Hampden District Attorney Mark Mastroianni said multiple witnesses will link defendant to Springfield slaying.

SPRINGFIELD – The prosecutor in Eric B. Denson’s murder trial told jurors that DNA tests, surveillance video and witnesses testimony will link the defendant to the knife-slashing death of a Cathedral High School student at a party last year.

In the opening argument of this high-profile murder trial, Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni said that the killing took place at an overcrowded birthday party at the Blue Fusion Bar and Grill on St. James Avenue when the defendant lunged at Conor W. Reynolds, slashing his throat and his jugular vein before he was thrown out of the club by the owner.

Mastroianni said that multiple witnesses will testify that the assailant was Denson who fled the club and was captured on video walking through a nearby gas station.

“You’ll see (Denson)...walking through gas pumps hands in his pocket not stopping or looking back, getting the heck out of there,” Mastroianni said.

Moments later, the defendant was picked up in a vehicle driven by his cousin which sped away from the scene, Mastroianni said.

The victim’s blood was found in the back seat of the car where Denson had been sitting, Mastroianni said.

Winston Close, another Northampton resident, sees the national protest as a reaction to the corporate greed that some blame for crippling the economy.

The Republican | Don Treeger10.06.2011 | NORTHAMPTON - "Occupy Northampton" protesters gather in front of the Bank of America branch in downtown Northampton.

NORTHAMPTON – A national protest against Wall Street and Bank of America in particular went local Thursday as dozens of protestors gathered outside the Main Street branch of the bank.

Holding signs decrying a range of issues, from war to corporate greed, the protestors stood behind a metal barrier, waiving to passing motorists and pedestrians. Many cars beeped their horns in passing.

Johanna Paulsen of Northampton said the reaction to the protest had been mostly positive. Paulsen said she decided to come to the event after reading about it on Facebook.

Originating last week as an “Occupy Wall Street” event in New York City, the protest has spread to communities throughout the country. More than 3,000 people turned out in Boston for a similar action in which two dozen people were arrested. Even Vice President Joe Biden has expressed some sympathy for the protestors. The Obama Administration has been publicly critical of a recent fee that Bank of America has imposed on checking accounts.

T.J. Crawford, a spokesman for Bank of America, acknowledged Thursday that the Northampton protest is not an isolated incident but declined any comment on the local action.

Holding a sign that said “Vote unless the billionaires already brainwashed you,” Paulsen said the rich have a stranglehold on the country.

“I feel the wealthy should not have so much control over elections and should pay their fair share of taxes,” she said.

Winston Close, another Northampton resident, sees the national protest as a reaction to the corporate greed that some blame for crippling the economy.

“Ever since the bank bail-outs, people understand better what’s going on,” he said.

Nonagenarian Frances Crowe, one of the city’s most a veteran protestors, took an anti-war take on the event.

"War is the whole ethos of Wall Street,” she said. “Wall Street equals war. And Bank of America is one of the worst on Wall Street.”

Longmeadow police find parrot.

LONGMEADOW- Police are looking for the owner of a parrot that was found perched on a fence outside Center School.

Police said they spoke with a local pet store owner who said the parrot could be worth up to $600.Police said the parrot is friendly and laughs.

Anyone with information regarding the owner of the parrot should call the department at (413) 567-3311.

Federal court to let cameras record some civil trials for broadcast on Internet and TV, Nearly Half of U.S. Lives in Household Receiving Government Benefit, and more

AP Photo/Ross D. FranklinSolar panel installation continues at a rapid pace at the Mesquite Solar 1 facility in Arlington, Ariz.

• Occupation of Northampton under way [GazetteNet.com]


• Old Central Mass. farms, bright future [Telegram.com]


• Federal court to let cameras record some civil trials for broadcast on Internet and TV [Boston.com]


• Patient Data Landed Online After a Series of Missteps [NYTimes.com]


• Secret panel can put Americans on “kill list” [Reuters.com]


• Nearly Half of U.S. Lives in Household Receiving Government Benefit [WSJ.com]


• We Are the 99 Percent—Even Rich People [NationalReview.com]


• Scientists Make Advance in Stem Cells Development [DDDMag.com]


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


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Musante was injured in a fall Sept. 6.

John Musante

AMHERST - While there is no timetable yet for Town Manager John P. Musante’s return, acting manager M. David Ziomek said he’s hopeful he’ll be able to return soon.

“We’re feeling very positive,” said Ziomek, who’s also the director of Conservation and Development.

The Select Board named him acting manager in an emergency meeting Sept. 6 after Musante was injured in a fall early that morning.

According to police, Musante was walking his dog when he fell and sustained a cut to the back of his head. He was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, where he was in serious condition.

He was released Sept. 11 and has been recuperating at home ever since with limited calls and visitors.

“I’m now in regular communication (with him,)” Ziomek said. He said he's keeping Musante apprised of town business. “I think all the signs are he will be rejoining us in the not too distant future.”

Ziomek said he and other staff are keeping on top of town business.

“We’ve got a great group. People have stepped up, that’s what’s so great about the team here. They’ve stepped up to keep the town moving,” Ziomek said.

Musante became Town Manager Oct. 1, 2010, replacing Laurence R. Shaffer, who retired after about four years in the position.

Musante had been acting town manager and finance director, a position he assumed for several months until he hired Sanford Pooler as the new director.

The change was granted to avoid the appearance of any impropriety or conflicts of interest as the case moves forward, officials said.

SUNDERLAND - The negligent motor vehicle homicide case against 23-year-old Matthew Kostanski in the Sept. 11 death of Emily Weston, 18, has been ordered moved to Holyoke District Court to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest, the office of Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan announced Thursday.

Judge Maureen E. Walsh, regional administrative judge for Western Massachusetts, granted Sullivan’s request for a change of venue. She cited how Kostanski’s parents, as owners of Kostanski Funeral Homes, frequently come in contact with local law enforcement agencies.

The change was granted to avoid the appearance of any impropriety or conflicts of interest, according to the statement from Sullivan’s office.

Sullivan also cited the same concerns as he announced he is requesting the Hampden District Attorney’s Office in Springfield appoint a special prosecutor to handle the case, instead of an assistant district attorney from his own office.

A date for a show-cause hearing, at with a clerk magistrate will review evidence and determine if a criminal case against Kostanski should proceed to trial, has not yet been set.

Weston was killed Sept. 11 and a 53-year-old passenger injured in the head-on collision that occurred at about 6 p.m. on a stretch of road about a quarter-mile from the Amherst line. Kostanski suffered minor injuries in the crash.

According to police, Kostanski was heading southbound on Route 116 and crossed into the oncoming lane. At the time of collision, Weston had pulled her car off the right side of the road to avoid contact.

The accident remains under investigation, and officials said there is no evidence that drugs or alcohol were involved.

Ware officials are hoping that traffic improvements in the center of town will improve prospects for the central business zone.

WARE – The Board of Selectmen has authorized the town’s application for a $2.4 million state grant for traffic improvements in the center of town including signal lights at the intersection of Routes 9 and 32.

Karen M. Cullen, director of planning and community development, said the grant application is being submitted through the new MassWorks Infrastructure program, which is a combination of six previous grant programs for traffic improvements and community development.

Cullen told the selectmen Tuesday that in addition to improving traffic flow through what is at times a congested downtown stretch, this work would improve the business climate for the central business zone.

Cullen said the expectation is that the town would hear by the end of November whether it will receive the grant.

The board voted to authorize the application and accept the grant if it is approved by the state.

The town will have to contribute $36,500 toward the total project cost of $2,426,500.

Cullen said the town’s share will cover the cost of surveying work, which will be beneficial to Ware whether the grant is received this year or not.

An important part of the overall public works project to be covered by this grant would be traffic signal lights that could be coordinated in a way designed to improve the flow of vehicles.

Cullen said the South Street intersection, which would be a location for new traffic signals, was rated in a Pioneer Valley Planning Commission study as the third-worst bottleneck in Hampden and Hampshire counties.

Selectman John E. Carroll said he has observed vehicles in the downtown section sitting through repeated signals without being able to progress, so coordinated traffic signals would be very good for the center of Ware.

The town Department of Public Works and Community Development Department prepared the grant application with assistance from John Morgan of Coler & Colantonio, Inc.

In addition to traffic signals, the project would include reconstruction of intersections, reconstruction of sidewalks on West Main, Main and East Main streets, new pavement, bicycle accommodations, new crosswalks and new street lights.

There would also be benches, new parking signs and an upgrade to the parking lot behind Veterans Park.

Cullen told the selectmen that the improvements would encourage private investment at businesses and residences.

Target Corp., Nordstrom Inc., Macy's Inc. and other U.S. retailers reported sales that beat Wall Street's expectations.

Associated PressTrader Vincent Quinones, second from right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Hopes that Europe is preparing a big plan to shore up its banks gave stocks around the world another lift Thursday, Oct. 6, 2011, ahead of keenly awaited policy decisions from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England.(AP Photo/Richard Drew)

By DAVID K. RANDALL
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK — The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 183 points Thursday after the European Central Bank moved to support that region's lenders and U.S. retailers reported stronger September sales.

It was the third straight day of gains. The Dow has soared 434 points since Tuesday.

Investors cheered a promise from the European Central Bank to provide unlimited one-year loans to the region's lenders through 2013. The goal is to shield banks from poorly functioning short-term credit markets, in which banks are becoming too worried about each other's financial stability to lend money to one another. Germany's DAX jumped 3.2 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 3.4 percent.

The loans are also meant to help protect the banks in the event Greece's government defaults on its debt. If that happens the value of Greek bonds held by those banks would be likely to drop sharply, weakening the banks' balance sheets and making it harder for them to lend.

Target Corp., Nordstrom Inc., Macy's Inc. and other U.S. retailers reported sales that beat Wall Street's expectations. While some of the sales were driven by deep discounts, analysts said the higher sales suggested the U.S. economy was not in another recession.

"The market has been pricing in an out-and-out recession, but the fact that consumer spending is holding up shows that we're more likely to continue muddling through at a 1 to 2 percent growth rate," said Brian Gendreau, market strategist at Cetera Financial Group.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 183.38 points, or 1.7 percent, to 11,123.33. It was the first time the Dow rose by more than 100 points for three straight days since a rally that began Aug. 11 and ended with a 763-point gain.

It was the 9th straight day the Dow has swung by more than 100 points, the longest such streak since November 2008, in the middle of the financial crisis. Markets have been extraordinarily volatile as investors react to the latest headlines out of Europe.

The S&P 500 rose 20.94, or 1.8 percent, to 1,164.97. The Nasdaq composite rose 46.31, or 1.9 percent, to 2,506.82.

Banks in Europe and the U.S. rallied. U.S. bank stocks rose sharply after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told a Congressional panel that U.S. financial firms had a "very modest" exposure to Europe's debt problems. Bank of America Corp. jumped 8.9 percent to $6.28, the biggest gain among the 30 stocks in the Dow. Morgan Stanley rose 4.8 percent to $15.18.

The European Central Bank disappointed some investors by announcing that it would keep interest rates unchanged. Analysts were hoping the bank would cut rates to encourage lending and give a boost to Europe's sagging economy.

In the U.S., the Labor Department said the number of new applications for unemployment benefits rose slightly last month to 401,000. While that is a signal that the job market continues to be weak, the increase was slightly less than what Wall Street economists had predicted, a signs that layoffs are easing. Unemployment benefits typically need to fall below 375,000 to signal job growth.

The hopeful signs on the U.S. economy led investors to pull money out of lower-risk assets. That pushed yields higher on U.S. government debt as investors sold Treasurys. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.99 percent from 1.90 percent late Wednesday.

Corning Inc. rose 7.1 percent to $13.50 after it said it would increase its dividend and buy back shares. Apple Inc. lost 0.2 percent to $377.37 in choppy trading after company co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs died Wednesday. Several analysts and large investors said they believe the company would continue to grow under new CEO Tim Cook.

The new high school is scheduled to open its doors to students next fall.

The Republican | John SuchockiRoofers from Mid Cape Roofing work on the flashing at the new Minnechaug High School in Wilbraham.

WILBRAHAM - Progress has been dramatic in the construction of the new Minnechaug Regional High School.

David Owen, principal architect for the Mount Vernon Group, which is overseeing construction, told the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School Committee last week that the front facade and granite curbs are in on the south side of the building, and sidewalks were scheduled to be put last Friday.

“We are wrapping up a lot of the site work,” Owen said. He said some of the site work is being completed before the cold winter months.

Inside the building, classroom walls have been Sheetrocked and painting of the walls was scheduled to start on Monday, Owen said. In other areas of the building, the family science stations have been installed, along with the counseling center.

Concrete is being poured for the classroom corridors. Five high efficiency boilers and a cooling tower have been installed, Owen said.

An internal courtyard is in the process of being landscaped, and the pool tank is being waterproofed, he said.

Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School Committee School Committee Vice Chairman Marianne Desmond said the new high school, which is scheduled to open its doors to students next September, is coming along “beautifully.”

“The project is more than 60 percent complete,” Owen said.

School Superintendent M. Martin O’Shea said the project has had very few change orders, which means construction is not exceeding the budget which was allocated.

The contractor for the $53.6 million project, originally estimated at $82 million, is Fontaine Bros. of Springfield.

The Massachusetts School Building Authority will fund 62 percent of the project. The taxpayers of Hampden and Wilbraham will pay for the balance.

Mary Kuntz feels so strongly about the men and women who put their lives on the line for their country that she is about to sell off a houseful of possessions and give the proceeds to the U.S. Marines.

The Republican | John SuchockiEdward and Mary Kuntz are moving to Texas and are donating the proceeds from their Columbus Day tag sale items to the Marines Helping Marines fund.

GRANBY – Mary Kuntz is dyed-in-the-wool military. Her husband, Edward, is a Navy man. So were her father and brother.

In fact, Kuntz feels so strongly about the men and women who put their lives on the line for their country that she is about to sell off a houseful of possessions and give the proceeds to the U.S. Marines.

She is putting together a tag sale that will benefit an organization called Marines Helping Marines, which helps injured Marines and their families.

“Both my husband and I are very grateful to those who ‘stand in the gap’ for us,” said Kuntz. “They keep our country free. Freedom is not free, and they pay a very dear price.

“To give back to them gives us great joy,” she said.

Columbus Day Weekend is traditionally a big tag sale time in some parts of Western Massachusetts, but the one Kuntz is holding that weekend will probably be the only one staffed by Marines.

They have already been carrying items up and down stairs for her, and members of the Marine Corps League will be working the tables at her house on Ferry Hill Road on Saturday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

On a recent day, Kuntz stood amid stacks of furniture, linens, toys, china, videos, snowshoes, shelving, Star Wars memorabilia, fishing gear, designer dresses, desks from a one-room schoolhouse in North Dakota – “and I haven’t even gotten to the glassware!”

Soon it will all be gone.

Kuntz was born in Florida and grew up in South Hadley, where her grandparents had settled in 1909.

She’s used to moving. Her three daughters, now grown, were born in Louisiana, Singapore and Norway. She graduated from UMass in Amherst and was a teacher in Texas.

This time, after 13 years in Granby, Kuntz is downsizing. She and her husband will live in Georgetown, Texas.

“Thirty-five hundred square feet of house is much too much,” she said, gazing at her fruit trees and the wild turkeys out back. “There could be a family living here.”

When she decided to sell off the house’s contents for a good cause, Kuntz turned for help to her cousin, Ted Buckhout, of Hadley, a 43-year veteran of the Marines.

Ted is father to Keith, a Marine veteran now in the Air National Guard, and Leigh, retired from the Air Force Reserve. Two of Keith’s sons are in the military, and Leigh has a son who served three tours in Iraq. That’s just a sample of the depth of military service in the family.

A member of the Marine Corps League, Ted compiled for his cousin a list of organizations that help those in the military. “There were about 75 that we looked at,” said Kuntz.

They decided on Marines Helping Marines, a national group devoted to the welfare of wounded and disabled Marines and their dependents.

The group’s Wounded Marines program is active in such places as Bethesda Naval Hospital, Camp Pendleton in San Diego and Camp LeJeune in North Carolina.

To learn more about Marines Helping Marines, visit marineshelpingmarines.org.

The Republican | John SuchockiEdward and Mary Kuntz are moving to Texas and are donating the proceeds from their Columbus Day tag sale items to the Marines Helping Marines fund.

Romney said he wouldn't, as European nations have done, reduce defense and put the savings into social programs.

Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks to supporters during a lunch stop at Seminole Wind restaurant on Wednesday in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Phil Sears)

By BRUCE SMITH

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Thursday America must not economize on security but rather strengthen national defense by rebuilding the Navy and Air Force and adding 100,000 active duty personnel.

"You would think that the president and the people in Washington would recognize the importance of the United States military and the need not to shrink our military budget but strengthen it," the former Massachusetts governor said. He was speaking to about 60 veterans gathered on the hanger deck of the World War II-era aircraft carrier USS Yorktown.

Romney said that the defense budget is now about 3.8 percent of the nation's gross domestic product and he would like to see that figure rise to 4 percent. "I don't believe we can economize on securing our nation," he said in the conservative, early primary state of South Carolina.

Romney's remarks were a preview of a foreign policy address he will deliver Friday across town at another iconic military setting, The Citadel, the state's military college. On Thursday, Romney released the names of 22 advisers with whom he will consult on foreign policy issues.

The former governor acknowledged that there is waste in defense spending, adding "my life in the private sector taught me to go after waste and economize, and there is an opportunity to do that."

But he said he wouldn't, as European nations have done, reduce defense and put the savings into social programs.

Romney said the Navy needs more than 300 ships. "We're down to 285 now and we're heading to the low 200s. We can't fulfill our naval missions at those levels," he said.

He said the Air Force is "smaller and older in terms of average age of our equipment than in 1947" and said he would add 100,000 active duty troops to ease the frequent troop rotations in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

"These high rotations we are seeing, we should not have to demand of our National Guard and active duty personnel," he said.

He said he would also insure "we treat our veterans the way our veterans deserve to be treated. Not just those of the past, but those of the present who are coming back and suffering from serious wounds."

With a slew of donors and activists now up for grabs, the leading two Republican candidates redoubled their efforts – and made personal appeals – to win over unaligned high-dollar and high-power GOP players.

Associated PressRepublican presidential candidates Texas Gov. Rick Perry, left, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, share a laugh during a Fox News/Google debate in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, Pool)

By KASIE HUNT
and PHILIP ELLIOTT

WASHINGTON — Rivals Rick Perry and Mitt Romney are furiously scurrying to recruit heartbroken holdouts who had hoped GOP celebrities Chris Christie or Sarah Palin would join the Republican presidential contest.

With a slew of donors and activists now up for grabs, the leading two Republican candidates redoubled their efforts — and made personal appeals — this week to win over unaligned high-dollar and high-power GOP players in what's become largely a two-man nomination fight.

"We're at a point when the large group of undecided activists are going to choose their candidate," said Jennifer Horn, a conservative activist in New Hampshire who hasn't picked a contender. "People are starting to accept the field and accept that these are our choices. It's time to get behind someone who is a candidate, someone who is running."

Romney, who essentially has been running for president for five years, spent a chunk of the week calling fundraisers and activists anew who have long sat on the sidelines; the former Massachusetts governor hoped they would finally decide to back him. Perry, who entered the race just seven weeks ago, was working to make up quickly for lost time; the Texas governor hoped that new supporters would give his campaign a lift after a few rocky weeks.

Both proved persuasive — to a point.

Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone, a Christie backer, quickly joined Romney's team. So, too, did billionaire supermarket executive John Catsimatidis and hedge-fund giant Paul Singer. Romney was trading friendly emails with the three even as they were publicly calling for Christie to join the race. Former Republican National Committee Chairman Jim Nicholson also said he would back Romney in the wake of Christie's exit.

Romney also picked up support from two former Tim Pawlenty supporters in Florida, former Jeb Bush aides Slater Bayliss and Justin Sayfie. And he announced the backing of Jerry Carmen, a former chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party who has deep ties in the state.

Perry successfully wooed Iowa developer and casino owner Gary Kirke, one of about a dozen Iowa Republicans who had traveled to New Jersey last May to urge Christie to run. Kirke endorsed Perry Tuesday, calling him the one with the "skills, ideas and conviction" to be the party's nominee.

The Texan also released a list of his top supporters in New Hampshire, including people who had been sitting on the sidelines. Backers include former Sen. Gordon Humphrey as well as John Stephen, the GOP gubernatorial nominee in 2010. And a Perry aide said he plans to release a list of supporters in South Carolina next week who just signed on.

It's not clear whether Romney or Perry have been more successful at courting Christie supporters, including Wall Street donors. And it's equally unclear where Palin supporters — many from the party's conservative and tea party wings — will end up. Many turned to social networks to blast her decision not to run for president but they also didn't indicate who they would back instead.

Of the two candidates, Perry may have the better shot at picking up Palin backers, given his links to evangelical voters and tea party activists. Those constituencies aren't a natural fit for Romney, a Mormon who has switched positions on issues social conservatives hold dear. To that end, Perry's central challenge is to convince social and religious conservatives to unite behind him in places like South Carolina and Iowa instead of splintering among other candidates like Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Sen. Rick Santorum.

In South Carolina, Perry's campaign has been checking in regularly with the more than fifty local tea party groups to gauge their support. And they've been in touch with the state's pastors and religious leaders. He also plans to meet with social conservatives including some pastors when he travels Saturday through northwest Iowa, the geographic center of Iowa's evangelical conservative movement.

To varying degrees, both Romney and Perry are in a race to get the stamp of approval from the GOP establishment, which hasn't fallen in line behind any one candidate as it searches for the strongest Republican to challenge President Barack Obama.

Not everyone was picking a candidate.

Christie's most dogged suitor in Iowa, energy company owner Bruce Rastetter, said he planned to take his time before deciding who he would endorse. Rastetter expects to talk with Perry, Romney and perhaps others in the coming weeks. Romney aides said they had reached out to Rastetter and were planning a conversation, either by phone or in person.

"I look forward to engaging them in a discussion on some of the issues," Rastetter said Thursday. "I want to kind of evaluate it."

The behind-the-scenes courtship of donors and activists is a laborious — but necessary — process for the candidates.

"These races take so much money and so much organization, and of course a candidate who really knows the issues — including having a real understanding of foreign affairs," said Austin Barbour, a member of Romney's fundraising team. "It just can't happen overnight."

Money is a main goal. Romney got a head start in fundraising, bringing in $18 million in his first three months of collecting; he's likely to come in below that mark for the past three months, though he most certainly will lead Perry in cash on hand given his head start. Perry's team said he raised $17 million in his first seven weeks of campaigning and had $15 million of that in cash on hand.

The courtship of new donors and grass-roots activists reached a critical phase this week because the primary calendar has been shortened, with primary voting set to begin in just three months. In the coming weeks, candidates will have to spend more and more time campaigning to meet voters instead of making phone calls or holding private meetings.

Associated Press writer Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.

The Hampshire Council of Governments will act as coordinator for multiple cities and towns interested in solar panel installations for generating electricity.

Associated PressThis April 20, 2011, image shows some of the 30,000 solar panels that make up the Public Service Company of New Mexico's new 2-megawatt photovoltaic array in Albuquerque, N.M. The array is one of five being constructed this year by the utility to help meet state renewable energy requirements.

BELCHERTOWN – In an effort to reduce municipal energy costs for cities and towns in Hampshire and Franklin counties while also reducing their carbon footprints, the Hampshire Council of Governments is offering to act as a coordinator for several of them to install solar panels for electricity generation.

Eric L. Weiss, the sustainability director for the regional government organization, has asked Belchertown and other communities to submit a list of town and school buildings where town officials believe it would be practical to install solar panels on roofs.

Weiss said that if enough communities indicate a willingness to install solar equipment for electricity, the Hampshire Council of Governments would find a local installation company and hopefully keep costs down by ordering in bulk.

“Let us become the vehicle that vets the solar project,’’ Weiss told the Belchertown selectmen and Town Administrator Gary L. Brougham.

Belchertown has qualified for the state’s Green Energy designation for communities, and Brougham said that as part of the reporting to the state for this effort he and school officials would be able to identify buildings with the right directional exposure and location for efficient use of solar panels.

Weiss has written to other communities in Franklin and Hampshire counties and said he hopes to visit more of them in the coming weeks to explain the program the Hampshire Council of Governments is proposing.

The Hampshire Council of Governments already supplies electricity to several municipal governments in Western Massachusetts and is applying to supply residential customers in towns that opt into its program.

Weiss said some cities and towns have done some solar installation work for individual buildings and are considering doing more.

The Hampshire Council of Governments will be sending a request for proposals to the cities and towns, asking them to identify buildings where solar panels would work well for electricity generation.

He said the application itself will not cost the towns money nor obligate them to follow through with installations, and for those that do follow through with the Municipal Solar Program, the regional Council of Governments would be involved with future maintenance, warranties, and contract issues.

“The town will get the cost savings and reduce its carbon footprint,’’ Weiss said.

The Hampshire Council of Governments would prefer a local contractor be used for the installation, and will express a preference for domestically manufactured solar panels, Weiss said.

Police are still not sure if Garrafa died as a result of an accidental shooting, suicide or if he was the victim of homicide.

SPRINGFIELD – Police are still working to determine the circumstances that led to the shooting death of 21-year-old Justin Garrafa late Tuesday in the room he rented at 122 White St.

Detectives are waiting for autopsy results from the state medical examiner to determine the cause of death. Police are still not sure if Garrafa died as a result of an accidental shooting, suicide or if he was the victim of homicide.

His brother, David Garrafa, 25, also of 122 White St., was arrested Wednesday night on drug and weapons charges as a result of items found by police in the room the two rented.

He was charged with illegal possession of ammunition, a large-capacity firearm and large-capacity feeding device, and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

In Massachusetts, a semiautomatic handgun fitted with a clip that can carry more than 10 rounds is considered a large-capacity weapon.

Police also added an additional charge of willfully obstructing with a police investigation as a result of his failing to cooperate with police, said police department spokesman Sgt. John Delaney.

David Garrafa denied the charges at his arraignment Thursday in Springfield District Court. He was ordered held in lieu of $35,000 cash bail and is due back in court Nov. 3 for a bind-over hearing to determine if his trial should proceed in superior court.

Pluta has been battling a Moran controversy as she seeks re-election Nov. 8.

File photos | The RepublicanTimothy Moran (left, 2005) has stepped down as campaign manager for Holyoke Mayor Elaine Pluta (right).

HOLYOKE – Timothy J. Moran is out as campaign manager for Mayor Elaine A. Pluta by mutual decision, she said Thursday.

Moran, a deputy fire chief, declined to comment.

Pluta said her sons Thomas and Anthony, along with campaign supporter Nelson Roman, will run her campaign.

“By mutual decision, Tim is no longer taking an active role in our campaign,” Pluta said in a voice-mail message.

The step comes after a summer of controversy involving the Moran name. William P. Moran, who is Timothy Moran’s brother and is also a deputy fire chief, is awaiting the decision of clerk magistrate Barbara Y. Burton in Springfield District Court on a criminal complaint request.

Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni is seeking the complaint because he said William Moran, who at the time was acting fire chief, sent a fire truck to a fake call to the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside on June 15.

Timothy Moran was with William Moran that day, but lawyer Jorge L. Neves, representing Timothy Moran, said his client acted appropriately by telling firefighters to disregard the call. That detail is included in a June 27 statement from Mastroianni, who isn’t seeking a complaint against Timothy Moran.

But the truck that had been dispatched by William Moran that day proceeded to the call anyway because of a misunderstanding among firefighters, officials said.

En route to the June 15 bogus call, a traffic accident occurred among four vehicles that were going in the opposite direction of the fire truck and had stopped. One of the drivers was treated at the hospital and released.

William Moran, who worked on Pluta’s 2009 campaign, and his lawyer David Hoose have declined to comment on Mastroianni’s criminal complaint request.

The city Retirement Board on Oct. 20 will consider an application to retire from William Moran, 48, a 27-year veteran. He is on paid leave using accrued vacation and sick days, officials said. The annual salary of a deputy chief is $68,775.

Pluta is running for another term in the Nov. 8 election against newcomer Alex B. Morse, who finished ahead of Pluta in the Sept. 20 preliminary election.

Deputy Fire Chief Robert Shaw has been acting chief since mid-June. The Fire Commission is scheduled to interview five candidates to be permanent chief Oct. 13.

Mastroianni’s complaint application charges Moran with two misdemeanors: communicating false information to an emergency response facility and being a disorderly person.

The charge of communication of false information could carry a maximum sentence of 2½ years in prison or a fine of $1,000.

The law also requires the defendant to make restitution to the emergency response services provider for any costs, damages or losses.

Little Rock police say the two suspects made off with more than two dozen iPhones, plus iPads and laptops on Wednesday.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- An Arkansas couple who went to an Apple store to lay down flowers for Steve Jobs spotted the tail end of a burglary instead of a makeshift memorial.

Robert Blake and his girlfriend, Amy Parker, told The Associated Press that when they showed up at the suburban Little Rock store Wednesday night, they didn't initially realize what they were witnessing.

Blake said he thought a man running away from the store was just a fellow mourner. Then, he watched the man hop in a getaway car with another man and speed off.

Parker said she thought she could see other flowers left in honor of the man who founded and ran Apple. But she soon realized she was looking at broken glass.

So, Parker pulled out her iPhone and dialed 911.

Police say the two suspects made off with more than two dozen iPhones, plus iPads and laptops on Wednesday. Authorities had not made any arrests by Thursday evening.

Snapshots taken from surveillance tapes show a maroon car driving off from the store.

Parker and Blake said they own everything the suspects stole - plus iPods and an Apple TV.

"We both not only use the products every day," she said, "but both of our jobs are influenced every day by what he's done, too."

Parker edits video for an education company and Blake is a web developer.

After the couple talked with police, they left a bouquet of white lilies at the store.

Ashley Jaskula testified Reynolds, after being stabbed, was able to walk to the parking lot and lean back against a parked car; until blood began seeping through his hands, she did not realize how gravely he had been wounded.

Updates a story posted Thursday at 3:16 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD – Outside the Blue Fusion Bar & Grill, Conor W. Reynolds’s girlfriend was trying to keep him alive.

“I kept saying ‘keep talking to me, stay with me’,” Ashley Jaskula, 19, of Springfield testified during the first day of the trial of Eric B. Denson, a 22-year old city man accused of stabbing the Cathedral High School senior to death at a party last year.

“He tried to say ‘I can’t’ – and that’s when the blood came out of his mouth,” she recalled.

“I screamed because he was bleeding and I didn’t know what to do,” she added.

As the prosecution’s first witness, Jaskula spent 45 minutes on the witness stand in Hampden Superior Court, offering an agonized account of the events that led to death of the all-state soccer standout on March 13, 2010.

She will return to the stand on Friday for cross examination by Denson’s defense team. With more than 100 names on the witness list, the trial is expected to last four to six weeks.

Denson was charged with first degree murder and two counts of assault and battery stemming from the violence that erupted at the birthday party for a Cathedral High School student.

The defendant, who has been in custody for 17 months, is also charged with stabbing Peter D’Amario, the goalie and captain of Cathedral’s hockey team, at the party.

In opening arguments Thursday, District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni told jurors that DNA evidence, surveillance video and witness testimony will establish Denson’s responsibility for Reynolds' death.

Multiple witnesses will describe the red baseball cap, black jacket and hooded sweatshirt worn by Denson before and after the stabbing at the St. James Avenue bar, according to Mastroianni, who said two of the defendant’s friends saw him as he was being thrown out of the party by the bar’s owner.

“They’re going to tell you: We saw his face. We know it’s Eric Denson,” Mastroianni told the jury.

Moments later, Denson was filmed walking across the Racing Mart parking lot, with his red baseball hat pulled down low over his face, the prosecutor said.

“You’ll see (Denson) walking through the gas pumps, hands in his pockets, not stopping or looking back, getting the heck out of there,” Mastroianni said.

Surveillance video from the Racing Mart will also show Denson leaving the area in the back seat of his cousin’s car, where blood from the victim was later found by investigators, the district attorney said.

But defense lawyer David Rountree said the prosecution’s case is based on confused and conflicting testimony from witnesses at the party.

Rountree said evidence will show that the defendant was not the person who stabbed Reynolds.

In pre-trial hearings, defense lawyers claimed that some witnesses were manipulated by investigators into identify Denson as the killer, based partly on a photo on his Myspace page showing him wearing a baseball cap similar to one described by other witnesses.

During her testimony Thursday, Jaskula said she, Reynolds and a third Cathedral student arrived at the party, and walked toward the pool table at the opposite end of the dance floor.

Not long after their arrival, a scuffle broke out nearby involving several Cathedral students; when Reynolds walked over to see what was happening, he was confronted by a black male wearing a red hat and black jacket, Jaskula said.

“He said back the (obscenity) up,” Jaskula said, adding that before Reynolds could react, the man placed one hand on Reynolds right shoulder, and used the other to slash his throat.

The knife cut through muscle and tissue before severing the jugular vein, Mastroianni told the jury.

Reynolds was able to walk outside to the parking lot, and lean back against a parked car. Until blood began seeping through his hands, Jaskula did not realize how gravely he had been wounded, she testified.

“He was choking up, and trying to speak ... he was in shock. I tried to put pressure on his neck” Jaskula said.

“It was everywhere. Blood was everywhere,” she added.

Asked by the district attorney to describe the scene outside the bar, Jaskula responded: “Horrifying.”

The Republican | Don TreegerOpening arguments in the murder trial of Eric B. Denson, accused of stabbing Cathedral high student Conor Reynolds in March of 2010. Here, Ashley Jaskula, girlfriend of Conor Reynolds at the time of this death, testifies during the trial.

11 additional mayors, including Domenic Sarno of Springfield, Daniel Knapik of Westfield and Michael Bissonnette of Chicopee, signed a letter in support of casino resorts.

The Republican | Joe DeburroThe Massachusetts Statehouse in Boston.

BOSTON – State senators on Thursday picked up debate on a bill that would expand gambling, killing proposals to eliminate a planned slot parlor and to reduce the number of casinos authorized in the legislation.

The Senate, heavily dominated by Democrats, also beat back attempts by Republicans to use casino revenues to lower the sales tax and to provide tax credits as an incentive for businesses to hire more workers.

The Senate will resume debate on Tuesday on the casino bill, viewed by supporters as critical for Western Massachusetts since it gives the region an advantage for a casino resort.

Seeking to turn up the heat for casinos, 11 additional mayors, including Domenic J. Sarno from Springfield, Daniel M. Knapik from Westfield and Michael D. Bissonnette of Chicopee, sent a letter to the Senate president, the House speaker and the governor in support of resort casinos. An earlier letter backing casinos was signed by a dozen municipal leaders including mayors from Holyoke and Easthampton and the town council president from Palmer.

The Republican file photoChicopee Mayor Michael Bissonnette

Bissonnette said there will be strong competition for a proposed license for a casino resort in Western Massachusetts. He said he spoke with officials from three national gaming companies, including two this week, about possible sites in Chicopee.

“There’s a lot of shopping going on,” Bissonnette said. “They are kicking the tires and doing their due diligence.”

The Senate spent most of Thursday’s session arguing about a $500 million bill that includes $10 million to help municipalities pay bills to repair damage from the June 1 tornadoes. The bill also contains a measure to at least temporarily halt a plan by court leaders to close Westfield District Court and other courthouses. Senators voted 36-0 to approve that bill before turning to the casino legislation.

The gambling bill in the Senate authorizes three casino resorts in three geographic areas including one for a region defined as the four counties of Western Massachusetts, plus a slot parlor. The state House of Representatives approved a similar casino bill on Sept. 14. Gov. Deval L. Patrick also supports casinos and is expected to approve a final casino bill.

Bissonnette said Hampden County could be “the only game in town” for potential casino operators since a federally recognized Indian tribe is given about a year to exclusively negotiate a license reserved for the southeast part of the state and the Suffolk Downs track in Boston is the favorite for the third casino resort in a region that includes Boston.

The Mohegan Sun is planning a casino for Palmer and Paper City Development is proposing one for Holyoke. Penn National Gaming, a large casino company, has said it is looking at Springfield and nearby communities for a possible casino.

On a key issue, senators voted 24-12 to keep in the bill a plan for one slot parlor with up to 1,250 slot machines. Potential operators would submit bids for the parlor and it could be opened anywhere in the state.

Photo from General CourtSen. Cynthia Creem of Newton

Sen. Cynthia S. Creem, a casino opponent, said a slot parlor would provide no economic development, just rows of machines taking money from addicted gamblers and redistributing it to wealthy gaming investors. The Newton Democrat asked colleagues to strip the parlor from the bill.” If we do ultimately sanction casino gambling in Massachusetts, we at least avoid an even bigger mistake – having a slot parlor,” Creem said.

The plan for the single, minimum $125 million slot parlor is a compromise between House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, who supported two slot licenses for race tracks, and Gov. Deval L. Patrick, who has backed only casino resorts.

The slot parlor would be taxed at 40 percent of gross gaming revenues and would raise $40 million a year that would be local aid for cities and towns, Rep. Joseph F. Wagner, a Chicopee Democrat and a top author of the House casino bill, said in a phone interview. All tax revenues from the slot parlor, except for those raised by a separate 9 percent tax for developing race horses, would go to local aid, Wagner said.

Senators on a voice vote quickly rejected a proposal by Sen. John F. Keenan, a Quincy Democrat, to limit the state to two casino resorts. Keenan said three casinos and a slot parlor would make access too easy and would create more serious social problems than just two casinos.

Senate Minority Leader Bruce E. Tarr of Gloucester also ran into overwhelming opposition when he pressed amendments to direct some casino revenues to cut the state’s 6.25 percent sales tax and to establish tax credits for companies that create new jobs.

The Senate voted 27-9 against using casino revenues to reduce the sales tax, after Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, a Barre Democrat, said the proposal would “blow a hole” in the state’s finances. Senators also voted 32-4 to defeat Tarr’s amendment to set aside some casino revenues for tax credits to employ more people.

The Senate finished another 23 proposed amendments during about two hours of debate on the casino bill on Thursday. A total of 66 amendments are left, said a spokesman for the Senate president.

3 Holyoke Community College students wore black to remember their hero.

The Republican | Dave RobackFrom left, Holyoke Community College students Patrick Howe, Rebecca Berliner and Nickolaus Dion remember Steve Jobs outside of the Apple Store at the Holyoke Mall on Thursday.

HOLYOKE – Simple. Understated.

Powerful.

Those words best describe the revolutionary products produced under the guidance of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who died Wednesday at the age of 56.

The same could be said for the outpouring of emotion throughout the world for the bearded computer guru who challenged people to “Think Different.”

“He created products before people knew they wanted them,” said Rebecca Berliner, 18, of Hampden, standing outside the Apple store at the Holyoke Mall.

Berliner and two fellow Holyoke Community College students wore the clothes their hero, Jobs, became best-known for later in life.

“Black shirt, blue jeans – his uniform,” said Nickolaus Dion, 18, of Hampden.

Dion and his friends spent the afternoon following the announcement of Jobs’ death in the Apple store.

Around the world, similar, simple memorials for the computer pioneer who revolutionized the way we live occurred at other Apple stores, the company’s main headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. and Jobs’ boyhood home in Los Altos, Calif. Some left flowers. Others wrote simple messages on store windows. Others left an actual apple.

On Apple’s web site, the home page featured a simple black-and-white photograph of Jobs.

President Barack Obama said in a statement that Jobs “exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity.”

“Steve was among the greatest of American innovators – brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world and talented enough to do it,” he said.

Jobs helped change computers from a geeky hobbyist’s obsession to a necessity of modern life at work and home, and in the process he upended not just personal technology but the cellphone and music industries.

But it was more than just the objects that Jobs and Apple created. It was the creative culture he helped foster for millions of people. At the Apple store in Holyoke, Berliner compared visiting the sleek glass-walled business to “spending time in an Internet cafe. There is no pressure to buy. They want you to feel comfortable with the product.”

Dion said he learned of Jobs’ death on his iPod Touch, which he uses for his calendar, music and videos.

“I heard it on the Internet podcast, Twit.TV,” he said. He said the news spread faster than when Osama Bin Laden was killed.

Berliner said there was so much activity on her Twitter feed when she learned of Jobs’ death that the connection timed out.

Dion said Jobs inspired him to major in computer science at Holyoke Community College.

“He helped build his company from the ground up,” Dion said.

Berliner described Apple products as “minimalist” and “aesthetically beautiful.”

“You feel good about the product,” she said.

Mark Wineburg, owner of Yes Computers, an authorized Apple dealer in Northampton, said he got a chance to meet Jobs when he traveled to Apple’s California headquarters for a meeting of independent Apple dealers. “Jobs was a consummate salesman,” he said. “But he was talking about and evangelizing these products that he’d helped to create and that he believed in. It was easy to believe along with him.”

Wineburg said a hush came over the room when Jobs walked in.

“There was such respect for him,” he said. "He was very quick and direct in his communications. He didn’t drag out a meeting. But he was respectful of the people there.”

Patrick Howe, 18, of Longmeadow said his favorite Apple product is his iPod.

“I got my first one when I was 14,” he said. “I’ve had four of them." He said the iPod he has now can store 20,000 songs. He said he purchases most of his music from the Apple iTunes store.

Berliner said Jobs has had an influence on the competition as well. The new Kindle Fire by Amazon may do for books what the i-Pod did for music, she said.

“I think Jobs set up his business so that it can continue without him,” Dion said. He said he believes innovations in technology double every five years.

Dion said he watched Jobs’ 2005 commencement address at Stanford University and the advice he gave the graduates.

In Jobs’ words, “No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Jobs died peacefully on Wednesday, according to a statement from family members who were present. He was 56.

Jobs had battled cancer in 2004 and underwent a liver transplant in 2009 after taking a leave of absence for unspecified health problems. He took another leave of absence in January – his third since his health problems began – and resigned in August. Jobs became Apple’s chairman and handed the CEO job over to his hand-picked successor, Tim Cook.

Outside Apple’s Cupertino headquarters, three flags – an American flag, a California state flag and an Apple flag – were flying at half-staff.

“Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor.” Cook wrote in an email to Apple’s employees. “Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.”

Business writer Jim Kinney contributed and material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

In 1996, Tautznik was elected the city's first mayor; if he wins an 8th term, he will be 60 by the time it concludes.

The Republican | David MolnarEasthampton Mayor Michael A. Tautznik speaks at the Apollo Grill during a forum sponsored by the New City Neighborhood Association on Thursday.

EASTHAMPTON - Mayor Michael A. Tautznik gave his stances on a wide range of issues Thursday night and reiterated that, if elected Nov. 8, his eighth term would be his last.

In 1996, Tautznik was elected the city's first mayor. If he wins an eighth term, he will be 60 by the time it concludes.

Tautznik spoke at a forum sponsored by the New City Neighborhood Association at the Apollo Grill in the Eastworks Building on Pleasant Street. His opponent, former police captain Donald C. Emerson, is scheduled for the Oct. 27 forum, set for 6:30 p.m. in the same location.

"I eat, sleep and breathe Easthampton," said the 15-year incumbent. "I'm really proud of where we are today."

Tautznik is the city's only certified municipal purchasing officer, manages the budget with a 300-page spreadsheet and oversees what he has called a "$38 million municipal corporation," that has seen declining state aid for eight years, almost by himself. He called himself a "staff mayor" and said no other mayor in the Pioneer Valley takes on as much work.

"The budgeting is the key," he said. "It's the glue that keeps us moving ... in a conservative direction."

The city has hired a new finance director and recently approved the creation of an assistant planner position that will have the responsibility of writing grants and conducting business outreach. This, Tautznik has said, will help with the potential transition to a new mayor in 2013.

He gently needled Emerson, saying, "My opponent is a nice guy. I think he would have been a great city councilman."

On the issues, Tautznik said he would like more single-family homeowners to deed restrict their properties and make them affordable, which would raise the percentage of affordable housing in the city from 6.3 and not require new developments.

The neighborhood association led the effort to prevent the construction of Parsons Village, a 37-unit affordable housing complex planned for Parsons Street that they say is too dense, poorly designed and could lead to groundwater contamination. The Planning Board denied the developer a special permit last month.

Tautznik supported Parsons Village and emphasized that it was permanent housing, but said an estimated construction cost of $270,000-plus per apartment was excessive. He said his preference would be to work with property developers, investors and owners to deed restrict more existing homes.

He described plans to "rehabilitate" White Brook Middle School as part of a broader effort to retain school choice money, which makes up roughly 10 percent of the school budget, and said it likely could be done without asking voters to approve a debt exclusion override.

He said the city could do a better job connecting with the public, but that it's a two-way street, especially when so many people use different communication methods. He is reluctant to use social media, he said, because it reduces workplace productivity.

"I'm not sure if I ever, independently, know what's best. You take input," he said. "My door is always open."

Next Thursday, the neighborhood association will host incumbent city councilors at-large Joseph P. McCoy and Donald L. Cykowski at the same time and location. On Oct. 20, Nathaniel P. Ziegler, who is running for an at-large seat, is scheduled for the forum.