There are four candidates vying for a seat on the Board of Selectmen.

 

WILBRAHAM – A Meet the Candidates Night will be held at the Gardens of Wilbraham, 2301 Boston Road, Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Candidates for a three-year term on the Board of Selectmen and for two three-year terms on the School Committee have been invited to participate.

There will be a four-and-half minute statement from each candidate and then a question and answer session.

The event is free and open to the public.

This year there are four candidates running for a seat on the Board of Selectmen – Susan Bunnell, Stephen Bacon, William Caruana and Mary McCarthy.

For School Committee there are three candidates running for two seats – incumbents Peter Salerno and D. John McCarthy and challenger Patricia Gordon.

Asked about his motion to release David Casey on personal recognizance, Berkshire District Attorney David Capeless said it was done for Casey's safety.

SPRINGFIELD - Court records show David Casey - a major prosecution witness in the Berkshire triple murder case - had his bail reduced from $1 million to personal recognizance May 1.

That was the day he finished testimony in the case against one of the co-defendants David Chalue.

The bail reduction motion by Berkshire District Attorney David Capeless was not discussed in open court. The jury in Chalue's trial does not know about the change in Casey's status. He told the jury when he testified he was held on $1 million bail.

Asked Monday about his motion to release Casey on personal recognizance, Capeless
said it was done for Casey's safety.

He said measures have been taken to protect Casey but that is all he can say about the matter.

Casey had been held in the Berkshire County House of Corrections since his arrest in early September 2011 on $1 million bail. He testified in Adam Lee Hall's trial in January. He is charged with three counts each of accessory after the fact of murder, accessory after the fact of kidnapping and accessory after the fact of witness intimidation.

No trial date has been set for Casey.

Among questions asked by Chalue's lawyer Donald Frank on cross-examination of Casey was whether he would like to be out of jail.

"That would be nice," Casey said.

Capeless said there have been measures taken to protect other witnesses in the cases against the three defendants.

In August 2011, weeks before he was to testify against Hall, David Glasser and his roommate, Edward Frampton, and their friend Robert Chadwell, all of Pittsfield, disappeared. Their dismembered bodies were found in Becket 10 days later.

Hall, 36, of Peru; Chalue, 46, of North Adams, and Caius Veiovis, 32, of Pittsfield, kidnapped the three victims from Frampton's Pittsfield home sometime in the early hours of Aug. 28, 2011, and fatally shot them, according to prosecutors.

A Hampden Superior Court jury in February found Hall guilty of multiple charges, including the first-degree murders of the three victims. He is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The cases, which are being heard separately, were moved to Hampden Superior Court by Kinder after defense lawyers said extensive publicity in Berkshire County would prevent a fair jury from being selected.

Veoivis trial is scheduled for September.

Casey testified at both Hall and Chalue's trials Hall threatened himself and his family so he had to help Hall bury the remains of the victims. He said Hall described the killing of the victims to him.

Casey, in Chalue's trial, acknowledge he told police at first Hall never said names of anyone who helped with the killings.

On the stand in the trial he said he isn't sure but Hall might have said "Davey" as one of the names.

Jurors on Monday heard testimony about what investigators found on the Daniel Cole property in Becket on Sept. 9, 2011, after Casey had pointed them there.

State Police Sgt. Christopher Meiklejohn said he and other investigators found an area that looked as if it were dug recently. A cadaver dog was brought to the scene. It was suggested they use dowels to aerate the dirt.

As soon as they did that water began oozing out containing a fatty substance, he said.

Then through a painstaking process, dirt and large stones were moved from the ditch, until they saw a severed arm and more than a dozen plastic garbage bags, he said. Jurors were shown a picture of the arm as it lay in the ditch on the large screen.

State police Sgt. Brian Berkel of the Berkshire Detective Unit testified he was at the autopsies done by then-state medical examiner Dr. Jennifer Hammers.

Attempts were made to identify the remains. Fingerprints were taken from hands. They were identified as Glasser, Frampton and Chadwell.

Three skulls were in one plastic bag.

Berkel said Hammer set out three separate gurneys. "As we determined whose parts we had with each bag they were arranged anatomically on the gurneys," he said.

Berkel took five bullets or fragments removed from the men to the state ballistics laboratory, he said.

Hammers is slate to testify Tuesday.

Jurors heard testimony earlier Monday from law enforcement personnel who came to the BP station in Pittsfield on Sept. 4, 2011, when Veiovis' Jeep was stopped and Veiois, Hall and Chalue were searched and questioned.

They were not arrested at that time although police seized the Jeep, Hall's boots and socks, and the cell phones of the three men.

The troubled Massachusetts health insurance exchange will be migrated to either the federal HealthCare.gov system or to a new software system that is being used in other states, state officials said Monday.

BOSTON - The troubled Massachusetts health insurance exchange will be migrated to either the federal HealthCare.gov system or to a new software system that is being used in other states, state officials said Monday.

The state plans to begin pursuing both options, a plan state officials refer to as “dual track,” and will eventually choose one route or the other. The goal is to make sure the state has a working website by the time the next open enrollment period begins on Nov. 15, 2014.

“I’ve said all along that no option on the table would be perfect, and the dual track certainly has its benefits and its challenges,” said Sarah Iselin, special assistant to the governor for project delivery, in a statement. “It does, however, solve for two realities: we need a reliable website to help people during the next open enrollment period, and we need to be in a position to achieve a fully integrated system in 2015.”

Pursuing both tracks is expected to cost in the range of $100 million. That is in addition to the money the state already spent trying to develop the old website while putting people in temporary insurance coverage paid for by MassHealth. (The state already asked the federal government for a $50 million grant to cover those costs. But there are numerous costs that remain unknown, and the state has not provided a full cost estimate.)

More information about cost will be available Thursday, when Iselin and Optum Chief Information Officer John Santelli will lay out the plan at a Massachusetts Health Connector board meeting. Optum is the health care technology company that has been overseeing fixes to the website.

The Massachusetts Health Insurance Exchange, created to make Massachusetts conform with the federal Affordable Care Act, launched Oct. 1, 2013, but was plagued by glitches that left individual unable to use the website to enroll in subsidized health insurance plans. The state has been managing the problems with a mix of temporary coverage, coverage extensions and labor-intensive manual workarounds while determining a long-term fix.

The state brought in new management, led by Iselin, an executive at Blue Cross Blue Shield. It severed its relationship with CGI, the technology vendor that built the website. Several in-depth reviews were conducted to determine the exact status of the website, and state officials recently concluded that the state website would not be fixed by June.

The dual track appears to be an acknowledgement that the Massachusetts website is too problematic to be fixable. Instead, the state is looking at ways to migrate the Massachusetts system to software that works elsewhere.

One option the state will pursue is purchasing off-the-shelf software called hCentive, which is also being used in exchanges in Colorado and Kentucky, and customizing it for Massachusetts. The software should give residents the ability to apply for insurance, learn what level of subsidy is available and pick a plan online.

State officials believe this is the better long-term option because it will eventually allow for “integrated eligibility,” which means a person can apply to the Health Connector, and Connector officials will enroll them in insurance, whether the person is eligible for a plan through the Connector or through MassHealth, the state’s version of Medicaid. Without that, a person might apply through the Health Connector, but then get sent to MassHealth instead, to reapply through that agency.

The second option is enrolling in the federal health insurance exchange. Connector officials warn that this is not as simple as it sounds, since the federal system must also be customized to conform with Massachusetts’ existing systems. For example, it needs to accommodate a state program that subsidizes insurance for low-income individuals. Additionally, the insurance application accepted by the federal system is different than the one used by Massachusetts insurers. The federal exchange cannot offer integrated eligibility.

The state could also potentially use the federal system for a year, then switch to hCentive.

Josh Archambault, director of health care policy at the conservative-leaning Pioneer Institute, said he is happy the state finally recognized it has too many problems and need to look at defaulting to the federal site. But he said he is worried about how long the process took and what that means for the next steps. “Trying to do something in five months from scratch is just irresponsible,” Archambault said.

Complicating matters is the fact that Iselin was hired to oversee the fixes to the insurance exchange on a temporary basis, while she took a leave of absence from Blue Cross Blue Shield. Health Connector officials, in a press release, said Iselin will be replaced in early June by Maydad Cohen, a former labor attorney who is currently Patrick’s deputy chief of staff for cabinet affairs.

Stephen Crane has been the town manager in Longmeadow since February of 2013.

Stephen CraneSubmitted photo 

LONGMEADOW — The Select Board will conduct a review of Town Manager Stephen Crane now that he has completed his first year on the job.

The meeting begins Monday at 7 p.m., but the review is scheduled after several other items including a discussion with the town moderator about the upcoming annual Town Meeting on May 13 and a dog complaint hearing.

Crane became town manager in February of 2013. He replaced former Town Manger Robin Crosbie. The town negotiated a three-year contract with Crane with a salary if $105,000 per year. Tonight will be his first evaluation.

Along with Select Board Chair Marie Angelides Crane was instrumental in securing a $850,000 up-front surrounding communities agreement with MGM.

Each member of the board was given an evaluation form to fill out before tonight's discussion.

Follow our live coverage of the meeting in the comments section below.

Included is a copy of the agenda for tonight's meeting:

Longmeadow Select Board Agenda-May 5

A shark safety brochure published by a group of Cape Cod harbormasters has raised concerns of tourism officials.

Do you have news or a news tip to submit to MassLive.com for consideration? Send an email to online@repub.com.

NORTHAMPTON — Hampshire Superior Court Judge Bertha Josephson has sentenced Jeb Daly to life imprisonment for the June 2012 killing of Jessica Dana, his longtime girlfriend and the mother of Daly's two children. Saying he wanted to spare his and Dana's families the "circus of a trial," Daly pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of Dana during a final pretrial...

NORTHAMPTON — Hampshire Superior Court Judge Bertha Josephson has sentenced Jeb Daly to life imprisonment for the June 2012 killing of Jessica Dana, his longtime girlfriend and the mother of Daly's two children.

Saying he wanted to spare his and Dana's families the "circus of a trial," Daly pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of Dana during a final pretrial conference at the Northampton courthouse on Monday.

Daly, 38, killed Dana, 30, at the couple's Huntington home on June 22, 2012, then attempted to hide her body in the backyard, according to police and prosecutors.

Daly also pleaded guilty to a single count of misleading the police before Monday's sentencing by Josephson. The judge ordered him to serve life in state prison for the murder conviction, and imposed a concurrent 5- to 7-year prison term for the misleading charge.

The earliest Daly would be eligible for parole is 2027, according to Northwestern Assistant District Attorney Jeremy Bucci, chief trial counsel for District Attorney David Sullivan and the attorney who prosecuted the case.

Daly and Dana had an argument before Daly inflicted blunt-force injuries to the back of her head and strangled her, breaking three bones in Dana's neck, Bucci said. Daly wrapped Dana's body in towels and trash bags, placed it inside a cardboard box, then covered the box with a tarp and brush in the backyard of the couple's Huntington home, Bucci said.
 

On June 24, 2012, friends of Dana's found her body in the backyard as Massachusetts State Police investigators were inside the residence questioning Daly about her disappearance. Authorities confronted Daly, who fled into nearby woods and triggered a manhunt that resulted in his capture later that evening.

Law enforcement officials say Dana was a devoted mother who loved all three of her children – two with Daly and one from a previous relationship.

"This murder is a tragic example of how domestic violence can destroy a family," Bucci said.

"While we understand that nothing will stop the pain and loss Ms. Dana's family feels, our hope is that today's proceedings, having held Mr. Daly accountable for Ms. Dana's murder, might bring some measure of closure to her family," Bucci said.

The Easthampton City Council will consider various financial requests related to public works and fire safety when it meets Wednesday evening.

EASTHAMPTON -- The Easthampton City Council will consider a number of supplemental appropriations requests related to public works and fire safety when it meets 6 p.m. Wednesday at the 50 Payson Ave. municipal building.

Public hearings will be held at 6:15 p.m. on requests for the following:

• $10,000 for capital expenses related to an upcoming five-year federal water discharge permit for the city's sewer system. Failure to comply with the permit known as NPDES (National Pollution Discharge Elimination System) can result in fines, states Department of Public Works staffer Carl Williams.

• $15,000 to replace a gravity thickener pump at the city's wastewater treatment plant.

• $28,000 to purchase a 4x2 pickup truck for the Water Dept.

• $60,000 for pump station capital improvements at the wastewater treatment plant.

• $75,000 for the continued replacement of water meters

• An interdepartmental transfer of $11,700 for engine and Ladder 1 repairs

A hearing continued from April 16 will consider a request to accept Willow Circle and Drive as public ways.

The Finance Committee is slated to deliver reports on a number of financial requests, to address the city's FY2015 budget proposal, to discuss its review of elected salaries, and report on a request for authorization to dispose of the Parsons St. School property.

Finance will also report on a request for $15,000 in Community Preservation Act money for historic records preservation.

Council votes are expected on various financial orders, including a request to appropriate $98,000 from the Stabilization Fund to provide retroactive funding for the police contract.

There will be programs for students at are tech schools as well as "Making it Real: Girls & Manufacturing Summit"

HARTFORD - Manufacturers engaged in high-value, high-precision industries will help foster tomorrow's workforce this week as they gather to make deals at the Mfg4 Manufacturing for the Future Event at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.

Mfg4 is a companion even to the Eastec trade show at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield. Both events are put on by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Eastec in the odd-numbered years and Mfg4 in the even-numbered years. The event runs Tuesday, May 6, Wednesday May 7 and Thursday May 8.

Unlike Eastec, where room-sized machine tools costing $500,000 or more are on display, Mfg4 focuses on seminars and tabletop displays. The "4" in the name refers to four key industries, aerospace, defense including firearms, medical devices and micromanufacturing at a very tiny scale..

Mfg4 expects 4,200 including attendees and exhibitors, spokeswoman Meredith Lowe wrote in an email Monday. Of those, 1,200 visitors are expected to be from Massachusetts. There are 250 companies planning to exhibit, 40 of those from Massachusetts including Springfield's Smith & Wesson and defense giant Raytheon.

Students form area middle school and high schools will also get a chance to visit with high school students from Westfied Vocational Technical School and Worcester Technical School acting as escorts and mentors during hands-on activities. The two schools, Worcester and Westfield, both participate in the Society of Manufacturing Engineers PRIME , or Partnership Response in Engineering Education.

On Thursday, Mfg4 will host the "Making it Real: Girls & Manufacturing Summit" aimed at bringing more females into these industries with more than 130 high school and middle school girls from across Connecticut. They will learn about career opportunities , education they;ll need and meet women already working in the field, according to a news release.

Making it Real is sponsored by the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, CCAT, and its Connecticut Dream it Do it program. Dream it. Do it. is part of a national career awareness campaign trying to put a positive focus on 21ast century manufacturing.

A teenager caught in a custody dispute across state lines will be returned to her home state of Connecticut next week according to a Massachusetts official.

BOSTON — A teenager caught in a custody dispute across state lines will be returned to her home state of Connecticut next week according to a Massachusetts official.

Massachusetts Health and Human Services Secretary John Polanowicz announced today in a letter to House Minority Leader Brad Jones that Justina Pelletier, 15, of West Hartford, Connecticut, will leave Wayside Youth and Family Support Network in Framingham for the JRI Susan Wayne Center for Excellence in Thompson, Connecticut.

Polanowicz said that in order for Pelletier to be returned to her parents the family must participate in therapy, work with Tufts Medical Center, attend the Susan Wayne Center for Excellence with her, and meet with DCF regularly to review her progress.

Pelletier has been in the custody of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families for over 13 months, since doctors at Children's Hospital alleged that her parents, Lou and Linda, were abusive. The doctor's allegations stemmed from when the Pelletier's attempted to remove her from Children's Hospital -- where they said she was suffering from psychological problems -- and return her to Tufts where she was initially admitted for mitochondrial disease in February 2013.

"We are confident that we have found the right pathway for Justina to return home as soon as possible so she can continue her strong recovery in Connecticut. This is an important step forward in an extremely complex situation. We all want Justina to return soon, and this plan provides a road map to make this happen," said Polanowicz in the letter.

Pelletier's family and their adviser Rev. Patrick Mahoney said that they were unhappy with the state's plans.

"Negotiations are still ongoing, this is not a final deal," said Mahoney at a press conference outside the State House on Monday.

Pelletier's family said that they want Justina returned to them immediately and that they are unhappy with the DCF's plan. Mahoney did say that they appreciate that Polanowicz is personally injecting himself into the situation. Polanowicz did meet with Pelletier's parents.

"What happened to the right of parents to have a second opinion? What happened to the right of parents to make a decision medically regarding their children?" said Lou Pelletier at the press conference.

In recent months the Pelletiers and their supporters have ratcheted up their effort to raise awareness about the case. The Pelletier family has insisted since they first had problems with Children's Hospital that their daughter's condition is physical not mental.

"It's been 15 months of pure hell for Justina and our family," said Lou Pelletier at the press conference.

MassLive and The Republican and abc40 are media sponsors and Pride Stores is business partner for the initiative.

SPRINGFIELD - Research shows that reading, talking and singing to children from birth helps them become good readers in school, according to Sally Fuller, project director for Reading Success by 4th Grade.

To spread the word, the community initiative Reading Success by 4th Grade on Monday launched a social media campaign, #413reads, aimed at engaging the community by encouraging the sharing of photos of adults reading to children as well as their favorite books or favorite time of day or place to read, according to a press release.

MassLive and The Republican and abc40 are media sponsors and Pride Stores is business partner for the initiative.

The community can learn more about #413reads and view shared photos and tweets by visiting www.readby4thgrade.com/413reads.

Area residents will be able to share their reading photos and favorite books to be posted using the hashtag #413reads on social media platforms Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, according to a press release from the organization.

Those sharing photos and their reading highlights through social media will also be entered to win a $50 Pride gas card, with a winner selected every month.

The purpose of #413reads is to show the importance of reading aloud to children from birth, which stimulates a child’s brain and builds a foundation for reading and academic success. Scientific evidence shows that a child’s early experiences have significant effects on brain development and form the basis for lifelong learning, behavior and physical and mental health. The larger a young child’s vocabulary and the more words he/she hears from talk, the more prepared he/she will be for success in school.

Fuller, project manager for the initiative said, “While the Read! initiative has been focused on increasing reading proficiency in Springfield, the #413 social media campaign is region-wide as improved early literacy is the best way to improve educational outcomes and life prospects of our children throughout the Pioneer Valley.”

In 2012, Springfield was recognized as an All-America City for its community plan to raise reading proficiency for the city’s third graders by the National Civic League (NCL), a component of the work of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading.

When we asked ourselves what was the best way to reach young parents, it was social media, Fuller said.

Read! Reading Success by 4th Grade is a broad coalition of Springfield-area leaders in education, child development, business, philanthropy and government working towards the goal of 80 percent reading proficiency in Springfield schools by the year 2016. Currently, only 35 percent of Springfield’s children read at grade level by the end of third grade.

Fuller, spokeswoman for the initiative, said one of the things the Cherish Every Child Davis Foundation believes is talking and reading to children from birth is one of the most important things parents can do to help their children become successful readers. "Talking to, singing to and reading to" children from the earliest possible moment pays dividends in the quest to ensure reading success by 4th grade," she said.

"When a mother is pushing a stroller, she can be describing the surroundings to her baby," she said.

“We’re not going to get rich,” SquareOne’s Johnson said, adding the work has always been a labor of love. Considering the importance of the early socialization of our youngest citizens, Johnson said the field is woefully underpaid. “It’s so important to help children to understand that they’re part of a larger community.”

SPRINGFIELD — If the paychecks day care workers’ bring home reflected the love and passion they bring to their jobs, they would be among the highest-paid folks in the commonwealth, but with an average salary of $23,000, most struggle to make ends meet, Square One’s Tommie Johnson said on Monday.

Johnson, the executive director of the Square One’s King Street center, has been with the organization for 33 years and she says workers stick with the job because they love the children.

“We’re not going to get rich,” Johnson said, adding the work has always been a labor of love. Considering the importance of the early socialization of our youngest citizens, she said the field is woefully underpaid. “It’s so important to help children to understand that they’re part of a larger community.”

Advocates of day care workers – including the Massachusetts Association of YMCAs and Square One – are hopeful that members of the state Senate will include a state budget amendment that would boost day care pay by 5 percent. The House failed to approve an amendment to increase day care funding, so it’s now up to the Senate Ways and Means Committee to decide whether it will include a similar measure in the bill that committee sends to the state Legislature.

Kindergarten teacher Annie Lafreniere, right, helps Tatiana Rodriguez, 6, left, make a Mother's Day card at the Square One facility on King Street in Springfield. The Republican photo by / Michael S. Gordon 

Brenda Hogan, 49, of Springfield, who teaches a pre-kindergarten class at Square One has been with the agency for 24 years. “It hasn’t been easy,” Hogan said. As a single mother when her only child was diagnosed with a kidney disease at the age of 12, Hogan said the cost of her daughter’s medicine wasn’t fully covered by her insurance plan. Keeping up payments for rent and car payments and car insurance was daunting. “But I love what I do and I love to work with the teachers here,” she said.

Fallon Barnes, of Springfield, the 31-year-old mother of three, is already an eight-year veteran as a Square One preschool teacher, plans to begin night nursing school in the fall. She said she will continue to work days at Square One until she completes a degree she hopes will enable her to buy a house. Barnes said she is reluctant to leave, however. “When I started here, I fell in love with the kids, the job and the agency,” she said.

For Annie Lafreniere, 51, of Granville, who lives with elderly parents, commutes an hour to her job as a kindergarten teacher at Square One, the sacrifice is worth the freedom she has at the agency. The Square One kindergarten curriculum prepares its pupils for First Grade, she said, but she has greater flexibility in doing it her way. New required standardized tests put a lot of pressure on public school kindergarten, she said, adding that she couldn’t afford to gas and other necessities if she didn’t live with her mother.
“I love the work, but money is tight,” she said.

Sen. James T. Welch, D-West Springfield, a member of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said the committee is in the process of drawing up its budget recommendations, which are due to be filed by May 14.

Welch, while saying he can't predict what the committee will recommend, said preschool funding is among a top priority of most legislators. "They understand the value of early education and the people who provide the care. "Studies have show that children are better prepared for success in public school if they have participated in early-childhood programs," he said.

Daly changed his plea to guilty as the case entered its final stretch before trial. Watch video

NORTHAMPTON — Saying he wanted to spare both his family and that of his victim "the circus of a trial," Jeb Daly pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Monday in Hampshire Superior Court for the 2012 killing of his girlfriend, Jessica Dana.

Daly, 38, admitted that he killed Dana, 30, in the Huntington home the couple shared with Dana's three children, two of whom were fathered by Daly. According to prosecutor Jeremy Bucci, Daly killed Dana with two blows to the head and by strangling her following an argument after a June 22, 2012, party at their home. Daly, a cocaine user, had bought some drugs that day and the two argued about it. The couple, who had to borrow from Dana's parents to pay their rent, often argued about money as well, Bucci said.

After killing Dana, Daley wrapped her body in blankets and trash bags, dragged it outside, and tried to hide it in a cardboard swimming pool box, according to Bucci. The following day, Daly told Dana's mother that she had left the house after the argument and he did not know her whereabouts.

Police came to the house on the day after the murder but were unable to initiate a search because Dana had reportedly left of her own free will. Seeing that Daly looked nervous whenever someone went to the part of the yard where the body was, friends searched the area and found Dana's body in the box. Daly urinated in his pants at the news that Dana had been discovered, and asked police if he could use the bathroom. He then fled into the woods.

Police managed to lure Daly out of the woods shortly afterwards and arrested him. In addition to murder, he was charged with lying to police.

Member of both Daly's and Dana's family wept during the proceedings. Before sentencing Daly, Judge Bertha D. Josephson let Dana's mother, Cheryl Stoothoff, read a victim's statement. Saying she never dreamed she would have to do such a thing on behalf of her murdered child, Stoothoff described her daughter's premature birth.

"It was all worth it when I heard her cry," Stoothoff said. "My heart was filled with joy."

Northwestern first assistant district attorney Steven E. Gagne reviews paperwork by flashlight on Rocky Brook Drive in Huntington in this June 24, 2012 file photo. Gagne and other members of the Northwestern office joined state police in the investigation of the suspicious death of Jessica Dana, later ruled to be a homicide.Greg Saulmon / The Republican

Now, Stoothoff said, her heart is broken. She told Josephson that she has cried every day since Dana's death.

Defense lawyer Alan Rubin did not try to excuse his client's acts, but said they do not define him. Daly, he said, worked as a contractor for a company that designs corporate web sites and had a "mostly loving relationship" with Dana.

The penalty for first degree murder is life in prison without possibility of parole. Because Daly pleaded guilty to second degree murder, he is eligible to have his case reviewed after 15 years.

This is a developing story. Updates will be posted as our reporting continues.

The Massachusetts Nurses Association report is being presented tonight in North Adams

Live coverage of the meeting can be read in the Comments section at the conclusion of this article; a new story will be posted early this evening

NORTH ADAMS — North Adams Regional Hospital grew its profit by 435 percent from $4.3 million in 2000 to $23 million in 2012, proving that the community can support a full-service hospital, the Massachusetts Nurses Association said Tuesday.

While the profit from patient services fluctuated year-to-year, that profit from patient services averaged $9 million and never fell below $4.3 million a year, proving that patient care in northern Berkshire County was always a viable business model, the Massachusetts Nurses Association said.

The Massachusetts Nurses Association prepared a 10-year study of finances at North Adams Regional Hospital and presented it to the community Tuesday night at one of the regular weekly meetings hosted in North Adams since the hospital abruptly shut down March 28. The report, nurses said, says that North Adams can support a full-service hospital.

"Taking care of sick people in that community was not the problem," said David Schildmeier, spokesman for the nurses union. "That bodes well for Berkshire Medical Center as it moves to reopen the emergency room and, we hope, the rest of the hospital. North Adams Regional Hospital can be a going concern."

The opinion meshes with what Gov. Deval Patrick told The Republican editorial board last week. Patrick, who has been working to restore services in North Adams, blamed debt, saying he doesn't fear closure of other community hospitals across the state.

Berkshire Health Systems, parent of Berkshire Medical Center, has plans to reopen the emergency room at North Adams Regional Hospital on or about May 19. In the meantime, Berkshire Medical Center is running a walk-in clinic at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and blood-draw stations serviced by Berkshire Medical Center's lab.

Advocates, the nurses included, want full restoration of hospital services at North Adams to include more than a emergency room such as diagnostic imaging, maternity and surgical wards.

That shutdown left 38,000 people in rural northern Berkshire County without a hospital and depending on emergency rooms more than half an hour away.

It also left 500 people, including about 100 members of the Massachusetts Nurses Association union, out of jobs.

At the time, management at North Adams Regional Hospital blamed falling reimbursement rates for government-payed insurance like Medicare and Medicaid. But the nurses say their study shows that $65 million in crippling debt incurred for expansions and renovations and the purchase of the Sweetwood Continuing Care Community and the Sweet Brook Transitional Care & Living Centers were the real culprit.

The nurses said public payers represented less than 65 percent of the payer mix at North Adams Regional Hospital, which is below the state average. The remaining 35 percent of North Adams Regional Hospital revenue comes directly from patients and their insurance companies. North Adams Regional Hospital also received higher payments from large insurance companies compared with its community hospital peers.

"What the data tell us is that NARH is less reliant on lower-reimbursing federal payers than most community hospitals, has a higher proportion of insured patients, and those health insurers are paying NARH more than they pay other hospitals," the report said.

The report also lays out the debts incured by North Adams Regional Hospital and its parent, Northern Berkshire Health Care.

In the report's words:

In 1996, North Adams Regional Hospital took on $12.8 million in revenue bond debt, in part to refinance older debt.

In 1999, NARH assumed approximately $25 million in debt to finance the purchase of Sweet Brook Transitional Care & Living Centers and Sweetwood Continuing Care Retirement Community – an alarmingly large assumption of debt which bore no connection to the provision of hospital services. This real estate investment scheme immediately began unraveling and the Sweets began costing NBH money. NBH then “took aggressive steps” – cutting staff and reducing operating costs in order to “lend money” to the Sweets.[4] Ultimately, NBH sold the Sweets in 2010 for $7 million under pressure from bondholders.

In 2004, NBH took on another $27 million in revenue bonds, in part to pay off a portion of the 1996 debt. The 2004 revenue bonds immediately went into default, as the organization could not meet some of the financial covenants required by bondholders.

Right up until the day NARH closed, the majority of NBH’s crippling debt service was not the result of expenditures related to the provision of patient care or even hospital capital improvements. Instead, the deep debt of purchasing the Sweets and the resulting significant annual operating losses incurred for the next ten years of operating the Sweets, were the primary factors contributing to NBH’s financial ruin.

A bankruptcy reorganization begun in 2011 and 2012 failed to discharge enough of the debt, according to the report.

North Adams Regional Hospital is currently in the process of bankruptcy liquidation. Berkshire Medical Center has an offer on the table to buy the hospital building and a medical building across town for $4 million.

The Needham Line, Fairmount Line, Greenbush Line, and Kingston/Plymouth Line on the Old Colony Line will not operate on weekends for the third consecutive summer.

As summer approaches, some commuters who use the Commuter Rail may be left behind.

For the third consecutive summer, the Needham, Fairmount, Greenbush, and Kingston/Plymouth Lines on the Old Colony Line will not operate on weekends.

Weekend service on the Greenbush, Needham, and Old Colony Lines was cut in the summer of 2012 due to low ridership, while the Fairmount Line has never offered weekend service.

South Shore commuter rail riders were crying foul about the third year of weekend-free service in a report in Monday's Patriot Ledger. One commuter, retired train engineer Richard Prone, has become the face of the effort to restore service along the $534 million line by writing letters and speaking with the media.

Commuters currently pay $314 a month to use the Monday-Friday only service but that rate may soon increase to $330 if proposed fare increases are approved by the MBTA by July 1. The increases are coupled with selected service cutbacks to balance the MBTA's budget.

The cost of the proposed increase, $16, is slightly more than a current one-way fare on the Greenbush line, which is $10.

The Greenbush Line, which opened in 2007, runs from South Station in Boston to Greenbush Station in the costal town of Scituate while traveling through the South Shore communities of Braintree, Weymouth, Hingham, and Cohasset. The Plymouth/Kingston Line, which opened in 1997, runs from South Station to Kingston and Plymouth while making stops in the South Shore communities of Weymouth, Abington, Whitman, Hanson, and Halifax.

MBTA Spokesman Joe Pesaturo told the Patriot Ledger that there are no plans to reintroduce weekend service to the South Shore lines in the near future. Several South Shore state legislators have filed legislation to study the feasibility of restoring weekend service to the two lines.

Ridership along South Shore Commuter Rail lines has fallen steadily for several years, with the Greenbush and Plymouth/Kingston Lines being two of the hardest hit. Causes for the decline in South Shore usage of the rails is chalked up to a number of factors from a sluggish economy to the resurgence in urban living.

Longtime Greenbush Line booster State Representative James Cantwell said that the service to the line could be restored if they can boost ridership numbers. "I think it has greater potential, but I do think we need to price it appropriately," said Cantwell.

Cantwell said one factor that is being ignored is the reverse commute. Local chambers of commerce are concerned about the lasting impact of no-weekend service on seasonal businesses.

"For the full economic potential of those lines, we're missing the reverse commute of people coming down from Boston for the beaches, the towns, and more. There's buses in places to take people from the stations to the beaches and historic downtowns," said Cantwell.

State Representative Josh Cutler said that the lines should receive one more shot at raising ridership numbers on the weekend. "If there's no ridership we don't want to spend the taxpayer's dollar, either, but we think there can be ridership," said Cutler.

Cutler pointed to a possible two-year pilot weekend pilot program as well as $50,000 in free advertising for the service from South Shore radio station WATD.

"There is a real shot that we can get this service back but it is going to take some work, though," said Cutler.

Efforts to expand weekend service on the Fairmount Line, the only Commuter Rail line residing entirely within Boston, have been ongoing for a decade with groups like Greater Four Corners Action and the T Riders Union leading the way.

Marvin Martin, executive director of Greater Four Corners Action Coalition, called the Fairmount Line an essential service for people in the southern part of the city. Martin said the line is drastically different from other Commuter Rail lines because it moves people between stations on the line in the city instead of shuttling them from the far flung suburbs into the city. "This line is really different from the others," said Martin.

The Fairmount Line, once left for dead in the 1980s, was revived after the Big Dig as part of mitigation efforts to offset carbon emissions from increased automobile traffic. The Uphams Corner and Morton Street stations were rebuilt in 2007 while the three new stations Newmarket, Four Corners/Geneva, and Talbot Ave. were opened by the end of 2013.

A new station at Blue Hill Ave. is expected to open sometime in 2015, according to MBTA spokesperson Kelly Smith. Multiple improvements as well as three new stations have been added to the Fairmount Line since transportation officials first started looking at the once underused line in 2002. Even though the Fairmount Line operates entirely inside Boston it was excluded from the MBTA's recent expansion of late night service.

The implementation of the special new locomotives along the long in the near future will increase the frequency of service on the Fairmount Line and make it more in-line with subway service. Martin said the new engines will be a huge improvement for the line because right now trains run only on the hour.

"That's the one thing we still hear from people: 'I would use it if it ran more frequently because I don't always have a set plan everyday,'" said Martin.

Martin praised the additional stops but said more needs to be done in terms of raising awareness about the line and adding weekend service. "What good is it to have the destinations and stops when you can't get there on the weekend?" asked Martin.

In an effort to boost ridership, fares along the Fairmount Line were recently brought in line with those of regular subways and set at $2. A monthly pass on the Fairmount Line is $70 as the entire line is within Zone 1A according to the MBTA's fare schedule.

A brief roundup of recent crime and court action from across the Bay State.

 

Steven Fitzgerald, 50, who lives at the address were the alleged crime occurred, was taken into custody at about 10:05 p.m., the records show.

Police records didn't specify the type of dangerous weapon allegedly used in the incident. Fitzgerald was expected to be arraigned in Springfield District Court.

 

Sean Sullivan, 31, and Gregg Lamont, 48, were charged with receiving stolen property in excess of $250 in connection with numerous alleged residential break-ins since at least late February, the Herald reports.

Authorities say the crimes occurred in the Norfolk County communities of Wellesley and Needham and the Middlesex County communities of Lincoln, Sherborn, Sudbury, Wayland and Weston. Police from other jurisdictions may also be filing criminal charges as the investigation deepens.

 

Daniel Goichman, 51, admitted to three counts of possessing child pornography and six counts of disseminating the illicit material, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports.

Authorities say Goichman, a registered sex offender, has a 2002 New Hampshire conviction for having sex with an underage girl.

McColgan said the decision to sell was based on the end of his lease, coupled with having three small children at home.

More than a decade after replacing the old City Cafe, Tully O'Reilly's in Northampton has been sold.

Owner Tully McColgan said today that he has found a buyer for the popular sports bar and the last day will be May 22.

"We'll have a goodbye party for our customers that day," he said.

McColgan was not at liberty to disclose the buyer, but said the person was local. He also addressed an issue that is of great concern to local musicians and fans: the fate of the bar's next-door sister music venue, The Elevens, which is part of the business.

"As far as I know, I would say The Elevens will still be a music club," he said. "And that's huge."

McColgan, the son of Harry McColgan, who founded Hugo's in 1970, previously ran Hot Harry's, a pizza place adjacent to Fitzwilly's where The Toasted Owl is now. He and former business partner John Reilly bought the former City Cafe on the corner of Pleasant and Pearl streets in 2003. Reilly left the partnership in the latter part of that decade.

McColgan said the decision to sell was based on the end of his lease, coupled with having three small children at home. He also wants to focus more attention on King Street Eats, a restaurant he and his wife opened last July in the former Spoleto Express building on King Street.

"We have three young kids and I want to spend some time with my family this summer and then maybe do something different," he said.

McColgan said he's had a good run with the bar.

"It's been a great 10 or 11 years. We made a lot of friends and met a lot of nice people," he said. "And we got to watch the Patriots win, the Red Sox win, the Celtics win, and the Bruins win. We saw them all win championships."

There is an article to honor the late Ted Belsky who passed away earlier this year at age 87.

 

SOUTH HADLEY – A $42 million budget request, proposed zoning amendments and money to buy police vehicles are among items Town Meeting will decide on Saturday.

The 9 a.m. meeting is at Town Hall auditorium, 116 Main St.

There is an article to honor the late Theodore "Ted" Belsky who passed away earlier this year at age 87.

The commemoration idea would dedicate a parcel of Canal Park, at Canal and West Summit streets, and name it the Ted Belsky Scenic Overlook. There would be signage placed in remembrance of his many years of community service to South Hadley.

A Town Meeting member for 53 years, Belsky also served on the Historical Commission, the Bicentennial Committee and the Canal Park Committee.

Theodore Belsky 

The draft spending plan totaling $42,455,661 expected to be recommended by town Administrator Michael Sullivan at Town Meeting for the fiscal year that begins July 1 is 3 percent more than what is budgeted this year.

Holding the line on spending remains one of his principal objectives.

During the budget’s planning phase, the administrator issued guidelines to department heads back in October.

“The ‘draft’ [budget requests] should include no cost increases over FY14 and any areas where you feel there could be reductions would be met with great appreciation (permanently or even for just FY 15). If there are areas where you feel that contractual costs do not allow you to commit to a level funded budget, please note those increases separately with a narrative explaining the dilemma,” Sullivan wrote.

The budget proposal ticks up school spending 1.6 percent, to $20 million.

Among the zoning amendments is proposal “to delete the existing definition of Bed and Breakfast and to establish and define two categories of Bed and Breakfast facilities, identify in which zoning districts each of the categories may be permitted, and to revise the regulations on Bed and Breakfast facilities and to provide for different standards and regulations for the two categories of Bed and Breakfast facilities.”

A special Town Meeting that precedes the annual meeting asks Town Meeting to appropriate $205,000 to buy the following: police cruisers, $70,000; parks department 72 inch lawnmower, $20,000; snow/ice roof barrier at police station, $20,000; inspection pool decking, $20,000; town Website rebuild, $35,000; and replacement of five voting tabulators, $40,000.

The candidates are each standing on a corner near the Longmeadow Community House, waiting to speak to prospective voters.

LONGMEADOW — While the democratic process was playing out inside the Longmeadow Community House Tuesday, the candidates running for school board were standing vigil outside, waiting out the hours until the polls close, hoping to speak with anyone who wanted a chance to hear what they have to say.

“It’s the last opportunity to show yourself to the voters,” said Matthew R. Brackman. “Believe it or not, I’ve had some discussions with voters today who came out here to make their decision. They walked around, talked to all the candidates, asked ... questions. They wanted to be educated on the issues, so if I wasn’t here I couldn’t convey my message."

“Oh, you know, I couldn’t help it! I just felt like waving, there’s a wonderful spirit out here. We’re all just having a good time, talking across the street to each other,” said Michelle Carrazza Grodsky. “Just to see and wave to everybody that’s sharing their support and giving their voice, it’s really nice.”

“I think it’s great, this is what being in a town is about,” said Heather LaPorte. “We’re elected officials for the town, so hearing what people have to say and speaking to them face to face is really the best way to communicate with the citizens.”

As of 2 p.m., 267 voters had cast their ballots. The polls are open until 8 p.m.

The meals tax would add 75 cents to a $100 restaurant bill.

HOLYOKE -- Unnoticed pennies on the dollar yielding $500,000 a year in needed revenue.

Just another tax on over-taxed taxpayers.

Such arguments are among those expected as the City Council Tuesday at 7 p.m. at City Hall debates whether to adopt a meals tax.

Follow live coverage that will be posted in the comments section beneath this story.

Passage of the meals tax requires a simple majority of the 15-member council, or eight votes.

The state in 2009 granted cities and towns the right to adopt a 0.75 percent tax on meals. It would add 23 cents to a $30 bill, for example, or 75 cents to a $100 bill.

Each year, the Department of Revenue calculates what each city or town would receive from a meals tax, and Holyoke would get $533,199, officials have said.

The new Westfield Senior Center will be built on Noble Street.

WESTFIELD — A proposed $6.5 million new Senior Center will move closer to reality Friday when city officials open construction bids for the 20,000-square-foot facility.

Bids will be opened at 2 p.m. at City Hall, and the Senior Center Building Committee is expected to meet later that day to review bids and prepare its recommendation to Mayor Daniel M. Knapik.

Council on Aging Director Tina Gorman said a bond request, to finance construction, is expected to be submitted to the City Council for consideration at its May 15 meeting.

The new center will be built on Noble Street and replace the present center located on Main Street. In addition to serving Westfield's senior population, the new center will also house the city's Veterans Affairs Department.

Springfield architectural firm Deitz and Co., along with Berkshire Design Group, developed plans for the new center.

While the city will finance construction, Friends of the Senior Center will raise $500,000 deemed necessary to furnish the new center.