Richard J. McCabe, 78, of Springfield, died on Friday. He was born in Holyoke and raised in South Hadley. He was a graduate of South Hadley High School, received a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a Master's Degree in Education from Westfield State College. He served in the United States Navy during the Korean War and attained the rank of Sonarman Second Class. McCabe was employed for 38 years as a teacher, and retired as the English Department Head of West Springfield Junior High School in 1995. He was a member of the West Springfield Council #2212 Knights of Columbus. McCabe was a member of the John Boyle O'Reilly Club in Springfield and the Sons of Erin in Westfield. In 2010, he was awarded the Irish Man of the Year Award from the Knights of Columbus. Richard also was a member of the Appalachian Mountain Club, and his trail name was "Guinness Man."
Sponsored by the Friends of Forbes Library and the Friends of Lilly Library, the fundraiser boasted about 25 fully edible creations.
NORTHAMPTON – Charles Frazier’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “Cold Mountain” is a fiddle made of fruitcake and pecans.
At least that’s how Marianne Moriarty of Northampton chose to represent it at the fifth annual Edible Book event at Forbes Library on Sunday. Sponsored by the Friends of Forbes Library and the Friends of Lilly Library, in Northampton and Florence, respectively, the fundraiser boasted about 25 fully edible creations.
This year’s judges were local children’s book author Ellen Wittlinger and WFCR radio host Bob Paquette. The edible books were served up in the community room after the judging.
“I’ve combined elements of the survival foods in the novel,” said Moriarty, pointing out the watercress, blackberries and golden apples used in her creation. The fiddle represents the character Stobrod’s transformation from an “outlier” to a great musician “through perseverance and the hard road,” she said.
Moriarty received the “Makes Me Feel Like Dancin’” award.
Scott McDaniel of Florence created a three-page sketchbook, complete with a drawing on the second page, out of fondant and food coloring. The first page was folded back and the pencils next to the book were made of breadsticks. He said the piece took about a month to complete.
McDaniel walked away with the “Most Realistic Portrayal of a Book” award.
Laura Wenk, her partner Judy Stern and 9-year-old Mina Stern-Wenk, of Amherst, made a gingerbread house modeled after a pop-up book called “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Robert Sabuda, an adaptation of the famous Lewis Carroll story. The title character had just had eaten the food that makes her grow.
In the family’s creation, Alice’s leg is sticking out of the chimney. It was good enough to earn the “Best Building in Show” award.
“It’s a challenge to try to think about how to represent something with food,” said Wenk. “We hope that Amherst starts doing something like this soon (at the Jones Library).”
Dee Michel of Amherst, who sits on the planning committee, said this was his third event and it’s always “so amazing to see the joy and creativity in the room.”
He teamed up with 12-year-old Eva Gerstle to create the Emerald City from “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum out of green ice cream cones and candy. The duo took home the “Green with Envy” award.
Other entries included “The Old Man and the Sea(weed),” which Naomi Ossar of Amherst made with sheets of seaweed. She crafted a likeness of author Ernest Hemingway on the cover with shredded squid. She earned the punny “Best Hook” award.
“It’s not raising a lot of money ever year, but it’s a great community event,” said Bonnie Burnham, who organized the event with the planning committee.
Burnham said the event’s proceeds will be split between the two Friends groups and that she expects more to be raised than in previous years.
The $5,000 reward will go to anyone providing information that leads to a conviction..
LONGMEADOW — The state Fire Marshal’s Office is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for a March 28 firebombing of a house on Metacomet Road, police said.
In the March 28 incident, someone threw a Molotov cocktail through the window at about 12:30 a.m. starting a small fire in the living room. The homeowner was awakened by the sound and was able put the fire out by himself before firefighters arrived. No one was injured.
Longmeadow police on Tuesday declined to comment on the status of the investigation except to say that it is ongoing.
People with information about the case may call the state police at (800) 682-9229 or Longmeadow police at (413) 567-3311.
Legislators are attempting to close a $1 billion shortfall in the state budget.
File photo by John Suchocki / The RepublicanMassachusetts House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo speaks with state Rep. Michael F. Kane during a Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House in February
House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo told reporters that he would wait until the budget process is complete before moving ahead on a possible agreement with the governor on casinos. State legislators are attempting to close $1 billion shortfall in the state budget.
"No," said DeLeo, a Winthrop Democrat, when asked by a reporter if there were any solid plans to discuss gambling with Patrick. "We're still trying to get through the budget process here."
Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg, D-Amherst, said gambling discussions among the Senate president, the speaker and the governor boil down to one "very simple" issue.
"Are we going to have slots in the box or not? And if we are, are they going to be by competition or designated licenses? That's basically an issue they are discussing," said Rosenberg, the Senate point man on casinos. "When they resolve it, then they can present a proposal to the Legislature."
Stanley Rosenberg
A casino bill collapsed last year after a showdown between DeLeo and Patrick over slot machines at the tracks. DeLeo, son of a late track worker in Boston, has insisted on slots for the tracks while Patrick has supported just casino resorts.
"They are apparently not in agreement," Rosenberg said. "They still have differences of opinion."
Rosenberg said the delay in casino talks shouldn't be viewed as a bad sign for casinos. He said legislative leaders are just focused on other issues instead of casinos.
DeLeo's concession that the budget is overwhelming casinos appears to be a shift from his earlier statements that he hoped to speak with Patrick when the governor returned from his recent international trade mission. The delay also appears to contradict Patrick's recent statements that he was hopeful on casinos because he was talking with DeLeo.
A spokesman for DeLeo said there have only been preliminary discussions on casinos.
Sen. Gale D. Candaras, D-Wilbraham, who supports casinos, said she agrees that gambling talks should be delayed until completion of the state budget. Patrick usually signs the annual spending budget around the end of June or July 1, the start of the new fiscal year. The House and the Senate still need to approve their versions of the $30 billion budget, after Patrick unveiled his plan in January.
"We've seen what happens when casino gaming becomes the issue," Candaras said. "It sucks all the oxygen out of the Statehouse. It's very difficult to get any other work done."
Michael R. Knapik
Another casino advocate, Sen. Michael R. Knapik, R-Westfield, said he can understand DeLeo's position on delaying a casino debate. Knapik said he hopes "the big three" reach a compromise in time to generate government revenues from casinos for next year.
"Fall is not a bad time for this," Knapik said. "If we are going to make a serious run at 2012 revenues we have to do it sooner rather than later."
Material from the State House News Service was used.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell six points in light trading.
File photo / Associated PressA Wall Street sign is shown in New York.
NEW YORK – A quiet day on Wall Street left stock indexes little changed after minutes from the most recent meeting of the Federal Reserve Board’s policy committee showed few signs that the central bank plans on making changes to its stimulus program. Trading volume continued to be light.
The minutes, from the Fed’s meeting on March 15, confirmed that members of the central bank are split about whether it needs to tighten credit later this year to ward off inflation. All of the committee’s members agreed that the economy is improving.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 6.13 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 12,393.90. The S&P 500 index was down 0.24 at 1,332.63. The Nasdaq composite gained 2, or 0.1 percent, to 2,791.19.
Companies that make basic materials rose as traders anticipated more price increases for commodities. Aluminum maker Alcoa Inc. rose 2.8 percent, Newmont Mining Corp. rose 4.4 percent and Dow Chemical Co. rose 1.3 percent.
“I think the market is concerned that (Fed) Chairman (Ben) Bernanke doesn’t share the same level of concern regarding inflation that it might wish him to, and that is leading to stronger commodity prices,” said Howard Ward, the chief investment officer for GAMCO Investors.
Many investors have been more focused on the policies of the Federal Reserve rather than the threat of a government shutdown if Republicans and Democrats do not reach an agreement on federal spending levels. “There is a game of chicken going on in Washington right now to see who will move first,” Ward said.
Stocks had edged lower in early trading, following most world markets, after China raised a key lending rate and the rating agency Moody’s lowered Portugal’s credit rating. A survey from the Institute for Supply Management reported growth at service companies last month but at a slower rate than analysts were expecting.
Technology companies climbed after Texas Instruments Inc. said it planned to buy National Semiconductor for $6.5 billion in cash. National Semiconductor soared 71 percent.
After falling more than $10 earlier in the day, Apple Inc. regained most of its losses. Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. announced a rebalancing of the Nasdaq-100 Index next month that will cut Apple’s weighting in the index from 20 percent to 12 percent. That will likely force some money managers to reduce their holdings.
Trading in the largest stocks of the Nasdaq index may be more volatile before the rebalancing takes effect, but will may make index funds that are based on the Nasdaq more appropriate for lay investors, said John DiBacco, global head of equity finance at UBS.
“When you buy an index fund you are hoping for diversification,” he said. “If one name makes up a fifth of the index you aren’t quite accomplishing what you hoped.”
KB Home fell nearly 4 percent. The homebuilder reported a first-quarter loss of $1.49 a share, far more than the 25 cents analysts were expecting.
Rising shares narrowly outpaced falling shares on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume came to 3.9 billion shares.
The slot machine that provided the $1.4 million payoff has a Star Wars theme.
Mohegan SunGabrielle Brin-Martin near a Star Wars-themed slot machine at Mohegan Sun.
8:40 p.m. update: Brin-Martin, who is unemployed, had just splurged on a replica "Star Wars" light saber for her children. » Read the story.
HOLYOKE – A city woman won $1.4 million on a slot machine at the Mohegan Sun casino Monday.
Gabriele Brin-Martin won $1,427,870 on a one cent IGT Star Wars Wide Area Progressive machine, a press release from the Uncasville, Conn. casino said Tuesday.
Brin-Martin couldn’t be reached for comment.
Mohegan Sun is owned by the Mohegan Tribe, one of the largest gaming desinations in the country in southeastern Connecticut.
Peter L. Harris, 63, of Ludlow died Friday. Born in Ludlow, he was a lifelong resident, educated in local schools, and a graduate of Ludlow High School and Springfield Technical Community College. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam Era, attaining the rank of Staff Sergeant. Harris was Assistant Chief Engineer at ABC40, WGGB-TV, for 40 years. He was in charge of maintenance for the TV transmitter facility atop Holyoke's Mount Tom. Harris was involved in farming, and raised his first sheep at the age of 9. He and his wife Judy built a sheep farm of prize-winning Shropshire, Tunis and Cheviot Sheep. Harris was active in New England and national sheep organizations, serving as president and on the executive board of many. He won many top honors at major fairs.
HOLYOKE – Gabriele Brin-Martin opened a box on her kitchen table Tuesday containing a replica "Star Wars" light saber she splurged on for her children, but then realized they were out of batteries.
Buying batteries and a lot of other things won't be a problem anymore for Brin-Martin.
So the light saber was not just a family gift, but a symbol of good fortune: Brin-Martin won the money by playing a Star Wars-themed machine on the third birthday of her youngest son, Luke, who shares a name with Luke Skywalker, a key figure in the Star Wars mythology.
"I still don't believe it. It hasn't sunk in yet. I didn't sleep all last night. That's a lot of money – a lot of money," Brin-Martin said in her West Holyoke home.
Luke, 3, was named for biblical reasons and not the Star Wars Luke, she said, though the light saber is a Luke Skywalker model. She bought it for $140 and it is similar to one the casino provided for her to pose with in a photo, she said.
The money will help in several key undreamed-of ways. Brin-Martin is on medical leave with back problems, so she might get that addressed, she said.
The prize will allow her to take a break from the chore of looking for steady work, said Brin-Martin, who said she has been working occasionally helping alcoholics at a detoxification center in Springfield. She also will hire a financial adviser, she said.
Her mother, who is 69, is suffering from terminal cancer in Bremen Town, Germany, Brin-Martin's birthplace, and some of the money will go toward helping that situation, she said.
She came to this area in 1984 upon marrying an American soldier to whom she no longer is married. She lived in Northampton, Holyoke and Westfield, and is back in Holyoke, she said.
She has four children: Rachel, 23, Erika, 14, Zachary, 10, and Luke, she said.
On Monday, with the kids at school, she headed to Mohegan, in Uncasville, in southeastern Connecticut.
"I took some mommy time, some me time, so I took some time off," she said.
She had been playing the same machine for a half-hour. She had won $350, so decided to stay put. It was 2:30 p.m. when the wheels clicked together into a surreal kind of symmetry and the machine lit up with the message: "Call attendant for verification."
"I knew I won something, but I didn't know what it was," Brin-Martin said.
A mock-up of a giant check, about the size of her son Luke, draped on a kitchen counter attested to the lucky strike.
Brin-Martin won $1,427,870 on a one-cent IGT Star Wars Wide Area Progressive machine, a press release from Mohegan Sun said Tuesday.
Mohegan Sun is owned by the Mohegan Tribe, and is one of the largest gaming destinations in the country.
Testifying on the 11th day of the civil rights arson trial of Michael F. Jacques, Robert Demers, 23, of Springfield, said Gleason waited several weeks before acknowledging responsibility for the fire set hours after Barack Obama’s election in 2008.
Sitting in a parked car in Gleason’s driveway, Demers quizzed his friend about the fire and who started it, he testified in U.S. District Court.
“He said: “It was me, Ben (Haskell) and Mikey (Jacques) ... We broke a window ... poured gasoline outside, inside and down the middle of the building,” Gleason responded, according to Demers.
The three men – Gleason, Haskell and Jacques – were charged in January 2009 with burning down the church to protest the election of Obama. The future home of a largely black congregation, the Tinkham Road church was still under construction when it was razed by a gasoline-fed fire.
With Haskell and Gleason pleading guilty last year, Jacques is the only defendant asserting his innocence.
Michael Jacques
As part of a plea deal, Gleason agreed to testify for the prosecution, with the hope of reducing a potential 14-year prison sentence. Haskell, who did not cooperate, is serving a nine-year term.
Taking the witness stand Monday, Gleason said he led his two friends through the woods behind his house to the church property, but turned back when they approached the building with gasoline cans.
In the hours before the fire, the three white men gathered at Gleason’s home on Tinkham Road to drink beer, smoke marijuana and work on his truck; by midnight, they were grousing about Obama’s election and the prospects of a black church opening just down the street, Gleason testified.
Under cross-examination from defense lawyer Lori H. Levinson, Gleason said he hopes for a reduced sentence in exchange for his testimony, but has received no promises from federal prosecutors.
If he fails to tell the truth, the plea agreement is voided, Gleason said.
In cross-examining Demers later in the session, Levinson pointed out that his testimony conflicted with Gleason’s account on Monday. “He said all three of you went; he didn’t say he stood on the treeline? He included himself,” Levinson said.
“Yes,” Demers said.
Demers, a cook, also testified that Gleason called him around midnight on election night; during the conversation, Gleason said he and his friends were going to vandalize the church, and he invited Demers to join them.
After hearing about the fire the next day, Demers called Gleason and asked what happened, he testified. Gleason responded, “I know who did it, but I shouldn’t say,” Demers said.
If convicted, Jacques, 26, a former auto body shop employee, faces a minimum of 10 years in prison.
The trial is expected to take six weeks; Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul H. Smyth said the prosecution expects to rest its case Thursday.
Supporters said the plant would create jobs; opponents said it would worsen air pollution.
Watch video
View full sizeThe Republican | Dave RobackProtesters for and against a proposed biomass plant in Springfield stand in front of Duggan Middle School before the state public hearing on the project on Tuesday night.
SPRINGFIELD – Nearly 500 people gathered at Duggan Middle School on Tuesday night, offering a mix of praise and scorn for a proposed wood burning plant in East Springfield during a hearing conducted by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
While supporters said the biomass plant would create jobs and provide a safe and regulated means of converting wood to energy, opponents said the plant would worsen air pollution and harm public health. The hearing triggered a spattering of applause, cheers and boos after comments and sometimes during comments, pro and con.
The hearing was preceded by demonstrations, with supporters and opponents carrying signs for and against the estimated $150 million, 35-megawatt project at 1000 Page Boulevard, which is being proposed by Palmer Renewable Energy, and its chief executive officer, David J. Callahan.
“This project is dirty,” said Susan M. Reid, senior lawyer for the Conservation Law Foundation, in urging the state to reject the project. “You don’t need to choose between jobs and environment.”
“It’s a clean, green local energy project,” said Bud L. Williams, a Springfield resident and former city councilor.
Williams said he was proud to vote in favor of a local special permit for the project in 2008, when he was council president, and remains proud of his vote today.
The state will review the hearing comments, including submitted written statements, during the ongoing public comment period which ends Saturday. Thereafter, the state Department of Environmental Protection will consider plan approval.
Those attending the hearing included area residents, many union tradesmen, community activists, engineers, medical professionals, and elected officials.
Seventy-two people initially signed up to speak during the hearing, and were being held to a three-minute limit by the moderator.
Union workers from various trades lined Wilbraham Road in front of the school before the hearing, waving signs that touted the plant and the estimated 200 construction jobs and 50 permanent jobs that would be created.
Daniel D’Alma, president of the Pioneer Valley Building Trades, said the project will be heavily regulated and safe. He said it is hypocritical that those at the hearing rely on the electricity but oppose the cleaner source offered by the East Springfield plant.
Many opponents said that Springfield has poor air quality and high rates of asthma among school children, some saying 20 percent of students suffer from asthma. The plant will worsen pollution and create additional health threats to children and adults, they said.
“Your regulations are not strong enough,” said Michaelann C. Bewsee, a representative of Stop Toxic Incineration in Springfield, in comments directed at state officials hearing the testimony. “We don’t deserve this.”
State Reps. Benjamin Swan and Sean Curran, both Springfield Democrats, and City Councilor Timothy C. Allen, were among the opponents, saying they were concerned about such a plant being within a city with significant air quality issues.
Supporters, including Palmer Renewable Energy’s engineers, said the project has state-of-the-art technology, and offers a far cleaner source of energy than fossil fuel plants.
The Springfield City Library hires people from The Lighthouse in Springfield, a recovery center for people with mental illness.
Photo by Darlotte JusticeSen. Gale D. Candaras, left, presents an "employer of the year" award to the Springfield City Library during an event at the Statehouse on Tuesday to recognize organizations that employ people from state-funded recovery centers in the Massachusetts Clubhouse Coalition. To the right are Springfield library worker Rydell Leacock, a member of of the Lighthouse in Springfield, and Patricia D'Amario of Springfield, a manager for the Springfield City Library.
BOSTON – Patricia D'Amario, of Springfield, a manager for the Springfield City Library, says the library benefits from hiring people from a local recovery center for people with mental illness.
During an event at the Statehouse on Tuesday, the library was recognized for employing about 10 people the past five years from the state-funded Lighthouse in Springfield, a recovery center in the Massachusetts Clubhouse Coalition. The coalition presented awards to leaders from around the state for hiring people who use the centers to recover from mental illness. The Lighthouse, which works with about 40 employers in the Springfield area, named the library as its "employer of the year."
The library hires people from The Lighthouse to restock book shelves and do other work in its so-called page program. "If things aren't where they belong, no one can find them," said D'Amario, adding that the library and its branches send and receive hundreds of books and other materials each day.
Sen. Gale D. Candaras, a Wilbraham Democrat, presented the award to The Lighthouse. Candaras, the Senate chairwoman of the Committee on Revenue, said the recovering people who use the clubhouses across the state provided the state $13 million in taxes from their wages.
"On behalf of the Committee on Revenue, thank you very much," Candaras told the crowd at the awards ceremony.
Rydell Leacock, a member of the Lighthouse in Springfield who works as a library page, helped accept the award.
There were 5,546 bank robberies in the U.S. last year, accounting for about $42 million being stolen.
Republican file photoFile photo showing the Man in the Nice Hat robber who was suspected of robbing several area banks in November and December.
SPRINGFIELD – Bank robberies have gotten a lot of play in the Pioneer Valley in recent months, given the publicity of man-with-a-nice-hat robberies toward the end of the year, but new FBI statistics show the number of bank robberies both nationally and in Massachusetts declined in 2010 compared to the year before.
A further comparison of the 2009 and 2010 FBI reports shows the amount of money taken in the robberies was also down, declining 7 percent from $45.9 million in ‘09 to $42.5 million last year.
The average haul, $7,732 in 2009 and $7,663 in 2010, showed a slight dip of about $70.
In each year, law enforcement recovered all or some of the loot in 22 percent of all robberies. In 2010, recovered loot totaled $8.19 million compared to $8.01 million the year before.
In the Northeast, bank robberies declined by 3.8 percent, or 1,024 in ‘09 to 985 last year. The region with the most robberies was the South with 1,790 and then the West with 1,691, but the South and West saw reductions of 10 percent and 5 percent, respectively.
The Northeast remained the least likely region in the United States to see bank robberies, but for the past two years, nearly seven of every 10 robberies in the region have occurred in the three Mid-Atlantic states of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
In New England, Massachusetts accounted for 58 percent of the 294 bank robberies, roughly the same percentage as the year before.
Massachusetts tallied 170 robberies in 2010, down from 180 the year before.
Connecticut reported 56 robberies, down from 80 in 2009.
In an interesting note, while New England as a whole and Massachusetts and Connecticut each saw declines in bank robberies, the amounts for New Hampshire and Rhode Island more than doubled. New Hampshire and Rhode Island each had 11 bank robberies in 2009. Last year, New Hampshire reported 26 robberies, while Rhode Island had 27.
Also in the 2010 data, the 5,546 robberies were committed by a total of 6,753 suspects, which works out to 1.2 suspects per heist. In real-life terms, that means most bank robberies are carried out by a single robber.
Also bank robbers are overwhelmingly male. Overwhelmingly as in 94 percent. When categorized by race, the odds of a bank robber being white or black are the same: 40 percent.
Of those 6,753 suspects, law enforcement has identified 3,325 of them, or about 49 percent.
Of the known suspects, a little more than a third, were known to be drug users and 17 percent were ex-convicts who had prior convictions for - what else? - bank robbery.
Also according to the report, Fridays, at 20 percent, are the most common day for banks to be hit, which is probabaly a leftover from the days before direct depost. The second most popular day is Tuesday.
The most common time for a bank to be hit is between 9 - 11 a.m., or 28 percent.
Forty-seven percent of robberies are at banks in cities, followed by 33 percent for banks at small towns. Suburban banks account for 18 percent.
In 20 percent of robberies, robbers used a gun, but in 44 percent, robbers indicated they had guns, but no weapons were ever seen.
In 61 percent, the robbers used a note, while in 55 percent the robbers used verbal commands. There is bound to be some overlap in some cases with robbers using both notes and verbal commands.
Violence at bank robberies is pretty rare, just 4 percent of cases. In most instances, the robber grabs the cash and gets out. But in cases last year where a bank robbery turned violent, there were a total of 106 injuries, 16 deaths and 90 people taken hostage.
Next year's budget gap was estimated at $44.6 million, calculated as the potential shortfall in funds if the city took no action to reduce expenses and no action to increase revenues.
Republican file photo
SPRINGFIELD – The city’s finance team and Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, faced with a potential $46.6 million budget gap next fiscal year, are exploring remedies ranging from union concessions to use of reserve funds to pare down the deficit.
Lee C. Erdmann, the city’s chief administrative and financial officer, in a report to the City Council on Monday, said he, Sarno and the Finance Department, have made initial decisions that reduce the budget gap from $44.6 million just one month ago, to a current gap estimated at $14.9 million.
The proposed budget for next fiscal year, which begins July 1, should be ready for presentation to the council by the first week of May for its consideration, Erdmann said. By law, the council can cut the budget but cannot add expenses.
Lee C. Erdmann
Erdmann said the reduction of the budget gap was accomplished in part by the assumed use of $12.5 million from the city’s stablilization reserve “rainy day” fund.
In addition, departments’ budget proposals, as directed, have reduced expenses by a total of $8.9 million thus far, including the elimination of most vacant postions, a hiring freeze, and reduction of overtime for the police and fire departments, Erdmann said.
Ideas for eliminating the final $14.9 million budget gap include a proposed trash fee generating $3 million in income, with the mayor proposing a graduated bin system that would charge residents based on the size of their bins. The current trash fee, which is $75 per bin, also generates roughly $3 million annually, and is slated to expire June 30, unless extended by the council.
In addition, Erdmann said another option under consideration is a wage freeze, that would save an estimated $1.8 million. Other union concessions are also under consideration, he said.
“Union negotiations will need to be completed to achieve such savings,” he said in an executive summary.
In other action Monday, the council:
Õ¤Voted to accept a $500,000 state grant from the Sen. Charles E. Shannon Jr. Community Safety Initiative, to combat youth and gang violence. The grant acceptance was briefly delayed in March as councilors sought more information on who was receiving the money and the process used.
Õ¤Voted to approve plans by the owners of the former Holiday Inn on Dwight Street to pursue an application for a $2.5 million federal, low interest loan to revitalize the hotel as a new La Quinta Inn & Suites.
The plan calls for both unprecedented spending cuts and a fundamental restructuring of taxpayer-financed health care for the elderly and the poor.
Associated PressHouse Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., works with Republican members of the committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, April 5, 2011. He is flanked by Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., right, with Rep. Bill Flores, R-Texas, at left. The pace of budget negotiations in Congress is quickening as a deadline for a government shutdown looms at week's end. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
By ANDREW TAYLOR
WASHINGTON — House Republicans set up a politically defining clash over the size and priorities of government Tuesday, unveiling a budget plan that calls for both unprecedented spending cuts and a fundamental restructuring of taxpayer-financed health care for the elderly and the poor.
The plan would slash federal spending by $5 trillion or more over the coming decade. It would leave Social Security untouched but shift more of the risk from rising medical costs from the government to Medicare beneficiaries. It also calls for sharp cuts to Medicaid health care for the poor and disabled and to food aid for the poor.
Dubbed the "Path to Prosperity," the proposal by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., also calls for dramatically overhauling the complicated and inefficient U.S. tax code. It would scrap numerous tax breaks and loopholes in exchange for reducing the top income tax rate for both individuals and corporations from 35 percent to 25 percent.
Democrats launched a furious counterassault on the health care proposals.
"They're ending Medicare as we know it. They take away the Medicare guarantee for seniors," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. "All the risk of increased costs will be borne by seniors."
A Congressional Budget Office analysis released late Tuesday also showed Ryan's budget would leave in place roughly $500 billion in Medicare cuts that were part of President Barack Obama's new health care law. Republicans blasted those cuts in their successful campaign to take back control of the House. A spokesman for Ryan said the savings would be plowed back into Medicare.
But the GOP budget would also repeal Obama's plan to gradually close the Medicare prescription drug coverage gap, known as the "doughnut hole."
Despite its huge cuts, Ryan's plan still can't claim a balanced budget by the end of the decade because of promises to not increase taxes or change Medicare benefits for people 55 and over. After six years, annual deficits are projected to fall to the $400 billion range, enough to stabilize the nation's finances and prevent a European-style debt crisis that could force far harsher steps, Ryan said.
Under the arcane congressional budget process, the GOP plan is not actual legislation. It does provide a theoretical basis for action, but with Democrats controlling the Senate, the GOP plan serves more to frame the debate heading into next year's election than represent a program with a chance of passing Congress and becoming law.
"For too long, Washington has not been honest with the American people. Washington has been making empty promises to Americans from a government that is going broke," Ryan said. "The debt is projected to grow to truly catastrophic levels in the near future, leading to an economic collapse and a diminished future."
The GOP plan would still add $5 trillion to the deficit over the coming decade, though it promises to reach so-called "primary balance" by 2015, meaning that the budget would be balanced save for interest payments on already accumulated debt. The national debt now exceeds $14 trillion and the White House projects this year's deficit at $1.6 trillion.
Associated PressRep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee, speaks at a news conference to counter claims made earlier by the Budget Committee's Republican chairman, Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 5, 2011. Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz, D-Pa., watches at left. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Democrats said the GOP plan focused its cuts on seniors and the poor to pay for continued tax cuts enjoyed by the wealthiest.
"Everyone agrees we must cut spending and tighten our belt, but House Republicans have chosen to do so on the backs of America's seniors, not the oil companies making record profits and getting tens of billions in taxpayer subsidies," said Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y. "Forcing seniors to pay higher health costs is not the right way to balance our books and it's not the only way to do it."
Ryan's plan would produce a $995 billion deficit next year, compared with the $1.1 trillion projected in Obama's budget proposal. Republicans moved quickly to advance it, scheduling committee action on Wednesday and a vote by the full House for next week.
The GOP plan stands in stark contrast to Obama's February budget, which attracted criticism for failing to address federal health care programs whose costs are far outpacing other inflation. Obama's budget ignored most of the most controversial recommendations of his deficit commission, such as raising the Social Security retirement age and curbing future benefit increases.
The GOP plan would fundamentally restructure the nation's biggest health programs in a bold stroke that could make Obama's insurance overhaul look like baby steps.
Obama's law expanded coverage to about 30 million people who don't have it now. Ryan's plan not only would repeal Obama's expansion, but it would recast Medicare and Medicaid, which currently help pay medical bills for some 100 million Americans.
People now 54 and younger wouldn't get to go into the same Medicare program as their parents and grandparents upon retirement. Instead, they would get a voucher-style federal payment to purchase coverage from a choice of regulated private plans.
Poor people would no longer have a right under federal law to get health care through Medicaid. Instead, Washington would send each state a lump sum to spend on medical care, nursing homes and other health services for the poor and disabled. In an economic downturn, a state hurting for cash might decide to stop accepting new applications for Medicaid.
“For too long, Washington has not been honest with the American people. Washington has been making empty promises to Americans from a government that is going broke. The debt is projected to grow to truly catastrophic levels in the near future, leading to an economic collapse and a diminished future.”
- Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.
"These sound like technical solutions to budget problems, but what's really starting to be discussed in Washington are fork-in-the-road differences about the future of Medicare and Medicaid," said Drew Altman, president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan information clearinghouse on the health care system. "Should we stick with the traditional Medicare program where you have guaranteed benefits? Or should the benefit depend on the plan you get in the marketplace?"
At its most basic level, Ryan's plan would shift more of the risk for rising health care costs from federal taxpayers to individual beneficiaries, medical service providers and states, giving them all a powerful incentive to cut waste and improve quality. If the theory works, it could finally start to slow the unsustainable rate of rising health care costs.
"We're actually saving Medicare and Medicaid, making them solvent for future generations," Ryan said. "And, yes, we're cutting spending. We're cutting a lot of spending, because government is spending way beyond its means."
The GOP's 2012 budget blueprint was unveiled amid a separate battle between Republicans and the Obama administration over smaller but more immediate spending cuts for the current, 2011 budget year.
Compared with Obama's latest budget proposal, Ryan's plan would cut $6.2 trillion over 10 years. But measured against Congressional Budget Office estimates that assume permanent extension of Bush-era tax cuts, Ryan's budget would cut $5.8 trillion. Obama and Ryan each claim $1 trillion in savings from the unrealistic assumption that overseas military operations will soon cost just $50 billion a year — less than half the amount requested by Obama for next year. Ryan endorses Obama's Pentagon requests, which provide for small increases over current levels.
Ryan's proposal largely sidesteps Social Security, offering a vague requirement that the president and Congress develop a plan to save the system "in the event that the Social Security program is not sustainable." The trustees who oversee Social Security have been projecting for years that the program will run out of money by about 2037.
Last year, Social Security paid out $37 billion more in benefits than it collected in payroll taxes, the first such deficit since the system was overhauled in the 1980s. The program is instead tapping into $2.5 trillion in accumulated savings from previous surpluses.
On taxes, Ryan would rescind all tax increases in both the new health care law and in Obama's proposed 2012 budget. He would extend Bush-era cuts for taxpayers at every income level, including the wealthy. He would reject Obama's call to increase taxes on oil and natural gas companies, which were included in the president's proposed 2012 budget.
He also embraces fundamental tax changes to set a top rate of 25 percent for both individuals and corporations, down from the current 35 percent. That would mirror a proposal by Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, to create lower rates by weeding out numerous tax breaks and loopholes enjoyed by both individuals and corporations.
Ryan's plan also would overhaul the way the government gives out food stamps, a program that has grown from $18 billion in 2001 to more than $80 billion this year. It would cap the amount of money each state can receive and make the aid contingent on work or job training. In addition, it would make unprecedented cuts to the operating budgets of domestic agencies, slashing Obama's requests for education, law enforcement and homeland security, along with highway building.
Noting that this year's net farm income is forecast to be the second-highest in the past 35 years, the plan also proposes slashing farm programs by $30 billion over 10 years by cutting crop insurance and certain subsidies paid to farmers regardless of crop price or yield.
Associated Press writers Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Stephen Ohlemacher contributed to this report.
Devlin fielded questions about his background, his training and negative stereotypes about opera.
The Republican | Michael S. GordonOpera singer Michael Devlin, right, listens to UMass-Amherst student Adam W. Morini, of East Longmeadow, sing during a music program Tuesday at Sunderland Elementary School.
That was one piece of advice New York Metropolitan Opera bass-baritone singer Michael Devlin sought to impart to 160 students at Sunderland Elementary School when he spoke to them Tuesday. Devlin, 68, has been singing professionally for 45 years and with the Met since 1978.
Devlin lives in Seattle, but he was visiting family in Northborough between shows in Manhattan. Two of his grand-nephews attend the school, he said.
Before the program began, Devlin said, “I would like to give the kids a chance to ask questions and be curious.”
And curious they were. Devlin fielded questions about his background, his training and negative stereotypes about opera. When the question and answer session ended, a murmur of disappointment ran through the crowd.
Devlin also touched on the challenges of being an opera singer: the long and intense rehearsals, the almost endless travel and the fact that many songs have to be performed in a language the singer doesn’t know.
The Republican | Michael S. GordonMichael Devlin, right, listens to UMass-Amherst student Adam W. Morini of East Longmeadow sing during Tuesday's program.
He admitted he still gets stage fright and sometimes flubs his lines.
“How could someone not be a little nervous, and sometimes real nervous, in front of 3,000 people, singing in a strange costume and in a language you don’t speak?” he said. “Let me tell you, the older you get, the more it happens.”
Three music students from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst performed operatic pieces and also answered questions from the kids. Sophomore Gwendolyn Coburn and juniors Adam Morini and Emma Donahue thanked their teachers and stressed the value of hard work.
And, of course, Devlin performed, as well. But he didn’t sing an aria. Instead, he sang the classic Broadway tune “Ol’ Man River” from “Show Boat.”
“Singing is a very important part of this school,” said Sunderland Elementary music teacher Edward Hines. “I hope the kids will appreciate opera a little bit more as a result of this experience and open their minds up to the classical music that is so much a part of our culture.”
“When you hear great singers, it’s like a little seed that stays with you,” he said.
Devlin, Hines and other school officials said they wanted the program to be enriching and educational to the kids.
Fifth-graders Abigail Pierce and Ella Deane said they enjoyed the performances.
“I really thought (the singers) loved it so much,” said Deane. “Watching it today really inspired me.”
“Live performance is different and sometimes better than what’s recorded,” said Devlin. The students “maybe heard something they want to hear more of.”
John Carey, an administrator at Franklin County Technical School and Devlin’s nephew, said arts education is crucial, but its impacts are hard to see.
“These kinds of events are what the schools need to bring the public eye to the arts,” said Carey.
Police said Mayo and 5 other suspects arrested at 55-57 Clifton Ave. made drug deliveries throughout Springfield and also sold crack and heroin right from the dwelling.
SPRINGFIELD – Jermaine Mayo, an admitted drug dealer who also pleaded guilty to keeping guns and ammunition at a storage facility in Agawam, must serve 12 years in state prison.
The sentence was imposed on Tuesday in Hampden Superior Court for Mayo, 28. He pleaded guilty before Judge C. Brian McDonald to a total of 11 charges.
Mayo was among six people arrested at 55-57 Clifton Ave. on April 15 when city police raided the duplex. At the time, police said the suspects made drug deliveries throughout the city and also sold crack and heroin right from the dwelling.
City police then alerted Agawam police they had information that Mayo had drugs in a storage facility on Springfield Street in Agawam. A warrant was obtained for a unit at Uncle Bob's Self Storage, which was leased to a co-defendant, Rosenett Ojeda, also of 55 Clifton Ave., police said.
In a raid at the storage facility, officers found four weapons, a number of different types of ammunition and packaging materials for drugs. The guns included two 9 mm semi-automatic pistols, a .22-caliber semi-automatic pistol and a .38-caliber pistol, according to court records.
Mayo pleaded guilty to four counts of carrying a firearm without a license, three of illegal possession of ammunition and a single count of receiving stolen property in connection with one of the guns.
He also pleaded guilty to possession of heroin with intent to distribute and other charges.
Under an agreement with the prosecution Ojeda, 21, was placed on pre-trial probation for three years. If she successfully completes it, charges brought against her in connection with the guns and drugs will be dismissed.
The cases of four other co-defendants in the drug case are pending.
Former Northwestern DA Elizabeth Scheibel, who'll be honored with the Champion for Children Award at the annual Child Abuse Awareness Month breakfast, created the center.
Former Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth D. Scheibel
NORTHAMPTON – When child advocates of various stripes gather at the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House Thursday for the annual Child Abuse Awareness Month breakfast, they will toast this year’s honorees for their work in the field and also give silent thanks for a little house at the edge of an orchard.
Since it opened in 2006, that house, the Child Advocacy Center, has offered children relief from the trauma that comes with reporting their abuse and dealing with the aftermath. Directed by Northwestern Assistant District Attorney Susan B. Loehn, the center is a sort of one-stop-shopping resource for abused children.
In the relative tranquillity of the farmhouse, children receive medical attention from a Cooley Dickinson Hospital doctor, go through interviews with investigators and a child psychologist and, when necessary, receive help finding a safe living environment.
“Before this, kids went to the district attorney’s office, the police station and the hospital,” Loehn said. “There were multiple interviews and it was all very scary and caused a lot of trauma for the kids.”
The center was the creation of former Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth D. Scheibel, who will be honored for her work with the Champion for Children Award at the breakfast. The other honoree is Susan M. Maguire, a juvenile court probation officer who will receive the Ellen Sedlis Award.
Scheibel’s 18-year tenure as district attorney was notable for the work she did with victims, particularly children. She laid the ground work for the advocacy center soon after becoming the state’s first female district attorney in 1993. Studies showed there was a special need for the service in the Northwestern district, which comprises Hampshire and Franklin counties and the town of Athol in Worcester County. Franklin County in particular has consistently ranked among the highest areas in Massachusetts for the rate of reported child abuse.
Scheibel said in an interview that the center was among the first of its kind in Massachusetts. There are currently 11 in the state, some of them located in hospitals. For several years, the local Child Advocacy Center was at the District Attorney’s offices.
“Our goal was always to have a free-standing building,” Scheibel said.
The Northwestern Children’s Advocacy Project, Inc., a private non-profit group, formed to raise money for the operation of the center, which costs about $17,000 a year to run, by Loehn’s estimate.
A few years ago, the group also took the lead in leasing an old farmhouse at 593 Elm St., near orchards cultivated by Smith Vocational and Agricultural School. Smith, which owns the property, had recently rehabilitated the house, a project that doubled as work experience for its plumbing, electrical and carpentry students.
At the child-friendly house, detectives and prosecutors watch through one-way mirrors as doctors and psychologists interview children. The law enforcement officials can relay questions through an ear-piece, cutting down on the need to put the victim through multiple interviews. Because children are especially terrified of hospitals, they are much more at ease being treated and examined at the farmhouse.
“Our goal was to minimize the trauma to child victims who are having to go through the criminal justice process,” Scheibel said.
Because the center deals with the problem after the fact, it has not cut down appreciably on the abuse rate. However, Loehn believes it fosters successful prosecutions, which in turn send the message that child abuse will be punished. Scheibel said the friendliness of the facility also encourages people to report abuse.
“People are willing to come forward because the families know their child has had a relatively good experience with the process,” she said.
Loehn said new District Attorney David E. Sullivan is hoping to establish a satellite site in Franklin County.
In addition to starting the Children’s Advocacy Center, Scheibel served on numerous boards and committees devoted to protecting children and abuse victims during her time as Northwestern district attorney.
Maguire has spent more than 30 years working with children, the last 15 in juvenile court. Much of her career has been devoted to working with foster children and at-risk children in the Department of Youth Services.
“She’s really in the trenches day to day,” Loehn said.
More than 800 family historians and genealogists will attend the conference.
File photo | The Republican
SPRINGFIELD – Anyone interested in learning about their ancestry will have the chance during the 2011 New England Regional Genealogical Conference, “Exploring New Paths to Your Roots,” which will be held at the Sheraton and Marriott hotels April 6-10.
“The event will include over 60 expert speakers from all over the world talking about genealogy,” said Marian Pierre-Louis, the publicity chairwoman for the conference.
More than 800 family historians and genealogists will attend the conference, which is considered the largest genealogical conference in New England.
Pierre-Louis said a new batch of shows on television dealing with family history has increased the popularity of genealogy.
“Shows like NBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?” and “Faces of America” have brought genealogy into the mainstream,” she said. “The show “Top Chef” recently aired an episode where the contestants had to create a meal based on what they learned about their family ancestry. It was the most watched episode in the series’ history.”
Pierre-Louis said in the 1970s when “Roots” aired on television there was a similar increase in the popularity of researching one’s family genealogy.
“A lot of people are interested in finding out where they come from and this conference can help them do that,” she said.
The conference will feature genealogy author and ancestor John Philip Colletta and Paul Milne, a genealogist specializing in British history.
“We will also have genealogists who deal specifically with Irish ancestry, Polish ancestry and more,” she said.
Pierre-Louis said local genealogist Lucy Lewis will host a talk on African American ancestry and genealogy.
The event will also include an exhibit hall, which is free and open to the public, featuring genealogical book sellers, publishers, societies, authors and more. An Ancestor Roadshow will also be held. It will give registered attendees an opportunity to consult with professional genealogists for free.
Participants are welcome to attend all days or an individual day of the conference and can register at the door. For more information and a schedule of events visit www.nergc.org.
The has sent circulated a copy of the proposed agreement to officials in Agawam, Westfield and West Springfield.
Edward J. Gibson
WEST SPRINGFIELD – Now that West Springfield Mayor Edward J. Gibson has sent a copy of a proposed intermunicipal compact dealing with stray dogs to the Town Council, it should come before the council at its next meeting, according to officials.
The proposed agreement is among West Springfield, Agawam and Westfield to use Westfield’s dog pound.
Gibson has been criticized in recent months because the city has had no place to send its stray dogs since the Thomas J. O’Connor Animal Control and Adoption Center of Springfield ended its contract with the city July 1.
The mayor has proposed joining a tri-city compact to deal with the dog problem rather that go back to using the O’Connor facility, which offered to take stray dogs at its old rate of $2.50 per city resident. Gibson said Tuesday joining with the two other communities could save the city as much as $10,000 to $20,000 a year over using the O’Connor pound, depending on how many stray dogs the city takes in. Last year, the city paid the Springfield dog pound about $73,000.
Gibson said another advantage of the tri-city solution is that the city will have more control over the program.
The mayor said one of the reasons it has taken so long to get a proposal for the Town Council together has been the difficulty of finding a veterinarian willing to examine the dogs before they are taken in in accordance with state regulations. VCA Montgomery Road Animal Hospital in Westfield has agreed to examine stray dogs and charge $75 if they have to be given a rabies shot. Westfield uses that hospital to treat its stray dogs.
Gibson said he is optimistic the Town Council will adopt his proposal.
“I’ll be happy to have a week go by without someone asking me how animals control is coming. I’ll be happy to move on to something else,” Gibson said.
The mayor outlined the situation in a letter received by the Town Council at its meeting Monday. The issue is expected to come up at the Town Council’s April 19 session.
The Retailers Association of Massachusetts is headed to the Legislature on Thursday to push a bill that would make online retailers collect a state sales tax from residents.
(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)In this Oct. 18, 2010 file photo, an Amazon.com package is prepared for shipment by a United Parcel Service (UPS) driver in Palo Alto, Calif. The Retailers Association of Massachusetts is headed to the Legislature on Thursday to push a bill that would make online retailers collect a state sales tax from residents.
BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts-based retailers are asking state lawmakers to level the playing field with online companies when it comes to sales tax.
The Retailers Association of Massachusetts is headed to the Legislature on Thursday to push a bill that would make online retailers collect a state sales tax from residents.
The retailers say the online companies have an unfair advantage.
Massachusetts is one of many states that have either passed or are considering passing laws to collect sales tax from online retailers. Massachusetts is projected to lose out on $335 million in revenue in 2012 because it does not get taxes from online sales.
The online companies are resisting. Overstock.com President Jonathan Johnson tells The Boston Globe laws forcing his company to collect sales tax are "unconstitutional and ... short-sighted."
Richard J. McCabe
