A preliminary election Sept. 20 will narrow the field of four candidates for mayor to the top two vote-getters, who will face off on Election Day Nov. 8.

Staff Photo by John Suchocki Yasser Menwer, candidate for City Council at large, was among those addressing Golden Senior Club Wednesday.

HOLYOKE – The four candidates for mayor pitched their experience and plans at a senior citizens forum Wednesday.

The appeals came six days before the preliminary election Tuesday that will narrow the field – Mayor Elaine A. Pluta and challengers Alex B. Morse, Daniel C. Boyle and Daniel C. Burns – to the top two vote-getters, who will move onto the Election Day ballot Nov. 8.

The Holyoke Golden Seniors forum at the War Memorial, 310 Appleton St., also had four City Council candidates, including an incumbent who is unopposed for reelection.

Boyle, 63, is a business consultant. He said he has experience as co-owner of the former Diamond Fiber Products Co., in Palmer, where he managed a $7 million annual payroll and a $19 million total budget, hired employees and negotiated contracts.

Among his skills, he said, is knowing the best resource is employees.

“So I would organize and lead labor-management committees in every department,” Boyle said.

Mayor Elaine A. Pluta, 67, said other candidates discuss plans, but she can cite actions. That includes hiring new Police Chief James M. Neiswanger on July 19, submitting two balanced budgets without employee layoffs or furloughs, and forming a task force to study ways to cut property taxes, said Pluta, who is in her first two-year term.

“While others tell you what they will do, I can tell you what I’ve done,” Pluta said.

Morse, 22, a former career counselor, said he would be mayor based on residents having told him they want open government, innovative thinking to create jobs and bold leadership.

He would promote Holyoke as a place to operate to high-tech and other kinds of businesses, he said, and keep people informed with an “online checkbook” that allows for tracking of city spending.

“This is not a question of age, it’s a question of vision,” Morse said.

Burns, 54, a former city councilor and former business owner, said as mayor he wouldn’t be able to do anything about high gas prices but, “I can certainly reduce property taxes in the city of Holyoke.”

Burns didn’t specify how he would cut property taxes beyond discussing the importance of creating jobs.

About 50 senior citizens attended the forum.

Remarks also were made by Ward 3 City Council candidate Richard P. Purcell, Council at Large candidate Yasser Menwer, Councilor at Large Peter R. Tallman and Ward 5 Councilor Linda L. Vacon, who is unopposed.

Purcell and Menwer have previously run unsuccessfully for city offices.

Purcell is running against David K. Bartley, of 25 Hillcrest Ave. for the Ward 3 council seat. Incumbent Anthony M. Keane isn’t seeking reelection.

Purcell said he is “not a true politician” and is running so the people’s voice can be heard. He criticized Washington, D.C. politicians for talking about cutting Social Security, an issue over which Holyoke city councilors have no say but Purcell’s comments seemed to play well to the crowd of senior citizens.

“I mean it from right here, from the heart ... doing it just for the people, just for the people,” said Purcell, a U.S. Army veteran.

Menwer belongs to the Massachusetts Air National Guard at Barnes Air National Guard Base, in Westfield, and was 2004 Massachusetts Air National Guard Airman of the Year.

The key issue is the need to turn around poverty, said Menwer, who suggested providing more tax incentives to businesses than is now the case to attract jobs.

Those businesses, in turn, could provide apprenticeships to students from Dean Technical High School, he said.

“They would start to have a love and passion for the city, and why? Because they’re actually doing something,” Menwer said.

Tallman has been a councilor since the City Council voted to appoint him to a vacancy in February 2001. He also was on the board from 1992 to 1994.

Tallman is a letter carrier with the U.S. Postal Service, a U.S. Army veteran and member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, in Westfield.

His philosophy is that the council works for the people, he said.

“It’s not about us....It’s about listening to you and your problems,” Tallman said.

Vacon urged voters to approve a Nov. 8 ballot question to establish a new city charter, which supporters say would modernize and make government more effective.

In declaring for the seat held by the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy for 46 of the past 48 years, Warren joined a crowded field in the Democratic primary to determine the party’s challenger for Scott P. Brown, the Republican winner in the January 2010 special election.

Photo by Don Treeger / The RepublicanElizabeth Warren, candidate for U.S. Senate, greets Ann Romberger of Leverett.during a campaign stop at the Student Prince in Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD – Harvard law professor and consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren jumped into the U.S. senate race Wednesday, promising to battle corporate abuses and champion the working families.

In declaring for the seat held by the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy for 46 of the past 48 years, Warren joined a crowded field in the Democratic primary to determine the party’s challenger for Scott P. Brown, the Republican winner in the January 2010 special election.

Warren, 62, of Cambridge, emphasized her working-class roots – including jobs as baby-sitter, waitress and elementary school teacher – during a campaign stop at the Student Prince restaurant late Wednesday afternoon.

“I’ve been there. I’ve lived it,” said Warren, referring to her family’s precarious finances. “I know what it’s like to be one pink slip, or one medical diagnosis away” from disaster, Warren said.

Stressing her background as a consumer advocate, Warren promised to help rebuild the nation’s beleaguered middle class after 30 years of financial reversals.

Warren was tapped by President Obama last year to set up a new consumer protection agency, but her appointment was blocked by Republicans opposition in Congress.

If elected, Warren said she will used her experience to fight the influence of large corporations and lobbying firms. “I know that change is possible,” she said.

More details coming on MassLive and in The Republican.

Tetherly has served on the Chicopee School Committee for 12 years in the past.

submitted photoRev. Jonathan C. Tetherly

CHICOPEE – Saying he is the candidate with more experience, the Rev. Jonathan C. Tetherly is announcing his bid for Ward 5 School Committee.

Tetherly, 66, of 29 Arlington St., is challenging incumbent Deborah Styckiewicz, 54, of 185 Frontenac St. in a race that will be a repeat of the one in 2005. In that race Styckiewicz won the seat Tetherly held for six years.

“I am not the incumbent. I am the candidate with more School Committee experience,” said Tetherly, who served on the Chicopee Committee for six years from 1986 to 1991 and again from 2000 through 2005.

Tetherly, who holds a master of science degree in forestry from the University of Minnesota and a master degree of divinity from Andover Newton Theological School in Massachusetts, said one of his key issues is improving the graduation rate. Currently 35 percent of city students are at risk of quitting school.

“The answer, I believe, is school-related, but it’s also way beyond that. It’s family- related, it’s community-related and it’s related to the hope for the future,” he said. “I decided that finding the solution, and helping our school system take action for the success of all our students, was one reason to run again.”

He said he is now partially retired and will have more time to devote to school committee work.

Tetherly has a lot of experience in schools. He worked as a substitute teacher mainly in Springfield from 1990 until he retired in 2010. He still works as a Western Massachusetts Track and Field official.

Tetherly also works part-time as a Protestant chaplain in the Hampden Correctional Center and has served as a minister for a number of other organizations.

“The other reason I am running is to be sure that in these days of often insufficient school budgets, the money is spent to the best advantage. In the past, I have always been diligent in following and questioning school department expenses and have discovered and exposed very significant errors. I would continue to press for sensible budgets and careful spending,” he said.

More than 190,000 copies of El Pueblo Latino have been printed and distributed in 261 locations across Western Massachusetts.

SPRINGFIELD– In the next few weeks Hispanics across the country will host cultural events, festivals and conferences celebrating the many traditions of Latin America and the Caribbean as part of National Hispanic Heritage Month held from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

In an effort to support and celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month The Republican is including a special edition of it’s Spanish-language publication El Pueblo Latino in Thursday’s paper.

More than 190,000 copies of this special edition have been printed and will distributed in 261 locations across Western Massachusetts.

Anita Rivera

El Pueblo Latino was started 10 years ago by Anita Rivera, a regional radio personality, who wanted to provide a source for Latinos to receive Spanish language news about issues facing their community. The Republican purchased it in 2003.

Since the beginning of 2011 The Republican and El Pueblo Latino have been sharing content that is relevant to both organizations, including news, lifestyle features and entertainment stories. Stories are also posted in Spanish and English on www.MassLive.com and www.elpueblolatino.net.

The theme for this year’s National Hispanic Heritage Month is “ Many backgrounds, many stories...One American spirit.” El Pueblo Latino has made an effort to be inclusive and represent the many ethnic groups represented in our readership area.

El Pueblo Latino’s general manager, Harold Blanco, said the publication strives to provide content from all Latin American countries.

“Although we do have a large Puerto Rican population in the area, we want to reach out to many other Latin American people living in the area who are also in need of a local Spanish language news source,” he said.

Hispanics living in Western Massachusetts include Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Cubans, Mexicans and more. The 2010 U.S. Census figures show that Puerto Ricans still make up the largest Hispanic group living in the state. Puerto Ricans make up 4.1 percent of the state’s 9.6 percent Hispanic population with 266, 125 residents living in the commonwealth. In Hampden County alone there are more than 80,000 Puerto Ricans. They are followed by Dominicans at 1.6 percent or 103, 292 residents. Mexicans make up .6 percent of the population with 38,379 living in the state.

A large part of the state’s Hispanic residents live in Western Massachusetts, particularly in Springfield and Holyoke where Hispanics make up 38.9 and 48 percent of the population respectively, according to the 2010 census.

The growing Hispanic population is demonstrated in the economic development of the region.

According to Global Insight, a financial analysis firm, Hispanic purchasing power statewide is approximately $9 billion and expected to grow 46 percent by 2014. Non-Hispanic purchasing power in Massachusetts is projected to only increase by 14 percent during the same period. In Springfield alone, Hispanics account for $1.2 billion of consumer spending.

Martin Carrera, is the owner of La Veracruzana, Mexican restaurants with locations in Amherst and Northampton.

Carrera’s family moved here from Mexico when he was just a baby.

“I remember when everyone was very fragmented. The East Coast had Puerto Ricans and Dominicans, Florida had Cubans and Mexicans were on the West Coast. Now Hispanics move wherever there are opportunities,” he said.

Carrera is an example of Hispanic families who immigrate to the United States and start small family business. US. Census figures show that in Springfield alone 853 businesses are owned and operated by Hispanics.

The growing Hispanic population is also demonstrated in the political climate of Western Massachusetts. In Springfield Jose F. Tosado is the first Hispanic mayoral candidate. While in Holyoke more than eight Latino candidates are running for seats on the City Council and School Committee. In the mayoral race Alex B. Morse, a 22-year-old non- Hispanic, promotes the fact that he speaks Spanish fluently and can communicate with the Hispanic community.

Gladys Lebron-Martinez, a School Committee member, who is now running for a City Council seat in Holyoke, said the appointment of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Soto Mayor and several Hispanic governors and mayors makes a difference on a local level.

“ If you see how Sonia Soto Mayor has reached such a high position and was elected by the president this opens other doors politically for candidates locally,” she said. “ It gives us the opportunity to reach for positions of leadership and make decisions that affect our community. We can be a voice for the Latino community.”

El Pueblo Latino is a free publication published every Thursday. For a list of distribution locations visit www.elpueblolatino.net.

Staff writer Lucila J. Santana contributed to this report.

Scores increased in Holyoke, Ware and Longmeadow but dropped in Chicopee, Easthampton and Greenfield. In Springfield, some school scores increased and others decreased.

Republican file photo

More students statewide from the Class of 2011 took the SAT exam than any other group, but their average scores dropped in all three subjects.

The SAT exam, administered by the College Board, tests students in critical reading, writing and math. Students are not required to take the test and pay a fee to do so; the scores are used when applying for admittance to four-year colleges.

According to results released by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Massachusetts Wednesday, the Class of 2011 had an average score of 505 in critical reading, 521 in math and 500 in writing. Scores dropped 3 percentage points in reading, 2 in math and 4 in writing.

Statewide 9 percent more students took the exam.

Despite the drop, Massachusetts students continue to score higher than those in any other state in the nation, state officials said.

“They went down in Massachusetts and they went down nationally,” said J.C. Considine, spokesman for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. “I don’t think it reflects a trend, we are seeing more students who haven’t had access to the test before taking it.”

In Western Massachusetts, some high schools in Chicopee, Greenfield, Easthampton and West Springfield saw declines in most subjects, while others bucked the trend.

In Greenfield, mean scores are down in all categories, but the most eye-catching decline was a 70 percentage point drop in math. Scores in reading dropped 7 points and those in writing dropped 6 points.

Donna Woodcock, Greenfield High School principal, said she had not seen the figures and couldn’t comment, but called the math score “peculiar.” No one had checked yet for errors.

Springfield Public School officials saw mixed results. Scores decreased at the High School of Commerce and Central High but went up at the High School of Science and Technology and Putnam Vocational Technical High.

“We are pleased that overall our school district is heading in the right direction but we know we must do more to see greater gains in SAT participation in all of our schools,” Superintendent Alan Ingram said in a prepared statement.

SAT participation has increased in Springfield from 605 to 690 students in 2011, according to school officials. The number of students taking advanced placement exams increased from 639 in 2010 to 740 this year.

At the High School of Commerce, which is a Level 4 underperforming school, scores decreased 14 percentage points in reading, 18 points in math and 13 points writing and were more than 100 points below state averages. The number of students taking the SATs increased from 72 to 80 in 2011.

“We are committed to preparing students for college and career success in science, technology, engineering and mathematics – particularly underrepresented populations of students who are black, Hispanic, female or low-income,” Ingram said.

Statewide the number of students in all ethnic groups taking the test increased. Black students saw the highest gain with 12.5 percent more taking the test and Hispanic students’ participation grew 10.6 percent, state officials said.

At Northampton High School there was a 1 percentage point gain in reading but math dropped 10 points and writing dropped 9. The number of students who took the test increased by 26 students to 201.

“When there is an increase in test takers that can happen. There are still so many kids in the top 10 and 20 percent of the class,” Superintendent Brian L. Salzer said.

The increase is positive because it means more kids are considering four-year colleges, he said.

Several schools including Holyoke High, Longmeadow High and Ware High saw increases.

At Holyoke High School, which is frequently struggling, 17 more students took the exam and reading scores increased by 12 percentage points and math increased by 19 points. Writing dropped by 1 point.

“I’m ecstatic. Good for the kids,” Superintendent David L. Dupont said.

The high school has offered an SAT preparation course and the guidance counselors encourage students to take it so that may have helped, Dupont said.

In the small Ware High School, which had a graduating class of 63 students last year, 37 students took the SAT. Scores in reading increased by 7 points to 487, and writing increased 34 points to 477. The math scores, which increased by 28 points, this year were equal to the state average of 521.

“It is a growing process,” said Marlene A. DiLeo, who took over as principal of Ware Junior/Senior High School this summer. “In addition to the SATs we are trying to get kids to take the advanced placements. We are moving in the right direction.”

Staff writers Peter Goonan and Brian Steele contributed to this story.

Statewide SAT scores for each Massachusetts school

A prominent consumer advocate and outspoken critic of Wall Street and major corporation, Warrern promised to help rebuild the nation’s beleaguered middle class, which she said have suffered 30 years of financial reversals. Watch video

View full sizeRepublican staff photo by Don Treeger9-14-11 - Springfield - Republican staff photo by Don Treeger- Elizabeth Warren, candidate for U.S. Senate, during a stop at the Student Prince restaurant. Here, she talks with Bill Bradley of Ware (L) and Brian Hoose of Westfield (center).

This is an update to a story that was posted 6:51 p.m. Wednesday

SPRINGFIELD – Harvard law professor and consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren jumped into the U.S. Senate race Wednesday, promising to battle corporate abuses and rebuild the nation’s beleaguered middle class.

In declaring for the seat held by the late Edward M. Kennedy for 46 of the past 48 years, Warren joined a crowded field in the Democratic primary to determine the party’s challenger for Scott Brown, the Republican winner in the January, 2010 special election.

Warren, 62, of Cambridge, emphasized her working-class roots – including jobs as baby-sitter, waitress and elementary school teacher — during a campaign stop at the Student Prince restaurant late Wednesday afternoon.

Elizabeth Warren

“You’ve got help,” said Charlene Harmon, a Springfield resident and minister in the Universal Spiritual Outreach Center, offering both her services and praise for the candidate

“She’s honest, and we really need someone who can tell the truth” in Washington D.C., Harmon said.

“I’m glad you’re running – we really need a voice like yours,” said Jeremy Cole of Springfield, before adding: “Don’t let yourself get overhandled” by campaign consultants and strategists.

Springfield defense lawyer Thomas J. Rooke offered the most boisterous endorsement, telling Warren she has what it takes to be a winning candidate, before taking her arm and saying, “Let’s roll!.”

Her rivals for the Democratic nomination include Alan Khazei, founder of Boston-based City Year; Setti Warren, the mayor of Newton and state Rep. Thomas P. Conroy, D-Wayland.

Although he has a clear conscience in the matter, Boyle said in a telephone interview Wednesday that some members are worried that the ethics complaint has tainted the process.

File photo / The RepublicanEasthampton officials are discussing how to deal with a State Ethics Commission letter that cited them for conflict-of-interest violations concerning a plan to build a Stop & Shop supermarket on Route 10 at the site of the former Tasty Top restaurant, seen here in 2006.

EASTHAMPTON – Members of the Highway District Review Commission and city officials agree that an apparent ethics violation involving a conflict of interest can be resolved, but they have different ideas for dealing with the problem.

Several committee members received a letter from the State Ethics Commission last week informing them it received an anonymous complaint that they were in violation of conflict of interest laws because they own property in the district, which extends along Route 10 from Tasty Top to the Northampton city line. The committee was established last year in the wake of a plan to develop a Stop & Shop supermarket and plaza on the Tasty Top land. When it was apparent that that project would affect the surrounding area, the Planning Board called a public forum inviting the public to participate in shaping the district.

“The Planning Board thought it would be better to look at the district all at once,” said Planning Director Stuart Beckley.

Several property owners along Route 10 were among the 17 people who volunteered for the ad hoc committee. Beckley said their status as property owners is public knowledge.

“They’re stake-holders, and stake-holders belong in the planning process,” he said.

However, Scott Cole, a special investigator with the Ethics Commission, sent letters to David Boyle, William Canon, Eddie Fedor, Ann Parizo and Chester Seklecki informing them that they might have a “minor” conflict of interest because they have not filed an official disclosure with the Planning Board. As cited by Cole, the law “prohibits a municipal employee from participating as such in a particular matter in which, to his knowledge, he... has a financial interest.”

As members of the committee, the recipients of his letter are municipal employees, Cole said. The remedy, according to Cole, would be to submit a written disclosure and have the Planning Board make a determination that the conflict of interest is not sufficiently substantial to affect the integrity of the committee.

Beckley said Wednesday that he was still waiting to speak with Cole about the proper procedure, but expects that the Planning Board will review the disclosures and the committee will continue as is.

“I think this committee works really well,” he said.

Boyle, a partner in Autumn Reality, which owns property in the district, has been busy communicating with the other committee members by email. He wrote in one that he is troubled by the implication that the members in question are only acting in their self-interest.

“That concept is false, offensive and contrary to open and diverse community involvement,” Boyle wrote. “Do you ask plumbers for medical advice or doctors for plumbing advice?”

Although he has a clear conscience in the matter, Boyle said in a telephone interview Wednesday that some members are worried that the ethics complaint has tainted the process.

“A few members feel it’s harassment,” Boyle said.

Noting that the committee has been meeting for 16 months, Boyle said, “I don’t want to throw this out the window.” However, he said there is some sentiment in favor of disbanding the committee and formally reforming it. None of the members who received letters from the Ethics Commission are averse to making written disclosures, he added.

“I’m not working behind the scenes on this stuff,” Boyle said. “It’s open to the public.”

Gulfstream's expansion will include a $54,000 annual property lease at Barnes Regional Airport.

WESTFIELD - The City Council is poised Thursday night to approve a 15-year property tax incentive package aimed at convincing Gulfstream Aerospace Services Corp. to invest $20 million in expansion at Barnes Regional Airport and create an additional 100 jobs for the region.

That package received unanimous support from six councilors, representing the council's Finance Committee and Legislative and Ordinance Committee, Wednesday night. It also gained support from Council president Christopher Keefe and at-large Councilor John J. Beltrandi III, who attended the joint meeting. Nine votes from the 13-member City Council are needed for passage Thursday.

Gulfstream, a division of General Dynamics which has operated adjacent to the airport for several years, is considering expansion here onto land it will lease from the airport and create a 100,000 square foot service hangar for maintenance and other services to its newest and largest corporat jet. The company is also considering locations in Wisconsin and Georgia, but Ira Berman, Gulfstream senior vice president, told councilors Wednesday that the company likes doing business in Westfield and a site selection decision will be made shortly.

The council committees also gave endorsement to two smaller, 5-year tax packages, that will bring a new manufacturing business, Seal Ryt Corp. and a new independent and assisted living complex, Armbrook Senior Living LLC to Westfield's northside, not far from the Gulfstream complex proposal.

Finance Chairman Richard E. Onofrey said the tax incentive developed for Gulfstream is "exactly what the program is designed for.

Legislative Chairman James E. Brown Jr. said each of the three packages create new business, new jobs and new tax revenue for the city. "These will take parcels either unoccupied or vacant and create new opportunities," said Brown.

Each of the tax packages provide discounted property tax tables for the three businesses over the life of their agreement. Those agreements provide 100 percent tax reduction in the first year and decreasing amounts that will reach 20 percent of the assessed property value in year five for Seal Ryt and Armbrook.

Seal Ryt, now located in Easthampton, currently employs 20 workers and will expand that by at least 15 over the five year period. That company will invest about $2 million to purdhase and convert a vacant warehouse on ServiStar Industrial Way. The estimated value of the tax package is $1 million and at the end of five years will bring Westfield an estimated $59,260 in property taxes.

Armbrook Senior Living will be created on vacant property on North Road consisting of 136 units and an estimated 35 full time employs, an overall investment of more than $20 million because the owner will extend a water main from Falcon Drive to North Road at his expense.
Armbrook's tax package also starts out at 100 percent and drawing down to 20 percent and producing an estimated tax bill at the end of five years of $873,900 annually.

City Advancement Officer Jeffrey R. Daley told councilors the future tax revenue is only an estimate because city Assessor James M. Pettingill will determine the property values of each.

The 15-year package for Gulfstream will offer the company 100 percent property tax forgiveness in the first year, 80 percent for years 2 through four; 60 percent years five through 7; 40 percent years 8 through 11 and 20 percent discount for years 12 through 15. In the end, Gulfstream's property tax is estimated at about $4 million annually.

Daley said Gulfstream will also produce additional tax revenue to the city from landing fees and jet fuel purchases at Barnes Airport.

The Airport Commission last week approved a 50-year lease of nearly 11 acres of airport property for Gulfstream with five possible 10-year extensions. The lease is worth nearly $55,000 annually to the airport.

Council approval of the packages Thursday will allow Daley and Mayor Daniel M. Knapik to submit the tax proposals to the state later this month for approval by the Massachusetts Economic Development and Housing Department.

Police apprehended a suspect in the robbery following a search by town and state police.

A Ware, Massachusetts Police Department police cruiser.

An update to this story can be found here.

WARE - Police have arrested a suspect involved in the armed robbery of a Rite-Aid drug store on West Street on Wednesday night.

After a search that involved town and state police and the state police helicopter, a suspect was taken into custody.

The suspect was in the process of being booked late Wednesday night. Police were not yet releasing his name or the charges.

The robbery was reported at about 8:15 p.m.

View Larger Map

Three Western Massachusetts representatives, Todd M. Smola, a Palmer Republican, Brian M. Ashe, a Longmeadow Democrat, and William Pignatelli, a Lenox Democrat, voted against the bill.

BOSTON – The state House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to approve Las Vegas-style casinos for Western Massachusetts and two other regions of the state, in what would be the most extensive expansion of gambling in Massachusetts since the Lottery was created in the early 1970s.

After debating the pros and cons of casinos for eight hours, the House voted 123-32 in favor of a bill that legalizes the proposed casinos and sets up a process for regulating and licensing casinos.

Reps. Todd M. Smola, a Palmer Republican, Brian M. Ashe, a Longmeadow Democrat, and William Pignatelli, a Lenox Democrat, voted against the bill.

Rep. Paul K. Frost, an Auburn Republican who supports casinos, said the bill won’t solve all the state’s economic problems and fiscal woes, but it’s a good step forward. Frost said people in Massachusetts are already gambling at casinos in Connecticut and Rhode Island and the state needs to capture those revenues. “This is a good piece,” said Frost, ranking GOP member of a legislative committee that approved the bill.

The bill is a victory for casino supporters in Palmer and Holyoke. The Mohegan Sun in Connecticut is proposing to build a casino and hotel in Palmer on land located across from Exit 8 of the Massachusetts Turnpike and a group called Paper City Development is proposing a casino for Holyoke on a golf course off Interstate 91.

Gov. Deval L. Patrick and top legislators support the bill. The bill now goes to the Senate, which is also expected to vote in favor.

The casino resorts would be built in three regions, including those consisting of southeastern Massachusetts, the Boston area and the four counties of western Massachusetts. Under the bill, a separate slot barn could be built anywhere and would have up to 1,250 slot machines.

The bill establishes a five-member gaming commission to oversee and license casinos to the highest bidders.

The House reaffirmed a guarantee in the bill for a casino in Western Massachusetts.

The House voted 123-30 to defeat an amendment by Rep. Richard Bastien, R-Gardner, that sought to include Worcester County in the western region for a casino instead of the central district.

Rep. Joseph F. Wagner, a Chicopee Democrat and an author of the casino bill, argued against Bastien’s amendment.

The House also killed an amendment by Frost that would have weakened chances for a Western Massachusetts casino by eliminating the provision in the bill to site casinos in three regions. Frost said the gaming commission should be allowed to decide the locations of casinos.

The bill allows a federally-recognized Indian tribe to negotiate a compact for a casino license in a third region set aside for southeastern Massachusetts.

The House approved several amendments including one by Rep. Linda Dorcena Forry, a Boston Democrat, to have the gaming commission study the impacts of a casino on small businesses in a community hosting a casino and in communities surrounding a casino.

During the day, the arguments for and against the bill mirrored similar debates in the past, with supporters touting the jobs and revenues of casinos and opponents pointing to problems such as gambling addiction.

Wagner, co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, said that he is personally is ambivalent about gambling but he can’t ignore the jobs and revenues that would be created by casinos.

“Thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue annually serve as the cornerstone of the legislation before us for debate and consideration today,” Wagner said. “Thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars at a point in history for this Commonwealth where economic conditions continue to be challenging to say the least.”

The bill established a 25 percent tax on gross revenues at the casinos and a 40 percent tax on the slot parlor revenues, raising at least $300 million in revenues each year for the state. Twenty-five percent of those revenues would go to cities and towns.

The House also rejected an amendment by Rep. Denise Provost, a Somerville Democrat, to have the state Executive Office of Administration and Finance conduct a comprehensive analysis of the costs and benefits of casinos before permitting them.

Opponents said casinos would increase gambling addiction and crime and take business from nearby restaurants and other businesses.

Rep. Ruth B. Balser, D-Newton, a clinical psychologist, warned that slot machines are the “crack cocaine” of the gambling business because they are designed to addict people and take all their money.

“Gambling addiction is an illness that is devastating to individuals, families and communities,” Balser said.

Balser said 80 percent of a casino’s profits come from slot machines and the majority of profits from slots come from problem gamblers.

Rep. Jonathan Hecht, a Watertown Democrat, said there are better ways to create jobs than casinos. Hecht said the state should invest in training for “middle skill” jobs such as licensed practical nurses, computer support specialists and medical lab technicians. He also called for investments in capital projects such as bridges, schools and other municipal buildings.

House Republicans have introduced legislation to immediately infuse $1 billion into federal disaster aid accounts as part of a stopgap funding bill that's required to keep the government running past the end of the budget year on Sept. 30.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans have introduced legislation to immediately infuse $1 billion into federal disaster aid accounts as part of a stopgap funding bill that's required to keep the government running past the end of the budget year on Sept. 30. Overall, the measure would provide $3.7 billion in disaster aid, with more money likely to flow in future legislation.

The House move sets up a battle with the Senate, where majority Democrats are trying to muscle through an almost $7 billion disaster relief measure as a stand-alone bill. That legislation largely matches the administration's recently revised aid request. Republicans seem to have the procedural edge in the clash, but the continuing tensions over how to deal with disaster aid come as the government's main disaster relief fund is on track to run dry within two weeks.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief fund is the main source of help for victims of the widespread flooding and other damage due to Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.

Besides being about half the overall size of the Senate's disaster aid measure, the House bill ties cuts to an Obama-backed loan program to encourage the production of fuel efficient vehicles to pay for the $1 billion in immediate aid for 2011. Typically disaster aid is added to the budget as an emergency expense, and the insistence by Republicans on so-called offsets has Democrats fuming.

"These people whose lives have been devastated ... they don't have time for some budget guy in Washington to sharpen his pencil and figure out whether or not we respond as Americans to emergency," said Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa. "That's a basic value. This isn't a budget debate. This is purely a political game. And people who are standing in the way should get out of the way."

Senate Democrats are on the political offensive and won a key test vote on Tuesday to break a GOP filibuster. Their measure cleared another procedural test Wednesday but it could be several days before it actually passes.

But by putting the disaster aid funding on a separate piece of legislation that's required to keep the government running, House leaders seem to be calculating that the Senate will have no choice but to go along or risk a partial government shutdown.

Driving the debate is the fact that FEMA's disaster fund is likely to run dry before the end of the budget year. FEMA spokeswoman Rachel Racusen said Wednesday that the disaster fund has less than $400 million in it and could be depleted by Sept. 26 — or sooner if another disaster strikes.

If the fund runs out, FEMA would have to suspend aid to victims of Irene and Lee, which have hit the East with major flooding and other damage, much of it concentrated in states like Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, which tend to be hit less frequently by disasters than other states. And FEMA still has emergency costs in Joplin, Missouri and Tuscaloosa, Alabama, which were hit by devastating tornadoes this spring.

The FEMA account is so low that new rebuilding projects like rebuilding sewer systems and other public infrastructure have been put on hold to give emergency help like shelter and cash assistance to victims of Irene and Lee.

The White House requested $5.1 billion in additional disaster aid money only last Friday, which had been a source of frustration for lawmakers responsible for funding disaster accounts. The administration requested just $1.8 billion for FEMA's disaster funding in February, well short of documented needs to respond to past disasters like hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Gustav and the massive Tennessee floods of last spring. The tornadoes in Joplin and across Alabama this spring only made the problem worse.

In response, House Republicans added $1 billion in disaster aid to a measure funding the Department of Homeland Security — offset by spending cuts. The Senate has yet to act on the homeland security measure.

Big Y officials said that the machines couldn't provide "the exceptional customer service through them that has made Big Y what it is today."

In this Jan. 2000 file photo, Springfield resident Cindy Gorman uses the self-checkout lane at the A&P Super Foodmart in Westfield. In 2003, Big Y purchased this store along with three other A&P locations in the area.

SPRINGFIELD - Once hailed as a time and money-saving innovation, self-checkout lanes may be going the way of the cassette tape.

The Springfield-based grocer Big Y announced this week that by the end of the year, all of the self checkout kiosks would be removed from their 58 stores in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

"After extensive research, Big Y has concluded that these self checkout lanes not only do not save their customers time but usually take them even more time to check out than customers in standard checkout lanes," the company said in a statement Wednesday. “Self-checkout lines get clogged as the customers needed to wait for store staff to assist with problems with bar codes, coupons, payment problems and other issues that invariably arise with many transactions."

Michael A. Tami, VP for information resources and technologies at Big Y, told ProgressiveGrocer.com that the machines couldn't provide "the exceptional customer service through them that has made Big Y what it is today."

"While other chains are opting to replace cashiers with more self-checkouts, we are adding cashiers to service more standard lanes," Tami said. “Our self-checkout technology could not deliver on the service needs of our customers."

Big Y is not the first major grocer in the nation to make such a move. In July, Idaho-based Albertsons announced it was pulling the machines from its stores, citing a growing disconnect between the customer and the level of service the company wanted to be a standard.

The Ohio-based grocery chain Kroger is also removing the self-checkout machines from some of its stores as part of routine renovations.

In an effort to better serve its customers, the Atlanta-based retailer Home Depot recently equipped employees with the Motorola First Phone.

The phone was developed based on a $64 million investment by Home Depot, which has since equipped each of its U.S. stores with 15 of the handheld units.

The First Phone serves a a mobile computer, a walkie-talkie and a cash register, allowing employees to check-out customers anywhere in the store.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Home Depot officials said the technology was a success as it gives employees more information to easily and correctly answer questions from the public in addition to taking the wait out of the check-out process.

Gibbons allegedly put on a Halloween mask inside the store then robbed the pharmacist of a variety of prescription drugs before fleeing.

(Ware police booking photo)Stephen Gibbons, 32, of 4 Eddy St., Ware, was charged with armed robbery with a mask and held in lieu of $100,000 cash bail, awaiting arraignment.

This is an update of a story posted at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday.

WARE - A North Carolina native is facing an armed robbery charge after an incident at a drug store on Route 32 Wednesday evening.

At about 8:15 p.m., Ware police were called to the Rite Aid pharmacy at 139 West St. (Route 32) to investigate a report of a man with a pistol robbing the pharmacy in the store.

"We were told a tall white male wearing a blue hospital scrub shirt walked into the store, put on a Halloween mask from the shelf and walked over to the pharmacy counter," said Det. Sgt. Kenneth Kovitch of the Ware Police Department. "He gave the pharmacist a note demanding certain drugs, displayed a gun, and left with the drugs, dropping some as he fled."

Kovitch said the department immediately requested assistance from the Massachusetts State Police, sparking a visible manhunt in the usually quiet town of about 9,000 residents.

Police identified 32-year-old Stephen Gibbons as a potential suspect and tracked him down to a house on Eddy Street, Kovitch said.

"When we approached the house, he saw us and fled into the basement and tried to escape out the back door," Kovitch said. "Officers were already out back though and they took him into custody."

Kovitch said the scrub shirt was found inside the home along with the black gun which was allegedly displayed in the incident. He said it turned out to be a realistic-looking air-soft pistol.

Gibbons was allegedly identified as the suspect by witnesses and charged with armed robbery while masked. He was held in lieu of $100,000 cash bail, awaiting arraignment which is scheduled for Thursday morning.

One idea that has been proposed is to use the building as a storage facility for the city’s archives, Huntley said.

File photo by Michael S. Gordon / The RepublicanThe leachate treatment plant is in a remote part of Northampton's sanitary landfill, seen here two years ago.

NORTHAMPTON – The big leachate treatment plant at the Glendale Road landfill seldom seen by the average citizen is about to be decommissioned and put to new uses.

The 60,000-square-foot building at the far reaches of the landfill was built along with the lined portion of the facility in 1990 to treat the leachate that the lining was designed to trap before pumping it into the city’s stormwater system. However, the leachate, which is the liquid that accumulates when rainwater filters through the landfill’s contents, tested “low hazard” and the state allowed the city to skip to treatment and let it flow directly into the stormwater system, according to Department of Public Works Director Edward S. Huntley.

Unused since the late 1990s, the facility needs to be decommissioned as part of the landfill’s closing, which is projected to take place late next year when it reaches capacity. With that in mind, the Board of Public Works has earmarked $106,610 to hire the environmental engineering firm Wright-Pierce to begin the decommissioning process.

As Huntley explained it, Wright-Pierce would take on a number of tasks, including preliminary design work and an inventory of the plant’s equipment. The building contains pumps, mixing machine, fiberglass vessels and other items that might be of use to other communities with leachate treatment facilities. Wright-Pierce would determine the value of any reusable equipment in the hope that the city could recoup some of the cost of the decommissioning, Huntley said.

One idea that has been proposed is to use the building as a storage facility for the city’s archives, Huntley said. The building already has bathrooms, office space and a security system.

As part of the landfill closing, the city must also fill in two leachate lagoons that are presently filled with rainwater. Huntley said he does not yet know what the total cost of the decommissioning will be.

Around 12:35 a.m. Thursday, police were called to Lincoln Street after a resident saw something that just didn't seem right.

HOLYOKE - After multiple reports of someone breaking into and stealing from vehicles in the Highlands area of Holyoke, police and citizens were on heightened alert.

That extra attention paid off on Thursday as an attentive citizen alerted police to a suspicious man who was later arrested on a slew of charges.

Around 12:35 a.m. Thursday, police were called to Lincoln Street after a resident saw something that just didn't seem right.

"A neighborhood guy was out for a smoke and he heard someone whistling loudly, as if he was signaling to someone else," said Lt. Matthew Moriarty of the Holyoke Police Department. "Officers responded to the area and pulled the suspect over."

Moriarty said Frank Lopez, 26, of 151 Locust St., was pulled over and allegedly found to be in possession burglary tools as well as items stolen from several cars in the area.

Sgt. John Hart arrested Lopez, charging him with breaking and entering a motor vehicle, larceny, possession of burglary tools and for driving an uninsured and unregistered car with switched license plates.

Moriarty said they believe Lopez was likely working with someone during the alleged thefts, although they are still working to identify a potential second suspect.

Anyone with information about this incident can contact the Holyoke Police Department's detective bureau at (413) 322-6900 where all information and tips can be submitted anonymously.

Just after 5:30 a.m., a person at the home called 911 to report an electrical fire which had apparently made its way to the roof.

SPRINGFIELD - Firefighters are currently on Gilman Street in Springfield's East Forest Park neighborhood investigating what was initially reported as a minor structure fire.

Just after 5:30 a.m., a person at the home called 911 to report an electrical fire which had apparently made its way to the roof. The man who called was apparently trying to contain flames with a garden hose prior to the arrival of firefighters.

As crews arrived, they reported seeing increasingly thick smoke coming out of the second story of the home. Firefighters, however, had the fire were knocked down within minutes.

It is unknown if there were an injuries in the incident and further details will be posted online as they become available.

Code enforcement listed infestations of fleas, flies, bed bugs, rats and roaches along with the presence of black mold, the overwhelming stench of urine and feces, and the presence of unchecked trash and drug paraphernalia as some of the reasons to shut down the building.

SPRINGFIELD - The River Inn on State Street in Springfield, known to many as a last stop before living on the streets, has been condemned by the city after a series of violations all centering on unsanitary living conditions.

According to notices tacked to every door at the complex, the city's code enforcement department didn't have to stretch their findings to have sufficient reasoning for condemning the property.

Code enforcement listed infestations of fleas, flies, bed bugs, rats and roaches along with the presence of black mold, the overwhelming stench of urine and feces, and the presence of unchecked trash and drug paraphernalia as some of the reasons to shut down the building.

According to a report by WWLP, the residents living at the River Inn now only have two days left before they are removed and, barring any last-minute arrangements, homeless.

And although the idea of sleeping in an infested and decaying building might seem disgusting to many, to people who have no other option besides taking their chances living on the streets, it is a no-brainer.

"I try my best just to live in it. Because if not, I’ll be homeless," said resident Judy Ramirez in an interview. "I ain't got nothing else."

This submitted postcard shows the River Inn as it looked right after it was built in the early 1960s.

According to a 2009 report from the alternative newspaper Local Buzz, the River Inn has been around in one form or another since the 1870s.

At one point, a private home sat on the land, which was later combined with adjoining properties.

In 1906, the house at the corner of State and Thompson streets was converted into the Hampden Hospital, a state-of-the art facility that employed 77 people, according to the Local Buzz report.

Hampden Hospital closed in 1920 and was later combined with the neighboring building to create The Oaks, which was known as one of the nicest facilities in the area.

In the early 1960s, all of the original buildings were demolished to make way for a Travelodge motel. Sine then, the facility has been known under more than a dozen names and it has changed along with the surrounding neighborhood and world.

The Republican | Greg Saulmon09.15.2011 | SPRINGFIELD - A man sleeps on a car seat outside a first-floor room at The River Inn Thursday morning.

Since 1984, the property has been sold at least nine times.

A glance at the River Inn's history in The Republican's online archives details stories of fire, hopelessness, violence and drug use, not dissimilar with other low-grade housing options across the country.

Most recently, a man was attacked with a machete at the River Inn after he came to the aid of a woman being groped by the knife-wielding man.

This attack served as a tipping point of sorts as Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno pledged afterward that due to frequent police calls to the motel and complaints from the neighborhood, the city's law department was taking a closer look at their options.

With the pending condemnation of the facility, the tenants as well as the owner have an opportunity for file an appeal. The current owner, listed as Gouri Corp., has owned the property since April 2007

A 13-year-old boy is credited helping his family and fellow tenants safely escape. Watch video

The Republican | Mark M. Murray09.14.2011 | SPRINGFIELD - Firefighters continue clean-up efforts at the scene of a 4 a.m. fire at 51-53 Daytona Street in the Forest Park neighborhood.

SPRINGFIELD – Investigators have ruled out arson as the cause of a fast-moving fire that destroyed a Forest Park neighborhood home early Wednesday and left ten people homeless.

Capt. Michael R. Richard, spokesman for the Springfield Fire Department, said the Springfield Arson & Bomb Squad is awaiting results from a state lab and that the cause of the blaze at 51-53 Daytona St. won’t likely be known for several more days.

A resident of the two-family home, 13-year-old Demetrius Faust, is credited with helping his family and fellow tenants safely escape from the burning home.

Faust said he was awakened about 4 a.m. by the smell of smoke and the beep of a fire alarm.

Faust, a student at Forest Park Middle School, said he relied on the fire safety training that he received from the fire department while he was a third grader at Lincoln School.

“If it wasn’t for him we would still be inside,” said Lee Hutchins, Faust’s father and owner of the 2½ story wood-frame home.

The Pioneer Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross is aiding those displaced by the blaze.

The average SAT scores fell slightly this year, Swiss bank UBS accuses trader of $2 billion lost in unauthorized trading, Perry casts himself as anti-intellectual.

Julian Feller Cohen03.09.11 | Photo by Julian Feller-Cohen – The Northampton Police Department's headquarters.

• Memorials set as Marine gets Medal of Honor [Associated Press]


• Northampton City Council to take up borrowing for police station [gazettenet.com]


• Average Scores Slip on SAT [New York Times]


• Perry talks about his faith, forsaking talk of jobs for a day [Washington Post]


• The starvation of America’s middle class
  [Washington Post]


• Our Drone Future [thedailybeast.com]


• When campaign funds go missing
  [Politico]


• UBS $2 billion rogue trade suspect held in London [Reuters.com]


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


• Read more News Links »


• Do you have News Links? Send them our way or tweet them to @masslivenews

NOTE: Users of modern browsers can open each link in a new tab by holding 'control' ('command' on a Mac) and clicking each link.

The hit thriller is gripping tale of a fictional global epidemic driven by a new kind of virus.

Warner Bros.The thriller "Contagion" starring Matt Damon is tops at the box office.

ATLANTA (AP) — Yes, it could happen. But it's a stretch.

"Contagion," a Hollywood thriller that opened last weekend, rocketed to No. 1 at the box office through its gripping tale of a fictional global epidemic driven by a new kind of virus. Audiences have gasped in horror at what happens to Gwyneth Paltrow.

Before it was out, the movie made real-life disease investigators anxious, too, though for a different reason: They had worried the filmmakers would take so many artistic liberties with the science that the result would be an incredible movie that was ... not credible.

Well, cue the applause.

"It's very plausible," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which would investigate such an outbreak.

A new virus jumping from animals to humans? Nothing fictional about that. Global spread of a disease in a few days? In this age of jet travel, absolutely. A societal meltdown if things get bad? Plan on it.

Yikes. The only bit of relief here is that several experts think the odds are pretty long that a new virus could be both so deadly and contagious at the same time.

The team behind the film used several expert consultants and went to other lengths to get scientific details correct. That included working with esteemed Columbia University epidemiologist Dr. W. Ian Lipkin to create the fictional MEV-1 virus. It's modeled on the Nipah virus — a dangerous bug first seen in Malaysia a dozen years ago that spread from pigs to farmers.

Efforts also involved actress Kate Winslet sitting down with a female CDC disease investigator so she could correctly copy such things as the investigators clothes, mannerisms and even how the scientist might wear her hair on a field assignment.

Overall health officials say they were very pleased with what resulted. During an advance screening for CDC employees in Atlanta last week, some in the audience laughed appreciatively to see visual details and even lingo that they never imagined would be used in a mass-market motion picture.