Heavily hit communities included Chicopee, Holyoke, Springfield and Wilbraham. Watch video

Still reeling from the June 1 tornado, residents of Western Massachusetts Wednesday were assessing the damage caused by Thursday’s thunderstorm.

Preliminary indications were that Tuesday’s late afternoon storm damage was caused by "microbursts," a spokesman for the National Weather Service at Taunton said.

“Picture heavy winds striking the ground from the thunderstorm, then radiating out, like when a rock hits the water,” National Weather Service meteorologist Rebecca Gould said.

Heavily hit communities included Chicopee, Holyoke, Springfield and Wilbraham.

In Wilbraham the area hit by the storm included the area hit by the June 1 tornado.

Heather Mercier has been living in a mobile home at her house on Tinkham Road while her house, heavily damaged in the tornado, is repaired.

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

Mercier said she saw 50-mile-an-hour winds and hail, reducing visibility to the point where she could not see a ladder propped against the front of her house. From the back rear sliding door, she saw a tree fall on the mobile home.

Mercier said she and her partner will move to a hotel until the mobile home can be repaired or replaced.

Wilbraham Selectmen Chairman Patrick J. Brady said most roads were open in Wilbraham on Wednesday, the day after the storm, but some of the side streets off Ripley Street were only accessible on foot.

Brady said residents of those streets left their cars at the United Church on Main Street and walked to their homes.

As with the tornado, neighbors were out with chainsaws helping neighbors clear driveways, Brady said.

“Unfortunately, because of the tornado, residents already know the drill,” he said. “They are putting downed branches and trees out on the tree belt for pickup by the DPW.

Brady said a few dozen houses were badly damaged by the storm. There were no reported injuries.

Power crews from National Grid were working throughout the day in Wilbraham and Hampden restoring power.

Amy Zorich, spokesman for National Grid, said power should be restored to most of Hampden and Wilbraham by midnight Wednesday.

Western Massachusetts Electric Company also was working to restore power to its customers in Western Massachusetts who lost power. In most communities power had been restored to all but one percent of customers.

In Springfield, the owner of the Bircham Bend Mobile Home Park on Grochmal Avenue in Indian Orchard said the storm caused significant damage, including toppled trees and the loss of power.

One toppled tree missed striking two mobile homes when it became snagged against another tree, said Stephen Shahabian, owner of the park.

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

The root of the fallen tree lifted a parked car. A nearby tree flattened a shed.

Power was still out early Wednesday evening.

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.

The storm also knocked out power to a pumping station in Indian Orchard, which was fully restored Wednesday afternoon.

Robert Hassett, the city’s emergency preparedness director, said that approximately 3,000 customers were left without power in Springfield when the storm hit.

No significant injuries were reported in Springfield.

The brunt of the storm in Springfield was in a pathway from the Parker Street area to Indian Orchard, he said.

Western Massachusetts Electric Co., brought in crews from New Hampshire and the Boston area to assist with the cleanup and restoration of power, Hassett said.

In Chicopee, Kenneth Jimmo hunkered down in his mobile home park at Knollwood Estates with two of his sons as Tuesday afternoon’s violent weather hit.

“I have never been so scared in my life,” said Jimmo, a disabled veteran who lives at 110 Edbert St. “We looked outside and trees were flying everywhere and the next thing you know the trailer shook like we were having an earthquake.”

The wind hurled a jagged limb through the roof of Jimmo’s home, narrowly missing one of his sons who had been walking down the hallway. “If it had gone all the way down I think I would have had one less son,” he said.

Temporarily homeless, Jimmo said he was going to meet with the Pioneer Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross later in the day to find housing for his family.

“I have three children that live with me, my wife, myself, a small dog, and I have no idea what to do from this point on,” Jimmo said.

Jeffrey Cady, general manager of Chicopee Electric Light, said some 5,000 to 6,000 of the municipal utility’s 26,000 customers were left without power in the aftermath of the storm.

Municipal electric company crews, some from as far away as Norwood and Wellesley, managed to reduce that number to as low as 400 or 500 when a problem with a circuit once again swelled the number of those without power.

Cady said he is hopeful that Chicopee’s power will be completely restored by Thursday night.

“For people without power, they don’t care if it’s a thunderstorm or a tornado,” Mayor Michael Bissonnette said. “They just want their power back on.”

Chicopee’s Fairview neighborhood was also hit especially hard and on Barbara Street, neighbors pulled together to help clear fallen limbs from one of the hardest-hit properties.

Judy Laino, of 75 Barbara St., had a tree limb penetrate a bedroom of her home and a number of others tumble down onto the property.

Neighbors banded together, however, with rakes and chainsaws and made quick work of the fallen limbs. “They just pitched in,” said Laino. “It was great and everybody worked until it was out of the way.”

The clean-up culminated about 1 a.m. on Wednesday with a hot dog roast in the Laino’s front yard.

The hole in the Laino family’s roof, meanwhile, gained an impromptu patch via a neighbor’s creative suggestion. “He said, ‘Do you have cookie sheets? I think it will work,’” said Laino.

The storm brought down at least 200 trees in the city, Bissonnette said — a count that doesn’t include damage to Chicopee State Park on Brunet Road.

Bissonnette said he and a number of other Chicopee residents had been surprised by the suddenness of the violent weather. “This came out of nowhere,” he said.

The violence of the storm was evident at the Irene Street home of Jack and Donna Jasinksi where a massive maple was uprooted. “Mother nature was mad yesterday,” said Sarah Wodecki, the Jasinski’s daughter. “Having a bad day I suppose.”

The maple, fortunately, fell away from the house. It’s falling, however, damaged a walkway and left a hefty section of root and lawn jutting into the air.

In Holyoke, interim Building Inspector Mark E. Hebert said he has condemned an old mill building overlooking the canals on Gatehouse Road that had part of its upper three stories bashed in by the storm’s fierce winds.

The four-story James A. Curran General Contractors Inc. building must be demolished. 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. where 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 damage spots, 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.

Staff reporters Brian Steele, George Graham, Peter Goonan and Mike Plaisance contributed to this report.

The fire was on the porch of a tornado-damaged house.

SPRINGFIELD – The Springfield Arson & Bomb Squad was investigating a fire Wednesday afternoon at 103 Central St., Fire Department spokesman Dennis Leger said.

Leger said there are six tornado-damaged houses on Central Street. He said the porch of one of them was on fire about 2:30 p.m.

Firefighters extinguished the fire, but not before it did several thousand dollars in damages to the porch, Leger said.

A state trooper from the state fire marshal’s office also was investigating, Leger said.

He said the fire was of suspicious origin. So far there are no arrests, he said.

There were no injuries as a result of the fire.

Mayors in Chicopee, Easthampton and Westfield have not yet drawn any challengers, as deadlines near for nomination papers.

File photos | The RepublicanLeft to right, Springfield School Committee member Antonette Pepe, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and Springfield City Council President Jose Tosado.

Preliminary elections for mayor are scheduled in Springfield and Holyoke on Sept. 20, triggered by multiple candidates returning nomination papers including the incumbents.

A three-candidate race is set in Springfield and a four-candidate contest is slated in Holyoke following the deadline for nomination papers on Tuesday. The top two vote-getters in each preliminary will move on to the Nov. 8 ballot.

At least three candidates are expected in the Agawam race for mayor, needing to return nomination papers by Aug. 23. If three or more candidates are certified, a preliminary election would be needed Sept. 27, to reduce the field to two finalists.

In contrast, mayors in Chicopee, Easthampton and Westfield have not yet drawn challenges as deadlines near for nomination papers.

Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, seeking his third term, faces two veteran politicians on the September preliminary ballot: City Council President Jose F. Tosado and School Committee member Antonette E. Pepe.

The mayor’s term will expand from two years to a new, four-year term, as approved by voters in 2009.

It marks the first preliminary election in Springfield in the mayor’s race in a decade.

Sarno said he is not yet focused on his re-election campaign “because my major focus has been directed toward the tornado recovery and rebuilding efforts, the war on crime and assuring we continue to maintain a balanced budget.”

“I have never taken any election for granted,” Sarno said. “When time allows me, I will be able to get out and address that with my constituents.”

Pepe and Tosado said they are working hard and expect a lively campaign. Both said they have been focused on issues including public safety and are offering solutions.

The three-way race in Springfield provides an opportunity for voters “to make decisions on who they really believe is going to represent the taxpayers,” Pepe said.

“That’s why I think this race is going to be one heck of a race,” Pepe said. “I think taxpayers are going to be holding politicians accountable.”

Tosado said that for the first time in a long time, “we are giving the public some real choices.”

“This election, the public will actually have the ability to compare candidates, compare views and have choices,” Tosado said.

Running for the office of mayor in Holyoke in 2011 are, left to right, Elaine A. Pluta, Daniel C. Burns, Alex B. Morse and Daniel C. Boyle.

In Holyoke, Mayor Elaine A. Pluta is seeking re-election to her second, two-year term.

Pluta has three challengers: Alex B. Morse, youth counselor and job developer at CareerPoint here; business consultant Daniel C. Boyle, whom Pluta defeated in the 2009 election; and former city councilor Daniel C. Burns.

In Agawam, Mayor Richard A. Cohen and challenger Walter A. Meissner III have been certified to be on the ballot, according to Town Clerk Richard M. Theroux. In addition, former state Rep. Rosemary Sandlin, who has declared she is running for mayor, is expected to turn in her signatures soon, which would trigger the preliminary, he said.

In West Springfield, both Town Councilor Gerard B. Matthews and Gregory C. Neffinger, a local architect, have been certified to have their names on the ballot for mayor.

Nomination papers are available until 5 p.m. Aug. 5 in Westfield. To date, Mayor Daniel M. Knapik is the only certified candidate.

In Chicopee, Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette is unopposed thus far in seeking re-election. The deadline for taking out nomination papers is Friday, and the signatures must be returned by 5 p.m. Aug. 2 to be on the ballot.

Northampton Mayor Mary Clare Higgins, a six-term incumbent, is not seeking re-election.

Three people have taken out nomination papers for the post: Michael A. Bardsley, a former long-term city councilor and mayoral candidate in 2009; David J. Narkewicz, the City Council president; and James E. Durfer, Recreation Commission member.

The deadline for nomination papers is Aug. 9; a preliminary election would be Sept. 27, and the final election is Nov. 8.

Easthampton Mayor Michael A. Tautznik, a seven-term incumbent, is the only candidate for mayor, as of Wednesday. Nomination papers have to be returned by Sept. 20.

There is no preliminary.

Tautznik is tied with the mayor of Malden as the third-longest consecutively serving mayor in the state, according to the Massachusetts Municipal Association. As of Tuesday, Tautznik had not yet returned his nomination papers, said City Clerk Barbara L. Bombard.

Staff reporters Sandra Constantine, Jeanette Deforge, Mike Plaisance and Brian Steele contributed to this report.

The specter of Cass' disappearance hung heavy over Stewartstown, a town of 800 residents on the Canadian border.

By JOHN CURRAN

STEWARTSTOWN, N.H. — The disappearance of an 11-year-old girl from her house just a mile from the Canadian border rattled nerves in her small town Wednesday as crews searched the Connecticut River and cordoned the house with police tape and the FBI deployed a team that specializes in child abductions.

Celina Cass was last seen in her house at a computer around 9 p.m. Monday and was gone the next morning, authorities said. Police have said that there's no indication she ran away or that someone took her, and there are no signs of a struggle.

Prosecutors from the attorney general's office arrived in Stewartstown on Wednesday and took charge of the investigation into the girl's disappearance, which was being treated as a missing-person case.

"We are still desperately looking for her," said Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young, who typically handles homicide cases.

She held a press conference Wednesday night with the head of the local FBI office, Kieran Ramsay, but wouldn't take questions.

The specter of the girl's disappearance hung heavy over Stewartstown, a community of 800 residents with one blinking streetlight and a handful of stores.

"It's creepy," said Shannon Towle, who owns Towle's Mini-Mart on Route 3. "Things like this don't happen here. I know that's kind of a tired phrase. I'm an overprotective mom as it is. Now it's going to be way worse."

About 80 people, many with candles in hand and tears in their eyes, gathered for a nighttime vigil for Celina in neighboring Canaan, Vt. A framed picture of the girl sat on a picnic table, surrounded by candles.

Friends and classmates and people who didn't know Celina were among those in the sobbing crowd.

A family friend, Rebecca Goodrum, of nearby Beecher Falls, Vt., said she was praying Celina, whom she's known since she was 2, is safe.

"It feels like a lost section of the town," Goodrum said Wednesday night. "She was beautiful. She was the light of everything."

Celina's stepfather, Wendell Noyes, described her as a quiet girl who would not have left home on her own. He declined to comment further on her disappearance.

Residents described Celina as a sweet, friendly child. One of Celina's best friends, 11-year-old Makayla Riendeau, said Celina loves her mother and likes her stepfather and wouldn't run away. She said Celina is very athletic, is a stickler about getting her school work done on time and loves having friends over to her house.

"She's a very good friend, and she never lets anybody down," Makayla said.

Associated PressA New Hampshire Fish and Game officer uses GPS device as they do a line search along a road near the family home of Celina Cass in Stewartstown, N.H., Wednesday, July 27, 2011. Cass, 11, has been reported missing since she was last seen at her home on Monday evening a few miles from the area they were searching.(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

By Wednesday afternoon, family members and friends were camped out on the porch of the three-story wooden home and shooed away reporters.

Young, the senior assistant attorney general, entered the home with several officers about 2 p.m. and came out with a woman, whom they walked to a nearby office building that served as a command post. Young declined to comment on that.

At midday Wednesday, about a mile north of town, five Fish and Game Department officers searched the woods behind an apartment. They carried bags and boxes, but it was unclear if they collected anything.

Police descended on a parked pickup truck across the street from the girl's home, and officers wearing gloves examined it.

On Tuesday, state and federal law enforcement officials scoured the area within a half-mile of the family home, and relatives, friends and neighbors held a vigil for Celina near the house that night.

Celina's disappearance did not meet the criteria for an Amber Alert and wasn't considered suspicious, state police Sgt. Sheldon Belanger said. Police were going through phone and computer records at Celina's home, he said.

"Honestly, we don't know where else we can look," said Lt. Douglas Gralenski, a state Fish and Game official whose agency is helping state police search the river. "There's so much that's unknown."

Fliers with the girl's smiling face are posted on trees, utility poles and stores in the town.

Shannon Towle's daughter, 13-year-old Echo Towle, who knows her, said: "I hope she's OK. I hope they find her."

Gralenski said Wednesday that a small boat with an officer and fishing guide was searching the river about a quarter-mile from her home. He said the river was lowered Tuesday to help with the search. The river runs between New Hampshire and Vermont, where state police also have helped with the search.

"It's not a deep river. You'd be hard-pressed to find 6 to 8 feet in most of it in that area," Gralenski said. "When we had it drawn down, it was exceptionally low."

That allowed the Border Patrol to search by helicopter and some officers to search by kayak before severe thunderstorms passed through Tuesday afternoon.

At the peak of the search Tuesday, Gralenski said, there were at least three dozen officers, New England police dog handlers and a search and rescue group assisting by water, air and land, including all-terrain vehicle trails in the woods.

"We found no evidence that she had been in that area, and, of course, we have no evidence she is lost as opposed to missing, either," he said.

The area is densely wooded, and there's little to no cellphone reception.

Besides the river search Wednesday, some officers were searching areas where some of the dog teams showed interest, Gralenski said.

Towle said her daughter asked her whether she thought Celina was still alive.

"How do I answer that question? And do I want to?" Towle said. "I don't want to think about it, but I pray every second that she is."

Associated Press writers Kathy McCormack and Lynne Tuohy in Concord, N.H., contributed to this report.

The delays are expected to be shorter than those on Wednesday because the work is almost complete.

File photo | The Republican

EASTHAMPTON – The Police Department has announced that road work on Mountain Road, Route 141, will cause traffic delays starting at 6:30 Thursday morning.

The delays are expected to be shorter than those on Wednesday because the work is almost complete, a police official said.

The Dow Jones industrial average has closed down for four sessions in a row. And the declines have been steeper each day, reaching almost 200 points Wednesday.

Specialist Michael Pistillo, left, calls out prices as he works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, July 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

By DAVE CARPENTER, AP Business Writer

A fast-approaching deadline is bound to heighten anxiety. That's what happening on Wall Street as investors grow increasingly uneasy about the political stalemate over raising the nation's debt ceiling.

The Dow Jones industrial average has closed down for four sessions in a row. And the declines have been steeper each day, reaching almost 200 points Wednesday.

Lawmakers face an Aug. 2 deadline or risk triggering an unprecedented federal default and unpredictable fallout in the economy. As the contentious debate in Washington heated up, initially the stock market didn't show much reaction. But recent days have reflected signs of greater concern.

While no one was panicking, financial professionals who handle the investment accounts of everyday Americans — college funds, retirement accounts and other nest-eggs — said their customers were growing more worried by the day. One said he had not seen this level of anxiety since the 2008 financial crisis.

"We're getting a ton of calls," said Bob Glovsky, president of Mintz Levin Financial Advisors in Boston. "It's all 'What happens if the U.S. defaults? What's going to happen to me?'"

Similarly, Glen Buco, a certified financial planner with West Financial Services in McLean, Va., said he started hearing from worried clients over the weekend, when talks in Washington failed to produce a compromise.

"The expectation was that there would be an agreement by this week. So now people are beginning to worry," Buco said. The calls are mostly coming from clients who are nearing or already retired and living off their portfolios.

But he said they are expressing more irritation at the political sparring and aren't yet panicking, but that may end soon.

Although Wednesday's decline of 198.75 points was not close to the stomach-churning days of the fall of 2008, when the Dow lurched lower and higher by 700 points some days, there were signs that fear on Wall Street was growing.

The concerns have spread overseas. Asian markets tumbled on Thursday, with Japan's bellwether index down about 1 percent, as the threat of a debt default by the world's largest economy rattled investors there.

"Right now the clouds are gathering," said Chris Long, a financial planner in Chicago.

Without a deal by Tuesday, the Obama administration has said the government will be unable to pay all its bills, and could miss checks to Social Security recipients, veterans and others who depend on public help. In addition, credit rating agencies could downgrade their assessment of the government's finances, further unnerving financial markets and perhaps causing interest rates to rise for everyone.

Already, some investors are taking precautions. Richard Shortt, 66, of Somerville, Mass., worries that a default, or even just a downgrade of U.S. debt, could cause bond and stock markets to tumble. Last week he sold about 10 percent of his stock holdings and put the proceeds into a money-market mutual fund.

"It might just be a short-term decline in the markets, but it could last a week or two while this gets resolved," said Shortt, a semi-retired small business consultant. "If we do get any sort of debt downgrade, even if we avoid a default, that will change the game a bit."

Financial advisers typically tell their clients not to tinker with their portfolios or try to play a short-term move in the market to their advantage. Of course, leaving investments alone could be a test of patience for the rest of this week.

On Friday afternoon, for example, it's plausible that Congress could reach a deal in mid-afternoon and send the Dow soaring 300 points in the final hour of trading. It's also plausible that there's still no deal and traders decide staying in the market over the weekend is too risky, and send the Dow plunging.

Investors who rode out the financial turbulence in 2008 without rejiggering their portfolios have made up most of their losses. The stock market has almost doubled since its post-meltdown low in March 2009. Many people who withdrew their money from the stock market during the worst haven't come close to breaking even.

The memory of the fall of 2008 remains vivid. The Dow plunged 778 points in a single day when Congress surprised investors by rejecting an early version of $700 billion legislation to bail out the nation's biggest banks.

"We've been through this, or something like it," said Leisa Aiken, a financial planner in Chicago. "I think what we went through in 2008 has toughened clients up a little. They realize that they will get through it if they don't give in to a knee-jerk reaction."

This time around, analysts say, the chances of similar turmoil are small but growing. Standard & Poor's, one of the rating services, has said that "the reverberations of the showdown may be deep and wide — particularly if Washington does not come to a timely agreement on the debt ceiling."

Bond traders were still betting on a last-minute deal on the debt. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which should rise when investors believe there is a greater risk they won't get their money back, has stayed near 3 percent all month.

Even if Washington sails past the deadline without raising the debt limit, bond traders believe the Obama administration will keep up its interest payments and cut spending on everything else. The resulting shock to the economy and other financial markets would make Treasury bonds a safe place for investors to hide, which could result in lower yields.

One measure of investor concern, the Vix, or volatility index, shot up 14 percent on Wednesday. The tone of the market changed this week, as nervous investors began moving money out of stocks, said Howard Ward, a chief investment officer at asset manager GAMCO.

He said the stock market will likely become more volatile as the weekend nears, and while he said he was not repositioning his portfolio, he admitted: "Right now I'm pretty worried."

___

AP Business Writers Chip Cutter, Matthew Craft and David K. Randall in New York and AP Personal Finance Writer Mark Jewell in Boston contributed to this report.

The Massachusetts Port Authority was dismissed Wednesday as a defendant from the last pending wrongful death lawsuit related to the Sept. 11 attacks, leaving United Airlines and a security company facing a trial where airport screening procedures are expected to go under a legal microscope.

(AP Photo/National September 11 Memorial & Museum, Roberto Robanne)This photo by Roberto Robanne, provided in New York by the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, included in their "September 11 Attacks Timeline," shows the impact of one of the airplanes during the World Trade Center attacks in New York, Sept. 11, 2001.

By LARRY NEUMEISTER, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The Massachusetts Port Authority was dismissed Wednesday as a defendant from the last pending wrongful death lawsuit related to the Sept. 11 attacks, leaving United Airlines and a security company facing a trial where airport screening procedures are expected to go under a legal microscope.

U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan announced the dismissal during a daylong hearing aimed at clarifying legal issues that will be presented to a civil jury. He said the agency that operates the airport could be dropped because it was not primarily responsible for security checkpoints passengers pass through as they board planes.

He said it was likely that lawyers for Mary Bavis, whose son died in the attacks, will have to prove at trial how weapons got aboard United Airlines Flight 175. The plane took off from Boston's Logan Airport and crashed into the World Trade Center's south tower. Aboard was her son, Mark, who was a West Newton, Mass., scout for the Los Angeles Kings hockey team. Mark's twin brother, Michael, attended the hearing and said afterward that the Nov. 7 trial is important to the family.

"We feel strongly that the American people know why this happened," he said. "This case has given my brother a voice and thousands of families a voice as to what happened. It's very important all the facts see the light of day."

He said he was disappointed that the port authority was dismissed from the case because the agency was "a party that could have prevented this and had a responsibility for doing so."

Massport's interim chief executive officer, David Mackey, issued a statement afterward that said: "The entire Logan Airport community will forever carry in its heart the events of 9/11. Our thoughts and prayers will always be with the victims of that tragic day."

Hellerstein said he expects to conclude that United, based in Chicago, and a security company, St. Louis-based Huntleigh USA Corp., will be required to prove how weapons could have passed through security checkpoints at Logan through no fault of the companies.

Hellerstein, who has presided over the bulk of civil litigation resulting from the terrorist attacks, said he expects to limit the time lawyers on each side can present their case and the amount that can be said about a day when 19 terrorists hijacked four planes, flying two into the World Trade Center in Manhattan, one into the Pentagon and one into a field in Pennsylvania.

"I don't envision the trial as just a recitation of everything that happened on 9/11 and that it couldn't have happened without negligence," he said.

He said he would also limit evidence to what the airline and security company knew or should have known rather than what other federal agencies such as the FBI and CIA knew or should have known.

The judge also said he will likely rule that the plaintiffs can seek damages for terror that Bavis experienced before the plane crashed in the event they prove that security lapses occurred and that the companies are liable.

Lawyers for United and Huntleigh declined to comment about the dismissal of Massport.

The judge seemed to be setting legal standards for the trial that will permit the plaintiffs to present their evidence, Bavis' lawyer, Donald Migliori, said outside court.

He said the evidence includes interviews with every airport screener who processed people for the flight, including 10 who did not know that there was a security alert that indicated a possible terrorist threat. He said four screeners could not identify Mace when it was handed to them during depositions.

Flight 175 had 56 passengers, including five hijackers, and nine crew members when it took off, Migliori told Hellerstein at the start of the hearing. He said two passengers reported that hijackers had knives and there was a report of a bomb on board as well. He said the last call made by a passenger to relatives reported that Mace was used by the hijackers to force passengers to the back of the plane and that some passengers were getting sick.

Jeffrey Ellis, a lawyer for United, said the airline followed federal security procedures and could not be held responsible if some hijackers managed to sneak weapons onto the flight.

"The equipment, just like humans, has limits," he said of screening machines.

Michael Feagley, another United lawyer, told the judge the plaintiffs will not be able to prove what weapons were on board the plane.

He said the plaintiffs would not be able to prove that 9/11 is the "kind of event that never occurs without negligence."

He said if they can't meet their burden of proof, "that's just the way life shakes out sometimes."

Michael Clark, a disabled 25-year-old, has been missing since July 19 when he was last seen outside the Barnstable County Fair on Cape Cod.

Michael Clark, 25, was last seen on July 19 in a vehicle parked outside the Barnstable County Fair.

MASHPEE - The family of Michael Clark, a 25-year-old Pittsfield native, is offering a reward for information that brings their loved one back to safety.

Clark was last seen on June 19, according to a report in the Cape Cod Times, when he was seen in a truck in the parking lot of the Barnstable County Fair in East Falmouth.

According to a Facebook page set up by his parents, the missing man walks with a limp due to a prosthetic leg and he is missing fingers on one of his hands. Clark's parents also said that he was living in Mashpee for the past four months as part of a supportive living program.

Around 5 p.m. on Wednesday, a boater on Johns Pond in Mashpee discovered a man's body in the water.

Michael Clark

Although people living near the water speculated that the man found could be Clark, no official word has been given as the body was released to the state Medical Examiner’s Office to determine the identity as well as the cause of death.

Clark was last seen wearing a blue T-shirt, dark-colored pants, high-top sneakers with red laces, and a baseball cap, according to police. He had no money or identification at the time he went missing and is said to have tattoos on his arms.

Anyone with information about Clark's disappearance is asked to call the Mashpee Police Department's detective bureau at 508-539-1484.

Hope Bodwell, the town's disaster recovery assistant, advised residents affected by the tornado to register with FEMA by the Aug. 15 deadline.

MONSON – The residents who turned out Tuesday night for the tornado recovery information meeting were told that the town's long-term recovery is going to take some time.

"Long-term recovery is a work in progress. There's a lot to do here and we all wanted it yesterday, but it's going to happen in the next 18 months," Hope Bodwell, the town's disaster recovery assistant, told the approximately 60 people gathered at Granite Valley Middle School.

Even though representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency canceled due to Tuesday afternoon's storm, the meeting went on as planned. She reminded residents affected by the tornado to register with FEMA by the Aug. 15 deadline, and noted that 336 households have registered so far.

Bodwell also encouraged residents to apply for a Small Business Administration low-interest loan, even if they don't think they need one.

"Six, nine months down the line, you may want it," Bodwell said.

Bodwell said town officials are working with FEMA on Monson's recovery.

Several other officials also spoke, including Police Chief Stephen Kozloski Jr., who advised residents not living at their damaged properties to leave on lights if possible and keep the grass cut, so as not to advertise that the homes are vacant. He also told residents to feel free to call the Police Department, or email him, about concerns.

Michelle Loglisci, transportation director for the Monson schools, told parents to be sure to notify the School Department as to where they are living, even if they are staying in a temporary trailer at their former address.

She added that the school district is required to transport students to Monson schools, even though they may be living in a different community because they have been displaced by the tornado. Loglisci said parents can contact her at (413) 267-4150, ext. 1101, or at logliscim@monsonschools.com.

On July 20, "Trees after the Tornado," a meeting about what to do with the numerous downed trees in Monson, was held at the high school. It was presented by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation's bureau of forestry staff.

Jennifer Fish, of the state department, encouraged people to leave some of the downed trees, as they can become habitat for salamanders and frogs. She said the winter wren also nests in "tip-ups," which is when a stump is uprooted.

"It can be hard to think about the future when you're looking at a big mess . . . nature doesn't mind ugly," Fish said.

Fish cautioned residents about attempting tree removal themselves, and advised them to seek a professional tree service. She said most people want to get the mess cleaned up, and aren't considering the long-term. She said some of the wood also could have economic value.

The officials told residents to visit masswoods.net, which has contacts for appraisers and foresters.

There also is an emergency forest restoration program through the Massachusetts Farm Service Agency that will help people pay for the cost of tree removal; call (413) 585-1000 for information.

The program is open to everyone, regardless of property size. Landowners with more than five acres will be required to have a forest cutting plan. There is a 20 day sign-up period.

Residents also had questions about the types of trees to plant, and were directed to the state Department of Conservation and Recreation's website, mass.gov/dcr, specifically the section on the Asian Longhorned Beetle problem.

Eric Seaborn, of the DCR, said the tree situation in Monson is similar to what happened in the Worcester area with the beetle infestation, as numerous trees need to be replaced in both communities.

Amanda Swift, 17, was last seen in the Highlands section of Fall River around 8:30 a.m. Monday, July 25.

Amanda Swift, 17, was last seen in Fall River, Mass. on July 25, 2011. (Photo released by Fall River Police Department)

FALL RIVER, Mass. - Fall River police are asking the public for help locating a missing teenager who was last seen on Monday.

Amanda Swift, 17, was last seen in the Highlands Historic District in Fall River around 8:30 a.m. Monday, July 25, according to police.

The teen is known to visit Middleboro, which is approximately a 30 minute drive from Fall River, although she doesn't drive herself.

Police have not said whether they believe Swift left on her own or if the disappearance is considered suspicious.

She is described as a white female, 5 feet, 6 inches tall, weighing 135 lbs, with short blond hair, hazel eyes and she has braces.

Swift was last seen wearing jeans, a t-shirt, bright colored high-top sneakers, and blue rimmed glasses.

Anyone with information about Swift's whereabouts are asked to call Fall River police Det. Thomas Chace of the Major Crimes Division at 508-324-2796 or the department's regular business line at 508-676-8511. If Swift is spotted outside of Fall River, citizens should call their local police department and explain the situation so officers can verify the sighting.

An Atheist group is suing to prevent a cross from being placed at the 9-11 memorial museum, a study concludes that violence against gays and transgendered people is on the rise in America; and more of the morning's headlines.

World Trade Center construction workers hold hands during a prayer at a ceremony for the September 11 cross, Saturday, July 23, 2011, in New York. After the ceremony, the cross was installed at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. It was discovered upright in the ruins of ground zero following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

• UMass frat hit with suspension in wake of fall that left student in critical condition [GazetteNet.com]


• Study: Violent crime against LGBT community on the rise [Ganett.com]


• Atheist group wants 9/11 cross removed from museum [MSNBC.com]


• Tropical Storm Don moving toward southern Texas [CBS.com]


• Enfield Couple Allegedly Lied To Police Following Car Crash [Courant.com)]


• Alex Trebek Injured While Chasing Female Burglar in San Francisco Hotel [Hollywood reporter.com]




Norwegians reflect amid mourning





• Twitter posts tagged #westernma in Western Mass. [MassLive.com]


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Authorities have been searching for Michael Clark, who was last seen on July 19 at the Barnstable County Fair.

MASHPEE, Mass. (AP) — Police in Mashpee are investigating the discovery of a body in a local pond, but have not yet said whether the body is that of a 25-year-old Pittsfield native who has been missing on Cape Cod for more than a week.

Police say a boater in Johns Pond found the body late Wednesday afternoon.

Authorities have been searching for Michael Clark, who was last seen on July 19 at the Barnstable County Fair.

Clark's parents had offered a reward for information about their son, who they said had been living in Mashpee for the past four months as part of a supportive living program. They said Clark walked with a limp because of a prosthetic leg.

Police said the body has been taken to the medical examiner's office to determine identity and cause of death.

Nearly 15,000 WMECO customers lost power during the storms.

July 26, 2011 - Wilbraham - Republican staff photo by Michael S. Gordon - John Caltabiano pulls toys and debris out his the pool behind his 7 Winterberry Drive home Wednesday after strong winds Tuesday afternoon knocked down several large white pine trees in the yard. The one in the background is leaning against the house.

SPRINGFIELD – An errant bird caused more than 200 Western Massachusetts Electric Co. customers to lose power for a time Thursday morning.

The outage was reported about 6:30 a.m. and all power was restored less than two hours later, WMECO spokeswoman Sandra Ahearn said. The bird somehow caused a short-circuit, she said.

“Everyone is back now,” she said.

Nearly 15,000 WMECO customers lost power in the aftermath of Tuesday’s violent microbursts. Ahearn said that all of the utility’s storm-related outages were restored by about 6 p.m. Wednesday.

National Grid, meanwhile, reported that only 15 of its customers in Wilbraham, perhaps the hardest hit community, were without power Thursday morning. All of Wilbraham’s nearly 6,000 customers lost power during the storms.

Wilbraham police reported the following roadways remained closed for storm cleanup as of about 8 a.m.: Faculty Street, Ripley Street, Hunting Lane, Pomeroy Street, Bittersweet Lane and Springfield Street - from the town hall to Main Street.

View Wilbraham Street Closings, July 27, 2011 in a larger map

The $4.6 trillion number will account for about $1 of every $5 in the nation's economy.

AP File PhotoThe state of Michigan, facing a budget deficit, is considering Medicaid reimbursement cuts of between 8 percent and 12 percent.

WASHINGTON — The nation's health care tab is on track to hit $4.6 trillion in 2020, accounting for about $1 of every $5 in the economy, government number crunchers estimate in a report out Thursday.

How much is that? Including government and private money, health care spending in 2020 will average $13,710 for every man, woman and child, says Medicare's Office of the Actuary.

By comparison, U.S. health care spending this year is projected to top $2.7 trillion, or about $8,650 per capita, roughly $1 of $6 in the economy. Most of that spending is for care for the sickest people.

The report from Medicare economists and statisticians is an annual barometer of a trend that many experts say is unsustainable but doesn't seem to be slowing down. A political compromise over the nation's debt and deficits might succeed in tapping the brakes on health care, but polarized lawmakers have been unable to deliver a deal.

The analysis found that President Barack Obama's health care overhaul would only be a modest contributor to growing costs, even though an additional 30 million people who would be otherwise uninsured stand to gain coverage.

The main reasons that health care spending keeps growing faster than the economy are the high cost of medical innovations and an aging society that consumes increasing levels of service.

Many of the newly insured people under the health care law will be younger and healthier. As a result, they are expected to use more doctor visits and prescription drugs and relatively less of pricey hospital care. Health care spending will jump by 8 percent in 2014, when the law's coverage expansion kicks in. But over the 2010-2020 period covered by the estimate, the average yearly growth in health care spending will be only 0.1 percentage point higher than without Obama's overhaul.

Part of the reason for that optimistic prognosis is that cuts and cost controls in the health care law start to bite down late in the decade. However, the same nonpartisan Medicare experts who produced Thursday's estimate have previously questioned whether that austerity will be politically sustainable if hospitals and other providers start going out of business as a result. The actuary's office is responsible for long-range cost estimates.

The report found that health care spending in 2010 grew at a historically low rate of 3.9 percent, partly because of the sluggish economy. That will change as the economy shakes off the lingering effects of the recession.

Government, already the dominant player because of Medicare and Medicaid, will become even more important. By 2020, federal, state and local government health care spending will account for just under half the total tab, up from 45 percent currently. As the health care law's coverage expansion takes effect, "health care financing is anticipated to further shift toward governments," the report said.

Estimates from previous years had projected that the government share would already be at the 50 percent mark, but the actuary's office changed its method for making the complex calculations. Under the previous approach, some private payments such as worker's compensation insurance had been counted in the government column. Technical accuracy — not political pressure — was behind that change, said Stephen Heffler, one of the experts who work on the estimates.

Separately, another new report finds that the United States continues to spend far more on health care than other economically developed countries. The study by the Commonwealth Fund found that U.S. health care spending per person in 2008 was more than double the median — or midpoint— for other leading economies. Although survival rates for some cancers were higher in the U.S., the report found that quality of care overall was not markedly better.

The Medicare actuary's estimates for health care spending are published in the journal Health Affairs.

The new measure depends on caps on agency budgets to cut more than $900 billion from the deficit over the coming decade while permitting a commensurate increase in the nation's borrowing to allow the government to pay its bills.

(AP)House 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)

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are pressing ahead with a vote on a newly modified plan to stave off an unprecedented government default next week even though the legislation faces a White House veto threat and unanimous opposition among Senate Democrats.

As the House prepared to vote Thursday, investor worries that a dysfunctional Congress might remain gridlocked sent stocks plunging. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped almost 200 points Wednesday, on top of a 92-point drop the day before.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, made headway with balky conservatives unhappy that the measure contains smaller spending cuts than a more stringent debt measure that passed the House last week. The new measure depends on caps on agency budgets to cut more than $900 billion from the deficit over the coming decade while permitting a commensurate increase in the nation's borrowing to allow the government to pay its bills.

Boehner acknowledged that the measure was hardly perfect but represented "the best opportunity we have to hold the president's feet to the fire. He wants a $2.4 trillion blank check that lets him continue his spending binge through the next election. This is the time to say no." Boehner made the comments Wednesday to conservative radio host Laura Ingraham.

The White House threatened a veto, saying the bill did 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 Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., that contains comparable cuts to agency operating budgets but also claims savings from lowball estimates of war costs. Reid's plan would provide a record-breaking $2.7 trillion in additional borrowing authority, enough to tide the government over through 2012. Reid, however, is plainly short of the votes needed to overcome a GOP filibuster.

While Boehner holds out hope that the Senate will pass his measure, a more likely outcome is a last-ditch effort to find a compromise.

In fact, Boehner's plan has enough in common with Reid's — including the establishment of a special congressional panel to recommend additional spending cuts this fall — that Reid hinted a compromise could be easy to snap together.

"Magic things can happen here in Congress in a very short period of time under the right circumstances," Reid told reporters.

Unless Congress acts by Tuesday, administration officials say, the government will not be able to pay all its bills. They include $23 billion in Social Security benefits due Aug. 3, an $87 billion payment to investors to redeem maturing Treasury securities and more than $30 billion in interest payments that come due Aug. 15.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other officials warn that a default could prove catastrophic for an economy still recovering from the worst recession in decades. But some skeptics, including conservative Republicans like Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, say Geithner can manage Treasury's cash flow to avoid a catastrophe if Congress fails to act.

House Republicans tweaked their measure Wednesday to enhance its prospects of passage after a worse-than expected cost estimate from congressional budget analysts on Tuesday. The changes were modest, but under arcane budget conventions, they brought projected savings for 2012 to $22 billion, part of a 10-year cut of $917 billion. That would trigger a $900 billion increase in the debt limit.

While the Boehner and Reid measures differed in key details, they also shared similarities that underscored the concessions made by the two 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 passage of a constitutional balanced budget amendment for state ratification, a step in the direction of Obama and the Democrats.

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

Boehner showed fire in a meeting Wednesday with the Republican caucus.

"Get your ass in line," Boehner told the rank and file. "I can't do this job unless you're behind me."

But one such first-term Republican said again Thursday he likely would oppose the measure.

"Right now, I can't" vote for it, Rep. Joe Walsh of Illinois told CBS's "The Early Show."

He did give Boehner credit for working hard on the problem and called the speaker's proposal "a step in the right direction."

Walsh said that Congress is "too obsessed" with the Aug. 2 default deadline, saying chances of getting more meaningful deficit-reduction right would be better if lawmakers weren't wedded to that drop-dead date. "We've got plenty of revenues in August to service our debt," he said.

If House conservatives torpedo the bill, any follow-up probably would 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.

Breivik has claimed wide contact with individuals and groups he says support his opposition to immigration and what he calls Muslim colonization of the West.

OSLO, Norway (AP) — Norwegian police said Thursday they will again interrogate the suspect in last week's bombing and shooting massacre that killed at least 76 people, seeking to ensure that there are no more attacks on the horizon.

Invstigators will interview Anders Behring Breivik again on Friday and will focus on whether there is "any more danger," police attorney Paal-Fredrick Hjort Kraby told reporters.

Breivik, who has confessed to the attacks, has claimed wide contact with individuals and groups he says support his opposition to immigration and what he calls Muslim colonization of the West. But experts have cast doubt on his claims and questions persist about whether there was a genuine network or if Breivik's statements were exaggerations.

Police have not turned up any signs that copycat attacks might be committed, Kraby said.

But they are clearly concerned that Breivik could inspire others. Kraby said Brevik's next hearing will be closed "just in case he's able to send messages by code" to associates.

Police have so far only interviewed the suspect once, in a seven-hour session the day after the attack. Kraby said Breivik is in contact only with his lawyer and investigators. He also said the Norwegian police have been in touch with the FBI regarding the attacks, but he did not elaborate.

Breivik's attorney has said his client considers himself a "savior" and that he is likely insane. Breivik has pleaded not guilty to the terrorism charges he faces.

The attacker was wearing a home-made police uniform during the slaughter at the island youth camp and urged victims to come closer to him before shooting. Kraby said the uniform included a police emblem on the shirt, but it was not clear where he had obtained it.

The search for missing has ended on the island. Police official Johan Fredriksen said the number still missing was "at a minimum"

Norway's response to the attack on a Labor Party youth camp on the island of Utoya, has been criticized. Though it is just 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Oslo, it took police 90 minutes to get there. The crew of the sole helicopter available to police was on vacation, and the first boat that officials tried to take to the island broke down.

The leader of Norway's Delta Force anti-terror police unit on Wednesday defended the special operations team and said the breakdown didn't cause a significant delay. The team jumped into other boats and got to Utoya quickly, police officials said.

Police gave an eerie account of the end of the siege, saying Breivik obediently gave up the moment police approached him, holding his hands over his head.

"It was a completely normal arrest," said officer Haavard Gaasbakk.

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday an independent commission will be formed to investigate the attacks and determine what lessons can be learned from the response. The commission also is to help survivors and relatives cope with the aftermath. Parliament said it is willing to help pay for funerals, and a monument will be built to commemorate the victims.

He said Norway will never be the same, but insisted the massacre shouldn't change the country's culture of tolerance, calling on Norwegians to embrace the openness Breivik said he was trying to destroy.

Perhaps mindful of many Norwegians' reserved ways, Stoltenberg urged the country to fully grieve: "I have cried, and I have told many people that they should not hesitate to cry."

The national sense of heartbreak is being renewed daily as police slowly release names of the dead. The identities of only 17 of those known to have been killed have been officially confirmed. Eight died in the explosion and 68 died in the camp shootings.

Georgian officials said Thursday the body of a young Georgian woman missing after the shooting rampage has been found. Tamta Liparteliani's body had been found on the bottom of the lake with gunshot wounds in the back. She was identified by her fingerprints, Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Nino Kalandadze said.

The youngest known victim so far was identified Wednesday — camper Sharidyn Svebakk-Bohn, who turned 14 five days before the rampage. Another victim confirmed dead at the camp was a stepbrother of Crown Princess Mette-Marit, 51-year-old police officer Trond Berntsen, who had been providing security on the island.

An employee of Stoltenberg's office, 51-year-old Anne Lise Holter, was confirmed Wednesday as one of the eight dead in the bomb blast.

The balloon carrying seven people touched down at about 7:30 a.m. Thursday on a ramp leading to a highway maintenance area in Auburn.

Associated PressPilot Dave Adams of Jackson waves to the crowd while taking off during the Hot Air Jubilee's mass balloon launch from Ella Sharp Park Sunday, July 17, 2011 in Jackson, Mich.

AUBURN — It was unusual sight for rush hour motorists on the Massachusetts Turnpike: an emergency landing by a hot air balloon.

State police say the balloon carrying seven people touched down at about 7:30 a.m. Thursday on a ramp leading to a highway maintenance area in Auburn.

No one is injured.

Police say the pilot told officials he was having trouble controlling the balloon and wanted to bring it down before it reached a crowded urban area, such as nearby Worcester.

The balloon was removed within about 30 minutes, and the ramp is reopened. It's not known from where the balloon had taken off.

BluePass is available only for departure from Boston Logan International Airport or Long Beach Airport for travel between Aug. 22 and Nov. 22.

Associated PressIn this June 2, 2010 file photo, a JetBlue airplane takes off from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. JetBlue introduced several new three-month, unlimited flight plans Thursday, July 28, 2011, in an attempt to snare more higher-paying business travelers.

NEW YORK — Call it All-You-Can-Jet: Business Edition.

JetBlue introduced several new three-month, unlimited flight plans Thursday in an attempt to snare more higher-paying business travelers.

BluePass is available only for departure from Boston Logan International Airport or Long Beach Airport for travel between Aug. 22 and Nov. 22.

The offer is a more focused version of its All-You-Can-Jet plan, announced in 2009. That plan, where travelers could go anywhere JetBlue flies, sold out within days, as did the second incarnation in 2010. JetBlue didn't offer the pass this year. All-You-Can-Jet was used to pump up travel volumes during September and October, typically one of the slowest times of the year for airlines.

Under the new plan there are three options. The first, costing $1299, allows for travel between Long Beach and nine Western cities. The second, at $1499, offers Boston fliers unlimited travel to 13 cities in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. The third option is $1999 for travel from Boston to any city JetBlue serves.

JetBlue and its rival, Southwest Airlines Co., have been eagerly courting business travelers in recent years. The two airlines have traditionally sold almost exclusively to vacationers in search of cheap tickets, but business travelers are increasingly vital to the bottom line. They not only pay more, but they fly when vacationers don't — like when kids go back to school in September.

Among the services JetBlue added to get more business travelers was its Even More Legroom seats, since the airline doesn't offer business or first class. It recently tacked on an Even More Speed option, which allows those customers that buy the roomier seats a chance to jump lines. It's also revamped its frequent flier program and started selling directly to corporations.

JetBlue is based in New York, but Boston and Long Beach have become important centers to its business. JetBlue started flying out of Boston in 2004 and now offers the most destinations (42) of any airline from the airport.

Long Beach is the airline's main airport from which it serves the Los Angeles area; it has a much smaller operation at LAX.

Customers can book starting Aug. 15. Just like the All-You-Can-Jet pass, there are a limited number of passes available and JetBlue won't say how many.

There are no change fees or blackout dates with the pass. Travelers can also book tickets as late as 90 minutes before departure — a key selling point for business travelers who often book and change travel at the last minute. JetBlue is relaxing its no-show policy on the pass as well, charging a $100 fee for every two flights a customer doesn't show up for within a week.

Dennis Corrigan, JetBlue's vice president of sales and revenue management, said in an interview with The Associated Press Thursday that BluePass model was based on feedback from customers who bought the All-You-Can-Jet pass.

Shares of JetBlue Airways Corp. rose 5 cents to $4.75 at the opening bell. Shares closed at $4.70 Wednesday, the lowest point in more than a year.

The driver of the vehicle, Miguel Torres, 18, was treated at Baystate and released.

EAST LONGMEADOW – Speed is believed to be a factor in a single-car crash Tuesday morning on Benton Drive that critically injured an 18-year-old Hazelhurst Avenue woman.

Samantha Larose, of 35 Hazelhurst Ave., who was thrown from the car, was listed in critical condition Thursday at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. The driver of the car, Miguel Torres, 18, of the same address, was treated at Baystate and released, police said.

Police Sgt. Patrick T. Manley said the accident occurred shortly after 10:45 a.m. in the area of 265-270 Benton Drive. “It appears that speed was a contributing factor,” he said.

Manley said the 1997 Toyota left the roadway and traveled a considerable distance, rolling several times. It’s not known if either of the victims were wearing seat belts

East Longmeadow police, aided by the State Police Accident Reconstruction Team and the Hampden District Attorney’s office, continue to probe the crash.

“It’s very possible charges will be filed,” Manley said.

Both committees will continue to operate until there's a resolution.

Amherst Town Hall

AMHERST - Members of the committee on homelessness said its committee should not be blended in with the fair housing committee and that the Select Board doesn’t understand homelessness.

The Select Board had considered combining the Housing Partnership/Fair Housing Committee and the Committee on Homelessness before but did not act on the proposal. It is revisiting the issue now again as it looks committee charges.

The idea is to have one committee to deal with a continuum of homelessness issues.

Alisa V. Brewer - the Select Board liaison to the housing committees - praised the homelessness committee for its commitment to creating a shelter and that the possible committee merger “is not removing any town support for the emergency shelter.”

But the merger “redirects our efforts with housing that seem to make sense.”

But homelessness committee chairwoman Hwei-Ling Greeney said “homelessness is not a lack of housing.” And if the Select Board does not understand that, “our committee has not done our job to educate the Select Board.”

This population has a range of issues that hamper their ability to find and sustain permanent housing such as poor or lack of credit history, criminal record, substance abuse or mental health issues. She said “it’s a shortage of services.” To combine the two committees “is a misrepresentation, a misunderstanding of the work we do.”

In an e-mail Tuesday, Select Board Chairwoman Stephanie J. O’Keeffe wrote the “issue is not whether the Select Board itself understands the needs of the homeless, but what our judgment is for the most effective way for Town government to address homelessness issues.

She believes is a “committee model that deals with housing and shelter needs across the affordability spectrum.”

Greeney told the board that it using the committee as “a scapegoat” for Milestone Ministries decision not to run the emergency shelter next winter.

Jack Desroches, executive director of the Springfield-based Milestone Ministries, notified the town earlier this month that the agency would not run the shelter again this year. He said that the homelessness committee’s micromanaging was the leading factor in the agency’s decision not to provide services.

Last winter was the first that the town provided an emergency shelter allowing people to sleep, the year before the Center for Human Development operated a warming place without cots.

Reminding the Select Board of the town’s motto that only the “h” in Amherst is silent, Greeney said that people in town are involved and that “we need to find a shelter operator who can work with the town.”

The Select Board will discuss the issue again at its Aug. 8 meeting and in the interim is asking for comments from the public about the proposal to create one committee.

Both committees will continue to operate until there’s a resolution and members will remain even if their terms of service have expired.