Police said they spotted the suspects selling crack on Plainfield Street.

Ricky Rios, Felix Vasquez, Manuel Colon, from left, as shown in Springfield Police Department booking photos.

SPRINGFIELD – Three city men, arrested on crack cocaine charges in the North End Thursday afternoon, were using scooters to evade the law and service their customers, police said.

Police, surveilling Plainfield Street, spotted the suspects dealing crack at about 2 p.m., Sgt. John M. Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said.

Police observed a sale and followed the customer to Lowell Street where he was arrested. That buyer, Adalberto Figueroa, of 34 Silver St., was charged with possession of cocaine, Delaney said.

The officers then went back and arrested the suspects. They are: Felix Vazquez, 31, of 36 Harriet St.; Manuel Colon, 23, of 258 Union St. and Ricky Rios, 22, of 72 Washburn St. They were charged with distribution of cocaine and violation of a drug-free zone, Delaney said.

The prosecutors said that the ordinary time period of 28 days to turn over discovery material to the defense is “simply insufficient time” to produce the “voluminous” evidence in the case.

File photo by Stuart Cahill / Boston HeraldJames "Whitey" Bulger, right, is escorted from a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter to a waiting vehicle at an airport in Plymouth earlier this month after attending hearings in federal court in Boston.

BOSTON – Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to give them more time to turn over evidence to lawyers for former Boston crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger.

Bulger, the former leader of the Winter Hill Gang, was captured last month in Santa Monica, Calif., after 16 years on the run. He is accused of participating in 19 murders.

In a motion filed Friday, prosecutors say the ordinary time period of 28 days to turn over discovery material to the defense is “simply insufficient time” to produce the “voluminous” evidence in the case.

They say that Bulger “bears some responsibility for this predicament” because he was a fugitive for so long.

Prosecutors have asked to have until Aug. 31.

The original deadline was Aug. 3.

They say in their motion that Bulger’s lawyers have agreed to the extension.

U.S. Army Capt. Tom Hickey was recently reunited with an eight-year-old Iraqi girl after he helped rush her to the hospital four years ago, her body seemingly lifeless in her father's arms.

Associated Press photoThis 2010 photo provided by the New Hampshire State Police shows Celina Cass of West Stewartstown, N.H., in a basketball team uniform in Canann, Vt. Click on the link, above right, for a report from the Union Leader of Manchester, N.H. about the search for Cass, who was last seen at her home Monday night.

• Former Dunkin' Donuts worker accused of putting nasal mucus in 2 New Hampshire police officers' coffee orders [WFXT-TV, Channel 25, Boston]


• Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy gets parking ticket in New Haven [New Haven Independent]


• Authorities search New Hampshire pond for missing 11-year-old girl [Manchester Union Leader]


• Trucker killed in roadside accident on Interstate 89 in Vermont [Burlington Free Press]


• U.S. soldier reunited with Iraqi girl he saved [Christian Science Monitor]


• U.S. economy grew at slower pace than expected [Wall Street Journal]


• President Obama urges Senate to forge ahead on debt limit compromise, rejects House proposal [Washington Post]


• 6 now charged in brutal beating at Tim McGraw Country music concert in Mansfield (video) [WFXT-TV, Channel 25, Boston]


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


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Here are the average energy prices in the Pioneer Valley for the week ending today.

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All they’ll need is a credit card or cell phone to pay and if they’re finding lunch is lasting a little longer than the hour than anticipated, they’ll be able to add additional time remotely.

Photo by Diane Lederman / The RepublicanAmherst Department of Public Works employees, Kevin Cody, left, and Tom Waterman, right, lift the new Duncan Solutions parking machine from the box to the curb. The new machines allow customers to pay with change, credit card or via cell phone.

AMHERST - In just a matter of days, visitors using some of the town lots won’t have to worry about having a fistful of change to buy their time.

All they’ll need is a credit card or cell phone to pay and if they’re finding lunch is lasting a little longer than the hour than anticipated, they’ll be able to add additional time remotely.

On Friday, the Department of Public Works crews were putting the new machines in place next to the old machines, so worn that the green button to eject the parking ticket is white.

And customers won’t even need the tickets to display anymore.

They’ll buy their time by plugging in the number of the space in which they are parking at the new pay by space machines and the time is logged. The visitor’s lot at the University of Massachusetts has that kind of system.

Kate Bohne, who lives downtown, likes that aspect. Getting a ticket and walking back to the car was an extra step. And of the machines in general, she said “I think that’s great. Everyone seems to be switching to increased technology with everything.”

Tim Murphy from Leverett said he doesn’t come downtown all that often and will likely keep using change when he does - yes the new machines take change as well. But he said, “if I don’t have any change, I’d used it.”

“We’re excited to be poised to implement more customer friendly parking machines,” Town Manager John P. Musante said in the spring when bringing the proposal to the Select Board for approval.

The new machines will be in operation in the town portion of the CVS lot, the Boltwood Walk Parking Garage, and the lot behind Town Hall.

The machines are expected to be installed at the Main Street and Amity Street lots at the end of August.

The system will allow the town to change the rates, time limits and parking hours for special events.
The machines are manufactured by the Milwaukee-based Duncan Solutions.

The initial phase is costing about $94,000, an expense is included in a capital budget funded by the transportation fund. The cost of the new systems is about $37,000 annually because of credit card transaction and secure network fees. But some of these costs will be offset with the increase in metered parking rates - they went up this summer from 40 to 50 cents an hour in lots and on the street. The new system also reduces maintenance costs.

The system is more customer friendly. Paying by credit card is more convenient, Musante said.

Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tony A. Maroulis has said the plan “is going a long way to get parking right in town.” He said the new system improves the visitor experience and makes sense of parking, which has long perplexed shopkeepers.

Obituaries from The Republican.

Teresa M. Pelissier

MONSON - Teresa M. "Tess" (Smith) Pelissier, 75, passed away Wednesday. Born on January 10, 1936 in London to the late Lester and Mary Ellen (Kelly) Smith, she had been a resident of Monson since 1968. She was the former director of Monson Summer Theater. She was instrumental in that role from 1969-2009. Tess also organized other youth activities prior to Monson Summer Theater including the youth Christmas choir at St. Patrick's Church.

Obituaries from The Republican:

• Allen, Joseph W.
  




• 
  Brosnan, Thomas F.
  



• 
  Chirgwin, Elaine (Blain)




• 
  Cook, Claire (Potter)
  



• 
  Dascanio, MaryAnn (Gay)
  




• Decillis Jr., Sergio
  




• 
  Desjardins, Rene E.
  



• 
  Dombkowski, Henry John "Hank"




• 
  Dunleavy, Janina R. (Ruszczyk)
  



• 
  Edwards, Ruth
  




• Fournier, Jeanne (Beaudry)
  




• 
  Frary Jr., Frank T.
  



• 
  Giza Jr., Henry W.




• 
  Gonsor, David
  



• 
  Gula, David A.
  




• Guyette, Enid H.
  




• 
  Henry, Brenda Jean
  



• 
  Holmes, Ruth (Cinquantini)




• 
  Jerome, Mary M.
  



• 
  Kurr, Statia B. (Rucki)
  




• LaFrance, Florence E. "Betty"
  




• 
  Lieberman, Benita
  



• 
  MacDonald, Maureen




• 
  McKee, Kendrick
  



• 
  Mendez, Ramona
  




• Morin, Cynthia J. "Cindy" (Rider)
  




• 
  Mrusek, Barbara Jean (Montgomery)
  



• 
  Palmer, Richard




• 
  Pelissier, Teresa M. "Tess" (Smith)
  



• 
  Reddy, Daniel J. "Dan"
  




• Reyes, Richard Anibal
  




• 
  Spafford, Edward J.
  



• 
  Yann, Run

Officers working a gang detail in the Mason Square section of the city spotted an alleged drug deal in progress, and then moved in to make two arrests.

Springfield Police DepartmentVictor Alvarado, 21, of Holyoke, was arrested Thursday in Springfield after city police officers broke up a reputed drug deal in progress, according to Springfield Police Sgt. John M. Delaney.

SPRINGFIELD -- Officers working a gang detail in the Mason Square section of Springfield arrested a Holyoke man Thursday after breaking up a suspected drug deal, according to Sgt. John M. Delaney.

Delaney, an aide to Springfield Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said Sgt. Brian Keenan and Officer Donald Brown spotted "suspicious activity" in a parking lot at the corner of State and Walnut streets around 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

When Keenan and Brown stopped and questioned two men, "who appeared to be in the middle of a drug deal," they arrested both men and seized around a pound of marijuana, according to Delaney.

The officers also seized around $1,120 cash, three cell phones, packaging material and drug paraphernalia, Delaney said, adding that the pot was packaged for street sales.

Police charged 21-year-old Victor Alvarado of 532 Pleasant St., Holyoke, and a 16-year-old male, whom they declined to identify, with marijuana possession with intent to distribute and school-zone drug violations.

Alvarado was expected to be arraigned Thursday in Springfield District Court, while the teenager was expected to be arraigned in Juvenile Court. Bail information was not immediately available.

THE MAP BELOW shows the approximate area where Springfield police arrested a city resident on drug charges Thursday:


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Leibling founded Hampshire College’s film, photography, and video program remained at Hampshire until his retirement in 1990.

File photo / The RepublicanPhotographer Jerome Liebling, right, is seen at the Mount Holyoke Art Museum in South Hadley in 2001. He is speaking with Mount Holyoke College English Professor Christopher Benfey, during a reception marking publication of their book, "The Dickinsons of Amherst." Essays by Benfey, Polly Longsworth and Barton Levi St. Armand accompany the collection of photos by Liebling.

AMHERST - “These days it seems that physical “truth” can easily be rearranged, rethought, or re-created outright.

“Any image can be made pristine, all the warts can be removed, renown documentary photographer Jerome Liebling wrote in 1995 in the “The People, Yes.”

“But returning to the source of a thing–the real source–means the photographer has to watch, dig, listen for voices, sniff the smells, and have many doubts. My life in photography has been lived as a skeptic.” Liebling died Wednesday at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton. He was 87 years old.

Liebling founded Hampshire College’s film, photography, and video program remained at Hampshire until his retirement in 1990, according to the college’s Web-site. His was married to Rebecca Nordstrom, a Hampshire professor of dance.

He received numerous grants and fellowships, published many books and is in the permanent collections of many museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Fogg Museum in Cambridge, the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.

In the 1940s, he studied photography under Walter Rosenblum and Paul Strand, and joined New York’s famed Photo League. He also became involved with motion-picture production, and worked as a documentary filmmaker, according to Liebling’s site.

Among his books is “The Dickinsons of Amherst,” where he provided a glimpse of the poet’s world through his photographs of the two homes where she spent most of her life: the Homestead, where she lived and worked, and the Evergreens, built next door for her brother, Austin, and his wife, Susan.

Mount Holyoke College professor and writer Christopher Benfey worked with him on that book. He said he had seen some of the photographs. “They were the deepest, most responsive to her work over any photographs.

"Slaughterhouse Worker," by American photographer and filmmaker Jerome Liebling is among the works housed in the permanent collection at the Hampshire College Art Gallery in Amherst.

“His visual understanding of writers was built on a literary understanding.” He said he leapt at the opportunity to collaborate with him. Liebling he said “was a born collaborator.”
On May 16 of 2009, the Jerome Liebling Center for Film, Photography, and Video was dedicated in his honor. Perhaps he best-know student filmmaker Ken Burns spoke.

At that dedication, Burns called Liebling, “my mentor, an extraordinary man, free of ambition yet possessed of the same dignity, honor and integrity that has informed the work of the greatest among us, no matter the field.

“For more than sixty years Jerome Liebling has somehow managed to balance a rich and prolific life of making great photographs—superb, achingly truthful photographs—with being a teacher, a great teacher, in the best sense of that word,” Burns said.

In a statement, Sigmund Roos, chairman of the school’s Board of Trustees, said, “With Jerry’s death, the world has lost a gifted photographer and filmmaker, and Hampshire College has lost a beloved teacher, mentor, friend, and colleague.

“He had a profound impact on Hampshire, and on the education of a whole generation of filmmakers. This is a personal loss for me and many others at the College. I will miss him dearly.”

“I really think he changed the way we see and understand our world. He would take pictures of very mundane subject and we’d see them in a different way,” said Kenneth Rosenthal, a member of the Board of Trustee’s and the college’s first treasurer, who knew Liebling for 40 years.

He influenced many students, he said and was “a very modest man.”

Investors bought longer-duration bonds as concerns grew that the federal government may not be able to pay all of its bills next month.

Associated Press photoPresident Barack Obama talks about the ongoing budget ceiling negotiations, Friday, in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House in Washington.

NEW YORK – The word of the day in financial markets: Anxious.

On Friday, traders did something they rarely do: they sold what are considered to be the world’s safest short-term investments. Traders typically buy short term U.S. Treasurys on Friday because they want their money in a safe place in case something happens over the weekend to rattle markets.

But this week, they instead bought longer-duration bonds as concerns grew that the federal government may not be able to pay all of its bills next month. Yields on bonds due in one month rose higher than those due in six months. The higher the yield, the higher the implied risk of the bond.

Analysts say it’s a clear sign a short-term default is a growing possibility.

The sell-off in short-term Treasurys shows that “the market is very concerned,” said Thomas Tzitzouris, head of fixed income research at Strategas Research Partners. “It’s not panic, but we are pre-positioning in case something goes wrong over the weekend.”

Stocks continued a weeklong slide after a dismal report on economic growth added to the anxiety. Major indexes erased some of their early losses on Friday after President Barack Obama said there were many paths to a compromise on raising the debt limit.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 96.87 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 12,143.24

The combination of bad economic news and growing worries about a possible debt default was evident in nearly every measure of investor confidence:

• The Dow Jones industrial average had a sixth straight day of losses, a string that has erased 581.17 points.

• All 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 stock index fell.

• Gold rose nearly 1 percent to $1,631 an ounce.

• A measure of stock market volatility, the VIX, rose 6 percent.

• The cost to protect against a U.S. default within the next year reached a record high. The cost to insure Treasurys for one year jumped 54 percent this week.

Longer-term government bond prices rose as traders saw them as less likely to be affected by short-term positioning in Washington. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond fell to 2.79 percent, its lowest level of the year. Bond prices move in the opposite direction of their yields.

The Standard and Poor’s 500 index lost 8.39 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,292.28. The Nasdaq composite fell 9.87, or 0.4 percent, to 2,756.38

If Congress fails to act by Tuesday, the U.S. may not be able to pay all its financial obligations. That includes interest payments on bonds and the salaries of federal employees. A default on U.S. Treasury debt could wreak havoc on financial markets and the economy.

Many analysts continue to believe a deal to raise the country’s borrowing limit will be made before the Aug. 2 deadline.

“It seems unlikely that Congress would choose financial Armageddon over some type of compromise,” said Joseph S. Tanious, a market strategist with J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

Some argue that the market’s recent downturn is overshadowing strong corporate earnings reports. They also say the market is ignoring other reasons to believe the economy will bounce back in the second half of the year.

“It’s a very confusing time, but once this cloud lifts, market participants are going to turn around and say, ‘This isn’t so bad.’,” said John Canally, an economist with LPL Financial. “It’s definitely going to be a rocky couple of days.”

The government reported early Friday that economic growth slowed in the first half of the year to its weakest pace since the recession ended two years ago.

Some investors said that the economic report wasn’t as bad as it first appeared. Phil Orlando, chief strategist at Federated Investors, said that the report was a “rearview mirror view of an economy that was struggling with the impact of the earthquake in Japan and high commodity prices.” Orlando said he believes that rising corporate profits and a rebound in the auto industry will push stocks higher for the rest of the year.

Merck fell 2 percent even after the company reported strong earnings. Chevron dropped 1 percent despite better second-quarter earnings.

Housewares maker Newell Rubbermaid Inc. jumped 8 percent after reporting that its profit rose 13 percent as strong demand from emerging markets offset weakness in the U.S. Expedia Inc. gained 9 percent after the travel website operator said its income rose more than analysts had expected. It credited an increase in the number of travel bookings and higher prices for plane tickets and hotel rooms.

The Dow is still up 4.9 percent for the year, but it is down 667.3 points, or 5.2 percent, from its highest point of the year, which it reached on April 29.

Small-company stocks fared worse than the rest of the market as investors sold stocks they consider to be the most risky. The Russell 2000, which measures the smallest stocks on the market, fell 5.3 percent this week, worse than 3.9 percent decline in the S&P 500 index.

Two stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume was above average at 4.5 billion shares.

Certain provisions of Ingram’s 2008 contract – including a $30,000 signing bonus given in a little-known “side letter” that provided for a down payment on a house – have triggered controversy and calls by School Committee members that he repay that money.

Republican file photoAlan Ingram

SPRINGFIELD - Schools Superintendent Alan J. Ingram refinanced his home in Oklahoma a year after he said his family would move here, deeds records show.

Certain provisions of Ingram’s 2008 contract – including a $30,000 signing bonus given in a little-known “side letter” that provided for a down payment on a house – have triggered controversy and calls by School Committee members that he repay that money.

Ingram has argued that the amendment to his contract allowed for wider discretion than solely to use the money for down payment on a mortgage, and that he has used the money for “residential living expenses.”

He has rented an apartment in the city’s South End since taking the post here. The year he was hired, Ingram told The Republican in a March 2008 interview, “My family and I are very thrilled to have the opportunity to serve in Springfield.”

He said at the time that his wife, Lisa, an elementary school teacher, would seek work in Western Massachusetts. In February 2009, the superintendent told The Republican they were still working to sell their home in Oklahoma.

Public records show they refinanced a 10-year mortgage on their house on Windsong Drive in Midwest City, OK., in November 2009.

During an interview after the debate erupted over his contract, however, he said his family elected not to move to Springfield for personal reasons. When asked whether he was still entertaining purchasing a home, Ingram responded: “I’m in the last year of a four-year contract.”

June 30, 2008 Side Letter From Springfield Finance Control Board to Alan Ingram

Ingram has subsequently referred all questions to a lawyer for the School Committee, and did not respond for comment following a Thursday meeting of certain members of the committee, during which they made a motion to recommend Ingram give the money back.

That will be taken up by a vote of the full committee next month.

State Rep. Todd M. Smola is encouraging volunteers to take part in the massive cleanup of tornado debris this weekend in Brimfield and surrounding towns.

BRIMFIELD – State Rep. Todd M. Smola is encouraging people to volunteer for a massive cleanup effort Saturday and Sunday to help homeowners with downed trees and other tornado debris on their properties make their places more manageable.

Two Brimfield men, Cosmo Casamassa and Mark Forsman, have been organizing the event through a website they started, http://rrrtornado2011.webs.com.

They have identified properties in Brimfield and a few surrounding towns where homeowners have asked for this assistance.

Forsman said the volunteers need to sign up ahead of time so the organizers will be able to dispatch them to the properties where owners have asked for help.

People may sign up by going to the website and filling out the volunteer sign-up form there. They will then receive an email telling them where to go on Saturday or Sunday morning to register.

Rep. Todd M. Smola

Lunches will be provided and brought to the work sites.

Casamassa said some businesses have agreed to loan heavy equipment that will be used in moving tree trunks and stumps to make properties more manageable.

Smola said this will be a great community event and urged people to take part, whatever their skill levels are.

Brimfield Congregational Church has been sending volunteers in smaller numbers to do this type of work for residents, but for the weekend the church is suspending its activities and encouraging its volunteers to take part in what Forsman and Casamassa are calling Recover, Repair, Rebuild, Tornado 2011.

People who want to take part but do not have access to the website may call (413) 245-7469 to sign up.

Defense contracting reportedly brought $146.1 million to Western Massachusetts business and educational institutions in 2009.

Michael Goodman

SPRINGFIELD – Fueled by business investment in computers and high-tech equipment, the Massachusetts economy is growing faster than the nation’s as a whole, according to a report released Friday by MassBenchmarks.

MassBenchmarks, a publication of the UMass Donahue Institute in Hadley, says the state’s economy grew at an annualized rate of 4.3 percent in the second quarter of this year. That’s compared with a national rate of 1.3 percent also announced Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Research, part of the Commerce Department.

“Massachusetts is doing well in comparison,” said Martin A. Romitti director of economic and policy research for the UMass Donahue Institute “It’s relative because we are speaking about a bad national economy.” But Massachusetts’ growth is not reaching the western part of the state and is threatened by fallout from the protracted argument over raising the nation’s debt ceiling.

“The circular firing squad going on in Washington right is certainly a threat,” said Michael D. Goodman, a MassBenchmarks editor and chairman of the Department of Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth.

Even a the possibility of a default on federal debt drive up interest rates making harder for not only the federal government to finance its borrowing, but harder for everyone else, too.

“Think of all those people with an adjustable-rate mortgage or a credit card tied to the prime interest rate,” Goodman said. “Pretty much everybody is carrying some debt.”

Also, the federal government could stop paying some bills, Goodman said. That might be Social Security or payments for goods and services like the high-tech equipment and services that drive Massachusetts economy.

“Think of all the hospitals. Think of all the universities that do research,” he said.

Defense contracting brought $146.1 million to 237 Western Massachusetts business and educational institutions in 2009, according to a report by Associated Industries and the University of Massachusetts that came out last December.

Romitti said rising interest rates could slow an already ailing housing market.

He also likes to remind people that the worst word to use around any economy is “uncertain”. The debt limit debate sows uncertainty.

“Sometimes people can live better with lousy than they can with uncertain,” he said.

Associated Press

Citizens Energy, an organization founded by Joseph P. Kennedy II, is working with a private energy company, Rivermoor Energy, to develop an $8 million, 1.7-megawatt photovoltaic project.

solar panels

AGAWAM – Citizens Energy, an organization founded by Joseph P. Kennedy II, is working with a private energy company, Rivermoor Energy, to develop an $8 million, 1.7-megawatt photovoltaic project off Shoemaker Lane. The complex would produce enough energy to power 200 homes.

The Planning Board last week approved site plans for the project, which has been proposed for a 14-acre parcel owned by Westmass Area Development at Shoemaker Lane and Route 57. The site is part of the former Bowles Airport property.

The project has one more local hurdle to clear, approval by the Conservation Commission, because work has been proposed for an area within 100 feet of a wetland.

Brian M. Morrissey, director of solar development for Citizens Energy, said plans call for setting up a complex of solar panels on just under 20 percent of the site. Citizens Energy was founded in 1979 by Kennedy to help low-income people with heating costs. The local project would be done by its for-profit arm, which plows its profits into the nonprofit side of the organization.

Citizens Energy has been involved in renewable energy projects for the past eight years, according to Morrissey. Rivermoor Energy, based in Newton, is a development and investment company specializing in solar energy.

The complex of solar panels would be mounted on framework varying in height from about 2 feet to 8 feet.

“These (panels) are very safe. They are very passive. They are very quiet,” Morrissey said Wednesday. “The biggest benefit of solar is it is very clean. There are no emissions. It also requires no water.”

Site plans approved by the Planning Board include provisions for a chain-link fence with screening to surround the complex that would then be screened from the public by plantings of arbor vitae and similar vegetation.

Electricity generated by the complex would be sold to Northeast Utilities and fed into its power grid. There would be no direct benefits to neighbors of the project for having it in their midst.

Morrissey said the land off Shoemaker Lane has good electrical infrastructure as well as southern exposure.

Morrissey said the project’s proponents would like to break ground this fall and have the facility running in three to four months. The complex would be monitored off-site via computer.

While Mayor Richard A. Cohen stopped short of endorsing the project, he said, “I am in support of solar power in an effort to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.”

The crashes both occurred late Friday afternoon and led to delays, but there were no serious injuries reported, according to Massachusetts State Police.

Republican file photo

SPRINGFIELD -- Back-to-back vehicle crashes on the Massachusetts Turnpike Friday afternoon slowed traffic but did not cause any serious injuries, according to state police who responded to the incidents.

The first crash occurred around 3:40 p.m. in Palmer, where a car collided with another vehicle near the westbound Exit 8 ramp.

An ambulance was dispatched to the scene, but no one was transported to the hospital, according to a state police spokesman from the Charlton barracks, which covers that stretch of the turnpike.

The second accident occurred around 3:50 p.m. near the Interstate 291 exit ramp leading to Fuller Road and Shawnigian Drive in Chicopee.

A car driving eastbound near the exit rear-ended another car, causing damage to both vehicles, a state police spokesman from the Springfield barracks said. The vehicles were towed from the scene, he added.

Authorities said both accidents caused some rubber-necking, which led to delays.

The hookah cafe, the Middle Eastern-inspired, ultra-hip vogue that has crept into the social landscape of cities across the nation, is coming to Springfield.

The Republican / Mark M. MurrayYazan Al-Asad is the owner of the hookah cafe, Petra, under construction at 270 Worthingon St. in downtown Springfield and due to open Sept. 1.

SPRINGFIELD – Springfield’s entertainment district has drawn many a social trend: jazz clubs, cigar bars, brick oven pizzas, martini bars, ale houses, nouveau American fare.

Enter the hookah cafe.

The Middle Eastern-inspired, ultra-hip vogue that has crept into the social landscape of cities across the nation is coming to this city in the form of “Petra,” a hookah bar set to open at 270 Worthington St. in September.

Owner Yazan Al-asad, 33, a native of Jordan, said he believes Springfield is ripe for the trend since the Arabic population is growing in this area and he has recently met many hookah fans from all ethnic backgrounds – particularly college students.

Hookahs are a centuries-old tradition in Al-asad’s native Jordan and other parts of the Arab world, but have crept more recently into the North American consciousness. Patrons can smoke flavored tobacco from individual or communal hookahs, heated by water and charcoal.

“I saw it in Boston and Worcester and Connecticut, so I thought of doing it here in Springfield ... I’ve met lots of people from here who go all the way to Hartford to smoke a hookah,” Al-asad said during an interview at the site, in the middle of renovations to resemble Petra, a historical city in Jordan carved out of rock.

Petra has been described by a poet as a “rose-red city half as old as time” and was cited by the BBC among “40 places you should see before you die.”

To that end, the proposed Springfield cafe (formerly Distil) now has an exterior marked by rose-red columns after its namesake and the interior is shaping up with a similar theme. Al-asad said the cafe will be filled with tables and offer a menu of flavored tobacco, cigars, soft drinks, coffee and tea. He also plans to add flat-screen televisions and have Arabic and American music piped in through overhead speakers.

Al-asad successfully sought state permits to get around the smoking ban, which required him to prove at least 51 percent of his sales will come from tobacco products. He must get an additional permit from the city’s office of Health and Human Services.

Hookah bars have proliferated in New York, Greater Boston and Connecticut, despite smoking bans.

Director Helen Caulton-Harris said Al-asad filed an application with the city in June and the site will be inspected once renovations are complete.

Victor C. Bruno, owner of the 50,000-square-foot city block from 250 Worthington St. to Dwight Street, said the hookah bar will be a welcome tenant in a club quarter he is trying to diversify. Bruno said it will enhance the dining and cocktails roster he is working to rebuild in the club quarter.

“It’ll be great for the after dinner crowd and there won’t be any liquor served so it satisfies the mayor’s request on that front,” Bruno said, referring to Mayor Domenic J. Sarno’s push to bring more full-service restaurants to the downtown as opposed to nightclubs.

Bruno said he is trying to revive that stretch of Worthington Street with features such as an outdoor patio and live music at his restaurant, Adolfo’s, plus valet parking for all the night spots in that block.

Al-asad said hookah or “shisha” bars are an entrenched social tradition in the Middle East, primarily for older people until tobacco in flavors such as apple, strawberry, grape became popular in the late 1990s.

“It is not like a cigarette. The taste is much better,” he said.

The agreement also allows the two tracks that race horses to hold 80 live racing days instead of 100 to continue simulcasting races, and continues simulcasts of dog races from out of state.

BOSTON – Gov. Deval L. Patrick has signed a bill allowing the state’s racetracks to continue simulcasting greyhound and horse races from other states for another six months.

The extension, approved by the legislature last week, comes just days before the current simulcasting agreement was set to expire on July 31.

The agreement also allows the two tracks that race horses to hold 80 live racing days instead of 100 to continue simulcasting races, and continues simulcasts of dog races from out of state. Simulcasting has been a key source of revenue for the state’s racetracks since Massachusetts voters decided in 2008 to outlaw live greyhound racing.

Whether to allow slot machines at tracks has been a key issue in the debate to legalize casino gambling. Lawmakers plan to have that debate in September.

Moody’s Investors Service announced it would review the possible downgrade of U.S. municipalities and other institutions due to the indirect effects of the possible downgrade of federal government bonds because of the ongoing impasse over the federal debt limit.

BOSTON – The Massachusetts’ congressional delegation is protesting a warning from a major credit rating agency that they might downgrade the credit ratings of several municipalities in the state.

Moody’s Investors Service announced it would review the possible downgrade of U.S. municipalities and other institutions due to the indirect effects of the possible downgrade of federal government bonds because of the ongoing impasse over the federal debt limit.

Moody’s has listed 162 local governments in 31 states.

In Massachusetts, those communities include Newton, Brookline, Lexington, Concord, Wellesley, Wayland, Hingham, Dover and others.

In a letter to Moody’s, the entire delegation said there’s “no rational basis” for the threatened downgrade.

They called on Moody’s to give the municipalities an opportunity to show they can meet their obligations and maintain their triple-A ratings.

Earlier in the day, President Obama said there are many possible compromises, but that Boeher's is not one he could support.

Associated Press photoHouse Speaker John Boehner, of Ohio, gives a thumbs-up as he leaves the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, after House passage of his debt-limit legislation that was rewritten overnight to win the support of conservative holdouts.

With only a handful of Republicans in opposition, the House on Friday voted, 218 to 210, to approve Speaker John Boehner's bill to raise the nation's debt limit for a few months, the Washington Post reported Friday afternoon.

"The measure was revised earlier in the day to make it more palatable to conservatives," according to the newspaper. "No Democrats supported the bill.

The plan now goes to the Democratic-controlled Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid has said he has the votes to table the measure, effectively killing it, the Cable News Network reported.

"Reid is planning to spend the weekend pushing what top Democrats insist is a more centrist piece of legislation," CNN said.

Earlier in the day, President Obama said there are many options on the table, but a six-month extension is not a realistic option, the New York Times reported.

The legislation would provide a quick $900 billion increase in U.S. borrowing authority – essential to allow the government to continue paying all its bills – along with $917 billion in cuts from federal spending, according to the Associated Press.

"It was rewritten hastily overnight to say that before any additional increase in the debt limit could take place, Congress must approve a balanced budget-amendment to the Constitution and send it to the states for ratification," the AP reported.

Meanwhile, on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 97 points Friday, as investors continued to express anxiousness about a possible debt-limit crisis.

More details coming on MassLive and in The Republican.

The bill was approved about 8 months after an independent investigator issued a sweeping report that detailed patronage and rigged hiring in the Probation Department.

Republican file photo by Michael S. GordonRep. Thomas Petrolati of Ludlow

BOSTON – State legislators on Friday approved a bill that restricts nepotism and patronage in state government, overhauls hiring in probation and the courts and puts a professional administrator in charge of operations of the Trial Court.

The bill was approved about eight months after an independent investigator issued a sweeping report that detailed patronage and rigged hiring in the Probation Department, sparking state and federal investigations.

The bill, a compromise of different versions approved this spring in the state House of Representatives and the Senate, was approved on a voice vote in both branches and sent to Governor Deval L. Patrick, who is reviewing it. Saying the criminal reentry and supervision system is currently too fragmented, Patrick had wanted to combine most of probation into the parole department and combine both under the executive branch. The bill keeps probation in the judiciary.

Rep. Sean F. Curran, a Springfield Democrat and member of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, said the bill calls for significant change in the operation and management of the courts.

"It's moving in the right direction," Curran said. "It improves oversight and transparency."

The bill stemmed from a report issued in November by Boston lawyer Paul F. Ware Jr., who investigated the probation department.

Ware's report concluded that the former probation commissioner and other leading officials in probation rigged hiring to favor certain applicants, including many recommended by judges and legislators.

Senate Minority Leader Bruce E. Tarr of Gloucester said the bill is timely and meaningful.

"I am particularly pleased with the reforms that are being implemented to ensure the integrity of the probation department’s hiring and promotion process, as well as the creation of a new civilian administrator to help the courts manage their resources more effectively," Tarr said.

Massachusetts General Court photoSenate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr of Gloucester

The bill seeks to curb the influence of legislators in probation hiring, including Rep. Thomas M. Petrolati , D-Ludlow, who agreed to relinquish his speaker pro tempore's position after he was mentioned almost 90 times in the report by Ware. The report detailed Petrolati's efforts at patronage in the probation department and said he received campaign contributions from 87 employees of the probation department.

Petrolati voted for the bill when it was approved in the House in the spring.

In a mid-year campaign finance report filed last week, Petrolati reported that he spent another $11,670 in campaign money on legal fees, bringing his total to about $108,000 on lawyers since late 2008.

Petrolati reported paying $5,000 in campaign money in January to criminal defense lawyer David Hoose of Northampton. Hoose declined comment.

Petrolati reported paying $6,670 in campaign money to Fierst, Pucci and Kane in Northampton, bringing the total for that firm to about $63,000.

Republican file photoJudge Robert Mulligan, chief justice for administration and management

Petrolati has one of the top campaign accounts in the Legislature with $490,530 in the bank. During the first half of this year, Petrolati reported that he spent a total of $36,694 and raised $45,727, including $2,550 from 13 probation or court employees.

In a letter to Senate Republicans in November, Attorney General Martha M. Coakley said Ware's report outlined serious violations of public trust. Coakley wrote that she assembled a team of prosecutors to investigate probation hiring. The U.S. Attorney's Office is also investigating, The Boston Globe reported.

But Petrolati may not be a target.

John P. Pucci, a Northampton lawyer representing Petrolati, said Friday he has "absolutely no reason" to believe there will be any criminal charges coming against Petrolati.

Pucci said his firm was paid from Petrolati's campaign fund for representing him last year when he unsuccessfully attempted to block a subpoena for Petrolati to testify under oath in Ware's investigation. Petrolati ultimately cited the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer questions from the independent counsel.

Republican file photoJohn Pucci

Pucci said Petrolati has not been subpoenaed or asked to testify in front of a grand jury as part of any state or federal investigations into probation.

"He doesn't have any information about anything of a criminal nature and did not participate in anything of a criminal nature," Pucci said.

Petrolati simply made periodic calls to ask that certain candidates be considered for jobs, he said.

"That puts him in a bin with everybody from the governor to the head of the Trial Court," Pucci said.

Judge Robert A. Mulligan, the chief justice for administration and management, and Judge Roderick L. Ireland, chief justice of the state Supreme Judicial Court, issued a joint statement saying they "are pleased that the legislation passed by the Massachusetts House and Senate retains the office of Probation in the Judiciary and addresses the court management structure in an effort to improve the administration of justice."

Under the bill, a civilian court administrator would need to approve hires in the probation department. The probation commissioner will no longer have unilateral hiring authority.

The bill calls for new hiring procedures for probation officers and court officers. Such applicants would need to take an entrance exam and pass background checks, behavioral screening and a review of education and work history, according to a copy of the bill.

To limit the say of legislators in hiring in state agencies, the bill requires recommendations for applicants to be shielded from hiring authorities until the final round of the interview process. Those recommendations will be public record for candidates who are hired.

In addition, applicants for employment within the executive, legislative, and judicial branches will have to disclose in writing the names of all immediate family members who are state employees. This information will be public for successful applicants.

The bill also would revise the way the court system is managed. Currently, a judge, now Mulligan, acts as the chief justice for administration and management is in charge of the day-to-day functions of the Trial Court. The bill places that authority with a new civilian administrator and the chief administrative judge remains with inherently judicial duties such as assigning and disciplining judges.

File photo | The RepublicanState Rep. Thomas Petrolati, D-Ludlow

Neiswanger, 48, was a captain with the Manchester, Conn., police and replaces retired Chief Anthony Scott.

HOLYOKE – New Police Chief James M. Neiswanger said at a swearing-in ceremony Friday his focus now is getting to know city government, the schools and people in the community.

“My goal is to establish strong relationships and bring community policing to the forefront,” Neiswanger said.

Neiswanger, 48, who actually began the job July 19, took the oath of office from City Clerk Susan M. Egan at the Holyoke Heritage State Park Visitors Center.

Wearing a white uniform shirt and white gloves, Neiswanger upon finishing the oath received a standing ovation from a gathering of about 100.

He kept his remarks brief and included light moments.

His first task, he said, is assessing the department’s 120 uniformed personnel.

“I look forward to working side by side wtih the great men and women of the Holyoke Police Department,” said Neiswanger, who said he was “only 48.”

“I’m planning on having a long career here in Holyoke,” he said.

He signed a three-year contract July 19 that pays him $130,000 a year. He gets annual raises no less than those earned by other officers, under the contract.

The contract gives him 25 paid vacation days a year, the first of which he will be taking with a week off beginning Monday. Neiswanger later was asked to address criticism some people might have about the city’s new police chief already taking a vacation.

“I booked it this past spring. I had those plans before this job opportunity,” Neiswanger said.

In his remarks, he concluded by taking questions from the audience. Someone asked how to pronounce his last name.

“It’s ‘Nice-wonger,’” he said.

Neiswanger was a captain with the Manchester, Conn., Police Department, where he worked for the past 25 years and was born and raised.

The crowd included Neiswanger’s family and uniformed Holyoke officers, as well as officers in uniform from the Manchester department.

Manchester, Conn., Chief Marc P. Montminy attended as did another friend of Neiswanger’s, Vernon, Conn. Police Department Chief James L. Kenny.

City Council President Joseph M. McGiverin led the search committee that recommended Neiswanger as a finalist for the job to Mayor Elaine A. Pluta.

“There’s no doubt in my mind she chose the leader of the Police Department well into the future,” McGiverin said.

Also, he said, it was important to reference a topic that was both obvious and unaddressed. Neiswanger is replacing retired Police Chief Anthony R. Scott, who was popular in many quarters and a media character – “When he was born, they threw away the mold,” McGiverin said – but the city needs to understand Neiswanger is a new leader.

Pluta said what impressed her about Neiswanger was his philosophy of life that everyone wants to live in a better world.

“My choice was also based on the chief’s willingness to form partnerships with the community while being tough on crime,” Pluta said.

In his contract, pay raises for Neiswanger would be based on whatever yearly raises are paid to superior officers and patrol officers. Negotiations for new contracts are ongoing with those unions, so pay raises have yet to be determined, City Solicitor Lisa A. Ball said.

He also gets15 paid sick days a year and 11 paid legal holidays, including Christmas, Martin Luther King Jr. and Patriot’s days.

He gets use of a city vehicle that may be used for personal reasons “since the Chief is ‘on-call’ in the event of an emergency,” the contract states, as well as a city-issued cell phone, laptop computer and service weapon.

The contract requires the city reimburse Neiswanger for tuition for one night college level course per semester at a college of his choice as he pursues a master’s degree, subject to approval of the mayor and subject to appropriation of city funds.

To the extent the city budget allows, Neiswanger will get $1,000 clothing allowance.

The items in Neiswanger’s contract are standard in Massachusetts police chief contracts, said Ball and Patrol Officer James J. Bartolomie, president of Local 388, International Brotherhood of Police Officers.

Holyoke Chief of Police Contract, James Neiswanger