The 2000 traffic agreement called for the sign to be placed in a different spot.

CHICOPEE - Complaints about traffic backups on Yelle Street and Simard Drive led to the discovery of a 16-year-old error.

Recently Councilor Adam D. Lamontagne started the process to try to ban a right turn on red on Simard Drive into Yelle Street. The City Council agreed to discuss the idea in subcommittee and also sent it to the engineering department for an opinion.

But City Councilors said it may be difficult to make any changes because the intersection is controlled by the state and a traffic study will be needed.

After the request, City Engineer Steven Frederick researched the issue and found a traffic study the state did on the intersection around 2000 and a consequent traffic control agreement signed by Richard J. Kos, who was serving as mayor then, and the state that banned the right turn on Simard Drive.

"The sign is in the wrong place. It has been in the wrong spot for 16 years," Lamontagne said.

The no turn on red sign is on Yelle Street and bans a right turn onto Simard Drive, but the traffic agreement calls for the sign to be on Simard Drive banning a right turn on red to Yelle Street.

City Councilor Frank Laflamme said it makes sense that the no right on red sign is wrong.

"When school gets out it is backed up for no reason," he said.

Lamontagne said cars can back up all the way to Willimansett heights area at peak traffic times.

The City Council voted 11-0 to ask the Department of Public Works to fix the error.

Angel Colon, the former Massachusetts man who survived the mass shooting inside the Pulse nightclub, met with the Orlando Police Department's police chief recently as the chief checked on Colon in the hospital.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Angel Colon, the former Massachusetts man who survived the mass shooting inside the Pulse nightclub, met with the Orlando Police Department's police chief recently as the chief checked on Colon in the hospital.

Orlando Police Chief John Mina met Colon Friday at the Orlando Regional Medical Center. The chief was visiting hospital staff and thanking them for treating victims of the shooting. Colon has ties to Boston and Framingham.

The Orlando Police's Twitter page posted three photographs of Mina with Colon. The former Massachusetts man had been shot in the leg and hand during the June 12 mass shooting that left 49 people dead.

Colon said he couldn't walk after he was shot. An Orlando Police officer dragged him out of the club to safety.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer also thanked victims of the Boston Marathon bombings who showed their support in Orlando recently. The mayor's Twitter page posted a video and photographs of marathon victims who visited Orlando recently.

So much love for our city. Honored to meet @bostonmarathon bombing survivors here to lend support. #OrlandoUnited pic.twitter.com/igY0Hf1305

— Mayor Buddy Dyer (@orlandomayor) June 24, 2016

The shooter in the Pulse nightclub killings, Omar Mateen, had made references to the Boston Marathon bombings during his shooting rampage.

Authorities are hosting a big bash to inaugurate newly expanded locks that will double the Panama Canal's capacity, as the country makes a multibillion-dollar bet on a bright economic future despite tough times for international shipping.

PANAMA CITY (AP) -- With a band playing and flags waving, a Chinese ship carrying more than 9,000 containers on Sunday entered the newly expanded locks that will double the Panama Canal's capacity in a multibillion-dollar bet on a bright economic future despite tough times for international shipping.

Several tug boats pulled "Cosco Shipping Panama" into the new locks at Agua Clara under a cloudy sky in Colon province, about about 50 miles north of the capital.

Thousands of Panamanians who gathered since before dawn to witness the inauguration of the canal's expansion waved the national flag as the band struck up a song.

Nearly two years late due to construction delays and labor strife, the $5.25 billion project formally launched with the transit of the 158-foot-wide (48.2 meters), 984-foot-long (300 meters), Chinese-owned container ship. It's one of the modern class of mega-vessels that will now be able to use the canal.

With 30,000 people and eight foreign heads of state expected to attend the daylong festivities, officials are bullish.

"There is evidence that the Panama Canal, with this expansion, is an important player not only for regional maritime commerce but worldwide," said Oscar Bazan, the Panama Canal Authority's executive vice president for planning and commercial development. "The canal is a winning bet. (Clients) will benefit from saving not only time but also money, because the canal is a route that shortens distance."

However, the party comes amid a lull in global shipping due to the drop in oil prices, an economic slowdown in China, which is the canal's second-largest customer, and other factors that have hit the waterway's traffic and income.

While authorities anticipate increasing commerce between Asia and ports on the U.S. East Coast, doubts remain that not all those ports are ready to handle the huge New Panamex-class cargo ships. Net cargo volume through the canal from the U.S. East Coast toward Asia fell 10.2 percent in 2015, according to official statistics. Meanwhile the Suez Canal in Egypt recently lowered tariffs by up to 65 percent on large container carriers in an attempt to keep its traffic.

"It's important to remember that the canal does not create demand. The canal opens the route. Supply and demand on a world level is what will decide whether the Panama Canal will really bring more volume or not," said Antonio Dominguez, a general manager for global shipping leader Maersk Line, which moves about 14.2 percent of world commerce. "What is certain is that the current canal has maxed out."

Maersk was among shipping companies that have reduced passages through the Panama Canal, although Dominguez said the company is considering a return.

Since the canal was handed over from U.S. control at the end of 1999, the waterway has generated about $10 billion in direct income for the Central American nation and is responsible for about 40 percent of its GDP, factoring in related economic activity. Some 35 to 40 vessels transit the waterway each day, and the canal is estimated to handle about 6 percent of world maritime commerce.

Panama began the expansion nearly a decade ago. Originally planned to open in late 2014 around the waterway's centennial, the new locks can accommodate ships that carry up to three times the cargo of those previously able to use the canal.

Grupo Unidos por el Canal, the Italian- and Spanish-led consortium that spearheaded construction, handed the project over Friday, although a series of claims are still pending for presumed cost overruns of more than $3 billion.

Paul Bingham, a shipping economist at Boston-based EDR Group, predicted the canal expansion's global impact will be small.

"The proportion of world trade that could plausibly use the Panama Canal is constrained by the geography of the world's population, resource endowments and production regions," Bingham said. "There is very little a larger canal can influence at the margin to induce shifts in the geography of world trade, even through potential reductions in costs of shipping a variety of commodities to, from and within the Americas."

Three people will be honored during the gathering.

HOLYOKE - The Friends of Mater Dolorosa will gather together on Sunday to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the closing of the Roman Catholic Church on Lyman Street.

The event is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Cavalier Restaurant on Chicopee Street, Chicopee.

Three people will be given honored for their work to help the Friends of Mater Dolorosa. Joan Mikolajczyk will be given an award for her work to preserve Polish heritage. Holyoke City Councilor Thomas McGee and Alfred Dilascia, leader of the Committee for Cathedral Action, will each be honored for courage, said Victor Anop, the head of the Friends of Mater Dolorosa, he said.

Citing a lack of priests and declining membership, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield closed the church and merged the parish with a second to create the new Our Lady of the Cross Church.

After the last mass at Mater Dolorosa in June of 2011, members refused to leave and staged a 24-hour occupation of the building for a year. The protest ended in June 2012 when the Apostolic Signature, the Vatican's highest court, agreed to hear their appeal of the decision to close the church but asked Friends of Mater Dolorosa to leave the church.

The Vatican has since ruled that the church could be closed. The Friends and other supporters have tried to establish a Polish Heritage Historic District to protect the church and several area buildings but that was rejected by the Holyoke City Council.

An estimated 8 million AR-style guns have been sold since they were first introduced to the public in the 1960s, and about half of them are owned by current or former members of the military or law enforcement.

ATLANTA (AP) -- Karen Butler still remembers the first time she picked up an AR-15-style rifle a decade ago.

"Quite honestly, I was scared of it," she recalls.

But as soon as she fired it, she became a fan.

"You know some of these people that are fearful, it's just because they don't have knowledge," she said. "We call it furniture a it's got all the accessories on it that make it look a little intimidating. But once you shoot it you realize it's so much fun."

Butler, of Huntsville, Alabama, started Shoot Like a Girl, an outfit that seeks to introduce and inspire women to participate in shooting sports.

An estimated 8 million AR-style guns have been sold since they were first introduced to the public in the 1960s, and about half of them are owned by current or former members of the military or law enforcement, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which represents gunmakers.

Even the name stirs up controversy. "AR" does not stand for "assault rifle," as many believe, but for ArmaLite Rifle, a nod to the company that first designed it for military use. Assault weapons are fully automatic; the bullets keep flying for as long as the trigger is depressed. AR-style guns are semi-automatic, meaning the trigger has to be pulled separately for each shot.

More than 12,000 people were killed last year in the United States by guns, and most of those incidents involved handguns. A tiny fraction involved an AR-style gun. But of those, most have been high-profile shootings, including the nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, where Omar Mateen used a Sig Sauer MCX model in an attack that killed 49 people.

That shooting has revived calls for banning ARs among critics who believe it is too powerful and too deadly, with standard magazines that hold 20 to 30 rounds, compared with handguns that generally hold nine to 15 rounds.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has called for reinstating a ban that expired in 2004. "We have to make it harder for people who should not have those weapons of war," she said the day after June 12 shooting.

For Dara Humphries, the AR-style firearm isn't to be feared, scorned or banned. Rather, she says, it's just a different type of weapon with a different feel.

"It's like driving a truck versus driving a car, a sports car. Every firearm has a different feel to it," said Humphries, an NRA instructor based in Georgia. "So a Ruger Mini 14 may feel like a Jaguar to you and may feel like a truck to me and vice versa. And to me an AR-15 feels like a smooth ride whereas a Ruger feels like a bumpy truck."

Humphries, who also goes by the nickname Tactical Barbie, believes the debate over gun measures has focused too much on the firearm and not enough on the person behind the gun.

"Normal people who purchase guns don't do this," she said of mass shooters. "If I want to defend my home and my family then I have the right to do that. We're legal gun owners who aren't out there shooting people up."

Erich Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, says the AR-style firearm is easy to use, has little recoil and can be customized, such as with a collapsible stock, making it easier for women to handle.

While it's too large to carry concealed, he and others describe it as a good weapon for home defense or in other crises.

"When you're facing multiple attackers, you want something that will shoot more than six rounds," Pratt said.

He and others in the gun lobby say the AR is targeted because of the way it looks, and any fears are misplaced because it's only cosmetically different from other types of rifles and long guns.

Kevin Michalowski, executive editor of Concealed Carry magazine, first fired an AR-15 in the early 1990s while hunting coyotes in South Dakota. He found it easier to use and more accurate than his old bolt-action rifle.

He now owns three.

While you can "do all kinds of cool things" with the AR a adding a scope or optics, putting a flashlight on the barrel, changing the stock a "none of this stuff makes a firearm any more deadly," Michalowski said.

For Shoot Like a Girl's Butler, shooting was inspiring. After a divorce in her 30s that undermined her confidence, she went to the shooting range with a group of friends. She started shooting at Gatorade bottles and by the end of the day was using bottle caps as targets.

"I went in there feeling like a failure in life and I walked out having this renewed confidence," said Butler, 49.

Butler said she believes the anger directed at the AR is unfair and misdirected. "It's a shame because we don't have the same outcry over knives, over baseball bats, over texting and driving, over all of these other things that are killing Americans every single day," she said.

All three cars were broken into on early Sunday morning on Massachusetts Avenue.

LONGMEADOW - Police are investigating a spate of car thefts after two cars were stolen from Massachusetts Avenue and a third was entered and rifled through early Sunday morning.

The owner of a white 2010 Toyota Highlander reported hearing her car being driven from her driveway at about 3:20 a.m. When police responded, neighbors awakened and realized their 2011 black Toyota Prius was also missing from their driveway, Police Lt. Robert Stocks said.

The Prius was last seen in the driveway around 2 a.m., he said.

Both owners had left their cars unlocked and each had a spare key in them, Stocks said.

Then at about 9:30 a.m., on Sunday, a third neighbor reported his car had been entered and rifled through. That car, which was also parked in the driveway, was also unlocked but no valuables were left inside and nothing was taken, Stocks said.

Police are warning people to lock their cars and not to leave valuables in their cars, Stocks said.

Police are investigating the thefts. Neither car has been found yet, he said.

One of the homeowners does have a surveillance camera system so police are reviewing it and hope to capture an image of the suspect, he said.

Anyone with any information about the car thefts are asked to call the Police Department Detective Bureau at 567-3311, he said.

The injured trooper was treated and released from the hospital.

BOSTON - Massachusetts State Police continue to investigate an accident that injured a state police trooper and four other people on Route 93 Saturday morning.

"Once we complete our investigation, we will file whatever charges are appropriate against the driver responsible for causing this crash," Col. Richard D. McKeon, superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, said in a written statement released on Sunday.

The 37-year-old trooper was sitting in his cruiser on the side of the highway at about 2:45 a.m. with his blue lights flashing when a speeding Honda Accord carrying four people struck his cruiser, Massachusetts State Police said.

The impact pushed the cruiser into the road, and it struck another car before spinning around and coming to a rest on the left side of the road facing the opposite direction from where it had been parked, according to CBS Boston.

"We are especially grateful that the injuries to the trooper hit this morning were not far, far worse. That they were not, is a reminder of the critical importance for any motorist to wear a seatbelt. We are hopeful for a full recovery for him, and we also wish recoveries for the other victims," McKeon said.

The trooper was wearing a seatbelt even though he was not moving. He was treated at the hospital and released. His car was totaled, police said.

The four people in the Honda, whose names were not released, were not wearing seatbelts. They were also transported to hospitals, some suffered serious injuries, CBS Boston said.

The trooper had been responding to another accident when he was struck, police said.

A tow truck was also on scene when the trooper was struck, but was not hit, police said.

"This ... affirms, once again, that there is no such thing as a routine incident for state troopers and any first responders, highway workers and tow truck operators," McKeon said.

The name of the trooper was not immediately released.

Boston Police are trying to identify a young boy who was found alone, barefoot and riding a red tricycle at a Boston playground Saturday evening.

BOSTON -- Boston Police are trying to identify a young boy who was found alone, barefoot and riding a red tricycle at a Boston playground Saturday evening.

Officers were called to the Ryan Playground at 310 River St. around 6:30 p.m. and found the child alone, Boston Police said. As of Sunday afternoon, no one has come forward to report him missing.

The child, who told police his first name is "Adriel", is in good health. Police believe the boy is between 2-and-3-years-old. He is roughly two-feet tall, 30 pounds with a medium brown complexion, brown hair and brown eyes.

"He was found barefoot, wearing a grey t-shirt and riding a red tricycle," Boston Police said. "The child is currently under the care and supervision of the Department of Children & Families (DCF). At this time, no one has come forward to report him missing."

Anyone who may know this child or the identity of his parents or guardians is asked to call DCF at (617) 640-1825 or Boston Detectives at (617) 343-4712.

This is the final paving for the street.

SPRINGFIELD -Construction crews will be paving Central Street from Maple to Cedar streets starting Monday morning.

Motorists are being warned that there will be traffic detours and delays due to the paving. Crews are expected to be working from around 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Drivers are recommended to take alternative routes if possible.

This is the final paving for the street. It is expected to take one week.

The work is being done by a private contractor hired by the Springfield Water and Sewer Commission. People with questions or concerns about the project should the Springfield Water and Sewer Commission at 413-310-3501.

A 5-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his 4-year-old brother at their home Saturday, and the mother of the children faces charges in the ongoing investigation, officials say.

EAST ORANGE, N.J. -- A 5-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his 4-year-old brother at their home Saturday, and the mother of the children faces charges in the ongoing investigation, officials said.

The 5-year-old boy was released to a family member after the shooting, Thomas S. Fennelly, chief assistant prosecutor for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, said.

Itiyanah Spruill (Photo: ECPO) 

The boy, who was originally identified as a 6-year-old, was playing with his mother's gun at about 11 a.m. in a home on Norman Street when he accidentally shot his brother in the head, city spokeswoman Connie Jackson said Saturday. Their mother, Itaniyah Spruill, 22, was home at the time.

Police arrested Spruill on charges of endangering the welfare of a child and a weapons violation in connection with the death. She was being held Sunday in Essex County Jail on $310,000 bail. An arraignment is pending.

Authorities have not revealed how the 5-year-old got a hold of the gun.

The 4-year-old died Saturday afternoon at University Hospital in Newark, a hospital spokeswoman said. Neighbors said Spruill was shaking after finding him wounded.

Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. 

Noah Cohen contributed to this report. 

Former Boston Bruins captain and Hall of Fame hockey defenseman Raymond Bourque was arrested for drunken driving after an accident Friday night in Andover.

ANDOVER -- Former Boston Bruins captain and Hall of Fame hockey defenseman Raymond Bourque was arrested for drunken driving after an accident Friday night in Andover.

Andover Police Chief Patrick Keefe said police were called to 5 Lowell St., which is Route 133, for a motor vehicle crash around 11:30 p.m. Friday.

Police said a Toyota Sienna minivan had been rear-ended by Bourque, who was driving a Mercedes-Benz GL450. The accident occurred in a construction zone and no one was injured.

An officer spoke to Bourque and determined the 55-year-old from Boxford was drunk. Bourque was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and following too closely.

The Bruins legend will appear in Lawrence District Court on the charges. He played for the Bruins for 21 seasons and served as the team captain for 12 years.

Firefighters were ordered out of the building because it was considered too dangerous. Watch video

This is an update of a story posted at 9:50 a.m. Monday.

SPRINGFIELD -- Hours after it was reported, the fire at the former Massachusetts Career Development Institute building on Wilbraham Avenue appears contained, but the structure is still smoking heavily.

Fire Department spokesman Dennis Leger, aide to Commissioner Joseph Conant, said firefighters will likely be hosing down the building for several hours.

It will not be known until the fire is under control what the extent of the damage to the building is, but Leger said it is likely to be quite heavy, possibly enough for the building to be condemned.

The fire department was called to the building at Wilbraham Avenue building shortly after 9:30 a.m. by several calls to 911. Upon arrival, the first firefighters could see flames and heavy smoke coming from the rear of the building, Leger said.

Twenty minutes after the first call, a second alarm was put out, bringing more fire apparatus from other parts of the city. At about that time, firefighters inside the building were ordered out because it was considered too dangerous to be inside. The remainder of the fire attack was done from outside the building.

Fire spread from the rear of the property to the front of the building, climbing up the brick tower and ultimately burning through its roof. A heavy, thick smoke billowed out of the second floor as firefighters blasted into the building with water cannons.

There are no known injuries in the fire, Leger said.

Kevin Tanner, who lives across the street from the building, said he was in his apartment Monday morning when he smelled smoke.

"I thought my roommate was burning something on the stove," he said. "When I went outside, it smelled like burning rubber."

The wind was blowing continually west to east, meaning his apartment was downwind of the fire for most of the morning. He said he has all his windows closed but the inside of his building smells like smoke. "The fire alarms are going off all over the place," he said.

Standing next to him, Chyna Ruiz was wiping her eyes with a handkerchief. There is no escaping the smoke, she said.

"It's burning my eyes," Ruiz said.

Tanner and Ruiz said that, as far as they know, there has been no offer to evacuate the neighbors. Leger said despite the heat and smoke, residents were in no danger.

The MCDI building had been vacant since 2013 and no one was supposed to be inside it. There are reports from the neighbors that vagrants commonly entered the property, Leger said. It is possible someone trespassing could have started the fire, but that cannot be investigated until the fire is out and investigators with the city Arson and Bomb Squad are allowed to enter the structure, he said.

It may take several days before investigators can determine the cause, he said.

Ruiz said the building had been vacant for some time, but kids in the neighborhood have been known to break in and trespass, she said.

"Kids are in and out of there very often," she said. She said she had no idea what happened to cause the fire, or if trespassing teens were responsible. "You never know," she said.

All electrical power had been shut off. Eversource Energy is reported to have shut off power and removed the electrical meters on June 3.

The property at 140 Wilbraham Ave. is a former factory building that had served as the home of the Massachusetts Career Development Institute for 40 years until it closed in 2013.

The institute provided vocational and career training. According to reports, the institute had trained more than 31,000 people from Greater Springfield in clerical, construction, finance and medical jobs. When it closed in 2013, officials cited declining public funding and competition from other vocational programs around the city.

The building covers 2.5 acres, and has an assessed value of $1.2 million, according to city records. Leger said if the property is condemned, the cost of demolition may exceed $1 million.

Projects will continue in Aldenville, Willimansett and Chicopee Center.

CHICOPEE - City officials are announcing construction plans for the next two weeks for the sewer separation projects.

Motorists are being warned parts of Hampden Street will be closed for the next two weeks as water main installation is continuing to move south up the hill. The street will be closed at Center Street and Springfield Street to through traffic. Residents and any employees to Patrick E. Bowe School will still be allowed on the street. Customers of CVS will also be allowed to drive the short distance.

The projects will continue in the Aldenville, Willimansett and Chicopee Center areas. Traffic delays and street closings are expected during the periods of road work on any of the streets.
The sewer separation project schedule is dependent on weather and could also be changed for other unforeseen circumstances.

Here are the following locations of work for the next two weeks:

Bonneville Avenue: Final top course road paving is tentatively scheduled for Monday.

Bemis Street: Roadway asphalt grinding is scheduled for July 8.

Call Street: Roadway asphalt grinding is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. Placing of dense grade stone is scheduled for July 5 through 7.

Chicopee Street: Sewer and drain services and catch basins will be installed June 21 to 23.

Ferry Street: Placing of dense grade stone is scheduled for Monday through Thursday.

Forest Street: Roadway asphalt grinding is scheduled for July 6 and 7.

Hampden Street: Installation of water main continues through July 8.

John Street: Roadway asphalt grinding is scheduled for July 1 through 5.

Margaret Street: Drains are to be installed between Monday and July 7.

Meadow Street: Installation of sewer services are scheduled for June 29 through July 7 between the intersections of Elizabeth and Hope streets.

Nash Street: Dense grade show will be placed through Thursday.

Skeele Street: Roadway asphalt grinding scheduled through Thursday.

Walter Street: Roadway asphalt grinding scheduled for June 29 to 30. Dense grade stone will be placed on July 5 through 7.

West Aldenville: Continued restoration of driveway aprons and lawns throughout the project area. No work will occur July 4 through 8.

Mychal Carter faces drunken driving and other charges

AMHERST -- A 24-year-old Amherst man is facing a drunken driving charge after the pickup truck he was driving allegedly left the road, drove across the lawn at 33 Summer St. then into the driveway, striking a parked car that then slid into another parked car.

Mychal G. Carter, who lives nearby on 24 Summer St., was charged with negligent operation of a motor vehicle to endanger, driving an uninsured, unregistered motor vehicle and driving with revoked registration.

The accident occurred just before 3 a.m. Sunday. There were no reports of injury and damage estimates were unavailable.

Carter is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown.

Police have logged the description in case someone turns it in.

AMHERST -- It's not everyday that police get a report of a missing diamond and white gold pendant necklace valued at $10,000.

But this weekend, a woman filed a report stating that she last saw her necklace when she was wearing it at dinner at Johnny's Tavern June 14.

According the report, she does not recall taking the item off later that evening and can't find it at home in the place she usually keeps it. She told police she has looked in her home and car, checked with tavern but cannot locate it.

According to the report, she believes the necklace is either lost or misplaced. Police have logged the item's description in case someone finds it and turns it in.

Often the unseen hand behind politicians seeking to keep their campaigns on track and above board, David Martin passed away Saturday after a battle with cancer.

By Matt Murphy
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, JUNE 27, 2016.....Often the unseen hand behind politicians seeking to keep their campaigns on track and above board, David Martin passed away Saturday after a battle with cancer. He was 52.

David Martin

Martin, a Colorado native who along with his wife Gemma Martin founded the consulting firm Chick Montana Group, carved a niche for himself in Massachusetts Democratic politics by helping elected officials navigate the state's myriad campaign finance rules.

The firm, founded and named in 2003 after Martin's favorite "Perry Mason" villain, became a staple on campaign finance reports with the Martins managing the campaign accounts of mayors, state lawmakers and members of Congress.

His passing over the weekend elicited an outpouring of grief and remembrances from a cast of Bay State pols - from Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Speaker Robert DeLeo to Congressman Joseph Kennedy and Attorney General Maura Healey - who counted him as an advisor and a friend.

"I think he thought of me as a work in progress," U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, one of the more conservative Democrats in the delegation, joked in a statement. Lynch said that Martin recently described their friendship as "unlikely." "He was a practicing Liberal though. He was kind and generous and tolerant and forgiving. And he had a great sense of humor. Thank God for that."

Martin got his start in politics working for Colorado Congressman Timothy Wirth after graduating from Colorado College with a degree in political science. He then joined U.S. Sen. Gary Hart's 1988 campaign for president. When Hart's campaign ended, Martin moved from Iowa to Boston to work on Gov. Michael Dukakis's White House bid.

It was on the Dukakis campaign that Martin met his wife Gemma, and the two eventually had three daughters Allison, Emily and Vivian, who Gemma Martin called his "pride and joy."

After the Dukakis campaign, Martin worked in finance and accounting roles for state Attorney General Francis Bellotti's 1990 campaign for governor and managed information technology in the Norfolk District Attorney's office.

He also served as deputy campaign manager for Secretary of State John Kerry's 1996 Senate re-election campaign against Bill Weld and held a senior finance role at MassINC, the non-partisan Boston think tank.

"David and Gemma are always calm and reassuring voices in the midst of the near daily crises every campaign experiences," said Steve Kerrigan, the 2014 Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor. "More than that, they are as decent and ethical as they come - rare and phenomenally important traits in politics, government and nonprofits."

Former Congressman William Delahunt credited Martin with modernizing the Norfolk County DA's office during his time there, implementing a computerized case management system for the first time in the early 1990s.

Senate President Stanley Rosenberg told the News Service he started working with Martin over the past couple of years, and in that time came to regard him as a "consummate professional."

"He was one of those very quiet forces in politics in Massachusetts because he kept all of us on the right side of the rules and he was just a master at that and he will be missed by a lot people. Just a genuinely good, hard-working, smart professional," Rosenberg said.

DeLeo also remembered Martin, who served as the speaker's long-time campaign treasurer, as both a stickler for the rules and a "family man."

"What I like about David is that you always knew the information that you got was good information, and I can tell you in my role that's most important to me to make sure that we comply with every rule, regulation and law and David always made sure we did," DeLeo said.

As DeLeo got to know Martin on a personal level as well, the speaker said, "You got to see how much of a family man he was and his love for his wife and daughters which was another side of David that some people might have missed."

According to his wife, when he wasn't focused on politics or his children, Martin enjoyed photography and bird watching and was the longest serving chairman of the Finance Committee in his hometown of Dedham.

Martin was diagnosed in 1998 with Pseudomyxoma, a rare form of cancer affecting the abdomen that he fought for nearly 18 years.

A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, June 28 from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. At the Endicott Estate in Dedham.

Police report said the problem is ongoing.

AMHERST -- Just before midnight Saturday, police arrested a 26-year-old woman who was allegedly running around the parking lot at Mill Valley Estates yelling while listening to her iPod.

This an ongoing problem, according to police.

Audrey Audrey Yonda-Ketchakeu was charged with disorderly conduct after she allegedly did not cooperate with police when they responded.

On Sunday, police arrested Matthew J. Voisine, 43, of Chicopee, on charges of operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license (second or subsequent offense), speeding and failure to have license in possession. Police stopped Voisine for allegedly speeding on Bridge Street just after 10 a.m.

Both are scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown.

Program are supported by state and federal grants and a partnership with the Hasbro Summer Learning Initiative.

WESTFIELD - Nearly 300 students will participate in two summer education programs designed to enhance learning through fun activities.

Summer EDventure will be offered at Highland Elementary School for more than 200 youngsters entering Kindergarten through Grade 6 and Outdoor EDventure is being offered at South Middle School for incoming Grade 7 and 8 students. At least 55 youngsters will participate there. Both programs begin July 5.

Both programs will enhance the common core curriculum like literacy, math, science and writing along with outdoor activities such as cooperative games, sports, art and science experiments. The elementary program will also involve nature and fitness curricula and Grade 5 students will participate in a service learning program such as water filtration.

"These are not your traditional summer school programs," said Jennifer Alexander, administrator of student intervention. "They are more like a camp atmosphere. They are designed to be engaging and fun and inspire their passion for learning," she said.

The elementary program will follow common core curriculum with a focus on science, said Grade one teacher Lisa Pion.

"At Highland youngsters will engage in project based, hands on learning," explained Grade 3 teacher Jan Moriarity.

Both programs will run Mondays through Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p,m. through Aug. 4.

Highland School will host an open house July 27 beginning at 9:30 a.m. during which pupils will explain to their parents what they are participated in and learned during the summer.

The middle school Outdoor EDventure will take its students to places like Noble View, Camp Moses and Chicopee State Park for activities such as environment discovery, fishing and swimming.

"Our program mission is 'No Child Left Inside', said coordinator Kate Palmer.

"We will get their attention and sneak in the education," explained teacher Matt Prey.

This marks the second year for the middle school summer program that last year focused on the Connecticut River Watershed.

"Our students will recommend and select projects during the program which, in turn, will promote social and emotional concepts as well as education," teacher Neil Barnet said.

Other middle school teachers involved in Outdoor EDventure are Luke Baillargeon, Emily Coucett, Steve Dowd and Jackie Ayr

Outdoor EDventure's open house, also allowing its participants to explained their summer experience to parents, is scheduled for Aug. 3 at South Middle School.

Both programs are funded through state and federal grants and a partnership with Hasbro Summer Learning Initiative.

Phantom is under no legal obligation to ask customers where they plan to take the fireworks after purchase or what the plan to do with them. Nor is the company liable if a customer takes the fireworks someplace where they are against the law.

The hooded, glowing-eyed Phantom Fireworks mascot beckons from billboards and advertisements around Massachusetts, but the Roman candles, spinners, sparklers and other products he sells are not legal here.

"We have a lot of customers from Massachusetts," said William Weimer, vice president of Phantom Fireworks, a national chain based in Youngstown, Ohio. "And presumably those customers take their fireworks to places where it is legal to have them. There are a number of surrounding states where fireworks are legal."

Phantom is under no legal obligation to ask customers where they plan to take the fireworks after purchase or what the plan to do with them. Nor is the company liable if a customer takes the fireworks someplace where they are against the law.

Massachusetts is one of three states where all fireworks are illegal. New Jersey and Delaware are the others.

Neighboring New York state changed its law in 2015 to allow sparklers and some spark devices on a county-by-county basis outside New York City. Vermont allows adults to buy sparklers, party poppers and smoke bombs, but not Roman candles and the like. 

Massachusetts has a blanket ban, according to a state-provided summary of fireworks laws:

"It is illegal for private citizens to use, possess or sell fireworks in Massachusetts, or to purchase them legally elsewhere and then transport them into Massachusetts. The law prohibits any article designed to produce a visible or audible effect."

Penalties include mandatory seizure of the fireworks and a fine of $10 to $100 (pdf).

The advertisements for Phantom, which tend to proliferate around Independence Day, direct drivers north on Interstate 91 to Hinsdale, New Hampshire, about 65 miles from Springfield. Phantom also has stores in Seabrook and Londonderry, New Hampshire, as well as a number of temporary tent fireworks stands in Connecticut, where ground-based fireworks are legal, Weimer said.

"I think the question you should be asking is what is wrong with the Massachusetts Legislature," Weimer said.

Phantom isn't backing any current legislation on Beacon Hill after an effort to legalize some fireworks failed in 2015.

Massachusetts Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey warns on the state's website that fireworks are dangerous for both people and property.

There were 775 major fire and explosion incidents involving illegal fireworks recorded by the Massachusetts Fire Incident Reporting System from 2006 to 2015, according to a news release. These 775 fires and explosions caused 11 civilian injuries, four fire service injuries and an estimated dollar loss of $1.8 million.

Incidents in 2015 included:

• The Westfield Fire Department was called Jan. 1 to a 1-acre grass fire in a farmer's field. The fire was started by fireworks. Crews were on scene for one hour.
• The Huntington Fire Department was called May 22 to a 3-acre brush fire started by fireworks. Firefighters were on scene for over three hours.
• The Brewster Fire Department was called June 27 to a 2-acre grass fire on Crosby Lane. The fire was started by fireworks. It took companies almost an hour and a half to extinguish the fire.

Of course, all those incidents took place despite the ban.

The state also warns that sparklers burn at more than 1200 degrees Fahrenheit and they can also encourage the use of matches and lighters by young children.

The event is scheduled for 5:30 to 7:30 tonight at the Dante Club, 1198 Memorial Ave.

WEST SPRINGFIELD — Local Democrats are sponsoring a fundraiser for Hampden County sheriff candidate Tom Ashe at West Springfield's Dante Club from 5:30 to 7:30 tonight.

There is a suggested donation of $20 for the event, which is sponsored by state Sen. Jim Welch and state Rep. Mike Finn, both West Side Democrats. The Dante Club is at 1198 Memorial Ave.

According to the event's Facebook page, other organizers include Mike and Ann Lefebvre, John Sweeney, attorney Marty Lyons, Cathy Cooley, Paul and Barbara Turmel, Lisa Robare, Mark and Sue Tansey, Chuck and Kathi Calabrese, John and Patty Kraus, Chuck Moran, Marty Welch, West Springfield Town Councilor George Kelly, John and Kathi Weiss, David Ciborowski, Patty Lagodich, and Bob and Sue Stone.

Ashe, a member of the Springfield City Council, is among four Democrats vying to succeed longtime Sheriff Mike Ashe, who's retiring after holding the position for more than 40 years. The other Democrats are Jack Griffin, Mike Albano and Nick Cocchi.

Also running is James Gill, who was a Democrat when he formed his candidate's committee for sheriff back in October 2014. Gill officially left the party in May 2015, however, securing a spot on the ballot and avoiding the possibility of being eliminated in September's Democratic primary.

The winner of that contest will face Gill and Republican John Comerford in the November general election.