The S&P 500 index rose 1 point while the Nasdaq composite edged lower.

Associated Press photoSecurities and Echange Commission Chairwoman Mary Schapiro and Commodities Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler talk on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, prior to testifying before the Senate Banking Committee hearing on the implementation of the Wall Street reform act. (Photo by Evan Vucci)

NEW YORK - The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 52 points following a report that European leaders are considering more aggressive programs to bail out weaker countries in the region.

Broader market indicators were mixed. The S&P 500 index rose 1 point and the Nasdaq composite edged lower. Materials and health care companies rose the most. Agricultural supplies company Monsanto Co. gained 2.8 percent; drug maker Pfizer Inc. added 2 percent.

Stocks were stuck in neutral for most of the day after Standard & Poor’s said it might downgrade the AAA rating of Europe’s bailout fund. A report in the Financial Times late in the afternoon sent the Dow up as many as 117 points. The newspaper reported that European leaders are considering making more financial aid available to struggling countries.

Investors remain cautious ahead of a summit of European leaders Thursday and Friday where the main task will be coming up with credible plans for preventing a simmering debt crisis from causing a breakup of the euro, the currency shared by 17 European nations. Such a shock would likely cause a deep recession in Europe that would spread through the world economy.

“We are coming to a head in Europe, and it’s no longer about the small countries like Greece,” said Paul Zemsky, chief investment officer at ING Investment Management. He said current stock prices reflect traders’ expectations of a rate cut from the European Central Bank on Thursday and strong political action on Friday. Any less that, he said, and “it’s anyone’s guess show bad things will get, but they’ll get pretty bad.”

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 52.30 points, or 0.4 percent, at 12,150.13. Among its top performers was 3M Co., which rose 1.5 percent after the maker of Post-It notes forecast 2012 earnings that were stronger that many analysts expected.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed up 1.39 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,258.47. The Nasdaq composite average closed down 6.20, or 0.2 percent, at 2,649.56.

U.S. stock indexes have risen sharply from the lows they hit during a Thanksgiving-week drubbing. The S&P 500 is up 8.6 percent since Nov. 25, when it closed at 1,158.67.

Late Monday S&P said it might downgrade the debt of 15 countries that use the euro. The announcement, and S&P’s followup statement Tuesday about possibly downgrading the European bailout fund, halted a rally in European markets.

The impact on the market was muted, said Robert Tipp, chief investment strategist with Prudential Fixed Income, because investors are coming around to the view that the European debt crisis may be through its worst phase. He noted that bond traders are willing to accept much lower yields on debt issued by nations such as Italy, whose borrowing costs spiked to dangerous levels in recent weeks.

“There’s going to be volatility going forward, and it’s going to be difficult for countries to follow their commitments, but I think you finally crossed that point where they took enough steps that the markets will get the message” that there is a credible crisis-rescue plan in the works, Tipp said.

In corporate news:

Leap Wireless International Inc. rose 1 percent after the prepaid mobile phone company said it is buying spectrum in Chicago from Verizon Wireless and sell it spectrum bandwidth nationwide.

Homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc. added 2.7 percent after it reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ expectations.

Alpha Natural Resources Inc. fell 1.1 percent after the company agreed to pay more than $200 million to avoid being sued over a 2010 mine disaster that killed 29 men.

Darden Restaurants Inc. fell 12.4 percent, the most in the S&P 500 index, after the company slashed its profit forecast for 2012. The company is trying to turn around its struggling Olive Garden restaurant chain and cope with rapidly rising food costs.

The designated developer has offered to buy the site for $450,001.

File photo | The RepublicanThe former Springfield Visitor Information Center.

SPRINGFIELD – The Springfield Redevelopment Authority has selected a preferred developer for the former Visitor Information Center, which is proposing a $2.3 million investment to convert the riverfront site to a LUXE Burger Bar patterned after a Rhode Island restaurant.

The development team chosen, Lustra LLC, includes local lawyer and developer Raipher D. Pellegrino and partners from Providence, R.I., with experience in the restaurant industry.

Under its proposal, Lustra will purchase the property from the authority for $450,001, which was the highest price offered among the two proposals received. The developers said they expect the business will create 40 full-time jobs, 47 part-time jobs, and $96,250 in annual tax revenue for the city.

The site is on Hall of Fame Avenue, also known as West Columbus Avenue, off Interstate 91 and abutting the Connecticut River.

The second developer, Peter J. Pappas, owner of the adjacent LA Fitness property, and his company, Alliance Converting Machinery Inc., offered $223,024 for the vacant site, also for a restaurant use. In addition, they were seeking a tax increment financing agreement with the city that would reduce the annual taxes.

The William C. Sullivan Tourist Information Center relocated in November 2009 to the nearby Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, leaving the city-owned property vacant. The city transferred the site to the authority, which first invited lease proposals, and then offered the site for sale in August.

One of Pellegrino’s partners, John Elkay, operates six restaurants in Providence under the Chow Fun Food Group which includes Harry’s Bar & Burger, Rick’s Roadhouse, Cafe Noir, 10 Steak & Sushi, LUXE Burger Bar and Veritas. The other partner is Richard L. Bready of Providence and the resident manager is listed as Jennifer Stefanik.

Armando Feliciano, chairman of redevelopment authority, which serves as the city’s urban development agency, said the authority is “excited and happy” to have a preferred developer chosen. The two years to find the developer “was worth the wait,” he said.

The authority voted unanimously to select Lustra as preferred developer for a 120-day period, as was recommended by a review committee.

“We are excited that an experienced local developer has stepped forward to develop the property to bring new activity, new jobs and new tax revenue to our riverfront area,” Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said in a prepared statement. “This restaurant group has several successful locations in Providence. The selection of Springfield as their first city for expansion shows great confidence in the opportunities to invest here.”

Lustra’s proposal includes some demolition work and some expansion work to the 4,100 square foot building, with a new mezzanine space added.

The proposal filed by Pappas was for two tenants: a family restaurant and bar named “Fergburger,” which he said he discovered on a family trip to New Zealand; and a special coffee and dessert tenant.

However, in November, Pappas said he was teaming up with a Boston group that was hoping to open a Jerry Remy’s Sports Bar & Grill at the visitor center. City officials, however, said the review was limited to the proposals already received.

Pappas said he will continue looking in the region for a site for the Remy restaurant proposal, and wishes Lustra LLC great success at the visitor center site, as his neighbor.

If the sale and development proceeds, the redevelopment authority will use the proceeds as part of its operating budget which pays for expenses such as maintenance, insurance, and snow removal, for authority-owned properties, said Somalid Hogan, project manger for the city’s Office of Planning and Economic Development.

Hobson escaped from an Ossipee, N.H., jail, about 35 miles away from where he was captured, by scaling a razor-wire fence in the recreation yard, authorities said.

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

By LYNNE TUOHY

CONCORD, N.H. – David Glenn Hobson, a burglary suspect who escaped from a New Hampshire jail and vowed revenge on two people in Maine, was caught Tuesday after five days on the lam, police said.

Hobson was captured Tuesday evening by U.S. marshals near a grocery store in Rochester, N.H., where he'd been picked up in a vehicle by a friend, Maine state police spokesman Steve McCausland said. He did not have a gun, as authorities had suspected, and was arrested without incident, McCausland said.

"He was quickly taken into custody," said McCausland, who said police had gotten a tip late in the afternoon.

Hobson, 33, was in custody Tuesday evening and couldn't be reached for comment. His family has declined to talk.

Hobson escaped from an Ossipee, N.H., jail, about 35 miles away from where he was captured, on Dec. 1 by scaling a razor-wire fence in the recreation yard, authorities said. Police believed he had a gun and appeared to hold a grudge against two people with whom he once had a personal relationship.

U.S. Marshal Noel March said the two were aware of the threats and were "in a safe place."

Hobson, whose criminal record includes a series of burglary convictions, wasn't going after past victims, March said before the capture.

But one of those burglary victims said she had lived in fear of Hobson since he ransacked her home several times in 2005 looking for pain medication she takes for a disability.

Hobson pleaded guilty in 2006 to more than a dozen burglaries, including one at the home of Lynne Mansur of Alfred, Maine. He went to Alfred after his escape and bought clothes there, authorities said.

Mansur told The Associated Press earlier on Tuesday that the most valuable thing Hobson stole from her was her sense of security.

"I'm scared and shaking and sleeping with all sorts of things around me," Mansur said, adding that she keeps knives, tear gas and an air horn near her bed. "I'm really thinking I just need to leave my house, and that's not right."

Mansur said she had been reassured by authorities that she wasn't one of the people Hobson was after. She was contacted by a victim advocate for the York County district attorney's office soon after Hobson's escape.

"It doesn't protect me, but it makes me feel like I'm not totally alone," Mansur said.

March vowed earlier Tuesday that Hobson would be caught but that law enforcement officials would prefer he turn himself in so no one gets hurt.

"David Glenn Hobson is not Houdini and he's not Whitey Bulger," March said before the capture, referring to the famous escape artist and the notorious Boston mob boss who was on the lam for more than 16 years. "It's important to point out this is not the manhunt of the century."

March had implored Hobson to turn himself in to end the stress on his family "and the anxiety he is causing the community at large."

Homes belonging to Hobson's relatives in the greater Alfred and Sanford areas in southern Maine, about 30 miles away from where he was captured, were searched and were watched closely by law enforcement officials, Noel said. Relatives were interviewed multiple times, he said.

Hobson's father was arrested Friday and was charged with hindering apprehension after being accused of leaving supplies for Hobson outside his Alfred home. Police said the package included food, water, medical supplies, blankets and clothing. Behind the house, police also found discarded clothing and a receipt showing where Hobson bought a change of clothes and supplies.

Hobson stole a car in Wakefield, N.H., after escaping from jail, police said. The vehicle was found abandoned on a logging road in Alfred, and blood inside added to investigators' suspicion that Hobson was seriously injured.

"You can clearly consider him desperate by virtue of his own actions — a very concerted effort he undertook to escape from the Carroll County House of Corrections, injuring himself in the process — coupled with his own statements he has intentions to harm others," March said.

Law enforcement officials wouldn't say how they learned of Hobson's threats except to say their concerns were based on statements he had made.

Hobson's police record dates back to a criminal mischief conviction in 1996. He was sentenced to two days in jail.

Hobson's brother-in-law, Richard Lane, said Tuesday that no one in the family wanted to speak to reporters.

While Hobson was loose, aircraft buzzed over the greater Sanford area, and dozens of heavily armed state troopers, deputy U.S. marshals and members of a violent-fugitive task force searched on the ground.

The committee will meet once more this month and 4 times in January before submitting its report to the City Council.

Republican file photoNorthampton City Hall

NORTHAMPTON – Should the city adopt a recall petition? How long should voters wait to elect a new mayor when the previous one has left before the end of a term? How many signatures should a candidate have to gather to run for office?

The committee charged with developing recommendation for overhauling the city’s charter considered these questions and more Tuesday as its mission draws to a close.

The Special Act Charter Drafting Committee held one final public hearing in Council Chambers in preparation for submitting its report to the City Council in January. Although some 40 people spoke at the previous public hearing last month, fewer than a dozen turned out for its continuation Tuesday. Chairman David P. Stevens estimated that the committee has heard from 100 residents in all, a small fraction of Northampton’s 28,549 population.

Written in the 1880s, the city’s charter has never before undergone a comprehensive review, although it has been tinkered with from time to time. Calling it “Northampton’s Constitution,” committee member Gail L. Perlman said the goal is to make the revised document valid for the great grandchildren of today’s residents.

“We want it to be strong and study enough to take us over another 100 years,” she said.

The committee is considering a wide range of topics, including the term lengths for elected officials and the balance of power between the mayor and the City Council. It red-flagged a number of topics for discussion Tuesday, among them how to fill a vacancy in the office of mayor. That subject is timely because Council President David J. Narkewicz is currently serving as acting mayor because Mary Clare Higgins left office in September, four months before the end of her term. Narkewicz is also mayor-elect, having won last month’s election.

Florence resident and former building commissioner Anthony Patillo told the committee the topic has been of special concern to him.

“I just wish we’d have clarity,” Patillo said, noting that the current charter makes no provision for a special election.

Other speakers agreed that voters should have the option of electing their mayor, but there was some question about how much time should elapse before the election takes place. Councilor-elect William H. Dwight suggested it should be six months, the same as is prescribed for a vacant council seat.

Committee member Mark Warner asked if the current requirement of 50 signatures for a candidate to appear on the ballot is sufficient. West Springfield, which has fewer residents, requires 100 for more offices. Ward 7 Councilor Eugene A. Tacy said he collected his 50 signatures in half an hour.

Eugene Tacy

“A hundred would not be cumbersome,” he said.

Florence resident Barry Roth maintained that a more stringent requirement would weed out frivolous candidates who sometimes force costly preliminary elections.

Warner asked the audience how it feels about an instant run-off system in which voters would rank candidates in order of preference in lieu of a preliminary to narrow the field. Tacy believes the system could turn voters off.

“Voting should be as simple as possible because people are afraid to vote,” he said.

Northampton’s charter does not currently provide for recall petitions, although eight cities and 130 towns have such a provision. Listing the pros and cons, Perlman worried that recalls could be used merely to remove an elected official who is unliked by some.

“There are no standards written anywhere for determining who ought to be recalled,” she said.

Tacy suggested that the provision is not needed.

“In 40 years I never remember anyone doing anything to merit a recall,” he said.

Ward 4 City Councilor Owen Freeman-Daniels told the committee he would like the council to have the authority to appoint people to boards and approve certain fees. Tacy suggested the council, not the Board of Public Works, set the water and sewer fees.

Glendale Road resident Emily Odgers made a case for term limits, saying that people who acquire expertise while on a board or committee can voluntarily avail the public of it if they are replaced.

Florence resident Elizabeth Silver cautioned the committee to make its recommendations based on the long view and not on the personalities of recent city figures or the dynamics of recent events.

The committee will meet once more this month and four times in January before submitting its report to the City Council on Jan. 19. The revised document will go before voters for approval on the November 2012 ballot.

"This is a make-or-break moment for the middle class and all those who are fighting to get into the middle class," Obama said.

Associated PressPresident Obama waves to the crowd at Osawatomie High School in Osawatomie, Kansas, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011, prior to delivering a major speech on the economy. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

By BEN FELLER
and KEN THOMAS

OSAWATOMIE, Kan. – Declaring the American middle class in jeopardy, President Barack Obama on Tuesday outlined a populist economic vision that will drive his re-election bid, insisting the United States must reclaim its standing as a country in which everyone can prosper if provided "a fair shot and a fair share."

While never making an overt plea for a second term, Obama's offered his most comprehensive lines of attack against the candidates seeking to take his job, only a month before Republican voters begin choosing a presidential nominee. He also sought to inject some of the long-overshadowed hope that energized his 2008 campaign, saying: "I believe America is on its way up."

In small-town Osawatomie, in a high school gym where patriotic bunting lined the bleachers, Obama presented himself as the one fighting for shared sacrifice and success against those who would gut government and let people fend for themselves. He did so knowing the nation is riven over the question of whether economic opportunity for all is evaporating.

"Throughout the country, it's sparked protests and political movements, from the tea party to the people who've been occupying the streets of New York and other cities," Obama said.

"This is the defining issue of our time," he said in echoing President Theodore Roosevelt's famous speech here in 1910.

"This is a make-or-break moment for the middle class and all those who are fighting to get into the middle class," Obama said. "At stake is whether this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home and secure their retirement."

For Obama, saddled with a weak national economic recovery, the speech was a chance to break away from Washington's incremental battles and his own small-scale executive actions. He offered a sweeping indictment of economic inequality and unleashed his own brand of prairie populism.

He spoke for nearly an hour to a supportive audience, reselling his ideas under the framework of "building a nation where we're all better off."

Billed as an important address that would put today's economic debates in context, Obama's speech seemed a bit like two packaged into one.

The first was that of the campaigner, full of loft and reclamation of American values. The second was the governing Obama, who recited his familiar jobs agenda, his feud with Congress over extending a Social Security tax cut, even his fight to get his consumer watchdog confirmed.

Obama tied himself to Roosevelt, the president and reformer who came to this town in eastern Kansas and called for a "square deal" for regular Americans. Roosevelt said then the fight for progress was a conflict "between the men who possess more than they have earned and the men who have earned more than they possess."

It is a theme Obama is embracing in a mounting fight for re-election against Republicans who, regardless of the nominee, will attack his stewardship of the economy.

One of the leading contenders for the GOP nomination, Mitt Romney, ridiculed Obama for comparing himself to Roosevelt.

Obama "said that he is like Teddy Roosevelt," Romney said at a campaign event in Paradise Valley, Ariz. "And I thought, 'In what way is he like Teddy Roosevelt?' Teddy Roosevelt of course founded the Bull Moose Party. One of those words applies."

Kirsten Kukowski, spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, said, "Maybe instead of trying to be like other presidents, Obama should try being president."

Obama took aim at the Republicans, saying they would only return the same structures that led to America's economic downturn. "Their philosophy is simple: We are better off when everyone is left to fend for themselves and play by their own rules," Obama said. "I'm here to say they are wrong."

The president conceded that the country is in the midst of a consuming re-examination on his watch, prompting national movements against both government spending and an economy that many feel disproportionately favors the elite. Obama went on the offensive about income equality, saying it distorts democracy and derails the American dream.

Responding to those who want to cut taxes and regulation in the belief success will trickle down, Obama said: "Here's the problem: It doesn't work. It's never worked."

Obama noted that Theodore Roosevelt was called a "radical, a socialist, even a communist" for putting forth ideas in his last campaign such as an eight-hour work day, a minimum wage for women, unemployment insurance and a progressive income tax.

Left unsaid: Roosevelt's Bull Moose campaign in 1912 failed to return him to the White House.

Obama attempted to sum up the pain and peril for a society where the middle class is struggling. But he also called for individual responsibility.

"In the end," he said, "rebuilding this economy based on fair play, a fair shot and a fair share will require all of us to see the stake we have in each other's success."

Obama also challenged the big banks that took bailouts from American taxpayers, pointing to "a deficit of trust between Main Street and Wall Street." He said banks that were bailed out had an obligation to work to close that trust deficit and should be doing more to help remedy past mortgage abuses and assist middle-class taxpayers.

Feller contributed from Washington. Associated Press writers Erica Werner and Kasie Hunt contributed to this report.

Some of the sharpest contrasts were drawn between immigration attorney Marisa DeFranco and Harvard University professor Elizabeth Warren.

View full sizeAssociated PressDemocratic candidates for the U.S. Senate, from left, Jim King, Tom Conroy, Marisa DeFranco, Elizabeth Warren and Herb Robinson stand during a forum at Stonehill College in Easton, Mass. on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011. The hopefuls jousted on everything from the Occupy Wall Street movement to the need to hold accountable those who brought the country's economy to near collapse as they sparred for the chance to challenge incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown. (AP Photo/The Quincy Patriot Ledger, Gary Higgins)

By STEVE LEBLANC

EASTON – Five Massachusetts U.S. Senate Democratic hopefuls jousted on everything from the Occupy Wall Street movement to the need to hold accountable those who brought the country's economy to near collapse as they sparred Tuesday for the chance to challenge incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown.

Some of the sharpest contrasts at the Stonehill College forum were drawn between immigration attorney Marisa DeFranco and Harvard University professor Elizabeth Warren on the Occupy protests against financial inequality.

Asked if protesters should be allowed to prepare their encampments for winter weather, Warren would only say the protesters have to "follow the law."

That drew an impassioned defense of the protesters from DeFranco, who drew parallels between the Occupy movement and the civil rights and women's suffrage movements.

"There is a tradition of civil rights in this country," said DeFranco, who lives in Salem. "If they want to stay there, it's called a sit-in."

DeFranco, one of four lesser-known Democrats hoping to knock Warren out of the frontrunner position, also appeared to side more explicitly with the protesters than Warren, who has said she "created much of the intellectual foundation" for the movement — a statement she has tried to modify in recent weeks.

"We have a reverse Robin Hood where the 1 percent steals all the money and the productivity that the 99 percent produces, and they charge us with class warfare?" DeFranco said. "I'm not taking any guff like that from the Republicans."

State Rep. Tom Conroy, of Wayland, said protesters can't build illegal structures, while lawyer James King said they must follow local laws. Software writer Herb Robinson, of Newton, said public officials should try to work with protesters.

Warren's rhetoric toughened when the questions turned to what the country can do to try to avoid another economic crisis.

Warren, a longtime consumer advocate who helped create the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said that those charged with overseeing the financial industry, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, need to be strengthened.

"We need to insist not only that there be more investigations and, where appropriate, prosecutions but that we have adequately funded the cops on the beat," she said.

Conroy said that law enforcement agencies — from the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan to attorneys general from across the country — need to get involved.

"People need to be held accountable," he said.

When asked about the fact that Warren's campaign has drawn national attention and millions of dollars in donations from across the country, Conroy and DeFranco said the final decision on the Democratic nominee will be up to primary voters.

"She's raised a ton of money," Conroy said, but "the ultimate test is defeating Scott Brown."

The candidates also were asked about outside groups running political ads in Massachusetts. Brown, who won the Senate seat after the death of Edward Kennedy, has called for the outside groups to pull their ads, a call that Warren said she was unaware of.

Warren decried what she called "unfair attack ads" but defended the rights of some groups, including environmental groups, to weigh in on the race. Brown has been the target of ads, including some from the League of Conservation Voters.

"There are also outside groups who have something to say about what's going on, who have a real interest," Warren said. "I think a blanket notion that nobody talks except the two candidates is not within the spirit of how democratic elections work."

Brown's campaign called Warren's comments hypocritical.

"It is sad that when given the opportunity to join Scott Brown in asking outside special interest groups on both sides to stay out of the Massachusetts Senate race, Professor Warren refused," Brown campaign manager Jim Barnett said.

Conroy said he opposed negative ads.

"Attack ads bring out the worst," he said. "They don't build trust in government."

All the candidates said they supported more investment in renewable energy and tougher negotiations with China on trade issues.

None defended the state's new casino law.

In a regulatory filing Tuesday, Sycamore said it is frustrated with Talbots' "rapidly deteriorating situation" during the critical holiday shopping season and decided quick action was needed.

PORTLAND, Ore. – Private-equity firm Sycamore Partners has offered to buy struggling women's clothing chain Talbots Inc. for $3 per share – nearly double its closing price on Tuesday.

Sycamore is the largest stockholder of the women's clothing chain with a stake of 9.9 percent. In a regulatory filing Tuesday, the firm said that it is frustrated with the company's "rapidly deteriorating situation" during the critical holiday shopping season and decided quick action was needed.

Excluding the shares Sycamore holds, the deal would be worth roughly $205.2 million.

A Talbots representative was not immediately available to comment on the offer. The company sells its traditionally-styled clothing at 551 stores in the U.S. and Canada.

The bid comes on the heels of Talbots' announcement Monday that it is seeking a new chief executive and that its president and CEO Trudy Sullivan plans to retire as soon as a successor is named.

Talbots has struggled for some time, posting an annual loss in three of the past four years. It lost $22 million in its most recent quarter, its third loss in the past four quarters. As it announced that loss last week, Talbots laid out plans to cut jobs, close stores, trim employees' hours, suspend national advertising and TV campaigns and reduce inventory.

Sycamore said it is concerned about the company's results and multi-year stock price decline. The shares have plunged more than 80 percent this year alone.

Talbots has met with Sycamore, but the firm said Talbots managers have rebuffed attempts to discuss any "value-enhancing transaction." The firm also criticized the retailer for announcing Sullivan's retirement without identifying a replacement.

The shares closed Tuesday at $1.56, down a penny, but they rose $1.14, more than 73 percent, to $2.70 after hours on the news. Talbots is based in Hingham, Mass.

2 weeks after casino gambling was legalized in Massachusetts, Ameristar made a preliminary presentation at a session sponsored by the East Springfield Neighborhood Council. Watch video

View full sizeThe Republican | Don TreegerAmeristar Casinos Inc. CEO Gordon R. Kanofsky speaks to an overflow crowd that attended an East Springfield Neighborhood Council meeting Tuesday night at Mary Mother of Hope Church to hear Ameristar's presentation on its proposal to build a casino and hotel at the former Westinghouse site on Page Boulevard.

SPRINGFIELD – More than 450 people turned out Tuesday night to hear a preview of Ameristar Casinos Inc.’s plan to build a casino and hotel at the site of the old Westinghouse plant on Page Boulevard.

Ameristar officials told a standing-room-only crowd in the Mary Mother of Hope Church gymnasium that their $500 million project will bring 2,800 permanent jobs and another 2,000 construction jobs to the area.

The project will be designed to blend with the neighborhood’s character, and will not be a glitzy, Las Vegas-style extravaganza, said Gordon R. Kanofsky, chief executive officer of Ameristar.

“We don’t build one size fits all, one style fits all casinos,” said Kanofsky, adding the company has very different style casinos in Colorado, Missouri and Iowa.

Gordon Kanofsky

Kanofsky said the company will work with neighbors and city officials to reduce concerns about traffic, noise and crime, but said it was too early to offer specifics about the casino and hotel complex.

“Everyone asks what is (the project) going to look like,” said Kanofsky. “And the answer is: We don’t know yet.”

Regarding traffic, Kanofsky said casinos and hotels generally try to avoid traffic congestion as a business matter. “Your concerns are our concerns,” he added.

During the question and answer period, the crowd response was mixed, with one woman, Laurel Rancitelli, offering to sell her home on the spot.

“Does anyone want to buy my home? I live right next door” to the proposed site, Rancitelli said. “This is not a rhetorical question.”

Another speaker, Andrew Hersman, said he feared that the casinos would bring more than employment and entertainment.

“My sense of casinos is that they radiate crime, prostitution and drugs,” said Hersman, a veterinarian with an office on Page Boulevard.

View full sizeThe Republican | Mark M. MurrayDemolition crews work on taking down the last remaining building at the former Westinghouse site on Page Boulevard in Springfield, where Ameristar Casinos of Las Vegas wants to build a casino and hotel.

“We already have that here,” somebody yelled from the crowd.

Other questions dealt with the hours of operation, the hiring process for contractors and employees, and the potential effect of a wood-burning biomass plant also proposed for East Springfield.

Kanofsky said he was unaware of the plant, but said his staff would review the matter.

Ameristar last month announced plans 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.

The property is owned by the O’Connell Development Group Inc., which had anticipated a large-scale retail project on the site.

Any granting of a license is a long way off. Casino gambling became legal only last month in Massachusetts when the governor signed a bill passed by both houses. Members of the Gaming Commission, which will issue licenses for a casino in Western Massachusetts and two other sites in the state, have yet to be named.

The session was sponsored by the East Springfield Neighborhood Council, whose president, Gilbert Perron, stressed that it was the first of many public information sessions. City Councilor Michael Fenton, who represents the neighborhood, also assured residents that process was just beginning.

“This is your first chance to ask questions, not your last chance,” Fenton said.

City Councilor Timothy J. Rooke said he was pleased with the turnout and the exchange of information.

“I though the size of crowd was tremendous; we’ll certainly have many more questions in the future,” he added.

The vote was contentious as councilors said they despised, but knew they were unable to avoid, approving the $465,000 of the transfer to cover retirement costs that the authority has failed to pay since 2008.

File photo | The RepublicanHolyoke Geriatric Authority

HOLYOKE – Through gritted teeth, the City Council Tuesday approved a $1.3 million transfer from free cash that balances the budget and allows tax bills to be mailed by Jan. 1.

Councilors’ upset was based on the transfer including $465,000 to cover employee-retirement costs unpaid by the Holyoke Geriatric Authority going back to 2008.

The authority was a target of blistering criticism from councilors for the second straight night.

“They’re not paying their bills,” Finance Committee Chairman Todd A. McGee said.

“We don’t have the right to do this to the taxpayers,” Ward 5 Councilor Linda L. Vacon said.

Councilors approved the transfer 11-4 in a reconsideration vote.

An earlier approval of 8-7 failed because a two-thirds majority of the 15-member council, or 10 votes, was needed for passage.

With the budget balanced, meetings will be held over the next week or so to set the new tax rate.

Most of the 10,000 home and business property owners will get a tax increase when the next bills are mailed in early January, officials said.

One reason that most property owners will get higher bills is revenue from new growth, meaning new homes and other developments placed on the tax rolls in the past year, is only about $227,000. Officials had hoped for $500,000 in new growth.

Another reason is that property values have declined, Chief Assessor Anthony Dulude said, in a break outside the City Council meeting at City Hall. The less value there is to tax on a property, the less revenue the city can get, unless the tax rate is increased.

The current residential property tax rate is $15.79 per $1,000 valuation.

The current business property tax rate is $37.10 per $1,000 valuation.

Most of the $1.3 milliion consisted of $835,000 in routine transfers in accounts.

The Geriatric Authority’s retirement costs were before the City Council because of a Sept. 20 vote by the city Retirement Board.

The board, after issuing numerous notices to the authority, voted to ask that the Board of Assessors place those costs onto the tax levy.

At Monday’s council Finance Committee meeting, 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.

Authority officials have said the problem is federal reimbursements cover only 75 percent of costs.

That leaves the authority to try to account for the remaining 25 percent at a time when most patients are dependent on government funding, they 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.

Councilors railed again about the Geriatric Authority unpaid bills while noting they realized options were limited because time was tight.

If they rejected the transfer and thus left the budget unbalanced, cuts instead would have to be made in the budget to balance it and meetings scheduled to confirm those cuts.

That would have pushed assessors into mid- to late December and endangered the bill-mailing deadline of Jan. 1.

If the city missed that deadline, a cash-flow problem would have occurred because of lack of money being mailed in by property taxpayers. That would have forced the city to borrow money and pay interest on that borrowing, officials said.

This wasn’t the first time the city has bailed out the authority on retirement costs. In 1999, the city forgave $3.2 million, meaning those costs got funded in the city budget, which consists mostly of state aid and taxpayer funding.

In 2007, the City Council approved $1.2 million to buy 9.5 acres of authority land on Lower Westfield Road. Councilors said that step was done to help the authority and with the understanding the authority would build a smaller, more efficient facility and then repay the $1.2 million.

Authority officials said building the new facility became untenable when the economy dissolved into the years-long recession.

Councilors said the city cannot afford to keep handing money to the authority.

Ward 2 Councilor Diosdado Lopez asked whether the city could address part of the financial problem by ejecting authority employees from the municipal retirement system.

“They’re not paying,” Lopez said.

City staff attorney Adam Pudelko said that step would entail approval of the City Council and mayor to seek a special act of the state Legislature.

“It’s an uphill and long battle. It is possible,” Pudelko said.

Ward 1 Councilor Donald R. Welch said the decades of financial problems show that the authority administration has forfeited its right to keep operating.

“This place should be shut down, bottom line,” Welch said.

“I’m a private business person, I can’t imagine running my business like this,” said Councilor at Large James M. Leahy, who works for a pharmaceutical company.

Even Councilor at Large Peter R. Tallman, usually the least likely to criticize, said the authority’s problems were significant.

“To see the amount of help we’ve given to the Geriatric Authority over the years, it’s amazing. I feel the frustration of other councilors,” Tallman said.

Still, he said, the financial transfer had to be done because the authority is part of the city and the council’s job is to balance the budget.

Councilors voting in favor of the transfer were Rebecca Lisi, Kevin A. Jourdain, Brenna E. Murphy, Patricia C. Devine, Joseph M. McGiverin, Timothy W. Purington, Aaron M. Vega, McGee, Lopez, Leahy and Tallman.

Leahy, Murphy and Purington voted no on the first vote, changing to yes on the reconsideration vote.

Voting no were councilors Anthony M. Keane, John J. O’Neill, Vacon and Welch.

Throughout the1st day of his 2-day sentencing hearing, the impeached executive-turned-reality TV star known for his jocular personality was somber and ill-at-ease.

Associated PressFormer Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich looks up at a news helicopter flying overhead while arriving home with wife Patti, after appearing in federal court for the first day of his sentencing hearing in Chicago, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

By DON BABWIN
and MICHAEL TARM

CHICAGO – After all his claims of innocence and facing years in prison, Rod Blagojevich let his lawyers make an admission that he has so far avoided — that he is, in fact, guilty of public corruption.

The former Illinois governor will get a chance to do the same Wednesday, when he is scheduled to address the judge who will decide his sentence.

Judge James Zagel signaled Tuesday he may be prepared to impose a stiff prison sentence, saying he thinks Blagojevich lied when he told jurors he never tried to sell or trade an appointment to President Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat for campaign cash or a top job.

Throughout the first day of his two-day sentencing hearing, the impeached executive-turned-reality TV star known for his jocular personality was somber and ill-at-ease, staring down at the floor. His wife sobbed as a letter from their daughter was read begging Zagel not to send Blagojevich to prison.

The hearing was a stark contrast to the circus atmosphere around Blagojevich's trials on multiple counts of corruption.

The conciliatory tone came as something of a surprise — just days after defense filings that, as many times before, stridently declared Blagojevich's innocence and said he had been duped by aides but never intended to cross any lines into illegality.

Attorney Sheldon Sorosky told Zagel it was illegal for Blagojevich to ask for a job for himself in exchange for naming Obama's replacement in the Senate.

"There's no doubt this is a crime to do this in relation to the Senate seat, we accept that," he said. "I am just saying that does not call for a 15- to 20-year jail" term as prosecutors have requested.

Sorosky made the same argument when he talked about the other crimes for which Blagojevich was convicted: shaking down a racetrack executive and a hospital executive, as well as lying to the FBI.

At Tuesday's hearing, Blagojevich ringed his hands and pulled nervously at his fingers, pausing occasionally to sip on a plastic bottle of Cherry Coke. Legal experts believe Blagojevich needs to express remorse for his actions when addressing the judge Wednesday.

Zagel, who has said he'll pronounce a sentence Wednesday, said early on during Tuesday's hearing that Blagojevich was clearly the ringleader of the schemes for which he was convicted and that he lied about his actions on the witness stand. The judge made it clear he did not believe a suggestion made by defense attorneys that Blagojevich was duped by aides and advisers.

"There is no question from his tone of voice that he was demanding," Zagel said of Blagojevich's comments on phone conversations secretly recorded by the FBI. "His role as leader is clearly shown by his actions."

And in a harsh assessment of Blagojevich's performance on the witness stand, Zagel said the former governor was lying when he testified that he planned to appoint the state's attorney general to Obama's seat in a political deal that is legal.

"I think this is untrue," Zagel said. "I thought it was untrue when he said it and I think it is still untrue."

Defense attorney Aaron Goldstein pleaded with the judge not to impose a lengthy prison sentence — not for Blagojevich's sake, but for that of his family. In an emotional few minutes before proceedings ended for the day, Goldstein said locking Blagojevich up for a long time would devastate his wife and two daughters.

When Goldstein began reading a letter to the judge from Blagojevich's older daughter, 15-year-old Amy, the former governor suddenly seemed to fight to maintain his composure, fidgeting with a pen, biting on his lip. An attorney turned to gently pat his shoulder.

Amy wrote that she needs her father for all the things that will happen in her life — graduation from high school, applying to college and when her heart gets broken. In another letter, Blagojevich's wife, Patti, asked Zagel to "please be merciful" and said the punishment her husband fears the most is not seeing his daughters grow up.

Zagel seemed engaged in what Goldstein was saying as he described Blagojevich as a father. Patti Blagojevich began sobbing, tears streaming down her cheeks, then dabbing her reddened face with a tissue. She closed her eyes tight, tears still rolling down her face, when Goldstein played a tape recording of a giddy Blagojevich calling his younger daughter, who is now 8, and putting on a high baby-like voice, saying "Hey Annie!"

A second defense attorney told the judge that Illinois history of political corruption shouldn't count against Blagojevich. Carolyn Gurland said it would be unfair to Blagojevich for Zagel to impose a tougher sentence because other Illinois politicians, including former Gov. George Ryan and U.S. Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, have been sent to prison for corruption.

"The law is clear that he should not be punished because of the history of corruption in Illinois," she said.

If Blagojevich gets the 15 to 20 years in prison, she said, he would become the most severely punished public official in state history.

Prosecutors say the twice-elected governor not only shirked all responsibility for his crimes but repeatedly thumbed his nose at the U.S. justice system. Blagojevich's attorneys have said he has already paid a price in public ridicule and financial ruin, and propose a term of just a few years.

Gurland also argued that Zagel should take into account the fact that Blagojevich did not "receive a single penny" in ill-gotten gains, unlike other politicians convicted of public corruption.

"Rod Blagojevich received nothing," she said, adding that Blagojevich was doing what politicians do by seeking campaign contributions and not "money stuffed into envelopes."

Blagojevich and his wife knew they were setting themselves up for ridicule by appearing on reality television shows, she said, but they did so to provide for their children. Blagojevich appeared on "Celebrity Apprentice," where he struggled to use a cellphone, and his wife ate a tarantula on the reality show, "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!"

Blagojevich's sentencing comes just days before his 55th birthday and three years to the week of his Dec. 9, 2008, arrest. The jury deadlocked in his first trial, agreeing on just one of 24 counts — that Blagojevich lied to the FBI. Jurors at his retrial convicted him on 17 of 20 counts, including bribery.

Among the court attendees Tuesday were more than a dozen jurors from both of Blagojevich's trials, including both foremen.

After sentencing, Zagel will likely give Blagojevich weeks before he must report to prison. Once there, the man heard scoffing on FBI wiretaps about earning a low six-figure salary would have to take a prison job — possibly scrubbing toilets — at just 12 cents an hour.

William Moran must appear at a pre-trial conference Jan. 20.

The Republican | Mark M. Murray12.07.2011 | SPRINGFIELD - Atty. David P. Hoose, left, representing former Holyoke fire chief William P. Moran, and Hampden Country Assistant District Attorney David J. Lemasa, right, in Springfield District Court Wednesday.

SPRINGFIELD -- Former acting Holyoke fire chief William P. Moran was arraigned in District Court here Wednesday, but defense attorney David P. Hoose entered pleas on Moran's behalf denying two misdemeanor charges.

Hoose had filed a motion allowed under state law to waive his client's presence at the arraignment on charges accusing Moran of sending a fire truck to a fake call last summer.

That kept Moran from having to appear in a courtroom where three local television stations as well as a reporter and photographer from The Republican were on hand.

Judge William J. Boyle accepted the pleas and set a pre-trial conference for Jan. 20, where Moran will have to appear. Assistant District Attorney David J. Lemasa said Moran, who has been free awaiting arraignment, will reamain free on his own recognizance.

File photo | John SuchockiWilliam P. Moran

A four-car accident with injuries resulted from the June 15 call, officials said.

District Court Assistant Clerk Magistrate Barbara Y. Burton issued a ruling Nov. 23, the same date that Moran's retirement took effect, that Moran must appear in Springfield District Court to answer criminal charges.

Moran is charged with willful and malicious communication with public safety answering points.

That charge carries a penalty of up to 2½ years in jail, a $1,000 fine and mandatory restitution to cover costs related to any damage that occurred from the fake call, according to Burton's signed criminal complaint.

The second charge is of disorderly conduct, which has a penalty of a fine of up to $150, according to the criminal complaint.

Burton said that in sending the fire truck to a fake call on June 15, Moran put the public in danger.

Hoose declined to comment on the case following Wednesday's arraignment.

Over the last two years, municipalities saw their toughest fiscal stretch since 1992, according to the report.

By KYLE CHENEY

BOSTON - Rocked by the economic downturn of the last few years, Massachusetts cities and towns have seen their budgets gored by cuts to local aid and may be forced to cope with revenue shortages for “the foreseeable future,” according to a report issued Wednesday by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

Over the last two years, municipalities saw their toughest fiscal stretch since 1992, according to the report, the foundation’s 41st annual assessment of municipal financial data. Revenue grew by 1.2 percent over the two years, with cuts in state aid and local receipts forcing cities and towns to depend more heavily than ever on property taxes, which supported 56.5 percent of local budgets, the report said.

Michael J. Widmer

The report could carry ramifications as the Patrick administration prepares to unveil a fiscal 2013 budget in January. After rising by nearly $2 billion in fiscal 2011, state government tax collections have continued to grow this fiscal year, leading to speculation about increases in local aid and services, even though administration officials have sought to tamp down clamoring for additional spending. But municipal officials have ripped a succession of cuts to local services over the past few years.

Asked Tuesday about whether positive economic signs warrant a local aid increase, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino swiped at lawmakers.

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

Property taxes grew 3.8 percent in 2011, the report concluded, the smallest annual increase since the implementation of Proposition 2 ½ -- a voter-approved policy that limits property tax hikes to 2.5 percent per year, unless residents vote to override the cap.

The report also found that local aid from Beacon Hill – the second largest source of revenue for cities and towns – has slid $534 million since fiscal 2009, with the bulk of cuts landing to unrestricted aid.

Local receipts, the third largest source of municipal revenue, fell for the second straight year, with declines in motor vehicle excise tax collections and investment income, which plummeted to $33.4 million in fiscal 2011 after reaching $118.9 million in 2009.

Local receipts, according to the report, would have fared worse were it not for local option meals and sales taxes backed by the Legislature in 2009. As a result of that legislation, according to the MTF report, more than 140 cities and towns have approved the local meals tax increase, generating $61 million, and 89 cities and town shave adopted the local hotel tax increase, generating $126 million.

In addition, municipal employee pensions and benefits are poised to consume a greater share of local budgets in the coming years.

“The constraints on municipal revenues heighten the urgency of addressing the escalating costs of employee and retiree benefits,” said Michael Widmer, president of the business-backed foundation, in a statement accompanying the report.

The report also concluded that a new law curbing certain collective bargaining powers of municipal unions is poised to generate budget savings “well in excess” of a $100 million estimate in its first full budget cycle.

But a $13 billion pension liability collectively facing cities and towns and a $25 billion liability for retiree health care could crush local budgets in the upcoming years, according to the report.

“Only a handful of communities have a plan to begin funding these liabilities, making it a near certainty that broad reforms and painful budget decisions will be necessary in the future,” according to the report.

Hudson is accused of murdering 23-year-old Nikolas Carnute.

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 – An arrest was made Tuesday in the shooting death of a Pittsfield man.

The Berkshire District Attorney’s office said Wednesday that 25-year-old Kurt Hudson was taken into custody in Columbia, S.C., on Tuesday night. Hudson was charged with the murder of 23-year-old Nikolas Carnute, who was found Sunday on a Pittsfield street. An autopsy found Carnute died from a single gunshot wound.

Hudson was held as a fugitive in South Carolina while prosecutors seek his return to Massachusetts.

Dale Singletary allegedly threatened to return and kill the woman.

Dale Singletary

SPRINGFIELD – Police arrested a 37-year-old city man after he allegedly assaulted a 63-year-old woman while trying to force his way into a Chestnut Street apartment building early Wednesday.

Sgt. John M. Delaney said the suspect, Dale Singletary, of 310 Pine St., threatened to kill the woman as police handcuffed him. According to Delaney, the suspect said “I’ll be back, remember me, I’m going to kill you.”

The incident began about 12:05 a.m. when the woman, just dropped off at 70 Chestnut St., attempted to the building. The suspect came up from behind and attempted to get inside, Delaney said.

When the woman told Singletary that the entrance is for residents only, he told her “Get back, I’m coming in one way or another,” Delaney, aide to Springfield Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet said.

The woman’s son then came to her rescue and forced the door shut. Officers Darren Fitzpatrick and Matthew Longo found the suspect in front of the building when they arrived.

Singletary was charged with assault and battery on an elderly person, armed burglary, assault, threatening to commit murder and trespassing, Delaney said.

Singletary was ordered held in lieu of $10,000 cash bail following his arraignment Wednesday in District Court. He denied the charges and was ordered to return on Jan. 5 for a pre-trial hearing.

The proposed property values will be available for public view at the Assessors Office and on the city of Springfield's website.

10/14/11 Springfield - Republican Photo by Mark M.Murray-. The house at 115 Sumner Ave, which was rescued by the Concerned Citizens For Springfield, Inc., will be having a reception October 23rd, to show case the home.

SPRINGFIELD – Beginning Thursday, the public will be able to view the proposed fiscal year 2012 property values.

The Assessors Office is disclosing the proposed values, which are pending preliminary certification. The values can be viewed at the Assessors Office and will also be on the city’s Web site at www.springfieldcityhall.com on Thursday, and will be provided to the city libraries.

The Assessors Office is open to public 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, and will be open Monday until 7 p.m. The office can also be reached at (413) 787-6160. Tax bills are slated to be mailed by the end of December.

State police say a crash involving two trucks has closed the southbound side of Interstate 495.

MARLBOROUGH — State police say a crash involving two trucks has closed the southbound side of Interstate 495 in the Marlborough area.

One of the tractor-trailers rolled over the crash. There was no immediate word if anyone was injured.

State police say traffic is being diverted off the highway before the accident scene.

The prototype agreement is shorter than most and written in plain language.

Submitted photoRich Cordray, Assistant director of Enforcement for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), left, listens as Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, encourages Congress to approve Cordray's nomination to head the CFPB, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, in Washington.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new, simpler style of credit card agreement is getting a government tryout to see if it's really easier to understand.

The independent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is testing a prototype agreement that is shorter than most and written in plain language. The new card contract will be tried at the Pentagon Federal Credit Union, one of the nation's largest credit unions.

The White House says a recent study shows about two-thirds of credit card users say they don't completely understand their cards' terms.

The announcement comes as the White House urges the Senate to confirm Richard Cordray to head the consumer bureau. Republicans have said they will block confirmation of anyone to head the agency until other regulators and Congress have more control over the bureau.

The woman said she won't stop feeding the birds because they "don't belong to the city, they belong to God."

AP Photo/The Daily Item of Lynn, Angela OwensIn this Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011 photo, Claire Butcher, 80, feeds ducks at Flax Pond in Lynn, Mass. Butcher was criminally charged Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, for refusing to stop feeding waterfowl at the pond.

LYNN — An 80-year-old old Lynn woman was criminally charged Wednesday because she refuses to stop feeding flocks of ducks and geese that officials say are littering a pond and park with waste.

An assistant magistrate at Lynn District Court on Wednesday charged Claire Butcher with violating a "no trespass" order issued against her in 2009, according to The Daily Item.

City officials say Butcher brings shopping carts full of bread to feed the birds at Flax Pond, with no regard for city rules against it or the neighbors who've repeatedly complained.

"It's to the point where's there's geese feces all over the park area and on her property," said city health director Mary Ann O'Connor.

After the decision Wednesday, Butcher told the Item she won't stop feeding the birds because they "don't belong to the city, they belong to God."

She faces a maximum punishment of a $100 fine and imprisonment of up to 30 days.

The 2009 "no trespass" order bans Butcher from entering all city parks, with bread or without. It warns that because of Butcher's prolific bird feeding "your presence at these locations may be adverse to the purpose of city property and the health of its citizens."

City attorney Vincent Phelan said Butcher has been cited a dozen times, at $100 a pop, for violating a city ordinance that prohibits feeding any wildlife at the pond. But it hasn't stopped her.

Butcher said she began feeding the ducks to ensure they have enough to eat as the cold weather approaches.

She laughed when asked by the newspaper before her court appearance if she was worried about being fined. "No, I'm not worried about being fined, because I never paid my fines before."

City Councilor Wayne Lozzi said when people feed the ducks or geese at Flax Pond, the birds stay in large numbers. He pointed to a playground next to the pond and said children have been unable to use it because of the animal waste.

"When there's literally 100 (birds) or more, they're overtaking our ball fields," he said.

Butcher said city officials and police should worry less about her bird feeding, and more about important issues, such as crime.

"Do they think there's no problems in Lynn that they have to chase after an 80-year-old woman?" she asked.

Murphy said his legislation would dovetail with a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Martha Coakley against five major banks over alleged violations of foreclosure laws.

By KYLE CHENEY

BOSTON - State Rep. Charles Murphy, who laid low for most of 2011 until he burst into open conflict with Speaker Robert A. DeLeo this week, turned back toward policymaking Wednesday, announcing the filing of legislation he said would aid homeowners facing foreclosure.

Charles Murphy

In an interview, the Burlington Democrat said his legislation would dovetail with a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Martha M. Coakley against five major banks over alleged violations of foreclosure laws.

The bill would force mortgage holders to record with registries of deeds anytime they transfer mortgages to a third party, preventing situations in which homeowners are unaware which company holds their mortgage. The proposal would also prohibit a practice by which large banks chopped up and dealt mortgages to one another through a repository known as the Mortgage Electronic Registration System without ever notifying registries.

Without this requirement, Murphy said, homeowners are often foreclosed upon by banks that do not actually hold title to their property, resulting a tangled thicket of litigation. In addition, banks have escaped paying hundreds of millions of dollars in fees by failing to record title transfers, Murphy argued.

“This honestly affects anyone who owns a home, a condo or real property,” Murphy said.

According to Murphy, Coakley’s lawsuit is primarily focused on how the banks handled “registered land,” which is overseen by the Land Court. Registered land makes up about 20 percent of property in Massachusetts and the law clearly requires banks to record title transfers, he said. Murphy said his bill would expand that requirement to the other 80 percent of the state’s land, known as “recorded land,” which falls within the purview of registries of deeds.

The bill would expand the powers of certain county registries of deeds, making them independent entities that don’t require secretary of state approval for management decisions. It would also ban “robo-signing,” a practice in which affidavits and sworn statements related to mortgage transfers are automatically notarized by company employees without knowledge of the contents of the documents.

“It’s a very important piece of legislation. My registry is a crime scene. We have over 36,000 fraudulent documents recorded here now,” said John O’Brien, Southern Essex County register of deeds since 1977, who is working with Murphy to advance the bill. “People are losing their homes in mass numbers because of the economy. But that doesn’t give the banks the right to come into my registry and record robo-signers and fraudulent documents … This is going to clear up a few inconsistencies and strengthen people’s rights and strengthen the rights of the registers of deeds.”

O’Brien has been pushing for an investigation into the Mortgage Electronic Registration System and whether it was shortchanging registries of deeds since November 2010.

Murphy said he’s not concerned that banks would view his proposal as an affront and limit their business in Massachusetts, as GMAC did after Coakley launched her lawsuit. He said presence of dozens of community banks would fill in the gaps.

He also said he isn’t worried that his loss of clout this week – he resigned his leadership post Tuesday moments before DeLeo was set to demote him – would impact his ability to advance his legislative priorities. “I’m not concerned about the politics in the building right now,” he said. “I’m concerned about homeowners.”

Murphy said he didn’t coordinate his proposal with Coakley’s office and said he had planned to file the bill later this month but filed it Tuesday after Coakley announced her suit. He added that the timing of the filing was unrelated to his acrimonious resignation.

Coakley’s lawsuit, filed Thursday in Suffolk Superior Court, names Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, Citi and GMAC.

Several of the banks named in the suit responded by criticizing Coakley for distracting from ongoing settlement negotiations with states around the country and initiating what could be a lengthy legal proceeding that will delay relief for homeowners. The banks also denied any illegal conduct.

“We continue to believe that a collaborative resolution rather than continued litigation will most quickly heal the housing market and help drive economic recovery. We're working closely with the Department of Justice, state attorneys general and other agencies to reach a fair and comprehensive solution to these critical issues,” Lawrence Grayson, a spokesman for Bank of America, said in a statement last week.

JP Morgan Chase spokesman Thomas Kelly said that bank was focused on reaching a more far-reaching settlement that would benefit homeowners around the country.
“We are disappointed that Massachusetts would take this action now when negotiations are ongoing with the attorneys general and the federal government on a broader settlement that could bring immediate relief to Massachusetts borrowers rather than years of contested legal proceedings,” Kelly said in a statement last week.

There will be refreshments and lyric books for anyone who's forgotten the words to Yuletide classics of the Christmas season.

St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Longmeadow

LONGMEADOW — Two Longmeadow churches will be holding a Christmas caroling event on the village green on Sunday, Dec. 18.

The free event begins at 5 p.m. and is a collaborative effort by the First Church of Christ in Longmeadow and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. The date, which was originally planned for Dec. 11, was moved to Dec. 18.

"All members of the community are invited to attend, whether or not you are a member of the churches," Deb Garrity, communications director for First Church, said in a release.

Participants are encouraged to bring candles or small flashlights and join in the festivities, which conclude with cookies and hot chocolate in Bailey Hall, located in the ground floor of First Church, 763 Longmeadow St.

Parking is available along the town green and in nearby lots behind Center School and the Longmeadow Community House.

Garrity said this is the third installation of what has become an annual town event.

There will be refreshments and lyric books for anyone who's forgotten the words to Yuletide classics of the Christmas season.