The ribbons are designed to spread awareness of the prevalence of sexual assault and domestic violence.

The Republican | Mark M. MurrayMary Reardon Johnson, executive director of the YWCA of Western Massachusetts, and Springfield Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet look over the ribbon placed on the back of Springfield police cruisers to call attention to April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The YWCA provided the ribbons.

SPRINGFIELD – The city’s police cruisers now bear testament to the ongoing struggle against sexual assault.

Each of the Police Department’s 30 street cruisers now bear a magnetic “ribbon” that states “Stop Sexual Assault.”

The ribbons are part of a collaboration between Police Department and the YWCA of Western Massachusetts. It is designed to spread awareness of the prevalence of sexual assault and domestic violence.

“It causes devastating problems to the victims, untold problems,” Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet said. “I think it’s very important to report about the advocacy to the victims.”

Fitchet and Mary Reardon Johnson, executive director of the YWCA, said it’s a fitting time of year to spread awareness because April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

The YWCA provides services to about 1,200 sexual assault victims each year, according to Johnson, who said many more cases go unreported. Statistically speaking, she said, a woman is assaulted in the United States every two minutes.

In the U.S., a woman has about a 15 percent chance of being sexually assaulted in her lifetime, Johnson said. For men, that number is about 5 percent, she said.

“It’s an under-reported and very serious concern,” she said.

Fitchet said instances of sexual and domestic abuse are investigated by the department’s special victims unit.

Johnson said help is not only available through the police but through the YWCA’s hotline accessed 24-hours a day, seven days a week, at (413) 733-7100.

Scant information was available, but both incidents involved armed assailants, according to police reports.

SPRINGFIELD -- City police received reports of armed robberies in the Old Hill and Forest Park neighborhoods on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

Tuesday's incident reportedly involved a delivery man for a Chinese restaurant, who was robbed at gunpoint around 10:40 p.m. on Conklin Street in Old Hill.

Two assailants, one of whom pointed what appeared to be a black, semiautomatic pistol at the delivery man, fled on foot on Hickory Street. It was not immediately clear if the suspects took money or other items from the victim.

Wednesday's incident involved a daytime robbery on Belmont Avenue in Forest Park, where a victim reportedly was robbed at knifepoint around 5:03 p.m. The assailant, described in police reports as a tall black male, wearing a red hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans, was seen fleeing on foot on Belmont Avenue after the incident.

No further information was available about either incident Wednesday evening.

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Top judges, including William J. Boyle, the presiding judge at Springfield District Court, praised Gay's nomination.

Photo by Gloria ButtsDuring a hearing on Wednesday at the Statehouse, Massachusetts District Court Department Chief Judge Lynda Connolly, right, praised the nomination of John Gay, left and seated, as the new clerk magistrate of Springfield District Court.

BOSTON – Gov. Deval L. Patrick’s choice for clerk magistrate at Springfield District Court faced some tense questioning on Wednesday, after an assistant clerk at the court contended the nominee played an active role in his illegal lay off nearly a decade ago.

During a hearing that lasted about four hours, members of the Governor’s Council interviewed John S. Gay of Northampton, nominated last week by Patrick to become the new $110,000-a-year clerk magistrate at Springfield District. The council must vote to confirm the appointment.

Gay, 48, has been regional coordinator at the administrative office of the District Court Department for Western Massachusetts since 1994.

Clerk magistrates are in charge of the administration and management of the court. Their duties also include ruling on whether there is cause to issue criminal complaints and holding hearings for small claims and civil motor vehicle violations.

Gay received some strong support at the hearing from the chief judge for the state’s District Court Department, the presiding judge at Springfield District Court and the court’s retired chief judge, but the testimony of the assistant clerk and some sharp criticism from a couple of councilors took much of the attention.

At the hearing, James M. Whalen, an assistant clerk magistrate in Springfield District Court, said Gay was deeply involved with the administration of the court in 2002 when Whalen was laid off in apparent violation of state law. Whalen said Gay should have known the law.

After the hearing, Whalen said Gay had alleviated his concerns with his testimony during the council meeting. He said he would support Gay if his nomination is approved.

In a letter to the council, Whalen wrote that he believed that Gay played an active role in his dismissal, which he said was orchestrated by a former chief judge.

Gay said he was in a room when Springfield District Court leaders announced the decision to lay off Whalen, but Gay said it was the clerk magistrate at the time -- the now deceased Robert E. Fein – who decided to dismiss Whalen.

Fein decided to lay off Whalen after the state’s then-chief administrative judge issued a memo saying there was no need to follow seniority in layoffs, Gay said.

Whalen filed a lawsuit over his layoff and the state’s Trial Court later settled, after a Hampden Superior Court judge refused to throw out all of Whalen’s claims. Whalen had been reinstated in 2004 in accord with a recall policy. Last year, the Trial Court provided him with $105,318 in effective back pay in settling his lawsuit.

The court had retained at least two assistant clerks with less seniority than Whalen , even though Whalen was a tenured employee under state law, according to court records.

Gay was endorsed by five supporters including Judge Lynda M. Connolly, chief justice of the state’s District Court Department, retired Springfield District Court Judge William W. Teahan, Judge William J. Boyle, the presiding judge at Springfield District Court and Susan Silver O’Connor of Northampton, a friend and assistant general counsel for Health New England in Springfield.

Connolly praised Gay’s knowledge of the court’s business practices, the law and procedures and his ability to work with other court leaders.

“I cannot speak more highly of this individual for this position,” Connolly said.

Boyle said the Springfield court is currently hurt by a hiring freeze in the Trial Courts. The court has 7 clerks when it is authorized for 11 and 13 probation officers when it is approved for 27, Boyle said.

Boyle said the court needs a permanent clerk magistrate.

“I have every confidence John Gay will do an admirable job,” Boyle said.

Governor’s Councilor Charles O. Cipollini, a Fall River Republican, grilled Gay on Whalen’s firing and also raised questions about Gay’s promotion in 1986 at Dorchester District Court in Boston. Gay was promoted to office manager in charge of 45 employees, though he had not yet obtained his college degree.

“It just doesn't strike me right,” Cipollini said. “There must have been some political godfather there.”

Gay said his colleagues in Dorchester were pleased he won the office manager’s job. Gay said there was no educational requirement for office manager in 1986. He said he was one of several office managers and that he was passionate about the job.

Governor’s Councilor Marilyn M. Devaney, a Watertown Democrat, said she was concerned that Gay is not a lawyer. In addition, she criticized the timing of the hearing, saying it was being unfairly rushed through and that she needed more time for due diligence. The council scheduled Gay’s hearing a week after his nomination.

Councilor Thomas T. Merrigan, a Greenfield Democrat, defended the timing of the hearing. Merrigan said he wants to speed the appointment since the clerk-magistrate’s job has been open for nearly five years.

Councilor Mary-Ellen Manning, a Salem Democrat, said the clerk-magistrate’s job is a lifetime appointment with no mandatory retirement and that Gay is young enough to be in the job for 50 years. Considering his support from judges, Manning said she was also concerned that Gay would dismiss cases to reduce a backlog and improve efficiency for judges.

“I have a real problem with that,” Manning said. “That’s all that is coming through.”

The latest webcam installed by the Regional Traveler Information Center at the University of Massachusetts is at the Look Park roundabout on Route 9 in Northampton.

A screen grab from a University of Massachusetts Regional Traveler Information Center webcam at the Look Park entrance roundabout on Route 9 in Northampton.

NORTHAMPTON – The Regional Traveler Information Center at the University of Massachusetts first installed webcams in 2001 during the reconstruction of Coolidge Bridge to help motorists keep apprised of the traffic.

Now there are 24 such cameras monitoring intersections in the Amherst-Hadley-Northampton area, including the latest at the Look Park roundabout on Route 9.

The views at the Look Park intersection are aimed at helping motorists avoid delays. They also provide transportation officials from Northampton and the state Department of Transportation’s Highway Division a chance to monitor the operation and check for traffic problems, according to a press release from the travel information center.

Cameras still help motorists monitor traffic on the Coolidge Bridge as well as other Route 9 intersections plus several sites on the UMass campus, including the new roundabout at Governors Drive and North Pleasant Street.

The system tracks the UMass Amherst bus system, and provides travel advisories, current traffic speed on Routes 9 and 116, and construction information for Interstate 91.

Besides motorists, the webcams provide learning and research opportunities for the UMass-Amherst transportation engineering program.

Every municipal employee, including Sarno, will be asked to accept a wage freeze and 12 furlough days under the plan.

Republican file photoDomenic Sarno

SPRINGFIELD – City unions reacted warily Wednesday to Mayor Domenic J. Sarno’s call for wage freeze and furloughs to offset a projected $5.4 million budget deficit beginning July 1.

Firefighters union president Lt. David Wells said he was disappointed to hear details of the mayor’s plan to freeze salaries of all 1,500 municipal workers and impose one furlough day each month.

Wells said the firefighters unit will meet Saturday to discuss the matter, and will make some public comment next week.

Kevin D. Coyle, lawyer for the city’s patrolmen’s union, said city officials and the state Finance Control Board have sought concessions in the past, with varying degrees of success.

“We’ve all been through this before; it’s almost an annual event,” said Coyle, who said he couldn’t comment on the patrolmen’s response to the plan.

Speaking generally, Coyle said some unions might accept wage freezes and furloughs to avert layoffs, while others might refuse.

“There are different (bargaining) groups, with different factors, with different ways of saving money,” Coyle said.

No negotiating date has been set for the city and the patrolmen’s union, Coyle said. “The phone hasn’t rung yet, but I suspect it will,” he said.

Sarno said he would like to reach agreements with all the bargaining groups in the next few weeks so the city’s budget can be finalized. Every municipal employee, including Sarno, will be asked to accept a wage freeze and 12 furlough days under the plan.

Without concessions, basic services will be cut and as many as 120 full-time positions eliminated by June 30, Sarno warned.

Several councilors, including Michael A. Fenton and Timothy C. Allen, said Tuesday that the city had lost opportunities to save money last year by imposing furloughs.

Councilor Timothy J. Rooke also said the wage freezes and furloughs would be unnecessary if the city had exercised more fiscal discipline in the past year.

In particular, two decisions – moving the School Department offices from State Street to the former federal building on Main Street and not seeking bids on city health insurance plan – cost the city about $14 million.

By not purchasing a $60,000 license plate recognition system, the city forfeited about $4 million in extra revenue, Rooke said. The system helps identify unpaid parking tickets and excise taxes.

“There are consequences for putting off difficult decisions, and we’re paying for them now,” he said.

City Councilor James J. Ferrera III also said Sarno’s budget-balancing plan underscores the need for spending and hiring freezes he proposed in 2008 and 2009.

Ferrera said other public and private sector institutions, including U.S. Postal Service, Baystate Medical Center and Hampden District Attorney’s office, have curbed hiring; by contrast, the city hired 171 employees since April 2010, Ferrera said.

“It’s ridiculous – we’ve been living on a credit card and it’s time to pay the bill,” he said.

File photo by Dave Roback / The RepublicanSpringfield Mayor Domenic Sarno is seen at a recent press conference at City Hall.

Judge said he is leaving after nearly 2 years on the job to pursue other career opportunities.

File photo | The RepublicanJohn D. Judge submitted his resignation on Wednesday as Springfield's Chief Development Officer.

SPRINGFIELD – The city’s chief development officer will step down next month, nearly two years after taking the $108,000-a-year post.

John D. Judge submitted his resignation, effective May 6, according to a statement from Mayor Domenic J. Sarno’s office.

Hired in June 2009, Judge played a key role in several city initiatives, including retention of Titeflex Corporation, the expansion of Smith & Wesson, and creation of the UMass Design Center, according to Sarno, who praised Judge’s contributions to the city.

Judge said he is leaving to pursue other career opportunities.

“During my two-year contract, it has been an honor to work with the city team, citizens and stakeholders to advance community and economic development projects in the City of Springfield,” he said.

Christopher J. Moskal, project manager in the office of Planning and Economic Development, will fill in for Judge, pending a permanent appointment, the mayor said.

Moskal is a veteran development official with experience managing several major projects.

Moskal previously served as director of the Springfield Parking Authority.

The mayor has asked city economic development consultant, Maureen C. Hayes, to undertake a review of the city’s economic development organizational structure within the next 90 days.

Sarno also indicated that he will make a make a determination on the hiring of a permanent director based on the outcome of the review.

Participants can print receipts, family rosters and family activity calendars.

WEST SPRINGFIELD – Participants in Park and Recreation Department programs may now register online through a new software program called Web-Trac, according to Park and Recreation Director Victoria Connor.

“We are ready to go,” she said of the software her department purchased for $20,000 and used on a limited basis starting last fall. The department has now expanded the online option to all of its offerings.

Connor said people find online registration easier than coming to the department’s office or using mail. People can pay for programs online by credit card.

Web-Trac can be accessed by going to the Park and Recreation Department’s website at www.west-springfield.ma.us.

People should then click on the department’s home page and scroll to the bottom of the page to the icon “register online.”

Connor said it is important for people to be aware of the online option because registration for summer programs is just starting.

When registration is complete, participants can print receipts, family rosters and family activity calendars.

People who participated in the program last fall can use their online accounts with a temporary user name and password. To receive this information, call the department at (413) 263-3284. At that time, staffers will also update contact information.

People who have not participated in the program must create an account. They may do that in any one of three ways. They may visit the department’s office in the municipal building at 26 Central St., mail in an enrollment form or fax an enrollment form to (413) 263-3282. Enrollment forms are under the Parks and Recreation Programs tab on the department’s website. A valid e-mail address must be provided.

After an account has been established, a temporary user name and password will be emailed. For more information, call (413) 263-3284.

Bringing sewer services, estimated at $7.3 million, is expected to open up that area of Agawam for development.

AGAWAM – Plans are in the works for the second phase of the southwest sewer area project, a project currently estimated at $7.3 million.

Department of Public Works Superintendent Christopher J. Golba said Friday that consulting engineering firm Tighe and Bond is working on designs and analyzing costs. Once figures are determined, Golba said, the project will be presented to the City Council for approval, something he anticipates will take place over the next couple of months.

Plans call for about 21,000 feet of sewer lines starting on Pine Street at South Westfield Street and including parts of Barry Street and the rest of South Westfield Street. Sewer lines will also be installed along Tannery Road, Bradford Drive, Meyers Drive, Oakmont Place and Spruce Circle. The project includes pumping stations at Barry and Pine streets, as well as work at Oak Ridge Country Club and vicinity.

Golba said that because the first phase of the project was completed for about $1.7 million last fall, the city was able to install more sewer lines in the second phase than originally anticipated.

Golba said he does not yet know how much residents will be assessed in betterment fees.

“It has been a long time coming for the town and will eventually make a lot of people happy,” the public works chief said. “It will open up good sections of town to development.”

The sewer lines are needed because the area has lots of old septic tanks that are failing, Golba said.

The first phase of the project involved installing sewer line along Route 57 starting at Shoemaker Lane near the Route 57 Bridge to South Westfield Street and then along South Westfield Street to the vicinity of the old state police academy.

Westfield police declined to identify the deceased, who was killed in a Route 20 crash around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Greg Saulmon / The Republican04.20.2011 | WESTFIELD - The scene of an accident at the intersection of Route 20 and East Mountain Road Wednesday.

Greg Saulmon / The Republican

Updates a story published Wednesday at 3:22 p.m.

WESTFIELD -- One person died and three were injured in a three-vehicle collision on Route 20 in Westfield shortly after 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to Westfield Police Lt. Jay Pitoniak.

The identities of the victims were unavailable late Wednesday night. Pitoniak said more information should be available once authorities contact the deceased person's family.

Police said the crash at the intersection of Route 20 (Springfield Road) and East Mountain Road was reported at 2:38 p.m., tying up traffic for much of the afternoon. Traffic was back to normal once the accident scene was cleared around 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Police said the person who was fatally injured was a passenger in one of the vehicles. The driver of that vehicle was taken to Noble Hospital in Westfield, while the other two drivers were transported to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. Their conditions were not immediately known Wednesday night.

The crash occurred on Route 20 west and remains under investigation by Westfield and state police from the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section.

Republican Assistant Online editor Greg Saulmon contributed to this report.

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The mayor's executive assistant, Pat Whitehead, will retire May 6 after a 26-year career with the city.

Photo by Julian Feller-CohenWest Springfield Town Hall.

WEST SPRINGFIELD – Pat Whitehead, the mayor’s executive assistant, will retire May 6 after 26 years with the city.

Whitehead, 61, said she has mixed feelings about leaving the city’s employ.

“The only reason I am retiring is I want to spend more time with my family. The grandchildren are young and this is the time to enjoy them. ... I’m sad because this has been part of my life for a long time,” Whitehead said of her work with the city.

Whitehead praised Mayor Edward J. Gibson, the city’s first and only mayor and for whom she has worked since 2001.

“The mayor is the most wonderful person,” Whitehead said. “He has been a great person to work for.”

Gibson also had high praise for his assistant.

“I’m going to miss her immeasurably,” he said. “She has been my right arm the past 10 years.”

Whitehead, who is paid about $63,000 a year, said she may stay on past May 6 to train her replacement.

Before becoming Gibson’s assistant, Whitehead worked from 1994 to 2001 as the administrative secretary to the town’s selectmen. When the city switched from the town meeting form of government to the mayoral form, the Board of Selectmen was disbanded.

When Whitehead joined the city’s employ, she worked in the Accounting Department office, a position she held for about six years. She went on to serve as assistant town clerk for three years.

Adolescents need about nine hours of sleep a night, according to Abrams, a pediatrician for 50 years, and other experts.

File photo | The Republican

SOUTH HADLEY – For years, studies have suggested that high schools should start their classes at a later time because of the changing “sleep-wake” cycles of adolescents.

Now advocates of a later school day have another ally.

Robert M. Abrams, recently elected to the South Hadley School Committee, raised the issue at a “Candidates’ Night” forum, and he raised it again when the committee met last week.

South Hadley High School opens for business at 7:25 a.m.

Not everyone agrees that a later starting time would help teens achieve more, or even that sleep deprivation is a big deal.

What gives Abrams a special claim to attention is that he has been a pediatrician for 50 years, and also serves as a physician for the Holyoke Schools.

He told listeners at the forum that he’s had high school students faint while he was administering flu shots – because they hadn’t been able to wake up early enough for breakfast.

The topic of delayed start times had been on the School Committee’s agenda only weeks earlier, with South Hadley Schools Superintendent Gus Sayer providing literature for the committee.

Abrams also came armed with articles on the pitfalls of chronic sleep deprivation and the benefits of a delayed start.

Much of the research is based on a four-year, large-scale study conducted at the Minneapolis Public Schools.

According to the articles, when teens got enough sleep, the results included an increase in attendance and motivation, fewer disciplinary problems, less tardiness, less depression and a “calmness” in the halls and cafeteria.

Grades did not rise dramatically, but researchers said those are not necessarily a reliable measure of well-being.

Adolescents need about nine hours of sleep a night, according to Abrams and other experts. Unfortunately, going to bed earlier may not solve the problem, as teens are programmed by their biological clocks not only to wake up later but to fall asleep later.

Even supporters are aware of the disadvantages of delaying the start of the school day: More expense for buses, loss of after-school jobs, disruption of after-school athletic and other extracurricular activities, family commitments.

But nature may outweigh any of these arguments.

The “sleep shift” is not something adolescents learn from the culture, wrote Kyle Wahlstrom in the NASSP (National Association of Secondary School Principals) Bulletin in 2002. “It is instead a phenomenon of human development.”

After the vote, Councilor Donald Cykowski expressed skepticism that the resolution would hold sway with the Statehouse.

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EASTHAMPTON – The City Council narrowly passed a resolution Wednesday that would support a bill in the state legislature designed to increase income taxes in certain brackets.

The bill, “An Act to Invest in Our Communities,” would raise the state income tax rate from 5.3 percent to 5.95 percent, the rate before it was decreased in 1999. It includes a higher personal exemption for middle- and lower-class families in an effort to ensure their taxes do not increase, said the office of the bill’s author, Rep. James J. O’Day, D-West Boylston.

The rate increase would affect only those earning $62,600 or more annually, and would have the greatest impact on those earning $580,000 or more annually, O’Day’s office said. The bill also raises capital gains taxes in some situations.

Andrea Burns

Council member-at-large Andrea Burns introduced the measure at the April 6 meeting.

Four councilors voted in favor of the resolution and three voted against it. Councilor Daniel C. Hagan abstained and Councilor Salem Derby was absent.

“If we don’t have enough revenue, then we’re going to have to cut or we’re going to have to raise property taxes or cut positions or go down to three days a week instead of four days a week (of the Municipal Building being open for business),” Burns said before the vote. The Municipal Building is closed Fridays as a cost-cutting measure.

“I think with the wealthy doing better than they ever have before, it’s sort of unconscionable to not ask for them to sacrifice anything while the middle class is bearing the majority of the burden,” said Burns.

Councilor Justin P. Cobb said he “whole-heartedly” supported the resolution and the bill, but that his constituents “overwhelmingly” asked him to vote no, which he did.

Before voting, Cobb apologized to Burns.

“This was a hard vote,” he said after the meeting. “I have to remember that I was elected to office to represent my district.”

“I would oppose it,” said Hagan, who announced beforehand he would abstain. “I think that what we need in this state is to increase revenue with jobs. I don’t think we need to raise taxes.”

Councilor Joy Winnie voted in favor, saying it’s “very obvious that the wealthiest of the wealthy” benefit most from the current tax laws and the middle class is “carrying our society today.”

After the vote, Councilor Donald L. Cykowski expressed skepticism that the resolution would hold sway in Boston.

“What do you think will happen when that resolution hits the Statehouse? Right in the wastebasket,” he said. “They care less about us in this community. They’re going to do what they want at the given time.”

There will be a hearing of the Revenue Committee at the Statehouse’s Gardner Auditorium on May 5 at 10 a.m. to discuss the bill.

Multiple gunshots were reported in the city's Brightwood and South End neighborhoods, but there were no known victims.

SPRINGFIELD -- Springfield police responded to reports of multiple shots fired in separate shooting incidents Wednesday night in Brightwood and the South End.

Around 8:50 p.m., multiple police units responded to the vicinity of 53 Orchard St. in Brightwood for a report of three gunshots fired by a man who was spotted running from the scene.

About 2 1/2 hours later, police responded to a report of multiple shots fired in the vicinity of William and Dale streets in the South End.

The South End reports were detected separately by the city's shot-spotter system, which first registered a single gunshot and quickly was followed by multiple shots, according to police reports.

Springfield Police Capt. William P. Collins had no further information about the Brightwood incident.

Capt. Cheryl C. Claprood said the South End shooting had not produced any known victims by around 12:20 a.m. Thursday.

A Boston doctor avoided going to trial by admitting to a judge Wednesday that he traveled to Alaska in 2008 with the intention of having sex with a 6-year-old boy.

By MARY PEMBERTON, Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A Boston doctor avoided going to trial by admitting to a judge Wednesday that he traveled to Alaska in 2008 with the intention of having sex with a 6-year-old boy.

John Mark Felton, a 47-year-old research physician, was to be tried Monday in U.S. District Court in Anchorage. He decided instead to plead guilty as part of a plea agreement.

Felton pleaded guilty to traveling to Anchorage on Nov. 16, 2009, to engage in illicit sexual conduct. At sentencing on Sept. 13, he is expected to get between 20 and 30 years in prison. If convicted of the original charge, he could have received a sentence of life in prison.

Prosecutors say Felton was in a child-sex chat room on Feb. 28, 2008, when he began conversing with a man who he believed was offering up his young grandson for sex. He told the man — actually an undercover agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement — that he would travel to Alaska to have sex with the boy.

When Felton was arrested at the Anchorage airport, he had in his luggage and a Spiderman child's costume.

Special Agent Kevin Laws, who posed as the man offering his grandson, asked Felton if there was anything that he should be worried about. Felton responded, "nope, very clean, healthy and discreet, not into anything nasty. Just really into kids."

Felton — who at the time lived in a luxury condo in Boston's exclusive Back Bay neighborhood and was vice president of clinical operations at a vaccine development company in nearby Cambridge, Mass., — waited nearly a year and a half before reaching out to the man again. The trip was planned in emails over the next few weeks.

Felton, who at times trembled in his chair while seated next to his lawyer, was asked Wednesday during the change of plea hearing if the facts of the government's case against him were true.

"Ah, yes," he told U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline.

According to court documents, Felton told officers that he didn't pay Kirby any money or provide him with financial information for payment, but that he brought a kid's costume and condoms. He told agents that sleeping pills in his suitcase were not for the boy, but were for Kirby if the encounter went badly.

He also told officers that his chats on the computer were different than "the real world" and he hadn't been with children before, documents say.

Agents found a silver suitcase in Felton's Boston home that contained child pornography DVDs.

Felton, a British national who moved to Boston in 2008, will have to register as a sex offender and will most certainly be deported when he is released from prison. He will have to serve his term, less any good time credits, because there is no parole in the federal system.

Beistline indicated that he would probably accept the plea agreement and go with a sentence of between 20 and 30 years. That means Felton could be more than 70 when released.

"That is a long sentence," said his lawyer, Steven Wells. "He has lost everything."

Felton_John_11-20-09

Hatfield, Harvard, Scituate and Winchester will be pilot communities.

Associated Press

SPRINGFIELD - The state’s energy chief is leading a new initiative to launch what has thus far been a surprisingly tough sell in Massachusetts:

Sun.

Or, sun power, to be precise.

Though certainly not stagnant, solar power has been slow to catch on in Massachusetts despite the state’s international reputation as a leader in biotechnology research and development, according to Richard K. Sullivan Jr., secretary of the state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

Sullivan, who attended an editorial board meeting at The Republican on Wednesday, said Gov. Deval L. Patrick’s push to have 250 megawatts of solar power installed by 2017 will be advanced by a pilot program in four Massachusetts communities to adopt solar technology.

“We’re going city by city, town by town, house by house, to ask people to rethink how they use energy - and that will be truly revolutionary,” said Sullivan.

As chairman of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, created by the so-called Green Jobs Act of 2008, the Patrick administration is partnering in a grassroots marketing effort to raise the sun’s profile as a fuel source. The four pilot communities are Hatfield, Harvard, Scituate and Winchester.

The “Solarize Massachusetts” pilot project will provide education and marketing to help the four towns to push residential and small-scale commercial solar projects and provide a business model to reduce costs.

Although solar cells are costly to install, Sullivan emphasized the state and federal renewable energy credits businesses may recoup to offset the start-up price. The value of the credits depends on the volume of energy produced. Highly efficient cells may cost more than $1,000, according to industry experts. The average start-up cost for a home or business is difficult to estimate, Sullivan said.

He noted that utility companies are mandated by law to use renewable energies and there are special provisions for solar power. Proposed state legislation would pass a percentage of solar costs to the consumer, Sullivan conceded.

Despite the front-end costs of installing solar, the power source has broad possibilities in terms of creating jobs and expanding the green industry, while reducing the reliance on foreign oil.

Sullivan said clean energy jobs have increased 65 percent over the past five years.

Proposed solar power projects have been cropping at closed landfills in communities across the region, plus two planned sites by Holyoke Gas & Electric, but residential consumers and smaller businesses have been harder to persuade.

“It’s been tough to find the customer,” Sullivan said.

The conversation will be titled, “Envision a Vital Springfield,” and will focus on issues that specifically affect the city.

File photo | The RepublicanThe Bing Arts Center on Sumner Avenue in Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD – The Bing Arts Center will host an upcoming “Imagination Conversation,” part of a nationwide series of discussions that are a project of the Lincoln Center Institute.

Sponsored by the “X” Main Street Corporation, the event will include a moderator, five panelists and up to 50 guests invited to promote imagination and creative thinking.

“It’s a good way to bring people to the table and get the conversation going,” said Brian F. Hale, executive director of the Bing Arts Center.

The conversation will take place at the Bing Arts Center, 716 Sumner Ave., on April 26 from 6 to 8 p.m., with a reception at 5 p.m.

Led by moderator Steven Dahlberg, principal of the International Centre for Creativity and Innovation, the panel will include Michael Jonnes, executive director of the Springfield Symphony; Joshua Bogin, director of Springfield Magnet Schools; Magdalena Gomez, of Teatro Vida; John Judge, director of development for the City of Springfield, and Robert McCollum, former Springfield School Committee member.

The Springfield “Imagination Conversations” event falls at the end of a two-year project by the Lincoln Center Institute. The project is aimed at building national awareness of imagination as a vital tool in work and in life, sparking dialogue about imagination in both the professional and educational spectrums.

While many such forums have taken place in large cities and venues, Hale said although the “X” Main Street Corporation is a small organization, it was an ideal forum to be held here.

“We’re very forward thinking,” he said. “Our whole message is about imagination and creativity. We thought it would be great to involve Springfield in these conversations.”

Following all the conversations held across the country, the Lincoln Center Institute will hold a national summit in New York this summer to come up with a summary of the conversations as a whole.

“The thinking is, (imagination and creativity) need to be fostered and emphasized,” Hale said.

“It’s not all about how we need to get more arts into our society, although that’s certainly the case. It’s about using imagination to improve workforce development, urban problems, transportation and energy.”

Hale said it’s exciting that a city the size of Springfield has the opportunity to host one of these discussions.

“At the very worst it’s a great networking opportunity, and at its best it will help the city move forward a little bit,” he said.

Hale said the local conversation will be titled, “Envision a Vital Springfield,” and will focus on issues that specifically affect the city. Each panelist will be asked to talk about imagination in his or her life and work, and its importance in their role as a leader.

The group will also discuss ways that schools can foster imagination in the classroom.

“I think things are improving, but we have a lot of issues,” Hale said.

“Financial stability is in question like it is everywhere, our graduation rate is poor, workforce development is questionable, and attracting new businesses is a question mark. That’s not to say it’s not a great place, but we need to be part of this national conversation going on.”

Hale said some might be critical of the process, but they shouldn’t be.

“People might say, ‘You’re just talking about it,’ but you have to get started that way,” he said. “You have to get creative and start working.”

Hale said this kind of project is great for the “X” Main Street Corporation and the Bing Arts Center.

“We’re a non-profit community arts center being built right here in Forest Park,” he said.

“We’re trying to make an impact to improve arts accessibility. It’s part of being a healthy society, I think.”

For more information on the project, visit http://lciweb.lincolncenter.org/imaginationconversation.

Police are investigating a shooting outside the Chessmen Lounge that left a 35-year-old Springfield man with serious but presumably non-life-threatening injuries Thursday morning.

The Republican file photo

SPRINGFIELD - Police are investigating a shooting outside the Chessmen Lounge that left a 35-year-old Springfield man with serious but presumably non-life-threatening injuries Thursday morning.

Just before 2 a.m., officers were called to the parking lot of the Chessmen Lounge located at 459 Dwight St. for a shooting with a victim on the ground.

According to Capt. Cheryl C. Clapprood, the victim said he was leaving the bar when he encountered two black men outside who began shooting at him.

"He was shot once in the knee, once in the groin and in the hip," she said. "He was taken to the hospital and last I heard was in the operating room but expected to live."

The assailants were described as two black men, one of whom was wearing a black hoodie with a white t-shirt underneath. They were last seen running down Lyman Street and officers are yet to identify them.

The victim, only described as a 35-year-old Springfield resident, has been cooperative, Clapprood said, although police are still trying to determine why the men shot him.

"At this point we are still piecing together the details and don't have a clear picture about what exactly led to the shooting," she said. "We will be trying to pull some surveillance footage to get more information."

When asked if police had additional information about two "shots fired" calls Wednesday evening in the Brightwood and South End neighborhoods, Clapprood said there were no new developments.

"We investigated the reports but there were no victims and no damage in either incident," she said.

Anyone with information about the Dwight Street shooting is asked to call the Springfield Police Detective Bureau at (413) 787-6355.
Those who wish to remain anonymous may text a tip via a cell phone by addressing a text message to “CRIMES,” or "274637," and then beginning the body of the message with the word "SOLVE."

14 Northampton police officers and 2 civilians will be presented awards by Police Chief Russell Sienkiewicz.

NORTHAMPTON - The City Council plans to recognize more than a dozen law enforcement officers for community service and individual deeds at Thursday night’s meeting in Council Chambers.

Fourteen Northampton police officers and two civilians will be presented awards by Chief Russell P. Sienkiewicz at the council session. Several pertain to incidents last year.

On July 11, police officer Sean Casella removed a distraught man from the railing of the Coolidge Bridge, an act that earned him the lifesaving award. Former Northwestern Assistant District Attorney Michael A. Cahillane, who assisted Casella, will receive a civilian service award.

On July 12, officers John Lopez and Gilberto Jimenez talked a young man who had armed himself with a knife into laying down his weapon. They will each receive exceptional service awards.

Sgt. John Cartledge and officers Michael Briggs, Thomas Briotta, Patrick Moody, Steve Digiammo and Dennis Liptak will receive unit citation awards for their work on August 13 of last year in which a man making suicide threats barricaded himself and shot himself in the head with a pellet gun.

On Oct. 11, detectives Corey Robinson and Tim Satkowski and Officer Donald Nichols helped uncover a methamphetamine lab on Bridge Street. For that they will receive exceptional service awards.

Detective. Lt. Kenneth Watson was on his way to work on Feb. 12, 2010, when he saw a woman near a gas station on Pleasant Street set herself on fire. Watson was able to get the woman timely medical attention. Sienkiewicz will give him a letter of commendation for his actions that day.

Police officer Victor Caputo, who is due to be promoted to sergeant, will receive an exceptional service award for his continuing work mapping the Meadows and other community service. Caputo also works with several neighborhood groups.

In addition to Cahillane, Salvatore Giammarino, a cell monitor, will receive a civilian service award for his actions ion Nov. 16, 2010, in which he prevented a prisoner from hanging himself in the police station cell block.

Republican file photoNorthampton City Hall

Investigators want to question a person of interest about a pipe bomb and propane tanks found after a fire at a Littleton mall, a discovery that raised the possibility of a connection to the Columbine massacre anniversary.

(AP Photo/FBI)This April 20, 2011 image taken from surveillance video provided by the FBI shows person of interest sought in a fire and the planting of a pipe bomb and two propane tanks near a food court at the Southwest Plaza Mall in Littleton, Colo.

LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) — Investigators want to question a person of interest about a pipe bomb and propane tanks found after a fire at a Littleton mall, a discovery that raised the possibility of a connection to the Columbine massacre anniversary.

Firefighters found two propane tanks and the bomb near the Southwest Plaza Mall's food court after a small fire broke out Wednesday that was quickly squelched. The mall was evacuated around noon. No one was injured and the bombs didn't explode.

Wednesday was the 12th anniversary of the shooting rampage at nearby Columbine High School and officials expressed concern that the mall incident could be somehow linked.

"The fact that has happened on April 20, 12 years later, near the school and with similar devices is very disturbing," Jefferson County sheriff's spokeswoman Jacki Kelley said.

A possible connection to Columbine will be explored.

"It's something that can't be ignored and won't be ignored," Kelley said.

The mall is about two miles from the school, where two student gunmen killed 13 people and themselves on April 20, 1999 in a rampage that stunned the nation.

Unexploded pipe bombs and a propane tank with explosives attached were found in the school after the shootings.

(AP Photo/FBI)This April 20, 2011 image taken from surveillance video provided by the FBI shows person of interest sought in a fire and the planting of a pipe bomb and two propane tanks near a food court at the Southwest Plaza Mall in Littleton, Colo.

"If it's kids, they're crazy not to know what this means in this town," Margie Hecht, who lives near the mall, told The Denver Post. "I remember that day and they wouldn't think this is funny if they did."

Through the years, students across the country have been accused of threats and incidents modeled after Columbine.

FBI spokesman Dave Joly said authorities have identified a person of interest seen on surveillance video entering a stairwell he said isn't typically used by the public.

The man could be a witness or a suspect, Kelley said.

He is described as a white male with graying hair and a silver mustache. Photos taken from surveillance show him in a dark cap, gray and white striped shirt, dark jacket, blue jeans and dark shoes. He is seen entering a stairwell and carrying a white plastic bag.

Joly said it was too early to speculate whether the incident was an act of terrorism.

Sheriff's officials said there are usually about 6,000 to 10,000 people in the mall around noon each day. Shoppers and about 300 mall employees left after the fire.

A daylong search didn't turn up any other explosive devices in the mall, which was expected to be open for business Thursday.

(AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)Dustin Gorton, 30, says a prayer as he visits a memorial on Wednesday, April 20, 2011, in Littleton, Colo., for those who were killed at the Columbine High School shooting 12 years ago. Gorton, who now lives in White Bear Lake, Minn., was a senior at the school during the massacre.

About 25 schools were on lockout as a precaution, meaning access is restricted to one point, according to the Post. Classes had been canceled at Columbine High School in remembrance of those killed in the shootings.

Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold wounded several students and killed 12 and one teacher before shooting themselves.

Anyone with information about the man on the video or the incident is asked to call the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office tip line at 303-271-5616.

The nation's economic upheaval has been especially hard on young people trying to start their working lives with a high school education or less. In a new Associated Press-Viacom survey, only about a third of the 18- to 24-year-olds who aren't in school said they have full-time jobs.

(AP Photo/Jim Mone)In this photo made April 6, 2011, Mark McNally is shown at his part-time job at a liquor store in Edina, Minn. McNally, 23, earned a history degree from the University of Minnesota and says he doesn't think he can earn the same kind of money his parents made when they were his age.

By CONNIE CASS & STACY A. ANDERSON, Associated Press Writers

Christopher Cadaret's been fixing TVs and stereos for fun since he was 10 years old and thinks he'd like to work in electronics or auto repair. But four months after he dropped out of high school, he can't find a job of any kind.

He's tried a local electronics company, the hardware store, the dollar store, the minimart. Nothing.

"I'm seeking work, anything that is put in front of me," said Cadaret, 18, who lives with his father in Burkesville, Ky., a small town amid the hills and farmland along the Tennessee border. He started looking for a job at 16. Without that first toehold on work, his dream of earning enough to save up for technical training seems far away.

The nation's economic upheaval has been especially hard on young people trying to start their working lives with a high school education or less. In a new Associated Press-Viacom survey, only about a third of the 18- to 24-year-olds who aren't in school said they have full-time jobs.

Less than a quarter of them work part-time, leaving 4 in 10 unemployed.

Young adults who skipped higher education are willing to work and have some experience; the vast majority have held a paying job at some point. About two-thirds have a high school diploma. But a majority — almost 6 in 10 — say the high school they attended did only a fair to poor job in helping them prepare for work.

About three-fourths worry at least a little about just having enough money to get by from week to week. Almost 4 in 10 still lean on their parents or relatives for financial support. And most feel that their family's financial situation has held them back, especially those whose families earn less than $50,000 per year, according to the survey conducted in partnership with Stanford University.

Three-fourths of those who bypassed college cite cost as a reason. More than half — 56 percent — say money was "very" or "extremely" important to their decision.

They still believe in the power of higher education. Nearly three-fourths say they aspire to return to the classroom someday, either for trade school or college.

"I just feel like I've got enough drive and I'm not going to quit," said high school senior Jonathan McDaniel, who's made plans to join the Navy when he graduates from high school in Pittsburg, Okla., this spring. "If you work hard enough, you will get where you want to be."

McDaniel, 18, is interested in pursuing a college degree and maybe a career as a police officer or airplane mechanic. He figures starting out serving on an aircraft carrier "will give me a solid foundation to build my life on."

Almost half say getting real-world experience before going through more school was a key factor in their decision not to start college. And almost as many said they were influenced by their ability to find a job right after high school.

"I kind of always knew college wasn't for me," said Ayla Godfrey, 19, of Charlotte, N.C. "I was ready to get out and work, and I really didn't want to go back to school anymore."

Godfrey said it took her months and more than 100 applications to find work in a clothing store after she graduated from high school in 2009. She later worked as a hostess at an assisted living facility but quit that job after becoming pregnant. Godfrey, who lives with her boyfriend's family and relies on his paycheck, says she feels confident she'll find job happiness after her baby is born.

"I have to make a life for my little baby girl and I'm willing to do whatever I have to do," she said.

Young people whose education stopped at high school don't report as much certainty about the future as those in college, but they're still strikingly optimistic — 8 in 10 are at least somewhat confident they'll find a career that will make them happy.

Most of those with jobs don't feel they've found their calling, however. Six in 10 say their job is just something to get them by, not a career or a stepping stone to one.

And the dismal job market leaves many feeling shut out. The Labor Department's overall unemployment rate for the youngest workers — 16- to 19-year-olds — is 24.5 percent, and that counts only those considered to be actively looking for jobs.

"It's going to take time for the economy to work itself back up for people to find jobs," said Cadaret, who keeps looking. Meanwhile, he said, "I'm worried about money all the time."

The AP-Viacom telephone survey of 1,104 adults ages 18-24 was conducted Feb. 18-March 6 by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Corporate Communications. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Stanford University's participation in this project was made possible by a grant from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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AP Polling Director Trevor Tompson, Deputy Director of Polling Jennifer Agiesta and AP News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.

AP-Viacom Youth Study Topline_college Students Paying the Bills