The event is held every year in front of the Eternal Flame memorial for the 35th president of the United States. Watch video

SPRINGFIELD — "I was a young man, 36 years old. I've lived a significant amount of my life since he died, as we all have, and yet we can't forget him, " said former Springfield Mayor Charles Ryan during a ceremony to honor President John F. Kennedy.

The Springfield Board of Park Commissioners and the JFK Remembrance Committee held its 52nd annual remembrance ceremony Sunday afternoon at the Eternal Flame in Forest Park. The event is held every year on the day of Kennedy's assassination.

"I do hope and I trust that 75 years from now when we are all gone that there will be others here to memorialize one of the truly great men of American history," Ryan said. "That's what we are talking about here. We're not just taking about a man who lived in Boston that would come up here to say hello to some of us. This was a truly great man. If you've got nothing better to do when you go home get your iPad out or your telephone that talks to you and read that inaugural address and see what we lost in leadership in a world that desperately needs leadership."

"As we move forward it's important that we remember the ideals of President Kennedy," said Mayor Domenic Sarno." He gave us that inspiration of hope that it could be done and that it will be done and that burns in the Eternal Flame here in Forest Park."

Speakers also included William Marot, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal and Hampden County Sheriff Michael Ashe.

Kennedy served eight years as a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts before he was elected as the youngest president in the nation's history. He was fatally shot while riding in a motorcade in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.

The Eternal Flame in Springfield is only one of two in the United States, with the other at Kennedy's Arlington National Cemetery burial site.

A bar employee tried to stop Jennifer Pagan from attacking the pregnant bartender, but she bit him on the hand, police said.

03/03/12 Springfield- Republican Photo by Mark M.Murray - A Springfield Police cruiser sits out front of 132 Washburn Street Saturday afternoon, it was the scene of a stabbing which took the life of Jessica Rojas 25.Mark M.Murray 

SPRINGFIELD -- A Springfield woman was arrested and charged with mayhem and other offenses early Sunday at an Indian Orchard bar after she reportedly bit off the finger of a man who was trying to stop her from assaulting the pregnant bartender.

Sgt. John Delaney, police spokesman, said Jennifer Pagan, 26, of Worcester Street, is charged with mayhem, defacement of real property, and assault and battery on a pregnant woman.

Jennifer PaganSpringfield Police photo 

She was arrested just before 2 a.m. following a disturbance at Pot Belly's Pub, 153 Main St., Indian Orchard. Delaney said police were called to the bar for a disturbance involving a woman.

The bartender and another employee told police that Pagan had assaulted each of them, Delaney said.

They said Pagan had been drinking in the bar since 10 p.m. and during that time made some unwanted advances toward other women, Delaney said. When told to stop, Pagan is said to have jumped on a pool table and challenged several patrons to a fight outside.

The bartender told police she asked her to leave but Pagan attacked her, striking her in the face several times, Delaney said. A male employee tried to pull Pagan off the bartender, but she bit down on one of his fingers, severing the tip, Delaney said.

The fingertip was recovered from the bar floor. He was brought to the hospital for treatment, Delaney said.

Pagan was scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Springfield District Court.

Galvin and the SEIU are both advocating for a bill that would require state government to create employee retirement savings plans and require employers to offer them.

BOSTON -- When a worker in Massachusetts retires, will he have enough money to live on? For many people, the answer is no.

That is why, according to Secretary of State William Galvin, a human services workers union and others, state government should create employee retirement savings plans and require employers to offer them.

"This is a very serious problem," Galvin told the Joint Committee on Financial Services on Monday. "I don't think it's simply a good thing to do, a nice thing to do. It's a necessary thing to do."

Separate proposals by Galvin and by SEIU Local 509, a human services workers union, would have the state set up retirement plans and require employers above a certain size to participate. Employers would not have to contribute any money into the plans, but they would have to automatically enroll employees in the plans, in which money would be withheld from workers' paychecks to fund their retirement accounts. Employees would have the option to opt out. There would be no change for employers that already offer 401(k)s or other employer-based retirement plans.

The proposals by Galvin, H.939, and the SEIU, H.924, have some differences related to the size of the businesses that would be required to participate - Galvin's would be restricted to businesses with more than 25 employees and the SEIU's more than 10 - and in how the plans would be administered. The SEIU proposal would also create an option for employers to join a plan where they would make matching contributions.

According to AARP, which represents retirees, around 1.2 million Massachusetts employees do not have access to employer-based retirement plans. Although people can enroll in their own private retirement savings plans, Steve Hill, director of retirement security campaigns for the SEIU, said nationally, only about 5 percent of people without employer-based savings plan enroll in private plans.

"The products that are out there are not accessible to people," Hill said.

Until now, similar proposals have been held up a federal law that sets minimum standards for retirement plans, which can be burdensome. But new U.S. Department of Labor regulations released last week would exempt these types of state-administered plans that require individual contributions from the federal standards.

Illinois and Oregon have passed similar proposals, and lawmakers in California and Maryland are considering it.

Galvin said the plans are necessary because of the large number of Massachusetts residents who are unprepared for retirement.

"If these citizens live out their years and don't have resources to support themselves, inevitably the government will have to provide that support," Galvin said.

The SEIU brought two workers - one who works for McDonald's and one who runs a family child care center - to a hearing testify about their lack of retirement savings.

Mackinley Celestin, 42, works at McDonald's and supports three children. Celestin said the restaurant does not offer any retirement savings plan, and he does not earn enough money to set up his own plan. "We're living check by check," he said.

The idea is expected to face opposition from the financial services industry, which says it already offers retirement planning products, and from business.

"The idea that the government, which has underfunded its own pension plans by trillions of dollars, can better manage retirement assets for workers than some of the world-renowned money-management firms based in Massachusetts is preposterous," said Christopher Geehern, executive vice president of Associated Industries of Massachusetts, a business trade group. "The proposal represents yet another nanny-state intrusion by government into the relationship between employers and their workers."

The process of how refugees are settled in the United States is an extensive and lengthy one, involving in-person interviews, and numerous security checks among agencies that include the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. State Department.

The process of how refugees are settled in the United States is an extensive and lengthy one, involving in-person interviews, and numerous security checks among agencies that include the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. State Department.

Legislators want guarantees incorporated into the vetting that would in essence stop the relocation of refugees from Syria and Iraq to the United States by adding another layer to an already detailed process that can take years to establish every refugee as no threat.

These demands come in the aftermath of the Paris massacres on Nov. 13 in which one of the suicide bombers is said to have entered Europe through Greece. The border controls involved in the influx of those fleeing recent ISIS violence in the Middle East have not been comparable to what refugees are subjected to in seeking resettlement in the United States.

The process begins with the United Nations and involves both the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security when resettlement is recommended in the United States.

The following is an outline of some of the steps from the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants which does resettlement work :

United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) determines whether someone qualifies as a refugee. International law defines a refugee as someone who has fled their home country because of fear of persecution based on religion, race, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.

2. The UNHCR, a U.S. embassy or trained Non-Governmental Organization my refer a refugee to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for resettlement in the United States if the refugee meets certain criteria required by the U.S., such as being of special humanitarian concern or family reunification

3. A Resettlement Support Center (RSC), contracted by the Department of State, gathers information to present to Homeland Security (DHS) for an in-person interview.

4. The State Department runs the names of all refugees referred for resettlement here through a standard CLASS (Consular Lookout and Support System) name check for security clearance. Enhanced interagency security checks for all applicants became effective in 2010.

5. A Security Advisory Opinion (SAO), an additional security review that requires a positive SAO clearance from a number of U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies, may be made in order for some refugees to advance.

6. Refugees 14 years and older have their fingerprints and photograph taken by a trained U.S. government employee, usually on the same day as their DHS interview. The fingerprints are checked against various U.S. government databases and any matches are reviewed by DHS.

7. Refugee applicants are interviewed, usually in the country where they have fled, by an officer from DHS's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) This officer will determine if the applicant qualifies as a refugee and is admissible under U.S. law.

8. If the USCIS officer finds that the individual qualifies, the officer conditionally approves the refugee's application for resettlement and submits it to the U.S. Department of State. Conditional approvals become final once the results of all security checks have been received and cleared.

9. All refugee applicants approved for resettlement in the U.S. are required to undergo medical screening conducted by the International Organization for Migration or a physician designated by the U.S. Embassy.

10. Every refugee is assigned to a Voluntary Agency in the U.S., and then placed with a local partner agency.

11. A second interagency check is conducted for most refugees to check for any new information. Refugees must clear this check in order to depart to the U.S.

12. Upon arrival at one of five U.S. airports designated as ports of entry for refugee admissions, a Customs and Border Protection officer reviews the refugee documentation and conducts additional security checks to ensure that the arriving refugee is the same person who was screened and approved for admission to the United States.

The MBTA fiscal control board revised the public transit agency's advertising policy after opponents of an ad taking aim at the Israeli government packed a meeting and demanded the immediate removal of the ad from an MBTA station.

BOSTON - The MBTA fiscal control board revised the public transit agency's advertising policy after opponents of an ad taking aim at the Israeli government packed a board meeting and demanded the immediate removal of the ad from an MBTA station.

Dr. Charles Jacobs, the head of the group Americans for Peace and Tolerance, said the ad puts Jewish people in danger. Others said it incites hatred and pointed to the death of Sharon's Ezra Schwartz, who was killed last week in a terror attack while studying in Israel.

"The MBTA must not be intimidated by radicals," Jacobs said, demanding the ad be taken down and the person who approved it be fired.

Richard Colbath-Hess of the Palestine Advocacy Project, the group behind the ad, defended the ad and said if the MBTA takes down his, they will be put in the position of defining what is and isn't political.

"The solution to speech we don't like is to have more political speech," he said.

Opponents called the ad misleading, while Colbath-Hess maintained it was factual.

"We have the right to criticize a government," he said.

Sarah Wunsch, staff attorney at ACLU of Massachusetts, said her group represented the Palestine Advocacy Project when it was pressing for its ad. "The T agreed it didn't violate their policy," she said.

Both sides faced off during the public comment portion of a meeting of the MBTA's fiscal control board before the board voted unanimously to revise its advertising policy, banning such ads.

The section banning those types of ads includes an "advertisement [that] concerns political issues or expresses or advocates an opinion, position or viewpoint on a matter of public debate about economic, political, moral, religious or social issues."

The new policy also bans ads promoting electronic cigarettes.

The MBTA already had a ban on ads dealing with "adult-oriented" goods or services, firearms, obscenity or nudity, political campaign speech, smoking and alcohol, and profanity.

Before the MBTA's board vote, three groups - the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League and Jewish Community Relations Council - also condemned the ad criticizing the Israeli government.

"We call upon the MBTA to honor its own advertising standards and to desist from what appear to be content based preferences that can only enhance danger in an already volatile environment," the groups said in a statement.

Gov. Charlie Baker weighed in before Monday's vote.

"I think the fiscal and management control board is going to take this issue up today. I don't want to prejudge the decision. It's going to be made by them," he said. "But I certainly think it's an appropriate conversation for the fiscal management control board to have, and I wouldn't be disappointed if they decided we were going to be getting out of the business of supporting politically charged advertising."

Shira Schoenberg contributed reporting.

This post was updated at 2:58 p.m. with more information on the MBTA's advertising policy. It was further updated at 3:02 p.m. with comments from Gov. Baker earlier in the day.

Israel Silva is facing armed robbery charges for the Sunday evening assault.

SPRINGFIELD - In a modern spin on Teddy Roosevelt's slogan, Israel Silva chose to wear stolen mannequin clothing and carry a big stick.

Israel SilvaSpringfield Police photo 

Silva, 43, of Pendleton Avenue, is facing armed robbery charges after a Sunday evening assault on the clerk at the A 2 Z convenience store at 123 Chestnut Street, said police spokesman Sgt. John Delaney.

Police charge that Silva took a hat and cape off a mannequin in the store and when the clerk tried to stop him, Silva hit him on the head with the stick.

Silva was arrested a short time after the 9 p.m. robbery, Delaney said. Officers spotted him at Magaziner Place, wearing the hat and cape and still carrying the stick.

The store clerk needed treatment at the hospital for a laceration on his head, Delaney said.

rSilva was scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Springfield District Court.

n a White House conference call with media, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright called recent legislation passed by the U.S> House of Representatives "deeply disturbing on many levels."

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a White House conference call with media, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright called recent legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives "deeply disturbing on many levels."

Albright, who fled Czechoslovakia with her family in 1948, said the world was "understandably worried" by the recent terrorist attacks in Paris and elsewhere, but said the focus should be on defeating ISIS and not on restricting the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the U.S.

"We are punishing an extremely vulnerable population," said Albright of the House legislation that would require the FBI and others already involved in security screening of refugees to guarantee any refugee cleared for resettlement here posed no security threat.

Albright called such legislation "contrary to American values" that will do "nothing to strengthen American security."

Others taking part in the media event included Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and Mayor of Austin Steve Adler and Mayor of Detroit Mike Duggan, both of whom say they would welcome the resettlement of refugees in their cities.

Mayorkas said his department has participated in conference call with 34 concerned governors from around the country and "walked through" the notification of when refugees are resettled in their states.

He said the FBI is involved in the vetting process already for resettlement of refugees in terms of security clearance. But, he said, to have the FBI director to have to personally certified each Syrian and Iraqi refugee, along with the director of Homeland Security, as well as head of national security, as required by the House legislation, would bring the resettlement process to a "grinding halt" and divert them from all other work.

Mayorkas said he was "confident" that his department's communication with the governors, particularly the 31 who say they will not resettle Syrian refugees, about what he called the "extraordinary and extensive" vetting process that exists would "allay their fears" and convince them to "accept refugees." He added that Syrian and Iraqi refugees already go through an additional level of security than other refugees resettled here.

Galvin said he got "tens of thousands" of signatures for his ballot initiative reforming the public records law, but he does not know if he reached the threshold of 64,750 certified signatures.

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin said he does not know yet if he got enough signatures to get a proposed reform of the state's public records law on the 2016 ballot.

Galvin said he got "tens of thousands" of signatures, but he does not know if he reached the threshold of 64,750 certified signatures.

"We're still certifying some at the present time," Galvin said Monday.

Galvin's proposal would set fees and time limits for government to comply with public records requests. It is an attempt to improve the state's weak public records law. But Galvin has also said he would prefer for the issue to be resolved by the Legislature.

The Massachusetts House passed its version of public records reform at the very end of the legislative session, too late for it to be considered by the Senate.

Galvin said the House bill would be "satisfactory" for him and contains the key elements of reform, although he is concerned about a provision extending the amount of time that agencies and municipal governments have to comply.

Galvin said he is optimistic that the Senate will pass a version of the bill and it will become law. But he noted that some senators want to add unrelated issues to the bill - such as transparency in homeowner insurance rate filings - which could delay its passage.

Last week's signature deadline is winnowing the field for which initiatives will end up on the 2016 ballot.

School Committee members are set to discuss the search for a new school superintendent tonight, during their first meeting since the deadline for applications passed last week.

LONGMEADOW — School Committee members are set to discuss the search for a new school superintendent tonight, during their first meeting since the deadline for applications passed last week.

A total of 47 applicants will be considered for the position, Longmeadow School Committee Chair Janet Robinson said. Those who will be considered for the position hail from all over the country, she added.

The school board is looking for "somebody with strong leadership skills, a person who has vision," Robinson said.

The matter will be discussed at the School Committee meeting scheduled for Monday at 7 p.m. at the school district offices at 535 Bliss Road.

Before the public meeting, the committee will hold an executive session "to discuss the reputation, character, physical condition or mental health rather than the professional competence" of a school staff member, according to the agenda.

School Committee members enlisted the help of executive search firm Ray and Associates in September, to consult with members of the superintendent search subcommittee and the School Committee throughout the processing of narrowing down the field and hiring.

The search committee is set for its first meeting on Dec. 2, and the school district hopes to hire a new superintendent by Jan. 9, a School Committee timeline shows.

The hunt for a new head of Longmeadow's school district began after Marie Doyle, who has served as superintendent for the past six years, announced that she will be retiring from her job on June 30.

"People have been working on it for months," Doyle said of the committee's drafting of a request for proposals in finding a firm to help advise them during the hiring process and hiring of Ray and Associates.

Of the 47 candidates, Ray and Associates will chose between 10 and 12 to meet with the search committee, Robinson said. The subcommittee will select three of the remaining candidates to interview in front of the full School Committee, which will pick and hire a superintendent from that pool.

Gov. Charlie Baker said he has spoken to the father of a Massachusetts teenager who was murdered in a terror attack in Israel and talked to him "father to father."

Gov. Charlie Baker said he has spoken to the father of a Massachusetts teenager who was murdered in a terror attack in Israel.

"I said I was calling father to father," Baker said.

Ezra Schwartz, 18, of Sharon, was killed in a shooting attack by a Palestinian man last week. Schwartz, a 2015 graduate of Maimonides School, a Jewish high school in Brookline, had been spending a gap year before college at a religious school that combined the study of Jewish texts with volunteer work. He and his friends were delivering food to Israeli soldiers in the West Bank when he was killed.

"It's a shame and an outrage that what happened to Ezra happened," Baker said.

More than 1,000 people turned out for Schwartz's funeral in Sharon on Sunday, according to news reports.

Baker, asked by a reporter from The Republican / MassLive on Monday, said he had called Ari Schwartz, the murdered boy's father, when he heard about the attack.

"That's a terrible, terrible story," Baker said. "You would hope that when you send your kids off to experience that kind of cultural opportunity you don't have to worry about their safety."

"I feel terrible for the family," Baker added. "And I feel terrible for all those who believe in the opportunities associated with that sort of cultural exchange. It's really important."

Work will be done on a dozen streets in Willimansett over the next two weeks.

CHICOPEE - City officials are announcing expected traffic detours and delays though Dec. 4 due to sewer and storm drain separation projects.

Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, there will be no construction on Nov. 26 and 27.

Construction will take place on the following streets:

In West Aldenville area sewer service and drain lines will be installed on Mary Street on Nov. 23 through 25. Catch basins will be installed on Briere Drive on Nov. 23 through Nov. 25 and on Olea Street on Nov. 23.

In the following week, from Nov. 30 through Dec. 4, sewer and drain structures will be installed on Grattan Street, catch basins will be installed on Marcelle Street and a drain line will be installed on Ravine Street.

Workers will also make preparations to start installing pipes on the Grattan Street bridge crossing of Interstate-391.

For the Montgomery and Sheridan streets area, pipe abandonment work will be done at the intersection of the two streets on Nov. 24. There will also be miscellaneous restoration of the entire project area.

The north Willimansett project will continue with work on more than a dozen streets.

This week the sanitary sewer lines will be installed on Shepherd, Hope, Catherine and part of Meadow streets.

Sewer service lines will installed on Norman, Caroline and Philathea streets, on Monday and Tuesday and on Charpentier Boulevard on Wednesday through Dec. 4.

The sanitary sewer line will be installed on Hope Street between Nov. 24 and 30.

In the following week a sanitary sewer line will be installed on Ducharme Street on Nov. 30 through Dec. 4.

There will be tie-ins to a new water main on Hope Street at Meadow Street on Dec. 1.

A new sewer main is scheduled to be installed on Meadow St. on Dec. 2 and 3 and a new sanitary sewer line will be installed on Grattan Street on Dec. 4.

Sewer service lines are scheduled to be installed on Chicopee Street on Dec. 1 through 4, on Nash Street from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2 and on Call Street on Dec. 3 and 4.

Gatti was caught on video -- which quickly went viral -- demanding jalapeño-bacon mac and cheese at the UConn food court, and was denied service for bringing an open beer into the facility. The video also shows Gatti shoving the manager.

The University of Connecticut student arrested in early October for his disruptive demands for macaroni and cheese in a UConn food court has applied for accelerated rehabilitation, according to The Hartford Courant.

Luke Gatti, 19, was scheduled to be arraigned in Superior Court Monday for charges that included first-degree criminal trespass and breach of peace.

Gatti was caught on video -- which quickly went viral -- demanding jalapeno-bacon mac and cheese at the UConn food court, and was denied service for bringing an open beer into the facility. The video also shows Gatti shoving the manager.

If Gatti is accepted into the accelerated rehabilitation program, his charges will be dropped, The Courant said. He would first have to meet certain conditions, such as agreeing to complete community service or getting counseling.

Gatti was also arrested in Sept. 2014 for disorderly conduct following a raucous party on Phillips Street in Amherst. He was given four months of probation, according to the blog Only in the Republic of Amherst.

Less than two weeks later, Gatti was charged with disorderly conduct and assault and battery on a police officer following another Phillips Street party.

It is not clear how Gatti's previous charges might affect his request for accelerated rehabilitation, the Courant said.

Gatti apologized for the food court incident in a video, seen below:

Mohamed used spare parts and scrap pieces he found around his house to build a digital clock that he hoped to show his classmates. He was arrested after the clock was mistaken for a bomb and lead away from school in handcuffs.

The family of a 14-year-old in Irving, Texas who was arrested for bringing an electronic clock that was mistaken for a bomb to school is seeking $15 million in damages, according to news reports.

The Dallas Morning News reports that a lawyer writing on behalf of Ahmed Mohamed's family sent a letter to both Irving's city hall and school district demanding $15 million and an apology from Mayor Beth Van Duyne and Police Chief Larry Boyd.

According to the letter -- which can be read in full here -- Mohamed used spare parts and scrap pieces he found around his house to build a digital clock that he hoped to show his classmates. He was arrested after the clock was mistaken for a bomb and he was lead away from school in handcuffs.

While Mohamed has gained celebrity status after the event and much support from those who decried his arrest -- even being invited by President Obama to bring his clock to the White House -- The Morning News reports the attention received by his family members has turned their " ... lives upside down, eventually driving them out of the country after a conspiracy theory-fueled backlash labeled Ahmed a terrorist in training."

Mohamed and his family moved to Doha, Qatar, following the incident for security reasons, the letter reads.

The letter also contends that Mohamed's questioning at a juvenile detention facility was illegal and drawn out, and suggests the interrogation was spurred by the fact that he is Muslim.

The demand gives the school district 60 days to pay the $15 million sum and apologize, or face a lawsuit.

New 2016 vehicles, including an Alfa Romeo 4C, Chevrolet Camaro and Corvette, Dodge Challenger HellCat, Ford Shelby Mustang, Mercedes-Benz CLA250, Porsche Cayman and Italian supercars from Ferrari and Lamborghini, were on display.

HARTFORD — The family car is getting along in years and the repair bills prove the point, so it time to start to look for a new set of wheels.

The annual Connecticut International Auto Show came to a close this past weekend, as automobile manufacturers brought their best models to the event, which was held at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford. New 2016 vehicles, including an Alfa Romeo 4C, Chevrolet Camaro and Corvette, Dodge Challenger HellCat, Ford Shelby Mustang, Mercedes-Benz CLA250, Porsche Cayman and Italian supercars from Ferrari and Lamborghini, were on display.

Cars and trucks of all shapes and sizes as well as price range were on the floor of the convention center, as people were able to open the doors and jump in to get a better feel for the vehicles as they attempt to narrow down which make and model will work for them.

Imported and domestic cars all lined up to catch the eye of interested buyers, each hoping to offer something that the others don't have to sway the potential buyers in their direction.

With gas prices down this year, it seems trucks and SUVs are in high demand, but fuel mileage is still in the back of most car owners' minds, because it doesn't take much to reverse that trend back to higher prices.

The show was sponsored by the Connecticut Automobile Retailers Association.

Guthrie is booked for Monday and Tuesday nights at the Old Trinty Church, which now houses The Guthrie Center.

GREAT BARRINGTON -- You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant -- including Arlo Guthrie.

The celebrated folk singer is performing live this week at the former Old Trinity Church, where a ticket he got for littering 50 years ago inspired the 1967 runaway hit song "Alice's Restaurant."

Guthrie was booked for Monday and Tuesday nights at the church, which now houses The Guthrie Center.

On Thanksgiving 1965, Guthrie was visiting a friend, Alice Brock, and her husband at their home in what used to be a church. To do them a favor, he took out their trash but wound up dumping it off a cliff and getting a citation.

His police record made him ineligible for the Vietnam War draft, and the incident inspired the comical protest ballad.

An interfaith prayer service for both the victims of the recent terror attacks in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, as well as refugees fleeing persecution in their home countries, will be held Sunday at 4 p.m. at Christ Church Cathedral, 35 Chestnut St.

SPRINGFIELD - An interfaith prayer service for both the victims of the recent terror attacks in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, as well as refugees fleeing persecution in their home countries, will be held Sunday at 4 p.m. at Christ Church Cathedral, 35 Chestnut St.

The service will be led by Dr. Mohamad Bajwa of the Islamic Society of Western Massachusetts; Rabbi Mark Shapiro of Sinai Temple; the Rev. Christopher Stamas of St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral; and Canon Tom Callard of Christ Church Cathedral.

According to organizers the event is in "response to recent attacks in Baghdad, Beirut, Paris, and Mali, and to the harmful rhetoric and fear regarding the Syrian refugees."

Governors of several states want to stop the resettlement of Syrians in the United States in the aftermath of the recent Paris massacres claimed by ISIS, and the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed security screening legislation that would in essence stop the resettlement of Syrian and Iraqi refugees in the U.S.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said he would not like to settle any more Syrian refugees in the state until he has further information on how they are screened.

A total of 2,290 Syrian refugees have arrived in the United States since fiscal year 2011, which is when the Syrian civil war began, according to the State Department's Refugee Processing Center. By law, the administration can admit slightly more than 10,000 in fiscal year 2016, and no refugee commitments can be made beyond that, according to FactCheck.org.

According to the United Nations, there are more than 4 million registered Syrian refugees, about half of whom who were registered in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon with the majority children under 12.

Parking is available on the cathedral grounds, and over-flow parking is available on Edwards Street in the further-most Springfield Museums lot (across the street from the Welcome Center, on the same side as the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History).

With MGM Springfield's site plan application now deemed complete, the City Council has up to 45 days to schedule a public hearing. Watch video

SPRINGFIELD — City officials announced on Monday that MGM Springfield's revised site plan application for a proposed $950 million casino project is now complete, clearing the way for a public hearing and City Council review.

The decision occurs one month after the city notified MGM, through its development arm, Blue Tarp redevelopment LLC, that its earlier site plan application in October was being returned after being deemed "incomplete."

With the site plans now deemed complete, the City Council must schedule a public hearing on the plans within 45 days, officials said, under the city's zoning requirements.

Once the public hearing is conducted, the council has the power to vote on amendments and conditions, said Philip Dromey, the city's deputy director of planning.

MGM Resorts International had submitted additional information to the city to complete the application for the planned Springfield casino, officials said.

There have been various changes to the project design in recent months including the elimination of a planned 25-story hotel from the project. The tower is being replaced by a six-story hotel, which will be moved to Main Street still with 250 rooms.

Another change was a reduction in the size of the casino project. MGM officials said that a 14 percent reduction in square footage outlined in a state environmental regulatory filing was based on cautious figures and the real reduction is actually 9.71 percent.

In addition, MGM said the downsizing was due in large part to a reduction in back-of-the-house operations, and due to the change in hotel plans and less elevator-related space.

MGM Springfield, to complete its application, had to respond to all the questions raised by the city's internal staff and consultants, and provide all the additional information needed, according to City Chief Development Officer Kevin Kennedy and City Solicitor Edward Pikula.

City councilors have been awaiting the site plan application to move forward with its review. Any substantial changes in design need approval from Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and the City Council.

MGM officials made a public presentation of its latest plans at CityStage in the downtown last Wednesday, at which time officials explained the major changes in the project and announced that the project has risen in cost from $800 million to $950 million. They will present the same details to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Dec. 3.

http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/11/as_mgm_downsizes_experts_say_c.html#incart_river_index

Site Plan Review Letter of Complete Determination Nov 2015

Before stuffing themselves on Thanksgiving, participants in a charity event will run five kilometers or walk two miles for Stuffing the Pantry.

This photo gallery above was taken at the Stuffing the Pantry road race two years ago.

EAST LONGMEADOW — Before stuffing themselves on Thanksgiving, participants in a charity event will run five kilometers or walk two miles for Stuffing the Pantry.

The event is scheduled to take place at 8 a.m. Thanksgiving day, according to the organizers. Race day registration will take place at the walk-run's starting point Lenox' American Saw and Tool facility on Chestnut Street, an hour before start time.

Registration fees for those who register in advance are $25 plus a food donation for adults, and $20 plus a food donation for children under 18. Race day registration costs $30 plus a food donation.

Open Pantry Community Services will benefit from proceeds from the event, is a non-profit organization, which assists Springfield's hungry, homeless and disadvantaged.

Baker also announced a new single point of contact for businesses dealing with the state, part of a new economic development strategy.

CAMBRIDGE - Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday laid out a broad plan to expand access to career education; create one point of contact, called BizWorks, for businesses to deal with the state and launch a regional planning process that addresses education, workforce training and economic development.

"People say there's a lot of bifurcation and fragmentation in the way we make decisions. We don't always sing off the same sheet of music," Baker said. "BizWorks will make it possible to tailor all elements of the commonwealth's capacity to support businesses who are willing to grow or locate here into a single enterprise singing hopefully off the same sheet of music in the same way."

The recommendations came from a "workforce skills cabinet," a group Baker formed in February to look at ways to better align education and workforce training programs with the jobs that exist in private industry.

Baker said many of the specifics - including requests for new funding - will be included in an economic development bill that he plans to propose in January.

The cabinet is chaired by Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Ron Walker and includes Secretary of Education Jim Peyser and Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Jay Ash.

The new BizWorks team will include executive level staff from all three agencies and will be a place for businesses to turn with help relating to tax policy, siting of new facilities and other business-related issues.

Baker made his announcement at Amazon's headquarters in Cambridge. The online shopping giant came to Cambridge in 2012 and has been expanding throughout Massachusetts. On Tuesday, Amazon announced the acquisition of a site for a 1 million square foot fulfillment center in Fall River, which will employ 500 people. It also bought a robotics facility in North Reading in 2012, recently opened a sorting center in Stoughton and has plans for a site in Everett.

Walker said state career center staff in Brockton - which is near Stoughton - have been working with Amazon to help the company find local workers. He hopes to spread that model throughout Massachusetts, in which companies and state officials work together to identify staffing needs and train local workers.

Part of Baker's proposal includes developing separate economic development plans for different regions, recognizing the types of employers that are in those regions, combining education, workforce training and economic development.

"What may be important is Bristol County may be different than what we're looking for in Berkshire County," Peyser said.

"From an economic development standpoint, one size doesn't fit all," Ash added.

Peyser said the state is also looking to expand access to vocational and technical schools. Currently, there are thousands of people on waiting lists for vocational schools. Baker said the focus will be on science and engineering and on manufacturing and trades, with a focus on underserved communities. Baker indicated that there could be financial incentives provided by the state to schools that fill certain vocational needs.

For example, Baker noted there is already a shortage of plumbers and electricians in the state.

Baker said the current initiative will involve shifting around existing resources. The bill he files in January is likely to request more money.

Senate President Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst, said economic development is "one of the highest priorities of the Legislature all the time," and he looks forward to seeing Baker's bill and developing the Senate's own proposals.

"As we find new opportunities to improve the economy through programs and policies, we're very much interested in that," Rosenberg said.

Separately, Ash recently released a broad overview of the state's economic development policy. Priorities include partnering with individual communities and regions on their specific needs; fostering entrepreneurship; supporting emerging clusters of specific types of businesses such as aerospace or food production; creating a regulatory and cost environment that lets businesses remain competitive; expanding workforce training; and developing housing and transportation policies that encourage economic growth.

If the Kinder Morgan natural gas pipeline is approved, the matter "will be taken to the courts," the film star said.

Grassroots groups fighting the proposed interstate natural gas pipeline known as Northeast Energy Direct have a new friend and advocate in the form of actress and activist Susan Sarandon, who on Monday urged support for their efforts.

Susan Sarandon

Sarandon said the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission "has a history of ruling in favor of businesses like Kinder Morgan," and that if the pipeline is approved, the matter "will be taken to the courts." 

The Houston-based Kinder Morgan and its subsidiary Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. submitted a final federal application for the $5 billion pipeline on Friday.

The film star's statement was issued through the Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust, whose director, Leigh Youngblood, has been at the leading edge of a movement to keep any new pipeline infrastructure away from state parks, state forests, and other constitutionally-protected land in Massachusetts.

"Beloved places of natural beauty are threatened by this unnecessary and oversized proposed pipeline," said Youngblood, as she thanked Sarandon. "It is important for everyone to speak up so that cherished public conservation lands are not sacrificed for inappropriate and outdated infrastructure projects."

The line would cross New York, Massachusetts and New Hampshire while transporting natural gas from the Marcellus region of Pennsylvania to markets in the Northeast. 

Sarandon said there is "no proof this pipeline will save money for the people of the region" and that "it appears that the gas is for export and higher prices, enhancing Kinder Morgan's bottom line with the use of federal eminent domain."

"At a time when religious leaders around the world are calling attention to climate change, the 400-mile pipeline would come at the expense of our environment by cutting across ecologically sensitive areas and spanning forests, farms, and neighborhoods along its route," Sarandon said.

Sarandon urged financial support for a legal fight being waged by Pipe Line Awareness Network of the NorthEast (PLAN-NE), a multi-state coalition founded by western Massachusetts resident Kathryn Eiseman. The group has hired Boston lawyer Richard Kanoff, an energy and regulatory expert, and expects legal expenses in the range of $250,000.

"Right now, we're challenging the pipeline capacity contracts that would form the financial backbone for the NED project," said Eiseman. "There are many facets to the legal fight, but the questions of need and alternatives are fundamental."

Sarandon in her statement also gave a shout-out to the newly-formed Mass Power Forward Coalition, which has organized numerous groups that share an interest in clean energy policies and practices.

The national advocacy group Clean Water Action jumped on Sarandon's statement Monday, and urged policy makers to "avert dangerous, costly subsidies of Kinder Morgan's proposed shale gas pipeline."

Sarandon said the Kinder Morgan plan is a "pipedream" which could become "a huge, counter-productive investment in infrastructure to support the fossil fuel industry, at exactly the wrong time." 

The actress has been outspoken in her opposition to fracking, a controversial natural gas drilling process, and toured Pennsylvania's Susquehanna County in 2013 with celebrities including Yoko Ono to to see gas wells, compressor stations and other aspects of the Marcellus Shale drilling boom.

The 419-mile Northeast Energy Direct pipeline plan, one of several in New England, has met with vigorous opposition in the region, but has gained the support of industry, business, and labor groups.

Sarandon won an Oscar for "Dead Man Walking" in 1996 and starred in films including "Thelma and Louise," "The Witches of Eastwick" and "Bull Durham."

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Mary Serreze can be reached at mserreze@gmail.com