Sheriff Nick Cocchi and members of his department are preparing the 1,008 pounds of donated bacon by Carando Classic Italian in Springfield for Saturday's World Largest Pancake Breakfast in Downtown Springfield. Watch video

SPRINGFIELD -- A half-ton of bacon. For some it would mean hog heaven. For the Hampden County Sheriff's Department, it means three days of non-stop cooking. 

Sheriff Nick Cocchi and members of his department are preparing bacon, donated bacon by Carando Classic Italian in Springfield, for the annual World's Largest Pancake Breakfast. The event will be held Saturday in downtown Springfield. 

Cocchi, honorary chairman of this year's breakfast, and his parents, Walter and Delores, workedd the ovens at the Western Massachusetts Recovery and Wellness Center on Mill Street in Springfield during a media tour Wednesday morning. 

"We have been cooking bacon since Monday," Cocchi said. "It has been three full days -- and I mean full days, meaning a 24/7 operation -- to get the bacon cooked. It will be transported and reheated and it will be nice and crispy, that I can promise you."

Al Ferrentino, business manager at Smithfield Carando, said the company donated over 1,000 packages of its apple cider bacon for the event. 

The breakfast, sponsored by MGM-Springfield takes place between 8 and 11 a.m. 

The cases of child porn defendants Victor Stepus, of Chicopee, and Edward Dupont, of Holyoke, are among dozens of cases nationwide that remain in limbo pending a ruling by the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

SPRINGFIELD -- Along with dozens of defendants across the nation, a Holyoke man and a onetime resident of Chicopee accused of accessing a "Dark Web" site shut down by the FBI could have their cases scrapped pending a decision by the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

Victor Stepus

The court heard arguments in USA v. Alex Levin last week. Levin, a Norwood man, was among scores of alleged child porn collectors to tap into the now-defunct "PlayPen" website, which allowed users to access and share thousands of images of children being sexually abused.

The FBI obtained a warrant from a federal magistrate judge from Virginia allowing federal agents to take over the website for two months. During that time, they monitored and collected users' IP addresses. The server was located in North Carolina.

Authorities made more than 800 arrests across the globe as a result of "Operation Pacifier," as it became known. Two men were arrested locally: Victor Stepus, 48, of Chicopee, and Edward Dupont, 75, of Holyoke.

Both have been charged in U.S. District Court in Springfield with possession of child pornography. During searches of their homes and computers, investigators said they recovered thousands of still photos and dozens of videos featuring the rapes of small children.

In Dupont's case, agents also recovered a 170-page manual entitled "How to Practice Child Love," a disturbing step-by-step primer on how to recruit and groom children for sexual purposes.

While most child porn cases are locked up tightly with hard-to-dispute electronic evidence, Levin's case has added a wrinkle for prosecutors. His attorney, high-profile Boston defense lawyer J.W. Carney, challenged the search warrant. In the simplest terms, he argued the magistrate judge did not have the authority to grant a warrant that extended outside her district.

Carney was successful, and the electronic evidence was suppressed -- thus taking the air out of the entire prosecution.

Other attorneys have tried to follow suit. And, in the meantime, the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts challenged the Boston judge's ruling. Many cases -- including those against Stepus and Dupont -- are in limbo while First Circuit judges mull their ruling. Their decisions historically can take months.

During a previous court hearing, Alan J. Black, a lawyer for Stepus, told a federal judge the Levin case may well go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Aside from the challenge to the search warrant, the case has also proven tricky in other states, including Seattle, Washington, where prosecutors dropped a case against a defendant there in order to protect the source code the U.S. Department of Justice used to hack the site.

Both Stepus and Dupont have been held behind bars pending trial since 2015, according to court records. Another status conference has been scheduled for July 13.

Meanwhile, Playpen's creator, Steven W. Chase, of Naples, Florida, was sentenced to 30 years in prison on May 5.

FBI officials have said the sting yielded:

• At least 350 U.S.-based individuals arrested
• 25 producers of child pornography prosecuted
• 51 hands-on abusers prosecuted
• 55 American children successfully identified or rescued
• 548 international arrests, with 296 sexually abused children identified or rescued.

The Rennie Center, a Boston-based think tank, hosted a conference on workforce readiness Wednesday at The Log Cabin in Holyoke. Watch video

There will be a career fair this fall for Westfield's middle schools.

But it won't be kids learning about what it takes to be a machinist, an engineer or an auto-body technician. It'll be their teachers.

The idea isn't that educators are looking for new gigs themselves, said Kate Phelon, executive director of the Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce. The idea is for teachers to learn what employers are looking for -- and what they hope not to see -- in job applicants, so they can impart those skills to their students as early as sixth grade.

The fair is part of what Westfield Education 2 Business Alliance is doing to tie the classroom to the business world -- an outgrowth of Phelon's decision a few years ago to get the schools in Westfield on board as a member of the Chamber of Commerce.

"We are so excited about all that we are doing," Phelon said. "Our alliance meets every month. We just went through mentorship training for 22 mentors." There will also be a career fair next month for high school students, in addition to the fair for middle school teachers. 

Phelon was on a panel Wednesday as the Rennie Center for Education and Research Policy, a Boston-based think tank, presented  its most recent report on the education in Massachusetts to a gathering of educators and business leaders at The Log Cabin in Holyoke.

The stakes are high, said Tricia Canavan, president of United Personnel in Springfield. The region has economic headwinds, she said. Energy costs are high. Real estate and building is expensive.

The so-called "Massachusetts advantage" is the state's reputation for having an educated workforce.

"But the economic promise that is here will be lost if we are not preparing our students to take advantage," she said. 

The Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education said 75 percent of employers report having trouble finding qualified job applicants, according to the Rennie Center.

According to Rennie's own data, 87 percent of Massachusetts high school students graduated in four years in 2015 -- an improvement, up 1.2 points from a year earlier.

But graduation doesn't mean success. In 2015, 30 percent of students in college needed remedial coursework. In 2014, just 47 percent of the community college earned a degree or certificate or the credits to transfer to a four-year school in six years or less.

The answer, said Chad d'Entremont, executive director of the Rennie Center, is in partnerships like Westfield's, and in student-centered teaching.

What he means is that students should be focused on mastering skills and meeting goals, not on "seat time" in a traditional lecture scenario. The goal is to get the skill, not to spend a certain number of hours in instruction.

"If you can graduate high school in 2.5 years and go on to college, go," he said. "If it takes you five years. then we need to support that."

Richard Malinoski, a math teacher at Springfield's Chestnut Accelerated Middle School, talked about Teach to One, an individualized math instruction program where students get daily evaluations.

That shapes the next day's lessons. At Chestnut, 226 students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades participate in a 90-minute, two-session math block.

They take math lessons on computers as well as through group projects or lectures.

"Students are going to have cell phones and computers," he said. "This is the world we live in."

Steve Zrike, superintendent of schools in Holyoke, said the Paper City is incorporating these concepts into its high school redesign and into middle school instruction. 

The workforce nonprofit agency CareerPoint now has a jobs center in Dean Technical High School. And Zrike said he's interested in replicating the Westfield Education 2 Business Alliance in the Paper City.

But there is more work to do. Only 20 percent of middle school students in Holyoke report being excited about their education.

"Now, it is hard to get a middle schooler to get excited about anything," Zrike said. "But that is sad. It's sad that we aren't getting these kids enthusiastic about learning these skills."

Phelon said educators are learning the need for "soft skills" in the workplace. Unlike hard skills, like computer programming and algebra, soft skills are things like how to greet someone by shaking a hand and looking the person in the eye, punctuality or how to make a sale.

With about 7,000 University of Massachusetts students scheduled to pack up cars and head out of town Thursday, motorists venturing near campus should expect detours and delays.

AMHERST - With about 7,000 University of Massachusetts students scheduled to pack up cars and head out of town Thursday, motorists venturing near campus should expect detours and delays.  

Thursday is the last day of finals and also the day that residence halls close.

Traffic is expected to be heavy. UMass officials advise pedestrians to use care when crossing and use crosswalks. 

To accommodate the student move, officials are also altering traffic patterns.

Hicks Way will become one-way from Governors Drive and exiting to Massachusetts Avenue. Fearing Street will be one-way between University Drive and Sunset Avenue, with cars entering from University Drive.

Sunset Avenue will be one-way between Fearing Street and Massachusetts Avenue, with cars entering via Massachusetts Avenue and exiting onto Fearing Street, according to a press release.

Hicks Way and Southwest traffic will be routed to exit past Lot 71 to Massachusetts Avenue.

Sylvan Drive will become two one-way roads, with both entrances on Eastman Lane exiting behind Sylvan to North Residential Drive, according to the press release.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted Wednesday to allow the Hampden County Sheriff's Department to use previously approved funds to help cover the July rent of an addiction center that was forced to relocate due to the MGM Springfield casino project.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted Wednesday to allow the Hampden County Sheriff's Department to use previously approved funds to help cover the July rent of an addiction center that was forced to relocate due to the MGM Springfield casino project.

The request, which cleared the panel with unanimous support, amended a $280,000 Massachusetts Gaming Commission Community Mitigation Fund grant MGC awarded to the sheriff's department in August 2016 to assist with lease payments at the Western Massachusetts Wellness and Recovery Center's new Mill Street location.

Mass. Gaming Commission OKs partial casino relief funds for Hampden County Sheriff's Department, Caring Health Center

Sheriff's department spokesman Steve O'Neil, who cast the request as a "housekeeping" measure, said the amendment was needed due to a one-month delay in the addiction center's lease, which left $35,000 unallocated in the fiscal year that ends next month.

The commission had originally approved the rental assistance to run from the start of the lease, Nov. 1, 2016, to June 30, 2017.

The commission's approval allows the Hampden County Sheriff's Department to put the unallocated amount toward the addiction center's July rent, which totals more than $85,400 -- a substantial increase over the monthly rate at the facility's longtime Howard Street location, O'Neil said.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission will consider spending up to $2 million over five years on lease assistance for the addiction facility -- an amount requested by the sheriff's department, according to O'Neil.

The spokesman, however, said that the sheriff's department must re-apply for funding with the commission, which is expected to determine awards on an annual basis.

"Every intention going forward is to submit for the remaining years," he said in an interview.

O'Neil added that the department is "very appreciative of the commission's support."

The Hampden County Sheriff's Department said in its funding application that the requested $2 million over five years would help reduce MGM Springfield's impact on the since renamed Western Massachusetts Correctional Addiction Center by covering costs the agency had already incurred, as well as the ongoing expenses, like rent.

Hampden County sheriff requests $2 million from Gaming Commission to mitigate MGM Springfield impact on addiction center

The Lyman-Taylor Realty Co. sold the facility's longtime home on Howard Street to MGM for $4.45 million on Dec. 12, 2014. The sheriff's department did not receive any money from the sale, as it did not own the property.

The center is now located at the former Ring Nursing Home, at 155 Mill St., and can house up to 149 people.

Behind the scenes: Look inside the sheriff's new Western Massachusetts Wellness and Recovery Center in Springfield

Jean E. Gailun has been raising money to send Kensington International Schools students to camp for the past four years.

SPRINGFIELD -- Every year for the past four years, Jean E. Gailun, a volunteer at Kensington International School, has raised money to send students to summer camp.

Usually she raises enough money to send about 50 students to the YMCA's Camp Weber in West Springfield, but that just wasn't enough for her. This year, she raised about $40,000, making it possible for 115 students to attend the two-week day camp this summer.

"A number of years ago, I was thinking about summertime and how lucky I was to have such great summers, and I was realizing that not everybody is as lucky as I was," she said to parents and students during an after-school meeting Tuesday to discuss the camp plans.

She contacted the YMCA and worked out a deal. Not only is the camp fee covered through the donations she collects, but students will get transportation to and from the camp. There are even childcare options for those parents who may have to work early or need to pick up their child a few hours after camp ends.

The informational meeting included a visit from Uriah Rodriguez, executive director of outreach and teen initiatives for the YMCA, and Cesar Caratino, director of Camp Weber. The men showed the families videos of all the things the kids will be able to do at camp -- from learning to swim to riding bikes, climbing in a ropes course, hiking, archery and more.

Jean Gailun among 2013 Pynchon Award recipients

Rodriguez said he grew up in Springfield but never knew the camp existed.

"Until I actually worked at the YMCA, I had no idea what it was. When I first went out there and saw the space, I couldn't believe that a place like that existed not event 10 miles away from this school. It's like a fantasy. You think Springfield is all city, but here is a place where there is water and waterfalls and a pool and beautiful trees," he said.

Gailun said the camp, at the end of Great Plain Road near the Bearhole Reservoir, is amazing.

"The camp counselors are young men and women of such character that they are really good influences on your child. Plus, where the camp is, you really feel like you're in this beautiful area with lots of pine trees. It's a really wonderful experience," she said.

Gailun credited the efforts of the many people who donated as well as the YMCA and the staff at Kensington.

"It takes a village for this to happen," she said.

This is not the first generous thing Gailun has done for the school since she became a volunteer 16 years ago when it was called Kensington Avenue Elementary. She started a book club, has sponsored trips to Barnes & Noble and raised money for a fund at the school that has been used for everything from buying eyeglasses to fuel and even helping a family pay rent.

In 2013 she received the William Pynchon Medal and induction into the Order of William Pynchon, established in 1915 by the Advertising Club of Western Massachusetts, then known as the Publicity Club. The honor is given annually to individuals from the region who have demonstrated exceptional community and civic service.

In 2009, Gailun was honored with the Springfield School Volunteers' Phyllis B. Sullivan "Unsung Hero" Award.

Kensington principal Margaret Thompson thanked Gailun for her efforts.

"It's a very big thing that we can offer this to our students, and the fact that there is transportation is huge," she said. "We are so grateful."

America's Test Kitchen is opening the doors to its new state-of-the-art facilities and studios in October while hosting a two-day festival in the Boston Seaport's Innovation and Design Building.

America's Test Kitchen is opening the doors of its new state-of-the-art facilities and studios this fall while hosting a two-day festival in the Boston Seaport's Innovation and Design Building.

The "Boston EATS" festival is scheduled for Friday, October 27 and Saturday, October 28. The festival will include tastings, cooking demonstrations and panels.

America's Test Kitchen is moving to 21 Dry Dock Avenue in Boston's Seaport from Brookline, which is just outside Boston.

"For more than two decades, America's Test Kitchen has been a trusted resource for the millions of home cooks who watch our television series, subscribe to our magazines, Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country, buy our books, and enroll in our online cooking school," David Nussbaum, America's Test Kitchen CEO, said in a statement. of America's Test Kitchen. "We're thrilled to now welcome the Boston culinary community to our new headquarters."

In a release, the company said they are throwing open the doors of its new kitchen and studios and planning to "take visitors behind the scenes," allowing them to meet co-hosts Bridget Lancaster and Julia Collin Davison, as well as chief creative officer Jack Bishop.

19 reasons you should visit Boston's Seaport

The ticketed events include "Taste of Innovation," "Backstage ATK," and "Boston EATS." More details are expected to be released later this year and tickets are slated to go on sale in the summer. 

Here's what America's Test Kitchen said in a release on Wednesday:

Taste of Innovation, taking place on Friday, October 27, 2017, will feature some of Boston's best chefs, paired up with ATK Test Cooks. Together they will prepare two unexpected and innovative recipes using the same local ingredient.

On Saturday, October 28, 2017, Backstage ATK, a VIP event featuring live and intimate cooking demonstrations with ATK chefs, will take place within ATK's new facilities, and offer VIP ticket buyers the opportunity to go behind the scenes of America's Test Kitchen.

Boston EATS, an all-day culinary event, will take place on Saturday, October 28, 2017, and include tastings from New England's top culinary talent, as well as cooking demonstrations, interactive panels, book signings, and more.

The company employs 50 full-time test cooks.

55 restaurants to try in Boston's Seaport

Springfield environmental advocates called for a stricter cap on greenhouse gas emissions at a press conference Wednesday morning.

A group of Springfield environmental and public health advocates, including City Councilor Adam Gomez and aspiring City Councilor Jesse Lederman, called for a stricter cap on greenhouse gas emissions at a press conference Wednesday morning.

Citing Springfield's elevated rate of respiratory illness, the group called on Gov. Charlie Baker to push for tougher targets for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative -- a coalition of nine Northeastern states who have committed to reducing emissions by 2.5 percent per year though a cap-and-trade system.

"Cities like Springfield are continuing to see failing grades from the American Lung Association," said Lederman, the director of public health and environmental enitiatives at Arise for Social Justice and an at-large candidate for city council. "Residents across the city of Springfield are now standing up to say it's time we do something about that."

The group, which included representatives from the Pioneer Valley Asthma Coalition, the Toxics Action Center, Baystate Brightwood Health Center, Partners for a Healthier Community and the environmental policy not-for-profit Acadia Center, is calling on the initiative to instead adopt a 5 percent annual reduction in emissions.

That would require all nine states -- Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont -- to agree to the new target.

The initiative, or RGGI, also generates funds for the participating states through the carbon auctions used to limit emissions. Massachusetts has invested about $300 million of the proceeds into strategic energy programs, according to the RGGI website.

But advocates at the press conference said they were concerned that those funds were not flowing to economically disadvantaged communities like Springfield, and called on state authorities to analyze whether the money was being spent equitably.

"Fossil fuel power plants disproportionately impact Springfield residents and too many suffer from asthma," said Gomez. "By increasing the use of RGGI proceeds for low-income energy efficiency and community solar projects, Gov. Baker will deliver significant local benefits and help residents participate in the clean energy economy."

The group cited a new analysis by the Acadia Center, which estimated that increasing the RGGI reduction target would result in $2.1 billion in health benefits through 2030 -- double the current target. The group also cited the economic costs of children missing school due to asthma and the associated loss of work by their parents.

"Governor Baker should understand better than anyone that a stronger RGGI can improve health and reduce healthcare costs," Acadia Center policy analyst Jordan Stutt said at the press conference. "Massachusetts needs Gov. Baker to lead on RGGI and commit to aggressive emissions reductions through 2030."

The press conference was held outside the Baystate Brightwood Health Center, and one of the center's physicians, Dr. Marty Nathan, also voiced support for tougher emissions goals.

"Our children and our elders are ground zero for asthma effects of air pollution," she said. "To limit the burning of fossil fuels that affect the air we breathe in the North End is a public health and climate justice concern."

At Longmeadow's annual Town Meeting Wednesday, townspeople will vote on two articles: one that would limit beekeeping to agricultural areas, and another that would declare Longmeadow a "pollinator friendly community."

LONGMEADOW — When Linda Ordoukhanian and Ron Manseau entered into amateur beekeeping about two years ago, the married couple did not take the decision lightly.

"It wasn't done at the spur of the moment," said Ordoukhanian, noting that she and her husband took an exhaustive course on best practices from the Hampden County Beekeepers Association before they erected A wooden apparatus that serves as a honey bee "city" on their roof.

But opposition from their next-door neighbor on Barrington Road has led to a scheduled Wednesday night vote at Longmeadow's annual Town Meeting that could ban the keeping of livestock -- including bees -- in town, except on land zoned for agriculture. The only place in Longmeadow that fits this description is a slab of land known at The Meadows, which is separated from the rest of town by Interstate 91.

A phone call to a number listed for James Mack, the neighbor who filed the warrant article, went unanswered Tuesday, and nobody answered the door at his listed address Wednesday morning.

The article is a citizen petition, which means it is nonbinding. But an affirmative vote would put the measure on the town election ballot next month.

Also up for a vote Wednesday is a petition filed after Mack's that asks voters to declare Longmeadow a "pollinator-friendly community."

"The honey bees are endangered, and they're not a harmful insect," Tom Flebotte, president of the Hampden County Beekeepers Association, said in a phone interview Wednesday. "There's no reason why they should be banned."

The Planning Board also apparently failed to see the need for beekeeping restrictions. When Mack attended their meeting on May 3 seeking the board's support for his initiative, they unanimously voted against the request, Town Manager Stephen Crane said.

In addition, area beekeepers have been vocal in their opposition to the proposed ban on livestock -- which also includes goats, sheep, pigs and poultry -- outside of zoned agricultural areas, Crane said.

"There are a lot of people who have come out (against the proposal)," Crane said. "People (have) come forward supporting that beekeeping as a positive thing, and not disruptive to neighborhoods."

On Wednesday morning, Ordoukhanian and Manseau were at Picknelly Field on the border of Springfield and Longmeadow holding signs supporting the initiative to make Longmeadow a pollinator-friendly community. They stood by black and yellow balloons and waved at cars.

More than interfering with a hobby she enjoys, banning livestock would prove a blow to anyone who keeps any of several species of animals, Ordoukhanian said.

"If this happens, it impacts everybody, it doesn't just impact us," she said. "My neighbor wouldn't have an issue if he didn't see the hives on our roof."

A honey bee city, which contains bee hives, sits atop the Barrington Road home of Linda Ordoukhanian and Ron Manseau.(SEAN TEEHAN PHOTO) 

Night two of Longmeadow's annual Town Meeting is scheduled to be held at Longmeadow High School Wednesday at 7 p.m.

A ruptured gas line in the area of Harvard and Charles streets Wednesday afternoon has resulted in the evacuation of several homes in the immediate area.

Patrick Johnson | pjohnson@repub.com 

Note: as of 3:15 p.m., the gas line has been shut down and is now considered safe. People are being allowed to return to their homes, but the intersection will remain closed as repair proceed.

CHICOPEE - A ruptured gas line in the area of Harvard and Charles streets Wednesday afternoon has resulted in the evacuation of several homes in the immediate area, police said.

Police spokesman Michael Wilk said the intersection is blocked off to traffic, and cars are being detoured. People are being asked to avoid the area.

Columbia Gas crews are responding to the scene to shut off the gas to allow repairs to be made.

The line was ruptured by a construction crew doing road repairs, he said.

This is a developing story and more information will be posted as it is known.

The state's landfill capacity is projected to drop from 5 million tons to 4 million tons in the next three years as landfills close.

By KATIE LANNAN, State House News Service

BOSTON -- With about 5 million tons of solid waste disposed annually, Massachusetts is making progress toward a 2020 waste reduction goal, but reaching the finish line will take "concerted effort," environmental officials told lawmakers Tuesday.

As of 2015, the state had cut its solid waste disposal volume by 1 million tons, passing the halfway point toward a goal set in a master plan calling for reducing disposal to 4.55 million tons by 2020, from 6.55 million tons in 2008, Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Martin Suuberg said.

"Although progress to date is impressive, we must recognize that the next million tons of reduction will be tougher than the first and require a more concerted effort by us all," Suuberg told the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture during an oversight hearing.

"The good news is, there is a strong correlation between recycling and a growing economy. We as a state still spend well over half a billion a year to throw things away. We must stop thinking of trash and waste and focus rather on investing in the infrastructure to reuse and recycle materials."

With the state's landfill capacity projected to drop from 5 million tons to 4 million tons in the next three years as landfills close, DEP plans to begin stakeholder discussions this summer to start its work on a new waste plan for the years beyond 2020.

Suuberg pointed to "critical issues" to focus on: reducing contamination in recycling by keeping nonrecyclable materials out of the stream; decreasing the amount of recyclable materials that end up in the trash; increasing capacity for composting, anaerobic digestion and other alternatives; raising the rates of reuse and donation of textiles and mattresses and recycling of construction materials; and expanding access to recycling services.

About 20 percent of the waste Massachusetts generates each year is exported, going to neighboring states and "as far away as Ohio for disposal," said Greg Cooper, the director of MassDEP's business compliance and recycling division.

Suuberg said recycling, reuse and remanufacturing supports more than 2,000 businesses with an estimated 14,000 jobs, and meeting the state's 2020 goal would result in an annual $120 million to $160 million in avoided costs, though recycling and composting material also carry processing and collection costs.

Sen. Anne Gobi, who co-chairs the committee, said the panel convened the hearing because it will be considering "a number of bills dealing with landfill issues" and wants to work with the Department of Environmental Protection.

"We do want to work with you, but there is a problem," she told Suuberg. "There's a problem that you have identified yourself, in trying to meet goals for 2020, for 2050, and we need to work together to make sure that we can we can reach those goals but also understanding that we have to make sure that people are protected, that their health is protected -- the health of our communities -- and that in my opinion is paramount. That's more important than maybe a company's wallet."

Kirstie Pecci, a senior fellow at the Conservation Law Foundation, said said Massachusetts has an "ad-hoc system" that leaves 40 percent of the state without access to recycling services. While municipalities do "absolutely heroic things" around recycling, the million tons cut from waste disposal totals was mostly done before 2010, she said.

"This is not to say that the MassDEP cannot cut another million off our disposal numbers, but this is to say that the million we cut so far happened probably in large part because of the recession, so we need to do a much better job if we want to reach our goal," she said.

Pecci urged against expanding landfills and against increasing the use of incineration as the state seeks to meet its reduction goal.

Officials from the Massachusetts chapter of the National Waste and Recycling Association wrote to Gobi and House Chairwoman Gailanne Cariddi, voicing support maintaining processing and disposal capacity within the state.

"Hauling waste long distances for disposal creates additional emissions and there are also air quality and safety impacts from this additional activity," chapter Chairman Ben Harvey and Manager Steve Changaris wrote. "These impacts are increasing as the private sector is challenged daily with these growing in-state disposal constraints."

In the days before his firing by President Donald Trump, FBI Director James Comey told U.S. lawmakers he had asked the Justice Department for more resources to pursue the bureau's investigation into Russia's interference in last year's presidential election, three U.S. officials said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- In the days before his firing by President Donald Trump, FBI Director James Comey told U.S. lawmakers he had asked the Justice Department for more resources to pursue the bureau's investigation into Russia's interference in last year's presidential election, three U.S. officials said Wednesday.

The officials said Comey met last week with Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, to make the request. Comey then alerted lawmakers with ties to the concurrent congressional investigations into Russia's meddling, according to the officials, who insisted on anonymity in order to disclose the private conversations.

Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said it was false that Comey had asked Rosenstein for money for the Russia investigation.

The revelations raise new questions about what prompted Trump's decision to fire Comey. The White House has cited a memo from Rosenstein, in which he criticizes Comey's handling of last year's investigation into Democrat Hillary Clinton's email practices.

Rosenstein's memo makes no mention of the FBI's Russia investigation, which is probing both Russia's hacking of Democratic groups last year and whether Trump campaign associates had ties to Moscow's election interference.

Trump defended his decision Wednesday, asserting in a flurry of tweets that both Democrats and Republicans "will be thanking me" for his action. He did not mention any effect the dismissal might have on the FBI and congressional investigations into contacts between his 2016 election campaign and Russia.

"He wasn't doing a good job. Very simply. He was not doing a good job," Trump said in brief remarks to reporters in the Oval Office, where he was joined by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

The White House said Trump had been considering firing Comey since the election.

"I think it has been an erosion of confidence," White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. She said Rosenstein's memo, as well as Comey's own testimony last week on his handling of the Clinton investigation, pushed Trump toward a final decision.

The abrupt firing of Comey threw into question the future of the FBI's investigation and immediately raised suspicions of an underhanded effort to stymie a probe that has shadowed the administration from the outset. Trump has ridiculed the investigations as "a hoax" and denied any campaign involvement with the Russians.

Sanders said the White House would "encourage" the FBI to complete the Russia investigation. She said the president continued to oppose appointing a special prosecutor to oversee the investigation.

Democrats compared Comey's ouster to President Richard Nixon's "Saturday Night Massacre" during the Watergate investigation and renewed calls for the appointment of a special prosecutor.

Ironically, Kissinger, who was meeting with Trump, was Nixon's secretary of state in 1973, just moved over from being Nixon's national security adviser.

Earlier Wednesday, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York urged Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his deputy, Rosenstein, to appear before the Senate to answer questions about the circumstances surrounding Trump's action.

However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell brushed aside calls for a special prosecutor, saying a new investigation into Russian meddling would only "impede the current work being done." He noted that Democrats had repeatedly criticized Comey in the past and some had called for his removal.

Trump made a similar case on Twitter, saying Comey had "lost the confidence of almost everyone in Washington," adding: "When things calm down, they will be thanking me!"

President Donald Trump says James Comey lost confidence in D.C., slams Connecticut senator

Vice President Mike Pence said at the Capitol that Trump had made "the right decision at the right time."

The Justice Department said Sessions was interviewing candidates to serve as an interim replacement. Comey's deputy, FBI veteran Andrew McCabe, became acting director after Comey was fired.

In his brief letter Tuesday to Comey, Trump said the firing was necessary to restore "public trust and confidence" in the FBI. The administration paired the letter with a scathing review by Rosenstein, the recently confirmed deputy attorney general, of how Comey handled the investigation into Clinton's email practices, including his decision to hold a news conference announcing its findings and releasing "derogatory information" about Clinton.

"You can't make this stuff up," Rep. Adam Schiff of California, top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said Wednesday on MSNBC. As to Trump's contention that the firing had to do with Comey's decision-making on such matters as the Clinton emails, he said, "Nobody believes that."

Trump, in his letter, pointedly thanked Comey for telling him three times "that I am not under investigation." The FBI has not confirmed that Comey ever made those assurances to the president. In public hearings, Comey has declined to answer when asked if Trump is under investigation, urging lawmakers not to read anything into that statement.

While Comey has drawn anger from Democrats since he reopened the email investigation in the closing days of last year's campaign, they didn't buy that justification for his firing. Several Republicans joined them in raising alarms of how it could affect probes into possible coordination between Trump associates and Russia to influence the election.

In one of the strongest statements by Republicans, Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, said, "I am troubled by the timing and reasoning of Director Comey's termination."

"His dismissal further confuses an already difficult investigation by the committee," Burr said.

Schumer told Trump in a phone call he thought dumping Comey was a mistake. On Wednesday, Trump labeled the Senate minority leader "Cryin' Chuck Schumer."

Trump will now appoint a successor at the FBI, which has been investigating since late July, and who will almost certainly have an impact on how the probe moves forward and whether the public will accept its outcome.

It was only the second firing of an FBI director in history. President Bill Clinton dismissed William Sessions amid allegations of ethical lapses in 1993.

Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona said Congress must form a special committee to investigate Russia's interference in the election.

Comey, 56, was nominated by President Barack Obama for the FBI post in 2013 to a 10-year term, though that appointment does not ensure a director will serve the full term.

Praised frequently by both parties for his independence and integrity, he spent three decades in law enforcement. Before the past months' controversies, the former deputy attorney general in the George W. Bush administration was perhaps best known for a remarkable 2004 standoff with top officials over a federal domestic surveillance program. In March of that year, Comey rushed to the hospital bed of Attorney General John Ashcroft to physically stop White House officials in their bid to get his ailing boss to reauthorize a secret no-warrant wiretapping program.

But his prominent role in the 2016 presidential campaign raised questions about his judgment and impartiality. Though the FBI did not recommend charges against Clinton for mishandling classified information, Comey was blisteringly critical of her decision to use a personal email account and private internet server during her four years as secretary of state.

Comey strongly defended his decisions during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week. He said he was "mildly nauseous" at the thought of having swayed the election but also said he would do the same again.

Clinton has partially blamed her loss on Comey's disclosure to Congress less than two weeks before Election Day that the email investigation would be revisited. Comey later said the FBI, again, had found no reason to bring any charges.

Hillary Clinton says she'd be president if election took place on Oct. 27
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AP writers Darlene Superville, Ken Thomas, Vivian Salama, Catherine Lucey and Sadie Gurman in Washington and Michael Balsamo in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Smokey Joe's Cigar Lounge, in the aftermath of a forced shutdown of the lounge at McIntosh Condominiums, is seeking a liquor license at its new location.

SPRINGFIELD - Smokey Joe's Cigar Lounge, in the aftermath of a New Year's Eve closing at its former location at the McIntosh Condominiums on Chestnut Street, returns to the License Commission on Thursday to seek a liquor license at its new downtown site.

The private cigar club is seeking approval of the all-alcohol liquor license at its new second floor location at 395-397 Dwight St., formerly the location of the Oz nightclub.

The commission meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.

Smokey Joe's closed on Dec.31 on the ground floor of the condominium building after its smoking permit renewal was rejected by the city.

The permit was denied in response to public testimony and documents that raised concerns about cigar smoke in the building and potential health hazards. Members of the McIntosh Condominiums Association urged city officials not to renew the smoking permit.

Prior to the permit being denied, Smokey Joe's had unsuccessfully applied for a liquor license at the McIntosh building in January 2016.

The License Commission rejected that license application, by way of a 2-2 vote, with some commission members raising concerns about the impact smoke might be having on residents in the above floors. However, more than 20 people spoke in favor of the liquor license at that hearing including members and guests of the smoking club.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act would forbid employers from firing or discriminating against workers because of pregnancy or nursing. It would require employers to make reasonable accommodations for pregnant women.

BOSTON -- The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday guaranteeing more rights for pregnant workers.

"When a woman comes to your office and unfortunately tells you a story how not only was she mistreated because of her pregnancy but actually lost the child, then it makes you stand up and take notice," said House Speaker Robert DeLeo, D-Winthrop.

The bill passed the House unanimously, 149-0.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act would forbid employers from firing or discriminating against workers because of pregnancy or nursing -- the same way employers cannot discriminate based on religion, gender, race or other protected classes. It would also require employers to make reasonable accommodations for pregnant women.

As The Republican/MassLive.com previously reported, current disability protections do not cover women with healthy pregnancies. The bill would apply the same standards that already apply to disability to pregnancy: requiring employers to make reasonable accommodations upon request unless doing so would impose undue hardship on the business. An employer would not be able to fire, deny a job to or demote a worker because of pregnancy-related accommodations. The employer could not force the worker to accept a particular accommodation or take a leave as long as the employee was able to perform the essential functions of her job.

Reasonable accommodations include things like more frequent breaks to eat, drink or use the bathroom, time off to recover from childbirth, modification of equipment, seating, a temporary transfer to an easier role, limits on lifting heavy objects, a private space for nursing or a modified work schedule.

The bill has been a priority for women's rights groups since 2015. It passed the Senate last session as an amendment to an unrelated bill but did not make it through the House.

At the time, business groups voiced concerns with the details of the bill. Since then, however, the business groups have worked with lawmakers to develop a version of the bill that appears to satisfy both businesses and women's advocates. Changes include, for example, requiring the employer and employee to work together to come up with an accommodation, aligning state and federal accommodation laws, and providing flexibility on the type of accommodation to be offered.

After the business-backed changes were made, DeLeo announced that he would make passing the bill a priority.

DeLeo said he believes 95 percent of businesses already treat pregnant women appropriately. "But there's always that 5 percent that require us to make sure we have a law to enforce to make sure they comply and provide a safe environment for pregnant women here in the commonwealth," DeLeo said.

Those involved in the bill praised the collaborative process.

"There was really a great deal of consensus around the need to deal with this problem," said Rep. Paul Brodeur, D-Melrose, chairman of the Committee on Labor and Workforce Development. "The question was more around ... what are the details so we can create a situation where employers know what their workplaces should look like and give employees a reasonable expectation that they will be able to keep their jobs, go through a healthy pregnancy and raise their kids right after the pregnancy concludes."

"There's a real contrast between what's going on in Washington where everything is kind of hand-to-hand combat," Brodeur added. "Here we identified a discreet, important issue that's going to help Massachusetts families and put together a bipartisan coalition to get it done."

The bill's sponsor, Rep. David Rogers, D-Cambridge, said the changes "were the result of a healthy balanced compromise."

The bill had 99 co-sponsors. "We had Republicans, we had Democrats, we had the business community, we had advocates all working together striking sensible compromises to craft a really fine piece of legislation that on the one hand protects women who are pregnant in the workplace but at the same time sets reasonable standards for employers," Rogers said.

An amendment adopted on the House floor would require the state to study ways to improve online access to information about eligibility for state benefits to pregnant low-income women.

Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield, called the bill a matter of "economic justice" for women. "It's these discriminatory practices that keep women down," she said.

Rep. Ellen Story, D-Amherst, who introduced the original bill and has since retired, returned to the Statehouse to celebrate the bill's passage. Story called the bill a "win-win for everyone" and said she was "ecstatic" that it passed in time for Mother's Day on Sunday.

The bill has roots in Western Massachusetts. Laura Sylvester drafted the bill as a class project while she was a student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst getting a master's degree in public policy. She was already involved with the Hadley-based women's advocacy group MotherWomen, where she is now the advocacy coordinator, and said she came up with the idea while talking to others from the group.

"We were bemoaning the fact it's very hard for women to balance motherhood and work, and we needed to do better in the policy department supporting women," Sylvester said.

Liz Friedman of Northampton, the former program director of MotherWoman, said she knew nothing about the legislative process before she started lobbying for the bill three years ago.

"I knew there were pregnant women, workers, my friends, facing discrimination in the workplace, and something had to change," Friedman said.

Jesse Mermell, president of the liberal-leaning Alliance for Business Leadership, said the bill is good for business.

"With half of pregnant women and new mothers in Massachusetts working -- contributing to our economy and supporting their families -- there's no doubt that accommodating pregnant employees is the smart business move," Mermell said.

The bill now goes to the Senate. The Senate is expected to pass it, although if senators make any changes, it could go to a committee of negotiators before reaching Gov. Charlie Baker's desk.

Shawn Ragland, 26, of Springfield, was fatally shot multiple times Sunday night outside a house party. Police are seeking information about his death.

SPRINGFIELD -- Shawn Ragland was the ultimate jack-of-all-trades. Fried computer? He could fix it. Need help hooking up electronics? Not a problem for him. Need a last-minute entertainer? He could pull out his guitar and impress a crowd.

"We are not glorifying Shawn's death, we are glorifying his memory. It is not how he died, it is how he lived," his mother, Kimberly Mobley, said Wednesday in an interview with The Republican.

The 26-year-old Springfield resident who worked as a laborer on a construction crew was fatally shot multiple times Sunday night while at a house party on Carver Street in the city's Forest Park neighborhood. Ragland was apparently gunned down when he stepped outside the house for a few moments at about 9:30 p.m.

The shooting remains under investigation, and police have not yet made any arrests. No information about possible motives or possible suspects has been disclosed. It is not altogether clear if Ragland was the intended target, police said.

"He loved his family and we all loved him. God has a plan, and we believe in whatever (God) does, but we are in pain," Mobley said.

His mother, who now lives in Texas, said her son had terrific mechanical abilities and could fix anything. She recalled having called him in desperation after trying and failing to hook up her cable, television, DVD and other electronics.

"He walked me through it over the phone, and it worked. If I ever needed anything put together, he was that man, he was the one I went to," she said.

Ragland had been injured recently on the job and was still recovering when he was killed. He and one of his brothers also operated a small business part-time, Mobley said.

But work was hardly the only thing he did: He cooked, and he was a talented singer who taught himself how to play guitar and piano, she said.

"He was incredible and he was kind," Mobley said. She said he would always make an effort to tell her she looked nice or would tell her she was the best mom ever.

The family attended Third Baptist Church in Springfield, where Ragland and many of his family sang in the choir. Many relatives are involved in different churches -- two of his grandparents served as deacons, one of his aunts is the overseer of another church and another aunt, who has since died, was a pastor. Mobley said she is also a minister.

Ragland grew up in West Springfield with a boisterous blended family of 14 siblings. He and his other brothers were all talented basketball players who played for West Springfield High School and in leagues all over the region. His brother Joe Ragland plays professionally in Italy.

Shawn Ragland's talents on the court led to volunteer work. He and another brother began working with inner-city teens by holding open gym for basketball at the Rebecca Johnson School in Springfield's McKnight neighborhood, assisting Deacon Richard Griffin. That program has expanded to create basketball teams for teens in leagues for under 15-year-olds and under 18-year-olds, Mobley said.

The players are looking for a positive thing to do, and Ragland would serve as mentor and coach. He played with them, sang with them and prayed with them, she said.

"He is cool like them, but he is different because he is positive, not negative," Mobley said.

That is one of the reasons Ragland's death was so horrifying, she said.

"He was a mature young man. He didn't stand for violence, he would step in and break up a fight. He loved God, we all love God, and he loved all people.

"That is who my son was," she said.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the Springfield Police Detective Bureau at 413-787-6355. Those who wish to remain anonymous may text a tip via a cellphone by addressing a text message to "CRIMES," or "274637," and then beginning the body of the message with the word "SOLVE."

The only catch to the "One Minute Student Film Festival" is that the submissions have to be no longer than 60 seconds

SPRINGFIELD - The Bing Arts Center on Sumner Avenue recently conducted its inaugural student film festival that invited area middle, high school and college students to submit their own work.

The only catch to the "One Minute Student Film Festival" is that the submissions, like the title suggests, have to be no longer than 60 seconds.

Max Langford and Ethan Laudato of Agawam won first prize in the college-age category, and Di Wang of Wilbraham-Monson Academy had the best high school submission. Prizes were awarded during the festival on Saturday.

Langford, a student at American International College in Springfield, and Laudato, a student at Rhode Island College, entered a work called "Roof Life." It features a fantasy depiction of two young men, played by Langford and Laudato, who just happen to live on the roofs of their homes.

Wang's submission, titled "Creature of Annoyance" is an animated feature involving stick-figure doodles who come to life on a wall and end up battling a fire-breathing dragon.

Some of the other entries in the contest may be seen on the Bing Arts Center page on Youtube.

Brian Hale, executive director of the Bing Art Center Board of Directors, said the center is interested in making the festival an annual event for the area schools.

This is the second time the departments have held the competition.

CHICOPEE - The Police and Fire departments will face off in a friendly competition to see which can collect more blood for the American Red Cross.

The Fire Department will host the "Battle of the Badges" blood drive at the Public Safety Complex at 80 Church St. The blood drive, the second of its kind, will be held between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Friday.

Any member of the public is encouraged to come and donate blood and are encouraged to bring their friends and family. At the time they can specify if they want their donation to help the Fire Department or the Police Department, said Fire Lt. Katie Kalbaugh.

"Make sure you mention that you are doing this for the CPD not the CFD," Michael Wilk, Police public information officer joked in a Facebook post. "All kidding aside, it's important to all first responders that there is a supply of donated blood."

Anyone interested in making an appointment to donate should call Kalbaugh at 594-1652.

Emergency medical services providers reported an opioid-related incident in 301 of the 351 communities in Massachusetts during 2016.

By ANDY METZGER, State House News Service

BOSTON -- An average of 38 people per week died of opioids in 2016, with fentanyl contributing substantially to the death toll, according to updated data released Wednesday by the Department of Public Health.

The data publicized Wednesday provides a clearer view of the damage caused last year by the addictive drugs that have riveted the attention of policymakers and strained the capacity of the health system.

The state reported in February that there were 1,465 unintentional opioid overdose deaths in 2016 and another 469 to 562 deaths that were suspected to have involved opioids. The updated data released Wednesday concluded there were 1,933 confirmed opioid-related deaths last year.

In the first three months of 2017, the Department of Public Health recorded 172 confirmed cases of opioid overdose deaths and estimated an additional 242 to 307 deaths stemming from opioids. Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel said that the number opioid deaths in the first quarter of 2017 appears to be "about the same" as the same period one year ago, while cautioning that it is "difficult to say quarter to quarter what's happening."

"This enhanced level of data collection is a critical resource to help the administration, public safety officials and health care professionals understand the destructive impact of opioid-related overdoses in every corner of the commonwealth," said Gov. Charlie Baker in a statement. "We will continue to monitor trends and respond through targeted prevention, treatment and recovery services to break the negative momentum of this crisis."

Slightly more than 30 people per 100,000 died opioid-related deaths in 2016, which is more than double the 2013 rate and up 16 percent from 2015, according to the data. Emergency medical services providers reported an opioid-related incident in 301 of the 351 communities in Massachusetts during 2016.

Department of Public Health officials reported the data shows "signs of progress in fighting the opioid epidemic as the increase in death rates appears to have slowed."

State officials have responded to the crisis over the years by funding more treatment beds, issuing directives to health insurers, and stiffening the penalties for trafficking in fentanyl.

Fentanyl is a prescription painkiller that is more potent than heroin. Much of the supply of fentanyl in Massachusetts was "illicitly produced" rather than being diverted from pharmaceutical supplies.

Bharel said it is difficult for users to tell the difference between heroin and fentanyl, which is much more powerful than heroin and is not commonly prescribed.

"They can look the same," Bharel said. She said for illicit drug users, "It's really hard to say what may or may not be in there."

Bharel said fentanyl overdoses can be treated with naloxone, an overdose-reversing medication that is "widely used" by first responders.

According to the new data, of the 1,899 opioid-related deaths in 2016 where a toxicology screen was available, 69 percent had a positive screen for fentanyl. In the last three months of 2016, heroin appeared to be present in about one third of those who died from opioids, according to the department.

The department changed the way it categorized the data, including in its most recent report deaths of "all intents" including suicides involving opioids. In their report, officials said the change will "not add significantly to the death totals, however it will allow for consistency in interpretation in the data that are presented."

A fourth person who was struck by a Jeep inside the Lynnway Auto Auction in Billerica has died. Authorities identified the victim as Elliott Rowlands Jr., a 50-year-old resident of Buzzards Bay.

A fourth person who was struck by a Jeep inside the Lynnway Auto Auction in Billerica has died. Authorities identified the victim as Elliott Rowlands Jr., a 50-year-old resident of Buzzards Bay.

The Middlesex County District Attorney's Office said Rowlands died at the Lahey Clinic on Wednesday. He is now the fourth person who was killed when a Jeep driven by an employee at the car auction center drove into a crowd during a May 3 auction inside the building.

The accident remains under investigation. As of Wednesday, the driver has not been charged.

Lynnway Auto Auction had a prayer service Wednesday before starting an auction. Company president Jim Lamb released a statement after learning about the fourth death. 

"We continue to be shocked and saddened at the loss of life and injuries that occurred as a result of last week's tragic accident," Lamb said. "At this morning's service, words of comfort, sympathy and prayer were offered. We want to extend those thoughts to the family of Mr. Rowlands who passed away today from his injuries.  Our prayers and condolences are with them and all of those who have been impacted by the accident."

Leezandra Aponte, a 36-year-old mother of three from Lowell, along with Brenda Lopez, 48, and Pantaleon Santos, 49, both of Rhode Island, were also killed after the May 3 crash.

The driver has been identified as Roger Hartwell, 76, of Quincy, according to The Lowell Sun. He had a suspended license at the time of the crash. Lamb said the company learned about his employee's license status after the crash.

"We were informed by the police on Wednesday that the driver of the Jeep had a suspended license," Lamb said in a statement. "We were unaware of the change in status of the driver's license until the police told us after the accident."

The driver has told media outlets that he believed the vehicle was defective. He also said he didn't know his license was suspended. 

Brown was one of three students arrested in connection with the March 28 incident.

NORTHAMPTON -- An 18-year-old student charged in connection with an alleged schoolyard assault at Easthampton High School is due for a pretrial hearing May 18 in Northampton District Court.

Joshua R. Brown is charged with assault and battery, a misdemeanor; and with intimidating a witness, a felony punishable by 30 months in state prison.

Easthampton police in their initial complaint charged Brown with aggravated assault and battery with serious bodily injury -- a felony -- but a reduced charge appears on the trial court docket.

Police say on March 28, Brown was one of three students of color who surrounded and punched a white student in the high school parking lot. The victim had previously sent a racial slur to a former girlfriend using social media, court documents state.

The racially-charged incident touched off a series of events, including a student walkout, a community speakout, a set of packed School Committee meetings, and the retention of a consultant to help reform the climate and culture at Easthampton High School.

The victim has since been identified as the son of Easthampton Police Officer Alan Schadel, a resource officer assigned to the schools. Schadel was on leave from his job at the time of the incident, officials have said. Brown was arrested March 30 by Officer Rick Rogalski, who is also an assistant football coach at the high school.

Two juvenile suspects were also reportedly arrested; their current status within the legal system is not clear.

At his March 31 arraignment, Brown pleaded not guilty to the two charges. According to amended conditions of his release, Brown must stay 100 yards away from his alleged victim while not on school grounds.

Brown, who first came to Easthampton as a foster child from the Boston area, played on the high school basketball team, parents and students have said. He was scheduled to appear in court May 10, but the matter was continued.

Brown is represented by Northampton lawyer Peter Lane.