Healey laid out new regulations for the industry, which includes increased disclosure about who is playing the games, new restrictions on minors, and limits on the amount of deposits a player can make.

BOSTON - Attorney General Maura Healey wants to ban minors from playing daily fantasy sports and require companies to disclose when someone is playing against a professional fantasy sports player. These are just some of the new regulations on fantasy sports operators that Healey proposed on Thursday.

"Most people would be surprised to know in many contests less than 2 percent of people win 90 percent of the prizes," Healey said. "We need more disclosure about how contests work and who people are playing against."

Fantasy sports, of which the biggest companies are Boston-based DraftKings and FanDuel of New York, have come under increased scrutiny recently in Massachusetts and nationally. The multi-million-dollar industry is one of the few forms of online gambling that remains legal in the United States. New York has tried to ban fantasy sports, although the ban is being challenged in court. Nevada has also banned the games, ruling that they are illegal sports wagering. In fantasy sports, people create online sports teams made up of real players, and the teams perform based on the real-life performance of the players.

Healey is not trying to ban fantasy sports. She said her goal is to "level the playing field for participants" and make sure that consumers "have a fair shot while playing games." She said she wants to protect minors and help problem gamblers.

"This is an industry that cries out for transparency and robust consumer protections," Healey said.

The regulations will be filed on Friday with the Massachusetts Secretary of State. There will be a public hearing Jan. 12, and the public has until Jan. 22 to submit comments. Although the regulations will not be finalized until after that date, Healey said she hopes companies will take steps to comply immediately.

A DraftKings company spokesman said Healey had taken "a thoughtful and comprehensive approach" to fantasy sports, and the company will prepare to make the changes that Healey is requiring. "While we do have some concerns with the draft regulations, we intend to work closely with the Attorney General's office to ensure we are operating in the best interest of our customers," the spokesman said in a statement. "We will utilize the next 60 days to share our comments in the hopes of effecting some changes and are firmly committed to continuing to operate in a lawful and transparent manner."

The spokesman said it believes the process followed by Healey "will ultimately result in a positive outcome for the millions of fantasy sports fans around the country who want to be able to enjoy DraftKings' games in a fun, fair, and transparent environment."

Healey's proposed regulations would bar anyone under age 21 from participating in daily fantasy sports. Fantasy sports operators would no longer be allowed to advertise or run promotional activities in schools, on college campuses or at amateur or college sporting venues. They would be barred from offering contests based on the performance of student athletes.

Asked why she included college students in the ban, Healey said these are student athletes. "They should not be used as a basis for pecuniary games by those who want to play fantasy sports," Healey said. She said she also worries about students going into debt to play the games.

With allegations surfacing about company employees winning fantasy sports contests on a rival company's website, potentially based on insider information, Healey is proposing banning company employees, professional athletes or anyone else with insider information about a sport from playing fantasy sports games.

Healey also wants to ensure that professional players - those who develop software or algorithms that allow them to win huge numbers of contests - are identified as such on the site. The sites would be required to have games limited to beginners, where these professional players are excluded.

Ads will have to mention the average net winnings of all players and include information about assistance for problem gamblers. To address issues related to gambling addiction, fantasy sports companies would not be allowed to extend credit to players. They would have to limit deposits to $1,000 a month unless a player verifies his ability to sustain higher losses. Players would also need to have the option to set self-imposed limits for deposits or losses.

Violations of the regulations could be prosecuted under the state's consumer protection laws.

"These are the rules of the road should they wish to continue to operate here in Massachusetts," Healey said.

Healey said her office is continuing its investigation of the industry, although she declined to offer specifics. Healey said her regulatory steps do not preclude the Massachusetts Gaming Commission or the Legislature from taking additional steps.

The Gaming Commission is currently looking at the question of whether fantasy sports should be regulated, but the commission can only make recommendations. It will be up to the Legislature to act.

This story has been updated with a comment from DraftKings.

The break-in occurred on Oct. 17. The suspect is described as a heavy-set white male, approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall.

GREENFIELD -- Police are seeking the public's help as they work to identify a man suspected of breaking into a city business last month.

The suspect is described as a heavy-set white male, approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall, with short hair, wearing gloves, a hooded sweatshirt with no logos, and dark long pants.

The break-in occurred on Oct. 17.

Police have posted surveillance images of the suspect on their Facebook page and ask followers to share it with others.Those with information are asked to call (413) 773-5411.

Shortly after challenging President Barack Obama to a debate on Syrian refugees, 2016 White House hopeful U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, doubled down on his critique of the Democrat's foreign policy.

SPRINGFIELD ‒ Shortly after challenging President Barack Obama to a debate on Syrian refugees, 2016 White House hopeful U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, doubled down on his critique of the Democrat's foreign policy.

In an interview with Steven Crowder, on his website Louder with Crowder, Cruz blasted the president for accusing Republican candidates of political posturing when it comes to the Syrian refugee crisis.

Obama, on a trip to Manila this week, said Republican assertions that only Christian refugees should be allowed to enter the U.S. is "offensive and contrary to American values," the New York Times reported.

The Democrat made similar comments during a Monday news conference in Turkey.

Taking aim at Obama's remarks, Cruz argued that it's unfitting of a president to engage in personal insults and attacks.

"Mr. President, if you want to insult me, you can do it overseas, you can do it in Turkey, you can do it in foreign countries, but I would encourage you, Mr. President, to come back and insult me to my face," he told reporters this week. "Let's have a debate on Syrian refugees right now, we can do it anywhere you want."

Cruz, in his interview with Crowder, stood by his challenge and his stance on allowing Syrian Muslim refugees into the country.

"I think it is lunacy when this administration can't vet them, has no idea who among them might be ISIS terrorists, but because of political correctness they want to bring them here anyway," he said.

The Texas senator added that it's "remarkable" for the president to condemn Republicans who want to keep the country safe by refusing Syrian Muslim refugees.

"It's a little rich to call me un-American as he's standing on foreign soil," Cruz said, again calling on Obama to debate his foreign and Syrian Muslim refugee policies.

In wake of Friday's terror attacks in Paris, various Republican governors, lawmakers and presidential candidates have come out against proposals to allow Syrian refugees into the country.

Obama and other Democrats, however, have called for allowing them to enter the U.S. after they have undergone rigorous screening and security checks.

The drive will also accept gift cards to local grocery stores.

WESTFIELD - Radio state WSKB 89.5 will team up with Westfield Technical Academy Monday to collect donations of food and other items in support of Westfield Public School food pantries and annual Thanksgiving meal donations.

The drive will be held from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. and donations can be dropped off at the Smith Avenue school's Tiger Pride and Gymnasium entrance.

Needed items include canned goods, especially vegetables, Tuna and juices; dry goods such as cereal, noodles, instant potatoes and rice; perishab les such as eggs, butter, turkeys and milk.

The drive also seeks donations of health and beauty items such as soaps, deodoraqnts, detergents, shampoos, toothpast and brushes and feminine hygiene products.

Also requested are gift cards to local grocery stores.

The radio station is located at Westfield State University.

Judge Kathryn Hand took a motion to dismiss the case against the alleged drunk driver who struck and killed Westfield firefighter Kevin Regan under advisement at a hearing Thursday. Watch video

The crash that took Westfield firefighter Kevin Regan's life took an instant. The case against the man who struck him, allegedly under the influence of alcohol, has stretched on for 11 months, marred by missing evidence and delays.

To the chagrin of Regan's family, they will have to keep waiting.

"It's frustrating to sit and listen to a technicality that has nothing to do with that Kevin was struck by the vehicle," said Westfield Fire Chief Mary Regan, Kevin Regan's sister. "It's hard."

That technicality, as Regan described it, was at the center of today's hearing. Officers from the Yarmouth Police Department testified about the disappearance of defendant Paul Dennehy's police booking video, which prompted Dennehy's attorney to push for the charges to be dropped.

Judge Kathryn Hand did not rule on Dennehy's motion to dismiss in Barnstable District Court Thursday. Hand said she would review the evidence, and set a status hearing for Dec. 18.

Dennehy, a partner in a Nantucket real estate company, was arrested after colliding with Regan and his girlfriend, Lynda Cavanaugh, who were walking across Route 28 in West Yarmouth the night of Dec, 27, 2014. Regan was killed and Cavanaugh survived with serious injuries.

The accident has left a mark on Regan's family, who have a long history of service with the Westfield Fire Department. Regan was the most senior firefighter in Westfield at the time of his death; his sister, Mary Regan, is the current chief, and his brother Christopher is a fire captain.

Regan's supporters attended the hearing in force - seven of his eight siblings, Mary Regan said, along with friends and Cavanaugh, who is still rehabilitating from the crash that took Regan's life. They will be make the drive from Western Massachusetts again on Dec. 18, and to hearings after that, Mary Regan said.

"We'll be back. Whatever it takes," Regan said.

Westfield Firefighter Kevin Regan (SUBMITTED PHOTO/WESTFIELD FIRE DEPARTMENT)George Graham | ggraham@repub.com 

At the hearing, Dennehy's attorney Peter Lloyd argued that the missing video demonstrated recklessness by the Yarmouth Police Department and the prosecution and harmed his client's case, and asked the judge to have the charges dropped. The defense had asked for a copy of the video on Jan. 8, he said, and emails and testimony from Yarmouth officers showed the request was filled.

But the copy of the video never appeared, and the original was deleted from Yarmouth police department hard drives. The department automatically deleted surveillance videos after four months to save space, Lieutenant Kevin Lennon testified.

"Clearly they are culpable for the loss of this evidence," Lloyd said. "The loss of that evidence from the defendant's point of view is clearly prejudicial."

Chief District Court Prosecutor Michael Donovan admitted that the missing evidence was a irregularity that could be brought up at trial, but said that dropping the case was too severe a penalty.

"The case law suggests that dismissal is too harsh a remedy absent serious misconduct or prejudice," Donovan said. "Generally, the public has an interest in bringing guilty people to justice."

Officer Chris Capobianco, the department's liaison to Barnstable District Court, testified that he received a request from the defense to preserve a copy of the booking video. He said he transferred that request to Lennon, in accordance with department policy, and received a DVD with the video. He said he believed he left it in the District Attorney's Office mailbox where he usually dropped off requested videos, but Donovan said he never received it and his staff had no memory of obtaining it.

"I can only testify to you that this is the procedure I follow," Capobianco said. "I believe that I made a copy and distributed it as I do for all other requests for discovery."

Lennon testified that the department's policy was not to preserve an internal copy of booking videos requested by the court, with the files deleted from police department hard drives as normal once DVDs were delivered to the District Attorney's Office.

"As the drives fill up, they just overwrite each other," Lennon testified.

Lloyd also said that the booking officer never filed a police report. Lennon confirmed that in a brief interview after the hearing, saying that while the arresting officer wrote up the incident there was not written record from the booking.

"They normally would," Lennon said. "I don't know why they didn't."

The District Attorney's Office and the Yarmouth Police Department have said they will not comment on a pending case.

Dennehy is charged with motor vehicle homicide while operating under the influence of alcohol and operating under the influence of alcohol causing serious bodily injury.

Dennehy denied the charges during his arraignment in Barnstable District Court and was released on $5,000 bail by Judge W. James O'Neill, according to the Cape Cod Times.

The Cape Cod Times cites police reports by the Yarmouth police that had Dennehy showing a .138 on a portable breathalyzer, in excess of the state's .08 threshold for intoxication. The report also notes Dennehy appeared to lose his balance during one of the field sobriety tests.

Dennehy, a partner with the Nantucket real estate company Harbor Light Properties, was driving a company van at the time of the crash, according to witness video posted on Youtube.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says some 46,000 people died from a drug overdose, in 2013, with more than half of these caused by abuse of prescription painkillers and heroin use.

A report out this month from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says drug overdoses are now the leading cause of injury death in the United States. Some 46,000 people in the country died from a drug overdose, in 2013, with more than half of these caused by abuse of prescription painkillers and heroin use.

The report found that a large segment of abusers of controlled prescription painkillers obtained those drugs either for free, or at a cost, from friends and relatives to whom they were prescribed by one doctor, and that there is a corresponding rise in heroin use as a cheaper alternative to such painkillers as alterations to such painkillers also make them harder to abuse

It attributed the increase in deaths from heroin to a probability of causes including the distribution of more pure heroin in some areas, the first-time use among growing numbers of younger users and the return to the drug after a period of withdrawal.

The purity of heroin can range from three to 98 percent.

The report also says that the Northeast is one of the areas of the country where heroin is the most used and that white powder heroin, increasingly from Mexico and which can be a very pure form, is a lucrative market for traffickers of illicit drugs in the Boston area.

Growing number of gangs, whose main revenue is from the illicit drug trade, are also cited in the report.

Other highlights in the 148-page report, some of if classified, include:

• Each day in thhe United States, over 120 people die as a result of a drug overdose.


• Marijuana concentrates, with potency levels far exceeding those of leaf marijuana, pose an issue of growing concern.


• Mexican transnational criminal organizations remain the greatest criminal drug threat to the United States.


• Many of the local distribution groups are increasingly dealing with and receiving cocaine directly from Mexican organizations based in states such as Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas.


• There are approximately 1.4 million active street, prison, and outlawed motorcycle gang members comprising more than 33,000 gangs in the United States.


• Some 53 percent of nonmedical users of CPDs (pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and sedatives) aged 12 or older got the prescription drugs they most recently used "from a friend or relative for free." More than four in five of these nonmedical users who obtained prescription drugs from a friend or relative for free indicated that their friend or relativehad obtained the drugs from a single doctor.


• Heroin overdose deaths are increasing particularly in the Northeast area as well as areas of the Midwest. Possible reasons for these increases in overdose deaths include an overall increase in heroin users; high purity batches of heroin reaching certain markets, causing users to accidentally overdose; an increase in new heroin initiates, many of whom are young and inexperienced; abusers of prescription opioids initiating use of heroin, an illicitly manufactured drug with varying purities, dosage amounts, and adulterants; and the use of highly toxic heroin adulterants such as fentanyl in certain markets. Further, heroin users who have stopped using heroin for a period of time (due to treatment programs, incarceration, etc.) and subsequently return to using heroin are particularly susceptible to overdose, because their tolerance for the drug has decreased.

In Fogle's plea deal, he agreed not to seek a sentence of less than five years in prison and prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence of no more than 12½ years behind bars.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Former Subway pitchman Jared Fogle pleaded guilty to child pornography and sex crime charges Thursday, and before he was sentenced, an expert testified about Fogle's sexual transgressions, including his extensive use of prostitutes and fantasies about young girls.

Fogle, 38, pleaded guilty to one count each of travelling to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and distribution and receipt of child pornography, as per a deal he struck with prosecutors in August. The charges followed a July raid on his suburban Indianapolis home and the resulting criminal case destroyed his career with the sandwich restaurant chain.

Before entering his guilty plea during Thursday's hearing, U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt asked Fogle whether he understood the punishment he could face and he answered, "Yes, your honor. I do."

In Fogle's plea deal, he agreed not to seek a sentence of less than five years in prison and prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence of no more than 121/2 years behind bars. But federal judges have wide discretion, and Pratt could disregard the prosecution's recommendation and sentence Fogle to up to 50 years in prison on the two counts.

The sentencing portion of the hearing began with Fogle's lawyers calling John Bradford, a professor at the University of Ottawa in Canada, to testify by phone.

Bradford said he analyzed Fogle on Aug. 17, two days before Fogle agreed to his plea deal, and concluded Fogle suffers from hypersexuality, mild pedophilia, and alcohol abuse and dependency.

He said he took Fogle's sexual history, including his sexual interests and tested him to determine what images caused Fogle to be sexually aroused. He said Fogle also told him that he had "a fairly extensive history" of using prostitutes for sex. Under cross-examination, Bradford said Fogle admitted to paying a minimum of about $12,000 a year for sex.

"He certainly engaged in sex over a significant period of time. He engaged in that extensively when he was working for the Subway Corp."

And Bradford said Fogle told him he had engaged in sex with minors of 16 and 17 years of age and said that he had a sexual interest in teenagers.

"He started viewing pornography in college and had a fairly extensive collection of pornography in college," Bradford said.

Bradford said Fogle apparently had a compulsive eating disorder before he lost all of the weight that to him becoming the face of Subway, and that his hypersexuality seemed to develop shortly after he shed the extra pounds.

He also said Fogle, a father of two whose wife filed for divorce on the day he agreed to plead guilty, admitted that he occasionally fantasized about children. "His main interest was in young females and some interest in adolescent males."

Bradford said he concluded that Fogle suffered from "mild pedophilia."

"I did believe that he did suffer from pedophilia, but it was pedophilia that did not involve acting out that with a child."

Bradford said that Fogle told him he had fantasies about prepubescent females and had masturbated to those fantasies.

"There's no evidence I have that he actually engaged in sex" with such children.

In his plea deal, Fogle admitted that had sex at New York City hotels with two girls under age 18 -- one of whom was 16 at the time -- and paid them for that sex. He also acknowledged receiving child pornography produced by Russell Taylor, the former executive director of The Jared Foundation, a nonprofit Fogle started to raise awareness and money to fight childhood obesity.

Authorities said Taylor secretly filmed 12 minors as they were nude, changing clothes, or engaged in other activities using hidden cameras in his Indianapolis-area residences to produce child pornography. Taylor has agreed to plead guilty to child exploitation and child pornography charges.

Prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum filed last week that Fogle received photos or videos from Taylor of eight of those 12 youths, and that some of those images were of girls as young as 12. Fogle could have stopped Taylor from victimizing some of minors, prosecutors have said, but he instead encouraged Taylor to produce additional child pornography.

Fogle agreed to pay a total of $1.4 million to his 14 victims, with each getting $100,000. Before Fogle entered his guilty pleas Thursday, one of his attorneys told the judge that Fogle had paid 12 of the 14 victims and turned over the checks for the last two victims before the proceedings began.

Fogle became a Subway spokesman after shedding more than 200 pounds as a college student, in part by eating the chain's sandwiches.

Subway ended its relationship with Fogle after authorities raided his suburban Indianapolis home in July.

The elected term of office for mayor of Holyoke will increase to four years in 2018.

WESTFIELD - Any formal discussion on extending the terms of office for mayor and City Council will have to wait until after Jan. 4.

Councilors Ralph J. Figy, Matthew T. VanHeynigen and Christopher Keefe, members of the Council's Legislative and Ordinance Committee, agreed this week that the issue, originally presented about a year ago by Councilor David A. Flaherty, must await formal discussion until after the Jan. 4 inauguration day for Westfield elected officials.

Figy, VanHeynigen and Keefe agreed that because Westfield will seat a new mayor and five new City Councilors on Jan. 4 the matter is best delayed until 2016 for discussion.

Currently elected offices for mayor and City Council are two year terms. Flaherty asked the council to explore extending those terms to four-years each.

Legislative and Ordinance Committee members met with Assistant City Solicitor Shanna Reed Tuesday and learned that the process will be difficult through any City Charter revision and the city may want to consider placing the measure on a future election ballot.

Reed suggested that city voters should be allowed to weigh in on any changes in tenure.

Acting Mayor Brian P. Sullivan will be sworn in to his first term as mayor on Jan. 4. There will be five new City Council members Steve Dondley and former Mayor Daniel M. Knapik, both at-large members.

Also joining the council will be Mary Ann Babinski, Ward 1; Andrew Kevin Surprise, Ward 3 and William J. Onyski in Ward 6.

Leaving the council on Dec. 31 will be Sullivan and James R. Adams, both at-large members. Adams did not seek re-election.

Ward 1 Councilor Christopher Keefe and Ward 3 Councilor Brian Hoose were defeated in their re-election attempts.

Also leaving will be Ward 6 Councilor Christopher Crean, who did not seek re-election.

Earlier this month voters in Holyoke approved an extension from two to four years for its mayor effective with the 2017 city elections.

While support for President Barack Obama's landmark health care law has fallen in recent years, more than half of Massachusetts residents said they still support the Affordable Care Act, a new poll has found.

SPRINGFIELD ‒ While support for President Barack Obama's landmark health care law has fallen in recent years, more than half of Massachusetts residents said they still support the Affordable Care Act, a new poll has found.

According to a Western New England University Polling Institute survey released Thursday, 56 percent of Massachusetts residents expressed support for the law, known as Obamacare - down from the 62 percent who backed the ACA in October 2013 ahead of the first open enrollment into plans offered on new health insurance exchange marketplaces.

Despite the drop, the poll noted that Obamacare support is up from April 2010 - one month after it was signed into law - when just 46 percent of Massachusetts residents said they backed the ACA.

Opposition to the contentious law, meanwhile, has remained steady with about a third of respondents saying they don't support the ACA, according to poll results. Two-thirds of respondents who oppose the law, said they believe it goes too far in making changes, while less than a quarter said it doesn't go far enough.

As expected, support for the health care law split along party lines with around eight in ten Democrats surveyed backing the ACA, compared to just 14 percent of Republicans. Women were also more likely to support Obamacare, with 62 percent in favor of it, compared to just half of men surveyed.

While a majority of Massachusetts adults expressed support for the ACA, just 18 percent of respondents said they believe it has improved their quality of care. Sixty-one percent said it had not made a difference.

Forty precent of adults surveyed, meanwhile, said they have seen health care costs go up under the law, compared to 48 percent who said it made no difference. Just six percent said the ACA reduced their health care costs.

More than half of adults surveyed also said they expect to pay more for health care next year.

Tim Vercellotti, director of the Polling Institute and a professor of political science at Western New England University, said the responses "seem to reflect a sense of realism about the law and its limitations."

"Most residents said they have not seen much change in the quality of care that they receive, and they still expect to pay more for health care in 2016," he said in a statement.

The poll, which surveyed 404 Massachusetts adults via telephone from Nov. 8 to Nov. 15, has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus five percentage points.

Mestek Inc. was the winner of the 2015 Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce Award, given at the annual awards dinner on Wednesday.

WESTFIELD— - Mestek Inc. was the winner of the 2015 Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce Award, given at the annual awards dinner on Wednesday.

The event, hosted at the East Mountain Country Club in Westfield, drew business leaders from around the community.

John E. Reed started Mestek, Inc. from a downtown garage in 1946. The company remained through 1975, when it then changed its name to Reed National Corporation, and later Mestek, Inc. in 2006.

Mestek invested over $3 million dollars in the purchase and upgrade of the facility at 47 Industrial Park Rd, the company reported. It also created a 40,000 square foot HVAC Research & Engineering facility for its Dadanco division.

The upgrade included a solar panel installation on the roof that has rendered the facility nearly energy neutral, according to Meztek officials.

The Senate on Wednesday night passed a bill requiring school districts that teach sex education to teach it in a "medically accurate, age-appropriate" way.

BOSTON - The Massachusetts Senate on Wednesday night passed a bill requiring school districts that teach sex education to teach it in a "medically accurate, age-appropriate" way.

The bill was pushed by organizations like Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts that oppose the teaching of abstinence-only sex education. But the Massachusetts Family Institute, which opposes the bill, argues that it takes away local control from school districts and promotes the use of standards that can be "offensive."

"This bill is not a mandate. It simply says if you're a public school in the state of Massachusetts and you elect to teach sex education to your students, then you need to pick a curriculum that adheres to the state standards," said Tricia Wajda, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts. "Otherwise there isn't a safeguard to ensure students are not being subjected to miseducation, or abstinence-only education, which is not effective when it comes to reducing unintended pregnancy in teens."

Andrew Beckwith, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, sees the issue differently. "The bottom line is it takes away local control from school committees and parents and puts it in the hands of state bureaucrats," Beckwith said. He added, "If you look at the type of curriculum schools would use, they are extraordinarily offensive."

The bill, S. 2048, was sponsored by State Sen. Sal DiDomenico, D-Everett. It does not specify a specific curriculum. But it says the curriculum must be medically accurate and age-appropriate. It must teach about both abstinence and contraception, about ways to discuss safe sexual activity, and about the skills needed to form relationships free of violence or coercion. An amendment added by Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, also requires teaching about signs of child exploitation and sexual abuse and about the consequences of becoming a parent.

Parents will be notified of the class and can opt out of having their children participate. Lawmakers rejected an amendment that would have required parents and students to opt in.

The Massachusetts Family Institute points to parts of curriculum that comply with the standards, which it argues are not age appropriate. For example, a workbook for seventh graders talks about anal and oral sex. Planned Parenthood, which wrote one of the curricula, said the quotes were taken out of context.

The bill passed in the Senate by a vote of 32 to 6. It now heads the House, which will return in January. The bill has been introduced multiple times since 2011, and this is the first time it has passed either chamber of the Legislature.

The sentence was beyond the 12 years recommended by prosecutors and the five years sought by his defense team.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt sentenced former Subway spokesman Jared Fogle to 15 years, eight months in prison Thursday for possession and distribution of child pornography and traveling across state lines for commercial sex with a minor.

In Fogle's plea deal, he agreed not to seek a sentence of less than five years in prison and prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence of no more than 121/2 years behind bars. But federal judges have wide discretion, and Pratt could disregard the prosecution's recommendation and sentence Fogle to up to 50 years in prison on the two counts.

Dr. John Bradford, a forensic psychiatrist testifying for the defense at the sentencing hearing, said Fogle has "mild" pedophilia and was mostly attracted to older female teenagers 16 and 17 years old, not prepubescent children. However, prosecutors countered the testimony by reading a text from Fogle in which he said he wanted younger prostitutes, "the younger the better."

Fogle admitted that had sex at New York City hotels with two girls under age 18 -- one of whom was 16 at the time -- and paid them for that sex. He also acknowledged receiving child pornography produced by Russell Taylor, the former executive director of The Jared Foundation, a nonprofit Fogle started to raise awareness and money to fight childhood obesity.

Authorities said Taylor secretly filmed 12 minors as they were nude, changing clothes, or engaged in other activities using hidden cameras in his Indianapolis-area residences to produce child pornography. Taylor has agreed to plead guilty to child exploitation and child pornography charges.

Fogle could have stopped Taylor from victimizing some of minors, prosecutors have said, but he instead encouraged Taylor to produce additional child pornography.

Fogle agreed to pay a total of $1.4 million to his 14 victims, with each getting $100,000. Before Fogle entered his guilty pleas Thursday, one of his attorneys told the judge that Fogle had paid 12 of the 14 victims and turned over the checks for the last two victims before the proceedings began.

Fogle became a Subway spokesman after shedding more than 200 pounds as a college student, in part by eating the chain's sandwiches.

Subway ended its relationship with Fogle after authorities raided his suburban Indianapolis home in July.

The New England Patriots may be leading the AFC Eastern Division but when they’re playing at home, it’s leading to a loss at the only slots parlor in Massachusetts, Plainridge Park Casino.

BOSTON - The New England Patriots may be undefeated, but when they're playing at home, it's leading to a loss at the only slots parlor in Massachusetts, Plainridge Park Casino.

Lance George, vice president and general manager of Plainridge Park Casino, said the slots parlor sees "significant drops" in foot traffic on Patriots game days.

"Game days are not our best days," he told members of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, which oversees the state's growing gambling industry.

Plainridge Park Casino is located in Plainville, about five miles from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.

Gaming Commission chair Stephen Crosby asked George if there is a Plainridge promotional opportunity for when Patriots fans are leaving the game. Crosby suggested handing out a "free play" pass as the fans, a captive audience, walk out of Gillette.

George said Plainridge Park Casino has been in close contact with the Patriots since the slots parlor opened on June 24, and the two camps are working towards something that "works for both of us."

George said they are discussing a "variety of options" for a partnership.

Crosby said the game days' impact isn't a major issue because of the small number of game days and potentially a couple of NFL playoff games.

George also warned the Gaming Commission that the slots parlor is entering "low revenue" months, and in January and February the weather will be a "wild card."

Noting the upcoming holiday season, George said when he started in the gambling industry he was told that "it's hard to compete with the man in the red suit."

George said he expects March, April and May will be "our best months."

Plainridge Park Casino saw $12.87 million in gross revenue from gambling in October. The state collects 49 percent, which in October amounted to $6.3 million.

In September, the slots parlor pulled in $12.62 million, down from August's take of $15.2 million.

Crosby said industry watchers, state officials and reporters should be looking to the conservative side of revenue projections.

"We're aware of the fact that this is a long term play, not a short-term play," Crosby said.

George also said there have been no issues with traffic or parking since Plainridge's opening week.

As of September, Plainridge has 575 employees, with about 408 full-time employees and 167 part-time, according to George's presentation.

Jeff Doyle is selling to Donna Geis, whose parents owned the restaurant in the 90s.

EASTHAMPTON -- A popular breakfast and lunch restaurant that has anchored downtown Easthampton for decades will be sold to a local businesswoman who is a member of the same extended family that owned the restaurant twice before.

Jeff Doyle said he is selling the Silver Spoon at 73 Main St. to Donna Geis, and that the deal should go through in a couple of weeks. "She's the daughter of the family I bought the restaurant from in '96," said Doyle.

What's more, Geis said that her parents, Don and Thelma Boulanger, who bought the Silver Spoon in 1989, actually met at the restaurant in the 1950s, when her great-aunt and uncle, Irene and Mickey Swinkowski, owned the place. "He was a dishwasher, and she was a waitress," she said of her father and mother.

Although the Silver Spoon name has been in place only since 1984, a restaurant has existed at the site for 110 years, starting with the Model Lunch Room in 1910, Doyle said last December when the restaurant celebrated its 30th anniversary.

Geis, a current Silver Spoon employee who recently took over management duties, is the former longtime owner of Hair It Is, a salon at 94 Union St. "I broke my shoulder about two years ago and had to stop cutting hair," she said. "I sold the business, and Jeff hired me here part-time."

"I'm really happy, because we're bringing it back into the family," said Doyle. "There is no one else I would rather sell to."

Geis said she plans some improvements. "We're going to remove the wallpaper and paint the interior, and rip up the wall-to-wall carpet and install wood floors," she said. "And we're going to revamp the seating."

She said the work will probably be done during a three-day period when the restaurant will have to close for new plumbing work. "They'll be working downstairs, and we'll be working upstairs," she said. Geis said the date for the work will be set after the paperwork for the restaurant sale is finalized.

As for the menu, Geis said it will stay pretty much the same for now. "We don't want to hit people with too many changes at once," she said.

Both Geis and Doyle praised the restaurant's employees, many of whom have worked there for years. "Everybody has been great," said Geis. "I know that it has not been easy on them."

"It's like family here," said Doyle. "For me, it's all about family."

Geis, an Easthampton native, said she would continue Doyle's well-known commitment to the community, including providing gallons of free hot chocolate at Easthampton's Dec. 3 holiday lighting celebration, and at the Suess-themed Christmas Whobalation set for Dec. 6.

Doyle said that he had a "good run," but that it was time for him to step back. He said he's not sure what's next. "I'm going to go home; maybe take a vacation," he said. "I'll be taking things one day at a time."

Mary Serreze can be reached at mserreze@gmail.com

Westfield Schools announced that Westfield High School Principal Dennis Duquette will return to school Monday. Student had walked out in support and seeking details. Superintendent Suzanne Scallion said, "They can't be (informed), this is a grown-up matter." Watch video

Updates a story posted Thursday at 10:40 a.m.

WESTFIELD -- The Westfield Public School District announced Thursday afternoon that Westfield High School Principal Dennis Duquette will return to school Monday, and planned to release a statement from Duquette apologizing for the disruption.

But the statement shed no light on why Duquette left school abruptly Wednesday and was not at work Thursday. It read in part:

"With the full support of the Superintendent, the matter that took me away from the high school is being resolved. I made a mistake, the details of which are private. I apologize for the disruption that this has caused and look forward to returning to Westfield High School on Monday. I want students to know that when you err, as we all will, you step up and make it right."

The announcement came hours after hundreds of Westfield High students staged a peaceful protest in support of Duquette and asking for his return. At the demonstration, students expressed frustration about not being informed of what is going on at their school.

"They can't be (informed), this is a grown-up matter," Superintendent Suzanne Scallion told The Republican. "I hope after five years that there is a level of trust that I will do the right thing. I take credit for putting Mr. Duquette at the high school. He has my full support."

School personnel matters are confidential, she said.

On social media Wednesday, the story behind Duquette's departure seemed to center on the therapy dog, Jake, he brought to school.

Students reported that Duquette told them Jake needed an operation and wouldn't be at school for a while. Concerned, they took up a collection for the dog's care.

Duquettte said he couldn't accept the money, but would donate it to an animal shelter, according to students, who said he came under criticism for not turning the money over quickly enough.

Scallion said it is a personal matter for Duquette.

Duquette, previously the principal at South Middle School, was named interim principal at Westfield High School in July. He replaced former principal Jonathan Carter, who resigned and moved to Connecticut a few months after he was assaulted at the school by two female students.

A bomb threat has been reported at a building at 436 Dwight St., which houses several state offices.

An updated story was posted at 12:30 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD -- A bomb threat caused the evacuation of the Springfield State Office building at 436 Dwight St. Friday.

State Police said the threat was reported at 10:20 a.m. Troopers from the Springfield barracks, the State Police Bomb Squad, and the state fire marshal's office responded to search the building and investigate.

People who had been evacuated were standing outside the building at 11:30 a.m.

The building houses state offices including the Western District Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth and the Western Regional Office of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

Bomb threat at Springfield State Building on Dwight. People have been evacuated. pic.twitter.com/le4hlh3fIA

-- Noah R. Bombard (@NoahBombard) November 20, 2015

State Police declined to specify how the threat was made. 

Also on Friday morning, police investigated an unfounded bomb threat at Wibraham Middle School.

This story will be updated after further reporting.

Police outside the State Office Building.Noah Bombard 

The school has since been thoroughly searched and students and faculty were allowed back inside when officials determined it was safe, police said.

WILBRAHAM - Wilbraham Middle School was evacuated briefly Friday morning after school officials found a threatening note in a girls restroom, police said.

The school has since been thoroughly searched and students and faculty were allowed back inside when officials determined it was safe, police said.

Police were notified by school staff at about 9:40 a.m. of a written threat inside a restroom. At the time, two police officers, Sgt. Jeffery Rudinski and officer Dan Menard, were already at the school for an unrelated school presentation, police said.

They determined the threat to be of low risk, but the building was evacuated anyway as a precaution, police said.

The incident remains under investigation.

For the fourth-straight year MGM Resorts International has earned top marks for its non-discrimination and benefits practices relating to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees, the Human Rights Campaign announced this week.

SPRINGFIELD ‒ For the fourth year in a row MGM Resorts International has earned top marks for its non-discrimination and benefits practices relating to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees, the Human Rights Campaign announced this week.

MGM Resorts, which is planning to open a Springfield casino in 2018, received a perfect score from the 2016 Corporate Equality Index that ranks major companies on their LGBT-related policies and practices, including domestic partner benefits, workplace protections and public engagement with the LGBT community, among others.

MGM Resorts International Chairman and CEO Jim Murren praised the distinction, saying the principles of diversity and inclusion run deep in the company's culture and guest service.

"This recognition further demonstrates our enduring commitment to our LGBT community," he said in a statement. "We are honored to receive a perfect score yet again and commit ourselves to the continuous promotion of equality within our workforce and throughout our communities."

Of the 1,000-plus businesses the 2016 index rated, just over 400 received a perfect score and distinction of "Best places to work for LGBT equality" - a record number, HRC said. More than 850 companies actively participated in the index this year.

HRC Foundation Workplace Equality Program Director Deena Fidas said while hundreds of major businesses responded to the new workplace equality standards, MGM Resorts "goes above and beyond the call of duty, making commitment to equality a fundamental aspect of its corporate values."

MGM Resorts, in 2004, was the first company in the gaming and hospitality industry to offer employees same-sex health benefits and, in 2011, expanded its supplier and construction diversity programs to include LGBT-owned firms, HRC said.

The resort company, which is a National Corporate Partner of the HRC, has also actively supported The Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada for over a decade, the group added.

The Springfield Falcons will be collecting winter boots and socks for Friends of the Homeless at their home game Saturday night at the MassMutual Center.

SPRINGFIELD - Some local businesses and organizations including the Springfield Falcons took part in various activities this week as part of the recognition of "National Homelessness and Hunger Awareness Week."

The National Homelessness and Hunger Awareness Week, organized by the National Coalition to End Homelessness, is conducted the week before Thanksgiving. Friends of the Homeless of Springfield is taking part with activities for the first time that highlight the support of local businesses, Executive Director William J. Miller said.

The following is what some businesses were doing this week to support the efforts of Friends of the Homeless:

Dajhe Martin had faced four charges of rape of a child in Hampden Superior Court but pleaded guilty to inducing a person under the age of 18 to have sex in a Springfield case.

The exterior of the Hampden County Hall of Justice is seen Saturday night.Dwight B. Shepard / The Republican 

SPRINGFIELD — Dajhe Martin, 24, of Springfield had faced four charges of rape of a child in Hampden Superior Court until Thursday.

Both prosecution and defense agreed the sexual encounter had been consensual, but the girl was 15 years old, below the age of consent by state law. The charges were from summer 2013, when Martin worked full time at a local agency and the girl was also working there. Martin no longer works there.

On Thursday, Martin was allowed to plead guilty to inducing a person under the age of 18 to have sex and the child rape charges were dropped. Martin tendered an "Alford" plea, acknowledging the state had enough evidence, if believed, to support the inducing a person under 18 charge.

Hampden Superior Court Judge Richard J. Carey accepted the joint recommendation of prosecution and defense and continued the case without a finding for a year. If Martin gets into no further trouble, the case will be dismissed.

Carey had some stern words for Martin and some praise for Assistant District Attorney Ingrid E. Frau.

Carey said Frau, by offering the reduced charge and the recommended sentence, fulfilled the highest obligation of the prosecution. He said Frau operated in the interest of justice, rather than just seeking a prosecutorial victory.

The plea offered meant Martin will not have to register as a sex offender and will not have to serve any incarceration.

Carey told Martin he hoped "you truly appreciate how close you have come to having your life destroyed by these proceedings." He said if the original charges had stood and been proven, Martin would have had to register as a sex offender, have a GPS strapped to his ankle and have a serious conviction on his record.

Carey said he weighed the wishes of the victim not to have "Draconian results" rained down on Martin. Martin must refrain from contacting the girl for the year.

He said Martin displayed an "inherent misuse" of his position of trust at the agency.

Defense lawyer Jared Olanoff said Martin now looks at the world differently and has a self-awareness he did not have before.

"This has scared him immensely," Olanoff said, He said now at the end of a year Martin will go on with his life with no criminal record.