Pawlenty will join Romney's campaign as national co-chairman.

(AP)Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, left, gives former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney a pat on the back at a conservative Freedom Foundation of Minnesota event in Bloomington, Minnesota on April 9, 2010.

Former Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty endorsed Mitt Romney for president Monday, announcing on Fox News that he would join the former Massachusetts governor's campaign as national co-chairman.

"I think he's going to be a transformational and great president for this country," Pawlenty told "Fox & Friends." Watch the interview »

The endorsement was the latest development in a race where Romney is losing traction as the GOP front runner. A CNN poll released over the weekend found that in terms of 'electability,' Romney had been outpaced by Texas Governor Rick Perry, who won the support of 30 percent of Republicans and right-leaning independents, compared to Romney's 18 percent.

In a statement on Romney's campaign website, Pawlenty said Romney "possesses the unique qualifications to confront and master our severe economic predicament." He went on to write:

Having served as Governor of Massachusetts, he turned that state’s budget around from deficit to surplus while simultaneously cutting taxes, but that is not the full measure of what he will bring to the Presidency. His time in government was a moment of service - a way to give back to our country—following a distinguished career in the private sector, where he launched companies and turned around troubled ones.

The union between Pawlenty and Romney is an awkward one: While still in the running for the Republican nomination, the man many call "T-Paw" coined the term "Obamneycare" in an attempt to connect Massachusetts' health care reform, which happened under the Romney's governorship, with President Barack Obama's national reform.

The New York Times reports that the endorsement may be a way to bolster support for Romney ahead of a Republican debate tonight in Tampa, Florida, where the two will likely go head-to-head on an issue the two diverge on: Social security.

Perry has been highly critical of the entitlement program, going so far as to call it a "Ponzi scheme." Romney's campaign, meanwhile, has been distributing fliers accusing Perry of planning to "kill Social Security."

Monday's debate is being hosted by CNN and the Tea Party Express, and will be held from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.

She says the automated calls claim to be a bank or credit card company saying a card has been locked.

The attorney general is warning people not to give out any personal information, including debit/credit card and social security numbers, over the phone. Legitimate banks never call to ask for information they already have.

BOSTON (AP) — Attorney General Martha Coakley is warning consumers about a robo-calling scam to steal credit and bank card numbers, and Social Security information.

Coakley says her office has received many complaints that people are getting the calls, often late at night on their cell phones.

She says the automated calls claim to be a bank or credit card company saying a card has been locked. The consumer is told to enter the card number to unlock it. Some also have been asked for Social Security numbers.

Coakley says people should hang up and contact the attorney general's hotline, 617-727-8400.

If you have given out the information, Coakley advises placing a fraud alert with a major credit reporting bureau and alerting the bank or credit card company.

Guerrero died after protecting her 15-year-old daughter in a bathtub. Murray presented the award to Angelica's husband, two daughters and other family members.

Juan Guerrero (center) is flanked by his two daughters. Fabiola,19, (L), and Ibone, 15. His wife and their mother Angelica died in the June 1st tornado while shielding Ibone as they took refuge in a bathtub in their home. They accepted an award for Angelica in Boston on Sunday. (Republican staff photo by Don Treeger)

BOSTON (AP) — A West Springfield woman has been posthumously honored on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks for shielding her daughter as their family's house collapsed in the tornado of June 1.

Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray honored Angelica Guerrero Sunday with the ninth annual Madeline Amy Sweeney Award for Civilian Bravery at a ceremony at the State House.

Guerrero died after protecting her 15-year-old daughter in a bathtub as the tornado swept through the Merrick section of West Springfield. Murray presented the award to Angelica's husband, two daughters and other family members.

The award is named for a flight attendant from Acton aboard the hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 and who conveyed information about the plane's hijackers to ground services.

The plane was one of two that left Logan Airport and was flown into the World Trade Center in New York.

Baye was scheduled to go to trial this month.

Anthony P. Baye (right) with his lawyers

NORTHAMPTON – Both sides in the Anthony P. Baye murder-arson case agree that the Supreme Judicial Court made a highly unusual move by hearing a defense appeal prior to the trial. They differ, however, on what, if anything, a gesture bodes.

Baye, 26, was scheduled to go to trial this month on multiple charges related to a rash of fires that sent Northampton into a panic in the early hours of Dec. 27, 2009. Baye is accused to setting 15 fires that night, including one at 17 Fair Street that claimed the lives of Paul Yeskie, 81, and his son, Paul Yeskie, Jr. 39. Baye faces two counts of first degree murder in their deaths.

The defense has argued that a ten-hour interview between police and Baye, in which Baye confesses to setting several of the fires, is inadmissible at trial because police did not stop their questioning when he asked for a lawyer. Following the three-day hearing on the matter, Judge Constance M. Sweeney denied the motion to suppress, saying that while police were coercive and disingenuous with Baye, they did not act outside the law.

Defense lawyers Thomas Lesser and David P. Hoose took the unusual step of filing for interlocutory appeal to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, asking for a ruling on Sweeney’s decision prior to trial. It is more common for the defense to appeal such matters after trial, in part because it is uncommon for the Supreme Judicial Court to hear interlocutory appeals. Associate Justice Ralph D. Gants made a rare exception last week when he agreed to bring the appeal before the entire Supreme Judicial Court.

Calling the issues raised “important and difficult” and the evidence “central to the prosecution’s case,” Gants wrote that the interests of justice would be better served by resolving the issue before trial than hearing them afterwards, if Baye is convicted. The Supreme Judicial Court will hear arguments by both sides during it November session in Boston.

Lesser said Monday that it is “extremely rare” for the court to hear interlocutory appeals by the defense and sees it as a positive side for his client.

“They would not take it unless they thought there is a significant possibility that (Baye’s) statement is not admissible because its involuntariness renders it unreliable,” he said.

Should the police interview be excluded, Lesser said, it could have a major impact on the case. He noted that Sweeney, in her ruling, wrote, “A false alibi and mere presence near the immediate aftermaths of the fire were simply not enough to charge the defendant with any of the fires or attempted fires.” Evidence gathered by two police officers who stopped Baye in the vicinity of the fires that night proved he was lying when he said he was at a friend’s house.

Prosecutor Brett Vottero, who was named by Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan especially to try the case, discounted the significance of Sweeney’s statement, saying it pertained only to the evidence from the interrogation. Vottero also disputed the significance of the Supreme Judicial Court’s decision to hear the interlocutory appeal.

“I think it’s a mistake to read anything into it,” he said.

Vottero did agree with Gants that deciding the status of the interview evidence now is the more efficient route.

“We’re disappointed the trial is being delayed, but the overall process could be expedited,” he said. “This should provide a more clear picture to the entire case."

According to Francis V. Kenneally, the first assistant clerk for the Supreme Judicial Court, that court hears defense interlocutory appeals fewer than ten times a year. He agreed with Vottero, however, that the court is not necessarily tipping its hand by agreeing to hear the Baye matter.

“You can’t read anything into that,” he said.

The survey was done before President Barack Obama appeared before Congress on Thursday to unveil a new $447 billion plan to jump-start job growth.

Associated PressIn this Aug. 18, 2011 file photo, people wait in line during a job fair, sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus, on the campus of Atlanta Technical College in Atlanta. Economists no longer think the economy's troubles are fleeting. Their gloominess reflects expectations that slow growth, high unemployment and weak consumer spending will persist into next year.

WASHINGTON — Confronted with an economy that has decidedly underperformed this year, economists are scaling back their growth forecasts for 2011 and next year.

In their latest forecast, top economists with the National Association for Business Economics predict that the economy will grow 1.7 percent this year — down from the group's May prediction of 2.8 percent expansion. For 2012, the group is forecasting growth of 2.3 percent, compared to a May forecast of 3.2 percent growth.

The new survey, released Monday, is in line with the outlook of other economists who have marked down growth prospects to reflect an economy that has struggled this year to deal with a spike in gasoline prices, production disruptions stemming from Japan's earthquake, a flare-up of Europe's debt problems and a prolonged debate over America's debt ceiling.

"A wide variety of factors were seen as restraining growth, including low consumer and business confidence," said Gene Huang, the president-elect of NABE and one of 52 professional forecasters who participated in the survey.

"Panelists are very concerned about high unemployment, federal deficits and the European sovereign debt crisis," said Huang, who is chief economist at FedEx Corp.

The survey was done before President Barack Obama appeared before Congress on Thursday to unveil a new $447 billion plan to jump-start job growth through a combination of tax cuts and government spending.

The latest NABE outlook underscores the problems facing an economy that many economists fear could be in danger of slipping into another recession.

The expectations for overall economic growth, as measured by the gross domestic product, for both 2011 and 2012 were trimmed by a percentage point from the May forecast. The May estimates had been trimmed from February when the NABE analysts were forecasting growth of 3.3 percent this year.

The economy grew 3 percent in 2010, the first full year after the country emerged from the 2007-2009 recession, but slowed to an annual rate of just 0.7 percent in the first six months of this year.

Because of the slow growth, the NABE forecasters don't expect much improvement in the unemployment rate, which in August was stuck at 9.1 percent, a month when the economy didn't create any net new jobs.

For all of 2011, the economists are forecasting the unemployment rate will average 9 percent and will improve only slightly to 8.7 percent in 2012. In May, the NABE panel had projected unemployment would average 8.7 percent this year and 8.2 percent next year.

Job growth was projected to average 124,000 per month this year, instead of the 190,000 average monthly job gains the economists had forecast in May. Next year's average job growth was put at 162,000, instead of the 202,000 job gains forecast in May.

The economy needs to add at least 250,000 jobs a month to rapidly bring down the unemployment rate. The rate has been above 9 percent in all but two months since May 2009.

The NABE panel forecast that builders would start work on 590,000 new homes this year, no improvement from last year's weak pace, while sales of new cars was put at 12.6 million units, up a modest 8.6 percent from the 11.6 million new vehicles sold in 2010.

The economists did see a little better outlook for oil prices, which they projected would average $90 per barrel in December, down from a forecast of $105 per barrel in May. Oil was trading Friday around $87 per barrel.

The new NABE forecast was prepared for the group's annual conference, being held this year in Dallas

The assault occurred early Friday during a large disturbance at 121 Meadow St.

(File photo by Julian Feller-Cohen) An Amherst Police Department cruiser.

AMHERST - Police continue to probe an assault with a bottle early Saturday at Meadow and North Pleasant streets that left a 20-year-old Westborough man with a serious head injury.

The victim, a UMass student, was taken to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton by Amherst Fire ambulance. Police, in a release, said that the victim’s injuries are not life-threatening.

The assault, reported shortly before 12:30 a.m., occurred during a large disturbance at 121 Meadow St. amidst a crowd that police said exceeded over 1,000 people. Officers attempting to quell the disturbance were pelted with bottles.

No other injuries were reported.

Amherst police responded to 211 calls for service over the weekend and 68 people were charged with crimes that included disorderly conduct, liquor violations, assault and larceny.

"She might have formed a habit after mimicking human beings," said Zoo Director Ahmad Azhar Mohammed.

Associated PressAn orangutan, called Shirley, smokes at Johor Zoo in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, in this photo taken Monday, Jan. 25, 2010.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — A captive orangutan often spotted smoking cigarettes given to her by zoo visitors is being forced to kick the habit, a Malaysian wildlife official said Monday.

Government authorities seized the adult ape named Shirley from a state-run zoo in Malaysia's southern Johor state last week after she and several other animals there were deemed to be living in poor conditions.

Shirley is now being quarantined at another zoo in a neighboring state and is expected to be sent to a Malaysian wildlife center on Borneo island within weeks.

Melaka Zoo Director Ahmad Azhar Mohammed said Shirley is not being provided with any more cigarettes because "smoking is not normal behavior for orangutans."

"I would say she is not addicted ... but she might have formed a habit after mimicking human beings who were smoking around her," Ahmad told The Associated Press.

Shirley was so far displaying a regular appetite for food and no obvious signs of depression or illness, Ahmad said. Results from her blood tests and other detailed health examinations were not yet available.

Nature Alert, a British-based activist group, wrote to Malaysian officials about Shirley earlier this year, saying conservationists who visited the Johor zoo often saw people throwing lit cigarettes to her in a pit-like enclosure.

The group said Shirley seemed to suffer severe mood swings, sometimes looking drowsy and on other occasions appearing "very agitated" without a cigarette.

Authorities last week also reportedly seized a tiger and a baby elephant that was kept chained at the Johor zoo.

It is not clear when Shirley started smoking. Officials have estimated she is around 20 years old. Orangutans, which are native to rainforests in Borneo and Indonesia's Sumatra island, can live up to about 60 years in captivity.

Other countries such as South Africa and Russia have also reported cases of primates learning to smoke after zoo visitors ignored warnings and tossed cigarettes into the cages of chimpanzees.

Two men, 44-year-old David Chalue and 31-year-old Caius Veiovis, pleaded not guilty in a brief appearance Monday morning.

(Photo submitted by the Berkshire County District Attorney) David Chalue, left, Adam Hall, center, and Caius Veiovis, right. The three were arrested and charged with murder in connection with the disappearance of three men in a case against a Hell's Angels member.

By DAVE COLLINS, Associated Press

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (AP) - Three suspects in a Massachusetts triple slaying that reputedly involves the Hells Angels are facing murder and other charges.

Two men, 44-year-old David Chalue and 31-year-old Caius Veiovis, pleaded not guilty in a brief appearance Monday morning. They were ordered held without bail. They return to court Oct. 12.

Thirty-four-year-old Adam Lee Hall will also appear in court Monday. Their lawyers declined comment.

The remains of David Glasser, Edward Frampton and Robert Chadwell were discovered Sunday, nearly two weeks after they disappeared.

Glasser had been expected to testify this month in the robbery, assault and kidnapping trial of Hall, the reputed sergeant at arms of the Berkshire County chapter of the Hells Angels.

Hall has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping, assault, witness intimidation, extortion, cocaine distribution and weapons charges.

BostonGlobe.com will be free for the rest of the month before readers will be required to pay $3.99 per week.

Associated PressThe old John Hancock building, left of the large tower, and the new John Hancock, the large tower, dominate the skyline in Boston, in this June 24, 2004, file photo. Behind and to the far right is the Prudential tower, and foreground is the Boston Common and Public Garden.

BOSTON — The Boston Globe has launched a subscription-only website that offers readers the content of the daily newspaper as well as breaking news.

Bostonglobe.com, launched Monday, will be free for the rest of the month before readers will be required to pay $3.99 per week. Home delivery subscribers will not have to pay extra. The Globe had announced plans for the site last year.

The new site has been customized for different digital devices, including smartphones and tablets. It offers extras, including the ability to save stories for later offline reading, additional video and photography and archives.

The paper's current site, Boston.com, will remain free and offer daily sports coverage as well as five stories daily from the print edition.

Publisher Christopher Mayer says the new site offers the paper's "full range and depth of journalism."

The garden was cited as a need when the hospital celebrated its 100th anniversary last year.

Western Massachusetts Hospital in Westfield will dedicate the new therapeutic garden next year. (Republican file photo by Dave Roback)

WESTFIELD - Western Massachusetts Hospital patients Linda J. Podbelski, Darlene Dusseault and Donna Compton plan to be the first to enjoy a new therapeutic garden being created at the East Mountain Road complex.

"I can't wait," said Compton, adding "I love going outside especially in the sunny weather."

Podbelski said she is "looking forward" to the garden, and a chance to sit and enjoy different plantings even in the winter months.

"This is long-over do," added Dusseault. "I plan on being the first to enjoy it."

Podbelski, Dusseault and Compton assisted hospital administrator Derrick L. Tallman in breaking ground Monday for the new $85,000 garden. The garden creation, financed through fund-raising and hospital donations, was cited as a goal last year when the hospital celebrated its 100th anniversary.

Scott P. O'Connor, operations manager for Pioneer Landscapes Inc. of Easthampton, project contractor, said the garden is expected to be ready for use within eight weeks.

A formal dedication of the garden is scheduled for next spring, Tallman said.

The garden will include a gazebo, concrete walkways and a variety of plantings in a 5,000 square foot area at the rear entrance of the hospital.

Tallman said the garden's design plan is a combination of 13 different design proposals recently submitted by an architecture design class from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

The hospital currently serves 65 long-term acute care patients.

"This will provide a safe, therapeutic environment area allowing out patients to enjoy the outdoors, to walk, sit and read or just sit and enjoy," said Tallman.

It will be open to patients and their families year-round.

No injuries were reported in the Sunday morning explosion that blew out five manhole covers.

Republican staff photo by Michael BeswickInvestigators and Chicopee Electric Light employees look into a manhole, which blew open after an underground explosion Sunday.

CHICOPEE - The state Fire Marshal’s office continues to probe a mysterious underground explosion that blew out five manhole covers and damaged an apartment building near the Deady Bridge Sunday morning.

No one was injured in the explosion, which happened at about 9 a.m., but at least four roads and the bridge were closed Sunday and several buildings were left without power.

The bridge has since been reopened. Chicopee police reported, however, that East Main Street remained closed late Monday morning.

Chicopee Electric Light General Manager Jeffrey R. Cady said investigators believe a fault in the underground electrical system touched off the explosion. It’s not yet clear, however, as to what actually exploded.

“There had to be some type of fuel or gas in the system that caused the explosion,” Cady said. “It was fairly good-sized,” he said.

There is no indication of foul play, Cady said.

The explosions happened along East Main and Broadway streets near the entrance of the Deady Bridge. They blew off and broke manhole covers and sent chunks of concrete from the road and sidewalks flying more than 20 feet.

A metal cover from one of the transformer boxes was blown through a first-floor window at the Fall View Apartments at the corner of East Main Street and Broadway. The resident was in the room at the time but away from the window so she was not hurt, said Kenneth Ritchott, the city’s emergency management director.

Power to the apartment building and a single-family home and duplex, also on East Main Street, has since been restored, Cady said.

The FBI declined Hall's overtures, saying that he was "much too dangerous."

AP photo | The Berkshire EagleCaius Veiovis, second from left, stands during his arraignment in Berkshire District Court in Pittsfield, Mass., Monday, Sept. 12, 2011, on charges including murder and kidnapping of three men whose remains were found on Saturday.

DAVE COLLINS, Associated Press

PITTSFIELD - A police report says one of three Massachusetts men found dead over the weekend was killed so he couldn't testify at the robbery, assault and kidnapping trial of a Hells Angels member.

State police say the others were killed so there were no witnesses.

Thirty-four-year-old Adam Lee Hall, 44-year-old David Chalue and 31-year-old Caius Veiovis were held without bail after pleading not guilty to charges including murder Monday in Pittsfield.

AP photo | The Berkshire EagleAdam Hall, the reputed sergeant at arms of the local Hells Angels chapter, second from left, stands during his arraignment in Berkshire District Court in Pittsfield Monday.

They're accused of killing David Glasser, Edward Frampton and Robert Chadwell, whose remains were discovered Saturday in a trench.

Glasser had been expected to testify at the trial of Hall, the reputed sergeant at arms of the local Hells Angels chapter.

Hall's lawyer said his client maintains his innocence. Lawyers for the other men declined comment.

The Berkshire Eagle reports that Hall previously lobbied federal agents to become a government witness. According to court documents, Hall met with FBI agents in September to 2010 and offered to wear a wire, promising that he could "take down" a number of Hells Angels chapters on the East Coast.

The FBI declined Hall's overtures, saying that he was "much too dangerous," documents show.

Two senior health care policy officials in the Patrick administration have announced plans to leave their posts, administration officials confirmed, vacating positions with influence over ongoing efforts to remake the state’s health care system.

By Kyle Cheney, STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

BOSTON- Two senior health care policy officials in the Patrick administration have announced plans to leave their posts, administration officials confirmed, vacating positions with influence over ongoing efforts to remake the state’s health care system.

Seena Carrington, acting commissioner of the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy, and Stacey Eccleston, assistant commissioner of health care finance and policy, have informed the administration of plans to leave. The agency is responsible for conducting research that drives the Patrick administration’s health care cost containment and reform policies.

“I think the agency is well-positioned to carry on,” Eccleston told the News Service in a phone interview.

Carrington will be succeeded later this week by Aron Boros, an attorney who currently works as director of federal finance for MassHealth. An official release announcing Boros’s appointment was distributed last month but made no mention of Carrington’s plans to leave. Carrington has been working as acting commissioner of health care finance and policy since March, when Commissioner David Morales left for a job at Steward Health Care System.

The turnover comes as the Patrick administration continues to push for a refashioning of the state’s health care payment and delivery system, a fundamental overhaul that has major ramifications for the multi-billion-dollar health care industry and its tens of thousands of employees.

Carrington and Eccleston’s resignations will follow the departure of Terry Dougherty, the head of the state’s Medicaid program – MassHealth – which insures about 1.2 million low-income, disabled or elderly residents. Dougherty left his post last week, following through on a decision he announced in June. Although he stayed on to help with the transition, Dougherty was officially succeeded on July 18 by Dr. Julian Harris, who practices at the Southern Jamaica Plain Community Health Center and works with Cambridge Health Alliance.

Asked about the departures, a spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, which oversees the health care finance and policy division, said the administration is “extremely grateful for their service to the Commonwealth and for their leadership at the Division.”

Newly minted agency heads are often afforded an opportunity to reshape their leadership team, which may translate into substantial turnover. However, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services – whose secretary JudyAnn Bigby is one of the few remaining administration officials who joined at the outset of Gov. Deval Patrick’s first term in 2007 – is deeply involved in efforts redesign the state’s health care payment system and bring down costs.

Last month, Harris, the new Medicaid director, named Robin Callahan – a 16-year veteran of the agency – deputy Medicaid director for policy and programs. He also named Kristin Thorn, a Medicaid adviser who has worked on waiver negotiations with the federal government, chief of staff.

The 18-member committee will be chaired by Philip Johnston, a UMass trustee and former state Democratic party chairman.

AMHERST, Mass. (AP) — A search committee has been set up to find a new chancellor for the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

The 18-member committee will be chaired by Philip Johnston, a UMass trustee and former state Democratic party chairman. The panel will be seeking a successor to chancellor Robert Holub, who announced in June that he planned to leave the post at the end of the 2011-2012 academic year.

Johnston says the national search will be "open and transparent" and will seek to identify candidates who are committed to maintaining high standards at UMass-Amherst, the state university's flagship campus.

The search committee will send a small number of finalists to UMass President Robert Caret, who in turn will make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees. No timetable was given.

The brothers were expressionless as U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel gave them mandatory life sentences.

NEW YORK - Two brothers from West Springfield, Mass., and a onetime New York mob boss were sentenced to life in prison by a federal judge here on Monday for a series of Mafia hits and attempted executions in 2003.

Fotios "Freddy" Geas, 44, and Ty Geas, 39. remained expressionless when U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel handed down the mandatory life terms on charges for a violent rampage that included a contract hit on Springfield crime boss Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno on Nov. 23, 2003, and the killing of low-level mobster Gary D. Westerman two weeks earlier.

Also sentenced to life in prison was Arthur "Artie" Nigro, 67, of the Bronx, NY, a one-time acting boss of New York's Genovese crime family.

The penalties were mandatory given the defendants' convictions after a three-week trial in March, during which the Geases' former close ally, Anthony J. Arrillotta, once a soldier for Nigro in Springfield, gave testimony about the deadly power play the trio forged that culminated with Bruno's murder.

Though Castel had no discretion, defense lawyers tried to make various pitches on behalf of their clients: Nigro's attorney noted his military service, work history as a mason and close relationship with his daughter; Ty Geas' lawyer hinted at her client's transformation after becoming a father to two; and Fotios Geas' attorney simply drafted a plea for the brothers to remain together in prison.

Perhaps tellingly, despite the murders of Bruno and Westerman, the attempted murder of union boss Frank Dadabo, whom the Geases and Arillotta shot nine times at Nigro's behest, other failed murder plots and myriad extortion schemes, not one victim or family member appeared in Castel's courtroon to speak.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elie Honig told Castel that, even if the judge had discretion to impose lesser sentences, the life terms were warranted.

"All the murders were careful, deliberate and well thought out," Honig said. "These were mob murders."

Bruno was shot several times outside the South End social club that was the site of his regular Sunday-night card game. Frankie Roche, Fotios Geas' so-called "crash dummy," prison buddy, was the shooter who turned government witness. Westerman was shot by the Geases and bludgeoned with a shovel by Arrilotta in Agawam, he testified at trial.

Arillotta, Roche and several other cooperating witnesses are expected to receive reduced sentences in exchange for their testimony.

Republican file photosFotios Geas, left, and his brother, Ty, are scheduled to go to trial March 8 in New York City for the slayings of former mob boss Adolfo 'Big Al' Bruno and ex-convict Gary D. Westerman.

The driver of the second car was identified as Matthew Kostanski, 23, of Greenfield.

SUNDERLAND - A two-car crash on Route 116 in Sunderland Sunday evening claimed the life of Emily N. Weston, 18, of Hatfield.

The crash, reported shortly before 6 p.m., happened in the road's northbound lane less than a quarter-mile north of the Amherst-Sunderland town line. The driver of the second car was identified as Matthew Kostanski, 23, of Greenfield.

"Both vehicles sustained heavy front-end damage and came to rest along the eastern shoulder of the roadway," said Mary Carey, communications director for Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan.

Information about Kostanski's condition was not immediately available.

Sunderland Police closed the road for nearly five hours Sunday while the Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Services (“CARS”) Unit conducted an investigation into the crash.

The crash remains under investigation by Massachusetts State Police Detectives Unit assigned to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, the State Police CARS Unit, and the Sunderland Police Department.

The $4 million that financed the new barns came from the state by way of a bond bill.

Michael S. GordonOne of the new barns at the Three County Fairground under construction in March.

NORTHAMPTON – The acoustics weren’t designed for public speeches, but everything else about the new barns at the Three County Fairgrounds was a hit Monday.

State and local officials, including Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray, joined members of the Fairgrounds Redevelopment Corporation in dedicating the three, 19,000-square-foot barns they hope will be part of the fairground’s bright future. Each of the barns can accommodate 100 stalls for horses and other livestock. They replace the dilapidated stables that were demolished in phase one of a projected $38 million makeover of the venerable fairgrounds, which touts itself as the oldest, continuously operating facility of its kind in the country.

Officials are hoping the ambitious expansion and renovation will not only revive the fairgrounds but give the local economy a much needed injection of jobs and revenue. Massachusetts Environmental and Energy Secretary Richard Sullivan estimated the revitalized fairgrounds will mean an additional $140,000 per year to Northampton in hotel taxes alone.

“It’s a smart investment,” he said.

Praise for the project was echoed by Murray, U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, and state Rep. Peter V. Kocot, D-Northampton.

“It will provide jobs on a year-round basis,” said Murray, who predicted it will also boost tourism in the area.

Neal called the project “a worth-while investment” that adds to the mix of agriculture, education and manufacturing that fuels the region’s economy.

Kocot called cultural tourism “our bread and butter,” and said Northampton’s eclectic economy is the envy of his colleagues in the Legislature.

“I live in a city that has a downtown where it’s hard to find a parking space,” he
said.

The $4 million that financed the new barns came from the state by way of a bond bill. Work began in January and they were finished by July. The state-of-the-art barns have already hosted four horse shows and the Three County Fair.

Bruce R. Shallcross, the general manager of the Three County Fairground, said the redevelopment corporation is in the process of finding funding for phase two, which will feature an 80,000-square-foot exhibition hall that will enable the fairgrounds to become a year-round venue.

Naturalists estimate the endangered blue whale to be a true behemoth at about 80 feet long.

Associated PressIn this Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011, photo, a blue whale surfaces off of Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Naturalists from 2 whale-watching boasts say they saw the 80-ft. blue whale, the world's largest mammal, about 15 miles south of Boothbay Harbor.

PORTLAND, Maine — Whale watchers got a treat over the weekend: They saw the world's largest mammal make its first appearance in the waters off New England in several years. Naturalists estimate the endangered blue whale to be a true behemoth at about 80 feet long.

The blue whale spotted 15 miles south of Boothbay Harbor on Sunday was nearly as long as a pair of 100-foot whale-watching boats that came in for a look.

People aboard both boats cheered.

"I was thinking, 'Wow, this is a chance of a lifetime.' I didn't want to leave because I may never see it again," said Dominique Leclerc, a marine biologist on the Pink Lady II.

Blue whales are found in oceans around the world, but it's unusual to see them off the coast of New England because they prefer the deep ocean farther offshore, said Sean Todd, director of Allied Whale and chairman of marine sciences at the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor.

Todd theorized that this whale was off the beaten path following krill, the tiny shrimp-like crustaceans that comprise its diet. The last sighting in New England waters was three to four years ago, he said.

Because they swim so far offshore, their numbers and activities are not fully understood. They're listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act, and a previous count of 440 blue whales from the Gulf of St. Lawrence is considered to be a minimum for the northwest Atlantic, Todd said.

Mechele Vanderlaan, naturalist aboard the other whale-watching boat, the Harbor Princess, said it was only the second time in 21 years that she's seen a blue whale.

"I can't get the smile off my face," she said.

This apparently was one mellow whale. It didn't respond to cheers from people on the boats or the rumbling diesel engines; instead it appeared to be logging, or sleeping.

The massive mammal stayed about 10 feet below the surface, coming up every five to eight minutes to send a shower of water skyward from its blow hole and take a breath before going underwater.

Whales don't sleep the way humans do. While scientists don't fully understand sleep patterns, it's believed that one hemisphere of the whale's brain sleeps while the other remains alert, like other marine mammals, Todd said. Thus, the whale was aware of the boats but was apparently unconcerned by their presence.

"The lack of reaction of the whale to the boat is a sign that the skipper is doing the right things and they're not harassing the animals," Todd said.

Because of their size, reaching up to 100 feet long, blue whales were hunted heavily in the 19th and 20th centuries. As the species recovers, it's still rare to see large ones, Todd said.

Passengers got excited when the naturalists explained that this wasn't one of the usual whales seen off the coast of Maine, like fin, humpback or sei whales.

The boats — the Pink Lady II operated by Cap'n Fish's Whale Watch and the Harbor Princess operated by Boothbay Whale Watch — came alongside and cut their engines, floating alongside the blue whale.

"At first, they thought this is a whale and this is a whale watch. Then I explained to them that you don't see these whales," Leclerc said. "They clapped. They cheered. They screamed."

Watch video from part two of the debate.

The Springfield mayoral candidates went head-to-head-to-head in a round-table debate on WGBY-57 last week, which was aired Thursday and Friday in two parts.

Read The Republican's coverage and watch part one on WGBY.org.

In part two of the debate, which is now available to watch, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and his challengers, School Committee member Antonette E. Pepe and City Council President Jose F. Tosado outlined their economic platforms.

The three candidates offered unique takes on the city's economic future, with Sarno praising the work already being done in the city, Pepe urging lower taxes as an incentive to draw in business and Tosado focusing on growing businesses within the city's borders.

Pepe said she'd take an inventory of existing businesses in Springfield, and seek to draw in "satellite businesses" from national corporations to set up a presence in the city.

"But to do that, the first thing you have to do is lower the taxes on the businesses," Pepe said. She went on to say that crime in the city was hindering business development.

Tosado said the city needs to shift focus from trying to draw money into the city from elsewhere toward investing in the people and businesses that are already here.

"I think we need to put the same kind of effort into growing the middle class in the city of Springfield, and we do that by helping small, local businesses grow, who will live here, and whose employees live here."

Sarno, the incumbent, spoke to efforts already underway in the city, particularly DevelopSpringfield, a 501(c)(3) corporation established in 2008 that seeks to spur economic development in the city.

Sarno said the nonprofit is "concentrating specifically on the Springfield area, is giving out loans and grants up the Main Street Corridor and State Street Corridor as we move foreward."

FEMA also has opened a new disaster assistance center in Great Barrington.

WESTFIELD – The federal government has expanded the Tropical Storm Irene disaster area to include Hampden and Hampshire counties.

The declaration originally included only Franklin and Berkshire counties in Massachusetts.

Under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s public assistance program, FEMA will provide reimbursement to local government, state agencies and various non-profit organizations for 75 percent of the cost to repair or replace public infrastructure, provide technical and advisory assistance, contracts and personnel overtime related to emergency protective measures and debris removal, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said Monday in a news release.

Unlike the Berkshire and Franklin declarations, this new declaration for Hampden and Hampshire counties doesn’t include individual assistance for homeowners and businesses, said Peter W. Judge, a spokesman for the state Emergency Management Agency. Judge said he doesn’t yet know how much aide is coming to Hampden and Hampshire counties, but much of it will go to reimburse towns and cities for storm preparation work and opening shelters and command posts.

Large sections of Vermont and New York state have also been declared federal disaster areas resulting from Irene.

The storm, a hurricane that had weakened to a tropical storm, dumped more than 10 inches of rain on an already soaked Western Massachusetts Aug. 27 and 28. The rain pushed area creeks and rivers over their banks, flooding homes and businesses and destroying crops and farmland.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency also report Monday that it has opened a disaster recovery center in Great Barrington at the Housatonic Community Center, 1064 Main St.

All five of the disaster recovery centers will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The other four are: Green River Elementary School, 62 Meridian St., Greenfield; Pittsfield Public Library, 1 Wendell Ave., Pittsfield, Mohawk Trail Regional High School, 26 Ashfield Road, Buckland and Developers Finance Building, 430 Main St., Williamston.