Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday declined to say whether the chair of the commission overseeing the expansion of gambling in Massachusetts should stay in the role.

By GINTAUTAS DUMCIUS

BOSTON - Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday declined to say whether the chair of the commission overseeing the expansion of gambling in Massachusetts should stay in the role.

Gaming Commission chair Stephen Crosby has been accused of an alleged ethical breach. The State Ethics Commission has launched a preliminary inquiry after receiving a statement from an unidentified person alleging that Crosby participated in the awarding of the eastern Massachusetts casino license after he recused himself in May 2014.

Crosby, appointed chair in 2011 by Gov. Deval Patrick, has denied any wrongdoing and said he is cooperating with the probe. Crosby had ties to one of the owners of land that was eventually sold to the casino developer and winner of the casino license, Wynn Resorts. Crosby's fellow commissioners backed Crosby during a meeting last week.

"Look, the Gaming Commission was set up as an independent entity by the Legislature and I think the key issue at this point is the question that's been raised, that's in front of the Ethics Commission," Baker told reporters on Monday. "I expect the Ethics Commission to do their job and I think that's really sort of where the next step rests in all this."

Asked about Crosby during a gubernatorial campaign debate with his Republican opponent Mark Fisher in 2014, Baker said he would "want to have a conversation" with Crosby, while Fisher had said he would seek Crosby's resignation.

Crosby told reporters last week that "the Ethics Commission has actually written me a letter saying -- prior to this -- saying that I'm doing all the things I should be doing. But you know, people have a right to raise questions and the Ethics Commission will do its thing."

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with House and Senate leaders, Baker reiterated that he would not be stopping by the June 24 opening of Plainridge Park Casino, the first gaming facility authorized under the 2011 expanded gambling law. The Plainville facility holds the sole slots parlor license set up in the law.

Baker said he drove through Plainville last week, and said a "lot of work" remained before the facility was ready to open its doors.

"People were scrambling around, doing stuff," Baker said. "But I've got a whole bunch of other stuff going on that day, so I'm not going to be there."

Jay Ash, Baker's economic development and housing chief, plans to attend. Ash also attended the March groundbreaking of the MGM casino planned for Springfield.

The second casino license under the 2011 law went to Wynn Resorts, which is building a casino in Everett, and the Gaming Commission is weighing proposals for casinos in Brockton and New Bedford.

Asked by a reporter whether he plans to eventually stop by Plainridge, Baker quipped, "And roll the dice?"

Baker said Plainridge is expected to employ roughly 600 people in the area, "which is a good thing." He added that he will likely stop by the facility "at some point."

"But it's not on my immediate agenda," Baker said.

On the campaign trail last year, Baker said he would have preferred to have one casino in Massachusetts, instead of the current law allowing for up to three.

MGM-Springfield groundbreaking

 

  New England Patriots Duron Harmon talks about the upcoming season and about getting his super bowl ring yesterday while attending a party at the home of Robert Kraft the owner of the team.Harmon was in Springfield Monday to talk to the kids during a program at the Alice B. Beal School .

New England Patriots Duron Harmon talks about the upcoming season and about getting his super bowl ring yesterday while attending a party at the home of Robert Kraft the owner of the team.Harmon was in Springfield Monday to talk to the kids during a program at the Alice B. Beal School .

The June 15 Longmeadow Select Board meeting begins at 7 p.m., at the high school, 535 Bliss Rd., in room A-15

LONGMEADOW - The Carell Group, Inc. of Hopkinton plans to present draft results of a study at tonight's Select Board meeting related to the potential formation of a five-town emergency dispatch service with estimated start up costs pegged at $5,686,051, according to the company.

The other communities that would be included in the regional dispatch center are East Longmeadow, Hampden, Wilbraham and Ludlow.

The quintet of towns were awarded a $100,000 grant from the state last year, and chose Carell to complete the feasibility study.

In the report provided by Longmeadow, Carell said government grants could subsidize some of the costs, should the towns agree to form a regional emergency communications center for police, fire and ambulance functions.

Monday's Longmeadow Select Board meeting begins at 7 p.m., at the high school, 535 Bliss Road in room A-15.

SPRINGFIELD-The McKnight Neighborhood Council held the 2015 block party at Thompson Triangle Park in Springfield on Saturday. The party was sponsored by the McKnight Neighborhood Council & the Neighborhood Watch.

SPRINGFIELD-The McKnight Neighborhood Council held the 2015 block party at Thompson Triangle Park in Springfield on Saturday. The party was sponsored by the McKnight Neighborhood Council & the Neighborhood Watch.

Damien Alvarado's testimony will continue Tuesday in the murder trial of Jose Rodriguez, 25, and Joshua Santos, 27, both of Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD - Damien Alvarado testified Monday he went to a GED preparation workshop on the morning of June 2, 2013.

Then he went back to Holyoke and saw a murder, the 19-year-old Holyoke resident testified Monday in Hampden Superior Court.

Alvarado's testimony is scheduled to continue Tuesday in the murder trial of Jose Rodriguez, 25, and Joshua Santos, 27, both of Springfield. They are on trial for the fatal shooting of Juan Quinones on the back porch of an apartment building at 16 Cabot St. in Holyoke.

The prosecution alleges Santos, a ranking member of La Familia street gang, ordered Jose Rodriguez to shoot Quinones.

Alvarado is facing unrelated gun and drug charges of his own, and defense lawyers said in their opening statements he is only testifying to get help with his own case.

Alvarado, under questioning from Assistant District Attorney Joan Moynihan Dietz, said he has a cooperation agreement with the prosecution but no further information was provided on that agreement.

Also charged with Quinones' murder is Jose Santiago, 22, of Holyoke, who testified for the prosecution for eight hours last week.

Santiago - who is slated for a separate trial - implicated Rodriguez and Santos in the murder, saying Santos at first ordered him to do the shooting but he wouldn't.

Santiago testified Rolondo Colon, the leader of the La Familia street gang for Holyoke at the time, ordered the hit on Quinones, 23, of Holyoke.

No clear motive for that hit has emerged to date in the trial. There has been no testimony Quinones was in any gang.

Colon, the fourth co-defendant, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and an illegal firearms charge before this trial started.

Alvarado said he was nearby the back porch of 16 Cabot St. when he saw Rodriguez get into, then get out of, Santos' car. He said Rodriguez had his hand in the front of his black basketball shorts and he could see the outline of a gun in the shorts.

He said Rodriguez walked up the ramp to the porch and stood next to Colon.

"He (Rodriguez) waited a couple seconds and started shooting," Alvarado said. He said Quinones, who he didn't know, fell "like a dog" on his hands and knees.

Alvarado testified he saw Rodriguez run away and get into Santos' car up the road.

Alvarado said when police first asked him about the shooting in October 2013 he didn't tell the truth.

He said he was afraid if he gave a statement "the paper would be out there," explaining he was afraid news of his statement would reach fellow members of La Familia and he would be hurt.

When Santiago asked him later if he had cooperated with police, he told him he had not, but even though that was the truth "I was still like nervous and stuff," Alvarado said.

Alvarado said he told police the truth about the murder after he was arrested in March 2014 on unrelated serious gun and drug charges.

"I knew I wasn't going back to the streets," he said. He explained he knew his bail would be too high for him to post so he would be in jail and would be protected by corrections officers from retribution.

Jurors also heard from Holyoke detective James McGillicuddy and heard an audiotaped interview with Santos when he was arrested for the murder.

Santos said, "Why am I being charged with murder when I had nothing to do with it?"

Becoming more and more agitated Santos said, "I heard one shot and I left. I didn't kill nobody."

Asked if he saw anything after hearing the shot, Santos repeated that he left.

"Whoever sticks around after a shooting is a f---ing dumb---," Santos said.

Judge John A. Agostini, who is hearing the trial and who heard Colon's guilty plea, sentenced Colon, 38, who has a Ware address listed in court records, to a total of 19 to 20 years in state prison, the sentence recommended by prosecution and defense. The sentence is 14 to 15 years for manslaughter plus five years on an illegal firearm charge.

The budget reflected an increase of 2.2 percent over the current year's budget.

SPRINGFIELD - The City Council on Monday approved the mayor's proposed $594.9 million city budget for fiscal year 2016, with members saying they are pleased it maintains core services and was accomplished without layoffs.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno had urged passage, saying it reflects a government that is "efficient and efffective," and was balanced without the need to take funds from the city's $40 million cash reserve, known as the stabilization "rainy day" reserve account.

The vote was 11-1 in favor of the budget with council President Michael Fenton casting the sole vote against the budget, saying that more funds need to be set aside to reduce the city's pension liability, which he said was described by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Association as the worst in the state.

Other councilors praised the budget including that it set aside funds to hire additional police and firefighters through small academies, maintain parks and pools and enhance code enforcement.

Council Finance Committee Chairman Kenneth Shea said the budget, as prepared by the mayor and his finance team, "is a magnificent job."

It is a budget without "bells and whistles," but is balanced and addresses the city's needs," Shea said, adding there was no one on the council with the "surgical skills" to cut the package without affecting services.

Various department heads attended the special council meeting that began at 5 p.m. at City Hall in case the council had any additional questions following public hearings the past three weeks.

The budget is for the fiscal year that begins July 1, and reflects a 2.2 percent increase over the budget approved last year.

The council was prepared to meet again on Tuesday and Wednesday if the budget vote did not occur on Monday.

Councilor Zaida Luna was absent from the budget hearing, which lasted approximately one hour.

Councilor Timothy Allen also raised questions about the pension liability, and was told the city has increase the annual payment. The payment this coming fiscal year is approximately $45 million for retiree pensions and their health insurance.

Councilor Orlando Ramos said he hopes more taxpayer funds can be allocated for after-school programs in the future, which now depends on private funds and grant funds.

Councilor Thomas Ashe said that with high attrition in the police and fire departments expected over the next decade, those departments are rightly stepping up hiring efforts through small academies with the support of the mayor and council.

Mike Sullivan is not the former Holyoke mayor of the same name but he is a candidate for City Council at large.

HOLYOKE -- The city faces of years of dealing with abandoned and deteriorated buildings and City Council candidate Michael J. Sullivan said that makes him the right guy.

"In my current role I know first hand the problems that are associated with long-vacant buildings. I have a working knowledge of the hazardous cleanup problems and associated liabilities that come with the taking of these properties," said Sullivan, 61, a licensed contractor with Max Salvage & Maintenance here.

Sullivan, of 43 Park Slope, notes that he is not the Michael J. Sullivan who was mayor here from 2000 to 2010.

The registrar of voters office recently certified the nomination papers of Sullivan in his candidacy for one of the eight at large seats on the 15-member City Council. The council includes seven ward representatives. All seats have two-year terms.

Perhaps a few hundred buildings that are supposedly unoccupied and in many cases boarded-up pose different levels of problems around the city depending on their conditions.

Vacant buildings are always a threat to be set on fire by squatters. Buildings improperly secured get weakened by years of exposure to snow, rain and wind and lead to dangers related to collapsing. Buildings that stay that way spoil a neighborhood with blight.

"I want to bring my strong business background, as well as experience in building rehabilitation and demolition, to the citizens of Holyoke and to the City Council," Sullivan said.

In the past five years, Max Salvage & Maintenance has rehabilitated three buildings in Ward 1 and demolished several others, he said.

"I am responsible for controlling the cost of the project as well as recycling and re-purposing as much of the material as possible," he said.

His business experience would help the council because he has seen how cities like Ontario, California and Phoenix, Arizona have made it easy for new companies to get started. He also is familiar with marketing and incentives that can attract businesses, he said.

As the city faces perpetually tight budgets, Sullivan said he also has experienced the "painful process of downsizing" as the recession stripped incomes.

"These are all problems I had to grapple with and are not much different from the problems Holyoke has to stop ignoring," Sullivan said.

He has a bachelor's in product distribution and management from the University of Massachusetts University Without Walls program and is working on a master's in architectural preservation and design, he said.

Colt Defense LLC has about 700 employees.

WEST HARTFORD - The successor to the company that made the famous Colt .45, the gun that won the west, Colt Defense LLC. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday in order, it says, to smooth the way for it to sell its operations in the United States and Canada.

According to the Associated Press and the Hartford Courant, Colt estimates that it owes up to $500 million to up to 50 creditors. It also listed assets of up to $500 million. Colt said it has secured $20 million in financing from its current lenders and will continue to operate while in bankruptcy. The entire restructuring process is expected to be complete within 90 days, after which Colt plans to remain in business.

A long-term lease for the West Hartford Factory remains in place, Colt assures in its court filing, as do labor contracts with unions representing Colt employees, that wages and salaries will be paid. The company has about  700 employees.

Founded in 1836 by Hartford native Samuel Colt, the company revolutionized the firearms industry. Cold died in 1862 and his wife, Elizabeth, continued to run the business, making her the most prominent woman industrialist in America. She died in 1905.

But in recent years, Colt has been a model of dysfunction, according to a Bloomberg BusinessWeek piece published in May 2014.

The blue dome of what was once the sprawling Colt plant is still visible from motorists on Interstate 91 in Hartford. the site, which is currently being redeveloped into housing, offices, schools and other uses, along with 240 acres of the surrounding neighborhood is now Coltsville National Historic Park.

The 260-acre park includes buildings built and used by Colt and his company from the 1840s until it moved to East Hartford starting in the 1940s. The feeral government won't own any of the property, using just a small amount of space provided by the developer as a visitors center.

Colt moved from Hartford in stages beginning after World War II and into the 1990s.

The idea is to showcase the valley's gun industry and history of innovation, said James Woolsey, superintendent of Springfield Armory National Historic Park and the superintendent of the new Coltsville Park.

Colt's operations grew from the Springfield Armory and its innovative manufacturing techniques. Precision metalworkers came from the armory and helped build Colt and Smith & Wesson in Springfield.

The manufacturing expertise later led to Pope Manufacturing in Hartford which spawned Columbia Manufacturing in Westfield, Springfield's long-ago auto industry and Indian Motocycle.

The Colt history has been preserved in Connecticut even as the National Park gets up and running.

The Connecticut State Library has the Colt Patent Arms Manufacturing Co.'s vast collection of firearms and other artifacts, but can only display about half its Colt holdings. The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, also in Hartford, inherited Elizabeth Colt's art collection and her collection of showpiece firearms, and can display only a fraction of the collection.

In 1994, the Hartford Armory was closed and moved to its present day location in West Hartford. Commemorating the move from the armory, Colt unveiled "The Last Gun" in 1995, which was the last Single Action Army produced at the Hartford Army and elaborately embellished with engraving and gold inlays representative of the Colt family & company lineage.

Police believe a group of youths was playing a prank on a friend when they placed homemade plastic bottle bombs at two Duxbury homes Sunday, officials said.

A digest of news stories from around New England.

Prosecutor says teen killers laughed before shooting 16-year-old boy riding bicycle in Dorchester [Boston Herald] Related video above

Dwayne Johnson 

Millbury man sentenced to 2½ years in jail for attacks on prostitutes in Sutton [Telegram & Gazette]

Aaron Hernandez 

A new "Welcome to Mason Square" sign will be unveiled.

Primus Mason.Dopy photo, Courtesy of the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum, Springfield 

SPRINGFIELD - The public is invited to attend a ceremony in the Mason Square area on Wednesday for the unveiling of the first-ever "Welcome to Mason Square" sign, and to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Children's Study Home.

The ceremony is scheduled at 1 p.m., Wednesday, on an island terrace across from the Mason Square library, 765 State St.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and other city officials and representatives of the Children's Study Home plan to attend. The new sign honors the family and community in the Mason Square area along with celebrating the Study Home's anniversary, according to the news release.

The Children's Study Home, based in the Mason Square area, provides services to youth and families in the region.

The Mason Square area takes its name from Primus Mason (1817-1892), who has been described as a community leader, a successful businessman, and Springfield's first black philanthropist, in historical accounts.

A Westfield man has received probation for cocaine distribution, after being arrested along with 26 other suspects in a wide-ranging drug sweep last year.

Kenneth McCoubrey, 58, admitted to sufficient facts on a count of Class B drug distribution in Westfield District Court Monday. The case was continued without a finding for six months, meaning the charges will be dismissed if he completes his probation period without incident.

McCoubrey's arrest in 2014 was part of "Operation Snow Removal," a joint investigation between Westfield Police and the Eastern Hampden County Narcotics Task Force, reported the Westfield News. Officers confiscated 500 bags of heroin, 125 grams of crack cocaine, 120 grams of cocaine, 2 ounces of marijuana, eight marijuana plants, a variety of prescription pills and approximately $17,000 in the sweep, Westfield Police Capt. Mike McCabe told The News.

On Jan. 8, 2014, an Westfield police officer provided buy money to an undercover task force agent, who entered McCoubrey's home posing as a customer. The agent emerged with a clear plastic baggy of "yellowish chunky matter" that tested positive for cocaine, according to a police report.

McCoubrey was later arrested and charged with the sale of crack cocaine.

The Springfield-based chain made the announcement Tuesday.The system allows secure payments using the Phone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3 or Apple Watch, according to a news release.

SPRINGFIELD - Big Y Foods Inc. now accepts Apple Pay contactless payments at all its registers.

The Springfield-based chain made the announcement Tuesday. The system allows secure payments using the Phone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3 or Apple Watch, according to a news release.

According to Apple's website, apple.com/apple-pay, Apple Pay allows users to pay in stores with one motion using the Near Field Communication antenna in the new Apple iPhone 6. They do not need to open an app or "wake " the dispaly. Users only need to hold their device close to the reader with a finger on the Touch ID. The phone gives off a subtle vibration and a beep to let the user know the payment has gone through.

 A video demo is here.

With the Apple Watch, users just double-click the side button and hold the display of Apple Watch up to the contactless reader. A gentle tap and beep confirm that the payment information was sent, Apple said.

In the big Y release, Charles L. D'Amour, Big Y president and COO, said:

"By providing our shoppers with another easy payment option like Apple Pay, we support our mission to provide a personal shopping experience that makes daily life easier. Many of our customers have already enjoyed the benefits of Apple Pay."

 Big Y has  63 stores throughout Connecticut and Massachusetts with more than  10,000 employees.

"The building has been cleared for normal use and regular school operations will resume tomorrow (Wednesday, June 17)," Hampden-Wilbraham School Superintendent Marty O'Shea said.

Updates story posted at 3 p.m. Tuesday, June 16.

 

O'Shea described the hoax incident as "a low risk" threat that prompted evacuation of students and staff at the school. The incident triggered a search of the building at 466 Stony Hill Road by the Massachusetts State Police bomb squad, which turned up no evidence of a bomb or other incendiary device.

Below is a copy of O'Shea's email, which was sent to parents shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday:

Dear WMS Community,

I am writing with today's second email regarding today's incident at WMS.

As reported earlier, at approximately 2:00 p.m., Wilbraham Middle School administrators were alerted to a bomb threat written on a restroom wall.

WMS students were immediately evacuated and Wilbraham Police and Fire were alerted. Together with public safety officials, school administrators conducted an assessment of the threat and (a) criminal investigation was initiated. Though the threat was deemed to be "low risk" per the standards of the MA State Police Bomb Threat Advisory, a thorough search of the building was conducted.

The incident did not disrupt the dismissal process. The students were cooperative and able to smoothly access their after-school transportation. The building has been cleared for normal use and regular school operations will resume tomorrow (Wednesday, June 17).

The matter is being investigated by Wilbraham Police and school administrators.

Wilbraham Police and Fire, as well as the staff and students of Wilbraham Middle School, did an outstanding job responding to this serious situation.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Principal Noel Pixley or me.

Sincerely,

Marty O'Shea
Superintendent of Schools

MAP showing approximate location of Wilbraham Middle School:

Later, I showed them what I shot. Christina seemed appreciative, but Natalie was uninterested. Watch video

NORTHAMPTON - Christina Lisatinski and daughters Natalie, 3, and
Mila, 7 weeks, were so obviously enjoying their ice cream that I hesitated to bother them as I approached on Tuesday.

Mom didn't flinch when I walked up, however, and they agreed to be in my video as I chat with everyday people on the streets of Northampton.

The ice cream run was basically an outing for them- a way to break up the tedium of staying home in Easthampton.

Later, I showed them what I shot. Christina seemed appreciative, but Natalie was uninterested.

Anyone with information about the suspects is asked to call Westfield Police Detective Scott Phelon at 413-642-9390. He can be reached via email at s.phelon@cityofwestfield.org.

Updates story posted at 1:33 p.m. Monday, June 15.

The Westfield Police Department Facebook page contains surveillance camera images of the two remaining women police are still trying to ID.

The suspects allegedly took several carts of merchandise from Walmart shortly after 9 p.m. Friday, according to Detective Scott Phelon. "They went through the self checkout, scanned a portion of their items, then stuffed the rest in bags. It is unclear exactly how much was stolen," he said.

Anyone with information about the suspects is asked to call Phelon at 413-642-9390. He also can be reached via email at s.phelon@cityofwestfield.org.

Boston area commuters: put your paper money away and pull out your smartphones. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is updating their payment system to allow mobile payments.

Boston area commuters: put your paper money away and pull out your smartphones. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is updating their payment system to allow mobile payments.

"Effective July 6th, the so-called 'honor box' payment system will no longer exist at MBTA parking lots," the organization wrote in a press release. "The MBTA is eliminating the much-maligned process of folding individual dollar bills and stuffing them into tiny slots."

The daily parking fee ranges from $4 to $7 dollars, depending on the parking lot. The price will remain the same for customers who pay by phone. Additionally, a discounted monthly plan is available. Those that prefer a paper method will be billed to the addressed listed on their license plate, at an upcharge of 50 cents per day.

More information on the new system is available at the MBTA's website.

"Linseed oil was determined to be the cause of Sunday night's fire. Watch this video showing how it spontaneously combusts and how to dispose of linseed oil rags," Northampton fire officials said on Facebook Tuesday, June 16. Watch video

Updates story posted at 4:41 p.m. Monday, June 15.

The video below shows how oil-soaked paper or rags can lead to spontaneous combustion when they reach a certain temperature.

"Linseed oil was determined to be the cause of Sunday night's fire. Watch this video showing how it spontaneously combusts and how to dispose of linseed oil rags," Northampton fire officials said on Facebook.

The attorney general's office already has rejected the City Council's request for an investigation into the Morse-Egan separation agreement.

HOLYOKE -- The City Council Tuesday (June 16) will consider a letter about a Greater Holyoke YMCA controversy and another letter about the "Morse-Egan separation agreement" controversy.

Follow along as coverage is posted in the comments section under this story when the City Council meeting begins at 7 p.m. at City Hall.

The City Council agenda is available here.

The council will receive a letter from an abutter that had opposed the Greater Holyoke YMCA's petition for a zone change to install a parking lot at 399 Appleton St. and now has withdrawn its opposition.

It was a protest petition filed by abutters that increased to 12 votes instead of the normal 10 votes the total that the YMCA needed from the 15-member City Council to get the zone change needed to build the parking area. The 21-space area was planned for the lot across from YMCA headquarters at 171 Pine St.

Zone changes normally require only a two-thirds majority of the City Council, or 10 votes.

On March 17, the City Council actually "approved" the YMCA's zone change petition by a vote of 11-4. But it failed in this case by falling one vote short of the 12-vote threshold prompted by the abutters' protest petition.

Since then, the board of directors of the Valley Housing Development Corp. on June 8 voted to withdraw its opposition to the YMCA's zone change request for the lot at Appleton and Pine streets.

The June 12 letter to the City Council rom Betty Medina Litchenstein, president of the Valley Housing Development Corp., is on the council agenda under Communications. The council generally receives such items and refers them to a committee or other city department with little discussion.

The protest petition was determined to be valid because the petitioners represented owners of 20 percent or more of the land immediately adjacent to and extending 300 feet from the land proposed to be included in the proposed zone change.

YMCA officials are considering options in light of the Valley Housing Development Corp. withdrawing its opposition to the parking lot zone change. Options include refiling the zone change petition and seeking to get approval for the parking lot by special permit from the city, said Kathy Viens, YMCA chief executive officer.

MCA officials and supporters said the facility needs the additional parking to accommodate its 4,000 members.

The current zone of the lot, Downtown Residential, prohibits a commercial parking lot, and the YMCA requested it be changed to Downtown Business zone.

The meetings and hearings on the issue featured speakers praising the YMCA's contributions to the community and urging the zone change be approved while neighbors urged a no vote on the zone change out of a concern such a commercial use was inappropriate for the area.

Also on the City Council agenda is a letter (see below) from former Fire Commission member Robert R. Authier Sr. with a petition he said includes 126 signatures. The petition calls on the council to ask that the state attorney or district attorney investigate the separation agreement that Mayor Alex B. Morse made with former city solicitor Heather G. Egan that paid her $45,000 when she resigned last year.

Morse at the time said Egan resigned for "personal reasons." Citing a nondisclosure clause in the agreement, Morse and Egan have refused to discuss why the agreement included a payment of $45,000.

Morse has said that in executing the separation agreement with Egan he did what was in the city's best interest.

The Republican and MassLive.com outlined the reasons for the payment in a seven-part series in March called "Port In A Storm."

The City Council might simply withdraw the residents' petition. Councilors voted March 17 to have council President Kevin A. Jourdain send a letter to the attorney general regarding the separation agreement "to make sure there was nothing unethical, illegal or improper associated with said payment."

But a May 21 letter from the office of state Attorney General Maura Healey said the office had rejected a City Council request to investigate the separation agreement.

The office does not undertake the type of investigation the City Council sought, said Juliana deHaan Rice, deputy chief of the attorney general's government bureau office.

"The settlement agreement on its face does not appear unusual and your letter does not suggest what legal provisions, if any, the agreement may have violated," Rice's letter said.

Also, in a meeting Thursday (May 28) with The Republican editorial board in Springfield, Healey said her staff considered the City Council request for an investigation of the Morse-Egan separation agreement and nothing arose as a legal problem.

Still, Rice's letter suggested an avenue for councilors regarding the Morse-Egan separation agreement could be to file a complaint with the state Ethics Commission. Ward 2 Councilor Anthony Soto, who is running for mayor against Morse, and Ward 5 Councilor Linda L. Vacon both said such a complaint should be filed.

In a June 4 letter to the City Council, Authier said the petition drive seeking an investigation into the separaration agreement began months ago but was stopped after the council vote to seek an investigation.

The petition drive has restarted and concern about the silence around the separation agreement is a major issue in the community, Authier's letter said.

"Without a doubt, this is the biggest issue Holyoke residents -- most of them voters -- are asking about," Authier's letter said.

Morse said the question about an investigation has been settled and focusing on it now amounts only to politics.

"I'm focused on the city and moving forward. I can't let politically motivated distractions get in the way of the progress we are making as a city," Morse said.

Egan, in a May 21 letter to the attorney general responding to the City Council's request for an investigation, said such a probe was unwarranted because the agreement was executed properly. The mayor, as the executive branch of government, has the "sole right" to make contracts, she said.

"In reality, a carefully drafted contract was entered into whereby I resigned as Solicitor, a standard separation agreement with incorporated settlement and release was entered into by the parties, and a severance payment issued in consideration for the same," Egan's letter said.

In "Port In A Storm," The Republican and MassLive.com reported the $45,000 payment became a deal-breaker provision within the separation agreement between Morse and Egan for three reasons, sources said:

--Administration officials feared Egan would argue the city's inability to accommodate her caused a chronic medical condition to get worse, and because of that, she would sue.

--Egan questioned changes Morse was proposing at the License Board and she discussed possibly filing a whistleblower lawsuit.

--Egan threatened to go public with concerns that Morse permitted Rory Casey, who is now the mayor's chief of staff but at the time wasn't a city employee, to participate in negotiations with MGM Resorts International on benefits Holyoke should get as a neighboring community to the gaming giant's planned $800 million casino in Springfield.

Morse has disputed assertions that Casey's participation in the casino talks was wrong and said Casey's involvement helped the city.

Egan has declined to identify the lawsuits she might have filed had the separation agreement not included a payment. She said the agreement and $45,000 payment had nothing to do with a leave she had planned to take in April 2014.

She was unable to comment on the assertion that Casey's involvement in the casino mitigation discussions was enough of a concern that it became partly why she required a separation agreement include a payment, Egan has said.

Petition from Holyoke residents to City Council

They found a vehicle struck by multiple gunshots and 15 9mm shell casings in the road, Springfield police information officer Sgt. John Delaney said.

SPRINGFIELD - Two teenagers with convictions for gun crimes were ordered held on $50,000 bail Tuesday after allegedly riddling a parked car with gunfire Monday night.

Louis Pittman, 19, of 28 Ridge Road, South Hadley, and Daevon Ramsey, 19, of 52 Mapledell St., Springfield, pleaded innocent to four firearms charges during their arraignment in Springfield District Court.

At the time of his arrest, Pittman was on probation and wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet from a 2013 case.

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno cited the arrests Tuesday while blasting trial judges for
granting low bail and lenient sentences. Police Commissioner John Barbieri and City Councilor Thomas Ashe also expressed frustration over defendants being released on low bails.

On Monday night, the two suspects were taken into custody by police responding to reports of gunshots at Cambridge and Burr streets.

Police found a vehicle struck by multiple gunshots and 15 9 mm shell casings in the road, Springfield police information officer Sgt. John Delaney said.

The suspects were arrested about 100 yards away after police found a 9 mm handgun that had recently been fired, Delaney said.

No one was injured in the shooting, police said.

During their arraignment Tuesday, both defendants pleaded innocent to carrying a firearm without a license, carrying a firearm with a prior conviction for violent crime, carrying a firearm, second offense, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling and malicious damage to a motor vehicle.

At the request of Assistant District Attorney Jill O'Connor, Judge William Boyle set bail at $50,000 for both defendants. Under the judge's ruling, lawyers for the defendants can request lower bail later in the case.

Pittman was arrested in 2013 for his part in what was originally described as an armed home invasion. He pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm in August and sentenced to 2 1/2 years in the Hampden County Correction Center in Ludlow.

Ramsey was arrested in December 2013 for armed assault and battery and other charges. Police charged him and another man with jumping a man in Forest Park and robbing him.

Reporter Patrick Johnson contributed to this story.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services denied a request by Gov. Charlie Baker to grant a permanent waiver from a provision that affects insurance rates for small businesses.

The federal government has given Massachusetts another year to comply with a provision of the Affordable Care Act that will affect insurance rates for small businesses.

However, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services denied a request by Gov. Charlie Baker to issue a permanent waiver.

"To strike a balance between providing transition relief...and promoting fair health insurance premiums...the transition period in Massachusetts must be limited," wrote Kevin Counihan, director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight at the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in a letter to Massachusetts Health Connector Executive Director Louis Gutierrez.

Baker said in a statement, "Protecting small businesses from massive insurance rate hikes is essential to making sure job creators continue to thrive here and I am grateful the Obama administration granted Massachusetts this flexibility."

The issue relates to ratings factors, the factors insurers may consider when setting rates for the plans they sell to small businesses and individuals.

Massachusetts allows insurance companies to use 11 considerations, or "ratings factors" - things like age, industry, participation in a wellness plan, or the size of the group insured by the plan. The Affordable Care Act mandates that insurers use just four ratings factors. The shift would result in drops in premiums for some individuals and small businesses, but spikes in premiums for others.

The state's business lobbying groups oppose the shift to the federal system, arguing that too many small businesses will see their premium costs rise.

Former Gov. Deval Patrick and Baker had asked the federal government for a waiver from the ratings factor provision. Patrick secured a three-year transition period. Baker has now secured another year, so the state can phase out the use of its ratings factors gradually. Massachusetts does not have to come into full compliance with the federal law until Jan. 1, 2018.