A Saturday Night Live sketch featured a tongue-in-cheek ode to a 'Massachusetts afternoon' in the Paradise City on this week's show.

The Western Mass. music scene gained some prominent new faces this weekend, and they are really into cinnamon beer and denim.

A Saturday Night Live sketch featuring a Northampton band called The Blue Jean Committee, dressed head-to-toe in denim (you know, as custom dictates), played an ode to a "Massachusetts afternoon" in the Paradise City on this week's show.

Singing over a gentle, catchy groove, SNL cast member Fred Armisen and guest host Jason Segel sang about "one of those afternoons you wish would never end." Which naturally means drinking cinnamon beer and writing love letters. What else does anyone do in Northampton?

The chorus is definitely catchy, and the lyrics are more a tongue-in-cheek appreciation than a skewering. There's nothing here to offend anyone. I can easily imagine "Massachusetts Afternoon" popping up on jukeboxes and party playlists across the region. We may even have a new Western Mass. anthem on our hands.

At the very least, expect to find cinnamon beer as part of more than a few Thanksgiving Day meals.

AAA found self-serve, regular selling for as low as $3.15 per gallon and as high as $3.59.

BOSTON – Massachusetts residents have plenty of reasons to be thankful this Thanksgiving, including lower gas prices.

The American Automobile Association of Southern New England reported Monday that a gallon of self-serve, regular dropped six cents in the past week to an average of $3.33.

The price in Massachusetts is two cents below the national average. But it’s still 41 cents more than at the same time last year.

AAA found self-serve, regular selling for as low as $3.15 per gallon and as high as $3.59.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down more than 300 points in mid-day trading.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Monday. Stocks are taking a sharp fall in early trading Monday amid reports that a congressional committee will fail to agree on a plan to cut the U.S. government's budget deficit.

NEW YORK – Congress’ latest failure to resolve the federal budget gridlock sent stocks plunging Monday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 300 points.

A 12-member bipartisan panel was supposed to agree on at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reductions by Wednesday. The panel appeared ready to admit failure on Monday.

The group’s inability to reach a deal might trigger massive spending cuts over 10 years, starting in 2013. If lawmakers try to prevent those cuts, analysts say it could lead to another downgrade of the U.S. government’s credit rating.

Uncertainty about federal spending hurts the fragile recovery because private-sector growth is so slow.

The lack of an agreement also makes less likely a renewal of the payroll tax cut and extended unemployment insurance benefits. Both expire at the end of December. Economists say that will further drag on the recovery.

Most investors expected the committee to keep working toward a deal until just before its Wednesday deadline, said Robert Robis, head of fixed income macro strategies at ING Investment Management. What’s surprising is that the committee would quit early Robis, said.

“They’re essentially giving up,” he said.

The declines were broad. Energy and technology stocks lost the most. All 30 stocks in the Dow average fell, led by Boeing Co. with a 4.7 percent decline. Only 10 stocks in the S&P 500 were trading higher.

The dollar and U.S. Treasury prices rose as investors moved money into assets seen as safe. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.97 percent. It traded at 2.01 percent late Friday.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 293 points, or 2.5 percent, to 11,503 at 11:20 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped 28, or 2.3 percent, to 1,187. The Nasdaq composite index declined 63, or 2.5 percent, to 2,509.

The Dow turned negative for the year, the first time that’s happened in a month. It had rallied in October as the U.S. economy appeared to recover from a very slow summer. The S&P is down 5.6 percent for the year.

European markets also dropped. France’s CAC 40 lost 3.4 percent, and Germany’s DAX sank 3.4 percent.

The rating agency Moody’s warned Monday that France’s top credit rating remains under pressure as worries over Europe’s debt crisis have pushed the government’s borrowing costs higher. In weekly note, a Moody’s Investors Service analyst said that if high borrowing costs persist it would have “negative credit implications” for France’s triple-A credit rating.

Gilead Sciences Inc. plunged 12 percent, the most in the S&P 500 index, after announcing plans to buy the drug developer Pharmasset Inc. for $11 billion. Pharmasset, which has an experimental hepatitis C drug in late-stage clinical trials, jumped 85 percent.

Alleghany Corp. fell 7 percent after the property and casualty insurer said it had agreed to buy the reinsurance company Transatlantic Holdings Inc. for $3.4 billion. Transatlantic edged up 1 percent.

The S&P 500 lost 3.8 percent last week, its worst weekly drop since mid-September. The steepest falls came Wednesday and Thursday after rating agency Fitch warned that Europe’s debt crisis could hit the largest U.S. banks. The S&P 500 is now down 5.2 percent for the year.

Rockford, Ill., a city of similar size and similar budget deficit to Springfield, recently decided to cut power to 15% of its street lights, a move that will save an estimated $500,000 this year.

File photo | The RepublicanThe street lights and traffic at night along Sumner Avenue near Longhill Street in Springfield looking toward the "X."

The city of Springfield is currently coping with a $6.2 million-dollar gap between revenue and expenditures for the current fiscal year.

At tonight's City Council meeting, the council will consider Mayor Domenic Sarno's proposal to use reserve funds to balance the budget

Municipalities across the nation are dealing with similar budget deficits, and some have come up with creative solutions. One such city, Rockford, Ill., will save an estimated $500,000 this year by cutting power to 15 percent of its street lights.

This is a controversial move that has been made by other cities and towns such as Highland Park, Mich., and Clintonville, Wis.

It could work in Springfield too, if it has the support of the public.

Despite the possible savings, residents of Springfield and surrounding towns have historically been opposed to cutting power to street lights.

In 1990, South Hadley cut power to some of its street lights in order to save money, and never turned them back on, according to a story published in 2000 in The Republican. The story reports that The Republican received numerous complaints about poorly lit roads in South Hadley and other towns.

In 1980, Springfield turned off 50 percent of its street lights to save money, but was spurred to turn them back on after public outcry.

Although Springfield's deficit is large, it's dwarfed by the $49.4 million budget gap the city was facing at the beginning of this year's budget process.

"Through careful analysis and tough decision making, we were able to reduce the size of that budget gap to $5.4 million and keep everyone working. We cut spending wherever possible while maintaining service levels." (This information can be found in the city's report on budget facts)

In order to close the remaining gap, Sarno called for a wage freeze affecting 1,500 municipal employees in Springfield. In addition, these employees would be asked to take a dozen furlough days, or unpaid vacation days. This move would reportedly save the city from laying off 120 of these same employees.

Laying off public sector employees to close budget gaps is not a new idea in Springfield. In 2009, 89 city employees were laid off in order to cut a $4.6 million deficit.

Faced with a $5.2 million budget deficit, Rockford made the decision to turn off or remove 2,300 street lights, a move that will reportedly save Rockford between $250,000 and $500,000.

Despite the potential savings from this plan, National Public Radio reports that some residents of Rockford are concerned about the threat to public safety posed by poorly lit roads:

"I'm getting quite a bit of feedback from different parts of town, saying that they're seeing dramatic differences on the streets where they live and it's concerning them. I think that if you just drive around town it's not that noticeable. But if you're in an area and you're used to a certain kind of lighting every time you drive home, you're going to notice it," said Corina Curry, a reporter at the Rockford Register Star.

The same NPR story notes some residents are also worried about the potential for increased crime rates on dark town streets:

"You know, there were a lot of questions posed to the police chief. And the police chief told the council that there really are no studies that show direct correlation. And he is of the belief that, directly, the lighting doesn't affect crime," said Curry

Since Rockford turned out a portion of its street lights, it has not seen an increase in crime rates, though it is important to note that it has only been a few months since the plan was enacted.

There are similarities between the two cities. Both Rockford and Springfield have about 150,000 residents. Both cities are trying to close a budget deficit of over $5 million.

What effect shutting off street lights would have on the crime rate in Springfield is not clear, although the rate has not risen in Rockford since implementing the plan.

While funding cuts have been widespread in Springfield, the street light fund has actually increased by $500,000 this year:

The Mayor’s FY12 Recommended Budget increased the Public Works Division by 10.7%. The increase was driven by the street light account that increased by over $500,000 for FY12 based on rates. (This information can be found in the city's budget cut impact report)

Under some street light-shutting plans, there is a possibility that residents could return power to lights of their choosing, if they are willing to pay for it.

If turning off some street lights were to be posed as a referendum, residents would have to decide if closing the budget gap is more important than brightly lit streets.

NPR covers the decision made by officials in Rockford Illinois to turn off 15 percent of the town's street lights in order to save money

“We get the tour every time we come here. He’s very proud of this school.”

Pamela McCauley

GRANBY – West Street School was all abuzz on Thursday as Principal Pamela McCauley presided over her last parent-child Thanksgiving lunch in the school cafeteria. McCauley will be retiring at the end of the year.

She has been principal at the school for nine years, but says the parent-child tradition on the Thursday before Thanksgiving goes back much farther.

“I had one grandmother say that she remembers coming 16 years ago with her grandchild,” said McCauley, “and today she came with another.”

Granby Schools Superintendent Isabelina Rodriguez was among the guests. “I’m so, so, so, so happy to be here,” she told the crowd, echoing what a little diner had just said to her.

The event gives parents and children a chance to catch up on what’s happening, said Rodriguez. “Food is such a comforting thing,” she said. “In Spanish culture we always sit and talk after a meal. The word for it is ‘charlar.’ We never get up immediately.”

Second-grade teacher Debbie Barthelette, who has been at the school for 14 years, said the event offers kids “a sense of family and community.”

McCauley said her favorite part is “seeing all the parents and children together. The children can show off their classrooms and teachers and everything else,” she said.

“We get the tour every time we come here,” said Paul Fournier, who was dining on turkey and cranberries with his wife Alexis and son Noah, 7. “He’s very proud of this school.” Noah’s baby brother was also present.

“I never usually get to have lunch with my parents on weekdays,” said Raymond Toth, 7, who was sitting with his twin brother Michael and his parents, Gary and Lori Toth.

“They get so excited to see us come,” said Gary.

Nathan Breault, 7, leaned against his dad, John Breault, and linked his arm with his. “It’s nice to come and support him in his education,” said John. Like most parents, he and Melodie Coppinger had taken time off work to be there.

“It’s absolutely worth it,” said Justin and Meredith Smith, who were attending the event for the first time with their daughter Ruthie, 7.

“This is the second half of my lunch,” said Jason Chateauneuf, who sat with his daughter Dana, a second-grader. He had started the meal among first-graders, including his son Joshua, 6.

McCauley, a hands-on principal who helped wipe down tables between the exit of the first-graders and entrance of the second-graders, said her retirement will allow her to spend more time with her six grandchildren.

“I’m thankful for so many things,” she said. “It’s been an absolute treat to work with the staff and students at this school.

“I’ve been blessed over the years to work here.”

About 250 protesters converged outside the bank. Watch video

This updates a story originally filed at 11:56 a.m.

SPRINGFIELD – Police handcuffed and removed about 13 protesters from the Bank of America at Monarch Place early Monday afternoon as a crowd of fellow protesters grew outside.

The protest started earlier in the day when about 100 people gathered at Morris and Central streets to protest bank foreclosures.

The growing group marched downtown to the Bank of America

Five of the protesters, already inside the bank as fellow protesters converged outside, sat down at a pre-arranged signal and refused to leave. Others blocked the bank entrances.

Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet said about 13 the protesters involved with the sit-in and the blocking of bank doors were arrested without incident and charged with trespassing.

Those arrested began singing as they were handcuffed and led away. Fitchet said the protest was a little disruptive but police intend to allow it to continue so that participants can continue to exercise their First Amendment rights.

Members of the Tea Party held a counter-protest across the street.

Egypt’s military rulers face the most sustained and bloodiest challenge to their hold on power since the fall of Hosni Mubarak.

Associated Press photoEgyptian protesters gesture during clashes with Egyptian riot police in Cairo, Egypt, Monday. Click on the link, above left, for a report from the New York Times about the third day of protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

• Analysts say failure of debt-limit 'supercommittee' could end Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry's career [Boston Herald]


• U.S. to announce new sanctions against Iran [Los Angeles Times]


• Clashes in Egypt enter third day as military faces new pressure [New York Times]


• Advocates for clergy abuse victims in Massachusetts welcome Cardinal Bernard Law’s departure from Vatican post [Boston.com]


• Worker says he lost job after talking to reporter about lax security in federal buildings in Massachusetts [WFxT-TV, Fox 25, Boston]


• Boston student reported in critical condition with what may be bacterial meningitis [CBS Boston.com]


• Developer shelves plans for 8 windmills atop Mount Massamet in Shelburne [NorthamptonMedia.com]


• Hartford plans expanded holiday lights festival [Hartford Courant]


• 3 Mayflower passengers known to be buried on Cape Cod [Cape Cod Times]


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


• Read more News Links »


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Under the new map, there are two congressional districts west of Worcester.

View full sizeAssociated Press photoThis map released earlier this month shows a map by the Legislatureâs Redistricting Committee that redraws the the state's Congressional districts. Under this plan, Western Massachusetts will lose one of its districts.

BOSTON - Gov. Deval L. Patrick quietly signed a congressional redistricting bill Monday that abolishes one of the districts headquartered in Western Massachusetts.

Patrick signed the bill in his office, while flanked by House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, D-Boston, and Rep. Michael J. Moran, D-Boston, co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Redistricting.

"New congressional districts," Patrick said during the lightly-attended event. "Ready."

The new map, approved last week by the state Legislature, includes nine congressional seats, down from the current 10. The state lost one of its seats because of faster population growth in the South and West documented in the 2010 census.

The map carves up the existing 107-community district of U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, an Amherst Democrat who has announced he will not seek re-election.

The map was unveiled on Beacon Hill shortly after Olver said on Oct. 26 he would retire when his term ends next year. Moran has said it made easier to draw a new map after Olver became the only incumbent U.S. House member from Massachusetts to say he would not seek re-election, freeing legislators to dismantle his district.

Olver's district, currently about 645,000 people, was basically divided between the districts of U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, a Springfield Democrat, and U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, a Worcester Democrat.

Because of the loss of a seat, each congressional district needed to expand to include about 727,000 people.

Also, U.S. Rep. Nicola S. Tsongas, a Lowell Democrat, picked up about 120,000 people now in Olver's district including the cities of Gardner and Fitchburg in central Massachusetts.

Under the new map, there are two districts west of Worcester. Currently, three are west of Worcester including two based in Western Massachusetts.

The new map divides Palmer, sending one precinct into the district of McGovern.

The map also splits the Pioneer Valley, handing territory in Franklin and Hampshire counties to the Worcester district. McGovern's district would include Greenfield, Northampton and Amherst.

Neal's district would include all of Berkshire County.

The map takes effect for next year's statewide election.

Police believe the incident may be related to the killing of some 40 chickens in Hatfield several years ago

The Republican / File photo

NORTHAMPTON - Police believe two Labrador retriever-type dogs - one black, one yellow - are responsible for the slaughter of over 50 chickens earlier this month at a Coles Meadow Road chicken coop.

Neighbors told police they saw the two dogs in the area shortly before the homeowner discovered the carnage at about 10 a.m. on Nov. 11.

Capt. Scott A. Savino said that the bodies of 38 of the chickens were found at the scene and that another 13 “have yet to be found and probably never will be.”

The dogs apparently dug under a fence to gain entry into the coop and left by pushing out a gate, Savino said.

The homeowner found a red electronic dog collar, the kind used with so-called “invisible fences” at the scene, Savino said. Police also found dog hair at the scene,

Animal Control Officer Nancy Graham continues to investigate, Savino said, adding that the incident may be related to the similar killing of about 40 chickens several years ago in Hatfield, not far from the scene here.

Obituaries from The Republican today.

Louis F. Carr

OTIS - Louis F.Carr, 84, of East Otis passed away on Friday. He was born in Springfield on April 29,1927, the son of the late Gertrude Carr. He had been a full time resident of East Otis for the past 13 years and formerly resided on Mohawk Drive in Springfield. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He retired as an air field clearing equipment operator at Westover Air Reserve Base. He previously worked at the former Springfield Armory, Springfield Ice Co. and the old Indian Motorcycle Co. He was a communicant of St. Mary of the Lake Mission in Otis and formerly St Patrick's Church of Springfield. He was also a member of the U.S. Armed Guard.

Obituaries from The Republican:

• Belder, Penny Sue
  




• 
  Caplette, Virginia M. (Cerago)
  



• 
  Carr, Louis F.




• 
  Downes, Esther H. (Cromwell)
  



• 
  Fragomeni, Anthony J.
  




• Hargrove, Jaedyn
  




• 
  Hebert, Leo A.
  



• 
  Houle, Anne P. (Renaud)




• 
  Kislus, Annette F. Dulude (Morgan)
  



• 
  Lepine, Roger L.
  




• Livieratos, Mark Edward
  




• 
  Muise, Helen T.
  



• 
  Robert, Violet S. (Lajeunesse)




• 
  Sharpe, Joan A. (Josephson)
  



• 
  Sheldon, Frank J.
  




• Trainor, Cheryl
  




• 
  Trombly, William E.
  



• 
  Wheeler, David H.




• 
  Wilson, Robert F. "Bob"
  

The truck driver told police he had fallen asleep at the wheel.

View Larger Map

PALMER - A section of Route 20 was closed Monday afternoon following a one-car accident that sheared off the bottom of a utility pole near the intersection with Pinney Street.

Sgt. Rodney A. North said that Zachary Adriance, 26, of 143 Union Road, Wales, told police he had fallen asleep at the wheel when he crashed through the pole and into a guardrail.

Adriance will be summoned to court on charges of operating to endanger and marked lanes violation, North said.

Adriance was operating a 1994 Ford flatbed truck east on Route 20 when the accident happened just after 2:30 p.m.

Photo by Lori Stabile / The RepublicanA driver who was asleep crashed through this utility pole and then into a guardrail on Monday afternoon, causing part of Park Street to be shut down for hours.

The crash caused lines from the pole to fall down on the truck, and he was trapped inside the vehicle until National Grid arrived and determined that telephone lines were on the truck, not power lines. Adriance was not injured.

"We kept him in the truck until National Grid got here," North said.

North said Adriance was wearing a seat belt. North said that the section of roadway is expected to remain closed for another six to eight hours so utility crews can repair the pole.

Westbound traffic was diverted onto Breckenridge Street, and eastbound traffic could not travel past High Street. Drivers trying to access Route 20 from Pinney Street also had to turn around.

Palmer firefighters also responded to the scene.

About 30 businesses have signed up to participate in the campaign.

File photo / The RepublicanThe Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley, seen here at the Village Commons, will be participating in the the Buy Local Shift Your Shopping Campaign on Friday.

NORTHAMPTON – While some people are planning their strategy for an early morning shopping blitz on Black Friday, those who promote local businesses are hoping that some folks will opt for a less frenzied approach – shopping local.

Businesses participating in the Pioneer Valley Local First’s Buy Local Week campaign will be donating to local farmers who lost crops during the Tropical Storm Irene in late August.

Participating businesses will be donating either a percentage or a flat rate to the Deerfield-based Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture’s Emergency Farm Fund, said Daniel Finn from Pioneer Valley Local First.

CISA set up the emergency fund to provide loans to farmers who suffered damage from the Aug. 28 storm as well as to offer help in the future.

The Buy Local Week, part of a national movement, begins Friday and ends Dec. 4. Instead of thinking of Friday as Black Friday, local businesses hope some will thing of Plaid Friday instead.

Finn said about 30 businesses so far have signed on to participate with more registering every day. Some are offering their own specials.

Finn said there are about 300 members of Pioneer Valley Local First organization in Hampden, Hampshire and Berkshire counties with membership growing yearly as well.

The campaign is coming at an opportune time for CISA, said CISA Executive Director Phil Korman. “When people buy local, not only do they get better quality and more interesting (gifts), they are also giving back to the community.”

An anonymous donor is offering $50,000 matching gift to the emergency fund and so far CISA has raised about $40,000, he said. What the merchants donate will augment that match.

“I think this is a tough economy,” Finn said. But studies show that that buy local do better than do better than other communities.

Also, the Local First campaign is also urging people to move their money to local banks as well.

With the additional awareness raised by the Occupy Wall Street movement about the importance of banking locally, “I think people are really getting it,” Finn said.

Some of the big banks “haven’t taken that good care of our economy, they haven’t put people first. Keeping money close to home… can really go a long way to strengthening our economy.”

The Labor Department reported that the Nutmeg State gained 6,500 jobs last month.

HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut's unemployment rate dipped to 8.7 percent in October, the second straight month it has declined.

The Labor Department reported Monday that the state gained 6,500 jobs in the month, mostly in the professional and business services sector and construction.

Director of the Office of Research Andy Condon said that the sectors responsible for most of the growth benefited from repairs driven by Hurricane Irene, which hit the shoreline as a tropical storm in August. He said that kind of growth is expected to be temporary.

The unemployment rates dipped to 8.9 percent in September, when it fell to below 9 percent for the first time in almost two years.

Rizzo was convicted of killing a 13-year-old Stanley Edwards with a sledgehammer.

File photo / Associated PressTodd Rizzo, center, is led into Superior Court in Waterbury, Conn., in 1997 for arraignment on charges in connection with the death of Stanley George Edwards, 13. Rizzo told police he used a sledgehammer to bludgeon the boy to death because he wanted to see what it felt like to kill someone. Rizzo was found guilty and given a death sentence in 1999.

HARTFORD, Conn. — The Connecticut Supreme Court on Monday upheld both the state's death penalty law and the death sentence of a man who killed a 13-year-old boy with a sledgehammer in 1997.

Both decisions came in the appeal of 33-year-old death row inmate Todd Rizzo, whose lawyers challenged Rizzo's convictions and the legality of the state's death penalty under the Connecticut Constitution.

The high court issued a 6-1 decision rejecting all of Rizzo's arguments and upholding his death sentence. Justice Flemming L. Norcott Jr., was the lone dissenter, saying he continued to maintain his position that "the death penalty has no place in the jurisprudence of the state of Connecticut" and recommending a life prison sentence for Rizzo.

Rizzo's public defenders and a state prosecutor who handled Rizzo's appeal didn't immediately return phone messages Monday.

Police said Rizzo confessed that he struck up a conversation with Stanley Edwards IV as the boy rode his bicycle by his house in Waterbury on Sept. 30, 1997. Rizzo was an 18-year-old former Marine at the time. The seventh-grader knew and trusted Rizzo through Rizzo's job at a video store, and he followed Rizzo into Rizzo's backyard to hunt snakes, prosecutors said.

Rizzo then told police that he straddled Edwards "like a horse" and hit him 13 times with the three-pound sledgehammer as the boy begged him to stop. Rizzo told police that he simply wanted to know what it felt like to kill somebody.

Rizzo was sentenced to death under a 1995 state law that allows jurors in death penalty cases to weigh aggravating factors, such as a crime's brutality, against mitigating factors, such as abuse a defendant suffered during childhood. A three-judge panel imposed the death sentence on Rizzo in 2005.

He had appealed his conviction on numerous claims including that there was a lack of evidence of an aggravating factor, that the three-judge panel improperly weighed aggravating factors against mitigating factors and that the state's death penalty law violated both the U.S. and state constitutions.

The Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty does not violate the constitution, which reaffirmed previous similar rulings in the death penalty cases of serial killer Michael Ross, who was executed in 2005, and Daniel Webb, who kidnapped and killed a bank executive in Hartford in 1989 and remains on death row.

Rizzo's lawyers also claimed that capital punishment does not serve the legitimate goals of deterrence, incapacitation or rehabilitation. The Supreme Court majority disagreed in 86-page opinion written by Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers.

"As long as there remains powerful evidence of strong public support for the death penalty ... we will not attempt to discern a contrary view of the public will, or to answer complex policy questions best answered by the legislative process."

Rizzo pleaded guilty to capital felony in 1999, and a jury sentenced him to lethal injection. But the state Supreme Court overturned the sentence in 2003, ruling that a judge had not properly instructed jurors before they began deliberating.

Rizzo then chose a three-judge panel for the second penalty phase trial, and the panel sent him back to death row in 2005.

Rizzo is one of 10 men on Connecticut's death row.

With about 150 housing units already built or about to break ground, Village Hill is approximately half way to its maximum build-out.

File photo / The RepublicanOne phase of development at Village Hill in Northampton is launched with a groundbreaking ceremony in 2008. From left are James M. Dostal, then Northampton City Council president; Thomas P. Kegelman, senior project manager; then Mayor Mary Clare Higgins; state Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg, D-Amherst; Robert L. Culver, the chief executive officer and president of Massachusetts Development Finance Agency; Mark F. Ledwell and Jonathan A. Wright, of Wright Builders, Inc., and the Rev. R. Leroy Moser of the Citizens Advice Committee.

NORTHAMPTON – After a period of stagnation, the ball appears to be rolling for housing development on Village Hill, reviving hopes for a new neighborhood.

Last week, city and state officials gathered at the former Northampton State Hospital campus for a ceremony marking the completion of 11 energy-efficient Craftsman and Victorian homes, all of which have been sold and are already occupied. The success of that phase has led to an agreement between Wright Builders and MassDevelopment, which owns the property, to build six additional single-family homes in a new section of Village Hill.

As recently as two years ago, the majority of the Craftsman and Victorian homes, which are at the top of the price range on Village Hill, were still awaiting buyers. Jonathan A. Wright, the president of Wright Builders, bought one of the homes himself. Over the past year, however, the homes, which cost as much as $700,000, have been in demand.

Patrick M. Goggins of Goggins Real Estate, the company that is marketing the homes, said the homes went fast once the dam broke on consumer confidence in the project. The relocation of Kollmorgen Electro-Optical to the south part of the property across Route 66 helped spark interest, he said.

“It ended up breathing a lot of life into the project,” Goggins said.

The quality of the new homes was also a selling point, according to Goggins. Many of the houses feature front porches, passive solar heating and even rain gardens.

“That ends up being popular with people nowadays,” Goggins said. “We’ve heard an awful lot of positive feedback.”

With about 150 housing units already built or about to break ground, Village Hill is approximately half way to its maximum build-out. Designed to accommodate the entire spectrum of incomes, the housing ranges from apartments to townhouses to big single-family homes like the ones recently completed. The city estimates that the latest spate of houses will add more than $100,000 a year to the tax rolls.

State Sen. Mark Montigny called the moment “bittersweet,” noting the bill he first filed six years ago was one of the first in the country to target human trafficking and 47 other states passed laws before Massachusetts.

By MATT MURPHY

BOSTON - With a stroke of his pen, Gov. Deval L. Patrick on Monday moved Massachusetts into the nearly full column of states with anti-human trafficking laws on the books.

“It has been many, many years trying to bring a more modern, more focused, more effective element to our criminal justice laws to be able to deal with a devastating issue, one that disrupts families, turns lives upside down, affects communities and has ripple effects through a host of corners of our Commonwealth and our character as a Commonwealth,” Patrick said.

The bill was approved by the Legislature last week and Attorney General Martha M. Coakley, Sen. Mark Montigny, House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty, Sen. Jennifer Flanagan, Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley, Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis, and Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley joined the governor in his office just after noon for the bill’s signing.

“Hopefully, with this legislation we will make a major dent in human trafficking in the commonwealth,” DeLeo said.

The bill gives prosecutors new tools to target prostitution and forced labor networks, features new mandatory minimum sentences for human trafficking, creates new crimes for organ trafficking, and increases penalties for so-called "Johns" convicted of a first-time offense.

The bill also includes “safe harbor” provisions that would allow juveniles under 18 to avoid prosecution in certain cases if a judge determines they were victimized by trafficking, and provides services for exploited children.

“This is one of the strongest pieces of anti-human trafficking that there is in this country, and that’s the most important thing,” DeLeo said.

Montigny, D-New Bedford, called the moment “bittersweet,” noting the bill he first filed six years ago was one of the first in the country to target human trafficking and 47 other states passed laws before Massachusetts.

Still, Montigny said, the Massachusetts law is stronger because it drew from the experiences of other states.

“No longer will children that are having sex with adults for money be treated as child delinquents. They are, in fact, being raped by the very nature of the act. Unfortunately that takes a lot of shift in paradigm,” Montigny said.

Former Ambassador Swanee Hunt, an advocate for women’s rights and a professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, thanked the survivors of human trafficking who had the courage to come forward to testify and gave a face to the legislation.

“This will have ripple effects all across the world,” said Hunt, who has worked on the issue around the world and said Massachusetts laws will now be looked to in countries like Thailand and other places for guidance.

The renewed push to pass the anti-human trafficking legislation started in January when Attorney General Martha Coakley held a press conference in her office, rededicating herself to the effort along with Montigny and O’Flaherty, who both pledged action this session.

“I don’t think people were for human trafficking in Massachusetts, but I think people didn’t quite see it,” Coakley said on Monday. Coakley said the law calls for a new commission to oversee implementation and to ensure that law enforcement can access the tools intended to be used to bring cases under the new statutes.

O’Flaherty, the House co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee who served as the lead negotiator with Montigny on the bill, thanked DeLeo for directing him for focus on the bill. “This was a learning process for all of us,” O’Flaherty said.

Asked whether there was a correlation between action on anti-human trafficking legislation this session and the conclusion to the long-running debate over expanded gambling, Gov. Patrick said, “The answer is no.”

Critics of legislation bringing casinos to Massachusetts, which Patrick is expected to sign into law on Tuesday, have argued that increased gambling invites organized crime, including prostitution.

A smaller group of counterprotesters identifying themselves with the local Tea Party movement stood on the opposite side of the intersection. Watch video

Updates a story posted Monday at 1:23 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD – Protesters angered by ongoing mortgage foreclosures shut down the Bank of America branch in downtown Springfield’s Monarch Place Monday.

Springfield police arrested 15 protesters who had sat down in and around the bank. Those protesters were charged with trespassing. Police Commissioner William D. Fitchet said the arrested protesters complied with police and the arrests went smoothly.

Each of the following people was cited with a single count of trespassing: Loren M. Halman, 25, of 87 Russell St., Hadley; Lara Shepard-Blue, 40, of 139 Eddy St., Springfield; Patricia Wieland, 68, 3 Langworthy Road, Northampton; Joseph Mirkin, 26, 5 Fruit St., Northampton; Catherine Ady-Bell, 33, of 320 Dorsett St., Springfield; Ellen M. Graves, 71, 37 Plateau Cir., West Springfield; Anamarie Russo, 71, 6 West St., Northampton; Shanthi Ragaven, 22, 19 Columbus Ave., Northampton; Christopher Rios, 21, 46 Wait St., Springfield; Russ Vernon-Jones, 64, 17 Gaylord St., Amherst; Jeffrey Napolitano, 33, 53 California Ave., Springfield; Destry Sibley, 495 Appleton St., Holyoke; Daniel Keefe, 27, 88 Elm St., Shelburne Falls; Jasmin Torrejon, 112 Washington St., Springfield and Holly Richardson, 47, 68 North Main St., Northampton.

The arrests occurred too late in the day for the demonstrators to be processed at the police station and then taken to Springfield District Court for arraignment, said Sgt. John Delaney, aide to Fitchet.

Arraignments will be Tuesday, he said. The demonstrators will be held at the Springfield Police Station until the court clerk magistrate arrives to set bail, he said.

As the protest was happening Monday, Fitchet said he saw no reason to interfere with the protesters outside on the sidewalk, and they were allowed to continue chanting and banging on upturned plastic buckets. They dispersed at about 1 p.m., an hour after the protest started with a march from the city’s South End, and about 45 minutes after the arrests.

The protesters arrested in the bank were not part of the march. Instead they secretly got into place and sat down on a prearranged signal when the main protest arrived. Those arrested included four who sat at each of the two bank entrances and five who sat on the floor in the bank itself.

The crowd totaled more than 250 people drawn from various groups, including “Occupy” movements from Springfield, Northampton, Pittsfield, Worcester and Boston. They chanted “Bank of America, Bad for America” and other slogans as a crowd of lunchtime curiosity seekers looked on.

A smaller group of counter-protesters identifying themselves with the local tea party movement stood on the opposite side of the intersection. There was no interaction between the two groups.

“I think we’ve been successful in focusing people’s attention on this problem,” said organizer David W. Dunwell of Springfield No One Leaves, an anti-mortgage foreclosure advocacy group which organized Monday’s demonstration. “These banks are taking advantage of the victims of the economic crisis they themselves helped to create.”

Dunwell said he’s in the process of having his home foreclosed upon after falling behind on payments on the mortgage for his home on Hughes Street in Springfield after losing his job a few years ago. The lender, Fannie Mae, which he said took over the loan from Bank of America, has a foreclosure pending.

Dunwell said he and his wife are working now and are willing to make payments. But Fannie Mae isn’t accepting payments, Dunwell said.

“I’m not looking for a handout,” he said. “I’m willing to pay if they modify my loan. But now they won’t even accept my payments."

Springfield No One Leaves is calling for lenders to cut the principal due on mortgages to reflect current market value and to put an end to no-fault evictions of tenants whose landlords have been foreclosed upon.

“These banks took government bailout money and promised to work with homeowners. Now those loan modifications are not happening,” Dunwell said.

Imogene Jones of Breckwood Circle in Springfield said she is awaiting a pending foreclosure of her home of 19 years. She had difficulty making payments following the death of her husband nearly two years ago.

“I’ve told Bank of America then can extend the term of my loan out as long as they want to,” she said. “Just get the payment down to something I can afford.”

Bank of America spokesman for Massachusetts T.J. Crawford said the bank wouldn’t comment on Springfield No One Leaves’ motivations. The company also respects the right of protesters, he said.

“We only intervene if their actions are impeding customers from doing business or blocking access to the building,” Crawford said. “The well-being of both customers and employees is obviously our number one concern.”

The bank kept the Monarch Place branch closed the rest of Monday. It was expected to reopen on Tuesday.

Republicans and Democrats alike pointed fingers of blame, maneuvering for political advantage in advance of 2012 elections; both sides agreed action was still required, somehow, and soon.

By DAVID ESPO | AP Special Correspondent

Associated PressSupercommittee member Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. walks amid reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Nov. 21, 2011, as the deficit reduction panel's deadline approaches with little expectation for success. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON — Congress' supercommittee conceded ignominious defeat Monday in its quest to conquer a government debt that stands at a staggering $15 trillion, unable to overcome deep and enduring political divisions over taxes and spending.

Stock prices plummeted at home and across debt-scarred Europe as the panel ended its brief, secretive existence. Republicans and Democrats alike pointed fingers of blame, maneuvering for political advantage in advance of 2012 elections less than a year away. Both sides agreed action was still required, somehow, and soon.

"Despite our inability to bridge the committee's significant differences, we end this process united in our belief that the nation's fiscal crisis must be addressed and that we cannot leave it for the next generation to solve," the panel's two co-chairs, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Tex., said in a somber statement.

They added it was not possible to present "any bipartisan agreement" — omitting any reference to the goal of $1.2 trillion in cuts over a decade that had been viewed as a minimum for success.

Under the law that established the committee last summer, failure by the six Republicans and six Democrats to reach a compromise is to trigger about $1 trillion in automatic spending cuts in military and domestic government programs beginning in 2013. In reality, though, it is unclear if any of those reductions will ever take effect, since next year's presidential and congressional elections have the potential to alter the political landscape before then.

Several committee members met in the Capitol at mid-day, but there was hint of progress toward an 11th-hour compromise.

At the White House, President Barack Obama's press secretary still called for action.

"Instead of pointing fingers and playing the blame game, Congress should act," said Jay Carney. He said the automatic cuts that would fall on the Pentagon are "deeper than we think is wise," but he added the administration does not think Congress should undo them. Obama signed the legislation earlier in the year that mandates the cuts as a stopgap in case the committee failed to agree.

Some Republicans said Obama shared the blame for any failure. "It's amazing to what lengths he will go to avoid making tough decisions," said Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a GOP White House hopeful.

Based on accounts provided by officials familiar with the talks, it appeared that weeks of private negotiations did nothing to alter a fundamental divide between the two political parties. Before and during the talks, Democrats said they would agree to significant savings from benefit programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security only if Republicans would agree to a hefty dose of higher taxes, including cancellation of Bush-era cuts at upper-income brackets. In contrast, The GOP side said spending, not revenue, was the cause of the government's chronic budget deficits, and insisted that the tax cuts approved in the previous decade all be made permanent.

The Democrats' "idea was this was the opportunity to raise taxes,'" said Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, the Senate's second-ranking Republican and a member of the supercommittee. "It didn't matter what we proposed; the price of that was going to be $1.3 trillion in new taxes," he added in a CNBC interview, although Democrats made at least two offers that called for smaller amounts of additional tax revenue.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said on MSNBC, "I have demonstrations outside my office. I've had rallies. I've had unbelievable amount of pushback because we were ready and prepared to put on the table some of those so-called sacred cows." Republicans, he said, refused to consider cancellation of the tax cuts for the wealthy.

The talks also were hampered by internal divisions within both parties.

Republicans offered a plan crafted by Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania about two weeks ago that included an additional $250 billion in tax revenue through an overhaul of the tax code that included reducing the top tax rate from 35 percent to 28 percent. Some Republicans criticized it as a violation of the party's long-standing pledge not to raise taxes. Even some in the GOP leadership, including Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia, declined to endorse it in public.

At the same time, Democrats ridiculed it as a tax cut for the rich in disguise — even privately criticizing Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., when he said it could signal a breakthrough — and it failed to generate any momentum toward compromise. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and others also accused Republicans of bowing to the wishes of Grover Norquist, an anti-tax activist whose organization has gathered signatures from GOP candidates on a petition pledging never to raise taxes.

And Democrats had problems of their own. An offer presented by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., to cut about $3 trillion from future deficits failed to win the backing of two of the six committee members of his own party. Officials said they objected because it would have curtailed future cost-of-living increases for Social Security recipients. Some Senate liberals spoke out against the provision in speeches, Baucus jettisoned it from a subsequent offer and Republicans cited that as an example of Democratic intransigence.

The panel's failure marked the end of an extraordinary yearlong effort by divided government to grapple with budget deficits that lawmakers of both parties and economists of all persuasions agreed were unsustainable.

Negotiations in the Capitol led by Vice President Joseph Biden were followed by an extraordinary round of White House talks in which Obama and House Speaker John Boehner sought a sweeping compromise to cut trillions from future deficits. They outlined a potential accord that would make far-reaching changes in Medicare and other programs, while generating up to $800 billion in higher revenue through an overhaul of the tax code. But in the end, they failed to agree.

By contrast, the supercommittee never came close, instead swapping increasingly small-bore offers that the other side swiftly rejected.

Within the past week, Democrats said they would accept a Republican framework for $400 billion in higher tax revenue and $800 billion or so in spending cuts, while rejecting numerous key proposals.

Late last week, Boehner floated an offer that included $543 billion in spending cuts, fees and other non-tax revenue, as well as $3 billion in tax revenue from closing a special tax break for corporate purchases of private jets. It also assumed $98 billion in reduced interest costs.

It was swiftly rejected.

Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor, Alan Fram and Laurie Kellman contributed to this story.

Council President Joseph McGiverin said he was leaning more toward legal action than tapping taxpayers.

File photo | The RepublicanHolyoke Geriatric Authority

HOLYOKE – The mayor has called a special meeting of the City Council Tuesday night to discuss money issues one councilor said could lead to a lawsuit.

The meeting is at 6 p.m. at City Hall in City Council Chambers.

The financial transfers on the agenda must be made to balance the budget so the council in a few weeks can hold the annual tax classification public hearing and set the new tax rate.

One proposal is to transfer $465,000 from free cash to cover employee-retirement expenses that the Holyoke Geriatric Authority has failed to pay going back to 2008.

The Retirement Board voted 5-0 on Sept. 20 to ask that the Board of Assessors place onto the tax levy unpaid retirement appropriations the Geriatric Authority was supposed to make.

Officials have said the action was taken because such costs had to be paid and the authority received numerous payment requests over the years.

Joseph McGiverin

Council President Joseph M. McGiverin said last week he was leaning more toward legal action than tapping taxpayers.

“I would like to know if we have the authority to sue the Geriatric Authority and get these monies back instead of putting in on the taxpayers,” McGiverin said.

A similar step occurred in 1999 when the city had to take on $3.2 million in authority retirement costs.

Authority officials have said the facility is strapped because federal reimbursements cover only 75 percent of costs, leaving the authority to try to account for the remaining 25 percent.

The authority is a nursing home at 45 Lower Westfield Road with more than 120 employees, 80 beds and 80 daycare slots for senior citizens.

The authority became a quasi-official city agency in 1971, with the City Council appointing three board members, the mayor appointing three and those six voting in a seventh.

State law requires that entities such as the authority and the city make contributions according to a schedule to ensure retired employees’ pensions get funded.

Officials have said the authority is current on pension payments made from employee payroll deductions, but the problem has been in funding its own pension contributions.

Another authority-related transfer is for $214,712 to balance a shortfall in city debt payment.

That’s related to a 2007 deal in which the city paid $1.2 million to the authority for 9.5 acres on Lower Westfield Road in a transaction that is a key source of friction between city and authority officials.

City Treasurer Jon D. Lumbra said the transfer was needed because the $1.2 million was recently deemed to be outside the allowable limit the city could have spent on the land under the law.

The council also will be asked to approve a $457,000 transfer within the wastewater treatment plant budget to cover a shortfall based on expenses exceeding revenue. That’s another source of friction, with some councilors saying more effort should be devoted to seizing delinquent taxes and cutting costs than using up free cash.

Another transfer request is for $3,491 from free cash for an outstanding invoice from BadgeQuest Inc., of West Yarmouth, a consultant in the police chief search earlier this year.

The supercommittee stalemate is supposed to trigger automatic spending cuts across the government, but there were hints that Congress would find a way around them.

Associated Press photoDebt supercommittee co-chair Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., speaks outside her office on Capitol Hill as the work of the debt reduction panel ends in failure, in Washington, Monday.

NEW YORK – The stock market was not exactly surprised that a so-called supercommittee in Congress failed to reach a deal to cut the federal budget deficit. But since summer, investors have sold at the first hint of trouble.

So on Monday, they sold big. The Dow Jones industrial average lost almost 250 points on a day when investors despaired over debt problems at home and abroad.

Members of the special committee, created in August to come up with $1.2 trillion in deficit cuts over 10 years, indicated all day that there would be no deal. After the market closed, the committee’s bipartisan leadership made it official.

“They’re essentially giving up,” said Robert Robis, head of fixed income macro strategies at ING Investment Management.

The supercommittee stalemate is supposed to trigger automatic spending cuts across the government, but there were already hints that Congress would find a way around them. Analysts say that could lead to another downgrade of the U.S. credit rating.

In addition, the failure raises the question of how a gridlocked Congress will find a way to renew a cut in the Social Security tax or agree on whether to extend long-term unemployment benefits.

Congress passed the tax cut last December for one year, and some lawmakers support extending it through 2012 because economic growth remains weak. Both measures would put cash in the pockets of Americans, who can spend it and help the economy grow.

The stalemate also shows lawmakers may not be able to make progress on anything budget-related in the coming months, said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist with Banyan Partners LLC in New York.

“It shows that there’s a bigger problem at hand, and if they can’t work to resolve these relatively small yet meaningful issues, what’s going to happen if we get into a situation like Europe is in?” he said. “And we’re kind of headed there.”

The result was another day of heavy selling in a market that has grown used to big swings. The Dow finished down 248.85 points, or 2.1 percent, at 11,547.31. At its low point of the day, the Dow was down 342.

Volatility seized the stock market in late July, when Congress was wrestling with whether to raise the limit on how much the federal government can borrow.

The Dow rose or fell 100 points or more on 15 trading days in August, 16 in September and 15 in October. Monday was its 10th triple-digit move this month, with six trading days to go.

“People are getting so short-term oriented now that all they know is how to make day trades,” he said.

The selling swung the Dow from a gain for the year to a loss, the first time that has happened in a month.

In Europe, Moody’s, a prominent ratings agency, warned that France could face a downgrade because the debt crisis in Europe has pushed borrowing costs higher for the French government. For now, France has a rating of AAA, the best.

One European country after another has fallen into crisis because of debt. Wary of the ability of countries to pay back their loans, bond investors have insisted on higher returns on national bonds, pushing borrowing costs to dangerous levels.

Stock indexes fell 3.4 percent in both Germany and France – bigger declines than in the United States. Germany and France are the two largest economies in Europe.

Investors still see American debt as safe, despite the failure of the supercommittee. On Monday, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.97 percent. It traded at 2.01 percent late Friday.

Bond yields move down when bond prices go up. The higher demand for U.S. bonds Monday was a sign that investors believe in their safety.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped 22.67, or 1.9 percent, to 1,192.98. The S&P 500 fell 3.8 percent last week, its worst since September. The Nasdaq composite index declined 49.36, or 1.9 percent, to 2,523.14.

Last week’s steepest falls were Wednesday and Thursday, after Fitch, another ratings agency, warned that the European debt crisis could hit the largest American banks. The S&P 500 is down more than 5 percent for the year. On Nov. 15, it was still up slightly.

The declines Monday were broad. Energy and technology stocks lost the most. All 30 stocks in the Dow average fell, led by Boeing Co. with a 4.7 percent decline. The dollar rose along with U.S. Treasury prices.

Gilead Sciences Inc. stock plunged 9 percent, the most in the S&P 500. The company plans to buy drug developer Pharmasset Inc. for $11 billion. Pharmasset, which has an experimental hepatitis C drug in late-stage clinical trials, jumped almost 85 percent.

Alleghany Corp. fell almost 7 percent after the property and casualty insurer said it had agreed to buy the reinsurance company Transatlantic Holdings Inc. for $3.4 billion. Transatlantic edged up almost 1 percent.

Irish electronics company Cooper Industries PLC bucked the market trend, rising 2.6 percent, after S&P said it will be added to the S&P 500 index. Stocks often rally when they are added to major indexes, because investment funds that mirror the indexes must buy them.