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Occupy Boston bid to bar eviction denied by Suffolk Superior Court judge

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Judge Frances McIntyre said the protesters failed to prove that the seizure and holding of public land is protected by the First Amendment and somehow protected from criminal prosecution.

120111 occupy boston lawsuit judge frances mcintyre.jpgJudge Frances McIntyre listens to arguments during a hearing in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston. The hearing is on a request by the protesters to make permanent a temporary order that bars police from removing them without notice. The city says its needs the power to remove the encampment if there is a safety issue, but has no immediate plans to do so. McIntyre rejected the request on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Pat Greenhouse, Pool)

By RODRIQUE NGOWI

BOSTON – A judge on Wednesday rejected a request by Occupy Boston protesters for a court order banning city officials from removing them from their encampment in the city's financial district, saying the protesters failed to prove that the seizure and holding of public land is protected by the First Amendment and somehow protected from criminal prosecution.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Frances McIntyre ruled that although the protesters are exercising their rights to freedom of expression from government interference, the occupation of state land is essentially viewed "as a hostile act" that is neither speech "nor is it immune from criminal prosecution for trespass or other crimes."

"This decision clears the way, but does not order the plaintiffs and other protesters to vacate the site and request permission to set up tents or other equipment for expressive purposes" if Occupy Boston protesters wish to continue to stay at the encampment located on land owned by the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, McIntyre said. "Overnight sleeping and living at Dewey Square are not options under the Conservancy guidelines, however."

McIntyre had granted the group's request for a temporary restraining order in November, ruling that police could not remove it or its tents without prior court approval.

At a Dec. 1 hearing, Boston's fire marshal testified that the tent city has numerous serious fire hazards and he feared for the protesters' safety. City officials have said they have no immediate plans to remove the protesters as some other cities have done, including New York City, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. But lawyers for the city argued that police need the authority to evict them without notice if a health or safety issue arises.

"As outlined in the court proceeding and affirmed in the judge's ruling, the conditions at Dewey Square have deteriorated significantly and pose very real health and safety risks," Mayor Thomas Menino said in a statement Wednesday. "The city strongly encourages the Occupy movement to abide by the Rose Kennedy Greenway regulations and remove their tents and refrain from camping in that area."

The Massachusetts chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Lawyers Guild-Massachusetts Chapter said they were disappointed with the court decision and attorneys are reviewing the ruling with Occupy Boston protesters to determine all of their options.

"Just because the court ruled today that the city can shut down the encampment at Dewey Square does not mean that it should," the two organizations said in a joint statement. "If city officials decide, nonetheless, to do so, how they go about it also sends an important message. Occupy Boston has always been a peaceful political protest, aimed at drawing attention to the growing inequalities in our society."

The protesters have been encamped in Dewey Square since Sept. 30, modeling their demonstration after Occupy Wall Street. Protesters estimate between 100 and 150 activists live in the Boston encampment.

The judge on Wednesday recognized the central theme of the movement.

"The Occupy movement has brought attention to a perceived increasing disparity of wealth and power in the United States. The movement aims to persuade that the wealthiest 1 percent of the population are writing the rules of an unfair global economy," McIntyre said. "The group has sharpened its message to this: A more just, democratic and economically egalitarian society, responsive to people rather than corporations, is possible."


Belchertown officials, residents decry National Grid response to October snowstorm power outages at DPU public hearing

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State Sen. Gale Candaras, D-Wilbraham, called the response "chaotic" and said using the "excuse" that the storm was historic was dishonest.

Deval Patrick Belchertown.jpgView full sizeMassachusetts Gov. Deval L. Patrick talks to Belchertown resident Marcie McCullough during a meeting with residents about storm damage and clean-up at Belchertown Town Hall six days after the pre-Halloween snowstorm.

BELCHERTOWN – About 40 people crammed into a classroom at Belchertown High School for the second of five public hearings in the Massachusetts investigation of National Grid's response to the Oct. 29 snowstorm, faulting the utility for a slow and scattered power restoration effort.

The state Department of Public Utilities is investigating power companies' handling of mass power outages after the nor'easter that caused widespread damage from Maryland to Vermont and left more than 3 million people, including 600,000 in Massachusetts, without power for as long as 11 days.

The storm took out power to 98 percent of the town. Line crews took two days to arrive and begin making repairs. A week after what town officials call Storm Alfred, about half the town was still in the dark.

Gov. Deval L. Patrick took notice, meeting with residents Nov. 4 to hear their complaints. He told them he was "frustrated" and that National Grid had given everyone, including him, false information about restoration times and percentages throughout the process.

Marcy Reed, president of National Grid in Massachusetts, gave sworn testimony at Wednesday's hearing that the company is "working on improving in all aspects of storm restoration."

110411 belchertown snowstorm downed wires.jpgA mangled mess of wires and utility poles lay on the ground in Belchertown six days after the pre-Halloween snowstorm.

She said the storm was a "level five event," referring to the highest level on a scale called the Sperry-Piltz Ice Accumulation Index. Such storms are expected to happen once every eight to 10 years; Tropical Storm Irene was a level five, too, and occurred only nine weeks prior.

Richard K. Sullivan, Jr., Secretary of the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, requested the snowstorm probe on top of an investigation into National Grid's and NSTAR's responses to Tropical Storm Irene in August.

Reed pointed out that National Grid was able to "acquire 300 additional personnel," many of whom had to travel long distances up the East Coast, delaying the efforts. Ninety percent of the company's customers were back online in six days, she said.

National Grid responded to 20,000 reports of wires down after the storm, she said.

It is a "myth," she said, that the company has reduced the number of its line crews focusing on storm restoration. It has also not curbed its efforts at tree trimming, she said.

National Grid plans to assign municipal liaisons for disasters, install GPS devices on contractor vehicles to improve precision and establish a "web-enabled crisis management system" that connects to government agencies, all in an effort to improve the response next time.

"I am actually extremely proud" of the crews who restored power, some of whom live in the town and were in the dark themselves, she said.

033110_gale_candaras.jpgGale Candaras

State Sen. Gale D. Candaras, D-Wilbraham, called the response "chaotic" and said using the "excuse" that the storm was historic was dishonest.

"Nor'easters are not unprecedented here in the Northeast!" she said.

"The National Grid response really suffered compared to local municipal light companies ... who often got power on within 24 hours," Candaras said. "We should not have needed saving. We now have an archaic, vulnerable, unreliable system whose customers now watch The Weather Channel with anxiety."

National Grid customers in East Longmeadow suffer outages during thunderstorms in the summer, but the utility has done nothing to fix it, and in Wilbraham the town loses power every time a car hits a utility pole, she said. She also disputed Reed's claims about continued tree trimming.

"The harm caused by National Grid was predictable, it was foreseeable and it was preventable. It was only a matter of time until this happened," she said.

Candaras indignantly read a portion of the company's most recent newsletter, advising customers to "hunker down and prepare to see it through" the next time there's an outage. The elderly, disabled and poor, she said, can't necessarily take that advice.

"The message here is simple: this is the 21st century," she said. "I think people feel that when disaster strikes here, we're on our own."

She said she wants National Grid to put its power lines underground.

REAponte2005.jpgRonald Aponte

Selectman Ronald E. Aponte said National Grid crews didn't arrive until days after the outage began and showed up in adequate numbers only on Nov. 4, the day of Patrick's visit.

"I'm not saying get the town up and running in 24 hours, but, by God, let's get the priorities done in 24 hours," he said. "This isn't the fact that I can't update Facebook or check my emails. People's lives are at stake."

Resident Richard J. Fritsch, of South Liberty Street, said he was without power for eight days.

"You'd think, living on a main artery, you'd get power very quickly. Not so. Eight days," he said. "Without eight days of power, my bill was exactly the same as it was the year before, almost to the penny."

He said he lost $3,000 worth of productivity, food, transportation and lodging. A new generator cost him $4,000.

"The only bright side of this is I got to use my military survival skills," he said. "There is no faith in your company anymore. That's gone."

Resident Paul Anziano said he doesn't fault the company because every surrounding community was dark, too.

"That just opened my eyes to how big this storm was," he said. "But I'm glad to see the DPU is looking into it."

David Bondard, a resident and line crew worker, said, "I know it's hard on people, but the linemen are out there doing the best they can possibly do. ... It's not an easy task."

Jonestown Massacre survivor Teri Buford O'Shea of Northampton recalls years of pain in Guyana

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O'Shea's new book, "Jonestown Lullaby," recalls the events that led to the suicide and killings of 918 at the Peoples Temple.

120711 teri buford o'shea.JPGView full sizeTeri Buford O'Shea of Northampton holds the cover of the book she has written about her experiences as a survivor of the Jonestown Massacre in Guyana.

NORTHAMPTON – Teri Buford O’Shea still dreams about the “White Nights.” In her dreams, she’s back in Guyana, back in Jonestown, reliving the terror. Jim Jones is on the loudspeaker telling the community they’re under attack.

“We will take our lives on this night in a revolutionary suicide!” Jones yells.

Mothers feed cyanide-laced Kool-Aid to their children, then drink it themselves. Gunfire sounds in the dark of the jungle. O’Shea drinks the Kool-Aid. Jones laughs maniacally.

“It’s only a rehearsal,” he tells everyone.

O’Shea’s prayers are answered. She will live at least a little longer.

O’Shea, who lives now in Northampton, wrote a poem about those terrifying “White Nights,” as the run-ups to the mass suicide were known.

It’s one of 40 poems in her new book, “Jonestown Lullaby.” They came out of her like painful births in the years since the 1978 massacre that claimed 918 lives and horrified the world, the massacre she barely escaped.

“It’s like a journey through post traumatic stress disorder,” is how she describes the book.

O’Shea, 59, trembles as she sits in a conference room at the Star Light Center in Florence and tells her story. Her shaking, she said, is not a result of her Jonestown experience but a medical condition she has had for years. Star Light provides programs and services for people with mental health issues. O’Shea is a provider. She works as a benefits specialist for CareerPoint in Holyoke, helping people with disabilities.

A Navy brat, O’Shea had a rough start in life, traveling with her parents from state to state and country to country. The transience might have been bearable if not for her mother’s mental illness, which sometimes turned violent.

“I woke up once and found her hitting me with a dog chain,” she recalled.

O’Shea packed up and hit the road, hitchhiking across country from Pennsylvania to California. It was 1971 and she was 19.

“Living on the street was getting very old, very fast,” she said.

One day in California, a van picked up O’Shea when she was hitchhiking and her life took a new turn, one that would prove even more painful than the horrors she had already experienced. The driver told her about a goat farm in Ukiah, where black and white people lived together in love and harmony. She could come live there, he said. So she joined the Peoples Temple.

“I thought it was going to be this wonderful thing,” O’Shea remembered, “but when I got to the gates of Jonestown, it was a different story.”

It wasn’t all bad at first. The temple ran school lunch programs and offered shelter to prostitutes running from their pimps. The leader was a preacher named Jim Jones, who had brought his congregation west from Indiana after prophesying that a nuclear holocaust would wipe out Chicago. Jones encouraged temple members to call him “Dad.” It just got worse from there.

“He’d say he was the reincarnation of Jesus and Gandhi,” O’Shea said. “Whatever you wanted him to be, he was the reincarnation of.”

120711 teri buford o'shea jonestown guyana.JPGView full sizeTeri Buford O'Shea, left, is show during a trip to Guyana in the mid-1970s. The photo is from her book chronicling her experiences as a survivor of the Jonestown Massacre.

Like most of the others, O’Shea worked outside of the temple, turning in her paycheck every week in return for $2 spending money.

By 1973, Jones had gotten more bizarre and paranoid. The temple bought some jungle land in Guyana, an English-speaking country in South America, and temple members went there to clear land, O’Shea among them.

“It was breathtakingly beautiful,” she said. “You’d wake up to the sound of monkeys and toucans at your window.”

The hundreds of children, black and white, thrived in the setting. But things soon got weird. Very weird. Jones would rattle on over the loudspeaker, day and night, and everyone had to listen.

“You couldn’t talk while Jim was talking,” O’Shea said.

There were no telephones, only a radio room where O’Shea worked. Jones had control of the radio, though, and you couldn’t use it without him knowing.

“It was virtually impossible to have any communication with the outside world,” she said.

Jones had a harem of women in his house. His wife, Marceline, lived in a separate cottage. O’Shea was sometimes one of Jones’ women.

The Peoples Temple still had sites in California, and O’Shea was among those who traveled back and forth. She was working the radio in San Francisco one day when Jones’ voice came over from Guyana. He wanted her to ship him guns in crates with false bottoms. O’Shea pretended they had a bad connection.

“They don’t need guns down there,” she told the women who were with her.

That turned out to be a big mistake. One of the women returned to Guyana and reported the betrayal to Jones. O’Shea was sent for. When she got to Jonestown, she was put under 24-hour watch.

“I was persona non grata, and it was terrible,” she said.

Her break came when the woman who reported on her defected. O’Shea did lots of lying, convincing Jones that the other woman was the traitor. It worked. When Jones sent his lawyer to the U.S. to get information on an upcoming magazine expose, O’Shea persuaded Jones to let her go along.

She was the last temple member to defect before the massacre.

On Nov. 17, 1978, U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan, at the urging of family members of Jones’s followers, flew to Guyana with some reporters to investigate Jonestown. Some in the temple asked to fly back with him. As they arrived at the airstrip to leave, a truck with armed guards from the temple drove up and opened fire. Ryan and three others were shot to death. The carnage was only beginning.

1978 jim jones.jpgView full sizeJim Jones, founder of the Peoples Temple sect, is shown in this November 1978 photo taken in Jonestown, Guyana, shortly before five members of Congressman Leo J. Ryan's party were slain. (AP Photo/San Francisco Examiner, File)

Back at the Temple compound, Jones called the ultimate “White Night.” Mothers were forced to feed their babies cyanide. Those who refused were held down and made to watch as the children were given syringes with the deadly poison. Jones killed the children first, 303 of them. The rest of the adults drank the Kool-Aid or were shot. In all, 918 people died in the massacre.

O’Shea had packed up as soon as she got back to San Francisco and left to start a new life in Washington, D.C., under the name “Kim Jackson.” Three weeks later, the massacre occurred.

“I freaked out,” she said.

O’Shea feared not only the judgment of society but the wrath of the remaining temple members in the United States. Her fears were justified. Her apartment was ransacked. The FBI found her soon after, and O’Shea began two long years of answering questions. Jones, it turned out, had taped the massacre, and investigators made her listen to the cries and screams to see if she could identify the voices.

“It was horrific,” she said.

Some years later, O’Shea was fired on the spot from her job in the New York schools when it came to light that she was a Jonestown survivor. She got another job at a publishing house and kept her secret for nearly three decades as she raised her daughter, Vita (not Jones’ child, she is careful to add).

In 1989, O’Shea and her daughter moved to Northampton. Three years ago, MSNBC contacted her for a documentary it was making on the Jonestown massacre. O’Shea decided it was time to let go of her secret.

“I said, ‘Why not?’ Surprisingly, people were very supportive and understanding. It was really refreshing to be welcomed with open arms.”

She has subsequently reached out to other Peoples Temple survivors as well. A few years ago, they all met in San Diego. There were hugs all around, including one from a woman assigned the task of getting O’Shea killed. This Memorial Day, the survivors gathered for a service at the California cemetery where the victims’ bodies were buried after they were flown back from South America.

“It took them 32 years to get a gravestone,” O’Shea said.

Even now, O’Shea suffers indignities when she talks about Jonestown. During one radio appearance, she overheard the hosts joking about asking her to drink Kool-Aid.

“They just don’t understand what it’s like to lose 900 of your friends and family that you’ve lived with for seven years,” she said.

“Jonestown Lullaby” is available at Amazon.com and at the Barnes & Noble website. Locally, it’s stocked by Broadside Books in Northampton.

Flipping through her book, O’Shea stops to talk about a poem titled, “I Do Not Love You.” It refers, she says, to the time that Jones had his followers hold a gun to her head and told O’Shea he would have her shot if she didn’t say she loved him. She knew he could tell she was lying if she said yes, but feared they would shoot her if she said no. O’Shea finally decided on the truth.

I don’t care

If you pull the trigger

This is the one thing

You cannot have

Pearl Harbor attack's 70th anniversary marked across U.S.

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In wheelchairs and on walkers, the old veterans came to Hawaii to remember the day 70 years ago when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Watch video

120711 pearl harbor 70th anniversary.jpgPearl Harbor survivors stand at attention during the National Anthem during the Pearl Harbor memorial ceremony, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Today marks the 70th anniversary of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor Naval Base which pulled the US into a war with Japan. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

By AUDREY McAVOY

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii – In wheelchairs and on walkers, the old veterans came Wednesday to remember the day 70 years ago when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. But FDR's "date that will live in infamy" is becoming a more distant memory.

Fewer and fewer veterans who experienced the attack on Dec. 7, 1941, are alive to mark the anniversaries and most of them are in their 90s, many prevented by health problems from traveling to Hawaii. One survivors' group said it would disband because age and infirmity made it too difficult to carry on.

"People had other things that they wanted to do with the remainder of their lives," Pearl Harbor Survivors Association president William Muehleib said. "It was time."

The 2,390 Americans who died in the attacks are not forgotten. Besides Pearl Harbor, there are remembrances elsewhere

In Phoenix, the goal every year is to draw 1,177 people — the number who died on the USS Arizona — to march through the city, but organizers don't come close to that anymore.

Just 45 people showed up last year. On Wednesday, about 300 people gathered for a mile-long remembrance walk, carrying miniature U.S. flags and tags bearing the names of Pearl Harbor casualties.

"As time goes by, it might actually fade. This may be the last significant anniversary when we could thank a survivor. Get out there. Get your chance to thank them," event chairman Ben Ernyei said.Those who made it to Pearl Harbor were treated to a hero's reception. The 5,000 spectators whistled, shouted and applauded loudly as the 120 or so survivors stood to be recognized, and others asked for autographs and took photos with them.

Muehleib said local chapters of his group will function as long as they have members and survivors can gather socially, but they will no longer have a formal, national organization. He also predicted survivors would attend future commemorations at Pearl Harbor.

The association — founded in 1958 — has 2,700 members, he said. There are an estimated 7,000 to 8,000 Pearl Harbor survivors.

President Barack Obama hailed the veterans in a statement proclaiming Wednesday as "National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day."

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"Their tenacity helped define the Greatest Generation and their valor fortified all who served during World War II," he said. "As a nation, we look to December 7, 1941, to draw strength from the example set by these patriots and to honor all who have sacrificed for our freedoms."

Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, witnessed the attacks as a young man in Honolulu and fought in World War II, losing his right arm in combat and earning the Medal of Honor.

"As we continue to lose members of the Greatest Generation, those who witnessed the attack, lived through the war and saw the world change, we must remember the events of December 7," he said in a speech on the Senate floor.

The nation has debated how to mark anniversaries and memorials before as events fade into history. New York City's mayor this year suggested it might be time to stop reading the names of nearly 3,000 Sept. 11 victims every year once that 10th anniversary passed.

Mal Middlesworth, a Marine who was on the USS San Francisco during the attack, said the survivors association formed to make sure younger generations heard about what they went through.

"They wanted young America to understand that freedom isn't free. Never has been and looks like it's never going to be," he said in the keynote address. "Remember, he who forgets history will live it again."

Carissa Westfall traveled to Hawaii to mark the anniversary as part of a college program that paired students and veterans traveling to important battle sites. The veteran she was with, Guy Piper, was brushing his teeth on Ford Island when he saw bombs falling from Japanese planes.

"Honestly, before this trip I never realized. I didn't know — I didn't think that there were guys my age and younger watching their friends die right next to them," said Westfall, a sophomore at the College of the Ozarks in Missouri.

Also this week, ash-scattering and interment ceremonies are being held for five survivors whose cremated remains are returning to Pearl Harbor after their deaths.

On Tuesday, an urn containing the ashes of Lee Soucy was placed on his battleship, the USS Utah. The ashes of Vernon Olsen, who was on the Arizona, were to be placed on his ship later Wednesday.

The U.S. lost 12 vessels that day, but the Arizona and the Utah are the only ones still sitting in the harbor.

The ashes of three other survivors will be scattered in the water in separate ceremonies this week.

USS Utah survivor Gilbert Meyer said he comes back each year to see his shipmates entombed in the battleship that rests not far from where it sank off Ford Island.

Meyer, 88, recalled his ship rolling over after being hit by a torpedo and seeing Japanese planes dropping bombs. When the planes began showering his ship with machine-gun fire, he knew it was time to move.

"That really got my attention, so I got in the water and swam ashore," he said.

In Phoenix, Kristy Henderson of Glendale, Ariz., whose two grandfathers served in World War II, did the walk with her mother and two children, ages 2 and 1.

She said the youngest are the most likely to forget Pearl Harbor.

"As time goes on," Henderson said, "I don't think it's brought up as much."

Sen. Scott Brown wins date with Wonder Woman through donation to Susan G. Komen for the Cure fund

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It is unknown if Carter will be arriving in the Invisible Plane and donning her bullet-deflecting bracelets, but if she brings the Golden Lasso, which forces anyone bound by it to tell the truth, she will likely be flattered.

Scott Brown Lynda CarterActress Lynda Carter will be dining with Sen. Scott Brown thanks to a donation he made to the Susan G. Koman for the Cure cancer research fund. (Photo of Carter courtesy of Facebook/Photo of Brown courtesy of the Associated Press)

WASHINGTON D.C. – Sen. Scott Brown may not have walked away from the Funniest Celebrity in Washington contest with any accolades for his performance, but he did win a dinner with a superhero.

Lynda Carter, the actress who portrayed Wonder Woman in the 1970s, will be having dinner with Brown's family as the Massachusetts Republican donated $1,000 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure at the charity event, political website The Hill reports. Susan G. Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists, according to its website.

It is unknown if Carter will be arriving in the Invisible Plane and donning her bullet-deflecting bracelets, but if she brings the Golden Lasso, which forces anyone bound by it to tell the truth, she will likely be flattered.

Brown, who is bringing his wife Gail Huff and one of his daughters to dine with Wonder Woman, told the website that he sees Carter as a "living legend.

“We’ve always wanted to meet her," he said.

Brown, in addition to spending much of his week working in Washington D.C., is in a heated campaign for his Senate seat.

Democratic front-runner Elizabeth Warren and candidates Jim King, Tom Conroy, Marisa DeFranco and Herb Robinson are working to convince voters to return the seat, held by Democrat Edward Kennedy for 47 years, back to the Democratic Party.

Elizabeth Warren leads U.S. Sen. Scott Brown in UMass-Lowell-Boston Herald poll

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The poll found Brown's job approval and favorability rating has slipped while Warren's numbers have climbed.

scott brown vs elizabeth warren.jpgIn the latest UMass-Lowell-Boston Herald poll, U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, left, trails Elizabeth Warren, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to oppose him in the 2012 election.

BOSTON – Massachusetts U.S. Senate hopeful Elizabeth Warren has opened up a slight lead over Republican Sen. Scott Brown in a new poll.

The UMass-Lowell-Boston Herald poll of 500 registered voters found 49 percent would vote for Warren, a Democrat. Forty-two percent would back Brown if they faced off in the general election.

The poll found Brown's job approval and favorability rating has slipped while Warren's numbers have climbed.

While both receive nearly equal support from men, Warren leads Brown 51-38 percent among women.

The telephone poll, conducted over the past week, has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

A similar poll from October found 41 percent of voters supported Brown while 38 percent backed Warren.

That poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Valley Food Championship Burger Battle: Vote in the Round of 32

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Choose your favorites in the Bun, Lettuce, Pickles and Tomatoes brackets.

2011 valley food championship burger battle logo.jpg

Our secretary of taste has certified the vote, and the preliminary round of the Valley Food Championship Burger Battle is official.

Readers of The Republican, MassLive.com and El Pueblo Latino, after nominating 87 of their favorite burgers in the Valley, have narrowed the field to 32 as we aim to determine the best burger around. Voting was done in four alphabetized brackets in which you could vote for your favorite eight in each.

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

Unlike the Valley Food Championship Pizza Playoffs, in which restaurants were placed into regional brackets, the Burger Battle field of 32 was matched up randomly after seeding the top vote-getters. We're having a little fun and naming the groupings by some of the classic burger components – the Bun Bracket, the Lettuce Bracket, the Pickles Bracket and the Tomatoes Bracket. You can vote for your favorites in eight matchups in the Bun and Lettuce brackets in one post, while 16 more burgers battle in the Pickles and Tomatoes brackets in a second post.

So exercise your rights and vote! Polls close next Tuesday, Dec. 13, at 6 p.m.

Vote for your favorite burgers:

Bun and Lettuce brackets »

Pickles and Tomatoes brackets »

Mitt Romney readies mammoth organization for long haul

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Romney's campaign is well entrenched in the 4 states to vote in January – Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida

120711 mitt romney.jpgRepublican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney addresses the 2012 Republican Presidential Candidates Forum hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, in Washington. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

By STEVE PEOPLES

BOSTON – Mitt Romney has a not-so-secret weapon against Newt Gingrich.

The former Massachusetts governor has built a mammoth political machine unrivaled in the GOP field, a campaign that's well entrenched in the four states to vote in January — Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida — and touches dozens of other states that his opponents have largely ignored.

At its national headquarters, Romney's team is executing a strategy that takes advantage of new party rules that award convention delegates in a different way. And supporters from Alabama to Alaska say they're prepared for an extended primary battle that could go well into the summer.

"This will probably take longer than a week or two to sort out," Romney said in Arizona this week. "My expectation is that it's going to be a campaign that is going to go on for a while."

Indeed, new proportional voting rules give candidates a chance to claim partial victories in states that previously featured a winner-take-all system. Top officials inside the Romney administration and the Republican National Committee argue that the new system encourages a long march to victory, similar to the Democratic battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in 2008.

It's a path that played well for Obama's nationwide network four years ago. And it's one that Romney hopes to emulate in the coming months, regardless of how things turn out in Iowa or New Hampshire.

"We're running for president of the United States, not president of the early states," Romney political director Rich Beeson said. "We're focused on the early states just like every other campaign, but we are also focused on the long term. We're looking at primaries in June."

Romney's campaign has already collected more than 1,300 endorsements from Republican activists and current and former elected officials across 44 states and Puerto Rico. Gingrich has collected fewer than two dozen endorsements in six states.

The organizational dominance offers Romney an army of high-profile supporters who are sharing political networks of their own. Romney has already has won over eight U.S. senators, 45 House members and three governors. In many cases the officials have been at it for months, raising money, spreading Romney's message and crafting state-specific strategies. They have been working in small towns and capitals alike in often-overlooked states like Vermont and Tennessee — even in Gingrich's home state of Georgia.

In some cases, people like former Sen. Jim Talent of Missouri have been working on Romney's behalf, officially or unofficially, for more than four years.

"He had a solid core of support going in," Talent said. "Running for president is really running a campaign in a number of different states at once. Romney's organization started off very early in a number of states."

Beeson said the strategy is built to be competitive regardless of which Republican rival emerges as Romney's strongest competitor. In recent weeks it's become Gingrich. The former House speaker has so far won the endorsement of 14 elected officials in those states, according to a list provided by his campaign this week, while Romney has won the support of nearly 125 current and former GOP officials.

"Newt has no campaign," said Charlie Black, a longtime Republican strategist and lobbyist who worked with Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign four years ago. "No staff, no infrastructure, no fundraising mechanism."

Gingrich has hired aides in recent weeks in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. But Black argues that it's too late for him to assemble the type of operation needed to win primary after primary.

"You can't go all the way through this process without having a mechanism under you," he said.

Gingrich's organizational deficiencies have already begun to cause problems in places like Missouri, where he missed the deadline to appear on the ballot in the state's Feb. 7 primary. He insisted earlier in the week that he did not plan to compete in that contest because it does not award delegates. Missouri Republicans have set a separate caucus in March to confer delegates.

In Ohio, Gingrich supporters scrambled to scrape together thousands of signatures by Wednesday afternoon to qualify for the ballot there. The secretary of state's office said he met the requirement.

Gingrich faces similar tests in Virginia, Illinois and Indiana in the next several weeks. In every case, Romney's teams have already submitted the signatures or nearly accomplished the task.

But beyond simply qualifying for the ballot, Romney's organization gives him a running start in general election swing states like Missouri in a potential head-to-head matchup against Obama next fall.

"Barack Obama's going to be a very strong opponent — he almost won Missouri last time — and if the governor is fortunate enough to get the nomination, we're going to need a strong effort at every level here," said Talent.

Gingrich declared this week that he plans to challenge Obama in every state next year should he capture the nomination, and he began running his first TV ad. But there are few signs that he's organized supporters on the ground beyond the first three states on the Republican primary calendar.

In Virginia, Lt. Gov. Bill Boiling, a longtime Romney supporter, says the campaign is nearly finished collecting 10,000 signatures due by Dec. 22 to qualify for the ballot. And he's preparing for another fundraising event later in the week, which he expects will push Romney over the $1 million mark from Virginia supporters alone this year.

"At this point, Gov. Romney is well ahead of any other presidential candidate in Virginia in terms of having organization in place," Boiling said.

Virginia is one of 11 states tentatively scheduled to hold elections on March 6, which is known as Super Tuesday in the Republican primary calendar.

"I'd love to see Gov. Romney put this thing away by then — but I'm suspecting we'll still have a spirited race by the time Super Tuesday comes around," Boiling said. "Personally, I would not be surprised to see this race go into the summer. So a campaign has to gear up for that. If someone's strategy in this race is an early knockout punch, I think that's probably a bad strategy."


Over-the-counter morning-after pill block by Obama administration sparks outrage

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Overruling scientists at the FDA, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius decided that young girls shouldn't be able to buy the pill on their own, saying she was worried about confusing 11-year-olds.

By LAURAN NEERGAARD | AP Medical Writer

morning-after pill.jpgThis frame grab from video shows a box of Plan B morning after pill. In a surprise move with election-year implications, the Obama administration's top health official overruled her own drug regulators and stopped the Plan B morning-after pill from moving onto drugstore shelves next to the condoms. (AP Photo)

WASHINGTON – It's the morning after and the controversy over how to sell emergency contraception still looms.

The Obama administration's top health official stopped plans Wednesday to let the Plan B morning-after pill move onto drugstore shelves next to the condoms.

Overruling scientists at the Food and Drug Administration, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius decided that young girls shouldn't be able to buy the pill on their own, saying she was worried about confusing 11-year-olds.

For now, Plan B will stay behind pharmacy counters, available without a prescription only to those 17 and older who can prove their age.

It was the latest twist in a nearly decade-long push for easier access to pills that can prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex, and one with election-year implications. The move shocked women's health advocates, a key part of President Barack Obama's Democratic base, as well as major doctors groups that argue over-the-counter sales could lower the nation's high number of unplanned pregnancies.

"Secretary Sebelius took this action after careful review," Obama spokesman Nick Papas said. "As the secretary has stated, Plan B will remain available to all women who need it, and the president supports the secretary's decision."

Sebelius' decision is "medically inexplicable," said Dr. Robert Block of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

"I don't think 11-year-olds go into Rite Aid and buy anything," much less a single pill that costs about $50, added fellow AAP member Dr. Cora Breuner, a professor of pediatric and adolescent medicine at the University of Washington.

Instead, putting the morning-after pill next to the condoms and spermicides would increase access for those of more sexually active ages "who have made a serious error in having unprotected sex and should be able to respond to that kind of lack of judgment in a way that is timely as opposed to having to suffer permanent consequences," she said.

The move will anger many Democrats. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, a member of the Senate leadership, already was asking Sebelius to explain her decision. But it also could serve to illustrate to independents, whose support will be critical in next fall's presidential election, that Obama is not the liberal ideologue Republicans claim.

Nor will this end the emergency contraception saga. In 2009, a federal judge said the FDA had let politics, not science, drive its initial behind-the-counter age restrictions and said it should reconsider. At a hearing scheduled in federal court in New York next Tuesday, the Center for Reproductive Rights will argue the FDA should be held in contempt.

Sebelius' decision pleased conservative critics.

"Take the politics out of it and it's a decision that reflect the concerns that many parents in America have," said Wendy Wright, an evangelical activist who helped lead the opposition to Plan B.

"This is the right decision based on a lack of scientific evidence that it's safe to allow minors access to this drug, much less over-the-counter," said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg made clear that the decision is highly unusual. She said her agency's drug-safety experts had carefully considered the question of young girls and she had agreed that Plan B's age limit should be lifted.

"There is adequate and reasonable, well-supported and science-based evidence that Plan B One-Step is safe and effective and should be approved for nonprescription use for all females of child-bearing potential," Hamburg wrote.

Pediatrician Breuner said taking Plan B, which contains a higher dose of the female progestin hormone that is in regular birth control pills, wouldn't harm even young adolescents.

Sebelius didn't raise safety concerns. She said maker Teva Pharmaceuticals hadn't proved that the very youngest girls who might try Plan B would understand how to use it properly.

A Teva-funded study tracked 11- to 17-year-olds who came to clinics seeking emergency contraception. Nearly 90 percent of them used Plan B safely and correctly without professional guidance, said Teva Vice President Amy Niemann. But Teva wouldn't say how many of the youngest girls were part of the study.

The company was determining its next steps.

Taking Plan B within 72 hours of rape, condom failure or just forgetting regular contraception can cut the chances of pregnancy by up to 89 percent. But it works best within the first 24 hours. There are two other emergency contraception pills: a two-pill generic version named Next Choice that also is sold behind the counter, and a prescription-only pill named ella.

If a woman already is pregnant, the morning-after pill has no effect. It prevents ovulation or fertilization of an egg. According to the medical definition, pregnancy doesn't begin until a fertilized egg implants itself into the wall of the uterus. Still, some critics say Plan B is the equivalent of an abortion pill because it may also be able to prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus.

Associated Press writer Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report.

Granby's school custodians boost Toy for Joy coffers

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This marks Toy for Joy's 89th year.

granbycust.JPGDecember 6, 2011 - Granby - Some of the maintenance and custodial staff of the Granby Public Schools who contributed to Toy for Joy are from left: Richard Florence, Robert Dudley, Mark Normand, Steve Dudrick, Chester Roguz and Mark Dufault. Mr. Dudley works in maintenance; all the others are custodians. Contributors not present for photo are Anna Schmitt and John Dudley.
toycoup11.JPGView full size

SPRINGFIELD – Granby’s school custodians started what they anticipate will become an annual holiday tradition this season with a $50 donation to Toy for Joy.

“The way things are, everybody is hurting,” said Chester Roguz, a custodian at Granby Junior Senior High School. “This will probably be a yearly thing now.”

This marks the 89th annual Toy for Joy campaign. Jointly sponsored by the Salvation Army and The Republican, the campaign is working to raise $150,000 by Dec. 23 to bring toys and gifts to children in need this holiday season.

Roguz said that he and his co-workers, members of the Granby, Mass. Custodial Union, proposed and then formally voted on the donation.

Meanwhile, the office staff at Harry Grodsky & Co. Inc. continued their longtime tradition of giving to Toy for Joy with a donation of $250.

These donations, part of a recent batch of nearly 60, tally to $2,288, bringing the total raised to date to $13,384. That leaves $136,616 to be raised.

Hasbro, Inc. is joining Toy for Joy as a partner, providing some of the toys which will be distributed. Hasbro has a long history of helping families in Western Massachusetts during the holidays and this year is no different.

By teaming with the Toy for Joy campaign, Hasbro, The Republican and the Salvation Army bring over 100 combined years of experience managing programs that help families in need give their children a toy or game to unwrap on their holiday. Hasbro employees will also be among the volunteers who aid the Salvation Army with registration of families and with distribution of the toys and gifts.

Toy for Joy registrations in Greenfield, Westfield and Northampton formally ended last week. The Salvation Army’s Holyoke Citadel will continue to take registrations through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Greater Springfield Citadel will hold a make-up registration day this Friday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information, call (413) 733-1518. To make a contribution to the Toy for Joy fund, write: Toy for Joy, P.O. Box 3007, Springfield 01102. Contributions may also be dropped off with the coupon to The Republican, 1860 Main St., Springfield, weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. through Dec. 23. Here’s a list of the latest contributors:
In memory of my wife Barbara Leonard with love from Donald, $25
In memory of George S. Liptak Sr., $25
Harry and Lynne, $100
For our moms, $25
Merry Christmas from John and Vivian, $25
Merry Christmas from Heather and Heidi, $25
Blessings to all from Linda, $10
Anonymous, $20
In loving memory of Grandpa Ray and Grandma Pat from Eric, Amy Beth and Sarah, $10
In loving memory of great-grandpa from Patrick and Erin, $10
In memory of Grandpa Donaldson from Jan and Steve Selden, $25
From our grandkids, Nathan, Dominic, Sam, Landon and Sydney, $25
In memory of loved ones, $50
Anonymous, $25
Happy Holidays from the Minor family, $20
In loving memory of our son Chris from Joe and Mary, $25
Bea, $35
In memory of Ed Cwieka from his family, $15
In memory of Irene and Joan Martin, love Charley, $25
In loving memory of Ralph Jocelyn, $25
Merry Christmas from Lauren, Lee, Andrew, Kaitlyn and Loretta, $50
Thank you Dr. Paist for a job well done from Pathfinder Regional Voc Tech High School Committee, $110
Happy Holidays from Sam, $10
In memory of Nan and Pops from MLD, $50
To our lost loved ones, $100
In memory of our grandpa Bob Wheeler, love Ryan, Nicole, Brandon and Bobby, $25
Merry Christmas from Ron and Tara Magrone, $20
So thankful for Sophie from Pe Paw and Grammie, $25
In memory of my husband Lew Smith who loved kids and Christmas, $20
In loving memory of Steven Bacon whom we miss very much from Mom and Charlotte, $20
Nicholas, $10
Forever in our hearts Mom and Dad, love Margaret, Linda and Bette, $50
In memory of Mary and John, Sandy, Louise and Brian, $25
In memory of Peg Brochu, $100
In loving memory of Andrea and Santina Rizzo, $25
Anonymous, $25
Loving memory of Theda-Rae, Bon B and family, Merry Christmas, $20
Thank you for your care, $25
In memory of Sally Drucker, $18
In honor of Pokey, Cocoa, Eris, Dixie and Ellie Mae, $25
In memory of Grandma and Grandpa Albano, $50
For our niece Theresa, $20
In memory of my father Thomas H. Taylor 12/1/11, $100
Thank you St. Jude FSG, $10
SAC, $20
In loving memory of my father Peter E. Pappas, $25
In loving memory of Tom Grimaldi, Greenleaf Drive Santa Claus, $25
In memory of my husband Richard from wife Flo and family, $20
In memory of CND and GMD from GEF, $10
In loving memory of my son Joseph A. Sokoloski, $50
In memory of Elaine, June and Joe Calabrese, we miss you dearly sis, Mom and Dad, love Nancy and Darcy, $50
James, $100
Peter Schmidt and Pat Kaboray, $25
In memory of Fred and Eleanor Albano, Albert and Marie Laplante, love Paul and Jan, $25
In loving memory of Michael Lefebvre and all the wonderful holidays we shared from Candi Lefebvre, $25
Gerard, $100
In loving memory of Kimberly Anne Cannata, love Nana, $10
In memory of deceased members of the Whalen, Provost and Kelly families, $25
From the members of Granby Mass. Custodial Union, $50
On behalf of the office staff at Harry Grodsky and Co., Inc., $250

RECEIVED, $2,288
TOTAL TO DATE, $13,384
STILL NEEDED, $136,616

Fast-moving storm brings little snow, but heavy dose of wind and rain, to Western Massachusetts

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Scattered outages have been reported throughout Western Massachusetts

xtrerepair.JPGDecember 7, 2012 - Longmeadow - Workers from Northern Tree Service trim an evergreen tree on the Longmeadow Green damaged by the October snow storm to about half it's original size and then wire cut branches back onto the tree to fill out bare spots Wednesday. The tree serves at the town Christmas tree and will be strung with lights after the repair.

SPRINGFIELD – Power outages and some river flooding lingered in wake of a fast-moving storm that brought little snow but a whole lot of wind and rain to Western Massachusetts.

“This storm was intense but it just didn’t produce out here,” abc40 / Fox 6 meteorologist Mike Masco said.

Initial forecasts called for 1 to 3 inches of snow in the Pioneer Valley and more in the hilltowns. “It just didn’t get cold enough,” Masco said.

Some 2 to 4 inches of rain, however, fell overnight, however, and the Mill River in Northampton was at flood stage, at 11.27 feet, at about 4:30 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.

Minor flooding occurs on the Mill River at 11 feet and as of about 7:15 a.m. it was running at about 10.4 feet. The Mill River hit an historic high of 16.42 feet on Aug. 29 as a result of Tropical Storm Irene.

Western Massachusetts Electric Co. reported over 4,463 customers remained without power Thursday morning, including 3,404 in West Springfield and 88 in Southwick.

National Grid
also reported outages Thursday morning, including 1,527 in Berkshire County.

Westfield Gas & Electric Co. reported via Facebook that high winds took down wires and took out power for customers on Ridgecrest Drive, Ridgecrest Circle, Oak Crest and a portion of Little River Road.

Wires are also down on Morningside Drive, WG&E reported.

Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper show no budge on pipeline dispute

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Obama stood by the decision for a deeper environmental review before any decisions are made.

120811obama.jpgCanadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, left, listens as U.S. President Barack Obama speaks following a meeting at the White House in Washington on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011. President Obama warned congressional Republicans that he would reject any effort to tie extraneous issues to an extension of the payroll tax cut, including the approval of an oil pipeline between the U.S. and Canada.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In diplomatically polite terms, President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper remained at odds Wednesday over a proposed oil pipeline from Canada through the United States, with Obama showing no interest in speeding up a project that the Canadian leader sees as vital to his nation's economy.

Under Obama's watch, the State Department has delayed potential approval of the Keystone XL pipeline until 2013, which falls after the presidential election. Obama, pressured by both Canada and Republican lawmakers at home to accelerate the jobs-creating project, stood by the decision for a deeper environmental review before any decisions are made.

"With respect to the politics, look, this is a big project with big consequences," Obama said in a joint appearance with Harper at the White House. "We've seen Democrats and Republicans express concerns about it. And it is my job as president of the United States to make sure that a process is followed that examines all the options."

He said he discussed the matter with Harper and "the prime minister and our Canadian friends understand" that it is important for U.S. officials to examine the project rigorously.

The 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline would carry an estimated 700,000 barrels of oil a day from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Texas, passing through Montana, South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma.

Harper had called approval of the project a "no-brainer." And he has suggested that politics played a factor in the Obama administration's delay. The State Department in November ordered that the pipeline be rerouted and subject to further environmental review, drawing cheers from environmental groups and howls from Republicans about lost job creation.

Standing with Obama, Harper was measured, but made clear their talks had not changed matters much.

"My position, the position of the government of Canada on this issue, is very well known," he said in the brief appearance before reporters. He said Obama has indicated that he has an open mind on the final decision and "I take that as his answer."

"You can appreciate that I would not comment on the domestic politics of this issue or any other issue here in the United States," Harper said in response to a reporter's question.

The Obama administration's announcement to put off a decision on the pipeline went over badly in Canada, which relies on the U.S. for 97 percent of Canada's energy exports.

Obama also warned congressional Republicans that he would reject any effort to tie the pipeline project or other unrelated issues to the proposed extension of a payroll tax cut that is set to expire on Jan. 1. Obama stopped short of issuing a veto threat, saying he did not believe lawmakers should let it come to that.

Supporters say the pipeline could significantly reduce U.S. dependence on Middle Eastern oil while providing thousands of jobs. Opponents say the pipeline would bring "dirty oil" that requires huge amounts of energy to extract. They also worry about possible spills, noting that a current pipeline operated by TransCanada has had several spills in the past year.

Ahead of Obama and Harper's meeting, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said approving the pipeline would give Obama an opportunity to follow through on his pledge to make job creation his top priority. "Here's the single greatest shovel-ready project in America, ready to go, and for some reason he's suddenly not interested," McConnell said.

Obama and Harper also announced joint agreements to streamline and strengthen border management and regulations.

Worcester firefighter dies fighting blaze in multi-family home

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Six Worcester firefighters died fighting a warehouse fire in December 1999.

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — A firefighter has died in an overnight blaze in Worcester.

Fire officials confirmed early Thursday that the firefighter, whose name has not been released, died after being taken to a hospital. At least one other firefighter has reportedly been injured.

The fire broke out in the multi-family home on Arlington Street. A portion of the building collapsed during the blaze and reports said the firefighters may have become trapped in the rubble.

Authorities were providing no further details.

Twelve years ago, on Dec. 3, 1999, six Worcester firefighters were killed in a massive fire that broke out in a vacant warehouse. Investigators said that blaze was started when two homeless people who were staying in the building knocked over a candle.

AM News Links: Red Sox: Team in need of toughness, American sentenced to prison for Thai royal insult, and more

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In Tri-Town restaurants, hold the salt, Germany dampens hopes as France warns of euro 'explosion', and more

bashar al-assad.jpgIn this undated image provided by ABC, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad speaks with ABC News Anchor Barbara Walters for an interview airing Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, on ABC. Assad denied he ordered the deadly crackdown on a nearly 9-month-old uprising in his country, claiming he is not in charge of the troops behind the assault. Speaking to Walters in a rare interview that aired Wednesday, he maintained he did not give any commands "to kill or be brutal."

  • Eclipse restaurant in Northampton surrenders liquor license for three days [GazetteNet.com]

  • Where Were They on Election Day? [ValleyAdvocate.com]

  • In Tri-Town restaurants, hold the salt [BerkshireEagle.com]

  • Falmouth's Wind 2 turbine to have its turn [CapeCodOnline.com]

  • Red Sox: Team in need of toughness [Boston.com]

  • American sentenced to prison for Thai royal insult [AP]

  • Jon Corzine to tell House panel he doesn’t know where customers’ money went [WashingtonPost.com]

  • Germany dampens hopes as France warns of euro 'explosion' [News.Yahoo.com]

  • ABC Exclusive: interview with Bashar Al-Assad

  • 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
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    Your Comments: Herman Cain suspends campaign amid sexual misconduct allegations

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    We want to hear your opinion on Herman Cain's sexual misconduct allegations

    Herman CainADVANCE FOR SUNDAY, NOV. 27 AND THEREAFTER - FILE - In this Oct. 3, 2011 file photo Republican presidential candidate, Herman Cain stops to address the media as he arrives for a meeting with developer Donald Trump, in New York. He's a mathematician, a minister, a former radio talk show host and pizza magnate. But most of all, Herman Cain is a salesman. And how he sells. "The sleeping giant called 'we the people' has awakened," Cain thunders, pacing the stage in his trademark dark suit, brown fedora and "lucky" gold tie, delivering a rollicking, 45-minute performance that evokes an old-fashioned church revival, complete with cries of "Amen" from his audience. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

    ATLANTA (AP) — The Cain train has come to a stop.

    Herman Cain suspended his bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Saturday following a steady drumbeat of sexual misconduct allegations he said were harming his family and drowning out his ability to deliver his message.

    With just one month to go until the lead-off Iowa caucuses, Cain's announcement is tantamount to a concession. Still, he told supporters, he planned to continue his efforts to influence Washington and announced "Plan B" — what he called a grassroots effort to return government to the people.

    Cain denounced the accusations of impropriety against him as "false and unproven" but said that they had been hurtful to his family, particularly his wife, Gloria.

    Lets hear what you have to say about Herman Cain suspending his campaign amidst sexual misconduct allegations. Post your comments below and join the conversation.

    kasmira writes:

    Why don't we look at what a candidate has to bring to office rather than who he has had sex with, who he used to hang around with, etc. The only thing that should count is who can do the better job running our country. And for the record, I'm sure there are no candidates anywhere on either side that have never done anything wrong. Let's look at the good rather than always looking at the bad.

    grayman writes:

    Do any of you remember 2008? The Democrat party was the exact same way. Remember John Edwards whispering on an open mic to Hillary that they were the only serious contenders? Where did that get them? Where is he now? Where is Hillary? Call all the names you want, (how many times can you say "tea bagger" in one sentence?), that is how the primaries play out. I do agree that this info on Cain came from the right, however. If the left had it, they would wait until (if) Cain was the nominee. They'd just sit on it and use it to destroy him. Dirty play? Yup. Thats how they roll.

    ButterKnife writes:

    Democrats are, generally speaking, much less interested in "family values" and the like than Republicans. Most saw Clinton's diddling as wrong, but preferred to judge him based on his other actions instead. Most believed that the entire thing had been blown preposterously out of proportion, a fairly reasonable position when there are Congressional hearings regarding adultery.

    Frankly, I don't care if Herman Cain had a hundred mistresses. I somewhat care that he lacked the presence of mind to handle the allegations with any semblance of class or intelligence. I care much more that he couldn't formulate any semblance of an opinion on a huge number of pretty basic topics. I'm not sure the man actually knows where Libya is, why Libya is being talked about or what (if anything) should be done by the US to resolve the situation there; he could have said virtually anything, and it would have been better than nothing.

    cofresi writes:

    I enjoyed the theater too -- including the Marvin Gaye exit song and the Pokemon philosophy. Pretty classy for a Tea Bag show.

    But there is method to this madness -- the party is being punked by their own handlers. From the start it was clear that there was NO WAY the party was going to vote for Cain or any other teabagger (in his case the reason is clear as day). But Cain served a purpose - to distract and widen the base. Now he's just another spent Tea Bag that is being tossed aside with the rest of the baggers now that the super rich are getting a handle on their party line and their corporate agenda.

    It's pretty clear who dredged up these past affairs of his -- now that the GOP wants him out of the way. And it's pretty clear the baggers have been punked and have punked themselves. Too bad they couldn't see the whole nonsense that Palin, Trump, Cain, and Bachmann have been peddling to them. And that New Jersey heavyweight Crisco Crisco is still trying to peddle.

    We want to hear what you have to say. Share your opinion below and join the conversation.


    Romney readies mammoth organization for long haul

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    Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney unleashes his 'not-so-secret' weapon against Newt Gingrich

    Mitt RomneyRepublican presidential candidate former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during the Iowa GOP/Fox News Debate at the CY Stephens Auditorium in Ames, Iowa, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2011. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, Pool)

    By STEVE PEOPLES

    BOSTON — Mitt Romney has a not-so-secret weapon against Newt Gingrich.

    The former Massachusetts governor has built a mammoth political machine unrivaled in the GOP field, a campaign that's well entrenched in the four states to vote in January — Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida — and touches dozens of other states that his opponents have largely ignored.

    At its national headquarters, Romney's team is executing a strategy that takes advantage of new party rules that award convention delegates in a different way. And supporters from Alabama to Alaska say they're prepared for an extended primary battle that could go well into the summer.

    "This will probably take longer than a week or two to sort out," Romney said in Arizona this week. "My expectation is that it's going to be a campaign that is going to go on for a while."

    In the meantime, Romney's team on Thursday began aggressively criticizing Gingrich's leadership and record. In a conference call arranged by Romney's campaign, former Missouri Sen. Jim Talent said Gingrich is "not a reliable and trusted conservative leader." Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu was more harsh, suggesting on the call that Gingrich's "irrational behavior," ''anti-principled actions" and "off-the-cuff thinking" could compromise his ability to be an effective commander in chief.

    The Romney campaign's decision to go after Gingrich directly reflects a growing concern that Gingrich is a serious threat, despite Romney's public confidence in his long-term strategy.

    New proportional voting rules give candidates a chance to claim partial victories in states that previously featured a winner-take-all system. Officials inside the Romney operation and the Republican National Committee argue that the new system encourages a long march to victory, similar to the Democratic battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in 2008.

    It's a path that played well for Obama's nationwide network four years ago. And it's one that Romney hopes to emulate in the coming months, regardless of how things turn out in Iowa or New Hampshire.

    "We're running for president of the United States, not president of the early states," Romney political director Rich Beeson said. "We're focused on the early states just like every other campaign, but we are also focused on the long term. We're looking at primaries in June."

    Romney's campaign has already collected more than 1,300 endorsements from Republican activists and current and former elected officials from 44 states and Puerto Rico. Gingrich has collected fewer than two dozen endorsements in six states.

    The organizational dominance offers Romney an army of high-profile supporters who are sharing political networks of their own. Romney has already has won support from eight U.S. senators, 45 House members and three governors. In many cases, the officials have been at it for months, raising money, spreading Romney's message and crafting state-specific strategies. They have been working in small towns and capitals alike in often-overlooked states like Vermont and Tennessee — even in Gingrich's home state of Georgia.

    In some cases, people like Talent in Missouri have been working on Romney's behalf, officially or unofficially, for more than four years.

    "He had a solid core of support going in," Talent said earlier. "Running for president is really running a campaign in a number of different states at once. Romney's organization started off very early in a number of states."

    Beeson said the strategy makes Romney competitive regardless of which Republican rival emerges as his strongest competitor. In recent weeks it has become Gingrich. The former House speaker has so far won the endorsement of 14 elected officials in those states, according to a list provided by his campaign this week, while Romney has won the support of nearly 125 current and former GOP officials.

    "Newt has no campaign," said Charlie Black, a longtime Republican strategist and lobbyist who worked for Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign four years ago. "No staff, no infrastructure, no fundraising mechanism."

    Gingrich has hired aides in recent weeks in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. But Black argues that it's too late for him to assemble the type of operation needed to win primary after primary.

    "You can't go all the way through this process without having a mechanism under you," he said.

    Gingrich's organizational deficiencies have already begun to cause problems in places like Missouri, where he missed the deadline to appear on the ballot in the state's Feb. 7 primary. He insisted earlier in the week that he did not plan to compete in that contest because it does not award delegates. Missouri Republicans have set a separate caucus in March to confer delegates.

    In Ohio, Gingrich supporters scrambled to scrape together thousands of signatures by Wednesday afternoon to qualify for the ballot there. The secretary of state's office said he met the requirement.

    Gingrich faces similar tests in Virginia, Illinois and Indiana in the next several weeks. In every case, Romney's teams have already submitted the signatures or nearly accomplished the task.

    But beyond simply qualifying for the ballot, Romney's organization gives him a running start in general election swing states like Missouri in a potential head-to-head matchup against Obama next fall.

    "Barack Obama's going to be a very strong opponent — he almost won Missouri last time — and if the governor is fortunate enough to get the nomination, we're going to need a strong effort at every level here," said Talent.

    Gingrich declared this week that he plans to challenge Obama in every state next year should he capture the nomination, and he began running his first TV ad. But there are few signs that he's organized supporters on the ground beyond the first three states on the Republican primary calendar.

    In Virginia, Lt. Gov. Bill Boiling, a longtime Romney supporter, says the campaign is nearly finished collecting 10,000 signatures due by Dec. 22 to qualify for the ballot. And he's preparing for another fundraising event later in the week, which he expects will push Romney over the $1 million mark from Virginia supporters alone this year.

    "At this point, Gov. Romney is well ahead of any other presidential candidate in Virginia in terms of having organization in place," Boiling said.

    Virginia is one of 11 states tentatively scheduled to hold elections on March 6, which is known as Super Tuesday on the Republican primary calendar.

    "I'd love to see Gov. Romney put this thing away by then — but I'm suspecting we'll still have a spirited race by the time Super Tuesday comes around," Boiling said. "Personally, I would not be surprised to see this race go into the summer. So a campaign has to gear up for that. If someone's strategy in this race is an early knockout punch, I think that's probably a bad strategy."

    Northeast Utilities: Oct. storm cost nearly $203 million

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    $162.8 million is for restoration efforts in Connecticut.

    October snowstorm Day 7: Recovery and cleanup efforts continue11/04/11 Springfield - Republican Photo by Mark M.Murray-. A utilitiy worker deals with a leaning light pole with wires attached on Berlin Street near State Street Friday afternoon, as crews attempts to restore power.

    HARTFORD — Northeast Utilities says the cost to restore power after the October snowstorm will be more than $200 million.

    In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, the Hartford-based parent company of Connecticut Light & Power and Western Massachusetts Electric Co. said costs will be $202.5 million. Most of that, $162.8 million, is for restoration efforts at CL&P. About 830,000 Connecticut customers were without power.

    Northeast Utilities says $23.5 million will pay for restoration costs at Western Massachusetts Electric and $16.2 million for a third subsidiary, Public Service Co. of New Hampshire.

    Northeast Utilities said its fourth-quarter earnings will not be materially affected by the storm, except for an $18 million charge to investors, or 10 cents per share, for a fund to reimburse some costs for residential customers.

    Latest Senate campaign attack ad paints Elizabeth Warren as big bank ally

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    The latest TV ad attacking Democratic front-runner Elizabeth Warren paints her as an advocate of big banking in America and blames her for the management of funds by financial institutions which received Congress-approved bailouts.

    Barack Obama, Elizabeth WarrenPresident Barack Obama, accompanied by Elizabeth Warren, announces that Warren will head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Friday, Sept. 17, 2010, during an event in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

    The latest TV ad attacking Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren paints her as an advocate of big banking in America and blames her for the management of funds by financial institutions which received Congress-approved bailouts.

    Paid for by Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies, a conservative political group started with the help of Republican strategist Karl Rove, has launched similar attack ads in several other states where Senate seats are up for grabs in 2012.

    In Massachusetts, the ad blames Warren for the big bonuses bank executives received from the federal bailout money while average citizens were foreclosed upon.

    Warren, in her role as special advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under President Barack Obama, oversaw the implementation of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, but did not have Congressional authority to decide how financial institutions disbursed the money.



    But despite the ad's assertions, Warren has been widely seen as an enemy to big business, partially because of her work as a consumer advocate and her own claim that her ideals were partially behind the Occupy Wall Street movement.

    In contrast to the new ad, the first Crossroads GPS ad targeting Warren tied her to the Occupy protesters and described her as siding with "extreme-left protests."

    The latest round of ads circulating in Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana and Nebraska are worth more than $1 million, according to political blog The Hill, while the previous ads this election season racked up receipts to the tune of more than $4 million.

    According to Crossroads GPS, the Massachusetts attack ad will air for two weeks in the Boston, Springfield-Holyoke and Providence, R.I. markets for a total cost of $523,664. The groups said it has spent more than $1.12 million on ads targeting Warren since November 10.

    The recent attack ads released in Missouri, Montana and Nebraska by Crossroads GPS are posted below.



    Occupy Boston protesters ordered to leave encampment

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    Mayor Thomas Menino said he’ll be encouraging the protesters to leave voluntarily.

    Occupy Boston TentOccupy protester Lauren Chalas, of Plymouth, sits on top of a folded tent wrapped in plastic as it is removed from the Dewey Square area of Boston, Monday, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said Thursday he is giving protesters until midnight Thursday to vacate Dewey Square. (Photo by Steven Senne)

    BOSTON – Occupy Boston protesters must leave their encampment in the city’s financial district by midnight Thursday or face eviction by police, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said.

    The mayor’s order came one day after a judge refused to issue a court order that would have barred city officials from removing the protesters.

    “We’re asking them to adhere to the court order. It’s up to the occupiers in Dewey Square. There’s a public safety issue,” Menino said. “They asked for the order. The judge came down with an order and we’re asking them to adhere to that.”

    Asked what would happen if they didn’t leave by midnight, Menino said, “We’ll take that issue as we move forward.”

    Earlier Thursday, Dot Joyce, a spokeswoman for Menino said that if protesters declined to leave “police would do what is necessary and appropriate after midnight tonight.”

    Until now, Menino has said the city had no plans to forcibly remove the encampment, but he has become increasingly impatient with the protesters in recent days, saying the Dewey Square occupation has become a public health and safety hazard.

    The threat of forcible removal leaves Boston poised to join several other cities, including New York City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and San Francisco, where officials moved to oust protesters.

    John Ford, a member of the encampment, said protesters are planning to meet in a general assembly to plan their next move. Ford said Menino had been deliberately vague about any plans to remove the protesters throughout the court proceedings.

    “I think that the mayor used silence as a tactic to win the court case. He never said anything and during radio interviews he said ‘I’m not saying they have to go, I’m just saying that we want the ability to ask them to go,’” said Ford, a 30-year-old bookstore owner from Plymouth. “Now they want to flip us immediately.”

    Some Occupy Boston members indicated they would not leave voluntarily.

    “If it comes down to it, I will be spending the night in jail,” said a protester who identified himself as Mike Smith, 23, of Boston. Smith added that he was not surprised by the order.

    “They have been trying to get rid of us from day one,” he said.

    The protesters have been encamped in Dewey Square since Sept. 30, modeling their demonstration after Occupy Wall Street. Protesters estimate between 100 and 150 activists live in the Boston encampment.

    Jeffrey Feuer, a Cambridge lawyer representing Occupy Boston, said earlier Thursday that he planned to file a motion with Suffolk Superior Court Judge Frances McIntyre asking for a stay of her Wednesday ruling to allow time for an appeal.

    McIntyre ruled that although the protesters are exercising their rights to freedom of expression from government interference, the occupation of state land is essentially viewed “as a hostile act” that is neither speech “nor is it immune from criminal prosecution for trespass or other crimes.”

    “This decision clears the way, but does not order the plaintiffs and other protesters to vacate the site and request permission to set up tents or other equipment for expressive purposes” if Occupy Boston protesters wish to continue to stay at the encampment located on land owned by the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, McIntyre said. “Overnight sleeping and living at Dewey Square are not options under the Conservancy guidelines, however.”

    At a Dec. 1 hearing, Boston’s fire marshal testified that the tent city has numerous serious fire hazards and he feared for the protesters’ safety.

    McIntyre, in her ruling Wednesday, recognized the central theme of the movement, saying it had brought attention to a perceived increasing disparity of wealth and power in the country.

    Vermont Yankee siren test to be heard in parts of Massachusetts and New Hampshire as well as Vermont

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    Massachusetts sirens are located in Gill, Colrain, Leyden, Bernardston and Northfield.

    VERNON, Vt. – The Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant is reminding people within a 10-mile radius of the plant that the emergency sirens are going to be tested early Thursday afternoon.

    A total of 37 sirens are expected to sound for three minutes at 1 p.m. Thursday.

    The sirens are located in the Vermont towns of Brattleboro, Dummerston, Guilford, and Vernon; in New Hampshire in Chesterfield, Hinsdale, Richmond, Swanzey, and Winchester; and in Massachusetts in Gill, Colrain, Leyden, Bernardston and Northfield.

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