A sub-committee of the Springfield City Council is hoping to develop a citywide ordinance that would ban the commercial use of plastic bags.

SPRINGFIELD - A citywide ordinance banning the use of plastic bags could be coming to Springfield soon, according to a source with the city's Green Committee. 

City Councilor Melvin Edwards, who is in charge of conception and development for the Committee, said that the meeting Tuesday was an opportunity to review the challenges and benefits of transitioning away from commercial plastic bag use. 

Critics of plastic bag use have argued that they have a negative effect on wildlife, and can trap and strangle both aquatic and land animals. Similarly, because plastic bags do not biodegrade or break down organically, they often end up as a pollutant in natural environments, or have to be incinerated, thus polluting the atmosphere.

One of the key parts of Tuesday's meeting was a presentation given by Brad Verder.

Verder is the creator of the Mass Green Network--an organization founded in 2015 that assists community organizations throughout Massachusetts with the enactment of policies designed to protect the environment.

To date, the Network claims to have helped pass 45 laws and regulations that limit the use of plastic bags and polystyrene--a chemical compound found in Styrofoam. 

Verder's presentation gave committee members a sense of what previous communities had gone through when they passed similar "plastic bag" ordinances.

Edwards said, there is usually some "push back" during the initial stages of a ban, but this is generally a short-term effect and people ultimately get used to the changes and come to find them commonplace. 

The "ban the bag" effort has previously been championed by local activist groups, such as the Springfield Climate Justice Coalition and Arise For Social Justice--Springfield based organizations that urged the City Council to adopt a similar ordinance in September, 2016. 

Edwards said that he is hopeful of bringing a draft of an ordinance to the Council before the beginning of the summer.

The bag ban is one of several other initiatives that have been conceived by the Green Committee that will hopefully be pushed over the next several months. Other agendas include a ban on the burning of construction materials and demolition debris in city limits, and also a possible ban on Styrofoam.    

It's better if these initiatives are rolled out over a longer period of time, so as not to overwhelm people, Edwards said. 

"A good portion of what we hope to do requires education and for some people to change their minds," Edwards said. "So if we rolled out everything at the same time it would be too much." 

A South Hadley resident and retired Holyoke school teacher has died while mountain climbing in India.

SOUTH HADLEY - A South Hadley resident and retired Holyoke public school teacher has died while mountain climbing in India, according to the Hindustan Times. 

67-year-old Glenn Bernard Conway died Tuesday during a visit to the Sandakphu-Phalut--a famous trek and hiking route in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal.

The cause of Conway's death is not currently known. 

A Darjeeling police super, Amit P. Javalgi, told local Indian news sources that the reason Conway died won't be understood until after a "post mortem." "Though some tourists, mostly elderly, fall sick while trekking to the Sandakphu-Phalut route, this is the first death this year. Last year one Indian tourist died," Javalgi said.

Conway was one of 19 Americans making a 21-kilometer trek from Maneybhanjyang to Darjeeling, two remote towns near the Singalila National Park. 

The area where Conway died can only be accessed by foot. Conway's body was brought down from the remote area by local police on Tuesday night. 

According to social media sites associated with Conway, he was a retired school teacher who studied at UMass Amherst, and taught in Holyoke for 34 years--from 1975 to 2009. 

Holocaust survivor Henia Lewin will speak at the annual commemoration of the Holocaust on May 4, 2017 at 6:45 p.m. at the Holyoke, Massachusetts Senior Center at 291 Pine St. held by the Greater Holyoke Council for Human Understanding.

HOLYOKE -- Henia Lewin was smuggled out of Lithuania to escape the Nazis as a child during World War II.

The Amherst resident will discuss her experiences as a survivor of the Holocaust at 6:45 p.m. on May 4 at the Senior Center, 291 Pine St.

The address by Lewin is free, a press release said.

The event is the annual Holocaust commemoration by the Greater Holyoke Council for Human Understanding. It is sponsored by the council, the Holyoke public schools, Holyoke Community College and the Holyoke Council on Aging, the press release said.

"Each year we remember the more than six million people who were killed during the Holocaust. This year's guest speaker is Henia Lewin, a child survivor of the Holocaust who was born in Lithuania and hidden from the Nazis by a Christian family," the press release said.

Lewin entered the Kovno Ghetto in Lithuania with her parents she was 18 months old, according to the Heart of the Covenant Foundation, a New York City-based organization that honors Jewish educators and their creativity in working to perpetuate "the identity, continuity and heritage of the Jewish people."

"Her parents, Gita and Yona Wisgardisky, hid her in a disguised walk-in pantry. Two years later, and following the death or deportation of her grandparents and other family members, her parents smuggled her to the safety of Lithuanian Christian acquaintances," according to the foundation.

Lewin was reunited with her parents after the war and they traveled to and lived in Poland, Israel and Montreal, according to the foundation.

Lewin received a Covenant Award as an Outstanding Jewish Educator in North American in 1997 from the Heart of the Covenant Foundation.

Lewin has taught Yiddish at the University of Massachusetts and Hampshire College, both in Amherst. She has taught all levels of Hebrew, tutors children and helps prepare them for bar and bat mitzvah. She earned a master's in teacher education from the University of Vermont in Burlington, taught Hebrew there, according to the foundation.

She teaches Hebrew and Yiddish to adults at Congregation Bnai Israel in Northampton, according to her Linkedin page.

She also has taught in Montreal and Israel.

Journalist and reporter Amy Goodman spoke to a packed auditorium at Mount Holyoke College on Tuesday night. Watch video

SOUTH HADLEY - Veteran journalist and newscaster Amy Goodman remembers the moment she was told a warrant had been issued for her arrest. 

Goodman, who spoke at Mount Holyoke College's Gamble auditorium on Tuesday night, said she'd been at a film festival in Canada in October, 2016, when she received a text from an associate that said, "You're under arrest." 

Since 1996, Goodman has been the host of Democracy Now, a daily news broadcast that many now view as a stark example of independent, non-"corporate" journalism in a sea of "mainstream media."  

Her talk Tuesday night was part of a book tour for Democracy Now!: Twenty Years Covering the Movements Changing America, a retrospective on the show that Goodman has spent most of her career working in the service of.  

As a reporter, Goodman has often come under fire for her direct and confrontational manner; a famous phone call between her and Bill Clinton that occurred in 2000 was one of the few times that the former U.S. President visibly lost his cool on a live program.

Appropriately, then, the reason an arrest warrant was issued for Goodman last September was largely the same one that has gotten her into trouble so many times in the past: mainly, she's a journalist.   

The warrant was issued by Morton County, North Dakota, the locale where Goodman had recently done an expose on the protests of the Standing Rock Sioux and other activist organizations in response to plans to construct the Dakota Access Pipeline on a sacred Native American burial ground.

During her coverage, Goodman filmed guards for the Pipeline using dogs and pepper spray on protesters, transmitting sometimes gruesome audio and video of activists being attacked. 

In response, Morton County charged Goodman with a misdemeanor offense of criminal trespass. Goodman eventually turned herself in and the case against her was later dismissed, but the incident remained a poignant example to Goodman of the dangers posed to journalists who truly seek to speak truth to power. 

Goodman's talk Tuesday touched on a wide range of topics, including U.S. foreign policy, the death penalty, and the various activist movements Goodman feels are working to change America. Thematic throughout, however, was the necessity of challenging powerful institutions, and how journalists should speak truth to power instead of being a voice for the powerful.

Tackling the Trump White House

In line with that spirit of criticism, Goodman took aim Tuesday night at the highest office of state: the White House.  

Goodman called the Trump administration a "kleptocracy," pointing to multiple examples that she felt showed a conflict of interest between Trump's business endeavors and his political decision-making. 

"This is terrifying, when you think that foreign policy is being conducted to enrich a very small circle of intimate family who also are related by their business connections," Goodman said.

She also discussed his recent aggressive foreign policy moves, criticizing his decision to drop MOAB--the Massive Ordnance Air Blast (or, as it has been casually referred to by military officials, the "Mother of All Bombs")--on a location in Afghanistan several weeks ago. 

Criticizing the 'corporate media' 

As much as Goodman attacked Trump and other government officials Tuesday night, she was equally critical of the people in charge of reporting on them.

Goodman referred to TV pundits as people who knew "so little about so much" and continually reinforced the idea that mainstream media outlets are a soapbox for society's most powerful people.    

She also noted that while Trump has so far had a contentious relationship with the press, he might have a much cozier arrangement with them if he would just be a little nicer.

"I'm afraid to say this, but if he would just stop attacking the press for a day or two the press would wrap themselves around him as they so often wrap themselves around the establishment," Goodman said. "Yet they're getting punched so directly and so hard," she said.

Goodman noted, however, that there was another way that Trump might win the favor of the media.   

"The way he can rally the troops and the journalists is by attacking another country," Goodman said. 

Goodman criticized the way the media "rallied around" Trump after he began taking a more aggressive stance towards countries in the Middle East. 

Democracy Now 

Goodman, who has made her career largely by defining her own brand of journalism against the"mainstream media," argued Tuesday night that ordinary people need to "take the media back."

In that sense, Goodman made a rallying cry for independent media, arguing that it was important, now more than ever, to pursue forms of journalism that were unfettered by the influence of special interests.  

"We need a media that questions war," Goodman said, to applause. "We need a media that is not brought to us by weapons manufacturers when we cover war. We need a media that is not brought to us by the oil, gas, and coal companies when we cover climate change. We need a media that is not brought to us by the insurance and big pharma when we cover healthcare," she said, to applause.

Goodman, who has survived and gained popularity as an independent journalist for several decades now, said that having a media not sponsored by special interests, is what "independent media is about."  

Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School's Funkadelic Hip Hop Company performs "Streets of Funk" April 28 and 29 from 7 to 9 p.m at the school's theater located at 15 Mulligan Drive in South Hadley

SOUTH HADLEY -- Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School's Funkadelic Hip Hop Company will perform "Streets of Funk" on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m at the school's theater, 15 Mulligan Drive

According to the show's artistic director, Shakia Johnson, who has taught at PVPA the past three years, "Streets of Funk" is an original production. Choreography was created by students and faculty.

Johnson, 31, who grew up in Springfield, said the historical roots of hip-hop begin during the Great Depression in the 1930s. She said the school's production not only teaches students the dance, but includes landmarks that have come to define the art form, from pre-World War II to the present.

"I am teaching the culture, as well as the dance, the roots of hip-hop," she said.

"(Hip-hop also uses) dance as a protest against various injustices in American society," Johnson said.

She listed the "four core elements" of the art form: "DJ-aying, MC-ing, grafitti, b-boying/g-girling -- that's the dance element -- that's hip-hop culture 101."

Johnson, who graduated from the PVPA and Dean College, said her dance teacher at the PVPA, Jodi Falk, is her mentor.

Among the genres Streets of Funk expresses are the "Lookin'" movement begun in the 1960s -- "known as the first street dance" associated with funk music and the rise of disco -- and "Poppin' and Breakin'," which developed from the 1970s onward, Johnson said.

"(Students) learn about the dance pioneers," she said. "The reason I teach this way ... it's important to learn the roots of hip-hop to keep the tradition alive, from its roots."

During her first two years at PVPA, hip-hop was not a formal part of the school's curriculum, but Johnson successfully advocated its inclusion. In September, students, who had to audition for acceptance, began classes, which consist of three 75-minute teaching blocks each week during the day and four hours after school.

The 14-member troupe's dancers are: Krystianna Alicea, Vivica Banks, Monica Bodison, Tyler Bozoglos, Anna Cappello, Izzy Cordes, Anna Huggett, Arianna Ketchakeu, Emily Mar, Jacob Matthews, Yoshi Sanders, Tali Sureck, Tiana Vazquez-Ford and Bella Vermes.

Johnson earned her teaching artist certificate from the National Dance Institute in New York in 2009. She has choreographed and directed more than 40 hip-hop, modern, African, and lyrical works that have been performed at Trenton Educational Dance Institute, Rider University, the Princeton School of Ballet, the Bates Dance Festival and at a 2005 Boston Celtics halftime show. 

The hip-hop artist has opened for concerts by Fat Joe, Jadakiss, 112, Charlie Baltimore, Kima from "Total" and Omarion. She has toured the U.S. and overseas with Face Da Phlave Entertainment, Illstyle and Peace Productions.

In addition to her duties at the charter school, Johnson currently teaches at Mount Holyoke, Amherst and Smith colleges. She is a member of the dance faculty at Bates Dance Festival.

Tickets for the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School shows range from $5 to $9 and will be available at the door.

Jonathan Offerral and Orlando Soto, both of Springfield, denied trafficking heroin in the amount of over 200 grams.

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

SPRINGFIELD -- Two city men on Thursday denied charges of trafficking heroin in the amount of over 200 grams in Hampden Superior Court. The heroin was found inside Lego boxes, authorities said.

Bail was set at $25,000 cash each for Jonathan Offerral, 32, and Orlando Soto, 34.

Both were arrested on Feb. 14, when approximately 394 grams of heroin was found, a spokesman for Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said.

This arrest came about after a lengthy investigation involving the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the Springfield Police Department, the U.S. Postal Service and the Western Massachusetts Gang Task Force.

After becoming aware of illicit activity at 51 Jefferson Ave. in Springfield, law enforcement officers applied for and received a search warrant for the residence, which led to the discovery of three large chunks of heroin inside Lego boxes, said district attorney's office spokesman James Leydon.

In attempt to fix its image, United bought a full-page ad in the Washington Post to announce some policy changes.

United is offering up to $10,000 to passengers who are "bumped" from a flight. United is hoping this, along with 10 other policy changes, is enough to make up for all of its very public, very bad policy blunders. Others think the whole getting-knocked-out-and-dragged-out-bleeding from a plane, on top of the typically grueling travel experience, is enough to swear of United forever. What do you think?

PERSPECTIVES

In the past few weeks, United went from refusing to allow a child to board because she was wearing leggings, to giving a man a concussion while forcibly removing him from his seat, to killing a prized rabbit. Jeremy Robinson-Leon, a principal partner at the public relations firm Group Gordon, told the New York Times:

"Better late than never, but the sentiment certainly rings a bit hollow when it follows two previous failures and 36 hours of intense public pressure," said Jeremy Robinson-Leon, a principal at the corporate public relations firm Group Gordon. "The back-against-the-wall, through-gritted-teeth apology isn't generally a winning strategy."

via GIPHY

To fix its image, United bought a full-page ad in the Washington Post announcing the following changes: 

1. United will limit use of law enforcement to safety and security issues only.
2. United will not require customers seated on the plane to give up their seat involuntarily unless safety or security is at risk.
3. United will increase customer compensation incentives for voluntary denied boarding up to $10,000.
4. United will establish a customer solutions team to provide agents with creative solutions
5. United will ensure crews are booked onto a flight at least 60 minutes prior to departure
6. United will provide employees with additional annual training.
7. United will create an automated system for soliciting volunteers to change travel plans.
8. United will reduce the amount of overbooking.
9. United will empower employees to resolve customer service issues in the moment.
10. United will eliminate the red tape on permanently lost bags.

United took out a full-page ad in today's Washington Post pic.twitter.com/k05t8v9WsW

-- Hunter Schwarz (@hunterschwarz) April 27, 2017

To United's credit, it looks like the policy is being implemented and it is working.

.@united I'm holding out til at least 3K! They still need one more volunteer pic.twitter.com/4VoTLnLBd0

-- Emmanuel Acho (@thEMANacho) April 27, 2017

Others say the $10,000 is just a marketing gimmick that most customers will never be offered.

Hate to throw cold water on your new career as a United seat volunteer, but $10k is going to be rare & you're probably flying up front.

-- Jon Ostrower (@jonostrower) April 27, 2017

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An assistant track coach at Wellesley High School has been arrested on federal child pornography charges after authorities said he sent images to people through Craigslist.

An assistant track coach at Wellesley High School has been arrested on federal child pornography charges after authorities said he sent images to people through Craigslist. 

Walter Johnson, 69, of Framingham is both an assistant track coach at Wellesley High School and a former Harvard University track coach, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. He was arrested Thursday on child pornography distribution and possession charges. 

Johnson was detained after he appeared in U.S. District Court in Boston and will return to court on May 1. 

Federal agents began investigating a report of child pornography being traded to other people by a Craigslist user, authorities said. The investigation began in January. 

"The investigation led to Johnson, a track coach at Wellesley High School and a former Harvard University track coach," the U.S. Attorney's Office said. 

Federal agents executed a search warrant on Johnson's home on Thursday. 

"Johnson allegedly admitted to sending and receiving child pornography with various individuals he met on Craigslist," authorities said. "A preliminary on-scene forensic analysis confirmed child pornography on devices in his home." 

Members of the public who have questions, concerns or information regarding this case should call 617-748-3274.

The 9-member body is charged with administering money raised through the city's adopting a property-tax surcharge under the Community Preservation Act.

SPRINGFIELD -- Members of the city's newest governing board, the Community Preservation Commission, were sworn in Thursday and are set to begin laying the groundwork for how the commission will administer as much as $1 million annually for preservation projects.

Members of the nine-member body were administered the oath of office by City Council President Orlando Ramos during a brief ceremony in City Council chambers.

In the coming weeks, the commission will meet to organize and select a chair and other officers, select meeting times and places and determine its priorities and goals.

Ramos said he was pleased with the makeup of the commission. Members, he said, are not only qualified for the work, but are also representative of every neighborhood.

"One of our goals was every neighborhood so that everyone has a voice," he said. "I am confident we've got a great group of people, very diverse."

The commission was formed to administer funding for historic preservation, open space, recreation and community housing projects in Springfield. It came about as a result of the vote in November for the city to participate in the Community Preservation Act.

The act allows a community to impose a 1.5 percent surcharge on property valuations, with that money going to preservation, open space and recreation areas and community housing projects.

The act was supported by 62 percent of all votes cast.

The surcharge goes into effect on July, and will be reflected in fiscal 2018 property tax bills. It could raise about $1 million annually, according to estimates.

The first $100,000 in property valuation will be exempt from the surcharge. Low-income families and low- to moderate-income senior households will also be exempt.

Ramos said the commission will not have any money to administer until after the start of the fiscal year in July.

"The average property tax bill will go up by about $10. It's not an astronomical number being added to people's tax bill," he said.

Appointments were made based on recommendations from some city departments: Planning, Conservation, Historical Commission Housing, Parks and three representatives from city neighborhoods.

Members of the commission are:

• Gloria DeFillipo, Planning Board
• Juanita Martinez, Conservation Commission
• Benjamin Murphy, Historical Commission
• Angela Robles, Housing
• Brian Santaniello, Parks Commission
• Robert McCarroll,  Springfield Preservation Trust,
• Ralph Slate, neighborhood
• Lamar Cook, neighborhood
• Terry Mitchell, neighborhood.

In an informal organizational meeting of the body after taking their oaths, members agreed to meet Tuesdays at 6 p.m. At the first official organizational meeting, the commission will select a chair.

After being sworn in, members of the newly formed Community Preservation Commission check their calendars and discuss when they will will be able to meet officially for the first time. Pictured from left are Lamar Cook, Angela Robles, Robert McCarroll, Benjamin Murphy, and Terry MitchellPatrick Johnson / The Republican 

McCarroll said he sees the first task of the commission to be to organize properly and to learn more about the legalities of the Community Preservation Act.

McCarroll said he is excited about the new commission and is excited to be a part of it.

"It turned out far beyond how I hoped it would," McCarroll said.

He said the most exciting thing about the new commission is that the people voted for it, and for a mechanism to pay for it.

"It passed in every ward, it passed in every neighborhood, it passed in 63 of 64 precincts, and the one precinct it lost in, it was by less than 2 percentage points," he said. "If there is something you could say is a mandate of the people, this is it."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Thursday said she is "troubled" by former President Obama taking $400,000 from a Wall Street firm for speaking later this year.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Thursday said she is "troubled" by former President Obama taking $400,000 from a Wall Street firm for speaking later this year.

Warren, D-Mass., made the comments while appearing on SiriusXM's "Alter Family Politics" as part of a tour for her new book, "This Fight is Our Fight." The host asked about Obama's speaking fee, and Warren responded, "I was troubled by that."

"One of the things I talk about in the book is the influence of money," she continued. "I describe it as a snake that slithers through Washington."

Money flows through Washington in "many different ways," Warren said.

Warren has raked in millions of dollars from donors as she ramps up for 2018. Elected in 2012, she is running for a second six-year term.

"You know, people understand that the money goes into campaign contributions," Warren said on SiriusXM. "And when I say 'understand,' I don't mean they think it's ok. But at least people see it. The money that goes into hiring lobbyists. But it's also the money that goes into bought-and-paid for experts. The money that goes into think tanks that have these shadowy funders and the think tanks always come up with the things the shadowy funders want them to come up with."

Money's influence "is what scares me," Warren said. "I think ultimately threatens democracy."

Audio of Elizabeth Warren saying she's "troubled" by Obama's speaking gig/fee https://t.co/xA2m4Hy9zO

-- Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) April 27, 2017

Hours after her comments surfaced, the Senate Leadership Fund, a GOP super PAC, took aim at Warren, saying she previously accepted $40,000 in speaking fees.

"That's an odd thing for Warren to say considering she reported $10,000 in speaking fees from a Washington, D.C. lobbying firm while the firm was lobbying for student loan lender Sallie Mae," the super PAC said in an email blast. "The firm also paid Warren $10,000 for 'educational programs' in 2008. And in 2009, they paid her $20,000 for 'occasional' lunch meetings."

Possible Senate candidate Geoff Diehl assails Elizabeth Warren for writing books while in office

View obituaries from The Republican newspaper in Springfield, Massachusetts.

After a 21,000-square-foot expansion was completed, a ribbon cutting ceremony was held at the Longmeadow Shops Thursday.

LONGMEADOW — After more than two years of planning and construction, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Thursday to mark the official opening of the Longmeadow Shops expansion.

"It took the support from the community," said Steve Walker, owner of Grove Property Fund, which owns the plaza on Bliss Road. "(A community) that treasures the charm and character of this town."

The project expanded the Longmeadow Shops' retail space by about 21,000 square feet while enlarging the parking lot and adding new entrances to the plaza. It had been stymied in 2014 when Town Meeting voters, concerned about what the expansion could do to the area's character, struck down a zoning modification necessary for the plan to move forward.

In a special Town Meeting in 2015, voters approved the modification, which allowed a 20 percent increase in shared retail space along with parking and pedestrian safety improvements. Construction began in March 2016.

Last month, R-Wireless, a family-owned Verizon retailer that franchises in nine states, started business in the new section of the Longmeadow Shops, a little more than a month after J. Crew Mercantile, the first store, opened on Jan. 24.

CVS Pharmacy last month commenced business at its larger 13,100-square-foot store. One feature of the new CVS location will be a drive-thru, offering the convenience of a pick-up window for prescriptions.

Local and statewide politicians, as well as people from the local business community, made appearances at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

"It's impossible to think about Longmeadow without this parcel," said state Sen. Eric Lesser, D-Longmeadow, before presenting Walker with a citation from the Senate.

State Rep. Brian Ashe, who grew up in Springfield's Forest Park neighborhood, also spoke of fond memories of the shops. Despite initial pushback from members of the community who feared the expansion would harm the plaza, Ashe said embracing the development paid off.

"The Shops, like a lot of things in life, have changed," Ashe said. "But it's a change for the better."

Business owners and members of the community also contributed items to a time capsule, which will be buried in an undisclosed location and dug up in 20 years, Walker said in an interview.

"Our world is changing so rapidly right now," Walker said. "It will be interesting to see how the world has changed in 20 years."

Springfield police are investigating a shooting that occurred in the city's Bay neighborhood on Wednesday. Watch video

UPDATE: Springfield Police Sgt. John Reigner confirmed at approximately 9:20 p.m. that a victim had been shot on Bay Street and was taken to an area hospital for treatment, though he did not comment on the severity of the victim's wounds. 

SPRINGFIELD - Springfield police are investigating a shooting that occurred in the city's Bay neighborhood on Thursday night. 

A large number of police officials could be seen near the intersection of Bay Street and Edgewood Street at approximately 6:45 p.m. 

Police had blocked off all of the streets leading to the intersection with cruisers and tape, and detectives could be seen scouring the surrounding area for evidence.

At least two shell casings had been marked where they fell near the intersection.

Springfield police have not yet confirmed that a victim is involved, though a neighborhood resident who lives on Edgewood Street said that a law enforcement official had been interviewing people local to the neighborhood, and had said that someone had been shot. 

No further details have been released by officials at this time. 

This story will be updated when more information becomes available. 

The nurses want to see staffing levels included in their collective bargaining agreement.

GREENFIELD -- Registered nurses picketing outside Baystate Franklin Medical Center Thursday said Baystate Health has "declined to bargain in good faith" over staffing levels, health insurance and mandatory overtime.

The 200 or so unionized nurses at the 90-bed hospital have been working without a contract since December, when their prior five-year pact expired.

Members of the Massachusetts Nurses Association and their supporters carried signs, chanted slogans and described their conflict with management.

Psychiatric nurse Donna Stern, chairwoman of the bargaining unit, said Baystate Health forces nurses to work overtime, won't contractually guarantee staffing levels, has imposed a 26 percent hike in health insurance costs, and wants to claw back earned time in the form of sick days, holidays and vacation.

"They are taking 52 earned hours every year," said Stern. "That, combined with the health insurance, will cost the average nurse 10 to 15 thousand per year."

Stern said Baystate fails to schedule enough nurses for any one shift, and then scrambles to achieve safe staffing levels. She said it is a violation of a 2012 state law that prohibits mandatory overtime for nurses unless there is a state of emergency.

Stern said contrary to what management says, it's not true that average nurse pay is more than $80,000 per year.

"Only a few nurses who have been here for years and work lots of overtime make that much money," she said.

Nurses become exhausted when forced to work long hours, creating an unsafe setting for patients, she said. The Baystate Franklin nurses have filed seven federal complaints with the National Labor Relations Board.

The nurses have been working without a contract since Dec. 31, and voted in March to authorize a one-day strike. That strike has not taken place.

Management tells a different story

Hospital management on Thursday denied the nurses' allegations and told a different story.

Baystate Franklin President Cindy Russo said it is not true that management will not bargain in good faith with the union. She said 15 meetings have been held since late fall, and that agreements have been reached on a number of issues.

The issue of contractual staffing levels is one matter that has not been resolved. Another meeting is set for May 5. 

Russo objected to any assertion that staffing levels are unsafe, and said including rigid requirements in a collective bargaining agreement would tie the hospital's hands.

She said hospitals report staffing levels to the state, including a target for "worked hours per patient day." She said Baystate's staffing exceeds it target.

"Not only are we staffed well, but by having staffing ratios outlined in the contract, it decreases our ability to be flexible in terms of taking care of patient needs on an individual basis," she said.

Russo noted that a firm called Leapfrog, which rates hospitals based upon nationally reported patient safety data, this week gave Baystate Franklin an "A" rating. It has also been recognized as one of the top 100 rural hospitals in the country. 

"This is based upon real data," she said.

As for the seven unfair labor complaints, Baystate Franklin public affairs manager Shelly Hazlett said the union has historically filed such complaints, "and that historically, they've all been dismissed."

Hazlett also reiterated that average base pay for registered nurses at Baystate Franklin is $40.88 per hour, meaning a nurse working a 40-hour week makes about $85,000 -- before overtime and any shift differential for evening or weekend work. 

Baystate Health CEO Dr. Mark A. Keroack said the pay scale is in keeping with market data. As for staffing, "demand goes up and down" on a daily basis, Keroack said.

Keroack and Russo said the hospital deploys nurses known as "travelers," who work for an agency, to fill staff need on a flexible basis. They said they are also hiring and training a "float pool" of 40-60 nurses. 

Keroack, meeting with editors and reporters at the The Republican and MassLive on Thursday morning, said he believes the union has a strategy. "I believe the union is using the staffing rhetoric as leverage to unionize Baystate Medical Center. That's the big prize."

He said meeting the union's demand might mean cutting services or closing units.

"It essentially puts you in a straitjacket," he said. "We are already in a restrictive budget environment."

Nurses at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield are not in the union.

Baystate Health has three bargaining units: Baystate Franklin in Greenfield, Baystate Noble in Westfield and the Baystate Visiting Nurses and Hospice. Baystate already has settled an agreement with the hospice nurses, and negotiations are ongoing in Westfield.

Ben Craft, director of government and public affairs for Baystate Health, has called the Baystate Franklin union allegations a "smear tactic."

"We continue to conduct our negotiations with the MNA in good faith and with the intent to reach a fair agreement," Craft said in a recent statement. "We call on the MNA to resume a constructive approach to negotiations, and to keep in mind the most important stakeholders in our discussions, the patients and communities we serve."

Baystate Health runs Baystate Medical Center, Baystate Children's Hospital, three community hospitals, and network of more than 80 medical practices. The health system employs more than 12,000 workers.

The Republican staff writer Jim Kinney contributed to this report.

Springfield held its third annual homicide victims memorial ceremony on Thursday night.

SPRINGFIELD - Brenda Vezina-Jodaitis says that when she first learned of the death of her beloved niece Renee Herbert, she felt that she would never be okay again. 

Vezina-Jodaitis was one of several speakers at Springfield's third annual Homicide Victims Remembrance Event on Thursday night.

The ceremony, which commemorates the lives of those who have been lost to homicide and vehicular homicide, is sponsored by the Baystate Family Advocacy Center's Homicide Bereavement Program. It took place at the Springfield Museum Dr. Seuss sculpture garden this year. 

Speaking about Renee--who was stabbed to death by her husband in early 2016--Vezina-Jodaitis said that the phone call notifying her of the murder left her broken. 

"During the first moments of that call my mind seemed to shatter," she said. "The scream that was welling up inside of me could not be contained," she said. Recounting the horror and loss she has felt since her niece's passing, Vezina-Jodaitis discussed the psychological pain involving such a violent and unnatural death. 

Thursday night's ceremony was full of stories of overwhelming grief--of loss so great that it forces its victims to shift the priorities and rhythms of their lives. 

"Is it okay to laugh? Is it okay to have fun?" Vezina-Jodaitis says these questions have plagued Renee's grieving family members. "This first year has been really, very difficult," she said.

Yet the evening was also an opportunity for those who had lost loved ones to reflect on new paths forward, and ways to grieve and remember those had died while still enjoying life. 

Another speaker Thursday was Cheila Garcia, cousin of Dylan Riel and Jayce Garcia--two young boys who were killed in a violent car crash in Brimfield in 2014. 

Garcia said that while she has been overcome with grief since the boys deaths, she has also learned that it's okay to try to enjoy life, too. 

"I want you all to remember that it's okay to cry," she said, through tears. "It's also okay to laugh and enjoy life as well. There's nothing wrong with living life like every day could be your last, and enjoying every bit of it." 

Interspersed throughout the evening were various activities and events designed to help ease the pain of loss. Throughout the evening, soothing performances of songs were played by the Putnam High School Choir, and near the end of the evening a talk was given by Molly Kitchen, a trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness instructor, about healing exercises. 

Key to the evening, too, was an art installation; a cadre of three dimensional silhouettes colored purple had been set up around the park where the ceremony was held. The silhouettes were meant to represent those who had been lost to violence, while the color purple is used as a symbol to convey a message of "peace, courage, survival, and dedication," according Gina M. O'Neill, an organizer for the event. 

O'Neill's own sister, Valerie Girouard, was murdered in 2010. But O'Neill, like many at the ceremony Thursday night has taken tragedy and worked to find a silver lining.  

"This event was put together by survivors whose loved ones were killed by homicide and vehicular homicide," O'Neill said. "Today we stand together in peace to remember them," she said.  

Detectives were called to investigate after officers found a man unconscious and bleeding at a home in the Merrick section of the city Wednesday night. A man was taken into custody at the scene and charged with assault and other offenses.

WEST SPRINGFIELD -- Detectives were called to investigate after officers found a man unconscious and bleeding at a home in the Merrick section of the city Wednesday evening.

Shortly before 9:30 p.m., patrol officers were called to 30 Cook St. for a report of a man who had been "hit in the head with a knife," police said.

When officers arrived, they found the victim laying on the bathroom floor with "large stab wounds to the head and upper neck," police said.

The investigation led to the arrest of Garja Rai, who was taken into custody at the Cook Street home. He was expected to be arraigned in Springfield District Court on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and domestic assault and battery on a family or household member.

A large knife was found at the scene and seized as evidence, police said.

Authorities have not disclosed any information about the victim, who was taken to Bay State Medical Center in Springfield for emergency treatment. An update on his condition was not immediately available.

MAP showing approximate location of stabbing:

The Bing Booster Bash was held at the Bing Arts Center on Sumner Ave. in Springfield on Thursday, April 27, 2017.

SPRINGFIELD - The Bing Booster Bash was held at the Bing Arts Center on Sumner Ave. in Springfield on Thursday, April 27, 2017. The event was an after-work party to promote the center's community programs. 

The Bing Arts Center offers music and spoken word performances, film screenings, art workshops, Zumba classes, meeting space and more. Events are low-cost or free.

For more information about the Bing Arts Center visit the center's website.

A 19-year-old victim is in "critical condition" after being shot in Springfield on Thursday night. Watch video

SPRINGFIELD - A 19-year-old is clinging to life after being shot in Springfield's Bay neighborhood on Thursday night, according to police. 

After being called to the area of Bay Street and and Edgewood Street at approximately 6:45 p.m., police discovered a shooting victim, according to 22news.   

Springfield Police Sgt. John Reigner confirmed with The Republican that a victim had been shot on Bay Street and was taken to an area hospital for treatment, though he did not comment on the severity of the victim's wounds.

Sgt. John Delaney said that the victim is a 19-year-old male who was shot once and had to be taken to Baystate Medical Center. Delaney said that the man is in critical condition.  

Reigner said that the city's Major Crimes Unit is investigating the crime, though no information was given on how or why the crime occurred, or whether police have any suspects in the shooting. 

Police blocked off all of the streets leading to the intersection with cruisers and tape on Thursday evening, and detectives could be seen scouring the surrounding area for evidence.

This story will be updated when more information becomes available. 

Arkansas had scheduled eight executions over an 11-day period before one of its lethal injection drugs expires on Sunday. Courts issued stays for four of the inmates.

Kenneth WilliamsAP Photo, File 

Kenneth Williams, 38, was pronounced dead at 11:05 p.m., 13 minutes after the execution began at the Cummins Unit prison at Varner. A prison spokesman said Williams shook for approximately 10 seconds, about three minutes into the lethal injection.

An Associated Press reporter who witnessed the execution said Williams lurched and convulsed several times during the execution.

"I extend my sincerest of apologies to the families I have senselessly wronged and deprived of their loved ones," Williams said in a final statement he read from the death chamber. "... I was more than wrong. The crimes I perpetrated against you all was senseless, extremely hurtful and inexcusable." Williams also spoke in tongues during his last statement.

Williams was sentenced to death for killing a former deputy warden after he escaped from prison in 1999. At the time of his escape in a 500-gallon barrel of hog slop, Williams was less than three weeks into a life term for the death of a college cheerleader.

Arkansas had scheduled eight executions over an 11-day period before one of its lethal injection drugs expires on Sunday. That would have been the most in such a compressed period since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, but courts issued stays for four of the inmates.

"The long path of justice ended tonight and Arkansans can reflect on the last two weeks with confidence that our system of laws in this state has worked," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a statement issued after the execution. "Carrying out the penalty of the jury in the Kenneth Williams case was necessary. There has never been a question of guilt."

The four lethal injections that were carried out included Monday's first double execution in the United States since 2000.

State officials have declared the string of executions a success, using terms like "closure" for the victims' families. The inmates have died within 20 minutes of their executions beginning, a contrast from midazolam-related executions in other states that took anywhere from 43 minutes to two hours. The inmates' lawyers have said there are still flaws and that there is no certainty that the inmates aren't suffering while they die.

Arkansas scheduled the executions for the final two weeks of April because its supply of midazolam, normally a surgical sedative, expires on Sunday. The Arkansas Department of Correction has said it has no new source for the drug -- though it has made similar remarks previously yet still found a new stash.

Williams' lawyers said he had sickle cell trait, lupus and brain damage, and argued the combined maladies could subject him to an exceptionally painful execution in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Arkansas' "one size fits all" execution protocol could leave him in pain after a paralytic agent renders him unable to move, they'd argued.

"After the state injects Mr. Williams with vecuronium bromide ... most or all of the manifestations of his extreme pain and suffering will not be discernible to witnesses," they wrote to the Arkansas Supreme Court, which rejected his request to stop the execution.

The U.S. Supreme Court also denied requests for a stay, including one that argued his claims of intellectual disability had not been fully explored.

Williams was sentenced to death for killing Cecil Boren after escaping from the Cummins Unit prison in a barrel holding a mishmash of kitchen scraps. He left the prison -- where the execution chamber is located in another part of the facility -- less than three weeks into a life prison term for killing University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff cheerleader Dominique Hurd in 1998. At the conclusion of that trial, he had taunted the young woman's family by turning to them after the sentence was announced and saying "You thought I was going to die, didn't you?"

After jumping from the barrel, he sneaked along a tree line until reaching Boren's house. He killed Boren, stole guns and Boren's truck and then drove away to Missouri. There, he crashed into a water-delivery truck, killing the driver. While in prison, he confessed to killing another person in 1998.

At the time of Boren's death, investigators said it did not appear Boren was targeted because of his former employment by the Arkansas Department of Correction.

Wally Czajkowski of Plainville Farm said Hadley grass as it's known or asparagus for 2017 looks amazing.

HADLEY -- It's here: Asparagus, or "Hadley grass" as it's known in town, for 2017 looks amazing, Wally Czajkowski of Plainville Farm says.

He just started picking Thursday. "It looks great," he said.

The rain and warm temperatures at night are making tasty asparagus and an abundant crop, he said.

Last year, the cold spring and lack of snow hurt the crop.

Czajkowski sells at his farm on Mount Warner Road and at farm stands throughout the area.

Tom Waskiewicz of Waskiewicz Farm said asparagus is about a week ahead of last year. "It's shaping up to be a great year," he said.

"Asparagus loves rain," Waskiewicz said. Showers are expected the next couple of days, he said.  "The crop is looking real nice, nice size spears. Of course I couldn't wait to have it. The taste is perfection."

Claire Morenon, communications manager form Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture, said the crop is just starting to be available at markets and farmers markets. She said it's a bridge crop from maple syrup production into to the summer growing season.

And while Hadley is known for its asparagus, she said it's sold all over the Pioneer Valley. "People get very excited about it," she said.

Saturday farmers markets are open in Amherst and Northampton. Other markets will be opening next week.