California lawmakers gave final approval Friday to a bill that would allow terminally ill patients to legally end their lives.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California lawmakers gave final approval Friday to a bill that would allow terminally ill patients to legally end their lives.

The measure faces an uncertain future with Gov. Jerry Brown, a former Jesuit seminarian who has not said whether he will sign it.

Senators approved the bill on a 23-14 vote after an emotional debate on the final day of the legislative session.

"Eliminate the needless pain and the long suffering of those who are dying," urged Democratic Sen. Lois Wolk, one of the bill's co-authors.

Opponents said the measure could prompt premature suicides.

"I'm not going to push the old or the weak out of this world, and I think that could be the unintended consequence of this legislation," said Republican Sen. Ted Gaines.

The measure to allow doctors to prescribe life-ending medication succeeded on its second attempt after the heavily publicized case of Brittany Maynard. The 29-year-old California woman with brain cancer moved to Oregon to legally take her life.

Her relatives tearfully watched the debate from the Senate floor, while supporters lined the Senate balcony.

A previous version passed the Senate but stalled in the Assembly until lawmakers there took it up in a special legislative session. The move to bypass the usual process drew criticism from the governor.

The revised measure includes requirements that the patient be physically capable of taking the medication themselves, that two doctors approve it, that the patient submit several written requests, and that there be two witnesses.

Doctors in Oregon, Washington, Vermont and Montana already can prescribe life-ending drugs.

Philip David Casto, 33, of West Virginia, was arrested on a murder warrant from that state on Friday, Sept. 11, at the South Shore Plaza in Braintree, police said.

Philip David Casto (Putnam County Sheriff's Department/Facebook) 

Philip David Casto, 33, a resident of the Putnam County city of Hurricane, was wanted in connection with a homicide that occurred Thursday in Hurricane, police said. West Virginia authorities alerted Massachusetts authorities, who immediately began looking for Casto after learning he may have traveled to the South Shore.

Braintree and State Police located Casto around 4:20 p.m. and took him into custody without incident. He was charged as a fugitive from justice and is expected to appear at a rendition hearing Monday in Quincy District Court. The hearing will determine if Casto should be sent back to West Virginia to answer the murder charge.

Casto is accused in the shooting death of 27-year-old Jennifer Evans in Hurricane, according to authorities, who didn't indicate if he knew the woman.

MAP showing approximate location of homicide arrest:

Multiple fights were reported outside Central High School Friday night, including a report of a young man with a gun, at the conclusion of the Commerce and Putnam football game.

SPRINGFIELD — Authorities dealt with multiple disturbances outside Central High School Friday night, including a report of a young man with a gun.

At the conclusion of the football game between Commerce and Putnam, city police officers monitored the large crowd – estimated at about 3,000 – and broke up skirmishes in the area of Bay Street and Roosevelt Avenue.

In one instance, a young male reportedly "tossed a firearm on school grounds" as he bolted from officers and ran toward Smead Arena, according to preliminary police reports. "He might have fired it," an officer at the scene radioed, noting an odor of gunpowder in the air.

Police said there were no reports of shots fired. Lt. Brian Keenan said some fights apparently broke out, but he had no information on the gun incident. "No confirmation on that," he said.

Police closed Bay Street to traffic and directed motorists to leave the high school campus via Roosevelt Avenue. By 10 p.m., order appeared to be restored.

An after-hours email sent to school administrators generated an automatic reply: "Thank you for your message, we will get back to you shortly."

MAP showing approximate location of Central High School:

Donald Trump clarified, sort of, a long-standing question about his personality during an appearance on Friday's "Tonight Show."

NEW YORK -- Donald Trump clarified, sort of, a long-standing question about his personality during an appearance on Friday's "Tonight Show."

Host Jimmy Fallon asked him, playfully, if the billionaire developer and GOP presidential front-runner has ever apologized for anything.

"I fully think apologizing is a great thing," the famously self-assured Trump replied before winning the studio audience's applause by adding: "But you have to be WRONG. ... I will absolutely apologize sometime in the hopefully distant future if I'm ever wrong."

That's how it went, with both Fallon and the audience eating out of his hand.

In what passed as one of the segment's more serious moments, Fallon asked what Trump was doing on the campaign trail that his Republicans aren't to win support from voters.

"I think they want our country to be respected again," Trump said. "I think they feel that if I'm president, I will do some great things for our country, and we're gonna be respected again.... There's a movement going on, and it's amazing to watch."

Trump's interview session with Fallon was remarkably similar to a comedy sketch that had Fallon impersonating Trump, complete with orange wig, as they faced one another on opposite sides of a picture frame, as if one of them were the other's mirror image.

In this setting, Trump could be interviewed by the only person he deems worthy of the task -- himself.

"How are you gonna create great jobs in this country?" asked Fallon-as-Trump during the exchange.

"I'm just gonna do it," Trump replied.

"But how?"

"By doing it. It just happens!"

"Geeeenius!" exclaimed Fallon-Trump.

During the real, desk-and-sofa interview, Trump shared his vision as president for America: "We have to become rich again, and we're going to become great again." The crowd cheered.

Trump's guest shot on the NBC show was taped only hours after he tweeted that he had purchased NBC's half of the Miss Universe Organization, giving him full ownership and completing a divorce begun in June when NBC announced it was ending its relationship with its co-investor in the beauty pageants and the host of its long-running "The Celebrity Apprentice."

In June, the network had announced it would sever ties with Trump because of comments he made about Mexican immigrants during his campaign kickoff remarks.

"What's refreshing," Fallon told him, "is, you're off-the-cuff, you get yourself in a lot of trouble sometimes.

"I think you dig yourself a hole sometimes, a deep hole, and then instead of getting out of the hole, you just dig deeper. And if you keep digging, eventually you might come out in China and be the president of China."

As the interview drew to a close, Fallon proposed a new campaign song for Trump to consider. Pressing a key on his MacBook, he brought to life a pounding anthem by DJ Khaled called "All I Do Is Win."

"What do you think?" asked Fallon.

"Honestly," Trump beamed, "it happens to be 100 percent true."

One person was transported to the Baystate Medical Center with stab wounds after police were alerted to the scene of a fight near 23 Hampden Avenue Saturday morning.

SPRINGFIELD— One person was transported to the Baystate Medical Center with abdominal stab wounds Saturday morning, after police were alerted to a fight near 23 Hampden Avenue.

The closing time fight came as a contingent of officers was trying to clear a large parking lot next to Shikago Martini & Piano Bar just after the 2 a..m. closing time for bars and nightclubs.

Springfield police provided first aid to the victim while waiting for an ambulance to transport the injured person.

Police say they are releasing no information about the incident.

Minutes later and just just three blocks away, someone in a white SUV was reportedly seen shooting a handgun from its windows. Witnesses told police they saw the shooter firing from the car as it moved through traffic.

Detectives and uniformed officers searched the street area at the intersection of Liberty and Main streets for shell casings and other evidence. Police at the scene said it appeared that the shooter began firing his weapon as the eastbound car moved into the intersection. Police found three casings lined up from the crosswalk between the Peter Pan Bus station and the Springfield Republican building out into the intersection.

Police were led to believe that at a shooting victim was being transported to the hospital by private car, but no such injured persons was admitted to either local hospital.

Police said no damage was found from the shooting and they are continuing to investigate both incidents.

Anyone with information about either the stabbing or the shooting is asked to call the Springfield police Detective Bureau at (413) 787-6355.

Those who wish to remain anonymous may text a tip via a cell phone by addressing a text message to "CRIMES," or "274637," and then beginning the body of the message with the word "SOLVE."

A detective marks the locations of spent shell casings found in the intersection of Liberty and Main streets early Saturday morning. There were no apparent injuries from what witnesses described as a man shooting a handgun from the window of a white SUV as it drove eastbound on Liberty Street. Dave Canton,Republican 

Food left on a hot stove is blamed for more than $20,000 in damage to a home at 52 Lebanon Street.

SPRINGIELD— Food left on a hot stove is blamed for a fire that heavily damaged the kitchen of a single family home at 52 Lebanon St., Friday evening.

Dennis Leger, executive aide to Fire Commissioner Joseph Contant, said firefighters were able to contain the 7:38 p.m. fire to the kitchen of the two-and-a-half story, wood-framed home. Nevertheless, the kitchen sustained heavy fire and water damage, and Leger estimated the damages at about $20,000.

Despite the burnt-out kitchen, Leger said the family elected to remain in the home.

The state has confirmed that mosquitoes carrying the West Nile Virus are currently present in Hampshire County, following the release on Wednesday of tests showing the positive results from samples taken from pool traps in Northampton and Belchertown

The Republican file photo | Michael Beswick 

BELCHERTOWN - The state has confirmed that mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus are in Hampshire County, following the release on Wednesday of tests showing the positive results from samples taken from pool traps here and in Northampton.

The samples were examined for evidence of the disease Sept. 5 and laboratory results released on Sept. 9 showed West Nile virus, although no human or animal infections were discovered, said Judy Metcalf. She is public health director for Quabbin Health District, covering the towns of Belchertown, Pelham and Ware.

Although the state did not increase the risk level for the area where the mosquitoes tested positive, residents are urged to take common sense steps to reduce exposure to mosquitoes, such as using spray and wearing long sleeves after dusk, she said.

"The West Nile virus is in the mosquito population here," Metcalf said.

The state DPH recently increased the risk level to "moderate" for Springfield, West Springfield, Agawam, Holyoke, Chicopee and Westfield, when an individual in that area was found to have contracted the disease.

Most people infected with the virus show no symptoms, although some will experience fever and flu-like symptoms. In rare cases, severe illness can occur.

The restaurant, located next to the main bus station in the town of Petlawad in Madhya Pradesh state, was crowded with people having breakfast when the blasts occurred.

NEW DELHI (AP) -- At least 89 people were killed at a restaurant in central India on Saturday when a cooking gas cylinder exploded and triggered a second blast of mine detonators stored illegally nearby, police said.

The restaurant, located next to the main bus station in the town of Petlawad in Madhya Pradesh state, was crowded with people having breakfast when the blasts occurred.

Rescue workers extricated 89 bodies from under a huge heap of rubble, said Mewa Lal Gond, a police inspector in the mining district of Jhabua, where Petlawad is located.

Arun Sharma, a state health official, said doctors at a government hospital in the nearby district town of Jhabua conducted autopsies of 60 victims. The bodies were then handed over to the victims' families.

Around 100 other people were injured in the blasts and were taken to hospitals, Gond said.

In this frame grab from video, people help sift through and clear debris at the scene after an explosion at a restaurant, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015, in Petlawad, India. AP 

The building where the restaurant was located and an adjacent building were destroyed by the explosions, and motorbikes outside the restaurant were flattened, he said.

Residents were evacuated from several adjoining buildings that were damaged in the blasts, said a police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to talk to the media.

Police struggled to keep hundreds of onlookers and people looking for their relatives away from the site of the explosions, he said. The crowds hampered the movement of ambulances and other emergency vehicles, and officers had to push them back to allow a bulldozer to reach the restaurant.

Gond said the detonators were stored illegally in a room adjacent to the restaurant. The explosive materials are used by miners for blasting operations or for digging wells.

Mine operators are supposed to follow guidelines on the safe storage of detonators and other explosive materials but are often lax, and the district authorities rarely act against them, said another police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to talk to reporters.

There are several manganese and bauxite mines in Jhabua district, and many mine workers are hired on contract from Petlawad and nearby areas.

Petlawad is about 950 kilometers (590 miles) south of New Delhi.

A small plane assigned to the crew of a movie starring Tom Cruise crashed in the Colombian Andes on Friday, killing two people, including a Los Angeles-based film pilot, and seriously injuring a third, the country's civilian aviation authority said.

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- A small plane assigned to the crew of a movie starring Tom Cruise crashed in the Colombian Andes on Friday, killing two people, including a Los Angeles-based film pilot, and seriously injuring a third, the country's civilian aviation authority said.

An official with the aviation agency, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter, said Cruise was not on the aircraft.

The official said an American, Alan Purwin, was killed along with the Colombian Carlos Berl. A third person aboard, Jimmy Lee Garland, a pilot from Georgia, was rushed to a hospital in Medellin, where he was in intensive care.

The official said the twin-engine Piper Aerostar ran into bad weather late Friday afternoon after taking off from the colonial town of Santa Fe de Antioquia for a short flight to Medellin. No emergency was reported to air traffic controllers.

Cruise, a trained pilot, arrived last month to Medellin to film a movie called "Mena," about American pilot Barry Seal, a drug runner recruited by the CIA to try and capture the late cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar. Seal was shot and killed in 1986 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, allegedly by assassins sent by Escobar's Medellin cartel.

Cruise's spokeswoman, Amanda Lundberg, had no comment on Friday's accident.

Purwin was founder and president of the Los Angeles-based Helinet Technologies, a company providing aerial surveillance technology to law enforcement. On the company's website, he's described as "one of the top film pilots of his generation" with a list of credits from television and major Hollywood movies such as "Transformers," ''Pearl Harbor," and "Pirates of the Caribbean."

He sat at the controls of a helicopter for the first time at age 16 and two years later took his first flying job crop dusting in Indiana, according to Helinet's website.

"Alan's enduring passion for film and flying has created aerial footage loved by millions around the world," according to an online bio on the website of Shotover, an aerial cinematography subsidiary of Helinet.

In his last Tweet sent Wednesday, Purwin expresses joy at landing on a dirt runway between the towering jungled mountains surrounding Santa Fe de Antioquia.

Helinet's Vice President Jack Snyder declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press.

Garland, the sole survivor, is a flight instructor and manager of a regional airport in Georgia's Cherokee County, near Atlanta.

Along with the race, the event presented was a chance to highlight the recent upgrades to the Riverfront bike path and the area around the Yacht Club.

SPRINGFIELD - The Connecticut River in Springfield was a busy place Saturday as the hundreds of rowers took to the water in the 11th Annual Springfield Riverfront Regatta.

With the sun finally shining through the morning mist, the regatta launched at the Pioneer Valley Yacht Club located at the North End Bridge.

The race is named the Rockrimmon Regatta Stake Race, it was a three-mile course set up between the North End and the Memorial Bridges. The route is a distance of 1.5 miles and the rowers raced in both directions.

Along with the race, the event presented was a chance to highlight the recent upgrades to the Riverfront bike path and the area around the Yacht Club.

A Hall of Fame official said this weekend's enshrinement ceremony was the most heavily attended since the "Dream Team's" induction in 2010.

SPRINGFIELD - Showing slight fatigue from the whirlwind Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend, legendary former University of Massachusetts basketball coach John Calipari still had time for banter with his fellow inductees and fans who waited in long lines for autographs on Saturday morning.

"They can't rescind this, Jo Jo, can they? They're won't be a recount?" Calipari joked with class member to his right, former Celtic Jo Jo White.

White, a first-round draft pick in 1969, dead-panned: "Not that I know of."

SPRINGFIELD - Former UMass basketball coach and Hall of Fame inductee John Calipari signs autographs at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame during enshrinement weekend. Photo by Stephanie Barry 

And, the duo continued obliging hundreds of fans in a queue carrying basketballs and yearbooks who paid $150 for the autograph session with all the inductees: Calipari; White; player Dikembe Mutombo; player Lisa Leslie; referee Dick Bavetta; player Louis Dampier; coach Lindsay Gaze; player Spencer Haywood; coach Tom Heinsohn; and contributor George Raveling.

Also included in the class was the late player John Isaacs, whose family came to represent him over the star-studded weekend. Isaacs died in 2009.

Jamie Przypek, director of marketing partnerships for the Naismith Memorial Hall of Hame, estimated that around 5,000 visitors came for the festivities from across the globe.

"This is the most heavily attended since the Michael Jordan (induction) in 2009 and the Dream Team in 2010," he said, referring to the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team which the Hall labeled the "greatest collection of basketball talent on the planet" at the time.

Because of his roots with the breakout Minutemen from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, when he led the team to five consecutive Atlantic 10 titles and NCAA Tournament appearances, Calipari was one of the biggest draws of the weekend. He has racked up numerous "Coach of the Year" awards and other accolades over more than 30 years coaching collegiate and NBA teams. His latest post is with the elite University of Kentucky Wildcats.

While signing basketballs and programs, Calipari offered this analogy about managing celebrity:

"As you get older, you make sure everybody eats first and you eat last," he said, adding that the hour of signing autographs is worth the extra. "We take an hour to do this, and if it makes people feel good, no one minds."

Calipari also briefly reminisced about his days at UMass.

"That was a lot of fun, because it was like: 'How are we doing this?' We're at UMass and we're competing with all these people," he said, recalling that as the team's winning streaks and popularity peaked, stretch limousines began lining up outside "the Cage" and then the Mullins Center with VIPs from Boston who traveled to Amherst to watch the games.

Many fans who attended this weekend have been coming to the enshrinement festivities for years. These included Anthony Bonelli, 26, and his parents Michael and Diane Bonelli, all of Warren County, N.J.

Anthony Bonelli, an alumni of Rutgers University, has cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair. He is an avid sports fan and an assistant coach of a girls basketball team at his high school alma mater. As a journalism and communications graduate, Bonelli attends the press conferences each enshrinement weekend and fires questions at the inductees along with the rest of the press corps.

SPRINGFIELD - Anthony Bonelli, center, and his parents, Diane and Michael Bonelli, have attended the Hall of Fame enshrinement weekend for seven years running. The family is from Warren County, N.J. They are shown here after collecting autographs from this year's class members. Photo by Stephanie Barry 

"It's really interesting to hear about their journeys because that's what people don't realize: they didn't just automatically make it big," he said.

Bonelli said he was most interested in picking Calipari's and other coaches' brains for coaching strategies.

"I try to implement their philosophies in my coaching," Bonelli said.

The CEO of Office Depot apologized to a suburban Chicago woman who said the company discriminated against her over her religious beliefs when its employees told her that making copies of an anti-abortion prayer violated company policy.

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. -- The CEO of Office Depot apologized to a suburban Chicago woman who said the company discriminated against her over her religious beliefs when its employees told her that making copies of an anti-abortion prayer violated company policy.

Maria Goldstein, who is Roman Catholic, asked the Office Depot in Schaumburg last month to make 500 copies of "A Prayer for Planned Parenthood."

The prayer was composed by the Rev. Frank Pavone, national director of the anti-abortion group Priests for Life. It calls on God to "Bring an end to the killing of children in the womb, and bring an end to the sale of their body parts. Bring conversion to all who do this, and enlightenment to all who advocate it."

The prayer also includes statistics about abortion in the U.S. and decries "the evil that has been exposed in Planned Parenthood and in the entire abortion industry."

"We sincerely apologize to Ms. (Maria) Goldstein for her experience and our initial reaction was not at all related to her religious beliefs," Office Depot Chairman and CEO Roland Smith said in a statement Friday, the Chicago Tribune reported. "We invite her to return to Office Depot if she still wishes to print the flier."

Office Depot prohibits "the copying of any type of material that advocates any form of racial or religious discrimination or the persecution of certain groups of people," as well as copyrighted material, company spokeswoman Karen Denning told the Tribune. The flier that Goldstein wanted to copy "contained material that advocates the persecution of people who support abortion rights," she said.

But the handout is part of a weeklong prayer and fasting campaign that aims to change opinions on abortion, according to Goldstein.

"The intention of the prayer is to ask for conversion," she said. "The conversion of the staff, employees, everybody who is part of this at Planned Parenthood. It means they will recognize life has dignity and that it is valuable and not a commodity to be bought and sold."

Goldstein, of Rolling Meadows, was invited to use the use the self-serve copy machines at Office Depot, Denning said. But Goldstein said that would have been an inconvenience, so she went to another shop to run her copies.

"I feel discriminated against," Goldstein said.

Thomas Olp, a lawyer for the Chicago-based Thomas More Society, a public interest law group that represents Goldstein, sent a letter Thursday to Smith, asking the company to reconsider its policy and fill Goldstein's copy order.

Goldstein told the Tribune on Friday that she hadn't had time to process the company's latest response.

"I need to take a step back and pray about it," she said.

Office Depot is based in Boca Raton, Florida.

The race will be open to the first 500 to submit completed registration forms with payment of $50.

SPRINGFIELD - Registration for the 10th annual Bright Nights 5K Road Race will open Monday at midnight, Spirit of Springfield officials announced.

The downtown booster agency noted that registration maximum has swiftly sold out in recent years. The race will be open to the first 500 to submit completed registration forms with payment of $50. It is scheduled for Nov. 30 and to start under the Seuss Land arch.

Participants must be at least 14 years old.

"Each year, the race sells out faster than the previous year. Nine years ago it sold out in three weeks. In 2013, the 500 spots were filled in a matter of hours. In 2014, half of the runners had registered by 12:20 a.m.," Spirit of Springfield organizers said in a statement.

Participants will receive a souvenir long-sleeved shirt, a post-race soup supper where prizes are awarded, and a complimentary pass to Bright Nights at Forest Park. The holiday lights display will open for its 21st season on Nov. 21.

Registration for the road race will be available at brightnights.org on the activities page or by stopping by the Spirit of Springfield at 1350 Main Street, Suite 1004.

A passenger on a Portland-bound flight was arrested after police say he urinated on other passengers, their seats and carry-on items about a half-hour before the plane landed early Friday.

Jeff RubinMultnomah County Sheriff's Office

Jeff David Rubin, 26, of Oregon, was booked on misdemeanor accusations of offensive littering and third-degree criminal mischief. He has since been released on his own recognizance.

Rubin was "slumped over asleep in his seat" when Port of Portland officers boarded the plane about 4:30 a.m. after it landed at Portland International Airport, according to a police report.

Plane staff and other passengers told officers that Rubin had been sleeping for most of the flight, but stood up toward the end of the trip and began urinating between the space of the seats in front of him, the report said. The urine hit passengers sitting there.

Rubin soon lost his balance and fell backward, causing his urine to shoot upward, the report said. Other passengers, their seats and their personal belongings were hit.

No one was injured on the JetBlue flight from Anchorage, Alaska, said Steve Johnson, a Port spokesman. Tamara Young, a JetBlue spokeswoman, confirmed that authorities boarded the flight to investigate a "customer incident," but referred questions about the case to police.

A 24-year-old mother is in custody Saturday after her two young children were found barefoot, dirty and living in a wooden shipping crate in an underground cave on the eastern edge of Kansas City, Missouri.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A 24-year-old mother is in custody Saturday after her two young children were found barefoot, dirty and living in a wooden shipping crate in an underground cave on the eastern edge of Kansas City, Missouri.

Brittany Mugrauer was charged Friday night with two counts of felony child endangerment.

Jackson County detectives discovered the 4- and 6-year-old children Thursday in the 8-by-10-foot crate furnished with vehicle bench seats, two small blankets, trash and thin wires. According to the probable cause statement, the crate was missing one side and surrounded by car parts and vehicles in various states of disrepair.

The investigators, who went to the cave to serve a search warrant related to a possible stolen car operation, noted that the children did not appear frightened by them or the fact that they were alone.

The 4-year-old child was eating a dirty, dry cup of ramen noodles with their hands, a detective wrote. When asked why they weren't wearing any shoes, the children responded that they didn't have any. The older child told officers he should be in first grade but did not go to school.

The children were taken to Children's Mercy Hospital where they were evaluated, bathed and given clean clothes.

Mugrauer told investigators that her children had been living in the cave for several days and acknowledged leaving them there alone, the probable cause statement says. She was taken into custody Friday afternoon and has not yet appeared in court.

A spokesman for the Jackson County prosecutor's office said Saturday that he didn't think Mugrauer has an attorney.

The extensive network of caves is the product of massive limestone mining in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Years after the mining operations ceased, companies started finding ways to use the millions of square feet of abandoned underground space. The caves house hundreds of businesses, many of which specialize in storage or warehousing because they are protected from extreme weather and have year-round temperatures of around 70 degrees.

The officers were down there investigating a possible chop shop, where stolen vehicles are dismantled so that the parts can be sold or used to repair other stolen vehicles.

Many of the caves feature paved roads, utilities and developed business space, while others, such as the one where the children were found, consist of dirt floors and uncontrolled entrances.

A spokesman for the Jackson County Sheriff's Office declined to provide additional details about conditions inside the cave or the health of the children.

The 43rd annual Mattoon Street Arts Festival opened under perfect weather conditions on Saturday, and organizers had the crowds to prove it.

SPRINGFIELD — The 43rd annual Mattoon Street Arts Festival opened under perfect weather conditions on Saturday, and organizers had the crowds to prove it.

At the longest-running arts festival in the Pioneer Valley, shoppers walked the tree lined historic streets which are surrounded by artful brick buildings.

The street is defined by its architecture and the fact that residents take pride in their homes, which become the showcased backdrop during the annual festival.

More than 100 exhibitors are on hand for the festival, which continues Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Free parking is available at the TD Bank parking lot, which is located between Dwight and Main streets on Harrison Avenue, just a block away.

For more information on the free festival, visit the official website here.

The Springfield Museums hosted the 12th annual "History on the Move" car show Saturday, which highlighted the city's role in the evolution of transportation.

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Museums hosted the 12th annual "History on the Move" car show Saturday, which highlighted the city's role in the evolution of transportation.

Under a bright blue sky, cars from every era were on display from a 1925 Springfield Rolls Royce, to a 1883 Duryea and an interactive replica 1951 Hudson Hornet known as Doc Hudson from the Disney Pixar movie "Cars", along with many others.

Young and old car enthusiasts got a chance to get a close-up look at vintage cars, late models, muscle and mini cars, and the cars that were set up on the grass near the museum.

A tour of the Lyman & Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History was also part of the car show, as visitors could also take a look at the exhibits, which go into great detail explaining the city's involvement in transportation over the years.

Just a block away, the 43rd Annual Mattoon Street Arts Festival kicked off to a stellar crowd, and continues Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Related: Retired Springfield teacher recreated 1st gas-powered automobile built in America

Residents and visitors near downtown Chicopee were treated to the sounds of music as various musicians took to the main stage of the Chicopee Downtown Block Party, Saturday.

CHICOPEE - Residents and visitors near downtown Chicopee were treated to the sounds of music as various musicians took to the main stage of the Chicopee Downtown Block Party, Saturday.

Scheduled performers included The Life Point Church Band, Sarah the Fiddler, Ken Stearley & The Barnhouse Band, The Hu Ke Lau Polynesian Show, Livio Gravini & The Free Spirit Society, The Varlets and Fat.

The City of Chicopee was awarded a TDI Places Small Grants Program award from Mass. Development to help make the block party possible. The grant is specifically allocated to enhance local public and private engagements to promote the use of public space.

Additional funding for the party was provided by local businesses.

Various programs designed for children included face painting, cupcake decorating, sand art, sidewalk chalk art, balloon sculptures, and much more.

According to Chicopee Mayor Richard Kos, several thousand visitors were expected during the 11-hour block party.

A Gardner woman admitted stealing more than $100,000 in Social Security disability payments, and another $17,000 in food stamps.

Dave Canton | dcanton@repub.com 

According to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette the U.S. Attorney's Office said Narcisse collected approximately $100,521 in Social Security Supplemental Security Income, known as SSI, beginning in 2006. In 2011, she began collecting food stamp funding under the USDA's SNAP Program which netted her $17,012 in about four years.

Prosecutors said Narcisse first applied for the SSI funds in 1999, telling the agency that she lived alone with her children and received no financial help from her estranged husband, and had no other income. In 2011 she applied for and received Food Stamps. Prosecutors only charged Narcisse for the years 2006 to 2014 due the statute of limitations prior to 2006.

Investigators showed that Narcisse and her husband bought a home in Gardner and both listed it as their residential address on their drivers' licenses and filed joint tax returns. Narcisse's husband worked throughout the period she is accused of defrauding the government and contributed to the home and his children.

Narcisse is scheduled for sentencing Dec. 9. She faces up to 10 years in federal prison and three years of supervised released, and a fine of up to $250,000.

Nearly $250,000 in arts and cultural enhancement grants have been awarded to 2nd Hampden and Hampshire District Communities and artists.

Dave Canton | dcanton@repub.com 

The grant bundle includes $131,000 to be divided among the 2nd Hampden and Hampshire District communities, as well as $116,000 in individual grants to enhance cultural programs.

The funding distribution reflects an $2 million increase in MCC's overall budget in the 2016 state budget. Humason said he was a cosponsor of the amendment to the budget calling for more state funding for cultural initiatives.

In addition to the MCC annual awards, additional funds were distributed to the cities of Easthampton and Holyoke through the MCC's John and Abigail Adams Arts program, the Cultural Investment Portfolio Program and the YouthReach Program.The programs collectively further economic development opportunities, support local artists and cultural organizations, enhance accessible arts and cultural programming for children and young adults.

The cities and towns within the 2nd Hampden and Hampshire District are Agawam, Easthampton, Parts of Chicopee, Westfield, Granville, Montgomery, Russell,Southampton, Southwick and Tolland.

The Massachusetts Cultural Council is a state agency supporting the arts, sciences and humanities to help improve the quality of life in Massachusetts and its communities. For more information about grant opportunities log onto www.massculturalcouncil.org.