Registration begins at 5 p.m.; the auction starts at 6 p.m. Properties will be available for inspection Saturday.

SPRINGFIELD – Twenty-five city owned properties will be up for auction Tuesday at the Good Life Center, 1600 East Columbus Ave.

Registration begins at 5 p.m.; the auction starts at 6 p.m. Properties will be available for inspection Saturday.

Residential properties include: 31 Varney St.; 327-329 Bay St.; 37-39 Leslie St.; 162 Tyler St.; 81 Leavitt St.; 23 Middle St.; 791 Worthington St.; 1112 Worcester St.; 80 Bowles St.

Also featured will be residential lots on the west side of Fairhaven Drive, Lancashire Road, Bowles Street, Buckingham Street, Northampton Street and two on Sylvester Street; lots on the north side of Fernald Street and Putnam Street; the south side of Wilbraham Road and south east side of Berkshire Avenue will also be up for auction.

Commercial properties at 1739 State St. and the rear of 1739 State St.; 234-262 Liberty St.; and two on the north side of Liberty will also be featured.

Treasurer-Collector Stephen Lonergan said the auctions allow properties taken by the city to be returned to the tax rolls while offering prospective buyers properties at bargain rates.

The auction will be conducted by Springfield-based Aaron Posnik and Co. Inc.

For details and inspection times on Saturday, visit http://www.posnik.com/html14/061714r/061714r.htm

Councilors vowed to keep inquiring into the Heather Egan $45,000 exit agreement.

Updated at 7:33 p.m. Friday, June 13, 2014 to include comments from Councilor Peter Tallman.

HOLYOKE -- Secrecy and subterfuge were among descriptions city councilors used Friday to describe Mayor Alex B. Morse's refusal to disclose why former solicitor Heather G. Egan was given a $45,000 exit agreement when she quit April 29.

Councilors were asked for their reactions a day after the city Law Department responded to a request from MassLive.com and The Republican for all documents related to the Egan exit agreement by providing only 24 pages that were mostly blacked out and failed to say why Egan was paid the money.

Kara Lamb Cunha, second assistant city solicitor, said some of the withholding and redactions were made to protect attorney-client privilege between Morse and the Springfield law firm of Sullivan, Hayes & Quinn, which worked on the Egan exit agreement.

Also, Cunha said, emails the news outlets requested between Morse and Egan constitute "personnel and medical files or information" and "other materials or data relating to a specifically named individual, the disclosure of which may constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy."

Egan, who headed the Law Department for just over a year, resigned for personal reasons, Morse has said.

Councilors said taxpayers deserve better answers from officials than that about how their money was spent.

Council President Kevin A. Jourdain: "No mayor should ever give away city money under a veil of secrecy. To use as a defense that he needs the veil, proves the point that a deal like this should have never been approved. We all work for the taxpayers and the minute we think we can keep them in the dark is the minute the public loses control of their own government. It is why the council is continuing the inquiry. It is also why I am working quickly to make sure deals like these are illegal in Holyoke."

Councilor at Large Daniel B. Bresnahan: "The mayor and the Law Department know exactly why Heather Egan left and it was not due to personnel reasons or medical reasons, as they are claiming. The taxpayers are smarter than the mayor and Law Department thinks we are. It is clear that Heather Egan understood her role as city solicitor. She represented the city of Holyoke and not the mayor, a lesson I think both the Law Department needs as well as Sullivan, Hayes & Quinn. Ms. Egan was not the mayor's personal attorney.

"It is also clear by reading the exit agreement that Ms. Egan must have been put in a situation by the mayor that was either illegal or unethical, and Ms. Egan called him on it and she made the right call. Why else would she get a severance package as well as a signed agreement not to sue?

"Rest assured this is not a political shot as I am sure the mayor will say. This is about taxpayers' money being wasted on the mayor's mistakes, and his ability to continue to open the city of Holyoke to legal liability.

"I continue to be hopeful that the veil of secrecy and subterfuge that the mayors office lives by will one day be lifted so that the taxpayers of Holyoke will once again have the ability to put out trust in our mayor and our mayor's actions."

Councilor at Large James M. Leahy: "The functions of the executive branch, the legislative branch and the administration are clearly outlined in the city charter and ordinances. While the mayor possesses the executive function he does not have the administration function established for the autonomous position as city solicitor.

"In the absence of a city solicitor there exists a clear void that can only be filled by executive and legislative actions , the appointment of a city solicitor. The executive can not authorize , under the charter or ordinance, to assume the administrative function established for the position of city solicitor.

"In addition, even if authorized the mayor does not possess the required skill or background to step into that role. Therefore a legislative dilemma exits where the mayor should have come in front of the legislative body to fill the position. I am interested in the thoughts of my peers on the Honorable City Council as whether we should seek insurance reimbursement for improper legal advice given to the mayor or any other city official pertaining to this matter which resulted in an unprecedented $45,000 buyout."

Councilor at Large Peter R. Tallman: "I guess one of the questions people keep asking is, why? What is the reason (for the exit agreement)? I'm just really disappointed we haven't been able to find out. As elected officials, we should know. I understand attorney-client privilege. The attorney, they're supposed to represent the city, too. I think we should have some answers. We as a City Council should have some answers. I'm just disappointed. My constituents stop me on the street and at Stop & Shop and say, 'Have you found anything out yet?' And I say, no, I'm not hiding anything from you. We just don't know."

Morse's response: "As mayor I have to make tough decisions everyday, including ones that may be unpopular with the council. The terms of the agreement do not allow me to go into further detail about Ms. Egan's separation from employment. It amazes me that members of a body that have criticized mayoral administrations for years, for legal battles over personnel matters, are goading me into exposing the city of Holyoke to potential liability. I would ask what any of these councilors would do if they were in my shoes?

"Also, there is a legal opinion that confirms I acted within the bounds of my authority and the funds were already in the budget and did not require council approval."

Details will be added to this story as reporting continues.

Selectman want to hear from the existing license holders on the issue.

LUDLOW - Selectmen say they favor holding a public hearing to consider making more liquor licenses available in town.

“I would like to hear from the existing license holders,” said Selectman Carmina Fernandes.

Gov. Deval Patrick has proposed to eliminate the cap on liquor licenses in communities around the state. Currently, the licenses are capped by population.

With the support of Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, state Rep. Russell Holmes, D-Boston, and Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley have made the case that the cap should be lifted and turn full control over the licensing process to the city’s Licensing Board as a method for revitalizing certain neighborhoods.

Patrick has filed an economic development bill that includes proposals for tax incentives for workforce training and housing, innovation initiatives and the proposal to turn over full control of the liquor licensing process to local authorities.

Selectman Brian Mannix said he opposes more liquor licenses in town, but he said he would like to hear from liquor license holders.

Mannix said he thinks the town has enough liquor licenses.

Mannix said the one exception he might make is the Ludlow Mills industrial area.

“I would like to hear from the businesses and residents,” Fernandes said. She said she thinks the market in Ludlow may already be saturated.

The Board of Selectmen voted 4 to 0 to schedule a public hearing to get public input on the issue.

Selectmen said they also want to hear from the Police and Fire Departments on the issue.

A public hearing has not been scheduled yet.

In addition, there will be no parking on Chapel Street or on Maple Street leading up to Cottage Street.

EASTHAMPTON - A section of Cottage Street will be closed to traffic all day Saturday for the Cultural Chaos street festival, and motorists traveling Route 141 should expect to see a detour.

According to police, Cottage Street between Maple and Orchard streets will be blocked off to traffic from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. There will also be no on-street parking along the same section.

In addition, there will be no parking on Chapel Street or on Maple Street leading up to Cottage Street.

Cultural Chaos, sponsored by the Cottage Street Cultural District, is a street festival featuring music, food and entertainment throughout the day.

Cottage Street, also known as Route 141, is the main road connecting Holyoke with downtown Easthampton.

“The commission is supposed to be a watchdog for the industry, but it’s really a pampered lap dog,” Grant said.

MGM Resorts International awarded casino license for Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD – No Casino Springfield, a local anti-casino group, expressed dismay Friday at the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s decision to award MGM Resorts International a casino license in Springfield.

The commission voted 5-0 to designate MGM as the sole recipient of a casino license in Western Mass. under one of two scenarios. If the Supreme Judicial Court rules that a ballot question repealing the casino law is illegal, MGM will receive the license the next day.

If the court allows the question to proceed, MGM would be granted the license the day after the election on Nov. 5, assuming that voters don’t repeal the law.

During meetings this week at the MassMutual Center, Gaming Commission members lavished praise on MGM officials, speaking in favor of the thoroughness of their planning, efforts to fit into the city's streetscape, employment plans and proposals to boost other entertainment venues.

Alex J. Grant, Longmeadow select board member of No Casino Springfield, said the commission’s decision lacks credibility.

“The Gaming Commission is bankrolled by the casino applicants, and the casino money allows the commission members to enjoy lavish dinners and luxury hotels,” Grant said.

“The commission is supposed to be a watchdog for the industry, but it’s really a pampered lap dog,” he added.

No Casino Springfield contends that the commission was determined to award a license to MGM project regardless of its impact on surrounding communities.

The group is part of Repeal the Casino Deal, a statewide coalition of anti-casino advocates. The local casino opponents helped to defeat proposals in West Springfield and Holyoke, and also backed anti-casino resolutions approved in Longmeadow and East Longmeadow.

Grant has also questioned the commission’s downplaying of concerns about MGM’s connection to Pansy Ho, the daughter of Stanley Ho of Macau, China.

“The state of New Jersey found that MGM’s connection to Pansy Ho disqualified MGM from doing business in New Jersey,” he said.

“It just shows how compromised the commission is and how the gaming law is not working out as planned,” he said.

Grant urged area residents to support the Repeal the Casino Deal effort and vote to repeal the casino legislation in November.

President Barack Obama on Friday became only the fourth sitting U.S. president to set foot in Indian Country, encountering both the wonder of Native American culture and the struggle of tribal life on a breeze-whipped afternoon on the prairie. Amid snapping flags and colorful, feathered dancers, Obama declared that there was more the U.S. could do to help Native Americans.

CANNON BALL, N.D. -- President Barack Obama on Friday became only the fourth sitting U.S. president to set foot in Indian Country, encountering both the wonder of Native American culture and the struggle of tribal life on a breeze-whipped afternoon on the prairie. Amid snapping flags and colorful, feathered dancers, Obama declared that there was more the U.S. could do to help Native Americans.

Obama drew attention to inroads made by his administration in Indian Country even as he promoted the need to help reservations create jobs, strengthen justice, and improve health and education.

"Young people should be able to live, and work, and raise a family right here in the land of your fathers and mothers," Obama told a crowd of about 1,800 during a Flag Day Celebration at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

Citing legendary tribal chief Sitting Bull, Obama said: "Let's put our minds together to build more economic opportunity in Indian country. Because every American, including every Native American, deserves a chance to work hard and get ahead."

The president and first lady arrived by helicopter as native songs and dances at the Flag Day Celebration were already underway. The couple first met privately with tribal youth about their challenges growing up on the reservation that was home to Sitting Bull.

Today, the 2.3 million-acre reservation is home to about 850 residents who struggle with a lack of housing, health care and education, among other problems familiar on reservations nationwide. The Bureau of Indian Affairs reported in January that about 63 percent of able workers on Standing Rock were unemployed.

With Native American poverty and unemployment more than double the U.S. average, Obama promoted initiatives to spur tribal development and create new markets for Native American products and services. The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Friday that it would make $70 million available to improve tribal housing conditions, including money for mold removal.

The proposed budget includes adoption of a local meals tax and a two-percent increase in hotel occupancy tax.

WESTFIELD — The full City Council is set to weigh in on the city's proposed $132 million Fiscal 2015 budget next week.

The council's Finance Committee completed its departmental review of the spending plan Thursday and will refer the budget to the full council Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. Final council action is set for Thursday when the City Council meets in regular session.

The three-member Finance Committee gave no indication of any potential reductions in the budget and any such action will come at Wednesday's committee-of-the-whole session. The full council can cut, but not add, to the budget recommended by Mayor Daniel M. Knapik.

In a related matter, Knapik has posted a budget message to Westfield residents on the homepage of the city's website (the message can be read at the end of this article). In it, the mayor explains his budget philosophy. He also takes the opportunity to criticize the state for falling to share increased state revenue with cities and towns, saying "local government has been left behind by the Commonwealth." Knapik points out the state budget will "again grow" by nearly 5 percent, but state aid to Westfield has increase by only 0.1 percent, or about $45,000.

School officials say Chapter 70 state education funding has increase only 0.5 percent for the new year. Chapter 70 funding to Westfield beginning July 1 is estimated at $33.2 million. The school budget next year stands at $57 million.

Finance Committee chairman Christoper Keefe said the full budget will again be up for review, involving the full council Wednesday and the council will take its official action on the document Thursday. Joining Keefe on the committee are Councilors Christopher M. Crean and Robert A. Paul Sr.

Other councilors who attended most, if not, all four Finance Committee budget reviews were Mary L. O'Connell, David A. Flaherty, Dan Allie, Matthew T. VanHeynigen, Ralph J. Figy and James R. Adams.

While finance members offered not specific reductions, there was interesting discussion with various department heads concerning revenue and cooperation among departments in related areas such as clerical support and technology sharing.

Paul urged School Department officials on Thursday night to prepare a capital funding request focusing on technology needs especially at lower performing schools.

The city spent $2 million about six years ago to upgrade technology at middle and high schools here, but no upgrade has been done at the elementary level.

Earlier, Paul raised issue with a $323,000 contract for energy management services to be provided by Siemen's Energy. His concern was the amount of the contract and that the service was not subjected to competitive bidding.

But City Purchaser Tammy Tefft explained that Siemen's was responsible for installation of more than $23 million in energy equipment to both schools and city buildings during the past few years and the management contract covers maintenance requirements outlined in equipment warranty requirements.

The city has some 1,500 pieces of energy equipment located in 23 buildings and city maintenance of that equipment would amount to about $123,000 for school buildings and another $99,000 for city buildings. The Siemen's management contract covers a five-year period providing funding is available.

In addition to the $57 million for schools, the mayor has requested $117.7 million to operate municipal government for the new year, along with $14 million for revenue-generating departments like ambulance, water and waste water management. The city side of the budget is up about $3 million over the current year and maintains all current city employees and taxpayer services and programs.

The budget includes adoption of a local meals tax and a 2 percent increase in hotel occupancy that will generated an estimated $340,000 in additional city revenue.

To balance the budget, Knapik plans to use $2 million in available free cash. Westfield currently has about $7 million in stabilization and free cash accounts.

Mayor Budget Message FY 2015

Following a prolonged, expensive and complicated process, MGM Resorts International on Friday became the first company to be granted a license to open a casino in Massachusetts. Watch video

SPRINGFIELD — Following a prolonged, expensive and complicated process, MGM Resorts International on Friday became the first company to be granted a license to open a casino in Massachusetts.

But the official license won't be granted for some time as there is still a chance that the 2011 Expanded Gaming Act, which invited casino companies into the Commonwealth to do business, could be repealed.

On Friday, the five-person Massachusetts Gaming Commission unanimously voted to enter into an agreement with MGM Springfield designating it the recipient of the sole Western Mass. casino license under one of two potential timelines. If the Supreme Judicial Court decides a ballot question repealing the casino law is illegal, MGM gets the license the next day. If the court allows the question to proceed, MGM would be granted the license the day after the election on Nov. 5, assuming that voters don't vote to kill the law.

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno thanked the commission Friday morning for a "transparent" and "thorough" process which brought the first casino license to Western Mass.

"I very much appreciate you all coming out to Springfield many times throughout the process," Sarno told the commission. "MGM is a world class company. They have been very genuine and humble, and integrated their project with the mosaic of the history of this great city. As we move forward to bring down crime and poverty rates you need jobs. For construction, this will bring thousands of jobs and when open, there are thousands more. This is a win for the city of Springfield and a pivotal time in the city."

MGM CEO Jim Murren addressed the commission, also thanking them for all the process that brought them to this point.

"We are a company that travels and operates around the world and we have a perspective I think it's important to share. This process has been thoughtful and thorough," Murren said. "I've never seen a more robust investigative process in my career. We commend you for that. The application was 7,000 pages long and the commission pored over every page and challenged us on every assumption. I'm sure that not only our project but others in the Commonwealth will benefit from that level of care."

Murren also thanked Sarno and MGM's partner in the project, Paul Picknelly.

"His enthusiasm is infectious. His steadfast support of the city is unparalleled," Murren said. "He had me early on because if anyone has been involved in any type of complicated project you need strong partners. Paul is that partner."

Michael Mathis, MGM Springfield president, said that the company is grateful for the commission's decision and thankful for the supporters who helped them get to this point.

"Today’s decision says yes to jobs, yes to downtown revitalization, and yes to opportunity and hope. We have been, and will continue to be, a committed partner to the City and the Commonwealth," Mathis said. "We have worked hard to develop the strong relationships necessary to create a world-class urban casino resort proposal that will anchor a renaissance for an important Gateway City and the region around it. We now look forward to that becoming a reality."

This artist rendering shows the proposed hotel tower of the $800 million MGM Springfield casino the company aims to build on 14.5 acres of land in the South End of the city.

Steve Crosby, the chairman of the commission, said it is important to note that "we are not advocated of casino gaming," but rather stewards of a process laid out by the Legislature.

"This process has embodied the spirit of the governor and the Legislature when they wrote the law," Crosby said. "We're proud of that."

When Murren was asked just how MGM intends to compete with the two already open Connecticut casinos and the New York casinos being considered, he said that it will be relatively easy because of MGM's standards.

"We can out-entertain anyone in this industry, and certainly in Connecticut," Murren said. "I feel very confident that given our plan and our location, we will not only bring the money back to Massachusetts but we'll get some of that Connecticut money up here."

MGM on Wednesday accepted six conditions placed on the license by the commission, including requirements to:

• Make sure the parking garage and all of the Union Street facades jibe well with already existing structures in the neighborhood, as it does on the Bliss Street side of the site.
• Coordinate with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the Trial Court of the Commonwealth and other interested parties to mitigate issues during the construction phase.
• Report to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission once a general contractor is chosen for the construction of its $800 million facility.
• Report to the gaming commission the general contractor's comprehensive Affirmative Action hiring plan and provide the local MGM affirmative action plan for hiring.
• Report to the gaming commission on any negotiated leases with local and regional businesses regarding them renting space within the MGM entertainment complex.
• Report to the gaming commission on the number of Springfield employees which have been hired to make up the 35 percent pledge as outlined in the Host Community Agreement.

But the company's concern remained with the $85 million licensing fee which must be paid within 30 days of receiving the license, and potentially losing several other costs associated with moving the project forward.

Mathis has said that if the Supreme Judicial Court allows the ballot question to proceed, it will delay construction on its estimated $825 million casino on 14.5 acres in Springfield's South End and provoke the company into a marketing campaign to again win the votes of the citizens of the Commonwealth.

Sarno said that if the ballot question is allowed to proceed, the city will partner with MGM to "make sure the public is educated as to the economic benefits of this project."

Murren said he doesn't feel the ballot question should proceed since the law is settled, but that if it does, MGM will once again fight to win the hearts and minds of not just the citizens of the city, but across the Commonwealth.

"You've withstood so many challenges here in Springfield and with that tragedy of the tornado comes an opportunity for rebirth and renewal," Murren said. "We look forward to welcoming 3,000 new employees to the MGM family."

The group pursuing the ballot question repealing the gaming law, Repeal the Casino Deal, has been busy collecting the additional 11,485 signatures needed to maintain its viability since the Legislature didn't act on it by the first Wednesday of May, in accordance with state law.

The chairman of the group, John Ribeiro, said earlier this week that their efforts will continue. "The Gaming Commission may approve of the MGM casino after this Soviet-style voting with one applicant but we are confident the people do not and the people’s voices can and should be heard," Riberio said.

Since Crosby's arrival at the meeting on Friday was delayed by car troubles on the MassPike, a reporter asked him if he thought the incident happening on Friday the 13th ahead of licensing was a bad sign.

"We got all the bad luck out of the way early," Crosby said.

MGM Springfield, following the vote on Friday, held an appreciation luncheon for supporters as both pro and anti-casino folks await a decision by the state's highest court, which is slated to be handed down by July 9 at the latest.

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, who is staying neutral in the 2014 race for governor, on Saturday released his delegates for most of the competitive races at the Democratic Convention in Worcester, while endorsing Warren Tolman for attorney general.

WORCESTER — Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, who is staying neutral in the 2014 race for governor, on Saturday released his delegates for most of the competitive races at the Democratic Convention in Worcester, while endorsing Warren Tolman for attorney general.

The mayor, a Dorchester Democrat and former union chief who served in the House for 16 years, controls about 310 delegates. In a closed-door meeting in the DCU Center before the convention got underway, Walsh told delegates he is not taking a position in the races for governor, lieutenant governor and treasurer.

“What that means is….if you have relationships out there, you like somebody, you vote your conscience, you vote the way you want to vote,” Walsh said. “I don’t want to get into the game of trying to shift 100 people over to this person so they can make the ballot. We are not getting involved with that today because there are great candidates running for governor, there are great candidates running for all of the races out there.”

When he was told to vote for candidates in past conventions, “I never would,” Walsh said to laughter. “I’ve never liked that,” Walsh added.

But Walsh endorsed Tolman and asked delegates – “if you could,” he said – to support him as Tolman looks to face off against fellow Democrat Maura Healey in the primary. Walsh said the race has “two exceptional candidates.”

Tolman, a former state senator who is the brother of labor leader Steve Tolman, backed Walsh during the 2013 mayor’s race. Joining Walsh inside the room were a number of Boston-based politicians, including Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry, interim Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins, and City Councilors Frank Baker of Dorchester and Stephen Murphy of Hyde Park.

After the meeting, Walsh headed back to Boston to march in the gay pride parade, which this year fell on the same day as the convention.

The delegates will vote later today with the candidates receiving at least 15 percent of the vote moving on to compete in the September primary.

While many of his colleagues have leapt into the race for governor, taking sides among the five Democrats competing for ballot access Saturday, DeLeo is staying out for now.

WORCESTER — With Gov. Deval Patrick and Senate President Therese Murray on the way out on Beacon Hill, House Speaker Robert DeLeo, who has one full term left in the House’s big chair, looms as a potential partner, or adversary, for the new governor and the more liberal incoming Senate president, Stanley Rosenberg.

While many of his colleagues have leapt into the race for governor, taking sides among the five Democrats competing for ballot access Saturday, DeLeo is staying out for now.

Asked Friday night who he would be voting for, DeLeo said, “Good night.”

On the convention floor Saturday, DeLeo declined comment on the specific proposals offered to date by the five candidates who have been touting their progressive credentials and calling for major investments, including a reopening of the debate over spending on infrastructure and transportation.

The delegates will vote later today with the candidates receiving at least 15 percent of the vote moving on to compete in the September primary.

Spending on veterans' health care could double in three years under the Senate's solution to the long waits experienced by thousands seeking medical care at VA hospitals and clinics, according to congressional budget experts. Analyzing a bill the Senate passed overwhelmingly last Wednesday, the Congressional Budget Office estimates the measure would add $35 billion over the next three years to the $44 billion the government now spends annually on medical care for veterans.

WASHINGTON -- Spending on veterans' health care could double in three years under the Senate's solution to the long waits experienced by thousands seeking medical care at VA hospitals and clinics, according to congressional budget experts.

Analyzing a bill the Senate passed overwhelmingly last Wednesday, the Congressional Budget Office estimates the measure would add $35 billion over the next three years to the $44 billion the government now spends annually on medical care for veterans.

Both the Senate bill and a House version also passed this past week would dramatically expand government-paid health care. They would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to pay private providers to treat qualifying veterans who can't get prompt appointments at the VA's nearly 1,000 hospitals and outpatient clinics or who live at least 40 miles from one of them.

Once the program was fully in place, the budget office said it expected that veterans "would ultimately seek additional care that would cost the federal government about $50 billion a year" -- double current spending, the report said.

The bills are Congress's response to a growing uproar over patients dying while awaiting VA treatment and mounting evidence that workers falsified or omitted appointment schedules to mask frequent, long delays. The resulting election-year firestorm forced VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to resign two weeks ago.

An audit released last week showed that more than 57,000 veterans have had to wait at least three months for initial appointments. An additional 64,000 veterans who asked for appointments over the past decade never got them.

The VA has confirmed that at least 35 veterans died while awaiting appointments at VA facilities in the Phoenix area, although officials say they can't say whether not getting VA treatment caused any of the deaths.

More than 8 million of the nation's 21 million veterans are now enrolled in VA health care although only about 6.5 million seek VA treatment every year. The CBO analysts said VA now covers about 30 percent, or an average $5,200, of those veterans' annual health care costs, excluding long-term care.

The Senate bill would open up VA health care to as many as 8 million veterans who now qualify for VA health care but have not enrolled, the budget office said. By making it easier to get outside care, the Senate bill and a companion measure in the House also would encourage veterans to seek VA coverage for a bigger portion of their health care, the report said.

Both bills would make it easier to fire or demote senior agency officials, and both would end bonuses to regional VA officials and other administrators based on meeting patient scheduling goals -- a practice investigators say led some officials to create phony waiting lists to "game" the system.

But the Senate bill also would devote at least $1 billion to leasing 26 facilities in 17 states and Puerto Rico for use as new VA hospitals or clinics and $500 more million for hiring more VA doctors and nurses. Declaring the long appointment waits an emergency, the Senate averted having to raise taxes or find spending cuts elsewhere to cover the bill's costs.

"By resorting to abusing the emergency escape clause, Washington is once again looking for the easy way out," said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Center for a Responsible Federal Budget, a bipartisan policy group devoted to cutting federal deficits.

MacGuineas' group criticized the Senate's bill in a lengthy blog post after it passed, saying it would swell the government's debt by creating a new unfunded entitlement program bigger than Congress's expansion of Medicare in 2003 to cover prescription drugs.

"We can't just write a blank check and think it will solve these problems," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., one of three senators who voted against the bill. He said "veterans deserve better than that."

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., one of the bill's authors, lashed back: "If it is not an emergency that we have neglected the brave men and women who have served this country and keep us free, then I do not know what an emergency is."

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, said the bill was expensive, but so were the wars that veterans have served in. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan alone will have cost at least $3 trillion, he said.

"If we can spend that kind of money to go to war ... surely we can spend (less than) 1 percent of that amount to take care of the men and women who fought those wars," he said.

The CBO did not provide a complete cost estimate on the House bill, which includes no provisions for new hospitals or clinics or hiring more VA doctors and nurses.

Both measures would spend billions to provide outside care for veterans, although the House would require Congress to appropriate money for it each year.

House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., said Congress would have to cover the costs, but he didn't know where the money would come from.

"We'll have to find a way," he told reporters after the Senate bill passed. "It's not going to be cheap. We know it."

Miller also said there would be negotiations with the Senate over final legislation. "We're not just accepting the Senate bill," he said.

Sanders was optimistic that a quick deal could be reached. "I've worked with Jeff Miller. I think we can work things out," he said.

Thousands of Shiites from Baghdad and across southern Iraq answered an urgent call to arms Saturday, joining security forces to fight the Islamic militants who have captured large swaths of territory north of the capital and now imperil a city with a much-revered religious shrine.

BAGHDAD -- Thousands of Shiites from Baghdad and across southern Iraq answered an urgent call to arms Saturday, joining security forces to fight the Islamic militants who have captured large swaths of territory north of the capital and now imperil a city with a much-revered religious shrine.

The mobilization, urged by the nation's top Shiite cleric, took on a sectarian dimension that threatened to intensify Sunni-Shiite strife in a nation already ripped by religious fervor after the militants' battlefield successes.

In Baghdad, fallout from the stunning advance in the north was beginning to affect daily life for the city's 7 million inhabitants.

Some food prices rose dramatically. Army troops went house-to-house searching for militants and weapons in neighborhoods close to vital government installations. The streets of the capital were quieter than usual, and military and police checkpoints made extra efforts to check cars and passenger IDs.

The price hikes were partly the result of transportation disruptions on the main road linking the capital with provinces to the north, but they might also be a telltale sign of a nervous city.

"We were not prepared for this sudden spike in the prices of foodstuff, vegetables and fuel," said Yasser Abbas, a government employee from Baghdad's sprawling eastern Sadr City district.

"I do not know how the poor people in Baghdad will manage their life in the coming days. God be with them until this crisis is over because hunger is as dangerous as bullets."

In the meantime, dozens of men climbed into the back of army trucks at volunteer centers, chanting Shiite religious slogans, hoisting assault rifles and pledging to join the nation's beleaguered security forces to battle the Sunni militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL.

"By God's will, we will be victorious." said one volunteer, Ali Saleh Aziz. "We will not be stopped by the ISIL or any other terrorists."

The volunteers were first taken to an assembly center in eastern Baghdad, where they were handed military uniforms, and later went to Taji, home of Iraq's largest military base north of Baghdad, to undergo basic training. State-run television aired footage of the volunteers being drilled, still in their civilian clothes.

The mobilization unfolded against a backdrop of religious and nationalist fervor. State-run television aired a constant flow of nationalist songs, clips of soldiers marching or singing, as well as interviews with troops vowing to crush the militants. Other broadcasts included archival clips of the nation's top Shiite clerics and aerial shots of Shiite shrines.

Shiite cleric and political leader Ammar al-Hakim was shown on television networks donning camouflaged military fatigues as he spoke to volunteers from his party, although he still wore his clerical black turban that designates him as a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite widely resented by Sunnis for his perceived sectarian policies, denied the call by the Iranian-born Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani was directed against Sunnis, saying it was in fact meant to protect the country and its holy shrines.

"Talk of Sunnis and Shiites must be dropped," he said, calling for the unity of all Iraqis.

Many volunteers, however, said they had enlisted to protect their faith and shrines at risk in the city of Samarra north of Baghdad and elsewhere. The militants have threatened to march all the way south to the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, home to two of the most revered Shiite shrines.

Al-Maliki himself appeared to give the standoff with ISIL a sectarian color, paying a surprise visit to Samarra on Friday and appearing on state-run television while praying there. The shrine was badly damaged in a bombing blamed on Sunni extremists in 2006. That attack sparked a wave of bloodletting between Sunnis and Shiites that lasted two years. The bloodshed ebbed in 2008 after the U.S. troop surge, a revolt by moderate Sunnis against al-Qaida in Iraq and a Shiite militia cease-fire.

The footage seemed clearly aimed at rehabilitating his reputation in the eyes of Shiites as a protector of the faith and its followers. He also declared that Samarra would be the assembly point for the march north to drive out the militants, another apparent religious incentive to Shiites.

On Saturday evening, a dozen armed militiamen got off a bus on a main central Baghdad road and chanted Shiite slogans before driving away.

Fighters from the al-Qaida splinter group, drawing support from former Saddam Hussein-era figures and other disaffected Sunnis, have made dramatic gains in the Sunni heartland north of Baghdad after overrunning Iraq's second-largest city of Mosul on Tuesday. Soldiers and policemen have melted away in the face of the lightning advance, and thousands have fled to the self-ruling Kurdish region in northern Iraq.

On Saturday, insurgents seized the small town of Adeim in Diyala province after Iraqi security forces pulled out, said the head of the municipal council, Mohammed Dhifan. Adeim is about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad. There was no official confirmation of the loss of the town.

Jawad al-Bolani, a lawmaker and former Cabinet minister close to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said a military offensive was underway Saturday to drive the insurgents from Tikrit, Saddam's hometown north of Baghdad, although fighting in the area could not be confirmed.

Major-General Qassim al-Moussawi, spokesman for the Iraqi military's commander in chief, said Iraq's armed forces have "regained the initiative" in the north and northeast, blunting ISIL advances and regaining control of some localities.

As President Barack Obama considers possible military options for Iraq, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush to move from the northern Arabian Sea into the Persian Gulf. The carrier was to be accompanied by two guided-missile ships.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Saturday that his Shiite nation stands ready to help Iraq if asked, adding that it has "no option but to confront terrorism."

He said Iran would "study if there is a demand for help from Iraq" but that no specific request for assistance had been made.

Entry of Iranian forces into Iraq "has not been raised so far," and "it's unlikely that such conditions will emerge," he added.

Iran has built close political and economic ties with Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam's Sunni-led regime.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Attorney General Maratha Coakley explained her reasoning for addressing her failed 2010 run for the US Senate to reporters in a brief scrum while delegates began voting.

WORCESTER — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Attorney General Maratha Coakley explained her reasoning for addressing her failed 2010 run for the U.S. Senate to reporters in a brief scrum while delegates began voting.

Coakley said that she had to address her 2010 loss to Scott Brown given the nature of the room she was in because many activists at the convention probably worked on her campaign.

"I just felt it was really important to say today that was really tough for people, it was a heartbreak, not just for Democrats in Massachusetts but the whole country, and I thought it was best to deal with it in this group up front and say I know everybody suffered, I did, we got back to work and we have got to get back to work now," said Coakley.

Coakley said that she expects her 2010 run to come up again on the campaign trail.

"I think people will still ask and address it," said Coakley, adding that she just needs to continue working and knocking on doors to prove to people she has learned from her 2010 loss.

The situation is different now, though, because the 2014 campaign for governor is a marathon unlike the 2010 sprint for U.S. Senate.

"We have a longer race and more time to build the grassroots, I certainly know that's how we win in Massachusetts," said Coakley.

Event coordinator Bill Goodwin, of Plant City, Fla., said the event drew 1,500 registrants who wanted to show the world the fruits of their labor.

WEST SPRINGFIELD - Car enthusiasts will find a little slice of heaven on the grounds of the Eastern States Exposition this Father's Day weekend.

Muscle cars, street rods, restored rides and custom cars were parked along the grounds as far as the eye could see for the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association three-day car show. The expo began on Friday and will conclude Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Event coordinator Bill Goodwin, of Plant City, Fla., said the event drew 1,500 registrants who wanted to show the world the fruits of their labor. In the "Homebuilt Heaven" area this was particularly true.

"These guys sandblast it, take it apart and put it all back together with restored stuff or new stuff," said Goodwin, an insurance agency owner who built a 10-car garage for himself and has seven vehicles inside including a vintage Corvette and his personal favorite - a mid-1950s Chevy.

The latter is the vintage he courted his high school sweetheart and now-wife in.

Butch Macchio, of Stamford, Conn., walked away with an "Award of Excellence" for his sleek black 1940 Ford Coupe. Driven only about 2,000 miles per year, Macchio said he bought the car 15 years ago. The trigger?

"When my kids finished college - that's where the tuition went," said Macchio, who also owns a 1931 Roadster.

Like Goodwin, most "car guys" own a couple of gems. And, the culture isn't just for "car guys" anymore, he said.

"This year 10 percent of our registered cars are owned by women, which we're really proud of," Goodwin said.

The event includes an Autocross and auto pit, where cars are checked for safety while entrants roar around a slalom course nearby. The event also featured a "Mightly Muscle" area and "Canadian Corral" for registrants to the North. While Sunday will feature the "winner's circle" of entrants, Goodwin said the only requirement to feature a car at the expo is desire and an entrance fee.

Of course, organizers did publish a few "golden rules" including no burn-outs or flame throwers, and driving at a safe speed when not on the autocross. Also, entrants must drive their cars to and from the events.

"Trailers are for horses and trash," Goodwin said.

The event also includes live music. The awards show will kick off at 2:22 p.m.

While the military has long had family legacies -- and featured them prominently in Father's Day celebrations -- the Harkins' achievements stand out. Capt. Charles Emmons, a spokesman for the brigade, said it appears to be the first time a father and son have commanded the same unit decades apart.

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. -- Like many soldiers, Lt. Col. Patrick Harkins has a veteran father who knows firsthand the stress of wartime deployments. One big difference is that Harkins' dad led the very same unit of paratroopers known as the Iron Rakkasans into combat decades earlier.

While the military has long had family legacies -- and featured them prominently in Father's Day celebrations -- the Harkins' achievements stand out. Capt. Charles Emmons, spokesman for the brigade, said it appears to be the first time a father and son have commanded the same unit decades apart.

Patrick Harkins, 41, has led the 3rd Battalion of the 187th Infantry Regiment into combat in Iraq and Afghanistan four times since Sept. 11, 2001. His father, retired Col. Bob Harkins, led the same regiment four decades ago in Vietnam during Operation Apache Snow, more commonly known as the Battle of Hamburger Hill.

"It's a really unique situation," Emmons said.

The family legacy reaches back to World War II. Patrick Harkins' grandfather, Sgt. Clyde Patrick Harkins, served with the 279th Combat Engineers and was attached to the 101st Airborne Division, which also contains the Rakkasans. He was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge and later died of his injuries. Patrick Harkins' brother, Army Lt. Col. Gregory Harkins, 43, is stationed in Italy.

Bob Harkins, 71, is proud that his sons followed in his footsteps, but that doesn't mean he doesn't worry about the pair, who requested that they not serve together.

"I told them if they ever got hurt, I'd kick their butts," Bob Harkins said. "Do I worry about them? Absolutely."

Bob Harkins was commissioned as an Army lieutenant upon graduating from Ohio State University in 1965. He lobbied to be deployed to Vietnam because he didn't want to wait.

"I figured I might as well get serving," Bob Harkins said.

For Patrick Harkins, the military seemed like a natural fit after seeing his father spend decades as a soldier and "the fun side" of the Army that "looked cool as a kid," such as seeing his dad in uniform and shooting large weapons during training exercises.

The family moved eight times from military post to military post by Patrick Harkins' 18th birthday, which he saw as an adventure.

"It would be two years and I'd be like, 'Isn't it time for a yard sale?'" Patrick Harkins said.

Patrick Harkins, who said he wouldn't require his own children to join the military, said his father told him and his brother that they needed to engage in some kind of public service, but it didn't have to be the Army.

"I think it was just a natural progression," said Patrick Harkins, while sitting in his office, which is decorated with blue-and-white flags and commendations from the Rakkasans.

The unit earned its nickname from a Japanese translator after World War II who couldn't immediately come up with the word for airborne unit so used called them "rakkasan," or "falling down umbrella men." Paratroopers drop into areas not easily accessible by land or to avoid enemy fortifications, sometimes in advance of land forces also fighting in the battle.

The Rakkasans have received multiple unit citations for their service in every war since World War II.

After the initial overseas tour, Patrick Harkins returned stateside to help run several training regimens for soldiers and worked his way up to leading the Iron Rakkasans at Fort Campbell, the sprawling military post on the Kentucky-Tennessee state line.

When Bob Harkins first found out Patrick Harkins would lead the Rakkasans into a combat zone, he was both proud and worried.

"I was very proud of him when he took them into combat," said Bob Harkins, who observed his sons' careers from the sidelines in retirement. "You never want to see your son go into combat, but he was ready."

The younger Harkins' posts around the globe have included a stint at a military adviser in northeastern Iraq near the borders with Syria and Turkey and work with the 25th Infantry working on rebuilding the Golden Mosque, which had been destroyed by insurgents in Samarra, Iraq.

Since then, father and son have worked together to organize reunions of the soldiers who fought at Hamburger Hill and use the Vietnam veterans to assist current soldiers in dealing with the stresses of military life and time in combat.

It's their way of extending the military family idea to soldiers who may need someone who can relate to their experiences.

It's a task he juggles while preparing for another deployment later this year.

"This is a proud, proud unit," Patrick Harkins says as his father nods in agreement. "One should be proud, but one should never be satisfied. I expect more tomorrow."

The IRS said Lois Lerner's computer crashed in 2011, wiping out an untold number of emails that were being sought by congressional investigators. The investigators want to see all of Lerner's emails from 2009 to 2013 as part of their probe into the way agents handled applications for tax-exempt status by tea party and other conservative groups.

WASHINGTON -- Congressional investigators are fuming over revelations that the Internal Revenue Service has lost a trove of emails to and from a central figure in the agency's tea party controversy.

The IRS said Lois Lerner's computer crashed in 2011, wiping out an untold number of emails that were being sought by congressional investigators. The investigators want to see all of Lerner's emails from 2009 to 2013 as part of their probe into the way agents handled applications for tax-exempt status by tea party and other conservative groups.

Lerner headed the IRS division that processes applications for tax-exempt status. The IRS acknowledged last year that agents had improperly scrutinized applications by some conservative groups.

"Do they really expect the American people to believe that, after having withheld these emails for a year, they're just now realizing the most critical time period is missing?" said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight Committee. "If there wasn't nefarious conduct that went much higher than Lois Lerner in the IRS targeting scandal, why are they playing these games?"

The Oversight Committee is one of three congressional committees investigating the IRS over its handling of tea party applications from 2010 to 2012. The Justice Department and the IRS inspector general are also investigating.

Congressional investigators have shown that IRS officials in Washington were closely involved in the handling of tea party applications, many of which languished for more than a year without action. But so far, they have not publicly produced evidence that anyone outside the agency directed the targeting or even knew about it.

If anyone in the Obama administration outside the agency was involved, investigators were hoping for clues in Lerner's emails.

"The fact that I am just learning about this, over a year into the investigation, is completely unacceptable and now calls into question the credibility of the IRS' response to congressional inquiries," said Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. "There needs to be an immediate investigation and forensic audit by Department of Justice as well as the inspector general."

The IRS said technicians went to great lengths trying to recover data from Lerner's computer in 2011. In emails provided by the IRS, technicians said they sent the computer to a forensic lab run by the agency's criminal investigations unit. But to no avail.

The IRS was able to generate 24,000 Lerner emails from the 2009 to 2011 because Lerner had copied in other IRS employees. The agency said it pieced together the emails from the computers of 82 other IRS employees.

But an untold number are gone. Camp's office said the missing emails are mainly ones to and from people outside the IRS, "such as the White House, Treasury, Department of Justice, FEC, or Democrat offices."

Anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist called the episode "the worst attempt to blame technology in service of a cover-up since the infamous 18-minute gap" in former President Richard Nixon's Watergate tapes.

The IRS said in a statement that more than 250 IRS employees have been working to assist congressional investigations, spending nearly $10 million to produce more than 750,000 documents.

Overall, the IRS said it is producing a total of 67,000 emails to and from Lerner, covering the period from 2009 to 2013.

"The IRS is committed to working with Congress," the IRS said in a statement. "The IRS has remained focused on being thorough and responding as quickly as possible to the wide-ranging requests from Congress while taking steps to protect underlying taxpayer information."

Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, called Friday's disclosure "an outrageous impediment" to the committee's investigation.

"Even more egregious is the fact we are learning about this a full year after our initial request to provide the committee with any and all documents relating to our investigation," Hatch said.

Lerner has emerged as a key figure in the tea party probe. In May 2013, she was the first IRS official to publicly acknowledge that agents had improperly scrutinized applications.

About two weeks later, Lerner was subpoenaed to testify at a congressional hearing. But after making a brief statement in which she said she had done nothing wrong, Lerner refused to answer questions, invoking her constitutional right against self-incrimination.

The IRS placed Lerner on administrative leave shortly after the congressional hearing. She retired last fall.

In May, the House voted to hold Lerner in contempt of Congress. Her case has been turned over to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

The President said Congress "is full of folks who stubbornly and automatically reject the scientific evidence" and say climate change is a hoax or fad.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- President Barack Obama said denying climate change is like arguing the moon is made of cheese, as he issued a call to action on global warming to Saturday's graduates of the University of California, Irvine.

Obama issued a call to action to the tens of thousands gathered at Angel Stadium even though he said Congress "is full of folks who stubbornly and automatically reject the scientific evidence" and say climate change is a hoax or fad.

Obama said others duck they question.

"They say, 'Hey, look, I'm not a scientist.' And "I'll translate that for you: what that really means is, 'I know that manmade climate change really is happening but if I admit it, I'll be run out of town by a radical fringe that thinks climate science is a liberal plot," he said.

Obama's address to about 8,000 graduates from the Orange County campus comes two weeks after he announced a contentious plan to dramatically cut pollution from power plants. Obama also used the address to announce a $1 billion competitive fund for communities who have experienced natural disasters to rebuild and prepare for the impact of extreme weather.

He described a political system consumed by "small things" but said Americans should be determined to do "big things" like addressing climate change, despite the type of opposition he faces from Congress.

"There's going to be a stubborn status quo and people determined to stymie your efforts to bring about change. There are going to be people who say you can't do something. There are going to be people who say you shouldn't bother trying. I've got some experience with this myself," Obama said.

"It's pretty rare that you'll encounter somebody who says the problem you're trying to solve simply doesn't exist. When President Kennedy set us on a course to the moon, there were a number of people who made a serious case that it wouldn't be worth it," he continued.

"But nobody ignored the science. I don't remember anybody saying the moon wasn't there or that it was made of cheese," Obama said.

The president said today's young dreams are fed a steady diet of cynicism but argued they have a right to be optimistic.

"Consider this: since the time most of you graduated from high school, fewer Americans are at war," Obama said. "More have health insurance. More are graduating from college. Our businesses have added more than nine million new jobs. And the number of states where you're free to marry who you love has more than doubled. That's just some of the progress you've seen."

While in Orange County, Obama also raised money for the Democratic National Committee at a closed-door fundraiser at the Laguna Beach home of Getty oil heiress Anne Earhart. About 25 people paid up to $32,400 to participate in a roundtable discussion with the president.

He's spending the rest of the Father's Day weekend on vacation at the Rancho Mirage home of White House decorator Michael Smith and his partner, U.S. Ambassador to Spain James Costos.

When the final votes were tallied on Saturday at the DCU Center in Worcester, the Massachusetts Democratic State Convention came to a close with several candidates effectively ending their campaigns in various statewide races.

By Robert Rizzuto & Garrett Quinn

WORCESTER — As the final votes were being tallied on Saturday at the DCU Center in Worcester, it became apparent that two of the gubernatorial candidates failed to secure the threshold of support necessary to proceed into the party's primary election in September.

The campaigns of Joe Avellone, a surgeon and former Wellesley selectman and Juliette Kayyem, a former national security adviser to the president, came to an end on Saturday after thousands of delegates to the Massachusetts Democratic Convention converged on Worcester.

"Today Juliette did what she has done from the beginning of this campaign – she put bold ideas on the table to move Massachusetts forward. While the campaign fell short of our 15% goal, Juliette got people talking about criminal justice reform, climate change, and strengthening our state’s infrastructure," said Kayyem campaign spokesman Matt Patton in a statement. "Even though Juliette won’t be going to the Corner Office, she'll keep fighting to level the playing field so that every person has a fair chance."

In conceding defeat, Avellone pledged to support the eventual Democratic gubernatorial nominee.

"The past 18 months have been a tremendous learning experience for me. I will treasure the thousands of conversations I had with voters across the Commonwealth. I leave this race more certain than ever that Massachusetts is the greatest place to live and raise a family," Avellone said in a statement. "This fight, however, is not over. We have a long way to go before Democrats are triumphant in November, and I pledge to stand with our nominee to help ensure that we maintain control of the Governor’s Office."

Treasurer Steve Grossman, Attorney General Martha Coakley, and former director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Don Berwick's gubernatorial ambitions were kept alive as each secured enough support to proceed. The final tally, however, will be telling about just who the Democrats are leaning toward this election season.

In the race to become the next attorney general, the heated battle between Maura Healey and Warren Tolman is yet to be decided.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, who endorsed Tolman early Saturday and said he was remaining neutral in the other campaigns, voted only for Tolman while voting "present" in the other races.

In the crowded race to become the next lieutenant governor, a post which has been vacant since Tim Murray resigned in 2013, the results are yet to be announced.

In the race to become the next treasurer of the commonwealth, the votes were still being tallied as well.

The results are in for the 2014 Massachusetts Democratic Convention:

WORCESTER — The results are in for the 2014 Massachusetts Democratic Convention:

Treasurer
Deb Goldberg 38.9%
Tom Conroy 33.9%
Barry Finegold 27.1%

Attorney General
Warren Tolman 51.8%
Maura Healey 48.1%

Lieutenant Governor
Steve Kerrigan 37.6 %
Mike Lake 35.4%
Leland Cheung 16.2%
James DeRosa 10.6%

Governor
Steve Grossman 1547 35.2%
Martha Coakley 1024 23.3%
Donald Berwick 972 22.1%
Juliette Kayyem 535 12.1%
Joe Avellone 311 7.0%

Candidates listed in bold have qualified for the September primary ballot.

EASTHAMPTON — Thousands turned out under sunny skies for Cultural Chaos, Easthampton's very first "street festival with a twist," an open-air celebration honoring the city's now-booming Cottage Street Cultural District. The once-derelict street, which now features shops, galleries, restaurants, and music venues, was closed to traffic for the afternoon as a happy and relaxed crowd enjoyed the day. Late...

EASTHAMPTON — Thousands turned out under sunny skies for Cultural Chaos, Easthampton's very first "street festival with a twist," an open-air celebration honoring the city's now-booming Cottage Street Cultural District.

The once-derelict street, which now features shops, galleries, restaurants, and music venues, was closed to traffic for the afternoon as a happy and relaxed crowd enjoyed the day.

Late Saturday afternoon, an upbeat bluegrass band held down the Main Stage as teenagers on BMX bikes took turns jumping from curved ramps. Moms with strollers chatted as children emblazoned with face paint ran about in groups. People enjoyed street food offered outside a half-dozen local venues, including Nini's Italian Restaurant, recently re-opened after a destructive fire.

"We pulled it off," said ECA+ board member and Nash Gallery owner Marlies Stoddard. "It's incredibly scary the first few minutes, when you don't know if they're going to come — but they came en masse."

"I feel wonderful," said Burns Maxey, director of Easthampton City Arts, better known as ECA+. "I knew this was successful when someone asked me how many years we've been doing this."

The scene on the street was festive and peaceful, with plenty of familiar faces.

Former Easthampton Mayor Michael Tautznik held court from the edge of a makeshift beer garden at the side of Whiskerz Pub, chatting with well-wishers over the fence as he held a frosty mug.

"I led interpretive history tours of Cottage Street earlier today," he said. "It's just been a perfect day from the perspective of the community."

Tautznik said Mayor Karen Cadieux was on her way back to Easthampton after serving as a delegate at the Massachusetts Democratic Convention in Worcester, and was hoping to catch part of the festival.

In fact, the coincidence of Cultural Chaos with the Democrats' confab opened a window of opportunity for at least one Republican politician running for re-election. "Senator Don Humason was here earlier," said one shop owner. "I didn't see any Democrats."

Others reported that Patrick Leahy, a Democratic contender for Humason's 2nd Hampden-Hampshire district Senate seat, also made an appearance.

Cultural Chaos offered something for everyone, with local authors reading at White Square Books, open studios at One Cottage Street, a fencing demonstration, outdoor dance performances, a drumming circle, and music on three stages.

"We are thrilled," said ECA+ board member Marcia Morrison, as a group of circus performers walked by on stilts. "I believe we had about 4,000 people here today."

Morrison said the festival operated with a budget of about $10,000. Money paid for more than a dozen performers, for public safety, and for essentials such as porta-potties and shuttle buses.

The city's police and fire departments donated part of their labor, and many local businesses made significant contributions, said Morrison.

As evening fell, a crowd settled inside Luthier's Coop, a guitar shop and music venue, to sip beer and listen to Peter Blanchette play Baroque and Renaissance tunes on his 11-string archguitar.

The festival was organized by the ECA+ Cottage Street Cultural District subcommittee, making use of an Adams Arts Grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, said Maxey.

The Adams grants, won by ECA+ in nine out of the past ten years, "focus on revitalizing community through creativity," she explained. "I believe the Adams grants been instrumental in transforming Easthampton."

Police said there were no arrests and no injuries.

Event organizers said they hope to hold Cultural Chaos again next year.