The expansion is expected to create 120 permanent jobs and 60 to 80 all-union construction jobs.

The Republican | Dave RobackU.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, left, speaks with Anne S. Awad, president and chief executive officer of the Caring Health Center, as Nick Fyntrilakis, assistant vice president for Community Responsibility at MassMutual Financial Group, and Thomas R. Burton, vice chairperson at Hampden Bank, converse in the background at a gala event for the expansion of the Caring Health Center held Monday night at the Community Music School of Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD – Caring Health Center’s planned $20 million expansion has drawn six-figure donations from two local financial institutions and attracted the support of U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, after whom the new center will be named.

The center’s South End clinic at 1145 Main St. sustained $590,000 in damage from the June 1 tornado. The storm also ripped off the roof of the former Hampden Furniture building across the street, the site of the expansion that will include extra medical and dental offices, a pharmacy and a center for education and prevention work.

The expansion is expected to create 120 permanent jobs and 60 to 80 all-union construction jobs.

The center estimates that it treats 14,000 patients per year. That number will jump to at least 26,000 with the new building, said President and Chief Executive Officer Anne Awad. It is the second-largest health care provider for immigrants in the state.

Neal was the honorary chair of a fundraising gala at the Community Music School on State Street Monday night. Awad presented him with a framed artists’ rendering of the building to be known as The Congressman Richard E. Neal Site of the Caring Health Center in recognition of his health care advocacy in the state.

Neal spoke about the complexities of the health care economy and the importance of community health centers.

“What you’re witnessing here is going to be, in a lot of ways, the future of health care and it’s going to be done based on one of the most important elements of health care: preventive care,” he said. “It’s a lot easier to arrest the problem here than it is for people who did postpone getting health care.”

Hampden Bank donated $100,000 for the project and MassMutual Financial Group kicked in $150,000. Construction management firm Barr & Barr of Springfield committed $52,000, Berkshire Bank gave $25,000 and Mercy Medical Center donated $5,000. Awad said another $2 million in grants have been secured and the center is looking into economic development tax credits.

View full sizeThe Republican | Michael BeswickA view of the future Congressman Richard E. Neal Site of the Caring Health Center at 1049 Main St. in Springfield, home of the former Hampden Furniture.

“We’re very happy to be part of this,” said Hampden Bank President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas R. Burton. “We’re very excited about the project and can’t wait to see it come to fruition.”

All contributors’ names will be etched into the new facility’s Supporters Wall.

Daniel P. Moen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sisters of Providence Health Systems, said the expansion is a “major step forward in the revitalization of downtown Springfield.”

“Springfield needs these services. We need more primary care, we need more dental care, we need more health services in general,” he said. “Caring Health Center has played a critical role in providing care to our most vulnerable residents and will continue to do so in a bigger and better way on into the future.”

Homeowners can expect to pay about 2.9 percent more in property taxes in fiscal 2012.

Amherst Town Hall.

AMHERST – The Select Board, as it has in the past, voted on a single tax rate Monday night. The rate for fiscal 2012 is now $19.65, up from the current $18.20.

Values, however, are down by 4.5 to 5 percent on average. Despite the drop in values, homeowners can expect to see a nearly 3 percent hike.

For the average homeowner, that means a house valued at $334,600 in fiscal 2011 is now valued at $319,300, according to Assessor David W. Burgess’ report.

The bill for that homeowner will now be $6,274, up $184 for fiscal 2012 or about a 2.9 percent hike. Most homeowners will see a hike, Burgess said, unless their property declined in value by more than 7 percent.

Tax bills will be sent out this month. Anyone seeking an abatement should apply on or before Feb. 1, but after a bill is received.

The youngest survivors of the attack that sent the U.S. into World War II are now in the late 80s.

View full sizeAssociated PressIn this Nov. 29, 2011, photo, World War II Navy veteran Clarence Pfundheller poses at his Greenfield, Iowa, apartment with a photo of himself taken during basic training in 1939. Now 91, Pfundheller will be returning to Pearl Harbor on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, for the 70th anniversary ceremony honoring those lost in the Dec. 7, 1941 attack that brought the United States into World War II. Accompanying him will be fellow survivors, other World War II veterans, and a handful of college students to hear their stories. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

By AUDREY McAVOY

HONOLULU – Clarence Pfundheller was standing in front of his locker on the USS Maryland when a fellow sailor told him they were being bombed by Japanese planes.

"We never did call him a liar but he could stretch the truth pretty good," Pfundheller said. "But once you seen him, you knew he wasn't lying."

The 21-year-old Iowa native ran up to the deck that Sunday morning to man a five-inch anti-aircraft gun. Seventy years later, he remembers struggling to shoot low-flying Japanese planes as smoke from burning oil billowed through the air.

"This was the worst thing about it — yeah, your eyes — it bothered you. It bothered your throat too, because there was so much of that black smoke rolling around that a lot of times you could hardly see," he said.

Now 91, Pfundheller will be returning to Pearl Harbor on Wednesday for the 70th anniversary ceremony honoring those lost in the Dec. 7, 1941 attack that brought the United States into World War II.

Accompanying him will be fellow survivors, other World War II veterans, and a handful of college students eager to hear their stories. The student and veteran group will be among 3,000 people attending a ceremony the Navy and the National Park Service hoist jointly each year at a site overlooking where the USS Arizona sank in the attack.

The College of the Ozarks program aims to preserve the stories of veterans — something that's becoming increasingly urgent for Pearl Harbor survivors as the youngest are in their late 80s.

Pfundheller said he enlisted in the Navy in 1939 because he kept hearing there was going to be a war and he wanted to know what to do when the fighting started. By the time Japanese fighter planes and torpedo bombers invaded the skies above Hawaii, he was well-trained.

Even so, the scene was utterly chaotic.

Commanders hadn't expected Japan to strike from the air, so Pfundheller's anti-aircraft ammunition was locked away in a gun locker. Then, when he gained access to the 3-foot-long, 75-pound shells, Pfundheller said the Japanese planes were flying too close for him to take aim.

"You could see them pumping their fists and laughing at you," he said.

The Maryland's crew scrambled to prevent their battleship from going down with the USS Oklahoma, which rolled over after being hit by multiple torpedoes.

"We had to cut her lines tied up to us because it was pulling us away," he said.

Altogether, 2,390 Americans lost their lives in the attack. Twelve ships sank or were beached, and nine were damaged. The U.S. lost 164 aircraft. On the Japanese side, 64 people died, five ships sank, and 29 planes were destroyed.

View full sizeAssociated PressThis Dec. 1941 file photo shows heavy damage to ships stationed at Pearl Harbor after the Japanese attack on the Hawaiian island on Dec. 7, 1941. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy)

After the war, Pfundfeller returned to Iowa where he worked as a district feed salesman and became an elementary school custodian. He now lives in Greenfield just 12 miles from Bridgewater, the town where he was raised.

Many veterans didn't talk much about their experiences after World War II, and Pfundheller's own children didn't hear what he went through until he began sharing his stories at schools and libraries.

"People in the Midwest where I lived — why, you just went back, got your job and went to work and nobody asked anything," he said.

Today, efforts are under way to make sure stories like his are handed down to younger generations.

Pfundheller and four other World War II veterans are traveling to Hawaii with 10 students from the College of the Ozarks, a Christian school in Branson, Mo. After Hawaii, the group will travel to Japan to visit Okinawa, where the U.S. and Japan fought a brutal battle in the last few months of the war, and Hiroshima, where the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb.

Heather Isringhausen, a 21-year-old senior who will be one of Pfundheller's two student escorts, said she wanted to join the trip in part because she's never been able to get her grandfather to tell her about his experiences serving in World War II.

She wants to know what the veterans were thinking at the time, and what life was like in the 1940s.

"If most of the veterans are anything like my grandpa, they probably haven't talked much about it," Isringhausen said. "Once they're gone, all we'll have left are history books and movies and different tales that people have been told and written down."

Guy Piper, who was brushing his teeth in his barracks on Ford Island when the attack began, said he was honored to go on the trip. He said programs like this make "us older people feel good."

The sailor who served in World War II and the Korean War said he would share with the students his hope that younger generations won't have war.

"When you see young men like I saw on Dec. 7 — a bunch of blood — it just stays with you. You can't get rid of it. That's what war is about. Just plain hell," he said. "I'd like people to stop and think about staying away from wars."

Daniel Martinez, the National Park Service's chief historian for Pearl Harbor, said the program fits in with the theme of this year's events: how the legacy of Pearl Harbor will be carried on by future generations. But he lamented more survivors aren't alive to tell their stories.

"It's a little sad because it's coming a little late," he said. "I wish it could have happened at the 50th anniversary when there were so many of them around."

In a reminder of how many are passing on, the ashes of two survivors who died after living until their 90s will be interred within their sunken battleships this week.

Navy and National Park Service divers on Tuesday will lower Lee Soucy's cremated remains into the USS Utah, which rolled over and sank next to Ford Island after being hit by a torpedo. Soucy died last year at the age of 90 in Plainview, Texas. He'll be joining some 50 men who perished when the ship sank and eight survivors whose ashes were interred there after their deaths decades later.

On Wednesday, divers will place Vernon Olsen's ashes in the USS Arizona, where many of the sailors and Marines who served on the ship are still entombed. The Arizona lost 1,177 crew members during the attack. Olsen was one of the 334 who survived. Olsen died in Port Charlotte, Fla. in April at the age of 91.

Dec. 7 events in Hawaii this year will feature a parade. Marching bands, military families, and dignitaries are expected to walk along Waikiki's main drag, Kalakaua Avenue. Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, who received the Medal of Honor for his actions as a soldier in Italy in 1945, will be grand marshal.

State police say Sgt. Eric Zawacki had stopped to help a driver while working a paid construction detail in the southbound lanes of Route 1.

PEABODY – Authorities say a Peabody police sergeant who had stopped to help a driver was hit and thrown over the hood of a pick-up truck, suffering serious injuries.

State police say Sgt. Eric Zawacki was working a paid construction detail when the accident happened Monday in the southbound lanes of Route 1 near Lowell Street.

He was taken by ambulance to Massachusetts General Hospital. Police say he is expected to survive.

State police identified the driver of the pick-up truck as 76-year-old Elroy Halfrey of Salem, N.H.

Police say a preliminary investigation indicates that Halfrey's speed and the wet road were contributing factors for the crash. Halfrey will be cited later.

The right lane and breakdown lane of the highway were closed after the accident, causing a significant traffic backup.

Daniel Eremian and co-defendant Todd Lyons were convicted of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, operating an illegal gambling business and wire act offenses.

File photo | Associated PressDemocratic Congressman John Tierney talks to the crowd after defeating Republican Bill Hudak in the 2010 election. Tierney's brother-in-law, Daniel Eremian, was convicted Monday on racketeering charges. (AP Photo/Salem News, Mark Lorenz)

BOSTON – A brother-in-law of Massachusetts U.S. Rep. John Tierney has been found guilty of racketeering for helping to run an illegal offshore gambling business.

Daniel Eremian, 61, of Boca Raton, Fla., and co-defendant Todd Lyons, 37, of Beverly, were convicted Monday of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, operating an illegal gambling business and wire act offenses. Eremian was acquitted of dozens of money laundering charges.

Patrice Tierney, the congressman's wife, testified during the trial that she and her husband didn't know that another brother, Robert Eremian, allegedly was running the illegal online gambling operation Sports Off Shore in Antigua. She said she believed he was a software consultant.

She pleaded guilty last year to aiding and abetting the filing of false tax returns for Robert Eremian, who remains a fugitive. She said she was managing a bank account to help Robert care for his children.

Patrice Tierney served 30 days in prison and five months of house arrest.

Robert Eremian is accused of leading the multimillion-dollar gambling business. Prosecutors said the business employed about 50 gambling agents in the United States who had hundreds of customers. They said the business laundered more than $10 million checks and wire transfers.

Federal prosecutors are asking to have both Daniel Eremian and Lyons held in custody until their sentencing on March 8, saying they are concerned they could flee the country. A detention hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

Lyons and his attorney declined comment. Eremian's attorney said they are examining the verdict.

At a Finance Committee meeting, the issue prompted councilors to lash out with words like "criminal" and "disgraceful."

The Republican file photo | John SuchockiThe Geriatric Authority of Holyoke at 45 Lower Westfield Road.

HOLYOKE – The City Council on Tuesday night will vote to deal with $465,000 in bills unpaid by the Holyoke Geriatric Authority in an issue that Monday prompted councilors to lash out with words like “criminal” and “disgraceful.”

The council meeting is at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall.

Adding to councilors’ frustration is a time crunch: The $465,000 must be dealt with so the budget is balanced, a new tax rate can be set by mid-December and tax bills can be mailed by Dec. 31.

The Retirement Board voted 5-0 on Sept. 20 to ask that the Board of Assessors place onto the tax levy unpaid authority retirement appropriations going back to 2008 and totaling $465,000.

Options include adding the costs to the tax levy, using free cash to cover the cost or cutting other accounts to pay the expense, officials said in a council Finance Committee meeting at City Hall.

Staff Photo by John SuchockiHolyoke City Council President Joseph M. McGiverin

“Whatever option we choose, the true loser is going to be the taxpayer,” Council President Joseph M. McGiverin said.

For decades, councilors and other officials have expressed frustration at authority financial problems that require city funding help.

Authority officials have said the facility is strapped. Federal reimbursements cover only 75 percent of costs, leaving the authority to try to account for the remaining 25 percent in a recession that has battered the industry, they have said.

“That’s an enormous spread that we have to deal with,” authority board member C. Frederick Glidden said.

The authority is current on pension payments made from employee payroll deductions, officials said, but behind on authority contributions.

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

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

City Auditor Brian G. Smith, a member of the Retirement Board, said adding the authority’s unpaid bills to the tax levy was an unattractive but necessary step to ensure pensions are paid.

“This is the last thing we wanted to do,” Smith said.

“We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t have what I call a renegade department,” McGiverin said.

McGiverin asked whether the authority’s years of letting bills go unpaid, requiring city bailouts that mean other services go unfunded, amounted to actions that were “criminal.”

“In this case,” Smith said, “I wouldn’t say there’s any crime being committed, from a purely legal standpoint.”

“Got to be close,” McGiverin said.

“It’s disgraceful,” Councilor at Large Patricia C. Devine said.

Devine said councilors must keep focus on decisions such as a Nov. 21 vote to consult the attorney general and district attorney about the authority.

Smith said the Retirement Board has discussed “legal” matters in relation to the authority in executive session, which he declined to detail in the public meeting.

“This is not the end of the road. I just want to reiterate that it’s not over,” Smith said.

Authority Executive Director Sheryl Y. Quinn and authority board Chairman Joseph T. O’Neill didn’t attend the committee meeting.

Finance Committee Chairman Todd A. McGee read a Dec. 1 email from Quinn. It said O’Neill had determined the Retirement Board vote spoke for itself and it was unnecessary for authority officials to attend the committee meeting.

Councilor at Large Aaron M. Vega, who runs a yoga business here, said the authority’s years of failing to pay bills conflicts with what non-government entities face.

“Any business, if they ran a liability like this, would be out of business,” Vega said.

The city has little choice but to pay the authority’s retirement costs, Councilor at Large Peter R. Tallman said.

“It’s a difficult decision to make, but by law, it has to be paid,” Tallman said.

Councilor at Large Kevin A. Jourdain said he understood the ramifications, calling the paying of the authority’s retirement costs “this terrible pill that is being handed to me.”

Ward 5 Councilor Linda L. Vacon said instead of adding to taxpayers’ burden, the $465,000 should be covered by cutting the budget. Beyond that, she said, “I will not be voting in favor of this.”

A rate increase for WMECO is not merited, residents told the Department of Public Utilities.

The Republican | Dave RobackPeter Clark, president of Western Massachusetts Electric Company speaks at the public hearing Monday at the Duggan Middle School in Springfield about WMECO's response to the late October snowstorm. The hearing was held by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities.

SPRINGFIELD – Residents at a Monday night Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities public hearing at Duggan Middle School complained about the slow response and lack of communication following the Oct. 29 snowstorm which left more than 100,000 customers of Western Massachusetts Electric Co. without power for up to eight days.

Roger Trombly of Springfield said he has never felt so helpless as when his 94-year-old mother was without power for eight days and neither of her three adult children in the area had power.

Trombly said his mother was in her home at 2 a.m. with three quilts on, in the pitch dark and freezing cold.

“Springfield’s elderly stuck it out bravely in the dark,” Trombly said. “This should never happen again.”

He said many of the elderly are homebound and don’t have the means to go anywhere else. “Facing hypothermia, they stuck it out,” he said.

The Republican | Dave RobackDavid W. Cash, commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, listens to a statement at the public hearing Monday at the John J. Duggan Middle School in Springfield about WMECO's response to the snowstorm.

Michael Rappaport of Longmeadow said that Northeast Utilities in Connecticut, of which WMECO is a part, is paying its customers who were without power for seven days $100 to $200.

“The same should happen here,” he said.

Valerie Cavallan of Springfield urged those who attended the public hearing to refuse to pay a rate increase.

The Monday night public hearing was conducted by the Department of Public Utilities to assess the WMECO preparation for and response to the Oct. 29 snowstorm.

A similar public hearing was held Monday night in East Longmeadow to assess the response to the storm by National Grid.

Robert Jacobs said the crews who restored power deserve thanks. It would be financially impossible to have enough manpower to restore power immediately, he said, adding, “Your electric bills would be through the roof.”

View full sizeThe Republican | Dave RobackBrian Kenney of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 455 reads a statement.

Jacobs said residents should be grateful the outage did not occur in the middle of winter where freezing temperatures could have resulted in broken pipes and flooding in houses.

Brian Kenney, who is a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said power could have been restored more quickly if electrical workers had been permitted to work the traditional 18 hours on and eight hours off, instead of the 16 hours on and nine hours off required by WMECO.

Trombly said better communication must be required from WMECO.

“I had no place to bring my 94-year-old mother,” he said. “We’re all customers of WMECO. We deserve communication.”

A tax incentive for F.W. Webb was approved by a 7-6 vote, but was followed by a call for reconsideration at the council’s next meeting.

File photo | The Republican

SPRINGFIELD – The City Council approved a special tax incentive for Custom Carbide on Monday, designed to help the local company with plans to relocate and expand.

A special tax incentive for a second company, F.W. Webb, however, was left in doubt when it passed by a 7-6 vote, but was followed by a move for reconsideration at the next regular council meeting. Ward 1 Councilor Zaida Luna, who was among the councilors opposing the tax incentive, called for reconsideration.

Both incentives are designed to generate new tax revenue and jobs for Springfield, but also create thousands of dollars in tax savings for the firms.

Councilor Timothy C. Allen, chairman of the council’s Planning and Economic Development Committee, who was among councilors in favor of both tax incentive proposals, said he believes they benefit both the city and the local firms.

“In a business unfriendly economy, the chance to retain a couple of businesses that are already here in Springfield, and need to expand, is an opportunity very hard to pass on,” Allen said.

The vote was 13-0 in favor of a five-year special tax incentive for Custom Carbide, which is planning to purchase the U.S. Postal Service building at 612 Dwight St., in the downtown district, and move there from a much smaller building on St. James Avenue.

Under the agreement, Custom Carbide, which manufactures carbide end mills, must retain its 27 jobs and create at least 21 additional jobs during the five-year period. Its total investment including the purchase, upgrades and equipment is estimated at $2.7 million.

The tax exemption is 100 percent the first year, 75 percent the second year, 50 percent the third year and 25 percent the fourth year before being taxed at full and fair cash value the fifth year, under the agreement.

Currently, the city receives no tax revenue from the Dwight Street building because it is owned by the federal government.

The city estimates it would gain $60,000 in new taxes over the five-year period, while the company would save an estimated $60,000 over that period.

F.W. Webb, a heating and plumbing firm, was seeking a 10-year tax incentive.

Some councilors who opposed the incentive said they are concerned that the company was only committed to keeping its present nine jobs in Springfield and adding just seven new jobs.

F.W. Webb’s planned move from its current site on Plainfield Street, in Luna’s ward, to the Smith & Wesson industrial park off Roosevelt Avenue, would create approximately $82,032 in new property taxes annually, or $820,318 over the 10-year period.

The agreement would save the company an estimated $49,687 a year over the 10 year period for a total tax savings of nearly $500,000, according to city calculations.

The building, when constructed, would receive a 50 percent exemption annually, but the land would be fully taxed, officials said. The company plans to purchase land at the industrial park for $1 million from the Springfield Redevelopment Authority.

Councilors voting in favor of the F.W. Webb tax incentive were Melvin A. Edwards, Clodovaldo Concepcion, Kateri B. Walsh, Thomas M. Ashe, E. Henry Twiggs, James J. Ferrera III, and Allen.

Councilors opposed to the incentive were John A. Lysak, Timothy J. Rooke, Amaad I. Rivera, Michael A. Fenton, Jose F. Tosado, and Luna.

F.W. Webb and Custom Carbide expansion plans (click on a placemarker for details)

View F.W. Webb and Custom Carbide expansion plans in a larger map

Massachusetts revenue officials say the state collected about $1.36 billion in taxes in November, a drop of 4.3 percent compared with the same month last year.

BOSTON – Massachusetts revenue officials say the state collected about $1.36 billion in taxes in November, a drop of 4.3 percent compared with the same month last year.

Despite the decrease of about $62 million, the November collections were still $53 million above the estimate for the month.

Revenue Commissioner Amy Pitter said one reason for the decline was the fact that the state collected more than $100 million in one-time payments in November 2010.

So far this fiscal year, the state has collected nearly $7.88 billion.

That's up $356 million or 4.7 percent from the same period one year ago. It's also $40 million above the estimate for this point in the fiscal year.

November is one of the smallest tax collection months since there are no quarterly estimated payments due for individuals and most companies.

Polls will close Tuesday night, and in some brackets, only a few votes separate restaurants battling to qualify for the head-to-head tournament.

Time is running out to vote in the preliminary round of the 2011 Valley Food Championship Burger Battle.

And several contenders' fate hangs in the balance.

We asked readers of The Republican, MassLive.com and El Pueblo Latino to nominate your favorite burger in the Valley, and after more than 200 replies, 87 area burger meisters were named to enter our competition to determine the best burger in the Valley.

And for the past six days, you've been voting in four brackets to narrow that field of 87 to a list of 32 burger "teams" that will compete in our NCAA-style Burger Battle tournament. But we're down to the last day of balloting – and the fate of several burger makers on the bubble hangs in the final hours.

As of late Monday night, only one vote separated the eighth- and ninth-place burgers in one of the brackets. Another bracket had a three-vote margin between eight and nine. Remember, the top eight in each bracket advance – No. 9 goes home.

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

Preliminary round voting is open until Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Here are the links to the four Preliminary Round polls:

» Group 1

» Group 2

» Group 3

» Group 4

The victim saw his stolen camera equipment for sale on Craigslist and coordinated with police to set up a sting at Starbucks.

Rashad Leonard was charged with two counts of receiving stolen property but police say additional charges are possible. (Springfield police booking photo)

SPRINGFIELD – A 24-year-old Wilbraham man, who had over $1,100 worth of camera equipment stolen from his locked car late last month while it was parked on a side street near Springfield Technical Community College, was looking to replace his gear when he spotted it for sale on craigslist.org.

Springfield police Sgt. John M. Delaney said the stolen camera, lens and tripod was listed for $375.

The victim called police and detectives James McCoy and Eric Podgurski set up a “sting” operation to capture the suspect and reclaim the equipment, Delaney said.

The victim then called the suspect and arranged to meet him at the East Columbus Avenue Starbucks on Dec. 3. Shortly after 5 p.m. that day, the undercover detectives were inside the Starbucks watching the victim who was seated a short distance away.

“It was not long before a Rashad Leonard, entered the coffee shop and approached the victim with his own camera equipment,” Delaney said, adding that the victim could tell by the serial number that the equipment was his.

The victim gave police a signal and the detectives moved in to arrest Leonard, Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said.

The detectives, back at the station, found the suspect to be in possession of an iPod with the name of a person etched upon it’s metal case. Police, finding no crime reports listing that person’s name, looked her up in the phone book and eventually determined that the iPod had been stolen from the gym bag of a high school student.

Leonard was charged with two counts of receiving stolen property, Delaney said, adding that the investigation is ongoing and more charges are likely.

Police said that David Hobson made threats against two former associates, and that those men have been notified about his escape and taken to a "safe place."

David Glenn Hobson, 33, is considered by U.S. Marshals to be armed and dangerous. (Carroll County House of Corrections booking photo)

SANFORD, Maine — Federal authorities have joined a two-state manhunt for an escaped convict who police say may be plotting violent revenge while on the lam.

David Glenn Hobson, a 33-year-old Alfred, Maine native, was awaiting trial for a non-violent burglary charge when he scaled a razor-wire fence at the Carroll County House of Corrections in Ossipee, New Hampshire this past Thursday. He is believed to have injured himself on the razor-wire, and based on the amount of blood police found inside a Toyota Highlander Hobson allegedly stole, the injury is likely serious, according to a report by Fosters Daily Democrat.

Police told the newspaper that Hobson has made threats against two former associates, and that those men have been notified about his escape and taken to a "safe place." Police declined to explain how Hobson knows the alleged men or to detail any instances of violence in his past.

The car police believe Hobson stole from Wakefield, New Hampshire was found abandoned on a logging road in his hometown of Alfred, according to Boston.com. Since that discovery, police executed search warrants at two family member's homes in nearby Sanford, Maine.

Hobson's father was arrested in conjunction with one of those searches after allegedly leaving supplies for his son outside the home to aid in his bid for prolonged freedom. He was charged with hindering apprehension and released on $500 bail.

According to Fosters Daily Democrat, Hobson's criminal past includes dozens of burglary charges and convictions.

The search is being handled by local and state authorities in Maine and New Hampshire as well as the U.S. Marshals, which has put up a reward for information leading to his capture.

Anyone with any information on Hobson's whereabouts is asked to call the Carroll County, New Hampshire Sheriff's office at (603) 539-2284, the Maine State Police at (207) 657-3030, or the U.S. Marshals in Maine at (207) 780-3355 or in New Hampshire at (603) 225-1632.

Sandwich officials said the camp didn’t submit some required paperwork, including procedures for staff background checks.

File photo by Steve Heaslip / Cape Cod TimesPolice block the entrance at Camp Good News at Camp Good News in Sandwich, April 6, where authorities were investigating the apparent suicide of a man accused this week of molesting a boy more than two decades ago at the youth camp on Cape Cod.

SANDWICH – A Christian summer camp on Cape Cod where several people including U.S. Sen. Scott P. Brown allegedly were sexually abused as children has officially sought permission to reopen.

The Cape Cod Times reported Tuesday that the town of Sandwich received a 13-page application Monday from Camp Good News along with two checks totaling $175. Town officials said the camp didn’t submit some required paperwork, including procedures for staff background checks.

The 76-year-old camp didn’t open last summer after the suicide of a longtime employee accused of molestation there in the 1980s. The camp lost its accreditation.

Several adults have claimed they were molested there. Brown has said he was molested at a Cape Cod camp he didn’t name, but the camp said he attended there and apologized for anything that may have happened to him.

Texas state ethics rules prohibit use of state phones for campaign purposes.

Associated Press photoRepublican presidential candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry appears on the Republican Presidential Forum on "Huckabee," the Fox News program hosted by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Saturday in New York. (Photo by Henny Ray Abrams)

WASHINGTON – Time and again, Texas Gov. Rick Perry picked up his office phone in the months before he would announce his bid for the presidency. He dialed wealthy friends who were his big fundraisers and state officials who owed him for their jobs.

Perry also met with a Texas executive who would later co-found an independent political committee that has promised to raise millions to support Perry but is prohibited from coordinating its activities with the governor.

An Associated Press review of Perry’s phone records and daily public schedules reveals a chronology – at times, minute by minute – of the governor’s meetings before his campaign launch. Texas state ethics rules prohibit use of state phones for campaign purposes. Perry officials said the talks were for official business.

The governor’s files also show connections between Perry and many of his early supporters. Those whom Perry called have raised millions for his state campaigns, and he appointed some of them to Texas state jobs. Some were quick to return the favor by donating to his White House campaign.

They included Brint Ryan, a Dallas businessman and University of North Texas regent whom Perry talked with in-person and on Ryan’s cell phone in April, just as buzz swirled of Perry’s presidential ambitions. Ryan would go on to back Make Us Great Again, a “super” political action committee that legally is not permitted to coordinate with Perry or his campaign.

Fred Wertheimer, the head of campaign watchdog group Democracy 21, said the roles of elected officials who are running for office can blur. “But the elected official has to take appropriate steps that ensure that government resources aren’t being used for campaign purposes,” Wertheimer said. The conversations in the spring between Ryan and Perry, he said, “raise the question of whether this so-called candidate-specific super PAC is really independent from the governor.”

It’s unclear what Perry and all of his supporters discussed in their conversations, and Perry didn’t appear to contact Ryan since his Aug. 13 campaign announcement. State logs do not record incoming calls or those made by aides, and most of Perry’s daily schedules produced since then say only that Perry was “tending to state business” with no further details.

“Gov. Perry only conducts state business on his state office phone,” Perry spokeswoman Allison Castle said, adding that members of his executive staff have access to his line. A Make Us Great Again representative said Ryan and Perry discussed higher education and economic issues in the governor’s office April 29, but wasn’t aware of the phone call.

Perry’s conversations with Ryan aren’t unique. The governor has reached out to local political allies and national power players alike:

• Hank Greenberg, the former chief of American International Group, received a seven-minute call from Perry last summer. Castle said the call was to thank Greenberg for hosting a meeting the day before. Greenberg also hosted a New York fundraising event for Perry in September.

• Lonnie “Bo” Pilgrim, a Texas poultry magnate, contributed to Perry campaigns and the Republican Governors Association, which Perry ran until recently. Pilgrim was not only in contact with Perry by phone in recent years; he also provided air travel in 2008 so that the governor could travel to Washington and argue against rules that require more ethanol in fuel, which Pilgrim opposed over concerns they would increase feed grain prices.

• Since his August announcement, Perry phoned the office of Andy Card, President George W. Bush’s chief of staff, and Frederick McClure, a former Texas A&M University regent who worked on the Bush presidential transition committee.

Old friends also made the list: Perry called the home and business lines of Phil Adams, another Texas A&M regent, more than a dozen times between 2006 and 2008. Adams, meanwhile, has given Perry more than $250,000 in contributions.

Perry’s connections with the founders of the super PAC supporting him are hardly unique. Aides to former Massachusetts Gov. W. Mitt Romney founded Restore Our Future in 2010, and a former spokesman for President Barack H. Obama formed super PAC Priorities USA Action to help the incumbent’s re-election efforts. Indeed, all politicians reach out to potential donors and fundraisers as they gear up their campaigns.

The AP obtained Perry’s records through public-records requests and cross-matched thousands of phone numbers to identify those Perry called. Texas rules frown on government employees using state phones for personal use; they also prohibit calls that cost the state extra money, although documents show that the costs of Perry’s long-distance calls were inexpensive.

The AP’s review was incomplete. When Perry’s administration turned over the records AP had requested, it censored dozens of calls for privacy reasons, and his schedules in recent years contain only partial information. Perry has said publicly that government institutions should be more transparent and accountable to voters.

Asked on CBS’s “The Early Show” about Gingrich’s surge to top of the polls, Bachmann replied that “two weeks can be an eternity” in a White House campaign.

Associated Press photoRepublican presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., expresses appreciation as she puts on a gift from a supporter during the book-signing event for her book "Core of Conviction" Saturday, in Aiken, S.C. (Photo by Rainier Ehrhardt)

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann said Tuesday she still thinks she has a good chance of winning the Iowa Republican caucuses, saying presidential campaign rivals Newt Gingrich and W. Mitt Romney “have significant flaws.”

Bachmann said in a nationally broadcast interview that she, more than her rivals, personifies the kind of conservative values Iowa Republicans want, and said she believes “we’re going to be shocked on Jan. 3 when we see the results.”

Bachmann commented at a time when polls continue to show her in the lower tier of candidates vying to challenge President Barack H. Obama next year.

Asked on CBS’s “The Early Show” about Gingrich’s surge to top of the polls, Bachmann replied that “two weeks can be an eternity” in a White House campaign. She appeared on the same day that Romney awaited an endorsement from former Vice President Dan Quayle and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman prepared for an appearance in Washington before the Heritage Foundation’s Bloggers Briefing.

“I think we’re perfectly situated to be where we want to be,” Bachmann said. She said the campaign is like a “political Wall Street,” with candidates’ stock rising and falling. And she accused both Gingrich and Romney of being supporters of “Obamacare,” and said that both backed the government bailout of financial institutions.

The Minnesota Republican asserted that Romney had reversed his position on “life” issues and said that both Romney and Gingrich “are flawed candidates.”

Bachmann wouldn’t say whether she will participate in a Dec. 27 debate in Des Moines moderated by real estate magnate Donald Trump. She said she likes Trump, but that she’s still weighing whether to appear.

Gingrich has accepted the debate invitation, and Rep. Ron Paul and Huntsman have declined. The other candidates are still thinking it over.

Huntsman, in an appearance Tuesday on NBC’s “Today” show, accused Romney of being indecisive, and cited the former Massachusetts governor’s failure to say whether he would join the Des Moines debate is an example.

“As usual, Mr. Romney can’t make a decision. He’s weighing both sides and may flip-flop on this as well,” Huntsman said.

He said that “people are giving us a second look, a first look in some cases.”

“I’m running against a conservative flip-flopper,” Huntsman said of Romney. “I’m running against a grandiose conservative. People are coming around to the reality that I’m a consistent conservative.”

Murphy said he resigned his post to avoid a potentially divisive vote on his removal at a closed-door Democratic caucus.

An updated version of this story is now available at MassLive.

File photo by Michael S. Gordon / The RepublicanBurlington state Rep. Charles A. Murphy is seen at an editorial meeting of The Republican in 2009. He resigned as House majority whip Tuesday.

BOSTON – A member of Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s leadership stepped aside Tuesday.

Rep. Charles Murphy, a Burlington Democrat, says he resigned his post as majority whip to avoid a potentially divisive vote on his removal at a closed-door Democratic caucus on Tuesday.

DeLeo had been expected to move to oust Murphy after the one-time chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee made remarks to other lawmakers about who might succeed DeLeo as speaker.

Murphy denied being disloyal to the speaker but did not back down from the earlier comments. He said he didn’t want to put other Democrats into the uncomfortable position of voting on his future.

Murphy will remain a member of the House.

DeLeo named Rep. Byron Rushing of Boston as the new majority whip.

Scott Page, 49, of Chicopee is facing his fifth operating under the influence charge after he was pulled by a Massachusetts state trooper on Monday.

CHICOPEE - Scott Page, 49, of Chicopee is facing his fifth operating under the influence charge after he was pulled by a Massachusetts state trooper on Monday.

Around 5:25 p.m., Springfield-based state trooper Evan Breeding was on patrol in Chicopee when he came upon a red light at the intersection of Route 116 and Granby Road. According to the state police, the Dodge pickup truck in front of him failed to move when the light turned green.

"When the light changed from red to green the truck remained stopped while traffic began to drive around it," said David Procopio, state police spokesman in a statement. "This continued for several seconds until a short burst from the cruiser siren prompted the truck to move."

Breeding then allegedly saw the truck make several wide turns and travel outside of the marked travel lanes. He pulled the vehicle over and the driver, Page, allegedly smelled like beer.

Procopio said slurred speech and lack of eye contact led the trooper to ask Page to get out of the car. Once he did, Procopio says Page was "wobbly on his feet" and "swayed" when standing.

"Page also made statements relative to consuming a beer while driving," Procopio said. "After speaking to Page and making observations during field sobriety tests, Breeding determined Page was operating impaired and placed (him) under arrest."

The Chicopee man was charged with fifth-offense OUI and cited for a marked lanes violation, failing to signal a turn and possession of an open alcoholic beverage while driving.

Page was taken into custody and held awaiting arraignment in Chicopee District Court.

The 9 mm weapon has "Atlanta Police Department" marked on the barrel.

SPRINGFIELD – Fourteen gunshots, detected by the city’s ShotSpotter audio surveillance system in the Old Hill neighborhood early Tuesday, yielded the arrest of a pair of juvenile brothers and the confiscation of a 9 mm handgun.

The weapon in question has “Atlanta Police Department” marked on the barrel and investigators are attempting to trace its owner, Sgt. John M. Delaney said.

The shots were detected about 1 a.m. in the area of 26 Manhattan St., Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said.

Springfield police officers Darrin Fitzpatrick and Matthew Longo, right around the corner, responded and saw the two suspects in an adjacent back yard frantically attempting to start a dirt bike, Delaney said.

When Longo scaled the fence, the duo, age 14 and 16, dropped the bike and fled on foot. Longo pursued and chased the suspects to the rear porch at 19 Alden St. Longo detained the suspects until his backup arrived and then retraced his footsteps to where he saw the suspects drop the handgun.

The weapon was still loaded with one round and its clip has the capacity for 15, Delaney said.

The brothers, held overnight, live in the immediate area and will be brought before a juvenile court judge on Tuesday.

Delaney said investigators are also seeking to determine why the two juveniles were up and out at 1 a.m. with no adult supervision.

“This is where tragedies happen, the adults will be questioned,” Delaney said.

The location of three casinos permitted under a law signed last month by Gov. Deval Patrick is left to a five-member Gaming Commission, whose appointees have yet to be named.

By KYLE CHENEY

BOSTON - Boston Mayor Thomas Menino insisted Tuesday that Suffolk Downs, the East Boston horse track, is the best location for a resort-style casino, despite recent reports that Patriots owner Robert Kraft and casino mogul Steve Wynn are eyeing a license to build in Foxborough.

Thomas M. Menino

“I think the best one is Suffolk Downs. It’s near the convention center. It’s near the airport. It’s natural to me. Suffolk Downs has been there for many years,” Menino told reporters after a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce event in the Back Bay. “There will have to be some improvements made in the infrastructure around Suffolk Downs. But I still believe it’s the perfect location for a casino.”

The location of three casinos permitted under a law signed last month by Gov. Deval Patrick is left to a five-member Gaming Commission, whose appointees have yet to be named.

“It’s a long process. A lot of people are assuming a lot. The five-member commission will make those choices,” he said. “There’s a lot of hoo-ha. You have to put the meat to the bones. I haven’t seen any meat to the bones yet.”

Suffolk Downs has long girded for the right to operate a casino, partnering with Caesars Entertainment to prepare a bid. But Kraft emerged in recent weeks as a potential contender for a license designated for the eastern region of the state, partnering with Wynn. Under the legislation signed by Gov. Deval Patrick earlier this month, only one casino license will be available in each of three regions of the state.

Menino said his influence in that process is minimal.

“I have no say in the matter. It’s a five-member commission. That commission will make those decisions. My opinion doesn’t have a lot of weight in this one. But I’ll voice my opinion,” he said.

During his availability, Menino didn’t directly answer when asked if he expects state government to send the city more local aid next year, instead delivering a broadside to state policymakers.

“Do I expect the state to give me local aid? Are they going to make up for the $100 million I lost over the last six years?” he asked in a sharp tone. “Alright, next question.”

The victim, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries, refused to cooperate with police.

(Republican file photo by Robert Rizzuto)A Springfield police cruiser at night.

This updates a story posted at 6:45 a.m. Tuesday.

SPRINGFIELD – Police say an arrest is likely as they continue to probe the stabbing of a 35-year-old man on Worthington Street Monday night.

The victim, who suffered a non-life-threatening wound to his abdomen, was found at the Friends of the Homeless shelter at 769 Worthington St. at about 10:30 p.m. He was conscious and refused to cooperate with police officers, Springfield police Sgt. John M. Delaney said.

Investigators determined that the victim had been in a verbal argument with an unknown person at a nearby pizza parlor before the stabbing, Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said.