The plant will also continue to reduce its tax payments to the the town of Vernon.

Vernon, VT -- Nearly a hundred employees at Vermont Yankee Nuclear Station will soon be without jobs, Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee announced on Thursday.

Entergy notified the Vermont Department of Labor and the Town of Vernon that 97 employees will "experience an employment loss" starting on May 5, 2016. Around 150 worker will remain. The plant stopped producing power on December 29, 2014.

Vermont Yankee has been reducing its staff since 2013, when it first announced its upcoming closure. At that point, there were around 625 workers at the site. By the time the plant unplugged from the grid, staffing levels had declined to 554. When decommissioning began in January 2015, there were 316 staffers left at the 620-megawatt plant, which operated for four decades as one of the area's largest employers.

Of the workers who will leave in May, 38 reside in Vermont, 34 in New Hampshire, and 25 live in Massachusetts, said plant spokesman Marty Cohn.

The economic impact of the plant's closure goes beyond job loss.

Vermont Yankee's tax contribution to the town of Vernon will drop by 26 percent this year, resulting in a $266,750 decrease, according to the online Vermont Digger. The news source reports that the new staff cuts are due to a federally-approved reduction in emergency operations at the plant.

Under Entergy's decommissioning plan, all spent nuclear fuel will eventually be moved to on-site dry cask storage, and will stay there unless or until the U.S. Dept. of Energy authorizes its removal. The reactor won't be dismantled until at least the 2040s, and full decommissioning could take 60 years.

The state of Vermont has been locked in a legal and administrative battle with federal regulators over the proper use of the plant's decommissioning trust fund.

Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of capacity, with about a third of that derived from nuclear power. Entergy also serves 2.8 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $12 billion and approximately 13,000 employees.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained nearly 45 points and closed just under to 16,944.

By MARLEY JAY

NEW YORK -- Stocks made modest gains on Thursday as the market once again turned higher late in the day. Energy stocks led the way as investors continued to hope that oil prices have stabilized after almost two years of steep declines.

For the second day in a row, stocks opened with small losses and gradually rose during the afternoon. Energy companies surged and are now slightly higher for the year. Industrial companies like Caterpillar and Deere also rose. Drugmakers led a decline in health care stocks.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 44.58 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,943.90. The Standard & Poor's 500 index edged up 6.95 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,993.40. Tech stocks lagged, and the Nasdaq composite index added 4 points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,707.42.

Stocks have eked out small gains over the last two days, aided by steady oil prices and reports showing the U.S. economy is on solid footing. After a big jump on Tuesday, and the market is on target for its third consecutive weekly gain.

The price of U.S. crude wavered between small gains and losses, finally closing down 9 cents at $34.57 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the benchmark for international oils, added 14 cents to $37.07 a barrel in London. The price of U.S. oil has risen more than 30 percent in three weeks, and Brent crude has erased its losses for the year.

ConocoPhillips rose $2.07, or 5.7 percent, to $38.56 and Southwestern Energy jumped $1.13, or 18.2 percent, to $7.34.

Chesapeake Energy continued to skyrocket after the company said it does not expect to be prosecuted or fined as part of a federal investigation into founder and former company head Aubrey McClendon, who left the company in 2013.

Early Wednesday, McClendon was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of rigging gas-lease bids. Later in the day officials announced that McClendon had died in a single-car crash in Oklahoma City.

The stock jumped 23 percent Wednesday and added another 87 cents, or 25.6 percent, to $4.27. The stock tumbled 74 percent in 2015.

J.J. Kinahan, chief market strategist for TD Ameritrade, said that after Tuesday's surge, investors are being patient and looking for good news about the state of the economy. That could come Friday morning, when the government reports its latest employment figures.

Kinahan said investors will be looking for signs of growth in better-paying jobs, possibly in the manufacturing or health care industries, as opposed to restaurants and hotels.

"We know we're not going to be a manufacturing economy again," he said, but investors hope to see some growth in manufacturing jobs instead of losses.

The Commerce Department said orders to U.S. factories grew 1.6 percent in January, the biggest gain in seven months. A category that measures business investment rose by the largest amount in 19 months.

Mining equipment maker Joy Global climbed $2.77, or 20.8 percent, to $16.09 after its first-quarter sales were stronger than expected. 3D printer maker Stratasys rose $3.64, or 17.4 percent, to $24.53. The company's fourth-quarter results were better than expected and it gave a strong forecast for 2016.

Supermarket operator Kroger dropped $2.85, or 7 percent, to $37.80 after investors were disappointed with its quarterly sales and its forecasts.

Losses for biotech drug companies pulled health care stocks lower. Cancer drugmaker Celgene lost $2 to $102.73, and hepatitis C drugmaker Gilead Sciences fell 97 cents to $87.83. Alexion Pharmaceuticals sank $5.74, or 3.8 percent, to $145.85.

The prices of gold, silver, and copper each rose about 1 percent. Gold rose $16.40 to $1,258.20 an ounce and silver closed up 12 cents at $15.15 an ounce. Copper advanced 3 cents to $2.21 a pound. The price of gold has climbed almost 19 percent this year, and silver has risen about 10 percent.

Britain's FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX each fell 0.3 percent. France's CAC 40 declined 0.2 percent. Asian markets closed mostly higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.3 percent and South Korea's Kospi gained 0.6 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.3 percent.

Chinese leaders were expected to lower their growth target during the upcoming gathering of the National People's Congress this week as China seeks more flexibility for structural reforms for the slowing, state-dominated economy. The growth target due to be announced on Saturday is expected to be a range of 6.5 to 7 percent, down from 2015's goal of about 7 percent.

In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline lost 1 cent to $1.30 a gallon. Heating oil rose 1 cent to $1.12 a gallon. Natural gas, which is trading at 17-year lows, fell 4 cents to $1.64 a gallon.

Bond prices edged higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dipped to 1.83 percent from 1.84 percent late Wednesday. The euro rose to $1.0950 from $1.0868 and the dollar edged up to 113.52 yen from 113.45 yen.

Anyone who recognizes these suspects, wanted in connection with a March 1, 2016, assault on a U.S. Postal Service carrier in Dorchester, is asked to call Boston police detectives at 617-343-4335 or the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 877-876-2455.

BOSTON — Authorities were searching for a group of teens that allegedly assaulted a U.S. Postal Service employee as he delivered mail in the city's Dorchester section Tuesday.

Boston police responded to a 3:15 p.m. disturbance call in the area of Cushing Avenue and Windermere Road, where they found a mailman who claimed he was physically assaulted by several people. The group included four Hispanic males and one Hispanic female, all of whom appeared to range in age from 17 to 19, police said.

City police and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are asking for the public's help in identifying the suspects, who are pictured in the photo gallery above. Anyone with information is asked to call Boston detectives at 617-343-4335 or Postal Inspection Service investigators at 877-876-2455.

Assaulting a postal employee is a federal offense punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

"It should surprise exactly no one that an MGM-funded study finds that the best place to put a new casino is as far away as possible from MGM Springfield," said Andrew Doba, a spokesman for the Connecticut tribes that operate the state's two casinos.

SPRINGFIELD — A study commissioned by MGM has concluded that a third Connecticut casino would be better suited for the I-95 corridor in Fairfield County, not the I-91 corridor in Hartford County that's closer to the MGM Springfield casino site.

"Locating a casino in southwest Connecticut would generate far greater economic benefits than locating one in north central Connecticut because southwest Connecticut offers a much deeper market," Oxford Economics, an independent global advisory firm, stated in the report.

MGM, the Nevada-based gaming, hospitality and entertainment giant, is building a $950 million resort casino straddling Springfield's Metro Center and South End neighborhoods. But the Indian tribes that own Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino are eyeing Hartford County communities just south of Massachusetts as possible sites for a facility to compete with MGM's nearly billion-dollar project.

The Oxford Economics study, released Thurday, determined that a casino built in southwestern Connecticut would generate $545 million more in total economic output for the state than one built in north-central Connecticut, The Day of New London reports.

The Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes that run Connecticut's two casinos have formed MM4CT Venture, a joint business enterprise, to pursue a Connecticut casino site near MGM Springfield. Locations currently under consideration include Hartford, East Hartford and Windsor Locks, all of which are within spitting distance of Springfield.

MM4CT hopes to dilute the threat of MGM Springfield by building Connecticut's third casino in the greater Hartford area, the Hartford Courant reports. And tribal leaders aren't surprised by the outcome of the Oxford study.

"It should surprise exactly no one that an MGM-funded study finds that the best place to put a new casino is as far away as possible from MGM Springfield," said Andrew Doba, a spokesman for MM4CT. "Our goal today is the same as it was when we started this process last year – to make sure that Connecticut jobs don't migrate over the border to Massachusetts."

Building a casino along the I-95 corridor between Bridgeport and Greenwich, which is essentially the New York City market, would produce more jobs, revenue and opportunities for economic growth, according to Alan Feldman, an MGM executive vice president.

"The bottom line question is where does Connecticut get the best deal?" Feldman said in a statement "The more comprehensive the study, the clearer the answer becomes. It is not in the Hartford region."

The MGM-backed report concluded that a casino in southwestern Connecticut would generate $712 million in gaming revenue, while costing Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun $250 million in lost revenue, The Day reports.

Two hikers were led safely from the park after dark on Thursday, March 3, 2016. Watch video

SOUTH HADLEY — Authorities came to the aid of two hikers lost after dark in J.A. Skinner State Park on Thursday night.

Public safety officials from Hadley, South Hadley and the state Department of Conservation, which manages the 843-acre park, were involved in the search effort.

The hikers were safely led out of the park, a witness told The Republican. There were no reported injuries in the incident.

MAP showing approximate location of park:

Republican presidential candidates squared-off over an array of foreign and domestic policy issues late Thursday, as they met in Detroit for the party's 11th debate of the election season.

SPRINGFIELD ‒ Republican presidential candidates squared-off over an array of foreign and domestic policy issues late Thursday, as they met in Detroit for the party's 11th debate of the election season.

The prime time event, hosted by Fox News from Detroit's Fox Theater, offered the four participating GOP White House hopefuls another chance to garner support for their respective presidential campaigns ahead of upcoming primaries in Michigan, Florida and Ohio.

With Donald Trump winning several states on Super Tuesday earlier this week, the three lower polling candidates went after the businessman personally and on his policies throughout the debate.

The event, moderated by Fox News' Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly and Chris Wallace, came shortly after 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney urged the GOP to nominate anyone but the businessman.

Here are five takeaways from the prime time event:

Trump fired back at Romney, defended his policy proposals.

Responding to Romney's suggestion that Trump's "domestic policies would lead to recession," the businessman brushed off the former Massachusetts governor's criticism and echoed critiques he leveled against him in the last debate.

Calling the 2012 GOP nominee a "failed candidate," Trump argued that Romney should've easily beaten President Barack Obama and questioned the motive of his current attacks.

"He failed miserably and it was an embarrassment to everybody, including the Republican Party. It looked like he went away on a vacation the last month," he said. "Obviously he wants to be relevant, he wants to be back in the game."

Trump further defended his domestic and trade policies against Romney's criticism, pointing to money the U.S. is losing in its trade deals with various countries.

"I believe in free trade also, but if you look at China and if you look at Japan, if you look at Mexico, both at the border where they're killing us and with trade, and every other country we do business with, we are getting absolutely crushed on trade...We will make great trade deals," he contended.

Marco Rubio stood by his recent decision to attack Trump on the campaign trail.

Although the Florida senator acknowledged that he initially sought to not engage in personal attacks, he argued that if anyone deserved them it's his GOP rival.

Rubio argued that Trump has mocked several people in recent months, including candidate and others.

"This campaign for the last year Donald Trump has basically mocked everybody with personal attacks. He has done so to people that are sitting on the stage today. He has done so about people that are disabled. He has done it about every candidate in this race," he said. "So if there is anyone who has ever deserved to be attacked that way, it has been Donald Trump, for the way he has treated people in the campaign."

Rubio chastised the media for its coverage of those attacks, adding that he would instead like to focus on policy issues.

Trump, who said he would like to take back his comments calling Rubio "a lightweight," took issue with the senator's recent criticism regarding the size of his hands.

"Nobody has ever hit my hands. I have never heard of this. Look at those hands. Are they small hands?" he said. "And he referred to my hands, if they are small, something else must be small. I guarantee you there is no problem. I guarantee."

Kasich defended his path forward in seeking the Republican presidential nomination.

Despite failing to win one state so far this primary season, the Ohio governor rejected claims that his White House run won't see success.

Kasich argued that while the media wrote him off despite his second place finish in New Hampshire, he has placed well and won delegates in a handful of states.

"I split delegates in Vermont with Donald Trump, I finished second in Massachusetts, and we won delegates in Virginia. But, guess what? It's now March Madness and we're heading up North to the place -- to my turf, Okay?" he said. "And, let me just tell you this, I will win Ohio, and I am going to move all across this country, and over time as people begin to finally hear my message."

Trump doubled-down on his support of waterboarding and targeting terrorists' families.

Despite pushback his proposals have received from some military leaders, Trump stood by his support of targeting terrorists' families and using waterboarding to combat terrorism.

He added that military leaders would not refuse orders under his command.

"We should go for waterboarding and we should go tougher than waterboarding," the businessman said. "And, I'm a leader, I've always been a leader, I never had any problem leading people. If I say do it, they're gonna do it. That's what leadership is all about."

Rubio criticized Trump's foreign policy stance and questioned the seriousness of his proposals.

"This is a time for seriousness on these issues," he said.

Candidates stood by their pledge to support whomever becomes the party's nominee.

Despite efforts to undermine Trump winning the GOP nomination, all candidates pledged to support whomever is selected as the Republican Party's presidential nominee this summer.

Rubio, who spent much of the debate attacking Trump, said he would back the businessman if he goes on to represent the party in the general election because the GOP needs to stop the Democrats from winning the White House.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who joined Rubio in taking jabs at the businessman, meanwhile, said he would support Trump because he previously pledged to do so.

"I gave my word that I would," he said, adding that he has made it his mission to stay true to his promises in the U.S. Senate.

Kasich also said he would support Trump as the nominee out of respect for the party and the race.

"When you're in the arena you enter a special circle and you want to respect the people that you're in the arena with," he said. "So if he ends up as the nominee, sometimes he makes it a little bit hard, but I will support whomever is the Republican nominee for president."

Trump, who has hinted at waging a third party run, meanwhile, said he would support the GOP nominee, as well, adding that he is proud to have helped bring more people into the Republican Party.

The luncheon event successfully enabled the American Heart Association of Western Mass/Connecticut to provide information to women to help prevent heart disease and to raise money to fight heart disease, the number one cause of death of women.

HOLYOKE — The Connecticut/Western Mass office of the American Heart Association recently held their 7th annual Go Red for Women luncheon fundraiser at the Log Cabin. The event provided information about women's heart health through community education, health screenings, and motivational speakers.

Julianna Mazza from WWLP 22 News served as the mistress of ceremonies.

Sponsors of the event included Pioneer Valley Cardiology as the signature sponsor. Mass Mutual Financial Group sponsored the break-out session that discussed the topic of "mindfulness," thinking about heart disease and what women could do to limit their being affect by this disease.

Other sponsors included Yankee Candle/Chandler's Restaurant, Florence Bank, Health New England, TD Bank, and Smith & Wesson among others. The event also included a silent auction and a heart healthy lunch.

The keynote speaker at the event, Kathleen M. Bourque, Baypath University vice president for Institutional Advancement talked about her stroke recovery and involvement with the American Heart Association.

During the luncheon, women who were nominated to be the 2016 American Heart Association Leading Ladies were introduced and received their American Heart Association pins.

Other speakers included Dina Plapler- Western Mass/Connecticut American Heart Association executive director, Andrea Shusko from Pioneer Valley Cardiology Associates, and heart recipient and 2016 American Cancer Society Leading Lady Lauren Meizo.

The luncheon event successfully enabled the American Heart Association of Western Mass/Connecticut to provide information to women to help prevent heart disease and to raise money to fight heart disease, the number one cause of death of women.

New changes to how the city's civilian police hearing board collects data will allow it to meet its public reporting rules for the first time since its creation, according to an announcement by Mayor Domneic Sarno's office.

SPRINGFIELD -- New changes to how the city's civilian Community Police Hearing Board collects data will allow it to meet its public reporting rules for the first time since its creation, according to an announcement by Mayor Domenic Sarno's office.

Sarno, who created the board by executive order in 2010 to replace Mayor Charles Ryan's Civilian Complaint Review Board, is modifying his order to ensure that statistics on police complaints are publicly released every quarter -- an existing requirement that the board has never previously met.

The changes come after MassLive reported that the board had not released its "annual" report in nearly two years, due to what city officials said were strained resources in the city's legal department.

"The public has the right to be kept informed of police misconduct cases, especially at a time of heightened concern over police use of force," Sarno said in a statement. "The CPHB must be able to share information related to its work in a timely manner. These changes are intended to provide the resources to make that happen and modernize the policies and procedures to effectively manage the Police Department."

As originally created, the board was to rely on Citistat -- a now-defunct city department established when Springfield was run by a financial control board -- to gather information about complaints and report them to the public. In recent years, the board has relied solely on the city's law department to prepare its annual report, an subsequent delays have resulted in a lack of public information about police complaints.

Under Sarno's revisions to his executive order, the Springfield Police Department's Crime Analysis Unit help improve the database used to track complaints, and information about cases against officers will be, for the first time, posted on the city's website each quarter.

"Maintaining the database of CPHB activity and reporting information to the public in a timely manner has been a challenge since the elimination of the Citistat Department," City Solicitor Ed Pikula said in a statement. "Over the next 30 days we will work with Commissioner John Barbieri and City Clerk Anthony Wilson, as well as Chief of Staff Denise Jordan, as well as the members of the CPHB, to implement the changes ordered by the Mayor. The changes should help streamline and the information collecting and reporting process." 

The revisions also include a new requirement that board members be trained in following the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law. The executive order still requires that details of complaint cases, including the names of alleged victims and officers and what, if any, discipline is imposed, remain secret unless both parties agree to make them public.

"The public has the right to be kept informed of police misconduct cases, especially at a time of heightened concern over police use of force," Sarno said in a statement. "The CPHB must be able to share information related to its work in a timely manner. These changes are intended to provide the resources to make that happen and modernize the policies and procedures to effectively manage the Police Department." 

Pikula, whose office is responsible for compiling incident numbers, scrubbing them of private information and releasing the annual report, said in January that a glut of legal work linked to the MGM Springfield project has left his office unable to complete the reports on time.

"I just didn't have the manpower," Pikula said. 'I've been so tied up with trying to get this MGM stuff wrapped up that I haven't been able to get to it."

The delay has left Springfield residents without any information on the number or severity of complaints against officers since 2013, or whether those complaints were found to be justified. The absence of information has coincided with both a push for community engagement by the Springfield Police Department and growing national tension over allegations of police violence against minority populations.

The delayed reports also drew criticism from City Council President Michael Fenton, who said in a press release last month that "the public deserves these reports."

The seven-member Community Police Hearing Board was created in 2010 and replaced former Mayor Charles Ryan's Community Complaint Review Board, which lacked the current board's subpoena powers. The board hears and makes recommendations on all civilian complaints against city police officers. Sarno's executive order came in the shadow of the beating of black motorist Melvin Jones III by police officer Jeffrey Asher, who was later convicted of assault in connection with the beating.

All the board's members are appointed by Sarno, and it does not have the independent authority to discipline officers, though the department typically follows the board's recommendations. As an all volunteer board without its own administrative staff, the CPHB relies on the city to both release its reports and organize community outreach.

The board can reach four different findings in its cases: unfounded, sustained, insufficient facts and exonerated. The revisions also affect how the city handles a finding of "exonerated" -- when the board determines an officer did act as stated in a complaint, but that there was no violation of departmental policy.

"Where the evidence shows that the alleged conduct did occur, but did not violate the policies of the Police Department, the Law Department will review for the purpose of determining whether the clearly established law has changed, and if so, what procedures, practices, orders or training should potentially be changed. We will then work with the Police Department to assist on the legal aspects," Pikula said.

Sarno released preliminary statistics for the last two years of the board's activities last month, and said a final report for 2014 and 2015 should be forthcoming in March.

The scheduled events will begin March 8 and conclude May 22. Organizers plan flag raising, film showings, and other celebrations commemorating Irish freedom, culture and the deep connection between Ireland and Western Massachusetts.

SPRINGFIELD - The Easter Rising of 1916 set Ireland on the road to independence and Western Massachusetts plans to mark the event with the help of John Wayne.

A free showing of "The Quiet Man" with Wayne, Maureen O'Hara and director John Ford's lovingly photographed vistas of the Irish countryside is set for 2 p.m. April 10 at CityStage and is just one of the events Neal and Mayor Domenic J. Sarno announced Friday.

A full list of events, scheduled from Tuesday, March 8 to Sunday, May 22, is attached below. Events include a genealogy workshop, a Catholic mass and the dedication of a memorial garden in Forest Park. PBS television station WGBY will air "The 1916 Irish Rebellion-Three Part Series" at 2:30 p.m. March 13.

Neal, D-Springfield, said the Easter Rising in Dublin has strong and direct ties to this region.

"It has direct parallels and took its inspiration from the American Revolution," Neal said.

The Irish Declaration of Independence issued by Rising organizers says that the new Ireland is "supported by her exiled children in America", Neal said.

The Rising took place from April 24 to 29 in 1916 as Britain fought World War I. The revolutionaries' plan was take significant government buildings in Dublin and elsewhere in Ireland in an attempt to end British rule. They succeed in occupying the general post office in Dublin.

Before the uprising, the last significant rebellion in Ireland had been in 1798.

In 1916, the British used overwhelming including artillery force to end the rebellion.

"It was doomed to fail," Neal said. "When the uprising began, the British had 400 troops in Dublin. By that Friday, they had 20,000."

But the British decision to execute those behind the uprising made those people into martyrs and lead to the creation of the modern Irish State .

"Because they stood up to British colonial rule, the Easter Rising also gave rise to independence movements in other British colonies like India and Pakistan," Neal said.

Springfield officials had previously announced plans to create a Garden of Remembrance in Forest Park  to commemorate rising. This garden is t the first of its kind in the United States to honor the rising.

In a news release, Sarno said:

"The city of Springfield is honored to be hosting events commemorating the 1916 Easter Rising.  Springfield has strong ties to Ireland, and I encourage all of our citizens and those of neighboring communities to take part in the programs soon to be offered throughout the region.  On this 100th anniversary, it is an appropriate time for reflection on the sacrifices made by our ancestors.  I believe that all nationalities can relate to the tenets of the proclamation set forth in 1916.  And the Springfield community shares with Ireland the objective of achieving the goals set forth in the original proclamation."

Springfield and Western Massachusetts mark Easter Rising Anniversary

A taste of spring is heading our way! The Annual Spring Flower Show in the Talcott Greenhouse at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley promises to delight visitors when the doors open on Saturday, March 5. The show features over 3,000 bulbs in bloom and many other plants started from seed including several varieties of Shamrocks that fit into this...

A taste of spring is heading our way!

The Annual Spring Flower Show in the Talcott Greenhouse at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley promises to delight visitors when the doors open on Saturday, March 5.

The show features over 3,000 bulbs in bloom and many other plants started from seed including several varieties of Shamrocks that fit into this year's theme of "Emerald Isle".

Flower show designer Gail Fuller says that they planted lots of green grass to "simulate the landscape of Ireland with lots of green and yellow planted".

The show runs through Sunday, March 20 and is free to the public.

The Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness is seeking expanded state funds to continue efforts to assist homeless people with housing and support services.

SPRINGFIELD - A regional organization, buoyed by new statistics showing significant progress in reducing homelessness in Western Massachusetts, urged state legislators and agencies on Friday to continue and expand funds and resources for housing and support services.

Pamela Schwartz, director of the Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness, revealed the statistics and network goals during an annual "Progress Report" event on Friday, which took place at the Kittredge Center at Holyoke Community College.

Senate President Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst, among legislators and officials who attended the event, said there is "amazing progress going on here in Western Massachusetts."

"I bet there is no other place in the Commonwealth that is moving as quickly, methodically and successfully at reducing the number of homeless people and getting them into permanent shelter," Rosenberg said. "Budgets are always tight, but this is an important investment. If we invest in these programs to get people into permanent housing, we will save a lot of money on the other end of the budget."

Schwartz said it took strong collaboration and communication among local agencies combating homelessness to help bring about the reductions. Schwartz said there are numerous programs that help the homeless and poor, and could not estimate the total cost of the aid to homeless individuals and families.

Schwartz, on behalf of the network, urged legislators to support state budget priorities in the coming fiscal year that begins July 1, including a call for the Governor and Legislature to:

"Our goal is to make homelessness in Western Massachusetts rare, brief and non-reoccurring, and it is through collaboration on every level of state and federal government with local communities that we are making that happen," Schwartz said.

Speakers at the network event included some formerly homeless people who have moved into housing and improved their lives with aid from local agencies and support services.

The network has a stated mission of ending veteran homelessness by 2016, to end chronic homelessness by 2017, and to end family and youth homelessness by 2020. Significant reductions were reported in all three areas during an annual "Progress Report" event held at the Kittredge Center at Holyoke Community College.

State officials who praised the network's efforts included Chrystal Kornegay, undersecretary for the state Department of Housing and Community Development, and Linn Torto, executive director of the Massachusetts Interagency council on Housing and Homelessness.

"It's all great," Kornegay said. "The idea of working together is really strong out in Western Mass."

Kornegay said the reduction in the number of homeless families in motels is going very well in Massachusetts.

When Gov. Charlie Baker took office in January of 2015, there were approximately 1,500 homeless families in motels, with that number now under 700, "making steady progress," Kornegay said.

"But again, that is also in collaboration with local folks on the ground around how they are helping us move families into different, better situations," Kornegay said.

In the Western Massachusetts region, the number of homeless families in motels dropped froMm 284 to 49 families, according to the network.

The regional Network to End Homelessness told attendees that there has been a 34 percent reduction in the number of families living in shelters and motels, and there has been a 27 percent reduction in the number of veterans in emergency shelters or on the streets, among statistics compiled for 2015.

Jerome Douchette, a Holyoke native, spoke of how he ended service in the U.S. Navy including two deployments, with suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome, addiction problems, and homelessness, helped by local treatment centers, agencies and support services. He was aided with housing for himself and his son, and becoming employed and stable, he said.

"If it wasn't for vouchers and needed case management, where would we be," Douchette said.

There was a standing ovation for Douchette after he spoke, and the ovation was repeated for two other formerly homeless people who spoke, Michael LaMothe and Gloria Torres, after they spoke of the network agencies helping them to turn around their difficulties and become more stable.

Lamothe said he participated in Friday's event to raise awareness and to get help for people who have addictions. He had alcohol addiction issues himself and first became homeless when he was 17, he said.

He praised the Opening Doors program.

"It made me a person of society today," Lamothe said. "I would like to help raise awarenss so that people who have problems also become people of society today. It helped me become addictive free, it gave me hope, strength, it gave me a foundation to build on. I can walk with my head held high."

Geraldine McCafferty, the housing director in Springfield, said that a Housing First initiative in Springfield and the network's efforts are "literally saving lives."

Ana Mercedes Franceschi is accused of murder in the Springfield death of Yasmin Marin on Feb. 18, 2013.

SPRINGFIELD - Closing arguments are scheduled for Monday in the murder trial of Ana Mercedes Franceschi, accused of intentionally running over and killing Yasmin Marin with her SUV.

The prosecution in the case rested early Friday and the defense presented one witness, an accident reconstructionist.

Franceschi, 42, of Springfield, is accused of intentionally hitting 32-year-old Yasmin Marin, also from Springfield, with her sport utility vehicle on Feb. 18, 2013, in Springfield's North End.

In addition to murder, Franceschi was charged with armed assault with intent to murder with the weapon being the SUV. That charge relates to then 14-year-old Gabriel Minaya, who was crossing Main Street with her mother Marin.

But on Friday Hampden Superior Court Judge David Ricciardone agreed with defense lawyer Jared Olanoff's argument that the charge of armed assault with intent to murder Minaya is not supported by evidence at trial.

He ordered that charge be reduced to assault with a dangerous weapon (the SUV).

Olanoff also argued the murder charge relating to Marin was not supported by the evidence at trial. He said Marin jumped out in front of Franceschi's SUV in order to stop it.

Ricciardone did not agree with Olanoff on that point, and kept the murder charge active.

Assistant District Attorney James M. Forsyth said there was testimony that Franceschi thought women who were in her boyfriend's store - Rosario's market - the night before the fatal crash were causing trouble between Franceschi and her boyfriend.

Franceschi said she didn't know the three women she saw in the store that night. Two of those women were Marin and Yesenia Diaz, Diaz testified at trial.

Olanoff called to the stand Richard M. Montefusco, who owns Northeast Engineering Consultants in Springfield.

Montefusco said there was no way to tell what Franceschi's speed was. He presented his calculations saying if you assumed Franceschi was traveling at 15 miles per hour the "point of no return" in which she could not stop after she saw Marin in the road was 48 feet.

He said the photograph presented by Springfield police as the point of impact was not neccesarily the point of impact between the SUV and Marin. He said the point of impact can't be determined.

Montefusco did acknowledge, under Forsyth's cross-examination, the vehicle must have hit Marin by the time there was blood and hair on the road.

Forsyth spent much of his cross-examination attacking Montefusco's credentials as an expert of accident reconstruction.

Testimony in the trial was that Franceschi left Rosario's market in anger the night before the fatal crash, hitting Marin's car. Franceschi said she thought it was her boyfriend's cousin's car she hit and she just left.

The next morning Marin saw damage to her car and Marin went back to Rosario's market with Diaz and Minaya to talk to Franceschi's boyfriend about the car.

Diaz and Minaya testified Marin saw Franceschi in her SUV and went in front of it, holding up her hand to stop it. That's when Marin was hit.

The funeral procession is expected to cross the Memorial Bridge into Springfield at about 10 a.m. Monday.

SPRINGFIELD - The city is advising people of potential traffic problems along the route of the funeral procession for fallen Virginia police officer and Springfield native Ashley Guindon, who is being buried Monday.

According to the office of Mayor Domenic Sarno, there will be no parking along the processional route to and from the Sacred Heart Church, and all construction activities will not be permitted in the general area of the route.

Guindon, 28, was a newly sworn officer with the Prince William County Police Department. She was fatally shot while responding to a Feb. 27 domestic disturbance in Woodbridge, Virginia. It was her first night on the job.

Her body is being buried in West Springfield alongside at Saint Thomas the Apostle Cemetery in West Springfield. She will be buried next to her father, David Guindon, an Iraq war veteran who died with full military honors in August 2004.

The route to the church will be over the Memorial Bridge to Boland Way, left on Main Street, right on Liberty Street, and left onto Chestnut Street to the Sacred Heart Church.
The route from the church will be left onto Carew Street to Plainfield Street and acorss the North End Bridge into West Springfield.

No traffic will be allowed on the processional route beginning at 9:30 a.m. Chestnut Street between Liberty and Carew streets will be closed from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The police are advising people who do not have business in the area to seek other routes.

According to the Springfield police, the procession is expected to cross the Memorial Bridge at around 10 a.m. Members of the public who wish to pay their respects are asked to gather on Main Street between Boland Way and Worthington Street.

Thirty-six startups are competing for a total of $250,000 in funding. No one new business can get more than $50,000.

SPRINGFIELD -- U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal listened intently Friday as, one-by-one, entrepreneurs from this year's Valley Venture Mentors Springfield Accelerator program shared successes they've had in the last few weeks.

One fledgling company got its first paying customer. A few said their products are now available internationally. Some were able to get more funding to help finance their dream.

Neal, D-Springfield, spoke during the first day of Valley Venture Mentors Springfield Accelerator boot camp at the Mentors headquarters in Tower Square. His appearance followed a morning of closed-door meetings on the subject of fostering new business and economic growth in the Pioneer Valley.

"I love the optimism," Neal said. "I can tell these people are passionate about what they are doing."

In its second year, the accelerator has a class of 36 companies up from 30 last year which was the first year, said Liz Roberts, the program's general manager. The new companies in this class are mostly from Western Massachusetts although a few are from around the country or outside the United States. Many have already graduated from Valley Venture Mentors business mentoring programs and are looking for a boost to grow to the next level.

The boot camps are monthly weekend-long gatherings for the accelerator companies featuring workshops and guest speakers.

"We try to run it like an executive training course or like ROTC, depending on your frame of reference," Roberts said.

They range from DaVinci Arms, a new Ludlow manufacturer of sound and flash suppressors for firearms, to Just Jane's artisan jam to Celia Grace in Amherst which sells fair trade, eco-friendly wedding dresses.

The accelerator companies are competing for a share of a total of $250,000 in funding. No one new business can get a grant of more than $50,000. It is up to the judges to divide up the money, Roberts said.

The Accelerator is funded by the MassMutual Financial Group, the Mass Tech Collaborative, the Community Foundation and by the Davis Foundation, Roberts said.

Though she'd like to win a grant, Jane Janovsky of Just Jane's Artisan Jams in South Hadley said the education she's getting in the accelerator makes it worth her time.

"This weekend is all about sales, finding customers and growing your base," she said. "And we are all here networking."

As far as policy, Neal pointed to Congress making the research and development tax credit permanent last year as an important move to help these entrepreneurs.

A young lawyer and first-time father killed when an SUV hurtled through a Newton pizzeria at the height of Tuesday's supper rush was remembered yesterday for his compassion and devotion to his family and the law.

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A digest of news stories from around New England.

Speaking to a gathering of conservative activists in suburban Maryland, the retired neurosurgeon said the United States needs "trickle-down ethics."

WASHINGTON -- Ben Carson confirmed Friday he is ending his White House bid, but he's declining to endorse any candidate for the Republican nomination.

He also offered an explanation why he was dropping out: There are "a lot of people who love me; they just won't vote for me."

Speaking to a gathering of conservative activists in suburban Maryland, the retired neurosurgeon said the United States needs "trickle-down ethics." He said the ideal presidential candidate is ethical and accomplished, has clear policies and treats others well. He said whoever can check all of those boxes would be a "great leader."

Regarding his former Republican rivals, he did say he has "talked to all of them this week."

Carson reiterated that he is leaving the campaign trail, something he announced on his Facebook page the day after Super Tuesday contests.

The Conservative Political Action Conference crowd gave him an adoring standing ovation.

Carson said he will now be working on a project to encourage religious values voters to participate in elections.

A political newcomer, Carson raised $58 million, more money than any other GOP contender.

But an Associated Press review of his campaign finance filings show Carson's campaign is an extreme example of the big-money business of presidential politics. His campaign burned through the millions he raised by spending more on fundraising and consultants than on mass media advertising, on-the-ground employees and other things that could have swayed voters, the filings show.

Over the past week, the candidate himself, a soft-spoken retired Baltimore neurosurgeon, has wondered aloud whether his campaign aides took advantage of him, even saying he was disappointed in himself for trusting some people around him "without really vetting them carefully."

Carson addressed the issue in an interview with CNN last week and again Thursday in a Yahoo News interview with journalist Katie Couric, who questioned Carson on whether his campaign had spent so much on fundraising to gather a list of donors for a future business venture.

"Mistakes were made," Carson said. "We probably had the wrong team in place, people who probably had different objectives than I did. And once we discovered that and rectified it, the situation changed dramatically."

Some people who worked with Carson's presidential campaign are positioned to continue profiting from his elevated profile even after he officially ends his bid.

All told, the Carson campaign turned over at least one-quarter of the money it raised -- $16 million -- to fundraising and marketing firms owned by a pair of his top consultants, Mike Murray and Ken Dawson.

By contrast, the Carson campaign's payroll for nine months cost less than $700,000, finance documents show, and the campaign spent less than $600,000 on television and radio advertising during the month that voting has taken place, according to advertising tracker Kantar Media's Campaign Media Analysis Group.

Murray has been a campaign senior adviser, owns TMA Direct and is managing partner of Precision Data Management, firms that provide fundraising services for direct mail and email to voters and broker lists of would-be supporters.

Dawson has been Carson's unofficial chief marketing officer and owner of Eleventy Marketing. That company uses Facebook, Twitter and other social media to place digital advertising and raise money for its clients.

Murray and Dawson say the payments to their firms do not give a full picture of all the work they did -- transforming a candidate with 50 percent name recognition among likely Republican voters into one who became nearly universally known.

"We had the task of building the Carson brand along with raising money," Murray said. "Everything we did netted money."

Payments to TMA and other firms did not all go into the consultants' pockets, he said. Much of it paid for postage, printing and other costs associated with fundraising. Dawson also said much of the $10 million paid to his company went right back out to pay for digital advertising and social media promotion.

He said every payment to Eleventy was approved by Carson's campaign managers and audited by campaign staff.

Carson has vowed to continue his "grassroots movement," which includes his 700,000 campaign donors, the majority of whom gave $200 or less.

Who won the Fox News Republican presidential debate? Trump, Cruz, Rubio from Detroit

On Friday, Carson announced in a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in suburban Maryland that he has accepted a position as national chairman of My Faith Votes, a nonpartisan group that encourages Christians to participate in the political process.

Before the campaign, Carson was the face of a health care project funded by the American Legacy Political Action Committee, a group that has substantial crossover with the Carson campaign; in fact, Murray is its founder. Armstrong Williams, Carson's longtime confidant and off-the-books campaign guru, took over the American Legacy PAC chairmanship and has also said he encouraged Carson to come back to the group.

American Legacy PAC appears to do little more than raise money to pay people raising money.

The group's mission is to help conservative candidates, but it reported giving less than 3 percent of the $10 million it raised in the past five years to candidates and political committees, FEC documents show.

Murray said the PAC's impact on politics isn't fully reflected in its FEC filings, in part because the group encourages donors to give directly to candidates. He said those candidates have netted "hundreds of thousands of dollars," which the group has tracked through software.

The cost of all that fundraising is laid out in FEC documents.

American Legacy PAC has paid Williams' production company more than $170,000 and Murray's companies nearly $400,000 since its establishment in 2010. It also paid Dawson's Eleventy about $30,000, which he said paid for building a website.

More than half of American Legacy PAC's budget went to the telemarketing company Infocision. Carson's campaign also paid the company almost $5 million.

More cold weather is ahead this weekend before warmer days next week.

SPRINGFIELD -- More cold weather is ahead this weekend before warmer days next week. 

A coastal storm is traveling along the East Coast this weekend bringing a few flurries, according to the National Weather Service. 

While the Pioneer Valley isn't expected to see snow Friday evening, Central and Eastern Massachusetts is expected to be hit, with an inch or two possible in Boston. 

The low will be around 21 degrees Friday in Springfield, 20 in Worcester and 22 in Boston. 

Saturday is expected to be clear across the commonwealth. The high will be in the low-40s in Springfield, high-30s in Worcester and Boston. 

There is a slight chance of snow Sunday morning before temperatures rise. Snow may hit Springfield before 10 a.m. on Sunday, 11 a.m. in Worcester and Boston. 

The high Sunday will be in the low 40s across the state. 

 

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 63 points to close the week at 17,007.

By MARLEY JAY

NEW YORK -- Stocks wobbled to the finish Friday but salvaged a four-day winning streak after the U.S. government said employers added more jobs than expected in February. That was another vote of confidence in the economy. Mining companies made the biggest gains as metals prices climbed.

The jobs report showed that construction, retail and health care companies are still hiring more workers. Energy companies also rose with the recovering price of oil. Stocks fell back from an afternoon peak as investors sold telecommunications companies, which have been the best-performing sector of the market this year.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 62.87 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,006.77. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 6.59 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,999.99. The Nasdaq composite index edged up 9.60 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,717.02.

The Labor Department said employers added 242,000 jobs last month. Consumer demand was solid, and the government also said employers hired more people in December and January than it had previously estimated. More people also looked for work.

This week stocks rose after reports on hiring, construction spending and manufacturing suggested that the U.S. economy is doing fairly well. Kate Warne, investment strategist for Edward Jones, said she expects continued job and economic growth for the U.S.

"The worries that we've been hearing recently about the economy sliding into recession aren't warranted," she said. Combined with low inflation rates, she said that's good news for investors.

Metals and energy prices kept climbing on the continued signs of life for the economy. Gold, which is trading at its highest price in a year, rose $12.50, or 1 percent, to $1,270.70 an ounce. Silver jumped 55 cents, or 3.6 percent, to $15.69 an ounce and copper rose 7 cents, or 3 percent, to $2.27 a pound.

The price of U.S. oil jumped $1.35, or 3.9 percent, to $35.92 a barrel. Brent crude, the benchmark for international oils, rose $1.65, or 4.5 percent, to $38.72 a barrel in London.

Oil prices climbed about 10 percent this week and have risen for three weeks in a row, which hadn't happened since May. Brent crude is now higher than it was at the beginning of the year, although U.S. crude is still lower.

Those gains helped copper mining company Freeport-McMoRan gained 63 cents, or 6.9 percent, to $9.74. Aluminum producer Alcoa edged up 10 cents to $9.57.

Energy stocks also kept rising. Drilling rig operators did the best as investors were pleased they keep closing rigs to cut costs. Transocean climbed $1.88, or 17.4 percent, to $12.71. Ensco rose $1.43, or 13.1 percent, to $12.36.

The market has now erased most of its losses after a painful start to the year. But there are signs investors are still worried: investors keep buying utility and telecom stocks, which are considered safe bets when the market is troubled, and the price of gold has surged to its highest levels in more than a year. And while stocks have risen the last three days, the gains were small and came in choppy trading.

Warne said investors still feel uneasy about problems ranging from shaky economies outside the U.S., low oil prices, and uncertainty over when the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates and what effect that will have on the economy.

"I think we're going to continue to see a lot of market volatility," she said.

AMC Theaters, owned by Wanda Group of China, is buying Carmike Cinemas for $1.1 billion. The deal will create the biggest movie theater chain in the world. Earlier this year, Wanda said it would buy Legendary Entertainment, a studio that co-financed movies including "Jurassic World" and "The Dark Knight." Carmike climbed $4.14, or 16.4 percent, to $29.25.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.87 percent from 1.84 percent late Thursday.

Michael Fredericks, portfolio manager for BlackRock Multi-Asset Income Fund, noted that bond yields have recovered along with stocks over the last few weeks.

"There was just a huge amount of pessimism" about economic growth, he said. He added that bond yields had fallen because investors were worried about the health of Europe's banks and the possibility the Fed would experiment with negative interest rates in the U.S.

A handful of companies rose and fell as quarterly earnings kept trickling out. Hewlett Packard Enterprise, an information technology products and service company, reported better-than-expected results from its first quarter as a publicly-traded company. Its stock surged $1.84, or 13.5 percent, to $15.44.

Handgun maker Smith & Wesson rose $1.65, or 6.5 percent, to $27.05 after its profit and sales surpassed Wall Street estimates. Smith & Wesson also raised its profit and sales projections for its current fiscal year.

Tax preparer H&R Block tumbled after its quarterly profit and revenue disappointed investors. The company said people are filing their taxes later and refunds are taking longer to process as efforts to fight tax fraud increase. The stock dropped $5.14, or 15.6 percent, to $27.76.

Britain's FTSE 100 gained 1.1 percent and France's CAC 40 rose 0.9 percent. Germany's DAX was up 0.7 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed 0.3 percent higher and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.2 percent. South Korea's Kospi edged 0.1 percent lower.

In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline rose 3 cents to $1.33 a gallon. Heating oil climbed 4 cents to $1.16 a gallon. Natural gas picked up 3 cents to $1.67 per 1,000 cubic feet.

The euro rose to $1.0996 from $1.0959 the day before while the dollar rose to 114.21 yen from 113.57 yen.

A three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit of Appeals found that Bulger had not shown his right to a fair trial was violated when a judge barred him from testifying about his claim that he received immunity for his crimes.

By DENISE LAVOIE

BOSTON -- Former mobster James "Whitey" Bulger, convicted of participating in 11 murders during the 1970s and '80s, will not get a new trial, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday.

A three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit of Appeals found that Bulger had not shown his right to a fair trial was violated when a judge barred him from testifying about his claim that he received immunity for his crimes.

"For the reasons spelled out above, Bulger got a fair trial and none of the complained-of conduct on the court or government's part warrant reversal of his conviction," the appellate judges concluded.

The ruling likely isn't the end of the line for Bulger, who was once one of the nation's most wanted fugitives: He has the right to appeal the panel's ruling by asking for a hearing before the full court of six judges. His lawyer Hank Brennan didn't immediately comment Friday.

Brennan argued before the court in July that Bulger's defense was eviscerated when he wasn't allowed to tell the jury that a now-deceased federal prosecutor granted him immunity to commit crimes. The trial judge said Bulger had not offered any hard evidence of such an agreement.

Prosecutors argued that Bulger was not barred from taking the witness stand in his own defense, only from testifying about his immunity claim.

Bulger, who's now 86, fled Boston in 1994 following a tip from an FBI agent that he was about to be indicted and was on the run for years. He was finally captured with his girlfriend in Santa Monica, California, in 2011.

During his 2013 trial, he disputed the government's contention that he was a longtime FBI informant who gave the agency information on the New England Mafia, his gang's main rival.

Bulger said that former Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremiah O'Sullivan, who died in 2009, had given him immunity during the 1980s in return for protecting his life from the mobsters he prosecuted. The judge found that O'Sullivan did not have the authority to grant such immunity.

Bulger, after deciding not to testify in his own defense, cited the judge's ruling and called his trial a "sham."

"And my thing is, as far as I'm concerned, I didn't get a fair trial, and this is a sham," he said in court.

Brennan argued that if Bulger had been allowed to testify about his immunity claim, the jury would have had a chance to weigh his credibility against the credibility of prosecution witnesses.

AP writer Philip Marcelo contributed to this report.

The man had been walking behind the cab when the driver reversed.

QUINCY -- A 68-year-old man was killed after being struck by a taxi cab he had just been riding.

Police say the accident happened Friday afternoon in Quincy, a Boston suburb.

The victim, who police did not immediately identify, had just taken the cab to an apartment complex in the city. He had been walking behind the cab when the driver reversed, striking him.

The man was taken to Boston Medical Center where he later died.

Police said the taxi driver, who they also have not named, remained on the scene and is cooperating in the investigation.