Michael Denning, 33, of Peabody, was charged in federal court in Boston with mail fraud and filing false tax returns in connection with a multi-year scheme to purchase extra computer equipment for his company, then sell those items online for a profit, according to U.S. prosecutors.

BOSTON — An official at a South-Boston based media technology firm is accused of stealing more than $1 million worth of iPads and other Apple products from his employer.

Michael S. Denning, 33, of Peabody, was charged Monday in U.S. District Court in Boston with mail fraud and filing false tax returns in connection with a scheme to buy extra computer equipment for his employer, then sell those items online for pure profit, according to federal prosecutors.

Denning was responsible for purchasing iPads, computer equipment, software, and other technology-based products for employees of the company, which authorities declined to name.

However, shortly after Denning was hired in 2010, he began ordering extra Apple computer equipment – primarily iPads – from a wholesale computer vendor. He would then intercept the shipments and sell the high-tech equipment for cash on eBay and Craigslist, according to authorities.

Prosecutors claim Denning generated and submitted fraudulent invoices so that his company would pay the wholesale vendor. He would allegedly change invoice descriptions to reflect items that were legitimately purchased for the company, including software licenses, toner cartridges, computer monitors and other items.

By the end of 2013, Denning, in his capacity as director of technical and development operations, had ordered nearly $1 million in Apple computer equipment through this fraudulent process, according to prosecutors. Only a handful of the purchases were legitimate, officials said.

Denning is also accused of filing false tax returns for listing his sole source of income as the salary he drew from the technology company.

Mail fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, while filing a false tax return is punishable by up to three years in prison. Both crimes also come with hefty fines and multi-year probation sentences.

The case is being prosecuted by Amy Harman Burkart, a member of U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz's Cybercrime Unit.

The holdup was reported at Subway, a sandwich shop located at 550 Sumner Ave.

SPRINGFIELD — Police were investigating an armed robbery reported at 9:32 p.m. Monday at a restaurant in the city's Forest Park neighborhood.

Patrol units responded to Subway, the sandwich shop at 550 Sumner Ave. near The X, for a report of a man who robbed the business with a small, black handgun.

Officers were told to "play the area" for the suspect, who was described as a Hispanic man wearing a gray beanie and a black jacket and jeans.

Authorities didn't indicate if money or merchandise was taken during the holdup.

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the Springfield Police Detective Bureau at 413-787-6355.

MAP showing approximate location of armed robbery in Forest Park neighborhood:

Belchertown's conservation administrator, LeeAnne Connolly told the board the family agreed to the idea, and that the town would pay $1

BELCHERTOWN - Selectmen on Monday thanked the Soja household for allowing the town to build a walking trail and parking area on a family-owned 23-acre parcel that, with state approval, will be subject to a permanent conservation restriction.

Belchertown's conservation administrator, LeeAnne Connolly told the board the family agreed to the idea, and that the town would pay $1.

She said the land on George Hannum Road is adjacent to similarly protected real estate, and will provide the community additional passive recreation opportunities.

"It's a land gift for a dollar," Connolly said. "We are not buying the land; we are buying the development rights." She said the agricultural land also includes views of a scenic marsh.

Elizabeth Rairigh of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Jim Russell photo 

In other business, town administrator Gary Brougham said the state will release $1 million related to remediation work at the former Belchertown State School.

He said Associated Building Wreckers of Springfield won the bid to demolish a half dozen buildings on the property, including the old hospital and cottages.

The work is part of the process to prepare the land for future economic development. The selectmen-appointed Belchertown Economic Development Industrial Corporation owns the land.

Belchertown senior center director Bill Korzenowski Jim Russell photo 

In another matter, the board convened a public hearing on a community block grant application that would include $504,000 for housing rehabilitation for income eligible residents of Belchertown and Hadley.

Elizabeth Rairigh of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission said the total requested for the two communities is $900,000. The PVPC would administer the grant.

She said the money would also fund social service projects, including $10,000 for the Belchertown Senior Center's "Med-Ride Transportation" program.

"This will be an excellent way to know for sure we have funding," the town's senior center director, Bill Korzenowski said.

Many people don't know they can be fined up to $500 if they let their vehicle idle for more than five minutes.

Christopher LaFrance, 25, of Williamstown, has denied charges that he brought a loaded gun onto the campus of a North Adams college while he was intoxicated.

PITTSFIELD — A Williamstown resident denied various weapons charges, including one count of carrying a gun on school grounds while intoxicated, at his arraignment Monday in a Pittsfield courtroom.

Berkshire Superior Court Judge Judge John A. Agostini released 25-year-old Christopher M. LaFrance on personal recognizance, ordering the defendant to undergo drug testing and to refrain from illegal drug use and possessing any guns while awaiting trial. Agostini also ordered LaFrance to comply with VA outpatient clinic recommendations and to stay away from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

LaFrance was intoxicated when he brought a loaded gun onto the North Adams campus on Oct. 28, 2014, causing a disturbance and resisting arrest, according to police and prosecutors. He was found with a Smith & Wesson M&P .40-caliber handgun, with a bullet in the chamber, and a total of 25 rounds of ammunition, authorities said.

LaFrance was licensed to carry the weapon, but it is illegal to possess any firearm on school grounds, The Berkshire Eagle reported following his October arrest.

The investigation was conducted by members of the MCLA Police Department and Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the office of Berkshire District Attorney David F. Capeless.

From peak to trough, the Dow Jones industrial average swung 425 points, ending down 27.

By STEVE ROTHWELL

NEW YORK — Stocks swung from gains to losses and almost back again on Tuesday.

The U.S. market opened the day higher, getting a boost from encouraging news on hiring and small business confidence. The market then swooned in the afternoon as oil closed lower. The pendulum then swung back late in the day as oil gained in after-hours trading and stocks ended with small losses.

From peak to trough, the Dow Jones industrial average swung 425 points.

Stocks are having a jumpy start to the year as investors grapple with the potential impact of oil's plunge. The outlook for global growth also remains fuzzy as the U.S. recovery continues, but economies in Europe and Asia struggle.

Even though stock market volatility has picked up at the start of the year, investors should remain calm, said Janet Dougherty, a global investment specialist in Chicago at JPMorgan private bank.

"You have to remember that we've been through an extended period where there wasn't a lot of volatility in the equity markets, and now we're just getting back to normalized levels," Dougherty said.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index eased 5.23 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,023.03. The Dow fell 27.16 points, or 0.15 percent, to 17,613.68. The Nasdaq composite slipped 3.21 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 4,661.50.

Oil fell Tuesday after the energy minister for the United Arab Emirates said Tuesday there are no plans for OPEC to curb production to shore up falling crude prices. The price of oil has slumped almost 60 percent since last June as traders bet that the supply glut will persist.

Benchmark U.S. crude fell 18 cents to close at $45.89 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, fell 84 cents to close at $46.59 in London.

"At a certain point oil has got to find a bottom," said Jeffrey Carbone, a partner at Cornerstone, a wealth manager. "But for that to happen, somebody is going to have to flinch and cut production."

While falling oil prices are good for consumers, putting more money in their pockets, they mean lower earnings for energy companies. That can also have a knock-on effect in areas of the country where jobs are dependent on oil production. Some investors are also worried that the slump in prices is signaling a weakening global economy.

Still, many analysts say that, on balance, lower oil prices will turn out to be a boon to the overall economy.

"The positive impact from consumers having more money to spend on other things, and the associated hiring elsewhere...will likely more than offset the slowdown, or contraction, in the oil industry," said Kate Warne, investment strategist at Edward Jones.

The market also took a hit after the CEO of KB Homes said that his company was experiencing soft demand in some markets. The comments caused the stock to plunge, dragging other homebuilders lower.

KB Home ended the day down $2.70, or 16.3 percent, at $13.87. The Standard & Poor's home building index dropped 3 percent.

The market's initial rise came after a survey by the U.S. Labor Department showed that employers advertised the most job openings in nearly 14 years in November. That suggests businesses are determined to keep adding staff because they are confident that strong economic growth will create more demand for goods and services.

A second survey also lifted investor spirits by showing that small business showed confidence rose to an 8-year high in December.

Among individual stocks, McGraw Hill Financial, the owner of the Standard & Poor's bond rating company, was the biggest gainer, rising $5.13, or 6 percent, to $90.89. The gains followed reports that the company was close to reaching a $1 billion settlement with the U.S. government for allegedly misleading investors about its ratings of bonds backed by subprime mortgages.

In government bond trading, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.90 percent from 1.91 percent on Monday.

The dollar gained against the euro but dropped against the yen. The euro fell 0.5 percent to $1.1775 and the dollar slipped 0.2 percent to 117.89 Japanese yen.

In metals trading, prices were mixed. Gold rose $1.60, or 0.1 percent, to $1,234.40 an ounce. Silver gained 59 cents, or 3.6 percent, to $17.15 an ounce. Copper fell 8 cents, or 3 percent, to $2.64 a pounds.

In other energy trading:

1. Wholesale gasoline fell 0.6 cent to close at $1.269 a gallon.
2. Heating oil fell 2.1 cents to close at $1.633 a gallon.
3. Natural gas rose 14.8 cents to close at $2.943 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Parents, students ask Amherst officials to delay changes in middle school schedule.

AMHERST - Parents and students expressed concerns about the proposed schedule changes at the middle school next year during public comment period at Tuesday night's Amherst Regional School Committee meeting.

Changes include having six periods instead of eight and changes in the arts and language schedule, reducing the frequency of those classes.

Lori Anastasia opposes the reduction in periods as well as the push to finalize the recommendation by Feb. 1. "I'm concerned it's such a radical change," she said. Reducing the number of classes will cut down on transition time, she said. "I think movement is great for kids. I don't' see any rationale."

Amy Sweeting said, "I second everything she said." With reduced periods, class time would increase by 11 minutes. "I don't think teachers are trained in the workshop model."

She also said having an advisory in the middle of the day "is not a good use of time."

Eighth grade students Timothy Demling and Samuel Brainin both spoke against the changes even though the changes won't affect them next year when they move to the high school.

The students collected signatures of 250 students and parents opposed to the changes.

Both recommended that the committee delay the decision.

Demling said he loves Latin and loves music and wouldn't want to have to choose between the two. Music would be every other day and study halls would be eliminated, among the changes.

Brainin said while some students don't like study halls, for some "it's the only time in the day when kids can complete their homework."

Resident David Schneider said the proposed changes "contain a number of good ideas," but he said, "many members of the community think it feels rushed." He urged the committee to recommend that any changes be put off for a year. The proposal now "serves as a good place to begin discussions."

School Committee chairman Trevor Baptiste said he took notes on concerns.

One reason for the change is to increase the time of four core subjects as enrollment declines.

Public defender Miriam Conrad wrote in a court motion that the media and others have drawn parallels between the terrorist attacks in Paris and in Boston, and those parallels could influence potential jurors.

BOSTON — Defense attorneys for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the man accused of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, are asking a judge to suspend jury selection for a month because of the recent terrorist attacks in France.

Public defender Miriam Conrad wrote in a court motion that the media and others have drawn parallels between the terrorist attacks in Paris and in Boston, and those parallels could influence potential jurors.

Conrad wrote that even as the judge is trying to seat an impartial jury, "the Boston bombings are being newly placed at the center of a grim global drama."

Last week, two Muslim brothers murdered 12 people at the office of the weekly satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris, after the newspaper printed caricatures of the Muslim prophet Muhammad. The brothers were killed Friday after holing up in a printing plant with a hostage. Around the same time, a friend of the brothers took hostages at a kosher supermarket in Paris and murdered four of the hostages before being killed by the police.

"Almost immediately after the attacks, the press, politicians, and commentators drew parallels between the French attacks and the Boston Marathon bombing," Conrad wrote.

A story in USA Today, for example, wrote that there were "striking similarities" between the two attacks. The story cited former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis and U.S. Rep. William Keating, a Massachusetts Democrat, and noted that both attacks were allegedly carried out by radicalized brothers; in both cases, a police officer was killed; and in both cases, there was a massive manhunt that brought a major city to a standstill.

"These parallels so widely expressed cannot be lost on potential jurors," Conrad wrote.

Jury selection in the Tsarnaev case started last week in a federal court in Boston and is expected to resume on Thursday.

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced several new education initiatives during his first State of the City speech at Symphony Hall.

BOSTON -- Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced several new education initiatives during his first State of the City speech at Symphony Hall Tuesday.

Walsh announced the creation of a Boston School Building Authority to oversee construction and refurbishment of city schools. The authority will focus on the design to build process as well as the funding process with a specific focus on the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The city, Walsh said, has failed to secure its share of potential school building fund.

The effort by Walsh is the first comprehensive push to rebuild the city's schools in decades.

"When I talk about building great schools --I mean it lterally. Too many of Boston's aging schools don't meet the standards of 21st century learning or come anywhere close," said Walsh.

The city opened a new STEM focused school in Roxbury lat year and is on track to refurbish the Fenway Boston Arts Academy and the Josiah Quincy Upper School in Chinatown.

Select public school students will be able to take advantage of a new public-private college savings program. Boston Public Schools and the EOS Foundation have teamed up to create a pilot Children's Savings Account program available to kindergarten students in three to five city schools. The program aims to assist parents with paying for the high cost of college while simultaneously ensuring that students will have the resources available to them to apply and go to the college of their choice.

The new CSAs are expected to target approximately 1,500 students over the course of three years. Each student will be given $100 to start a savings account for college. Additional options like matched savings and savings incentives will be available to parents as the save.

Walsh announced a partnership with international software powerhouse SAP to help foster STEM education at Charlestown High School and Bunker Hill Community College.

It the wake of the missing funds, Rachel Knickerbocker created her own GoFundMe site, and had raised $10,000 of her $50.000 goal as of Tuesday evening.

The godfather of an Illinois man whose baby was born with a congenital heart defect this summer, apparently is no friend of the family at all.

According to ABC News, Noah Knickerbocker had been waiting for a heart transplant for almost his entire five-month life.

So when a family friend offered to set up a GoFundMe page for them online, the Knickerbocker family of Huntley, Ill., were grateful.

Then, one day, the page disappeared, and apparently, so did the money.

"I went to check the dollar amount, and it told me that ... this page no longer exists," Rachel Knickerbocker, 21, told ABC. "Then, you know, my stomach dropped. So what does that mean?"

She said she logged into Facebook a little while later and saw the man who created the account, her husband's godfather, Ken Wills of Colorado, had posted images of three checks for donations to organizations that helped Noah. At first, she wondered where he got the money.

"Then, it clicked," Knickerbocker told ABC, realizing that the money was from the GoFundMe site.

According to the New York Daily News, the page had raised in $6,500 in donations, which the family planned to use for rent on a new apartment near the Wisconsin's Children Hospital, where Noah is being treated. The family relocated to Milwaukee to be close to the hospital. While they have health insurance to pay for the operation, they quit their jobs so they could be with Noah.

London's DailyMail website reported that the Kickerbockers, who also have a 3-year-old child, moved to the Ronald McDonald House across the street from the hospital.

The Knickerbockers said they took turns pleading with Wills to let them decide how to allocate the money raised in their son's name, but still have not received any commitment from him.

So Rachel Knickerbocker went on Facebook late last year to blast Wills.

"Ken Wills STOLE $6,500 FROM OUR CRITICALLY ILL BABY," the Daily News quoted Kickerbocker as writing.

Rachel Knickerbocker said she and husband, Tyler, discovered that something was wrong with Noah 22 weeks into her pregnancy.

After meeting with a fetal cardiologist, the Kickerbockers learned that Noah was suffering from critical aortic stenosis, a condition that prevents blood flow from the heart into the aorta, leaving the left side of the heart underdeveloped and unable to pump blood into the body, the DailyMail reported.

While Noah was still in the womb, doctors at Boston Children's Hospital performed a procedure called balloon dilation to open his aortic valve in utero. At 12 hours old, Noah had his second balloon dilation, and three days after he was born he was placed on a waiting list for a new heart.

Yesterday, ABC News reported, Noah had his heart transplant.

"We held him and loved him and snuggled him," Sunday night, the night before his operation Tyler Knickerbocker, 23, told ABC. "He was really smiley, in a really good place to go into the transplant."

The surgery began before dawn on Monday, and was finished in about seven hours, Knickerbocker told ABC. But before the parents could see their child, doctors found that Noah had a blood pocket and needed to be opened up again for more surgery. Doctors did not close Noah's chest cavity until Tuesday morning, but the parents got to see him anyway, and Tyler said that his color looked good, even though it was hard to see him with his chest open.

"It's honestly very, very scary," he told ABC. "It's a terrifying thing that we've been going through this since last May. It's been a long, rough road."

Rachel Knickerbocker said she's feeling better now that Noah's chest is closed, but she'll be on edge until Noah is through his critical recovery period.

"We're just happy we got through the transplant successfully," she told ABC. "Now, we just want to get through the recovery successfully."

Meanwhile, Rachel Kickerbocker created a new GoFundMe page, and as of Tuesday evening it had raised more than $10,000 of her $50,000 goal.

Parents can sign up their children for one, two or all three days.

CHICOPEE - The Chicopee Parks and Recreation Department is now registering children for the annual Fun in February vacation program for children ages 5 to 13.

The program, held at Anna Barry School, runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 17 through Feb. 19 and provides gym time, arts and crafts and a field trip each day. Field trips include Rave Cinemas, AMF Bowling, and Interskate 91 South.

Parents can sign their child up for one day, two, or all three days and cost ranges from $30 to $45 daily based on the field trip as well as classification of residency and non-residency. Children who attend must be in kindergarten or higher grades.

Registration can only be done in person at the Parks Department Office on Front Street and must be done before the program starts. It is a first come-first paid program which has a limited number of openings for enrollment.

For more information, contact Dan Woodill at the Parks Department at 594-3481 ext. 105 or via email at dwoodill@chicopeema.gov.

Noting the department hired 501 social workers since last January, two legislative committees have determined that manageable caseloads top the list of agenda items for the agency charged with protecting children from abuse and neglect.

By ANDY METZGER

BOSTON — Noting the department hired 501 social workers since last January, two legislative committees have determined that manageable caseloads top the list of agenda items for the agency charged with protecting children from abuse and neglect.

The lawmakers credited the Department of Children and Families with instituting lifetime and five-year bans on prospective foster and adoptive parents with specific felony convictions and making available a "dashboard" where social work staff can share quick information about home visits and people under their supervision.

In a report released Tuesday, the House Committee on Post Audit and Oversight and House members of the Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities said DCF also needs "adequate and well supported management and supervisory staff," more technology, training for workers and uniform policies that "address best interests of the child."

The committees said DCF had 243 more social workers on staff in November 2014 than it did in January 2014, and said as of October 2,280 iPads had been deployed in the field.

The department is also collaborating with the University of Massachusetts Medical School to hire a medical director who will oversee evaluations of all children entering foster care and ensure that all children under the watch of DCF receive immunizations.

The report, which follows other analyses by government and non-profit agencies, spent much of its 30 pages recounting the past two years of DCF scrutiny, which began with the disappearance of Jeremiah Oliver, a young boy who was supposed to be under DCF oversight and who was later found dead next to a highway.

The committee also reported that following May 2014 recommendations from the Child Welfare League of America, DCF wrote a new "vision statement" to "clarify that its primary purpose to protect children."

DCF also reviewed what homes approved through a background check waiver process should be subject to increased oversight, finding no placements required the removal of a child and 8 percent of the homes needed increased supervision.

Governor Charlie Baker was not in attendance at Boston's State of the City speech on Tuesday due to illness according to his aides.

BOSTON -- Gov. Charlie Baker was not in attendance at Boston's State of the City speech on Tuesday due to illness according to his aides.

"Regretfully, Governor Baker was unable to attend tonight's speech due to illness," said Baker press secretary Elizabeth Guyton in an email.

Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito attended the speech in his place.

Baker and Walsh are scheduled to appear on WBZ AM's Nightside with Dan Rea program on Wednesday for a joint interview.

Students admitted they were reluctant to try the class at first but learned a lot.

CHICOPEE - When his probation officer recommended Anthony Quinones try a new program that would require him to study literature at a college level, the 38-year-old Army veteran thought he was nuts.

"I said I'm not going back to school. I'm not doing homework. Are you crazy? I'm done with that," he said.

But Quinones agreed to participate and Tuesday was one of six men who graduated from the first Changing Lives Through Literature program held through Chicopee District Court. After the 12-week program he said he has started reading again after years of barely picking up a book.

"I'm gratified he picked me. I was really able to relate to the characters in the story," he said. "I learned you can turn your life around. A scratch on your life will not prevent you from moving forward."

For Quinones, of Chicopee, being on probation was hitting rock bottom. He spent 17 years in the U.S. Army where he did three tours in Iraq and two more in Afghanistan. During his last tour, an explosion left him in a coma for two months and then he received a medical discharge. A week after he woke up him mother died, a short time later his father passed away as well and in the same year he and his wife divorced.

Suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and lingering effects from his head injuries, Quinones said he got into trouble and was sentenced to probation.

The brand new program, lead by Elms College Professor Daniel Chelotti did make a difference in his life. For one thing he is reading more now, something his doctor recommended as part of recovering from his brain injury but he was not doing.

"It helped me to stop looking at the past and made me look at the future," he said.

Changing Lives Through Literature was introduced 20 years ago and studies show more than half the participants who complete the class never return to the court system. This year Chicopee District, Berkshire Probate & Family, Hampden Superior, and Worcester Superior courts tried the program for the first time.

The six men on probation were not the only students from Chicopee District Court. Each of their probation officers and Judge Bethzaida Sanabria-Vega took the class, read the books and passed the quizzes given on the books.

During the graduation ceremony, R.J. Waskiewicz, the probation officer who coordinated the program, admitted the class was not easy and said in some cases the graduates had a better understanding of the literature than their probation officers.

The participants were hand-picked from about 500 people in Chicopee. They had to have enough education to understand the literature and had to be open to new ideas and motivated to take on the challenge of a college-level course.

"It is based on an idea that literature has the power to change lives and reform people," he said. "The goal is to have a better understanding of ourselves."

Even Chelotti, the professor who volunteered to teach the course, said he didn't know what to expect. During the weeks he saw the students' increased their compassion for strangers and it renewed his own love for literature.

"It is a bold proposition to say lives can be changed by reading a book," he said.

Edwin Delgado Jr., of Chicopee, said the class was something like a book club. Students took quizzes on the books, and were assigned to write essays, but most of the about 90 minutes was spent talking about characters and situations and relating them to their own experiences.

A lot of the discussion was about decisions made and how people changed their lives, he said.

Delgado, a 2011 high school graduate, said he got into trouble after graduating but is turning things around and is "one road test" away from earning his commercial drivers license and achieving his dream of being a tractor trailer driver.

The class also made him realize he could consider college in the future.

"It was very interesting. I'm glad it did it. I wasn't bored at all," he said.

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh briefly touched on the city's successful bid to be the United States applicant to host the 2024 Summer Olympics in his State of the City Speech.

BOSTON -- Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh briefly touched on the city's successful bid to be the United States applicant to host the 2024 Summer Olympics in his State of the City Speech.

Walsh tied Boston's Olympic aspirations to the city's developmental goals for 2030.

"When we talk about 2024, we'll be talking about what Boston needs today and what Boston needs in 2030, 2040 and 2050," said Walsh.

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Related: Walsh announces new school building authority

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The mayor promised "transparent conversations" about Boston's Olympic bid and called the opportunity to host the games as a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to talk about the city's future."

Boston bested Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. on Thursday in a year-long effort to win over the United States Olympic Committee.

The city is likely to face stiff global competition from Rome, Paris, Istanbul, Budapest, Melbourne, Dubai, Doha, Johannesburg, Durban, Hamburg and Berlin. The International Olympic Committee is expected to announce a host a host city for the games in September 2017.

The group called upon President Obama to reject the 1,179-mile pipeline, which would carry heavy crude from the oil sands mines of Alberta, Canada to refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

NORTHAMPTON - Pioneer Valley climate activists braved the bitter cold Tuesday to stand out on Main Street here as part of a nationwide day of action against the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.

Passing motorists honked in support as about three dozen waved signs saying "Stop Climate Change," "No Keystone XL," and "Tar Sands Kill Rivers and Forests."

The group called upon President Obama to reject the 1,179-mile pipeline, first proposed six years ago, which would carry heavy crude from the oil sands mines of Alberta, Canada to refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Those in attendance said if the tar sands are extracted it will be "game over" for the climate. Several quoted NASA scientist James Hansen, who called Keystone XL the "fuse to the biggest carbon bomb on the planet."

The Alberta tar sands are the second-largest pool of fossil fuels in the world next to Saudi Arabia, said Margaret Bullitt-Jonas, an Episcopal priest. "That fuel needs to stay in the ground," she said. "People of faith all around the world are saying this is a spiritual and a moral issue."

Bullitt-Jonas said climate change is a matter of inter-generational justice - that those on Earth today have a responsibility toward future generations.

Sarah Metcalf of Northampton said there is "considerable dispute" about the reliability of a 2011 State Department report that the pipeline poses no significant environmental threat. "Bringing to market the tar sands oil would be hugely destructive to the climate," she said.

Metcalfe noted that President Obama has the sole power to stop the international project, a situation which allows for a focused, nationwide effort to prevent it from being built. "It's not a legislative issue where many, many peoples' hearts and minds need to be won," she said.

Northampton resident Britt Albriton said a new study indicates that if Keystone XL is built, an additional 110 million tons of carbon dioxide will go into the atmosphere every year, pushing global warming past the safe limit agreed upon as part of the 2009 Copenhagen Accord.

World leaders that year agreed to try to limit the Earth's temperature rise to 2 degrees Centigrade above the pre-industrial level, with the consensus that severe drought, rising seas, violent storms and food and water security are at stake.

Tim Holcomb came dressed as a giant puppet representation of Mother Earth. He said to expect more giant puppets at upcoming climate actions to "speak for stakeholders in the planet who don't have a voice." Holcomb said his costume was the work of Patchamama Puppet Productions in Haydenville.

The U.S. Senate Monday advanced a Keystone XL pipeline bill, despite a veto threat from Obama. The House passed its version of a pipeline bill last week. The White House maintains that the executive branch, not the legislature, has authority over the pipeline decision. Neither chamber has the votes to override a presidential veto.

Even if Obama vetoes legislative efforts to allow the pipeline, the president could still take executive action to approve the project proposed by TransCanada.

Republicans in Congress have vowed to make passing Keystone XL an early priority this year. Massachusetts Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey are opposed to the project.

Last week the Nebraska Supreme Court cleared the way for the pipeline to cross that state. The State Department is now evaluating whether the pipeline would serve the national interest. The Obama administration has yet to issue its decision on Keystone XL.

The local protest was one of five organized statewide by the environmental group 350 Massachusetts; concurrent events were held in Worcester, Boston, Cambridge, Lowell, and Martha's Vineyard.

A Fire Commission member wants officials to tap the city's more than $11 million rainy day fund.

HOLYOKE -- The Fire Commission voted Tuesday (Jan. 13) to send a letter to Mayor Alex B. Morse and the City Council about concerns related to service cuts prompted by a lack of funding and the instability of at least nine buildings around the city.

Commission member Yasser Menwer said the mayor and councilors should consider tapping the more than $11 million in the city's stabilization, or rainy day, fund for such needs.

"The City Council has to act on this," Menwer said.

Since Dec. 5, to reduce overtime spending, three Fire Department trucks have been removed from service and the deputy chief's aide has been reassigned when firefighter staffing levels are too short on many shifts.

The commission had asked Fire Chief John A. Pond to compile a list of buildings similar to the Essex House in terms of instability. That 135-year-old former hotel at 400 High St. partially collapsed Dec. 11.

Although no injuries occurred, the walls of bricks that fell off of the Essex House damaged the second floor of an adjacent beauty salon, forced the closure of part of High Street to most traffic and caused businesses to lose customer traffic.

The Fire Commission is a volunteer board appointed by the mayor to establish goals and policy and hire and fire employees, including the fire chief. The commission consists of Chairman Christopher Hopewell and members Patricia C. Devine and Menwer.

To cut overtime spending, Pond ordered steps known as brown outs. On such shifts, a fire truck and two tactical vehicles that function as ambulances are shut down and the aide to the deputy chief who responds to fires is reassigned.

The reductions have been occurring when there aren't enough firefighters to staff all units, which has been on most shifts, according to Pond and firefighter Christopher Butler, president of Holyoke Fire Fighters Association, Local 1693, International Association of Fire Fighters.

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

Engine 2 out of Fire Department headquarters at 600 High St. is the truck that is shut down in a brown out. Engine 2 covers the Elmwood and South Holyoke neighborhoods.

Since Pond ordered the brown outs, the department has had a total of 86 tours, or shifts. Engine 2 was staffed on only 15 of those shifts, Pond said.

The department has spent most of the more than $400,000 it was allocated for overtime in the fiscal year that began July 1, he said.

The City Council Jan. 6 approved a transfer of $100,000 from the free cash account to the Fire Department for extra overtime. Official notification of the availability of that extra $100,000 should come within days, Pond said.

The department's full complement of firefighters is 88. Three recruits are scheduled to join the force after graduating next month from the Massachusetts Fire Academy Recruit Training. On top of six firefighters that completed the academy and joined the ranks last month, that will bring the number to 78 firefighters, but it was unclear if that would provide enough staff to avoid the brown out steps.

Pond said after Tuesday's meeting that the brown out steps will be needed even with the additional firefighters and the extra $100,000 for overtime.

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

The nine unstable buildings Pond submitted to the commission are only among the most obvious so far, he said.

"We are still out looking at other buildings. We're continuing to scour the city for signs of deterioration," Pond said after the meeting, at Fire Department headquarters, 600 High St.

Here are the addresses of the buildings Pond provided to the Fire Commission. Properties owned by the city generally were taken for nonpayment of taxes:

--The Bud, 30 John St., owned by the city. It is perhaps the list's worst, Pond said.

"Right now, there's really no roof on that building," Pond said.

--405-407 Main St., owned by Class Julio of 405 Main St.

--281-289 Main St.: Renso M. Urena, of 1380-82 White Plains Road, Bronx, New York City is listed on the city website as being owner of 281 to 283 Main St. The city lists the owner of 289 to 291 Main St. as Frankie Cardona and Ramon L. Guzman, both of Holyoke.

--107 Clemente St., owned by the city. The building is collapsing in the rear, Pond said.

--163 Sargeant St., a former armory, owned by the city.

--278-280 Pine St., owned by Hampshire Pine Street Trust, of Lexington. It shows signs of collapse, Pond said.

--28 Cabot St., owned by city.

--146 Brown Ave., owned by K.M.D. Corp., care of Dan McMahon, 409 Sumner Ave., Springfield.

"There's a lot of structural problems in there," Pond said.

--64 Main St., owned by Marta Vidal, of 64-66 Main St.

Menwer said he understands that the city must live within its means, but at the same time the city must respond to problems before they become emergencies,such as dealing with such unsafe buildings.

In an interview outside the meeting room, the firefighters union president agreed it was time the city tap the stabilization fund for firefighter staffing and to demolish unsafe structures.

"This is just once again an issue with Holyoke. We have a crumbling city and a higher need for fire protection than other cities. We have a rainy day fund. Well, it's raining," said firefighter Christopher Butler, president of Holyoke Fire Fighters Association, Local 1693, International Association of Fire Fighters.

Stephen Jacobs, 56, was sentenced in federal court in Boston to nine months in prison for bribing an IRS auditor to overlook two improper deductions on his 2011 income tax forms. The deductions were for two $5,000 payoffs Jacobs made to a pair of female patients that he admitted to inappropriately touching during medical appointments, according to federal prosecutors.

BOSTON — A Lowell chiropractor will serve prison time for bribing a federal official to ignore hush money paid to a female patient for a foot-kissing episode.

Stephen Jacobs, 56, was sentenced in Boston federal court on Tuesday to nine months in prison for bribing an IRS auditor to overlook two improper deductions on his 2011 income tax forms. He'll begin serving his term next month.

The deductions were for two $5,000 payoffs Jacobs made to a pair of female patients he admitted to inappropriately touching during medical appointments, federal prosecutors said. One of those payments was to a woman whose foot the chiropractor kissed during treatment, according to U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, whose office prosecuted the case.

Jacobs must also pay a $10,000 fine and serve a two-year probation sentence after he's released from prison. He pleaded guilty to the charges in October 2014.

The doctor's troubles began in August 2013. That's when an IRS auditor first met with him to discuss numerous issues with his 2011 federal income tax forms. The auditor told Jacobs the separate $5,000 payments were not allowable deductions. Frustrated by that news, Jacobs became combative and threatened to ruin the IRS auditor's career, according to prosecutors.

A federal investigation was launched and, after several electronically monitored discussions about his non-deductible expenses, Jacobs offered a $5,000 bribe to the IRS auditor, according to Ortiz. The auditor, at the direction of law enforcement officials, accepted Jacobs' offer in exchange for a favorable audit, Ortiz said.

The case was prosecuted by Eugenia M. Carris, an attorney in Ortiz's Public Corruption Unit.

Sheila McElwaine, a Forest Park neighborhood activist, called the plan a "really stupid idea."

SPRINGFIELD — Patricia Triggs, president of Concerned Citizens for Springfield and a member of the Forest Park Civic Association, said on Wednesday that a proposal to relocate up to 175 homeless families now living in hotels and motels into a group of buildings on lower Belmont Avenue and one on Mattoon Street appears ill-advised.

"Although we need much more information and detail than we presently have, we would be very reluctant to support such an initiative," Triggs said.

During a City Hall press conference, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno took aim at the Center for Human Development, which he identified as one of the agencies helping to place the homeless in an area of Springfield that the city is working to revitalize.

Sarno said the plan would create a "corridor of poverty" in the city.

Triggs expressed similar concerns, while noting that the Forest Park Civic Association has been very supportive of well-run low-income housing developments, including the property formerly known as Longhill Gardens – a once condemned property that has been successfully renovated.

But the idea of concentrating a large number of homeless families in one section of the city goes counter to the latest research, Triggs said.

"Current research indicates that most successful housing options are those that integrate market rate and low-income housing together," she said. "The least successful are those that cluster a large population in a relatively small space."

Concerned Citizens for Springfield has "an established track record of supporting mixed rate housing as well as rehabilitating some housing stock, both for first-time home buyers as market rate buyers," Triggs said.

"My initial response is that this appears to be a very ill-advised solution to a long-standing problem," she said.

William Malloy, a retired attorney and Forest Park activist, said he was disappointed with the negative tone taken by Sarno at Wednesday's press conference.

Malloy said the the problem of homelessness is a crisis in America that must be addressed. He said the mayor's singling out of CHD, an organization with an outstanding track record in the city, was unfortunate – "and narrow, at best."

Sheila McElwaine, another neighborhood activist, called the plan a "really stupid idea."

"Springfield has done its fair share," she said, adding that she resents policymakers who live outside the city deciding what's best for it.

"We want this to stop immediately," Mayor Domenic Sarno said.