The woman in Brookline who is believed to have spent the past year living with the decomposing corpse of one of her sisters, was living in a beautiful but disheveled 1920s home worth $1.2 million, according to the Washington Post.

The woman in Brookline, Massachusetts who is believed to have spent the past year living with the decomposing corpse of one of her sisters, was living in a "beautiful but disheveled" 1920s home worth $1.2 million, according to the Washington Post.

Authorities say the sister's body was found underneath a kitchen table in the home in a "significant state of decomposition." She was 67 years old.

Harriet Allen, a neighbor, told The The Boston Globe the sisters were "recluses" but neighbors began to get worried after they hadn't seen one of the sisters in a while.

TAB reported that the woman was discovered when a relative had come over to help with the trash. But then her cousin mentioned the heat wasn't working and was concerned the pipes might burst.

So, the paper reported, they went inside to pack when the cousin asked if the other sister would be joining. The women responded that they'd see when they went inside, according to TAB, which is when the relative discovered the body under the kitchen table.

The Boston Globe reported that the house had been listed in "fair" condition, according to the town's most recent property records.

"The windows have always been covered up completely," a neighbor told the Globe. "I don't know if daylight ever got in there."

Still, she was shocked the hear the news, the Globe reported.

Authorities are not pressing charges at this time and there is no evidence of foul play. An autopsy is being conducted to determine the cause of the woman's death, but the process could take some time, according to the district attorney's office.

Police say Brookline woman lived with sister's decomposing body for one year

The Holyoke City Council apparently remedied an alleged Open Meeting Law violation by including an item on the Oct. 18, 2016 meeting agenda, the Massachusetts attorney general's office said in a letter Jan. 6, 2017.

HOLYOKE -- Inclusion of an item on a City Council meeting agenda in October apparently was sufficient to address a complaint about an alleged Open Meeting Law violation and the matter is closed, the state attorney general's office said.

The finding was contained in a Jan. 6 letter from Kevin Manganaro, assistant attorney general, division of open government, in the office Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, to Richard Purcell of 99 Martin St. (see below).

Purcell filed a complaint with the City Council Oct. 7 alleging the violation. The allegation was that the violation occurred because City Council President Kevin A. Jourdain sent an email to a majority of councilors and in the email he expressed an opinion, opposition to the marijuana ballot question. That amounted to holding deliberations under the Open Meeting Law, officials said.

Complaint about Open Meeting Law filed vs. Holyoke Council President Kevin Jourdain

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

The attorney general's office is the agency that enforces the Open Meeting Law. But the law regarding such complaints requires that the complaint first be filed with the "public body" alleged to have committed the violation and then that public body must be given an opportunity to remedy the alleged violation.

Jourdain, a lawyer, conferred with Assistant City Solicitor Sara J. Carroll. They determined the remedy in this case would be to ensure public disclosure by posting on the City Council agenda on Oct. 18 the email that Jourdain had sent to councilors along with an attachment that contained a report against passage of the marijuana question by the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association.

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

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

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

Complaint about Open Meeting Law violation addressed with posting of email on Holyoke Council agenda

The City Council accepted the agenda item as the remedial step during the Oct. 18 meeting, including with Ward 3 Councilor David K. Bartley asking Jourdain to read the Sept. 29 email and attachment into the record.

"We sent you a letter on Nov. 10, 2016 stating that if we did not receive the original complaint from you by Dec. 28, 2016, we would presume the action taken by the Council was sufficient and would close this file," Manganaro said in the letter to Purcell. "Our office currently has no record of a complaint filed by you in this matter. Therefore, we now consider this matter closed."

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

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

Open Meeting Law complaint closed in Holyoke: by Mike Plaisance on Scribd

Open Meeting Law complaint: by Mike Plaisance on Scribd

Troopers were talking to Mario Deshazo when he suddenly made a run for it. He did not get very far.

Patrick Johnson | pjohnson@repub.com 

CHICOPEE -- A 24-year-old Chicopee man was arrested on drug and motor vehicle charges a he tried to run from his car during a traffic stop on Interstate 391, state police said.

Mario Deshazo was apprehended following a short chase. He was charged with failure to stop for a police officer, speeding and possession of cocaine.

According to state police, Deshazo was pulled over in the northbound lane after Trooper Jonathan Blanchard observed him speeding. While the trooper talked with him, Deshazo bolted from the car.

He was able to climb a fence alongside the highway but was caught on the other side by state police and assisting Chicopee police. A state trooper suffered a cut on his hand scaling the fence and needed treatment at the hospital, police said.

A police K-9 team was brought in to investigate the car, and the dog found some cocaine in the car.

Deshazo is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Springfield District Court.

An emergency medical transportation company operating in Massachusetts has agreed to pay more than $12 million to settle claims the company fraudulently billed Medicare.

An emergency medical transportation company operating in Massachusetts has agreed to pay more than $12 million to settle claims the company fraudulently billed Medicare.

The claims were brought forward against MedStar Ambulance of Massachusetts by a former employee. 

Dale Meehan worked as the patient account representative for MedStar Ambulance office in Worcester from March of 2012 to June of 2013. While looking through records for ambulance services by MedStar Ambulance and other contracted transportation companies in Massachusetts, she reported finding "numerous instances of fraudulent Medicare billing," according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court. 

Alleged fraudulent billing, according to the complaint, included: billing for ambulance transportation services when not medically neccessary, billing Medicare for ambulance services provided for transportation to doctor's offices and double-billing patients and the federal health program for the same services. 

In one instance listed in court documents, Meehan alleges Medicare was charged $1,130 for transporting a patient to and from a nursing home to an appointment with a urologist. 

She alleges such billing practices occurred from 2005 through 2013. 

When she questioned how such billing errors happened, she was allegedly told this was the way the company operates, according to court documents. 

Meehan contacted Jeffrey Newman, an attorney who specializes in working with whistleblowers, to file a lawsuit against her former company under the false claims act after she was fired in 2013, allegedly for attempting to correct billing errors. 

The act, also called the "Lincoln Law," is the most commonly used means of litigation in recovering funds stolen through fraud from the federal government. 

"This was a case in which the evidence obtained in the 3-year litigation was clear in that it showed that the MedStar companies fraudulently over-billed Medicare and added false information to the ambulance run documents to make them Medicare eligible when they otherwise would not have qualified for reimbursement," said Newman. 

MedStar has several offices in Massachusetts, including: Ayer, Chicopee, Fitchburg, Leominster, Northampton, Westborough and Worcester. 

The company has agreed to pay $12.7 million to settle the lawsuit. Meehan will receive $3,556,000 of the settlement for reporting the information. Whistleblowers receive a portion of funds recovered as apart of settlements under the false claims act. 

More than $80 million in fraud recovered from Massachusetts Medicaid program last year

The holiday honoring the slain civil rights leader is Monday, Jan. 16, 2017.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2017 will be observed on Monday, Jan. 16. The holiday honors the slain civil rights icon near what would have been is 88th birthday.

King was born in Atlanta on Jan. 15, 1929 and was assassinated April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.) has been observed as a federal holiday since 1986 on the third Monday of January.

Here is a partial list of what is open and what is closed on Monday:

Stock Market: Closed

State Offices: Closed

State Courts: closed

Federal Offices: Closed

Federal Court: Closed

Springfield Armory National Historical Park: Open

Massachusetts State Parks: Open, and coordinating a day of service to honor King.

Banks: Closed, but check with your individual branch to make sure.

Post Office: Closed

UPS: Regular service

FedEx: Regular service

Retailers: Open

Liquor stores: Open

TRANSPORTATION

Peter Pan Bus Lines: Peter Pan warns customers that there will be schedule disruptions during the busy holiday weekend. A list of routes and changes is available here.

PVTA: The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority will operate on a Sunday schedule. Details are available here.

MBTA: Subways, buses and trackless trolleys in Greater Boston will operate on a Saturday schedule, but some bus routes will have a special enhanced holiday schedule. MBTA commuter rail will ruin on a a regular weekday schedule. Details are available here.

Toby Keith, 3 Doors Down and Lee Greenwood are among several performers set to take the stage at President-elect Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again! Welcome Celebration" inauguration concert, officials announced Friday.

Toby Keith, 3 Doors Down and Lee Greenwood are among several performers set to take the stage at President-elect Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again! Welcome Celebration" inauguration concert, officials announced Friday.

The event, which will take place Jan. 19 at the Lincoln Memorial, will feature remarks from Trump and an array of musicians, actors and military bands to celebrate the incoming president in the final hours before he takes the oath of office.

Keith, Jon Voight, Jennifer Holliday, The Piano Guys, Lee Greenwood, RaviDrums, 3 Doors Down and The Frontmen of Country, featuring Tim Rushlow, the former lead singer of "Little Texas;" Larry Stewart of "Restless Heart;" and Richie McDonald of "Lonestar" are among those slated to make special appearances at the event, the Presidential Inaugural Committee announced.

Military bands are also scheduled to play at the welcome celebration, which will be capped by a fireworks show, officials said.

The event will follow a "Voice of the People" concert featuring groups that applied to take part in the inaugural festivities.

Performers set to take the stage in the earlier concert include: the DC Fire Department Emerald Society Pipes and Drums, King's Academy Honor Choir, the Republican Hindu Coalition, Montgomery Area High School Marching Band, Marlana Van Hoose, Maury NJROTC Color Guard, Pride of Madawaska, Webelos Troop 177, Northern Middle School Honors Choir, American Tap Company, South Park and District Pipe Band, Everett High School Viking Marching Band, TwirlTasTix Baton Twirling and Celtic United Pipes and Drums.

PIC Chairman Tom Barrack said the events reflect Trump's wish to ensure his inauguration is "of, by and for the American people."

"The 58th Inaugural will celebrate American history and heritage, while setting the course to a brighter and bolder future for all Americans," he said in a statement. "Above all, it will serve as tribute to one of our greatest attributes, the peaceful transition of partisan power."

"As Abraham Lincoln said, 'when an election is over, it is altogether fitting a free people that until the next election they should be one people," the chairman added. "We will be one people working together, leading together and making America great again, together."

Both events are free and open to the public. Tickets are not required to attend, but members of the public can get free commemorative tickets for on the PIC website, 58PIC2017.org.

Toby Keith, 3 Doors Down and Lee Greenwood are among several performers set to take the stage at President-elect Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again! Welcome Celebration" inauguration concert, officials announced Friday.

Toby Keith, 3 Doors Down and Lee Greenwood are among several performers set to take the stage at President-elect Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again! Welcome Celebration" inauguration concert, officials announced Friday.

The event, which will take place Jan. 19 at the Lincoln Memorial, will feature remarks from Trump and an array of musicians, actors and military bands to celebrate the incoming president in the final hours before he takes the oath of office.

Keith, Jon Voight, Jennifer Holliday, The Piano Guys, Lee Greenwood, RaviDrums, 3 Doors Down and The Frontmen of Country, featuring Tim Rushlow, the former lead singer of "Little Texas;" Larry Stewart of "Restless Heart;" and Richie McDonald of "Lonestar" are among those slated to make special appearances at the event, Presidential Inaugural Committee announced.

The bill sets guidelines for public charging stations, updates state building codes and lets Massachusetts municipalities set aside parking spaces for zero emission vehicles.

BOSTON -- Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law on Friday a bill setting new guidelines for the adoption of electric vehicles, with the goal of making it easier for consumers to buy and use zero emission cars.

"Adopting clean technology and promoting additional zero emission vehicles is a critical piece of meeting our emissions reductions goals," Baker said in a statement. "Today's zero emission vehicle legislation makes major strides towards providing consumers with confidence that charging stations will be available to them, whether on a long trip or at work, a commonly cited hurdle in transitioning from traditional to zero emission vehicles."

As The Republican / MassLive.com previously reported, the bill covers several types of vehicles -- battery-operated electric cars, hybrid plug-in electric cars and cars powered by fuel cells.

The new law establishes that the owner of a public charging station cannot charge a subscription fee or require someone to buy a club membership in order to use the station -- although an owner can have a separate price schedule for members. Payment options for using the charging station must be accessible to the public, and the owner must disclose publicly the location, hours and fees of the charging station.

The law will give cities and towns the option of setting aside parking spaces for zero emission vehicles. It will update state building codes to require that residential and some commercial buildings be built in a way that allows for electric vehicle charging stations.

Under the law, state officials will study the feasibility of allowing zero emission vehicles to travel in lanes currently reserved for high-occupancy vehicles. They will study the feasibility of levying some kind of surcharge or fee on the use of electric vehicles to offset the loss of gas tax revenue. State officials will also consider whether it would be possible to electrify state vehicles.

"As the Commonwealth continues to make impressive strides towards increased electric vehicle adoption, this legislation gives our municipal, business and state partners the tools they need to build upon that growth," said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matthew Beaton in a statement.

House Speaker Robert DeLeo, D-Winthrop, praised the bill as "another example of our commitment to a greener economy and culture."

Senate President Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst, said increasing the availability of charging stations will be critically important in helping state residents move away from reliance on fossil fuels.

Republican leaders in the House and Senate, as well as leaders on environmental issues, also praised the bill's passage as a positive step toward helping the environment and making it easier for consumers to buy electric cars.

Jason Stovall of Springfield pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm and other charges in Hampden Superior Court.

SPRINGFIELD -- Jason Stovall has been sentenced to 21/2 years in jail plus two years probation after pleading guilty to illegal possession of a firearm, resisting arrest and receiving stolen property.

Stovall was sentenced Thursday by Hampden Superior Court Judge Edward J. McDonough.

Charges of carrying a loaded firearm and possession of a large-capacity feeding device were dropped as part of the plea agreement.

In December the lawyer for Stovall, 27, argued the case should be thrown out because two officers illegally stopped Stovall as he walked along Ashley Street in Springfield.

Judge Mark D. Mason denied the motion to dismiss the case, rejecting lawyer Joe A. Smith III's contentions and supporting the arguments of Assistant District Attorney Matthew W. Green.

Stovall will receive 236 days credit on his sentence to the Hampden County Correctional Center in Ludlow for days spent in jail awaiting trial.

At the December hearing, Smith asked Stovall why he ran from two police officers in the early morning hours of May 21 on Ashley Street in Springfield's Six Corners neighborhood. Stovall said he was afraid the police would shoot him.

Previously, Stovall was acquitted on a murder charge in 2012 in Hampden Superior Court.

He was one of two city men charged in the 2010 slaying of 21-year-old Jonathan G. Santiago in what police described as an attempted robbery. Santiago, a graduate of the High School of Science and Technology, was shot in his car outside a bar at the corner of State and Austin streets.

A Hampden County jury two years later found Stovall not guilty of murder and firearms charges filed in connection with Santiago's killing. Jurors convicted co-defendant Anthony E. Jessup on murder and two firearms charges. He was given a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

The commission, signed into law by Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, can look at issues such as gender discrimination, equal pay and foreclosures in rural communities.

A bill signed into law by Gov. Charlie Baker will establish a new commission on the status of women in Hampshire and Franklin counties.

The bill was introduced by former State Rep. Ellen Story, D-Amherst, and passed during the final days of the 2016 legislative session.

Bonnie MacCracken, a Democratic State Committee member from Amherst who ran unsuccessfully to replace Story in the Legislature, had asked Story to file the bill.

"I think we're somewhat isolated," MacCracken said of women in Hampshire and Franklin counties. "We're further away from Boston, and we have less representatives in this area. ... We have less access to services, we have less transportation. More local women representing local women on our issues is important."

The nine-member commission, whose members will be appointed by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women, will "conduct an ongoing study of all matters concerning women in Hampshire and Franklin counties," according to the bill text, and will recommend solutions for the problems facing women in those counties each year by June 2.

Commission members will be volunteers who live in Franklin and Hampshire counties. The commission will meet at least four times a year.

Story said she has filed the bill for several sessions, at the request of constituents, and was "surprised and pleased" at its passage.

Although there is the statewide commission in Boston, Story said, "Women in the Valley have wanted to have their own commission for some time."

MacCracken, a real estate title researcher who has been active in fighting illegal foreclosures, said one issue where she sees a need for more female representation is in foreclosure issues and low-income housing, where minority women and female heads of household have been greatly affected.

"Women need to be able to reach out to more women and be able to tell their stories and have more women representing women," MacCracken said.

In testimony she gave on the bill in December 2015, MacCracken noted that there are six regional commissions on women, and Hampshire and Franklin counties are the only counties not covered by one. She said the needs of rural women are often overlooked.

Many rural women face unique struggles with a lack of high-speed internet and public transportation. MacCracken said gender discrimination is an ongoing problem.

The bill, H.1867, had 20 cosponsors, including senators and representatives from the Western Massachusetts counties as well as individuals involved in women's issues from elsewhere in the state.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted along party lines Friday to approve a budget resolution that instructs committees to begin work to repeal major portions of the Affordable Care Act.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted along party lines Friday to approve a budget resolution that instructs committees to begin work to repeal major portions of the Affordable Care Act.

The resolution, which eases the way for repeal legislation as soon as next month, cleared the chamber on a 227 to 198 vote. It passed the Senate earlier this week.

Passage of the measure came despite vocal opposition from Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Worcester, who led the party's charge against it.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted along party lines Friday to approve a budget resolution that instructs committees to begin work to repeal major portions of the Affordable Care Act.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted along party lines Friday to approve a budget resolution that instructs committees to begin work to repeal major portions of the Affordable Care Act.

The resolution, which eases the way for repeal legislation through special budget procedures, cleared the chamber on a 227 to 198 vote.

Passage of the measure came despite vocal opposition from Democrats, who voted unanimously against it. Nine Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the resolution, according to the House Clerk's office.

Calling the budget resolution "a vehicle to repeal the Affordable Care Act," U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Worcester, led House Democrats' charge against the measure.

US Rep. Jim McGovern leads House Democrats' charge against Obamacare repeal

The Worcester Democrat, in a speech from the U.S. House floor, chastised Republicans for repeatedly voting to dismantle the contentious health care law known as Obamacare, arguing that they have distorted the ACA and lied to the public about what it does.

He further cautioned that if the Republican-led Congress repeals the law without a proper replacement, it will "hurt countless people in this country."

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., however, praised his chamber's passage of the resolution, saying it puts Americans closer to "relief from the problems this law has caused."

"Too many families have seen costs soar, quality drop and choices reduced to one -- which just isn't a choice at all," he said in a statement. "This resolution gives us the tools we need for a step-by-step approach to fix these problems and put Americans back in control of their health care."

BREAKING: The House just took the first step toward repealing #Obamacare.

My full statement: pic.twitter.com/v7uka5ra3Z

-- Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) January 13, 2017

The resolution passed the Senate earlier this week.

The proposed fiscal 2018 budget is up 2.5 percent from the current $22.7 million budget, complying with the Select Board's Budget Policy and Finance Committee's guidelines.

AMHERST -- The proposed fiscal 2018 town budget of $22.9 million is up 2.5 percent from the current $22.7 million budget, complying with the Select Board's Budget Policy and Finance Committee's guidelines.

Paul Bockelman, who became town manager in August, presented his first budget to the Select Board and Finance Committee Tuesday. He said it is a "nice, conservative budget, one that strengthens the financial position" of the town.

The budget includes general government, public safety and enterprise funds but does not include the schools or the Jones Library, which have separate budgets. There are no new hires, but the budget retains current town services.

In his transmittal letter accompanying the budget, Bockelman stated that any increases were made to cover benefits, contractual payroll requirements and adjustments in departmental expenses.

The budget is built on the assumption of a 1.3 percent state aid hike and does not require using reserves or a Proposition 21/2 override to balance it.

Firefighters have been asking for additional staff for years, but Bockelman said he is waiting until he receives the findings of a staffing report due next month before looking at potential new hires.

Police added three officers over the last two fiscal years. The town has 47 firefighters -- a number that hasn't changed in more than a decade.

"The two chiefs and I continue to monitor the workload of our public safety personnel and staffing levels, particularly as these departments report increasing call volume," Bockelman wrote.

Fire officials earlier this week released numbers from 2016 showing a 3.9 percent increase in ambulance calls, from 4,865 in 2015 to 5,057 in 2016. Fire calls were down from 1,498 in 2015 to 1,250 in 2016.

Bockelman said once he gets the consultant report he will "look at what the challenges are and study every solution." He said there is always more than one solution.

The budget also assumes an estimated $600,000 in new growth and an increase in motor vehicle excise tax revenues, fines and fees, and payments in lieu of taxes to increase by about 3.8 percent.

As of July 1, the town had $4.8 million in free cash and $6.3 million it is stabilization fund. The combined reserves of $11.2 million is 15 percent of the fiscal 2017 general fund operating budget, Bockelman wrote.

Town Meeting must approve the budget this spring.   

Amherst budget document by ledermand on Scribd

Volunteers will place grocery bags outside homes on Saturday and return Monday to collect donated food items.

SOUTH HADLEY -- Neighbors Helping Neighbors Inc., the food pantry serving South Hadley and Granby residents, will have its annual "Bag the Community" food drive this weekend.

Volunteers will place grocery bags outside homes on Saturday and return Monday to collect donated food items.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors on its website asks residents to "please be generous in filling the shopping bags."

The organization is located at 30 Carew St. in South Hadley. For more information, call 530-8240.

Perlman is using award to support programs in the fields of music and culture and to projects that promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of society.

AMHERST — Violinist Itzhak Perlman has shared some of the bounty of winning a $1 million Genesis Prize with the Yiddish Book Center, donating $50,000 to the center.

The Genesis Prize Foundation awards the prize to an individual who has "attained excellence and international renown in their chosen professional fields, and who inspire others through their engagement and dedication to the Jewish community and/or the State of Israel," according to a press release.

Perlman is using the award to support programs in the fields of music and culture and to projects that promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of society, according to the release.

A portion of the gift to the center will be used for the Steiner Summer Yiddish Center, an intensive Yiddish language and culture program for college and graduate students.

The remainder will go to the Wexler Oral History Project, a growing collection of in-depth interviews with people of all ages and backgrounds whose stories offer a rich and complex chronicle of Jewish identity, according the book center's press release.

"Mr. Perlman has been a friend of the Yiddish Book Center for many years," said Aaron Lansky, the organization's founder and president.

"He served as honorary campaign chairperson when we built our first building in 1997. Now, through this latest gift, he is helping to bring Yiddish learning to students at the Center and beyond our walls," Lanky said in the statement.

When the now-defunct American Career Institute convinced Mary Colleen Murphy to sign up for their multimedia design program in 2011, she was told she would earn between $80,000 to $120,000 a year after graduation. Watch video

When the now-defunct American Career Institute convinced Mary Colleen Murphy to sign up for their multimedia design program in 2011, she was told she would earn between $80,000 to $120,000 a year after graduation.

Murphy, a Scituate resident and a mother to four children, wanted to go back to school so she could eventually help pay for their student loans. She quickly enrolled.

"I was told I didn't even know how to turn on a computer," she said Friday. "That wasn't the case at all. I was clueless and I struggled."

Some of the teachers weren't qualified to be there, and they were given old software and out-of-date teaching materials, according to Murphy.

She didn't graduate, and the for-profit school abruptly closed up shop in 2013, saddling Murphy with her own student loan debt and not much else.

"I was there the day the door closed, handed a certificate, without a portfolio," Murphy said. "There was no internship. I was told to go to Craigslist to find an internship myself."

Murphy was on the stage with other former American Career Institute students who found themselves in similar positions.

Nearly 4,500 American Career Institute students are receiving $30M in debt relief

Danielle Ramos, a medical school student, recalled large classrooms, with 30 students and one professor, who didn't provide grades.

"When they closed the doors on me, I felt taken advantage of," she said. Ramos has $15,000 in loan debt.

Next to Ramos and Murphy were Attorney General Maura Healey and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who announced that the US Department of Education plans to wipe away $30 million in outstanding student loan debt for nearly 4,500 Massachusetts residents who attended the school.

Healey called the debt relief "unprecedented." "This is a school that lured students in with promises of great careers and high salaries, only to leave them with little to no education and a boatload of unaffordable debt," she said.

Now the students have a "fresh start," she added.

Murphy plans to put loan relief towards her children's education.

"This is amazing," she said, her voice breaking. "Thank you."

Former Springfield-based American Career Institute admits lying to students

GTI, or Green Thumb Industries, an Illinois company in the medical marijuana business, hopes to open a facility in Holyoke.

HOLYOKE -- Victims of the New Year's Day fire at 106 North East St. will get dinner, a night out and a $100 gift card to Target thanks to some local businesses.

Peter Pan Bus Lines and the Hu Ke Lau in Chicopee have joined with GTI to provide fire victims with dinner and a night out on Tuesday, Jan. 17. A Peter Pan coach will bring the families from the Holyoke Transportation Center to the Hu Ke Lau for a complimentary dinner. GTI -- Green Thumb Industries, a medical marijuana company with a cultivation center in Palmer -- will provide each family with a $100 gift card to Target.

GTI hopes to open facilities in Holyoke.

All three companies announced the event Friday.

"When we heard about the fire, Peter Picknelly and I immediately wanted to do something to help the victims," the Hu Ke Lau's Andy Yee said in a press release. "We're happy to team up with Pete Kadens from GTI to provide these families with a chance to spend an evening together and hopefully get their minds off everything they've been going through."

Yee and Picknelly are partners in The Student Prince Cafe and The Fort Dining Room in Springfield.

Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse will be on hand to show support and deliver brief remarks along with Kadens, who is co-hosting the event. 

"When we see people in our community suffering, it is critical that we step up to the plate and assist," Kadens said. "What happened with this fire was a real tragedy, and we just want to do what we can to help the families in any small way."

The Peter Pan coach leaves from the Holyoke Transportation Center on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

The fire, believed to have been caused by faulty wiring in the hall of a third-floor apartment, killed three and put 25 families out of their homes.

Police are searching for a suspect believed to be responsible for a stabbing attack that occurred in Springfield on Friday afternoon.

SPRINGFIELD — A man had to be hospitalized after being attacked and stabbed in Springfield's Forest Park neighborhood on Friday afternoon.

Lt. David Kane of the Springfield Police Department confirmed that police had been called to Fort Pleasant Avenue at approximately 3 p.m. on Friday for reports of a stabbing victim.

Police are now searching for a suspect responsible for the attack, according to Springfield police Sgt. John Delaney.

Delaney further stated that after the stabbing, the victim was able to make his way to the intersection of Main Street and Central Street, where a bystander transported him to Baystate Medical Center for treatment.

No description of the suspect in the stabbing has been made public at this time.

Menck opened in a long-vacant Chicopee building in May 2015.

CHICOPEE -- Menck USA, which opened a state-of-the-art window factory in Chicopee in May 2015 with the aid of state economic development incentives, has closed and is up for sale.

The factory at 77 Champion Drive employed about 30 workers. Menck shut down the factory on Wednesday after investors decided not to put more money into the enterprise, according to a letter to creditors released to The Republican and MassLive Friday by attorney Michael B. Katz of the Springfield firm Bacon Wilson.

Management determined Menck would not have enough money to meet payroll moving forward, Katz wrote. In his letter, he said employees were paid their salaries and benefits through the date of closing.

Katz now represents Menck. He's asking for creditors and customers waiting for windows to be patient and cooperate as Meck's investors find a buyer, hopefully one that can rehire the workers and restart the factory and complete about $800,000 in orders that Menck didn't fulfill before shutting down.

If it doesn't sell, Katz said, Menck will file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection and liquidate.

Lender Boston Private Bank, which bought $5 million in tax exempt bonds issued by MassDevelopment on behalf of Menck USA, has a fully secure lien on all the corporate assets, Katz wrote in the letter.

The factory took longer to set up and was more expensive than Menck anticipated, Katz wrote in his letter. It also took time and money to train Menck's employees in Chicopee.

Menck's sale projections were hard to meet, and although sales volume grew in recent months, it wasn't going to be enough to satisfy investors who'd already made more than $14 million in capital contributions and loans to the company.

Menck was a joint enterprise between Menck Fenster GmbH, a 130-year-old custom window and door manufacturer in Hamburg, Germany, and Liesenfeld International, a logistics company also based in Hamburg. 

Fenster is the German word for window. Bodo Liesenfeld, managing partner of Liesenfeld International, and Rolf Menck, managing partner of Menck Fenster, were both on the board of directors of Menck USA, according to the company's website.

Menck had been selling its precision-made, high-tech windows in the U.S. through a distributor. With Menck USA, the company took its first step to make products in America.

The company promised to hire 50 people over a five-year period and put them to work on sophisticated computer-controlled woodworking equipment making windows. Menck windows are either solid wood or wood clad in aluminum. The company also made timber-framed curtain walls, creating large expanses of glass with exposed wood.

City and state officials often put Menck forward as a success story, inviting executives from the company to speak at events and taking reporters along as they toured the Menck plant. Menck hired local high school graduates and trained them in woodworking and computer-controlled machining.

Back in 2015, Menck said it planned to invest $7.2 million to renovate a 77,400-square-foot vacant space on Champion Drive that is still owned by Winstanly Enterprises in Concord.

MassDevelopment, the state's finance and development agency, issued a $5 million tax-exempt bond on behalf of Menck USA to fund the project. Boston Private Bank purchased those bonds, which were enhanced by a MassDevelopment guarantee.

The city of Chicopee gave Menck a five-year special tax assessment valued at $348,933.

The state gave Menck $750,000 in investment tax credits.

A charge has been brought against a Vermont man who crashed into a group of motorcyclists in 2014, killing a former Massachusetts police chief and critically injuring another.

WOODBURY, Vt. — Vermont State Police said Friday a criminal charge has been brought against Frank Sargent, a Vermont man who in 2014 drove his Subaru into a group of motorcyclists, killing 55-year-old Joseph Rebello, former police chief of Kingston, Massachusetts.

Rebello was riding with a group of three other motorcyclists in Woodbury, Vermont, on June 29, 2014, when Sargent, for reasons unknown, veered across the the center line of the road and crashed into them, police said. In the crash, Sargent also ended up seriously injuring one of the other riders, 52-year-old Richard Braga, another former Massachusetts police chief who had been riding with Rebello.

Rebello, who had served as the police chief of Kingston from 1992 to 2001, was a husband and father of two at the time of his death.

Braga, who suffered serious injuries and was in critical condition for a period of time after the crash, had served as the chief of Hudson, Massachusetts, for 14 years and was a 32-year veteran of the Hudson Police Department.

Why Sargent crashed into the motorcyclists has not been made clear, but Vermont State Police reported that on Friday he was arrested and formally charged with gross negligent operation leading to serious bodily injury or death in relation to the incident.

He is scheduled to appear in Washington County Superior Court, Criminal Division, on Jan. 19 to answer to the charge.