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Top 10 stories in 2014 from Hampshire and Franklin counties

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The year 2014 in Hampshire and Franklin counties began with a hung jury and ended with a train to New York.

NORTHAMPTON — The year 2014 in Hampshire and Franklin counties began with a hung jury and ended with a train to New York.

Here's a look at the top headlines in the counties during the year. We welcome your thoughts on 2014 in the comments section at the end of this article.

1. A 2nd hung jury in Cara Rintala murder case

Prosecutors took another crack at Cara Rintala in January, saying she murdered her wife, Annamarie Cochrane Rintala, in their Granby home four years before. The trial was a reprise of Rintala's 2013 murder trial, which ended in a hung jury. This one did too. The two sides are gearing up for round three in 2015. Meanwhile, Rintala, who had been held without right to bail for two years, posted the $150,000 bail finally set by Judge Mary-Lou Rup and has gained some degree of freedom.

2. Ryan Welch found guilty of Jessica Pripstein murder

Justice was not as kind, or at least not as hesitant, with Ryan Welch. Welch was charged with murder for slitting the throat of his girlfriend, Jessica Pripstein. The jury made quick work of him, coming back with a guilty verdict within hours. He will spend the rest of his life in prison.

3. Biggest insurance fraud case in Western Massachusetts history

More than a dozen Chinese natives got their fill of the U.S. legal system when they were arraigned in what authorities have called the biggest insurance fraud case in Western Massachusetts history. They traveled from New York to Northampton and Greenfield to insure their car under the lower insurance rates here. It didn't help their cases that they falsely claimed to live in Western Massachusetts. Most of them resolved their cases by paying the difference in insurance rates, which came to more than $100,000 all told. Lefen "Helen" Chen, the alleged ring-leader of the scheme, pleaded guilty to two counts of insurance fraud, and was being held in Hartford, Connecticut, pending deportation proceedings.

4. Ryder Funeral Home in South Hadley shuts down after clients' remains misplaced

The Ryder Funeral Home in South Hadley was the macabre scene of missing ashes and unembalmed corpses in 2014. The state shut the staggering funeral home down, but not before it misplaced the remains of several clients. Their descendants have since filed several civil suits against the establishment.

5. Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz reorganizes city government

Amid a fair amount of ado, Mayor David J. Narkiewicz exercised his mayoral prerogative and reorganized the city government by way of an administrative order. Among the more substantial changes, he reduced the function of the Board of Public Works to an advisory board. The change went into effect some months after the board established a new utility fee for the disposal of stormwater. As with the water and sewer enterprise funds, users, meaning everyone in Northampton, will be billed regularly for the service.

6. Music mogul Eric Suher loses one of his liquor licenses

Music mogul Eric Suher had one of his valuable liquor licenses stripped from his by the License Commission, which was unhappy with the snail's pace of two establishments he was developing. The Greeen Room on Center Street finally opened, and Suher was able to transfer the license from his church remodeling project for use their. The church is reportedly slated to be a venue for weddings and other functions. Suher isn't saying much about it.

7. Suher and Alan Scheinman win suit to dissolve Northampton BID

Suher was triumphant, however, in his civil suit against the Northampton Business Improvement District. A Hampshire Superior Court judge agreed with Suher and co-plaintiff Alan Scheinman that the process by which the BID was established was fatally flawed. Judge John Agostini dissolved the district.

8. Greenfield opens new high school

The city of Greenfield opened its new $66 million high school just in time for the school year in August. It is located on the same site as the 50-year-old high school, which was razed to make way for the building.

9. Rainbow crosswalk painted in downtown Northampton

The Northampton Board of Public Works in April OK'd a proposal to paint a crosswalk on Main Street in the colors of the rainbow. The request for the rainbow-themed crosswalk came from Melinda Shaw, who served as executive director for the city's annual Pride March until 2009. Shaw said she noticed on Facebook that other communities such as Vancouver, B.C. had created similar crosswalks. "It looked great," she said. "I really believe our community could use it."

10. Amtrak returns service to Northampton and Greenfield

Amtrak was scheduled to inaugurate its "Knowledge Corridor" passenger train on Dec. 29, bringing the service back to Northampton for the first time in decades. The train is also slated to run through Greenfield and Holyoke. As of this writing, the cost of a roundtrip bargain ticket from Northampton to New York City is $61.



Amherst firefighters able to have Christmas dinner together after all, with cooperative fire calls

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Amherst firefighters answered just seven calls on the Christmas Day shift.

AMHERST - Firefighters working the Christmas shift did get to have dinner together after all.

The four firefighters from Central Station were hoping to head up to the North Station for 4:30 p.m. dinner with the five there but work is unpredictable so they weren't sure it was going to work out.

But Chief Tim Nelson said they were able to have dinner together with just seven calls during the 24-hour period that began at 7 a.m. Christmas morning - a mix of medical and alarm calls no fires.

The last call came in at 4:30 a.m. Friday morning. 

PM News Links: Driver challenges profane toll ticket, woman accused of throwing bacon into police station, and more

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Boston Mayor Martin Walsh called the response from some protesters in New York City following the murders of two police officers a "disgrace," suggesting they should show "a little common courtesy" and not demonstrate during the funeral of one of the slain officers.

A digest of news stories from around New England.


  • New York driver challenges issuance of Massachusetts Turnpike toll ticket with profanity, '#Ican'tbreathe' written on it [WCVB-TV, NewsCenter5, Needham]

  • Ashland woman accused of throwing bacon, sausage into Framingham poice station saying it's "to feed the piggies' [Metro West Daily News]

  • Boston mayor calls New York City protesters' response to police killings 'a disgrace' [Boston Herald] Related photo above, video below

  • Chelsea man accused of shooting 2 Lowell brothers to death [Lowell Sun] Related video below

  • Insanity defense planned for Lunenburg woman accused of attacking live-in boyfriend with ax [Telegram & Gazette]


  • Gloucester mayor resigns to take position with Gov.-elect Charlie Baker's cabinet [Gloucester Times]

  • Former Agawam school superintendent selected for same post in Lexington [Cape Cod Times]

  • Rhode Island police nab driver accused of jumping into bay after driving wrong way on Interstate 95 [Providence Journal]

  • 3 people shot in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood Christmas night [Boston Globe]



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



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    Wall Street's 'Santa Claus' rally just keeps on giving

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    The Dow Jones industrial average, Standard & Poor's 500 index and the Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks closed at all-time highs.

    By ALEX VEIGA

    NEW YORK - Wall Street's "Santa Claus" rally kept delivering gifts a day after Christmas.

    The Dow Jones industrial average, Standard & Poor's 500 index and the Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks closed at all-time highs on Friday.

    The modest pickup in stocks, which gave the Dow its seventh consecutive gain, came on a day of relatively light trading following the holiday break for U.S. markets.

    Utilities stocks were among the biggest gainers.

    Oil prices continued to decline. That made traders hopeful for stronger consumer spending heading into next year, since drivers won't need to pay as much to fill up their cars.

    "Holiday sales look good. The consumer is in good shape," said David Chalupnik, head of equities at Nuveen Asset Management. "We're ending the year strong and my guess is the market continues to trend higher through year-end and January is probably going to be a good month as well."

    The Dow gained 23.50 points to close at 18,053.71. That's up 0.1 percent from its previous record high on Wednesday.

    The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 6.89 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,088.77. That's up 0.3 percent from the S&P 500's most-recent all-time high recorded on Tuesday.

    The Nasdaq composite rose 33.39 points, or 0.7 percent, to 4,806.86. The last time the index was higher was March 28, 2000, during the heady days of the dot-com bubble.

    The Russell 2000 climbed 8.42 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,215.21. That's an increase of 0.5 percent from the Russell's previous all-time high on March 4.

    U.S. government bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dipped to 2.25 percent.

    The stock market has been mostly climbing since hitting a recent low of 17,069 on Dec. 16 on worries about plunging oil prices and a sharp drop in Russia's currency.

    Since then, investors have been encouraged by signs of a strengthening U.S. economy, which the government estimates grew in the July-September quarter at the fastest pace in 11 years. Consumer spending and personal incomes have been rising. The economy has been creating more jobs.

    The markets also have history on their side.

    December is typically the best month of the year for stocks, while January is the second-best, Chalupnik noted.

    The stock market opened higher Friday and held steady the rest of the day. There wasn't any major U.S. economic or corporate news.

    Major European markets were closed for the holiday. Markets in Asia posted slight gains.

    Investors kept an eye on oil prices, which have been a major focus in over the past few weeks. Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell $1.11 to close at $54.73 a barrel.

    Oil prices have fallen by about a half since the summer as traders worry that there won't be enough global demand for the abundant supplies of oil being produced.

    Eight of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500 index rose, led by utilities stocks. The sector is up 27.9 percent this year. Energy posted the biggest decline, deepening its slide this year to 9 percent.

    Celgene notched the biggest gain among individual stocks in the S&P 500, adding $3.75, or 3.4 percent, to $113.35. Newfield Exploration declined the most, shedding 89 cents, or 3.2 percent, to $26.97.

    Most metals prices rose. Gold gained $21.80 to $1,195.30 an ounce. Silver rose 44 cents to $16.15 an ounce, and copper fell four cents to $2.81 an ounce.

    In other energy trading, Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, fell 79 cents to close at $59.45 a barrel in London.

    On the NYMEX, wholesale gasoline fell 0.4 cent to close at $1.509 a gallon, heating oil fell 1.6 cents to close at $1.908 a gallon and natural gas fell 2.3 cents to close at $3.007 per 1,000 cubic feet.

    Among other stocks making big moves Friday:

    1. Virgin America rose 5.9 percent after several financial firms issued bullish recommendations for the airline company's stock. Its shares added $2.42 to $43.42.

    2. Cytokinetics gained 4.6 percent on news the company will continue advancing development of a muscle-weakness treatment with its partner, Astellas Pharma. The stock rose 27 cents to $6.14.

    3. Juno Therapeutics climbed 21.9 percent. The biotech company closed its initial public offering on Wednesday. The stock gained $8.74 to $48.73.

     

    Woman delivers Christmas baby on train

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    Sgt. Daniel Caban and oifficer Darrell James were patrolling near the 15th street station when they heard from several passengers that a woman was going into labor.

    Two transit officers helped a woman give birth to a baby boy on a Philadelphia train on Christmas night.

    Sgt. Daniel Caban and oifficer Darrell James were patrolling near the 15th street station around 6 p.m. when they heard from several passengers that a woman was going into labor, USA Today quoted to Kristin Geiger of The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority as saying.

    Caban was the first to arrive on the scene and quickly realized the baby would arrive any minute, Geiger said.

    A group of riders had already formed a semicircle around Yanjin Li, offering as much protection and comfort as they could, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

    By the time the officers entered the subway car, they could see the baby's head crowning through his mother's sweatpants.

    Caban, who had experienced childbirth only as an observant father, knelt and removed the woman's sweatpants as she practiced breathing exercises, the newspaper reported.

    "I knew I had other officers around me, so I was good," Caban said in retelling the story with James to a reporter an hour later.

    The baby soon arrived, although the umbilical cord was tangled around his neck. Once the chord was removed, the baby seemed fine.

    But there was another challenge, the Inquirer report continues.

    The mother and father, who the newspaper estimated were in their 20s or early 30s, spoke little English, and no one in the car could communicate with them.

    "Are you Dad?" they said to the man. He nodded. They motioned for his shirt. At first he offered his beat-up tank top but then gave the officers a light-colored sweater, which soon swaddled the newborn.

    "Do you want to hold the baby?" they asked the mother.

    She extended her arms.

    Onlookers at the 15th Street stop knocked on the windows and gave a thumbs-up to everyone in the subway car.

    People on the train called the event a Christmas miracle, according to the Philadelphia Daily News.

    "Some people started tearing up, saying, 'Merry Christmas,' " Sunny Ali, 29, a West Philadelphia musician told the Daily News. "Honestly, I started tearing up a bit, too. I was just so overwhelmed."

    Ali told the newspaper that that he had hopped onto the train heading to a family holiday party. Nothing seemed unusual about the train to him at the time, until the woman sitting in front of him starated to make "weird noises."

    Although the woman didn't speak much English, what she said made it clear what was about to happen.

    "PHILLY, my baby is coming!"

    The people around Li helped her husband lay her across the train seats, with one passenger cradling her head.

    As the train arrived at the 15th Street station, the baby was about to arrive. And it was at that point that the passengers spotted Caban.

    "At that point, I just told everyone to 'get your gloves on,' " Caban said.

    After the baby arrived, he was handed to waiting paramedics, who took him and Li to nearby Hahnemann University Hospital, where they remained last night.

    "People told me that there would be crazy days like this. They just never said they would be on Christmas," the Daily News quoted James as saying few hours later, as he and Caban stood on the same platform where they had helped bring a life into the world on Christmas Day.

    Springfield celebrates Kwanzaa at UMass Center; Speakers call for community unity

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    Kwanzaa, a seven-day holiday with roots reaching back to the African harvest, seeks to instill a connectedness to African cultural identity, to provide a focal point for the gathering of African people and to reflect upon seven principles including unity, love and faith.

    SPRINGFIELD — More than 200 people, including parents and children, helped usher in the Kwanzaa holiday season Friday at the UMass Center at Tower Square during a celebration punctuated by speeches, poetry, music, dance – and a history lesson about the triumph of a runaway slave who found his freedom in Springfield.

    Kwanzaa, a seven-day holiday with roots reaching back to the African harvest, seeks to instill a connectedness to African cultural identity, to provide a focal point for the gathering of African people and to reflect upon seven principles including unity, love and faith.

    Kwanzaa, also called the First Fruits Celebration, was established in the United States in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement.

    With that historical perspective in mind, master of ceremonies Richard Johnson opened the one-and-a-half hour program, by asking those in attendance to teach their children about the struggles leading to the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and reflect on progress since then and to press onward in the fight for justice, noting that the struggle is ongoing.

    Johnson and several speakers made reference to the shooting deaths of unarmed black men Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown and the protests those events have sparked across the nation. Johnson reminded that there "are good police" and there is no justification for violence, a remark that was greeted with applause.

    State Rep. Benjamin Swan urged parents to talk to their children and tell them the stories that make up their cultural heritage – from their roots in Africa to their struggles for freedom in the United States.

    A moment of silence was held in memory of the late Dr. Ruth Loving, known as the mother of Civil Rights in Springfield, who died last month at the age of 100.

    Other speakers at annual citywide celebration included: Mayor Domenic J. Sarno; Amilcar Shabazz, professor of History and Africana Studies at the W.E. B. Du Bois Department of of Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst; and Jamina McFadden, director of student services at UMass Center at Springfield.

    Shabazz told the story of James Lindsay Smith, a slave from Virginia who escaped to Springfield 1838 to gain his freedom. In Springfield, he acquired his own shoe shop and attended school in Wilbraham where he obtained a license to preach.

    Shabazz urged parents to tell their children stories about African-American heroes like Smith and Sojourner Truth, whose images graced posters around the conference room where the event was held.

    Keynote speaker McFadden urged members of the audience to live their lives promoting unity and community with an attitude of hope and confidence.

    For Nuseum Mayfield, and her three children, it was the family's first time attending the city's Kwanzaa celebration. And for 10-year-old Rodney Mayfield Jr., it was a memorable one.

    Mayfield was was among the children who volunteered to help light the seven candles on the Kwanzaa Kinara. Ayanna Crawford, who led the candle-lighting ceremony, asked young Mayfield to make a wish to share with the gathering. He wished for a bright and safe future.

    Musical performers included the Rev. Will Naylor and Vanessa Ford. Members of Dream Studios dance ensemble

    A Kwanzaa Primer

    Each day, from Dec. 26 to Jan 1, a different value is celebrated, appearing below in swahili and English:

    Dec. 26: Umoja – Unity

    Dec. 27: Kijichagulia – Self-determination

    Dec. 28: Ujima – Collective work, responsibility

    Dec. 29: Ujamaa – Cooperative economics

    Dec. 30: Nia – Purpose

    Dec. 31: Kuumba – Creativity

    Jan. 1: Imani – Faith

    Slain NYPD officer honored at memorial service

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    The daylong tribute to Officer Rafael Ramos occurred at a Queens church where friends and colleagues spoke of him as an embodiment of the selfless, compassionate and heroic nature the New York Police Department wants its finest officers to project.

    NEW YORK (AP) -- The wife and two sons of a policeman gunned down along with his partner in a brazen daylight ambush were joined at his wake Friday by hundreds of uniformed officers, including dozens who saluted as his flag-draped casket was carried into the church.

    The daylong tribute to Officer Rafael Ramos occurred at a Queens church where friends and colleagues spoke of him as an embodiment of the selfless, compassionate and heroic nature the New York Police Department wants its finest officers to project.

    "He was studying to be a pastor. He had Bible study books in his locker, which is rare for a police officer, but that goes to show you the type of man he was," NYPD Capt. Sergio Centa said before entering Christ Tabernacle Church.

    Ramos was dressed in full dress uniform in an open casket, Nassau County Police Benevolent Association President James Carver said. His funeral is scheduled for Saturday. Vice President Joe Biden is expected to attend, along with Mayor Bill de Blasio.

    Police union officials have criticized de Blasio, saying he contributed to a climate of mistrust toward police amid protests over the deaths of black men at the hands of white officers. Union officials have said the mayor's response, including his mention of how he often fears for the safety of his biracial son in his interactions with police, helped set the stage for the killings.

    But de Blasio, who has praised officers for their service both before and amid the protests, has stood solidly behind the department since the Dec. 20 slayings of Ramos and Officer Wenjian Liu as they sat in their patrol car on a Brooklyn street. The shooter, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, later killed himself.

    After the killings, de Blasio called for a temporary halt to demonstrations against police after grand juries in Missouri and on Staten Island declined to charge white police officers in the deaths of two black men.

    He denounced as "divisive" a demonstration that took place anyway and on Thursday tweeted a thank you to police for arresting a man accused of threatening to kill officers. Still, on Friday an airplane hauling a banner insulting the mayor organized by a former police officer-turned-activist flew above New York City.

    Pastor Ralph Castillo said Ramos was a beloved member of the church.

    "Whether he was helping a mom with a carriage or bringing someone to their seats, he did it with so much love and so much vigor and so much joy," Castillo said.

    In the evening, hundreds of additional mourners were expected to spill into the streets outside the church to hear speakers eulogize Ramos and to watch on giant video screens. Police Commissioner William Bratton, Cardinal Timothy Dolan and other politicians had arrived for the ceremony.

    Ramos was a long-standing and deeply committed member of the church, where he served as an usher, family and friends said.

    "We feel sorry for the family, and nobody deserves to die like this," said fellow churchgoer Hilda Kiefer as she waited to enter the wake.

    His compassion was in contrast to the emotionally disturbed loner who killed the officers.

    Investigators say Brinsley started his rampage by shooting and wounding an ex-girlfriend in Baltimore. He also posted online threats to police and made references to high-profile cases of unarmed black men killed by white officers.

    The killings ramped up emotions in the already tense national debate over police conduct. Since Ramos and Liu were killed, police in New York say they have arrested seven people accused of threatening officers.

    Liu's funeral arrangements have yet to be announced.

    Ramos celebrated his 40th birthday this month. He joined the NYPD in 2012 after working as a school security officer.

    The lifelong Brooklyn resident was married with two sons: a 13-year-old who is in middle school and one who attends Bowdoin College in Maine.

    The Silver Shield Foundation, a charity founded by the late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, has set aside $40,000 for the education of Ramos' sons. Bowdoin College said it will cover Ramos' older son's education costs as long as he remains a student there.

    The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, a charity created after 9/11, says it will pay off the home mortgages of the two slain officers.

    Meanwhile, Centa said he's instructed officers at the 84th Precinct where Ramos and Liu worked to be vigilant on patrol.

    "Things we took for granted maybe a week or two ago we can't take for granted anymore," Centa said. "You may be in your car and see someone walking up the street toward you. You have to be prepared. You never know. It's a scary time for the police department right now."

    CBS 3 Springfield report on man who said 'put wings on pigs'

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    A Facebook post in which a former Connecticut police officer reportedly asked his colleagues to kill the man who made the comment has been removed.


    Massachusetts Department of Fire Services: Cause of Southwick fire that injured toddler and mother 'accidental' but 'undetermined'

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    "Investigators were able to rule out the electrical wiring circuit that fed the Christmas tree, but could not eliminate the lights on the tree or other possible causes inside the apartment due to the extent of the damage," said Jennifer Mieth, public information officer for the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services.

    Updates story published at 12:01 p.m. Friday, Dec. 26.



    SOUTHWICK — A Christmas Day fire that injured a mother and toddler has been ruled "accidental," but the cause remains "undetermined," said Jennifer Mieth, public information officer for the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services.

    The investigative team, which included members of the Southwick Fire Department and Massachusetts State Police troopers assigned to state Fire Marshal Stephen Coan's office, used heavy equipment Friday to sift through the remains of 6 Two States Ave., the multi-family home that was destroyed in the blaze.

    The fire erupted just minutes before Christmas Eve gave way to Christmas Day, with firefighters continuing to chase hot spots well after the sun had risen on Dec. 25. The incident left several people homeless, including the mother, her 2-year-old son, and the toddler's father, all of whom lived in the basement apartment of the Southwick home.

    The mother has been a hailed as a hero for reentering the burning home to rescue her son.

    "(She) had to run outside and break a window to get in and grab the baby and get out again," Southwick Fire Chief Richard Anderson said. "Yeah, it was close."

    Investigators determined that the fire started in the living room of the basement apartment, in the area of the Christmas tree and the couch.

    "Investigators were able to rule out the electrical wiring circuit that fed the Christmas tree, but could not eliminate the lights on the tree or other possible causes inside the apartment due to the extent of the damage," Mieth said, adding that the fire "will be ruled as accidental, undetermined."

    She said Christmas trees "provide heavy additional fuel to fires," allowing them to spread more rapidly.

    The mother and child sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were expected to be OK, according to authorities.

    The American Red Cross was assisting residents displaced by the fire.


    Sixteen Acres funeral home to pay transportation costs for police to attend funeral of fallen NYC officer Rafael Ramos

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    Sue Keenan, the wife of a Springfield police officer, said when she heard local police were planning to attend the funeral, she felt as if she should do something.

    SPRINGFIELD — The Byron Keenan Funeral Home in Sixteen Acres has come forward to volunteer to pay the transportation costs associated with sending area police to New York City on Saturday to attend the funeral of one of the two police officers gunned down a week ago.

    More than 50 officers from the Springfield police and other area departments will be leaving Saturday morning to take part in the 10 a.m. funeral service for officer Rafael Ramos in the Glendale section of Queens.

    Sue Keenan of Byron Keenan Funeral Home, 1858 Allen St., said she is waiting to hear what the final cost will be for buses, but said whatever it comes to, the funeral home will pay for it.

    "We will absorb all costs," she said.

    Rafael Ramos, Wenjian LiuNYPD officers Rafael Ramos, left, and Wenjian Liu.  

    Joseph Gentile, president of the Springfield police patrol officers union, local 364 of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, said bus transit has been arranged, and the 56-seat bus will be filled to capacity.

    There will be 40 members of the Springfield police present, and the remainder will be officers from area departments, he said.

    Ramos was gunned down with his partner, Wenjian Liu, on Saturday in New York as they sat in their squad car. The man who ambushed them later committed suicide.

    Keenan, the wife of Springfield Police Lt. Brian Keenan, said when she heard local police were planning to attend the funeral, she felt as if she should do something.

    "Any one of us would do it. Right?" she said. "I just think it's the right thing to do."

    She said she made up her mind on Christmas Eve to pay the costs.

    "I felt strongly about it, and when I feel strongly about something, I go from there," she said.

    Keenan said she felt it was important to show her support to the brotherhood of police officers, and to their families, during a tragedy.

    Several thousand police officers from around the country are expected to be present for Ramos' funeral. Funeral services for Liu are still pending.

    Gentile said the union was pleased to be contacted by Keenan with her offer.

    "We are extremely appreciative. Anytime anyone steps up to help out the police, we appreciate it," he said.

    Obituaries today: James Kelly was chef at Delaney House in Holyoke

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    Obituaries from The Republican.

     
    122714-james-kelly.jpgJames Kelly 

    James R. Kelly, 24, of Holyoke, passed away on Thursday. He was born in Holyoke, and graduated from Dean Technical High School and Holyoke Community College. He was employed as a chef at the Delaney House Restaurant and Banquet Facility in Holyoke.

    To view all obituaries from The Republican:
    » Click here

    Elderly couple hit by car while walking to pizza shop in Fairfield, Conn.

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    James and Jeannette Stelato were walking to a pizza shop Friday night when they were struck by the vehicle on Commerce Street.

    FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) -- Police are investigating after an elderly couple was hit by a car while crossing a street in Fairfield.

    James and Jeannette Stelato were walking to a pizza shop Friday night when they were struck by the vehicle on Commerce Street. They were brought to a hospital and are expected to recover from their injuries. Their precise ages were not immediately available.

    WTNH-TV reports the driver of the car was also hospitalized after the accident. Police did not immediately say if the driver would face charges.

    Police are asking anyone who might have witnessed the accident to call the department.

    2014: Oddities across New England

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    There was no shortage of weirdness involving other species, too, including Homo sapiens.

    BOSTON (AP) -- Pigs nearly managed to fly in Connecticut, terrorized hikers in Maine and drew a police response with squeals that turned out to be X-rated. It was the Chinese year of the horse, but porkers hogged the headlines in New England in 2014.

    There was no shortage of weirdness involving other species, too, including Homo sapiens. Here's your guide to some of the region's goofiest stories from the past 12 months:


    HERE, PIGGY PIGGY

    U.S. Airways ordered a leashed pig off a plane at Connecticut's Bradley International Airport after the crew decided it was disruptive. Its owner had tethered it to her armrest when it relieved itself while running back and forth. Meanwhile, in Maine, an 80-pound runaway domestic pig chased children and adults on a walking trail before it could be captured. And officers responding to reports of screaming at a home found an amorous boar squealing with joy after he'd been placed in a pen with five sows in heat.

    HUMAN'S RACE

    A candidate who legally changed his name to human -- with a lowercase H -- lost his bid to run for office in New Hampshire. The would-be legislator formerly known as David Montenegro lost in the primary, cutting short his campaign to make the state House of Representatives just a little more human.


    HIGH-CALIBER TATTOO

    A Maine man caused a stir when he ordered a tree removal crew off his property and they told police he had a gun. It turned out to be a realistic-looking tattoo of a handgun, inked on his belly to appear as though a weapon were tucked into his waistband. When he was arrested in a separate incident a few months later, he was packing the real thing.

    TIGHTY WHITIES

    "Sleepwalker," a lifelike sculpture of a man in an eyes-closed, zombie-like trance and wearing nothing but underpants, drew a mixed reaction from the women of Wellesley College. Some students called it threatening and demanded its removal from campus; others posed with it for selfies. Vandals eventually defaced it with yellow paint.


    ARMED WITH A SPUD

    Providence police arrested a man who allegedly wielded a potato during a robbery attempt. Authorities said the suspect used the spud to pretend he had a gun when he demanded money from a convenience store and a dry cleaner. The convenience store manager chased him off with a baseball bat, and a dry cleaner employee gave him a fake $20 from a decoy register.


    WHO'S YOUR DADDY?

    A Connecticut woman became concerned when she heard someone calling "Daddy" repeatedly near a school. She looked for a child and instead found a large green parrot up in a tree. Firefighters and animal control captured the bird, which they said never stopped saying, "Daddy," "Hello," "What?" and other words.

    USE YAH BLINKAH

    Electronic highway message boards across Massachusetts started admonishing motorists -- also known as drivahs -- to "Use Yah Blinkah." That's Boston-speak for blinker, otherwise known as a turn signal. The message was among several chosen in a state contest. Other winnahs included: "Make yah Ma proud, wear yah seatbelt;" and "Put down the phone! Your LOLs and OMGs can wait."

    DOGGONE DOG

    A pet psychic, a dozen volunteers, traps and bacon couldn't retrieve this golden retriever. Three-year-old Murphy ran off after he was spooked by a car accident in a mountainous corner of Vermont, eluding pursuers for months despite numerous sightings, including some captured on camera.

    LOCATION, LOCATION

    Talk about a lot of d'oh! A Rhode Island developer who mistakenly built a $1.8 million waterfront house on parkland in Narragansett was ordered to remove it. Four Twenty Corp. began building the home in 2009 but didn't discover the error until it tried to sell it in 2011. The company argued it shouldn't be penalized for an innocent surveying mistake.

    SPACED-OUT SPEAKER

    Rick Mastracchio delivered the commencement address at his alma mater, the University of Connecticut, and his remarks were out of this world. The astronaut recorded the speech from the International Space Station, and it was shown on video boards at UConn's Gampel Pavilion to 5,000 people, including more than 400 graduating seniors.

    North Korea hurls racial slur at Obama amid Sony hacking, Internet outage controversies

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    North Korea blamed its recent Internet outage on the United States on Saturday and hurled racially charged insults at President Barack Obama over the hacking row involving the movie "The Interview."

    SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea blamed its recent Internet outage on the United States on Saturday and hurled racially charged insults at President Barack Obama over the hacking row involving the movie "The Interview."

    North Korea's powerful National Defense Commission, which is headed by country leader Kim Jong Un and is the nation's top governing body, said Obama was behind the release of the comedy that depicts Kim's assassination. The commission described the movie as illegal, dishonest and reactionary.

    "Obama always goes reckless in words and deeds like a monkey in a tropical forest," an unidentified spokesman at the commission's Policy Department said in a statement carried by the country's official Korean Central News Agency.

    The White House's National Security Council declined to comment Saturday.

    North Korea has denied involvement in a crippling cyberattack on Sony Pictures but has expressed fury over the comedy. Sony Pictures initially called off the release of the film, citing threats of terror attacks against U.S. movie theaters. Obama criticized Sony's decision, and the movie opened this past week.

    It wasn't the first time North Korea has used crude insults against Obama and other top U.S. and South Korean officials. Earlier this year, North Korea called U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry a wolf with a "hideous" lantern jaw and South Korean President Park Geun-hye a prostitute. In May, the North's official news agency published a dispatch saying Obama has the "shape of a monkey."

    A State Department spokeswoman at the time called the North Korean dispatch "offensive and ridiculous and absurd."

    In the latest incident, the North Korean defense commission also blamed Washington for intermittent outages of North Korean websites this past week. The outages happened after Obama blamed the Sony hack on North Korea and promised to respond "in a place and time and manner that we choose."

    The U.S. government has declined to say whether it was behind the Internet shutdown in North Korea.

    According to the North Korean commission's spokesman, "the U.S., a big country, started disturbing the Internet operation of major media of the DPRK, not knowing shame like children playing tag." DPRK refers to the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

    The commission said the movie was the result of a hostile U.S. policy toward North Korea, and threatened the U.S. with unspecified consequences.

    North Korea and the U.S. remain technically in a state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. The rivals also are locked in an international standoff over North Korea's nuclear and missile programs and its alleged human rights abuses.

    A United Nations commission accuses North Korea of a wide array of crimes against humanity, including murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment and rape.

    The U.S. stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea as deterrence against North Korean aggression.

    President Barack Obama entering twilight of maybes

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    Democrats already are checking out Obama's potential successors. Emboldened Republicans are trying to push aside his agenda in favor of their own.

    WASHINGTON -- It was supposed to be a joke. "Are you still president?" comedian Stephen Colbert asked Barack Obama earlier this month.

    But the question seemed to speak to growing weariness with the president and skepticism that anything will change in Washington during his final two years in office. Democrats already are checking out Obama's potential successors. Emboldened Republicans are trying to push aside his agenda in favor of their own.

    At times this year, Obama seemed ready to move on as well. He rebelled against the White House security "bubble," telling his Secret Service detail to give him more space. He chafed at being sidelined by his party during midterm elections and having to adjust his agenda to fit the political interests of vulnerable Democrats who lost anyway.

    Yet the election that was a disaster for the president's party may have had a rejuvenating effect on Obama. The morning after the midterms, Obama told senior aides, "If I see you moping, you will answer to me."

    People close to Obama say he is energized at not having to worry about helping -- or hurting -- Democrats in another congressional election on his watch. He has become more comfortable with his executive powers, moving unilaterally on immigration, Internet neutrality and climate change in the last two months. And he sees legacy-building opportunities on the international stage, from an elusive nuclear deal with Iran to normalizing relations with Cuba after a half-century freeze.

    "He gained some clarity for the next two years that is liberating," said Jay Carney, who served as Obama's press secretary until this spring. "He doesn't have as much responsibility for others."

    Still, pillars of Obama's second-term agenda -- gun control, raising the federal minimum wage, universal pre-school-- seem destined to stand unfulfilled. Wrapping up the Iraq and Afghanistan wars isn't turning out to be nearly the tidy success story Obama once envisioned. Even supporters say one of the president's top remaining priorities may have to be simply preventing Republicans from dismantling his earlier accomplishments, including the health care law.

    The Yes-We-Can man is entering a twilight of maybes, his presidency still driven by high ambitions but his power to achieve them running out.

    ___

    Before the midterm election results arrived, Obama's advisers say, the president realized he would finish his presidency with Republicans running Capitol Hill.

    Whatever message the Democrats' defeat sent about the president's own standing, Obama concluded the status quo meant more gridlock.

    Indeed, 2014 had been another year of fits and starts for a White House that has struggled to find its footing in Obama's second term.

    The feeble HealthCare.gov website stabilized, but scandal enveloped the Department of Veterans Affairs. Syria got rid of its chemical weapons, but a violent extremist group pulled the U.S. back into military conflict in the Middle East. The unemployment rate fell, but so did Obama's approval ratings -- to the lowest levels of his presidency, worse than the second-term averages for most recent presidents.

    "I don't care who you are, after eight years or six years of the presidency, your influence has eroded," said Robert Dallek, a historian who has met periodically with Obama. "Even someone like Eisenhower or Reagan, you just can't sustain it."

    While White House officials acknowledge the presidency has challenges in its waning years, they say recent economic gains and executive actions on immigration and climate change show Obama still can exert considerable influence.

    "This year the president's policy successes vastly outstripped his political successes," said Dan Pfeiffer, a senior White House adviser.

    Nearly two dozen White House officials, former Obama aides, presidential historians and political analysts discussed Obama's standing as he closes his sixth year in office, some on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss their conversations with the president or his top advisers.

    For much of the year, Obama appeared to struggle with the realization that his political standing had slipped.

    He publicly complained about criticism of his foreign policy by pundits in Washington and New York (his private gripes were more colorful and profane). Despite Democratic pleas to stay out of November's elections, he said his policies were indeed on the ballot. He desperately sought to break free of the confines of the White House.

    One afternoon in June, he joined his chief of staff in making an impromptu Starbucks run on foot, leaving aides and reporters sprinting to catch up.

    "Bear on the loose," the president's advisers jokingly said. They said it was good for his mood to break free from the bubble.

    But there were also real concerns in the West Wing about his behavior. Not only was he trying to escape the ever-present press, but Obama was ordering his Secret Service detail to keep its distance.

    In 2014, Obama also went back to war in the Middle East. Less than three years after the last American troops left Iraq, Obama sent U.S. forces back to train and assist the country's security forces in fighting Islamic State extremists. By fall, the U.S. was launching airstrikes against the militants in Iraq and Syria.

    As he announced the strikes, Obama promised Americans this time would be different from the long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. No U.S. combat troops would on the ground, he said.

    But he seemed to be trying to reassure himself as much as anyone else.

    In public and in private, Obama appears to understand his presidency may end on a war footing. He's been reading "Redeployment," a collection of short stories about the Iraq war by former Marine Phil Klay. Shortly before Christmas, he made an unusual visit to a military base in New Jersey to thank troops and their families -- and pledge to preserve hard-fought military gains abroad.

    ___

    Obama is realistically optimistic about what he can get done over the next two years, advisers say. He wants to try tax reform and sees opportunities to accelerate growth and job creation with the economy on firmer footing. Aides have reached out to historians and political scientists to solicit ideas for Obama's next State of the Union address, including fresh ways to address income inequality.

    "They have reasonable expectations," said Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam, who spoke with White House aides about income inequality before the election. "It is the sixth year, after all."

    A big question hanging over the White House is how much Obama, whose charisma once charmed the world, can still shape the national debate.

    "There's almost always a point of diminishing returns on a president's words," said Jeff Shesol, a former presidential speechwriter for Bill Clinton.

    Indeed, the president is forging ahead as something of an isolated figure.

    December's debate over keeping money flowing to the government showed Democrats in Congress won't hesitate to go their own way. In recent weeks, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York has questioned the timing of Obama's 2010 health care law. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi pronounced herself "enormously disappointed" that Obama embraced a spending bill she saw as a GOP attempt at blackmail. And Sen. Bob Menendez, the outgoing Senate Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, began work with Republicans on new penalties against Iran -- against Obama's wishes.

    Inside the White House, Obama's tight inner circle of loyal advisers keeps shrinking.

    The trio of political gurus who helped run his presidential campaigns -- David Axelrod, Robert Gibbs and David Plouffe -- have long since moved on. As has onetime chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, now the mayor of Chicago. Other longtime aides, including Pfeiffer and deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes, are said to be eyeing exits. Bringing in fresh talent is becoming a greater challenge. Obama may have to navigate this challenging phase of his presidency without a full stable of trusted advisers with whom he's comfortable.

    Many Democratic operatives are also more interested in spots on Hillary Rodham Clinton's potential presidential campaign than joining an administration entering its twilight. In some instances, it has been hard for the White House to get prominent Democrats to publicly back Obama's policy decisions, particularly on foreign affairs, until they know Clinton's position. Clinton is widely expected to announce a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

    Obama is trying to branch out. He started keeping his version of a bucket list: the names of authors, business leaders, innovators and others he wants to bring to the White House for a private lunch or dinner. Some who have visited: inventor and business tycoon Elon Musk, historian Doris Kearns Goodwin and AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, a major Republican donor.

    Obama has opened up his social circle beyond a core group of friends from Chicago and his childhood in Hawaii.

    He's become close to former NBA basketball player Alonzo Mourning, who has hosted fundraisers for Obama's presidential campaign. Former football player Ahmad Rashad, who dated senior presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett earlier this year, worked his way into the president's golf outings and joined the first family on vacation in the Florida Keys and Martha's Vineyard.

    ESPN host Michael Wilbon, an occasional golf partner, said Obama displayed an astounding "ability to compartmentalize" amid the past year's frustrations.

    "A lot of successful people have to have that, but not like the president," Wilbon said.

    Obama admits to being distracted at times. Asked how much sports he watches on TV, the president told ESPN this month, "There are times I will admit at night, when I've got a really fat briefing book, where I might have the game on with the sound off."

    ___

    Less than halfway through his presidency, Obama reflected on how being in office had left him "all dinged up."

    The vaunted "hope" posters from his 2008 campaign are "all dog-eared and faded," he said at a fundraiser three years later.

    He was searching for ways to re-create the energy of 2008. Heading into his final two years in the White House, that challenge is greater.

    While Obama and his team talk a good game about opportunities ahead, they've been here before: Plunging into a new year full of energy and ideas, only to run smack into Washington gridlock.

    Signs that Obama's presidency is closing are all around.

    Within weeks, the race to replace him will begin in earnest. Democrats are lining up to endorse Clinton, though she's yet to declare her candidacy.

    By spring, a committee of Obama friends and advisers will announce which city will host his presidential library. Honolulu, Chicago and New York are in contention.

    People close to Obama say he is weighing what he will do when he leaves the White House at the relatively young age of 55. He is studying the paths his predecessors have taken and has expressed interest in working on both domestic and international issues. He is considering ways to expand mentoring programs he started for young black men in the U.S. and emerging leaders in Africa and Asia.

    "He's going to have a very unique opportunity and ability to reach young people not only here but in other countries," said Jon Favreau, Obama's longtime speechwriter who left the White House last year.

    It is less clear where Obama and his family will go after their time in the White House ends. They own a red-brick, Georgian-style home in Kenwood, a neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. Their oldest daughter, Malia, graduates from high school soon and has been looking at colleges in California. The president is said to be drawn to the idea that he could blend in more easily in bustling New York.

    Obama is already imagining life with fewer restrictions.

    Asked in a New Yorker interview earlier this year whether he would want to be a judge, Obama said that sounded a bit "too monastic."

    "Particularly after having spent six years and what will be eight years in this bubble, I think I need to get outside a little bit more."


    Hearing set on regulations for ride-sharing companies like Uber, Lyft

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    Fans and critics of popular ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft will get a chance to weigh in on proposed regulations that could govern how the firms operate in Massachusetts.

    BOSTON (AP) — Fans and critics of popular ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft will get a chance to weigh in on proposed regulations that could govern how the firms operate in Massachusetts.

    Gov. Deval Patrick wants to give the state Department of Public Utilities the power to regulate the activity.

    The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday morning at the state transportation building in Boston before the Department of Transportation and Registry of Motor Vehicles.

    The proposed regulations would require the companies to obtain certificates to operate, conduct criminal background checks on drivers and have liability insurance.

    A union representing cab drivers have argued that the changes would do little to help the taxi industry, which claims the ride-sharing firms operate illegally.

    Uber-Boston has issued a statement in support of the proposal.

    Boston strikes deal with teacher's union to extend school day by 40 minutes

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    BOSTON — Some public school students in Boston will have to wait another 40 minutes before they are saved by the bell now that the city has struck a deal with teachers to extend the school day. The new deal between Boston Public Schools and the Boston Teacher's Union will extend the school day 40 minutes at 60 select elementary and middle schools around the city affecting approximately 23,000 students. Education officials calculated that the additional 40 minutes amounts to giving the students another month of instruction time for students. The new plan will be implemented over the course of three starting with just 20 schools next fall. “We know that when our students have more time to learn, they have a better chance of succeeding,” said Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh in a statement. The new proposal still needs to be approved by a vote of the rank and file members of the Boston Teachers Union but their president sounded optimistic about its passage. "The school day extension will help our students by offering well-planned, school-based instruction that promotes teaching and learning while allowing for increased participation in a variety of under-served subject areas, such as art, music, drama and foreign language,” said BTU President Richard Stutman. Stutman called the process that brought about the proposed changes "collaborative" and said that the union was pleased with how it was included in the process. “I thank the Boston Teachers Union and the Boston Public Schools for their partnership in helping us reach this milestone that will strengthen our education system and help us close the achievement gap so we can give all of our young people the opportunity to succeed.” Teachers employed at the 60 schools will receive an annual stipend of $4,464 under the new plan if it is approved. The stipend is roughly 20 percent below their contractual hourly rate. The extend school day proposal is expected to cost the city an additional $12.5 million annually when it implemented at all 60 schools in the fall of 2017. "When connected to our early hiring, teacher diversity and human capital initiatives, which include effective evaluations tied to professional development, a longer school day will become a key strategy to eliminate achievement and opportunity gaps for students throughout the district," said Michael O'Neill, Chair of the Boston School Committee. Interim Boston Schools Superintendent John McDonough said the agreement transforms 'the definition of the 'school day.'"

    BOSTON -- Some public school students in Boston will have to wait another 40 minutes before they are saved by the bell now that the city has struck a deal with teachers to extend the school day.

    The new deal between Boston Public Schools and the Boston Teacher's Union will extend the school day 40 minutes at 60 select elementary and middle schools around the city affecting approximately 23,000 students. Education officials calculated that the additional 40 minutes amounts to giving the students another month of instruction time for students.

    The new plan will be implemented over the course of three starting with just 20 schools next fall.

    "We know that when our students have more time to learn, they have a better chance of succeeding," said Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh in a statement.

    The new proposal still needs to be approved by a vote of the rank and file members of the Boston Teachers Union but their president sounded optimistic about its passage.

    "The school day extension will help our students by offering well-planned, school-based instruction that promotes teaching and learning while allowing for increased participation in a variety of under-served subject areas, such as art, music, drama and foreign language," said BTU President Richard Stutman.

    Stutman called the process that brought about the proposed changes "collaborative" and said that the union was pleased with how it was included in the process.

    "I thank the Boston Teachers Union and the Boston Public Schools for their partnership in helping us reach this milestone that will strengthen our education system and help us close the achievement gap so we can give all of our young people the opportunity to succeed."

    Teachers employed at the 60 schools will receive an annual stipend of $4,464 under the new plan if it is approved. The stipend is roughly 20 percent below their contractual hourly rate. The extend school day proposal is expected to cost the city an additional $12.5 million annually when it implemented at all 60 schools in the fall of 2017.


    "When connected to our early hiring, teacher diversity and human capital initiatives, which include effective evaluations tied to professional development, a longer school day will become a key strategy to eliminate achievement and opportunity gaps for students throughout the district," said Michael O'Neill, Chair of the Boston School Committee.

    Interim Boston Schools Superintendent John McDonough said the agreement transforms 'the definition of the 'school day.'"

    Market Basket ends four-percent discount

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    The 4 percent discount that Market Basket shoppers enjoyed on most purchases for the past year is coming to an end.

    BOSTON -- The 4 percent discount that Market Basket shoppers enjoyed on most purchases for the past year is coming to an end.

    The New England supermarket chain introduced the discount in January in response to high energy costs and cutbacks in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

    Company officials tell The Boston Globe the plan was always to phase out the discount, which ends on Saturday.

    A family feud over the company's future led to a worker revolt and customer boycotts last summer. It ended with Arthur T. Demoulas gaining control from his cousin, Arthur S. Demoulas.

    While some customers hoped the discount would continue, others say Market Basket still offers lower prices than many competitors.

    The company operates more than 70 stores in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.

    Revere attorneys make latest challenge to stop planned Wynn casino in Everett

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    The city that lost out on the lone eastern Massachusetts resort casino license fired another salvo challenging the legitimacy and character of the license winners.

    BOSTON -- The city that lost out on the lone eastern Massachusetts resort casino license fired another salvo challenging the legitimacy and character of the license winners.

    Revere lawyers submitted a memorandum of law in mid-December to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission that claims Wynn officials failed to disclose that they were being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service in August for possible involvement in money laundering.

    The memo and subsequent letters were obtained by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly and can be viewed here.

    The attorneys for Revere claim that Wynn failed to perform due diligence by notifying the commission of the IRS investigation until after media reports of the situation.

    Wynn representatives and the MGC declined to comment on the matter to MLW.

    The commission began an investigation into the matter in early December.

    Revere and Suffolk Downs employees sued the commission in October after they awarded the license to Wynn.

    US embassy in Cuba reopening as relations normalize with communist nation

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    The gleaming U.S. Interests Section suddenly is poised to become an even more important presence in Cuba as the two countries negotiate the first phase of their historic detente -- transforming the complex into a full embassy that would reflect the Obama administration's hopes of new influence on the communist island.

    HAVANA -- A half-century after Washington severed relations with Cuba, the United States' seven-story mission looms over Havana's seaside Malecon boulevard as the largest diplomatic outpost in the country.

    Cuban guards stand at close intervals on the street outside, and islanders line up by the thousands each year for a shot at a coveted visa.

    The gleaming U.S. Interests Section suddenly is poised to become an even more important presence in Cuba as the two countries negotiate the first phase of their historic detente -- transforming the complex into a full embassy that would reflect the Obama administration's hopes of new influence on the communist island.

    Roberta Jacobson, assistant U.S. secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, will be the highest known U.S. administration official to visit in decades when she comes next month for annual talks on migration that will now also focus on the details of re-establishing full diplomatic relations.

    The discussions are expected to cover expanding staffing in the two countries' interests sections and letting diplomats travel outside their respective capitals without having to ask permission.

    Also part of the reopening of the embassy: symbolic measures such as raising the American flag on the Malecon.

    "Opening an embassy is a symbolic gesture, but symbols are really important," John Caulfield, who was Interests Section chief from 2011 to 2014, said by phone from Jacksonville, Florida, where he retired.

    "This is a pretty powerful symbol by our president that we want to have a more normal relationship with Cuba despite the fact that we have the obvious differences," he added.

    Cuba's interests section is a stately manor in Washington's Adams Morgan neighborhood. It, too, stands to become an embassy.

    Diplomats say privately that Washington hopes to boost staffing in Havana, currently at about 50 Americans and 300 Cuban workers, as more American travelers and trade delegates are expected to come here under new rules to be set by the White House softening the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba.

    An agreement could also ease or scrap rules that require U.S. diplomats to channel all requests through Cuba's Foreign Ministry; the diplomats would be able to deal directly with at least some other branches of government.

    The U.S. Interests Section has often been a flashpoint for conflict, and its decades of hybrid status reflect the dysfunctional relationship between the two deeply intertwined countries.

    The building first opened as an embassy in 1953, the same year Fidel Castro launched an ill-fated assault on a barracks that is considered the onset of the Cuban Revolution.

    Eight years later, with Castro then in power, the countries broke ties and Switzerland stepped in to safeguard both the embassy and the ambassador's residence, a sprawling, immaculately groomed estate in Havana's finest neighborhood.

    After the break, Washington was without a presence in Cuba until 1977, when the interests sections were opened under President Jimmy Carter. The missions technically operate under the aegis of the "protecting power" Switzerland.

    Cuba later built the adjacent "Anti-Imperialist Plaza," which has hosted nationalist rallies where Castro gave long speeches railing against Washington, and concerts demanding the return of the Cuban intelligence agents whom the U.S. freed last week as part of the detente. Huge marches streamed past the Interests Section in 2000 to demand the return of the young Cuban rafter Elian Gonzalez.

    On the wall of a conference room in the mission hangs the bronze head of an eagle that topped the nearby USS Maine monument until it was ripped down in a 1961 anti-Yankee protest following the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. The wings and body sit in a musty Cuban museum storage room awaiting a possible reunion with the head on the day that Havana and Washington become friends.

    In 2006, U.S. diplomats abruptly installed an electronic billboard that scrolled messages extolling democracy and human rights to Cubans on the street below. An outraged Cuban government erected dozens of black flags to obscure the signs.

    "The consequence of that was, for years, they did not allow us to import lightbulbs," Caulfield recalled with a chuckle.

    The U.S. Interests Section is closely watched by cameras and guards on both sides, a function of both the longtime tensions and general increased security at American diplomatic missions following 9/11. Cuban police make pedestrians cross the street to use another sidewalk, and no parking is allowed.

    Some neighbors say they love living nearby: Nobody ever gets robbed, and the employees and visa-seekers support local businesses that were allowed to open under President Raul Castro's economic reforms of recent years.

    "Because the whole area is so well guarded, it's very safe," said Pedro Hernandez, 73, who runs a modest snack bar out of his home. "There are no problems with crime of any kind, and that's very good for us."

    American diplomats say low-level harassment was routine for many years, as Cuba restricted their movements and activities and dragged its feet on permission to do standard maintenance. Cuban state media routinely portrayed the building as a den of spies.

    Both sides gradually moved toward a remarkably civil relationship in recent years. The electronic sign came down in 2009, as did the black flags -- though they still fly on special occasions. The countries started granting diplomatic travel permission more easily. Envoys exchanged home phone numbers and even dined together occasionally. Long-stalled talks on migration and restoring mail service resumed.

    Once details of the new diplomatic relationship are worked, actually turning the mission into an embassy requires little more than changing a few signs and ordering a new letterhead, experts said.

    "A few strokes of the pen and that's it," said Wayne Smith, who was a junior diplomat in Cuba when relations were severed in 1961 and returned to head the Interests Section in the late 1970s.

    Some who served in the U.S. Interests Section are awaiting the change with a mixture of excitement and wistfulness at not being here for the transition.

    "I would have loved to be there to raise that flag," Caulfield said.

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