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AAA predicts 3.8% increase in holiday travel this Thanksgiving

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Nationally, 42.5 million Americans plan to travel over Thanksgiving, an increase of 4 percent from the 40.9 million Americans who traveled last Thanksgiving.

TurkeyA car is seen being driven down Main Street in Zelienople, Pa., with a caged turkey in the trunk on Saturday. The Thanksgiving holiday, with a traditional turkey meal, will be celebrated on Thursday.

WEST SPRINGFIELD – Thanksgiving holiday travel across New England is expected to increase by 3.8 percent more than last year.

That means there will be 1.79 million New Englanders traveling 50 miles or further starting Wednesday through , Nov. 27, according to a survey completed by IHS Global Insight on behalf of AAA nationally and AAA Pioneer Valley in West Springfield. That’ll be a 3.8 percent increase compared with Thanksgiving 2010. Of those 1.79 million travelers, 1.56 million plan to travel by automobile and 200,000 plan to fly.

Nationally, 42.5 million Americans plan to travel over Thanksgiving, an increase of 4 percent from the 40.9 million Americans who traveled last Thanksgiving.

Travelers should have little trouble with the weather, according to the National Weather Service. Wednesday will feature rain, heavy at times with only a slight chance of snow between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. Thursday. Thanksgiving Day will be sunny, with a high near 48. There is little precipitation predicted for the rest of the weekend.

The average price for a gallon of regular gas in Springfield was $3.41 Monday, according to AAA. That’s down from $3.42 the day before and $3.50 a month ago. but gas sold for $2.93 a year ago. The highest gas price on record in Greater Springfield was $4.08 in July of 2008.

With college students coming home for the holiday, Thanksgiving is always a busy time for Springfield’s Peter Pan Bus Lines. Peter Pan plans to add as many as 780 additional motorcoaches to its regular route service during the Thanksgiving travel period, the company said last week in a news release.

Peter Pan anticipates carrying more than 140,000 passengers from through Monday. That is an increase of approximately 35,000 passengers compared with a normal weekend.

The state Department of Transportation warned drivers to plan for congestion and to be courteous and respectful when out on the road. Interstate 90 Exit 9 in Sturbridge connecting I-84 to Connecticut and New York experiences heavy traffic and busy toll plazas. To avoid delays on Wednesday and Sunday, drivers are encouraged to consider travel during the early morning or after 8 p.m.

Traffic congestion is also expected at the Interstate 95 and Interstate 495 Turnpike interchanges along with I-495 and I-93 northbound leading into New Hampshire. Free coffee will be served at all 18 MassDOT service plazas courtesy of McDonald’s, Burger King, and Gulf between 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving night, until 5 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 25.


Westfield Citizens Scholarship Foundation to administer scholarship in memory of Ozzie the duck

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The foundation must raise $10,000 to make the scholarship permanent.

Duck Death 111511.jpgBob McKean, managing director for Stanley Park in Westfield., near the memorial stone of Ozzie the duck Tuesday,. Stanley Park's resident Muscovy Duck was deliberately killed in the park's covered bridge Nov.11. Westfield police said that a 15-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the death of the duck and charges of cruelty to animals could be pending.

WESTFIELD – An anonymous donor has established a memorial scholarship, through the Citizens Scholarship Foundation, in memory of Stanley Park’s beloved Muscovy duck named Ozzie.

And, the CSF is hoping to make the unique scholarship permanent.

To do that, CSF must raise $10,000, President Cynthia M. Neary said.

“The donor wishes to remain anonymous but the life-long Westfield resident, like us and the administration at Stanley Park would like this to become a permanent memorial in memory of Ozzie,” Neary said.

Ozzie made Stanley Park its home for the past three years. He was killed at the park on Nov. 11 by a 15-year-old city boy who has been charged with cruelty to animals and killing a domesticated animal.

Residents wishing to donate to the Ozzie Scholarship can do so by mail to Citizens Scholarship Foundation, P.O. 382, Westfield, Ma. 01086,

The Ozzie Scholarship is unique, Neary said, noting it is the first time a scholarship has been made in memory of an animal through the foundation.

The scholarship will be awarded to a high school graduating senior who is a Westfield resident, who is a humanitarian volunteer or who will pursue a college degree humanitarian services.

The CSF was established in 1962 and has awarded a total of 5,200 scholarship amounting to $2.5 million since then.

Last year foundation awarded 141 scholarships worth a combined $101,760.

Thursday trash collection in Springfield rescheduled until Saturday due to Thanksgiving

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The Department of Public Works is reminding residents there will be no municipal trash collection on Thursday due to the holiday.

SPRINGFIELD - The Department of Public Works is reminding residents there will be no municipal trash collection on Thursday due to the holiday.

Instead, collection of rubbish and recyclable materials will take place Saturday for households usually scheduled for Thursday.

Collection of rubbish will take place on Saturday, November 26th for residents with Thursday rubbish collection.

Items should be placed out for collection no later than 7 a.m. For more information, people should call 311 or (413) 736-3111.

Michael Houle, who got probation for downloading pornography to a Holyoke Public Library computer, gets 7-11 years for raping boy

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Houle's court-ordered GPS monitoring system led to one piece of evidence in this new case.

michaelhoulecrop.jpgMichael Houle

SPRINGFIELD – Michael Houle, who got probation in 2010 for downloading child pornography on a computer at Holyoke Public Library, was given a 7- to 11-year state prison sentence Monday for raping a young boy.

Houle, 21, pleaded guilty to rape of a child with force and indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 years old for a September 2010 crime in Springfield.

The prosecutor said if the case had gone to trial one piece of evidence would have been from the GPS monitoring device Houle had to wear after pleading guilty in June 2010 to downloading child pornography at the library.

Assistant District Attorney Patrick S. Sabbs told Hampden Superior Court Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder Houle denied to police he took the victim, a 10-year-old, in the woods during a bike ride, but the GPS tracking system showed he had left the road and gone into the woods.

Sabbs said testing showed Houle’s DNA in the boy’s boxer shorts. The boy said Houle touched him with his hands and mouth.

Jeffrey S. Brown, Houle’s lawyer, said Houle had been diagnosed with an antisocial personality but an examination had showed he could be held criminally responsible.

Brown said Houle is “petrified” about what will happen to him in state prison.

Sabbs told Kinder the sentence was agreed upon by both sides. He said the victim is “a great kid” but it would be better for the child’s emotional well-being to not have to testify.

Sabbs read a statement from the young boy’s mother saying it has had a horrific impact on the boy, who feels the world is no longer a safe place.

Houle has been held at the Hampshire County Correctional Center awaiting trial since his arrest on the child rape allegation.

He also pleaded guilty Monday to a violation of the probation he received from the library case. The violation, which is the new offense, got him a 4-5-year sentence, but that runs concurrent with the 7-11 year sentence.

State education officials release 5-point improvement plan for Springfield, Holyoke, Chicopee, Westfield schools

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The state has not done enough to close the learning gap between poor children and their more affluent peers.

101309_paul_reville.jpgS. Paul Reville

Concerned the gap between the low and high-achieving students remain sizable, state officials are releasing a five-part proposal that calls for a variety of reforms in lower-income cities designed to help struggling students.

Test data shows the state continues to be the academic leader nationwide, but the 24 so-called mid-sized Gateway cities, which include Springfield, Holyoke, Chicopee and Westfield in Western Massachusetts, are still having difficulty ensuring all children achieve. Those who are poor, have learning disabilities, are racial minorities and do not speak English well continue to score lower, said S. Paul Reville, the state secretary of education.

“We still have gaps that correlate with socioeconomic status,” Reville said. “What we have done is too weak.”

After a visit to Springfield’s Gerena School, Reville talked about the five-part plan to close the gap by offering more, better programs for poor children, those who do not speak English and others who are at-risk of doing poorly in school.

Some of the ideas, such as offering other services to families through the schools, have been tried, but schools in Springfield and Holyoke often end up struggling to fund the programs or cut them because they have no source of funding.

Reville could not say how the new ideas would be funded, especially with the federal budget being cut.

“As a matter of state policy we need to support it,” he said.

The first part of the five part plan will be to create an intensive summer program that would emphasize early literacy development to help prepare at-risk children in the months before they enter kindergarten, he said.

“Children come to kindergarten with one-third to one quarter of the vocabulary some of their peers have,” he said.

He praised efforts from the Davis Foundation, Springfield businesses and Springfield Schools who have worked together on the Reading Success by Fourth-Grade and the Read/Talk/Success! programs that work with families and the community to promote early literacy skills, calling it “laudable work” and said he would like to see similar programs to spread to other cities.

The plan also calls for student support councils to be developed in schools in Gateway cities. The councils would help families in trouble find resources for housing, health care and other problems so the issues do not come an impediment to their children’s learning, Reville said.

For children who are learning English, the plan is to offer pilot summer learning camps in some communities that would give students intensive instruction and extra time to acquire the language while they do not have to focus on other academic subjects, Reville said.

He said it is time to re-think the state’s expectations that children can keep pace in all their academic subjects while they are still learning English.

The plan also calls for more work to align the elementary and secondary educational system so students will be better prepared for college or a job. It also pushes for schools to continue focusing on creating innovative ideas that can be shared with other districts if they prove successful.

State Police, Marine Corps League team up on Toys for Tots campaign

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A state police cruiser will be parked outside Toys R Us at the Eastfield Mall Dec. 3 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. People can purchase a toy at the toy store and then place it inside the vehicle.

SPRINGFIELD - The Massachusetts State Police and the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve are inviting members of the public to donate toys for annual Toys for Tots campaign on Saturday, Dec. 3 at the Eastfield Mall on Boston Road.

Under the "fill a cruiser" campaign, a state police cruiser will be parked outside Toys R Us from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. People can purchase a toy at the toy store and then place it inside the vehicle.

Other cruisers will be parked at five other Toys R Us locations across the state, including: Worcester, Framingham, Auburn and Dedham.

Organizers ask only that the toys be new and in the original packaging, for either boys or girls from infants to age 14, and that they do not have violent themes.

The collection is part of the Toys for Tots campaign, which the Marine Corps League and Massachusetts State Police have collaborated on for the last 27 years. The Marine Corps League has been affiliated with Toys for Tots for 64 years.

People may also bring donations to any state police barracks or to the state police headquarters in Framingham through Dec. 16. For the address of the nearest barracks location, people may call (508)820-2623.


“For so many families, the generosity of our citizens makes difference in whether a child has a gift for the holidays – one of the most basic joys of childhood that we otherwise take for granted,” said Colonel Marian J. McGovern, superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police. “Please visit a participating Toys ‘R’ Us store on Dec. 3 or stop by the barracks nearest to you to make a donation.”

For more information or who wish to make a monetary donation may visit the program’s website at www.toysfortots.org.

Anyone with questions may call the State Police Office of Media Relations at 508-820-2623 or the Toys for Tots State Police Coordinator at 508-649-4195.


Westfield's Great River Bridge to reopen to traffic after 2 years of rehabilitation

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Construction bids to replace the nearby Pochassic Street Bridge are due early next month.

Great River Bridges 2010.jpgWestfield's original Great River Bridge is framed by the new bridge as seen last year. The renovated old bridge is scheduled to reopen next week.

WESTFIELD – Weather permitting the original Great River Bridge will reopen to traffic next week but the overall project will not be complete until later.

“Great news,” said state Sen. Michael R. Knapik, R-Westfield. “It has been a long time in coming and it is a remarkable final milestone for the city,” he said.

A spokesman for the state Department of Transportation said contractor J.F. White Construction Co. of Framingham, plans to open the span next week.

But, work in the Depot Square area will continue on parks and other parts of the $77 million project that started four years ago.

The original bridge, built in the late 1930s, was closed in August 2009 for rehabilitation. A new bridge, built along side the original, opened then and has been serving the motoring public, both north and south since.

Next week’s reopening will allow traffic to flow south while the newer bridge takes motorists northbound.

Knapik and City Engineer Mark S. Cressotti said remaining work involves completion of three parks, traffic island and rotary.

“There is a decent punchlist to be completed by spring,” Knapik said.

Cressotti said “the arrival of spring should resolve all issues with the bridge and Depot Square.”

Cressotti said some confusion will continue despite the opening, targeted for Nov. 30.

Southbound traffic wishing to access side streets in Depot Square such as Union Street will experience a “confusing traffic pattern,” the engineer said.

“Once the bridge is open to traffic we will see an interim travel scenario until all work is completed,” he said.

Original estimate was around $57 million but that did not include work on the railroad viaduct and raising of the tracks to eliminate the long-standing problem faced by tractor-trailer drivers, Knapik said.

Also, additional rehabilitation was needed after work on the original bridge began, he said.

“Great River bridge was off budget because of the railroad work and then the discovery that the original bridge need addition engineering work. The railroad component cost about $13 million,” he said.

The state is expected to launch replacement of the near-by Pochassic Street Bridge next spring. Bids for that project, estimated at $5.6 million, are due Dec. 6.

That project should take 2 1/2 years to complete, residents were told earlier this year.

That bridge was closed in January, 2010 because of structural deterioration. Its closing caused a major traffic detour for residents and motorists in the ‘Drug Store Hill’ section of the city off North Elm Street.

U.S. Sen. John Kerry blames Republicans for debt-limit 'supercommittee' failure

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His colleague, Scott Brown, said both parties need to work together to reach a solution.

Brown and Kerry 2011.jpgU. S. Sens. Scott P. Brown, left, and John F. Kerry, seen at a hearing in Boston last month, both expressed their disappointment Monday that the debt-limit 'supercommittee' was unable to reach an agreement.

BOSTON – U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry is blaming Republicans’ staunch opposition to taxes for the failure Monday of a bipartisan congressional committee to come up with a deal to reduce the federal deficit by $1.2 trillion.

The Massachusetts Democrat who served on the 12-member supercommittee said he was deeply disappointed with the inability to reach an agreement by Monday’s deadline.

Kerry said Democrats on the committee proposed painful choices for programs they cared about deeply, but could not overcome Republican insistence on making tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans permanent.

Republicans faulted Democrats for refusing to agree to any meaningful deficit reduction without $1 trillion in tax increases.

Sen. Scott P. Brown also said he was disappointed.

The Massachusetts Republican said finger-pointing won’t solve the debt crisis and both parties have to work together.

“Congress must do better, and both parties must work together to come to a solution,” he said.


Amherst resident David Poritz among 32 students nationwide to earn Rhodes scholarships

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The award provides Poritz, 23, with an all-expense-paid education at Oxford University in England starting next October.

David Poritz 1.jpgView full sizeDavid Poritz, 23, of Amherst, has been named a Rhodes Scholar.

AMHERST – David S. Poritz has spent much of his life crusading for the rights of Latin Americans. This week, that work helped him become one of 32 students nationwide to win a coveted Rhodes Scholarship.

The award provides Poritz, 23, with an all-expense-paid education at Oxford University in England starting next October. He plans to spend one year earning a Masters degree in global governance and diplomacy.

At Brown, he majors in anthropology and Latin American and Caribbean studies. A graduate of Amherst Regional High School, Poritz is also a scholar with the Henry David Thoreau and Harry S. Truman Scholarship foundations.

British philanthropist Cecil Rhodes created the Rhodes Scholarships through his will in 1902. They are among the most prestigious academic honors in the world. Past recipients include former U.S. President Bill Clinton, La. Gov. Bobby Jindal, a long list of congressmen, Supreme Court justices, Nobel Prize winners and other luminaries.

Winning the scholarship is “a very humbling experience,” said Poritz. “It’s a really exciting opportunity. It’s a big honor.”

The Rhodes Trust said 830 applicants endorsed by 299 colleges and universities vied for the awards.

Poritz started and operates two organizations: a non-profit aimed at helping impoverished people in Ecuador and a limited liability company encouraging responsible oil and gas extraction.

In 2009, Poritz took a leave of absence from Brown to establish Gaia Certification, Ltd., which developed a voluntary certification system, much like a credit rating, for oil and gas extraction sites. Under the standard, companies can receive financial benefits for eco-friendly and socially responsible practices. It is now called Equitable Origin.

David Poritz.JPGView full size2012 Rhodes Scholar David Poritz, 23, of Amherst, on an oil rig in the Ecuadorian Amazon during an onsite visit on behalf of Equitable Origin, a limited liability company he founded in 2009 that certifies oil and gas extraction sites for environmental and social responsibility.

“There’s a major paradigm shift happening in the world,” said Poritz, the President and Chief Executive Officer. “It’s no longer acceptable ... for a company to just go into a region and extract a resource.”

“For the first time, we can legitimately verify social and environmental responsibility,” he said.

The company is also creating a marketplace that allows customers to buy products from certified sources.

When Poritz leaves for Oxford, he will stay involved in this work, but will delegate day-to-day operations to other people, he said.

At 15, he helped a local attorney compile evidence in a class action lawsuit against oil giant Chevron (then called Texaco) for allegedly leaving behind a major eco-crisis after drilling in Ecuador.

The company was ordered to pay an estimated $18.2 billion in damages this year, which it has called “illegitimate and unenforceable (and) contrary to the legitimate scientific evidence.” An appeal is underway.

Also at 15, Poritz started Esperanza International, Inc., in his Rolling Ridge Road home, which sends shoes, educational materials and medical supplies to impoverished areas of Ecuador.

In 2008, the group joined a collaborative effort to amend the Ecuadorian constitution to include legal protection for nature. The country’s people approved language granting “natural communities and ecosystems ... the unalienable right to exist, flourish and evolve.”

Poritz was honored with a Prudential Spirit of Community Award in 2007. In recognition, Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., entered his congratulations into the congressional record.

After supercommittee failure, what's next? Lawmakers look to undo the back-up plan

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Congress' emergency backup budget-cutting plan now is supposed to take over — automatic, across-the-board spending reductions of roughly $1 trillion from military as well as domestic government programs.

112111 john kerry supercommittee.JPGSupercommittee member Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., walks amid reporters as the deficit reduction panel ends in failure, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Nov. 21, 2011. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

By DONNA CASSATA

WASHINGTON — Don't look for the Pentagon to shut down one side of its famous five-sided building. Don't expect the Education Department to pull back its grants just yet.

With the collapse of the deficit-cutting supercommittee, Congress' emergency backup budget-cutting plan now is supposed to take over — automatic, across-the-board spending reductions of roughly $1 trillion from military as well as domestic government programs.

But the big federal deficit reductions that are to be triggered by Monday's supercommittee collapse wouldn't kick in until January 2013. And that allows plenty of time for lawmakers to try to rework the cuts or hope that a new post-election cast of characters — possibly a different president — will reverse them.

Congress' defense hawks led the charge Monday, arguing that the debt accord reached by President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans last summer already inflicted enough damage on the military budget. That agreement set in motion some $450 billion in cuts to future Pentagon accounts over the next decade.

The supercommittee's failure to produce a deficit-cutting plan of at least $1.2 trillion after two months of work is supposed to activate the further, automatic cuts, half from domestic programs, half from defense. Combined with the current reductions, the Pentagon would be looking at nearly $1 trillion in cuts to projected spending over 10 years.

Obama declared he would veto any effort to undo the automatic cuts. But there are sure to be efforts in that direction.

"Our military has already contributed nearly half a trillion to deficit reduction. Those who have given us so much have nothing more to give," said House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., in promising to introduce legislation to prevent the cuts.

Sens. John McCain of Arizona, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a member of the panel, said they would "pursue all options" to avoid deeper defense cuts.

The congressional rank and file may be determined to spare defense and undo the automatic cuts, but there's hardly unanimity. Deficit-cutting tea partyers within the GOP side with liberal Democrats in signaling they're ready to allow military reductions. In addition, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said they would abide by the consequences of the deficit-fighting law — and they control what legislation moves forward.

Freshman Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a tea party favorite, even questioned the legitimacy of the outcry over the military reductions, from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta contending the cuts would be devastating to McKeon's warning that they would "cripple our ability to properly train and equip our force, significantly degrading military readiness."

"I think we need to be honest about it," Paul said in an interview on CNN Sunday. "The interesting thing is there will be no cuts in military spending. This may surprise some people, but there will be no cuts in military spending because we're only cutting proposed increases. If we do nothing, military spending goes up 23 percent over 10 years. If we sequester the money, it will still go up 16 percent. So spending is still rising under any of these plans."

According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the planned Pentagon budget for 2021 would be some $700 billion, an increase over the current level of about $520 billion. The cuts already in the works plus the automatic reductions would trim the projected amount by about $110 billion.

"It's not a decrease in the military budget. It's reducing the increase," said John Isaacs, executive director of Council for a Livable World and Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.

But McCain and Graham have been working on legislation that would undo the automatic defense reductions and instead impose a 5 percent across-the-board reduction in government spending combined with a 10 percent cut in pay for members of Congress.

The Senate resumes work next week on a massive defense bill, a possible candidate for any effort to rework or undo the cuts.

"It's a near certainty they will try to get out from under it," Robert Bixby, executive director of the Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan group advocating fiscal discipline, said of the automatic cuts. "It's equally certain they will damage their credibility if they do so."

112111_barack_obama_supercommittee_failure.JPGPresident Barack Obama makes a statement at the White House after the congressional debt supercommittee failed to reach an agreement on debt reduction on Monday, Nov. 21, 2011, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The next year-plus plays out in a politically charged atmosphere, with Obama's Republican presidential rivals Mitt Romney and Rick Perry already criticizing the commander in chief for the proposed cuts in defense.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said it was imperative for Obama "to ensure that the defense cuts he insisted upon do not undermine national security" as Panetta has warned.

Congressional Republicans and Democrats must also decide in the coming weeks whether to extend unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless and leave in place a payroll tax cut enacted last year to prop up the economy.

One other costly question is whether to fix the Medicare payment formula to prevent a nearly 30 percent cut in reimbursements to doctors.

At the end of 2012, Congress must decide whether to extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush. Democrats want to allow them to expire for wealthy Americans, Republicans want to extend them.

Under the automatic cuts, the Pentagon would face a 10 percent cut in its $550 billion budget in 2013. On the domestic side, education, agriculture and environmental programs would face cuts of around 8 percent.

The law exempts Social Security, Medicaid and many veterans' benefits and low-income programs. It also limits Medicare to a 2 percent reduction.

"It doesn't begin for 13 months," said Jim Kessler, vice president for policy at the centrist-Democratic group Third Way. "Between now and then is an eternity for Congress."

Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor and Alan Fram contributed to this report.

Full text of President Obama's statement on supercommittee failure

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Obama: "... despite the broad agreement that exists for such an approach, there's still too many Republicans in Congress who have refused to listen to the voices of reason and compromise that are coming from outside of Washington."

112111 barack obama supercommittee failure_unhappy.JPGPresident Barack Obama makes a statement at the White House after the congressional debt supercommittee failed to reach an agreement on debt reduction on Monday, Nov. 21, 2011, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Barack Obama's statement at the White House on Monday after the congressional supercommittee failed to produce a deficit-cutting plan:

Good afternoon. As you all know, last summer I signed a law that will cut nearly $1 trillion of spending over the next 10 years. Part of that law also required Congress to reduce the deficit by an additional $1.2 trillion by the end of this year.

In September, I sent them a detailed plan that would have gone above and beyond that goal. It's a plan that would reduce the deficit by an additional $3 trillion, by cutting spending, slowing the growth of Medicare and Medicaid, and asking the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share.

In addition to my plan, there were a number of other bipartisan plans for them to consider from both Democrats and Republicans, all of which promoted a balanced approach. This kind of balanced approach to reducing our deficit -- an approach where everybody gives a little bit, and everyone does their fair share -- is supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans -- Democrats, independents, and Republicans. It's supported by experts and economists from all across the political spectrum. And to their credit, many Democrats in Congress were willing to put politics aside and commit to reasonable adjustments that would have reduced the cost of Medicare, as long as they were part of a balanced approach.

But despite the broad agreement that exists for such an approach, there's still too many Republicans in Congress who have refused to listen to the voices of reason and compromise that are coming from outside of Washington. They continue to insist on protecting $100 billion worth of tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans at any cost, even if it means reducing the deficit with deep cuts to things like education and medical research. Even if it means deep cuts in Medicare.

So at this point, at least, they simply will not budge from that negotiating position. And so far, that refusal continues to be the main stumbling block that has prevented Congress from reaching an agreement to further reduce our deficit.

Now, we are not in the same situation that we were -- that we were in in August. There is no imminent threat to us defaulting on the debt that we owe. There are already $1 trillion worth of spending cuts that are locked in. And part of the law that I signed this summer stated that if Congress could not reach an agreement on the deficit, there would be another $1.2 trillion of automatic cuts in 2013 -- divided equally between domestic spending and defense spending.

One way or another, we will be trimming the deficit by a total of at least $2.2 trillion over the next 10 years. That's going to happen, one way or another. We've got $1 trillion locked in, and either Congress comes up with $1.2 trillion, which so far they've failed to do, or the sequester kicks in and these automatic spending cuts will occur that bring in an additional $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction.

Now, the question right now is whether we can reduce the deficit in a way that helps the economy grow, that operates with a scalpel, not with a hatchet, and if not, whether Congress is willing to stick to the painful deal that we made in August for the automatic cuts. Already, some in Congress are trying to undo these automatic spending cuts.

My message to them is simple: No. I will veto any effort to get rid of those automatic spending cuts to domestic and defense spending. There will be no easy off ramps on this one.

We need to keep the pressure up to compromise -- not turn off the pressure. The only way these spending cuts will not take place is if Congress gets back to work and agrees on a balanced plan to reduce the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion. That's exactly what they need to do. That's the job they promised to do. And they've still got a year to figure it out.

Although Congress has not come to an agreement yet, nothing prevents them from coming up with an agreement in the days ahead. They can still come together around a balanced plan. I believe Democrats are prepared to do so. My expectation is, is that there will be some Republicans who are still interested in preventing the automatic cuts from taking place. And, as I have from the beginning, I stand ready and willing to work with anybody that's ready to engage in that effort to create a balanced plan for deficit reduction.

Now, in the meantime, we've got a lot of work left to do this year. Before Congress leaves next month, we have to work together to cut taxes for workers and small business owners all across America. If we don't act, taxes will go up for every single American, starting next year. And I'm not about to let that happen. Middle-class Americans can't afford to lose $1,000 next year because Congress won't act. And I can only hope that members of Congress who've been fighting so hard to protect tax breaks for the wealthy will fight just as hard to protect tax breaks for small business owners and middle-class families.

We still need to put construction workers back on the job rebuilding our roads and our bridges. We still need to put our teachers back in the classroom educating our kids.

So when everybody gets back from Thanksgiving, it's time to get some work done for the American people. All around the country, Americans are working hard to live within their means and meet their responsibilities. And I know they expect Washington to do the same.

Thanks.

Ill New Hampshire man accused of killing sister with hammer for overstaying welcome

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Jeffrey Cook is accused of 2nd-degree murder in the death of Sandra Griffin at his home in Deerfield.

CANDIA, N.H. – An architect diagnosed with suspected early onset Alzheimer's disease told police he fatally beat his visiting sister in the head with a baseball bat and a sledgehammer after she overstayed her welcome and started talking about money, a prosecutor said Monday.

Jeffrey Cook is accused of second-degree murder in the Nov. 9 death of Sandra Griffin at his home in Deerfield, a small town a little more than an hour's drive north of Boston.

Assistant Attorney General Jane Young told a judge in nearby Candia on Monday that Cook, 55, said the siblings were chatting on the porch and when the conversation turned to money he "snapped" and struck his older sister in the head with a baseball bat, WMUR-TV reported. Cook told police he then dragged her behind his house while she pleaded for mercy and hit her with the sledgehammer, the station reported.

Young said Cook, who complained his sister would visit him and stay too long, told police "I did it" and when they asked him what he had done told them: "I killed her." His sister's body was found covered with a tarp.

Cook was held without bail Monday. As he was being led away by court officials, his relatives said, "Love you, Dad." His attorney could not immediately be reached for comment by telephone. His wife, Barbara Cook, declined to comment.

Griffin, 58, had traveled from Locust, N.C., to try to help arrange care for Cook, her husband told the Concord Monitor newspaper. She had planned to help her brother's wife, who was trying to get him "into some kind of care facility," Lane Griffin told the newspaper.

Cook's condition was deteriorating after his diagnosis, and his sister decided to visit him after getting a call from his wife, Lane Griffin said.

"Sandy was the one who said, 'I'm coming up,'" he said. "Barbara said no, and she said, 'I'm coming.'"

Jeffrey Cook had a firm in Lowell, Mass., but hadn't worked in six months, Griffin said. Cook's wife was working two jobs, one as a teacher at Deerfield Community School, and was trying to sell his architectural business and find a care facility for him, Griffin said.

Massachusetts senators John Kerry and Scott Brown issue separate statements on failure of 'Super Committee' to tackle federal deficit

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Kerry cited "an enormous ideological divide in politics today" and an unwillingness for "a rational consensus."

U.S. Senators Scott Brown, R-Mass., left, and John Kerry, D-Mass. listen during a recent hearing at the Statehouse in Boston (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

The two Massachusetts senators, Democrat John Kerry and Republican Scott Brown, each issued separate statements Monday responding to the failure of the so-called "Super Committee" to reach any agreement on reducing the federal deficit by $1.2 trillion.

Each expressed disappointment the six Republicans and six Democrats serving on the committee could not reach any significant agreements.

Of course, for Kerry, the disappointment seemed a little deeper, considering that he served as a member of the panel over the last four months.

In a lengthy statement, Kerry cited a widening "ideological divide" separating Republicans and Democrats, faulted Republicans on the committee for being more attuned to the needs of the wealthy than the needs of the country, and said the committee was ultimately doomed to failure because anti-tax strategist Grover Norquist was the symbolic 13th member.

In his complete statement, Kerry said:

“I'm deeply disappointed with this outcome. We all are. This was an historic moment to do something big, bold, and balanced that demanded shared sacrifice to put our country first. Everyone worked hard and everyone wanted success.

“It’s too easy just to say that Washington is broken or Congress is broken. But telling the truth about how we got here is the only way to ensure we put our country on the right course. These issues aren’t going away; in fact they are becoming more urgent.

Sen. John M. Kerry

“There is an enormous ideological divide in politics today, and today’s outcome underscores the rigidity and unwillingness of forces outside of Congress to allow for rational consensus.

“Democrats on the Committee made clear everything was on the table. Our offers were balanced. We walked the line of shared sacrifice, however difficult, and we proposed painful choices for programs we care about deeply.

“However, we simply could not overcome the Republican insistence on making tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans permanent. We would not give another $550 billion tax cut to the wealthiest. Shifting the tax burden to the middle class was not the way to reduce the deficit. This was simply doctrine for some of our Republican colleagues, even as many worked very hard in good faith to find a better way forward. I believe it would have been unconscionable to ask middle class Americans to finance more tax cuts for the wealthy while seniors on fixed incomes paid the price. People need to remember: The Committee was created to cut the deficit not to cut taxes for the wealthiest, the exact tax policies that didn’t create jobs and gave us deficits in the first place. The bottom line is that no Super Committee can succeed with Grover Norquist as its 13th member.

I believe this was a moment for American leadership, and from day one we urged the Committee to go big and reach the $4 trillion mark. Certain elements of the Republican Party were unwilling to put tax revenue on the table, and no deal without it can be fair.

“This challenge of deficit reduction remains. We still have a jobs deficit and growing budget deficit and now we have an even greater deficit of public trust in Americans' belief that Congress can make adult decisions. It didn’t have to be this way. Perhaps the awful reality of across the board budget cuts in key priorities will finally sober everyone up. We must spend the next year figuring out how to arrive at a balanced and fair solution for our country.”

Scott Brown 52711.jpgSen. Scott P. Brown

Brown's statement was more to the point.

In his complete statement, Brown said:

"I am deeply disappointed that the Deficit Reduction Committee has not been able to forge a bipartisan agreement. Congress must do better, and both parties must work together to come to a solution. Finger-pointing and partisan politics will not solve our debt crisis.”

Javier Rivera of Springfield suffers 2nd, 3rd degrees in leaf-blower accident

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Rivera and another man had just refilled the blower's gas tank, and fuel that had spilled out was accidentally ignited by a cigarette

SPRINGFIELD – A 21-year-old city man suffered second- and third-degree burns to both arms and the left side of his upper body Monday night on Washburn Street when he was engulfed in flames that originated with a gasoline-powered leaf blower, a fire spokesman said.

Fire spokesman Dennis Leger said Javier Rivera of 27 Washburn St., was using a hand-held blower with another man at 47 Washburn St., when it caught fire.

Apparently the two men had just refilled the blower’s gas tank and fuel that had spilled out caught fire when one of them tried to light a cigarette, Leger said.

The fire department was called at 7:51 p.m., Leger said.

Rivera was taken to Baystate Medical Center for treatment.

Washburn Street is located in the city’s Brightwood section.

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Holyoke residents of Linden, Hampden streets losing patience over traffic problems

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A red arrow installed at the intersection has helped, but speeding and other problems continue.

HOLYOKE – Cars still speed and big trucks still rumble through the residential area of Hampden and Linden streets, residents told officials at City Hall on Monday.

Residents said that a light signal change made in August after a similar meeting has been somewhat helpful by establishing gaps in traffic so they can enter and leave their driveways.

But their patience with the traffic disturbing their lives won’t last forever, they said.

“I’m sick of it. I want my city to protect me. I don’t want to be here. You don’t want to be here. I don’t want to hear, ‘We’re waiting for the report,’” said Mimi Wielgosz, of 605 Hampden St.

Residents want to work with city officials but feel they aren’t listening, said Ken Johnston, of Linden Street.

“I think it’s a real issue that has to be addressed,” Johnston said.

The discussion was an update about problems with traffic at Hampden and Linden streets off the Mueller Bridge in a meeting of the City Council Public Safety Committee.

A change made after a meeting of the committee on the issue in the summer put a red arrow at the traffic light at Hampden and Linden streets. That requires that drivers come to a complete stop before turning right, to allow for breaks in traffic flow and give Linden Street residents time to enter and leave driveways.

Suggestions were offered Monday, but officials said they either were complicated or short-term steps. One would be to increase police presence to make drivers slow down.

Police made 147 vehicle stops and issued about $12,000 in fines in September, Chief James M. Neiswanger said.

But, he said, “I can’t sustain the enforcement we did there indefinitely. We can hit it again. But we can’t sustain it."

Another suggestion was to have city officials check into why large trucks seem to be using the intersection more, officials and residents said.

Still another suggestion was to study whether it would help by reversing the direction of the one-way traffic on School Street. Now, that traffic empties into the flow of Hampden Street heading up to Lincoln Street and Stop and Shop.

But, Councilor at Large Peter R. Tallman said, changing a street’s traffic direction is itself a complicated step.

Officials will meet again about the issue after the New Year, committee Chairwoman Patricia C. Devine said.

“They’re not going to let this go,” Devine said.


Worcester private investigator Daniel Malley discusses possible suspect in Molly Bish, Holly Piirainen murders

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Gerald Battistoni, of Ware, is serving a prison sentence for child rape.

Unsolved Murder Victims.jpgFamily members have waited years for answers in the unsolved murders of Molly Bish, left, and Holly Piirainen. (Family file photos)

As private investigator Daniel Malley worked on a child custody case involving convicted child rapist Gerald Battistoni, he said he developed information that he could not ignore, information that could make Battistoni a possible suspect in the murders of 16-year-old Molly Anne Bish and 10-year-old Holly Piirainen.

During Malley’s investigation, he uncovered that Battistoni, 49, of Ware, raped the daughter of a girlfriend in the early 1990s. In August, Battistoni was sentenced to 10 to 12 years in prison after the victim testified he raped her “possibly 100 or so times” starting when she was 13 over a period of a year or more. The rapes occurred 20 years ago.

Malley said the rape victim had ties to both Warren and Sturbridge, where the abductions of the girls occurred. Molly Bish was last seen at her lifeguard post at Comins Pond in Warren in June 2000; her remains were found three years later off West Warren Road in Palmer, near the Ware line.

Holly Piirainen was visiting her grandmother in Sturbridge, at her home on South Pond, when she disappeared in August 1993. She had gone for a walk to look at a neighbor’s puppies. Two and a half months later, her remains were found in woods in Brimfield.

The Telegram & Gazette reported that the rape victim’s mother was a real estate agent, who had a home for rent with her name and photo on the sign in the yard near Holly’s grandmother’s home. Malley said that the rape victim lived in Warren, close to Comins Pond, in 2000, when Molly worked there.

gerald battistoni worcester telegram.jpgGerald Battistoni

Malley, a former Vermont state trooper who owns Allegiant Investigations of Worcester, said he brought his information about Battistoni to the families of Holly and Molly, and state police investigators.

“Put it this way, I think it could definitely possibly be him,” Malley said. “If there’s any information that rules him out, I’d like to see that too.”

Timothy J. Connolly, spokesman for Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr., said the district attorney’s office follows every lead it gets, but has not named any suspects.

“He’s on our radar screen along with many others,” Connolly said.

Early’s office is investigating the Bish murder. The Hampden County District Attorney’s Office is handling Piirainen; no one could be reached for comment from that office on Monday.

Malley said he hopes that the information will generate more leads, and that other rape victims will come forward.

“They no longer have to fear him because he’s in prison,” Malley said.

Molly Bish suspect Sketch.jpgA sketch artist's rendering of the smoking man in the white car seen by Molly Bish's mother when she dropped the teen off at Comins Pond in Warren the day she disappeared. (Police sketch/File photo)

Malley said his goal is to solve the cases, something that he did not set out to do when he started work on the child custody case three years ago. As he was doing the background check on Battistoni, he uncovered that Battistoni had raped the daughter of a former girlfriend.

“I have a lot of information that links him to both areas. He is a convicted child rapist of a young, blond girl with similar features to Holly Piirainen and Molly Bish,” Malley said.

As for the families, they are hoping for closure, but are wary that Battistoni may not be the one responsible.

“We’ve just been committed to finding justice for Molly,” said her mother, Magdalen Bish.

Bish said the family is grateful to Malley for pursuing the case, and said “the experts” will determine if he should be charged. As the holidays approach, Bish said the pain of not having Molly increases.

“It’s been 11 years and nobody’s been charged. I do believe in my heart that we’re going to find out someday,” Bish said.

Holly’s aunt, Karen M. Jolin, said it’s hard for the family to get their hopes up, as there have been other potential suspects over the years. Jolin said her family is supposed to meet with state police detectives this week to talk about the case.

“He was in the area. He fits the profile of the person who would have done this ... We’re always hoping police will look into these new suspects. But so far nothing. Nobody’s been arrested. I hope if the public knows something on this new suspect that they will come forward and contact the police or even contact Dan Malley,” Jolin said.

Jolin said her family has been waiting for 18 years for Holly’s killer to be caught. She described her niece as sweet, who was just enjoying a great summer vacation when her life was cut short.

“It changed our family’s life forever,” Jolin said.

West Springfield awards Fontaine Brothers Inc. $70 million contract to build new high school

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Mayor Edward Gibson hailed the awarding of a bid to construct the new high school as a milestone in moving the project forward.

WEST SPRINGFIELD – The Planning and Construction Committee Monday awarded the contract to build the proposed new high school to Fontaine Brothers Inc. of Springfield for $70,461,000.

The other two construction companies that qualified to compete for the project were J&J Contracting Inc. of Lowell and O&G Industries of Taunton. They bid $73,607,000 and $75,100,000, respectively.

Mayor Edward J. Gibsonhailed the awarding of the contract as a milestone in the project, which is expected to cost a total of $107,109,319. The Massachusetts School Building Authority is expected to reimburse the city $68,808,290, leaving taxpayers to pick up the remaining $38,301,029.

“It is a great day for not only the school district, but for the community as a whole,” Gibson said.

“I’m very excited. I feel like all the pieces are coming together,” School Superintendent Russell D. Johnston said following the 6-0 vote by the committee.

Johnston said Fontaine Brothers has expertise in building schools, noting that it is now constructing the new Minnechaug Regional High School in Wilbraham.

Fontaine Brothers also constructed the city’s middle school in the late 1990s.

An official groundbreaking for city’s high school project has been set for Dec. 15. Construction is anticipated to take two years.

Plans call for a new building behind the current high school as well as a new pool, a new track and new tennis courts. Fontaine Brothers has agreed to build the pool for $6,650,000, the track for $6,310,000 and the tennis courts for $540,000.

Fontaine’s bid came in $2,834,000 under the $73,295,000 budgeted for constructing the new high school building.

The current high school on Piper Road was built in 1955 and expanded in 1965. It is deteriorating and needs new windows, something that has been estimated as costing about $5 million. Officials have argued retrofitting the building to make it energy efficient would cost so much it makes more sense to construct a new building.

Springfield teen stabbed in screwdriver attack in Old Hill neighborhood

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The victim was stabbed at least three times in the back and arm and had two lacerations on his head, police said.

SPRINGFIELD - Police are looking for two teens in connection with an attack on Melrose Street Monday night that left another teen hospitalized with multiple stab wounds from a screwdriver, police said.

Police Lt. John Bobianski said the victim, a teenage boy, suffered two puncture wounds to his back and one to his arm, and had two lacerations to his head. He was being treated at Baystate Medical Center. His name was not released.

Police are looking to juvenile boys who are suspected in the attack, he said.

He said the attack was apparently due to a "boyfriend/ex-girlfriend type of thing."

The attack occurred at about 7 p.m. on Melrose Street, which is off Hickory Street in the Old Hill neighborhood.


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Springfield City Council will consider appeal of building permit for wood-burning plant

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Palmer Renewable Energy received a building permit last week for first-phase construction of the $150 million biomass plant.

SPRINGFIELD – The City Council reaffirmed its opposition to a wood-burning plant in East Springfield on Monday night and has scheduled a special meeting in one week to consider appealing a newly granted building permit.

The special meeting is scheduled next Monday at 6 p.m., at City Hall.

The council had revoked a special permit for the project in May, but Code Enforcement Commissioner Steven T. Desilets issued a first phase building permit last Wednesday. Desilets said he based that decision on legal advice from the city solicitor and on his own interpretation of the zoning ordinances and building code that the project was permitted in that Industrial A zone without a special permit.

Palmer Renewable Energy is proposing the $150 million biomass project at Cadwell Drive and Page Boulevard, which would burn green wood chips to convert to electricity.

tosado.JPGJose F. Tosado

Council President Jose F. Tosado said the reason for fighting the project is simple.

“It’s bad,” Tosado said. “It’s bad for the citizens, it’s bad for the children, it’s bad for our future.”

Ward 2 Councilor Michael A. Fenton said that state law allows the council to appeal the building permit first to the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals, and then if necessary, by filing a court appeal.

michael fenton.jpgMichael Fenton

Representatives of Stop Toxic Incineration in Springfield have also pledged an appeal and have argued that the company cannot begin construction until it has final approval of a state-issued air permit, already under appeal.

Opponents have raised fears that the project will worsen pollution and harm public health. Proponents say the project will feature state-of-the-art emission controls, meets environmental regulations, and will not harm public health.

Councilors, by a 10-3 vote on Monday, stated that the biomass, wood-burning plant needs a special permit, and is “not a use that is permitted as a right” under the zoning ordinance. By the same 10-3 vote, the council voted to urge the code enforcement commissioner not to issue a building permit for the project, although knowing the permit has already been granted.

Voting against the resolutions were Timothy J. Rooke, Kateri B. Walsh, and James J. Ferrera III. Resolutions are non-binding, but some councilors and residents attending the meeting said it was important for the council to go on record again in opposition to the project.

Rooke said the resolutions were “purely political.” The building commissioner has the authority under state law to grant building permits, and the project is permitted in that zone because it is not an incinerator, he said.

The first-phase building permit is for construction of the foundation of a 275-foot high smokestack for the project. In addition, a permit was granted for site grading, and storm drainage and other site preparation work.
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Desilets said the developer proceeds at his own risk on construction because of the appeal on the air permit and the expected appeal on the building permit.

Tosado ran for mayor and lost Nov. 8, and thus loses his seat on the council in January when his current term expires.

Wall Street: Stock indexes mixed day after U.S. government lowers economic growth estimate

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The Commerce Department said the economy grew at a 2 percent annual rate in the July-September period, down from its initial estimate of 2.5 percent.

NEW YORK — Stock indexes were mixed Tuesday morning after the government lowered its estimate of economic growth in the second quarter. Hewlett-Packard Co. sank 3 percent, dragging down the Dow Jones industrial average.

H-P lowered its earnings forecast for the 2012 fiscal year after the market closed Monday. The tech giant said it was being "cautious," pointing to Europe's debt crisis and weak consumer spending.

The Commerce Department said the U.S. economy grew at a 2 percent annual rate in the July-September period, down from its initial estimate of 2.5 percent. That was a disappointment for investors since economists expected the figure to remain unchanged.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 4 points to 11,544 as of 9:50 a.m. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,195. The Nasdaq composite rose 7, or 0.3 percent, to 2,530.

The Dow plunged 249 points Monday as a congressional committee failed to reach a deal to cut budget deficits. The congressional impasse raised fears that rating agencies might lower the U.S. government's credit rating.

After the market closed Monday, the major agencies said the country's credit rating was unaffected by the news, but Standard & Poor's also said its current rating is based on the expectation that automatic cuts will start in 2013. Some Republicans have said they would block the defense spending cuts.

In other trading, Netflix Inc. sank 2.7 percent. The online video rental company said it raised $400 million from selling debt and stock as it tries to recover from a consumer backlash following price hikes.

Medtronic Inc. rose 3.5 percent. The world's largest medical device maker reported higher-than-expected earnings and reaffirmed its full-year outlook.

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