Crosby helped lead the Patrick administration’s budget and finance transition team in 2006, and later was tapped in 2009 by Patrick to lead a review of executive compensation at the state’s quasi-public agencies.

Gov. Deval Patrick responds to a reporters question about casino gambling in Massachusetts at the Statehouse in Boston on Nov. 22, 2011. The law is expected to spark a race for the licenses for the three casinos and one slots parlor envisioned by the bill. Also seen are, from left, State Rep. Joseph Wagner, D-Chicopee, State Sen. Richard Ross, R-Wrentham, and Kathi-Anne Reinstein, D-Revere. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

By Matt Murphy

BOSTON –Stephen Crosby will be introduced Tuesday as Gov. Deval Patrick’s pick to chair the new Gaming Commission as the governor turns to a veteran Beacon Hill power broker to helm the board that will wield broad authority over the expansion of gambling in Massachusetts.

Patrick is expected to announce his selection at a noon press conference outside his State House office, putting in place the first of five new gaming commissioners who will control the selection of winning bidders for three resort-style casino licenses and one slots-only parlor.

Crosby currently works as dean of the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at UMass Boston, and worked as the secretary of administration and finance under Gov. Paul Cellucci and chief of staff to Gov. Jane Swift.
“Steve Crosby possesses the integrity and strong management skills we need to lead the new Gaming Commission,” said Gov. Patrick in a statement. “I trust Steve to build an organization that meets the public’s high expectations and my own for integrity and professionalism. I look forward to working with the attorney general and treasurer on the remaining appointments.”

Crosby helped lead the Patrick administration’s budget and finance transition team in 2006, and later was tapped in 2009 by Patrick to lead a review of executive compensation at the state’s quasi-public agencies.

In 2010, Crosby was picked by the Supreme Judicial Court to serve on a task force to review hiring practices in the state courts and the embattled Probation Department.

“It will be up to me and the Commission to assure both the public and the participants in the gaming industry that the process for developing expanding gaming in Massachusetts is honest, transparent and fair,” Crosby said in a statement. “The Commonwealth and its residents have much to gain, most particularly in the creation of jobs.”

Under the new law, the commission must be bipartisan, with no more than three members representing the same political party. The full commission must be appointed by March 21, 2012.

Attorney General Martha Coakley and Treasurer Steven Grossman are also each authorized to name one appointee, and the remaining two commissioners are to be jointly selected by Patrick, Coakley and Grossman.

The state has already issued a solicitation for search firms to help with the selection of the two jointly-picked commissioners.

According to the Cellucci administration, Crosby worked for Republican party figures such as U.S. Rep. Margaret Heckler, Gov. Frank Sargent, Lt. Gov. Donald R. Dwight and Congressional candidate Martin Linsky. Crosby also worked as campaign manager for Kevin White's successful mayoral reelection bid in Boston.

Crosby, who succeeded Andrew Natsios as Cellucci’s budget chief, earned his bachelor's degree from Harvard College in 1967 and his Juris Doctor from the Boston University School of Law in 1972.

The women were cited for unlawful trespassing

Associated Press12-12-11 - Brattleboro, Vt. - Hattie Nestel gets cited for unlawful trespass while protesting at the Entergy Vermont Yankee Joint Information Center on Old Ferry Road in Brattleboro, Vt., Monday afternoon, Dec. 12, 2011

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. - Police arrested 11 women, nearly all from Western Massachusetts, on Monday morning after they occupied the offices of the corporation that owns the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.

Police Lt. Robert Kirkpatrick said the 11 women were issued citations for unlawful trespassing. “It was a pretty low-key situation,” he said.

According to a press release issued by the Shut It Down Affinity Group, the women entered the offices of Entergy Corp. on Old Ferry Road in an attempt to make a citizens’ arrest of the board and officers of the corporation.

“We deplore the profiteering of Entergy officers and directors,” said the women, according to the release. “We find them guilty against all people within a wide radius of Vermont Yankee.”

All those arrested are from Massachusetts. They are, according to the press release: Paki Wieland, Frances Crowe and Susan B. Lant of Northampton; Hattie Nestel of Athol, Nina Swaim of Sharon, z of Northampton, Anneke Corbett of Florence, Jean Grossholtz of South Hadley, Ellen Graves of West Springfield, Marcia Gagliardi of Athol; Cate Woolner of Northfield, and Sandra Boston of Greenfield.

The woman are slated for January arraignments in Brattleboro Superior Court.

Bishop is also accused of killing three colleagues at the University of Alabama last year.

Amy Bishop

BOSTON – The highest court in Massachusetts has sided with The Boston Globe in a battle to release a report and transcript of an inquest into the 1986 shooting death of the brother of an Alabama professor accused of killing three colleagues in a 2010 shooting rampage.

The Supreme Judicial Court ruled Tuesday that the inquest materials can be released, but said Amy Bishop, her family, prosecutors and others can still argue to show “good cause” why the materials should remain sealed.

After Bishop was charged in Alabama, a Massachusetts judge conducted an inquest into her brother’s death. A grand jury later indicted Bishop for murder.

The high court outlined new rules for the release of inquest materials, saying they should become public after prosecutors decide whether to bring criminal charges.

The boy’s mother said she was told a staff member and her son had their pants opened when a teacher walked in the room.

BOSTON – Boston police are seeking criminal complaints against a teacher’s assistant for alleged lewd behavior involving a 14-year-old non-verbal autistic student.

Police announced Tuesday they would seek complaints against the teacher’s assistant for a charge of lewd and lascivious behavior. The person’s name was not released.

The incident remains under investigation.

The boy’s mother told WBZ-TV, Channel 4, in Boston she was called to the Harbor Pilot School in Dorchester on Monday but at first was not told but happened. She said police told her the staff member and her son had their pants opened when a teacher walked in the room.

The mother says her son cannot speak. She took him to the hospital as a precaution.

Boston public schools Superintendent Carol Johnson says the teacher’s assistant has been placed on paid administrative leave.

Addressing donors at a hotel near the White House, the president drew attention to his efforts to heal the economy, save the auto industry, end the Iraq war and overhaul health care.

Associated Press photoPresident Obama speaks during a campaign event in Washington, Tuesday. (Photo by Carolyn Kaster)

WASHINGTON – Imploring supporters to stick with him, President Barack Obama acknowledged Tuesday that his re-election is “not a slam dunk” – despite his administration’s achievements – because of understandable public skepticism over the economy.

Addressing donors at a hotel near the White House, the president drew attention to his efforts to heal the economy, save the auto industry, end the Iraq war and overhaul health care.

But he said: “All those things don’t mean that much to somebody who’s still out of work right now. Or whose house is still underwater by $100,000.”

Obama said his campaign will have to fight to take its message to voters. “This is going to be tough,” he said.

Obama spoke hours after his top campaign advisers said they are uncertain about which Republican will emerge to challenge him next year but predicted a long GOP primary contest that they say will produce a weaker opponent in 2012.

Democrats have been targeting former Massachusetts Gov. W. Mitt Romney as the Republican most likely to challenge Obama but now say former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s surge in the polls has made the GOP contest very unpredictable.

Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod said in a briefing in Washington for reporters that he was unsure “what kind of candidate will be in the general election.” He said he anticipated a lengthy primary contest that would eventually hurt the party’s nominee.

Of the Republican candidates, Axelrod said: “They’re being tugged to the right every day. I think they’re mortgaging themselves for the general by tacking as far as they are.” He said that would make it more difficult for the nominee “to scramble back” to the center and appeal to a broader base of the electorate for the November general election.

Romney and Gingrich remain locked in a close contest in early Republican voting states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina with less than a month before voters begin assessing the GOP field.

The campaign officials said the president’s speech last week in Kansas offered a glimpse of what his message will be next year: His argument that the middle class has faced numerous challenges during the past decade and that the country’s economic policies must give everyone a “fair shot and a fair share.”

Obama made that case again in his remarks to donors, telling them “we’re all in this together.”

“That vision can contrast to a vision that basically says you are on your own,” he said. “It’s what this election was about in 2008; it’s what this election is going to be about in 2012.”

The campaign officials also claimed an organizational advantage over the GOP. They said they have more staffers on the ground in Iowa than the Republicans and have had about 1 million conversations with supporters and about 90,000 in-person meetings with volunteers since Obama launched his re-election campaign in April.

Obama’s campaign outlined several potential paths to victory that would build upon states that Democrat John Kerry won in 2004 and winning in Western states like Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada or holding onto Southern states Obama captured in 2008, such as Virginia and North Carolina.

Obama’s session with top campaign donors came ahead of the Dec. 31 deadline for the current fundraising quarter. Obama has raised more than $150 million for his campaign and the Democratic National Committee through the end of September.

The debate has been in jeopardy ever since Mitt Romney signaled he would not participate.

Associated Press photoRepublican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich listens at right as Donald Trump talks to media after a meeting in New York, Dec. 5. (Photo by Seth Wenig)

NEW YORK – Donald Trump said Tuesday he is pulling out of a Republican presidential debate he had agreed to moderate in Iowa.

The real estate mogul announced he was stepping back in order to preserve the option of running for president in case he’s not satisfied that the eventual Republican nominee can defeat President Barack H. Obama. The conservative website Newsmax was to host the debate Dec. 27.

But the debate has been in jeopardy ever since former Massachusetts Gov. W. Mitt Romney signaled he would not participate. Other candidates bowed out. Only Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum agreed to take part.

Many Republican strategists warned that a presidential debate moderated by Trump, star of “Celebrity Apprentice,” would create a circus-like atmosphere that might diminish the candidates vying to challenge Obama.

Prosecutors allege the 43-year-old Wing forged checks from Myers Information Systems Inc., and used a corporate credit card to make purchases dating to 2009.

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (AP) — A Hatfield woman has pleaded not guilty to stealing about $200,000 from the Northampton communications company where she once worked.

Amy Wing was released on personal recognizance after pleading not guilty Monday in Hampshire Superior Court to charges including forgery of a check; larceny over $250; credit card fraud; and falsifying books.

Prosecutors allege the 43-year-old Wing forged checks from Myers Information Systems Inc., and used a corporate credit card to make purchases dating to 2009.

Prosecutors asked for cash bail saying Wing was a flight risk.

The Daily Hampshire Gazette reports that Wing's attorney said her client has deep ties to the community and no criminal record.

About half the money has been paid back.

One teacher suffered minor injuries from smoke inhalation when she tried to put out one of the bathroom fires.

SPRINGFIELD - City arson investigators are looking into trashcan fires that broke out at about the same time in two separate lavatories at Kiley Middle School, 180 Cooley St., on Tuesday afternoon.

The fires caused minor damage to the school but one teacher was apparently taken to the hospital after suffering a minor case of smoke inhalation, said Springfield Fire Department spokesman Dennis Leger.

The teacher was exposed to smoke when she tried to extinguish the fire, he said.

She was brought to the hospital by a private vehicle. An ambulance was not used.

Leger said he did not have the teacher's name or a report on her condition.

Azell Cavaan, spokeswoman for the Springfield School Department, said the woman who was injured was on the school staff but was not a faculty member. She did not have a report on her condition.

The fire department was notified of the fire at 2:07 p.m. and the first firefighters arrived on scene two minutes later.

This is the second and third instance of an intentional fire at the Sixteen Acres school in less than a week.

On Dec. 7, bulletin board started on fire and spread to nearby computer. The fire was put out by a Springfield police officer using a fire extinguisher.

Investigators determined the fire was intentionally set, and charged two students, each a juvenile girl, with starting it. Each is facing charges in Hampden Juvenile Court. Their names were not being released because of their age.

Leger said the city Arson and Bomb Squad is investigating Tuesday's fire and is treating the matter very serious.

Anyone with information on the fires is asked to call the Arson and Bomb Squad at (413) 787-6370.

Cavaan said the school department is treating the fires very seriously. While fire investigators are looking to determine the cause, the schools will conduct their own investigation. If it is determined students intentionally set a fire, the students will be subject to disciplinary action, including possible expulsion, she said.

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Obituaries from The Republican today.

Walter A. Pease

LUDLOW - Walter A. Pease passed away on Saturday at home. Born in Springfield on August 12, 1920, he was the son of the late Walter and Isabell (Ashwell) Pease, and lived in Ludlow all of his life. He graduated from Ludlow High School in 1936, and of the University of Massachusetts in 1940. He served in the Army during World War II and received the victory medal, the American theater campaign ribbon, and the Asiatic Pacific theater ribbon. He was an assistant manager for the Agway garden supply company in Springfield for over 35 years. Later he worked for the town of Ludlow. He was a member of the Ludlow Senior Center, and served the town as an election warden for many years. He was active in the First Congregational Church in Ludlow, serving at times as a deacon and church moderator from 1977 to 2003, and was a mainstay in the kitchen for many church events. He was also the troop leader for Cub Scout Troop 181 for 10 years. He was active in the local 4-H club. For 19 years he was the cook for the Hampden County 4-H camp in Spencer during his summer vacation, and was judge for many local fairs. In 1979, he and his wife, Dorothy, were presented with a citation for outstanding service to 4-H by the Hampden County 4-H Council. He was a member of local Grange clubs for more than 75 years. He held many offices, including master of the former Ludlow Grange; master of the Pomona Grange; and special deputy for the Massachusetts State Grange. For 17 years he cooked for the staff in the Grange Building at the Big E. In 2006 he was honored with an award for public service from the Pomona Grange, and in 2003 he received the Recognition of Service Excellence Award, from the Massachusetts State Grange.

Obituaries from The Republican:

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  Baer, Florence B. "Honey" (Gonyeau)
  



• 
  Bannish, Jean G. (Gogulski)
  




• 
  Catallozzi, Florence T.
  



• 
  Costa, Ana Martins
  



• 
  Couture, Valera E.




• 
  Curran, Joseph E.
  



• 
  Curto, Marion E.
  




• Fitzgerald, Barbara R.
  




• 
  Gadaire, Ronald B.
  



• 
  Giuggio, Nicholas




• 
  Giuggio, Rosario A. "Rossie"
  



• 
  Hamilton, Joan (O'Brien)
  




• Holt III, Clarence Robert "Bob"
  




• 
  Hopkins, Mildred M. (Augustine)
  



• 
  Lombardi, Ariel Marie




• 
  McKenna Sr., John J. "Jack"
  



• 
  Pease, Walter A.
  




• Perry, Anna M. (Howlett)
  




• 
  Sheldon, Sylvia "Sonnee" (Goldart)
  



• 
  Switzer, Ann Marie (Kimel)




• 
  Trybus, Edward
  



• 
  Weyner, Dorothy T. "Dotty" (Foley)
  




• Whalen, Lois A. (LaMountain)
  

Keep somebody close to you always

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Scientists hope to determine whether the 'God particle' exists by next year.

Associated PressThis Thursday, March 22, 2007 file photo shows the magnet core of the world's largest superconducting solenoid magnet (CMS, Compact Muon Solenoid) at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)'s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) particule accelerator in Geneva Switzerland.

GENEVA — Physicists are closing in on an elusive subatomic particle that, if found, would confirm a long-held understanding about why matter has mass and how the universe's fundamental building blocks behave.

Few people outside physics can fully comprehend the search for the Higgs boson, which was first hypothesized 40 years ago. But proving that the "God particle" actually exists would be "a vindication of the equations we've been using all these years," said one Nobel laureate.

Scientists announced Tuesday that they had found hints but no definitive proof of the particle that is believed to be a basic component of the universe. They hope to determine whether it exists by next year.

It's hard to find, not because it is especially tiny, but because it is hard to create, said physicist Howard Gordon of the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York. He works with the ATLAS experiment, one of two independent teams looking for the Higgs boson at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research near Geneva.

CERN runs the Large Hadron Collider under the Swiss-French border, a 17-mile (27-kilometer) tunnel where high-energy beams of protons are sent crashing into each other at incredible speeds.

A fraction of those collisions could produce the Higgs particle, assuming it exists.

Researchers said Tuesday that they had defined a range of likely masses for the Higgs.

CERN's director-general, Rolf Heuer, said "the window for the Higgs mass gets smaller and smaller" as scientists learn more.

"But be careful — it's intriguing hints," he said. "We have not found it yet. We have not excluded it yet."

Tuesday's revelations were highly anticipated by thousands of researchers, but the ideas behind the Higgs boson date back to the 1960s.

British physicist Peter Higgs and others theorized its existence to explain why the fundamental particles in matter have mass. Those particles, such as electrons, are the building blocks of the universe. Mass is a trait that combines with gravity to give an object weight.

Frank Wilczek, a Nobel laureate and physics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said finding the Higgs boson would tie up a loose end of the standard model of physics, which requires that a Higgs-like particle exist.

"Since the equations have worked so brilliantly now for decades, it's really nice to dot the i's and cross the t's," Wilczek said.

In addition, if the mass of the Higgs is within a certain range, that would support some other theories that go beyond the standard model, he said.

Those theories predict the existence of other yet-to-be-found particles, meaning the Large Hadron Collider "will have another wave of brilliant discoveries in the future," Wilczek said.

The mass range reported Tuesday is "perfect" to meet that requirement, he said.

"Because it fits together so beautifully with everything else we know ... I'm certainly inclined to believe it," he said. He called Tuesday's presentations "awesome ... just beautiful work."

The lead physicist for the team running the separate CMS experiment outlined findings similar to those of the ATLAS team. The collaborations for the ATLAS and CMS experiments each involve about 3,000 scientists and engineers.

The call for a review of the system comes as the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities is wrapping up a series of public hearings to hear citizen reactions to the utility companies' response to 2011's natural disasters.

Associated Press file photoMassachusetts' U.S. Senators: John Kerry, left, a Democrat, and Scott Brown, right, a Republican, both signed a letter calling for a review of the New England power grid following a year filled with natural disasters and extended power outages.

WASHINGTON D.C. –After a year filled with natural disasters that left millions of New England residents without electricity for extended periods of time, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators including Democratic Sen. John Kerry and Republican Sen. Scott Brown are calling for a review of the electrical grid's reliability standards.

In a letter to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the senators from Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire made the case that power outages not only pose a threat to public safety, but also have an affect on local businesses and the region's economy.

"This year, Hurricane Irene and the October snowstorm caused hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents to lose power for days or weeks, often with little information about when the lights would turn back on," Brown said in a statement. "I share their frustration and, as we have learned, a reliable power grid is not just critical to our economy, but a matter of life and death. I hope the committee will hold this oversight hearing to reveal the extent of our energy reliability issues, and help our nation be better prepared for major disruptions to our power supply."

As an example, the group pointed to the freak October snowstorm that left more than 2 million utility customers without power, including 672,000 in Massachusetts, 315,000 in New Hampshire and 830,000 in Connecticut, according to final numbers released by Brown's office.

"This hearing can be highly significant, not only in fact finding but change making," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat in a statement on Tuesday. "An oversight hearing should enable us to explore and expose defects in utility preparation and response, and empower reforms in policies and practices at every level. The prolonged power outages from this past October's storm had real and pernicious consequences for the economy, health, and safety of Connecticut residents."

Kerry echoed Brown and Blumenthal's sentiments, adding that he believes preventative planning is key to ensuring a better response to future disasters.

"When you endure blackouts that come storm after storm, it's obvious there's a fundamental problem that needs to be fixed, pronto," Kerry said in a statement. "The problem isn't the utility workers who are out there risking injury in the brutal weather trying to get things fixed, the problem is the system. We need answers and a game plan to prevent this from happening over and over again. It starts by making sure our electricity grid is reliable."

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, focused on weather-related outages in her state that have cost millions over the past few years.

"Power outages can have significant consequences, even life-threatening ones when they come during the brutal cold of winter. Families can be forced out of their homes and businesses forced to close unexpectedly," Shaheen, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee said in a statement. "Unfortunately, over the past two years, significant and sustained outages have been occurring across New England with unacceptable regularity. Our electric grid reliability standards are designed to protect the welfare of the American people and the American economy, and it's time that we review their effectiveness and adequacy."

The letter comes as the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities is wrapping up a series of public hearings to hear citizen reactions to the utility companies' response to 2011's natural disasters.

Across New England, citizens have criticized the restoration efforts of National Grid, Western Massachusetts Electric Company, Connecticut Light & Power and the Public Service Company of New Hampshire, which are all divisions of Northeast Utilities.

The letter the aforementioned U.S. Senators sent is copied below.


December 13, 2011

The Honorable Jeff Bingaman

Chairman

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee

304 Dirksen Office Building

Washington, D.C 20510

The Honorable Lisa Murkowski

Ranking Member

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee

304 Dirksen Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Chairman Bingaman and Ranking Member Murkowski:

We write on behalf of the millions of New England consumers who depend on a reliable electric power system for their safety, economic stability, and quality of life.

Our concern stems from recent storms and the appearance of a regional downward trend in electric reliability. As you may know, a New England snowstorm last month left more than two million utility customers without power, including 315,000 in New Hampshire, 830,000 in Connecticut, and 672,000 in Massachusetts. In New Hampshire alone, the storm caused the loss of 91 main circuits and three 115 kv lines for Public Service of New Hampshire, the largest number in the company’s history. In Connecticut, the storm caused the outage of 29 115 kv lines and three 345 kv lines. In addition to last month’s snowstorm, hundreds of thousands of customers have been without power in our states at various points over the past two years following extreme weather events such as Hurricane Irene.

These electric outages, some lasting as long as a week for some customers, have real consequences. In our northern states, a lack of power for home heating can become life threatening during winter months. Downed power lines can threaten public safety. Furthermore, businesses across the region are unexpectedly forced to close their doors. As you may know, a study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimates that the national cost of power interruptions is about $80 billion annually. We cannot afford unplanned and prolonged business closures in a time of economic recovery.

One issue brought to light in the most recent snowstorm was the inadequacy of utility Mutual Assistance Groups (MAGs). MAG programs exist to support utilities in contracting for additional line and repair crews when in-house manpower proves insufficient in the wake of a major outage. They are important as a network of regional utility-to-utility cooperatives to deliver the necessary crews in the aftermath of significant storms. In the most recent storm experienced by our states, shortcomings on the part of the MAG system contributed to the unusually slow pace of recovery in several of the hardest hit states. In the face of another disaster of this scale, we are concerned that the MAG system may prove similarly deficient in ensuring that our constituents receive needed assistance to clear roads, repair distribution networks, and repower transmission equipment.

The health and welfare of the American people and the needs of our economy demand a reliable electric power system. To that end, we respectfully ask that the Committee hold an oversight hearing to review the adequacy of our nation’s reliability standards as soon as possible. We think it is timely and prudent to determine the effectiveness of these standards in protecting consumers and businesses so that we can begin the process of improving electric reliability in our communities.

We stand ready to work with the Committee to address an issue of great importance to improving the safety, economy, and quality of life of the region that we represent. Thank you for your consideration of our request.

Sincerely,

Jeanne Shaheen

United States Senator

Richard Blumenthal

United States Senator

John Kerry

United States Senator

Scott Brown

United States Senator

Selectmen George Archible said he needed more details, and several board members said they wondered if it was legal.

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BELCHERTOWN - The Board of Selectmen on Monday recommended that the Planning Board deny site plan approval for a proposed solar array on a 5.5-acre parcel at the New England Small Farm Institute.

Selectman George D. "Archie" Archible said he needed more details and several board members said they wondered if it was legal.

The NESFI land is leased from the state and operated on behalf of the Department of Agricultural Resources. Acting chairman William R. Barnett said allowing a solar array would be tantamount to "a renter subletting" to a solar company.

Barnett, the board's vice chairman, is serving as acting chairman for the next five weeks while Kenneth E. Elstein is on vacation in New Zealand. Monday's vote was 4 to 0 in favor of recommending denial.

NESFI director Judith F. Gillan, a member of the town energy committee, said the state has notified the Planning Board that it will allow the array and that the hay field at the corner of Hamilton Street and George Hannum Road is, logistically, the only spot that works.

Jonathan Spiegel, a member of NESFI's board of directors, said subletting was allowed and alternative energy production is encouraged. The deal would bring in "modest" revenue for the institute that would be used for the non-profit's education and outreach programs, he said.

The photovoltaic array would be a dual-use design; the panels would be elevated and spaced out to allow farming and animal grazing to continue on the site.

Barnett said that, if it is legal, he would be more comfortable with such a project on a site that has more of a setback from the road.

"I, for one, think this is the most beautiful piece of property in Belchertown and I can't see putting solar panels on this property," said Archible.

Selectman Ronald E. Aponte said the field is "not an appropriate site for it." While it may be ideal for solar energy generation because of sun angles, he wondered if it would impact the marketability of the State School property, which benefits from beautiful vistas.

Spiegel said the potential State School buyer, Weston Solutions Inc., of Pennsylvania, is aware of the proposed project and has expressed interest in buying the array's energy.

"Though I'm not an abutter ... my walks each day and my drives each day go by that property, so, as a citizen, there's more we need to know about it," said Selectman Brenda Q. Aldrich. "People are very upset that this beautiful venue ... will be taken away."

Aldrich compared it to putting solar panels on the Clapp Memorial Library or the Stone
House Museum, which would be inappropriate because of the buildings' beauty and history.

"We'll still see every bit of the mountains beyond. It's not going to disrupt that view," said Gillan.

"To see that property ruined, in my eyes, would be a sin," said Archible.

The Planning Board always "dots their i's," but, "I think this one, especially, needs to be under a microscope," said Aponte.

The hearing follows neighborhood meetings on the tax rates and related issues in October and November.

Michael Fenton

SPRINGFIELD – The City Council has scheduled a public hearing and vote on Friday on the new property tax rates for fiscal year 2012.

The hearing is at 4 p.m., at City Hall, and will be followed by a special council meeting at 4:30. Homeowners and business owners are encouraged to participate in the hearing.

The council annually sets the tax rates for residential, commercial and industrial properties. Prior to the vote, the council will receive a report and recommendations from its 11-member finance subcommittee on property tax rates.

The subcommittee, appointed by and chaired by council Finance Committee Chairman Michael A. Fenton, conducted three neighborhood meetings in recent months, regarding the tax rates and related issues. The meetings were conducted at St. Michael’s Academy on Oct. 19, at Greenleaf Community Center on Oct. 26, and at Rebecca Johnson School on Nov. 9.

The new tax rates are for the current fiscal year that began July 1, 2011.

The tax rate for homeowners in fiscal 2011 was $19.49 per $1,000 property value, and the tax rate for commercial and industrial property was $38.97. It marked an overall reduction in taxes for the first time in 27 years for both homeowners and businesses.

Local partners including hospitals and universities contributed local funds for the jobs initiative

The Republican / Mark M. MurrayFrank Robinson, from Partners for a Healthier Community, at the podium, announces a $200,000 matching grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, with the intent of creating jobs in the inner city and improved community health.

SPRINGFIELD – The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has awarded a $200,000 grant to Partners for a Healthier Community in Springfield, aimed at creating new jobs in the inner-city neighborhoods seen as critical to the health of the city and its residents.

The grant, one of 12 nationwide, was announced during a press conference Tuesday at City Hall, attended by city and state officials and representatives of some of the institutions and organizations that are involved in the local “Wellspring Initiative.” The initiative is designed to create stable, long-term employment and improve the health and living conditions in Springfield neighborhoods, officials said.

Frank P. Robinson, executive director for Partners for a Healthier Community, said he is optimistic the effort will ultimately create “hundreds of jobs,” in part by working with institutions such as hospitals and universities, to shift more of their spending on local goods and services. In addition, the initiative will strive to create an employee-owned company, and the framework for others, to address that shift in spending, he said.

“This initiative grew out of a concern that many of our center-city neighborhoods lack employment opportunities, and many residents are not making a living wage,” Robinson said. “Lack of employment has a known detrimental effect on health, now and later in life.”

The initiative is also assisted by $200,000 in matching funds from Springfield institutions and organizations. The local funding consists of $100,00 in cash and $100,000 in in-kind services.

To build demand for new jobs, Wellspring is coordinating with the region’s largest employers to identify key areas where goods and services are needed and could be shifted and met by companies in inner-city neighborhoods, Robinson said.

One idea being explored is to create a “food hub” to provide a major source of local food products for large institutions, officials said. A second idea is to provide for construction needs.

Partners for a Healthier Community is the lead agency with the University of Massachusetts of Amherst in the two-year collaborative. The initiative is shaped after a similar successful program in Cleveland called Evergreen Cooperatives, said Fred Rose, a consultant from the University of Massachusetts Center for Public Policy and Administration.

Local anchor institutions – such as hospitals and colleges, now spend $1.5 billion on goods and services annually, with 90 percent spent outside the region, Rose said.

The Cleveland project has created models of job creation, wealth building and sustainability, Rose said.

Steven F. Bradley, vice-president of government and community relations for Baystate Health, said Baystate contributed $50,000 to the initiative, based on Baystate’s “overall mission to improve the health of our community.” The hospital system will strive to spend as much locally as it can.

Rose said the initiative must identify products needed and where those products can come from locally. The first phase will be a feasibility study and creating a business model for that desired shift in spending, he said.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said that when you have a job, you gain self-identity and empowerment.

Bringing jobs to people in the inner city helps combat poverty and public safety issues, he said.

Key partner organizations include the region’s largest employers, educational institutions and nonprofits.

In addition to Baystate Health and the University of Massachusetts, funding partners include MassMutual Foundation, Providence Health System, the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County, Springfield Technical Community College and United Way of Pioneer Valley.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 66 points to close at 11,954.94.

Associated Press photoTony Zingale, center, chairman and CEO of Jive Software, celebrates his company's initial public offering at Nasdaq, Tuesday in New York. Jive, headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., makes Facebook-type social networks for business. (Photo by Mark Lennihan)

NEW YORK – A late afternoon slide pulled stock indexes lower after the Federal Reserve held off on any new steps to boost the economy. The Fed cautioned that strains in global financial markets still pose a danger, a nod to Europe’s debt crisis.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 66.45 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at 11,954.94. The Dow dropped more than 70 points in the last hour of trading and had risen as high as 126 points earlier Tuesday after two strong auctions of European debt.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 10.74 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,225.73. The Nasdaq composite fell 32.99 points, or 1.3 percent, to 2,579.27.

The Federal Reserve portrayed the U.S. economy as slightly healthier but cautioned that it remains vulnerable to the European debt crisis. “Strains in global financial markets continue to pose significant downside risks to the economic outlook,” the Fed said. Stock indexes turned lower after the Fed released its policy statement at 2:15 p.m.

Stocks had been higher for most of the day after the Spanish government was able to sell short-term debt at much lower interest rates compared with a month ago, a signal that markets are becoming less fearful about the government’s ability to repay its debt.

In its first sale of short-term bills, the European Financial Stability Fund raised 1.9 billion euros ($2.6 billion) from investors at an average rate of 0.22 percent. That’s below the rate Germany pays for the similar bills. “This is an amazing success,” Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, wrote in a note to clients.

The Dow sank 162 points Monday when Moody’s and Fitch warned that the fiscal agreement reached last week among European leaders fell far short of what was needed to contain that region’s debt crisis.

Barring any big news out of Europe, stocks are likely to be stuck in a range for the rest of the week, said Tim Hoyle, director of research at Haverford Investments. Trying to guess which way the market is going to go any day is a “fool’s errand,” he said.

The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that retail sales rose for the sixth straight month in November. Sales increased just 0.2 percent, below what analysts had expected. But the government also revised the previous month’s slightly higher. Hoyle called that the encouraging part. “It reassures you that the economy is going in the right direction,” Hoyle said.

Consumer discretionary stocks fell more than the rest of the market. Electronics retailer Best Buy plunged 15 percent. The company said its third-quarter income sank 29 percent as it cut prices on tablets and TVs to drive sales and traffic during the busy holiday season.

Energy giants made gains as crude oil climbed back above $100. Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. added half a percent.

The Vix, a measure of stock market volatility, fell to 25 and has dropped 8 percent so far this month. The index remained above 30 from early August until last week. Hoyle said a sustained fall in the Vix usually is followed by a rise in stock prices. The recent trend “sets us up for a little Santa Claus rally between now and the end of the year.”

In other corporate news:

Pfizer Inc. gained 1.8 percent, the most of the 30 companies in the Dow. The drugmaker said it plans to buy back up to $10 billion of its own stock.

Urban Outfitters jumped 5.3 percent, the most in the S&P 500 index, after the retailer said its sales were rising faster than analysts were expecting. The Philadelphia-based company owns Urban Outfitters stores, Anthropologie and Free People.

Sprint Nextel Corp. rose less than 1 percent as it looked like its rival AT&T Inc. would be unable to pull off an acquisition of T-Mobile USA. Sprint agreed to drop a lawsuit against AT&T now that the deal appears to be in jeopardy. Sprint had been lobbying to stop it.

Rheault estimates he has been on the board for about 30 years, 16 of them as president.

Donald M. Rheault

AGAWAM – After serving 16 years as president of the City Council, Donald M. Rheault has decided he will not seek another stint next year as the board’s leader to allow it to develop new leadership.

“This is a decision that I made before the November election,” Rheault stated in a prepared statement issued Monday. “I feel I have accomplished pretty much everything that I set out to do when I assumed a leadership role many years ago.”

Rheault, who turns 78 Wednesday, is the longest serving president of the City Council on record. He estimates he has been a member of the council for about 30 years.

“You lose track after awhile,” Rheault said Monday. “I need a break.”

The out-going council president stated that his first order of business in running the council was to foster an atmosphere of open and honest debate within the rules of the city charter while making sure the parliamentary process was adhered to.

“I believe this philosophy helped transition the council from the headline-grabbing debates of the past to the more civil and orderly format that we enjoy today,” Rheault stated.

The council president stated he is eager to return to the council floor, where he will be able to debate the important issues the city will face in the upcoming new year.

“We have some real financial challenges whose solutions need to be carefully articulated and I will be better able to do this from the council floor as opposed to the president’s chair,” he stated.

Rheault expressed thanks to the many different councils that put their trust in his leadership ability by electing him their president and stated that it has been an honor to serve in that capacity.

“I think Don has been an exceptional parliamentarian. I think he has handled the responsibilities of those duties extremely well,” Council Vice President Robert E. Rossi said.

The councilor described Rheault as doing a good job of balancing the council, the mayor and city departments.

As to whether he would seek the council presidency, Rossi said. “I haven’t really thought about it. No one has approached me.”

Rossi added that he would never even considering seeking the council presidency if Rheault were still interested in keeping that office. However, Rossi said if drafted by councilors he would honor their request.

The Ludlow Mills complex totals 170 acres and 1.45 million square feet of floor space.

This is an updated version of a story posted at 10:52 this morning.

The Republican / Michael S. GordonRichard K. Sullivan Jr. secretary of the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs speaks, at right, during an announcement Tuesday in which the Westmass Area Development Corporation development plans for the Ludlow Mills complex. Others in attendance include, from left, Lawrence Curtis, president, WinnDevelopment, Scott Keen, CEO, HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Western Massachusetts, Kenneth W. Delude, president Westmass, Aaron Saunders, chair, Ludlow Board of Selectmen, and (behind Sullivan) state Representatives Thomas M. Petrolati, D-Ludlow and Joseph F. Wagner, D-Chicopee.

LUDLOW – The open floors pace with widely-spaced columns and banks of high and wide windows flooded with sunlight made the Mill 10 building at Ludlow Mills perfect for turning jute fiber into twine and burlap sacks.

Those attributes also make the four-floor, 99,440-square-foot building perfect for conversion into independent-living apartments for senior citizens, said Lawrence H. Curtis, president and managing partner of WinnDevelopment.

WinnDevelopment announced its $20 million plans for Building 10 Tuesday. They want to create 83 apartments on four floors. Building 10 was built in 1907.

“Just imagine this space here between the pillars as a central hallway. The logical thing to do is put one apartment on one side and another apartment on the other. They both have access to the central hallway, and they both have access to natural light. You don’t have to build them too deep and waste a lot of space,” Curtis said Tuesday following a news conference inside the dusty cavernous mill building.

Best known locally for rehabilitating the Longhill Gardens apartment complex in Springfield, WinnDevelopment has done 17 mill-redevelopment projects around the state. In Worcester, WinnDevelopment recently completed Canal Lofts, a 64-unit apartment building in the former Chevalier Furniture factory.

“What’s great about this is that we are right here in the center of Ludlow. It is a residential setting,” Curtis said. “We’ve had projects at mills in Maine we had to abandon because the mills were so isolated.”

Also announced Tuesday, HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Western Massachusetts will build a new $25 million rehabilitation hospital on property at the 170-acre Ludlow Mills Complex. The 53-bed rehabilitation hospital will replace space HealthSouth has in the old Ludlow Hospital a few blocks away. That facility that has become outdated, said Scott R. Kean, chief executive officer of HealthSouth.

“The new hospital will be state-of-the-art with all private rooms and gym with an open floor plan,” Kean said.

HealthSouth has 240 employees who will move, he said.

Both HealthSouth and the WinnDevelopment plan to start construction on their projects late in 2012 and have them open in 2013.

Both are part of what new owner Westmass Area Development Corp. envisions as a $60 million rehabilitation of the Ludlow Mills project.

Kenneth W. Delude, president of Westmass Area Development Corp. said Tuesday that Westmass has finalized the purchase of Ludlow Mills from the Fastenberg family of New York City for about $7 million financed through a consortium of banks: PeoplesBank, Chicopee Savings, Hampden Bank, United Bank, Nuvo Bank and Trust Co., and First Niagara. Westmass has already received a $1.5 million grant from the state.

The town of Ludlow also has $3.7 million in state money to rebuild State Street in front of the complex with new utilities, including a high-pressure natural gas line.

Delude said there will be hundreds of construction jobs at the site once work begins.

The property will stay on the town tax rolls.

Founded in 1848, Ludlow Manufacturing and Sales Co. made cloth, rope and twine out of Indian-grown jute, flax and hemp, according to industrial histories of the region.

Delude said it had about 4,000 employees, many of them children, at its height in the years before World War I. But the Great War disrupted the supply of jute fiber from India, so the company decided to open a mill there instead and shifting production overseas.

The mill went into a long period of decline before closing in the 1960s. After that, the property hosted a number of smaller industrial tenants. Some of those tenants still remain at the mills.

“They’ll have the ability to buy their space if they want to,” Delude said.

Aaron L. Saunders, chairman of the Ludlow Board of Selectmen, said pretty much everyone in town has either worked in the Ludlow Mills or had a friend or family member who worked there years ago.

“What is great is that we have the environmental concerns addressed, not that they were ever very bad,” he said. “So often that concern holds up developments like this.”

Despite that latest jab against Warren, The Center for Responsive Politics revealed that the majority of Warren's contributions have come from small individual donations of less than $200.

Republican Sen. Scott Brown and Democratic front-runner Elizabeth Warren have both denounced negative ads from super PAC Crossroads GPS, but the hits keep coming. (File photos / Associated Press)

Following criticism of last week's TV ad painting Democratic Senate front-runner Elizabeth Warren as a Wall Street sympathizer, conservative super PAC Crossroads GPS released a statement on Tuesday, claiming that money used by Warren via the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is coming from Wall Street.

“Far left professor Elizabeth Warren should get a PhD in hypocrisy for trying to launder Wall Street political cash through the DSCC’s war chest while simultaneously leading the Occupy Wall Street movement,” said American Crossroads president Steven Law in a press release sent out Tuesday afternoon. “Professor Warren ought to put the DSCC’s Wall Street money where her mouth is: and just say no to DSCC support.”

Despite that latest claim, The Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan journalistic website that tracks money in politics, revealed that the majority of Warren's contributions have come from small donations of less than $200.

"Since launching her U.S. Senate campaign in August, Warren has pulled in more than $3.15 million - with a whopping 57 percent of that sum coming from small-dollar donors who each contributed $200 or less," the group reported on its website Opensecrets.org. "According to research by the Center for Responsive Politics, Warren has raised just 3.5 percent of her war chest, or $110,050, from interests in the finance, insurance and real estate sector."

The group reported that Warren's rival, Republican incumbent Sen. Scott P. Brown, has received a majority of his campaign donations from insurance finance and real estate firms.

According to the Federal Election Commission's data, Warren had a total of $3,036,092 cash on hand as of Sept. 30 with Brown holding $10,537,386. The data is dated by more than two months because it is released on a quarterly basis.

To follow the money and see who is donating to which campaign, visit the FEC's website.

Following the release of the latest GPS Crossroads ad, both Brown and Warren's campaign spoke out against such "negative attacks."

Crossroads GPS is a political action committee with ties to Republican strategist Karl Rove. The group has launched similar campaigns against democratic Senate contenders in Missouri, Montana and Nebraska.

Seven candidates were chosen for interviews and three finalists, including Beckley, were selected.

View full sizeStuart B. Beckley

WARE - Members of the town manager search committee told the selectmen Tuesday night that their committee unanimously recommends Easthampton City Planner Stuart Beckley as Ware's next town manager.

The town received 28 applications for the job that became vacant when Mary T. Tzambazakis resigned Sept. 30.

"Many had no previous experience in a similar role or in a similar community," said Kathleen H. Coulombe, chairwoman of the search committee, at Tuesday's selectmen meeting. Beckley "has remained in Easthampton for 22 years."

Seven candidates were chosen for interviews and three finalists, including Beckley, were selected. One of those dropped out.

"He's responsible to a large extent for much of the growth and expansion one can note in Easthampton," said Coulombe of Beckley. "He's smart. ... His approach to opponents is to listen and prove them incorrect with data and information."

Coulombe spoke in glowing terms about Beckley's personality, leadership style and history of success over more than two decades as planner. He has also served as Easthampton's acting town administrator twice.

"We need someone who is a facilitator, a proven successful leader. ... We need someone who sees his own success through the achievements of the whole," she said. "We firmly believe Stuart Beckley has demonstrated these leadership qualities."

Coulombe urged the board to move quickly to hire Beckley, cautioning that he may look for work elsewhere if they take too long.

The charter, adopted in 2007, says the town manager is chosen “solely on the basis of education and experience in the accepted competencies and practices of local government management as well as on the basis of demonstrated executive and administrative qualifications."

Beckley earned $59,241.28 in fiscal year 2011. Tzambazakis earned $100,000 annually as town manager.

Selectman John E. Carroll said he trusted the committee's work and was in favor of immediately negotiating a contract with Beckley.

Selectman Richard Norton said he wanted to conduct an interview as soon as possible and that Beckley is "the best candidate who's available in the Valley right now."

Paul Brody, vice president of development for Mohegan, said he sensed less concern about the future of gaming and more enthusiasm and excitement about the potential for a resort casino on Route 32.

Photo by Michael Beswick / The RepublicanMohegan Sun held their holiday open house Tuesday night at their office in Palmer. Enjoying the Open House left to right is Terry Kenfield of Chicopee, Carolyn Zobka from Belchertown, and Stan and Mary Ellen Zajac of Bondsville.

PALMER - Mohegan Sun annually hosts a holiday open house at its downtown office space, but this year, the mood was more festive than usual.

Casinos are now legal in Massachusetts, and while it remains to be seen where a
casino ends up in Western Massachusetts, approximately 100 supporters were toasting Mohegan's chances on Tuesday night.

"We got through the politics of it," said Robert R. Kudlay, of Belchertown, a member of the pro-casino group, Citizens for Jobs and Growth in Palmer.

Paul I. Brody, vice president of development for Mohegan, said he sensed less concern about the future of gaming and more enthusiasm and excitement about the potential for a resort casino on Route 32. It would be built across from the Massachusetts Turnpike exit. Brody acknowledged that competition is heating up, but maintains that Palmer has the best model, as it is not an urban casino.

"We're looking forward to the competition," Brody said.

Photo by Michael Beswick / The RepublicanMohegan Sun held their holiday open house Tuesday night at its office in Palmer. Standing by the artist's rendering of the proposed casino is Gerald Chudy from the Pioneer Jobs Coalition.

There are three other casino proposals in the works: Ameristar Casinos, which wants to build a hotel and casino at the old Westinghouse plant in Springfield, Hard Rock International of Florida, which is eyeing Holyoke for a casino, and Penn National Gaming of Pennsylvania, which has not announced a site but is looking at the region.

Asked about financing the project, something raised by two councilors last week, Brody said that will be included in the application and host community agreement required as part of the licensing process. He said financing details may be made public in late winter or spring.

Brody said they have not had difficulty finding partners who want to participate in the project, but said it's a matter of negotiations. He declined to reveal who Mohegan is talking with, citing it as "proprietary information."

Jennifer Baruffaldi, spokeswoman for Citizens for Jobs and Growth, said she is feeling positive about Mohegan's chances, and hopes that a referendum will be held in June for Palmer voters regarding the Mohegan proposal.

Baruffaldi and fellow casino supporter, Robert W. Young Jr., said there will be a rally Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Steaming Tender on Depot Street. The rally will be in support of Moheghan Sun, the passage of the gaming legislation and selection of Stephen Crosby as head of the state Gaming Commission.

Dignitaries in attendance at the holiday open house included Town Council President Paul E. Burns, Councilor Blake E. Lamothe, School Committee Vice-Chairman James L. St. Amand and Brian Lees, Hampden County clerk of courts.