Following the partial collapse of the Essex House on Thursday, High Street traffic has been re-routed.

HOLYOKE -- Following the partial collapse of the Essex House on Thursday, High Street traffic has been re-routed.

"High Street between Essex and Appleton Streets will remained closed to both drivers and pedestrians. Newton Street will also remained closed until further notice," Tessa Murphy-Romboletti said in a statement. "Drivers heading northbound on High Street will be redirected up Cabot Street to Beech Street, then North on Beech street to head East on Appleton Street, allowing access to High Street and/or Main Street. More details will be released as they become available."

 

The march will turn left onto Essex Street because High Street beyond that point is closed temporarily.

HOLYOKE -- An organizer said a "black and brown lives matter" march will take place as scheduled Friday (Dec. 12) on High Street but with an altered route because of a partial building collapse at 400 High St.

The march -- regarding recent deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of white police officers in New York and Missouri -- will begin as planned on High Street near Norfolk Street, which is near the CareerPoint job center at 850 High St. But the march then will turn left on Essex Street and right onto Maple Street, winding up with a rally at United Congregational Church, 300 Appleton St., organizer Chris Stinson said in a message on Twitter.

The rerouting was necessary with High Street between Essex and Appleton streets closed indefinitely after large slabs of brick Thursday morning broke off from the Essex House. The falling debris damaged a nearby beauty salon and forced the evacuation of nine families from a nearby apartment building.

No injuries were reported from the partial building collapse, officials said.

The march is among demonstrations held nationwide after the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown. On Dec. 3, a Staten Island grand jury decided against indicting New York police officer Daniel Pantaleo in the July 17 death of Garner, 43. Pantaleo and other officers attempted to arrest Garner for illegally selling cigarettes. Pantaleo apparently applied a chokehold on the 350-pound African-American man as the officers wrestled him to the ground, news reports have said.

In a videotape of the incident, Garner can be heard saying repeatedly: "I can't breathe." The New York Medical Examiner's Office ruled Garner's death was a homicide, USA Today and other medial outlets reported.

That came after Officer Darren Wilson fired six shots and killed Michael Brown, 18, in Ferguson, Missouri Aug. 9. Lawyers for Brown's family said he was trying to surrender when Wilson shot him, but Wilson's supporters said he shot Brown in self-defense, Reuters reported.

The shooting -- and a Nov. 24 decision by the St. Louis County grand jury not to indict Wilson -- led to \protests, looting, fires and gunshots in Ferguson. It also prompted demonstrations and debates nationwide about the value society places on black lives and the level of force and protection that police should use in dealing with a crowd that can be violent.

Rosario said she panicked momentarily as her father had gone to their Holyoke location of the Old San Juan Bakery - adjacent to the Essex House on High Street.

HOLYOKE -- Late Thursday morning, Alyssa Rosario received a phone call from a family member who'd heard that the Essex House had partially collapsed.

Rosario said she panicked momentarily as her father had gone to their Holyoke location of the Old San Juan Bakery - adjacent to the Essex House on High Street.

"He called and said, 'I'm fine. I just left before it happened,' So, we're thankful for that," Rosario said. "We thank God that he's okay and that everyone's okay."

After she reached her father, co-owner of the bakery Oscar Rosario, she said she raced to downtown Holyoke.

"My first concern was if there's anybody hurt," she said. "Because at the end of the day we're talking about people's lives."

Upon learning that there were no injuries, Rosario said she began reflecting on the situation.

The business owner said she believes city government "took too long" to take action on the building.

In a 10-3 decision, Holyoke City Council voted in September to borrow $1.45 million to pay for the demolition of the Essex House.

"We'd hoped this building was going to be torn down in April of 2013. We're now coming upon 2015 and the building has decided to take itself down," Rosario said, adding that she found the situation frustrating as she - and others in the community - have advocated for the building to be razed sooner.

Building commissioner Damian J. Cote said he wasn't surprised by the collapse.

"It did what we thought it was going to do," Cote said. "It did exactly what we thought it was going to do. It went through the roof of the beauty salon; took out the second floor of the beauty salon."

City purchasing director David Martins said demolition was scheduled to begin on Friday.

Under that demolition plan, Rosario said she'd hoped to re-open the Holyoke bakery at the start of the new year. "I can't see that happening now."

Of when the High Street location will re-open, Rosario said she's adopting a "wait and see" mentality for the moment.

"As much as we want to be open for our Holyoke customers we want them to be safe," she said. We don't want anyone to get hurt."

 

Michael Lebert, 51, of West Springfield, is charged with armed assault with intent to murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in an incident at the Dugout Cafe in Chicopee.

SPRINGFIELD — Marilyn White sat on the witness stand Thursday as Michael Lebert, the man she said committed a vicious attack against her while she was working at the Dugout Cafe in Chicopee, cross-examined her.

Lebert, who is representing himself at his Hampden Superior Court trial for armed assault with intent to murder, asked, "What did the defendant look like?"

White said, "He looked like you."

Lebert objected to her answer. Judge John S. Ferrara overruled the objection, telling Lebert he asked the question and she answered it.

Earlier, Ferrara had sustained Lebert's objection to White, who was 57 years old when attacked, using the word "you" when Lebert was questioning her about what happened to her.

Ferrara told her that in describing actions, such as seeing the man she identifies as Lebert standing over her after she was struck in the head with a hatchet handle, she should use the word "assailant" or "person."

Lebert, 51, of West Springfield, is charged with armed assault with intent to murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

The attack allegedly occurred while White, a bartender at the Dugout, was working on Sept. 21, 2012, at about 10:30 a.m.

Ferrara had granted a request by Assistant District Attorney Ingrid Frau that she and Lebert could only question White from their respective defense and prosecution tables. So Lebert is not very close to White during cross-examination.

In his opening statement Thursday morning, Lebert told jurors it is very rare for a pro se defendant to try his own case.

He said he had counseled veterans at Springfield Technical Community College when he was getting a one-year degree there, which took him five years to get but which he got in 2011 in digital imaging.

"I'm a person that helps people. I'm not a person who hurts people," he told jurors.

"This person who assaulted the victim was a monster of epic proportions," he said. He told jurors there will be alibi testimony he was at his own mental health counseling appointment when the assault happened.

Lebert is being assisted by stand-by counsel Terrence Dunphy, with whom he regularly confers. At times Ferrara suggests Lebert confer with Dunphy.

White, under questioning from Frau, said she was sitting on a stool that morning when a man came in, commented that the restaurant was dead at that time, and asked to use the bathroom.

She had initially identified Lebert from photo arrays shown to her by Chicopee police and said she was 100 percent sure Lebert was the man.

In court she identified Lebert again.

After the man went into the bathroom, White said, "next thing I know I'm lying on the floor."

White said she was hit from behind and when she was on the floor she looked up and saw the man standing with what looked like an ax in his hand. As she was shown the hatchet in court she began to cry.

Lebert objected to her being emotional, saying it was inflammatory to the jury. That objection was overruled.

White said after being hit on the back of the head she stood up, grabbed the handle of the hatchet the man had raised toward her and grabbed a bottle. "I had to fight back," she said.

She said she swung the bottle at the man but doesn't know if she hit him. She said he then punched her in the face. Then she got hit with a bottle in the side of her head, she said.

The frantic 911 call she made from the cafe was played for jurors. She described her attacker as a white male wearing a gray hoodie.

At Baystate Medical Center she was given stitches and staples for wounds to the back of her head, top of her hand and jawline, she said.

Lebert asked her questions about when her glasses fell off, with White saying they broke when she was punched in the face.

Lebert will resume cross-examination of White on Friday.

A Vietnamese man who Mark Wahlberg assaulted 26 years ago says the actor did not cause him any serious harm, according to a British newspaper.

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DeLeo said the downtown Springfield location is perfect for the university's expansion.

DA James Orenstein said the amount of heroin seized is equivalent to 100,000 street sales.

SPRINGFIELD - The drug raid on Tuesday night of an Indian Orchard residence was part of a larger, coordinated effort by law enforcement that involved three separate locations and resulted in eight arrests and the seizure of 2 kilograms of heroin, 4 kilograms of cocaine, 8 pounds of marijuana, and $270,000 in cash, according to acting district attorney Jame C. Orenstein.

In addition to the raid at 1015 Worcester St. in Indian Orchard, Orenstein said law enforcement also executed search warrants at 136 Howard St., Ludlow and 18 Crestview St., Belchertown.

Acting Hampden District Attorney James OrensteinMichael S. Gordon 

The raids were part of what he called an extensive investigation by members of a local federal Drug Enforcement Agency task force, which is comprised of DEA agents and members of local police agencies.

"The arrests culminated after an investigation of many weeks and the utilization of various investigative techniques.," Orenstein said in a prepared statement.

"The cooperation of the many men and women assigned to these agencies resulted in the seizure of illegal drugs worth thousands of dollars on the street," he said.

In all, police confiscated a total of 2 kilograms of heroin and 3 kilograms of cocaine. One kilogram is equal to 2.2 pounds.

Orenstein said that amount of heroin could have been used to "produce 100,000 individual bags of poison."

At the Indian Orchard home, police found a kilogram of heroin and a half-kilogram of cocaine, 70 illegal pills, a pound of heroin and one firearm. Singleton was found in possession of 2 1/2 kilograms of cocaine and 850 grams of heroin.

During the raid in Indian Orchard, one of the suspects, Daniel Burgos of 1015 Worcester St., fired a single shot from a handgun. No one was hit and police were able to subdue him without returning fire.

That raid had been reported previously but Orenstein's announcement Thursday night is the first to mention the Ludlow and Belchertown components, or to outline the amounts of drugs involved.

Officials had been tight-lipped in the two days since the raid, not disclosing the names of the people arrested, what they were charged with or the types and amounts of drugs seized.

A spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Agency on Wednesday said the federal agency does not comment on active investigations.

Orenstein in his statement listed the names and charges of the eight people arrested in the three raids.

The names of three, Michael Singleton of 555 West 44th St., New York City, and and Raymond Cordero, of 21 Madison St., Chicopee, and Burgos had been previously reported.

Burgos was charged with five counts each of armed assault with intent to murder and assault with a dangerous weapon, and single counts of trafficking cocaine, trafficking heroin, possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, possession of a firearm without a license, conspiracy to violate drug laws, distribution of a Class A substance, and possession with intent to distribute Class B.
Singleton and Cordero were each charged with trafficking cocaine and trafficking heroin.

The others arrested were identified by Orenstein as:

• Fausto Mejia-Reyes, 120 White St., Springfield. trafficking heroin.

• Pablo Jose De Luna Lopez, 120 White St., Springfield. Trafficking heroin.

• Karla Ferreira, 136 Howard St., Ludlow, two counts trafficking heroin, possession of a class A substance and possession of a shotgun in the commission of a felony.

• Isaias Santiago, 19 Waldo St., Holyoke, trafficking heroin.

Burgos, Singleton and Cordero were arrested at 1015 Worcester St. in Indian Orchard, and Ferreira and Santiago were arrested at 136 Howard St. in Ludlow. De Luna Lopez and Lopez were intercepted by police on Route 291.

Each of the suspects denied the charges at their arraignments Wednesday in Springfield District and Palmer District courts.

Burgos was ordered held in lieu of $250,000 bail. His right to bail was revoked because he was already out on bail for an unrelated firearms case.

Singleton's bail was also set at $250,000, while bail for Cordero, Mejia-Reyes, and De Luna Lopes was set at $100,000.

Bail for Ferreira and Santiago was set at $25,000 and for $10,000 for Lopez.

"If you driver through Three Rivers (there are) so many store fronts vacant," the redevelopment authority chairman Alphonse Lasota told the Palmer Town Council.

PALMER - Members of the community's redevelopment authority met with the Town Council on Monday to discuss what they hope is the start of a long-range plan to revitalize the Three Rivers village.

Authority members said although the eventual goal is to put together a comprehensive development road map for the entire town, Three Rivers is where the most pressing needs exist.

They cited the proliferation of empty storefronts and depressed property values as the main reasons for the initiative.

"If you driver through Three Rivers (there are) so many store fronts vacant," authority chairman Alphonse Lasota told the Palmer Town Council at the Dec. 8 meeting.

"That is the place to start," he said.

Dan Slowick, the authority's executive director said: "We have to stop the bleeding."

He said property values "have dropped seven percent in past year" and that action is needed to reverse that trend.

The authority hopes to delineate a specific target area in the village and determine a vision on what should be done, how to accomplish it and funding to make that happen.

That requires creations of an urban redevelopment plan - which would require state approval. As well as strong community support.

An approved redevelopment plan would, among other things, allow the agency to acquire and dispense property, if need be.

Authority members said they would need to hire a consultant to assist in writing the plan -- but at this point, it is unclear where the money would come from to pay for a consultant.

"I think the entire idea is terrific," Councilor Mary Salzmann said.

Studies show crosswalks do not improve pedestrian safety.

CHICOPEE - A long and sometimes contentious debate over handicap signs and crosswalks lead the City Council to start discussing developing a preliminary set of procedures for adopting ordinances for both.

The City Council has the authority to order signs to be installed for handicap parking and other things such as "slow children," but members recently complained a number of ordinances have not been implemented.

Some have been waiting as long as six months for signs be installed.

Councilor James K. Tillotson, chairman of the City Council ordinance subcommittee said any request for a sign or crosswalk will now go to committee. Those requests will then be forwarded to Frank Czepiel, chairman of the Commission for the Disabled and Steven Frederick, the city engineer, for recommendations.

If the two reject the recommendations the requests will likely be voted down, he said.

But there was a lot of back-and-forth debate over what is a safe handicap spot.

"ADA (the American Disabilities Act) has not come up with on-street parking rules," Frederick said.

Frederick said he hesitates to recommend many on-street handicap parking spots because there is not enough room on the passengers' side of the vehicle for an exit with a wheelchair or walker. If the driver is disabled, they frequently cannot exit the vehicle quickly enough in traffic.

"If you put up a blue (handicap) sign, that means to me we are meeting accessibility codes," he said.

Frederick said he has concerns about putting up a sign to an area that does not lead to an accessible path for someone who is disabled. He also questioned if a disabled person parked in a handicap spot must move like everyone else when there is a parking ban during snowstorms.

Czepiel said he does examine every proposal. He argued there is a difference between accessible and compliant with federal accessibility laws.

Frederick proposed the City Council consider offering reserved street parking spaces for disabled residents who want a spot on the street in front of their home, which is done in Boston. That would eliminate concerns about accessibility.

But City Councilors also had reservations about that.

"Would people pay for it?" asked Councilor Frank N. Laflamme. "It seems you will open a Pandora's box and there will be no on-street parking."

One of the councilor's concerns is they are not told after they pass an ordinance if and when the sign will be installed. Czepiel said he researched the list of ordinances for handicap signs and found some existing signs did not have ordinances and some ordinances had no signs.

The Department of Public Works is developing a new system that will improve record-keeping and keep councilors better informed, Superintendent Jeffery Neece said.

Councilors also discussed concerns about sidewalks requested but never added. Frederick said in some cases the ordinances do not comply with state laws. Those regulations require a crosswalk to lead from one curb cut on a sidewalk to one across the street.

Several said they were concerned there are school crossings with no sidewalks and dangerous spots which have a lot of foot traffic but no crosswalks.

Frederick said the City Council would be better off improving the spot where people are crossing. One thing that does help is adding lighting.

"I always taught my kids to cross in crosswalks. There are places where you can't see them in either direction," Councilor Gary Labrie said.

Studies show crosswalks make little difference for safety, he said.

"By putting up a couple of white lines it does not improve pedestrian safety without other enhancements," Frederick said.

Delegates also voted on grants to research health disparities in treatment of LGBT patients.

The recent interim meeting of the Massachusetts Medical Society adopted policy
resolutions on issues that effect doctor-patient relationships, such as what questions a doctor may ask during an exam, as well as physicians' right to free speech in other venues. Society delegates also voted to write federal officials on the need to re-classify marijuana, considered a controlled substance, for the purposes of medical use.

Physician speech issues were addressed in a resolution, in support of the American Academy of Pediatrics position that asking a patient about gun ownership is important to preventing childhood firearm fatalities, and, in a resolution that supports physicians right to offer their expertise in terms of public interest. There have been court rulings that what physicians ask patients is not consider speech covered by the First Amendment, and there have been attempts to sue physicians who asked to review questionable medical treatment claims.

The society's policy on prior authorization was also updated to reinforce that this "should be used only upon a showing of substantial variation in the targeted practice and good evidence of over utilization." Some reports indicate that such authorization involves much clerical time and expense to individual practices of tens of thousands of dollars annually.

The meeting also improved the awarding of grants to research disparities in health care to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender patients, as well as agreeing to petition the legislature for legislation to require bike helmets be worn by people of all ages. Current law in Massachusetts is that helmets must be worn by anyone 16 years old or younger.

According to a release on the Dec. 6 meeting, in Waltham, the follow actions were taken:

Medical marijuana: Physicians voted to write to federal officials expressing the urgency to re-classify marijuana to accommodate appropriate scientific research and quality control. At the federal level, marijuana remains classified as a controlled substance, with no accepted medical use, and distribution of its a federal offence.

Care for LGBT patients: The society approved a three-year pilot program to establish annual grants for medical students, residents, and fellows to be used for curriculum development or research that addresses lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender health disparities. Up to $16,000 each year will be available for grants.

Bicycle helmets: Physicians agreed to petition for legislation to change bicycling laws so that everyone, regardless of age, would wear a helmet, which are said to reduce head injuries by 85 percent, and also be encouraged to wear highly visible clothing during daylight and darkness.

End-of-life care: Physicians adopted a set of principles for end-of-life care to address that care on multiple levels, to encourage advance planning or such care, as well as informed preferences of such care in line with a person's values, goals, condition, circumstances, and needs.

Tobacco: Delegates voted to encourage state government to impose strict penalties for the sale of tobacco and e-cigarette products to persons under age 21 and to support funding of a statewide anti-tobacco campaign, including pursuing dedicated funding for nicotine addiction treatment programs for all ages.

Prior authorization: Delegates updated the society policy on principles for the use of prior authorization programs, first adopted in 2005, stating that the principles should apply whether the program is administered by a health plan, third-party vendor, or provider organization. The policy also states that such programs should be used only upon a showing of substantial variation in the targeted practice and good evidence of over utilization, that the programs should be entirely transparent to patients and physicians, that they should be conducted to avoid administrative burdens for physicians, and that they should be implemented using up-to-date clinical criteria and appropriate clinical experts.

Maintenance of certification: The society adopted a policy on maintenance of certification consistent with that of the American Medical Association. The policy reaffirms the value of continuing medical education. but opposes mandatory programs as a requirement for licensure, hospital privileges, and insurance payments. In stating their opposition to mandatory MOC, physicians cited their preference for collaborations with universities and specialty societies to define medical excellence within their profession.

Guidelines on physician performance: Delegates adopted an amended version of society guidelines, adopted in 2005, for measuring, reporting, and rewarding physician performance.

Physicians also voted for a resolution to create a task force on physician on-call compensation whose work should recommend changes to hospital bylaws on emergency department coverage and compensation that are legally and ethically sound. Compensating responding physicians for on call emergency work has been a growing area of concern.

Delegates also voted in support of the American Academy of Pediatrics position that asking a patient about the status of gun ownership is important to preventing childhood firearm fatalities, for a resolution to oppose attempts by governments to interfere with a physician's right to free speech as a means to improve the health and wellness of patients.

The first round of preliminaries is 7 to 11 p.m., Friday Jan. 9 at the MassMutual Center. other Friday night events follow Jan. 16 and Jan. 23 also from 7 to 11 p.m. The championships are Saturday night, Feb. 7 from 7 to 11 p.m., also at MassMutual Center.

SPRINGFIELD - Western New England Golden Gloves is coming to the MassMutual Center  with four nights of a amateur boxing in hopes of reinvigorating the sport  locally crowning champions who might go on to compete at the sweet science's highest levels.

"It means so much," said Dean Fay, director of Western New England Golden Gloves. during a news conference Friday at the MassMutual Center downtown. "A tournament like this is great. It creates rivalries. Fans can follow their amateur boxer. They can route for their city against another city."

This local Western New England Golden Gloves encompass all of Connecticut and Massachusetts east to Worcester.

"So there can be a Massachusetts versus Connecticut rivalry," he said.

The first round of preliminaries is 7 to 11 p.m., Friday Jan. 9 at the MassMutual Center. other Friday night events follow Jan. 16 and Jan. 23 also from 7 to 11 p.m. The championships are Saturday night, Feb. 7 from 7  to 11 p.m., also at MassMutual Center.

The tournament skips a week due to an Alan Jackson country-western music concert booked at the arena, Fay said.

Tickets are available through Western New England Golden Gloves at its website: www.wneboxing.com. they range form $15 to $35 with season tickets selling for $60.

The Golden Gloves is one of the limited number of national tournaments that send boxers to the U.S. Olympic team, Fay said .

"With the Olympics coming up in 2016, its all these boxers are talking about," he said.

Winners at the Western New England golden Gloves will form a team, one member for each of the ten wight classes, and compete in Lowell at the New England championships for a chance to move on to higher levels of competition, Fay said.

Geremias Torres of Holyoke, plans to box in the tournament, Fay said. Torres boxed in the  US Elite Men's Championships winning the gold medal b getting ranked as  the number one light heavyweight boxer in the country. He was accepted to team USA won the Cheo Aponte Cup bronze medal, the Olympic Cup silver medal and made his Elite Men's World Championships debut in Almaty, Kazakhstan in October, 2013.

The Golden Gloves had its local tournament at the Log Cabin in Holyoke for the past two years.

Nick Cosmos first brought the Golden Gloves to Holyoke in 1957, but the tournaments went away after Cosmos' death in 2003. 

Warwick, said the agreement allows the team to begin to develop a plan that aims to achieve rapid improvements for students at Duggan, Forest Park, Van Sickle, Chestnut South, Chestnut North, Chestnut Talented and Gifted, Kennedy and Kiley Middle schools

SPRINGFIELD — The School Committee on Thursday cleared the way for the establishment of a Springfield Empowerment Zone to oversee turnaround efforts at eight failing middle schools beginning in the fall of 2015.

In what Superintendent Daniel J. Warwick called a "first-of-its-kind collaboration" in the state, the school district will partner with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, education reformer Chris Gabrieli's nonprofit group, Empower Schools Inc., which has had success in schools in Lawrence and Salem, and the Springfield teachers union to devise new strategies aimed a achieving rapid improvements at the Level 4 (underperforming) schools.

The finalized memorandum of understanding between all of the parties will allow the creation of a seven-member zone governing board, led by Gabrieli. Filling out the board will be three representatives of the state's education department and three representatives from the city school district.

The board, which will operate much like the state-appointed control board that guided the city through fiscal problems from 2004 to 2009. Gabrieli served as chairman of that board in 2009.

Warwick said the agreement allows the team to begin to develop a plan that aims to achieve rapid improvements for students at Duggan, Forest Park, Van Sickle, Chestnut South, Chestnut North, Chestnut Talented and Gifted, Kennedy and Kiley Middle schools.

Although the empowerment zone operating board won't take full effect until the 2015-16 school year, Warwick said the agreement will allow the partners to begin laying the groundwork for turnaround plans, operations and management.

Under the agreement, the zone partnership will approve the annual operating plans and budgetary decisions of each school, Warwick said.

Among other things, it will have autonomy in staffing at the schools, a responsibility that has traditionally rested with the school district itself, according to a press release from the school department.

The School Department and the Springfield Education Association, the union representing city teachers, spent weeks negotiating a new contract with teachers at the eight middle schools.

Last month, 92 percent of the SEA members who teach in the targeted schools agreed to a contract that includes more pay, more time for classroom planning, student instruction and professional development.

Warwick said the achievements made to date to create the zone "demonstrates a high level of commitment and dedication by all parties involved."

Gabrieli, co-founder and chairman of Empower Schools, said the creation of the empowerment zone complimented all of the partners involved, adding "We are eager to dig collaboratively into the challenges ahead."

Mitchell Chester, Massachusetts commissioner of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, raised concerns about the Level 4 status of the city's middle schools when Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System scores were released in September.

The state places schools and districts on a five-level scale with Level 1 being the highest performing and Level 5 being the lowest. Students at Level 4 schools score in the bottom 2 percent on the MCAS test.

To achieve a turnaround at the struggling schools, the state has, in rare cases, taken over a school or a school district. Less dire alternatives to state receivership are for a school system to hire an outside consultant to guide the turnaround, or for the district itself to adopt a turnaround plan through the district design office, school officials say.

Creating the Springfield Empowerment Zone is a new yet-as-untried-strategy for lifting student performance at a failing school.

Mitchell commended Springfield educators and officials for taking action, calling it a "bold step to intervene in eight middle schools where students urgently need a stronger education than the are currently receiving."

Michael Lebert, 51, of West Springfield, is charged with armed assault with intent to murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

SPRINGFIELD — During Friday's session of Michael Lebert's trial for armed assault with intent to murder, Hampden Superior Court Judge John S. Ferrara told Lebert, "I don't want any rambling, unfocused cross-examination."

Jurors were on their mid-morning break at the time and Ferrara said to prosecution and defense – Lebert is representing himself – that jurors don't care to be required to sit through things that are extraneous or irrelevant.

Ferrara said he believed the jurors – who had sat through a lengthy display of photos of the Dugout Cafe in Chicopee by Lebert as he cross-examined the woman who said he struck her in the head with a hatchet handle – were confused as to why the photos were important.

Lebert, 51, of West Springfield, is charged with armed assault with intent to murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. The alleged attack occurred while Marilyn White, a bartender at the Dugout, was working on Sept. 21, 2012, at about 10:30 a.m.

The afternoon session of the trial had to be cancelled because of a scheduling conflict on the part of Terrence Dunphy, who Ferrara had appointed as standby counsel for Lebert right before the trial. A standby counsel cannot talk to the jury or question witnesses; Dunphy sits beside Lebert and Lebert can ask him questions or accept advice.

Although there were 14 jurors chosen – meaning there would be two alternates if any jurors had to be excused – the number is already down to 12.

That means if any other juror needs to be excused for any reason, it would necessitate a mistrial since 12 people must deliberate and reach a verdict under the law.

On Friday, the 13th juror was dismissed after she said she saw a Chicopee detective look through the courtroom door window and realized he was good friends with her husband. She said she hadn't put that together when the names of witnesses were read and didn't realize it was the same person until the detective, who will testify, looked in the window.

A juror was excused Thursday when he reported riding up in the elevator with the husband of the victim, and knowing the husband. He didn't know the case he was selected for was connected to the wife of the man he knew.

Ferrara told jurors Friday it is rare that in two days of trial two jurors realize they were familiar with witnesses but it is "not unheard of and that's what we have."

One reason the trial has become what Ferrara called "belabored" is that Lebert repeatedly attempts to introduce evidence without laying any foundation. Ferrara calls a sidebar conference to explain, then Lebert does it again. Ferrara suggests Lebert speak with Dunphy, which he does.

Lebert asked many questions of White about the lighting in the bar area of the cafe. She said the area was much lighter than depicted in photos Lebert was showing her.

Chicopee Police Officer Mark Canty testified the report generated by the 911 call White made after the attack said the call was made at 10:39 a.m.

Lebert said in his opening statement he would have testimony presented that showed he was at a mental health counseling appointment at that time at River Valley Counseling Center in Holyoke.

Lebert asked Canty if "he knew the defendant, Michael Lebert." Canty said he has known Lebert back as far as high school.

Chicopee Police Officer John Provost testified he was dispatched to the Dugout at 10:39 a.m. and saw White sitting in a booth crying with towels on her head. There was broken glass and blood on the bar and floor, and chairs knocked over, he said.

The trial continues Monday. Ferrara asked both Lebert and Assistant District Attorney Ingrid Frau to try to pare down the number of witnesses if they would be giving duplicative testimony.

The deceased, Orise Handfield, 59, and Cathy Armes, 36,each died of smoke inhalation, according to the medical examiner.

ENFIELD - The Connecticut State Medical Examiner has identified two of the victims from Wednesday's fatal fire on South River Street in the Thompsonville section, but is still working to identify two other victims, officials said.

Identified were Orise Handfield, 59, and Cathy Armes, 36, both residents of 68 South River Street, according to Connecticut State Police spokesman J. Paul Vance.

Both were found to have died from smoke inhalation.

The Medical Examiner's Office is still working to positively identify the other two people killed in the fire, Vance said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the State Police Fire & Explosion Investigative Unit, the Thompsonville Fire Marshall and the Enfield Police Department.

The fire at a duplex on South River Street was reported at about 6:15 a.m. Wednesday. Firefighters upon arrival found the building filled with heavy smoke. Firefighters initially entered the building but had to pull out when the second floor began to collapse.

Once the fire was put out, firefighters went through the wreckage and found the remains of four bodies.

The city is pushing the contractor to get the partial demolition done sooner than in three weeks.

Updated at 5:53 p.m. Friday, December 12, 2014 to include photo gallery.

Updated at 5:30 p.m. Friday, December 12, 2014 to include Mayor Alex Morse in a press conference at City Hall saying equipment from the contractor hired to demolish the Essex House should begin arriving Saturday (Dec. 13); Fire Chief John Pond noting exposure to weather has rotted the building's interior structure; comments from Maria Ferrer, owner of MD Beauty Salon and Supplies and Ward 1 Councilor Gladys Lebron-Martinez; and background about the City Council's actions on demolition funding requests.

HOLYOKE -- The top three stories of the eight-story Essex House will be removed in about three weeks as a first step in demolishing the 134-year-old former hotel on High Street that partially collapsed Thursday, Mayor Alex B. Morse said Friday (Dec. 12).

"The main objective is to move forward as quickly as possible," Morse said.

City officials will keep pushing the contractor that has been hired for the job to try to raze it sooner, he said.

High Street between Essex and Appleton streets will stay closed until the partial demolition of the Essex House is completed, he said.

Removing the top three stories of the structure guards against damage and injury. Less danger exists in terms of distance if pieces of the building fall from five stories compared to at eight stories, said structural engineer Glen Jarvis, who has been hired by the city for the project.

Removal of the upper three stories of the Essex House will help by reducing the load on the bottom of the building, he said.

Fire Chief John A. Pond has said the Essex House interior has deteriorated as years of exposure to rain and other weather have chewed at floors and caused them to collapse into each other.

It was unclear exactly what caused the lengths of bricks and other debris to break off the Essex House Thursday morning, though officials at the press conference said it was probably because of deterioration and loosening from the effects of the weather.

NASDI Demolition Services of Waltham has the $1.45 million contract with the city to demolish the Essex House, 400 High St.

The company currently has six truck-loads of equipment for the job ready to be moved from LaGuardia Airport in New York to here. Equipment should begin arriving here Saturday (Dec. 13), Morse said.

"We're going to do everything we can to move this along as quickly as possible," Morse said.

No injuries were reported from the slabs of bricks and other debris that broke off the building Thursday just before noon, officials said.

But the upper floor of the adjacent MD Beauty Salon and Supplies at 396 High St. was heavily damaged, the Salsarengue Restaurant at 392 High St. was forced to close and other business owners have expressed concerns about loss of income from the detoured High Street traffic.

Also, nine families in apartments above the Salsarengue Restaurant have been temporarily relocated to hotels, Morse said.

It was unclear if the two-story MD Beauty Salon will have to be demolished or can be saved. The structure of that building will have to be assessed, Pond said.

Because of the Essex House's instability, the city ordered the salon and the Old San Juan Bakery, 408 High St., to relocate in the spring. The salon has been at 74 Cabot St. and the bakery has directed visitors to its Springfield store, Morse said.

The full cost to the city for such relocation expenses and possibly in reimbursing businesses for lost income and wages was unclear, he said.

"We don't have expect numbers for those costs, but we're going to continue evaluating," he said.

Maria Ferrer, who owns the salon and the building that houses the salon and Salsarengue Restaurant, attended Morse's press conference. She said later her business is down about 35 percent since having to make the temporary relocation.

"We've had a lot of customers that don't want to walk down there," Ferrer said.

Still, she said in remarks to The Republican and Masslive.com, she was happy with Morse's remarks.

"I feel comfortable. I feel, in some ways, secure and happy to hear how the city and the mayor's office responded to assist the families and the businesses," Ferrer said.

"She's been phenomenal," Morse said of Ferrer during the press conference.

Morse praised business owners hurt by the Essex House partial collapse for "not seeing the city as the bad guy." But Salsarengue Restaurant owner Jose Bou has said he was in touch with a lawyer and officials are concerned about lawsuits from merchants over lost income and the city's failure to raze the building sooner.

 

The City Council has been criticized for what Morse, Ferrer and others said was an unnecessary delay in approving borrowing to fund the Essex House demolition.

But Ward 1 Councilor Gladys Lebron-Martinez said effort now should be devoted to helping the affected businesses and apartment tenants.

"There's no need for more blaming game," Lebron-Martinez said.

On Thursday, City Council President Kevin A. Jourdain rejected criticism that the council was to blame for delays that left the deteriorated Essex House still standing.

The mayor and City Treasurer Jon D. Lumbra requested $1.3 million to demolish the building on Jan 7 and the council approved that the same day, Jourdain said.

But demolition of the Essex House never happened. That's because of problems with the bidding process beyond the city's control such as the complexity of the demolition and a bidder early having dropped out, which forced officials to restart the bidding process, City Purchasing Director David A. Martins and Lumbra said.

When Morse returned with an appropriation request for $1.45 million for the demolition, the council Finance Committee July 23 tabled it because councilors had funding and other questions. Among councilors' questions was why city departments hadn't done more to get the previous owners of the Essex House to maintain the building and pay back taxes.

The city took ownership of the Essex House in June 2013 because of nonpayment of taxes.

The City Council on Aug. 5 returned to committee Morse's proposal to approve the demolition money borrowing. Councilors' concerns continued to be the need for city departments to force owners to maintain properties so they don't deteriorate like the Essex House, ensure such owners pay taxes and consider having the city return the Essex House to its previous owners.

The City Council approved the borrowing to take down the Essex House on Sept. 23 by a vote of 10-3.

The razing of the building was set to begin Friday (Dec. 12) but was delayed because of asbestos-removal issues with the state Department of Environmental Protection, Martins said.

Morse said that given that Building Commissioner Damian J. Cote and Pond had advised earlier this year that the Essex House was a hazard that should be demolished, including at the July 23 Finance Committee, the partial building collapse Thursday shows the need for elected officials to heed the advice of its experts.

"Unfortunately, sometimes in government, everything becomes politicized," Morse said.

In his Thursday comments, Jourdain said, "It is highly irresponsible and just political mischief for the mayor to now suggest that the City Council had any delay in this process."

The previous owner was Essex House LLC, which was a limited liability company at 11 Story St. in Cambridge. Stephen Wolfberg of that address was listed as resident agent and Kenneth Stoll were listed as managers again at that address, according to online records of the state secretary of state's office.

Boston-area architect Clifford Boehmer got an earful at Thursday's joint public hearing.

NORTHAMPTON — A $20 million affordable housing project proposed for the former Northampton Lumber site at 256 Pleasant St. got thoroughly picked apart Thursday night at a joint public hearing of the Planning Board and Central Business Architecture Committee.

A 55-unit, 70,000 square-foot apartment building is proposed for the 1.25-acre property at the corner of Pleasant and Holyoke streets. The former Northampton Lumber building would be torn down. The proponent is the non-profit Valley Community Development Corporation. The project would derive its funding from various sources, including state and federal low income housing tax credits, said Valley CDC Executive Director Joanne Campbell.

Clifford Boehmer, president of Davis Square Architects, presented the project and discussed his design decisions. Boehmer said the site on Pleasant Street was visually prominent from both directions, and therefore deserved a "theme building." He said the building is meant to "echo" aspects of historic buildings downtown, without attempting to literally replicate them.

Architecture committee member Aelan Tierney questioned Boehmer at length, saying she was not convinced the building's design complied with the city's downtown architecture guidelines. She criticized the curved masonry wall that intersects with a bare expanse of fiber cement siding on the building's north facade, as well as other aspects of form and materials. Tierney said she was not against the project, but wanted it to be done right.

"The Valley CDC still has plenty of homework to do," she said.

Longtime committee member Joe Blumenthal said he liked the curved facade, but that the entire building should be masonry, instead of mixed materials. Boehmer responded that if the building were all brick it would be "bad news for the budget."

Committee member Bruce Kriviskey was particularly colorful in his criticism, calling the project a "Tuscan Towerhouse," a "real Potemkin village," and, in reference to the facade's striped brick pattern, "almost Islamic." As for the artist's renderings of the building, Kriviskey said if he had submitted them to his former architecture professors, he would have gotten a "C" for the building and an "A" for the sky.

Jordi Herold, owner of a renovated historical commercial property on Short Street, which is a private way, said he felt that his concerns about the abutting project had "not been heard" by the Valley CDC and their architects, despite the fact that he had met with them several times.

Herold said while he acknowledged how hard it is to put such a development together, he was dismayed that "a publicly funded project" had taken shape "without a lot of input from people."

Tom Douglas, an architect with an ownership stake in the Yes Computers building at 196 Pleasant St., also a renovated historic building, said the artist's renderings showed by Davis Street were misleading. He said a narrow 12-foot alleyway that's part of the plan is made to look deceptively spacious in the colored drawing. He also remarked that the artist's depiction of the building leaves out other, existing buildings on the block, including the former Fraternal Order of Eagles building, which is now a law office.

Douglas said the alleyway concept should be abandoned in favor of extending the project's commercial storefront space on Pleasant Street.

Douglas had other criticisms, describing the curved wall of the building as a "bulge" that goes opposite to the curve of the street. He described a window configuration on the Pleasant Street facade as being "like a cyclops."

Several others who spoke during public comment session said the building should strive to put more commercial space on the first floor. The Valley CDC's plans show one commercial space on Pleasant Street, along with several first-floor apartments, as well as an office space facing Holyoke Street, which will be inhabited by the Valley CDC itself.

Attorney Amy Royal, who owns the abutting Eagles building at 270 Pleasant St., also said the architect's drawings were "deceptive." She said there is no way the project can be built as described without encroaching on her property, and that the architects were aware of that fact. Royal promised to "take action" if her property rights are infringed upon.

Royal also objected to the public hearing on procedural grounds, saying it should not have gone forward until issues about the project's footprint are resolved.

Some spoke in favor of the project, with conditions. Florence resident Rutherford Platt, who rents an office from Herold at One Short Street, said the Valley CDC project will revitalize the south end of Pleasant Street. He advised the Planning Board to pay attention to traffic concerns, saying Pleasant Street is dangerous to cross and not pedestrian-friendly due to degraded and obstructed sidewalks.

City planner Carolyn Misch said Valley CDC had agreed to extend their sidewalk renovations north on Pleasant Street past their actual street frontage so as to improve pedestrian safety and streetscape appearance.

The project will need a permit from the Central Business Architecture Committee as well as site plan approval from the Planning Board, whose purview does not extend to issues of aesthetics.

The public hearing remains open, and the two public bodies will reconvene Jan. 8. Public comment will be received until the hearing is closed, said Misch.

Valley CDC director Campbell said if the project gains site plan approval, construction would not begin until 2017. She said the rental housing is geared toward individuals and families making between $25,000 and $50,000 per year.

In 2013, the Valley CDC received a $1.1 million loan from the Community Economic Development Assistance Corp., a state finance entity, to help it acquire the property. The CDC purchased the site from Gale LaBarge, now of Vero Beach, Florida, a member of the family that ran the downtown lumber yard for years.

Meanwhile, Misch sent an email to members of the media on Friday morning advising them to refrain from seeking comment from members of the Planning Board and Central Business Architecture Committee until the public hearing is officially closed. Reached Friday afternoon, Misch said the order derived from her understanding of Massachusetts open meeting law.

The large outdoor clock that once graced the corner of Main Street and Strong Avenue was dedicated by Calvin Coolidge when he was mayor of Northampton and stood for 100 years before being removed in the 1980s.

NORTHAMPTON — It seems like a lot of money for a clock, but the Community Preservation Committee is hoping it can buy a little piece of history for $20,000.

That's the amount the committee allocated for the purchase and restoration of the Seth Thomas clock. The large outdoor clock that once graced the corner of Main Street and Strong Avenue was dedicated by Calvin Coolidge when he was mayor of Northampton (1910-11) and stood for about 70 years before being removed in the 1980s.

For much of that time it stood outside Perry Daniels, a clothing store. The owner of the property eventually approached John Sutter, whose store, Sutter's Mill, had many time pieces, and sold the clock to him. Son James Sutter moved to Holyoke, but closed his store last year. The Sutter family still owns the clock, however.

James Sutter said Friday that he also has the paperwork signed by Coolidge. It will be turned over to the city along with the clock, he said.

Born in Connecticut in 1785, Seth Thomas left his mark as a clock-maker. In the early 1800s he used mountain laurel wood to make the delicate interior wheels. Counterweights were made from flax spun by local women. Thomas died in 1859, but by then his company was known as the "Tiffany's" of Connecticut. The town of Plymouth, Connecticut, was renamed Thomaston in his honor.

The Community Preservation allocation was part of $1.16 million that the committee awarded during its latest round of Community Preservation Act funding. The city's Historical Commission has endorsed the project.

The timepiece, which has been in storage for 25 years, has deteriorated, according to the application by the Planning Department, and much of the money will go towards its restoration. It will be located at its former site, which is now in front of Local Burger, where the city hopes it will enhance the historic character of downtown Northampton.

A nanny cam set up to watch a German au pair's behavior with her Sherborn charges caught her violently shoving a toddler to the ground on Tuesday, authorities said in court.

A digest of news stories from around New England.

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The cause of Anthony Gamache's death was a blood clot. However, the clot was caused by the gunshot wound to his leg a day earlier, according to the M.E.

The van from the Chief Office of the Medical Examiner positions to remove the body of a worker killed when he and another were pinned between the portable office trailers being installed at the DOT offices . The other worker was transported to a local hospital according to Hampshire County DA David Sullivan who was at the scene.John Suchocki 

PITTSFIELD - A 29-year old Goshen man who died last month one day after he was shot in the leg in an apparently botched Pittsfield drug deal did not die as a direct result of the shooting, but from a blood clot, officials said.

Chief Massachusetts Medical Examiner Dr. Henry Nields has determined following an autopsy that the cause of death for Anthony Gamache was a blood clot. However, the cause of the clot was the gunshot wound to the leg, he said.

The results of Nield's findings were announced Friday by the office of Berkshire District Attorney David E. Capeless.

The initial autopsy conducted Nov. 23 failed to determine a cause of death. The medical examiner said at that time that more testing was needed to determine the exact cause.

Capeless said he intends to file additional charges against the man charged with shooting Gamache, 18-year-old Peter J. Campbell of Pittsfield, when he convenes a grand jury on the case shortly. He did not elaborate on the additional charges.

Campbell is already charged with armed assault with intent to rob, assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm without a license, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building.

Gamache was shot in the leg Nov. 18 in the parking lot of Big Y in Pittsfield .

According to police, Campbell and another man met Gamache and two friends in the parking lot to buy drugs. Gamache was shot while sitting in a car.

He was taken by ambulance to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton and then transferred to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. He was treated at Baystate and then discharged.

Upon his return to his home in Goshen, he reportedly began experiencing pain Wednesday evening, and an ambulance was called. He was transported to Cooley Dickinson Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

According to the Berkshire Eagle, Campbell is being held without the right to bail at the Berkshire County House of Correction. A judge revoked his right to bail after determining last month that Campbell poses a threat to the community.

Newhouse said Fontanez was "on the street" only five months and 18 days when he savagely attacked the other man following a dispute in the men's room around midnight.

SPRINGFIELD - A man recently released after a long stint in federal prison has been charged with attempted murder for stabbing a fellow bar patron in the stomach, according to a federal prosecutor.

Rafael Fontanez, of Springfield, allegedly plunged a knife repeatedly into another man's abdomen at the Shakago martini bar on Hampden Street on Dec. 3. Although the attack was caught on surveillance video in the bar, Fontanez fled and later had to be identified in a lineup, investigators have said.

While being held behind bars on $50,000 cash bail after his arraignment in Springfield District Court, Fontanez was hauled into U.S. District Court as prosecutors sought a detention order there for violating his five-year period of supervised release.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd E. Newhouse told a magistrate judge that Fontanez was in 2001 sentenced to prison for dealing more than a kilo of cocaine to a state police informant. He was charged federally. U.S. District Court Judge Michael A. Ponsor sentenced him to 18 years, but the defendant received credit for time served and "good time," so Fontanez served roughly 16 years. Fontanez had faced a 30-year-to-life sentence under the federal guidelines in place at that time, Newhouse said, so he got reasonably lucky.

But, his freedom was short-lived.

"In my 30 years as a federal prosecutor this is the most egregious supervised released violation I've ever personally handled and it's the most serious I've ever heard of," Newhouse told U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth P. Neiman. "Most of the time we're here because of a dirty urine."

Newhouse said Fontanez was "on the street" only five months and 18 days when he savagely attacked the other man following a dispute in the men's room around midnight.

"The victim underwent emergency surgery to repair damage to at least one major organ that I'm aware of," Newhouse said.

Neiman opted to lodge a "detainer" on the federal side to ensure Fontanez does not get released if he makes bail. The judge noted the alleged infraction will amount to a "practically slam-dunk revocation" of his release and scheduled a hearing on the matter for Jan. 5.