The dispatch center, located on the second floor of police headquarters received a complete overhaul, literally from the floor to the ceiling, at a cost of $200,000.

Republican staff photo by Dave RobackMelissa Nazzaro, director of the city's Emergency 911 Dispatch Center, stands by the newly refurbished center in police headquarters. The center recently had a floor-to-ceiling upgrade.

SPRINGFIELD – The city unveiled its newly renovated emergency 911 dispatch center that officials say provides the latest equipment for improved communications with people in distress and with the police and firefighters responding to emergencies.

The center, located on the second floor of police headquarters, 130 Pearl St., received a complete overhaul, literally from the floor to the ceiling, at a cost of $200,000, said Springfield Dispatch Director Melissa Nazzaro.

The cost of the project was fully paid for with a state 911 grant from the Massachusetts Department of Public Safety.

The upgrade includes a raised floor to conceal a myriad of wires, an electrostatic discharge resistant carpet, acoustical walls, ergonomic chairs and desks, and new computers, she said.

The city's 911 dispatchers take emergency calls from the public, and then relay that information to the police to direct a response. They also monitor the city's Shot Spotter software and direct police to the scene where gunshots are detected.

Much of the removed equipment that is still serviceable will be used in an upgrade of the city’s back-up emergency 911 center, which is located within the Fire Department’s Communication Division.

For the two months that the dispatch center was being overhauled, police dispatchers were working from two temporary trailers that had been set up outside police headquarters.

It was from those temporary trailers that the dispatchers during the June 1 tornado
received 911 calls and directed the police and emergency response, even though depending on the storm they were minutes away from evacuation.

Nazzaro said it is a credit to the civilian dispatchers and their training that they worked effectively amid the chaos of the storm.

“A 911 center is only as good at the people who operate it,” she said.

The city receives roughly 105,000 calls over 911 each year, she said.

Mayor Domenic Sarno and Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet were on hand for
the unveiling.

Sarno said he want to come by to personally thank all the dispatchers for the work they have done, particularly in the aftermath of the tornado.

Town Administrator Gretchen Neggers warned that costs are expected to continue to rise as the clean-up continues.

MONSON – Tornado-related costs have climbed to $5.5 million, and if the town receives 75 percent reimbursement of those costs from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, taxpayers would still have to come up with nearly $1.4 million, according to Town Administrator Gretchen E. Neggers.

Neggers updated the selectmen at their meeting Tuesday about expenses in the wake of the June 1 tornado. Selectmen also approved short-term borrowing in the amount of $700,000 to help the town address the escalating costs before it receives FEMA reimbursement.

Selectmen also approved three contracts to remove debris from waterways – $94,000 to clean unnamed tributaries to the Chicopee Brook, $160,000 for Ely Brook and $342,000 for Chicopee Brook.

She warned the selectmen that costs are expected to continue to rise, as the clean-up continues. Hope Bodwell, the former Monson Free Library director who is working as the disaster recovery assistant, said she is holding a volunteer coordination meeting on Thursday at 6 p.m. at First Church, the former site of all volunteer efforts. Civic and religious groups and local residents are invited to attend.

"We're trying to figure out what do all these groups have to offer? What do they need? And figure out how we can, in an organized, coordinated way, help those in need. We're trying not to have a duplication of efforts," Bodwell said.

Bodwell said the deadline for people affected by the tornado to register with FEMA is Aug. 15, and encouraged people to register whether they think they qualify or not. She said she understands that dealing with FEMA and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency can be confusing, and that she is working on setting up a meeting for residents with a representative from the agencies to explain how to receive help in "layman's terms."

"It's like swimming through a sea of red tape," Selectman Edward A. Maia said.

"It definitely can be a frustrating thing to try and negotiate through," Selectman John F. Goodrich II said.

Selectmen approved the Monson Tornado Volunteers group's use of the gazebo at Dave Grieve Park, seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The use will be reviewed in 30 days. The group will be coordinating volunteer efforts there. The selectmen approved it on the condition that the group posts that it not a town-sponsored activity.

Neggers also updated the selectmen about the Town Office Building, which has been closed since the tornado ripped the roof off and caused structural damage. Town offices are now at Hillside School.

She said structural engineers need to do a more in-depth analysis of the building before they can determine if the building can be repaired. Complicating the situation is the fact that the police station was located in the building; building codes for police stations are more stringent, she said.

Officials said it could be a long process to repair, or build a new, town office building, possibly as long as two years.

Regarding the library on High Street, Neggers said she talked to the director and it may be open in a week on a modified basis.

And in other business, Neggers said 18 applications have been received for the building inspector position, and seven applicants held the minimum qualifications. But one of the seven has dropped out, so six individuals will be interviewed, she said, adding that she hopes three finalists will be ready for the selectmen to interview at next Tuesday's meeting.

Comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke set off a rally, but it wasn't long before another Fed official cut it short.

File photo | Associated PressFederal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday said the central bank would be open to new economic stimulus measures, but only if the economy gets much worse.

By FRANCESCA LEVY
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK — Comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke set off a stock market rally early Wednesday, but it wasn't long before another Fed official cut it short.

In testimony before Congress, Bernanke said the central bank would be open to new economic stimulus measures, but only if the economy gets much worse. The remarks were far from a promise for more Fed action, but markets reacted immediately nonetheless. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped as many as 164 points, or 1.3 percent.

Most of those gains evaporated later in the day after Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said in a speech that the Fed had already "pressed the limits of monetary policy."

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 4.08, or 0.3 percent, to close at 1,318.72. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 44.73, or 0.4 percent, to 12,491.61. The Nasdaq composite rose 15.01, or 0.5 percent, to 2,796.92.

Stocks also took a hit in the afternoon when House Speaker John Boehner called into question whether lawmakers would agree to raise the government's borrowing limit by an Aug. 2 deadline. Failure to meet the deadline could result in a U.S. debt default, which would have disastrous effects for the economy and financial markets. Boehner, a Republican, said that dealing with Democrats on the issue has been like "dealing with Jell-O."

Bernanke spelled out specific steps the Fed might consider if the economy gets worse, including another round of bond purchases. He also detailed what the Fed would do should the economy improve.

Bernanke's position remains that the slowdown in the U.S. economy this spring is due largely to temporary factors including high gas prices and parts shortages caused by the earthquake in Japan. He said he still expects economic growth to pick up in the second half of the year.

Energy and materials stocks rose more than the overall market as investors bought companies that would benefit most from an upturn in the economy. Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. rose 1.6 percent, the most of any of the 30 stocks in the Dow average.

The Fed's policy of ultra-low interest rates and buying U.S. Treasury bonds on the open market has pushed stocks higher since last August. Many traders were disappointed when the Fed ended its second round of bond purchases in June.

Signs of healthy growth in China also helped push stocks higher. The Chinese government reported that the country's economy grew at a slower but still healthy rate of 9.5 percent last quarter. China is attempting to rein in its speeding expansion and ease inflation, but a sudden drop-off in growth could hurt the U.S. economy by cutting into demand for U.S. exports.

Markets also rose because fears abated that Italy would default on its debt. The S&P 500 fell 2.9 percent over the past three days as traders worried one or more European countries would fail to pay their debts, causing a global slowdown in lending.

A successful auction of Italian government debt and a pledge by that country's leaders to accelerate cost-cutting plans reassured markets that Europe's third-largest economy was not on the verge of becoming the latest European country to need emergency financial support to avoid a default. Italian stocks rallied 1.8 percent on relief that Italy's fiscal outlook was not as shaky as believed just a few days ago.

About two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was relatively light at 3.3 billion shares.

AP Business Writers Matthew Craft and David Randall contributed to this story.

U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal hailed the James House as a testament to Northampton Mayor Mary Clare Higgins' ability to understand the complicated issues of the day.

File photo | The RepublicanThe James House.

NORTHAMPTON – Prior to the ribbon-cutting for the James House Community Learning Center on Monday, Mayor Mary Clare Higgins told the crowd she wanted to put in a word of democracy.

“Democracy depends on a literate population,” she said. “It’s incumbent on us to educate people so they can make good choices.”

Higgins and the other collaborators on the $600,000 project are hoping the James House will be a major step in this direction. Conceived as Hampshire County’s adult education center, the 18th century building houses the Center for New Americans, the Literacy Project and programs by Greenfield and Holyoke community colleges.

Only three years ago, the James House featured holding cells in its basement, vestiges of the Franklin-Hampshire Juvenile Court, which occupied the building for several years before moving to Hadley in 2008. It had previously served as a bank and was briefly considered as the site for a new police facility. Northampton bought the James House in 1994 for $355,000.

Higgins began the push to convert it into an adult education center about the time the juvenile court moved out, building a team of collaborators and lobbying the state and federal government for funding. The lion’s share of the project, some $400,000, came from the U.S. Office of Housing and Urban Development. The Clean Energy Center contributed $149,000 for energy improvements, including a solar voltaic panel that provides most of the building’s electricity. Westover Job Corp and the New England Regional Council of Carpenters Local 108 donated labor.

With Higgins preparing to leave office in September to take over as head of Community Action of Greenfield, her fellow officials at the podium hailed the James House as part of her legacy.

“This is emblematic of her style, her work and her vision,” said State Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg, D-Amherst.

Noting that immigration has been a divisive issue both nationally and in the Massachusetts Senate, Rosenberg said the new learning center should be a source of pride to Hampshire County.

“They should be proud that they don’t join in the chorus of hate and disrespect for other people that are not Americans,” he said.

Calling the center a path to citizenship, U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, hailed the James House as a testament to Higgins' ability to understand the complicated issues of the day.

Lena Stone, a native of Brazil, told the crowd she didn’t know a word of English when she arrived in Hampshire County several years ago. After five years at the Center for New Americans and The Literacy Project, however, Stone was able to earn her GED.

“I thought I’d never finish, but I finally did,” she said. “I want to tell you guys: Don’t give up.”

Gaming legislation is being discussed because of the importance of creating jobs and growing revenues for state and local governments, according to the offices of Senate President Therese Murray and House Speaker Robert DeLeo.

The Republican file photo / Michael S. GordonUncasville, Conn., Oct. 9, 2007 -- staff/ Michael S. Gordon -- Photos made at Mohegan Sun Casino Tuesday. Interior of casino. Action at slot machines and craps tables.

BOSTON – Leaders of the state Legislature on Wednesday pledged to take up a casino bill in September, providing the first timetable for debating casinos since a bill was killed a year ago.

Spokesmen for Senate President Therese Murray and Speaker of the state House of Representatives Robert A. DeLeo issued a statement late Wednesday afternoon, saying that gaming legislation is still being discussed with Gov. Deval L. Patrick.

"To allow for public analysis and a full debate, both branches plan to debate gaming legislation in September after Labor Day," said the joint statement by Seth Gitell, spokesman for DeLeo, and David Falcone, spokesman for Murray.

Gaming legislation is being discussed because of the importance of creating jobs and growing revenues for state and local governments, according to the statement.

The Republican file photoHouse Speaker Robert DeLeo talks about casinos with reporters following an event in Holyoke in February.

Supporters and opponents were bracing for a casino clash this month after DeLeo said in June that he was hopeful of debating casinos this month following completion of the state budget.

The Joint Committee on Economic Development, which held a hearing on casinos on May 4, will continue to consider bills on gaming, the statement said.

Paul E. Burns, president of the Palmer Town Council, said it's good to know a casino bill will be debated in September.

"We have a timetable and we can begin to look to implementation," Burns said. "At least we have something we can anticipate."

The Republican file photoMassachusetts Senate President Therese Murray is pledging a debate on casinos in September.

The Mohegan Sun is planning a casino off Exit 8 of the Massachusetts Turnpike in Palmer. An organization called Paper City Development is proposing a casino for the Wyckoff County Club, which straddles Interstate 91 in Holyoke.

Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg, the point man on casinos in the Senate, said he believed that the Legislature could debate a casino bill, even though lawmakers will also be busy in the fall with redistricting of congressional and state legislative seats to comply with population changes documented in the 2010 census.

A casino bill hinges on negotiations among DeLeo, Murray and Patrick.

Patrick opposes slots for racetracks and effectively killed a casino bill last year because it authorized two slot licenses for racetracks. Patrick said the two slot licenses amounted to no-bid contracts for two tracks in the eastern part of the state.

Last year's bill also called for approval of three casino resorts, including one for anywhere in the four counties of Western Massachusetts.

Murray: "I think it's owed to the public and those communities that would be impacted what those specific dollar savings will be."

File photo | The RepublicanMassachusetts Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray urged legislators at the Statehouse on Tuesday to approve Gov. Deval Patrick's bill to lower the costs of municipal health insurance, saying it would respect union bargaining rights and provide financial relief to cities and towns.

By KYLE CHENEY

BOSTON – Lt. Gov. Tim Murray called Wednesday for a cost-benefit analysis of a slew of court closings proposed Tuesday by the state’s top two judges, escalating a dispute between the executive and judicial branches over access to justice and the governor’s power to fill vacant judgeships.

“I think it’s owed to the public and those communities that would be impacted what those specific dollar savings will be in closing that and the costs associated with relocating,” Murray told reporters after chairing a meeting of the Governor’s Council, the eight-member elected body that votes on Gov. Deval Patrick’s judicial nominees.

Murray agreed with Patrick’s chief legal counsel, Mark Reilly, that a call by Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Roderick Ireland and Judge Robert Mulligan, the top administrator of the Trial Court, to halt all judicial nominations was “perplexing.” He said “several” senior judiciary officials had been lobbying the administration as recently as last week to fill judicial vacancies.

“Clearly there’s an inconsistent message that’s coming from the courts in terms of what they think should or shouldn’t happen with judicial vacancies or clerk magistrates. We’re hearing different things,” Murray said, adding, “There’s a mixed message coming out of the judicial leadership … They all need to get in a room and figure it out. I guess that’s my advice to them.”

Judiciary leaders have warned throughout 2011 that further budget cuts would lead to dire consequences.

Roderick Ireland

Ireland and Mulligan, in a Tuesday letter to Gov. Patrick, urged him to halt further judicial nominations, contending that it would ease a funding crisis facing the courts, exacerbated by a $24 million budget cut Patrick signed into law this week. They also suggested that a dire budget crisis would force them to close and relocate 11 of their 101 courthouses. Among the courts marked for closure are the Charlestown Division of the Boston Municipal Court, located in the district of Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty, co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

According to the proposal, the judges would move:

• Berkshire Juvenile Court to Northern Berkshire District Court in North Adams;
• Framingham Juvenile Court to Marlborough District Court;
• Gloucester District Court to Salem District Court;
• Hingham District Court to Brockton District Court;
• Leominster District Court to Clinton District Court / Fitchburg District Court;
• New Bedford Housing Court to New Bedford District Court or to Fall River Durfee Courthouse;
• Norfolk Juvenile Court (Dedham) to Brookline District Court;
• Wareham District Court to Plymouth District Court;
• Westborough District Court to Worcester District Court; and,
• Westfield District Court to three western Massachusetts courts.

Patrick signed the $30.6 billion state budget Monday, allocating $519 million for the judiciary – a $24.2 million reduction from the previous fiscal year. The judges also argued that certain assumptions about court revenue were "not obtainable," resulting in an additional $10 million reduction to the court's funding. The result, they argued, is a fourth straight year of budget reductions in the Trial Court, bringing the system $95 million below its peak funding level of $605 million.

Murray told reporters that if the judges intend to close courts, they should provide a detailed analysis.

“If there’s going to be decisions about closing courts – and we understand belt-tightening has to occur, we’ve been doing it, everyone has to do it – consistent with them suggesting those courts have to be closed, they should release the figures as to what the actual savings would be,” he said.

Senate President Therese Murray said Wednesday that certain courts – including one adjacent to her district – “have to be closed.”

“We’ve known that there’s going to be a move toward that,” she said. “Particularly in Plymouth County, there’s less of a need for a Wareham District Court.”

Therese Murray

The debate between the executive and judicial branches could be impacted by negotiations among lawmakers on competing bills to overhaul the court system’s bureaucracy and state hiring practices.

The Senate version of the bill would require the chief justice of the Trial Court – along with a newly installed civilian administrator – to submit a report to the Legislature “90 days prior to the temporary closure or the temporary relocation of courthouses” and include in that report details about “the transfer of personnel, the reallocation of resources, the impact on other courthouses resulting from the temporary closure of said court and other factors that may affect implementation of said temporary closure.”

The bills (H 3395 / S 1911) also differ over whether to grant Trial Court administrators the unilateral ability to transfer funds among court departments. The House bill is more restrictive, permitting administrators only to transfer funds within Trial Court subdivisions, while the Senate’s version would allow funds to be moved from one subdivision to another.

Christopher Iannella, one of eight Governor’s Councilors who vote on Patrick’s judicial nominees, said the idea of a moratorium on nominations was “a real good idea.”

“I think it’s a good idea. I think it’s a real good idea. Some of these appointments, whether they’re clerk magistrates or judicial appointments, some of them – not all of them – they haven’t been filled for years,” he said. “Depending on the jurisdiction, I don’t think there’s any reason to fill it.”

Iannella, a Boston Democrat, allowed that certain courts – like the Dorchester District Court and Boston Municipal Court within his district – are busy enough that they should be fully stocked with judges.

Top judiciary officials warned lawmakers this year about the possibility of dire consequences if their budgets were cut further in fiscal 2012. In addition to longer case clearance rates, Mulligan warned in February that court sessions had been delayed due to a lack of court officers, creating a "potentially dangerous situation for court employees, judges and the 42,000 members of the public who visit our court divisions each day."

Officials are hesitant to say how Alzak died prior to the results of the autopsy being available, and as of Wednesday evening the results were not available.

07/12/11-Springfield-Staff Photo by Dave Roback- Springfield police and firefighters enter the home at 100 Phillips Ave. in Springfield where a woman was found dead on Wednesday afternoon.

SPRINGFIELD – Springfield police continue to investigate the suspicious death of a 81-year old woman who was found dead Tuesday at Phillips Avenue house fire but without disclosing what makes her death suspicious.

An autopsy for Doris Alzak was scheduled for Wednesday at the Medical Examiner’s Office in Boston, said Springfield police Sgt. John Delaney, spokesman for Commissioner William Fitchet.

Officials are hesitant to say how Alzak died prior to the results of the autopsy being available, and as of Wednesday evening the results were not available.

Officials have also not disclosed how the fire started.

Hampden District Attorney Mark Mastroianni said he could not comment on the case, other than to say it is under investigation and the death is considered suspicious.

He declined to say what about her death made it suspicious. Mastroianni said he is waiting for the autopsy results, and information on the cause of death will be released then.

Firefighters responding to a 3 p.m. fire at 100 Phillips Ave. found Alzak dead in a living room chair.

The fire was reported by city sanitation workers who saw smoke coming from the windows while driving through the neighborhood collecting trash.

The fire, which caused $60,000 damage to the house, was extinguished quickly by firefighters. The scene was almost immediately termed a crime scene, and Springfield detectives, members of the city Arson and Bomb Squad and the state Fire Marshal’s Office.

Police have said there were no signs of forced entry into the home.

The schools are in Springfield, Greenfield, West Springfield, Monson and in the Quaboag Regional District.

Republican file photo

Six Western Massachusetts schools have been named as Innovation Schools, which will allow teachers to try creative learning, such as having an educational theme, offering college classes to older students and increasing online course offerings.

The six, located in Greenfield, Springfield, West Springfield, Monson and the Quaboag Regional School District, were among nine named as innovation schools Tuesday by Gov. Deval L. Patrick.

The schools approved are the Discover School at Four Corners in Greenfield, Monson New Century High School, Quaboag Innovation Early College, Quaboag Innovation Middle School, Springfield Reniassance Innovation School and the West Springfield 21st Century Skills Academy.

This is the second group of schools to be named. Three, including one in the Ralph C. Mahar School district and the Massachusetts Virtual Academy in Greenfield, started operating in September.

To become an Innovation School, the local school committee must approve and submit a proposal to the state. The school continues to be part of the district and receives the same funding as other schools, but staff has more autonomy to try new ideas.

“The biggest difference is we are highlighting and encouraging innovation,” Patrick said shortly after the announcement. “It is to say, ‘Here, look are some different strategies, and these are intentional.’ ”

The schools are created as one way to close the gap between high-achieving students and those who continue to struggle, he said.

“It is not going to be a one-size solution. It is going to be a tailored solution aimed more and more to the individual kid,” Patrick said.

Patrick said many schools statewide are trying creative methods. There is not much difference between those and innovation schools except the staff has more autonomy and more control over how their budget is spent.

Schools received grants ranging from $10,000 to $15,000 to create the programs, but there is little funding beyond that, Patrick said.

“We don’t have anything on the table,” he said.

The schools will be followed to see how ideas are working. They may be used as examples for other educators who are looking for ways to improve learning, Patrick said.

In communities such as Monson and Springfield, existing schools are being converted into innovation schools. West Springfield educators are beginning a new school, the 21st Century Skills Academy, which will be held on the campus of the Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative.

“There will be a real emphasis on personalized instruction and creating conditions that are really flexible,” said Anne McKenzie, executive director of the collaborative.

The new school will offer a wide array of opportunities, including online classes, internships, community service learning, vocational education and mentor programs that will help students focus on a career, she said.

The school, which will start with 20 students, is designed so the schedule will be flexible so students can work classes around internships and other programs, McKenzie said.

“They (West Springfield educators) are committed to the success of every single student. Their conversation went back to what do we have to do to help the students succeed,” McKenzie said.

Police said the charge against the suspect, 52-year-old Guy Wilson, will be upgraded to murder.

Guy Wilson

SPRINGFIELD – A man who attempted to intervene in a dispute over a found dog Tuesday night - and was then punched in the head - has died, according to a Baystate Medical Center spokesman.

Paul Bagge, 45, of Roosevelt Avenue, suffered a head injury when he fell and had been listed in critical condition.

Sgt. John M. Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said that the charge against suspect Guy Wilson, 52, of 168 East St., will be upgraded to murder.

The incident started shortly before 6 p.m. when a female went to 168 East St. to pick up a beagle that had been advertised as found, Delaney said.

The female retrieved the dog and brought it out to her car which had been parked in front of the house, Delaney said. She was about to drive away when the suspect, who lives at that address, accused her of being from the MSPCA, reached into her car and attempted to remove her keys from the ignition.

Delaney said that Bagge came over in an attempt to reason with Wilson and tapped him on the shoulder. Wilson then turned and punched Bagge in the head, causing the victim to fall, he said.

Police found Wilson inside his home and charged him with assault and battery - causing serious bodily harm.

Bagge's death marks the city's 12th homicide this year.

Reid called the Virginia Republican congressman "childish."

Associated PressHouse Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Va., right, accompanied by House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 12, 2011, as the budget talks continued.

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says House Majority Leader Eric Cantor should not be part of the debt limit negotiations. He's calling the Virginia Republican congressman "childish."

Reid says Cantor's conduct during the sensitive White House talks have shown, in Reid's words, "he shouldn't even be at the table." Reid says other congressional leaders are negotiating in good faith as an Aug. 2 deadline approaches for raising the debt limit.

That's when the Obama administration says the government would begin defaulting if no agreement is reached to raise the borrowing limit. Leaders of both parties and the business world have said that a default would be catastrophic.

The daily talks ended Wednesday with Obama and Cantor clashing, and the president leaving the room. They resume late Thursday afternoon.

The decision was cheered by Wall Street analysts and investors who see advantages to running smaller, more focused operations.

Associated PressIn this March 8, 2008 file photo, clouds hover over a Conoco service station in Glenrock, Wyo. ConocoPhillips, the nation's third-largest oil company, said Thursday July 14, 2011 it will split itself into two separate publicly traded companies and its CEO and Chairman Jim Mulva plans to retire once the transaction is complete.

NEW YORK — ConocoPhillips, the nation's third-largest oil company, said Thursday it will split into two companies: one that produces oil and another that refines it into gasoline and other fuels.

The decision was cheered by Wall Street analysts and investors who see advantages to running smaller, more focused operations. Shares jumped $3.11, about 4.2 percent, to $77.51 in morning trading.

"This is so positive for them," Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Fadel Gheit said of the Conoco split. "Everyone should stick to one business."

Conoco has talked about scaling back its refining business, but had previously balked at a spin off. Gheit said that company officials likely changed their mind after seeing how successful Marathon Oil was at spinning off its refining operations.

Marathon's stock jumped 30 percent after it announced the split in January. On July 1, Marathon Petroleum Corp., the refining company, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the "MPC" ticker symbol.

Conoco's move likely creates the largest independent refiner in the world, Gheit said. Conoco's refineries produced 2.3 million barrels per day of gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products in the first quarter, eclipsing other independent players like Valero Energy Corp.

The refining business is notoriously volatile. It makes money when the prices of products like gasoline, diesel and jet fuel outpace oil and manufacturing costs. The trick is to find a way to refine crude as cheaply as possible and sell petroleum products in markets where they'll generate the biggest revenue.

Refiners have had more success at that this year. Conoco's refineries earned $482 million in the first three months. They lost $4 million in the same part of 2010.

Often, however, refineries struggle to pass on high crude costs to consumers. The industry was hammered by thin profit margins following record high oil prices in 2008, and many companies were forced to idle or sell underperforming refineries.

Conoco's chief executive and chairman, Jim

Mulva told analysts that the company examined sales, joint ventures and other avenues before deciding a spin-off of the refineries was best.

"We really absolutely are convinced this is the right thing for our company to do, and now is the right time to do it," Mulva said in a conference call.

The split creates a new, yet-to-be-named company that will be tailored to short-term investors who like the volatility of the refining business.

"It's much less predictable," Argus Research analyst Phil Weiss said.

The split is expected to be a tax-free transaction that does not require shareholder approval. It's expected to be completed during the first half of 2012.

Mulva plans to retire when the spin-off is completed. Mulva, 64, has spent most of his career with the company, starting 35 years ago with Phillips Petroleum Co. He has been CEO at ConocoPhillips since 2002.

The Houston-based company has about 29,600 employees. Conoco had $160 billion of assets and $226 billion of annualized revenue as of March 31.

Under the settlement, Springfield will receive $57,000; Holyoke, $35,000; Longmeadow, $5,000 and South Hadley, $11,000.

File photo | The Republican

BOSTON – The Walgreen Co. will pay $2.8 million – including $108,000 to Springfield and three other local communities – to settle an investigation by the state attorney general.

The Republican file photoAttorney General Martha Coakley

Attorney General Martha M. Coakley said her investigation found that Walgreens overcharged the state and 75 cities and towns for prescription drugs provided in accord with the state's workers compensation insurance system.

According to the settlement filed in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston, Springfield will receive $57,000; Holyoke, $35,000; Longmeadow, $5,000 and South Hadley, $11,000.

“Cities and towns are under a great deal of economic stress, and every dollar counts,” Coakley said in a statement.

Walgreens, a national drug store chain based in Deerfield, Ill., billed and received payments from cities, towns and state agencies for filling prescriptions for workers' compensation claims at prices in excess of those allowed by Massachusetts laws, Coakley alleged.

According to the settlement, Walgreens allegedly overcharged Massachusetts cities, towns, and state agencies by approximately $1.4 million since 2002. Under the settlement, Walgreen will re-pay these overcharges, and will also pay an additional $1.4 million to the state.

Suher told officials he plans to keep the site as a golf course, but that wasn't a condition of the sale, so he can use the property as he wishes.

Photo by John Suchocki/ The RepublicanHolyoke Country Club Pro Via Wightman gives a lesson during The Republican sponsored Women's Group Golf program in this May, 2011 file photo.

HOLYOKE — Entertainment mogul Eric Suher is looking to add to his high-profile property holdings as the Holyoke Country Club agreed to sell the nine-hole golf course to Suher for $850,000, a club official said Thursday.

Suher’s purchase of the 109-acre facility on Country Club Road in the northern part of the city is sure to re-fan the flames of speculation about his long-term plans, given that he owns the Mountain Park outdoor entertainment venue nearby.

In his failed bid earlier this year to get approval from the city to build a parking lot adjacent to the Mountain Park venue, Suher said at public hearings a casino wasn’t part of his plans for that site. But speculation persists about the area possibly becoming a resort casino some day if the state legalizes casino gambling.

Wyckoff Country Club is nearby and has been targeted to house a casino by a group called Paper City Development if gaming is legalized.

Suher, who declined to comment, told officials with the member-owned club he plans to keep the site as a golf course, club President Thomas Taylor said. But that wasn’t a condition of the sale, meaning Suher could use the property as he wishes, he said.

“We approved his proposal. It is now in the stages of going forward, for $850,000,” Taylor said.

Taylor said a majority of the club’s 120 members participated in the vote to approve the sale to Suher. The vote wasn’t unanimous, but it was approved by a majority of those present, he said.

“That’s Eric’s intention, to keep it as a golf course,” Taylor said.

Holyoke Country Club consists of about 109 acres, with the golf course accounting for 46 acres, he said.

Suher, a Holyoke native, also owns Western Massachusetts entertainment staples Iron Horse Music Hall, Pearl Street nightclub and the Calvin Theatre, all in Northampton, as well as residential and commercial property here.

Suher bought the 60-acre Mountain Park in 2006 for $1.6 million. The former amusement park had been closed for 22 years.

The briefcase was found in the parking lot near the Rocky's store at 10 Springfield St.

The Republican | Greg Saulmon07.14.2011 | AGAWAM - The Springfield Arson and Bomb Squad responds to the plaza at routes 57 and 159 following the discovery of a suspicious item -- the briefcase at bottom right.

AGAWAM – The discovery of a suspicious briefcase has prompted the closure of the Rocky’s Ace Hardware plaza at Route 149 and 75.

The Republican | Greg Saulmon07.14.2011 | AGAWAM - A briefcase left in the Rocky's Ace Hardware plaza Thursday afternoon prompted a response from the Springfield Arson and Bomb Squad.

A single gray briefcase sat in an unoccupied parking space in the middle of the parking lot as emergency crews were staging.

Additional information was not immediately available.

News Corp. has been in crisis mode since a report that the company's News of the World tabloid had hacked into the phone of a U.K. teenage murder victim.

Associated PressNews Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch, right, his son Lachlan Murdoch, center, a board member of Australia's Network Ten and an unidentified woman leave his residence in central London, Thursday, July 14, 2011.

NEW YORK — The FBI has opened an investigation into allegations that media mogul Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. sought to hack into the phones of Sept. 11 victims, a law enforcement official said Thursday.

The decision to investigate was made after U.S. Rep. Peter King and several other members of Congress wrote FBI Director Robert Mueller demanding an investigation, said the official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly.

The official stressed that the probe was in its infancy but declined to discuss the scope of it or say whether any investigative steps had been taken.

News Corp., based in New York, has been in crisis mode because of a scandal that sank its U.K. newspaper the News of the World.

A rival newspaper reported last week that the News of the World had hacked into the phone of U.K. teenage murder victim Milly Dowler in 2002 and may have impeded a police investigation into her disappearance.

More possible victims soon emerged: other child murder victims, 2005 London bombing victims, the families of dead soldiers and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

U.S. Department of Justice spokeswoman Laura Sweeney said Thursday that the department "does not comment specifically on investigations, though anytime we see evidence of wrongdoing, we take appropriate action."

The FBI and U.S. attorney's office in New York declined comment. There was no immediate response to a phone message left for News Corp.

King, a Republican, said Thursday afternoon he had not officially been contacted by the FBI and said he wanted to reserve comment until he hears from the agency.

"If they do, I'd be gratified," he said in a brief telephone interview with the AP.

On Thursday, Murdoch caved in to pressure from Britain's Parliament as he and his son James first refused, then agreed, to appear next week before lawmakers investigating phone hacking and bribery by employees of their newspaper empire.

Murdoch began his media career in Australia in 1952 after inheriting The News newspaper after the death of his father, and he has built News Corp. into one of the world's biggest media groups. Assets include Fox News, the 20th Century Fox movie studio, The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and three newspapers in Britain — down from four with the death of the News of the World.

Also Thursday, Scotland Yard said it had made its seventh arrest related to the inquiry into phone hacking at the now-defunct tabloid, whose closure was a doomed effort to keep alive a bid for the highly profitable network British Sky Broadcasting. Police didn't disclose the name of the arrested man.

The improvements were sparked by a fatal 2009 accident in which a passenger in a car that pulled out of the Greenleaf driveway was struck by an oncoming car.

View full sizeThe Republican | Joe DeburroCity officials and neighborhood representatives say improvements to the entrance to the Greenleaf Community Center on Parker Street in Springfield have made it significantly safer.

SPRINGFIELD – The city has made improvements to the entrance to the Greenleaf Community Center on Parker Street, as requested by neighborhood residents following a fatal car accident in November of 2009.

City officials and neighborhood representatives met Tuesday at the entrance, saying it is significantly safer with some adjustments that included making the entry slightly wider, removing a traffic island on the driveway, improved signage, moving a telephone pole and trimming trees.

The total cost was approximately $15,000, officials said. The parking lot also serves the Sixteen Acres Library, and cars exit on Parker Street, a four-lane road.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Clodovaldo Concepcion, the Ward 5 city councilor and president of the Sixteen Acres Civic Association, were among officials and residents praising the changes to the entrance.

More than 200 residents had signed a petition, seeking a traffic light at the intersection, following an accident on Nov. 30, 2009, that resulted in the death of Verna Mahoney, 88, of Springfield, who was a passenger in a car that pulled out of the Greenleaf driveway and into the path of an oncoming car.

While a traffic light was deemed unfeasible, the city considered other options and pursued the improvements, officials said.

“This really opens it up,” Sarno said. “I was happy to work with Councilor Concepcion in improving this entrance.”

Concepcion praised the mayor and city’s Department of Parks, Buildings and Recreation Management under the direction of Patrick J. Sullivan and working with the Department of Public Works.

“It makes it better,” said David J. Jarnes, association vice-president. “It gives a better view for cars leaving the library and Greenleaf Community Center. I come in and out of here an lot.”

Vincent Gillespie said the $319.90 cost of appealing his parking ticket in Hampshire Superior Court far exceeded the $15 fine.

File photo | The Republican08.29.2005 | NORTHAMPTON – Vincent Gillespie stands in a small parking lot off Old South Street in Northampton where his car was ticketed on July 19, 2005.

BOSTON – The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Thursday handed down a ruling affirming the validity of Northampton’s appeal system for parking tickets despite a Greenfield man’s contention that the cost of the appeal effectively negated his constitutional rights.

Vincent Gillespie said the $319.90 cost of appealing his July 19, 2005, parking ticket in Hampshire Superior Court far exceeded the $15 fine. Gillespie, a former Easthampton resident, received two citations that day for parking in a prohibited zone in Northampton, the second as he was walking to the parking office to contest the first. He subsequently filed a written challenge that was denied, although the second citation was dismissed as duplicative of the first.

Because Northampton’s system did not include the option of appearing before a hearing officer, as it does now, Gillespie filed for summary judgment in Hampshire Superior Court, saying he was denied his rights. Judge Bertha D. Josephson found in his favor, but ruled in the city’s favor on Gillespie’s Constitutional argument that the fee system effectively denied him access to the courts.

Edward Hamel, who was issued a $100 citation for parking in a handicapped space in 2005, joined Gillespie as a plaintiff in the case, which was argued before the Supreme Judicial Court by American Civil Liberties lawyer William C. Newman of Northampton. The city did not have a lawyer at the hearing, with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office representing its position instead.

William Newman

Although the court did not address matters such as the high amount of the filing fees, it ruled in favor of Northampton, saying that the plaintiffs did not meet their burden of proving that the laws establishing the appeal process for traffic tickets were not in keeping with the state constitution. Furthermore, the court wrote, the fee system serves the purpose of discouraging “the filing of nonmeritorious appeals” by conserving scarce judicial resources.

Newman argued, however, that those same resources could be further conserved by hearing parking ticket appeals in small claims court or district court. He also noted, as did the court in its ruling, that the cost of appeal of tickets in Massachusetts far exceeds that in other states such as California ($25) and Connecticut ($35).

“The Massachusetts system is an aberration,” Newman said Thursday.

The court said it is up to the Legislature to set those costs.

“Our lens focuses only on the constitutional question,” the justices wrote.

Mayor Mary Clare Higgins said Thursday that the legal battle was more a matter of state concern, but concurred with the court’s opinion.

“I think the ruling was correct,” she said.

James Graham got a great 45th birthday present with the progress on his family's new house.

The Republican | Mark M. MurrayThe Graham family, Mayor Domenic Sarno and workers raise a wall of their new home

SPRINGFIELD – Where once there was a ranch house, there will now be a colonial style home.

It’s not that the Graham family, of 29 Judith St., arbitrarily decided they wanted a new style of home.

The Republican | Mark M. MurrayJames and Kelly Graham in their kitchen after the tornado.

The tornado that ripped through their neighborhood as it pounded several communities June 1 made a new house a necessity.

On Thursday, the family invited Mayor Domenic J. Sarno to do a bit of construction work, to join the family and workers as they literally raised the first wall of their new home, on the site of the old home.

James P. Graham, who is acting as general contractor for the construction of his new home, said he is proud his was the first building permit taken out for post-tornado construction.

Sarno said the Grahams – dad James, mom Kelly L. Graham and 11-year-old Jennifer A. Graham – represent the word “resilient.” He said since the day of the tornado the family has had a positive attitude.

No one was home when the tornado tore apart the house.

“I was on my way home from work,” Kelly Graham said. She had worked a little late, and that kept her out of her neighborhood during the dangerous moments.

Dad and daughter were at his business, Jim’s Auto Repair, with the family Rottweiler.

For the first three weeks the family lived with friends. They subsequently got the temporary trailer which is on their home lot and that now houses the family.

Kelly Graham is hoping the family will be in the new home by Thanksgiving. Christmas is usually her number one holiday, but this year it will be Thanksgiving, she said.

It was a double celebration Thursday as James Graham turned 45 and heard "Happy Birthday" sung by the mayor.

Despite the loss and disruption, the three Grahams are excited the photograph of them in their destroyed kitchen, taken by The Republican photographer Mark M. Murray, will be one of the photographs on the cover of the tornado book to be published by The Republican in September.

Kelly Graham said she has pre-ordered one copy of the book, "Path of Fury," but now will pre-order more.

Once the house is ready, the shopping can start, which Kelly Graham said she is looking forward to.

“We saved some furniture,” Kelly Graham said, but most was scratched and waterlogged, she said.

Alzak was found dead sitting in her living room chair by firefighters responding to a fire at her Phillips Avenue house.

07/12/11- (Staff Photo by Dave Roback) Springfield police and fire enter 100 Phillips Ave. in Springfield after Doris Alzak, 81, was found dead inside her burning home.

SPRINGFIELD – Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni announced Thursday the death of Springfield resident Doris Alzak is being investigated as a homicide.

Alzak, 81, died Tuesday in her 100 Phillips Ave. home. She was found dead sitting in her living room chair by firefighters responding to a fire at her house.

Mastroianni said based on findings so far at the scene, as well as preliminary autopsy reports, the death has been deemed a homicide.

Mastroianni would not release the cause of death. He said that would not be released until further along in the investigation. He would not say if she could have known the person responsible for her death.

He had no further information to release.

Hampden County DA Mark Mastroianni press release on death of Doris Alzak

Moran continues to be on paid administrative leave, despite the criminal probe, at a salary of at least $68,775.

This updates a story posted at 10:06 a.m.

The Republican | John SuchockiDeputy Fire Chief William P. Moran, formerly the acting fire chief

HOLYOKE – The Fire Commission will wait for a July 22 court hearing before deciding discipline regarding Deputy Fire Chief William P. Moran, who is the subject of a criminal investigation, officials said Thursday.

Moran, a 27-year veteran, has been on paid administrative leave since a June 15 incident in which officials said he sent a fire truck on a fake call to the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside.

Moran didn’t attend Thursday’s Fire Commission meeting but was represented by his lawyer, Jeffrey S. Morneau, who declined to comment.

Moran had been acting fire chief since September before the June 15 incident.

The Moran incident was the major issue among other matters that tied up the commission in a closed-door meeting for three hours.

Commission Chairwoman Priscilla F. Chesky said the reasons for the executive session at Fire Department headquarters on High Street was to discuss grievances and personnel issues, including the Moran incident.

An investigation by state police connected to the office of Hampden District Attorney Mark. G. Mastroianni lead to a June 27 announcement that a request for a criminal complaint would be filed against William Moran.

Mastroianni said the complaint application charges Moran with two misdemeanors: communicating false information to an emergency response facility and being a disorderly person.

A show-cause hearing on Mastroianni’s request is scheduled for July 22 at 9 a.m. at Springfield District Court, officials said.

En route to the June 15 bogus call, a traffic accident occurred among four vehicles that were going in the opposite direction of the fire truck and had stopped. One of the drivers was treated at the hospital and released.

Chesky said later the commission took a vote regarding William Moran but said she was unable give details because it was a personnel matter

Chesky told The Republican previously that termination and suspension of William Moran would be considered at Thursday’s meeting. She said later he remains on paid administrative leave.

The annual salary of a deputy chief is $68,775. The additional pay that comes with being provisional chief was unclear, but the budgeted amount for the chief’s salary is $95,873.

The mayor appoints the three-member commission, but the commission under city law is authorized to hire, fire and discipline the chief.

Mayor Elaine A. Pluta said later, “My understanding is the Fire Commission will wait for the show-cause hearing before taking any action” regarding Moran.

Moran worked on Pluta’s 2009 election campaign. Deputy Fire Chief Timothy J. Moran, William Moran’s younger brother, was Pluta’s campaign manager.

Some of the commission’s executive session was devoted to Timothy Moran. He was with his brother at the time William Moran, using a city-issued cell phone, called dispatch and ordered a truck to the mall for an investigation, officials said.

That phone call was in relation to William Moran having seen two firefighters from Station 6, located around the corner on Homestead Avenue, go into Strum’s Deli and Meats, 502 Westfield Road, for lunch, Mastroianni has said.

Timothy Moran and his lawyer Jorge L. Neves said the commission at least for now wouldn’t be disciplining Timothy Moran regarding the June 15 incident.

“My understanding is that they’re not going to take any kind of action,” Neves said.

Neves said Timothy Moran acted appropriately that day, telling the two firefighers who were seen at Strum’s Deli to disregard the call. That detail is included in the June 27 statement Mastroianni released on the matter.

The fire truck proceeded to the call anyway, stopping in the parking lot of the deli to pick up the two firefighters, who boarded the truck thinking it was headed to a different call, Mastroianni has said.

“My client did everything a person should do in that situation,” Neves said.

Timothy Moran said he was relieved.

“It was just very nice to give my side of the events of that day,” Timothy Moran said.