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Democrat Dave Hansen holds onto Wisconsin Senate seat in recall

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Hansen was among 9 state senators set for recall elections amid the fallout from the bitter fight over public workers collective bargaining rights legislation backed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

071911_wisconsin_recall.jpgVoters register and check-in at the Howard Village Hall in Howard, Wis. on Tuesday July 19, 2011. State Sen. Dave Hansen, D-Green Bay, was defending his seat Tuesday in a recall election that gave voters the most direct opportunity yet to react to Republican Gov. Scott Walker's plan that stripped most public workers of their collective bargaining rights. (AP Photo/The Green Bay Press-Gazette, Corey Wilson)

By DINESH RAMDE

MILWAUKEE — A Wisconsin state senator has survived a recall election that gave voters the most direct opportunity yet to react to a Republican-backed law that stripped most public workers of their collective bargaining rights.

Democratic Sen. Dave Hansen defeated Republican challenger David VanderLeest with 69 percent of Tuesday's vote, with 65 percent of precincts reporting.

Hansen was among nine state senators set for recall elections amid the fallout from the bitter fight over legislation backed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker. Hansen and two other Democrats were targeted for fleeing the state to prevent a vote, while six Republicans are facing recalls for supporting it.

The stakes are high: If Democrats pick up a net of three seats, they'll retake control of the Senate and gain key momentum in their efforts to recall Walker next year.


South Hadley rejects Siemens' 'holistic' approach to fixing heating problem

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Supporters of the measure argued that shoddy equipment and service had gotten them into this fix in the first place, and that investing in a quality product was worthwhile.

030911 South Hadley Town Hall 2South Hadley Town Hall.

SOUTH HADLEY – When the first article went down, the next two followed like dominoes.

Special Town Meeting on Tuesday decided not to authorize the South Hadley Selectboard to enter into an “Energy Savings Performance Contract” with Siemens Industries.

The performance contract would have given Siemens responsibility for implementing cost-saving measures that it had recommended in its Energy Audit of South Hadley municipal buildings, including schools.

The appeal of Siemens was that it uses energy-efficient technology that would eventually pay for itself, that it guaranteed its work, and that it would probably be more expensive for South Hadley to find and hire consultants and contractors on a case-by-case basis.

The Siemens question was originally destined for the fall Town Meeting, but two broken boilers in Town Hall speeded up the schedule.

Siemens offered to replace the boilers for $104,000, plus $60,000 for weatherization and other improvements in time for cold weather.

But a majority of the Capital Planning and Appropriations Committees, whose members included people in the building and heating professions, were confident that replacing the boilers could be done for less – closer to $80,000.

The boilers were the first article on the agenda, and the debate went on for over an hour.

On the one hand, supporters of the measure argued that shoddy equipment and service had gotten them into this fix in the first place, and that investing in a quality product was worthwhile.

Siemens added that it approached the problem “holistically,” not just as a boiler replacement issue. It proposed looking at the “envelope” of the building to repair drafts and leaks that might affect the cost of energy.

But opponents of the measure argued that, with some people in town struggling to pay their taxes, now was not the time to take a “premium” approach.

They also said that two of the four boilers in Town Hall were still working, and would be working long enough to maintain a reasonable temperature into the fall.

What complicated the matter was that the boiler issue was bundled up with a proposal for Siemens to fix the former FiberMark building, which the town now owned and which came with a leaky roof, moldy carpet and other needs.

Town Meeting declined.

Article One was followed by a request to enter into an agreement with Siemens for three years and a request to pay Siemens a sum “not to exceed $500,000” – though it turned out that, based on some estimates that Siemens had gathered in the meantime, the price would be at least $200,000 less.

But once article one went down, so did articles two and three.

Harvard psychology professor Marc Hauser resigns after misconduct probe

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Hauser is director of Harvard's Cognitive Evolution Laboratory, which studies the developmental foundations of the human mind.

Marc Hauser.jpgMarc Hauser's resignation is effective on August 1.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — A Harvard University psychology professor has resigned, saying he wants to pursue other opportunities more than ten months after a faculty investigation found him "solely responsible" for eight instances of scientific misconduct at the Ivy League school.

Marc Hauser said in a letter obtained Tuesday that his resignation is effective Aug. 1.

Hauser is director of Harvard's Cognitive Evolution Laboratory, which studies the developmental foundations of the human mind. He took a yearlong leave of absence after the school's three-year probe found him responsible for misconduct.

He said in a resignation letter dated July 7 that while he was on leave he began "doing some extremely interesting and rewarding work focusing on the educational needs of at-risk teenagers."

Hauser also said that he has been offered "some exciting opportunities" in the private sector. He did not elaborate.

Hauser didn't immediately respond to a call and an email request for comment.

"While I may return to teaching and research in the years to come, I look forward to focusing my energies in the coming years on these new and interesting challenges," he said in the resignation letter addressed to Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Michael Smith.

Last August, Smith said a faculty committee investigating Hauser's work found three studies he conducted needed to be corrected or retracted. Five other studies were not published or had problems that were corrected before they were published, he said.

The experiments had problems involving data acquisition, data analysis, data retention as well as the reporting of research methodologies and results, Smith said.

Harvard does not disclose the specific penalties it imposes on anyone found responsible for scientific misconduct. Still, such sanctions include involuntary leave, additional oversight on a faculty member's research lab and severe restrictions, including on their ability to apply for research grants, admit graduate students and supervise undergraduate research.

Harvard announced in September that Hauser, who has been at the school for 18 years, would continue leading his laboratory under supervision.

Peter Pan Futurliner goes unsold at eBay auction

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Peter Pan put the bus on eBay hoping to sell it to a collector who could make better use of it.

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SPRINGFIELD – Peter Pan Bus Lines’ 1939 Futurliner is attracting a lot of attention, but did not attract a $2.5 million minimum bid at a recent online auction.

The late Peter L. Picknelly bought the bus in 1998 after a New York collector brought it to Peter Pan Coach Builders to get it restored. The company put the bus on eBay hoping to sell it to a collector who could make better use of it.

“It takes a special kind of person who has the passion for preserving this type of vehicle,” said Robert J. Schwarz, executive vice-president of Peter Pan.

When the eBay auction closed Monday, the top bid was just $505,600.

Schwarz said Peter Pan executives will meet this week to decide the next move.

Huge deficit-cutting bill sails through GOP House

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Defying a veto threat, the Republican-controlled House voted Tuesday night to slice federal spending by $6 trillion and require a constitutional balanced budget amendment to be sent to the states in exchange for averting a threatened Aug. 2 government default.

Rep. Reid Ribble, R-Wis., and other House Republicans speak about passage of the conservative deficit reduction plan known as "Cut, Cap and Balance" in the GOP-controlled House, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 19, 2011. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defying a veto threat, the Republican-controlled House voted Tuesday night to slice federal spending by $6 trillion and require a constitutional balanced budget amendment to be sent to the states in exchange for averting a threatened Aug. 2 government default.

The 234-190 vote marked the power of deeply conservative first-term Republicans, and it stood in contrast to calls at the White House and in the Senate for a late stab at bipartisanship to solve the nation's looming debt crisis.

President Barack Obama and a startling number of Republican senators lauded a deficit-reduction plan put forward earlier in the day by a bipartisan "Gang of Six" lawmakers that calls for $1 trillion in what sponsors delicately called "additional revenue" and some critics swiftly labeled as higher taxes.

The president said he hoped congressional leaders would "start talking turkey" on a deal to reduce deficits and raise the $14.3 trillion debt limit as soon as Wednesday, using that plan as a roadmap.

Wall Street cheered the news of possible compromise as well. The Dow Jones industrials average soared 202 points, the biggest one-day leap this year.

Treasury officials say that without an increase in U.S. borrowing authority by Aug. 2, the government will not be able to pay all its bills, and default could result in severe consequences for the economy.

Yet a few hours after Obama spoke at the White House, supporters of the newly passed House measure breathed defiance.

John Boehner, Jeb HensarlingHouse Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, right, and leaders in the House GOP caucus, take part in a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 19, 2011. Republican Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, listens at left. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

"Let me be clear. This is the compromise. This is the best plan out there," said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, head of a conservative group inside the House known as the Republican Study Committee.

The legislation, dubbed "Cut, Cap and Balance" by supporters and backed by tea party activists, would make an estimated $111 billion in immediate reductions and ensure that overall spending declined in the future in relation to the overall size of the economy.

It also would require both houses of Congress to approve a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution and send it to the states for ratification. The amendment itself would require a supermajority vote in both houses of Congress for any future tax raises.

With time dwindling, the day's events did little to suggest a harmonious end was imminent in a defining clash between the two political parties.

Senate Democrats have announced they will oppose the House passed-measure, although it could take two or three days to reject it.

Yet there were signs that with Tuesday night's vote behind them, House Republican leaders might pivot swiftly.

Even before the vote, Speaker John Boehner told reporters that it also was "responsible to look at what Plan B would look like."

And House Majority Leader Eric Cantor issued a statement saying of the Gang of Six proposal: "This bipartisan plan does seem to include some constructive ideas to deal with our debt.

Debate in the House was along predictable lines, and only nine Republicans opposed the bill and five Democrats supported it on final passage.

Barack ObamaPresident Barack Obama discusses the continuing budget talks, Tuesday, July 19, 2011, in the the briefing room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

"Our bloated and obese federal budget needs a healthy and balanced diet, one that trims the fat of overspending and grows the muscle of our nation's economy," said Rep. Reid Ribble of Wisconsin during debate on the measure.

Ribble is one of 87 first-term House Republicans determined to reduce the size of government.

Democrats said the measure, with its combination of cuts and spending limits, would inflict damage on millions who rely on Social Security, Medicare and other programs. "The Republicans are trying to repeal the second half of the 20th century," said Rep. Sander Levin, D-Michigan.

Boehner played a muted role in public during the day. He did not speak on the House floor on the legislation, but issued a statement afterward saying it "provides President Obama with the debt limit increase he's requested while making real spending cuts now and restraining future government spending and debt that are hurting job growth."

He did not discuss what alternatives he had in mind, although the Senate's top two leaders have been at work on one that would let the president raise the debt limit without prior approval by Congress.

The "Gang of Six" briefed other senators on the group's plan after a seemingly quixotic quest that took months, drew disdain at times from the leaders of both parties and appeared near failure more than once.

It calls for deficit cuts of slightly less than $4 trillion over a decade and includes steps to slow the growth of Social Security payments, cut at least $500 billion from Medicare, Medicaid and other health programs and wring billions in savings from programs across the face of government.

It envisions tax changes that would reduce existing breaks for a number of popular items while reducing the top income bracket from the current 35 percent to 29 percent or less.

The tax overhaul "must be estimated to provide $1 trillion in additional revenue to meet plan targets," according to a summary that circulated in the Capitol.

Some Republicans noted a claim contained in the summary that congressional bookkeeping rules could actually consider the plan a tax cut of $1.5 trillion. That credits sponsors for retaining income tax cuts enacted at all income levels when George W. Bush was president.

The group of six includes three Democrats, Sens. Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Mark Warner of Virginia and Dick Durbin of Illinois, a member of the leadership.

The three Republicans, all conservatives, are Sens. Mike Crapo of Idaho, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, who has a particularly close relationship with Boehner dating to their days together in the House.

In recommending higher government revenues, Republicans in the group challenged party orthodoxy that has held sway for two decades, ever since President George H.W. Bush memorably broke his "no new taxes" pledge to make a deficit reduction deal with congressional Democrats.

In the years since, refusal to raise taxes has become a virtually inviolable article of faith among Republicans, and used by them and their allies in countless political campaigns against Democrats.

Recently, Republicans who voted to repeal a tax subsidy for ethanol production drew criticism from Grover Norquist, a prominent anti-tax activist, for not applying the savings to deficit reduction.

Even so, in the hours after the Gang of Six briefed other lawmakers on their plan, at least one member of the Republican Senate leadership, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, signed on as a supporter. So, too, did Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas.

"We have an opportunity to act like statesmen and avoid a debacle on Aug. 2, and it seems to me that all of our efforts should be focused on that," added Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss. He and others said the plan was well-received at a weekly closed-door meeting of GOP senators.

Obama stopped well short of endorsing the plan, saying administration officials were analyzing it and not all details were known.

But he said it included "a revenue component" along with savings in Medicare and Social Security, making it the sort of balanced approach he has long advocated.

He also noted that the Senate's two top leaders have been cooperating on a measure that would allow him to raise the debt limit without a prior vote of Congress while also setting up a special committee to recommend cuts from federal programs, including Social Security and Medicare.

"That continues to be a necessary approach to put forward. In the event that we don't get an agreement, at minimum, we've got to raise the debt ceiling," he said.

___

Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Jim Abrams, Erica Werner, Stephen Ohlemacher, Darlene Superville and Andrew Taylor contributed to this story.

Nidal Hasan, suspect in Fort Hood shootings, to be arraigned

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Maj. Nidal Hasan, charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder, could enter a plea or opt to wait until another hearing.

Nidal HasanFILE - This April 9, 2010, file photo, released by the Bell County Sheriffs Department shows U.S. Maj. Nidal Hasan at the San Antonio to Bell County Jail in Belton, Texas. On Wednesday, July 20, 2011, Hasan will make his first courtroom appearance since it was announced that he faces the death penalty. Hasan is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in the November 2009 Fort Hood Shooting. (AP Photo/Bell County Sheriffs Department, File)

By ANGELA K. BROWN, Associated Press

FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — The Army psychiatrist charged in the deadly Fort Hood shooting rampage nearly two years ago was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday, his first courtroom appearance since the commander of the Texas Army post decided he would face the death penalty.

Maj. Nidal Hasan, charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder, could enter a plea or opt to wait until another hearing. According to military law, however, he cannot plead guilty because it is a death penalty case.

Col. Gregory Gross, Fort Hood's chief circuit judge, is expected to set dates for other hearings and for the trial. Documents filed in the case show that jurors will be brought in from Fort Sill, Okla., said Hasan's lead attorney John Galligan.

Fort Hood's commander, Lt. Gen Donald Campbell, announced two weeks ago that Hasan would be tried in a military court and would face the death penalty in connection with the November 2009 rampage. That decision echoed recommendations from two Army colonels who also reviewed the case.

Hasan's defense team, which includes two Army attorneys, has declined to say whether it's considering an insanity defense.

The report from Hasan's mental evaluation has not been disclosed. The three-member military panel was asked to determine whether he is competent to stand trial, if he had a severe mental illness the day of the shootings and, if so, whether that prevented him from knowing at the time that his alleged actions were wrong.

Hasan, 40, was paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by police that day. He remains in the Bell County jail, which houses defendants for nearby Fort Hood.

Hasan had attended several brief court hearings before last fall's evidentiary hearing that lasted about two weeks. He sometimes took notes during that hearing and showed no reaction as 56 witnesses testified, including more than two dozen soldiers who survived gunshot wounds.

Witnesses said that a gunman wearing an Army combat uniform shouted "Allahu Akbar!" — which is Arabic for "God is great!" — and opened fire in a small but crowded medical building where deploying soldiers are vaccinated and undergo other tests. The gunman fired rapidly, pausing only to reload, even shooting some people as they hid under tables or fled the building, witnesses said.

Some witnesses identified the gunman as Hasan, an American-born Muslim who was scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan the following month. Before the attack, Hasan bought a laser-equipped semiautomatic handgun and repeatedly visited a firing range, where he honed his skills by shooting at the heads on silhouette targets, witnesses testified during the hearing.

A Senate report released earlier this year said the FBI missed warning signs and that before the rampage, Hasan had become an Islamic extremist and a "ticking time bomb."

JoAnn Kass, Steven Bush of Brimfield, try to rebuild lives with horse injured in tornado

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Tufts University's Hospital for Large Animals plans to forgive $14,000 of the $20,000 in veterinary bills.

Cajun Brimfield 72011.jpgJoAnn Kass, of Brimfield, shows off her 9-year-old paint horse Cajun who was injured in the June 1 tornado. He is now recovering from a leg injury at the Ross Haven Farm in Sturbridge.

BRIMFIELD – JoAnn Kass and husband Steven Bush are slowly rebuilding their lives after the June 1 tornado leveled their home and farm at 51 Paige Hill Road, killed one of their horses and injured the other three.

They’re getting by with a little help from their friends.

It took almost two months and three surgeries, but Cajun, the couple’s 9-year-old paint horse, left the hospital at Tufts University in Grafton on Friday after receiving treatment for a serious leg injury. A finger-sized piece of wood impaled his right rear coffin joint, the lowest joint in the leg, in the storm, said Tufts spokesman Tom Keppeler.

Coffin joint injuries are highly susceptible to infection and usually fatal. His treatment was arduous, often painful and difficult. Ultrasounds and other imaging do not work well on hooves, Keppeler said.

“It’s been very difficult to watch him go through,” said Kass. “I’m glad to see he’s feeling better. Tufts did an awesome, awesome job.”

He is healing up at Ross Haven Farm, a rehabilitation facility in Sturbridge run by one of his surgeons.

Tufts’ Hospital for Large Animals has also announced it will forgive almost $14,000 worth of vet bills. Family, friends and strangers of Kass and Bush raised more than $6,000 to apply to the $20,000 tab. Tufts said that was good enough.

Cajun will be reevaluated in six weeks. When he eventually returns home, he’ll join his friends Mouse and Dragon.

The horses suffered cuts and abrasions. Veterinarian Paula Orcutt of Spencer, Kass’ sister Karen Walker of New Braintree, and local firefighters climbed through the wreckage in the storm’s immediate aftermath to treat them. Orcutt waived her fee.

Volunteers have flocked to the Kass-Bush property since the storm hit and have built three temporary horse stalls. Mouse and Dragon are back with their owners after spending several weeks with family friends.

One thing Cajun probably won’t see when he gets back is the family’s house, the remains of which are currently being demolished, Kass said. She and Bush now live in a mobile home in the backyard and expect to be there through the winter, she said.

They are working with the insurance company to rebuild. In the meantime, clearing debris from the yard has become a daily chore for them and their army of helpers.

“It’s kind of like ‘Groundhog Day,’” said Kass, referring to the 1993 film in which actor Bill Murray re-lives the same 24 hours over and over. “It’s been an every day, all day kind of digging out.”

When asked about the outpouring of support from the community, Kass said, “I think I’ll start to cry if I talk about it.” She managed to push through her emotions and called the help “absolutely overwhelming.”

“Some people have come here every day,” she said. “Everyone has done what they felt they could do.”

She hopes to keep in touch with the new friends she’s made after the clean-up and rebuilding are complete, she said.

Connecticut shooting victim Keith Washington dies, becomes Hartford's 19th homicide of 2011

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Keith Washington, 23, was shot on Friday in Hartford. He died from his wounds on Sunday becoming the that city's 19th homicide of 2011.

Hartford Police Patch.gif

HARTFORD, Conn. - Detectives with the Hartford Police Department's Major Crimes Division have confirmed the identity and death of the 23-year-old man who was shot on July 15.

Keith Washington, 23, of Windsor, Connecticut died Sunday at St. Francis Hospital at 7:06 p.m., police reported on Tuesday.

On July 15, around 9:30 p.m. Hartford police responded to a report of shots fired and a person shot at 67 Oakland Terrace in Hartford where they found Washington suffering from a single gunshot wound.

EMTs brought Washington to St. Francis Hospital for treatment, where he was listed in critical condition until dying from his injuries two days later.

According to statistics recently released by Hartford police, Washington's death brings the city's homicide toll to 19 for 2011, compared to 11 homicides as of this time in July 2010.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to Lt. Brian Foley at 860-757-4463 or Sgt. Brandon O'Brien at 860-757-4089.

Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Hartford Crime Stoppers at 860-722-TIPS (8477) or by utilizing the Hartford Crime Stoppers online tip form.

Foley said that the public can feel safe about the anonymous submission of information through the Crime Stoppers program.

"We are committed to protecting their identity while protecting our community," Foley said.


West Springfield school lunch prices going up

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The School Committee has raised the price of school lunches to comply with a federal mandate to achieve parity with the federal subsidy.

WEST SPRINGFIELD – The price of lunch in the city’s public schools will go up by 25 cents this fall as part of an effort by the School Department to comply with a federal mandate.

The School Committee voted 6-1 last week to increase the price of lunches for elementary school students from $1.75 to $2 and for junior and senior high school students from $2 to $2.25.

School Department business manager Carey G. Sheehan said Monday that the move is to comply with a section of the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 that requires schools to bring the price of regularly priced lunches up to the level of what the federal government pays districts to cover free lunches. That figure is currently at $2.46 meal. Having lunches priced below that level means the reduced price lunches are subsidizing the regularly priced meals, according to Sheehan.

Dario F. Nardi, the School Department’s food service director, said the federal government wants to bring the school lunch prices up to the level of its subsidy over the next five years.

“They want equality in school lunch pricing,” Nardi said, adding that most other public school systems in the area are also raising the prices of their lunches.

School Committee Vice Chairman Daniel Sullivan made the motion to increase the price of lunches by 25 cents.

Mayor Edward J. Gibson, who chairs the School Committee, was one of the members who voted in favor of the price increase.

“It was time to go up to recapture some of the costs,” Gibson said Tuesday.

The mayor said it costs the School Department as much as $4 to $4.25 to prepare a lunch and that the extra money can go toward equipment, programs and salaries.

Nardi said that of the city’s approximately 4,000 public school students, about 75 percent are served school lunches. About 48 percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced price lunches.

The food service director said five years ago when he first started his job that figure was 33 percent. It costs about $1.5 million annually to run the school lunch program, which gets about $1.2 million a year in state and federal subsidies.

AM News Links: Easthampton firm fined $15,000 a day in trade secrets case; lesbians kicked out of California museum for holding hands; and more

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Connecticut closing Enfield state offices; teen kills parents then throws a house party; and more of the morning's headlines.

APTOPIX Indonesia VolcanoMount Lokon spews volcanic ash as seen from Tomohon, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, Sunday, July 17, 2011. The volcano in central Indonesia unleashed its most powerful eruption yet Sunday, spewing hot ash and smoke thousands of feet (meters) into the air and sending panicked villagers racing back to emergency shelters. There were no immediate reports of casualties. (AP Photo)

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Plains Elementary School in South Hadley to update facilities

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Arcadis Program and Construction Management is also project manager for the $125 million Roger L. Putnam Technical Vocational School building project in Springfield.

SOUTH HADLEY – Plains Elementary School, which serves children from pre-school to first grade, has taken a big step toward a new life.

The current Plains school is small, cramped and, in some parts, windowless. Though the playground is fenced in, it’s located at one of the busiest intersections in town, Route 202 and Lyman Road.

Now, using a combination of a state grant and funds voted by Town Meeting, the South Hadley school building committee has hired a project manager to coordinate the updating of Plains.

Its choice is Arcadis Program and Construction Management, an international company with offices in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Arcadis is also project manager for the $125 million Roger L. Putnam Technical Vocational School building project in Springfield.

“We want to explore all possibilities,” said Arcadis manager Richard Sitnik, who, with co-manager Nicholas Macy, met with the school building committee in South Hadley recently.

Those possibilities include renovation and expansion as well as replacement of the 80-year-old Plains building, said Jillayne Flanders, principal at Plains.

Committee member Edward Boisselle said the town has purchased land behind Mosier Street School that might serve as a site for a new building.

The school building committee has been pursuing funding for Plains for years, submitting audits and statements of interest (SOMs) to the Massachusetts School Building Authority, making appearances before town officials. Lately, it has been meeting every week.

Its efforts were delayed when, several years ago, the School Building Authority worked on a new system for processing applications.

Last year, Town Meeting approved the committee’s request for $750,000 to hire a project manager and an architect for Plains. Once that appoval came through, the School Building Authority agreed to reimburse 60 percent of it, said Flanders.

These funds are separate from funding for the rest of the project. They pay for only the next 10 months, during which the project manager and architect will come up with options for the school.

Then, in May, the committee goes back to Town Meeting for permission to proceed. By then, Flanders plans on having an architect’s drawing of what the proposed school will look like. “That’s what keeps us going,” she said.

A member of the state School Building Authority will be working with the committee all along, she said, and will help them make a new application based on what Town Meeting decides.

In September, said Flanders, “my staff here at Plains will be very much involved in sharing their dreams about a new school.”

Senate GOP shows flexibility in debt, budget fight

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Senate Republicans are showing far more flexibility than their tea party-backed House colleagues as Washington policymakers seek to steer the government away from a first-ever default on its financial obligations.

The Capitol is seen in Washington, Thursday, July 11, 2011. President Barack Obama and Congress' top Republican signaled a new flexibility in budget talks aimed at averting the first-ever U.S. debt default. But a deal remained tenuous, with each side pushing ideas considered untenable by the other. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans are showing far more flexibility than their tea party-backed House colleagues as Washington policymakers seek to steer the government away from a first-ever default on its financial obligations.

As the House doubled down on a symbolic vote to condition any increase in the government's borrowing authority on congressional passage of a balanced budget constitutional amendment and a fresh wave of spending cuts, the warm reception by many Senate Republicans to a new bipartisan budget plan revealed a thawing in GOP attitudes on new tax revenues.

President Barack Obama also lauded the deficit-reduction plan put forward by a bipartisan "Gang of Six" Senate lawmakers, which calls for $1 trillion in what sponsors delicately called "additional revenue" and some critics swiftly labeled as higher taxes.

The plan by the Gang of Six is far too complicated and contentious to advance before an Aug. 2 deadline to avoid a default that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other experts warn would rattle markets, drive up interest rates and threaten to take the country back into a recession. But its authors clearly hope it could serve as a template for a "grand bargain" later in the year that could erase perhaps $4 trillion from the deficit over the coming decade.

Harry ReidView full sizeSenate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 19, 2011, following the Democrats' weekly policy meeting. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

In the House, the 234-190 vote Tuesday to pass the House GOP "cut, cap and balance" plan reflected the strength of tea party forces elected in last year's midterm election. GOP conservatives reveled in their victory, however temporary it may be, since the plan faces a White House veto threat and is a dead letter in the Senate anyway.

"Let me be clear. This is the compromise. This is the best plan out there," said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, head of a conservative House group known as the Republican Study Committee.

The GOP measure would impose an estimated $111 billion in immediate spending cuts next year and would cap overall spending at levels called for in the House's April budget plan, backed up by the threat of automatic spending cuts. But what conservatives like most about it is its requirement that Congress approve a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution — a step that requires a two-thirds vote in both House and Senate — before any increase in the current $14.3 trillion debt limit can be shipped to Obama.

Now that the House has blown off steam, Obama said Tuesday that he wants to "start talking turkey" with top congressional leaders like House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. A White House meeting had yet to be scheduled, though Obama seemed to hint one could take place Wednesday.

Reid has lined up behind a controversial McConnell plan to allow Obama to order up as much as $2.5 trillion in new debt without approval by Congress, which could only block the administration from issuing new debt if Congress disapproves by a veto-proof two-thirds margin in both House and Senate.

Mitch McConnellView full sizeSenate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 19, 2011, following the weekly Republican policy meeting. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

In exchange, Reid wants to attach to the McConnell plan a requirement for a bipartisan panel of 12 lawmakers to negotiate on a compromise that could come up for a vote later this year.

The Gang of Six plan promises almost $4 trillion in deficit cuts, including an immediate 10-year, $500 billion down payment that would come as Congress sets caps on the agency budgets it passes each year. It also requires an additional $500 billion in cost curbs on federal health care programs, cuts to federal employee pensions, curbs in the growth of military health care and retirement costs, and modest cuts to farm subsidies.

"This a concrete way to reduce the deficit and assure that we are on a long-term plan that will bring down the debt to a reasonable level," Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said.

It also requires a major influx of new tax revenues as Congress overhauls the loophole-choked U.S. tax code. It calls for getting rid of myriad tax loopholes, preferences and deductions and using the savings to sharply lower income tax rates. But $1 trillion to $2 trillion would be skimmed off the top and used to reduce the deficit, depending on who does the calculations.

House GOP leaders were muted in their criticism and pointed to promised reductions in income tax rates rather than the net increase in overall tax collections.

"On the positive side, the tax rates identified in the Gang's plan — with a top rate of no more than 29 percent — and the president's endorsement of them are a positive development and an improvement over previous discussions," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said. "That said, I am concerned with the Gang of Six's revenue target."

The tax reform outline would set up three income tax rates — a bottom rate of 8-12 percent, a middle rate of 14-22 percent and top rate of 23-29 percent — to replace the current system, which has a bottom rate of 10 percent with five additional rates, topping out at 35 percent. It would reduce but not eliminate tax breaks on mortgage interest, higher-cost health plans, charitable deductions, retirement savings and families with children.

RMV: Massachusetts drunken driving arrests decline

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The agency's numbers released Tuesday show there were 14,834 OUI offenses last year, down from 17,804 in 2008, and 15,850 in 2006.

BOSTON (AP) — The state Registry of Motor Vehicles says the number of drunken driving arrests has declined in Massachusetts in the past five years.

The agency's numbers released Tuesday show there were 14,834 OUI offenses last year, down from 17,804 in 2008, and 15,850 in 2006.

A spokesman for the state police says the decrease is likely because there are now fewer police on the roads. There are about 2,100 state troopers today, down from about 2,600 in 2006.

David Procopio tells the Boston Herald that keeping impaired drivers off the roads remains one of the department's top priorities.

The numbers released Tuesday seem to contradict RMV numbers reported by the Herald a week ago that showed OUI arrests up. A department spokesman said the prior numbers included only some OUI violations.

2 men die in apparent drownings in Gloucester, Becket

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Police in Becket say an out-of-state man in his 60s or 70s apparently drowned in a pond in the Berkshires town on Tuesday.

GLOUCESTER, Mass. (AP) — Two more people have apparently drowned in Massachusetts.

A Bedford man reported missing was found dead Tuesday in a pond in a wooded area of Gloucester. Police say 49-year-old Sergei Samoylenko's death is not considered suspicious but are awaiting the results of an autopsy.

Samoylenko, described by police as an avid outdoorsman, was reported missing after he failed to show up for a scheduled visit at his mother's Gloucester home and his pickup truck was found alongside Route 128 on Monday.

Police in Becket say an out-of-state man in his 60s or 70s apparently drowned in Greenwater Pond on Tuesday. That death also appears to be an accident. The victim's name was not made public.

The Berkshire Eagle reports the man appears to have been swimming alone.

Becket Police, assisted by state police assigned to the Berkshire District Attorney's office, are seeking witnesses as they continue to investigate the drowning.

Ruptured natural gas line on Goodwin Street in Springfield's Indian Orchard prompts evacuation of businesses and homes

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The leak was reported about 8:15 a.m.

police lights.jpg

UPDATE, 9:15 a.m.: Leak has been sealed and residents can now go back into their homes.

SPRINGFIELD – A ruptured natural gas line in the area of Goodwin and Moxon streets in Indian Orchard has prompted emergency personnel to evacuate some homes and businesses there.

Fire department spokesman Dennis G. Leger said an excavator ruptured the line about 8:15 a.m. “We are standing by,” Leger said.

Additional information was not immediately available.


'Cut, Cap, and Balance Act' passed House without support of Massachusetts delegation

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The measure passed by a margin of 234-190, with only five Democrats voting in favor.

Reid RibbleRep. Reid Ribble, R-Wis., and other House Republicans speak about passage of the conservative deficit reduction plan known as "Cut, Cap and Balance" in the GOP-controlled House, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 19, 2011. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

A Republican-sponsored bill that aims to cut federal spending by $6 trillion and force a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget passed through the House last night, without support from Massachusetts' delegation.

Nine of the Commonwealth's 10 representatives voted against the measure, called the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act, according to the House roll call. Rep. Michael Capuano did not vote.

The measure, one of several plans that have come out of continued Congressional wrangling over raising the nation's debt ceiling, passed by a margin of 234-190, with only five Democrats voting in favor.

Read the roll call vote »

The Associated Press explains the bill's aims:

The legislation, dubbed "Cut, Cap and Balance" by supporters and backed by tea party activists, would make an estimated $111 billion in immediate reductions and ensure that overall spending declined in the future in relation to the overall size of the economy.

It also would require both houses of Congress to approve a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution and send it to the states for ratification. The amendment itself would require a supermajority vote in both houses of Congress for any future tax raises.

President Barack Obama has promised to veto the measure, and it would not likely pass the Democrat-controlled Senate.

Rep. John Olver, D-Amherst, decried House Republicans' support of the bill.

"With our nation two weeks away from a potential economic catastrophe, the Republicans in the House are having us debate legislation that would cut unemployment insurance, Medicaid, student loans, school lunch programs, and food stamps," Olver said in a statement before the vote. "It's ironic that they are focusing on cutting the very programs people will need more when the Republicans force our economy back into a recession by not raising the debt ceiling."

House Republicans said the Cut, Cap and Balance plan was itself a compromise.

"Let me be clear. This is the compromise. This is the best plan out there," said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, according to the AP.

President Obama and the so-called Gang of Six, a bipartisan group of Congressional leaders, have expressed optimism over a compromise plan that would include spending cuts of $3.7 trillion, increased tax revenues of $1 billion and some cuts to entitlements.

Monson selectmen pick Ashfield man as new building inspector

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The job has been changed to full-time in the wake of the tornado disaster and was advertised at approximately $50,000.

MONSON - The Board of Selectmen, at its Tuesday meeting, selected Paul F. Tacy, of Ashfield, as the town's new building and zoning enforcement officer.

Tacy was unanimously selected by the members, who cited his experience as the regional building commissioner for the Hampshire Council of Governments, and credentials as the president of the Building Officials of Western Massachusetts and vice president of the Massachusetts Federation of Building Officials.

Two other finalists were interviewed, Douglas K. Scott, of Barre, and David M. Deffely, of Westborough. Selectmen said it was a difficult decision.

The job has been changed to full-time in the wake of the tornado disaster and was advertised at approximately $50,000.

The last building inspector, Harold P. Leaming, left in mid-June to take a state building inspector job, but was reassigned to Monson, only until the end of July. Also, L. Chip
LaPointe, a former Monson building inspector, came out of retirement to volunteer his time on zoning enforcement issues, again, only until the end of July, so the selectmen were pressed to make a decision.

"We need to being some stability to that department," Selectman John F. Goodrich II said.

Tacy told the board that he has worked for the Hampshire Council of Governments since 1995, serving building needs in numerous communities, including Chesterfield, Huntington and Goshen.

"I'm very interested in working for Monson . . . working for one well-run town sounds like a pleasant change of pace," Tacy said, adding his present communities encompass 125 square miles.

He added that he intends to move to Monson.

Selectmen Chairman Richard Smith asked Tacy how he would handle angry people.

"With a smile," Tacy replied. "People are bound to get upset, that's part of the job . . . I just try to reason with folks."

Tacy added that he gives people the benefit of the doubt, and will not initiate an enforcement action unless he knows he is correct.

As the selectmen were discussing the finalists, Smith said that some of the townspeople are "on edge" in the wake of the tornado, and that the town needs someone who would be respectful to their feelings. While Smith said he preferred Scott over Tacy, he did vote with the rest of the board for Tacy.

In other news, Karen King told the selectmen that volunteers involved in the tornado cleanup effort will only be at the gazebo on weekends from now on, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Stamford Wrecking Co. faces OSHA penalty of nearly $19,000 for collapse at former Technical High School in Springfield that injured worker

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Stamford Wrecking, of Trumbull, Conn., has formally contested OSHA's proposed penalty.

springfield-rescue.jpgSpringfield firefighters police officers carry a worker injured in a demolition accident at the former Technical High School on Spring St.

SPRINGFIELD – A Connecticut demolition company, whose worker was critically injured five months ago when he was pinned under a slab of concrete after a collapse at the former Technical High School on Elliot Street, faces nearly $19,000 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration penalties.

The company, Stamford Wrecking Co., of Trumbull, Conn., has formally contested the proposed penalty, issued on June 7, Mary E. Hoye, area director of the Springfield OSHA office.

“It is in contest right now,” Hoye said. “It could end with a formal settlement or a trial.”

Stamford officials could not be reached for comment.

Stamford Wrecking is a subcontractor for Skanska USA on the project. OSHA’s investigation into Skanska remains open, Hoye said.

The accident occurred on the afternoon of Feb. 17 as workers demolished the former high school as part of a $110 million project to build the Springfield Data Center.

Sean R. McMurray, 51, of Wallingford, Conn., was doing demolition work about 12 feet off the ground when a slab of concrete fell. McMurray fell with the slab and was pinned by it and a robotic demolition machine known as a Brokk 90.

McMurray, who suffered a fractured wrist and three broken ribs, showed up at the Mason Square fire station a week after the accident to thank the firefighters and emergency medical personnel who pulled him from a pile of rubble last week and likely saved his life.

Ronald Raschilla, an American Medical Response paramedic who crawled under the unstable slab to initiate the rescue, likened the space in which McMurray was trapped to being in a coffin.

McMurray complained to Raschilla about his chest and then became unresponsive, the paramedic recalled.

“I realized his life was hanging by a thread and that we had to get him out of there,“ Raschilla said.

McMurray could not be reached for comment. His wife, Lisa McMurray, said that he has since returned to work with Stamford.

OSHA cited Stamford Wrecking with seven violations, all deemed “serious,” and has proposed a total of $18,810 in penalties. Violations are:

• Employer did not instruct each employee in recognition and avoidance of unsafe conditions.
• Employer did not determine if the walking and/or working surfaces on which employees worked had the strength and structural integrity to support employees safely.
•Employees were not provided with planks not less than 2 inches by 10 inches in cross section as a working surface while removing floor arches between beams.
• Mechanical equipment was used on working surfaces that had insufficient strength to support imposed load.
• During demolition, continuing inspections by competent persons were not made to detect hazards.
• Anchorages used for the attachment of personal fall arrest equipment was not capable of supporting at least 5,000 lbs per employee attached.
• Personal fall arrest systems were not rigged such that an employee can neither free fall more than 6 feet nor contact any lower level.

Developing: Layoffs reported at Baystate Health; officials say information will be released Wednesday afternoon

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Details of the situation are expected to be made public later today.

An updated version of this story is now available at MassLive.


SPRINGFIELD – Scores of workers are reportedly being notified today of their layoff by Baystate Health.

Details of the situation are expected to be made public later today.

Jane Albert, spokewoman for Baystate, said at noon that she cannot confirm any information about the reports of layoffs, but added she “will share information….this afternoon.”


This is a developing story. Details will be added as they become available today. Read more later on MassLive.com and in Thursday's edition of The Republican.



354 jobs being eliminated at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Baystate Mary Lane hospital in Ware, and Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield

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Baystate Health added 74 employees last year going from 5,214 to 5,287.

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This is an updated version of a story posted at 12:06 this afternoon.



SPRINGFIELD – Baystate Health is eliminating 354 jobs across all three of its hospitals – Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Baystate Mary Lane in Ware and Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield.

The job loss includes 185 positions that are currently vacant. There will be 169 layoffs among managers and staff. The cuts are effective Aug. 19. Workers, who were advised of the layoffs Wednesday morning, will get severance pay.

The action comes as the health system is in the midst of a nearly $300 million “Hospital of the Future” expansion project.

Baystate, the region’s largest private employer, added jobs last year; its workforce at the time of the layoffs stood at 10,064. Baystate Medical Center is the region’s only top-level trauma center and is expected to see 114,000 emergency-room patients this year.

In a news release issued Wednesday afternoon, Baystate executives blamed the cutbacks on the state’s efforts to contain health-care costs.

The state has frozen Medicaid reimbursement rates while the costs for providing those services have risen by 3 to 4 percent a year, according to the hospital's statement.

12.01.2010 | SPRINGFIELD - Construction on Baystate Medical Center's "Hospital of the Future" in December, 2010.

BAYSTATE HEALTH: PREVIOUS LAYOFFS

September 9, 2009: Baystate Franklin Medical Center plans the closure of several behavioral health services as it copes with a 2008 operating loss totaling $1.6 million.

November 5, 2008: Facing an estimated $37 million budget deficit, Baystate Health announces the elimination of 120 vacant positions and the layoffs of 55 managers and staff.

April 9, 2003: Baystate Health announces the elimination of 119 jobs. Under the plan, 68 employees will lose their jobs at Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield, and 51 workers will be let go in Springfield and East Longmeadow.

September 29, 1998: Baystate Health announces plans to cut 109 jobs, including 87 employees in primarily non-patient care jobs, managerial level employees and vacant positions. 26 full-time workers in Baystate Medical Center’s laundry department are among those who lose their jobs.

September 3, 1997: Baystate Health cuts 198 jobs. The cuts include the layoffs of 161 Baystate Medical Center employees; another 37 vacant positions are eliminated. Hospital officials say the cuts will save $10 million.

August 28, 1996: The Republican reports that a restructuring plan for Baystate Health will require up to 2,000 Baystate Medical Center employees to reapply for their jobs.

October 25, 1995: Baystate Medical Center confirms the elimination of 180 positions, but notes that the cuts did not include any involuntary layoffs.

August 9, 1995: The Republican reports: “Faced with falling revenues and a decline in the average length of time patients spend in the hospital, Baystate Medical Center has offered early retirement to about 200 employees, almost 4 percent of its workforce.”

September 22, 1994: Facing a deficit of $3 million, Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield -- part of Baystate Health -- announces it will lay off an undetermined number of employees. The hospital had laid off four administrators and a chaplain in 1992, and cut four nursing positions in 1991.

August 31, 1992: The Republican reports that, with 4,401 employees, Baystate Medical Center is Springfield’s largest employer.

The three hospitals were underpaid $26.5 million by the state for the cost of care for Medicaid patients in 2010, Baystate said. Medicaid patients represent 26 percent of the patient population at its three hospitals.

Also, patient volumes are down, according to the statement.

Baystate senior leaders project a $25 million budget shortfall this year; the shortfall would grow to $54 million in 2012 if expenses were not reduced.

The story has been much the same at other area health-care facilities.

In May, Sisters of Providence Health Systems laid off 19 full- and part-time administrative workers from its staff of 3,113. Sisters of Providence, which includes Mercy Medical Center in Springfield, Providence Behavioral Hospital in Holyoke, Weldon Rehabilitative Hospital in Springfield and Brightside for Families and Children in Holyoke also reduced the hours of 45 employees by between two and 20 hours a week. Sisters of Providence laid off 163 to close a $14 million budget deficit for 2010.

In April, Noble Hospital in Westfield either cut to part-time or eliminated 25 jobs from a staff of 600.

In Northampton, Cooley-Dickinson Hospital eliminated 30 full-time-equivalent jobs in May of 2010 in the face of a projected $4 million deficit for the year.Those job losses came on top of 100 positions there were eliminated the previous two years.

All told, there are 60,900 people in Greater Springfield who work in the health care and education sectors of the economy, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That total has risen by 1.5 percent in the last 12 months.

The jobs being lost are well paid positions, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The median wage for a health-care practitioner in a technical field is $62,720 a year. Health-care support workers earn a median annual income of $28,340.

Baystate’s cutbacks will not impact the $296 million, 640,000-square-foot “Hospital of the Future” project. The first phase of that project, including the Davis Family Heart and Vascular Center, is on time and on budget and will open in March, according to a news release. The project also includes a 70,000-square-foot emergency room.

Baystate has saved millions of dollars by consolidating the costs of materials and supplies for non-clinical services. It is also working to grow its health New England Insurance arm.

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