Massachusetts' Supreme Judicial Court said that police didn't honor Thomass' request for a lawyer.

By DENISE LAVOIE

BOSTON -- A woman who was convicted of murder following a deadly fire but complained statements she made to Brockton police shouldn't have been used against her will be retried, prosecutors said Tuesday.

The state's highest court, finding that police didn't honor the woman's request for a lawyer, had ruled earlier in the day that prosecutors had to reduce the murder conviction or grant a new trial to the woman, who was blamed for setting a fire that killed a mother of four. The Supreme Judicial Court upheld Chiteara Thomas' conviction for arson but said her first-degree murder conviction could not stand.

During Thomas' 2010 trial, prosecutors said she used a cigarette lighter to start the 2006 fire after a dispute with a first-floor tenant. A third-floor tenant, Olinda Calderon, died of smoke inhalation, and several people were injured when they jumped from windows to escape.

Thomas, in her appeal, argued that the trial judge should have suppressed statements she made to Brockton police. She said she initially told police she wanted a lawyer but later agreed to talk to them without a lawyer after an officer implied that would be her chance to give her version of what happened.

The high court, which also overturned Thomas' conviction on 13 counts of attempted murder related to residents of the building, agreed with her.

"Because the police officers here did not scrupulously honor the defendant's right to cut off questioning until she had the benefit of counsel, and instead sought to persuade her to change her mind by suggesting that 'lawyering up' was costing her the opportunity to tell her side of the story, we conclude that ... the statements the defendant made that day in response to that questioning should have been suppressed," Justice Ralph Gants wrote.

Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said prosecutors will retry Thomas on the murder and attempted-murder charges.

"This was a horrific fire that left victims, including small children, jumping from a burning building to save their lives," he said. "There was overwhelming evidence that this defendant acted with deliberate premeditation to kill, including setting fire to a house filled with women and children at 5 o'clock in the morning."

Thomas' appeals lawyer, William S. Smith, said police lured Thomas into speaking to them after she said she wanted a lawyer.

"Here, there was much that understandably troubled the court, including the officer's having, very arguably, chastised my client for her having invoked her right to legal counsel by accusing her of having lawyered up," Smith said.

Thomas was 22 and homeless at the time of the fire. The first-floor tenant, Michelle Johnson, sometimes allowed Thomas and her boyfriend to stay in her apartment but had told Thomas to move out.

Thomas, angry that Johnson was preventing her from living with her boyfriend, repeatedly threatened to kill her and burn the house down, according to testimony at her trial.

On the day of the fire, a neighbor saw Thomas reach into a window on the first floor and then saw a reddish-orange glow from the windows and saw Thomas running away, according to testimony.

Two Zipcars named Sailor and Santiago now live behind City Hall.

NORTHAMPTON — Two new Zipcars are now parked behind Northampton City Hall, bringing the total number of shared vehicles in the city to eight.

Under the Zipcar concept, members can reserve a car by the hour or the day, providing an affordable and convenient option for people who, for one reason or another, don't want to own their own vehicle.

Narkewicz officially launched the program Tuesday, flanked by company representatives who offered Zipcar pens, bandanas and water bottles to passersby on Main Street.  The mayor signed a deal with the Avis-owned Zipcar in August — months after a lively City Council discussion on the idea's merits — where the company leases two municipal parking spaces. The deal generates a small revenue stream for the city, said Narkewicz.

"We're really excited about this. It really fits in with our vision of sustainable transportation," said Narkewicz. "With all the transit connections, and the new Amtrak service that's coming, there's synergy in having Zipcars right in the heart of downtown."

There are already six public Zipcars at Smith College, which adopted the program in 2006. The cars are housed at the West Street parking garage, about a ten minute walk from downtown.

Craig Burns, a senior account manager with Zipcar, said each Zipcar has a name. "We think each one has its own personality," he said. Burns pointed to a Ford Focus hatchback that's part of the Northampton fleet, and said its name is "Sailor." The other car, a Toyota Corolla, is named "Santiago."

"We make sure each of the cars in our fleet is what the EPA would consider a SmartWay vehicle," said Burns. A vehicle must be fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly to gain SmartWay certification, according to the agency. 

Burns said he'd been working with the city since the winter to establish the program.

"I'd say this is a very intelligent, very cost-conscious, and very sustainability-conscious community, and all those things work very well for Zipcar," said the Boston-based Burns. "I actually love it here."

Northampton planning director Wayne Feiden said the car share program fits in well with "Sustainable Northampton," the city's comprehensive plan. "The sustainability plan specifically says we should encourage car sharing," he said.

Feiden said the downtown program was Zipcar's idea. "They actually approached us this time around," said Feiden, who helped Smith College establish a relationship with the company eight years ago.

Zipcar members can reserve a car online or by telephone. Rates, which start at $7.50 an hour, include gas, insurance, a parking spot, and 180 free miles per day.  Members apply online, and when approved, receive a "Zipcard" that will unlock any Zipcar.

The company has 12,000 cars across the globe, and  estimates that each Zipcar eliminates the need for 20 privately-owned vehicles. 

Narkewicz, flashing his card, said he has been a Zipcar member for many years.

Councilors said taxpayers cannot afford to pay for homeless people being housed in hotels and motels.

HOLYOKE -- The legislators who represent the city on Beacon Hill can expect to hear from councilors frustrated about the state's continuing arrangement of housing homeless families in hotels and motels.

Specifically, Ward 5 Councilor Linda L. Vacon said during Tuesday's (Sept. 2) City Council meeting at City Hall that the rules should be changed to require that local officials are notified when the state makes deals with facilities to place homeless families.

The problems include increased numbers of police calls for service to the Holyoke Hotel at 245 Whiting Farms Road, which has a contract to house homeless families, and concerns about too many family members stuffed into rooms, councilors said.

"I think there is something that could be done," Vacon said.

"The taxpayers can't foot the bill anymore," she said.

Since 2009, Massachusetts taxpayers have paid nearly $56 million to hotels housing homeless families in Western Massachusetts. The state provided the information in response to a public records request by The Republican and MassLive.com.

Vacon was among councilors who said the legislators who represent the city be contacted to require local officials be informed about such homeless-in-hotels arrangements.

The problem has grown into Holyoke having to house not only homeless Holyokers, but homeless people from outside Holyoke, Councilor at Large Joseph M. McGiverin said.

"We have families living in one or two rooms. It's the state that's the problem," McGiverin said. "No hotel should be used for a homeless family."

"It's wrong no matter how you look at it," he said.

Police Chief James M. Neiswanger told the Safety Committee last week police responded to 177 calls for service in 2013 at the Holyoke Hotel. Police were dispatched to that address, when it was a Holiday Inn, only 19 times in 2000 when homeless families weren't being warehoused there, Neiswanger said.

Councilor at Large Daniel B. Bresnahan said hotels and motels are private businesses not required to answer local officials' questions.,

"They don't have to play ball with us," Bresnahan said.

Bresnahan agreed the key is to pressure the legislative delegation to get changes.

"Ten or 15 years, we've been fighting this and it's just increased," Bresnahan said.

Councilor James M. Leahy noted the city pays $450,000 to bus children of homeless families who are living in hotels and motels to the schools in their home cities and towns.

"This just isn't helping anything. The quality of life is suffering in that neighborhood," Leahy said, regarding the Holyoke Hotel, which used to be the Holiday Inn, at 245 Whiting Farms Road.

Ward 1 Councilor Gladys Lebron-Martinez urged councilors to keep in mind no one wants to be homeless.

"I'm quite sure the families that are there don't want to be there," Lebron-Martinez said.

Officials for the state Department of Housing and Community Development have said they continue to work to move families from hotels here and in other cities to better living situations. But local officials bristle at the prospect of homeless people warehoused in hotels and motels because they say conditions are unfair to the families and costly to cities and towns in terms of services such as for police calls.

Sgt. Steve Marion fills the vacancy created when former Sgt. Mark Smith accepted the chief’s job in Hinsdale two months ago

GRANBY – The Select Board on Tuesday unanimously promoted Officer Steve Marion to sergeant following the recommendation of Police Chief Alan Wishart.

Marion fills the vacancy created when former Sgt. Mark Smith accepted the chief’s job in Hinsdale two months ago.

“We had really good candidates” for sergeant, Wishart said.

Marion, who grew up in town, told the board he expects to stay in Granby.

“Born and raised and plan to stay,” he said.

The appointment takes effect Sept. 8.

In another matter, selectmen unanimously approved the chief’s request for the town to become part of a regional mutual aid agreement that already encompasses the surrounding communities except for Amherst, which is reviewing the idea.

Wishart said the creation of a regional police mutual aid pact for western Massachusetts originated with the Easthampton force.

It allows an officer in hot pursuit to enter another municipality and make an arrest without having to provide immediate notification, but notification still must be given. And permits an officer already in another town that observes criminal behavior to make an arrest – if he or she is actually on duty and in a marked cruiser.

Signatories to the regional agreement may “operate with full police powers, including the power of arrest, in each participating Party’s jurisdiction,” the language states.

Any extraterritorial “Police powers [employed] pursuant to this agreement” requires that officer operating in another community to “be under the direction and control of the commanding officer” in the member city or town.

Wishart said that Granby police apprehending anyone in another community would be limited to “serious situations [such as] an impaired operator” of a vehicle.

“I certainly don’t want our officers just stopping someone,” he told the Select Board.

The fire left a thick smokey haze throughout the city's South End.

An update to this story was posted at 12:10 a.m. Wednesday.

SPRINGFIELD - A fire inside the garage at Bear Auto Center, 510 Main St., late Tuesday shut down Main and Broad streets and filled the South End with a thick smokey haze.

The fire, reported just before 11 p.m., appeared to be confined to a maintenance bay in the rear of the dealership.

The fire appeared out and firefighters were using fans to ventilate the building.

It is not clear if the building sustained any structural damage or if the fire was confined to one of the cars inside the garage.

This is a developing story. More information will be posted as it is known.

The police reports say that immediately after the shooting, the girl said she felt the gun was too much for her and had hurt her shoulder.

By JACQUES BILLEAUD
and JOSH CORNFIELD

PHOENIX — An attorney for the parents of a 9-year-old girl who accidentally killed an Arizona shooting range instructor with an Uzi said Tuesday the family is devastated by the tragedy that occurred on a brief excursion during a vacation.

The statement came as investigators released police reports and 911 recordings involving the Aug. 25 shooting of instructor Charles Vacca at the Last Stop range in White Hills, about 60 miles south of Las Vegas.

The police reports name the child's parents as Alex Gen and Alison MacLachlan but don't list the couple's hometown.

New Jersey-based lawyer Kevin Walsh said the family "prayed day and night that (Vacca) would survive his injury, and they continue to pray for his family during this terribly difficult time."

The police reports say that immediately after the shooting, the girl said she felt the gun was too much for her and had hurt her shoulder.

Her family members were focused on the girl because they thought she was injured by the gun's recoil and didn't immediately realize that Vacca had been shot until one of his colleagues ran over to him, the reports state.

The shooting set off a powerful debate over youngsters and guns, with many people wondering what sort of parents would let a child handle a submachine gun. However, neither the reports nor the statement by Walsh explains why the parents let the girl take the Uzi.

The family had taken a shuttle from Las Vegas to the range. After arriving, the girl, her parents, sister and brother took a monster truck ride before heading to the shooting range.

The girl's father was the first one in the party to handle a weapon. After he fired shots, Vacca instructed the girl on how to shoot the gun, showed her a shooting stance, and helped her fire a few rounds, according to the reports.

He then stepped back and let her hold the Uzi by herself. She fired the gun, and its recoil wrenched the Uzi upward, killing Vacca with a shot to the head, the reports state.

The girl dropped the Uzi, and Vacca fell to the ground. The girl ran toward her family, who huddled around her as she held her shoulder. Another instructor rushed over to help to Vacca. The other children were then taken away from the range.

The reports describe the family as shaken by the accident.

Recordings of 911 calls show that people at the shooting range desperately tried to keep the unconscious Vacca alive as they urged 911 dispatchers to send a medical helicopter.

A dispatcher urged callers to apply pressure to Vacca's wound.

Vacca was flown to a Las Vegas hospital where he died hours later.

Prosecutors are not filing charges in the case. Arizona's workplace safety agency is investigating the death.

County prosecutors say the instructor was probably the most criminally negligent person involved in the accident for having allowed the child to hold the gun without enough training. They also said the parents and child weren't criminally culpable.

The girl's mother had video-recorded the accident on her phone.

"All right, go ahead and give me one shot," Vacca tells the girl in part of the video released by investigators. He then cheers when she fires one round at the target.

"All right full auto," Vacca says. The video, which does not show Vacca being shot, ends with a series of shots being heard.

Sam Scarmardo, the range's operator, has said the parents had signed waivers saying they understood the rules. He also said he never had a safety problem before at the range and his policy of allowing children 8 and older to fire guns under adult supervision and an instructor's watchful eye is standard industry practice, though he noted his policies are under review.

Vacca's ex-wife and children have said they harbor no ill feelings toward the girl and her family. Instead, they feel sorry for the child and want to comfort her.

The fire, which started hours after the business closed for the night, was traced to the engine compartment of a car in the service bay.

This is an update of a story that was posted at 11:37 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD - A South End auto dealership sustained minor structural damage following a late-night fire that started with a car parked inside the service bay, a Springfield fire spokesman said.

Dennis Leger, aide to Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant, said the business, Bear Auto Center, 510 Main St., sustained roughly $5,000 damage, mostly due to smoke and some damaged caused when firefighters forced their way inside.

The car in the service bay that caught fire, a 2005 Hyundai Tuscon, was destroyed. Leger said he had no estimate for its worth.

The fire was reported just before 11 p.m. When firefighters arrived, the building was filled with a heavy smoke that soon spread for blocks in all directions once the doors to the building were opened.

The preliminary cause of the fire is an electrical or mechanical malfunction in the car's engine compartment, he said. The fire is not consider suspicious.

No one was inside the building at the time of the fire. The business had closed for the night hours earlier.

One firefighter had to be taken to Baystate Medical Center for treatment for a cut on one of his hands. A piece of glass went through his gloves and cut him, Leger said.

Prosecutors say Ernest Harvin kidnapped and assaulted two men in January of last year.

PITTSFIELD – A 38-year-old Williamstown, arrested in June on a variety of weapons and kidnapping charges, denied the charges Wednesday at his arraignment in Berkshire District Court, according to the office of Berkshire District Attorney David Capeless.

Ernest A. Harvin of 924 Henderson Road is charged with two counts each of kidnapping and assault by means of a dangerous weapon, and single counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, assault and battery, and illegal ownership of a firearm.

Judge John Agostini ordered Harvin held at the Berkshire County House of Correction in lieu of $100,000.

According to the DA’s office, Harvin is charged with kidnapping and assaulting two men in January of last year. The charges were the result of an investigation by state police detectives assigned to Capeless’s office.

According to the Berkshire Eagle the charges resulted from Harvin cornering and threatening two men in a dispute over drugs.

The bicyclist was stuck by a car driven by an 80-year-old Belchertown woman.

BELCHERTOWN - A 63-year-old Belchertown woman on a bicycle was seriously injured Wednesday afternoon as she was struck by a motor vehicle on Route 202 near the Belchertown police station, police said.

The woman was taken by ambulance to Baystate Medical Center, police said. Her name was not disclosed to the press. Her condition was not known.

The accident occurred shortly before 4:30 p.m.

The accident resulted in traffic being blocked on Route 202 while police investigate the accident.

The road remained closed as of 6:30 p.m. but was expected to be reopened shortly, police said.

According to Mary Carey of the office of Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan, the woman on the bicycle was hit by a vehicle driven by an 80-year-old woman, also from Belchertown.

The woman on the bicycle was wearing a helmet, Carey said.

Carey said the accident is under investigation by Belchertown Police, Massachusetts State Police assigned to Sullivan's office and the Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section (CARS).

When UFC lightweight Joe Lauzon steps into the octagon on Friday to face off against Ultimate Fighter winner Michael Chiesa he'll be coming off one of the biggest fights of his life and, no, I don't mean his unanimous decision win against Mac Danzig last December.

BOSTON -- When UFC lightweight Joe Lauzon steps into the octagon on Friday to face off against Ultimate Fighter winner Michael Chiesa he'll be coming off one of the biggest fights of his life and, no, I don't mean his unanimous decision win against Mac Danzig last December.

Lauzon has been away from UFC for months caring for his newborn son Joey as he battled a rare form a cancer. Lauzon's son was born in January with a cancerous tumor in his back the size of the fists he uses to ply his trade. Doctors were immediately concerned that Lauzon's son would suffer permanent spine damage from the tumor. The newborn had to start chemo-therapy immediately.

Joey would have become the focus of Lauzon's life no matter what but the cancer diagnosis change everything for him to the point that he was not even sure he would fight again.

Seven months into his battle with cancer the Lauzon family got the news they were waiting to hear: the tumor was gone.

"He's made a great recovery. On July 3 we got the report of NED: no evidence of disease. He'll be getting a party every July 3 for the rest of his life We're so thankful, that was such a big day for us as his birthday wasn't the best," said Lauzon during a telephone interview.

Lauzon said his son's battle with cancer and his triumph over it was an inspiration to him.

"If a 5 to 6-month old baby can beat caner I feel like I can beat anything. To see a little tiny baby do all that it kinda puts it into perspective. No matter how much something sucks it doesn't matter because of what he went through," said Lauzon.

Lauzon said he is channeling his motivation from his son into his next fight while taking advantage of what he has learned from past "hometown" fights.

The Bridgewater-based Lauzon has changed up his entire pre-fight strategy since he last fought within driving distance of his hometown when he was beaten badly by Michael Johnson at the TD Garden in 2013.

"I struggled against Michael Johnson and he's very, very good. I didn't snap too. There's a lot of things that happen during fight week: I get packed, I get ready, I find a grocery store. There's a routine that kicks in when you're on the road. The second fight in Boston wasn't like that. It was too familiar. I was working out at my gym, I wasn't working out to find places. It was too familiar," said Lauzon.

Lauzon has spent the week at Foxwoods training and preparing for his bout on the UFC Fight Night 50 card against Chiesa.

"We're going to stay all week long, do everything we would normally do before a fight on the road," said Lauzon.

Lauzon (23-9) is in for a battle against Chiesa (career 11-1 ) as the former Ultimate Fighter: Live champion is a grappler just like Lauzon and seen by many as an up and comer in UFC. Chiesa has an edge over Lauzon in terms of size and has a tendency to submit fighters with a rear naked choke. The ranked Lauzon said he respects Chiesa but is not intimidated by him.

"I think that I've got a lot more fight than him, I've got a lot more experience than him. I have to overcome his length and his luck a little bit but in the end it's not luck it's being prepared," said Lauzon.

Given that both fighters are grapplers and known as submission artists Lauzon expects the fight to go the ground quickly. Lauzon has won 18 of his 23 fights by submission.

"My strengths generally lie in getting people to the ground. I am not trying to get into a rock-em sock-em rock robots fight with people. He's so long, he's gonna be trying to keep me away with his punches," said Lauzon.

Lauzon dismissed any suggestions that he could become known as the new "Ultimate Fighter killer" if he takes down Chiesa on Friday.

A public hearing will be scheduled on the YMCA's request for a zone change to build a parking lot.

Updated at 9:28 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2014 to include the Ordinance Committee chairwoman saying the committee will begin considering the zone-change request probably in late October.

HOLYOKE -- The Greater Holyoke YMCA's request for a zone change needed to convert a now-vacant lot at Appleton and Pine streets into a parking area has been referred to the City Council Ordinance Committee.

The council made the referral of the request from Kathleen M. Viens, YMCA chief executive officer, Tuesday (Sept. 2) without discussion.

But given the controversy that has preceded this, the zone-change request could generate comment once the public hearings are scheduled.

The reason is neighbors of the property, Mayor Alex B. Morse, the Historical Commission and others objected to the YMCA demolishing the building that had stood on the site at 399 Appleton St. since 1881. They said they preferred a use for the site other than a parking lot.

The YMCA in January razed the building, the former Farr family mansion, because officials said the facility -- located across the street at 171 Pine St. -- needs the additional 20 parking spaces.

Rebecca Lisi, Ordinance Committee chairwoman, said the committee will begin considering the YMCA zone-change request probably late next month.

To build a parking lot there, the YMCA needs a zone change for the property to Downtown Business from the current Downtown Residential.

Zone changes are decided by the City Council. The process has been for the Ordinance Committee and the Planning Board to hold joint meetings and hearings on a zone-change request.

Depending on the complexity of the request and the level of public interest, such as whether many or few people show up to comment for or against the proposed zone change, meetings and hearings can take months.

Once the hearing is officially closed, the Planning Board usually makes a recommendation to the Ordinance Committee. The committee considers that in making its own recommendation to the full council.

Kathleen M. Viens, Greater Holyoke YMCA chief executive officer.(MICHAEL S. GORDON / THE REPUBLICAN) 

Herbert M. Farr, who ran the Farr Alpaca mills here, had the red-brick home built in 1881. The building was last used as a dental office in 2011, though much of the interior has been unused for years. It would require extensive plumbing, heating and handicapped-access renovations. The YMCA bought the property in 2011 for $55,000, YMCA officials said.

Associated Building Wreckers, on behalf of the YMCA, had obtained a permit to demolish the Farr mansion on Dec. 20. That was two days after the expiration of a six-month demolition-delay order imposed by the Historical Commission and despite work of an organization of neighbors and others who had formed a Save the Farr Mansion group.

The YMCA rejected an offer from Stephen Bosco, of Medford, who owns Arrow Properties here at 430 Appleton St., to buy 399 Appleton St. for $55,000 and install a cafe and professional offices.

Lambert has nine nominations for the 48th annual CMA Awards, tying her own mark for the most nods to a female nominee, and nearly doubling her nearest competitor when the list was announced Wednesday in New York. Dierks Bentley is next with five nominations and Eric Church and Keith Urban have four apiece.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Miranda Lambert released the most ambitious album of her career earlier this year and Country Music Association voters responded by giving her a record-tying load of nominations.

Lambert has nine nominations for the 48th annual CMA Awards, tying her own mark for the most nods to a female nominee, and nearly doubling her nearest competitor when the list was announced Wednesday in New York. Dierks Bentley is next with five nominations and Eric Church and Keith Urban have four apiece.

The 30-year-old Lambert is up for top honor entertainer of the year along with husband Blake Shelton and has nominations for major categories album of the year for "Platinum," song and single of the year for "Automatic," and is vying for her fifth straight female vocalist of the year trophy. She's been among the top CMA nominees and winners since "Revolution" won album of the year in 2010 and now has 34 CMA nominations -- behind Reba McEntire, Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn among women.

Urban, George Strait and Luke Bryan round out the entertainer of the year category where Lambert and Bryan are seeking their first win in that category. Bryan and Urban also are up for album of the year. Bryan's "Crash My Party" and Urban's "Fuse" join Bentley's "Riser" and Church's "The Outsiders" in the category.

New artist of the year nominees are Brandy Clark, Brett Eldredge, Kip Moore, Thomas Rhett and Cole Swindell.

Bryan and Shelton are tied with Kacey Musgraves and Carrie Underwood with three nominations apiece. The nominations were announced on ABC's "Good Morning America" and at a news conference by Darius Rucker and Little Big Town. Underwood and Brad Paisley host the Nov. 5 show live from Nashville, Tennessee.

Lambert padded out her list of nominations with two apiece in the vocal event ("Somethin' Bad" with Underwood and "We Were Us" with Urban) and music video ("Automatic" and "Somethin' Bad") categories. "Automatic," the first single from "Platinum" written with Nicolle Galyon and Natalie Hemby, was nominated for both song and single of the year as well. Lambert tied with Merle Haggard for second-most nominations overall. Only Alan Jackson in 2002 had more nominations in a single year with 10.

Lambert celebrated her collaborators in an email to The Associated Press.

"I woke up in NYC this morning to such great news!" wrote Lambert, who's on tour in the area. "Not only am I so happy to be nominated but I'm happy to celebrate my husband's and friends' nominations! Natalie and Nicolle are two of the best songwriters I know and I'm so thrilled to share this with them. And also to be in a category with Carrie and Keith!"

Shelton and Lambert will be attempting to extend their record streak of wins by a married couple in the male and female vocalist categories. Each has won four straight. Lambert will be competing against Underwood, Musgraves, Taylor Swift and Martina McBride. Shelton faces Bentley, Bryan, Church and Urban.

The haul of nominations was a career best for Bentley, whose album "Riser" includes personal material from his own life, including his reaction to his father's death and the birth of his son.

"It was totally unexpected," Bentley said. "Dude, I'm not the guy who gets nominated. I'm the guy who knows the guy who gets nominated. That's not who I am. I'm the guy who sits in the chair with my wife when the cameras come in close to get the 'you just lost' reaction shot."

Voters have an interesting choice to make in the entertainer of the year category. Lambert and Bryan are arguably the genre's top stars and voters could justifiably reward either with a trophy that goes hand in hand with superstar status. Strait is seeking his second consecutive win in the category after announcing he would retire from the road. He played his final concert earlier this year, setting attendance records at the Dallas Cowboys' AT&T Stadium. And "American Idol" judge Urban and "The Voice" coach Shelton remain two of country's most visible stars.

Urban won the entertainer award in 2005 and says he felt a "euphoria" when he learned he was back among the nominees. The category signals that a performer has reached the top of the genre in many ways, including as an artist, a live performer and a role model.

"The criteria for entertainer is a mix of things, but I guess for me I've always considered it to be hopefully primarily about the kind of show that we put on and entertaining people at the live concerts," Urban said in a phone interview. "I know it's about more than that, but for me it's really been about that, about putting on a tour. That's something I've always taken with intense passion, detail and care, and so to get that nomination is extraordinary."

Five firefighters were treated for minor injuries. No injuries to residents were reported

BOSTON (AP) — Boston firefighters have been battling a large fire at a three-story brick apartment building in the city's Allston neighborhood.

The fire department issued nine alarms early Wednesday evening because of concerns parts of the building on Harvard Terrace near Brighton Avenue could collapse. The fire was contained about two hours after it was reported at about 5:45 p.m.

Five firefighters were treated for minor injuries. No injuries to residents were reported.

Firefighters found heavy fire when they arrived, and smoke spread over the area. Traffic was routed around the area and people were asked to stay away.

The fire department said the blaze started on the building's rear desk and spread to the interior.

Be safe @BostonFire "@OnlyInBOS: VIDEO: 9-Alarm Fire on Harvard Terrace, Allston near Brighton Ave. http://t.co/s2yy1f4iRy via @NeilTuli"

— Dustin Fitch (@DustinGFitch) September 4, 2014

Ladder Magic MT @FireNews: Boston MA *9 Alarms* shot of the night . #MAfire @BostonSparks @BostonFire pic.twitter.com/dL6OX94mGm

— Mike (@NEFirebuff) September 4, 2014

Four ladder pipes now rear of bkdg. #wcvb #boston pic.twitter.com/TKMnPZY4rL

— Stanley Forman (@sjforman138) September 3, 2014

RT @cbsboston: 2 firefighters transported from fire for smoke inhalation, shoulder injury http://t.co/qii6Bae58d pic.twitter.com/KUC4mgwnOT

— Matthew Gregoire (@BreakngNewsPhtg) September 3, 2014

Holder's decision will represent the Obama administration's most aggressive step to address the Ferguson shooting, which set off days of often-violent clashes between police and demonstrators.

By Sari Horwitz,
Carol D. Leonnig
and Kimberly Kindy

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. this week will launch a broad civil rights investigation into the Ferguson, Mo., Police Department, according to two federal law enforcement officials.

The investigation, which could be announced as early as Thursday afternoon, will be conducted by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and follow a process similar to that used to investigate complaints of profiling and the use of excessive force in other police departments across the country, the officials said.

The announcement follows the shooting last month of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old African American, by a white Ferguson police officer, who claimed he acted in self-defense. Brown, who was unarmed, was shot at least six times on the afternoon of Aug. 9.

Holder’s decision will represent the Obama administration’s most aggressive step to address the Ferguson shooting, which set off days of often-violent clashes between police and demonstrators in the streets of the St. Louis suburb.

The federal officials said the probe will look at not only Ferguson, but other police departments in St. Louis County. Some, like Ferguson, are predominantly white departments serving majority African-American communities and at least one department invited the Justice Department to look at its practices. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a pending investigation.

The investigation is in addition to a Justice Department probe into whether Officer Darren Wilson, who fired the fatal shots, violated Brown’s civil rights. The new probe will look more broadly at whether the department employed policies and practices that resulted in a pattern of civil rights violations.

The Washington Post reported Sunday that five current and one former member of the police force face pending federal lawsuits claiming they used excessive force. The lawsuits, as well as more than a half-dozen internal investigations, include claims that individual officers separately hog-tied a 12-year-old boy who was checking his family mailbox, pistol-whipped children, and used a Taser on a mentally-ill man who died as a result.

In addition to the investigations, a St. Louis County grand jury is hearing evidence that could lead to charges against Wilson.

 

In April, for example, the Justice Department issued a scathing report concluding that the Albuquerque Police Department had repeatedly used deadly and excessive force in violation of citizens’ constitutional rights, when there was no imminent threat to them or the community. The assistant attorney general of the department’s civil rights division said at the time the department suffered from “inadequate oversight, inadequate investigation of incidents of force, inadequate training of officers to ensure they understand what is permissible or not.”

A 1994 federal law gave the Civil Rights Division the authority to probe whether police departments are engaging in a “pattern or practice” of violating constitutional rights or federal rights. The law was enacted after the videotaped beating of African American motorist Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers.

The investigations can be collaborative arrangements, with police chiefs encouraging the thorough reviews, training recommendations and reform ideas the Civil Rights Division proposes. One of the earliest investigations came when then-D.C. Polcie Chief Charles Ramsey invited the department to help him in the wake of a Washington Post investigation that found his officers shot and killed more people in the 1990s than any other large police department in the country.

Federal investigators look at patterns of excessive force, complaints against officers, and department training to help officers avoid racial profiling and unnecessary use of force.

An investigation often ends up in a lawsuit brought by the Justice Department against a local police department. Justice officials could also reach a settlement with the police department, which includes a consent decree and federal monitoring, as with the New Orleans and San Juan police departments.

Brown was stopped by Wilson as he walked down the middle of a neighborhood street with a friend. Wilson has told investigators that Brown reached for his gun while they had a scuffle at his car, law enforcement have told the Post.

Community witnesses say Brown was assassinated in the street. They say he had run from the officer after an argument at the policeman’s car, then turned around to surrender after being shot at and being frightened. The six shots in his body all appeared to enter his body from the front, including two in his head, according to an independent autopsy.

Justice Department spokesman Brian Fallon could not be reached for comment. Calls to Ferguson Mayor James Knowles were not immediately returned Wednesday. Emails to the Ferguson police department public relations firm were not immediately returned.

News of the expanded probe comes as community leaders in Ferguson say the Michael Brown case has brought scores of new allegations of local police brutality to their attention.

“I’ve literally had to pull my staff from Jefferson City and put them in Ferguson because of the number of people who are saying they’ve had past issues with the police,” said State Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, whose district includes Ferguson and says she is “fully supportive” of an expanded probe into the department.

“Because of the Michael Brown situation I have been getting other emails, and phone calls, and tweets about other individuals who have allegations of police brutality,” Chappelle-Nadal said. “The expansion of an investigation is by all means a great thing. I absolutely welcome this.”

Julie Tate, Wesley Lowery and Alice Crites contributed to this report.

Rick Sacra is a 1980 graduate of Wayland HIgh School

A doctor from Central Massachusetts has been identified as the third physician to contract the deadly Ebola virus in the West African country of Liberia.

Richard Sacra. 

According to WCVB-TV, NewsCenter5 in Needham, the doctor is Richard Sacra, 51, of Holden, who works with the North Carolina-based missionary group SIM. The television station reported that he was treating pregnant women and not Ebola patients, so it was not immediately clear how the infection occurred.

"My heart was deeply saddened, but my faith was not shaken, when I learned another of our missionary doctors contracted Ebola," the station quoted Bruce Johnson, president of SIM USA as saying. "As a global mission, we are surrounding our missionary with prayer, as well as our Liberian SIM/ELWA colleagues, who continue fighting the Ebola epidemic in Liberia."

According to the Associated Press, Sacra grew up in Wayland and attended the local high school.

The AP quoted Sacra's brother Doug as saying that he decided at the age of 10 that he wanted to take care of people who lived in Third World countries.

"Sacra has spent most of the last two decades living in Liberia, working for a missionary group," the AP reported. "He works at the Family Health Center of Worcester when he is not in Liberia."

The Telegram & Gazette of Worcester quoted colleagues of Sacra's who called him “a very special person” who embraced service in both Worcester and in West Africa.

"In an interview Wednesday at Family Health Center's Queen Street health center, Dr. Gregory A. Culley, chief medical officer and Dr. Sacra's supervisor when he was working stateside, said that Dr. Sacra indicated in his latest email, last week, that the equipment to protect health care staff from the deadly virus had just arrived," the T&G reported.

Sacra, a 1980 graduate of Wayland High School, grew up attending the Trinitarian Congregational Church in Wayland where others are just now learning about the news, WHDH-TV, 7News in Boston reported.

"We knew it was a possibility when he went and had been praying for him but I was surprised because he as working obstetrics not in the Ebola unit,” Pastor Christopher Ziegler told the television station. "It definitely takes supernatural courage to go in the first place and we believe in a God that heals so we would hope and pray that would be the case.”

SIM's Bruce Johnson said that Sacra returned to Liberia about a month ago, after Dr. Kent Brantly and missionary Nancy Writebol became ill with Ebola, NECN reported. Both survived after treatment at Emory University in Atlanta. Brantly and Writebol both learned that Sacra had been infected on Tuesday.

"My heart sank. I just didn't have any other words but 'oh, no,'" Writebol told NBC News. "They are part of the family. To hear the news is very sad, (knowing) the whole cycle of the progression of the disease and how that story might end."

Sacra graduated from UMass Medical School in 1989, according to WFXT-TV, Fox25 in Dedham. The medical school issued the following statement:

"Though he has spent much of his career working overseas, including nearly two decades in Liberia, he has a voluntary faculty appointment as an assistant professor of family medicine and community health at UMass Medical School, as a consequence of teaching in the medical school's residency program when he returns to the US for periodic respite visits.”

The family told the Boston Globe that Sacra’s wife, Debbie, had learned he was running a temperature and had isolated himself on Friday evening.

“They were in contact throughout the weekend until his test on Monday showed that he had contracted Ebola virus disease,” the family said in a statement read to the media in Holden by a family friend. “Although this was the worst possible news, she is confident that Dr. Jerry Brown, Rick’s Liberian colleague and friend, is doing everything he can to care for Rick through these days when the sickness is most intense."

The Sacras have three children.

Candidates promised around-the-clock access to important case information through various means including personal contact and digital access.

This is part of the 2014 Campaign Roundtable Series sponsored by MassLive/The Republican, CBS-3 Springfield and New England Public Radio. This series of posts will focus on the race for Hampden County district attorney. It will highlight candidate responses on a range of topics from legal and administrative experience, to police-related upsets such as that in Ferguson, MO, and transparency and public access to the district attorney's office.

The candidates for the post are all Democrats, making the Sept. 9 primary a dispositive race. They are: Holyoke defense attorney Shawn Allyn; Longmeadow attorney Hal Etkin, formerly a prosecutor and head of the Police Academy who is now in private practice; Assistant Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni, of Springfield; and former veteran prosecutor Brett Vottero, of Springfield, who also now has a private practice.

The candidates on the public's right to know and timely access to information:

(note: cue the video to :30 to jump directly to this discussion)

Allyn: Transparency is where it's at. As long as information will not impair an investigation, it should be released to the public. I will be a hands-on district attorney, available 24/7.

Etkin: I promise monthly meetings with the press to discuss issues within the office. I'll provide my cell phone number to members of the press to reach me any time of day, seven days a week.

Gulluni: We are public servants. My administration would have a public and media relations person available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Obviously, there needs to be a balance, however, between public access and preserving the integrity of an investigation.

Vottero: I am an advocate for digital cases files, where every pleading in every case will be scanned and available to the public. There are limited instances in which releasing information could jeopardize an investigation or someone's life but otherwise, all information should be made publicly available.

Mayor Alex Morse says he supports two proposals file by City Councilor Linda Vacon to regulate such facilities.

The field at White Brook Middle School suffers from damage and drainage problems.

EASTHAMPTON — A group of uniformed high school football players broke into stunned applause Wednesday night after the Easthampton City Council gave its final approval to a $279,508 appropriation from the Community Preservation Act fund to build a new playing field at White Brook Middle School.

The unanimous vote capped a two-year process involving design work, negotiations with various city committees, and an ongoing private fundraising effort by team members and their supporters.

The existing field, nicknamed "the swamp" by student athletes for its drainage problems, serves youth football for third through eighth grade as well as the high school's junior varsity and varsity teams.  It's the only football field in the city, said Mayor Karen Cadieux.

The proposal had already been recommended by the Community Preservation Committee and the council's Finance Committee.  The city's Conservation Commission also signed off on the project. The application for CPA funding was a joint effort by Easthampton Friends of Football and the school department.

The city last year approved $25,000 for the initial design and engineering work, also from Community Preservation Act funds. CPA funds can be used for housing, open space, historic preservation, or recreation.

A consulting engineer, the president of the friends' group, and Mayor Karen Cadieux addressed the council before the vote was taken.

Thomas Hogan, a civil engineer with Doucette & Associates of Northampton, said the field suffers from severe damage and chronic drainage problems.  He said the plan is to take out existing drainage features, install a new, high-functioning system, and rebuild and resurface the field. The stormwater discharge system will represent an improvement over existing conditions, said Hogan.

Amy Guyette, president of Easthampton Friends of Football, praised members of the Eagles football team who worked to raise $20,000 to contribute to the effort.  The Easthampton Savings Bank and other local businesses also made generous contributions, she said.

Guyette said the field was built 15 years ago by volunteers, that the scoreboard had been donated, the bleachers were funded by the friends group, and that maintenance has also been done by volunteers. "We have a very strong vested interest in the project," she said.

Guyette noted that the field will consist of grass, not artificial turf, and that electrical wiring conduits will be incorporated into the engineering plan so lights can be installed at a future date. "We'll be conducting a fundraising campaign for the lights," said Guyette, adding that CPA funds can not be used for artificial turf.

Councilor Tamara Smith said she was heartened to see the high school football team show up at the City Council meeting, and impressed they'd been so visible in the community in their fundraising efforts. Smith added that the field should be repaired for reasons of safety and liability.

Guyette gave a plug for the Eagles' latest fundraising push — the friends group will paint a giant "E" on anyone's driveway who contributes $25. Order forms for the driveway-painting program can be found at the group's website, she said.

"This project has been two years in the making. We're ecstatic," Guyette said after the council vote was taken.

The goal is to have the field ready for next year's football season.

Sentencing will be set in two months and depends on a pre-sentence report.

SCHODACK, N.Y. — Seventies heartthrob David Cassidy has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated in upstate New York.

Cassidy was charged last summer in the town of Schodack, near Albany. The Times Union reports he pleaded guilty Wednesday in exchange for a tentative sentence of a conditional discharge that includes 50 hours of community service in Florida, his home state.

Sentencing was set for Nov. 5 and depends on a pre-sentence report.

In March, a judge in Los Angeles sentenced Cassidy to three months in rehab and five years of probation in a drunken-driving case stemming from a January arrest for an illegal turn.

Cassidy role on TV's "The Partridge Family" launched a singing career. He spends time in New York during the summer at Saratoga Race Course, 40 miles north of Schodack.

A 9-alarm blaze displaced 54 people after it gutted a building in a Boston neighborhood popular with students on Wednesday.

ALLSTON -- A 9-alarm blaze displaced 54 people after it gutted a building in a Boston neighborhood popular with students on Wednesday.

The fire near the 12 and 16 Harvard Terrace was reported after 5:30 p.m. and raged well past sunset.

It is believed the building suffered severe damage that resulted in a partial collapse though it is unknown at this time the extent of the damage.

No residents were reported injured in the blaze at press time though five firefighters suffered minor injuries due to smoke inhalation. Displace residents were being moved by MTBA buses to the Horace Mann School.

Officials are advising the public to avoid the area as many of the surrounding roads are closed.

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh visited firefighters at the scene of the fire.

Porches gone http://t.co/oQTbLaVTn7

— Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) September 3, 2014

Time lapse of the fire in Brighton. Still burning. One firefighter hurt. 5 alarms. #wbz https://t.co/QxwQ64friX

— Peter Wilson (@PetesWire) September 3, 2014

Engine 10 http://t.co/PkTyLXYNgB

— Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) September 3, 2014