Electricity customers who were hit by a bill recalculation fee this past winter have a good chance of getting their money refunded.

BOSTON - Electricity customers who were hit by a bill recalculation fee this past winter have a good chance of getting their money refunded.

"It was a long shot, but every step we've taken, it's worked," said State Sen. Don Humason, R-Westfield, who has spearheaded the push for the refunds.

A provision requiring utility companies to refund all the fees charged between Nov. 1, 2014 and April 13, 2015 made it though a committee of House-Senate negotiators that was charged with developing a final version of the state budget. The compromise bill was being debated by the full House and Senate on Wednesday. If it passes, it must still be signed by Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, who has the authority to veto portions of the bill.

The Republican/MassLive.com has asked Baker's spokesman where the governor stands on the issue.

A regulation implemented in 2000 by the Department of Public Utilities required electric companies to recalculate a customer's bill when they switch electricity suppliers in the middle of a six-month rate period. The goal of the rule was to prevent customers from constantly switching from basic service provided by the utilities to competitive suppliers, depending on whether energy costs were high or low that month. That could have the effect of driving up costs for all utility customers.

This year, with high energy costs and a frigid winter, more customers than ever before started switching suppliers and getting hit with the retroactive fees. At their peak, the fees averaged $144 for some Western Massachusetts customers. Humason and other lawmakers, many of them from Western Massachusetts, asked the Department of Public Utilities to repeal the rule. The department repealed it on April 13.

Since then, several lawmakers have been pushing to provide refunds to those customers who received bills before the fee was repealed. The Senate passed a repeal provision; the House did not. But the provision did make it into the final version of the budget.

"It will mean a lot to individual ratepayers who had that surprise last year and had to pay it," Humason said.

The Republican/MassLive.com reported previously that the state's four major utilities billed 200,000 customers $7.1 million in bill recalculation fees between October and March. The actual amount that would have to be refunded would be slightly different, since the refund provision begins in November and goes through mid-April.

The utilities had been split on the repeal. Eversource wanted to eliminate the rule; National Grid favored keeping it.

Priscilla Ress, a spokeswoman for Eversource, said, "We were following the rules back when we rebilled customers on the variable rate, we supported the DPU decision to end that practice, and we'll abide by whatever policymakers decide regarding issuing refunds to customers who were rebilled."

Police said the suspect had a loaded 9 mm handgun with a defaced serial number.

Dave Roback 

SPRINGFIELD -- Police arrested a 19-year-old man, carrying a young child as he walked down Pearl Street Tuesday afternoon, after they discovered a loaded gun in his diaper bag.

The incident unfolded shortly after 2:30 p.m. about a block away from the police station.

Officer Lawrence Pietrucci approached the suspect, Reyshawn Pannell, who was accompanied by another man, after some kind of altercation occurred between that man and a female, Lt. Trent Hufnagel said.

That second man, Rodney McCants, 20, was bleeding from the head and told police that he did not know how it happened, Hufnagel, executive aide to Commissioner John Barbieri, said.

When Pietrucci, through his investigation, determined that Pannell might be carrying a fiream, McCants grew agitated and told police to leave him alone.

Springfield police investigate the scene where a man was arrested on Pearl Street for carrying a gun in a diaper bag while carrying a child. (Don Treeger / The Republican)Treeger 

Police removed the young child from Pannell and found a loaded 9 mm handgun with a defaced serial number in the diaper bag that he was also carrying.

Pannell, of 71 Pearl St., Apt. 4D, was charged with carrying a firearm without a license, possession of ammunition without an FID card and possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number.

McCants, of 240 Pendleton Ave., was charged with intimidation of a witness and resisting arrest.

The status of the child taken from Pannell was not immediately available.

HOLLAND – Selectmen, at Tuesday's meeting, unanimously appointed a new member to the board of health to replace an individual who resigned last week.

HOLLAND - Selectmen Tuesday unanimously appointed a new member to the Board of Health to replace a member who resigned last week.

Selectmen voted 2-0 to appoint Robert Dymon of 28 Lakeshore Drive to the Board of Health.

Selectmen chairman Larry Mandell stated they needed to act right away because of business coming before the health board.

When Ken Ferrence resigned last week following the July 1 meeting, the board was left with two members, Dave Kowalski and Dana Manning.

Manning is facing a recall vote Aug. 10 following an effort initiated by Kowalski. She has filed suit in an effort to stop the recall. A preliminary hearing on that suit set for Wednesday was rescheduled.

In the election, she is being challenged for her seat by Erin Even, of 14 Stage Coach Road.

Dymon is on the ballot, as the recall election was to also include a vote on whether to remove Ferrence, but he resigned.

Dymon is now running unopposed.

Darren A. Halliwell, 48, of Aspull, Greater Manchester, initially was charged only with interfering with a flight crew, though additional charges related to the alleged assault are possible, according to Massachusetts State Police officials.

BOSTON — An Englishman was arrested after allegedly assaulting his wife on a British Airways flight that was diverted to Logan Airport around noontime Wednesday.

Darren A. Halliwell, 48, of Aspull, Greater Manchester, was initially charged only with interfering with a flight crew, though additional charges related to the alleged assault are possible, according to Massachusetts State Police officials.

Troopers met British Airways Flight 195 when it landed at Logan Airport shortly after 12 p.m. State Police were notified that the flight was diverted to Logan after Halliwell allegedly assaulted a woman he was traveling with and became disruptive on the plane. It took multiple people to restrain him, according to reports.

"Out of respect for her privacy, we are not naming her or commenting on her relationship to the defendant," State Police said in a news release.

Britain's Daily Mail identified the woman as Halliwell's wife.

Flight 195 was en route from London to Houston when the captain decided to land in Boston. The plane continued to its destination after Halliwell was removed from the flight, police said.

"Our customers and crews deserve to enjoy their flights and not to suffer any form of abuse," British Airways said in a statement.

"This sort of behavior will not be tolerated, and the Captain took the decision to divert the aircraft to Boston as a precaution," the statement said.

Halliwell is expected to be arraigned Thursday in the East Boston District Court.

The Massachusetts Legislature made quick work of a $38.14 billion state budget, sending it to Gov. Charlie Baker's desk less than 24 hours after the final version came out of a committee of House-Senate negotiators.

By GINTAUTAS DUMCIUS and SHIRA SCHOENBERG

BOSTON - The Massachusetts Legislature made quick work of a $38.14 billion state budget, sending it to Gov. Charlie Baker's desk less than 24 hours after the final version came out of a committee of House-Senate negotiators.

State Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, chairwoman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said the budget "is a reflection of the Senate's priorities, of the Senate's values."

State Rep. Brian Dempsey, D-Haverhill, the House's top budget writer, stressed that the budget holds spending growth to 3.5 percent from last year's state spending plan.

The budget included some major policy changes - reforms to the MBTA and an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income families. It had hundreds of line items affecting everything for education to social services.

The House vote was 153-1, with Rep. Michael Brady, D-Brockton, the only no vote. Brady is expected to launch a campaign for a vacant state Senate seat anchored in Brockton.

The Senate vote was 31-5.

The no votes came after State Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton, urged senators to vote against the committee of conference report because of its suspension of an anti-privatization statute known as the "Pacheco Law," which is named after the senator, as it applies to the MBTA. Pacheco argued that the law establishes a process to privatize services in a way that is transparent, has accountability and will save taxpayers money.

During discussion on the House floor, Dempsey said the bill brings "real and meaningful reform" to the MBTA - which struggled during an onslaught of winter storms earlier this year - by creating a finance control board and suspending the "Pacheco Law" for three years.

Dempsey noted that the budget increases funding for fighting homelessness by $61 million and prioritizes the "heartbreaking" issue of substance abuse.

Rep. Todd Smola, R-Warren, added that the budget does not include any tax increases, while upping the amount sent to cities and towns in the form of local aid and regional transportation funds. Smola was a member of the six-person legislative panel charged with hashing out a compromise budget.

House Speaker Robert DeLeo, D-Winthrop, said the conference committee did "a spectacular job in putting together what I consider a very good budget which appears to be receiving widespread support."

Speaking on the floor of the Senate, Spilka said the budget makes investments in education, workforce training, fighting opioid addiction and improving access to justice.

Spilka praised a compromise that would roll back a corporate tax break and use the money to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit. "We know this is an incredibly effective way to lift families out of poverty," Spilka said.

One significant area where the House prevailed in House-Senate negotiations is the fight over the Pacheco Law. Unions opposed the move, and the Senate did not include it in its version of the budget.

Spilka called that a "difficult decision."

State Sen. Bruce Tarr, a Gloucester Republican who is the Senate Minority Leader, spoke out in support of the MBTA reforms, which also included the creation of a new fiscal management and control board.

Tarr said the budget addresses the governance of the MBTA in a responsible way "so we can avoid the unnecessary and unacceptable hardship we saw this past winter from occurring in the future."

Tarr praised the budget's investments in tourism, daycare for low-income children and other services.

Senate President Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst, said after the budget's passage, "It really focused on lifting all families in Massachusetts, with a special focus on folks who have been experiencing income insecurity." He noted specifically the passage of the Earned Income Tax Credit expansion and the investments in housing and homelessness prevention.

Baker, a Republican, said he will be reviewing the budget over the next 10 days, the time he is allowed by law, before deciding whether there are sections that he will veto.

Overall, Baker praised many of the major provisions of the budget - including the MBTA reform and the tax policy. He noted that the state faced a potential $1.8 billion deficit for fiscal year 2016. "The Legislature, with my gratitude, chose not to raise taxes and fees to close that budget gap and instead pursued reforms and belt-tightening that we thought was a better way to go," Baker said.

"We obviously have a lot to do to review this document over the course of the next several days, but based on all the early returns, I think it's a terrific start, and we're looking forward to diving into the details," Baker said.

The concert is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday at North Middle School and doors will open at noon.

WESTFIELD - Westfield Singing Camp, a group of 130 youngsters ranging in age 6 - 15 will perform in concert Friday at North Middle School.

The concert is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. but doors will open at noon.Tickets for the event, $10 each, are available at the door Friday.

Westfield Singing Camp is finishing its 14th season with two-week programs held each July at the North Middle School and followed with a concert.

The camp program is directed by Dan Kane of Dan Kane Singers fame.

Children are accompanied by live musicians including Kane. Some children play their own instrument but the main focus of the concert is on their singing talent.

They will perform songs from the Beatles to Broadway and songs from movies.

In addition to singing, children will dance and some will play the guitar and piano.

Kane has called their performance "fantastic and quite incredible to see."

Children in the concert are from communities throughout the region including many from Westfield, Longmeadow, East Longmeadow, Southwick and West Springfield.

Free parking is offered at the school parking lot.

Dan Kane talks to members of the Kane Singers who wait to hit the stage last year for the Springfield July 4 celebration. MICHAEL BESWICK / REPUBLICAN FILE 

The concert is free and chairs will be provided.

WESTFIELD - Glamour Girls will bring their song selections from the 40's to the stage at Stanley Park July 19.

The Andrew Sisters, Diana Ross & the Supremes, Aretha Franklin, Gloria Gaynor, Pat Benatar and others artists will be highlighted during the Glamour Girls concert.

The concert will begin at 6 p.m. in the Beveridge Pavilion and will be held regardless of weather.

The concert is offered free of charge and chairs will be provided. A food service will be available.

The Glamour Girls Concert is sponsored by Westfield Bank as part of its Sunday Night Concert Series.

State House and Senate lawmakers on Wednesday handed Gov. Charlie Baker most of the tools he requested to fix the MBTA following a harsh winter.

BOSTON -- State House and Senate lawmakers on Wednesday handed Gov. Charlie Baker most of the tools he requested to fix the MBTA following a harsh winter.

Baker had asked for tighter control over the embattled public transit agency after a battery of snowstorms left the MBTA unable to maintain consistent service and laid bare a host of management problems within the agency.

Among the items Baker asked for: the temporary suspension of the "Pacheco Law" for the MBTA. The law requires extensive vetting and proof that privatizing a state service will lead to cost savings.

The inclusion of a three-year suspension of the "Pacheco Law" as part of the fiscal 2016 state budget led to six lawmakers voting against the budget bill: one in the House and five in the Senate, including the senator the law is named for and another senator who also chairs the state Democratic Party.

State Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton, defended the Pacheco Law in an impassioned speech to colleagues. Pacheco, who refers to the law as the "Taxpayer Protection Act," said 19 states are taking previously privatized work and "bringing it back in house."

Suspending the law for the MBTA will lead to depressed wages for workers and hurt middle class families, Pacheco charged.

Earlier in the day, Baker pushed back on criticism of his proposal and thanked lawmakers for what he called a "promising start."

"This wasn't about privatizing the T, it wasn't about laying off scores of people," Baker told reporters. "This was about using the opportunity to contract services out to enterprises and entities that are already out there that would be happy to engage with the commonwealth where it can be done in the most effective way, and probably in a way that works better for the traveling public, better for the taxpayer and, in the long run I would argue, better for the T."

As an example, Baker said the late-night bus service that the MBTA recently cut back on loses $20 per rider. The MBTA could put that service out to bid and add more routes, he said.

Baker said the Legislature is asking his administration to demonstrate that the "Pacheco Law" suspension can save money. "And it's now incumbent on us to demonstrate that," he said.

Lawmakers are requiring the administration to detail to the state inspector general the expected and actual costs and benefits of the procurement process.

Legislators also agreed to Baker's request for a temporary finance control board that will solely focus on the MBTA's finance and operations.

Other measures, which were also passed as part of the fiscal 2016 state budget, designate the state transportation secretary as chairman of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation board and add four members to the board, keep a limited cap on MBTA fare increases, and hand the transportation secretary the authority to hire the MBTA's general manager.

Seeking flexibility, Baker had proposed lifting the cap on fare increases.

Union members lobbied hard against the "Pacheco Law" suspension. "They've been appropriately aggressive," said state Rep. Jay Kaufman, D-Lexington, before the House voted 153-1 to approve the budget.

State Rep. Michael Brady, D-Brockton, was the lone House member to vote against the budget bill containing the MBTA reforms. In the Senate, the lawmakers, all Democrats, were Pacheco, Joint Committee of Transportation co-chairman Thomas McGee of Lynn, Dan Wolf of Harwich, Jamie Eldridge of Acton, and Ken Donnelly of Arlington. McGee is also chairman of the state Democratic Party.

The head of the union representing MBTA workers, James O'Brien, in comments to the State House News Service, blamed the move to suspend the law on the winter "storms and because of the management failures that fell on the backs of my members and labor in general."

"The taxpayers are going to be the ultimate ones that are going to be paying for this because it was just a checks and balance and it was transparency and it's accountability," O'Brien told the news service.

Asked about the "Pacheco Law" suspension, House Speaker Robert DeLeo told reporters that he's "always been a major supporter of organized labor."

"I think the governor has made it clear that he does not foresee any layoffs whatsoever as a result. It's not his intent," DeLeo said. "But most importantly we have to get the T running in an efficient manner."

The $38.1 billion annual budget bill was released on Tuesday night after weeks of secret talks between members of a panel of House and Senate lawmakers tasked with hashing out a compromise.

Lawmakers may take up further state transportation reforms later in the legislative session through a standalone bill, separate from the budget bill sent to the governor's desk on Wednesday.

A 17-year-old boy is accused of knocking a 67-year-old woman to the ground on a Saugus sidewalk, then dragging her several feet while trying to steal her pocketbook.

SAUGUS — A teenage boy and his adult accomplice were arrested Tuesday in connection with a past assault involving a 67-year-old woman, whose purse was snatched after she was knocked down and dragged for several feet.

The June 22 assault took place on Essex Street in Saugus, police said. Investigators analyzed surveillance footage, used RMV records to locate the alleged getaway car, and eventually charged both suspects with unarmed robbery and conspiracy.

Police identified the robber as a 17-year-old boy from Lynn, whose name wasn't released because he's a juvenile. He also was charged with assault and battery on a person age 60 or older. His alleged accomplice was identified as 25-year-old Justin Hayes, of Beverly.

The juvenile knocked the victim to the ground and dragged her for several feet while trying to steal her pocketbook, police said. He eventually wrestled the purse from the woman and fled the area in a Mercedes, police said.

The woman suffered serious injuries that required surgery, according to authorities, who didn't specify the nature of the injuries.

Police tracked the Mercedes to a Lynn address and issued warrants for Hayes and the teenager.

"I applaud both (the Saugus and Lynn police) departments for professionalism and dedication in identifying and apprehending the individuals responsible for this violent crime," Saugus Police Chief Domenic J. DiMella said.

"The two suspects showed no compassion for the well-being of an elderly woman, and I am pleased that they have been brought to justice," he said.

Joel Marin-Maldonado, 33, formerly of Fajardo, a small coastal city on the northeastern corner of Puerto Rico, was arrested July 8 in Lynn, police said.

Joel Marin-Maldonado (POLICIA DE PUERTO RICO) 

Joel Marin-Maldonado, 33, formerly of Fajardo, a small coastal city on the northeastern corner of the island, was arrested by Lynn police and state troopers at a Munroe Street address around 9:15 a.m. Police had set up surveillance of the street prior to his arrival.

Marin-Maldonado is wanted in Puerto Rico for allegedly fatally stabbing a person in 2013.

Earlier this week, officials from the Policia de Puerto Rico and the Fusion Center of Puerto Rico alerted Massachusetts authorities after receiving intelligence that Marin-Maldonado might be working for a temp agency in the Lynn area.

The fugitive was booked at the Lynn Police Department and charged as a fugitive from justice. He was arraigned in Lynn District Court and is facing extradition proceedings, police said.

A woman found an old box containing potentially explosive items at her home in Groveland, located about 30 miles north of Boston near the New Hampshire border. Massachusetts State Police detonated the items in a controlled explosion July 8.

GROVELAND — That big BOOM! in northeastern Essex County on Wednesday morning wasn't the first wave of an alien invasion, so put away your cyanide pills and conspiracy theories.

Rather, it was the Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad blowing up old railway construction explosives discovered at a home in Groveland, located about 30 miles north of Boston near the New Hampshire border.

A woman found a box containing several potentially explosive items at her Garrison Street home and called police to report the discovery. The homeowner allowed authorities to perform the controlled detonation in her 60-acre field.

Groveland Police Chief Robert J. Kirmelewicz praised the woman for raising the alarm.

"We are pleased that this resident did the right thing and called police the moment she found potentially dangerous explosives in her home," he said. "I commend the work of all those involved for their swift and efficient response and for preventing any injuries or disturbances to the community."

The homeowner was given the honor of "pressing the button" that safely detonated the explosives from a distance, police said. Surrounding neighbors were notified and Groveland firefighters and Trinity Ambulance personnel were on hand as a precaution.

MA State Police Bomb Squad Detonates Old Railroad Explosives Found in Groveland from John Guilfoil Public Relations on Vimeo.

The elected positions held by Marlene Morin and David Rothstein will be up for grabs in the fall, according to the city. The committee's remaining seven seats are held by representatives from various city entities, including the historical commission and the housing authority, as well as a mayoral appointee.

NORTHAMPTON -- Northampton's Community Preservation Committee will soon have two open at-large seats, and the city is looking for enthusiastic community members to run for them.

The elected positions held by Marlene Morin and David Rothstein will be up for grabs in the fall, according to the city. The committee's remaining seven seats are held by representatives from various city entities, including the historical commission and the housing authority, as well as a mayoral appointee.

The committee helps allocate about $1.5 million in Community Preservation Act funds annually, said Sarah LaValley, conservation, preservation and land use planner for the city. Its most recent, major recommendation was $1.45 million for the Pulaski Park redesign project, which is expected to break ground in August.

The group makes recommendations to the City Council for the acquisition and preservation of open space that includes parks, conservation land, wildlife preserves, public drinking water supplies, farmland and forests; restoration of historic buildings and sites; and for the creation and preservation of affordable housing. In essence, members help decide what gets funded in those program areas.

LaValley said so far, neither Morin nor Rothstein have applied to run for another four-year term.

CPA funds are raised through a 3 percent surcharge on property tax bills that allow for some matching funds from the state.

Nomination papers are available in the City Clerk's Office at City Hall on Main Street Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.. Applications are due July 24.

The South Carolina House approved taking down the Confederate flag from the Capitol grounds, a stunning reversal early Thursday in a state that was the first to leave the Union in 1860 and raised the flag again at its Statehouse more than 50 years ago to protest the civil rights movement.

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The South Carolina House approved a bill removing the Confederate flag from the Capitol grounds, a stunning reversal in a state that was the first to leave the Union in 1860 and raised the flag again at its Statehouse more than 50 years ago to protest the civil rights movement.

The move early Thursday came after more than 13 hours of passionate and contentious debate, and just weeks after the fatal shootings of nine black church members, including a state senator, at a Bible study in Charleston.

"South Carolina can remove the stain from our lives," said 64-year-old Rep. Joe Neal, a black Democrat first elected in 1992. "I never thought in my lifetime I would see this."

The House approved the Senate bill by a two-thirds margin, and the bill now goes to Republican Gov. Nikki Haley's desk. She supports the measure, which calls for the banner to come down within 24 hours of her signature. It's not clear exactly when that will be.

"It is a new day in South Carolina, a day we can all be proud of, a day that truly brings us all together as we continue to heal, as one people and one state," Haley said in a statement.

Haley herself reversed her position on the flag, saying the pain, grief and grace of the families of the victims in the shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church caused her to realize that while some conservative whites saw the Confederate flag as a symbol of pride in their Southern ancestors, most of the blacks who make up a third of the state's population see it as a dark reminder of a racist past.

The man charged in the shooting, Dylann Roof, brought that view home, telling survivors of the attack that he killed blacks because they were raping white women and taking over the country, according to witnesses. Roof also reportedly took photographs of himself holding the Confederate flag.

Earlier Wednesday, a group of Republicans had mounted opposition to immediately removing the flag, but at each turn, they were beaten back by a slightly larger, bipartisan group of legislators who believed there must be no delay.

As House members deliberated well into the night, there were tears of anger and shared memories of Civil War ancestors. Black Democrats, frustrated at being asked to show grace to Civil War soldiers as the debate wore on, warned the state was embarrassing itself.

Changing the Senate bill could have meant it weeks or even months to remove the flag, perhaps blunting momentum that has grown since the church massacre.

Republican Rep. Jenny Horne reminded her colleagues she was a descendent of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, and scolded fellow members of her party for stalling the debate with dozens of amendments.

She cried as she remembered the funeral of her slain colleague state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, the pastor of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church, who was gunned down as his wife and daughter locked themselves in an office.

"For the widow of Sen. Pinckney and his two young daughters, that would be adding insult to injury and I will not be a part of it!" she screamed into a microphone.

She said later during a break she didn't intend to speak but got frustrated with fellow Republicans.

Opponents of removing the flag talked about grandparents who passed down family treasures and lamented that the flag had been "hijacked" or "abducted" by racists.

Rep. Mike Pitts, who remembered playing with a Confederate ancestor's cavalry sword while growing up, said for him the flag is a reminder of how dirt-poor Southern farmers fought Yankees not because they hated blacks or supported slavery, but because their land was being invaded.

Those soldiers should be respected just as soldiers who fought in the Middle East or Afghanistan, he said, recalling his own military service. Pitts then turned to a lawmaker he called a dear friend, recalling how his black colleague nearly died in Vietnam.

"I'm willing to move that flag at some point if it causes a twinge in the hearts of my friends," Pitts said. "But I'll ask for something in return."

House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford said Democrats were united behind the Senate bill, which sends the flag to the state's Confederate Relic Room -- near the resting place for the rebel flag that flew over the Statehouse dome until it was taken down in 2000.

Democrats didn't want any new flag going up because it "will be the new vestige of racism," Rutherford said.

After a break around 8 p.m., Rutherford said Democrats were willing to let the other side make their points, but had grown tired. He said while much had been said about Confederate ancestors, "what we haven't heard is talk about nine people slaughtered in a church."

Democrats then finally began debating, saying they were angry with Republicans asking for grace for people who want to remember their Southern ancestors. Neal told of his ancestors, four brothers who were bought by slave owners with the last name Neal.

"The whole world is asking, is South Carolina really going to change, or will it hold to an ugly tradition of prejudice and discrimination and hide behind heritage as an excuse for it," Neal said.

Other Democrats suggested any delay would let Ku Klux Klan members planning a rally July 18 a chance to dance around the Confederate flag.

"You don't have to listen to me. But there are a whole lot of people outside this chamber watching," Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter said.

The debate in the South Carolina House began less than a day after the U.S. House voted to ban the display of Confederate flags at historic federal cemeteries in the Deep South.

In Washington, the vote followed a brief debate on a measure funding the National Park Service, which maintains 14 national cemeteries, most of which contain graves of Civil War soldiers.

The proposal by California Democrat Jared Huffman would block the Park Service from allowing private groups to decorate the graves of Southern soldiers with Confederate flags in states that commemorate Confederate Memorial Day. The cemeteries affected are the Andersonville and Vicksburg cemeteries in Georgia and Mississippi.

Also Wednesday, state police said they were investigating an unspecified number of threats against South Carolina lawmakers debating the flag. Police Chief Mark Keel said lawmakers on both sides of the issue had been threatened, but he did not specify which ones.

___

Associated Press Writer Jeffrey Collins wrote this report. Associated Press Writer Meg Kinnard contributed to this report.

Retired Superior Court Judge Peter A. Velis has been put in charge of a statewide investigation into the scope of former chemist Sonja Farak's work at the now-closed Amherst state laboratory.

BOSTON — Retired Superior Court Judge Peter A. Velis has been put in charge of a statewide investigation into the scope of former chemist Sonja Farak's work at the now-closed Amherst state laboratory.

Velis, of Westfield, was appointed to serve as a Special Assistant Attorney General "to provide an independent and external view on the investigation," according to Chloe Gotsis, spokeswoman for Attorney General Maura Healey.

In January 2014, Farak was given an 18-month jail sentence after admitting she stole some of the cocaine she was supposed to be testing. Superior Court Judge Mary-Lou Rup also ordered Farak, 35, of Northampton to serve five years of probation and perform 500 hours of community service after she is released from custody.

"Our office volunteered to lead this investigation with other agencies, at the court's request of the Commonwealth, and we continue to work with District Attorneys, the defense bar, and the Administration to investigate the matter fully and to address the concerns raised by the court," Gotsis said.

"We are especially troubled whenever the integrity of the justice system is threatened and therefore have sought the very best to lead our investigation into the scope and timing of Sonja Farak's actions at the Amherst drug lab," she said.

Velis retired in 2012 after 14 years as a Superior Court judge, sitting mostly in Hampden Superior Court.

Over the course of his judiciary career, Velis presided over some high-profile cases, including the case against former Pelham police chief Edward B. Fleury, which garnered national attention over charges brought when an 8-year-old boy accidentally shot himself to death with a machine gun at an exhibition Fleury organized.

Velis presided at the trial of Eric B. Denson, who was convicted of first-degree murder for the 2010 fatal stabbing of Cathedral High School soccer star Conor W. Reynolds.

And, of course, Velis handled many drugs case trials, pleas and hearings.

Based on a court filing obtained by the Boston Globe, defense lawyers are saying that thousands of cases may have been tainted – possibly as many as 10,000.

Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan said Monday his office would comb through its files back to 2004.

Sonja Farak The Republican [file] 

According to the court filings, Farak described the extent of her drug habit to a therapist in 2009. For years, Farak, who was addicted to cocaine, methamphetamine, and amphetamines, never had to leave her office, because she could obtain the drugs normally bought from street dealers right in her office.

"She obtains the drugs for her job at the state drug lab, by taking portions of samples that have come in to be tested," one of Farak's therapists wrote after an April 2009 counseling session.

The Amherst drug lab scandal was the second to hit the state in two years. In August 2012, the state drug laboratory in Boston was shut down after chemist Annie Dookhan admitted to faking drug tests.

In November 2013, Dookhan was given a three to five-year state prison sentence after pleading guilty to 27 counts of tampering with evidence, filing false reports and misleading investigators.

In April, Massachusetts' Supreme Judicial Court found that top state law enforcement officials had failed to fully investigate the scope of Farak's actions.

The Northwestern District Attorney's Office is digging through its files in the wake of reports that evidence tampering by Farak might go back to 2004.

Several drug convictions were overturned in Hampden County because of the possibility that Farak tainted evidence that passed through the lab, but Sullivan had said he found no cases in the Northwestern 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.

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 Monday by Sullivan's office said. "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.

Villanueva has a long rap sheet, according to Easthampton police.

NORTHAMPTON -- A Springfield man with a criminal history, accused of killing an elderly couple's toy poodle after breaking into their Easthampton home, has been arraigned on four new charges in Hampshire Superior Court.

Angel J. Villanueva, 38, the subject of an arrest warrant obtained by Easthampton police in March, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to one count of animal cruelty, two counts of breaking and entering in the daytime to commit a felony and two counts of larceny over $250 from a person over 60 or disabled.

Villanueva was already held on $10,000 bail at the Hampshire County Jail in connection with an Oct. 11 break-in near Norwich Lake in Huntington. In court Wednesday, he was ordered held on $30,000 bail for the new charges.

On Sept. 2, a couple in their 80s returned to their Loudville Road home to discover that their house had been robbed. Their 12-year-old toy poodle, Hannah, was dead at the bottom of the basement stairs.

A veterinarian examined the dog and determined she died of blunt force trauma to the head; when asked by Easthampton police if the dog's death could have been accidental, the veterinarian replied that in his opinion "dogs don't fall down stairs," and "someone with cruelty beat or tortured this animal," court records state.

According to records, Easthampton police seized a flashlight found on the elderly couple's kitchen floor and submitted it to the state crime lab for processing; the results, showing Villanueva's fingerprint, were returned May 13, and Villanueva was questioned by detectives at the Hampshire County Jail on March 16.

Villanueva is also accused in a second Loudville Road housebreak that took place in the Florence neighborhood of Northampton on Sept. 22, records show. Easthampton police said they made the connection after running queries in a law enforcement pawn shop database.

Villanueva has 37 previous arraignments on his record, according to a Board of Probation check described by Easthampton police in their March 16 application for criminal complaint.

Mary Serreze can be reached at mserreze@gmail.com

 

The couple came to a mutual custody agreement after the judge declined to extend the order, investigators have said.

MIDDLETOWN, CONN. - Tony Moreno spent 30 minutes after allegedly throwing his 7-month-old son off a bridge prodding his estranged girlfriend with ominous text messages, according to police.

Moreno, 22, told investigators he threw the baby off the Arrigoni Bridge into the Connecticut River on July 5 before jumping in a suicide attempt, according to news reports. Police recovered Aaden Moreno's tiny body on Tuesday evening several miles downstream from where his father leapt from the bridge.

The father survived and was listed in critical but stable condition in the hospital on Wednesday. Moreno has been charged with murder.

The baby's mother, Adrianne Oyola, a new high school graduate, told police she had unsuccessfully applied for a restraining order on June 17 because Moreno's behavior had become aggressive and erratic. She also told court staff that Moreno had left the infant alone on a bed and left the house.

Oyola said she moved out with the baby on June 16, when Moreno allegedly hid her new graduation dress, according to FOX CT TV.

WTNH has reported that a judge denied the restraining order Oyola attempted to secure against Moreno; her application stated that she feared for her son's safety, court records showed.

The couple came to a mutual custody agreement after the judge declined to grant the order, investigators have said. Oyola told police she wanted to make a change to the agreement and called Moreno while he had the baby. Moreno agreed to discuss it, she told investigators.

She reported that she called around 8 p.m. on July 5. Moreno was agitated but Oyola said she didn't know why. A few hours later, the two exchanged text messages for nearly a half hour. Moreno suggested the baby was dead while Oyola begged him to reassure her, according to the messages made public in police reports.

The following is a transcript of the unedited texts, FOX reported.

11:18 Moreno to Oyola: I really need to talk to you
11:21 Oyola to Moreno: I was trying to talk to my friend. She just broke up with her boyfriend and wanted to talk to me Sorry I'm trying to be a good friend
11:21 Moreno to Oyola: Well I'm sorry there was a problem regarding our son
11:22 Oyola to Moreno: What's going on.
11:23 Oyola to Moreno: ?!
11:23 Oyola to Moreno: Why didn't you say that instead of saying I need to talk to you.
11:23 Moreno to Oyola: Clearly nothing that matters to you. And why would I say I NEED to talk to you if it wasn't important
11:24 Oyola to Moreno: What was the matter?
11:26 Moreno to Oyola: Don't worry, you'll see later. Just remember I tried contact you first
11:26 Oyola to Moreno: Just tell me!
11:27 Oyola to Moreno: Are you in the hospital?
11:29 Moreno to Oyola: No, and again it doesn't matter now. Just remember you wanted to play games and lie and be childish when I tried to reach out
11:30 Oyola to Moreno: Okay Tony. Good night I'll talk to you tomorrow or Tuesday
11:30 Moreno to Oyola: No you won't
11:30 Oyola to Moreno: What do you mean no?!
11:32 Moreno to Oyola: You won't talk to me tomorrow or any other day
11:33 Oyola to Moreno: Tuesday is my day. So yes I'll text you in the morning to see when you'll be dropping off Aaden
11:33 Moreno to Oyola: I won't be
11:33: Oyola to Moreno: Tuesday is my day
11:34 Moreno to Oyola: There is no more days Adrienne
11:34 Oyola to Moreno: Wtf you mean?!
11:35 Moreno to Oyola: Enjoy your new life without us
11:35 Oyola to Moreno: You can't just decide not to bring him back Tony
11:37 Oyola to Moreno: It says in the agreement that Tuesday is my day
11:38 Oyola to Moreno: You can't just not bring him!
11:39 Oyola to Moreno: Tony!!!!
11:41 Oyola to Moreno: Seriously. Don't play around like that. Please don't try and take him from me!!!!
11:41 Moreno to Oyola: You tried to take him away from me. You failed. I didn't
11:42 Moreno to Oyola: Enjoy your life without us now

Two police officers spotted Moreno jumping off the bridge, but did not see him holding the baby. He was rescued and airlifted to Hartford Hospital.

The party will kick off at 6 p.m. at the Sheraton in Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD —The Imperial Crown Prince and Princess Ball is more than just a dazzling display of regal glamour, it is an opportunity to celebrate the LGBTQA community, and in particular, the colorful cross-dressing performers of that community, organizers said of the upcoming ball.

The 3rd Annual Imperial Crown Prince and Princess Ball will be held at the Sheraton Hotel this Saturday July 11 from 6-10 p.m. and with it comes entertainers, community awards and more.

This year's event will feature Jujubee, Raven and Kayta, stars of the reality television show "RuPaul's Drag Race."

"We are thrilled to be able to have such amazing talent again appearing at the ball. Our theme 'A Midsummer Nights Dream,' will transform downtown Springfield into a land of fantasy," said Nelson Roman, board president for the Principality of Western Massachusetts.

According to organizers the Principality of Western Massachusetts, which prepares the event, has raised over $30,000 for LGBTQA, HIV/AIDS and youth enrichment.

Three different local awards will be presented — the Community Service Diamond Award, the OUTstanding Business/Professional Award and the Positive Force Award.

The Principality has named the AIDS Foundation of Western Mass, Invisible No More, and the LGBT Center of Springfield as this year's beneficiaries.

"As always it is important that we continue to raise funds for our community," Roman said. "Our organization continues to make a difference in fighting homophobia, HIV/AIDS and other social injustices, while empowering youth who are our next leaders."

For ticket information visit pofwma.eventbrite.com

Demand Abolition, a Cambridge-based organization dedicated to working to reduce the demand for "purchased sex," praised Healey for asking Backpage to take down its adult sex ads after a prostitute was robbed and killed by two Boston men July 2.

BOSTON — An organization working to reduce the demand for purchased sex praised Massachusetts' top law enforcer for asking Backpage.com to remove its adult sex ads after a prostitute was robbed and killed by two Boston men.

"We applaud Attorney General Maura Healey for ... calling on the ad site Backpage to take down its adult section. Websites like this make an illegal industry more invisible, hindering our ability to hold buyers accountable for the choices they make," said Ziba Cranmer, executive director of Demand Abolition, a Cambridge-based nonprofit working to reduce the demand for purchased sex.

Healey on Tuesday requested Backpage, the online classified ad site, to remove the adult section of its website after an escort was lured to a Burlington hotel, robbed and shot to death July 2. Two men have been charged with murder in connection with the crime.

"Eliminating vehicles for sex trafficking like Backpage's adult section is an essential step towards holding sex-buyers accountable, combating demand for purchased sex, and saving the lives of thousands of women, men and children in Massachusetts and nationwide," Cranmer said. "If there are no buyers in sex trafficking, there will be no business."

Most of the human trafficking cases the attorney general's office has prosecuted "specifically involve advertisements on Backpage," Healey said. "As we have seen through our office's work, Backpage.com and the Internet have become increasingly popular vehicles for commercial sexual exploitation," she said.

Thirty-four-year-old Sanisha Johnson, whose services were reportedly sought by two Boston men, was fatally shot at the Extended Stay Hotel in Burlington early on the morning of July 2, according to authorities. Twenty-four-year-old Epshod Jeune and 21-year-old Derrell Fisher, both of Roxbury, have been charged with her murder.

The pair is accused of a similar robbery involving a prostitute at a Woburn hotel.

For several years now, state prosecutors have railed against a provision in the federal Communications Decency Act that indemnifies websites like Backpage.com from the legal liability of the actions of third parties responsible for producing offensive content.

Section 230 shields Internet search engines, classified-ad services, and basically every site on the Web from whatever Internet users might do, legal or illegal, on any given website. Proponents of such safeguards – including Congress, which passed the act in 1996 – say the protections are essential, otherwise websites would be legally responsible for every bit of questionable or objectionable content that migrates online.

Still, 48 of the nation's 50 attorneys general signed a 2013 letter to congressional committee leaders, calling on lawmakers to rescind Section 230 so they can go after classified-ad sites, specifically Backpage.com, Fortune.com reported.

"It is ironic that the (Communications Decency Act), which was intended to protect children from indecent material on the Internet, is now used as a shield by those who intentionally profit from prostitution and crimes against children," the National Association of Attorneys General stated in the letter.

James Tate had been ill for several years.

AMHERST - As usual, poet James Tate read as part of the University of Massachusetts Juniper Summer Writing Institute June 21.

After all, he had been teaching at UMass since 1971 and in the writing institute as well.

"He gave good reading," said longtime friend Mark Wootton. "People enjoyed it. He was full of life."

Tate died Wednesday at 71.

Wootton, co-owner of Amherst Books, said Tate "was ill for quite a number of years." He had various health problems. This was a crisis that (happened) about week ago." He said that Tate died of complications from a cancer that he had. The cancer had been in remission.

But Wootton, who knew the poet for 25 years, said despite being ill, Tate continued to write. "He's been writing all along. He'd write everyday. He'd often complete a poem every day."

He said that he had slowed down recently. But he had been "quite prolific, energetic when it came to writing." Tate has a new collection coming out next month called  "Dome of the Hidden Pavilion."  

"It's a shock, it's a such a loss for the Valley," said Joan Grenier, owner of the Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley.

"He has been such a presence through his poetry and through the MFA program. He mentored so many younger poets."  Tate was a Distinguished Professor at the UMass MFA program.  

He was a brilliant teacher," said poet and editor Matthew Zapruder, who studied with Tate when he was in the MFA program from 1994 to1998. Zapruder also  taught in the summer institute.

"He was old school. He took what we were doing seriously."

"He had incredibly high standards (but) was a very patient teacher." He would wait and work with students to develop what was at the poem's essence.

As person, "he was a very funny and gentle and sweet and kind and quiet," he said. "He was not a man of a lot of words. He took his friendships very seriously.

"People just adored him. He was the cultural heart of the community."

 His passing "is a huge loss." He said it's both a personal loss and also "a huge loss for American poetry." He said he and friends were talking and said Tate "wrote more great poems than anyone we can think of." And he believes that he has greatly influenced American poetry. 

He won just about every prize there was.

For "Worshipful Company of Fletchers," he won the National Book Award. "Selected Poems," won the Pulitzer Prize and the William Carlos Williams Award. "The Lost Pilot" was selected for the Yale Series of Younger Poets.

He was a frequent presence at area readings and was married to the poet Dara Wier, the director of the MFA Program for Poets and Writers at UMass.

 "UMass Amherst, and a worldwide community of poets and writers, mourn the loss of James Tate, one of the most distinguished members of our faculty," Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy said in a press release.

"For over four decades, Professor Tate generously shared his extraordinary talents with students and colleagues. Although he will be greatly missed, his poetry will live on and continue to inspire."

Jennifer Jacobson, associate director of the MFA program, shared the news with faculty, students and alumni.

"I am deeply saddened to tell you that James Tate passed away yesterday after a long illness. Jim's brilliance was an inspiration to all of us and to generations of students in the MFA program.

"Our hearts go out to his family, Dara Wier, Emily Pettit and Guy Pettit. A celebration of Tate's life and poetry will be held in New York City in the fall."

The Poetry Foundation wrote "Tate's poems have been described as tragic, comic, absurdist, ironic, hopeful, haunting, lonely, and surreal.

"Tate said of his own poems in a Paris Review interview, 'There is nothing better than [to move the reader deeply]. I love my funny poems, but I'd rather break your heart.

Tributes are coming on Twitter with fans linking to their favorite poems.

If anyone has a favorite poem, link to in the comments section.

Treehouse is an inter-generational community for foster kids and their families.

EASTHAMPTON -- A monthly cafe and music venue at the Treehouse Community will launch July 16 with a performance by musicians Marcia Gomes and Charlie Braun.

The TreeCat Cafe is run by youth at Treehouse, an Easthampton-based inter-generational community that supports families caring for children from the foster care system.

Gomes is a jazz, R&B and gospel-influenced singer-songwriter who recently moved to the Pioneer Valley from Boston. Braun is a folk, rock, pop and blues singer, songwriter and guitarist who has opened for national acts such as Carly Simon and Livingston Taylor.

The cafe provides the teens and young adults with work experience, and serves as a business training ground for budding entrepreneurs. Youth are in charge of every aspect of the cafe: business planning, branding, marketing, budgeting and accounting, inventory and shopping, cooking and serving, and hosting the cafe.

Those who attend are asked to donate $15. Donations will help sustain the TreeCat Cafe and other youth programs at Treehouse. Light refreshments will be provided. To reserve a seat, send an email to thetreecatcafe@gmail.com.

The Treehouse Community is located off Park Street in Easthampton near the White Brook Middle School.

For more information about the event, contact Jennifer Matias at 857-919-4045.