A man in the home said he told the intruder to leave, but he refused.

Conor Berry | cberry@repub.com 

Police say the incident happened early Saturday morning at an apartment complex in Clinton. Officers say 26-year-old Tyler Sullivan of Haddam told officers he thought he was at his mother's apartment, which is in the same complex.

A man in the home said he told Sullivan to leave, but Sullivan refused. Police say Sullivan was still there when officers arrived.

Sullivan was charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct. He was released on $1,000 bail and ordered to appear in Middletown Superior Court on Nov. 4.

It's not clear if Sullivan has a lawyer. A phone listing for him couldn't be found.

The gulf between politicians and scientists over Ebola widened on Sunday as the nation's top infectious-disease expert warned that the mandatory, 21-day quarantining of medical workers returning from West Africa is unnecessary and could discourage volunteers from traveling to the danger zone.

NEW YORK -- The gulf between politicians and scientists over Ebola widened on Sunday as the nation's top infectious-disease expert warned that the mandatory, 21-day quarantining of medical workers returning from West Africa is unnecessary and could discourage volunteers from traveling to the danger zone.

"The best way to protect us is to stop the epidemic in Africa, and we need those health care workers, so we do not want to put them in a position where it makes it very, very uncomfortable for them to even volunteer to go," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Meanwhile, Kaci Hickox, the first nurse forcibly quarantined in New Jersey under the state's new policy, said in a telephone interview with CNN that her isolation at a hospital was "inhumane," adding: "We have to be very careful about letting politicians make health decisions."

The governors of New York and New Jersey announced a mandatory quarantine program on Friday for medical workers and other airline passengers who have had contact with Ebola victims in disease-ravaged West Africa, and Illinois soon followed suit. Twenty-one days is the incubation period for Ebola.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Sunday defended quarantining as necessary to protect the public and predicted it "will become a national policy sooner rather than later."

"I don't believe when you're dealing with something as serious as this that we can count on a voluntary system. This is government's job. If anything else, the government job is to protect safety and health of our citizens," said Christie, who is expected to run for the Republican nomination for president in 2016. "And so, we've taken this action, and I absolutely have no second thoughts about it."

Fauci made the rounds on five major Sunday morning talk shows to argue that policy should be driven by science -- and that science says people with the virus are not contagious until symptoms appear. And even then, infection requires direct contact with bodily fluids.

He said that close monitoring of medical workers for symptoms is sufficient, and warned that forcibly separating them from others, or quarantining them, for three weeks could cripple the fight against the outbreak in West Africa -- an argument that humanitarian medical organizations have also made.

"If we don't have our people volunteering to go over there, then you're going to have other countries that are not going to do it and then the epidemic will continue to roar," he said.

Christie, traveling the country as head of the Republican Governors Association, said he was not worried that quarantining would discourage volunteers.

Neither he nor New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo provided details on what would happen to those who refused to cooperate with the quarantines. But Cuomo, who is up for re-election next week, said the order is legally enforceable, and expressed confidence that medical professionals would go along.

"It's highly unlikely that a doctor who is coming back, who just volunteered, who may be infected, wouldn't cooperate with the quarantine. I mean, it is exactly antithetical to what the doctor does, right?" Cuomo said on a radio talk show.

The quarantine measures were announced after Dr. Craig Spencer returned to New York City from treating Ebola victims in Guinea for Doctors Without Borders and was admitted to Bellevue Hospital Center last Thursday to be treated for Ebola. In the week after his return, he rode the subway, went bowling and ate at a restaurant.

Hospital officials did not immediately update his condition Sunday but said a day earlier that he was experiencing gastrointestinal symptoms and "entering the next phase of his illness."

Hickox, the quarantined nurse, said she had no symptoms at all and tested negative for Ebola in a preliminary evaluation.

"It's just a slippery slope, not a sound public health decision," she said of the quarantine policy. "I want to be treated with compassion and humanity, and don't feel I've been treated that way."

Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who is on a trip to West Africa, said returning U.S. health care workers should be "treated like conquering heroes and not stigmatized for the tremendous work that they have done."

In other developments, Florida Gov. Rick Scott ordered twice-daily monitoring for 21 days of anyone returning from the Ebola-stricken areas.

The World Health Organization said more than 10,000 people have been infected with Ebola in the outbreak that came to light last March, and nearly half of them have died, mostly in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Fauci appeared on "Fox News Sunday," ABC's "This Week, NBC's "Meet the Press," CBS' "Face the Nation" and CNN's "State of the Union." Christie was interviewed on Fox and Power spoke to NBC.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is "moving forward" on a potential 2016 White House run and it appears more likely he will enter the Republican field, according to his son, who's running for office in Texas.

WASHINGTON -- Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is "moving forward" on a potential 2016 White House run and it appears more likely he will enter the Republican field, according to his son, who's running for office in Texas.

George P. Bush told ABC's "This Week" that his father is "still assessing" a presidential bid, but suggested it was more likely that he would seek the White House this time. The ex-governor declined to run for president in 2012 despite encouragement from Republicans.

"I think it's more than likely that he's giving this a serious thought and moving -- and moving forward," said the younger Bush, who is running for Texas land commissioner.

Asked if that meant it was "more than likely that he'll run," George P. Bush responded: "That he'll run. If you had asked me a few years back ... I would have said it was less likely."

Jeb Bush, the brother of former President George W. Bush and the son of former President George H.W. Bush, would stand out in what could be a crowded Republican field in 2016.

Bush has headlined fundraisers for Republican candidates and committees and helped campaigns for governor in Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada, three of the first four states to hold early presidential primaries.

Family considerations could play a factor in his decision.

In an interview with The Associated Press this month, Jeb Bush said his wife, Columba, is "supportive" of a potential presidential campaign and his mother, former first lady Barbara Bush, was now "neutral, trending in a different direction." Barbara Bush declared last year there had been "enough Bushes" in the White House.

"But that doesn't mean that I don't understand the challenges that this brings," Jeb Bush told the AP. "This is ultimately my decision with as much consideration as I can to take into account the people that I really love."

George P. Bush, in the interview aired Sunday, said his family would be "100 percent" behind his father if he decides to run.

Starting Monday, millions of people who have avoided colon cancer screening can get a new home test that's noninvasive and doesn't require the icky preparation most other methods do.

Starting Monday, millions of people who have avoided colon cancer screening can get a new home test that's noninvasive and doesn't require the icky preparation most other methods do.

The test is the first to look for cancer-related DNA in stool. But deciding whether to get it is a more complex choice than ads for "the breakthrough test ... that's as easy as going to the bathroom" make it seem.

On one hand, the test could greatly boost screening for a deadly disease that too few people get checked for now.

On the other hand, it could lure people away from colonoscopies and other tests that, unlike the new one, have been shown to save lives.

It might even do both.

"It looks promising," but its impact on cancer risk and survival isn't known, said Dr. Barnett Kramer, a National Cancer Institute screening expert.

David Smith, 67, a retired teacher from Northfield, Minnesota, shows the test's potential. He has never been screened for colon cancer and his doctor ran through the options, including a barium enema or a scope exam.

"He pulled out one of those really colorful brochures they have for all those procedures," Smith said, but he had suffered an infection from a prostate biopsy years ago and didn't want another invasive test. When the doctor mentioned the new DNA test, "I said, well, sign me up."

The test was approved by the Food and Drug Administration last month and will be offered by prescription at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, where it was developed, and soon nationwide. It's called Cologuard and is sold by Exact Sciences Corp. of Madison, Wisconsin. Mayo Clinic and one of its doctors get royalties from the test.

Here are some things to know about it:

HOW IT WORKS

Many current stool tests look for blood that could suggest a tumor. Cologuard does this plus detects DNA that could be a sign of cancer or precancerous growths called polyps. People send a stool sample to a lab where it is tested.

If the test is positive, the next step is a diagnostic colonoscopy. A thin tube with a tiny camera is passed through the large intestine and growths can be removed and checked for cancer. When this is done for screening and precancerous polyps are removed, it can prevent cancer, not just detect it. It requires drinking laxatives the day before to clean out the bowel.

A sigmoidoscopy is a similar scope exam but only looks at the lower portion of the bowel and does not require full sedation.

ADVERTISED BUT NOT ENDORSED

The best measure of a screening test's worth is whether it lowers the risk of death from a disease, and it's too soon to know whether Cologuard will. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which sets widely followed screening advice, has not yet considered it.

For healthy adults age 50 to 75 at average risk for colon cancer, the task force backs three methods: annual stool blood tests, a sigmoidoscopy every five years plus stool tests every three years, or a colonoscopy once a decade.

ACCURACY

Cologuard was not directly tested against colonoscopy for screening but now is being marketed as an alternative. A large study compared Cologuard to one of the older stool blood tests and found it detected 92 percent of colorectal cancers and 42 percent of advanced precancerous growths compared to 74 percent of cancers and 24 percent of growths for the older test.

"Colonoscopy is the gold standard," but the new test "is pretty darn good" at detecting cancer, though it misses more pre-cancers than previous studies of colonoscopy show, said Dr. Harold 'Hal' Sox, a Dartmouth professor who formerly headed the preventive services task force.

Cologuard also had a downside -- more false alarms. It correctly ruled out colon cancer only 87 percent of the time versus 95 percent for the older test.

"One could look at it and say that's a glass half empty, half full," Kramer said. It leads 13 percent to have follow-up colonoscopies they really didn't need -- because they didn't have cancer. Yet if the alternative is to screen everyone with a colonoscopy in the first place, Cologuard could avoid 87 percent of them.

COST

Cologuard costs $599 versus about $25 for current stool blood tests, and "you don't know whether you need to take it every year -- intervals have not been tested," Kramer said.

If you have the DNA test every three years, it would be $1,800 -- about the cost of a colonoscopy, which is good for 10 years unless polyps are found, he said.

Medicare covers the new test but private insurers aren't covering it yet.

BOTTOM LINE

Many cancer experts say the best screening test is the one that people are willing to get.

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States and the fourth worldwide. More than 143,000 new cases and 52,000 deaths from the disease are expected this year in the U.S. alone. Only about 60 percent of people recommended to get screened do so now.

Dr. Kenneth Lin, a Georgetown University family physician and former staff doctor for the preventive services task force, said, "You'd rather have more options than not, but I don't think there's enough data to declare this test superior to any other test" because of the false positives and lack of proof that it will save lives, Lin said. "It definitely has some promise."

No citations have been issued in the accident, which is under investigation.

LUDLOW – Speed was a factor in an accident that sent three people to the hospital Sunday afternoon.

Police are investigating the accident that happened at about 1 p.m. in the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Alvin Street. No citations have been issued but speed was an issue, Police Sgt. David Belanger said.

One of the vehicles was traveling west on Massachusetts Avenue and the other was heading North on Alvin Street, a dead-end road, when they collided. The impact of the crash sent one car spinning counter clockwise and it ended up on the front lawn of a house, he said.

The driver and passenger in one of the cars were driven to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield for treatment while the driver in the second car went to the hospital by ambulance, Belanger said.

There was no information about their injuries but they are not life-threatening.

Four years ago, Coakley, the state's attorney general, crushed her party's hopes and imperiled President Barack Obama's health care overhaul when a little-known Republican state lawmaker, Scott Brown, claimed the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the death of Edward Kennedy.

BOSTON (AP) — For Democrat Martha Coakley, the governor's race in Massachusetts is more than just a contest for the state's top political office. It's also a quest for political redemption.

Four years ago, Coakley, the state's attorney general, crushed her party's hopes and imperiled President Barack Obama's health care overhaul when a little-known Republican state lawmaker, Scott Brown, claimed the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the death of Edward Kennedy.

That special election has been the source of endless political analysis ever since. Prognosticators attribute the outcome to everything from Obama's unpopularity to Coakley's reluctance to shake hands with voters outside beloved Fenway Park. After the loss, Coakley was even mocked in a "Saturday Night Live" skit.

Now, the 61-year-old Coakley finds herself in another tough contest.

For weeks, polls pointed to a toss-up between Coakley and Republican Charlie Baker in the race to succeed Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick. A new poll by The Boston Globe suggests Baker has the edge.

It shows Baker with the support of 45 percent of those polled compared with 36 percent for Coakley, a 9-point advantage in a survey with a margin of error of 4 percentage points. The telephone survey of 500 likely voters was conducted Oct. 19-22.

Coakley said she has tried to revamp her public image, including showing a more personal side by talking publicly about the suicide of her brother, Edward, who died in 1996 at age 33 after battling depression.

"I think that people still think from 2010 that I don't have a sense of humor or I'm too chilly," Coakley said at a recent debate. "I've worked for four years to overcome that."

She also has tried to learn from her 2010 loss, promising at a state Democratic convention in June that no other candidate would "travel more miles, knock on more doors, shake more hands or make more phone calls."

Baker, 57, a former CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and top official under Republican Govs. William Weld and Paul Cellucci, is also seeking redemption.

Baker lost a tough race four years ago, failing to unseat Patrick at a time when the governor appeared vulnerable. By his own admission, Baker came off a little too angry. He has pledged to show a sunnier side as he reaches out to the independent and Democratic voters he will need to win.

"For me it's always been about people," Baker, 57, said at the same debate. "It bothers me that a guy who is pretty facile with math, which does matter when you're talking about a $38 billion budget, is somehow considered to be somebody who doesn't care about people."

 

By those measures, Coakley, who has run two successful statewide races and is one of the state's best known political figures, should be a clear favorite.

But Coakley is also facing political and historical headwinds.

Despite a liberal reputation, Massachusetts has been slow to elect women to top offices. Coakley was the first woman elected attorney general and would be the first elected governor.

State attorneys general have had a tough time making the leap to governor in Massachusetts. Coakley has had to defend decisions she made as the state's top law enforcement official, including a decision to fight, rather than settle, a lawsuit by a New York-based children's rights group against the Department of Children and Families.

On campaign issues, Coakley promotes her support of pre-kindergarten education, regional economic development, and support for mental health services. Baker pledges to hold down taxes, support job growth and make government more efficient.

Baker has a fundraising edge. As of mid-October, he had $1.2 million in his account, compared with Coakley's $300,000.

A super political action committee funded almost entirely by the Republican Governors Association has pumped more than $8 million into the race to support Baker. That's more than twice the super PAC spending supporting Coakley, much of it from unions and the Democratic Governors Association.

Still, Coakley has significant advantages, including a strong Democratic get-out-the-vote operation. Among those who have campaigned for her are Michelle Obama and Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

That's not enough to calm the nerves of die-hard Democrats.

They remember the closing days of the 2010 Senate race when even a visit by the president couldn't salvage Coakley's campaign.

"We need to be more involved in elections," said Chuck Nardo, a 49-year-old carpenter from Quincy, who sees Coakley as a champion of the middle class and small business. "Because now we know anybody can sneak in."

The driver told Wilbraham police that he thought he had left his manual-transmission sedan in gear when he stopped at a Boston Road liquor store.

WILBRAHAM — An unoccupied vehicle crashed into the Wilbraham fire station after the driver stopped at a Boston Road liquor store on Monday, but apparently forgot to leave his manual-transmission car in gear with the parking brake set.

The 31-year-old driver told Wilbraham Police that he thought he had left his Audi sedan in gear when he stopped at Wilbraham Wine & Spirits, which is directly across from the fire station at 2770 Boston Road.

The car rolled backwards across Boston Road, striking and damaging one of the station's large bay doors at about 2:40 p.m., according to police, who had not filed charges against the driver as of late Monday afternoon.

"It's still under investigation," police Capt. Timothy Kane said. "I guess there's enough damage that they're trying to figure out how to close the door."

No people were injured and no other vehicles were damaged, Kane said.

Stick shift drivers typically leave their cars in first gear and set the emergency brake to prevent them from rolling.

A truck from Chicopee-based Unwin Overhead Door was seen parked outside the fire station late Monday afternoon. The bottom section of the rolling glass door was damaged and apparently popped out of its tracks, preventing it from closing properly.

Sgt. Shawn Baldwin is handling the investigation.

The event will be conducted under the direction of Moderator Jim Sheils. All town residents are invited to attend; a quorum of 100 is required for the meeting to proceed.

EAST LONGMEADOW — Live coverage of the 2014 East Longmeadow Special Town Meeting, which will be held this evening, Monday, October 27, at 7 in the auditiorium of the town high school, will appear in the comment section below.

The warrant that has been compiled for the meeting, which features descriptions of the civic issues that have been put forward for discussion, has previously been posted on MassLive, as has a video preview created by East Longmeadow Community Access Television.

The event will be conducted under the direction of Moderator James Sheils. All town residents are invited to attend; a quorum of 100 is required for the meeting to proceed.

Will rely on voluntary isolation.

The Centers for Disease Control is not requiring a mandatory 21-day quarantine for health care workers returning from volunteer medical work in Ebola-infected areas of West Africa. According to an early report from National Public Radio, the agency has told reporters it will rely on individual assessments, based on four different levels of risks, voluntary isolation, and close monitoring of all these workers by public health officials. Any travel for health care workers would have to be "coordinated and pre-approved."

High risk would be a worker with a known protocol breech, such as not wearing protective gear. Individuals in this category are being asked to stay at home, off public transportation, and to avoid “congregate settings” for the 21 days considered the incubation period for the virus. They would also be observed by a public health worker in taking their own temperature, twice day.

It is up to the states to adopt CDC recommendations. At least two states, New Jersey and New York, are imposing 21-day mandatory quarantines for returning health care volunteers.

The CDC strategy for Ebola preparedness has evolved in this country. The disease, which is only transmitted through close contact with infected bodily fluids, has killed close to five thousand people, mainly in the West Africa countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. All passengers from these West African countries must now fly into five U.S. airports: New York's JFK, New Jersey's Newark, Chicago's O'Hare, Virginia's Washington-Dulles and Atlanta's Hartsfield. Increased screenings to detect any suspected cases, or potential cases, of Ebola went into effect today at all these airports.

According to Tom Frieden, director of the CDC, who announced the new guidelines, less than 100 people a day have been returning from Ebola-affected countries since earlier guidelines went into effect Oct. 11. Of the 807 people who entered the U.S. since then, 46 have been identified as health care workers.

Until a New York City doctor developed symptoms, Doctors Without Borders (Medicins Sans Frontieres), said none of its 700 expatriate staff working in West Africa have developed the disease upon returning home. The statement on the organization's website did say the doctor, Craig Spencer, followed its protocols, upon his return home, including notifying medical personal of his increased temperature on Oct. 23, when it was admitted to hospital.

The statement notes the doctor "did not leave his apartment until paramedics transported him safely to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, and he posed no public health threat prior to developing symptoms."

Doctors Without Borders has been fighting the epidemic, since its outbreak in December in West Africa, and many volunteer medical personnel work there under its auspices.

Doctors Without Borders protocols for returning staff include:

Check temperature two times per day

Finish regular course of malaria prophylaxis (malaria symptoms can mimic Ebola symptoms)

Be aware of relevant symptoms, such as fever

Stay within four hours of a hospital with isolation facilities

Immediately contact the MSF-USA office if any relevant symptoms develop

The statement also notes:

As long as a returned staff member does not experience any symptoms, normal life can proceed. Family, friends, and neighbors can be assured that a returned staff person who does not present symptoms is not contagious and does not put them at risk. Self-quarantine is neither warranted nor recommended when a person is not displaying Ebola-like symptoms.

"However, returned staff members are discouraged from returning to work during the 21 day period. Field assignments are extremely challenging and people need to regain energy. In addition, people who return to work too quickly could catch a simple bacterial or viral infection (common cold, bronchitis, flu etc.) that may have symptoms similar to Ebola. This can create needless stress and anxiety for the person involved and his/her colleagues. For this reason, MSF continues to provide salaries to returned staff for the 21-day period."

The 16 voting machines are 15 to 20 years old, but all but one worked well after tests.

HOLYOKE -- Testing of voting machines Monday (Oct. 27) found 15 of the 16 worked well and one showed a glitch that is scheduled to be fixed Tuesday in anticipation of Election Day Nov. 4, City Clerk Brenna Murphy McGee said.

"Our biggest, Ward 5A, was not taking ballots. We have someone ... coming tomorrow to fix it. Better today than Election Day. All the others are ready to go," Murphy McGee said.

The testing took about 2.5 hours in City Council Chambers at City Hall, she said.

There are 14 of the electronic Diebold AccuVote machines, one for each of the precincts, and two back-ups, she said. The machines tabulate votes by reading ovals filled in by voters with black markers on paper ballots fed into the machines, which Murphy McGee said are 15 to 20 years old.

A $100,000 project to repair the building's steeple is set to begin this week.

Voters can vote absentee if they will be away from their city or town on Election Day, if they have a physical disability that prevents them from voting in person, or if they have a religious belief that prevents them from going to the polls on Election Day.

The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot is Monday, Nov. 3 at noon.

Massachusetts does not yet have early voting. But voters can vote absentee if they will be away from their city or town on Election Day, if they have a physical disability that prevents them from voting in person, or if they have a religious belief that prevents them from going to the polls on Election Day.

Voters can pick up an absentee ballot and fill it out immediately to turn in at the city or town clerk's office.

Voters who plan to mail in absentee ballots should remember that ballots must arrive at the city or town clerk's office by 8 p.m. on Nov. 4 in order to be counted. Ballots from overseas voters will be counted if they arrive within 10 days of Election Day and are postmarked by Nov. 4.

The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.

For more information, visit www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/eleifv/howabs.htm.

The City Council waived its policy of interviewing new nominations for boards and commissions in subcommittee.

CHICOPEE – The City Council approved appointments for three different boards in unanimous decisions last week.

The Council reappointed Donald Goulette to the License Commission for a five-year term that ends in 2019. Members praised Goulette, who currently serves as chairman, as being diligent and helpful and said they were happy he wanted to return to the volunteer position.

The Council also voted to appoint Joseph Pasternak III for the Electric Light Commission. Pasternak, an electrical engineer, was appointed a few weeks earlier to the board but there was some confusion over the length of his term because he is taking over a position that was vacated. He will serve until Feb. 2015.

It also voted to name Edward Gagnon to the Commission for the Disabled. Gagnon, a disabled veteran, said he was proud to live in Chicopee and was anxious to serve on the committee.

The City Council waived its policy of interviewing all new nominations for boards and commissions in subcommittee after a number of members said they know Gagnon and believed he would be a good member. The Commission is also short on members so appointing people quickly helps the group meet its quorum.

Carolyn Gardner had hoped to return to teaching but was unable to.

AMHERST – A Northampton law firm Monday filed a complaint with the state Department of Discrimination on behalf of former Amherst Regional High School math teacher Carolyn Gardner who was the subject of racist graffiti attacks last year.

According to the release from attorneys Luke Ryan and Cynthia Trumbull of Sasson Trumbull, Ryan and Hoose, the complaint was filed after school officials regarded Gardner's allegations of mistreatment as baseless.

According to a press release, Gardner had hoped to return to teaching this fall  but was unable to because the individuals "responsible for her mistreatment made it impossible for her to return." 

Graffiti messages were left at various locations four times during the school year and in May a threatening note was left at the school with the author of the note signing Gardner as the person writing it

Gardner, according to the release was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder last May and placed on paid administrative lead.

The department was informed of Gardner's condition and intention of not returning Aug. 12 to give the department time to cover her classes.

According to the release, Superintendent Maria Geryk asked whether Gardner was requesting an unpaid leave or if she was resigning her position.

"After we made clear our desire to discuss other alternatives, the District unilaterally paced Ms. Gardner on unpaid medical leave due to its unwillingness to 'leave her situation in limbo,'" according to the release.

The release states they did not want to file suit.

Gardner is the sole provider for her 21-year-old son who has autism and she "was in no position to engage in costly and time-consuming litigation" and she realized "that our adversarial legal system is ill equipped to heal the wounds inflicted upon her and the larger community," according to the press release.

The lawyers wrote that the district left them with no choice but to file the complaint. The school attorney refused to meet with them to discuss possible remedies and instructed them to submit a written proposal for settlement of any and all potential claims.

They did but the school's attorney characterized the allegations of mistreatment as "baseless" and refused a request for mediation, according to the press release.

Greg Sullivan, the former Massachusetts inspector general, said Attorney General Martha Coakley told him she did not see a "bright line of criminality" while investigating former House Speaker Sal DiMasi. Coakley said Sullivan is "absolutely wrong."

BOSTON - Gregory Sullivan, the former Massachusetts inspector general, said Attorney General Martha Coakley told him she did not see a "bright line of criminality" while investigating former House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, who would later be convicted on federal corruption charges. Sullivan said Coakley told him to discontinue the investigation.

Coakley said Sullivan's recollection is "absolutely wrong."

Coakley is facing a tight race for governor against Republican Charlie Baker.

DiMasi was convicted in federal court in 2011 and sentenced to prison for taking kickbacks in exchange for steering state contracts to the software company Cognos.

Sullivan first made the charges about Coakley to a reporter for the Boston Globe. In a story published Sunday, the Globe wrote that Sullivan met with Coakley in October 2008, after Sullivan published a letter revealing DiMasi's relationship with Cognos.

Sullivan said Coakley told him there was no "bright line" of criminality and that he should stop investigating and produce a report on "lessons learned." The Globe reported that Coakley aides who were at the meeting denied Coakley ever said that. Members of Sullivan's staff recalled Sullivan telling them about the meeting.

Sullivan released a lengthy statement Monday saying the inspector general's office learned about the issue from a whistleblower in September 2007. The whistleblower said he brought the matter to the attorney general's office but was told "there is nothing there." The first assistant attorney general, upon finding out that the whistleblower contacted the inspector general's office, asked Sullivan whether Sullivan's office, rather than Coakley's, could conduct the investigation because it was politically sensitive, Sullivan said. Sullivan said he investigated and published the letter revealing the apparent kickbacks.

Sullivan reiterated the comments he made to the Globe about their conversation in October 2008. Sullivan said Coakley expressed "dismay" when he said he would turn the investigation over to the U.S. Attorney's office, rather than her office.

Asked about the comments in Boston on Monday, Coakley said Sullivan's recollection of the conversation is "absolutely incorrect."

"I don't know why he's saying it, but he's just wrong," Coakley said. "I didn't say it, and I wouldn't say it."

Coakley said she prosecuted DiMasi adviser Richard Vitale, who was sentenced to probation and fined for his role lobbying DiMasi without reporting it.

Coakley said she cooperated with federal prosecutors on the DiMasi case.

"I know what tools the federal government has and what they can do by way of investigation and charges that we can't," Coakley said.

Coakley's campaign provided a court document indicating that a grand jury was meeting in September 2008 and continued through December 2008 – indicating that an investigation was ongoing before and after the conversation between Coakley and Sullivan.

Coakley spokesman Bonnie McGilpin said Coakley and Sullivan's offices also entered into a memorandum of understanding for the inspector general to share investigation documents with the attorney general the day after Coakley and Sullivan spoke.

Coakley's campaign manager Tim Foley questioned the veracity of Sullivan's accusations over the weekend, pointing out that Sullivan is research director of the Pioneer Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank, of which Baker was one of the founding directors. Pioneer board members have contributed to Baker's campaign and to an independent political action committee supporting Baker.

Sullivan responded that he is a Democrat and made the statements as a former inspector general, not a Pioneer Institute representative.

Baker said Monday in Worcester that Sullivan is a "really credible person" with a "sterling reputation on Beacon Hill." "The allegations raised by that are troubling," Baker said. "I think the attorney general needs to answer to him."

________________________________________________________

Staff writer Garrett Quinn contributed to this report.

A single mother of three, and a woman raising her grandson will be new homeowners.

EASTHAMPTON — Two families have been selected to purchase, help build, and inhabit side-by-side units in a so-called "zero-energy" Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity duplex under construction here.

Habitat hosted a celebration Monday at the 246-248 East St. site to welcome the families. And in a visit kept under wraps by Habitat until the last minute, top Patrick administration officials showed up to announce that the project would benefit from a grant designed to promote super-energy-efficient building practices. Despite the presence of the dignitaries, the new home owners remained the focus of the day.

Angelique Baker, 34, will share a new home with her sons Cutler and Blaise, ages 14 and eight, and three-year-old daughter Serenity. The second unit will shelter Aleta Kennedy and her 13-year-old grandson, Isaac. Coincidentally, both women are United States Navy veterans. The two were chosen by lottery among qualified applicants.

"It's an answer to our prayers — it's literally saving our lives," said Kennedy, who remarked that she and Isaac will be moving out of an apartment that's infested with mold. The retired mechanic and nurse is in a wheelchair, and said she's thrilled to be the new owner of a fully-accessible home.

Baker, who's studying for a degree in social work, said she was grateful to everyone who made the Habitat home possible.

"It was my goal to become a homeowner, even though people told me I would never be able to do it," she said.

Baker said that she had once been a victim of domestic violence, and would dedicate her move-in day to "every woman who has ever been knocked down."

The units at 246-248 East Street are the result of a web of partners and volunteers, said Pioneer Valley Habitat executive director Megan McDonough.

Pioneer Valley Photovoltaics, a worker-owned cooperative in Greenfield, donated two solar electric arrays, a gift valued at $40,000. Architects Edy Ambrose and Rachel Stevens designed the house for free. The Center for Eco-Technology will conduct inspections needed to earn rebates through the Mass Save New Construction Program.

The project home will also benefit from a $24,000 "Pathways to Zero" grant, announced at the project site by Mass. Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Maeve Bartlett and Department of Energy Resources Commissioner Meg Lusardi.  The DOER program supports the emerging "zero net energy" building market in Massachusetts. The Habitat grant was part of $2.9 million awarded statewide.

The Habitat home, because of its zero net energy design, will have little to no utility expenses for its residents, said Bartlett.

Mayor Karen Cadieux said the land deal for the site originated in 2008 when 14 acres of conservation land was purchased with Community Preservation Act funds. The one-acre lot facing East Street was set aside for housing. In 2010, the Easthampton Housing Partnership put out a Request for Proposals for developers, and selected Habitat.

"This project is near and dear to me," said Cadieux, who has spent several days volunteering at the construction site.

In order to qualify for Habitat for Humanity home ownership, heads of household must meet three criteria: their income must be below fifty percent of the area median, they must have the ability to afford interest-free mortgage payments, and be willing to donate 250 hours of volunteer labor.

Habitat is actively seeking volunteers for the Women Build project. The program, a partnership with Lowe's building supply stores, supports construction projects with strong female leadership and participation.

Volunteers of all skill levels are welcome, said McDonough, who encouraged interested parties to call the Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity office at (413) 586-5430.

Former City Solicitor Patrick Markey is serving as the council's pro bono lawyer in fighting the biomass plant.

SPRINGFIELD – The City Council moved another step forward Monday in its fight against a proposed biomass plant in East Springfield, voting to accept the offer of former City Solicitor Patrick J. Markey to serve as its legal counsel, free of charge, in a pending court appeal.

The council voted 11-1 in favor of appointing Markey as its pro bono lawyer as the council appeals a ruling in state Land Court in August that authorized building permits for the wood-burning plant proposed by Palmer Renewable Energy.

Council President Michael Fenton said the council is “thrilled” to have Markey’s service, believing the planned $150 million wood-to-energy plant at Cadwell Drive and Page Boulevard poses “a very substantial health concern for the citizens of this city.”

“The City Council is continuing to fight this project for that reason,” Fenton said. “Springfield will not be a dumping ground for the suburbs any longer. We made this decision not based on who is lining whose political pocket with contributions but based on what is in the best interest of the citizens of Springfield because they have been telling this chamber resoundingly for the last five years that they do not want this project and it is not good for them, their children or their grandchildren.”

Thomas A. Mackie, a lawyer for Palmer Renewable Energy, said the company “is confident that it will win this appeal, as it did in the lower courts, because it is has well established law and a thoroughly reasoned judicial decision in its favor.”

The company has stated the plant involves state-of-the-art technology and will not harm public health. Opponents say it would worsen air pollution and harm public health.

Activist Michaelann Bewsee said she and a couple who live near the proposed plant filed a private appeal with the Massachusetts Court of Appeals.

The council would typically have been represented by the Law Department if it filed its own appeal, but the department had defended the building commissioner’s decision in 2011 to issue building permits for the project, and thus could not also represent the council, Fenton said. Mayor Domenic J. Sarno recently balked at providing funds to hire a special lawyer for the council, saying there was already the private appeal.

Fenton said the council represents all residents, not just a couple of neighborsl.

“We have a duty to make sure this appeal is pursued vigilantly,” Fenton said.

He and Councilor Timothy Allen praised Markey’s pro bono efforts.

“I hope it’s not a case of you get what you paid for,” Markey said to the council after its vote, triggering some laughter. “I’m happy to do this. It’s important that the City Council be represented.”

The council had reserved its right to appeal in September, Fenton said. The council had revoked special permits for the biomass project, and also appealed the separate building permits.

Councilor Timothy Rooke cast the sole vote against continued legal action by the council in the biomass case.

Markey is a Springfield resident and former city councilor, and has opposed the biomass plant.

The Land Court ruled in August that the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals had overstepped its authority when it revoked building permits for the biomass project initially awarded by the building commissioner.

Councilors continue to have questions about library roof leaks.

HOLYOKE -- The City Council Public Safety Committee said Monday (Oct. 27) it wants documentation that repairs have been made at the Holyoke Public Library after half a dozen leaks have occurred despite a $14.5 million renovation.

Committee Chairwoman Linda L. Vacon said she has spoken with a representative of Fontaine Bros. General Contractors, of Springfield, which was in charge of the library renovation, and believes the problems have been addressed. But she and other councilors still want in writing descriptions of how the leaks occurred and how they were fixed, she said.

"I'm satisfied with the answer, but I'm also aware of the councilors' questions and the fact that people in the community made financial donations to the library project and the city spent a lot on the renovation," Vacon said after the meeting.

"I have no concerns that this is a situation where anyone is withholding information," she said.

Still, she said, she was concerned that she heard about the library leaks from people in the community and not from library officials.

The committee after a brief discussion at City Hall approved a motion that an order filed to consider the library roof leaks had been complied with.

The library reopened in November after nearly two years of construction in a renovation prompted in part by years of roof leaks that had damaged the structure and created mold. The renovation featured a 15,000-square-foot addition built onto what was the rear of the original, 111-year-old, 25,000-square-foot library.

Councilor at Large James M. Leahy said he will oppose the committee report that says the order had been addressed and complied with if library officials fail to provide substantial details about why leaks occurred in such a high-priced project.

Leahy also said the city should explore whether an extended warranty, beyond the current year-long warranty set to expire later this year, could be obtained.

"I am very concerned about rain water getting into the new structure. I understand that putting a new addition onto a very old building is difficult, however that is the job of the contractor. I think our warranty should be extended far out," Leahy said.

Earlier Monday, Library Director Maria G. Pagan said the roof hasn't leaked in months and the leaks that have occurred were covered by the warranty the city has with the contractor.

"It was taken care of a long time ago," Pagan said.

The renovation was funded with more than $5.5 million in city borrowing, $4.6 million from the Holyoke Public Library Board endowment, a $4.3 million state grant, other grants and fundraising.

The library, formerly with its front door on Maple Street, now fronts at 250 Chestnut St. with the entrance through the new part of the facility.

The first leak was detected in February in the seam where the old and new buildings meet. It caused a small stain on the carpet in the Periodicals Room, library officials said in a memo to councilors in August.

Two more leaks occurred in April. A "design error" led to roof drains being clogged with leaf and maple tree seeds, causing gutters to overflow onto the roof. Water found its way into the building through a crack where the old and new buildings meet, officials said.

The drains were cleaned, the crack was sealed and the ceiling was repaired and painted, officials said.

Another leak occurred in April because a door to one of the heating and cooling machines on the roof was closed improperly, allowing wind and rain into the space and eventually into the building. Such doors have been fastened shut and are supposed to be inspected periodically, officials said in April.

In July, a leak occurred from an air conditioner on the roof into the circulation area of the library. That was because of an "incorrect pitch to the drain pan" on the roof and it was fixed July 21, the library officials' memo said.

In August, what library officials in the memo called a small leak occurred in the History Room "occasioned by horizontal rain due to almost hurricane force winds getting under the louvers of the attic vent and running down the wood trusses from the vented ridge."

"The leaks have been unfortunate, and we recognize the irony since one of the primary justifications for renovating the library was leaks in the walls creating mold," the library officials' memo said.

St. Mary's High School will hold its entrance examination Nov. 1 at 8 a.m. at the school.

WESTFIELD - St. Mary's Parish School will host an open house for prospective high school students Tuesday.

The event is scheduled for 6 - 8 p.m. at the high school located on Bartlett Street.

"We encourage prospective students and their families to stop in and learn about the many wonderful programs St. Mary's Parish School offers, said Nichole Nietsche, head of schools.

The open house will begin with a brief introduction to the comprehensiver faith-based college preparatory academic programs that St. Mary's has offered since 1899, as well as diverse athletic, artistic and community activities.

Students, faculty, parents and administrators will attend the open house and be availalble to provide tours of the school, information and an overview of day to day student life on campus.

Prospective students will be able to register for the entrance examination, scheduled for Nov. 1 at 8 a.m. at the school during the open house.

Snohomish County Sheriff Ty Trenary said that the five students were at a lunch table when they were shot by 15-year-old Jaylen Fryberg.

Update: A victim of a shooting at a Washington state high school says he forgives the boy who did it — his cousin.

Fourteen-year-old Nate Hatch is recovering at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle from a gunshot wound to the jaw.

He's one of five students who were shot in the cafeteria of Marysville-Pilchuck High School on Friday by Jaylen Fryberg, a popular student who invited his victims to lunch and shot them at their table before killing himself.

Hatch wrote on his Twitter feed, "I love you and I forgive you jaylen rest in peace." A friend confirmed the feed's authenticity to The Associated Press.

Two teen girls were killed in the shooting, one was critically injured, and two boys — both Fryberg's cousins — were also injured.

By GENE JOHNSON
and TED WARREN

MARYSVILLE, Wash. — A popular student responsible for a shooting at a Washington state high school on Friday invited his victims to lunch by text message, then shot them at their table, investigators said Monday.

Snohomish County Sheriff Ty Trenary said at a news conference that the five students were at a lunch table when they were shot by 15-year-old Jaylen Fryberg. Fryberg then committed suicide.

Detectives are digging through reams of text messages, phone and social media records as part of an investigation that could take months, Trenary said.

"The question everybody wants is, 'Why?'" Trenary said. "I don't know that the 'why' is something we can provide."

Fryberg, a football player who was named a prince on the school's Homecoming court one week before the killings, was a member of a prominent Tulalip Indian Tribes family. He seemed happy although he was also upset about a girl, friends said. His Twitter feed was recently full of vague, anguished postings, like "It won't last ... It'll never last," and "I should have listened. ... You were right ... The whole time you were right."

On Friday, after texting five friends to invite them to lunch, he pulled out a handgun in the cafeteria and started shooting. The victims were Zoe R. Galasso, 14, who died at the scene; Gia Soriano, 14, who died at a hospital Sunday night; Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, 14, who remains in critical condition; and his two cousins, Nate Hatch, 14, and Andrew Fryberg, 15.

Hatch, who was shot in the jaw, is the only victim who has shown improvement. He was upgraded to satisfactory condition Monday in intensive care at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, while Andrew Fryberg remained in critical condition there.

Soriano's family said her organs would be donated.

"We are devastated by this senseless tragedy," her family said in a statement, read at a news conference by Providence Regional Medical Center's Dr. Joanne Roberts. "Gia is our beautiful daughter, and words cannot express how much we will miss her."

Trenary also confirmed that the .40-caliber handgun used in the shooting had been legally purchased by one of Fryberg's relatives. It remains unclear how Fryberg obtained the weapon.

The Snohomish County Medical Examiner on Monday ruled Fryberg's death a suicide. There had been some question over whether he might have shot himself accidentally as a teacher tried to intervene, but Trenary said Monday that investigators confirmed there was no physical contact between the teacher and the gunman.

At the memorial outside the school Monday, a group of mourners hugged each other tightly at 10:39 a.m. — the minute the shooting was reported Friday. Flowers and signs were zip-tied to a chain-link fence lined with red and white balloons reflecting the school's colors. Many referenced the victims and said they'd be missed.