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Springfield arson fire damages garage, fence, tree

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The fire started at about 7:30 p.m. between 26 and 28-30 Malden St.

SPRINGFIELD - An arson fire damaged a stockade fence, a tree and a garage Sunday night.

A pile of wood and other debris between the homes at 26 and 28-30 Malden St. is believed to have initially been set on fire. The blaze then spread to the fence, a tree and a garage, said Dennis Leger, assistant to Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant.

Firefighters arrived shortly after the 7:30 p.m. blaze began and were able to extinguish it before it spread to the homes.

It caused about $5,000 in damage and burned the back of the garage at 26 Malden St., Leger said.

Investigators have determined the cause of the fire is arson.

"Arson (investigators) is saying it is a set fire and they are looking for three young kids seen running away," Leger said.

People with any information should contact the Fire Department at 787-6400.


Burt's Bees co-founder Burt Shavitz dead: Maine nature-lover lived with no running water

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A spokeswoman for Burt's Bees said in an emailed statement Shavtiz died of respiratory complications in Bangor, Maine.

PORTLAND, Maine -- Burt Shavitz, the Burt behind Burt's Bees who co-founded the natural cosmetics company, died Sunday. He was 80.

A spokeswoman for Burt's Bees said in an emailed statement Shavtiz died of respiratory complications in Bangor, Maine, surrounded by family and friends.

In recent years, Shavitz lived in a cluttered house with no running water. A converted turkey coop that used to be his home remained on his property. He liked passing the time by watching wildlife.

Shavitz is known for being a character from the backwoods of Maine, but he grew up around New York, served in the Army in Germany and shot photos for Time-Life before leaving the city.

He was a hippie making a living by selling honey when his life was altered by a chance encounter with a hitchhiking Roxanne Quimby. She was a single mother and a back-to-the-lander who impressed Shavitz with her ingenuity and self-sufficiency.

Burt ShavitzIn May 23, 2014, file photo, Burt Shavitz poses for a photo on his property in Parkman, Maine. 

In the 1980s she began making products from his beeswax, and they became partners. An image of Burt's face -- and his untamed beard -- was featured on product labels.

The business partnership ended after Quimby moved the company to North Carolina in 1994. The company continued to expand, but Shavitz moved back to Maine. He has said he was forced after having an affair with an employee. In 2007, Clorox purchased Burt's Bees for $925 million.

Shavitz received an undisclosed settlement -- and 37 acres in remote corner of Maine. He also continued to make appearances on behalf of the company.

"What I have in this situation is no regret," he said last year while sitting in a rocking chair in his home in Parkman. "The bottom line is she's got her world and I've got mine, and we let it go at that."

He tried leaving Maine once earlier, spending a winter on a warm island, but was drawn back to Maine. The reclusive former beekeeper was the subject of a documentary, "Burt's Buzz."

"Burt was a complex man who sought a simple life in pace with the seasons of nature on his land," the company said in a statement. "If there is one thing we will remember from Burt's life, in our fast-paced, high-tech culture, it's to never lose sight of our relationship with nature."

State Fire Marshal's office reports seizures of fireworks statewide

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Two men were injured while setting off fireworks on July 4.

The State Fire Marshal's office is reporting several injuries from fireworks, multiple fires caused by fireworks and several large seizures of fireworks on the July 4 holiday.

Fireworks are illegal in Massachusetts. Only licensed professionals are allowed to transport, possess and light fireworks, State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan said.

One man seriously injured his hand lighting off commercial grade fireworks on July 4, according to the Fire Marshal's office.

At the same time a large cache of fireworks was found in a bedroom of his home.

The Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad secured the fireworks, submitted evidence and Sunday morning detonated them at the Saugus Department of Public Works, officials for the Fire Marshal's office said.

A second man in central Massachusetts was also hospitalized after being injured by fireworks. The State Police is investigating the incident, officials said.

Some of the large catches of fireworks discovered include $7,000 to $8,000 worth of fireworks found in several locations by the Dennis Police and Fire Departments. The State Police Bomb Squad and the Department of Fire Services assisted with their disposal, officials said.

Barnstable Police, assisted by Hyannis Fire and the State Police Bomb Squad, also stopped a U-Haul truck loaded with thousands of dollars of fireworks on Route 6.

There were also several large seizures of fireworks in Pembroke, Hyannis and Dennis, officials said.

State Police and local fire and police authorities are also investigating several fires that happened over the weekend that are believed to be started by fireworks. The fires were in Berkshire, Bristol and Plymouth counties.

North Carolina deck collapse: Deteriorated nails to blame, authorities say

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Nails deteriorated by years of exposure to the sand, salt and moisture from the ocean gave way, causing a deck collapse that hurt 24 people as they posed for a picture at a North Carolina beachfront home, authorities said.

 

EMERALD ISLE, N.C. -- Nails deteriorated by years of exposure to the sand, salt and moisture from the ocean gave way, causing a deck collapse that hurt 24 people as they posed for a picture at a North Carolina beachfront home, authorities said.  

The deck was likely up to code when the house was built in 1986, but the nearly 30-year-old nails simply fell apart under the weight of the people standing on small part of the deck Saturday night, Emerald Isle Town Manager Frank Rush said in a news release Sunday.

The pilings of the deck remained in place, and two-thirds of the structure did not fall, he said.

Twenty-four people of an extended family were injured when they fell about 10 feet to the ground, authorities said. The ages of those injured ranged from 5 to 94, and five of them remain in the hospital with two still in critical condition, Rush said.

The family at the rental home was from northern Virginia and has asked to maintain their privacy, the town manager said.

The house on Ocean Drive is a 6-bedroom, 5-bath oceanfront home with an elevator and is currently up for sale for nearly $1.15 million. It also is rented through Bluewater Real Estate. An employee at the rental office said Sunday morning that the company had no statement since the investigation is continuing, but sent thoughts and prayers to the family. She wouldn't give her name.

The rental company is cooperating with authorities, and the results of an investigation into the collapse will be made public when finished in the next few days, Rush said.

North Carolina law and Emerald Isle's building code don't require inspections after a structure is completed unless complaints are made or problems are noted. Rush said there were no complaints about the home on file.

Emerald Isle Police Chief Jeffrey Waters said an emergency call came in at 6:59 p.m. Saturday and first responders arrived within minutes at the oceanfront home in that barrier island resort community, which was packed with beachgoers for the long holiday weekend.

Fire Chief Bill Walker told The Associated Press by phone that a deck area he estimated to be about 12 feet by 12 feet gave way from about 10 to 12 feet above the ground.

"It was a one-story house on pilings," he said, adding many victims were found concentrated around the site of the collapse.

The injuries ranged from minor cuts and abrasions to more severe injuries that appeared to include broken bones, Walker said.

A specialized mass casualty bus was brought to the home to help get people to the hospital, the fire chief said.

"It's been about 10 years since we've had one of these so it's not an everyday occurrence," Walker said.

Emerald Isle is one of several resort communities lining barrier islands tucked along the coast of the southeast corner of North Carolina.

July 4 holiday: What people were tweeting

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There were parades in a number of communities including East Longmeadow, Westfield and Chesterfield.

SPRINGFIELD - Residents across Western Massachusetts celebrated the July 4 holiday with parades, fireworks and other festivities over the past week.

On Saturday there were parades in a number of communities including East Longmeadow, Westfield and Chesterfield and thousands watched fireworks in Springfield.

Over the long weekend, South Hadley held fireworks on Friday night and Chicopee kicked off the Independence Day weekend with fireworks on Thursday.

Here are some of the things people were tweeting about different July 4 events in Western Massachusetts.

Springfield activists seek restoration of damaged Mason Square basketball monument

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The Mason Square Basketball Monument was unveiled in 2010, and was damaged three years later and partially boarded..

SPRINGFIELD - Community activists are urging the city to restore a damaged monument in the heart of the Mason Square area that was unveiled just five years ago to commemorate the site where basketball was first played.

The Mason Square basketball monument, located in front of the Mason Square library on State Street has been partially boarded for the past year in the aftermath of damage to its glass-etched columns, said Jesse Lederman, who recently launched an online petition drive that urges the city to restore the monument.

Lederman and other supporters say the damaged, boarded conditions of the monument hurt the neighborhood and the city.

"My biggest concern is what kind of message this sends to the neighborhood and also to visitors to our community," Lederman said.

Aaron Williams, who led the effort to create the monument including research and private fundraising, joined Friday in urging its restoration.

"It's very important to be restored not only for the citizens of Mason Square and the citizens of Springfield, but for the world," Williams said. "After all, basketball kind of belongs to the world right now.

Restoration is important "to educate people about the role Mason Square played in the birth of basketball," Williams said.

The monument shows a man passing a basketball to a child, surrounded by four glass-etched columns.

James Leydon, the city's communications director, said damage to the monument is unfortunate, and "hopefully sometime in the near future, the city can identify funding, either public or private to bring this monument back to its former glory."

Lederman is running for City Council for an at-large seat and has been a community activist including issues in the Mason Square area. With a recent ceremony to celebrate the unveiling of a new "Welcome to Mason Square" sign, Lederman said the damaged monument stands nearby in stark contrast.

Such damage should not be allowed along a major,heavily traveled corridor such as State Street, he said. Regarding concerns that the expensive glass would just be subject to further vandalism, Lederman said he and some others support encasing the glass in a bullet-proof transparent casing.

The petition, calling for restoration of the monument, had gathered nearly 100 signatures as of Friday, a few days after launched, Lederman said..

It is not verified what caused damage to the pillars, and how many were damaged, or if some were encased in wood as a preventative measure, residents said. It may have been vandalism, or stones kicked up by cars, residents said.

In 2013, the glass portions of the monument "suffered damage of unknown origin," may have been partially repaired, and were subsequently covered with wood, Lederman said.

While the monument was privately financed, it is located on city-owned land has been maintained by the Park Department, Lederman said.

DeLeo: Budget could address some transportation issues

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DeLeo said provisions in the state budget could let Gov. Charlie Baker begin reforming the MBTA while lawmakers deliberate over a more comprehensive reform bill.

BOSTON - House Speaker Robert DeLeo, D-Winthrop, said Monday that work on a bill reforming the MBTA could be delayed if the state budget includes provisions that would let Gov. Charlie Baker begin fixing the transportation system without more comprehensive reforms.

"As long as the final version of the budget contains many of the items that we've been talking about, I think that would negate the need to immediately put out a transportation bill," DeLeo told reporters.

Baker, a Republican, who has pushed for major MBTA reforms, said he is still "interested in the double feature here." Baker said ideally, he would like to see some reforms included in the state budget and others passed in a separate bill.

The House and Senate are continuing to negotiate the final version of the fiscal year 2016 budget, days after the July 1 start of the fiscal year. The lawmakers passed a temporary budget keeping government running through the end of the July. Other than the budget, fixing the MBTA is one of the priorities identified by Baker, after a winter in which the transit system was crippled by snowstorms.

Although members of the House-Senate negotiating team, and House and Senate leaders, are reluctant to talk about why the budget negotiations are taking so long, MBTA fixes are one potential flashpoint.

For example, the House, in its version of the budget, proposed suspending the so-called Pacheco Law, which makes it harder to privatize services, as it applies to the MBTA. The Senate did not touch the Pacheco Law.

At least some changes are likely to be included in the budget. Both House and Senate leaders have come out in support of creating a new fiscal and management control board, which Baker has requested, that would take over daily operations at the MBTA.

However, other policy changes such as auditing the MBTA pension system and making it more transparent are not included in either the House or Senate versions of the budget. They are likely to be discussed as part of a separate bill.

DeLeo and Senate President Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst, declined to speculate on when the conference committee would release its version of the state budget. "Soon," was all Rosenberg would say, adding that it takes time to work through the many details of the budget. "We want them to get it right, and they're taking the time to make sure they get it right," Rosenberg said.

DeLeo said negotiators were meeting on Monday and are "moving in the right direction." "Hopefully, they're progressing forward and not inching backwards," DeLeo said.

Baker said he is confident the House and Senate negotiators will work out their differences. "I am anxious, as many others are, to see where these two branches land on a whole bunch of issues between and among them," Baker said.

Man armed with baseball bat and golf club arrested for smashing out business, car windows in Worcester

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Armed with a baseball bat and a golf club, a Worcester man allegedly walked down Main Street smashing the windows of businesses and cars.

 
WORCESTER - Armed with a baseball bat and a golf club, a Worcester man allegedly walked down Main Street smashing the windows of businesses and cars early Monday morning.

Around 4:14 a.m., Worcester police responded to 1369 Main St. for the report of a man wearing a blue t-shirt and light blue colored jeans smashing windows.

Following the direction the caller said the man was traveling in, officers approached the intersection of Eureka Street and spotted a man fitting that description.

When the suspect spotted police, he began to "walk quickly" toward the front steps of an apartment building, police said.

As the officer approached the man, he saw the handle of a large kitchen knife sticking out of his pants, police said.

The officer caught up with the suspect inside the apartment building and the man was arrested without incident. Police said they did find a 12" serrated knife in the man's pants pocket. The golf club and baseball bat were recovered in the area of 1405 Main St.

The man was identified as Dimitrios Voyiatzis, 44, of 13 Oak Leaf Circle, Worcester.

When officers retraced Voyiatzis' direction of travel, they found numerous cars and businesses with smashed out windows. In addition, many car had damaged body panels and flat tires. A business sign and some art were also destroyed, police said.

Voyiatzis was charged with 13 counts of malicious destruction of property over the value of $250.00, possession of a dangerous weapon (serrated knife) and disturbing the peace.


Chicopee man charged in Avon, Connecticut sexual assault

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Ortiz-Morales is accused of grabbing a woman running on the bike path, dragging her off the path and sexually assaulting her.

CHICOPEE — A Chicopee man accused of attacking a woman and raping her in Connecticut is being held without right to bail after being arrested on a Connecticut warrant.

Luis J. Ortiz-Morales, 29, of 21 Cyman Drive, was arrested over the weekend after he arrived at the Chicopee Police Station to ask why officers had come to his home, according to court documents.

Ortiz-Morales is being accused of attacking a woman in her early 30s on June 25 in Avon, Connecticut. The woman was running on the Rails to Trails bike path just south of Scoville Road when a man came up behind her, dragged her off the path and sexually assaulted her, according to a statement from the Avon Police Department.

With information from the community, Avon Police detectives followed leads to find a potential suspect. On July 3, detectives obtained a DNA sample through a search and seizure warrant that matched evidence they had from the crime, the police statement said.

Detectives then issued a warrant for the arrest of Ortiz-Morales.

Ortiz-Morales was arraigned on a fugitive warrant in Chicopee District Court Monday. He is being held without right to bail and waived extradition. Connecticut State Police are expected to take custody of Ortiz-Morales on Tuesday, court documents said.


Northwestern DA expands probe for possible cases of contaminated evidence

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It had been thought that Farak's drug use (she was addicted to cocaine, methamphetamines and other drugs) went back to 2012, but a Boston Globe story reported that she told her therapists it began in 2004.

NORTHAMPTON - The Northwestern District Attorney's Office is digging through its files in the wake of reports that evidence tampering by former chemist Sonja Farak at the state police crime lab in Amherst might go back to 2004.

It had been thought that Farak's drug use (she was addicted to cocaine, methamphetamines and other drugs) went back to 2012, but a Boston Globe story reported that she told her therapists it began in 2004.

Several drug convictions were overturned in Hampden County because of the possibility that Farak tainted evidence that passed through the lab, but Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan had said he found no cases in his jurisdiction that presented a problem. On Monday, Sullivan said his office would comb through its files back to 2004.

"We're going to look at those cases," he said, adding that there is only one he knows of that involves a person sentenced to prison.

Northampton lawyer Luke Ryan was one of the defense lawyers who obtained Farak's medical records in order to dig deeper into the case. Those records show that Farak's drug theft and use began in 2004, a full eight years before the state contended, and never stopped, The Globe reported. Farak told her therapists she used multiple drugs during the workday, the story said.

Ryan told the Globe that Farak was assigned to test about 29,000 drug samples over the course of her nine-year career, and that the estimate of 10,000 affected defendants was "fairly conservative."

At one time, Ryan represented Wayne Burston, a Ware man convicted of distributing cocaine and conspiring to violate drug laws, who was sentenced to 3 1/2-4 1/2 years in prison. Ryan said Monday his involvement in that case gave him entry to the evidence in Farak's case.

In December, Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder granted a discovery motion filed by Ryan and another attorney that gave them access to "diary cards" Farak kept of her therapy sessions.

"The Attorney General misrepresented them as 'assorted lab paperwork,'" Ryan said.

Sullivan now believes there might have been up to 2,000 cases in his jurisdiction affected by Farak. He also said the ball is in the state's court.

"As in the past, our District Attorney's office will fully assist in any investigation," a statement released by Sullivan's office said Monday. "This case reflects a gross lack of oversight by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health that managed this drug lab for most of the time Sonja Farak was employed. The institutional failure to subject Farak and other chemists to regular random drug tests was dumbfounding. This created a perfect storm, where one bad apple has seriously undercut the integrity of this drug lab. National testing standards and good management practices should have prevented this debacle from ever happening. The professional investigative work by law enforcement and prosecutors to hold drug traffickers accountable has now been put in peril."

Sullivan said his office has provided a list of its drug cases analyzed by Farak from 2004 to her termination in December 2012.

"We will continue to cooperate with the Attorney General's Office and the defense bar to ensure justice is done in this matter," he said.

Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni could not be reached immediately for comment when his office was contacted late Monday afternoon.

Christopher Loh, a spokesman for Attorney General Maura Healy, told The Globe her office is deeply concerned whenever the integrity of the justice system is in question.

"Our office has volunteered to lead the Commonwealth's investigation into the timing and scope of Farak's misconduct to explore how many cases could be potentially affected," Loh said.

Farak was arrested in January 2013 and prosecuted by the office of former Attorney General Martha Coakley.

Farak's case surfaced months after another state chemist, Annie Dookhan, was arrested in September 2012 and found to have fabricated evidence in thousands of samples she tested at a second state lab in Jamaica Plain, possibly tainting as many as 40,000 cases. Dookhan is serving a three-to-five-year prison sentence. The Dookhan case is not believed to be connected to the Farak case.

Farak pleaded guilty in Hampshire Superior Court in early 2014 to four counts of tampering with evidence, four counts of stealing cocaine from the lab, and two counts of unlawful possession of cocaine, and was sentenced to 18 months behind bars. She has since been released from custody, officials said Thursday.

In April, the state's highest court found that top state law enforcement officials had failed to fully investigate the scope of Farak's wrongdoing, noting that fewer than 10 samples for which she was the primary analyst were retested. The Supreme Judicial Court gave officials 30 days to decide whether to reopen the inquiry into thousands of evidence samples tested by Farak.

Granby selectmen replace 2 historical district commissioners as impasse over demolition of Aldrich Hall continues

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"As far as I am concerned, I want it torn down," selectmen chairman Mark Bail said

GRANBY - A pair of historical district commissioners vociferously opposed to demolishing Aldrich Hall lost their seats when selectmen did not reappoint them last month.

Michael Beck, who had been chairman of the Granby Historical District Commission, and member Teresa Lajoie, whose terms expired July 1, were replaced on the five-person panel by Billy Johnson and Steve Nally at last month's selectmen meeting.

Beck and Lajoie have opposed plans by members of the selectmen to tear down Aldrich Hall, which is on Route 202 in an historic district.

Prior to their not being re-appointed, Beck and Lajoie, along with Granby Historical District Commission member Lori Petraglia, told selectmen at the June 22 meeting that Aldrich Hall cannot be demolished unless the historic panel approves a request by selectmen to do so.

Aldrich HallBoarded up Aldrich Hall is still standing in the center of Granby in this photo of June 1, 2015. Selectmen have been advised to demolish it. The Granby Historical Commission disagrees 

"As far as I am concerned, I want it torn down," selectmen chairman Mark Bail said at the meeting. "I strongly, strongly doubt anyone is going to renovate that building."

Petraglia said that although town meeting allocated money for a demolition, the process requires selectmen to submit an application to the commission, seeking permission to do that - and no permission has been granted.

"Town meeting could not have opted to tear it down," she said. "It is not in their authority."

The next selectmen's meeting is scheduled for July 6, at 6:30 p.m., at the senior center on Route 202.

Members of the town's historic association are expected to attend the meeting.

Authorities allege 3 Springfield men conspired to run heroin, cocaine trafficking ring in Berkshires

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Daniel Grimes, 28, Terrence Gibbons, 29, and Terance Harris, 35, were charged with conspiring to sell heroin and cocaine, according to Berkshire District Attorney David F. Capeless, whose office is prosecuting the drug conspiracy case.

PITTSFIELD — Authorities in the Berkshires say they have broken up an alleged drug trafficking ring involving three Springfield men, all of whom denied felony drug charges Monday in a Pittsfield court.

Daniel L. Grimes, 28, Terrence Gibbons, 29, and Terance L. Harris, 35, were charged with conspiring to sell heroin and cocaine, according to Berkshire District Attorney David F. Capeless, whose office is prosecuting the drug conspiracy case.

Berkshire Superior Court Judge John A. Agostini ordered Grimes and Gibbons to be held at the Berkshire County Jail & House of Correction on $25,000 bail, while Harris is being held at the Pittsfield jail on $7,500 bail.

All three were charged with conspiracy to traffic in heroin and cocaine in connection with an ongoing criminal investigation by local, state and federal law enforcement officials that focused on a 1½-month period from Jan. 20 to March 6.

Gibbons, who also uses the surname "Garner," according to officials, lives at 25 Duryea St. in the East Springfield neighborhood of Springfield, while Grimes lives at 20 Noel St. in Forest Park and Harris lives at 919 Worthington St. in the Worthy section of Metro Center.

The investigation was conducted by police from Pittsfield, North Adams and Dalton, Massachusetts State Police assigned to Capeless' office, the FBI, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Berkshire County Law Enforcement Task Force.


 

San Francisco's 'sanctuary' status criticized after man illegally in US slays woman

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The killing of a woman at a sightseeing pier has brought criticism down on this liberal city because the Mexican man under arrest was in the U.S. illegally, had been deported five times and was out on the streets after San Francisco officials disregarded a request from immigration authorities to keep him locked up.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The killing of a woman at a sightseeing pier has brought criticism down on this liberal city because the Mexican man under arrest was in the U.S. illegally, had been deported five times and was out on the streets after San Francisco officials disregarded a request from immigration authorities to keep him locked up.

San Francisco is one of dozens of cities and counties across the country that do not fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities. The city goes so far as to promote itself as a "sanctuary" for people in the country illegally.

In a jailhouse interview with a TV station, Francisco Sanchez, the 45-year-old repeat drug offender arrested in the shooting Wednesday of Kathryn Steinle, appeared to confirm that he came to the city because of its status as a sanctuary.

The case has prompted a flurry of criticism from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, politicians and commenters on social media, all of whom portrayed the slaying as a preventable tragedy.

"Most of the blame should fall squarely on the shoulders of the San Francisco sheriff, because his department had custody of him and made the choice to let him go without notifying ICE," said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, which wants tougher immigration enforcement.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte, the Virginia Republican who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, blamed sanctuary practices and the Obama administration, saying: "The tragic murder of Kate Steinle once again underscores the need to end these reckless policies."

Mayor Ed Lee issued a statement Monday saying that city policy was never intended to protect "repeat, serious and violent felons." He asked for federal and local agencies to review what happened.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris, a former San Francisco district attorney who is running for U.S. Senate, cautioned that when it comes to immigration, "our policy should not be informed by our collective outrage about one man's conduct."

Many other San Francisco politicians stayed quiet as mourners held a late morning vigil at Pier 14 on the downtown waterfront, where the 32-year-old Steinle was gunned down Wednesday, seemingly at random, during an evening stroll with her father and a family friend. She had recently moved to San Francisco.

While many cities have scaled back cooperation with ICE, few have gone as far as San Francisco.

For more than two decades, San Francisco has been considered a sanctuary for people in the U.S. illegally. In 2013, Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi's office started turning over fewer people under arrest to federal immigration authorities for deportation.

Earlier this year, Sanchez was released from federal prison -- where he had served a sentence for re-entering the country after deportation -- and turned over to the Sheriff's Department on an outstanding drug-related warrant. The San Francisco district attorney's office declined to prosecute what authorities said was a decade-old marijuana possession case, and Sanchez was freed on April 15.

Before he was set free, ICE had filed a so-called detainer with San Francisco authorities, asking to be informed if they intended to let him go, ICE spokeswoman Gillian Christensen said. But she said ICE was never notified.

"We're not asking local law enforcement to do our job," she said in a statement. "All we're asking is that they notify us when a serious foreign national criminal offender is being released to the street so we can arrange to take custody."

Freya Horne, legal counsel for the sheriff's office, said that ICE could have issued an active warrant if immigration authorities wanted to keep him in custody, and that ICE was aware of San Francisco's policy.

In the past 21 months, immigration authorities have issued more than 230,000 detainers, according to ICE. Since January 2014, law enforcement agencies around the country have failed to honor about 17,000 detainers, 61 percent of them in California, ICE said.

Sanchez has been deported five times, most recently in 2009, and has seven felony convictions, four involving drug charges, according to ICE.

From jail, Sanchez told a KGO-TV reporter in a mix of Spanish and English that he found the gun wrapped in a T-shirt while sitting on a bench at the pier.

"So I picked it up and ... it started to fire on its own," Sanchez said, adding that he heard three shots go off.

Asked if he came to San Francisco because of its sanctuary status, he said yes.

"I only want to say that if the court wants to find me guilty, I wouldn't get mad," Sanchez said during the interview, in which he appeared confused and spoke incoherently at times.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California supports sanctuary protections, saying people are more willing to cooperate with police if there's no fear of deportation.

Julia Harumi Mass, a senior staff attorney with the organization, called the details of this case exceptional and put the blame on ICE.

"It is still unclear why the federal government turned over someone who is known to be deportable to the city of San Francisco, knowing that San Francisco is one of the oldest sanctuary cities in the country," she said.

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Wynn Resorts to Boston Mayor Marty Walsh: 'Cease your campaign of falsehoods'

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Wynn Resorts on Monday opened up another front in its war of words with Boston Mayor Marty Walsh.

BOSTON -- Wynn Resorts on Monday opened up another front in its war of words with Boston Mayor Marty Walsh.

In a letter to Walsh and his attorneys, a lawyer for Wynn called on the mayor to "cease your campaign of falsehoods against my client and to apologize for the irreparable damage you have already caused."

The Wynn lawyer, Barry Langberg, added that city officials' "reckless disregard for the truth" has left them open to the threat of a defamation lawsuit.

A Walsh spokeswoman, Laura Oggeri, said in a statement, "We dispute the assertions in the letter and we firmly stand behind the allegations in the amended complaint."

The city of Boston is suing the Massachusetts Gaming Commission in Suffolk Superior Court in a bid to block the development of a casino in neighboring Everett.

The lawsuit alleges the commission wrongly awarded the eastern Massachusetts casino license to Wynn, which was competing with a proposal to site a casino at Suffolk Downs in Revere.

While Walsh reached a deal with the Revere effort, he warred with Wynn over mitigation from the effects of an Everett casino.

Walsh has argued that Boston should be recognized as a host community because of the impact of an Everett casino on Boston.

The Gaming Commission has defended its licensing process, saying it has won every lawsuit filed against the agency. A judge is scheduled to hear a Gaming Commission motion to dismiss Walsh's lawsuit this week.

The mayor's complaint is "much more a public relations piece than a legal document," according to Langberg, the attorney for Wynn. The complaint also contains "a number of false statements and untrue innuendo," he added.

Attorneys working in the mayor's office have also issued subpoenas, which Langberg criticized. "These subpoenas were provided to the press even before they were served," Langberg wrote. "The false statements in these documents are extremely damaging to Wynn."

Langberg cited as an example the subpoenas saying private investigators working for Wynn received "unauthorized" access to police files.

Langberg wrote:

"This statement is false. Wynn did not employ the named investigators and Wynn has no knowledge of anyone obtaining improper access to police files. The language of your subpoena was not typical legal wording but instead was designed to spread vicious falsehoods."

As that back-and-forth played out on Monday, a group of Massachusetts gambling opponents filed their own lawsuit, this one against the MBTA and Wynn, hoping to kill a land transfer deal considered crucial for the planned casino.

In a 28-page filing on Monday, the group of 30 people asked a Suffolk Superior Court judge to declare that the MBTA violated the Massachusetts bidding statute when the MBTA negotiated with Wynn Resorts' local subsidiary for a parcel.

The parcel is adjacent to the site of the casino and Wynn is seeking its purchase to use it for an entrance to its facility, instead of having casino customers enter by passing through land partly owned by Boston.

"The way this deal went down, this was done behind closed doors, and they should have followed a strict process," said John Ribeiro, who is a Winthrop resident, one of the plaintiffs and a longtime opponent of casinos in Massachusetts.

The MBTA has previously said there was a public bidding process.

On Monday, the MBTA declined to comment on the lawsuit and a spokesman for Wynn did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Agencies and companies involved in pending litigation typically tend to avoid comment.

State environmental officials determined earlier this year that the $6 million land transfer violated the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) review, and should not have happened before the MEPA review was completed.

Wynn Everett officials are working on revising the filing. The land transaction is currently in escrow. 

Springfield police investigate Hungry Hill shooting

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Springfield police responded in large numbers early Monday evening to reports of gunfire in the area of Liberty Street and Denton Circle.

An updated version of this story is now available on MassLive.



SPRINGFIELD — Police responded in large numbers early Monday evening to reports of gunfire in the area of Liberty Street and Denton Circle in the Hungry Hill section of the Liberty Heights neighborhood.

Police recovered at least two bullet casings at the scene. There were no reported victims.

Police were focusing their investigation on Denton Circle.


This is a developing story that will be updated as our reporting continues

Photos: Springfield Business Improvement District holds Stearns Square Cruise Night

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Looking for a reason to get out of the house on Monday nights? Now you can head down to Springfield's Stearn Square and view dozens of classic cars at the Springfield Business Improvement District's (BID) Cruise Night at Stearns Square event. Watch video

SPRINGFIELD — Looking for a reason to get out of the house on Monday nights? Now you can head down to Springfield's Stearn Square and view dozens of classic cars at the Springfield Business Improvement District's (BID) Cruise Night at Stearns Square event.

Held every Monday night during the summer, the cruise night event has grown in the first three weeks said Chris Russell, the executive director of the BID. "We are growing organically" he said. "Last week we had just under two dozen cars and there was a threat of rain." Entries easily beat that this week, and he sees future success for the event.

Jimmy and Debbie McClure of Agawam came down to display their 1970 Chevelle. "It takes me back to the old days" remarked Jimmy. "A lot of people remember these cars and I like to show it off. It's also a lot of fun to drive."

There was Ken Ketchum of Ludlow with his 1934 Ford Pickup in a color he called "mango," Paul Anderson of Hampden with his 1954 Ford F-100 panel delivery van, and many others. If you ask Anderson about his '54 Ford, he guarantees you will never see another one like it.

Not bad for a Monday night.


Fire threatens upscale Idaho town; residents urged to flee

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A wildfire in northern Idaho has destroyed at least six homes and forced about 300 residents in an upscale lakeside community to evacuate as it ballooned to more than 3 square miles Monday.

BAYVIEW, Idaho (AP) -- A wildfire in northern Idaho has destroyed at least six homes and forced about 300 residents in an upscale lakeside community to evacuate as it ballooned to more than 3 square miles Monday.

Flames have burned through a mix of year-round residences and seasonal homes near the southern shore of Lake Pend Oreille, the state's largest lake and a recreation and fishing destination. Fire managers have urged the rest of the small town of Bayview to leave their homes as strong winds, rising temperatures and low humidity threatened to fan the flames later in the day.

Officials feared the only two roads in and out of town would get clogged if everyone tried to leave at once, fire spokesman Tyler Drechsel said.

"If they evacuate now, it helps if these fires take off," Drechsel said Monday morning, noting that afternoon forecasts call for wind gusts of more than 20 mph and temperatures in the mid-90s.

A high school will serve as an emergency shelter for the area about 70 miles northeast of Spokane, Washington.

Gov. Butch Otter declared Kootenai and Bonner counties a disaster emergency area Monday, a necessary step in securing federal funds.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and individuals who have lost homes in the area," Otter said in prepared remarks. "We will continue to support the impacted jurisdictions in protecting lives, property and businesses."

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is helping with the costs of firefighting and evacuations, said the fire was threatening 281 homes and about 300 people had been evacuated. Also threatened are a marina, the Naval Acoustics Research Station and Farragut State Park, FEMA said.

Eight air tankers, three helicopters and eight engines are helping to battle the fire, FEMA said

The blaze started Sunday near the shore of Lake Pend Oreille and burned upslope through timber, destroying other buildings such as boat houses and pump houses, fire spokesman Jim Lyon said.

About 100 firefighters dealing with steep terrain have put in a fire line between the blaze and homes to protect the properties, Lyon said.

A U.S. Navy boat was dousing some homes. The Navy operates a small submarine research facility in Bayview.

A team of investigators planned to examine where the fire started to try to determine a cause, Lyon said.

"We have a good idea of where it started," he said. "There were people out on a boat that saw it. It started down low at lake level, or near the edge of the lake, and traveled up and southwesterly."

No injuries have been reported from the fire, which is burning through a mix of private, state and federal land.

Chicopee police searching for Toyota stolen in carjacking

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Anyone with information should contact the police department at 594-1600.

CHICOPEE - City police are searching for a car that was reported to have been stolen in a carjacking on Front Street Monday night.

The victim said a man armed with a handgun stole the white Toyota Camry with Maryland license plates at around 7:30 p.m. The crime occurred in front of St. Stanislaus School at 534 Front St., said Michael Wilk, media officer for Chicopee Police.

The robber was last seen headed toward Chicopee Center.

Police are canvassing the area searching for the car. Residents are asked to call the Police Department at 594-1700 or 911 if they see the car or have any information about the carjacking.

Springfield police: No injuries in daytime shooting in Hungry Hill

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Shots were fired at the corner of Denton Circle and Liberty Street and possibly elsewhere in the Hungry Hill neighborhood late Monday afternoon.

Updates story posted at 8:10 p.m. Monday, July 6.



SPRINGFIELD — Shots rang out and people scattered, but nobody was hit when gunfire erupted Monday afternoon in the Hungry Hill section of the city.

A shots-fired call at 6:36 p.m. in the area of 511 Newbury St. triggered a heavy police response, with officers searching sections of Newbury, Roy and Liberty streets before eventually finding spent casings near the corner of Denton Circle and Liberty Street.

Evidence markers were placed on the ground where the casings were found. Detective Jamie Kelly, who headed up the investigation, was seen photographing crime-scene evidence before it was tagged and bagged.

There were no known injuries or property damage, Lt. Brian Keenan said.

Although the initial call was for the area near 511 Newbury St., police seemed to focus their attention on Denton Circle, searching a grassy lot behind a white fence, then crossing Liberty Street to check homes on Wentworth Street for possible gunfire damage.

A second report of a "shootout" was received around 6:44 p.m. for the area of 946 Liberty St., which is near the corner of Denton Circle and Liberty Street. That led to police radio reports that a gunman, or gunmen, may have been on the move. It wasn't immediately clear if shooting evidence was discovered elsewhere in the neighborhood, including back on Newbury Street, the address tied to the initial 911 call.

At about 8:23 p.m., police said they recovered an "item" in the area of 76 Norman St., which is across from 511 Newbury St. It was unknown if that item was a gun or evidence tied to the earlier shooting.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call detectives in the Springfield Police Major Crimes Unit at 413-787-6325.

Neighborhood residents on Wentworth Street said this section of Hungry Hill is typically quiet. "It usually doesn't come up this far," a resident named Dave, who didn't give his surname, said of the violence.


MAP showing approximate area where police recovered spent bullet casings:

Westfield School Department will gamble against Mother Nature

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The council's school budget cut was aimed directly at expense items.

WESTFIELD - The School Committee voted Monday night to gamble with Mother Nature this winter and cut its projected utility expenses by nearly $250,000 to make up more than half a $400,000 budget shortfall for Fiscal 2016.

Meeting in special session, the committee agreed with $400,000 in budget reductions recommended by school administration to cover the $400,000 the City Council cut from the Fiscal 2016 school last week.

"This is the tightest budget we have had in five years and I am concerned," Superintendent of Schools Suzanne Scallion told the committee.

"We have a pretty creative plan but we will be back to the City Council with a bond request," she said.

The cuts approved Monday night were recommended by school Finance Officer Ronald R. Rix and although not present, he told the committee through a letter that "These reductions are challenging and I'm extremely concerned with making it through the year with these reductions to our utilities."

The cuts approved were electricity $110,000; natural gas $110,000; heating oil $28,000; textbooks and workboods $91,000; custodian supplies $20,000; special education in-state tuition $26,000 and software licenses $15,000.

The City Council cut follows more than $2 million cut by Mayor Daniel M. Knapik and the School Committee from an original school budget request of more than $60 million for the fiscal year that started July 1.

In the end, the School Department has about $57.9 million to spend for the new year and that represents only about $600,000 more than in Fiscal 2015.

Before the City Council trimmed $400,000 the School Department had notified 16 teachers that they were not rehired for the 2015-2016 school year and agreed not to fill another 14 vacancies created by attrition and retirements.

Scallion said Monday night she has been able to hire back three teachers. "But, there are still more than 30 out there," she said.

The City Council cut was aimed directly at school expense items and school officials were encouraged to submit a capital bond request to the council later this year.

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