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Shooting inside Chelsea apartment leaves one dead, 7 other people injured

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One young man is dead and seven other people were injured after gunfire erupted inside a vacant apartment in Chelsea Sunday morning. Authorities said people were having a party inside the apartment when the shootings began.

CHELSEA - One young man is dead and seven other people were injured after gunfire erupted inside a vacant apartment in Chelsea Sunday morning. Authorities said people were having a party inside the apartment when the shootings began.

Chelsea Police and State Police detectives assigned to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office are investigating the shootings.

Officers were called to 120 Washington Ave. around 2:40 a.m. and found several people had been shot. One man was taken was taken to Whidden Memorial Hospital where he died.

Seven other people who had been shot were taken to the hospital. Their injuries are believed to be non-life threatening, Chelsea Police said in a news release.
Authorities did not release the name of the dead man.

"The deceased victim has been tentatively identified as a Chelsea resident in his late teens," police said. "His identity is being withheld until it is confirmed and his family is notified. No further information is yet available on the surviving victims."

WCVB News identified the man who died as a 19-year-old from Chelsea. The television station reports three males, ages 15, 18 and 22, and three females, ages 15, 17, 18 were hurt. One person escaped the scene by jumping out of a window, the television station reports.

Anyone with information is asked is to contact the State Police Detective Unit at 617-727-8817 or Chelsea Police detectives at 617-466-4805. Tipsters who wish to remain anonymous may also call the 24-hour Chelsea Police CrimeStoppers tip line at 617-466-4880 or submit tips online at www.chelseapolice.com.

 

Holyoke man charged with Ware assault; 2 victims stabbed several times each

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The two victims were each transported to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield for emergency surgery.

WARE - A 26-year-old Holyoke man is in custody and charged in connection with a serious assault Saturday night that left two people with multiple stab wounds, police said.

ware arrest.jpgNicholas DuBois 

Nicholas Dubois of 10 Fairfield Ave., Holyoke, was arrested following the assault, which was reported shortly after 9:30 p.m, police said.

He was charged with assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. The weapon in each instance was a knife, police said.

According to police, officers were called to the emergency room of Baystate Mary Lane Hospital for a report of two people being treated for stabbing injuries. The two victims, whom police did not identify to the press, were later transported to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

Each underwent surgery, and according to police, their injuries are considered serious but each is expected to survive.

Each had been stabbed several times, police said.

The stabbing occurred at a residence in Ware although police did not specify where. Police did not disclose what events led the stabbing beyond saying it was the result of a disturbance.

DuBois is being held without the right to bail at the Hampshire County House of Correction in Northampton. He is due to be arraigned Monday at Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown.

FBI makes 1 arrest, reveals new details in investigation of 2015 theft of $4.8 million in gold bars

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Thieves rigged the truck with a GPS tracker and a remote-controlled pepper-spray canister that flooded the cab and forced the driver pull over, the FBI said

MIAMI (AP) -- The FBI has revealed how thieves made off with gold bars worth $4.8 million in a truck robbery on Interstate 95 last year, and it reads like a heist fit for Hollywood.

Agents say the armed robbers painstakingly prepared for the job, using high-tech gizmos including a GPS tracker and a remote-controlled pepper-spray launcher to subdue the drivers.

Agents identified the alleged ringleader as Adalberto Perez, 46. He was arrested this week at his home in the Miami suburb of Opa-Locka, Florida, almost exactly a year after the March 2015 robbery in Wilson County, North Carolina. Two accomplices remain at large.

It appears the case was cracked when a friend of Perez came forward just a few months ago. According to an FBI affidavit unsealed in federal court this week, the friend said Perez spent about a year preparing for the heist.

fbi gold suspects.jpgFBI drawings of two suspects in the 2015 robbery of $4.8 million in gold bars on I-84 in Noth Carolina. Investigators seek additional information about this robbery and continue to offer a reward of up to $25,000. Anyone who has information as to the identity of these robbers is urged to call the FBI at (754) 703-2000 or Crime Stoppers. 

The target: a routine shipment of gold bars aboard a tractor-trailer sent by Miami-based Republic Metals to a processing plant in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, that serves jewelry makers in the Boston area.

The FBI says that friend -- now a confidential informant -- said Perez bought a GPS tracking device online and had it mailed to the friend's address, without telling him what was in the package.

The affidavit doesn't say how Perez was able to gain access to the truck, if he had any relationship with the TransValue shipping company, or if the plot involved still more accomplices.

But the friend said "Perez said he placed this technology under the TransValue trailer in order to track its location," and that Perez also rigged a pepper-spray device inside the cab, the affidavit says.

TransValue chief executive officer Jay Rodriguez has said the truck left Miami about 4 a.m. that Sunday. The tractor-trailer appeared much like any other traveling up the East Coast. The drivers apparently had no idea they were being tracked by three armed robbers following them in a white van.

Shortly after dusk along a lonely stretch of I-95 in North Carolina, the truck's cab suddenly filled with pepper spray, launched by remote control, forcing its sickened drivers to pull over. The white van stopped on the highway shoulder as well.

At first claiming in Spanish that they were police officers, the men bound their hands with plastic ties and marched them into the woods. Then they put out orange traffic cones to make the stopped truck appear innocuous, and wore reflective clothing to appear as though they belonged on the roadside, too, according to the affidavit.

The thieves then cut off trailer's locks, quickly unloaded 275 pounds of gold and about 40 silver coins into the van, and sped off, leaving numerous drums of silver behind.

By the time the two drivers came out of the woods and flagged down passing motorists, the thieves were long gone.

After the robbery, the FBI informant said, Perez showed him one of the 26-pound gold bars at his home. He said he watched as Perez chipped away pieces to sell bit by bit, and used his cellphone to take photos of this gold and the tools Perez used.

The informant, identified as "CS" for confidential source, gave the images to the FBI; in one, the gold bar shows a distinctive Republic Metals stamp.

"Perez told CS he sold all of the gold he kept from the robbery," and used the money to buy three homes, three Nissan vehicles and a boat. He also had some gold fashioned into jewelry, some of it featuring religious icons, according to the FBI.

The informant said Perez gave him a gold bracelet, the FBI said.

After the friend came forward, investigators were able to use cellphone tower records to show that a phone linked to Perez traveled north through Florida along the same I-95 route as the truck that day. The FBI affidavit says the phone's last known location was in Dillon, South Carolina, where the truck refueled. The robbery took place an hour or so later.

Perez remained in jail without bail Friday on federal robbery and firearms charges, pending a Tuesday hearing.

"The complaint was quite an interesting read, but they are merely allegations," said his attorney, Frank Graviria, in an email. "We intend to fully investigate these serious allegations."

FBI spokesman Mike Leverock said additional suspects are being sought, and a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction still stands. The FBI distributed sketches of two other robbers based on information from witnesses.

Perez isn't the first man arrested in the case. Last year, Miguel Bover was sentenced to more than three years in federal prison after pleading guilty to an extortion charge, stemming from an attempt to sell one of the stolen bars. Bover, however, was not directly involved in the robbery itself, nor was the informant.

That bar is still the only one that has been recovered, but typically prosecutors will seek to seize property and assets of those involved to later sell and pay restitution to any victims.

Runners, walkers and the curious laud Palmer Motorsports Park's Whiskey Hill Raceway after Palmer High sports fundraiser

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Henry Domnarski, 17, finished first in the 5K at Palmer Motorsports Park with a time of 18 minutes. The charity event was organized by his parents, Lisa and Matt Domnarski, who own a horse boarding stable, Domnarski Farm, near the West Ware Road raceway

PALMER — Close to 100 runners, walkers and those curious to check out Palmer Motorsports Park lauded the Whiskey Hill Raceway track during a fundraiser Sunday to help defray athletic costs for students attending Palmer High School.

Henry Domnarski, 17, finished first in the 5K with a time of 18 minutes flat. The charity event was organized by his parents, Lisa and Matt Domnarski, who own a horse boarding stable, Domnarski Farm, near the West Ware Road raceway.

"I think I could have done a litter better," the winner said, adding, "I'd rather be running. Nothing compares to running."

The top women's finisher was 44-year-old Dawn Roberts of West Springfield. "It was fun, nice views, and no traffic (during the race)," she said.

"It's an ideal venue to run safely - great place for a bike race, that's what I was thinking," Roberts said.

For many, it was their first trip to the hilltop facility built last year for speeding cars along 2.2 miles of wide asphalt surface.

"It was an interesting course," said Wilbraham resident Barbara Bosworth. "It was fun to see this course. I had heard of it - the controversy."

The $20 million facility opened last year on a section of high ground that borders Ware and Warren along West Ware Road. Since opening, track owners have been hampered by complaints of noise, a state environmental lawsuit since settled and other allegations of environmental missteps.

Bosworth said she has run more than 25 marathon races, and many half-marathons and 10Ks. Whiskey Hill Raceway "is quite a facility," she said.

Maryellen Roche, who came to see the place with her husbandm said, "I think it's awesome."

"It's a great fundraiser," Bill Roche said.

"I just wanted to see the place, it's gorgeous, excellent engineering," said Ware resident Mike Skowyra.

Dan Finnegan, of Monson, attended the walk with his three children, Emilia, Daniel and Martin, and his companion, Donna Graveline.

"It's cool," Emelia said. "It's awesome, it's big," her brother, Martin, said. "There's a lot of gravel," added Daniel.

"I think it's great to have a racetrack so close. I think it's going to be great for the economy," said West Brookfield resident David D'Alessandro.

"It's a good event, in a unique spot. We lucked out with the weather," Lisa Domnarski said.

She said there were 50 who ran the 5K, about 35 doing a walking loop around the track and a handful who came because they were curious to see what the facility looks like.


Pittsfield police warn of thin ice; ice fisherman falls through 2x in one afternoon

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An icefisherman who fell through the ice once went back to retrieve his gear - and fell through again

PITTSFIELD - Pittsfield police are urging people to exercise some common sense and stay off the thin ice at local lakes and ponds, which is exactly the opposite of what one fisherman did Sunday afternoon.

Police, firefighters and EMTs were called to Pontoosuc Lake for a report of two people going through the ice. Upon arrival, they found the two men had already made their way to shore.

As emergency personnel remained on the scene, one of the fisherman insisted on going back onto the ice to retrieve his ice fishing tip-ups and other gear, police said.

He fell though a second time and had to be rescued. One firefighter donned an insulated rescue suit and got in the water to aid the man, and another firefighter set out across the ice in a rescue sled, according to Pittsfield fire officials.

Once the fisherman was out of the water and on the sled, several firefighters on shore pulled the sled to safety, fire officials said.

Firefighters were also able to retrieve most of the man's fishing gear.

The rescue scene was at a section of the lake near Rusty Anchor Club and Marina.

Police, family, friends say goodbye to fallen officer Ashley Guindon

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A wake was held in Agawam for Ashley Guindon who was killed last week on her first day as a police officer in Virginia.

AGAWAM -- As he left Officer Ashley Guindon's wake Sunday afternoon, Lowell Police Capt. Kevin Sullivan reflected on how short her career was and how much she will be missed.

"In a time like this we have to come together and do what's right. We are very sorry for Ashley's family, and her friends and her coworkers, and we are very glad that they came up here from Virginia. We are here to support them in any way we can," he said.

Guindon, 28, a native of Springfield, was a newly sworn officer with the Prince William County Police Department in Virginia. She was fatally shot Feb. 27 while responding to a domestic disturbance in Woodbridge, Virginia.

It was her first night on the job.

Guindon will be buried Monday, March 7, 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 in August 2004.

Police officers from across the country will flood the streets of Springfield Monday for Guindon's funeral, but on Sunday at least 100 military personnel, police officers and firefighters marched down Main Street in Agawam to pay their respects to the fallen officer at the Agawam Funeral Home.

Sullivan said in his 30 years on the job he has never heard of an officer killed on their first day of duty.

"Her legacy is what she has done with the rest of her life. From what I have been told she was a go-getter, she never shied away from any challenges, and she was a good role model," he said.

Richard and Doris Poirier, of Enfield, Connecticut, friends of the Guindon family, recalled Ashley as a child. "I remember her running around with all of the other kids. She was a beautiful girl and a beautiful person and we will miss her," Doris Poirier said.

While Guindon's family including her mother, Sharon Guindon, and several police officers from Virginia waited inside, friends of the family and fellow law enforcement officials came to pay their respects.

Carl Karolinski is good friends with Guindon's aunt and uncle, Debbie and Richard B'Shara. "I was the best man at his wedding. They are a great family." he said. Karolinski said the family is struggling. "They are emotionally drained," he said.

Still, there were moments of lightness, like Guindon's mother posing for photographs with some of her daughter's friends from the Prince William County Police Department, who traveled from Virginia to attend the wake and funeral.

"I didn't know Ashley or her mother well, but I know they were very close, and she is holding up as best she can," Karolinski said of Sharon Guindon. The family has even discussed starting a scholarship in Ashley's name, he said.

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, also attended the wake. He said Guindon's death was a reminder of just how dangerous a police officer's job can be. "When they go out the door and they kiss their loved ones goodbye, nobody is for sure certain as to when they are coming back," he said.

Gunidon's funeral and burial, scheduled for Monday at Sacred Heart Church in Springfield and St. Thomas the Apostle Cemetery in West Springfield, are expected to draw thousands of law enforcement officials from around the nation.

Vermont State police: woman killed in one-car rollover accident in Athens

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The woman was identified as Jennifer P. Stamp of Athens by police. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

ATHENS, Vermont - A 31-year-old woman was killed Sunday morning in a one-car accident when her car went off the road and overturned, police said.

She was identified as Jennifer P. Stamp of Athens, according to Vermont State Police. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The accident occurred just before 6:30 a.m. on Brookline Road near Miller Road, police said.

Her car, a 2014 Subura Impreza, went off the road and flipped onto its roof, police said.

Stamp was not wearing seat belts, police said.

According to state police, conditions were clear and the road was dry at the time of the accident.

Police said Stamp was driving south at a high rate of speed. The car went off the road, hit an embankment and then overturned.

The accident remains under investigation and police ask that anyone who may have witnessed the crash to contact Trooper Bryson Lundervill at the Rockingham barracks, (802) 875-2112.

Athens is about 30 miles north of Brattleboro.

Approximate location of accident scene

Northampton police receive $4,700 state grant for underage-drinking enforcement

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Police Capt. John Cartledge said police will do random compliance checks at bars, restaurants and package stores. .


NORTHAMPTON - The Northampton police recently received a $4,758 state grant that will be used to fund compliance checks in bars and restaurants, targeted patrols and other methods of enforcement to combat underage drinking.

The grant was awarded to the city by the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security's Highway Safety Division, said police spokesman Capt. John Cartledge.

"There are many tools to combat underage drinking, and this grant provides much needed funding to target the problem," Cartledge said. "Whether you are underage, plan to sell to a minor, or buy alcohol for a minor, we will be on the lookout."

He said types of enforcement being funded by the grant include random checks to make sure local bars, restaurants and package stores are not selling to minors, reverse stings, "cops in shops" operations, where police pose as employees in establishments that sell alcohol, and surveillance and "party patrol" operations.

Over the last three years, statewide enforcement funded by this grant program has resulted in 249 adults and 377 minors being arrested for alcohol-law violations and nearly 1,400 citations being issued, Cartledge said.

"Teens and parents need to be reminded that underage drinking is deadly serious," he said. "Parents need to know that hosting a party where alcohol is served to minors is both illegal and extremely dangerous for the minors, for others in the community, and for the parents themselves, given the legal liabilities they face."<hr>


Email inventor Raymond Tomlinson dies: 5 things to know, such as why the @ symbol

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Here are five things to know about Tomlinson's invention.

Raymond Tomlinson, the inventor of modern email and selector of the "@" symbol, has died. He was 74.

Raytheon Co., his employer, on Sunday confirmed his death; the details were not immediately available.

Email existed in a limited capacity before Tomlinson in that electronic messages could be shared amid multiple people within a limited framework. But until his invention in 1971 of the first network person-to-person email, there was no way to send something to a specific person at a specific address.

Here are five things to know about Tomlinson's invention:

1. The first email was sent on the ARPANET system. The computer network  created for the U.S. government is considered a precursor to the Internet. Tomlinson also contributed to its development.

At the time, few people had personal computers. The popularity of personal email wouldn't take off until years later but has become an integral part of modern life.

"It wasn't an assignment at all, he was just fooling around; he was looking for something to do with ARPANET," Raytheon spokeswoman Joyce Kuzman said of his creation of network email.

Tomlinson once said in a company interview that he created email "mostly because it seemed like a neat idea." The first email was sent between two machines that were side-by-side, according to that interview.

2. He used email to announce it. Tomlinson said the test messages were "entirely forgettable and I have, therefore, forgotten them." But when he was satisfied that the program seemed to work, he announced it via his own invention by sending a message to co-workers explaining how to use it.

3. Why Tomlinson chose the "@" symbol. It connects the username with the destination address and it has now become a cultural icon.

Kuzman said Tomlinson was looking at the keyboard and needed something that would not otherwise be part of the address and that seemed to be a logical solution.

"It is a symbol that probably would have gone away if not for email," she said.

MoMA's Department of Architecture and Design added the symbol into its collection in 2010, with credits to Tomlinson.

4. Tomlinson was cool away from computers, too. Tomlinson held electrical engineering degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Tomlinson was an inductee to the Internet Hall of Fame and recipient of numerous awards and accolades but was described as humble and modest.

"People just loved to work with him," Kuzman said. "He was so patient and generous with his time ... He was just a really nice, down-to-earth, good guy."

Tomlinson was hired by Bolt Beranek and Newman, known as BBN, in 1967. It was later acquired by Raytheon Co., where he still worked at the time of his death, as a principal scientist.

5. Tomlinson didn't live only for email. Born in Amsterdam, New York, he lived in recent years in Lincoln, Massachusetts where he raised miniature sheep. Attempts to contact his family were unsuccessful.

While more general email protocols were later developed and adopted, Tomlinson's contributions were never forgotten.

"He was pretty philosophical about it all," Kuzman said. "And was surprisingly not addicted to email."

Democratic caucuses: Sanders wins Maine, but Clinton adds delegates, too

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Bernie Sanders won the Democratic presidential caucuses in Maine on Sunday, adding an 8th state to his total in the 2016 race for president.

WASHINGTON -- Bernie Sanders won the Democratic presidential caucuses Sunday in Maine, beating rival Hillary Clinton for his eighth win in the nomination process.

Prior to the contest in Maine, Clinton had at least 1,123 delegates to Sanders' 484, including superdelegates -- members of Congress, governors and party officials who can support the candidate of their choice.

It takes 2,383 delegates to win the Democratic nomination.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz won in Maine's Republican caucuses on Saturday. On Sunday, Marco Rubio won the Republican presidential primary in Puerto Rico, his second nominating contest victory in the 2016 race for president.

Marco Rubio wins Republican primary in Puerto Rico

With 25 Maine delegates at stake, Sanders is assured of winning at least 14 while Clinton stands to gain at least six.

He can now lay claim to winning eight of the 19 states that voted in primaries or caucuses to date, having prevailed in Maine, Kansas and Nebraska over the weekend.

But Sanders is making little headway in delegates after Clinton's large margin of victory in Louisiana on Saturday.

For the weekend, out of 134 delegates at stake, Sanders will win at least 66 and Clinton at least 63. Five delegates remain to be allocated in Maine.

Holyoke police say 2 stabbed at biker 'social club'; suspects sought may be Hell's Angels

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One victim was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

HOLYOKE - Holyoke police are investigating a stabbing Sunday night at a biker social club on Race Street that left two people injured, police said.

Detectives are on the scene and investigating and little information was available.

Lt. Isaiah Cruz said one victim was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield and the other is being treated at Holyoke Medical Center.

Information on their condition was not available.

The two suspects may be members of the Hell's Angels motorcycle gang, he said.

The stabbing occurred at an establishment on Race Street called the Nocturnal Social Club.

Holyoke has several social clubs for groups with common interests or ethnic backgrounds. Cruz said it was his understanding that the Nocturnal Social Club was a meeting place for bikers. It does not have a liquor license, he said.

Democratic debate: 5 takeaways from the presidential debate in Flint, Michigan

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Democratic presidential rivals Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders went head-to-head in Flint, Michigan Sunday as they met for the party's seventh debate of the 2016 election season.

SPRINGFIELD ‒ Democratic presidential rivals Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders went head-to-head in Flint, Michigan Sunday as they met for the party's seventh debate of the 2016 election season.

The prime time event, broadcast from the University of Michigan-Flint's Whiting Auditorium, offered the White House hopefuls a chance to appeal to Michigan voters -- particularly those affected by Flint's drinking water crisis -- before they head to the polls on Tuesday.

Aside from touching on an array of domestic policy issues, Clinton and Sanders, who have blasted Republican Gov. Rick Snyder's response to the city's lead-contaminated drinking water in previous forums, continued to criticize his leadership during the CNN-hosted debate.

The two Democratic challengers squared-off just two days after more than 20 Congressional Democrats traveled to the Michigan city to hear firsthand from residents impacted by the water crisis and to witness the federal government's response.

Here are five takeaways from the prime time event:

Both candidates called for the Michigan governor to resign and offered plans for how they would address the water crisis.

Sanders used his opening comments at the debate to echo his call that Snyder step down, saying while there's "a lot of blame to go around," the governor needs to be held accountable for his response.

"I believe the governor of this state should understand his dereliction of duty was irresponsible. He should resign," he said.

Clinton, who has previously stopped short of calling on the governor to resign, joined Sanders in urging for his resignation.

"I agree, the governor should resign or be recalled and we should support the efforts of citizens attempting to achieve that," she said.

The former first lady, however, said it's not enough to ask for Snyder to leave his post and called on the state to immediately send money to help fix the city's water infrastructure and address the crisis.

"I know the state of Michigan has a rainy day fund for emergencies, what is more important than the health and well-being of the people, particularly children?" she said. "It is raining lead in Flint, and the state is derelict in not coming forward with the money that is required."

Clinton added that if elected president she would help build up public trust in the government by working with local officials she trusts and concentrating federal resources on the city for economic development, as well as health and education interventions.

Sanders, meanwhile, said he would end water bills for the people of Flint and make that policy retroactive. The Vermont senator said he would further bring in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to examine and evaluate every resident who drank the water, as well as focus on rebuilding crumbling infrastructure.

Clinton called Sanders a single-issue candidate.

The former secretary of state continued to paint her Democratic rival as a single-issue candidate, suggesting he focuses solely on Wall Street regulations over other policies.

Taking aim at Sanders' opposition to the auto industry bailout, Clinton agreed that there were things she didn't like in the bill, but felt overall it was worth supporting.

"When I talk about Sen. Sanders being a one-issue candidate, I mean very clearly -- you have to make hard choices when you're in positions of responsibility. The two senators from Michigan stood on the floor and said, 'we have to get this money released.' I went with them, and I went with Barack Obama. You did not," she said. "If everybody had voted the way he did, I believe the auto industry would have collapsed, taking four million jobs with it."

Sanders agreed that he's focused on one issue: rebuilding a disappearing middle-class.

The Vermont senator defended his opposition to the auto industry bill, arguing that the "recklessness, greed and illegal behavior of Wall Street drove this country into the worst economic downturn in the modern history of the United States of America" and that middle-class families should not have been on the hook.

"I will be damned if it was the working people of this country who had to bail out the crooks on Wall Street," he said.

Sanders called on Clinton to release transcripts of speeches she delivered on Wall Street.

The Vermont senator took issue with his competitor's past relationship with Wall Street, contending that aside from taking campaign contributions from the financial industry, she has collected speaking fees from it.

"One of us has given speeches on Wall Street for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now, I kind of think if you get paid a couple hundred thousand dollars for a speech, it must be a great speech," he said. "I think we should release it and let the American people see what that transcript was."

Clinton quipped that she'd be happy to release everything, as long as everyone else in the presidential race who delivered similar speeches does as well.

Taking aim at the suggestion that she cannot stand up to Wall Street, the former New York senator said she called on the financial industry to close loopholes and place a moratorium on foreclosures.

Sanders took Clinton up on her challenge.

"All right, look, Secretary Clinton wants everybody else to release it, well, I'm your Democratic opponent, I release it, here it is," he said. "There ain't nothing. I don't give speeches to Wall Street for hundreds of thousands of dollars, you got it."

Sanders contended that Democrats "are not always right."

The independent Vermont senator, who's seeking Democratic party's nomination for president, blasted Democrats for supporting certain policies.

"I don't want to break the bad news, Democrats are not always right. Democrats have often supported corporate welfare, Democrats have supported disastrous trade agreements, but on this issue I do not believe in corporate welfare," he said.

Sanders, later in the debate, pointed to support his opponent has received from various Democratic Party officials and leaders, saying he's "not part of that establishment."

Both candidates criticized how their Republican counterparts have approached the debate process.

Acknowledging that she and Sanders differ on various policies, Clinton lauded the focus on issues in the Democratic Party's debate.

"We have our differences and we get into vigorous debate about issues, but compare the substance of this debate with what you saw on the Republican stage last week," she said.

Sanders, who joined Clinton in taking aim at the GOP candidates, questioned their mental health.

"We are, if elected president, going to invest a lot of money into mental health and when you watch these Republican debates, you know why we need to invest in mental health," he said.

The Vermont senator added he would love to run against GOP front-runner Donald Trump, pointing to polls that show him beating the front-runner by a larger margin than his Democratic opponent.

Nancy Reagan's death draws tearful mourners to closed doors of presidential library

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Mrs. Reagan, her husband's closest adviser and fierce protector, died Sunday morning at her home in the Bel-Air section of Los Angeles of congestive heart failure. She was 94.

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. -- The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum was closed Sunday following the death of Nancy Reagan, but a steady stream of mourners stopped by the main entrance northwest of Los Angeles to snap photos, leave flowers and pay respect.

Jonathan and Renee Kritzer and their four young children toted small American flags as they looked out over the manicured hilltop property in Simi Valley.

"I had tears in my eyes when I heard she died," said Kritzer, who said he turned 18 just in time to vote for Ronald Reagan when he ran for a second term in 1984. "We try to teach our children to be humble, to care about others, to be humanitarians. That was Nancy Reagan."

Mrs. Reagan, her husband's closest adviser and fierce protector, died Sunday morning at her home in the Bel-Air section of Los Angeles of congestive heart failure. She was 94.

Officials decided to shut the library and museum -- usually open seven days a week -- and postpone the Sunday opening of an exhibition of historical and religious objects from the Vatican.



Flowers and notes of remembrance were left near the main entrance. Flags over the U.S. Capitol were lowered to half-staff Sunday evening in honor of Mrs. Reagan, and officials at the library planned to follow suit.

Sharon Hirtzer and her husband, Joe, were visiting California from Chicago and had planned a trip to the library before learning of Mrs. Reagan's death.

"I was just really sad," said Sharon Hirtzer, as a small crowd of well-wishers gathered near the front gate. "She was a great lady and had so much class."

Hirtzer said Mrs. Reagan, often resplendent in designer dresses, brought glamour to the White House. Though the First Lady was occasionally criticized for her spending habits, Hirtzer said that never bothered her.

"She was always very elegant," said Mark Schnose, who made the trip with his wife Barbara from San Bernardino County. "She wanted to portray the US in a positive light to foreign dignitaries."

Nancy Reagan, widow of Ronald Reagan, dead at 94

But Schnose, a psychologist, said he'll remember most Mrs. Reagan's outspoken support for Alzheimer's awareness when the former president was diagnosed with the disease after leaving office. She "set a model for how we love and care for" those with Alzheimer's, he said.

Schnose was among several mourners who pointed out the former first lady's advocacy for causes near to her heart -- especially the "Just Say No" anti-drug campaign, but also foster grandparenting, breast cancer awareness, stem cell research and background checks for gun owners.

Others remarked about the Reagans' mutual devotion over 52 years of marriage.

Wendy Armstrong, a docent at the Reagan Library, said she used to love seeing the Reagans hold hands.

"Their love story was like none other," she said.

North Korea warns it might nuke Washington, Seoul in 'pre-emptive' strike

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North Korea on Monday issued its latest belligerent threat, warning of an indiscriminate "pre-emptive nuclear strike of justice" on Washington and Seoul.

SEOUL, South Korea  -- North Korea on Monday issued its latest belligerent threat, warning of an indiscriminate "pre-emptive nuclear strike of justice" on Washington and Seoul, this time in reaction to the start of huge U.S.-South Korean military drills.

Such threats have been a staple of young North Korean leader Kim Jong Un since he took power after his dictator father's death in December 2011. But they spike especially when Washington and Seoul stage what they call annual defensive springtime war games. Pyongyang says the drills, which started Monday and run through the end of April, are invasion rehearsals.

The North's powerful National Defense Commission threatened strikes against targets in the South, U.S. bases in the Pacific and the U.S. mainland, saying its enemies "are working with bloodshot eyes to infringe upon the dignity, sovereignty and vital rights" of North Korea.

"If we push the buttons to annihilate the enemies even right now, all bases of provocations will be reduced to seas in flames and ashes in a moment," the North's statement said.

Responding to the North's threat, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang Gyun said Monday that North Korea must refrain from a "rash act that brings destruction upon itself."

This year's war games will be the largest ever staged, involving 300,000 South Korean and 17,000 U.S. troops. South Korea's Yonhap news agency, citing military sources, reported that the allies will work on drills for precision attacks on North Korean leadership and its nuclear and missile arsenal in the event of war.

A pre-emptive large-scale military strike that would end the authoritarian rule of the Kim dynasty is highly unlikely. There is also considerable outside debate about whether North Korea is even capable of the kind of "strikes" it threatens. The North makes progress with each new nuclear test -- it staged its fourth in January -- but many experts say its arsenal may consist only of still-crude nuclear bombs; there's uncertainty about whether they've mastered the miniaturization process needed to mount bombs on long-range missiles and widespread doubt about whether they have a reliable missile that could deliver such a bomb to the U.S. mainland.

But North Korea's bellicose rhetoric raises unease in Seoul and its U.S. ally, not least because of the huge number of troops and weaponry facing off along the world's most heavily armed border, which is an hour's drive from the South Korean capital of Seoul and its 10 million residents.

The rival Koreas' usual animosity occasionally erupts in bloody skirmishes -- 50 South Koreans were killed in attacks in 2010 that Seoul blames on the North -- and there is always a worry about an escalation of violence.

Always ragged relations between North Korea and its rivals Seoul and Washington have worsened following North Korea's nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket test last month that outsiders say was a test of banned ballistic missile technology.

The United Nations recently slapped the North with harsh sanctions, and South Korea has taken a harder than usual line, with a new North Korean human rights law and the president in Seoul warning of a collapsed government in Pyongyang. South Korea says it will announce new unilateral sanctions Tuesday.

Similar nuclear threats by the North were made in 2013, around the time of the springtime military drills, after the U.N. sanctioned the North over a nuclear test and long-range rocket launch.

Analysts say one part of North Korea's traditional anger over the drills is that they force the impoverished country to respond with its own costly war games.

Polka legend, Northampton native Chester 'Chet' Dragon remembered as joyful, full of life

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Dragon, who died in Florida at the age of 92, was born in Northampton and became a well-known band leader of The Chet Dragon Band.

Chester "Chet" Dragon loved polka, travel and making people laugh.

chet-dragon.jpgChet Dragon 

"He was a good man, a joyful man," said Helen Curtin, of Northampton, a longtime friend and president of Dragon's fan club.

Dragon, a native of Northampton and well-known polka radio DJ and performer, died March 4 in Palm Bay, Florida. He was 92.

In 1971, Dragon and his wife Mary Lou Dragon began broadcasting "Your Sunday Morning Polka Parade with Chet and Mary Lou" at WREB and WTTT, according to this obituaryM. He was beloved by listeners.

Curtin first met Dragon when she was a nurse at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home.

"He was a veteran and also an outpatient at the Soldiers' Home, and we just started talking about music and the radio, and he invited me to come to his show to answer the phones," she said.

Dragon played trumpet with numerous polka bands. He became a well-known band leader after forming The Chet Dragon Band, which recorded many polka albums and performed throughout the U.S. and on cruise ships.

"He had quite a local following and we would go with him on trips around the country, and we even went with him to Poland," Curtin said.

Besides playing the trumpet, Dragon also sang and was a natural performer, she said.

"If you were having a tough day, Chet would be sure to lift your spirits. He was quite a man and had a real joy for living," she said. "Anytime we had an event at the Soldiers' Home, I would call him up and he would come perform for the veterans, just to see them smile."

In 1993, Dragon was inducted into the Polka Music Hall of Fame in Chicago. In 1996, he retired, and Curtin took over the radio show.

"We shared a love of music and he really taught me everything he knew. I will never forget him, that's for sure," she said.

Dragon is survived by his wife of 52 years, the former Mary Lou Osgood, five children, 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother, Walter Dragon, of the Florence section of Northampton, and several nieces and nephews.


 

Authorities ID children killed in Orange house

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Authorities have identified the victims of Saturday's deadly house fire in the Franklin County town of Orange as 9-year-old Victoria Rose Gaignard and 7-year-old Leena Shea Ciolino.

ORANGE — Authorities have identified the victims of Saturday's deadly house fire in the Franklin County town of Orange as 9-year-old Victoria Rose Gaignard and 7-year-old Leena Shea Ciolino.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has yet to officially name the victims, but they were presumed to be Gaignard and Ciolino, Mary Carey, communications chief for Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan, said Monday.

Three others were injured in the late-afternoon fire at the Mechanic Street home, according to the state Department of Fire Services. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.


 

Holyoke's 20-year-old voting machines could get $100,000 modernization

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For $94,700, Holyoke would get 15 new voting machines in a deal that would include a $7,000 credit to trade in the current machines that are two decades old.

HOLYOKE -- Replacing city voting machines with a nearly $100,000 upgrade would reduce wait times for the public caused by the current, 20-year-old devices that sometimes jam in processing ballots, City Clerk Brenna Murphy McGee said Monday.

"Upgrading our voting machines will help us to reduce instances of absentee ballot jamming and cut down on wait times at the polls, while helping us to increase overall election day efficiency," Murphy McGee said.

City Council President Kevin A. Jourdain said he included the city clerk's request for voting machines in a list of capital items he submitted Friday to Mayor Alex B. Morse.

The mayor said he supported purchasing new voting machines.

"I think it's a good idea and a good investment for the city to make. Brenna and her staff have done a great job administering the elections and it's important they have reliable, up-to-date machines at all times," Morse said.

The funding source for such a capital plan likely would be borrowing as the city's available free cash is in the low six-figures, Jourdain said.

LHS Associates Inc. of Salem, N.H. submitted an estimate to Murphy McGee of $94,700 for 15 ImageCast Precinct Tabulator machines, including one spare (see below). The price includes software, training, $7,000 trade-in credit for the current Accuvote machines and on-site coverage by an LHS Associates employee in the first election the machines are used, according to the company's March 2 letter to Murphy McGee.

The city has 14 precincts, or two in each of the seven voting wards.

The most recent election was the Massachusetts presidential primary March 1. The voter turnout was more than 33 percent, with 8,292 of the 25,087 registered voters participating.

Wait times caused by jammed ballots weren't drastic during the primary, but the goal is to head off such problems for voters, Murphy McGee said.

The next scheduled election could be a state primary election on Sept. 8 for a legislative race if there are more than two candidates for a seat, to narrow the field to the top two vote-getters.

"While our voting machines here in the city of Holyoke have served us well, they are nearly 20 years old. By comparison other cities and towns locally like South Hadley and Longmeadow and approximately 30 others across the commonwealth have updated their machines," Murphy McGee said.

Buying new voting machines would be subject to a public bidding process under state law because the cost is more than $10,000, said David A. Martins, city chief procurement officer.

Cost estimate for new Holyoke voting machines:

'Really starting to gel': Springfield Central Cultural District walk impresses city, state officials

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The local and state officials toured the Springfield Central Cultural District to discuss some of the cultural highlights and current and future advocacy efforts. Watch video

SPRINGFIELD — Local and state officials took a walking tour of the Springfield Central Cultural District on Monday, saying it provided a walkable bonanza of the downtown's cultural highlights ranging from the Quadrangle Museums to the Municipal Group buildings at Court Square.

"You know, this is the second time I've taken the walking tour of the cultural district," said Anita Walker, executive director of the Massachusetts Cultural Commission. "And this time I really feel like the vision is coming into focus. It's really starting to gel. It's really exciting."

Walker was joined on the tour by more than a dozen officials including state Sen. Eric Lesser, D-Longmeadow, and Mayor Domenic J. Sarno. The local and state officials stopped at several sites along the way, with some tours inside some of the buildings.

Lesser is Senate chairman of the Legislature's Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development, and said Monday that he will bring the results of the tour back to the Legislature to advocate for greater state support of the cultural district and its programs.

The walking time between several buildings, not including the inside tours, took perhaps 20 minutes.

The tour was aimed at highlighting the arts and culture economy in Springfield

Lesser said the most important thing he took away from the tour is "a sense of optimism and a belief there is quite a lot of potential, there is a lot happening and there is a lot more that we can continue to do."

"You can study these issues, you can research these issues endlessly, but until you actually have the policymakers and the leaders at the Statehouse come and see it firsthand, it doesn't really come to life, it doesn't become real," Lesser said. "That was the goal today."

Those on the tour traveled from the Central Library on State Street to the Springfield Museums at the Quadrangle to Stearns Square, the New England Public Radio building, the MassMutual Center, the Community Music School, Court Square and Symphony Hall.

The Springfield Central Cultural District (SCCD) was the first cultural district formed in Springfield, and describes itself as "an architecturally impressive, compact, walkable area encompassing approximately 1/3 of a square mile brimming with cultural attractions, a robust calendar of cultural programming, and a diverse roster of restaurants and eateries."

Sarno said Walker has been "a great partner in promoting and developing the arts, culture and our cultural district.

"I think it's important not only that we continue to concentrate on the meat and potato issues of urban America, but it's also important to continue to create and utilize arts and culture to make vibrancy," Sarno said.

The directors of both the Springfield Library and the Community Music School thanked the Massachusetts Cultural Commission for their past and future support.

Walker said there is a well-defined logical sense to the Springfield Central Cultural District.

"But I think as exciting to me is the enthusiasm in the community, the leadership of the community from the mayor to the participants to the people who work and have buildings within the cultural district," Walker said. "It's visionary, and it's just really exciting to see it happening."

The Massachusetts Cultural Commission already feels "like we're part of the family," Walker said.

"It's exciting to see that the community really has confidence, optimism and a vision into the future and they are putting this on a foundation of their authentic arts and culture," Walker said.


News Links: Father tried in vain to save girls in fire, prom day murderer could get out after 13 years, and more

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http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/20160307/woman-charged-with-illegal-massage-operation

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A digest of news stories from around New England.


  • Heroic father tried in vain to save 2 girls in Orange fire [Boston Herald] Video above


  • No-contest plea means student accused in prom day slaying could be out of prison in 13-years [Hartford Courant] Video below


  • Locked doors, men driving cars with Maine license plates lead New Hampshire police to charge Massachusetts woman with running illegal massage operation [SeacoastOnline.com]


  • Police seek public's help in solving Chelsea shooting that killed 1 man, wounded 6 others, mostly teens [Boston Globe] Video below


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  • North Adams man tells police he felt 'horrible' after shooting school buses with BB gun [Berkshire Eagle]


  • Death caps weekend of multiple snowmobile crashes in New Hamsphire [Union Leader]


  • Feds charge Rhode Island, bank with defauding investors in former Rex Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's failed 38 studios video-game company [Providence Journal]


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  • Connecticut man arrested after police say he squeezed toddler so hard, she vomited [New Haven Register]


  • Maine recorded record number of drug overdose deaths, 157, last year, officials say [Portland Press Herald]


  • 50 foster children taken in by Charlton couple since 2008 [Telegram & Gazette]


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  • Holyoke to hold free performance of U.S. Coast Guard Dixieland Jazz Band

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    Admission is free to the Holyoke show by the U.S. Coast Guard Dixieland Jazz Band April 9, but tickets still must be obtained by calling (413) 322-5630,

    HOLYOKE -- The U.S. Coast Guard Dixieland Jazz Band will play a free concert April 9 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the War Memorial, 310 Appleton St.

    "We are very honored and excited to have the US Coast Guard Dixieland Band perform a concert at the Holyoke War Memorial Building," Jim Mahoney, city Veterans Services Department director, said in a press release Monday.

    Admission is free but tickets are required to attend. To get tickets, contact the Veterans Services Department at (413) 322-5630 or visit eventbrite.com, he said

    "The United States Coast Guard Dixieland Jazz Band was organized in 1970 to perform classic jazz, blues and rags with a 'New Orleans' flavor. The Dixieland Jazz Band has entertained audiences across America, in the former Soviet Union and in England," the band's website said.

    Band members are Cedric Mayfield, clarinet, Thomas Brown, trumpet, Sean Nelson, trombone, Robert Langslet, piano, Mark McCormick, bass/leader, Nathan Lassell, drums, Megan Weikleenget, vocals, and Robert Holtorff, audio engineer.

    Mahoney said he wanted to thank Stephen and Rose Majgier from the Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 93 here for their work in bringing the U.S. Coast Guard Dixieland Jazz Band to the city.

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