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AM News Links: Congressman Neal is concerned a children's SSI program is becoming an alternative welfare system; gays & lesbians welcomed at Catholic Mass in Boston, and more

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Mitt Romney's job-creation record is questioned, bipartisan debt talks are scheduled to resume Monday, and more of this morning's news.

merrit mess.jpgStately trees that hug Connecticut roadways may be pretty, but they also can be perilous: Three trees have fallen onto cars in recent weeks, including this June 23 incident on the Merritt Parkway in Stamford that killed a Massachusetts man traveling along the scenic roadway.

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Motorcycle riders flee after striking state trooper, cruiser in Longmeadow

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One fleeing biker struck a trooper in the hand, while another fleeing biker hit a second trooper's parked cruiser.

LONGMEADOW -- State police are investigating an incident that occurred shortly after 8 p.m. Sunday in the southbound lanes of Interstate 91 in Longmeadow, where a trooper attempting to stop a motorcyclist for a moving violation was struck by the biker.

Another biker struck the door of a second trooper's cruiser, which was positioned on the shoulder of I-91 south, police said.

The trouble began around 8:05 p.m. when troopers from the state police barracks in Springfield spotted about 10 motorcyclists riding four abreast -- a violation -- while traveling south on I-91 near Exit 1 in Longmeadow, according to state police spokesman David Procopio.

A trooper ran the license plate of one motorcycle and it came back as reported stolen, Procopio said. A decision was made to stop the bikers for questioning.

Troopers managed to get ahead of the pack of bikers on I-91 south, taking up positions along the shoulders of the highway to flag down the riders. Four of the bikers were stopped for questioning, but the others fled, Procopio said.

Trooper Mark Weiner exited his cruiser and attempted to flag down one of the bikers, who initially appeared to comply with the trooper's order. But the biker suddenly accelerated toward Weiner, striking the trooper's hand and continuing south at a high rate of speed toward Connecticut, Procopio said.

Procopio said Trooper Paul Kudryk also exited his cruiser, parked on the shoulder opposite from Weiner's vehicle, and attempted to flag down another biker in the group. That biker also initially appeared to comply with the trooper's order, but then accelerated toward Kudryk and struck his cruiser's driver-side door, Procopio said.

The door sustained damage, but Kudryk was not injured, police said.

Troopers at the scene estimated the bikers who fled south on I-91 reached speeds in excess of 130mph. Two other bikers eluded police by turning around and fleeing north in the southbound lanes of I-91.

Massachusetts authorities are working with Connecticut State Police to locate the bikers who fled the scene, who face charges ranging from assault and battery to reckless operation to endanger, among others.

"The Massachusetts State Police view (Sunday) evening's incident as a serious crime -- one that not only put troopers in danger but also endangered the public -- and will continue to exhaust all investigative means to find the perpetrators," Procopio said in a statement.

The bikes all appeared to be foreign-made with Massachusetts registrations. Based on the few bikes that were stopped, state police believe the motorcyclists may be from Holyoke, Procopio said.

Authorities have identified the bike with the stolen plate as MA DLN 8378A, which is a regular dealer plate, not a motorcycle plate. The plate was mounted along the upper left side of the rear wheel, under the exhaust pipe, and the plate faced to the left and wasn't visible from the rear, police said.

Procopio said the biker who hit Kudryk's cruiser may have suffered some type of leg or ankle injury from the impact, while the biker who hit Trooper Weiner was wearing a black helmet.

State police are asking anyone who witnessed the incident or have information about the identities of the motorcycle riders to call the Springfield barracks at (413) 736-8390.

Vermont jail chief: State's cons led riot at Franklin County Jail and House of Detention

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The disturbance started at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday when the inmates refused to enter their cells.

AE_FRANK_CTY__HOUSE_OF_CORR__3._9010491.JPGThe Franklin County House of Corrections.

WATERBURY, Vt. (AP) — Vermont's correction's commissioner says some of the state's prison inmates being held in Massachusetts will likely face charges in that state after a three-hour riot at a Greenfield jail.

Commissioner Andy Pallito says the riot at the Franklin County Jail and House of Detention that began Thursday night was led by 15 Vermonters being housed there.

The disturbance started at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday when the inmates refused to enter their cells. They started throwing furniture, blankets and other items.

Correctional officers used pepper spray and compression grenades to get the inmates to return to their cells.

The inmates will also face Vermont discipline.

The Burlington Free Press reported the inmates were upset because of heat in the jail and a lack of recreational opportunities.

Business Monday from The Republican, July 11, 2011: Connecticut River is a lifeline for employment and leisure, City dweller finds fulfillment on Williamsburg farm and more

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Start your week informed with Business Monday from The Republican.

shana totino1.JPGView full sizeShana Totino picks white and purple corncockles (agrostemma) and calendula flowers for sale at her Good Field Farm farm stand on Goshen Rd. (Rt. 9) in Williamsburg.

The Connecticut River is a source of life and livelihood for many in Western Massachusetts

The Connecticut River and bodies of water all over Western Mass. are vital sources of income for marina owners, their employees and those who make use of them. Find out just how the Connecticut flows into the local economy. Read more »

Transplanted city dweller Shana Totino is putting down roots as owner of Williamsburg's Good Field Farm

Shana Totino grew up in the city but fell in love with working the land, which she does full-time now on her Williamsburg farm.

“Farming is a great way to make a positive impact on people’s lives. Just by providing people with local healthy food, that has a big impact in a lot of different ways,” she said. Read more »

The Republican's David Starr honored for 70 years with Newhouse Publications

Newhouse publications senior editor David Starr, president of The Republican, was honored by the Newhouse family and his colleagues at The Republican recently, after 70 years of newspapering.

Starr arrived in Springfield in 1977. Thirty four years later, at 89, he's still going strong. Read more »

More Business Monday:

Voices of the Valley: The Austins, Austin Brothers Valley Farm, Belchertown

Commentary: The cost of long-term health is a problem that cannot be ignored

Commentary: Federal Trade Commission investigation of Google may stifle innovation in high-tech companies

New Springfield Rotary Club president Edward Sunter sees motivation of members a key goal

WNEU Law and Business Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship offers assistance to small-business owners, entrepreneurs

Massachusetts legislators seek new regulations for temporary staffing agencies

Country Bank aids communities hit by June 1 Springfield tornado

Notebooks

Business Bits: Baystate jobless picture still better than elsewhere, Stop & Shop launches iPhone app, UMass sees revenue, enrollment growth, and more

Business etc: Salter College comes to Chicopee, Gengras Motor Cars donates to tornado relief, Gilbane Building Co. opens new office, and more

Western Massachusetts business calendar: July 13 - Aug. 15

Gov. Deval Patrick signs $30.6 billion state budget, incuding changes to health care for municipal employees

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The budget is one of the tightest in recent memory as the state continues to pull out of the recent recession.

Deval Patrick, Ernst Lee FletcherMassachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick appears on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 23, 2011, before the Senate Finance Committee hearing on public health care policy. At right is Rep. Ernest Lee Fletcher, R-Ky. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

BOSTON (AP) — Gov. Deval Patrick has signed a $30.6 billion state budget that he said reduces overhaul spending while laying the groundwork for an ongoing economic recovery in Massachusetts.

Patrick signed the budget in his Statehouse office on Monday, 11 days into the 2012 fiscal year.

The budget is one of the tightest in recent memory as the state continues to pull out of the recent recession.

The spending plan contains no broad-based taxes, draws $185 million from the state's rainy day fund, and overhauls the public defender program.

The budget signing follows an agreement reached Friday to reduce the cost to Massachusetts cities and towns of providing health care to municipal employees. House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray both support the changes.

The House and Senate are expected to vote on the amendments Monday.

16-year-old Tyrel Wheeler, shot 3 times last week and found in Forest Park neighborhood intersection, dies at Baystate in Springfield

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Tyrel Wheeler is the city's 11th homicide victim

washingtoncop.jpgView full sizeA Springfield police office walks back to his cruiser on Washington Street. Behind him is the scene where a 16-year-old shooting victim had been found in the road.

SPRINGFIELD – Sixteen-year-old Tyrel Wheeler, shot three times Thursday afternoon and found in a Forest Park neighborhood intersection shortly after he got out of a moving car that he had been driving, died Sunday at Baystate Medical Center.

Police Sgt. John M. Delaney said that Wheeler, who had been in critical condition at Baystate, was taken off life support Sunday afternoon.

Police continue to probe the shooting which resulted in the city’s 11th homicide of the year. “It’s progressing,” Delaney, aide to Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said of the investigation.

Delaney said that Wheeler was the driver and sole occupant of the car. Witnesses told police that Wheeler fell or jumped out of the car at the corner of Meredith and Washington streets and that the car continued on its own until it hit a parked vehicle near 92 Washington St.

Investigators have yet to determine where the shooting occurred. Witnesses did not report hearing any gunfire and the city’s ShotSpotter audio surveillance system did not pick any up, Delaney said.

The lack of a ShotSpotter alert indicates that the shooting could have occurred inside a building or a vehicle, Delaney said.

Based on evidence inside car, however, it’s clear that the victim was in the car for some time after he was shot and before he exited, Delaney said.

Police, a short time before, had responded to a report of a man seen running on nearby Draper Street. It’s not clear, however, whether that incident was related to the shooting, Delaney said.

Wheeler did not have a license and the car that he was driving, a silver Honda, belongs to his mother, Delaney said.

Wheeler is the third Springfield male, and the second teenager, to lose is life to gunfire over the last week.

Police said James Rosario, 18, was shot to death around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, just as a large party was breaking up at his home at 88 Edgeland St. in the Forest Park neighborhood.

Rosario died from multiple gunshot wounds to his chest, head and stomach, becoming the city’s 10th homicide victim.

Delaney said Rosario was shot inside the house, and that his parents were not home at the time. He said the shooting was over a “minor pushing match” that escalated in the victim being shot and killed.

The homicide follows the July 3 killing of 38-year-old Raul E. Vera, who was shot to death on Lincoln Street in the city’s McKnight neighborhood shortly before 7:15 p.m.

Delaney said the three killings are not related. He said, however, that investigators believe all three are gang-related.

The deaths of Rosario and Vera remain under investigation, Delaney said.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signs $30.6 billion state budget

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The budget includes a rider that would effectively nullify a disputed $65 million cut in state aid to cities and towns.

BOSTON - Gov. Deval L. Patrick on Monday signed a $30.6 billion budget for this fiscal year that includes a provision expected to negate a $65 million cut in state aid to cities and towns.

During a press conference in his Statehouse office, Patrick said he made no vetoes to line items in the budget, the first time in recent memory a governor has approved a budget with no vetoes to spending accounts.

Patrick said state legislators sent him a budget that was similar to the spending plan he filed in January. Legislators approved the budget on July 1.

"I am very happy with the budget enacted by the Legislature," Patrick said.

The budget includes a measure to take away some bargaining rights from unions in negotiating municipal health insurance. The budget also includes cuts to higher education that have forced the University of Massachusetts and almost every other campus to raise mandatory fees on students for the upcoming academic year.

Patrick also signed a provision to double the number of staff public defenders in state government and strip some work from state-contracted private lawyers for the poor.

Because of a rider in the budget, Jay Gonzalez, secretary for administration and finance, said he expected that communities would get back $65 million in cuts to local aid in the budget. The rider requires that 50 percent of any fiscal 2011 budget surplus, not to exceed $65 million, be distributed to cities and towns no later than Oct. 31. According to Gonzalez, the budget surplus for the prior fiscal year should be large enough to ensure the $65 million cut will be restored.

The provision, for example, means that Springfield will get back $2.3 million; Northampton, $270,000; Westfield, $385,000 and West Springfield, $219,000.

Patrick and legislative leaders reached agreement Friday on a plan to reduce the cost to cities and towns of providing health insurance to municipal employees.

The plan allows cities and towns additional flexibility to increase co-payments, deductibles and other aspects of public employee health insurance outside of the collective bargaining process.

Under the proposal, cities and towns could shift their workers into the state's Group Insurance Commission or another lower-cost plan after a monthlong negotiation period with unions.

The budget is balanced with cuts and use of $185 million in reserves. The budget, seeking to compensate for the loss of about $1.5 billion in federal stimulus, cuts $775 million in expected growth of Medicaid.

The budget is $750 million less than expected spending for the prior fiscal year, Patrick said.

However, Sen. Stephen M., Brewer, D-Barre, the chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, has said he expects "more than one" bill in the upcoming fiscal year to add spending to the new budget, given the improving economy.

The budget includes $671,000 to add 12 more beds to the Holyoke Soldiers Home.

The budget provides $6 million in grants to local tourist councils around the state including the Greater Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau. The $ 6 million would be up 200 percent from $2 million approved in this year's annual budget.

The budget also includes $9 milllion in grants as incentives for cities and towns to regionalize services.


Falling trees on Merritt Parkway imperil Connecticut drivers

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Trees have fallen onto cars three times in recent weeks.

falling trees merritt parkwayIn this June 23, 2011 photo, rescue personnel work at the scene of a tree that fell onto the Merritt Parkway in Stamford, Conn., killing a Massachusetts man traveling along the roadway. Stately trees hugging the roadside are pretty but sometimes perilous, falling onto cars three times in recent weeks.

HARTFORD, Conn. — On the Merritt Parkway, stately trees line the roadside, shield drivers' eyes from the sun and offer a scenic alternative to truck-choked Interstate 95. But the trees on the historic road linking New York City and New England are not just pretty — they're also perilous.

Trees have fallen onto cars three times in recent weeks, including one whipped by a storm June 23 onto a livery sedan driven by 74-year-old Norman Gamache, of Westport, Mass., killing him and injuring his two passengers.

"Every time this happens, I think most any of us who travel the Merritt does so holding our breath and looking upward," said Gordon Joseloff, first selectman in Westport, Conn., where many trees have toppled onto the parkway in recent years.

For Gamache's nephew, Bob Gendron, the question is: "What happened was one of those freaky, freaky things, I know, but why don't they just cut back the trees?"

Along the Merritt, built in the 1930s and listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its landscaping, topography and variety of ornate overpass bridges, it's not that simple. Transportation officials can't unilaterally cut all trees close to the road because of historic protections.

It's a conversation that has happened before. A couple from Pelham, N.Y., died and their two young sons were trapped in the family's crushed car by a fallen pine tree in 2007, not far from where a large maple fell a month earlier and slightly injured another driver.

Connecticut officials reviewed potential dangers at the time and cut many questionable trees, and they said recently that their tree inspection, maintenance and removal process remains as active as ever despite budget constraints.

Still, the latest batch of falling trees and limbs has raised questions about whether more can be done to protect those who use the 37.5-mile parkway, which many car drivers favor because its low bridges make it off limits to tractor-trailers and other large commercial vehicles.

The parkway, whose first section opened in 1934, connects the Wilbur Cross Parkway in southern Connecticut to the Hutchinson River Parkway at the New York border. Towering trees border it and, in many spots, also line its narrow median. That leaves potential for trees to topple into the road during storms or even fair weather if they're unhealthy.

As part of its Merritt maintenance work, the Connecticut Department of Transportation has workers regularly check for trees that show rot or other problems that could make them vulnerable, department spokesman Kevin Nursick said.

But the trees that recently killed Gamache and injured people in two other vehicles were healthy and gave no indication of problems, so the Transportation Department had no way of knowing they might fall, Nursick said.

"If these were dead, dying or decayed trees, I'd say we need to do better work, but these were trees that were overtly healthy," Nursick said. "That's the conundrum: How do we identify a healthy tree that could potentially become compromised during a weather event? I think that's virtually impossible."

The parkway's historic designation prevents widespread tree removal except in emergencies. And unlike on most limited-access highways, crews cannot unilaterally cut all trees within a certain distance of the road — usually, about 30 feet — because of the Merritt's historic protections.

The problem is exacerbated by the growing amount of traffic on the Merritt Parkway in recent decades. In 2009, the most recent figure available, it carried more than 80,000 vehicles at its busiest point, where it transforms into the Wilbur Cross.

It's a popular alternative to nearby I-95 because trucks can't use it, so chances are good that if a tree falls, a small vehicle will be below it.

New York officials experienced the problem in 2004, when a Yonkers couple was killed by a 50-foot ash tree that smashed into their car on a sunny day, for no obvious reason, on the Saw Mill River Parkway in Westchester. Their infant daughter was strapped into a car seat in the back of the vehicle and survived.

The problem of trees falling into roadways isn't limited to parkways in general or the Merritt in particular, though. In fact, the same day Gamache was killed in Stamford, a 55-year-old Guilford man was critically injured when a tree fell on his truck on U.S. 1 in Madison, about 60 miles away. He died the next day.

Motorists have also died in recent weeks in Georgia, Indiana, Virginia and California. Storms felled most of those trees.

That's little comfort to the family of Gamache, who enjoyed long road trips, drove a big rig for decades and had a gregarious nature that made him the perfect fit to drive sedans for his nephew's limousine company.

"My uncle was a great driver," Gendron said. "The man never had a speeding ticket and drove tractor-trailers all of his life, in all kinds of conditions and weather."


Casey Anthony's safety post-release worries lawyer

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Cheney Mason told the NBC's "Today" show Monday he doesn't know where Anthony will go when she's freed.

071111caseyanthony.jpgCasey Anthony, center, sits at the defense table with her attorneys Cheney Mason, left, and Anne Finnell, right, on Monday, June 27, 2011.

ORLANDO, Fla. — One of Casey Anthony's defense lawyers says he's worried about her safety once she's released from jail after being acquitted of murdering her 2-year-old daughter.

Cheney Mason told the NBC's "Today" show Monday he doesn't know where Anthony will go when she's freed Sunday from a Florida jail. He said she would need time and counseling to re-enter society after being jailed for nearly three years before and during her high-profile trial. She was convicted of four counts of lying to law enforcement.

Mason said Anthony's relations with her parents were "pretty well burned" after the trial, where her defense team contended she was sexually abused by her father. Her father, George Anthony, denied the claims.

Jail records show Casey Anthony refused a visit Friday from her mother, Cindy Anthony.

Truck driver killed as Amtrak train hits truck in Maine

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An Amtrak train smashed into a tractor-trailer, causing an explosion that set both on fire and sent flames more than three stories high.

NORTH BERWICK, Maine — Authorities and witnesses say an Amtrak train smashed into a tractor-trailer in Maine, causing an explosion that set both on fire and sent flames more than three stories high.

Steve McCausland from the Maine Department of Public Safety says the truck driver was killed and some train passengers were injured, but it's not clear how many or how seriously they were hurt. The crash happened at about 11 a.m. Monday in North Berwick, about 40 miles south of Portland.

Tom Gorski, who was working in a building 50 yards away, said he heard the train coming, then an explosion. He says the tractor-trailer was hauling trash.

The train continued for a half-mile before coming to a stop.

The train was part of Amtrak's Downeaster service. It connects Portland to Boston.

Catherine Greig, girlfriend of ex-crime boss Whitey Bulger, to seek bail in court

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Prosecutors said during Greig's initial appearance in court that they will argue against her release on bail.

catherine greig, apThe photos left and center are FBI handout photos of Massachusetts mobster James "Whitey" Bulger, taken in the 1980s. At right is an FBI photo of Bulger's girlfriend, Catherine Greig.

BOSTON — Catherine Greig, the longtime girlfriend of former Boston crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger, is due in court for a hearing on her request to be released on bail while awaiting trial on a charge of harboring a fugitive.

Before the hearing Monday afternoon, Greig's twin sister, Margaret McCusker, told reporters she's hopeful her sister will be granted bail. Greig's lawyer said in a court filing that McCusker and Greg are willing to put their Massachusetts homes up as collateral.

Greig was apprehended with Bulger in Santa Monica, Calif., last month after allegedly spending 16 years with him on the run.

Prosecutors said during Greig's initial appearance in court that they will argue against her release on bail.

Greig's detention hearing is scheduled Monday afternoon in U.S. District Court.

No stopgap: Obama demands big deal for debt limit

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Republicans affirmed their opposition to the tax increases he sees as crucial along with spending cuts for reducing huge federal deficits and restraining the soaring national debt.

obama, boehner, APPresident Barack Obama sits with House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, as he meets with Republican and Democratic leaders regarding the debt ceiling, Monday, July 11, 2011, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington.

WASHINGTON — Pressing both political parties to give ground, President Barack Obama declared Monday he would reject any stopgap extension of the nation's borrowing limit, adding fresh urgency for Republicans and fellow Democrats to resolve intense tax and spending disputes and head off economic calamity.

"If not now, when?" Obama said in a news conference just ahead of fresh negotiations with congressional leaders at the White House. He pledged daily bargaining sessions until agreement and refused to even entertain the idea of a backup plan should they fail and the government should default on Aug. 2.

"We are going to get this done," Obama insisted..

Yet the path to an agreement remained hard to see. Even as he spoke, Republicans affirmed their opposition to the tax increases he sees as crucial along with spending cuts for reducing huge federal deficits and restraining the soaring national debt.

A potential deal — a package of spending cuts and tax increases that could total $2 trillion or more over a decade — is considered necessary for Congress to lift the nation's $14.3 trillion debt limit. Failure to lift that cap could cause the government to default on its bills and sink the economy — and the world — into deeper trouble.

Obama renewed his case Monday for a package that would put a historic dent in the country's deficits by blending politically poisonous elements for both parties: tax hikes for the wealthy and big corporations opposed by Republicans and social service cuts that Democrats decry.

Speaking shortly before heading to the White House, House Speaker John Boehner stood firm in his opposition to including tax increases.

"Do you need to raise taxes in order to get control of spending? I think the answer is no," he said.

Said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia: "We are not going to raise taxes. That's all."

Obama tried to alter the debate by saying that any potential tax increases on wealthier people would not take effect until 2013. That would fall after the next election, when Obama will seek re-election and control of the House and the Senate will be at stake. Meanwhile, a short-term debt-limit increase would keep the issue boiling during the campaign.

The president said he would refuse to accept stopgap legislation. "It's not going to get easier; it's going to get harder," Obama said. "So we might as well do it now. Pull of the Band-Aid. Eat our peas."

He said he would refuse to sign into law a short-term extension of the debt limit, which technically left open the possibility that it could become law without his signature. The White House later confirmed that Obama meant he would veto such a bill.

More broadly, Obama sought to position himself as the pragmatist seeking a compromise in a divided town. He tried to build pressure on Congress to prove to a disillusioned American people that "this town can actually do something once in a while."

To Republicans, he said they have long pushed deficit reduction as the way to create desperately needed jobs and now won't take yes for an answer. "Where are they?" he said. "I mean, this is what they claim would be the single biggest boost to business certainty and confidence. So what's the hold-up?"

And to Democrats eager to protect entitlements, Obama said doing nothing is not tenable. The president said Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid have to be made stronger for the longer term and the rising debt each year will crowd out Democratic priorities such as education and medical research.

"So, yeah, we're going to have a sales job," he conceded. "This is not pleasant."

The president himself is under pressure to get a deal that can pass Congress without undermining his own positions — and voters.

Obama's previous meeting with top lawmakers from both parties, on Sunday night, accomplished little.

And that was after the possibility of a grander deal on the magnitude of $4 trillion, as discussed by Obama and Boehner, fell apart Saturday night amid steep Republican opposition.

The meeting Monday was expected to focus on potential debt savings identified by Vice President Joe Biden and lawmakers during earlier talks. But that group, too, was bitterly divided over taxes, and the amount of savings they found elsewhere still falls short of what all sides agree must come together quickly.

For his part, Boehner told reporters that he agreed with Obama that the nation's borrowing limit must be raised, but he said revenues can be raised without hiking taxes. Boehner said Obama insists on raising taxes but the White House isn't serious enough about reforming entitlement programs.

Here, too, there was an enormous gap in how both sides described the state of play.

"I am prepared to take on significant heat from my party to get something done," Obama said, contending he has "bent over backward" to work with Republicans.

The president made clear Monday that any changes to Social Security would be designed to ensure money is available for beneficiaries years from now — as opposed to trimming costs to reduce the deficit. One possibility would lower cost-of-living increases for recipients.

As to why that would be included in debt talks, Obama said it all came back to politics.

"If you're going to take a bunch of tough votes," he said, "You might as well do it now."

Questions about correct ID again delay arraignment of Shay Edwards in group beating of Springfield man

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Edwards, 19, of Springfield, and 8 juveniles were charged in connection with the alleged civil rights violation with injury.

Shay Edwards 62911.jpgShay Edwards

SPRINGFIELD – A prosecutor told District Court Judge William J. Boyle Monday there are questions about whether Shay Andre Edwards participated in an assault which resulted in charges of unarmed robbery and civil rights violation with injury.

Edwards, 19, of 11 George St., and eight juveniles were charged in connection to an attack on a 30-year-old man June 28.

Edwards, in court Monday with his mother for the third scheduled arraignment date, had his arraignment continued again, this time to July 25.

Assistant District Attorney Marie Angers told Boyle because of questions about whether Edwards was accurately identified as an assault participant, the state is waiting for a report from Springfield police.

Edwards lawyer, Kally Walsh, has declined comment on the case.

The man was assaulted as he walked past a Walnut Street park shortly after 3 a.m. He was thrown to the ground, kicked in the head and abdomen, and punched in the face, police said.

Some of his attackers yelled, “That’s what we do to faggots,” according to a police report.

Four of the juveniles are male and four are female.

The victim’s MP3 player was taken during the attack.

More than two dozen people gathered at Barrows Park at noon July 5 to deplore the violence that sent the victim to Baystate Medical Center, where he received treatment.

City Councilor Amaad I. Rivera, who describes himself as the city’s first openly gay city councilor and helped to organize the rally, said the incident is indicative of bullying and other issues that needs to be addressed at the grassroots level, by families and schools.

“What does it say about our community that young people committed this crime?” he said.

Paul Protzenko of Enfield, retired Connecticut State Trooper who grew up in Agawam, killed in Afghanistan

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Protzenko, who was training the Afghan police force and military, was killed when the convoy he was traveling with came under attack.

paul protzenko afghanistan death.jpgFormer Connecticut State Trooper Paul Protzenko, of Enfield, first row, third from left, with members of the Afghan National Police. Protzenko, who grew up in Agawam, was training Afghan Police. He was killed when the convoy he was traveling with came under attack on Saturday.

ENFIELD – A retired Connecticut State Police officer from Enfield died in Afghanistan Saturday after his convoy came under attack.

Paul Protzenko, 46, grew up in Agawam, according to his brother-in-law , Andre J. Coulombe, of Chicopee.

“He was a terrific brother-in-law,” Coulombe said Monday. “He was just tremendous. You couldn’t hate the guy whatsoever.”

Protzenko was overseas training the Afghan police force and military, using his law-enforcement know-how to help U.S. Infantry assigned to the region, said David Richard Kiernan, spokesman for Protzenko’s employer, Military Professional Resources International (MPRI), in Alexandria, Va.

Protzenko spent six years in the Army before being injured in a parachute jump, said his brother-in-law Carl Bellefeille, of Westfield. Protzenko then spent more than 21 years with the state police, his last assignment being at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, before retiring in 2009.

Paul Protzenko mug.JPGPaul Protzenko

“He always loved the service,” Bellefeille said. “Of course he made money going over there to train those guys in Afghanistan. But I think it meant more to him than the money. He wanted to help those people bring law and order to their country. He also just loved being with the Army.”

Coulombe said Protzenko also spent time training American and Canadian forces in ways to spot and avoid improvised explosive devices, the makeshift roadside bombs that create havoc in the Middle East.

Protzenko was traveling with a convoy on Saturday when an argument broke out in a roadside home, Bellefeille said. A gunman came outside and started shouting with people in Protzenko’s convoy. Then the gunman started shooting. Two, including Protzenko, were killed, and another was injured; Bellefeille didn’t know the nationality of the other casualties.

Coulombe said the family is gathering in Myrtle Beach, S.C., where Protzenko had purchased a home after he retired from the state police. His body is on its way to the military mortuary at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. The funeral will be later this week or early next week in this area, Coulombe said.

Protzenko was a father of three, Bellefeille said.

“He was just the sort of man you strive to be,” Bellefeille said. “I think my kids thought of him as a bigger father figure than they do me.”

At family gatherings, Protzenko spent time with the youngsters instead of socializing with the grownups, Bellefeille said.

“He kept them entertained and he kept them safe,” Bellefeille said.

Developing: water rescue operation underway Southwick's Congamond Lakes

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Searchers are looking for a man who jumped off a boat and then disappeared under the water, an official said.

071111 congamond drowning search.jpgView full sizeA diver comes out of Middle Pond of Congamond Lakes in Southwick as rescue personnel continue search and rescue operations for a 19-year-man who was last seen in the water after jumping from a boat on Monday.

This story was updated at 7:45 p.m. Monday

SOUTHWICK – Underwater divers are searching Middle Pond of Congamond Lakes for a 19-year-old man who was last seen in the water after jumping from a boat, officials said.

The man, whose name was being withheld, was on a pontoon boat with a group of friends. The friends told police the man jumped into the water. He resurfaced once, went under again and never resurfaced, said Lt. David A. Ricardi of the Southwick Police Department.

Police were called at about 4:30 p.m.

Divers with Southwick police and fire are in the water looking for the man. Ricardi said the search is still considered a rescue operation.

The search is expected to continue until the find him or until dark, at which point it will be suspended and resume Tuesday, Ricardi said.

This is the second such underwater search of Middle Pond for a missing swimmer in less than a month.

On June 18, 22-year-old Larry Cauley of Suffield either jumped or fell from a pontoon boat and never resurfaced. His body was recovered 36 hours later.

Prior to that, the last reported drowning in Congamond was in 2000.


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Whoa, baby! Texas mom delivers 16-pound newborn

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Janet Johnson's doctors are calling her son JaMichael one of the biggest newborns they've ever seen.

jamichael brown 16 pound babyThis photo provided by Good Shepherd Medical Center Marketing Department shows JaMichael Brown Monday, July 11, 2011, in the hospital's neonatal care unit in Longview, Texas. Janet Johnson gave birth to gave birth last Friday to what her doctors called one of the biggest newborns they've ever seen. JaMichael, her fourth child, weighed 16 pounds, 1 ounce.

LONGVIEW, Texas — A Texas mom expected a big baby, but nothing like this: 16 pounds, 1 ounce.

Janet Johnson on Monday remained in an East Texas hospital after giving birth to what her doctors called one of the biggest newborns they've ever seen. She was awaiting word on whether her son, JaMichael Brown, ranked among the biggest births in state history.

"Everybody was amazed that he was so big," Johnson, 39, said. "I don't think too many people have heard of having a 16-pound baby."

JaMichael was born Friday at Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview. Johnson has gestational diabetes, which results in bigger newborns for many mothers. Doctors had estimated JaMichael would be around 12 pounds prior to the cesarean birth.

The hospital has asked the state's vital records department whether JaMichael is big enough to approach any Texas newborn records, said Victoria Ashworth, a hospital spokeswoman. He is certainly the biggest in the history of the Longview hospital and was born, Ashworth said, almost two years to the day after the hospital delivered its smallest baby ever, who weighed just 15 ounces.

Guinness World Records says the heaviest newborn ever recorded weighed 23 pounds, 12 ounces, born to an Ohio woman in 1879.

Ashworth said JaMichael, whose father is 6-foot-7, was likely to be transferred Monday from the neonatal intensive care unit and into the regular nursery. Johnson said she hoped to get her son home later this week — and return his newborn clothes that won't fit.

Not to mention, Johnson said, get her son out of the spotlight finally.

"It's gotten overwhelming," Johnson said. "But if I had heard of someone having a 16-pound baby, I would probably want to have heard about it, too."

Stocks on Wall Street sink on fresh fears about global economy

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The European debt crisis appears to be widening, with concerns about government debt defaults spreading beyond Greece to much larger countries like Italy and Spain.

071111 wall street trader.jpgA trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, July 11, 2011. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 151.44 points, or 1.2 percent, to close at 12,505.76 Monday, the lowest level so far in July. The European debt crisis appears to be widening, with concerns about government debt defaults spreading beyond Greece, Ireland and Portugal to much larger countries. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

By FRANCESCA LEVY
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK — July doesn't look so promising anymore.

The European debt crisis appears to be widening, with concerns about government debt defaults spreading beyond Greece to much larger countries like Italy and Spain. If that happens companies that do business internationally could see their revenue and profits decline as European countries and companies curtail purchases. What's more, a widespread financial crisis could cause a credit crunch in Europe and elsewhere.

The concerns sent stocks down. After a rally that sent markets up sharply the last two weeks of June, the Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 24.31 points, or 1.8 percent, to 1,319.49 on Monday.

The Dow Jones industrial average had its biggest percentage drop in nearly a month. It fell 151.44 points, or 1.2 percent, to 12,505.76. And after closing one point off its 2011 high late last week, the Nasdaq composite fell 57.19, or 2.0 percent to 2,802.62.

Italy and Spain, Europe's third and fourth largest economies, have seen bond yields rise sharply. It's the latest sign that investors are less willing to hold the debt of those countries. Italy's largest banks, UniCredit SpA and Intesa, fell sharply on European exchanges. Some investors believe several of Italy and Spain's financial institutions might not pass an upcoming stress-test for European banks.

"What the European Union is trying to do is keep the problem contained at a sovereign level and not have the infection spread to the banking system," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank. "To see a bank drop that much that fast suggests there may be a breach."

That has led to fears in Europe and elsewhere that the aid from international lenders may not be enough to stop a broad deterioration of the European economy.

The S&P fell broadly, led by financial companies. Financial stocks in the index fell 2.8 percent as bank stocks sank. Investment manager Janus Capital Group fared worst, falling 6.8 percent to $9.16. Citigroup Inc. led banks down, declining 5.3 percent to $39.79. If Europe's debt crisis continues to spread, bank lending could seize up. Banks are also expected to report weak earnings beginning later this week.

Of the 500 companies in the S&P index, 492 fell.

The euro fell against the dollar and U.S. government bond prices rose. The euro fell below $1.40 for the first time since May 23 and hit a record low against the Swiss franc. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.95 percent from 3.02 percent late Friday. Bond yields fall when their prices rise.

Markets seemed to be recovering during the last half of June. The last week of the month, the Dow had its best week in two years after several positive reports on manufacturing and consumer spending. All three major indexes were close to their previous highs for the year, reached April 29.

But the run-up just gave markets more room to fall, says Ralph Fogel, an investment strategist at Fogel Neal Partners in New York.

"When markets are at their bottom, they don't listen to bad news. But because we're at the top end, they listen," said Fogel.

The broadening of Europe's debt troubles follows disappointing U.S. employment news and a setback in negotiations over the country's borrowing limit.

The government reported Friday that employers pulled back sharply on hiring in June, compounding fears that the U.S. economy was in even worse shape than previously thought. The unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent.

Weekend budget talks between Republicans and Democrats also stalled, raising the possibility that lawmakers might not reach an agreement on raising the country's debt limit before an Aug. 2 deadline. President Obama said he wouldn't sign a short-term extension to the limit.

"Markets don't like when they don't know what's going on," said Fogel. "They don't appreciate politics."

News Corp. fell 7.6 percent on Monday, the most of any company in the S&P 500, as its phone hacking scandal threatened the approval of its proposed takeover of British Sky Broadcasting, a highly profitable satellite TV company in Britain. The deal will now be reviewed by British competition authorities, which will put off a final decision for several months.

Wells Fargo fell 2.6 percent after the bank offered to settle for $125 million with pension funds that accused it of not warning investors about risky mortgage-backed securities.

Insurer American International Group Inc. fell 3.6 percent after saying it would fire one or more of the banks it used for its recent public stock offering when it sells more stock later this year. The move indicates that the company might not have confidence in its ability to sell more stock at a desirable price.

Gulfport Energy Corp. fell 6.2 percent. The oil and natural gas producer plans to sell 3 million shares to repay debt and pay for acquisitions.

Aluminum maker Alcoa Inc. fell 2.9 percent ahead of announcing its second-quarter results. Alcoa's report marks the unofficial beginning of U.S. earnings season. Aluminum is used in everything from airplanes to beer cans; the company's results typically offer insight into the health of the broader U.S. economy.

The company reported earnings after the market closed. Its income more than doubled as higher sales and prices offset increasing prices for raw materials, the company reported. Alcoa earned 32 cents per share. Analysts expected the company to earn 33 cents per share, according to FactSet. The company reaffirmed its forecast for 12 percent growth in global aluminum demand this year. Alcoa was down 0.4 percent in early aftermarket trading.

Several companies did post gains on Monday. Arch Chemicals Inc. rose 11.7 percent after saying it would be bought by Swiss drugmaker Lonza for $1.2 billion. Arch makes antibacterial products.

Chip-maker Microsemi Corp. was up 2.3 percent after an Oppenheimer analyst upgraded its rating on the company. The analyst cited a growing backlog of orders and improving profit margins.

LinkedIn rose 1.1 percent after web analytics company Comscore said that in June, the professional networking site was second only to Facebook among social networking sites in its number of unique visitors. LinkedIn had 33.9 million unique visitors in June. Facebook had 106.8 million unique visitors.

Six stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was lighter than usual at 3.5 billion shares.

Julian Pellegrino bail set at $100,000 after he tests positive for cocaine

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Pellegrino, if he makes bail, will be subject to a curfew and twice-weekly reporting to probation.

AE_PELLEGRINO_2_9025383.JPGJulian Pellegrino confers with his lawyer, Raipher Pellegrino, at bail hearing Monday

SPRINGFIELD – A drug test showing cocaine use has landed Julian Pellegrino back in jail.

Hampden Superior Court Judge Tina S. Page on Monday ordered Pellegrino, who is awaiting trial on charges resulting from a 2009 car crash which seriously injured another driver, held in lieu of $100,000 cash bail or $1 million surety.

Page said she has “serious concerns” Pellegrino can abstain from using drugs and alcohol if released on his own recognizance.

The bail was set because Pellegrino, who was free on his own recognizance pending his trial, tested positive for cocaine in a regular drug screen which was part of his conditions of pre-trial release.

Pellegrino is charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs and causing serious injury.

Page said if Pellegrino, 42, of 29 Savoy Ave., gets out on bail he must stay home between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. He must remain drug- and alcohol-free, report twice a week in person to the probation office, and go to three Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings per week.

Pellegrino’s lawyer, Raipher D. Pellegrino, asked Page to release Pellegrino with a requirement for daily drug and alcohol screening. He said the trial date is Sept. 7, so it is not too far off.

Raipher Pellegrino is Julian Pellegrino’s brother. Also sitting in the courtroom but not participating for the bail hearing Monday was their father, retired Springfield Juvenile Court Judge Joseph A. Pellegrino.

The head-on crash occurred on Dec. 20, 2009, at 2:20 p.m., when Pellegrino, driving a 2004 Ford truck eastbound on Granby Road in Chicopee, crossed the line into the westbound lane.

His truck collided with a 1998 Honda driven by 26-year-old Mark A. Costa, of Chicopee, police said.

Both drivers were taken to Baystate Medical Center. Costa suffered two broken legs and other injuries.

Last month, Hampden Superior Court Judge Cornelius Moriarty II denied Julian Pellegrino’s effort to get results of a blood test on blood taken at the hospital thrown out as evidence. Pellegrino claimed they were obtained illegally.

Chicopee police followed proper procedures in obtaining the results of the blood testing, the judge ruled. The result of the blood test is not public, Assistant District Attorney James M. Forsyth said.

Forsyth said Pellegrino was held without right to bail since Friday, when the positive drug test happened.

Julian Pellegrino, who briefly considered a run for state representative in the 9th Hampden District in 1999, is a member of a prominent Springfield family.

He is the son of Kathleen B. Pellegrino, a former police commissioner. Raipher Pellegrino is a past Springfield city councilor.

In November, he was arraigned in Springfield District Court for a new charge, driving while under the influence of liquor. He still faces that charge in District Court.

When he was arrested on the District Court charge, he was held without right to bail for about a month because the new charge violated his conditions of pre-trial release on the Superior Court case. But Pellegrino successfully challenged that District Court decision in Superior Court and was released on his own recognizance.

Page noted the positive blood test for cocaine is the second violation of pre-trial release, with the November arrest the first.

Amtrak train, semitrailer crash in Maine, killing trucker

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There were about 200 feet of skid marks on the road leading to the impact.

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NORTH BERWICK, Maine — An Amtrak train traveling at 70 mph smashed into a tractor-trailer Monday in a fiery collision that killed the truck driver, injured a half-dozen others and sent flames more than three stories high, a witness and officials said.

Witnesses reported that safety lights were flashing and gates were down at the intersection when the tractor-trailer crossed into the path of Amtrak's Downeaster at about 11 a.m., said Police Chief Stephen Peasley. None of the train's 112 passengers or three crew members suffered life-threatening injuries.

One witness said the tractor-trailer driver slammed on the brakes, Peasley said. "From what I've been told, it appears that it skidded through the intersection," he said.

There were about 200 feet of skid marks on the road leading to the impact, and the truck apparently clipped one of the gates before the collision, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

Tom Gorski, who works in a building about 50 yards from the intersection, said he heard the approaching locomotive, then a massive boom that shook the building. He said he ran to the scene, where the truck's cab was split into pieces.

"It looked like somebody dropped a bomb. The flames were shooting higher than a three-story house," said Gorski. "It brings tears to your eyes."

After the impact, the northbound train dragged the truck's cab about 200 yards, then the train continued on before coming to a stop, said Deputy Fire Chief Larry Straffin.

The train's engineer hopped off the locomotive, separated the burning engine from the passenger cars, and moved the engine down the tracks to keep the flames from spreading, Straffin said. Firefighters had to drag hose down the train tracks to douse the fire to the locomotive, he said.

The tractor-trailer was carrying a load of trash, which was strewn in heaping piles alongside the train tracks.

The locomotive was totally charred after the fire was extinguished, obscuring its markings, said Brianna Bataran, 17, of North Berwick. "You couldn't even tell what kind of train it was."

Six people on the train — four passengers and two crew members — suffered injuries, said Patricia Quinn, executive director of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority.

Three were taken to a hospital in Sanford, where two were being treated for smoke inhalation and the third for a head injury, before being released, a spokeswoman said.

The truck driver, who was ejected, was not immediately identified, pending notification of relatives. He was working for Triumvirate Environmental Inc., a trucking company based in Massachusetts, McCausland said.

The company issued a statement saying it was cooperating with investigators.

"The safety and well-being of our employees is Triumvirate Environmental's top priority and we are cooperating fully with local authorities as they conduct their investigation," the statement said.

Service on the route was delayed after the collision, and the passengers completed the trip to Portland by bus. Amtrak will use a combination of trains and buses until service is restored, possibly Tuesday morning. Nearly 1,400 passengers a day ride the Portland-to-Boston service.

Last month, a man drove a semi-trailer into the side of a passenger train in Nevada in a fiery crash that killed six and injured more than 20. Amtrak is suing the Nevada trucking company the man worked for, alleging negligence in its training.

Mater Dolorosa Church in Holyoke parish members question Springfield Diocese actions toward their vigil

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Diocesan officials said the people conducting the prayer vigil are in the church without their permission.

materd.jpgStaging has been erected in front of Mater Dolorosa Church while a 24-hour prayer vigil is being conducted inside.

HOLYOKE – Parishioners conducting a round-the-clock prayer vigil at Mater Dolorosa Church are accusing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield of harassing them in the church they are trying to keep open.

But diocesan officials said they are taking measures, some of which were planned before the vigil began, to ensure the church is safe.

“There are unidentified people coming around and they have the key and they put up ugly staging in front of the church,” said Victor Anop, of Chicopee, an area lawyer and long-term member of Mater Dolorosa Church who is helping to organize the vigil.

The church, on Lyman Street, was to close after the 8 a.m., June 30 Mass and to merge with Holy Cross on Sycamore Street to form a new parish, Our Lady of the Cross. After the mass, some members declined to leave and began the vigil.

Parish members later learned the unidentified people are from a security firm which has been hired to watch the church. In addition, signs written by parish members on poster board which read “Open for Prayer,” and “Join us for Prayer” have been removed by the security personnel, Anop said.

“It disrupts the people who are praying,” he said. “There is nothing going wrong here; they are protecting the church.”

Officials for the diocese said they hired the security firm because they found the group conducting the vigil to be lax in securing the church and cite one incident where two elderly women opened the doors and allowed a stranger in without requesting any identification or asking questions.

071111 mater dolorosa doors.JPGStaging has been placed in front of the Mater Dolorosa Church in Holyoke while some parishioners hold a prayer vigil inside.

“They have created a situation that the church is not secure,” Mark E. Dupont, spokesman for the diocese.

The vigil is being conducted on private church property and those who are occupying the church are doing so without permission, Dupont said.

The friars who operated the church have heard the bell rung at night, even though church officials are concerned the steeple is in poor shape and have asked that the bell not be used, he said.

Diocesan officials planned to begin repairs to the steeple before the vigil began and did announce those plans to the media. The scaffolding has been set up on the sidewalk in anticipation of the work being done, Dupont said.

A contractor has not yet been hired. Dupont said work cannot be done in the church until it is vacant.

The condition of the steeple remains a contention between the diocese and those who are conducting the vigil.

The diocese released a report from EDA Inc, a structural engineering firm hired to examine all church buildings, that recommended the steeple be removed.

“It is only a matter of time before there is either a partial or complete failure of the wood framed steeple structure. Even a partial collapse would...jeopardize the occupants and their immediate surroundings,” the report said.

But Anop has questioned the report and said the group has rung the bell and it caused no problems.

“We are getting an expert opinion on the steeple, as the diocese’s engineering firm stated that they needed a second opinion since they had no expertise on steeples,” said Peter Stasz, a member of Mater Dolorosa and a lawyer.

The group’s Boston lawyer, Peter Borre, an expert in cannon law, said Springfield Bishop Timothy A.

07.11.2011 Friends of Mater Dolorosa Press Release

McDonnell’s actions toward Mater Dolorosa are unusual.

“The fundamental responsibility of a bishop is to keep things spiritual and peaceful and you have to wonder if whether the Springfield bishop is doing this,” he said.

Dupont said the diocese has not hired a security firm at St. Stanislaus Kostka church, where parishioners have been running a vigil for more than two years, but he said the situation is different.

“We don’t doubt the good will of the people who are running this, but their carelessness causes great concern,” he said.

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