Quantcast
Channel: News
Viewing all 62489 articles
Browse latest View live

Massachusetts Department of Enviromental Protection calls for further review of permit for wood-burning plant in East Springfield

0
0

A hearing officer had recommended that the state's permit be finalized and an appeal dismissed.

051511 palmer renewable energy artist's rendering.JPGAn artist's rendering of the proposed Palmer Renewable Energy biomass plant off Page Boulevard in East Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD – State Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Kenneth Kimmell on Tuesday issued a decision that calls for further review of a state permit for a $150 million wood burning plant proposed in East Springfield, to determine the merits of an appeal filed by three opposition groups and 16 citizens.

Kimmell’s decision occurred after a hearing officer recently recommended that the state give final approval to the air permit for the biomass plant proposed by Palmer Renewable Energy, and dismiss the appeal. The hearing officer, Timothy M. Jones, also known as the presiding officer, had stated there was “no constitutional, statutory, or regulatory right supporting the petitioners’ standing for an administrative appeal.”

Kimmell was not convinced, keeping the matter of the petitioners’ standing under advisement. The state’s prior decisions “do not consistently address this area of the law, there is little judicial guidance on the issue, and there is a significant risk that whatever decision I reach on it will be the subject of judicial review, with an unpredictable outcome.”

“In the interest of mitigating this uncertainty, affording petitioners an opportunity to be heard, ensuring a complete record and timely disposition of the case, and resolving the important question of whether the Department erred in any material respect in issuing the permit in this case, I direct the parties and the Presiding Officer to focus their attention upon resolving the merits of this appeal,” Kimmell said.

The appeal was filed in July by the Conservation Law Foundation, the Toxics Action Center, Arise for Social Justice and 16 individuals.

Kimmell directed Jones and the various side in the appeal to explore if the case can be resolved “without evidentiary hearings, e.g., cross-motions for summary decision.”

If an evidentiary hearing is needed, Jones is directed to ensure the case is heard in March, as scheduled.

The City Council, meanwhile, is scheduled to meet Wednesday at 5 p.m., at City Hall to consider appealing two building permits recently issued for the biomass project. The permits allow first-phase construction to begin at the site, located at Page Boulevard and Cadwell Drive.

Opponents of the project say it will worsen pollution and threaten public health. Proponents say the project meets all air quality standards, and would not be harmful.

The three opposition groups that filed the appeal praised the commissioner’s decision in a joint statement:

“Yesterday’s decision by Massachusetts DEP Commissioner Kimmell sets aside last week’s flawed recommended decision that would have prevented affected members of the public from pursuing administrative appeals of the Palmer Renewable Energy (PRE) air permit," the statement read. "In doing so, the Commissioner cleared the path for the Petitioners – CLF, Arise, TAC and sixteen residents – to pursue their appeals on the merits of the case. We are pleased that the Commissioner did the right thing and we look forward to using this opportunity to show why the PRE air permit must not be granted, based on evidence demonstrating that the Power Plant's air emissions would further harm the health of residents already suffering from a disproportionate share of air pollution.”


Springfield Police Officer Jessica Hendersen uses fire extinguisher to put out spreading computer fire at Kiley Middle School

0
0

The fire spread to a second computer and then started to climb the wall.

032008 springfield police cruiser cropped.jpg

SPRINGFIELD – A fast-thinking police officer attached to M. Marcus Kiley Middle School used a fire extinguisher to put out a blaze that started in a desk-top computer and spread to a wall early Wednesday afternoon.

Fire Department spokesman Dennis Leger said that Officer Jessica Hendersen put out the blaze before firefighters arrived on scene.

The fire, reported in one of the classrooms shortly before 12:15 p.m., spread to a second computer and then started “climbing the wall,” Leger said.

No injuries were reported and the school, located at 180 Cooley Street, was temporarily evacuated. Leger said damage to computers and the wall is estimated at about $5,000.



Ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich gets 14 years in prison for corruption

0
0

Blagojevich’s 18 convictions included allegations of trying to leverage his power to appoint someone to President Barack Obama’s vacated Senate seat.

Rod Blagojevich, Patti BlagojevichFormer Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, left, gives the thumbs-up as he leaves his home with his wife Patti in Chicago, Wednesday, for the second day of his sentencing hearing on 18 corruption counts, including trying to auction off President Barack Obama's old Senate seat. (Photo by Charles Rex Arbogast)

CHICAGO – Rod Blagojevich, the ousted Illinois governor whose three-year battle against criminal charges became a national spectacle, was sentenced to 14 years in prison Wednesday, one of the stiffest penalties imposed for corruption in a state with a history of crooked politics.

Blagojevich’s 18 convictions included allegations of trying to leverage his power to appoint someone to President Barack H. Obama’s vacated Senate seat to raise campaign cash or land a high-paying job.

Judge James Zagel gave Blagojevich some credit for taking responsibility for his actions – which the former governor did in an address to the court earlier in the day – but said that didn’t mitigate his crimes. Zagel also said Blagojevich did some good things for people as governor, but was more concerned about using his powers for himself.

“When it is the governor who goes bad, the fabric of Illinois is torn and disfigured and not easily repaired,” Zagel said.

As the judge announced the sentence, Blagojevich hunched forward and his face appeared frozen. Minutes later, his wife, Patti Blagojevich, stood up and fell into her husband’s arms. He pulled back to brush tears off her cheek and then rubbed her shoulders.

The twice-elected Democrat is now the second former Illinois governor in a row to be sentenced to prison, and the fourth Illinois governor in the last four decades. His Republican predecessor, George Ryan, currently is serving a sentence of 6 1/2 years, also for corruption.

Blagojevich, in a last plea for mercy, tried something he never had before: an apology. After years of insisting he was innocent, he told the judge he’d made “terrible mistakes” and acknowledged that he broke the law.

“I’m here convicted of crimes ... ,” Blagojevich said, “and I am accepting of it, I acknowledge it and I of course am unbelievably sorry for it.”

But Zagel gave him little leeway, telling him that he gave him credit for taking responsibility but that his apology didn’t mitigate his crimes.

“Whatever good things you did for people as governor, and you did some, I am more concerned with the occasions when you wanted to use your powers when you wanted to do things that were only good for yourself.”

Blagojevich’s attorneys had said the sentence of 15 to 20 years prosecutors wanted was too harsh. The defense also presented heartfelt appeals from Blagojevich’s family, including letters from his wife Patti and one of his two daughters that pleaded for mercy.

But the judge made it clear early in the hearing that he believed that Blagojevich had lied on the witness stand when he tried to explain his scheming for the Senate seat, and he did not believe defense suggestions that the former governor was duped by his advisers.

The 54-year-old was not taken immediately into custody. In white-collar cases, convicted felons are usually given at least a few weeks to report to prison while federal authorities select a suitable facility. Blagojevich is expected to appeal his conviction, but it is unlikely to affect when he reports to prison.

Going into the sentencing, many legal experts said the governor – who became a national punch line while doing several reality TV appearances while his legal case unfolded – was likely to get around 10 years. A former Blagojevich fundraiser, Tony Rezko, recently was sentenced to 10 1/2 years, minus time served, and many were confident the governor would get more.

Prosecutors have said Blagojevich misused the power of his office “from the very moment he became governor.” He was initially elected in 2002 on a platform of cleaning up Illinois politics in the midst of federal investigations that led to the prosecution and conviction of Ryan.

“Blagojevich engaged in extensive criminal conduct with and without Rezko, provided no cooperation, perjured himself for seven days on the witness stand, and has accepted no responsibility for his criminal conduct,” prosecutors said. And they said Blagojevich, who campaigned as a reformer, was “acutely aware of the damage” Ryan had created.

Defense attorneys have said he has already paid a price in public ridicule and financial ruin, and propose a term of just a few years.

Blagojevich’s sentencing came just days before his 55th birthday on Saturday, and nearly three years to the day of his arrest at dawn on Dec. 9, 2008, when the startled governor asked one federal agent, “Is this a joke?” In a state where corruption has been commonplace, images of Blagojevich being led away in handcuffs still came as a shock.

It took two trials for prosecutors to snare Blagojevich on sweeping corruption charges. His first ended deadlocked with jurors 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 and attempted extortion.

FBI wiretap evidence proved decisive. In the most notorious recording, Blagojevich is heard crowing that his chance to name someone to Obama’s seat was “f ... ing golden” and he wouldn’t let it go “for f ... ng nothing.”

Blagojevich clearly dreaded the idea of prison time. Asked in an interview before his retrial about whether he dwelled on that prospect, he answered: “No. I don’t let myself go there.”

In the same interview, Blagojevich also explained that the family dog Skittles was bought after his arrest in to help his school-age daughters, Amy and Annie, cope with the stress of his legal troubles. He said he joked with them that, “If the worst happens (and I go to prison), you can get another dog and call him ‘daddy.’”

While Blagojevich will likely end up at a minimal security prison, he’ll be largely cut off from the outside world. Visits by family are strictly limited, Blagojevich will have to share a cell with other inmates and he must work an eight-hour-a-day menial job – possibly scrubbing toilets or mopping floors – at just 12 cents an hour.

Most of the prisons where Blagojevich could end up are outside Illinois. One is in Terre Haute, Ind., where Ryan is serving his own sentence.

Ex-Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky arrested on new sex abuse charges

0
0

The charges were brought after the new accusers were questioned by a grand jury.

Gerald \Former Penn State football defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, left, wearing handcuffs as he is escorted to the office of Centre County Magisterial District Judge Leslie A. Dutchcot, in State College, Pa., last month. A lawyer for a young man who accuses Sandusky of sexual abuse says he expects his client and at least five other alleged victims to testify at a preliminary hearing next week.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Ex-Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky was arrested Wednesday on new sex abuse charges brought by two new accusers

Authorities say Sandusky was arraigned Wednesday.

The charges were brought after the new accusers were questioned by a grand jury.

Both alleged victims were part of Sandusky’s Second Mile charity.

One claims he was assaulted in 1997 and the other in 2004.

A call seeking comment from Sandusky’s lawyer, Joseph Amendola, was not immediately returned.


More details on MassLive's sister website, PennLive.com.

UMass officials say agreement with Brazil should be boon for Western Massachusetts farmers

0
0

The agreement means a greater collaboration with the Brazil agricultural department.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval L. Patrick, center, joins representatives from the University of Massachusetts and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) and Embrapa's president Dr. Pedro Antônio Pereira Arraes in Brazil Monday to announce an agreement between Massachusetts’ and Brazil’s education and agricultural sectors.

AMHERST – University of Massachusetts professor Frank Mangan has been working in Brazil with Brazilian farmers for several years.

But a just signed agreement between the university and Brazil will be a “more official collaboration,” with that country’s agricultural department, he said.

It means an office at UMass for Brazilian scientists and researchers to come to “to collaborate with us to benefit farmers” in Brazil and Massachusetts, said the Stockbridge School of Agriculture Extension Associate Professor.

The agreement signed Monday between UMass and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation is part of Gov. Deval L. Patrick's Massachusetts-Brazil Innovation Economy Mission 2011.

Massachusetts has a Brazilian population of about 250,000, Mangan said, largely in the Eastern part of the state but also in Chicopee and Springfield.

That means a market for crops they are used to eating in their native country, some of which are being grown by farmers here. The collaboration should help expand that local market and provide more opportunities for local farmers.

But the agreement also means that during the growing season here, Brazil will not export those things that can be grown here, said Brazilian graduate student Zoraia Barros.

She is working with farmers to grow crops such as Abóbora, a kind of squash, or Taioba a leafy green similar to spinach, and has been promoting them at Whole Foods in the state.
“I promote local vegetables. The main problem, we have a short season.” So she has to reestablish the market again.

But with the agreement, Brazil will export the produce for the months the crops cannot grow here and not export them when they can.

Mangan said the promotion here helps Brazil by expanding the market in this country for this and other kinds of produce grown there. “Instead of competing with Brazil, we work collaboratively.”

The agreement also means that local growers will be able to get the same price as the exported products and also has the potential to expand the market out of state.
“We want to protect our growers,” Barros said.

Mangan said they are currently working with 28 Whole Foods Markets selling the produce.

People can still find local Abóbora in the markets and at the Amherst winter farmer’s market, Barros said. It lasts about six months and gets sweeter with time, she said.

The agreement also means greater collaboration with researchers as well to see what else can be raised here.

As part of the program, Brazil will pay for students to study outside of Brazil the memorandum includes a goal to bring 25 to the College of Natural Sciences, Mangan said.

PM News Links: Sources say David Ortiz will return, Connecticut workers being investigated for food stamp fraud and more

0
0

Carolers singing "O Christmas Tree" crashed Rhode Island's Statehouse tree lighting on Tuesday after Gov. Lincoln Chafee unwrapped a holiday hubbub by calling the 17-foot spruce a "holiday" tree.

Holiday Tree FlapPeople walk by a tree referred to as a "holiday tree" by Gov. Lincoln Chafee in the rotunda of the statehouse in Providence, R.I. Tuesday. Click on the link above, right for a report from WCVB-TV in Boston that tells about a group of Christmas carolers who crashed a holiday tree event. (Photo by Elise Amendola)

  • Sources tell radio station David Ortiz will sign new contract with Boston Red Sox [CBS Boston.com]

  • Up to 24 Connecticut employees being investigated for food stamp fraud [Hartford Courant]

  • Christmas carolers crash Rhode Island 'Holiday Tree' festivities (video) [WCVB-TV, Channel 5, Boston]

  • With bad weather expected, state police offer safe driving tips [WSHM-TV, CBS3, Springfield]

  • Obama administration refuses to relax 'morning after pill' restrictions [Washington Post]

  • 48-year-old Weymouth man accused of assaulting 85-year-old in road rage incident [Patriot Ledger]

  • Flood watch issued for Central Massachusetts [Telegram & Gazette]

  • Former Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy expecting child [WPRI-TV, Channel 12, Providence]

  • Twitter posts tagged #westernma in Western Mass. [MassLive.com]

  • Read more News Links »

  • Do you have News Links? Send them our way or tweet them to @masslivenews
  • NOTE: Users of modern browsers can open each link in a new tab by holding 'control' ('command' on a Mac) and clicking each link.

    Western Massachusetts ceremonies honor those who died in Japanesse attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941

    0
    0

    Ceremonies in Easthampton and Springfield also observed Pearl Harbor's 70th anniversary.

    mw pearl harbor 3.jpgPaul W. Nimchick, left, American Legion Post 124 chaplin, watches as Pearl Harbor survivors Charles Lockhart, center, of East Longmeadow, and Robert A. Greenleaf of Westfield, left, drop a wreath of flowers into the Little River in a ceremony to honor those who lost their lives in the Dec. 7 1941 attack on the Pearl Harbor. Members of various veterans organizations took park in the ceremony Wednesday at the Pearl Harbor Memorial at Little River Road and and Route 20.

    WESTFIELD – A steady rain Wednesday was “a small sacrifice” for those who attended ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

    “This is but a small sacrifice for us as we remember the 2,388 military and civilians who lost their lives that day and the 2,000 wounded during that sneak attack,” Walter J. Zarichak, past commander of Westfield’s American Legion Post 124 told veterans and other who gathered at the Air National Guard Bridge for the city’s annual remembrance.

    Memorial ceremonies were also held in Springfield and Easthampton Wednesday.

    In Springfield, the city conducted a Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, and also presented the annual “Daniel P. O’Sullivan Award” to Robert J. Shonak, a city employee for more than 40 years.

    The ceremony was conducted at the Greenleaf Community Center on Parker Street in Sixteen Acres.

    “We should always remember the quote that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said: ‘a date that will live in infamy,’” said Springfield Veterans Affairs Director Thomas M. Belton Sr. “We should take time out to just to remember what happened this date 70 years ago.”

    In Easthampton, members of Easthampton American Legion Post, Northampton Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8006 and the Northampton Veterans Council tossed a wreath off the Pearl Harbor Veterans Bridge on Route 5 in honor of the Pearl Harbor anniversary. The tribute was tied to coincide with a similar event in Hawaii at 7:55 a.m., the time the attach took place.

    Gerry Clark, a Vietnam veteran who is president of the Northampton Veterans Council, said he was glad to see such a turnout in the rain.

    “A lot of places don’t think about it,” he said.
    Gallery preview

    Only a handful of the veterans in attendance served in World War II, and none were at Pearl Harbor. Walter Sliz, 90, of Easthampton, who was in the Coast Guard during World War II, said Pearl Harbor was the event that made him enlist.

    “I was going to play soccer and they nailed me,” he said of joining the service. “What are you going to do?”

    Fran Perrier, 81, was only 11 on the “day of infamy,’ too young to enlist, although he served in Korea. Perrier said he was so upset by the bombing that he took a hammer and smashed his mother’s collection of salt and pepper shakers.

    “I thought she was going to kill me,” he said.

    Westfield’s guest speaker Paul J. Barabani, superintendent of Holyoke’s Soldiers’ Home, noted that “ceremonies like this demonstrate the Commonwealth’s support of veterans from all eras. The Commonwealth treats its veterans with the respect they deserve.

    “They have preserved our freedom and those who have come home keep our country moving forward,” said Barabani.

    Mayor Daniel M. Knapik promised “Westfield will never forget this day nor our veterans.”

    Robert A. Greenleaf, 89, Westfield’s living survivor of Pearl Harbor, was joined by East Longmeadow’s attack survivor Charles Lockart, 88, to drop a memorial wreath in the waters of Little River below the Air National Guard Bridge.

    Greenleaf said he is looking forward to the return of the remembrance to the Great River Bridge next year once the total $77 million bridge construction and replacement project is complete. That project includes creation of a new Frank P. Wojtkiewicz Park. Wojtkiewicz was killed with the sinking of the battleship USS Arizona.

    Wojtkiewicz’ sister-in-law Jane E. Wendell of West Simsbury, Conn. continued her annual attendance at Westfield’s ceremony. She was joined by niece Nancy Krause of Torrington, Conn.

    The O’Sullivan Award is named in memory of a 29-year Springfield city employee, code enforcement commissioner and Vietnam Veteran who died in 2001. The award is presented annually to a veteran employed by Springfield who “has continued diligence in their work and has consistently practiced courtesy and fairness in dealing with the public and fellow employees.”

    The award was presented by Belton and Mayor Domenic J. Sarno.

    Shonak works for the Human Resources and Labor Relations Department as the city’s safety and health training manager, and is also deputy director of emergency preparedness. He has worked for various city departments and the school system.

    He served in the U.S. Navy and Navy Reserve and did active duty in Vietnam in 1970-71.

    “It’s kind of overwhelming,” Shonak said of the O’Sullivan Award. “There are so many other veterans who are employees of the city. I am humbled and feel like I represent them today.”


    Staff writers Peter Goonan and Fred Contrada contributed to this report.

    Arson and attempted murder trial of Joseph Gonzalez in hands of Hampden Superior Court jury

    0
    0

    Firefighter Martin Burgos testified it's very different when your own family's house is on fire.

    SCT_FIRE_1_7903739.JPGMartin Burgos, left, talks with Deputy Chief Robert A. Pereira on Nov. 13, 2010, at the scene of the fire.

    SPRINGFIELD – City firefighter Martin Burgos was on the witness stand Wednesday, testifying at the trial of a man accused of setting fire to the house where Burgos’ mother and other relatives lived.

    When asked by defense lawyer Terrence M. Dunphy why he did not include more detail in his report about the fire, Burgos said, “It’s something different when you go to a fire and it’s someone else’s fire....I was thinking, ‘My family, my family.’”

    A Hampden Superior Court jury is scheduled to continue deliberations Thursday in the case against Joseph Gonzalez after hearing closing arguments Wednesday afternoon.

    Gonzalez, 29, of Holyoke, is on trial for one count of arson of a dwelling house and nine counts of attempted murder, one for each person who was in the house at the time of the fire at about 10 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2010.

    Assistant District Attorney James M. Forsyth told jurors that although no one saw Gonzalez pour gasoline on the porch and start the fire, Gonzalez was the only one who threatened to cause the occupants harm that day.

    Joseph Gonzalez 2010.jpgJoseph W. Gonzalez

    “Lo and behold in a very short amount of time the house was on fire,” Forsyth said.

    Dunphy told jurors they should acquit Gonzalez, saying there was no evidence at all tying him to the fire or even showing he was in the neighborhood or city when the fire was set.

    Gonzalez is also charged with two counts of killing or maiming an animal.

    Burgos and Vanessa Villaronga testified when Gonzalez left the 85 Rochelle St. home earlier that morning, after arguing with Villaronga and having a physical confrontation with Burgos, Gonzalez threatened their lives.

    Villaronga said Gonzalez, the father or her then 1½-year-old son, threatened to come back and burn the house down.

    Burgos, who owns the home but does not live there, said he was having coffee with his mother when they heard a loud bang and saw the front of the house on fire.

    He said right away the fire got terribly hot. “It was rolling,” he said.

    Burgos said he told everyone in the kitchen to get out the back door, and called the Fire Department, where he has worked for 10 years, saying “This is Marty Burgos. Come down quick.”

    He got a ladder, put it up against the side of the house and broke a window on the second floor. His brother-in-law was saying he couldn’t get Burgos’ stepsister to go to the window.

    “I picked her up and put her on the ladder. She was in shock. I was worried about flashover, you could see the signs,” Burgos said.

    “I’ve seen many fires, many fires,” Burgos said. “This one here it burned a hotter hot.”

    His mother told him her four Chihuahuas and her birds were still in the house.

    “I tried,” Burgos said. “It was too hot. I called them by name.”

    Two dogs were dead and burned up and two others were found dead but not burned in a bedroom, he said.

    Villaronga testified Gonzalez came to the house that morning wanting to take the child, but she saw he was drunk and would not let him see the boy.


    West Springfield residents debate pros and cons of new public library

    0
    0

    Most residents spoke in favor of building a new $13.4 million public library in West Springfield during a Town Council public hearing.

    west springfield seal

    WEST SPRINGFIELD – More than a dozen residents gave lively testimony for about two hours Monday night on the pros and cons of moving forward to build a new $13.4 million public library.

    They were among the more than 100 people who packed a public hearing by the Town Council on a request by Mayor Edward J. Gibson to authorize $7.1 million in bonding to help pay for the proposed new library. The balance of the funding, about $6.3 million, is to come from a grant awarded the city by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

    Gibson has said it is important to move the project forward because the city must have all its financing in place by Jan. 30 in order to receive the state grant. Plans call for moving the library from its downtown location on Park Street to the site of Mittineague School. That school would be torn down to make way for the new library and its students sent to Tatham School.

    While most speakers expressed support for a new library, there were some who argued against it on the grounds that it will cast too great a burden on taxpayers coming on top of a new high school building project.

    “Nobody has said yet how much it will cost to tear down Mittineague School. Where is all this money going to come from?” Anthony Cestari of Amostown Road said. “At one point the library will be a thing of the past because of the electronic age.”

    A number of residents urged building it, arguing a library is an important community resource and the present building is inadequate as well as not being fully accessible to the handicapped.

    Charlotte Pasquerella of North Boulevard Street testified that she sees parents who do not have home computers using library computers to help their children with their homework.

    “Please allow the state to give us money. It has nothing to do with closing a school at this point,” former Town Councilor Cynthia J. Romaniak said.

    After about two hours of testimony the council opted by a 7-2 vote to continue the public hearing to the council’s next meeting, which will take place at 7 p.m. Dec. 19.

    Library Director Antonia Golinski-Foisy spoke first, saying that the only site the state would award a grant for was Mittineague School.

    “We have never intended for this to be a battle over Mittineague,” she said, explaining that the decision to eventually close that elementary school was made by the city and the School Committee.

    She also pointed out that if private fundraising in the works raises the projected $2 million for the project the city would have to borrow only about $5.1 million for the project.

    If the city does not approve bonding, she said, the grant will go to another community in the funding pipeline.

    Matthew Blumenfeld, a principal with Financial Development Agency Inc. of Amherst, the consulting company hired to run the fund-raising campaign, spoke briefly.

    He said the library project would add about $30 a year to the property tax bill of the average homeowner in West Springfield. Blumenfeld said that despite buzz about electronic media, library use has increased “counter intuitively” in recent years. From 1994 to 2004, use rose 61 percent, according to him.

    About 15,000 residents of the city, which has a population of about 28,000, have library cards, Blumenfeld said.

    Gun recovered from teens in Old Hill arrest traced back to Atlanta police department

    0
    0

    How the firearm belonging to the Atlanta police ended up in the hands to two teens in Springfield remains a mystery, police said.

    SPRINGFIELD - City police have determined the 9mm handgun that was recovered with the arrest of two teens on Manhattan Street early Tuesday was a service-issue weapon belonging to the Atlanta Police Department.

    But how the firearm, with the barrel inscription “Atlanta Police Department,” ended up in Springfield and in the hands of two boys, age 14 and 16, remains a mystery, said Sgt. John Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William Fitchet.

    “We have no idea,” he said.

    The police firearm could have been lost or stolen in Atlanta and then changed hands several times before ending up in Springfield, he said.

    “A gun will be stolen and traded, stolen and traded and stolen,” he said.

    The two boys were arrested on Alden Street after a brief chase from Manhattan Street, where a Shotspotter alert notified police of several gunshots. Their names were not
    release due to their age.

    Springfield police have contacted the Atlanta police, he said.

    Atlanta Police Department spokesman Sgt. Curtis Davenport said he was not aware of the Springfield case and could not confirm if his department had been contacted by Springfield police.

    The Atlanta Police Department has since 2008 has issued .40 caliber Smith&Wesson handguns to its officers.

    Sen. Scott Brown joins New England collegues in push to save low income heating assistance

    0
    0

    With 45 percent or $2.13 billion of the 2011 funding level in danger of being cut by the Obama Administration, Brown said the 4.7 billion in funding is a lifeline to New England residents in need.

    Andy TaskerAndy Tasker stands outside the home where he lives in Auburn, Maine, on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011. Maine officials say they've been told by the federal government that the state will receive a major reduction in heating assistance funding this season. (AP Photo/Pat Wellenbach)

    WASHINGTON D.C. – With winter weather in the forecast as well as the rear-view, Republican Sen. Scott Brown has joined other New England senators in the push to block proposed cuts to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

    With 45 percent or $2.13 billion of the 2011 funding level in danger of being cut by the Obama Administration, Brown said the full 4.7 billion in funding is a lifeline to New England residents in need.

    “Home heating is a basic need and a matter of survival in New England. Sadly, the October snowstorm was a sobering reminder of that fact," Brown said in a statement. "I again call on the Obama Administration and Congressional leaders to maintain heating aid for Massachusetts’ low income families and seniors. With the economy still weak and winter upon us, assistance is critical, and lives truly depend on the timely and full funding of LIHEAP.”

    Brown's actions Wednesday put him in line with Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, Democratic Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who stood together this week arguing against any proposed cuts.

    The Obama administration's proposed cuts to the assistance fund, which provides money to help pay heating bills for qualified poor families, are slightly less in the Congressional proposals.

    The House of Representatives is considering cutting $1.4 billion from 2011 levels while the Senate has proposed $1.1 billion.

    In 2010, $5.1 billion was allocated for LIHEAP along with a $490 million contingency fund.

    Wall Street: Stocks close mixed as traders await news on European debt crisis

    0
    0

    The Dow Jones industrial average closed 46 points higher.

    NEW YORK - Optimism about a European debt crisis summit this week rose and fell on Wednesday, but U.S. stock indexes barely budged. The Dow Jones industrial average closed 46 points higher, while other indicators were mixed.

    Hopes have been building for the summit, which wraps up Friday. Traders hope it will generate a lasting solution to the two-year-old debt crisis.

    On Wednesday, French and German leaders sought to downplay those expectations. Traders hope that European countries will link their budgets more closely and impose greater fiscal discipline on heavily indebted nations like Greece. Officials said Wednesday that a deal this week might include only some countries, and crafting a fuller plan might take until Christmas.

    “The pattern has been, get your hopes up, then be disappointed by EU summits, and that pattern has been in place for a while,” said Steve Van Order, fixed income strategist at Calvert Investment Management.

    The Dow rose 46.24 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at 12,196.37. Its biggest gains came from financial companies. JPMorgan Chase & Co. rose 2.3 percent, Bank of America Corp. rose 1.9 percent and insurance giant Travelers Cos. Inc. rose 1.8 percent. Machinery maker Caterpillar Inc. fell 1.1 percent, the most in the Dow 30.

    The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 2.54 points, or 0.2 percent, at 1,261.01. The Nasdaq composite index lost 0.35, or 0.01 percent, to 2,649.21.

    The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.03 percent from 2.09 percent late Tuesday.

    Traders have been growing restless with the delays in getting a resolution to Europe’s debt crisis. Rating agencies have warned of possible downgrades for nations using the euro if they do not quickly set a firm plan for solving the two-year-old ordeal.

    In Europe, yields on Spanish and Italian government debt rose. That means investors are demanding higher returns because of fears that one of those nations might default. Borrowing costs for Spain and Italy had fallen sharply until Tuesday, having reached dangerously high levels a week earlier. European stocks were mostly lower. Germany’s DAX fell 0.6 percent, Britain’s FTSE 0.4 percent.

    In corporate news:

    • Struggling women’s clothing company Talbots Inc. jumped 70 percent after private-equity firm Sycamore Partners made a $205.2 million takeover offer.

    • Men’s Wearhouse Inc. surged 20 percent after reporting third-quarter results that topped Wall Street’s expectations. The company also raised its full-year earnings forecast.

    • SAIC Inc. rose 6.6 percent after the defense contractor reported results that beat Wall Street’s expectations.

    • First Solar Inc. jumped 4 percent after the company reached a deal to sell a planned California energy farm to MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co.

    Solar project approved for Palmer

    0
    0

    Interest in solar installations is increasing, as the Planning Board also has received inquiries about two other potential sites.

    PALMER – The Planning Board this week approved a site plan for Solventerra LLC, clearing the way for the Boston-based company to construct a 1.25-megawatt solar project on 5.5 acres at 69A Boston Road.

    “There’s still some work to be done, but we’re really excited about bringing solar power to Palmer ... We are excited about working with the family to bring the benefits of solar power to them,” Roger M. Freeman, Solventerra’s chief executive officer, said.

    Freeman said he hopes that the $4 million ground-mounted installation off Route 67 will be completed next summer, during the peak harvesting time for solar energy. Financing still needs to be finalized, he said.

    Kenneth N. Langevin, whose partner Susan Draper owns the property where the solar installation will be built, said they will continue to operate a hay farm on the remainder of the 31 acres.

    Langevin said the project has the support of his neighbors. One told him he is glad that the land is not being developed for housing.

    The project will feature 5,424 solar photovoltaic panels mounted in rows on a metal racking system in the northern part of the property. The panels will be approximately 3 feet off the ground in the front and double stacked to be approximately 7 feet off the ground in the back.

    Freeman said it should generate 1,500 megawatt hours, which would meet electricity needs for 175 homes for a year. The project also will supply power to the Draper property, he said. Solventerra will lease the land from Draper for 20 years.

    Town Planner Linda G. Leduc said the company addressed the board's concerns about stormwater, which were voiced at the last hearing.

    The project ensures the land remains an active working farm and also maintains its rural character, Freeman said. During construction it will create 15 jobs, he said. He said this type of project will remove 840 tons of carbon from the air – it displaces the fuels that would otherwise be burned to generate electricity.

    Freeman said the company is looking at other sites in Palmer for more projects.

    One that is under consideration is the Browne farm off State Street in the Bondsville section, where 15 acres out of the 58 would be used, according to information provided by the Planning Board.

    Sheila Browne said they have been talking to Solventerra for about a year, and said this section was once used to grow corn. The remaining 40 acres is a hay farm.

    “When they proposed this idea, we thought, ‘Wow. Solar would be a great use of the land,’” Browne said.

    She said they are interested in removing the parcel intended for the solar project from its Chapter 61A agriculture designation – a designation that gives the owners tax reduction status.

    The decision to remove it is up to the town manager, as the town has the right of first refusal on the property. Draper also has sent a letter to the town asking to remove the parcel for the solar project from 61A.

    In other news, the Planning Department also received information that Mark Investment is interested in purchasing the Burgundy Brook Farm property at 3090 Palmer St. with the intent of creating a renewable solar energy project there. The property is home to Blue Star Equiculture, a draft horse sanctuary, and a restaurant. Six acres would remain farmland, with 123 used for the solar project.

    Farm owner Thomas Roberts Jr. did not return a call seeking comment.

    New casino law exempt from ballot repeal, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley says

    0
    0

    The attorney general said under a provision in the state constitution, no law that appropriates money for current or ordinary expenses ... can be the subject of a referendum to repeal.

    BOSTON - Attorney General Martha M. Coakley said Wednesday that the new casino law is shielded from a possible referendum to repeal the law.

    In a letter released Wedesday afternoon, Coakley said she has reviewed the casino law and concluded that it would violate the state Constitution to allow a repeal referendum on the issue. In the letter to Secretary of State William F. Galvin, Coakley said that under a provision in the constitution, no law that appropriates money for current or ordinary expenses ... can be the subject of a referendum to repeal.

    Coakley cited the law's appropriation of $15 million for the start-up and
    operational costs of the proposed Massachusetts Gaming Commission, which would license and regulate casinos, and $500,000 for the operation of a division of gaming enforcement within her office.

    Each of those appropriations causes the law to be excluded from the referendum process, she wrote.

    The attorney general said the drafters of the constitution wanted to prevent the referendum process from being used to "hold up" projects and programs supported by the Legislature.

    As with all her rulings on proposed ballot questions, Coakley said, her review on the possible casino referendum was governed solely by the legal criteria in the state constitution. "My conclusions do not reflect any policy views I may have on the merits of expanded gaming," Coakley wrote.

    John Ribeiro, of Winthrop, chairman of Repeal the Casino Deal, said he was disappointed but not surprised by Coakley's ruling.

    Ribeiro said he believed that state legislators inserted the appropriations into the casino law -- instead of approving them separately -- in order to inoculate casinos from a possible repeal.

    "This is a minor setback," he said. "We won't be deterred."

    The group may appeal Coakley's ruling to the state Supreme Judicial Court, he said.

    If the repeal effort goes forward, activists would have 90 days from approval of the law to collect at least 34,456 signatures of registered voters to qualify the repeal referendum for next year's ballot.

    If the group does appeal to the high court, it may seek permission from state officials to collect signatures while awaiting the court's decision, he said.

    A week ago, Repeal the Casino Deal filed a petition with the secretary of state to place a referendum on the ballot in November of next year that would ask voters to strike down the law to legalize casinos.

    Galvin sent the petition to Coakley to determine if the casino law is exempt from a possible referendum to repeal.

    Obituaries today: Philip Ehnstrom, 72, of Springfield; worked for Baystate Medical Center, active with Baptist churches, Mason lodges

    0
    0

    Obituaries from The Republican today.

    Philip Ehnstrom 12711.jpgPhilip Ehnstrom

    SPRINGFIELD - Philip Ehnstrom, 72, of Helberg Road, died Monday at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. Born in Gardner, on Nov. 25, 1939, he was the son of the late Alf S. and Gladys M. (Abel) Ehnstrom, Sr. He moved to Springfield while in the fourth grade. He graduated from the former Springfield Trade High School. He had been employed by Baystate Medical Center for 38 years in the engineering department. He was a member of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Hampden and had previously been a member of First Baptist Church in East Longmeadow, and had sung in the choir at Trinity United Methodist Church in Springfield. An active mason, he was a member of the Indian Orchard Lodge of Masons, where hs served as potent master three times; a member of York Rite, Springfield Commandery; Scottish Rite; was Master of the 5th Lodge of Instruction; Past District Deputy Grand Master of the Springfield 18th Masonic District; recipient of the Joseph Warren Medal; a 33rd degree Mason; a member of Melha Shriners and the Drum Corps, Vintage Auto Unit, and member and past president of the Past Masters Association at Melha, and played the role of Squire Jervis Flack in the Masons' production of "December's Rose."

    Obituaries from The Republican:


    Northampton commission suspends Eclipse restaurant liquor license for violations

    0
    0

    John Casey Douglass, the chef and owner of Apollo Grill in Easthampton, said he is considering buying into Eclipse.

    hfc eclipse rest.jpgEclipse Restaurant at 186 Main St. in Northampton will be dry until Saturday.

    NORTHAMPTON – Accepting a recommended agreement between the owner and police, the License Commission suspended the liquor license of Eclipse restaurant for three days Wednesday.

    Eclipse was on the agenda for a violation hearing regarding an Oct. 30 incident in which police say the restaurant served alcohol to four underage Smith College students. Police Chief Russell P. Sienkiewicz told the commission that owner Jean Weller had agreed to surrender the license immediately and refrain from selling alcohol until Saturday.

    As the incident was recounted by commission chairman Brad Shimel, chef Zachariah Gorham admitted to serving the four girls on a night when Eclipse was without electricity because of the pre-Halloween snowstorm. When the girls returned to their dormitory that night, a resident adviser noticed they were intoxicated and saw one of them was vomiting in the dormitory bathroom. After the girls admitted that they had been drinking at Eclipse, the adviser notified police.

    According to police reports, officers arrived at Eclipse shortly before 10 p.m. to find Gorham naked and in the company of a partially clad woman identified as his girlfriend. Gorham told the officers he had thrown a Halloween party for friends, cooking food that would otherwise have gone bad because of the power outage. Gorham also said he was about to have sex with his girlfriend.

    Gorham was not present at the hearing, but Weller, his mother, told the commissioners that she felt the agreement with police was a fair resolution. Weller declined to comment further to reporters, referring questions to John Casey Douglass, who described himself as her consultant and a potential partner in Eclipse.

    The chef and owner of Apollo Grill in Easthampton, Douglass said he is considering buying into Eclipse, which is at 186 Main St.

    “There are a lot of attractive things about the business,” Douglass said, citing its location as one.

    Douglass said he has learned to adjust to popular demand, turning the Apollo Grill from a high-end eatery into a family restaurant. He also managed Venus and the Cellar Bar in Easthampton, which closed after a short run. If Douglass becomes the manager of Eclipse, he said, Gorham would remain as chef.

    “Zach can really cook,” he said. “This would help him showcase his skill set.”

    Although he had hoped for a suspended sentence, Douglass said the agreement was acceptable.

    “We just want to move on,” he said.

    Under the terms of the agreement, Weller may pick up her license at the police station on Saturday and resume selling alcohol.

    Palmer Renewable Energy biomass plant building permits will be appealed by Springfield City Council

    0
    0

    A financial analysis has estimated the appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals will cost $350.

    SPRINGFIELD – The City Council on Wednesday voted 9-2 to file an appeal, seeking to overturn two building permits that were granted last month to Palmer Renewable Energy for a $150 million wood burning biomass plant in East Springfield.

    tosado.JPGJose F. Tosado

    The appeal will be filed with the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals for a future hearing. The permits were granted to the company by Code Enforcement Commissioner Steven T. Desilets to allow first phase construction of the biomass plant at Page Boulevard and Cadwell Drive.

    A council vote was scheduled by Nov. 28, but was blocked by a seldom-used procedural rule that sought a financial analysis of the cost of the appeal.

    With councilors not planning to hire a lawyer for the local appeal, City Comptroller Patrick Burns in his financial analysis estimated the cost of the appeal at $50 for filing fees and $300 for required advertising.

    Council President Jose F. Tosado, speaking in favor of the appeal, said the council as the elected representatives of the city “has a moral obligation and moral duty to do everything we possibly can to represent the wishes of the citizens of Springfield.”

    jimmyferrera.jpgJames Ferrera III

    He and other councilors said they think Desilets, also known as the building commissioner, overstepped his authority in granting the building permit, as a special permit was revoked by the council in May. Desilets, citing a legal opinion from the city solicitor and his own interpretation of the local and state laws, said he was authorized to grant the building permits, but the developer would proceed at his own risk due to appeals.

    Councilor James J. Ferrera III, who opposed the appeal, said he has “full confidence in the building commissioner and his department.

    Councilor Kateri B. Walsh also opposed the appeal.

    Voting in favor of the appeal were: Thomas M. Ashe, Zaida Luna, Michael A. Fenton, Melvin A. Edwards, E. Henry Twiggs, Amaad I. Rivera, Timothy C. Allen, John A. Lysak and Tosado. Councilors Clodovaldo and Timothy J. Rooke were absent.

    2 new breast cancer drugs offer big promise

    0
    0

    The new drugs, pertuzumab and everolimus, are some of the first major developments since Herceptin came out in 1998.

    By MARILYNN MARCHIONE | AP Chief Medical Writer

    120411 rachel midgett breast cancer new drug.jpgRachel Midgett of Houston, Texas, center, heads down to the start line with friends Laura Kopytkiewicz, left, and Ashley Paulsen to run in the half marathon of the Las Vegas Marathon, in Las Vegas on Sunday. Afflicted with breast cancer, Midgett has been taking the drug Afinitor for the last nine months and said that the cancer has not progressed in that time period, longer than other cancer drugs she has taken in the past. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

    SAN ANTONIO – Breast cancer experts are cheering what could be some of the biggest advances in more than a decade: two new medicines that significantly delay the time until women with very advanced cases get worse.

    In a large international study, an experimental drug from Genentech called pertuzumab held cancer at bay for a median of 18 months when given with standard treatment, versus 12 months for others given only the usual treatment. It also strongly appears to be improving survival, and follow-up is continuing to see if it does.

    "You don't see that very often. ... It's a spectacular result," said one study leader, Dr. Sandra Swain, medical director of Washington Hospital Center's cancer institute.

    In a second study, another drug long used in organ transplants but not tried against breast cancer — everolimus, sold as Afinitor by Novartis AG — kept cancer in check for a median of 7 months in women whose disease was worsening despite treatment with hormone-blocking drugs. A comparison group that received only hormonal medicine had just a 3-month delay in disease progression.

    Afinitor works in a novel way, seems "unusually effective" and sets a new standard of care, said Dr. Peter Ravdin, breast cancer chief at the UT Health Science Center in San Antonio. He has no role in the work or ties to drugmakers. Most patients have tumors like those in this study — their growth is fueled by estrogen.

    Results were released Wednesday at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium and some were published online by the New England Journal of Medicine. They come a few weeks after federal approval was revoked for another Genentech drug, Avastin, that did not meaningfully help breast cancer patients. It still is sold for other tumor types.

    The new drugs are some of the first major developments since Herceptin came out in 1998. It has become standard treatment for a certain type of breast cancer.

    "These are powerful advances ... an important step forward," said Dr. Paul Burstein, a breast expert at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston who had no role in the studies.

    A reality check: The new drugs are likely to be very expensive — up to $10,000 a month — and so far have not proved to be cures. Doctors hope they might be when given to women with early-stage cancers when cure is possible, rather than the very advanced cases treated in these studies.

    Even short of a cure, about 40,000 U.S. women each year have cancer that spreads beyond the breast, and treatment can make a big difference in their lives.

    Rachel Midgett is an example. The 39-year-old Houston woman has breast cancer that spread to multiple parts of her liver, yet she ran a half-marathon in Las Vegas on Sunday. She has had three scans since starting on Afinitor nine months ago, and "every time, my liver lesions keep shrinking," she said.

    "My quality of life has been wonderful. It's amazing. I have my hair. ... If you saw me you wouldn't even know I have cancer."

    Genentech, part of the Switzerland-based Roche Group, applied Tuesday to the federal Food and Drug Administration for permission to sell pertuzumab (per-TOO-zoo-mab) as initial treatment for women like those in the study.

    The drug targets cells that make too much of a protein called HER2 — about one of every four or five breast cancer cases. Herceptin attacks the same target but in a different way, and the two medicines complement each other.

    The study tested the combination in 808 women from Europe, North and South America and Asia and found a 6-month advantage in how long the cancer stayed stable. All women also received a chemotherapy drug, docetaxel.

    "That's a huge improvement" in such advanced cases, said study leader Dr. Jose Baselga, associate director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. He is a paid consultant for Roche.

    So far, 165 deaths have occurred — 96 among the 406 women given Herceptin and chemo alone, and only 69 among the 402 women also given pertuzumab. Doctors won't know whether the drug affects survival until there are more deaths.

    The most common side effects were diarrhea, rash and low white blood cell counts, which often occur with cancer treatment. The dual treatment did not cause more heart problems — an issue with other Herceptin combinations.

    "We're really pleased that there were no new safety signals" and that pertuzumab is so promising, said Dr. Sandra Horning, Genentech's global development chief of cancer drugs.

    Another study is testing pertuzumab in 3,800 women with early breast cancer. Genentech says it has not set a price for pertuzumab, but sells Herceptin for $4,500 a month to doctors, who mark it up and add fees to infuse it. Herceptin's U.S. patent expires in 2019, so combination treatment might be more affordable once generic Herceptin is available.

    "Pertuzumab is a winner" and should win government approval, said Dr. Eric Winer of the Dana-Farber cancer center.

    Dr. Gary Lyman, a treatment effectiveness researcher at Duke University, called the results "quite impressive," unlike what turned out to be the case for Avastin. He was on an FDA panel that recommended accelerated approval for Avastin as well as the recent panel that urged revoking its use for breast cancer because later studies did not bear out its early promise.

    Winer and Lyman have no role in the new studies or financial ties to any drug companies.

    The other study tested Novartis AG's Afinitor, which has long been sold for preventing organ rejection after transplants and to treat a few less common cancers including the type of pancreatic tumor that killed Apple founder Steve Jobs. It blocks one pathway cancer uses to spread. A one-month supply costs $11,000.

    The 724 women in the study were worsening despite treatment with hormone-blocking medicines. They all were given one they had not taken before, and some also got Afinitor.

    After about a year of follow-up, cancer progression was delayed 7 months in the group getting Afinitor and 3 months in the others.

    "The two together have a much greater effect than you would expect from either alone," said study leader Dr. Gabriel Hortobagyi, breast cancer research chief at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. "They snip two wires that are critical" for growth signals to continue, he said.

    However, the combo led to more side effects — mouth sores, anemia, shortness of breath, high blood sugar, fatigue and lung inflammation.

    "I have patients who tell me how long they live is not as important as the quality of the remainder of their life, where other patients will do just about anything and will tolerate any toxic levels or side effects," Hortobagyi said. "This is clearly one additional option for patients."

    The cancer conference is sponsored by the American Association for Cancer Research, Baylor College of Medicine and the UT Health Science Center.

    Holyoke Gas and Electric must refund power supplier $336,000 for not reporting outages; rate-payers not affected

    0
    0

    The federal investigation found the department's reporting failures led to unjust profits, the agreement states.

    dam.JPGThe Holyoke Gas and Electric Department, which owns and operates the 43.8-megawatt hydroelectric dam on the Connecticut River, will refund a power supplier $336,000 because of failure to follow reporting rules.

    HOLYOKE – The Holyoke Gas and Electric Department will refund power supplier ISO New England $336,000 because of failure to follow reporting rules, but customers’ rates will be unaffected by the federal agreement, an official said.

    “There’s going to be no impact to the rate-payers,” department Manager James M. Lavelle said Tuesday.

    The reporting failures occurred in 2008 and 2009 regarding unavailability of two power generators on Cabot Street.

    In an 11-page agreement with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission dated Nov. 29, the department “neither admits nor denies” that its failure to report the unavailability of those units was a violation of federal rules.

    A spokesman for the federal agency was unavailable for comment.

    Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Order

    The federal investigation found the department’s reporting failures led to unjust profits, the agreement states.

    But, the agreement states, the investigation also showed, “Holyoke fully cooperated with Enforcement’s investigation and submitted a detailed report of its actions with respect to all three planned outages, two of which had not been previously disclosed.”

    The department owns and operates the 43.8-megawatt hydroelectric dam on the Connecticut River. It provides electricity, natural gas and telecommunications services to more than 18,000 customers.

    The department will pay more than $336,000 to ISO New England, the Holyoke-based agency that distributes power in the six-state region. That’s the amount the department was paid by ISO New England for the supposed availability of those units during the three outages, the agreement states.

    “At the end of the day, it was an honest mistake made by our staff,” Lavelle said.

    The department is required to refund ISO New England within 30 days of the agreement date. Lavelle said the money is available in the department budget.

    The outages occurred at Cabot Street Unit 6 from April 1 to Sept. 10, 2008, at Cabot Street Unit 8 from June 5 to 9, 2008 and at Cabot Street Unit 8 from Sept. 16, 2008 to Jan. 15, 2009, the agreement states.

    Unit 6 was taken out of service for a planned inspection, the agreement states.

    Unit 8 was taken out of service the first time for planned removal of asbestos and the second time for a planned inspection, the agreement states.

    All three times, the department failed to follow federal rules in notifying ISO New England of the units’ unavailability but accepted capacity payments, the agreement states.

    Discovery program 'Mythbusters' in hot water after cannon mishap punches hole through suburban California house

    0
    0

    The cast-iron cannon ball went 700 yards off target, smashing through one house, bouncing off another and the smashing through a minivan.

    Adam Savage, Jamie HynemanA hole near the master bedroom window of a Dublin, Calif. home marks the exit point of an errant cannonball fired during a filming of an episode of the Discovery Channel's "Mythbusters." Sheriff's deputies are still measuring how, exactly, the cannonball flew from a bomb range in the rolling hills flanking a suburban San Francisco Bay area neighborhood and rocketed into the front door of a home and through its master bedroom before landing in a neighbor's parked minivan. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

    House – busted.

    Minivan – busted.

    The Mythbusters' reputation for being what you call experts – seriously damaged.

    The long-running and popular Discovery program that puts various myths to the test is in hot water after an experiment at the Alameda Bomb Range went terribly wrong Tuesday afternoon.

    According to published reports, the crew was attempting to fire a cannon ball through some barrels of water and into a cinderblock wall, but instead it went off target and into a suburban neighborhood 700 yards away.

    The cast iron cannon ball, which was described as being between the size of a softball and the size of a cantaloupe, crashed into – and out of – one home, struck a roof across the street and then crashed through the window of a minivan.

    No one was hurt, but officials in Alameda County are investigating.

    ABC News is reporting production of the program is on hold while the investigation continues.

    adam jayme.jpgView full size"Mythbusters" stars Adam Savage, right, and Jamie Hyneman speak to the media outside the home damaged by an errant cannonball fired during a filming of an episode of their show in Dublin, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

    The projectile was traveling at a reported 1,000 feet per second.

    In an interview with KTVU TV, Sgt. J.D. Nelson of the Alameda County Sheriff's Department, who frequently appears on the show as a technical expert, said "This cannonball was supposed to pass through several barrels of water and a cinder block wall to slow its inertia. When the shot was fired, it misfired. The cannon lifted."

    The cannonball apparently hit something that caused it to shoot over the hillside that protects the neighborhood below, he said.

    The Dublin, Calif., police issued a statement Wednesday:

    Dublin Police Services is investigating the December 6, 2011 incident involving an errant cannonball that struck at two homes and damaged a vehicle in the City of Dublin. The television show “Mythbusters” was filming an episode at the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Regional Training Center at the time. Representatives of the “Mythbusters” program and the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office are cooperating with the investigation. The City does not have jurisdictional oversight of activities that occur at the County’s Training Center, but City Manager Joni Pattillo has been in contact with the Sheriff’s Office to discuss the incident. Sheriff Greg Ahern has advised the City that he has suspended all non-emergency activities at the Sheriff’s Bomb Disposal Range until the completion of a full investigation into this incident.

    Meanwhile the show's hosts, Adam Savage and Jamie Hynemen, went to Dublin to meet with family whose house they punctured.

    Savage told the Los Angeles Times
    "We feel really lucky and fortunate that, after a nearly perfect safety record over eight years, that this mishap didn't lead to anybody being injured."

    Shootiing of the segment was immediately halted and the Mythbusters team is reviewing what happened.

    "We're gathering all the information we can ... Our main concern is making sure this never happens again," he said.

    He added that he and Hyneman were not present at the time. The experiment was being conducted by co-hosts Tory Belleci, Kari Byron and Grant Imahara.

    The program, known for its oft-repeated "don't-try-this-at-home" disclaimer with its emphasis on safety, has had its share of mishaps and missteps over the years.

    Viewing all 62489 articles
    Browse latest View live




    Latest Images