The hearing was set for Tuesday night.

HADLEY - Developer have asked that Tuesday night's Planning Board public hearing on the proposed Pride service station and convenience store be continued to June 21.

The developers of the service station and convenience store on Route 9 presented plans to the Planning Board last month and the hearing was continued.

Officials are waiting on an engineering peer review report that is not yet complete, said Planning Board clerk Bill Dwyer.

Pride officials are clearing the Route 9 site. Diane Lederman/The Republican 

Developers filed plans in March and talked to planners informally. They are seeking special permits for site plan approval and an erosion and control bylaw for the 7,477-square-foot project.

Pride continues, meanwhile, to clean the debris from the site.

The Conservation Commission earlier this year issued a stop work order after allegations that the company illegally cut down trees in a wetland area without proper permits.

Those issues have since been resolved.

Pride officials are hoping to break ground this summer.

The Office of the Child Advocate would become a more independent office, under a proposal included in the Senate Ways and Means Committee budget.

The Office of the Child Advocate would become a more independent office, under a proposal included in the Senate Ways and Means Committee budget.

Erin Bradley, executive director of the Children's League of Massachusetts, called the proposal a "fabulous" idea. "This will allow the office of the child advocate to really be able to speak freely on behalf of the children of the commonwealth," Bradley said. "There won't be any thought that this is a political position."

The Office of the Child Advocate was established in 2007 to look out for the interests of foster children and other children receiving services from state agencies. It receives reports any time a child receiving state services dies or is injured; reviews reports of abuse or neglect among children in foster homes or in state custody; and makes policy recommendations relating to child welfare and juvenile justice.

Massachusetts has recently had several high-profile incidents of children who were hurt or killed while under state supervision.

The budget released Tuesday by the Senate Ways and Means Committee would increase the budget of the Office of the Child Advocate by $400,000, to $1 million. It would also make it an independent, stand-alone office.

Currently, the child advocate's office is housed under Gov. Charlie Baker's office. The child advocate is appointed by the governor, auditor and attorney general. The Senate proposal would create a nominating committee that would recommend appointments to the governor, auditor and attorney general. The Senate would move the office out from under Baker.

"It has functioned and done well. But there's the belief this should be independent," said State Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, chairwoman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

Bradley said the original intent of legislators in 2007 was to make the office independent. She hopes making the office independent could better position the advocate to better identify trends in child protection or concerns with the child welfare system.

Students want to convince the town to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous People Day. Watch video

AMHERST - Amherst Regional Middle School students made their successful pitch last month to the regional school committee and Wednesday night they will try to convince the town to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous People Day.

Eighteen students initiated the petition article to bring it to Town Meeting.

The students are asking the town to recognize Indigenous Peoples Day -- a holiday with roots in Berkeley, California, that honors Native American history and culture instead of Christopher Columbus.

The resolution asks that, in Amherst, the second Monday of October will commemorate Indigenous Peoples Day "in recognition of the indigenous people of America's position as native to these lands, and the suffering they faced following European conquest of their lands."

The Amherst RegionalSchool Committee agreed last month to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day on the school calendar.

Students in Amherst Regional Middle School teacher Matthew Venditti's class have worked on the move to have the town change the day.

Venditti has taught a unit known as an "inquiry segment" on Christopher Columbus before, but this school year marked the first time his eighth-grade students wanted to do more than learn and debate.

Through readings, students learned about accounts of Columbus enslaving indigenous people, including selling girls as young as nine into slavery.

 Students said they had heard snippets about Columbus having a less-than-stellar history, but nothing like what they learned in this project.

They said they felt they needed to do more than just learn about it but bring it to the town. The sixth session of town meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the middle school.

Caitrin Houlihan, a Charlestown resident, had overdosed multiple times after getting addicted to heroin. Family and friends, including her mother, called 911 so first responders could revive her with naloxone, an overdose reversal tool. Now she's promoting the Good Samaritan law in Massachusetts. Watch video

BOSTON - Caitrin Houlihan, a Charlestown resident, had overdosed multiple times after getting addicted to heroin.

Family and friends, including her mother, called 911 so first responders could revive her with naloxone, an overdose reversal tool.

"But I've also had people run away because they were scared," she said.

Houlihan, now in recovery, was at the Massachusetts State House on Tuesday to help Gov. Charlie Baker and Attorney General Maura Healey to promote a new campaign called "Make The Right Call," a reminder to people that they are protected from prosecution if they call 911 to save someone from an overdose.

"The Good Samaritan law will protect you," Houlihan told reporters. "We can all make the right call. I'm proof of that."

A single mother, Houlihan is now working two jobs and going to college, hoping to become a paralegal.

"Over three years ago, I got into treatment and I stuck with it ever since," she said. This road hasn't been easy but I work hard to take care of my family and to take care of myself."

Houlihan said she has patched up her relationship with her mother since entering recovery.

Calling 911 will save lives and give people an opportunity to get into treatment and on to the path to recovery, Houlihan said.

"If I didn't get Narcan I wouldn't be here," she said, referring to another name for naxolone. "That's a simple fact."

The state has set up a website to highlight the Good Samaritan law: www.mass.gov/MakeTheRightCall

If you see an overdose, call 911, and Good Samaritan law will protect you

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called on chamber leaders Tuesday to fully fund President Barack Obama's proposed efforts to tackle the Zika virus, arguing that it's not possible to delay response to a health emergency without consequences.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called on chamber leaders Tuesday to fully fund President Barack Obama's proposed efforts to tackle the Zika virus, arguing that it's not possible to delay response to a health emergency without consequences.

Warren, in a speech from the Senate floor, painted the Obama Administration's $1.9 billion plan as the best way to address the expected outbreak of the virus, which has already affected more than 500 American travelers, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Massachusetts Democrat further blasted Senate Republican-backed proposals that she argued would cut requested funding in half or reduce the requested funding and offset costs by "gutting the prevention and public health fund."

"I simply do not understand the Republicans," she said. "The responsible thing to do, the rational thing to do is to invest the resources needed to stop this Zika threat in its tracks and to invest in more science and public health infrastructure so that we're ready when the next crisis comes."

By supporting an "irrational anti-spending ideology," Warren contended, Republicans are putting Americans in danger. She accused GOP lawmakers of governing by "lurching from crisis to crisis."

"We're in this mess with Zika -- a mess that's about to get a lot worse -- because of stupid decisions made right here in Congress," she said. "Keep in mind that Zika, like Ebola, is a disease we have known about for years. But, our ability to do the necessary research to eradicate these threats has been undercut by Republicans' desire to make more and more and more budget cuts; even when they put the health of Americans in danger."

Stressing that health officials need Congress's help to stop the spread of the Zika virus, Warren argued that the less money lawmakers approve, the more people will be affected. The Zika virus, the senator added, doesn't care what Congressional lawmakers decide is politically expedient.

"The virus is coming and if Republicans block Congress from protecting the people of this country, then Republicans must accept responsibility for the devastating consequences," she said.

The Obama Administration submitted a request to Congress in late-February seeking nearly $2 billion in emergency funding to support efforts to prevent, detect and respond to the Zika virus and its related health effects.

Under the White House's request, emergency funds would be used to: accelerate vaccine research, conduct mosquito surveillance and control, educate health providers, women and partners about the disease, improve health services and support for low-income pregnant women and help Zika-affected countries control transmission.

Senate Republicans scheduled votes beginning Tuesday on three proposals: the president's plan; a compromise measure that would provide $1.1 billion on an emergency basis; and one requiring offsets for such funding.

Senators voted to advance the compromise proposal, which may now be attached to two unrelated spending bills that still must be given final approval, according to USA Today.

Although it includes $800 million less than the administration's proposal, the funding amount is far more than legislation Republican House leaders introduced Monday, which includes just $622 million that would be paid for, in part, by using money allocated to fight Ebola, the news outlet reported.

That measure, which the White House called "woefully inadequate," could be up for a vote as early as this week.

A 19-year-old woman who alleges that a former South Hadley man raped and molested her when she was five told a Hampshire Superior Court jury Tuesday that Guy Bush Jr. said that what he did to her was a game that was just between them.

NORTHAMPTON -- A 19-year-old who alleges that a former South Hadley man raped and molested her when she was 5 years old told a Hampshire Superior Court jury Tuesday that Guy Bush Jr. told her it was a game that was just between them.

"Guy would come in my room and ask me to play a game with him," she said. The first time, she said, she thought he might want to play with Barbies with her. "He told me to take my clothes off."

She testified that Bush, now 46, touched her inappropriately roughly once a week for a month or two at a home in South Hadley and on two separate occasions raped her and made her touch him inappropriately.

It was sometime in late 2001 or early 2002, she said, and always at night when no other adults were at the home.

But the attorney for Guy Bush Jr., 46, said his client is innocent and will take the stand in his own defense before the trial is over. Defense attorney Jonathan Heyman said in his opening statement that there is no material evidence or witness testimony to back up the woman's story.

"In the long run, that's all you're going to have, is the words," Heyman told jurors. "She said he did it, he said he didn't."

Bush has pleaded not guilty to one count of rape of a child and three counts of indecent assault and battery of a child. He has been held on $100,000 bail since October of 2015, when he was arrested in Grand Island, New York, where he had been living.

During his opening statements, Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Caleb Weiner presented a photograph of the girl at 5 years old and held it up while walking slowly in front of each juror.

He rested his case just after 2 p.m. and Heyman began calling defense witnesses.

The woman, the first witness to take the stand in the trial, testified that if she cried when Bush inappropriately touched her, he would tell her to stop. If she tried to resist, he held her by the neck, she said.

"He told me I was a good girl for doing what he said," she testified.

The woman told jurors that after the first few times Bush assaulted her, she told her mother. She fought back tears as she said that her mother didn't believe her at that time.

She said Bush had also threatened that if she told anyone, she or her family members would be hurt.

The abuse stopped when she started sharing a room with her sister, she said. Bush moved away soon after and she has had no contact with him since, she testified.

On cross-examination, Heyman questioned the woman about why she waited to report the allegations and why the details of the story sometimes changed. He also asked her about a previous time she reported being molested, about two of three years before she reported that Bush raped her.

The woman told jurors that when she was in the seventh grade, she had told a teacher at her school that another child had sexually assaulted her.

She eventually told school officials that she "misinterpreted" what had happened with the boy and nothing came of it. She testified Tuesday that that abuse did happen and she changed her story at the time due to pressure from her family.

However, when she was being interviewed several years later by a child advocate for the district attorney's office about Bush, she gave the same story she had when she was younger: that she had misinterpreted what had happened with the boy. She testified Tuesday that that was a lie.

The woman told jurors that the first time she disclosed that Bush raped her was in the summer before her freshman year of high school. She told a friend and then the authorities.

She told the jurors she did so because she didn't want Bush to do the same thing to anyone else "and I wanted to stand up for myself."

Heyman questioned her about why she didn't mention the rape when she was meeting with school staff and her family to discuss the alleged assault by the boy when she was in seventh grade.

"No one believed me about" the boy, she replied. "Why would they believe me about this?"

Heyman told jurors in his opening statement that the defense will call several of the woman's family members and a babysitter to show that there is no evidence to support the woman's story.

Her motive is "unknown," Heyman said, adding that she accused Bush "out of the blue" when she hadn't seen him for 10 years.

But Weiner told jurors that victims of child sexual abuse often never report the abuse or only do so years later, and this woman is no exception.

"And when she did, she had nothing to gain and everything to lose," he said of her report.

As part of Bay State Bike Week, a commuter breakfast is slated on the steps of Springfield City Hall.

Domenic SarnoFile photo / The Republican 

SPRINGFIELD - As part of Bay State Bike Week, a commuter breakfast is scheduled Wednesday morning from 7 to 10 a.m., on the stairway landings in front of City Hall.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno plans to join the participants at 9:15 a.m., to greet riders and to pass out water, granola bars, orange juice and bike safety gear such as reflective stickers and battery powered lights, according to a news release from City Hall.

"This is a great, healthy way not only to get to work, but to keep fit too," Sarno said.

The city is participating in the 17th Annual Pioneer Valley Bay State Bike Week, scheduled May 14-22.

Every year during Bay State Bike Week, participants across the state organize bike rides and bike-centric events to encourage new riders and raise awareness about bicycle transportation, according to the news release.

Additional information is available here.

Malden police have charged a Stoneham man with trying to kill his girlfriend after he allegedly choked her into unconsciousness as she drove Sunday morning.

MALDEN -- Malden police have charged a Stoneham man with attempted murder and others crimes associated with the alleged beating and strangulation of his girlfriend early Sunday morning.

Wicked Local Stoneham is reporting that James Armato, 27, of Stoneham, has been charged with strangulation, attempted murder, assault and battery on a household or family member, assault, and resisting arrest, in connection with an alleged assault on Gina Antonelli that took place around 2:30 a.m. on May 15.

Photos of Gina Antonelli posted by her sister, Nancy Coppi, to GoFundMe.Nancy Coppi GoFundMe 

Fox 25 News is reporting that Armato is a retired MMA fighter, which is also supported by a GoFundMe account posting started by the alleged victim's sister, Nancy Coppi.

Fox 25 reported that the assault took place while Antonelli was driving and that she crashed the car after passing out.

In the GoFundMe post, Coppi wrote that Antonelli was strangled until she passed out, then woke up to find Armato was still choking and punching her. She was transported Mass General and then Mass Eye and Ear for injuries to her face and neck, Coppi wrote.

The GoFundMe account was set up to help pay for bills while Antonelli is out of work in recovery.

"Gina will be out of work for a while while she recovers and will be stuck with the thousands of dollars in bills that this bully left her with," Coppie wrote. "Any money donated will be used to pay her living / household expenses and medical bills while she is unable to work."

Any unused money will be donated to a battered women's shelter, she added.

Wicked Local Stoneham reported that Armato was arraigned Monday, May 16 in Malden District Court. He was ordered held held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing, which is scheduled for Monday, May 23.

That report remains unconfirmed, according to Massachusetts State Police.

ABINGTON - State and local authorities are combing the area of Ames Nowell State Park after someone reported finding partial human remains.

That report remains unconfirmed, according to Massachusetts State Police.

State police tweeted at 1:45 p.m. that the search was underway. No further details were immediately available.

Abington is a town of about 16,000 in Plymouth County, roughly 25 miles south of Boston.

This is developing story. Stay with The Republican/MassLive for more information as it becomes available.

Some Holyoke councilors praised the role of the creative economy coordinator in helping the city make arts and culture basic parts of development, but others questioned whether any such gains had occurred.

HOLYOKE -- The position of creative economy coordinator has been eliminated in the $126.2 million budget Mayor Alex B. Morse has submitted to run the city in the next fiscal year, though an official said the creative economy push will continue in other ways.

The emphasis on including creativity in relation to the arts and other parts of the culture into city planning and economic development four years ago was embraced by some, ridiculed by others and treated with skepticism by the City Council.

In fact, the council required in agreeing to Morse's proposal to establish the position in 2012 that the job be reviewed every two years to determine whether the coordinator was drawing enough business and grants to the city to fund the job's salary. A City Council "sunset" vote was required every two years to continue with the position.

Given battles Morse has had with the current council over budget and other matters, it was at best uncertain whether the council would OK another two years of the creative economy coordinator.

The job's yearly salary is $43,612 and the line item for that is blank in Morse's proposed budget.

Photographer Jeffrey C. Bianchine has been the creative economy coordinator since the position existed.

Jeffrey C. BianchineSUBMITTED IMAGE 

Rory Casey, Morse's chief of staff, said the city has made strides in ensuring arts and culture remain basic parts of the planning and economic development that happens here. That will continue in city departments despite the loss of a creative economy coordintor, he said.

Casey listed the revival of the Holyoke Creative Arts Center, which moved downtown to Dwight Street, the rise of the Spark program -- Stimulating Potential, Accessing Resource Knowledge -- for entrepreneurs and arts-related businesses and events like Celebrate Holyoke and Next stop: Holyoke, he said.

In May 2014, Councilor James M. Leahy said he was among those who supported the creative economy coordinator position after opposing it in 2012.

The job helped in highlighting Holyoke's attractions, he said then, and referred to a recent packed event at the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House. At that event, Priscilla Kane Hellweg, executive director of the Enchanted Circle Theater here, received the May 2014 Civic Pride Award from Morse.

"Frankly, there's no way I would have supported this if I didn't think we were getting a good return on our investment," Leahy said.

The position is a way to help the city attract business, not just arts and crafts, Councilor at Large Joseph M. McGIverin said.

"If you think it's about arts and crafts, you're not paying attention," McGiverin said.

But others disputed whether any gains had occurred with the creative economy coordinator.

"There's some sort of economic development that I missed," Councilor at Large Daniel B. Bresnahan said at the May 2014 meeting. "Has anybody seen the dynamic change? Anybody? This is a joke."

Councilor at Large Howard B. Greaney said he opposed extending the creative economy coordinator for two years because that would mean the expense is not just more than $42,000 but closer to $90,000.

Scott Macomber, 48, of Brockton, was one of two people who interfered in an arrest on Bay Street, according to WHDH.

FALL RIVER - A Brockton man has died after a police officer used a stun gun on him, and an investigation into the incident is underway.

Scott Macomber, 48, of Brockton, was one of two people who allegedly interfered in an arrest on Bay Street on Monday afternoon. One officer used a department-issued stun gun to subdue him.

When he was put in a police cruiser, Macomber went into cardiac arrest. He was pronounced dead at St. Anne's Hospital.

The Bristol County District Attorney's Office is investigating. Boston.com reports an autopsy is planned for Wednesday.

The DA's office said the stun gun was used in a mode called "drive stun," in which the weapon is brought into contact with the person rather than firing prongs. It's considered a less forceful way to subdue a suspect.

Police made the arrest they had planned, apprehending a 37-year-old Dorchester woman on outstanding warrants.

Jurors are deliberating in the Springfield armed assault case against Jane Alamo and Kristian Greene.

Buffy Spencer | bspencer@repub.com 

SPRINGFIELD — Assistant District Attorney Mary A. Sandstrom told jurors in her closing argument Tuesday the two defense lawyers in an armed assault case slandered the alleged victim in their closing arguments.

But the defense lawyers told jurors in their closing arguments they should not believe the made-up "stories" Desiree King, victim in the case, told on the stand.

A Hampden Superior Court jury began deliberating late Tuesday afternoon in the case against Jane Alamo, 20, and Kristian B. Greene, 28, both of Springfield. Each is charged with armed assault in a dwelling and two other counts from a July 23, 2015 incident at 468 Liberty St.

In the trial before Judge Mark D. Mason, King, 21, testified Alamo and Green broke into the apartment she shared with her then-boyfriend armed with a metal rod and a knife and attacked her, cutting her finger.

Nicholas Horgan, lawyer for Alamo, said King's testimony was "jumbled, confused, erratic, chaotic." He said King was a heroin addict and was completely unreliable. He said King's condition was "very sad and unfortunate," but jurors should pay attention to the fact her testimony was "all over the place."

Sandstrom said King said on the stand she was not on heroin now and there was no reason to disbelieve her.

During King's time on the stand, Mason repeatedly told King to calm down, stop swearing and answer the questions asked of her.

Marissa Elkins, lawyer for Greene, said Greene and Alamo were staying with King and her then-boyfriend. Elkins said they confronted King about property she had stolen from them, but they did not attack her physically or have weapons.

Elkins said King's hostility toward defense lawyers during cross-examination and her refusal to answer some questions should be noted by jurors.

"The right to cross-examine people accusing you is sacred. It is in the Constitution," she said.

Sandstrom said of King, "She was inappropriate, she cursed, she was yelling, she had crying fits. ... Her outbursts and her humanity made her credible."

She said King felt attacked by defense lawyers. "This was an inquisition of Ms. King," Sandstrom said.

Sandstrom noted King called 911 and told police she had been stabbed. Greene, Alamo and King's then-boyfriend didn't call 911, Sandstrom said. "It's the victim who calls," she said.

King said on the stand she and Alamo had a fight with each throwing punches and holding onto each other's hair so they could punch better. Sandstrom said King testified Alamo swung a metal pole at King and threw a punch first.

Police found Greene and Alamo hiding nearby in an abandoned garage. Sandstrom said that showed their guilt.

"Why would they run?" Sandstrom said. She said the two were hiding "belly down" in the garage and only came out for police when they heard a police canine barking outside.

Deliberations will continue Wednesday.

The May 18 meeting at the high school library starts at 6:30 p.m.

 

WARE - The school board is scheduled to discuss at Wednesday's meeting a request to hold the annual Independence Day fireworks on the district's grounds.

The May 18 meeting at the high school library starts at 6:30 p.m.

Members of the Ware Lions Club, and the fire department, plan to attend, and ask the committee's permission to display the fireworks on school property.

The event for years has been held at Grenville Park.

But the fire department has determined public safety requirements now make that area unsuitable. That is partly due to minimum distance regulations that must be adhered to, related to the canopy of large trees that make for a tight viewing area.

The school board rejected a request by the Lions Club three years ago to hold the fireworks on district grounds, saying they had concerns about people drinking on school property, and parking issues. Concerns were also raised back in 2013 about trash, and damage to playing fields.

Marine Lt. Col. Bennett W. Walsh is Gov. Charlie Baker's choice to be Holyoke Soldiers' Home superintendent and is the son of Springfield City Councilor Kateri Walsh and Daniel Walsh, former city of Springfield veterans services director.

HOLYOKE -- Marine Lt. Col. Bennett W. Walsh, who has strong ties to the area, is the new superintendent of the Holyoke Soldiers' Home, said state Sen. Donald R. Humason, R-Westfield Wednesday.

Walsh is the son of Springfield City Councilor Kateri Walsh and Daniel Walsh, formerly the city of Springfield's veterans services director and a decorated Marine Corps veteran.

Walsh, a 24-year Marine veteran, was Gov. Charlie Baker's choice to be the new Holyoke Soldiers' Home superintendent, said Humason and state Rep. Aaron M. Vega, D-Holyoke. Walsh's salary and start date as superintendent were being discussed, officials said.

Walsh, of Beaufort, South Carolina, is currently executive officer with the U.S. Marine Corps at Parris Island. His extensive Marine experiences include being infantry platoon commander in Mogadishu, Somalia and commander of a combat deployment in in Al Anbar, Iraq, along with training and recruitment duties, according to Walsh's resume.

Walsh has a master's of arts in national security strategy from the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, a master's of arts in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts and a bachelor's of arts in political science from Providence College in Rhode Island, according to his resume.

Baker's appointment of Walsh comes at an unsettled time at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home, a state facility perched on Cherry Street overlooking Interstate 91 that provides residential beds, care for bed-ridden veterans and out-patient services.

In a two-day period in December, then-Superintendent Paul Barabani, then-Deputy Superintendent John Paradis and Steven E. Como, the board of trustees chairman, all announced their departures.

Barabani later said he was unable to stay on leading the Holyoke Soldiers' Home because of what he said was weak state support especially in terms of funding in comparison with the other similar facility the state runs, the Chelsea Soldiers' Home. Paradis said his reason for leaving was he wanted to work with no other superintendent but Barabani.

State officials disputed the contentions of Barabani, who had been superintendent since 2011. He retired in 2002 as a colonel after 32 years in the Army National Guard.

Como, who had been appointed by Democratic former-Gov. Deval L. Patrick, said his exit was based only on giving Baker a chance to name a trustees chairman of his own.

Baker appointed Cheryl Lussier Poppe, superintendent of the Chelsea Soldiers' Home, interim director of the Holyoke Soldiers' Home while the search for a new superintendent was conducted.

The Holyoke Soldiers' Home employs more than 300 people, has 265 long-term care beds and 30 private rooms for veterans and serves 2,200 veterans a year with its in- and out-patient facilities. It was founded in 1952.

Additional details will be forthcoming as reporting continues.

Christopher J. Kennedy, 32, of West Springfield, has pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and battery, indecent exposure and indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 in connection

NORTHAMPTON -- The trial for a state trooper accused of sexually assaulting a woman he met online dating in 2014 is scheduled to begin May 24.

Christopher J. Kennedy, 32, of West Springfield, has pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and battery, indecent exposure and indecent assault and battery on a person over 14.

Kennedy had been assigned to Troop B in western Massachusetts until he was suspended without pay days after the alleged assault.

Christopher Kennedy (CBS3/Western Mass News)

The woman reported that the two met on the dating website Plenty of Fish and she invited him to have coffee at her home in Worthington July 1, 2014. According to court documents, he is alleged to have exposed himself to the woman and pushed her against a counter while indecently assaulting her.

The case has been ready to try since March, but was delayed due to the schedules of the court, key witnesses and the attorneys, David P. Hoose and Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Jennifer H. Suhl.

The attorneys' schedules are also the reason that the trial cannot start until Tuesday, instead of Monday, as Judge Daniel A. Ford wished. Jury selection is expected to take more than one day and one attorney is unavailable Wednesday, May 25, so the jury selection will likely pick up again Thursday, May 26.

Hoose and Suhl have said in court that they expect the trial will last for approximately three and a half-days after a jury is selected.

Earlier this month, Ford allowed a motion from Hoose to prevent Suhl from mentioning during the trial that Kennedy was technically being paid when the alleged assault occurred.

Hoose said his client had finished a construction detail job early when he went to meet up with the woman. He said it could prejudice the jury if Suhl suggested Kennedy was on duty when he is alleged to have assaulted the woman.

Suhl had argued that she would need to mention Kennedy's detail job that night because it explains why he was driving a cruiser, wearing his uniform and carrying a gun at the time.

Seven Harvard Business School buildings were evacuated this morning as authorities investigated a bomb threat.

Seven Harvard Business School buildings were evacuated this morning as authorities investigated a bomb threat.

The Harvard Crimson reports that the Boston Police Department heard reports of a bomb threat at 10:38 a.m. The Harvard University Police Department sent out an email warning people away from Morgan Hall, Esteves Hall, Aldrich Hall, Chao Center, Tata Hall, Hawes Hall, and Batten Hall, the Crimson reported.

All the buildings were reopened by 2 p.m. but the investigation into the threat is ongoing, according to the Crimson.

According to NECN, a Harvard spokesman said the threat was sent by email to a Harvard staff member this morning.

The annual American College of Sports Medicine American Fitness Index report ranked the fitness levels of the 50 largest metro areas.

Boston boasts one of the country's fittest metropolitan areas, according to a 2016 report.

The American College of Sports Medicine's annual American Fitness Index ranked the 50 largest metropolitan areas by fitness status. The report looked at several statistics in determining a city's fitness levels, including health behaviors, chronic health problems, recreational facilities and physical education policies.

The Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area came in seventh, behind Seattle and ahead of Salt Lake City. Not far behind was fellow New England city Hartford, which came in at number nine. Washington D.C. took the number one spot for the third year running, while Indianapolis came in dead last for the second year in a row.

Points in Boston's favor include its many parks and lower rates of active smokers, cardiovascular disease-related deaths and diabetes-related deaths. The city's walkability and proximity of parks far exceeded what the report deemed a "target goal" for a fit city.

Areas of improvement include the metro area's higher percentages of coronary heart disease and poor mental health.

To read the full report, click here.

John Coughlin, 52, of Enfield, Connecticut, was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison for a string of bank robberies in Greenfield, Palmer, Worcester and Sturbridge in 2014.

SPRINGFIELD — When John Coughlin lost a well-paying job as a Hertz executive at age 50, instead of seeking career counseling or a job hunter, he turned outlaw.

He began robbing banks – four of them, to be exact. And, he wasn't terribly good at it. Coughlin had the basics down: travel out of state, case the joints, pen a note that says "I have a gun and if there are no games, no one gets hurt."

The Enfield, Connecticut, resident pulled an underwhelming $20,000 over four heists in Greenfield, Palmer, Worcester and Sturbridge in 2014.

Surveillance photos released by various police departments that year showed Coughlin in preppy plaid shirts, sunglasses and a baseball cap. Once, he bothered to don a scarf, but never a mask.

He was pulled over by police in Sturbridge after his final robbery, cash and red dye all over the car and the driver. While Coughlin did not have a conventional firearm, police recovered an air gun in his back seat.

Coughlin was no "Pretty Boy" Floyd. His arrest didn't require a high-speed chase. There were no shootouts. A police officer ordered Coughlin to pull his car over with a pointed finger and Coughlin complied. He confessed within an hour, Coughlin told a judge in U.S. District Court on Wednesday.

"I didn't lie. I didn't lawyer up. I knew what I had done was wrong," Coughlin told U.S. District Judge Mark G. Mastroianni during a sentencing hearing.

The former award-winning Hertz executive had somewhat of an American tale of woe: Blindsided with divorce after a 10-year marriage, Coughlin said he lost everything, then lost a career a second time in a bad economic climate.

"One day my wife decides she doesn't love me anymore. I lost my house, my job, my car, my son ... everything," he continued.

Defense lawyer Linda J. Thompson told Mastroanni her client rebuilt a respectable career with Hertz, working from the ground up, then lost that job too in the midst of a merger in 2013.

He robbed his first bank in Greenfield in April 2014.

"He was at a loss to explain what brought him to this inglorious end," Thompson wrote in a pre-sentencing memo, adding that he had always defined himself solely as a hard worker and supporter of his loved ones, and went off the rails.

Thompson was arguing for time served (Coughlin has been held behind bars for a year) and probation, to allow him to work at a consignment shop in Enfield and pay restitution.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Newhouse argued Coughlin merely suffered the indignities millions of Americans endure each year.

"He wants a lower sentence because he got divorce. He wants a lower sentence because there was an economic downtown and he lost his job," Newhouse said in court. "He can't find a job; he gets in his car in Connecticut and drives to a bank in Greenfield, Massachusetts, writes a note and walks out with $4,116 that he didn't work for."

Newhouse sought a sentence at the low end of advisory sentencing guidelines: 57 months in prison.

Mastroianni opted to sentence Coughlin to 48 months in prison.

"The law says you don't write down 'I have a gun,' underline it, and put it in someone's face," Mastroianni said.

Thompson said her client is only now coming to realize the "hubris" involved in the string of robberies.

The vote, after hours of debate, marked the first step in a long process that could change the tax code through a 2018 ballot vote.

BOSTON - The Massachusetts Legislature on Wednesday voted to pass a constitutional amendment raising taxes on income over $1 million. The vote, which came after three hours of debate, marked the first step in a long process that could change the tax code through a 2018 ballot vote.

State Rep. Jay Kaufman, D-Lexington, chairman of the Joint Committee on Revenue, argued in favor of the amendment, saying the state needs more money. "We have an unsustainable tax system. We're not able to raise the money that we need to provide in order to fund fundamental services for the citizens of our cities and towns," Kaufman said.

To pass, the constitutional amendment needed 50 votes in the 200-person State Legislature at Wednesday's constitutional convention, and must pass by the same margin in a second vote next year. It must then get support from a majority of voters in the November 2018 election.

The amendment received support from 135 lawmakers in Wednesday's vote, with 57 voting against it.

Currently, Massachusetts has a flat tax, which means everyone pays 5.1 percent of their income. That is scheduled to gradually decrease to 5 percent.

The proposed constitutional amendment would raise the tax rate by 4 percentage points on income over $1 million. So if the flat tax in 2019 is 5 percent, someone earning $1.3 million would pay 5 percent on the first $1 million of income and 9 percent on the next $300,000.

The Department of Revenue estimates that the proposed tax rate would raise an additional $1.9 billion in 2019, around $1.7 million measured in today's dollars.

Average tax rates paid by million-dollar-plus earners, 2013

The map below shows average tax rates paid by filers reporting more than $1 million in income in 2013. Click on a city or town to see the average income of the community's filers with over $1 million in earnings, and their average tax due.

Source: Massachusetts Department of Revenue | Map / data analysis by Greg Saulmon

Amendment supporters call it the "fair share" amendment, arguing that it will require wealthy people to pay their fair share for state services. They note that although high earners pay more taxes, measured in dollars, they pay a lower percentage of their income than poorer people to state and local taxes, including sales and property taxes.

Raising taxes across the board, Kaufman said, "would disproportionately impact those least able to afford it while continuing to favor those who are most able to afford it."

State Sen. Ben Downing, D-Pittsfield, a member of the Revenue Committee who supports the amendment, said, "We need more investments in education and transportation, especially in Western Massachusetts, if we're going to grow the economy and create economic opportunities we want for everyone."

Downing said he believes the public should get a chance to vote.

Opponents say the amendment would hurt wealthy taxpayers, who are the most likely to create jobs and generate economic activity, and who are most likely to leave the state because of high tax rates.

State Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, said the proposed tax increase would place the burden of funding transportation and education on a small group of residents, who may leave. The amendment, Tarr said, would "send a message in Massachusetts if you achieve success, the reward is nearly a doubling of your taxation."

Tarr said voters previously rejected moving toward a graduated income tax, in which wealthy individuals pay a higher rate. "We have for decades embraced the theory that all the citizens of Massachusetts are equal, and taxation will be applied equally," Tarr said.

State Rep. Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman, said once the tax system is divided into two brackets, that creates a precedent to adopt more brackets, "ultimately hitting the middle class the hardest once high income earners move out of state."

The ballot question says the money would be used for education and transportation. Because a ballot question cannot allocate money, opponents of the ballot question say the Legislature could divert the money elsewhere - although supporters dispute that.

Tarr said the Supreme Judicial Court should decide whether the amendment is constitutionally allowed to require future legislatures to allocate money that way. Lawmakers can ask the court for guidance, although they have not yet done so here.

State Rep. John Velis, D-Westfield, was among the Democrats who joined Republicans in voting against the amendment.

"In Massachusetts, we need to do what we can to reward our most industrious citizens," Velis said. "If we impose these new types of taxes and penalize our most industrious citizens, we run the risk of them leaving."

Velis said residents are still hurting from the 2008 recession, and Massachusetts should be inviting businesses in, not penalizing successful business people.

"Now's not the time to dig deeper into people's wallets," Velis said.

State Rep. David Nangle, D-Lowell, said the amendment "is the introduction of class warfare." If it passes, Nangle said, lawmakers are likely to continue to seek more revenue from taxpayers in lower and lower income brackets.

The amendment is being pushed by Raise Up Massachusetts, a coalition of unions, religious leaders and liberal community organizing groups.

Steve Crawford, a spokesman for Raise Up Massachusetts, said he is optimistic the amendment will reach the ballot and pass. "I think people understand that we need to invest...in transportation and education... and that asking the wealthiest people in the state to pay a little bit more is the fair thing to do," Crawford said.

Phil Edmundson, past chair of the Alliance for Business Leadership, a progressive business group, and area chairman of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., said, "The future strength of our economy depends on our ability to make investments in education and transportation. The fair share tax calls on the most fortunate among us to contribute a bit more to that cause, in order to help create growth and opportunity for everyone in Massachusetts."

According to 2013 Department of Revenue data, the most million-dollar earners in Massachusetts - 1,617 - lived in Boston. The communities with the highest concentrations of million-dollar earners are Weston, Dover and Wellesley, suburbs west of Boston.

Several amendments were debated on the constitutional convention floor, mostly proposed by Republicans, but none passed. Among other amendments, Tarr and House Minority Leader Brad Jones, R-North Reading, tried to require a supermajority vote any time money is spent from the state's rainy day fund and tried to lower the flat tax rate to 5 percent.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Wednesday released the names of nearly a dozen Supreme Court candidates he would consider to replace the late-Justice Antonin Scalia if sent to the White House in November.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Wednesday released the names of nearly a dozen Supreme Court candidates he would consider to replace the late-Justice Antonin Scalia if sent to the White House in November.

The list, which Trump's campaign contended was assembled "first and foremost, based on constitutional principles with input from highly respected conservatives and Republican Party leadership," includes several federal appellate and state supreme court judges from across the United States.

Trump, who lauded Scalia's legacy "of protecting Americans' most cherished freedoms," said the list will not just inform his selection of the late justice's replacement, but other future nominees.

"The following list of potential Supreme Court justices is representative of the kind of constitutional principles I value and, as president, I plan to use this list as a guide to nominate our next United States Supreme Court Justices," he said in a statement.

Among those named by the GOP White House hopeful are six appellate court judges, including:

- Steven Colloton, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit;
- Raymond Gruender, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit;
- Thomas Hardiman, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit;
- Raymond Kethledge, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit;
- William H. Pryor Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit;
- Diane Sykes, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Others making the list, meanwhile, include:

- Allison Eid, an associate justice of the Colorado Supreme Court;
- Joan Larsen, an associate justice of the Michigan Supreme Court;
- Thomas Lee, an associate justice of the Utah Supreme Court;
- David Stras, an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court;
- Don Willett, a justice of the Texas Supreme Court.

Scalia, a 79-year-old influential conservative who President Ronald Reagan appointed to the high court in 1986, was found dead at a Texas ranch in mid-February.

In wake of the justice's unexpected death, President Barack Obama nominated federal appeals court judge Merrick Garland to fill the court vacancy.

The move sparked pushback from U.S. Senate Republicans who contended that the next president should be charged with selecting Scalia's replacement and have since largely refused to confirm Garland to the Supreme Court.