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News Links: Complaint filed against man who lost fingers in fireworks explosion, mother who gave margarita to child avoids deportation, and more

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Connecticut police arrested a Stamford woman Wednesday after they say she twice worked out at a gym while leaving her 4-month-old child unattended in a vehicle.

A digest of news stories from around the Northeast.



  • Criminal complaint filed against Saugus man who lost fingers in July 4 fireworks explosion [WCVB-TV, NewsCenter5, Needham] Related video above


  • Lynn mother who shared margarita with 2-year-old daughter at Salem restaurant avoids deportation to Haiti in plea deal [Salem News]


    Hiroko Kurihara 71615Hiroko Kurihara 
  • Connecticut police arrest mother they say left 4-month-old baby in car twice while working out in gym [Connecticut Post] Photo at left, video below


  • Court records show accused Adams terrorist Alexander Ciccolo suspended 5 times as student in Wareham public schools for aggressive behavior [Boston Globe] Video below



  • Girl, 14, from Southfield, drowns while snorkeling in Rhode Island [Providence Journal] Video below


    Peter Stefan 2013Peter A. Stefan 
  • New Hampshire administrator orders Canaan employee to take down Confederate flag flying from pickup truck while on town property [Valley News]


  • Worcester funeral director, who handled arrangements for late Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev, offers free burial for unidentified 4-year-old girl found on Deer Island in Boston Harbor [Telegram & Gazette] Photo at right



  • Connecticut police say body parts found in New Haven likely thrown from roadway [WTNH-TV, abc8, New Haven] Video below


    Charlie Baker crewcut mug 2015Charlie Baker 
  • Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker says he would veto any bill allowing undocumented immigrants access to in-state tuition, state aid [WGBH Radio News, 89.7 FM, Boston] Photo at left


  • Video showing Planned Parenthood doctor discussing sale of body parts from aborted fetuses ignites firestorm in New Hampshire [Union Leader]






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  • Holyoke youth group holding basketball tournament

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    The tournament is open to young men and women between ages 14 and 24.

    HOLYOKE -- The Holyoke Safe and Successful Youth Initiative will hold a community basketball tournament July 31 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Toepfert Apartments, 22 North Summer St.

    "This basketball tournament will be demonstrating the beauty and different cultures of the city of Holyoke," Director Jacqueline Lozada said.

    The tournament is open to young men and women between ages 14 and 24, she said.

    The plan is to have up to 20 teams compete. Each team will have five members and games will feature three-on-three competitions with two substitutes per team. Jerseys will be provided, she said.

    Registration forms are available at the Holyoke Boys and Girls Club, 70 Nick Cosmos Way, CareerPoint, 850 High St., and Toepfert Apartments, and registrations will be accepted until 11:30 a.m. the day of the event, she said.

    Former Gov. Deval L. Patrick established the Safe and Successful Youth Initiative (SSYI) program in 2011 to aim services at the highest risk population of young men between the ages of 14 and 24. The program at 63 Jackson St. tries to reduce youth homicides and serious assaults by offering daily programs in education, helping the men find jobs vocational training and mental health services, she said.

    The event's sponsors are Advanced Restoration Group, Bertera of West Springfield, CareerPoint, Holyoke Mayor Alex B. Morse, Enlace de Familias/Holyoke Family Network, First Niagara Bank, Boys and Girls Club, Holyoke Housing Authority, Max Salvage, Olde Holyoke Development Corp., People's United Bank, River Valley Counseling Center, TWC Auto Body & Repair of Holyoke, Valley Hall, Wistariahurst Museum here and SSYI, she said.

    The event's rain date is Aug. 7.

    For information call (413) 537-9581.

    Basketball tournament

    Gov. Charlie Baker signs $38.1 billion budget, vetoes $162 million in spending

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    Baker cut money that the Legislature had approved for early education, the University of Massachusetts, the trial court, tourism expenses and local earmarks.

    BOSTON -- Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law on Friday a $38.1 billion state budget for the fiscal year that began July 1, an increase in spending of 3 percent over last year. The budget makes changes to MBTA oversight, expands a tax credit for low income working families, and invests in local aid and substance abuse treatment.

    Baker also vetoed $162.8 million in spending, cutting money that the Legislature had approved for early education, the University of Massachusetts, the trial court, tourism expenses, cultural programs and local earmarks.

    Speaking to reporters after signing the budget into law, Baker said his administration had closed an estimated $1.8 billion budget gap for 2016, after closing a smaller gap in fiscal year 2015.

    "We're pleased to announce a balanced budget that closed the gaps in both of those fiscal years without raising taxes and makes key investments to create more jobs, improve our schools and build stronger communities for the commonwealth from one end to another, for our families in every zip code," Baker said.

    The Legislature has until the end of the year to override Baker's vetoes.

    Senate President Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst, indicated that senators are going to consider overrides.

    "We have serious concerns about many of the governor's vetoes, particularly related to education, where he has cut programs ranging from early childhood to colleges and universities," Rosenberg said in a prepared statement. "Given the increasing importance of education in closing the income gap and giving kids a decent chance in a highly competitive economy, cuts to these programs are short-sighted at best."  

    House Speaker Robert DeLeo, D-Winthrop, declined to comment on the specifics of the budget.

    "The governor's budget actions are currently under review by the House Committee on Ways and Means," said DeLeo spokesman Seth Gitell.  

    The budget included some major policy changes - the creation of a fiscal control board to oversee the MBTA, the suspension of the state's anti-privatization law for three years at the MBTA, and the expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income families, which was paid for by delaying a corporate tax deduction.

    The budget includes a 3.6 percent increase in local aid, to $980 million, and a 3 percent increase in education aid, to $4.5 billion. There is money to prevent homelessness, address opioid addiction and promote economic development. The budget increases funding by $37 million to the embattled Department of Children and Families and funds a new state police class of 150 recruits.

    Baker kept in the budget a provision proposed by the Legislature giving the Governor's Council, the body that vets his judicial nominees, $10,000 pay raises. Baker said the councilors had not gotten a significant raise since 2000, and had gotten no raise at all since 2003.

    The budget gave the University of Massachusetts a long sought-after victory, allowing the university to keep the tuition it gets from in-state students, rather than returning it to the state's general fund, then getting the money back through the state budget. But Baker cut $5.2 million from what the Legislature had appropriated for UMass, giving UMass $526 million, a slight increase over what the university received last year. UMass officials have said they could increase student tuition and fees by 6 to 8 percent next year.

    UMass President Marty Meehan called Baker's signing of tuition retention "a victory for students, for UMass and for transparency."

    But Meehan said of Baker's $5 million veto, "This veto presents challenges that we must now assess as we pursue our overarching goals of building quality, while at the same time protecting the University's long-term fiscal stability."

    Overall, Baker vetoed $162.8 million in spending. Of that, $38 million came from local earmarks. Of nearly 500 earmarks in the budget, Baker vetoed around 190. These are generally small items like $50,000 for pedestrian safety improvements to the Ludlow riverwalk; $75,000 for Gallery 51 at the Berkshire Cultural Resource Center in North Adams; $100,000 for the Spirit of Springfield and $75,000 for the New England Public Radio Foundation in Springfield.

    According to Secretary of Administration and Finance Kristen Lepore, another $69 million reflected revised projections of need - such as decreased social service caseloads. The rest of the money came from stopping programs that had not yet started - like the hiring of a state climatologist - or cutting the budget to the levels that Baker originally proposed.

    Several vetoes affect education. Although Lepore pointed out that the budget will use $10 million to reduce the childcare waitlist for low-income children by 1,500, the Legislature had earmarked $12 million. Baker cut $17.5 million from a grant program used by communities to add full-day public kindergarten.

    Lepore said the administration left $1 million in the kindergarten expansion fund to help new communities that want to add kindergarten. But she said the fund was being used by communities after they added kindergarten to maintain it - which is not why the fund was created.

    Amy O'Leary, campaign director of Early Education for All, an early education advocacy group, said she hopes the Legislature will override the early education vetoes. "As we look at the economy turning around, we believe this is the time to invest in high equality early education, not to make cuts," O'Leary said.

    Baker also vetoed $1.2 million in programs for English Language Learners in Gateway Cities, such as Holyoke and Springfield.

    Some vetoes were in areas where Baker originally proposed lower levels of funding, but the Legislature added money. Baker vetoed $3.6 million for the administration of the trial court, although the final trial court budget of $631 million was still far higher than Baker originally proposed.

    Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph Gants, Trial Court Chief Justice Paula Carey and Trial Court Administrator Harry Spence issued a joint statement saying the revised budget "would allow the judiciary to maintain its basic operations and continue critical initiatives." But they said it would imperil initiatives such as implementation of a new domestic violence law, plans to expand drug courts, and the opening of new centers to help unrepresented civil litigants.

    Baker said the vetoes were necessary because non-tax revenues, such as fees and federal reimbursements, are now expected to come in lower than the Legislature's budget anticipated; because the Legislature spent $83 million more than Baker proposed; and because the Legislature did not provide adequate funding for accounts that would need to be funded through supplemental budgets later in the year. These include things like homeless shelters for families and money for public defenders. Baker also wants to take money left over from fiscal year 2015 and use it to pay down debt in 2016.

    The state already started saving money by implementing an early retirement incentive program for state employees. Although Baker projected that 4,500 people would retire, saving $172 million in 2016, only 2,500 left, saving $126 million.

    Lepore said she expects to find the rest of the money through a hiring freeze, buyouts for state employees who already reached their maximum pension benefit and rehiring fewer people to fill newly vacated positions. She said there will not be layoffs as a result of the early retirement program, but there could be some layoffs due to the budget. The Executive Office of Public Safety plans to lay off 20 people due to a reorganization at the state parole board.

    The 2016 fiscal year started July 1, but lawmakers passed a temporary budget to keep government running through July. House and Senate negotiators released their final version of the budget July 7 and the House and Senate voted the next day to send it to Baker's desk.

    Gov. Charlie Baker appoints MBTA fix-it panel

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    Gov. Charlie Baker on Friday filled out a five-member panel tasked with fixing the troubled MBTA system. Its members include a former Boston City Hall budget chief who worked for the late Mayor Thomas Menino, a union official, and a business development executive, among others.

    BOSTON — Gov. Charlie Baker on Friday filled out a five-member panel tasked with fixing the troubled MBTA system. Its members include a former Boston City Hall budget chief who worked for the late Mayor Thomas Menino, a union official and a business development executive, among others.

    Baker asked for and received from the Legislature the power to set up the financial management and control board after this year's multiple snowstorms paralyzed the MBTA, a public transit system that has struggled as its aging equipment was called into action during hot summers and cold winters.

    The structure of the board is modeled after past finance control boards formed to save the cities of Springfield and Chelsea from collapse.

    "Starting next week, the show is yours," Baker told the members after swearing them in.

    Stephanie Pollack, Baker's transportation chief, said the finance control board will work with the MBTA and Keolis, the private operator of the MBTA's commuter rail system, eyeing their preparation plans next winter and making sure "we haven't left anything out and we're going into the winter 100 percent ready."

    Joseph "Joe" Aiello, partner and director of business development for North America at Meridiam Infrastructure, is chair of the board.

    The other members are Steve Poftak, the executive director of Harvard Kennedy School's Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston; Brian Lang, president of UNITE HERE Local 26, a union that represents hotel and food service workers; Lisa Calise, chief financial officer for the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown and former chief financial officer for the city of Boston; and Monica Tibbits-Nutt, executive director of the 128 Business Council.

    Poftak, Calise and Tibbits-Nutt also serve on the newly expanded board of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, according to the Baker administration. Tibbits-Nutt was not able to attend Friday's swearing-in ceremony and will be administered the oath later.

    The panel members are volunteers.

    "We think that we have identified a group of folks who even though they're volunteers have the expertise and the willingness to roll up their sleeves and put in the time that is going to be needed to make the control board work," Pollack said.

    Pollack said as the state transportation secretary she has the ability to staff the control board, and hire consultants and workers.

    The panel is set to hold its first meeting on July 21.

    The panel was created through the $38.1 billion state budget Baker signed into law on Friday. The budget also includes a provision suspending for three years an anti-privatization law that supporters call the "Taxpayer Protection Act."

    Baker said his administration has met with officials from the MBTA Carmen's Union, which opposed the temporary suspension of the anti-privatization measure, which is also known as the "Pacheco Law," after state Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton.

    "I've made very clear from the very beginning of this conversation that this is not about privatizing the T, OK? It just isn't," Baker said. "But it is about coming up with a smarter, better way of providing services and supporting the operations, and delivering a high-quality, dependable, affordable product to the ridership and to the taxpayers of Massachusetts."


    News Links: School board chairman resigns in sex sting, man allegedly tried to kidnap bride before wedding, and more

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    A Marine recruiter who went to Cathedral High School said the Springfield community is feeling "utter devastation" from the news that Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan was among those killed in the attack.

    A digest of news stories from around the Northeast.



  • Cohasset School Committee chairman resigns in Cambridge sex sting [WCVB-TV, NewsCenter5, Needham] Video above


  • Man attempted to kidnap bride in effort to get finace to meet with him, court documents reveal [Cape Cod Times]


    Thomas J. Sullivan.jpgThomas J. Sullivan 
  • Marine recruiter says 'can't put price' on contributions of Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, of Hampden, killed in Chattanooga shootings [Boston Herald] Related vdeo below


  • 2 killed, 3 hurt after being shot by registered sex offender who lead Maine police on high speed chase [Portland Press Herald] Video below



  • Suspected shoplifter dies after jumping from first floor of parking garage as security officers chased her at Providence Place Mall [Providence Journal] Video below


    Curtis Jackson mug50 Cent 
  • Connecticut judge allows sex tape suit against 'bankrupt' rapper 50 Cent to continue [Hartford Courant] Photo at right


  • 2 held without bail in shooting death at Worcester party [Telegram & Gazette]



  • Murder suspect wept after shooting woman who cut him off in Vermont road rage incident, court told [Burlington Free Press]


    MBTA suspect 71715.jpgMBTA suspect 
  • MBTA Transit Police seek suspect who allegedly assaulted, robbed woman, 60 [Boston Globe] Photo at left


  • 6-year-old West Roxbury boy credited with saving life of grandmother who passed out [Patch.com]


    WJAR-TV, NBC10, Cranston, R.I.





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  • Neighbors oppose Greenfield drug detox center planned for former Lunt factory

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    The 64-bed detox center is planned by Behavioral Health Network of Springfield.

    GREENFIELD -- Neighbors spoke out against a 64-bed drug detox center planned for the former Lunt Silversmiths property Thursday night, saying they are worried about the type of people the center might attract.

    Over the two-hour Planning Board hearing, one resident said Mayor William Martin had "sold the neighborhood down the river," another said a detox center would exacerbate the town's drug problem, and a third noted that children's ballfields are noted nearby, according to the The Recorder of Greenfield.

    Edward Prisby, Springfield lawyer for proponent Behavioral Health Network, told the crowd the 298 Federal St. treatment center, pegged at 35,000 square feet, would help end the drug problem instead of making it worse.

    A Norwood Street resident said the former factory should be developed as shops and restaurants -- but the sentiment may not be realistic, if past efforts by the town to dispose of the property serve as an indication: last year Behavioral Health Network, through its development entity 401 Liberty Street LLC, submitted the only response to a request for proposals for the reuse of the property.

    In Springfield, Behavioral Health Network runs the Carlson Recovery Center detoxification program at 471 Chestnut St. and the Hope Center "step-down" rehabilitation program at 35 Heywood St.

    Martin has said 401 Liberty Street would buy the property and lease part of it to Behavioral Health Network. The developer and the federal Environmental Protection Agency would then pay for an environmental cleanup of the property that could cost as much as $1.85 million.

    A 2012 environmental site assessment of the property refers to the presence of the industrial solvent trichloroethylene in groundwater monitoring wells, the suspected presence of asbestos-containing building materials, lead-based paint, and polychlorinated biphenyls, commonly known as PCBs.

    The old Lunt factory consists of several buildings; under the plan, part of the complex would be torn down with the help of a $250,000 grant from MassDevelopment, the state's economic development finance agency.

    Lunt Silversmiths shut down operations in 2009. The vacant property was acquired by the town of Greenfield last year as the result of a bankruptcy proceeding. Some $500,000 in back taxes were owed.

    Greenfield is currently without a drug detox facility, amid a statewide opioid crisis. According to the Department of Public Health, last year nearly 300 individuals from Franklin County traveled to other parts of the state for acute drug treatment or clinical stabilization services.

    Martin has said he is eager to get the property redeveloped and back on the tax rolls. The Planning Board will continue its review of the project next month.

    ___________________________________________________________

    Mary Serreze can be reached at mserreze@gmail.com.

    Surge in Google's stock fails to transfer to rest of Wall Street

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    The Dow Jones industrial average lost nearly 34 to close at 18,086.

    By MATTHEW CRAFT

    NEW YORK -- A strong week fizzled to a close on Friday as the stock market eked out a small gain. But a few companies made big moves. Google surged after reporting strong results, pushing the Nasdaq to another record high.

    It was a quiet end to an eventful week. Markets around the world rallied on Monday after Greece and its creditors agreed to a broad framework for a new loan program. Stronger quarterly earnings reports from a range of big U.S. companies, including Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase, added more encouragement.

    "It appears the sky is clearing," said Linda Duessel, senior equity strategist at Federated Investors.

    Before this week, concerns about China's plunging stock market and the prospect of Greece leaving the euro "had been bogging us down," she said.

    The Standard & Poor's 500 index edged up 2.35 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 2,126.64. The broad-market measure finished the week with a gain of 2.4 percent, its best performance in four months.

    The Nasdaq rose 46.96 points, or 0.9 percent, to 5,210.14, closing out its best week in nine months. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 33.80 points, or 0.2 percent, at 18,086.45.

    Google jumped after reporting profits and sales that topped analysts' forecasts late Thursday. The results ended six consecutive quarters in which Google's earnings fell short of analysts' targets. Google rose $97.84, or 16 percent, to $699.62.

    Earnings reports out this week have looked better than Wall Street expected. Analysts forecast that second-quarter earnings will shrink 3.3 percent compared with the prior year, according to S&P Capital IQ. Last week, the prediction was for a drop of 4.4 percent.

    Greece's deal cleared another hurdle on Friday when German lawmakers overwhelmingly backed it. The European Union also said it would get Athens enough money for it to keep making its debt payments.

    Europe's major markets finished mixed after rallying earlier this week. Germany's DAX lost 0.4 percent while France's CAC edged up 0.1 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.3 percent.

    Back in the U.S., Comerica reported a drop in quarterly earnings, partially a result of the Dallas-based bank setting aside more money to cover losses on loans to oil companies. The news drove Comerica's stock down $3.19, or 6.3 percent, to $47.28.

    Bond prices barely moved, leaving the 10-year Treasury note at 2.35 percent. The dollar dropped to 124.06 yen while rising to $1.0838 for every euro.

    In commodities trading, precious and industrial metals sank. Gold fell $12 to settle at $1,131.90 an ounce, while silver sank 15 cents to $14.92 an ounce. Copper fell 3 cents to $2.50 a pound.

    Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell two cents to close at $50.89 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 18 cents to close at $57.10 a barrel in London.

    In other trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange:

    1. Wholesale gasoline rose 3.2 cents to close at $1.929 a gallon.
    2. Heating oil fell 0.2 cent to close at $1.664 a gallon.
    3. Natural gas increased 1.6 cents to close at $2.870 per 1,000 cubic feet.

    Boxing champion Marlon Starling signs autographs at Neighborhood Pizzeria in Wilbraham

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    The boxer who grew up in the projects in Hartford, Ct., won a world title in 1987.

    WILBRAHAM - Marlon "Magic Man" Starling was at Neighborhood Pizzeria on Boston Road Friday night signing autographs and enjoying a meal with friends and family.

    The boxer who said he grew up in the projects in Hartford, won a world title in 1987 when he knocked out Mark Breland in the 11th round to win the World Boxing Association welterweight title.

    "I fought him in his hometown of Columbia, South Carolina," he said "I wasn't supposed to win that fight. When it was over, they said to me, 'Hello, Champ.'"

    Starling said he "quit boxing" in 1991 when he stayed home with his newborn son.

    Now 57 years old and a grandfather, Starling said he lives in East Hartford, Connecticut.

    He signed an autograph last night for Avery Blanchard, the 8-year-old grandson of Phil Bongiorni of Wilbraham.

    "I started boxing when I was 8," Starling told the boy. "You have to have muscles."

    Starling said he has had a lot of opportunities in his life. He met Sylvester Stallone at the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York, and he said he was honored when Stallone "called me by my first name."

    He said he owes a lot to "Johnny Duke," his trainer in the projects.

    Starling said he was in boxing before there was big money in boxing. He said he never made millions. "I made less than $100,000 for my fight with Breland, he said.

    "I didn't get into it for the money," he added.

    He said he is now looking for an opportunity for another job, possibly an extension of his boxing career.

    He said he is still waiting for another opportunity to come his way.


    Obama meets 110-year-old Detroit woman believed to be oldest-living veteran

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    President Barack Obama opened the Oval Office to a 110-year-old Detroit woman believed to be the nation's oldest veteran.

    WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama opened the Oval Office to a 110-year-old Detroit woman believed to be the nation's oldest veteran.

    Obama says Emma Didlake's service is a reminder of the sacrifices made by those who fought in World War II or supported those did.

    Didlake was a 38-year-old wife and mother of five when she signed up for the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps in 1943.

    She held the rank of private and served stateside for about seven months as a driver.
     
    Didlake sat in her wheelchair in the same spot in the Oval Office where foreign leaders sit when they meet with Obama.

    As a scrum of reporters and photographers rushed in, Obama told Didlake, "Don't worry about these folks."

    Obama tweeted afterward that Didlake is a "true American hero."

    Hero to the end: Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, Springfield Marine killed in Chattanooga attack, went to aid fellow Marines when he was fatally shot

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    "Gunny died a hero yesterday," Marine Sgt. Amanda Vincent said of Thomas Sullivan, using the gunnery sergeant's nickname.

    SPRINGFIELD — He was a hero right to the end, according to those who served with Marine Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, one of four Marines killed in a deadly attack in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Thursday, in what some officials are calling an ISIS-inspired attack.

    Sullivan, a Springfield native raised in East Forest Park who graduated from Cathedral High School, was running to save his wounded colleagues when he, too, was shot. He didn't survive.

    Known as "Gunny" to his fellow Marines, Sullivan "died a hero yesterday," Marine Sgt. Amanda Vincent told Sullivan's family, who gathered Friday at the Hampden home of his parents, Gerry and Betty Sullivan, to celebrate the life of the 40-year-old, two-time Purple Heart recipient and Iraq veteran.

    "The only thing on his mind was if his Marines were OK. He had a chance to jump the fence and run, but instead he ran back to make sure (I) and the others inside and the Marines that were shot were OK," Vincent said in a message to the Sullivan family.

    "He will be missed terribly and I'm truly happy I had the chance to know him," she said.

    Sullivan and another Marine were about to enter the Navy Operational Support Center in Chattanooga when they were warned that the gunman was exiting.

    "They ran back to the Marines outside and (Sullivan) made sure they all jumped over the fence and got away," Vincent said. Sullivan and the other Marine were the last two who needed to jump the fence. The other Marine scaled the fence, but "Gunny was gone," Vincent said.

    Sullivan had instead gone to help other wounded Marines before he also sustained fatal injuries.

    Besides his parents, Sullivan is survived by his siblings, Joe Sullivan and Dianne Sullivan Caron, nieces and nephews, and many other family members. The family has yet to announce funeral arrangements.


    California wildfire sweeps across freeway, destroying vehicles and homes (photos)

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    A fast-moving wildfire swept across a freeway Friday in a Southern California mountain pass, destroying 20 vehicles and sending motorists running to safety before it burned at least five homes.

    HESPERIA, Calif. -- A fast-moving wildfire swept across a freeway Friday in a Southern California mountain pass, destroying 20 vehicles and sending motorists running to safety before it burned at least five homes. There were no reports of serious injuries, authorities said.

    Fanned by hot desert winds, the fire started along Interstate 15 -- the main highway between Southern California and Las Vegas -- and spread quickly.

    FREEWAY WILDFIRE 
    Dozens of vehicles were abandoned and hundreds of others turned onto side roads to get away from the flames as water-dropping helicopters flew over the Cajon Pass area about 55 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

    Motorists stuck on the road described a harrowing scene.

    "It's crazy, you're watching black clouds and white clouds of smoke, there's a ridgeline off to my right ... and it looks like any second flames will come over the ridgeline," Chris Patterson, 43, said from his vehicle.

    It's not uncommon for wildfires to reach freeways in California. It was unclear, however, why dozens of cars were caught along Interstate 15, forcing frightened people to flee on foot.

    U.S. Forest Service spokesman Uriah Hernandez said no injuries had been confirmed.

    The agency said the fire had burned at least 3, 500 acres and was threatening the rural community of Baldy Mesa.

    San Bernardino County Fire officials said at least five homes were burned and another 50 were threatened by the flames. An additional 10 cars on the freeway were damaged by the fire.

    Melissa Atalla said she could see the flames from her gas station in Baldy Mesa.

    "People are spectating from our parking lot, running around getting water and beer. It's chaos," Atalla said. "One man came in and said, 'Oh my, my house is getting burned.'"

    The fire led authorities to shut several freeway lanes, causing traffic to back up for miles. California Highway Patrol spokesman Steve Carapia said 50 to 75 vehicles were left abandoned on the freeway.

    Raquel Martinez, 34, was traveling to Las Vegas with her husband for the weekend when they got stuck in northbound traffic on the I-15 for about an hour.

    The sky darkened to black. As they drove by, cars were covered in "pink powder" -- or fire retardant. Cars meanwhile were being redirected up narrow twisty emergency lanes from the southbound side headed north.

    "I haven't seen a fire that big and so close to us. It really was huge," Martinez said.

    In wake of Chattanooga shooting, Republicans criticize military recruiting-office gun ban

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    Republican presidential candidates Jeb Bush, Scott Walker and Donald Trump called Friday for an end to a ban on service members carrying guns in military recruiting offices.

    CARSON CITY, Nev. -- Republican presidential candidates Jeb Bush, Scott Walker and Donald Trump called Friday for an end to a ban on service members carrying guns in military recruiting offices.

    The ban became an issue after a man killed four Marines and wounded a sailor and another Marine on Thursday at a pair of military facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

    Jeb BushRepublican presidential candidate Jeb Bush speaks during a town hall meeting at the Silver State Charter School in Carson City, Nev. on Friday, July 17, 2015. (Jason Bean/The Reno Gazette-Journal via AP) 

    "It seems to me that if you have military bases or recruiting offices, these are symbols of American might, they're targets," Bush said after a town hall-style event in Carson City, Nevada. 

    "This is how you garner attention. You go to places where there's vulnerability, and it's a very powerful symbolic attack on our country," said Bush, a former governor of Florida.

    Walker, Wisconsin's governor, echoed Bush's position while campaigning in Iowa.

    "I think with ISIS now and the threats that we have not only abroad, but domestically, when our military in particular is potentially a target, we need to make sure that in places like this, a recruiting facility, they're able to be armed so our heroes are protected," Walker said.

    Scott WalkerRepublican presidential candidate Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker speaks during a town hall meeting, Friday, July 17, 2015, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) 

    Attending a state GOP fundraiser in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Trump said the Chattanooga shooting showed the need for ending "gun-free zones" at military facilities.

    "This sick guy had guns and shot them down," the businessman and reality TV star told reporters. "These are decorated people. These are people who could have handled guns very easily. They would have had a good chance if they had a gun. ... If these Marines yesterday, the four of them, had guns they probably, at least some of them, would be with us today."

    Bush said the attacks should prompt the U.S. to heighten national security and "deal with the rest of the world in a more aggressive way." He said Congress would need to act for the gun ban at recruitment centers to be repealed.

    "If the Marines were armed, I think people would've known that, and if they had known it, maybe they wouldn't have come in," he said. "Who knows. I just think it ought to be reviewed, for sure."

    On Friday, Gen. Ray Odierno, chief of staff of the Army, said that security at military recruiting and reserve centers would be reviewed but that it was too early to say whether the facilities should have security guards or other increased protection. He told reporters that arming troops in those offices could cause more problems than it might solve.

    Lorraine's Soup Kitchen & Pantry's 25th Anniversary Gala held in Chicopee

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    CHICOPEE - It has been a quarter of a century since Lorraine Houle served the first meal of chicken noodle soup and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at the Chicopee Soup Kitchen, which would later be named Lorraine's Soup Kitchen & Pantry to honor Houle the founder and the kitchen's first director. The local soup kitchen has seen many changes...

    CHICOPEE - It has been a quarter of a century since Lorraine Houle served the first meal of chicken noodle soup and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at the Chicopee Soup Kitchen, which would later be named Lorraine's Soup Kitchen & Pantry to honor Houle the founder and the kitchen's first director.

    The local soup kitchen has seen many changes in the past 25 years but the kitchen's mission and the local need has not changed.

    Lorraine's kicked off a year-long celebration of 25 events in 2015-16 to celebrate 25 years. Lorraine's Soup Kitchen & Pantry hosted a 25th Anniversary Gala on Friday, July 17, 2015 at the Munich Haus Restaurant in Chicopee.

    The event featured a cocktail hour, dinner, raffle and an awards ceremony honoring volunteers and organizations.

    Hillary Clinton focuses on GOP at first primary face-off of 2016 in Iowa

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    Hillary Rodham Clinton avoided any mention of her primary opponents in the first Democratic face-off of the 2016 presidential campaign, opting instead to focus her fire on an expanding field of would-be Republican contenders.

    CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Hillary Rodham Clinton avoided any mention of her primary opponents in the first Democratic face-off of the 2016 presidential campaign, opting instead to focus her fire on an expanding field of would-be Republican contenders. 

    All five Democratic primary candidates were on the program for the Friday fundraiser for the Iowa state party, creating an opportunity for Clinton to confront her challengers before more than 1,300 influential party activists in the crucial caucus state. 

    Instead, she explained her White House bid as a "deeply personal" quest, vowing she would never let Republicans "rip away the progress" made during the Obama administration. In a fiery address, she slammed the economic policy of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, joked that Donald Trump is "finally a candidate whose hair gets more attention than mine," and attacked Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker for targeting union power.

    "Trickle-down economics has to be one of the worst ideas of the 1980s," Clinton said, evoking Republican policy from the Reagan era. "It is right up there with New Coke, shoulder pads and big hair. ... We are not going back to that."

    The dinnertime event came as the Democratic primary fight -- long assumed to be little more than a coronation of Clinton -- appeared to be heating up into a slightly more serious contest.

    In recent weeks, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has risen in the polls and packed arenas with voters eager to hear the message of the self-described socialist who's become Clinton's chief rival. So far, he's refused to criticize Clinton directly, though he edged closer to an attack Friday, questioning whether she would back the kind of tough regulation on Wall Street that's becoming a rallying call for liberals.

    "You'll have to ask Hillary Clinton her views on whether we should break up these large financial institutions," he said, during an afternoon appearance in Cedar Rapids. "I do."

    The Clinton campaign has signaled that it considers Sanders to be a legitimate challenger who will be running for the long haul, noting the $15.2 million he's raised, largely from small donors, in the first three months of the race. They believe he will find a measure of support in Iowa, where the caucus system typically turns out the most passionate voters, and New Hampshire, given Sanders' many years representing neighboring Vermont in Congress.

    On Friday, Clinton's campaign said it bought $7.7 million worth of television advertising time in early voting states, its first ad buy for the 2016 contest. In Iowa, the campaign paid $3.6 million for time in all eight media markets that serve the state. An additional $4.1 million of airtime was purchased in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary.

    But so far the Clinton team has resisted any direct engagement with Sanders, fearing such an exchange might alienate the activists and small-dollar donors who will form the base of support in the general election if Clinton should win the nomination.

    "You can see that Democrats are united, we are energized, and we are ready to win this election," Clinton said, opening her remarks before a cheering audience.

    Besides Sanders and Clinton, the forum featured former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb and former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee.

    Clinton wasn't the only candidate who shied away from attacks on fellow members of the Democratic party.

    Even Chafee, who opened his quixotic self-fueled bid for the White House with attacks on Clinton's support for the war in Iraq, now opted against targeting the frontrunner.

    "We have a choice in 2016, prosperity through peace or endless war," he said. "We need to reject once and for all the belligerent advocates of conflict."

    Unlike her rivals, Clinton has already built a vast campaign infrastructure, run from a multistory headquarters in New York City, with hundreds of staffers across the country.

    Sanders said he has "no illusions" about her political clout.

    "We are going to be outspent in this campaign, but I think people all over this country are responding to a very simple message and that is that it is not acceptable that the middle class is continuing to disappear," he said. 

    Marlborough Street man shot as he sat on home porch

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    A Springfield man was shot in the face as he sat on his front porch Friday night.

    SPRINGFIELD— A 24-year-old Springfield man was shot in the face as he sat on his Marlborough Street porch Friday night,.

    Springfield Police Capt. Robert Strzempek confirmed that Justin Clark of 16 Marlborough St. was transported to the Baystate Medical Center with a gunshot wound. He said the victim was conscious and alert, but uncooperative, as he was taken for treatment.

    Marlborough and Middlesex st. shooting II---07017015.jpgSpringfield detectives search the front porch of 16-18 Marlborough Street after Justin Clark was shot as he sat on the porch relaxing with a friend.  

    Witnesses said Clark sitting on the porch with family and friends. Just after 10:30 p.m. two assailants,. described as Hispanic males wearing black hooded sweatshirts, walked up and one pulled out a handgun and began shooting.

    The house is located at the intersection of Marlborough and Middlesex streets.

    The victim's brother, Edward Gearing of 18 Marlborough St., was just returning home when the shooting started. He said he heard four shots from what he believed to be a small caliber firearm.

    Marlborough and Middlesex st. shooting II---07017015.jpgDetectives search the front porch of 16-18 Marlborough St. after Justin Clark was shot in the face just after 10:30 p.m. Friday night. Clark was shitting on that porch with a friend when two men approached and one opened fire.  

    Gearing said Clark and his girlfriend were sitting on the front porch of the house the family had lived in since the 1970s. The girlfriend went into the house to retrieve her phone when the shooting began. She was unharmed.

    Gearing said police response was swift and overwhelming.

    "We called on in seconds there were like 10 cops cars here," he said. But an ambulance was slower to arrive.

    "The police were here and taken care of him (Clark) and doing stuff, but the ambulance wasn't coming," he said. Police could be heard on the police radio system requesting the ambulance to hurry. Police said the ambulance response time was about 10 minutes.

    Gearing said he believes the shooting was over the girlfriend. He said his brother had posted a photograph of he and the girl on his Facebook page just after 8 p,m.Two hours later there was a gunman at his door.

    "I think it was jealousy," Gearing said.


    Chattanooga shooting: Gunman's rampage came after ordinary upbringing

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    That image described by investigators doesn't square with the seemingly pedestrian suburban man described by neighbors and classmates: A clean-cut wrestler, the brother of a tennis player, the son of parents who drove no-frills cars. A man who played with the neighborhood kids growing up, gave a lift to a neighbor who became stranded in a snowstorm.

    CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez pulled up to his military targets in a rented, silver Mustang convertible, wearing a vest with extra ammunition, wielding at least two long guns -- either rifles or shotguns -- and a handgun. His once clean-shaven face was covered with a bushy beard.

    That image described by investigators doesn't square with the seemingly pedestrian suburban man described by neighbors and classmates: A clean-cut wrestler, the brother of a tennis player, the son of parents who drove no-frills cars. A man who played with the neighborhood kids growing up, gave a lift to a neighbor who became stranded in a snowstorm.

    Just days before the shootings, Abdulazeez was seen dribbling a soccer ball in his yard, and he told two longtime friends he was excited and upbeat about his new job at a company that designs and makes wire and cable products.

    "Everything seemed fine. He was normal. He was telling me work was going great," said one of the friends, Ahmed Saleen Islam, 26, who knew Abdulazeez through the Islamic Society of Greater Chattanooga and saw him at the mosque two or three nights before the attacks. "We are so shocked and angry," Islam said. "We wish he would have come to us."

    Hailey Bureau, 25, recalled sitting next to Abdulazeez in high school because their last names were close alphabetically. She said she broke down Thursday when she learned he was the gunman, saying, "It's so shocking. I imagine him the way I knew him then, laughing and smiling."

    Bureau recalled Abdulazeez's sense of humor, evident in a wry quote next to his yearbook photo, one that has since taken on bitter irony: "My name causes national security alerts. What does yours do?"

    The 24-year-old Kuwait-born man opened fire on two U.S. military sites in Chattanooga in an attack that left four Marines dead. It's not clear what set him on the path to violence that ended with him being gunned down by police.

    Abdulazeez did not appear to have been on federal authorities' radar before the bloodshed Thursday, officials said. But now counterterrorism investigators are taking a deep look at his online activities and foreign travel, searching for clues to his political contacts or influences.

    "It would be premature to speculate on exactly why the shooter did what he did," FBI agent Ed Reinhold said. "However, we are conducting a thorough investigation to determine whether this person acted alone or was inspired or directed."

    In the quiet neighborhood in Hixson, Tennessee, where Abdulazeez lived with his parents in a two-story home, residents and former classmates described an ordinary suburban life.

    "It's kind of a general consensus from people that interacted with him that he was just your average citizen there in the neighborhood. There was no reason to suspect anything otherwise," said Ken Smith, a city councilman.

    However, court documents allege it was an abusive and turbulent household.

    Abdulazeez's mother, Rasmia Ibrahim Abdulazeez, filed a divorce complaint in 2009 accusing her husband, Youssuf Saed Abdulazeez, of beating her repeatedly in front of their children and sexually assaulting her. She also accused him of "striking and berating" the children without provocation.

    Weeks later, the couple agreed to reconcile, with the father consenting to go to counseling.

    Abdulazeez graduated from Red Bank High School in Chattanooga, where he was on the wrestling team. A fellow Red Bank High graduate, Hussnain Javid, said Abdulazeez was "very outgoing."

    "Obviously something has happened since then," said Sam Plank, who graduated two years ahead of Abdulazeez but hadn't crossed paths with him since 2006. "He was as Americanized as anyone else. At least that's what it seemed like to me."

    Bilal Sheikh, 25, said he had known Abdulazeez since they were teenagers, and they often played basketball together. He saw his friend at the mosque last weekend, as they came to pray and as part of the services to celebrate Ramadan.

    "I'm in total shock, like everyone else," Sheikh said, later adding, "He was always the most cheerful guy. If you were having a bad day, he would brighten your day."

    Islam and Sheikh both said that in the years they had known Abdulazeez, he never expressed any negative feelings about the United States or members of the military.

    "He never said anything that would have been a red flag," Sheikh said. "I have so many questions in my head. I want to know why? What made him crack all of a sudden? It's mindboggling."

    Abdulazeez got an engineering degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2012 and worked as an intern a few years ago at the Tennessee Valley Authority, the federally owned utility that operates power plants and dams across the South.

    He was conditionally hired as an engineer at the Perry nuclear power plant near Cleveland and spent 10 days there before he was let go in May 2013 because he failed a background check, said Todd Schneider, a FirstEnergy Corp. spokesman. Schneider would not say why he failed, but said he was never allowed in the protected area of the plant near the reactor.

    Later Friday, a federal official who had been briefed on the matter told The Associated Press that Abdulazeez was dismissed because he failed a drug test. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing law enforcement investigation.

    For the past three months, Abdulazeez had been working at Superior Essex Inc., which designs and makes wire and cable products.

    In April, he was arrested on a drunken driving charge, and a mugshot showed him with a bushy beard.

    Karen Jones, who lived next to the family for 14 years, said she was somewhat surprised last weekend by his appearance when she saw him walking with another man in woods behind the house, where he liked to shoot pellet guns at a red target suspended in a tree.

    "He had this big beard, which was not how he used to be," Jones said. She said he was typically clean-shaven.

    The women of the family always wore head coverings in accordance with their Muslim faith, Jones said.

    The official Kuwait News Agency on Friday quoted the Interior Ministry as saying that while Abdulazeez was born in Kuwait, he was of Jordanian origin.

    A U.S. official who was not authorized to discuss the case and spoke on condition of anonymity said that Abdulazeez was in Jordan last year for months, and that those travels and anyone he met with are being looked at as part of the terrorism investigation.

    In recent months, U.S. counterterrorism authorities have been warning of the danger of attacks by individuals inspired but not necessarily directed by the Islamic State group. Officials have said they have disrupted several such lone-wolf plots.

    But the FBI's Reinhold said Friday that so far, there is "no indication he was inspired by or directed by" ISIS or other groups.

    The gunman on Thursday sprayed gunfire at a military recruiting center at a strip mall, then shot up a Navy-Marine training center a few miles away. Some of the weapons were bought legally, some may not have been, Reinhold said.

    The dead Marines were identified as Gunnery Sgt. Thomas J. Sullivan of Hampden, Massachusetts; Staff Sgt. David A. Wyatt of Burke, North Carolina; Sgt. Carson A. Holmquist of Polk, Wisconsin; and Lance Cpl. Squire K. "Skip" Wells of Cobb County, Georgia. Sullivan, Wyatt and Holmquist had served in Iraq, Afghanistan or both.

    An unidentified sailor seriously wounded in the attack remained hospitalized.

    On Friday, Gwen Gott added purple ribbons and a flag to a makeshift memorial taking shape outside the recruiting station.

    "I love the service. Without them, where would we be as a country?" Gott said.

    'He loved the country, and he loved to serve': Cathedral teacher recalls Springfield native Thomas Sullivan, Marine killed in Chattanooga shooting

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    Leone was Sullivan's American history teacher at Cathedral High School.

    SPRINGFIELD — Cathedral High School teacher Lynn Leone on Friday remembered her former student, Marine Gunnery Sgt. Thomas J. Sullivan, a victim of Thursday's attack on military facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee, saying, "He loved the country, and he loved to serve."

    Chattanooga shooting: Springfield native Thomas Sullivan among Marines killedThomas Sullivan, who grew up in the East Forest Park neighborhood of Springfield, was one of four Marines killed by a lone gunman Thursday at a Navy-Marine training center in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 

    Sullivan, a Springfield native, decorated war veteran and Purple Heart recipient, was gunned down by Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez in Thursday's domestic terror attack at a Navy-Marine training center.

    Leone remembered Sullivan, 40, as "an engaging young man who liked to play the Devil's advocate in class." She spoke Friday afternoon outside the offices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield on Elliot Street.

    Leone said Sullivan, a 1994 Cathedral graduate, according to the school's website, participated in the Model Senate and Model U.N. at the high school.

    "When I heard the news today, I first wondered if he was one of ours," she said. "Then I made the connection."

    "It's devastating," said Leone, a longtime American history and government teacher at Cathedral. Sullivan grew up in the East Forest Park neighborhood of Springfield where Cathedral High School stood until the 2011 tornado. His parents, Jerry and Betty Sullivan, live on Mill Road in Hampden. His brother, Joe, is owner of Nathan Bill's Bar & Restaurant in East Forest Park.

    Leone said Cathedral High School is "a worldwide community."

    "Unfortunately, this is the kind of impact you don't want to see," she added.

    She predicted that the Cathedral community and Sullivan's classmates will come together around the tragedy as more news unfolds.

    "The community will come together as people make connections," she said.

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    Hampden-Wilbraham School Committee accepts donation from Sheila Flynn for literacy program at Green Meadows Elementary School in Hampden

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    Sheila Flynn is the mother of incumbent Selectman John D. Flynn.

    WILBRAHAM - Deborah Thompson, principal of Green Meadows Elementary School, told the regional School Committee that Sheila Flynn, widow of the late longtime selectman John M. Flynn, has made a $5,000 donation for the literacy program at the elementary school.

    This is the third year in a row that Mrs. Flynn has made the $5,000 donation for the literacy program, Thompson said.

    Sheila Flynn also is the mother of incumbent Selectman John D. Flynn.

    Thompson said the money has been used for the development of reading assessment materials and to upgrade the reading materials for children in kindergarten through grade 4.

    Thompson said that thanks to the donation, the school has been able to purchase a wide array of books for its "Literacy Closet."

    Books are needed for kindergarten through grade 4 and above for students at an advanced reading level, Thompson said.

    "This helps the students' quality of life," Thompson told the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School Committee at its Tuesday meeting.

    She said the school has added to both its fiction and non-fiction collection.

    Thompson said many of the boys at the school, in particular, are interested in books about tornadoes, weather and animals, including birds of prey.

    "Thank you to the Flynn family," Hampden-Wilbraham School Committee Chairman Peter Salerno said.

    Salerno added that the School Committee accepts the donation "with great thanks."


    Massachusetts Treasurer Deb Goldberg urges public-private partnership to close wage gap between women, men

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    One panelist noted that women college graduates earn $500,000 less than men over a lifetime of work.

    SPRINGFIELD — State Treasurer Deb Goldberg pledged to provide public and private employers with a "tool box" of policies and strategies to fight the persistence of wage inequality in the Bay State – especially among women and minorities.

    Goldberg, who created a state task force on wage inequality, reiterated her campaign pledge as she moderated an 1½ hour regional roundtable discussion at UMass Center at Springfield Friday, the first of several she is holding throughout the commonwealth to learn best employment practices throughout the state.

    The gap between men and women in pay remains stubbornly persistent, even in a "progressive state like Massachusetts," she said.

    Women earn 77 cents on the dollar nationally, she said. "It's 82.5 cents on the dollar in Massachusetts – but the gap gets even wider for women of color."

    One panelist noted that women college graduates earn $500,000 less than men over a lifetime of work.

    "This is not just a moral issue," Goldberg said. "It's a business issue."

    Goldberg said her office hopes to provide an example for other employers by providing paid parental leave and flexible time for the people who work in her office.

    Employees at of the treasurer's office get 12 weeks paid parental leave, which applies to both men and women. The leave can be used by employees who are adopting children or becoming foster parents.

    Several panelists said providing fair pay and good benefits is cost-effective for businesses because they are able to retain talented workers.

    Well-paid workers also fuel the American consumer economy, several said.

    A panel of six business leaders from the region included:

    1. Elizabeth Barajas-Roman, CEO of the Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts;
    2. Heriberto Flores, president of the New England Farm Workers;
    3. Denis Guyer, operations manager for Jane Iredale Mineral Cosmetics Ltd. of Great Barrington;
    4. Ellen Kennedy, president of Berkshire Community College;
    5. Betsy Larson, vice president for compensation at MassMutual;
    6. Andrew Morehouse, executive director of the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts;
    7. Karl Petrick, assocaite professor of economics at Western New England University.

    Following are comments made by the panelists:

    Elizabeth Barajas-Roman: Wage inequality is difficult to reverse because inequities are institutionally and structurally engrained at many companies, she said. An analytical look at employment practices, including recruitment, hiring, compensation, promotions and pregnancy policies could lead to reforms, she said.

    Karl Petrick: Companies fail to realize the macro-effect of wage inequality, he said. "As Bill Clinton said, 'it's the economy, stupid.'" By not addressing the pay gap, businesses are taking money out of their own till," by limiting workers' buying power. Fair pay is good for morale, it limits turnover and the staff feels invested in the company which translates to better customer service and more customers in the door. Wage equality is "good for the bottom line and good for the overall economy," he said.

    Betsy Larson: MassMutual is committed to wage equality, workforce diversity and inclusion and has policies to back up its goals. About 40 percent of MassMutual employees in executive leadership positions, she said. And one-third of the company's board is made up of women. The company does a yearly analysis of its compensation policies in terms, which is conducted by an independent third party. The rigourous statistical analysis enables the company to find weaknesses in its efforts to promote gender wage equality in a transparent way, she said.

    Ellen Kennedy: One of the challenges businesses face in promoting wage equality is the drive for profits she said. Colleges and universities, for example, promote wage inequality by hiring lower-paid adjunct faculty members as college administrators try to keep the cost of higher education affordable.

    Denis Guyer: Working in a small company where six out of 8 employees are women, Guyer said his company focuses on mentoring employees to build their confidence to become future leaders of the company. The company's Great Barrington office includes a lactation room for nursing mothers and makes building security a focus," he said.

    Heriberto Flores: The women the Farm Workers Council serves aren't even on the wage scale, he said, noting that it is his agency's job to help them improve their earning power with educational and job training services. Flores said bridging the wage gap will fight poverty and drive economic prosperity.

    Andrew Morehouse: The non-profit, which provides food for the hungry, sees the repercussions of wage inequality first-hand, he said, noting that more women are food insecure than men. "Thirty-four percent of households headed by women are food insecure, compared to 23 percent for households headed by men, he said.

    Springfield murder trial of Ana Franceschi, accused of killing woman she believed caused breakup with boyfriend, delayed

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    A new lawyer was appointed Friday and the murder trial postponed for Ana Mercedes Franceschi, arrested and charged with murder of Yasmin Marin in February 2013.

    SPRINGFIELD - A new lawyer was appointed Friday and the murder trial postponed for Ana Mercedes Franceschi, arrested and charged with murder in February 2013.

    The Hampden Superior Court trial date had been July 27 but now the next date is Sept. 19 to assess the status of the case and possibly pick a new trial date.
    .
    Franceschi is charged with using her vehicle on Feb. 18, 2013, to strike and kill 32-year-old Yasmin Marin, who she believed caused a recent breakup with her boyfriend, according to court records.

    Franceschi, 42, of 185 Dickinson St., is charged with murder, armed assault with intent to murder and leaving the scene of a personal injury and death accident.

    On Friday Jared Olanoff was appointed as Franceschi's new lawyer after Nancy C. Flahive, who was her lawyer, withdrew from the case for personal reasons.

    Marin, of 230 Eastern Ave. Marin died from injuries suffered when she was hit by a motor vehicle as she crossed the street near Medina's Supermarket, 2705 Main St., around 12:15 p.m.

    She was pronounced dead at Baystate Medical Center about 30 minutes later.

    Franceschi fled the scene of the accident, but later called police to report that she thought she might have hit someone with her car in the North End and that she feared the woman was dead, according to police records.

    Franceschi is being held in the Western Massachusetts Regional Women's Correction Center in Chicopee.

    According to court documents when the case was still in Springfield District Court the incident was witnessed by Marin's 14-year-old daughter who was crossing the street with her.

    The daughter told police she saw a gray SUV heading toward them as they crossed the street. Marin put her hands up for the vehicle to stop but "instead of slowing down or stopping, she accelerated the car and ran right over my mother."

    The daughter goes on to say the driver "didn't even try to stop... She just sped up and drove right into her."

    Police documents also show that one day before Marin was hit on Main Street, Franceschi accused Marin of stealing her boyfriend and that she had even caused damage to Marin's car as it was parked on Main Street near Rosario's Mini Mart.

    According to documents, the boyfriend told police he told Franceschi he wanted to end their relationship of two months, and the two started to argue. The argument occurred inside Rosario's Mini Mart and Marin and others were present.

    The boyfriend told police that during the argument, Franceschi accused him to wanting to be with Marin or her sister, despite his protesting that that was not true.

    The boyfriend told police he was not involved with Marin or her sister, and that he only knew them as friends. Franceschi stormed out of the market and minutes later the boyfriend reported hearing a crunching sound.

    Later that night, he said Marin called to say she found damage on her car and believed that Franceschi had driven into it.

    The prosecutor on the case is Assistant District Attorney James M. Forsyth.

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