Claudio Guerra noted that restaurateurs are still trying to cope with a .75 percent local-option meals tax instituted by the city in 2009.

NORTHAMPTON – With an eye towards generating more revenues for the city, the License Commission will hold a public hearing on Aug. 3 to hear comments on various proposals to raise the fees for food, entertainment and other licenses.

The last time the city increased the fees for licenses was in 2009, and Mayor Mary Clare Higgins has asked the commission to come up with some alternatives for new increases. License Committee Chairman Brad Shimel said the additional money will help pay for the rising expense of monitoring licensees.

“There’s an increasing layer of things to be done,” he said, inspections among them.

Many of the proposed fee hikes are in the vicinity of $50. Among the areas targeted and wine and malt licenses for restaurants and special events, all alcoholic licenses, package store licenses, common victualler and entertainment licenses, lodging house licenses and licenses for automotive dealers.

Although in many cases, the increase is a small percentage of the overall fee, some business owners are not haopy about the prospect of paying more.

“The cost of all licenses and fees has gotten out of hand,” said Claudio C. Guerra, who owns five restaurants in Northampton, all with liquor licenses. “We thought we got off the hook for a few years (after the 2009 hikes). I’m really kind of shocked they’re going for more now.”

William Collins, Guerra’s the director of operations, said the proposed $50 increase for the all alcohol license comes on the heels of a $105 hike for that same license in 2009.

“All these small little hits are adding up to a big hit,” he said. “We have to start looking in other areas to raise tax money to cover costs. When is enough enough?”

Guerra noted that restaurateurs are still trying to cope with a .75 percent local-option meals tax instituted by the city in 2009.

“The amount of revenue they’re trying to squeeze out of the restaurant business is extreme,” he said. “I don’t know how much more Northampton feels it can squeeze.”

Eric Suher, who owns The Iron Horse nightclub, the Calvin and other entertainment venues in Northampton would be in for increases in several licenses connected with each business.

“It does all add up,” he said.

Suher said he will wait to hear the proposals before taking a stand, however.

“The License Board has been fair and listens to both sides,” he said.

Today's poll: Should Alan J. Ingram repay his $30,000 signing bonus?

The Republican | Greg Saulmon07.21.2011 | HADLEY - A trio of young men ride a tube towed by a boat on the Connecticut River.

The Forecast

The National Weather Service's Heat Advisory continues today, with afternoon temperatures expected to hit 101.

We may see some relief over the weekend. ABC 40 / FOX 6 meteorologist Dan Brown writes:

A cool/dry front will swing through the area on Saturday. It will still be another very warm, muggy day with temperatures back into the lower 90s however it will become less humid late in the day and Saturday night will feel a lot more comfortable. This front will move through with nothing more than a passing shower or brief thunderstorm.

Finally the real hot stuff will be gone for Sunday. It will be cooler and much drier with highs in the low to mid 80s, with dew points in the 50s.

Find the full forecast here.

Today's Poll

Stephanie Barry reports that Alan J. Ingram received a $30,000 signing bonus in 2008 to become Springfield's new superintendent of schools.

The money was intended to help Ingram make a down payment for the purchase of a home in Springfield. Instead, Ingram -- who lives in an apartment in the city's South End -- says he used the money for other living expenses.

While a 2008 “side letter” between former Finance Control Board Executive Director Stephen P. Lisauskas and Ingram says nothing about penalties or repaying the money should Ingram elect to spend the money on something other than a "down payment," some in the city have questioned Ingram's use of the money. City Councilor Jose F. Tosado and school committee member Antonette E. Pepe -- both of whom are running for mayor -- are calling for Ingram to repay the $30,000.

What do you think -- should Ingram repay the city? Vote in our poll, and check back Monday for the results.

Thursday's results: Yesterday, we asked, "Is it hot enough for you?" The results were a dead heat*: 50% or the respondents said "yes", and 50% said "no".

*Hat tip to S.P. Sullivan for that one.

Thursday's Top 5:

The top 5 headlines on MassLive.com on July 21 were:

1) Police accountability activists and their supporters celebrate court victory

2) Cops: Man angered over 'lemon' smashes 6 vehicles at car dealership

3) Springfield Superintendent of Schools Alan Ingram received $30,000 signing bonus for mortgage down payment

4) Mass. man crashes snowmobile -- in summer

5) 354 jobs being eliminated at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Baystate Mary Lane hospital in Ware, and Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield

Quote of the Day

"Bottom line, things got out of control and I lost my composure.”

~Springfield police officer Derek V. Cook, in a statement made in conjunction with a guilty plea to charges he assaulted two superior officers. Read Buffy Spencer's story here.

House Speaker John Boehner declared that his rank and file generally stood ready to compromise in order to reach an agreement.

Associated PressRepublican House members talk about their meeting at the Capitol with economists from Standard & Poors on the the potential negative impact to America's credit rating if Congress does not reach a deficit reduction agreement, in Washington, Thursday, July 21, 2011. From left to right are Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., Rep. Nan Hayworth, R-N.Y., and Rep. Charles Dent, R-Pa.

WASHINGTON — In secretive endgame negotiations, President Barack Obama and House Republican leaders reached anew on Thursday for an elusive "grand bargain" deal to cut deficits by $4 trillion or more and prevent a government default, officials said.

House Speaker John Boehner declared that his rank and file generally stood ready to compromise in order to reach an agreement as a way of "getting our economy going again and growing jobs." Obama, in a newspaper opinion piece, said the talks provided an "opportunity to do something big and meaningful."

Still, 12 days before the default deadline, officials stressed that no compromise appeared imminent and that significant differences remained. And new hope of one ran instantly into old resistance: from Republicans opposed to higher taxes and Democrats loath to cut Medicare and other benefit programs.

In a measure of concern among Democrats, party leaders spent nearly two hours meeting with Obama at the White House late Thursday.

Democratic officials familiar with Obama's talks with Republicans said that while some cuts could be agreed upon and even enacted relatively quickly, there were major differences on taxes and savings from benefit programs like Medicare and Social Security.

As an example, there is no agreement on how much additional revenue would be raised through an expected overhaul of the tax code, or how to require Congress to enact cuts to benefit programs.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss sensitive negotiations.

While talks on a major, long-term agreement continued, a fresh, shorter-term backup plan appeared to be gaining momentum. Under discussion among some House Republicans, that proposal would cut spending by $1 trillion or slightly more immediately and raise the debt limit by a similar amount — enough to postpone a final reckoning until early in 2012.

Both sides maneuvered for political advantage and for leverage in negotiations about which little was publicly known.

"At the end of the day, we have a responsibility to act," said Boehner of GOP lawmakers.

Across the Capitol, however, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid blamed some of the same Republicans — "tea party extremists," he called them — of blocking a deal.

The sometimes-conflicting information underscored the frenzied final days before a threatened default, when the Treasury would no longer be able to pay all its bills in full and the economy could go into a tailspin as interest rates spiked.

Some Democrats confided they were worried Obama would sign off on an agreement that cuts benefit programs without raising tax revenue, and they peppered Budget Director Jack Lew — in a closed-door meeting in the Senate — with questions about the high-level negotiations.

In an opinion piece in USA Today posted Thursday evening, Obama restated his call for achieving deficit reduction through "historic" amounts of spending cuts but also through "fundamental tax reform."

It was a stance Reid pointedly emphasized Thursday.

"My caucus agrees with that — and hope the president sticks with that, and I'm confident he will," the Nevada Democrat said.

One official said the White House had notified Democratic congressional leaders Wednesday night that Obama and the House leaders appeared to be were closing in on a deal said to include $3 trillion in spending cuts but only a promise of higher revenues to be realized through a comprehensive overhaul of the tax code.

Boehner walked a difficult line of his own, not wanting to anger conservatives who hoped — despite every appearance to the contrary — that they could push far deeper cuts through the Senate in the next few days.

"There is no deal. No deal publicly, no deal privately, there is absolutely no deal," he told conservative talk show radio host Rush Limbaugh.

"We're not close to a deal," said Jay Carney, the White House press secretary.

Another Democratic official said that in fact progress had been made, but Boehner's office declined to say as much.

"While we are keeping the lines of communication open, there is no 'deal' and no progress to report," said spokesman Michael Steel.

The government's debt stands at a record $14.3 trillion and has been growing by more than $1 trillion a year. Obama's request for an increase prompted Boehner to say months ago that any rise must be accompanied by an even larger package of deficit cuts.

Publicly, some Republicans insisted they would not entertain any fallback measure as long as a separate House-passed bill was pending in the Senate.

That measure would raise the debt limit by $2.4 trillion while requiring an estimated $6 trillion in cuts and a congressional vote to send the states a constitutional balanced budget amendment for ratification.

Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C. an influential conservative, said that bill was "the only one that can pass before the Aug. 2 deadline."

But Reid said the legislation "doesn't have one chance in a million of passing the Senate," and privately senior Republicans in both houses were operating on the assumption that it would fail when the vote was taken.

Initially, that vote was set for Saturday, to be followed by an unveiling of an earlier fallback plan crafted by Reid and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. At mid-day, though, Reid announced without explanation the Senate would formally reject the House-passed bill on Friday.

In another measure of the unpredictable nature of the debate, still another proposal — a bipartisan deficit-reduction plan that drew surprising support from Republican senators earlier in the week — appeared to be running into obstacles.

That plan includes $1 trillion in what its authors delicately call "additional revenue" in order to achieve overall deficit cuts of nearly $4 trillion.

Some Republicans say that means tax increases, a deal killer as far as they are concerned.

Obama latched onto that "Gang of Six" blueprint earlier in the week to announce a final stab at a "grand bargain" agreement.

In fact, though, he and Boehner have been in negotiations for weeks, despite setbacks, and in recent days, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has joined the talks.

The two GOP leaders met with the president at the White House on Wednesday night. Afterward, the White House contacted Reid and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi with an update, according to numerous officials.

Planning Board members want to allow outdoor dining by special permit so the city will have control over the privilege.

AGAWAM – The Planning Board has rejected a proposal to allow restaurants to have outdoor dining by right, suggesting instead that that privilege be allowed by special permit.

The board voted to that effect 4-0 on Thursday night.

“We are definitely in favor of this. We just want to make sure things are done correctly,” said Planning Board member Michael Morassi, who made the motion.

Morassi said allowing outdoor dining by special permit would allow the city to protect abutters.

Planning Board member Mark Paleologopoulos said allowing outdoor dining by right leaves too much of “a gray area.”

“They should have to go through a little more rigor,” Paleologopoulos said.

Planning Board Chairman Travis Ward said he is concerned that if outdoor dining is allowed by right, restaurants without much space may just set up two picnic tables.

“We have some areas in town where there is hardly enough room for a sidewalk let alone a patio,” Ward said following the public hearing on the proposal, during which no one from the public came forward to speak about the issue.

City Councilor George Bitzas has proposed an ordinance that would allow local restaurants to offer outdoor dining, something that he said is very common in his native Greece and in some nearby communities like Hartford and Springfield. He has said the amenity is one people find attractive and it could draw more restaurant-goers to Agawam.

The issue will now go the City Council, where it will be taken up at its Aug. 1 meeting. The council was unable to take action on the proposal at its last meeting because the Planning Board had not yet held a public hearing and made its recommendation.

The Planning Board had not acted on the proposal because it had failed to muster a quorum at its previous meeting.

The proposed ordinance has already won the unanimous endorsement of the City Council’s zoning and ordinance committees.

Among the provisions of the proposed ordinance:

• Outdoor dining areas will be allowed subject to a building permit by the building inspector.

• Alcohol may be served outdoors provided licenses are obtained from the Liquor Commission, the Building Department and the Board of Health.

• Hours of operation of the outdoor dining area may be equal to or less than the hours of operation of the main restaurant.

• Dining areas that abut residential areas and zones must end outdoor dining and seating by 11 p.m.

Waddell distinguished himself in the Paralympics for disabled athletes, winning 12 medals in skiing, 5 of them gold.

Chris EvansChris Waddell gave the commencement address at Westfield State College in 2006.

GRANBY –Former Granby resident Chris Waddell has been called one of the Most Beautiful People by People magazine, Greatest Person of the Day by the Huffington Post and one of Western Massachusetts' greatest athletes of the 20th century by The Republican.

Now ABC television is calling him “Super Human.”

Tonight at 9, he will be featured on a special edition of the TV news magazine “20/20,” devoted to exceptional achievers.

Waddell was paralyzed by a skiing accident at age 20, but went on to achieve successes such as climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa using hand-pedals.

Footage from a new documentary about Waddell called “One Revolution” will be included in the show, Waddell said in a phone interview.

Other “Super Humans” on the show will be wing-suit flier Jeb Corliss, 11-year-old opera singer Jackie Evancho and artist Steven Wilshire, who can draw complicated scenes from memory.

Waddell has lived in Utah since competing there in the 2002 Paralympics for the disabled.

He lived in Granby from fourth through seventh grades. His mom was a teacher in Belchertown.

Waddell said he has “fond memories” of those years, and was especially nostalgic when his family sold their home on North Street in Granby. “It’s such a beautiful, spectacular place to be,” he said of Western Massachusetts.

The Republican file photo | Dave Roback06.22.2004 | GRANBY – Chris Waddell practices for the ParaOlympics on the track at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley.

He attended Eaglebrook School and Deerfield Academy, and was a student at Middlebury College in Vermont when his athletic career was cut short – or so it seemed.

In subsequent years, Waddell distinguished himself in the Paralympics, winning 12 medals in skiing, five of them gold. He is in the Paralympics Hall of Fame.

Waddell, 42, makes his living as a motivational speaker and head of the One Revolution Foundation, which is developing adaptive technology for paraplegic people in the Third World.

He said climbing Mount Kilimanjaro was something he did to show that “ordinary people can do extraordinary things.”

Being picked for People’s “50 Most Beautiful People” issue in 1998 was “very flattering, but curious,” he said. “How did they find me? I’m not a star by any means.”

Though he uses a wheelchair, Waddell has worked as a model and stays fit by keeping busy.

“Name Tags” is what he calls his program for schoolchildren. He tells kids that people are much more than the “tags” others apply to them – and he’s living proof.

The former couple does not have a prenuptial agreement, according to their filings.

Associated PressIn this Nov. 6, 2006 file photo, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger celebrates with his wife Maria Shriver after giving his acceptance speech, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Maria Shriver has filed for divorce from Arnold Schwarzenegger in Los Angeles Superior Court, Friday, July 1, 2011.

LOS ANGELES — Arnold Schwarzenegger indicated in a court filing that he does not want to pay wife Maria Shriver spousal support or attorney fees as the couple ends their 25-year marriage.

The dispute may have little impact on the divorce, since the former Hollywood couple is expected to reach a confidential, out-of-court settlement.

Schwarzenegger's filing Wednesday differs little from Shriver's initial petition for divorce, which was filed on July 1. Both seek joint custody of their sons, ages 17 and 13.

Neither indicated exactly when they separated, although they announced in May they were estranged and Schwarzenegger later admitted he fathered a child with a member of his household staff.

The former couple does not have a prenuptial agreement, according to their filings. That means Shriver would be entitled to half of Schwarzenegger's assets under California law, although the exact terms were expected to be set through private mediation.

Schwarzenegger would also be expected to provide financial support for his children. In other celebrity divorces, those sums have totaled tens of thousands of dollars a month.

Any agreement reached by Schwarzenegger and Shriver would become public only if there is a later dispute over its terms, or they opt to handle their divorce through a Superior Court judge.

Schwarzenegger's disclosure of his out-of-wedlock child forced a temporary halt to his acting comeback plans, although it was recently announced that he will appear in the upcoming film "Last Stand" as a border-town sheriff who unwittingly finds himself battling a notorious drug kingpin on the run.

Shriver, a Kennedy family heiress and former network television journalist, has not announced her plans.

Even before the breakup with Schwarzenegger was revealed, she appeared in videos posted on YouTube and talked about stress in her life, the weight of expectations, and the search for faith in a troubled world.

Schwarzenegger's legal filing was first reported Thursday by celebrity website TMZ.

The campaign has struggled to gain traction, ranking in the single digits in early national polls as well as in surveys in early nominating states.

Associated PressWith the Statue of Liberty in the background, Republican presidential hopeful and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman waves to supporters before officially announcing his bid, Tuesday, June 21, 2011 , at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J.

WASHINGTON — Republican Jon Huntsman's campaign manager resigned Thursday only a month after the former Utah governor launched his presidential bid, raising fresh questions about the campaign's prospects in a crowded GOP field.

Huntsman, who served as President Barack Obama's ambassador to China, opened his presidential campaign in June with a high-profile announcement at the same northern New Jersey park where Ronald Reagan launched his 1980 presidential run, with the Statue of Liberty as the backdrop.

The campaign has struggled to gain traction, ranking in the single digits in early national polls as well as in surveys in early nominating states.

Huntsman's campaign said in a statement that campaign manager Susie Wiles would be replaced by Matt David, who had served as the campaign's communications director. John Weaver, a senior Huntsman adviser, said Wiles was "vital in getting (the campaign) off the ground in such a short time-frame."

"In just under three months Gov. Huntsman has returned from China, launched a campaign and created a strong infrastructure in the three early primary states," Weaver said. "Now the campaign is moving into phase two, which will be more aggressive from a messaging and tactical standpoint, and Matt is prepared to take that on."

Wiles' resignation was first reported by The Washington Post.

The former Utah governor has raised more than $4 million for his presidential bid, with about half of it coming from the candidate's personal wealth.

Huntsman has tried to become the primary alternative to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a fellow Mormon who is making his second attempt at the Republican nomination. Huntsman remains unknown to many voters and has trailed Romney and other Republican rivals in early polls.

Huntsman was a popular governor of a conservative state, but his moderate stances on climate change and civil unions for same-sex couples along with his role as the Obama administration top diplomat in China could hurt him with conservative voters.

Largely bypassing Iowa, Huntsman has focused his efforts in New Hampshire, where independent voters may cast ballots in either party's primary, hoping to use a strong showing in the nation's first primary state to build momentum for primaries in South Carolina, Florida and beyond.

Wiles ran Florida Gov. Rick Scott's 2010 campaign. David is a veteran of the presidential campaigns of John McCain and George W. Bush and was a top aide to former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Kerry expressed support for a compromise from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Majority Leader Harry Reid.

The Republican / Don TreegerU.S. Senator John Kerry, seen above in this file photo, expressed support for a stop-gap compromise measure that would allow the debt ceiling to be raised incrementally.

Click to hear Kerry's remarks

The GOP-backed budget cutting proposal that passed the House earlier this week without the support of Massachusetts' delegation faces significant opposition in the Senate Friday, including from Bay State Senator John Kerry.

The Associated Press reports that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has bumped up a vote on the Cut, Cap and Balance Act to Friday, ostensibly so the Democrat-controlled Senate can vote it down.

On the Senate floor Thursday evening, Kerry, a Democrat, said he hopes the vote will allow the Senate to "move quickly to the real business, which is avoiding default."

Kerry threw his support toward a fallback measure crafted by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Majority Leader Harry Reid. That measure would raise the debt ceiling incrementally through the 2012 elections, and in the meantime extend it by $100 billion once President Barack Obama requested such action.

"We have the opportunity, with the Reid-McConnell initiative to be able to put in place a process that will guarantee we have up-or-down votes on these critical issues after all the relevant committees have had the opportunity to weigh in, using perhaps the budget commission's report, together with what the so-called Gang of 6--which I don't think is a particularly appropriate name--has proposed," Kerry said.

Kerry's colleague, Scott Brown, a Republican, has been relatively reticent with his thoughts on the ongoing debate over the debt ceiling. He told The Boston Globe he hopes "to support a plan that avoids default by making substantial spending cuts and which is reasonable and bipartisan and has a chance of being signed into law."

The Senate will vote on the cut, cap and balance measure sometime Friday morning, though it is not expected to pass the Democrat-controlled Senate the way it did the Republican-controlled House.

In remarks on the House floor earlier this week, Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, called the measure the "cut, cap, and balance ruse act." He joined the rest of the Commonwealth's House delegation in opposing the bill, which passed by a margin of 234-190.

Kraft was an active and powerful force in her family's foundation and served on the boards of varied community and charitable organizations.

Associated PressIn this June 22, 2005, file photo, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his wife Myra pose in front of a Patriots logo painted on their lawn in Brookline, Mass. Myra Kraft died of cancer Wednesday, July 20, 2011.

NEWTON — Myra Kraft touched thousands of lives with her involvement in a host of Boston-area charities, and many of those people are expected to attend her funeral services.

Services for the wife of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft are scheduled for Friday at Temple Emmanuel in Newton.

Myra Kraft died of cancer on Wednesday. She was 68.

Kraft was familiar to football fans sitting next to her husband in the Patriots owner's box. But behind the scenes she was an active and powerful force in her family's foundation and served on the boards of varied community and charitable organizations.

She managed the Robert and Myra Kraft Family Foundation and was president of the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation, which contributed millions of dollars to charities.

The couple married in 1963.

The pizza-tasting competition that began with 117 reader-submitted nominees is down to Milano's and The Pizza Guy of Agawam. Watch video

It’s The Pizza Guy of Agawam vs. Milano’s Pizzeria & Restaurant of Chicopee.

Judges have determined the final match-up to settle the winner of the 2011 Valley Food Championship Pizza Playoffs.

The three judges will revisit each pizza place next week, and on July 29, they will announce the winner of the competition that began May 9 with 117 nominees.

Milano’s succeeded to the final round on a 3-0 vote by the judges – photographer Don Treeger, sports reporter Pam McCray and Holyoke reporter Mike Plaisance, substituting for Ray Kelly, arts and entertainment editor, who was on vacation.

They preferred Milano’s pizza of sausage, peppers and mushrooms over a pizza with the same toppings by Pizza Shoppe in East Longmeadow, a pizzeria with a distinguishing trait of a sweet-tasting crust.

“My vote this week is for Milano’s,” Treeger said.

“ I have to stick with my previous notion that a sweet crust is good, but just not what I want in my ‘everyday’ pizza. Milano’s serves a very traditional pizza and I think that their fresh toppings, including incredibly good sausage, gives them the edge over the Pizza Shoppe,” he said.

McCray said late-round pizzas are bound to be good, with competition filtering in only the top pizzas, but that also makes the judging tougher.

“I chose Milano’s because I thought their toppings tasted really fresh. They made a beautiful pizza that was also delicious. The fresh local sausage really made their pizza and was the deciding factor for me,” McCray said.

Plaisance agreed about the locally made sausage and fresh vegetable toppings making the Milano’s slices special.

But what made Milano’s the choice over Pizza Shoppe was a focus on detail, he said.

“The sauce announced its presence with a zest and didn’t get lost among the cheese, crust and toppings, which often happens with many pizzas,” Plaisance said.

“The chunks of crust made for still-tasty, post-meal munching. And in presentation, the Milano’s pizza was worthy of a Treeger photo,” Plaisance said.

The 2011 Valley Food Championship Pizza Playoffs began with readers reducing the nominees to 64 contenders.

Those contenders were matched in four regions of tournament style voting.

Online readers of MassLive.com, The Republican and El Pueblo Latino narrowed the field to the Elite Eight visited by judges.

As always, visit www.masslive.com/pizza to keep up with where the judges have been and where they are headed next.

Elite 8 Bracket:

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg is safe, government spokeswoman Camilla Ryste told The Associated Press.

Associated Press photoPeople are treated at the scene after an explosion in Oslo, Norway, Friday July 22, 2011. A loud explosion shattered windows Friday at the government headquarters in Oslo which includes the prime minister's office, injuring several people. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg is safe, government spokeswoman Camilla Ryste told The Associated Press.

OSLO, Norway (AP) — A powerful blast tore open several Oslo buildings including the prime minister's office on Friday. One person was reportedly killed and several were injured, as the blast shattered windows and coated the street with documents.

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg is safe, government spokeswoman Camilla Ryste told The Associated Press, although it was unclear whether that meant he was uninjured. Norway's public broadcaster, NRK, said one person was confirmed killed.

There was no immediate word on the cause of the blast. NRK showed video of a blackened car lying on its side amid the debris.

Most of the windows in the 20-floor highrise were blown out, and the bottom floor appeared to be gutted. Nearby offices were also heavily damaged and evacuated, including those housing some of Norway's leading newspapers and news agency NTB.

Witness Ole Tommy Pedersen was standing at a bus stop about 100 meters (yards) from the high-rise at around 3:30 p.m. (1330 GMT) when the explosion occurred.

"I saw three or four injured people being carried out of the building a few minutes later," Pedersen told AP.

An AP reporter who was in the NTB office said the building shook from the blast and all employees evacuated as the alarm went off. Down in the street, he saw one person with a bleeding leg being led away from the area.

The government building houses the offices of the prime minister and his administration. Several ministries are in surrounding buildings.

The blast comes as Norway grapples with a homegrown terror plot linked to al-Qaida. Two suspects are in jail awaiting charges.

Last week, a Norwegian prosecutor filed terror charges against an Iraqi-born cleric for threatening Norwegian politicians with death if he is deported from the Scandinavian country. The indictment centered on statements that Mullah Krekar — the founder of the Kurdish Islamist group Ansar al-Islam — made to various news media, including American network NBC.

Terrorism has also been a concern in neighboring Denmark since an uproar over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad six years ago. Danish authorities say they have foiled several terror plots linked to the 2005 newspaper cartoons that triggered protests in Muslim countries. Last month, a Danish appeals court on Wednesday sentenced a Somali man to 10 years in prison for breaking into the home of the cartoonist.

The two 2011 Pierce Velocity trucks, which cost $1.5 million combined, are considered more efficient and safer than the two 18-year-old trucks they are replacing, Fire Commission Cassanelli said. Watch video

SPRINGFIELD – The Springfield Fire Department unveiled its two newest pieces of equipment Thursday afternoon, a new ladder truck and pumper truck that were significantly improved in terms of performance and safety than the two 18-year-old trucks they are replacing.

In a demonstration for the press in front of the Raymond L. Sullivan Public Safety Complex on Carew Street, Fire Commissioner Gary S. Cassanelli said “These are incredible vehicles.”

The two vehicles, a 2011 Pierce Velocity 100-foot aerial platform, and a 2011 Pierce Velocity PUC Pumper, were repeatedly called “state of the art” by Cassanelli and Mayor Domenic J. Sarno.

“We feel these are the best trucks made in America,” Cassanelli said. “I’m sure they are going to give Springfield many, many years of good service and provide firefighters with a very, very safe environment with which to work,” he said.

The ladder truck cost $999,835, while the pumper cost $598, 954.

The city acquired them though a lease-to-own agreement, in which it will make payments spread out over a seven-year period and at that time will own them outright.

The ladder truck will be stationed at fire headquarters on Worthington Street. The pumper will be based at the North Main Street station.

Cassanelli said the two 1993 trucks that each will replace will be taken out of service after 18 years and close to 100,000 miles each. Each will be refurbished and then put back into service as back-up apparatus, he said.

Sarno said the two trucks are expensive but deemed a necessary capital purchase. The city anticipated their cost and came up with a plan for how to pay for them, he said.

New Springfield Fire Apparatus Specifications

A man dressed in a police uniform reportedly opened fire at the camp, with several injuries reported. Police confirmed anti-terror units were being sent to the camp.

OSLO, Norway (AP) — Police say they are sending anti-terror police to a youth camp outside Oslo after reports of a shooting there following the bomb blast at the government headquarters.

The news site VG reported that a man dressed in a police uniform opened fire at the camp. It says several people were injured.

Oslo police chief Anstein Gjengdal said anti-terror units were being sent to the camp at Utoya, outside the Norwegian capital.

He had no other information on that incident, which came hours after a bomb blast outside the government headquarters killed at least two people and injured 15.

The 'Cut, Cap and Balance' act was defeated on a 51-46 party line vote.

Associated PressPresident Barack Obama, right, sits with from left, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Md., House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Va., House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., and House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, as he met with Republican and Democratic leaders regarding the debt ceiling, Thursday, July 14, 2011 in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Friday blocked a House Republican bill to require Congress to slash spending and pass a balanced-budget amendment before raising the nation's borrowing powers. The vote left unresolved, with just days to go, the urgent issue of how to lift the debt limit to avoid a U.S. government default.

The 51-46 Senate vote against the tea party-backed measure — which had been expected in the Democratic-run chamber — came shortly after House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, told reporters he and President Barack Obama had not reached a separate agreement to resolve the debt crisis.

"There was no agreement, publicly, privately, never an agreement, and frankly not close to an agreement," Boehner said. "So I suggest it's going to be a hot weekend here in Washington, D.C."

For his part, Obama made it clear that the biggest obstacle to striking a deal remains a large bloc of conservative House Republicans.

Speaking at a town hall-style meeting at the nearby University of Maryland, Obama said he was "willing to sign a plan that would include tough choices I would not ordinarily sign," even if went further than those in his own party wanted.

"Whether I like it or not, I've got to get the debt ceiling raised," Obama declared. Of crafting a deal that could win over skeptical House Republicans, Obama said, "We're going to keep working on that."

The administration says the government is in danger of defaulting for the first time in its history after August 2 unless Congress raises the federal debt ceiling so it can keep borrowing enough to pay its bills.

If progress is to be made over the weekend in the nation's steamy capital, it will have to be done behind closed doors and not in the open.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., canceled planned weekend Senate sessions, increasing the pressure on Obama, Boehner and other top-level negotiators to strike a deal.

Reid said that talks ongoing between Obama and Boehner are focused on producing legislation involving taxes and that the House would have to act before the Senate, because tax measures must originate in the House.

The cancellation further dimmed prospects for another plan under discussion by Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. That plan would guarantee that the president would get a debt ceiling increase through 2012.

But it would extract a political price from Obama, who would have to ask Congress for increases in three separate increments, and it would allow Republicans to avoid casting a difficult vote in favor of a debt ceiling increase that would anger their constituents. Many House Republicans, however, were dismissive of the proposal because it did not guarantee deficit reductions.

The House-passed spending cuts and balanced budget proposal was a GOP conservative priority, although its passage in the Democratic-controlled Senate was never expected. Still, the 51-46 party line vote underscored the deep differences between the two parties on deficit reduction.

Boehner underscored his willingness to keep negotiations going, telling reporters, "As a responsible leader, I think it is my job to keep lines of communications open."

Democrats and Republicans have been deadlocked over terms of a deficit-reduction package linked to the debt-limit increase, with Democrats demanding some tax increases and Republicans, especially in the House where the tea party influence is the strongest, insisting on doing it just with spending cuts.

The focus now is on efforts by Obama and Boehner to come up with an ambitious $4 trillion "grand bargain" that would secure the support of rank-and-file lawmakers. But wide differences still remain.

The continuing Obama-Boehner talks kept alive the possibility of substantial deficit reduction that would combine cuts in spending on major benefit programs like Medicare and Medicaid and revenue increases through a broad overhaul of the tax code.

"We have the opportunity to do something big and meaningful," Obama declared in a newspaper opinion piece.

In College Park, Md., Obama told his audience of mostly students that, "The United States of America doesn't run out without paying the tab. We pay our bills. We meet our obligations."

Asserting that the American people as well as many in Congress are on board with his approach of mixing higher taxes for some with steep spending cuts, the president said, "The only people we have left to convince are some folks in the House of Representatives and we're going to keep working on that."

Earlier, Boehner said House Republicans were prepared to compromise and prodded Obama: "The ball continues to be in the president's court."

Even as Republicans contended with the demands of tea party-backed House members, worry was shifting to how to keep Democrats in line if a compromise is reached between Boehner and Obama.

Talk of a deal prompted a spasm of distress among Senate Democrats worried that Obama would agree to immediate cuts but put off steps to increase tax revenues that the president has said are key to any agreement. The White House immediately sought to tamp down talk of an impending deal.

Democratic officials familiar with the talks said both the cuts to benefit programs such as Medicare and a tax overhaul are too complicated to undertake quickly and would have to wait up to a year to negotiate. The officials, however, said any agreement would have to have strict requirements that would guarantee Congress had to act.

First, however, the Democratic-controlled Senate on Friday dispensed with the House-passed measure that would raise the debt limit by $2.4 trillion on the condition that Congress sends a constitutional balanced budget amendment to the states for ratification and approves trillions in long-term spending cuts.

That left bargaining for a bipartisan compromise as the only alternative. Negotiations were proceeding on multiple fronts as officials searched for the clearest path to avoid a potentially devastating default. Each path faced sizable hurdles.

One short-term plan under discussion by some House Republicans would cut spending by $1 trillion or more immediately and raise the debt ceiling by a similar amount, permitting the government to borrow into early 2012. But Obama has insisted on an increase that lasts into 2013, past next year's elections. That would require raising the debt ceiling by about $2.4 trillion.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said Thursday that Obama remains "unalterably opposed" to debt limit extensions in the order of six months, nine months or one year. "His premise is that we have to raise the debt ceiling for an extended period of time into 2013 regardless," Carney said.

Democratic officials familiar with the Obama-Boehner discussions said both sides remained apart on key components of the deal, including the amount of revenue that a revamped tax code could yield, the nature of the changes to Medicare and Medicaid, and the process that would guarantee that both taxes and benefit programs would in fact be overhauled.

Republicans have insisted that entitlement programs such as Medicare need substantial changes, but have loudly objected to any revenue provision that could be deemed a tax increase. Democrats, eager to keep changes to their cherished health care programs to a minimum, have demanded that any plan must have new tax revenue.

Democrats in the Senate reacted angrily when word spread that Obama and the House leaders appeared to be closing in on a deal that would include $3 trillion in spending cuts but only a promise of higher revenues to be realized through a comprehensive overhaul of the tax code.

White House officials went out of their way to deny that a deal was near.

In his opinion piece in USA Today, Obama said he was still insisting on tax revenue being part of the deal. Democratic officials said that Obama was not demanding that specific tax provisions, such as restrictions on tax subsidies or closing loopholes, be agreed upon immediately, but that they could be part of a broader tax overhaul that Congress would have to undertake.

The Democratic officials said the negotiations focus on immediate cuts to day-to-day operations of government that are financed at Congress' discretion. The legislative work to cut entitlement programs such as Medicare and Medicaid and to overhaul the tax system would have to be carried out over the next six month to a year, the officials said.

Sen. John Kerry did not vote, according to the Senate roll call.

Associated Press file photoMassachusetts' U.S. Senators: John Kerry, left, a Democrat, and Scott Brown, right, a Republican.

U.S. Senator Scott Brown, a Massachusetts Republican, joined the rest of his party Friday in supporting a House GOP debt limit proposal that ultimately failed in the Senate.

Sen. John Kerry, a Democrat who voiced his opposition to the measure on the Senate floor Thursday night, did not vote, according to the Senate roll call.

The measure, which had passed the Republican-controlled House by a margin of 234-190, failed in the Democrat-controlled Senate by a 51-46 vote.

Brown's vote somewhat clarified his position on the debt ceiling debate, a subject he has addressed only in general terms up to today's vote. His comments today were similarly cautious, advocating cooperation over partnership among Congressional leaders and referring to his own vote as "symbolic."

Brown did, however, make clear his support for a balanced budget requirement, which was included in the House GOP 'Cut, Cap and Balance Act'. In a statement, he said:

A balanced budget requirement is something we have in Massachusetts, and I think it would be good for the entire country at a time when we are $14.3 trillion dollars in debt and it is rising every day. Now both parties need to come together on a plan that will allow us to avoid default, make substantial cuts in spending, which is reasonable and bipartisan and will have a chance of being signed into law. Let’s stop the negative politics and partisan bickering and get down to work. Time is running short.

On Thursday, Kerry expressed support for a measure proposed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Majority Leader Harry Reid that would raise the debt ceiling incrementally through the 2012 elections, but The Associated Press reports that prospects for that proposal are not good, either.

Read more about today's vote and the ongoing debate over the nation's debt ceiling from The Associated Press.

A bomb ripped open buildings in the heart of Norway's government Friday, and a man dressed as a police officer opened fire at an island youth camp connected to the ruling party.

Associated Press photoA victim is treated outside government buildings in the centre of Oslo, Friday July 22, 2011, following an explosion that tore open several buildings, including the prime minister's office, shattering windows and covering the street with documents.

5:00 PM UPDATE: OSLO, Norway (AP) — Norway's Justice Minister Knut Storberget has said the man who opened fire at a youth camp is Norwegian.

Storberget says the death toll from the shooting is unclear.

But he says seven people were killed and 10 wounded when a bomb exploded at the prime minister's office in downtown Oslo earlier Friday.

Police have linked the suspect to both attacks.

—

OSLO, Norway — A bomb ripped open buildings in the heart of Norway's government Friday, and a man dressed as a police officer opened fire at an island youth camp connected to the ruling party. At least seven people were killed in the blast and nine more in the camp shootings, the peaceful nation's worst violence since World War II.

Oslo police said 9 or 10 people were killed at the camp on Utoya island, where the youth wing of the Labor Party was holding a summer camp for hundreds of youths. Acting Police Chief Sveinung Sponheim says a man was arrested in the shooting, and the suspect had been observed in Oslo before the explosion there.

Sponheim said police were still trying to get an overview of the camp shooting and could not say whether there was more than one shooter.

Aerial images broadcast by Norway's TV2 showed members of a SWAT team dressed in black arriving at the island in boats and running up the dock. Behind them, people stripped down to their underwear swam away from the island toward shore, some using flotation devices.

In Oslo, the capital and the city where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded, the bombing left a square covered in twisted metal, shattered glass and documents expelled from surrounding buildings.

Most of the windows in the 20-floor high-rise where Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and his administration work were shattered. Other buildings damaged house government offices and the headquarters of some of Norway's leading newspapers.

Stoltenberg was working at home Friday and was unharmed, according to senior adviser Oivind Ostang.

Oslo University Hospital said 12 people were admitted for treatment following the Utoya shooting, and 11 people were taken there from the explosion in Oslo. The hospital asked people to donate blood.

The attacks formed the deadliest day of terror in Western Europe since the 2005 London bombings, which killed 52 people.

Sponheim wouldn't give any details about the shooting suspect, who he said was dressed in a police uniform when he opened fire into a crowd of youths.

A spokesman for Stoltenberg's Labor Party, Per Gunnar Dahl, said he couldn't confirm that there were fatalities at Utoya, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) northwest of Oslo. The party's youth wing organizes an annual summer camp on the island, and Stoltenberg had been scheduled to speak there Saturday.

"There are at least five people who have been seriously wounded and have been transported to a local hospital," Dahl said. He said the shooting "created a panic situation where people started to swim from the island" to escape.

Police blocked off roads leading to the lake around Utoya. An AP reporter was turned away by police about 5-6 kilometers from the lake, as eight ambulances with sirens blaring entered the area.

In Oslo, police said the explosion was caused by "one or more" bombs, but declined to speculate on who was behind the attack. They later sealed off the nearby offices of broadcaster TV 2 after discovering a suspicious package.

Ian Dutton, who was in a nearby hotel, said the building "shook as if it had been struck by lightning or an earthquake." He looked outside and saw "a wall of debris and smoke."

Dutton, who is from New York, said the scene reminded him of Sept. 11 — people "just covered in rubble" walking through "a fog of debris."

"It wasn't any sort of a panic," he said, "It was really just people in disbelief and shock, especially in a such as safe and open country as Norway, you don't even think something like that is possible."

Public broadcaster NRK showed video of a blackened car lying on its side amid the debris. An AP reporter who was in the office of Norwegian news agency NTB said the building shook from the blast and all employees were evacuated. Down in the street, he saw one person with a bleeding leg being led away from the area.

The explosion occurred at 3:30 p.m. (1330 GMT), as Ole Tommy Pedersen stood at a bus stop 100 meters (yards) away.

"I saw three or four injured people being carried out of the building a few minutes later," Pedersen told AP.

At Utoya, Emilie Bersaas, identified by Sky News television as one of the youths on the island, said she ran inside a school building and hid under a bed when the shooting broke out.

"At one point the shooting was very, very close (to) the building, I think actually it actually hit the building one time, and the people in the next room screamed very loud," she said.

"I laid under the bed for two hours and then the police smashed a window and came in," Bersaas said. "It seems kind of unreal, especially in Norway. This is not something that could happen here, this is something you hear about happening in the U.S."

Another youth at the camp, Niclas Tokerud, stayed in touch with his sister through the attack through text messages.

"He sent me a text saying 'there's been gunshots. I am scared (expletive). But I am hiding and safe. I love you,'" said Nadia Tokerud, a 25-year-old graphic designer in Hokksund, Norway.

As he boarded a boat from the island after the danger had passed he sent one more text: "I'm safe."

The United States, European Union, NATO and the U.K., all quickly condemned the bombing, which Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague called "horrific" and NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen deemed a "heinous act."

"It's a reminder that the entire international community has a stake in preventing this kind of terror from occurring," President Barack Obama said.

Obama extended his condolences to Norway's people and offered U.S. assistance with the investigation. He said he remembered how warmly Norwegians treated him in Oslo when he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009.

The U.S. Embassy in Norway warned Americans to avoid downtown Oslo.

The attacks come as Norway grapples with a homegrown terror plot linked to al-Qaida. Two suspects are in jail awaiting charges.

Last week, a Norwegian prosecutor filed terror charges against an Iraqi-born cleric for threatening Norwegian politicians with death if he is deported from the Scandinavian country. The indictment centered on statements that Mullah Krekar — the founder of the Kurdish Islamist group Ansar al-Islam — made to various news media, including American network NBC.

Terrorism has also been a concern in neighboring Denmark since an uproar over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad six years ago. Danish authorities say they have foiled several terror plots linked to the 2005 newspaper cartoons that triggered protests in Muslim countries. Last month, a Danish appeals court on Wednesday sentenced a Somali man to 10 years in prison for breaking into the home of the cartoonist.

Europe has been the target of numerous terror plots by Islamist militants. The deadliest was the 2004 Madrid train bombings, when shrapnel-filled bombs exploded, killing 191 people and wounding about 1,800. A year later, suicide bombers killed 52 rush-hour commuters in London aboard three subway trains and a bus. And in 2006, U.S. and British intelligence officials thwarted one of the largest plots yet — a plan to explode nearly a dozen trans-Atlantic airliners.

In October, the U.S. State Department advised American citizens living or traveling in Europe to take more precautions following reports that terrorists may be plotting attacks on a European city. Some countries went on heightened alert after the May 2 killing of Osama bin Laden.

Obituaries from The Republican.

Annunziata "Nancy" Hoffman

Annunziata "Nancy" (Daniele) Hoffman, 50, of Enfield, passed away on Monday. Born in Springfield, she had been a longtime resident until moving to Enfield in 2005. She was a graduate of Cathedral High School and attended the University of Vermont, Connecticut College and the University of Massachusetts. Hoffman earned her bachelor of arts degree in botany, a master's degree in botany and a master's degree in public health. She was employed by Baystate Health of Springfield, where she worked for many years as a reproductive biologist and later as an instructor with Baystate-Springfield Educational Partnership. Hoffman was a member of Sacred Heart Church and New Day Church in Springfield. She was a Big Sister and a member and past president of the International Women's Club in Springfield.

Obituaries from The Republican:

• Ackley, Natalie F.
  




• 
  Albert, Alvin J.
  



• 
  Allder, Gertrude E. (Rollock)




• 
  Bielski Sr., John A.
  



• 
  Bishop, Robert B.
  




• Bourdeau, Marlene (Brown)
  




• 
  Butler, Beatrice D. (Garrow)
  



• 
  Carpluk, Stephan B.




• 
  Cote, Doris M. (Brown)
  



• 
  Dlugosz, Edward
  




• Erhardt, Verna E. (Merrill)
  




• 
  Farrell, Patricia M. "Callahan"
  



• 
  Gullekson, Dolores (Posteraro)




• 
  Hoffman, Annunziata "Nancy" (Daniele)
  



• 
  LeClair, Lawrence M. "Larry"
  




• Leger, Alderic L.
  




• 
  Nichols, Annette G. "Ann" (Bilodeau)
  



• 
  Ouimet, Julie Anna




• 
  Simpson, Robert F.
  



• 
  Story, John D.
  




• Swierad Sr., Robert F.
  




• 
  Szabo, Dorothea (Droesch)
  



• 
  Tawse, David "Dave"




• 
  Willemain, Dorothy T. (Hinds)
  

Kraft was praised at an 80-minute service on Friday two days after she died of cancer at 68.

NEWTON — Myra Kraft is being remembered as a hands-on philanthropist, a devoted mother and loving wife of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

She was praised at an 80-minute service on Friday two days after she died of cancer at 68.

One of her four sons, Patriots president Jonathan Kraft, said his mother looked at the world through empathetic eyes.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Players Association chief DeMaurice Smith were among about 1,500 people in attendance. On Thursday, NFL owners voted 31-0 to approve a deal to end the lockout. NFLPA leaders are reviewing it.

Others attending the service were current New England players Tom Brady, Wes Welker and Jerod Mayo and former Patriots Drew Bledsoe, Curtis Martin, Tedy Bruschi and Troy Brown.

A 14-year-old boy was hurt while attempting to jump into a shallow kiddie pool at his Liberty Street home in the lower Liberty Heights neighborhood Friday afternoon, according to police.

Republican file photo

SPRINGFIELD -- A 14-year-old boy was hurt while attempting to jump into a shallow kiddie pool at his Liberty Street home in the lower Liberty Heights neighborhood Friday afternoon, according to police.

The teenager, whose identity was not released by police, was taken to Mercy Medical Center after the 2:45 p.m. incident.

"I know he was seriously injured," Springfield Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet said late Friday afternoon, adding that he was unsure of the precise nature of the boy's injuries.

Fitchet confirmed that the teen struck his head after jumping from a porch rail into a roughly 3-foot deep plastic kiddie pool at his home. The boy's street address was unavailable.

More information will be posted on MassLive.com as it becomes available.

The deadline for registering with FEMA and with the U.S. Small Business Administration is the middle of next month.

Photo by Don Treeger / The RepublicanJuan Guerrero is flanked by his two daughters, Fabiola,19, left, and Ibone,15. His wife and their mother Angelica died in the June 1 tornado while shielding Ibone as they took refuge in a bathtub in their home. They are staying in this room at the Comfort Inn on Capital Drive.

Angelica F. Guerrero died in the June 1 tornado shielding her 15-year-old daughter from falling debris as a triple-decker at 667 Union St. in West Springfield collapsed around them.

Now, nearly two months after the storm ripped through 39 miles of Western and central Massachusetts, her family is still a week away from getting a permanent place to live.

Her husband, Juan Guerrero, the 15-year-old, Ibone, and older daughter Fabiola, 19, appeared Friday at a press conference in Springfield City Hall meant to dramatize the plight of people left homeless by the tornado.

State officials estimate that up to 150 families are still without a permanent residence.

Tina Brooks, the state undersecretary for housing and community development, held the press conference to announce the region has received $2.5 million from the state to fund housing counselors and help those displaced pay security deposits on new apartments and purchase necessities not covered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

File photo by Mark M. MurrayThis is the house at 667-669 Union St., West Springfield, that collapsed on Angelica Guererro. This photo was taken the day after the June 1 tornado.

Juan Guerrero tried unsuccessfully to dig his wife and daughter from the wreckage. It took firefighters more than two hours to reach Angelica F. Guerrero and Ibone. Also killed was 23-year-old Sergey Livchin nearby on Main Street and Virginia Darlow at a Brimfield campground.

Guerrero said he, Fabiola and Ibone have been living in the Comfort Inn in West Springfield.

“It’s just not a good place for anyone to stay beyond two or three days,” he said. “With my two daughters ... it’s not good. They need a permanent place to stay, especially with school starting soon.”

Peter A. Gagliardi, executive director of HAPHousing, said an apartment should be ready for the Guerreros sometime next week. They will also get help paying the rent on that apartment as they piece their lives together.

Gagliardi said HAPHousing assessed the housing needs of 478 households displaced by the tornado. He estimates that a quarter of those households, or about 150 families, is still without permanent housing.

“They might be doubled up with another family and they are just realizing now that they can’t stay there,” he said. “Some of them might be in places where they can’t stay in the cold weather. Some of them need to get relocated before school starts, which is just in a few weeks. Maybe the house they owned can’t be repaired with the insurance money available.”

Using more strict criteria as counting mostly people living in motels, FEMA estimates that 81 households are still looking for housing, Gagliardi said. FEMA said 58 of those 81 families are in Springfield, 17 in West Springfield and the remainder in other towns. Ninety-four percent of those 81 families are renters, according to HAPHousing.

There is also a shortage of affordable housing.

After the tornado in Springfield alone, 514 housing units were condemned, according to HAP. Of those, 357 were rentals and 90 were subsidized. At least 118 homes in Monson, 13 in Wilbraham and 39 in Brimfield aware made uninhabitable.

Guerrero expressed gratitude for the help. But he choked up as he described the frustration of not being able to recover personal effects from the wreckage of the family’s home. He’s especially anxious to retrieve family photographs and other personnel items.

“We have 20 years of memories in that house,” he said. “It’s everything we had together.”

Gagliardi said it is a common complaint. Sometimes a building can be shored up to allow someone inside. Sometimes damage is too significant and everything inside is lost.

The deadline for registering with FEMA and with the U.S. Small Business Administration is Aug. 15. Call 1 (800) 621-3362 or go to www.fema.gov/assistance. Or the SBA at 1 (800) 659-2955 or www.sba.gov.