A piece of land South Maple Street recently taken off the market could become the site of a 1-megawatt solar array.

HADLEY -- A piece of land South Maple Street recently taken off the market could become the site of a solar array.

Eversource owns the 31-acre parcel and had earlier offered it for development of 14 residential buildings, but took it off the market in July. Now the electric utility is considering developing a 1-megawatt solar facility there, spokeswoman Priscilla Ress said in an email. She said this is one of several solar installations the company is considering across the state.

Eversource plans to increase the amount of solar energy it produces in the state from 8 megawatts to 70 megawatts, she said.

According to its website, Eversource has two solar arrays in Springfield, one in the Indian Orchard neighborhood and another on Cottage Street.

Hadley Planning Board member Bill Dwyer said he has heard some concerns from people about the visual effects of an array at that location. A public hearing is slated for Feb. 17.

According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, a 1-megawatt array could provide enough power for 164 homes.

Dwyer said town bylaws have language regarding screening, but there was a conscious decision to make agricultural land available for solar arrays. He also said in an email that "state law favors solar arrays and discourages zoning bylaws that would impose unreasonable restrictions. Lots of gray areas in there."

Kristin DeBoer, executive director of the Kestrel Land Trust, said she hopes her organization can acquire the land. The trust supports solar power but this parcel "is in the middle of an important network of protected grassland bird habitat and farmland." In an email, she wrote that it includes "a significant wetland complex that drains directly into the Fort River."

She said the trust would add the land to the Fort River Division of the Silvio O. Conte Wildlife Refuge in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

"To facilitate that acquisition, we are looking for a more suitable location that could be swapped as a site for Eversource's proposed solar installation," she said.

Northampton police say they picked up a 56-year-old Northampton man passed out drunk at Stop & Shop twice in the span of an hour.

Northampton police say they picked up a homeless 56-year-old Northampton man passed out drunk at Stop & Shop on King Street twice in the span of two hours Wednesday.

The disturbance infuriated the store manager, who demanded Jonathan Laurence be charged with trespassing following the second incident.

He was.

The first report came in at roughly 4:30 p.m., when a store employee called police to report Laurence was passed out and inebriated in the bathroom at the rear of the building.

Responding officers and emergency medical technicians packed an uncooperative Laurence into an ambulance on a stretcher and transported him to Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

Just two hours later, at 6:49 p.m., Stop & Shop was calling police, asking that they remove Laurence again.

"Officer (Michael) Cronin and I were again dispatched to Stop & Shop for Laurence, who was now reported to be passed out near the front registers," Northampton Police Officer Jutsin D. Hooten wrote in a report on the incidents.

Laurence again acted uncooperatively, refusing to get up, and an ambulance was again called to the scene to lift him away, this time to the police department, where he was booked and charged with trespassing for refusing to leave the store when asked.

On Thursday, Laurence appeared in Northampton District Court to face the charge. A pretrial hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 16.

The money will go to a program run by AG Maura Healey's office to fund grants for opioid education and addiction prevention programs in Massachusetts schools.

Walgreens has paid the state of Massachusetts $200,000 to resolve allegations that the pharmacy chain improperly dispensed opioid medications to MassHealth patients.

Attorney General Maura Healey announced the settlement Thursday. It comes two months after Healey reached a similar settlement with CVS pharmacy.

With Massachusetts officials taking numerous steps to try to stem a tide of addiction and opioid overdose deaths, Healey had been investigating whether the state's major pharmacies are following state guidelines in dispensing opioid drugs.

In the case of Walgreens, Healey alleged that the pharmacy violated the state's Controlled Substance Management Program, which is managed by MassHealth. Under the program, any MassHealth member who uses an excessive amount of prescription drugs is enrolled in the Controlled Substance Management Program. The member can then only pick up prescriptions from a single primary pharmacy, except in an emergency.

Healey alleged that some Walgreens pharmacies in Massachusetts dispensed drugs to MassHealth members in exchange for out-of-pocket cash payments, instead of billing MassHealth. Some of these transactions came after MassHealth denied a claim for the prescription on the same day. This violates state law, and it could allow a patient to circumvent the controlled substances program and get additional drugs.

Under the terms of the settlement, Walgreens will update its records to note when a patient is in the Controlled Substance Management Program and what that patient's primary pharmacy is. Walgreens will distribute written policies regarding the program. It will ban the dispensing of drugs to patients in the program in exchange for cash payments. Walgreens pharmacists will be required to check the state's prescription drug monitoring program before dispensing prescriptions. All Walgreens employees will be trained on these topics.

The settlement ends the investigation, and Walgreens did not admit to any wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

The $200,000 that Walgreens will pay will go to a program run by Healey's office to fund grants for opioid education and addiction prevention programs in Massachusetts schools. The fund was started last fall with $500,000 from a settlement Healey's office reached with CVS, also over opioid dispensing practices.

"Supporting youth opioid education and prevention programs is a top priority for my office and we are seeing an incredible unmet need for funding across the state," Healey said in a statement. "That's why we decided to structure these settlements to put as many resources into local communities as possible."

Kat Allen, coordinator for the Communities that Care Coalition serving Franklin County and North Quabbin, applied for a grant of $20,000 over two years. The Greenfield-based coalition runs programs focused on reducing youth substance abuse through teaching kids social and emotional skills like how to cope with anxiety and anger, how to resolve conflicts and how to make decisions and resist peer pressure.

The coalition received federal funding for 10 years, which has run out. It is now funded with money from a local hospital, which is about to dry up, and with state money. The money from Healey's fund would let the coalition expand programming from middle school to students in late elementary school and early high school.

"It's the most important work that we do," Allen said. "I'm really delighted that at this moment in time schools are prioritizing substance use prevention and are working hard to get these extremely effective programs going."

A bail hearing for Patrick Bemben, the 25-year-old Hadley man accused of taking part in a violent Oct. 30 home invasion in Amherst, has been postponed until Monday.

NORTHAMPTON -- A bail hearing for Patrick Bemben, the 25-year-old Hadley man accused of taking part in a violent Oct. 30 home invasion in Amherst, has been postponed from Friday until Monday.

Meanwhile, those who know him have written to the judge with letters supporting Bemben.

Susan Russell of Hadley, who said she has known Bemben all her life, wrote that she was heartbroken after hearing about his arrest and "hopes Patrick can be given a chance to redeem himself after this terrible descent into addiction and behavior that is not the 'norm' for him."

Although prosecutors asked that Bemben be held without the right to bail, Hampshire Superior Court Judge Mark Mason set bail at $35,000 and set strict release conditions.

One was that Bemben remain at Swift River, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Cummington, for a 90-day treatment program. But Swift River could only take him for 30 days. Bemben's lawyer David Hoose was looking into whether that could change.

Bemben is charged with conspiracy to commit home invasion, conspiracy to commit armed robbery while masked, nighttime breaking and entering with the intent to commit a felony, larceny from a building, use of body armor during the commission of a felony, three counts of armed robbery while masked and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon -- including one causing serious bodily injury.

Police believe several people took part in the home invasion, but so far Bemben is the only one charged. Amherst police and the Northwestern district attorney's office have said the investigation is ongoing.

In documents submitted to the court seeking Bemben's release on bail, Hoose stated that his client "concedes he is charged with a very serious offense" and that he acknowledges "that one of the victims suffered a significant injury to his arm from some sort of sharp implement." But, he said, "Bemben did not personally inflict this injury." He had been struck by a baseball bat and was "semi-conscious for much of the events that unfolded in at the crime scene," Hoose said.

Defense lawyers also stressed Bemben's connections to Hadley. He is a third-generation Hadley resident, and played sports and was in the band at Hopkins Academy.

Hoose said Bemben began self-medicating when he was in high school using both legal and illegal drugs. But his "decent into the abyss" began in 2013, when he was hospitalized for 14 days and then began using Suboxone and later heroin to deal with pain.

"By the date of the offense he was taking a serious combination of both prescription and illegal drugs," Hoose wrote.

Hoose said there "is absolutely nothing in his (Bemben's) background to lead anyone to conclude that he presents a danger to the community of the victims of this crime." He also stated that Bemben is "highly motivated to get well."

Bemben 58A by The Republican/MassLive.com on Scribd

Bemben Indictments by The Republican/MassLive.com on Scribd

Letters of Support by The Republican/MassLive.com on Scribd

Motion for Release and Attachments by The Republican/MassLive.com on Scribd

George Johnson of Springfield was sentenced to eight to 10 years in state prison after being found guilty by a judge of child rape.

The exterior of the Hampden County Hall of Justice is seen Saturday evening, April 25. (Dwight B. Shepard / The Republican)Dwight B. Shepard / The Republican 

George Johnson was sentenced by Hampden Superior Court Judge Edward J. McDonough to the state prison term followed by three years probation.

The jury-waived trial by McDonough was the second trial for Johnson in the case.

After a 2013 conviction and sentence of eight to 10 years he was granted a new trial. A judge ordered the new trial based on ineffective assistance of counsel at the first trial.

McDonough sentenced Johnson Thursday to the same sentence Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder gave Johnson at the first trial.

Because of that initial conviction he has 1,331 days credit toward the sentence imposed Thursday for time he has been in jail since his arrest.

In an impact statement, read in court by Assistant District Attorney Eileen M. Sears, the victim said, "I was a scared 9-year-old girl" at the start of the abuse. She said at the time it happened she did not have the strength she does now.

Defense lawyer Joan M. Williams asked McDonough to sentence Johnson to four years in prison. She said Johnson will be deported to Jamaica when his sentence is finished. She said it serves no purpose, either punitive or rehabilitative, to have Johnson "languish in prison in Massachusetts ultimately to be deported back to Jamaica."

Microbial nanowires are natural, unlike the toxic chemicals used in wires manufactured now.

AMHERST -- Microbiologists at the University of Massachusetts have discovered a new type of natural wire that could replace traditional wires in the sensors in cellphones and other electronics.

Instead of man-made electronics, researchers here have found they can develop sustainable "green" conducting materials for the electronics industry.

The study by UMass microbiologist Derek Lovley and colleagues appears this week in mBio, the American Society of Microbiology's premier journal.   

Lovley said he's really excited by the discovery and sees it as "revolutionary" for the electronics industry.

Microbial nanowires are natural, unlike the toxic chemicals used in wires manufactured now that require enormous amounts of energy to produce and also contribute to the build-up of electronic waste in landfills, he said.

"(It) is a serious problem. Typically, electronics are very toxic," Lovley said. He also said they're costly to make.

He said the UMass researchers have been working on the project for about a decade, but have had breakthroughs over the last year.

He said they are working with IBM and the polymer sciences department at UMass.

"We have one of the best" he said. "I'm thrilled. I'm having the time of my life," he said.

The wires will be durable, he said, but will decompose in landfills when thrown away.

They are working on prototypes, although there is no timeline for when they might come to market.

Martinez is a former aide to CNN political analyst David Gergen, who has worked in several state Democratic campaigns.

The Massachusetts Democratic Party has hired Veronica Martinez as its new executive director.

Gus Bickford

"In the era of President-Elect (Donald) Trump and Governor Charlie Baker, I believe the state and national party have to regroup and grow our organization and message from the ground up, working with the grassroots to deliver our message passionately, person to person and door to door," said Democratic Party Chairman Gus Bickford in a statement. "Veronica will bring her keen organizational and management skills to help during this critical time and I couldn't be more excited to have her be part of the team."

In November, the Massachusetts Democratic State Committee chose Bickford, who has been active on numerous Democratic campaigns, as its new chairman. It is now up to Bickford to bring on new staff for the party.

Martinez has most recently worked as an aide to CNN senior political analyst and Harvard Kennedy School Professor David Gergen She worked on several campaigns for state Democrats including former Gov. Deval Patrick and U.S. Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren. She grew up in South Carolina and attended Wellesley College.

Since his selection as chairman, Bickford has taken a more aggressive line against the Republican Baker than Bickford's predecessor, State Sen. Thomas McGee. Unlike in national politics, where Republicans will now control the presidency and both houses of Congress, Democrats in Massachusetts retain control of the state House and Senate and hold every congressional seat.

In a statement, Martinez said Trump's election "reinforces just how critical our work is."

As Donald J. Trump officially became the 45th president of the United States on Friday, the Wilbraham Republican Town Committee partied on his behalf. Watch video

WILBRAHAM -- As Donald J. Trump officially became the 45th president of the United States on Friday, the Wilbraham Republican Town Committee partied on his behalf.

The local GOP honored the ascension of the real estate magnate to the highest office in the land by throwing a bash at The Anchor House restaurant on Boston Road.

The Republican, in his Inaugural Address from the steps of the U.S. Capitol, reiterated his election night pledge to be be a president for all Americans as he laid out his vision for country in the next four years.

The new president's call for unity came despite various protests that popped up around the nation's capital in opposition to Trump and his campaign trail rhetoric.

"The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans," Trump said.

At 17,000 square feet, it will be 70 percent larger than the existing office on Liberty Street, a facility long considered inadequate, outmoded and landlocked with insufficient parking.

SPRINGFIELD -- The Massachusetts Department of Transportation on Monday will open its new Springfield Registry of Motor Vehicles office in a former movie theater in the Springfield Plaza at 1250 St. James Ave.

Chuck Irving, president of Davenport Properties, which is one of the owners of Springfield Plaza, said he expects the office to get its certificate of occupancy Friday. The certificate of occupancy is the final hurdle to clear before opening.

The office replaces an office at 165 Liberty St. long considered inadequate, outmoded and landlocked with insufficient parking. The state is not planning to host a ceremony Monday.

The Springfield location gets 15,000 RMV customers a month, the state has said in the past.

The new St. James Avenue location features what the RMV calls its dual-line queuing model, a more efficient way of moving people through the process. It will have facilities for all license, ID and registration transactions, road tests and suspension hearings, as well as a business-to-business center for car dealers and insurance agents. It will also have sufficient parking, according to the RMV.

"Its a much cleaner and much more open facility than the old RMV," Irving said.

A key feature is that the new RMV is in a former movie theater and thus has very high ceilings, making it feel more airy, open and pleasant.

"And the parking here is plentiful," Irving said.

At 17,000 square feet, it is 70 percent larger than the existing office on Liberty Street.

The state has a 10-year lease agreement with Davenport calling for the state to pay $424,656 in rent for Year 1 with incremental increases to $494,468 in Year 10. That rent includes the cost of renovations and ongoing janitorial services, according to previous statements by the state.

Gardner Construction & Engineering in Chicopee did the work renovating the former theater into an RMV.

The Registry is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.

MassDOT has been working for years to find a new RMV location to replace the Liberty Street location.

In 2014, developers thought they had a deal to build at Martone Place. But it fell apart, the Martone Place backers said, because of a conspiracy in favor of the politically connected owners of the Springfield Plaza.

Those developers, Martone Place LLC and HDC Four LLC, sued in October for $50 million, saying the city threw up unreasonable roadblocks to keep them from getting the deal and to give it to Davenport. The lawsuit names as defendants the city, Deputy Director of Planning Philip Dromey, Director of Public Works Christopher Cignoli, Building Commissioner Steven Desilets and retired Director of Public Works Allan R. Chwalek.

The city is contesting the lawsuit. At the time the Martone Place location was in discussion, neighbors and city officials complained about traffic in the neighborhood.

Irving said Friday that he and his partners at Springfield Plaza went through a multistage "beauty contest" in order to win the contract.

The RMV will invigorate business at Springfield Plaza, he said.

"It increases the draw," Irving said. "Now we are going to see customers from 20 miles away."

Investors Davenport Companies and Albany Road Real Estate, both based in Boston, bought Springfield Plaza in 2014 for $35 million. It's part of about $50 million in real estate investments Davenport has made in Springfield, much of it in association with the MGM Springfield casino project in the South End, Irving said.

At Springfield Plaza, Davenport and Albany spent $5 million on renovations since buying the plaza. They removed a canopy over the walkways to admit more light, put up better signs and repaved.

"Its not a part where you are ever going to see Whole Foods and The Gap," Irving said. "It's a plaza that is reflective of the neighborhood in Springfield."

The Stop & Shop supermarket, Rocky's hardware and cellphone stores in Springfield Plaza are all doing well. Although he wouldn't share numbers, Irving said the Kmart in Springfield Plaza has "satisfactory" sales volume, but the store's fate is tied to its owners, the struggling Sears Holdings.

Since taking over, Davenport and Albany have attracted Planet Fitness to the plaza, as well as a Bounce! Trampoline Park that occupies the remainder of the former theater building where the RMV will open. Bounce opened in February 2016.

Springfield Plaza was Springfield Airport from 1929 to 1955. It was home base for the Granville Brothers and their Gee-Bee aircraft. Gee-Bees dominated high-speed air races in the 1930s and proved much of the technology that went into World War II fighters.

The plaza was built in the late 1950s as the city's first shopping center and once boasted a J.M. Fields department store.

Julian J. Baez and three juveniles, ages 15, 17 and 17, were all arrested Monday night following a brief car chase on East Street, police said.

LUDLOW - A 22-year-old Springfield man and three juveniles were arrested this week following a brief chase that ended when they crashed their stolen car into a police cruiser, police said.

Julian J. BaezLudlow police photo 

Julian J. Baez and three juveniles, ages 15, 17 and 17, were all arrested Monday night on East Street, said Ludlow Police Sgt. Daniel Valadas.

Baez was charged with receiving stolen property, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, leaving the scene of a property damage accident, resisting arrest obstruction of justice and conspiracy to commit a crime.

The three juveniles, whose names were not released due to their ages, were charged with receiving stolen property, breaking and entering into a motor vehicle, larceny of more than $250 and conspiracy to commit a crime.

According to Valadas, two undercover officers spotted a Gray Hyundai Elantra in the parking lot of the Cumberland Farms on East Street and determined it had been stolen.

When the officers approached, the car attempted drive off but slammed into a police cruiser.
The officer was not injured.

Baez got out to run but was stopped and arrested a short distance away.

The car had been reported stolen in Springfield on Jan. 8.

Baez is scheduled to be arraigned in Palmer District Court, while the three juveniles will be charged in Springfield Juvenile Court.

At Wednesday's meeting, South Hadley Electric Light Department board of commissioners formally approved a four-year contract with Fitzgerald.

SOUTH HADLEY -- Sean Fitzgerald will begin work next month as manager of the municipal light department at a starting salary of $159,900 per year.

At its Wednesday meeting, the South Hadley Electric Light Department board of commissioners formally approved a four-year contract with Fitzgerald. The terms run from Feb. 20 of this year through Feb. 28, 2021, a copy of the contract provided by the SHELD board says.

In a statement following the vote, Chairwoman Anne Awad said, "we negotiated a contract that is fair for the new manager and the ratepayers of South Hadley."

"We were very fortunate to attract a candidate who brings such depth and breadth of experience in public utility management, enhanced by human resource management and development and implementation of fiber optic programming," Awad said.

Fitzgerald grew up in Holyoke and resides in Southampton. He is married with two children.

The new SHELD manager has been working at Westfield Gas + Electric as public relations manager. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration at American International College.

The position has been vacant since May 31, when long-serving manager Wayne Doepholz's contract expired. The board voted in February not to renew his contract.

Doerpholz believes he was wrongly terminated, and filed a lawsuit against the SHELD board in Hampshire Superior Court on May 26. Doerpholz claims SHELD owes him $621,000 and that he should still be employed there.

"Because any vote to terminate the contract was invalid, the termination of the contract on May 31, 2016, breached the contract requirement that the board employ the plaintiff until May 31, 2017," the complaint says.

Doerpholz's annual salary was $143,000.

Sheld- Fitzgerald Ea 01-18-17 (Final) by The Republican/MassLive.com on Scribd

Former Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush will give a free talk in Johnson Chapel.

AMHERST — Former Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush will speak at Amherst College on Jan. 31.

Bush is the son of former President George H. W. Bush and brother of former President George W. Bush. He is chairman of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, a national foundation focused on education reform.

This talk, at 7:30 p.m. in Johnson Chapel, is free and open to the public. Amherst students, faculty and staff will receive priority seating. Tickets are available here.

Bush was a vocal opponent of President Donald J. Trump. He dropped out of the presidential race in February, endorsing Ted Cruz in March.

Trump often said Bush had low energy on the campaign trail, attacked him for supporting the Common Core education standards and poked at Bush's low standing in the polls.

"This guy spends $59 million and he's at the bottom of the barrel. ... I feel so guilty that I spend nothing and I'm at the top," Trump said.

Bush did not support Trump in November and questioned his fitness to be president.

Others scheduled to speak at Amherst this semester include Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin on March 4 at 10 a.m. at Valentine Hall, and Cornell William Brooks, president and CEO of the national NAACP, on March 24 at at 8 p.m. at Johnson Chapel.

Only a small number of students walked out of local high schools. Three left class at Doherty Memorial High School, while about eight left Worcester Tech. Watch video

After being assaulted while at work in his home country of Brazil, Italo Fini's father moved the family to America for safety.

Their tourist visas expired after six months, and for the last 15 years, they have been living here undocumented.

Fini, 17, has Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which allows him to have a work permit and Social Security. But President Donald Trump during the campaign threatened to end the program.

"I have a job, I have a car, and if Trump signs that executive action all of that is going to be taken away from me," Fini, a Worcester Technical High School student, said. "There is no pathway to citizenship for me."

He was one of a handful of students who walked out of class from city high schools to protest Trump as he was sworn in as president.

"What really made me walk out of class is that I don't think the Trump presidency should be normalized," Fini said. "It's also to build resistance."

The protest was organized by the Worcester Socialist Alternative. Small groups of students walked out of class and met outside City Hall, where a group of more than 40 banded together to chant.

Another Worcester Tech students, Jai Chavis, said that since most high school students were too young to vote during the election, protesting was their way to get involved and have their voice heard.

"The people, united, will never be defeated," they shouted in between protesters sharing their personal stories. Other chants included "Trump is a chump," as well as "Black Lives Matter."

The students were not protesting Trump becoming the 45th president of the country, but rather some of the actions he has promised to take while in office.

Only a small number of students walked out of local high schools. Three left class at Doherty Memorial High School, while about eight left Worcester Tech.

Superintendent Maureen Binienda has warned the students that they will face consequences upon their return to school Monday.

Evren O'Laoghaire said some students were too scared to participate after school officials began threatening suspension. Other teachers held tests and quizzes on Friday that some students did not want to miss.

"Trump threatens a lot of us," O'Laoghaire said. "A lot of poor people, a lot of Hispanic and Black people, a lot of Asian communities, immigrant communities, people with disabilities.

The Socialist Alternative group hopes to stay organized through the Trump presidency.

The victim was identified as Aline G. Silva of Ludlow, police said.

Patrick Johnson | pjohnson@repub.com 

This is an update of a story posted at 10:10 p.m. Thursday

MONSON - Police on Friday identified the person killed Thursday night when struck by a truck on Route 20 near the Palmer town line as an 80-year-old Ludlow woman.

Monson police chief Stephen Kozloski said the woman, Aline G. Silva of Yale Street, Ludlow, was struck as she attempted to cross Route 20.

Silva had just been involved in a minor accident with another car, and she had stepped out of her vehicle, apparently to go talk to the other drive, when she was hit by a pickup truck.

Silva was transported by Palmer Ambulance to Wing Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The operator of the truck, Bryce V. Mann-Cyr of Stafford, Connecticut, has not been charged The investigation is ongoing, but Kozloski said there is no indication that either speed or alcohol played a factor.

The preliminary investigation indicates that Silva was traveling west on Route 20 when she hit the rear end of a car that had stopped to make a left turn into the driveway of Asylum Fitness, 280 Boston Road, Palmer.

Silva drove a short distance, then pulled over to the side of the road. She exited her vehicle and was crossing Route 20 toward the other vehicle when she was hit, Kozloski said.

The accident resulted in the roadway being shut down to traffic in both dirrections Thursday night while police investigted the scene.

Warren called on Gov. Charlie Baker and Democratic lawmakers to avoid using one-time revenue to balance the state budget.

In what may be an opening salvo of the 2018 Massachusetts gubernatorial race, Newton Mayor Setti Warren held a conference call with reporters on Friday to urge Gov. Charlie Baker and the Legislature to have a more transparent budget process.

Warren, a Democrat who said he is "seriously looking" at challenging the Republican Baker, also called on Baker and the Democratic-controlled Legislature to avoid using one-time revenue to balance the state budget.

"I want to ask Beacon Hill leaders to approach this year's budget in a more transparent, honest and fiscally sound way," Warren said.

Baker will release his proposal for the fiscal 2018 state budget on Wednesday, the first step in a months-long budget process. The House will then draft its version of the budget, followed by the Senate. The two versions will have to be reconciled before the start of the 2018 fiscal year on July 1, 2017.

The problem with using one-time revenues to balance the state budget is that in order to keep the same level of services the next year, the state must find a new source of money.

The Baker administration has lessened the use of one-time revenues. The fiscal 2017 budget uses approximately $359 million in one-time revenue, down from $1.2 billion in fiscal 2015.

This includes taking capital gains tax revenue above a certain threshold, which had been slated for the state's rainy day fund, and using it to fund operating expenses. It includes money from selling a courthouse, legal settlements, trust funds dedicated to certain causes and money left over at the end of last year.

Warren declined to criticize Baker directly. "This is not about one particular administration or another. This activity on Beacon Hill has been going on for over a decade through Democratic administrations as well as Republicans," Warren said.

Warren said the state needs a "fiscally honest budget process" that invests in critical areas like education, infrastructure and public safety. Warren said the reliance on one-time revenue since the early 2000s means state government "can barely get by" in good times, and is forced to cut spending on things like local aid, infrastructure and education in bad times.

"Using temporary revenue sources is a way of kicking the can down the road that doesn't serve the long-term best interests of the commonwealth," Warren said. Warren advocated using one-time revenue instead to build up the rainy day fund, which exists to help the state weather an emergency like a mid-year economic downturn.

Asked for Baker's views on the use of one-time revenue this year, state finance officials noted that one-time revenue use has dropped 70 percent since Baker took office, while the rainy day fund has increased from $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion.

"Since taking office, the Baker-Polito administration has promoted fiscally responsible budget practices that have nearly eliminated an inherited structural budget gap of over $1 billion, lowered the use of one-time revenue sources by more than $800 million, or 70 percent, built the Stabilization Fund by nearly 20 percent, and kept spending in line with expected revenues," said Sarah Finlaw, a spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Administration and Finance.

"These accomplishments have been achieved without raising taxes, by ending several years of budgeted withdrawals from the Stabilization Fund, and while increasing investments in priorities such as education, local aid, the Department of Children and Families and combating the commonwealth's opioid crisis," Finlaw said.

Spokesmen for the chairmen of the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees did not respond to a request for comment on their views on the use of one-time revenue in the fiscal 2018 budget.

Warren also suggested that state lawmakers could gather more public input in formulating the budget. "Beacon Hill could frankly learn a lot from the way mayors do things around the commonwealth," Warren said.

Beacon Hill lawmakers hold public budget hearings around the state, where cabinet secretaries answer questions from the Legislature. At least one hearing, in Boston, is open to public testimony.

The specific reforms Warren is pushing for are two proposals laid out in a recent policy brief by a liberal-leaning think tank, the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. The first is the public release of a maintenance budget, which shows how much money would be needed to maintain current service levels. Nineteen states publish maintenance budgets.

The second is the public release of an estimate of baseline tax growth -- the amount of revenue expected as a result of economic growth or decline -- and how revenues will be affected by any anticipated tax policy changes.

Asked whether the state needs new revenue sources, Warren said he supports a constitutional amendment that will likely be on the ballot in 2018 to raise the tax rate on income over $1 million.

Baker has said his fiscal 2018 budget will expand the state's 5.7 percent hotel tax, in light of an ongoing debate over how to regulate and tax room-sharing services like Airbnb. Airbnb supports requirements that it collect taxes from individuals who rent out rooms through its online platform, because that ensures Airbnb is recognized as a legitimate business.

Baker's proposal would apply the hotel tax to any individual or business who rents out a room for at least 150 nights a year. It would also let the revenue commissioner enter into voluntary agreements with intermediaries like Airbnb to collect the tax. The proposal is estimated to collect $12 million in fiscal 2018.

Baker will also propose reinstating an employer assessment fee on businesses that do not offer health insurance.

Warren declined to comment on Baker's specific revenue proposals, saying he needs to see the entire budget before weighing in on pieces of it.

Warren has been building up his campaign account in advance of a potential gubernatorial run. He currently has $90,000 in the bank, much of it raised in the last couple of months. He hired Democratic activist Kevin Franck to handle his political media operations.

Warren still has an uphill battle, however. After two years as governor, Baker has $4.7 million in the bank to spend on his 2018 re-election campaign, and polls show that he remains popular.

Unlike a large majority of nearby towns and cities, Springfield has no cameras in its police lockup.

When Springfield Police Det. Gregg Bigda threatened to kill a teenage suspect during an off-books interrogation in a Palmer police lockup, the evidence of misconduct was clear - captured in full color video and clear audio from a security camera perched in an upper corner of the white-walled holding cell.

And when Agawam Mayor Richard Cohen decided to fire three police officers for using excessive force against a prisoner, he could rely on video evidence as well, showing the prisoner fighting with police before one officer shoves him head-first into a cell wall.

But when Jerry Bradley died of an aneurysm in a Springfield police headquarters cell in 2015 - a case which led to 30-day suspensions for two officers - internal investigators had to parse conflicting testimony from neighboring prisoners and police officers on duty that night.

That is because, unlike a large majority of nearby towns and cities, Springfield has no cameras in its police lockup. City officials say the lack of cameras is due to budget limitations, but that explanation does not satisfy City Councilor Justin Hurst, a frequent critic of police misconduct in Springfield.

'It seems to me like any police department of this size and this magnitude ought to have cameras in their cells, and budgetary issues and concerns should not impede that," Hurst said in an interview. "I think people are frustrated with just a simple no, considering everything that's happening around us."

In an email, Springfield Police Commissioner John Barbieri wrote that he is not opposed to cameras but still had concerns over prisoner privacy, cost, and possibly duplicating work given potential upgrades or replacement of the police station.

"I have concerns regarding privacy and potentially prohibitive costs of installing them into our current cells," Barbieri wrote. "Installation of cameras into prisoner cells is a recent trend in our area and I am concerned regarding prisoner privacy, as prisoners utilize the bathrooms in their cells."

Hurst and eight other city councilors sent a letter Friday to Barbieri and Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno asking for the city to inform the council about the potential cost of cameras, citing the Bradley, Bigda and Agawam cases as arguments for their importance.

"We utilize the existence of cameras in various places around our city and use the video evidence to make cases, yet we do not have them in our own holding cells.  We are asking for this to change," the letter said. "As demonstrated in various examples throughout the country as well as here locally, video evidence is an essential and effective tool in defending innocent officers; and consequently, saving taxpayer dollars from frivolous lawsuits or demands. Conversely, video footage can also support claims from the public who are treated improperly or even criminally."

The letter came two months after Hurst issued a press release calling for Springfield Police to install cameras in their holding cells, after The Republican published the footage of Bigda interrogating two teen boys accused of stealing an unmarked police car in February 2016.

Hurst expressed concern that Bigda's behavior could be part of a pattern of misconduct that escaped notice due to Springfield's lack of cell cameras in police headquarters. In response, Barbieri told The Republican that both privacy and cost made cameras impractical.

On Friday, Barbieri offered more details to MassLive. The station was built in the 1960s with a metal and concrete cell area and is not designed to support the wiring of cameras, Barbieri wrote in an email, adding that research suggests installation could cost $100,000.

The department is now seeking a precise estimate of the cost following the city councilors' request, Barbieri wrote.

Barbieri also expressed concern that an upgrade could prove to be wasted work if the station is upgraded or replaced, and if discussions with the Sheriff's department for a regional lockup facility come to fruition, reducing the need for holding prisoners in SPD headquarters.

"The police department is currently working with the Finance Department in regards to upgrades of the current building versus seeking state/federal aid for new construction. The building desperately needs modernization or replacement," Barbieri wrote. "The cells are an example, about half of our male cells are inoperative and are not repairable due to replacement parts not being available. Installation of new equipment into and area requiring rehab or replacement could result in having to do the work twice."

Sarno said in a statement that he has referred the letter to Barbieri, City Councilor Ed Pikula and chief financial officer TJ Plante for review and evaluation of possible options.

Hurst said he had not spoken with Barbieri or Sarno about the issue since November, and was hoping to spur action and prompt a cost analysis of installing cameras with his new letter.

Springfield's lack of cell cameras is not unusual, criminal justice experts told MassLive. But it appears to be uncommon in the Pioneer Valley and Western Massachusetts.

MassLive reached out to 13 local police departments to ask whether they have cameras in their holding cells. Of the 12 that responded, only two joined Springfield in not having cameras - West Springfield, which has video surveillance of detention area hallways but not inside cells, and Chicopee. Not all departments keep their recordings; Holyoke monitors cells through CCTV but does not record.

"We've never had them in the cells. Our officers go back every 15 minutes and check when prisoners are here," Chicopee Ofc. Michael Wilk said. "It's difficult to put a camera directly in a cell because there is privacy."

That concern for privacy - echoed in Barbieri's response to Hurst, and in Pikula's response to MassLive's questions about the lack of cameras in Jerry Bradley's cell - has not prevented other departments from installing cameras.

In the videos of alleged misconduct in Palmer and Agawam, cameras have a clear view of the prisoner's personal area, including latrines. Explicit footage was edited out of the Agawam video's publicly release last week.

And Springfield is the only city of over 100,000 people in Massachusetts without any police station holding cell cameras, according to statements from the Boston, Worcester, Cambridge and Lowell police departments.

In Worcester's case, city officials decided to expand their use of cell cameras after officer Michael Motyka was arrested for allegedly assaulting a prisoner in his cell. Currently, all individual cells reserved for people deemed mentally unstable or a threat to harm themselves of police have cameras, with other cells expected to be equipped soon.

Brian Rizzo, an associate professor of criminal justice at Westfield State University told MassLive that there are ways of securing prisoner safety without having cameras in cells, like having officers do regular rounds of the cell area to assess prisoner well-being.

Video shows incident that led to firing of Agawam police officers

But he added that, unlike in the Bigda case, officers should never conduct interrogations in holding cells, but rather in recorded interrogation rooms. And the decision on whether to install cameras should be based on ensuring accountability and safety, he wrote in an email.

"Commissioner Barbieri cites cost and privacy concerns," Rizzo wrote. "Neither is a good reason not to have them."

And ACLU of Massachusetts staff attorney Carl Williams said that when he practiced as a defense attorney, it was common for holding cells to lack cameras.

But with modern data storage technology police departments no longer have to rely on unwieldy VHS archives to store footage, he said, arguing that cameras can protect both prisoners and officers falsely accused of misconduct.

"It seems like it would be a no-brainer to do those things," Williams said. "It seems like it would be better for people to have that kind of protection for people on both side of the badge."

The letter was signed by Hurst, City Council President Orlando Ramos, and City Councilors Michael Fenton, Adam Gomez, Melvin Edwards, E. Henry Twiggs, Marcus Williams, Timothy Allen and Bud Williams.

Westmass Area Development Corp. issued a statement Friday, two days after being first contacted by The Republican.

LUDLOW -- Westmass Area Development Corp. said Friday it hopes the popular Iron Duke Brewing can stay in Ludlow Mills, but only if it sticks to running a low-key beer tasting room.

Iron Duke owners have said they approached Westmass, the brewers' landlord in Ludlow Mills, about six months ago with plans to expand both their brewing and food-service seating capacity. In response, the brewery was told it was out of compliance with its lease. And Westmass told Iron Duke to no longer host a food truck or entertainment at the site.

Westmass, which is redeveloping the Ludlow Mills complex, hadn't been giving its side of the story publicly until Friday, two days after it was first contacted by The Republican.

Here is Westmass' statement:

"Westmass wants to see Iron Duke Brewing continue to succeed and we hope they remain a part of the dynamic Ludlow Mills Redevelopment project.

"At issue are the parameters of the lease that allow for a tasting room where the public can sample the popular local brews created by local entrepreneurs. The tasting room has evolved into a taproom with significantly more traffic and occupying additional space in the complex, all operations that are not covered by the current lease.

"We are hopeful we can work on a resolution with Iron Duke in the days ahead. Westmass certainly values their contribution to the Ludlow Mills Redevelopment project and to the community and its loyal and growing customer base."

Iron Duke co-owner Nick Morin said Friday that he expects lawyers on both sides will have discussions over the next few business days. He said he couldn't comment in detail, however.

He did say that he and business partner Mike Marcoux opened the doors to Iron Duke an hour earlier than usual on Friday because there was a crowd of well-wishers outside waiting to get in. Iron Duke is open only on weekends, and Friday was the first day of business since the story broke.

"That is the one thing that we have been completely humbled and overwhelmed by -- all our support," Morin said. "It's amazing, and it makes us feel very much appreciated. It is the reason we are able to do what we do."

A nonprofit economic development agency that historically built industrial parks on raw land, Westmass Area Development Corp. bought the 170-acre Ludlow Mills complex six years ago.

It brought in more than $135 million in public and private investment to the site, including plans for a $60 million project of 100 to 136 market-rate apartments announced last year by WinnDevelopment, which also has a $24.5 million senior housing project on the property.

The complex also has a new $26 million HealthSouth rehabilitation hospital and small businesses and industrial operations including machine shops, welders, countertop fabricators, and a company developing firearm silencers.

Michael Marrero denied assault and battery with a firearm and two other charges in connection with a shooting at the Springfield strip club.

SPRINGFIELD — A 36-year-old West Springfield man on Friday denied charges in connection with the shooting and wounding of two people just outside the Worthington Street entrance to the Mardi Gras strip club on Nov. 26.

Hampden Superior Court Judge Edward J. McDonough set bail at $100,000 cash for Michael Marrero.

Marrero was picked up on a warrant issued after a Hampden Superior Court indictment.

He denied two charges of assault and battery with a firearm and a charge each of illegal possession of a loaded firearm, illegal possession of a firearm, malicious damage to property and assault by means of a dangerous weapon (motor vehicle).

Police cordoned off the parking lot at 350 Dwight St. just after 2 a.m. on Nov. 26 as two people wounded in the shooting were taken to the hospital from the scene by ambulance.

Police scoured the area of the parking lot for evidence, marking at least five shell casings close to a small building housing the parking lot administration and a late-night walk-up grill.

Police at the time said the wounded individuals were transported to Baystate Medical Center, where one was being treated for a non-life-threatening leg wound and the second was in the trauma unit with a gunshot wound to the lower abdomen.

It appeared that one or both of the injured individuals got into a dispute with others outside the rear of the club, police said. The two were walking in the parking lot when a vehicle, apparently carrying the offending parties, pulled up and someone fired several shots from it. It then fled the area.

"To say I was terrified was an understatement," one victim said in her statement read by a prosecutor in Hampden Superior Court.

SPRINGFIELD -- A prosecutor in Hampden Superior Court on Friday read a statement from one of four victims of Wilberto Castro's crimes.

The woman said when she returned from work to her Plumtree Road home on Nov. 4, 2015, she found two televisions, jewelry, an Xbox and other items missing.

Wilberto Castro 

"To say I was terrified was an understatement," the woman said in her statement.

She waited outside for police to arrive. The man who broke in and stole her things was gone, but so was her sense of security and trust of people.

Wilberto Castro, 35, of Springfield, on Friday pleaded guilty to breaking into the woman's house plus the homes of three other people.

Judge Tina S. Page sentenced Castro to 41/2 to seven years in state prison followed by three years probation.

Daniel R. Bergin, Castro's lawyer, said it is Castro's heroin addiction that causes him to break into houses. Bergin said he realized that was no excuse for the crimes.

The Plumtree Road resident said at the time of the housebreak she was a single mother and was glad her children were not with her when she discovered the crime and when police responded.

She said when she told her children what happened, they were afraid to sleep in the home, as was she.

Castro had removed a window air conditioner to gain access. He left a fingerprint on that air conditioner, which led police to him.

"I was afraid my home was no longer safe," the woman wrote. "I'm still worried."

She later learned from a media report Castro had been released on bail two days earlier on a case involving a Chicopee housebreak.

"The Xbox he stole was a birthday present for my son," the woman wrote.

Assistant District Attorney Nina A. Vivenzio said the other housebreaks to which Castro pleaded guilty were:

• Oct. 29, 2015, at an Allen Street home.
• Oct. 30, 2015, at a Nelson Road, Chicopee, home.
• May 23, 2016, at an Island Pond Road home.

In the Chicopee break, which happened at about 1:45 p.m., neighbors saw two men loading items into a Jeep. After a neighbor questioned one, he put a television in the Jeep and fled.

The other man, Castro, fled into the woods with a television. A neighbor had gotten a license plate number, which police traced back to Castro's wife. Castro was found near Arnold's Meats on Grattan Street, scratched up from his trek through the woods. A remote control from the house was in his pocket.

In that break, access was gained through a back window.

In the Oct. 29, 2015, break on Allen Street, a neighbor heard a load sound of smashing glass. The owner, a 72-year-old man, reported a television was taken from the living room and the rear glass slider door was smashed.

Police found blood on the floor and eventually DNA from the blood was matched to Castro's DNA in a database.

In the May 23 break on Island Pond Road, a television, bicycle, two tablet computers and jewelry were stolen. When Castro was arrested on a warrant in September, he admitted to that burglary, Vivenzio said.

Castro's record included similar offenses as well as other crimes, she said. Castro had "over and over again" violated probation, Vivenzio said.

Castro's wife -- the mother of his children, ages 6, 4 and 2 -- was in the courtroom.

Asked by Page how many children he had, Castro said he had seven children, with the oldest being 19. He said he dropped out of school in the eighth grade, when he was selling and using drugs.

Bergin had asked for a sentence of two to three years for his client.

Castro pleaded guilty to three counts of breaking and entering in the daytime with intent to commit a felony, one count of breaking and entering in the daytime, one count of larceny over $250 from a person age 60 or older, one count of larceny from a building and two counts of larceny over $250.

He was charged and pleaded guilty under the statutory category "common and notorious thief" based on his record.

A Dominican man living in Springfield has been charged with stealing social security benefits.

BOSTON - A man from the Dominican Republic who has been living in Springfield for nearly 10 years using another man's identity has been arrested.

Police say that 48-year-old Bartolo Ramirez collected over $100,000 in Social Security benefits while posing as another man.

Ramirez was taken into custody on Friday and has been charged with theft of public money as well as with falsely representing a Social Security number.

A criminal complaint alleges that Ramirez was originally born in the Dominican Republic but came to the U.S. in 1990 as a stowaway. He was subsequently caught by authorities and allowed to voluntarily leave the U.S. in 1993.

The complaint goes on to state that Ramirez came back to the U.S. in 2007 and came to live in Springfield. During this time he assumed another man's identity, acquiring both a state ID and a Social Security card that was not his own.

Ramirez applied for Social Security disability benefits in 2008, and eventually collected over $100,000 in benefits.

He is currently being detained until he can appear at a detention and probable cause hearing scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 25.

For the crime of misrepresenting a Social Security number Ramirez could receive up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000. For the charge of stealing public money, meanwhile, Ramirez could receive up to 10 years in prison.