Police executed their search warrant at 93 Elm St. early Thursday afternoon.

Republican file photo

HOLYOKE – Police raided an Elm Street home Thursday afternoon and arrested three city men on heroin charges.

Police executed their search warrant at 93 Elm Street shortly before 1 p.m.

Jose M. Kuilan, 851 Main St., and Angel L/ Kuilan, 93 Elm St., 2nd floor, were charged with possession of heroin, possession of heroin with intent to distribute, conspiracy to violate drug law and violation of a drug-free zone (Hampden Park), police documents state.

Arsenio Burgos, 50 Bray Park Drive, was charged with possession of heroin and trespassing, documents state.

Additional information was not immediately available.

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Family members escaped serious injury despite the fact that a 7-year-old boy, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the vehicle.

BETHLEHEM, N.Y. – Authorities say six members of a New York City family escaped serious injuries after their sport utility vehicle crashed and overturned on the Thruway outside Albany.

State police say the family’s 17-year-old son was driving the Mercedes Benz SUV when it crashed around 1:45 a.m. Friday off the northbound lanes of Interstate 90 in the town of Bethlehem, just south of Albany.

Troopers say a 7-year-old boy sitting unrestrained in a back seat was ejected from the vehicle when it overturned. Police say he suffered cuts and bruises.

His mother and 11-year-old sister also suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Police say they’re being treated at an Albany hospital.

The three other members of the Queens family weren’t injured.

Troopers say it was raining heavily at the time of the crash. The cause of the accident is being investigated.

During the four weeks leading up to Christmas, an estimated $1.84 billion in merchandise will be shoplifted this year, according to The Global Retail Theft Barometer, a survey of retailers worldwide.

File photo / Associated PressShoppers grab televisions at a store in Knoxville, Tenn., minutes after it opened on Black Friday. Along with an apparent increase in holiday sales this year comes an expected 6 percent increase in shoplifting, according to The Global Retail Theft Barometer. (Photo by Wade Payne / The News Sentinel)

More than spirits are being lifted this holiday season.

Shoppers may be grabbing lots of things off shelves, but many are leaving stores without paying for them.

During the four weeks leading up to Christmas, an estimated $1.84 billion in merchandise will be shoplifted this year, according to The Global Retail Theft Barometer, a survey of retailers worldwide. That’s up about 6 percent from $1.7 billion during the same period last year.

“They shoplift for Christmas gifts, they steal for themselves, for their family,” says Joshua Bamfield, executive director of the Centre for Retail Research and author of the survey.

Some people always get sticky fingers during the holidays. After all, the crowded stores and harried clerks make it easier to slip a tablet computer into a purse or stuff a sweater under a coat undetected. But higher joblessness and falling wages have contributed to an even bigger rise this year, with people stealing everything from necessities (Think: food) to luxuries they can no longer afford (Think: Gucci handbag).

“It’s really a question of need versus greed,” says Joseph LaRocca, senior advisor of asset protection for the National Retail Federation trade group. “People will rationalize what they are stealing: ‘Oh, I’m feeling the economy. I lost my job’.”

Some experts say the economy’s influence is largely a cop-out. They say shoplifters are stealing for myriad reasons this holiday season that have nothing to do with economic turmoil. Among them, some do it for a rush or thrill. For others, it’s about filling a void. Still others are trying to relieve anxiety, boredom or depression – all emotions that are particularly common during the holidays.

“Shoplifting is generally a crime of opportunity– and opportunities abound at the holiday,” says Barbara Staib, a spokeswoman for the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, a nonprofit that provides shoplifting prevention programs. “The stressors that come with the holiday will certainly help them rationalize their need for bad behavior.”

As it turns out, while many Americans believe in the “thou shalt not steal” creed, many also believe in getting the five finger discount. In fact, an estimated one in 11 Americans shoplift, according to the National Association of Shoplifting Prevention, based on research collected on people who enroll in its prevention courses.

The profile of a shoplifter may be surprising to some. Three-quarters of shoplifters are adults – equally men and women – while kids make up about 25 percent of them. Most – more than 70 percent of shoplifters – say their crime was spontaneous.

Premeditated or not, all the stealing translates into hundreds of billions of dollars in losses for retailers each year.

Theft of all kinds – including shop lifting, organized retail crime, employee theft and vendor fraud – cost retailers more than $119 billion worldwide in the 12 months ending in June, up from up nearly 7 percent from the same period in 2010. That’s the biggest gain ever recorded by the Global Retail Theft Barometer since it began the survey in 2007 and it represents about 1.45 percent of retailers’ $986 billion in sales.

Thirty-six percent of losses come from shoplifting by average Joes. Employee theft represents about 44 percent. Professional criminals who steal massive amounts of goods to resell account for about 3 percent, while vendor theft and administrative error make up the remaining 17 percent.

Several major chains declined to discuss their efforts to thwart the growing theft in stores by shoppers and employees. But the NRF says big merchants are spending about $11.5 billion a year to fend off losses.

They’re trying to improve their technology, such as surveillance methods and tagging of merchandise with security devices. They also are working with competitors and law enforcement agencies more than ever by sharing more information, such as what criminals are taking and how they are targeting individual merchants.

Retailers’ efforts are important, prevention experts say, because theft not only costs them, but society as a whole. Theft drives up retailers’ costs and those are often passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices on everything from blueberries to blouses. That’s a particularly tough pill to swallow in a weak economy.

“I think one of the things we have to remember is shoplifting is a crime,” says Staib, with the prevention group. “Shoplifting is not just an economic issue, it’s a social issue.”

Shop owner Travis Maynard, who has been on both sides of the shoplifting fence, agrees.

As a teenager running with a bad crowd, he used to steal regularly – Visine to cover up the drug use, condiments to finish off his sandwich and even a flowering tree as a gift for his mother. That is, until he got caught stealing a Misfits CD as a teen and decided to turn his life around.

Maynard, 31, now is keeping an eye out for shoplifters at Lime Tigard Studio, a shop in Murfreesboro, Tenn. where he sells antiques, vintage clothing and other items. He says he knows the tricks, recognizing what is easily pocketed and when someone is lingering too long in a certain spot. Knowing how to spot those problems may have helped him avoid being a victim of shoplifting in the six months he has been open.

“For someone to come in and pretend to be a patron of my business and steal, to me it’s the most disgusting thing someone could do,” Maynard says. “It’s one of the highest levels of dishonesty.”

Witnesses testified during the trial that state police had reported icing more than an hour before the crash as water from melting ice froze on Route 8.

File photo by Michael S. Gordon / The RepublicanWilbraham, Jan. 27, 2004 -- staff/ Michael S. Gordon -- A sign on Boston Rd. in Wilbraham tells westbound drivers to watch out for roadway icing. This is just west of the intersection of Maynard Rd. Don't know if this has anything to do with McLaughlin story on spring overflow in the area.

CUTLINE: 1/28/04 - SLIPPERY SLOPE
A sign west of the intersection with Maynard Road warns drivers along Route 20 in Wilbraham of potentially icy conditions caused by spring water that the Massachusetts Highway Department was trying to divert away from the road and into a catch basin on Monday.

LITCHFIELD, Conn. — A jury has awarded $1.6 million to a Thomaston man who sued the Connecticut Department of Transportation over injuries he suffered in a 2007 accident on an icy road.

The Superior Court jury found the state agency was at fault for not making the black ice on Route 8 safe for drivers.

The plaintiff, 56-year-old Gary Merrill, said he suffered debilitating back injuries when the car carrying him and three other people overturned.

Witnesses testified during the trial that state police had reported icing more than an hour before the crash as water from melting ice froze on the road, and Merrill's attorneys argued the state agency did not take appropriate measures.

An attorney for the DOT told jurors the response time that night was reasonable given the road conditions.

The suspect, described as a light-skinned Hispanic male, fled in maroon station wagon, police said.

WEST SPRINGFIELD – Police are looking for a light-skinned Hispanic male suspected of robbing a Westfield Street insurance agency at gunpoint Friday morning.

According to police radio traffic, the suspect, displaying a gun, entered Stevens Insurance at 1218 Westfield St. shortly after 10 a.m.

The suspect fled in a maroon station wagon with dark-tinted windows. The vehicle was last seen on Maple Terrace heading towards Kings Highway, according to radio traffic.
West Springfield police were not immediately available for comment.

The Doner House will open on 200 Shaker Road in East Longmeadow in February.

EAST LONGMEADOW –A Turkish restaurant selling gyros and salads has received approval from the Planning Board for a special permit.

Bahadir Mursaloglu, of East Longmeadow, met with the board Tuesday to discuss plans for the Doner House on 200 Shaker Road.

Mursaloglu, a native of Turkey and graduate of the University of Massachusetts, said he would like to introduce a new cuisine to the area.

“I will be serving Mediterranean and middle eastern food and food from my native Turkey including salads and gyros,” he said.

The board approved the special permit and welcomed Mursaloglu to the area.

“I think this is a great use for a space that has been empty much too long,” said George C. Kingston, the vice chairman of the Planning Board. “I have been eating Greek gyros for years, I’m looking forward to trying Turkish ones.”

Mursaloglu said he will be offering items that diners might not be familiar with and he hopes the unique dishes will set the business apart.

“I’m planning on targeting the lunch crowd mostly at first,” he said. The restaurant will be open from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Mursaloglu is still in the process of building out the location including putting up signs, preparing the kitchen area and dining area, which will include 36 seats.

The business will have five employees. Mursaloglu said he plans on applying for a liquor license as well. He hopes to open the establishment by February or March of 2012.

The Planning Board also approved Patsy Liquori’s request to create a bar area at Patsy’s Pizzeria and Ristorante on North Main Street. The board also approved a change in hours for the business. The restaurant will now remain open until 1 a.m. from Monday through Thursday.

Congress on Friday approved a two-month renewal of payroll tax cuts for 160 million workers and unemployment benefits for millions.

In this Dec. 20, 2011, file photo, President Barack Obama speaks during the news briefing at the White House. If President Barack Obama, the House and the Senate all want to extend a Social Security payroll tax cut and jobless benefits through next year, why are they fighting so bitterly over doing it? Obama, House Democrats and lopsided majorities of both parties in the Senate want to immediately renew the tax cut and jobless benefits for the next two months, and find a way later to extend them through 2012. House Republicans want to do it for a full year right away. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

ANDREW TAYLOR
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress on Friday approved a two-month renewal of payroll tax cuts for 160 million workers and unemployment benefits for millions, handing President Barack Obama a convincing victory for his jobs agenda.

Back-to-back voice vote approvals of the measure by the Senate and House capped a retreat by House Republicans who had insisted that a full-year bill was the only way to prevent an immediate tax increase on Jan. 1.

The measure passed despite lingering grumbling from tea party Republicans. It buys time for negotiations early next year on how to finance a year-long extension of the 2 percentage point Social Security payroll tax cut.

It will keep in place a salary boost of about $20 a week for an average worker making $50,000 a year and prevent almost 2 million unemployed people from losing jobless benefits averaging $300 a week.

Passage in the House — Friday's action on the measure took less than a minute — capped a swift retreat by House Republicans. Their move to force a holiday season confrontation with Obama and Senate Democrats had threatened to hit 160 million workers with a tax increase on Jan. 1. But it backfired badly.

Just 24 hours earlier, House leaders had insisted the only way to prevent that tax hike and a phase-out of jobless benefits for people out of work for more than six months was to pass a full-year renewal.

Those goals had been embraced by virtually every lawmaker in the House and Senate but had been derailed in a quarrel over demands by House Republicans for immediate negotiations on a long-term extension bill. Senate leaders of both parties had tried to barter such an agreement among themselves a week ago but failed, instead agreeing upon a 60-day measure to buy time for talks next year.

Thursday's decision by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to cave in to the Senate came after days of criticism from Obama and Democrats. But perhaps more tellingly, GOP stalwarts including strategist Karl Rove and the Wall Street Journal editorial board warned that if the tax cuts were allowed to expire, Republicans would take a political beating that would harm efforts to unseat Obama next year.

House GOP arguments about the legislative process and what the "uncertainty" of a two-month extension would mean for businesses were unpersuasive, and Obama took the offensive.

Friday's House and Senate sessions were remarkable. Both chambers had essentially recessed for the holidays but leaders in both parties orchestrated passage of the short-term agreement under debate rules that would allow any individual member of Congress to derail the pact, at least for a time. None did.

The developments were a clear win for Obama. The payroll tax cut was the centerpiece of his three-month, campaign-style drive for jobs legislation that seems to have contributed to an uptick in his poll numbers — and taken a toll on those of congressional Republicans.

Romney said that Biden is living in a “fantasyland” if he thinks President Obama’s policies are helping the economy.

File photo / Associated PressVice President Joe Biden is seen in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington earlier this month. (Photo by Manuel Balce Ceneta)

TILTON, N.H. – In a likely preview of the general-election argument to come, Vice President Joe Biden and GOP presidential candidate W. Mitt Romney traded barbs Friday over whose economic policies are best for the country. Biden said Romney’s would leave most people behind while the Republican said Biden and President Barack Obama live in “fantasyland” for thinking their policies are helping.

Biden singled out the former Massachusetts governor in an opinion piece published Friday in The Des Moines Register in Iowa, where the first votes of the GOP presidential nominating contest will be cast in less than two weeks.

The vice president said Romney’s economic proposals “would actually double down on the policies that caused the greatest economic calamity since the Great Depression and accelerated a decades-long assault on the middle class.”

“Romney also misleadingly suggests that the president and I are creating an ‘Entitlement Society,’ whereby government provides everything for its people without regard to merit, as opposed to what he calls an “Opportunity Society,” where everything is merit-based and every man is left to fend for himself,” Biden wrote.

“The only entitlement we believe in is an America where if you work hard, you can get ahead,” the vice president said.

Romney quickly countered that it was Obama who is hurting the country and expressed his astonishment that Biden would have the “chutzpah ... the delusion” to write such a piece.

“This president and his policies have made it harder on the American people and on the middle class,” Romney said after campaigning at a diner in Tilton. “And I don’t think they get it. “And I don’t think they get it. I don’t think they understand from fantasyland what’s happening in real America. They need to get out to diners like this.”

A former businessman, Romney said Obama has made it harder for entrepreneurs to open businesses and create jobs.

He said the country needs as president someone who understands the economy and how it works, and that he intended to fulfill Obama and Biden’s wish by becoming the Republican presidential nominee.

For his part, Obama largely has avoided counterattacking Republicans, saying he will wait until there is a nominee. But Obama’s re-election campaign hasn’t held back and Friday’s column by Biden – who had assumed the vice president’s traditional role of campaign attack dog – was the latest sign the Obama team believes Romney will win the nomination.

“It’s just astonishing to me to have the vice president write an op-ed trying to describe how good things are. You have 25 million Americans who are out of work or who have stopped looking for work,” Romney said. “It hasn’t gotten better yet. Will it get better? Sure. But I can tell you it’s going to get a lot better if you have someone who understands the economy. . I intend to be that person.”

Biden’s message underscored the major theme of Obama’s re-election bid, as the president himself spelled out in a recent speech in Kansas: that the middle class is at a make-or-break moment. The president, who has been saddled with high unemployment, has to make the case that his is the better vision for an ongoing economic recovery for all.

Earlier this week, Romney said Obama was deepening the economic crisis and backing policies that would redistribute wealth instead of creating equal opportunity for people to do well. Romney said his policies would turn the U.S. into an “opportunity society” while Obama’s vision for an “entitlement society” would make more people dependent on government welfare.

Biden responded in the op-ed: “The only entitlement we believe in is an America where if you work hard, you can get ahead.”

State police continue to probe the case.

File photo by Greg Saulmon / The RepublicanSt. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 22 St. George Road, is seen in Springfield's North End.

SPRINGFIELD - The Hampden District Attorney’s office has opted not to pursue charges against a 47-year-old city man accused of forging nearly $22,000 in checks and stealing more than $15,000 in cash from St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral.

Dominick M. Manzi, 47, the cathedral’s former accountant was the subject of a complaint, filed in Springfield District Court, by Nicole Lipp, president of St. George Cathedral of Western Massachusetts.

Manzi was slated to be arraigned in Springfield District Court on Oct. 21 on charges of larceny over $250 by single scheme, utter false check, forgery of check and larceny over $250, according to court documents.

On the day of Manzi’s scheduled arraignment, however, the Hampden County District Attorney’s office, in what is known as a nolle prosequi filing, opted not to purse the charges.

State police continue to probe the theft, uttering and forgery. They occurred between Sept. 25, 2010 and Jan. 17, 2011, according to a Lipp’s complaint.

The leaders of St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral asked Springfield police to investigate financial discrepancies with parish funds in mid-January.

Previously the parish sent letters to the congregation saying discrepancies involving a large amount of money had been discovered in the St. George financial records.

In the letter, the parish stewardship committee urged parishioners to examine the parish contribution lists, compare them with their personal records and report any donations they may have made that were not recorded by the parish.

The St. George parish in the North End of Springfield dates back to 1907, according to the parish website, www.stgeorgecath.org.

St. George officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Sullivan also called the deal a testament to the commitment by the Patrick Administration to conservation.

In largest private land conservation deal since the 1920s, the state has secured protection of 3,486 acres of forest in Leverett and Shutesbury from W.D. Cowls, Inc.

The Amherst-based company, which has owned and worked the land for centuries, sold the conservation restriction to the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game for $8.8 million. According to Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Richard K. Sullivan, it is the acquisition is the largest involving a block of contiguous, privately owned land in the history of Massachusetts.

“It’s a very significant statement,” Sullivan said, noting that the state was able to leverage federal money for the deal as well as enlist the help of non-profit land trusts.

“This is a model we’ll continue to be using,” he said.

Sullivan also called the deal a testament to the commitment by the Patrick Administration to conservation. The state has conserved 85,000 acres of land over the past four years under the governorship of Deval L. Patrick, according to Sullivan’s estimate.

New England Conservatory student Muchen Hsieh said she left the instrument, which was found Friday morning, in an overhead bin and only realized she had forgotten it after she had been picked up.

PHILADELPHIA – A student at a Boston conservatory left a rare violin worth $172,000 on a bus after arriving in Philadelphia, and police are asking for the public’s help in getting it back.

The New England Conservatory student got on a Megabus in Boston with the 176-year-old violin but got off without it late Tuesday, police said.

Muchen Hsieh told investigators that she left the instrument in an overhead bin and only realized she had forgotten it after she had been picked up. The violin was lent to her by the Chi Mei Culture Foundation in her native Taiwan while she studies in the U.S.

“I’m a violin major, so I really hope that the person that took it can give it back to me so I can continue my studies because right now, I can’t do anything,” she told KYW-TV.

Hsieh said she called the bus company to see if the instrument had been found, but she was told it wasn’t on board. Megabus offers low-cost express bus service to more than 70 cities in the U.S. and Canada.

The violin, made in 1835 by Vincenzo Jorio in Naples, was in a reddish case with two straps on the back, police Lt. John Walker said.

“We believe that somebody may have grabbed the item without realizing its value,” he said.

Walker described the violin as maple with a golden-brown varnish and a serial number of V310. It still bears its original label.

The instrument can be dropped off to Philadelphia police, no questions asked, Walker said.

According to a report on msnbc.com, the violin was found Friday morning.

Judge John Payne ordered Franklin not to reside with any animals and be evaluated for anger management, according to his court file.

Nicholas Franklin

PALMER - A 23-year-old Palmer man had an animal cruelty charge continued without a finding in Springfield District Court recently.

Nicholas Franklin, of Mt. Dumplin Road, admitted to sufficient facts and the case was continued without a finding to Oct. 9, which means the charge will be dismissed after that date if he faces no further problems that will land him in court.

Judge John M. Payne Jr. ordered Franklin not to reside with any animals and be evaluated for anger management, according to his court file.

Franklin was charged by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals last year after his girlfriend's 1-year-old chihuahua bit him and he allegedly hurt it.

The MSPCA officer's report included in the court file stated the dog had broken ribs and head trauma. Palmer police also investigated.

The funding will be used for the Quinlan Memorial Project to protect 139 acres of forested upland within a large undeveloped area that has long been a conservation priority for the town.

Stephen Brewer

MONSON - State Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, announced that Monson will receive a $253,120 grant through the Massachusetts Local Acquisitions for Natural Diversity Program, which is administered by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

The funding will be used for the Quinlan Memorial Project to protect 139 acres of forested upland within a large undeveloped area that has long been a conservation priority for the town.

The land abuts other protected land owned by the town and the Norcross Wildlife Foundation.

“I am extremely happy that this town, which has been through so much, has been awarded this funding,” Brewer said in a prepared statement.

“The June tornado destroyed acres of trees in my district, many in Monson alone. This funding is even more critical than before to preserve open space and the forests remaining for future generations.”

The land also protects a town drinking water aquifer and supports diverse wildlife, he said.

This marks Toy for Joy's 89th season.

John Suchocki / The Republican12-22-2011 - Callaway Golf in Chicopee employees donated $12,000 to the Toy For Joy. Representing the employees and staff are left to right, Steve Varuis, James Serra, John Hereiques, Steve Lapiere, John Marques, Tony Pires, Dan Gomez Plant Manager, Mario Godbout Vice president golf ball operations, Dianne McMillan,Tom Gaudrault and John Fogarty.

SPRINGFIELD – The employees of Callaway Golf Co. are again a driving force when it comes to Toy for Joy.

Callaway, which has a plant in Chicopee, has given $12,000 to Toy for Joy this year. The company, which manufactures high-end tour golf balls, has been donating to the holiday toy campaign for over 20 years.

The Toy for Joy tradition started when employees Tom Gauldrault and Claude Pouliot donated $35 in memory of a co-worker, according to Daniel Gomez, plant manager.

Since then, Callaway and its workers have donated over $100,00 to Toy for Joy, Gomez said.

Callaway’s annual donation comes from the recycling of bottles and cans consumed by employees inside the facilty and from selling scrap metal from old machinery as upgrades are made.

“It’s our pleasure said Gomez. “We have been doing it a long time, and we will continue to do it.”

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 to bring toys and gifts to children in need this holiday season.

Donations tallied thus far total $133,054.27, leaving $16,945.73 to be raised to cover the costs of this year’s toy distribution.

Hasbro, Inc. joined Toy for Joy as a partner, providing some of the toys which were distributed. Hasbro has a long history of helping families in Western Massachusetts during the holidays.

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

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. Here’s a list of the latest contributors:

From the employees of Callaway Golf Co., wishing all a very Merry Christmas, $12000
In the names of our wonderful children, $1000
In memory of the Wells and LaMagna families, $50
Merry Christmas to our friends and family from Kelli and David, $100
Merry Christmas to our seven beautiful grandchildren from Marilyn and John, $25
Merry Christmas from Mary Ellen, $10
In loving memory of my wife Kathy Ann Checkowski, $100
For our young and our old who are very special, $15
Merry Christmas to the children from the Record family, $50
To honor my dear friends and family from Carol, $100
Gloria and Imani, God bless, $30
In loving memory of granddaughter Olivia Ross from Grammy and Grampy, $50
Happy Holidays always Jazmin, Emmanuel and Bruno, $20
In memory of loved ones gone, Katie B, $50
In loving memory of my husband Bob and all deceased members of our families from Betty, $100
Merry Christmas from Steve and Gina, $100
In memory of my godchild Julianne Labossiere, $25
Merry Christmas from Griffin and Casey, $100
In memory of Kicker, $25
In memory of Frank and Carol Bacon, $200
In memory of Ray and Patty, $25
In memory of loved ones lost from Fran and Virginia, $25
In memory of Jason Rivers, Merry Christmas, $100
To see the child’s smile on Christmas morning, $25
In loving memory of Agnes Brueno Platt and Nancy Bean Morrissey, love Albert and Gail, $40
In loving memory of Abigail Maciorowski, your granddaughter Gail, $20
For blessings of the Bean grandchildren, Sarah, Ethan, Colin and Cameron, $50
In loving memory of all the deceased members of the Babinski family, $40
In memory of Josephine G. Brault, $20
Molly, $25
Merry Christmas, in memory of Paul, Ruth and Grace Mathews, $25
In loving memory of my dear parents from Dorothy, $25
Anonymous, $100
In loving memory of our niece Heather from Eric and Laura, $25
Jane and Herschel, $40
In loving memory of Gra, Pa and Grampy, love Aly, $5
In loving memory of Cali, I will always love you, love Aly, $5
For Cinder and Geor, my two girls, love Aly, $5
Thank you St. Jude for prayers answered, AC, $5
For strength for those dealing with illness, AC, $5
Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year from Barbara and John, $20
Merry Christmas from Stash and Roza, $25
Merry Christmas from Sean, $25
Tom, Ellen and Brian Race, $25
In loving memory of my Dad William J. Mack, $25
In loving memory of Mary McGrath, $100
We will miss you Ma, Merry Christmas from Paul, $25
Because Aunt Mary and Uncle Frank always made Christmas special, $25
In memory of Tinker, $25
Merry Christmas to all from Summer and Alex, $25
In memory of loved ones, Merry Christmas, $30
In memory of my brother Alan from Todd Cheika, $125
In loving memory of Ted, Winnie and David from Nina, $15
Many thanks to Bishop Scruton, $20
Merry Christmas from Dylan, Chloe, Harrison, Coffee Bean, Scobbie, Tedy Bruschi and Troy Brown Bears, $50
In memory of Joe Kane, $50
In memory of Stanley Cortis, love Kevin, Darlene and kids, $25
In memory of Gene Brassard, love Darlene, Kevin and kids, $25
In memory of Dan Murphy from Kay, $10
In loving memory of our dog Maggie, Merry Christmas from Rich and Julie, $25
Merry Christmas to all, Peter, Kathy, MacKenzie and Shannon, $100
In loving memory of Carl Bathelt from Mary Lou, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, $25
In memory of Santo Despirt 12/17/11, Mary and Dirk, $40
In memory of John W. Buam from grandkids Nate, Matt and Hannah, $25
For favors granted, thank you St. Jude, EM, $15
Merry Christmas to the Visconti family, love Grandma Faith, $50
In loving memory of Aurora Lily Gabrenas, love Nana and Grandpa, $25
In memory of my mother and father from Bill, $25
Remembering Roy, RIP, love ETA, $10
In memory of my husband Phil from Marianne, $25
In loving memory of Tim, Sophie and August Kosta, $200
Thank you Mayor Sarno for rebuilding Springfield, Merry Christmas, $50
In loving memory of Uncle Bill, love Anna, Michael, David and Tony, $50
Ruth, $25
In memory of Robert Adams, love Robin and Ricky, $25
In celebrating Charlotte’s second Christmas, $50
Merry Christmas :), $25
Merry Christmas Cursillo 2011, $25
In loving memory of my parents John and Betty Devine, $100
In memory of Jennie, Art, Eleanor and Joe, $15
To remember Mom, Wally and Mem, $25
In loving memory of my Dad, Roland T. Gregoire, love you, Anne, $10
In loving memory of my husband Alan Peterson, love Anne, $10
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the students and staff at Dryden School, $363.30
In loving memory of Paul and Brian Mackey, $50
In loving memory of Helen and Mark LePine, $50
In memory of my brother Ed Scagel from Anne Mc, $20
In memory of Gram Littlejohn who made our Christmases special from her family, $50
A penny in the old man’s hat, from Phelps K-13, $23.41
In loving memory of Bob and Charlie from Jane and Glen, $50
Suzanne, $15
Joe, $25
In memory of my “Pity Sing”, $10
Maureen, $50
From the staff at the Registry of Probate in Springfield, $500
In honor of Maureen Shea, world’s greatest mother-in-law, $10
Mariann, $20
On behalf of the St. George’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral Philoptochos Ladies Society, $150
In memory of Margaret and Kenneth Smiledge, $250
In memory of my grandparents Joseph A. Chicklowski and Sotirios and Panagiota Vakakas and my Uncle Chanes A. Newman from Tricia, $25
In memory of Mom, Dad, John Chipper, Molly and Grettyl, $100
In loving memory of Mitchell Swienton and in honor of Mr. Swienton and Davis families from Chris, Ben, Jeff, Tim and Jon, $50
Merry Christmas Peter, Chris, Bobby and Erin LaBreck, $100
Merry Christmas from the Hladchuk family, $25
In memory of Margaret McCaffrey, $25
Merry Christmas from Jim, $10
Merry Christmas from Rosemary, $10
Merry Christmas from Elizabeth, $10
Merry Christmas from Cathleen, $10
Merry Christmas from Pete, $10
Merry Christmas from Emma, $10
Merry Christmas from Maggie, $10
Merry Christmas from Bill, $10
Merry Christmas from Mona, $10
Merry Christmas from Billy, $10
Merry Christmas from Lauren, $10
Merry Christmas from Melissa, $10
In memory of our friend Alan Vadnais from Jim’s Auto Trim, $50
In memory of Sheila Sunter and Robert Hanke, Sr from Ed and Robin, $100
From the employees of Covanta Springfield, $250
Hampden Banks employee dress down day, $100
William Roberts Electric Co., $200
Happy Holidays from Dr. Matthew Katz and staff, $150
North American Energy Alliance Energy Massachusetts, $500
In loving memory for deceased members of the Bertini and Almeida families, $20
In honor of Mark S. Ryan, love Lester and Donna, $20
Happy Christmas to all of the Logan nieces and nephews from Aunt Marilyn, $25
In memory of Fred Ingrid, Lucy and Herb Quagliaroli, $1
Merry Christmas to all the kids from Teresa, $40
Merry Christmas and God bless, $20
From Bobo, in memory of Billy Bond, $20
In loving memory of little beautiful Tim, I love you, $10
S. Sgt Steven B. LaRiviere USMC, 10/23/83, now reunited with his parents, $25
In loving memory of Alice M, $10
In memory of Grandpa Lee Roy, $10
In honor of Chloe Lee’s first visit to Santa, $10
To the wonderful person who rescued me, Kelly Breton, love Winston, $20
In memory of James McAleer from his wife Mary, $20
Thank you St. Jude and St. Anthony, ECZ, $10
In memory of Cas who loved Christmas and kids, $20
Anonymous, $3
Thank you Donna A from Cynthia A., $20
Anonymous, $60
Anonymous, $70
For our Elias Brookings School family, best holiday wishes from George and Joan Rollins, $75
Merry Christmas from a friend, $20
Merry Christmas to all from United Water, $94

RECEIVED, $20,459.71
TOTAL TO DATE, $133,054.27
STILL NEEDED, $16,945.73

At the Holyoke Mall, an estimated 500 shoppers raced through the doors to buy a pair of the new Air Jordans.

Shoppers line up outside Urban Gear on Main Street in downtown Springfield early Friday morning to purchase pairs of the new Air Jordan Retro XI "Concord" sneaker. (Photo by Brian Canova)

SPRINGFIELD - Sneaker-enthusiasts throughout western Massachusetts and across the country camped out late Thursday night in an attempt to purchase the new Nike shoes bearing basketball great Michael Jordan’s name.

While the Air Jordan XI Retro “Concord,” which was released Friday morning, retailed for $180, some outlets sold pairs for more than $220, and buyers were willing to pay the premium. On online auction sites like eBay the shoe is estimated to fetch a price-tag upwards of $500.

At Expressions, a sneaker outlet on Liberty Street in Springfield, customers set up sleeping bags and lawn chairs on the sidewalk as early as 5 p.m. Thursday, and waited through an overnight rain to get their hands on a pair.

Brian Pacheco, Expressions’ district manager, said that the 50 pairs allotted to the store sold out within 30 minutes of opening.

“I’ve been selling shoes for 10 years and I’ve never dealt with crowds like today. It was bananas,” Pacheco said.

“It’s the style, it’s the look, it’s the swag that the shoe brings,” said Pacheco when asked why the shoe attracts such attention.

Darrick Miller-Hall, of Springfield, set up a tent outside Urban Gear on Main Street at 6 p.m. Thursday, before the store’s owners had even left. He was more interested in buying a pair for resale rather than for himself.

“I’m about to get five hundred dollars for these. If not more, honestly,” Miller-Hall said when asked what’s so special about the shoes.

“It’s the brand that sells the shoe,” Pacheco added.

“These sneakers themselves are worth money because this sneaker hasn’t been seen since it debuted. It hasn’t been retro-ed as it’s called. They’re collectors items. Some people buy them not even to wear them. They buy ‘em to have them,” said Isaac Kim, an employee at Urban Gear.

Taron Shuttles, left, and Darrick Miller-Hall pose outside Urban Gear in Springfield with fresh pair of Air Jordan Retro XI "Concord." Miller-Hall expects the shoe, which retailed at $180, to fetch over $500 online. (Photo by Brian Canova)

Miller-Hall said he buys sneakers for resale whenever a good brand comes out, which he said on average happens about once a month. Two weeks ago, Miller-Hall said, he bought the Air Jordan XIV Last Shot for $180 and sold them for $360.

Darryn Hill, a merchandiser for Urban Gear, said while he’s not sure how many of the day’s customers ever saw Jordan play for the Chicago Bulls, that the fusion of his brand with music, movies, and even cartoons, has created a lasting cultural legacy that continues to sell.

“I don’t want to say it’s a birthright, but it’s part of the urban culture. Some kids learn their ABC’s and others learn the history of basketball in America. Kids who like to play basketball now know all about Kobe (Bryant’s sneakers) but their parents know about Jordan, and their parents knew about Magic (Johnson),” Hill said, referring to the other two NBA stars.

Jordan was inducted into Springfield’s Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.

At the Holyoke Mall, shoppers lined up outside Finish Line, Champs Sports, and Foot Locker as early as 4 p.m. Thursday to wait for the sneaker’s release. Christian Alvarez, manager of Champs Sports, estimated as many as 500 people waited throughout the mall.

Holyoke police removed customers from the mall late Thursday night and brought them to the exit where they were allowed shelter in the area between the security doors, according to Lt. Michael Higgins.

Some store owners photographed the faces of customers first in line and others were given tickets to make sure the early arrivals were given first pick when the mall officially reopened.

Alvarez called it a repeat of November’s Black Friday shopping event. He said a stampede of the estimated 500 people raced through the mall when the doors opened Friday morning.

“People were running, tripping. People were threatening, it didn’t feel safe whatsoever,” Alvarez said.

Throughout the day Friday, reports surfaced around the country of similar events surrounding the sneaker’s release. Police in Troy, Mich., reported injuries to a male trampled outside a Foot Locker location trying to purchase a pair.

At a Seattle mall, more than 1,000 customers had lined up outside four sneaker outlets by 4 a.m. Friday to wait for the shoe.

According to an Associated Press report, about 20 people were pepper sprayed at the Seattle mall to break up fights among pushing and shoving customers. One man was arrested for pushing an officer. No injuries were reported.

Elsewhere, four people were arrested after breaking down the door of a store selling the Air Jordans at a suburban Atlanta mall.

Judge Mary-Lou Rup said Bazelon had demonstrated the public's right to know and that the town has failed to demonstrate any possible harm in disclosing the information.

The Republican file photo | Don TreegerEmily Bazelon.

NORTHAMPTON – Ruling in favor of Emily Bazelon, a reporter covering the Phoebe Prince story, a Hampshire Superior Court judge has ordered the town of South Hadley to release the terms of a settlement with the Prince family.

Judge Mary-Lou Rup wrote the public has a First Amendment right to see the details of the settlement between the town and Anne O’Brien and Jeremy Prince, including how much money South Hadley paid the family over the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination complaint. The couple maintained that the town and certain town officials failed in their duty to protect their daughter against sexual harassment at South Hadley High School.

Prince, a 15-year-old freshman, hanged herself in January 2010 after what investigators have described as a period of bullying and harassment by some classmates. Six South Hadley High School students were charged in connection with their treatment of Prince, but none was sentenced to jail time.

Bazelon, a reporter for the online publication Slate, requested the settlement information from Town Counsel Edward Ryan and other town officials but was told it was confidential. Bazelon subsequently sued for the information. Last week, her lawyer, American Civil Liberties Union attorney William C. Newman, argued before Rup that confidentiality did not apply in the case and that the documents should be available to the public.

In her ruling, issued Friday, Rup agreed, saying Bazelon had demonstrated the public’s right to know and that the town has failed to demonstrate any possible harm in disclosing the information. However, Rup gave the town a week to appeal the matter before it has to turn over the documents. If it decides not to appeal, they will be made public at that time.

Bazelon said Friday that she is pleased by the decision.

“I think it was right on the law and I look forward to publishing the settlement as soon as I get it,” she said.

Newman called it a victory for the public.

“This forcefully supports the importance of transparency in government,” he said.

Obituaries from The Republican today

Bernard S. Shevlin

Obituaries from The Republican:

• 
  Berube, Juliette A. (LeFebvre)
  



• 
  Bracey, Kathryn A. (Fluker)
  




• 
  Clark, Eileen
  



• 
  Coderre, Lucille M.
  



• 
  Daly, Judith M.




• 
  Daniele, Giovanni
  



• 
  Donahoe, Michael H.
  




• Francis, Blythe LaBonte "Peggy"
  




• 
  Laczynski Jr., Charles Louis
  



• 
  Landry, Evelyn E. (Berry)




• 
  Love, Marsha D.
  



• 
  Ortiz, Blanche Iris Cote
  




• Parish, Evelyn
  




• 
  Payne, Sherman Diane
  



• 
  Reynolds, Ruth A.




• 
  Shevlin, Bernard S. "Bernie"
  



• 
  Snyder, William D.
  

Hundley said the city water supply is properly chlorinated and is safe to drink. There is no need for residents to boil water for consumption.

photo courtesy of Kretyen / FlickrNorthampton officials say traces of bacteria found in drinking water poses little risk for the public

NORTHAMPTON - A test sample of city drinking water showed a trace of a type of bacteria associated with feces, but Public Works Director Ned Hudley said there is little reason for residents to be concerned.

Sampling showed a single count of enterococcus bacteria at city well #2, a secondary source for the city water supply. The well has since been taken off line.

Enterococcus is a microbe whose presence in a source indicates it may be contaminated with human or animal wastes. It poses a particular concern for people with weakened immune systems.

Hundley said the city water supply is properly chlorinated and is safe to drink. There is no need for residents to boil water for consumption, he said.

The city is required by the federal Environmental Protection Agency to notify the public of the test results.

More information is available by calling the Northampton DPW at (413) 587-1098, or through the DPW websight at www.northamptonma.gov/dpw

Cykowski made an apology at Wednesday's City Council meeting for his comment, which was: "Where's a Puerto Rican when we need one?"

File photo | The RepublicanEasthampton City Councilor Donald Cykowski has apologized for a remark he made about Puerto Ricans, but his apology isn't enough for the president of the Springfield chapter of the NAACP or an Easthampton resident who started an online petition seeking Cykowski's resignation.

It came near the end of a seemingly routine Easthampton City Council meeting, but a comment made by Easthampton City Councilor Donald Cykowski about Puerto Ricans has people from Easthampton to The Netherlands taking note of the body’s Dec. 7 meeting.

Now we offer you an opportunity to see it for yourself, thanks to video available from Easthampton Community Access Television, which taped the entire meeting.

Cykowski made an apology at Wednesday’s City Council meeting for his comment, which was: “Where’s a Puerto Rican when we need one?” Cykowski made the comment after councilor Ronald Chateauneuf left the meeting room and was unable to return when the door locked behind him. Cykowski hasn’t explained what he meant by the remark.

Cykowski’s comment prompted Rev. Talbert Swan II, president of the Springfield chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, to call for Easthampton officials to censure Cykowski. And Easthampton resident Lauren Marcous started an Internet petition asking the council and Mayor Michael Tautznik to force Cykowski to apologize and resign. So far the petition has 54 “signatures,” including from people identifying themselves from as far away as Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Dakota and The Netherlands.

Cykowski’s remark comes at the 18:37 mark of the meeting. The council had just voted to appoint Chateauneuf to the Planning Board. Chateauneuf, whose council term will expire in January, had agreed to leave the room for the vote. All councilors voted in favor of the appointment except Cykowski, who abstained. There was some light-hearted talk about letting Chateauneuf back in the room when Cykowski made his remark.

There was at least one audible groan from another councilor, and council president Joseph McCoy said, “Councilor Cykowski, please.”

It’s been much written about and much commented on. Now you can see and hear it.

Traders were relieved by news that Congress extended a payroll tax holiday for workers and emergency unemployment benefits.

By DANIEL WAGNER | AP Business Writer

Associated PressSpecialist Jennifer Klesaris and trader Gregory Rowe work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Global stocks advanced Friday, Dec. 23, 2011, on further signs the U.S. economy is improving, but trading activity was muted as the traditional holiday slowdown began in earnest. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Stocks closed higher Friday after a quiet, pre-holiday session that turned the S&P 500 index positive for the year.

Traders were relieved by news that Congress extended a payroll tax holiday for workers and emergency unemployment benefits. Both programs were set to expire at the end of the year. Letting that happen would have reduced economic growth by about 1 percent, analysts said.

The final business day before Christmas also was the slowest full day of trading so far this year. Traders exchanged just 2.22 billion shares, about half of the recent average. The market will be closed on Monday because Christmas falls on a Sunday this year.

Stocks have risen steadily since Tuesday on hopeful signs about the pace of economic growth in the fourth quarter, which ends next week. New claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level since April 2008, long before anyone realized the nation was in a recession.

A series of mixed economic reports Friday did little to derail that optimism. The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 11.33 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,265.33. It started the year at 1,257.64.

Stocks might surge into the new year if the S&P 500 passes a couple of key technical thresholds, said Todd Salamone, research director at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

Fund managers currently hold relatively few stocks, Salamone noted, and many of their funds have underperformed the market and are negative for the year. If the index rises farther above its break-even point for the year or its average over the past several months, fund managers might flood into the market in a last-ditch attempt to improve their annual returns, he said.

"The worst thing that can happen for a fund manager is to underperform and be in the red when your benchmark, the S&P index, is in the green" for the year, Salamone said.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 124.35 points, or 1 percent, to 12,294. Bank of America Corp. was the Dow's biggest gainer, adding 2.4 percent. All but two of the 30 Dow stocks rose, Alcoa Inc. and Boeing Co.

The Dow has risen 527.74 points, or 4.5 percent in the past four days. It was the first four-day winning streak for the Dow since mid-September.

The Nasdaq composite index gained 19.19 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,618.64.

Earlier Friday, the government said that consumer spending and incomes barely grew in November. The weak gains suggest that consumers may have trouble sustaining their spending into 2012.

In another worrying sign, a measure of business investment decreased for the second straight month. Business investment has been a pocket of strong demand and spending amid a sluggish recovery. A tax break that encouraged companies to invest in new equipment and facilities expires at the end of the year.

Yet hopes for the economy remained high after this week's encouraging news about the job market and strong holiday sales for retailers.

Among the companies making big moves:

• Rambus Inc. jumped 12.2 percent after the technology licensing company said it reached a patent license deal with Broadcom Corp. and settled a lawsuit with the chip maker.

• TripAdvisor Inc. rose 6.1 percent, the most in the S&P 500, as traders reassessed the value of the newly spun-off travel review website. The stock had fallen sharply since it officially started trading on Wednesday. It recovered some losses on Friday as analysts weighed its rapidly growing revenue and market share.

• Eastman Kodak Co. rose 9.5 percent after the struggling photography company said its general counsel, Laura Quatela, would become co-president on Jan. 1.