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WWE legend 'Superfly' Jimmy Snuka charged with murder in 1983 cold case

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Snuka, now 72 and living in Waterford Township, N.J., has long maintained his innocence.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- Former professional wrestling star Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka was charged Tuesday with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in the death of his mistress more than three decades ago.

Prosecutors in Lehigh County announced the results of a grand jury investigation into the death of Nancy Argentino, 23, of New York.

Jimmy SnukaJimmy 'Superfly' Snuka appears at the Spooky Empire Mayhem Horror Convention at the DoubleTree Hotel on Saturday, May 31, 2014, in Orlando, Fla. (Photo by [Jeff Daly/Invision/AP) 

Snuka, who had been at a World Wrestling Federation taping at the Allentown Fairgrounds, told police shortly after Argentino's death that he had returned to the couple's Whitehall Township hotel room to find her unresponsive in bed. She was pronounced dead at a hospital several hours later.

An autopsy determined she died of traumatic brain injuries and had more than three dozen cuts and bruises, and concluded her injuries were consistent with being hit with a stationary object. At the time, forensic pathologist Isidore Mihalakis wrote that the case should be investigated as a homicide until proven otherwise, according to a grand jury report released Tuesday. But the investigation went cold.

A June 2013 investigation by The Morning Call of Allentown raised questions about the case. Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin told the paper last year that Argentino's sisters approached him after the story ran, prompting him to give the case another look.

The grand jury's report said Snuka had provided more than a half-dozen shifting accounts of Argentino's injuries, at first telling paramedics he hit her during an argument outside their hotel room and that she struck her head on concrete, then claiming to police she slipped and fell during a bathroom break on their way to the hotel.

The grand jury also said it heard evidence that Snuka beat Argentino in a hotel room in Syracuse, New York, in January 1983 -- four months before her death -- and repeatedly assaulted his wife, Sharon, in the fall of 1993.

Snuka, now 72 and living in Waterford Township, N.J., has long maintained his innocence, saying the episode had ruined his life.

"Many terrible things have been written about me hurting Nancy and being responsible for her death, but they are not true," he wrote in his 2012 autobiography. "This has been very hard on me and very hard on my family. To this day, I get nasty notes and threats. It hurts. I never hit Nancy or threatened her."

Argentino's sister, Louise Argentino-Upham, told The Morning Call that the charges came as a relief, especially the prospect that her mother, who turns 90 this year, may see justice in the case.

"I think that it's been a long road," Argentino-Upham said. "They did the right thing in face of all the evidence."

Nicknamed "Superfly," the Fiji native was known for diving from the ropes and even the top of steel cages in a career that spanned four decades. He was admitted into the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame in 1996, according to the organization's website.

"WWE expresses its continued sympathy to the Argentino family for their loss," the organization said in a statement Tuesday. "Ultimately this legal matter will be decided by our judicial system."

Snuka was arraigned Tuesday afternoon and sent to Lehigh County Jail, but he was expected to post a portion of his $100,000 bail.

Argentino's family won a wrongful death lawsuit against Snuka in 1985.


Hundreds enjoy music, family and Amherst community during annual First Day Celebration

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Children attending the annual event could ride ponies, try hula hoops and get their faces painted.

AMHERST -- On a perfect late summer evening, hundreds gathered on the Amherst Town Common for the annual First Day Celebration - the night before the start of the new school year.

Many were doing double duty, having attended the annual Community Breakfast at which the town and the University of Massachusetts celebrated their community partnership and the start of the academic year as well.

Sam the Minuteman, the UMass mascot, was high-fiving youngsters as he wove through the common.

Miranda, an 18-year-old police horse with the UMass Police Mounted Unit, also greeted visitors at the breakfast and dozens of young fans at the back to school celebration. She patiently stood while children stroked her nose.

The back to school celebration has grown each year, with about a dozen community tables set up this year to provide information about such things as leisure service programs, the Amherst Together initiative and the services of the Amherst Regional Middle School Parent/Guardian Organization among others.

Eva Fairchild and her 7-year-old daughter, Angelique, were there. Angelique was making a door hanging at a booth staffed by Amherst College students from the Amherst College Center for Community Engagement.

"We get to see old friends, make new friends," said her mother. "It's so lovely that it's completely free," she said.

Free pizza was provided, along with music and drumming, pony rides and hula-hoops. Youngsters could get their faces painted and meet firefighters and town and UMass police who where were there with all kinds of apparatus.

Christine Mondesir had just moved back to town with her 7-year-old son John Kydd a month ago exactly for this kind of event, she said.

The event "keeps the community alive." She was living in the more rural town of Egremont.

"It's not as big, not as multi (cultural as Amherst)," she said of Egremont, a town in southwestern Berkshire County. She said she was happy to be back.  

Amherst Schools Superintendent Maria Geryk said the event "sets the tone for the new year."

She praised all the community partners who contribute to the event who "invest in our students, helping to educate our community's children."

The event is also for families and teachers "to get to know each other. To meet to get the chance to talk with each other," she said.

Kimberly Stender of the Community, Partnerships & Volunteers Office of the Superintendent helped rekindle the celebration soon after she was hired in 2010. She was thrilled with the turnout and how much it has grown.

"It's the end of summer, but it's a kickoff to an incredible school year," Stender said.

President Obama to attend Greater Boston Labor Council's Labor Day breakfast

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The council is the regional arm of the AFL-CIO and includes 161 local unions representing about 90,000 members in 24 communities in the Boston area.

BOSTON -- President Barack Obama will be coming to Boston for the annual Greater Boston Labor Council's Labor Day breakfast on Monday.

The White House announced Obama's plans Tuesday.

Rich Rogers, executive secretary-treasurer of the Greater Boston Labor Council, said the group is honored Obama will join its members "to celebrate a labor movement that is needed now more than ever."

Rogers said Massachusetts workers have several legislative victories to celebrate this year, including earned sick time, a minimum wage increase and a domestic workers bill of rights.

The council is the regional arm of the AFL-CIO and includes 161 local unions representing about 90,000 members in 24 communities in the Boston area.

'Why did they shoot me?': Ga. man, officer wounded, dog killed in police address mix-up

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A man shot by police officers who went to the wrong Atlanta house ran bleeding outside where a neighbor heard him asking, "Why did they come in my house? Why did they shoot me? Why did they shoot my dog?"

ATLANTA -- A man shot by police officers who went to the wrong Atlanta house ran bleeding outside where a neighbor heard him asking, "Why did they come in my house? Why did they shoot me? Why did they shoot my dog?"

It happened Monday night when officers arrived at the wrong Atlanta address after a report of suspicious activity, shot homeowner Christopher McKinley, killed his dog and "likely" shot a fellow officer, leaving him seriously wounded, authorities said Tuesday.

The bloody misunderstanding began when DeKalb County police received a report of a possible burglary at a one-story residence near an intersection in southeast Atlanta. Lacking an exact address, the officers were sent in the dark to a neighborhood where many of the single-story homes look similar.

Three officers found a home they thought matched a description provided by a 911 caller, but were unable to make contact with anyone inside, according to a statement from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. They entered the home through an unlocked rear door and two officers fired their guns at a dog, killing it.

McKinley, 36, was also shot in the leg by police, GBI officials said. Officer Travis Jones was shot in the hip and listed in serious condition at Grady Memorial Hospital. The GBI released the names of the two wounded men Tuesday evening.

"Early investigation indicates that the injured officer was likely shot accidentally by one of the other officers on the scene," GBI officials said in a statement.

However, GBI spokesman Scott Dutton said it was too early to determine exactly who fired the gunshots. Dutton said he did not know if anyone in the home was armed besides the police. GBI officials said there is no evidence residents there had committed any crimes.

McKinley returned home early Tuesday, limping and wearing hospital scrubs, but declined to comment.

Tama Colson, who lives two doors down from the home where the shooting erupted, said she was coming home from a walk when she saw police cars speed past and soon heard a series of gunshots.

Colson told The Associated Press that as she rounded the corner, she saw her wounded neighbor and his wife fleeing their home. McKinley's wife was screaming, Colson said, and he was yelling: "They shot me and they shot my dog!"

Colson said her neighbor had a bullet wound a couple of inches above his right knee.

She said she knelt beside him in the yard and used a shirt to staunch the bleeding as he told her what happened.

"He told me they were in the house watching television when they heard something in the backyard," Colson said. "The husband gets up to check, opens the door and he just sees shooting. He gets hit and his dog is dead."

She said police never questioned McKinley while she was there helping him.

Derek Perez told The AP that he reported the suspicious person, but at a different house than the one police entered. He said he was walking his dog when he saw a man knock on a neighbor's door and then just stand in the yard. He said he then heard a loud noise, a dog barking and didn't see the man anymore. There had been break-ins in the neighborhood recently, so he called 911, he said.

Bob Gilman, who lives nearby, said he heard police sirens Monday night, went outside and saw his neighbor sitting on the driveway, wounded. Gilman said police officers escorted him away before he could ask what had happened. He was stunned that officers had opened fire.

"If they say they had the wrong address, that's very frightening," Gilman said.

The wounded man's dog, a brindle boxer, was large, playful and would run up to people. Gilman said the dog never attacked others. The wounded man's home had been hit by previous break-ins, and the man told Gilman that he owned a shotgun and a handgun.

DeKalb County Police Chief Cedric Alexander said his agency would normally investigate a non-fatal shooting. But given the complicated circumstances, he said he asked the GBI to lead the probe involving his own officers' actions.

Alexander acknowledged Monday night that DeKalb officers responded to the wrong home. All three officers -- identified by the GBI as Jones, Quhanna Lloyd and Timothy Harden -- have been placed on administrative leave.

Police officers have mistakenly forced their way inside homes before in Atlanta, at least once with deadly consequences.

In 2006, Atlanta police officers killed a 92-year-old woman during a botched drug raid at her house.

Connecticut state Sen. Scott Franz, who named son McKinley, unhappy with mountain name change

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Frantz, a Greenwich Republican and avid climber, says four of his children are named for mountains, including 17-year-old McKinley.

By PAT EATON-ROBB

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A state senator who named his son McKinley after North America's tallest mountain peak isn't too pleased with the president's decision to change its name back to Denali.

Scott Franz 9115.jpgL. Scott Franz 
Sen. L. Scott Frantz, a Greenwich Republican and avid climber, says four of his children are named for mountains, including 17-year-old McKinley.

Another of Frantz's sons, Hunter, is named for a mountain near McKinley, and his twin brother, Hanley, took his name from a mountain in West Rutland, Vermont. The boys were allowed to name their little sister Brady after the New England Patriots quarterback but only after they showed their dad there was a Brady Mountain in Arkansas.

Sen. Frantz has climbed several of the world's highest peaks, including Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and the former Mount McKinley, in Alaska. He attempted Everest in 2009, but his expedition was turned back before reaching the summit by bad weather, he said.

Frantz was also in a group that summited an unnamed peak in Alaska in 2003 and, as part of mountaineering tradition, unofficially named it. The peak was dubbed Mount Sergeant after Frantz's son Sargeant, the only one of his kids who hadn't been named after a mountain. Sargeant had died the previous year of a brain disease at age 2.

Frantz said President Barack Obama should have let Alaskans vote on whether they preferred McKinley or Denali before unilaterally changing it himself. Of course, he joked, there is another option.

"If President Obama can summit McKinley, then maybe he can rename it," Frantz said.

Either way, Frantz says son McKinley plans to keep his name.

"Denali Frantz just doesn't quite have the ring that he would like," he said. "I don't think he's going to run out and change his birth certificate any time soon."

Springfield mayoral candidate forum focuses on public safety, schools

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The forum was held at Spring of Hope Church of God in Christ, 35 Alden St.

SPRINGFIELD — Mayoral candidates in the upcoming Springfield election discussed everything from public safety, a failing school system and community grants during a public forum organized by the NAACP Tuesday.

Candidates present included Salvatore "Sal" Circosta, Ivelisse Gonzalez, Michael Jones, Johnnie Ray McKnight, Beverly Savage, and sticker-write-in candidate Miguel Soto.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said last week he is too busy with work and family commitments to participate in any mayoral forums or debates before the Sept. 8 preliminary election, despite invitations from four organizations.

All candidates gave an opening statement and jumped right into questions asked by NAACP representatives. The forum was held at Spring of Hope Church of God in Christ, 35 Alden St. and moderated by Bishop Talbert W. Swan II, chapter president.

When asked whether they believed preparing the city for the potential of civil unrest is imprudent, or impractical and whether they would support a commission to address issues between the community and the police department all candidates said it is a necessary conversation.

"I agree there has to be a conversation with the mayor and with the community leaders and clergy in our city, especially with what's been going on in Ferguson and other cities across the country," McKnight said. "I marched with the protesters (Black Lives Matter.) I'm a black man, I know what it is to be beat on by police, to be disrespected verbally. We have to give them respect but we also need respect from them."

Circosta criticized the Springfield Community Complaint Review Board created to address community complaints and called it "window dressing."

"The board has no power whatsoever. All we can do is recommend. What I propose is a civilian commission that goes back to what it used to be, where members have real, authentic, binding authority over the police department. This is not to manage them but to empower them, " he said. "When we hear from the community we hear what is needed."

Soto said he would create a commission that would work with the Police Department to improve community relations.

"I want the citizens to be protected, I want to make sure our kids grow up and don't have to worry about getting shot by gang members. I would establish a commission (made up of residents) and give them power. I would want police officers to walk the beat along with them," he said.

Candidates were also asked what they would do to improve a school system that has multiple Level 3 and 4 schools that are struggling with truancy and graduation rates.

Gonzalez said the administration has to be more involved, has to ask students what they want and has to allow teachers to teach.

"Our curriculum is based on MCAS. Our kids are not a test. Give teachers liberty to show them, to teach them, to use new ideas. There are a lot of young new teachers who are confined from teaching kids what they want to learn," she said.

Jones said he believes students need to see school, not the streets, as a competitive place where they should strive to succeed.

"Let's teach them what it's like to compete for a job, for a class, for the arts they want to get into," he said. "If we don't encourage kids to get involved they are just left without anything to do."

Savage said the current leadership is not doing enough to assure that students succeed.

"I propose we have the first city youth council that would give advice to adult city councilors because we don't know what their struggle is," she said. "We also need state of the art recreational opportunities for our children. You have to vote for a mayor who will care for our youth, that will do all they can to solicit funds from the state and the federal government to combat some of these educational issues. This is cruel and unusual educational punishment that we are projecting on our youth."

The preliminary election for mayor is scheduled for Sept. 8.

Springfield police respond to back-to-back gunfire reports in Old Hill, including shooting outside Dunbar Community Center

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Police were first called to a shooting in the community center's parking lot, where they recovered shell casings. About 10 minutes later, they responded to shots fired on the street behind the center.

SPRINGFIELD — Police were investigating back-to-back shooting reports in Old Hill on Tuesday night, including gunfire traced to the parking lot of the Dunbar Community Center.

Officers responded to an 8:34 p.m. ShotSpotter activation at 33 Oak St., the address of the community center, where shell casings were recovered in a lot behind the basketball courts, according to police.

As officers were investigating the Dunbar incident, more shots rang out around 8:44 p.m. on Orleans Street, which runs along the east side of the community center. A police lieutenant called in the second round of gunfire. "We've got multiple shots fired in the area of Orleans Street," he said. "We have several officers on foot going in that direction."

Cruisers swarmed the neighborhood, including Oak, Union, Orleans and Stebbins streets, in search of a black sedan that was seen leaving the area at a high rate of speed. Officers stopped a couple of vehicles matching that description, including a car on Hancock Street near King Street, but occupants of those vehicles "checked out," police said.

There were no apparent injuries linked to the shootings, which remain under investigation. Authorities are asking anyone with information to call detectives at 413-787-6355 or text a tip to CRIMES (274637).



MAP showing approximate location of first shooting call:


Bradley International Airport resumes flights after disabled military plane causes delays

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Air service has resumed at Bradley International Airport, which temporarily closed its runways Tuesday after a C-130 transport plane became disabled after touching down at the Windsor Locks airport.

Updates story posted at 6:18 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 1.



WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. — Air service has resumed at Bradley International Airport, which temporarily closed its runways Tuesday after a military transport plane became disabled after touching down in Windsor Locks.

An Air National Guard C-130 had a tire malfunction during landing, according to Alisa D. Sisic, public information officer for the Connecticut Airport Authority.

Shortly before 7 p.m., airport officials reopened one runway for departures while the disabled aircraft was removed, Sisic said. By about 7:45 p.m., the C-130 had been "moved to a location where it no longer impacts operations," she said.

"In addition to the departing flights, which we resumed earlier, we've now resumed arriving flights," Sisic said.


 



North End residents invite Gov. Charlie Baker to visit their Springfield neighborhood

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Gov. Charlie Baker is scheduled to be in Springfield on Thursday for the groundbreaking of the railroad car factory.

SPRINGFIELD — Residents in the city's North End are hoping Gov. Charlie Baker will make a stop at the Brightwood neighborhood when he visits Springfield on Thursday.

During a recent community meeting, several residents agreed to pen a letter to Baker asking him to stop by the neighborhood and visit with homeowners who oppose the relocation of the Western Massachusetts Correctional Alcohol Center to Wason Avenue.

Baker is expected to be in Springfield for the groundbreaking of the CNR Changchun Railway Vehicles Co.'s $65 million, 220,000-square-foot railroad car factory being built at the former Westinghouse site on Page Boulevard.

"We understand that you lead a busy schedule and have agendas to maintain but we would like to extend to you an invitation to come and visit our neighborhood, the North End - Brightwood Section of Springfield. We live in a unique neighborhood where families have lived for more than a quarter of a century and have raised their children and now watching their children raise their grandchildren," the letter reads.

Vera Toledo is one of the many residents who has lived in the neighborhood for nearly 40 years and owns a home there.

"I hope the governor will seriously consider our request and hear what we have to say," she said. "We are not opposing the facility or treatment for those who need it, but we do not feel this is the right place for it and the sheriff needs to find a new location."

Hampden County Sheriff Michael Ashe is seeking a permanent home for the correctional treatment center, which was displaced from its Howard Street location due to the arrival of the MGM casino. The facility is temporarily being housed in the former Holyoke Geriatric Authority in that city.

The letter goes on to say the neighborhood has struggled over the years but has become a thriving space with schools, hospital buildings, single-family homes and more.

"We are proud of our neighborhood, of its beauty and simplicity. We have worked hard to keep our neighborhood clean of any negative impacts that will affect our children and our future. Sheriff (Michael) Ashe, now wants to build a Correctional Alcohol and Drug facility in our neighborhood. We do not want the facility in our neighborhood," the letter reads.

Toledo said since Ashe has cited the state Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance as being in charge of relocating the facility, she would like Baker to hear their concerns.

"He represents our state, and state funds will be used to pay for this facility to operate," she said.

The letter was hand-delivered to the governor's Western Massachusetts District Office on Dwight Street on Tuesday. An earlier letter explaining the residents' opposition was submitted to Baker's district office in July by Women of the Vanguard, a grassroots organization leading the effort against the facility's relocation.

Baker's administration has confirmed that the letter was received and said the request will be reviewed.

Read the residents' full letter below:

A letter to Gov. Charlie Baker

Pelham police arrest 2 Fitchburg men, seize 160 bags of 'Hollywood' heroin

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A broken taillight led to the arrest of two Fitchburg men and the seizure of 160 bags of heroin Monday afternoon, according to Pelham Police Officer Eric Maynard.

PELHAM — A broken taillight led to the arrest of two Fitchburg men and the seizure of 160 bags of heroin Monday afternoon, Pelham Police Officer Eric Maynard said.

Maynard said he stopped a brown Ford Escape with a defective light on Route 202 north at about 4:45 p.m. A subsequent investigation and search of the vehicle led to the discovery of drugs and a small amount of cash, he said.

The bags of heroin were labeled "Hollywood," according to Maynard.

The suspects, 36-year-old Andrew Iannuzzi and 32-year-old Jeffrey Boyd, were traveling from Holyoke to Fitchburg, Maynard said.

Iannuzzi was charged with heroin possession with intent to distribute, subsequent offense. Boyd was charged with heroin possession and conspiracy to violate drug laws. Both men pleaded not guilty to the charges at their arraignments Tuesday in Belchertown District Court. Bail for Iannuzzi and Boyd was set at $2,500 and $250, respectively.

Massachusetts State Police and a Belchertown police K-9 unit assisted with the arrests.


Lawyer claims false confession for client suspected of putting Liquid Plumr into daughter's surgical tube

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Defense attorney Mark Bluver said Conley gave a false confession under 'extreme stress' and that his client would never hurt his 7-year-old daughter.

This is an update to a story first posted at 11:30 a.m.

NORTHAMPTON - A lawyer for a father suspected of dumping Liquid Plumr in his daughter's bowels through a surgical tube in the child's abdomen said in court Wednesday that his client gave a false confession to police because he was under stress.

Christopher Conley, 32, of Barrett Street, previously told local and state police that he poured the corrosive, designed to clear clogged drains, into his 7-year-old daughter's cecostomy tube on April 15 after she complained of stomach pains, according to court records.

A cecostomy tube is a surgically implanted tube with an opening on the abdomen that allows the patient to flush the intestines. There has been no information on the child's underlying diagnosis but defense attorney Mark H. Bluver on Wednesday confirmed that the girl has remained at Yale New Haven Hospital since April.

Conley was originally charged in Northampton District Court. He was in August indicted in Hampshire Superior Court on charges of attempted murder, assault and battery on a child with substantial injury and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily harm. He has been held without bail.

His arraignment took place Wednesday afternoon and Bluver asked Superior Court Judge Richard Carey to set bail. Bluver added that he will seek to have Conley's confession thrown out.

"The confession was false. The evidence will be that he made that confession in a time when he was extremely stressed," Bluver said outside the courtroom. "He did not hurt his daughter. He would never hurt her."

According to a police report contained in court records, Conley previously admitted pouring the Liquid Plumr into the cecostomy tube. She cried when the Liquid Plumr entered her body, he said. Conley than gave her painkillers OxyContin and Vicodin in a higher-than-prescribed dose, he told police. He also said he dipped the end of the tube in fecal matter on another occasion, he said, hoping it would "end it for her."

Conley and his wife had taken the girl to Yale New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut, according to court files, which do not say why they took her to a hospital so far away.

Doctors at the hospital performed surgery on the girl for seven hours, removing two-thirds of her small bowel. She then underwent a second surgery in which part of her bladder was removed. Doctors who treated the child had concerns that someone had put a corrosive fluid in her, according to police.

Carey held Conley on $100,000 cash bail.

Bluver said he has filed motions seeking information from the state's Department of Children and Families he said he believes in germane to Conley's defense.

Obituaries today: Jeffrey Nilson was U.S. Army veteran

News Links: Police search for man who shot at cruiser, official accused of using government funds to pay personal expenses, and more

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In an emotional hearing Tuesday, the chairman of the Auburn Housing Authority spoke publicly for the first time about the death of a foster child who lived at Pheasant Court, vowing he would change policies so an incident like this would never "happen again."

A digest of news stories from around the Northeast.



  • Millis police search for suspect said to have shot at cruiser, causing it to crash [MetroWest Daily News] Video above


  • Former Burlington Housing Authority director accused of using government credit card to pay for personal expenses [Boston Herald] Video below


    Avalena Conway-Coxon mug 2015Avalene Conway-Coxon 
  • Auburn Housing Authority chairman vows changes following death of 2-year-old foster child Avalena Conway-Coxon [Telegram & Gazette] Photo at left



    Michelle Carter mug 2015Michelle Carter 
  • Teens exchanged disturbing messages before one killed self, cell phone records reveal [Boston Globe] Photo at right, file video below


  • Former Taunton High School teacher pleads guilty to child rape charges [Taunton Daily Gazette]


  • Despite woman's slaying, off-duty Rhode Island sheriff credited with saving 2 other lives [Providence Journal]


  • Facebook page purporting to show nude underage Maine girls taken down, keeps reappearing online [Portland Press Herald]



    Greig and Miller.jpgCatherine Greig, top, and Sienna Miller 
  • Role of 'Whitey' Bulger's girlfriend, Catherine Greig, played by Sienna Miller, cut from upcoming film, 'Black Mass' [WCVB-TV, NewsCenter5, Needham] Photos at left


  • 'Aggressive' bear seen approaching hikers on Connecticut killed; 2nd one also [Hartford Courant]


  • Maine beachgoers attempt to save 30-foot-long beached basking shark [USA Today] Video below






     
  • Tractor-trailer crash on MassPike leads to lane closure, delays

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    An accident involving a tractor-trailer and other vehicles on the MassPike west slowed rush-hour traffic Wednesday evening.

    WESTFIELD — An accident involving a tractor-trailer and other vehicles in the westbound lane of the MassPike slowed rush-hour traffic Wednesday evening.

    The crash happened near Exit 3 in Westfield and prompted authorities to close the left lane, Massachusetts State Police Trooper Christopher M. Kudlay told Western Mass News, TV partner of MassLive/The Republican.

    Delays were reported in the area of the crash scene, but it wasn't immediately known if anyone was injured.


    Pajama-clad suspect arrested for Chicopee armed robbery

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    The man is scheduled to be arraigned in Chicopee District Court Thursday.

    CHICOPEE - A Springfield man was arrested Wednesday and charged with armed robbery after police received multiple tips that identified the pajama-clad suspect who was caught on video entering a Rite Aid pharmacy.

    Jonathan P. Gardner, 25, of 28 Glen Alben St., was arrested at around 4:45 p.m. and charged with armed robbery while masked and armed robbery with a firearm, said Michael Wilk, public information officer for the Chicopee Police Department.

    He is scheduled to be arraigned in Chicopee District Court Thursday, Wilk said.

    Gardner is being accused of entering the Rite Aid, on 5 St. James Ave., early in the morning on Aug. 11. He showed a handgun and threatened the clerk. Police did not say what he took.

    After the robbery police published a video showing a man wearing plaid pajama pants and a mint green scarf entering the store, asking for help to identify him.

    After an investigation by Det. Sgt. Jeff Nadeau and Det. Tim Foley, Gardner was arrested at the Police Department on Wednesday, Wilk said.


    Mass. medical schools to collaborate on opioid addiction education

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    Gov. Charlie Baker and top Massachusetts medical school officials have agreed to work together to come up with ways provide additional training to medical students and residents on safe opioid prescribing practices.

    BOSTON - Gov. Charlie Baker and top Massachusetts medical school officials have agreed to work together to come up with ways to provide additional training to medical students and residents on safe opioid prescribing practices.

    Baker on Wednesday met in his office with leaders of the Massachusetts Medical Society and with the deans or top officials at the state's four medical schools - Boston University, Tufts University, Harvard University and the University of Massachusetts - to talk about opioid addiction.

    Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel said the medical school deans will work on developing core principles for a curriculum on "how we educate future doctors so they have a responsibility of providing pain relief but balancing that with safe prescribing and public safety. "

    The goal would be to teach medical students and residents about appropriately managing patients' pain while avoiding over-prescribing and screening for symptoms of addiction to pain medication.

    Opioid addiction in Massachusetts has gotten increased attention due to a growing trend of overdose deaths. Often, addiction starts when people get addicted to prescription pain medication, which can lead to the use of more dangerous drugs like heroin.

    Baker said the group talked about the practice of managing pain, and the way addiction and pain management are dealt with in medical education. Baker said he hopes the medical schools can also help the state Department of Education come up with drug education programs for middle and high school students.

    "There is no single silver bullet," Baker said.

    Dr. Karen Antman, dean of Boston University School of Medicine, said she believes there needs to be collaboration on the issue that includes medical students, residents, physicians and also dentists and nurses.

    Dennis Dimitri, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, said the medical society is already providing online courses for doctors as part of its continuing medical education program. Since May, when the medical society made an online course on opioids and pain management free, 2,500 health professionals have taken the course.

    The medical experts said it can be difficult for prescribers to balance a desire to alleviate pain with not over-prescribing, particularly in cases where patients are experiencing chronic pain.

    Enhancing training about safe prescribing practice was one of a series of recommendations that an opioid addiction task force made to Baker in June.

    Suspect in Springfield jewelry store robbery held on $2,500 bail

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    After his partner grabbed the store's clerk by the shirt, Diaz punched the man in the mouth, according to the arrest report.

    SPRINGFIELD - A Springfield man who allegedly sucker punched a jewelry store employee while an accomplice stole $5,800 in merchandise is being held on $2,500 cash bail.

    Alex Diaz, 27, who address is listed as homeless, pleaded innocent on Aug. 26 to unarmed robbery during his arraignment in Springfield District Court.

    Police said Diaz and his accomplice walked into City Jewelry at 1319 Main St. around 4:30 p.m. and approached the counter. After his partner grabbed the store's clerk by the shirt, Diaz punched the man in the mouth, according to the arrest report.

    The second suspect then grabbed several pieces of jewelry, and both men fled with the employee in pursuit, according to the report.

    Two police officers and a state trooper spotted the chase, and eventually captured and arrested Diaz. His accomplice escaped, though not before the clerk had ripped off his shirt and a chain, according to police.

    The stolen items - a gold ring and a gold chain and bracelet set - were valued at $5,899, police said.

    Judge
    William Boyle
    set bail at $2,500, citing Diaz's criminal record in Puerto Rico and his lack of family ties to Springfield among other reasons.

    Diaz is due back in court on Sept. 28 for a pretrial hearing.

     

    Fenway Park fan leaves on stretcher after flipping over backward in lower box seats while trying to catch foul ball

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    Red Sox officials said the fan was due to be released from the hospital Wednesday night.

    BOSTON - The Boston Red Sox say a fan who was injured at Fenway Park trying to catch a foul ball is expected to be released from a hospital Wednesday night.

    The man flipped backward over a railing in the lower box seats and landed on a concrete walkway during an afternoon game between the Red Sox and New York Yankees. Emergency medical personnel at the stadium treated him for a possible concussion and he was taken away on a stretcher.

    The accident occurred Wednesday during the seventh inning of a game between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

    The fan was in the last row of the lower box seats, and landed on the concrete walkway that separates the lower and upper boxes. A witness said there was a bloody shirt on the concrete.

    Several fans have been injured at Fenway Park this season.

    In June, a woman was hit by a piece of a broken bat and sustained life-threatening injuries before recovering. In July, a woman was hit in the face by a foul and taken to a hospital. Earlier this week, a woman was hit in the elbow by thrown bat.

    Last weekend, a baseball fan in Atlanta died after falling from the upper deck at Turner Field.

    Changes in flight operations at Westfield's Barnes Regional Airport result in changes in noise impact on neighborhood

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    The noise mitigation map for Barnes Regional Airport must be upgraded every four years.

    WESTFIELD - Changes in flight operations at Barnes Regional Airport, both military and private aircraft, have resulted in changes in the noise impact levels on homes in and around the airport.

    That is what residents living near the airport were told at a workshop Wednesday night at North Middle School.

    Those changes have resulted in a reduction of about 50 percent the number of homes that will now qualify for noise mitigation proposals offered by the Federal Aviation Administration.

    Airport Manager Brian Barnes told the nearly 200 residents Monday that changes at the airport involve flight patterns, upgrades and improvements to runways at Barnes and newer and less noisy engines on corporate aircraft. Also, Barnes said there has been a significant "cut back in the number" of F-15 Eagle fighter jet operations by the Air National Guard's 104th Fighter Group that calls the airport home.

    Overall, Barnes said the airport saw 120,000 operations annually in the 1990s but now only handles about 42,000 flight operations annually.

    "What has happened here is nothing new," Barnes said. "It happened at Westover Air Reserve Base and Burlington, Vt.. Those bases also experienced similar decreases in flight operations over the years."

    The noise mitigation program at Barnes Regional Airport is being directed by Wyle Laboratories of Arlington, Va.

    The mitigation project started here in 2010 with 364 residential homes are the airport identified as eligible for mitigation, either through acquisition or upgrade. Eligible were 52 homes for outright acquisition by the FAA and another 312 homes targeted for noise mitigation ranging from sound proofing to extensive renovation.

    Since 2010 Wyle has completed the purchase and demolition of 10 homes and noise mitigation to 84 homes.

    "That would leave about 240 homes in the original program but changes in the noise impact now only identifies about 124 homes for the project," Barnes said.

    Patricia Madamas has lived directly in the main flight path of Barnes Airport since 1979 at 340 Holyoke Road.

    "I am here because I am curious to see how things have changes," Madamas said. "My home was evaluated in the first study and I am now waiting for them to purchase my home. I turned down noise mitigation and I planned on a spring acquiisition.

    "Recently I was notified that will be delayed but I expect them to still honor the acquisition," she said.

    The airport manager told residents that the FAA will dictate the scope of the noise mitigation project and data now being collected by Wyle through the new noise study and resident input from Monday night and ongoing comments from the public will be presented to the FAA for review.

    "We are still soliciting comments and people are urged to submit comments or contact us to discuss issues," Barnes said.

    Jane W. Verbeck, Wyle project managered assigned to Barnes Regional Airport, was busy Monday night handing out mitigation applications to several residents.

    The noise map associated with Barnes Airport must be updated every four years, officials said.

    Yoga classes scheduled at Westfield's Stanley Park

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    There is no charge for yoga classes but a $5 donation to the park will be welcomed.

    WESTFIELD - Yoga classes will be offered at Stanley Park for five sessions beginning Sept. 14.

    Classes will be held Sept. 14, Sept. 21, Sept. 28 and Oct 5 and 19. No class will be held Oct. 12 because of the Columbus Day holiday.

    Classes will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Annex Pavilion at the park and will be directed by certified instructor Genevieve Goetz.

    All levels of yoga will be offered. Pre-registration is encouraged by emailing at gdelmastro@stanleypark.org or by calling the park office at 413-568-9312.

    Donations of $5 per person to Stanley Park for participation in the yoga program will be welcomed.

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