The free event takes place Oct. 16 from 10 a.m. to 7:15 p.m.

SOUTH HADLEY -- Music and Arts South Hadley has organized a jazz festival Oct. 16 that will include performances, seminars and master classes.

In a statement, MASH said it partnered with the town's school department and Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School for the musical festival.

The free event will take place at PVPA, 15 Mulligan Drive, from 10 a.m. to 7:15 p.m.

"Morning seminars and master classes will begin at 10 a.m., followed by seven diverse afternoon performances in the new PVPA performance hall, nicknamed 'The Cube.' Food and non-alcoholic beverages will be for sale by food trucks," MASH said.

The classes are geared toward middle and high school students, as well as amateur adult musicians, the group said.

Thomas Bergeron, a South Hadley native and principal trumpet player in the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, will headline the festival.

Contact Ira Brezinsky of MASH at ibrezinsky@gmail.com or 413-219-5577 for additional details.

Mount Greylock saw hikers by the hundred ascend its 3,491 feet on Monday for the annual Ramble celebration.

Mount Greylock saw hikers by the hundred ascend its 3,491 feet on Monday for the annual Ramble celebration.

Gusty winds and cold weather held sway at the top of the peak, but did not deter the crowd, who hung around for pictures, games and snacks at the Bascom Lodge -- the structure at the top of the peak.

The temperature hovered around 53 degrees in Western Massachusetts on Monday, but was much lower on top of the mountain due to elevation and windchill.

WESTFIELD - Westfield State University will host its annual College Career Centers of Western Massachusetts Government, Criminal Justice and Non-profit Career Fair Oct. 12 from 1:30 to 4 p.m. in the Woodward Center. More than 85 federal, state and local law enforcement and non-profit agencies will be on hand to discuss and review career and employment information. The fair is...

WESTFIELD - Westfield State University will host its annual College Career Centers of Western Massachusetts Government, Criminal Justice and Non-profit Career Fair Oct. 12 from 1:30 to 4 p.m. in the Woodward Center.

More than 85 federal, state and local law enforcement and non-profit agencies will be on hand to discuss and review career and employment information.

The fair is open free to the public. Area high school and college students considering careers in federal government, criminal justice or non-profit fields are encouraged to attend.

Participants should dress professionally and bring copies of their resumes to the career fair.

A list of participating employers is available at www.westfield.ma.edu/careercenter and click on 'Career Fairs and Events'.

For decades, a parade has been held in Northampton to pay tribute to the Revolutionary War hero Gen. Casimir Pulaski, tied to the date, Oct. 9, 1779, when he was mortally wounded during the Battle of Savannah.

NORTHAMPTON- For decades, a parade has been held in Northampton to pay tribute to the Revolutionary War hero Gen. Casimir Pulaski, tied to the date, Oct. 9, 1779, when he was mortally wounded during the Battle of Savannah.

This year was no exception. On Monday, there was a special patriotic emphasis as the 30th annual Pulaski Day parade sponsored by the Polish Heritage Committee as military units, bands, veterans, traditionally dressed members of Polish societies and re-enactors of the Civil and Revolutionary wars and others marched from the former Lia Honda lot on King Street to Pulaski Park.

The parade, which also celebrates the substantial Polish presence across Western Massachusetts, stepped off at 11:15 a.m. It was preceded by a Mass at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church on King Street in Northampton. The Mass was celebrated by the Rev. Mitchell T. Rozanski, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, and the Rev. Piotr Calik, a native of Poland.

Mayor David Narkewicz served as grand marshal of the parade. The event at the newly renovated Pulaski Park on Main Street also included music, a wreath presentation, salutes, the reading of proclamations and Miss Polonia and Junior Miss Polonia presentations. Chicopee Mayor Richard Kos was the keynote speaker there.

The 2017 conference will be held Oct. 26 and 28, 2017.

SPRINGFIELD -- The Massachusetts Foreign Language Association is returning its annual conferences to Springfield in 2017 and 2018 following a 15-year absence.

Both conferences are set to be hosted at the Sheraton Monarch Place Hotel. The 2017 conference will be held October 26-28, 2017, according to a city news release.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said news release:

State Sen. Eric Lesser (D-Longmeadow) is facing off against challenger James "Chip" Harrington (R-Ludlow) in a debate hosted by Focus Springfield Community Access Television tonight.

State Sen. Eric Lesser (D-Longmeadow) is facing off against challenger James "Chip" Harrington (R-Ludlow) in a debate hosted by Focus Springfield Community Access Television tonight.

The forum, which takes place at 7 p.m., is the first face-to-face clash between the candidates in the First Hampden and Hampshire State Senate District.

Lesser, a freshman Senator, won election in 2014 after serving as an aide to President Barack Obama. In the Senate, he has worked on legislation surrounding the opioid addiction crisis, veterans affairs and transportation, among other issues.

Harrington, a Ludlow convenience store owner, part-time police officer and school board member, is running on a platform of fiscal conservatism and moderation on social issues.

He previously ran against Lesser in the Democratic state senate primary in 2014, but fell short on election day. He joined the Republican party this year, saying the state Democratic party proved intolerant of his views on fiscal policy and gun rights.

Watch a live stream of the debate below, starting at 7 p.m.:

Mayor Alex B. Morse and City Council President Kevin A. Jourdain will debate whether Massachusetts should legalize marijuana for recreational use at a forum on Oct. 25, 2016 about questions that will be on the Nov. 8 election ballot. The forum will be 6 to 8 p.m. at Dean Technical High School, 1045 Main St.

HOLYOKE -- Mayor Alex B. Morse and City Council President Kevin A. Jourdain will debate whether Massachusetts should legalize marijuana for recreational use at a forum on Oct. 25 about questions that will be on the Nov. 8 election ballot.

The forum will be 6 to 8 p.m. at Dean Technical High School, 1045 Main St.

Holyokers will face a ballot on Election Day that, along with the presidential race, will include four statewide ballot questions and one local question. Republican Party nominee Donald Trump and Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton are the major party candidates in the presidential election.

The forum will include presentations about two of the statewide questions -- on whether to increase the number of permitted charter schools and whether to legalize, regulate and tax pot for recreational use -- and the local question, which will ask whether Holyoke should adopt the state Community Preservation Act (CPA).

Organizers of the forum have contacted representatives of groups that support and oppose the other two statewide ballot questions about at least staffing information tables at the forum, said Nelson R. Roman, Ward 2 representative on the City Council.

Roman is organizing the forum with the neighborhood associations for South Holyoke, Churchill and the Ingelside-Springdale, along with Neighbor to Neighbor, a group that pushes for affordable housing, he said.

The other two statewide ballot questions will ask voters whether to permit a second slot machines gaming venue in Massachusetts and whether to phase out certain farm animal confinement methods.

The forum will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a representative of Great Schools Massachusetts arguing in favor of the increase in charter schools and a representative of Save Our Public Schools arguing against approval of that question, Roman said.

At 7 p.m., Morse and Jourdain will debate the marijuana question.

"As I considered this question it became increasingly clear that I could no longer tolerate a system that results in disproportionate arrests of African-Americans and other minority groups and, frankly, has failed for decades to limit the availability of marijuana," Morse said in a statement Aug. 1.

SUBMITTED IMAGE 

The City Council Sept. 21 referred this order filed by Jourdain to its Public Safety Committee:

"City Council adopt a resolution in Opposition to the Legalization of the Recreational Use of Marijuana in Massachusetts and send a letter to our State Delegation and the Governor to this effect."

Jourdain said last month, "We already allow the medical use of marijuana in Massachusetts. Promoting the recreational use of drugs of any kind is bad public policy and will lead to disastrous consequences of more kids being hooked on drugs. Many people are the victims of violent crime and property crime because of drugs. Making recreational use of marijuana legal in Massachusetts will only strengthen the criminal element in our community and lead to more people using drugs."

At 7:30 p.m., a representative of Yes For a Better Holyoke will argue in favor of adoption of the CPA. Roman said he in touch with a newly formed group opposing adoption of the CPA, No on 5, about sending a representative to the forum.

Debate has featured supporters who said the Community Preservation Act (CPA) would produce a helpful revenue stream vs. foes who said it merely would be the burden of another tax.

Adoption of the CPA would establish funding by assessing a surcharge on property owners which, combined with matching state money, could be used for projects related only to open space, historic restoration or affordable housing.

State law permits adoption of the CPA with a surcharge of 1 percent to 3 percent on a property tax bill. In other words, property owners would be charged an additional 1 percent to 3 percent of the tax bill that they pay to the city to fund the CPA.

But exemptions can reduce the burden such as excluding the first $100,000 of a property's value from the surcharge and providing exclusions for senior citizens and the poor.

CPA supporters said the key is cities and towns that adopt the act get matching money from the state that is otherwise unavailable to communities that fail to adopt the CPA to allow for completion of projects the city currently cannot afford.

Specifically, the question Holyokers will see on the ballot will ask if they are agreeable to the city adopting the CPA that would impose a surcharge on property taxpayers of 1.5 percent of the tax bill they pay to the city.

Supporters of the 1.5 percent surcharge say that the average homeowner in Holyoke would pay $23 a year with adoption of the CPA and the exemptions. But foes dispute that and say the cost paid by many property owners would be more than $23 a year.

Opponents of the city adopting the CPA said that taxpayers cannot afford to pay more and that the measure would be an unfair expense because only property owners would be paying more but the whole city would receive the benefits.

A total of 10 other drivers and passengers were injured in the series of crashes.

WILLISTON, Vt. - The driver who rammed a car and allegedly killed five teenagers while driving the wrong way on Interstate 89 remains in critical condition a day after the crash.

Steven D. Bourgoin, of Williston, was taken to the University of Vermont Medical Center by ambulance after allegedly hitting a total of eight vehicles, seven of them while driving a stolen police cruiser. Because of his condition he has not officially been charged yet in the crashes, Vermont State Police said.

Police have also released the names of the 10 other people who were in the seven cars Bourgoin is accused of hitting with the police cruiser. All the victims were taken to the University of Vermont Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.

The chaos started at about 11:45 p.m., Saturday, when Bourgoin was seen driving northbound in the southbound lane of Interstate-89 in Bolton. State police and officers from two other departments attempted to intercept him but were unsuccessful. He then slammed into a 2004 Volkswagen Jetta, which burst into flames, State Police said.

The students who died were identified as Mary Harris, 16, and Cyrus Zschau, 16, of Moretown, Janie Cozzi, 15, and Liam Hale, 16, of Fayston, and Eli Brookens, 16, of Waterbury, Vermont. They had all been students at Harwood Union High School, police said.

A Williston Police officer arrived shortly after the crash. He ran to the car, pulled one of the victims out and tried to put out the blaze with a fire extinguisher. While he was tending to the victims, Bourgoin allegedly took his cruiser and sped away.

When other police started following the stolen cruiser, Bourgoin allegedly turned around the car and started driving in the wrong direction again. He then struck seven other vehicles. In the final crash, he was thrown from the cruiser and it burst into flames, police said.

Those injured in the seven crashes are: Alexandra Harris, 23, of Essex; Mary Ryan-Lambert, 29, of Quechee; Katie Lambert, 32, of Atlanta, Georgia; Michael Plunkett, 27, of Richmond; Christopher Howland, 50, of Richmond; Laura Howland, 48, of Richmond; Arthur George, 47, of Waterbury; Hoyt Battey, 63, of Montpelier; Elizabeth Battey, 62, of Montpelier and Carmel Scaturro, 52, of Long Beach, New York.

These crashes are still under investigation at this time and anyone with information is asked to call the State Police in Williston at 802-878-7111.

The second presidential debate in St. Louis was largely a dark and nasty affair from the get-go, as Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton refused to shake hands. Voter Ken Bone was a bright spot.

The second presidential debate in St. Louis was largely a dark and nasty affair from the get-go, as Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton refused to shake hands.

But one of the few bright spots came close to the end of the Sunday night fight, when an undecided and mustachioed voter in a cheery red sweater who asked them about energy policy.

Cue internet stardom for the still undecided voter, Kenneth "Ken" Bone, who according to the New York Times is a coal plant operator in Illinois.

"I try to focus less on the negatives and more on the positives," he told the newspaper after the debate. "And there haven't been enough positives on either side for me to make a firm commitment."

The Internet's response to Bone's national television appearance was swift and immediate, and continued throughout Monday.

"can both of you speak from personal experience about what it's going to be like when I become a meme?" pic.twitter.com/HKYHJBnGub

-- #1 Rachel (@rachel) October 10, 2016

Kenneth Bone apparently has a fan with real-time signmaking skills. pic.twitter.com/3bVUarqTrU

-- Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) October 10, 2016

There goes any chance to be Ken Bone for Halloween @jess_stohr https://t.co/2BnWgdCYlE

-- Elizabeth Selmarten (@emselmarten) October 10, 2016

The red sweater he wore was actually "Plan B," he told CNN, since he split his pants before the debate.

Ken Bone says he was going to wear an olive colored suit, but his pants split, so he wore cable knit to the #debate. https://t.co/tII50Rb3wN

-- Jeff D Lowe (@JeffDLowe) October 10, 2016

Red Sox pitcher Joseph Kelly Jr., apparently a Ken Bone fan, said on Twitter that he was leaving Bone tickets to the Monday night playoff game.

Leaving you tickets to tonights game! https://t.co/sXcOUxdLBo

-- Jk (@JosephKellyJr) October 10, 2016

Mark down the date: Oct. 9, 2016 will forever be the divide between two eras in presidential politics: Before Ken Bone and After Ken Bone.

Universities are required to issue the report every year.

AMHERST -- The number of liquor law arrests and referrals for alcohol issues at the University of Massachusetts was down in 2015 after climbing the previous year.

The numbers are included in the university's annual security report, released Tuesday by the UMass Police Department as required by the federal Clery Act.

The report provides statistics for the last three years in a number of crime categories, including both on- and off-campus incidents.

"The personal safety of every member of our campus community is paramount. We work together to form shared accountability," Tyrone Parham, assistant vice chancellor and chief of police, said in an email.

"The decline of crime statistics in many areas has not happened by accident. Hundreds of awareness and prevention programs were conducted, so thousands of people were influenced."

Liquor arrests dropped from 229 in 2014 to 160 in 2015. In 2013, 176 people were arrested for alleged liquor law violations. Parham attributed the reduction to education programs and strict enforcement.

Meanwhile, liquor law referrals were cut in half -- down from 675 in 2014 to 323 last year. Drug arrests and referrals are also down from 16 to 11 and from 42 to 36, respectively.

The number of aggravated assaults were down from 10 in 2014 to four last year. Off campus the numbers remained the same, with three reported each year.

Burglaries were down from 13 to eight on campus and from four to one off campus. Parham said there was intense promotion of locking interior doors at all times.

There were 10 reports of on-campus rapes in 2015, the same number as in 2014 and down from 21 in 2013. Off campus the number rose from one to seven, with no off-campus rapes reported in 2013, according to the report.

"The university continues to undertake a wide variety of measures to help prevent sexual misconduct and provide support services for victims," Parham said. "We recognize that the number of reported incidents may vary year to year, and that sexual assault remains a major concern at UMass and college campuses across the country."

Parham said the university's UMatter at UMass program promotes awareness and bystander intervention to reduce sexual assaults.

Domestic violence reports were down from 15 to four on campus, but up from one to three off campus.

The 74-page campus security report includes statistics concerning "reported crimes that occurred on campus; in certain off-campus buildings or property owned or controlled by the University of Massachusetts Amherst; and on public property within, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from, the campus."

"The only way we're going to solve this problem, is not through education, not through incentives, it's that we're going to have to make physical activity both more fun and more necessary," Harvard Paleoanthropologist Dan Lieberman said. "And if there's any one place we have to start, it's with our schools." Watch video

Harvard Paleoanthropologist Dan Lieberman, who spoke at UMass last week. Courtesy Harvard University 

AMHERST -- Seventy-five percent of people in modern society fall well short of hitting recommended exercise needs, while consuming more and lower-quality calories than our less-stationary ancestors.

At least half of Americans are almost completely physically inactive.

Sixty-nine percent of Americans classify as overweight or obese.

This lifestyle problem has contributed to an explosion in noninfectious diseases -- like heart disease, the second leading cause of preventable death, cancer and diabetes -- not seen by modern Tanzanian hunter-gatherers studied by anthropologists.

Even conditions like Alzheimer's disease and depression are strongly linked to physical inactivity.

Harvard Paleoanthropologist Dan Lieberman described a contributing factor, called "the exercise paradox" -- and a potential workaround -- during a visit to the University of Massachusetts last week.

"Why did we evolve to be active yet so many of us are inactive?" he asked. "If we could get people to be less overweight and more physically active, we would save trillions of dollars, not to mention make people healthier and happier."

He added, "The problem is that that's the problem."

It turns out we evolved to be endurance athletes in order to chase down game. Though faster and more powerful than humans, animals ventilate poorly via panting -- as opposed to humans ultra-efficient perspiratory system -- and wear down much faster than humans. A human can beat a horse in a race if the distance is extended beyond a certain point. Endurance, then, is key to feeding success.

The problem is, we also evolved to avoid physical activity whenever possible in order to maximize the energy available to reproduce effectively.

With the preponderance of restaurants, grocery stores and immobile entertainment available today, one begins to ascertain the problem. Basically, it's not your fault you're having a hard time with diet and exercise. Our evolutionary endowment deems it so.

"Natural selection didn't necessarily adapt us to be healthy, but to simply have as many surviving offspring as possible, because of energy allocation," Lieberman said.

Lieberman concluded by offering an "obvious solution."

"The only way we're going to solve this problem, is not through education, not through incentives, it's that we're going to have to make physical activity both more fun and more necessary," he said. "And if there's any one place we have to start, it's with our schools."

Altimo had a 9 mm Luger handgun with 14 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber, Assistant District Attorney Jill O'Connor said.

SPRINGFIELD -- The victim of a shooting two weeks ago in Springfield is being held on $25,000 bail following his arrest last week on firearms charges.

Davidson Altimo 

Davidson Altimo, 20, of Springfield, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Springfield District Court to carrying a firearm without a permit and possession of a large capacity firearm.

Springfield police arrested Altimo on Friday after pulling over the Nissan Altima he was riding in. A search turned up a 9 mm Luger with 14 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber, Assistant District Attorney Jill O'Connor said.

Police were searching for the vehicle in connection with a shooting on Sept. 27 in the Forest Park neighborhood, three days before Altimo was shot in the South End. Altimo is a suspect in the earlier shooting, O'Connor said.

After posting $5,000 bail Friday, he was released for his court appearance Tuesday.

When his case was called, Altimo limped up to the defendant's dock, showing the effects of the wounds from the Sept. 30 shooting.

The prosecutor asked for $25,000 bail, citing the new charges plus his status as a suspect in the Sept. 27 shooting. He also has an extensive juvenile record, with three convictions for armed robbery, larceny of a motor vehicle and probation violations.

Defense lawyer Aliki Recklitis asked for $5,000 bail, the same figure her client posted at police headquarters following his arrest.

Altimo's presence in the defendant's dock proved he can be trusted to appear for court dates, according to Recklitis, who said he was also willing to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet as a condition of his release.

Altimo is currently enrolled in classes at Springfield Roca, a social service agency that helps young people with criminal records, and is receiving physical therapy for gunshot wounds to his collarbone and leg, the lawyer added.

Judge William Boyle said he would consider giving the defendant a break on bail if he was willing to take a drug test.

"If he's at Roca, he should be able to pass a drug test," the judge said.

When Altimo refused, the judge set bail at $25,000 and continued the case for a pretrial hearing next month.

A man was found shot to death inside a car in Springfield on Tuesday afternoon.

SPRINGFIELD — A man was found shot to death inside of a car in Springfield's Bay neighborhood on Tuesday afternoon, police said.

The man was found inside of a BMW sedan that was parked within the vicinity of 55 Sycamore St., according to 22News. He had suffered from a single gunshot wound.

The driver's side window of the BMW appeared to be shattered, and had Connecticut license plates, the TV station reported.

The Springfield Police Major Crimes Unit is investigating the shooting and has blocked off stretches of Sycamore Street.

A resident of Sycamore Street said that he hadn't heard any gunshots or seen anything like a conflict but had heard from police that a body was in the car. "They took it out and kept it covered," said the man. "I don't know what happened."

This story will be updated when more information becomes available.

A review of municipal trash collections was done in 2010 but no changes resulted.

WESTFIELD - City officials are, once again, looking into the feasibility of privatizing municpal trash collections.

Mayor Brian P. Sullivan said Tuesday he expects at least a couple of proposals will be received from private trash and recycling contractors by the close of business Friday. That is the deadline for 'Request for Proposals' for the collection of trash and operation of the city's land fill transfer station on Twiss Street.

Westfield is working with its engineering consultant Tighe and Bond Inc. on the issue of municipal waste and operations at Twiss Street.

"There have been three or four companies that have inquired concerning our RFP request," the mayor said.

Sullivan said he wants to know if Westfield will realize any savings if the operation is handled by private contractors.

He said privatization may save the city around $1 million in waste handling expenses.

Right now Westfield is faced with a mandate to install a cover over the weigh station at the Transfer Station, Sullivan said. He estimated that cost at $5 million.

And, regardless of what the city does, Westfield will continue to have an expense for trash disposal.

"Privatization could help offset the cost of trash collection and disposal. That is what we are looking for in the RFPs," Sullivan said.

Former Mayor Daniel M. Knapik formed a committee in May, 2010 to look at trash collection services. That committee included former Mayor Edward McDermott and former City Councilors Christopher Keefe, Christopher M. Crean and Gerald E. Tracy.

The decision was made later in 2010 to continue with the municipal collection system and trucks and the transfer state were updated.

Private companies responding to the 2010 review included Allied Waste, Waste Management and County Waste.

Sullivan said the 2010 study did not include the sale or transfer of municipal collection vehicles along with privatization. This review includes an option for private firms to acquire the city's trash collection fleet.

Also, Sullivan said if the city switches to private operations steps will be taken avoid any dismissal or layoff of city employees within the municipal trash service. The city is asking that private firms offer employment to current city workers. If not, Sullivan said the Department of Public Works can absorb the nine employees.

Joshua Ortiz was ordered held on $50,000 cash bail by Hampden Superior Court Judge Edward J. McDonough

SPRINGFIELD -- A 26-year-old Springfield man on Tuesday denied six charges of armed robbery while masked in connection with four armed robberies over the summer in Springfield.

Joshua Ortiz was ordered held on $50,000 cash bail by Hampden Superior Court Judge Edward J. McDonough. Ortiz was caught by two witnesses in the last of the four robberies.

Defense lawyer Tracy Duncan was appointed to represent Ortiz in the case prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Nina Vivenzio.

The first armed robbery was June 18 at a Honeyland Farms convenience store. The second was July 1 at a Cumberland Farms. Two of the armed robbery indictments, each listing a different victim, were for a July 10 robbery at a Cumberland Farms. The indictments do not list the address of the stores.

The last robbery for which Ortiz is charged was July 26 at a Cumberland Farms at 798 Carew St. There are two charges of armed robbery for that incident because there were two victims.

In the first three robberies, the weapon is listed as a handgun. In the fourth robbery, the weapon is listed as a starter pistol.

Starter pistols are usually blank handguns fired to start sporting events.

The last robbery caused police to urge bystanders or witnesses to keep a safe distance when violent crime unfolds.

"We do not want anyone getting hurt while trying to apprehend a robbery suspect," Springfield Police spokesman Sgt. John Delaney wrote on the department's Facebook page.

Witnesses should "keep a safe distance and monitor the fleeing suspect while you call 911 on your cellphone and tell police of the robbers' location," Delaney said.

The director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency first proposed by Elizabeth Warren before she was elected to the US Senate, is the single most powerful official in the entire US government aside from the president, a federal appeals court said in a ruling.

The director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency first proposed by Elizabeth Warren before she was elected to the US Senate, is the single most powerful official in the entire US government aside from the president, a federal appeals court said in a ruling Tuesday.

At least, that's the case it comes to unilateral power, the ruling said, adding, "That is not an overstatement."

The three-member panel for the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the agency's one-director structure is unconstitutional, since the director can take action on his or her own, "subject to no check."

"As a single-Director independent agency exercising substantial executive authority, the CFPB is the first of its kind and a historical anomaly," the ruling said, adding that earlier proposals had a traditional multi-member commission in charge.

The agency was established through the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010, and President Obama briefly thought about naming Warren, a Cambridge Democrat, as its first director.

But partisan rancor within Congress made him reconsider, and Richard Cordray, the former attorney general of Ohio, has been the director since the agency's controversial inception. The agency has repeatedly drawn the ire of the banking industry and Republicans.

In a statement, Warren, who backed having one director in charge, slammed the ruling, saying it will likely be appealed and overturned.

She added that the ruling "bizarrely relies on a mischaracterization of my original proposal for a new consumer agency."

"But even if it stands, the ruling makes a small, technical tweak to Dodd-Frank and does not question the legality of any other past, present, or future actions of the CFPB," she said.

"The CFPB has been, and will remain, highly accountable to both Congress and the President, and continued Republican efforts to transform the agency's structure or funding should be seen for what they are: attempts fostered by big banks to cripple an agency that has already forced them to return over $11 billion to customers who have been cheated," Warren continued.

But the court ruling said the director "unilaterally" enforces 19 federal consumer protection statutes, covering a wide range of topics, including home finance, student loans, credit cards and banking practices.

"The CFPB's concentration of enormous executive power in a single, unaccountable, unchecked Director not only departs from settled historical practice, but also poses a far greater risk of arbitrary decision making and abuse of power, and a far greater threat to individual liberty, than does a multi-member independent agency," the ruling said.

The ruling offered a remedy that gives the president the power to remove the director "at will" and direct and supervise the director. The agency is then turned into something more similar to the Department of Justice and the Department of Treasury, both agencies in the executive branch that are headed by one person.

The ruling stems from a legal fight brought by PHH, which is a large home mortgage lender in New Jersey.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau argued that "PHH harmed consumers through a mortgage insurance kickback scheme that started as early as 1995." PHH fought back, saying the bureau's structure was unconstitutional.

Along with the ruling on the constitutionality of the one-director structure, the court also threw out a $109 million penalty against PHH, according to Bloomberg.

Read the ruling below.

Consumer Protection Bureau DC Appeals Court Decision by Gintautas Dumcius on Scribd

North American Belgian Championship 8 will run through Oct.15 on the grounds of the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield.

WEST SPRINGFIELD -- With an average weight of around 2,000 pounds and a height of over 5½ feet, a Belgian draft horse won't be snuggling on the couch with you.

These magnificent animals are on display this week at the Eastern States Exposition for the North American Belgian Championship 8. Running through Oct. 15, the event happens every four years, and this year marks the first visit to Massachusetts and the Big E.

In the mid-1980s, the Belgian Draft Horse Corporation of America and the Canadian Belgian Horse Association made a pact to have a premiere championship show in North America every four years to showcase the best of the best. And so began a partnership of alternating the shows between locations in Canada and the United States to provide a premium show for Belgian horse breeders on both sides of the border.

Admission is free, as is parking. You can find the show schedule at www.belgiancorp.com/page.aspx?ID=469.

WWith less than a month to go until the November general election, surrogates for Hillary Clinton's Democratic White House bid will stop across New England Thursday in a series of last ditch campaign efforts.

Surrogates for Hillary Clinton's Democratic White House bid, as well as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump himself, will rally supporters across New England this week in a series of last ditch campaign efforts.

With less than a month to go until Election Day, Chelsea Clinton, daughter of the Democratic presidential nominee, will stop at Wellesley College on Thursday to highlight what's at stake for millennial voters in the 2016 presidential contest.

While Chelsea Clinton campaigns at her mother's alma mater, First Lady Michelle Obama will visit Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester on Thursday to rally support for Hillary Clinton in the important battleground state.

Trump, who has visited New Hampshire several times since August, meanwhile, will return to the Granite State on Saturday in an effort to build momentum for his White House bid.

Chelsea Clinton, who has traveled across the country to promote her mother's presidential campaign in recent weeks, will hold an afternoon "stronger together" rally at Wellesley College's Diana Chapman Walsh Alumnae Hall Ballroom.

Chelsea Clinton is expected to discuss the importance of the presidential election for younger voters, as well as her mother's plan to address college affordability -- under which 56,000 Massachusetts students would pay no tuition for a four-year college degree, according to campaign officials.

Doors for the 2:45 p.m. public event will open at 2 p.m.

Obama, who has also hit the campaign trail hard in the final weeks before the election, meanwhile, will address New Hampshire voters during a noon rally at Southern New Hampshire University's field house.

Like Chelsea Clinton, Obama is expected to lay out what is at stake in the November election and urge New Hampshire voters to throw their support behind Hillary Clinton and Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine's campaign.

The first lady will also likely encourage those planning to cast ballots in the presidential contest to ensure they have all the information they need on Election Day and remind them that New Hampshire offers same-day voter registration, according to campaign officials.

Doors for the 12:15 p.m. public event open at 9:30 a.m.

Trump, in turn, will look to rally Granite State voters around his White House bid during an afternoon campaign event in Portsmouth.

The businessman, who has repeatedly visited New Hampshire in recent weeks, will address backers during a rally at Toyota of Portsmouth, located at 150 Greenleaf Ave.

Doors for the noon event will open at 9:00 a.m.

According to RealClearPolitics' polling averages, Hillary Clinton holds a six-point lead over Trump in New Hampshire.

The Holyoke City Council president prompted a complaint alleging a violation of the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law by sending an email to a majority of the council in which he expressed an opinion opposing an upcoming ballot question that calls for legalizing marijuana for recreational use.

HOLYOKE -- A resident has filed a complaint alleging that City Council President Kevin A. Jourdain violated the state Open Meeting Law by sending an email to a majority of councilors expressing opposition to a ballot question, because sending such an email amounts to holding deliberations, officials said Tuesday.

Jourdain, a lawyer, said he was taking the complaint with "a positive note" and believes he can rectify the concern by placing the email and an included attachment he sent to councilors on the next City Council meeting agenda to ensure full public disclosure.

Richard Purcell of 99 Martin St. filed the complaint Oct. 7 with the Massachusetts attorney general's office, the agency that enforces the Open Meeting Law (see below).

The law regarding such complaints requires that the complaint first be filed with the "public body" alleged to have committed the violation and then that public body must be given an opportunity to remedy the alleged violation.

In the box on the complaint form Purcell completed that asks what action is desired from the public body in response to the complaint, is this comment, "This is a clear violation of the open meeting law, and as such be held accountable."

The topic of the email that Jourdain sent to a majority of the 15-member City Council on Sept. 29 was a question that voters will face on the Nov. 8 election ballot asking whether Massachusetts should legalize marijuana for recreational use.

Jourdain opposes such legalization and expressed that in the email, along with including a report against passage of the question by the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association.

The alleged violation of the Open Meeting Law in the email is triggered by Jourdain expressing an opinion to a majority of the City Council on a matter that is before the council, according to an interpretation of the Open Meeting Law that Acting Solicitor Sara Carroll sent to Mayor Alex B. Morse, and to Jourdain himself.

"I took a published public report from the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association that I forwarded to the councilors. It was for public dissemination. It was a public report," Jourdain said.

Jourdain said he takes seriously the concerns raised in Purcell's complaint.

"I'm taking it with a positive note and will just make sure it's placed on the next meeting agenda and that should rectify any problems," he said.

"The Law Department said that simple remedy is to add it as a communication to next (City Council) meeting so I am doing that," he said.

Upon hearing about the complaint, Morse said he contacted the city Law Department and Carroll forwarded these comments to the mayor:

"Arguably, the recreational use of marijuana is a matter with(in) the jurisdiction of the Council because they will be taking a vote on it. A matter within the jurisdiction of the public body is defined as 'any matter of public business on which a quorum of the public body may make a decision or recommendation,' " Carroll said in the email to Morse.

"Additionally, the Open Meeting Law guide specifically states 'Note that the expression of an opinion on matters within the body's jurisdiction to a quorum of a public body is a deliberation, even if no other public body member responds. For example, if a member of a public body sends an email to a quorum of a public body expressing her opinion on a matter that could come before that body, this communication violates the law even if none of the recipients responds,' " Carroll said.

The issue of the marijuana legalization ballot question is before the City Council in the form off an order that Jourdain filed, and which was referred to the council Public Safety Committee. The order calls for the council to adopt a resolution opposing the question and to send a letter to that effect to legislators who represent Holyoke and the governor.

The Open Meeting Law requires that municipal boards and commissions like the City Council conduct business in open session, available for anyone to attend if they choose, to observe debates and decision-making. The law requires that the public receive 48 hours notice of such open sessions with available postings including online notices.

The law includes 10 exceptions boards can cite to hold closed-door, or executive, sessions in which the public and press are prohibited from attending. These include to conduct collective bargaining or discuss litigation or the purchase of real estate.

Open Meeting Law complaint: by Mike Plaisance on Scribd

A small plane crashed in East Hartford, Connecticut on Tuesday afternoon.

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — A small plane crashed in East Hartford, Connecticut, on Tuesday, according to the Hartford Courant.

At least one occupant of the plane has been transported to an area hospital for treatment, East Hartford police said.

An anonymous authority told the newspaper that two people who had been on board were feared to be dead, and it was unclear whether anyone on the ground had been injured as a result of the crash.

Police say that the crash occurred near the intersection of Main St. and Willow St. at approximately 3:45 p.m., bringing down a number of utility poles and causing a small fire in the process.

The plane--a private Cessna aircraft that took off from Brainard airport only several miles away--was engulfed in flames shortly after it hit the ground, according to a witness who works at a muffler shop nearby, and who came outside when he heard the crash.

The fire from the crash was extinguished at approximately 4:30 p.m., the newspaper reports.

Night classes at Goodwin College, located nearby to the site of the crash, have been cancelled for Tuesday.