Gibson expects to reach a decision in time to get a letter to the Town Council by its next meeting.

Associated PressIn this Tuesday, March 15, 2011 photo, abandoned dogs in the shelter near the city of Backa Topola, about 100 kilometers north of Belgrade, Serbia. According to the official data, the number of stray dogs in Belgrade alone has doubled in the past several years, reaching over 8,000 dogs in the central municipalities and 15,000 in the entire city area, a huge number for the city of 2 million, when, for example, the Russian capital, Moscow, has five times more people than Belgrade, and 26,000 stray dogs. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

WEST SPRINGFIELD – Mayor Edward J. Gibson, who is leaning toward joining an inter-municipal compact to deal with the city’s stray dog problem, said he expects to reach a decision in time to send a letter to the Town Council for its Monday evening meeting.

“We’re extremely close. I think we are at the point at which everything is ironed out,” Gibson said late Friday afternoon.

Edward J. Gibson

The mayor has been involved in negotiations in recent months to join a compact with Agawam and Westfield that would allow Agawam and West Springfield to send their stray canines to Westfield’s dog pound. The Agawam City Council recently approved the pact.

Since the Thomas J. O’Connor Animal Control and Adoption Center of Springfield ended its contract with the city to take in stray dogs July 1, West Springfield has been without a place to send its stray dogs. The mayor also has been considering whether to strike a new agreement with the Springfield dog pound.

The situation has caused concern among local animal lovers as well as officials at Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society in Springfield. Some residents have brought their stray dogs to Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society in Springfield, where one official has said she learned secondhand that police were telling West Springfield residents to take dogs there.

Gibson denied that, and the official asked that dogs not be sent to Dakin.

The mayor said he is still working to get a veterinarian lined up to comply with a state requirement that the animals get medical examinations.

One city councilor believes the length of time Gibson is taking to resolve the problem is unacceptable.

“He never saw a deadline he didn’t want to miss,” City Councilor George R. Kelly, who ran unsuccessfully against Gibson for mayor in 2007, said.

“I just don’t think we can ignore things,” said Kelly, who described himself as puzzled by what he sees as a laissez-faire, if not blase attitude by Gibson.

The mayor had earlier delayed a decision on the dog issue to allow time to get a piece of technical information about a lease.

An alert Palmer resident led to Laviolette's arrest; the Monson police chief said additional arrests are likely.

Republican file photo

PALMER – Minutes after Monson police contacted Palmer police about a duo suspected of break-ins in their town, one of them was spotted by an alert resident who saw a suspicious man trying to get inside a neighbor’s window.

Thanks to that neighbor, a house break on Cabot Street was averted on Thursday, and Palmer police arrested the man also suspected of break-ins in Monson and Brimfield.

Derrick T. Laviolette, 21, formerly of Monson, was arrested by Officer Kenneth G. White after he was found behind a Cabot Street home. He told police he is homeless.

Laviolette was charged with trespass, attempt to commit a crime (larceny from a building) and attempt to commit a crime (breaking and entering).

He denied the charges Friday morning at his arraignment in Palmer District Court, where he was ordered held in lieu of $10,000 bail by Judge Patricia T. Poehler. He will return to court on April 29 for a pretrial conference.

Monson police also charged Laviolette with two counts of felony daytime breaking and entering, larceny over $250 and vandalizing property.

According to Monson Police Chief Stephen Kozloski Jr., during an investigation into house breaks on Reimers and Nieske roads in his town, police discovered that Laviolette and William M. Visneau Jr., 23, of 9 Reimers Road, Monson, had been selling stolen property in Springfield.

Kozloski said his department called Palmer police to tell them about Laviolette and Visneau. He said “within minutes of that discussion,” the resident called about a suspicious man matching Laviolette’s description.

That night, Kozloski said Monson police continued to search for Visneau, and found him on Upper Palmer Road, where officers took him into custody. Kozloski said officers recovered a crowbar from Visneau’s car that they believed was used to commit at least one of the Monson house breaks.

Visneau was charged with two counts of felony daytime breaking and entering, larceny over $250, and vandalizing property, and a single count of possessing a burglarious instrument.

Visneau also denied the charges in court Friday, and was held in lieu of $50,000 bail. Visneau will return on April 13 for a pretrial conference.

Kozloski said additional arrests are likely as the investigation continues. He said Laviolette also has been linked to a break-in in Brimfield.

Provost has been credited with significantly improving graduation rates and SAT scores in Agawam.

File photo | The RepublicanJohn Provost, director of special services for the Agawam School Department, has been named superintendent of schools in North Brookfield.

NORTH BROOKFIELD – John Provost, director of special services in the Agawam School Department, has been offered the job of school superintendent by the North Brookfield School Committee.

A press released issued Friday by the committee states that Provost is the finalist for the position and he is expected to start work July 1. A contract has yet to be agreed upon, according to the release.

Provost has been Agawam’s director of special services for eight years. He has been credited with significantly improving graduation rates and SAT scores and participation rates for students with disabilities in honors and advance placement courses, according to the statement.

Provost came to Agawam from a job as special education director in Holyoke. In Agawam, he replaced Ellyn Schneider, who resigned for personal reasons, at a starting salary of $78,000 a year.

“It will be a tremendous loss to the district,” Agawam School Superintendent Mary A. Czajkowski said of Provost’s anticipated departure. “It is well deserved. He has been preparing for this position for quite some time. I am happy for him and sad for the district.”

Czajkowski has accepted an offer to become superintendent of schools in Barnstable.

Pastor Terry Jones backed down on his threat to burn a Quran, but his church in Gainesville, Fla., went through with the burning last month.

Associated PressSmoke rises from the UN's office following a demonstration to condemn the burning of a copy of the Muslim holy book by a U.S. Florida pastor, in Mazar-i- Sharif north of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Friday, April 1, 2011. An Afghan official says seven people have been killed at a U.N. office in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif when a Quran burning protest turned violent. (AP Photo/Mustafa Najafizada)

By DEB RIECHMANN

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghans angry over the burning of a Quran at a small Florida church stormed a U.N. compound in northern Afghanistan on Friday, killing seven foreigners, including four Nepalese guards.

Afghan authorities suspect insurgents melded into the mob and they announced the arrest of more than 20 people, including a militant they suspect was the ringleader of the assault in Mazar-i-Sharif, the provincial capital of Balkh province. The suspect was an insurgent from Kapisa province, a hotbed of militancy about 250 miles (400 kilometers) southeast of the city, said Rawof Taj, deputy provincial police chief.

The topic of Quran burning stirred outrage among millions of Muslims and others worldwide after the Rev. Terry Jones' small church, Dove Outreach Center, threatened to destroy a copy of the holy book last year. The pastor backed down but the church in Gainesville, Fla., went through with the burning last month.

Four protesters also died in the violence in Mazar-i-Sharif, which is on a list of the first seven areas of the country where Afghan security forces are slated to take over from the U.S.-led coalition starting in July. Other demonstrations, which were peaceful, were held in Kabul and Herat in western Afghanistan, fueling resentment against the West at a critical moment in the Afghan war.

Protesters burned a U.S. flag at a sports stadium in Herat and chanted "Death to the U.S." and "They broke the heart of Islam." About 100 people gathered at a traffic circle near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. One protester carried a sign that said: "We want these bloody bastard Americans with all their forces to leave Afghanistan."

U.N. peacekeeping chief Alain LeRoy said the top U.N. envoy in Afghanistan, Staffan De Mistura, who is in Mazar-i-Sharif, believes "the U.N. was not the target."

"They wanted to find an international target and the U.N. was the one there in Mazar-i-Sharif," LeRoy told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York.

Initially, Afghan police reported that eight foreigners had been killed in Mazar-i-Sharif.

Late on Friday, Dan McNorton, a spokesman for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan in Kabul, revised the death toll to seven — four foreign security guards and three other foreigners.

The guards were from Nepal, according to Gen. Daud Daud, commander of Afghan National Police in several northern provinces.

Sweden Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said Joakim Dungel, a 33-year-old Swede who worked at the U.N. office, was among those killed.

Norwegian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Maj. Heidi Langvik-Hansen said Lt. Col. Siri Skare, a 53-year-old female pilot working for the U.N., died in the attack.

LeRoy said the other victim was a citizen of Romania and that a number of U.N. personnel were injured and were being evacuated.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the head of the mission in Mazar-i-Sharif, a Russian citizen, was injured in the attack, but not seriously.

Police who went to investigate, said the U.N. compound was littered with broken glass and bullet casings.

Abdul Karim, a police officer in the city, said he saw the bullet-riddled bodies of three Nepalese guards lying in the yard and a fourth on the first floor.

He said another victim with a serious head wound died on a stairway to the basement of the compound. A man who was killed inside a room had severe wounds to his face and body, Karim said.

Munir Ahmad Farhad, a spokesman in Balkh province, said the protest began peacefully when several hundred demonstrators gathered outside the U.N. mission's compound, choosing an obvious symbol of the international community's involvement in Afghanistan to denounce the Quran's desecration. It turned violent when some protesters seized the guards' weapons and started shooting, then the crowds stormed the building and set fires that sent plumes of black smoke into the air, he said.

Associated PressAfghans carrying a man, who got wounded following an attack on UN's office during a demonstration to condemn the burning of a copy of the Muslim holy book by a Florida pastor, in Mazar-i- Sharif north of Kabul, Afghanistan on Friday, April. 1, 2011. An Afghan official says seven people have been killed at a U.N. office in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif when a Quran burning protest turned violent. (AP Photo/Mustafa Najafizada)

One protester, Ahmad Gul, a 32-year-old teacher in the city, gave a different account. He said the protesters disarmed three guards to prevent any violence from breaking out. Associated Press video showed protesters banging AK-47 rifles on the curb, breaking them into pieces. He said the protesters were killed and wounded by Afghan security forces.

"I disarmed three guards myself and we took out the bullets," Gul said, sternly shaking his finger as he shouted. "With my eyes, I saw them (Afghan security forces) kill two and wound 10." As he talked, he became increasingly indignant and he started shouting: "Death to America!" ''We are going to fight."

LeRoy, the U.N. peacekeeping chief, said the security guards, all Gurkhas, "tried their best" but were unable to prevent the large number of demonstrators, some armed, from storming the U.N. compound.

The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting late Friday and condemned the attack "in the strongest terms."

The U.N.'s most powerful body also condemned "all incitement to and acts of violence" and called on the Afghan government to bring those responsible to justice and take steps to protect U.N. personnel and premises.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is in Nairobi, said it was "an outrageous and cowardly attack against U.N. staff, which cannot be justified under any circumstances and I condemn in the strongest possible terms."

He instructed De Mistura to assess the situation and take any "necessary measures to ensure the safety of all U.N. staff."

LeRoy said U.N. officials would be reviewing security for U.N. personnel in Afghanistan.

President Barack Obama condemned the attack and underscored the importance of the U.N.'s work in Afghanistan.

"We stress the importance of calm and urge all parties to reject violence and resolve differences through dialogue," Obama said.

At the U.S. State Department, spokesman Mark Toner said the burning of a Quran in Florida was contrary to Americans' respect for Islam and religious tolerance. "This is an isolated act done by a small group of people and ... does not reflect the respect the people of the United States have toward Islam," he said.

The church's website stated that after a five-hour trial on March 20, the Quran "was found guilty and a copy was burned inside the building." A picture on the website shows a book in flames in a small portable fire pit. The church on Friday confirmed that the Quran had been burned.

In a statement, Jones did not comment on whether the church's act had led to the deaths. Instead he said it was time to "hold Islam accountable" and called on the United States and the U.N. to hold "these countries and people accountable for what they have done as well as for any excuses they may use to promote their terrorist activities."

Last week, Afghan President Hamid Karzai issued a statement calling the burning a "crime against a religion." He denounced the U.N. attack as a "disrespectful and abhorrent act" and called on the U.S. and the United Nations to bring to justice those who burned the holy book. Karzai issued a statement late Friday calling the killings an "inhumane act" that was "against the values of Islam and Afghans." He said he planned to call officials at U.N. headquarters to express his regret and condolences from the people of Afghanistan.

The U.N. has been the target of previous attacks.

In October 2010, a suicide car bomber and three armed militants wearing explosives vests and dressed as women attacked a U.N. compound in Herat in western Afghanistan. Afghan security forces killed the attackers and no U.N. employees were harmed. In October 2009, Taliban militants attacked a guesthouse used by United Nations workers in central Kabul. Eight people were killed, including five foreigners working for the U.N.

Separately, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that six U.S. Army soldiers were killed in separate incidents in fighting against insurgents during an operation in eastern Kunar province, which neighbors Pakistan's lawless tribal areas. Insurgents have slowly been filtering back into Afghanistan from safe havens in Pakistan as the spring fighting season gets under way.

Associated Press writers Amir Shah in Kabul, Edith M. Lederer at the U.N. and Mitch Stacy in Tampa, Florida, contributed to this report.

Falling tree limbs knocked out electricity for more than 60,000 homes and businesses in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Associated PressMotorists make their way north during a spring snowstorm on Interstate 295 in Freeport, Maine, Friday, April 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

By DAVID SHARP

PORTLAND, Maine — An April Fools' snowstorm created a winter wonderland Friday in parts of northern New England, sending dozens of cars sliding off roads, knocking out power to thousands and giving tens of thousands of schoolchildren a surprise snow day.

The spring Nor'easter greeted folks on April Fools' Day with thick, wet snow that covered the pavement and stuck to trees, which drooped under the weight.

Falling tree limbs knocked out electricity for more than 60,000 homes and businesses in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island at the storm's peak. In Maine, utility crews planned to work through the night to restore power.

Highways were treacherous during the morning commute, and state police reported that dozens of cars slid off the slippery roads.

Brunswick Naval Air Station spokesman John Ripley gave himself permission to work from home after an aborted attempt to drive to work on I-295.

"It was pretty dicey, to say the least," said Ripley, of Portland, who saw four vehicles off the highway and watched a fifth fishtail before turning back.

In Maine, the coastal town of Hope and the town New Sharon, 60 miles inland, both saw a foot of snow, and many locations approached that amount. But Portland saw only a half-foot of snow, far below the city's record of 11.1 inches for an April Fools' storm in 1922.

Elsewhere, the storm failed to live up to its billing.

In Massachusetts, Fitchburg got 8.1 inches and Boylston saw 7.7 inches, and the numbers tapered to the south. Eastern New York and western Massachusetts saw only a couple of inches of snowfall, far less than originally forecast.

Power outages were the biggest problem in Maine and New Hampshire.

About 25,000 homes and businesses in southern Maine and another 20,000 in southern New Hampshire were in the dark at the storm's peak, officials said. By early evening, more than 10,000 customer accounts were still without electricity in Maine, officials said.

In Portland, Pete Johnson was caught by surprise by the intensity of the storm Friday morning. He didn't believe the weather forecasters, especially after a relatively snow-free March. So, he took off his snow tires.

He said he should've known better.

"If you've done this long enough, you know it's going to snow again," he said, grabbing a cup of coffee before making a slippery drive to Boston for a business meeting.

In Concord, N.H., the parks and recreation department was boasting a week ago about getting its tennis courts ready for spring. On Friday, it switched gears, challenging followers of its Facebook page to submit pictures of snowmen in the parks.

"Old man winter is not giving up without a fight this year," department director David Gill said Friday.

Skiers like John Olif, 23, of Killington, Vt., were thrilled to have more new fallen snow on their local ski mountains.

"Last year at this time, everything was melting. But it's mid-February out here pretty much. It's definitely a treat," he said. "It's 100 percent open and it's April 1. It's a powder day on April Fools', not a joke or anything."

Associated Press writers Holly Ramer in Concord, N.H., and John Curran in Montpelier, Vt., contributed to this story.

Springfield will pursue the tax payments, and is considering how best to bill and collect without imposing unreasonable burdens.

SPRINGFIELD – The city estimates that a billing error that was undetected for several years has resulted in unbilled, unpaid excise taxes that could total as much as $330,000 from automotive businesses.

The city will now pursue the tax payments, and is considering how best to bill and collect the projected amounts without imposing unreasonable burdens on the businesses, city officials said this week.

The bills had not been sent to automotive dealerships for dealer plates and had not been sent to auto repair shops for repair plates, officials announced Thursday. Under state law, the special plates carry an excise tax of $100 per year.

City Solicitor Edward M. Pikula sent a letter on Thursday to Kelley and Ryan Associates Inc., of Hopedale, the city’s long-time deputy tax collector, seeking “a full accounting and explanation” for the unbilled excise taxes. A company official could not be reached for comment.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said he is very concerned by the lapse, and has directed that a further internal review be conducted to ensure that the type of error does not occur again.

The error preceded his administration and occurred during his administration, also during the tenure of the state-imposed Finance Control Board, Sarno said. The cause of the error remains under investigation, officials said.

City Assessor Richard Allen said the city “is working to correct the deficiencies which caused this omission and we intend to proceed cautiously so as not to burden the affected businesses.”

Kelley and Ryan has been the city’s deputy collector since 1998. Its current contract was signed in 2009, and continues until 2012.

A state Department of Revenue official said Friday the city has the power to pursue the bills from past years.

Officials in several other communities in the region said they have successfully billed their automotive businesses.

In Northampton, City Assessor Joan C. Sarafin said the city has been collecting the excise tax on the dealer plates every year. In 2010, that amounted to $11,600 for the city’s coffers.

Sarafin added that the city is also careful to collect excise tax on repair plates, which are used by garages. Those taxes totaled $10,000 last year.

Holyoke also collects the excise taxes on the plate, but the amount collected annually was not immediately available.

In Palmer, excise taxes on dealer plates bring approximately $7,200 a year, according to Treasurer-Collector Paul Nowicki.

Roy Gumlaw, president of Bing’s Automotive on St. James Avenue, said he questions why his single repair plate should even be taxed. The plate is required for liability, but is only used to test drive customers’ cars, he said.

“It’s not right,” Gumlaw said. “You pay excise taxes on personal vehicles. Every customer who comes in here pays excise taxes.”

With various fees and a high property tax rate, “they’re killing the small businessman in Springfield right now,” Gumlaw said.

Students from the South Hadley charter school defeated a team from the Boston Latin School, which has 6 times the enrollment.

View full sizePhoto by Merrill SheaPioneer Valley Performing Arts Public Charter School teacher/coach Gary R. Huggett (back row with red tie) and student team members pose with their trophy after winning the 2011 Massachusetts Bar Association Mock Trial Championship at Boston's Faneuil Hall on Friday.

BOSTON – Students from a South Hadley charter school on Friday won the state’s mock trial championship, besting a team from Boston’s top public high school.

The Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School, noted for its mock trial program, won the championship for the first time since 2005. The team lost in the finals last year and has often qualified for the finals in recent years.

“It feels pretty sweet,” said Ian Fox, 18, a senior from Belchertown, who was a witness in the mock trial finals, held at Faneuil Hall.

“Everybody did a really, really good job,” said Nathaniel Mathews, 17, a senior from Hadley who acted as an expert witness. “We had very good witnesses. Our lawyers were impeccable.”

The Pioneer Valley school, led by veteran coach Gary R. Huggett, of Greenfield, now advances to the National High School Mock Trial Championship in Phoenix, scheduled May 4 to 8.

In Friday’s event, students from the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts school defeated a team from the historic Boston Latin School. It was a David versus Goliath type of contest because the Boston school has about six times the enrollment of the 400-student South Hadley school.

During the competition, students took on the roles of lawyers, witnesses and a defendant in a criminal trial in front of an actual judge – Norfolk Probate and Family Court Associate Justice John D. Casey. Several judges chose the winner by giving points for knowledge of the law, communication skills and ability to capture an audience.

In the three-hour match-up, the students from the South Hadley school represented a high school senior charged with involuntary manslaughter for the death of two people in a car accident. The defendant, who was found innocent, was accused of removing a stop sign from an intersection as part of a school scavenger hunt. Boston Latin students were the prosecution.

Hannah Sokoloff-Rubin, 16, of Amherst, a junior who acted as a lawyer, said it was amazing to win the championship. “Winning is really fabulous,” she said.

She said she enjoyed playing a lawyer because the profession combines theater, writing and thinking on the spot.

Graham Weston, 17, a senior from Hatfield, who gave the closing argument as a defense lawyer in Friday’s contest, said the victory required a lot of work by the students.

Sam Farnsworth, 17, a junior from Belchertown, who acted as the defendant, said he was truthful and earnest during his testimony. “There was nothing to hide because I was innocent,” he said.

The mock trial program is administered by the Massachusetts Bar Association, and made possible by the international law firm of Brown Rudnick through its Center for the Public Interest in Boston, which has contributed $25,000 each year to the program since 1998.

Cohen asked for the givebacks to cut the number of layoffs the city may have to make to balance the budget.

Richard Cohen

AGAWAM - So far, Mayor Richard A. Cohen has found no takers for his suggestion that unionized city employees give back 1 percent cost of living raises to help him balance the fiscal 2012 budget.

Of the city’s 13 collective bargaining units, two have rejected the idea. They are the Agawam Education Association, which represents teachers, and the union for School Department clerical workers.

Robert Janik, president of the teachers union, who had already ripped the mayor’s proposal last week when the mayor put it forth, said teachers have rejected the proposal. Cohen had said he would take a 1 percent pay cut if unionized workers agreed to give up their 1 percent raises negotiated for the financial year that starts July 1.

“People really do feel that they have given enough,” Janik said, alluding to the fact that teachers did not get any cost-of-living raises this year.

Of the approximately 400-member teachers union, Janik said about 200 responded to his email outlining the proposal and his views. Of those, only three were willing to give up their raises, according to Janik.

“The town still has lots of money and they haven’t done any cost-cutting that we can see,” Janik said, adding that it has funds in free cash and stabilization accounts. “If they had no money, of course the teachers would pitch in.”

The city currently has $4,882,516 in free cash and $3,683,271 in its stabilization fund. Cohen has said he has set aside $1.5 million to apply to the fiscal 2012 budget.

The mayor has argued that it is unwise to take much more money out of those accounts because the money will be needed to shore up budgets in coming years.

Cohen has asked for the givebacks to cut the number of layoffs the city may have to make to balance the budget. The School Department is eyeing reducing its ranks by 13 full-time equivalent positions.

Cohen, who is still working on the budget for the municipal sector, declined to comment on the issue of layoffs.

“I’m going to just continue to put together a budget and continue to maintain the services we are able to,” Cohen said.

Meanwhile, Town Clerk Richard Theroux, who offered at a recent School Committee meeting to take a 1 percent cut, said the cuts should be borne by all employees to be effective.

Theroux, who leads the 37-member Agawam Administrative Union, said he is unsure of how those employees feel about the proposal.

“Us going it alone is not going to make much difference,” Theroux said.

No one in the clerical workers union could be reached for comment.

Blankfein received a salary of $600,000, a cash bonus of $5.4 million and stock awards of $7.65 million for the year.

Associated PressLloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., saw his 2010 compensation rise to $14.1 million from just over $1 million in 2009, according to an Associated Press analysis of data filed with regulators on Friday

NEW YORK — Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., saw his 2010 compensation rise to $14.1 million from just over $1 million in 2009, according to an Associated Press analysis of data filed with regulators on Friday.

Blankfein received a salary of $600,000, a cash bonus of $5.4 million and stock awards of $7.65 million for the year. He also received perks worth $464,067, including $185,110 for the use of a car, $62,020 for medical and dental coverage and the rest for life insurance, tax planning and retirement contributions. In addition, he was granted restricted stock valued at $12.6 million, up from $9 million in 2009, which is not counted in the total annual package because the grants are paid out over a period of three years.

Though his salary is among the top-tier for U.S. executives, it is a fraction of what it was just a few years ago.

Blankfein was known as one of the highest paid CEOs, taking home a package worth $42.9 million in 2008. However, Goldman's reputation took a beating during the financial crisis. Considered the leading Wall Street bank, Goldman has usually outdistanced its rivals with its trading and investment banking operations. But it was sharply criticized for its high compensation levels after it accepted a $10 billion government bailout during the financial crisis in 2008.

In 2009, Blankfein's compensation dropped to $1.03 million — his $600,000 salary, plus perks.

Goldman continued to face scrutiny in 2010 when the Securities and Exchange Commission sued the bank for creating and selling an investment that was designed to fail. The SEC accused Goldman of selling an investment created by hedge fund manager John Paulson that contained bad securities. Goldman and Paulson made money from the investment, while many of Goldman's clients who invested in the deal lost more than $1 billion. Goldman paid $550 million to settle the lawsuit.

In 2010, the bank's net income fell 37 percent to $7.71 billion due to sharp declines in its bond trading and investment banking businesses. Revenue slid 13 percent to $39.16 billion. The stock remained flat at about $168.

Goldman employees were paid $15.38 billion in salaries and bonuses, or 39.3 percent of its annual revenue, for 2010. That marked a 5 percent drop year-over-year. However, Goldman also allows employees to invest in private funds that it manages, the returns from which can dwarf their actual official pay. In 2010, Blankfein received $27.2 million from his investments in these funds. Other top executives including Chief Operating Officer Gary Cohn, Chief Financial Officer David Viniar and Vice Chairman Michael Evans received returns ranging between $13 million and $20 million.

The bank said in January that its board has more than tripled Blankfein's salary to $2 million for 2011, and also tripled salaries to $1.85 million for four others including Cohn, Viniar, Evans and fellow Vice Chairman John Weinberg. The salaries don't include stock, options and other compensation that executives typically receive as part of their pay package.

The bank earlier this month received regulators' permission to repay Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. for the $5 billion investment it made at the height of the financial crisis in the fall of 2008. The Federal Reserve also approved Goldman's overall capital spending plan for 2011, including the repurchase of common stock and a possible increase in the bank's quarterly dividend.

The Associated Press formula calculates an executive's total compensation during the last fiscal year by adding salary, bonuses, perks, above-market interest the company pays on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock and stock options awarded during the year. The AP formula does not count changes in the present value of pension benefits. That makes the AP total slightly different in most cases from the total reported by companies to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The value that a company assigned to an executive's stock and option awards for 2010 was the present value of what the company expected the awards to be worth to the executive over time. Companies use one of several formulas to calculate that value. However, the number is just an estimate, and what an executive ultimately receives will depend on the performance of the company's stock in the years after the awards are granted. Most stock compensation programs require an executive to wait a specified amount of time to receive shares or exercise options.

The woman did not have any identification on her and police are working to find out who she is.

SPRINGFIELD - An unknown woman was struck and killed by a vehicle Friday night on upper State Street in the city's Pine Point neighborhood, police said.

Police Lt. John Bobianski said the woman was pronounced dead at Baystate Medical Center following the accident, which was reported just before 8 p.m. near 1592 State St.

The woman did not have any identification on her, and police are working to find out who she is, he said.

He described her as about 20 years old, and said she was either Hispanic or a light-skinned black woman.

The driver of the vehicle that hit her immediately stopped and remained at the scene for police to arrive. He did not release the driver's name, and said there have been no charges filed.

It is not clear if the woman was crossing the street or walking along the side of the road, Bobianski said.

Conditions at the time were rainy and dark, he said.

The section of State Street is near St. Michael's Cemetery where State becomes Boston Road.

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Two Springfield men reportedly wanted in connection with a string of burglaries in western Massachusetts and northern Connecticut were apprehended after what police described as a drug deal gone bad.

HAMPDEN - Two Springfield men reportedly wanted in connection with a string of burglaries in western Massachusetts and northern Connecticut were apprehended after what police described as a drug deal gone bad.

Julio Matos, 20, of 41 Wait St. and Julio L. Santiago II, 27, of 101 Draper St. were charged with armed robbery, committing a home invasion while armed, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm with defaced serial numbers, receiving a stolen vehicle, possession of a firearm without a license and possession of a Class-B substance, Hampden police said Saturday.

Around 5:44 p.m. Friday evening, Hampden police were called to investigate a suspicious vehicle on Crestwood Lane.

Sgt. William Joy found a silver Honda running on the side of the road and he checked a nearby driveway, where he allegedly found Matos and Santiago rifling through an SUV.

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A high school student then came out of the house and told the sergeant that he and three friends were sitting in the SUV when they were robbed at gunpoint by the men. He then said the duo fled but returned approximately ten minutes later to rob them again, this time while they were inside the house.

Matos and Santiago were arrested by Sgt. Joy and officer B. Purchas and a search allegedly revealed an illegal gun and controlled substance in their possession.

Police said the situation was not random crime as the two men came in contact with the four students when one of them reportedly called to arrange a drug deal.

Matos and Santiago were held awaiting arraignment which was scheduled for Monday in Palmer District Court.

Ashe was singled out for his work over the last 37 years as sheriff and his innovations in jail management and ways to reduce released inmates from becoming re-offenders.

Republican file photoMichael J. Ashe

LUDLOW - Hampden County Sheriff Michael J. Ashe will be honored Thursday at a Boston ceremony by the non-profit organization Community Resources for Justice for his work during his 37-year tenure as sheriff.

The annual event, planned for 6:30-9 p.m. at the Fairmont Battery Wharf Hotel, celebrates people who are dedicated to social justice and improving society by helping others.

Ashe will be recognized with the organization’s Community Hero Award.

He was singled out for his work over the last 37 years as sheriff and his innovations in jail management and ways to reduce released inmates from becoming re-offenders.

John J. Larivee, CEO for Community Resources for Justice, said he has worked closely with Ashe since the 1970s and saw that he always set high expectations and was always unafraid to try something new if he felt it could get results.

“He has continued to do it and he continues to do it well,” said Larivee during a recent meeting with The Republican Editorial Board.

The Boston-based Community Resources for Justice is a non-profit agency that was originally formed in the 1878. Among other things, it works with incarcerated men and women to prevent them from being re-offenders and with teens who are at-risk of arrest.

It also provides training, research and evaluation for criminal justice agencies.

When Ashe was first elected sheriff, he implemented the center’s proposed but untried set of performance standards that are now used nationwide, Larivee said.

He also credited Ashe with creating the first day-reporting center in the United States, which provides an option to incarceration of non-violent offenders, and praised Ashe’s work with community health centers to maintain basic health care for inmates after release.

“Our organization has benefited immensely from the work we’ve done in Hampden County with Mike Ashe,” Larivee said.

Ashe, in a prepared statement said, “This award means a great deal to me because Community Resources for Justice is one of the oldest and most foremost organizations in the country advocating for sensible and effective criminal justice policies and practices in the country.”

Ashe said he could identify with the “community” portion of the Community Hero Award because “all of our thrust for over 37 years has been toward a community corrections model, meaning we se to partner with the positive, productive people and organizations in our communities to accomplish the work of corrections.”

The “hero” portion of the award should go to members of his staff at the Hampden County Correctional Center who each day “perform acts of heroism and humanity, out of the limelight (and) away from the glory,” he said.

Hampden-Wilbraham School Committee Chairman Peter Salerno said the new position involves "an administrative restructuring and a cost savings of $60,000."

WILBRAHAM – Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School Superintendent M. Martin O’Shea announced the appointment of Timothy W. Connor as the new director of curriculum and instruction for the regional school district.

Connor, who is currently the associate principal at Minnechaug Regional High School, will assume his new duties on July 1.

O’Shea said the new position is a result of the retirement of Donna Scanlon, who has served as the district’s assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction since 2001.

Scanlon has announced that she will be retiring at the end of June.

O’Shea said Connor’s responsibilities at Minnechaug have included curriculum, instruction, assessment, professional development and accreditation.

Hampden-Wilbraham School Committee Chairman Peter T. Salerno said it was “critical” to fill the position. Salerno said Connor is not being given the title of assistant superintendent.

The new position involves “an administrative restructuring and a cost savings of $60,000,” Salerno said.

Before coming to Minnechaug Regional High School in 1999, Connor spent five years at West Springfield High School, first as a physical education teacher, then as assistant principal. He has a master of education administration degree from Springfield College and is pursuing a doctorate in education.

His undergraduate degree is from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He holds several education certification licenses including superintendent/assistant superintendent.

The fiscal 2012 regional school budget for next year includes $1.3 million for school district administration. The regional school budget also calls for the reduction of 16 teaching positions next year.

The staffing reductions will be made unless negotiations with collective bargaining units to reduce costs are successful, Salerno said.

The land trust uses two main methods for conserving land: agricultural preservation restrictions and conservation restrictions.

Richard K. Hubbard

SHELBURNE – The Franklin Land Trust has helped to conserve more than 19,000 acres of land in Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties since its founding in 1987 and expects to reach the 20,000-acre mark by June 30, the end of the fiscal year.

“It’s very exciting for us,” said land trust executive director Richard K. Hubbard, noting that when the organization celebrated its 20th anniversary, it had protected about 12,000 acres. “Four short years later, we’re approaching 20,000 (acres), so you can see the pace of land conservation has picked up.”

The land trust gets two or three inquiries a week and is working on about 60 active projects. “There’s a lot of activity out there,” Hubbard said.

He attributes that activity to a “huge generational transfer of land” by owners who are reaching retirement and need to make a decision about selling, preserving or transferring their land to the next generation of their family.

Many want to keep their land open and undeveloped or have it continue to be farmed or managed for wood. “That’s driving the demand” for land trust help, Hubbard said.

The Franklin Land Trust is a nonprofit organization that assists farmers and other landowners who want to protect their land from unwanted development. It protects farms, forests, open spaces, mountain tops and thus the character of the region.

Through its work, the land trust has connected thousands of contiguous acres of woodlands and wildlife corridors, some for public use.

The land trust uses two main methods for conserving land: agricultural preservation restrictions and conservation restrictions.

The agricultural preservation restriction program is a voluntary program intended to offer a nondevelopment alternative to farmers and other owners of prime agricultural land who are faced with a decision about the future use and disposition of their land.

All voting, regardless of the precinct, is done at the high school

A Hampton Inn planned for former car lot in Springfield's South End appears to have stalled.

Republican file photoThe former Epiphany Tower at 143 State St., seen here in this 2007 file photo, is scheduled to be remade into a Holiday Inn

SPRINGFIELD – The effort to build two new hotels in Springfield during a difficult economy has led to mixed results, with one project’s future uncertain and the other scheduled to move ahead in 2011.

A proposed 98-room Holiday Inn Express Hotel at the former Epiphany Tower at 143 State St. is scheduled for construction this year, said Ashok Patel, chief development officer for Jamsan Hotel Management.

“The project is permitted,” Patel said. “It is going to go forward and open later this year.”

However, a new Hampton Inn and Suites hotel proposed on East Columbus Avenue remains stalled, officials said.

The developer, 66 Springfield Properties LLC, purchased the property in 2008, formerly the site of Balise Hyundai, and announced plans for an $8.2 million, 98-room hotel.

John D. Judge, the city’s chief development officer, said he believes the developer is exploring other options for the property.

The company’s lawyer, Paul A. Maleck of Springfield, said plans are uncertain.

Both projects were stalled during the past year, at least in part due to the economy and commercial loaning challenges.

Meanwhile, the owners of the former Holiday Inn on Dwight Street announced plans recently for a $3.1 million renovation project. The proposed project, including new windows, a new heating-air conditioning system, and interior renovations, was announced in March, but includes an application for a $2.5 million federal, low-interest loan.

Judge said it has been difficult for developers to proceed with new hotel projects in a recession.

“We have kept our ear to the ground, and are keeping an eye out for any way we can help,” Judge said, regarding the East Columbus Avenue property.

The future development of that property, however, is helped by major improvements taking part in the South End, including a recently completed road reconstruction project and additional improvements planned in that neighborhood, Judge said.

Regarding the State Street hotel, “we obviously would like to have it developed this year,” Judge said.

The hotel is bordered by State Street, Dwight Street, and Willow Street, and there are plans to demolish an adjacent building that once housed a restaurant to provide additional parking. Plans also call for another parking area on Willow Street and valet parking.

The plans were approved last April by the Springfield Redevelopment Authority, and the developer initially hoped the $5 million renovation project would be completed in November.

In Northampton, Mayor Mary Clare Higgins refused to grant another extension for a proposed $15 million Hilton Garden Inn project behind Pulaski Park in February of 2010. The city had accepted the developer’s $1 bid for property in 2007.

The developer, Pioneer Valley Hotel Group, has filed suit against the city in Hampden Superior Court over the denied extension.

View Two proposed hotels in a larger map

The Freedom Riders are saluted in Western Massachusetts by inviting the public to preview a documentary film in Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD - There was a time when black people could not use the same public rest rooms as white people, drink from the same drinking fountains, go to the same schools, or eat at the same lunch counters in parts of this country.

Segregation was most virulent in the Deep South, and those who refused to cooperate could be badly beaten or killed.

“Freedom Riders,” a new documentary for public television, shows how in 1961 a group of black and white Americans climbed onto a bus, challenged a shameful tradition, and made history.

The public is invited to preview “Freedom Riders” on April 8 at 7 p.m. at Symphony Hall in Springfield. Some of the people who participated in those historic rides will speak in person after the screening.

The film will air on WGBY-TV on May16 on “American Experience,” part of a national observance of the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Rides.

Even though the Supreme Court had twice ruled that interstate travel could not be segregated, some states persisted in separating the races in bus stations and on buses.

In 1961 the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) decided to call attention to the abuse of this law by organizing bus trips to the South in which blacks and whites sat together.

They expected the project to be over in two weeks.

Instead, it exploded into violence, drew hundreds more Freedom Riders and make headlines as far away as the Soviet Union. and paved the way for greater freedoms.

Jean D. Thompson, of Amherst, was only 19 when she set out from New Orleans to join the Freedom Riders in Montgomery, Ala. “I didn’t see it as dangerous,” she said. “If I had been older I would have done the same.”

Thompson, who is black, will be part of a discussion after the April 8 screening with Judy Frieze Wright, who joined the Freedom Riders right after graduating from Smith College in 1961, and Freedom Rider James Breeden, of Leyden. Wright is white, Breeden is black.

Moderator of the discussion will be U.S. Congressman Richard Neal.

Although the Freedom Riders subscribed to non-violence, their first bus was fire-bombed by whites in Anniston, Ala., and the riders barely escaped with their lives

Subsequently, riders were punched, kicked and beaten by Southern mobs with hammers, chains, guns and baseball bats. It was all caught on videotape and shown on TV news. And the worse it got, the more people joined the Freedom Riders.

“I was not an activist, just an ordinary citizen,” said Albert F. Gordon, a former teacher who owns an art gallery in Stockbridge, “but I was profoundly moved by the savagery I was seeing on television.”

Gordon was one of 430 people from all over the country who participated in the Freedom Rides in 1961. “I will never forget the people I met,” said Gordon, “and the courage it took to live in that horrific environment and sustain the strength to remain in the struggle.”

Russ Peotter, director of WGBY, said “Freedom Riders” is one of the most violent films his station has ever scheduled. At a University of Massachusetts preview, said Peotter, students couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

More than 60 Civil Rights activists in Western Massachusetts have been invited to the April 8 event. They will be honored with portraits by photographer Paul Mange Johansen projected on a large screen.

The event is one of many local programs leading up to the May 16 broadcast of the film. Bernard Lafayette Jr., who appears in the film, will appear at a screening in Great Barrington April 7 (see box). The Latino Youth Media Institute has interviewed Civil Rights veterans. There have been many related school projects.

Sponsors of local events include Baystate Health, MassLive/The Republican, WGBY, the Springfield Forum; Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas; United Way of Pioneer Valley, city of Springfield and WEIB-FM.

HAPHousing of Springfield will be able to apply for tax credits that would contribute a good portion of the projected $9 million to $10 million project cost.

Photo by Diane Lederman / /The RepublicanRudy Perkins, HAPHousing project manager and staff attorney, stands before plans for Olympia Oaks in Amherst. The project received a $95,000 loan to help with design work on the affordable housing project.

AMHERST – While plans to build to a 42-unit affordable housing project are before the Zoning Board of Appeals, the agency developing the project recently received a loan that will help it proceed with development work that will help lead to additional funding.

The Boston-based Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation awarded the Olympia Oaks project a loan of $95,500. HAPHousing, the Springfield-based nonprofit housing assistance agency, is working with the Northampton-based Valley Community Development Corp. on the project.

The community development finance company provides technical assistance, pre-development lending and consulting services to non-profit organizations involved in housing developments, among other projects.

Olympia Oaks on Olympia Drive is intended to provide affordable rents for people who earn 60 percent of the area’s median income.

HAP is currently seeking a comprehensive permit for the project from the Zoning Board of Appeals. The next hearing date is Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Town Hall.

Rudy Perkins, HAP project manager and staff attorney, said the loan allows HAP to continue with design work that will enable the agency to apply for funding for the project. “It gets us in a position where we can go forward,” he said. He said the town has been very generous with the pre-development work, but the money is not endless.

The town, which has continued to support the project, has contributed community block grant and community preservation money, including $340,000 in pre-development costs.

HAP will be able to apply for tax credits that would contribute a good portion of the projected $9 million to $10 million project cost. If approved, the project could begin in the spring of 2012, and some units could be ready at the end of 2012, Perkins said earlier this year. Most likely, the units would be ready in 2013.

The town took the 27-acre site, 13.5 acres of which is suitable for housing, in the late 1980s by eminent domain and had planned to develop a project in conjunction with the University of Massachusetts, which owns land nearby. UMass decided not to proceed, so in 2004 the town secured a $50,000 appropriation to prepare for development.

The ballot also will feature a Proposition 2½ override for $103,000 to fund 90 EMT-firefighter hours per week.

MONSON – When no one stepped forward to be on the ballot for School Committee, Christopher L. Carlin saw an opportunity to continue to participate in town affairs.

Carlin, of Munn Road, is one of two write-in candidates seeking a three-year term on the School Committee in Monday’s annual election. Peter A. Sauriol also is waging a write-in campaign for the seat held by Edward A. Maia.

Maia is running unopposed for selectman, taking over for Edward S. Harrison, who is not seeking reelection.

Monson School Committee candidate Christopher L. Carlin

Carlin, 52, served on the Finance Committee for 15 years, and left the committee two years ago.

While Carlin enjoyed his stay on the Finance Committee and learning about how Monson operates, he said he stepped down because he felt it was time for other folks to have the chance to serve. Now, he said, he’s ready to serve again, and this time as a School Committee member.

He said it is “great honor” to be able to participate on town boards, and wants to continue with the “positive momentum that this current School Committee has made so much progress with.”

“We have a really good team on there now,” Carlin said.

He is familiar with the town’s budget issues having dealt with them firsthand as a Finance Committee member. The town’s monetary situation has not improved, and it again is a tough budget year. Carlin said he can bring his budget expertise to the School Committee.

Monson School Committee candidate Peter Sauriol

An Air Force veteran, Carlin graduated from Monson High School, and also has a son who attended Monson schools through the fifth grade. Carlin is director of marketing for ICSN in Worcester.

Sauriol, 20, of Bunyan Road, has said he thinks he brings a unique perspective to the table, as he graduated from Monson High School only two years ago. Sauriol has said next year’s budget is the most critical issue facing the committee. He is studying business administration at Holyoke Community College.

There are no other races on the ballot, but there will be a Proposition 2½ override. The Fire Department is seeking $103,000 to fund 90 emergency medical technician-firefighter hours per week that have previously been paid by a federal grant.

If it passes, it would cost the owner of a home valued at $220,000 an extra $34 a year, officials have said.

Christopher Carlin, left, and Peter Sauriol, right

Obituaries from The Republican.

Richard L. Howard

Richard L. Howard, 89, of Springfield, passed away on Sunday. He was born in Wilmington, N.C. Howard was a 40-year member of St. John's Congregational Church, a lifetime member of NAACP, and the president and owner of Howard Fuel Company for 40 years. He also worked under the leadership of Ernest J. Henderson, at Henderson Funeral Home, as an embalmer and funeral director, as well as at the Davis Funeral Home in Boston. He was also best friends with Dr. Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King, and attended the graduation of their daughter, Yolanda, at Smith College. Richard was a United States Navy veteran of World War II, serving as a first class Seaman, and was awarded the Victory Medal.

Obituaries from The Republican:

• 
  Alves, Richard




• 
  Brodowski, Richard C.
  



• 
  Bryant, Mary Elizabeth (Vaughn)
  




• Collins, Charles J.
  




• 
  Detweiler, Reverend Linwood G.
  



• 
  Dunham, Roger F.




• 
  Fritz, Joan C. (Weissbach)
  



• 
  Getchell, John A.
  




• Howard, Richard Levern
  




• 
  Hubbard, William L. "Bill"
  



• 
  Jablonski, Richard M.




• 
  Lampron, Alfred "Fred"
  



• 
  Lapointe, Lucias F. (Vallee)
  




• Malone Sr., Michael "Skeetter"
  




• 
  Miles, John F.
  



• 
  Moriarty, Aurore E. (Dumont)




• 
  Plante, Marion J. (Heffernan)
  



• 
  Stevens, Kathleen M. (Sheehan)
  




• Tomlinson, Russell L.
  




• 
  Torres, Jayden Hirum