Police are investigating a Sunday morning shooting near the Caribbean Restaurant on Race Street in Holyoke.

UPDATE

In a press release issued at 7:20 a.m., Holyoke Police Lt. James Albert said the 51-year-old Hispanic male victim died of a single gunshot wound to the chest.

UPDATE

Holyoke Police Lt. Larry Cournoyer said the shooting victim, a 51-year-old Holyoke resident, died of his wounds at the Baystate Medical Center.

The name of the victim is being withheld pending notification of family.

Cournoyer said police received 911 calls reporting shots fired in the area of 268 Race St., and also calls reporting a man down at about 1:06 a.m. Officers and emergency medical personnel began CPR on the victim as soon as they arrived at the shooting scene, and he was transported by ambulance to the hospital.

Cournoyer said while multiple shots were fired, initial information does not include how many times the victim was hit or where he suffered wounds.

Holyoke police and Massachusetts State Police detectives attached to the Hampden County District Attorney's Office are investigating the homicide.

HOLYOKE— Holyoke Police investigators are at the scene of a Sunday morning shooting where a man was shot outside the Caribbean Restaurant at 268 Race Street.

Lt. Larry Cournoyer said one man was wounded in the 1:06 a.m. incident and he was taken by ambulance to the Baystate Medical Center for treatment.

Holyoke detectives and Massachusetts State Police investigators are inspecting the scene at this hour.

This is a breaking story. More information will be posted as it becomes available.

They said the animal likely died quickly, probably within an hour.

SEATTLE -- A 32-foot gray whale that turned up dead under the Washington state ferry terminal in downtown Seattle died earlier this week because it was struck by the propeller of a large vessel, according to the initial results of a necropsy completed Saturday.

The necropsy found large, deep gashes on the whale's right side and back, indicating the cause of death. The gashes extended into the whale's body cavity and the propeller's force had sheared off one of its ribs.

Biologists estimated the time of death as no earlier than Monday and likely on Tuesday. They said the animal likely died quickly, probably within an hour.

The whale's body was discovered under the Colman Dock ferry terminal late Wednesday. Ferry service wasn't affected, but people reported a foul odor.

The examination also found that the whale was a juvenile female, about two to three years old. She was just over 30 feet long and had been in very good health before death because its blubber was thick, with healthy amounts of oil.

Biologists are not sure why the whale entered Puget Sound, since most gray whales have already migrated south along the outer Washington Coast.

Gray whales spend their summers feeding in Alaska. Each fall, they travel along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Baja California, Mexico, said Michael Milstein, a spokesman with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service.

Gray whales were removed from Endangered Species Act protection in 1994 and the population along the West Coast is considered recovered. But the whales are still protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

The National Weather Service has issued a Special Weather Statement, warning of that weather conditions are such that black ice on streets and highways is likely.

TAUNTON— The National Weather Service has issued a Special Weather Statement, warning drivers of black ice following yesterday's snow with warm temperatures.

The statement reads: "The snow and rain that effected the region will give way to clearing skies and colder temperatures overnight. Temperatures are expected to fall below freezing. This means that untreated surfaces are likely to become slippery with black ice.

Those traveling during the morning hours are urged to allow extra time and use caution."

In the predawn hours of Sunday morning, patches of black ice and freezing snow and slush are evident on city streets and state highways.

A Greenfield man was revived using Narcan after he passed out due to a heroin overdose, and crashed his car on I-93 in New Hampshire.

Dave Canton | dcanton@repub.com 

Michael Kendall, 28, lost control of his car and slammed into a guard rail at about 12:40 p.m. Saturday afternoon. Police said he was unconscious and not breathing when emergency medical personnel administered the anti-overdose medication Narcan, which revived him.

The Derry N.H. Fire Department ambulance EMS crew transported Kendall to the Parkland Medical Center in Derry, New Hampshire where he is being treated.

Police arrested Kendall and charged him with operating a motor vehicle after suspension of license and reckless driving.

Three men were arrested when Holyoke detectives found two illegal guns in the car they were riding in.

Dave Canton | dcanton@repub.com 

Holyoke Police Narcotics Unit Sgt. Daniel Reardon said detectives Jared Hamel and Brendan Boyle were on routine patrol in the Flats section of the city just before 6 p.m. Saturday, when their attention was drawn to a car playing extremely loud music on the stereo.

A stop was effected and the detectives found the driver, 28-year-old Anthony Correa Ortiz, of 31 Moxon St. in Springfield, had no license. The officers asked and Ortiz consented to a search of the vehicle, and a Massachusetts State Police K9 officer swept the car. The dog indicated drugs on one of the the passengers.

Jorge Raphael-Ortiz, 29, with a last known address of 105 High St. in Holyoke, was given a civil citation for possession of marijuana. Reardon said Raphael-Ortiz is awaiting trial on cocaine trafficking charges.

As they searched the vehicle, the detectives looked in the engine compartment, found two handguns stuffed into the air cleaner container.

Reardon said one was a .22 cal. revolver and the other a Beretta 9mm semi-automatic. The three men were taken into custody and all have been charged with illegal possession of firearms, unlicensed possession of a handgun, possession of ammunition without and FID cars, possession of a firearm without an FID card, carrying a loaded firearm.

Reardon said one of the weapons had an obliterated serial number while the other was listed as stolen. Charges on those counts may be added as the investigation continues.

Also arrested was Benito Agron, 29, of 190 West St. in Holyoke.

The three will face arraignment in Holyoke District Court Monday.

A Weybridge,Vermont man was killed when the ATV he was riding rolled over, pinning him under it.

Robert Rizzuto | rrizzuto@repub.com 

James Davignon III, was pronounced dead at Porter Hospital in Middlebury, Vermont.

Troopers were called shortly before 8:30 p.m. Saturday after a passing motorist saw the upended all terrain vehicle lying in the field off Weybridge Road. The passerby attempted to help the unresponsive man then called 911.

Troopers and EMS personnel began CPR on Davignon after he was pulled from under the vehicle. He was taken to the hospital by Middlebury Fire Department ambulance.

Troopers said Davignon was riding the ATV in a field near his house alone when it overturned. An autopsy will be performed to complete the investigation.

Holyoke police arrested a Holyoke man carrying heroin prepared for sale, cash and cell phones.

Conor Berry | cberry@repub.com 

Holyoke Police Lt. Michael McCoy said police received 911 calls reporting two men breaking into a Franklin Street apartment. By the time Officer Michael Everett arrived, the two were leaving. Everett tried to stop the pair, but one, 21-year-old Reinaldo Rivera, took off, throwing things as he ran.

Everett was able to catch Rivera and find the items he was throwing. Ultimately, Everett stated he recovered 255 bags of heroin packaged for sale, $1,400 in cash and the two cell phones.

Rivera was charged with possession of a Class A substance with the intent to distribute. He was released after posting $1,000 in cash bail, pending arraignment in Holyoke District Court on Monday.

As it turned out, the two men were simply trying to get into the friend's apartment by way of the fire escape after he forgot his keys. The friend was not charged.

Blizzard-like conditions are possible when a winter storm hits the northeast Monday and Tuesday

NEW YORK -- A major snowstorm with blizzard-like conditions could drop a foot or more of snow across most parts of the Northeast as they gear up for the workweek right after the first real storm of the winter hit them with rain, several inches of snow and messy slush.

A storm system diving out of the Midwest has the potential to slowly coat from Philadelphia up to Massachusetts and Maine with snow beginning late Sunday night into Monday and intensifying greatly well into Tuesday, the National Weather Service said.

"There's the potential for a significant snowstorm to impact the entire Northeast U.S.," meteorologist Patrick Maloit said.

Areas east of New York City could receive in excess of a foot of snow if the storm develops as feared, he said, stressing that's still "a big if."

The storm, which brewed late Saturday around the Iowa-Minnesota line, is likely to track down into the central Appalachians and then very slowly traverse its way through the Northeast states and reach the Gulf of Maine late Tuesday night, he said. The slow movement of the storm, he said, could help produce quite a bit of snowfall and blizzard-like or blizzard conditions: at least three hours of wind gusts of 35 mph or greater and visibility of less than a quarter of a mile because of snow or blowing snow.

The storm could stall before it tracks out to sea, bringing high wind, heavy precipitation and the potential for coastal flooding, the National Weather Service said. It would be the second wallop for the Northeast after what happened Saturday, when a storm crawling up the East Coast left a slushy, snowy coating from Pennsylvania to New England.

The storm dumped at least 9 inches of snow in parts of Pennsylvania and 8 inches in parts of New York, northern New Jersey and northwestern Connecticut, with widespread reports of more than 4 inches in inland areas across southern New England. Lighter amounts were reported in Philadelphia, Boston and New York City, where the snowfall stopped Saturday evening.

About 8 inches of snow fell in far eastern Maine before the storm moved out late Saturday night.

Numerous accidents were reported on the slick roads, but there were no major highway backups in the lighter weekend traffic. Police in Connecticut and Massachusetts were investigating the weather's role in traffic accidents that killed two people Saturday afternoon.

In suburban New York, a man chased his dog onto ice covering a lake and they both fell through it. Police used a ladder to pull the man out of Massapequa Lake to safety and rescued his shivering dog as well. The man was treated at a hospital for hypothermia, a dangerously low body temperature.

Exterior brick walls of the Essex House broke off, the street had to be closed and High Street businesses are left to recover.

HOLYOKE -- Businesses on High Street have lost revenue and had to lay off employees in a suffering caused by the Dec. 11 partial collapse of the Essex House at 400 High St. and subsequent closing of the street for a month.

The Essex House, a 134-year-old former hotel, has since been demolished.

Some business owners fault the politics between city officials for delaying the demolition of a building the fire chief and building commissioner warned for months was unstable. Others said they felt officials did the best they could.

As they struggle to recover -- or wonder if they ever will -- merchants described their losses in interviews Friday, with some saying they still believe in Holyoke.

"This is a nightmare for me. But as a good business owner, and a good resident, I love Holyoke. I love the people in Holyoke," said Maria Ferrer, owner of MD Beauty Salon and Supplies at 396 High St.

Maria Ferrer(JOHN SUCHOCKI / THE REPUBLICAN) 

Exterior walls of brick broke off the adjacent Essex House -- causing a noise and rumble an apartment dweller nearby said was like an earthquake -- and crashed through the roof of Ferrer's two-story building. The ensuing take down of the Essex House has further damaged the building.

No one was injured in the collapse. That's partially because Ferrer's business, due to the years-long problem of occasionally falling bricks from the Essex House, had already been forced to relocate under city order in the spring to 74 Cabot St. blocks away below Main Street.

"That collapse should have been avoided. We all knew it was going to happen. I say 'we' because as a community we work together, right?. Since that day, it's just gotten worse for me," Ferrer said.

The space at 74 Cabot St. is smaller than on High Street. She has lost a lot of business, she said, and had to lay off one of her seven employees.

"And my other employees, they're working together with me, but they don't feel comfortable" at the Cabot Street location, she said.

She has yet to hear from the city whether her building, which features the beauty salon on the first floor, will have to be demolished, she said.

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

"I have no problem if they demolish that building and build me a new one," Ferrer said.

Ferrer has been criticized by some city officials for complaining about the Essex House and the city's response to it while she owes more than $20,000 in back taxes to the city on the 394-398 High St. property.

"I know I owe taxes and I have a payment plan in place. It's not as if I'm saying, 'I don't owe it and I'm not going to pay,'" she said.

Jose O. Bou said the city should be celebrating, not criticizing Ferrer. Bou owns Salsarengue Restaurant and Seafood at 392 High St.

Bou called Ferrer "our leader" in the business owners' drive to get the city's attention. He described his own problems from the Essex House collapse and the High Street closing to traffic.

He has lost $12,000 to $18,000. Basement pipes froze and burst and the flooding damaged freezers that include a walk-in meat locker, he said.

Christmas season banquets and other activities scheduled at the establishment popular with the city's large Puerto Rican community were cancelled. Most of the 175 to 200 worth of meals that were on site the morning that slabs of debris plunged off the Essex House were lost, he said.

"This business, it's incredibly hard. We have a lot to recuperate. We have to rethink the whole business ...," Bou said.

A retired counselor from the University of Massachusetts, Bou, 62, has run the restaurant for 10 years. He doesn't know if there will be an 11th, he said.

He does know whom he is angry at, he said, and that's the City Council. He is among those who blame the council for delaying approval of funding for the Essex House demolition to proceed.

Fire Chief John A. Pond and Building Commissioner Damian J. Cote warned the Essex House was unstable at a City Council Finance Committee meeting July 23.

But City Council President Kevin A. Jourdain has rejected assertions the council dragged its feet on approving the money to raze the Essex House.

Jourdain said the City Council first received a request from city officials for money to demolish the Essex House in January 2014. The council voted unanimously Jan. 7, 2014 to approve spending $1.3 million to tear down the building, he said.

"I heeded advice of experts and voted for demolition," Jourdain has said.

But problems occurred in the bidding process and the take down never happened. Mayor Alex B. Morse resubmitted a request for an appropriation, which the council Finance Committee discussed at the July 23 meeting with Pond and Cote. Pond in that meeting said the holes in the building had exposed it years or rain and weather, deteriorating the structure into a danger.

But the Finance Committee that night tabled the request for $1.45 million. One question councilors had was over the form of the appropriation request submitted to the council, which was a request from the mayor that lacked the name of a councilor as a sponsor of the order, as is usual practice.

The issue of money to raze the Essex House next arose in the City Council on Aug. 5. But the council opted to return the funding proposal to committee.

Among issues councilors wanted discussed were the need for city departments to force owners to maintain properties so they don't deteriorate like the Essex House and ensure such owners pay taxes.

Jourdain also filed an accompanying order seeking to have the city go to court to return the Essex House, taken by the city in June 2013 because of nonpayment of taxes, to its previous owners.

Jourdain said in a Sept. 11 interview that efforts by the mayor and other officials should have been devoted to forcing the previous owners to maintain the building and pay back taxes.

The council approved the demolition funding Sept. 23 by a vote of 10-3, with councilors Daniel B. Bresnahan, Linda L. Vacon and Jourdain voting no.

Critics of the City Council have said that while the council gave its approval for the funding in January 2014, councilors should have recognized sooner that things had changed. A new round of bidding was necessary, but the council still had chances to approve the money, before that green light finally came in late September, so the Essex House demolition could begin, critics have said.

Bou, who lives in Florence, said he moved to this area in the early 1970's from the South and fell in love with Holyoke.

"I hope we can reopen this business because this is my retirement, this is what I like doing and I love Holyoke," Bou said.

He is scheduled to meet with an insurance agent to discuss what losses can be recouped. Another uncertainty is what will happen with Ferrer's building, he said.

"So, you're talking next door to my restaurant, are they going to be demolishing another building? Again, it's just a lot of unanswered questions," Bou said.

Fernando Ramirez(MIKE PLAISANCE / THE REPUBLICAN) 

Across the street, Fernando Ramirez discussed the loss of customer traffic because of the Essex House collapse. He had to lay off a cashier at the Cuba Sabrosura Supermarket he has owned at 439 High St. for five years, he said.

"Our business went down more than 40 percent. The street was closed for a month. People wouldn't come around here," Ramirez said.

The city made mistakes, first in failing to take down the Essex House sooner and then in closing High Street between Appleton and Essex streets for a month. That much of High Street and for that long didn't need to be shut down, he said.

"And I understand, you know, things happen, but this happened because they didn't do what they were supposed to do....," Ramirez said.

"The funny part is, I don't see no one coming around and asking me how I'm doing. I had to lay off my cashier. Oh, they have elections, they're over here shaking hands, but when you have a problem," he said, rubbing his hands together as though washing them, "you don't see them."

Manager Onur Yaman estimated that City Pizza at 420 High St. lost 25 percent of its business between when the Essex House collapsed Dec. 11 and Jan. 11, when High Street fully reopened.

"We were actually stressed out about it. We didn't actually close, but there were people who thought we were closed because the Essex House was so close by," Yaman said.

Much of their business is in deliveries, he said, but usual customers stopped calling because they thought the restaurant was closed.

The business didn't lay off any of its four employees and is rebounding, he said.

The Essex House collapse and then its demolition and the closing of High Street hurt business, he said, but city officials appeared to be trying to take their time and make the right decisions.

"We actually don't want to blame nobody," Yaman said.

The process of finding "death qualified" jurors has slowed down jury selection in federal case against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in Boston, and it is expected to do the same in the state trial of James Holmes, the man accused of killing 12 people and injuring 70 others in a suburban Denver movie theater in 2012.

BOSTON (AP) -- One prospective juror was brutally frank when asked whether he could consider a sentence of life in prison for the man accused of bombing the Boston Marathon.

"I would sentence him to death," he said, then added: "I can't imagine any evidence that would change how I feel about what happened."

Another prospective juror said he couldn't even consider the death penalty, telling the court, "I just can't kill another person."

The two men are on opposite sides of the capital punishment debate, but both unlikely to make it on the jury for the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev: to be seated for a death penalty case a juror must be willing -- but not eager -- to hand down a sentence of either life or death.

The process of finding "death qualified" jurors has slowed down jury selection in federal case against Tsarnaev, who is charged with setting off two bombs that killed three people and injured more than 260 during the 2013 marathon. It is expected to do the same in the state trial of James Holmes, the man accused of killing 12 people and injuring 70 others in a suburban Denver movie theater in 2012.

In this June 4, 2013 file photo, Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes sits in court in Centennial, Colo.AP Photo/The Denver Post, Andy Cross, File 

The process is designed to weed out jurors who have strong feelings for or against the death penalty. A 1985 ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court said a juror can lawfully be excused if his or her views on the death penalty are so strong that they would prevent or substantially impair their ability to follow the law.

But death penalty opponents have long said the process is fundamentally unfair. They argue that death-qualified juries do not represent a true cross-section of the community because they end up being made up of either death penalty supporters or people willing to impose it under some circumstances.

"You end up with a jury with less women, less blacks, less Democrats ... you end up with a jury that is skewed in ways that make it probably more conservative, more accepting of prosecution arguments, of state authority," said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit organization that opposes executions.

The Capital Jury Project, a consortium of university researchers, interviewed about 1,200 jurors in 353 capital trials in 14 states beginning in the early 1990s. The group's research has shown that death penalty juries are more likely to convict and that jurors often make up their minds about what punishment to hand down long before they're supposed to, said William Bowers, director of the project.

After reaching a verdict, a trial enters the penalty phase, when prosecutors present evidence of aggravating factors, such as the brutality of the crime, to argue in favor of the death penalty while defense attorneys present mitigating factors, such as abuse as a child, to argue against it. Juries are then supposed to weigh those factors when deciding whether a defendant should get life or death.

"The principal finding is that half of the jurors said they knew what the punishment should be before the penalty stage of the trial and another one-quarter of them said they were pretty sure," Bowers said. "The thing they don't recognize or seem to have overlooked is that they are not supposed to decide what the punishment is until they hear the evidence in the second phase."

Death penalty opponents have argued that to get around this kind of pre-judgment, separate juries should be chosen to hear evidence in the guilt phase and the punishment phase. But that idea has not gained traction.

Another finding of the research was that death penalty opponents are also more willing to consider an insanity defense, something that will come into play in the case of Holmes, whose attorneys don't dispute opened fire during a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" but argue he was in the grips of a psychotic episode. He has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Holmes' lawyers, citing data from the Capital Jury Project, argued that his jury should not be death-qualified, but Judge Carlos A. Samour Jr. rejected their challenge, saying he is bound by rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Colorado Supreme Court holding that death-qualification is constitutional.

In the Holmes case, an unprecedented 9,000 jury summonses were mailed. As of Friday, 210 prospective jurors had been excused over four days. Individual questioning is set to begin next month.

In the marathon bombing case, 1,373 people filled out juror questionnaires. Individual questioning of prospective jurors has been slowed as the judge has probed people at length about their feelings on the death penalty. The judge had originally said he hoped to question 40 jurors each day, but during the first five days only averaged about 15.

Capital punishment supporters say the current system of screening out strong pro- and anti-death penalty jurors is the only fair way to choose juries in death penalty cases.

"The process simply says that jurors must be willing to abide by the law," said John McAdams, a Marquette University professor who supports the death penalty.

"The law says that certain kinds of aggravated murders should get the death penalty," he said. "Jurors have to be willing to listen to the evidence and have to be willing to impose the death penalty if, in their judgment, the crime was sufficiently heinous to call for the death penalty."

MGM Resorts International, the parent company to the MGM Springfield resort casino, was again named one of the 40 best companies in the nation for diversity by Black Enterprise magazine.

MGM Resorts International, the parent company to the MGM Springfield resort casino, was again named one of the 40 best companies in the nation for diversity by Black Enterprise magazine.

While the magazine says it ranks companies based on the diversity of its board of directors, employees, senior management and suppliers, MGM landed a spot on the list for the eighth time for "creating a corporate culture that values and promotes inclusion within and outside of the company."

"We strive to weave diversity and inclusion into the fabric of our culture and our business operations at MGM Resorts," said Phyllis James, executive vice president, special counsel-litigation and chief diversity officer for MGM in a press release. "Across the board, from top management on down, we embrace diversity and inclusion; it is a philosophy that is reflected in our everyday workplace."

The magazine's ranking was based on surveys sent to 1,000 publicly traded companies and 100 global companies with strong U.S. operations.The questionnaire focused on activities related to the participation of African Americans and members of other ethnic minority groups as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. A heavier weighting was applied to the senior management and supplier diversity areas.

The State Street Corporation in Boston also made the list.

MGM's plan to develop a resort casino in the South End of the city was approved by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission this past summer and the voters in the city a year before that. It is one of two already approved resort casinos slated for development in the commonwealth, along with Wynn Resorts planned $1.6 billion Everett plan. Penn National Gaming previously won approval to operate the state's only slots parlor at the Plainridge Race Track in Plainville, and that $225 million facility is currently under construction.

The MGM project has been promised to create a minimum of 2,000 construction jobs and abide by an affirmative action program to meet hiring goals of 15.3 percent minorities, 6.9 percent women and 8 percent veterans. Once the casino opens its doors, MGM has pledged to hire at least 3,000 workers, of which at least 2,200 will be employed on a full-time equivalent basis with benefits.

Part of the long-term employment pledge calls for MGM to "use its best efforts" to ensure at least 35 percent of employees are Springfield residents, with no more than 10 percent of the workforce coming from outside the city limits to achieve labor participation goals regarding women, minorities and veterans.

MGM Springfield is aiming to break ground on the 14.5 acre resort casino in the coming weeks with a grand opening slated for 2017.

The storm begins before dawn on Tuesday and continues through Tuesday night.

SPRINGFIELD — The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for all four counties in Western Massachusetts as well as Worcester, Boston and other parts of Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Snow is expected to begin on Monday evening and continue on until Tuesday night.

The site is warning residents of heavy snow along with considerable blowing and drifting snow. Near blizzard conditions are possible, although they will most likely not affect Western Massachusetts.

Between 4 to 8 inches of snow are expected across the Springfield area beginning before dawn on Tuesday, reaching it's peak early Tuesday afternoon, then making a slow exit Tuesday evening, said media partner to The Republican CBS3 Meteorologist Mike Skurko.

Early indications show a moderate chance of some parts of Massachusetts - the Berkshires and the Boston area - seeing above a foot of snow, he said.

Whatever the storm may be, the weather settles back down for Wednesday and Thursday with mostly sunny skies, he said.

A snowstorm is expected to dump over a foot of snow in the Worcester area this week.

WORCESTER – The weekend storm that dumped almost six-and-a-half inches of snow on the city is nothing more than an appetizer compared to what is coming in the early days of the week.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch with possible blizzard conditions for Monday night through Tuesday. The storm could continue into Wednesday. One to two feet of snow is expected to fall in different areas of the state.

Alan Dunham, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Taunton, said the Worcester area could see 18 to 24 inches of snow during the storm. The worst part of the storm will begin Monday night and continue into Tuesday, he said.

The storm will bring strong winds of about 10 to 20 miles-per-hour with wind gusts up to 45 miles-per-hour. People expecting to drive during the storm watch are being asked to monitor weather reports and be ready to adjust their travel plans.

Worcester Department of Public Works and Parks Commissioner Paul Moosey said his department continues to monitor the weather forecast, and he said his fleet of trucks will be ready when the storm hits.

Sanders and plows were out when the snow fell Saturday. The major streets were clear as of noon Sunday. Trucks were also out hitting certain areas during the morning Sunday.

The space between the weekend snow and the predicted upcoming storm helps the DPW crews receive some rest, Moosey said.

“The duration of this storm is significant. It is predicted to be windy,” he said. “All those things slow us down. I’m more concerned about the length of the storm because that is what takes a toll on the staff.”

Moosey said the snow banks haven’t piled up this year, which is a positive for the city as officials prepare for the snowstorm.

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said the storm has the potential to be historic and destructive. The winds and heavy snow could cause downed trees and utility poles. Visibility will also be impacted, the agency said.

Anyone looking to receive alerts on the storm can sign up through MEMA.

Have you signed up for our #twitteralerts? Mobile notifications of our most critical updates: http://t.co/jMQSyEvXl2 #MAsnow

— MEMA (@MassEMA) January 25, 2015

Police said a 51-year-old Holyoke resident was shot and killed Sunday morning.

HOLYOKE — Holyoke Police Lt. Larry Cournoyer has confirmed that a 51-year-old Holyoke resident shot on Race Street, died of his wounds at Baystate Medical Center Sunday morning.

The name of the victim is being withheld pending notification of his family.

Cournoyer said police received 911 calls reporting shots fired in the area of 268 Race St., outside the Carribean Restaurant. There were also calls reporting a man down at about 1:06 a.m. Officers and emergency medical personnel began CPR on the victim as soon as they arrived at the shooting scene, and he was transported by ambulance to the hospital.

Cournoyer said while multiple shots were fired, initial information does not include how many times the victim was hit or where he suffered wounds.

Holyoke Police and Massachusetts State Police detectives attached to the Hampden County District Attorney's Office are investigating the homicide.

This is Holyoke's first murder of the year.

This is a developing story. Additional information will be posted as soon as it is available.

Reporter Dave Canton contributed to this article.

The public is invited to view his collection.

WILBRAHAM - Police Sgt. Glen Clark will speak at the Feb. 12 Wilbraham Women's Club meeting at 1 p.m. at Saint Cecilia Parish Center, 42 Main Street.

Sgt. Clark has been collecting political memorabilia since he was a child. His collection dates back to 1863 and President Lincoln.

The public is invited to view Sgt. Clark's collection and to hear him talk about the history and personal memories of his collection.

Science and communication are behind the naming of a storm.

HOLYOKE — Let's hope Jupiter doesn't do anything stupid to irritate Juno.

Juno was a mythological Roman goddess and also is the name that the Weather Channel has given to this billion-inch storm (that's an exaggeration borne of earthly irritation) forecasters say could pummel the area with snowfall to be measured in feet, not inches.

The goddess of marriage, pregnancy and childbirth, Juno was the female counterpart of Jupiter, "great protecting deity" who angered Juno by -- wait for it -- giving birth to Minerva from his own head, online sources tell us.

Minerva was "the goddess of handicrafts, the professions, the arts, and, later, war." Great.

As Senior Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross said on the Weather Channel website, communicating about a complex storm is easier if the storm has a name.

"Good communications benefits everyone," Norcross said.

The decision whether to give a storm a name is based on science and, basically, size.

The better the chance that a storm being tracked will have a large impact on a geographical area, the better the chance it will get a name, according to the Weather Channel.

Such storms are identified up to a week out, the Weather Channel said.

"As the certainty for an impactful storm increases, a storm naming committee schedules a conference call to discuss the potential named storm," the Weather Channel said.

The committee is Tom Niziol, winter weather expert, Stu Ostro, senior meteorologist and senior director for Weather Communications and Jonathan Erdman, digital/senior meteorologist for weather.com.

Note the turning point played by geography. Two inches of snow expected in Atlanta, Georgia in 24 hours will trigger the same winter storm warning as a forecast of nine inches in Burlington, Vermont, the Weather Channel said.

The storm names from the Weather Channel for the 2014-2015 season are based on Roman and Greek mythology and come forth in alphabetical order. For example, Iola -- a beautiful woman Hercules wanted to marry but could not -- preceded Juno and following Juno will be Storm Kari, a Finnish name derived from the Greek name Makarios from old-Greek meaning blessed or happy, according to the Weather Channel.

But that's not all. Weather Channel fans can help choose the "W" entry in the name chain by voting online for either Warren, Wilda, Willie, Woden and Wolf.

"Wolf" is crushing competitors with 44 percent of the vote.

Of course, many people might know the name Juno from the 2007 movie of that name starring Ellen Page about a young woman facing an unplanned pregnancy.

Page is an actress of talent and beauty like the fabled Roman goddess Juno, an immortal portrayed, as editors of Encyclaedia Britannica tell us, "as a standing matron of statuesque proportions and severe beauty, occasionally exhibiting military characteristics." Great.

Amtrak is suspending service between Boston and New York City on Tuesday because of the massive blizzard passing through the region.

BOSTON -- Amtrak is suspending service between Boston and New York City on Tuesday because of the massive blizzard passing through the region.

Additional Amtrak services in Massachusetts have been suspended including the Vermonter and Springfield Lines that run along the Knowledge Corridor in the western part of the state.

Service on the Lake Shore Limited train that runs between Boston, Albany and Chicago has also been suspended for Tuesday.

Major stock indexes barely budged early as investors took in stride the election of a Greek political party that has called for the elimination of some that nation's rescue loans.

By ALEX VEIGA

NEW YORK - U.S. stocks eked out tiny gains on Monday after spending much of the day drifting sideways.

Major stock indexes barely budged early as investors took in stride the election of a Greek political party that has called for the elimination of some that nation's rescue loans. Market players also weighed the latest batch of corporate earnings

Traders welcomed news of several corporate mergers, including an $11 billion deal between reinsurers Axis Capital Holdings and PartnerRe.

"Greece was the big driver," said Chris Gaffney, a senior market strategist at EverBank Wealth Management. "The EU leaders have already come out and are willing to talk about extending the debt, so that calmed the markets a bit."

The market also brushed off concerns of a major blizzard set to descend over the Northeast U.S. The stock exchanges were expected to open for business as usual on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones industrial added 6.10 points, or 0.03 percent, to 17,678.70. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 5.27 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,057.09. The Nasdaq composite rose 13.88 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,771.76.

Monday's market action got off to a listless start, as the major market indexes were mostly unchanged from Friday's close.

Investors were still digesting Sunday's election victory by Greece's Syriza party, which has vowed to end painful austerity policies. That's raised concerns about whether Greece will break free from the Eurozone. The country's current bailout plan concludes at the end of February.

European markets' initial reaction to the election was positive, sending Germany's DAX up 1.4 percent, while the CAC-40 in France rose 0.7 percent. The main stock market in Greece recouped some of its early losses to end 3.2 percent lower.

"European markets reflected worse expectations for the outcome of this election and, as a result, they're seeing this as better-than-expected news," said Kate Warne, an investment strategist at Edward Jones.

Six of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500 ended higher, and energy companies rose the most. The price of oil fell on continuing expectations of high supplies, but comments from an OPEC official suggested that the recent price plunge might be near an end.

Corporate deals also helped push some stocks sharply higher Monday.

Packaging company MeadWestvaco agreed to combine with Rock-Tenn Co. to create a $16 billion company, which will be named before the deal closes. MeadWestvaco jumped 14 percent, to lead all stocks in the S&P 500. The stock gained $6.31 to $51.35. Rock-Tenn vaulted $3.86, or 6.1 percent, to $66.85.

Post Holdings jumped 18 percent on news that the company has agreed to acquire privately held MOM Brands in a deal that involves $1.05 billion in cash and nearly 2.5 million shares of stock. MOM's products include cereals, hot wheat and oatmeal products. Post shares gained $7.39 to $48.83.

Investors also cheered the combination of Axis Capital and ParnterRe, lifting Axis shares $2.81, or 5.7 percent, to $52.14. PartnerRe gained $1.36, or 1.2 percent, to $115.50.

Developments in Russia also rippled through parts of the market.

Standard & Poor's rating agency downgraded Russia's credit grade to junk status on Monday. The agency sees the country's financial buffers at risk amid a slide in the country's currency and weakening revenue from oil exports. The downgrade contributed to a slide in the ruble, which weakened about 6 percent against the dollar.

Beyond geopolitical news, traders remain focused on corporate earnings, which are a key driver of stocks. They're also looking ahead to Wednesday, when the Federal Reserve is scheduled to deliver an update that could provide new insight into when the central bank plans to begin raising interest rates.

Players in the market appear to be looking past the major snowstorm sweeping into the Northeast.

"It could be disruptive, potentially, for a few people, maybe a few traders," said Doug Cote, chief market strategist at Voya Investment Management. "But as far as the market impact goes, it's minimal, unless there are severe power outages."

The NYSE Group said it plans normal trading hours for its exchanges through Tuesday.

Last week, the S&P 500 ended higher three days in a row before pulling back Friday. The Dow and S&P 500 are down slightly for the year, but remain near all-time highs set last month. The Nasdaq is up 0.8 percent this year.

In commodities trading, benchmark U.S. crude fell 44 cents to close at $45.15 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, fell 63 cents to close at $48.16 in London. Oil has plunged since June, when it traded above $100.

In other futures trading on the NYMEX:

1. Wholesale gasoline fell 3.1 cents to close at $1.317 a gallon.
2. Heating oil fell 0.7 cents to close at $1.640 a gallon.
3. Natural gas fell 10.5 cents to close at $2.881 per 1,000 cubic feet.

U.S. government bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.82 percent from 1.80 percent late Friday.

In metals trading, gold fell $13.20 to $1,279.40 an ounce. Silver slipped 31 cents to $17.98 an ounce. Copper rose four cents to $2.54 a pound.

The southbound direction of Route 495 is partially shutdown due to an accident, Massachusetts State Police report.

Update 8:09 p.m. Monday, Jan. 26: The tractor trailer has been removed from lanes and I-495 in Milford is reopened, Massachusetts State Police report.

MILFORD — The southbound direction of Interstate 495 is partially shut down due to an accident, Massachusetts State Police report.

I-495 is impassable in Milford due to a jackknifed tractor-trailer near exit 20 for Route 85/Cedar Street, state police said.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation reported all southbound lanes were closed at 8 p.m.

Exit (20) Rt-85/ Cedar St: Jackknifed truck, all SB lanes closed.

It is currently unknown what role the weather played in the accident.

This is a breaking news article that will be updated as more information becomes available.

Cynthia V. Anderson, 56, of Edgewater, was denied access to a flight Friday at the Central Nebraska Regional Airport.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. -- A Florida woman is suspected of drowning a 2-week-old puppy in a Nebraska airport bathroom so she could board a plane.

View full sizeCynthia V. Anderson, of FloridaHall County Jail