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Wall Street: Progress in Italy, Greece on debt sends stocks up

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While the Dow Jones industrial average closed up nearly 113 points, it still ended tehe day below 12,000.

Stocks 111011.jpgTraders Fady Tanios, left, and Steven Marcus work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Thursday.

NEW YORK – Signs of progress in Europe’s debt crisis and an unexpected drop in unemployment claims pushed stocks higher Thursday, a day after the stock market took its worst fall since the summer.

Greece named a new prime minister Thursday and Italy borrowed $6.8 billion at lower interest rates than analysts expected. Italy’s benchmark rate dropped below 7 percent after spiking above that level Wednesday.

Investors were also relieved by talk that the economist Mario Monti is likely to replace Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who was seen as an obstacle to meaningful economic reforms. Italy’s president pledged that Berlusconi will step down soon.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 112.92 points, or 1 percent, to close at 11,893.86. It plunged 389 points Wednesday after Italy’s borrowing rates soared and talks in Greece to name a new prime minister broke down. Traders have been concerned that debt troubles in Italy and Greece could create a liquidity crisis and lead to a global financial meltdown.

The Labor Department reported early Thursday that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell to 390,000 last week. That figure and the four-week average were the lowest since April.

Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital, called the drop in unemployment claims and the news from Europe encouraging. “It’s got the markets on the cheerful side,” he said.

The S&P 500 index gained 10.60, or 0.9 percent, to 1,239.70. The Nasdaq rose 3.50 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,625.15. Apple Inc. fell 2.5 percent, dragging down the Nasdaq.

Cardillo said he didn’t believe that the worst predictions about Europe’s debt crisis would come true. If things get bad enough, he said, the U.S. would have no choice but to come to the rescue.

“If Italy was to fail, you can rest assured Europe would fail and the global economy would fail,” he said. “The U.S. is in a global economy. Whatever happens in one part of the globe is no longer isolated.”

In Greece, a day after a breakdown in power-sharing talks jolted financial markets, senior banker Lucas Papademos was named prime minister of a new coalition government. Papademos, a former vice president at the European Central Bank, is tasked with passing austerity measures being demanded by international lenders.

In corporate news:

• Cisco Systems Inc. rose 5.7 percent after it reported quarterly results late Wednesday beat Wall Street’s estimates.

• Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. plunged 39 percent after its revenues fell short of analyst expectations.

• Viacom Inc., owner of MTV Networks and Comedy Central, rose 8.2 percent after it earned more than analysts predicted. Most of the increase came from its Paramount Pictures division.


Oakland's 101st homicide of 2011 blamed on 'Occupy' protesters who say victim and assailant were outsiders

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Oakland City Councilman Larry Reid said that even if the men involved in the slaying were not regular participants in Occupy Oakland, the large crowds and attention the protest has drawn also has invited weapons and brawls.

Occupy Oakland ShootingAn Oakland police officer raises his hands to his head at the scene where a man was shot and killed near an Occupy Oakland encampment Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011, in Oakland, Calif. A man was shot and killed Thursday outside the Oakland encampment that anti-Wall Street protesters have occupied for the last month, but an organizer for Occupy Oakland said the attack was unrelated to the ongoing protest of U.S. financial institutions. After at least two shots were fired and the man collapsed, screams rang out across the crowded plaza outside Oakland City Hall where the Occupy Oakland encampment is located. The camp, which has about 180 tents, sits in the middle of the plaza and is ringed by a transit station and ground-floor shops. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By TERRY COLLINS, Associated Press

OAKLAND, California (AP) — A man was shot and killed Thursday just outside the Oakland encampment that anti-Wall Street protesters have occupied for the last month, causing a scream-filled commotion in the City Hall plaza where the camp stands and turning a planned anniversary celebration into a somber, candlelit memorial.

With opinions about Occupy Oakland and its effect on the city having become more divided in recent days, supporters and opponents immediately reacted to the homicide — the city's 101st this year.

Camp organizers said the attack was unrelated to their activities, while city and business leaders, cited the death as proof that the camp itself either bred crime or drained law enforcement resources from other parts of the Oakland.

Mayor Jean Quan, who has been criticized by residents on both sides for issuing mixed signals about the local government's willingness to tolerate the camp, issued a statement Thursday providing a clear eviction notice.

"Tonight's incident underscores the reason why the encampment must end. The risks are too great," Quan said. "We need to return (police) resources to addressing violence throughout the city. It's time for the encampment to end. Camping is a tactic, not a solution."

Occupy Oakland ShootingAn Occupy Oakland protestor sits beside candles at the scene if a shooting Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011, in Oakland, Calif. A man was shot and killed Thursday outside the Oakland encampment that anti-Wall Street protesters have occupied for the last month, but an organizer for Occupy Oakland said the attack was unrelated to the ongoing protest of U.S. financial institutions. After at least two shots were fired and the man collapsed, screams rang out across the crowded plaza outside Oakland City Hall where the Occupy Oakland encampment is located. The camp, which has about 180 tents, sits in the middle of the plaza and is ringed by a transit station and ground-floor shops. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

For their part, protest leaders said the shooting involved outsiders and was only connected to their ongoing protest of U.S. financial institutions to the extent that poverty breeds violence.

"This one heinous immoral crime should not overshadow all of the good deeds, positive energy and the overall goals that the movement is attempting to establish," Khalid Shakur, 43, who has a tent in the encampment, said. "Murders happen on these city streets all of the time and the difference with a murder happening on a city street and at Occupy Oakland, you have a mass group of people who care about life and want peace."

Police Chief Howard Jordan said a preliminary investigation suggests the shooting resulted from a fight between two groups of men at or near the Occupy Oakland camp on a plaza in front of City Hall. During the altercation, one of the men pulled out a gun and fired several rounds into a crowd on the plaza's edge, Jordan said.

One of the bullets struck the victim, who was pronounced dead at a hospital, he said.

Investigators do not yet know if the men in the fight were associated with Occupy Oakland, but they are looking into reports that some protest participants tried to break up the altercation, Jordan said.

No suspects have been identified, said Jordan, who asked people participating in the protest who may have taken photographs or video that captured the shooting to contact authorities.

Thursday's shooting at the site of the debated camp comes a day after a group of Oakland city and business leaders held a news conference demanding the removal of the encampment, saying it has hurt downtown businesses and has continued to pose safety concerns.

Councilman Larry Reid said that even if the men involved in the slaying were not regular participants in Occupy Oakland, the large crowds and attention the protest has drawn also has invited weapons and brawls. The camp, which has about 180 tents, sits in the middle of the plaza and is ringed by a transit station and ground-floor shops.

"We did have a shooting (near the plaza) once before, a couple shootings around some nightclubs but not right here in front of City Hall because this is attracting a totally different element to our downtown area," Reid said. "This is a public space, and people have a right to enjoy it."

APTOPIX Occupy Oakland ShootingCameraman Randy Davis from Channel 7 is attacked trying to film at the scene of a shooting on the outskirts of the Occupy Oakland encampment at 14th Street and Broadway in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011. A man has died after being shot just outside the Oakland encampment that anti-Wall Street protesters have occupied for the last month. Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan says the victim was pronounced dead at a local hospital Thursday evening, less than two hours after two groups of men got into a fight near the Occupy Oakland camp on a plaza near City Hall. (AP Photo/Bay Area News Group, Jane Tyska)

Shake Anderson, an Occupy Oakland organizer who has slept at the camp since it was erected exactly a month ago, said the man who was shot could not be associated with the protest because he did not recognize him. Just before the shooting, a group of strangers ran into the encampment as if they were looking for someone, Anderson said.

"The person on the ground was not part of the occupation. I can verify that," Anderson said. "This is a street incident. It happens all the time."

Outside the yellow police tape encircling the crime scene, located in front of a coffee shop where the windows were broken last week following a day of peaceful anti-Wall Street marches, protesters lit candles and opened a microphone for camp participants to talk about where the movement is headed.

"It's not a celebration anymore, but a period of reflection," said Leo Ritz-Barr, a member of Occupy Oakland's events committee.

Before the shooting, protesters were planning to have a party to commemorate the encampment's one-month anniversary with music, dancing, a slide show and donated cakes. The celebration was canceled after the man collapsed and screams rang out across the crowded plaza.

John Lucas, 52, was part of an Occupy Oakland medic team that tried to tend to the man until paramedics arrived. He said a fistfight involving several men preceded the gunfire.

"Several people went after one guy, and the group got larger, and they beat him and he ran," Lucas said. "There were six or seven shots. Everyone starts running ... and there was another shot."

Lucas, who described himself as a licensed vocational nurse who attended City College in San Francisco, said he and other medics rushed to the wounded man, who was on his back and bleeding from the nose and mouth.

"He was not breathing and there was no heartbeat," he said. "We started CPR."

Protesters complained that the plaza had been without lights and water since Wednesday night. Mayoral aide Sue Piper said the issues stemmed from a tripped circuit and a failed water pump workers had been unable to fix because they were furloughed Thursday. Protesters have claimed the loss of light is part of a plan to force them out.

When Jordan arrived at Thursday's crime scene, people shouted, "Turn the lights on!" The chief agreed the area needs to be lighted.

Cause of East Longmeadow fire that displaced 2 people under investigation

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A neighbor reported hearing two loud snaps then seeing the house's back porch on fire.

EAST LONGMEADOW - The State Fire Marshal's Office is probing what caused a fire that ripped through an East Longmeadow home Thursday evening leaving two people homeless.

At 7:58 p.m. Thursday, a 911 call from a neighbor alerted authorities that the one-story home at 65 Avery Street was on fire.

"The neighbor said he heard a loud crack, like a tree branch snapping. Then he heard it again and looked out the window and saw half of their back porch on fire," said East Longmeadow police Sgt. Steven Manning. "He then ran over there to assist until firefighters arrived at the scene."

When crews arrived minutes later, the house was fully engulfed, although the two people living there were able to get out safely, according to Manning.

The fire was completely extinguished after a couple of hours although firefighters remained on the scene early Friday morning.

No firefighters were injured in the incident and the cause will remain undetermined pending the results of the state investigation.

Western Massachusetts energy prices, at a glance

Wachusett Aqueduct in Northborough provides setting for Day 2 winner Jean Kelley-Joyce in 5th annual Fall Photo Contest

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Kelley-Joyce originally stopped to take a photo of the goose she saw from her car window.

JEAN-KELLY-JOYCE_9614437.JPGView full sizeJean Kelley-Joyce of Berlin took this photo of the aqueduct in Northborough on a late October afternoon. Her photo is Friday's winner in the fifth annual Fall Photo Contest presented by The Republican, MassLive.com and El Pueblo Latino. The contest is sponsored by Hunt's Photo and Video and Dunkin' Donuts, the exclusive online sponsor. To view more contest photos, visit www.masslive.com/fall-foliage.

Jean Kelley-Joyce wanted to take a photo of the goose she saw from her car window.

She wound up taking a breath-taking photograph of the Wachusett Aqueduct in the waning hour of a crisp autumn day.

Kelley-Joyce's photo of the Northborough icon is Friday's winner in the fifth annual Fall Photo Contest presented by The Republican, MassLive.com and El Pueblo Latino. The contest is sponsored by Hunt’s Photo and Video and Dunkin' Donuts, the exclusive online sponsor.

"I wasn't there for the arch. I took the camera out to take a picture of the goose," Kelley-Joyce, of Berlin, said of the late October afternoon. "I just happened to see how beautiful everything was between the arch.

"As the hour went on, the sun became more beautiful. I kept shooting until I took that photo. I just love that spot," she said.

Kelley-Joyce is a longtime photography hobbyist.

"I always have my camera with me," she said. "I pass by something, and it moves me ... I just take a picture."


Friday's runner-up photos:

Gallery preview

Tim Riley of Easthampton captured this tranquil moment along College Highway in Southampton last month.
See Tim Riley's photo »

Stephanie Oates of Amherst took this photo last year while on a fall photo shoot in South Amherst.
See Stephanie Oates' photo »

Richard Danek of Feeding Hills was out with his camera club in North Leverett on a rainy day when he braved getting his camera wet to photograph this dilapidated barn.
See Richard Danek's photo »

Norman Steadman has this view from his mailbox on Sand Road in of Ferrisburgh, Vt.
See Norman Steadman's photo »

UMass project 'Population 7' breathes new life into dead downtown Springfield spaces

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The UMass Amherst Department of Landscape Architecture will lead the first of four scheduled free walking tours this Saturday from noon - 2 p.m. starting at the UMass Amherst Design Center on Elm Street at Court Square in downtown Springfield.

Project 7 art display in downtown SpringfieldView full size11.10.11-SPRINGFIELD- The characters in the Project 7 "Community Spirit" art display from left to right and top to bottom, (in orange):Michael Di Pasquale, director of the UMass Amherst Design Center; Laura Selmani, Master of Regional Planning candidate, 2012; Doris Yiwei Huang, Master of Landscape Architecture candidate, 2013; Carli Foster, Master of Landscape Architecture candidate, 2013; Elizabeth Englebretson, Master of Landscape Architecture candidate, 2013; Eric Wojtowicz, Master of Landscape Architecture candidate, 2013; Scott Hanson, principal planner, Springfield Office of Planning and Economic Development. Pictured in blue are the authors of the installation: Chris Johnson, BSLA 2011 and Frank Sleegers, Professor of Landscape Architecture. (Republican Photo by Robert Rizzuto)

SPRINGFIELD- In the "City of Firsts," as in many old industrial cities across the United States, warehouses and factories which were once bustling centers of commerce full of people fell into decay and became victims of a changing world.

While some of these structures sit abandoned, others have been destroyed, leaving behind only shadows of their once prominent place in the community.

At the corner of Lyman and Chestnut streets, where one of these buildings once was, the shadows of the past have come back to life in a way.

A new art installation courtesy of the UMass Department of Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning and a slew of other university and city entities is paying homage to the past while drawing attention to a neglected part of the downtown landscape.

"The history of urban areas and urban form is important information because it reflects people’s involvement and passion of the past," said Frank Sleegers, assistant professor of the UMass Department of Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning and co-founder of the Lyman Street project. "But art can create an additional layer of meaning that adds a new facet to place. It may project thoughts about the future. It may start a thinking process to bring life back to forgotten places."

On Saturday, Sleegers, his students and Ashfield artist Robert Markey will lead a tour through downtown Springfield and the Lyman Street warehouse district to showcase how public art can change a city's landscape in a positive way.

111027_poster population 7lowres.jpgView full sizeTo print the flyer for the guided tours of public art in downtown Springfield, click "View full size" to see the enlarged image.

The group will lead the first of four scheduled free walking tours from noon - 2 p.m. starting at the UMass Amherst Design Center on Elm Street at Court Square. Anyone interested should meet at the center wearing shoes appropriate for mixed urban terrain.

Sleegers said the "Community Spirit" project on Lyman Street is just another extension of the partnership between UMass and the Springfield Office of Planning and Economic Development's Principal Planner Scott Hanson.

"I have been actively working in Springfield since 2007 with the Office for Planning and Economic Development on urban design studios as I always missed the presence of an organic public art in Springfield," Sleegers said. "We did a graduate urban design studio in Spring 2010 focusing on downtown. Two students of mine, Seth Morrow and Keith Marshall discovered the upper Lyman Street district and proposed to use public art to stop neglect and create a new culture in downtown Springfield. The area is so close to the heart of downtown and the train station. We discovered that it had also a rich history of food related warehouse activities that took advantage of the proximity to the railroad."

last retLaura umbrellasmall.jpgView full sizeThe "Community Spirit" project was installed on the side of the Conklin Office Furniture building this past Tuesday. Conklin Office Furniture allowed the group to use the side of its building and also sponsored the project. (Submitted photo by Laura Selmani)

With this project, co-founded by matriculated graduate student Chris Johnson, the group aimed to embrace short term, small budgeted, eventually temporary but recognizable design interventions to occupy vacant lots and make use of underutilized space. Johnson came up with the idea to paint silhouettes of people on the leftover wall of this former warehouse (owned by Conklin Office Furniture) which now carries the colorful panels that represent people actually involved with the project.

"Originally there were seven people in our art laboratory and this is the reason there are seven persons in orange on the wall," Sleegers said. "I consider our project as an effort to bring people back to American cities, because there is no city without an agglomeration of people, cultures, and ideas. People make cities a place. The Lyman district could be such a place."

The professor said that in the future, he would like to expand the program's influence in Springfield by involving other Pioneer Valley residents who are interested in contributing something unique.

"This year’s intervention was intended to set a first signal to reach out to the art scene and interested residents in Springfield and other people who might be interested in transformation through art," Sleegers said. "I've talked to an art professor in sculpture at UMass. so hopefully there might be other forms of collaboration with other departments and students from other disciplines."

For more information on the project or the tours, contact Sleegers at sleegers@larp.umass.edu.

New method shows promise of treating PTSD in combat troops

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As more troops return from Iraq this year, many will be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition that changes the way the body reacts to stress and can emotionally hobble sufferers with troubling flashbacks, anxiety and hopelessness.

David HedgeIn this Aug. 8, 2011 file photo, U.S. Army Pvt. 1st Class David Hedge from Bealeton, Va., front, and fellow soldiers from 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment are bathed in rotor wash moments after arriving by Blackhawk helicopter for an operation to disrupt weapons smuggling in Istaqlal, north of Baghdad, Iraq. As soldiers return to the U.S. following combat, many exhibit symptoms of PTSD, a disorder that can be tough to treat let alone cure. (AP Photo / Maya Alleruzzo, File)


By STEPHANIE INNES, Arizona Daily Star

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — An Oro Valley counselor says a controversial method of tapping on certain areas of the body can relieve debilitating symptoms of a condition that affects thousands of soldiers returning from combat.

As more troops return from Iraq this year, many will be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition that changes the way the body reacts to stress and can emotionally hobble sufferers with troubling flashbacks, anxiety and hopelessness.

Counselor Mary E. Stafford is touting a method of treating PTSD called "emotional-freedom technique." By learning to tap on specific "meridian points" of the body, Stafford says veterans can tap away negative emotions.

The technique is not endorsed by the American Psychological Association, which does not approve or endorse specific therapy techniques, spokeswoman Kim Mills said. And an association committee did not find sufficient evidence of the technique's "treatment efficacy" to allow it to be taught to association members for continuing education credit.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs advocates standard treatments for PTSD, including "exposure-based" treatments, which involve having sufferers repeatedly re-experience the traumatic event. The VA does not advocate the emotional-freedom technique as a stand-alone treatment, said Pepe Mendoza, spokesman for the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System.

However, a nurse practitioner with the local VA is taking part in a project offering the emotional-freedom technique to veterans who have completed standard treatments to see whether it offers additional benefit, Mendoza said.

03_31_iraq_fAn Iraqi weapons cache is destroyed by members of Task Force 2-69 Armor, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Benning Georgia somewhere in Iraq on March 31, 2003. (AP Photo, Dallas Morning News/David Leeson)

Critics say there's no scientific proof the technique works, and some say the power of suggestion may be what's effective on practitioners. But Stafford and other supporters say it's based on 5,000 years of Chinese medicine and can erase PTSD symptoms.

Stafford, a Tucson native who holds a doctorate in biochemistry in addition to a counseling degree, will hold a free event Friday to introduce the method. She's also looking for veterans to take part in an advanced study of the technique, free of charge.

Stafford charges regular clients to learn the technique - typically $120 for a 90-minute session, but says she operates on a sliding scale. She says the technique can be learned in one or two sessions.

Veteran Bud Leazenby, 63, was just 19 when he enlisted in the Marine Corps and went to Vietnam.

He said his PTSD manifested with emotional numbness that he maintained first with drugs and alcohol, and then, after he was sober, by staying busy all the time. He made sure to fill each day with work and frequently moved between cities and jobs.

He now "taps" every day, using the technique that Stafford taught him.

"Staying busy works for a while and then you run out of energy. It doesn't stay buried over time. It comes more and more to the surface," Leazenby said. "You go through the tapping points in your body. It's been work to accept that it works. Part of you wants to be in pain and misery. There is survivor's guilt."

At one tapping point the practitioner says to themself that even though they have a specific problem, they deeply and completely accept themself.

"I'll say, 'even though I am very sad at the loss of my buddy, I love and care for myself'," Leazenby said. "It's difficult in the beginning but it gets you through it. You own the anger, and then you cry."

WAR IRAQ US MILITARYArmy Pvt. Robert Inming of San Antonio, of Task Force 2-69 Armor, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Benning, Ga. pays last respects to his good friend Army Pvt. Kelley Prewitt who was killed in action on April 6 in northern Baghdad during a memorial ceremony Friday, April 18, 2003 for three soldiers from the unit who died in Iraq. The soldiers honored were Army Staff Sgt. Terry Hemingway, Army Pfc. Gregory P. Huxley Jr. and Prewitt. (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, David Leeson)

"It has definitely made a difference and complements other things that I do. I've never tapped on something with a pain level of anguish that's say at an 8 and gone through the tapping and had it stay at 8. Maybe it only goes down to 7, but you can feel it."

Martha Zimmerman Chambers uses the technique to get past PTSD she had after Operation Desert Storm when she was in the U.S. Army. Chambers, a 39-year-old massage therapist, said she is also using the technique right now to get through her family's financial difficulties.

"I was on medication for depression that made me completely unable to work. I was a drooling idiot," she said. "The military teaches you to suck it up and move on. They don't teach you how to deal with what comes later. Veterans now, we are learning how to change that. You can do this at home. When I tap I believe my nerves are being activated to calm my organs. My stomach doesn't feel like there's this cannonball in there. When everything begins to relax, the body can heal."

Chambers said not every technique works for every person. "I don't believe any one technique is the answer, but opening up the mind and finding a different way is a great thing," she said.

Indeed, local naturopathic physician Teri Davis trained in the emotional-freedom technique and says it can be very effective. But in her work with veterans, Davis prefers something called mindfulness-based stress reduction, where the past is never discussed. The object of mindfulness is learning to live in the moment, regardless of the past or future.

Terry C. WrightA Marine carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Lance Cpl. Terry C. Wright, 21, of Scio, Ohio, at Dover Air Force Base, Del., Friday, Sept. 23, 2011. According to the Department of Defense, Wright, died Sept. 21 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

Davis works with the local nonprofit Purple Mountain Institute, which offers free programs for veterans.

"I hesitate when I hear the word cure. You can't not have had the experiences you went through," Davis said. "With mindfulness one of the things people can learn is to step back a little bit and make enough room so that memory isn't all that exists for them."

The technique Davis uses was developed at the University of Massachusetts and many of her referrals come from the local VA.

Mills, of the American Psychological Association, says that if a mental-health provider suggests energy psychology to a client, the client would be well-advised to ask for research evidence that it is safe and effective. Such evidence would include research published in reputable, peer-reviewed scholarly journals as well as the clinician's own expertise in a therapy technique, she said.

The technique Stafford uses is based on one developed by American psychologist Roger Callahan in the 1980s and adapted in the 1990s by Gary Craig, a neuro-linguistic programming practitioner.

"We have energy coming out of our fingertips," Stafford said. "We are designed as human beings to be self-healing."

Connecticut State Police looking for fake cop soliciting bribes on the highway

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In September, a man posing a s a police officer pulled over a women and sexually assaulted her.

OLD LYME, Conn. - Troopers in Connecticut are warning the public to be cautious of a man who reportedly pulled someone over on Wednesday while posing as a police officer.

Connecticut State Police said Friday morning that a white man dressed in a dark gray uniform with no police badges or patches pulled over an unsuspecting motorist on Interstate 95 between exits 71 and 73 around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The fake trooper, who was reportedly driving a dark gray Dodge Charger with a single blue light on the dashboard, told the pulled over citizen that if he handed over $50, he wouldn't receive a speeding ticket.

The suspect's bogus police uniform had an American flag with an eagle over the left pocket, but no other visible markings, according to state police.

This is the second similar story to come out of Connecticut in the past few months.

In early September, troopers in that state issued a warning after a man posing as a police officer stopped and sexually assaulted a woman in Nagatuck.

In that incident, the police poser was wearing dark navy blue pants, a navy blue polo shirt with a breast pocket with the word "Naugatuck" embroidered in an arch atop a straight embroidery that said "police".

That suspect was driving a brown or tan-colored Ford Crown Victoria with blue and red flashing lights on the dashboard.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Connecticut State Police at (860) 399-2100.

People can also text-a-tip anonymously by sending "TIP711" in the message along with the tip and addressing the message to CRIMES (274637).


Worcester may have to pay millions after discrimination commission rules black police officers were denied promotion because of race

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Worcester could be forced to pay two black police officers millions after the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination ruled they were denied promotion because of racial bias within the department.

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — The city of Worcester could be forced to pay two black police officers millions of dollars after the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination ruled they were denied promotion nearly 20 years ago because of what it called racial bias within the department.

Officers Spencer Tatum and Andrew Harris have been officers since 1980 and 1987 respectively. They both passed the sergeant's exam in the early 1990s. They filed separate complaints with MCAD in September 1994.

The commission ruled in favor of the officers this week. The city has 30 days to appeal.

City Manager Michael O'Brien tells The Telegram & Gazette he will evaluate all options before deciding whether to appeal.

Lawyers for the officers say the men could be owed millions by the time damages, back pay and interest are added up.

Egypt closes Great Pyramid after rumors of bizarre 11/11/11 rituals

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Egypt's antiquities authority closed the largest of the Giza pyramids Friday following rumors that groups would try to hold spiritual ceremonies on the site at 11:11 A.M. on Nov. 11, 2011.

Mideast Egypt TourismEgyptian school students line up as they visit the historical site of the Giza Pyramids last week. Egypt's antiquities authority closed the largest of the Giza pyramids Friday following rumors that groups would try to hold spiritual ceremonies on the site at 11:11 on Nov. 11, 2011. The closure follows a string of unconfirmed reports in local media that unidentified groups would try to hold "Jewish" or "Masonic" rites on the site to take advantage of mysterious powers coming from the pyramid on the rare date. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

By BEN HUBBARD, Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's antiquities authority closed the largest of the Giza pyramids Friday following rumors that groups would try to hold spiritual ceremonies on the site at 11:11 A.M. on Nov. 11, 2011.

The authority's head Mustafa Amin said in a statement Friday that the pyramid of Khufu, also known as Cheops, would be closed to visitors until Saturday morning for "necessary maintenance."

The closure follows a string of unconfirmed reports in local media that unidentified groups would try to hold "Jewish" or "Masonic" rites on the site to take advantage of mysterious powers coming from the pyramid on the rare date.

Amin called all reports of planned ceremonies at the site "completely lacking in truth."

The complex's director, Ali al-Asfar, said Friday that an Egyptian company requested permission last month to hold an event called "hug the pyramid," in which 120 people would join hands around the ancient burial structure.

The authority declined the request a week ago, al-Asfar said, but that did not stop concerned Egyptians from starting internet campaigns to prevent the event from taking place.

"It has been a big cause now on Facebook and Twitter for many people to write about," al-Asfar said.

The closure was unrelated to the rumors, he said, adding that the pyramid needed maintenance after the large number of visitors during the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday last week.

Mideast EgyptVisitors ride camels past one of the Giza Pyramids in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Nov. 11, 2011. Egypt's antiquities authority closed the largest of the Giza pyramids Friday following rumors that groups would try to hold spiritual ceremonies on the site at 11:11 on Nov. 11, 2011. The closure follows a string of unconfirmed reports in local media that unidentified groups would try to hold "Jewish" or "Masonic" rites on the site to take advantage of mysterious powers coming from the pyramid on the rare date. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

The rest of the complex, which includes two other large pyramids, numerous tombs and the Sphinx, remained open Friday, though security appeared to be heavier than usual.

Dozens of police officers and soldiers were posted throughout the complex. Some patrolled on camel-back. One soldier stood next to his machine gun near a souvenir shop selling miniature pyramids.

Speaking by phone from the pyramids after 11:11 had passed, al-Asfar said he'd seen nothing out of the ordinary.

"Everything is normal," he said. "The only thing different is the closure of the Khufu pyramid."

Khufu is credited with building the Giza complex's largest pyramid, now one of Egypt's main tourist attractions. Khufu founded the 4th Dynasty around 2680 B.C. and ruled Egypt for 23 years.

67-year-old Chicopee resident Kenneth Zajac, hit by car while jogging on St. James Avenue in Springfield, remains in critical condition

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Police continue to probe the Thursday morning accident.

032008 springfield police cruiser cropped.jpg

SPRINGFIELD – Chicopee resident Kenneth Zajac, struck by a car backing out of a St. James Avenue driveway Thursday morning while he was jogging, remained in critical condition Friday at Baystate Medical Center.

The 67-year-old Zajac had no identification with him and police issued a public appeal and a description of him shortly after the accident in the hope someone who knew him would come forward. At the time, they said it was urgent that police contact his family.

Delaney said the police department heard from several people who were able to identify the man as Zajac and police were able to verify his identity. He said the department appreciates the help from the public.

The accident, which occurred about 7:30 a.m. at 1206 St. James Ave., is under investigation by Traffic Bureau Officer Edward Hiney. The driver of the car cooperated with police and remained at the scene. No citations have been issued at this time.

AM News Links: A Westfield case raises questions about the justice system, Protesters: Veteran shoots self at Vt. encampment, and more

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Idiot's guide to the euro crisis, Occupy Oakland: Man shot to death near camp, and more

nixon.jpgIn this June 25, 1974, photo released by the White House, President Richard Nixon listens to his Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger aboard the plane that brought the U.S. president to Belgium. Within two months Nixon had resigned, and in June 1975, the feisty ex-President defended his shredded legacy and shady Watergate-era actions in grand jury testimony that he thought would never come out. On Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011, it did.

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Senators John Kerry, Scott Brown lend support to veteran jobs bill

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Kerry and Brown, both veterans, released video messages to the nations active and former service members.

100311 john kerry scott brown.JPGU.S. Senators Scott Brown, R- Mass., left, and John Kerry, D- Mass. listen during a hearing at the Statehouse in Boston Monday, Oct. 3, 2011 (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Massachusetts Senators John Kerry and Scott Brown joined their colleagues Thursday in unanimously passing a measure that would provide tax incentives for businesses to hire combat veterans.

The bill would provide for up to $5,600 in tax credits for businesses that hire long term unemployed veterans, and as much as $9,600 for veterans with disabilities. It's considered a key part of President Barack Obama's sweeping jobs plan.

“That’s personal for me," Kerry, a Democrat and co-sponsor of the measure, said in a statement. "I came home from a war and saw that too many politicians in Washington didn’t do for veterans what they promised."

Brown, a Republican, said in a statement that he'd introduced a similar measure, called the "Hire A Hero tax credit," but that bill had stalled because of partisan "gridlock."

"In addition to the tax incentives, the bill we passed takes new steps that will help our veterans find jobs," Brown said in a video address to veterans. "It will revamp the old Transition Assistance Program so our armed services can better prepare active duty members to transition from the military to the civilian workplace."

Kerry also released a video address to veterans.

Both Brown and Kerry are themselves veterans, Kerry serving in the Naval Reserve during the Vietnam war, and Brown a member of the Massachusetts Army National Guard since he was 19.

More on the veterans jobs bill:

Senate passes veterans jobs bill with little dissent | BostonGlobe.com

Senate Approves Two Pieces of Jobs Bill | NYTimes.com

More Veterans Day coverage »

How cool is turning 11 on 11/11/11? Just ask these kids

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There’s something special about the number 1. Everyone wants to be numero uno, the best, primo, 1st in line, 1st-class, 1st in the hearts of his or her countrymen.

zaevion holt emily rosario.jpgZaevion Holt, left, of Springfield, marks this 11th birthday and notes that it falls on 11/11/11; Emily Rosario, right, of Chicopee, holds a handmade birthday card she received from a friend for her 11th birthday on 11/11/11.

There’s something special about the number one. Everyone wants to be numero uno, the best, primo, first in line, first-class, first in the hearts of his or her countrymen.

Children who are turning 11 today are rich in the number one, because their 11th birthday falls on 11/11/11, and they seem to be relishing those good vibes.

“I think it’s really cool,” said Emily Rosario, of Chicopee, a fifth-grader at Holy Name School. “A lot of people have been asking me what I want because it’s a special birthday."

“It only happens once in a lifetime,” said Griffin McMahon, of Longmeadow, a Curtis Blake Day School student who likes “math, reading, music and making movies on video.”

“It feels great,” said Zaevion Holt, of Springfield, whose favorite subject at Zanetti Magnet School is math.

“Unique,” said Chase Carlson, a talented young athlete at Burgess Elementary School in Sturbridge.

People have always been fascinated by numbers, said professor Richard Pelosi of Western New England University in Springfield.

“It goes way back to Pythagoras,” said Pelosi, referring to the ancient Greek mathematician, whose school of math not only taught the basics, but also delved into interpretations of numbers.

Some cultures in India and China also assigned mystic qualities to numbers.

The phenomenon of a birthday with eight of the same digits is unusual, and after 2012, it will disappear, since there is no month 13.

Apart from all that, parents of children who turn 11 today have no doubt that their children are special.

“He’s a wonderful student,” said Migdalia Holt, Zaevion’s mother. Zaevion practices origami and magic tricks, and says doing mathematical equations is “fun.”

He will celebrate his birthday with a sleepover party, pizza, chicken wings and his favorite kind of cake, a trifle. Zaevion said his unusual name was created by his dad, Eric Holt, and a friend.

Dalia Rosario calls her little daughter, Emily, “an amazing child.” Emily loves dancing and enjoys math at Holy Name School.

To her mom, she is a “miracle.” Dalia Rosario said her dying mother told her how much she appreciated having daughters who cared for her, and how she wished Dalia could have a daughter, too.

Rosario already had two sons. When they were 10 and 12, along came little Emily - at 11 minutes after 5 a.m. on 11/11.

Griffin’s mom, Stacey McMahon, describes her son as “very giving and very sweet.” His goal is to act in the movies, but when asked what he hopes to accomplish during the year he is 11, Griffin said: “Helping people.”

He has received 11 presents for his 11th birthday, and his mom promises more big plans.

As for Chase, he is so beloved that his grandfather called all the way from Georgia to extol his virtues. “He’s really an interesting kid,” said Ralph Carlson, an executive in Wilbraham for many years before moving to Georgia.

When Chase wrote a prize-winning essay on why Sturbridge needed a new school, he and a co-winner were invited to the ground-breaking for the school, side by side with state officials.

Chase said that, along with playing basketball, baseball, lacrosse and football, “I still like to play catch with my father.”

To all the other children who are turning 11 today: No matter what the stats are, you are one in a million!

Massachusetts politicians poke fun at each other during dinner in honor of MassINC's 15 anniversary

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The event was held at the JFK Library in Boston -- "the People's Library," according to U.S. Sen. Scott Brown.

john schneider MassINC 2008.jpgJohn Schneider, executive vice president of MassINC, was one of the speakers at Thursday night's dinner honoring the think tank's 15th anniversary.

By ANDY METZGER

BOSTON - There are a few obvious punch lines in Massachusetts politics: The unbroken streak of three former House speakers indicted by grand juries; the brotherhood of Billy Bulger, once one of the state’s most powerful pols, and James Bulger, once the state’s most notorious crime boss; and more recently former Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner’s infamous “preacher’s handshake,” containing a wad of cash.

Except for a passing mention of former Speaker Sal DiMasi’s absence – “he had a scheduling conflict,” quipped comedian Steve Sweeney – that low hanging fruit was avoided at “Serious Fun,” a celebration of the fifteenth anniversary of public policy think tank MassINC and a send-up of the state’s most powerful on Thursday night.

The event was everything the St. Patrick’s Day breakfast once was – with politicians and pundits taking potshots at each other, and catching belly laughs from the big-ticket crowd at the John F. Kennedy Library.

Co-host Jim Braude reminded U.S. Sen. Scott P. Brown, who phoned in from Washington D.C., that the Kennedy Library was the venue for a pivotal debate during his race in 2010.

“Well you mean the People’s Library, Jim,” Brown deadpanned.

The show opened with a filmed parody of “The Godfather,” with Boston Mayor Tom Menino playing himself, meeting with an actor playing Don Chiofaro, the developer who has butted heads with City Hall over his stymied plans to build a tower along the Rose Kennedy Greenway.

“The Philistines at the [Boston Redevelopment Authority] told me it would cast a shadow on the Greenway. It would cast a shadow on the food trucks and make the sandwiches cold,” said the Chiofaro character as Menino stroked a toy cat and later plugged Modern Pastry – “Leave the blue prints; take the cannoli.”

Some politicians thrive on their ability to tell and take a joke, while others believe that task is best left to the editorial cartoonists.

In a taped segment viewers could practically hear House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray reading their lines off cue cards.

“Neither of us is very good with the joke,” DeLeo said in what was intended to be the joke.

When questioned by a reporter, about half the attendees – who had shelled out $500 per ticket – either claimed to have professional lives of unwavering seriousness or confided that they had funny stories they would keep to themselves.

“I’ve been around this for a long time and there’s not a lot of humor,” said John Gomes, of Clarke University, a sponsor. “Of course, I worked for [Michael] Dukakis and [John] Kerry.”

Mark Robinson, who was former Gov. William F. Weld’s chief of staff, said a sense of humor was one of his former boss and friend’s many gifts. As thousands of public school teachers marched on Beacon Hill and yelled into megaphones to protest the scrapping of tenure protection, Robinson said, the governor turned to him and said, “Go down and see what they want.”

John Schneider, now executive vice president at MassINC, shared another moment from that tense time of education reform in 1993. Then a Statehouse aide, Schneider was seated in a closed-door conference committee with about 10 others, in heavy chairs around a table in then-Ways and Means Chairman Tom Finneran’s office.

“As I’m leaning back, I reached a point of no return,” Schneider recounted. He wound up on the floor, but emerged to the stunned crowd with a laugh line, “The Speaker told us that the proceedings of this conference committee were confidential. Now we’ll know.”

The story remained secret, Schneider said, though another attendee Thursday night, who had been at that meeting, remembered if vividly.

Charlie Baker, who ran against Gov. Deval L. Patrick a year ago, recalled arriving late to a “media event” when a staffer whisked him “straight into the closet” – next door to the door he was supposed to use. About seven of Baker’s cadre followed him into the closet, which he described as roomy.

“We managed to fit quite a few of us in there,” said Baker. “I was laughing inside.”

On the rostrum and in the video presentations, there were few taboos. There were two cracks about Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray’s harrowing early morning car accident, which he survived unscathed, and reference was made to Weld’s taste for “amber colored liquids.”

The only joke that really irked the crowd was when former State Treasurer Joseph Malone appeared to tongue former Attorney General L. Scott Harshbarger’s ear, and Sweeney said, “Wasn’t that a wonderful Barney Frank type moment?”

MassINC is the publisher of Commonwealth Magazine, which has written critically about the negative impacts casinos might make in this state – and the anticipated Gaming Commission and other potentials served as the punch lines to more than a few jokes.

Gov. Patrick, who had just arrived by plane from New York City, was comically fawned over by co-host Jim Braude and chided by Eagan.

“I’m kind of surprised to see you tonight, because this event is in Massachusetts,” Eagan said.

“I have to travel. It’s part of the job,” said Patrick. “I have to get ready for the 2016 Iowa caucuses. Someone else wrote this,” he protested holding up the printed out script.

The crowd drank cocktails at an open bar for the first couple hours, and then sat down to dinner and wine – and more cocktails for those who ventured into the hall – during the presentation. After the program ended, groups hung around in bunches, chatting.

The aim of the night, levity, was achieved.

“We thought a lot about the tone of the political discourse these days,” MassINC President Greg Torres had said to kick off the show. “And we thought, maybe it was time to just take a break… Maybe it was time to step back and have a little fun at the expense of ourselves and everybody else in town.”


Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney readies Iowa ad as Herman Cain, Rick Perry address concerns

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Perry rearranged his schedule to try to mitigate a debate moment in which he could not remember the third of three federal agencies he would abolish.

Late Show Rick Perry 111011.jpgRepublican presidential candidate Rick Perry presents the "Top Ten Rick Perry Excuses," on the set of the "Late Show with David Letterman," Thursday in New York.

WASHINGTON – Republican presidential candidate W. Mitt Romney is preparing for a higher profile in Iowa, where he possibly could land a knockout punch if two top rivals don’t quickly fix their campaign problems and back-of-the-pack contenders such as Newt Gingrich don’t move quickly to energize voters.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, recently recorded a TV campaign ad at a sheet-metal plant in Dubuque, in eastern Iowa. It’s not shocking that he would prepare such ads. But every Romney step in Iowa intrigues GOP activists.

After a crushingly disappointing loss there in 2008, he sharply lowered expectations in Iowa, whose caucus is less than two months away. If Romney airs ads soon and heavily in the state, it could signal a new strategy built on calculations that his weakened opponents handed him too tempting an opportunity.

But Romney retains the option of doing little in Iowa and keeping his main hopes pinned on New Hampshire. Its primary is Jan. 10, one week after the Iowa caucus.

While Romney spoke to voters in Michigan on Thursday, once-surging rivals Rick Perry and Herman Cain scrambled to control serious political damage. Party insiders speculated on whether Gingrich, a former House speaker, could emerge as the newest hope for conservative activists who question Romney’s commitment to their priorities.

Gingrich, however, trails Romney and others in organizing Iowa and elsewhere, and will have to prove that his long and sometimes troubled political history can withstand closer scrutiny.

Gingrich said Friday that he has remained in contention because he is running “probably the most substantive campaign in modern history” at a time when voters are worried about problems like the economy and the deficit.

“People are looking for a serious potential president because they see the issues as being so very serious to their own lives,” he said on CBS’ “Early Show.”

Perry, the Texas governor, rearranged his schedule Thursday to try to mitigate a disastrous debate moment in which he could not remember the third of three federal agencies he would abolish. Perry canceled a Tennessee fundraiser to appear on several TV networks and David Letterman’s “Late Show,” pledging to stay in the race.

He repeatedly said he “stepped in it” at the Wednesday night debate but declared in an interview, “This ain’t a day for quitting nothing.”

Perry’s campaign sent a fundraising letter noting that all humans make mistakes. It started a website contest that asks: “What part of the federal government would you like to forget about the most?”

His supporters are watching carefully for voters’ reactions.

“It was very embarrassing to Rick Perry and to others who certainly supported him, and I’m sure that many of his Republican opponents are rejoicing,” said Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., who has endorsed Perry. “Right now, he’s joking around about it, and it seems to be favorably received from a lot of people I’ve heard from.”

For Cain, the former Godfather’s Pizza executive, it was another day of trying to get beyond sexual harassment accusations leveled against him a decade ago and came to light 11 days ago. The allegations were made by four women, two of whom received cash settlements from a restaurant trade association Cain once headed.

Facing voters for the first time since the allegations emerged, Cain met with tea party groups in Michigan. He hopes such friendly settings can help him retain the lofty perch he enjoyed in GOP polls two weeks ago.

“How you beat Obama? Beat him with a Cain!” he told one supporter at a crowded diner in Ypsilanti, near Detroit. The crowd cheered.

Cain is airing his first TV ad in Iowa. And he has hired a new lawyer, who is warning women they will be aggressively scrutinized for any charges made against the candidate.

Perry’s and Cain’s woes are strengthening Romney’s position, but he’s hardly home free. Many conservatives still resent his past support of legalized abortion and gay rights and his requirement that all Massachusetts residents obtain health insurance.

But they have failed to coalesce around a single alternative. Rep. Michele Bachmann briefly topped the polls last summer, followed by Perry and then Cain.

Some Iowa Republicans hope former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who emphasizes social conservative issues such as abortion and gay rights, can make a move. He has visited all 99 Iowa counties and aired radio commercials.

Other party insiders feel the person best poised to rise is Gingrich, the fiery Georgian who led the GOP’s 1994 takeover of the House after 40 years in the minority. He eventually lost his leadership post and left the House after clashing with then-President Bill Clinton over taxes and an unpopular government showdown.

Gingrich is adding staff in important states, opening new offices this week and raising more money than he has in months.

With Romney widely seen as the front-runner in New Hampshire, a rival must do well in Iowa to surpass him. Gingrich is popular with many Iowa Republicans, and he drew good reviews for his speech at a large dinner in Des Moines last week.

But he has little structure in place for the organizationally intensive caucuses, which require people to show up for gatherings on a midwinter night. Gingrich has not done much of the retail-level campaigning seen by past successful caucus candidates. His schedule in the next 10 days shows him visiting the state to promote a movie he produced with his wife and participate in a multicandidate event aimed at social conservative activists.

Romney has made only four public visits to Iowa this year. But a small core of advisers and staff keeps in close touch with key elements of the Iowa network he assembled in 2007.

Bachmann had a bumpy day Thursday. About 30 Occupy Wall Street protesters loudly interrupted her foreign policy speech in Mount Pleasant, S.C., saying she was dividing the nation. Bachmann left the stage but returned and finished her speech after the protesters departed.

Jamal Mujahid Adams of Springfield arrested following dual robbery of Subway restaurant

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Jamal Mujahid Adams was arrested yesterday in connection to recent Subway robberies

Jamal M. Adams 111111.jpgJamal M. Adams

SPRINGFIELD - Jamal Mujahid Adams, of Springfield, was arrested Thursday in connection with the dual robberies last month of the Subway restaurant on State Street in Springfield.

According to Springfield Police Sgt. John Delaney, Adams, 26, of 70 Dawes St., was arrested after a Subway employee spotted him walking on State Street The employee saw the man near Chestnut Street, and called the police while sitting in his car to watch Adams until the police arrived, said Delaney, executive aide to Police Commissioner William Fitchet.

According to police, two robberies occurred on Oct. 22 and 28. On both occasions, a man entered the store with a knife, threatened the cashier, and stole money from the register.

Officer Peter Manolakis and Detective Steven Tatro arrived on scene and found the suspect sitting on the wall outside of a church located at 31 Chestnut St., Delaney said. They arrested the man, and Adams' identity was confirmed by a second Subway employee after he choose Adams' picture out of a photo array.

Adams was arraigned in Springfield District Court.

P.M. News Links: Springfield once again finds itself with a public corruption scandal, LGBT community to unite for Out in the Berkshires, and more

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Tuberculosis Breaks Out At Occupy Atlanta’s Base, Girl, 10, gives birth to baby in Mexico... and is now breastfeeding him, and more

jesseventura.jpgFormer Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura speaks to the media about the court dismissing his suit against the TSA for the pat downs at the airport, outside the St. Paul Federal Courthouse on Friday, Nov. 4, 2011 in St. Paul.

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Alexander Rivera of Springfield faces heroin distribution charge

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Rivera was allegedly in possession of pre-packaged heroin after resisting arrest.

rivera.jpgAlexander Rivera

SPRINGFIELD - Alexander Rivera, 21, of Springfield was arrested Thursday after police said they observed him trying to sell heroin in an area they referred to as "heroin alley."

Around noon, members of the Springfield Police Department's narcotics division set up a surveillance operation in the area of East Hooker and Main streets, according to Sgt. John Delaney.

The officers witnessed Rivera making heroin sales to customers, said Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William Fitchet. When they approached Rivera to make an arrest, he fled on foot.

Rivera, of 912 Chicopee St., jumped over fences and iron gates, but the officers were able to apprehend him, Delaney said. When they searched him, the officers found heroin that was packaged for distribution, Delaney added.

He was arrested on charges of distribution of heroin, violation of a drug free school zone, possession of a Class "A" substance with intent to distribute and resisting arrest.

As the courts were closed Friday in observance of the Veterans Day holiday, Rivera will be held until Monday and arraigned when court reopens.

Obituaries today: Helen Howe, 94, of Holyoke; Grew up in South Hadley, sang with Sweet Adelines

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Obituaries from The Republican.

Helen Howe 111111.jpgHelen B. Howe

HOLYOKE - Helen Buckhout Howe, 94, of 298 Jarvis Ave., Holyoke, passed away on Oct. 27. She was the widow of Prentiss M. Howe. She was born in Holyoke on Jan. 8, 1917, the youngest of eight children of Albert Tuttle Buckhout and Harriet Atherton Buckhout. She grew up in the Buckhout family home on Pine Street in South Hadley. She attended South Hadley public schools, and graduated from Mt. Holyoke College in 1939. She worked as a librarian, was a faithful church choir singer and sang for a while with the Sweet Adelines International women's barbershop singers. She and her husband both retired and moved to Hendersonville, N.C., in 1980. Helen returned to the South Hadley area in 2002.

Obituaries from The Republican:

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