More than 2½ years of financial lethargy convinced investors that Bartz couldn't steer the Internet company to a long-promised turnaround.

Associated PressIn this May 24, 2010 photo, Carol Bartz, CEO of Yahoo, attends a news conference in New York. Bartz is no longer CEO of Yahoo Inc., according to a report by the Wall Street Journal’s All Things D technology blog. The situation around her departure is unclear, the report said, citing anonymous sources. But the blog says Chief Financial Officer Tim Morse has been named interim CEO.

SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo Inc. fired Carol Bartz as CEO Tuesday after more than 2½ years of financial lethargy that had convinced investors that she couldn't steer the Internet company to a long-promised turnaround.

To fill the void, Yahoo's board named Tim Morse, its chief financial officer, as interim CEO. Bartz lured Morse away from computer chip maker Altera Corp. two years ago to help her cuts costs. Yahoo, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., said it is looking for a permanent replacement.

Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock, also a target of shareholder frustration, informed Bartz about the move over the phone, according to an e-mail the outgoing CEO sent from her iPad that was obtained by the All Things D technology blog. The blog first reported Bartz's ouster.

A Yahoo spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment late Tuesday.

Macquarie Securities analyst Ben Schachter called the handling of Bartz's departure "unseemly" and interpreted it as a sign of even more drama to come at Yahoo.

In a research note late Tuesday, Schachter predicted there will be a wide range of conjecture about Yahoo's future, with the most likely speculation centering on Yahoo as a takeover target during a vulnerable time.

Alternatively, Yahoo could make a bold move itself by trying to buy the online video site Hulu.com, which is already talking to suitors, or trying to sell its 43 percent stake in the Alibaba Group, one of China's most prized Internet companies. Bartz's tense relationship with Alibaba CEO Jack Ma had fed investor dissatisfaction about her leadership.

In a Tuesday statement, Yahoo said it is undergoing a "comprehensive strategic review" in its latest effort to give investors a reason to buy its stock but didn't offer details.

Bartz, 63, led an austerity campaign helped boost Yahoo's earnings, but the company didn't increase its revenue even as the Internet ad market grew at a rapid clip.

The financial funk, along with recent setbacks in Yahoo's online search partnership with Microsoft Corp. and the Alibaba investment, proved to be Bartz's downfall. Her ouster comes with 16 months left on a four-year contract that she signed in January 2009.

That contract entitles her to severance payments that could be two to three times her annual salary and bonus, along with stock incentives she received during her tenure. Bartz received a $2.2 million bonus to supplement her $1 million salary last year.

Yahoo has now replaced three CEOs in a little over four years. During that time, Yahoo has lost ground in the Internet ad race to online search leader Google Inc. and Facebook even though its website remains among the world's most popular.

Known for her no-nonsense leadership and sometimes gruff language, Bartz arrived at Yahoo as a respected Silicon Valley executive who had won praise for turning around business software maker Autodesk Inc. But she had no previous experience in Internet advertising, the main way Yahoo makes money.

That hole in her resume immediately raised questions whether she was qualified for the job, and those doubts only escalated as Yahoo's revenue continued to sag.

At first, Bartz blamed bad timing; she started the job during some of the bleakest months of the Great Recession. Later, she would say that she inherited such as mess from her two predecessors, Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang and former movie studio boss Terry Semel, and that it would take time to get Yahoo back on the right track.

At one point, she even compared her challenge to those that faced Steve Jobs when he returned to Apple Inc. as CEO in 1997.

Unlike Jobs, Bartz never was able to articulate a strategy to win over investors.

"She focused on plugging holes in the ship instead of turning it around," said Gartner Inc. analyst Ray Valdes.

The disappointing performance was reflected in Yahoo's stock price, which closed Tuesday at $12.91. That's 81 cents, or 7 percent, higher than where Yahoo shares stood when Bartz was hired as CEO. During the same period, Google's stock price has risen by more than $200, or 66 percent, and the technology-driven Nasdaq composite index has climbed by 60 percent. A group of investors led by Goldman Sachs Group concluded privately held Facebook is worth $50 billion in an appraisal done earlier this year. That's triple Yahoo's current market value.

Bartz never hit any of the price targets that the board set for her when she was hired. That means none of the 5 million stock options that she received upon signing her contract had vested by the time she was ushered out the door.

Investors seemed happy to see Bartz go. Yahoo shares gained 81 cents, or more than 6 percent, in extended trading late Tuesday.

Although Bartz's exit as CEO came suddenly, her departure isn't a shock. The pressure to replace her grew earlier this year after Bartz acknowledged Yahoo's search partnership with Microsoft wasn't producing as much revenue as the companies anticipated.

Then, in May, Yahoo stunned investors by disclosing that Alibaba had spun off an online payment service in a move that threatened to diminish the value of Yahoo's investment in the Chinese company.

Alipay in July agreed to a complex settlement that could eventually be worth more than $1 billion to Yahoo, but there were too many uncertainties in the deal to placate shareholders.

Bostock had steadfastly stood behind Bartz whenever she was attacked by investors or analysts. In a Tuesday statement, Bostock thanked Bartz for "her service to Yahoo during a critical time of transition in the company's history" without providing an explanation for why the board decided to replace her.

BGC partners analyst Colin Gillis said Yahoo's board "has got to look in the mirror here."

"Swapping the CEO without swapping the (board) chair doesn't solve your problem," he said. "The person that hired Carol to begin with deserves to share the culpability."

To help Morse, Yahoo set up an "executive leadership council" that includes some of the executives that Bartz recruited, including the company's products guru Blake Irving and the head of its North American operations, Ross Levinsohn. While he worked for News Corp., Levinsohn helped put together the Hulu video site and is seen as a possible CEO candidate.

Analysts also have speculated that David Kenny, an Internet veteran who joined Yahoo's board in April, might be a candidate for Yahoo's CEO job. Kenny is currently president of Internet networking services provider Akamai Technologies Inc.

With its stock sagging and its management in limbo, Yahoo could be more vulnerable to a takeover attempt by a private equity group or another opportunistic bidder attracted to what remains one of the Internet's best-known brands. Microsoft offered to buy Yahoo for $47.5 billion, or $33 per share, in 2008 only to be rebuffed.

Jean MacCormack oversaw a period of unprecedented growth at UMass-Dartmouth, including the addition of the state's first public law school.

DARTMOUTH — The chancellor of the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth has announced that she will retire at the end of the academic year.

Chancellor Jean MacCormack announced her retirement on Tuesday.

She will step down after 12 years on the job to make way for what she called in a letter to university president Robert Caret "new energy, new perspective and new ideas."

The 64-year-old MacCormack said she would like to pursue other interests after a lifetime in public higher education.

She oversaw a period of unprecedented growth at UMass-Dartmouth, including the addition of the state's first public law school, a jump in enrollment from 6,900 to 9,400 and a four-fold increase in research funding..

Caret called her contributions to the school as "almost immeasurable."

More than 500,000 Mass. customers were without power at the height of the storm.

BOSTON — State regulators say they will conduct a review of the response of two utilities to Tropical Storm Irene, which left some Massachusetts customers without electricity for nearly a week.

The Department of Public Utilities announced Tuesday it will examine the preparation and response of National Grid and NStar, concentrating on their restoration efforts, their communications with affected customers, and to see if they fully complied with emergency response plans.

The goal is to learn from the storm, and if necessary, require improvements in advance of the winter.

The agency is also requiring all four electric utilities in the state — National Grid, NStar, Western Mass. Electric Co., and Unitil — to submit a 30-day post-storm report.

More than 500,000 customers were without power at the height of the storm.

Missing person posters and anonymous tip boxes have been places across Vermont and New Hampshire in an attempt to solicit new leads in the case.

Brattleboro police are asking the public for help locating Marble Arvidson, 17, who was last seen a day before Tropical Storm Irene battered the Green Mountain State. (Republican Photo/ Robert Rizzuto)

Brattleboro police are asking the public for help locating Marble Arvidson, 17, who was last seen a day before Tropical Storm Irene battered the Green Mountain State. (Republican Photo/ Robert Rizzuto)

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. - With more than a week passing since anyone has seen or heard from 17-year-old Marble Arvidson, the concern is growing while a search is ongoing.

Arvidson was last seen on Saturday Aug. 27, a day before Tropical Storm Irene brought torrential rain and flooding to the Green Mountain State. Police say he left his home on Marlboro Road in West Brattleboro, Vt. around 2:15 p.m. after letting a man inside the house sometime after 1 p.m.

Police have not released further information about the man other than saying a housemate saw Arvidson let him in.

According to police, the teenager left a not saying he was going for a hike and planning to meet his girlfriend at 4 p.m. He never made that meeting.

Over the weekend, volunteers and police searched the woods where Arvidson was known to hike, but to no avail. A coordinated search was conducted by volunteers and police on foot and ATVs but turned up no clues, according to police.

Arvidson's aunt, Sgt. Maj. Trish Kittredge of the Massachusetts National Guard, took leave from her duty and is in Vermont assisting the search.

Missing person posters and anonymous tip boxes have been places across Vermont and New Hampshire in an attempt to solicit new leads in the case.

Arvidson, who was last seen wearing a black outfit and a dark bowler hat, is preparing for his senior year at Brattleboro Union High School.

Anyone with information about Arvidson is asked to call Julie Cunningham at 802-258-1390 or the Brattleboro Police Department at 802-257-7946.

A federal disaster declaration allows deadline extensions for individuals who live in or operate a business in the disaster area.

The Republican | Michael S. Gordon09.05.2011 | SHELBURNE FALLS - Tim Cronin, left, and Thomas Morin, right, of Erving, Mass., volunteered to help clean the mud and ruined items from the basement of a commercial block on the Buckland side of the Deerfield River Monday that was flooded during tropical storm Irene.

Victims of Tropical Storm Irene in the hard-hit areas of Franklin and Berkshire counties may qualify for tax relief from the Internal Revenue Service.

A Sept. 7 statement from the IRS notes that President Barack Obama has declared the counties a federal disaster area.

As part of the relief package, the IRS is waiving its failure-to-deposit penalties for employment and excise tax deposits due on or after Aug. 27 and on or before Sept. 12. The deposits must be made by Sept. 12, 2011.

The declaration also allows other deadline extensions for individuals who live in or operate a business in the disaster area. "[d]eadlines falling on or after Aug. 27, and on or before Oct. 31, have been postponed to Oct. 31, 2011," the statement reads.

Click here to read the full description of the relief.

According to Holyoke police Lt. Manny Febo, police were called to investigate a group of people destroying the fields with dirt bikes and ATVs

The fenced off and overgrown wading pool at Community Field hasn't been used in more than 20 years and is part of a proposed multimillion dollar renovation project for the park. (2009 Republican file photo by John Suchocki)

HOLYOKE - Holyoke police arrested six city residents on Tuesday after a report of vandalism at Community Field park around 6 p.m.

According to Holyoke police Lt. Manny Febo, police were called to investigate a group of people destroying the fields with dirt bikes and ATVs.

"The park was posted with no trespassing signs and they were inside tearing up the grass with their vehicles," Febo said. "Once the officers found them, they were arrested without incident."

Community Field is currently being renovated to the tune of $3.1 million. The project is aiming to breathe new life into the park by making improvements to infrastructure and amenities with the hopes of lowering criminal incidents in the park while making it a nice place for families to spend the day.

The following Holyoke residents were charged with trespassing and malicious destruction of property causing more than $250 worth of damage at Community Field:

• Armando Vega, 23, of 86 North East St.;
• Ulises J. Casiano, 21, of 126 Center St;
• Xavier Casiano, 21, of 10 Allyn St;
• Luis Miguel Santiago, 26, of 5 Adams St. Apt. 3A.

Police also charged 29-year-old Jose E. Sanabria and 27-year-old Luis Angel Rivera with trespassing.

Associated Industries of Massachusetts is a Boston-based business lobby organization.

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A month of dismal economic news has sapped the confidence of business executives here in Massachusetts, according to a survey released this week by Associated Industries of Massachusetts.’

Associated Industries’ Business Confidence Index fell 1.3 points in August from 50.5 points in July to 49.2 points in August. The confidence rating is on a 100-point scale where 50 is considered neutral, according to a news release from Associated Industries, a Boston-based business lobby group. The survey last fell into negative territory in September of 2010. It was 47.7 points a year earlier in August 2010.

“I think they are reacting to what is going on in the world around them,” said Michael D. Goodman, chairman of the public policy program at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. “That’s really weighing on their outlook.”

August started with a protracted fight over raising the federal debt ceiling then a roller-coaster stock market followed by faltering economies in Western Europe and a disappointed national jobs report for the month showing no net growth in employment.

The survey’s future index, which asks employers to predict business prospects six months from now, fell 2.4 points on the month from 46.5 points in July to 44.1 points in August. Manufacturers confidence in the economy fell 2.5 points on the month from 50.2 in July to 47.7 points in August.

“I don’t think there is any real surprise here,” said Andre Mayer, Associated Industries senior vice president for communications and research. “We’ve been seeing negative numbers in general.”

Mayer received about 120 completed questionnaires for the August survey. he sent out questions to about 1,000 of Associated industries 6,000 members. The employment index fell just 0.1 points from 54.2 points in July to 54.3 in August. The survey said that about 25 percent of the respondents plan to hire in the next six months compared with 15 percent of employers planning to lay off workers.

But Goodman said that 30 percent of employers in the “planning to hire” camp last month.

“They are toning down their expectations for growth,” he said. “There will still be hiring, but not nearly as much as we need.”

Confidence outside of Greater Boston fell 1.2 points to 47.6 points in August, mostly because of the larger number of manufacturers here, Mayer said. Trouble in European economies hurts export markets for Massachusetts manufacturers, he said.

Vo Duc Au, 31, allegedly stabbed a 12-year-old boy with chop sticks on Tuesday before trying to stab his father in the face.

Vo Duc Au, 31, was charged with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon after the alleged attack. (Springfield police booking photo)

SPRINGFIELD - A Springfield man was arrested on Tuesday after allegedly stabbing a 12-year-old boy with chop sticks.

Around 3:08 p.m., Springfield police were called to investigate a domestic disturbance at 138 Carroll St. in the city's Forest Park neighborhood.

Upon arrival, officers Craig Staples and Thomas Liebel met the young boy who said he was doing his homework when 31-year-old Vo Duc Au came running down the stairs of the home and stabbed him with chop sticks, according to Sgt. John Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William Fitchet.

"Au ran up to the victim armed with the chop sticks and stabbed the victim in the left forearm and bicep, causing a 1-inch laceration," Delaney said. "As Au's father intervened, Au attempted to stab him in the face several times before his father was able to retrieve the chop sticks."

Delaney said Au was shaking and uncooperative at the scene.

He was charged with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and held awaiting arraignment in Springfield District Court.

The victim was treated at the scene by paramedics with American Medical Response.

Rudman will talking about her collection at UMass on Sept. 17.

Photo by Diane Lederman / The RepublicanUniversity of Massachusetts School of Education professor emerita Masha K. Rudman stands with some of her books in the basement of her Amherst home. She is donating more than 8,000 books to theWilliam E. Du Bois Library at the library.

AMHERST - Masha K. Rudman came to the University of Massachusetts in 1965 and was teaching a class in children’s literature.

She noticed that her students “were not reading critically. They were reading for entertainment, they were reading to a do a book report.” She found that “a little boring.” So she started “looking for books with controversial issues”

That hunt resulted in a collection of more than 8,000 books of children’s literature, non-fiction and scholarly work which she is donating to the UMass libraries.

The libraries will launch the collection Sept. 17 with a program featuring a talk by Rudman as well as talks from authors Jane Yolen of Hatfield and Jacqueline Woodson of Brooklyn, and Massachusetts Teacher of the Year Wilma Ortiz, a former student of Rudman’s who lives in town.

Speaking from her home, Rudman, a School of Education professor emerita, said her collection really took off in 1972.

At first she went to libraries looking for titles she could use in her class. She wanted titles that would support critical thinking but there were few that fit. So she wrote to publishers asking them to send her books they published.

“If they were empty I gave them away. If they were screamingly offensive I used them.” She said “I probably read six books for every one I kept.”

She said she has three biographies, for example, on the same person so that students or parents will be able to read and see the different perspectives. “If you believe in critical thinking there are many possible right answers.”

Rudman, who is one of the first scholars to have studied children’s literature from an issues approach, has written about the subject as well. Her titles include “Critical Multicultural Analysis of Children’s Literature: Mirrors, Windows, and Doors;” “Books to Help Children Cope with Separation and Loss: an Annotated Bibliography;” and “Children’s Literature: An Issue Approach.”

She has favorite writers that are well represented in her collection including Yolen - “she writes so beautifully...she does a lot for the equality of women, she doesn’t do it ostentatiously.”

Woodson, who is black and a lesbian has “written in so many voices.” Her collection also features titles by Joseph Bruchac, who has written poetry, short stories, novels, anthologies that reflect his Abenaki Indian heritage and Native American traditions.

Rudman loves the Harry Potter books. She said J.K. Rowling wrote about “class and ethnic differences.” She “raises ethical question. I think she’s brilliant.” Of her characters, “I think it’s OK they’re flawed. We love our friends and they’re flawed. We love our family and they’re flawed.”

Rudman said she was worried about retiring because she didn’t know what would happen with her books. “I was eligible for retirement quite a while ago.” Her books were stacked in her office at UMass, some were in her home.

She said “there’s a whole perspective on children’s literature, I dreaded the idea of boxing them up and sending them some place. I just thought I wanted to keep it alive.”

She happened to be talking to Emily Silverman, the former director of development and communication for the libraries, who asked if she might consider donating them to the library. “I hadn’t ever dreamed of that.” Rudman who’s 78 retired two years ago. “I’m just thrilled (the library will have them).”

Rudman said she had no idea how many books she had until an appraiser came. “I’m words,” she said. “Not numbers.”

Carol Connare, director of Library Development and Communication, said the books have a five figure value, but even more than that “The value to the libraries is in the unique cataloguing,” that Rudman has undertaken.

“They’re catalogued according to issues,” and is of value not only to students but parents as well.

Rudman’s talk is free and open to the public. There will be a tour of the work from 2 to 3 p.m. on the 11th floor and a multimedia program from 3 to 5 p.m. on the lower level.

The woman, 37-year-old Susan M. Care, was reported missing to police three weeks ago and since then, police say they haven't found any leads into the disappearance.

Susan Care

WESTFIELD - Police in Westfield, Mass. are asking for assistance from the public in locating a Westfield woman who has reportedly been missing since June 12.

The woman, 37-year-old Susan M. Care, was reported missing to police during the second week of August and since then, police say they haven't found any leads into the disappearance.

"We can't turn up anything on her and her family's concern is growing," said Westfield Police Det. Lt. David Ragazzini. "In the past, she has also called herself Susan Carr and Susan Kornn."

Ragazzini said the reason the family waited to report her missing was because of past disappearances.

"Her family said that she has disappeared for a couple days at a time in the past, but nothing to this degree," Ragazzini said. "She has some mental health issues and we don't believe she is getting her medication."

Ragazzini said she has known ties to Springfield and Northampton, but no specific addresses.

Her last known address in Westfield was 86 Broad St., but she was technically homeless at the time she disappeared.

Care is a white woman who is 5-feet, 3-inches tall and weighs approximately 200 pounds. She has short brown hair, hazel eyes and a rose tattoo on her left arm.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Westfield Police Department at 413-572-6400.

Young said said the agreement could address potential revenues, infrastructure improvements, and mitigation.

PALMER - A pro-casino business group has launched a petition drive to push for an agreement between the town and Mohegan Sun in order to give voters an idea of what Palmer is in store for, if a casino opened here.

Palmer Businesses for a Palmer Casino spokesman Robert Young Jr. said the goal is to collect 1,000 signatures to present to the Town Council.

He hopes to present it before the council meets with the Connecticut-based casino operator; that meeting has not yet been scheduled, according to the Town Council president, Paul E. Burns.

The petition reads: “We, the undersigned citizens of the town of Palmer urge the Town Council, acting town manager and Mohegan Sun to act quickly to enter into an agreement to present to the voters within 90 days after the approval of gaming legislation. We understand that any referendum must be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the legislation.”

Young said the request for an agreement is particularly timely given the release of gaming legislation this past week that calls for three casinos in three separate regions, and a slot parlor. One of the regions designated for a casino is Western Massachusetts - Hampshire, Hampden, Franklin and Berkshire counties.

Young said said the agreement could address potential revenues, infrastructure improvements, and mitigation.

"We realize this may be a little early . . . but we want to stay ahead of Holyoke and any other competitors that may pop up," Young added.

According to the latest casino gaming bill, a vote would be required before a casino could open in a community. The agreement would help voters make their decision at the polls, Young said.

Besides Palmer, Holyoke also is being eyed for a casino. A group called Paper City Development is pushing for a casino at the Wyckoff Country Club off Interstate 91.

The Town Council in Palmer recently voted in favor of holding a meeting with Mohegan to get an update on the $500 million to $600 million project being proposed for Thorndike Street, across from the turnpike exit. Mohegan is leasing that land from Northeast Realty.

Town Council President Paul E. Burns said Young's group has a right to collect signatures, but said he is not sure if the town will be able to have a complete agreement within the 90-day time frame.

One of the reasons Burns said he wants to meet with Mohegan is to discuss its ability to fund the project. Back in May, Moody's Investors downgraded Mohegan's long-term debt ratings, citing declining gambling revenues, among other factors. Mohegan also is planning a resort casino in Thompson, N.Y., despite the downgrade, another of Burns' concerns.

"We want to make sure they are a viable participant in this process . . . Show me your ability to fund this project," Burns said.

Paul I. Brody, Mohegan's vice president of development, declined comment on the petition.

Northeast Realty's community liaison, James L. St. Amand, said he supports the petition drive and is pleased with the latest gaming bill.

"It can do nothing but help our area. We are in desperate need of jobs and tax revenue," St. Amand said.

St. Amand said it will be up to the Town Council to decide what to do with the petition, noting that the people will have the ultimate say on whether or not a casino comes to Palmer.

"Palmer is in a state of paralysis. It's time to vote casino gambling up or down. The individuals that we've talked to, potential businesses, they continually ask about the status of the casino," St. Amand said.

"The only major development (being planned) for Palmer is this project. If someone has an alternative, I would love to hear it," St. Amand said.

Kathleen C. Norbut, of Monson, founding member of the Western Masachusetts Casino Task Force and past president of United to Stop Slots, said the casino bill favors the gambling industry at the expense of existing entertainment venues.

Norbut said if the bill goes forward, one of the requirements should be that the slot machines are manufactured in Massachusetts.

"That is something that would be a real job. If anything, that’s what we should be doing, that would be a productive economic development," Norbut said.

She added that local legislators "should get off their duff and not fall into line as lemmings and make sure there is a voice for our region" during this casino debate.

Norbut is particularly concerned about the impacts casinos would have on communities, and how they would be addressed.

Two other tax packages are being negotiated to attract a new machine shop and senior assisted living complex to Westfield.

WESTFIELD - City Councilors have agreed to meet Sept. 14 to consider details of a property tax incentive package designed to encourage Gulfstream, a division of General Dynamics, to build a $20 million corporate jet service center and create an estimated 100 new jobs.

At the request of Mayor Daniel M. Knapik, the council's Finance and Legislative and Ordinance committees agreed to the Sept. 14 meeting to review details of the proposal and meet with Gulfstream representatives.

Also on the 7p.m. agenda is expected to be review of two additional proposals aimed at drawing a new machine business operation to Westfield and creation of a 117-unit senior assisted living complex to North Road.

The proposals represent tax incentive packages for each project that will provide the busiensses with a reduction on property taxes for between five and 15 years.

Gulfstream has operated in Westfield, on property it owns next to Barnes Regional Airport for several years. The expansion project, if approved, will be created on property owned by the airport, serve top maintain an existing 131 jobs, create 100 new jobs and eventually provide Westfield with as much as $500,000 in annual property taxes.

Ward 5 Councilor Richard E. Onofrey Jr., finance chairman, said the three tax proposals "represent a lot of money that will come to Westfield and I am willing to consider a tax break to someone or company willing to expand or build in the city.”

Ward 6 Councilor Christopher M. Crean said of Gulfstream "this is something great for the city,m for Ward 6 and the airport. It is a huge enhancement for the city."

Ward 2 Councilor James E. Brown Jr., chairman of Legislation and Ordinance Committee, said he is hopeful a “package that benefits the city” will result from the meeting.

David A. Flaherty, councilor-at-large, said he is not a “fan of tax incentives but I could support the Gulfstream reqyuest because of the size of the project. But, I do not want to set a standard for everyone who comes to town. Tax incentive is attractive for large projects but not necessary for every business.”

Preliminary negotiations for the three incentive proposals were conducted by Knapik and City Advancement Officer Jeffrey R. Daley.

If approved, they have said Gulfstream could complete the project and be operational by April 2013.

The center would service Gulfstream's new GS650 corporate aircraft, which come with a price tag of some $65 million each. The aircraft is currently undergoing Federal Aviation Administration certification and approval, Daley said.

Two additional tax incentive plans are for five-year periods.

Seal Ryt, a manufacturer of seals for a variety of machine parts, will move from Easthampton to Westfield and renovate a former warehouse facility on ServiStar Industrial Way. Cost of that project is estimated at $2.2 million. The company currently employs 18 people and will add another 12 jobs, Daley said.

Armbrook Senior Living LLC was to create 107 units of senior living facility at 551 North Road, near the White Oak School, a private educational facility. That project, estimated at about $20 million, will create 35 full-time jobs when completed, Knapik and Daley said.

One of the city's largest employers, Home Depot, opened a $25 million Northeast distribution center last December on ServiStar Industrial Way with some 300 employees. City and state officials approved a tax incentive plan for the home-repair-do-it-yourself company that reduced its annual property taxes to the city by 50 percent for the first 10-years of operation. First year property taxes on Home Depot is estimated at $350,000.

Consultants hired by the town will discuss zoning changes for both Atkins Corner and the North Amherst Village Center project Sept. 7.

Republican file photoAmherst Town Hall

AMHERST - Amherst officials are hoping for some state help for infrastructure upgrades in North Amherst.

The town is applying to the MassWorks Infrastructure Program to upgrade sewer and water lines to be able to accommodate any kind of new growth there.

The town is working to develop that area as a village center.

Department of Public Works Superintendent Guilford B. Mooring told the Select Board this week that the existing water line is only eight inches.

“You need more water supply.” He said they would be looking at installing a 16-inch line and upgrade the sewer line at the same time.

The plan is to resurface the road, add bike lanes, repair the existing sidewalks and extend the sidewalk to the Cushman part of North Amherst.

The town’s Shade Tree Committee is also looking into new plantings. “We’re trying to take a complete approach,” with the work, he said.

“We’re set up to start immediately in April if we get the grant.”

The grant was due Sept. 9 but the state has extended it by one week to Sept. 16 because of Hurricane Irene. The estimated cost is $3.6 million, Mooring said Wednesday.

“It’s a very competitive grant,” Town Manager John P. Musante said. “Projects need to be shovel-ready.

The town should know in October whether it received the grant.

The work needs to be done, he said Tuesday. If the town is unsuccessful, officials would have to look for other ways to fund the project.

The Planning Board meanwhile is sponsoring an information session Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. in Town Hall on the proposed new zoning for both North Amherst Village Center and Atkins corner.

Representatives of The Cecil Group, the consulting firm hired to look into development, will present the preliminary draft rezoning proposals and explain the purpose and function of form-based zoning that Town Meeting is being asked to consider this fall.

Obituaries from The Republican today.

Robin M. Blanchard

PALMER - Robin M. (Morin) Blanchard, 42, passed away Monday at home. She was born October 19, 1968 in Holyoke, daughter of Richard Morin Sr. of Chicopee and Sandra (Robare) Morin of Springfield. She was raised in Springfield and graduated from Putnam High School. She worked as a purchasing agent for Hamden Zimmerman Electric Supply in Springfield for 20 years.

Obituaries from The Republican:

• Bessette, Maureen
  




• 
  Blanchard, Robin M. (Morin)
  



• 
  Blodgett, Monica L. (Milas)




• 
  Bousquet, Arthur J.
  



• 
  Bullock, Samuel
  




• Chagnon, Dennis A.
  




• 
  Cole, Martha (McKee)
  



• 
  Croteau Sr., Bernard J. "Bernie"




• 
  Davis Jr., Coley
  



• 
  Dunn, Gary A.
  




• Fazio, Betty Jean
  




• 
  Grimshaw, Kenneth F. "Sifu Ken"
  



• 
  Hersey, Audrey A. (Adair)




• 
  Kastarakis, Peter "Peter K"
  



• 
  Lotz, Susan Carol
  




• Maloney, William P.
  




• 
  Matrow, Donna E.
  



• 
  McCarthy, John J.




• 
  McCoubrey, George Alfred
  



• 
  Nagine, Jean (Bailey)
  




• Perreault, Claire D. (Graves)
  




• 
  Phillips, Nathan E. "Nate"
  



• 
  Pichette, Sidney P.




• 
  Quinn, James "Twink"
  



• 
  Riberdy-Eckstein, Maria
  




• Skrabely, Mary M. (Stewart)
  




• 
  Tebaldi, Pauline Milillo (Naglieri)
  

In Washington, new Joint Chiefs chairman Army Gen. Martin Dempsey and Undersecretary of State nominee Wendy Sherman separately said there has been no decision on how many troops might stay.

U.S Army Soldiers are seen during the hand-over ceremony of a military base in Basra, 340 miles southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011. The American ambassador to Iraq on Wednesday dismissed a proposal to keep as few as 3,000 troops as not credible, signaling a debate between President Obama's advisers in Baghdad and Washington of the U.S. military's future in Iraq with time running out to decide. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani)

By LARA JAKES, Associated Press

BASRA, Iraq (AP) — The Obama administration pushed back Wednesday on reports it has decided to keep a few thousand troops in Iraq next year — a number that will do little to ease security concerns but may be too big for White House advisers who are worried about the slumping U.S. economy and the president's re-election chances.

In Washington, new Joint Chiefs chairman Army Gen. Martin Dempsey and Undersecretary of State nominee Wendy Sherman separately said there has been no decision on how many troops might stay.

U.S. Ambassador to Iraq James F. Jeffrey went a step further, soundly dismissing as false news reports that about 3,000 troops would remain in Iraq beyond the final Dec. 31 withdrawal deadline.

He said that figure has not been part of ongoing discussions in Baghdad, where both governments have been weighing whether as many as 10,000 U.S. forces should stay.

"That number has no official status or credibility," Jeffrey told The Associated Press in informal comments after a Wednesday ceremony in the southern Iraqi port city of Basra, where the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Division replaced several thousand troops who are headed home.

Many Iraqi officials were alarmed by the 3,000 figure, which they privately consider not nearly enough troops. It was unclear whether U.S. officials in Washington floated that number to push Baghdad into making a quick decision.

Iraqi leaders are reluctant to issue a formal invitation for U.S. forces to stay, fearing a political backlash among their own followers, including some who have threatened widespread violence and attacks on the troops if they do not leave.

Shiite militias have stepped up attacks on U.S. soldiers and bases in Iraq this year. On Wednesday, two Katyusha rockets hit Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, where the American Embassy and Iraqi government offices are located.

A U.S Army Soldier loads military equipments after a hand-over ceremony of a military base in Basra, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011. James F. Jeffrey on Wednesday dismissed a proposal to keep as few as 3,000 troops as not credible, signaling a debate between President Obama's advisers in Baghdad and Washington of the U.S. military's future in Iraq with time running out to decide. (AP Photo / Nabil al-Jurani)

Ramzy Mardini, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War in Washington, said keeping 3,000 troops is "hardly enough to execute any meaningful military mission or secure any long-term political interests going forward."

Jeffrey took a swipe at policy advisers in Washington, suggesting an ongoing debate within the administration over the U.S. military's future here with only four months to go before troops must leave.

"I think Washington, when it wakes up, will have really great guidance and insight as to what's going on here," the ambassador said.

There are currently about 45,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. A 2008 security agreement between Washington and Baghdad requires all of them to leave Iraq by the end of the year. A decision to keep U.S. troops here into 2012 would require the approval of both governments, though the CIA and State Department security contractors will continue to operate in the country regardless.

U.S. military officials and diplomats in Baghdad have long feared that a full troop withdrawal this year could elevate neighboring Iran's interests over Iraq's still unstable government and threaten its shaky security.

But keeping troops in Iraq would also violate a promise President Barack Obama made shortly after taking office to bring home all U.S. forces by the end of 2011.

And White House officials, with an eye on Obama's re-election, have pointed to the high costs of keeping troops in Iraq amid the sagging economy.

It could cost as much as $500 million annually for every 1,000 troops to stay in Iraq next year, according to a recent estimate by a senior U.S. military official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the issue candidly.

Asked whether costs would be a factor in the troops decision, White House spokesman Jay Carney said limited resources generally are considered "with every consideration we make."

"But the answer is, we will make decisions based on what is the best for the United States, best for our national security interests and best for having the most effective relationship with Iraq going forward," he said.

Many Iraqi officials privately say they want American troops to continue training the nation's security forces for months, if not years, to come. The president of Iraq's northern Kurdish region this week pleaded for U.S. forces to stay to ward off threats of renewed sectarian violence.

Many Iraqis — Sunnis and Shiites — share that fear.

"We need to have U.S. soldiers continue to train our forces until they get more experience," Khudhair al-Amara, a tribal sheik in Baghdad, said Wednesday. "There are still some small issues in cities between groups and I don't believe the Iraq forces have the ability to protect us."

Violence has dropped dramatically in Iraq over the last few years, but deadly attacks still happen nearly every day. A bomb hidden in a bag near a clothing store in a Sunni neighborhood in northern Baghdad killed one passer-by Wednesday and wounded six others, according to police and hospital officials.

Once in a while, attacks can be devastating. On Aug. 15, a relentless barrage of bombings killed 63 people in the most sweeping and coordinated attack Iraq had seen in over a year, striking 17 cities from northern Sunni areas to the southern Shiite heartland. The surprising scope and sophistication of the bloodbath suggested that al-Qaida remains resilient in Iraq despite recent signs of weakness.

Some Republicans in Congress also are advocating a much larger U.S. military presence in Iraq beyond 2011. Sen. John McCain, the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee, said keeping as few as 3,000 troops in Iraq falls far short of what U.S. military commanders have told him is needed to help develop its air defenses and gaps in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

"It's in America's national security interest not to lose Iraq after the sacrifice of some 4,500 brave young Americans," McCain said Wednesday on the Senate floor. "And the consequences of failure are obvious."

___

Associated Press Writers Robert Burns, Donna Cassata, Julie Pace and Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.

Springfield District Court Clerk John Gay said his office is at 68 percent of full staffing.

The Republican/Dave MolnarHampden Register of Probate Thomas P. Moriarty

SPRINGFIELD – Closing clerks offices to the public for a substantial number of hours in district, probate and housing court here will limit access to justice for all citizens, according to local lawyers.

But the clerks of Springfield District Court and Hampden Probate and Family Court say the more limited hours of service to the public are necessary so staff can reduce backlogs of paperwork.

The state Trial Court announced Tuesday 38 courts, facing case backlogs and staff shortages, will adjust the hours of clerks and registers offices beginning Sept. 19 in order to reduce processing delays.

Court sessions won’t be affected by the changes in office hours and access to clerks offices will be available for emergencies such as emergency restraining orders, harassment prevention orders, mental health emergencies and warrants.

“This reduction in counter and telephone hours will provide uninterrupted time for staff to prepare cases for court sessions and execute court orders, as well as to complete filing, docketing, scanning and other case processing,” the Trial Court announcement stated.

During the hours closed to the public there won’t be counter service or telephone service. There is usually a continuous stream of people coming in to clerks offices for myriad reasons, depending on the court. For instance in the District Court criminal office, people may wish to file a complaint, they may have encountered a problem with something on their record they think is in error, or they may want to know where to find a family member who was just arrested.

Lawyers come in for case records and to schedule court events.

Probate and family court clerks offices see countless people on paternity, divorce, custody and other matters, and many are not represented by lawyers.

Springfield District Court Clerk’s Office will close from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, opening back up from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

The registers office at Hampden Probate and Family Court will close to the public at 3 p.m. each day, instead of its current 4:30 p.m. closing time.

The Western Division Housing Court will close from noon to 2 p.m. each day.

In Palmer District Court there will be no counter and phone service between 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. every day.

The Springfield session of Hampden Juvenile Court will have counter and telephone coverage from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., shorter by a half-hour on each end of the day.

Springfield District Court Clerk Magistrate John S. Gay said that his office is at 68 percent of full staffing.

He said if the Legislature could restore funding to get the office to 75 to 80 percent of full staffing “these kind of draconian measures” such as the restricted hours wouldn’t be necessary.

Gay said the reduction in public access “is something neither (District Court) Judge (William J.) Boyle or I take lightly.

“It’s going to cause an inconvenience, no getting around that. ... It’s all of our hope this is a short-term measure,” Gay said.

Hampden Register of Probate Thomas P. Moriarty said lawyers and the public will have to “make a huge adjustment. I have a deep feeling about access to justice. It’s extremely important.”

Moriarty said the internal work to be done during the restricted access times includes taking “these old paper-driven systems” and making them electronic.

He said he worries about, for example, the person who comes in from Palmer on public transportation and finds he has to come back the next day if it is after 3 p.m.

He said his office has lost 21 positions from attrition that cannot be filled because of the hiring freeze.

“It’s a tough way to address and correct a problem, to deny the public access from 3 to 4:30. The Trial Court decided that’s a remedy they have to try,” Moriarty said.

David P. Hoose, president of Hampden County Lawyers for Justice, said “It’s going to create an inconvenience for lawyers and members of the public. We continue to live in a society where we think the state and federal government don’t have money to pay for anything.

“In years past when you can’t keep up with the paperwork you hired someone. I think this is a regrettable trend. To me once you start down this slope it’s just going to go further,” he said.

Andrew M. Klyman, head of the Committee for Public Counsel Services' Springfield office, said while he appreciates the fact the District Court clerks office has to catch up on paperwork, it is a bad decision to curtail the hours of the clerks office in the busiest district court in the state.

Thomas A. Kenefick III, president of the Hampden County Bar Association, said the reduction in the clerks' hours is another step with a direct impact on people's access to justice throughout the state.

He said people “have got to understand that this is affecting them directly now” and put pressure on their legislators for funding.

“This has got to stop, and it's wrong,” Kenefick said.

In its announcement, the trial court said current staffing levels, caseloads and public concerns about extended backlogs “compelled the decision to adjust office hours. The Trial Court has lost 1,167 people, a 15 percent reduction in staff since 2007, causing delays in many courts. A budget reduction of $85 million over three years required implementation of a hiring freeze, which has not allowed the court to fill vacancies.”

File photo | The Republican

Brown called the extension "a policy that we should all support" as lawmakers seek a bipartisan solution to the nation's economic woes.

File photo | Associated PressU.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass.

BOSTON — Sen. Scott Brown is endorsing what is expected to be a key element of President Barack Obama's plan to revive the economy.

Brown issued a statement Wednesday saying he will support an extension of the payroll tax cut.

Obama is expected to include the one-year extension in a larger $300 billion package of cuts and spending for 2012.

Brown called the extension "a policy that we should all support" as lawmakers seek a bipartisan solution to the nation's economic woes.

The Massachusetts Republican said the country should also be looking for longer-term fixes, including moving ahead with trade agreements, removing unnecessary regulations, streamlining the tax code, and providing businesses with incentives to grow.

The White House is considering tax incentives for businesses that hire workers.

Westfield police said there is no indication that the two missing persons cases are related.

Westfield police photosFrom left: Susan Care and Michelle Wilga

This is an update of a story originally posted at 12:14 p.m. Wednesday

WESTFIELD – Police are asking for assistance from the public in two separate missing person cases, each involving women who have disappeared without any contact with their families.

Det. Susan Figy said there is no reason to believe that either woman, 37-year-old Susan M. Care of 86 Broad St., and 27-year-old Michelle L. Wilga of Gladwin Drive, knew each other or that their cases are related.

Care was last seen by her family on June 12, but her family did not report her missing until the second week of August, said Det. Lt. David Ragazzini. Police so far have not turned up any leads about where she could be.

“We can’t turn up anything on her, and her family’s concern is growing,” Ragazzini said. “In the past, she has also called herself Susan Carr and Susan Kornn.”

Ragazzini said the reason the family waited to report her missing was because of past disappearances.

“Her family said that she has disappeared for a couple days at a time in the past, but nothing to this degree,” Ragazzini said. He said she has health issues. "We don’t believe she is getting her medication.”

Ragazzini said she has known ties to Springfield and Northampton, but no specific addresses.

Her last known address in Westfield was 86 Broad St., but she was technically homeless at the time she disappeared.

Care is a white woman who is 5-feet, 3-inches tall and weighs approximately 200 pounds. She has short brown hair, hazel eyes and a rose tattoo on her left arm.

Wilga was reported missing by her family on Saturday after she never turned up after checking herself out of Noble Hospital, Figy said.

Wilga had been living on Gladwin Drive but sometimes stayed at her parent’s house on Southampton Road in Westhampton.

She is 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs 118 pounds. She has blond hair and green eyes.

Figy said Wilga is a recent graduate from Smith College and is described by her parents as very intelligent.

Police have no idea where she could have gone. She has not made contact with any family and friends, her cell phone is turned off, and she has not been seen at any places she was known to frequent, Figy said.

“We’ve checked everywhere she could be but she’s not been there,” she said.

Anyone with information about where either woman could be is asked to call the Westfield Police Department Detective Bureau at (413) 572-6400.

Republican reporter Robert Rizzuto contributed to this report.

Gov. Deval Patrick dropped hints Wednesday that he anticipates a "big" proposal from President Obama during a scheduled Thursday address to Congress about job creation.

(AP)Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick appears on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 23, 2011, before the Senate Finance Committee hearing on public health care policy. At right is Rep. Ernest Lee Fletcher, R-Ky. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Does Patrick know what Obama will say?: Gov. Deval Patrick dropped hints Wednesday that he anticipates a "big" proposal from President Obama during a scheduled Thursday address to Congress about job creation.

Debate in the beltway has centered around whether Obama intends to offer a targeted, politically palatable plan that has a chance of passing a divided Congress, or whether he will propose a sweeping plan that emboldens his allies heading into an election year but has little chance of winning bipartisan support.

Asked during a State House availability whether he expects Obama to "go big" with his proposal, Patrick smiled slyly, hesitated and said, "Yeah." Pressed about whether he knew the details of the president's plan, Patrick said, "I'll leave it at that," and then returned to his office

The young women carried colorful umbrellas and were provided with clear rain ponchos to wear over their class colors, creating a kind of rainbow in the rain.

SOUTH HADLEY – There are some new faces in town.

Six hundred and seventy-six new students were among the 2,385 who greeted the start of the academic year at the opening convocation at Mount Holyoke College Tuesday.

Although it was a rainy day, the convocation was held outdoors in Gettell Amphitheater. The young women carried colorful umbrellas and were provided with clear rain ponchos to wear over their class colors, creating a kind of rainbow in the rain.

The class of 2015 wore yellow, class of 2014 red, class of 2013 green and class of 2012 blue. Frances Perkins scholars, who are members of Mount Holyoke’s program for students of non-traditional age, wore purple.

Photo by Fred LeBlancStudents at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley form a rainbow of colors as their president, Lynn Pasquerella (at the podium), welcomes them at the opening convocation Tuesday.

“Everybody seems in such good spirits,” said Taliesin Nyala, a spokeswoman for the college, “in spite of the dismal gray weather.”

The 676 newbies include 34 transfer students and 37 Frances Perkins students.

They were selected from an applicant pool of 3,416, the largest in the history of the 174-year-old college.

Twenty-nine percent of the class of 2015 is from New England, 18 percent from the Mid-Atlantic states, 12 percent from the South, 7 percent from Central states, and 12 percent from the West Coast.

Twenty-six percent of the class of 2015 is African American, Latina, Asian American, or Native American. Massachusetts, New York, and California are the most heavily represented states.

Twenty-three percent of the new students come from 54 other countries, most from China, India and Nepal. So Jin Lee, president of the Student Government Association at Mount Holyoke, is from Korea.

Members of the incoming class were mostly educated in public schools, with another 29 coming from private school and 8.6 percent from parochial schools.

President Lynn Pasquerella, who has a working-class background, told the students, “Whether I am walking across our beautiful campus here in South Hadley, or talking with alumnae whose homes are oceans away, I encounter women whose example energizes me and increases my own pride as an alumna of this remarkable institution.”