Incumbent Ward 4 Councilor Timothy Purington isn't running for reelection, pitting Hernandez against Jason Ferreira.

Submitted photoLibby Hernandez, Ward 4 City Council candidate

HOLYOKE – Libby Hernandez is running for Ward 4 City Council because, she said, she wants to give more people a voice in government.

“I’m running because I would like to empower more people,” said Hernandez, 39, of 245 Walnut St.

The seat will become open because Ward 4 Councilor Timothy W. Purington isn’t running for reelection.

Hernandez is competing for the seat against Jason P. Ferreira, of 13 School St.

A property manager with the Holyoke Housing Authority, Hernandez said July 20 she realizes that getting more people, including Hispanics, involved in government and getting them to vote will take great effort.

“I’m going to get out there and I’m going to speak to them, try to communicate to them that they do have an option,” she said.

She has never held elected office, she said, and believes that would help her with voters frustrated with long-time politicians. But she also is someone who can work with the “old guard,” she said.

“We need to deal with really changing the face of politics of the way things are run. ... I think more people should come in with the attitude, ‘I don’t owe you any favors, you don’t owe me any favors,”‘ Hernandez said.

Public safety and economic development are the two most important issues because people want to feel secure in their homes and neighborhoods and confident the city is improving, she said.

Hernandez, who said Libby is her full first name, is married to Oscar Hernandez, a master technician at Devonshire Apartments on Holy Family Road. She has four children.

The premiere jazz festival will have five venues in and around downtown Northampton, all featuring live jazz.

NORTHAMPTON – The premiere Northampton Jazz Festival will have all the makings of a party, receiving a temporary beer and wine license from the License Commission on Wednesday.

The license will allow the festival to sell those beverages under a tent on Strong Avenue, part of which will be closed for the Oct. 1 event.

Director John Michaels told the commission the jazz festival will have five venues in and around downtown Northampton, all featuring live jazz. The acts will include New York City jazz musicians such as guitarists Jonathan Kreisberg and Gene Bertoncini. Local talent, including students from the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts School, will also be featured. Charles Neville of the New Orleans group The Neville Brothers will play in an all-star local band. Neville currently lives in Huntington.

William Collins, who is helping to organize the event, said there will be food booths courtesy of local restaurants, in the spirit of the former “Taste of Northampton.” Among the venues that have been finalized are Edwards Church, First Churches and Thornes Marketplace. On Strong Avenue, the festivities will spill over into the public parking lot.

Collins said admission to the festival will be free. Proceeds from the sale of beer and wine will pay for expenses and any left-over revenues will be donated to United Way of Hampshire County, Collins said.

The Jazz Festival turned out to be one of the more exciting items on an agenda in which a hearing on a proposal to increase fees for various food, alcohol and entertainment licenses generated little opposition.

The commission had suggested hikes of $50 for most licenses. After absorbing a local option meals tax in 2009, some restaurateurs reacted negatively to the news, arguing that they are already contributing their fair share to city coffers.

Although several restaurant and club owners were present at the hearing, only Claudio Guerra, who owns Spoleto’s and several other restaurants in Northampton, spoke. Guerra reiterated that bars and restaurants are already paying a high price in fees, to the point that owners cannot afford to pay their employees on a par with other businesses. However, Guerra said those owners are willing to work with the city.

“We understand the city’s in a squeeze to raise funds,” he said. “We won’t fight it.”

City Councilor Marianne L. LaBarge was more adamant about opposing the increase, saying, “This is the wrong way to go right now.”

Commission chairman Brad Shimel acknowledged that those in the hospitality business are struggling and proposed lower fee hikes for alcohol licenses and no increases for other licenses such as car dealerships and entertainment. The commission approved those lesser hikes and everyone left satisfied.

The rules change would require brewers to grow at least half the hops and grains they use, or get them from a domestic source.

BOSTON (AP) — More than two dozen small beer brewers in Massachusetts say a rules change proposed by the state could hurt their businesses or even force them to close.

The rules change approved Monday by the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission would require brewers operating under a so-called farmer-brewery license to grow at least half the hops and grains they use, or get them from a domestic source.

Brewers say that would be difficult.

Jeremy Goldberg, the owner of Cape Ann Brewing Co. in Gloucester, tells The Boston Globe the rule will put him out of business.

State officials say the change is meant to clarify regulations defining a farmer-brewer, or someone who grows cereal grains or hops to produce a malt beverage. The law is designed to promote farming in Massachusetts.

Seven states come out ahead thanks to changes in Medicare, but none do as well as Massachusetts.

Associated PressHouston's TIRR Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Hospital is shown Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011. U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is expected to be moved Friday to the Texas Medical Center hospital to begin the next phase of her recovery from a gunshot wound. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hospitals in Massachusetts will reap an annual windfall of $275 million through a loophole enshrined in the new health care law. Hospitals in most other states will get less money as a result.

The disclosure was buried in a regulation that Medicare issued late last week. Hospital association executives in other states are up in arms over the news, which comes at a time when they are girding for more cuts under the newly signed federal debt deal.

"If I could think of a better word than outrageous, I would come up with it," said Steve Brenton, president of the Wisconsin Hospital Association.

Even Medicare says it is concerned about "manipulation" of its inpatient payment rules to create big rewards for one state at the expense of others.

Hospitals in 41 states will lose money as result of the change. The biggest loser: New York, which is out $47.5 million.

Seven states come out ahead, though none do as well as Massachusetts. The runner-up, New Jersey, stands to gain $54 million, or about 20 percent of the Massachusetts windfall.

President Barack Obama's health care overhaul was supposed to open the way for reforms to Medicare's byzantine payment system. Critics say this latest twist will encourage hospitals and other big players to game the system in a scramble for increasingly scarce taxpayer dollars.

The health care law "was to usher in a new era, based on innovations that focused on quality improvement and more efficient health care," said Herb Kuhn, president of the Missouri Hospital Association. "What we are seeing is innovation in the area of how to manipulate the payment system."

The head of the Massachusetts Hospital Association defended the change. "We do not see this as a manipulation of the rules," said Lynn Nicholas. She said the higher payments will help compensate Massachusetts hospitals for a Medicare policy change a few years ago that cost them hundreds of millions.

Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry, a co-sponsor of the health care law amendment, was also steadfast.

"When (Medicare) changed the rules five years ago, the rest of the country gained at our expense and Massachusetts took a big hit," Kerry said in a statement. "These new rules just provide some correction."

The American Hospital Association supported the change when the law was being debated. An official there now says hospitals didn't understand what they were getting with the obscure provision.

The saga of how Massachusetts scored big could come straight from a lobbyist's playbook.

It goes back a few years and twists and turns through Medicare's mind-boggling payment rules.

Those rules include a factor that's used to adjust payments to hospitals for the difference in labor costs around the country. The adjustments cannot lead to any increase in overall Medicare spending, so that automatically sets up the potential for winners and losers.

On top of that, another rule says that the labor cost factor for a hospital in an urban area of a state cannot be less than for that state's rural areas.

That's where two small hospitals on Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, islands off the Massachusetts coast popular with vacationers, come into the picture.

Those hospitals had been operating as "critical access hospitals," reimbursed by Medicare at special rates that usually work out to be top tier.

Then, in 2007, according to Kuhn, mainland hospitals persuaded them to reclassify themselves as "rural" hospitals. That put them back under the same payment rules as the mainland hospitals. What followed was a sort of domino effect.

Since labor costs are relatively high on the islands, it had the effect of raising rural costs in the entire state. In turn, that led to higher payments for urban hospitals. The mainland hospitals also agreed to reimburse the island hospitals for any financial losses as a result of the change.

Changing from "critical access" to "rural" hospitals was totally legitimate, Nicholas said.

"They were fully qualified to do that," she said. "That hurt them individually financially, but because of their relationship with the overall system they were able to subsidize those losses."

Medicare put up roadblocks to the change, and for a while it looked like the feds had won out. Then the health care overhaul passed, turning the tables.

Medicare officials did not respond to a request for an interview. But in another regulation issued this year, the agency expressed "concern" with what it termed the "manipulation" of its rules to win an 8 percent increase for one state at the expense of others.

The new payment rates take effect Oct. 1.

In addition to Massachusetts and New Jersey, other states that come out ahead — for a variety of reasons — are Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut and New Hampshire. Hospitals in Wyoming break even. And Maryland hospitals have long been paid under a different system.

Every other state loses.

When an inmate, who had met with law enforcement about exchanging information for leniency, talked to Caballero, he was in the same role as a person in law enforcement and Caballero was entitled to have his lawyer present, the judge said.

The Republican / File photo

SPRINGFIELD – They are sometimes called jailhouse rats, or snitches, or – in more neutral language – informants.

It is not uncommon, particularly in serious cases, for jurors to hear someone testify a defendant admitted guilt when they were chatting while locked up together.

Nathan Caballero

Hampden Superior Court Judge Richard J. Carey, in a recent ruling, kicked out the testimony of one man who was to testify Nathan Caballero admitted his involvement in the 2009 killing of Raymond Diaz Jr. in Holyoke.

Carey said the man, whose name was expunged from the decision, had met with law enforcement about exchanging information for leniency.

So when the inmate talked to Caballero, he was in the same role as a person in law enforcement and Caballero was entitled to have his lawyer present, Carey said.

Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni said Carey’s decision follows the law set by the state Supreme Judicial Court in a 2007 case.

Mastroianni said he will not appeal Carey’s ruling and the case will have to proceed without that testimony. The trial was postponed and a new date has not been set.

“We’re of course not happy with the ruling. We’d certainly very much rather have a different ruling. We can’t appeal something just because we don’t like the ruling. We have to appeal something on a perceived legal error,” Mastroianni said.

Mark Mastroianni

Mastroainni said the use of jailhouse informant testimony is more important in cases where the actual witnesses to a crime aren’t talking.

Carey’s decision, like the earlier decisions his was based upon, does not preclude testimony of jailhouse informants, but it lays out ground rules about what can be used, he said.

Mastroianni said because interactions between law enforcement and this particular inmate were not documented, the state could not argue to Carey the man was really not an agent of the state.

Documenting the interactions between law enforcement, as his office is doing, will in the future help the state argue a jailhouse informant was not asked to shop for information from other inmates in exchange for leniency, Mastroianni said.

The man claimed he talked with Caballero, of Holyoke, while in the Hampden County Correctional Center in Ludlow awaiting trial.

Police at the time said Diaz, 22, of Springfield, was shot “execution style” Oct. 6, 2009, about eight times near a park off South Bridge Street in a drug-related shooting.

Defense lawyers Linda J. Thompson and Bonnie Allen argued the jailhouse informant was acting as an “agent” of the prosecution.

Carey said even if the man was not asked to target a specific person, he “deliberately elicited incrimination statements from the defendant.”

That violated Cabellero’s right to counsel under state and federal laws, Carey said.

Carey said the man, already an experienced cooperating witness in a previous case, faced a possible life sentence for violation of probation on his armed robbery case.

The judge said the man “had ample reason to see the defendant as his key to freedom.”

Past state high court decisions, Carey said, prevent a situation where an informant who has an agreement with the government for a specific benefit or promise, “then trolls the jail for victims.”

Commonwealth vs. Nathan Caballero Order on Motion to Exclude Testimony

Carey’s ruling followed several days of hearings, including testimony from Holyoke and state police, two former Hampden County assistant district attorneys and a probation officer, among others.

Carey said Assistant District Attorney Matthew J. Shea, who was assigned the case after Mastroianni took office, “has taken laudable steps. ... to assure that all of the facts involving this issue be revealed.”

According to Carey’s ruling, the inmate said Caballero, referring to the murder charge against him, said “he would do like 10 years.”

The inmate said Caballero said he and the victim were friends before “and used to do business together, then this altercation happened that this dude (the victim) sliced” Caballero’s face and “shot his cousin.” According to the inmate, Caballero said “he did what he had to do for his people.”

Mastroianni said the goal is to find ways to get people who witness crime to come forward and to depend less on people who were incarcerated with a defendant.

Three children attending a summer camp said they saw a man holding what looked like a gun, an unsettling report on the campus where a 2007 massacre left 33 people dead.

AP File PhotoThe university issued an alert on its website at 9:37 a.m. Thursday telling students and employees to stay inside and secure doors.

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Virginia Tech was locked down Thursday when three children attending a summer camp said they saw a man holding what looked like a gun, an unsettling report on the campus where a 2007 massacre left 33 people dead.

The university issued an alert on its website at 9:37 a.m. Thursday telling students and employees to stay inside and secure doors.

The children said they saw the man walking fast toward the volleyball courts, carrying what might have been a handgun covered by some type of cloth. Police swarmed the area but said they could not find a gunman matching their description.

An alert on the school's website said the gunman was reported near Dietrick Hall, a three-story dining facility steps away from the dorm where the first shootings took place in the 2007 rampage.

Federal authorities fined the school in March after ruling that administrators violated campus safety law by waiting too long to notify staff and students about a potential threat after two students were shot to death April 16, 2007, in West Ambler Johnston Hall, a dorm near the dining facility.

An email alert went out more than two hours later that day, about the time student Seung-Hui Cho was chaining shut the doors to a classroom building where he killed 30 more students and faculty and himself. It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

On Thursday, officials said they were looking for a 6-foot-tall white man with light brown hair. Officials said the person was wearing a blue and white striped shirt, gray shorts and brown sandals. He was described as clean shaven, according to the university's website.

Police from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg and Christiansburg searched for the man along with Montgomery County sheriff's deputies.

Mullan, who announced last month his plans to leave the administration before the end of the year, said earlier this week no final decisions had been made.

By MATT MURPHY
and MICHAEL NORTON

BOSTON - MBTA director Richard Davey is due to be named Thursday as Gov. Deval L. Patrick's next secretary of transportation, according to a Patrick administration official who requested anonymity because the announcement had not yet been made.

Patrick plans to formally make the announcement at a 12:45 p.m. press conference at the Statehouse.

File photo by Don Treeger / The ReppublicanRichard Davey is seen during an interview with The Republican last year.

Davey will become Patrick's fourth transportation secretary. He will replace Jeffrey Mullan who announced last month his plans to leave the administration before the end of the year, but as recently as Tuesday said no final decisions had been made.

“I think anyone who’s observed my four-and-a-half year service knows that I’ve given my all and it’s been a tremendous strain on my family and my ability to spend time with my children, and I’ll leave it at that,” Mullan said Tuesday when asked about his future. “I don’t regret for a minute the public service that I’ve provided to the Commonwealth. I’m extremely proud of the work we’ve done under the governor’s leadership and the lieutenant governor’s leadership to change the face of transportation in Massachusetts.”

The source said Mullan intends to go into the private sector. Mullan received high marks from government insiders for his grasp of transportation policies and his efforts to improve the culture within a merged bureaucracy, but has faced questions about oversight and communications surrounding Big Dig tunnel leak maintenance and problems with corroded light fixtures in the underground highway system.

Davey will take over the Department of Transportation on Sept. 1, and will decide who will fill his job as head of the MBTA, either on a permanent or interim basis, according to the source.

In March 2010, Davey was picked for the top job at the MBTA. He had previously run the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad, which provides commuter rail service to the T.

Davey has focused on improving customer service at the MBTA, often making himself available to the media and to T riders to discuss the systems strengths and weaknesses.

While ridership numbers on the MBTA are up, the system has been plagued with service problems, including some high profile breakdowns. The transportation system was infused with revenues as part of the 2009 sales tax hike, but transit advocates have recently renewed calls for new system revenues.

At the T, Davey took over for former general manager Daniel Grabauskas, who had publicly feuded with the Patrick administration over transportation policy before the T board voted to buy out his contract.

“I think it’s a terrific choice. He has both public and private sector experience and the right balance of personality and skill sets to continue implementing transportation reform,” said Sen. Steven Baddour, a Methuen Democrat who formerly co-chair the Committee on Transportation.

Baddour said that over the course of his time as Transportation Committee chairman, he had met every living former transportation secretary.

“Jeff is at the top of that list. Nobody could have implemented the Herculean task of transportation reform like Jeff,” Baddour said.

Despite the service problems of the aging T system over the past year, Baddour said Davey handled the situation as well as could be expected.

“You can’t place that on any one individual. The problems of the T are generational, and he’s managed the problems at the T as well as anyone. I think he’s up to the task and I know he’ll be a great secretary,” Baddour said.

All of the packages recalled include the code "Est. P-963," according to Cargill, though packages were labeled under many different brands.

Associated PressA product subject to meat giant Cargill's recall of 36 million pounds of ground turkey linked to a nationwide salmonella outbreak is shown in Redwood City, Calif., Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011.

WASHINGTON — Meat giant Cargill is recalling 36 million pounds of turkey after a government hunt for the source of a salmonella outbreak that has killed one person in California and sickened dozens more. The Agriculture Department says it is one of the largest meat recalls ever.

USDA and the Minnesota-based company announced Wednesday evening that Cargill is recalling fresh and frozen ground turkey products produced at the company's Springdale, Ark., plant from Feb. 20 through Aug. 2 due to possible contamination from the strain of salmonella linked to 76 illnesses and the one death.

All of the packages recalled include the code "Est. P-963," according to Cargill, though packages were labeled under many different brands. Many of the recalled meats are under the label Honeysuckle White. Other brands include Riverside Ground Turkey, Natural Lean Ground Turkey, Fit & Active Lean Ground Turkey, Spartan Ground Turkey and Shady Brook Farms Ground Turkey Burgers. The recall also includes ground turkey products packaged under the HEB, Safeway, Kroger, Randall's, Tom Thumb and Giant Eagle grocery store brands.

The recall also includes some ground turkey that isn't labeled at all and some that went to food service establishments, according to Cargill.

Illnesses in the outbreak date back to March and have been reported in 26 states coast to coast. Just before the recall announcement Wednesday, CDC epidemiologist Christopher Braden said he thought health authorities were closing in on the suspect. He said some leftover turkey in a package at a victim's house was confirmed to contain the strain of salmonella linked to the outbreak.

In announcing the recall, Cargill officials said all ground turkey production has been suspended at the Springdale plant until the company is able to determine the source of the contamination.

"Given our concern for what has happened, and our desire to do what is right for our consumers and customers, we are voluntarily removing our ground turkey products from the marketplace," said Steve Willardsen, president of Cargill's turkey processing business.

The Minnesota-based company said it was initiating the recall after its own internal investigation, an Agriculture Department investigation and the information about the illnesses released by the CDC this week.

A chart on the CDC's website shows cases have occurred every month since early March, with spikes in May and early June. The latest reported cases were in mid-July, although the CDC said some recent cases may not have been reported yet. The CDC said the strain is resistant to many commonly prescribed antibiotics, which can make treatment more difficult.

The states reporting the highest number sickened are Michigan and Ohio, with 10 each. Texas has reported nine illnesses; Illinois, seven; California, six; and Pennsylvania, five.

Twenty states have one to three reported illnesses linked to the outbreak, according to the CDC. They are Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

The CDC estimates that 50 million Americans each year get sick from food poisoning, including about 3,000 who die. Salmonella causes most of these cases, and federal health officials say they've made virtually no progress against it.

Government officials say that even contaminated ground turkey is safe to eat if it is cooked to 165 degrees. But it's also important that raw meat be handled properly before it is cooked and that people wash their hands with soap for at least 20 seconds before and after handling the meat. Turkey and other meats should also be properly refrigerated or frozen and leftovers heated.

The most common symptoms of salmonella are diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever within eight to 72 hours of eating a contaminated product. It can be life-threatening to some with weakened immune systems.

"It is regrettable that people may have become ill from eating one of our ground turkey products," said Cargill executive Willardsen, "and, for anyone who did, we are truly sorry."

Blankenship allegedly used the online alias "14yrsmax."

AP photoAttorney General Eric Holder listens at left as Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano speaks at the Justice in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011, to discuss the results of the largest U.S. prosecution of an international criminal network organized to sexually exploit children. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

WESTFIELD - A city man is among 72 suspects charged with participating in an international online child pornography ring whose members traded tens of thousands of images and videos of sexually abused children ages 12 and under, federal authorities say.

Rush Frank Blankenship, 26, of Westfield, David Whitten, of Lynn, and Daniel Deschenes, of Terryville, Conn., were among those arrested by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, according to a press release issued by the agency.

Addresses for the three were not immediately available from federal authorities.

Prosecutors say those charged used an online bulletin board called "Dreamboard" to trade violent sexual images. To date, 52 of the 72 charged defendants have been arrested in the United States and abroad.

Blankenship is scheduled to plead guilty to federal child pornography charges on Sept. 1 in U.S. District Court in Shreveport, Louisiana, according to a court document. The document, labeled "Minute Entry" and filed July 8, 2011, reads, "At the request of counsel, this matter is hereby set for entry of guilty plea on September 1, 2011 at 2:00 p.m."

The Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator website, which lists Blankenship’s age as 26, stated Thursday that he is currently “in transit.”

U.S. attorney general Eric Holder and Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano announced on Wednesday that a 20-month law enforcement effort, called Operation Delego, targeted more than 600 Dreamboard members around the world for allegedly participating in the private, members-only Internet club created to promote pedophilia.

Numerous participants in the network sexually abused children ages 12 and under, produced images and video of the abuse and then shared it with other club members, according to court papers released in the case.

To conceal their conduct, members used screen names rather than actual names and accessed the bulletin board via proxy servers, with Internet traffic routed through other computers to disguise a user’s location, according to the court papers.

Participants were required to continually upload images of child sexual abuse to maintain their membership.

Blankenship is one of 21 suspects listed in federal indictments filed on June 15 in Shreveport, La. The indictments were unsealed Wednesday.

According to the indictment, Blankenship published three separate advertisements in April and May 2010 on Dreamboard in which he offered to distribute files containing child pornography. Blankenship allegedly used the online alias “14yrsmax.” and posted video and image files to the site labeled “Girl with Dog," "Nice small sets” and “Candle.”

Blankenship’s lawyer, John Nathaniel Bokenfohr, could not be reached for comment Thursday morning.

According to documents filed with the Massachusetts secretary of state’s office, Rush F. Blankenship and Rush G. Blankenship are signatories with Neighborhood Lawn Care LLC, which is based in Monson. The 52-year-old Rush G. Blankenship, reached at that business on Thursday, declined to comment; he faces no allegations in the federal case.

Of the 72 charged in the United States in the pornography case, 43 have been arrested in this country and nine abroad. Another 20 are known to authorities only by their Internet names and remain at large.

Authorities have arrested people in 13 other countries — Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Hungary, Kenya, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Qatar, Serbia, Sweden and Switzerland, but some of those were arrested on local rather than the U.S. charges.

Operation Delego represents the largest prosecution to date in the United States of individuals who participated in an online bulletin board conceived and operated for the sole purpose of promoting child sexual abuse, disseminating child pornography, and evading law enforcement.

All 72 of the defendants are charged with conspiring to advertise and distribute child pornography, and 50 of them are also charged with engaging in a child pornography enterprise. The charges and arrests were conducted in three separate phases over the course of the operation. Twenty-eight defendants were charged and 19 were arrested during phase one of the operation; 22 defendants were charged and 17 were arrested during phase two of the operation; and 22 defendants were charged and 16 arrested during phase three of the operation.

Thirteen of the 52 individuals arrested have pleaded guilty. To date, 20 of the 72 charged individuals remain at large and are known only by their online identities. Efforts to identify and apprehend these individuals continue.

Four of the 13 individuals who have pleaded guilty for their roles in the conspiracy have been sentenced to prison. Their sentences range from 22 to 30 years and each has also received a lifetime of supervised release following his release from prison as part of their sentence.

The stock market is in the midst of its biggest retreat since the financial crisis.

Associated PressA trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2011 in New York. (AP Photo/Jin Lee)

By DAVID K. RANDALL
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK — The stock market is in the midst of its biggest retreat since the financial crisis.

The Dow Jones industrial average plunged as many as 440 points Thursday afternoon. It is now down more than 1,200 points since July 21.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index is down 3 percent, bringing it nearly 11 percent below its recent high of 1,363 reached on April 29.

All three major indexes are down 10 percent or more from their previous highs, a drop-off that is considered to be a market correction. A drop of 20 percent or more signifies the start of a bear market, an extended period of stock declines.

Investors are increasingly concerned about the possibility of another recession in the U.S. and a debt crisis in Europe.

"We are continuing to be bombarded by worries about the global economy," said Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Financial.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 437 points, or 3.7 percent, to 11,455 in afternoon trading. Thursday's losses turned the blue-chip stock index negative for the year. The S&P 500 lost 51, or 4 percent, to 1,208. The Nasdaq composite shed 116, or 4.3 percent, to 2,576.

Oil fell 6 percent to $87 a barrel on worries demand will fall because of the slowing economy. Oil had traded over $100 as recently as June 9. The yield on the two-year Treasury note hit a record low as investors sought out relatively stable investments.

The Vix, a measure of investor fear, shot up nearly 25 percent. It is up 77 percent for the quarter, which began July 1.

Stock trading has been volatile this week because of concerns that the U.S. economy is weakening. Manufacturing, consumer spending and hiring by private companies are below levels that are consistent with a healthy economy. Those reports have called into question estimates from economists, including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, that the economy will grow more quickly in the second half of the year.

More than 10 stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday. Money poured into investments that are seen as relatively safe when markets are turbulent. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.51 percent, its lowest level of the year. The yield on the 2-year Treasury note hit a record low of 0.265 percent. Bond yields fall when demand for them increases.

Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist for Janney Montgomery Scott, an investment firm in Philadelphia, said some clients are moving to cash "as a parking lot to sort things out."

"With the scars of 2008 still fresh, some clients don't want to miss the chance to pre-empt further damage should it come," Luschini said.

Large investors have moved so much money into cash accounts at Bank of New York that on Thursday the bank said it would begin charging some clients a 0.13 percent fee to hold their cash.

"In the past month, we have seen a growing level of deposits on our balance sheet from clients seeking a safe-haven in light of the global interest rate and credit environment," the bank said in a statement to The Associated Press. Bank of New York clients include pension funds and large investment houses.

"Investors are deciding that now is the time to take risk off the table," said Brian Gendreau, market strategist for Cetera Financial Group. Gendreau said that some investors are now wondering whether stocks will have a prolonged slump similar to the aftermath of the Great Depression.

Technical trading, a term used to signify buying or selling based on the S&P 500's prior highs and lows, also helped push stocks downward. The S&P 500 fell below 1,222, a so-called support level, early in the day. That signified to some traders that the stock market would continue to slide.

"Traders are respecting the technical levels even if they're not technicians," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial. "Even if you're what we call a conviction buyer, you have to respect those levels."

European stocks fell broadly because of concerns that Italy or Spain may need help from the European Union. The benchmark stock indexes in Italy, Germany and England each fell 3 percent.

Companies that outperform when the global economy expands fell the most. Caterpillar Inc. fell nearly 6 percent, and Chevron Corp. fell 5 percent.

Some traders are selling ahead of Friday's employment report, which is expected to show that unemployment remained at 9.2 percent last month. A rise in the unemployment number would likely push stocks lower again.

The U.S. government said before the market opened that the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits for the first time was only slightly lower last week to 400,000. That's still above the 375,000 level that economist say indicates a healthy job market. It was the latest indication of weakness in the U.S. economy.

All 10 industry groups in the S&P index fell. Energy, materials and industrial companies each lost 5 percent or more.

The sell-off comes at a time when corporate profits are growing. The forward price to earnings ratio of the S&P 500 has fallen to about 12, well below its long-term average of 16. That means that investors who buy now are paying less for each dollar in profits.

Based on what an investor now pays for corporate profits, stocks are now trading at their lowest levels in 20 years, said Tim Courtney, chief investment officer of Burns Advisory Group in Oklahoma City.

Few companies were spared in the sell-off. Just 9 of the 500 stocks in the S&P 500 moved higher. General Motors Co. fell 4 percent despite beating analyst estimates.

The stock market had its biggest fall since the start of the current bull market in March, 2009. The Dow tumbled its largest amount since the height of the financial crisis in 2008. The drop in the S&P was the largest since a 45-point fall on January 20, 2009.

---

AP business writers Dave Carpenter, Francesca Levy and Pallavi Gogoi contributed to this story.

Belchertown Selectman George D. Archible said the community should honor those who return from military service in a war zone.

File photo by Don Treeger / The ReppublicanBelchertown Selectman George D. Archible, who is also commander of the town's Veterans' of Foreign Wars post, looks forward to honoring five residents who recently returned from Afghanistan, next week.

BELCHERTOWN – Selectman George D. Archible looks forward to walking across the Town Common on Aug. 11 with five town residents who recently returned from a tour of duty with the Massachusetts Army National Guard in Afghanistan.

As a way for the town to show recognition for the military service of these five men, Archible said having them walk from Town Hall to the regular Thursday night music concert on the Town Common will provide the opportunity for home town residents to show support.

The concert is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Sgt. Phillip Leab and Specialists Nathan LaValley, Tim Turbish, Ned Kenny and Anthony Hurtado have just returned from serving a year in Afghanistan with the Army National Guard Alpha 181 Infantry unit of the 26th Battalion, based in Agawam.

There have been other Belchertown residents who served in Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years, but Archible said the town has never had five come back home at the same time before.

“They are back safe and sound,’’ Archible said. “They will be honored on the Town Common on Aug. 11. I am hoping people will come out to honor them.’’

Archible said there was a send-off in town for these five soldiers just before they headed overseas a year ago, and he has kept tabs on the unit and kept in touch with some of the families since then.

Because there is no official notification to the town of returning members of the military, Archbile extended an invitation to other Belchertown residents who may have recently returned from war zones to get in touch and to come to the Aug. 11 event.

Archible is a combat veteran who served in Vietnam and said the experiences faced when members of the military returned home from that war have been in his mind as he organized this event.

“Vietnam veterans did not have welcome home committees. They were very troubling times in the 1960s and 1970s,’’ Archible said. “Now it is time to honor our service men and women when they come back, and the sacrifices they went through.’’

Archible is the commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8424 in Belchertown, but he said the Aug. 11 event is a function of the Board of Selectmen, not of the veterans organization.

The SBA has awarded more than $5 million in loans to residents and businesses in Massachusetts following the tornado.

SPRINGFIELD - The U.S. Small Business Administration is reminding people in the Springfield area who suffered losses from the June 1 tornado have until Aug. 15 to submit completed SBA low-interest disaster loan applications to be considered for all forms of assistance. Homeowners and renters who cannot afford a loan may be referred to the Federal Emergency Management Administration for possible grant funds.

Frank Skaggs, SBA Field Operations Center East director, said “there is a tendency for survivors to discard SBA disaster loan applications because they may not want a loan. However, they risk missing out on grants by not returning completed applications to the SBA.”

The SBA has awarded more than $5 million in loans to residents and businesses in Massachusetts following the tornado.

People suffering damages need to register with FEMA at (800) 621 FEMA, or (800) 621-3362. People who are hearing or speech impaired can all a TTY number at (800) 462-7585. People can also register online at www.disasterassistance.gov

More information on disaster loans is available at (800) 659-2955, or (800) 877-8339 (TTY) Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m., or by sending an e-mail to disastercustomerservice@SBA.gov

Only 3 of the 500 stocks in the Standard & Poor's 500 index had gains; oil fell by 6 percent. Watch video

Associated PressTraders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2011 in New York. The Dow plunged nearly 513 points Thursday, its biggest point decline since Oct. 22, 2008. (AP Photo/Jin Lee)

Updates a story posted Thursday at 4:23 p.m.

By DAVID K. RANDALL
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK — Fears about the global economy led to the biggest panic in financial markets since the 2008 financial crisis.

The Dow plunged nearly 513 points Thursday, its biggest point decline since Oct. 22, 2008. Only three of the 500 stocks in the Standard & Poor's 500 index had gains. Oil fell by 6 percent. The yield on the two-year Treasury note hit a record low as investors sought out relatively stable investments.

All three major stock indexes are down 10 percent or more from their previous highs, a drop-off that is considered to be a market correction. A drop of 20 percent or more signifies the start of a bear market, an extended period of stock declines.

Twenty stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was very heavy at 7.5 billion shares.

Investors are increasingly concerned about the possibility of another recession in the U.S. and a debt crisis in Europe.

"We are continuing to be bombarded by worries about the global economy," said Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Financial.

The Vix, a measure of investor fear, shot up 36 percent. It is up 92.6 percent for the quarter, which began July 1.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 512.76 points, or 4.3 percent, to 11,383.68. Thursday's losses turned the blue-chip stock index negative for the year.

The S&P 500 — the benchmark for most mutual funds — lost 60.20, or 4.8 percent, to 1,200.14. It is now down 12 percent from its recent high of 1,363 reached on April 29. The Nasdaq composite shed 136.68, or 5.1 percent, to 2,556.39.

Oil dipped to $87 a barrel on worries demand will fall because of the slowing economy. It had traded over $100 as recently as June 9.

Nearly 20 stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange.

European stocks also fell broadly because of concerns that Italy or Spain may need help from the European Union. The benchmark stock indexes in Italy, Germany and England each fell 3 percent.

Stock trading has been volatile this week because of concerns that the U.S. economy is weakening. Manufacturing, consumer spending and hiring by private companies are below levels that are consistent with a healthy economy. Those reports have called into question estimates from economists, including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, that the economy will grow more quickly in the second half of the year.

Money poured into investments that are seen as relatively safe when markets are turbulent. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.42 percent, its lowest level of the year. The yield on the 2-year Treasury note hit a record low of 0.26 percent. Bond yields fall when demand for them increases.

Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist for Janney Montgomery Scott, an investment firm in Philadelphia, said some clients are moving to cash "as a parking lot to sort things out."

"With the scars of 2008 still fresh, some clients don't want to miss the chance to pre-empt further damage should it come," Luschini said.

Large investors have moved so much money into cash accounts at Bank of New York that on Thursday the bank said it would begin charging some clients a 0.13 percent fee to hold their cash.

"In the past month, we have seen a growing level of deposits on our balance sheet from clients seeking a safe-haven in light of the global interest rate and credit environment," the bank said in a statement to The Associated Press. Bank of New York clients include pension funds and large investment houses.

"Investors are deciding that now is the time to take risk off the table," said Brian Gendreau, market strategist for Cetera Financial Group. Gendreau said that some investors are now wondering whether stocks will have a prolonged slump similar to the aftermath of the Great Depression.

Technical trading, a term used to signify buying or selling based on the S&P 500's prior highs and lows, also helped push stocks downward. The S&P 500 fell below 1,222, a so-called support level, early in the day. That signified to some traders that the stock market would continue to slide.

"Traders are respecting the technical levels even if they're not technicians," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial. "Even if you're what we call a conviction buyer, you have to respect those levels."

Companies that outperform when the global economy expands fell the most. Alcoa fell the most, with a 9 percent drop. Bank of America and Caterpillar were down 7 percent. Boeing ended down 6 percent.

Some traders are selling ahead of Friday's employment report, which is expected to show that unemployment remained at 9.2 percent last month. A rise in the unemployment number would likely push stocks lower again.

The U.S. government said before the market opened that the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits for the first time was only slightly lower last week to 400,000. That's still above the 375,000 level that economist say indicates a healthy job market. It was the latest indication of weakness in the U.S. economy.

All 10 industry groups in the S&P index fell. Energy, materials and industrial companies each lost 5 percent or more.

The sell-off comes at a time when corporate profits are growing. The forward price to earnings ratio of the S&P 500 has fallen to about 12, well below its long-term average of 16. That means that investors who buy now are paying less for each dollar in profits.

Based on what an investor now pays for corporate profits, stocks are now trading at their lowest levels in 20 years, said Tim Courtney, chief investment officer of Burns Advisory Group in Oklahoma City.

Few companies were spared in the sell-off. Just 3 of the 500 stocks in the S&P 500 moved higher. General Motors Co. fell 4 percent despite beating analyst's earnings estimates.

The stock market as a whole had its biggest fall since the start of the current bull market in March 2009. The drop in the S&P was the largest since a 45-point decline on January 20, 2009. The Dow is down 1.7 percent for the year. The S&P 500 is down 4.6 percent. And the Nasdaq is down 3.6 percent. The Russell 2000, an index made up of small companies, has fared the worst. It was down 5.6 percent Thursday and is down 7.3 percent for the year.

AP business writers Dave Carpenter, Francesca Levy and Pallavi Gogoi contributed to this story.

The group hopes that voters will be given a chance to decide the issue next year.

File photo / Associated PressThe Massachusetts Food Association hopes that state voters will be given another chance to approve the sale of been and wine in supermarkets next year.

By COLLEEN QUINN

BOSTON - Voters heading to the polls in 2012 may need to check their shopping lists first and determine whether they think more grocery stores and supermarkets should be able to sell beer and wine.

The Massachusetts Food Association is taking another shot at getting beer and wine into grocery stores, filing two ballot questions Wednesday, one which would allow food stores to sell wine and a second to allow grocery stores and supermarkets to sell beer and wine, under local control. The group filed two questions hoping that at least one would be certified by Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office and give them an opportunity to advance it the 2012 ballot, backers said.

In 2006, a similar ballot initiative allowing wine to be sold in food stores was defeated with 56 percent of voters voting against it and 44 percent for it, according to results from Secretary of State William Galvin’s elections division website. Package stores owners, fearing increased competition, fiercely fought the initiative, alongside a local police group, who days before the election ran commercials raising concerns about the possibility of minors getting a hold of alcohol in grocery stores.

Massachusetts has some of the nation’s toughest laws surrounding alcohol sales that date back to Prohibition, according to retailers. Thirty-five other states allow alcohol sales in grocery stores, including New Hampshire.

Coakley has until early September to certify the language of ballot initiatives filed by Wednesday's deadline. Then, backers of certified proposals must gather 68,911 signatures by mid-November. After successful signature drives, lawmakers have until May 2012 to support the proposals, offer alternatives, or permit the questions to appear on the 2012 ballot. If lawmakers take no action, supporters must gather an additional 11,485 signatures to place the question on the ballot.

Backers of the ballot question say it has a good chance of passing. “The supermarkets and grocery stores really want to give their customers what they are asking for,” said Cynthia Eid, a consultant representing the Massachusetts Food Association. “Supermarkets are in the business of accommodating customers. They like the convenience of one-stop shopping.”

In the last ballot push, opponents argued that convenience stores and gas stations could be considered food stores, Eid said. So, this time they included a clause that would allow local boards to retain control over the alcohol licenses and be able to define grocery stores, she said.

Whether the proposal makes it to the voters is up in the air. Industry officials on both sides of the issue told the News Service Thursday they are discussing “compromises” on a bill pending in the Legislature that would allow more grocery stores and supermarkets to sell beer and wine.

Under current law, grocery store owners can only sell beer and wine once they receive an alcohol permit from their local communities, but they are not allowed to hold more than three permits in the state - making it difficult for chain grocery stores to sell alcohol.

Both package and grocery store industry advocates said they would like to avoid a ballot vote.

A weakened economy might make it tough for the two sides to raise the millions of dollars it takes for a ballot battle, according to retailers. The package store industry had a recent voter victory last November, spending millions of dollars to successfully overturn the state’s alcohol 6.25 percent sales tax on alcohol.

Jon Hurst, the president of the Retailers’ Association of Massachusetts, said his organization has not taken a position yet on the latest ballot questions. The association represents both grocery store and package store owners. Hurst said he would prefer to see the law changed through the Legislature rather than a voter initiative.

A bill (S 1851) filed by Sen. Michael Rodrigues (D-Westport) is making its way through the State House, where it had a hearing before the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure in May. The bill would allow grocery stores to hold up to 20 licenses in the state, but not more than one in any city or town.

Since the hearing, the grocery store and the package store owners have been working together to come up with a compromise they could present to lawmakers and avoid a ballot question, according to officials from both industries and lawmakers.

Rep. Theodore Speliotis, D-Danvers, co-chairman of the committee, said he is not sure a ballot initiative will be necessary.

“I think there is a willingness within the industries to reach some type of an agreement so that a ballot question wouldn’t be necessary,” said Speliotis, who added he has spoken to advocates in both industries in the weeks since the hearing.

Flynn, from the Food Association, said supermarket industry representatives and package store owners are communicating “trying to avoid going to a ballot question.”

“The last thing we want to do is spend a ton of money to bring this to the voters,” he said.

Frank Anzalotti, executive director of the Massachusetts Package Stores Association, said the two groups have “had a couple of discussions.” Anzalotti said the discussions would continue.

“Assuming there is common ground, and I don’t know that there is, but we may not need to have this petition,” he said.

But he added he is not surprised the petitions were filed, and said his organization has not take a position on it yet.

Eid said the Massachusetts Food Association hopes lawmakers pass a bill, but they did not want to wait to see if a law changed before the 2012 election and risk missing the August 3 deadline to file a ballot initiative.

“Hopefully the Legislature comes up with a compromise,” she said. “If not, we are prepared to move forward.”

Hurst said it is difficult to get a ballot initiative passed, and he worries if it fails again it would postpone changes to the law for a long time. The Retailers' Association wants to see the law loosened up, Hurst said before the May hearing.

“It is going to disappoint me if nothing happens. The last defeat took expansion off the table for several years,” he said Thursday. “If this goes to the ballot and loses again, we are pushing the ball down the road for many more years.”

The 6-5 votes was the 3rd time the City Council has voted against funding the position of mayor's chief of staff.

File photo | The RepublicanChicopee City Hall.

CHICOPEE – The City Council has rejected a request to restore the position of mayor’s chief of staff for the third time.

After a back-and-forth debate Tuesday about the restoring the $47,000 salary to the budget, the City Council first voted to study the idea more in subcommittee.

Councilor Frank N. LaFlamme said he was willing to listen to Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette’s reasons for asking to restore the position, but later reversed his position and asked for a reconsideration vote on placing the item in committee.

The vote to reconsider placing it in finance committee passed 6-5. Then the City Council voted 6-5 to reject the request to restore the job.

George Moreau

“I just don’t believe it needs to be in that office,” Councilor George R. Moreau said. He argued that past Chicopee mayors did not have a chief of staff.

Councilor Dino A. Brunetti agreed, saying he believed the city’s emergency management director also serves as the mayor’s chief of staff.

But Councilor James K. Tillotson said other mayors have had the position, but have given it different titles. He said he believes it is wrong to try to run the mayor’s office with the current two employees.

“I do believe this position is necessary,” he said.

James Tillotson

During budget deliberations in June, the City Council voted 7-6 to eliminate the chief of staff job and the about $28,000-a-year administrative assistant position, and made several other last-minute cuts before adopting the city’s $158 million budget for this fiscal year. Bissonnette has asked at least twice previously for the council to reconsider all the cuts.

On Tuesday he took a different tack and asked for the restoration of only one position.

The City Council's finance committee previously agreed to study two other cuts that reduced the city solicitor’s job to a part-time position and eliminated a proposal to create a grant-writer job. It has not had a meeting on those positions yet.

Tillotson argued that Bissonnette has already given up efforts to restore the administrative assistant job.

Greg Gutfeld and Bob Beckel say they were joking when they spoke on the air about going easy on Palin, a fellow Fox employee.

File photo | Associated PressSarah Palin has said she will decide later this summer whether she is running for president in 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

By DAVID BAUDER
AP Television Writer

NEW YORK — Two Fox News Channel analysts said Thursday they were joking when they spoke on the air about going easy on fellow Fox employee Sarah Palin.

The comments by Greg Gutfeld and Bob Beckel were taken seriously and given wide circulation after being made on Wednesday's edition of "The Five," the summer replacement series for Glenn Beck.

The talk show's Monica Crowley introduced a segment showing Palin angrily taking on critics of the tea party.

"I say, 'Amen, sister,'" Crowley said before asking other panelists how they felt.

Gutfeld said that "the only problem talking about Sarah Palin is that she works here and it's like a co-worker. And if I say something bad and I see her in the hallway I feel really awkward and wrong. So I just kind of say, 'That was a good job.'"

Beckel, a longtime Democratic strategist and 1984 campaign manager for Walter Mondale, immediately picked up on Gutfeld's comment.

"It has nothing to do with that," he said. "It has everything to do with your paycheck. That's why you feel awkward about it. I know exactly what you mean. Many times, I'll be honest, I've pulled my punches on it."

The only indication he wasn't serious came when Beckel then proceeded to criticize Palin. The former Republican vice presidential candidate had defended the tea party after there were suggestions they acted like "terrorists" in the debt ceiling debate. Beckel noted that a campaigning Palin had questioned the patriotism of Democrats.

"I was playing off what Greg was saying," Beckel said in an interview Thursday, noting that it's a mandate of producers to try to be funny on "The Five." ''People are so sensitive."

Beckel said that nobody at Fox had ever asked him to go easy on anyone, adding, "I'd punch them out if they did."

Gutfeld is host of Fox's satirical late-night show "Red Eye." He said that he's met Palin only once and that he'd have little opportunity to see her at Fox's New York headquarters since the former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential candidate does most of her appearances on the network from a studio in Alaska.

"It was clearly a joke" that should be apparent to anyone who watches "Red Eye," he said.

"I don't pull punches," he said. "I've been fired from some jobs for not pulling punches." Asked for details, he said, "Check my Wikipedia page." Gutfeld has lost editing jobs at Men's Health, Stuff and Maxim UK.

When a clip of their Wednesday discussion was posted on the Mediaite website, it was spread by reporters on Twitter and was the subject of stories taking the comments seriously on Politico and the Huffington Post. CNN referred to it in its news crawl.

Palin has said she will decide later this summer whether she is running for president next year. Fox terminated contracts with contributors Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum after they took steps to run for president, while Mike Huckabee decided not to run and kept his Fox News weekend program.

The release raises questions about statements by Entergy Corp. that strontium-90 found in a fish sample taken from the adjacent Connecticut River did not come from the Vernon reactor.

The Republican | John SuchockiVermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant as seen from the Hinsdale, N.H., side of the Connecticut River.

By DAVE GRAM

MONTPELIER, Vt. — The Vermont Yankee nuclear plant reported releases of a radioactive substance into the environment several times in the years immediately after the plant's current owner bought it in 2002, an Associated Press review of Nuclear Regulatory Commission records has found.

That raises questions about statements by Entergy Corp. this week that strontium-90 found in a fish sample taken from the adjacent Connecticut River did not come from the Vernon reactor.

The state Health Department says the levels found in the fish are consistent with background levels caused by nuclear bomb testing decades ago and the Chernobyl accident in 1986, and that there's no way to trace the radioactivity found in smallmouth bass caught in the river to Vermont Yankee.

But in at least one of the quarters in each year from 2002 to 2005, Vermont Yankee told the NRC in its annual report on radioactive leaks that it had released some strontium-90, a radioactive substance linked to cancer and leukemia.

Vermont Yankee spokesman Larry Smith said Thursday that the samples from fish caught in June 2010 and announced this week by the state were taken 9 miles north of Vermont Yankee, while fish taken from the river nearer the plant did not show strontium-90.

"Entergy remains firm in its conclusion that Vermont Yankee operations cannot be linked to the recent identification of (strontium-90) in fish tissue from a fish sample obtained" by the state, Smith said.

The reports to the NRC of releases nearly a decade ago are giving ammunition to nuclear critics who suspect that Vermont Yankee is the source for at least some of the strontium-90 in fish. The Vermont Health Department announced this week that the substance had been found in nine of 13 "non-edible" fish samples — meaning bone, head, scales and guts —and also had turned up in one edible sample from the river.

The news quickly took on political overtones. Gov. Peter Shumlin issued a statement Tuesday saying Entergy was "putting their shareholders' profits above the welfare of Vermonters." He followed that Wednesday with comments at a news conference in which he said he would not eat fish caught in the Connecticut River near the plant.

Republicans replied that the Democratic governor's comments would hurt the state and harm tourism by discouraging fishing in the river.

Smith said there was "absolutely no evidence to suggest that Vermont Yankee is the source for the strontium-90."

Paul Gunter, director of reactor oversight for the Maryland-based anti-nuclear group Beyond Nuclear, said Thursday that, "The evidence is in the fact that they reported the strontium-90 releases" in each of the first four years Entergy owned the plant. He accused the company of "hiding behind" fallout from the bomb testing in the 1950s and '60s as the source of the positive reading in the fish samples.

Smith noted that strontium had not shown up in groundwater testing wells installed at Vermont Yankee after another radioactive substance, tritium, was discovered leaking from the reactor in late 2009.

Gunter replied that radioactive substances tend to build up in living tissue over time, so amounts too small to register on testing equipment could migrate to the river and end up collecting in fish. Larger fish eat smaller ones and pick up strontium-90 they absorbed by eating yet smaller organisms, he said.

Richard Conatser, a health physicist with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said in an interview Thursday that the sorts of strontium-90 releases reported by Vermont Yankee in the early 2000s were "kind of rare. We don't see this all the time. We see this every once in a while at generally very low values."

William Irwin, radiological health chief with the Vermont Health Department, said it was possible strontium-90 from Vermont Yankee could have turned up in the river, but unlikely the plant was the main source of the substance. He said the releases in 2002-2005 may have stemmed from faulty nuclear fuel that was shipped to some power plants.

The appeals were filed by the Toxics Action Center, based in Boston and Amherst, and by the Conservation Law Foundation, based in Boston.

An artist's rendering of the proposed Palmer Renewable Energy biomass plant off Page Boulevard in East Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD – Two organizations have filed appeals with the state Department of Environmental Protection, saying the state’s recent conditional approval of a 35-megawatt biomass wood-burning plant in East Springfield would worsen air pollution and harm public health.

The appeals were filed by the Toxics Action Center, based in Boston and Amherst, and by the Conservation Law Foundation, based in Boston. The foundation stated it was filing the appeal on behalf of itself and its members, the Springfield-based Arise for Social Justice and its members, and residents.

The state issued a conditional air quality plan Approval to Palmer Renewable Energy on June 30, the final approval needed by the state for the $150 million power project to proceed.

Palmer Renewable Energy and its founder, David J. Callahan, are proposing the plant at 1000 Page Blvd.

The company and its consultants have defended the safety of the plant and said it will not adversely affect public health.

The state has assigned a hearing officer who will file a recommendation with the Department of Environmental Protection commissioner, said Edmund J. Coletta, a state spokesman. The appeals will be combined as a single case.

The commissioner, Kenneth L. Kimmell, has final say and could decide to uphold the permit, uphold the permit with added stipulations, or deny the permit, Coletta said. Any further appeal would be a court matter, he said.

The City Council voted in May to revoke the city’s special permit for the project, which was granted in 2008. The developer filed a lawsuit in June in Land Court, challenging the council’s action.

Both the Conservation Law Foundation and Toxics Action Center stated within their appeals that the plant will emit “substantial amounts of particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, ammonia, and hazardous air pollutants into a region of Massachusetts with significantly degraded air quality and high rates of pediatric asthma and other health impacts associated with, and/or likely to be exacerbated by, increased air pollution.”

Frank P. Fitzgerald, a lawyer for the developers, said they are confident the permit will be upheld.

“After a detailed and comprehensive review of our project, public hearings and extended public comment periods, the (state) found that our biomass plant met every one of the commonwealth’s strict environmental standards,” Fitzgerald said.

The Toxics Action Center, which lists its mission as working with communities to help prevent or clean up pollution, said the Department of Environmental Protection “failed to adequately take into account the existing air pollution and public health burden in the community that will be most significantly and directly affected by PRE’s project air emissions.

The plant would burn green wood chips, switching from an earlier plan to burn a combination of construction and demolition debris and greed wood chips.

The Conservation Law Foundation said the plant would be within an “environmental justice community,” which is a community that “already suffers from disparate adverse health impacts” and should receive added protection, according to the appeal. In addition, the group said the state “failed to adequately assess and limit air pollution from the plant.”

Coakley said trustees held an illegal closed meeting to interview 3 finalists for the presidency of the 5-campus University of Massachusetts.

BOSTON – Attorney General Martha M. Coakley on Thursday found that trustees for the University of Massachusetts committed “wide ranging and serious” violations of the state’s Open Meeting Law throughout the process of selecting a new president, culminating in January with an “unlawful executive session” to interview three finalists for the top job.

The Republican file photoAttorney General Martha Coakley

In a 17-page letter to the university's general counsel, Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Sclarsic spelled out the violations in detail and ordered seven remedies, including requiring all trustees to undergo training in the Open Meeting Law prior to the process for appointing a new chancellor for the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
The attorney general said the trustees' separate interviews with each of the three finalists for president on Jan. 13 should have been held in open session, but instead took place in a three-hour closed meeting.

A committee can screen preliminary candidates in executive session, but once candidates pass the preliminary stage and become finalists, those interviews generally must be public, except for the purposes of a narrow discussion about reputation and character, the attorney general said.

After the illegal closed session, trustees immediately voted in the open to select Robert L. Caret as the new president to replace Jack M. Wilson.

The Republican had asked Coakley about the Jan. 13 closed session as part of Sunshine Week, a national campaign led by the American Society of News Editors to underscore the debate about open government and freedom of information. Coakley's office notified trustees of the investigation on March 14, the day after the article appeared in The Republican.

The attorney general could have imposed tougher sanctions such as nullifying the board’s decision or issuing fines.

In a statement, Coakley defended her decision.

“This is a strong action that makes clear that these violations should not have occurred, requires the board to take corrective remedies, and works to ensure that the mistakes do not happen again,” Coakley said.

The Republican file photoRobert Ambrogi, lawyer and member of state's Open Meeting Law Advisory Commission

Robert J. Ambrogi, a lawyer and member of the state's Open Meeting Law Advisory Commission, said the attorney general should have nullified the trustees’ appointment of Caret to drive home the importance of the law and the need for compliance.

Ambrogi said trustees received what amounted to “a slap on the knuckles” for what the attorney general said were serious and pervasive violations of the Open Meeting Law. The remedy should have been equally as grave, but it fell short, Ambrogi said.

“If you are going to have a law, you have to decide if you are going to enforce it,” Ambrogi said.

Corey D. Welford, chief of staff for Coakley, said the office needed to prove the violations were intentional in order to issue fines. Under the law, the attorney general can issue $1,000 fines against a state or municipal board for each intentional violation of the Open Meeting Law.

Welford said trustees acted on advice of general counsel, raising doubts about whether the infractions were intentional.

The Republican file photoHenry Thomas III, vice chairman of UMass board of trustees

When state legislators overhauled the Open Meeting Law in 2009 and put Coakley in charge of enforcement, they also watered down the law by requiring violations to be "intentional" to carry a fine. Ambrogi said that when legislators inserted the word "intentional," it created a new legal standard that makes it virtually impossible to prove violations in court and impose a fine.

James J. Karam, chairman of the university’s board of trustees, issued a statement saying, “ future searches at the University of Massachusetts will be conducted in a manner that is fully consistent with the Open Meeting Law and with Attorney General’s findings and directives.”

Karam said there was “a very real risk” of losing top candidates for president if the interviews were held in public, but the trustees wanted to meet the finalists.

“We believed that this executive session was consistent with state law and saw it as means of balancing two competing interests,” Karam said.

All three candidates had indicated they would refuse interviews in open session, the attorney general’s letter said, citing a review of minutes of the executive session.

Karam said he is pleased the issue is resolved and the attorney general said the matter is now closed.

The attorney general cited multiple violations of the Open Meeting Law during the presidential search process. Trustees, for example, routinely permitted some members to participate in meetings by telephone – a currently banned practice -- during meetings of the search committee and the board of trustees, the attorney general said.

The search committee failed to maintain sufficient minutes of its meetings, the attorney general said. The search committee and board of trustees also did not provide an adequate listing of topics in meeting notices during the search, the attorney general said.

The search committee was also faulted for merely continuing a Sept. 17 executive session for screening candidates to another five meetings without posting notices of any of the meetings or convening again in public to vote for a closed session for a specific reason, as required by the law, the attorney general said.

The attorney general said trustees cited two other inappropriate purposes for the Jan. 13 closed meeting with finalists including a need to discuss strategies for negotiating contracts with non-union personnel. Karam said some trustees had questions about salary ranges and other requirements of finalists. However, the attorney general said those questions were asked in the context of choosing a president, not negotiating their contract, and should have been aired in the open.

UMass Open Meeting Law Investigation, Letter from AG’s Office

Henry M. Thomas III of Springfield, the vice chairman of the trustees and the search committee created for a new president, said trustees may have made some “honest mistakes” during the search for the new president.

“There was always good faith being exhibited throughout the process,” Thomas said. “There’s not a lot of guidance on some aspects of the law.”

Thomas said it was “good news” that the behavior of the board was not so egregious that it compelled the attorney general to impose sanctions such as nullifying the decision. The attorney general’s remedies imply there was no bad faith involved on the part of trustees, he said.

Thomas said the attorney general’s detailed ruling will help trustees and other state boards in complying with the Open Meeting Law in the future.

In addition to training for trustees, the attorney general ordered other steps to comply with the Open Meeting Law. These include releasing "full and accurate" minutes of six meetings of the search committee, a review and possible release of minutes of the Jan. 13 meeting and submitting to the attorney general all meeting minutes created during the process for appointing a new chancellor for the flagship Amherst campus.

Colrain, Goshen, Holyoke, Leverett and Southwick were among the 42 trails projects awarded grants.

HOLYOKE – Five area communities were awarded grants Thursday to fund trail projects.

They are Colrain, Goshen, Holyoke, Leverett and Southwick.

State Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Edward M. Lambert Jr., at an event at Mount Tom State Reservation, announced $1.28 million in grants to communities and nonprofit organizations throughout the state to fund 42 trails projects under its Recreational Trails Grants Program.

The state program is part of the national Recreational Trails Program funded by the Federal Highway Administration.

The city of Holyoke was awarded $3,632 for the Bray Valley Trail Bridge project to replace an important linking bridge in the existing trail system, which is currently beyond repair.

In Colrain, Colrain Sno-Drifters was awarded $28,086. These funds are for the purchase of an all-terrain vehicle and rescue trailer to develop, enhance, and maintain trails for recreational and emergency access purposes in Cook and Catamount State Forests.

In Goshen, the Goshen Highlanders Snowmobile Club was awarded $18,010.

The project will permanently secure a trail easement on part of the main snowmobile trail corridor in Goshen and will acquire materials for the continued maintenance program and ongoing erosion repair work for the DAR State Forest trail system and Tilton Town Farm Land in Goshen.

All-season tracks will be purchased for the club recreational trail vehicle.

The town of Leverett Conservation Commission received $10,550.

The project will revitalize existing trails, create new trails and connect conservation areas Doolittle Brook, Mountain Brook and Roaring Brook by establishing a network of trails and trailheads covering over 160 acres of land, and 3.5 miles of trail.

In Southwick, Berkshire Trail Riders Association was awarded $13,945.

The project will enable association members to improve and repair multi-use trails in the Tolland State Forest.

An enclosed trailer will be purchased to improve the ability to transport club-owned equipment and supplies, including a utility vehicle and two all terrain vehicle wagons.

Each recipient matches its grant with at least an additional 20 percent in funding or in-kind services.

“Recreational trails development is central to DCR’s core mission,” Lambert said.

“These projects will connect cities and towns across the Commonwealth with a network of outdoor trails ensuring Massachusetts will continue to be a prime destination for outdoor enthusiasts,” he said.

Grant awards range from $604 to $150,837, depending on the scope of the project.

Typically, the local match consists of in-kind labor and professional services, material donations, use of equipment or a cash match.

The Recreational Trails Program allocates 30 percent of its funds to motorized use, 30 percent to non-motorized use, and 40 percent to diverse use projects.