Julian Munn, 46, is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday for assault with a dangerous weapon.

NORTHAMPTON - A Hampshire County grand jury has indicted a Springfield man for pounding a man into the sidewalk.

Julian Munn, 46, is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday for assault with a dangerous weapon. According to the indictment, Munn slammed his victim against the sidewalk and curb in Amherst on June 22 of this year.

Munn has been held without right to bail under the dangerousness statute following June 23 hearing in Eastern Hampshire District Court.

How to videos on small claims court now available on Trial Court website.

BOSTON — How-to videos for people who represent themselves in small claims courts are now available on the Massachusetts Trial Court website.

The videos on how to prepare for small claims court are available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Khmer, Portuguese, Russian, and Vietnamese.

Small claims cases in the District Court, Boston Municipal Court and Housing Court for the most part involve claims worth no more than $7,000.

Examples of small claims are those involving security deposits, contract disputes and property damage.

There is a video for each of these areas: Introduction to small claims; what is a small claims case; how to file a small claims case; and what to do if someone files a case against you.

Other videos: How to prepare for court; how to appeal if you lose; and how to collect money if you win.

Last year forms and written instructional material for small claims court were created in the same languages.

Below is an example of the videos – "Introduction to Small Claims":

Trucks loaded with water, generators and sleeping bags for desperate civilians in the besieged city of Luhansk began moving through Ukrainian customs after being held up at the border for a week.

NATALIYA VASILYEVA
Associated Press

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Fierce fighting raged in eastern Ukraine on Thursday in what appeared to be a last-gasp attempt by government troops to snatch back territory from pro-Russian separatists before the arrival of a Russian aid convoy overseen by the Red Cross.

Trucks loaded with water, generators and sleeping bags for desperate civilians in the besieged city of Luhansk began moving through Ukrainian customs after being held up at the border for a week, in part because of safety concerns and Ukrainian fears that the convoy's arrival could halt the military's advance.

The trucks in the 200-vehicle convoy were expected to cross into Ukraine on Friday morning on their way to Luhansk, a city with a war-reduced population of a quarter-million people, 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Russian border.

At Russia's urging, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a cease-fire during the humanitarian mission.

The Red Cross has said it needs assurances of safe passage from all sides to bring in the supplies and set up distribution points, so even without a formal cease-fire, Ukrainian government forces could be severely constrained in their movements once the trucks begin moving.

Ukrainian troops have made significant advances into rebel-held territory this week in a conflict that has claimed more than 2,000 lives and forced over 340,000 people to flee their homes. Ukraine celebrates Independence Day on Sunday, and there are widespread suspicions the government is anxious for a breakthrough by then.

Looking for a diplomatic solution to the crisis, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will meet on Saturday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has acted as a mediator, and will sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Minsk, Belarus, early next week.

"We are going to Minsk to talk about peace," Poroshenko said in a statement. "The whole world is tired of war."

Poroshenko stopped short of saying whether he still insists on the rebels' unconditional surrender.

Ukraine has accused Russia of arming and supporting the separatists since the fighting began in mid-April, a charge Russia denies.

Meanwhile, five troops were killed and two civilians died over a 24-hour period in rebel-held areas, authorities said. That followed over 50 deaths on Wednesday.

Troops fought separatists in and around Ilovaysk near the rebel-held city of Donetsk, and at least two people were killed and an unspecified number wounded in an artillery strike on a Donetsk suburb, authorities said.

Once home to 1 million, Donetsk, the largest city still held by the rebels, has seen one-third of its population flee since the spring.

Heavy fighting was also reported in Luhansk on Thursday, a day after the government said it had retaken much of the rebel stronghold. The city has been under siege for 19 days, lacking such basics as running water and electricity.

"People hardly leave their homes for fear of being caught in the middle of ongoing fighting, with intermittent shelling into residential areas placing civilians at risk," the Red Cross said.

___

Laura Mills and Lynn Berry in Moscow and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.

CHICOPEE – Police say they will ask Greenfield Police Chief Robert Haigh Jr.to revoke a Greenfield man’s gun permit after it was discovered that he had left a loaded weapon inside a co-worker’s vehicle while they were here in the city Monday night. Police arrested that man, 39-year-old Devin Rowley, and a second Greenfield man, 46-year-old Todd Addison, after...

THE REPUBLICAN FILE 

CHICOPEE – Police say they will ask Greenfield Police Chief Robert Haigh Jr.to revoke a Greenfield man’s gun permit after it was discovered that he had left a loaded weapon inside a co-worker’s vehicle while they were here in the city Monday night.

Police arrested that man, 39-year-old Devin Rowley, and a second Greenfield man, 46-year-old Todd Addison, after they allegedly attacked a Grove Avenue man during an altercation over tools, according to a police report filed by Officer Jeanne Nowak.

The victim told Nowak that the two suspects and a third man, who was not arrested, came to his home shortly before 6:30 p.m., ostensibly to see a pickup truck that he was selling on Craigslist.

The victim said that he had worked for Addison and that Addison owed him back wages. Because of that, the victim said he was holding onto tools that he believed belonged to Addison until he got paid.

The victim told Nowak that Addison blindsided him with a punch, perhaps augmented with a rock in his fist, while they were looking at the truck, according to the report. Rowley then kicked the victim in the stomach while he was on the ground.

The third man then leaned down and said “See, this wouldn’t have happened if you had turned over the tools,” according to Nowak’s report which was filed in support of court documents.

The victim’s girlfriend called 911 and the three men soon left the scene. The victim suffered a potentially broken nose, a large oval-shaped welt on his head that appeared to have been inflicted with a blunt object and had a partial footprint in the chest area of his T-shirt, according to the report.

That T-shirt was confiscated as evidence.

Afterwards, Nowak went to the police station at 110 Church St. where the three men went to file a larceny complaint.

When asked about the fight, Rowley denied being anywhere near the victim and Addison said that he acted in self-defense only after being struck by the victim.

Nowak ultimately arrested Rowley and Addison and charged them with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (boots and blunt object). The two suspects live in Greenfield; Rowley, at 33 Union St. (front) and Addison, at 33½ Union St.

While they were being processed, the third man, the one who was not arrested, told police that he thought there was a loaded weapon in his truck and that he wanted it removed.

Officer Ty Patruno found a .38 cal. black handgun on the truck’s rear seat. It was under a pillow, inside a ‘weapon-style’ fanny pack and loaded with six rounds, Nowak wrote.

Rowley admitted to Sgt. Stephen Jodoin that the gun was his, Nowak wrote. He was also charged with leaving a loaded firearm in a vehicle.

“(Rowley) does have a Class A Large Capacity Permit, which we are requesting to be revoked, due to the fact that he left his loaded firearm in the vehicle he was riding in, at (the victim’s) house and also out in front of the police station, while speaking to us,” Nowak wrote.

That request will be forwarded to Haigh, police said.

Both suspects denied their charges during their arraignments in District Court. They were ordered held in lieu of $100 cash bail and ordered to return to court on Oct. 6 for

Griffin was one of the founders of “Harambee” and the Stone Soul Festival.

Jerald Jay Griffin is receiving the 2014 Ubora Award  

SPRINGFIELD – Jerald Jay Griffin, one of the founders of Harambee and the Stone Soul Festival, will be honored with the 23rd annual Ubora Award by the African Hall Subcommittee of the Springfield Museums.

The award will be bestowed upon Griffin, 70, on Sept. 20, at 6 p.m., at the Michele & Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts at the Quadrangle. The Ubora Award, named for the Swahili word for “excellence,” is presented to an African-American who has made a significant contribution to Greater Springfield.

“The committee was impressed with Jay's long and outstanding involvement and leadership in the betterment of the community," said My-Ron Hatchett, chair of the African Hall Subcommittee. "His efforts in health initiatives, youth development and community organizing need to be recognized, and what better way than to present Jay with the 2014 Ubora Award.”

Griffin said he learned of his selection a week or two after reading about past Ubora Award recipients, including Raymond Harvey, Alexander Mapp and Taj Mahal, in The Republican's Heritage Book series “The Struggle for Freedom.”

"Oh my God, it's such an honor. So many distinguished individuals have won this award," Griffin said. "I came from a big family. Growing up, my father told us the only thing he could leave us was his name. I am sure he is smiling right now."

A Springfield native, Griffin worked as a consultant to the Illinois Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Hampden County Sheriff Department. He retired as an administrator for a HIV/AIDS counseling and testing program.

Griffin has a long history of community service dating back to 1969 as one of the founders of “Harambee,” which became a major African-American festival in the City of Homes. He is also co-founder of the Stone Soul Festival and has served as program chairman since its beginnings 25 years ago.

In addition, Griffin serves on the Mason Square Health Task Force in conjunction with the Healthy Community Collaborative. He is also a board member of the Old Hill Neighborhood Council, the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, and a commissioner on the Springfield Building Parks and Recreation Board.

Other noteworthy volunteer efforts including organizing the Safe and Sane Halloween Party for youth in Mason Square, Toys for Tots – Old Hill Neighborhood Council, and the Charlie Rawls BBQ in collaboration with Mason Square Health Task Force.

A dedicated advocate for the historical accomplishments of African-Americans, Griffin is known as “Scallywag Hawkins” among the Living History re-enactors of the Peter Brace Brigade of the 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. He is a member of St. John’s Congregational Church.

The Ubora Award presentation will be followed by a reception at the Springfield Science Museum across the Quadrangle. Admission to the event is $15 for adults and $10 for children under 12.

For information or advance reservations, call (413) 263-6800, ext. 325.

Criteria set now for large developments will affect the city's future, says O'Donnell.

Ward 3 City Councilor Ryan O'Donnell hopes for a large turnout at an upcoming public forum. Submitted photo 

NORTHAMPTON — Northampton residents interested in the future development of the city are invited to an upcoming public forum.

The forum, hosted by Ward 3 City Councilor Ryan O'Donnell and Ward 4 councilor Gina-Louise Sciarra, will look at special permit criteria for large developments.

Currently, a moratorium is in place for building projects of seven or more units in the city's two densest zoning districts. The moratorium was put in place so special permit criteria could be finalized for such projects, said O'Donnell.

O'Donnell said even though it may sound dry, the rules approved for large developments will have a significant impact over how the city will look and function moving into the future.

Residents will be encouraged to speak out on affordable housing requirements, parks and civic spaces, energy and environment, roadways and streetscapes associated with large developments.

"I really hope to get a large crowd," O'Donnell said in a telephone interview. "And I hope some real ideas come out of the forum. These things matter, even if it's not your neighborhood that's affected."

The forum is held in advance of a Sept. 22 Ordinance Committee meeting where the criteria will be discussed, with a possible recommendation to send the package to the full City Council for debate.

Any zoning change will require a two-thirds vote of the City Council.

The city's Planning Board has already adopted a set of recommendations for the special permit criteria. O'Donnell said by hosting the forum, he hopes to broaden the discussion and gather more input from the community.

What: Public forum on rules governing large building projects in URB and URC zoning districts
When: Wednesday, Sept. 3rd, 6-7:30 p.m.
Where: 2nd Floor Hearing Room, City Hall, 210 Main St, Northampton

Northampton MA Zoning Map

Pressley cited Coakley's work on opposing discrimination cases, prosecuting for-profit universities and establishing new laws against human trafficking.

BOSTON - Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley announced her endorsement of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Martha Coakley on Wednesday, saying Coakley "works every day to break cycles of poverty and violence and reduce trauma in our communities."

Coakley and her Democratic opponents, Steve Grossman and Don Berwick, are scrambling for support in the final weeks of the primary campaign. Boston is an important city for the Democrats, with its large population of Democratic voters.

Pressley endorsed Coakley during a visit to Fields Corner Business Lab in Dorchester.

Pressley cited Coakley's work taking seriously the case of Cure Lounge, in which the Boston bar was accused of shutting down rather than admitting black patrons after a Harvard-Yale football game. Coakley's office negotiated a settlement in which the bar paid $30,000. "Given how egregious the actions were, it's a nominal amount, but what it did do was send a very strong message we have zero tolerance when it comes to discrimination," Pressley said.

Pressley praised Coakley's efforts to investigate, and sue, for-profit universities that allegedly ran deceptive marketing campaigns and encouraged students to take out high-interest loans. She also cited Coakley's efforts to get an anti-human trafficking bill passed in the state legislature.

The two Democrats running to replace Attorney General Martha Coakley on Thursday raised questions about a settlement her office reached with a lobbying firm.

BOSTON ᰬ The two Democrats running to replace Attorney General Martha Coakley on Thursday raised questions about a settlement her office reached with a lobbying firm.

Both prefaced their criticism by basing it on what they had read in published reports about the settlement, with Maura Healey, a former prosecutor who worked for Coakley until late last year, saying Coakley didn’t go far enough in the case, and former Sen. Warren Tolman said he had concerns “at first blush.”

Coakley’s office said last week it had reached a settlement with the Brennan Group in which the firm would pay $100,000 to the Franciscan Hospital for Children and avoid civil or criminal charges. Coakley’s office contended that the company collected fees illegally contingent on the firm’s success on winning state funding for the hospital. Coakley's office has also previously argued there were “significant impediments” to a criminal prosecution, including issues with the statute of limitations and credibility with a key witness.

“I think it’s incredibly important that when there are allegations of corruption or fraud on the system, illegal lobbying activities, you absolutely take them on, you investigate them and you hold people accountable for not playing by the rules,” Healey told reporters on Thursday. Healey added, “It is incredibly important. Now based on the reports and what I’ve read today, I don’t think the attorney general went far enough.”

Tolman said, “I don’t know the facts here. It’s cause for concern, frankly. And I don’t want to say yes, no, or maybe, because it may be -- who knows what happens with the secretary of state’s [inquiry].”

Healey and Tolman are competing in the Democratic primary on Sept. 9. Republican John Miller is also running for attorney general, an open position since Coakley is running for governor.

BOSTON (AP) — A college friend of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and conspiracy charges. Dias Kadyrbayev admitted in U.S. District Court on Thursday that he removed a backpack containing emptied-out fireworks from Tsarnaev's dorm room several days after the 2013 attack that killed three people and injured more than 260...

BOSTON (AP) — A college friend of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and conspiracy charges.

Dias Kadyrbayev admitted in U.S. District Court on Thursday that he removed a backpack containing emptied-out fireworks from Tsarnaev's dorm room several days after the 2013 attack that killed three people and injured more than 260 others.

Under the plea agreement, federal prosecutors said they would ask for no more than seven years in federal prisons for the 20-year-old Kadyrbayev. His lawyer still could seek a lighter sentence.

Judge Douglas Woodlock set sentencing for Nov. 18 but did not immediately accept the plea agreement, saying he first wanted to review a report that will be prepared by the probation department.

Kadyrbayev Stipulation of Facts by Patrick Johnson

Beginning in September 2015, RH Conwell School will again be a public elementary school for the children of Worthington.

The fourth annual Aaron Lewis & Friends Benefit Concert and the third annual Aaron Lewis Invitational Golf Tournament raised a combined total of $250,000 for the It Takes a Community Foundation.

ITAC was founded by the Staind frontman Lewis and his wife, Vanessa Lewis, in 2010 to fund a school for the children of Worthington. However, recent legislation will return the RH Conwell School to public school status in September 2015.

"We have seen first-hand the necessity for smaller communities to have a voice and to determine their own local needs and priorities," Aaron Lewis said in a news release. "My wife and I are extremely happy and proud that the R.H. Conwell School is reopening as a public elementary school and we're excited to expand the foundation and take on new projects."

In addition to the R.H. Conwell School, this year's proceeds are being shared among Big Brothers Big Sisters of Franklin County, Greenfield Education Foundation and the YMCA of Hampshire County's Camp Norwich Improvement Fund.

Helping to reopen and fund the RH Conwell School as a private community education center was the catalyst and origin of the It Takes A Community Foundation. The school has also been the primary beneficiary ITAC’s fundraising efforts since 2010. However, over the past year the residents of Worthington successfully lobbied the state for special legislation that allows the tax dollars of their town to stay in Worthington rather than be pooled into the regional school system.

Vanessa Lewis was elated to announce to the attendees of the ITAC Charity Golf tournament on Aug. 9 that, “As of September 2015, our school will once again be a public elementary school for the children of Worthington.”

“This milestone of self-sufficiency will allow It Takes a Community to continue its growth goals and mission by increasing the number of organizations that receive grant money from the ITAC foundation," she added.

The Aaron Lewis & Friends Benefit Concert was held on June 27 at Look Park in Northampton. He was joined by his Staind bandmates in the sold-out show.

Wagner is being challenged by William Courchesne for state representative in the 8th Hampden District.

SPRINGFIELD — As one of the authors of the gaming law, state Rep. Joseph F. Wagner will vote against repealing the law and said casinos may not be dead for Springfield, even if voters do vote against them.

"We would have an ability ... to revisit the issue and the question," he said.

Wagner, the Democratic state representative in the 8th Hampden District in Chicopee for 23 years, is running for re-election against William Courchesne, a newcomer to state politics who has run unsuccessfully in the past for Chicopee City Council.

Courchesne is also a Democrat. With no Republicans running for the office, the race will be decided at the Sept. 9 primary.

During an editorial board meeting with staff from The Republican and Masslive Thursday, Wagner talked about his views on the referendum which will allow voters to decide if they want the law that allows three resort casinos and a slot machine parlor to remain.

His comments came a day after Charlie Baker, Republican candidate for governor, said he would will work legislatively to authorize the already-approved MGM Resorts International project in Springfield to move forward if voters repeal the law.

Wagner said his vote in November will be to support the law.

But if voters reject the idea of having casinos in the state, it may not be the final decision, he said.

"We would have to assess what was the percentage of the vote on either side, how did it break out across regions," he said.

The way the law was written, local voters make the decision in a casino would be located within their community. They also cast ballots on a specific proposal instead of the broad idea to give more control.

"Local control is a central tenant of the gaming law," he said.

The idea that voters in Worcester or Boston can now decide if a casino is developed in Springfield is contrary to how the law was written.

He said the process in Springfield was fascinating to watch because it mirrored the law's ideas so well. The only thing that was not anticipated was there would be the competition of four original businesses vying for a chance to build in Springfield.

After a long process, residents voted in favor of a proposal by MGM Springfield to construction an $800 million casino in the South End of the city.

Time has shown that casinos are not recession-proof, but Wagner said it is clear major casino companies believe they are financially viable in Massachusetts, and have shown it by the millions of dollars already invested in the proposals.

The legislature studied the issue of the affect casinos could have on local businesses and the state lottery revenue, but he said he feels the state should go forward with the law and the casino developments because of the number of construction and permanent jobs and the "hundreds of millions of dollars in state revenue" they would generate.

Local cities and towns around host communities will also benefit because they will share in the jobs and some of the revenues, he said.

As the campaign season progresses, Wagner said he does not believe the financial issues surrounding the casino will be the major ones discussed.

"I think the debate will take shape around moral grounds," he said.

The sixth bishop of the Episcopal diocese remembered for his compassion.

News of the death of the Right Rev. Andrew F. Wissemann, retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts, on Aug. 20 at home in Longmeadow, elicited expressions of both sadness over the loss of a spiritual leader known for his pastoral and interfaith outreach, as well as memories of an individual who enjoyed his family, his books and his friends.

The Right Rev. Douglas Fisher, the diocese's ninth bishop, remembered Wissemann, its sixth, as a "much beloved figure."

"The man had great theological and spiritual depth," said Fisher who prayed with Wissemann and his family during the bishop's final hours. "Even being in the room then was nice. What was important to him was there. His family was there, his books and music played in the background. As a husband and father, he was a model of love, there was a library in his house and he enjoyed classical music."

Wissemann had said prior to his retirement, in 1992, that he had never aspired to be bishop, and Fisher noted how much Wissemann had enjoyed parish work. Wissemann served as rector in parishes in Berkshire and Franklin counties, as well as in the Diocese of Connecticut.

"The heart of every good bishop is that of a parish priest, and Wissemann was an outstanding priest," Fisher said.

"He was a prayerful person, and prayer shapes us as people."

Fisher said Wissemann, who was in his 80s, "had a very active full life," and had continue to meeting monthly with other priests to discuss theology.

"His focus was that churches should be places of spiritual and theological depth, and that if we are really grounded in faith, then that is how we will come to change the world," Fisher said. He noted that Wissemann also had an "ecumenical heart," working on interfaith issues not only locally, but on national issues involving the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Fisher added that a one word description for Wissemann would be "compassion."

"Since people have received notification of his death, I have been flooded with emails, and that is the one word used over and over."

His words were echoed by others, including David Starr, president of The Republican and senior editor of Advance Publications.

"He was a very wise and witty man, and a splendid leader who was compassionate. He was always extremely cheerful and friendly, and he had a great feeling for people," Starr said.

"I knew him for over 20 years. We used to meet once a month for many years for lunch together. We were close friends."

Starr added that Wissemann was "extremely conscious of the requirements of leadership."

"He understood that people had problems that needed solutions. He was extremely competent at offering that kind of help leadership can give."

Martin Pion was director of religious education for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, when he first met Wissemann as a member of the Interfaith Council of Western Massachusetts.

"He was pastorally sensitive, and very astute with people. He was widely respected all over the place, not just within his own Church," said Martin Pion, now professor of religious studies at the Elms in Chicopee.

Pion called Wissemann a "very active member of the council."

"He was a very active supporter of the interfaith movement in the Springfield area. He would attend council workshops, and participate in discussions."

Rabbi Jerome S. Gurland, retired from Western New England University, was co-president of council during the 1990s. He continued his association with Wissemann, who became bishop in 1983, in retirement. The both lived in the Glenmeadow retirement community.

"He was a wonderful, wonderful human being," said Gurland, who traveled twice to Israel with the Right Rev. George E. Councell, retired bishop of New Jersey, when Councell was canon to Wissemann in Springfield. Gurland said Wisseman encouraged Councell, who will give the sermon during the burial service for Wissemann, to visit Israel.

"He set the tone in terms of interfaith relations for not only his diocese, but for the larger community," said Gurland of Wissemann." When I celebrated the 40th anniversary of my ordination, he was retired, but he came to my celebration at Sinai Temple, and, here at Glenmeadow, he came to a discussion group I led on the short stories of Israeli writer Amos Oz."

Gurland said he recently received a note from Wissemann.

"He couldn't come to our last book session and, though he was sick, he was filled with gratitude. He wrote me a note, in beautiful handwriting, saying there was something in the story that I was going to have to straighten out for him. He had a sense of humor. He also told me I was his mentor. It was a wonderful tribute from him. Although he told people to call him Andy, and I told him to call me Jerry, I always called him Bishop and he called me Rabbi. I am going to miss him. He was an exceptional human being."

A native of New York City, Weissmann was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wesleyan University, in Connecticut, and of Union Theological Seminary, in New York. His parishes in the Berkshires included St. Stephen's in Pittsfield, where he served 16 years. He served, from 1960 to 1968, at St. James' Parish in Greenfield. He began his career as a lay pastor in Greenwich, Conn., when he was 22.

His wife Nancy was retired librarian for the Town of West Springfield. The couple, married six decades, raised four children.

Calling hours are Aug. 24, from 3 to 5 p.m., at Christ Church Cathedral, with the burial service on Aug. 25, at 11 a.m., at the cathedral, with a reception to follow in the Kendrick Room.

The victim was found later that morning inside her Dwight Street Extension apartment, bound to a chair and stabbed more than 60 times, according to trial testimony. Her son was found crying in a baby crib in the next room.

BOSTON – The state’s highest court has rejected the fifth appeal for a new trial from a Springfield man convicted of killing an exotic dancer by stabbing her more than 60 times in 1984.

In a ruling this week, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rejected an appeal by Edward G. Wright, who was found guilty of first-degree murder in the 1984 killing of Penny Anderson in the apartment she shared with her 1-year-old son.

Anderson, 24, had worked at Club 418 on Worthington Street, later known as the Scores Gentlemen’s Club, which blew up in a November 2012 gas explosion. Wright and the victim were at Club 418 and left together early on May 14, 1985, according to witnesses who testified at trial.

The victim was found later that morning inside her Dwight Street Extension apartment, bound to a chair and stabbed more than 60 times, according to trial testimony. Her son was found crying in a baby crib in the next room.

On April 11, 1985, Wright was found guilty and sentenced to life without parole. In the 29 years since, Wright, now 54, claimed he was wrongly convicted and repeatedly sought a new trial.

Lawyers for Wright and a prosecutor from the Hampden District Attorney’s office made presentations to the high court in April over Wright's latest request for a new trial.

In a ruling Wednesday, the SJC said the evidence against the defendant – including blood on the steering wheel and light switch of the car he drove that night – outweighed newly discovered evidence, including a later-recanted statement by another man that he killed Anderson.

“The new evidence does not cast real doubt on the justice of the defendant’s conviction because there is not a substantial risk that the jury would have reached a different conclusion had this evidence been admitted at trial,” the court found.

A Ludlow woman is accused of stealing more than $18,000 from her employer, an auto body shop in Feeding Hills.

WESTFIELD – A Ludlow woman is accused of stealing more than $18,000 from her employer, an auto body shop in Feeding Hills.

Jennifer Asta-Ferrero, 33, is charged in Westfield District Court with larceny over $250 by a single scheme, larceny over $250 from a disabled person and possession of a class E drug. At Asta-Ferrero’s Thursday arraignment, Judge Philip Contant set bail at $2,500.

According to the report by Agawam police, the owner of Vermette Auto Body in Feeding Hills called police April 28 and said he believed an employee, Asta-Ferrero, stole from him.

Asta-Ferrero was hired in 2012 and was responsible for the business’s bills, gaining access to a Capital One credit card and the business’s bank account, the report said.

The shop owner became suspicious when a Capital One representative called the business and specifically asked to speak with the owner rather than Asta-Ferrero. Shortly after this, Asta-Ferrero left the business, saying she had to deal with an emergency, the report said.

The business owner said Asta-Ferrero sent him an email the next day saying that she would not return to work because of racial comments made by a coworker, the report said.

After working with a Capital One fraud investigator, police found that Asta-Ferrero had used company resources to pay $18,355.73 on a personal credit card between October 2012 and April 2014, the report said.

After a search warrant was returned in July, police interviewed Asta-Ferrero Aug. 20 and arrested her. Officers found 43 Zofran pills in a bottle labeled for Clonazepam on Asta-Ferraro’s person, the report said. Asta-Ferraro said she had a prescription, and officers told her she could show it in court.

The owner of the body shop has Parkinson’s disease, which requires him to leave the cold weather during the winter, the report said, which is why Asta-Ferrero was left in charge of finances.

Americans are split on the adequacy of the response of President Barack Obama to the shooting of an unarmed black teen by police in Ferguson, Mo., but they are more positive than negative about the commander in chief's reaction.

Americans are split on the adequacy of the response of President Barack Obama to the shooting of an unarmed black teen by police in Ferguson, Mo., but they are more positive than negative about the commander in chief's reaction.

According to a new CBS News/New York Times poll released on Thursday, of 1,025 adults surveyed across the country, 41 percent are satisfied with Obama's response. Thirty-four percent say they are dissatisfied with his response and a hefty 25 percent said they don't have an opinion on the issue.

Tensions between citizens in Ferguson and law enforcement have been tense and culminated with violent clashes several times since Aug. 9 when a Ferguson police officer confronted black teen Michael Brown and his 22-year-old friend as they were walking down a street in the St. Louis suburb. While police have said a physical confrontation preceded the multiple shots the officer fired ultimately killing Brown, other witness accounts have varied, including a scenario where the unarmed teen had his hands in the air and was still shot.

President Barack Obama makes his second statement to the media regarding the shooting in Ferguson, Mo. during the Obama family vacation on the island of Martha's Vineyard. (AP Photo)

Police waited almost a full week before identifying Darren Wilson as the white officer who shot Brown six times, killing him. They also waited equally as long to reveal that Brown was a suspect in a convenience store robbery, although the Ferguson police chief said Wilson didn't know that when he confronted Brown and his friend in the street.

The Washington Post reported Thursday that Wilson had suffered a fracture to his eye bone following the incident, according to a family friend of the officer, and that x-rays had been submitted as evidence in the local investigation.

Although Obama hasn't visited Ferguson personally, he has ordered the Justice Department to conduct a civil rights probe into the shooting death and only spoken publicly about the incident twice, calling for calm, peace and order. His response has been reserved, leaving him subject to criticism from people who feel he should do more and those who think he shouldn't get involved at all.

The CBS News/New York Times poll revealed those divisions sharpen among racial lines, highlighting the fact that despite the nation progressing to the point of electing and re-electing a black president, America's record on racial inequalities are far from forgotten.

While only 35 percent of white respondents to the poll were satisfied with Obama's response to the shooting death of Brown, 60 percent of black people surveyed said they were satisfied. Dissatisfaction rated relating to Obama's handling of the situation were just 20 percent among black citizens and 39 percent among whites.

The poll, conducted through telephone interviews from Aug. 19-20, carries a 4 percentage point margin of error for the overall 1,025 people interviewed.

Aug14b Ferguson Morning

Boston school officials have placed three administrators at Boston Latin Academy on paid leave while an the department investigates possible wrongdoing.

BOSTON — Boston school officials have placed three administrators at Boston Latin Academy on paid leave while an the department investigates possible wrongdoing.

The three unnamed administrators are the first casualties in an ongoing investigation into allegations of "discrimination, harassment and intimidation" at the prestigious exam school.

A letter to school staffers from Interim Superintendent of Schools John P. McDonough indicated that the three administrators that oversaw unspecified academic departments will be replaced on an interim basis.

"As you may know, a number of BLA faculty members raised questions about academic and professional standards at the school. Some students also reached out and contacted my office with concerns. In general, these concerns involved rigor, quality and alignment of the curriculum and the culture and climate in the school," McDonough wrote in the letter.

McDonough said that he is installing a "dedicated leadership coach" to work directly with the school's headmaster, Emilia Pastor, to work on improving the relationship between teachers and administrators. He noted in the letter that additional changes at the school are still a possibility in the future.

"I view these efforts as collaborative and productive - not administrative or prescriptive. We share the same goal of ensuring that Boston Latin Academy continues to be a school that reflects BPS at our very best," McDonough said.

News of the problems at Boston Latin Academy came to the surface in June when the Boston Globe reported that faculty sent a letter to McDonough taking issue with administrators at the school for "creating fear and insecurity amongst faculty."

Boston Latin Academy Letter

Quoting former NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw, the superintendent said, “It’s easy to make a buck; it’s a lot harder to make a difference.”

SPRINGFIELD – Superintendent of Schools Daniel J. Warwick welcomed 2,400 teachers and wished them a happy new school year in the annual convocation ceremony today.

Joining Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and School Committee members on stage at the Van Sickle Middle School, Warwick expressed pride in school district’s recent accomplishments and predicted greater success in the coming school year.

“We’re going to build on these successes,” Warwick said in a speech broadcast to teachers and staff in all city schools.

“We’re all in this together,” he added.

In particular, the superintendent cited improved MCAS scores, reduced drop out rates and higher college acceptance levels as signs of continued improvement in the city’s public schools.

A former teacher and principal, Warwick saluted teachers and staff for boosting student achievement despite the poverty rates, gang violence, broken families and other obstacles that typically afflict urban school districts.

The teacher’s ultimate contribution, Warwick added, is measured in changed lives, not test scores or graduation rates.

Quoting former NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw, the superintendent said, “It’s easy to make a buck; it’s a lot harder to make a difference.”

Quoting his father, Warwick added, “Teaching is the noblest of all professions.”

Sarno also reminded teachers that they are turning out future leaders who will serve as ambassadors for Springfield wherever they go. On a personal note, he praised his former teachers at the High School of Commerce and told a joke involving a teacher, St. Peter standing at the gates of heaven, and the spelling of the former nation of Czechoslovakia.

The convocation marks the official start of the school year for teachers and staff in Springfield; for the district’s 27,000 students, classes begin Monday.

Neither Warwick nor the other speakers touched on the potential MCAS cheating scandal at Mary Dryden Veterans Memorial School, where test scores for 2011, 2012 and 2013 have been invalidated amid an investigation by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

In an interview later, Warwick said no allegations have been made against Springfield teachers of administrators at this point, and no students have been implicated in any wrongdoing.

Obituaries from The Republican.

Theodore Efremidis 

Theodore G. Efremidis, 72, of Springfield, died on Sunday. He was an industrial engineer at Milton Bradley, an adjutant professor at American International College and owned his own accounting business in Ludlow. He was born in Moschito, Greece, and settled in Springfield. He received an associate's degree in management from Springfield Technical Community College, bachelor's degrees in finance from American International College and engineering and management from Western New England University and master's degrees in administration and science and accounting from Western New England.

Frustrated by a week of delays, Russia sent over 130 aid trucks rolling into rebel-held eastern Ukraine on Friday without the approval of the government in Kiev. Ukraine called the move a "direct invasion" that aimed to provoke an international incident.

MSTYSLAV CHERNOV, Associated Press
PETER LEONARD, Associated Press

LUHANSK, Ukraine (AP) — Frustrated by a week of delays, Russia sent over 130 aid trucks rolling into rebel-held eastern Ukraine on Friday without the approval of the government in Kiev. Ukraine called the move a "direct invasion" that aimed to provoke an international incident.

Russia said it had lost patience with Ukraine's stalling tactics and claimed that soon "there will no longer be anyone left to help" in Luhansk, a war-torn rebel-held city that Ukrainian forces are trying to recapture.

The unilateral Russian sweep across the border drew strong condemnation from the European Union, the United States and NATO and sharply raised the stakes in eastern Ukraine, for any attack on the convoy could draw the Russian military directly into the conflict between the Ukrainian government and the separatist rebels.

Ukraine has long accused Russia of supporting and arming the rebels, a charge that Russia denies. Yet NATO said Friday that, since mid-August, it has seen "multiple reports of the direct involvement of including Russian airborne, air defense and special operations forces in eastern Ukraine." It also said Russian artillery support is being used against Ukraine's armed forces and it has seen "transfers of large quantities of advanced weapons, including tanks, armored personnel carriers and artillery to separatists."

At the United Nations in New York, Russia's ambassador to the U.N., Vitaly Churkin, hotly denied that any Russian troops were inside Ukraine.

After spending hours driving up and down winding country roads, apparently to avoid any Ukrainian troops, the convoy began pulling into Luhansk on Friday evening. The city has seen weeks of heavy shelling that has cut off power, water and phone lines and left food supplies scarce.

In the past few days, Ukraine said its troops had recaptured significant parts of Luhansk and suspicions were running high that Moscow's humanitarian operation may instead be aimed at halting Kiev's military momentum. Fierce fighting has been reported this week both around Luhansk and the largest rebel-held city, Donetsk, with dozens of casualties.

Speaking on national television, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk declared that the half-empty trucks Russia sent into Ukraine were not going to deliver aid but would be used to create a provocation. He said Russia would somehow attack the convoy itself, creating an international incident.

Ukrainian security services chief Valentyn Nalyvaichenko called the Russian convoy a "direct invasion."

Asked about that, Yatsenyuk replied that Russia's invasion of Ukraine began back in March when it annexed Crimea and has been going on ever since.

NATO's secretary general condemned Russia for sending in a "so-called humanitarian convoy." Anders Fogh Rasmussen called Russia's unilateral decision "a blatant breach of Russia's international commitments" and "a further violation of Ukraine's sovereignty."

The swiftness with which Russia set the aid mission into motion last week and the lack of direct involvement from the international community immediately raised questions about Moscow's intentions.

Russia said the white-tarped semis were carrying food, water, generators and sleeping bags. AP journalists following the convoy across rough country roads heard the trucks' contents rattling and sliding around Friday, confirming that many vehicles were only partially loaded.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which had planned to escort the Russian aid convoy to assuage fears that it was a cover for a Russian invasion, said it had not received enough security guarantees to do so, as shelling had continued overnight. Four troops were killed and 23 wounded in the past 24 hours in eastern Ukraine, the government reported Friday.

Nalyvaichenko, speaking to reporters in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, said the men driving the trucks into Ukraine were Russian military personnel "trained to drive combat vehicles, tanks and artillery." The half-empty aid trucks would be used to transport weapons to rebels and spirit away the bodies of Russian fighters killed in eastern Ukraine, he said.

He insisted, however, that Ukraine would not shell the convoy.

Ukraine's presidential administration said Kiev authorized the entrance of only 35 trucks. But the number of Russian vehicles passing through a rebel-held border point Friday was clearly way beyond that.

An Associated Press reporter saw a priest blessing the first truck in the convoy at the rebel-held checkpoint and then climbing into the passenger seat. A lone border guard unlocked a customs gate and the trucks began to roll by.

Russian customs service representative Rayan Farukshin said all vehicles in the convoy, which has 260 trucks, including over 200 aid trucks, had been checked and approved for onward travel. Monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said as of midday, 134 Russian aid trucks, 12 support vehicles and one ambulance had crossed into Ukraine.

"The Russian side has decided to act," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "It is no longer possible to tolerate this lawlessness, outright lies and inability to reach agreements ... we are warning against any attempts to thwart this purely humanitarian mission."

Although Luhansk is only 12 miles (20 kilometers) from the border, the Russian convoy took a meandering route, avoid areas controlled by Ukrainian troops.

Shortly after leaving the rebel-held border town of Izvaryne, the convoy turned off of the main highway to Luhansk and headed north on a country road. Rolling on small roads greatly slowed the trucks' progress, turning what would in peacetime take roughly two hours into a daylong haul.

Rebel forces took advantage of Ukraine's promise not to shell the convoy to drive on the same country road as the aid trucks. Some 20 green military supply vehicles — flatbed trucks and fuel tankers — were seen traveling in the opposite direction, as well as other smaller rebel vehicles.

The convoy moved along village roads hugging the Russian border, which is marked by the winding Seversky Donets River. In the village of Davydo-Mykilske, less than 1 kilometer (half a mile) west of the border, AP reporters saw three rebel tanks, dozens of militiamen and several armored personnel carriers.

The Russian Foreign Ministry had accused the government in Kiev of shelling areas the convoy would have to pass through, making its travel impossible. The convoy had been stuck at the border for a week.

"There is increasingly a sense that the Ukrainian leaders are deliberately dragging out the delivery of the humanitarian load until there is a situation in which there will no longer be anyone left to help," it said Friday in a statement.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry retorted with a statement accusing Russia of "ignoring international rules, procedures and agreements that have been reached."

The fighting in eastern Ukraine began in mid-April, a month after Russia annexed Ukraine's southern Black Sea peninsula. It has killed over 2,000 people and forced 340,000 to flee, according to the United Nations.

___

Laura Mills in Moscow and Nataliya Vasilyeva in Kiev, Ukraine, Peter Leonard in Donetsk, Ukraine, and Alexander Roslyakov in Donetsk, Russia, contributed to this report.

On Thursday, the woman reported that a man called her over to his car and was involved in a lewd act in Lot 25 near to the first report Wednesday, according to a campus alert.

AMHERST – A second female has reported a man exposing himself to her in the same University of Massachusetts parking lot at which another a woman reported a similar incident Wednesday.

On Thursday, the woman reported that a man called her over to his car and was involved in a lewd act in Lot 25 near the UMass Parking Office near to the where the first incident was reported Wednesday, according to a campus alert.

The victim observed an older model (1989-1992) gold or tan colored 4-door Honda Civic pull up next to her. According to the victim, the suspect lowered the car window and she observed the lewd act. The suspect is again described as a white male, age in the late 20s to early 30s, medium to heavy build.

UMass Police are asking for information that might help identify the suspect.

Two recent incidents of indecent exposure/lewd acts with very similar descriptions of both the vehicle and the suspect were reported to the Sunderland Police Department on July 16, 2014.

In both incidents the suspect lured the females to his vehicle by asking for directions. People are being advised to avoid any contact with the suspect and note key information such as the license plate number and direction of travel while contacting the police immediately.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the University of Massachusetts Police Department at (413) 577-8477, or online www.umass.edu/umpd/anonymouswitness/.