The bears are reportedly not scared off by the presence of people, police said.

HADLEY - Police are warning residents there have been numerous bears seen in the town recently.

The bears have been seen in neighborhoods around Shattuck Road, northern River Drive and Cold Spring Road, police said.

Residents of those areas are encouraged to take in birdfeeders, secure trash cans and be watchful of pets that are left outside, police said.

"They are reportedly not scared off by the presence of people," police said.

People should phone 911 if they see any bears which act aggressively toward people.

A firefighter suffered a minor ankle injury and was taken to a hospital for treatment, Dennis Leger, aide to Commissioner Joseph Conant said. Watch video

Updates story posted at 11:20 a.m.

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Arson & Bomb Squad continues to investigate a blaze that displaced a dozen people from a Wilbraham Road home and caused some $80,000 in damage,

A firefighter suffered a minor ankle injury and was taken to a hospital for treatment, Dennis Leger, aide to Commissioner Joseph Conant, said. Otherwise, no injuries were reported.

The Upper Hill neighborhood blaze was reported shortly before 11 a.m. at 358 Wilbraham Road. Shortly afterwards, flames could be seen coming from an attic window.

Heavy flames could be seen coming from the roof after Ladder 1 firefighters used a chainsaw to cut a hole in the roof at 358 Wilbraham Road.

Although initial reports indicated that five people were displaced, Leger said there were 13 - six on the first floor, five on the second and one on the third.

The Pioneer Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross is aiding those displaced, Leger said.

Investigators determined the fire started on the second floor.

Selectmen presented Jenks with a plaque and said his leadership of the department as interim police chief earned him the honor.

BELCHERTOWN -- Police Sgt. Bruce Jenks was named the municipality's employee of the year during a ceremony at the start of last week's annual town meeting.

Selectmen Chairman Ronald E. Aponte presented Jenks a plaque and said his leadership of the department, as interim police chief following Francis Fox' resignation in September, earned Jenks the honor.

"Last fall, when confronted with a very difficult personnel situation in his department, the Board of Selectmen had absolutely no hesitation asking him to step in and fill a need of leadership. He did so with no complaints, no fanfare," Aponte said.

"During that difficult period, the department flourished. There were no issues," he said.

Jenks joined the force in 1996 and was promoted to sergeant in 2003, the year he earned a bachelor's degree from Western New England College.

Because of "this man's character and leadership, the department came together," following the Fox resignation, Aponte said.

"All employees, and this town as a whole owes a significant debt of gratitude to this individual, and hopefully this evening's award is a small token of our appreciation.

"Thank you very much. I'm honored to receive this award," Jenks said. "We have a great group of officers and dispatchers -- and with the town support, they actually made it easy."

The sergeant then asked members of the force to stand and be acknowledged with him, as town meeting clapped in appreciation.

Food and other items will be distributed to 800 local families at the PriceRite store at 1106 Union St. on Tuesday, May 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

WEST SPRINGFIELD — Food and other items will be distributed to dozens of local families at PriceRite in West Springfield on Tuesday, May 17, according to supermarket officials.

PriceRite, in partnership with Feed the Children and PepsiCo and with support from Revival Time Evangelical Center, are banding together to distribute food and other essentials to 800 West Springfield-area families in need.

Each family will receive a 25-pound box of food; a 10-pound box of basic essentials, such as shampoo and other personal-care items; and a box of assorted Avon products.

The distribution effort runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at PriceRite, 1106 Union St.

Families will also receive an additional food donation from PriceRite. Other community partners will be on hand to help direct families to the social resources they need.

"Fighting hunger in the local community is at the heart of PriceRite's charitable giving," PriceRite officials said in a news release Monday. Company officials said the grocery chain contributes around $400,000 annually to local food banks and food pantries.

PriceRite has more than 60 stores in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. Chain stores feature expanded produce departments and groceries that cost up to 50 percent less than traditional supermarkets.

The first PriceRite store opened in West Springfield in 1995. More information is available online at www.priceritesupermarkets.com.

Personal care attendants paid through contracts with the state will earn $15 an hour by 2018, under a new contract finalized between their union and Gov. Charlie Baker's administration.

BOSTON -- Personal care attendants paid through contracts with the state will earn $15 an hour by 2018 under a new contract finalized between their union and Gov. Charlie Baker's administration.

The union, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, and the Baker administration agreed in principle last year that the state, through MassHealth, would pay the personal care attendants $15 an hour by 2018. But at the time, they signed only a one-year contract, with an agreement to keep negotiating the schedule for increasing the wages.

The 35,000 personal care attendants who work for the state today earn $13.68 an hour to care for low-income seniors and people with disabilities. Under the new contract, they will receive a raise to $14.12 an hour on July 1, 2016, to $14.56 an hour in 2017 and to $15 an hour in 2018.

The personal care attendants, through 1199SEIU, have had a strong presence lobbying on Beacon Hill and holding rallies to gain support for a $15 an hour wage. They have tied their union negotiations to a national campaign to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour for certain groups of workers, such as restaurant workers.

The new contract also includes a $200,000 annual increase in the money available for education and training.

"Hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents depend on Personal Care Attendants to provide quality care, giving seniors and people with disabilities across the Commonwealth the opportunity to stay in their home," Baker said in a statement distributed by 1199SEIU. "This new contract ensures that the 35,000 men and women who perform this important work have appropriate compensation and increased funding for education."

Lesbia Vidot, a personal care attendant from Holyoke who helped negotiate the contract, said in a statement, "This victory recognizes the tens of thousands of Massachusetts PCAs who work hard every day to help seniors and people with disabilities across the Commonwealth."

The big change could happen within the next two weeks, a source close to Twitter told Bloomberg.

Anyone who uses Twitter regularly has likely experienced the frustration that comes with crafting that perfect tweet, a tweet made more whole by attaching a photo -- and then finding out that the accompanying picture eats up 23 of the allotted 140 characters.

But Twitter may soon stop counting photos and links in its character limit, according to Bloomberg.

The big change could happen within the next two weeks, a source close to the company told Bloomberg.

In January, Twitter's Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey said that the company was seeking new ways to display text on Twitter, and would study how exactly people use the social media platform.

Twitter's 140-character limit was designed in 2006 to make sending Tweets through mobile text message services easier -- all this before the advent of smartphones.

Last year, rumors that the company would expand its character limit to 10,000 spread. But Twitter executives have since stressed that the platform is intended for quick back-and-forth interaction and live events, not long posts.

The grants must be matched by local contributions.

AMHERST - The Amherst Cinema Center and the Eric Carle Museum both received cultural facilities capital projects grants, the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund announced Monday.

The fund awarded Amherst Cinema Arts Center $74,000 to install solar panels on the facility's roof to generate electricity and solar renewable energy credits, reducing electric utility costs.

The facilities fund also awarded the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art $103,000 to install a high efficiency condensing boiler system and a humidifier, upgrade gallery and cafe lighting and repair entrance overhangs and drainage in the second floor mechanical room.

Both projects must raise matching funds.

The cinema center has been conducting a fund-raiser and has raised $40,000 toward its matching costs, executive director Carol Johnson said in an email.

The two grants are among 68 awarded totaling $8.9 million in funding, according to a press release from State Sen. President Stanley Rosenberg's office.

"Supporting our local creative economy is essential for Western Massachusetts to continue promoting a healthy arts and tourism industry," Rosenberg said in a statement.

"The grants fuel our vibrant arts community by ensuring that there is ample space for artists to thrive," Rosenberg said. "These investments reaffirm our commitment to supporting both the local arts and tourism industries, and I thank Mass Development and the Massachusetts Cultural Council for their work."

The Northampton Community Arts Trust, the Norman Rockwell Museum and the Springfield Museums are among the organizations that received up to $300,000 apiece in funding.

Several Western Massachusetts cultural institutions have received state grants to improve their facilities.

In total, the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund on Monday announced the awarding of 68 capital grants, totaling $8.9 million, and another 23 planning grants totaling just over $400,000. The grants range from approximately $7,000 to $300,000, and the state money must be matched by money from other sources.

The fund is administered by the state, through the economic development agency MassDevelopment and the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

One of the largest grants, of just over $300,000, will go to the Northampton Community Arts Trust. The trust's mission is to create affordable spaces for creative work in downtown Northampton. The money will go to complete renovations at 33 Hawley Street by building out performance space, workspaces, an art gallery and a lobby/mezzanine.

The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge received a $300,000 grant to address issues related to circulation, safety and access, including installing a new stone plaza and accessible curbs, and upgrading the roof and HVAC systems.

Saint James Place in Great Barrington, a former Episcopal Church being renovated for use as a community cultural facility, received $247,000 to purchase and install lighting, sound and video equipment.

The central branch of the Springfield City Library received $100,000 to replace the handicapped ramp and repair the roofing and masonry. The Springfield Museums received $100,000 for roof and front entrance repairs.

"Supporting our local creative economy is essential for Western Massachusetts to continue promoting a healthy arts and tourism industry," said Senate President Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst. "The grants fuel our vibrant arts community by ensuring that there is ample space for artists to thrive."

Other projects receiving grants include building repairs at Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield; accessibility improvements at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Becket; solar panel installation at Amherst Cinema Arts Center; exterior and energy improvements and mural restoration at the Arms Library in Shelburne Falls; building rehabilitation at Chesterwood Museum and Estate in Stockbridge; stable restoration at the Edith Wharton estate in Lenox; energy efficiency improvements and repairs at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst; restoration of the Berkshire Museum's theater space in Pittsfield; and theater restoration at the UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center.

See the full list of grants here.

With innovative new programs for prisoners and an ongoing analysis of the state's criminal justice system by the Council on State Governments' Justice Center, Massachusetts is "on the brink of something really big" as it embarks to reform the criminal justice system, Baker predicted.

By Colin A. Young
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

BOSTON, MAY 16, 2016.....When Gov. Charlie Baker walked out of an intensive educational program for prison inmates last week, he thought to himself, "why the . . . did it take so long for us to get around to creating this?," he said Monday morning, inserting a pause where his thoughts may have placed an expletive.

The School of Reentry, run at the Department of Correction's pre-release center in Roslindale, aims to prepare inmates to re-enter society through education, vocational training, counseling, job preparation and personal development.

With innovative new programs for prisoners and an ongoing analysis of the state's criminal justice system by the Council on State Governments' Justice Center, Massachusetts is "on the brink of something really big" as it embarks to reform the criminal justice system, Baker predicted.

"It feels to me like there is a real sensibility at this point about the way this needs to work and where we need to go and the fact that we have to get a lot smarter and a lot better about helping people find pathways into productive life," Baker said at a fundraiser for Roca, an organization that provides high-intensity programming for at-risk youth in Greater Boston and Springfield.

Though Massachusetts's incarceration rate -- 188 adults behind bars for every 100,000 citizens, according to the National Institute of Corrections -- is the third lowest in the nation, people who have previous convictions account for 79 percent of state prison sentences and 84 percent of sentences to county houses of correction, according to an initial Justice Center analysis.

Criminal justice reform efforts over the years have typically sought to find balance between being smart on crime and being tough on offenders. The costs of establishing training and rehabilitation programs within the walls of correctional facilities have also long been an impediment to sweeping reform.

House Speaker Robert DeLeo, who joined Baker, Senate President Stanley Rosenberg and Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph Gants to partner with the Justice Center, said he too is most interested to take "a strong look" at programs that have proven to be effective at breaking the cycle of recidivism.

"Although there is still much study and I'm anxiously awaiting some of that study, I believe that we're probably not giving enough in terms of programming, either before they're ready to get out or when they get out, in terms of oversight," he said. "That old TV scene you may see where they let the prisoner out and he or she is just on the sidewalk ... surprisingly, I think that's true in some cases."

In 2014, former Gov. Deval Patrick's administration signed a pay for success (PFS) contract with Roca, investing $27 million in support services, skills training and job placement that will cost the state nothing unless it succeeds.

The seven-year project will use a form of financing known as social impact bonds that will collect private and philanthropic money to run the program. If an independent evaluator determines that Roca has achieved specific, predetermined outcomes, the state will pay back those grants and loans.

Molly Baldwin, the founder and CEO of Roca, said the risky venture has so far proven to be effective. Roca retained 84 percent of the young people it worked with last fiscal year, and of the young men in the third or fourth years of Roca programming, 87 percent have held a job for six months or longer, 93 percent have no new arrests and 98 percent have no new incarcerations, according to the organization.

"Because as the nation is between a rock and hard place trying to find ways for these young men, it was time for us to run into danger and put our model to the test," Baldwin said Monday. "I am humbled to report to you that we are where we projected to be two-and-a-half years in."

The state's partnership with Roca extends even further. Baker said that when the state needed to find workers to do some "modest construction work" at the Registry of Motor Vehicles branch in Springfield, the call went to Roca.

"They can be an enormously successful, terrific ally in helping us do the work we need to do and at the same time give many of these young men an opportunity to participate more fully and fruitfully in opportunities in our communities," Baker said. "I'm here to say -- as somebody who is a paying customer of Roca and the folks who work with Roca -- to say that we are a very satisfied paying customer."

Two brothers, Scott and Steve Leader, pleaded guilty on Monday to charges that they assaulted a 58-year-old homeless man with a pole because they believed he was an illegal immigrant, calling him a "wetback" and mentioning Donald Trump.

BOSTON - Two brothers, Scott and Steve Leader, pleaded guilty on Monday to charges that they assaulted a 58-year-old homeless man with a pole because they believed he was an illegal immigrant, calling him a "wetback" and mentioning Donald Trump.

At their change-of-plea hearing, Superior Court Judge Peter Krupp called their actions "cowardly and despicable." The brothers both have criminal records.

He sentenced Scott Leader, 38, to three years in state prison. Steve Leader, 30, was sentenced to two and a half years in state prison.

The attack occurred in the early morning hours of Aug. 19, 2015, close to JFK/UMass MBTA station in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood.

Approaching a sleeping Guillermo Rodriguez, the two brothers "punched him, kicked him and hit him numerous times with a pole," according to Nicole Rimar, an assistant district attorney with Suffolk District Attorney Dan Conley's office.

"This was an unprovoked, brutal attack on a sleeping man, motivated entirely by racial hostility," Rimar said in court.

Scott Leader has two prior convictions for hate crimes, Rimar added: One was an assault just after Sept. 11, 2001, on a Middle Eastern store employee. The other was in 2005, on Carson Beach in South Boston, directed at an Asian American.

Rimar said Scott Leader's "history of animosity towards others is troubling."

In the August 2015 incident, they also called the immigrant a "wetback" and high-fived each other after beating him, Rimar said. Parts of the attack were witnessed by passersby and construction workers who were paving a road.

Steve Leader called one of the witnesses who went to police a "rat," and when the two brothers were charged he claimed police were only arresting them "because we are white," Rimar said.

Scott Leader told police, "Donald Trump is right, all these illegals need to be deported," according to Rimar.

Donald Trump, who has made disparaging remarks about Latinos and speaks on the campaign trail of building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, is the presumptive Republican nominee for president.

Neither Scott nor Steve Leader is a registered voter in Massachusetts, according to election officials.

Read the statement from the victim, Guillermo Rodriguez

In court, Rimar, the prosecutor, stated that Scott Leader also said they "tuned" the immigrant and he then made punching gestures.

Victoria Kelleher, the attorney for Scott Leader, told the judge, "He regrets what happened."

She added that alcohol played a "significant" role in this incident.

Krupp said while alcohol may certainly have been a factor, "I'm not sure it fully explains the behavior."

Both were sentenced to three years of probation after serving their sentences. The first year of probation will have to be in a sober house environment, and both defendants are required to remain drug and alcohol free.

They should also participate in cultural sensitivity training, the judge said.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. Monday at Town Hall. And should it be needed, a second evening to complete Town Meeting business is scheduled for Wednesday at 7 p.m.

BRIMFIELD -- Monday's Town Meeting will deliberate on a $12.7 million request to potentially fund "new town buildings and repairs" of existing structures, via a proposition 2½ debt exclusion.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at Town Hall. And should it be needed, a second evening to complete Town Meeting business is scheduled for Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Article 18 asks Town Meeting's approval to appropriate money "for the design, permitting, construction and equipping of new town buildings and repairs, renovations and equipping of existing town-owned buildings, including but not limited to Town Hall, Town Hall annex, library, Highway Department facility, the fire/police station, and senior center."

Should town meeting allow borrowing the $12.7 million to fund the proposals, voters at the June annual election would decide whether to approve it.

A debt exclusion is a temporary tax increase in effect for the years in which the bonds are being paid. The article does not include a time frame for paying off the bonds.

Data provided by the town shows an estimated annual tax impact of $202 per $100,000 of assessed valuation during each year the debt exclusion is in effect.

The plans call for demolition of the structurally challenged Town Hall annex, which is located adjacent to the town hall.

If approved by Town Meeting this week, and voters at the June 6 annual election, construction would begin next year, and would be complete by summer of 2018, town officials said.

Guillermo Rodriguez, the 58-year-old man who was urinated on and beaten with a pole by the brothers Scott and Steve Leader, said in a victim impact statement he still feels pain from all over his body nearly 10 months after the incident.

BOSTON - Guillermo Rodriguez, the 58-year-old man who was urinated on and beaten with a pole by the brothers Scott and Steve Leader, said in a victim impact statement he still feels pain from all over his body nearly 10 months after the incident.

In a statement that Nicole Rimar, an assistant district attorney, read aloud in court on Monday, Rodriguez said he lives in fear that they will find him and hurt him again.

The two brothers were sentenced on Monday in Suffolk Superior Court by Judge Peter Krupp after they pleaded guilty to the charges of assault and violating Rodriguez's constitutional rights.

The incident occurred in the early morning hours of August 19, 2015, and one of the brothers cited Donald Trump in remarks to the police after they were arrested.

Rodriguez sat a few rows back during the court proceeding on Monday, wearing a windbreaker and an orange "Fly Emirates" cap. He declined to speak to reporters after the two brothers were sentenced.

In his statement, Rodriguez, originally from Mexico, said he became a permanent resident of the United States years ago.

"I believe that they present a danger to other Hispanic people - documented or undocumented - who are in this country, minding their own business and working hard," he said.

His full statement, dated April 21, is below:

On the morning of August 19, 2015, I was sleeping outside of the JFK MBTA station in Dorchester when I was awoken by two men who threw urine or urinated on me. When I got up to confront them and ask them why they did this to me, they [proceeded] to swear at me and call me names because I am Hispanic. The men, whom I later learned were the brothers, Steven and Scott Leader, then kicked me, punched me and beat me with some object. Workers doing construction in the street saved me from them but I still suffered serious injuries including injuries to my fingers, head and chest.

I still feel pain all over my body from this incident. I don't think my fingers will ever by the same. When this occurred, I had been minding my own business, sleeping with my cart which I use to collect cans and bottles. I did not provoke the attack. I was asleep. I cannot understand why they did this to me. I did not do anything to them and did not even know them. I have heard that they did this because of political rhetoric that they heard and because I am originally from Mexico. I came to this country many years ago and worked hard in the farm fields to provide produce to people here. I actually became a permanent resident of this country years ago, although if I had been undocumented, I still would not have deserved to have been beaten in this way.

Since this happened, I have lived in fear that they will find me again and hurt me further. I am also afraid that they could hurt my family. I worry that they could hurt others like they hurt me if they do not remain incarcerated. I believe that they present a danger to other Hispanic people - documented or undocumented - who are in this country, minding their own business and working hard. They may also be a danger to other people who are different from them.

What did I do to deserve this? I just wanted to live my life peacefully. I now have to live with my injuries and the trauma that I have suffered.

Superior Court judge calls Scott and Steve Leader's actions 'despicable'

Aisha Hiza said she will not participate until the order is lifted.

AMHERST - A stay away order against the parent of a Pelham Elementary School student remains in effect following a lengthy executive session at the board's May 5 meeting, according to a letter sent to the parent by the district's law firm.

The May 5 executive session involved a discussion with Superintendent Maria Geryk about a complaint filed by parent Aisha Hiza of Chicopee, who asked the board to lift a stay-away order Geryk issued on March 15.  

Hiza filed the complaint with the committee in April, after Geryk banned her from all town schools. That order was eventually amended to allow Hiza to drop off and pick up her daughter, but not enter the school.

The issue began when Hiza sought to address bullying she says her daughter, a first-grader at Pelham Elementary, has experienced at the school since kindergarten.

In a May 12 letter to Hiza, attorney Thomas W. Colomb -- of the firm of Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane -- said the Pelham School Committee could not lift the stay away order because the board "... is not empowered to review or overrule the Superintendent's decisions on certain issues raised in your complaint such as bullying investigations or stay away orders."

Colomb added that "... privacy laws limit some of the information that the Superintendent may share with the Committee regarding the situation."

The attorney's letter also included a summary of the May 5 executive session. 

The committee "... discussed with the Superintendent each allegation set forth in your complaint of April 4, 2016, in an effort to better understand the background of the current situation," Colomb wrote. 

Colomb said Geryk shared with the committee her "efforts to modify the terms of the stay away order to maximize your participation in activities related to your daughter's education," and that Geryk "identified her efforts to offer you a reasonable restorative process to facilitate better interaction between yourself and school administration, and which would create an environment in which [Geryk] would be able to lift the stay away order."

"The committee would strongly encourage you to pursue such opportunities with the administration," Colomb's letter concludes.

In a response to Colomb, Hiza wrote that Geryk's administration did offer a restorative process -- but, she said she would only agree to that process if the stay-away order were lifted first. "I will not enter a process that takes some kind of trust when a stay away order is still in place," she wrote.

She also wrote, "If someone told you that there was a stay away order but you were allowed to pick up and drop off your kid at the door but not allowed to communicate with anyone and also were allowed to go to certain events but still were not allowed to communicate with school officials how is that OK?" 

Hiza was referring to a previous stipulation that she communicate with school administrators and the Pelham School Commitee through Regina Tate, another district lawyer. 

Hiza said she will be filing another complaint.

"There has been harm towards my family, harm towards my child who this is about because of her being bullied and still being bullied," she said.

Colomb could not be reached for comment.

Gov. Charlie Baker wants to devote more than $1 billion to affordable housing over the next five years with the goal of preserving or creating 5,000 affordable units.

BOSTON (AP) -- Gov. Charlie Baker wants to devote more than $1 billion to affordable housing over the next five years with the goal of preserving or creating 5,000 affordable units.

The Republican said Monday his capital plan for Massachusetts will include $1.1 billion for housing.

Baker says the proposal will support existing housing programs and also finance efforts to maintain affordable housing that is at risk of flipping to market rate.

Under his proposal, investments in public and affordable housing would increase by eight percent in the 2017 fiscal year that begins July 1 and 18 percent over the course of the plan.

Baker says it would help local housing authorities and encourage the private construction of affordable housing.

The plan comes as Massachusetts faces a housing squeeze due to high demand.

Advocates for prisoners' rights say county jails are not all following a 2014 anti-shackling law.

Two years ago, then-Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signed a law banning the shackling of prison inmates who are in labor, in their second or third trimester of pregnancy or post-delivery.

But today, pregnant women are still being shackled, contrary to the law, according to a study released Monday by advocates for female prisoners.

"One of the big problems is that the law doesn't have any oversight or enforcement mechanisms built in," said Rachel Roth, a women's health policy expert working as a consultant with Prisoners' Legal Services and the Prison Birth Project, which released the report.

The report reviewed official written policies for the state Department of Correction and every county that houses female inmates. It found that none of the policies fully comply with the law.

The advocates also spoke with female prisoners, their family members and their attorneys who told stories of being restrained during labor or immediately after delivery. This is true even in counties that have official policies banning the practice.

Correction officials have also not always complied with policies requiring pregnant women be transported to hearings in vans with seatbelts. Pregnant women have missed court hearings because the department would not provide a van with a seatbelt.

Based on official written policies, Berkshire County's policy violates almost all parts of the new law. It does not require seatbelts for transporting a pregnant woman and does not allow a doctor or nurse to order the removal of restraints. It does not prohibit the use of restraints during a pregnant women's transportation to or from the hospital. It does not ban the use of leg and waist restraints throughout pregnancy and postpartum.

Hampden County has policies to comply with almost all of the law, except its policy does not include a ban on leg and waist restraints throughout pregnancy and postpartum. Franklin County also complies with all of the law except the leg and waist restraint ban. Hampshire County complies with the law other than lacking a restriction on postpartum restraints during transportation.

The report finds that the state Department of Correction complies with most of the law as it relates to state prisoners. But it has not taken any steps to develop statewide standards for pregnancy-related care.

Christopher Fallon, a spokesman for the Department of Correction, said in a statement, "The Massachusetts Department of Correction revised its policies and procedures regarding transportation and medical treatment of pregnant inmates in order to comply with the anti-shackling law in 2014."

The report also found fault with the level of pregnancy-related health care and nutritional care given to some prisoners.

The report concludes that the new law must be better enforced, and corrections officials must be better trained.

"The Legislature passed a really comprehensive law to address the use of restraints on pregnant and postpartum women, but it didn't build in any kind of oversight or reporting or consequences for violating the law," Roth said. "It just seems like there's variation across the state in how people seem to understand what the law requires."

"The goal is really to make sure that the law is followed and to raise awareness of what's going on now," Roth said. "A law is only as good as its enforcement."

Read the full report here [pdf] >>

A three-car crash on the Massachusetts Turnpike has backed up eastbound traffic for about two miles.

A three car crash on the Massachusetts Turnpike has backed up eastbound traffic for about two miles.

There are delays from near the I-291 interchange to Ludlow, according to Google Maps traffic data.

A trooper with the Charlton State Police Barracks said the crash had caused one minor injury and that one lane of traffic is closed.

"We have three wreckers down there," the trooper said. "We'll be clearing it up shortly."

The family and friends of Kyle Chapdelaine, 23, of Chicopee, are mourning the loss of "Chap," as many called him.

CHICOPEE -- Kimberly Chapdelaine recalled driving into the Walgreens parking lot in the city one day and seeing her son, Kyle Chapdelaine, walking into the store with a few friends.

He was the one who stopped at the store's entrance to help an elderly woman navigate the through the door with her walker.

"I turned to my husband and said, 'we did something right,'" she said in a phone interview Monday. "That's how I want to remember him."

Kyle S. Chapdelaine, 23, was killed Thursday night in a motorcycle crash along with his friend of many years, Julisa Diaz, 22, also of Chicopee. They were riding in the Sixteen Acres area of Springfield when a truck driven by Steven Thompson, 24, of Springfield, turned left in front of them.

Thompson is now facing two counts of motor vehicle homicide while under the influence of alcohol. He has pleaded not guilty and was released on bail.

Julisa Diaz, killed in Springfield motorcycle crash, was going to graduate from Springfield College Sunday

Kyle Chapdelaine's family and friends are now mourning the loss of "Chap," as many called him. His mother said her family is grateful for all the support they've received from people whose lives Kyle touched.

"We just want for everyone to remember Kyle as the charming, friendly and full-of-energy friend," she said. "He was 'the typical boy-next-door.'  He had such an easy-going manner and heart-warming ways, he brought love and joy to all who knew him."

He had been trying to sell his motorcycle at the time of his death because he wanted to buy a Jeep, his mother said. He had potential buyers look at it throughout the week.

Julisa Diaz (Submitted photo)

That was one of the reasons that he had to delay granting a birthday wish to Diaz. She wanted to go for a ride for her birthday, which was earlier last week. They were out for that ride Thursday when they were killed.

His sister, Katherine Chapdelaine, is a mental health counselor at Baystate Medical Center. She was working in the emergency department when she heard the "cat one" call on the intercom; the call that means there is a catastrophic injury. In this case, his mother said, there were two.

Police said Chapdelaine was killed instantly while Diaz died at the hospital. Still, Katherine Chapdelaine was in the ER as a friend of theirs, another staff member, did chest compressions trying to bring her brother back.

"It was the best team that could have been there. They did everything they could," Kimberly Chapdelaine said. "Kyle didn't feel anything. It was quick."

Springfield College awards degree to mom of Julisa Diaz, graduate who died in crash

Like Diaz, who had been working her way through college at the time of the crash, Chapdelaine was a hard worker. His mother said he worked for Ludlow Construction, TD's Sports Pub in Chicopee and Pasquale's Tavern in East Longmeadow.

His obituary says he graduated from Chicopee Comprehensive High School and in the last two years had obtained certifications from the state and OSHA in electrical work.

He was a member of the Knights of Columbus Council 4044 and Knights on Bikes. He loved his pets; his dog, Logan, and bearded dragon, Link.

Kimberly Chapdelaine said the family takes comfort in the idea that Kyle's closest friends will keep his memory alive as they go on to other things.

"They will all make us proud and we will see them growing into what Kyle should have been able to grow into," she said in an emailed statement. "Now, he will never own his own construction company, or tavern, or become a firefighter, but his friends will accomplish many things in his memory!"

Also in his memory, the family plans to raise awareness and lobby legislators to change state law regarding drunk driving infractions and crashes.

Springfield police have said that Thompson was previously arrested on a charge of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.

Springfield Police report: 'I should be fine,' suspect in double motorcycle fatality says before nearly falling down during sobriety test

Kimberly Chapdelaine said the family was unhappy to learn the different ways prior arrests can be wiped off a driver's record and that often to avoid going to trial in drunk driving crashes, defendants are allowed to plead guilty to lesser offenses with shorter sentences.

Her son was always helping people, she said, and her family wants to help enact a change in his memory.

"We want to put effort into something we can change," she said. "We want to have something positive."

Former Lee Police Chief Joseph Buffis was glib after being sentenced in federal court to 27 months in prison for extortion. Watch video

SPRINGFIELD — After a lengthy and contentious sentencing hearing that resulted in a 27-month federal prison sentence, former Lee Police Chief Joseph Buffis offered a cheery response to a throng of reporters waiting outside the courthouse.

"Have a great afternoon! Thank you! God bless America and vote for Donald Trump!" said Buffis, wearing a wide grin, before hurrying away and leaving his lawyer to answer questions.

Defense attorney Lori H. Levinson said she was disappointed in the sentence, and still believed U.S. District Court Judge Mark Mastroianni could have adequately punished her client for an extortion conviction through probation and community service.

"We will absolutely appeal," Levinson said.

After a three-week trial in U.S. District Court last year, Buffis was convicted of extorting $4,000 from two former innkeepers from Lee who were caught up in a prostitution sting. He was acquitted of 10 other criminal counts related to accusations that he stole $55,000 from a police-sponsored Christmas toy fund for needy children.

 

By contrast to Levinson's pitch for probation, federal prosecutors asked Mastroianni to sentence Buffis to 33 months in prison.

The judge told Buffis he had intended to give him a lesser sentence but was "distressed" by Buffis' apparent lack of contrition.

"My sentence increased because of your lack of recognition that you abused your office," Mastroianni told Buffis more than once.

In a letter to the judge, Buffis insisted he took the money from the couple to offer them "a break" and that "he did the right thing for the right reasons at the right time."

Testimony and evidence at trial showed that Buffis leaked word of the prostitution investigation to a local newspaper in 2011. The victims – Thomas Fusco and Tara VIola – both testified that they were horrified by the publicity in the small town, and that Buffis offered to shelve the case in exchange for a $4,000 "donation" to his favorite charity: the Laliberte Toy Fund.

The donation, though, ended up in his personal bank account.

During a sentencing hearing that unfolded over more than two hours Tuesday morning, Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow argued that Buffis' intentions were less than pure.

"What the defendant ignores is that his 'second chance' came with strings attached. It came with a price tag," Breslow said. "That's not benevolence. That's not the act of a police chief who's trying to do the right thing ... that's extortion."

Mastroianni also ordered that Buffis pay $4,000 in restitution, serve two years of probation and complete 200 hours of community service.

But for federal prosecutors' concession to allow Buffis to self-surrender to prison in four weeks, Mastroianni said he would have ordered the former chief behind bars immediately.

"He used his highest-ranking police officer position to essentially auction off his own concept of justice," Mastroianni said during the hearing.

The city of Springfield will auction off 24 properties on June 2, including vacant lots and residential buildings, several of which are within the McKnight Historic District.

SPRINGFIELD -- The city of Springfield will auction off 24 properties on June 2, including vacant lots and residential buildings, several of which are within the McKnight Historic District.

"These are properties that the city has foreclosed on for failure to pay taxes," Treasurer-Collector Stephen Lonergan said. "We're trying to get them back on the tax roll."

The auction, run by Aaron Posnik & Co., will take place at City Hall. Registration will start at 5 p.m. on June 2 and the auction will begin at 6 p.m.

The ten residential buildings range in assessed value from $45,200 to $126,000; detailed listings can be found on the auction company's website.

One vacant commercial lot on Dresden Street is for sale, as well as 13 vacant residential lots.

Lonergan said the city typically holds three or four auctions per year to sell foreclosed properties.

Funding for UMass and for state public schools would increase under the Senate Ways and Means Committee's budget proposal.

BOSTON -- The Massachusetts Senate budget proposal's focus on education is one of the major ways in which the budget would impact western Massachusetts.

"I think one of the highlights in particular for western Massachusetts, and the whole state, is the investment being made in public higher education," said State Sen. Ben Downing, D-Pittsfield, a member of the Senate Ways and Means Committee. "Certainly it's critical not only to the economy of western Massachusetts in the short term as major employers, but in the long term making sure we have the workers for the job opportunities that are there."

Public and higher education are two priorities in the $39.497 billion budget proposal for fiscal year 2017 that the Senate Ways and Means Committee released Tuesday.

"A large share of all the resources that are available after all the things that have to be funded are funded is directed to education," said Senate President Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst. Rosenberg said good education, along with transportation and housing, are among the top things businesses look for when growing in Massachusetts.

Higher education

The University of Massachusetts has its flagship campus in Amherst. The House budget would increase funding for UMass, community colleges and state universities by 1 percent over last year. The Senate would give a 1.5 percent increase for UMass and a 1 percent increase for the community colleges and state universities. The Senate would also add money to fulfill obligations related to contract negotiations from the last two fiscal years.

As a result, UMass would get $521.3 million in the Senate Ways and Means Committee budget -- an increase in funding of $20.5 million over last year and an increase of about $13 million over the House budget.

State Sen. Eric Lesser, D-Longmeadow, said that increase would benefit not only UMass Amherst, but also the new UMass Center in Springfield.

"One of the biggest things we continually hear about is getting costs of higher education under control and getting more help to students and families who are struggling to pay for it," Lesser said.

The community colleges and state universities would get a $24.4 million funding bump over last year.

The Senate is also proposing a new program under which $350,000 of state money would be matched with private money to create college savings accounts for low-income students in grades 7 through 12. The budget provides grants for career training for vocational schools, and more waivers for foster care and adopted children at public higher education institutions.

Primary, secondary, and early education

In early education, the Senate hopes to create a new $2 million program to help more preschools expand to begin serving three-year-olds. It would give $500,000 for a new program to provide mentors to parents.

Overall, the budget would provide $252.9 million for low-income childcare.

"Supportive relationships with families, teachers, mentors and other caring adults are really important, a key ingredient to building resilient children and helping them build social and emotional skills to overcome adversity," said Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairwoman Karen Spilka, D-Ashland.

Education aid to local communities for K-12 schools would be $4.63 billion -- a $10 million increase over the House proposal. This would provide a minimum increase in aid of $55 per pupil.

The budget would also begin implementing the recommendations of a commission that reviewed the foundation budget - the formula used to distribute education aid - by directing more money to school districts that educate more low income students. This could help Hampden County, which is the lowest-income county in Massachusetts.

The budget would direct the administration and House and Senate budget writers to come up with a schedule for implementing the foundation budget review commission's recommendations. Gov. Charlie Baker and House budget writers have been reluctant to implement the recommendations because of their high cost.

"The problem is neither the House nor the governor recognized those recommendations in forming their budgets, so the Senate is at a disadvantage in trying to advance it in this year's budget," said State Sen. Patricia Jehlen, D-Somerville, assistant vice chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

The Senate budget would reimburse school districts for 75 percent of the costs of special education. It would provide a $250,000 increase to a program matching students with adult mentors.

The Senate budget would pay $1 million less for regional school transportation costs than the House budget. State Sen. Don Humason, R-Westfield, a member of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said he will try to introduce an amendment to raise that amount.

Overall, though, Humason said he thinks the budget is a good one, because it funds local and education aid without raising taxes. "It's a very fiscally conservative responsible budget," Humason said.

Other impacts

The budget is sprinkled with other line items that could affect Western Massachusetts. Baystate Health would get the same $1 million earmark it would get in the House budget to compensate for low Medicaid reimbursement rates.

A proposed new $1.4 million inter-agency task force aimed at investigating and prosecuting organized heroin traffickers would target a small number of communities, including Springfield.

The budget includes $11.5 million for summer jobs for at-risk youth. State Sen. Jim Welch, D-West Springfield, said those programs are particularly important for urban areas like Springfield and Holyoke.

An opioid/alcohol addiction diversion program run by the Northwestern District Attorney would get $112,000. A precision manufacturing training program in Franklin and Hampshire counties would get $85,000.