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Gov. Charlie Baker: Investigation into Trooper Thomas Clardy's death raises questions about marijuana legalization

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Baker said Thursday that allegations that the man driving the car that killed a Massachusetts State Police Trooper was high on marijuana enhance questions about whether the state should legalize recreational marijuana.

Gov. Charlie Baker said Thursday that allegations that the man driving the car that killed Massachusetts State Police Trooper Thomas Clardy was high on marijuana enhance questions about whether the state should legalize recreational marijuana.

"The fact that this gentlemen is alleged to have had marijuana in his system at the time that he crossed three lanes of traffic and at full speed ran into Trooper Clardy's vehicle raises questions that I hope are fully vetted as part of that investigation," Baker said. "It certainly raises issues about whether or not it makes sense for Massachusetts, which has decriminalized marijuana and set up medical marijuana ... it raises very serious questions about whether or not we should fully legalize this and open it up to the corporate interests that come with that."

Baker spoke to reporters before an unrelated event in Boston. Although Baker's office has worked to implement the state's medical marijuana law, Baker is strongly opposed to a 2016 ballot question that would legalize recreational marijuana.

David Njuguna, who was driving the car that slammed into Clardy's cruiser, has pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide, operating to endanger, operating under the influence of drugs and operating an uninsured motor vehicle. Prosecutors said that Njuguna had just visited a medical marijuana dispensary, and a partially smoked marijuana cigarette was found in his car. His defense attorney denies he was under the influence of drugs.

Baker said although the Njuguna case relates to medical marijuana, there is evidence showing that the number of automobile deaths caused by marijuana intoxication has increased in Washington state, which legalized recreational marijuana.


Springfield woman charged with breaking into Longmeadow group home

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Longmeadow police charged Ivelisse Washington, 23, with breaking into a Longmeadow group home for disabled people.

LONGMEADOW — A Springfield woman was arraigned in Springfield District Court Thursday morning after Longmeadow police charged her with breaking into a group home for disabled people.

At about 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Longmeadow police responded to a report of a woman screaming at a home on Converse Street, Capt. Gary Fontaine said.

Ivelisse Washington, 23, allegedly broke into the group home, where her ex-boyfriend works, and physically confronted him, Fontaine said.

"She broke into this home where here ex-boyfriend was. Apparently some kind of altercation happened when he tried to remove her from the home," Fontaine said.

Washington was arraigned on charges of breaking and entering into building, assault and battery and disorderly conduct.

Massachusetts unemployment rate drops in April 2016

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Massachusetts added 13,900 jobs in April, according to state data released Thursday.

BOSTON — The state's total unemployment rate continued to fall in April, dropping to 4.2 percent from the March rate of 4.4 percent, according to data released Thursday by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

The state rate in April was also lower than the national rate of 5.0 percent reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Local numbers for the month will be released next week.

The state also continues to gain jobs, according to preliminary estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which reported an increase of 13,900 jobs in April. That bump followed a revised figure of 6,600 jobs added in March, and is part of an overall increase of 35,600 jobs from December 2015 to April 2016.

"We see continued strong job gains in many of the traditional economic drivers for the state," Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Ronald L. Walker II said in a release.

The April increases were seen in the fields of:

  • Professional, Scientific and Business Services, which saw an increase of 5,400 jobs;

  • Leisure and Hospitality, which saw an increase of 4,100 jobs;

  • Trade, Transportation and Utilities, which saw an increase of 1,100 jobs;

  • Education and Health Services, which saw an increase of 1,000 jobs;

  • Other Services and Information, which each saw an increase of 900 jobs;

  • Financial Activities, which saw an increase of 700 jobs;

  • and Manufacturing, which saw an increase of 200 jobs.

Losses were seen in Construction, which was down 200 jobs, and Government, which was down 200 jobs.

State officials said the labor force increased by 15,400 in March -- 19,000 more residents were employed, and 3,500 fewer residents were unemployed over the month.

Unemployment numbers are developed from a telephone survey of households, while jobs numbers come from a survey of employers. Because of that, the numbers sometimes show different trends.

The employer survey doesn't include new or small-but-growing employers, for example. To account for that, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revises numbers as hard data from sources such as payroll taxes becomes available.

Springfield in running for $475,000 workforce development grant

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The Boston Federal Reserve's Working Cities Challenge will award $475,000 over three years to five communities, in an effort to bolster the conditions of low-income people across the state.

SPRINGFIELD -- Staff with the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council, Springfield Technical Community College and the city's economic development team met with Mayor Domenic Sarno Friday afternoon to discuss the group's bid for a six-figure grant that would allow the development of a city-wide workforce development portal.

The Boston Federal Reserve's Working Cities Challenge will award $475,000 over three years to five communities in an effort to bolster the conditions of low-income people across the state. Springfield is competing with nine other cities in its grant bid: Lowell, Lynn, Salem, Revere, Brockton, Pittsfield, Haverhill, Worcester and New Bedford.

Springfield Technical Community College Vice President of Foundation and Workforce Training Robert LePage described the grant as an "incredible opportunity." The city would use the money to build a system to connect unemployed and underemployed workers to job opportunities and job training programs, as well as allowing companies to find skilled labor.

"We can't let our employers thirst for talent," LePage said. "That's really where our focus is. To help those underemployed, unemployed people climb that ladder."

Just 56 percent of Springfield's eligible workers are currently in the labor pool, LePage said. And the city is seeking ways of bringing more people into the workforce, including those who need to earn their GEDs and who may have marks on their employment records.

Sarno said he supported the approach, including finding ways to give applicants with checkered backgrounds second chances and making it easier for city residents to get to and from work.

"Sometimes CORI reform has to be looked at. And transportation is always a big issue," Sarno said.

Chief Economic Development Officer Kevin Kennedy said that job training also needs to take into account life skills, and the challenges facing jobseekers who have family responsibilities.

"We have to understand that if you have kids at home and you're dealing with that, you have to get that underneath you before you can get into the training," Kennedy said.

The grant team plans to meet with the Boston Federal Reserve next week and the grant winners are expected be announced June 1.

Oklahoma lawmakers file measure to impeach Obama over transgender bathroom rights

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Sooner State lawmakers have also put forth a bill that would allow students who claim religious rights to have "separate but equal" bathrooms and changing facilities to segregate them from their transgender peers.

Oklahoma lawmakers are calling for the impeachment of President Barack Obama, saying that his administration went too far when it issued an order in support of transgender students' rights.

The resolution -- put forth by Oklahoma's Republican-dominated legislature Thursday night -- asks members of the U.S. House of Representatives to file articles of impeachment against Obama, the U.S. attorney general and the the U.S. secretary of education, according to Reuters.

The Obama administration issued a directive last weekend that ordered U.S. public schools to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms that match their gender identity. A letter from the White House went out to school districts May 13.

Legal experts told Reuters that the impeachment request is more symbolic, as it is not bound by law.

Oklahoma State Rep. John Bennett, a Republican, said in a statement that the Obama administration's directive was "biblically wrong."

Sooner State lawmakers have also put forth a bill that would allow students who claim religious rights to have "separate but equal" bathrooms and changing facilities to segregate them from their transgender peers.

The bill calls for such segregation in school restrooms, athletic changing facilities and showers, Reuters said.

Earlier this week, Oklahoma legislators approved a measure that would make providing abortions a felony. Doctors who performed abortions could be punished by up to three years in prison if the bill is approved by Oklahoma's governor, according to the Associated Press.

In contentious Springfield deposition, Camille Cosby calls Bill Cosby's 1970s infidelity a 'big deal'

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Documents released Friday show just how contentious Camille Cosby's February deposition was.

SPRINGFIELD -- Camille Cosby, wife of comedian Bill Cosby, told a lawyer for seven woman suing her husband over accusations of sexual abuse that it was a "big deal" in the 1970s when she learned her husband had been unfaithful in their marriage.

But, during more than eight hours of questioning at a Feb. 22 deposition here in Springfield, Camille Cosby didn't elaborate on that "big deal" -- or on any other conversations she and her husband had during their more than 50 years of marriage. 

A 183-page transcript of Cosby's contentious, closed-door deposition -- released Friday as part of the electronic court record in the federal lawsuit against Bill Cosby -- details her repeatedly refusing to answer questions from opposing lawyer Joseph Cammarata.

On Friday, U.S. Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy ordered Camille Cosby to answer Cammarata's questions at a future deposition. Hennessy also sanctioned Cosby lawyer Monique D. Pressley for stopping Camille Cosby from answering Cammarata back in February.

Pressley and Cosby must pay half the attorneys fees the accusers incur from having to do another deposition.

But there is a time limit on the new depositions: the plaintiffs have seven hours. No location for the deposition is specified in the order.

Camille Cosby, 71, had already discussed her husband's affair with a woman named Shawn Thompson Upshaw in a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey in the year 2000. With Winfrey, as with Cammarata, Camille Cosby said she only learned of the affair after it was over.

The affair with Upshaw had already come to light after Upshaw's daughter, Autumn Jackson, was convicted in 1999 of trying to extort Cosby. 

In February, Cammarata's questions for Camille Cosby ran the gamut from the vows they exchanged at their wedding in 1964 (she didn't answer) to whether there were ever Quaaludes in her home (her answer was no).

In another example, when Cammarata asked Camille Cosby for a definition of honesty, she replied:

"That is my privilege with my husband. That is my answer."

Camille Cosby was testifying in a civil defamation lawsuit field in federal court in Massachusetts by seven women who allege the comedian sexually assaulted them decades ago.

Bill Cosby, 78, faces a tangle of civil and criminal cases in Massachusetts and elsewhere now that more than 50 women have stepped forward saying he sexualy abused them over the decades, often by giving them Quaaludes, a sedative pill.

Cosby is expected to appear in a suburban Philadelphia criminal courtroom Tuesday to once again answer charges that he sexually assaulted a Temple University employee at his Pennsylvania mansion in early 2004.

Bill and Camille Cosby, who have been married for 52 years, live in Shelburne. 

Sarah Hasting's tiny house removed from East Street site in Hadley

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Sarah Hastings, a Mount Holyoke College graduate, won't say where she will be living, but said she hopes to work on tiny house legislation in Massachusetts. Watch video

HADLEY -- Sarah Hasting's tiny house is gone from the East Street site where she had lived since last year.

She is not saying where the house will be stored or where she will live.

She had to move her house after Town Meeting on May 5 rejected a zoning change that would have amended the accessory apartment bylaw to allow separate dwelling units on a single lot.

She brought the proposal to the meeting after she was deemed in violation of current laws. The Zoning Board delayed enforcement pending the Town Meeting vote.

She stopped living there the day following the meeting and had been hoping to leave the house there as a shed until she found a more permanent site, but some in town complained it was still there.

Anyone can have a shed of less than 200 square feet without a permit. Her house was 190 square feet.

But some felt she should have made arrangements before the town vote.

According to her Facebook page, she wrote she doesn't know where she will live. "I am still formulating plans, but I will stay in the greater western MA community. My location will not be public knowledge, but if anybody has ideas or connections, please send over a message," she wrote.

She is also hoping for a grant so she can devote herself to working on legal issues regarding the regulation of tiny houses.

Nantucket recently approved a bylaw governing tiny houses that is being reviewed by the attorney general's office.

Hastings, a Mount Holyoke College graduate, built the home while a student in architecture studies.

Falcon chicks banded in Springfield (Photos, Video)

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The chicks are expected to be ready to fly in about three weeks. Watch video

SPRINGFIELD -- For three baby falcon chicks hanging out in their nest on the 21st floor of Monarch Place, the sight of a net on a long pole reaching out for them must have been a little disconcerting.

The net belonged to Dr. Tom French, the assistant director of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife's Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, who was trying to capture the peregrine falcon chicks to place identification bands on their legs.

The nest is home to the three chicks and their parents, and French says they are extremely healthy.

"I've banded almost 400 peregrine falcon chicks in my career and I don't think I've ever had them run around like this before," he said.

Estimating their age at four weeks, French thinks they will be flying in another three weeks.

Earlier in the day French and his crew banded 4 more chicks at a nest under a Massachusetts Turnpike bridge in Chicopee.


Amherst College to award 456 degrees, 6 honorary doctorates at 2016 commencement

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Ceremonies begin at 10 a.m. in the Quadrangle.

AMHERST -- Amherst College will award degrees to 456 graduates Sunday at its 195th commencement, which begins at 10 a.m. on the college's main quadrangle.

College President Biddy Martin and senior Darienne Masishi Madlala will speak.

The college is awarding six honorary doctorates.

Those honored include best-selling author Chris Bohjalian, class of 1982; Carnegie Endowment for International Peace President William Burns; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Ebola Response Manager Inger Damon, class of 1984; astronomer and astrophysicist Sandra Faber; Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Director Kirk Johnson, class of 1982; and sociologist and educator Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot.

The six will be speaking Saturday in Johnson Chapel throughout the day.

The talks are free and open to the public and the schedule is available on the college website.

Springfield prepares to demolish blighted property at 409 Oakland St. in Forest Park

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Springfield has hired Associated Building Wreckers to tear down a blighted house at 409 Oakland St. in Forest Park.

SPRINGFIELD -- A city-hired company will demolish a blighted, abandoned house at 409 Oakland St. in lower Forest Park on Monday, as authorized by the Western District Housing Court, officials said.

City officials including Mayor Domenic J. Sarno will gather outside the building at 10:15 a.m., as Associated Building Wreckers begins the demolition work. The city approved the advance asbestos removal work and demolition at a cost of $29,300, according to a news release from City Communications Director Marian K. Sullivan.

Sarno will be joined by officials from the city's Housing and Inspectional Services.

"This is one more step in our efforts in neighborhood revitalization and a continuance of our fight against blight throughout the city of Springfield," stated Mayor Domenic J. Sarno.

This property is being demolished with City of Springfield Demolition Bond funding. The city generally attaches liens when demolishing private buildings by court order.

Environmental oversight of the projects is being performed by ATC of West Springfield.

Car fire on I-91 causes traffic near Northampton

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A car fire on I-91 south is causing traffic delays, according to State Police.

NORTHAMPTON — Traffic is congested in the southbound lanes of I-91 due to a nearby car fire, according to the Massachusetts State Police.

The vehicle is parked on the side of the road near exit 18 towards Northampton. As a result, police have closed the right lane of I-91 and traffic is slowed.

The cause of the fire is unknown.

This story will be updated when more information becomes available.

Columbia Gas of Massachusetts changes bill format

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Columbia Gas said the new-format statement will start showing up in customer mailboxes over the next few weeks.

SPRINGFIELD -- Columbia Gas of Massachusetts is rolling out a new format for its bills that the utility says was designed to be easier to read.

Columbia Gas said the new-format statement will start showing up in customer mailboxes over the next few weeks.

"Our last full-scale billing redesign occurred in 2006," said Linda Siddons, director of customer billing for Columbia Gas. "Since that time, our customers' needs have changed, so we designed this new bill with them in mind. Our goal is to make it easier for customers to read and understand their Columbia Gas bill."


Key improvements of the new bill:

  • Easy to read: Larger, more streamlined text and integration of icons to display common terms.
  • Organized layout: Information displayed in customers' order of importance and clearly presented to display important details.
  • Prominent energy usage information: A larger graph that offers 13 months of historical usage.
  • Focus on safety: More emphasis on tips to help keep you safe around natural gas.


Customers who are enrolled in Columbia Gas' paperless billing option (e-Bill) will also receive the new bill design. With paperless billing, customers receive an email with their new bill as soon as it is ready, which means no more waiting on the mail. For more information on how you can enroll in paperless billing
Learn more about the redesigned bill at ColumbiaGasMA.com/MyBill.

News Links: Methuen police shooting, Trump rally assault, and more

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Lahaska Sherpa of West Hartford, Connecticut, reached the peak of Mount Everest on Friday for a seventh time, breaking her own record as the most successful female climber of the world's highest peak.

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A digest of news stories from around New England.


  • Armed robbery suspect shot by Methuen police [Eagle Tribune] Related video above


  • R.I. man charged with assault at Donald Trump rally [Providence Journal]


  • Conn. sherpa summits Everest for the 7th time [Hartford Courant]


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  • 'Assassins' game seen as safety threat [SeacoastOnline.com] Related video above


  • Maine tech firm provides 'feet' for chainsaw-wielding, cigar-chomping battle robot [Portland Press Herald]


  • Lawsuit filed after valet drives SUV into pool [New Hampshire Union Leader] Related video below


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  • Natick constable charged with assault, impersonating police [MetroWest Daily News]


  • Saugus School Committee member allegedly assaulted elderly man with frozen fish [NECN]


  • Girl teased for police costume gets backup from real cops [Boston Globe]
    Related video below


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  • Oklahoma governor vetoes bill that would make it a felony to perform abortions

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    Republican Gov. Mary Fallin on Friday vetoed legislation that would make it a felony for doctors to perform an abortion.

    OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Oklahoma Republican Gov. Mary Fallin on Friday vetoed legislation that would make it a felony for doctors to perform an abortion, a measure that would have effectively outlawed the procedure in the state.

    In vetoing the measure, Fallin said it was vague and would not withstand a legal challenge.

    The bill's sponsor, Republican Sen. Nathan Dahm, said the measure was aimed at ultimately overturning the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

    The bill would have made it a felony punishable by up to three years in prison for anyone who performs an abortion, including doctors. State law already makes it a felony for anyone who's not a doctor to perform an abortion, and Dahm's bill would have removed the exemption for physicians.

    Lawmakers can still attempt a veto override, which requires a two-thirds majority in each chamber.

    The bill, which abortion-rights group Center for Reproductive Rights said was the first of its kind in the nation, also would restrict any physician who performs an abortion from obtaining or renewing a license to practice medicine in Oklahoma. The Legislature passed the measure with no discussion or debate on Thursday.

    Dahm said after its passage that he hoped his bill could lead to overturning Roe v. Wade.

    "Since I believe life begins at conception, it should be protected, and I believe it's a core function of state government to defend that life from the beginning of conception," said Dahm, from Broken Arrow.

    But abortion-rights supporters -- and the state's medical association -- have said the bill is unconstitutional. Sen. Ervin Yen, an Oklahoma City Republican and the only physician in the Senate, described the measure as "insane" and voted against it.

    Homeless veterans housing in Springfield a dream come true for Gumersindo Gomez

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    The new Sergeant Gomez Veterans Housing Campus in Springfield has 20 units for male and female veterans who have struggled to find housing.

    SPRINGFIELD — Over the past 30 years, Gumersindo Gomez has dedicated his life to his family and veterans, both of which he has called his "greatest passions."

    "I arrived to Springfield as a crazy Puerto Rican, Vietnam veteran ... letting people know that we have given our blood for this country since World War I," said Gomez, the executive director of the Bilingual Veterans Outreach Center on the corner of Franklin and Cass streets in Springfield.

    On Friday, Gomez was able to show off the $2.8 million housing complex for homeless veterans named the Sergeant Gomez Veterans Campus, which will house 20 homeless veterans, but it's not only for Latino veterans, he said.

    "Nobody that walks through those doors walks out of here with nothing. If we can't give them something, we'll give them a prayer and make sure that individual is pointed in the right direction, where they can get the help they need," Gomez said.

    Construction on the complex, which is located on the same land as the outreach center, began in April 2015, but Gomez has been dreaming of this project for many years, he said.

    "This is something I have always wanted, not for me, but for the veterans who have fought for this country and deserve a place to live," he said.

    Gomez first saw a similar project in Brockton in 2009.

    "That year I met Emily Rothschild, a veterans housing consultant, and she invited me to view a building in Brockton that had just opened for veterans," he said.

    Gomez thanked Rothschild, who attended the event, for all of her work.

    "We could not have done any of this without you, you are our everything," he said after also thanking everyone on his staff.

    Veterans must apply to live at the coed complex, where one person is allowed per unit. They must be currently experiencing problems with housing and making under $17,500 a year, according to Darrell Johnston, property manager of the new complex.

    The rent will be 30 percent of the veteran's gross earnings. The other 70 percent will be paid by the state, he said.

    Veterans can stay at the facility as long as they remain at or below the maximum income threshold. If they end up earning more money, the Bilingual Veterans Outreach Center will help them get alternative housing.

    The building was constructed by Saloomey Construction Co., of Westfield, which also did the renovation of the outreach center across from the new complex. Money for both projects comes from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development.

    Aside from the 20 rooms, which each has a bathroom, a kitchen and a small living area, there is also a conference room, a recreation area, a laundry room and 21 parking spaces.

    Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and state Reps. Carlos Gonzalez and Jose Tosado, both Springfield Democrats who have worked with Gomez to get housing for Western Massachusetts veterans, congratulated Gomez for his perseverance even when he was told many times there was not enough money for the project.

    Gomez was also joined at the event by his sons, the Rev. Gumersindo "Manny" Gomez and Ward 1 City Councilor Adam Gomez. Manny Gomez opened the celebration with a prayer, and Adam Gomez thanked both his parents for their commitment to Springfield's future and veterans.

    "When I was a kid, sometimes I would say 'I want my dad back, I want him home,' but now I understand my dad was a father to a lot of people," Gomez said. "To be a part of something this big, that's a dream come true for my father, it brings it all back, full circle, how important the times that he wasn't home were because I know he was taking care of family. Not necessarily our family, but our families in the city of Springfield."

    State Secretary of Veterans Services Francisco Urena said Springfield is an example for the state and the nation.

    "It is developments such as these, single units, 20 at a time, that make a difference in the bigger picture (of ending veteran homelessness ) across the commonwealth," he said.

    A special tribute and plaque were given to the family of the late Sergio Kentish Fernandez, a veteran and the first president of the board of directors of the Puerto Rican Veterans Association of Massachusetts.

    Applications for the apartments are now being accepted and can be obtained by calling local veterans service officers or stopping by the Bilingual Outreach Center on the corner of Franklin and Cass streets.


    Hampden DA Anthony Gulluni hosts event on recognizing abuse of elders, people with disabilities

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    Hampden D.A. Anthony Gulluni hosted an event designed to help care workers recognize abuse on Thursday.

    SPRINGFIELD — Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni hosted "Protect, Report, and Preserve" on Thursday, an event designed to train care workers on methods by which to recognize and report elder abuse and abuse of people with disabilities.

    The event took place at the Log Cabin in Holyoke, and care providers and case workers from throughout the county were invited to attend.

    "Violence committed against elders and persons with disabilities is a frequently unrecognized and under reported problem," said Gulluni during the event. "Unfortunately when abuse does happen, we are in a position to best investigate, arrest, and prosecute those who victimize our most vulnerable."

    Gulluni also cited statistics that asserted that more than 90% of people with developmental disabilities will experience sexual abuse at some point during their lives, while 49% will experience ten or more incidents of abuse.

    Large parts of the training focused on educating those in attendance on reading the "warning signs" of abuse. Signs of abuse range from physical markers like bruises and malnourishment to less visible markers like changes in behavior or unusual activity in bank accounts.

    The event was sponsored by Massachusetts Building Partnerships for the Protection of Persons with Disabilities Initiative, and was facilitated through the Hampden District Attorney's Office and the Massachusetts Disabled Persons Protection Commission.

    North End residents vote Saturday for New North Citizens Council board of directors

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    Eight candidates are running for six seats on the New North Citizens Council board of directors, and residents who live in the North End have several hours to vote for the new members on Saturday.

    SPRINGFIELD — Residents who live in the North End will vote Saturday to fill six seats on the New North Citizens Council board of directors from among eight candidates.

    "The board is made up of 15 residents, and they are looking to fill six seats," said Jose Claudio, of the New North Citizens Council, a non-profit social services agency governed by the board.

    The seats must be filled by residents 21 and older who live in the Brightwood and Memorial Square neighborhoods of Springfield's North End section. Candidates include a local pastor, several community activists and former City Council member Zaida Luna.

    Residents running for the seats are:

  • David Torres, of Calhoun Street

  • Juan Santana Jr., of Hyde Avenue

  • Luz DeJesus, of Plainfield Street

  • Carmen Santana, of Hyde Avenue

  • Jose Gonzalez, of Lowell Street

  • Roberto Sierra, of East Hooker Street

  • Juana Girona, of Hyde Avenue

  • Zaida Luna, of Demond Avenue

    According to council officials, board members are involved in program activities and demonstrate a commitment in a grassroots community-based process rooted in the culture of the community at large.

    The election is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the following polling locations:

    • Riverview Apartments, 82 Division St.
    • NNCC Office, 2455 Main St.
    • Edgewater Apartments, 101 Lowell St.
    • NNCC Drop In Center, 2594 Main St.
  • Secret Service shoots armed man outside White House

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    A U.S. Secret Service officer shot a man with a gun who approached a checkpoint outside the White House and refused to drop his weapon.

    WASHINGTON (AP) -- A U.S. Secret Service officer shot a man with a gun who approached a checkpoint outside the White House on Friday afternoon and refused to drop his weapon, the Secret Service said.

    The White House was briefly placed on a security alert after the shooting, which happened within view of sightseers as sidewalks were crowded with families, school groups and government workers.

    The armed man approached the checkpoint on E Street shortly after 3 p.m., and the officer repeatedly ordered the man to drop his gun, but the man ignored those commands, according to a statement from David Iacovetti, a Secret Service deputy assistant director.

    The officer fired one shot at the man, who was taken to a hospital for treatment, and the gun was recovered at the scene, Iacovetti said.

    The man was in critical condition when he was transported, a D.C. Fire and EMS spokesman said.

    President Barack Obama was away playing golf at the time, but Vice President Joe Biden was in the White House complex and was secured during the lockdown, his office said. The lockdown was lifted about an hour after the shooting.

    The gunman never made it inside the White House complex, and no one else was injured, the Secret Service said.

    Federal agents found ammunition inside a Toyota sedan, parked nearby on Constitution Avenue, that the gunman was believed to have driven, a U.S. law enforcement official said, speaking on condition of anonymity for lack of authorization to release the information.

    Sightseer Jenna Noelle of Austin, Texas, said she had just taken a photo of the White House when she noticed a man harassing an agent.

    Then, "as we were walking away we heard a shot fired, then some people started running away and agents had guns and were evacuating people."

    "I had a panic attack," she added. "I'm doing OK now, but it was pretty freaky to be right there a second before it happened. Not really the experience we wanted," she added.

    Community activist Akil Patterson said he heard a single gunshot while waiting in a security line. Within seconds, a security guard shouted to drop to the ground, and then he was evacuated to the street.

    Patterson said he was at the White House to get a presidential award for his work with Baltimore teens.

    He says his community work aims to "get rid of the notion that gun violence is the answer."

    Suspect arrested wearing Springfield C-3 Police Unit 'tribute' T-shirt gets 60-day jail sentence

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    In March, Santiago got caught on a fence while running from police; when an officer tried to help, Santiago kicked him in the chest, the prosecutor said.

    SPRINGFIELD - Jason C. Santiago won't be wearing his Springfield C-3 Police Unit T-shirt for a while.

    In a plea agreement, Santiago was sentenced to 60 days in jail followed by 12 months of probation Thursday in Springfield District Court.

    Jason Santiago Springfield heroin arrest.jpgJason C. Santiago, 28, of Springfield 

    The agreement effectively wiped out five of Santiago's six open cases, leaving only nine heroin, cocaine and motor vehicle charges on the docket from his latest arrest two weeks ago.

    That arrest brought attention to Santiago's criminal record -- and his taste in T-shirts.

    Before leaving home on May 11, Santiago pulled on a T-shirt showing a cartoon figure urinating on the logo of the Springfield C-3 Police Unit, a squad of state and city police officers working in crime-ridden neighborhoods.

    A few hours later, C-3 officers arrested Santiago and charged him with eight counts of distributing heroin and cocaine, plus riding a dirt bike without a helmet. During one hour of surveillance in the North End, detectives watched seven people approach Santiago and purchase drugs; all were arrested after leaving the area, police said.

    When the detectives approached, Santiago jumped on a dirt bike and took off, riding
    along the railroad tracks behind the Chestnut Accelerated Middle School; he was arrested later after stopping to buy gasoline on Main Street, police said.

    Four of Santiago's seven customers were from out of town, a fact that Springfield police spokesman Sgt. John Delaney pointed out in a statement the next day.

    "These arrests send a message... to out-of-town customers: Do not come into Springfield to purchase your illegal narcotics," Delaney said.

    Five days later, Delaney added a postscript: When the C-3 Police Unit arrested Santiago, he was wearing his C-3 Police Unit T-shirt.

    "Jason is obviously a huge fan of the C-3 Unit. It was the highest compliment to the officers assigned to this unit," Delaney said.

    Handcuffed and shackled, Santiago walked into court Thursday wearing a red plaid shirt with long sleeves and no logo.

    Neither Assistant District Attorney Patrick Bennett nor defense lawyer Daniel D. Kelly mentioned the T-shirt 'tribute' during the hearing and Santiago offered little beyond "yes, your honor" and "no, your honor' answers to questions from by Judge Paul Smyth.

    After the prosecutor summed up the five cases for the judge, Santiago pleaded guilty to trespassing, failing to stop for police, driving with a suspended license, driving with a revoked license, resisting arrest and assault and battery on a police officer.

    The assault and resisting arrest dated back to March 5, when Santiago allegedly ran from police on Washburn Street, but got caught on a fence; when an officer tried to help him down, Santiago kicked him in the chest, Bennett said.

    In a sentence recommended by the prosecution and defense, the judge gave Santiago 60 days in jail for resisting arrest and a 90-day suspended sentence, followed by 12 months of probation, for assaulting a police officer. No sentences were imposed in the other cases.

    Santiago is due back in court on June 10 on the new drug and motor vehicle charges.

    Chicopee paving could cause traffic congestion near Deady Bridge

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    The project to improve lanes near the Deady Bridge is being done by the state Department of Transportation.

    CHICOPEE - The city is warning residents that traffic delays are expected in the area of the Deady Bridge starting Monday.

    The intersections of Grattan and Montgomery streets and Memorial Drive and Sheridan Street are scheduled to be paved from Monday morning through Wednesday, City Engineer Steven Frederick said.

    Because of the construction, delays and congestion are expected in the intersection and motorists are asked to take alternative routes if possible, he said.

    The paving schedule is dependent on weather and could be delayed if it rains, he said.

    This project to make improvements to the state highway lanes is being done by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

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