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Chicopee Chamber of Commerce to hold health fair

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Blood pressure and blood sugar will be tested at the fair.

CHICOPEE - The Greater Chicopee Chamber of Commerce will join with Health New England to present its third annual Healthcare Expo from 9 a.m. to noon, June 18 at The Castle of Knights on Memorial Drive.

The health fair is an opportunity for companies to promote their products and services from physical to holistic health. Visitors will be to be exposed to Reiki, chair massages and can have their blood pressure and blood sugar tested. The Thomas J. O’Connor Foundation will even have a puppy kissing booth to show the importance of animal companionship.

The health fair is free to the public. The American Red Cross will be holding a blood drive from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. in conjunction with the event. Donors can register at redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS. Each will receive a Bruins t-shirt.


Massachusetts Democrats send 3 candidates to primary in race to become next state treasurer

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At their election-year convention, delegates from across Massachusetts on Saturday agreed to place all three Democrats on the primary ballot in the wide open race for state treasurer.

By Michael Norton, STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

WORCESTER — At their election-year convention, delegates from across Massachusetts on Saturday agreed to place all three Democrats on the primary ballot in the wide open race for state treasurer.

Deb Goldberg, of Brookline, Rep. Thomas Conroy, of Wayland, and Sen. Barry Finegold, of Andover, all cleared the 15 percent threshold of delegate support, enabling them to continue their campaigns.

Party officials said 4,609 party registered delegates traveled to Worcester for a convention that brought together party insiders to judge and rally around their slate of candidates ahead of the fall elections.

After a first round of voting that stretched on for four hours, it was announced that Goldberg had earned 38.9 percent of the 4,299 votes cast, Conroy 33.9 percent, and Finegold 27.1 percent. At 7 p.m., in an announcement that drew cheers, party chairman Tom McGee said Goldberg and Conroy agreed not to force a second ballot “in recognition of the long day" leaving the party without a formally endorsed candidate for treasurer.

While they riled the party faithful in the DCU Center, the treasurer candidates have yet to connect with voters.

In a Suffolk University poll taken June 4-7 of 800 likely Massachusetts voters, 74 percent said they were undecided when asked if they were leaning towards voting for Conroy, Finegold or Goldberg. Among those who had a preference, 10.7 percent chose Goldberg, 8.4 percent Finegold and 4.4 percent Conroy.

Financial services executive Michael Heffernan of Wellesley is unopposed running as a Republican this year for treasurer.

In Massachusetts, the state treasurer handles a variety of sometimes unrelated duties, overseeing the state lottery, employee retirement and school construction programs, running the state’s cash and borrowing programs, and chairing a board that manages state pension fund investments.

In the days since Democrat Robert Crane released his long stranglehold on the office, its occupants have tried to use the office as a launching pad, a place to set up shop and then run for higher office.

Counting the current treasurer candidate for governor Steven Grossman, the last four treasurers have run for governor. Tim Cahill and before him Shannon O’Brien and Joseph Malone all came up short in their bids to leap from one statewide office to another.

The three Democrats vying for treasurer this year kept their focus on the office they’re running for on Saturday, but each of them has attempted before to run for higher office: Finegold for Congress, Goldberg for lieutenant governor and most recently, Conroy’s brief run for U.S. Senate in 2012.

After thanking supporters who included Fitchburg Mayor Lisa Wong, Boston Councilor Tito Jackson and Taunton Sen. Marc Pacheco, Goldberg pledged to “combat social inequality.”

“Economic empowerment, economic security, economic stability, they’re not just buzzwords to me,” Goldberg said. “They are the way we break down barriers for those who deserve much more.”

Goldberg pledged free tax preparation for low-income families and a “robust” financial literacy program that she said would help ensure that families don’t fall into serious debt to pay for college. Noting savings plans increase the likelihood that kids will attend college, she also said she would start a savings plan for kindergarteners “paid for by the banks, not taxpayers.”

Goldberg also focused on wage inequality, saying women make 70 cents on the dollar compared to men, with African-American women making 64 cents and Latina women 52 cents. “This is not just a women’s issue,” she said. “It is a family issue and from day one it will be my issue as your treasurer.”

After a “takeover” separated her from her family business, Stop and Shop, Goldberg said she turned to public service. The former chair of the Brookline Board of Selectmen, Goldberg is the president of Adoptions with Love. She has an MBA from Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration and a law degree from Boston College.

Union support figured strongly in Goldberg’s remarks, as she pointed to support from the 55,000-member MassRetirees, and unions representing firefighters, painters and utility workers.

Conroy has 16 years of experience in the finance and risk management industry and since 2007 has served as a member of the Massachusetts House, where he co-chairs the Labor and Workforce Development Committee. After graduating from Yale University, he worked for U.S. Sens. Gary Hart and Barbara Mikulski. Conroy earned a master’s degree in international economics from Johns Hopkins in Washington D.C and an MBA in finance from Boston University.

Former Patrick administration budget chief Jay Gonzalez, now an insurance executive with CeltiCare, introduced Conroy, praising his “financial expertise” and “true progressive values.”

“I know that he can do the job and he will do it well,” said Gonzalez.

If elected, Conroy said he would help match unemployed workers with new skills and new jobs, help them access loans and credit, and help ensure retirement benefits are there for “every public servant.”

“As Democrats, we don’t want an economy that says greed is good. We want an economy that serves the greater good,” he said.

Conroy featured his triplet daughters who recently graduated from high school both to make the point that he understands the challenge of paying for college and, through a video, to let his daughters explain how he helped them learn as children to divide their money between savings, spending and charity.

“I’m Tom Conroy and I have triplets and I’m running for state treasurer,” Conroy said in his video.

Conroy also recalled his father returning from the Vietnam war and struggling with his wife to raise five sons and put them through college with the help of government loans. “Today, hard work doesn’t always guarantee success. Our economy has changed,” Conroy said.

Among his pledges, Conroy said he would provide all children with early education, deliver financial literacy training, and use the treasurer’s office to build pre-kindergarten classrooms and build energy efficient schools.

Like other Democrats, Conroy emphasized his support for giving Massachusetts the highest minimum wage of any state. “No one working full-time should be living in poverty and our workers deserve more of the wealth that comes from our own labor,” he said.

Finegold was raised in Andover and Tewksbury, graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania, and became an Andover selectman at 24 years old. A year later, in 1996, he won election to the House, and in 1998 he graduated from Massachusetts School of Law in Andover. Finegold co-chaired the Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy, and won election to the Senate in 2010. He has co-chaired the Committee on Election Laws since 2011, helping recently to pass an early voting law. He is a partner at Dalton & Finegold in Andover, a firm he founded when he was 29.

Braintree Mayor Joe Sullivan, Sen. Gale Candaras, District Attorney Sam Sutter and Sen. Harriette Chandler introduced Finegold, who offered a video featuring support from his Senate colleagues.

Finegold made trust a centerpiece of his presentation. “He has proven he will be a treasurer who you can trust,” Sullivan said in his introduction. Then Finegold opened, “My name is Barry Finegold and I’ll be a treasurer you can trust.”

In a video, Sen. Ken Donnelly noted Finegold as a state representative opposed the death penalty “even though he knew it would be difficult in his re-election” and Finegold later portrayed himself as a fighter. “I won’t back down from a fight no matter what’s at stake or how much I might lose,” Finegold said.

The son of parents who were both school teachers, Finegold pledged to divest pension fund investments in fossil fuels and make more investments in wind and solar energy, to protect retirement benefits of public employees, and to champion financial literacy.

“Let’s make college affordable for everyone,” he said.

Democrats eliminate James Arena DeRosa from lieutenant governor's race at convention

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Three of the four Democratic candidates for the office next-in-line to the governor emerged from the Worcester Democratic Party convention Saturday with the opportunity to compete for the party’s nomination in September.

By Andy Metzger, STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

WORCESTER— Three of the four Democratic candidates for the office next-in-line to the governor emerged from the Worcester Democratic Party convention Saturday with the opportunity to compete for the party’s nomination in September.

A longtime Democratic aide who is running for lieutenant governor Steve Kerrigan narrowly won the most support from party insiders gathered in the state’s second largest city.

Party delegates also gave enough support to Mike Lake, a 2010 candidate for auditor, and advanced Cambridge City Councilor Leland Cheung, while former U.S. Department of Agriculture official James Arena DeRosa was bounced from contention in the primary.

The lieutenant governor nominee decided by Sept. 9 primary voters will be matched up with the gubernatorial nominee and will likely face the Republican frontrunners Charlie Baker and his running mate Karyn Polito in November.

“It’s time for us to lead again,” Kerrigan said, Saturday, promising to restore faith in government and casting himself as a problem solver who could “get it done” during 14 years as an aide to the late U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy. He said he would take on Polito, a former state representative, in the general. “We had our last Tea Party in Massachusetts 250 years ago, and this November let’s make sure it stays that way,” Kerrigan said.

james arena derosa leland cheung mike lake steve kerrigan.jpgThe Democrats running for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts in 2014 are, top row, left to right, James Arena-DeRosa and Leland Cheung and second row, left to right, Mike Lake and Steve Kerrigan.

Lake, Cheung and Arena-DeRosa signaled support for a “single-payer” Medicare for all form of health care, a favorite of liberals, which drew cheers at the DCU Center confab.

With 1,625 votes, Kerrigan took in 37.6 percent of the vote, while Lake won 35.4 percent, Cheung took 16.2 percent and Arena-DeRosa fell short of the 15-percent cutoff with 10.6 percent of the vote. Kerrigan and Lake agreed not to compete for the party’s endorsement after the results were announced around 7 p.m. and the delegates in the hall had dwindled.

Lake’s campaign manager Joe Caiazzo told the News Service the close second was an upset because Lake was “outspent four to one.”

“He also went through this four years ago,” Kerrigan told reporters after the convention, referring to Lake’s 2010 auditor bid. He said, “This is my first time running statewide.”

Kerrigan said his strategy with Cheung and Lake will be to “compare (their) experience with my experience.”

A former Lancaster selectman, Kerrigan ran the 2012 Democratic National Convention, is the only candidate outside Route 495, and said he has the support of 11 mayors. Cheung noted he is the lone elected local official seeking the office.

Lake, a Boston resident who heads up Leading Cities and won a rare endorsement from former Gov. Michael Dukakis, said if he wins the office he would focus on building relationships outside the state, and try to influence the governor in the Corner Office.

“In my vision the lieutenant governor’s role is really that of an advocate. It’s to work with the governor, to work with that partnership from the very beginning, to be able to have the governor’s ear, influence the governor. And we might not always agree, but to have the relationship in place so that we can have the discussion,” Lake told the News Service.

Lake claimed he turned in the second most certified signatures of any campaign for any office this year with signers from more than 300 municipalities and said, “I’m the only candidate in the lieutenant governor’s race that has a statewide organization.”

Cheung, who name-checked Bill Gates and Google in his convention speech and told the News Service he would try to focus on job creation, previously ran as a Republican for state office in Virginia, which he chalked up to his father’s politics after immigrating from China.

“It wasn’t until it was too late that I realized that I didn’t agree with their values or positions,” Cheung told the News Service. He said, “It’s what’s led me to be so active in the Democratic party here.”

The former USDA administrator for the Northeast and a Holliston resident, Arena-DeRosa touted his experience managing a $12 billion agency, said the state could improve its management of social services, and said that when he found state cost overruns in social services he worked with state officials rather than taking a “punitive” approach.

“What you’re really telling everybody is you’re prepared to be governor of Massachusetts,” Arena-DeRosa told the News Service. He said he would try to focus on agriculture and nutrition, believing regulations often hurt small farmers and nutrition could be key to better health and education.

Arena-DeRosa, who married into the Arena farm family, also criticized the state’s success, or lack thereof, in providing breakfast to school children.

In addition to serving as an advisor to the governor and taking the role of acting governor when the governor is out of state, the lieutenant governor chairs the Governor’s Council, an 8-member elected body whose chief responsibility is providing advice and consent for judicial nominations made by the governor.

“Many talk about Mike’s youthful outlooking temperament. I can tell you as someone on the Governor’s Council this is something we need on Beacon Hill, and Mike can bring it,” Governor’s Councilor Eileen Duff yelled from the podium, introducing Lake.

Cheung, who told the News Service the Governor’s Council has “the same kind of interpersonal dynamics and range of opinion” as the Cambridge City Council, touted his experience working in the tech sector and cast himself as a liberal among liberals Saturday saying, “Over the last five years I’ve earned a reputation as one of the most progressive and productive members of the Cambridge City Council.”

When there are contested races for governor and lieutenant governor the people running for the number-two position do not yet know who will lead the ticket. The gubernatorial nominee holds the power in that relationship and the dynamic can vary from confrontational to team players.

The possible running mates for the lieutenant governor are Steven Grossman, Martha Coakley and Don Berwick, after Juliette Kayyem and Joe Avellone failed to reach the 15 percent threshold Saturday.

Tim Murray, who won a three-way primary in 2006 and went on to win the general election with Deval Patrick before resigning in 2013, told the News Service that even though lieutenant governors do not control the agenda, primary voters want to hear their opinions on issues.

Murray, who resigned in 2013 to run the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, said once he and Patrick linked up, he became “more aligned” with the ticket.

“It’s a role of the dice,” Murray told the News Service. “I was lucky that the governor and I enjoyed a very good personal relationship. He gave me the ability to take the lead on a number of issues, and I had a meaningful role and I could weigh in on things, and I think that’s all you can ask for as a number two.”

The former mayor of Worcester, Murray served as a liaison to cities and towns and took on housing, transportation infrastructure and veterans issues for his portfolio. Asked about the lieutenant governor candidate’s general election role, Murray said, “It depends on strengths. Obviously I mixed it up a little bit sometimes on behalf of the ticket.”

“The voters decide who you’re running with. And in 2006 there was a pile of good candidates then, too. And as good as they all were, you realize how lucky we were to end up with Tim Murray,” said John Walsh, who was Patrick’s 2006 campaign manager. Walsh told the News Service, “We had one meetup, and it was seamless - boom. Obviously for us, one thing with Tim Murray was - it’s all geography; his base in central Mass. was so impressive, his relationships in cities across the commonwealth was big.”

While the constitutional authority vested in the lieutenant governor’s office is limited, over the past three decades two lieutenant governors - Jane Swift and Argeo Paul Cellucci - have been elevated to the state’s chief executive after the governor resigned, and a third - Evelyn Murphy - would have if Dukakis won the presidency in 1988.

Anti-casino group says it received warm welcome at Massachusetts Democratic Convention in Worcester

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While Democrats on Beacon Hill led the charge in 2011 to put a law legalizing casinos on the books, anti-casino advocate John Ribeiro told the News Service he is getting a “great” reception at Saturday’s Democratic Convention.

WORCESTER — While Democrats on Beacon Hill led the charge in 2011 to put a law legalizing casinos on the books, anti-casino advocate John Ribeiro told the News Service he is getting a “great” reception at Saturday’s Democratic Convention.

Handing out “Repeal the Casino Deal” buttons inside the DCU Center, Ribeiro also said initiative petition activists have more than 20,000 certified signatures ready to submit to local officials next week in order to qualify their repeal proposal for the November ballot - 11,485 signatures are required in the next and final round of submissions.

Asked to reconcile the “great” reception with the fact that Democrats led the push to pass the casino law, Ribeiro said, “When the speakership changed, one hundred votes changed overnight.”

Celeste Myers, a leader in the No Eastie Casino group who said she is challenging Rep. Carlo Basile, an East Boston Democrat, said she believes casinos could become a major issue in statewide campaigns.

“We’d love all the candidates to show up for us,” Myers told the News Service, who said she wanted No Eastie Casino to serve as a resource.


3 injured in Mass Pike rollover crash in Blandford

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A rollover cash on I-90 in Blandford sent three people to the hospital with substantial injuries.

BLANDFORD— Three people were injured, one ejected from the vehicle, when a driver lost control of his car, slammed into the median guardrail on I-90 in Blandford, and rolled over

State Police Sgt. Arthur Hebb said all three people in the car were transported to the Baystate Medical Center with various injuries following the 9:20 p.m. crash.

According to statements from the driver, the Nissan sedan was traveling eastbound on the Mass Pike just a mile past the Blandford rest area when the driver became distracted. The car swerved across into the high speed lane and then slammed into a guard rail on the median. That collision started the car rolling, and the unbelted passenger in the back seat was ejected from the car.

Hebb said all three sustained serious but presumably non-life-threatening injuries, including fractures and internal injuries. All three of the injured are from Connecticut.

The incident remains under investigation, Hebb said.


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2 men wounded in New Bedford shooting

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2 injured in Saturday night shooting in New Bedford

New Bedford police patch.jpg 
NEW BEDFORD — Two men were gunned down as they walked on a commercial New Bedford street early Saturday morning.

The Boston Globe reports that New Bedford police say the men were shot near the intersection of Coggeshall Street and Acushnet Avenue at about 3:30 a.m. Both were taken to Rhode Island Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

The shooting is the second double shooting in two weeks, and also the second shooting in that neighborhood in as many weeks, policed said.

The investigation into the shooting continues with police requesting surveillence tapes from nearby buisinesses and detectives cancassing the neighborhood looking ro possible witnesses. Uniformed officers will be increasing patrols in that area.

Ohio woman sent to prison for shoving soiled underwear in granddaughter's mouth as punishment

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A secret cellphone video recorded by her 13-year-old sister showed the girl vomiting and Karen L. Sharpe, 54, of New Straitsville telling her to lick it up.

LOGAN, Ohio -- An Ohio woman who shoved what she said were underwear soiled with feces into her 11-year-old granddaughter's mouth as punishment for stepping on her injured foot has been sentenced to prison.

A secret cellphone video recorded by her 13-year-old sister showed the girl vomiting and Karen L. Sharpe, 54, of New Straitsville telling her to lick it up.

A prosecutor said Sharpe's conduct "shocks the conscience," despite her attorney's claim there actually was no fecal matter in the men's underwear.

Hocking County Common Pleas Judge John Wallace sentenced Sharpe on Friday to three years for child endangering.

Sharpe had custody of the granddaughters for about three years after they were abused by their parents, The Columbus Dispatch reported.

Sharpe's attorney said she suffered an abusive childhood and marriage. He said she only pretended the underwear were soiled.

Sharpe apologized to her granddaughters in court.

Supreme Court has 17 cases to decide by June's end

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The Supreme Court has just two weeks to issue 17 decisions on cases it has taken to consider.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's crunch time at the Supreme Court, where the justices are racing to issue opinions in 17 cases over the next two weeks.

The religious rights of corporations, the speech rights of abortion protesters and the privacy rights of people under arrest are among the significant issues that are so far unresolved.

Summer travel, European teaching gigs and relaxation beckon, but only after the court hands down decisions in all the cases it has heard since October.

In rare instances, the justices will put off decisions and order a case to be argued again in the next term.

This is also the time of the year when a justice could announce a retirement. But the oldest of the justices, 81-year-old Ruth Bader Ginsburg, has signaled she will serve at least one more year, and maybe longer.

The justices will meet Monday and again on Thursday to issue opinions, and could wind up their work by the end of the month.

A look at some of the cases that remain:

— Contraceptive coverage: Corporations are claiming the right to exercise religious objections to covering women's contraceptives under their employee health insurance plans, despite the new health law's requirement that birth control be among a range of no-cost preventive services included in health plans.

— Abortion clinic buffer zones: Abortion opponents are challenging as a violation of their speech rights a Massachusetts law mandating a 35-foot protest-free zone on public sidewalks outside abortion clinics.

— Cellphone searches: Two cases weigh the power of police to search the cellphones of people they place under arrest without first obtaining a warrant from a judge.

— Recess presidential appointments: A federal appeals court said President Barack Obama misused the Constitution's recess power when he temporarily filled positions on the National Labor Relations Board in 2012.

— TV on the Internet: Broadcasters are fighting Internet startup Aereo's practice of taking television their programming for free and providing it to subscribers who can then watch on smartphones and other portable devices.

— Greenhouse gases: Industry groups assert that environmental regulators overstepped their bounds by trying to apply a provision of the Clean Air Act to control emissions of greenhouse gases from power plants and factories. This case is unlikely to affect the recent proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency to slash carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by nearly one-third by 2030; that plan involves a different part of the same law.

— Union fees: Home health care workers in Illinois want the court to rule that public sector unions cannot collect fees from workers who object to being affiliated with a union.

—Securities fraud: Investors could find it harder to bring class-action lawsuits over securities fraud at publicly traded companies in a case involving Halliburton Co., a provider of energy services.

— "False" campaign claims: An anti-abortion group says state laws that try to police false statements during political campaigns runs afoul of the First Amendment.


Fire damages Springfield apartment

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A Main Street apartment was damaged after a meal left on the stove sparked a kitchen fire.

SPRINGFIELD — Unattended cooking is blamed for some $7,000 to $8,000 in damage to the kitchen of a Main Street apartment in the city's North End, fire officials said, but despite the damage the third-floor apartment is habitable.

Dennis Leger, aide to Springfield Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant, said firefighters were called to 3008 Main St. at approximately 5:50 a.m. Sunday for the report of a structure fire in the four-story brick building. First responders reported smoke in the building, and a fire in the kitchen of Apt. 5 on the third floor.

The tenant in that unit was home at the time of the fire and refused to leave as firefighters battled the flames. Police had to escort the resident from the area.

The fire was knocked down quickly and damage was contained to the kitchen area. No injuries were reported.

Unions push state legislatures for labor history courses

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Unions and their allies are trying to flex their muscle in state legislatures, pushing for labor history to be included in social studies curriculum and hoping a new generation of high school students will one day be well-educated union members.

BY STEPHEN SINGER, The Associated Press

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Unions and their allies are trying to flex their muscle in state legislatures, pushing for labor history to be included in social studies curriculum and hoping a new generation of high school students will one day be well-educated union members.

But the results are instead shaping up as a reminder of the tough political landscape faced by organized labor. In six states, opponents have pushed back against demands that teachers offer lessons about the first craft unions in the 19th century, the large-scale organizing drives that powered the growth of industrial unions in the 1930s, the rise of organized labor as a political machine and other highlights of America's union movement.

California and Delaware are the only states with laws that encourage schools to teach labor history.

Kevin Dayton, a policy consultant to non-union construction companies in California, said the legislation was pushed by unions to boost their ranks.

"They believe that one of the reasons young people are not organizing in unions is because they're not taught in schools the benefits of being in a collective workforce," he said.

Ed Leavy, secretary-treasurer of teachers union AFT Connecticut, said the opposite is the case: "It's not that labor unions are demanding this so we can increase the ranks. It's people preventing this so we don't."

The legislation proposed in Connecticut was benign, Leavy said. It would have helped teachers with resources such as textbooks and instruction guides.

Steve Kass, a member of the executive board of the Greater New Haven Labor History Association and a backer of the legislation, said Connecticut's legislation could have bolstered the union cause.

"We're losing a generation of workers who don't have an understanding about the union movement," he said.

The measure failed this year for a third consecutive time even after supporters agreed to a compromise to include lessons in the history of capitalism. Opponents had many arguments against the measure.

Joshua Katz, a math teacher at the Oxford Academy in Westbrook, told lawmakers that decisions about curriculum belong to teachers and students, not the legislature.

"In general, I'm opposed to all of this top-down legislation," he said.

The state's largest business group, the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, said the legislation would have diverted resources from teaching core curriculum and closing the state's achievement gap.

And although backers say the legislation would not have required schools to teach labor history, Robert Labanara, state relations manager at the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, said the state Board of Education would have been ordered to help and to encourage school boards to include the history of labor and capitalism in curriculum. That's less benign than it appears, he said.

"It's not uncommon in Connecticut to see this inch-by-inch law," he said. "It's one thing one year and becomes more of a financial and administrative burden down the road."

Various versions of labor history legislation have failed over the years in Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Tennessee, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Legislation also failed calling for labor history and collective bargaining to be taught in Vermont.

The Connecticut Legislature has already enacted measures requiring the state Board of Education to help and encourage local schools to provide curriculum materials for lessons about the Irish famine, African-American history and Holocaust studies.

Steve Armstrong, president of the National Council for the Social Studies and a West Hartford teacher, says squeezing another course into an already crowded school year could be difficult.

"It would be great if we can teach six weeks on the Irish potato famine, but it ain't going to happen," he said.

To Leavy, labor history could introduce students to early labor leaders such as Eugene V. Debs in addition to industrialists who are familiar to most Americans.

"You hear Rockefeller, you hear Vanderbilt," he said. "You don't hear Debs. The world is bigger than this."

Hartford police investigating homicide No. 6 after fatal shooting near city's downtown

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Two same-day shootings in Hartford, one of which was fatal, prompted city police to beef up "anti-violence operations" to prevent further bloodshed, said Hartford Deputy Police Chief Brian Foley, chief of detectives.

HARTFORD — Police are investigating the city's sixth homicide of the year after a man was shot to death around 1 p.m. Saturday near a Main Street park just south of downtown Hartford.

The victim, 34-year-old Huberto O'Neil, was shot multiple times in the face and head on a sidewalk near Barnard Park in the South Green neighborhood, which is just south of the downtown area. O'Neil, a city resident, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to authorities, who continue to investigate.

The motive for the shooting remains unclear, but investigators say O'Neil appears to have been deliberately targeted rather than a victim of random gunfire.

O'Neil himself was convicted of killing another man 17 years ago, when he was 17, the Hartford Courant reports, citing court records.

The homicide was followed about four hours later by another serious shooting in the city's Upper Albany neighborhood. In that incident, police said, a suspect opened fire on 25-year-old Jonathan Weaver while he was stopped at the intersection of Albany Avenue and Oakland Terrace.

The gunman walked up to the car and opened fire on Weaver, striking him in the neck. Weaver managed to drive himself to a city hospital, where he reportedly remained in critical condition as of Saturday night.

As a result of the shootings, police were beefing up "anti-violence operations" in the city to quell further incidents, said Hartford Deputy Police Chief Brian J. Foley, chief of detectives.

Police are asking anyone with information about the shootings to contact them at (860) 757-4000 or (860) 722-TIPS (8477)

Saturday's killing follows Wednesday's fatal shooting of 33-year-old Tyron Taylor on Vine Street in the Upper Albany neighborhood. Taylor was found lying on the ground in front of 44 Vine St. with a single gunshot wound to the chest.

Springfield, a city with almost 30,000 more residents than Hartford, has five homicides so far this year, though Hartford tends to log more murders annually than Springfield.

Two of Springfield's killings were in March, one was in May, and two people were shot dead in separate incidents on the same day, June 4.


Material from the Hartford Police Department's website and Twitter account was used in this report, as well as material from the Associated Press, the Hartford Courant and WTNH.com.


MAP showing approximate location of homicide:


Obituaries today: Sandra McGowan was librarian for City of Springfield

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Obituaries from The Republican.

 
061514-sandra-mcgowan.jpgSandra McGowan 

Sandra J. (Cebula) McGowan, 71, of Cumberland Foreside, Maine, and formerly of Springfield, died Wednesday. She was born and raised in Springfield, and graduated from Classical High School. She worked as a librarian for 37 years with the City of Springfield, and most recently the Town of Cumberland. She resided in Springfield most of her life and in Cumberland Foreside for the past 19 years.

To view all obituaries from The Republican:
» Click here

Republicans' midterm strength could be problem in 2016

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Republican strength in this year's House and Senate races could, strangely enough, hurt the party's presidential chances by stalling the changes in style and policy advocated after Mitt Romney's defeat in the 2012 presidential campaign.

DENVER (AP) -- Republican strength in this year's House and Senate races could, strangely enough, hurt the party's presidential chances by stalling the changes in style and policy advocated after Mitt Romney's defeat in the 2012 presidential campaign.

GOP officials and strategists say it's hard to persuade party leaders to adjust the political recipe when they feel increasingly upbeat about adding Senate control to their solid House majority this fall. This optimism, numerous GOP strategists say, makes looking past the party's loss of the popular vote in five of the last six presidential elections easy.

"It's very difficult to make an argument for change and modernization when you're winning," said Joel Sawyer, a former South Carolina GOP official who advises campaigns in several states. Citing the party's nationwide reliance on older white voters, Sawyer said, the GOP needs "to start modernizing now to become relevant to younger voters and nonwhite voters."

The party's dilemma was in sharp relief in a Denver public television studio here, where four candidates gathered for a Republican primary debate in the race to represent the deeply conservative, rural and exurban 4th Congressional District, which covers the eastern third of the state.

All the candidates said they oppose gay marriage, want to repeal President Barack Obama's health care plan and object to allowing people living in the country illegally to become citizens.

The front-runner in the Colorado race, Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck, narrowly lost a U.S. Senate race in 2010 because he was seen as too extreme on issues like abortion and immigration. Now he has been hit in ads by state Sen. Scott Renfroe for "flip-flopping" on those two issues.

"It's one of the great ironies of Republican politics that we fall victim to," Buck said in an interview. "I'm very conservative on life, I'm very conservative on immigration, but given enough money" anyone can be attacked for not being pure enough.

Renfroe said: "We need candidates who will stand firmly for what they believe."

Immigration was an issue singled out by a GOP-commissioned "autopsy report" last year that analyzed Romney's loss to Obama. The report said Republicans must embrace "comprehensive immigration reform"-- Washington shorthand for legalizing the immigration status of those living here illegally_to improve the GOP's strained relationship with the fast-growing Hispanic and Asian electorate.

The recommendations quickly hit resistance from congressional Republicans who rely on primary voters strongly opposed to "amnesty" for immigrants living here illegally.

The resistance might have softened if Republican lawmakers felt threatened by public disdain for the 2013 government shutdown or by worries of midterm election setbacks this fall. Instead, the shutdown issue faded, and Republicans are having a good primary season.

With all cylinders firing, "it's harder to hold that conversation about making the party a winner at the national level," said former Senate Republican staffer John Ullyot.

Republicans' talk of finding a winning strategy for presidential elections is sometimes drowned out by confident and staunchly conservative lawmakers coasting toward another re-election.

"The age-old conundrum is, do we change who we are to more adequately fit the electoral trends, or do we try to exert the leadership that will change the electoral trends?" said six-term Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz. "I am a firm believer in the latter."

Franks said he'd rather see Republicans lose presidential races than "play to the electorate what our polls tell us, regardless of principle."

Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-Texas, said Republicans could risk eroding support if "we make drastic changes in our underlying policies" that led to their House majority.

Immigration is the most pivotal issue in his west Dallas district, Marchant said. While some Republicans outside the South find it easy to endorse comprehensive immigration reform, he said, "almost anything you put out has a second- or third-related cousin, and its name is amnesty."

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus acknowledges the GOP is "a tale of two parties."

"We've got a midterm party that doesn't lose, and a presidential party that's having a hard time winning," he told The Associated Press in an interview. But Priebus declined to blame the split on policy, be it immigration or budget gridlock, that House Republicans have helped bring about. Instead, he said the party has largely conceded minority and younger voters by not engaging them directly in their communities. He touted the party's ongoing expansion of field offices aimed at reversing the trend.

But without a presidential race on the ballot this fall, those younger and minority voters are expected to turn out in reduced numbers.

The GOP primary winner is likely to win the 4th District's seat in Congress. The incumbent, Republican Rep. Cory Gardner, is stepping aside to challenge Democratic Sen. Mark Udall.

Republicans have had a dismal track record in Colorado over the past decade, losing three U.S. Senate races, two presidential contests and one gubernatorial election. The state's voting population is concentrated in a handful of counties around Denver, far from the 4th District's wheat farms and exurbs.

But Barbara Kirkmeyer, a Weld County Commissioner who is one of the four primary contenders, said she thinks the GOP's problem is tied to candidates, not its positions. She noted that a majority of the state's county commissioners, who represent mostly rural counties, are Republicans.

"We just need to put forward good candidates with experience who stick to their views," she said.

South Hadley police investigating car accident

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Police refused to release any details of the accident.

SOUTH HADLEY – Police are investigating a serious car accident that happened Saturday night.

Officials Sunday refused to release any details of the accident, including the location or time of the accident.

According to CBS 3, media partners of the Republican and Masslive, the accident happened before 7 p.m. Saturday along Route 116.


String of explosions rocks Iraqi capital, killing at least 15

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One car bomb went off in the city center, killing 10 and wounding 21. After nightfall, another explosion hit the area, killing two and wounding five.

BAGHDAD (AP) -- A string of explosions killed at least 15 people and wounded more than 30 in Baghdad, police and hospital officials said.

One car bomb went off in the city center, killing 10 and wounding 21. After nightfall, another explosion hit the area, killing two and wounding five. The third went off near a falafel shop in the city's sprawling Sadr City district, killing three and wounding seven.

The police and hospital officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Baghdad has seen an escalation in suicide and car bombings in recent months, mostly targeting Shiite neighborhoods or security forces.

The government bolstered defenses around the city Sunday, a day after hundreds of Shiite men paraded through the streets with arms in response to a call by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani for Iraqis to defend their country. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, has vowed to attack Baghdad but its advance to the south seems to have stalled in recent days. Thousands of Shiites have also volunteered to join the fight against the ISIL, also in response to al-Sistani's call.

Armed police, including SWAT teams, were seen over the weekend manning checkpoints in Baghdad, searching vehicles and checking drivers' documents. Security was particularly tightened on the northern and western approaches of the city, the likely targets of any advance by ISIL fighters on the capital. The city looked gloomy on Sunday, with thin traffic and few shoppers in commercial areas.

While the city of seven million is not in any immediate danger of falling into the hands of the militants, Sunday's bombings could raise tensions. Food prices in the city have risen, twofold in some cases, because of disruption to transport on the main road heading north from the capital.


Still time to make Father's Day plans: Brews & Burgers at Center Square Grill in East Longmeadow, 'Not So Serious Sundays' at Black Pearl in Springfield

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Father's Day Sunday is underway with barbeques, family gatherings and perhaps a night out on the town.

Some dads have already been treated to breakfast or brunches, a game of golf or with the sunny weather a barbeque or a day at the beach. For those of you who haven't planned anything for Father's Day there is still time to have a great night out with the dad in your life.

Center Square Grill in East Longmeadow has created a Father's Day themed menu including specialty burgers and even a bacon chocolate lollipop as a parting gift.

"For Mother's Day we gave all of the mothers flowers and we wanted to do something special for dads too so we thought a lollipop with crispy bacon dipped in chocolate would be a nice treat they could take with them," said Michael Sakey, who owns the restaurant along with William Collins.

"We figured a lot of dads would want a good burger and maybe some bourbon which is always popular," Sakey said.

artie.jpgComedian Artie Rob. 

Tonight the restaurant us featuring "Kentucky Summer," a drink consisting of bourbon, ruby red grapefruit juice, fresh squeezed lemon and bitters.

The menu features burgers with various add-ons including a burger topped with lobster and Hollandaise sauce, another topped with a fried egg and a particularly decadent burger topped with pan seared foie gras, a bacon truffle aioli and Saint-André cheese.

The restaurant is open until 10 p.m. and welcomes walk-ins although you can make a reservation by calling (413) 525-0055.

For some laughs head down to the Black Pearl Bistro and Bar in downtown Springfield where Artie Rob's "Not Serious Sundays" will celebrate fathers tonight.

The monthly comedy show features seasoned local comedians including Artie Rob and Darryl Rosemond.

Headlining the show will be Chris Clarke, a member of The Three Amigos of Comedy, a multicultural trio of New York City-based comedians with a goal of promoting multiculturalism and diversity through laughter. There will be various local performers taking the stage as well.

"There will definitely be a lot of material geared towards the fathers in the crowd," said Rosemond who is hosting the show. "It's going to be a great night of comedy."

Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 at the door. The Black Pearl also features a full bar and food menu.

So, if you didn't know what to buy your dad this holiday, a good meal and some laughs could be the way to go.

Rutland, Mass. police investigate homicide in home

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The victim was found Saturday in a home on Routh 68.

RUTLAND — The Worcester District Attorney’s office is investigating a homicide in this small central Massachusetts town, according to 7News Boston.

The victim was found in a home at 124 East County Road, which is also Route 68, Saturday. Sunday the District Attorney confirmed the death was a homicide, according to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

Massachusetts State Police and local police have been collecting evidence since Saturday and remained at the house most of the day on Sunday. A police crime lab van remained parked there as well, according to the Telegram & Gazette.

Police have released few details. They said the victim was a man, but did not confirm or deny the home’s owner, David Alan is the victim, The Telegram & Gazette said.

Rutland is a town of 7,900 people located in what is considered the exact center of the state. It is about 13 miles northwest of Worcester.

Connecticut hoarder found dead under debris after first floor collapses from clutter

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Police in Cheshire identified the woman as Beverly Mitchell.

CHESHIRE, Conn. -- A 66-year-old woman described by police as an apparent hoarder was found dead under a pile of debris after the first floor of her Connecticut home collapsed into the basement under the weight of all the clutter, authorities said.

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Police in Cheshire identified the woman as Beverly Mitchell. Her body was found in her home Saturday, two days after a postal carrier called police to request a welfare check because her mail had been piling up for at least a week.

Police Sgt. Kevin O'Donnell said officers went to the house Thursday, but didn't find anyone and thought Mitchell wasn't home. The first-floor had stacks of clutter to the ceilings along the walls and waist-high piles in other areas, and officials didn't realize until Friday that the floor had collapsed, O'Donnell said.

After making sure the building was safe to enter, officials cut a hole in the side of the house and began removing debris with a backhoe. Authorities found Mitchell's body on Saturday afternoon.

Police had been to Mitchell's house many times over the years responding to requests for welfare checks by neighbors and other people, O'Donnell said. Officers had offered her help from local social service experts, but she refused each time, he said.

"It's unfortunate because ... we've tried all along to get her assistance, but she was a very private and solitary lady," O'Donnell said Sunday.

O'Donnell said officials didn't realize the extent of the clutter in the home until they went inside on Thursday.

Police were still trying to find relatives of Mitchell on Sunday.

US embassy in Baghdad beefs up security amid insurgency, fatal explosions

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Some embassy staff members have been temporarily moved elsewhere to more stable places.

WASHINGTON -- Security at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad was bolstered and some staff members were being moved out of Iraq's capital city as it was threatened by the advance of an al-Qaida inspired insurgency, a State Department spokeswoman said Sunday.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement that much of U.S. embassy staff will stay in place even as parts of the country experience instability and violence. She did not say the number of personnel affected. The embassy is within Baghdad's Green Zone. It has about 5,000 personnel, making it the largest U.S. diplomatic post in the world.

"Overall, a substantial majority of the U.S. Embassy presence in Iraq will remain in place and the embassy will be fully equipped to carry out its national security mission," she said.

Some embassy staff members have been temporarily moved elsewhere to more stable places at consulates in Basra in the Shiite-dominated south of Iraq and Irbil in the Kurdish semi-autonomous region in northeasternIraq and to Jordan, she said.

U.S. travelers in the country were encouraged to exercise caution and limit travel to certain parts of Iraq.

"Due to the relocation of personnel from Baghdad, the embassy will only be restricted in its ability to offer all consular services; but emergency services are always available to U.S. citizens in need at any embassy or consulate anywhere in the world," Psaki said.

Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said in a statement that a "small number" of military personnel are helping to keep State Department facilities safe in Baghdad. He said embassy personnel are being moved by commercial, charter and State Department aircraft. But, Kirby says, the U.S. military has "airlift assets at the ready" should the State Department request them. A U.S. military official said about 100 Marines and Army soldiers have been sent to Baghdad to help with embassy security.

The State Department acted as the Iraqi government sought to bolster its defenses in Baghdad on Sunday. Despite the added security, a string of explosions killed at least 15 people and wounded more than 30 in the city, police and hospital officials said. And, an Islamic militant group behind the strife. the Islamic State of Iraqand the Levant or ISIL, posted graphic photos that appeared to show its fighters massacring dozens of captured Iraqi soldiers.

U.S. State Department spokesman Jen Psaki said the ISIL militants' claim of killing the Iraqi troops "is horrifying and a true depiction of the bloodlust that those terrorists represent."

She added that a claim that 1,700 were killed could not be confirmed by the U.S.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said President Barack Obama on Sunday was briefed on the situation by National Security Adviser Susan Rice as he was spending Father's Day in Rancho Mirage, California.

Secretary of State John Kerry made calls to foreign ministers in Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar to discuss the threat and the need for Iraqi leaders to work together.

Earlier Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki cannot keep his country together, and a U.S. alliance with Iran might be needed to do so.

Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said a U.S. partnership with longtime foe Iran makes him uncomfortable but likened it to the United States working with Josef Stalin in World War II against Adolf Hitler. He says the United States has to do what it can to keep Baghdad from falling to insurgents.

An al-Qaida splinter group surprised Western intelligence organizations last week and took control at least two major Iraqi cities. Iran says it has no interest in a destabilized Iraq as its neighbor.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered the USS George H.W. Bush from the northern Arabian Sea and it has arrived in the Persian Gulf as President Barack Obama considers possible military options for Iraq -- although he has ruled out the possibility of putting American troops on the ground in Iraq. Kirby has said the move will give Obama additional flexibility if military action were required to protect American citizens and interests in Iraq.

Graham spoke to CNN's "State of the Union" and CBS' "Face the Nation."

Massachusetts State Police: I-84 traffic stop in Sturbridge leads to seizure of 'large quantity' of opioids

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The driver is expected to be arraigned Monday in Dudley District Court on drug-trafficking and other charges.

STURBRIDGE — State troopers seized a large quantity of opioids during a Saturday afternoon traffic stop on Interstate 84 in Sturbridge, according to the Massachusetts State Police Office of Media Relations in Framingham.

State Police officials did not identify the type or quantity of drugs that were reportedly found in a car that troopers stopped for alleged motor vehicle violations around 5:15 p.m.

Troopers Nicholas D'Angelo and Poomjai Pollawit, both assigned to the Sturbridge barracks, searched the Honda Accord and found "several plastic bags containing narcotics," police said.

"Troopers located a large quantity of pills believed to be a Class B substance," police said.

The driver, whose identity was not publicly released by police, was arrested and taken to the Sturbridge barracks for processing. He is being held on $50,000 bail until his arraignment Monday in Dudley District Court on drug trafficking and motor vehicle charges.

Class B drugs in Massachusetts include heroin, morphine and other opioids.

Additional information was unavailable.

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