Heads of nine large business groups this month called on the Legislature to override the vetoes, claiming the legislative initiatives tucked into the budget will provide stability and certainty for employers in the area of health plan rates.

By MICHAEL NORTON

BOSTON - Just as Massachusetts House members were settling in Wednesday afternoon for a session that could feature veto overrides, the state's top consumer affairs official cautioned lawmakers against overriding Gov. Deval L. Patrick's vetoes of two fiscal 2012 budget sections, saying the move "would undermine the state's ability to control health care costs."

The heads of nine large business groups this month called on the Legislature to override the vetoes, claiming the legislative initiatives tucked into the budget will provide stability and certainty for employers in the area of health plan rates.

The first section, according to the business groups, would retain current standards for rate approvals, including medical loss ratios, limits on health plan profits and rates of increase for administrative expenses. It also requires the Division of Insurance "to utilize sound actuarial principles in disapproving rates," according to the groups, which include the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.

Barbara Anthony

The second section that Patrick vetoed would require the division to notify a health plan 60 days before the effective date of proposed rates if it intends to disapprove the rates, rather than the current 45 days. Failing to notify a health plan within 60 days of disapproved rates would result in rates being deemed approved under the budget directive.

In his veto message, Patrick said the 60-day section "inhibits the commissioner from conducting a thorough review of the carrier's rate submission, and automatically allowing rates that have not been thoroughly reviewed could increase premium costs and create confusion in the marketplace." He said the rate approval standards section would "decrease efficiency and transparency" in the division's rate hearings.

In a statement issued just before the House was set to gavel in for a session that could include veto overrides, Undersecretary of the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation Barbara Anthony recommended that the Legislature let Patrick's vetoes stand.

“Overriding the Governor’s vetoes of these sections would undermine the state’s ability to control health care costs," Anthony said. "It would also reduce efficiency and transparency in the process of reviewing rates, particularly the appellate review of disapproved rates. This veto creates a review period for the Division of Insurance that will make it more difficult to do the necessary thorough review of rate filings. This is not in the best interests of Massachusetts consumers. At a time when health care costs must come down, this override creates impediments to rate examination that may lead to increased costs for small businesses and working families.”

Other groups that signed a July 13 letter to legislative leaders urging overrides were the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield, the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Massachusetts Business Association, the Massachusetts High Technology Council, the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans and the Massachusetts Association of Health Underwriters.

Patrick and state Division of Insurance officials have taken a hard line against health insurance rate hikes they have deemed excessive, stirring frequent battles with insurers during his tenure over the appropriateness of rates.

Override efforts, if undertaken, are initiated in the House and require two thirds approval in both branches.

Republicans intend to offer two amendments that would make the sales tax holiday weekend a permanent annual event and reduce the sales tax to 5 percent in two steps over the next two years.

AP Photo/Elise AmendolaMassachusetts House Minority Leader Bradley Jones, R-North Reading, leaves the House Chambers during a recess at the Statehouse in Boston.

Legislation suspending the sales tax for a weekend in August to boost consumer sales advanced in the House Wednesday morning and is expected to win approval and move on to the Senate Wednesday afternoon.

Republicans intend to offer two amendments to the bill, according to aide. One would make the sales tax holiday weekend a permanent annual event and the other would reduce the sales tax to 5 percent in two steps over the next two years.

Rep. Paul Donato, who presided over the morning portion of the session, said afterwards that the House is expecting to take roll call votes Wednesday afternoon on adult day health legislation, the sales tax holiday and fiscal 2012 budget veto overrides.

Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty, the House chairman of the Judiciary Committee, entered the chamber briefly during the session to speak with Donato on the rostrum. Donato said O’Flaherty told him the House conference committee members handling court management reform legislation were struggling to reach a compromise with their Senate counterparts, but planned to continue negotiations on Wednesday in hopes of bringing the bill to the floor for a vote on Thursday before the August recess.

The other bill in conference related to human trafficking laws and also being handled by O’Flaherty will not be ready until after Labor Day, Donato said.

Officer Derrick Cook's suspension follows guilty pleas in district court.

File photo by Michael S. Gordon /The RepublicanPatrolman Derek V. Cook is seen in Springfield District Court last week.

SPRINGFIELD – Police Officer Derek V. Cook has been suspended without pay for three months in the wake of pleading guilty to assaulting two police supervisors in a station house fight in early 2008.

Sgt. John M. Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said Cook agreed to the suspension, which started Monday, so there was no need to hold any kind of disciplinary hearing.

Delaney said it will be up to Fitchet to decide what Cook’s assignment will be when he returns to duty.

Charles W. Groce, Cook’s lawyer, confirmed Cook had agreed to the suspension.

The suspension was separate from the court case against Cook.

Under a plea agreement, Cook on Thursday was fined a total of $675 on two misdemeanor counts of assault and battery on a police officer and spared prosecution on a more serious felony wiretapping charge for which a conviction could have carried a prison term.

Cook pleaded guilty before Judge Robert A. Gordon, admitting he assaulted Lt. Robert Moynihan and Sgt. Dennis M. O’Connor, who is now retired.

Both Moynihan, who appeared in uniform, and O’Connor were present for the plea hearing, and presented victim impact statements to the judge.

Cook apologized to the two, stating, “I want to say sorry to them both as a police officer and as a man.”

The fight occurred in February 2008, but the case dragged on unresolved during the administration of former District Attorney William M. Bennett. When Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni discovered earlier this year that the case remained active, the new district attorney vowed to get it back on track.

“They need to make a Lifetime movie out of me,” said Jack C. Swan.

Photo by Michael Beswick / The RepublicanA boat at the home of Adam Korabowski, at 663 Stony Hill Road, is covered by downed trees following Tuesday's storm.

WILBRAHAM - Walking down Springfield Street and its arteries, it is difficult not to recall the devastation wrought by the June 1 tornado, although the damage from Tuesday's storm is less severe.

Wednesday morning, traffic signals were dead, trees were down all over, crews from National Grid, the Department of Public Works and the water department were out in full force. Roads were closed, deep muddy scars were left in front yards where machinery had cleared debris and, once again, families and neighbors were coming together to rebuild.

Heather Mercier suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The stress of rebuilding after the June 1 tornado has sent her to the hospital three times. The house on Tinkham Road she shares with her partner of 13 years was damaged, but she said it’s repairable.

During Tuesday’s storm, the couple were uprooted again when a tree fell on the mobile home the insurance company provided, which was set up in the backyard.

They were sitting in the house when the sky got dark and their phones started ringing. Friends from as far away as New York were calling to let them know about the tornado warning issued by the National Weather Service.

A tornado has not been reported.

Then the rain, 50-mile-an-hour winds and hail came, reducing visibility to the point they couldn’t see a ladder propped against the front of the house. Mercier said she went to the sliding rear door and managed to see through the weather, watching the tree destroy the only safe place the pair had to live.

“Our work to rebuild was just undone yesterday,” she said. “It’s just been so hectic.”

They will move to a hotel until the mobile home can be repaired or replaced. The workers clearing the yard and helping them reestablish themselves in the place they’ve called home since 2004 have been “fantastic,” she said.

“We’re also very fortunate,” she said, compared to some of her neighbors who have lost so much more.

The front wall of Jack C. Swan’s house on Evangeline Drive was devastated in the tornado. From the street, the furniture in his living room and the trees in his backyard can be seen. The massive hole had been covered in plywood and the roof, which was peppered with large holes, had been tarped before Tuesday's storm.

All that work was undone, and more, as high winds tore beams from the roof and scattered them in the front yard. A broken end table that had been on the first floor was blown upstairs. The mobile home in the side yard, provided by his insurance company, was damaged by trees but repaired Wednesday morning.

Trees fell on the cabana house behind his pool, a utility pole was leveled and replaced with a makeshift beam structure and the rain had caused even more water damage throughout the house.

“Every time I think, ‘What else could go wrong,’ something else does,” Swan said.

In between the two storms, he said, he suffered a heart attack. While he was on his way to the hospital his partner of 31 years, who had been in poor health, passed away.

“They need to make a Lifetime movie out of me,” he said.

Swan’s neighbor, Dennis C. Anti, said his heavy, new glass patio table was thrown into the other furniture and shattered on Tuesday. Safety glass was strewn across the deck. Shingles from Swan’s house about 50 feet away were in his yard.

Anti’s house had also sustained tornado damage. He said about a dozen trees were torn up, windows shattered, the basketball hoop he built with his son 35 years ago was blown away and he hasn’t seen the water fountain from his backyard ever since.

"You never know how much you'll miss a tree until it's gone," he said. "You can't get ready for one of these things."

But he has kept a sunny disposition despite his troubles, praising his neighbors, volunteer groups and government officials who helped with the clean-up.

“If this had to happen to me, I’m glad it was in Wilbraham,” he said.

He said he and his neighbors convened after Tuesday's storm to make sure everyone was okay.

A Tinkham Road resident, an elderly woman who lives alone and asked not to be identified, said nothing was different in this storm.

"Just go back to June 1 and it's the same thing," she said. A relative said the woman had gone into the basement Tuesday night, feeling "overwhelmed" from the catastrophes she's seen these past two months.

Selectman Patrick J. Brady said Tuesday that "ground zero" for the storm appeared to be Tinkham Road.

On Tuesday, the transmission lines for the East Longmeadow Shaker Road substation were downed, leaving the entire town without power. The substation's tornado damage had just been repaired.

As of 2 p.m., National Grid was reporting 2,817 Wilbraham residents still without power.

The winds also damaged the roof over Minnechaug Regional High School's pool and ripped up the scoreboard on the football field.

Giblin is currently working with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission on another grant that will include Look Park and several other parks in the Pioneer Valley, possibly in Longmeadow, Ludlow, Easthampton, Springfield and Westfield.

Photo by Michael Beswick / The RepublicanLook Park's Pines Theater in Northampton has begun using organic fertilizer.

NORTHAMPTON – It has hosted Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Crosby, Still and Nash and a Woodstock retrospective. Now, like many an aging hipster, the Pines Theater at Look Park has gone organic.

The lawn where countless music lovers have laid their blankets and set their beach chairs on summer nights is just about free of synthetic fertilizers, joining a regional push towards organic landscaping. During intermission, if you listen carefully, you might even heard the sound of worms doing what they do best.

“You’ve got an amazing microbial system under your feet,” said Bernadette Giblin, the park’s consultant on the organic project. “If we can get into the process of restoring it and working with nature, it’s just a much smarter approach.”

Giblin, the proprietor of Safeguard Organic Landcare, teamed with Look Park last year after having a vision of it as a pesticide-free public space. The Northampton resident had already worked with Baystate Medical Center to makes the grounds at the Damour Cancer Care Center free of pesticides and saw Look Park as a natural setting for organics.

“Parks have a unique role in our culture in terms of conservation stewardship,” she said.

With Giblin doing the grant-writing, Look Park was awarded a $5,000 grant from the Toxic Use Reduction Institute at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. Starting last fall, groundskeepers began instituting organic practices in Pines Theater. The process is on-going.

“It was pretty much a perfect fit,” said Greg Malynoski, the park’s director of development. “We have weddings and concerts there. There tends to be large groups of people in the green lawn space.”

Giblin, who is organic with a passion, talks about the practice in the broader context of land conservation and healthy living. As she explains it, synthetic fertilizers contain synthetic nitrates that leach into groundwater and dissolve oxygen, creating algae blooms and killing fish. Organic landscaping stops that process and let’s nature to its work.

As part of the grant, the park is educating the public through signs and workshops. Giblin is also teaching people how to test soil and balance the minerals with it. The park has even brought in students from Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School to learn about “green” alternatives in landscaping.

The Look Park project is part of a broader effort by the Organic Land Care Program of the Northeast Organic Farming Association to spread the word about organics. Kathy Litchfield, the program’s coordinator, said the non-profit group had concentrated exclusively on organic farming and gardening during the earlier part of its 30-year history, but decided to expand into landscaping a decade ago.

“Our goal is to offer education in organic landscaping to as many professionals, home-owners and consumers as possible,” Litchfield said.

To date, the program has accredited 300 people throughout Massachusetts to do organic landscaping. The association is offering a workshop on the topic at the University of Massachusetts in August.

Although some people are scared off by the higher cost of organic landscaping, Giblin believes it saves money in the long run.

“The goal with an organic program is you start to build up stability in your soil,” she said.

Giblin is currently working with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission on another grant that will include Look Park and several other parks in the Pioneer Valley, possibly in Longmeadow, Ludlow, Easthampton, Springfield and Westfield. Although the 157-acre Look Park is still a long way from being completely organic, Malynoski said it remains a long-term goal.

“Hopefully someday,” he said.

Fountain was an experienced diver who was on a private boat with his 34-year-old son and the son's girlfriend.

Republican file photo

TAVERNIER, Fla. — Officials say a tourist from Massachusetts died while diving for lobster off the upper Florida Keys.

Monroe County Sheriff's detective Mark Coleman says 54-year-old Mark Fountain died Wednesday, during the first day of the two-day sport lobster season.

Fountain, of Montgomery, Mass., was an experienced diver who was on a private boat with his 34-year-old son and the son's girlfriend. They went scuba diving but became separated in the water. The son, whose name was not immediately available, told deputies he got in the boat, picked up his girlfriend and looked for his father. They found him floating, unresponsive in the water.

Deputies say they called for help and the U.S. Coast Guard escorted them to a marina, where paramedics were waiting.

An autopsy will be conducted.

On Wednesday, we returned to two of the hard-hit areas for another look at the aftermath of the storm.

Western Massachusetts continues to clean up following the dramatic storms that swept through the region on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, we returned to two of the hard-hit areas for another look at the aftermath of the storm.

Click here to see additional photos from Chicopee and Holyoke »

Click here to see Tuesday's storm photos from the Republican »

"What saved our lives was the brick fireplace . . . It sounded like a bomb going off. It was quite a shock. It moved the whole brick wall in five inches," Michael Cayea said.

Photos by Lori Stabile / The RepublicanBeverly and William Smith, both 75, stand outside their home at 1231 Main St., Warren, which was damaged Tuesday night when Kevin Bliss, 29, of Warren, took out their living room wall with his sport utility vehicle.

WARREN - Beverly and William Smith were home watching the Red Sox game Tuesday night when a car slammed into their Main Street home, taking out their living room wall and knocking the television into Beverly's lap.

"It's a godsend. I don't know how they didn't get hurt," the Smiths' daughter, Patty A. Hewitt, of Ware, said on Wednesday, as she was helping to clean the damaged property.

The Jeep sport utility vehicle, operated by Kevin Bliss, 29, last known address 948 Main St., then slammed into the house next door at 1235 Main St., pushing in the outside wall.

Police Chief Bruce D. Spiewakowski said Bliss was charged with operating with a suspended license, and also had a warrant out for his arrest from East Brookfield District Court for failure to pay fines. He was to be arraigned Wednesday at the court; arraignment information was not available.

Damage can be seen outside 1235 Main St. in Warren, the second house that Kevin Bliss, 29, of Warren, struck on Tuesday night.

Spiewakowski said the incident happened just before 8:30 p.m. Bliss was headed west on Route 67 when he crossed over the line, took out the Bridge Street sign, hit the Smith's house at 1231 Main St. and continued into the next house at 1235 Main St. Spiewakowski said Bliss told police that a truck swerved into his lane, but officers couldn't locate it.

The Smiths, both 75, could not stay at their house after the accident because the electricity had to be turned off, and William Smith uses an oxygen tank. Their son, Bill Smith, said he had just dropped by to check on them, then the accident happened.

"I thought the oxygen tank blew up . . . I walked into the room and the TV was on my mother's lap," he said. "She was really calm about it."

"It blew the insulation through the walls. The whole house was nothing but a cloud of dust," he added.

Beverly Smith said the crash was "like a flash." William Smith said the crash prevented him from watching the rest of the ball game.

This house at 1231 Main St., Warren, was damaged Tuesday night when a 29-year-old Warren resident, Kevin Bliss, slammed into it.

They went to their neighbor's house next door afterward, even though it also was damaged, and stayed with a relative that night. Michael V. Cayea said that he, his wife Caroline, and two children, ages 17 and 13, were sitting in their living room trying to find something to watch on television when the Jeep crashed into the outside wall.

"What saved our lives was the brick fireplace . . . It sounded like a bomb going off. It was quite a shock. It moved the whole brick wall in five inches," Cayea said.

Cayea said he was told he has up to $12,000 in damage, and wonders how the driver managed to hit both houses with such force.

Cayea, who buys gold and silver, joked that it was a customer eager to sell something.

The Dow fell nearly 199 points, its biggest one-day drop since early June.

Associated Press photoDunkin' Donuts products are displayed Wednesday in Montpelier, Vt. Shares of Dunkin' Brands Group Inc. shot up 46.6 percent on their first day on the Nasdaq.

NEW YORK – Stocks plunged Wednesday as the U.S. edged closer to defaulting on its debt and the economy showed more signs of deteriorating. Major indexes gave up all of their gains for the month.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 198.75 points, or 1.7 percent, to 12,302.55, its biggest one-day drop since early June. It has fallen for four days straight.

The S&P 500 fell 27.05 points, or 2 percent, to 1,304.89. The technology-focused Nasdaq composite index fell 75.17 points, or 2.7 percent, to 2,764.79, its worst day in five months.

The Dow is headed for its worst weekly decline in nearly a year and is now 4 percent below the 2011 high it reached on April 29. The S&P, which serves as a benchmark for most mutual funds, is also down 4 percent from its recent peak.

“As hours pass and the uncertainty builds, I think the market is starting to price in the potential that we might not have a solution by August 2,” the deadline for raising the U.S. debt limit, said Channing Smith, managing director of Capital Advisors Inc. “Confidence in our political system is beginning to fade.”

Nearly half of the Dow’s losses came in the last two hours of trading, after the Federal Reserve released a survey showing that the economy deteriorated in much of the country this summer. The economy slowed in seven of the Fed’s 12 regions because of weak home sales and a slowdown in manufacturing.

The declines were broad. More than 10 stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, and all but two of the 30 stocks in the Dow average fell.

With no sign of a compromise in Washington, investors are becoming more fearful that the U.S. rating could be lowered. That would raise interest rates and slow down the already weak economy.

Small-company stocks fell more than the rest of the market. Small companies are more vulnerable to economic downturns since they make fewer products and usually have less cash on hand than large companies.

With the deadline for a debt deal just six days away, investors are selling the stocks they consider to be the riskiest. The Russell 2000 index, which tracks smaller U.S. companies, fell 3 percent, almost twice as much as the Dow.

Stocks have been falling overall since last Friday as an Aug. 2 deadline for raising the U.S. borrowing limit approaches. With no sign of a compromise between Republicans and Democrats in Washington, investors are becoming more fearful that the U.S.’s triple-A credit rating could be lowered or that the country might default on its debt. Either event would raise interest rates across the board and slow down the already weak U.S. economy.

The Dow is down 3 percent this week. It is headed for its biggest weekly decline since August 2010. The S&P 500 is also down 3 percent, and the Russell 2000 is down 4.9 percent. The Dow and the S&P 500 are down about 1 percent for the month.

Some analysts fear that if the debt issue is not resolved stocks could fall as much as they did in the fall of 2008, when the House of Representatives voted down a bill to create the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The Dow plunged 778 points on Sept. 29 after the bill failed. Four days later, Congress passed the TARP bill and President George W. Bush quickly signed it into law. The Dow then jumped as much as 946 points in a week.

A decline in orders for manufactured goods also pushed stocks lower. The government said orders for durable goods fell 2.1 percent in June because of a drop in demand for commercial aircraft, automobiles and heavy machinery. Manufacturing has been disrupted this year by parts shortages from Japan and higher energy prices.

Earnings reports were mixed. Amazon.com Inc. rose 3.9 percent after the online retailer reported that its earnings and revenue were far higher than analysts were expecting.

Juniper Networks Inc. plunged 20.9 percent, the most of any company in the S&P 500, after the computer networking equipment maker issued an earnings forecast that was lower than many analysts expected.

Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. shot up 46.6 percent to $27.85 on the company’s first day on the Nasdaq market. The parent of Dunkin’ Donuts and the Baskin-Robbins ice cream chain went public to help pay down its debt.

Chicopee has asked the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to revoke Cushing's teaching license.

Republican file photoDonald Cushing at his court arraignment May 28

CHICOPEE – Donald Cushing, a Chicopee High School teacher charged with statutory rape, has resigned from his job.

Cushing recently sent a letter of resignation from jail to Superintendent Richard W. Rege Jr.

Cushing, 59, was immediately asked to leave the school and placed on unpaid administrative leave in late May after a family member of a 15-year-old student complained to the principal that she found text messages of a sexual nature from Cushing on the teenager’s cell phone.

After a police investigation, Cushing was arrested three days later and arraigned on four counts of statutory rape and two counts of disseminating obscene matter to a minor. He pleaded innocent in Chicopee District Court and is being held on $150,000 cash bail.

His next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 25.

According to court documents, the student told police that she had sexual intercourse with Cushing three or four times in his classroom closet. In a videotaped interview with police, Cushing admitted sending sexual images from his cell phone to her.

His resignation relieves the city of having to go through a longer and more complicated process of firing Cushing, who was a teacher in Chicopee for about 10 years, Rege said.

“It (the resignation) created a legal vacancy that we can fill,” Rege said, adding he is now advertising for teachers for the position.

Cushing taught math to students with learning disabilities. The 15-year-old was not in one of his classes.

“We also don’t have to worry about him returning,” Rege said. The city could face that issue if Cushing was found not guilty.

The city is also asking the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Department of Education to revoke Cushing’s teaching certification, said Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette, who serves as School Committee chairman.

Officials have sent his resignation letter as well as information about the case, including the videotape on which he admitted to sending sexual images to the girl, to the state, he said.

Resident James Mendenhall said neighbors ran out with their chain saws to make a path for cars at various sites. Watch video

SPRINGFIELD – Tuesday afternoon's storm knocked down trees and knocked out power at the Bircham Bend Mobile Home Park on Grochmal Avenue in Indian Orchard.

One toppled tree missed striking two mobile homes when it became snagged against another tree, said Stephen Shahabian, owner of the park. The roots of the tree lifted a parked car.

“It would have crushed two mobile homes like pancakes,” Shahabian said.

A nearby tree flattened a shed, and dislodged a power box with meters.

The mobile home continued to be without power on Wednesday afternoon.

One park resident, who declined giving her full name, said the storm was “the scariest thing.”

“The wind – I never heard such howling.” the woman said. “The hail was just like golf balls hitting the windows.

Another resident, James Mendenhall, said neighbors ran out with their chain saws to make a path for cars at various sites.

Northampton has an Aug. 9 deadline for candidates to return signatures. Easthampton's deadline is Sept. 20.

Municipal contests are taking shape in Easthampton and Northampton while Hampshire County’s largest city is six weeks past its general election.

In Easthampton, nomination papers have to be filed with the Board of Registrars by Sept. 20. So far, eight-term incumbent Michael A. Tautznik is the only one running for
mayor.

All but one incumbent city councilor has pulled papers and former police captain Donald Emerson, a 41-year veteran of the force, is running for an at-large councilor job.

Those seeking two-year terms are: City Council President Joseph P. McCoy, an at-large councilor; Council Vice President Daniel D. Rist of Precinct 5; Precinct 1 Councilor Daniel C. Hagan; Precinct 2 Councilor Justin P. Cobb; Precinct 3 Councilor Joy E. Winnie; Precinct 4 Councilor Salem Derby; Councilor At-Large Andrea H. Burns, and Councilor At-Large Donald L. Cykowski.

Councilor At-Large Ronald D. Chateauneuf said he is “still undecided” about running.

Chester Ogulewicz, Jr., a member of the Planning Board, and Donald Polonis, who was a selectman when the city was a town, are also running for at-large councilor positions.

Three School Committee members, Chairman Peter Gunn, Lori Ingraham and Bonnie Katusich, are running for re-election. The only one to return papers, and therefore the only official candidate, is
McCoy.

The election is Nov. 8.

Northampton has an Aug. 9 deadline for candidates to return signatures to run for elective office in the Nov. 8 municipal election.

To date, former longtime city councilor and 2009 mayoral candidate Michael A. Bardsley, City Council President David J. Narkewicz and Recreation Commission member James E. Durfer have taken out papers for mayor.

Six-term incumbent Mary Clare Higgins announced in May that she would not run. When she resigns in September to direct a human services agency in Greenfield, Narkewicz will become acting mayor.

Greenfield held its general election June 14.

Mark P. Wisnewski beat Cameron R. Ward for a town councilor at-large seat and write-in candidate Marian A. Kelner won the Precinct 1 councilor job. The city’s preliminary election in April had knocked Karen T. Renaud off the ballot.

School Committee Vice Chairman Keith C. McCormic was ousted in the only other contested race, a three-way contest for two seats. Secretary Maryelen Calderwood got 957 votes and Daryl B. Essensa picked up 1,168 to McCormic’s 720.

Steven M. Ronhave took the Precinct 4 Town Council seat, Vice President David Singer is serving another term for Precinct 5 and Hillary H. Hoffman now represents Precinct 6.

Under 17 percent of voters went to the polls, said Town Clerk Maureen T. Winseck.

Staff writer Fred Contrada contributed to this report.

Demoranville, an employee at the Shirley minimum security state prison where Kirkland was held when he escaped, was released on his own recognizance.

The Republican / File photo

SPRINGFIELD – A sergeant with the Massachusetts Department of Corrections pleaded not guilty Wednesday in District Court to two criminal charges in connection with a threat called in to a nurses’ station outside murder suspect Tamik Kirkland’s hospital room in May.

Adam Demoranville, an employee at the Shirley minimum security state prison where Kirkland was held when he escaped in April, was released on his own recognizance and ordered to stay away from Baystate Medical Center and have no contact with the hospital. He had been summonsed to the arraignment.

He pleaded not guilty to threatening to commit a crime and disorderly conduct. A pre-trial conference is set for Sept. 15.

He has been suspended with pay since an investigation was launched, a spokeswoman for the state corrections department said.

Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni previously said charges were pursued against Demoranville after an anonymous phone call was placed to a nurses’ station in the intensive care unit at Baystate Medical Center during which the caller said, “I’m going to (expletive) kill you.”

The call was traced back to Demoranville’s cell phone, Mastroianni said, and Demoranville admitted placing the call but denied making any threat.

Kirkland broke out of prison in April after hearing his mother had been shot. He is charged with the fatal shooting of a barbershop customer at Bill Brown’s House of Beauty on State Street and the nonfatal shootings of a barber and two police officers.

He has pleaded not guilty in District Court.

Kirkland, 25, was wounded in a shoot-out with police and was recovering at Baystate, where a department of corrections security detail had been put in place. Demoranville was not assigned to that detail, however, Mastroianni said.

State approval for the project will lead to the scheduling of additional public information meetings.

WESTFIELD – Official application for funding and approval for construction of a new 600-student elementary school will be filed with the state’s School Building Authority by Aug. 19.

That filing is expected to allow the request to be on SBA’s September meeting agenda, local officials said. Cost of the building is estimated at $22 million to $24 million, and Westfield will be eligible for 62.7 percent state reimbursement if approved by SBA.

Project manager Paul H. Kneedler of Skanska USA Building Inc. said he is preparing the necessary documents for filing the application. The city has focused on Ashley Street for construction and replacing the former school there that serves as School Department headquarters.

The city’s School Building Committee completed a series of three public information meetings on project plans last week, and additional public sessions will be held throughout the project, providing state approval is received, Mayor Daniel M. Knapik and School Committee member Kevin J. Sullivan said.

Concerns were expressed by several neighbors of the Ashley Street site over potential traffic congestion and snow and trash removal if a new school opens there.

But Kneedler said those concerns have been documented, are under review and will be addressed as the project moves forward. “We will absolutely deal with traffic and other issues raised by neighborhood residents,” said Sullivan.

Sullivan said residents will have input on those plans as the project advances.

Knapik said the building committee will schedule additional public meetings “as significant amounts of information becomes available.”

Leslie Clark-Yvon, principal of Franklin Avenue School and a committee member, said, “We will look very carefully at the issues of traffic and snow removal.”

Additional information and a review of issues is available on the project’s website at https://bit.ly/westfieldmodelschool and questions can be addressed to westfieldmodelschool@gmail.com, Kneedler said. The School Department will consolidate students now attending Abner Gibbs and Franklin Avenue elementary schools if the new school is built. It could also house students attending Juniper Park School, which the city leases from Westfield State University.

The school design is by Margo Jones Architect of Greenfield, designer of the 10-year-old Williamstown Elementary School that SBA includes in the Model School Program of buildings that meet state approval.

The city is seeking state funds to replace the entire roof at the school.

WESTFIELD – The School Department has initiated contracts amounting to slightly more than $40,000 to begin tornado damage repairs to Munger Hill School.

School Operations Director Frank B. Maher Jr. said the goal is to complete repairs before schools open in August.

Contracts signed Monday include repairs of 20 feet of steel roofing that was torn from the building during the June 1 tornado.

That contract was awarded to Independent Roofing of Westfield for $19,020.

Other contracts include $7,700 to Collins Electric for both interior and exterior lighting repairs; $1,599 for a new flag pole; $5,785 to Westfield’s Wagner Rug Co. for carpeting in two kindergarten rooms damaged by the store and another $6,161 for repairs to an exterior retaining wall.

The School Department has applied to the state’s School Building Authority for funding to replace the entire Munger Hill School roof because it is 20 years old. Maher said SBA action, which would cover an 62 percent of the estimated $1.3 million project, is pending.

Maher also anticipates up to 75 percent reimbursement for costs associated with contracts he signed Monday for repairs to the school. That funding will come from federal and state emergency management agencies, he said.

But, both Maher and Mayor Daniel M. Knapik favor replacement of the entire roof because of its age.

Currently, two school roof projects are under way at a cost of $2.4 million. New roofs are being installed on Southampton Road and Highland Elementary schools at a cost of $2.4 million. Those projects were approved for 62 percent SBA reimbursement last year.

The School Department is also planning roof repairs at Westfield Vocational-Technical High School and replacement of boilers at Highland, Paper Mill, Southampton Road elementary schools and Westfield High School.

Those projects are estimated at a total of $8.4 million. SBA last week approved funding for those projects in the amount of $5.3 million.

The Curran building that the city has condemned was in poor condition before the storm, including a hole in the roof.

Republican Photo by Mark M.MurrayView of the damage to three floors of the Curran General Contractors warehouse building off Lyman street in Holyoke following Tuesday's violent weather.

HOLYOKE – An old mill building off Lyman Street that had a valley carved into it by Tuesday’s fierce-winded storm must be demolished, an official said Wednesday.

The four-story James A. Curran General Contractors Inc. building at Gatehouse Road overlooking the canals was condemned Wednesday, interim Building Inspector Mark E. Hebert said.

The thunderstorm’s 50-mph winds bashed a U-shaped gap into the building’s upper three stories. The damage left red bricks and building debris piled at the base and dumped on the canal embankment.

Curran will have seven days from Wednesday, the day the city officially notified him, to tell the city when he plans to get the structure razed, Hebert said.

The building was in poor shape before the storm with a hole in the roof, he said. It was being used for storage.

“It was already in a weakened state,” Hebert said.

Efforts to reach Curran were unsuccessful.

Hebert said it was unclear how much demolishing the building would cost. He also didn’t know how old the building was, though mills in that area are listed on the city website as having been built in the 1880’s.

Juan Lugo said he was still assessing the damage to his home at 45 Meadow St. A tree uprooted by the storm crashed onto his house and heavily damaged a car in the driveway.

The tree, which an official identified as a silver maple, also damaged a house next door to Lugo’s.

Some positive developments did occur, Lugo said. He and his wife Bethzaida Lugo were able to stay in the house Tuesday night.

Also, Lugo said, crews from the Department of Public Works and Holyoke Gas and Electric Department removed the tree, filled in the big hole on the sidewalk left by the uprooting and re-illuminated a streetlight damaged by the falling tree.

“They did pretty good. Everything’s been cleared,” Lugo said.

Aside from the obvious wreckage, the storm’s damage citywide was minor. Public works employees spent Tuesday night and Wednesday picking up large tree limbs downed around the city, Superintendent William D. Fuqua said.

The department was aware of four trees that the storm knocked down citywide, he said.

The rain fell fast, flooding usual spots like the bridge underpasses on Sargeant, Cabot and Appleton streets.

Flooding also occurred at Lyman, Main and Canal streets, home of the Department of Public Works, Fuqua said.

“The water in front of our office came up over the curb and into our foyer, and we have a flat street,” Fuqua said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Breslow said Perez is a native of the Dominican Republic who has been living here illegally and that her real name is Yolanda Mercedes Perez de Lopez.

File photo | The Republican

SPRINGFIELD – A tax preparer pleaded not guilty Monday in U.S. District Court to submitting false tax returns for clients and using fraudulent paperwork to obtain a mortgage.

Alicia Perez , 47, of Rosie Lane, Agawam, denied charges contained in a 14-count indictment during her arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth P. Neiman.

If convicted, Perez faces up to 48 months in prison under federal guidelines, Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow said.

Neiman scheduled a hearing for Friday to determine whether the defendant, who is currently in federal custody, should be released on bail.

In a motion opposing Perez’s release, Breslow said she is a native of the Dominican Republic who entered the country in 2001 on a travel visa, and has been living here illegally using and identity of a Springfield woman named Alicia Perez-Accetta.

Although she is identified in the indictment as Alicia Perez, the defendant’s real name is Yolanda Mercedes Perez de Lopez, Breslow stated in his motion.

Following her arrest last week, the defendant told federal agents her real name was Yolanda Perez, the prosecutor noted.

The defendant works for Lopez MultiService, a company that provides tax preparation and immigration counseling to mostly Spanish-speaking clientele, according to the indictment.

The indictment accuses Perez of helping clients get greater tax refunds between February 2007 and April 2009 by overstating their business expenses.

None of the clients are named in the indictment, which cites 14 cases where misleading information was supplied to the federal government.

The indictment also claims that Perez submitted false tax returns to a local bank to obtain a mortgage for a home in Agawam with her business partner, identified as JL in the indictment, and Jose Lopez, of Central Street, Springfield, in Breslow’s detention motion.

In seeking to have the defendant held without bail, Breslow cited the her status as an illegal alien, noting that she will be deported to the Dominican Republic when the case has concluded.

Defense lawyer Joseph A. Franco, explaining he had just taken the case, asked for several days to review his client’s legal and immigration status.

Neiman set the detention hearing for Friday, and a pre-trial conference for Sept. 12.

The state House of Representatives voted to approve a sales tax holiday next month.

This is an updated version of a story posted at 2:25 this afternoon.

File photo by Mark M. Murray Kris OConnor, left, a salesman at Manny's TV & Appliance store on Boston Road in Springfield goes over paperwork with Omer J. Picard Jr., of Ludlow, during last year's appliance rebate program. Customers are hoping there won't be a repeat of the problems Thursday that plagued the program last year, when the state's Internet connection failed to work.

BOSTON - State government, newly flush with cash, is giving shoppers a couple of breaks - an appliance rebate program and an annual sales tax holiday next month.

The state House of Representatives on Wednesday voted 123-23 to approve a bill that exempts people from the 6.25 percent sales tax during the weekend of Aug. 13 and 14. The Massachusetts Senate is expected to approve the bill today. Gov. Deval L. Patrick said he will sign the measure, because the state can afford it.

Starting Thursday, consumers can also sign up for as much as $200 in state rebates for energy-saving refrigerators or air conditioners.

The sales tax holiday would be the seventh in eight years. Almost everyone expected it would be approved this year, but any doubts were dispelled last week when state tax collections for the recent fiscal year jumped $723 million more than projected and more than $2 billion over the prior year, giving the state a healthy surplus.

In a speech before the House vote, Rep. Joseph F. Wagner, a Chicopee Democrat, said the sales tax holiday "is pro-consumer, pro-business and pro retail employee."

There was some dissent. Democratic Reps. Ellen Story of Amherst, John W. Scibak of South Hadley and Stephen Kulik of Worthington were among Democrats who voted in opposition to the tax holiday.

Kulik said he was partly concerned about cuts in the state budget including reductions to state colleges and universities and human services. "I felt symbolically it was not appropriate to support a further reduction in state revenues after we made these difficult cuts," Kulik said.

Story said the state can't afford the loss of revenues, estimated at $20 million for the weekend. "It's very bad tax policy," she said. "I disagree with it as policy."

During the weekend, the sales tax will not be charged on any single item worth $2,500 or less. Certain items, including motor vehicles, motor boats, gas, cigarettes and restaurant meals, are not included in the holiday.

Ellen Story

Jon B. Hurst , president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, said that suspension of the tax is a proven way to keep people from shopping tax-free on the Internet or traveling to New Hampshire, which has no sales tax.

"It's a very powerful incentive," Hurst said. "People view it as an opportunity to get something back from government."

Hurst said the retail industry could see some new momentum from the combination of a sales tax holiday and an appliance rebate program.

State rebates for refrigerators and air conditioners, offered on a first-come, first-serve basis, might even last until the sales tax holiday Aug. 13 and 14, according to a spokeswoman for the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

Stephen Kulik

"We can't predict how long the funding will last, but our contractor's experience with similarly designed programs in other states created an estimate of a couple of weeks," press secretary Catherine Williams said in an e-mail. "It is up to a customer's discretion, informed by the real-time funding status information, as to whether it's worth waiting until the tax holiday or not."

The program, open to Massachusetts households, offers $150 rebate for a Energy Star refrigerator and $50 for a room air conditioner to replace older models.

Under the program, people should check that rebate funds are available. If there are funds left, people must first buy a refrigerator or air conditioner from a registered retailer and then fill out a rebate application, either online or over the phone. A completed application puts a hold on the rebate.

Before buying an item, people can check how much rebate money is available by going online to www.MassEnergyRebates.com. A list of participating retailers can also be found at this site. From their stores, retailers can provide customers with real-time status of funding, state officials said.
People can also call a toll-free customer service center at (877) 574-1128.

The program, partly financed by a federal stimulus grant, is expected to fund approximately 20,000 rebates worth $2 million and is estimated save enough annual energy to power 250 homes for a year, state officials said.

A signed rebate application must be sent with proof of purchase to Helgeson Enterprises Inc. of Minnesota, hired by the state to administer the program. Rebate checks will be sent via the mail.

Amherst officials are hoping the state will assist with repairs at the War Memorial Pool and a study of Puffer's Pond.

Republican file photoTom T. Ray, of Huntington, fishes for bass at Puffer's Pond in Amherst in this file photo.

AMHERST – Amherst officials are hoping the state will assist the town with repairs at the War Memorial Pool and a study of Puffer’s Pond.

Officials have applied for two Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities grants – one seeking $297,600 for the pool and $35,000 Those figures include the town’s required 30 percent community match, said Town Manager John P. Musante. He said the town should hear in time for the fall Town Meeting in November. If successful, the town would seek the local match there.

The grant program – formerly the Urban Self-Help Program – was established in 1977 to assist cities and towns in acquiring and developing land for park and outdoor recreation purposes, according to the grant website.

The pool has been closed the last two summers because of budget cuts. Town Meeting increased the $1.5 million Community Services fiscal 2012 budget by $65,250 to pay staff to open the pool this year, but officials said the pool needed too much work and it wasn’t safe.

Stanley Ziomek, chairman of the town’s Amherst Leisure Services and Supplemental Education Commission, said earlier this year that the concrete decking is cracked, and that someone could fall. He also said the filter hasn’t operated for two years and there is a problem with the piping that carries the water, which if not fixed “means the town would lose a lot of water.”

Others however, wanted the pool to open anyway despite the initial $175,000 price tag for repairs.

The town instead worked with the schools to open the Amherst Regional Middle School pool and increase the swimming lessons at the town’s other pool at the Mill River Recreation Center.

Musante said the town is committed to reopening the War Memorial pool and will work on a timeline for the repairs.

The town is also hoping for money to pay for design work for Puffer’s Pond “to get a better sense of the cost” of making improvements to the popular recreation area, Musante said.

A committee studying the pond last summer released a report and found that much work is needed. The study, for example, found that the Julius Lester Trail between Mill River and the pond is in terrible condition, and the trail around the pond perimeter is broken down and slipping into the pond.

“The pond has not been dredged in 20 years, and if it is not dredged fairly soon, more and more of it will become an unswimmable wetland rather than open water,” the report said.

Crisis concerns rising, House Republican leaders shrugged off a White House veto threat and an outbreak of tensions within their own party

Associated PressSenate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., right, joined by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday,July 27, 2011, to discuss the conflicting plans to deal with the debt crisis. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

DAVID ESPO
AP Special Correspondent

WASHINGTON — Crisis concerns rising, House Republican leaders shrugged off a White House veto threat and an outbreak of tensions within their own party Wednesday as they built support for legislation to stave off the government default threatened for next week. Worried Wall Street sent stocks plunging on fears that political gridlock would prevail.

"I can't do this job unless you're behind me," House Speaker John Boehner bluntly told his fractious rank and file in the run-up to a scheduled Thursday vote on the bill, which was hastily rewritten to show deeper spending cuts than 24 hours earlier.

With Boehner facing a major test of his leadership, the While House disparaged the measure he was working so hard to pass. Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada called it "a big wet kiss for the right wing," and all 51 Senate Democrats and two independents pledged to scuttle it if it cleared the House.

The White House has threatened a veto, saying the bill does not meet President Barack Obama's demand for an increase in the debt limit large enough to prevent a rerun of the current crisis next year, in the heat of the 2012 election campaign.

Instead, Obama supports an alternative drafted by Reid that also cuts spending, yet provides enough additional borrowing authority to tide the government over through next year.

For all the bluster, there were hints that a compromise might be near.

"Magic things can happen here in Congress in a very short period of time under the right circumstances," said Reid, the Senate majority leader.

Without legislation in place by Aug. 2, administration officials say the Treasury will not be able to pay all the nation's bills, possibly triggering a default that could prove catastrophic for an economy still recovering from the worst recession in decades.

Two days after Obama and Boehner made unprecedented back-to-back speeches on national television, there was evidence that the debt crisis was becoming a national cause of concern.

Shawn Bonner of Boerne, Texas, said, "I don't think the people who are making the decisions live in the same environment we do." She said of the two sides: "They've both dug in their heels for political statements, and we need them to make decisions to help the country." She was in Tennessee, touring the State Capitol.

The U.S. financial markets posted big losses for the day as political leaders maneuvered. The Dow Jones industrial average fell nearly 200 points and appeared headed for its worst week in nearly a year.

"Confidence in our political system is beginning to fade." said Channing Smith, managing director of Capital Advisors Inc. "As hours pass and the uncertainty builds, I think the market is starting to price in the potential that we might not have a solution by Aug. 2."

In Washington, across from the Capitol, a few dozen tea party activists rallied — and appeared as divided as the conservatives in the House. Some issued an online call for Boehner to resign as speaker, while others said he deserved time to try and strike the best deal possible.

The Republican legislation underwent revisions to increase its prospects of passage.

That meant changes that brought projected savings for 2012 to $22 billion, part of a 10-year cut of $917 billion in all that would trigger a $900 billion increase in the debt limit. The bill also would establish a special committee of lawmakers to recommend additional cuts that would trigger additional borrowing authority if approved.

While the two parties' bills differed in key details, they also shared similarities that underscored the concessions made by both sides in recent days. Reid's bill does not envision a tax increase to reduce deficits, a bow to Republicans. But neither does the House measure require both houses to approve a constitutional balanced budget amendment for state ratification, a step in the direction of Obama and the Democrats.

Associated PressHouse Speaker John Boehner of Ohio walks through a basement corridor in the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 27, 2011, after an afternoon caucus with House Republicans seeking an agreement on legislation to raise the nation's debt limit. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

For Boehner, the House vote shaped up as a critical test of his ability to lead a majority that includes 87 first-term lawmakers, many of them elected with tea party support. Passage was also imperative to maximize the leadership's leverage with Obama and Reid in a fast-approaching endgame.

The speaker was direct in the meeting with rank-and-file GOP lawmakers on Wednesday. "Get your ass in line," he told them. "I can't do this job unless you're behind me."

If House conservatives torpedo the bill, any follow-up would probably require Democratic votes to pass. That, in turn, would mean smaller spending cuts than Republicans are seeking in exchange for raising the nation's $14.3 trillion debt limit.

As Thursday's vote approached, some Republicans seemed to be swinging behind the legislation, however reluctantly.

Rep. Bill Huizenga, a first-term lawmaker from Michigan, said he was undecided how to vote, but he added, "This is about as good as it's going to get. That's a pretty strong argument."

"Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and President Obama are going to be surprised tomorrow night," said Rep. Allen West, a Florida first-term Republican. "I'll bet my retirement check on it. I'm a conservative. I'm going to support this."

Republicans control 240 seats in the House, compared with 193 for the Democrats, and there was strong opposition from some conservatives.

"I don't know where the votes are today," said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a leader of the Republican Study Committee, an organization of conservative Republican lawmakers who often have disagreed with the leadership. "I just know that I am against the bill."

But Jordan felt obliged to open a closed-door meeting of the GOP rank and file during the day by apologizing for the actions of two aides. Officials said one sent an email to outside organizations suggesting they lobby some RSC members who were wavering on the debt limit bill. A second aide recounted details of an earlier GOP closed-door meeting in an email he had sent.

As Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., read one of the emails aloud, there were scattered calls to "fire him," referring to the aide responsible. The officials who described the events did so on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to disclose details from a closed-door meeting.

Across the Capitol, Reid played a waiting game, scheduling no votes until Boehner could show he could prevail in the House.

The White House rejected one proposed way out of the crisis.

Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn suggested the president unilaterally raise the debt limit, citing a clause in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution that says the validity of the nation's public debt "shall not be questioned."

Obama said several days ago he had consulted with White House lawyers on that point and they were unenthusiastic about the idea.

At the White House, Carney was dismissive of the suggestion. "There are no off-ramps. There is no way around this. There is no escape," he said."

Lawmakers generally have been assuming they would need to approve an additional $2.4 trillion in borrowing authority to make sure the Treasury could handle the nation's finances beyond the 2012 elections.

Yet a $2.2 trillion increase would suffice, based on assumptions in a letter that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner sent to Congress in April. He wrote that the country's borrowing was increasing by an average of $125 billion a month. Additionally, the government must repay the $237 billion cost of the extraordinary measures it has been taking since May 16 to avoid breeching the $14.3 trillion debt limit.

Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Jim Abrams, Laurie Kellman, Stephen Ohlemacher, Donna Cassata, Nancy Benac, Ben Feller, Jim Kuhnhenn and Erica Werner contributed to this report.