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Chicopee firefighters extinguish brush fire near Medina Boat Ramp

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There is a red flag warning showing a high danger for brush fires.

CHICOPEE - A hard-to-reach brush fire burned about two acres of land near the Medina Street Boat Ramp Sunday night.

The fire was reported at about 5:30 p.m. It took the nine firefighters who responded about an hour to extinguish the blaze, acting Deputy Fire Chief Wayne Lemay said.

"It was a difficult location to get at," he said. "It was a tough spot and it was pretty swampy."

The fire was between the dike and the riverfront and also burned on both sides of the fence surrounding the city's wastewater treatment plant so it was difficult to access, he said.

The department responded with three engines and the brush truck, which is designed to drive on dirt roads and wooded locations so that helped, Lemay said.

The cause is under investigation. The area is popular for boating, walking and other recreation, he said.

Firefighters also had to deal with wind, but Lemay said the brush is mostly low in the area so it was not a big problem.

It is dry right now and there is a red flag warning showing there is a high potential for brush fires, he said.

This is the second brush fire in Western Massachusetts Sunday. It took Ludlow firefighters about three hours to extinguish a blaze off Center Street that burned three acres of woods Sunday afternoon.


Springfield police investigating shooting of man

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The victim suffered non life-threatening injuries.

SPRINGFIELD - One man was injured in a shooting Sunday evening in the Six Corners neighborhood.

The victim was brought to the hospital for treatment of a non life-threatening injury, said Police Sgt. Lawrence Murphy.

"He is not cooperating with police," he said.

The shooting happened at about 6:30 p.m. on Rifle Street. The crime is part of an active investigation so police are releasing little information about the shooting immediately, Murphy said.

The Boston Marathon: What people are Tweeting

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In the hours before the race few mentioned the bombings from 2013.

BOSTON - As about 30,000 people prepare to run the 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston Monday, one of the ways they got ready was to send messages on social media.

Some asked questions about the marathon, runners showed off their number bibs, shorts and sneakers but most sent out best wished to friends who are tackling the race or just all the runners as a whole.

In the hours before the race, few mentioned the bombings that killed three and injured more than 260 two years ago. Most were simply upbeat about the race.

Here are some of the things people were Tweeting about the Boston Marathon.

Bobbi Kristina Brown awake, no longer on life support, family says

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Her father and aunt say she is out of the medically inducted coma.

Nearly three months after being in a medically-induced coma, Bobbi Kristina Brown is awake and no longer on life support, family members said.

The only child of singers Bobby Brown and the late Whitney Houston was found face down in a bathtub on Jan. 31.

During a concert appearance in Texas on Saturday, Bobby Brown told the crowd his 22-year-old daughter was "awake."

Her aunt Tina Brown posted on Facebook: "So many messages,sorry can't answer them all right now but I will get to them later..just allow me this time with my family ... yes,she woke up and is no longer on life support!!!!!:):)God is good!!thanks for your prayers,,still a process,but she is going to be ok:):):):)." 

The original post is not on the page, though a fan posted a screen capture of the message from Tina Brown.

However, People magazine is casting doubts on the reported recovery. It quotes an unidentified Brown family source who believes the young woman had yet to wake up. 

"As far as I know, there's been no change," the source said. "We're still hoping and praying that God will perform a miracle. We are leaving it in God's hands."

News of a recovery is unexpected after grandmother Cissy Houston told New York radio station WBLS-FM 107.5 on March 25 that there was "still not a great deal of hope. If He works a miracle, thank God. If it happens the other way, I'm alright."

Bobbi Kristina Brown's aunt, Leolah Brown, claimed in a Facebook posting on March 1 that the young woman's live-in boyfriend, Nick Gordon, was under investigation for the attempted murder Brown.

CNN and other media outlets reported in February that investigators were focusing on Gordon, as they try to determine how Brown ended up facedown in the  bathtub.

Chicopee hires new police officer who previously worked for Northampton

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New Patrolman Mathew Post will begin work on April 19.

CHICOPEE - The city has hired a police officer who has previously worked for the city of Northampton and Mount Holyoke College.

Mathew Post was sworn in last week as a city police officer. Because of his prior training and experience, he will not have to attend the police academy and will begin work on April 19, Mayor Richard J. Kos said.

A native of Chicopee, Post is a graduate of Chicopee High School and Holyoke Community College.

"We are pleased to be able to bring Mathew aboard our Police Department," Kos said. "His past training and experience is an asset to the city, and will allow us to put him to work immediately."

The city has hired 10 new officers recently mostly to fill vacant slots created by retirements and resignations. The remaining new officers are waiting to head to the next training class at the police academy.

The City Council recently approved expanding the size of the department from 108 to 111 patrol officers specifically so new officers could be hired before others retired so there would be fewer vacancies and for a shorter time while the new officers completed training.

"We are glad to support the Mayor and the Police Department in providing a full complement of officers," City Council President George R. Moreau said. "Public safety is of the utmost importance to the Council."


Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse to launch campaign for 3rd term May 27

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Alex Morse took office as Holyoke mayor in January 2012 after defeating former mayor Elaine Pluta.

HOLYOKE -- Mayor Alex B. Morse has scheduled a fund-raiser May 27 to begin his campaign for a third term with so far no officially declared opponent.

"I look forward to running another positive campaign that builds on the strengths of our community and of our people. As always, I will run a grassroots campaign that takes no vote for granted," Morse said Monday (April 20).

The fund-raiser is at 6 p.m. at the Delaney House, 3 Country Club Road, off Route 5.

Morse has said for months he will seek a third, two-year term and he was among the first to take out nomination papers when they became available for city offices Jan. 5.

Ward 2 Councilor Anthony Soto has hinted he might challenge Morse in the Nov. 3 election and said he would announce his intentions this month.

Paul P. Bowes, who lives in Ward 7, took out nomination papers in January for a possible run for mayor. Bowes also has taken out papers for possible bids for Ward 7 City Council and City Council at large.

Mildred Lefebvre, Ward 1 School Committee member, also has taken out nomination papers for mayor as well as for the school seat.

Candidates must file nomination papers with signatures of registered voters by July 28 to be listed on the election ballot.

Candidates for mayor must gather at least 250 registered voters' signatures while those for City Council and School Committee must file papers with at least 50 voters' signatures.

It's not unusual for incumbents and potential challengers to pull papers for seats, to gauge interest in a possible candidacy, and never return them with registered voters' signatures to qualify for the election ballot.

Morse defeated Jeffrey A. Stanek, an accountant, 54 percent to 46 percent in his first reelection bid in 2013.

Morse took office in January 2012 after beating former mayor Elaine A. Pluta in November 2011.

The mayor's yearly salary is $85,000.

Morse said the city has made "tremendous strides" and was at a point where it was important to maintain strong leadership.

"There is still more work to do. This city is in the midst of an exciting transformation, and I'm excited to work alongside others to propel it further," Morse said.

Among city strengths Morse has cited are:

--the city's unemployment rate has improved to 8.2 percent as of March from 10.5 percent in February 2012, when Morse was a month into his first term. The city's unemployment rate is still higher than the state average of 4.8 percent and the nation's 5.5 percent.

--assessments show home values will increase July 1 from 1 to 3 percent;

-- Popular Mechanics in its February issue identified Holyoke as one of the country's top cities that help to turn innovators into entrepreneurs;

--Marcotte Ford is doing $5 million in new construction on Main Street;

--the former Holyoke Catholic High School campus of buildings on Chestnut Street overlooking Veterans Park is being converted into 54 apartments for $19 million;

-- Passenger train service is scheduled to return here this year as the city builds a 400-foot-long train-boarding platform with canopy at Main and Dwight streets for $4.6 million.

--Morse has worked to make downtown an arts destination. Gateway City Arts on Race Street regularly plays host to such events as a community discussion about "To Kill A Mockingbird" set for April 30, the Celebrate Holyoke festival is scheduled to return in August and there are ventures such as the BRICK CoWorkshop of a dozen artists who share space in a former mill on Dwight Street.

But the challenges are big ones. The state is close to making a decision whether to seize control of the public schools because of concerns the city has failed to improve the chronically poor academic performance of students despite years of warnings.

The mayor has a key role in the School Department as chairman of the School Committee and with school spending accounting for more than half the city's budget. The current fiscal year began July 1, 2014 with a budget of about $124.4 million.

As Morse prepares the budget for the next fiscal year, he said late last month a $3.1 million gap existed between expected revenue and what department heads sought to run their areas of city government. Morse said he was hopeful about avoiding employee layoffs but unable to guarantee that.

'The Hand That Feeds' about undocumented bakery workers to be screened

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Monson church to show award-winning film.

MONSON - As President Obama's proposal to offer work permits to some 4 million undocumented immigrants works it way through federal appeals court, and the Fight for $15 movement increases its push for that hourly rate for low paid workers in a variety of professions, area residents can view the two issues in the presentation of the award-winning documentary, "The Hand That Feeds," on May 2 at 7 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Parish of Monson, 177 Main St.

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Workers in the fast-food industry will take part in a discussion that follows the presentation. Many workers in food and retail are on public assistance, according to a recent study, because they are unable to support a household on minimum wage earnings.

The documentary, by Rachel Lears and Robin Blotnick, follows Mexican born Mahoma Lopez, as he leads the efforts of his coworkers at the Hot & Crusty bakery, in one of New York's upscale neighborhoods, to unionize in 2012, and then negotiates for fair wages for employees working 60-hour weeks for wages well below the federal minimum of $7.25.

"Minimum wage hasn't kept up with the pace of inflation for decades, let along increases in productivity, and contrary to what many think, these jobs are not just held by high school and college students in the summer, but also by people just trying to raise their families the best way they can," said Kai Price, a member of the church's social justice committee that organized the event, in a release about the showing.

The discussion that follows includes Kevin Burgos, from Fight For $15, and Dorinda Thames, a 46-year-old mother. They are both heads of households working in the fast food industry.

Julie Ouellette, an organizer from from the Service Employees International Union, that has been active in Fight for $15, will moderate. Refreshments will be served at the event that is free to the public. There is a suggested donation of $5.

Western Mass. runners at Boston Marathon 2015: 'Cold and wet, but it was a wonderful day'

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This year's marathon was more normal feeling than last year's, Dennis Childs said, but he noted, "There is still a lot of security."

BOSTON — For some members of the Greater Springfield Harriers running club, the 2015 Boston Marathon showed how the event has changed since the finish line bombing two years ago, but the sport itself transcends such events.

Harrier Dennis Childs of West Springfield said he did not run the marathon the year of the bombing (2013), but the next year, he vowed to, with the attitude, "They can't ruin my sport."

This year's marathon was more normal feeling than last year's, Childs said, but he noted, "There is still a lot of security. No backpacks or coolers are allowed. That will probably be forever, in major marathons."

Childs, 62, said Monday's Boston Marathon "was cold and rainy." He said with eight miles left in his race, a headlong wind picked up. "You would rather have the wind at your back, not a headlong wind," said Childs.

Bob Landry, 47, of Ludlow also ran Monday and is a member of the Greater Springfield Harriers Runners Club. He said last year was emotional, but this year also was emotional.

"I saw amputees doing the best their body could do," he said.

Landry said he started training for marathons in his 30s, and 30 marathons later, he's "never looked back."

"Today was cold and wet, but it was a wonderful day," he said.

Running has become a part of his life, he said. "You get some exercise and it clears the mind," he said. "Every day is a reset."

Childs said that although he missed 25 days of training this year because he got pneumonia, he still cut four minutes off his time from last year, completing the marathon in four hours, 28 minutes.

Childs, who declared Monday's race was his last Boston Marathon, said he will be running the Holyoke Marathon in 13 days.

"Everybody should do a little running," Childs said. He said there is "a mental wall," which you learn to get through.

"Today was cold and windy, but manageable. It was what a marathon should be," Childs said.



Vermont authorities continue to hunt for suspected killer Gregory Allen Smith

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Smith, 30, is accused in the shooting death of Wesley Wing, 37, in Vermont on Saturday night, April 18, according to police.

SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — Authorities continue to search for 30-year-old Gregory Allen Smith of Springfield, Vermont, the alleged gunman wanted in connection with the Saturday night shooting death of 37-year-old Wesley Wing.

The Springfield Police Department and the Vermont State Police Major Crime Unit have secured an arrest warrant for Smith on a second-degree murder charge, but they have yet to find the suspected killer.

Police said they believe Smith is currently driving a 2004 Buick Rendezvous with a New Hampshire registration of 3364095. The vehicle also has a pink "NY" symbol on the rear window and a "zebra heart" decal on a rear passenger-side window, police said.

According to authorities, Smith is a white man with short dark hair and a goatee. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a black shirt, gray-and-lime running shoes, and a New York Yankees hat with white and lime-green lettering.

Officials have not disclosed a motive for the fatal shooting.

Vermont investigators joined forces with police in Keene, New Hampshire, to execute a search warrant at a Keene address on Monday, but Smith had already fled that residence by the time officers arrived.

Anyone who knows his whereabouts is asked to call 911, any Vermont State Police barracks, or the Springfield Police Department at 802-885-2113. The main investigator handling the case for the Vermont State Police is Lt. Kraig LaPorte, of the Major Crime Unit, who can be reached at 802-878-7111. His Springfield police counterpart is Detective Sgt. Pat Call, who can be reached at 802-885-2112.

Wing was shot on Saturday night and succumbed to his wounds early Sunday morning at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, the Burlington Free Press reports. An autopsy is expected to be performed on Monday in Concord, New Hampshire, according to authorities.



 

Boston Marathon after the bombs: Now a more emotional, coming together experience

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Thousands lined the canyon-like final stretch of the route on Boylston Street to cheer on runners from all the world as they made their way to the famous finish line in Copley Square.

BOSTON -- A raw rainy day did not deter tens of thousands from watching and running in the 2015 Boston Marathon.

Thousands -- some standing, some sitting in camping chairs -- lined the canyon-like final stretch of the route on Boylston Street to cheer on runners from all the world as they made their way to the famous finish line in Copley Square.

The terrorist attack on the race in 2013 that left three dead and injured more than 200 was not far from the minds of many camped out along the sidelines.

"It's emotional but I think you see all the people that come out and support it and it's Boston Strong. It's really moving to see that even when people do bad things it just makes people come together more," said Lauren Shaub Sanchez, 31, of Virginia.

Sanchez ran in 2013 but was playing the role of spectator this time as her husband ran his first ever Boston Marathon. Sanchez said he was inspired by what he saw in 2013 and decided that he wanted to qualify for the race.

"He worked hard, qualified, and now I am watching him. It's special. This is my first time back since the bombings," said Sanchez.

Longtime Boston Marathon watcher Amy Lanctot was prepared like a pro on the sidewalk near the Hynes Convention Center. Seated in her folding camp chair Lanctot cheered on the runners as they made their way to the finish line.

"I don't think the race itself has changed but the security has. I think it's enough. They have to do what they have to do," said Lanctot, adding that she doesn't think the race has lost its party atmosphere.

"It's still just as fun, just as special, just as entertaining," said Lanctot.

The 2015 race was the first one ever for Tim Nickerson, 39, of Charlestown. He said he thinks the race has taken on another meaning in the aftermath of the attacks.

"I think there is much more a citywide community building experience now. Everyone is coming together," said Nickerson. 

Nickerson said he was impressed by the large crowd given the miserable weather conditions.

Former Boston Police Superintendent Chief Daniel Linskey was standing just outside the Lord & Taylor store with wife as the first wheelchair racers were making their way to the finish line. Linskey said he spent the earlier part of the day helping disabled veterans prepare to run for the Achilles International charity at the starting line in Hopkinton.

"That was a humbling experience for me to see men and women who have given so much, literarily parts of themselves for our country and our freedom," said Linksey.

Linskey has appeared at Moakley Courthouse on and off throughout the trial of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. He said he hopes to be able to get back there during the sentencing phase of the trial. 

"I hope to be there with the families when the final verdict comes in during the sentencing phase. I've been so impressed with the resiliency of the victims and how they stood up to terror," said Linksey. 

Mike Dickens, 59, came all the way from Pensacola, Florida to watch his son run the Boston Marathon for the second time ever. He was not exactly thrilled with the weather on April 20. 

"It could be warmer," said Dickens. 

Amanda Ravitz, 45, of Washington, D.C. last ran the Boston Marathon in 2002 after Sept. 11 and said this one, like that one, carried special significance.

"It's really meaningful to just be with your peeps. This are my people. We're here together. It's a little emotional," said Ravitz. 

Ravitz said she hated the weather but the people that were cheering along the race course were what helped propel her to the end.

"They rocked. I didn't want to run in this weather but what can you do," said Ravitz. 

Granby election May 18

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Polls will be open from 12 noon to 7 p.m. for the May 18 election


GRANBY -- There are no contested races on the ballot in next month's town election.

Candidates for reelection include: Selectman Mark L. Bail of 122 Easton St.; Assessor Frank A. Hudgikc of 50 North St.; Board of Health member Lee A. LaLonde of 42 Taylor St.; Moderator Lynn Snopek Mercier of 30 South St.; Town Collector Karen M. Stellato of 17 Pinebrook Circle; Treasurer Steven R. Nally of 31 Pleasant St.; School Committee, Emre E. Evren of 18 Crescent St. and Deanne M. Payne-Rokowski of 124 Maximilian Drive.

Glen N. Sexton of 53 Amherst St. is unopposed for Planning Board.

Polls will be open from noon to 7 p.m. for the May 18 election.

Holyoke basketball games planned to spotlight teen-age dating violence

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The event will include remarks from Juan Ramos of A Call to Men about treating women with respect.

HOLYOKE -- Basketball games will be used to bring attention to teen-age dating violence Thursday (April 23) from 4 to 7 p.m. at Holyoke High School, 500 Beech St.

The free event -- "Love Shouldn't Hurt/El Amor No Duele" -- is sponsored by Womanshelter/ Companeras of Holyoke, which helps victims of domestic violence, with help from the South Holyoke Safe Neighborhood Initiative, said Susan E. Scully, director of development for
Womanshelter/Companeras.

State Rep. Aaron M. Vega, D-Holyoke, will encourage men and boys in the audience to join him in the White Ribbon Campaign.

"The White Ribbon Campaign is a global movement of men and boys working to end male violence against women and girls," Scully said.

Remarks also will be made by Juan Ramos of the group A Call to Men, which works to encourage men and boys to be loving and respectful.

"This is our attempt to reach boys at an event they will enjoy, but at the same time hear from a man, a role model, who is devoting his life to ending violence against women," said Karen B. Cavanaugh, executive director of Womanshelter/ Companeras.

The basketball games will be played by those involved with the South Holyoke Safe Neighborhood Initiative, Scully said. The South Holyoke Safe Neighborhood Initiative is a program of the Hampden County Sheriff's Department that tries to unify residents against street gangs, drug abuse and crime.

Obituaries today: Dominique Williams was college student studying criminal justice

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Obituaries from The Republican.

 
042015-dominique-williams.jpgDominique Williams 

Dominique N. Williams, 28, of Springfield, passed away on Friday. She was a college student studying criminal justice. Her survivors include her parents and a 2-year-old daughter.

To view all obituaries from The Republican:
» Click here

Where U.S. sees terror prevention, some Muslims see profiling; program being tested in Boston

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The Obama administration last fall announced a program called Countering Violent Extremism – billing it as a community-driven initiative to tackle terrorism and militant recruitment by preventing radicalization from taking root.

By TAMI ABDOLLAH
and PHILIP MARCELO

MISSION VIEJO, Calif. -- Sameer Mohiuddin grew more confused by the second as panelists speaking at his Southern California mosque trumpeted a new national initiative to prevent violent extremism.

Mohiuddin, 39, is an American citizen, longtime Californian and a vice president at a technology company. His wife was born and raised in Orange County, and they have three children. Why, he wondered, do his family and others like his even figure into the conversation?

"Day in and day out we're trying to build a community, saying you're part and parcel of the American fabric. You are an American citizen. I raise my girls and say they have the same rights as others," Mohiuddin said. "The fact is, when you're going to come present a program and say it's specially geared to prevent growing extremism in the Muslim community, you're by default saying my community is more predisposed to extremism. It sets people off."

Mohiuddin's confusion typifies what many Muslims in Southern California and across the United States have felt since the Obama administration last fall announced a program called Countering Violent Extremism -- billing it as a community-driven initiative to tackle terrorism and militant recruitment by preventing radicalization from taking root -- and said it was being tested in Los Angeles, Boston and Minneapolis.

Local law enforcement officials have been doing such outreach for years. But now that federal officials are putting their stamp on it, the program is creating suspicion among American Muslims and others who fear it is profiling disguised as prevention and worry it could compromise civil liberties and religious freedoms.

The effort divides Muslim leaders who, on one side, argue that more must be done to fight extremism in their community and that this program is a historic opportunity for input. On the other side are those who fear the program is just another veiled way for law enforcement to target their community.

Skeptics remember the New York Police Department's surveillance of Muslims, uncovered by The Associated Press in an investigation in 2011, and an FBI informant's description of how he was taught to ingratiate himself to the Southern California religious community in the mid-2000s to secretly gather contact information and record conversations.

It's in Los Angeles, with one of the nation's largest Muslim populations, where leaders face the biggest challenge with buy-in on CVE, as bureaucrats call it, and where the program's success or failure will likely be decided.

Officials offered details in February at a White House summit at which President Barack Obama declared Muslims need to fight a misconception that groups like the Islamic State speak for them, even as senior administration officials insisted they were not focusing exclusively on the threat from the Islamic State group, which has recruited from many walks of life.

Some 20,000 fighters have joined that group and other extremists in their campaigns in Iraq and Syria, including at least 3,400 from Western nations, according to U.S. intelligence agencies. As many as 150 are estimated to be Americans, though not all succeeded in reaching the war zone.

U.S. officials have long eyed the threat of homegrown extremists such as Timothy McVeigh, who 20 years ago bombed the Oklahoma City federal building and killed 168 people. But the rise of the Islamic State group has taken front and center in the past year. Just Sunday, six men accused of trying to join the terrorist group were arrested in Minneapolis and San Diego.

Countering Violent Extremism is led by U.S. attorneys' offices, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, local law enforcement agencies and, critically, local faith and community groups.

It is furthest ahead in Los Angeles and Minneapolis; Boston is still forming its strategy. It takes many forms, including town halls like the one Mohiuddin attended recently in Mission Viejo, academic offerings and mentorship programs, online videos, and cartoons for children. Social media efforts to combat the Islamic State group's success in that medium are key; by some accounts, its followers have sent tens of thousands of tweets per day.

Boston hopes to make discussions palatable by addressing radicalization in concert with domestic violence, drug abuse, gangs and other challenges. One model the city hopes to replicate is "Abdullah X," a YouTube cartoon series developed by a self-proclaimed former extremist in London. The bearded protagonist takes on the Islamic State group and issues of identity and faith.

But despite the plans for partnership, civil liberties groups warn that Muslims should be wary of the program's law-enforcement leadership structure.

"Prosecutors: They get gold stars for not being amazing community liaisons; they get gold stars for putting people in jail," said Todd Gallinger, an attorney who works for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, at the Mission Viejo meeting.

Nichole Mossalam, of the Islamic Society of Boston, the Cambridge mosque attended by Boston Marathon bombers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev -- prime examples of the kind of radicalization the program seeks to nip in the bud -- called the program "dangerous ground" that could lead to policing of fringe thought and speech.

"We're still at the table, but we're still waiting to be convinced," she said. "We acknowledge we need to protect our youth, but we don't want to be targeting people for exercising their constitutionally protected right of free speech."

Law enforcement leaders say outreach is separate from intelligence gathering. And they acknowledge that a single misstep by a federal agent could reverse years of trust-building.

"Do we develop intelligence? One hundred percent, that's our job," said David Bowdich, assistant director of the FBI's Los Angeles office. "But we're not doing it under the guise of building bridges."

An independent 9/11 Review Commission report ordered by Congress to assess the FBI's performance on counterterrorism in the past decade and released last month concluded that the FBI, with its limited resources, shouldn't play a role in the program. FBI Director James Comey disagreed -- a telling signal of dissension among officialdom.

The prevention program has largely found acceptance in Minnesota's Somali community, which since 2007 has seen more than 25 of its youths leave to join either al-Shabab in Somalia or militants in Syria.

"Everyone I talk with in the Somali community in Minnesota wants this terror recruitment to end," U.S. Attorney Andy Luger said at a news conference Monday on this week's arrests.

FBI agent Rick Thornton thanked several law enforcement agencies and members of the area's Somali community for helping with the investigation. A man who had planned to go to Syria with those who were arrested ultimately decided to cooperate with investigators and recorded conversations, authorities said.

Sunday's arrests stem from a 10-month investigation that predates the formal start of the pilot, authorities said. When asked whether outreach helped lead to the arrests, Luger spokesman Ben Petok said that while the pilot program builds on existing engagement efforts, the program itself is fairly new.

Many Muslims note the reality they're living in as militant groups seek recruits.

"The threat is ISIS, whether we like it or not; ISIS is front and center on the news in the media cycle. How many stories are there on sovereign citizens, white supremacists, and how many on ISIS and al-Qaeda?" said Salam Al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council. "Whether it's fair or not, it doesn't matter. That's the reality. We have to accept it."


Marcelo reported from Boston. Associated Press writers Amy Forliti in Minneapolis and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed

Protesters descend on Baltimore when man suffers fatal spine injury after arrest

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Baltimore's top police officials, mayor and prosecutor sought to calm a "community on edge" Monday while investigating how a man suffered a fatal spine injury while under arrest. Six officers have been suspended, but investigators say they still don't know how it happened.

BALTIMORE -- Baltimore's top police officials, mayor and prosecutor sought to calm a "community on edge" Monday while investigating how a man suffered a fatal spine injury while under arrest. Six officers have been suspended, but investigators say they still don't know how it happened.

A week after Freddie Gray was pulled off the street and into a police van, authorities don't have any videos or other evidence explaining what happened to cause the "medical emergency" an arresting officer said Gray suffered while being taken to the local police station, Deputy Commissioner Jerry Rodriguez said.

The Gray family's lawyer, Billy Murphy, had said that Gray's "spine was 80 percent severed at his neck."

Autopsy results returned Monday show that Gray "did suffer a significant spinal injury that led to his death," Rodriguez said. "What we don't know is how he suffered that injury."

Police also released a more detailed timeline of how Gray was arrested and transported on April 12. It revealed that Gray was placed in leg irons after an officer felt he was becoming "irate," and that the van stopped on its way to the police station, even picking up another prisoner in an unrelated case, while Gray repeatedly asked for medical attention.

Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said that Gray asked first for an inhaler, and then several times during his transport for medical care.

"There were several times he made a medical request," Batts said. "He asked for an inhaler, and at one or two of the stops it was noticed that he was having trouble breathing and we probably should have asked for paramedics."

Something must have happened between the time Gray was videotaped by a bystander being dragged into the van, and the time he arrived at the station in deep distress, the deputy commissioner said.

"When Mr. Gray was put in that van, he could talk, he was upset. And when he was taken out of that van, he could not talk and he could not breathe," Rodriguez said.

Batts also said it is still unclear why Gray was stopped in the first place, saying only that officers "made eye contact" with Gray and another man, and the two took off running.

"That's part of the question we have to dig into," Batts said, "if there's more than just running. There is no law against running."

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she too is "angry that we are here again" after trying to overcome decades of distrust between police and citizens in Baltimore's inner city.

"Our community is experiencing a great deal of trauma," Rawlings-Blake said. "This is a very, very tense time for Baltimore City."

Batts said he is ordering that police review and rewrite "effective immediately" its policies on moving prisoners and providing them with medical attention.

"We are a community on edge right now. We hear, I hear, the outrage. I hear the concern and I hear the fear," Batts said, asking for calm. "We are on edge as a city, and I need your help to make sure we get this out in the proper way."

All six officers involved have been suspended, said Rodriguez, who is in charge of the department's professional standards and accountability.

Officer Garrett Miller's official request for a criminal charge against Gray, a 25-year-old black man who was only 5-foot-8 inches tall and 145 pounds, said that he had been arrested "without force or incident."

Miller sought a charge of carrying a switchblade, punishable by a year in prison and a $500 fine, according to court records obtained Monday by The Associated Press.

Miller's charging document doesn't provide any explanations for the injuries that would lead to Gray's death a week later. He wrote only that while being taken to the station, on April 12, "the defendant suffered a medical emergency and was immediately transported to Shock Trauma via medic."

Another 30 minutes passed before police finally called an ambulance to pick Gray up at the station. He arrived at the hospital in critical condition and died on Sunday after a weeklong coma.

The documents, which misspell Gray's name as "Grey," were first reported Monday by The Baltimore Sun. Police had not previously mentioned a knife, or publicly disclosed the charge against Gray.

Miller's signed report says he personally recovered the knife from Gray's pocket. It names five other officers to be summoned as witnesses in court, and says Gray was stopped after a brief foot chase because he "fled unprovoked upon noticing police presence."

"We have no confidence that the city or the police department is going to fairly and objectively investigate this case," Murphy said.

Activists protesting excessive use of force and even Baltimore city officials say they have more questions than answers. About 50 people marched from City Hall to police headquarters Monday, carrying signs reading "Black lives matter" and "Jobs, not police killings." They unfurled a yellow banner reading "Stop police terror."

"This is just one of the most egregious cases I've ever seen," said Colleen Davidson of the Baltimore People's Power Assembly, which she said organized the rally at the request of Gray's family. "We felt the need to be out here and make it known that we will not stand and watch things like this happen."

Rodriguez said his investigators will hand everything they find over to the office of State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby by May 1. She too appealed Monday for anyone with information to contact her office.

"I can assure the public that my office has dedicated all its existing resources to independently investigate this matter to determine whether criminal charges will be brought," Mosby said.


Westfield's Senior Options 2015 set for Thursday

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Admission to Senior Options 2015 is free.

WESTFIELD - More than 30 exhibitors specializing in senior health issues will be available Thursday when the Council on Aging hosts Senior Options 2015 at South Middle School.

The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is designed to expose Westfield's senior population to health, wellness and safety options available throughout the community.

A homemade lunch, for a nominal fee, will be availab le and entertainment will be provided by the Senior Center's Do Re Mi Singers.

South Middle School is located at 30 West Silver St.. There is no admission charge to attend Senior Options 2015.

The art of math: Westfield State University talk to focus on artistic applications of mathematics at Sydney Opera House

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WESTFIELD — When Alexander J. Hahn, a mathematics professor at the University of Notre Dame, isn't discussing orthogonal and other classical matrix groups, Clifford algebras, Azumaya algebras, and linear and hermitian K-Theory, you may find him talking about the practical and artistic applications of math in man-made structures. But not just any old structures. We're talking about the Sydney Opera...

WESTFIELD — When Alexander J. Hahn, a mathematics professor at the University of Notre Dame, isn't discussing orthogonal and other classical matrix groups, Clifford algebras, Azumaya algebras, and linear and hermitian K-Theory, you may find him talking about the practical and artistic applications of math in man-made structures.

But not just any old structures. We're talking about the Sydney Opera House, the Parthenon and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, among other famous buildings from around the globe.

Hahn, author of the award-winning "Mathematical Excursions to the World's Great Buildings" – a book that seeks a deeper understanding of the mathematical forces at play in some of the world's most beautiful buildings – will be in Western Massachusetts this week to discuss the elementary mathematics behind the Sydney Opera House, the Australian landmark at the mouth of Sydney Harbor that resembles a series of giant shells.

Hahn will deliver a free talk on the "Elementary Mathematics in the Sydney Opera House" at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 23, at Westfield State University. The lecture will be held in Savignano Auditorium in Wilson Hall.

Hahn's talk will present "a fun view" of the Sydney Opera House, an iconic symbol of art, architecture, history, physics and mathematics, "in a manner accessible to everyone," according to organizers of the guest lecture series.

More information is available by emailing program host Jesse Johnson, Ph.D., at jwjohnson@westfield.ma.edu.

Here's an outtake from the Amazon.com description of Hahn's book:

... Beautifully illustrated, the book explores the milestones in elementary mathematics that enliven the understanding of these buildings and combines this with an in-depth look at their aesthetics, history and structure.

Whether using trigonometry and vectors to explain why Gothic arches are structurally superior to Roman arches, or showing how simple ruler and compass constructions can produce sophisticated architectural details, Alexander Hahn describes the points at which elementary mathematics and architecture intersect.



 

Westfield Planning Board to hold public hearing on Turnpike Exit 3 service station plans

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A City Council publilc hearing on fuel storage permits remains open pending completion of Planning Board reviews.

WESTFIELD - The Planning Board will host a public hearing Tuesday night on Pride Limited Partnership plans to develop service stations and a restaurant on property across from Massachusetts Turnpike Exit 3 on Southampton Road.

The plans, in the making since at least 2008, call for the creation of automobile and truck fuel stations, convenience store and restaurant at property owned by the Turnpike Authority but under a 99-year lease to Pride CEO Robert Bolduc.

Bolduc appeared before the City Council last week at a council-hosted public hearing on fuel storage permits for properties located at 33 Southampton Road and 9 Southampton Road. The parcels are located on each side of Friendly's Restaurant and were first presented to city officials for consideration in 2008. The plans have since laid dormant.

Also, Bolduc told the City Council he is in negotiations with Westfield Gast and Electric Department to bring a natural gas supply to the provide, for sale, compressed liquefied natural gas, to the truck stop service station at 33 Southampton Road.

The council opted to keep its public hearing open until Bolduc completes meetings with the Planning Board.

Springfield police investigating gunpoint robbery at State Food Mart in Mason Square

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Three men, two of whom reportedly had guns, robbed State Food Mart, 910 State St., just before 8:30 p.m. Monday, April 20.

SPRINGFIELD — Police responded to an armed robbery at State Food Mart, a convenience store in the Mason Square section of the city, on Monday night.

Three men, two of whom were armed with handguns, robbed the store at 910 State St. shortly before 8:30 p.m., according to Springfield police, who continue to investigate.

There were no apparent injuries in the incident. It wasn't immediately clear if the bandits got away with cash or merchandise.

Police described the suspects as two black men and one Hispanic man, all of whom were wearing hoodies and covered their faces with black-and-white bandanas. The Hispanic man didn't show a weapon, police said.

They fled on foot toward the AIC campus.

Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call detectives in the Springfield Police Major Crimes Unit at 413-787-6355.


MAP showing approximate location of armed robbery:



Four American runners finish in the top 10 at 2015 Boston Marathon

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Americans made an impressive showing Monday with two men and two women finishing in the top of ten of the 2015 Boston Marathon.

BOSTON -- Americans made an impressive showing Monday with two men and two women finishing in the top of 10 of the 2015 Boston Marathon.

Dathan Ritzenhein of Rockford, Michigan finished seventh with a time of 2:11:20. The seventh place result is one of Ritzenhein's top marathon finishes but still over his best time of 2:07:47 at the 2012 Chicago Marathon.

Crowd favorite and 2014 Boston Marathon winner Meb Keflezighi finished right behind Ritzenhein with a time of 2:12:42. Keflezighi told WBZ that he vomited five times on the course. He took the hand of elite women's runner Hilary Dionne as they neared the end of the race. As the two crossed the finish line they triumphantly raised their arms together. Dionne finished the race in the 15 spot with a time of 2:40:42

On the women's side Desiree Linden of Rochester Mills, Michigan finished the race in fourth place with a time of 2:25:09, the fifth fastest finish all-time for an American woman.

Shalane Flanagan, the record holder for fastest time ever by an American woman, finished ninth with a time of 2:27:47. The Oregon resident set the record for the fastest course time in 2014.

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