The commission chose to delay a vote on demolition until it tours the inside of the building and gets further details from the owner on preservation efforts.

SPRINGFIELD - The Springfield Historical Commission was not convinced this week that a blighted historic duplex at 25-27 Elliot St., is beyond saving.

And a lawyer for the property owner, who has applied for permission to demolish the building, said at Thursday's hearing that losing the building is "a sin," but an economic necessity.

"It's a sin," said Glenn Goodman of Springfield, a lawyer representing Long Wharf Financial of Las Vegas, the listed owner. "It's a shame. The only commercially viable option is to demolish it."

The commission voted to table any action on the demolition request until the commission tours the inside of the building, and gets further details on the owner's efforts to save or sell the building. Goodman said he will make the arrangements with the owner.

The building, constructed in 1872, has extensive damage, Goodman said, describing it as "gutted," swept by fire and "just a mess."

It has been boarded and vacant since a fire in 2008, and under Housing Court review since that time.

Some commission members and two residents speaking against the demolition said that estimates provided by the owner that it might cost $1.5 million to $3.5 million to restore the building seem too extravagant or exaggerated.

The $1.5 million estimate appeared to be a "compete restoration to it's grand elegance," and thus inflated beyond what the commission would likely require, commission Chairman Ralph Slate said. The higher estimate of $3 million to $3.5 million was based on vague numbers "and seemed hard to believe on their face,'' he said.

"We would like to explore every option to save it and to make sure it's not just being cleared for convenience," Slate said. "The past proposals are not very detailed."

The cost estimates seem to be old estimates from vague sources, and seem to call for "Cadillac reconstruction," Slate said.

Goodman said he will seek further details and a description of efforts to preserve or sell the site. The property is behind the federal courthouse on State Street and within the Armoury-Quadrangle Local Historic District.

Residents William Devlin and David Gaby urged the commission to reject the demolition request.

Devlin said the building was left unprotected from the weather and other conditions for long periods following a 2008 fire, and has been neglected by successive owners. It is a "nasty idea" to tear it down, he said.

Gaby said he has been inside the building and is convinced that a gut renovation is not needed, as many elements can be preserved. He suggested the cost for restoration is far less than cited.

"It's not the White House," Gaby said. "It's not Independence Hall."

Commission member Robert McCarroll said that having the building demolished would leave the property with little value because any new development there would meet strict requirements within a historic district. The site is small, leaving little room for creating a parking lot if that would be the plan, he said.

Goodman said he did not know if the ownership has offered the site for sale at a very low price, as a means of improving its chances for preservation.

Long Wharf, a mortgage company, reached an agreement to take over the deed to the property from the former owner, in lieu of foreclosure of a $250,000 loan, according to Goodman. Slate questioned the corporate status of Long Wharf, and Goodman said he believes the name is a business name, not a corporate name.

The top Holyoke Public School officials in the state visited city schools on Friday.

HOLYOKE -- The top Holyoke Public School officials in the state visited city schools on Friday.

Newly-appointed School Receiver Stephen Zrike and Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Mitchell Chester met with local officials in closed-door meetings. It was Zrike's first time visiting the schools since he was named receiver.

Part of their day in Holyoke was spent at Donahue School, where they participated in field day. 

Zrike was chosen by Chester, who has the sole authority to fill the position. The district receiver has both the powers of a superintendent and a school committee.

Police stopped the vehicle early Thursday on Interstate 84

George Graham | ggraham@repub.com 

STURBRIDGE -- Police charged two men with trafficking cocaine early Thursday after stopping their car on Interstate 84 for motor vehicle violations.

Trooper Michael Kent stopped the Nissan Maxima, eastbound near Exit 1, at about 12:55 a.m., according to a release issued by state police.

Kent, with assistance from Trooper Michael Commane and Trooper Tom Eliason and his K-9

Viktor, found one of the suspects to be in possession of a plastic bag containing what appeared to be crack cocaine.

Paul Dinato, 52, of Lawrence and Jose Gonzalez, 22, of Hudson, N.H., were also charged with conspiracy to violate drug law.

Dinato was also charged with operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license and marked lanes violation.

The victims, now adults, testified that Fugler raped them in the 1990s in South Hadley and also forced them to have sex with one another while he watched.

NORTHAMPTON — A Hampshire Superior Court judge on Friday sentenced Leo E. Fugler to 30 to 45 years in prison for child rape.

Fugler, 55, of Granby will not be eligible for parole until he is 85. Last week, a jury found Fugler guilty of six counts of child rape and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child.

The three victims in the case read their statements to Judge John Agostini after the verdict last week, but he postponed sentencing to today. Fugler, a hulking man, took the stand in his own defense, portraying the victims as liars. His wife, Susan Fugler, supported his testimony.

The victims, now adults, testified that Fugler raped them in the 1990s in South Hadley and also forced them to have sex with one another while he watched. Each of them described the terror of living under the threat of Fugler's anger and lust and said the hardest part of the abuse was being unable to protect the others. All three wept as they read their statements.

Prosecutor Linda Pisano asked for a 40- to 60-year sentence and 20 years of probation. Noting that Fugler would be at least 90 when his probation commenced, Agostini called the request excessive and said it would be a burden on the probation department.

When it came time for sentencing, however, Agostini said the case was among the most disturbing he has encountered in 13 years on the bench.

"It's difficult to put into words the conduct of the defendant," he said.

"Despicable," Agostini said, did not adequately describe the crimes. He then suggested "beastly" and "inhuman."

Defense lawyer Mary Anne Stamm asked Agostini for a sentence below the guidelines of someone with no prior criminal record, 8 to 12 years. The judge imposed the 30- to 45-year sentence instead.

Two of the victims said they turned to drugs and alcohol to stem the shame and guilt they felt as a result of the abuse. They also said that Susan Fugler always sided with the defendant and sometimes helped to beat them. Pisano said they had "a life of living hell."

"They're living with a life sentence he imposed upon them," she told the court.

With potential state budget funding levels on track to fall well short of requests from the University of Massachusetts, it appears tuition and fee freezes that students enjoyed over the past two years won't be repeated next year.

By MICHAEL NORTON

BOSTON — With potential state budget funding levels on track to fall well short of requests from the University of Massachusetts, it appears tuition and fee freezes that students enjoyed over the past two years won't be repeated next year.

 

University officials plan to meet next week to discuss tuition and fee levels and the full University of Massachusetts board will likely finalize student costs for the 2015-2016 year at a June 17 meeting.

The Democrat-controlled Legislature and former Gov. Deval Patrick boosted aid to UMass during each of the last two budget cycles, prompting UMass officials to make good on their promise to freeze tuition and fees paid by students and their families.

Asked whether tuition and fees could be frozen for a third straight year, UMass spokesman Robert Connolly told the News Service Thursday that "it would be difficult to continue" holding the line again on tuition and fees at UMass. While nothing is definite yet, "it is certainly not as likely as in the past two years," he said.

Connolly said UMass officials are still going over the numbers in preparation for the upcoming meetings.

House and Senate budget negotiators and Gov. Charlie Baker are forging ahead with spending plans for fiscal 2016 that raise state spending about 3 percent, part of a concerted effort to rein in spending and avoid tax increases after this year's budget careened out of balance.

UMass received about $519 million in state assistance in this year's budget and the university, facing collective bargaining and personnel funding obligations, sought more than $578 million for fiscal 2016.

Baker proposed $526.5 million for UMass in fiscal 2016, the House recommended just under $519 million and the Senate approved $537.8 million. House and Senate negotiators often settle on a figure between the appropriations approved in each branch.

Asked in May about the possibility of fee hikes, Baker said, "I would hope that given the support that we were able to provide to the higher-ed system that any increase in tuition or fees would be modest."

Martin Meehan, the incoming president of UMass, said in May that Robert Caret, the outgoing president of UMass, will be in charge of tuition and fee decisions before Meehan takes over July 1.

"We need to do everything that we can to keep tuition and fees as low as we possibly can. But the other perspective here is we need a world-class UMass, too," Meehan said.
In June 2014, Caret celebrated the second straight year of level tuition and fees for in-state undergraduate students, touting the savings for families, the commitment to affordable education, and a "record infusion of state funds."

Under the so-called 50-50 split reached this year in which students cover half the costs and the state covers the other half, tuition and fees for in-state undergraduate students at UMass Amherst were held at $13,258, or $24,215 after accounting for room and board.

Tuition and fees for in-state undergraduate students at the other UMass campuses, not including room and board, were $11,966 in Boston; $11,681 in Dartmouth; and $12,447 in Lowell.

Public state universities warned earlier this year that without an additional $9 million for collective bargaining contracts, students on the nine non-UMass university campuses would also likely face higher fees or the reduction the academic programs.

"I think that's unfortunate to hear that from state universities," House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Brian Dempsey said at the time. "I'd like to hear them say occasionally they'd look at their expenses and maybe before they jump to raise fees they'd look at maybe some kind of consolidation. I think that's really their responsibility."

Dempsey said the Legislature had increased funding for state universities by $34 million over that last two years, and House leaders proposed another $5 million increase for fiscal 2016.

"I don't believe that we ought to be taking the default position that because we're not able to increase it that automatically means that fees are going to go up. I think we all have a responsibility to look at the expense side of the equation. I'm hoping that they do that," Dempsey said in April.

Lowell police say a 50-year-old man was seriously burned in an explosion while working in an underground tank at a gas station.

Police say the man was cutting a pipe in the underground tank at Mahoney's Gas Station on Friday morning when the explosion occurred. Authorities say the worker became engulfed in flames and was rescued from the tank by a co-worker.

The man suffered serious burns to his head, face, arms and legs and was brought to Massachusetts General Hospital. His name hasn't been released.

Police say the workers had turned off the gas to a pump they were fixing in the tank. Authorities say there appears to have been some residual gas that was ignited by a pipe-cutting tool.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating.

The suspect fled a motor vehicle stop in Richmond Thursday night.

Republican file  

PITTSFIELD -- State police arrested a man Thursday wanted for domestic assault in Georgia one day after he fled a motor vehicle stop in Richmond.

Troopers arrested Jarrett C. Woodruff, 28, of Marietta, Ga., at about 1 p.m. in the Pittsfield home of a friend.

A trooper first encountered the suspect on Route 141 in Richmond at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday when he was stopped for a motor vehicle violation.

A check soon revealed that Woodruff was wanted for a felony warrant in Georgia. As the trooper attempted to arrest the suspect, he pushed the trooper away, jumped over a guardrail and ran down an embankment into a wooded area.

Troopers, state and local K-9 units and the State Police Air Wing could not find Woodruff.

The search continued Friday and police were able to develop information that led to his arrest without incident.

Nicholas Tirrell, who recently was defeated in his bid for election to the board of selectmen, is engaged to an 18-year-old Belchertown High School senior who will graduate on Sunday.

Updates a story posted Friday at 6 a.m.

BELCHERTOWN — The school department on Friday rescinded the no trespass order issued by the superintendent last month against Nicholas Tirrell, a 20-year-old town official.

The school's decision came a day after the the American Civil Liberties Union wrote to school officials, saying the action was unconstitutional.

Tirrell, who recently was defeated in his bid for election to the board of selectmen, is engaged to an 18-year-old Belchertown High School senior who will graduate on Sunday.

The district's decision means he can now attend her graduation, provided he conducts himself in a "professional manner," according to an agreement between the parties.

In a letter to the ACLU sent Friday afternoon, the school's counsel, attorney Joshua R. Coleman of the Norwood firm Collins, Loughran and Peloquin, wrote to the ACLU.

"The Belchertown Public Schools agrees, to rescind the no-trespass order, with the expectation that Mr. Tirrell will act in a professional manner leading up to and during the graduation on June 7, 2015. Please confirm that Mr. Tirrell agrees to abide by this condition," Coleman wrote. Coleman's letter was addressed to William C. Newman, director of the ACLU's Western Massachusetts office, who is representing Tirrell.

"I note that Mr. Tirrell never had any intention of acting otherwise," Newman wrote in response to Coleman. "I am pleased that this matter has been resolved amicably."

Alemany's attorney asked jurors to look past the emotions generated by the horrific nature of the crimes to consider dispassionately whether Alemany was sane at the time he committed them.

Update, 2:12 p.m.: The jury began deliberations at 1:50 p.m. on Friday.

BOSTON — When Edwin Alemany brutally murdered Amy Lord and attacked two other women, he was acting in a way that was calculated and cunning, said Assistant District Attorney John Pappas. He acted with purpose and clarity of mind, Pappas said.

"Amy Lord, forever 24, will never walk down the aisle with her dad on her wedding day," Pappas said, as Lord's father Dennis Lord, cried.

"Because of this selfish man," Pappas said, pointing at Alemany, "Amy Lord is gone."

Pappas and Alemany's attorney Jeffrey Denner delivered their closing arguments on Friday morning in Suffolk County Superior Court. Alemany is on trial for abducting and murdering Lord, choking Alexandra Cruz and stabbing Kayleigh Ballantyne on July 23-24, 2013. Denner is using an insanity defense. Jurors have heard from 35 witnesses and viewed 300 exhibits over the two-week trial.

Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley attended the closing arguments.

Denner asked jurors to look past the emotions generated by the horrific nature of the crimes to consider dispassionately whether Alemany was sane at the time he committed them.

"I'm telling you ... beyond a reasonable doubt that man is guilty of everything he was charged with," Denner said. "It's up to you to take out the emotion, the revulsion and repulsion that everyone naturally feels when they hear about how these innocent women were attacked, assaulted, in many ways butchered."

"In a country of laws, where we as citizens have duties we must fulfill, that includes the requirement in this case for the state to prove sanity beyond a reasonable doubt," Denner said.

If Alemany is found not guilty by reason of insanity, he will be held in a secure mental facility until a judge decides he is no longer a threat to himself or others. If he is found guilty of first-degree murder, he faces a sentence of life in prison without parole. Of nearly 20 charges, several others carry a penalty of life in prison.

A psychiatrist hired by the defense testified that Alemany had serious psychiatric illness, including major depression and multiple personality disorder. He said Alemany used alcohol to self-medicate. He said Alemany could not understand that his actions were wrong and could not conform his actions to the law.

The psychiatrist hired by the prosecution said Alemany had anti-social personality disorder, which causes a person to reject authority and do actions that harm others, without feeling remorse. This disorder, he said, did not affect Alemany's ability to look out for his own self-interest and to understand what he was doing.

In his closing argument, Denner focused on the testimony from the psychiatrists.

Denner stressed behavior by Alemany that seemed irrational - telling Cruz he was a "hit man," stabbing Lord nearly 100 times, and yelling and calling attention to himself at the hospital where he went for a hand injury after stabbing Ballantyne.

"What kind of rage is fueled to have to kill somebody in that way?" Denner asked about Lord's murder. "Was that the action of a rational man or are those the actions of someone who's a really, really sick person?"

Denner portrayed Alemany, who did not testify, as a man who had no home, no steady job, and as somebody "who is hapless, who's hopeless, who's helpless."

Denner pointed to the fact that Alemany went out eating and drinking with friends that day as evidence that he does not act like a rational person. "It's disgusting. It's repulsive. It's revolting. But what does it tell us about him?" Denner said.

"For this 18-hour period, he was literally, figuratively and legally out of his mind," Denner said. "On July 23-24, Edwin Alemany was a profoundly sick individual. He is insane as the term is understood in law."

Pappas countered in his closing argument that Alemany knew clearly what he was doing when he attacked the women. When he began choking Cruz, then let her go, Alemany apologized, then gave her a fake name. "That was consciousness of guilt. That...is purpose and clarity of mind," Pappas said.

Alemany then attacked Lord in the vestibule of her building, beat her, and drove her in her car to five ATMs, in what Pappas called a "terror ride." Alemany covered his face to avoid being captured on surveillance cameras.

"He appreciates the wrongfulness of what he's doing there," Pappas said.

Pappas took the jury through Alemany's actions - taking Lord to an isolated reservation, forcing her to put on sunglasses to hide her black eyes, leading her down a remote path and lighting her car on fire to destroy the evidence.

When he could not get any more money from her, he killed her. "What he could no longer get in U.S. currency, he was looking to take out now in the flesh," Pappas said. "This is not a lack of criminal responsibility. This is deliberate premeditation."

Pappas rejected claims by the defense that Alemany could not take care of himself, pointing to Alemany's actions in the hours after he killed Lord, using her money to buy beer, scratch tickets and a phone, and going out to eat with friends. "He took pretty good care of himself that day," Pappas said. "Lottery tickets, phone, food, alcohol, even getting himself medical treatment."

Pappas referred to Alemany as "the destroyer of life." He called him a "selfish man" rather than a sick man. He said Alemany was drinking and lighting off fireworks, while Lord's parents were learning that their daughter was dead. "Is that the snapshot of a sick man? That's a snapshot of a selfish man who's doing what he does...to serve their own self interest and to take care of themselves," Pappas said.

Pappas repeated multiple times a statement that Alemany told doctors, recorded on a discharge form from Bridgewater State Hospital, the state mental hospital where Alemany was held for a year after his arrest: "I never feel guilty. I have no remorse about anything."

 

Saudi Arabia shot down a Scud missile early Saturday fired into the Sunni kingdom by Yemen's Shiite rebels and their allies, the country's official news agency reported, marking what could be a major escalation in the monthslong war.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia shot down a Scud missile early Saturday fired into the Sunni kingdom by Yemen's Shiite rebels and their allies, the country's official news agency reported, marking what could be a major escalation in the monthslong war.

A Patriot missile battery shot down the Scud around 2:45 a.m. Saturday (2345 GMT, 7:45 p.m. EDT) around the southwestern city of Khamis Mushait, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. The agency did not report any casualties in the attack.

Saudis on social media reported hearing air raid sirens go off around the city during the attack.

The agency blamed Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, and their allies in forces loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Saudi Arabia leads a coalition targeting the rebels in airstrikes that began March 26 in support of the country's exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. Those strikes have targeted arms cache and other Scud missile sites around the country.

The Houthis began their advance in September, sweeping into the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and taking over government ministries and other areas. They held top officials, including Hadi, under house arrest until Hadi fled, first to the southern port city of Aden, then to Saudi Arabia as the rebels closed in backed by forces loyal to Saleh.

The Saudi-led air campaign and ground fighting have killed more than 1,000 civilians and displaced more than 1 million people since mid-March, the spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general, Stephane Dujarric, told reporters Wednesday.

The offensive has so far failed to force the Houthis to withdraw from any territory they hold or blunt their advance in southern Yemen.

On Friday, the Houthis and Saleh's forces launched a ground offensive targeting the Saudi border, which saw the kingdom fire artillery and launch Apache attack helicopters, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The agency reported "scores" of rebel forces being killed in a battle that lasted from dawn to noon Friday, with four Saudi soldiers killed in the fighting.

The Saudis and Western powers accuse the Houthis of receiving military support from Shiite power Iran as part of a larger proxy war between the Sunni kingdom and the Islamic Republic across the Mideast. Tehran and the rebels deny the allegations, though Iran has acknowledged sending humanitarian aid to the Houthis.

The strikes, as well as a Saudi-led air and sea blockade, have caused food, water and medicine shortages, sparking a humanitarian crisis in the Arab world's poorest country.

The American Civil Liberties Union is now representing Nicholas Tirrell, the town official recently served a no trespass order by the police chief on behalf of school superintendent Karol Coffin.

These were the most read stories on MassLive.com yesterday. If you missed any of them, click on the links below to read them now.

1) 8-year-old thrown from car during police pursuit through Springfield, Chicopee [Michelle Williams] Photo gallery above

2) Agawam police to hold public auction featuring cars, minibikes, motor scooters and more [Conor Berry]

3) ACLU takes case of Belchertown official banned from school property, wants him to be able to attend fiancee's graduation

4) 2 punches gets Chicopee man 3 years in state prison [Buffy Spencer]

5) Police say these Worcester fishermen were caught on Cape Cod with 214 sea bass over legal limit [Lindsay Corcoran]

Detectives were about to place the woman under arrest when they found an instructional video "How to Make Money Selling Drugs' in her living room closet, police said.

SPRINGFIELD - Detectives were about to arrest a woman on drug charges Wednesday when they found an instructional video in her living room closet.

"How to Make Money Selling Drugs," was the title of the DVD, according to an arrest report from a police raid at 82 Malden St.

Dominique A. Rhodes, 35, was charged after police seized crack cocaine, cash and drug packaging material from her third-floor apartment.

On Thursday, she pleaded innocent distributing crack cocaine and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine during her arraignment in Springfield District Court.

During a bail hearing, Assistant District Attorney Jill O'Connor said police seized three bags of crack cocaine, $85 dollars and drug paraphernalia from the defendant's apartment.

Before the raid, police had received complaints from neighbors and a tip from an informant about drug activity in the apartment, O'Connor said.

They also arrested a man leaving the apartment with crack cocaine shortly before the raid, the prosecutor said.

Loud music was playing inside the apartment when police arrived, according to the arrest report. Rhodes ran out the back door, but was secured on the rear porch before the search began, the report said.

Crack cocaine was found on the kitchen table and a bedroom dresser; a cell phone, scale, packaging material and instructional DVD on how to profit from the drug trade was also seized, according to the report.

Text messages documenting several crack cocaine transactions were later recovered from the phone, the report said.

Court records indicate that Rhodes is unemployed and has a criminal record, though no charges, dates or details are mentioned.

During her arraignment, Judge William Hadley set bail at $2,000 cash and scheduled a pretrial hearing for July 8.

By late afternoon, Rhodes posted bail and was released pending trial.

While Abdullah Faaruuq said Friday that the confrontation "could have been handled better," he added, "I don't think they were trying to lure Rahim into anything that would cause him harm. I do not want to criticize the officials or incite more hatred."

An Islamic leader apologized Friday for saying police officers murdered suspected terrorist Usaamah Rahim when they shot him during a confrontation with a knife on Tuesday.

Usaama Rahim 

"I have to apologize for the words I used," WCVB-TV quoted Imam Abdullah Faaruuq as saying Friday after saying on Thursday that Rahim's killing was reckless and unnecessary.

While Faaruuq said Friday that the confrontation "could have been handled better," he added, "I don't think they were trying to lure Rahim into anything that would cause him harm. I do not want to criticize the officials or incite more hatred."

On Thursday, Faaruuq blamed Rahim's "murder" on the media, an investigation gone awry and the strained relationship between police and black men, according to the Boston Herald.

"I ask that God overlook the shortcomings in the people who continue to exist that murdered the young man," Faaruuq, of the Mosque for the Praising of the Lord in Roxbury, said Thursday. "I know that's probably not what they intended in their hearts. But this is how they're trained -- to shoot at the critical mass, in an open space with cars going by."

According to WHDH-TV, Rahim, who was under surveillance by the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force, was killed Tuesday morning in Boston's Roslindale neighborhood after Boston police and an FBI agent fired at him.

Police said that Rahim, of Roslindale, was brandishing a military-style knife and went after an officer about 7 a.m. after being ordered to put the knife down.

"The suspect in question came at the officers. We have video depicting this individual coming at officers while the officers are retreating," the station quoted Boston Police Commissioner Bill Evans as saying Tuesday. "The individual in question has what can be described as a large military knife.

"The officers are retreating and that's from the video we have available as well as witness accounts. They kept retreating and verbally giving commands to drop the weapon. At some point the individual's proximity came close that the officers were in danger, their lives were in danger, when two officers discharged their weapons," Evans said Tuesday afternoon.

Police said at the time that Rahim was under surveillance, and when he was approached by police outside a CVS/pharmacy, he pulled the knife and approached the officers.

 

Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley said that the officers had approached Rahim without their weapons drawn.

Yusufi Vali, the Executive Director of the Islamic Society of Boston Community Center in Roxbury, said that Faaruuq's comments did not accurately represent how the family or members of the community felt.

"Those comments are not reflective of what the family's own attorney said and similarly not reflective of what the Muslim leadership believes. I think it's simply too early to jump to any conclusions about what exactly happened," he said.

Rahim's family and their lawyers viewed surveillance video of the shooting with Conley and other officials Thursday. Prior to that that viewing, family members called for a complete investigation of the incident, including whether officers exceeded their authority in stopping him, according to the Boston Globe.

Family members, through Harvard Law professor Ronald S. Sullivan Jr., said they had seen no behavior to suggest that Rahim, 26, had embraced Islamic extremism.

An Associated Press review of Rahim's social media postings found little to indicate he supported in the type of violence the Islamic State has been known to be involved in.

"In his public postings,... (Rahim) appeared to be a conservative Muslim, frowning on women plucking their eyebrows and musing on the proper length for men's robes," the AP reported Friday.

His decision to "like" the Islamic State in Iraq page concerns some moderate Muslim leaders who reviewed his social media postings with the Associated Press, but they note he posted no bloody pictures and made none of the violent calls to arms many supporters of armed extremist groups espouse on social media.

Killing people is anti-Islamic, Rahim wrote, arguing a key tenet of the faith is "we do not fight evil with that which causes a greater evil."

Sullivan said Rahim's family had not reached any conclusions about what happened Tuesday and pledged to "enter into a joint relationship with investigators to get to the truth," according to the Globe.

U.S. Rep, Stephen F. Lynch, speaking from Washington, D.C,, said Rahim had been on the FBI's radar for three years. Lynch said it was not clear what had caused the FBI's initial interest.

"I'm not sure what red-flagged him, but I think it went back -- the FBI was looking at him going back to 2012," said Lynch, a South Boston Democrat, told the Globe.

On Wednesday, police showed surveillance video to community leaders after Rahim's brother posted a comment on Facebook saying that police had shot Rahim in the back.

"What the video does reveal to us, very clearly, is that the individual was not on the cellphone. The individual was not shot in the back. And the information reported by others that that was the case was inaccurate,'' former Springfield resident Darnell Williams, now president of the Urban League in Boston, was quoted by the Globe as saying.

Rahim's brother, Imam Ibrahim Rahim, had said in a Facebook posting Tuesday that his brother was confronted by officers at a bus stop and was on the phone with their father when he was shot in the back three times by officers.

Williams said the group who reviewed the video were "hopeful for a level of transparency. That transparency was given."

"We're very comfortable with what we saw," Williams said.

The Globe also quoted Williams as saying that video showed officers backing up before the shooting.

Ronald Sullivan told WCVB Thursday that Rahim's brother regrets his Facebook post, and admitted that it had been based on incorrect, third-hand information.

"We would like to thank everyone for their respect of our privacy throughout the service. God bless you all, God bless the country. And Boston Strong once more,' Ibrahim Rahim said after his brother's funeral on Friday.

"Nothing that we can do will bring back this young man," the Herald quoted Faaruuq as saying. "We're going to work from this day to produce some change. For the officers involved we ask that God would guide them as well."

"Work with me and the officials so this kind of thing does not reoccur," Faaruuq added. "If mistrust and ignorance will negatively affect us. We forbid what is wrong. Let the change begin with us."

Here's what you can do to fight the spread of opioid addiction, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Altanta.

Here's what you can do to fight the spread of opioid addiction, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Altanta.

• Avoid taking prescription painkillers more often than prescribed.
• Dispose of medications properly, as soon as the course of treatment is done, and avoid keeping prescription painkillers or sedatives around "just in case."
• Help prevent misuse and abuse by not selling or sharing prescription drugs. Never use another person's prescription drugs.
• Get help for substance abuse problems by calling 1-800-662-HELP. Call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 if you have questions about medicines.

The following are police department in Western Massachusetts providing lobby drug drop-off boxes, according to state and Republican records. For sites throughout the state, see the document at the end of this post.

Franklin County:

Deerfield
8 Conway St., South Deerfield

Erving
71 French King Highway

Greenfield
321 High Street, Greenfield, MA 01301

Montague
180 Turnpike Road, Turners Falls, MA 01376

Orange
400 E River Street, Orange, MA 01364

Sunderland
105 River Road, Sunderland

Hampden County:

Agawam
681 Suffield St.

Ludlow
612 Chapin St.

Southwick
11 Depot Street, Southwick, MA 01077

Westfield
15 Washington Street, Westfield, MA 01085

Hampshire County:

Amherst
111 Main Street, Amherst

Athol
280 Exchange St.

Belchertown
70 State Street, Belchertown

Easthampton
32 Payson Ave., Easthampton

Erving
71 French King Highway

Granby
Police Department
259A E State St.

Hadley
15 East St., Hadley

Northampton
29 Center St., Northampton

South Hadley
41 Bridge St., South Hadley

Ware
22 North St., Ware

Williamsburg
Police Department
16 S Main St., Haydenville

Mass. Cities and Towns With Prescription Dropboxes

An apartment occupant reported finding two bullet holes in her window after a shots fired incident on Avon Place.

Dave Canton | dcanton@repub.com 

Springfield Police Lt. Richard LaBelle said an occupant of an apartment at 165 Maple St., called police just before 6 a.m. to report that she found a bullet in her apartment, and two holes in her windows. Responding officers confirmed the damage, and attribute the gunfire damage to a "shots fired" incident earlier in the morning.

At approximately 1:50 a.m. the city's acoustic gunfire location system, ShotSpotter, indicated multiple shots fired in the vicinity of 155 Maple St. Investigators said they found five shell casings near 23 Avon Place, some 200 feet from the woman's damaged apartment. The shot-out windows in the unit face the intersection of Avon Place and Maple Street.

It might take 18 months for the population of laying hens, and the supply of eggs, to return to normal.

SPRINGFIELD - Egg prices in the Pioneer Valley have nearly doubled after 35 million to 39 million lay hens were euthanized across the county to deal with particularly nasty strain of the avian flu.

Spokespeople at both Big Y Foods Inc. and Stop & Shop said their suppliers haven't experienced any issues relating to the flu.

But a lack of production is causing prices to rise in classic supply-and-demand  fashion, said Claire D'Amour-Daley, vice president of corporate communications at Springfield-based Big Y.

"So you take close to 40 million birds out of the picture, that is going to create some shortages," she said.

Big Y is selling eggs now for $3.49 a dozen, D'Amour-Daley said. Six weeks ago, eggs were selling for $2.69 a dozen. A year ago, they sold for $2.59.

She said prices may remain high for another 18 months until more laying hens go into production.

Phil Tracey, a Stop & Shop spokesman, said prices have also jumped for products that include liquid eggs.

D'Amour-Daley said egg prices might also drive up the prices of some baked goods and sauces.

"It's a shame, because eggs area  source of cheap protein for some people," she said.

Big Y is working to absorb as much of the price increase as it can and not pass all of it on to consumers.

As of now, Big Y hasn't had to restrict egg sales.

The Washington Post reported Friday that some Texas grocers are rationing eggs, limiting consumers to three dozen at a time in order to discourage restaurants and other businesses from scooping them all up.

A man facing sentencing for his part in a 2009 murder, admitted he pulled the trigger in a 2006 shooting.

Dave Canton | dcanton@repub.com 

The Hartford Courant reported that authorities had once charged another man with the Comrie murder, but after that defendant was acquitted, the case lingered in police cold case files. Torres admitted his role in the killing, and investigators were able to corroborate his statements. He entered a guilty plea to murder in Hartford Superior Court Friday.

Torres is awaiting sentencing as an accessory to murder and conspiracy in the shooting death of Luis Benitez in 2009. According to a plea agreement, Torres faces a prison term of 30 to 38-years.

According to court records, on January 10, 2006 Derrick Comrie was shot in the face with a shotgun as he sat in a car at the intersection of Wethersfield Avenue and Elliot Street East.

Torres told authorities he and Comrie had a running dispute and on that date, Torres waited at a bus stop at the intersection. As the car Comrie was riding in stopped at a traffic light, Torres knocked on the passenger window, then shot Comrie in the face as he turned to look.

Though it is not known where exactly they were hanged, a memorial to Daley and Halligan has been placed on Village Hill, which had been known as Hospital Hill, the site of the former Northampton State Hospital. An estimated 15,000 people turned out to watch the hanging.

NORTHAMPTON - The Irish never forget, and so it was that a small contingent of children of the Emerald Isle turned out Friday to commemorate the 209th anniversary of the hangings of Domenic Daley and James Halligan in Northampton.

Halligan, 27, and Daley, 34, were executed on June 3, 1806, after being tried and convicted for the murder of Marcus Lyon, a young farmer from Wilbraham. The state spent five months preparing its case. Daley and Halligan were assigned defense lawyers 48 hours before the trial. The jury deliberated only a few minutes before announcing its guilty finding.

When they were sentenced to be hanged, the presiding judge said their bodies were to be " dissected and anatomized." The two had left Ireland to flee oppression. Years after their execution, another man confessed to the murder on his death bed. Former Gov. Michael Dukakis formally exonerated them in 1984.

Though it is not known where exactly they were hanged, a memorial to Daley and Halligan has been placed on Village Hill, which had been known as Hospital Hill, the site of the former Northampton State Hospital. An estimated 15,000 people turned out to watch the hanging.

Former district attorney and judge W. Michael Ryan, current Northwestern DA David E. Sullivan and former probation officer William O'Riordan all turned out for the commemoration, as they have for years. Also present were Paul Hogan and several members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, of which he is president.

Ryan and Sullivan spoke out against the death penalty. Both mentioned Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was sentenced to death for the incident.

"The death penalty is not needed anymore," said Ryan "We can put dangerous people away."

Sullivan said the stance on the death penalty should pertain not only to the innocent, like Daley and Halligan, but to the guilty, like Tsarnaev.

"Executing him will not bring peace to us or anyone," Sullivan said. "We should say no to further executions."

The hangings of Daley and Halligan have become a touchstone for the Irish community in Massachusetts. Westfield writer Jim Curran wrote the play "They're Irish! They're Catholic!! They're Guilty!!!" based on the trial's transcript. Author Michael C. White wrote a fictionalized account of the trial and hanging called "The Garden of Martyrs."

Locally, Ryan, Sullivan and others have taken it upon themselves to commemorate the hanging and ensure that people don't forget Daley and Halligan.

Christian Paret, 21, was sentenced to four to five years in state prison after pleading guilty to 15 charges in Hampden Superior Court.

SPRINGFIELD - Christian Paret was sentenced to four to five years in state prison after pleading guilty to 15 charges involving cocaine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, firearms and large capacity feeding devices (clips).

Hampden Superior Court Judge Mark Mason sentenced Paret, 21, of Springfield on June 2, in two different cases.

The charges to which Paret pleaded guilty are:

• Trafficking cocaine 18-36 grams, three counts
• Possession of oxycodone with intent to distribute
• Possession hydrocodone with intent to distribute
• Possession of a firearm without a firearms identification card, three counts
• Trafficking cocaine 36 to 100 grams
• Distribution cocaine, two counts
• Possession of a large capacity feeding device, two counts
• Selling a large capacity feeding device, two counts

There were 10 other charges dismissed by the prosecution. Some of the cocaine trafficking charges to which Paret pleaded guilty had the amounts of cocaine reduced as part of the plea.

Paret must serve three years probation after the prison sentence. He has 340 days credit for time served awaiting disposition of his cases.

Assistant District Attorney Neil Desroches said prosecuting firearms charges are a priority with the gun violence in the city, and cocaine is also very dangerous to the community.

Defense lawyer Vincent A. Bongiorni said an informant used by law enforcement was a childhood friend of Paret who "importuned him" to commit acts which "perhaps he would have been disinclined to do" if someone else had come to him.

He said had the case not settled he would have pursued a number of motions regarding the informant "I think would make the commonwealth uncomfortable."

The offenses were committed in February and June 2014, and September and December 2013, according to court records.

The grants are funded by the federal "Linking to Employment Activities Pre-Release" or "LEAP" initiative.

SPRINGFIELD - The Regional Employment Board of Hampden County and its partner organizations have received $500,000 to develop new job centers at the Hampden County and Franklin County houses of corrections and run those centers over two years.

The Regional Employment Board and its president and CEO David M. Cruise announced the grant Friday following a Washington announcement from U. S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. It's partners include the Franklin Hampshire Career Center, CareerPoint in Holyoke, FutureWorks in Springfield as well as the Franklin County and Hampden County sheriff's Departments.

The Hampden and Franklin county proposal was one of only 20 awarded nationally in 14 states.All grants were for $500,000. There were no other awards in Massachusetts.

Cruise called it a "Great win for our REB team and regional partnership in a national competition."

The grants are funded by the federal  "Linking to Employment Activities Pre-Release" or "LEAP" initiative.

According to a prepared statement issued by the  U.S. Department of Labor, more than 9 million people are released from the nation's more than 3,000 county and local jails every year and many have trouble finding jobs.

Perez is quoted in the prepared statement as saying:

"When someone leaves a county or local jail, very real barriers too often stand in their way as they try to find a good job and lead a successful life. We have to do more to help them land on their feet as they return to their communities. We have to work together and use existing resources in new, innovative ways to break the cycle of incarceration. The LEAP initiative encourages greater coordination between local workforce programs, correctional systems and other critical services to prepare inmates for jobs before release, and to continue to assist them as they return home," Perez added. "This is a commonsense approach that strengthens communities and improves public safety at the same time."