Standard & Poor's Rating Services has kept the city's bond rating at AA, a level it considers stable.

AGAWAM– Agawam’s bonding rating continues to be good, something that enabled the city to recently refund a bond issue, a move projected to save about $313,500 in borrowing costs through 2020, according to officials.

Richard Cohen

The refunding of the bond issue was possible because Standard & Poor’s Rating Services continues to rank the city’s bonds at AA, Mayor Richard A. Cohen and City Treasurer-Collector Laurel A. Placzek said Thursday.

“I’m very proud of it,” Cohen said of the city’s ability to maintain that rating, which is considered stable by the rating agency’s standards. “It shows we are a very stable community, financially.”

The last time the city got a bond rating was in 2009, when Standard & Poor’s moved it up a notch from AA minus to AA. The rating agency ranks bonding capacity from AAA to D, with AAA being the highest rating.

“We have strong financial reserves. We have a strong tax base and we have never had to have a Proposition 2 1/2 override,” Cohen said.

Placzek was able to generate the expected savings by refunding a debt of $2,991,000, which has resulted in borrowing costs of 1.63 percent a year, an improvement over the old rate of 4.14 percent. The debt is part of a general obligation bond floated in 2001 and that includes money for renovations at the high school library, costs associated with a combined sewer overflow project, library expansion and sewer improvements on Camp Street and Florida Drive.

Savings of $313,594 are expected to accrue to the city until the bond is paid off Dec. 1, 2020, according to Placzek.

In its report on the city’s finances, the rating agency described Agawam as having a stable economic base with a strong tax base, a very strong reserve position and low debt burden. Seventeen percent of the city’s tax base is commercial and industrial property, according to the report.

Among other things, the rating agency noted that the city has a business development center, the Agawam Small Business Assistance Center, that provides counseling, training and mentoring for entrepreneurs and businesses.

The city’s total assessed value comes to $2.7 billion or $97,744 per capita. The report also states that as of the close of fiscal 2010 the city had $15.1 million in reserves, which increased to an estimated $15.5 million by the end of fiscal 2011.

The city also has about $5.5 million of unused levy capacity under Proposition 2 1/2, according to the report.

The companies said that they have agreed to sell their wireless licenses to Verizon for $3.6 billion.

File photo / Associated PressCustomers stand outside a Verizon Wirless store in Beachwood, Ohio, earlier this year. (Photo by Amy Sancetta)

NEW YORK – Cable companies Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable Inc. and Bright House Networks are giving up on their dreams of creating their own wireless network, opting instead to resell Verizon Wireless service.

The companies said Friday that they have agreed to sell their wireless licenses – which they haven’t been using – to Verizon Wireless for $3.6 billion.

The deal “amounts to a partnership between formerly mortal enemies,” said analyst Craig Moffett at Sanford Bernstein. The cable companies compete with Verizon Communications Inc., Verizon Wireless’ parent company, for phone and cable-TV customers. Now, Verizon Wireless stores will be selling cable service.

Cable companies have long had ambitions to open a second front against AT&T Inc. and Verizon by setting up their own wireless networks. In the meantime, some of them have partnered with Sprint Nextel Corp. and Clearwire Corp. to offer wireless service.

Lately, there had been speculation that the cable companies would try for a deeper beachhead in wireless by investing in ailing No. 3 and 4 carriers Sprint or T-Mobile USA. That talk had gained currency as it’s become clear that AT&T’s deal to buy T-Mobile USA is firmly opposed by regulators.

The link-up with No. 1 carrier Verizon Wireless and the sale of the spectrum appears to preclude a deal between a cable consortium and one of the weaker players in wireless. Instead, the biggest cellphone company will strengthen its hand, if the spectrum sale is approved by regulators.

“Pity poor T-Mobile. Verizon just ran off with the last pretty girl in the bar,” Moffett said.

U.S.-listed shares of Deutsche Telekom AG, the parent of T-Mobile USA, were down 53 cents, or 4.2 percent, at $12.25 in midday trading. Sprint shares were down 3 cents, or 1.1 percent, at $2.67.

“It’s really hard for a cable company to expect to compete in a highly competitive wireless market,” said Time Warner Cable spokesman Alex Dudley. He pointed to Cox Communications, another cable company, which this year shut down its plans to build out a wireless network.

“We got a good price for the spectrum,” Dudley said. “An arrangement like this makes a lot of sense.”

The cable companies paid $2.2 billion for the spectrum in 2006, so they’re getting a 64 percent gain on a five-year investment. The spectrum covers about 85 percent of the country’s population, and would have been sufficient to start up an independent wireless network.

Shares of Philadelphia-based Comcast rose 97 cents, or 4.3 percent, to $23.53. New York-based Time Warner Cable shares rose $1.90, or 3.1 percent, to $62.82. Orlando, Fla.-based Bright House Networks is privately held.

Time Warner Cable currently resells access to Clearwire’s wireless data network as “4G” service. Dudley said it could continue to provide service to existing subscribers, but the arrangement with Verizon Wireless is exclusive, so it will stop selling to new subscribers.

Neil Smit, the head of Comcast’s cable operations, said its Clearwire service, marketed as “Xfinity 2Go,” will be shut down within six months. It has about 30,000 customers.

Clearwire shares were unchanged at $2.03.

Comcast, the country’s largest cable company, owned the majority of the spectrum holding company, and will get $2.3 billion from the sale. Time Warner Cable, the second-largest cable company, will get $1.1 billion. Bright House, the sixth-largest, will get $189 million.

Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead said the company will combine the spectrum with some of its own unused holdings and launch service using the latest wireless data technology, dubbed LTE for Long-Term Evolution. The acquisition roughly doubles the number of airwaves Verizon Wireless would have available for LTE.

Mead said he expected the deal to close in the middle of next year, but didn’t say when the spectrum would be put to use.

Moffett, the analyst, said the Federal Communications Commission would probably rather see the spectrum go to T-Mobile USA. One of the reasons its German parent company wants to sell it to AT&T is that T-Mobile USA doesn’t have a lot of room on the airwaves, and can’t keep up with Verizon and AT&T when it comes to expanding wireless data capacity.

But Deutsche Telekom is unwilling to plow more money into the U.S., so an outright purchase of the cable-company spectrum has not been in the cards.

The sale to Verizon does solve one problem for the FCC, Moffett said: that the cable spectrum holdings have not been put to use yet.

Under the agreement, the cable companies and Verizon Wireless will market each others’ services. Billing will be separate, but the cable companies have the option to start selling Verizon Wireless service under their own brand in four years. Cox had a similar arrangement with Sprint, but gave it up last month, saying it was too small to compete with the big cellphone companies.

Verizon Communications, the New York-based phone company that owns 55 percent of Verizon Wireless, runs its own, competing cable-TV service called FiOS in some areas. In the rest of its local-phone territory, it resells satellite TV service from DirecTV Group Inc. based in El Segundo, Calif.

The lobster pot that held the tag with Richard Figueiredo’s name on it was one of hundreds he lost when the legendary storm struck in 1991.

File photo / Associated PressGeorge Clooney is seen portraying captain Billy Tyne the the Warner Brothers file, "The Perfect Storm" in 2000.

COHASSET – A tag from a lobster pot lost two decades ago when the so-called “Perfect Storm” hit off Massachusetts in 1991 has washed up 3,000 miles away in Ireland.

The lobster pot that held the tag with Richard Figueiredo’s name on it was one of hundreds he lost when the legendary storm struck off Cohasset, where Figueiredo fishes.

Last year, Rosemary Hill of County Kerry in Ireland found the orange tag on a local beach, and put it aside. When she came across it last week, she decided to try to contact Figueiredo, and found him through his son’s Facebook account.

Oceanographer Curt Ebbesmeyer told The Patriot Ledger of Quincy that the tag’s 20-year drift is unusually long. He theorized it was buried in offshore mud before drifting south and catching the eastward Gulf Stream.

In the summer of 2000, a movie about the storm was released starring actor George Clooney.

The Gloucester research lab had been closed for several years following the death of professor Herbert Hultin.

UMass-Amherst photoResearch professor Molly Lutcavage measures a young tuna before releasing it back into the waters off the Massachusetts coast this summer. Lutcavage is director of the Large Pelagics Research Station that was dedicated Friday at Hodgkins Cove in Gloucester. The station is a cooperative effort between the University of Massachusetts and the state Division of Marine Fisheries to study large commercial fish, primarily bluefin tuna.

AMHERST – The University of Massachusetts and the Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Marine Fisheries celebrated Friday the opening of shared marine science research center at Hodgkins Cove in Gloucester.

Researchers are working with the fishing industry to focus on tuna, billfish and other large, ocean-going species, according to a statement released by the university.

UMass-Amherst bought the marine station property in 1970 for $67,500 to serve as the seafood research laboratory for rrofessor Herbert Hultin who worked there from 1979 until his death in 2007, when the property was closed, according to the release.

UMass spent about $150,000 and the state contributed about $250,000 to renovate the 3,200-square-foot building that is being used by professor Molly Lutcavage who brought the Large Pelagics Research Center to UMass after she left the University of New Hampshire.

She studies giant bluefin tuna, leatherback turtles and other large open-ocean wandering species, or pelagics, according to a press release.

Four currently work there and graduate students are also expected to work there.

“This center will develop expertise that will inform the future sustainability of our marine fisheries while also serving as the new home of the LPRC, a world-class research program for the study of large open-ocean wandering species such as giant bluefin tuna and leatherback turtles, which are the subject of an ongoing research project by our Division of Marine Fisheries,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Richard Sullivan Jr. in a statement. “All of us in state government can be proud of this new facility and the important work it will enable.”

According to the lab’s Web site, researchers moved in in June and wanted to wait to be settled in before holding the opening celebration.

The Springfield Armor host second annual Read to Achieve program at Talmadge Elementary School

SPRINGFIELD - Students at the Talmadge Elementary School in Springfield took to the auditorium this morning to celebrate their success in the 'Read to Achieve' literacy program put on by Springfield’s own minor league basketball team, The Springfield Armor.

The children were beaming as they got a chance to practice their defensive stance under the guide of the team’s head coach, Bob Mackinnon Jr. They also heard a speech from Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, and got the chance to meet two players from the team as well as Steal, the team’s mascot.

The students were happy to receive a free ticket to tonight’s 7 p.m. game against Fort Wayne, but the event achieved more than just getting students excited about basketball.

“We want to teach kids that learning is not work, and that it can be fun,” mayor Sarno said. “We want them to want to do it.”

During his speech, Sarno told students that he started out in the same position as them, stressing the fact that a strong foundation in reading and writing is important to their future success.

This is the second year that the Armor have run the event, and it has grown significantly in scope during that time. According to Alex Schwerin, President of the Armor, there are 40 schools participating in the program this year with just over 12,000 combined students. Last year’s program involved 16 schools with a combined 6,000 students.

The majority of the school’s are located in the greater Springfield area, but schools from various towns in Western Mass. and Northern Conn. are also participating this year.

The program runs four weeks, and allows each school to set specific reading goals for their students each week. Weekly prizes are awarded to the students that meet the goal, with the grand prize of free tickets to an Armor game handed out at the end of the fourth week.

Participating students are honored with an on-court pre-game parade. "It is a win for the kids themselves. They read more, and it also gives them the opportunity to gain pride in their achievement," said Schwerin.

The idea for the program came after Schwerin participated in a similar one while working for the Modesto Nuts, a minor league baseball team from California that is affiliated with the Colorado Rockies.

Talmadge Elementry School had 294 students participating in the event this year, with 220 of them reaching the goal. That is about 75 percent of the students – a significant improvement over last year when 61 percent of students reached the goal.

Talmadge principal Stefania Raschilla explained that each student was encouraged to read an additional 20 minutes per night. Parents were asked to help their children achieve this goal by monitoring progress and signing a sheet upon completion. The children were allowed to select different genre’s that they enjoyed reading.

“By partnering with the Springfield Armor, students were able to see basketball players who attended and completed college,” said Stefania. This gives them a role model that has achieved both on and off the court.

The participating players were guard Lance Hurdle and guard / forward Jonathan Thomas. They attended college at the University of Miami and Marshall University respectively.

Each player’s contract stipulates that they take part in a certain amount of community service each year as a part of the NBA Cares initiative. Though they are required to do this, Schwerin said that players always go above and beyond the requirement.

Head coach Bob Mackinnon Jr. explained that the program benefits both the participating children as well as the team. The children get excited about reading and the Armor gain future fans while giving back to the community.

“We are a Springfield team, and if we are going to ask the community to come out and support us at the games, we have to do the same,” said Mackinnon. “We have to get out in the community and show that we support them as well.”

“In the long term, everything we do in the community is going to provide benefits down the road,” explained Schwerin. “To be successful we need to support the community.”

The program is made possible through the support of four local partner businesses:

• Big Y
• Comcast
• Gary Rome Hyundai
• The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

These organizations are responsible for some of the weekly prizes, according to Schwerin. For instance, the Hall of Fame gave winners free admission tickets to the museum. They are also responsible for providing a portion of the funding required to operate the program.

With two successful years under its belt and a growing body of support, the Read to Achieve program could be around to encourage students to read for years to come.

The fair, which will be held Saturday, offers everything from baked goods to toys and personalized ornaments.

Candace Rutz, one of the organizers of Christmas on the Green at the First Church of Christ in Longmeadow, holds some of the decorated cans that will be filled with home-made Christmas cookies and sold at the fair Dec. 3. Christina Carroll is on the right, showing one of the many themed gift baskets and gift boxes.

LONGMEADOW – A visit with Santa, musicians playing live Christmas music and unique gifts are all a part of First Church of Christ’s Christmas on the Green Dec.3.

“It’s an annual tradition that many people in town look forward to every year,” said organizer Kelly Batchelor.

The event is run completely by members of the church and all of the proceeds go towards local and national causes.

Some of the organizations include Shriner’s Hospital, the Open Pantry, the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts and more.

“This year especially it seems like many of these organizations are suffering and are in need of donations, so we hope the proceeds of the fair will help them,” Batchelor said.

The fair encompasses two floors and offers everything from baked goods to toys and personalized ornaments.

“We have boutique areas, as opposed to vendor tables, such as crafts, candy, baked goods, gifts from afar, books, vintage items, jewelry, fresh wreaths and more,” said Caitlin LaFleur, chair of the Christmas fair. “All our boutiques are organized by church members and consist of donated items-hand-made or new or gently used items.”

Batchelor said the event is hosted by the Women’s Benevolent Society.

The society was established in 1803 and is thought to be one of the oldest women’s organizations ion the country. The fair has been happening every year since at least the 1930s, but maybe earlier, Batchelor said.

The event also includes live orchestral music and a silent auction.

Lunch will be served between 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. and children can visit with Santa from 11 -1 p.m.

A formal request to spend about $1 million will be sent to the City Council next month.

Daniel M. Knapik

WESTFIELD – The city’s free cash balance from fiscal 2010 totals slightly more than $2.4 million but Mayor Daniel M. Knapik said nearly half that amount is already spoken for.

The state Department of Revenue has certified the city’s left over funding at $2,453,013 from last year.

“We will try not to spend some of that but some of the available funding has been spoken for,” Knapik said noting several capital items need funding.

Included is an estimated $500,000 that will allow the city to proceed with plans for a central dispatch involving police and fire emergencies.

“That amount is needed to hire four dispatchers and upgrade some equipment,” the mayor said.

Also, more than $400,000 is needed for municipal vehicles such as command vehicles and a mechanic vehicle for the Fire Department and two sanitation trucks for trash collection, he said.

The trash vehicles are estimated at more than $230,000 each but the intent is to allocate $95,000 to finance a one-year lease for the vehicles, officials said.

Department of Public Works director James M. Mulvenna said the city operates five rubbish trucks, all are 2004 models, and three recycling vehicles. The plan is to lease one of each for one year and then include the purchase in next year’s budget, he said.

Knapik said his plan is to replace two such vehicles annually. “We must to develop and planned replacement process to address vehicle needs,” he said.

The mayor said he plans to send about $1 million in spending requests to the City Council for approval next month.

The city’s current fiscal 2012 budget totals $120.9 million.

City Council president Christopher Keefe said Friday he believes the council will support the mayors request “especially if we can pay cash for these items.

“The central dispatch is something the city has considered for awhile and the time to do this is now,” the president said.

Remaining free cash from the last budget year is expected to be deposited in the city’s stabilization fund for use later.

That fund has a current balance of $6.2 million.

This time last year DOR notified the city of $3.7 million in free cash from fiscal 2009. The balance from fiscal 2008 was $1.9 million.

Thomas Joseph Toomey, 79, died Thursday December 1st in Springfield

Thomas Tooney

AGAWAM - Thomas Joseph Toomey, 79, died Thursday December 1st in Springfield. Born in Springfield, Tom grew up in Miami Fl. where he graduated from high school and attended the University of Florida. He has been a resident of Agawam for 46 years. Tom was a member of Iron Workers Union Local 357 for over 20 years retiring in 1985. He also evolved into an entrepreneur as a land lord, car dealer and builder for many years. He was a member of the Springfield YMCA where he enjoyed working out with his friends and was a football coach in Agawam for 5 years. While in Florida he was a Golden Gloves boxing champ and a football fan of the Miami Dolphins. He played touch football and was the oldest player in the league playing till age 45.

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  Toomey, Thomas Joseph "Tom"
  



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  Troie Sr., Raymond
  



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  Twining, Jacqueline Claire Ethier
  



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Students learn to watch movies, write stories at in cinema classroom

Photo by Diane Lederman/The RepublicanJake Meginsky the new Director of Education at Amherst Cinema tells students from the EN White Elementary School in Holyoke about the films they will be seeing that morning.

AMHERST - On a recent Thursday morning the classroom for about 50 Holyoke third graders moved from the Edward N. White Elementary School to the cushioned theater seats of the Amherst Cinema.

Some of these students have never left Holyoke nor been to a theater quite like this non-profit, but they are having the kind of time where it was hard for them to contain their excitement as Jake Meginsky the new Director of Education at Amherst Cinema told them about an 11-year-old Chicago boy’s one-minute film that they would soon see.

“It all starts with a great story. They’re all inside you,” he said and explained that the boy “was inspired to make (a movie) from his favorite book.” The story was Octavio Paz’ “My Life with a Wave.”

Fifty classes from six school districts throughout the Pioneer Valley are taking part in the See-Hear-Feel-Film project created a decade ago by Anne Marie Santoro, the former Director of Education Programs and Services at the Children’s Television Workshop.

The Amherst Cinema is the third cinema nationwide offering the program aimed at teaching students how to watch movies and tell stories through film, said Carol M. Johnson, cinema executive director.

Before watching, Meginsky asked the students what books and movies have in common and virtually every student had his or hand raised to answer.

Teachers Deborah Poulin and Susan DesJardins said they were surprised how enthusiastic their students were and were learning things about them they didn’t know. They didn’t know, for example, that one student knew about end credits on a movie.

Both she and math teacher Poulin see a myriad benefits in the program that will continue into the spring when the class returns for live action films. Both on this day were animated stories.

“We’ve been doing personal narrative,” DesJardins said. “It will help them with creative writing. This will help bring that to life for them.”

After seeing the two films the students created poems inspired from the movies.
Back in Holyoke, they will be developing storyboards in class in anticipation of their return for the spring.

The program has other benefits, the teachers said. It offers them the chance to leave Holyoke.

“They don’t get to see a college town like Amherst,” DesJardins said. “This is a very different theater,” she said, referring to the cinemas they might visit.

“It fits in with our mission of being an educational and cultural (venue,)” Johnson said of the reasons for their participation. “We knew we had the space.” The theater is not used in the mornings. “It’s such an inspirational program.”

The cinema through fund-raising and grants is covering the cost for districts like Holyoke that have at least a third of their population receiving free lunch, said Gail Lansky, the theater outreach and development director. The program costs $99 per student or about $110,000 in total.

Photo by Diane Lederman / The RepublicanLuis Medina, 8, left, and Jezriel Torres, 8, get a popcorn break during a recent program at the Amherst Cinema. Both are students at the EN White School in Holyoke

With all costs covered, the class will still get one field trip, said English Language Arts teacher DesJardins.

Plus working with the volunteers who help lead the group activities after the film lets them “have other grownups besides their teachers who are interested in them.”

Volunteers are college students or retired participants in the RSVP senior volunteer, program said Johnson.

“It’s an amazing opportunity for our district,” said Isolda Ortega-Bustamante, director of state and federal programs for the Holyoke Public Schools.

And she said if fits well with their curriculum. The district is working to ensure students are reading to grade level by the time they are in third grade and this helps.
Here “They are listening and talking and writing poems and a story as a group. There are so many levels of learning.”

The Palmer water superintendent blamed the break on the age of the pipe.

File photo by Lori Stabile / The RepublicanCrews from Palmer water district and the Monson water department work to fix a broken water main on North Main street in palmer on Friday afternoon.

PALMER - Palmer Water Department Superintendent James M. Ammann said water should be restored by Friday at 4 p.m. to the six customers who were affected when a section of water main burst on North Main Street.

Ammann said the break happened at 4 p.m. on Thursday and crews from his department and the Monson Water and Sewer Department have been working non-stop since then to repair the broken pipe.

"There was water all over the road," Ammann said.

He said five residences and one business, Maryniski's Florist on North Main Street, have been without water due to the break, which he blamed on the age of the pipe.

"It's a common occurrence in the water works business," Ammann said. "The other issue was the type of break we had. We had to chip ledge out to gain access to the main."

Ammann said the cost of the repair is undetermined at this time. An old hydrant near the area of the break was removed and will not be replaced, he said. The area over the water main break will be repaved sometime early next week, he said.

A new, 12-foot section of pipe was being installed Friday afternoon.

Frustrated by her efforts to get information from the town, Bazelon put the matter to the public records division of the Massachusetts Secretary of State.

This is an updated version of a story posted at 11:44 this morning.

Phoebe Prince

NORTHAMPTON - A Hampshire Superior Court judge will be asked to decide this month whether the town of South Hadley must release documents related to it settlement with the family of Phoebe Prince.

Claiming it’s a matter of public record that has affected the town’s insurance premiums, reporter Emily Bazelon is suing the town for the documents.

Bazelon, who writes for the on-line magazine Slate, said she has been repeatedly rebuffed by the town and its officials in her efforts to access the information.

In May, The Republican made similar requests under the Freedom of Information Act.

Town Counsel Edward J. Ryan denied one such request, citing a confidentiality clause in the settlement. All other town officials denied knowledge of the settlement.

Prince, a 15-year-old freshman, hanged herself in her South Hadley home in January of 2010 after what investigators have characterized as a period of intense bullying at South Hadley High School. Her story soon became international news and Prince, who had recently immigrated from Ireland, became a symbol of the tragic effects of bullying.

In July of 2010, Anne O’Brien and Jeremy Prince, Prince’s parents, filed a Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination Complaint against South Hadley alleging that the schools failed to protect Phoebe from discrimination amounting to sexual harassment. They dropped the complaint in November when the two sides settled, but the amount of the settlement was never disclosed.

The Republican and Bazelon both filed public records requests with Ryan and the town, to no avail. While Ryan claimed the information was protected both by the confidentially clause and attorney/client privilege, town officials said they simply did not know how much money South Hadley had paid the family. They argued that because the settlement was paid by Argonaut Insurance, the town’s carrier, it did not involve public money.

In Bazelon’s complaint, however, her lawyer William C. Newman who filed the suit as director of the Western Massachusetts chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, included correspondence indicating that the town’s insurance premiums have increased considerably as a result of the settlement, a burden that falls on South Hadley taxpayers. According to the documents, liability insurance went from $183,962 in 2010 to $206,204 in 2011. Overall, the town’s insurance costs rose from $213,997 to $233,587 over that same period.

Because no one has spelled out exactly how the policy paid the settlement, Newman said he has had to play detective in trying to interpret the laybrinthine document. The general policy for example, includes an “errors and omission” section pertaining specifically to the School Department. The premium for that section, a few thousand dollars, doubled from 2010 to 2011 but it’s not clear if that was the section that was impacted.

“If you look at the pieces of the policy premiums, the bigger one went up significantly in cost after the resolution of the case,” Newman said.

Ryan said Friday, however, that it is erroneous to conclude that the town’s insurance premiums spiked significantly because of the Prince settlement. He offered no further information on the subject.

In her claim, Bazelon also maintains that the confidentiality clause does not exempt the settlement from the public records laws and that South Hadley has no right to withhold the information. The suit further states that attorney/client privilege does not pertain.

Frustrated by her efforts to get information from the town, Bazelon put the matter to the public records division of the Massachusetts Secretary of State. Neither she nor Ryan has heard from that office on the matter.

Ryan said Friday that, unless some authority tells him otherwise, he still believes he is bound by the confidentiality clause from releasing the information. That ruling could come at the Dec. 19 hearing scheduled in Hampshire Superior Court.

“It is my view, and it’s always been my view, that for me to voluntarily release it would violate the spirit and intent of the agreement,” he said.

Lady Gaga's 14-minute music video puzzles, pleases, Gingrich Says Rise Is 'Disorienting' as He Steps Up Iowa Bid, and more

Associated PressFILE - In this Nov. 21, 2011 file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks at a town meeting at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. Gingrich has never been a conventional Republican and he certainly doesn't see it as the way to catch Mitt Romney. He's not backing away from his unorthodox stand on immigration, which critics call amnesty. But party insiders wonder if a thrice-married, 68-year-old with a multimillion-dollar Freddie Mac contract is the best choice to face President Barack Obama. Gingrich has never been a conventional Republican and he certainly doesn't see it as the way to catch Mitt Romney. He's not backing away from his unorthodox stand on immigration, which critics call amnesty. But party insiders wonder if a thrice-married, 68-year-old with a multimillion-dollar Freddie Mac contract is the best choice to face President Barack Obama. (AP Photo/Cheryl Senter)

CNN: Making money off of 'White Collar Crime'

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Community Preservation money comes from a 3 percent surcharge on property taxes.

NORTHAMPTON – Barely breaking a sweat over the numbers, the City Council Thursday approved some $2.5 million in Community Preservation Committee appropriations, including the largest single award to date.

The committee, which makes recommendations on funding from Community Preservation Act revenues, proposed spending nearly $2 million for a new complex of playing fields in Florence. The cost to the city could diminish considerably if it receives $757,000 in state aid for the project. Nonetheless, the council did not take the state money into account in approving the full amount.

“The spirit of it was, ‘We’re going to do this,’” said Ward 5 Councilor David A. Murphy.

The only discussion, according to Murphy, was whether or not to factor in additional money for a playground and pavilion, which are not included in the plan put before the Community Preservation Committee. The committee could consider those elements if Northampton gets the state money, Murphy said.

He council also signed off on the committee’s recommendation to spend $302,000 to buy 100 acres of wildlife habitat near the Mineral Hills Conservation Area. It approved another $275,000 for replacing the roof of The Academy of Music, which is owned by the city.

Community Preservation money comes from a 3 percent surcharge on property taxes. Voters allowed the city to collect the extra money by adopting the state Community Preservation Act in 2005. The state matches the locally generated revenues.

The council also set the tax rate for 2012 by approved the “Factor of One” system by which residential and commercial property is taxed at the same rate. The vote was somewhat of a formality.

“We’ve never had a split rate,” Murphy said.

Thick, black smoke filled the air as the fire spread from the 3rd floor to 4th floor of the brick building.

View full sizeThe Republican | Patrick JohnsonSpringfield firefighters battle a blaze at 34 Harriet St. in the North End late Friday afternoon.

Update 5:05 p.m.: The fire appears to be out, but not before it broke through the roof. A fire official said the building suffered significant damage.

Sheryl Chase, the building's property manager, said two of the 16 units were occupied. She said the building had been foreclosed upon in January and all non-paying tenants were evicted.

She said the bank that owns the building has been putting a significant amount of money into rehabbing the structure, and was almost on the verge of starting to rent it again. A large "For Rent" sign is draped over the front of the building.

Chase said three or four families were scheduled to move in on Saturday. She did not know the extent of the damage or if the building could be saved.

SPRINGFIELD – City firefighters are at the scene of a raging fire at 34 Harriet St. in the city's North End.

At about 4:30 p.m., flames were coming out of a front window of the third floor of the four-story brick apartment building. Minutes later, the fire had spread to the fourth floor. Thick, black smoke filled the air as the fire spread.

The building was evacuated. Firefighters initially were inside the building, but at 4:40, fire department officials put out a call for all firefighters to evacuate the building.

This is a developing story; details will be added as they become available.

View 34 Harriet St., Springfield in a larger map

Police initially reported that Santiago died from a pre-existing medical condition.

WORCESTER– Worcester police now say a 20-year-old man who died after a fight on a plaza in front of City Hall had a fatal gunshot wound, and didn’t die from a pre-existing medical condition as they first reported.

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported Friday that police said an autopsy showed Javier Santiago died from a single gunshot to the upper torso. Police had said Thursday Santiago appeared to have died when the fight triggered a heart condition or asthma. They didn’t say why his wound wasn’t mentioned originally.

Police had said a shot was fired during the Wednesday afternoon fight between two groups of young men, but no one was hit.

A 17-year-old Worcester man has been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and misleading police in connection with the fight.

Steve Wynn is scheduled to attend Sunday’s game in Foxborough at the invitation of Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft.

This is an updated version of a story posted at 10:44 this morning.

File photo / Associated PressNew England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, right, holds up the Vince Lombardi trophy during a Super Bowl victory parade in Boston in 2005. With him is head coach Bill Belichick. (Photo by Michael Dwyer)

BOSTON – A major Las Vegas casino operator planned to visit the home of the New England Patriots at the invitation of the team’s owner, Robert Kraft, to gauge interest in a potential resort on land the team owns near its stadium.

Steve Wynn, the billionaire CEO of Wynn Resorts Ltd, was scheduled to attend Sunday’s game between the Patriots and Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., and talk to residents, according to a spokesman for The Kraft Group.

A state law signed by Gov. Deval L. Patrick last month would authorize three resort-style casinos and one slots parlor in Massachusetts. Casino bids will be reviewed by an as-yet-to-be-formed gambling commission. One slots parlor would be allowed in each of three geographic zones in the state, with Foxborough part of a zone that also includes Boston.

“We believe that Wynn Resorts is best in class in the resort destination industry, and we’ve invited Steve Wynn to visit Foxborough to meet with residents and decide if there is mutual interest in exploring a resort destination here,” Kraft spokesman Jeff Cournoyer said in a statement Friday.

“He’ll attend the game Sunday and talk to some residents and officials about what a project of the caliber of Wynn Resorts would mean for economic development in Foxborough,” he added.

The Krafts own a 200-acre parcel across from the stadium and the Patriot Place retail complex. A lawyer for the group recently drafted a proposed change to town bylaws that could permit a casino to be built, but town officials have not approved the change.

Cournoyer said the team has not reached an agreement to lease the land and would proceed only if Wynn Resorts and the town were interested in a casino project.

The National Football League prohibits teams from owning casinos, and a league policy warns of potential severe penalties for any league personnel, including owners, who associate “with gamblers or with gambling activities in a manner tending to bring discredit to the NFL.”

It is not clear whether the rules would bar a team from leasing land it owns to a casino developer.

“Nothing has been presented to us concerning the specifics of any arrangement. If and when that occurs, we will evaluate the transaction under our policies,” Brian McCarthy, the NFL’s vice president of communications, said Friday.

The new Massachusetts casino law requires the approval of voters in host communities as well as agreements with officials in surrounding cities or towns that might be affected by the development of a casino in a neighboring community.

State Rep. Daniel Winslow, R-Norfolk, citing reports of discussions between Kraft and Wynn, asked the state transportation department Friday to suspend any discussions related to a proposed expansion of commuter rail to Foxborough until it was known whether a casino is planned for the town. Winslow said a state study has estimated that an expansion of commuter rail to Foxborough and surrounding towns would cost $84 million to construct and $6 million for annual operations.

“With two billionaires poised to privately benefit from rail expansion, it would be fiscally irresponsible for any public funds to be expended on this project,” Winslow wrote in a letter sent to Jody Ray, director of railroad operations for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

Winslow, who voted in favor of the casino law, wrote that a publicly-funded rail expansion would create an unfair advantage for casino developers in Foxborough, if competing developers in other parts of the state were forced to shoulder the costs of infrastructure upgrades associated with their proposals. He also said the law requires the gambling commission to determine effects of casino development on surrounding communities and warned against an “end-run around” the panel’s jurisdiction.

The five commission members will be selected by a combination of Patrick, Attorney General Martha Coakley and state Treasurer Steven Grossman, with the law calling for the panel to be in place within about four months.

The owners of the Suffolk Downs racetrack in East Boston plan to seek a license for a resort casino at the site and would be in direct competition with any bid that is made for a casino in Foxborough.

Wynn Resorts operates a luxury hotel and casino on the Las Vegas strip and a resort in Macau, China.

While the Dow Jones industrial average dropped less than a point, it ended the week up by 7 percent.

File photo / Associated PressThe Dow Jones industrial average closed up about 44 points Wednesday as improvements in China's factories boosted hopes for a recovery in the economy. In this file photo, New York Stock Exchange signs top trading posts on the floor of the exchange.

NEW YORK – The best week for the stock market in more than two years ended with major indexes nearly unchanged on Friday.

A surprise drop in the U.S. unemployment rate sent stocks higher in early trading, but the gains fizzled throughout the afternoon. European stock indexes and the euro rose after German Chancellor Angela Merkel made a speech pushing for tighter rules on government spending.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 0.61 of a point to close at 12,019.42. The Dow ended the week up 7 percent, the largest weekly gain since July 2009.

Bank stocks rose the most. JPMorgan Chase & Co. jumped 6.1 percent, the most among the 30 stocks in the Dow average. Morgan Stanley leapt 6.9 percent, the second-biggest gain of any stock in the S&P 500 index.

The unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent last month, the lowest level in 2½ years. Economists had expected the rate to stay at 9 percent. But a key reason the unemployment rate fell so much was that more than 300,000 people gave up looking for work and were no longer counted as unemployed.

Germany’s Merkel said the 17 countries that use the euro must quickly restore market confidence by making financial controls stricter. Bond yields for Spain and Italy fell, a sign that investors are becoming more confident in the ability of those countries to pay their debt. France’s CAC-40 and Britain’s FT-SE each rose 1.1 percent.

The Nasdaq composite index inched up 0.73 to 2,626.93. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 0.31 of a point to 1,244.28. The S&P surged 7.4 percent over the week, the most since March 2009.

Decisive steps by world leaders to right Europe’s teetering economy sent stocks soaring on Wednesday. The Dow jumped 490 points, its biggest gain since March 2009 and its seventh-largest one-day point gain in history. The weekly point gain of 787 in the Dow was the second-biggest in its history, following a 946-point gain in October 2008.

“This market has been gripped with fear for a long time,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital. “And I think some of these fear factors are beginning to dissipate.”

This week’s strong stock performance is partially a reflection of the market’s increased volatility since August, when concerns that Europe’s debt was spinning out of control made dramatic stock price swings the norm. On Monday the S&P 500 broke a 7-day slide that had taken the index down 7.9 percent.

The improvements in the U.S. job market are “another illustration that the US economy is, for now at least, shrugging off the global economic downturn and fears about the collapse of the euro-zone,” Capital Economics Chief U.S. Economist Paul Ashworth said in a note to clients.

Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy will meet Monday to discuss changes to European Union treaties. The talks will culminate in a Dec. 9 summit of EU leaders, where the proposals are expected to be debated and detailed. Analysts say stricter controls on spending could encourage the European Central Bank to offer more short-term help for governments struggling with their debts.

If the European Central Bank takes a larger role in buying government debt, “it will certainly be a relief to markets,” Cardillo said, “and maybe even mean Europe avoids falling into a deep recession. Not that it’s going to cure all the problems of Europe.”

In corporate news:

Western Digital Corp. soared 7.5 percent, the most in the S&P. The data storage provider raised its revenue estimate for the current quarter and said that recovery efforts at its facility in Thailand following massive flooding there were proceeding faster than had been expected.

Big Lots Inc. slumped 8.7 percent, after the retailer reported a 76 percent plunge in income because of lower margins and a loss related to a newly acquired Canadian business. The company buys overstocked items including food and housewares and sells them at a discount.

H&R Block Inc. fell 6.4 percent. The country’s largest tax-preparation company reported a wider quarterly loss late Thursday. H&R Block also said there was a jump in claims tied to bad loans made by its former subprime mortgage unit.

"The company will continue to service its existing customers and honor its contractual obligations as a servicer,” GMAC said in a prepared statement.

By KYLE CHENEY

BOSTON - GMAC Mortgage, one of five banks that Attorney General Martha M. Coakley is suing over allegations they violated foreclosure laws, announced plans Friday to halt most lending in Massachusetts, citing an obligation to “manage risks and deploy capital in an appropriate manner.”

The company said it will “cease purchasing new mortgage loans in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that are originated by correspondent lenders and wholesale brokers.

“GMAC Mortgage has taken this action because recent developments have led mortgage lending in Massachusetts to no longer be viable. The company will continue to service its existing customers and honor its contractual obligations as a servicer,” GMAC said in a prepared statement.

According to the company, GMAC has completed “745,000 borrower workouts since 2008, representing 27 percent of the loans serviced.”

Coakley’s office dismissed the bank’s concerns as an admission of improper activity.

“In order to do business in Massachusetts, GMAC has to follow the law before foreclosing on homeowners,” Coakley said in a prepared statement. “With today’s action, it appears GMAC has acknowledged it has a problem following those laws and being held accountable for doing so.”

Coakley’s lawsuit, filed Thursday in Suffolk Superior Court, accuses Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, Citi and GMAC of using fraudulent documentation during foreclosure proceedings, including so-called “robo-signing,” and illegally foreclosed on properties without holding the actual mortgages.

Coakley also claimed the banks failed to uphold loan modification promises to Massachusetts homeowners.

Coakley described the lawsuit as the nation's first comprehensive legal action against the five major national banks regarding the foreclosure crisis that hobbled the country's housing market and contributed to a deep recession, impacting more than 45,000 Massachusetts homeowners. Coakley said she did not know how many homeowners were victims of the alleged deceptive practices.

The suit also names Mortgage Electronic Registration System, Inc. and its parent company MERSCORP Inc.

The complaint follows more than a year of negotiations with the banks over a 50-state settlement regarding the use of fraudulent documentation. Coakley said she had lost faith in the negotiation process, but would not rule out signing an agreement if one could be reached before the lawsuit is resolved.

Several of the banks named in the suit responded by criticizing Coakley for distracting from negotiations ongoing with states around the country and initiating what could be a lengthy legal proceeding that will delay relief for homeowners. A spokesman for Citi also denied that the bank had done anything illegal.

The new rate represents an increase of about 73-cents over last year’s tax rate for homeowners and about $1.23 more for business owners.

WESTFIELD – The City Council has approved a new fiscal 2012 property tax rate that will add about $111 to the annual bill for an average homeowner and $430 for the average business owner this year.

The new tax rate was adopted Thursday in a council effort to correct a November vote on property taxes that did not secure the necessary majority vote of the full City Council. The council approved a different rate last month on a 6 - 5 vote. But, such action requires a majority seven votes, of the 13-member council.

Homeowners will now pay $16.13 per $1,000 valuation in property taxes while the rate for businesses will stand at $30.36 per $1,000 valuation.

The new rate represents an increase of about 73-cents over last year’s tax rate for homeowners and about $1.23 more for business owners.

The rate approved last month was $16.16 per $1,000 in valuation on the average home and $30.29 per $1,000 valuation on the average business.

Property taxes will raise some $59.1 million this fiscal year to help finance the city’s $120.9 million budget.

City Collector Michael J. McMahon said the new rate will be reflected on bills that will be sent to taxpayers in January.

Based on the new rate, the owner of a home valued at $231,300 will receive a tax bill of about $3,730 this year. The owner of a business valued at $550,000 will receive a tax bill of about $16,980 for the year.

Councilors voting in favor of the new rate were Patti A. Andras, John J. Beltrandi III, Christopher M. Crean, David A. Flaherty, Nicholas J. Morganelli Jr., Mary L. O’Connell and Richard E. Onofrey Jr.

Opposed were councilors James E. Brown Jr., Brent B. Bean II, Peter J. Miller, Brian P. Sullivan and Christopher Keefe.

The $59.1 million that will be raised by taxes represents a 2.5 percent increase over last year, the maximum allowed under Proposition 2 1/2, councilors noted.

After his arrest, police were able to link Wellspeak with at least three other gasoline thefts from city vehicles over the last few weeks.

Michael T. Wellspeak

SPRINGFIELD - A 47-year-old Southwick man who was arrested early Friday after he was found siphoning gasoline from a truck in the Forest Park neighborhood was charged hours later with 25 additional charges in connection with a series of gasoline thefts, primarily from city-owned vehicles, police said.

Michael T. Wellspeak of 158 Berkshire Ave., Southwick, was initially charged with malicious damage to a motor vehicle, larceny of less than $250, assault with a deadly weapon: a knife, and possession of burglary tools, said John Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet.

He was charged with 10 additional counts of malicious damage to a motor vehicle, 10 counts of larceny of less than $250, and a single count of breaking and entering.

Police were called to 81 Randall Place by a man who reported he was leaving work and spotted a man underneath his pickup truck cutting through his gas line and siphoning gas into large containers. The truck owner chased the man off and followed him to a house on Sorrento Street.

The man told police the man came out from under the truck and pulled a knife on him before he ran off, Delaney said.

Springfield police photoIn this police photo, gallon containers lie on the ground and a hose used to drain gasoline from the fuel tank can be seen under this pickup truck on Randall Place.

When officers went to a door at 65 Sorrento, a woman who answered the door tried to tell them no one else was there, but officers could detect a strong smell of gasoline. Wellspeak was found hiding in the apartment.

Police recovered seven one-gallon containers at Randall Place, Delaney said.

After he was arrested, detectives were able to link him to three other incidents between Nov. 11 and Nov. 30 where at least 10 city-owned trucks were damaged and hundreds of gallons of gasoline stolen, Delaney said.

The vehicles, belonging to the city departments of Parks and Recreation and Facilities Management, each sustained damage when someone cut through the feeder line leading to each gas tank. The trucks were targeted while parked overnight at lots for the Department of Parks and Recreation, 200 Trafton Road, and Facilities Management, 233 Allen St.

He was charged with 10 additional counts of malicious damage to a motor vehicle, 10 counts of larceny of less than $250, and a single count of breaking and entering.

Delaney said police do not believe he was stealing gasoline for personal use, but would hang around a gas station on Allen Street at night and offer gas at $2 per gallon to anyone who stopped to fill up.

At his district court arraignment, Wellspeak denied the charges. He was ordered held in lieu of $10,000 cash bail, and is due back in court for a pretrial hearing on Dec. 27.

David Meehan, deputy director for Facilities Management, said staff discovered three vehicles had been damaged and drained on Nov. 30. The three trucks each had 30 to 40 gallons of gasoline.

The city bought its gas in bulk for $3.50 per gallon, which puts the cost at about $315. With the cost of replacement parts and labor, the total damage to just the three trucks could be $700 to $800.

Meehan said he did not understand why the trucks had to be damaged. “If he had simply siphoned the gas out, we probably would not have noticed as quickly.”