Gov. Peter Shumlin said that state would do all it could to help Bo Muller-Moore raise money to defend his small business.

Associated PressGov. Peter Shumlin, left, holds a Team Kale T-shirt during a news conference with Bo Muller-Moore in Montpelier, Vt., Monday, Dec. 5, 2011. Shumlin is throwing his support behind the Montpelier folk artist who has built his T-shirt business around the phrase "eat more kale" and is engaged in a trademark fight with the second largest chicken restaurant chain in the country, Chick-fil-A.

MONTPELIER, Vt. — The state of Vermont threw its support Monday behind a folk artist whose T-shirt business is being threatened by the nation's second largest chicken restaurant chain because of his use of the phrase "eat more kale."

Gov. Peter Shumlin said that state would do all it could to help Bo Muller-Moore raise money to defend his small business, and by extension all Vermont small businesses and local agriculture, against what they both see as "corporate bullying" by the Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A.

Shumlin announced the formation of "Team Kale," a fundraising effort for Muller-Moore's legal expenses in its budding fight with Chick-fil-A.

"Don't mess with Vermont and Chick-fil-A get out of the way," Shumlin said. "Don't interfere with our agricultural renaissance, where we're growing local food and selling it locally because more and more Vermonters care about where their food comes from, what's in it and who grew it," Shumlin said at a Montpelier event inside a third-generation locally owned stationary store.

"And don't mess with our efforts to create jobs one job at a time," he said. "This is as good an example as any of how we create jobs in Vermont."

The "don't mess with Vermont" phrase originated in 2001, riffing off the Texas ad campaign, after now-retired U.S. Sen. James Jeffords left the Republican Party because of what he felt were the partisan excesses of the Bush Administration. At the time, Jeffords' defection changed control of the Senate from the GOP to the Democrats.

Muller-Moore has been making and selling the "eat more kale" T-shirts and other items for more than a decade. Chick-fil-A tried to get him to stop using the phrase several years ago, but gave up. They revived the effort after Muller-Moore filed the paperwork earlier this year so he could get a trademark to protect his phrase.

In October, a lawyer for Chick-fil-A sent Muller-Moore a letter telling Muller-Moore he had to stop using the phrase "eat more kale" because it could be confused with Chick-fil-A's trademarked term "eat mor chikin." The letter also ordered him to turn over his website, eatmorekale.com.

In a statement issued Monday, Chick-fil-A said it became aware of "Eat More Kale" T-shirts in 2006 and it had co-existed since, but that had to change after the Vermont company submitted an application to trademark its slogan.

"We support the entrepreneurial spirit of small business," said the statement issued by company spokesman Don Perry. "Unfortunately, when protecting our trademark, the law does not allow us to differentiate between a large company or a small enterprise... we must legally protect and defend our "Eat Mor Chikin" trademarks in order to maintain rights to the slogan. It is not uncommon for us — or for any corporation — to defend our trademark rights."

Muller-Moore has been making the "eat more kale" T-shirts and other items for more than a decade. The phrase was created by a local vegetable farmer who asked him to make three T-shirts with the phrase.

Muller-Moore sees the phrase as a tribute to local agriculture.

He has made the T-shirts by hand, but since his fight became public more than a week ago, he said he has been working to meet the demand for his product and a Montpelier printing business his helping him out.

"It's overwhelming," Muller-Moore said. "I've worked 13 and 14 hours a day. I've got friends that are helping me to load envelopes and address envelopes and answer emails."

Confident Republicans insist their party will recover from the chaotic tone of the GOP presidential primary slugfest, but one longtime presidential adviser said the “circus-like atmosphere” may be isolating a key bloc of voters

Associated Press photoNew England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, right, hosts casino mogul Steve Wynn and his wife, Andrea Hissom, on the field at Gillette Stadium prior to the Patriots' NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts in Foxboro Sunday.Click on the link, above left, for a report from the Boston Globe in which Kraft says he won't force a casino on the community of residents object. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

NOTE: Users of modern browsers can open each link in a new tab by holding 'control' ('command' on a Mac) and clicking each link.

Ameristar Casinos last month said it has agreed to buy the land on Page Boulevard for $16 million, with the intent to apply for the casino license for Western Massachusetts and, if awarded, build a luxury hotel and entertainment resort with retail space.

SPRINGFIELD - The chief executive of a Las Vegas-based company is set to attend a public meeting in Springfield Tuesday night to air his company's plans for a casino and hotel at the former Westinghouse site in Springfield.

The public meeting, which will be hosted by the East Springfield Neighborhood Council, is scheduled to be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Mary Mother of Hope church at 840 Page Blvd.

Gordon R. Kanofsky, chief executive officer of Ameristar Casinos Inc., is scheduled to lead a group of four company officials who are planning to attend the event, said Roxann Kinkade, director of communications for Ameristar.

The meeting will be the first chance for Springfield residents to hear directly from Ameristar about its plans for a minimum $500 million casino and hotel on 41 acres off Page Boulevard.

"It's too early to present any formal architectural drawings but we can speak in generalities about the project," Kinkade said.

Kinkade said company officials plan to take questions on their proposal for Springfield.

"We want to get to know the people who live in close proximity to the site," she said.

The company will also offer a presentation on their casinos in other states.

Ameristar Casinos last month said it has agreed to buy the land on Page Boulevard for $16 million, with the intent to apply for the casino license for Western Massachusetts and, if awarded, build a luxury hotel and entertainment resort with retail space. Ameristar said the project would create 2,000 construction jobs and 2,800 permanent jobs.

In addition to Kinkade and Kanofsky, other company officials expected to attend the meeting include Troy A. Stremming, senior vice president of government relations and public affairs, and Matthew Block, vice president of governmental affairs.

The meeting comes two weeks to the day that Gov. Deval L. Patrick signed a bill that authorizes a slot facility and up to three casino resorts around the state including one casino for anywhere in the four counties of Western Massachusetts.

Approval of the new law came after 20 years of debate about casinos in Massachusetts that started with the opening of the Foxwoods casino in Ledyard, Conn.

Ameristar already is facing competition for the casino license for Western Massachusetts. Hard Rock International is proposing a casino in Holyoke and the Mohegan Sun of Connecticut wants to build a casino in Palmer off Exit 8 of the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Ameristar, founded in 1954, currently operates eight casinos including those serving markets in St. Louis, Kansas City, Omaha, Denver, the area of Jackson, Mississippi and Monroe, Louisiana, plus East Chicago and Jackpot, Nevada.

Ahead of the meeting, Ameristar's stock, which trades on the NASDAQ, was up today on higher-than-average volume.

The company's Chicopee facility burned down this spring.

WEST SPRINGFIELD – When it began 25 years ago, Holyoke Tire & Auto Service’s main competition was the neighborhood gas station where a mechanic was always on duty performing basic maintenance and selling tires.

“Today it’s the dealerships coming back and trying to get that service business,” said Peter F. Kearing, owner of Holyoke Tire & Auto Service.

The business began in the Kmart Plaza on Route 5 in Holyoke, but the headquarters is now on Union Street in West Springfield. The company has more than 60 employees, including about 10 who work in the retreading plant.

Since June, Holyoke Tire and Auto Service has also run its retreading plant for truck tires at the Union Street location. A fire burned Holyoke Tire and Auto out of its former plant in Chicopee back in March. It took firefighters nearly five hours to bring the blaze under control. Kearing said it was started by young people playing with fire in the alley behind the business.

“We lost a lot of storage space, but we are back up and running,” he said.

The company retreads the tractor-trailer tires under a franchise with Bandag, a national brand name in the industry. Retread tires save truckers money.

“Most never buy new tires except for the tires they use to steer,” he said. “Those scraps of rubber you see on the highway, those are from tires that were just run to death or run without air in them.”

The retail side accounts for about half Holyoke Tire & Auto Service’s revenue, he said. There are retail locations on Dwight Street in Holyoke, Dwight Street in Springfield, Memorial Avenue in West Springfield and on Boston Road in Springfield. There are sister companies in Wilbraham, Enfield, in Northern New Hampshire and Northern New York.

Dealerships and automakers make it hard for other repair shops to compete by withholding technical information, Kearing said. He’s been active in statewide efforts to force more access to that information, the “Right to Repair” bill.

The business has also changed because cars and car parts last longer now then they once lasted. Car owners routinely squeeze 300,000 to 400,000 miles out of a motor and transmission. Oil changes last 10,000 miles not 3,000 and drivers can get 150,000 miles out of a set of spark plugs.

“But the recession has been good for people in the repair business,” he said. “People hold on to an older car forever.”

Obituaries from The Republican today.

Elliott M. Krach

LONGMEADOW - Elliott Mitchell Krach, 24, of Longmeadow, died in a car crash in Harwich on Friday. He was born in Springfield on October 17, 1987 a son of Gregory and Katrina (Vance) Krach. He graduated from Longmeadow High School in 2005, where he served as captain of the swim team. He received a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Keene State College in 2009, and recently received his license to teach middle school mathematics in Massachusetts. He was an instructional assistant and baseball coach at Harwich Middle School. He had recently accepted a seventh grade mathematics teaching position at Kiley Middle School in Springfield to begin next week. An avid swimmer, paddle boarder and surfer, he enjoyed summering at Nauset Beach in Orleans, where he was an assistant head lifeguard.

Obituaries from The Republican:

• Alves, Rui C.
  




• 
  Bedard, Conrad E. "Jake"
  



• 
  Berte, David T.




• 
  Breor, Donald R.
  



• 
  Carter, Sandra I. (Balducci)
  




• Chu, Chiaki (Furukawa)
  




• 
  Gossman, Harriette W. (Frisbie)
  



• 
  Jaszek, Mary C. (Robak)




• 
  Johnson, Arthur Marshall
  



• 
  Kappenman, Thomas J.
  




• Knapp, Geraldine R. (Rising)
  




• 
  Krach, Elliott M.
  



• 
  Liptak, Jane B.




• 
  Marcinkiewicz, Stanley C.
  



• 
  Maslowski, Tessie S.
  




• Morin, Germaine L. "Gerry" (Castonguay)
  




• 
  Muzio, Julia (Burke)
  



• 
  Page, Gertrude E. "Trudy"




• 
  Papineau, John K.
  



• 
  Provost, Patricia A. "Pat" (Rzeszutek)
  




• Quink, Stella (Sierakowski)
  




• 
  Sawyer, Mary L. (Rotchford)
  



• 
  Turner, David S.

A deer darted into the road simultaneous with the gunshot, state police said.

HEATH – State police are investigating an apparent gunshot wound that went through the cab windows of a 10-wheel dump truck Monday morning on West Branch Road here.

The driver suffered no apparent injuries.

Simultaneous with the gunshot, a deer darted into the road in front of the truck. Massachusetts state troopers from the Shelburne Falls barracks and the Crime Services Section are investigating. The shooter, presumably a careless deer hunter, has not been located or identified, state police said.

No further information was available.

Christopher Collins said it was his personal goal to follow in the footsteps of his late father, who served on the School Committee in the 1950s including as its chairman.

Christopher Collins

SPRINGFIELD – School Committee member Christopher Collins announced Monday that he has secured the unanimous support of his co-members to become vice-chairman in 2012.

The formal vote will occur at the seven-member School Committee’s organizational meeting on Jan. 2, which by law is on the first Monday of the new year. Collins said he spoke with all committee members, obtaining their pledges of support.

As vice-chairman, Collins would follow in the footsteps of his late father, Edward W. “Bud” Collins, who served as the committee’s chairman in the 1950s. The mayor now automatically serves as chairman of the School Committee under the Plan A (strong mayor) form of government that took effect in 1962.

The vice-chairman appoints all standing subcommittees and special committees and fills in as chairman when the mayor is absent.

“I’m pleased on both a professional and personal level,” Collins said. “It certainly shows respect to get a unanimous vote from your colleagues.”

Collins, a retired school principal, was first elected to the School Committee in 2007.

It should be an exciting year, particularly with the School Committee recently receiving news from the state that most of its 10 underperforming Level 4 schools have experienced “unexpected and phenomenal progress in the first year,” Collins said. The progress of eight Level 4 schools was recently shared with the School Committee by a liaison from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, he said.

Collins said the School Department can take what it has learned from improvements in the Level 4 schools “and apply it to other schools and other settings and accelerate the forward progress of our city.”

Collins said he will remain on the Finance Subcommittee, probably as its chairman. He believes the subcommittee has done an “excellent job, not only on the format of the budget, but a balanced budget that serves the needs of the children.”

In addition, he anticipates being an active member of a search committee for a new superintendent. Current Superintendent Alan J. Ingram has announced he is resigning June 30, when his four-year contract expires.

Collins' brother, Timothy T. Collins, is president of the Springfield Education Association.

A GOP official familiar with Quayle's thinking says the former vice president is backing Romney because he views Romney as the most credible candidate in the race.

Associated PressFormer Vice President Dan Quayle speaks before the delegates at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Biloxi, Miss., in this Feb. 27, 1998 file photo.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Vice President Dan Quayle is endorsing Mitt Romney for president.

Republican officials on Monday told The Associated Press that Quayle plans to announce his support for the former Massachusetts governor Tuesday afternoon.

Romney has an event scheduled Tuesday in Paradise Valley, Ariz., where Quayle has a home.

Quayle served as vice president under President George H.W. Bush. He was a House member from Indiana for two terms and a U.S. senator.

A GOP official familiar with Quayle's thinking says the former vice president is backing Romney because he views Romney as the most credible candidate in the race. The official requested anonymity to discuss Quayle's endorsement ahead of the official announcement.

An autopsy to determine the cause of death is being conducted at the office of the chief medical center in Boston.

Two Pittsfield police officers used accident reconstruction techniques to conclude the crash occurred in the eastbound lane of West Street and that Zuber was drunk during the crash.

PITTSFIELD – Police are investigating an apparent homicide that took place Sunday evening on Wellington Avenue.

Police said they received several 911 calls shortly after 11:30 p.m. Sunday reporting gun shots and a man down in the middle of Wellington Avenue. Emergency personnel found Nikolas S. Carnute, 23, of Pittsfield lying in the street. He was rushed to Berkshire Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, police said.

An autopsy to determine the cause of death is being conducted at the office of the chief medical center in Boston, police said.

Police are looking for a white sedan, possibly a Pontiac, with a rear spoiler seen fleeing from the scene.

Anyone who witnessed the attack or might have information about the vehicle is asked to contact the Pittsfield Police Department at 413-448-9700.

He is scheduled for sentencing on March 7, 2012.

BOSTON – James Melvin, 33, of Springfield, was convicted Friday in U.S. District Court of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of cocaine base.

He was scheduled for sentencing on March 7, 2012.

Melvin faces up to 30 years in prison, to be followed by up to a lifetime of supervised release and a $2 million fine.

During a four-day trial, evidence showed that Melvin, working with another individual, arranged to sell approximately 12 grams of crack cocaine to a cooperating witness. He told the cooperating witness to meet him at a package store in Springfield, where they exchanged the crack cocaine for $500.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Western Massachusetts Gang Task Force, consisting of law enforcement personnel from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Massachusetts state police, the Springfield Police Department, the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office and other local police departments.

Most people on the street recognized Warren before she could introduce herself, pledging their support.

The Republican | Michael BeswickNorthampton Mayor-elect David Narkewicz and Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic candidate for the Massachusetts U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Scott Brown, visit local businesses on Monday afternoon.

NORTHAMPTON – U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren pumped hands, cradled babies and mugged for photos Monday during a tour of Northampton in which she received a warm welcome.

Escorted by Mayor-elect David J. Narkewicz and Daniel J. Yacuzzo, the executive director of the downtown Business Improvement District, Warren visited several women’s clothing stores, wandered around Thornes Marketplace and dropped in on two new Crafts Avenue businesses, talking with merchants, shoppers and pedestrians all the while.

As local officials waited in front of City Hall, Warren appeared in a red jacket, crossing Main Street as passers-by rubbernecked. Warren said she has been to Northampton a number of times, notably on the day she announced her candidacy, and enjoys the city.

“Every time I get a chance to be out here, I do as much learning as I do talking,” she said.

Known for her criticism of Wall Street excess, Warren is taking on Republican incumbent Scott Brown. She told reporters that she will fight for a government that cannot be bought by lobbyists.

“We need a Washington that can work for the rest of us,” she said.

At Ode, a women’s clothing store that opened last year on Main Street, Warren had a long talk with owner Kristin Kelly, who told the candidate she looked good in red. Questioned by Warren about starting a business in tough economic times, Kelly credited the community spirit in Northampton.

The Republican | Michael BeswickElizabeth Warren chats with Kristin Kelly, owner of the Main Street shop Ode.

“When I opened I got more flowers than I’d ever seen before from other business owners,” she said.

Kelly called Warren “fabulous.”

“She’s very warm and very genuine,” she said. “She just has a presence about her.”

Several fans were awaiting Warren at Kathy Cross, another women’s clothing store in Main Street. Owner Kathy Cross attempted to explain the Northampton gestalt to Warren, describing how merchants built the business community together.

At Thornes, chocolatier Bud Stockwell let Warren sample a rosemary caramel at his shop, Heavenly Chocolate.

“You’ve got to kick ass,” Stockwell told her. “We need you.”

At 4 months, Alexander Fisher of Williamstown will not get to vote in next year’s election, but his parents, Matthew and Melody Fisher, are fans.

“I didn’t expect to see Elizabeth Warren here,” said Matthew Fisher as Warren held his son. “It’s kind of cool.”

Most people on the street recognized Warren before she could introduce herself, pledging their support and, often, their admiration for her fight against economic inequality. Asked afterward if she was preaching to the choir, Warren said, “We have to make sure the choir is awake and singing loud. I love this place. Northampton gets it.”

Warren was scheduled to go from her tour to a fundraiser at the Hotel Northampton.

The city is hoping the new total to distribute will equal the current $1.2 million in federal money, which is supposed to go to housing and activities for low-income people.

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) Housing construction is one way federal Community Development Block Grants must be spent.

HOLYOKE – Applications for the latest round of the federal Community Development Block Grant here will be available Wednesday.

The grant the city will get for the current fiscal year has yet to be determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. But the current year’s was $1.2 million, down 16 percent from 2010’s $1.4 million.

The grants are to fund housing and activities to help low- and moderate-income people.

Organizations and others seeking shares of the city’s grant must call or email the city Office for Community Development to discuss the proposed use to ensure eligibility and to request an application, Deputy Administrator Alicia M. Zoeller said in an email Thursday.

The office number is (413) 322-5610.

Emails can be sent to zoellera@ci.holyoke.ma.us or martinsj@ci.holyoke.ma.us.

Applications are due Jan. 13 and no extensions or exceptions will be granted, Zoeller’s email said.

Among the ways the city’s share of the grant this year was used was $250,000 to the Department of Public Works for work on sidewalks and $200,000 for the Holyoke Public Library renovation.

Olde Holyoke Development Corp., a nonprofit corporation established in 1971, got $200,000 for neighborhood improvements and yearly is among those that receive part of the grant.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 78 points, giving back much of a 167-point gain from earlier in the session.

NEW YORK - Reports that all countries using the euro could get their credit ratings downgraded deflated a morning rally in the stock market Monday. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 78 points, giving back much of a 167-point gain from earlier.

News reports in the afternoon said Standard & Poor’s would put all nations that use the euro on “creditwatch negative,” meaning there is a 50-50 chance of a downgrade in the coming months. S&P had warned of possible rating demotions for many of the countries. The inclusion on the list of Germany, Europe’s strongest economy, was the biggest surprise.

After the market closed, S&P confirmed that it had placed 15 nations on notice for possible downgrades. Two countries that use the euro weren’t affected: Cyprus already had that designation and Greece already has ratings low enough to suggest that it’s likely to default soon anyway.

Stocks rose in the morning after the leaders of France and Germany called for a new treaty to impose greater fiscal discipline on European countries. Yields on Italian government bonds receded sharply after the new government of Mario Monti introduced sweeping austerity measures over the weekend. That suggests traders believe Italy is less likely to default.

“There’s pent-up demand, and people will use any excuse to get back in, thinking there’s been too much pessimism,” said Brian Gendreau, investment strategist with Cetera Financial Group. Despite strong signals about the U.S. economy, the market has been weighed down by negative headlines about the U.S. budget impasse, credit-rating downgrades of the U.S. and other nations, and Europe’s spreading crisis, Gendreau said.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 78.41 points, or 0.7 percent, to 12,097.83.

The gains were broad. All 10 industry groups in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose. Financials stocks were among the biggest winners. Investors have feared that U.S. banks might be dragged down by their close connections to the unstable European financial system.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. jumped 3.7 percent, the most in the Dow. Bank of America was the second-biggest gainer, 2.7 percent. Citigroup Inc. rose 5.9 percent, Morgan Stanley 6.8 percent.

The S&P 500 rose 12.8, or 1 percent, to 1,257.1. The Nasdaq rose 28.83, or 1.1 percent, to 2,655.76.

Investors are hoping that a summit of European leaders on Thursday and Friday will produce concrete measures to prevent a messy breakup of the euro currency, which is shared by 17 nations. Markets have been jittery because of fears that the euro might disintegrate, causing a sharp recession in Europe that would spread through the world economy.

The main Italian stock index jumped 2.9 percent as Italian bond yields dropped to their lowest level in a month. The yield on the 10-year Italian bond plunged half a percentage point to 5.93 percent. It rose above 7 percent last month, a level at which other nations were forced to take bailouts. By comparison, bond yields in Germany, Europe’s largest and most stable economy, are roughly 2 percent.

Analysts say bailing out Italy would be too costly and would hurt the credit standing of German and France, which have the strongest economies in the euro group.

Monday’s gains follow the best week in more than two years for U.S. stock indexes. The S&P 500 rose 7.4 percent last week, the most since March 2009. The Dow jumped 7 percent, the most since July 2009.

In corporate news:

Gannett Co. leapt 10.2 percent after the media company was upgraded to “buy” from “neutral” by analysts at Lazard Capital Markets.

Incyte Corp. fell 2 percent after a Citigroup analyst downgraded the drug maker to “neutral” from “buy,” saying its new blood-disease drug Jakafi might not work as a long-term treatment.

SuccessFactors Inc. soared more than 50 percent after the company agreed to be sold to German software company SAP for $3.4 billion. SuccessFactors makes software specializing in human resources tasks. The deal is part of SAP’s plan to compete with software rival Oracle Corp.

Moynihan has appealed the suspension, imposed by Police Commissioner William Fitchet, to an independent arbitrator, but is serving the 15 days in the meantime.

Robert P. Moynihan

SPRINGFIELD – Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet recently suspended Lt. Robert P. Moynihan for 15 days without pay in the aftermath of a 2009 domestic assault and battery case that was settled and dismissed.

The suspension for 15 work days began Nov. 22 and ends Dec. 12, said Sgt. John M. Delaney, administrative aide to Fitchet. The suspension is for violation of department rules, Delaney said.

Moynihan has filed an appeal with an independent arbitrator, said Moynihan’s lawyer, Austin M. Joyce of Worcester.

“Obviously, we don’t agree with it (the suspension), and that is why we have appealed it,” Joyce said, declining further comment

Delaney and Joyce declined further comment.

Moynihan was charged in 2009 with assaulting his girlfriend at the time, Anita Paquin, and her 13-year-old daughter. Signed statements in October 2009 by Paquin and her daughter described a violent series of events at the hands of Moynihan that included punching and choking the mother and shoving the teen, according to court records.

Moynihan pleaded innocent to three counts of domestic assault and battery.

After the case was continued repeatedly and two counts were dropped, a settlement was reached between Moynihan and the alleged victims, as allowed by Judge Philip A. Beattie over the objection of the prosecution.

Fitchet suspended Moynihan after the case was heard by the Community Police Hearing Board, which is an advisory board appointed by the mayor. Additional details were not available.

In February of 2008, in an unrelated matter, Moynihan was attacked at the police station by Patrolman Derek V. Cook, and injured. The incident occurred after Moynihan asked to meet with Cook following roll call.

Cook pleaded guilty in July in District Court to two counts of assault and battery on a police officer related to the attack of Moynihan and now-retired Sgt. Dennis M. O’Connor. Cook was suspended for three months without pay by Fitchet following the guilty pleas.

Defendant admitted his guilt months before trial was scheduled to begin.

SPRINGFIELD – A prosecutor on Monday said James McLaurin committed a violent robbery on his ex-girlfriend and followed it with a “campaign” involving stalking, damage to her home, death threats and thousands of harassing calls.

“As domestic violence I would submit this is pretty bad as far as what the court sees as a regular basis,” Assistant District Attorney Richard B. Morse said as he recommended

McLaurin be sentenced to six to nine years in state prison followed by three years probation.

Hampden Superior Court Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder sentenced McLaurin, 34, of Springfield, to a 4-6-year state prison term followed by three years probation, during which time he must have no contact with the victim.

McLaurin pleaded guilty to unarmed robbery, assault and battery, assault and battery in violation of a restraining order, stalking in violation of a restraining order, three counts of violating an abuse prevention order, malicious destruction of property in the amount of over $250 and stalking.

Kinder said in his sentencing he was taking into account McLaurin’s willingness to admit what he did well before a March trial date.

The judge, at Morse’s request, also imposed another probation term which began Monday and runs through his imprisonment, so that McLaurin will not try to contact the victim while imprisoned.

Morse said in early 2010 the woman got a restraining order against McLaurin. One day after that she was walking to work at City Hall with two friends and McLaurin came up to her slapping and then punching her.

Her friends tried to stop him and a janitor working nearby with a broomstick intervened. McLaurin took his ex-girlfriend’s purse and ran away.

McLaurin started making hang up calls, including one day when he called 206 times. He was even making hang up calls when she was filling out a statement at the Police Department.

In addition to the hang up calls there were threats such as “You b...., I am going to get you.”

He called her repeatedly at work, and once came to her house and broke the bedroom windows. One day he called her and threatened to get a gun and “shoot the place up.”

When 2011 came there had been a period of quiet and the restraining order had lapsed, Morse said.

Then McLaurin went to the woman’s workplace and threatened to hurt the woman, left a message he was going to “beat the crap out of her until he kills her” and said he would call her at work repeatedly until she got fired.

He was finally arrested June 14.

Defense lawyer Mickey E. Harris, who asked for a 2-3-year state prison sentence, said McLaurin’s mother was diagnosed with cancer while he was in jail awaiting trial and died in September. He said several people from the jail ministry McLaurin had become involved with were in the courtroom.

Library trustees president Mitchell Resnick said if the measure is approved, property taxes will increase by about $38 a year for the average homeowner in South Hadley.

File photo by Dave Roback / The RepublicanThis the site of a new public library proposed in South Hadley at Main and Canal streets.

SOUTH HADLEY – Paying for a new public library will be the first article up for a vote at the special Town Meeting scheduled for Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of Town Hall in South Hadley.

The article will ask Town Meeting members for $4.2 million to design, construct and furnish the library, said Mitchell Resnick, president of the Board of Trustees of the South Hadley Public Library, at a Selectboard meeting on Tuesday.

Three weeks ago, voters approved a debt exclusion, or temporary tax hike, to pay for the library. At that time a specific amount was not given.

Resnick says that if the measure is approved, property taxes will increase by about $38 a year for the average homeowner in South Hadley.

He also said that eventually, because of continuing fund-raising, the cost to taxpayers will drop from $4.2 million to about $3.5 million, and those savings will be passed on.

In fact, the second part of the library article asks that the Board of Trustees and the South Hadley Selectboard be authorized to continue applying for grants, gifts and donations.

The library project received a grant of $4.8 million from the Massachusetts Public Library Construction program, which will be paid to the town in three stages. The library is expected to cost $10.1 million.

Private donors include PeoplesBank, which gave $200,000.

The Dec. 14 warrant also asks Town Meeting to give the Town Administrator, Paul Beecher, approval to sign warrants for town funds, including payroll warrants.

Currently bills have to be signed by the Selectboard, which meets every two weeks. If bills arrive in the intervening time, said Selectboard members, it’s sometimes hard to get signatures by the sender’s deadline.

Selectboard member Marilyn Ishler reminded those at the meeting that the state Department of Revenue, which the town invited to review its procedures earlier this year, had recommended streamlining the process this way.

“Much of it is routine business,” said Beecher, who assured listeners that any checks he signs would already have been approved by Town Meeting, the Selectboard, school officials or other proper authorities.

At the same meeting, two other articles were stricken from the warrant. The Selectboard said bids they had received for putting a new roof on the old FiberMark building were just too high.

Rather than asking for the difference at Town Meeting, they preferred to wait and repeat the process to see if they could get better prices.

Also, the Selectboard withdrew a request to hire a clerk for the Treasurer’s office after Beecher said the position had been covered by moving somebody already on the town payroll into the seat.

The agreement was announced by Gov. Deval Patrick.

File photo / Associated PressChile's President Sebastian Pinera, right, speaks with U.S. Governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, at La Moneda government palace after signing education agreements in Santiago, Chile, Thursday. Patrick is on a nine-day trade mission to Chile and Brazil to promote economic ties between Massachusetts and the South American nations. (Photo by Roberto Candia)

BOSTON – Agricultural researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst are strengthening ties with their Brazilian counterparts as part of an agreement announced by Gov. Deval L. Patrick.

Patrick said the deal between UMass-Amherst and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation will aid ongoing research on Brazilian crops, leading to economic development and job creation in agribusiness.

There are currently more than 7,700 farms in Massachusetts with an economic impact of over $3 billion.

Patrick made the announcement Monday in Brazil, during the second leg of his nine-day trade mission to South America.

Patrick said the UMass Stockbridge School of Agriculture is researching sustainable production and marketing strategies for vegetable crops used by immigrants in Massachusetts, including crops popular with the state’s Brazilian population.

Patrick will continue to tour Brazil for the rest of the week.

Town Administrator Gretchen E. Neggers said, “We appreciate (Neal’s) support, but we’re still in a world of hurt here."

View full sizeThe Republican/John SuchockiJune 8th 2011- An aerial tour of the June 1 tornado's destruction from Westfield to Charlton. Here is downtown Monson, at State Street and Washington Street, showing the damage from the tornado.

MONSON – The cost of clean-up from the June 1 tornado now stands at $6.4 million and U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, was in town Monday to let people know that help is on the way.

At the First Church of Monson, damaged when a cluster of tornadoes cut a 39-mile scar across the region and killed four people, Neal announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency will give the town $2,887,541 for debris removal and disposal.

Town Administrator Gretchen E. Neggers said it will “pay for a good portion of the bill we already owe for vegetative tree removal,” which totals $4.3 million so far. The rest will be covered by temporary bonding with non-reimbursable interest, she said.

“We appreciate (Neal’s) support, but we’re still in a world of hurt here,” she said. “We still face some unique financial challenges.”

Other federal and state reimbursement requests are pending, she said, and the town is “aggressively” seeking more funds to cover tornado costs and recovery from the Oct. 29 nor’easter. Clean-up from the two storms is estimated to cost almost $10 million, close to half the town’s budget.

Total reimbursements will help determine if and how the already “pretty lean” town services are affected, Neggers said.

The $2.9 million FEMA reimbursement is the largest so far for the town.

In an interview after the announcement, Neal said the town can apply for even more help.

“What I think you want to do is see the good side of this,” Neal said. “It’s $2.9 million they didn’t have.”

Neal organized a forum last month at which community leaders grilled FEMA representatives over the slow pace of reimbursements. He said that meeting may have helped grease the wheels for Monson.

“I think there has been a great series of can-do stories that have emanated from many of the towns and cities that were hit,” he said. “And now we have to continue to advocate on their behalf.”

Citing a Suffolk University-Boston Globe poll released over the weekend that found 47 percent of residents admitting to frequenting restaurants less than a year ago, president of the RBA Dave Andelman called those three measures “common sense stimulus.”

File photo by Mark M. Murray / The Republican10/05/11 Springfield Republican Photo by Mark M.Murray - Exterior of the Friendly's Restaurant at 1946 Wilbraham Road, in the Sixteen Acres section, which was one of five area stores closed overnight after the company filed for bankruptcy.

BOSTON - The Restaurant and Business Alliance called over the weekend for a meals tax holiday, a repeal on the ban of education dinners for doctors and an extension of the movie tax credit to catering services as methods to help the restaurant industry.

Citing a Suffolk University-Boston Globe poll released over the weekend that found 47 percent of residents admitting to frequenting restaurants less than a year ago, president of the RBA Dave Andelman called those three measures “common sense stimulus.”

“My concern is if nothing is done now, we will see increased layoffs and losses in tax revenue,” Andelman said.

According to the organization, the hospitality industry makes up roughly 10 percent of the Massachusetts workforce, and has lost over 7,000 jobs from August to October. Many of those trends are often attributed to seasonal fluctuations in tourism.

State Rep. Ryan Fattman, R-Sutton, also issued a statement of support for Andelman’s plan.

“The legislature must act to 'free our food' with a meals tax holiday. Suffolk's poll demonstrates that families are on a restaurant diet. But instead of shedding pounds, Massachusetts is shedding jobs,” Fattman said.

Gingrich began running a gauzy TV ad – his 1st – to push toward the Republican nomination to take on the president.

Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks at a news conference in New York, Monday, Dec. 5, 2011. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

By BETH FOUHY
and SHANNON MCCAFFREY

NEW YORK – Surging in opinion polls, a confident Newt Gingrich declared Monday he plans to challenge Barack Obama in every state next year, and he began running a gauzy TV ad – his first – to push toward the Republican nomination to take on the president. But, illustrating how far he has to go, Gingrich also found himself defending the state of his campaign and his own comments about poor children.

"I do not suggest children until about 14 or 15 years of age do heavy, dangerous janitorial work," Gingrich told reporters. "On the other hand, there are a number of things done to clean buildings that are not heavy or dangerous."

He's drawn fire over the past week for suggesting that poor children as young as 9 should work at least part time cleaning their schools in order to learn about work.

As Gingrich volunteers scrambled in some states to meet deadlines to get his name on ballots, the candidate dismissed the notion that his team wasn't up to the task of waging a credible challenge against the better-funded, better-organized Mitt Romney. "We run a very decentralized campaign," Gingrich insisted. "The system works."

With only one month until the first presidential votes are cast, the GOP race has seemed to narrow to a contest between Gingrich and Romney.

Each spent the day wooing donors, Gingrich on the East Coast and Romney on the West Coast, as the hunt for cash intensified ahead of the string of costly contests that begin Jan. 3 in Iowa. The two will cross paths Wednesday as the candidates all convene in Washington to court Jewish voters and again Saturday at a debate in Iowa, the first of three planned for December.

This one is shaping up as a pivotal debate, given that Gingrich's recent comeback has been fueled largely by a string of strong performances in which he demonstrated policy expertise and was able to appear statesmanlike while steering clear of criticizing his GOP rivals. He is the latest GOP candidate to enjoy a burst of momentum and he's working to prove that, unlike the others who have risen and fallen, he's a serious contender with staying power.

To that end, Monday was supposed to be a day for the former U.S. House speaker to capitalize on Herman Cain's departure from the race and his own soaring poll numbers, making a good showing for up-for-grabs tea party supporters.

He chose heavily Democratic New York City to announce plans to campaign all across the country — not just in traditionally Republican or swing states — next fall against Obama. He packed the rest of the day with fundraisers and meetings, including one with Donald Trump, who flirted with a presidential bid himself and has sought to play a role in the GOP selection process.

But Gingrich's expected show of force didn't go exactly as planned, and the day ended up underscoring the challenges he now faces since going from the back of the pack to the front.

Twice on Monday he tried to explain what he had meant about poor kids working.

He said his original point had been "distorted" to make him look insensitive. The idea, Gingrich said, would be "to get them into the world of work, get them into the opportunity to earn money, to get them into the habit of showing up and realizing that effort is rewarded and America is all about the work ethic."

He said he had persuaded Trump to mentor a group of children from New York City's poorest schools.

"I thought it was a great idea," said Trump, who hosts the reality show "Celebrity Apprentice." ''We're going to be picking 10 young wonderful children and make them 'apprenti.' We're going to have a little fun with it."

While praising Gingrich, Trump said he would wait to endorse a candidate until after he hosts a debate in late December.

In Iowa, Gingrich's campaign rolled out a 60-second ad that projected sunny optimism.

"Some people say the America we know and love is a thing of the past. I don't believe that, because working together I know we can rebuild America," Gingrich says in the ad that's laden with Americana, down to a white picket fence, the Statue of Liberty and the American Stars and Stripes.

But there were signs, in Iowa, that Gingrich's personal and professional background was starting to become an issue in the campaign.

A group called Iowans for Christian Leaders in Government is circulating a new Web video reminding Republicans that Gingrich once appeared with then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to advocate action on climate change. Pelosi, a Democrat, is widely loathed among Republican activists, many of whom do not believe there is proof that human activity has caused climate change and oppose many efforts to regulate carbon emissions.

The same group circulated fliers earlier in the year criticizing the thrice-married Gingrich for his divorces.

Elsewhere, Gingrich's organizational struggles to catch up with his rivals were coming to light.

He has already missed the deadline to appear on the ballot in Missouri, which holds its primary Feb. 7. He insisted Monday that he did not plan to compete in that contest because the state was stripped of its delegates after it moved its primary in violation of Republican rules.

The troubles are perhaps most urgent in Ohio, where candidates face a Wednesday deadline to submit between 50 and 150 signatures from registered Republicans from each of the state's 16 congressional districts.

"Newt Gingrich will not be on the Ohio Primary ballot in 2012 unless we take immediate action," read a Saturday email with the subject line, "Emergency" from a Gingrich organizer to Ohio Republicans. The message gave potential delegates just 24 hours to travel to the Gingrich headquarters to sign required forms.

And there's no indication that Gingrich's team has begun to gather signatures to meet deadlines in such states as Virginia, Illinois and Indiana, all of which are due in the next several weeks.

In New Hampshire, which hosts the nation's first primary Jan. 10, Gingrich's newly assembled team last month failed to submit a list of 20 supporters to serve as potential delegates to the GOP's national convention. It was largely a symbolic submission, but one that candidates take seriously to reward top local supporters.

Gingrich's staff, however, rounded up just 14 names scratched on state forms in messy handwriting. The other serious candidates submitted typed forms with a full slate of delegates. And former state GOP chairman Fergus Cullen suggests the incident "could signal a lack of basic organization."

On Monday, Gingrich defended his bare-bones approach as one that reflects efficiencies that businesses have adopted to make them run more efficiently over a consultant-heavy approach that's "slow, cumbersome and expensive."

His approach could be more from necessity; as of Sept. 30, his campaign was in the red.

McCaffrey reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writers Steve Peoples in New Hampshire, Tom Beaumont in Iowa and Stephen Ohlemacher in Washington contributed to this report.