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Hospitals target infection rates with better sanitary methods, practices

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Cooley Dickinson Hospital and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, both in Northampton, employ strict sanitizing practices to promote a "culture of infection prevention."

cool dickey.JPGCooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton uses pulsing ultraviolet light to kill disease-causing organisms in hospital rooms and treatment areas.

NORHTAMPTON -- In the war against serious, sometimes deadly, infections that can thrive in their midst, hospitals are turning to new techniques and technologies to subdue the enemy.

Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton was among the first hospitals in the nation to sanitize rooms using a system that bathes the empty room in pulsing ultraviolet light in order to kill disease-causing organisms.

Over the past year, the hospital saw an 82 percent drop in one particular type of superbug, Clostridium difficile, or C.diff, a nasty bacteria that can cause diarrhea, sepsis and even death. It’s estimated that several hundred thousand Americans a year are infected with C.diff, five percent of whom die.

“This decrease translates to many more people leaving the hospital safer and with better outcomes,” says Dr. Joanne Levin, the medical director for infection prevention at the hospital.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, also in Northampton, is among 152 veterans’ medical centers nationwide that took part in a 2007-2010 effort to reduce infections of methicillin-resistant staph aureus, or MRSA, a drug-resistant bacteria that kills an estimated 19,000 people a year during hospital stays.

Each of the hospitals screened entering patients for signs of MRSA, placed hand-sanitizers throughout the hospital for employees and patients, and promoted a culture of infection prevention and control within the medical center.

As a result, MRSA infections fell 62 percent in VA intensive-care units over the three years, and they fell 45 percent in other areas of the hospitals.

The VA’s undersecretary for health, Dr. Robert Petzel, called the effort “a landmark initiative.”

“No one should have to worry about acquiring an illness or infection from the place they trust to deliver their care,” he said.

Since the 1930s, antibiotics have been the prime weapon to fight the growth of disease-causing organisms in the body. During World War II, penicillin became the first antibiotic to be mass-produced and remains among the most widely used today.

However, some organisms have evolved into antibiotic-resistant superbugs that can thrive in hospitals, where conditions can be ripe for their proliferation. People in a weakened condition are often crowded together, and there can be a great deal of human contact.

vetplex.JPGThe U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in the Leeds section of Northampton uses a variety of sanitizing practices to wipe out infectious germs that can spread to patients.

It’s long been known that ultraviolet (UV) light can kill bacteria and viruses by damaging their DNA. But, it was thought that using UV lights to sanitize hospital rooms was too costly and inefficient compared to other methods. The rise of superbugs caused health officials to re-examine the technique.

Cooley Dickinson now uses a system made by Xenex, a Texas-based company. A mobile cart carrying a UV light is moved into a room that is due to be cleaned between patients, explained hospital spokeswoman Christina M. Trinchero.

“The process is that they first clean a bathroom with standard cleaning products. Once the bathroom is clean, they wheel the portable UV room disinfection device into the bathroom, close the door, and use a remote to activate the machine. The light will ‘flash’ in the bathroom for about seven minutes,” she said.

“The UV light bounces off the surfaces in the room. It penetrates the cell wall of the C.diff germ, as well as other organisms that might be present. The UV light fuses the DNA of the C.diff germ together, leading to instant damage, the inability to reproduce ... (which) kills the organism,” Trinchero said.

While the UV light is disinfecting the bathroom, the worker cleans the patient’s main room. Once that is done, the cart is positioned in that room, the worker puts up a protective shade in the window, exits the room, and uses a remote control to trigger the system again.

“Depending on the size of the room, a room could get two UV light treatments. The total room-cleaning time is 30 to 35 minutes,” Trinchero said.

Nationwide, about one in 20 hospital patients acquired hospital-borne infections in 2002, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The agency is following all the experiments among hospitals to reduce the infection rate, but has yet to make a recommendation on the optimum procedures to follow.


Holyoke Mayor Elaine Pluta criticized for seeking closed-door meeting to discuss nearly $3 million owed by Geriatric Authority

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The authority owes the city for insurance, retirement and utility costs.

HOLYOKE – Mayor Elaine A. Pluta wants to hold a closed-door meeting of the City Council to discuss possible litigation regarding the nearly $3 million owed to city agencies by the Holyoke Geriatric Authority.

But the plan for the meeting to be in executive session drew criticism Friday.

Mayoral candidate Daniel C. Boyle and Amanda L. Smith, an authority union representative, said employees, authority patients and the public in general deserve to witness such discussions.

Pluta said she hopes to call a special meeting of the City Council to discuss the authority's financial problems the week of July 18.

“My first priority is to the city and the taxpayers,” Pluta said.

She had hoped to have the council meet Tuesday but was unable to arrange that and will try for next week, she said. Only the mayor can call a special meeting of the City Council.

Because the dispute with the authority about unpaid bills could wind up in court, Pluta said, she wants a council meeting to be in closed-door session.

“Yes, because we’re going to talk about litigation strategy,’ Pluta said.

Boyle, a business consultant, said Pluta should resist the urge to prohibit the public and press from the discussion about the authority.

“Elected officials need to know it’s not their business, it’s the people’s business,” Boyle said.

Smith, a union steward and activity coordinator at the authority, said she will give Pluta a petition signed by 30 authority workers demanding access to the planned City Council meeting.

“We want to know what’s happening to our facility,” said Smith, a 19-year veteran.

Authority employees are represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1459.

Council President Joseph M. McGiverin said it is up to the 15-member council, not the mayor, whether the meeting will be in closed or open session.

The authority owes $1.2 million to the city as repayment for a 2007 purchase of 9.5 acres on Lower Westfield Road from the authority; more than $700,000 for health and life insurance for retired authority employees; more than $50,000 to the Holyoke Gas and Electric Department; nearly $340,000 to the Holyoke Contributory Retirement Board; and $60,000 as payment in lieu of taxes, Pluta and other officials said.

Authority officials dispute that, saying the debt is less than $1 million and they are trying to pay the outstanding bills.

The facility at 45 Lower Westfield Road is an 80-bed nursing home and a day-care program that serves another 80 senior citizens.

The authority is a quasi-official municipal agency. The council appoints three members of the board of directors, the mayor appoints three and those six then vote in a seventh member.

East Longmeadow mulls regulating charity events

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The Planning Board is considering drafting a special permit that would regulate the use of congregate living facilities for charity events.

EAST LONGMEADOW -- The Planning Board is considering drafting a special permit that would regulate the use of congregate living facilities for charity events.

Several establishments are currently using their facilities for charitable events even though such uses are not permitted within the town bylaws, said Planning Board Director Robyn D. Macdonald.

The board is reviewing the issue but will not take formal action until information is gathered about how many places currently have the desire and capabilities to run charity events.

Community activities are allowed in municipal buildings, but not in congregate living facilities, Macdonald said.

PRIBBY.JPGEast Longmeadow Planning Board member Michael Przybylowicz

"I don't think it’s a good idea. It muddies up the waters when you have to apply it across the board and be subjective," Planning Board Chairman Peter Pundersen said of the special permit. "It could cause a lot of potential problems."

Planning Board members Michael S. Przybylowicz and Michael Carabetta agreed that organizations that have the space should be able to use their facilities for charity events.

"There will always be subjectivity in our decisions. If it was black and white, they wouldn’t need us,” Przybylowicz said.

“There are a lot of nice events that could be held here in town, but are held elsewhere because our bylaws do not allow it,” he added

The special permit would apply to congregate living facilities, nursing homes, handicap facilities and a few other residential establishments.

“The truth is this is happening in an uncontrolled manner anyway,” said board member George C. Kingston. “We can draft a proper bylaw and it will give us the opportunity to regulate and control the situation.”

White House: US suspending $800M in Pakistan military aid

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An analyst said the decision is an attempt to increase pressure on Pakistan, but he believes it could hurt both sides.

Obama.JPGView full sizePresident Barack H. Obama

By DOUGLAS BIRCH

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has ordered the suspension of $800 million in aid to the Pakistani military, his chief of staff said Sunday, as part of what experts say is a tougher line with a critical U.S. partner in the fight against terrorism.

Top aide William Daley described the U.S. relationship with Pakistan as "difficult" and said it must be made "to work over time." But he added that until "we get through that difficulty, we'll hold back some of the money that the American taxpayers are committed to give" Pakistan.

The suspension of U.S. aid, first reported by the New York Times, followed a statement last week by Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, that Pakistan's security services may have sanctioned the killing of a Pakistani journalist who wrote about infiltration of the military by extremists.

The allegation was rejected by Pakistan's powerful military establishment, including the Inter-Services Intelligence Agency, which has historic ties to the Taliban and other militant groups and which many Western analysts regard as a state-within-a-state.

Daley, interviewed on ABC's "This Week," suggested the decision to suspend military aid resulted from the increasing estrangement between the U.S. and Pakistan, especially since the U.S. raid in May that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden not far from Pakistan's equivalent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

"Obviously there's still a lot of pain that the political system in Pakistan is feeling by virtue of the raid that we did to get Osama bin Laden," Daley said.

Osama bin Laden killed by U.S. in PakistanView full sizeFILE - In this file photo, Osama bin Laden is seen at an undisclosed location in this television image broadcast. (AP Photo/Al Jazeera)

A senior U.S. official said the suspension was triggered by the Pakistani army's decision to significantly reduce the number of visas for U.S. military trainers. "We remain committed to helping Pakistan build its capabilities, but we have communicated to Pakistani officials on numerous occasions that we require certain support in order to provide certain assistance," said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly and spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently told senators that "when it comes to our military aid, we are not prepared to continue providing that at the pace we were providing it unless we see certain steps taken."

Pakistan army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas declined comment on the suspension. He pointed to comments by Army Chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who last month said U.S. military aid should be diverted to civilian projects.

Pakistani soldier.jpgView full sizeA Pakistani paramilitary soldier secure an area as other troops move toward a forward base during a military operation against militants in Pakistan's Khurram tribal region, Saturday, July 9, 2011. "A military operation in Kurram tribal region has been launched to clear the area of terrorists involved in all kinds of terrorist activities, including kidnapping and killing of locals, suicide attacks and blocking the road connecting Lower with upper Kurram," Pakistani army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zubair)

Hasan-Askari Rizvi, a Pakistani political and defense analyst, said the U.S. decision to suspend aid is an attempt to increase pressure on Pakistan, but he believes it could hurt both sides.

"The Pakistani military has been the major supporter of the U.S. in the region because it needed weapons and money," said Rizvi. "Now, when the U.S. builds pressure on the military, it will lose that support."

George Perkovich, an expert on Pakistan with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, called the suspension "overdue."

"We've been trying for years to get, persuade, push the Pakistani army to conduct military operations on their border with Afghanistan, especially in North Waziristan, and they've said it's not in their interest, that they're overstretched already," Perkovich said in a telephone interview from Paris. "I think it's smart to say, 'We hear you.'"

Perkovich said if U.S. financial aid didn't change the behavior of the Pakistan military, then withdrawing it probably wouldn't either. But he said the termination of the $800 million in assistance could lead to a re-examination of the military's role in that country.

"Internally in Pakistan, there's going to be a much more intense debate now on whether the Army has put the country on a good course," he said.

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Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Washington and Sebastian Abbot in Islamabad contributed to this report.

Atlantis docks at International Space Station, marking last connection in NASA shuttle history

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This was the 46th docking by a space shuttle to a space station.

Atlantis docked.jpgView full sizeThis frame grab from NASA-TV shows space shuttle Atlantis docked at the International Space Station, Sunday, July 10, 2011. Atlantis is delivering more than 4 tons of food, clothes and other space station provisions, an entire year's worth, in fact, to keep the complex going in the looming post-shuttle era. Atlantis' journey marks the final shuttle mission by NASA. (AP Photo/NASA)

By MARCIA DUNN

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — In a flight full of passion, Atlantis made the final docking in shuttle history Sunday, pulling up at the International Space Station with a year's worth of supplies.

The station's naval bell chimed a salute as Atlantis docked 240 miles above the Pacific.

"Atlantis arriving," called out space station astronaut Ronald Garan Jr. "Welcome to the International Space Station for the last time."

"And it's great to be here," replied shuttle commander Christopher Ferguson.

Cries of joy and laughter filled the connected vessels once the hatches swung open and the two crews — 10 space fliers altogether representing three countries — exchanged hugs, handshakes and kisses on the cheek. Cameras floated everywhere, recording every moment of the last-of-its-kind festivities.

It's the final docking to a space station ever by a NASA shuttle. Atlantis is being retired after this flight, the last of the 30-year shuttle program.

Excitement grew throughout the morning — in orbit and at Mission Control — as the miles melted between the two spacecraft with every circling of Earth. Every landmark, or rather spacemark, of this final two-week shuttle mission is being savored.

Mission Control's lead flight director, Kwatsi Alibaruho, declared "this is it" as he gave the OK for the historic linkup.

This was the 46th docking by a space shuttle to a space station.

Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off for the last timeView full sizeThe space shuttle Atlantis lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center Friday, July 8, 2011, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Atlantis is the 135th and final space shuttle launch for NASA. (AP Photo/Tim Donnelly)

Nine of those were to Russia's Mir station back in the mid-1990s, with Atlantis making the very first. The U.S. and Russia built on that sometimes precarious experience to create, along with a dozen other nations, the world's largest spacecraft ever: the permanently inhabited, finally completed, 12½-year-old International Space Station.

This time, Atlantis is delivering more than 4 tons of food, clothes and other space station provisions — an entire year's worth, in fact, to keep the complex going in the looming post-shuttle era.

Ferguson was at the controls as Atlantis drew closer, leading the smallest astronaut crew in decades.

Only four are flying aboard Atlantis, as NASA kept the crew to a minimum in case of an emergency. In the unlikely event that Atlantis was seriously damaged, the shuttle astronauts would need to move into the space station for months and rely on Russian Soyuz capsules to get back home. A shuttle always was on standby before for a possible rescue, but that's no longer feasible with Discovery and Endeavour officially retired now.

Two days into this historic voyage — the 135th in 30 years of shuttle flight — Atlantis was said by NASA to be sailing smoothly, free of damage. Sunday's docking proved to be as flawless as Friday's liftoff.

As a safeguard, Atlantis performed the usual backflip for the space station cameras, before the linkup. The station astronauts used powerful zoom lenses to photograph all sides of the shuttle. Experts on the ground will scrutinize the digital images for any signs of damage that might have come from fuel-tank foam, ice or other launch debris.

NASA, meanwhile, continued to bask in the afterglow of Friday's liftoff. As part of Sunday morning's mail to Atlantis, Mission Control sent up a 4-inch image of a shuttle made entirely of exclamation points.

Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off for the last timeView full sizeAtlantis astronauts, from left, mission specialist Sandra Magnus, pilot Doug Hurley, commander Chris Ferguson and mission specialist Rex Walhelm leave the operations and check up building en route to the pad for at the Kennedy Space Center Friday, July 8, 2011, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Atlantis is the 135th and final space shuttle launch for NASA. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

Flight controllers joked that the city of Philadelphia — Ferguson's hometown — is arranging for Lincoln Financial Field to cut its turf in the shape of the crew's mission patch.

"The mayor was quoted as saying, 'As long as the NFL lockout is still ongoing and the Eagles aren't playing, we might as well use the stadium for something,'" controllers wrote in the so-called news break.

Atlantis and its crew will spend more than a week at the orbiting complex. The shuttle flight currently is scheduled to last 12 days, but NASA likely will add a 13th day to give the astronauts extra time to complete all their chores.

NASA is getting out of the launching-to-orbit business, giving Atlantis, Endeavour and Discovery to museums, so it can start working on human trips to asteroids and Mars. Private U.S. companies will pick up the more mundane job of space station delivery runs and, still several years out, astronaut ferry flights.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden stressed in an interview with CNN's "State of the Union" program Sunday morning that the United States will remain the world leader in space exploration, even after the shuttles stop flying.

"I would encourage the American public to listen to the president," Bolden said. "The president has set the goals: an asteroid in 2025, Mars in 2030. I can't get any more definitive than that."

City of Cambridge to give wedded gay workers stipend to offset "discriminatory" tax

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Of the thousands of legally married gay and lesbian couples in Massachusetts, none can receive the federal benefits offered to heterosexual married couples because the federal government doesn't recognize same-sex marriages.

By JOHANNA KAISER

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — When the city of Cambridge issues paychecks to its public employees, nearly two dozen workers find a federal tax on their income that their colleagues don't have to pay.

Like many people, these 22 school and city workers chose to put their spouses on their employer-provided health insurance. Because they're in a homosexual relationship, the value of that health coverage is considered taxable income by the federal government.

But starting this month, Cambridge will become what is believed to be the first municipality in the country to pay its public employees a stipend in an attempt to defray the cost of the federal tax on health benefits for their same-sex spouses.

The city employees hit by the extra tax pay an additional $1,500 to $3,000 in taxes a year and officials estimate the stipends would cost the city an additional $33,000.

"This is about equality," said Marjorie Decker, a Cambridge city councilor. "This is a city that models what equality really means."

Of the thousands of legally married gay and lesbian couples in Massachusetts, none can receive the federal benefits offered to heterosexual married couples because the federal government doesn't recognize same-sex marriages.

Those benefits include Social Security survivors' benefits, immigration rights, family leave and the ability to file joint tax returns.

The council last month approved the measure that would provide quarterly stipends to any city or school employee who puts a same-sex spouse on their health insurance. The vote came after council members began looking in January for a way to offset what they called an unfair and discriminatory tax.

"This is ultimately a fairness issue. Two people who do the exact same job should be paid exactly the same for what they are doing at work," said Leland Cheung, a Cambridge City Councilor who pushed for a proposal with fellow councilor E. Denise Simmons, who is openly gay.

Decker and Cheung said the additional funds needed from the city's personnel budget is a minor cost in the city's more than $500 million budget, but some say the public's money should not be used to go against established law.

"It's a travesty of using taxpayer monies to circumvent a national policy," said Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, an advocacy group opposed to same-sex marriage.

The 15-year-old federal Defense of Marriage Act defines marriage as being between a man and a woman, allows states to deny recognition of same-sex unions performed elsewhere and prevents the federal government from recognizing gay marriages. This federal provision prevents even gay and lesbian couples married legally by a state — as in Massachusetts — from receiving any federal benefits.

The act has faced setbacks lately, including President Obama's order in February for the Justice Department to stop defending the constitutionality of the federal law.

The key part of the law denying federal benefits for married gay couples was also ruled unconstitutional in the state by a U.S. District judge in Boston last year. That decision is being appealed.

Mary Bowe-Shulman of Acton, Mass., who was one of the plaintiffs in the case against DOMA, said she was happy that Cambridge employees would see financial relief and that the city was taking action on what she saw as a civil rights issue.

"I think that's a wonderful thing for them to make up for that," she said.

Bowe-Shulman, a staff attorney at the Massachusetts Court of Appeals, said she loses $7,800 a year to federal taxes on health insurance for her wife of 6 years, money she would rather be putting in a college fund for the couple's two children.

"It just makes me feel like my family is being treated differently than everyone else's," she said.

Although Bowe-Shulman applauded the Cambridge policy, she said hopes the court ruling stands so that such policies are unnecessary.

"I think it's just ridiculous that the state would have to expend some of its limited dollars to make up for this discriminatory policy," she said.

While Cambridge is known for its liberal policies and has had three consecutive openly gay mayors, the city is not the only employer offering additional pay.

Since 2009, at least 17 companies that offer benefits to same-sex spouses or domestic partners have supplemented employees' income to cover the tax, according to Sarah Warbelow, a legislative director for the Human Rights Campaign. Some of those companies include Mountain View, Calif.-based Google Inc., Palo Alto, Calif.-based Facebook and the Boston Consulting Group.

The number of same-sex spouses and partners receiving health benefits will soon increase as New York became the sixth and largest state to legalize gay marriage, joining Iowa, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts. The District of Columbia also recognizes gay marriage.

Thirty states have constitutional amendments banning gay marriage.

New legislation is being proposed nationally by Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, to eliminate the tax on health insurance for same-sex partners and spouses.

The lawmakers say this change will help individuals and reduce payroll taxes of the employers that offer benefits to same-sex partners and spouses without forcing employers to recognize domestic partners. Opponents say the proposal conflicts with current law.

"This appears to be another tactic to circumvent the intent of the DOMA, which is that federal tax dollars will not be used to benefit any kind of relationship outside a marriage between a man and a woman," said Mineau, who also criticized Obama's refusal to defend DOMA.

Still, Cambridge lawmakers are optimistic the policy will spread to other municipalities and states.

"Cambridge is a city on the cutting edge, and I think this is another example of that," Cheung said.

Southwick Rotary plans 'Grill'n Daze' fund-raiser

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Proceeds will support community and youth-oriented Rotary projects as well as the June 1 tornado recovery effort.

SOUTHWICK – Plans for the “Grill’n Daze” are in place, and the Southwick Rotary Club continues to accept applications for its fourth annual competition.

“The ultimate challenge is to have the best barbecue in town,” event chair Bob Fox said.

Civic clubs, organizations, private teams, restaurants and individuals who have a favorite recipe for the competition are encouraged to participate. Deadline to enter is Monday.

The competition will be held July 17 at the Recreation Center on Powder Mill Road starting at noon with judging throughout the afternoon. The challenges are three barbecue entries (beef, pork or poultry) for a $100 entry fee (additional items can be added for $50 each) and chili for a $50 entry fee (additional items can be added for $50 each).

Barbecue first-, second- and third-place winners will receive $300, $200, and $100 for each respectively, while chili first-, second- and third-place winners will receive $150, $100 and $50 respectively.

There will also be a prize for the best decorated booth-display.

Music will be provided by blues artist Burt Teague and friends. The event will also include vendors, a visit by the Springfield Falcons’ mascot Screech, a garden train by Dean Sleeper, and a raffle for a professional char-griller and smoker currently on display at Moo-Licious Ice Cream on Feeding Hills Road. Vendors may reserve spaces for a $100 fee.

For the third year, the Rotary Club will be fielding a baseball game featuring Southwick volunteers against the Westfield Wheelmen Vintage Baseball team in accordance with the rules of 1861. Anyone interested in competing in the baseball challenge should contact Rotarian Brian Morrissey at (413) 569-1262.

The applications and guidelines for the cook-off and vintage baseball competition are now available on the Club’s new website – www.grillndaze.com or by contacting Fox at (413) 569-5962.

Admission to the event is free. Proceeds will support community and youth-oriented Rotary projects as well as the June 1 tornado recovery effort.


Criminal past haunts beating victim Melvin Jones III

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Three arrests after a now infamous cuffing that followed his apparent beating by a Springfield police officer during a traffic stop on Rifle Street in 2009, Jones has even lost his entourage of civil-rights stalwarts who once appeared faithfully at every court appearance.

jonesmelviniii.JPGMelvin Jones III

In just under two years, Melvin Jones III has gone from cause celebre to chronic inmate.

If a virtuous victim there ever was, Jones concedes he isn’t it.

“I’m definitely not your ideal, but I’m definitely not the worst guy either,” says Jones.

Three arrests after a now infamous cuffing that followed his apparent beating by a Springfield police officer during a traffic stop on Rifle Street in 2009, Jones has even lost his entourage of civil-rights stalwarts who once appeared faithfully at every court appearance.

“I know it would be easier to support me if I had never done anything wrong in my life. Of course I know that,” said Jones during a recent interview at the county jail in Ludlow, where he had been held since his bail was revoked nearly three months ago. “I don’t expect some people to agree with me, but I don’t think my criminal history has anything to do with this case.”

Jones, 30, was out on bail after being hospitalized with injuries and charged with drug possession in the arrest two years ago. During the arrest, he was beaten by a patrolman wielding a flashlight while a bystander videotaped the incident.

In the first three months of this year, he racked up two arrests for unrelated alleged crimes – including shoplifting and domestic assault – and on June 28 was indicted for cocaine trafficking in Hampden Superior Court. He’s denied all the charges leveled against him, including the drug trafficking count which led to his 18th adult appearance before a judge in a criminal matter, according to court records.

On the other side of his most infamous case, the arrest caught on videotape, is retired patrolman Jeffrey M. Asher, one of several officers who pulled over a car in which Jones was riding and ordered Jones from the vehicle. The arrest quickly went wrong, according to the amateur videotape that was made public by The Republican and MassLive.com. It shows Jones, who is black, versus a clutch of white officers.

Police reports were that Jones attempting to wheel away from the officers, who forced him back onto the hood of the car.

Asher then brought his flashlight down on Jones’ head with more than a dozen sickening thuds heard on the film. Jones said he passed out after the first blow, but Asher and his lawyer have said Jones made a grab for an officer’s gun and continued to struggle.

During the jailhouse interview that took place before the most recent indictment was brought, Jones said he tried to run that night after a police officer grabbed him roughly by the back of his pants. He denies making any attempt to grab a gun.

“I was just trying to get away,” he said.

Charged with drug possession and resisting arrest, Jones was later hospitalized and treated for massive injuries to his face. Defense lawyer Shawn Allyn said Jones has been left partially blind in one eye.

Jones said he didn’t know a videotape existed until several days after the incident. He watched it several times and says now he is glad someone memorialized the event, for better or for worse.

“I didn’t know if anyone would believe me,” he said.

The videotape, captured by a woman who has never publicly been identified, lasts just under 20 minutes, including about 90 seconds of Jones attempting to run from police and the subsequent beating. Although untold numbers of people have watched the video online, Jones said his mother has yet to see it.

“It’s kind of excruciating to watch,” Jones said.

His father, on the other hand, has watched it several times and was among Jones’ family members who encouraged the videographer to release it to one of Jones’ lawyers.

The film won Jones quick notoriety and a following of civil rights protesters who appeared at his many court dates and eventually those of Asher, who was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Three other officers involved in the arrest were cleared of criminal charges.

Former Hampden district attorney William M. Bennett declined to pursue criminal charges against any of the police, including Asher; but Asher was charged after Jones sought criminal complaints through a clerk magistrate.

“I don’t know any of the protesters personally, but I appreciate their support,” Jones said. “I’ve read some of their signs. A lot of them say things about justice.”

But in Jones’ case, justice seems a tricky thing in the court of public opinion.

Each article about the Jones-Asher incident in The Republican sparks dozens and sometimes more than 100 opinions on MassLive.com. Many commenters weigh in about Jones’ criminal past, which includes a few drug and gun arrests, but many more related to trespassing, driving with a suspended license and passing bad checks. Others rail against an abuse of power and bad cops and contend that everyone’s civil rights should be protected, no matter their histories with the courts.

“Every bone in his face was broken,” Allyn says of his client. “Every single bone.”

A transcript of the videotape also indicates one of the officers (it is unclear who) called Jones the n-word during the struggle.

“Do I think it’s a race thing? To an extent,” Jones said. “There were four white cops and one black guy, but I’m not sure it’s a black-white thing as much as a power thing.”

A defense lawyer for Asher, scheduled for trial in Chicopee District Court starting Nov. 28, has said repeatedly that Asher used the flashlight only as long as Jones kept up a struggle.

“When the resistance stopped, the force stopped,” Asher’s defense lawyer, Joseph Monahan III, has said.

Asher has his own complicated history with which to contend.

In 1997, he was suspended after another amateur videotape captured him kicking a black suspect who was handcuffed and on the ground after a foot chase. The suspect, Roy Parker, also had a criminal history and the incident also prompted widespread public debate.

Another black man, a school principal, sued police, including Asher, for allegedly beating him during a 2008 arrest. In that case, Douglas G. Greer said police mistook a diabetic attack for a violent outburst as he was pulled over at a gas station. The city paid $180,000 to settle a federal lawsuit to Greer, who later died of a diabetic attack.

Asher took a stress-related disability retirement last year; one day later, Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet fired him and suspended three others. He’s been able to keep his retirement thus far.

Recently, Asher drove away from a court appearance sporting a thick beard and chewing on a cigar as he honked and waved enthusiastically at the protesters who stood in support of Jones outside the Chicopee District Court.

For Jones’ part, he said he had an unremarkable childhood with stable, working parents and little trouble with the law until he was an adult.

“I just started running with the wrong crowd when I got older,” he said.

Among his most unbearable embarrassments, he said, was an arrest for shoplifting in January after he was caught on videotape stuffing dozens of pairs of jeans into a bag at a JC Penney store and sprinting for the door.

“That was just a foolish thing on my part,” he said, offering little else in the way of explanation.

Allyn attributes the behavior to drug use, but still intends to take that case to trial. The current district attorney, Mark G. Mastroianni, dismissed the November 2009 drug charges against Jones, but Jones’ bail was revoked after a domestic dispute with his girlfriend this spring. Then, that charge, too, was dismissed the same day Jones was arraigned on the recent drug charges.

The new indictment links Jones to alleged sales of crack cocaine to an FBI informant in December. He remains jailed in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Jones concedes he has had a fair amount of celebrity in jail as a result of the videotape of his arrest. It is unwelcome celebrity, but celebrity nonetheless, he said.

“Everyone wants to talk about how they got beat up by the police. I do not want to be known as the guy who got beat up by a bunch of police,” Jones said, adding that the endless comparisons to the infamous Rodney King beating in Los Angeles also have become tedious.

“I think mine was worse though,” he said.

Jones has sued police in federal court, and, prior to his latest charges, was slightly more hopeful about his future. He can’t afford any more trouble, he said.

He had been hoping to get out of jail, stay out and, perhaps, open his own business – possibly a skating rink, he said, to give kids something to do other than run the streets.

Though Jones’ public following seems to have fallen off some with each new arrest, civil-rights advocates still say his alleged criminal behavior should be treated separately from the incident involving his alleged beating at the hands of police.

“We need to be concerned about justice no matter the character is of a particular individual,” said Henry M. Thomas III, president of the Urban League of Springfield. “Rodney King was no world-class individual either. As Martin Luther King said, ‘Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere.’”

Police Sgt. John M. Delaney would not comment on Asher’s case, but said the public should take care not to canonize Jones.

“He’s so quick to blame everyone but himself: society, the police,” Delaney said of Jones. “But the night of the arrest, he was of unlawful design. He was out, dealing drugs and running from the police. If he was home like a good citizen, he wouldn’t be in this position right now.”

Jones believes all the officers involved in his arrest should be facing criminal charges.

“If me and three of my buddies beat somebody up, we’d all be in jail,” he said.


Puerto Rican Parade and Family Festival shows growth, pride of Holyoke's Hispanic community

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Capt. Alan G. Fletcher of the Holyoke Police Department estimated the crowd at 3,000 to 5,000 people.

HOLYOKE – The 25th anniversary of the Western Massachusetts Puerto Rican Parade and Family Festival finished off its four-day run with the Puerto Rican Parade on Sunday, followed by live music, food and carnival games in Springdale Park.

The parade kicked off at noon from the rear parking lot of Holyoke High School, traveled down Pine Street, hooked right on Sargeant Street, went left down High Street and ended at City Hall on Dwight Street. The route was approximately a mile and a half long.

Local community organizations, cheerleading squads, supporters of political candidates and many more showed the pride they take in their heritage. Most floats and parade vehicles were decked out in Puerto Rican flags. Radio station DJ’s played enough salsa, merengue and reggaeton music to keep parade-goers dancing on the sidewalks along the route.

The parade was organized by La Familia Hispana, Inc.
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Capt. Alan G. Fletcher of the Holyoke Police Department estimated the crowd at 3,000 to 5,000 people. He marched and received an award from organizers for his years of dedication to the event.

“It’s the first time I’ve been honored by the Hispanic community and it’s a great honor,” said Fletcher. For about 20 years, he has coordinated the department’s work on the festival, including staffing and parking.

“When you get an award from the community, it means a lot,” he said.

Festival organizer and Ward 2 city councilor Diosdado Lopez said that everything Puerto Ricans do grows and improves with time. When he and a group of volunteers started the event a quarter of a century ago, it lasted half a day, he said.

“A lot of people still have connections in Puerto Rico. We go back and forth all the time, half of the family is there and half is here,” he said. “That’s very strong. ... They identify well with the Puerto Rican culture.”

The Hispanic community as a whole is responsible for all of Massachusetts’ population growth in the past decade, according to the 2010 census figures. The state’s population grew 3.1 percent since 2000 and census data shows it was due largely to the births of Hispanic children. Hispanics make up 48.4 percent of Holyoke’s population, up 7 percent from 2000, according to census data.

Nevertheless, Lopez acknowledges, there is still prejudice against Hispanics, but he said he sees that waning.

“I came here when I was 14 years old and it was real bad. But now it’s a lot better,” the 46-year-old said. “We basically are asking for the same things. We want to do better, we want to get the community moving, we want to buy houses, we want to open businesses.”

“Some people cannot get over that and it’s going to take a number of years,” said Lopez.

While the events were largely catered to Hispanics, Lopez said everyone was welcome and organizers take requests for all different kinds of events and activities.

Fletcher said the crowd was very well-behaved. Officers broke up a few minor fights between kids and issued some traffic tickets, but there were no major problems.

Lopez became the city’s first Hispanic city councilor when he was elected in 1991.

“Soon I’m sure you’re going to see a (Puerto Rican) mayor of the city,” said Lopez. “It’s going to happen.”

Holyoke family awaits investigation result into death of 'Good Samaritan' Thomas Monahan

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Monahan was killed from injuries suffered after he ran outside to help at a traffic accident outside his home.

monahan.jpgThomas P. Monahan, Christmas 2010

HOLYOKE – The family of a man killed after he came outside his Lincoln Street home to help at a traffic accident last month is eager to see whether justice gets done.

Results of an investigation by the Hampden district attorney’s office into the accident that resulted in the death of Thomas P. Monahan, 53, of 144 Lincoln St., should be public within a few weeks, an official said Tuesday.

“The family is, at the moment, waiting patiently to hear,” said Monahan’s sister, Mary Monahan Burgess, of Holyoke.

“The district attorney’s office has been in contact with my sister-in-law about the investigation. I guess, from the family’s perspective, we just want the right thing done.

“I mean, Tommy’s gone. There should be consequences for that. He didn’t do anything wrong. He was helping someone,” Monahan Burgess said.

Monahan died June 6 from injuries suffered June 4 just before midnight. State police are investigating.

“A final decision has not been made with respect to who should be charged or what they should be charged with,” Assistant District Attorney James C. Orenstein said in a voice-mail message.

“The investigation is moving forward and we expect a decision on that probably in the next couple of weeks,” he said.

Police have said the accident began when a 2003 Honda struck a parked vehicle on Lincoln Street and flipped onto its passenger side. The Honda was driven by Maureen Healy, 31, of 91 Lincoln St., who is a Holyoke Police Department records clerk, police said.

Monahan suffered injuries that proved to be fatal when, after he and other Lincoln Street neighbors ran outside to help, another car came down Lincoln Street and hit the Honda, which smacked into Monahan. That car, a 2004 Mitsubishi, was driven by Tiffany Renardson, 22, of 57 Pleasant St., police said.

Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni said last month the probe would be handled with integrity, in response to questions from The Republican and MassLive.com in relation to one of the drivers in the accident being an employee of the Holyoke Police Department.

Monahan worked in the heating and air conditioning trades. He and his wife of 29 years, Susan (Breen) Monahan, had three children Thomas, Casey and Maria.

Volunteers still aiding Brimfield tornado victims

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The Brimfield Congregational Church has been a natural location for a disaster center, sitting in the center of town as it has for a couple of centuries and surviving the tornado undamaged.

brimfield710.JPGAmber Boone of Brimfield is served dinner by volunteer Paul Lariviere of Brimfield at the Brimfield First Congregational Church on July 6.

BRIMFIELD – More than a month after the June 1 tornado damaged more than 140 homes and yards in the southern part of town, volunteers working through First Congregational Church are still helping homeowners clear their land and feeding them at the church and at their homes.

“We are still going strong,” said Gina Lynch, who has coordinated the efforts at the church and expects to keep doing so.

Her crews have been cooking meals, delivering them to homes and other work sites and serving folks who come to the church.

Even on July 4, which was officially declared a day off from the church’s volunteer efforts, there were 26 meals served.

In recent weeks, the number of people taking the meals has varied but generally ranges between 50 and 370.

The number of people volunteering has dropped off somewhat in the past few weeks, and although there is still a core group of 20 or more showing up each day, Lynch said the supper meal may have to be eliminated because of the dwindling number of volunteers and donated food.

“Often the homeowners come down to the church for the supper meal, just to get away from the devastation they have been working with at their homes all day,” Lynch said.

On Friday, Lynch said the church will stop serving the evening meal because the families that had been coming to the church for it or asking for it to be delivered to their homes no longer need or want it.

“For the most part, the families are in temporary housing,” Lynch said.

Breakfast and lunch will continue as a way of helping families make improvements at their properties and feeding the volunteers working at damaged properties.

Lynch said the church needs volunteers for the functions at the church itself and also to go out to people’s homes to help clear downed trees and brush.

There is not much insurance coverage available for a homeowner who has had trees come down, so volunteers with chain saws and a willingness to clean up are crucial, she said.

“Every single day we need help,” Lynch said. “The faster we can get volunteers to help with this, the faster people can get back to normal life and rebuild.”

The Brimfield Congregational Church has been a natural location for a disaster center, sitting in the center of town as it has for a couple of centuries and surviving the tornado undamaged.

Lynch’s husband, the Rev. Ian Lynch, sees the work going on the past month as an extension of the religious work of the church.

The church also houses the Senior Center, and Gina Lynch serves as director of the town’s Council on Aging.

She said she was advised from the beginning of the town’s recovery effort that cooperation between the church volunteers and the town officials would be imperative, so she has fostered that approach from the start.

“We are all working for the same thing. At the start, we worked very closely with the fire department and other emergency services. We have been working with town officials and with FEMA,” Lynch said. “If church groups are not doing this work well, they can be a hindrance.”

While the volunteer effort through the church is expected to continue for months with the type of services being offered now, there is also an awareness that rebuilding will take even longer, so a longterm recovery group has been formed and has started to develop its goals and mission.

Western Massachusetts communities announce meetings for the week

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Here is a list of major municipal meetings for the coming week: Agawam Mon.- Board of Appeals, 6 p.m., Agawam Public Library. Tues.- Agawam Veterans Council, 5:30 p.m., Senior Center at 954 Main S. Wed.- Liquor License Commission, 6:30 p.m., Agawam Public Library. Thu.- Agawam Disability Commission, 5:30 p.m., Senior Center at 954 Main St. Conservation Commission, 6:30 p.m.,...

hadley town hallHadley Town Hall

Here is a list of major municipal meetings for the coming week:

Agawam

Mon.- Board of Appeals, 6 p.m., Agawam Public Library.

Tues.- Agawam Veterans Council, 5:30 p.m., Senior Center at 954 Main S.

Wed.- Liquor License Commission, 6:30 p.m., Agawam Public Library.

Thu.- Agawam Disability Commission, 5:30 p.m., Senior Center at 954 Main St.

Conservation Commission, 6:30 p.m., Agawam Public Library.

Amherst

Mon.- Amherst Housing Authority, 4:30 p.m., Ann Whalen.

Tues.- Disability Access Committee, 11:15 a.m., Stavros, 210 Old Farms Road.

Town Meeting Coordinating Committee, 1 p.m., Town Hall.

Public Shade Tree Committee, 4 p.m., Town Hall.

Agricultural Commission, 7 p.m., Town Hall.

Wed.- Conservation Commission, 7 p.m., Town Hall.

Thu.- Community Development Committee, 7 p.m., Town Hall.

Chicopee

Mon.- Chicopee High School Renovation Committee, 6 p.m., Chicopee High School, 820 Front St.

Ambulance Commission, 5:15 p.m., 80 Church St.

Easthampton

Mon.- Finance Committee, 6:30 p.m., Aldrich Hall.

Selectboard, 7 p.m., Senior Center.

Tues.- Board of Health, 6:30 p.m., Town Hall Annex.

Greenfield

Mon.- Town Council Committee Chairs, 6 p.m., 321 High St.

Appointments and Ordinance Committee, 6:30 p.m., 321 High St.

Tues.- Greenfield Housing Authority, noon, 1 Elm Terrace.

Greenfield Public Library Board of Trustees, 5:30 p.m., Public Library.

Community Relations Committee, 6 p.m., Greenfield High School.

Conservation Commission, 6 p.m., Police Station Meeting Room.

Thu.- Zoning Board of Appeals, 7 p.m., 321 High St.

Hadley

Mon.- Hadley Housing Authority, 1 p.m., Golden Court.

Tues.- Board of Health, 7 p.m., Town Hall.

Conservation Commission, 7 p.m., Town Hall.

Hatfield

Mon.- Emergency Management Committee, 11:30 a.m., Memorial Town Hall.

Hatfield Redevelopment Authority, 7 p.m., Memorial Town Hall.

Tues.- Selectmen and Finance Committee, 8 a.m., Memorial Town Hall.

Wed.- Council on Aging, 5:30 p.m., Memorial Town Hall.

Holyoke

Mon.- Board of Public Works/Sewer Commission/Stormwater Authority, 5:30 p.m., Jones Ferry Road Boathouse, 8 Oscar St.

Water Commission, 6:30 p.m., 20 Commercial St.

Tues.- Holyoke Contributory Retirement Board, 9:30 a.m., City Hall Annex, Room 207.

School building advisory committee, 10 a.m., Holyoke High School, 500 Beech St.

Holyoke Public Library, board of directors, 4:30 p.m., 335 Maple St.

Wed.- Holyoke Charter School, board of trustees, accountability committee, 4:30 p.m., 2200 Northampton St.

Gas and Electric Commission, 5 p.m., Holyoke Gas and Electric Department, 99 Suffolk St.

School Committee, special meeting, 6:15 p.m., Dean Technical High School, 1045 Main St., Fifield Community Room.

School Committee, executive session, 7 p.m., Dean Technical High School, 1045 Main St., Fifield Community Room.

Thu.- Fire Commission, 9 a.m., Fire Department headquarters, 600 High St.

Monson

Mon.- Finance Committee, 7 p.m., Hillside School.

Monson Tornado Victims Relief Fund Committee, 6 p.m., Keep Homestead Museum, 35 Ely Road.

Tues.- Board of Selectmen, 7 p.m., Hillside School.

Community Preservation Committee, 7 p.m., Hillside School.

Wed.- Board of Health, 6 p.m., Hillside School.

Water and Sewer Commission, 6:30 p.m., 198 WD Main St.

Northampton

Mon.- Committee on Elections, Rules, Ordinances, Orders and Claims, 6 p.m., Council Chambers.

City Council/Board of Public Works, 4 p.m., 125 Locust St.

Committee on Cultural and Recreation Services, 4 p.m., Council Chambers.

James House Grand Opening, 9:30 a.m., 42 Gothic St.

Committee on Appointments and Evaluations, 11:15 p.m., Council Chambers.

Tues.- License Commission, 4 p.m., Council Chambers.

Thu.- School Committee, 7:15 p.m., John F. Kennedy Middle School.

Fri.- Q&A with Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray, 5 p.m., Council Chambers.

Palmer

Mon.- Town Council, 7 p.m., Town Building.

Tues.- Board of Health, 6 p.m., Town Building.

South Hadley

Mon.- Board of Assessors, 10 a.m., Town Hall.

Council on Aging, 4 p.m., Senior Center.

Planning Board, 6:30 p.m., Town Hall 204.

Tues.- Selectboard, 5:30 p.m., Town Hall.

Capital Planning Committee, 5:30 p.m., High School Library.

School Committee, 6:30 p.m., High School Library

Appropriations Committee, 7 p.m., Town Hall Auditorium.

Wed.- Open Space Committee, 5:30 p.m., Town Hall 204.

School Committee, 6:30 p.m., High School Library.

School Building Committee, 6:30 p.m., Town Hall.

Conservation Commission,7 p.m., Town Hall.

Thu.- Fire District 2, Water Commissioners, 5 p.m., 20 Woodbridge St.

Southwick

Mon.- Board of Selectmen, 7 p.m., Town Hall.

Board of Assessors, 7 p.m., Town Hall.

Finance Committee, 7 p.m., Town Hall.

Tues.- Planning Board, 7 p.m., Town Hall.

Sewer Committee, 7 p.m., Town Hall.

Wed.- Emergency Management Agency, 7 p.m.. Town Hall.

Thu.- Lake Management Committee, 7 p.m., Town Hall.

Springfield

Mon.- Springfield Redevelopment Authority, 5:30 p.m., Public Works building, 70 Tapley St.

Tues.- City Council Planning and Economic Development Committee, 1 p.m., Room 220, City Hall.

Conservation Commission, 5 p.m., Public Works building, 70 Tapley St.

City Council Finance Committee, 5:15 p.m., Room 200, City Hall.

Wed.- Springfield Food Policy Council, 11 a.m., Springfield Partners for Community Action, 619 State St.

Thu.- License Commission, 5:30 p.m., Room 220, City Hall.

Ware

Tues.- Water & Sewer Commission, 7 p.m., Town Hall.

Wed.- Conservation Commission, 6:30 p.m., Town Hall.

Warren

Wed.- Planning Board, 6 p.m., Shepard Municipal Building.

West Springfield

Mon.- Park and Recreation Commission, 7 p.m., municipal building.

Tues.- School Committee, 7 p.m., municipal building.

Westfield

Mon.- Council on Aging, 3 p.m., City Hall.

Police Commission, 7 p.m., City Hall.

Tues.- Board of Public Works, 7 p.m., City Hall.

Conservation Commission, 7 p.m., City Hall.

Wed.- Board of Health, 7 p.m., City Hall.

Water Commission, 7 p.m., City Hall.

Board of Assessors, 7 p.m. City Hall.

Thu.- Airport Commission, 7 p.m., Barnes Regional Airport, Appremont Way.

Obama: We need to work out debt deal in 10 days

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WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said Sunday that “we need to” work out a debt deal within the next 10 days as he convened a meeting with congressional leaders, aiming to fashion a deficit reduction package for the next 10 years. Obama and the eight top House and Senate leaders assembled in the White House Cabinet Room for a...

obama711.JPGPresident Barack Obama meets with congressional leadership in the Cabinet Room of the White House on July 10 in Washington, to discuss the debt with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., left, and House Speaker John Boehner.

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said Sunday that “we need to” work out a debt deal within the next 10 days as he convened a meeting with congressional leaders, aiming to fashion a deficit reduction package for the next 10 years.

Obama and the eight top House and Senate leaders assembled in the White House Cabinet Room for a rare Sunday session, less than 24 hours after House Speaker John Boehner abandoned plans to negotiate a massive $4 trillion deal for reducing the debt.

As the meeting opened, Obama and the leaders sat around the table in Sunday casual dress. Asked whether the White House and Congress could “work it out in 10 days,” Obama replied, “We need to.”

Despite Boehner’s preference for a smaller, $2 trillion plan for deficit reduction, White House aides said Sunday that Obama would press the lawmakers to accept the larger deal. Republicans object to its substantial tax increases and Democrats dislike its cuts to programs for seniors and the poor. The aides, however, left room for negotiations on a more modest approach.

“He’s not someone to walk away from a tough fight,” White House chief of staff William Daley said. “Everyone agrees that a number around $4 trillion is the number that will ... make a serious dent in our deficit.” But embedded among the tough words was rhetoric that acknowledged the “big deal’s” prospects had become uncertain at best.

“We’re going to try to get the biggest deal possible,” said Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

It was an abrupt change from 24 hours earlier. Republicans late Saturday rejected the $4 trillion proposal, the largest of three under consideration, because its tax increases would doom it in the GOP-led House, Speaker John Boehner said.

The Ohio Republican informed Obama that a package of about $2 trillion, which bipartisan negotiators had identified but not agreed to, was more realistic.

Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky left little doubt that the $4 trillion deal was dead.

“I think it is,” McConnell said. Raising taxes amid 9.2 percent unemployment, he added, “is a terrible idea. It’s a job killer.”

The statements threw into question the extent to which the Sunday meeting, called for 6 p.m. EDT, would move the talks toward a resolution as an Aug. 2 deadline loomed. That’s when the nation would begin to default on its debts, administration officials say, if no deal is reached to raise the borrowing limit from $14.3 trillion.

The International Monetary Fund’s new chief, Christine Lagarde, said that if the U.S. fails to act, she foresees “interest hikes, stock markets taking a huge hit and real nasty consequences” for the American and global economies.

“I would hope that there is enough bipartisan intelligence and understanding of the challenge that is ahead of the United States, but also the rest of the world,” she said.

Republicans have demanded that any plan to raise the debt limit be coupled with massive spending cuts to lighten the burden of government on the struggling economy. Higher taxes, Republicans have said from the start, are deal-killers if not offset elsewhere.

But Obama has a long way to go to satisfy lawmakers in his own party, too. Many Democrats are unnerved by the president’s $4 trillion proposal because of its changes to Medicare and Medicaid.

Political pain is part of the deal and should be worth bearing, Daley said. Obama, he added, was calling on lawmakers to “step up and be leaders.”

He cast Obama as uninterested, for now, in a more modest proposal which, like the $4 trillion deal, would extend the debt limit through 2012.

Geithner cautioned that a package about half the size of the one Obama prefers would be equally tough to negotiate because it, too, could require hundreds of billions in new tax revenue – anathema to Republicans. Lawmakers said that previous bipartisan talks, led by Vice President Joe Biden, identified a fraction of cuts that would be needed even for the more modest packages.

Even so, Boehner insisted the smaller proposals had more realistic chances of passing. One would call for about $2 trillion in deficit reductions, most accomplished through spending cuts that have been identified but not signed off on by the Biden group.

“I believe the best approach may be to focus on producing a smaller measure, based on the cuts identified in the Biden-led negotiations, that still meets our call for spending reforms and cuts greater than the amount of any debt limit increase,” Boehner said.

The package of $2 trillion to $2.4 trillion in deficit reduction identified by the Biden-led negotiators would still require Republicans to accept some increase in tax revenue. Republicans walked out of those negotiations after they were unable to accept about $400 billion in new tax money that the White House proposed by closing loopholes, ending some corporate subsidies, and limiting the value of deductions for wealthy taxpayers.

One option now under consideration by Obama administration officials would call for capping some deductions for wealthy taxpayers at the 28 percent tax rate and using the revenue to help pay for a yearlong extension of a current payroll tax cut. The extension would expire at the end of 2012, but the cap on deductions would continue, generating new revenue in the long term. Capping all itemized deductions at the 28 percent rate would generate about $293 billion over 10 years.

Daley was on ABC’s “This Week,” as was Lagarde. McConnell appeared on “Fox News Sunday” and Geithner was interviewed on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and CBS’ “Face the Nation.”



Associated Press writer Jim Kuhnhenn contributed to this report.



Country Bank aids communities hit by June 1 Springfield tornado

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Bank president Paul Scully said many of the towns served by the bank were affected by the tornado, and the bank and its employees want to help.

WARE – “It’s times like these that really make you understand the strength of a community” said Paul Scully, president and chief executive officer of Country Bank.

Many of the towns served by Country Bank were affected by the June 1 tornado, said Scully, in announcing how the bank and its employees moved to help their communities.

“ The immediate need was to get the emergency crews into those areas most affected and allow them to do their work and get people reconnected with their homes to assess property damage. So many people were left with severe property damage and others lost their entire homes or businesses. The bank delivered food, water and necessities to the work crews and waited to learn what next steps would help most to assist the families and businesses most impacted,” Scully said.

“Sadly, one of our own employees lost her home in Brimfield. The days following the tornado many of our staff helped her family dig through debris and salvage as much as possible, all the while trying to comfort their family and offer whatever other assistance we could,” he said. “It was a very emotional time for all of us. Now, providing home-cooked meals and emotional support is one way we are all trying to reach out to help.”

“With so many communities impacted we wanted to make sure we reached as many of our local communities as possible” said Scully.

He said Country Bank has been working closely with state and local officials to help determine the best way possible to offer financial assistance to residents.

The bank is contributing $25,000 each to the Harding Fund in Brimfield, the Monson Tornado Relief Fund and the Wilbraham Tornado Victim’s Relief Fund.

“Although we cannot replace what was lost we can try to offer whatever assistance we can. Our thoughts will continue to be with the many people who lost so much and we will continue to support our community as it rebuilds and remains strong,” Scully said.

Country Bank serves central and Western Massachusetts with 14 offices.

Massachusetts Congressmen Richard Neal of Springfield and John Olver of Amherst disclose income

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The watchdog website opensecrets.org estimated Olver's total assets as anywhere from $483,000 to $1.27 million; for Neal, opensecrets.org estimated assets as anywhere from $68,000 to $201,000.

2010 richard neal john olverU.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, left, and U.S. Rep. John Olver, D-Amherst, right

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, D-Amherst, owns stock in Hewlett-Packard Corp., Monsanto, Pfizer, Spanish communications company Telefonica SA and in Texas Instruments Inc. according to financial disclosure forms filed with the clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives.

U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, lists $21,928 in income he earned teaching a course in politics and journalism at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, according to his financial disclosure. It’s a class he’s taught for about a decade, says spokesman William A. Tranghese.

Neal also lists mutual funds managed by T. Rowe Price and Fidelity among his assets. They also include $19,578 in income from the city of Springfield’s municipal retirement system. (Neal served six years on the City Council and five years as mayor before his election to Congress.)

Members of Congress are only required to give a rough value of all their assets. Olver, for instance, has an AMCAP mutual fund with an estimated worth from $15,000 to $50,000. So, it can be difficult to figure out a congressman’s assets.

In 2009, the watchdog website opensecerets.org estimated Olver’s total assets as anywhere from $483,000 to $1.27 million. For Neal, opensecrets.org estimated Neal’s assets as anywhere from $68,000 to $201,000.

The current annual salary for an rank-and-file member of Congress is $174,000 per year.

Forms for all members of the U.S. House of Representatives are available online at http://clerk.house.gov/public_disc/financial.aspx.

Olver’s future is the subject of intense speculation. Because of its slow-growing population, Massachusetts is losing a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives starting with the next federal election in 2012. One proposal would be to merge Olver’s district with the one now represented by Neal.

Olver, 74, is a 20-year veteran of the U.S. House of Representatives who also served in the state Legislature and is a retired chemistry professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1992.

Olver lists that he still participates in the state employee life insurance and retirement programs, but no dollar amount is included. Olver owns also owns real estate, according to his disclosure forms. He has unimproved vacant land: two parcels in Pelham one of 45 acres and one of 27 acres, 25 acres in Berlin Township, Pa., and another 120 acres in Plainfield. He also owns a rental property in Boston.

Neal didn’t list any investment real estate.

Members were not asked to disclose their personal residences or second homes unless those properties generated rental income.


Springfield firefighters extinguish Forest Park house blaze

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It was not immediately known if anyone was injured in the early Monday fire, but a two-family home on Belmont Ave. was badly damaged in the blaze, which closed several blocks of the avenue to traffic.

Update at 5:18 a.m. Monday, July 11: Arson is suspected in a fire that severely damaged a two-family home at 885-887 Belmont Ave., according to Springfield police.

fpfire.jpgArson is suspected in a house fire reported at 12:07 a.m. Monday at 885-887 Belmont Ave. in the city's Forest Park neighborhood.

SPRINGFIELD -- Arson is suspected in a Forest Park house fire reported at 12:07 a.m. Monday at 885-887 Belmont Ave., according to Springfield Police Lt. John Slepchuk.

"Suspected arson," Slepchuk said of the blaze, which was quickly contained and extinguished by Springfield firefighters.

There were no reported injuries in the fire, which closed a several-block stretch of Belmont Avenue to traffic near the East Longmeadow line.

The status of the residents of the home -- a large, two-family building near the corner of Prescott Street -- was not immediately known.

"It appears to have started on the porch," Slepchuk said.

The fire was just about out around 1:15 a.m. Monday, but smoke still clung to the warm, humid air as firefighters trained their hoses on smoldering hot spots. Several fire vehicles, including two ladder trucks, responded to the call.

A section of roof toward the front of the severely charred 2 1/2-story building collapsed. Damage estimates were unavailable.

Additional information will be posted on MassLive.com as it becomes available.


THE MAP BELOW shows the approximate location of a Monday morning house fire in the Forest Park section of Springfield:


View Larger Map

Interim Granby Police Chief Alan P. Wishart Jr. to be formally sworn in as permanent chief

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Wishart had been Granby's interim police chief since September 2010, when Louis Barry, the department's longtime chief, retired. Wishart will be sworn in as chief on Thursday.

wishart.JPGAlan P. Wishart Jr.

GRANBY -- Acting Granby Police Chief Alan P. Wishart Jr. can stop "acting" like he's the boss of the town's police department.

Wishart's interim status will officially be dropped when he's formally sworn in as the department's permanent full-time chief on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Granby Senior Center, 10 West State St. (Route 202).

Wishart had been performing the duties of chief since September 2010, when Louis Barry, the Granby Police Department's longtime chief, retired after 23 years on the job.

barrymug.JPGLouis M. Barry

The Granby Select Board will handle the swearing-in ceremony, which is open to the public. Barry, meanwhile, was elected to the Select Board in May, and Wishart was once his student at Holyoke Community College.

Barry has taught criminal justice classes at HCC for more than 20 years. He also teaches at the Reserve Police Academy in Springfield.

Wishart lives in Granby and became a full-time town police officer in 1998. Prior to that, he was a dispatcher and part-time patrol officer with the department.

3-vehicle collision in East Longmeadow sends one person to hospital with injuries

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One person was injured in a multi-vehicle crash reported at 10:34 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of Shaker Road and Chestnut Street in East Longmeadow.

EAST LONGMEADOW -- Town police are investigating a three-car collision reported at 10:34 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of Shaker Road and Chestnut Street that sent one person to the hospital with injuries.

The injured person, who was not identified by police, was transported by ambulance to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield for treatment.

The extent of that individual's injuries were not immediately known. A police emergency dispatcher contacted early Monday by The Republican was unable to provide additional information.

Police said the crash remains under investigation.

More details will be posted on MassLive.com as they become available.


THE MAP BELOW shows the approximate location of a 3-car crash Sunday night in East Longmeadow:


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Massachusetts legislators seek new regulations for temporary staffing agencies

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Supporters said the bill is needed to protect the rights of blue-collar workers.

scott.jpgMary Ellen Scott, owner of United Personnel in Springfield, says a bill on Beacon Hill would hurt the business environment for temporary staffing agencies.

Mary Ellen Scott, owner of United Personnel in downtown Springfield, is worried that a bill on Beacon Hill could damage temporary staffing agencies such as her own.

“It’s just not necessary,” said Scott, who started her company in 1984 with her late husband and last year placed 2,600 different people in temporary positions including engineers, clerical and light manufacturing jobs.

The bill, which received a hearing on June 30 in front of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development, would re-write the laws that govern employment agencies.

Advocates said the legislation would allow the state to better regulate temporary employment agencies and would help prevent illegal work practices that mostly hurt blue-collar employees.

Scott said the bill would create too much paperwork and could unfairly penalize legitimate businesses.

According to a summary provided by the labor and workforce committee, the bill would require all employment agencies to be registered with the state Division of Occupational Safety. It would impose rules such as forcing agencies to provide blue-collar workers with written details about worker compensation, transportation, safety and employment duration.

Certain professional, scientific and technological services would be exempt from this proposed requirement.

The bill, which died last year, is sponsored by Rep. Linda D. Forry and Sen. John A. Hart, both Boston Democrats.

forry.jpgRep. Linda Dorcena Forry, D-Boston, is a lead sponsor of a bill to overhaul regulation of temporary employment agencies.

United Personnel places temporary employees with other companies, but United is the employer, Scott said. United pays those employees and offers benefits such as health insurance, vacation and holiday pay, training and incentive bonuses, she said.

Scott’s agency makes money by essentially collecting fees from “clients,” or the companies that use her temporary workers.

Her company also employs 22 full-time people in her Main Street office including those in payroll and sales.

Under existing law, the state specifically licenses only those agencies that collect fees from workers, including, for example, a recruiter for top white-collar jobs.

Most temporary agencies charge clients, not workers. These agencies now just have to annually register with the state, but they don't have to be licensed.

Monica Halas, lead lawyer for Greater Boston Legal Services, told legislators that temporary employees often are not given key terms and conditions of work.

She said the bill is aimed at curbing abuses. She referred to the attorney general's recent indictment of the owner of a Lowell staffing company for allegedly misrepresenting job classifications to obtain lower rates for state-mandated workers compensation.

"The bill streamlines and simplifies an arcane statute, leveling the playing field for all employment agencies," Halas testified. "Whether the fee is paid by the worker or by the client employer, all staffing agencies will play by common rules."

Lower-paid workers, including those in construction or in warehouses, hired through temporary staffing agencies often aren't paid fairly and have problems obtaining workers’ compensation, according to a study released last month by the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Corinn Williams, executive director of the Community Economic Development Center of Southeastern Massachusetts in New Bedford, testified that many temporary workers are seriously injured due to lax regulations and are often paid in cash to avoid overtime and other wage laws.

"I have watched with alarm the problems resulting from the growth of an unregulated low-wage staffing industry," Williams said.

But Scott said existing labor laws already protect the rights of workers, and more regulation will only hurt businesses that already play by the rules. "The people who aren't obeying the law will not change," Scott said.

Springfield authorities investigating arson, break-in at WMECO facility in E. Springfield

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Authorities are trying to figure out who broke into the Western Massachusetts Eelectric Co. East Springfield Work Center at 300 Cadwell Drive early Monday. A small fire was started and items were taken, according to Springfield police.

SPRINGFIELD -- A fire reported at 3:02 a.m. Monday inside the Western Massachusetts Electric Co. (WMECO) East Springfield Work Center at 300 Cadwell Drive appears to have been intentionally set by someone who broke into the facility and took unknown items, according to a preliminary probe by Springfield police and fire officials.

Arson investigators were called to the scene after officials determined that the credit union portion of the facility had been broken into at some point during the overnight hours. The credit union serves Northeast Utilities subsidiary members, including WMECO employees and their families, union members of IBEW Local 7, and others.

Public safety officials provided conflicting information about the fire's origin.

A firefighter at the scene reported that a small fire was contained to a safe located in the "credit department" of the facility, but Springfield Police Lt. John Slepchuk said the fire appears to have originated in a sink.

"Something was lit on fire in the sink," Slepchuk said early Monday.

No matter, investigators are trying to piece together who broke in and set the fire. Various items appear to have been taken during the break-in, but officials were unsure of their value.

"There was a theft from the building," Slepchuk said. "We don't know what was taken at this point."

Damage estimates were unavailable, but the small fire was quickly contained.

The halls were full of smoke when firefighters arrived at the East Springfield facility, according to reports from officials who responded to the call.

More information will be posted on MassLive.com as it becomes available.

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