A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle attacked a police checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday.

(AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)A Pakistani rescue worker collects prayer rugs amid the shoes and caps of mourners after a bomb blast in Matani near Peshawar, Pakistan on Wednesday, March 9, 2011. Another suicide bomber attacked a police checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday.

By RIAZ KHAN, Associated Press

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle attacked a police checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, striking amid a crowd gathered along the road to greet a prominent hardline Islamist politician and killing 13 people, police said.

It was unclear if the bomber specifically targeted the supporters of politician Maulana Fazlur Rehman or if they just happened to be there when he hit the checkpoint. Rehman has been an outspoken supporter of the Afghan Taliban, but some militants in Pakistan have shown a willingness to attack anyone connected to the government.

The bomber detonated his explosives just outside the checkpoint when a policeman told him to halt, said Saeed Khan, a police official at the main communications center in Peshawar city. The blast killed the policeman and 12 other civilians nearby, said Khan. Another 12 people were wounded.

The attack occurred in Swabi town, located some 44 miles (70 kilometers) outside the capital Islamabad. Rehman, the leader of the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, passed through the checkpoint only minutes before the bomber struck and was unharmed, said Khan. Rehman was traveling to Charsadda town to address a public gathering.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing. An attack targeting Rehman or his supporters would be unusual — but not unheard of — because of their hardline Islamist views.

The most prominent militant sympathizer reportedly killed by insurgents was former Pakistani spy Sultan Amir Tarar — better known as Col. Imam — who helped the Taliban rise to power in Afghanistan in the 1990s.

The Pakistani Taliban said in February that they shot and killed Tarar after holding him captive for 10 months in northwest Pakistan because the government failed to meet their demands. The Pakistani Taliban has links to its Afghan brethren but is focused on fighting the Pakistani state.

The Pakistani government disputed the Taliban's claims, saying Tarar died of a heart attack in January while in captivity.

About a year ago, a suicide bomber attacked a rally being held by the Jamat-e-Islami party, another Islamist group that is sympathetic to many of the goals of the Taliban and regularly criticizes army operations against them. The attack killed more than 20 police and civilians. Police speculated the target may have been officers watching over the rally.

____

Munir Ahmed contributed to this report from Islamabad.

Records show recent violations at US nuclear power plants, Syria planning concessions and more

(Xinhua/Hamza Turkia)In this photo released by China's Xinhua news agency, heavy smoke rises over the Tajoura area, some 30 km east of Tripoli, Libya, after an airstrike on Tuesday March 29, 2011.

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Nissan Motor Co. says an engine plant wrecked by the March 11 tsunami will likely return to operations in June.

(AP Photo/The Yomiuri Shimbun, Hajime Yamagishi)Nissan Motor Co.'s President and Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn, speaks to his employees at its plant in Iwaki, northeastern Japan, Tuesday, March 29, 2011. Nissan said Monday that it expects factories to be back in operation in weeks rather than months. Much of Japan's auto industry, the second largest supplier of cars in the world, remains idle two weeks after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami hit the country's northeast coast. The banner in the background say, "Carry On! Iwaki"

TOKYO (AP) — Nissan Motor Co. says an engine plant wrecked by the March 11 tsunami will likely return to operations in June.

Nissan spokesman Mitsuru Yonekawa said Wednesday the Iwaki factory, one of Nissan's two engine plants in Japan, still has no running water. The factory makes 376,000 engines annually.

Nissan shut down its entire auto production in Japan from March 14 to 16. Nissan said its auto production in Japan was now running at full capacity.

The company said the tsunami, which decimated much of northeastern Japan, resulted in a production loss of 42,000 cars.

The debate is sponsored by East Longmeadow Community Access Television.

EAST LONGMEADOW – A debate for the only contest in the annual town election will be held Thursday at East Longmeadow High School.

The debate, put on by East Longmeadow Community Access Television, will give the candidates an opportunity to discuss important issues facing the school department.

Candidates for reelection include current School Committee members Gregory Thompson and Angela Thorpe. They are being challenged by Richard L. Freccero, who was principal at East Longmeadow High School for 23 years and parent William Bednarzyk, Jr. The four are vying for two three-year seats on the committee.

This will be the first and only debate for the candidates before the April 12 election. The candidates did participate in a candidates forum at the Pleasantview Senior Center last week.

Courtney Llewellyn, the editor for ELCAT News, a program of East Longmeadow Community Access Television, said the debate will give residents an opportunity to hear what the candidates have to say.

"The candidates forum is a nice way to introduce the candidates, but the debate will give them a chance to get into the drive behind their campaigns, she said. "It will also help ELCAT fulfill the duty of informing the residents about the only contested race this year."

The debate will be moderated by high school teacher Ed Polk. Panelists asking the candidates questions will include Llewellyn, parent Herb Tryon, ninth-grader Alexi Cohan and Republican reporter Elizabeth Román.

The candidates will answer a series of questions created by the panelists with suggestions from students and residents.

The debate, which will be taped, will begin at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium and is open to the public.

The second annual County Health Rankings report, released Wednesday, also shows that Dukes and Middlesex counties were ranked second and third respectively.

fileHealth car study released

BOSTON (AP) — A survey comparing the overall health in counties across Massachusetts shows Nantucket has the state's healthiest population, while Hampden County residents are more likely to struggle with premature deaths, preventable hospital stays and fewer primary care providers.

The second annual County Health Rankings report, released Wednesday, also shows that Dukes and Middlesex counties were ranked second and third respectively.

Hampshire County ranked fifth, Franklin County ranked seventh, Worcester County ranked tenth while Berkshire County ranked number 11 on the list.

Suffolk County, which includes Boston, again came in second to last — just ahead of Bristol.

Researchers analyzed health records from each of Massachusetts' 14 counties and then ranked them in categories like mortality, health behaviors, access to clinical care, social and economic factors and physical environment.

The report by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is intended to help policy makers drill down and compare conditions and health factors in their state.

To read the full report, click here.

Police are still looking for 56-year-old William Fitzgibbons who was last seen on March 21.

Submitted PhotoWilliam Fitzgibbons

NEWTOWN, Conn. - Police in Connecticut are still looking for a 56-year-old man who was reported missing on March 21 and hasn't been heard from since.

In the afternoon hours two weeks ago, William Fitzgibbons, reportedly a day trader, left his cell phone on the charger at his office and proceeded to the Big Y grocery store on Queen Street in Newtown, Ct., according to the Danbury News Times.

At the store, he reportedly called his wife of 33 years to tell her he was having issues with their white 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. Mrs. Fitzgibbons told a reporter at the Oxford, Ct. Patch.com that it was the last thing she ever heard from her husband.

A police search commenced later that evening for Fitzgibbons and his Jeep but there have been no leads since his disappearance.

Fitzgibbon's disappearance came only one day after 13-year-old Isabella Oleschuk was reported missing by her parents in Orange, Ct. While the young girl's disappearance garnered media attention across the country, Fitzgibbons' case did not.

Oleschuk was later found unharmed hiding in an old garage on the property of an abandoned produce stand.

He is described as a white man with blue eyes, glasses and a bald head, weighing approximately 185 pounds and standing about 6-feet, 1-inch tall. He was wearing jeans, a mock turtleneck and a green sweater at the time of his disappearance.

His vehicle, a 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo is described as white with a gray rear bumper. The Connecticut license plate number is 709EFK.

Anyone with information on Fitzgibbon's whereabouts is asked to call the Newtown, Ct. police at 203-426-5841 or 203-270-4255.

An MBTA spokesman said the worker fell down a 2-foot-by-2-foot hole between train tracks.

BOSTON — A worker with the Boston-area's transit agency has been rescued and sent to a hospital with injuries after a 30-foot fall between tracks at a train station.

Firefighters pulled Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority electrician Ed Rowe from inside a hollow concrete support column at about 7 a.m. Wednesday.

An MBTA spokesman says the 46-year-old Rowe was working on an elevated trolley track near the Charles/Massachusetts General Hospital station in Boston at about 4:30 a.m. when he fell between the tracks and down a 2-foot-by-2-foot hole that widens at the bottom

A fire department spokesman says Rowe was conscious but in "extreme pain" from leg injuries during the rescue.

Normal service resumed on the train line at 8 a.m.

The Legislature’s Judiciary Committee is attempting to grapple with the fallout from a report that documented evidence of widespread political patronage in the department.

BOSTON – Massachusetts lawmakers are set to hear from the public on a slew of bills designed to overhaul the state’s probation system.

The Judiciary Committee has scheduled a Statehouse hearing Wednesday as officials grapple with the fallout from a report released last year that documented evidence of widespread political patronage at the Probation Department.

The report concluded there was “an understanding” between certain legislators and former Probation Commissioner John O’Brien linking appropriations for the department to O’Brien’s willingness to give jobs to applicants recommended by the lawmakers.

That report sparked calls from Gov. Deval L. Patrick and House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo to revamp the department’s hiring and promotion policies.

The Supreme Judicial Court unveiled changes to the department last month that it says will guarantee “a fair system” for hiring and promotion.

More details coming in The Republican.

Police said the suspect was flailing a pink jacket at the geese.

EAST LONGMEADOW - Police said they arrested an 18-year-old Springfield man, who attracted their attention Sunday morning when he was spotted harassing geese at Heritage Park, after they determined that he had a warrant for his arrest.

“He was flailing a pink jacket at the geese to get them to fly off,” Sgt. Patrick M. Manley said of arrestee Giovanni Oliver, of 11 Brunswick St., Springfield.

Oliver was one of several people who arrived at the park shortly after 10 a.m. and began chasing geese.

Manley said the warrant had been issued out of juvenile court in Springfield when Oliver was a minor. He did not know what the warrant was for.

Oliver made the news last September when he, along with two other suspects, allegedly stole 17 tubes of toothpaste at gunpoint from a CVS pharmacy on Belmont Street in Springfield.

The store supervisor noticed the three suspects carrying backpacks and stealing merchandise. When the man confronted the teens one suspect showed him a handgun and all three fled, Springfield Police Sgt. John M. Delaney said.

Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said police officers spotted the trio walking on Belmont Avenue near Longfellow Terrace. When officers stopped the suspects for questioning they fled. Officers chased the teens on foot and state police used a helicopter and the K-9 unit to catch them. Police caught two of the suspects.

One was a 16-year-old minor and the other was Oliver. He was charged with shoplifting, assault with a handgun, resisting arrest and assault and battery on a police officer.

Oliver denied the charges last September in district court. That case is still pending and a pre-trial hearing has been set for May 17.

Forty-eight-year-old Jeffrey Gray is being arraigned on charges including kidnapping, rape, false imprisonment and simple assault.

WINDHAM, N.H. – Police say a New York woman who posted a Craigslist ad seeking a fresh start in New England was held against her will for three days and raped by a New Hampshire man.

Forty-eight-year-old Jeffrey Gray is being arraigned on charges including kidnapping, rape, false imprisonment and simple assault. He is a member of the Salem, N.H., planning board.

Police say the woman reported earlier this month that Gray answered her ad. The woman told police that when she arrived at Gray’s Windham, N.H., home, he held her against her will and assaulted her over a period of three days.

Gray is being arraigned in Salem District Court. He was arrested in Brockton, Mass., Tuesday on a fugitive warrant.

Political newcomer Michael Wolff beat Holland for one of two seats on the board 665 to 660.

Christopher J. Hoffmann

AMHERST - Patricia G. Holland who lost her bid for reelection to the Jones Library Board of Trustees by five votes said she will not seek re-election

Holland, who has been the board president, said she will not apply for the vacancy that will be filled Monday night by a joint vote of the trustees and Select Board.

Holland said she was surprised by the outcome. “I should have done more campaigning,” she said.

Political newcomer Michael Wolff beat Holland for one of two seats 665 to 660. Incumbent Christopher J. Hoffmann easily won reelection for the second seat with 832 votes. In the only other contested race at Monday’s annual town election, Amherst Redevelopment Authority incumbent Aaron A. Hayden beat a challenge from Vincent J. O’Connor 880 to 504.

Holland said with such a low voter turnout she didn’t expect to pick up the additional five votes.

Only 1,477 voted or 8.47 percent of the town’s 17,433 registered voters said Amherst Town Clerk Sandra J. Burgess.

Holland said she thinks the controversy surrounding the evaluation of former library director Bonnie J. Isman effected the outcome as well. Some in town were critical of the process. An evaluation sub-committee met dozens of times over several months. The evaluation of Isman who retired in December was never made public. Isman had worked I the library for decades.

Holland said she’s disappointed she won’t be able to see some projects through but has known Wolff for decades. “I think he’ll do fine.”

Meanwhile, the trustees and The Select Board plan meet at 6 p.m. in Town Hall to elect a replacement of Kathleen Wang who resigned from the board in January, too late for her seat to be placed on the ballot. Holland said she there have some good candidates who applied for the position.

Prof. Nancy Folbre, author of 'Saving State U: Fixing Public Higher Education' discusses how to fund public higher education in Massachusetts.

UMASS Economist – Saving State U: Fixing Public Higher Education from WGBY on Vimeo.

There are rising concerns as to the fate of public higher education as state funding continues to be cut and low and middle income students are finding it more difficult to afford college.

University of Massachusetts Amherst economics professor and author of “Saving State U: Fixing Public Higher Education,” Prof. Nancy Folbre, spoke with Connecting Point’s Jim Maddigan about her ideas to fix and fund public higher education.

“I think we really need to reverse the trend of defunding public higher education,” she said.
Folbre also said that it is a “cruel paradox” that in an education hub such as Massachusetts, funding for the UMass system is not as good as it could be.

“We’re a state that really values education a lot but perhaps because our private institutions are so well known and so immanent we haven’t done a very good job of funding out public system,” Folbre said.

While there are obvious financial pressures and problems in the state, Folbre thinks legislators need to refocus how they view public higher education.

“We need to think about shared sacrifice,” she said. “But, public higher education is an investment in the economic future of the Commonwealth.”

UMass has resorted to private funding and recently reached $500 million endowment goal.
“On the one hand they’ve had their state funding cut and have put a lot of energy and effort into private funding and also raising tuition and fees,” Folbre said. “The response to that is you don’t need our money and to cut the public funding further.”

As far as fixing public higher education, Folbre has many solutions but what she sees as most important is “to address some of the long-run fiscal pressures that are operating on states.”

To hear the entire interview, see video above.

Connecting Point airs weeknights on WGBY at 7:30 p.m.

The census showed the city grew by 645 people over the past 10 years.

Republican file photo

CHICOPEE – With the Federal Census figures officially released, the City Council is beginning the work of redistricting wards in the city.

A redistricting subcommittee will meet for the first time at 6:30 p.m., Monday in City Hall to begin to discuss what changes need to be made to realign the nine wards in the city, Council President William A. Zaskey said.

The first meeting is mostly an informational one. Zaskey said he has invited the School Committee as well as the City Council to attend to discuss any concerns or ideas. Public input will also be accepted.

The census data shows the population grew by 645 people over the past 10 years. That was a 1.2 percent increase in residents, leaving the 2010 city population at 55,298, Chicopee Registrar of Voters Janina A. Surdyka said.

Surdyka will serve on the committee as an advisory member with City Clerk Keith W. Rattell, City Engineer Steven J. Frederick and a member each from the Democratic and Republican city committees, she said.

Regulations say each voting precinct cannot be larger than 4,000 people and each ward cannot differ in size by more than 5 percent, she said.

“The ideal situation is each ward is 6,144 people,” she said, adding that could not happen exactly.

While the population has not changed much, there has been a shift in the areas where residents live, she said.

“We are noticing certain areas are growing faster than others,” she said. “Downtown in the city is losing population and it is gaining closer to the South Hadley border and the Burnett Road area.”

Surdyka said she will ask the committee to consider consolidating voting precincts to save on some election costs.

The committee will also discuss trying to make some wards more contiguous. Currently there are some wards which include small sections that don’t match well with the rest of the neighborhood, Zaskey said.

For example part of Ward 6 is located on one side of Westover Air Reserve Base and another part is on the other side of the base, he said.

“We will be looking to see if there is a way to re-align some of them,” Zaskey said.

A split Governor's Council today voted to confirm Gov. Deval L. Patrick's four nominees to the state Parole Board to replace members who resigned after a violent parolee killed a Woburn patrolman in December.

State House News ServiceCouncilor Marilyn Devaney addressed the Governor's Council as the board voted to confirm four of Gov. Deval Patrick's nominees to the state Parole Board. Gov. Deval Patrick was forced to preside at the council meeting Wednesday so that Lt. Gov. Tim Murray (right) could break tie council votes and send Lucy Soto-Abbe and John Bocon to seats on the seven-member board.

BOSTON - A divided state panel today voted to confirm Lucy Soto-Abbe of Springfield and three other nominees by Gov. Deval L. Patrick to the state Parole Board.

Amid concerns that Soto-Abbe's nomination would help stack the board with people from law enforcement, the Governor's Council voted 5-4 to approve her as a member.

Soto-Abbe has been an advocate for crime victims and witnesses the past 17 years in the Hampden District Attorney's Office.

The vote came after Patrick took the extraordinary step of chairing the meeting, allowing Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray to cast the deciding vote on Soto-Abbe and one other nominee, John M. Bocon, former chief probation officer in the U.S. Probation Office in Boston. The council also voted 5-4 to approve Bocon.

The council voted 8-1 to approve Charlotte M. Bonner, a forensic psychologist serving Plymouth County courts, and 6-3 in favor of Ina R. Howard-Hogan, currently general counsel to the parole board.

Gloria Butts / State House News ServiceLucy M. Soto-Abbe of Springfield, an advocate for victims and witnesses for the Hampden District Attorney, takes a question during her interview with the Governor's Council on Wednesday.

Governor's Councilor Christopher A. Iannella of Boston said he voted against Soto-Abbe because 6 of 7 members of the board now have law-enforcement backgrounds.

"I like more of a diversity," he said. "I would like a defense attorney ... too many law enforcement people."

Councilor Marilyn M. P. Devaney, who supported Soto-Abbe, cited Soto-Abbe's upbringing in the north end of Springfield. She said Soto-Abbe has a record of being fair to offenders and working with judges in sentencing.

"She grew up in a tough section of Springfield," Devaney said. "She has relatives and friends who have committed crimes. Lucy at this time has a family member serving prison for being convicted of murder. She grew up in a family where there were various addictions."

She said no nominee has the life experience, background and qualifications of Soto-Abbe.

Five parole board members had resigned after they voted to release Dominic Cinelli.

Cinelli, the man who killed the Woburn officer, was serving three life sentences for assault and robbery convictions when he was released in early 2009. Cinelli died in a shoot-out with the officer, John B. Maguire in December.

Seven candidates are scheduled to speak.

03.09.11 | Photo by Julian Feller-Cohen – South Hadley Town Hall.

SOUTH HADLEY - A candidates night on Thursday will give residents an opportunity to hear from the candidates for local office in this year's election.

The event will be at Town Hall at 7 p.m. and will be moderated by Channel 40 news anchor Ray Hershel.

Candidates will give statements on their backgrounds and policies, followed by questions from the audience. Refreshments will be served afterward.

There are seven candidates scheduled to speak. Three are running for the selectboard, two for the school committee, one for the board of health and one for the municipal light board.

The election is set for April 4. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Candidates Night is presented by the group Know Your Town of South Hadley. It is free and open to the public.

"People look forward to it every year to meet their candidates," said Martha Terry, a member of the organizational committee for Know Your Town.

"(The candidates) really have to speak on their toes, speak without preparation, to the questions asked by the audience."

There are races for town moderator, school committee, trustee for Free Public Library and town meeting representatives for wards B, C and D, said town clerk Carlene C. Hamlin.

Many of those running in contested races are incumbents, Hamlin said.

There are 12 people running for town meeting representative for ward B, nine for ward C and 11 for ward D. There are eight seats available in each ward, but only six people are running in A and five are running in E, said Hamlin.

Running for selectboard are incumbents Robert G. Judge and Francis DeToma, as well as Chester Sinclair. There are two seats up for grabs.

Four candidates are running for three seats on the Trustees of the Free Public Library. They include incumbents Helen Gage, Susan Crowther, and Joyce O'Neil, as well as Barbara Salthouse.

Four candidates are seeking two seats on the School Committee. The candidates are Robert Abrams, Shannon Hann, Kevin McAllister and Barry C.D. Waite.

Races for board of health, municipal light board, board of assessors, planning board and town meeting representatives for wards A and E are uncontested.

Tea Party rally is coming to Boston, headed by GOP presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty.

Associated PressPresident Barack Obama walks with the Chilean Foreign Affairs Minister Alfredo Moreno, right, and Gen. Marcos Gonzalez, left, upon his arrival in Santiago, Chile, Monday, March 21, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

• Tim Pawlenty headlining Boston Tea Party rally [Boston.com]
• Freshmen House members aim hard at Harry Reid, hit John Boehner [Politico.com]
• Boehner to Senate Dems: ‘Pass the damn’ budget plan [USAtoday.com]
• Barack Obama’s energy policy [Economist.com]
• Scott Brown needs to explain himself to HUD [BostonHerald.com]
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• Religion: an obstacle for Romney [TheAtlantic.com]
• Bachmann on Libya: ‘I would not have gone in’ [TheHill.com]
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A February 15 attack killed Jaime Zapata and wounded Victor Avila.

Associated PressIn this Feb. 15, 2011 file photo, Mexican federal police guard a U.S. embassy vehicle after it came under attack by unidentified gunmen on Highway 57 between Mexico City and Monterrey, near the town of Santa Maria Del Rio, San Luis Potosi state, Mexico.

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Wednesday offered up to a $5 million reward for information leading to the capture of the suspected drug traffickers who shot and killed a U.S. immigration agent and wounded another in Mexico last month.

The State Department said its Narcotics Rewards Program would pay the amount to anyone coming forward with information that results in the arrest of those responsible for the February 15 attack that killed Jaime Zapata and wounded Victor Avila. Both men were agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a written statement that the reward offer shows the government's commitment to solving this case.

""This reward reflects the U.S. government's unwavering commitment to ensuring that all those responsible for the murder of Special Agent Zapata are brought to justice," said Secretary Napolitano. "We encourage anyone with information about this case to contact authorities."

Zapata and Avila, who worked at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, were attacked along a highway as they drove back to the capital from Mexico's northern state of San Luis Potosi. Some U.S. officials say it was an intentional ambush and that the gunmen knew who their victims were.

Zapata and Avila identified themselves at U.S. diplomats in the moments before the shooting.

San Luis Potosi is at the center of a power struggle between the Zetas and the Gulf cartel. It is also on the route north used by migrants seeking to reach the United States. Officials say cartels have begun recruiting some migrants to work for the gangs.

The two agents were in a Chevrolet Suburban. Mexico's drug cartels frequently set up roadblocks and ambushes to steal large SUVs and pickups.

Mexican authorities have detained several people in connection with the murder, including suspected Zeta gang member Julian Zapata Espinoza — known by the nickname "El Piolin," or Tweety Bird. Authorities in Mexico said Zapata Espinoza told them gunmen from the Zetas mistook the agents' SUV for that of a rival gang.

Zapata Espinoza's boss, Sergio Antonio Mora, was also arrested though authorities have not said if he was present at the shooting.

Authorities in both countries have said the investigation continues.

Mexico has also announced a reward of up to 10 million pesos, or about $835,000, for information that leads to the arrest of the killers.

The Narcotics Rewards Program was created by Congress in 1986 to help the government identify and bring to justice the major violators of U.S. narcotics laws.

The suspect was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and threat to murder.

SPRINGFIELD – A 47-year-old city man, who allegedly pistol-whipped a man and woman during a dispute over money in the Forest Park neighborhood Monday, was arrested at his home Wednesday morning.

Sgt. John M. Delaney said the victims, a 23-year-old woman and 22-year-old male, told police that they know the suspect. They were treated at the scene, he said.

Detectives received a warrant for the arrest of the suspect, Brian Doig, and arrested him at his home at 78 Barnum St. at about 7 a.m., said Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said.

Doig was charged with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and threat to murder.Delaney said the dispute was over money.

Ward 4, for example, has gained residents since 2000 because of new housing on Village Hill.

NORTHAMPTON – It won’t affect their taxes or the amount of sunlight their rhododendrons get, but some city residents are likely to wake up on New Year’s day to find themselves in a new ward.

Using the 2010 federal census as a guideline, Northampton is beginning the process of redrawing the lines of its seven wards and 14 precincts based on shifts in population. State law requires that all legislative districts have as equal a number of inhabitants as possible and, with Northampton’s population dropping by 429 since the 2000 census and new housing clusters forming in various parts of the city, officials are expecting at least a slight shift in ward lines.

Mayor Mary Clare Higgins has appointed a Reprecincting Committee with representatives from each of the seven current wards to crunch numbers, study maps, talk with residents and come up with a plan by May 13. The City Council must then adopt it and submit it to the state by June 15. If the state signs off on it, the new boundary lines will go into effect on Dec. 31.

According to James Thompson, the city’s Geographic Information Systems Coordinator, the latest census figures puts Northampton’s population at 28,549. Theoretically, that number would have to be divided evenly among the seven wards and each ward’s population, in turn, split 50-50 among its two precincts. Because any shift would have a domino effect, even precincts with little or no population change could lose or gain a street or two.

Thompson said it is premature to predict how the latest census figures will affect ward configurations.

“It really depends on how the change is distributed,” he said.

Ward 4, for example, has gained residents since 2000 because of new housing on Village Hill. Some subdivisions have also been created along Ryan Road in Ward 6. To discourage gerrymandering, communities may not draw up wards with dog-legs or dilute minority sections by dividing them up.

Gerald Budgar, who represents Ward 3 on the Reprecincting Committee, said he has already heard from several residents of Bradford Street who would like to be part of that ward again. Bradford Street had been in Ward 3 before the 2000 census. Some wards historically have had strong identities. Budgar grew up in Ward 3 and his father, the late Leonard Budgar, represented the ward on the City Council for 16 years.

Noting that his committee has not yet scheduled its first meeting, Budgar hesitated to predict how the reprecincting will go or how it will be received.

“I’ll learn at that first meeting what everybody else will learn,” he said.

Although it’s possible that a city councilor could end up in a ward other than the one they were elected to represent, no one believes the changes will be as drastic as the projected loss of a congressional seat in Massachusetts. The state is expected to forfeit that delegate because its population grew at a slower rate than that of other states. Some have speculated that Western Massachusetts will absorb the lost seat, although the Legislature and Gov. Deval Patrick have not yet begun redrawing the congressional map.

Northampton's Wards and Precinct Map

Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray had to use his tie-breaking vote to win confirmation for two of the candidates.

Timothy Murray

BOSTON – The Governor’s Council has confirmed Gov. Deval Patrick’s four nominees to the embattled state parole board, but two of them required tie-breaking votes by Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray.

The board has been in turmoil since December, when Woburn police officer John Maguire was shot and killed by Dominic Cinelli, a career criminal who was paroled by the board in 2008.

The Council on Wednesday voted 5-4 to approve the nominations of Lucy Soto-Abbe, a victims’ advocate in the Hampden District Attorney’s office, and John Bocon, a former chief federal probation officer.

Patrick presided over the meeting so that Murray could cast the tie-breaking votes.

Ina Howard-Hogan, a lawyer for the parole board, was confirmed on a 6-3 vote and Charlene Bonner, a forensic psychologist, was approved 8-1.

More details coming in The Republican.