The "Food System Plan" is intended to help the state be more self-sufficient in producing and consuming food, while also planning for ways to more equitably distribute food and prepare for climate change.

The plan is intended to help Massachusetts be more self-sufficient in producing and consuming food, while also planning for ways to more equitably distribute food and prepare for climate change.

The process is organized by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.

The research will include reaching out to food growers and producers in the state over the next 18 months to create a new vision for the state's food system.

The work will include planning for an ecologically stable network of food producers, consumers, processors, retailers and distribution hubs, and will include groups working toward greater social equity, health and sustainable water use.

The state's last food system plan was in 1978.

Tracy Morgan was recovering Sunday, but was expected to remain hospitalized for several weeks after having surgery on a broken leg suffered in a deadly chain-reaction crash on the New Jersey Turnpike that left two others critically injured and another man dead.

TRENTON, N.J. -- Tracy Morgan was recovering Sunday, but was expected to remain hospitalized for several weeks after having surgery on a broken leg suffered in a deadly chain-reaction crash on the New Jersey Turnpike that left two others critically injured and another man dead.

The 45-year-old actor and comedian, a former "Saturday Night Live" and "30 Rock" cast member, remained in critical condition but was "more responsive" Sunday after having surgery for a broken leg, said Morgan's spokesman, Lewis Kay.

Kay said that Morgan also sustained a broken femur, broken nose and several broken ribs and is expected to remain hospitalized for "several weeks." He said that Morgan's family is "tremendously overwhelmed and appreciative of the outpouring of love and support from his fans."

A Wal-Mart truck driver from Georgia was charged with death by auto and four counts of assault by auto. Authorities said 35-year-old Kevin Roper, of Jonesboro, apparently failed to slow for traffic ahead early Saturday in Cranbury Township and swerved at the last minute to avoid a crash. Instead, his big rig smashed into the back of Morgan's chauffeured Mercedes limo bus, killing comedian James "Jimmy Mack" McNair, authorities said.

Also critically injured were Morgan's assistant, Jeffrey Millea, 36, of Shelton, Connecticut, and comedian Ardie Fuqua Jr., 43, of Jersey City. They remained in critical condition Sunday evening, said Zenaida Mendez, a spokeswoman for Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick. Another passenger, comic Harris Stanton, was treated and released.

Tyrone Gale, who was driving the limo bus, told ABC News that he was disoriented after the vehicle flipped over and could hear Morgan yelling for help.

"I climbed around and heard Tracy screaming for help," Gale said. "I climbed up on the body of the limo bus ... but I couldn't reach them."

Roper, accompanied by his attorney, turned himself in to state police. He was released on $50,000 bail Saturday night and has been placed on administrative leave, Wal-Mart spokesman David Tovar said Sunday.

Wal-Mart President Bill Simon said in a statement that the company "will take full responsibility" if authorities determine its truck caused the accident.

The National Transportation Safety Board is working with state police to look at any issues in the crash related to commercial trucking and limousine safety.

Morgan, a New York City native, was returning from a standup performance at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino in Delaware when the crash occurred. In all, six vehicles were involved in the pileup, but no one from the other cars was injured.

At a press event Saturday in Los Angeles to promote the upcoming comedy film "Think Like A Man Too," cast members, many of whom have worked and are friends with Morgan, wished him well.

Kevin Hart said he owes much of his success to Morgan, crediting him for paving the way for comics like himself to become successful.

"We just want him to get better and to get back to everyone that loves him and get back to doing what he does best, making people laugh," Hart said.

Fuqua's mother, Doris, said she visited him in the hospital Saturday. The writer-comedian had toured with Morgan for nearly a year, she said, and had opened for him Friday night.

"We're hoping for the best," Doris Fuqua said Sunday, adding that she didn't know how long he may be hospitalized. "It's too early to tell."

McNair, 62, of Peekskill, New York, was a close friend and mentor to Morgan, Morgan's ex-wife, Sabina Morgan, told the New York Daily News. "He was one of the first comedians that took Tracy under his wing," she said. "They were very close."

Royale Watkins, a Los Angeles-based comedian who said he had performed in New York clubs with Morgan and McNair, described McNair as having a big personality.

"There may be guys like Tracy who get the fame and notoriety, but you have people like Jimmy Mack who have kind of energized and fueled cats like Tracy and kept them going on the road," Watkins said.

Judge Michael A. Ponsor was the event's keynote speaker, and authors Suzanne Strempek Shea, M.P. Barker and John Jarvis were part of a panel.

LONGMEADOW — Four authors with local ties visited Bay Path College Sunday afternoon as part of the 7th Annual "Are You a Bookie?" book club gathering to share a sample of their works and some of the wisdom they've gleaned over their tenures in the literary world.

Judge Michael A. Ponsor served as keynote speaker, kicking off the proceedings with a rumination on the similar origins of our faith in the principles of law, and the life-changing power of fiction.

"Our system of law expresses and embodies our deepest yearning to make, that is, create, out of the powerful recesses of our imagination, a fair, sensible, and predictable world... We, as a community, hold up these principles of due process and equal protection by the sheer power of our continuing belief in them. Nothing but the breath from our upturned faces, that's what keeps it up," said Ponsor. "The essence of what we are is what we create through our imaginations. The products of our imagination, whether they take the form of legal ideals or fictional narratives, are both unreal and the realest things we have."

Ponsor is a senior judge on the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, serving in Springfield. In recent years, he lent his hand to another profession, as he used his own experiences as the basis for a thriller, The Hanging Judge, which is set in Holyoke, and was recently named a New York Times Best-Seller.

The event continued with contributions from a panel of local authors, who read selections from their latest works and answered questions from the audience.

Suzanne Strempek Shea, the author of ten books, as well as the wife of former Republican reporter and columnist Tom Shea, read from This is Paradise: An Irish Mother's Grief, an African Village's Plight.

M.P. Barker, who has worked as an archivist for the Springfield History Museums and helped give visitors an impression of 19th Century New England as a costumed historical interpreter at Sturbridge Village, shared a piece of her second historical novel, Mending Horses.

Dr. John Jarvis, a professor of Native American Studies and global humanities at Bay Path, read from his recent biography, Johnny Pail Face Becomes a Human Being.

SPRINGFIELD - Agawam High School's 2014 commencement was held at Springfield's Symphony Hall on Sunday, June 8.

SPRINGFIELD - Agawam High School's 2014 commencement was held at Springfield's Symphony Hall on Sunday, June 8.

Jenna and Jillian Thistlethwaite were born at 33 weeks on May 9 sharing an amniotic sac and placenta at Akron General Medical Center in Ohio.

CINCINNATI -- A set of rare "mono mono" twins photographed holding hands moments after they were born are home in time for Father's Day.

Jenna and Jillian Thistlethwaite were born at 33 weeks on May 9 sharing an amniotic sac and placenta at Akron General Medical Center in Ohio. Jenna was born at 4 pounds, 2 ounces, with Jillian following less than a minute later at 3 pounds, 13 ounces.

A photo showing the twins holding hands moments after they were born went viral.

The twins spent nearly a month in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit gaining weight and getting stronger. At nearly 6 pounds now, they were cleared to be released from the hospital on Saturday and went home with their parents and their big brother, 15-month-old Jaxon.

Their parents, Sarah and Bill Thistlethwaite, had been splitting their time at home with Jaxon and at the hospital 40 minutes away with the twins.

"It's just nice to have everyone under the same roof," Sarah Thistlethwaite told The Associated Press. "It was really stressful -- you want to pay attention to the little one at home and you just gave birth to two little babies. It was a pull and a tear as to where to go."

The twins' rare birth condition is called monoamnioitic, or "mono mono." Doctors say they occur in about one of every 10,000 pregnancies.

Thistlethwaite, a 32-year-old eighth-grade teacher, said she's already noticed a unique bond between the twins.

"When I try to feed them on the feeding pillow, they gradually migrate toward each other," she said. "And when I lay them on the floor, they scoot toward each other. It's pretty cool to see them doing."

She said her mother, grandparents and her husband's grandparents all came to their house Saturday night to welcome the little ones. The family spent Sunday trying to relax and enjoy each other.

"We were so excited and kept thanking God we made it to that point," she said. "Having them here is amazing, but having them here so healthy when they were premature, it's absolutely phenomenal."

Thistlethwaite said she's grateful that her and her husband's biggest worry now is telling the twins apart. She plans to solve that problem with pink nail polish for one and purple for the other.

A second pair of mono mono twins born at Akron General the week after Jenna and Jillian, both girls, are still at the hospital and doing well, hospital spokeswoman Amy Kilgore said.

"All four girls are progressing as hoped, if not even better than hoped," she said.

Volunteer coders, designers, techies and developers joined forces Saturday in Holyoke to solve community problems at Hack for Western Mass., an annual civic hacking event, or “hackathon.” Watch video

 HOLYOKE – Dozens of hidden cultural gems are popping up in your town every week, but it seems no one knows where to find them. The solution: Turn to the nerds.

Volunteer coders, designers, techies and developers joined forces Saturday in Holyoke to solve community problems at Hack for Western Mass., an annual civic hacking event, or “hackathon.” Community organizations brought their ideas and technical needs to the event, and teams of volunteers worked to make those ideas a digital reality.

Kevin Alves was working on the cultural events project, which the cities of Holyoke and Northampton brought to the hackathon. His team was working on a map application that would help people find art and cultural events in their neighborhoods.

A graphic designer by day, Alves was mocking up the application in Adobe Illustrator. You start with mobile, he said. By the end of this year, more than half of your visitors will be accessing the application on a mobile device, so you start by thinking of mobile design.

Alves’ mock-up is part of the typical web design process, but a hackathon’s process is anything but typical.

Rather than working a project through stage after stage of development, testing and building over and over, hackathon teams have about 24 hours to come up with a solution to the problem they face.

How do they do it?

With small budgets and limited time, open source is king.

Hand coding a web application from scratch is a long, complicated process, and the enormity of that task can be overwhelming. Instead, teams used what was already there.

Through open source sites like Github, coders can find solutions that other hackers have tackled and want to share. Open source frameworks like Bootstrap for reflexive design and Ruby on Rails for web development give hackers a foundation to tweak and build onto.

Breaking into subgroups of programmers, designers and developers gives each team member a smaller chunk of the project to focus on.

Even with tried-and-true project development management practices, time stress is inevitable.

“If there’s performance stress in the back of peoples’ minds, like, ‘We have got to have something done by tomorrow,’ you kind of strip some of the stages that are really essential,” said John Broglio of Florence.

Broglio said he wanted to make sure the arts mapping group didn’t cut too many corners.

After the hackathon, the project is meant to be out of team members’ hands. The applications have to be strong enough that the organizations will not need lots of tech help afterward.

That means the project can’t be full of one-time fixes or temporary work-arounds, because they will not be corrected later on.

Who does it help?

Bag the Community in South Hadley collects 30,000 pounds of food from 6,000 residents, trucks it, stores it and distributes it to food pantries. That’s a large operation with a lot of volunteers who make it work, said founder Sue Brouillette.

At some point, it becomes too much information to shove into a few folders. That’s when Brouillette needs a high school freshman’s help.

“I know almost nothing about technology,” she said.

Brouillette was amazed at what the young hackers on her team were coming up with to help organize volunteers for the yearly food drive, which was becoming too much for her to handle on paper. She just had to step out of the way.

“I’m not the last word on this (project),” she said. “I think it’s that 13-year-old over there. He’s calling all the shots.”

Organizer Carrie Bernstein said organizations had to have something ready for the weekend, such as data or a specific problem to be solved. For those that didn’t have much technical experience, organizers worked with them to target a coding project that would help them right away.

“Organizations are great because they have mission statements, they know what they’re trying to do in the world and the piece that might be missing is what options are out there for them to perform that mission,” she said.

Caroline Barba and the Western Mass. Network to End Homelessness has lots of data. At the moment, though, it’s not doing enough to further the organization’s mission.

Barba came to Hack for Western Mass. hoping to get a dashboard of visualizations that would tell the story of homelessness in the region.

“By doing this we’ll be able to see what our focus areas need to be and sort of target our mission for the future,” she said.

Without the hackathon, Barba said the organization wouldn’t have had the resources to develop that dashboard so quickly and with so much intelligent input.

“These skills are so, I think, kind of under-valued,” she said. “The coding and being able to make computers do all the magical stuff that computers do.”

Bernstein said civic hacking events like this remind the public that most hackers aren’t black-hat data thieves.

“There are lots of people who are doing software with code, user experience or design in the digital world who are good citizens,” she said.

Check back to see projects from this year’s Hack for Western Mass.

The two suspects then fled to a Walmart, where they shot a person inside and then killed themselves in an apparent suicide pact, Hadfield said.

Two suspects shot and critically injured two police officers at a Las Vegas pizza restaurant Sunday before fatally shooting a third person and killing themselves inside a nearby Walmart, investigators said.

The spree began around 11:30 a.m. Sunday when a man and woman walked into CiCi's Pizza and shot two officers who were eating lunch, Las Vegas police spokesman Larry Hadfield said.

One of the suspects yelled, "This is a revolution," but the motive for the shooting remains under investigation, Hadfield said.

The two suspects then fled to the Walmart across the street, where they shot a person inside and then killed themselves in an apparent suicide pact, Hadfield said.

The condition of the two officers was not immediately known, he said, but an update would be provided later Sunday.

"I think in any case where people are ambushed and shot it's upsetting to the public," Hadfield told The Associated Press. "We don't know anything about the suspects yet and are trying to learn more."

The names of the suspects and victims and their cause of death will be released by the Clark County coroner's office.

The restaurant and Walmart remained closed as detectives processed evidence.

The Democratic convention looms as the biggest political test for gubernatorial hopeful Martha Coakley since an ill-fated U.S. Senate campaign against Republican Scott Brown more than four years ago.

BY BOB SALSBERG, The Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts Democratic Convention looms as the biggest political test for gubernatorial hopeful Martha Coakley since an ill-fated U.S. Senate campaign against Republican Scott Brown more than four years ago.

Analysts say anything less than a solid showing by the current attorney general at next weekend's state convention could signal lingering doubts among party insiders. After Coakley's upset loss in the special election following the death of Democratic icon Edward Kennedy, she won a lightly contested re-election, and polling has shown she remains a popular public figure in Massachusetts and the early front-runner to succeed outgoing Gov. Deval Patrick.

State Treasurer Steven Grossman, business executive Joseph Avellone, former federal health care administrator Don Berwick and former Homeland Security official Juliette Kayyem are also running and counting on their share of support from the 6,000 delegates scheduled to gather in Worcester.

While the top vote-getter will emerge as the party's endorsed candidate, others need to collect at least 15 percent of the delegates to advance to the September primary.

In an interview, Coakley said finishing first was not a major priority and she was confident of leaving the convention well-positioned for the primary. Her campaign, she added, has worked hard to avoid mistakes that helped doom her Senate campaign.

"I think from the beginning we knew that question would be asked, rightfully so," Coakley said. "This is a different race, this is a different time."

Maurice Cunningham, a political science professor at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, said Coakley's biggest goal should be reassuring party leaders who remain uneasy about her campaigning skills and ability to connect with voters.

"She wants to show them she is not the fumbler that she was in 2010," he said.

Cunningham views Grossman as most likely to win the convention endorsement. A former Democratic National Committee chairman, Grossman has deep ties within the party and has outpaced all gubernatorial candidates in fundraising so far.

Grossman, however, has lagged behind Coakley in early public opinion polls that suggest many voters are still largely unfamiliar with him.

The convention stakes are higher for Avellone, Berwick and Kayyem. While all three have said they expect to achieve the 15 percent threshold and advance to the primary, simple math dictates that one or two could fall short.

Berwick's call for a single-payer health insurance system has helped him make significant inroads with some of the party's more liberal members. He's also the only Democrat calling for repeal of the state's casino gambling law.

Kayyem is viewed by many as a potential rising star within the party and has been the subject of speculation about possible convention floor maneuvering by representatives of other candidates who might gain advantage by having her on — or off — the primary ballot.

Avellone has positioned himself as the most fiscally moderate Democrat, vowing not to raise broad-based taxes and opposing indexing of the gasoline tax. He's also the only candidate to openly criticize the 15 percent rule, saying it could keep qualified candidates off the primary ballot and cause disaffection among voters.

State Sen. Thomas McGee, chairman of the state party, said the long-standing rule is a fair and reasonable threshold for candidates.

Regardless of how many candidates ultimately qualify for the ballot, McGee said he expects Democrats to emerge from the convention on strong footing.

"Voters know we are the party moving the state forward," McGee said.

Charlie Baker, who was endorsed by Republicans at the party's convention in March, will face Mark Fisher, a tea party member, in the GOP primary.

A group advocating for $10 a month unlimited passes for 12 to 21 year olds in Boston staged a sit-in on Monday at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation headquarters in Boston.

A group advocating for $10 a month unlimited passes for 12 to 21 year olds in Boston staged a sit-in on Monday at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation headquarters in Boston.

The group announced the sit-in on Reddit: "This morning, along with 30 other youth and supporters from the Youth Affordabili(T) Coalition, we began the Sit-in for Opportuni(T) inside the office of Secretary of Transportation Richard Davey. They plan to stay until the got a commitment to pilot the youth pass."

According to the group's live blog of the event, MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott met with representatives of the group around 4 p.m.

Standing in solidarity w/ young people who need a #youthpass so they can afford to take public transportation to school and work!

— Mariama WhiteHammond (@mariamawh) June 9, 2014

"What does it benefit young people to live in a world class city if they can't afford the price of the T Fare?" - @ProjectHIPHOP #YouthPass

— Cathy Jacobowitz (@CathyJacobowitz) June 9, 2014

#InvestinMA. We COULD fund strong communities. But we won't. Why? "@sKrillaBurnz: Sit In. #youthpass @MassDOT pic.twitter.com/vdA8uaMBur"

— Progressive Needham (@ProgressNeedham) June 9, 2014

Several participants and supporters posted photos of the event:

The sit-in comes on the heels of an increase of MBTA fares of an average of 5 percent. The hike that will take effect in July.

“This is unheard of for a Level 4 school,” School Superintendent Daniel Warwick said on Monday.

SPRINGFIELD - All 200 graduating seniors of the Class of 2014 at the High School of Commerce have been accepted to colleges or universities including Smith College, the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth College and Clemson University in a feat that seemed impossible three years ago when the school was declared underperforming by the state.

“This is unheard of for a Level 4 school,” School Superintendent Daniel Warwick said on Monday.

In addition to the 100 percent acceptance rate, Warwick said the Class of 2014 garnered $2.54 million in scholarships - some given by local businesses - to attend colleges.

Warwick and acting Commerce Principal Jason Hynek said the 100 percent college-acceptance-rate came about as a result of a series of reforms started at the school three and a half years ago – along with a new culture that expects all students to apply to college. “The culture here is: “‘you’re going to college,’” Hynek said, adding, our motto is “all means all.”

Hynek, teachers and guidance counselors kept that goal front-and-center all year long, pushing students to fill out their college applications, helping their parents with financial aid forms and reminding all of them that the goal was achievable.

Even parents who didn’t see college in their children’s future got on board when school officials met with them to explain the educational benefits, school officials said.

In one case, Hynek said he convinced a student who wanted to become an electrician that the addition of a degree from STCC would give him the experience he would need if he ever wanted to start his own business.

Class of 2014 member DeVante Middleton, 18, who is the first member of his family to go to college, plans to attend Westfield State University in the fall to study computer information. Middleton said he had “moments when he bumped heads” with the principal, but that he appreciated the encouragement. “My Hynek and Mrs. Dodd (his guidance counselor) pushed me,” he said.

When Commerce was declared underperforming school in March 2010, the school had to submit a turnaround plan. With the help of school improvement specialist Kim Wells, the Harvard Education Lab, and the staff, the school instituted longer school days, a system of teacher collaboration and intense math tutoring to help improve student performance.

In the last three years attendance, a key factor in student performance, has improved dramatically at Commerce. According to Hynek, 73 percent of students who were chronically absent in 2012-2013 improved their attendance by 9 percent in 2013-2014. Hynek credited his predecessor Charles Grandson, Wells and a willing staff for their work in promoting the turnaround. Hynek served as assistant principal with Grandson.l

Azell Cavaan, chief communications officer for the Springfield Public Schools said the high school graduation rate was 54.9 percent for the district in 2013. Graduation rates for 2014 won’t be calculated until around January, she said.

Districtwide, attendance is currently at its highest rate, 92.8 percent, as compared to an average rate of 91.8 percent last year, Cavaan said.

Accepting Commerce graduates

Public opposition to the exchange of five Taliban prisoners for captive Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has less to do with Bergdahl himself and more with how President Obama handled the transfer, according to a new USA Today poll.

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

Tickets are available at the front desk of the Hampden Senior Center at 104 Allen Street.

HAMPDEN – The Hampden Senior Center, 104 Allen St., is sponsoring a Saturday evening prom on June 21. The “Moonlight and Roses Senior Prom” will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. at Emeritus at 741 Parker Street in East Longmeadow.

The cost of $12 per person includes a dinner buffet, dessert, wine and dancing to “Blue Skies Big Band.” All are welcome. Call the senior center at 566-5588 to sign up.

Evening dress is requested, but not required. At 5 p.m. a photographer will be available, dinner will be served at 5:30, including two glasses of complimentary wine, and dancing begins at 6 p.m.

Tickets are available at the front desk of the senior center.

The event is sponsored in part by Emeritus of East Longmeadow and will be held in the new Emeritus community room at 741 Parker Street.

Referring to his former boss, Orenstein praised Mastroianni’s performance as district attorney and appointment to the federal bench, but said the staff will miss him as a prosecutor and a colleague. Watch video

SPRINGFIELD – Former Hampden District Attorney William M. Bennett offered a strong endorsement Monday for Gov. Deval Patrick’s selection of veteran prosecutor James C. Orenstein to serve a seven-month term as interim district attorney.

“The governor made a great choice. Jim is a wonderful lawyer and a terrific leader,” said Bennett, now in private practice in Springfield.

“I’m sure there is widespread support (for Orenstein’s appointment) in the office, he added.

Orenstein, 64, said he has no intention of making major changes in the office or running for district attorney this fall.

“This has been a whirlwind couple of days,” Orenstein said after being sworn in by Patrick at the Dwight Street state office building, five days after the U.S. Senate confirmed Mastroianni’s nomination to the federal bench on a 92-2 vote.

Referring to his former boss, Orenstein praised Mastroianni’s performance as district attorney and appointment to the federal bench, but said the staff will miss him as a prosecutor and a colleague.

“We’re very proud of him,” he added. “This is a very bittersweet occasion.”

A former public defender, Orenstein served as first assistant to Bennett from 1990 to 2010, and first assistant to Mastroianni until his retirement in 2012.

A Springfield native and graduate of Western New England School of Law, Orenstein continued working for the district attorney’s office part-time after retiring, conducting training and overseeing cold case investigations.

The prosecution wrapped up it's case Monday in the murder trial of Faustino Diaz and defense lawyer Nikolas Andreopolous called one witness.

SPRINGFIELD - Jurors in the Hampden Superior Court murder trial of Faustino Diaz Monday heard about three different responses Diaz gave when talking about 90-year-old murder victim Myrtle Marrett.

Assistant District Attorney Karen Bell wrapped up the prosecution case Monday and defense lawyer Nikolas Andreopolous called one witness. Judge Constance M. Sweeney told jurors they should have the case for deliberations by 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Retired city police officer Raymond Muise testified about an interview he did of Diaz on Jan. 21, 1991, the day after Marrett's body was found beaten to death in her Wright Townhouse apartment on Union Street.

Diaz had been a part time maintenance worker there at the time. The cold case murder was solved in 2013 as the result of a new investigation and new DNA testing - using scientific methods not available in 1991.

Muise said when he told Diaz about Marrett's murder a day after her body was found, "to me, he was over the top on the way he started crying. He was extremely emotional."

Muise said he had to let Diaz take five minutes or so to stop crying so he could take his statement. In that statement Diaz denied knowing anything about Marrett's murder.

City police officer Anthony Pioggia testified when he and Lt. Thomas Kennedy went to Diaz's job at Savers store in West Springfield in November 2012 to talk to him in the reinvestigation of the cold case Diaz said he remembered Marrett and her death.

In a videotape taken of Pioggia and Kennedy's interview of Diaz when he was arrested Jan. 21, 2013, Diaz denied ever talking to or knowing Marrett.

After being told about new DNA testing in the case at that interview, Diaz kept saying he was innocent.

Earlier Monday jurors heard Lynn Schneeweis of the State Police crime laboratory testify Diaz's DNA profile matched that of DNA found in sperm recovered from Marrett's body.

Diaz had been charged with aggravated rape in addition to murder but that charge was dropped before trial because the statute of limitations had passed. Jurors have, however, heard much evidence - particularly the DNA evidence - that would lead to a conclusion Marrett was raped.

Andreopoulos, in his cross-examination of the State Police lab witnesses has challenged the chain of custody of evidence first collected from the scene in 1991 and tested several times, as well as being moved from the state lab to the Springfield police department and then to the state lab.

A few details emerged during testimony about what appeared could have been a lead in the original investigation but never got to police.

Mark Blake of Ludlow - who had been maintenance supervisor at the elderly housing complex in 1991 - testified when Diaz returned to work for the first time after Marrett's killing, he no longer wore the green field jacket and work boots he always wore to work.

Gail Roy of Granby - who was assistant administrator at the complex which included Wright Townhouses and Mason Manor- testified to the same thing as Blake. They both also testified Diaz stopped coming to work without explanation a short time after the killing but they were not sure exactly when.

There has been testimony at trial there was a large amount of blood in the bedroom where Marrett was killed.

Roy said when Diaz came to work she looked at him wearing a sport coat and sneakers in the dead of winter and said, "Where the hell does he thinks he works - MassMutual. It was totally inappropriate for the weather."

Blake also testified he had had to speak to Diaz previous to the murder to tell him not to bother residents for money.

Blake - who described Marrett as being very happy and one who "always had a good word for you" - said when police interviewed him Jan. 20, 1991, Diaz had not yet returned to work so he didn't know about the change in clothing.

Under questioning from Andreopoulous Blake acknowledged he never contacted police with the information about Diaz's clothing.

Roy testified she gave the information about Diaz no longer wearing the same clothes he always had to the administrator of Mason Manor and Wright Townhouses - the late Elizabeth Deyette - because Deyette had been dealing with police.

Roy said police never contacted her and she never contacted them.

Muise had testified he did not know about Diaz stopping wearing his regular work clothes. It was the reinvestigation and new interviews by Pioggia and Kelly that brought forth that information.

Andreopoulos called to the stand John Gibbons, now U.S. Marshall for Massachusetts.

In 1991 Gibbons was a State Trooper assigned to newly elected Hampden District Attorney William M. Bennett's office.

He testified he was called to the scene to assist city police, as was the new police Bennett implemented. Andreopoulos asked him about some of the evidence collected at the scene.

Testifying with immunity from prosecution Monday, Massachusetts State Rep. Michael Costello said he still supports backing a probation hire that federal prosecutors claim was made fraudulently as part of a scheme to curry favor with lawmakers.

By ANDY METZGER

BOSTON — Testifying with immunity from prosecution Monday, Rep. Michael Costello said he still supports backing a probation hire that federal prosecutors claim was made fraudulently as part of a scheme to curry favor with lawmakers.

"I'd give the reference again today," said the Newburyport Democrat. Costello, the House chairman of the Financial Services Committee who is not running for re-election this year, is the first sitting elected official to testify in the trial looking into allegations of corruption within the public safety agency.

Probation Commissioner John O'Brien and two of his former deputies, Elizabeth Tavares and William Burke, are charged with fraud and racketeering for what prosecutors say was a secret patronage system.

Costello said he knew Mari-Elena Sanchez, one of the eight hires prosecutors are charging was fraudulent, through her father, Essex County Juvenile Court Judge Jose Sanchez. The judge presided over cases when Costello was a young prosecutor and worked with Costello's wife, a probation officer.

"There was a Cinderella story that was presented to me," Costello said of Sanchez, whom he described as a single-mother who put herself through Tufts University and received a job as a corrections officer in the sheriff's office before applying for a juvenile court probation job in Middlesex County. He said, "Either her father or my wife had mentioned she was applying."

Over strong and unsuccessful objections by defense attorneys, Costello was also questioned by prosecutor Robert Fisher about questions he asked O'Brien about his wife's ineligibility for a promotion to an assistant chief probation officer job in Newburyport, closer to home, and her eventual promotion to probation officer in charge at the Office of Community Corrections in nearby Salisbury, which was originally a temporary position during a hiring freeze.

"My only concern was if she took that position, you know, what would be the process afterwards to make it permanent?" said Costello, whose wife had worked at the Lawrence juvenile court. When the managerial position at the Newburyport court was filled from within, Costello said he brought it up with O'Brien, explaining, "It was my concern that I raised with the commissioner."

"I object to this entire line of examination," said defense attorney John Amabile. Prosecutors have not accused any wrongdoing regarding Costello's wife, Judge William Young explained to the jury, though he let the testimony stand. Costello said his wife was already a probation officer when they met.

Costello said he believes he did nothing wrong and appeared relaxed discussing his involvement and critiquing his reading of the indictments, saying, "I couldn't tell where the lines were."

The Newburyport Democrat testified with a May 8, 2014 immunity order from Young. Asked after his testimony why he obtained the immunity order, Costello declined comment and identified his attorney as Thomas Drechsler, who is the former law partner to former House Speaker Thomas Finneran.

Costello said he knew Salvatore DiMasi, Finneran's successor as speaker, since 1978 through his father, who served as a state representative before him. When constituents asked him for job recommendations for court officer and probation officer positions, Costello said he would often pass them along to Dan Toscano, who was DiMasi's legal counsel and became Costello's friend. DiMasi is serving an eight-year federal prison sentence for his 2011 conviction in a case involving state contracts steered toward Cognos Corp. in exchange for kickbacks.

The current House Speaker, Robert DeLeo, was Ways and Means Committee chairman under DiMasi.

Costello said he made his recommendation for the probation job through DiMasi's office, and did not remember writing his own letter of recommendation for Sanchez. He is also not listed as one of her references, which could bolster the prosecution's claim that the patronage hiring was disguised as legitimate, merit-based hiring.

"I'm not sure if I wrote a letter on her behalf. I don't think I did," said Costello, who said that when he did not have a relationship with agency heads he would "try to go up the ladder" rather than reaching out to them directly.

Former Rep. Steven Walsh, a Lynn Democrat who resigned earlier this year for a community hospital association post, testified Monday that he recommended two of the people prosecutors claim were fraudulently hired.

Michael White, who is now a Lynn police officer, was a football coach and the son of Lynn Classical High School Principal Warren White whom Walsh had known for years when Walsh reached out to Toscano about helping White secure a juvenile probation officer job in Middlesex County, he testified. Kevin O'Brien, a constituent who lived in Nahant, was a part-time police officer, who wanted a letter of recommendation for a Middlesex County Juvenile Court probation officer position.

Walsh reached out to Toscano for both O'Brien and White, but only wrote a letter of recommendation for O'Brien, he said. Both were hired.

It was clear from prosecutor Fred Wyshak's questions that he was trying to explore why Walsh channeled his recommendations through the speaker's office, though during Walsh's brief appearance on the stand defense attorneys were largely successful in blocking the queries.

"Do you know if the speaker's office had influence with Mr. O'Brien?" Wyshak asked, raising an objection from defense attorneys. Wyshak met a similar protest when he asked, "Did you think that somebody needed legislative influence to get a job with probation?"

Young asked Walsh why he believed going to the speaker's office would help his constituents seeking jobs.

"I believed as a rank and file member that there was more influence with the speaker's office than there was with mine," said Walsh.

Costello said that he first got to know O'Brien when he was chairman of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee and the two sat on a youth offender task force "set up, I think, by the feds."

The Newburyport representative, who was elected in 2002, said that before his election he worked as chief of staff to Somerset Democrat Sen. Joan Menard and while working there he had made a call to the probation office about someone seeking a job. As a practicing lawyer, Costello said he often hears appeals from "blue shirts," who handle security at courthouse entrances, who want to be appointed court officers who work in the courtrooms.

"I would get hit walking into the court," said Costello, who said that he has received "hundreds" of job requests and has tried to make recommendations for people after asking about their qualifications.

Defense attorneys are trying to show the jury that the system of hiring court officers - which was handled by the Trial Court, not any of the defendants - followed a similar system where recommendations from officials were highly valued.

Walsh also mentioned that he would make recommendations for court officer postings, and Costello said his recommendations were not limited to openings within the Judiciary.

"I would call the governor's legislative liaison and say, you know, so and so's looking for a job," said Costello, who said that portion of the governor's office had changed its name from the Office of Patronage to the Chief Secretary's Office.

The state Open Meeting Law allows the City Council to meet in private to discuss litigation.

CHICOPEE – The City Council is meeting behind closed doors with Mayor Richard J. Kos and city lawyers to get an update of pending legal issues.

The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in City Hall Monday. It will be closed to the public, which is allowed by the state Open Meeting Law when discussing legal strategies, City Council President George R. Moreau said.

The City Council was first scheduled to discuss the case of Jacqueline Ziemba V. the City of Chicopee last week, but voted at the mayor’s request to delay it a week so all upcoming litigation can be discussed.

After leaving the White House, former President Bill Clinton earned a fortune in speaking fees while Hillary Clinton represented New York in the Senate.

By KEN THOMAS
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton's family was "dead broke" and saddled with legal bills when she and her husband left the White House, the former first lady said in an interview that aired Monday at the start of a high-profile book tour that could precede a 2016 presidential campaign.

"We came out of the White House not only dead broke, but in debt," Clinton told ABC News. "We had no money when we got there, and we struggled to, you know, piece together the resources for mortgages, for houses, for Chelsea's education. You know, it was not easy."

The remark evoked charges of elitism long volleyed by both parties during presidential campaigns. Republicans immediately seized on the comment, two years after their presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, was dogged by accusations of being out-of-touch because of his wealth. GOP officials pointed out that Hillary Clinton received an $8 million book advance for her 2003 memoir and said the comments reflected her insulation from the daily problems of average Americans.

"I think she's been out of touch with average people for a long time," said Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus, pointing to Clinton's estimated $200,000-per-speech speaking fees and million-dollar book advances. "Whether she was flat broke or not is not the issue. It's tone deaf to average people."

Clinton's memoir, "Hard Choices," will be released Tuesday, accompanied by interviews with ABC News and other news organizations. She will appear at book events this week in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and suburban Washington, D.C., and her appearances are already stoking a debate over her record at the State Department and as a one-time presidential candidate, New York senator and first lady.

After leaving the White House, former President Bill Clinton earned a fortune in speaking fees while Hillary Clinton represented New York in the Senate. But the couple departed the White House with large legal bills incurred during investigations into Whitewater and the Monica Lewinsky affair.

Hillary Clinton's Senate financial disclosure forms, filed for 2000, show assets between $781,000 and almost $1.8 million. The forms allow senators to report assets in broad ranges. The same form, however, showed that the Clintons owed between $2.3 million and $10.6 million in legal bills to four firms.

Mrs. Clinton's advance for "Living History," her 2003 memoir, was $8 million. In 2004, the Clintons paid off their legal bills, according to Senate disclosure forms. And by 2009, when Hillary Clinton was preparing to join President Barack Obama's administration as secretary of state, the Clintons' wealth was somewhere between $10 million and $50 million.

Branding an opponent as an elitist has been a common tactic for both parties in presidential campaigns. In 2004, Republican President George W. Bush's advisers sought to portray Democratic rival John Kerry — Clinton's successor as secretary of state — as a wealthy aristocrat. In 2008, Democrats took to the airwaves when Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said in a Politico interview that he was unsure of how many homes he and his wife, Cindy McCain, owned.

In 2012, Romney was forced to repeatedly fend off charges by Democrats that he was clueless about the economic strains of many Americans. During the GOP primary campaign, Romney said he was "not concerned" about the very poor, said he knew what it felt like to worry about being "pink-slipped," and said his wife drove a "couple of Cadillacs."

Clinton's defenders noted the family has been generous to charities and some of Clinton's speeches have been delivered for free or her appearances have raised millions of dollars for philanthropic organizations.

During the 2008 campaign, Mrs. Clinton released tax forms that showed a total of $1.1 million in book proceeds went to charities between 2000 and early 2008. The reports also showed that the Clintons gave away $10 million after departing the White House. Between 2001 and 2006, $6 million of that was to the Clinton Foundation, which the former president established after his presidency.

As Clinton starts her book tour, the back-and-forth demonstrated what could be a preview of the political jousting in the next presidential campaign.

___

Associated Press writer Philip Elliott contributed to this report.

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh has withdrawn a proposed change to the city's residency requirement for city workers.

BOSTON — Mayor Martin J. Walsh is pulling back on his effort to change the city's residency requirements for high-level employees.

Walsh withdrew the original legislation he submitted to the Boston City Council just one week ago seeking powers to grant waivers from the city's residency requirements to employees his office hires directly. His new proposal will give city workers directly hired by the mayor one year to move into the city if they are not already city residents.

"Housing in the city currently is at a premium with inventory down and prices up. It is difficult for families to relocate to the city in six months." said Walsh in a letter to the council.

Walsh said at the time of his original filing that he was submitting the legislation as a starting point for discussions on the residency issue with the council but councilors were mostly cold to the proposed changes. Several councilors said they received strong negative feedback on the proposed changes from their constituents.

"I have listened carefully to the concerns that have been raised and concluded that the ordinance I filed is too broad and gives the mayor too much discretion," said Walsh.

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh's new residency requirement proposal

The Holyoke Teachers Association says the plan has led to major staff turnover.

BOSTON - The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on Monday evening will consider a request by the Holyoke Teachers Association to change the state's turnaround plan for Morgan Full Service Community School in Holyoke.

Peter McAndrew, president of the Holyoke Teachers Association, said local teachers and parents feel like a plan they proposed to improve the school was ignored in favor of a "one size fits all" plan, which will result in significant teacher turnover.

"The kids need dedicated, experienced, stable staff. This turnaround plan will see a lot of those teachers exiting," McAndrew said.

In October 2013, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester named the Morgan School a "level five" school, a designation that classifies it as chronically underperforming. Morgan was one of four schools to receive that designation, which lets the state appoint a receiver to take control of the school and implement a turnaround plan.

Chester said at the time that one of only five Morgan School students was reading and writing at their grade's proficiency level. For math, only one in seven students was proficient.

This January, Chester appointed the Texas-based Project GRAD USA to be the receiver at Morgan School. The decision angered some local parents and teachers, who had hoped for a local receiver, such as the Holyoke school system's superintendent.

Morgan School, which serves 400 students in kindergarten through eighth grade, is one of the poorest schools in the state, with 98 percent of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, according to the Massachusetts Teachers Association. Nearly half its students are English language learners.

Chester, in April, laid out an extensive turnaround plan for Morgan School. It includes several significant changes that impact teachers such as recruiting new teachers and requiring all existing staff to reapply to their jobs; introducing performance-based compensation for teachers; extending the school day; and adding new professional development days.

Other changes include creating a new center within the school to focus on science, math and technology education; implementing new forms of data management and assessment; creating a new parent advisory council focused on English language learners; and creating a new council to explore partnerships with social service organizations and advise school leaders.

According to the Holyoke Teachers Association, only seven of Morgan School's 43 teachers reapplied to their jobs after the commissioner released his plan. The plan, the union says, would increase teachers' hours by 395 hours a year, or 31 percent, while increasing their pay by an average of 7 percent. There would also be an option to add an additional 10 school days above that.

"I don't think anyone signed up for a 65-hour-a-week teaching job," McAndrew said. (The actual school day would be 8.5 hours in school, plus any work done after hours, such as grading.)

The Holyoke Teachers Association, the local branch of the MTA, filed an appeal with the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education seeking to change the plan.

"We believe that the onerous working conditions, top-down management style, lack of attention to instructional priorities, and lack of a clearly reasoned plan to address the needs of Morgan's students will lead to continued turnover of staff in this school," the Massachusetts Teachers Association wrote in a summary of its appeal.

The union, in its appeal, questioned the high management fees being paid to Project GRAD, which will amount to $1.8 million over three and a half years.

In addition to placing increased demands on teachers, the union's appeal says the plan does not include specific strategies or curricula to improve performance in English and math; does not outline a specific plan to help English language learners; discontinues a successful social services program; and does not hire additional staff to shrink class size.

The union had also complained that the plan does not mandate the institution of a pre-kindergarten program. Chester has since said that he will require Project GRAD to add pre-kindergarten.

Those 188,000 FAIR policies accounted for 12.7 percent of the total homeowners market .

SPRINGFIELD- Massachusetts regulators have rejected a request from the state's high-risk property  insurance provider that could have increased  homeowners  insurance premiums by an average of 7 percent.

While most common in flood-and-storm-prone ares of Cape Code and the islands, the  FAIR high risk plan wrote 188,000 policies in 2012, including 2,700 properties in Springfield, said Deputy Commissioner Kevin Beagan of the state Division of Insurance.

Beagan was among the state officials who helped announce the Division of insurance decision Monday.

The name FAIR stands for Fair Access to Insurance Requirements. The insurer is run by the Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriting Association. All companies writing basic property insurance in Massachusetts are required to participate in the FAIR Plan and share losses in proportion to their market share, Beagan said.

Those 188,000 FAIR policies accounted for 12.7 percent of the total homeowners  market  and made FAIR the state's largest insurance-like entity, Beagan said, careful  to draw a distinction between FAIR or the Underwriting Association and  an insurance company.

Barbara Anthony, state undersecretary of consumer affairs and business regulation said FAIR didn't meet its burden to demonstrate that it needed the rate increase.

"It means that their insurance premiums will not increase," Anthony said. "It's always a good thing when we can keep insurance premiums stable."

The Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriting Association didn't return a call for comment Monday afternoon.

The Division of Insurance also rejected FAIR's similar 7-percent increase in 2013.

Stephen Brochu, vice president of insurance for AAA Pioneer Valley said most insurance companies increased their rates for homeowners coverage by 5 to 7 percent following  heavy losses locally in storm-filled 2011.

Those regular insurance companies tend to be 15 to 20 percent cheaper than FAIR, he said. He's even heard of an average home that might require a $700-a-year insurance premium through a commercial carrier but cost nearly $2,000 through FAIR in a coastal area.

"The Cape Cod agents and the Cape Cod community, they are the ones who really beat back these rate increases," Brochu said.

In Springfield and other areas away from the coast, homeowners go to FAIR because they simply can't get coverage. It might be because the property is too run down for other insurers. Or it might be  because of an adverse claim history. Sometimes insurers will refuse coverage becasue a dangerous dog is on the  property.

"Voluntary carriers have restricted dog lists that they use," he said . "But mostly it is coastal."

The Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriting Association didn't ask for average rate increases for commercial property insurance, according to the state office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation.