Attorneys for convicted Boston ganglord James "Whitey" Bulger

FILE - This file June 23, 2011 booking photo provided by the U.S. Marshals Service shows James "Whitey" Bulger, captured in Santa Monica, Calif., after 16 years on the run. Bulger could soon see some of his jewelry, clothes and other belongings on the auction block. The U.S. Marshals Service will auction off many of the items seized from Bulger's California apartment after his arrest two years ago, The Boston Globe reported Saturday, Nov. 30, 2013. (AP Photo/U.S. Marshals Service, File)AP 

Bulger is expected to argue that his inability to present a defense of immunity made it impossible for him to receive a fair trial. Federal District Court Judge Denise J. Casper denied Bulger from using an "immunity defense" at the onset of the trial.

Bulger claims that deceased New England Organized Crime Strike Force Chief Jeremiah O'Sullivan promised Bulger immunity from prosecution sometime in the 1980s.

O'Sullivan died in 2009.

Bulger is serving two consecutive life sentences plus five years in a federal prison in Arizona.

Rodriguez, who won an Associated Press award during her tenure at WGGB-ABC40/FOX6 in Springfield, is facing felony charges in connection with the theft of more than $2,500 of leather goods from a Couch outlet store in Sacramento, according to police and prosecutors in California.

Sabrina Rodriguez, a former Springfield television news anchor, is facing felony charges for her alleged role in the theft of leather goods from a Coach store in Folsom, California, according to Sacramento County law enforcement officials. Rodriguez, shown here in her Facebook profile photo, has won multiple broadcasting awards for her work as a TV news journalist. Sabrina Rodriguez / Facebook 

Sacramento County District Attorney Jan Scully has filed theft, burglary and conspiracy charges against Rodriguez, who was granted a "voluntary leave of absence" from KTXL-FOX40 News in Sacramento, according to the The Sacramento Bee newspaper.

An arrest warrant was issued for Rodriguez, who surrendered to authorities late last week and was released on $10,000 bail. An arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 29 in Sacramento Superior Court.

"I have no doubt that she is completely innocent," said defense attorney Mark Reichel, who's representing Rodriguez in the case, The Bee reports.

The charges stem from a March 2013 incident at a Coach store at the Folsom Premium Outlets in suburban Sacramento. Television station KCRA reports that Rodriguez is accused of helping an accomplice steal $2,500 worth of wallets from the upscale retailer, known for its high-end women's handbags, luggage and other leather accessories.

Police said employees at the Coach store recognized Rodriguez as a local TV anchor.

Rodriguez, who was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, joined Fox 40 News as a multimedia journalist in 2011, eventually advancing to an anchor position at the TV station.

Prior to that, she had held various anchor/reporter positions in Oregon, California and Massachusetts, including a more than two-year stint at WGGB-ABC40/FOX6 in Springfield, where she earned an Associated Press Award for her efforts.

In California, she won an Edward R. Murrow Award and two Emmys for "Outstanding Weekend Newscast," according to her Facebook bio.

Incoming sixth-graders will have a chance to pick up their schedules, visit classrooms and get locker assignments.

CHICOPEE - Edward Bellamy Middle School will offer orientation to students entering in September.

Incoming grade six students and their families will be invited into the school from 9 a.m. to noon Aug. 12 and Aug. 13. The students will have the chance to receive their schedules, visit their classrooms and receive their locker assignment and try their combination.

Students in grades seven and eight are invited to come to the school between 9 a.m. and noon Aug. 14 and 15 to pick up their class schedules for the upcoming year.

The first day of school is Sept. 2.

The fire broke out shortly after 6 p.m. Monday at the large, brick building, which is home to the Paragon Arts Gallery and other businesses.

EASTHAMPTON — City firefighters extinguished a blaze that broke out about 6:20 p.m. Monday at the Paragon Arts & Industry Building, 150 Pleasant St.

Details about the fire, including the extent of damage or whether anyone was injured, were not immediately available.

Reports indicated the fire was contained to one section of the large, brick building, located about 200 yards east of the Eastworks complex.

The flames were knocked down around 6:31 p.m., Fireground360 reports.

No damage was visible from the outside of the building, according to CBS 3 Springfield, media partner of MassLive/ The Republican.

The building is home to the Paragon Arts Gallery and other business, though it wasn't immediately known if the gallery was affected by the fire.

This developing story will be updated as reporting continues.

8.4.14 / 6:20PM / EASTHAMPTON, MA - PLEASANT ST / STRUCTURE FIRE

— FIREGROUND360° (@FIREGROUND360) August 4, 2014

MA | EASTHAMPTON |**WORKING FIRE**| PLEASANT ST | U/D CMD RPT FIRE IN BLDG. M/A TO SCENE AND COVER. CMD RPT HVY... http://t.co/zjC3Tmn5OH

— Matt (@CMassFireWBFD31) August 4, 2014

The man, who recently traveled to a country where Ebola has been reported, was ill when he arrived at Mount Sinai Medical Center early Monday.

NEW YORK -- A man who recently visited West Africa and had a high fever and gastrointestinal symptoms was placed in isolation at a New York hospital on Monday and was being tested for possible Ebola but likely didn't have it, health officials said.

"Odds are, this is not Ebola," said Dr. Jeremy Boal, chief medical officer at Mount Sinai Health System in Manhattan.

Boal said he expected a definitive answer about the man's condition within a day or two.

The man, who recently traveled to a country where Ebola has been reported, was ill when he arrived at Mount Sinai Medical Center early Monday.

The city's Department of Health echoed what Mount Sinai hospital officials said, that "the patient is unlikely to have Ebola." It said more testing was being done for common causes of illness and to definitively exclude Ebola.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said three Americans in the United States were tested for Ebola since the West African outbreak erupted this year and those results were negative.

Officials at U.S. airports are watching travelers from Africa for flu-like symptoms that could be tied to the recent Ebola outbreak there.

The Ebola virus causes a hemorrhagic fever that has sickened more than 1,600 people, killing nearly 900 mostly in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. It's spread through direct contact with bodily fluids. A person exposed to the virus can take up to 21 days to exhibit symptoms, making it possible for infected travelers to enter the U.S. without knowing they have it.

Over the weekend, an American physician infected with Ebola was brought to the United States from Africa. He was being treated in Atlanta. A second aid worker was expected to arrive in several days.

Health officials say the threat to Americans at home remains relatively small. But border patrol agents at airports in New York and Washington have been told to ask travelers about possible exposure to the virus and to be on the lookout for anyone with a fever, a headache, achiness, a sore throat, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, a rash or red eyes.

While the CDC says it is not screening passengers boarding planes at African airports -- the job of local authorities there -- it said it has encouraged vulnerable countries to follow certain precautions. Outbound passengers in the countries experiencing Ebola are being screened for fevers and with health questionnaires.

Humid conditions gave crews hope in their battle against two wildfires in Northern California that have scorched more than 100 square miles and are menacing a small town on Monday, at a time when firefighters in Oregon and Washington state also aim to combat destructive blazes.

BURNEY, Calif. — Humid conditions gave crews hope in their battle against two wildfires in Northern California that have scorched more than 100 square miles and are menacing a small town on Monday, at a time when firefighters in Oregon and Washington state also aim to combat destructive blazes.

The blazes raged mostly uncontrolled within miles of each other, and the worst of the two has burned eight homes and threatened over 700 more, state fire spokeswoman Capt. Amy Head said. Plus, residents in the town of Burney in Shasta County face possible evacuation.

"Right now we're continuing to put in containment lines to box in the fires as they are growing at such an explosive rate," Head said. "We also want to make sure that if there are any evacuation notices, that the residents will listen to what officials are saying and heed the warning."

In downtown Burney, where there was some road closures, residents on Monday went about normal activities with flames and smoke as backdrop.

A day earlier, the fires prompted officials at Mayer Memorial Hospital to evacuate their 49-bed annex for patients with dementia and other conditions requiring skilled nursing. The patients were transferred to a hospital in Redding, about 55 miles away, according to the hospital's website.

The two fires, which began within a day of each other in Lassen National Forest and had expanded into private property, were burning through timber and brush parched by California's historic drought.

They were among about a dozen fires that had burned some 209 square miles across the state and that more than 7,500 federal and state firefighters battled, Head said. Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency on Saturday, saying the circumstances and magnitude of the wildfires were beyond the control of any single local government and required the combined forces of regions to combat.

California is 35 percent above average in the number of fires it's seen so far this year, state fire spokesman Dennis Mathisen said Sunday. The state is also 44 percent above average in the amount of land burned.

While firefighters hoped to take advantage of the humid conditions in Northern California on Monday, they also faced red flag warnings as possible thunderstorms were expected Monday. The storms could bring more fire-causing lightning, Head said.

Meanwhile, a major wildfire in the Siskiyou Mountains along the Oregon-California border has slowed as temperatures cooled, but it still jeopardizes 270 residences after burning six scattered rural homes.

Firefighters on Monday got a handle on the blaze 15 miles east of Ashland that scorched 72 square miles — 57 of them in Oregon and the rest in California. Some evacuation warnings remained in force.

Overall, nine large fires were burning across 118 square miles of forest and rangeland in Oregon, most of them east of the Cascade Range. Three of them were nearly fully contained.

In Washington state, a wind-whipped blaze destroyed about a dozen structures and prompted an evacuation notice for about 80 homes in Kittitas County. Other residents have been told to be ready to leave, said Jill Beedle, a spokeswoman for the Kittitas County Emergency Operations Center.

It's unknown if the structures that burned were full-time residences, summer cabins or outbuildings.

The article says Poutre's foster parents bristle when people call them saints for taking Haleigh in.

WESTFIELD - Six years after Jason D. Strickland was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in state prison in the child abuse case that left his stepdaughter Haleigh Poutre with a severe brain injury, some people in Southwick are calling the foster family that is currently caring for her saints.

A report in the Boston Sunday Globe described the life that Poutre, now 20, has thanks to Keith and Becky Arnett who took her in.

The Globe article describes how, one day in the fall of 2008, the Arnetts were contacted by a social worker asking them if they would consider taking in a "foster child with disabilities."

"The couple didn’t hesitate. They had completed foster-care training two years before, already had cared for a handful of children, and refused to turn away anyone in need, the Globe article says. "As devout Christians, they believed God’s work requires sacrifices, including from busy families like theirs raising three boys."

The article continues to explain how the social worker didn't want a quick answer over the phone, and insisted on a face-to-face interview in which the family could be told certain facts about Haleigh, such as that she wore diapers, used a wheelchair to get around and often slurred words. At the time, she was attending a special school at the Franciscan Hospital for Children in Boston.

The Arnetts agreed to talk to a reporter, and describe the life Haleigh currently leads, the story says, because they wanted to draw attention to the importance of foster families.

The article explains how the Arnetts "bristle" when people refer to them as saints.

“People often say, ‘How can you do it?’ And I say, ‘How can I not do it?’ ” Keith told the Globe reporter. “I am committed to kids having homes.”

The Arnetts, who are members of the Westfield Evangelical Free Church, say they do not impose their Christianity on their foster children, although they expect them to go along with the family's routines.

“God loves us, and we want to share his love with others,” Becky is quoted as saying in the article.

Following 10 days of testimony about blood samples, beatings and cigarette burns and three days of deliberations in the fall of 2008, a Hampden Superior Court convicted Strickland of child abuse.

Jurors were told how Haleigh, 11 at the time, was lifeless and "freezing cold" when she arrived by ambulance at the pediatric intensive care unit of Baystate Medical Center on Sept. 11, 2005. They heard from one nurse from Noble Hospital and two nurses from Baystate as they described Haleigh's condition when she was admitted for care.

"I saw a little girl lying there, intubated, lifeless. She was freezing cold," testified Eileen Kane, a registered nurse who was on duty at Baystate when Haleigh arrived by ambulance from Noble. The intubation tube to the throat was necessary to prove the child oxygen, according to the nurses' testimony.

Stickland was accused, as a joint venturer with his late wife, Holli A. Strickland, who had adopted Haleigh, causing serere brain damage to her.

The case reflected a series of twists and turns, including Haleigh's hospitalization in 2005 at age 11 with an injury described as a sheared brain stem, the murder of a co-defendant, and an attempt by the state Department of Social Services to remove the girl from life support in a right-to-die case that garnered national attention. State efforts ended when the girl showed signs of improvement.

The state alleged that the serious brain injury happened on Sept. 10, 2005, the day before Haleigh was brought to Noble Hospital in Westfield.

The charge relating to the brain injury for which Strickland was found guilty was called "assault and battery on a child with serious bodily injury," and the jury found him guilty under the theory of permitting another person to inflict the injury.

Strickland's wife, Holli, was dead soon after the arrest of her and her husband on abuse charges. Police said it was a murder-suicide at the hands of her grandmother.

Strickland's defense lawyer, Alan J. Black, had argued during the trial that Strickland believed his wife when she said Haleigh was self-abusive. The state Department of Social Services had been involved in the girl's case, and was overhauled following its failure to protect her and its efforts to remove her from life support. Agency officials argued that they had been told by doctors that the girl was self-abusive. When she was hospitalized medical professionals described a litany of cuts, bruises, burns and chipped teeth.

Strickland was convicted of two counts of assault and battery on a child with a dangerous weapon, with one count specifying a bat and one a "wand, stick or tube." In the first instance the state claimed that Holli Strickland hit Haleigh on the leg with a bat sometime in the summer of 2005, and that Jason Strickland was present, making him a "joint venturer."

The evidence presented by the prosecution on the other count was that Jason Strickland hit Haleigh's hand with a tube of some sort sometime in summer 2005.

The Globe article concludes by explaining that the Arnetts have learned to adjust their expectations about Haleigh.

"They had hoped she might try to walk, but she has lost interest in taking steps, even while holding on to others. Doctors warn that she could regress," the article says. "They say they are prepared for any outcome, having fully integrated her into their life as their fourth child and only daughter, Haleigh Arnett."

A judge ruled Monday that Jodi Arias can represent herself in the upcoming penalty phase of her murder trial, where jurors will decide whether she is put to death for killing her ex-boyfriend.

PHOENIX — A judge ruled Monday that Jodi Arias can represent herself in the upcoming penalty phase of her murder trial, where jurors will decide whether she is put to death for killing her ex-boyfriend.

Arias, 34, was convicted of first-degree murder last year in the 2008 killing of Travis Alexander, but jurors couldn't reach a decision on sentencing. Under Arizona law, while Arias' murder conviction stands, prosecutors have the option of putting on a second penalty phase with a new jury in an effort to secure the death penalty.

Arias, who has long clashed with her defense lawyers and tried to fire them previously, asked Judge Sherry Stephens to let her serve as her own lawyer during the second penalty phase set for Sept. 8. Stephens granted the request but said there would be no delays.

"I do not believe it is in your best interest ... I strongly urge you to reconsider," Stephens told Arias before granting the motion.

Arias will now have the task of arguing a death penalty case just four weeks from now despite having no legal experience and no college degree or high school diploma. Arias got her GED in jail.

Her defense lawyers will remain on as advisory council. They declined to comment on the latest developments. Prosecutors also declined comment.

Experts say the move might not be such a bad idea given the gruesome nature of the crime. Arias admitted killing Alexander at his suburban Phoenix home but said it was self-defense. He was stabbed nearly 30 times, had his throat slit and was shot in the forehead. Prosecutors argued it was premeditated murder carried out in a jealous rage when Alexander wanted to end their affair.

"It's actually probably a good idea to represent herself," said San Francisco-area defense attorney Daniel Horowitz. "She looks like a vicious psychopath with a ridiculous defense."

However, Horowitz noted, the jury "may find her pathetic."

"If she can get just one juror to bond with her on some level, even if they hate her, they're getting to know her, and it's harder to kill someone you know," he said.

The five-month trial that began in January 2013 provided seemingly endless amounts of cable TV and tabloid fodder, including a recorded phone sex call between Arias and the victim, nude photos, bloody crime-scene pictures and a defendant who described her life story in intimate detail over 18 days on the witness stand.

Arias told jurors of an abusive childhood, cheating boyfriends, dead-end jobs, her sexual relationship with Alexander and her contention that he had grown physically violent.

"They thought she was a liar. She was narcissistic. She was arrogant, and it made it easy to convict her," Horowitz said. "But that's a lot different than killing somebody."

Phoenix defense lawyer Mel McDonald, a former Maricopa County judge and federal prosecutor, agreed that Arias doesn't have much to lose.

"I think generally that anybody that represents themselves has a fool for a client, but it also gives her a way, if she's out there making a fool of herself, to maybe invoke some sympathy from a juror," McDonald said.

Arias' feud with her attorneys has been ongoing since early in the case and intensified after she gave a series of media interviews following her conviction in May 2013. Her lawyers have tried to withdraw several times, but the judge has rebuffed their requests.

If the new jury fails to reach a unanimous decision, the death penalty will be removed from consideration. The judge would then sentence Arias to spend her life behind bars or to be eligible for release after 25 years.

Two American aid workers infected with Ebola are getting an experimental drug so novel it has never been tested for safety in humans and was only identified as a potential treatment earlier this year, thanks to a longstanding research program by the U.S. government and the military.

MARILYNN MARCHIONE, AP Chief Medical Writer

Two American aid workers infected with Ebola are getting an experimental drug so novel it has never been tested for safety in humans and was only identified as a potential treatment earlier this year, thanks to a longstanding research program by the U.S. government and the military.

The workers, Nancy Writebol and Dr. Kent Brantly, are improving, although it's impossible to know whether the treatment is the reason or they are recovering on their own, as others who have survived Ebola have done. Brantly is being treated at a special isolation unit at Atlanta's Emory University Hospital, and Writebol was expected to be flown there Tuesday in the same specially equipped plane that brought Brantly.

They were infected while working in Liberia, one of four West African nations dealing with the world's largest Ebola outbreak. On Monday, the World Health Organization said the death toll had increased from 729 to 887 deaths in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria, and that more than 1,600 people have been infected.

In a worrisome development, the Nigerian Health Minister said a doctor who had helped treat Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian-American man who died July 25 days after arriving in Nigeria, has been confirmed to have the deadly disease. Tests are pending for three other people who also treated Sawyer and are showing symptoms.

There is no vaccine or specific treatment for Ebola, but several are under development.

The experimental treatment the U.S. aid workers are getting is called ZMapp and is made by Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc. of San Diego. It is aimed at boosting the immune system's efforts to fight off Ebola and is made from antibodies produced by lab animals exposed to parts of the virus.

In a statement, the company said it was working with LeafBio of San Diego, Defyrus Inc. of Toronto, the U.S. government and the Public Health Agency of Canada on development of the drug, which was identified as a possible treatment in January.

The statement says very little of the drug is available and they are "cooperating with appropriate government agencies to increase production as quickly as possible," but gives no details on who else might receive it or when.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration must grant permission to use experimental treatments in the United States, but the FDA does not have authority over the use of such a drug in other countries, and the aid workers were first treated in Liberia. An FDA spokeswoman said she could not confirm or deny FDA granting access to any experimental therapy for the aid workers while in the U.S.

Writebol, 59, has been in isolation at her home in Liberia since she was diagnosed last month. She's now walking with assistance and has regained her appetite, said Bruce Johnson, president of SIM USA, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based group that she works for in Africa.

Writebol has received two doses of the experimental drug so far, but Johnson was hesitant to credit the treatment for her improvement.

"Ebola is a tricky virus and one day you can be up and the next day down. One day is not indicative of the outcome," he said. But "we're grateful this medicine was available."

Brantly, 33, who works for the international relief group Samaritan's Purse, also was said to be improving. Besides the experimental dose he got in Liberia, he also received a unit of blood from a 14-year-old boy, an Ebola survivor, who had been under his care. That seems to be aimed at giving Brantly antibodies the boy may have made to the virus.

Samaritan's Purse initiated the events that led to the two workers getting ZMapp, according to a statement Monday by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The Boone, North Carolina-based group contacted U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials in Liberia to discuss various experimental treatments and were referred to an NIH scientist in Liberia familiar with those treatments.

The scientist answered some questions and referred them to the companies but was not officially representing the NIH and had no "official role in procuring, transporting, approving, or administering the experimental products," the statement says.

In the meantime, dozens of African heads of state were in Washington for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, a three-day gathering hosted by President Barack Obama. U.S. health officials on Monday spoke with Guinean President Alpha Conde and senior officials from Liberia and Sierra Leone about the Ebola outbreak.

The Defense Department has long had a hand in researching infectious diseases, including Ebola. During much of the Cold War period this served two purposes: to keep abreast of diseases that could limit the effectiveness of troops deployed abroad and to be prepared if biological agents were used as weapons.

The U.S. military has no biological weapons program but continues to do research related to infectious diseases as a means of staying current on potential threats to the health of troops. It may also contribute medical expertise as part of interagency efforts in places like Africa where new infectious disease threats arise.

The hospital in Atlanta treating the aid workers has one of the nation's most sophisticated infectious disease units. Patients are sealed off from anyone not in protective gear. Ebola is only spread through direct contact with an infected person's blood or other bodily fluids, not through the air.

The CDC last week told U.S. doctors to ask about foreign travel by patients who come down with Ebola-like symptoms, including fever, headache, vomiting and diarrhea. A spokesman said three people have been tested so far in the U.S. — and all tested negative. Additionally, a New York City hospital on Monday said a man was being tested for Ebola but he likely didn't have it.

Writebol and her husband, David, had been in Liberia since last August, sent there by SIM USA and sponsored by their home congregation at Calvary Church in Charlotte. At the clinic, Nancy Writebol's duties included disinfecting staff entering or leaving the Ebola treatment area.

"Her husband, David, told me Sunday her appetite has improved and she requested one of her favorite dishes - Liberian potato soup — and coffee," SIM's Johnson said.

There were no reported injuries on the flight, which landed safely at the East Boston airport shortly before 3:30 p.m. Monday.

 

JetBlue spokeswoman Real Hamilton-Romeo told the Boston Globe that flight 1668 was carrying 95 passengers from Charleston International Airport in South Carolina when the cockpit crew received word of a mechanical problem.

Massport's emergency response team met the flight when it landed safely just before 3:30 p.m. The plane was towed to the gate "out of an abundance of caution" after being evaluated on the runway, NECN reports.

Officials on the ground were prepared for the worst.

At about 3 p.m., Boston EMS officials tweeted that units were en route to the airport's North Gate after receiving word that the plane was experiencing brake and steering issues.

However, there were no reported injuries in the incident, which remains under investigation by the FAA.

Preliminary findings indicate the flight experienced an avionics problem before landing, the Globe reports. Avionic equipment can range from control, monitoring, communication, navigation, weather and anti-collision systems, among other cockpit devices.

#Breaking: #JetBlue plane heading to #Boston from #Charleston makes emergency landing at #Logan. pic.twitter.com/Po18zoFLol

— WCVB-TV Boston (@WCVB) August 4, 2014

East Boston: C19/Tango4/A7 en route to the Logan north gate for an Alert 2 reported brake/steering issues- 99 souls onboard (EMS-2)

— Boston EMS Incidents (@BEMSincidents) August 4, 2014

The public hearing is Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the selectmen's meeting room of Town Hall.

LUDLOW – The Board of Selectmen will hold a public hearing Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. on an application to transfer control of the cable television license of Charter Communications Inc. to Comcast Corporation.

The Comcast and Charter license transfer transfer applicaton is available for public inspection at Town Hall.

The Board of Selectmen, which is the cable license issuing authority, will consider the proposed change of control based on review of the applicant’s managerial, technical, financial and legal ability to operate the cable system pursuant to the existing charter license.

The hearing is at 7:30 p.m. in the selectmen’s conference room at Town Hall.

Charter Communications customers in Massachusetts are among the 1.6 million cable customers Charter plans to swap with Comcast as part of Comcast’s $45 billion merger with Time Warner Cable which was announced in February.

In Western Massachusetts, Charter provides cable and other communications services, phones and Internet in Belchertown, Chicopee, East Longmeadow, Easthampton, Hadley, Hampden, Ludlow, Southampton, Wilbraham and a few other communities. All told, Charter represents 53 cities and towns in Massachusetts.

At the Ludlow hearing Gerry Buckley will be representing Comcast and Thomas Cohan will be representing Charter Communications.

At a similar hearing in Wilbraham last week Ludlow Selectman Aaron Saunders represented Comcast. Saunders said he is a manager of government relations for Comcast.

Officials say the sidewalks are "political symbols," not "art," Adams says that's not their decision to make.

NORTHAMPTON — At-large city councilor Jesse Adams says the Board of Public Works circumvented a city ordinance when it approved a downtown, rainbow-themed crosswalk this spring.

Jesse Adams 

Adams spoke Tuesday in his role as a member of the city's Conference Committee, a body which draws members from both the City Council and the Board of Public Works.  Department of Public Works director Ned Huntley was also present at the meeting.

Adams said the city's public art ordinance, adopted by the City Council in 2013, requires that proposals for public art receive a permit from the Northampton Arts Council.

"The Arts Council was never consulted," said Adams. 

The animated Aug. 4 discussion at Department of Public Works headquarters stemmed from a months-long, simmering controversy over who has the right to propose, approve, and implement brightly-painted crosswalks downtown.

Northampton DPW Highway Divison workers paint a rainbow crosswalk in downtown in front of Thornes Marketplace. (Don Treeger / The Republican)  

In May, a rainbow-themed crosswalk appeared in front of Thornes Marketplace on Main Street just in time for the city's annual LGBTQ pride parade. In March, the Board of Public Works and the Parking and Transportation Commission had granted quick approval to the concept, which was funded with private dollars and painted with donated city labor.

But in June, a proposal for a nearby American flag-themed crosswalk to honor veterans caused the BPW to balk, sending proponent Kathy Osborne on her way with a message that the board has "no process" to approve such a request.

Facing criticism from Ward 6 councilor Marianne LaBarge and others, the board in July backpedaled, voting to give Osborne equal treatment with rainbow-flag proponent Shaw.

At Tuesday's meeting, Board of Public Works chairman Terry Culhane said Osborne is now free to submit her proposal for a red-white-and-blue crosswalk, and may gain approval in the same manner Shaw did. 

Culhane also noted that the board last month approved a moratorium on all future specialty crosswalk proposals until a formal process for their evaluation can be established.

The Conference Committee then delved into debate as to whether the rainbow and proposed patriotic crosswalks constitute "art" or "political statements."

Culhane reiterated that public works officials should not be forced to determine the artistic merit of crosswalk proposals.

"We would like to draw another body in to helping us make the determination," Culhane said. "Then we can figure out the technical details."

That's when Adams remarked that the Northampton Arts Council should have been consulted before the rainbow crosswalk proposal was approved, and pointed to a public art ordinance approved by the City Council last year.

The 2013 ordinance, penned by Adams, reads that any installation expected to last longer than 90 days "that is considered public art by the Arts Council" requires a permit from that body. It covers "fixtures and structures," including but not limited to "murals, sculptures, and art installations."

Ward 2 councilor Paul Spector opined that he "would not be comfortable" giving authority to the Arts Council because his constituents believe that the crosswalks represent "political statements," not art.

Ward 7 councilor Alisa Klein said members of the Parking and Transportation Commission, on which she sits, believed that the crosswalks constituted "political symbols," not art.

Adams shot back, saying the process for determining whether something constitutes "art" is already in place, and asked why it wasn't adhered to in approving the rainbow crosswalk plan.

"The Arts Council decides whether it's art or not, according to city ordinance," said Adams. "And they were never consulted. If it's not art, then the BPW needs to find another process."

Adams also questioned why the arcane art-or-politics debate was only brought up after an American flag crosswalk was proposed.

Culhane admitted that the rainbow crosswalk decision "happened quickly."

"We didn't dig in. There was a lot going on during that period," he said.

Board of Public Works member Mike Parsons noted that the rainbow crosswalk proposal was approved in one meeting, with no public input. "The public input came after we made our decision. But we were already committed, without realizing the broader issue."

Spector said while he felt it was right to approve the American flag crosswalk plan after the rainbow crosswalk was in place, the entire issue puts the city in a "tricky place."

"I would put an end to this," he said. "These are political statements. Where do we draw the line? I got a number of calls. Most of the calls said I wish we had never done it at all."

In a telephone call Tuesday, Adams said the Board of Public Works needs to establish a "clear, fair, and consistent process" to vet proposals that aren't determined to be art by the Arts Council.

"Either that, or they should be completely disallowed," said Adams.

Osborne has not yet formally submitted her red, white, and blue crosswalk request, board members said Tuesday.

The Conference Committee will continue its crosswalk permitting discussion at its Sept. 8. meeting.

Pops and minor explosions issued from a car on fire on Pleasant Street as firefighters put out the blaze that sent dark black smoke billowing into the sky.

WORCESTER — Pops and minor explosions issued from a car on fire on Pleasant Street as firefighters put out the blaze that sent dark black smoke billowing into the sky Tuesday evening.

The fire started in the trunk of the Saab 9-3 convertible outside of 86 Pleasant St. shortly before 6 p.m., according to witnesses at the scene. The blaze quickly spread, engulfing the car and forcing the police department to close the street at its intersections with Linden and Chestnut streets.

Firefighters quickly put out the fire with a hose from a fire truck as the car's tires popped from the heat and minor explosions continued. The firefighters then used a cutting tool to open up the hood to check for any remaining flames.

An ambulance was called for the driver of the car who appeared to have an injury to his hand.

Leading Cities, a non-profit run by Lake and founded in 2013, did not file a required report with the attorney general's office last year.

Leading Cities, a non-profit organization run by lieutenant governor candidate Mike Lake, failed to file required paperwork with the Massachusetts attorney general's office last year.

Lake, a Democrat, acknowledged the mistake and attributed it to the newness of the non-profit, which is only a year old.

"It's not easy navigating these things," Lake said Monday, adding that part of his campaign is about streamlining regulations to make it easier for non-profits and small businesses.

Leading Cities' attorney Adam Jacobs did not return calls. After a reporter asked about the missing report, a Lake campaign aide said Leading Cities will file the paperwork.

Lake said in a prepared statement issued by his campaign, "Leading Cities has learned much as it has developed into an organization. As CEO, I take full responsibility and am proud of how quickly our team is working to resolve this clerical matter."

Leading Cities was founded in 2009 as part of Northeastern University, under the name World Class Cities, as a way to convene academics and city officials in the U.S. and internationally to research best practices in urban policy. The organization then spun off from Northeastern, with Lake as its president and CEO. Its mission is to bring together non-profit, business and civic leaders in cities worldwide to collaborate and share best practices.

Leading Cities filed as a non-profit corporation in Massachusetts in July 2013, although it did not get an official letter from the Internal Revenue Status confirming its status until this week. Any non-profit that has registered with the state is also required to file an annual report with the attorney general's charities division at the end of its fiscal year with basic information about the organization, its finances and its leadership. State records show, and the attorney general's office confirmed, that Leading Cities failed to file a report for 2013.

Lake is facing Steve Kerrigan, a former aide to Sen. Ted Kennedy and CEO of the 2012 Democratic National Convention, and Cambridge City Councilor Leland Cheung in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor.

Consultants will return in September with their final recommendations for the UMass and Amherst collaboration.

AMHERST – Hiring an economic development director, creating more housing and affordable commercial space to promote start-ups were some of the preliminary recommendations consultants for U3 Advisors presented Tuesday afternoon to the Town Gown-Steering Committee.

This was just a preliminary report and consultants will be coming back next month with a final report.

In April, the town and the University of Massachusetts hired U3 Advisors of Philadelphia in partnership with Corneil Collaborative and The Cecil Group as the consultants to work on the town-gown issues of improving both housing availability and boosting economic development.

In an hour-long power point presentation, consultants provided population, housing and employment statistics along with their recommendations.  Since they began their work, they have met with officials from UMass and the town, the Amherst Area Chamber and the Business Improvement District.

Executive director of External Relations and University Events and committee co-chair Nancy Buffone said the "student engagement piece" is missing. Consultants will continue gathering information when students return and their comments will be included in the final recommendations.

Consultant George Smith pointed out that both a shortage of economic opportunities and lack of housing is contributing to the decline of the young workforce. Many who go to school here leave town when they graduate.

To change that, they are suggesting support for an "infrastructure for entrepreneurs and inventors, start-ups and innovators through cowork, maker, accelerator and incubator spaces."

 The commercial space for small businesses and entrepreneurs should also be within walking distance of university and downtown.

There's a "lack of organization in the community to support start up new businesses," Smith said. 

Mixed used development with housing for students and retail is also needed and consultants proposed this could be built on University Drive and Massachusetts Avenue on university owned land.

Smith also said that continuing the town-gown committee or something similar is vital to moving forward. "Better collaboration and an on going (relationship) are one of the ways to create a forum and that environment where you can hash out these differences, which are many," he said.

According to the report "UMass and Amherst have physically disconnected and disengaged over time." And there is "a lack of forums encouraging collaboration between UMass and Amherst." He did point out that the BID is one such place of engagement.

There are also shared objectives. Both want to see a vibrant downtown that is welcoming and that serves students.

 Smith said that providing funding for an economic director for the town is extremely important. He said that the director would be able to communicate with UMass and the university would have someone to contact. 

 "By no means is this the final story,"  said Amherst Assistant Town Manager David Ziomek and co-chair of the committee.

The report will be posted on the town-gown website and people are encouraged to review and send in comments to either Ziomek or Buffone, Ziomek said. 

In April of 2013, UMass Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy proposed that university and town together hire a consultant to look at community-campus issues and that the university and town split the $60,000 estimated cost. Town Meeting agreed.  

Ziomek also said they will be working with Subbaswamy and Town Manager John P. Musante "to process and review what was presented today."

No date was set for a final presentation.

The deadline for submitting articles and publications for consideration as part of the meeting will be shared in the weeks to come.

EAST LONGMEADOW — Selectmen voted Tuesday to schedule a special Town Meeting on Mon. Oct. 27.

The deadline for submitting articles and publications for consideration as part of the meeting will be shared in the weeks to come.

In other business:

• William Arment and Robert Sheets were appointed to the town Conservation Commission, while the possibility of appointing Ryan Quimby as an ad-hoc member was discussed.
• The board voted for a 60 day extension to fill several positions with the town, including Emergency Management Director, Parking Clerk and Town Counsel.
• Board members discussed the ongoing effort to fill the open Town Accountant position, which has attracted 11 applications. Interviews will be held on Aug. 14 and 15, so that two finalists can be interviewed for a second time at the next Board of Selectmen meeting.
• Lindsay Sawyer was chosen as the next town Recreation Assistant, with Donna Behler put forward as an alternate if she should refuse. Both Sawyer and Behler interviewed for the position on June 5.
• A road race to benefit East Longmeadow Public Schools organized by the ELEEF was approved for Sun., Sept. 21, pending approval from the police, fire department, DPW and temporary health agent.
• The board agreed to interview 2 candidates for the open permanent health agent position on Aug. 14 and 15.

The meeting was held at the unusual time of 3 p.m. so that those participating could participate in the National Night Out.

The next selectmen's meeting is scheduled to take place on Tues., Aug. 19 in the Town Hall hearing room at the more routine time of 6 p.m.

One lane of the roads in question will be shut down from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day for the next 8 weeks, while work is ongoing.

LONGMEADOW — The Longmeadow Public Works Department has announced plans to "water main replacement work" underneath three streets during the coming weeks, which will have an impact on the flow of traffic along Edgewood Avenue, Glenwood Circle and Warren Terrace Extension.

The project, which is being handled by Caracus Construction Corporation of Ludlow, began this morning and is expected to continue for the next 8 weeks.

One lane of the roads in question will be shut down from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day to allow crews to do what is necessary work is ongoing.

Local residents with questions or concerns have been asked to call the DPW office at 567-3400.

The authority owes city agencies either $1.5 million or nearly $6 million, depending which officials are addressing the debt.

HOLYOKE -- The City Council and Mayor Alex B. Morse met in an hour-long closed-door session at City Hall Tuesday (Aug. 5) to discuss the Holyoke Geriatric Authority.

The meeting was mostly an update about existing issues, with the city continuing with a case in state Land Court to seize the 45 Lower Westfield Road property, Morse said.

Also discussed was last month's decision by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge to dismiss the authority's bid to seek bankruptcy protection, said Morse and council President Kevin A. Jourdain.

The authority board of directors voted 6-0 on July 16 to seek proposals from companies or developers interested in buying the facility, where the nursing home closed in April because of financial problems.

The authority is overseen by a board of seven that includes three appointed by the mayor and three by the City Council, with those six appointing a seventh. The board has one vacancy.

Officials with the city, which opposed the board's bid for bankruptcy protection, said the city is owed nearly $6 million by the authority because of years of unpaid bills for health insurance, employee pension contributions and utility services.

The authority in the bankruptcy case said the amount it owes the city is about $1.5 million.

The last residents were transferred to other facilities April 24. That came after the board voted 3-2 March 3 to contact the state Department of Public Health about closing. The state gave permission and the official closing date was May 13.

The restoration and upgrade features an original gas chandelier, paint colors matching those from the 1790s, an emergency bunker and facial recognition technology.

BOSTON - Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick's office opened its doors on Tuesday after an $11.3 million renovation to reveal an original gas chandelier, paint colors matching those from the 1790s, an emergency bunker and facial recognition technology.

"We wanted to preserve it to its historic qualities and restore it as museum quality," said Shirin Karanfiloglu, director of programming in the Office of Planning, Design and Construction at the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance. "This project was necessary not only as a restoration project but also upgrading the systems that were failing, including the HVAC system, (information technology) system, security, energy efficiency."

The project was originally estimated to cost $9 million, but state officials blamed unforeseen conditions and deferred maintenance for the added cost. The three-story office - which includes the governor's office and reception area, the Governor's Council chambers, a constituent services office and space for staff and meetings – had not been extensively renovated for a century.

Richard Petersen, senior construction manager for the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance, said when workers opened up the walls and ceilings, they found problems with the structure and the plumbing. They discovered that the walls were solid, made of terra cotta and steel, so running electrical wires required them to dig trenches in the walls. There were holes in the floors and cracks on more than 60 percent of the plaster walls in the executive suite.

"We rectified infrastructure that hadn't been touched within 100 years," Petersen said. "Anything we found, we'd try to fix."

The part of the Statehouse where the governor's suite is located was built in 1798. The heart of the historic renovation was in the offices where the governor works and the Governor's Council meets, which were restored to their original grandeur.

There, state officials worked with the Massachusetts Historical Commission to paint the walls the same green color that would have adorned the chamber in 1798. They hung a massive 1850 "gasolier," a chandelier that had been gas-powered but is now electrical. The zinc and brass chandelier, crafted with Massachusetts in mind, features statuettes of Lady Liberty, a frontiersman and a Native American. The carpeting was removed to reveal original oak flooring, which was restored. Decorative white plaster moldings form wreaths along the walls and are interspersed with gold designs. Petersen said workers used dental tools to clean the delicate moldings. The walls feature portraits of past Massachusetts governors.

The state took out of storage and restored a long curved desk from the 1890s, which will return to its original use as the Governor's Council's table.

The whole office was updated with wireless internet, a new heating, ventilating and air conditioning system and temperature controls for each room. It was made handicapped accessible.

The top floor, which will include staff work and conference space, will have a replica of the state's emergency command bunker in Framingham. Once it is outfitted with six plasma television screens and audio-visual technology, the governor will be able to manage any emergency from the Statehouse, with views of the Boston Harbor, Western Massachusetts or anywhere else he would have previously only been able to view from the bunker. The office will be outfitted with security video cameras. Cameras were also installed for facial recognition technology, although it will be up to the state police whether to install the software.

The project was funded almost entirely through money set aside in the state's capital budget.

Organizers are pushing the city to improve the way it cares for street trees.

NORTHAMPTON — A group of Northampton residents plans to conduct an inventory of the city's public shade trees in September, and is looking for 40 volunteers to help with the effort.

Northampton's shade tree canopy is declining, said organizer Lilly Lombard, who's also executive director of the local agriculture group Grow Food Northampton.

"Sadly, Northampton lacks a state-mandated tree warden. And so there exists no tree inventory, no comprehensive plan for tree planting and care, and no leveraging of tax dollars to preserve our urban forest," said Lombard in a press statement.

Organizer Laura Hilberg said the data will be used to make the case for a comprehensive tree program in Northampton.

The group will deploy the software tool i-Tree, and divide into 14 groups, two for each of the city's seven wards, said Lombard. Participants will use their smartphones and tablets to record a scientific sampling of the species, size, and health of the city's public shade tree canopy.

i-Tree, a software suite from the USDA Forest Service, not only maps street trees, but translates the inventory into dollar value — financial benefits that include stormwater mitigation and pollution reduction, energy savings, increased property value, and heightened economic activity, Lombard said.

The tree inventory will be conducted Sat., Sept. 13 and take about six hours. Volunteers must be able to walk three miles. Possession of a tablet or smartphone and tree identification skills are a plus, but not required.

Organizers say 20 volunteers have already stepped forward, including arborists from the University of Massachusetts, Smith College, and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Those who wish to volunteer are encouraged to contact Lombard at jollyforager@gmail.com or (413) 207-5899.