The Dow Jones industrial average fell nearly 26 points to close at 12,020.03.

File photo / Associated PressA demonstrator holds the new Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet following a news conference in New York last month. The bookseller reported Thursday that its third-quarter loss narrowed as lower costs offset a decline in sales of traditional physical books.

NEW YORK – A rally that drove major stock indexes up 7 percent this week stalled Thursday. Stock indexes ended slightly lower, a day after the market posted its biggest gain in two and a half years.

Goldman Sachs and other banks, the previous day’s star-performers, gave up some of their gains. Costco, Nordstrom and other retailers rose after reporting stronger sales for November.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 25.65 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 12,020.03. Travelers Cos. Inc. lost 2.2 percent, the biggest drop of the Dow’s 30 stocks. Boeing Co. had the biggest gain, 3.3 percent.

The Dow soared 490 points Wednesday, its seventh-best gain on record, on news that central banks around the world slashed the cost of borrowing in order to shore up European banks and avert a deeper credit crisis in the region.

Another rise in applications for weekly unemployment benefits dampened the mood Thursday. The Labor Department said initial applications rose to 402,000 last week, the second weekly increase in a row. The figures didn’t change expectations for the government’s monthly labor report, which comes out Friday. Economists forecast that the unemployment rate will remain at 9 percent.

The S&P 500 index slipped 2.37, or 0.2 percent, to 1,244.59. The Nasdaq inched up 5.86, or 0.2 percent, to 2,626.

Investors often turn cautious following giant leaps, said Sam Stovall, chief equity strategist at S&P Capital IQ. The Dow shot up 813 points in the first three days of the week as fears ebbed that Europe’s debt crisis would turn into a global panic. The rally got started Monday with news that a record number of shoppers went to stores over the Thanksgiving weekend.

“It’s almost like rooting for a football team that won by a very big score,” Stovall said. The next day, people are likely wondering whether the big victory was a one-off event or the start of a lasting trend.

“Lately, it seems like nothing lasts that long,” Stovall said. News out of Europe has sent stocks swinging from large gains to deep losses. One week ago, the S&P 500 was down 7.9 percent for the year. The index is now within 13 points of breaking even.

Daily moves in the S&P 500 index have been three times more volatile in the past 13 weeks compared with the long-term average, Stovall said. Since 2000, the S&P 500 index moved up or down by 2 percent an average of 14 days every three months. Over the past 13 weeks, that’s happened 45 times.

Traders took little encouragement Thursday from a better manufacturing report. The Institute for Supply Management said that manufacturing grew last month at the fastest pace since June.

The euro inched higher against the dollar as investors became less fearful about Europe’s financial problems. Borrowing rates for France and Spain eased after both countries had successful auctions of new debt.

Macy’s Inc., Costco Wholesale Corp., Limited Brands Inc. and other retailers reported sales that surpassed Wall Street estimates. Nordstrom Inc. jumped 4 percent. Costco rose 2.1 percent.

Kohl’s Corp. slumped 6.4 percent. The department store chain reported that a key revenue measure dropped sharply in November and fell far below Wall Street forecasts. Sales at stores open at least a year fell 6.2 percent; analysts had expected an increase.

Barnes & Noble dropped 16 percent after the bookseller posted a third-quarter loss instead of the slight profit analysts had expected. Sales also fell below analysts’ estimates.

Finisar Corp. lost 12 percent after the maker of fiber-optics components reported revenue that was lower than analysts were expecting.

Acknowledging that the credit could be construed as in violation of international trade agreements, Conroy said he made the proposal – which he estimates will cost $100 billion over five years – to begin a discussion on the issue.

By KYLE CHENEY

BOSTON - Americans would be eligible for $1,000 in annual tax credits for buying American-made products under a five-part, $500 billion jobs plan outlined Thursday by state Rep. Thomas Conroy, who is competing in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate.

Thomas P. Conroy

Acknowledging that the credit could be construed as in violation of international trade agreements, Conroy said he made the proposal – which he estimates will cost $100 billion over five years – to begin a discussion on the issue.

Conroy’s plan also includes $300 billion in infrastructure investment over five years, $50 billion in clean energy investments over 10 years and $50 billion in “precision manufacturing” over five years.

A fifth component of his plan, which he said was modeled on a provision in Massachusetts’s life sciences investment law he helped author, would provide that the U.S. government would hold equity in the companies it invests in to reap gains should any companies supported by tax credits become successful.

Conroy, a third-term lawmaker, unveiled his proposal outside the Statehouse. He is one of the few remaining challengers to Democratic frontrunner Elizabeth Warren, who is dominating opponents in fundraising and polls.

He suggested that Warren lacked a plan to create jobs. “I’ve rolled out a plan,” he said. “Where’s hers? What has she demonstrated in terms of policy initiatives? What’s her understanding of the economy and the way it works? I’ve laid out a plan here that demonstrates all three of those things, and I’d ask her to respond.”

Asked for a response, a spokesman for Warren said the candidate appreciates Conroy’s focus on “these important issues.”

“Elizabeth has been focused on jobs and fighting for the middle class throughout the campaign and for the decades before and that is a fight she is going to continue to wage,” said the spokesman, Kyle Sullivan.

Warren entered the race about 10 weeks ago and has so far offered few specific policy proposals, with a nearly a year until Election Day. Her campaign website offers a statement of priorities that primarily focuses on rebuilding the middle class in America.

“We need a 21st century manufacturing base and expanded service capacity,” Warren says on her site. “We need a set of workable rules that don’t tangle up those who are trying to create something new. We need to be able to invent things, make things, and sell things to the rest of the world. We did that once, and we can do it again.”

Those priorities include investment in education, upgrading transportation infrastructure, investing in renewable energy technology, simplifying regulations for small businesses, supporting workers’ power to organize, and amending trade laws to help make American products more competitive.

Republicans seized on Conroy’s challenge, disseminating a Boston Globe story Thursday afternoon that included a portion of Conroy’s remarks.

Conroy acknowledged that his plan would stand little chance of passing in a deeply divided Congress but said it could be a starting point should he win election to the Senate. He attributed Warren’s major fundraising advantage, in part to a disparity in media coverage of their campaigns. He said he still hopes to capture 15 percent of voters at next June’s Democratic convention to earn a ballot position in the primary. Should he reach that threshold, he said, he still sees a “path to victory.”

But a poll of registered Massachusetts voters released Thursday by UMass-Amherst showed just how narrow that path may be. Warren trounces her primary opponents, according to the UMass poll, capturing 73 percent to Conroy’s 7 percent, Marisa DeFranco’s 6 percent, and Herb Robinson’s 2 percent.

The road to the best burger in the Valley begins with your votes.

The 2011 Valley Food Championship Burger Battle is on.

We asked readers of The Republican, MassLive.com and El Pueblo Latino to nominate your favorite burger in the Valley, and after more than 200 replies, 87 area burger meisters were named to enter our competition to find the tastiest, most mouth-watering disc of deliciousness around.

Now it's back to you to begin narrowing this field to get our NCAA-style Burger Battle tournament going. We have divided the 87 nominees into four groups, and we're asking you to vote for your favorite eight in each. That will bring us to a field of 32, at which point we'll go to head-to-head voting between the survivors.

Voting will continue head-to-head until you've narrowed the field to four finalists, at which point the competition goes to our esteemed and hungry panel of newsroom judges – arts and entertainment editor Ray Kelly, sports reporter Pam McCray and photographer Don Treeger – who will visit each of the final four burger joints and proclaim the 2011 Valley Food Championship Burger.

Any one vote – your vote – could make the difference between your favorite burger advancing or being sent back to the kitchen. Preliminary round voting is open until Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 6 p.m. It's time to cast your ballot!

Here are the links to the four Preliminary Round polls:

» Group 1

» Group 2

» Group 3

» Group 4

O’Brien could not be reached for comment Thursday, but Scheibel and Dunphy Farris both said they appeared on the show at her behest.

Phoebe Prince’s mother, Anne O’Brien, bemoaned the bullying her daughter suffered at South Hadley High School on national television Wednesday, telling a CNN interviewer, “The level of aggression towards another human being is beyond my understanding.”

O’Brien’s interview with Piers Morgan on “Piers Morgan Tonight” included appearances by former Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth D. Scheibel and her former Deputy First Assistant Elizabeth Dunphy Farris. Scheibel brought charges against six former South Hadley High School students in connection with Prince, a 15-year-old freshman at the school who hanged herself in her South Hadley home on Jan. 14, 2010. Dunphy Farris prosecuted the cases.

Anne O'Brien

All six cases reached resolution in May, with three of the teenagers admitting to misdemeanor charges in juvenile court, where they were also charged as youthful offenders. That designation allowed their cases to be prosecuted publicly. Three other students were charged as adults. One pleaded guilty to criminal harassment and one admitted to sufficient facts for a guilty finding on the same charge. Charges were dropped against the third adult defendant. None of the six were sentenced to jail, although some underwent brief probation periods.

In the interview, O’Brien said the family never sought jail sentences for the defendants. Dunphy Farris also explained that her office charged the minor students as youthful offenders so that the cases would not be hidden under the “veil of secrecy” in the juvenile court system, where such matters are not normally public. The lawyer was one of those youthful offenders said he was “incredulous” when he saw the interview.

“It’s almost like they were blatantly admitting they overcharged my client and all these kids,” said Colin Keefe, who represented Sharon C. Velazquez. “It’s like they were admitting they created a media storm.”

Keefe and the other lawyers have consistently maintained that there is no evidence their clients’ actions led directly to Prince’s death. None of the other attorneys would comment Thursday on the CNN interview.

O’Brien also cast blame again on the South Hadley school system in the show, reiterating that administrators had failed her daughter and could have stepped in to rectify the situation before Prince killed herself. Although Scheibel never brought charges against any school official, she has said publicly that they bear some responsibility in the matter.

South Hadley School Superintendent Gus A. Sayer said Thursday that he felt some of O’Brien’s comments were misleading.

“We have tried to give a very accurate report about what we knew and what we learned about the situation,” he said.

Although he said that he wished the schools had done more for Prince, Sayer insisted that South Hadley is not a hotbed of bullying.

“As far as we can tell, there’s nothing special in the South Hadley schools in that regard,” he said.

O’Brien could not be reached for comment Thursday, but Scheibel and Dunphy Farris both said they appeared on the show at her behest.

“We developed a relationship with both parents,” said Scheibel. “When (O’Brien) decided to speak out publicly for the first time, she asked that Beth and I be with her.”

The interview was taped in Los Angeles prior to being aired. O’Brien is presently in Ireland, according to Scheibel.

Both Scheibel, who left office in January, and Dunphy Farris have taken active roles in speaking out on bullying. Dunphy Farris, who is currently legal counsel to Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni, participated in a training in August organized by that office at Westfield State University aimed at educating school officials about bullying. She and Scheibel and O’Brien are all scheduled to speak on the subject at the National Conference for Victims in Orlando, Fla. this month. Both Scheibel and Dunphy Farris said they will continue to speak out on the subject.

UMass students were told that residential life budget has not been cut.

Photo by Diane Lederman / The RepublicanUMass students demonstrated concerns about resident life budget cuts at the UMass Faculty Senate meeting at UMass Thursday

AMHERST - Faculty senators again questioned the merits of the University of Massachusetts moving its football classification and at the end of a panel discussion supported a resolution that calls for substantial fund-raising before McGuirk Stadium is renovated.

The resolution states that UMass “shall make no binding commitment to renovations to or expansion of McGuirk Stadium until fundraising has achieved” 80 percent of the estimated $30 million cost.

UMass is part of the Football Championship Subdivision but will be elevating to Football Bowl Subdivision status as a member of the Mid-American Conference in 2012. They will be playing their games at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.

Athletic director John McCutcheon has said renovations are essential to the upgrade to the Football Bowl Subdivision, and especially necessary for any games to take place on campus in 2014 or beyond.

He also has said a major fundraising effort is aimed at paying for the project.
In response to faculty members, Chancellor Robert C. Holub said discussions were not held in secret and the university was looking “to reduce expenses and increase” (the university’s profile) in the eastern part of the state.
“This is much broader than (what’s) in this room, broader than on this campus.”

About 100 students, meanwhile, packed the meeting at Herter Hall calling attention to what they believed were cuts in the residential life budget that would be eliminating about 70 positions during the next academic year.

Jean Kim, vice chancellor for student affairs and campus life, said the budget was not being cut but the money was being reallocated to other residential positions. “I think it’s unfortunate that there has been some misinformation out there.”

Instead of peer mentors in the dorms there will be peer tutors, she said. The number of full -time positions will increase. She said they want to increase the ratio of resident assistants from one in 35 students to one in 25 in first- year halls.

The new Commonwealth College dormitory is slated to open in the fall of 2013.
UMass Board of Trustee student representative Tina Kennedy said students will be meeting with Kim Friday to learn more.

Biomass plant opponents await the state's final decision and could still file a court appeal, officials said.

File photoThis conveyor belt, front right, conveys wood chips into the McNeil Generating Station.

SPRINGFIELD – A hearing officer is recommending that the state give final approval to an air permit for the proposed Palmer Renewable Energy wood-burning plant in East Springfield, and dismiss an appeal filed by opponents.

Timothy M. Jones, the presiding officer that reviewed the appeal, issued a 23-page response this week that recommends the air permit for the biomass plant be upheld.

“In sum, there is no constitutional, statutory, or regulatory right supporting the petitioners’ standing for an administrative appeal,” Jones wrote.

The appeal was filed in July by the Conservation Law Foundation, the Toxics Action Center, Arise for Social Justice, and 16 individuals. State Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Kenneth L. Kimmell can adopt, modify or reject Jones’ recommendation.

The three organizations issued a joint statement this week that urges Kimmell to reject the recommendation.

“This decision, if adopted, would change the rules so as to prevent affected members of the public from participating in administrative appeals of air permits,” the groups state. “It also would undermine the state’s clean energy agenda.”

Jones said his recommendation pertains just to the state “administrative review of the permit,” and does not preclude the group from filing a court appeal if the state permit gets final approval.

The opponents have long objected to the plant, saying it would worsen air pollution and harm public health.

Palmer Renewable Energy and supporters of the project say it meets all state and federal air quality regulations, and would not harm public health. The proposed $150 million, 35-megawatt biomass plant is proposed at Page Boulevard and Cadwell Drive, and would burn green wood chips to be converted into electricity.

The plant received a conditional permit from the state, and has also received two city building permits. The city permits are for construction of the first phase foundation of a 275-foot high smokestack and for site preparation work, but face a possible appeal from the City Council and other groups.

Frank Fitzgerald, a lawyer for Palmer Renewable Energy, praised Jones’s recommendation.

“This is just further evidence to the fact that we have followed the law and regulation as it should be with respect to this project,” Fitzgerald said.

Jones said that except for the Conservation Law Foundation, none of the sixteen individuals in the appeal “sought to intervene in the permit application process.”

Even if there was standing for the appeal, the appellants claim they will suffer health problems from the plant but “one individual lives just over a mile the site, while others generally live three to four or over twenty miles from the site. CLF, however, has not alleged any distinct, concrete injury to itself,” Jones said.

“Perhaps most importantly, the petitioners have not identified a right to appeal based either on applicable regulations or statutes,” Jones said.

The permit was an application process with a public hearing and comment period, not an “adjudicatory proceeding” creating a right to appeal for the individual petitioners,” Jones said.

The three opposition groups in the joint statement said the Jones recommendation “essentially says that no one other than the developer has the right to raise administrative challenges to power plant air permits – not even people already suffering from severe respiratory illness, nor people suffering from disproportionate air pollution burdens.”

Beckley has been Easthampton’s principal planning official for 22 years and served as acting town administrator twice before the town became a city in 1996.

Stuart B. Beckley

WARE – Easthampton City Planner Stuart Beckley is a finalist to take over the job of town manager.

Mary T. Tzambazakis resigned Sept. 30, prompting the Board of Selectmen to form a search committee to find a replacement. Town Accountant Tracy L. Meehan is serving as acting town manager.

Beckley, who lives in Sunderland, has been Easthampton’s principal planning official for 22 years and served as acting town administrator twice before the town became a city in 1996.

“It’s a big step,” said Beckley. “In terms of a public service career, I think it’s the next logical step.”

He submitted his application in October and has had one interview with the search committee.

“I think it went well,” he said Tuesday. “It’s a good group of people.”

He has another interview Thursday, Dec. 8.

Beckley said the skill sets for the planning and town manager jobs are similar: both require working with individuals and at the committee level to accomplish goals, but the manager post has more oversight and administrative responsibility.

The two communities are similar, too, he said, in that they both have industrial, working-class histories. That was one of the factors that led him to apply, he said.

But, if Beckley gets the job, he said it would be difficult, personally, to sever ties with Easthampton.

“It would be very hard. I have a lot of attachment to Easthampton,” he said.

A 2007 charter change established the town manager position. The next manager will be the third since then.

The manager is chosen “solely on the basis of education and experience in the accepted competencies and practices of local government management as well as on the basis of demonstrated executive and administrative qualifications,” according to the charter.

Beckley earned $59,241.28 as city planner in fiscal year 2011. Tzambazakis took in more than $100,000 annually as town manager.

Ware officials referred questions to Town Moderator Kathleen Coulombe, chairwoman of the search committee, who could not be immediately reached for comment.

Lees said he was not courted in any way by Mohegan Sun for the endorsement, and does not know what sort of weight it will carry with Palmer voters once the casino question makes it to the ballot.

Republican file photoBruce Bozsum, chairman of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, left, talks with Brian P. Lees, Hampden County Clerk of Court, during the Mohegan Sun Holiday Open House in Palmer last year. Lees drafted casino and gaming bills when he was a State Senator.

SPRINGFIELD – Arguing he has no angle and no plans for any Mohegan Sun junkets, former state senator and Hampden County Clerk of Court Brian P. Lees has publicly endorsed a casino in Palmer.

Public relations consultant Paul J. Robbins on Thursday sent out a press release announcing Lees, court clerk since 2007, “celebrates gaming passage and supports Palmer resort venue.”

Robbins represents Northeast Realty, the owners of the proposed Palmer casino site.

The announcement raised questions by competing casino backers about the timing and relevance of Lees’ support, given that the process will purportedly be depoliticized with the pending appointment of a five-member gaming commission.

“It’s kind of unique that the clerk of courts would select one Hampden county site over another. If he were a legislator, or gosh, the governor, that may have more clout,” said Anthony L. Cignoli, partner in a Hard Rock International group backing a casino proposal in Holyoke.

Cignoli, a Springfield political consultant, said his camp has not been soliciting endorsements because the gaming commission was designed as an impartial one to take politics out of the process.

Moreover, Cignoli suggested even if endorsements were to come, Lees’ is premature because the so-called host city agreements haven’t been inked and required approvals from prospective communities through ballot questions have yet to be scheduled.

Palmer coupled with Mohegan Sun for a prospective casino five years before Gov. Deval L. Patrick signed a bill in late November authorizing a slot parlor and up to three casino resorts in different parts of the state, with a guarantee for one in Western Massachusetts.
Palmer, Holyoke, Springfield and possibly Chicopee will be competing as host sites. However, Palmer is far in the lead in its planning process and negotiations for municipal perks with Mohegan Sun.

The gaming commission will be composed of one appointment each from the governor, state attorney general and state treasurer. Consultants will recommend candidates for the final two seats. Those candidates will not join the commission unless approved by a majority vote of the governor, attorney general and state treasurer.

For Lees’ part, he said he was inspired to throw his weight behind the Palmer site because he was intimately involved in championing a Western Massachusetts location for the casino legislation, whose passing capped a saga dating back almost two decades.

“This has been a long time coming. I worked on it for nearly my entire 16 years in the Legislature – back when (former governor) Bill Weld was considering a gaming megaplex. I’ve seen lots of proposals come and go and I was always impressed with Mohegan Sun’s proposal in Palmer,” Lees said.

Lees, of East Longmeadow, said he was not courted in any way by Mohegan Sun for the endorsement, and does not know what sort of weight it will carry with Palmer voters once the casino question makes it to the ballot.

“If it helps, great. If it doesn’t help, I’m fine with that too,” he said.

“To us it’s a little bit like a political campaign,” Robbins said of the dogfight to bring a casino to Palmer.

Rep. Thomas Conroy of Wayland, 1 of Warren's opponents in next year's Democratic primary for Senate, released a 5-point jobs plan and noted that Warren has not unveiled a detailed plan for creating jobs.

Associated PressDemocratic Senate hopeful Elizabeth Warren chats with an attendee of the the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association luncheon in Boston Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011. In later remarks, Warren faulted Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown for opposing bills she said would bring jobs to Massachusetts even as she came under fire for failing to put forth her own jobs plan. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

BOSTON – With a new poll showing her in a tight contest with the Republican incumbent, Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, said the election comes down to "a question of whose side you're on."

In a speech Thursday during the annual meeting of the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association in Boston, Warren said she is siding with the middle class and Republican U.S. Sen. Scott P. Brown, is siding with Wall Street.

Warren criticized Brown for voting against a recent job-creation bill to establish a new tax on people making more than $1 million. She said Brown also voted in opposition to a bill to establish 0.7 percent tax on income in excess of $1 million to raise money for transportation infrastructure. She also said Brown voted against a bill that would have saved education jobs and prevented the layoffs of firefighters and police with a new tax on those making at least $1 million.

"For me, that says it all," said Warren.

In response, Timothy Buckley, communications director for the state Republican Party, said: "Scott Brown is passing legislation that will help put people back to work. In the meantime, Elizabeth Warren promotes higher taxes, bigger government and supports the radical policies of the Occupy Wall Street movement.”

While Brown voted against increasing taxes, he also can be bipartisan. He recently joined President Barack Obama for a ceremony to sign a jobs bill that repealed a certain 3 percent withholding tax and created a tax credit for hiring unemployed military veterans.

The exchange between Brown and Warren came on the same day the University of Massachusetts at Amherst released a poll showing the two in a virtual dead heat ahead of the Nov. 6, 2012 election.

In the poll of 500 registered voters in Massachusetts, Warren received support from 43 percent, while Brown received 39 percent. Warren's 4-point lead is within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

The poll found that Warren is drawing strong support from women, middle-to-low income residents and younger voters, according to the university. Brown maintains a large lead among independents while Warren is getting overwhelming support from Democratic voters in Massachusetts, the university reported.

The new poll, part of the iSurvey Project at the Amherst campus, was run by Brian Schaffner and Ray La Raja, both associate professors of political science. Schaffner was director of the poll.

The poll found that Warren enjoys a large lead in Western Massachusetts. In a subset of 60 voters west of Worcester, Warren received 46 percent and Brown 25 percent, La Raja said.

The poll, done between Nov. 9 and Nov. 22, was conducted by YouGov America. The poll was a survey of voters over the Internet, according to La Raja.

Asked if she was surprised by her lead in the poll, Warren said, "I'm focused on the election. I'm out there working for votes every day."

At the Statehouse, Rep. Thomas P. Conroy of Wayland, one of Warren's opponents in next year's Democratic primary, released a five-point jobs plan and noted that Warren has not unveiled a detailed plan for creating jobs. "I've rolled out a plan," Conroy said, according to the State House News Service. "Where's hers?"

Conroy's plan focuses on boosting investments in clean energy, infrastructure and precision manufacturing. The plan also includes tax credits for people who buy American-made products and a provision for the federal government to purchase equity in certain companies, possibly sharing in the economic success of that company.

After her speech, Warren told reporters, "All I can say is, I've been talking about these issues all along."

Other Democrats in the primary for U.S. Senate include Marisa DeFranco, a lawyer in Salem; Herb Robinson, an engineer in Newton and James King, a lawyer in Dover.

Warren, a professor at Harvard Law School, chaired a panel that oversaw the federal government's bailout of large banks in 2008 and was a leader in creating the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

During her speech, Warren, who used to be a registered Republican, said she is not a longtime partisan.

"I've belonged to different political parties ... and to no political party at all," Warren said. "What's really driven me for all my life is this question about the economic survival of America's middle. Without that, we don't survive economically ... politically ... socially and spiritually."

Warren said she supports increased taxes on wages for people with very high incomes to improve the Social Security system.

"We've got to fix them," Warren said of federal programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. "The question is, How do we go about fixing them? I don't think we start fixing these programs by saying to future generations, 'They are just not going to be there for you.' "

Designer Jillian Harris calls the new house "reminiscent of the Victorian era with a detailed wrap-around porch."

The Republican | David MolnarWith family members by her side, Sirdeaner Walker waves to the crowds at the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" reveal of her and her family's rebuilt home.

SPRINGFIELD – Designer Jillian Harris and other members of ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” team regularly see the good which can come from providing new homes to families.

She hopes the home they created this fall for Sirdearner Walker and her family here helps the Walkers continue their healing process.

“We have rebuilt a home for a family in need,” Harris said this week. “This is a family that has been through hardships. They cried out with joy when they saw their new house.”

The “Extreme Makeover” episode featuring the Walker family airs Friday on abc40 from 8 to 10 p.m.

Walker emerged as a national figure in the fight against school bullying after her son Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, 11, committed suicide in 2009. Since her son’s death, Walker has become an advocate calling attention to bullying. She testified in support of anti-bullying legislation that passed in Massachusetts that mandates that each school district have a policy to recognize and deal with bullying.

Harris, one of four home designers for “Extreme Makeover” who designed the new house for the Walkers, said that bullying has become an epidemic.

Sirdeaner Walker lives in the home with her two other children, a daughter, Gloria, and son, Charles, and also her mother and sister.

Harris said she designed an apartment on the lower floor for Sirdeaner Walker’s sister and a room off the kitchen, which is handicapped-accessible, for her mother.

The original house was torn down and a new house built in just seven days.

Harris calls the new house “reminiscent of the Victorian era with a detailed wrap-around porch.” “A newly renovated house like this can bring life back to a community,” she added.

Nick Riley, of Riley Construction, the Chicopee builder who rebuilt the Walker’s family home on Northampton Avenue for the TV show, will be hosting a premiere party for the show at the Sheraton Springfield. The party is for some 400 tradesmen and suppliers who volunteered their time and materials for the seven-day building project for the Walker family.

Riley said he was contacted by “Extreme Makeover” and asked to volunteer to be the lead builder for the project.

“It was an amazing effort and included many volunteers,” Riley said. “It was for a good cause and a deserving family. I was honored to be asked.”

13.3 million Americans remain unemployed.

Associated PressJob seekers line up to speak to recruiters during a career expo in Las Colinas, Texas, in this Nov. 14, 2011 file photo. The unemployment rate fell last month to its lowest level in more than two and a half years, as employers stepped up hiring in response to the slowly improving economy.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. unemployment rate fell last month to its lowest level in more than two and a half years, as employers stepped up hiring in response to the slowly improving economy.

The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate dropped sharply to 8.6 percent last month, down from 9 percent in October. The rate hasn't been that low since March 2009, during the depths of the recession.

Still, 13.3 million Americans remain unemployed. And a key reason the unemployment rate fell so much was because roughly 315,000 people had given up looking for work and were no longer counted as unemployed.

Employers added 120,000 jobs last month. And the previous two months were revised up to show that 72,000 more jobs added — the fourth straight month the government revised prior months higher.

Private employers added a net gain of 140,000 jobs last month. Governments, meanwhile, shed another 20,000 jobs, mostly at the local and state level. Governments at all levels have shed almost a half-million jobs in the past year.

More than half the jobs added were by retailers, restaurants and bars, a sign that holiday hiring has kicked in. Retailers added 50,000 jobs, the sector's biggest gain since April. Restaurants and bars hired 33,000 new workers. The health care industry added 17,000.

The presidential election is less than a year away, which means President Barack Obama will almost certainly face voters with the highest unemployment rate of any president since World War II.

And Europe's financial crisis threatens to slow U.S. growth next year. A recession in Europe could reduce U.S. exports, hurt global financial markets and dampen business confidence.

Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics, estimates that the economy will expand 2.5 percent in the last three months of this year. But he expects growth to slow to 1.5 percent in 2012, partly because of the crisis in Europe. And if Congress fails to extend the Social Security tax cut and long-term unemployment benefits this month, growth is likely to slow even further.

Weak job growth means companies don't have to raise pay to keep their employees. Fewer jobs and lower pay leaves consumers with less money to spend. That's holding back economic growth.

In the past three months, the economy has added an average of 143,000 net jobs per month. That's enough to keep up with population growth and better than the previous three months, when the economy averaged just 84,000.

Other recent economic reports have been positive, too.

Factory output expanded last month. Retailers reported a strong start to holiday sales over the Thanksgiving weekend, consumer confidence surged in November to the highest level since July, and Americans' pay rose in October by the most in seven months.

Car sales also rose sharply in November, normally a lackluster month for the auto industry. Chrysler, Ford, Nissan and Hyundai all reported double-digit gains on Thursday, compared to a year ago.

Since Ginger White stepped forward Monday, the allegation of a 13-year affair has overshadowed Cain's campaign.

Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate Herman Cain speaks at Middle Tennessee State University Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Set to meet with his wife for the first time since a woman came forward claiming she had a 13-year extramarital affair with him, Herman Cain is preparing for one last campaign stop before he decides whether to press forward with his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

Cain, who has denied the affair and allegations of unwanted sexual advances from other women, planned a Friday afternoon campaign stop in Rock Hill, S.C., before heading home to Atlanta to assess whether the accusation of an affair would be enough to force him from the GOP contest. With a little more than a month before Iowa has its lead-off caucuses, time is working against the Georgia businessman as he tries to steady his campaign.

"I want to do the assessment that we've got to do. Every time a new bit of information comes up, that stimulates another story in the media and that hurts my family and my wife, and it hurts me," Cain told Fox News Channel on Thursday.

"I'm going to re-establish my reputation," he added.

It won't be easy, regardless of whether the allegations are true or not. Cain's standing in the polls is cratering, supporters are wavering and fundraising is limping.

Since Ginger White stepped forward Monday, the allegation of an affair has overshadowed Cain's campaign. He told The New Hampshire Union Leader that his wife, Gloria, did not know he was providing the 46-year-old Atlanta-area businesswoman with money for "month-to-month bills and expenses."

"Unfortunately, I'm a softy and I feel sorry for people when they get in deep financial trouble, especially given this economy," Cain later told Fox News.

White told MSNBC in an interview Thursday night that she was "deeply sorry" for causing Cain's wife or other members of his family any pain.

"My heart bleeds for this woman because I am a woman and being in a situation like this cannot be fun. And I am deeply, deeply sorry if I have caused any hurt to her and to his kids, to his family," she said.

White said the affair was never about love and that Cain never said he loved her.

"Nor did I tell him that I loved him," she said. "It wasn't a love affair. It was a sexual affair, as hard as that is for me to say and as hard as it is for people to hear it. You know, it pretty much is what it is. And that's what it was."

Even before White surfaced, Cain faced steep hurdles to the nomination. He didn't have much of a campaign organization. He was spending more time on a book tour than in early primary and caucus states. And he was dealing with doubts about whether he was ready for the presidency, given a series of fumbles on policy questions.

Cain said that he was heading home on Friday to talk "face to face" with his wife of 42 years, although he said they had spoken several times a day since White told an Atlanta television station she had a casual if long-term affair with Cain that ended about eight months ago.

"My wife told me again today she loves me. It's not that she is doubting me," Cain told Fox News. "It's that all the media frenzy and all of the speculation and all of the twisting and the turning that never stops, it takes a toll on your family and that's my No. 1 priority."

Even so, he canceled a Friday evening event at the Atlanta Athletic Club as he decides whether his campaign goes forward.

"Herman Cain is a smart man, and he loves his family, and I know that these last four, five weeks, with these accusations, have taken a toll on him and they've taken a toll on his family," Cain lawyer Lin Wood told CNN. "I suspect he's going to have a heart-to-heart talk with his wife and his other family members and he's going to make sure that whatever decision he makes, the first and foremost consideration: Is it in their best interest?"

The boy's mother says her son acted in self-defense.

Associated PressA school bus waits to pick up students Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011, at Jason Lee Middle School in Tacoma, Wash.

BOSTON (AP) — The mother of a Boston elementary school first-grader being investigated for possible sexual harassment for punching another boy in the groin says her son acted in self-defense.

Tasha Lynch said Thursday the other boy had choked her son on a school bus and stolen his gloves late last month.

She tells The Boston Globe her 7-year-old son reacted in an attempt to protect himself.

A spokesman for Boston public schools confirmed an investigation but refused to discuss specifics of the incident or why it has been classified as a possible case of sexual harassment.

Lynch says because her son punched the other boy in the groin, school officials say they consider it sexual assault. She counters that the other boy should be charged with attempted murder for choking her son.

The dog's owner told police after the attack it had bitten two people previously.

Associated PressThis image provided by the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority shows a pit bull dog seized Monday Aug. 9, 2010 in Buena Park, Calif. Police said they stopped a van that was transporting 14 pit bulls to Mexico for dog fighting.

BRIDGEWATER — Authorities say a 71-year-old Bridgewater woman suffered severe facial injuries during an attack by a relative's pit bull that was so vicious that a veterinarian later recovered pieces of human flesh from the animal's stomach.

Police say Normanda Torres was attacked unprovoked by the 50-pound dog that belonged to her grandson as she stood at the kitchen sink late Thursday morning.

She was flown to a Boston hospital for surgery. Hospital staff said she is recovering.

Dogs involved in biting incidents are usually quarantined for 10 days, but doctors at the hospital requested that the roughly-year-old animal be euthanized immediately to recover the woman's flesh.

The dog's owner told police after the attack it had bitten two people previously.

The Krafts own the parcel across from the stadium but have not reached any agreement to lease it.

(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)Members of the media walk in Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., Tuesday, July 26, 2011, to await the arrival of New England Patriots players the day after the NFL lockout ended. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

FOXBOROUGH — New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has invited a Las Vegas casino operator to Foxborough to gauge interest in a possible resort development near Gillette Stadium.

A spokesman for The Kraft Group said in a statement that Steve Wynn, the CEO of Wynn Resorts Ltd., will attend Sunday's game between the Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. During his visit he will also meet with Foxborough residents to determine if there's "mutual interest" in a resort.

The Krafts own the parcel across from the stadium but have not reached any agreement to lease it.

NFL rules prohibit teams from owning casinos.

A Kraft Group lawyer recently drafted a proposed town bylaw that could allow for a casino. Selectmen have not approved that change.

A new state law authorizes up to three resort casinos in Massachusetts.

One suspect arrested at the South Bridge Street address was also taken into custody there in 2010.

HOLYOKE -- A raid on a South Bridge Street apartment building and a traffic stop that netted two Pittsfield men are among the latest chapters in the city's ongoing battle against the drug trade.

Officers executing a search warrant at 556 South Bridge St. shortly before noon Thursday arrested five suspects; four of those taken into custody are facing drug charges.

Police records show that those arrested were:

• Elvin Resto, 48, of 41 Mosher Street, on a trespassing charge;


• Vivian Einid Gonzalez, 43, of 556 South Bridge St., on charges of possession of a Class A drug; possession of a Class B drug; violation of drug laws within 100 feet of a public park; possession of a Class A drug with intent to distribute; possession of a Class B drug with intent to distribute; and conspiracy to violate drug laws;


• Jose Villegas-Rodriguez, 28, of 532 South Bridge St., on charges of resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, conspiracy to violate a drug law (Class A), and conspiracy to violate a drug law (Class B);


• Jose Esimurria, 21, of 556 South Bridge St., on charges of conspiracy to violate a drug law, possession of a Class B drug, possession of a Class B drug with intent to distribute, possession of a Class A drug, possession of a Class A drug with intent to distribute, and violation of a drug law within 100 feet of a public park;


• Janiel Sanchez Rodriguez, 25, of 556 South Bridge St., on charges of conspiracy to violate a drug law, possession of a Class B drug, possession of a Class B drug with intent to distribute, possession of a Class A drug, possession of a Class A drug with intent to distribute, and violation of a drug law within 100 feet of a public park.

This was at least the second time Resto was taken into custody at this address: he was one of 11 suspects arrested in a March 2010 raid on the building. A raid on a second-floor apartment earlier this year led to the arrests of two suspects on Class A and E drug charges.

According to records from the city assessor's office, the building is owned by Bedford, Massachusetts-based Windsor Realty, LLC.

Pittsfield suspects arrested

A traffic stop on South Street at 6:19 p.m. Thursday led to the arrests of two Pittsfield men.

Shawn MacDonald, 22, of 21 Orlando Ave. in Pittsfield, was charged with driving with a suspended license.

Hector A. Fuentes, 33, of 25 Taylor St. in Pittsfield, was arrested on a number of drug charges: possession of a Class B drug; possession of a Class B drug with intent to distribute; possession of a Class A drug; possession of a Class A drug with intent to distribute; and violation of drug laws within 100 feet of a public park. The location of the arrest was recorded as 235 South St.

Other arrests

Juan Torres, 38, of 948 Dwight St., was arrested at 9:23 p.m. Thursday after a motor vehicle stop near the corner of Lyman and Front streets. He was arrested on a warrant and faces an additional charge of possession of a Class B drug.

Angel Guzman, 20, of 362 High St., was arrested at 10:01 p.m. Thursday near the corner of Cabot and High streets on a number of warrants. Guzman also faces charges of possession of a Class D drug with intent to distribute and violation of a drug law within 100 feet of a public park.

Additional information about the arrests was not immediately available Friday. Arraignment information will be added to this story as it becomes available.

File photo | The Republican

Romney pointed to Gingrich’s decades of service in the House of Representatives and elsewhere in government.

File photo / Associated PressRepublican presidential candidates former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. W. Mitt Romney laugh before a Republican presidential debate at Oakland University in Auburn Hills last month. (Photo by Paul Sancya)

WASHINGTON – Presidential candidate W. Mitt Romney stepped up attacks on rival Newt Gingrich Friday, labeling Gingrich as a Washington insider who is unlikely to win the Republican nomination.

In an interview on “Fox & Friends,” Romney repeatedly pointed to Gingrich’s decades of service in the House of Representatives and elsewhere in government.

“I must admit that Newt has had a very extensive, long record of working in Washington with various governmental and non-governmental agencies, and I just don’t think that’s the background that’s ideally suited, one, to replace (President) Barack Obama, and number two, to lead the country,” Romney said. “This is not a matter of that America needs better lobbyists, or better deal-makers, better insiders – I think America needs a leader.”

Romney also disputed Gingrich’s claim that Gingrich would win the nomination.

“I’m going to be the nominee,” Gingrich said Thursday in an interview with ABC.

When asked if he disagreed, Romney said: “I sure do.”

“Let me tell you, over the last year, they’ve been a lot of people that have been real high in the polls that are not high in the polls anymore,” Romney said. “So you know there’s this funny thing in America, it’s called the election, and to win the election, you’ve got to earn it.”

Romney offered his own prediction. “I’m confident that this will be a successful campaign,” he said. “Self-aggrandizing statements about polls are not going to win elections.”

The comments represent Romney’s most aggressive attacks yet on Gingrich, who has risen in national polls in recent weeks and is currently viewed as the chief conservative alternative to Romney. And while Romney has seen others conservative candidates rise, only to fall back, Gingrich is already a national figure with significant policy expertise – and there is less than a month before voting begins in Iowa, leaving Romney less time to attack.

Romney’s comments came a day after Gingrich said he wanted to stay above-board, telling The Associated Press while campaigning in Iowa, “I’m not going to focus on Romney or anybody else.” He made the comment just days after saying in South Carolina that he was “a lot more conservative than Mitt Romney” and added: “It’s wrong to go around and adopt radically different positions based on your need of any one election.”

An FAA spokeswoman says the chunk likely came from a piece of heavy machinery, possibly a wood chipper. That still doesn't explain how it came crashing through the roof.

This Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011 still image from video provided by NECN, New England Cable News, shows a chunk of metal that plunged through the roof of Michael's Furniture Warehouse in Plymouth, Mass. Federal Aviation Administration inspectors said the piece of metal was not an airplane part, but likely came from a piece of heavy machinery. (AP Photo/Courtesy of NECN) MANDATORY CREDIT

PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — The owners of a furniture warehouse in Plymouth, Mass., want to know the origin of a chunk of metal that plunged through the roof.

No one was hurt when the 6-inch, cylindrical piece of metal weighing about 5 pounds came through the roof Wednesday or Thursday. The chunk punched a small hole in the roof over a closet and scattered ceiling-tile debris.

Federal Aviation Administration inspectors say the piece of metal was broken at both ends and was not an airplane part.

An FAA spokeswoman says the chunk likely came from a piece of heavy machinery, possibly a wood chipper. That still doesn't explain how it came crashing through the roof.

Police are also stumped.

The owner of Michael's Furniture Warehouse says someone could have been killed.

The court complaint was filed by William Newman, director of the Western Massachusetts chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

File photosFile photos of the late Phoebe Prince of South Hadley.

NORTHAMPTON – A reporter covering the Phoebe Prince story has filed a suit in Hampshire Superior Court requiring the town of South Hadley to produce public documents disclosing its settlement with Prince’s family.

The complaint by Emily Bazelon, a reporter for the news organization Slate, was filed by William C. Newman, the director of the Western Massachusetts chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Prince, a 15-year-old South Hadley High School freshman, took her own life in January of 2010 after suffering bullying at school. She soon became a symbol of the tragic effects of bullying, drawing international attention to South Hadley and its school system.

In November of 2010, Jeremy Prince and Anne O’Brien, Prince’s parents, withdrew a Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination complaint they had filed against the town after reaching an agreement with South Hadley in the matter. The amount of the settlement has never been disclosed.

Bazelon’s suit seeks all public documents relating to the matter, claiming that the settlement is not protected by law.

Al Qaeda Leader Zawahiri says he has American hostage, Corzine subpoenaed to appear before House panel and more.

AP Photo/Mike RedwoodThis Jan. 6, 2009 file image provided by Mike Redwood shows Warren Weinstein in England. Weinstein was abducted by gunmen early Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011, from his home in Lahore, Pakistan. In a video posted on a militant website and made available Thursday Dec. 1, 2011 al-Qaida leader Ayman Al-Zawahri claimed responsibility for the capture and said Weinstein would be released if the United States stopped air strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. He also demanded the release of all al-Qaida and Taliban suspects around the world.

Kill the penny: one analyst's opinion on why the penny is now useless, and is a drain on the economy
(video from AndrewSullivan.TheDailyBeast.com)

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