After a Cabinet meeting that lasted over two hours Friday, Patrick told reporters he remained engaged in negotiations over the Legislature’s plan to haul muni-health insurance cost-sharing and bargaining.

Deval L. Patrick

By MATT MURPHY
and MICHAEL NORTON
BOSTON - Municipal health care reform remained the most-discussed and mysterious aspect of the still-unsigned 2012 fiscal year Friday as aides to Gov. Deval L. Patrick confirmed the plan has drawn interest from national labor leaders, and lawmakers scheduled sessions for Monday when the Legislature is expected to revisit the controversial issue.

After a Cabinet meeting that lasted over two hours Friday, Patrick left the Statehouse walking his black Labrador retriever Toby and telling reporters he remained engaged in negotiations over the Legislature’s plan, included in the budget on his desk, to overhaul muni-health insurance cost-sharing and bargaining.

Patrick administration officials confirmed Friday afternoon that national labor union officials have taken an interest in the muni-health reform proposal, which Democrats in the House and Senate last week claimed struck the proper balance between worker rights and needed cost savings.

Asked what he was trying to accomplish on municipal health care reform, Patrick said, “What I have always said, which is a bill that delivers real and meaningful savings for cities and towns in the short run, and also has a meaningful role for labor. I think we are very, very close,” Patrick said.

Patrick officials said the administration has been engaged in conversation with unions, municipal leaders and House and Senate staff as they work to forge a compromise, which itself would indicate that Patrick wants to make changes to the deal reached last week between the House and Senate.

After discussing the issue during a meeting with House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo Wednesday, Patrick said the plan was “a really good bill” but said he had not decided whether to sign off on it.

“It achieves the savings. It does have a role for labor,” Patrick said. “I think trying to sort out whether that role is meaningful enough from labor's point of view without jeopardizing any of the ease or speed of achieving the savings is a question I'm trying to turn over."

Under the Legislature's plan, cities and towns would have the option to make health plan copayment and deductible changes unilaterally after an expedited 30-day bargaining window as long as 25 percent of the achieved savings are redirected back to employees.

Plan supporters say the cost shifting will bring plans more in line with industry norms and help communities preserve local jobs and services by reaping a collective $100 million in savings in fiscal 2012, which began July 1.

Critics of the plan say it will shift costs to middle class workers and leave public retirees at risk while eroding a collective bargaining process that labor unions say is the cornerstone of ensuring adequate worker rights and benefits. Three Democratic senators have ripped the plan as an attack on bargaining.

DeLeo, approached as he left the State House early Friday afternoon and asked about the progress of negotiations over municipal health insurance reforms, said, "We're talking.” Asked if he had met with labor officials about the issue, DeLeo waved to a reporter and wished him a nice weekend. A union coalition official also declined to say whether labor leaders had met with DeLeo.

Patrick has until Monday to sign the budget and deliver vetoes or amendments. Asked if he would file another separate piece of legislation to address municipal health reform, Patrick said, “There are a couple different ways to skin this cat and that’s what we’ve been working on.”

Fifteen labor groups indicated last Friday they were disappointed with the Legislature's plan and planned to seek changes "to protect retirees and people who are very sick" and to protect labor's voice in the process.

The Public Employees' Coalition on Municipal Health Insurance, which includes unions representing teachers, firefighters, police and other municipal workers, indicated it planned to lobby for a bill that achieves savings for municipalities "while still being fair to public employees and retirees."

The same coalition released another statement Friday: "The Public Employees Coalition on Municipal Health Insurance has been engaged in positive conversations with the Patrick Administration and legislative leadership which we hope will lead to legislation that in the final analysis addresses our primary concern of providing a meaningful voice for employees to protect the very sick and retirees from exorbitant increases in the costs of health insurance."

A coalition of major business and civic groups on Wednesday urged Patrick to sign the reform without amendments and "meet his commitment to provide cities and towns with the tools they need to save jobs, control costs, and deliver vital public services, while preserving labor's significant role in the process."

As for a timeline of when he might make a decision, the governor indicated Friday it could go down to the wire. “I’ve got til Monday, I think, right?” he said.

The Senate on Friday scheduled a formal session for Monday.

“We’ll see what the governor does with his 10 days,” Sen. Steven Tolman said after presiding over Friday’s informal Senate session, indicating that Monday’s session was scheduled in anticipation of the governor making some decisions around the budget that would necessitate legislative action.

The House agreed Thursday to meet in an informal session Monday but a DeLeo aide emailed House members and staff on Friday afternoon to signal a change in plans. DeLeo now intends to convene a “second legislative day” Monday to take up muni-health insurance proposals tied to the fiscal 2012 budget. The email did not specify the nature of the changes members should be prepared to consider.

John Brown was arrested for peeing in the middle of the street, and Jahmol Washington and Zachary Yacteen were arrested when they tried to stop police from arresting Brown.

The Republican file photo

View full sizeSpringfield Police photoFrom left: John Brown, Jahmol Washington, Zachary Yacteen

SPRINGFIELD – Two men were arrested for disorderly conduct and other charges early Friday outside a bar on Taylor Street when they tried to stop police from arresting their friend for urinating in the middle of road, police said.

The friend, John Brown, 23, of 35 Emmit St., Springfield, was charged with indecent exposure for urinating in public, police said. Additional charges of resisting arrest, threatening to commit a crime, murder, and two counts of assault and battery on a police officer were added when Brown fought being placed in custody and threatened to kill them.

Also arrested were Jahmol Washington, 39, of 70 Chestnut St., Springfield, and Zachary Yacteen, 21, of 8 Norwood Place, Westfield.

Each was charged with disorderly conduct, and Yacteen faces additional charges of failure to stop for police, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, an automobile, resisting arrest, possession of a class B drug, and possession of an open container in a motor vehicle.

Washington was subsequently charged with possession of a class E substance when police found several percocet tablets in his pockets, police said.

According to the police report, as officers were taking Brown into custody, Washington and Yacteen began screaming at the officers and causing a disturbance. Officers warned them to move along, and when they continued to make a scene, moved into to arrest them.

At that point Yacteen ran to his car to drive away, nearly running over two officers as he tried to back up.

Each denied the charges at their Springfield District Court arraignments on Friday. Each was ordered held on $1,000 personal surety.

The Westfield news has an office staff of 25 and about a dozen motor-route drivers, and some 80 schoolchildren still deliver the afternoon daily paper in their neighborhoods.

submitted photoPatrick Berry

WESTFIELD –The Westfield News has a new owner, a new look and has taken a new name.

“It’s a great opportunity,” says Patrick R. Berry, now president of the Westfield News Group. “The community-news business is not only surviving, but it is thriving.”

The six-day-a-week newspaper, which has a circulation of 4,500, is now printed by The Republican in Springfield and includes color photography for the first time.

Berry also dropped the word “Evening” from the paper’s name, he said because news is an all-day, every-day business now. To that end, he’s promising a new website and new outreach efforts using social media like Twitter and Facebook.

Berry, 43, is a Westfield native who worked for the Neilsen Co. in its television-ratings business and also as the advertising sales manager for WGGB Channel 40 television in Springfield for five years.

Berry didn’t disclose the purchase price in an interview last week, but said he’d been negotiating with the newspaper’s previous owners, Allbritton Communications, of Arlington, Va,. , since the summer of 2009.

E. Carol Mazza, who served as publisher of the Westfield Evening News for Allbritton Communications, died in October of 2008.

Allbritton owns television stations in eight markets including Washington, D.C., and the Politico.com website, according to an online corporate profile. It also owned the former Washington Star back in the 1970s.

“This was the last of their newspapers,” Berry said.

His purchase deal also included The Pennysaver, a free shopper-type publication, and two weeklies, The Longmeadow News and Enfield Press.

The sale became official on June 24, and the first edition under Berry’s leadership was the following Monday.

Berry said the paper’s existing 1971 Goss Community Press was outdated, couldn’t print in color and will be sold.

“The facility at The Republican was already set for the future,” Berry said. “Print media needs to print color photos and color ads. It was paramount.”

The Westfield news has an office staff of 25 and about a dozen motor-route drivers, and some 80 schoolchildren still deliver the afternoon daily paper in their neighborhoods.

“I think that’s what makes us unique,” Berry said. “Those kids do a fantastic job.”

Submitted photoPatrick Berry

The Dow Jones industrial average recuperated from earlier losses by closing down only 62 points.

Associated Press photoA sign looking to hire drivers, is placed on a roadway in Berlin, Vt. on Thursday. The national unemployment rose to 9.2 percent last month, with employers adding only 18,000 jobs.

NEW YORK – An unexpected drop in hiring put an end to the excitement that had been bubbling up on Wall Street over the past two weeks.

Stock indexes fell sharply Friday, erasing most of the week’s gains, after the government reported that U.S. employers created the fewest number of jobs in nine months. The 18,000 net jobs in created in June were a fraction of what many economists expected and dampened hopes that the economy was improving. Private companies added jobs at the slowest pace in more than a year. The unemployment rate edged up to 9.2 percent, its highest level this year.

A broader measure of weakness in the labor market was even worse. Among Americans who want to work, 16.2 percent are either unemployed or unable to find full-time jobs. That was up from 15.8 percent in May.

“There’s just a lot more evidence than before that we’re in an extended weak patch,” said Brian Gendreau, market strategist for Cetera Financial Group. He said private economists will likely reduce their projections for overall economic growth this year.

The Standard and Poor’s 500 index fell 9.42 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,343.80. That eliminated the index’s gains from Thursday and left it with a 0.3 percent gain for the week.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 62.29, or 0.5 percent, to 12,657.20. The Dow, which had been down by as much as 150 points Friday, had only its second down day over the past nine. The Nasdaq composite dropped 12.85, or 0.4 percent, to 2,859.81. It was its first loss in two weeks.

Companies whose business would be most affected by a weakening economy were hit hardest. Bank of America Corp., General Electric Co. and Boeing Co. were among the biggest decliners in the Dow average.

“The chance of a July bounce back in the economy looks pretty slim now,” said Jay Tyner, president of Semmax Financial Group in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Expectations for Friday’s jobs report were raised Thursday after payroll processor ADP said that private companies added more than 150,000 jobs in June. While the ADP report does not always accurately predict the broader Labor Department report, some investors said that the apparent clashing pictures of the job market were due to a jobs pickup in the last weeks of June.

Phil Orlando, chief market strategist at Federated Investors, said he believes manufacturers began rehiring workers in late June following signs that Japan’s economy was improving. Hiring slumped in May due partly to high fuel prices and disruptions of industrial supplies because of the earthquake and tsunami disasters in Japan.

Traders rushed to the relative safety of government bonds. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.01 percent from 3.19 percent just before the jobs report came out. Bond yields fall when demand for them increases.

Oil prices fell 2.5 percent. The slowdown in hiring suggested that demand for fuel will increase less than traders had expected. Lower fuel prices could eventually help the economy by leaving consumers with more money to spend on things other than gas.

Weak economic data this spring pushed stocks near their lowest levels of the year two weeks ago. Markets recovered last week, giving the Dow its best week in two years, on signals that the economy was rebounding. Stock indexes closed near their 2011 highs on Thursday.

Despite the weak job market, analysts still expect earnings at big U.S. companies to be strong. Companies are benefiting from export growth as the weak dollar makes American goods cheaper, and therefore more competitive, in overseas markets. Aluminum maker Alcoa Inc., one of the 30 companies in the Dow average, will be the first major corporation to report second-quarter financial results on Monday.

Orlando, the market strategist, said investors will be looking to see how companies have responded to higher commodity costs and a shortage of parts from Japan. “It’s not going to be an earnings season where you can have a blanket proclamation regarding how companies are doing this time around,” he said.

In other company news, Rupert Murdoch’s media conglomerate News Corp. fell nearly 4 percent as a phone-hacking scandal at its News of the World tabloid deepened. A former editor of the paper who later served as spokesman for British Prime Minister David Cameron was arrested Friday. News Corp. shuttered the 168-year old paper on Thursday in hopes of saving its deal to take over the lucrative British satellite TV company British Sky Broadcasting. Government approval of that deal will now be delayed because of the crisis, which has shocked Britain.

The Dow rose 0.6 for the week, the Nasdaq 1.6 percent.

Two stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was lighter than average at 3.1 billion shares.

The trooper was hit by a passing truck while conducting a routine traffic stop, police said.

Republican file photo

SPRINGFIELD - A Massachusetts State Police trooper was injured Friday afternoon when he was hit by a car as he was outside his cruiser on Union Street, a state police official said.

The trooper was rushed to Baystate Medical Center for treatment of injuries that where described as not life-threatening. At last report, he was in stable condition.

His name was not released. He is an 11-year-veteran assigned to the state police barracks in Russell.

The accident happened at about 4:30 p.m. near 68 Union St.

The trooper had gotten out of his vehicle while conducting a traffic stop when he was hit by a 2004 Dodge pickup.

The driver of the truck, identified as Timothy Manselle, 51, of East Hartford, Conn., remained at the scene until police arrived. It was not clear if Manselle would be cited.
The incident remains under investigation.

“Pottygate” became the popular term for the grand jury investigation of Franklin-Hampshire Juvenile Court Clerk Christopher Reavey and a missing bathroom key.

Clockwise from top, left: Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan, former district attorney Elizabeth Sheibel, David Hoose and Franklin-Hampshire Juvenile Court Clerk Christopher Reavey.

NORTHAMPTON – More than three years after the Northwestern district attorney’s Office began a grand jury investigation of Franklin-Hampshire Juvenile Court Clerk Christopher D. Reavey, the case known as “Pottygate” is finally down the toilet.

Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan announced Friday that the investigation is officially over and no charges will be forthcoming.

Reavey’s initial response was a single word: “Wow!” He then added, “This whole thing was just a horrible waste of taxpayer funds on an investigation of a crime that never happened.”

Reavey’s lawyer, David P. Hoose, who was subpoenaed by prosecutors to testify before the grand jury in the case, said Sullivan’s announcement was “about time.”

“This whole thing was nonsense,” Hoose said

“Pottygate” became the popular term for the investigation of Reavey and all the bizarre side-shows surrounding it. These included a failed effort to subpoena Reavey’s lawyers before the grand jury, the subpoenaing of the Boston Globe reporter in an effort to make him disclose his sources and a stinging rebuke by a Superior Court judge who denied former District Attorney Elizabeth D. Scheibel on both these matters.

The term “Pottygate” came from reports that Scheibel had called a grand jury to look into a dispute involving Reavey and a bathroom key. The key was allegedly taken from a locked office in the Hadley juvenile courthouse controlled by Scheibel’s office. Reavey came under suspicion for allegedly authorizing a court officer to retrieve the key because someone needed to use the bathroom.

When word of the supposed bathroom dispute got out in the newspapers, Scheibel widened the grand jury probe to find the source of the information, attempting to bring in Boston Globe reporter Jonathan Saltzman and Reavey’s lawyers, Hoose and Luke Ryan. The matter came to a head at an April, 2009, hearing in front of Judge John A. Agostini in which Saltzman cited the First Amendment and Hoose and Ryan attorney-client privilege as arguments for not appearing before the grand jury.

Essex First Assistant District Attorney John T. Dawley, who was brought in by Scheibel as a special prosecutor in the case, surprised many in the courtroom, notably Reavey, by insisting it was not about a bathroom key but Reavey’s efforts to “administer self-imposed justice to select juveniles represented by certain attorneys.” A stunned Reavey later called the allegation “a total fabrication.”

Agostini also gave Dawley’s argument short shrift, saying in his ruling the following month that it amounted to “a public ambush” and “had a hollow ring.”

Scheibel decided against running for reelection last November and Sullivan was elected in her place, defeating Scheibel’s favored candidate Michael A. Cahillane, an assistant district attorney in her office. Sullivan announced Friday that Dawley has finally brought the matter to an end.

“An impartial and highly respected prosecutor has concluded his investigation into this matter,” he said in a statement. “We thank him for his efforts, and we respect his decision.”

Hoose acknowledged he had been pressing Sullivan to publicly bring closure to the case after Scheibel declined to do so while leaving office.

“I told him, ‘She put this right in your lap,’” Hoose said. “I’m happy they finally reached the conclusion they reached and removed the unwarranted cloud that’s been hanging over Chris Reavey’s head. This was a prosecution that showed incredibly bad judgment, dragging a respected public official through the mud.”

Scheibel could not be immediately reached for comment.

Said Reavey Friday night, "I’m just grateful for the support I received from my colleagues in the judiciary, members of the bar, and the police departments I work with and my staff who have supported me during this time where these outrageous allegations were pending."

Damage to the ceiling rafters indicated the fire had apparently been smouldering for some time before it was discovered, a fire official said.

Republican file photo

SPRINGFIELD - An electrical problem from a faulty bathroom fan caused an attic fire Friday afternoon at a home at 135 Myrtle St, said Fire Department spokesman Dennis Leger.

No one was injured in the fire, but damage to the ceiling and from smoke was estimated at $10,000, Leger said.

Damage to the ceiling rafters indicated the fire had apparently been smouldering for some time before it was discovered, Leger said.

Damage to the apartment was not enough to require the tenant to move somewhere else, Leger said.

The building is owned by Keith Henry of Connecticut.

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Kristopher Theriault will be principal at Fairview Veterans Memorial Middle School; Lynn Clark will become principal of Gen. John J. Stefanik School.

File photo | The RepublicanKristopher Theriault leads a group of students outside when he was a world cultures teacher at Chicopee High School.

CHICOPEE – Two schools will start the next academic year in September with new principals and a third is searching for a new vice principal.

Kristopher J. Theriault, who most recently has been a vice principal at Chicopee Comprehensive High School has been promoted to principal at Fairview Veterans Memorial Middle School. He will earn about $91,000 in his first year of his contract, Superintendent Richard W. Rege Jr. said.

The hiring came after Jennifer S. Dold, the principal of Gen. John J. Stefanik School, resigned to take a job as principal of Holland Elementary School, which is near her home in Monson, Rege said.

When Dold left, Lynn A. Clark, who had been the head of Fairview since 2008, asked Rege if he would move her to the job in the elementary school.

“Mrs. Clark did a great job but her first love is elementary and she wanted to return there,” Rege said.

Clark, who previously had been principal of Anna E. Barry, offered to take over at Fairview Middle School at a time when the school was in turmoil and the former principal had just left. Rege praised the work Clark did in a difficult situation and said he could not deny her request, especially because she took over the school as a favor to him.

Theriault has a variety of experience, serving as a vice principal at Edward J. Bellamy Middle School before taking the job as vice principal at Comprehensive High. He previously worked as a social studies teacher and the history department head at Chicopee High School, Rege said.

“I’ve watched his progression and he had the skill set I was looking for,” Rege said.

Rege said he also knew Theriault had been considering moving to a principal job and did not want to lose him from the Chicopee system.

Because Theriault had the skills and talents he wanted, Rege appointed him immediately instead of asking for applicants for the job.

Neither Theriault nor Clark could be reached for comment. Clark is on vacation.

File photo | The RepublicanKristopher Theriault is leading a group of students outside when he was a world cultures teacher at Chicopee High School.

Feliciano was one of 19 people arrested as part of a 7-month investigation into a cocaine-distribution ring operating between Springfield and Bridgeport, Conn.

NEW HAVEN - Springfield resident Jorge Feliciano was sentenced 10 years in federal prison Friday for his part in a cocaine distribution ring that shuttled drugs between Puerto Rico, Bridgeport, Conn., and Springfield, the United States Attorneys Office announced.

Feliciano in April pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine. He was arrested in Hartford on Jan. 4.

U.S. District Judge Ellen Bree Burns sentenced him to 120 months in prison to be followed by five years supervised release.

The arrest was the result of a seven-month joint operation involving the the FBI, U.S. Marshal’s Service, Internal Revenue Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, Connecticut State Police and local police departments in Hartford, Stamford and Stratford.

Feliciano was one of 19 people arrested as part of the operation and charged with narcotics or firearm violations, and the confiscation of more than 5 kilograms, or 11 pounds, of cocaine, crack, and heroin, an assault rifle and five handguns and $150,000 in cash.

Court documents allege that between November 2009 and his arrest in January, Feliciano transported nearly 15 kilograms of cocaine from Springfield to Connecticut.

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno said he directed the Board of Assessors to work with affected homeowners to determine post-tornado property values.

SPRINGFIELD – Officials in Springfield and Wilbraham announced the deadlines for curbside pickup of debris from the June 1 tornado.

The final date for pickup of debris and brush from the central area of Wilbraham struck by the tornado is July 15, Wilbraham Department of Public Works Director Edmond W. Miga said.

The town had hoped to extend the final date until the end of July, but FEMA officials said the cleanup proceeded faster than they expected.

Springfield announced Friday that July 18 is the deadline for residents to place debris from the tornado on the curb for free pick up.

Materials have to be hauled to the curb and left in separate piles of vegetation and demolition materials. Garbage or ordinary household trash may not be left out with tornado debris.

The cleanup of debris and brush from the tree belts will be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

FEMA will pay only for stumps located in the tree belt.

Residents concerned about stumps from other parts of their property should call the Wilbraham DPW at 596-2800, extension 208 for a review of eligibility.

Stumps will be picked up by the town following a review of the location, Miga said.

All debris to be picked up from tree belts by July 15 should be stacked starting July 12. Areas will be revisited as necessary until July 15, Miga said.

“Removing storm debris creates a safer environment for individuals and community recovery efforts, and therefore debris removal is one of our key goals,” said Nick Russo, federal coordinating officer for FEMA’s Massachusetts recovery effort.

Residents can call the City of Springfield’s call center at 3-1-1 or (413) 736-3111 with any questions.

Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said first quarter preliminary tax bills for fiscal 2012 were mailed to property owners, including approximately 2,050 bills that received reductions due to significant tornado damage and lost value.

Sarno said personnel from the city Assessors Department would be visiting each of the affected parcels in the tornado path, recording data and taking photographs. New values would be based on the physical condition of properties as of June 30.

Sarno said he directed the Board of Assessors to work with the affected homeowners on a case-by-case basis, saying it is the “fair and equitable thing to do.”

The reductions relate to the first two quarters, both estimated bills. The third and fourth quarter bills will be based on the new valuation and the tax rates set in December.

Sarno said the Board of Assessors sent letters to all affected property owners, explaining the tornado-related reductions. Those with questions can call the customer service call center at 3-1-1 or 413-736-3111.

In Brimfield, the FEMA recovery center closed on Friday and people from town are being directed to go to the centers in Monson or in Southbridge that are still open.

Mary O’Reilly, who served as manager of the Brimfield FEMA center, said about 300 people came during the weeks it was open, and she said most of them have insurance coverage for much of the losses from the tornado.

Federal assistance for people needing temporary rental housing was a major part of the FEMA work carried out in Brimfield, O’Reilly said.

In Monson, the FEMA center at Granite Valley Middle School will shorten its hours starting Monday. Monday through Friday the center will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The center has gradually been reducing its hours.

Foot traffic at the center has been steady, with 14 people visiting as of 2:30 p.m. on Friday, an official said.

Staff reporters Peter Goonan, Patrick Johnson, Lori Stabile and John Appleton contributed to this report.

A firm believer in that part of the human spirit that needs to know the universe, Coleman doesn't feel that the end of the shuttle program means the end of space exploration.

Astronaut Cady Coleman looks skyward after landing from her most recent space mission in June.

Catherine “Cady” Coleman was not one of the four astronauts who rocketed into space Friday aboard the space shuttle Atlantis. If she had been, the veteran of three shuttle flights would have been less nervous.

“Sitting on the rocket, that doesn’t make me nervous,” she said in a telephone interview from Florida. “Watching makes me nervous. It’s so loud and bright. You can barely look at it.”

Although she is retired as a captain in the Air Force, astronaut Coleman is still an active employee of NASA, where she has worked since earning her Ph.D. in polymer science and engineering at the University of Massachusetts in 1991. On Friday, the Shelburne Falls resident was in Cape Canaveral with her husband, glass artist Josh Simpson, and their ten-year-old son, Jamey, to watch the last flight in the 30-year history of the space shuttle.

Coleman, 50, has been into space three times, most recently for a five-month stint aboard the International Space Station, where she tested drugs for osteoporosis in zero gravity during a mission that began on Dec. 15, 2010 with a trip to space on a Russian rocket and ended about six weeks ago. Coleman flew missions on the space shuttle Columbia in 1995 and 1999.

Coleman said she was officially doing media relations work for NASA surrounding the Atlantis lift-off. Although there was some sadness watching the last shuttle blast-off, Coleman said she had mixed feeling about the experience.

“It’s just part of what needs to be,” she said.

While many boys grew up wanting to be astronauts, Coleman said that didn’t seem a viable option for girls when she was young. A meeting with astronaut Sally Ride while Coleman was at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology changed that.

“I though, ‘Wow! I want that job!’” she recalled.

A firm believe in that part of the human spirit that needs to know the universe, Coleman doesn’t feel that the end of the shuttle program means the end of space exploration.

“You can’t keep people from doing it,” she said. “It’s part of our work.”

She hesitated when asked if she would be part of a lunar expedition or a journey to Mars, but only because Coleman feels those projects are too far in the future to suit her.

“I’m actually sure people will go there,” she said.

Coleman expects to return with her family to Shelburne Falls next week for a more down-to-earth existence.

She is one of several astronauts with ties to Western Massachusetts. Lt. Col. Byron Lichtenberg was a pilot a an Air National Guard fighter wing out of Barnes Municipal Airport in Westfield before he flew for NASA. Story Musgrave, who at 61 was the oldest person to go into space when he flew aboard the shuttle Columbia in 1996, grew up in Stockbridge. Daniel T. Barry and Susan J. Helms, two astronauts who flew on the same mission in 2001, both have local ties. Helms lived in Holyoke for several years and Barry grew up in South Hadley.

"We challenged the ridiculous notion that the people of Gaza are children and need to be taken care of (by the Israelis)," she said.

The Republican | John SuchockiPaki Wieland of Northampton on Friday talks about her experience being aboard the ship "The Audacity of Hope," which was seized by the Greek coast guard soon after it embarked on a voyage to run Israel's Gaza blockade.

NORTHAMPTON – Paki Wieland sailed in solidarity with some 38 other peace activists earlier this month aboard a ship bent on defying the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Her cohort was much smaller Friday in Council Chambers as people came to hear her talk about the experience.

Some 15 people, several of them fellow activist and at least one who took issue with Wieland’s politics, gathered inside the Wallace J. Puchalski Municipal Building for Wieland’s account of the adventure, from which she returned on Wednesday. She was part of an international effort this month that employed 10 boats seeking to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza, which has been in place since 2007, when Hamas came to power in the Arab territory.

Last year, amid an international outcry, Israel eased the blockade, allowing nearly all food items and household goods into the country. However, construction materials are still at a premium and Palestinian officials say there remains a humanitarian crisis in which the people of Gaza must live under Israeli rule.

Wieland, 67, a member of the “Raging Grannies,” a group of older women who sing in defiance of oppression, said she was able to travel to Greece, from which her boat embarked, with financial help from friends in the Northampton area. The boat, “The Audacity of Hope,” took its name from a Barack Obama campaign slogan. It joined some 20 other vessels with passengers from 22 countries in a “Freedom Flotilla” challenging the blockade.

Prior to leaving the Greek port of Piraeus, Wieland said, she and some others fasted and sat in at a “Justice for Gaza” rally. Some of them were taken into custody outside the U.S. embassy, but they were released without charges. Although Greece had warned against it, the boat left port, carrying thousands of “love letters” to the people of Gaza. It was gone about 40 minutes when the Greek coast guard stopped it.

“We didn’t get there, but we got out of the port,” she said.

Military personnel Wieland described as “commandos,” came around in front of her boat but did not board it.

“We appealed to them to move away,” Wieland said, adding that some aboard “The Audacity of Hope” tried to engage the Greeks in dialogue about the situation.

Although Wieland’s ship was not boarded, it agreed to return to port, where its captain was placed under arrest, she said. Despite her abbreviated trip, Wieland termed the venture a success.

“We challenged the ridiculous notion that the people of Gaza are children and need to be taken care of (by the Israelis),” she said. “They’re an occupied people. More people know about Gaza than they did three weeks ago.”

Joseph Morse of Northampton stood in Council Chambers holding an Israeli flag and a sign saying, “The audacity. Educate yourself. The U.S. says there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”

He questioned Wieland about the blockade and why she has not put more effort into challenging the Hamas leadership, but the exchange was civil on both sides.

Ford's triumph over drug and alcohol addiction became a beacon of hope for addicts and the inspiration for her Betty Ford Center.

View full sizeThe Republican file photo | David MolnarFormer First Lady Betty Ford, who died Friday at the age of 93, and her husband, former President Gerald R. Ford, acknowledge the cheers from the Republican National Convention floor in 2000 in Philadelphia.

By MIKE HOUSEHOLDER

DETROIT — Betty Ford, the former first lady whose triumph over drug and alcohol addiction became a beacon of hope for addicts and the inspiration for her Betty Ford Center, has died, a family friend said Friday. She was 93.

Mrs. Ford's death was confirmed by Marty Allen, chairman emeritus of the Ford Foundation. He did not comment further, and said he expected the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum would release information later.

Betty Ford, whose husband, Gerald, died in December 2006, had undergone surgery for an undisclosed ailment in April 2007. During and after her years in the White House, 1974 to 1977, Mrs. Ford won acclaim for her candor, wit and courage as she fought breast cancer, severe arthritis and the twin addictions of drugs and alcohol. She also pressed for abortion rights and the Equal Rights Amendment.

But it was her Betty Ford Center, a desert oasis that rescued celebrities and ordinary people from addiction, that made her famous in her own right. She was modest about that accomplishment.

"People who get well often say, 'You saved my life,' and 'You've turned my life around,'" she recalled. "They don't realize we merely provided the means for them to do it themselves and that's all.

"That's a God-given gift as far as I'm concerned. I don't take any credit for providing anything that wasn't provided to me."

After the former president died Dec. 26, 2006, at age 93, his widow said: "His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country." They had been married in 1948, the same year he was elected to Congress.

As she and their children led the nation in mourning him, Americans were reminded anew of her own contributions, as well as his. It was calculated then that the Betty Ford Center had treated 76,000 people.

"It's hard to imagine a more important figure in the substance abuse field than Mrs. Ford," Rick Rawson, associate director of the integrated substance abuse program at the University of California at Los Angeles, said at the time.

She and her husband had retired to Rancho Mirage after he lost a bruising presidential race to Jimmy Carter in 1976. She went to work on her memoirs, "The Times of My Life," which came out in 1979. But the social whirlwind that engulfed them in Washington was over, and Betty Ford confessed that she missed it.

"We had gone into the campaign to win and it was a great disappointment losing, particularly by such a small margin," she said. "It meant changing my whole lifestyle after 30 years in Washington, and it was quite a traumatic experience."

By 1978, she was addicted to alcohol and prescription drugs. She would later describe herself during that period as "this nice, dopey pill-pusher sitting around and nodding."

"As I got sicker," she recalled, "I gradually stopped going to lunch. I wouldn't see friends. I was putting everyone out of my life." Her children recalled her living in a stupor, shuffling around in her bathrobe, refusing meals in favor of a drink.

Her family finally confronted her in April 1978 and insisted she seek treatment. She credited their "intervention" with saving her life.

"I was stunned at what they were trying to tell me about how I disappointed them and let them down," Ford told The Associated Press in 1994.

"I was terribly hurt — after I had spent all those years trying to be the best mother, wife I could be. ... Luckily, I was able to hear them saying that I needed help and they cared too much about me to let it go on, she said.

Associated PressFILE - In this Jan. 4, 1949 file picture, Rep. Gerald R. Ford, Jr. of the Fifth Michigan District, and his wife Betty Ford stand on the inaugural stands in Lansing, Mich. On Friday, July 8, 2011, a family friend said that Betty Ford had died at the age of 93. (AP Photo)

She entered Long Beach Naval Hospital and underwent a grim detoxification, which became the model for therapy at the Betty Ford Center. She saw her recovery as a second chance at life.

"When you come back from something that was as disagreeable and unsettling as my alcoholism, when you come back to health from that, everything is so much more valuable," she said in her book, "A Glad Awakening."

Her own experience, and that of a businessman friend whom she helped save from alcoholism, were the inspiration for the center, located on the grounds of the Eisenhower Medical Center. She helped raise $3 million, lobbied in the state capital for its approval, and reluctantly agreed to let it be named for her.

"The center's name has been burden, as well as honor," she wrote. "Because even if nobody else holds me responsible, I hold myself responsible."

She liked to tell patients, "I'm just one more woman who has had this problem."

Her efforts won her a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, from the first President Bush in 1991. In October 1999: Gerald and Betty Ford both were awarded Congressional Gold Medals.

She continued to be outspoken on public issues, pressing for fellow Republicans to be moderate on social questions. She spoke out in favor of gays in the military in a 1993 Washington Post interview, saying they had been serving for many years.

During the Clinton presidency, Mrs. Ford praised first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, saying she had been with her at a meeting on health care and found her "courteous, charming, able, attractive. ... She asks good questions. She picked out one of the most demanding roles she possibly could."

In 2005, she was presented with the Gerald R. Ford Medal of Distinguished Public Service from her husband's foundation, telling the gathering that it was "very, very special." She added in her typical candor: "It's kind of all in the family, and I feel a little guilty about it."

Mrs. Ford's first public appearance after her husband's death was in August 2007, when she attended a ceremony near Rancho Mirage as a postage stamp honoring the late president was issued. She did not speak. She had not traveled to Texas for the funeral of Lady Bird Johnson the previous month.

Elizabeth Bloomer was born in Chicago on April 8, 1918, and raised in Grand Rapids, Mich. She was talented in dancing and ultimately studied with the great dancer and choreographer Martha Graham. She also worked as a model to make extra money during the Depression.

With her gray-green eyes, chestnut hair and stately bearing, she was often described as regal.

An early marriage to a furniture company representative, William Warren, ended in divorce before she met Gerald Ford, a lawyer just out of the Navy. When he proposed in 1948, she said later, she had no idea he planned a political career.

"I really thought I was marrying a lawyer, and we'd be living in Grand Rapids," she recalled. Then he announced his plan to run for Congress and even made a campaign appearance during their honeymoon.

Political life was hard for her. While her husband campaigned or worked late on Capitol Hill, she raised their four children: Michael Gerald, born in 1950; John Gardner, born in 1952; Steven Meigs, born in 1956; and Susan Elizabeth, born in 1957.

She said the pressure led her to consult a psychiatrist who told her "I shouldn't give up everything for my husband and my children, but had to think about what mattered to me."

The children were in their late teens and early 20s by the time the Fords moved into the White House and only Susan lived there. But they were a close family, gathering at Vail, Colo., for Christmas skiing vacations.

"When I came to Washington, I saw my job as a supporting wife and mother," Mrs. Ford said. "But I came to feel an emptiness in spite of the fact I was happy. The old term housewife just didn't seem right. That's when I looked for support in my thinking that there must be something more than that. And indeed there is."

She became an outspoken advocate for the Equal Rights Amendment, favored legal abortion and supported drafting women for the armed services. When asked on "60 Minutes" what she would do if her daughter, Susan, had an affair, she responded, "Well, I wouldn't be surprised. I'd think she was a perfectly normal human being. ... If she wanted to continue, I would certainly counsel and advise her on the subject."

Drawing on her dance background, she also helped foster interest in the arts during her time as first lady. She reconnected with her old teacher Graham, who remembered her as "very dedicated," and Graham received the Medal of Freedom in a White House ceremony during the Ford years.

When she underwent a radical mastectomy for removal of a cancerous breast, she kept no secrets, bringing the disease into the open.

Thousands of women rushed to get breast examinations because of Ford's example.

The shooting occurred at 8:30 p.m. at Marborough and Wellington streets.

SPRINGFIELD - Police are investigating a shooting Friday night in the Upper Hill neighborhood that left a man with a gunshot injury to the lower back, police said.

The shooting occured at about 8:30 p.m. at Marlborough and Wellington streets, said Lt. John Bobianski.

The victim, whose name was not released, was being treated Friday night at Baystate Medical Center.

Bobianski said the injury is serious but not life-threatening. The victim is not cooperating with police about who shot him, he said.

Witness accounts have a tall, thin black man wearing red pants and no shirt running from the scene carrying a handgun, he said.

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Aside from a game of polo in the seaside city of Santa Barbara, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's 3-day visit will focus on business, not pleasure.

Associated PressPrince William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, arrive at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Friday, July 8, 2011. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

By DERRIK LANG
and THOMAS WATKINS

LOS ANGELES — Bathed in sunshine and under clear blue skies, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived Friday in Southern California's vacation playground. But within minutes of touching down, they were whisked off to work.

The royal couple had tacked on a quick visit to Los Angeles following a nine-day tour of Canada, their first foreign trip since marrying in April.

Aside from a game of polo in the seaside city of Santa Barbara, much of the couple's three-day visit will focus on business and not pleasure. Instead of trips to the Hollywood sign or Malibu's beaches, their itinerary includes some hefty fundraising for good causes, promoting U.S. investment in Britain and charitable work.

The newlyweds landed shortly before 4 p.m. in a Canadian military jet. The former Kate Middleton, who left Canada in a red satin and wool scarlet coat-dress by Catherine Walker, changed aboard the flight and emerged wearing a light-gray, knee-length dress with asymmetric draping at the shoulder. William wore a navy blue suit with a purple tie.

Their arrival was a lower-key affair compared to the largely rapturous welcomes they received as they crisscrossed Canada. A small group of officials including California Gov. Jerry Brown and his wife Anne Gust, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Britain's ambassador the U.S., Sir Nigel Sheinwald, greeted the couple at the airport.

They climbed into a black Range Rover and headed for their first event, a technology summit in Beverly Hills aimed at promoting U.S. investment in British tech firms.

Zoomed along by a California Highway Patrol motorcade, the duke and duchess avoided rush-hour traffic on the 12-mile route by staying off the ever-clogged west Los Angeles freeways.

The summit was set up to generate support for Tech City, London's answer to Silicon Valley. The area around the trendy Old Street part of east London is quickly becoming a hub for technology and software firms.

Before their arrival at the expo, former "Dancing with the Stars" contestant Chelsea Kane, "Body of Proof" actress Dana Delaney, "Rush Hour" director Brett Ratner, Dallas Mavericks tycoon Mark Cuban and "Bridesmaids" director Paul Fieg chatted during a panel about social media.

A small crowd of royal watchers gathered outside the hotel as the couple arrived, though the duke and duchess did not stop to speak with them. Attendees stood and clapped as they entered the ballroom and sat on stage alongside other panelists.

Neither spoke during the discussion, though Kate smiled when the panelists mentioned that attendees were welcome to visit Tech City. At the end of the panel, the moderator asked if anyone wanted to talk. Kate nudged William, who shrugged off the opportunity.

Neil Stiles, president of Variety, which sponsored the event, accompanied the couple for brief demonstrations of technology on display at the expo, including the new tablet computer from HP and augmented reality applications from Qualcomm.

"They were delightful company," Stiles said. "They were relaxed, very comfortable in the environment. It was a lot to take in. They arrived at a conference that's been running all day on a very heavy business subject, and I thought they coped with it really well."

Britain's royal family has shown itself to be tech-savvy in recent years and maintains accounts on several social media sites.

Though Prince William has been to America before, it is Kate's first trip to the U.S. William's late mother, Princess Diana, who would have turned 50 this month, charmed Americans when she visited in the 1980s.

Authorities have put the paparazzi, known for their cutthroat tactics, on notice that aggressive actions will not be tolerated. Photographers were partly blamed for causing the Paris crash that killed Princess Diana in 1997.

Residents in Hancock Park, the exclusive neighborhood that is home to the British consul general where William and Kate will stay, have worked with police to create no-trespass notices for their homes. Any photographers standing on their driveways will be instantly arrested.

A small throng of royal watchers waved flags and cheered as the couple arrived at the residence Friday evening.

Legislators are considering laws that would allow prosecutors to bring felony charges against parents who do not quickly report missing children.

Associated PressFILE - This undated file photo released by the Orange County Sheriff's Office in Orlando, Fla., shows Caylee Marie Anthony. Texas state Sen. Chris Harris says he will introduce a new law to make it a felony for a parent or guardian to not report a missing child. The Arlington Republican will name the law after Caylee Anthony, the daughter of Casey Anthony. The Florida mother did not report her daughter missing for more than a month. She later said her daughter died accidently. Casey Anthony was found innocent this week of murder charges. (AP Photo/Orange County Sheriff's Office, File)

By BRENT KALLESTAD

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Lawmakers outraged over Casey Anthony's acquittal have responded by proposing so-called Caylee's laws that would allow prosecutors to bring felony charges against parents who do not quickly report missing children.

The new measures were triggered, at least in part, by an online petition that had more than 700,000 signatures Friday. Some questioned whether a new law would do any good because the circumstances of the Anthony case were so rare, but lawmakers in at least a dozen or so states have already floated proposals reacting to the verdict.

"Casey Anthony broke new ground in brazenness," said Florida state Rep. Scott Plakon, who is sponsoring the proposal in his state. "It's very sad that we even need a law like this, but Casey Anthony just proved that we do as unfortunate as that is."

In June 2008, Anthony's 2-year-old daughter Caylee was last seen at the Orlando home she shared with her mom and her maternal grandparents. For the next month, Casey Anthony, then 22, left her parents' house and spent most of her time with friends, shopping and partying, telling her family and others that Caylee was with an imaginary nanny.

Anthony's mother called detectives when Anthony could not produce her child. Anthony told investigators she hadn't called them because the nanny had kidnapped the child and she had been conducting her own search, two of the numerous lies she told investigators.

Anthony was acquitted of murder in Caylee's death, but convicted of four misdemeanor counts of lying to investigators. She was sentenced to the maximum of four years, but after serving nearly three years in jail awaiting trial, coupled with good behavior credits, she is set to go free next Sunday.

Florida's proposal would make it a felony for a parent or other caregiver to not report a child under the age of 12 missing after 48 hours. It also makes it a felony to not report a child's death or "location of a child's corpse" to police within two hours of the death.

Had Florida's measure been in place and Anthony been convicted, she could have faced another 15 years behind bars.

Other states are considering similar measures and the online petition at Change.org, started by an Oklahoma woman, calls for a federal law.

"It's certainly something that we want to look into, because right now looking at the Maryland state law we're not seeing anything that would fit the circumstances to the degree that we want to," said Joseph Cassilly, a prosecutor in Harford County, Md., which is one of the state's considering a Caylee's law.

But others think it's unnecessary.

"It only applies to people like her and fortunately those are not common everyday occurrences," said Willie Meggs, who served as a state attorney in Florida for more than three decades. "I don't think it changes anything."

When Caylee was reported missing, the sheriff's office launched a massive search, but her remains weren't discovered until six months later, near the Anthony family home. The bones were in such bad shape, prosecutors said they had difficulty collecting forensic evidence from them, making it harder to present their case to the jury.

Anthony's attorneys argued that Caylee drowned in the family pool. They said Anthony panicked and her father decided to cover up the death by making it look like murder. Anthony's lies and conduct during the month her child was missing were caused by the sexual abuse she had suffered herself as a child by her father, her attorney said.

Anthony's father vehemently denied the allegations on the witness stand and said he would have done anything to save his granddaughter.

In Alabama, a bill would make it a felony for a parent, legal guardian or caretaker to not notify law enforcement authorities within an hour after the death of a child and also require parents to report a missing child within 24 hours. In Kentucky, the proposal would make failing to report a child under 12 who has been missing for 12 hours or more punishable by one to five years in prison.

"God forbid we ever run into a mother like Casey Anthony again," said Plakon, the Florida legislator. "If we do, that mother will be a felon."

Associated Press writers Brian Witte in Annapolis, Teresa Wasson in Nashville, Jim Van Anglen in Montgomery contributed to this report.

A man with two gunshot wounds showed up at Holyoke Medical Center around 3:53 a.m., according to police, who are investigating the incident.

HOLYOKE -- Police here are investigating a shooting involving a male victim who showed up at Holyoke Medical Center with gunshot wounds at 3:53 a.m. Saturday.

The victim had at least "two gunshot wounds," according to Holyoke police.

Police did not indicate the location of the shooting.

More information will be posted as it becomes available.

'South Sudan' becomes the world's newest nation, Egyptians rally for reform, and more of this morning's headlines.

AP Photo/John L. RussellZack, a 2-year-old black Labrador Retriever, jumps to grab a toy during the annual Ultimate Air Dog competition at the 85th National Cherry Festival on Friday in Traverse City, Mich. Dogs jump off a platform into a large pool of water, and are judged by the distance they jump, according to organizers of the weeklong festival. The event is held each year in honor of the area's vibrant cherry industry, which is claimed to be the largest in the world.

• Flooding and lightning slam Cape Cod [CapeCodOnline.com]


• They're back: great white sharks spotted of Cape Cod coast [Boston.com]


• Boston police beef up patrols in city parks following slew of shootings, homicides [Boston.com]


• Enfield prison to close later this year, marking fourth Connecticut prison closing in less than two years [Courant.com]


• Rupert Murdoch goes to London to tackle hacking crisis [IrishTimes.com]


• Introducing 'South Sudan,' the world's newest nation [English.Aljazeera.net]


• Dismal jobs report raises doubts about U.S. economic recovery [LATimes.com]


• Noise-canceling devices for a good night’s sleep [NYTimes.com]


• Michigan shooter had history of violent outbursts [FreeP.com]




Reuters Video -- Thousands of Egyptians returning to Cairo's Tahrir Square to demand reform of the security forces and prosecution of former officials:

• Twitter posts tagged #westernma in Western Mass. [MassLive.com]


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Two gunshot victims showed up at Holyoke Medical Center for treatment shortly before 4 a.m. Saturday. Their injuries were not considered to be life-threatening, according to Holyoke Police Sgt. Stephen Loftus.

Republican file photo

HOLYOKE -- Police are investigating a double shooting that occurred near 93 Elm St. early Saturday morning.

Details remain sketchy, but Holyoke Police Sgt. Stephen Loftus confirmed that both victims were males who were shot during some sort of dispute outside the Elm Street address, which is located between Dwight and Hampden streets.

A Holyoke Medical Center official contacted city police around 3:53, which is when the shooting victims arrived at the hospital for treatment, Loftus said.

The men were not transported to the hospital by medical or police personnel, but apparently were driven there by friends or acquaintances.

"We didn't take them," Loftus said.

The sergeant said he was unsure of the extent of the victims' injuries, although neither man's wounds appeared to be life-threatening. Both were later transferred to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

Investigators have yet to release a motive for the crime, which remains under investigation. It also wasn't immediately known if police have identified a suspect, or if more than one gunman was involved in the assault.

At least three .40-caliber shell casings were found around 4:08 a.m. near the Elm Street address, according to police reports from the scene of the shooting.

An initial police report indicated police were dealing with "two gunshot wounds," but it didn't specify the number of victims.

THE MAP BELOW shows the approximate location of a Holyoke shooting reported early Saturday morning:


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Police have not released the boy's name yet, but he died after being shot multiple times as an Edgeland Street house party was breaking up for the night, police said.

SPRINGFIELD -- An 18-year-old man was shot to death around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, just as a large house party was breaking up for the night in the city's Forest Park neighborhood, police said.

The shooting occurred outside an Edgeland Street residence, located between Longhill Street and Fort Pleasant Avenue, and police were still interviewing witnesses this morning.

The homicide is Springfield's tenth this year, coming on the heels of

"I know they haven't charged anyone yet," Springfield Police Capt. Cheryl C. Clapprood said around 7:10 a.m. Saturday

Investigators do not plan to release the victim's identity until his family is notified.

Clapprood said the teenager was shot multiple times as "a big crowd" of mostly young people were exiting the party, Clapprood said.

The killing marks Springfield's 10th homicide of the year.