Quantcast
Channel: News
Viewing all 62489 articles
Browse latest View live

RIchard Sullivan, Gov. Deval Patrick's chief of staff, reiterates Patrick will not be Attorney General

0
0

Richard Sullivan, who was speaking at the 100th anniversary celebration of the University of Massachusetts Cooperative Extension Service on Patrick's behalf, said the governor "will not be Attorney General of the United States."

AMHERST – In case people are still thinking that Gov. Deval L. Patrick might replace Eric Holder as Attorney General, Patrick's chief of staff reiterated Friday that's not so.

Richard Sullivan, who was speaking at the 100th anniversary celebration of the University of Massachusetts Cooperative Extension Service on Patrick's behalf, said the governor "will not be Attorney General of the United States."

Patrick was in Washington for a longstanding engagement with the Congressional Black Caucus, a trip planned before Holder announced Thursday he would be stepping down.

Sullivan said they had a lot of fun in the office Thursday fielding calls from media all across the country and from abroad telling them the same thing.


$100,000 bail set for N.Y. man charged with attempted murder of Ware police officer

0
0

Judge John Payne, set cash bail at $100,000


WARE – Sajid Dacres, 30, charged with attempted murder of a Ware police officer, was arraigned from his hospital bed Friday afternoon at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, according to the Northwestern District Attorney's Office.

John Payne, presiding judge at Eastern Hampshire District, set cash bail at $100,000.

Dacres was represented by attorney Alan Rubin, a public defender with the Committee for Public Counsel Services.

The statement said that Dacres said his real name is Quinton Avant, and Dacres is an alias, according to the defendant and his lawyer.

According to Rubin, his client is expected to remain hospitalized until early next week recovering from wounds to the arm and abdomen, the DA said.

Dacres has been charged with armed assault with intent to murder, assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, leaving the scene after causing injury, and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

Police say Dacres was the driver of the vehicle that two Ware Police officers stopped on Route 32 on Tuesday evening.

The Ware officers were investigating a store employee report that Dacres and an accomplice used credit cards to make “large quantities of prepaid cards,” the DA said.

According to the DA's office, when police had stopped the vehicle, near Kingsbury Road along Route 32 in Ware, the suspects, while attempting to flee, “drove directly at one of the officers, who, in response, discharged his service weapon.”

The men sped away “at a high rate of speed, and officers were unable to locate it,” the DA said.

Dacres was then deposited at Baystate Wing Hospital in Palmer.

There was a gunshot wound to his torso. After receiving care at the Palmer facility, he was transported to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, and underwent surgery.

The DA said Dacres remains at Baystate, is in stable condition, and was placed under arrest Friday morning while at his hospital room.

The Ware officer who shot Dacres was treated for a contusion to his right leg.

But was not seriously injured, the DA said. Ware police placed him on paid leave, which is department policy, when an officer is involved in a shooting. Ware Police Chief Dennis Healey referred questions to the DA. Officials have not released his name.

Charges against Dacres were filed at Eastern Hampshire District Court Friday morning.

To date, no information involving Dacres’ alleged accomplice has been provided by authorities.

Cleanup planned for Agawam properties, stream affected by Provin Mountain water main break

0
0

The Springfield Water and Sewer Commission has been charged with cleaning up the aftermath of a Provin Mountain water main break that eroded stream banks, flooded wetlands and damaged yards of Agawam residents in August. The $80,000 cleanup will begin as soon as legal permission is given by the owners of the two affected properties on North West Street in...

The Springfield Water and Sewer Commission has been charged with cleaning up the aftermath of a Provin Mountain water main break that eroded stream banks, flooded wetlands and damaged yards of Agawam residents in August.

The $80,000 cleanup will begin as soon as legal permission is given by the owners of the two affected properties on North West Street in Feeding Hills, and should be complete sometime mid-November.

The project entails sediment removal, tree root restoration, lawn restoration and stream bank stabilization. CDM Smith, Inc. of Cambridge has been contracted for the job.

The Agawam Conservation Commission approved the cleanup at its meeting Thursday.

"We will work closely with the homeowners to resolve this in a reasonable amount of time," said Henry Kozloski, conservation commission chairperson.

The pipe that helps to service Springfield, Ludlow, Agawam, East Longmeadow and Longmeadow burst at around 4 p.m. on Aug. 14, releasing a five-million gallon deluge of water down Provin Mountain and overflowing the Feeding Hills stream.

 

The flood left piles of sediment - some as tall as 4-feet high - in two yards and along both sides of the stream, damaged basements and disturbed wetlands. The sediment is also blocking a culvert under a residential driveway.

The affected homes are both within 100 feet of the stream.

Cameron Sours, who lives on the 900 block of North West Street, said half his yard was blanketed in mud after the main break. Sours was told his lawn will be re-seeded to ensure that his grass grows back in the spring.

“I want my home the way it was before it happened," Sours said. "I don’t want anything more or anything less.”

Sours said he plans to file a claim with the The Springfield Water and Sewer Commission for repairs to his cellar floor, which was warped by the flood.

Water and sewer commission spokeswoman Joyce Mulvaney said she isn't sure if Sours will be compensated for the damage, but did say claims are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Rakes, shovels and small machinery will be used to remove the sediment, according to CDM Smith associate Dwight R. Dunk.

"The bigger equipment you use the more damage you do to the area that hasn’t been disturbed yet," Kozloski said.

The conservation commission is working with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to make sure wetlands regulations are being met during the cleanup.

Republican Charlie Baker, in new gov. campaign ad, takes credit for welfare improvements during time on Beacon Hill; numbers tell less cheerful story

0
0

The ad claims Baker personally "got people off welfare and made Massachusetts first in jobs" when he was Secretary of Health and Human Services in the William Weld administration from 1992 to 1994.

BOSTON – Republican candidate for governor Charlie Baker has released a new television ad claiming he was personally responsible for lowering the number of families on welfare, and creating new jobs during his time on Beacon Hill.

The thirty-second spot called "Delivers" shows self-identified Democrats saying they will vote for Baker on Nov. 4, instead of their own party's candidate, Attorney General Martha Coakley. It then says, "Charlie Baker got people off welfare and made Massachusetts first in jobs" when he was secretary of Health and Human Services in the William Weld administration from 1992 to 1994, then secretary of Administration and Finance until 1998.

MassLive.com asked Baker's campaign for additional details on the ad's claims. A spokesman responded with quotes from a story published in the Boston Globe in 2010, describing Baker's success as limiting welfare benefits to two years and getting recipients jobs in the private sector, among other components of a statewide overhaul.

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center reports that the poverty rate in Massachusetts was fairly consistent during Baker's time in state government. The welfare overhaul moved people off direct cash assistance and into taxpayer-funded work support programs, resulting in a massive plunge in welfare caseloads and savings of $588 million when adjusted for inflation in 2007 dollars.

But MassBudget president Noah Berger says there's more to the story, citing the organization's most recent report on the issue, released in 2008.

"Those savings were never reinvested in things that could help people work their way out of poverty and into the middle class," said Berger, adding that child care, job training and transportation access should be priorities when talking about poverty reduction. "The goal was to use resources to help people succeed. We don't know what's happened to those people."

Berger said many of the welfare recipients simply "reached their time limit without any (state) strategy for helping them support their family." He said it's hard to say for sure, but there doesn't appear to be a relationship between lower welfare enrollment and lower poverty rates.

Poverty dipped in the U.S. as a whole between 1993 and 2000, but in Massachusetts, the poverty level stayed between 9 and 11 percent from 1990 through 2006, according to MassBudget. The drops were more dramatic in the U.S. as a whole than they were in Massachusetts.

"Baker delivers, creating jobs, balancing budgets, fixing government," according to the ad's voiceover.

When Weld appointed him secretary of Administration and Finance in 1994, Baker oversaw a four-year continuous decline in the unemployment rate, which lasted until he left state government in 1998.

In September 1991, the state unemployment rate was 9.1 percent and it was stuck there until February 1992. It bottomed out at 3.3 percent in August 1998. In the same period, the national unemployment rate fell from 6.9 percent to 4.5 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But the BLS shows Baker's claim that he made Massachusetts number one in jobs is not accurate if you judge it by the unemployment rate. From the BLS in 1998:

Minnesota recorded the lowest 1998 annual average unemployment rate, 2.5 percent, followed by Nebraska, 2.7 percent. Nebraska has had the lowest or second-lowest rate for the past 9 years. The other states with rates below 3.0 percent were Iowa (2.8 percent) and New Hampshire, South Dakota, and Virginia (each 2.9 percent). Seven of the 12 states with rates below 3.5 percent were in the Midwest, and 4 were in New England.

Massachusetts was also not number one in 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993 or 1992.

Baker's spokesman said Baker oversaw a period of job growth that was unparalleled in the U.S., and the "number one in jobs" claim is based on a 5.8 percent reduction in the unemployment rate during his tenure.

The "Delivers" ad takes a few seconds to reiterate that his stance on abortion access is pro-choice. It will air in the Boston and Springfield markets, and on cable statewide.

The former CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare ran unsuccessfully against Gov. Deval Patrick in 2010. The latest poll from the Boston Globe shows Baker with a slight lead over Coakley.

The Western Mass. Media Consortium, which includes The Republican/MassLive.com, is hosting a gubernatorial debate at CityStage in downtown Springfield on Monday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m.

Home City Housing celebrates major renovations to Cross Town Corners housing complex partially damaged in 2011 tornado

0
0

The housing renovation project cost $9.45 million, and was afforded through state, federal and private funds. Watch video

SPRINGFIELD – The recovery continued Friday from the tornado of 2011 as local and state officials, residents and the ownership gathered at the Cross Town Corners housing complex in the South End to cheer a recently completed $9.45 million restoration.

“Now, it’s gorgeous,” said Marisol Mendez, a resident of Winthrop Street in the South End, where the celebration took place. “I feel home again in a safe place. I love it.”

The restoration began after the tornado of June 1, 2011, that caused serious damage to part of the affordable housing complex, said Tom Kegelman, executive director of Home City Housing, an agency that owns and manages the property. The renovations were done in phases to reduce the disruption to tenants, he said.

The restoration was financed through state, federal and private funds, Kegelman said.

The 47 apartments for families and individuals are scattered in four buildings in three neighborhoods: 22-24 Winthrop St.; 71 Adams St.; 91-93 Pine St,; and 116 Hancock/130 Tyler St.

Van Johnson, president of Home City Housing, said the completed renovations are “amazing.”

“This will make a difference in people’s lives,” Johnson said. 

Aaron Gornstein, undersecretary for the state Department of Housing and Community Development, joined in the celebration and tour at the Winthrop Street building, damaged in the tornado. He said the renovations were a “beautiful job.”

“This is the kind of investment we love making,” Gornstein said, “This project has preserved precious housing opportunities for Springfield and contributed to revitalizing three historic neighborhoods.”

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said the restoration of Cross Town Corners is one more example of the resiliency of the people in the aftermath of the tornado. He thanked the state, the various agencies, and the Home City Housing for its investment.

Funding for the project came from the state Department of Housing and Community Development, MassHousing, the city of Springfield, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, the Massachusetts Housing Equity Fund, LLC, the Life Insurance Community Investment Initiative, LLC, Community Economic Development Assistance Corp., Macy’s Retail Holding, Inc., the Commerce Insurance Co., and Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts.

5 Great Places to Pick your Own Apples in Western Mass

0
0

Fall is here and with it comes the latest crop of local apples. After a banner crop last year, pickings are a little slimmer this fall, with mother nature dishing out a hail storm in August, and other weather that wasn't the best for growing apples. We visited 5 area orchards known for their pick-your-own fields and in no particular...

Fall is here and with it comes the latest crop of local apples. After a banner crop last year, pickings are a little slimmer this fall, with mother nature dishing out a hail storm in August, and other weather that wasn't the best for growing apples.

We visited 5 area orchards known for their pick-your-own fields and in no particular order they are:

Echo Hill Orchards and Winery in Monson. They are open seven days a week (weather and crop permitting) through the end of October. On weekends a tractor will pull you to the orchard in style, but during the week you will have to hoof it.

They can be reached by phone at (413) 267-3303 or at their website here . Echo Hill is located at 101 Wilbraham Rd. in Monson.

Cold Spring Orchard in Belchertown. A UMass Amherst orchard and farmstand for research and education, Cold Spring Orchard is open 7 days a week from 11am-4pm. With over 100 varieties growing on the property, a trip to their website can tell you what is available for pick-your-own the week you want to go.

Their phone number is 413-323-6647. Cold Spring is located at 391 Sabin St. in Belchertown.

Outlook Farm in Westhampton. Open every day through the end of October, Outlook Farm offers one size bag for picking, a half bushel for $25.

A visit to their website will tell you about their hayrides and other special weekend programs, or call them at (413) 529-9388. Outlook Farm can be found at 136 Main Rd. (Rte. 66) in Westhampton.

Kosinski Farms in Westfield. Picking is only available on Saturday at Kosinski Farms. Customers are shuttled by tractor from the main store to the nearby orchard where 19 varieties of apples are growing.
Like other farms mentioned here, Kosinski Farms also offers a full complement of fruits and pumpkins, baked goods and gourds.

Phone the farm at (413) 572-4344 or visit at 420 Russellville Rd., Westfield.

Roberts' Hillside Orchard in Granville. Open for picking on Saturdays and Sundays from 9-6, Roberts' Hillside Orchard was founded in 1920, with 100 acres run by Doug and Nancy Roberts.

You can visit their facebook page here or give them a call at (413) 357-6690. They are located at 275 South Lane in Granville.

PM News Links: Sex assault video online leads rescuers to teen, fired worker said to have beheaded woman at factory, and more

0
0

Two Nebraska Medical Center employees have been fired after inappropriately accessing the electronic medical record of Dr. Rick Sacra, the Worcester-area medical missionary treated at the hospital for an Ebola virus infection.

A digest of news stories from around New England and beyond.


WFXT-TV, Fox25, Dedham


  • Video of sexual assault online helps rescuers find missing Saugus teenager [Boston Herald] Related video above.

  • Fired factory worker is said to have beheaded woman at Oklahoma plant [New York Post] Related video below


  • 2 Nebraska Medical Center employees fired for allegedly looking at Ebola patient Rick Sacra's records [Omaha World-Herald] Related video below.

  • Deliberately set fire temporarily shuts down both Chicago airports, disrupting thousands of lights nationwide [Chicago Tribune]



  • Women find snake in car rented at Logan International Airport in Boston [Portland Press Herald]

  • $150,000 reward offered for Connecticut serial killer after third set of remains identified [Hartford Courant]

  • Pennsylvania ambush suspect playing cat-and-mouse game, police say [Christian Science Monitor]

  • Mother credits helmet for saving life of 14-year-old girl in Northampton bicycle accident [Daily Hampshire Gazette]

  • New Hampshire woman dies from EEE virus [Conway Daily Sun]



  • Do you have news or a news tip to submit to MassLive.com for consideration? Send an email to online@repub.com.



    Interactive Live Weather Map
     

    Obituaries today: James Jackowski, 62, of Hatfield; taught math, computer sciences at schools in Agawam, South Hadley, Springfield and Hatfield

    0
    0

    Obituaries from The Republican.

    James Jackowski obit 92614.jpgJames J. Jackowski 

    HATFIELD - James J. "Jim" Jackowski, 61, of Chestnut Street in Hatfield passed away on Monday at Baystate Medical Center after a long battle with diabetes. He was born in Northampton on Sept. 5, 1953 to the late Alphonse and Genevieve Jackowski. He was raised in Hatfield, attending local schools, graduating from Smith Academy in 1971. He furthered his education, graduating from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and a masters degree in education. He was a teacher of mathematics and computer science for many years at the middle and high schools in Agawam, retiring in 2010. He had previously taught at South Hadley schools, Putnam Vocational Technical High School in Springfield, Smith Academy and also taught and lectured at Westfield State University. He loved to teach and influenced many students over his 34 years of teaching. Despite being afflicted with juvenile diabetes as a child, he never let it slow him down. In his youth, he enjoyed camping with his family, leading him to join Boy Scout Troop 104 in Hatfield and was the troop's first Eagle Scout. He was a devoted communicant of the former Holy Trinity Church in Hatfield, serving his parish as an altar boy and also served on the parish council. He enjoyed many hobbies including golfing, fishing and hunting, camping, taking cruises and photography. He liked to repair cars and was skillful in fixing computers. He enjoyed the music of his era, 1950s and '60s rock-and-roll. He lived resided in Southampton for many years before moving back to Hatfield three years ago.

    To view all obituaries from The Republican:

    » Click here


    CBS 3 Springfield report on housing complex renovation following 2011 tornado

    0
    0

    Home City Housing Development Corp. recently completed the renovation of 27 apartments at Cross Town Corners on Winthrop Street.

    U.S. economy's Q2 recovery was even faster than thought

    0
    0

    The economy as measured by gross domestic product grew at a 4.6 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter, the Commerce Department said Friday. It was the fastest pace in more than two years and higher than the government's previous estimate of 4.2 percent.

    WASHINGTON -- The U.S. economy's bounce-back last quarter from a dismal winter was even faster than previously thought, a sign that growth will likely remain solid for rest of the year.

    The economy as measured by gross domestic product grew at a 4.6 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter, the Commerce Department said Friday. It was the fastest pace in more than two years and higher than the government's previous estimate of 4.2 percent.

    The upward revision reflected stronger-than-expected business investment and exports last quarter.

    The healthy second-quarter growth marked a sharp rebound from the January-March quarter, when the economy shrank at a 2.1 percent rate in the midst of a brutal winter that idled factories and kept consumers at home.

    Wall Street cheered the upbeat economic report, which helped spur the Dow Jones industrial average to a 1 percent gain.

    As the third quarter nears an end, economists envision a strengthening economy through the end of 2014 and into 2015. Many think the economy is growing in the current July-September quarter at a rate of around 3 percent.

    Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, is slightly more optimistic than most. He said a brighter outlook for business investment spending and other good economic reports had led him to revise his GDP forecast to 3.2 percent growth for the July-September period, up from 2.8 percent earlier.

    "The American economy is firing on virtually all cylinders and cruising at a decidedly stronger rate than in recent years," Guatieri said.

    Friday's report on GDP -- the economy's total output of goods and services -- was the government's third and final estimate for the second quarter.

    The final upward revision was driven by new-found strength in business investment, which grew at an annual rate of 9.7 percent last quarter thanks to higher spending on structures and equipment. The government's previous such estimate had been 8.1 percent

    Exports also helped boost the economy. The data showed that exports grew at an 11.1 percent rate in the second quarter, stronger than 10.1 percent in its earlier estimate.

    Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity, grew at a 2.5 percent annual rate. That figure was unchanged from the previous estimate. But it represents twice the 1.2 percent growth in consumer spending in the first quarter.

    The surge of activity this spring was in part a turnaround from the harsh winter, which disrupted factory production and kept consumers away from stores.

    Because of the rough start to the year, growth for 2014 overall is expected to be a temperate 2.1 percent, little changed from last year's 2.2 percent increase.

    Analysts have sketched a much brighter outlook for 2015. They say that the economy is entering a period of above-trend growth as unemployment falls. More job growth should translate into stronger consumer spending.

    Economists at JPMorgan Chase predict growth of 3 percent next year. That would be a significant improvement on the economy's average annual growth of around 2 percent since the end of the recession in June 2009.

    Federal Reserve policymakers last week decided to keep a key short-term interest rate at record lows, near zero, and indicated that they planned to keep it there for a "considerable time."

    Analysts regarded the Fed's comments as support for their view that the Fed won't start raising rates until the mid-2015. The low rates should help bolster higher spending by consumers and businesses, which in turn would boost growth and drive down the unemployment rate, now at 6.1 percent.

    Springfield Partners for Community Action celebrates 50 years of fighting poverty

    0
    0

    The organization works to help people out of poverty.

    SPRINGFIELD – Springfield Partners for Community Action is celebrating 50 years of fighting poverty.

    “This is a milestone for us,” Paul Bailey, executive director of Springfield Partners for Community Action, said at a red carpet award event held at the Springfield Marriott Hotel. “We haven’t conquered poverty. We’re still fighting. But we’ve been here 50 years, and we hope to be here 50 more years.”

    Springfield Partners for Community Action was established in 1964, as a result of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Economic Opportunity Act establishing local agencies to administer federally funded programs.

    The organization’s services help low-income residents build assets, access affordable childcare, decrease energy costs, manage money, avoid eviction, file taxes, buy homes and get college degrees. Springfield Partners located at 721 State Street also offers extensive outreach programs to veterans in the community.

    Bailey said the philosophy of the agency is to “get people out of poverty, not keep them comfortable in poverty.”

    Sarah Staton, 73, of Springfield, has been a foster grandparent at the New Beginnings Child Care Center at 721 State Street for three years. She volunteers Monday through Friday at the center from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

    She is one of five foster grandparents for 71 children in the center, ages one month to five years old.

    “I love it,” she said. “Some of these children need help, and some of the parents need help. If I had a big enough house, I would bring them all home.”

    Staton said her daughter and two of her own grandchildren, ages 10 and 19, live with her.

    “Some of the parents are very young, and they might have three or four kids at the center.”

    “I thank God I am able to talk to the children and rock them to sleep,” she said. She said some of the children do not have regular schedules and without attention from adults, they “cry all day.”

    Working at the center is very rewarding, Staton said. “I feel I have done the best I can with my day. I love it.”

    You have to have a lot of patience to work with children, she said. She said she tries to teach the parents they have to have patience with children.

    “Through life you have your ups and downs,” she said. “When things are not going so well, you have to stand back and get a second wind.”

    “I’ve learned to do that. You have to have patience.”

    Staton said she moved to Springfield from Greensboro, N.C., 30 years ago, and now Springfield is her home.

    People have to realize that although they may not have everything that they want and everything they see that some other people have, they have what they need.

    Staton said she retired from the Post Office because she had some health problems and she is happy to volunteer at New Beginnings Child Care Center.

    “I am thankful for where I am,” she said. “I love what I am doing.”

    “Today is a good celebration,” she added.

    Recognized at the Friday night red carpet dinner was: Dora Robinson, president and chief executive officer of the United Way of Pioneer Valley who received the community leadership award; Max Irvine, a Voluntary Income Tax Assistance volunteer at Springfield Partners; Walgreens Pharmacy who received the good neighbor award; Hampden Bank which received the Spirit of Springfield Community Action Award; and Attorney Kathleen Moore who received the partner in action award.


    Suspect in Hannah Graham disappearance brought back to Virginia to face charges

    0
    0

    Authorities have charged 32-year-old Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr. with abduction with intent to defile Hannah Graham, an 18-year-old sophomore from northern Virginia who has been missing since Sept. 13. Matthew was arrested on a beach near Galveston, Texas.

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) -- The man charged with abducting a missing University of Virginia student is back in Charlottesville after being arrested in Texas.

    Capt. Aaron Carver of the Albermarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail confirmed Friday evening that the suspect is in custody there.

    Authorities have charged 32-year-old Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr. with abduction with intent to defile Hannah Graham, an 18-year-old sophomore from northern Virginia who has been missing since Sept. 13.

    Matthew was arrested on a beach near Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday. He did not fight extradition to Virginia, where he could make an initial court appearance late next week.

    Police say they still have no idea about Graham's whereabouts. They have said Matthew was the last person seen with her.

    US asks judge to uphold former Massachusetts probation commissioner John O'Brien's job-rigging convictions

    0
    0

    The U.S. Attorney's office filed a 61-page response to earlier motions from lawyers for O'Brien, Elizabeth Tavares and William Burke that had asked U.S. District Court Judge William Young to enter either a judgment of acquittal or set aside the verdicts and order a new trial.

    BOSTON — Federal prosecutors urged a judge Friday not to disturb the convictions of former state probation commissioner John O'Brien and two deputies in a job-rigging case.

    The U.S. Attorney's office filed a 61-page response to earlier motions from lawyers for O'Brien, Elizabeth Tavares and William Burke that had asked U.S. District Court Judge William Young to enter either a judgment of acquittal or set aside the verdicts and order a new trial.

    O'Brien was convicted by a federal jury on July 24 of racketeering and mail fraud in a case that focused attention on the patronage culture in state government. He was accused of leading a scheme to rig the probation department's hiring process to favor job candidates who were sponsored by powerful state legislators, often over more qualified applicants.

    Tavares also was convicted of racketeering and mail fraud, and Burke of racketeering conspiracy after a two-month trial. All three defendants are scheduled for sentencing Nov. 12.

    "The defendants' briefs contain the same old and tired arguments that they have unsuccessfully made throughout the litigation in this case," prosecutors said in their response to the defense motions. "While the tenor of these arguments may have been appropriate during pre-trial litigation and during the trial of this matter, they now lack force and vitality in the face of the jury's verdict."

    Among other things, the defense contends Young gave faulty instructions to jurors before deliberations and that the evidence at trial was insufficient to warrant guilty verdicts.

    O'Brien's lawyers also argued the government failed to prove he offered illegal gratuities — in the form of jobs for constituents — to legislators in exchange for official acts, such as favorable treatment on the department's annual budget.

    In their response, prosecutors rejected that argument and said a rational jury could find based on the evidence that the defendants intended to "influence particular or specific official acts."

    Young has scheduled a hearing on the defense motions for Oct. 22.

    Enterovirus 68: Colorado health officials investigating whether 9 paralysis cases could be related to respiratory virus

    0
    0

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday sent doctors an alert about the polio-like cases and said the germ was detected in four out of eight of the sick children who had a certain medical test.

    NEW YORK — Health officials are investigating nine cases of muscle weakness or paralysis in Colorado children and whether the culprit might be a virus causing severe respiratory illness across the country.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday sent doctors an alert about the polio-like cases and said the germ — enterovirus 68 — was detected in four out of eight of the sick children who had a certain medical test. The status of the ninth case is unclear.

    The virus can cause paralysis but other germs can, too. Health officials don't know whether the virus caused any of the children's arm and leg weaknesses or whether it's just a germ they coincidentally picked up.

    "That's why we want more information," and for doctors to report similar cases, said the CDC's Dr. Jane Seward.

    The cases occurred within the last two months. All nine children are being treated at Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora, and most are from the Denver area. A hospital spokeswoman said the patients' families didn't want to talk to the media.

    The nine children had fever and respiratory illness about two weeks before developing varying degrees of limb weakness. None seems to have a weak immune system or other conditions that might predispose them to severe illness, but the cases are still being investigated, Seward said. Investigators don't think it's polio — eight of the nine children are up to date on polio vaccinations. It's not known whether the limb weakness or paralysis is temporary or will be long-lasting.

    The cases come amid an unusual wave of severe respiratory illness from enterovirus 68. The germ is not new — it was first identified in 1962 and has caused clusters of illness before, including in Georgia and Pennsylvania in 2009 and Arizona in 2010. Because it's not routinely tested for, it's possible the bug spread in previous years but was never distinguished from colds caused by other germs.

    This year, the virus has gotten more attention because it has been linked to hundreds of severe illnesses. Beginning last month, a flood of sick children began to hit hospitals in Kansas City, Missouri, and Chicago — kids with trouble breathing, some needing oxygen or more extreme care such as a breathing machine. Many — but not all — had asthma before the infection.

    The CDC has been testing a limited number of specimens from very sick children around the country, and as of Thursday reported 277 people in 40 states and the District of Columbia with enterovirus 68. So far no deaths have been attributed to the virus, but Seward said 15 still are being investigated.

    Health officials know enterovirus can cause paralysis. Published reports count at least two people in the U.S. who were paralyzed and were found to have the virus in their spinal fluid. One was a New Hampshire 5-year-old in 2008; details are scant on the second case, a young adult, which happened many years earlier.

    Earlier this year, Stanford University researchers said they had identified polio-like illnesses in about 20 California children over about 18 months. Two tested positive for enterovirus 68. CDC officials say it's still not clear if the virus was a factor in those cases.

    Paralysis is a rare complication of enterovirus 68 infection, but with so many more cases of enterovirus being reported this year, it may not be surprising to see that problem, said Dr. Larry Wolk, chief medical officer of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

    The CDC is asking doctors to report patients 21 or younger who developed limb weakness since August 1 and who have had an MRI exam that showed abnormalities in the nerve tissue in the spinal cord.

    Seward said a test that showed the germ in a patient's spinal fluid would be good evidence that the virus was causing paralysis. Unfortunately, lab tests of spinal fluid often fail to identify bugs like enterovirus 68, even if they're present, she added.


    AP reporter Thomas Peipert in Denver contributed to this report.

    State Rep. Sean Curran raises concerns about relocation plan for Registry of Motor Vehicles office in Springfield

    0
    0

    State Rep. Sean Curran said there should be more public input before the state moves the Registry of Motor Vehicles office in Springfield.

    This is an updates to a 1:12 p.m. story on Registry of Motor Vehicles relocation plans in Springfield.


    sean curran.jpgState Rep. Sean Curran 

    SPRINGFIELD – State Rep. Sean Curran, D-Springfield, said Friday there should be more public input, and other sites considered, before the state moves the Registry of Motor Vehicles office from its Liberty Street location.

    A spokesman for the state Department of Transportation said this week that the state wants to move the Registry office “as soon as possible” to a new site on St. James Avenue near Tapley Street. The spokesman, Michael Verseckes, said the current site has inadequate building space, inadequate parking, and would be too expensive to modernize for registry and customer needs.

    “There needs to be a little more public input and outreach to the neighborhood, and the community and the residents of Springfield,” Curran said.

    In addition, Curran raised concerns about moving the Registry office from the Lower Liberty Heights/downtown area.

    “The state should be investing resources into that neighborhood, and not taking them away,” Curran said.

    In addition, Curran said that the Peter Pan bus terminal site could be a better location, under plans for the bus operation to move to the nearby Union Station.

    Curran said there are traffic concerns at the planned new site off St. James Avenue, particularly when heavy traffic comes when school lets out, including Central High School.

    Verseckes,. in response, said the state issued three requests for proposals to lease branch space in Springfield.

    "Ultimately, we received two proposals and both were outside of the downtown area," Verseckes said. "By law, the competitive leasing process does not have a public participation component."

    "The extent of the needed renovations would require us to vacate the existing facility. In order to continue serving customers, we would need a temporary facility—this would be very costly and is precisely why we wish to relocate into a permanent space as soon as possible," Verseckes said.

    City Solicitor Edward M. Pikula said the city wants to ensure that any relocation of the registry office keeps it within Springfield.

    The new site has not yet received a building permit, which has led to the property owner, HDC Four LLC, filing suit against the city. Superior Court Judge Bertha Johnson, in a new ruling, has denied a motion by the owner to order the building commissioner to issue the permit.

    Curran in not seeking re-election in November, and is scheduled to leave office in January.


    East Longmeadow man, 25, imprisoned for Facebook-assisted tryst with 13-year-old

    0
    0

    In recommending a 4-5 year state prison sentence, Sears said the defendant took advantage of the girls, both of whom attended a school for emotionally or socially troubled students.


    SPRINGFIELD
    – Twenty months after having sex with a 13-year-old girl beneath the bleachers at East Longmeadow High School's athletic field, a 25-year-old man pleaded guilty Friday to child rape and indecent assault and battery.

    Matthew Tannen, of 65 Cooley Ave., East Longmeadow, also admitted to child enticement and a related charge from his Facebook-assisted pursuit a second 13-year-old girl.

    Tannen, a former dishwasher and landscaper, was sentenced to 4 to 5 years in state prison by Superior Court Judge Edward Donohugh after changing his plea Friday morning during a hearing in Hampden Superior Court.

    The hearing was delayed twice as Tannen appeared distraught and confused as the judge questioned him about his decision to plead guilty to four felony charges.

    In a barely audible voice, the defendant - who had a small cross dangling between his handcuffs - responded “yes, your honor” more than two dozen times to the questions.

    The case is the latest involving adults using Facebook or other social media to establish contact and ultimately have sex with minors.

    Assistant District Attorney Eileen M. Sears said the defendant met the two 13-year-old girls at a graduation party, and pursued them both by using Facebook and texting.

    After repeatedly texting one girl, Tannen agreed to meet her in February 2013 under the bleachers at the East Longmeadow High School football field. After the pair had consensual sex, the girl returned home with grass and leaves on her coat, making her mother suspicious, Sears said.

    The daughter eventually told her mother what happened, leading to Tannen’s arrest by East Longmeadow police, Sears said.

    The defendant’s attempt to entice of the second girl was less successful - he eventually settled on sending an unsolicited photo of his genitalia to the girl, who showed it to her parents, Sears said.

    In recommending a 4-5 year state prison sentence, Sears said the defendant took advantage of the girls, both of whom attended a school for emotionally or socially troubled students.

    “He was an older guy who was paying attention to them – that’s a home run,” for some younger girls, Sears said.

    While the defendant had no previous record, “this one was a doozy,” Sears told the judge.

    The girl who met the defendant in East Longmeadow thought she had a relationship with Tannen, and only realized later that “he didn’t care,” Sears said.

    “She felt like she had been tricked” into having sex, the prosecutor said.

    Defense lawyer Keith T. Higgins said his client had expressed remorse for his acts, and spared the two girls the ordeal of testifying in open court.

    Tannen pleaded guilty to rape and abuse of a child; indecent assault and battery on a child under 14; providing obscene material to a minor and enticement of a child under 16.

    As part of the sentence, Tannen must serve five years of probation after leaving prison; register as a sex offender; have no contact with the victims; receive sex offender counseling; and have no unsupervised contact with anyone under 16 years old.

    Monson Art Wall paintings brighten up construction site; art to be auctioned off

    0
    0

    A public art project adorns the chainlink fence surrounding the new Town Hall-Police Station on downtown Main Street.

    MONSON - For months, the Art Wall, a series of paintings depicting Monson scenes, has livened up the downtown construction site where the new $10.3 million Town Hall-Police Station complex is being built.

    Soon, the wall will come down - in the next week or two - to make room for landscaping and sidewalk improvements at the Main Street site.

    The art will eventually be auctioned off, sometime after the construction ends in November, with proceeds to benefit Monson Rocks, the organization behind the Art Wall and whose mission is to revitalize the Monson economy through arts and culture.

    When Monson Rocks Chairman R. Reed Coles looked at the site last year where the new Town Hall-Police Station would be built, he saw beyond the dirt, machinery and construction, envisioning a public art project for the community to enjoy.

    His idea became a reality, first by getting an endorsement from the Board of Selectmen, then by the contributions of 30 artists who submitted artwork for the project.

    All of the artwork has a tie to Monson, highlighting everything from landmarks and attractions to the June 2011 tornado, from which the town continues to recover. The old Town Hall and Police Station was one of the casualties of the tornado – it was so badly damaged that it had to be torn down.

    Coles said he got the idea for the public art project from the Indian Orchard Mills in Springfield, which did something similar.

    In Monson, the paintings include the House of Art door by Roberta Wilson, and a depiction of one of the town’s best-known businessmen, downtown Main Street gas station owner Bill Nothe, by Andrea Newland. Danielle Hall painted the “lucky duck race,” Audrie Bowen, the Summerfest fireworks.

    Monson Rocks 2.JPGThe Monson Art Wall decorates the chainlink fence in front of the new Town Building-Police Station under construction on downtown Main Street. The Art Wall is an initiative of the community group, Monson Rocks. After the new building opens later this fall, the paintings will be auctioned to benefit Monson Rocks. 

    Peter M. Barnett showed the First Church tornado devastation, and Alan Morin, the eye of the tornado. In the center is a painting declaring "Monson Rocks," noting fellow sponsors – Monson Arts Council and Monson Savings Bank.

    The art wall was unveiled in a March ceremony that attracted 150 people, according to Coles. Town Administrator Evan Brassard, state Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, and Rep. Brian Ashe, D-Longmeadow, attended, and musicians also performed.

    The Art Wall hasn't been the only project for Monson Rocks. The group stepped in to beef up Monson Rotary’s summer concerts (the rotary only got funding for one concert; with the help of Monson Rocks, four more were held). Monson Rocks also is working on a project to place decorated fiberglass mustangs – the high school’s mascot – around town. And lastly, the group, along with Greene Room Productions and Monson Arts Council, is helping with the Girl Scouts’ annual Haunted Doll House at the House of Art on Oct. 23 and 24.

    Barnett, 73, painted the center “Monson Rocks” panel, along with two others, Monson Mourns, showing the First Church’s steeple in ruins after the tornado, and Monson Aspires, which shows the new steeple from a distant view. He said he wanted to show the tornado’s devastation, then the town’s rebirth, and felt the damage of the steeple at First Church was the most symbolic way to do that.

    “I was happy to be part of it,” Barnett, also the Arts Council president and a Monson Rocks member, said. “I was involved in the planning of the thing, too.”

    Barnett said he’s heard a lot of positive comments about the art wall.

    “I think there is a real enthusiasm for it. I can’t tell you how many people are still stopping and looking,” Barnett said.

    Newland, 30, said she loved being part of the project and “doing something cool and artsy for the community.” She said it wasn’t difficult for her to come up with a subject for the wall, which had to be some kind of “expression” of Monson.

    “To me, Bill Nothe is really a part of Monson. He’s a great guy and a great symbol of Monson,” Newland said.

    Nothe is known for the witticisms on his chalkboard signs outside his Main Street Sunoco gas station. Newland said people who know Nothe really liked her painting, which shows him saying, “Kids today go to school on a scholarship, I went on a rowboat.”

    Newland said she got permission from Nothe to use him as a subject. She said she loves the Monson Rocks mission. She also is an Arts Council member.

    “I would love to see more music and art going on in Monson,” Newland said.

    Coles said 31 local contractors sponsored panels, and their names are featured underneath the paintings. He said he was amazed at how well some of the pieces came out.

    "They were really wonderful . . . the art is just fantastic," Coles said. "I'm constantly getting comments on how much people like it."


    Trial to begin for friend of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev accused of lying in Boston Marathon bombing investigation

    0
    0

    Two friends of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have already been convicted of impeding the investigation into the deadly attack. Next week, a third friend will go on trial for allegedly lying to authorities investigating the bombing.

    BOSTON (AP) -- Two friends of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have already been convicted of impeding the investigation into the deadly attack. Next week, a third friend will go on trial for allegedly lying to authorities investigating the bombing.

    Robel Phillipos is charged with making false statements while he was questioned about his movements on the night of April 18, 2013, three days after the bombings and hours after the FBI released photos of Tsarnaev and his brother as suspects in the attack. Authorities say the brothers placed two pressure-cooker bombs near the finish line of the race, killing three people and injuring more than 260.

    Prosecutors allege that Phillipos, of Cambridge, lied about being in Tsarnaev's dorm room while two other friends -- Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev -- removed a laptop and a backpack containing fireworks that had been emptied of their explosive powder. Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev were both convicted of conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

    Phillipos is accused of giving conflicting stories during interviews with the FBI. He initially said he did not remember going to the room that night, but later said he, Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov knocked on the dorm room door that night, but left when no one answered.

    Gerry Leone, a former state and federal prosecutor, said it will be important for both prosecutors and the defense team to put the statements Phillipos made in context.

    "The government is going to say there was an intention to lie and harm the investigation in the context of the marathon bombing," Leone said. "The defense has to say when he was questioned by the government -- something that's never happened to this young college student before -- he wasn't trying to do any harm or ill-will toward anybody. He was frightened, he was intimidated, he may not have given the absolute right answers to questions, but that wasn't because he intended to engage in any kind of cover-up."

    During Tazhayakov's trial, Tsarnaev's roommate testified that a man he later learned was Kadyrbayev came to the room that night with two other men and said he needed to get something. He also said that the two other men -- Tazhayakov and Phillipos -- sat down and watched TV while Kadyrbayev searched the room.

    Phillips, who was 19 at the time, has been portrayed by his lawyers as a young man who had no intention of misleading investigators and knew nothing about the removal of Tsarnaev's backpack by Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov.

    "This case is about a frightened and confused 19-year-old who was subjected to intense questioning and interrogation, without the benefit of counsel, and in the context of one of the worst attacks against the nation," attorneys Derege Demissie and Susan Church wrote in court documents last year seeking to have him release from jail while awaiting trial.

    Phillipos was a classmate of Tsarnaev's from high school and also attended the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth with him, as well as Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov. His lawyers said he had taken a leave of absence and hadn't spoken to Tsarnaev or the other men for more than two months at the time of the bombings. He was invited to attend a seminar on campus on April 18, the night items were taken from Tsarnaev's dorm room, his lawyers said.

    Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday.

    US-led planes strike Islamic State fighters attacking Syria town

    0
    0

    The United States and five Arab allies launched an aerial campaign against Islamic State fighters in Syria early Tuesday with the aim of rolling back and ultimately crushing the extremist group.

    BEIRUT (AP) -- U.S.-led coalition warplanes struck Islamic State fighters in Syria attacking a town near the Turkish border for the first time Saturday, as well as positions in the country's east, activists and a Kurdish official said.

    The Islamic State group's assault on the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani has sent more than 100,000 refugees streaming across the border into Turkey in recent days as Kurdish forces from Iraq and Turkey have raced to the front lines to defend the town.

    Nawaf Khalil, a spokesman for Syria's Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD, said the strikes targeted Islamic State positions near Kobani, also known as Ayn Arab, destroying two tanks. He said the jihadi fighters later shelled the town, wounding a number of civilians.

    The United States and five Arab allies launched an aerial campaign against Islamic State fighters in Syria early Tuesday with the aim of rolling back and ultimately crushing the extremist group, which has created a proto-state spanning the Syria-Iraq border. Along the way, the militants have massacred captured Syrian and Iraqi troops, terrorized minorities in both countries and beheaded two American journalists and a British aid worker.

    The latest airstrikes came as Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem told the Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen TV that airstrikes alone "will not be able wipe out" the Islamic State group. Speaking from New York where he is attending the U.N. General Assembly, al-Moallem said in remarks broadcast Saturday that the U.S. should work with Damascus if it wants to win the war.

    "They must know the importance of coordination with the people of this country because they know what goes on there," al-Moallem said. The U.S. has ruled out any coordination with President Bashar Assad's government, which is at war with the Islamic State group as well as Western-backed rebels.

    The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the coalition's strikes near Kobani came amid heavy fighting between the Islamic State group and members of the Kurdish force known as the People's Protection Units, or YPK.

    The Britain-based group, which relies on activists inside Syria, had no immediate word on casualties from Saturday's strikes. The Observatory reported Friday that 13 civilians have been killed by the strikes since they began.

    Kurdish fighter Majid Goran told the Associated Press by telephone from Kobani that two bombs were dropped over the nearby village of Ali Shar, at 6 a.m. (0300 GMT), but that the positions they struck were empty.

    Turkey's Dogan news agency reported Saturday that the sound of heavy fighting could be heard from the Turkish border village of Karaca. The agency said Kurdish forces retook some positions they had lost to the Islamic militants a few days ago. It did not cite a source for the report.

    Dozens of people wounded in the fighting arrived in Turkey for treatment on Saturday, it said.

    Another Kurdish fighter, Ismet Sheikh Hasan, said the Turkish military on Saturday night retaliated after stray shells landed on Turkish territory, firing in the Ali Shar region. He said the Turkish action left Kurdish fighters in the middle of the crossfire.

    He said that on Friday, the Islamic militants were attacking the Kobani area from the east with tanks and artillery, advancing on Ali Shar and Haja. He said some 20 people were killed, including Kurdish fighters and civilians, while another 50 people were wounded.

    The fighting around Kobani sparked one of the largest single outflows of refugees since Syria's conflict began more than three years ago. The Syrian Kurdish forces have long been one of the most effective fighting units battling the Islamic State, but the tide has turned in recent weeks as the Islamic militants have attacked with heavy weapons likely looted from neighboring Iraq.

    The Observatory said other coalition airstrikes targeted Islamic State compounds in the central province of Homs and the northern regions of Raqqa and Aleppo. The group said 31 explosions were heard in the city of Raqqa, the group's de facto capital, and its suburbs.

    The Local Coordination Committees, another activist group, said the strikes in the east hit the province of Deir el-Zour as well as Raqqa. The LCC also said the coalition targeted grain silos west of Deir el-Zour city.

    It was not immediately clear why the silos were targeted.

    Max Blumenfeld, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said the U.S. airstrikes "don't target food or anything else than can be used by the civilian population." But he said that until the military reviews images from planes that participated in the strikes, he could not rule out that silos were hit.

    He said the airstrikes are aimed at specific Islamic State targets such as command and control centers, transportation and logistics, and oil refineries, "but not food that could have an impact upon the civilian population."

    "Our targets are structures that combatants would use," he said.

    In recent days coalition warplanes had struck oil-producing facilities in eastern Syria in a bid to cut off one of the Islamic State group's main revenue streams -- black market oil sales that the U.S. says generate up to $2 million a day.

    The coalition striking Syria includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Jordan, and the strikes are an extension of the U.S. campaign in neighboring Iraq launched in August.

    Near the capital Damascus, Syrian troops meanwhile entered the once rebel-held northeastern suburb of Adra after days of clashes, Syrian state TV said. The advance came two days after troops captured the nearby Adra industrial zone.

    Mayor Marty Walsh pushes back on Belfast Beanpot talk

    0
    0

    Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh said on Saturday that his remarks to the BBC's Belfast affiliates about hosting the Beanpot tournament there in 2016 were taken out of context by media outlets.

    DUBLIN -- Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh said on Saturday that his remarks to the BBC's Belfast affiliates about hosting the Beanpot tournament there in 2016 were taken out of context by media outlets.

    Walsh told BBC hosts on Friday that officials in Belfast were looking to bring the Beanpot Tournament to Boston and piggyback on their successful hosting of the Boston Bruins during a slate of preseason games against the Belfast Giants in 2010.

    The Boston mayor said that he thought it would be great for the four Beanpot colleges, Boston College, Boston University, Harvard University, and Northeastern University to play in a tournament in Belfast in the near future.

    Those comments were interpreted in Boston as supportive of moving the historic college hockey tournament to a non-Boston venue for the fist time in its history. The backlash on social media was swift and prompted Walsh's press secretary Kate Norton to issue a statement on Twitter clarifying Walsh's comments

    "I don't know who twisted that but the Beanpot is not going to Belfast," said Walsh on Saturday before a meeting at Dublin City Hall.

    Walsh said he does support the hosting of a "Beanpot-like" tournament in Belfast that would feature Massachusetts colleges. Walsh said that it would not be the first time Ireland hosted a college that Dublin has hosted regulation college football games at Croke Park frequently with big teams like Boston College, Notre Dame, and Penn State.

    "The business community in Belfast has been working with UMASS in Lowell and other colleges in trying to bring over a hockey tournament. Four years ago they successfully brought over the Bruins to play the Belfast Giants at Odyssey Arena and now they're trying to bring some colleges over for a Beanpot-like tournament in Belfast," said Walsh.

    Walsh's comments first surfaced Friday afternoon on the BBC's website and spread quickly to hockey blogs thereafter.

    Walsh is in Ireland on economic development trip.

    Viewing all 62489 articles
    Browse latest View live




    Latest Images