leads to the Massachusetts Turnpike and to Route 5 is shut down Friday afternoon because of a fallen tree, according to officials.

The ramp was blocked just before 4 p.m., according to the state Department of Transportation.

The latest tweets from the state DOT and the Massachusetts State Police say the ramp is closed until the tree is removed.

There is no indication when the ramp will reopen.

This is a developing store. More information will be posted as it is known.

#MAtraffic Alert: Springfield- I-91N at Exit 14/I-90- tree blocking ramp. Ramp closed.

— Mass. Transportation (@MassDOT) May 2, 2014

#MAtraffic Alert: I-91 NB at exit 14 (to the Mass Pike) in #WestSpringfield, tree fell down, blocking ramp. Ramp closed.

— Mass State Police (@MassStatePolice) May 2, 2014

UMass contributes $3,000 to keep summer bus service to the Amherst Survival Center.

AMHERST – The University of Massachusetts Amherst will contribute $3,000 to help keep the bus to the Amherst Survival running all summer.
Service was slated to end May 9.

The cost of the route is $7,600 and the center learned that the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority will also contribute toward the cost along with the town to cover the route, said Mindy Domb, executive director of the Amherst Survival Center. “UMass has been very generous to us,” she said.

They organized the Dash and Dine race, students volunteer as well as eat there, she said.

“During the previous academic year, UMass Transit had partnered with the Survival Center to extend the route 32 bus route,” Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy said in a press release.

“As the Amherst Survival Center is a vital community resource serving Amherst and several communities in Hampshire and Franklin counties, and many in our own UMass family, I am pleased that we can assist in funding the route through the summer. This will ensure continuous service for our community members most in need.”

In November of last year, the UMass bus system revised its Route 32 bus to stop at the center, which moved to its new location in December of 2012. The center was able to raise $12,000 to pay for it.

The new space is about a third of a mile from the previous stop and the survival center had been providing taxis to help people get to the center until the bus stop was added.

They are working with the PVTA to include the stop on a permanent route beginning in the fall. While the stop had not been included on the proposed new PVTA routes, Town Manager John P. Musante, who is chairman of the PVTA board, is confident a bus will stop at the center and provide more frequent service as a result.