View obituaries from The Republican newspaper in Springfield, Massachusetts.

The facility was built in 1926 to replace earlier stations. But it sat mostly empty since the late 1970s and was underused and decaying for decades prior to that as interest in rail travel declined.

SPRINGFIELD -- Springfield will celebrate the future of Union Station at its grand reopening next month with a look at its past.

Of special interest will be a series of open house events June 25 inside the cavernous, long-shuttered depot.

Union Station's reopening follows a $94 million floor-to-ceiling renovation and rehabilitation years in the making.

The facility was built in 1926 to replace earlier stations. But it has been mostly empty since the late 1970s, and was underused and decaying for decades prior to that, as interest in rail travel declined.

The new Union Station will offer service from Amtrak and Connecticut's commuter rail system to New Haven and on to New York City beginning in 2018. It will have local bus service from the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority and long-distance service from Peter Pan Bus Lines and its partner, Greyhound.

Dietz & Co. Architects have rented office space and retail tenants include a Subway sandwich shop, Dunkin' Donuts, convenience store, sunglasses kiosk and cellphone kiosk.

A schedule for the grand reopening weekend:

Friday, June 23: U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, a longtime advocate for Union Station, announced his first candidacy for public office -- the Springfield City Council -- at the station in 1977. He will celebrate the 40th anniversary of that announcement with supporters on June 23.

Saturday, June 24: A gala organized by Spirit of Springfield will be held from 6-11 p.m. The event will be catered by Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel and students from American International College will serve as hosts. Tickets to the event are $200 each and may be purchased through the Spirit of Springfield at 413-733-3800 or by email at staff@spiritofspringfield.org.

Sunday, June 25: Two free open house events will give a look inside Union Station.

The first, from 10 a.m. to noon, is for contractors who worked on the project and their families, according to Spirit of Springfield. The second open house for the general public is from noon to 2 p.m. 

The open houses will feature historic vehicles from Peter Pan Bus Lines and collector George Holman, as well as a model railroad display by the Amherst Rail Society, which puts on a display every winter on the grounds of The Big E.

Artist Ed Pessolano will discuss the murals he created for the station. Ken Guerin Drama Studio will offer train conductor role-play. And The Republican will be there with books commemorating the station.

The Springfield Museums are planning hands-on activities for children:

• Little Hands on the Move: Explore the city streets and landmarks of the Springfield Cultural District using wooden cars and motorcycles on a giant carpeted map.

• Early Transportation Please Touch Table: Put on your white curator gloves and touch car parts from a century ago.

• Marble Run: Use plastic, wood, recycled and even illuminated materials to create twists and turns to see how far you can get your marbles to roll.

• Union Station-Themed Buttons: Color a train, bus or Union Station Grand Opening logo, then have it made into a wearable button.

• The Cat in the Hat: Meet the Dr. Seuss character from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The organizer said the issues of gangs, drugs, and human trafficking are all related and are a growing problem in New England.

SPRINGFIELD - Law enforcement from throughout New England will be in Springfield on Thursday for a day-long conference on strategies for dealing with the intersecting issues of gangs, drugs and human trafficking.

The Gang Intelligence and Investigating Conference is planned to begin at 9 a.m. in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Organizer Nicholas Cotto, a New England Police Academy instructor, said the conference is sold out and some 250 people are expected.

The conference is not open to the public. Attendees will be from across New England and include police officers, sheriff's department officials, prosecutors, and parole and probation officers.

Gang expert Nicholas Cotto, in this 2008 file photo, takes photos of gang graffiti in Springfield. By studying the graffiti, Cotto would gain intelligence on what gangs were up to.(THE REPUBLICAN FILE)

In addition to being an academy instructor, Cotto has for years consulted with area police departments on gang intelligence.

Cotto will be leading presentations and discussion throughout the day.

He said he is planning sessions on how street gangs operate and recruit; the issue of human trafficking, where young girls are forced into the sex trade; and the opioid epidemic throughout New England.

"All three are connected," he said.

There will also be discussion on the growing influence of the MS-13 gang, an international street gang that has spread from Los Angeles.

Also planned is a discussion on how gangs make use of smartphone apps to stay ahead of police, and how police can use theirs to keep track of gangs.

Cotto said the conference will open with remarks from Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno. Also expected to speak are Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi and Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni.

Cotto said one of the points to the conference is to bring people from different areas of law enforcement and different regions together to share experiences and business cards.

"It's about how all in law enforcement can work together and share information, and try to be ahead in the game," he said. "What I have to do from a law enforcement perspective is bring everyone together, in a big table, to get everyone to know each other."

The sharing of information among different agencies and different jurisdictions will allow law enforcement to better address problems, he said.

"We'll be focusing on what is happening today. Not two months ago or three months ago."

Nearly 5,700 fish migrated with the help of the Robert E. Barrett Fishway elevation system to get up and over the Holyoke Dam in Holyoke, Massachusetts on Thursday, May 11, 2017 with glass viewing stations and an observation deck overlooking the Connecticut River giving visitors views of the operation on Bridge Street. Watch video

HOLYOKE -- Water roared over the Holyoke Dam as though stopping would never be an option. The water plunged in curtains off the 30-foot-tall dam and continually exploded up again in puffy white leaps from the Connecticut River while a distance away the churning current occasionally tossed up a rainbow against the blue sky.

Inside the Robert E. Barrett Fishway at the Holyoke Dam on Thursday, churning of another sort proceeded: The official count showed that 5,653 shad and 14 gizzard shad were assisted that day by the facility's elevator system to continue their migration up and over the dam. They're heading upstream to spawn.

The dam and triple-canal system that runs through the city exploits the terrain's elevation and uses the Connecticut River's flow to surge through turbines and generate electricity for 18,000 home and business customers.

"It's just like, where else can you be and see fish swimming by in an aquarium and see a hydro-power generator, and it's right here in Holyoke," said Kate C. Sullivan, marketing coordinator at the Holyoke Gas and Electric Department (HGE), which owns the fishway and dam.

Sullivan gave The Republican a tour Thursday that showed the fishway at the dam off Bridge Street near the South Hadley-Holyoke Bridge offers practical contact with beauty, science, nature and the powering of homes and businesses.

Visitors can watch it happen -- for another month or so.

The annual and free fishway viewing season began May 3 and runs through June 11, Wednesday to Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sullivan said.

Today for Mother's Day moms visiting the fishway will get a free carnation, Sullivan said.

Also, the 52nd Annual HGE Shad Derby begins this weekend and also will be held on May 20 and 21 with a grand prize of $1,000 in cash for the first-place winner in the senior division. For derby rules visit HGED.com

Glass viewing stations and an observation deck overlooking the Connecticut River let visitors watch the fish migrate.

Fish are drawn into the lift system by an attraction water flow that the system gives off and which migrating fish instinctively seek out. A gate closes and the fish are lifted to exit at a flume, passing by large windows in the public viewing area and into the counting and trapping areas. Then they are released to travel upstream.

The fishway is open for self-guided tours during regular business hours and an HGE guide provides tours on Saturdays and Sundays at 1:30 p.m. during viewing season.

Over 250,000 fish pass through the fishway each season before they are released to continue their journey upstream. The counting room keeps daily tallies of each species as required by federal licensing rules.

The 250,000 total apparently is an average. A fish count that Sullivan provided, showing totals from when the fishway began in 1955 to last year, showed the total began with 4,899 and hit a high in 1985 with 1,154,806.

The fish count in 2016 was 422,649.

The overwhelming majority of fish counted at the lift are American shad, which accounted for over 91 percent of last year's attendance.

The Connecticut River runs from northern New Hampshire near the Canadian border 410 miles south to the Long Island Sound. Migrating fish swim from the Atlantic Ocean up the Connecticut River each spring.

The fishway is named after Robert E. Barrett, who was president of the former Holyoke Water Power Co. from 1945 to 1974. Barrett wanted to aid the survival and spawning of migrating species such as American shad, blueback herring, shortnose sturgeon, sea lamprey, gizzard shad and striped bass.

According to information provided by Sullivan (see below), efforts to help the fish had been tried for decades. A timber fish ladder in 1873 didn't work nor did a ladder made of concrete in 1940.

In 1955, the first fishlift was built on the area of the dam known as the tailrace and 4,899 American shad were lifted in 35 days -- manually hauled with buckets, pulleys and ropes.

Now, the mechanical elevation system can lift 500 to 700 fish at a time with 2,857 gallons of water for a total weight of 12 tons, according to information from Sullivan.

Many of the shad that swim through the elevator are repeat customers, said Liz Austin, HGE coordinator of public programs.

Fish that have been tagged by scientists are known to swim to the ocean off North Carolina for the cold months and return north in the spring headed to the Bay of Fundy between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, via the Connecticut River, she said.

"They find their way back to the Connecticut River," Austin said.

Shad imprint on the mineral and chemical composition of the river, she said.

"Every river has its own composition," she said.

Sullivan praised Austin's work at the fishway: "This would not happen without her."

Besides the Mother's Day and shad derby events, the fishway offers presentations to public school fourth-graders, whose curriculum includes learning about fish, Sullivan said.

"It's right in our backyard and people don't even realize that it's here and available to them to learn about hydro-power and fish migration. Some people have been coming for years and years. We try to gear activities to fourth-grade classrooms," Sullivan said.

Plotted by city planners in the 1840's, the current dam was built between 1893 and 1900. It is made of granite from Vinyl Haven Island, Maine, and is filled with local stone and mortar, according to information from Sullivan.

The dam is 1,000 feet long and is not a flood-control dam, the information sheets from Sullivan said: "After heavy rains or melting snow, water pours over the top,"

How Does Fishlift Operate by Mike Plaisance on Scribd

Fishway visitor center presentation: by Mike Plaisance on Scribd

Authorities say a man and woman from Roxbury were caught with more than $4,200 in fake cash after the pair used the funny money at different stores in Bridgewater.

Authorities say a man and woman from Roxbury were caught with more than $4,200 in fake cash after the pair used the funny money at different stores in Bridgewater.

The Bridgewater Police Department and the Counterfeit Division of the U.S. Secret Service continue to investigate the discovery of the counterfeit cash after the arrests of 32-year-old Garfield Thomas and 31-year-old Jocelyn Vazquez last week.

Investigators were called to a CVS in West Bridgewater on Thursday after a man and woman used a counterfeit $100 bill there, police said. Officers were able to locate the man and woman at a Home Depot in Bridgewater.

A detective entered the store and saw Thomas and Vazquez making purchases with another fake $100 bill, police said. The serial number on the bill used at Home Depot was the same as the bill used at CVS, according to investigators.

Thomas and Vazquez were arrested on larceny charges along with possessing and uttering counterfeit cash charges.

"After officers arrested the pair, they found 42 more counterfeit $100 bills in their possession," police said.

A Maine man was sentenced to serve 14 years in prison after he pretended to be a teenager online and traveled to Massachusetts to have sex with minors.

A Maine man was sentenced to serve 14 years in prison after he pretended to be a teenager online and traveled to Massachusetts to have sex with minors.

Dillan Letellier, 32, of Saco, Maine, was sentenced in federal court last week after he pleaded guilty to two counts of coercion and enticement of a minor, one count of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, three counts of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and one count of possession of child pornography.

Letellier will be on supervised release for five years after he is released from federal prison.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Letellier pretended to be a 17-year-old when he met two 14-year-old victims online. He was able to get both victims to meet with him for sex, authorities said.

"On separate occasions, Letellier traveled from Maine to each of the victims' Massachusetts towns, met each victim, and brought the victims to locations in Massachusetts where they engaged in sexual intercourse," the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Letellier was arrested on Oct. 3, 2013. Investigators checked electronic devices seized from his home and discovered child pornography. Thousands of images and videos were found on the devices.

Two vehicles were totaled in an accident on Route 9 caused by a wrong-way driver.

HADLEY - Two separate motor vehicle crashes snarled already congested traffic and injured one person riding a bicycle Saturday.

Two vehicles were also totaled in one of the accidents, which added to traffic problems created by college graduations, Police Sgt. Mitchell Kuc said.

The bicycle accident happened at about 3:14 p.m. on South Maple Street at the bike path crossing. Hadley Police and Fire departments with Amherst Ambulance responded, he said.

An investigation showed the cyclist went through the stop sign and struck the side of a vehicle. The cyclist suffered face and head lacerations and was taken to Baystate Medical Center for treatment. The driver of the car was not injured, he said.

About three hours earlier, at 12:11 p.m., a vehicle traveling the wrong way near 331 Russell Road, also known as Route 9, and struck a car exiting the Dunkin' Donuts.

"Both vehicles were likely totaled and were towed from the scene. No injuries were reported," he said.

Hadley Police continue to investigate the accident.

Some areas of Massachusetts and New England saw snow this Mother's Day. Watch video

An overnight snowfall greeted people Sunday morning in some parts of Massachusetts and other areas in New England.

There were reports of snow in Franklin County and the National Weather Service reported that snow fell in East Hawley, Massachusetts.

East Hawley, with an elevation of 1,650 feet, had four inches of snow, the National Weather Service reported.

Yes there was snow last night in S NE. In the foothills of the Berkshires, East Hawley MA at elavation 1650 feet had 4 inches.

— NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) May 14, 2017

Light snowfall also fell in some areas in the Berkshires. Mount Snow in Vermont saw about 6 inches of snow. There was also snowfall in some areas of New Hampshire.

Looks like Mother Nature decided to play a trick on us this morning for Mother's Day!

See for yourself at: https://t.co/enZVX6tOv4 pic.twitter.com/Y5VTmtXdm7

— mount snow (@mountsnow) May 14, 2017

Happy Mother's Day! NHDOT crews out treating and in some areas plowing. I-89 is 45 MPH from Warner to VT. This is NH 3A in Plymouth. pic.twitter.com/ybYYJXKVRg

— NHDOT (@NewHampshireDOT) May 14, 2017

The National Weather Service said rain will fall all day across Eastern Massachusetts. Hail could fall in the Berkshires. The temperature will be in the 40s Sunday night in many areas.

This is the second time just a few days that people in Massachusetts saw snow this month. Snow flurries were seen in Western Massachusetts on May 8.

The information may be used to help solve house breaks, car breaks and other crimes.

LONGMEADOW - The Police Department is starting a program to register outdoor surveillance cameras to help fight crime.

The program is voluntary, confidential and will not give police direct access to any recordings.

Residents or business owners who have an outdoor surveillance camera can register it with the Police Department. If a crime happens in the area where the camera is located, a police officer will then ask the owner to check the footage for a date and time to see if it recorded any pertinent information in that crime.

Those interested in participating can register on the Longmeadow Police Department website. People can also contact Officer C. Jurkowski to register or to find out more information. He can be reached at cjurkowski@longmeadow.org or 413-567-3311 ext. 310.

The rescued bear cubs were turned over to wildlife officials.

PITTSFIELD - Firefighters rescued two baby bears from a tree after the cubs climbed to safety when their mother was hit by a car over the weekend.

The rescue was the first of two sightings of mother bears with cubs this weekend, prompting police to warn people to keep their distance and avoid gathering in crowds to watch them because they will spook the animals.

"We simply ask that you stay away from them," police said. "A protective mama can and will outrun you, your child and any self-proclaimed track star if she feels her cubs are in danger."

The more people who stay and watch, especially if cubs climb a tree, the longer it will take the bears to leave, police said.

On Friday afternoon the mother bear was struck a car in the West Pittsfield area. She fled and could not be located but her two cubs sought safety by climbing nearby trees, police said.

The Fire Department was called and used a ladder truck to rescue the two cubs from the tree. The animals were then turned over to wildlife officials, Fire officials said.

Then on Saturday morning, police received multiple calls about a mother bear and her three cubs found in a backyard area also climbing a tree. The bears were left alone and eventually left the area, police said.

In a Facebook post, police reminded people the bears were just being bears and to watch from a distance.

Wildlife officials advise people to secure trash cans and remove bird feeders and any other possible food source to avoid attracting bears.

The driver whose SUV collided with Nieves later told police it was no accident. He did it "on purpose to help you guys out because that guy was driving like an a------," the report said.

These were the top stories out of Springfield District Court last week. If you missed any, click on the links below to read them now.

Springfield man denies raping friend's 14-year-old daughter; bail set at $100,000

Motorcyclist killed in Springfield crash was under influence of marijuana, defense lawyer contends

Buyer beware: Springfield heroin dealer had 220 packets stashed in very private place, police say

Springfield man charged with whipping teenage relative rejects plea deal

New month, new charges for Springfield man identified as gang member

Lithuanian man facing potential deportation following arrest in Springfield on credit card fraud charges

Prosecutor: Witness prepared to recant testimony in Springfield home invasion case

Gale D. Candaras, who served in the state legislature for 18 years, was the keynote speaker.

SPRINGFIELD - Springfield College awarded 873 graduates with bachelor degrees and honored two partners who created a program for those who are deaf and developmentally delayed at the 131^st graduation Sunday.

Saturday the college also held a graduate degree ceremony and awarded 658 master's degrees, six certificates of advanced graduate study, 15 doctor of philosophy degrees, 34 doctor of physical therapy degrees, and five doctor of psychology degrees.

Gale D. Candaras, a lawyer who served as a state representative for 10 years and a state senator for eight, was the keynote speaker at Sunday's graduation.

"The days I treasured most during my life of public service were the days when I was able to really make a difference in someone's life," Candaras said. "Helping others is what we do. We walk a mile in the other guy's shoes, we treat others the way we would like to be treated, we serve our country here and abroad and we volunteer and reach out a hand of hope and love in the darkest hours." 

During the graduation, college officials also granted the Springfield College Humanics Achievement Award to Elizabeth A. Davison, of Wilbraham. The award recognized someone who has exhibited courage in the face of adversity, demonstrated leadership in service to others, advanced diversity and inclusion, served as a champion for the oppressed, furthered education in spirit, mind, and body, or contributed significantly to the understanding of the universe.

Candaras and Davidson worked together to establish a residential program at Springfield College for developmentally-delayed adults who are also hearing impaired. Davidson who co-founded and lead the program while Candaras secured the funding.

College, a project that Davison co-founded and led, and for which Candaras secured funding.

"And, there's one special mom I want to congratulate today, my dear friend, Elizabeth "Betsy" Davison," Candaras said at the ceremony which fell on Mother's Day. "Mrs. Davison conceived of an innovative program for individuals, like her own son, Andrew, who are deaf and developmentally delayed. Her idea lead to a great partnership with Springfield College and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to create a pilot program to include deaf individuals in campus life." 

Springfield College Board of Trustees chair, Gregory C. Toczydlowski convened the ceremony and Springfield College President Mary-Beth Cooper also addressed the graduates.

Manuel Sandoval, who earned his degree from the School of Professional and Continuing Studies, was the student speaker at the undergraduate ceremony.

"Today we pledge to be and do more than just maintain the status quo," he said. "Today we are gladiators, we are architects of a future informed by the guiding philosophy that love, empathy and understanding can conquer hate."

The cost of the class is $70 and half of the proceeds will benefit the Kops 'N Kids program

OTIS - The Police Department is announcing a Massachusetts Pistol Permit and Firearms ID card class will be held in June.

The course will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on June 11 in the Otis Town Hall. Tuition is $70 per person.

The instructor is a National Rifle Association certified instructor and will help prepare people for carrying concealed weapons in public. People who complete the four-hour course will receive a Massachusetts State Police Training Certificate and documents pertaining to safe gun ownership, storage and handling. Upon completion, students will be able to apply for a Massachusetts Pistol Permit or Firearms Identification Card.

The course subjects such as parts of semi-automatic pistols and revolvers, proper storage of firearms and ammunition, safety in loading and unloading a firearm, self-defense and deadly force issues and interacting with law enforcement officers. It also incorporates the NRA First Steps Pistol program.

The Utah concealed carry class is also available on that day.

People must register before the class by calling 413-269-0100 ext. 6 or emailing rsarnacki@gmail.com.

Half the proceeds from the class will support the Otis Police Department Kops 'N Kids program.

Vidhi Patel hopes to continue her charity when she heads to the University of Massachusetts Amherst this fall.

CHICOPEE - When her older cousin fell ill with non-Hodgkin lymphoma years ago, Vidhi Patel watched as he struggled to keep up with schoolwork while being treated for cancer.

"He had to miss school for months," she said. "It was hard to know what was happening in your subjects and you miss out on your friends and after-school activities."

Vidhi PatelSubmitted photo 

Her cousin, who was 12 at the time, is now healthy and a college student. But seeing him trying to balance schoolwork while he was ill left a lasting impression on her.

Now the 17-year-old Comprehensive High School senior is developing a charity, called Cancer Patient Succeed, to help children like her cousin keep up with their education while fighting illness.

Her first move is to collect donations of school supplies to create baskets filled with the materials students need while trying to study outside school. She is working with schoolmates, friends and family to collect donations of materials, as well as using some of her own money to buy supplies.

Patel soon hopes to start handing the baskets out at hospitals and clinics to children who need them.

"I need binders and notebooks and crayons and other things depending on the age of the children. I would have some toys in there, stuff to make it fun," she said.

Anyone interested in contributing to the project can contact Patel at vidhip99@gmail.com. 

As time continues, Patel would like to expand the charity to connect volunteer tutors with students who need some extra help with their schoolwork.

"A student talking to another student is the best, I think," she said.

Patel would know, since she volunteered for some time to tutor her neighbor's children a few years ago.

Patel is heading to the University of Massachusetts Amherst after her June graduation to study political science, and eventually she plans to go to law school. While in college she said she wants to continue to develop the charity and start a program to get students to volunteer as tutors for cancer patients.

Now she is starting to contact hospitals and other medical facilities to see how to deliver the school supplies and find out how to set up a tutoring program.

"There is a reason this girl is winning scholarships," Guidance Counselor Robin Kenney-Bineau said. "She is a good kid and a hard worker and she deserves all the accolades."

This week Patel was surprised with a $1,500 college scholarship from Berkshire Bank because of her good grades and volunteer efforts.

"One of her traits is she is very modest. I did not learn about her charity until she was applying for scholarships," Kenney-Bineau said.

Along with working to create the charity, Patel is also a member of the National Honor Society, the Student Council and was named to the school's Student Leadership Team. She also was a member of the track team in her freshman year and helped her father at his store.

She is the daughter of Raju and Usha Patel and has a brother, Pratham Patel, who is finishing his freshman year at Comprehensive High.

Suzanne Hardy was found guilty of two counts of negligent motor vehicle homicide and one count of reckless endangerment in the deaths of Dylan Reil, 4, and his brother Jayce Garcia, 1.

SPRINGFIELD - A Holland woman found guilty of negligent motor vehicle homicide in the deaths of her two nephews is scheduled to be sentenced in the case on Monday.

Suzanne Hardy was found guilty of two counts of negligent motor vehicle homicide and one count of reckless endangerment of a child on Thursday. She was the driver in a June 20, 2014 crash that killed Dylan Reil, 4, and his brother Jayce Garcia, 1.

"My sympathy and thoughts are with Dylan's and Jayce's families, who are still coping with the tremendous loss of their beloved boys," Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni said. "The immeasurable loss the victims' families have experienced cannot be put into words. With this verdict, it is my hope that they feel that some justice has been done." 

He thanked Assistant District Attorney James Forsyth, who prosecuted the case, and the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit, its Crash Accident Reconstruction Section, and the Brimfield Police for their investigations which lead to the conviction.

Hardy was driving on Route 20 when she attempted to pass a lawn care truck and trailer that was waiting to turn. She clipped the guardrail and her car spun out of control and collided head-on with another car.

Prosecutors argued Hardy had not properly secured the boys in car seats. Her son was in a booster seat and Dylan was wearing a seatbelt. The jury agreed she was guilty of reckless endangerment for failing to secure Dylan properly but acquitted her for the same charge with Jayce, who was in a car seat that prosecutors argued was not properly installed.

Hardy, 24, suffered a fractured hip and a fractured foot and had her spleen removed in the accident.

"This was an accident. Horrible, tragic, but an accident," Joan Williams, the lawyer for Hardy, said in her closing argument.

Employees booting up computers at work Monday could see red as they discover they're victims of a global "ransomware" cyberattack that has created chaos in 150 countries and could wreak even greater havoc as more malicious variations appear.

LONDON -- Employees booting up computers at work Monday could see red as they discover they're victims of a global "ransomware" cyberattack that has created chaos in 150 countries and could wreak even greater havoc as more malicious variations appear.

As a loose global network of cybersecurity experts fought the ransomware hackers, officials and experts on Sunday urged organizations and companies to update older Microsoft operating systems immediately to ensure they aren't vulnerable to a more powerful version of the software -- or to future versions that can't be stopped.

The initial attack, known as "WannaCry," paralyzed computers that run Britain's hospital network, Germany's national railway and scores of other companies and government agencies worldwide in what was believed to be the biggest online extortion scheme so far.

Microsoft blamed the U.S. government for "stockpiling" software code that was used by unknown hackers to launch the attacks. The hackers exploited software code from the National Security Agency that leaked online.

The company's top lawyer said the government should report weaknesses they discover to software companies rather than seek to exploit them.

"An equivalent scenario with conventional weapons would be the U.S. military having some of its Tomahawk missiles stolen," attorney Brad Smith wrote on Microsoft's blog.

New variants of the rapidly replicating worm were discovered Sunday and one did not include the so-called kill switch that allowed researchers to interrupt its spread Friday by diverting it to a dead end on the internet.

Ryan Kalember, senior vice president at Proofpoint Inc. which helped stop its spread, said the version without a kill switch was able to spread but was benign because it contained a flaw that wouldn't allow it to take over a computer and demand ransom to unlock files. However, he said it's only a matter of time before a malevolent version exists.

"I still expect another to pop up and be fully operational," Kalember said. "We haven't fully dodged this bullet at all until we're patched against the vulnerability itself."

The attack held users hostage by freezing their computers, popping up a red screen with the words, "Oops, your files have been encrypted!" and demanding money through online bitcoin payment -- $300 at first, rising to $600 before it destroys files hours later.

The ransomware attack was particularly malicious, because if just one person in an organization clicked on an infected attachment or bad link, all the computers in a network would be infected, said Vikram Thakur, technical director of Symantec Security Response.

"That's what makes this more troubling than ransomware was a week ago," Thakur said.

It hit 200,000 victims across the world since Friday and is seen as an "escalating threat," said Rob Wainwright, the head of Europol, Europe's policing agency.

"The numbers are still going up," Wainwright said. "We've seen that the slowdown of the infection rate over Friday night, after a temporary fix around it, has now been overcome by a second variation the criminals have released."

The effects were felt around the globe, disrupting computers that run factories, banks, government agencies and transport systems in nations as diverse as Russia, Ukraine, Brazil, Spain, India and the U.S. Britain's National Health Service was hit hard, while Russia's Interior Ministry and companies including Spain's Telefonica, FedEx Corp. in the U.S. and French carmaker Renault all reported disruptions.

Chinese media reported that more than 29,000 institutions in the country had been hit, with universities and other educational entities the hardest hit, along with railway services and retailers. Japanese broadcaster NTV reported 600 companies in that country had been hit, and automaker Nissan and the Hitachi conglomerate said they were addressing the problem at their units that were affected.

The full extent of the attack won't become fully clear until people return to their workplaces Monday, for the first time after the attacks. Many may click infected email attachments or bad links and spread the virus further.

"It's this constant battle," said Ryan O'Leary, vice president of WhiteHat Security's threat research center. "The bad guys are always one step ahead."

The White House held emergency meetings Friday and Saturday to assess the global cyber threat, a White House official said Sunday. No details were disclosed. The official was not authorized to discuss the private meetings by name and requested anonymity.

It was too early to say who was behind the onslaught, which struck 100,000 organizations, and what their motivation was, aside from the obvious demand for money. So far, not many people have paid the ransom demanded by the malware, Europol spokesman Jan Op Gen Oorth told The Associated Press.

Researchers who helped prevent the spread of the malware and cybersecurity firms worked around the clock during the weekend to monitor the situation and install a software patch to block the worm from infecting computers in corporations across the U.S., Europe and Asia.

"Right now, just about every IT department has been working all weekend rolling this out," said Dan Wire, spokesman at Fireeye Security.

Businesses, government agencies and other organizations were urged to quickly implement a patch released by Microsoft Corp. The ransomware exploits older versions of Microsoft's operating system software, such as Windows XP.

Installing the patch is one way to secure computers against the virus. The other is to disable a type of software that connects computers to printers and faxes, which the virus exploits, O'Leary added.

Microsoft distributed a patch two months ago that could have forestalled much of the attack, but in many organizations it was likely lost among the blizzard of updates and patches that large corporations and governments strain to manage.

"It's one of those things, in a perfect world, if people were up to date on the patches, this wouldn't be a problem," O'Leary said. "But there are so many things to patch. The patch lists can be ginormous. It can be tough to tell which patch is important, until it is too late."

View obituaries from The Republican newspaper in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Summer should feel around the corner this week with high temperatures on the way.

Summer should feel around the corner this week with high temperatures on the way. 

The National Weather Service reports showers are likely Monday, mainly before 10 a.m. in Central Massachusetts and around Boston, noon in Western Massachusetts. 

Temperatures will reach the low-to-mid 60s across Massachusetts before falling into the 40s overnight. 

Warmer temperatures are expected each day this week, with a high in the 70s Tuesday, 80s Wednesday and 90s Thursday. 

The report found that most of the spending has been on hiring staff and raising salaries, not on programming to benefit inmates and reduce recidivism.

The MassINC think tank, in a new report, criticized state government for increasing spending on corrections even as the inmate population has declined.

The report found that most of the spending has been on hiring staff and raising salaries, not on programming to benefit inmates and reduce recidivism.

The MassINC report also highlights disparate spending levels between counties.

"(Spending has) gone up considerably when the population is going down at a time of very tight state budgets," said Ben Forman, research director at MassINC. "The question we ask is are those additional dollars going to provide better services to reduce recidivism.... The data suggest they hadn't, which is troubling."

MassINC is pushing for reforms to the state's correctional system that focus on increasing programs and services for inmates and implementing less harsh sentencing and incarceration practices. It plans to release the research at a summit on criminal justice reform on Monday.

The MassINC report analyzed state spending on both state and county corrections between fiscal 2011 and fiscal 2016. The report found that during those years, the budgets for state and county jails grew by 18 percent, to a total $1.2 billion. Budget growth outpaced inflation by $72 million. At the same time, the prison population declined by nearly 2,900 inmates.

The report found that the growth in spending has been driven by new hiring and rising wages. The average annual full-time salary at county departments of correction was $65,500 in fiscal 2016, while the average salary at the state Department of Correction was $76,000.

Spending on programs for inmates, such as education, largely stayed constant during this time - generally between 2 and 3 percent of the corrections budget.

Forman suggested that the staffing dollars would have been more effective if they went into hiring more social workers, mental health clinicians, educators or other staff who help inmates with mental illness or substance abuse problems or provide programs that will help them reenter the community.

"We know our correction facilities are filled with people who have mental illness and substance abuse problems," Forman said. "In order to help them be healthier, you need staff that can provide services, and we didn't see an increase in that sort of staffing in the data."

Ideally, Forman said the state would be able to move money out of corrections entirely and into treatment facilities, so people with mental illness or addiction could be treated without ending up in prison.

Spending was not evenly distributed among the county sheriffs. Worcester, Bristol and Essex County were operating with 25 percent less money per inmate than the statewide average among sheriffs.

Forman pointed out that the sheriffs with the least funding are all Republicans in a state with a Democratic-controlled Legislature. "The disparities seem to be more about politics than public safety," Forman said.

As The Republican/MassLive.com previously reported, there is no formula for funding each county sheriff. The appropriations appear to be based on when each county began being paid by state rather than county funds; what programming was being offered at that time; and political clout.

The report recommends creating a specific budget line item for program services and funding that adequately; diverting people with mental illness and addiction away from prison and into behavioral health services; investing in community programs in neighborhoods with high crime rates that can keep people out of prison; and improving data collection across correctional agencies.

A hearing has been scheduled in a class-action suit against Walmart, alleging the company denied health benefits to same-sex spouses of employees.

A hearing has been scheduled in a class-action suit against Walmart, alleging the company denied health benefits to same-sex spouses of employees. 

The lawsuit was brought against the company in 2015 by Jacqueline Cote, an employee at a Walmart in Swansea, Massachusetts. Cote worked as an associate in the store from 2006 through 2012 and attempted to add her wife, Diana Smithson, to her insurance during Walmart's open enrollment periods. 

"When Cote entered her spouse's gender as 'female,' the online system would stop her from proceeding further," states case documents filed on her behalf by GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders. "When she called Walmart's home office to investigate, she was told that Walmart did not offer health insurance coverage to same-sex spouses."

Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Massachusetts since 2004. 

The retail chain changed its policy in 2013. By then Cote, whose wife lost a fight to ovarian cancer last year, was facing $150,000 in medical bills. 

A settlement of $7.5 million between Walmart and current and former employees part of the class-action has been proposed. 

A fairness hearing is scheduled for federal court in Boston on Monday. Such hearings are held to determine if proposed settlements are fair.