Catholic Charities has helped 308 tornado victims with housing costs and still has a waiting list of 60.

The Republican file photo | Dave RobackThe South End Community Center in Springfield as seen three months after the June 1 tornado.

SPRINGFIELD – Over $86,000 in tornado relief funds have been awarded by the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts to a variety of charities throughout the region.

Catholic Charities of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield was among the recipients with a $20,000 grant. A spokesman for the diocese said it has primarily assisted residents with housing crises, an issue that endures despite the fact that months have passed since the storm.

“Unfortunately, it’s not a problem that has gone away. Initially, we were assisting renters displaced by the storm in finding new housing,” said Mark E. Dupont. “Now we’re receiving more appeals from homeowners who are struggling financially because they can’t afford deductibles or their insurance settlements didn’t cover the costs of the damage to their homes.”

Dupont said Catholic Charities has helped 308 people with housing costs and still has a waiting list of 60. The agency helps residents of all denominations.

The Community Foundation established a tornado relief fund in the aftermath of the June 1 tornado to lend a hand to non-profit organizations that were either directly impacted by the storm or helped individuals affected.

“As a community foundation, one of our key roles is pooling the resources of our generous community members to support those most in need. We are pleased to be able to provide much-needed funding to the many nonprofits in our region that have worked tirelessly to keep up with the increased demand brought about by the tornadoes,” said Community Foundation President Ron Ancrum.

Other agencies awarded relief were First Congregational Church of Brimfield, with $20,000 in support to continue volunteer efforts for debris clean-up; HAP, Inc., with $20,000 to boost case management for tornado victims with housing issues; Hitchcock Free Academy, with $14,900 to support special education programs for tornado victims; Holyoke Chicopee Springfield Head Start with $3,500 for construction of playground improvements at their Madison Avenue site; and South End Community Center with $8,000 to offset program expenses while displaced over the summer.

The TV series was filming an episode with an "Occupy" theme.

AP file photoAn Occupy Wall Street protestor holds his sign against a police barricade as pedestrians pass outside Zuccotti Park, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in New York.

NEW YORK (AP) – A protest by about 100 Occupy Wall Street members in New York City shut down production of an episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”

The Daily News reported Friday that the protesters arrived around midnight at Foley Square in Lower Manhattan. The show was making an episode with an “Occupy” theme.

About 100 police officers appeared as the protesters roamed around the park, inspecting tents and signs built by the production company.

Protester Drew Hornbein of Brooklyn Heights said the movement is “not part of corporate TV America.”

The newspaper says a police officer with a bullhorn announced that the city had rescinded the film permit, which drew cheers.

Arrests were threatened, but the crowd dispersed and the set was dismantled.

Police said Friday that Ross Truett Ashley, a 22-year student at nearby Radford University was responsible for killing a Virginia Tech police officer and triggering a campus-wide lockdown for thousands of students.

Associated PressFlowers lie on the ground as a memorial to Virginia Tech police Officer Deriek Crouse who was gunned down Thursday during a traffic stop on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., Friday, Dec. 9, 2011. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

By BOB LEWIS
and ZINIE CHEN SAMPSON

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Police are identifying the Virginia Tech gunman as a 22-year-old college student at nearby Radford University.

Police said Friday that Ross Truett Ashley, of Radford, was responsible for killing a Virginia Tech police officer Thursday, triggering a campus-wide lockdown for thousands of students.

Ashley killed himself after shooting the officer.

Police also say Ashley stole a car on Wednesday from a real estate office in Radford, which is about 15 miles from Virginia Tech.

The shooting shook up the campus, the scene of the nation's worst mass slaying in recent memory.

The man who killed a Virginia Tech police officer walked up to the patrolman he did not know and fired, then took off for the campus greenhouses, ditching his pullover, wool cap and backpack. He made his way to a nearby parking lot and when a deputy spotted him, he took his own life, leaving fresh questions on a campus still coping with the nation's worst mass slaying in recent memory.

Why didn't he run or engage the deputy who closed in? Was he even aware that thousands of students had just been alerted by cell phone that a gunman was on the loose and the campus was locked down? And why did he shoot an officer at a school he never attended?

"That's very much the fundamental part of the investigation right now," state police spokeswoman Corrine Geller said Friday at a news conference.

Authorities said they know who the gunman is, but they were waiting to publicly name him because they said his family didn't know yet. A law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity described the shooter as in his early 20s from Virginia.

The gunman was likely the same man who is accused of stealing a 2011 white Mercedes SUV from a real estate office Wednesday in Radford, which is about 15 miles from Virginia Tech. Office employees told police a man came in with a handgun and demanded keys to one of their vehicles.

The office is located in a gritty part of Radford and caters to students who go to the city's small namesake school. At the real estate office Friday, the shades were drawn and the doors locked.

It's not clear what happened between the robbery and 24 hours later when university officer Deriek W. Crouse, 39, was shot. Police were looking for surveillance video around campus to see if it would lend any clues to the gunman's whereabouts before the shooting.

Crouse was a trained firearms and defense instructor with a specialty in crisis intervention. He had been on the force for four years, joining about six months after 33 people were killed in a classroom building and dorm April 16, 2007.

At 12:15 p.m. Thursday, Crouse pulled over a student and was shot while sitting in his unmarked cruiser. The student didn't have any link to the gunman, Geller said.

Shortly before 12:30 p.m., police received a call from a witness who said an officer had been shot. About six minutes later, the first campus-wide alert was sent by email, text message and electronic signs in university buildings. Many students on campus were preparing for exams, and some described a frantic scene after the initial alert. Soon, heavily armed officers were walking around campus, caravans of SWAT vehicles were driving around and other police cars with emergency lights flashing patrolled nearby.

Students outdoors went inside buildings. Those already there stayed put. Everybody waited.

Police aren't sure what the gunman was doing at this point. After the shooting, he fled on foot to the greenhouses, where he left some of his clothes and his ID.

Fifteen minutes after the witness called police, a deputy sheriff on patrol noticed a man at the back of another parking lot about a half-mile from the shooting. The man was by himself, looking around furtively and acting "a little suspicious," according to Geller.

The deputy drove up and down the rows of the sprawling Cage parking lot and lost sight of the man for a moment. The deputy then found the man lying on the pavement, shot to death. The handgun was nearby.

Police said nobody witnessed the suicide, the parking lot apparently vacant because of warnings. For three more hours, students checked their phones, computers and TVs. Finally, the school gave the all clear.

The events unfolded on the same day Virginia Tech officials were in Washington, fighting a federal government fine over their handling of the 2007 massacre, and the shooting brought back painful memories. About 150 students gathered silently Thursday night for a candlelight vigil on a field facing the stone plaza memorial for the 2007 victims.

"Why Tech, why again?" said Philip Sturgill, a jewelry store owner. "It's so senseless. This is a lovely, lovely place."

An official vigil is planned Friday night.

School spokesman Larry Hincker said the alert system worked exactly as expected.

"It's fair to say that life is very different at college campuses today. The telecommunications technology and protocols that we have available to us, that we now have in place, didn't exist years ago," he said. "We believe the system worked very well."

Lewis reported from Radford. Associated Press writers Michael Felberbaum, Larry O'Dell, Steve Szkotak and Dena Potter in Richmond, Va., and Eric Tucker in Washington, contributed to this report

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 186 points to end the week at 12,184.

Associated Press photoFront row left to right, Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor and Croatian President Ivo Josipovic. Second row, left to right, Estonia's Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Slovakian Prime Minister Iveta Radicova. Back row left to right, Belgium's Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo and Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero during a group photo at an EU summit in Brussels on Friday. The president of the European Council said Friday that a new intergovernmental treaty meant to save the euro currency will include the 17 eurozone states plus as many as six other European Union countries, but not all 27 EU members. (Photo by Yves Logghe)

NEW YORK – A deal to forge stronger ties between most of Europe’s economies sent stocks sharply higher Friday as hopes grew that the region is close to resolving its debt crisis. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 186 points.

The Dow and S&P 500 both had their second straight week of gains. Financial stocks rose the most over the week as worries eased about Europe. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose back above 2 percent as investors shed low-risk investments.

All 17 nations that use the euro agreed to sign a treaty that allows a central European authority closer oversight of their budgets. Nine other EU nations are considering it. Britain is the lone holdout.

The agreement came after marathon overnight talks among European leaders at a two-day summit in Brussels. A deal on tighter fiscal control is considered a crucial step before the European Central Bank will consider committing more money to lower borrowing costs of heavily indebted countries like Italy and Spain by buying their bonds.

Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist with Schaffer’s Investment Research, cautioned that investors have been disappointed by Europe’s previous efforts to contain its debt crisis. The market will likely remain volatile in the coming weeks, Detrick said, because the Europe plan is “only a minor step” toward a solution.

“We’ve seen these agreements before, and they can just as easily deteriorate,” Detrick said.

The Dow closed up 186.56 points, or 1.6 percent, at 12,184.26. It’s up 1.4 percent for the week.

Bank stocks led the market higher, reflecting traders’ optimism about Europe’s progress toward solving its crisis. Citigroup Inc. rose 3.7 percent, Morgan Stanley 3.1 percent and JPMorgan Chase & Co. 3 percent.

Banks have been weighed down for months by fears about their exposure to Europe. The biggest European banks have been downgraded. If Europe’s crisis spins out of control, U.S. banks that do business with them would also suffer because of the closely intertwined relationships between global lenders and financial markets.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed up 20.84 points, or 1.7 percent, at 1,255.19. The Nasdaq composite index finished up 50.47, or 1.9 percent, at 2,646.85. The S&P is up 0.9 percent for the week, the Nasdaq 0.8 percent.

The gains were broad. DuPont was the only stock among the 30 in the Dow average to fall. The chemical and materials company slid 3.2 percent after saying it expects earnings this year will fall well short of Wall Street’s forecasts because of weak demand for electronics and industrial supplies.

It was the second consecutive week of gains for all three indexes. Stocks were pummeled two weeks ago as borrowing costs soared for European nations such as Italy. They recovered last week after the world’s major central banks announced a program to give commercial banks easier, cheaper access to loans in U.S. dollars.

Both the Dow and the S&P have risen 14 percent since hitting yearly lows on Oct. 3. Only the Dow, however, is higher for the year. The Dow’s up 5.2 percent for 2011; the S&P and Nasdaq are each down 0.2 percent.

Trading volume was very light. Just 3.6 billion shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange, well below the recent daily average of 4.7 billion.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.07 percent from 1.97 percent late Thursday, signaling lower demand for ultra-safe investments. The rise followed news that a survey of U.S. consumer sentiment hit a six-month high this month, better than Wall Street expected. Stocks barely reacted.

“The U.S. is showing definite signs of improving on the economic front, yet we almost ignore it, and every day we seem to focus on European issues,” Detrick said.

Many think the only path out of the debt crisis is a more active role by the European Central Bank, which can buy up government debt to keep nations’ borrowing costs down. It currently buys bonds in the markets, but only reluctantly, and in small quantities.

Germany and France, the two biggest economies in the euro zone, had hoped to persuade all 27 members of the European Union to change an EU treaty and impose tight fiscal rules on its members. Britain refused to join in because it wanted to be exempt from proposed financial rules.

Among other companies making big moves:

Pall Corp. surged 7.9 percent after the filtration equipment maker reported fiscal first-quarter earnings that far exceeded analysts’ expectations.

The Cooper Cos. Inc. leaped 16.6 percent after the eye care company topped expectations with its fiscal fourth-quarter performance.

GE rose 3.2 percent after the manufacturing giant said it will increase its quarterly dividend by 2 cents to 17 cent per share, GE’s fourth increase in two years.

The helicopter, based at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, was able to locate her car in a wooded area and direct police on the ground to it.

Republican file photoThe Massachusetts State Police Air Wing helicopter, shown here, is credited with finding a suicidal woman in Deerfield Friday

DEERFIELD - The Massachusetts State Police helicopter, based at Westover Air Reserve Base, is being credited with locating a suicidal woman deep in a wooded area in Deerfield Friday afternoon and directing officers to the scene in time to stop her from taking her own life, the state police announced.

The 43-year-old woman, whose name and hometown were being withheld, was taken to an area hospital for treatment.

When officials found her, she was attempting to commit suicide by breathing carbon monoxide from her vehicle's exhaust, police said.

Area police were notified to look for the woman shortly after 1 p.m. after being notified that she was distraught and at risk of taking her own life.

Two troopers scrambled the state police Air Wing helicopter from Westover to aid in the search and spotted her car shortly after 3 p.m. They were able to lead police on the ground to the vehicle where they were able to interrupt her suicide attempt.

In February 2012, the unmanned Dragon capsule will fly to the space station and dock with a load of supplies.

By MARCIA DUNN | AP Aerospace Writer

File photo | Associated PressSpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket blasts off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., last year carrying a Dragon capsule, which is designed to deliver up to 13,000 pounds of cargo to the International Space Station. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, will attempt the first-ever commercial cargo run to the International Space Station next year. NASA announced the news Friday, Dec. 9, 2011, one year and one day after SpaceX, became the first private business to launch a capsule into orbit and return it safely to Earth. On Feb. 7, 2012, SpaceX will attempt another orbital flight from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. This time, the unmanned Dragon capsule will fly to the space station and dock with a load of supplies. (AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Red Huber, File)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A private California company will attempt the first-ever commercial cargo run to the International Space Station in February.

NASA announced the news Friday, one year and one day after Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, became the first private business to launch a capsule into orbit and return it safely to Earth.

On Feb. 7, SpaceX will attempt another orbital flight from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. This time, the unmanned Dragon capsule will fly to the space station and dock with a load of supplies.

NASA stressed it is a target date.

"Pending all the final safety reviews and testing, SpaceX will send its Dragon spacecraft to rendezvous with the International Space Station in less than two months," said NASA's No. 2, deputy administrator Lori Garver. "So it is the opening of that new commercial cargo delivery era."

NASA has turned to industry to help stock the space station now that the space shuttles are retired, investing hundreds of millions of dollars in this startup effort. The station currently is supplied by Russian, European and Japanese vessels.

SpaceX's Dragon capsule will fly within two miles of the space station, for a checkout of all its systems. Then it will close in, with station astronauts grabbing the capsule with a robotic arm. The Dragon ultimately will be released for a splashdown in the Pacific. None of the other cargo carriers come back intact; they burn up on re-entry.

If the rendezvous and docking fail, SpaceX will try again. That was the original plan: to wait until the third mission to actually hook up with the station and delivery supplies. SpaceX wanted to hurry it up.

None of the supplies on board the Dragon will be one-of-a-kind or crucial, in case of failure.

SpaceX — run by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk — is one of several companies vying for space station visiting privileges. It hopes to step up to astronaut ferry trips in perhaps three more years. In the meantime, Americans will be forced to continue buying seats on Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

"Every decision that we make at SpaceX is focused on ... taking crew to space," SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said Friday at a forum in Seattle about NASA's future. She said the company is "thrilled" at the prospect of delivering cargo to the space station early next year, and noted that the company is shooting for 2014 with astronauts.

Congress has appropriated $406 million for the commercial crew effort for 2012, considerably less than NASA's requested $850 million.

"It is nevertheless a significant step," Garver said at the forum, televised by NASA. She said NASA is evaluating whether it can speed up when U.S. companies "deliver our precious astronauts to and from the space station."

“We went into this with the idea that we would do what we could with our own guys, and then augment our forces with contractors.”

File photo by Dave Roback / The RepublicanThe last blooming cosmos was seen in a garden in South Hadley the day an October snowstorm hit the region.

SOUTH HADLEY – The Department of Public Works has been cleaning up tree debris since the October snowstorm, and on Tuesday the Selectboard gave DPW director Jim Reidy the go-ahead to hire additional manpower and equipment to continue the job as winter approaches.

Reidy said that in the end the storm will cost the town about $400,000 to clean up.

“We went into this with the idea that we would do what we could with our own guys, and then augment our forces with contractors,” said Reidy, who credits this plan with keeping costs down.

His department collected bids from companies that provide log trucks, roll-off trucks and Bobcats, with such specialized equipment as grapple attachments and skid steers.

Grapple attachments are hooks or claws that can drag or lift logs. Skid steers are engine-powered “arms” that lift the tools that are attached to them.

Reidy presented the Selectboard with a list of bidders, along with the comment that the amount of tree debris removal work “has made it very difficult to obtain these services.”

Projects like these by law must go out to bid, but because of the extraordinary circumstances, the DPW did not have to stop with the lowest bidder. If some companies had a greater capacity, they could also be hired, as long as the lowest bidder was not skipped, said Reidy.

Chester Sinclair, a Town Meeting member, asked Reidy about a rumor that some people were getting paid $100 an hour for their work removing tree debris.

Reidy said that was not true. He did receive bids of $100 an hour and higher for the use of a crews and equipment, but not for an individual.

At the same meeting, the Selectboard also approved the DPW’s request for the purchase of a sander. They cost of $9,900 will be taken from the 2012 snow and ice budget.

Reidy explained that one of his department’s dump trucks used for plowing and sanding is out of commission.

He plans to remove its plow and attach it to another truck, and to install a new “slide-in” sander in yet another truck, a used dump truck that was purchased from Mount Holyoke College a year ago.

Lobo was recognized for her work on breast cancer awareness; Ryan, who served as Springfield mayor twice, volunteered his time with several organizations.

The Republican | Michael S. GordonFormer Springfield Mayor Charles V. Ryan, left, and former University of Connecticut and WNBA basketball star Rebecca Lobo, center, were honored by the Rotary Club of Springfield with Service Above Self Awards on Friday at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Ryan's wife, Joan, is at right.

SPRINGFIELD – Fans of basketball great Rebecca Lobo and former Springfield Mayor Charles V. Ryan came to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Friday to celebrate the pair’s civic and charitable contributions.

At a luncheon marking the start of the Holiday Showcase tournament, Lobo and Ryan were given the Rotary Club of Springfield’s Service Above Self award for outstanding community service.

Speaking to a crowd of about 400 attending the second annual event, Ryan, 84, noted that his 35 grandchildren would be especially impressed by the award’s cross-generational reach.

“Usually, you are known by the company you keep,” said Ryan, who served as mayor from 1962 to 1968 and from 2004 to 2008.

“When my teenage grandchildren see Rebecca Lobo was here, my stock is really going to go up,” he said.

As a basketball prodigy at Southwick-Tolland Regional High School, Lobo broke the state scoring record; at the University of Connecticut, she led the team to a 35-0 record and national championship; in the Olympics, her team won a gold medal.

But accepting the award Friday, Lobo marveled at Ryan’s record of 59 years of marriage to his wife Joan, who joined them at the head table.

“Sixty years they’re going to be married – I’ve only been married for eight,” said Lobo, who married sportswriter Steve Rushin in 2003 and has four children.

The Republican | Michael S. GordonFrom left Friday at the Rotary Club of Springfield Service Above Self Awards Luncheon at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: John L. Doleva, president and CEO of the Hall of Fame, former Springfield Mayor Charles V. Ryan, former University of Connecticut and WNBA basketball star Rebecca Lobo, Ed Sunter, president of the Rotary Club of Springfield, District 7890, Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Frank Colaccino, CEO, The Colvest Group, Ltd.

Now 38 and working as an ESPN analyst, Lobo was recognized for her work on breast cancer awareness, beginning in college when her mother, RuthAnn Lobo, was first diagnosed.

The Lobos founded “The RuthAnn and Rebecca Lobo Scholarship in Allied Health” in 2001 at UConn. It is awarded annually to students studying health sciences in an effort to encourage diversity in the health professions.

Lobo and her mother also wrote a book, “The Home Team,” which shared details of RuthAnn’s battle with cancer.

The list of charities supported by Lobo includes the Children’s Miracle Network, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Teach for America, the American Library Association and the Susan G. Koman Association.

Recalling her mother’s struggle with cancer, Lobo said the initial prognosis was two years, but she lived for 17, reflecting progress made in treatment over that period. RuthAnn Lobo died in July.

“I can’t imagine what my life would be like if my mother hadn’t been here for my wedding,” said Lobo, whose reception was held at the Hall of Fame’s center court.

Ryan used his speech to emphasize the importance of helping others, using the recovery from the June 1 tornado and the October blizzard to illustrate his point.

“I know I’m preaching to the converted,” Ryan told the crowd. “Neighbor helping neighbor... it’s something that makes noble our human condition.”

Beyond his career as a lawyer and elected official, Ryan volunteered his time with Springfield Central Inc., a downtown development group; the Elms College Board of Trustees, the Springfield Library Foundation, the Sisters of St. Joseph and other groups.

The Republican | Michael S. GordonFormer Springfield Mayor Charles V. Ryan, left, and former University of Connecticut and WNBA basketball star Rebecca Lobo were honored by the Springfield Rotary with Service Above Self Awards on Friday at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

A "Holyoke unity breakfast" and a conference about transition topics are scheduled on Saturday.

Alex Morse

HOLYOKE – Mayor-elect Alex B. Morse will hold transition events on Saturday.

A “Holyoke unity breakfast” is set for 9 to 11 a.m. at the Boys and Girls Club at 70 Nick Cosmos Way. The cost is $20.

A free conference about transition topics will be from noon to 5 p.m. at Holyoke Transportation Center at 206 Maple St.

Morse will be sworn into office Jan. 3. He defeated Mayor Elaine A. Pluta in the Nov. 8 election.

Republican Gov. Robert Bentley said he wants to eliminate unnecessary burdens on legal residents and businesses and protect faith-based services while ensuring that everyone working in Alabama is legal.

Associated PressAlabama Gov. Robert Bentley is pictured at the Governor's Mansion in Montgomery, Ala., Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011. Alabama Republicans who pushed through the nation's toughest law against illegal immigrants are having second thoughts amid a backlash from big business, fueled by the embarrassing traffic stops of two foreign employees tied to the state's prized Honda and Mercedes plants. Bentley, who signed the law, said he's contacting foreign executives to tell them they and their companies are still welcome in Alabama. "We are not anti-foreign companies. We are very pro-foreign companies." (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

By PHILLIP RAWLS

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama's governor said Friday he's working to clarify and simplify Alabama's tough immigration law, which critics say has damaged the state's international reputation and caused hardships for legal residents.

Republican Gov. Robert Bentley said he wants to eliminate unnecessary burdens on legal residents and businesses and protect faith-based services while ensuring that everyone working in Alabama is legal.

"We recognize that changes are needed to ensure that Alabama has not only the nation's most effective law, but one that is fair and just, promotes economic growth, preserves jobs for those in Alabama legally, and can be enforced effectively and without prejudice," the governor said in a statement.

Bentley didn't offer any specific changes being considered, but the law's opponents took his comments as an encouraging sign that they will go deeper than the "tweaks" he previously said were needed.

Aides to the governor and legislative leaders said details are being worked out. The governor's communications director, Rebekah Mason, said nothing will change regarding the employment of illegal immigrants, including requiring businesses to use the federal E-Verify system to check the legal status of new hires. "Anything beyond that is open for revision," she said.

The Legislature passed the law and Bentley signed it with the goal of scaring off illegal immigrants and opening up jobs for legal residents in a state suffering from nearly 10 percent unemployment. More than 30 groups and individuals challenged the law, but federal courts let several major provisions of the law take effect in late September.

Since then, two foreign workers for Alabama's prized Honda and Mercedes auto assembly plants have been stopped by police for not having the required documents to prove residency. The cases were later dropped.

But the incidents brought unwanted international attention to Alabama and prompted the Birmingham Business Alliance and others involved in industrial recruitment to call for changes to protect Alabama's image internationally.

Bentley said he and legislative leaders are addressing Alabama's image.

"We are reaching out internationally to reassure our global partners that the business climate in Alabama is as strong as ever, and our people and communities are as inviting and welcoming as we've always been," Bentley said.

Brian Hilson, president of the Birmingham Business Alliance, praised the officials for recognizing "the concerns of many, including the business community." He said the organization serving Alabama's largest metro area believes the law "taints the image and perception of Alabama" and places "uncertain and severe" penalties on businesses and individuals for violations.

One of the groups challenging Alabama's law in federal court said the governor's announcement represents a significant shift in the state's position, which had been that only "tweaks" would be made.

"It's encouraging that every state leader has now acknowledged that the law is incredibly flawed," said Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

"The question now is how they'll move beyond rhetoric and truly restore the state's reputation. The devil will be in the details," he said.

United Steel Workers Vice President Fred Redmond said in a statement that the efforts by Bentley and Republican lawmakers to fix the law are "too little too late and not a viable solution." He said the law mirrors the fear and racism of the Jim Crow era.

"There is no question that our immigration system is broken," Redmond said in a statement. "But our answer as a nation cannot be to start criminalizing families. Alabama's solution has terrorized communities and separates families and we must stop it in its tracks."

When Bentley signed the immigration law, he called it the nation's toughest. His communications director said the goal now is to have the nation's most effective law. "Tough is open for debate," Mason said.

The law requires a check of legal residency when conducting everyday transactions such as obtaining a car license, enrolling a child in school, getting a job or renewing a business license.

Several parts of the law are on hold because of federal lawsuits, including a provision requiring schools to check the legal status of new students and making it a crime to transport an illegal immigrant.

Faith-based groups have been among the critics of the law, because they say it makes religious outreach and charity to immigrant communities illegal.

Bentley said he and the Republican leaders of the Legislature, House Speaker Mike Hubbard, and Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, have been meeting with many groups, including the business, education, agriculture, and faith communities. Bentley said it became clear from those meetings that changes are needed.

The House speaker said, "The Legislature isn't going to repeal or weaken the law, but there may be ways we can make it work better."

The Election Commission works with Election Commissioner Gladys Oyola and office staff to oversee elections and related duties.

SPRINGFIELD – Mayor Domenic J. Sarno has appointed Douglas L. Macmillan to the city’s Election Commission.

Macmillan, of 138 Firglade Ave., is president of Macmillan and Son, Inc. He fills a Republican vacancy on the commission.

The Election Commission works with Election Commissioner Gladys Oyola and office staff to oversee elections and related duties. The three members of the commission receive annual stipends of $650.

The police chief confirmed the case involves a 17-year veteran and a department-issued rifle that went missing.

Republican file photo

HOLYOKE – Police Chief James M. Neiswanger said Friday he is nearing completion of an investigation in a case in which a sergeant lost a $2,500 sniper rifle.

Neiswanger said he could have a public statement next week.

The police chief confirmed Nov. 16 that the case involves Sgt. John P. Hart, a 17-year veteran, and a department-issued rifle that went missing. Hart declined to comment.

Veteran Republicans are trying to figure out why the former House speaker is supported by GOP voters who think he's not particularly honest and doesn't share their values.

Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks at a town meeting at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Cheryl Senter)

By CHARLES BABINGTON

WASHINGTON – Newt Gingrich's rapid rise in presidential polls has left veteran Republicans scratching their heads, and not just because he vaulted from far back to lead Mitt Romney in several key states.

They're trying to figure out why the former House speaker is supported by GOP voters who think he's not particularly honest and doesn't share their values. They're puzzled that Iowa evangelical Christians are flocking to a man who was unfaithful to two wives, paid $300,000 in House ethics fines and converted to Roman Catholicism.

They're surprised that Republican voters say they value Gingrich's experience far more than that of his rivals. Gingrich's record of earning millions of dollars in the government influence business, after 20 years in Congress, seems to upend the notion that this election cycle is driven by tea partyers' hostility to Washington insiders.

"I can't decipher what's going on," said Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., one the tea party's best-known first-term lawmakers.

"I've had a little trouble figuring it out, too," said Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, one of Congress' most conservative members.

Fueling the perplexity are three independent polls of Iowa Republicans, who will hold their caucus Jan. 3. They show Gingrich leading, with Romney and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas battling for second, and four others trailing.

Republican elected officials and strategists offer an array of theories, with varying degrees of confidence.

One school holds that Gingrich articulates conservative positions so forcefully that he attracts hard-right voters willing to overlook his record of inconsistencies and foibles. While many people see Gingrich as a consummate Washington insider -- making $1.6 million advising Freddie Mac, for instance -- his sharply anti-Washington rhetoric and unorthodox views convince others that he's willing to buck the system and make needed changes.

Another theory, however, suggests that many Republicans simply don't know much about Gingrich, 68, whose greatest political triumph was 17 years ago when he rose to become House speaker. Voters may be unaware of his repeated clashes with fellow Republicans, or his 1995 complaint about being seated in the back of Air Force One. Gingrich said the "snub" contributed to that year's budget impasse with President Bill Clinton and the unpopular government shutdown that followed.

File photo | Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, and his wife Callista Gingrich speak after the debate at the Benjamin Johnson Arena in Spartanburg, S.C., last month. (AP Photo/Richard Shiro)

With Gingrich, "the message resonates more than the record," said Mark Meckler, a co-founder of Tea Party Patriots. Gingrich is skilled at synthesizing and expressing conservatives' goals and anger, Meckler said. But he also has "a long history that's hard to explain away."

If that's true, it's possible the attacks being launched against Gingrich, mainly by Paul and groups backing Romney, will take a big toll before the Iowa caucus and the Jan. 10 New Hampshire primary.

It's also possible, some GOP analysts say, that the attacks will endear Gingrich to conservatives more than ever. Romney has struggled for months to rise above 30 percent in Republican horserace polls.

The obvious hunger for a non-Romney candidate could anoint Gingrich if he's the last rival standing after others have fallen.

Issues and questions raised by the three polls of Iowa Republicans include:

• EXPERIENCE

Separate surveys for The Des Moines Register and New York Times-CBS News showed Gingrich with an overwhelming lead on the question of which Republican has the best experience to be president and handle world crises.

That raises serious doubts about Romney's strategy. The former one-term Massachusetts governor says his decades as a businessman are preferable to the background of someone who "has spent the last 40 years in Washington."

Romney's campaign this week brought out former congressional colleagues of Gingrich who said he was divisive and erratic in his four years as House speaker.

Even his toughest critics generally praise Gingrich for leading the 1994 GOP takeover of the House. But they note that his tempestuous time as party leader led to a failed Republican coup attempt in 1997, and then his departure from office after the disappointing 1998 elections.

Other Gingrich critics are trying to remind voters that he has favored bank bailouts, an individual mandate to buy health insurance and a bipartisan push to combat climate change. They highlight the millions of dollars he made in the Washington influence world, including his contract with Freddie Mac, a mortgage backer he publicly criticized.

Two decades in Congress, followed by big paychecks from special interest groups, would hardly seem the type of resume embraced by tea party activists. But King, the Iowa conservative, said staunch conservatives know that some level of government experience is needed to change federal policies.

"The anti-Washington part of the tea party seems to have diminished a little bit," King said. "They've become more sophisticated. They have a better understanding of how Washington works."

• VALUES vs IDEAS

The Times-CBS poll asked Iowa Republicans to name the candidate that best represents "the values you try to live by." Rep. Michele Bachmann, Paul and Romney were bunched near the top, although no one was chosen by more than 19 percent of the respondents. Gingrich finished fourth, at 11 percent.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll found that only 13 percent of likely Iowa caucusgoers see Gingrich as the most honest and trustworthy in the field, also a fourth-place showing. Yet Gingrich easily leads on the "who would you vote for" question.

Gingrich may have struck a nerve with voters by saying the 2012 election against President Barack Obama will be a campaign of ideas. Curt Levey, who heads the conservative Committee for Justice, said Gingrich recently told a private gathering of activists in Washington, "Don't support me, support my ideas."

In the Des Moines Register poll, Gingrich finished sixth on the question of which candidate is "most likeable." But he was the overwhelming choice as "best debater." He has challenged Obama to seven three-hour debates in the Lincoln-Douglas mold.

Veteran politicians sometimes roll their eyes when Gingrich unspools yet another round of ideas, which have included "a massive new program to build a permanent lunar colony to exploit the Moon's resources."

Iowa Republicans, at least for now, seem drawn to his intellect and ideas.

File photo | Associated PressRalph Reed of the Christian Coalition. left, and House Speaker Newt Gingrich wave to the crowd together at the Christian Coalition Faith and Freedom Celebration shortly before Gingrich gave a short speech in Balboa Park in San Diego, Calif. on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 1996. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Alex Garcia)

• RELIGIOUS CONSERVATIVES

In the Times-CBS poll in Iowa, Gingrich held a 2-to-1 lead over his nearest rival, Paul, among white evangelicals. He held a 3-to-1 lead over Romney, a Mormon.

Gingrich's acknowledged infidelities and two divorces are well documented. He was having an affair with a House staffer, now his wife, when he pushed for Clinton's impeachment over the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

Romney's latest TV ad notes that he has been married to the same woman for 42 years. Republican strategists are divided on the likely impact of such messages. Some think religious conservatives will turn against Gingrich when they learn more details of his past. Others think these voters might embrace Gingrich's story of contrition and hoped-for redemption.

• ELECTABILITY

In the Times-CBS poll, nearly half of Iowa Republicans said it's more important to pick a nominee who can beat Obama than to have one who agrees with them on the issues. Gingrich has a 23-point lead among these voters: 43 percent to Romney's 20 percent.

Yet most polls show Obama faring better against Gingrich than against Romney in hypothetical match-ups in key states. The findings puzzle some GOP insiders.

Voters sometimes express conflicting views, they note. And voters might believe Gingrich is stronger, or will become stronger, than the polls suggest.

Meckler, the tea party activist, thinks close and literal readings of the Iowa poll results can give a misleading picture of the contest. He also noted that Rudy Giuliani led the GOP field at this point four years ago, only to collapse.

He thinks many Republicans are embracing Gingrich's robust attacks on institutions they dislike, such as the news media and congressional wheeling and dealing.

"The way he pushes back against the press is very appealing to a lot of people," Meckler said. "People feel like he speaks for them."

When Gingrich used "stupid" to describe the bipartisan "supercommittee," which failed to break the political logjam on deficit spending, he expressed "our feelings exactly," Meckler said. "We knew it would fail. It was fake."

Meckler said such bombastic, anti-establishment language helps Gingrich obscure his history of cutting deals and pushing agendas as a lawmaker and well-paid consultant. "There is a disconnect between that and his long-term record," Meckler said.

Romney's goal in the next few weeks, either directly or through third parties, is to make that connection for voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and beyond.

Gingrich "is not a reliable or trustworthy leader," Jim Talent, a Republican who served with Gingrich in the House, said in a Romney-sponsored conference call Thursday.

The campaign will test whether conservative voters will overlook such barbs and embrace Gingrich's ideas and in-your-face rhetoric.

AP Deputy Polling Director Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.

John Brosnahan, 67, a former Bedford police officer, killed three family members in Cambridge before fatally shooting himself in Brighton, according to Middlesex County authorities.

AP Photo/Charles KrupaInvestigators examine a crime scene along the Charles River in Boston Friday night, Dec. 9. According to Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone, three family members were fatally shot earlier in the evening in Cambridge, and shooting suspect John Brosnahan, a former Bedford police officer, was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound along the river.

CAMBRIDGE — A former Massachusetts police officer suspected in a triple homicide has died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. and Cambridge Police Commissioner Robert C. Haas said at a news conference Friday.

Hours after the Friday evening shooting, suspect John Brosnahan, a 67-year-old retired Bedford police officer, was found dead in Boston, Leone's office said in a statement.

"At this time, it is believed that Brosnahan fatally shot the three victims, and then fatally shot himself," the district attorney's office said.

Authorities said they found the victims, all of whom were related to Brosnahan, inside the former police officer's Grove Street home in Cambridge around 6:40 p.m. Friday. It was not immediately known what Brosnahan's relationship was with the victims, whose identities were being withheld pending notification of other family members.

About three hours after the killings, Brosnahan's body was discovered near the Charles River in the Brighton section of Boston.

Cambridge police and state troopers assigned to Leone's office are probing the incident, which appears to have stemmed from a domestic dispute.

"This is another horrific example of domestic violence, a familial incident leading to three (deaths) in that house," Leone said.

Brosnahan's body was found near a white Toyota Camry that authorities had been searching for, the Boston Globe reports.

Brosnahan was employed as a patrol officer with the Bedford Police Department from 1972 to 2000, according to the Globe.

An unidentified woman who arrived at the scene of the Cambridge shootings burst into tears and yelled to police, "hope you're happy now," the Boston Herald reports.

Neighbors said they were unaware of any past domestic incidents at the Cambridge home, according to published reports.

"Such an action, if proven to be true, does not reflect on the fine tradition of the Bedford police," Bedford Police Chief Robert Bongiorno told the Herald.

Toy for Joy is in its 89th year.

Mark M. Murray / The Republican2/08/11 Springfield - Employees from the Hasbro Company, were on hand to help off load a truck load of toys at the Greater Springfield Salvation Army Citadel at 170 Pearl Street Thursday, they are from left to right, William Kilty, Patrick Wynn, and Shawn Jones.

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SPRINGFIELD – The toys are here!

The gymnasium at the Salvation Army’s Greater Springfield Citadel was jammed with boxes this week as truckload after truckload of toys, games and books arrived for the Toy for Joy holiday campaign.

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.

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.

Hasbro employees have been among the those helping with the registration of families and the unloading of trucks that arrived here with shipments on Tuesday and Thursday.

“We enjoy coming down here every year,” said Hasbro employee Shawn Jones, one of about six volunteers helping to unload a shuttle of tractor-trailer trucks from Hasbro’s East Longmeadow plant.

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.

Registrations for the program here and in Holyoke, Westfield, Northampton and Greenfield are formally over. Toy distribution for those in the Greater Springfield area begins on Tuesday.

Toy for Joy relies on donations made by readers of The Republican and Masslive.com. The most recent batch of donations tally to $1,634, bringing the total raised to date to $18,531. That leaves $131, 469 to be raised.

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 our granddaughter Morgan Kyleigh Rooney, Merry Christmas in heaven little angel, Babci and Dziadzu, $100
Happy holidays from Sandy Kane, $50
Nancy, $30
In memory of Tiz and Gus. Love, Aimee, $25
In memory of Ted and his parents, $10
Nancy, $10
Merry Christmas to all, from Jackie, $5
Happy holidays and best wishes from Richard, $20
In memory of Tom Egan Jr. on your 10th anniversary from your loving family, $20
In memory of Nanny and Gramp from 13 special grandchildren, $20
In memory of Big Ed, Lorraine and Shirley, $100
Elmo Wilson, I keep you in my heart every day. I love you and miss you much, $25
In loving memory of Donald C. Couchon, $30
In memory of the family from Lee, $10
Loving memory of Dorothy and Stanley Gruszczynski. Love, Sandy, $20
The two most amazing grandchildren, Ethan Paul and Lilah Mae Smith. Love, Amma and Boppa, $20
In memory of Don Sullivan, $50
In loving memory of Shirley and George Wrinkle and Susan Muller from Grace, Christopher and Lucas, $30
In loving memory of my daughter Debby Curry, $10
In memory of Tony Pa. Love, Allie, Dave and Carrie, $25
In loving memory of John P. Toohey. Love, Pats, $100
Thank you St. Jude for prayers answered, CPO, $20
In memory of my brother Michael F. Rybczyk, $100
In memory of Barbara from the Garden Club Girls, $10
Merry Christmas Christopher L, $50
Happy holidays to all children in Springfield, $249
In memory of Heidi Langille, love Mother, $25
In memory of John and Evelyn Lanier, $25
Thankful for Alaina, Aaron, Brady and Brett, $25
Always happy to help, $10
In loving memory of Joanne JR, Sue, $5
In loving memory of my parents Potoula and Sotiri from Sue, $20
In memory of Stanley and Nellie Lysik 2011, $10
In memory of Henry and Alice Roberts 2011, $10
In memory of Janet Lysik, Aunt Jean Dupuis and Tanya Dennis 2011, $10
In memory of Paul Borkowski, Rich Watson, Bonhomme Dulude, Bruce Crowther and Tom Poulin 2011, $10
Philip and Carolynn, $200
In loving memory of Joseph Misiaszek, his son John, and his grandsons Benjamin MacDougall, Jonathan and Louis Hyder, $25
In loving memory of Brian R. Judd Jr. and Charles R. Getchell from their family, $25
In memory of my great grandma Jane Spiewait. Love, Giovanna, $25
For Adam, Nat, Ben, Andy and Ali, $25
In loving memory of our grandfather Joseph Misiaszek with love from Kristin, Mike, Holly Beth and Levi and RJ, too, $25
Lottie, $20

RECEIVED, $1,634
TOTAL TO DATE, $18,531
STILL NEEDED, $131,469

Marcos Gonzalez, 21, is charged with sexually assaulting a girl under age 16.

ENFIELD, Conn. — A Hartford man has been charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl from Enfield, according to published reports.

Marcos Antonio Gonzalez, 21, was arraigned last week in Enfield Superior Court following his Dec. 2 arrest on charges of second-degree sexual assault, risk of injury to a minor and illegal sexual contact with a person under age 16, the Journal Inquirer of Manchester reports.

The newspaper said the teenager, whose precise age was unavailable, claimed in an affidavit that Gonzalez had sex with her in March.

It was not immediately clear when the allegations were made, or where the alleged assault occurred.

Gonzalez is due back in court for a Dec. 21 pretrial hearing. Bail information was not immediately available.

Enfield police handled the investigation.

The family of Haidar Mustafa Abushaqra, 40, who goes by the name "Harry," last heard from the Ellington man after he had attended a meeting in Manchester.

Manchester policeHaidar Mustafa Abushaqra, 40, hasn't been seen since he attended a meeting Wednesday outside of Hartford. Manchester police are requesting anyone with information about the missing Ellington man to call them at (860) 645-5510.

MANCHESTER, Conn. — Police here are looking for a missing Ellington man who last year gained media attention after his wife gave birth to quadruplets in Connecticut.

Authorities said family members of 40-year-old Haidar Mustafa Abushaqra last heard from him just before 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, after he had attended a meeting at 369 Main St. in Manchester, the site of a former family-owned business.

Abushaqra's Mercedes was found in a Main Street parking lot Thursday morning, according to police, who are asking anyone with information about his whereabouts to call them at (860) 645-5510.

Abusqhaqra, who goes by the name "Harry," is the father of six children, including four who were born in April 2010 at UConn Health Center. The delivery marked the hospital's first quadruplets in about a dozen years, according to reports.

Nada Jad, the missing man's wife, said her husband told her he would be home around 9 p.m. Wednesday, but he never arrived.

Police said Abushaqra is around 5-foot-6, 205 pounds with dark hair and brown eyes.

Manchester Police Capt. Christopher Davis said it's too early to tell what may have happened to Abushaqra.

"At this point, we don't know the circumstances leading up to his disappearance, so we're just trying to gather more information," he told Connecticut's EyewitnessNews3.

The TV station reported that Abushaqra is known to Manchester police and has criminal cases pending against him.

Click HERE to watch a report on his disappearance.

Information from EyewitnessNews3, the Hartford Courant, the Manchester Journal Inquirer and NBCConnecticut.com was used in this report.

When gunfire erupts in Hollywood, some people tend to think its only sound effects from a movie being filmed. But that wasn't the case when police shot and killed a man who apparently randomly opened fire on people.

AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Ricardo DeAratanhaInvestigators examine a body at the scene of a fatal shooting on Friday, Dec. 9, in Hollywood, Calif. A gunman who fired at cars and shouted "kill me" and "I'm gonna die!" was shot to death by police after he wounded a driver in the heart of Hollywood, according to California authorities.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — When gunfire rang out on Sunset and Vine, some people on the streets of Hollywood thought there must be a movie set nearby.

But the bullets were real, and they left a gunman dead and a passing driver injured.

The 26-year-old man walked down the middle of the street Friday, firing on passing cars with no clear target until police shot and killed him, authorities said.

Investigators are trying to determine a motive for the attack.

"This is Hollywood, and they do film stuff all the time," Greg Watkins, who was walking along the street when the shooting began, told the Los Angeles Times. "I honestly thought they were filming something."

There were amateur cameras on the man, who in video clips had short hair and wore jeans and a white tank top as he paced back and forth near the busy intersection.

Chris Johns captured video of the gunman from his apartment window several stories above the street, and tried to distract and divert the gunman from shooting anyone on the street.

"Hey why don't you come up here! Come up here buddy!" Johns yelled.

Johns told KABC-TV he saw a plainclothes officer shoot the man.

"I started shouting out to the officer, saying 'take him out, that's the guy!'" Johns said.

The gunman was pronounced dead at the scene, Los Angeles police Officer Cleon Joseph said. No officers were hurt.

The area was cordoned off and the gunman lay under a white sheet in the street hours after the gunfire, leaving traffic tangled on busy Hollywood streets, an area is packed with stores and restaurants.

The 40-year-old male driver of a Mercedes-Benz was wounded in his upper body and taken to a hospital in unknown condition. A truck and another car were struck by bullets.

Oscar Herrera, a witness, said he saw the gunman walking down the middle of Vine Street near Sunset Boulevard, firing at least nine shots into the air and at passing cars.

"People were running all over," Herrera told KABC. "People was ducking."

The gunman eventually ran out of ammunition and pulled a knife before a policeman fired at him four or five times, Herrera said.

He was a 26-year-old from Los Angeles, police spokeswoman Norma Eisenman said. Police said they aren't immediately releasing his name at his family's request until other family members could be contacted.

Dave Pepper told KCAL-TV that he was in his car when the gunman came at him.

"This guy came running across the street and he put the gun right up to this window," Pepper said as he sat in the car. "Why he didn't pull the trigger I don't know."

Available free cash amounts to just over $2.4 million.

File photo | The RepublicanWestfield City Hall.

WESTFIELD – Mayor Daniel M. Knapik will ask the City Council next week to approve spending more than $500,000 of available free cash to finance vehicle replacements and school maintenance projects.

The state Department of Revenue last week certified city free cash, from fiscal 2011, at $2,453,013.

A request for $95,000 will allow the city to lease, towards purchase, two sanitation trucks for the Department of Public Works, a move Knapik and DPW Superintendent James M. Mulvenna said will save the city a considerable sum.

Mulvenna estimated the cost of the two vehicles, if purchased, at $438,000. But, he said the lease-to-own program will save the city in terms of interest and bonding cost. The lease, he said will be paid over a five-year period at which time the city will own the trucks.

“We have purchased new vehicles, a front loader and dump truck, this way in the past two years,” said Mulvenna.

Knapik said he will request another $126,000 to replace two command vehicles and a vehicle for the department mechanic at the Fire Department.

Chief Mary R. Regan said additional vehicle needs are expected to be addressed in the department’s Fiscal 2013 budget.

“The vehicles being replaced now are at least 10 years old and are approaching, or passed, 100,000 miles each,” she said referring the mechanic, chief’s and deputy chief’s vehicles.

One truck the department is looking to replace is the 23-year-old platform vehicle.

Regan said a new platform may be worthy of a lease program since the projected cost is more than $1.2 million.

“The problem with this vehicle is the cost of maintenance,” the chief said, referring to recent hydrolic system repairs. “Unexpected repairs between $7,000 and $10,000 is painful,” she said.

A free cash expenditure of $300,000 will restore funding to the School Department maintenance accounts, Knapik said.

“This will restore funding that was not provided last year and this year and allow the department to attend to maintenance needs,” the mayor said.

Knapik will also ask for $30,000 to finance asbestos removal in two antiquated buildings at Barnes Regional Airport. The buildings, formerly used by the Civil Air Patrol, will be razed to prepare the site for development.

Police officers swept through Dewey Square early Saturday, tearing down tents at the Occupy Boston encampment and arresting dozens of protesters, bringing a peaceful end to the 10-week demonstration.

Boston police officers remove an Occupy Boston protester from Dewey Square in Boston before dawn Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011. More than 40 people were peacefully arrested as the park was cleared. The city had set a Thursday midnight deadline for protesters to leave or face eviction. (AP Photo/The Boston Globe, Essdras M Suarez, , Pool)

BOSTON (AP) — Police officers swept through Dewey Square early Saturday, tearing down tents at the Occupy Boston encampment and arresting dozens of protesters, bringing a peaceful end to the 10-week demonstration.

Officers began moving into the encampment at about 5 a.m. to "ensure compliance with the trespassing law," police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said. The city had set a deadline for midnight Thursday for the protesters to abandon the site but police took no action until early Saturday, making Boston the latest city where officials moved to oust protesters demonstrating against what they call corporate greed and economic injustice.

As police moved in, about two dozen demonstrators linked arms and sat down in nonviolent protest and officers soon began arresting them, according to the Boston Globe.

The protesters were "very accommodating" to the officers, Driscoll said. Forty-six people were arrested on charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct, police said. No injuries were reported.

The entire operation lasted less than an hour. Crews then entered the area to begin cleaning it.

Following the eviction, Occupy Boston organizers released a statement vowing to continue the protest.

"You cannot evict an idea whose time has come. Boston’s occupiers will persist in rejecting a world created by and for the 1 percent," the group said in a statement. "We might have been evicted, but we shall not be moved. We remain invested in the future of our movement. We will continue to challenge Wall Street’s occupation of our government."

A followup protest has been scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday at the bandstand on the Boston Common.

Protesters first erected the encampment on Sept. 30. Many pulled up stakes and left the encampment Thursday after learning of the midnight deadline Mayor Thomas Menino had set for them to leave the square, but others stayed, and some said they were prepared to be arrested.

While Menino previously had said the city had no plans to forcibly remove the encampment, he appeared to become increasingly impatient with the protesters in recent days, saying the occupation had become a public health and safety hazard. He issued his ultimatum after a judge ruled on Wednesday that the protesters had no right to stay in Dewey Square.

Protesters estimate that 100 to 150 activists lived in the Boston encampment. Demonstrators were forcibly removed from similar encampments in New York City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and San Francisco.