The longtime partner of incoming Senate President Stanley Rosenberg has resigned from a powerful Boston public relations firm after facing extensive scrutiny by a Boston newspaper for making controversial comments on social media and in private.

BOSTON — The longtime partner of incoming Senate President Stanley Rosenberg has resigned from a powerful Boston public relations firm after facing extensive scrutiny by a Boston newspaper for making controversial comments on social media and in private.

Bryon Hefner, Rosenberg's partner of five years, resigned from Regan Communications after a report surfaced about his planned reassignment to Florida. Hefner's reassignment came in the aftermath of several Boston Globe stories about disparaging comments he allegedly made about state lawmakers. He joined Regan in October.

In an email to the Globe Hefner blamed the broadsheet's coverage of his comments and his relationship with Rosenberg for forcing him to resign.

"The Boston Globe has forced me, just days before Christmas, to choose between my personal and professional life," wrote Hefner in an email to the Globe.

Hefner, 27, reportedly bragged about his relationship with Rosenberg, 65 to staffers and electeds while running a Twitter account that attacked other state politicians. Rosenberg has said that his relationship with Hefner helped him come out as a gay man and deal with his battle against skin cancer.

Questions were raised to Rosenberg about the connections between his personal and professional life prompting him to declare that he has a "firewall" between the two. Rosenberg instructed Henfer earlier this year to stop talking with other senators and staffers about senate business according to reports.

"Very clearly, very specifically, he's not involved in making any of the decisions. All personnel decisions, all the chairmanships, are going though the normal internal processes," Rosenberg told the Globe.

Attempts to reach Rosenberg, Hefner, and George Regan of Regan Communications for further comment were unsuccessful at press time.

A Dec. 13 shooting outside the club and other alleged violations triggered the hearing, which will be held Dec. 30 at Springfield City Hall.

SPRINGFIELD — The Zone, a Worthington Street nightclub that's been grabbing headlines for the wrong reasons, will be the subject of an entertainment license hearing next week at Springfield City Hall, according to Jim Leydon, communications director for Mayor Domenic Sarno.

A Dec. 13 shooting outside the club and other alleged violations triggered the hearing, which will be held Dec. 30 at 1 p.m. in Room 221 at City Hall.

The Springfield Law Department has given notice of the hearing to property owner Paul V. Ramesh, the past and present owner of multiple downtown clubs.

The Zone – also referred to as Club Zone or The Zone Nightclub – is currently facing two counts of hindering an investigation in connection with Dec. 13 and 17 offenses, and single counts of failing to call the police and failing to post the club's liquor license in a conspicuous place, according to attorney Stephen M. Reilly, counsel to the Springfield Board of License Commissioners. Reilly also serves as counsel to Sarno, who's the licensing authority for city entertainment licenses.

Downtown Springfield establishments run by Ramesh have gotten into trouble with city officials in the past. The East Longmeadow resident couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

On Dec. 13, a man left The Zone and fired at least five shots during an altercation outside the club just before 2 a.m., police said. No one was injured in the incident, which drew a heavy police response to Worthington and Fort streets near East Columbus Avenue. The Zone property backs onto neighboring Fort Street, where patrons were seen exiting through the club's rear entrance, police said.

"Two bouncers from this bar gave misleading information to the (investigating) officers, redirecting them from where the actual shooting took place," Springfield Police officials said in a report about the incident.

The large crowd was let out the club's back door, "impeding the officers' response," the incident report stated.

Once the shooting scene was secured, officers attempted to enter the club to speak with the manager, but bouncers again misled investigators, according to the report. Police said they were eventually able to speak with Ramesh, who ordered one of his bouncers to retrieve the club's liquor license from his office.

Police then asked to speak with Ramesh in a "more secure location," the report states. But five to 10 bouncers followed them and defied officers' commands to let investigators speak with Ramesh in private, police said.

"Despite several verbal warnings to these bouncers, they only moved away after being threatened with termination from Mr. Ramesh," the report states.

Ramesh told officers the shooting happened outside The Zone, claiming he had video footage to prove it. When authorities asked to review surveillance tapes, Ramesh allegedly wouldn't allow them to watch the videos. Authorities said he instead agreed to drop off copies at police headquarters. As of Dec. 18, Ramesh had not delivered the videos or provided police with a list of club employees, according to authorities.

The property at 78-80 Worthington St. has been the scene of past violence, including an April shootout that resulted in several injuries but no fatalities. The establishment was then known as Lux Nightclub.

The mayor, meanwhile, says his administration will continue to vigorously ensure that all Springfield establishments with liquor licenses comply with city and state regulations.

"This nonsense of non-compliance and hindrance of investigations has to stop, as public safety is of paramount importance to any and all who come to these establishments," Sarno said. "We will not tolerate this type of behavior."

MAP showing approximate location of shooting:

Gifts were made possible by local businesses.

The two-car collision at the intersection of Routes 202 and 122 in New Salem claimed the life of a 67-year-old man, according to the Massachusetts State Police Office of Media Relations in Framingham.

NEW SALEM — A 67-year-old man was killed in head-on crash in the Franklin County town of New Salem on Monday afternoon.

The man, whose identity has yet to be publicly released, was southbound on Route 202 in a Dodge van that collided with a northbound Sterling box truck, according to Massachusetts State Police officials in Framingham.

Troopers from the Athol barracks responded to the 3:10 p.m. crash, which occurred at the intersection of Route 202 and Route 122, police said. Traffic was rerouted around the crash site for more than two hours while police investigated and cleared the scene.

The driver of the van was taken by New Salem EMS to Athol Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. The driver of the box truck, 23-year-old Raymond G. Phelps of Greenfield, was uninjured, police said.

Troopers assigned to the Collision Analysis & Reconstruction Section, Crime Scene Services Section, and the Worcester County District Attorney's Office responded to the scene to investigate. Members of the New Salem police and fire departments also assisted at the scene.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation.

Conor Berry | cberry@repub.com 

Police Chief Edward Flynn said he was disturbed by a family member's choice of words.

By TODD RICHMOND

MILWAUKEE - A white Milwaukee police officer fired after fatally shooting a mentally ill black man in April won't face criminal charges, the county's top prosecutor said Monday, while the U.S. attorney said hours later that there will be a federal investigation of the case.

Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm said Christopher Manney won't be charged because he shot Dontre Hamilton in self-defense. Manney is at least the third white police officer to avoid charges in the past month after a confrontation that led to a black man's death.

"Based on all the evidence and analysis presented in this report, I come to the conclusion that officer Manney's use of force in this incident was justified self-defense and that defense cannot be reasonably overcome to establish a basis to charge Officer Manney with a crime," Chisholm said in prepared a statement.

After waiting eight months for the decision, Hamilton's family reacted with disappointment and anger. At an emotional news conference on the steps of the federal courthouse, family attorneys said they had called for a federal investigation. They also urged that protests be peaceful "so as not to dishonor Dontre's name and the Hamilton family name."

But Hamilton's brother Nate spoke bitterly, saying the family had "cried too long" and "we don't have to be the voice of reason."

"We need to take our communities back. We need to protect each other. We need to stop the violence in our communities so we can get rid of these pigs that kill us," he said to shouts and applause. "Because that's what they are. They feed, they feed off of us. And we can't let them do that no more."

His remarks came just two days after two New York City police officers were ambushed in their patrol car. Police said that attack was carried out by a man who posted online about putting "wings on pigs."

Jon Safran, a Hamilton family attorney, later said Nate Hamilton doesn't condone "any type of violence" and that the family was dealing with "great anxiety and frustration right now."

Police Chief Edward Flynn said he was disturbed by Hamilton's choice of words.

"I would like to chalk it up to the emotion of the moment, but we don't need people implying or expressing a need for violence against police," he said.

About eight hours after Chisholm announced his decision, U.S. Attorney James Santelle said the Department of Justice, along with his office and the FBI, will conduct a review to determine if there was a violation of federal civil rights law.

Manney's attorney did not return a message seeking comment.

Manney shot Hamilton, 31, after responding to a call for a welfare check on a man sleeping in a downtown park. Manney said Hamilton resisted when he tried to frisk him. The two exchanged punches before Hamilton got hold of Manney's baton and hit him on the neck, the former officer has said. Manney opened fire, hitting Hamilton 14 times.

Several witnesses told police they saw Hamilton holding Manney's baton "in an aggressive posture" before Manney shot him, according to Chisholm's report. Police said they have no video of the event.

Chisholm consulted with experts on the use of force by police officers, who concluded Manney's conduct was justified. Emanuel Kapelsohn of the Peregrine Corp. said all the shots were fired in 3 or 4 seconds and there was no evidence that Manney continued firing after Hamilton hit the ground.

Manney suffered minor injuries, including a bite to his right thumb, a neck strain and a neck contusion, the report said. He was treated for post-concussion syndromes, a mild traumatic brain injury and had physical therapy for bicep and rotator cuff injuries, the report said.

Flynn fired Manney in October. He said at the time that Manney correctly identified Hamilton as mentally ill, but ignored department policy and treated him as a criminal by frisking him.

Hamilton's family said he suffered from schizophrenia and had recently stopped taking his medication.

The Milwaukee Police Association condemned Manney's firing as a political move, and members voted no confidence in Flynn soon after the firing, which Manney has appealed. On Monday, the union praised Chisholm's decision, saying the officer had "no other option" in the situation.

Hamilton's death preceded the killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in New York City, but the case hasn't attracted as much attention as those fatal encounters with police. Hamilton's family has led mainly peaceful protests in the months since he was shot.

Several dozen people gathered in the rain Monday evening at the park where Hamilton was shot to protest Chisholm's decision. They chanted "Ain't no power like the power of the people" and "Black lives matter."

Nate Hamilton told protesters to remain peaceful because media are looking for violence to put on the air. "Don't nobody be violent," he said.

AP writers Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, Carrie Antlfinger in Milwaukee and Doug Glass in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

DiNapoli was recalled as an officer whose kindness was valuable on a domestic call and who could make others laugh.

This is a more detailed version of a previous story on the candlelight vigil to Officer John DiNapoli.

HOLYOKE -- JoBeth DiNapoli gulps back the tears but they come anyway. With her brother Andrew DiNapoli she places a wreath at the statue to their father. She looks at the crowd of people now. Police say there are 300 adults and children holding candles topped by flickering flames in the 35-degree night on Monday (Dec. 22). All standing in a circle around her father's statue erected in the park across from the Police Station's front door, 138 Appleton St.

She gets to the microphone after her brother, who is a Holyoke police officer like their father and who read a poem just now. She jokes, how can she follow that.

"On behalf of my father, I just want to say thank you to all of you for coming out tonight...," DiNapoli says, voice cracking.

She speaks from a wooden podium bearing the Holyoke Police Department insignia. It is set up near the statue to Officer John A. DiNapoli, killed 15 years ago today, gunned down in his car responding to a call he volunteered to take at Hampshire and Walnut streets.

The statue shows DiNapoli sitting and talking to children. He's in uniform and holding his cap in his left hand.

"And you know," JoBeth DiNapoli says, "he's looking down on all of us right now and saying, 'What are you people doing?' I know he'd rather we'd all be celebrating."

Not for the first time on this night, a speaker, in this case JoBeth DiNapoli mentions the two New York City police officers shot to death in their cruiser on Saturday and the officer in Tarpon Springs, Florida also killed by gunshots on Sunday.

During his remarks Police Chief James M. Neiswanger talks of how demonstrations across the country, including here, expressing outrage at the deaths of black men by white officers in recent months are "demonizing" police.

JoBeth DiNapoli speaks to the families of those slain officers. You might think you can't get through it, she says, but you can.

"We're living proof of that," DiNapoli says.

She urges people to put a blue light in their window. The blue light signals the home remembers fallen officers. It also means peace, she says.

"And we need that. I don't know what the world is coming to but we need peace," DiNapoli says.

Every year since her father's death, she says, she wonders if people will remember. They always do. It restores her faith, she says.

"He didn't deserve what he got but there's a lot that came out of it, a lot of good," DiNapoli says.

Police officers in uniform stand together in a line behind the DiNapoli statue. The crowd includes retired Holyoke captains Russell J. Paquette and Alan G. Fletcher.

William Bennett was the district attorney when DiNapoli was killed. He talks to Andrew DiNapoli and pats him on the back. Also here are Anthony Gulluni, the Hampden County district attorney-elect, and James Orenstein, the current district attorney.

State troopers with their jodhpur pants stand in the back. The sound system has been blaring patriotic music. During the National Anthem everyone seems to join in to sing at the "rockets red glare" part, "the bombs bursting in air gave proof though the night ..."

Mayor Alex B. Morse is at the podium now, the young mayor speaking without notes, recalling how kindness seems to be how DiNapoli was remembered.

"He was taken too soon from the community," Morse says.

To be at DiNapoli's funeral, Neiswanger travels here in 1999 from his post at the time with the Manchester, Connecticut Police Department.

"I felt compelled to attend to recognize the sacrifice he made," Neiswanger said.

Neiswanger reads a list of other Holyoke officers killed in the line of duty: John Driscoll, 1922; James Reynolds, 1951; James Gatzounas, 1977; David T. Zolendziewski, 2010.

Police officers put their lives between danger and the community, the chief says.

"I want to state categorically we are not the bad guys," Neiswanger says.

In the crowd Charles Cavagnac, 85, remembers driving through downtown the morning DiNapoli was killed. He thinks he heard the gunshots.

"I didn't know if it was firecrackers. It was a sad day for the city of Holyoke. Nobody should go that way," Cavagnac says.

Officer Edward J. Moskal is asked about DiNapoli and says without hesitating, "John was the guy you wanted with you on a domestic call." Because his kindness eased tensions.

Paquette was shift commander the day DiNapoli died. He is at the candlelight vigil because DiNapoli made his gut ache from laughter.

"We were good friends. We played tennis, we played racquetball. I'd go home at the end of the day and my stomach hurt from laughing. I was telling my wife the stories. I was getting choked up, at the funny stories," Paquette says.

Police say he is not wanted, and the state warns members of the public against any harassment or discrimination against him.

The state Sex Offender Registry Board has determined that Glen Wheeler of 149 Bridge St, Northampton, is at a high risk to re-offend as a sex offender and that the degree of danger he poses makes community notification appropriate.

Glen WheelerNorthampton police 

Wheeler, 65 was convicted on June 15, 1999 on 22 counts of indecent assault and battery on a child, and two counts of posing a child in a state of nudity.

He is white, 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighs about 165 pounds. He has brown hair and a mustache and beard.

Wheeler is not wanted by the police, and the state warns members of the public against any harassment or discrimination against him.

Ouellette is an Army veteran who worked for the Army Corp of Engineers and helped restore the public water system in Kuwait.

GREENFIELD - Mayor William Martin has appointed Donald Ouellette the new director of the Department of Public Works. Ouellette has 30 years of experiencing in civil engineering and public works and has done administrative work for Ashburnham, Ayer, Natick and Wayland. He also served as City Engineer for of Medford and Nashua, N.H., as well as project manager for Acton's wastewater treatment plant.

Ouellette is an Army veteran who worked for the Army Corp of Engineers and helped restore the public water system in Kuwait. Mayor William Martin said Ouellette's managing and engineering skills are a perfect fit for the DPW.

"He will be able to continue the momentum and success of the department during these challenging economic times while promoting and guiding the numerous city-wide projects already in the work," Martin said.

Ouellette will assume his duties on Jan. 12, 2015.

Funding comes from the Drunk Driving Trust Fund, which collects fines imposed by the courts on convicted offenders for operating under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

GREENFIELD - The Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance has
awarded Clinical and Support Options, Inc. $95,000 to increase services to victims of drunk driving crashes in Franklin and Hampshire Counties and the North Quabbin Region. Funding comes from the Drunk Driving Trust Fund, which collects
fines imposed by the courts on convicted offenders for operating under
the influence of drugs or alcohol.

The Clinical Options staff and program will be located at 1 Arch Place in Greenfield. Services will be available starting Jan. 1. To learn more about or access those services call (413) 773-1314 or visit
www.csoinc.org.

The Planning Board has voted 4-1 to recommend the zone change be approved.

HOLYOKE -- The City Council Ordinance Committee will resume a public hearing Tuesday (Dec. 23) at 6:30 p.m. on the Greater Holyoke YMCA's request for a zone change to put a parking lot on vacant property at Appleton and Pine streets.

Follow along as live coverage of the meeting at City Hall is posted in the comments section under this story.

The hearing began Oct. 28 and included a dozen speakers in favor of the YMCA plan and half that many opposed.

Officials of the YMCA at 171 Pine St.,which is across the street from the vacant lot, said the facility needs the 21 parking spaces the lot will provide because its main 73-slot lot is insufficient for the popular site.

But some neighbors and others, including Historical Commission Chairwoman Olivia Mausel, said the YMCA failed to heed concerns of some in the community who oppose a parking lot for the site. They objected to the YMCA in January demolishing the Farr Mansion, which had stood on the lot at 399 Appleton St. since 1881, saying the building could have been renovated into another use.

Kathy Viens, chief executive officer of the YMCA, has said such a renovation would have been too costly and still would have failed to address the facility's parking needs.

The vacant lot's current zone, Downtown Residential, prohibits a commercial parking lot. The YMCA needs a change to the Downtown Business zone.

The hearing began as a joint session of the City Council Ordinance Committee and the Planning Board.

The Planning Board closed its part of the public hearing on Oct. 28 and has since voted 4-1 to recommend the YMCA's zone-change request be approved.

Voting yes were Planning Board members Christian LaChappell, John Kelley, Eileen Egan and Mark Joy. Chairwoman Mimi Panitch voted against and said she would file a dissent with the Ordinance Committee.

Zoning decisions are the authority of the full 15-member City Council, meaning that the Ordinance Committee and Planning Board votes are only recommendations.

Spot zoning and whether the YMCA's requested change would qualify as such an illegal step were among issues raised Oct. 28.

Kathy Viens, chief executive officer of the Greater Holyoke YMCA.(FILE PHOTO) 

Spot zoning is a singling out of one lot for different treatment from that accorded to similar surrounding land indistinguishable from it in character, all for the economic benefit of the owner of that lot, Assistant City Solicitor Kara Cunha said in a Dec. 19 opinion to Ordinance Committee Chairwoman Rebecca Lisi.

If a zone change was challenged as spot zoning, a court would apply a balancing test. This would be done to weigh not only the proposed use of a parking lot, but whether the change in zone of the property is "rationally related" to the purposes of the zoning code and to the promotion of the public health, safety and welfare, Cunha said.

The Planning Board's recommendation is among factors a court would consider in a case alleging spot zoning, she said.

Trask worked for the city as emergency director for two years.

CHICOPEE - A former emergency management director for the city has been hired to serve as a part-time consultant, despite some concerns from the City Council.

Jeffrey Trask will serve as senior advisor to the mayor for emergency management. He will work on a variety of issues related to emergency preparedness, response coordinator, declaration of emergency, disaster recovery, crisis communications, and grants management, according to Mayor Richard J. Kos.

Trask began his career in 2003 as the director of emergency management for Chicopee. He worked as a program manager for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency as a program manager for seven years and is now emergency management program administrator for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He will work with Glenn Joslyn, who was hired recently as the part-time emergency management director.

When approving the about $9,164 for the contract that will allow Trask to work eight hours a week for the city, some of the City Councilors said they had questions about the position.

Councilor Adam D. Lamontagne proposed sending the contract to finance subcommittee for a second look, but other councilors said that would prevent Trask from hired quickly.

"I would like to ask more questions about where the department is heading," he said.

In the end, Lamontagne agreed to a compromise proposed by Councilor Frank Laflamme to simply have a meeting with Joslyn and Mayor Richard J. Kos later in the year to find out more information about the future plans.

The City Council voted 13-0 to fund the contract.

In this year's budget, Kos cut the position of emergency management director to a part-time one earning about $13,800. Even with the additional $9,164 being spent on a consultant, the city will still save money, Councilor James Tillotson said.

Councilor Shane D. Brooks said there are two parts to the job. Joslyn has the operational experience but he does not have the grant-writing and management skills that Trask can teach him.

"I think it makes sense from an operational standpoint and an administration standpoint," Brooks said.

The 26,789-square-foot Orr dealership building sits on 3.2 acres.

SPRINGFIELD - MGM Springfield has purchased the former Orr Cadillac dealership location from the Orr family for $2.3 million.

The Orr property will be the new home of Springfield Rescue Mission which must move from its current location at 19 Bliss St. to make way for MGM Springfield's $800 million casino project.

The deal basically is a property swap. MGM gives the Rescue Mission the Mill Street property in exchange for the Bliss Street site.

"The priority is to stay in the South End because the need is there," said Ron Willoughby, executive director of the Rescue Mission. "We also have relationships in the neighborhood. We want to keep those relationships."

He doesn't have a timeline for the move yet. The project does need a change in zoning from business to a zoning classification allowing the Rescue Mission to lodge people on the property.

MGM spokeswoman Colleen McGlynn said the casino will also pay to renovate the dealership to fit the mission's needs. She didn't know how much that will cost.

The 26,789-square-foot Orr dealership building sits on 3.2 acres. The Orr family listed the property for sale at $2.5 million in 2010.

General Motors took away the Orr's  Cadillac franchise during its bankruptcy out of a desire to downsize the network of Cadillac locations and make the brand more exclusive.

The Rescue Mission building on Bliss Street is not much smaller than the Orr building at about 20,000-square-feeet Willoughby said. The added space will allow the shelter to expand by 20 beds from 40 to 60.

The Rescue Mission purchased the former Y.W.C.A. building at 19 Bliss St. in 1962.

The purchase was recorded recently at the Hampden County Registry of Deeds. Expect to see more transactions involving MGM's real estate arm, Blue Tarp Development, over the next few weeks as MGM Resorts International assembles the land it will need for the project.

Century Investment Co., owners of 73 State St., has said it expects the sale of that building to go through in January. The 73 State St. building will be turned into an entrance to  part of the MGM complex.

Real estate purchases had been on hold until after the November statewide referendum vote that reaffirmed the Massachusetts law allowing casinos.

Construction for the casino is expected to begin in early 2015.

 

The homeowner whose holiday light show, set to music from Disney's hit film "Frozen," brought a parade of vehicles to his quiet Southington, Conn., street has announced that the show will not continue the rest of the season.

A digest of news stories from around New England.

WFSB-TV, CBS3, Connecticut

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

The suspect was masked and armed with a handgun when he robbed the financial institution. Anyone with information is asked to call the Agawam Police Department Detective Bureau at 413-786-1717.

 

That was the scenario that played out at the Washington Avenue Extension financial institution shortly after 11 a.m. Tuesday.

 

No arrests had been made as of late afternoon, an Agawam police detective said.

Authorities described the bank robbery suspect as a white man who was wearing a ski mask and dark clothing.

Credit union employees were ordered to put their hands up, but no one was injured in the robbery.

 

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the Agawam Police Department Detective Bureau at 413-786-1717.

Massachusetts State Police are helping with the probe.

Firemen are used to warmth and Tuesday they spread some of it in Holyoke. 200 donated coats arrived on fire department trucks and were handed out to children at the Holyoke Boys and Girls Club in Holyoke on Tuesday afternoon. Members of the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts and I.A.F.F. Local 1693 set up the coat donation in Holyoke and at...

Firemen are used to warmth and Tuesday they spread some of it in Holyoke.

200 donated coats arrived on fire department trucks and were handed out to children at the Holyoke Boys and Girls Club in Holyoke on Tuesday afternoon. Members of the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts and I.A.F.F. Local 1693 set up the coat donation in Holyoke and at other locations throughout the state.

Executive director of the Holyoke Boys and Girls Club Eileen Cavanaugh thanked the firefighters and Chris Butler of the HPD also addressed the children. Staff members at the club helped with the coat distribution.

Gov.-elect Charlie Baker appointed Dr. Monica Bharel as the state's new public health commissioner and nursery owner John Lebeaux as the new agricultural commissioner on Tuesday.

BOSTON — Gov.-elect Charlie Baker appointed Dr. Monica Bharel as the state's new public health commissioner and nursery owner John Lebeaux as the new agricultural commissioner on Tuesday.

Bharel is a 20-year veteran of the public health world and currently works as the chief medical officer for the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. She has degrees from Boston University and Harvard University.

"Doctor Bharel has an impressive background as a physician serving the homeless, some of the most vulnerable citizens of the commonwealth," said incoming Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders.

Bharel said in an emailed statement that she is thrilled to join the Baker administration.

LeBeaux, of Shrewsbury, is the general manager of his family-owned nursery, Shrewsbury Nurseries. He is a past president of the Massachusetts Nursery and Landscape Association and currently employed as the town administrator for the town of Princeton.

In 2008, LeBeaux, a Republican, ran unsuccessfully for state Senate, losing to Democratic state Sen. Michael Moore.

LeBeaux on Tuesday said he hopes to focus on promoting the viability of Massachusetts agriculture and allowing producers to have expanding markets "so we can continue to enjoy local food and local nursery crops and keep the agricultural industry viable not just now, but work to make it viable into future generations."

LeBeaux said the agricultural industry in Massachusetts is composed primarily of small businesses and faces many of the same issues such as taxes and regulations. It also has unique issues such as land and water use, nutrient management, and a range of other issues. He said the state must balance the need to respect the environment with the need to allow people working in the field to earn a living.

"The success of local farms is hugely important to the commonwealth," said incoming Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matt Beaton, also a resident of Shrewsbury.

"John's experience serving on the Board of Food and Agriculture will be an asset as he continues the progress made promoting locally grown Massachusetts products," said Beaton in a statement.

Republican reporter Shira Schoenberg contributed to this report.

As it turns out, the California driver in question had allegedly been involved in another incident two days earlier.

What is being called an extreme case of road rage, in which the alleged perpetrator apparently wanted to get arrested, was all caught on video, according to news reports coming out of California.

Police say two women were driving on Intertate 80 near Sacramento on Sunday when a woman in a Ford Explorer cut them off, and they responded with an obscene gesture, according to USA Today.

According to CBS Sacramento.com, the woman in the SUV, who later identified herself as a sheriff's deputy tried to run them off the highway.

The incident involving Delaine Strykul, and her friend, Vanessa Gladieux, started when the SUV driver repeatedly tailgated their vehicle, according to the Sacramento Bee.

Strykul, a passenger in the first car said the woman in the Ford tried to cut them off twice, and then slowed down to drive alongside the car.

"When she did that, I threw up my hands and flipped her off," she told CBS.

Then, Strykul said, the driver of the SUV pulled in front of their car, horizontally, and forced them to stop. At that point, she ran over to their car, and started banging on their window, flashing was turned out to be a fake sheriff's ID badge.

"She did the whole zig-zag in three lanes with her flashers on, kind of like what a police officer would do if they were trying to slow down traffic," Strykul said.

While this was going on, Stykul said she called 911 and told the dispatcher that a woman seen in the video knocked on her window claiming to be a deputy.

The two women tried to pull away, but the SUV caught up with them again, she said.

Eventually, Strykul told CBS, the woman hit their vehicle and tried pushing them off the road, but they were able to get away again. The dispatcher told the women to get off the highway where and officer was waiting, but the women were afraid that the truck driver would follow them.

Nevertheless, they did get off the highway, and the driver of the truck, identified as Dierdre Orozco, did, in fact, follow them. A California Highway Patrol officer was waiting, as planned, and Orozco was arrested.

"I definitely regret flipping her off," said Strykul, a 2012 Miss California candidate, told the Sacramento Bee. "I'm not proud of that."

A good part of the incident was caught on video, which shows the two women trying to escape the female driver of the sport-utility vehicle. Gladieux, the driver, is aided by Strykul - all the while capturing the scene on another cellphone.

Orozco was arrested on charges of suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon (the SUV), reckless driving on a public street and obstructing a police officer, according to the Placer County Sheriff's in custody report.

But according to the Auburn Journal, this was the second time in five days that Orozoco, 50, was arrested.

"Orozco was previously arrested in the afternoon of Dec. 17 for suspicion of a hit and run that she was involved in on the corner of Sunrise Ave. and Cirby Way in Roseville," Dee Dee Gunther, Roseville Police Department spokeswoman, told the Journal. "She proceeded to drive to her relatives' house where she threw rocks through the windows, vandalizing the home and issuing threats of bodily harm."

In that incident, another driver, Dane Larsson, told KTXL-TV, Fox40 in Sacramento, Orozco tried to run him off a road, too. And like the most recent incident, he captured some of it on video.

"I'm going to smash every [expletive] window!," a woman, Larsson claimed to be Orozco, is seen yelling in a video he captured. Larsson told KTXL this all happened last Wednesday and that Orozco was taken into custody after her encounter with him."

He said while driving in Roseville, Orozco tried to get around him, then hit his car just half a mile from where the confrontation ended.

"She said she had been trying to get arrested, she's been driving 100 miles an hour the whole way from San Jose. What can I do to get arrested... she said, 'what can I do to get arrested?'" Larsson told the TV station.

After being booked on Dec. 17, Orozco was released two days later, only to be arrested on the latest incident on Sunday.

She was being held on $25,000 bail.

Gov.-elect Charlie Baker has appointed former Pioneer Institute executive director and charter school advocate James Peyser as the state's new secretary of education.

BOSTON — Gov.-elect Charlie Baker has appointed former Pioneer Institute executive director and charter school advocate James Peyser as the state's new secretary of education.

The longtime alternative education advocate has advised Govs. William Weld, Paul Celluci, Jane Swift and Mitt Romney on state education matters. Peyser is currently on leave from his job as a managing director at the New Schools Venture Fund to serve as executive director of the Baker-Polito Transition.

Peyser played an active role in Weld's first term education reform efforts that culminated with the landmark Education Reform Act of 1993 that gave birth to the state's current charter school system and standardized testing system known as MCAS.

NewSchools Venture Fund is a California-based non-profit that awards grants to public schools in low-income communities across the country and advocates for the expansion of charter schools.

Baker was a vocal supporter of charter schools on the campaign trail earning him the wrath of public school teachers unions across the state.

"Jim will bring to our administration as we work to give our children and their parents a greater voice in their education. While good schools are critical for all children, the full promise and opportunity of education is for the learner of all ages to grow and gain new knowledge and experience. As our students and citizens are competing increasingly in a world economy, our education opportunities must be matched to meet the local and the global competition," said Baker.

Peyser said in a statement that he is eager to start working for Baker.

"I am committed to advancing the governor elect's ambitious priorities by producing more great schools throughout the commonwealth, expanding and strengthening career-technical education programs, developing new partnerships with local school districts and communities, and making higher education more affordable and responsive to the needs of our diverse regions," said Peyser.

Investors welcomed the latest encouraging news on the economy as the government said the U.S. grew at the fastest pace in more than a decade in the third quarter.

By ALEX VEIGA

NEW YORK - In a year full of market milestones, Wall Street crushed a couple more Tuesday, lifting the Dow Jones industrial average past the 18,000-point mark for the first time and delivering the Standard & Poor's 500 index its second record-high close in two days.

Investors welcomed the latest encouraging news on the economy as the government said the U.S. grew at the fastest pace in more than a decade in the third quarter. The economic report card raised expectations for greater demand for fuel, driving oil prices higher as well as energy stocks, which have been beaten down this year by the sharp decline in the price of crude.

The Dow gained 64.73 points Tuesday to close at 18,024.17 That's up 0.4 percent from its previous record close on Monday. The latest close is the Dow's second 1,000-point milestone this year after closing above 17,000 for the first time in July.

The S&P 500 rose 3.63 points to 2,082.17. That's a gain of 0.2 percent from its own all-time high recorded a day earlier.

The Nasdaq composite fell 16 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,765.42.

U.S. government bond prices declined. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.26 percent.

The stock market rally gave the Dow and the S&P 500 their fifth straight gain. The indexes have recovered the last of the ground they lost in an early-December slump. It also marked the 51st all-time high for the S&P 500 and the 36th for the Dow this year, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.

"This is going to end up being a bit better of a year for stocks and bonds than most people thought coming in," said Bob Doll, chief equity strategist at Nuveen Asset Management. "The economy caught some steam and it's able to stand up with its own two feet."

While the U.S. economy has been gaining momentum, Europe is struggling to grow, Japan has slid into recession and China is straining to manage a slowdown. Russia envisions a recession next year.

Overseas market indexes are lagging Wall Street. Germany's DAX is up just 3.9 percent this year, while France's CAC-40 is up only 0.4 percent. Britain's FTSE is down 2.2 percent. By comparison, the S&P 500 is up 12.7 percent this year, while the Dow has gained 8.7 percent. The Nasdaq is up 14.1 percent.

Despite weak growth overseas and geopolitical troubles, investors have repeatedly bet on the U.S. economy and corporate earnings growth this year, pushing stock prices higher.

The market has been going steadily higher for the last two weeks after hitting a recent low of 17,069 on Dec. 16 as traders worried about plunging oil prices and a sharp drop in Russia's currency. Investors have been encouraged by signs of strength in the U.S. economy and reassurances that the Federal Reserve won't raise interest rates soon. Those trends bode well for the bull market run, which is on track to mark its sixth year in March.

The indexes' new heights have made stocks more expensive. Investors are paying $17.60 for every $1 in earnings for companies in the S&P 500. That's above the long-term average price-to-earnings ratio of $16.

Even so, stocks are not overvalued, said Cameron Hinds, regional chief investment officer at Wells Fargo Private Bank.

"You have to understand that U.S. economic output is at an all-time high and corporate profits are at an all-time high," Hinds said. "Bull markets typically don't die purely of old age, they tend to die of recessions and overvaluation and perhaps policy mistakes, and we don't see any of those on the horizon."

The market started off Tuesday's record run early in the day, with the Dow and the S&P opening slightly higher. Shortly after, the Dow topped 18,000 points for the first time, while the S&P extended beyond the all-time high from the day before.

The Nasdaq trailed the other two indexes, weighed down by a broad slide in biotech stocks.

Express Scripts, the nation's largest pharmacy benefits manager, is putting pressure on drugmakers like Gilead Sciences and others to lower prices. Gilead shed $3.45, or 3.7 percent, to $89.45. Express Scripts rose $3.55, or 4.3 percent, to $85.88.

Investors were monitoring a mixed bag of economic reports Tuesday.

The Commerce Department reported that the economy grew at a 5 percent annual rate in the July-September period, powered by stronger consumer spending and business investment. That's the fastest quarterly growth since the summer of 2003.

Consumer spending grew at the fastest pace in three months in November, while income posted the best gain in five months. Factory orders for long-lasting manufactured goods declined last month. And sales of new homes slid 1.6 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 438,000, the second consecutive monthly decline.

Oil prices stabilized after a recent rout. Benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.86 to close at $57.12 a barrel. The price has fallen by about half from a peak of $107 a barrel in June due to abundant supplies and waning global demand for energy.

Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, rose $1.58 to close at $61.69 in London.

In other futures trading, wholesale gasoline rose 3.5 cents to close at $1.570 a gallon, while heating oil added 4 cents to close at $1.991 a gallon. Natural gas rose 2.7 cents to close at $3.171 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Precious and industrial metals futures closed mixed.

Gold slipped $1.80 to $1,178 an ounce. Silver edged up eight cents to $15.77 an ounce and copper slipped less than a penny to $2.87 a pound.

On Wednesday, U.S. and European markets close early ahead of the Christmas holiday.

The buyer will become landlord to a variety of state agencies housed at 100 Cambridge Street, which now includes offices for the attorney general, the Department of Energy Resources and the Department of Revenue, among others.

By ANDY METZGER

BOSTON - While the state's development agency is still negotiating terms with an unidentified buyer, Gov. Deval Patrick's chief budget-writer estimated the sale of a Beacon Hill office building lease would bring in $90 million in state revenue.

The buyer will become landlord to a variety of state agencies housed at 100 Cambridge Street, which now includes offices for the attorney general, the Department of Energy Resources and the Department of Revenue, among others.

The state rents 48 percent of the 22-story office tower with a lease expiring in April 2052, according to a brochure prepared by Colliers International, which is managing the sale. Private companies rent the top 10 floors.

The ground lease that is for sale would last until April 30, 2082 when it would revert back to the state, according to MassDevelopment, which rehabbed the building and rented the space out.

MassDevelopment spokesman Mark Sternman said there were nine bidders for the property and the entity negotiating purchase of the property will be made public when the deal is made.

Secretary of Administration and Finance Glen Shor disclosed the estimate while disputing the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation's analysis that the budget hole is $750 million after Patrick's $250 million in spending cuts. Shor is standing by the administration's forecast of a current roughly $70 million budget gap, according to a spokeswoman.

"The report also fails to include proceeds to the general fund from the sale of the lease at 100 Cambridge Street, which we currently estimate to be about $90 million," Shor said last week.

Administration and Finance Undersecretary Scott Jordan said that the total sale price "will be much higher than that." Before the state receives its estimated $90 million cut, proceeds of the sale will pay off bond holders, financiers and MassDevelopment, which both invested money in the project and forewent management fees, he said. Jordan said he expects a purchase and sale agreement before the New Year and a close on the deal in the spring.

At its last meeting, MassDevelopment voted on how it would spend its expected $48 million share of the sale, according to Sternman. He said to aid with filling the state's budget gap, MassDevelopment relinquished $10 million in brownfields money and $13 million in "transformative" development funding for cities that had been included in this year's jobs bill.

MassDevelopment voted to use the lease proceeds to restore the $13 million for city developments and spend $10 million for lending to rental-housing developers, $10 million for investments outside "gateway cities," $10 million for redeveloping blighted buildings and $5 million to recapitalize a mortgage guarantee program, Sternman said.

The Leverett Saltonstall Building was built in 1965 and in 1999 the state shuttered its office building after tests revealed asbestos and ventilation problems. The renovations began in 2002 and the building reopened in 2004.

Colliers told potential investors there are opportunities to raise rents in the building, which also includes a garage.

"This offering provides investors the opportunity to acquire a Class A tower with stable revenue coming from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' long term lease and the 332-space parking garage and the ability to drive rents in the private tenant spaces, as they are currently 26% below market," Colliers wrote in its brochure. It said after "reaching stabilization in 2007" the building has never been more than 5 percent vacant.

The second largest tenant in the space is American Student Assistance, a non-profit that helps students finance higher education. Other tenants include the law firm Prince Lobel, which occupies the top floors, the architecture firm Cannon Design and the lobbying and public relations outfit Dewey Square Group. Massachusetts General Hospital has terminated its lease on two floors effective June 30, according to Colliers.

Rite Aid, early education provider Bright Horizons and Citibank rent retail space.

Condominiums, which ring the outside of the development down the hill from the Statehouse, are not included in the lease that is for sale.

Shor said the $90 million should be considered in regards to the state's current financial troubles. MTF President Michael Widmer said the sale of a lease is a one-time revenue influx and should not be used to balance an operating budget shortfall.