Democrats and Republicans alike are accusing Mitt Romney of being out of touch.

Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during a "We the People" Presidential Forum at VFW Post in Hudson, N.H., on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2011. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

By KASIE HUNT

HUDSON, N.H. – Democrats and Republicans alike are accusing Mitt Romney of being out of touch after he said during this weekend's debate that he would make a $10,000 bet with Rick Perry even as millions of Americans struggle to make ends meet in a troubled economy.

Romney shrugged off the comment Sunday – but says he's been reminded he's not a good gambler.

"After the debate was over, Ann came up and gave me a kiss," Romney said, referring to his wife. "And she said, 'there are a lot of things you do well. Betting isn't one of them.'"

Romney's bet — for a sum that represents more than two months' salary for Americans with mid-range incomes —has ignited a discussion about whether Romney, a wealthy businessman whose worth is estimated at more than $200 million, is out of step with the challenges facing the millions of struggling or unemployed Americans who are having trouble providing for their families in an ailing economy.

"I would suggest to you that $10,000 is pocket change for Mitt," said Perry, the Texas governor, who was campaigning in Iowa on Sunday. "Having an extra $10,000 to throw down on a bet seems very out of the ordinary."

Democrats have seized on the remarks, eagerly pointing out just how much $10,000 can buy. Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz called the remark "the most out-of-touch moment in any debate so far — offering to bet Rick Perry $10,000 as casually as if it's something he does all the time," she said in a statement.

The remark is likely to become an issue in a general election campaign that President Barack Obama has begun to define as a fundamental philosophical struggle between fighting for shared sacrifice and curtailing government to let people fend for themselves.

"Their philosophy is simple: We are better off when everyone is left to fend for themselves and play by their own rules," Obama said of the GOP at a major speech in Osawatomie, Kan., last week, invoking former President Teddy Roosevelt. "I'm here to say they are wrong."

Romney's campaign has spent most of the year focused on Obama instead of on his GOP rivals. And while former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has risen to the top of polls in several early states, Romney says he still believes he'll be the Republican nominee.

"I'm going to get the nomination," he told reporters here Sunday night.

Associated PressRepublican presidential candidates Texas Gov. Rick Perry, left, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, right, take part in the Republican debate, Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

When pressed about how he came up with the $10,000 bet figure, Romney wouldn't say.

"That's all I got," he said, laughing with the audience of supporters standing behind him.

Romney tried to make the bet with the Texas governor after Perry accused Romney of making changes to parts of his book, "No Apology."

"You've raised that before, Rick. And you're simply wrong," Romney said. Perry said it was true as Romney laughed and then said: "Rick, I'll, I'll tell you what. Ten thousand bucks? Ten thousand dollar bet?" He stuck his hand out to Perry, who wouldn't take it.

Romney made his millions at Bain Capital, a venture capital firm. In 2008, he sometimes struggled to explain his wealth; he ended up spending more than $45 million of his own money on his failed campaign.

Romney has yet to make a significant contribution to his bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Instead, he's tried to emphasize his focus on middle class families and the struggles they're facing in the economy. He has pitched his tax plan as good for middle class Americans — rejecting a flat tax proposal that Perry supports because he says it would raise taxes on the middle class.

But he's made other slip-ups on the campaign trail that have occasionally cast him as out-of touch.

In June, Romney sat and listened as, one by one, a group of unemployed Floridians told him about struggling to find work. "I should tell my story," Mr. Romney said. "I'm also unemployed."

Aides said he was joking. Romney hasn't held a job in recent years — instead, he's campaigned for other Republicans and built his own presidential campaign.

And at the Iowa State Fair in August, Romney stood on bales of hay and shouted down a questioner who accused him of favoring corporations over average Americans who rely on programs like Social Security.

"Corporations are people, my friend!" Romney shouted back.

But Romney has also made stories about his father's Spartan upbringing a central part of his usual campaign speech as he has worked to connect with voters struggling in a bad economy. George Romney grew up poor and went on to become governor of Michigan. On the campaign trail, Romney likes to tell stories about how his father paid for his honeymoon as he went along, selling aluminum paint out of his car as the newlyweds drove.

In recent days, Romney has also started to point to his time working as a Mormon missionary in France to make the point that he can relate with those who have less. He mentioned it in Saturday's debate and talked at length about it here Sunday.

Romney said he lived on between $500 and $600 per month.

"I lived with people in France who lived very modestly," he said, answering a question from an audience member who wanted Romney to talk about an experience that helped shape his life.

Some of the luxuries Romney was accustomed to at home were missing. "A number of the apartments I lived in when I was there didn't have toilets, we had instead, the little pads on the ground," he said, to laughter. "There was a chain behind you with kind of a bucket, a bucket affair — I had not experienced one of those in the United States."

The experience, he said, made him appreciate the U.S.

"I lived in a way that people of lower middle income in France lived," Romney said, "and I said to myself: 'Wow, I sure am lucky to be born in the United States of America.' "

The records trace several families' lineage back to the 1500s and include people from Western Massachusetts towns evacuated and flooded to make way for Quabbin.

Associated Press

ATHOL – A woman is on the hunt for history after her friends discovered centuries-old Massachusetts genealogy records when they bought the contents of an abandoned Florida storage unit.

Debbie Meyers of Tampa, Fla., says the records trace several families' lineage back to the 1500s, and include people from Western Massachusetts towns that were evacuated and flooded to make way for the Quabbin Reservoir.

Meyers tells the Worcester Telegram the storage company won't disclose the previous owner's name.

But her research into the photos, records, family Bibles and other items strongly suggests it was a woman who originally lived in one of the so-called "lost towns" under the Quabbin, and who died in 2007.

Meyers hopes to find a family member to take the items, or a historical society that might be interested.

City police say 64-year-old Bruce Davies Arnold assaulted a 68-year-old woman after arguing with her at a Northampton bus stop.

NORTHAMPTON — A sexagenarian scuffle at a city bus stop late Saturday afternoon led to charges against a Northampton man, according to a report in the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

The newspaper reports that 64-year-old Bruce Davies Arnold was charged with assaulting a 68-year-old woman at a North King Street bus stop around 5:15 p.m.

Northampton police arrested Arnold later at his apartment at 180 Earle St. He's accused of knocking the woman to the ground during an argument at a North King Street bus stop, according to police and press reports.

Police said Arnold knows the woman, who claims he pushed her to the ground and injured her leg. The woman, whose identity was withheld by police, refused medical treatment.

Arnold is expected to be arraigned in Northampton District Court on a charge of assault and battery on a person over age 60.

Additional information was not immediately available.

The Democratic U.S. representative from Springfield, pictured here, will address the council during a Congressional roundtable breakfast that will focus on spending cuts.

Richard E. Neal

BOSTON — Congressman Richard E. Neal is scheduled to join the New England Council for a breakfast table discussion about federal spending cuts at 9 a.m. Tuesday in Boston.

The event will be held in the second-floor Long Lane Room of the Bank of America building, 100 Federal St., according to the New England Council's website.

Neal, a Springfield Democrat, is expected to talk about his recent work in Congress and ongoing discussions about federal cuts, among other issues.

The nonpartisan New England Council is comprised of businesses, academic and health institutions, and public and private organizations from the six-state New England region.

The council's mission is to identify and support federal public policies that promote regional economic growth. The organization also attempts to serve as a voice for its membership on issues that are relevant to New England.

Meanwhile, Congress is deadlocked along partisan lines over how to tackle the nation's debt problem.

Republicans have said they cannot support any increase in tax collections except through economic growth. Democrats have said they cannot support additional federal spending cuts except as part of a package that includes new taxes.

Neal in August opposed a compromise measure to raise the nation's debt ceiling, arguing that the bipartisan bill wasn't "fair and balanced" and placed the burden of spending cuts squarely on the backs of the middle class and senior citizens.

A congressional supercommittee, whose mission was to pare a government debt that stands at a staggering $15 trillion, was unable to overcome deep and enduring political divisions over taxes and spending.

The congressional panel had a minimum goal of trying to save the country $1.2 trillion over the next decade, but a compromise apparently was not in the cards.

The company recently announced it has received a contract from the Belgium Federal Police calling for 20,000 Smith & Wesson Military & Police 9 mm polymer pistols over a 10-year period.

SPRINGFIELD — Gunmaker Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. reported net sales of $92.2 million during the three-month period ending October 31, up 10 percent from the $83.5 million in net sales recorded during that same period in 2010.

Sales were strong across nearly all firearm products, but were offset by a decline in hunting firearm sales, the company said.

The good news didn’t count 159-year-old Smith & Wesson’s share of what was a record-setting Black Friday for the firearms business this year. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System processed an all-time high of 129,166 background checks for gun buyers on the Friday after Thanksgiving, marking an 88 percent increase over the number of background checks performed on Black Friday 2010.

“We are still analyzing that data,” Smith & Wesson President and CEO James Debney told area stockbrokers at a Friday lunch.

He said the federal background-check data is a very good industry barometer and shows a strong demand for handguns, primarily the pistols Smith & Wesson has been concentrating on to go with the line of revolver-type guns strongly associated with the Smith & Wesson brand.

In other news, the company recently announced it has received a contract from the Belgium Federal Police to manufacture 20,000 Smith & Wesson Military & Police 9 mm polymer pistols over a 10-year period.

The 12,500-member Belgian police force has received an initial shipment of 2,500 pistols as part of its full conversion to Smith & Wesson firearms.

The company claimed a gross quarterly profit of $24.6 million, down slightly from the $25.4 million for the same period last year. The decline had to do with costs associated with moving Smith & Wesson’s Thompson/Center manufacturing business from New Hampshire to Springfield.

Thompson/Center is best known for its black-powder rifles, but today the line includes a variety of guns.

Debney said that relocation work was largely completed in November, and the New Hampshire property and its foundry business are now up for sale.

The company received a seven-year, $6 million state tax break and a five-year, $600,000 city tax abatement in return for moving 225 Thompson/Center jobs to Springfield.

Smith & Wesson also is in the process of divesting itself of its perimeter security business. The company announced in October it would unload the division and instead focus on its core firearm business, which accounted for 92.5 percent of its overall revenue in the first quarter.

Debney has cited reduced government spending among the reasons for selling off its perimeter security business. The division provides security solutions in the defense, transportation, petroleum and chemical industries, as well as corporate facilities, airports and national laboratories.

The marks Toy for Joy's 89th season.

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SPRINGFIELD - More than 4,000 Greater Springfield families have signed up for Toy for Joy this holiday season.

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.

Maj. Thomas E. Perks, co-commander of the Greater Springfield Salvation Army Citadel, said that a special makeup registration day held on Friday pushed the number of participating families over the 4,000 mark.

“It’s been pretty steady,” Perks said Friday afternoon.

Toy for Joy distribution at the Salvation Army’s Greater Springfield Citadel begins tomorrow and will run through Friday. Participants received pre-arranged times to pick up toys, books and games for their children when they registered.

Last year nearly 20,000 children from Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties benefited from the holiday toy campaign.

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.

Maj. Linda-Jo Perks, co-commander, said that volunteers from Hasbro and elsewhere, helped the registration process run smoothly.

“They kept moving things along and people had very small waits,” she said.

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.

Toy for Joy relies on donations made by readers of The Republican and Masslive.com.
Recent donations include $200 from the Italian American Veterans Post 84 in East Longmeadow.

The total raised to date for Toy for Joy is $24,073. That leaves $125,927 to be raised.

For more information, call 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 Bronislaw and Josephine Kasperek and Romeo and Priscilla Martin, $20
In memory of Tom Jekot, love Betty, $100
In memory of my husband Arthur Krowchenko, $25
Linda, $10
In memory of Lorena Gail, $10
In loving memory of Bob and Diane from the Agin family, $10
In loving memory of my father Samuel Rigby, $10
In loving memory of Ken and Margaret Smiledge and David and Edward Dietz from their family, $100
In memory of my Mom Marjorie with love, $100
In loving memory of Nancy and Arthur K. Strole, greatly missed from the Stroles, $25
In loving memory of Rena and Perry E. Hall and Mary E. Grenier from the Stroles, $25
God bless the children, $25
Nancy, $25
For Rocky Nelson who loved all children from Jim and Maryann Lord, $25
Merry Christmas from Michael and Kelly, $50
Paul and Victoria, $25
Thank you St. Jude for favors granted, MML, $50
In loving memory of Robert Van Brocklyn and Mark Satter, they loved Christmas, $30
In memory of our sons Walter Jr. and Daniel, $25
Merry Christmas from Minnie, $5
I have so many blessings, $20
Merry Christmas from Tatum and Tenley, $100
Merry Christmas from Judith, $25
In loving memory of Lynn and GG, $50
SJC, $25
Merry Christmas to all, $20
In memory of the best Mom and Dad, love Reg, $50
In memory of Anna and Edward Bushaw from Eddie and Kristen, $25
Gail and Billy, $100
In memory of Jim Harp, $100
In memory of Leo Malanson, love your wife, children and grandchildren, $10
In honor of St. Jude, $21
In memory of Walter and Sally Jurkowski, $50
Anonymous, $15
In memory of all our deceased members from Italian American War Vets Post 64, $200
In loving memory of Alice Methe and Elizabeth Soja from Jim and Deb, $25
In memory of Gene-Stanley and Irish, $25
In memory of David Mutch from Sara and Becky, $25
In loving memory of Jason DeGray, $50
In memory of Gramma Christmas, $50
Remember Marge and Flip Phillips and Mamie and Pop Moores, $50
Have a blessed Christmas from Linn and Fred, $15
For health and blessings for Marcia, JMC, $20
In memory of Meme and Pepe Wheeler, Memere and Pepere Boissy and Steve from the Wheelers, $50
In loving memory of Uncle Billy, Auntie MaryAnne and Uncle JB, miss you Stephanie and Michelle Pirroni, $40
In loving memory of George R and George W Waterman, sadly missed by their family, $25
Mohammad, $100
Happy Holidays from Sam Mainville, $10
Helen, $25
Edward, $20
In loving memory of Bobby Blair, love Mom and Dad, $10
In loving memory of Ed Wesloski (River Rat), love Vickie and Diane, $10

RECEIVED, $2,056
TOTAL TO DATE, $24,073
STILL NEEDED, $125,927

Former Springfield mob capo Anthony J. Arillotta led a violent coup that included taking out his predecessor, Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno, in 2003.

Republican file photoShown here in a 2002 surveillance photo in Springfield are John Bologna, left, who police say is a "made soldier" from the New York Genovese crime family, and the late Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno.

Over the years, Mafia regimes in Western Massachusetts have risen and fallen with sweeping prosecutions, old age and murder.

Organized crime in Greater Springfield has been as cyclical as every other industry – banking, real estate and politics.

But, with the recent exodus of every made member of the Springfield faction of the Genovese crime family – either through violence, prosecution under powerful federal racketeering laws or entrance into the U.S. Witness Protection Program – the landscape of the region’s mob leadership is truly barren. Law enforcement officials say it is a first.

“For the first time in my memory, all we have left is a handful of bookies. Along with a bunch of older guys we call the geriatric crew,” says State Police Lt. Thomas J. Murphy, an organized crime investigator since the 1990s, of the cast of mob characters remaining in Greater Springfield.

“You took all your made guys and took them out in one shot. No one’s taking the lead or they’re being very covert about it,” Murphy said. “There’s nobody overly anxious to come to the forefront and pick up the ball and run.”

This year’s trial in U.S. District Court in Manhattan that targeted conspirators in the 2003 Springfield murder plots of slain Genovese capo Adolfo “Big Al” Bruno and lower level henchmen yielded the region’s first life sentences for up-and-coming mob heavies Fotios “Freddy” Geas and his younger brother Ty Geas, formerly of West Springfield.

The Geas brothers, once feared enforcers for boss-turned-informant Anthony J. Arillotta, of Springfield, are serving sentences at a federal prison in Kentucky. They were convicted on April 1, along with onetime Bronx, N.Y., acting boss Arthur “Artie” Nigro, of the Genovese crime family, of a litany of murder and extortion conspiracies after a three-week trial.

A fourth defendant, Emilio Fusco, an Italian immigrant from Longmeadow, who’s been identified by witnesses as a “made man” in the Genovese family, is scheduled for trial on parallel charges next year.

Fusco is due to appear in U.S. District Court in Manhattan today for a pretrial conference. His defense lawyer is renewing a motion for bail and asking Judge P. Kevin Castel to dismiss the murder allegations against his client. Fusco is technically charged with racketeering conspiracy with the murders of Bruno and low-level associate Gary D. Westerman as underlying acts, not murder conspiracy.

The four were central to a violent tear that stretched from Springfield to Connecticut and New York as the power structure here shifted in a historically unique way, according to mob investigators.

Arillotta led a coup against Bruno, the fourth in a series of Springfield capos who spanned approximately 40 years. With Nigro’s blessing, according to Arillotta’s testimony, he recruited the Geases and others to take Bruno out in a hail of bullets on Nov. 23, 2003.

The hit was intended to pave the way for Arillotta to take over leadership of the rackets in Western Massachusetts. But, the rackets themselves were faltering and witnesses against Arillotta were persuaded by the government with money and the prospect of shorter prison sentences.

Thus, Arillotta’s potent run as the region’s de facto boss from 2003 to 2010 (including three years he spent in state prison for loan-sharking and gaming convictions) was cut short.

He and fellow made member Felix L. Tranghese, of East Longmeadow, found themselves on the witness stand in March, outlining for the federal jury in the Geases’ case their ascent in the crime family and the details of their turning government witnesses.

While Tranghese had a reputation of being a guy always trying to beat others out of money, most of his tenure encompassed a more passive time. Arillotta, on the other hand, testified he was pressured by Nigro and a visiting emissary, John Bologna, of Westchester, N.Y., who has since joined the ranks of witness protection, to ratchet up extortion efforts in Springfield and murder those who got in their way.

(It has since been made public that Bologna was an FBI informant as he manipulated schemes up and down the East Coast, according to court records.)

In addition to the Bruno murder plot, Arillotta told jurors he was “straightened out,” or became an official member of the Genovese family, in August 2003 after a murder attempt on Frank Dadabo, 69-year-old union official who had angered Nigro. Arillotta and Ty Geas ambushed Dadabo in the Bronx with guns fitted with silencers provided by Nigro on an early morning that year as Dadabo got in his car to go to work.

Dadabo survived several gunshot wounds. Arillotta said Nigro advised they get better at head shots. The failed attempt, coupled with thwarted attempts on local mob rivals’ lives, incensed Ty Geas and fueled the attempt to kill Bruno, which had been floundering in the winter of 2003.

“No one was getting killed! We’re about nothin’. We’re weak. No one’s dying!” Arillotta recounted of Ty Geas’ frustration.

Arillotta testified that afterwards, he, the Geas brothers and Fusco shot and bludgeoned to death Westerman, Arillotta’s brother-in-law and a rival drug dealer, in early November 2003 back home in Western Massachusetts.

Other failed plots did leave a few survivors on the regional mob landscape.

Trial witnesses said Giuseppe Manzi, whom prosecutors termed a longtime drug dealer who was at intense odds with Arrilotta’s faction, escaped being taken out with an AK-47 at a downtown Springfield intersection.

Convicted bookmaker Louis “Lou the Shoe” Santos, once a close ally of Arillotta, narrowly averted getting shot outside a medical clinic he visited regularly in Springfield, according to testimony from Arillotta and would-be shooter Frankie A. Roche.

Roche became a prosecution witness on the eve of his own trial in 2008; as he admitted when he pleaded guilty, Roche told jurors he shot Bruno six times in the parking lot of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Society’s social club without breaking a sweat. While other government witnesses waffled about their expectations of the reward for their testimony, Roche was unambivalent.

“How soon do you hope to be out of prison?” Ty Geas’ lawyer, Bobbi C. Sternheim, asked Roche on cross-examination. “Yesterday,” Roche, a former prison buddy of Fotios Geas, responded without missing a beat.

All the prosecution witnesses are queued up awaiting sentencing upon the resolution of the Fusco case, and there are no obvious cold-blooded killers or heavy-handed associates on to replace them, according to Murphy.

Arguably, the last time the Western Massachusetts mob was in comparable dire straits was in 2000, when Bruno assumed power after a sweeping loan-sharking and racketeering case that involved more than a dozen gangsters and associates. That round of prosecutions included then-boss Albert “Baba” Scibelli, who had succeeded his brother, Francesco “Skyball” Scibelli as the regional capo in the years before.

Fusco also was convicted in that case, one of several mobsters to be picked up crowing about gaming and shylock ventures on a series of state police wiretaps, at one point threatening “cement shoes” for a gambling debtor.

Others who served prison time and were released in connection with that case include Springfield barber Carmine Manzi and his son, Giuseppe “Little Joe” Manzi, cousin to Giuseppe Manzi of the failed murder attempt.

Law enforcement officials will not comment on the status of any suspects currently under investigation for organized crime activity.

Albert Scibelli, who served no jail time in the case because he was ill, admitted his association with the Genovese family as part of a plea deal. Murphy said this essentially sealed Scibelli’s fate as a has-been, and Bruno stepped in.

Bruno was the last “old-school” mobster to take the helm, according to Murphy and others. Bruno hadn’t faced a serious criminal charge since he was acquitted of the 1981 attempted murder of Joseph N. Maruca in Agawam in a 1994 trial.

Adolfo Bruno’s son, Victor Bruno, is a restaurateur in downtown Springfield, and though on the periphery of his father’s affairs for many years, says he opted for many reasons not to follow in his father’s footsteps into organized crime.

“I saw the treachery involved in my father’s world,” the younger Bruno said. “I saw the low-lifes he had to deal with on a daily basis. My father told me: ‘You can be anything you want to be,’ but that wasn’t for me. Why would I want to be in a business where you had to kill your friends?”

Victor Bruno, whose restaurant carries his father’s name, recalls his father as being a traditional gangster, who ruled with an iron fist but also routinely gave to charities, settled family disputes, recovered money for those wronged in financial dust-ups and moved easily in varied circles.

“A lot of these other bums, you think they ever did anything for Shriners Hospital? My father was more like a political figure,” Victor Bruno said. “People liked being around him, whether it be district attorneys, judges, presidents of companies.”

Rex W. Cunningham, released late last year after serving 16 years in prison for loan-sharking, agreed that Bruno’s death marked the end of an era, a trite but fitting phrase. Cunningham, who prefers the term “bookmaker” to gangster, was among the first of the region’s organized crime figures in the 1990s to receive a stinging prison sentence for mob-related charges.

“We had a tough group of guys, and Bruno was a legitimate tough guy,” Cunningham said. “But it was a different world for us. We answered to the older guys and the younger guys answered to us. And, if you did something wrong you took a beating and went on your way.”

These days, things are different, Cunningham added. There is no structure, no hierarchy and little need to bet with your local bookie as offshore on-line gaming and casinos have exploded. Street lotteries have gone the way of the eight-track tape. And, there are informants tucked in almost every pocket of the underworld.

“There’s still money on the street. Everyone’s still taking bets but it’s a free-for-all. And, there’s a viper’s next of snakes and rats out there,” said Cunningham, who refused in his plea deal to testify against his cohorts despite facing a 30-year to life sentence. “Today, you can be your own mobster at your own risk, but with no one to answer to.”

Residents are invited to share ideas with Springfield officials and Comcordia LLC, of New Orleans, the consultant hired to develop Springfield's tornado recovery plan.

The Republican | Mark M. Murray11/30/11 Springfield - Republican Photo by Mark M.Murray - With the six month anniversary of the June 1st tornado, houses along Roosevelt Ave in the East Forest Park section start to get back to their pre tornado condition, except the house at right, which is new from the ground up, the old one had to be torn down.

SPRINGFIELD – The city and a nationally renowned disaster consultant are encouraging the public to attend a third round of city district meetings this week to help craft a Rebuild Springfield master plan in the aftermath of the June 1 tornado.

Several neighborhoods received significant damage from the June 1 tornado, and have been divided into three districts to share ideas with city officials and Comcordia LLC, of New Orleans, the consultant hired to develop Springfield’s tornado recovery plan.

“Our goal is to have key projects and programs that are ready to be implemented, so people will see the fruits of their labor and the city of Springfield will be able to transform the disaster of six months ago into a new vision for being the true gem Western Massachusetts,” said Bobbie Hill, the lead planner on the Rebuild Springfield project from Comcordia LLC, in a prepared release. “We want to hear from every corner of this great city.”

This week’s meetings will be followed by citywide meetings in January, and the master plan is scheduled to be unveiled by the end of that month.

The two prior rounds of district meetings in October and November attracted an estimated 1,000 residents and business people, officials said. In addition, there has been ideas offered from e-mails, letters, and by posting comments on the Rebuild Springfield website, officials said.

Nicholas Fyntrilakis, co-chairman of Rebuild Springfield, said that public input is a key ingredient to a successful master plan. The feedback from the public and sharing of ideas “is to make sure we are on the right track.”

The third round will focus on how the plan can be implemented, officials said. Meeting participants will recommend the potential resources, partners and steps to transform the community’s vision into a successful reality.

Comcordia helped coordinate disaster relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina and in Haiti and Japan, officials said.

A citywide meeting is scheduled Jan. 5, and the final presentation is scheduled Jan. 26. Both meetings are at 6:30 p.m., at St. Anthony’s Social Center, 375 Island Pond Road.

More information about the project and meetings can be found at http://www.rebuildspringfield.com.

The consultant has also conducted numerous one-on-one conversations with many key stakeholders and organizations in the community, officials said.

The consultant will develop cost estimates and recommendations for initiatives, partnerships and requirements for implementation.

A man tending to a tractor-trailer tire problem along I-495 in Mansfield was seriously injured when he was hit by a massing motorist. Police said they located the suspected hit-and-run vehicle in Falmouth.

The Republican file photo

FALMOUTH — State police said they located a vehicle Sunday on Cape Cod that may have been been involved in a Saturday hit-and-run incident in Mansfield.

A gray Ford Escape that allegedly fled the scene after crashing into a tractor-trailer in the breakdown lane of Interstate 495 was tracked to an East Falmouth address, where troopers seized the vehicle early Sunday morning.

Police said the tractor-trailer driver and a colleague were dealing with a tire problem along the southbound shoulder of I-495 when the colleague was struck by a passing vehicle around 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

The victim, a 21-year-old Dudley man, was "badly injured," police said. Officials declined to further identify the victim, who is expected to survive and remains in stable condition at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence.

Witness reports indicated that the vehicle that hit the Dudley man was possibly a light-colored Ford Escape, which sustained damage to its front end and passenger side.

Around 11:20 p.m. Saturday, state police at the Foxboro barracks received information about a possible registration number for that vehicle, which was tracked to an East Falmouth address.

Polcie said when troopers went to that address, they found a gray Escape with damage consistent from the Mansfield crash. The SUV was seized pending further investigation by troopers from the Foxboro and Bourne barracks, the latter of whose jurisdiction includes the upper portion of Cape Cod.

A state police chemist and troopers assigned to the Crime Scene Services section and the Bristol County District Attorney's office are assisting with the probe.

Police declined to release the name of the registered owner of the vehicle suspected of fleeing the crash scene.

The fund looks for programs that further education, economic justice and safety from violence for women and girls.

EASTHAMPTON – The Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts is currently accepting grant applications from organizations and programs that serve women and girls. Applications for this round are due on Jan. 31.

The grants range from $500 to $15,000.

The Women’s Fund, founded in 1997, has held steady in spite of the turbulent economy, said Julie Kumble, director of grants and programs at the Easthampton-based foundation. It gave out $150,000 in grants last year, and it will give out the same amount this year.

In fact, said Kumble, “in 2008, when the economy got really bad, we actually increased our giving.”

The fund looks for programs that further education, economic justice and safety from violence for women and girls.

Last year, 19 grant recipients included Girls Inc. of Holyoke, Hilltown Safety at Home, Bay Path College, for a girls’ leadership program, Montague Catholic Social Ministries, for a mentoring program, and Lutheran Services of New England, for helping refugee women.

“We fund an average of 25 to 30 percent of the applications we receive,” said Kumble.

For more information on applying for a grant, go to www.womensfund.net, or email juliek@womensfund.net, or call (413) 529-0087, ext. 13.

“We are publicly funded,” said Claudia Pazmany, director of development at the Women’s Fund, “and we depend on the support of the community to make it happen.

“We have a great relationship with the business community, and we have corporate underwriters.

“We’ve seen an increase in giving this year in terms of gift amounts, but the number of people who give is somewhat more challenging,” said Pazmany.

“In the world of philanthropy, it’s been a challenge we’ve all felt,” said Kumble.

The Women’s Fund has four full-time staff members and one part-time. Its success is due in part to the fact that “we’re very lean and nimble to begin with,” said Kumble, “and we work really well together.”

The organization also has two interns and a CBL (Community-Based Learning) Fellow from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley.

Pazmany said a favorite motto of Carla Oleska, executive director of the Women’s Fund, sums up their approach: “Let’s link arms and get on with it!”

Anyone who doesn't get their storm-related tree debris to the curb before a deadline must comply with stricter DPW guidelines, which require branches to be tied and cut into smaller pieces.

The Republican | John SuchockiCleanup continues along County Road in Southampton as Mitch Bartz of Wisconsin works for Federal Disaster Recovery Corp. of Montana. Bartz said he was working the tornado recovery in Wilbraham and works 12-hour shifts cleaning up piles of storm debris along assigned routes.

SPRINGFIELD — The Department of Public Works is reminding city residents that Monday is the last day to place October snowstorm-related tree debris along the edge of the road for curbside collection.

In the coming days, contractors hired by the city will finish removing all branches and tree limbs that are placed along the tree belt. Due to the large volume of debris, however, it will likely take some time after the established deadline for the collection process to be completed, Thomas T. Walsh, communications director for Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, said in a release.

After today's deadline, any additional curbside tree debris must comply with strict DPW guidelines for yard waste. Those rules require residents to tie up all branches, which cannot be wider than 3 inches in diameter or longer than 4 feet.

Logs and stumps will not be taken, Walsh said.

The DPW is also asking residents not to block sidewalks and streets with debris.

The collection of regular seasonal leaf and yard waste ends Friday, Dec. 16, and resumes in the spring.

The incident allegedly happened near the entrance to 70 Harrison Ave., but it remains

Republican file photo

SPRINGFIELD — City police received a report Monday of an armed robbery that allegedly occurred Sunday night outside a Harrison Avenue building.

The report was received early Monday morning, but the incident apparently happened at about 10 p.m. Sunday, according to Springfield police reports.

A female victim claimed she was robbed at gunpoint near the entrance to 70 Harrison Ave. However, she never actually saw a gun, and it was unclear what, if anything, was taken during the alleged assault.

Police reports indicated that the "weapon (was) implied."

Capt. Cheryl Clapprood said the woman claims money was taken during the incident, but the victim was unsure of the precise amount.

The suspect was described only as a black male. Additional information was not immediately available.

Serious questions remain about Iraq's capacity to stabilize both its politics and security.

Associated PressA U.S. Army soldier of 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division is seen before leaving Contingency Operating Site Kalsu, about 35 miles (55 kilometers) south of Baghdad, Iraq Sunday, Dec. 11, 2011. The U.S. has promised to withdraw from Iraq by the end of the year as required by a 2008 security agreement between Washington and Baghdad.

WASHINGTON (AP) — With the U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq in its final days, President Barack Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will meet at the White House Monday to discuss the next phase of the relationship between their countries.

They will have plenty to discuss.

The withdrawal of all American troops on Dec. 31 marks the end of a nearly nine-year war that has been deeply divisive in both the U.S. and Iraq. While Obama and al-Maliki have pledged to maintain strong ties, the contours of the partnership between Washington and Baghdad remain murky, especially with Iran eager to assert influence over neighboring Iraq. And serious questions remain about Iraq's capacity to stabilize both its politics and security.

Yet the end of the war still marks a promise kept for Obama, one the White House is eager to promote. In addition to his meeting with al-Maliki, Obama will mark the milestone Wednesday when he speaks to troops at North Carolina's Fort Bragg. And he thanked service members and their families for their sacrifices when he attended the annual Army-Navy football game Saturday.

The number of U.S. troops in Iraq has dwindled to about 6,000, down from 170,000 at the war's peak in 2007.

Monday's meeting between Obama and al-Maliki is expected to focus heavily on how the U.S. and Iraq will continue to cooperate on security issues without the presence of American troops. Iraqi leaders have said they want U.S. military training help for their security forces but have been unable to agree on what type of help they'd like or what protections they would be willing to give American trainers.

The White House said Obama and al-Maliki would also discuss cooperation on energy, trade and education.

Obama and al-Maliki will also hold a joint news conference at the White House, then lay wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery, where some of the nearly 4,500 Americans killed in the Iraq war are buried.

Looming over the talks are concerns among U.S. officials over how Iraq's relationship with Iran will develop with a significantly smaller U.S. presence in the region.

Al-Maliki has insisted that Iraq will chart its future according to its own national interests, not the dictates of Iran or any other country. But some U.S. officials have suggested that Iranian influence in Iraq would inevitably grow once American troops depart. Both countries have Shiite majorities and are dominated by Shiite political groups. Many Iraqi politicians spent time in exile in Iran during Saddam's repressive regime, and one of al-Maliki's main allies — anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr — is believed to spend most of his time in Iran.

Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said how Baghdad chooses to orient itself will significantly influence the future of Iraq's relationship with the U.S.

"A lot of this really comes down to, what kind of role is Iraq going to play in regional security?" Alterman said. "Is it going to be a place where bad people come and go, or is it going to play a role in calming down a region that needs some calming down?"

The first hints as to how Iraq will assert itself in the region may come from how it handles the troubles in Syria, where a bloody government crackdown on protesters has killed more than 4,000 people, according to the United Nations.

The Obama administration has called for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down. But Iraq has been much more circumspect, with al-Maliki warning of civil war if Assad falls and abstaining from Arab League votes suspending Syria's membership and imposing sanctions. Those positions align Iraq more closely with Iran, a key Syrian ally.

The U.S. has warned Iraq's neighbors that even though American troops are leaving, the U.S. will maintain a significant presence there. About 16,000 people are working at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, making it America's largest mission in the world.

Romney told Fox News his bet offer was meaningless hyperbole, akin to saying "I'll bet you a million bucks."

Associated PressRepublican presidential candidates, from left, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney take part in the Republican debate, Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011, in Des Moines, Iowa.

WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney is dismissing his offer to make a $10,000 bet with Rick Perry as merely "an outrageous number to answer an outrageous charge" — namely, Perry's claim that Romney made changes to parts of his book.

Romney said Monday he made the offer in the weekend GOP presidential debate because Perry erroneously claimed that he deleted parts of his book, "No Apology" that referred to Romney's support for a health care mandate.

Romney told Fox News his bet offer was meaningless hyperbole, akin to saying "I'll bet you a million bucks."

The bet sparked charges that Romney, a wealthy businessman, is out of step with economic challenges facing ordinary Americans.

Romney said what the American people are tired of is President Barack Obama deflecting blame for his failed economic policies.

U.S. stock futures are falling Monday as the initial enthusiasm over last week's agreement on fixing the European debt crisis is replaced by worries that it won't be enough.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — U.S. stock futures are falling Monday as the initial enthusiasm over last week's agreement on fixing the European debt crisis is replaced by worries that it won't be enough.

The deal would allow for a central European authority to oversee future budgets for the 17 countries that use the euro. But it doesn't help cut existing debt, which has caused Greece, Ireland and Portugal to need bailouts and is threatening Italy and Spain.

Less than an hour before the opening of trading in New York, futures for the Dow Jones industrial average are down 99 points to 12,044 while futures on the broader S&P 500 index are down 11 points to 1,242.

Markets in Europe are dropping, with France's CAC-40 down 1.5 percent to 3,123.71, Germany's DAX off by 1.2 percent to 5,862.44, and London's FTSE 100 down 0.5 percent to 5,499.62.

Credit rating agency Moody's said last week's summit "offers few new measures."

"The announced measures therefore do not change Moody's previously expressed view that the crisis is in a critical and volatile stage," Moody's said, warning that it still intends to review all EU governments' ratings for possible downgrades during the first three months of 2012.

Asian stocks mostly closed higher, as they caught up with the gains made in Europe and the U.S. on Friday.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.4 percent to close at 8,653.82. South Korea's Kospi added 1.3 percent to 1,899.76 and benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan, Australia and Indonesia also rose.

Police said the suspect attempted to drag the woman into Herter Hall.

File photo / The RepublicanAmherst - University of Massachusetts police are probing an attempted abduction of a female student near Herter Hall Sunday night.. Students are asked to use caution if they walk alone and dial 911 if they see anything suspicious.

AMHERST - Police are urging University of Massachusetts students to use caution when walking alone on campus as they probe the attempted abduction of a female student Sunday night.

Police said the incident occurred about 5 p.m. as the female student walked alone from DuBois Library to the southwest residential area.

A man approached the woman and asked her if she needed a ride. When she refused, he grabbed her backpack and attempted to drag her into Herter Hall. The woman was able to escape and no weapons were shown, according to campus-wide email and text message that was sent out to shortly after the attack.

The man is described as a white male, approximately 6 feet, 2 inches tall, wearing a black-hooded sweatshirt with white strings and dark-colored jeans. He has a scruffy beard, large nose and bushy eyebrows.

Students are asked to call 911 if they see anything suspicious.

The Wayland Democrat, pictured here, is ending his U.S. Senate bid, citing an insurmountable obstacle &#8211 fellow Democratic candidate Elizabeth Warren, whose popularity and war chest has made it tough for Conroy to raise money

State Rep. Tom Conroy, D-Wayland

BOSTON — State Rep. Tom Conroy may not be a household name. But the Wayland Democrat will get his 15 minutes on Monday, when he's expected to announce the end of his bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Scott Brown.

Conroy will officially announce his exit from the race at a press conference scheduled for 10:30 a.m. today outside the entrance to the Statehouse in Boston.

His departure, which stands to gain more attention than his entry to the race, narrows the field of Democrats hoping to retire Brown to four.

Conroy told the Boston Globe that he's ending his campaign because it's been difficult to raise money due to the popularity of frontrunner Elizabeth Warren, a Harvard Law professor and consumer advocate.

Conroy, who had raised the third-largest campaign war chest, trailing only Warren and Brown, managed to outlast other Democrats initially interested in Brown's job, including Newton Mayor Setti Warren, former lieutenant governor candidate Robert Massie, and City Year co-founder Alan Khazei.

Conroy said he would focus on getting reelected to a fourth term as a state representative, but he wouldn't rule out running for higher office in the future. His House seat is up for grabs in November.

Elizabeth Warren

A UMass-Amherst poll released this month showed Democrat Elizabeth Warren with a slight lead over Brown. The moderate Wrentham Republican came to power in a January 2010 special election to replace Edward M. Kennedy, the longtime Massachusetts Democrat who died in August 2009.

A UMass-Lowell/Boston Herald poll released last week also showed an edge for Warren, whose campaign continues to gain momentum.

Conroy may not be ready for the U.S. Senate, but his campaign finances – he had $50,735 on hand as of Sept. 30, 2011, according to the most recent filings with the Federal Election Commission – placed him ahead of the rest of the Democratic pack for Senate, which includes Middleton lawyer Marisa A. DeFranco, Newton software engineer Herbert W. Robinson and Dover lawyer James C. King.

However, Conroy's campaign pot is far smaller than the multimillion-dollar war chests amassed by Brown and Warren, the latter of whom has raised more than $3 million to date.

Sen. Scott Brown, R-Massachusetts

Conroy announced he would run for Senate in June. He cited what he viewed as significant missteps by Brown, including the senator's headline-grabbing gaff in which he claimed to have viewed photos of slain al-Quaida leader Osama bin Laden. Brown later admitted he had been duped by the bogus photos.

The Republican senator has intellectual weak spots, according to Conroy, who characterized Brown's approach to fixing the nation's fractured economy as simplistic.

"His equation basically is, you lower taxes, you’re creating jobs," Conroy told the State House News Service. "Any economist will tell you that if you lower taxes, the first thing you’re going to do is raise deficits. He's talking out of both sides of his mouth."

A House member since 2007, Conroy has a bachelor’s degree from Yale University, a master’s from Johns Hopkins University and another master’s from Boston University.

Material from the Associated Press, Boston Globe, Republican and State House News Service was used in this report.

The signs direct drivers to "Plastow" N.H. on Route 125, and to "Merrimack" Mass. on Route 110.

HAVERHILL — State transportation officials are apologizing for putting up street signs in Haverhill that misspell the names of nearby communities.

The signs direct drivers to "Plastow" N.H. on Route 125, and to "Merrimack" Mass. on Route 110.

The New Hampshire community is actually spelled Plaistow.

And although there is a Merrimack, N.H., the Massachusetts community with a similar name is spelled Merrimac, without the "k."

State highway officials believe the signs were recently installed and that spelling errors were made during their manufacture.

A department spokesman tells The Eagle-Tribune tape has been used to blank out the "k'' in Merrimack, while the word "Plastow" has been covered entirely until correctly spelled signs can be installed.

Start the week informed with Business Monday from The Republican.

Photo by Gordon DanielsGay themed coffees are available at Elbow Room Coffee in 10 oz. bags, left, 10 oz. cans, center and 4 oz. cans, right

Start the week informed with Business Monday from The Republican:

Gay culture, strong coffee blend at Elbow Room Coffee in Williamsburg
Owner Melissa Krueger thought it would be interesting to market a line of coffee with a gay theme, poking fun at stereotypes and cliches within the gay and lesbian community. Read more »

Edward Leyden of Ben Franklin Design and Manufacturing in Agawam is co-chairman of state manufacturing task force
It is a public-private collaborative focused on accelerating the growth of manufacturing in Massachusetts. Read more »

Smith & Wesson reports positive quarter
Sales were strong across nearly all firearm products, but were offset by a decline in hunting firearm sales. Read more »

More Business Monday

Voices of the Valley: Michele Lariviere, Otto Florist & Gifts, Ware

Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry's says business climate is different from when the homemade ice cream giant was a start up

Critics want Massachusetts contactor laws made broader, more flexible

Springfield's Big Y Foods Inc. buys 2 Louis & Clark locations

STR Holdings announces Dennis Jilot to step down, President Robert Yorgensen to become CEO of Enfield solar company

Commentary: Mandatory sprinklers in new homes unnecessary, drive up costs in depressed housing market

Commentary: former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger urges support, expansion of solar and renewable energy sources

Notebooks:

Boston Business Journal Business Bits: Mass. retailers launch campaign against Amazon; Boston ranks No. 2 in job growth; and more

Business Etc.: 'ReBuild Western Massachusetts' 0% loans available; Chipotle to open Enfield restaurant; and more

The public works chief said he continues to review the guardrails on West Cherry Street.

Staff Photo by John SuchockiThomas P. Keenan stands Dec. 9 at a damaged guardrail he has been trying to get the city to fix on West Cherry Street.

HOLYOKE – Railing about guardrails wasn’t what Thomas P. Keenan had in mind when he moved to West Holyoke in 2005.

But a dispute Keenan is having with the city highlights issues that those who decide to live in the city’s rural area can face.

Keenan, of 555 West Cherry St., said Friday he and his wife want to build an addition to their home that would house a garage and upstairs bedrooms for their children. The light-green home is below grade and reachable off West Cherry Street by a driveway that curves down from the road.

The Board of Appeals ruled earlier this year construction of the addition was permitted only if a guardrail was installed along West Cherry Street atop the embankment that leads down to Keenan’s driveway.

Keenan, a lawyer, also has been trying to get the city to replace a rusted and bent-down guardrail down the road from his home across from 661 West Cherry St.

That guardrail overlooks an embankment that runs down to Zenner Pond and appears to have been built to stop errant vehicles from plunging into the waterway below, he said.

West Holyoke differs from the rest of the city in that homes are spread out and must have private water and sewer systems because city lines for such utilities are unavailable. Roads have twists and turns and it can be a while before a driver sees another driver along a road.

Keenan said the city told him the guardrail to be built in front of his home would have to be done by a professional engineer, not as a project done on his own.

Since the guardrail would be built on city property, as his property line is farther down the embankment, Keenan said he wants the city to pay for and install it. That puts the issue before the Department of Public Works.

The problem, Keenan said, is he has been unable to get clear answers. He wants to know from the department whether a guardrail in front of his home is, in fact, necessary if he builds the addition and when the damaged guardrail down the road will be fixed, he said.

“That’s all I want for them to say, yes or no. It’s aggravating that the DPW was told to come out ... months ago and they haven’t come,” Keenan said.

Keenan contacted Ward 7 City Councilor John J. O’Neill, who sought updates from Mayor Elaine A. Pluta and public Works Superintendent William D. Fuqua, but with little success.

Fuqua said in a phone interview Dec. 2 the department was continuing to review the guardrail issues on West Cherry Street, but it was unclear when a resolution would come.

Appeals board Chairman Elbert Bowler declined to comment.