A group of Amherst Regional High School students organized the march to honor Michael Brown, the unarmed black man shot by a police officer in Missouri.

Stocks had been solidly lower much of the day, but recovered some of their losses following reports that the European Central Bank would consider a large stimulus package for next month.

By KEN SWEET

NEW YORK — The stock market posted slight losses Thursday after European Central Bank officials decided to delay any stimulus for the struggling continent until next year. Investors also braced for the release of Friday's closely watched U.S. jobs report.

Mario Draghi 

Stocks had been solidly lower much of the day, but did recover some of their losses after news outlets reported that the European Central Bank would consider a large stimulus package for next month.

Earlier comments from ECB President Mario Draghi were initially interpreted to mean the bank wouldn't act until next year, but by late Thursday consensus was building that stimulus was imminent.

"The ECB and Draghi basically said, 'we don't know what we are doing yet, but when we do it next month, it's going to be big,'" said Ian Winer, head of equity trading at Wedbush Securities.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 12.52 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,900.10. It was down nearly 100 points earlier in the day.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2.41 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,071.92 and the Nasdaq composite fell 5.04 points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,769.44.

Energy stocks were among the hardest hit. The S&P 500's energy sector lost nearly 1 percent as the price of oil sank yet again. Benchmark U.S. crude fell 57 cents to close at $66.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on news that Saudi Arabia reduced its January prices to U.S. and Asian customers. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, fell 28 cents to close at $69.64 on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

Bloomberg News reported that ECB officials are considering a large bond-purchasing program that will include European government debt, citing unnamed central bank figures. The report followed the ECB's decision Thursday to keep its main interest rate unchanged at a record low of 0.05 percent.

Draghi hinted at a news conference that the bank could act early next year. He said the ECB will reassess the success of its existing stimulus programs and the impact of low oil prices on Europe's economy. If needed, the ECB could do more, he said.

Draghi's comments and the Bloomberg News report indicate that the ECB is getting ready to make its own large-scale purchases of government bonds. The policy, known as quantitative easing, or "QE," has been used by the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan.

Europe has been a point of worry for investors all year. The economic sanctions that Europe imposed on Russia, one of its biggest trading partners, following Russia's annexation of Crimea has taken a toll on the entire continent. Europe has teetered on the brink of recession as Germany, Europe's largest economy, has stagnated. If Europe slipped into recession, it would be its third recession since 2008.

Jonathan Loynes, chief European economist at Capital Economics, also expects a program of government bond purchases to be launched in January. "But whether it will be big and effective enough to revive the eurozone economy is another matter," he added.

In the U.S., the main focus will be the November jobs report, which comes out Friday. Following some solid hiring data on Wednesday from private payrolls firm ADP, economists expect that employers added 225,000 jobs last month and that the unemployment rate slipped to 5.7 percent from 5.8 percent.

Traders got another piece of job-related news Thursday. The number of people who filed for unemployment benefits fell by 17,000 to 297,000, the Labor Department said. A reading below 300,000 has been a signal that hiring continues to pick up in the U.S.

"At current levels, (the jobless claims numbers) are consistent with a very low layoff rate and solid employment growth," Guy Berger and Michelle Girard, economists at RBS, wrote in a note to clients.

U.S. government bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.24 percent from 2.28 percent late Wednesday.

Barnes & Noble dropped $1.21, or 5.4 percent, to $21.03 after the company terminated its commercial agreement with Microsoft for its Nook e-reader. Barnes & Noble bought out Microsoft's stake in the Nook for $120 million in cash and stock, freeing the company to spin off its Nook business down the road. Microsoft rose 76 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $48.84.

In other energy futures trading:

1. Wholesale gasoline fell 1.2 cents to close at $1.795 a gallon
2. Heating oil fell 1.5 cents to close at $2.118 a gallon.
3. Natural gas fell 15.6 cents to close at $3.649 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Lawmakers accustomed to policy skirmishes on the chamber floor spoke haltingly at times as the Senate bid goodbye to Therese Murray, Ways and Means Chairman Stephen Brewer of Barre, President Pro Tem Richard Moore of Uxbridge and Sens. Gale Candaras of Wilbraham and Barry Finegold of Andover.

By ANDY METZGER and COLLEEN QUINN

BOSTON — In a Thursday afternoon goodbye speech to the chamber she has led for nearly eight years, Senate President Therese Murray addressed the New York Police Department's choking death of Eric Garner who was brought down by several police officers for allegedly selling single cigarettes.

A grand jury declined to indict the police officer who put a choke-hold on Garner, a judicial proceeding reminiscent of the lack of prosecution for a deadly police shooting in Ferguson, Mo., which has sparked similar protests.

"I can't as a child of the '60s stand here and say that that's OK. It's not OK. We have gone backwards," the Plymouth Democrat told the chamber, calling it "appalling" and indicating she would march in the future if needed.

Saying the Garner situation "isn't just an isolated incident," Murray told reporters outside the chamber, "We're not New York, so we don't have the same laws. I think if you were selling single cigarettes here you would get a citation or a ticket. You wouldn't be wrestled to the ground by four police officers."

Gale CandarasJoe Deburro | jdeburro@repub.com 

Electoral defeats, retirements and new ventures closed the book on the careers of five Democratic members of the 40-person legislative body, including three members of leadership.

Lawmakers accustomed to policy skirmishes on the chamber floor spoke haltingly at times as the Senate bid goodbye to Murray, Ways and Means Chairman Stephen Brewer of Barre, President Pro Tem Richard Moore of Uxbridge and Sens. Gale Candaras of Wilbraham and Barry Finegold of Andover.

Moore appeared to choke up talking about his wife, and Murray also appeared emotional discussing her district.

Stephen M. BrewerThe Republican file photo 

Owing to the collegial nature of the Senate, the goodbye session Thursday was a bipartisan affair with Minority Leader Bruce Tarr delivering fawning praise to Murray, Moore and Candaras. After the speeches, senators presented Murray with framed panoramic photographs of the Senate chamber and her office signed by the members.

Brewer, who wrote a poem for the occasion, said the most important vote he ever took was preserving marriage equality for gay couples, and chided Gov. Deval Patrick for cuts he made to regional school transportation funding.

"I am proud of regional school bus transportation. Can you hear me governor?" Brewer said moments before Patrick entered the chamber to cheers and laughter. Brewer also said, "Of all my governors, you are my favorite."

"I have always believed that once you have opened a door or broken a glass ceiling you have to reach back and encourage other women to step through and knock down that next barrier," said Murray, the first woman elected from her district and the first woman to lead the Senate. Murray also asserted the chamber's strength in state government, saying, "When I see something I think needs to be done, I don't let anything get in my way. The governor knows that."

Murray told reporters after the session she has a better idea of what she will do after leaving office, saying "you're going to have to wait and hear," and indicating no announcement would be forthcoming before her Jan. 7 departure from the Legislature.

Referring to the laconic and successful New England Patriots coach, Finegold described Murray as possessing a "Bill Belichick-esque leadership style," clarifying, "I swear, it's a compliment." He also urged his colleagues to continue to push for more renewable energy to ween the state off "our dependency on fossil fuels."

Sen. Anthony Petruccelli, an East Boston Democrat, described Finegold as "one of the members of the dwindling charter school supporter caucus."

The Andover Democrat, who lost his bid for treasurer in the primary, said he has attended metal concerts with fellow metal-head Sen. Robert Hedlund, a Weymouth Republican.

Murray and Brewer did not seek re-election this year, with term limits forcing Murray to relinquish the presidency and Brewer opting to retire after falling short to Majority Leader Stan Rosenberg in his bid to round up support to succeed Murray. Moore was unseated by Rep. Ryan Fattman, a Webster Republican, and Candaras narrowly lost a bid for Hampden County register of probate.

"I will not hold it against him that his caucus has increased 50 percent partly at my expense, as long as he won't hold against me the fruits of that election," Moore said, directing his comments to Tarr who will be joined by five other Republicans in January. Moore said, "In the tradition of my Irish ancestors, I will forgive my enemies, but I'll remember their names."

Candaras said she appreciated Moore's "dry sense of humor," and described Finegold as "so serious all the time," while also recalling an earlier era when she, Finegold, Petruccelli and Sen. Brian Joyce were all new members of the House in the late 1990s.

"We were all wild, young and crazy," said Candaras. "We had all night sessions back then, and I can remember staying awake. We all used to sing - sing during the night. That was quite an interesting time."

A petty officer second class is under investigation for having made the videos of the offices while showering or in stages of undress.

The United States Navy is investigating reports that three female officers were secretly videotaped while they were showering on a submarine.

According to ABC News, a Navy official confirmed that the alleged recordings took place aboard the USS Wyoming, a ballistic missile submarine based at Kings Bay, Georgia.

Female officers began serving on submarines three years ago, and guaranteeing their privacy about vessels has always been a major concern, ABC reported.

An unidentified sailor is under investigation for having made the videos of the offices while showering or in stages of undress.

"The Navy is aware of an allegation of alleged criminal activity onboard USS Wyoming home ported at Kings Bay," ABC quoted Lt. Leslie Hubbell, a spokesperson for Submarine Group Ten as saying. "The Navy and NCIS are investigating the matter, and unfortunately further details are not available at this time due to the ongoing investigation."

According to the Navy Times, the incident amounts to a big scandal for a military organization that has prided itself on an otherwise smooth integration effort.

"A ballistic missile sub typically has 15 officers and 140 enlisted on board, with unisex heads in 'officer country,' the Times reported. When a woman is using the shower, for example, she puts up a sign to indicate the head is in use by a female officer and men must wait to enter until it's unoccupied."

Reports indicate that a 24-year-old petty officer second class is accused of making and distributing the tapes. A source who has spoken to one of the alleged victims told the Navy Times that it's possible both men and women were caught showering, but that only videos of women were distributed.

In a letter obtained by CNN, Navy Vice Adm. M.J. Connor wrote that the alleged victims have been provided assistance and that the accused perpetrators were removed from the ship pending the investigation's results.

The Navy said it became aware of the allegations last month.

"Incidents that violate the trust of our sailors go against every core value we hold sacred in our naval service," CNN said Connor wrote in his letter. "We go to war together with the confidence that we can rely on each other in ALL circumstances, and incidents of sailors victimizing other sailors represent an extreme breach of that trust!"

The online website Military.com said that the case is being investigated the the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

"If the allegations prove to be factual, the Navy will ensure individuals involved are held accountable for their actions," Hubbell is quoted by various news organizations as saying.

Women are expected to be integrated on fast-attack submarines for the first time in January, when female officers are assigned to the USS Virginia and USS Minnesota, according to the Washington Post.

Since the Navy lifted a prohibition on women serving on submarines, at least 43 women have been so assigned.

The Ordinance Committee will discuss whether "Christmas tree" should become official.

HOLYOKE -- It's not a "holiday tree."

"What's a holiday tree?" City Councilor Daniel B.Bresnahan said Thursday (Dec. 4).

It's not a "City Hall" tree.

In the belief that it should be called what it is, Bresnahan wants the City Council to establish an ordinance that would require that the tree placed at City Hall this time of year be called a Christmas tree.

"We're looking for a little common sense. It's a Christmas tree. It should be called a Christmas tree," Bresnahan said.

The council Tuesday referred Bresnahan's order to the Ordinance Committee, which is scheduled to discuss it Dec. 9 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.

The order states:

"That the City of Holyoke adopt an ordinance in recognizing the term Christmas Tree and not Holiday tree for our annual lighting of a tree at City Hall used during the Christmas season, and placed in front of the Holyoke City Hall."

Bresnahan filed the order after a few phone calls from people and after seeing references on the city website and elsewhere to "City of Holyoke Tree Lighting" and "The tree at City Hall will be lit ..." That was in reference to the annual lighting of the tree at City Hall at High and Dwight streets that took place Nov. 29.

"It seems pretty simple to me, pretty straight forward. It's the Christmas season -- Christmas presents, Christmas carols -- I don't see this as a threat to anyone. I don't see this as supporting any particular religion," Bresnahan said.

A similar issue arose two years ago in Chicopee prompting the City Council there to approve a resolution 13-0 that required that the decorated tree in front of City Hall be called a Christmas tree.

Some councilors agreed with Bresnahan.

Daniel B. Bresnahan, Holyoke councilor at large. (FILE PHOTO) 

Council President Kevin A. Jourdain said he agreed with Bresnahan's order that it was a matter of being straightforward to call the tree placed at City Hall a Christmas tree. Religion shouldn't be the issue in referring to what most people consider to be a "Christmas tree," he said.

"If you're going to have a menorah, you're not going to call it a holiday candle holder," Jourdain said.

Ward 4 Councilor Jossie M. Valentin Thursday questioned the City Council's priorities in devoting time to the order.

"I don't see the point in spending our time and energy on making some people in our community feel excluded during a season of good will. As Dan said, most people celebrate Christmas. I'm not disagreeing with that. I just don't understand why we need an ordinance to legislate what we call a tree," Valentin said.

Valentin was contacted by constituents who said the council choosing one religion over another was offensive and divisive during what is supposed to be a season of self- reflection and good will, she said.

Christianity celebrates the birth of Christ this time of year, but the displaying of trees began before Christianity.

"In many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits and illness," according to history.com.

Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. The first record of a Christmas tree being on display in the United States was in the 1830s by the German settlers of Pennsylvania, history.com said.

Thousands protest recent grand jury decisions, racism in Boston

BOSTON — Thousands of people gathered on Boston Common on Thursday to protest recent grand jury decisions that involved white police officers killing unarmed black people.

The protests began at the Christmas Tree lighting and moved to the State House and Boston City Hall.

Protesters at the time of this filing were moving to the North End.

This story is developing.

James Patterson, 46, whose last known address in Brockton, is facing five counts of bank robbery and one count of attempted bank robbery in connection with a robbery spree between April and July of this year, according to U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz.

BOSTON — A convicted felon is facing up to 20 years in prison in connection with a bank robbery spree that targeted financial institutions in Essex, Middlesex and Norfolk counties, according to federal authorities.

James Patterson, 46, who was convicted of bank robbery in 2001, was charged Thursday in U.S. District Court in Boston with five counts of bank robbery and one count of attempted bank robbery while on supervised release, U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said.

Patterson, whose last known address was in Brockton, targeted two banks in Beverly and single banks in Salem, Somerville and Stoughton between April and July of this year, according to federal prosecutors.

Authorities say Patterson was partially masked and wore sunglasses and gloves when he entered the banks. He then allegedly ordered people to put up their hands and demanded large bills.

Patterson was arrested after federal agents watched him attempt to rob Burlington's Century Bank on Cambridge Street on Aug. 4, prosecutors said.

Paterson was on federal supervised release when he committed this year's crimes, according to officials. In 2001, he was sentenced to 12½ years in federal prison, followed by three years of probation.

In addition to possible prison time, he's facing probation, restitution and a possible $250,000 fine for the 2014 charges.

The case was investigated by the FBI's Boston bureau and is being prosecuted by Alexander H. Berlin, an assistant federal attorney in Ortiz's Major Crimes Unit.

Conor Berry | cberry@repub.com 

The indictment of Richard Combs, the former chief and sole officer in the town of Eutawville, was released Thursday.

By MEG KINNARD

ORANGEBURG, S.C. -- A white former police chief here was indicted on murder charges in the 2011 shooting death of an unarmed black man after an argument, a case that instantly drew comparisons to the Ferguson shooting and the chokehold death in New York.

The indictment of Richard Combs, the former chief and sole officer in the small town of Eutawville, was released Thursday. He faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted in the death of Bernard Bailey.

Combs' lawyer accused prosecutors of taking advantage of national outrage toward police and the justice system to get the indictment.

"He's trying to make it racial because his timing is perfect," attorney John O'Leary said. "He's got all the national issues going on, so they want to drag him in and say, look what a great community we are here, because we're going to put a police officer who was doing his job in jail for 30 years. That's wrong. That's completely wrong."

Prosecutor David Pascoe said he had always planned to seek a murder charge if a judge threw out the former chief's "stand your ground" self-defense claim, which happened last month.

Combs, 38, had previously been charged with misconduct in office for the shooting. He had faced up to 10 years in prison.

The indictment is one of three this year for white officers in the shootings of unarmed black men in South Carolina, which has a dark and painful past of civil rights violence.

The shooting happened in May 2011. Bailey's daughter received a traffic ticket from the chief for a broken taillight and called her father to the scene. Bailey and Combs argued, but eventually went their separate ways. The police chief got an arrest warrant for Bailey for obstruction. A few days later, Bailey went to Town Hall to argue about his daughter's ticket. When he showed up, the chief tried to arrest Bailey, a 6-foot-6 former prison guard.

Prosecutors said Bailey marched back to his truck, and Combs tried to get inside to turn off the ignition. The two briefly fought, and Combs shot Bailey, 54, twice in the chest.

Combs said he was tangled in Bailey's steering wheel and feared for his life if Bailey drove away. Last month, a judge threw out his self-defense claim and ruled Combs should have let Bailey leave.

In March 2013, the Justice Department cleared Combs. Pascoe announced he would begin his own investigation and in August last year, a grand jury indicted Combs on the misconduct charge.

David S. Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice in Miami, said that was an unusual way to handle the case. Pascoe wouldn't talk about the grand jury proceedings.

Combs' trial on the misconduct charge had been set to start next week, but after the murder indictment, a judge delayed it until at least January.

Combs' bail was set at $150,000. He is unemployed. He was placed on leave after the shooting, and the town let him go six months later.

In August, Bailey's family reached a $400,000 wrongful death settlement with Eutawville, which is 50 miles southeast of Columbia.

They said they don't think this case should be compared with Ferguson and New York because everyone in Eutawville knows everyone.

"That is comparing oranges and apples," said Bailey's widow, Doris Bailey.

Eutawville has about 300 residents, one-third of them black. Its Main Street has a hardware store, a pharmacy and medical supply store, and a number of empty storefronts.

One of Bailey's cousins remembered him as a kind person.

"He wasn't the type of person to harm anybody. I don't know why someone would shoot him or take his life from his family. He was good people," said Betty Williams, 57.

Detrick Jenkins Sr., a neighbor of Bailey's who worked with him at a state prison, said he didn't fear riots like in Missouri or the massive protests that happened nationwide after grand juries declined to indict Ferguson officer Darren Wilson and New York officer Daniel Pantaleo. That could change if Combs is found not guilty, Jenkins said.

"People probably won't like it and will have a more aggressive attitude," said Jenkins, who is black.

Combs worked as a deputy for the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office for six years before being fired in 2007 for "unsatisfactory performance," according to documents from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy obtained by The Post and Courier of Charleston for a 2011 story.

Combs completed police chief's training in Eutawville just four days before the fatal shooting, the newspaper reported.

Thomas Bilton, a white Eutawville resident who was friends with Bailey, said the police chief should have let him leave Town Hall that day.

"The whole thing has been kind of crazy," he said. "It's taken a long time and I think some of the recent events across the country might have contributed to a final verdict to charge him with murder."

AP reporters Jeffrey Collins in Columbia and Curt Anderson in Miami contributed to this report.

The mayor said he will request for $100,000 for Fire Department overtime costs.

HOLYOKE -- Mayor Alex B. Morse said Thursday (Dec. 4) the shut down of a fire truck occasionally to save money will give the city breathing room to finish the fiscal year and is planned in a way to maintain vital services.

"There is no need to sugarcoat it, Holyoke is facing tough financial times this year," Morse said.

Morse filed numerous financial orders that the City Council acted on this week to balance the city budget of $124.4 million. The council votes on Tuesday balanced the budget, which had a deficit of $3.8 million.

The budget must be balanced in order for the City Council to set the new tax rate in a few weeks.

The Fire Department will shut down Engine 2 operating out of headquarters at 600 High St. during staffing shortages beginning Friday (Dec. 5) because of dwindling overtime funds, Fire Chief John A. Pond said Thursday.

Engine 2 covers the Elmwood and South Holyoke neighborhoods, said firefighter Christopher Butler, president of Holyoke Fire Fighters Association, Local 1693, International Association of Fire Fighters.

Pond made the decision after the City Council Finance Committee Monday voted 3-2 to table a request to transfer $200,000 from the free cash account to add to the Fire Department overtime account.

The Fire Department began the fiscal year July 1 with $405,000 for overtime. As of Monday, that was down to $91,000.

But Pond said staffing shortages because of an increase in vacation time taken around the holidays will reduce the amount of overtime money available after the current pay period to $50,000 for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends June 30.

Councilors said they could more likely support a transfer of $100,000 instead of $200,000. Morse said he will submit a transfer request to the council for that amount.

POnd said in an email to councilors about the temporary shut down of a truck Thursday, "The reduction of Fire Services could potentially increase response times to different areas of the city, but I can assure you the Holyoke Fire Department will strive to maintain the professional level of service our citizens have come to expect," Pond said in an email to city councilors."

City finances in fiscal Year 2016, which will begin July 1, will be better than now, Morse said. Property tax revenue from new growth should come in from projects like the conversion of the old Holyoke Catholic High School campus into apartments and Gary Rome Hyundai's plan to expand on Main Street, he said.

"By temporarily implementing this policy now, it will give us the breathing room needed to finish out 'FY15' without impacting public safety," Morse said.

Meanwhile, he said, he will be meeting with Pond, the Fire Commission and the firefighters union to discuss ways to end the growing expense of overtime.

"I applaud Chief Pond for designing a solid plan that will reduce costs, while still maintaining the vital services provided by the brave men and woman of Holyoke's Fire Department," Morse said.

Each of the four city fire stations operates round the clock. To ensure adequate staffing is available at a fire scene and other emergencies, throughout the city, a minimum of 23 firefighters must be available per shift. Each truck in service must have at least three firefighter on it for the truck to function, officials said.

The stations are Station 6, 640 Homestead Ave., Fire Department headquarters, Station 1, 600 High St., Station 3, 1579 Northampton St. and Station 5, 33 Whiting Farms Road.

When firefighters are on vacation or otherwise unavailable, to ensure adequate staffing, off-duty firefighters are paid overtime to staff shifts.

The department is supposed to have 88 firefighters. It actually has 78 but nine are in fire academy training, meaning the day-to-day complement of available firefighters is 69, Butler said.

Engine 2 will be shut down when staffing is short and the firefighters normally assigned to Engine 2 at such times will be reassigned to other trucks.

Other steps will include the occasional restaffing onto a truck or other piece of equipment the firefighter who is the aide to the deputy chief who responds to a fire scene. The aide drives the deputy chief to fires to free the deputy to make phone calls en route to an emergency and the aide also is responsible for keeping track of firefighters at a scene, Butler said.

EASTHAMPTON - Easthampton's Old Town Hall was decked out in black and white for the Easthampton City Arts+ 10th annual Light Up the Holiday Bash. The event, a fund-raiser for the organization, featured a Silent Auction, a Small Works Show, and the announcement of the Pioneer Valley Buzz and the Outstanding ECA+ Volunteer Awards.

EASTHAMPTON - Easthampton's Old Town Hall was decked out in black and white for the Easthampton City Arts+ 10th annual Light Up the Holiday Bash.

The event, a fund-raiser for the organization, featured a Silent Auction, a Small Works Show, and the announcement of the Pioneer Valley Buzz and the Outstanding ECA+ Volunteer Awards.

Unlike in 2004, when the agency left it up to local police to clean up their act following a similar report, federal authorities will intervene this time by way of a consent decree.

By MARK GILLISPIE

CLEVELAND - A U.S. Justice Department report released Thursday spared no one in the Cleveland police chain of command amid findings of excessive use of force and civil rights violations.

It was the second time in recent years the Justice Department has taken the Cleveland police to task over the use of force. But unlike in 2004, when the agency left it up to local police to clean up their act, federal authorities will intervene this time by way of a consent decree.

"These are problems long in the making," said U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder during a news conference Thursday in Cleveland.

Holder said the DOJ's 18-month investigation was prompted by more than the November 2012 event in which 13 police officers fired 137 shots into a car after a high-speed chase, killing two unarmed suspects. Ohio Attorney General Mike Dewine has called the killings of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams a "systemic failure" on the part of the police.

Mayor Frank Jackson said Thursday that he continues to disagree with DeWine's characterization of the police response, but noted that he was among those who asked the Justice Department to conduct its investigation.

Police Chief Calvin Williams said that while it's not easy to have to share the DOJ's findings with his 1,500-member department, he is committed to change.

"The people of this city need to know we will work to make the police department better," Williams said.

Click here to get access to complete package of stories from Cleveland.com.

The DOJ's findings require the city to work with community leaders and other officials to devise a plan, which a judge will have to approve and an independent monitor will oversee. Eight other police departments in the country now operate under federal consent decrees.

The worst examples of excessive force in the DOJ report on Cleveland involve patrol officers who unnecessarily endanger lives by shooting at suspects and cars, hit people over the head with guns and punch and use Tasers on handcuffed suspects.

But supervisors and police brass received some of the report's most searing criticism. The DOJ said officers were poorly trained and some don't know how to implement use-of-force policies. The report also said officers are ill-equipped.

The agency said supervisors encourage some of the egregious behavior and often do little to investigate it. Some told the DOJ that they often write their reports to make an officer look as good as possible, the federal agency said. The DOJ found that only six officers had been suspended for improper use-of-force over a three-year period.

The mayor and his administration are ultimately responsible for providing police with what they need to do their jobs.

The Columbus police department, which operated under a consent decree in the early 2000s, has long given officers state-of-the-art technology to make their jobs easier and safer.

But in Cleveland, the report said, mobile computers that are supposed to be in patrol cars often don't work and, even when they do, officers don't have access to essential department databases.

AP writers Jennifer Smola in Cleveland and John Seewer in Toledo contributed to this story.

Enrollment is continuing to decline at the middle school level, school officials said.

WILBRAHAM - The Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District could save between $700,000 and $1.2 million in personnel costs alone by going from two middle schools to one middle school, school administrators said Thursday night.

As an example of a cost savings, School Superintendent M. Martin O'Shea said that with one middle school, "You would only need one principal."

Regional School Committee Chairman Marc Ducey, who is chairing a Middle School Task Force appointed by the School Committee, said that as enrollment continues to decline at the middle school level in the school district, it becomes more difficult to maintain cost equity between Wilbraham Middle School and Thornton Burgess Middle School in Hampden.

Due to financial pressures, "Last year we struggled to maintain library aides at the elementary level," Ducey said.

He added that the regional school district has elementary libraries staffed by parents and volunteers.

Combined enrollment in the two middle schools is projected to drop from 745 students to 600 by 2021, school officials said.

About 25 percent of those students are at Thornton Burgess Middle School in Hampden with 75 percent of the students at Wilbraham Middle School.

Although the high school is a regional school for both towns, Ducey said that for middle school students to cross town lines will require a vote to change the regional school agreement by the two towns. Currently middle school students attend school in the town where they live.

Sandra Sheehan, a Task Force member from Hampden, said some parents have told her they think it would be preferable to have students from Wilbraham and Hampden attend school together, beginning in middle school, so that Hampden students begin high school knowing more students.

O'Shea will present a recommendation next week on whether it would be preferable for the school district to have one middle school or two.

The committee next week will discuss some of the budget challenges to continuing to operate two middle schools.

Ducey said that once the Middle School Task Force makes a recommendation, it will need "a strong level of support" to explain the options to residents in the two communities.

Hampden Selectman John D. Flynn said, "There are 10,000 voters in the two communities."

He said the voters will make a good choice if they are given the necessary information.

The Middle School Task Force will bring its recommendations to the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School Committee.

The machine, which resembles a Star Wars robot, will be located at the Stop & Shop on King Street, according to ecoATM, the California-based parent company.

NORTHAMPTON - Despite concerns by some councilors that personal information could be compromised, the City Council voted Thursday to license an ATM-like machine that will pay cash for used hand-held electronics.

The machine, which resembles a Star Wars robot, will be located at the Stop & Shop on King Street, according to ecoATM, the California-based parent company. In Northampton, residents often pay to dispose used electronics at the landfill, but ecoATM will take them in exchange for cash. However, the transaction requires a thumbprint from customers, which the company has promised to share with law enforcement along with photographs taken by the machine.

ecoATM touts its environmental benefits, saying it has recycled more than 70,000 pounds of copper, enough to create another Statue of Liberty. It mainly deals in cell phone, fewer than 20 percent of which are recycled.

Councilor Ryan O'Donnell said he is concerned about possible violations of privacy.

"That's a lot of information to give over to a machine and to law enforcement," he said.

Council President William H. Dwight agreed.

"I'm not so sure I'm going to pop my devices in there," he said.

The council granted the license, however. It also voted to appropriate $31,200 in Community Preservation Act funds to buy 7 1/2 acres of land in the Meadows that would provide public access to Rainbow Beach on the Connecticut River. In addition, it took 1.5 acres of land near Hockanum Road from the Golash family in lieu of unpaid property taxes.

The council voted unanimously to accept a gift of two granite mile markers from Almer Huntley. The markers once measured the distance to Boston along the Boston & Maine railroad tracks, which is now the Norwottuck Rail Trail. On second reading, and without discussion, it registered final votes on Mayor David J. Narkewicz's administrative orders to codify the police practice of not reporting illegal aliens to federal authorities for traffic crimes and to reorganize city departments. Both passed on first reading, as did an ordinance to fine-tune zoning in the URB and URC districts.

The longest discussion of the night concerned the recommendation by the Public Works Commission, formerly the Board of Public Works, to not accept Center Court as a public way. A tiny spur off Center Street, Center Court has six residential units and a few offices. Although the commission said it does not meet the minimum requirements for acceptance as a street, Floyd Andrus, who owns some of the property, made a case for it before the council, saying the residents there are in favor of acceptance. The council vote to accept the recommendation was tied 4-4, meaning that the measure failed and Center Court is still in play for public acceptance.

The city has four fire stations that run round the clock.

Updated at 7:26 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4, 2014 to correct the amount of overtime money the Fire Department began the fiscal year with to $405,000.

HOLYOKE -- The Fire Department will shut down Engine 2 operating out of headquarters at 600 High St. during staffing shortages beginning Friday (Dec. 5) because of dwindling overtime funds, Fire Chief John A. Pond said Thursday.

"The reduction of Fire Services could potentially increase response times to different areas of the city, but I can assure you the Holyoke Fire Department will strive to maintain the professional level of service our citizens have come to expect," Pond said in an email to city councilors.

Engine 2 covers the Elmwood and South Holyoke neighborhoods, said firefighter Christopher Butler, president of Holyoke Fire Fighters Association, Local 1693, International Association of Fire Fighters.

The moves will include the occasional restaffing onto a truck or other piece of equipment the firefighter who is the aide to the deputy chief who responds to a fire scene. The aide drives the deputy chief to fires to free the deputy to make phone calls en route to an emergency and the aide also is responsible for keeping track of firefighters at a scene, Butler said.

"It's going to mean longer response times," Butler said.

Each of the four city fire stations operates round the clock. To ensure adequate staffing is available at a fire scene and other emergencies, throughout the city, a minimum of 23 firefighters must be available per shift. Each truck in service must have at least three firefighter on it for the truck to function, officials said.

The stations are Station 6, 640 Homestead Ave., Fire Department headquarters, Station 1, 600 High St., Station 3, 1579 Northampton St. and Station 5, 33 Whiting Farms Road.

When firefighters are on vacation or otherwise unavailable, to ensure adequate staffing, off-duty firefighters are paid overtime to staff shifts.

The department is supposed to have 88 firefighters. It actually has 78 but nine are in fire academy training, meaning the day-to-day complement of available firefighters is 69, Butler said.

The Fire Department began the fiscal year July 1 with $405,000 for overtime. As of Monday, that was down to $91,000.

But Pond said staffing shortages because of an increase in vacation time taken around the holidays will reduce the amount of overtime money available after the current pay period to $50,000 for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends June 30.

Mayor Alex B. Morse, on behalf of Pond, requested an additional $200,000 be transferred from the free cash account to the Fire Department. But the council Finance Committee Monday voted to table that request.

City Council President Kevin A.Jourdain said he would like a study done about department overtime spending and provision of vacation days.

Councilors have suggested the Fire Department require that vacation time be spread through the year instead of many firefighters taking time off at particular times, such as in the summer or around Christmas, which prompts staffing shortages.

Jourdain said he could support an overtime transfer to the Fire Department of $100,000 instead of $200,000. But appropriation requests must be voted up or down, meaning they cannot be altered such as by reduction, by the City Council. A new funding request would have to be submitted.

"So what is the plan? Because we don't have the money," Ward 5 Councilor Linda L. Vacon asked Pond during Monday's Finance Committee meeting.

Pond said fire services would have to be reduced, such as taking a fire truck off duty for occasional shifts.

"What's going to happen is you're to diminish Fire Department services, which is going to reduce public safety," Pond said.

He can work only with the funding and contractual rules he has been provided, he said.

The Finance Committee voted 3-2 to table the request for $200,000 for Fire Department overtime.

Voting in favor of tabling were committee Chairman Todd A. McGee, Jourdain and Vacon.

Voting against tabling that transfer were Councilors James M. Leahy and Peter R. Tallman.

Pond said the current order requiring the occasional shut down of Engine 2 and other changes will be in effect until July 1.

Temporarily shutting down an engine or ladder truck is known as a "brown out," said Pond, who said firefighters on a truck that is temporarily shut down are distributed to other trucks during the staff shortage.

The decision about which truck to shut down temporarily is based on response times, size of the service area and workload based on call volume, Pond said.

"I am not a proponent of brown outs or station closings because every piece of apparatus currently in service plays a key role during any and all emergencies, our stations are strategically located to provide the best possible service to our residents throughout the city with the proper allocation of equipment," Pond said in the email to councilors.

The department will continuously review fluctuations in response times based on personnel and equipment deployment, he said.

A total of seven people were arrested by Massachusetts State Police troopers during Thursday night's protests in Boston in support of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and others killed by police officers in recent months.

BOSTON — Col. Timothy P. Alben, superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, praised troopers and Boston cops for showing "professionalism and restraint" in handling Thursday night's protests in Boston, where thousands took to the streets to express anger over recent grand jury decisions involving white police officers who killed unarmed black people.

"I would like to commend the professionalism and restraint showed by our State Troopers and the officers from Boston Police, Transit Police, Department of Corrections, DCR Park Rangers, and other agencies that assisted in keeping the peace tonight (Thursday, Dec. 4)," Alben said.

Troopers guarded the Massachusetts Statehouse and blocked access points to major highways in Boston in an attempt to prevent protesters from snarling traffic as they zigzagged their way through the streets and brought the bustling city to a virtual standstill.

Similar scenes played out in New York and other American cities as protesters expressed their outrage over recent grand jury decisions not to criminally charge white officers in connection with the deaths of unarmed black men. The cases of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old shot and killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner, a 43-year-old who died while being taken into custody by New York City police in Staten Island, have focused the nation on race relations, strained relations between police and minorities, and perceived inequities in the criminal justice system.

The grand jury decisions have touched off a wave of protests including in Boston, where seven people were arrested by State Police on Thursday night. Among those arrested were three adult women who allegedly attempted to storm the closed gates in front of the Statehouse on Beacon Street. The women were charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, State Police said.

In addition, four adult males were arrested on the Massachusetts Turnpike after protesters briefly gained access to the eastbound side of the highway near Exit 24 and blocked traffic. They were charged with disorderly conduct and trespassing, according to State Police officials in Framingham.

It wasn't immediately clear how many arrests were made by Boston police.

"On the whole, protesters behaved appropriately, except for those few who became disorderly and those who walked onto one of our highways – an unacceptable and dangerous action that will always be met with a swift police response, as it was tonight," Alben, commander of the statewide police force, said Thursday night.

"I am grateful that no one suffered a serious injury," he said.

 

Until recently, Bryon Hefner was widely considered a success story - a former foster child who was homeless, abused, and shuttled through a dozen homes but still managed to graduate from high school with honors and go on to college and a career. But since his partner, state Sen. Stanley Rosenberg, was anointed the incoming Senate president last year, Hefner has been stirring unease in the Senate, first privately and now publicly.

A digest of news stories from around New England.

WHDH-TV, 7News, Boston

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

A Holyoke businessman said the private sector will also taste the benefits of the $2.75 million awarded in grants on Friday.

HOLYOKE -- At a Friday afternoon press conference, over $2.75 million in grants was awarded to local education programs by the state Housing and Economic Development.

While the grants were awarded to the culinary program at Holyoke Community College and an aviation program at Westfield Vocational Technical High School, a Holyoke businessman said the private sector will also taste the benefits.

"We at the Log Cabin Delaney House are huge fans of the college," Peter Rosskothen, co-owner of the Log Cabin Delaney House, of Holyoke Community College. While he said a large number of his 250 employees are graduates of the program, he said there is still a greater need for more.

"We struggle to find qualified employees all the time," he said. "It's so crucial what the college does for us. We really need this."

Of $2.75 million in grants, $1.75 million will go towards Holyoke Community College. With this money, College President Bill Messner said they construct a Center for Hospitality and Culinary Excellence in downtown Holyoke. This will double the capacity of the college's culinary program.

The center will allow the college to expand their program from only offering one-year certificates in culinary arts to a two-year associate degree program. Additionally, they will offer non-credit training programs for those seeking work within the field.

The downtown program is expected to open in 2016, at which point the need for skilled workers will be even higher, Rosskothen anticipates. "There's great stuff that's happening in Western Mass. We need that stuff today. We're going to need it even more in two or three years."

Read more on Friday's announcement, click here.

 

Keep a recycle bin or paper bag near gift wrapping and unwrapping.

WILBRAHAM - The town has published a reminder for recycling during the holiday months.

The following items should be included in the recycling mix: corrugated cardboard boxes, paperboard gift boxes, greeting cards except those with foil, metallic inks or glitter, wrapping paper, gift bags, tissue wrap except that which has foil, metallic inks or glitter, paper shopping bags and catalogs and calendars.

The following items should not be included in the municipal recycling mix: ribbons, bows and tinsel which is reusable from year to year, packing peanuts and Styrofoam which is accepted for reuse at most UPS Stores, holiday lights which are accepted by scrap metal recyclers, plastic bags, blister packaging (formed plastic package used to hold toys and electronics) and photographs.

Anyone with questions about recycling should check www.springfieldmrf.org or call the Recycling Hotline at 888-888-0784, extension 2293 for more information.

Keeping a recycle bin or paper bag near gift wrapping and unwrapping can help with recycling during the holiday months.

Obituaries from The Republican.

John D. Wilson 

SPRINGFIELD - John Dana (JD) Wilson was born on Aug. 2, 1965, to Walter and Barbara (Watkins) Wilson. He grew up in Roxbury and graduated from Jamaica Plain High School in 1983. After high school, he joined the Army National Guard and spent the next 10 years working with at-risk youth in his community. In 1993, he moved to Western Massachusetts and joined the Springfield Police Department serving as a patrolman for 17 years, until his retirement in 2010. He volunteered as a basketball coach at the New Leadership Charter School for several years, and as a referee for the Springfield YMCA boys at-risk league. He died Nov. 27 after a long battle with heart disease.

Kinder Morgan has significantly revised their $5 billion natural gas pipeline plan that will run through New York, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.

BOSTON — Kinder Morgan has significantly revised their $5 billion natural gas pipeline plan that will run through New York, Massachusetts and New Hampshire for a shorter path through this state along existing right of ways.

The scaled down plan includes only 63 miles of pipeline that run through the northwestern part of the state and features three compression stations. The original plan called for a pipeline that stretched for approximately 180 miles across the state from Richmond to Dracut and featured four compression stations.

The revised pipeline route passes through 17 towns in Berkshire, Hampshire and Franklin counties before entering New Hampshire where it cuts through 16 towns in Cheshire and Hillsborough counties before ending in Dracut. One hundred percent of the route in Massachusetts, according to officials, is designed to run along already existing utility right of ways that currently carry things like high tension power lines. In the utility industry this is known as co-location.

"We've heard, we've listened and we're resetting the process of identify a route that is primarily co-located throughout the eastern part of New York, Massachusetts and New Hampshire," said Allen Fore, vice president of public affairs for Kinder Morgan.

Kinder Morgan officials said that they are still in the early outreach and permitting phase of their project. January 2017 is the planned start date while November 2018 is their goal for having the pipeline in service. The pipeline company plans to deliver their proposal to regulators on Monday and conduct more public meetings on the revised project.

An additional 75 miles of pipeline loops are planned for Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut.

The pipeline will transport additional natural gas from the Marcellus shale located in southern New York and northern Pennsylvania to New England and the Canadian Maritimes.

Curtis Cole director of business development at Kinder Morgan said that this new pipeline will increase supply of natural gas to the region and ultimately lower the cost for consumers. Cole said that some power companies are eying the region for possible new power plants that could create an additional 2,00 megawatts of power.

"Right now New England has the highest energy costs in North America," said Cole.

The project has faced public opposition in communities across Massachusetts since it was first proposed. Governor-elect Charlie Baker, U.S. Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren have all expressed their opposition to the plan. Several Western Massachusetts legislators have also voiced their opposition to the pipeline.

Baker told MassLive shortly after Election Day that he thinks a better solution to the state's energy issues is to improve existing infrastructure.

"I am very critical of the current administration for not being more aggressive about simply expanding the existing pipelines that are already in place," said Baker.

Outgoing Gov. Deval Patrick is a supporter of natural gas though he is mixed on the project due to its possible affects on green spaces.

Kinder Morgan said that their rerouted and revised pipeline plan now avoids environmentally sensitive areas in Massachusetts known as Article 97 properties. Towns and cities that the pipeline is planned for have expressed opposition on their own and it's something Kinder Morgan officials said they are sensitive to.

"When a town votes against the pipeline we take that into account and we listen. We're not removing the proposed route from Massachusetts but what we're trying to do is address the concerns that the towns and other stakeholders have in the process," said Fore.

The revised project is projected to generate 3,000 union construction jobs and $25 million in annual property tax revenues for the cities and towns it runs through. Kinder Morgan has signed project labor agreements with the laborers and other local unions for construction of the pipeline.