Obituaries from The Republican.

Two people were killed in a deadly house fire in Vermont on Thursday afternoon.

SOUTH HERO, Vt - Two people were killed in a deadly house fire in the town of South Hero, Vermont, on Thursday afternoon. 

Authorities received calls for a structure fire at 253 Rt. 2 in South Hero at roughly 1:30 p.m., according to Vermont State Police. 

Authorities initially on scene were told by a household member that two other people were trapped inside the building and could not get out. 

Firefighters from a number of fire departments from the surrounding areas responded to the fire. 

Police say that 87-year-old Elinor Lawrence, and her daughter, 54-year-old Carolyn Lawrence, were both killed in the deadly blaze. 

A number of law enforcement agencies are currently investigating the fire, including the Vermont State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Vermont State Police Fire Investigation Unit.

Police say that the cause of the fire is not known at this time, but that it is not considered to be suspicious. 

That elusive beast "Pot Sasquatch" was caught on camera during a news report in Springfield on Thursday afternoon.

SPRINGFIELD - A newscaster's broadcast of the snowfall in Springfield on Thursday afternoon was interrupted by a sighting of one of those rare and elusive beasts: a "Pot-Sasquatch." 

Jennifer Pagliei of WWLP-22 News was in the middle of discussing winter storm Niko's effects on the surrounding community, when a strange figure covered in what appeared to be marijuana fronds and moss entered the scene.   

In the video, Pagliei initially doesn't appear to notice the creature, but after turning around she can be heard laughing at the sight of it. 

While power generators praised the competitive procurement process, two Democratic Congressmen said the forward capacity auction fails to incentivize renewable energy.

HOLYOKE -- ISO New England's annual forward capacity auction concluded Monday with more than enough power resources competing to meet the region's demand for electricity in 2020-2021.

The clearing price of $5.30 per kilowatt-month, resulting in an overall cost to consumers of $2.4 billion, was the lowest since 2013. Last year's auction price cleared at $7.03 per kilowatt-month, creating a $3 billion commitment.

ISO New England executive Robert Ethier said in a press release that the competition and lower prices seen in the 11th annual auction are "indicative of a market that works."

The ISO, based in Holyoke, is the "independent system operator" of the six-state power grid.

The forward capacity auction secures commitments from power plants and other resources to provide the region's electricity at a point three years into the future.

Resources that clear the auction receive monthly payments in exchange for their promise to provide power, or curtail demand, when told to do so by the ISO. The payments support the development of new resources, retain existing resources, and provide stability for older power plants that help meet peak demand during the coldest days.

This year, no new major power plants cleared the auction, and no big plant retirements were announced. In spite of that fact, 264 megawatts of new generation were added to the mix.

Overall, nearly 41,000 megawatts competed to provide more than 34,000 megawatts of projected capacity for 2020-2021. Nearly 36,000 megawatts cleared the auction, providing for a buffer.

As for demand reduction and energy efficiency, more than 3,200 megawatts cleared, including 640 megawatts that are new. Around 137 megawatts of wind and 66 megawatts of wholesale solar were included. Six of the wind megawatts are new, as are five megawatts of the industrial solar.

Overall projected electricity demand in New England is flat or declining. This year, the ISO was able to reduce its overall target by 720 megawatts due to demand reduction and distributed solar, which is behind the meter and does not participate in the wholesale auction.

In all, the ISO secured commitments for 31,389 megawatts of generation, 3,211 megawatts of demand resources, and 1,235 megawatts of imports from New York and Canada for the 2020-2021 season.

The capacity commitments, which form the basis of consumer rates, must be approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, a five-member body in Washington which is currently operating without a quorum.

Coal and oil plants make up nearly 30 percent of the region's installed generating capacity, but tend to be used only during periods of peak demand, and are retiring rapidly. Even with efforts to encourage renewables, the region has a growing reliance on natural gas for its electricity production.

Reactions to ISO auction vary

A regional trade group representing power plants on Thursday praised the auction's results and methodology.

"This auction is another strong result for consumers," said Dan Dolan, spokesman for the New England Power Generators Association. "Reliability commitments are being made out to mid-2021 from a fuel-diverse fleet at highly-competitive prices."

He said New England is seeing record-low wholesale energy prices as a result of the competitive marketplace, while warning that such benefits "must not be taken for granted, as states move to carve out and subsidize individual technologies and resources."

Dolan said traditional power generators are now spending money to ensure reliability and environmental performance, and that special subsidies would skew the market and "undermine the investments being made today."

On the other hand, U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey and U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III issued a joint statement Thursday criticizing the ISO and its auction methodology.

The two said the $2.4 billion figure remains too high for consumers, and that the auction had a $1 billion value "a few years ago."

At the same time, Markey and Kennedy criticized the "paucity of renewable energy resources that have pledged to come on line as a result of these auctions."

They said the auction should provide incentives for renewables, and that ISO New England "should take additional steps to ensure that we are diversifying our electricity generation."

Markey and Kennedy also said that FERC's recent lack of a quorum "will make it impossible for consumers to appeal any rate changes" resulting from the auction.

The five-member federal commission, which, among other things, regulates wholesale power markets, is down to two after former chairman Norman Bay stepped down last week. Three members are needed for a quorum.

"Once again, New England ratepayers will be left voiceless," wrote Kennedy.

Markey and Kennedy have filed legislation to beef up the ability of consumers to appeal energy rate decisions at FERC. Kennedy's Fair RATES Act passed the House unanimously on Jan. 23.

ISO's capacity market is not the same as the actual energy market, where generators compete to sell their electricity.

Mary Serreze can be reached at mserreze@gmail.com

Obituaries from The Republican.

An engineer hired by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017 criticized the Holyoke, Massachusetts building commissioner for disagreeing with an assessment that the closed, 116-year-old Mater Dolorosa Church was in a "dangerous" condition and should face emergency demolition.

HOLYOKE -- Descriptions such as "shocked," "disappointed" and "totally inaccurate" were used in a letter Thursday from an engineer to the city building commissioner as disagreement continued on whether the closed Mater Dolorosa Church needs to be demolished.

Robert Kirchherr, an engineer for church-owner the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, said Building Commissioner Damian J. Cote was endangering public safety by failing to approve the emergency demolition of the 116-year-old church (see below).

Cote said Thursday he would comment after reviewing Kirshherr's letter. Cote has said the church's structural issues were the result of the Diocese failing to do routine maintenance for years.

Meanwhile, the City Council ensured that the Diocese will be facing multiple city agencies in its bid to demolish the church, referring orders from Councilor Michael J. Sullivan to its Public Safety Committee.

At issue is the church at Maple and Lyman streets that the Diocese closed in 2011 but which parishioners and others in the area, many with Polish roots, have never given up hope of reopening.

An engineer hired by the Diocese on Jan. 24 recommended emergency demolition of the church and erection of safety fencing around the property because pieces of the steeple have been breaking off and falling to the ground. Requests for permits for demolition of the church and nearby rectory were submitted to the Holyoke Building Department Jan. 27.

Emergency demolition of Mater Dolorosa Church in Holyoke recommended: engineer

But Cote denied the requests on Feb. 1, saying structural problems surfaced because the Diocese had failed to perform routine maintenance.

Cote referred the demolition requests to the Holyoke Historical Commission. The commission will discuss the items at a meeting Monday and will schedule a public hearing that could result in imposition of a six-month delay in demolition.

In the letter Thursday, Kirchherr, of O'Reilly, Talbot & Okun of Springfield, was critical of Cote for not approving the emergency demolition given the church's "dangerous conditions."

"I am not only disappointed in your Determination but was surprised that I had to first learn of it in the local Springfield Republican newspaper," Kirchherr said.

"Frankly, I am shocked at your responses especially with the history of structural building collapses in the city of Holyoke. As a safety professional, I urge you to reconsider and allow the Diocese of Springfield to install an 8 foot high safety construction fence around both properties for the protection of the public, and to allow the Diocese to eliminate the dangerous conditions both buildings pose to the public safety by allowing immediate demolition," he said.

Cote inspected the inside of the church on Jan. 31 after an exterior examination the day before prompted him to say, "I have not seen compelling evidence that would justify an emergency demolition order."

Accompanying Cote inside the structure were Holyoke Fire Chief John A. Pond, Deputy Fire Chief Jeffrey Przekopowski and Assistant Building Commissioner Kevin Lagimonier, along with Diocese representatives Bernard J. Hunt, an architect and structural engineer with Barry Engineers and Constructors Inc. of Pittsfield and Kirchherr, a senior health and safety engineer.

"During the meeting it was further made clear that if there is an unsafe structure in the city we will act on it immediately," Cote said.

The representatives of the Diocese were told during the inspection that the structural problems they were pointing out were due to a lack of upkeep. These included problems with roof cover, spot repointing of brick masonry, painting of exterior wood elements and securing the bell tower openings from weather and wildlife, Cote said.

Diocese violating building codes by failing to maintain Mater Dolorosa Church in Holyoke, emergency demolition denied: inspector

Further, Cote said, if the church and steeple were "alleged to be so unsafe," why were those inside not required to wear protective equipment and why were no concerns expressed about adding the weight of the five grown men to the supposedly shaky structure?

Kirchherr seized on that in faulting Cote's response.

"You also implied that the dead load from the added weight of five adults during our inspection of the steeple is an indication the steeple is safe, which is also an inaccurate assumption. Although dead loads are always a structural concern, Dr. Hunt identified and described how the brick structure is more robust at the bottom as one would expect at the base of a steeple," Kirchherr said.

"To clarify and expand on our site visit conversation, Dr. Hunt described how the upper section of the wood steeple and the lower brick section are structurally connected and designed. A significant concern was the major structural cracks in the wood beams designed to connect the upper wood and lower brick sections. These wood beams are secured using steel rods to create tension and provide lateral support. These major structural components have failed," he said.

The failure of the structural components was not because of failure to do maintenance but because of a combination of a failure of the original design, age and "forces that have been applied to the structure over the past 115 years," he said.

No maintenance could have prevented or can correct such problems in the steeple structure, he said.

"By ignoring the assessments of structural engineers and refusing to recognize these dangerous conditions which would allow immediate demolition of the buildings, you have endangered the public's safety," Kirchherr said.

At Tuesday's City Council meeting, these orders from Sullivan were referred to committee:

• the Board of Health take immediate enforcement action against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield to clean and prevent further accumulation of avian fecal matter (pigeon shit) in the Mater Dolorosa Church. This material is a serious respiratory threat and breeding ground for maggots and other fungus;
• that the Board of Health or Building Inspector take immediate enforcement action against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield to take the necessary measures to prevent the growth of white mold in the Mater Dolorosa Church. This fungus is not only a serious respiratory threat but it also accelerates the deterioration of valuable historic artifacts;
• that Mark E. Dupont and Russell A. Sprague of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, and their agent Barry Engineers, be invited to answer questions of public safety surrounding the Mater Dolorosa Church and rectory.

Sullivan is a licensed contractor who said he filed the orders after doing an external examination of the steeple.

"Because when I went to check out the condition of the mortar and steeple I saw that the report from the engineering firm was grossly exaggerated. More digging and it became apparent there was something really fishy going on," Sullivan said.

Dupont, the Diocese spokesman, said Sullivan should have been specific in his allegation.

"We would be very curious what professional structural analysis, authored by a qualified bonded engineer, that Councilor Sullivan bases his claim of exaggeration," Dupont said.

The Diocese closed Mater Dolorosa Church in June 2011 because parishioner numbers had declined and out of concerns about the stability of the structure's steeple.

But an engineer for Friends of Mater Dolorosa, a group that has fought the closing, said the steeple's stability would hold up for years.

Holyoke proposal for Polish historic district sees return of nastiness between groups over Mater Dolorosa Church steeple

The Diocese combined Mater Dolorosa with the former Holy Cross Church to form Our Lady of the Cross at 23 Sycamore St.

Letter from Diocese engineer to Holyoke building commissioner: by Mike Plaisance on Scribd

Insurers say the bill would actually go further than the Affordable Care Act, and the additional mandates would raise the price of insurance.

As federal lawmakers debate repealing the Affordable Care Act, Massachusetts legislators will consider a bill that would require insurers to continue to cover birth control without copays.

"This bill is one way of making sure that people who need it the most are able to afford the health care and the reproductive coverage, the contraceptives, they need," said Rachel Biscardi, deputy director of the Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts.

But insurers say the problem with the bill is it would actually go further than the Affordable Care Act, and the additional mandates would raise the price of insurance.

"The bill is overly broad and extends benefits well beyond what was afforded in the Affordable Care Act," said Lora Pellegrini, president of the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans.

The bills, SD939 and HD450, are sponsored by State Sen. Hariette Chandler, D-Worcester, and State Reps. Pat Haddad, D-Somerset, and John Scibak, D-South Hadley.

Under former President Barack Obama's health care reform, insurers are required to cover some forms of birth control with no copays. Supporters of the mandate say birth control is a type of preventative medicine and should be covered in the same way as other types of preventative medicine, like shots and screening tests. The mandate was controversial when it was passed because some religious groups who oppose the use of birth control said it infringed on their religious freedom, but a form of the requirement was upheld by the courts.

Now, however, President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are talking about repealing Affordable Care Act, and it is likely that the contraception mandate would be repealed as part of that.

Jennifer Childs-Roshak, president of Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts, said since Trump took office, Planned Parenthood has seen a "huge surge" in requests for intrauterine devices, a form of birth control that can last three to 10 years. Some patients who have IUDs that will expire in the next four years are asking to have them replaced.

"What our patients are telling us is they want a form of birth control without a copay they can get that's going to outlast the current administration," Childs-Roshak said.

The bill being proposed by Planned Parenthood and other women's rights groups would require Massachusetts insurers to cover all FDA-approved forms of birth control without a copay, including prescription drugs and devices and over the counter medication. That goes further than the ACA, which only requires insurers to cover one form of birth control with no copay in each category - for example, one type of pill or one type of long-lasting device.

The bill would also forbid insurers from using "medical management" tools for birth control - such as requiring prior authorization or "step therapy," in which a patient must try one form of medical treatment before moving to another. Step therapy is typically used to require a patient to take a cheaper drug first, then only use a more expensive drug if the cheaper one is ineffective or causes side effects.

The bill would also apply the requirement to more plans than are currently covered, such as plans people were enrolled in before the ACA that have been allowed to keep the same terms. Churches offering insurance will be exempt.

Pellegrini said most plans already offer benefits beyond the minimum required by the ACA, but the bill goes well beyond that. Pellegrini said cost-sharing and medical management techniques are ways to make sure coverage remains affordable. "Those are tools employers want plans to use to try to control costs," Pellegrini said. "To take away those tools sets a very dangerous precedent."

Pellegrini said insurers are willing to work with the advocates to preserve the coverage and access gains made under the ACA, but they want to avoid an overreaching bill that increases costs.

Childs-Roshak responded that the long-term costs of not covering birth control are even greater. If women do not have easy access to birth control, there are likely to be more unplanned pregnancies and more abortions, she said. This is particularly true among low-income women who may not be able to afford monthly co-pays for pills or the larger co-pays that can apply to medical devices. Women may be inclined to skip or split pills to save money, which makes the drugs less effective.

"Birth control is a preventative medication, and we have a lot of downstream side effects if the unwanted pregnancy is not prevented," Childs-Roshak said.

A similar bill was introduced unsuccessfully in the Legislature last year, but with fewer cosponsors. This year, it has 86 House cosponsors and 29 in the Senate.

Biscardi said there are also more acute concerns this year due to the likely repeal of the ACA.

Jamie Sabino, a longtime activist on women's health issues who works with multiple organizations, said sexual health care should be considered as important as any other type of health care. "For many women, particularly young women, paying $50 a month for certain items is prohibitive," Sabino said. She said there are particular concerns about long-acting contraceptives, which have contributed to the decline in abortion rates but often come with large copays up front.

According to Planned Parenthood, copays for birth control pills typically range from $0 to $50 a month.

"We believe there should be the widest access possible, which in the long run has health benefits and fiscal benefits for our state," Sabino said.

State Rep. Marjorie Decker, D-Cambridge, one of the bill's cosponsors, added, "This is really about women taking control of their reproductive abilities and their bodies... When women can access safe birth control, they then can make better choices about their family and have better planning options."

"The co-payment should never be a reason why women are not able to access birth control," Decker said.

Vermont ski areas will celebrate Valentine's Day with romantic, funny, silly events

Friends of Miguel Gonzalez said he was planning to move from his home in Bridgeport, Connecticut to retire in Puerto Rico next year.

A 59-year-old doorman from New York's Upper East Side slipped and crashed through a plate glass window Thursday while shoveling snow during Thursday's blizzard, according to the property services union he was a member of.

Miguel Gonzalez had worked at the building on East 93rd Street for 30 years, and his death came as a shock to residents of the building. 

So far, Gonzalez is the only reported death from the storm. 

"Oh my god, we loved him. He was so kind, he was like our best doorman. This is terrible," one resident told CBS2.

Gonzalez slipped through a plate glass window around 9:30 a.m. Thursday. He was taken to Metropolitan Hospital with neck and face injuries, and was later pronounced dead, CBS reported. 

Gonzalez was clearing out snow in a stairwell that led to the entrance of the building.

Awful accident on E93rd st. Doorman Miguel Gonzalez fell through glass panel while shoveling. 59 yr old died @ABC7NY #nyc pic.twitter.com/INzjgLHlWY

-- Kemberly Richardson (@kemrichardson7) February 9, 2017

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo sent condolences over Twitter. 

My heart goes out to the family of doorman Miguel Gonzalez who died shoveling this morning. Thanks to all working today to keep NY'ers safe.

-- Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) February 9, 2017

Friends of Gonzalez said he was planning to move from his home in Bridgeport, Connecticut to retire in Puerto Rico next year, CBS reported. 

State police closed the right lane on Interstate 91 south in Northampton near Exit 18 following a minor collision between two vehicles Friday morning.

State police closed the right lane on Interstate 91 south in Northampton near Exit 18 following a minor collision between two vehicles Friday morning. 

A trooper at the barracks in Northampton said nobody suffered injuries in the crash and the accident should be clear within 15 minutes. 

Google Maps showed a moderate traffic backup resulting from the accident just before Exit 18. 

The accident occurred just before 8 a.m.

The water main break is on the southbound side near the Connecticut line.

UPDATE: State police report all lanes are now open.

LONGMEADOW -- State police have closed a single southbound lane of Interstate 91 due to a water main break.

State police told WWLP the break is just before the Connecticut line.

This is a developing story. Additional information will be posted as soon as it is available.

A New York man made roughly $900-a-day pimping a heroin addict out of a Super 8 motel room via ads on Backpage.com, recently unsealed court documents obtained by The Berkshire Eagle reveal.

A New York man made roughly $900-a-day pimping a heroin addict out of a Super 8 motel room via ads on Backpage.com, recently unsealed court documents obtained by The Berkshire Eagle reveal. 

Charles Robinson, 43, of Peekskill, in October, conned the woman, of Rutland, Vermont, into accompanying him to the Lee, Massachusetts motel with the promise of free drugs. 

Unbeknownst to the victim, Robinson allegedly stole images of her from her phone and social media accounts and began creating sex advertisements under the alias "Candy" on Backpage.com, which quickly garnered responses.

Plying the victim with small amounts of heroin, Robinson allegedly booked five to nine customers a day, charging them between $300 and $1,000 depending on their sexual preference, according to The Eagle. Customers who paid more were allowed to engage in unprotected or anal sex, providing they supplied a recent medical test showing they did not have a sexually transmitted disease.

Arresting police found one of the customers' medical reports left behind in the motel room, The Eagle reports. 

The scheme quickly unraveled after Robinson recruited a second victim, also from Rutland, to a separate nearby motel room for the same purposes, and the woman refused to sleep with arriving customers. 

It went further off the rails when the first victim stole his car and drove it back to Rutland during a foray the two took to McDonald's.

Robinson then allegedly posted on Facebook offering $500 for information on the escaped victim's whereabouts, according to The Eagle. Police arrested Robinson on Oct. 28 after the first victim contacted police with her story. 

Authorities found Robinson goes by numerous fake names, one of them Chase Hollywood, and has an extensive criminal record, including aggravated assault and other pimping charges. 

Robinson has been charged with three counts of trafficking a person for sexual servitude and one count each of deriving support from prostitution and conspiracy to traffic a person for sexual servitude. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in Berkshire Superior Court. 

The highest wind speeds were experienced in Hyannis and Aquinnah, which saw 70 and 65 mph winds, respectively. Watch video

Wind speeds in some areas of state reached 70 mph during the Blizzard of 2017, according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.

The highest wind speeds were experienced in Hyannis and Aquinnah, which saw 70 and 65 mph winds, respectively. 

A wind advisory is still in effect in areas around Cape Cod, where recorded speeds are still averaging about 25 to 35 miles per hour. Some strong gusts have reached 50 mph. 

The advisory will remain in effect until 4 p.m. Friday.

 High winds speeds may have contributed to power outages across the state. 

In eastern parts of the state, more than 8,500 are still without power, according to an Eversource outage map. 

MEMA estimated that power will be restored to a majority of those who lost it around 6 p.m.

In addition to power outages, small tree limbs and branches could make driving conditions more dangerous. 

The Blizzard of 2017 dropped more snow than the state has seen in a single storm all season.

To stay updated with weather and traffic-related news, sign up for MassLive.com text alerts. 

Winter Storm Niko Videos:

Hampshire College President Jonathan Lash, who was subject of national controversy because of a decision not to fly the American flag this fall, will be retiring in June of 2018. Watch video

AMHERST - Hampshire College President Jonathan Lash, who was subject of national controversy because of a decision not to fly the American flag this fall, will be retiring in June of 2018.

The college Board of Trustees is launching a search to replace him.

Lash will be 72 at the time of his retirement, according to a press release. In a letter to the community sent Friday, Lash wrote that he "believes profoundly in the importance of Hampshire" and is "inspired every day by Hampshire's singular approach to education, humane mission, and extraordinary people who care so deeply about Hampshire and work so hard in its behalf."

But he said that after recovering from serious illness last year, he was "acutely conscious of the preciousness and fragility of life," and recognized how much that he and his wife Ellie want to do, "and we can do that only while we are healthy and able."

Lash was on medical leave for the 2016 spring semester because of complications from back surgery. 

The decision not to fly the flag in November drew thousands of protestors to the campus boundary, and vitriol and threats against college officials and students in the way of social media attacks, phone calls and emails.

The college began flying the flag again in December 2, two weeks after it was taken down to allow for discussion about what the flag meant to various members of the community.

Gaye Hill, Hampshire College Board of Trustees chairwoman, in a release stated trustees are developing a search process for the new president during their quarterly meeting in Amherst this week.

Lash began talking about his plans last summer, according to the release.

The search plan includes identifying board and campus members to serve on a search committee "and broad outreach to the entire Hampshire community to understand the qualities and temperament desired in a new president," according to the statement.

"Jonathan's ability to listen, to question, to consider new perspectives, and to give all of us room to contribute, create, and make a difference -- these are qualities we will seek in a new president as well," Hill said.

"As he wrote in his letter, Jonathan will be fully engaged as president until the day that our new president is ready to begin. So now is not the time for a retrospective on Jonathan's tenure. There will be ample opportunity for that," Hill wrote.

Still, according to the release outlining highlights during Lash's tenure - he is in sixth year now - the college became the first U.S. institution to not accept SATs and ACTs stating "the tests have no predictive value for determining who excels at Hampshire and are biased against low-income families."

Hampshire College has committed to going 100 percent solar for electricity and has completed the installation of 19 acres of solar arrays on campus in a deal that promises to save $400,000 annual in electrical costs, according to the press release.

Lash became the college's sixth president in 2011 replacing Ralph Hexter. 

US Reps. Jim McGovern, D-Worcester, and Katherine Clark, D-Melrose, joined more than two dozen House Democrats this week in urging Republicans to investigate whether White House adviser Kellyanne Conway violated ethics by telling Americans to "go buy" Ivanka Trump brand products.

US Reps. Jim McGovern, D-Worcester, and Katherine Clark, D-Melrose, joined more than two dozen House Democrats this week in urging Republicans to investigate whether White House adviser Kellyanne Conway violated ethics by telling Americans to "go buy" Ivanka Trump brand products.

The Massachusetts lawmakers were among 27 Democrats who signed a letter to House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, demanding a full investigation into Conway's Wednesday morning plug on "Fox & Friends."

Conway, a top adviser to President Donald Trump, told viewers to "go buy Ivanka's stuff" during the television interview -- comments which critics argue violated an Office of Government Ethics regulation that bars the executive branch from endorsing companies or products.

"Go buy Ivanka's stuff is what I would tell you. I hate shopping, I'm going to go get some myself today ... I'm going to give a free commercial here. Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online," she told "Fox & Friends" while standing in the press briefing room.

Pointing to Conway's remarks in their letter, House Democrats argued that the president's adviser appeared to have clearly violated the high ethical standards to which federal employees are held.

Lawmakers added that "it is especially troubling that Kellyanne Conway appears to have used her position of power in the White House to directly enrich the Trump family through Ivanka Trump's fashion line."

"Such a blatant disregard for federal law and ethics standards set for public servants undermines public faith in our government," the letter stated.

Criticizing Chaffetz's failure to conduct what they called "basic oversight of President Trump or his top advisers," Democrats urged the chairman to investigate Conway's remarks.

"We encourage you to examine the blatant and inappropriate remarks made by Kellyanne Conway immediately and ensure members of the Trump Administration do not continue to use their positions of power to enrich members of the Trump family," they concluded.

McGovern said he was proud to add his name to the letter led by Congressman Mark Pocan, D-Wisconsin.

Proud to join @RepMarkPocan @HouseDemocrats in demanding GOP hold @KellyannePolls accountable for using @WhiteHouse to promote Trump biz. https://t.co/AXyQbG72R8

-- Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) February 10, 2017

Democrats' committee investigation request came shortly after White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters Thursday that Conway had been "counseled" in response to her remarks.

Spicer, however, did not provide further details on the administration's response.

"Kellyanne has been counseled and that's all we're going to go with. She's been counseled on that subject, and that's it," he said when asked if the administration believed Conway had violated ethics.

White House: Kellyanne Conway 'counseled' for plugging Ivanka Trump products

Watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, meanwhile, filed a formal ethics complaint against Conway with the Office of Government Ethics and White House Counsel's Office on Thursday.

The complaint requested an investigation into Conway's comments and urged officials to "take any necessary disciplinary action against her."

"As the law makes clear, public officials should not use their offices for either their own private gain or the private gain of others. Government resources should not be used for public purposes, not to promote any private party's products," the complaint stated. "Ms. Conway appears to have violated both the letter and the spirit of these rules when she used her position to endorse the accessories and clothing line of Ms. Trump, the daughter of the president."

It was a long, cold night for the passengers of Amtrak's Northeast Regional Train 66.

It was a long, cold night for the passengers of Amtrak's Northeast Regional Train 66.

The train, which was traveling from Washington, D.C. to Boston, stalled on the tracks and lost its heating due to downed electrical wires around 3 a.m. in the Bronx, CBS New York reported.

Passengers were stranded for four hours as temperatures dipped to around 20 degrees.

"It's freezing cold, the bathrooms aren't working, there's no power and there's very little communication on behalf of the Amtrak crew to let us know what's happening, when it's happening, when we can expect to leave and it's really, really cold," passenger Brenda Shipley told New York's WCBS 880 radio station. "We've been sitting out here for four hours with no heat."

The delay prompted angry responses from some passengers on Twitter.

@priv8is There are mechanical issues with the train. No ETD. The crew is dealing with the mechanical issues.

-- Amtrak (@Amtrak) February 10, 2017

Hey @Amtrak how about you call us back on train #66 stuck in the Bronx for 4 hours with freezing passengers? @wcbs880 #amtrak

-- Wayne Cabot (@WayneCabot) February 10, 2017

Power to the train was restored around 7:10 a.m. and the train was moving again by 7:30 a.m., Amtrak said in a statement that offered a "sincere apology" to affected passengers.

"Today we fell short of providing the outstanding service that customers should expect from Amtrak, and we are sorry for the delay and the significant inconvenience, including the loss of heat onboard," Amtrak Chief Operations Officer Scot Naparstek said in the statement. "We also regret that some passengers did not receive adequate information about the situation while we worked to fix the problems."

The Board of Selectmen voted to send a letter in support of a recreational marijuana moratorium to the Planning Board, which is responsible for zoning changes to conform with the state's new recreational pot law.

LUDLOW -- The Ludlow Board of Selectmen has joined the growing list of Massachusetts municipalities that support a moratorium on the retail sale of marijuana in the commonwealth, which legalized recreational use of the drug in December.

Selectmen on Tuesday voted to send a letter in support of a moratorium to the Planning Board, which is is responsible for any zoning changes to conform with the state's new recreational pot law.

Over 53 percent of Massachusetts voters approved a ballot initiative on Nov. 8, 2016, that allows adults 21 and over to possess and use limited amounts of marijuana and grow as many as a dozen marijuana plants in their homes.

The law took effect Dec. 15, but state lawmakers quickly voted to delay full implementation until July 1, 2018, saying they needed more time to tinker with the voter-approved measure before the licensing of retail pot facilities.

"The idea of going forward on a moratorium, along with what many cities and towns around us have done, is the way to go," Brian M. Mannix, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, said at Tuesday's meeting.

Other Ludlow boards also support the idea of a moratorium, according to Ellie Villano, Ludlow's town administrator.

"I believe that the Board of Health is very much in favor of this, so I had suggested to them that they send a letter to the Planning Board in support of putting in a moratorium," Villano told selectmen. "I think the Board of Health would like to just ban it from the town completely. I think it's clear under the law that we can't do that."

Delaying retail pot sales is similar to the timeout that was taken after the legalization of medical marijuana in Massachusetts, Villano said.

"I liken it to the moratorium on the medical marijuana that was put in place for a year," she said. "It was to give us the opportunity to determine and decide where we wanted it."

The Planning Board would have to amend local zoning regulations to accommodate the new state law, according to the town administrator.

"If they do take that matter up and move forward, there's going to be a zoning bylaw, which would have to be approved at Town Meeting," Villano said, "so there would be a public hearing, there would be other steps that they take along the way."

On Monday, the West Springfield Town Council extended the expiration date for that city's moratorium on recreational pot facilities to Dec. 31, 2018, which is six months longer than the state's temporary ban on retail sales.

Rachelle Bond, the mother of the child whose body was found off Deer Island, is pleading guilty to charges of being accessory after the fact and larceny over $250. Watch video

Rachelle Bond, the mother of the child whose body was found in a garbage bag off Deer Island, is pleading guilty to charges of being accessory after the fact and larceny over $250 involving state benefits.

Bond appeared in Suffolk Superior Court on Friday to change her initial plea of not guilty. While in court, prosecutors announced a plea agreement.

Bond's former boyfriend, Michael Patrick McCarthy, has been charged with Bella Bond's murder, which allegedly occurred in 2015. Prosecutors claim McCarthy called the girl a "demon" and it was her "time to die."

He has denied the charges and is awaiting trial. Through his attorney he has blamed Rachelle Bond for Bella's death.

Rachelle Bond's attorney Janice Bassil has repeatedly said her client is willing to testify against McCarthy, whose trial is scheduled for April.

"From the time police came to speak with Ms. Bond, she spoke with police, she gave a detailed statement to police, and through counsel has expressed her desire to cooperate as fully as possible," David Deakin, a Suffolk County prosecutor, told the judge, Janet Sanders, in pushing for the plea agreement on Friday.

Rachelle Bond allegedly watched as boyfriend Michael McCarthy put daughter's body in refrigerator

In the course of the State Police investigation of Bella Bond's death, they found "substantial corroboration" of Rachelle Bond's account, Deakin added.

Rachelle Bond's testimony is "important" to McCarthy's upcoming trial, according to Deakin.

Blame game in Bella Bond murder case in full swing

The plea agreement calls for Rachelle Bond to make herself available to law enforcement officials and to testify "completely and truthfully" at the McCarthy trial, and any subsequent hearings, proceedings or trials relating to the murder. In exchange, prosecutors will recommend a sentence of "time served" and two years of probation as to the accessory charge.

Rachelle Bond is likely to be sentenced after McCarthy's trial. Her next court date is May 22.

 

Defense attorney for Michael McCarthy says Rachelle Bond's story of Bella Bond's murder 'unbelievable'

The Massachusetts Lottery's Megabucks Doubler jackpot will also be around $10 million.

The Massachusetts Lottery announced the jackpot in the Saturday night's drawing of the multi-state Powerball prize is expected to an estimated $285 million, or a one-time payout of $172 million.

The expected amount is one of the large Powerball prizes since a $420 million jackpot awarded Nov. 26 to ticket holder in Tennessee. It, of course, pales in comparison to the record jackpot of $1.586 billion that was shared by ticket holders in California, Florida and Tennessee.

There has not been a winning ticket in the Powerball drawing since Dec. 17, a string of 15 straight drawings since then. Drawings are held twice a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays, and the jackpot amount rolls over to the next drawing if no winning ticket is sold.

Tickets cost $2 and may be purchased in 44 states, including Massachusetts, and in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets may be purchased at any Massachusetts Lottery retailer across the state through 9:50 p.m. Saturday.

The Massachusetts Lottery's Megabucks Doubler jackpot will also be drawn Saturday night at 11:20 p.m. That jackpot is expected to be $10.1 million, which is the highest since a $10.25 million jackpot on March 2. Tickets for that game cost $1 each and may be purchased though 10:45 p.m.

Raising concerns that construction of President Donald Trump's proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall could divert funds and resources away from states, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren called on Homeland Security officials this week to detail how the structure would impact Massachusetts.

Raising concerns that construction of President Donald Trump's proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall could divert funds and resources away from states, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren called on Homeland Security officials this week to detail how the structure would impact Massachusetts.

The Democrat, in a Thursday letter, called on Alaina Clark, the DHS acting assistant secretary responsible for outreach to state and local governments, to provide information by Feb. 23 on whether the president's "Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements" executive order would reduce agency funding for airport security, local partnerships and disaster preparedness in the Bay State.

Warren further questioned whether the Trump administration had consulted with Clark's office to determine the border wall executive order's impact on state and local homeland security efforts.

The senator, who has been an outspoken critic of the president, stressed that she's specifically concerned about the impact his executive action could have on homeland security workers and operations.

Contending that the executive order does not increase funding to pay for construction of the border wall, Warren argued that it instead "appears to require that some portion of funds that are allocated for other purposes instead be used for the wall."

"I am concerned that this could mean reducing the number of DHS employees in Massachusetts or reducing their salaries, or cutting funds appropriated for DHS state and local partnership programs in Massachusetts, including those that support screening teams to secure our airports, training in computer forensics to fight cyber crime and emergency preparedness and response in local communities," she wrote.

In addition to her letter to Clark, Warren joined U.S. Sens. Tom Udall, D-New Mexico, Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico, and Kamala Harris, D-California, in posing similar concerns and questions to Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.

Noting that the executive order calls to "identify and, to the extent permitted by law, allocate all sources of federal funds for the planning, designing and constructing of a physical wall along the southern border," the senators asked how much funding DHS intends to divert to the structure and questioned what impacts such diversion would have on the agency's operations.

"We are unwavering in our commitment to protecting national security and public safety. However, we are concerned that the sweeping language and broad requirement of this executive order will force you to divert critical resources from Department of Homeland Security priorities, hampering your agency's ability to carry out its mission and keep our country safe," they wrote in a letter to Kelly.

Shortly after taking office Trump signed the executive order enabling construction of a wall along the United States' southern border with Mexico -- a major proposal in his 2016 presidential campaign.

Donald Trump orders construction of US-Mexico border wall

Although the action directs existing federal funds toward the barrier's construction, Trump has remained firm that Mexico, in some form, will pay for the structure.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters in late January that the Trump administration is eyeing plans to institute a 20 percent tax on imports from Mexico, as a way to fund construction of the wall.

According to a DHS internal report, Trump's border structure, which would be made up of a series of fences and walls, is expected to cost up to $21.6 billion and take more than three years to construct, Reuters reported this week.

The agency's estimated price tag is higher than the $12 billion figure Trump and his campaign cited, the news outlet noted.