President Obama's Facebook event disappointed many as he only answered 8 questions, former Rutgers student charged with hate crime in roommate's suicide and more headlines.

FILE - In this Oct. 16, 1980 file photo five Metropolitan Edison technicians wearing protective clothing and breathing apparatuses prepare to enter the containment building housing the damaged Unit Two reactor of Three Mile Island in Middletown, Pa.. Japan's Fukushima disaster, which will leave taxpayers there with a massive bill, brings to the fore one of the industry's key weaknesses _ that nuclear power is a viable source for cheap energy only if it goes uninsured. (AP Photo/file)

• Obama's Facebook event considered dissappointment by many [SFChronicle.com]


• Former Rutgers Student Dharun Ravi Indicted in Tyler Clementi Suicide [NJ.com]


• Apple iPhone tracks your location in iOS 4, without your permission [TechSpot.com]


• Art installation at UMass evokes impact of fences along US-Mexico border [GazetteNet.com]


• Homeless mom faces charges after enrolling her child in school [FoxCT.com]


• Editorial: Blogger's lawsuit against Huffington Post & AOL has no merits [PBSMediaShift.org]


• Inferior Arms Hobble Rebels in Libya War [NY Times.com]






• New Haven police handle two murders in less than an hour [NHRegister.com]






• Inside Japan's nuclear 'hot zone' [CNNInternational.com]






• Endangered whales gathering off Cape Cod in record numbers [Boston.com]






• Twitter posts tagged #westernma in Western Mass. [MassLive.com]


• Read more News Links »


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Today's poll: Is 7:25 a.m. too early for high school classes to start?

Greg Saulmon / The Republican04.21.2011 | HOLYOKE - Signs of spring color a sidewalk on Hillside Ave. early Thursday morning. Anyone know what tree / bush produces these? Please post to the comments.

The Forecast

We're only looking at a high of 53 today, but the sun early this morning seemed to be promising a lot more.

Multiple sources -- including the National Weather Service -- have said today will be "sunny" with no mention of precipitation, but wouldn't you know it: a cloud hung over our office around 8 a.m., dropping one last passing shower.

A "Hazardous Weather Outlook" posted by the National Weather Service notes that strong northwest winds today could produce gusts up to 45 m.p.h.

More rain is on the way for the weekend, George Graham reports this morning.

Find the full forecast here.

Today's Poll

Newly elected South Hadley School Committee Robert M. Abrams is advocating for a later start to the school day for high school students.

Abrams, a pediatrician who serves as a physician for the Holyoke Schools, has cited research finding that when teens get enough sleep schools see a number of benefits. Among them, an increase in attendance and motivation, fewer disciplinary problems, less tardiness, less depression, and a “calmness” in the halls and cafeterias.

Classes at South Hadley High School currently begin at 7:25 a.m.

What do you think -- is that too early for teens to be bright-eyed and ready to learn? Vote in our poll.

Tuesday's results: On Tuesday, we asked, "Should MCAS scores be used to evaluate teacher performance?" 19 people voted. 63.16% said "no"; 36.84% voted "yes".

Wednesday's Top 5

The top 5 headlines on MassLive.com on April 20 were:

1. 2011 Chicopee Comprehensive junior prom [photo gallery]


2. Paul Mueller, abc40 and fox6 anchor, resigns abruptly


3. Chicopee Comp junior prom April 8, 2011 [photo gallery]


4. Activists, stoners and casual tokers celebrate 420: unofficial pot smokers holiday


5. Massachusetts SJC ruling weakens pot enforcement

Quote of the Day

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

— Governor’s Councilor Charles O. Cipollini, of Fall River, on John S. Gay’s promotion in 1986 at Dorchester District Court in Boston. Gay is Gov. Deval Patrick's nominee for the position of Springfield District Court clerk magistrate. Read Dan Ring's article about the nomination hearing here.

Western Massachusetts could see highs in the 70s next week.

April 20, 2011 - Westfield - Staff photo by Michael S. Gordon - Westfield High School girls track team member Emily Dostie , left, takes a picture of teammates Jen Gresty, center, and Delaney Thomson under an umbrella prior to the start of a four school track meet Wednesday at Westfield State University.

SPRINGFIELD – Clouds and showers will be the rule for Easter weekend in Western Massachusetts, abc40 / Fox 6 meteorologist Mike Masco said.

“Right now, Saturday looks to be the wetter of the two days,” he said, adding that some sunshine is possible for Sunday.

Thursday will see sunny skies with unseasonably cool weather with highs in the low- to mid-50s and gusty breezes, Masco said. Overnight temperatures could dip into the middle 20s early Friday.

The record low for April 22 at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee is 22.

Temperatures Friday, however, should climb into the upper-50s before sunshine gives way to high clouds as the wet weather heads out way.

Warmer weather, with highs pushing into the 70s, will head our way next week, Masco said.

Further compromises could prove a tough pill to swallow for many of Obama's liberal backers.

Associated PressPresident Barack Obama smiles while speaking at the Nob Hill Masonic Center in San Francisco, Wednesday, April 20, 2011. Stepping away from Washington's contentious fiscal debates, President Barack Obama is making a West Coast trip aimed at building support for his deficit-reduction plans and raising money for his re-election campaign.

SAN FRANCISCO — Easing into his 2012 campaign, President Barack Obama is telling his supporters he understands their frustration over the compromises he's made with Republicans, while preparing them for more to come.

It's a timely warning given the upcoming vote on raising the debt ceiling and the ongoing debate over long-term deficit reduction, both issues Obama says can only be solved if Republicans and Democrats work together. But further compromises could prove a tough pill to swallow for many of Obama's liberal backers, who have grown tired of watching the president cede ground to the GOP on spending cuts and tax breaks for the wealthy.

During a raucous fundraiser focused on young people in San Francisco Wednesday night, Obama said his supporters are not alone in their frustration.

"There are times when I've felt the same way you do. It's a big, complicated, messy democracy," he said. "We knew this wouldn't be easy."

Obama's three-day West Coast swing — his most extensive travel since announcing his re-election bid — offered a glimpse of how Obama will seek to reenergize the independents and first-time voters who carried him to victory in 2008. Obama's rallying cry is that more work needs to be done in order to make the vision of America he promised a reality, and he is the only one who can see those hopes through.

"It is going to take more than a couple of years," Obama said. "It's going to take us more than one term to finish everything that we need to do."

Obama senior adviser David Plouffe offered a more sobering political forecast to the hundreds of young supporters gathered for the nighttime rally.

"This is going to be a close campaign," Plouffe said. "The one thing we better assume is that it's going to be closer than the last one."

After a third fundraiser here Thursday morning, Obama was to make stops in Reno, Nev., and Los Angeles. The president was scheduled to return to Washington Friday afternoon.

Obama was coupling his fundraising efforts with a series of town hall meetings aimed at selling his plan for cutting deficit spending directly to a wary public.

"The deficit is real, our debt is real. We've got to do something about it. But how we do it is going to make a huge difference," Obama said during a smaller, high-dollar fundraiser Wednesday night.

The president and Republicans have both offered plans for bringing down the deficit, but vast differences exist over how to do so. The president is calling for $4 trillion in deficit reduction over 12 years, through a combination of spending cuts and tax hikes on the wealthy, while House Republicans have passed a plan that would reduce the deficit by nearly $6 trillion in a decade, in part by overhauling Medicare and Medicaid.

The president and Republicans have accused each other of pitching "radical" plans.

"I think it's fair to say that their vision is radical," Obama told a town hall gathering Wednesday at the headquarters of Facebook, the huge social network company.

Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, returned fire. "What's radical is piling up $9 trillion more in debt on the backs of our kids and grandkids," he said, echoing a GOP criticism that Obama's plan would accomplish too little.

Obama's mixing of politics and policy on this West Coast swing is a harbinger of things to come as he balances campaigning with the duties of the presidency.

White House aides insist the president is only involved in the reelection campaign from a distance at this point. But with fundraisers and campaign-style town hall meetings quickly becoming staples in his schedule, it's clear Obama is already in re-election mode.

Dennis Keohane says the incident began when he tapped his brakes to warn a tailgater to back off.

TEWKSBURY — Police in Tewksbury are looking for a suspect who stabbed a driver in an apparent case of road rage.

Dennis Keohane says he and co-worker were headed to work on Wednesday afternoon when another driver started tailgating them on Interstate 93. Keohane says he tapped on his brakes to warn the other driver to back off, but when he got off the highway the other driver followed and yelled at them.

Both men left their cars and the confrontation turned violent. Keohane was stabbed in the head, back and neck. He was treated at a hospital and released later Wednesday.

Police are looking for a dark, late model Honda Civic they think the suspect was driving.

Plain Dealer fileBurglaries of homes and apartments swelled more than 13 percent citywide last year compared to 2008.

The victim is in serious but stable condition at Baystate Medical Center.

The Republican file photo

This updates a story originally filed at 4:18 a.m.

SPRINGFIELD – Police, probing a shooting outside the Chessman Lounge that left a 35-year-old city man in serious but stable condition at Baystate Medical Center, have since discovered a gun inside the victim’s car.

“This guy was up to something too,” Capt. Cheryl C. Clapprood said of the man who was shot in the knee, groin and hip in the parking lot of the 459 Dwight St. bar shortly before 2 a.m.

Investigators, peering through the sunroof of the victim’s car, which was parked in the lot, could see a gun, Clapprood said, adding that police will seek a warrant to get into the car.

The victim, who is cooperating with police, told investigators that he was leaving the bar when he encountered two men outside who began shooting at him, Clapprood said.

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

The Chessman Lounge is not known for being a trouble spot, Clapprood 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.“

The Western Massachusetts Call Center provides callers with in-person health care professionals who can answer their questions about health care or help veterans schedule medical appointments.

File photo | The Republican

NORTHAMPTON – The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center is expanding is telephone Call Center for local veterans into Hampden, Franklin and Berkshire counties.

The Western Massachusetts Call Center provides callers with in-person health care professionals who can answer their questions about health care or help veterans schedule medical appointments. The Leeds medical center started the service in January in an effort to improve responsiveness to local veterans, according to Public Relations Manager John Paradis. Since then, the staff has increased to include full-time registered nurses and health technicians. The bigger staff allowed the Call Center to begin servicing the U.S. Department of veterans Affairs Pittsfield-based outpatient clinic.

The service area has expanded again to include veterans in the Greenfield area. It will extend to the Springfield community-based outpatient clinic beginning in mid-May.

The Call Center number is (800) 893-1522. Calls will be answered on site from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. After hours, calls will be directed to a Veterans Affairs call center in Dayton, Ohio.

Will Olver's political longevity help him hold tight as the state redraws districts?

The Republican file photoU.S. Rep. John D. Olver, D-Amherst.

The Boston Globe today takes a close look at 1st Congressional District Rep. John Olver, D-Amherst, and considers the threat to his seat posed by Massachusetts' loss in House representation due to the results of the 2010 census.

The Globe reports that many see Olver — who hasn't yet lost an elections — as the odd man out, both because of his age (he's 74) and the comparatively slow growth of his Western Mass. district.

Read the Globe story »

State Sen. Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst, said in a recent interview that there are many considerations that are weighed by the Special Joint Committee on Redistricting, for which he serves as Senate chair. Among those are tradition (where the lines have traditionally been drawn), the legal precedents set by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (which protects the political enfranchisement of minority populations), communities of interest (how similar the needs of communities in a district are) and political clout.

Clout might serve as Olver's saving grace. As someone with a penchant for the minutiae of policy, he's served in unglamorous but powerful positions, including the House Committee on Appropriations. The Globe also notes that he's spent more continuous time in office than any other member of the delegation.

"My observation over the years has been, if it complies with all the others rules of redistricting, they redistrict out the most junior members," said Arthur Wolf, a law professor at Western New England College and director of the school's Institute for Legislative and Governmental Affairs. "That's happened all over the place."

Rosenberg says that political clout does not outweigh the other considerations — and that a map that doesn't comply with, say, the Voting Rights Act, is a lot more likely to be challenged in court than one that protects an incumbent.

"It's not like [clout] gets 50 points and everything else gets five points each," he said. Still, he noted that the Massachusetts House delegation's outsized influence should not be ignored. He said:

In the case of Massachusetts, we have 10 members of Congress right now, nine men and one woman, and we're going to have nine. Well, five of the current 10 are in significant positions because of their seniority, and where they've risen in the hierarchy of the Congress. So they have disproportionate clout for Massachusetts, well beyond the five votes that they are and well beyond the ten votes that the whole delegation comprises, just because of the positions they are in. Listen to an excerpt »

WNEC's Wolf notes that despite a lot of legal requirements and some really difficult math, redistricting is ultimately a "political judgment."

"Sometimes there is a genuine choice, because [the committee's proposal] doesn't violate any rules," he said.

What do you think? Should Western Mass. retain two seats based on the seniority of its House representatives? Or because it represents two distinct communities of interest? Or has the time come to consolidate the districts? Join the conversation in the comments.

The Wednesday afternoon crash sent three others to area hospitals.

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

This updates a story originally filed Wednesday at 3:22 p.m.

WESTFIELD – Police continue to probe a three -vehicle crash at Route 20 and East Mountain Road Wednesday afternoon that took the life of a 78-year-old Holyoke woman and sent three drivers to area hospitals.

Police identified the fatally-injured woman as Antoinette Stark, of 330 Rock Valley Road, Holyoke. Stark was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield where she was pronounced dead, Lt. Hipolito Nunez said.

Linda Barcomb, 71, of 160 Nonotuck St., Northampton, the driver of the Toyota that Stark was riding in, was listed in fair condition Thursday morning at Baystate Medical Center.

Nina Castonguay, 49, of 159 Greystone Ave., West Springfield, was listed in good condition at Baystate. The third driver, Olesya Balzhyk, 23, of 17 Hancock St., was taken to Noble Hospital where she was treated and released.

Nunez said the crash occurred shortly after 2:30 p.m. as Barcomb drove a Toyota east on Route 20 (Springfield Road) and attempted to make a left turn onto East Mountain Road.

Castonguay, driving west on Route 20 in a Chevrolet Suburban, came into contact with the passenger side of Barcomb’s Toyota, Nunez said.

The impact sent Barcomb’s vehicle into a Toyota, driven by Balzhyk, that had been waiting, southbound, at the traffic light on East Mountain Road.

Police closed the intersection for several hours after the crash. It remains under investigation by Westfield and state police from the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section.

Additional information on the crash, including seat belt usage, was not immediately available.

Watch video from Gov. Patrick's appearance on "The Today Show" Thursday morning.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has been doing two things on his media junket in recent weeks: promoting his book and denying plans to run for higher office.

"I know where this is going," Patrick said over "Today Show" host Matt Lauer Thursday as Lauer outlined the script: Politician aspires for public office, releases inspirational memoir and then runs for office.

He still insists that ain't him.

"Everyone presumes, just as you say, that a sitting governor who writes a book is either preparing for a campaign or settling political scores," Patrick said. "I am running for nothing, I'm in my second term. I have the job I worked hard for and work hard at."

He had a similar message for "The Daily Show" host Jon Steward, and pretty much everyone else that has interviewed him since the book came out.

Patrick's appearance is part of a two-week tour to promote his memoir, "A Reason to Believe: Lessons from and Improbable Life," which will include an appearance in South Hadley tomorrow and Great Barrington on Saturday. Details here »

His "Today Show" appearance was originally scheduled for two weeks ago, but got reshuffled due to a glut of breaking news, particularly the now-averted possibility of a government shutdown.

The Republican | Don TreegerMassachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has proposed a bill to control spending on municipal health insurance that would require cities and towns to either join the state insurance program or negotiate a local plan with equivalent costs.

Gov. Deval Patrick, Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray named as potential witnesses.

Republican file photoFormer Massachusetts House Speakers Thomas Finneran, left, and Salvatore DiMasi, right, talk to state House Minority Leader George Peterson Jr., prior to the swearing in ceremony for new lawmakers at the Statehouse in Boston, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2011. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

DOCUMENT DUMP

The State House News Service has provided PDF files of the lists of possible prosecution and defense witnesses:

• Potential defense witnesses
• Potential prosecution witnesses

By Kyle Cheney and Matt Murphy

BOSTON — A who's who of Beacon Hill power players over the past decade - including Gov. Deval Patrick, Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray - may be called as witnesses in the trial of former Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, according to lists filed Wednesday by attorneys for DiMasi, his codefendants and prosecutors.

Defense attorneys listed 117 potential witnesses, while prosecutors named 43, including dozens of high profile elected officials and their aides, for the trial that is scheduled to begin next week. Although those included on the list may not be called to testify, attorneys cast a wide net of potential witnesses that could compel testimony from the highest echelons of Beacon Hill, including from those unaccustomed to the public glare.

Defense attorneys describe the names on their list as those "from whom or about whom the jurors are likely to hear during defendants' respective direct cases." Prosecutors note that the government "anticipates calling" the witnesses on its list and "reserves the right to supplement, modify, or withdraw witnesses from this list."

In addition to the big three, defense attorneys have included a handful of current and former lawmakers on their list: Speaker Pro Tempore Patricia Haddad, who represents Somerset, as well as former Sen. Joan Menard, former Sen. Robert Havern, and former Reps. Lida Harkins and Daniel Bosley.

A slew of DiMasi's former aides - including Maryann Calia, David Guarino, Jason Aluia, Daniel Toscano, and Katie Quinn - also made the defense witness list, while Guarino and former special assistant to DiMasi Quinn also made the prosecution's list.

James Eisenberg, DeLeo's chief of staff, who worked as chief of staff in House Ways and Means during DiMasi's tenure, also made both lists.

Defense attorneys and prosecutors both reserved their right to call Gov. Patrick to the stand, along with many current and former Patrick administration officials. Patrick's former budget chief Leslie Kirwan - now an assistant dean at Harvard University - is on both lists, as is former chief of staff and current political advisor Doug Rubin, and former deputy chief of staff David Morales, who recently left the administration for the private sector after a stint leading the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy.

Former Patrick communications director Kyle Sullivan, who now works with Rubin as a consultant at Northwind Strategies, was named by the defense.

Mitchell Chester, the current education commissioner, as well as Education Secretary Paul Reville and UMass President Jack Wilson are members of the defense list as well. David Driscoll, education commissioner under Gov. Mitt Romney, may also be called, as a witness for either the defense or prosecution.

Arline Isaacson and Judy Meredith, a pair of Beacon Hill lobbyists previously reported to be eyed by defense attorneys as potential witnesses, are on the list. Richard Arscott, the Legislature's former IT chief, is on the list, along with former representative, economic development undersecretary and biotech lobbyist Robert Coughlin. House Clerk Steven James is on the list as well.

Prosecutors allege that DiMasi pushed through language clearing a path for lucrative software contracts in exchange for kickbacks funneled through his private law firm. DiMasi, who is standing trial with co-defendants Richard McDonough, a prominent lobbyist, and Richard Vitale, DiMasi's friend and former accountant, has denied wrongdoing.

As expected, the potential witness list filed by U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz included DiMasi's alleged accomplice Joseph Lally, who pleaded guilty last month to charges of conspiracy, extortion, and mail and wire fraud after selling two multi-million dollar software contracts to the state.

Attorneys for the defense argued unsuccessfully this week to bar Lally from testifying, arguing that prosecutors had essentially bribed Lally with a plea deal that allowed him to keep his North Reading home and $30,000 in bank accounts in exchange for his testimony.

U.S. District Court Judge Mark Wolf, however, upheld the plea bargain in exchange for Lally's cooperation as a standard, legal deal.

Prosecutors have alleged that Lally helped coordinate a kickback scheme that paid DiMasi tens of thousands of dollars in order to secure $20 million in state contracts for Cognos, a software company for which Lally worked as a sales executive. Lally helped arrange an agreement to funnel funds to DiMasi through a legal services contract with DiMasi's longtime law partner Steven Topazio, prosecutors allege.

In exchange for a recommended sentence of two to three years in prison, Lally agreed to cooperate with the prosecution in building their case against DiMasi, Vitale and McDonough.

Among the 43 names of potential witnesses, the prosecution also lists DiMasi's former law associate Topazio, who allegedly took $125,000 from Cognos for services he never performed, and forwarded half that money to the former Speaker.

Cognos CEO Robert Ashe is also among those expected to testify for the prosecution.

Though no current members of the Patrick administration aside from the governor were named as possible witnesses for the prosecution, former members like Rubin, Kirwan and Morales could be joined by the likes of David Simas, a former deputy chief of staff and senior advisor to the governor who left Beacon Hill in 2009 to become a policy advisor at the White House to President Barack Obama.

Former state chief information officer Bethann Pepoli, who served under Patrick and former Gov. Mitt Romney, could also be called to testify for the prosecution or the defense.

The witness list also includes the keepers of record at three different banks, including Bank of America, Danversbank and Sovereign Bank, and the record keepers at Verizon and AT&T.

The fire was reported shortly before midnight at 99 Massachusetts Ave.

SPRINGFIELD – A furnace fire caused some $5,000 in damage late Wednesday night to a duplex in the Upper Hill neighborhood.

Fire Department spokesman Dennis G. Leger said the blaze was reported shortly before midnight at 99 Massachusetts Avenue.

Leger said a first floor resident heard a smoke detector going off and smelled oil. When he went down into the cellar to investigate he saw flames shooting out of the furnace.

The man unsuccessfully attempted to extinguish the fire and then roused an upstairs resident. The building sustained heavy smoke damage, Leger said.

The property is owned by Kingsley Spencer, Leger said.

The election takes place Monday from noon to 7 p.m. at Fire District 1, 144 Newton St., South Hadley.

SOUTH HADLEY – There may be years when the elections at Fire District 1 in South Hadley are sleepy affairs, but this isn’t one of them.

Edward G. Wall, chairman of the fire district’s Prudential Committee, attributes the excitement this year to big changes over the past few years, including expanded responsibility for emergency medical services, and to the retirement of the district treasurer after 30 years.

The election takes place Monday from noon to 7 p.m. at Fire District 1, 144 Newton St.

Three people are running for an opening on the three-member Prudential Committee, and two are running for district treasurer.

“There are signs and banners popping up all over town,” said Wall.

The Prudential Committee is the body that decides – with “prudence,” or common sense – how the fire district will spend its money.

“What we do is set the budgets and make decisions on expenditures we have to make, such as an ambulance or fire truck,” said Raymond Miner, the only incumbent running for Prudential Committee member.

Miner is being challenged by Dennis Hogan, a firefighter, Town Meeting member and manager of an upholstery company, and Gregory Sheehan, former chairman of the South Hadley Selectboard.

Miner is a tutor at South Hadley High School, a former business owner and a seven-year veteran of the committee.

“There’s going to be a lot of action this year,” he said, “and that’s a good thing.”

Prudential Committee members commit to three years and get a small stipend. District treasurer is a full-time position paying $56,000 to $58,000 annually, a salary that Wall said has caused some dissension in South Hadley.

Candidates for that post are Monica Walton, assistant district treasurer for Fire District 1, and Terie Fleury, who has 12 years of corporate bookkeeping experience.

Margaret St. Martin, treasurer for 30 years, is retiring.

The positions of moderator, water commissioner and district clerk, though uncontested, will also appear on the ballot on Monday.

South Hadley has two fire districts, a holdover from the days when there was no direct route between South Hadley Falls and the Mount Holyoke College area to the north.

The fire districts are independent from South Hadley town government and from each other, imposing their own taxes and holding their own elections.

Matthews withdrew his motion to reconsider the issue at this week's Town Council meeting.

File photo | The RepublicanWest Springfield Town Councilor Gerard Matthews, an announced he candidate for mayor, favors lengthening the mayor's term from two to four years, but withdrew a motion to reconsider the issue at this week's Town Council meeting.

WEST SPRINGFIELD – Town Councilor Gerard B. Matthews spoke out strongly in favor of lengthening the mayor’s term of office from two to four years Tuesday, but ultimately withdrew his motion to reconsider the issue.

Matthews said following Tuesday’s Town Council meeting that the absence of Town Councilor Robert M. Mancini meant that the measure would again fail to gather the simple majority it needs.

The council on April 4 voted 4-4 to petition the legislature to put the measure before voters in November’s election. After that vote, Matthews requested the issue come before the council again when Town Councilor Lida M. Powell would be present to provide an affirmative vote.

Voting in favor of the measure April 4 were Matthews, council President Kathleen A. Bourque and Mancini and John R. Sweeney. Voting against were George R. Kelly, Brian J. Griffin, Angus M. Rushlow and Michael J. Finn.

Matthews, who is running for mayor, defended the proposal from criticism from Irene R. Schuh of Kings Highway, who called the plan an end run around forming a charter commission.

Matthews pointed out that the issue would be put before the city’s voters, who would make the final decision.

“I don’t think there could be anything more democratic than letting the voters decide,” Matthews said.

He said the state’s constitution allows for such a change to be made through special legislation.

Among the proponents of the proposal is Mayor Edward J. Gibson, who has decided not to seek re-election. He has said it would take some of the politics out of being mayor because that official would not have to spend so much time running for re-election. Opponents argue that there is nothing wrong with the current system.

The crash killed the man, who was a passenger in a sedan that collided with a pickup truck.

03.09.11 | Photo by Julian Feller-Cohen – The Amherst Police Department's patch.

AMHERST – A 92-year-old Easthampton man was killed in a two-car car crash in Amherst shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday, according to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office.

The crash occurred at the intersection of Bay Road and South East Street and is under investigation by Amherst and state police. An Amherst police spokesman would not say if any citations or charges might be issued in connection with the crash.

“We will not be issuing any more information,” he said, declining further comment.

The deceased man has yet to be identified, pending notification of his family.

Authorities said the 92-year-old was a passenger in a Toyota Camry that collided with a Chevrolet 3500 pickup truck. Both vehicles sustained heavy damage.

The Camry was southbound on South East Street, while the pickup was eastbound on Bay Road.

The driver of the Camry was seriously injured and taken to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton for treatment, according to Mary Carey, communications director for Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan.

Officials declined to identify that driver or the pickup's driver, who was uninjured in the crash.

Carey said it's standard protocol for the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office to handle information for fatal collisions.

No further information was available.

Thursday's road fatality in Amherst was the second deadly motor vehicle crash in as many days in the Pioneer Valley.

Antoinette Stark, 78, of 330 Rock Valley Road, Holyoke, died from injuries sustained in a three-car collision on Route 20 around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. She was pronounced dead at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, according to Westfield police.

Three others, including the driver of the sedan in which Stark was a passenger, were taken to area hospitals for treatment. Their conditions were not immediately known Thursday evening.

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Haley hasn't been the only elected official to complain about the charter change, which requires some officials elected to 4-year terms in 2009 to seek re-election in 2011.

PALMER – James J. Haley Jr. did not take out nomination papers to keep his position on the Planning Board by Thursday’s deadline, but not because he wants to leave the board.

“As far as I’m concerned I’m still on a four-year term,” Haley said. “I’m disgusted by the whole thing I really am.”

Haley said he does not feel that he should have to take out papers because he was re-elected in November 2009 for another four years.

Even though the voters approved a charter change back in November that moved the annual election from November to June, he feels that the current terms should be honored, and that he also should have been notified that he had to take out papers to run again.

“Nobody emailed me. Nobody informed me that I have to run for the Planning Board,” Haley said. “I did not hear any official notification whatsoever that my job has been eliminated. You would think after 20 years on the job they would at least give me that courtesy.”

Haley said he was not notified by the town clerk, the town manager or the Town Council that he would have to run again to retain his longtime seat.

Town Clerk Patricia C. Donovan and Acting Town Manager Patricia A. Kennedy said they never notify candidates personally that they have to take out nomination papers.

Donovan sends notices to the local newspapers about deadlines for nomination papers, and added that copies of the proposed charter changes were sent to every household before the election.

Donovan said Haley is not the only elected official who has complained about the change, but everyone else who wanted to keep their positions took out papers and followed the process.

Said Kennedy, “We do not baby-sit. As an elected official, it’s your job to find these things out. It’s your job to be up on these things.”

Paul E. Burns, an at-large town councilor and former Charter Commission chairman, said he sympathizes with Haley, as he also has to run for reelection, but he said the charter change was a public process.

“It’s been very public from the day we started,” Burns said.

Haley said while he did hear secondhand about the June election, he still feels that the Town Council should have at least sent him a letter, as the councilors are the ones running the town.

“It’s hard to find people to volunteer. You don’t just step into a Planning Board position and know what you’re doing. What if the entire Planning Board was defeated? What would happen? Nobody would know what was going on,” Haley said.

Even though he missed the deadline, he could still run for the Planning Board as a write-in candidate.

Donovan reported that Veterans Agent Mark A. Avis took out papers for Planning Board, as did Kathleen Burns, and Planning Board Chairman Michael E. Marciniec returned his. Planning Board incumbents Thomas Skowrya and Norman A. Czech took out papers, along with clerk Andrew Golas.

Candidates have until Tuesday afternoon to return their nomination papers to appear on the June 14 annual election ballot.

Grossman was in Springfield to promote his “Small Business Partnership,” which takes state funds that had been invested outside the state and loans it to community banks.

The Republican | Mark M. MurrayMassachusetts State Treasurer Steven Grossman, right, answers questions during a press conference at Springfield City Hall promoting his "Small Business Partnership" program. Looking on from left are Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, Agawam Mayor Richard A. Cohen and Easthampton Mayor Michael A. Tautznik.

SPRINGFIELD – State Treasurer Steven Grossman hopes to have at least $100 million in state in the hands of community bankers around the state and available for small business lending by Memorial Day.

“Then by the fourth of July, we’ll hopefully be ready for the second $100 million,” Grossman said Thursday after meeting with local mayors, bankers and representatives of chambers of commerce at Springfield City Hall.

Grossman was in town to promote his “Small Business Partnership.” The program takes state funds that had been invested outside the state, or in some cases outside the United States, and loans it in $5 million increments to community banks around the state for two years. The banks pay the state an interest rate that will fluctuate, but is about 0.27 percent now.

“Why should we have our capital working outside our state,” said William J. Wagner, President and CEO of Chicopee Savings Bank in a telephone interview. “Especially when it isn’t earning anything anyway?”

Chicopee Savings, which made about $106 million in commercial loans last year, will participate in the program. Businesses are borrowing to buy buildings they have rented for a long time, open new locations and upgrade equipment.

Elaine A. Pluta

“It went great,” Pluta said. “He’s right. Small business is the backbone of our city, and any city.”

Pluta later came up with the promotional idea of having businesses to which PeoplesBank gave loans post a sign that reads, “PeoplesBank helped us become a business.”

“I’m happy that he has this initiative,” Pluta said of Grossman.

Grossman talked about how his own immigrant grandfather used $3,000 in credit from U.S. Envelope in Springfield to start his family’s business in 1910. Now called Grossman Marketing Group, the Somerville-based company is run by Grossman’s sons.

“I believe that immigrant entrepreneurship will be the story of Massachusetts in the next 10 years,” he said.

Carlos Gonzalez, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Latino Chamber of Commerce said the program is an invitation to minority business owners to seek out capital through banks.

“That welcome hasn’t always been felt,” he said.

But Joseph G. Traczynski, senior vice president and senior loan officer at Florence Savings Bank, said demand for business loans is slow. Companies are paying down debt and are waiting for the economy to improve before they will borrow more money. Florence is considering taking $5 million, though.

Grossman said banks are getting the state funds cheaper than they would be able to get capital elsewhere. So he expects them to lend it at attractive rates. He’s also hoping to get some promotion muscle behind the programs so businesses get off the fence and borrow.

“I can’t repeal the business cycle,” Grossman said.

Staff Reporter Mike Plaisance contributed to this story.

In Hampshire County, the number of foreclosure deeds filed fell 72 percent, from 50 to 14. In Franklin County, the number of foreclosure deeds fell 51.6 percent, from 43 to 21.

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SPRINGFIELD – Home sales fell 7.66 percent in the Pioneer Valley last month.

There were just 693 homes sold in the first quarter of 2011 in Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties compared to 750 single-family homes sold in the first quarter of 2010.

The median price paid for those homes also fell 6.4 percent, from $180,000 in the first quarter of 2010 to $168,500 in the first quarter of 2011, according to figures released Thursday by the Realtor Association of Pioneer Valley.

“When you look at the numbers, it is a challenge,” said Kathleen M. Witalisz, owner and broker at Witalisz Associates in Westfield. “I think the job market has to get healthier. Consumer confidence has to get better.”

Kevin M. Sears, owner broker of Sears Real Estate in Springfield, said poor winter weather kept sales low. March sales are homes that went under contract in January and February.

“Last year, we had snow that was here and gone,” said Sears, a past president of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. “This winter, we were snowed under for days.”

Federal tax incentives for first-time home buyers were in force a year ago but have since expired, Sears said.

Witalisz, a past president of the Realtor Association of Pioneer Valley, said home sales typically improve as spring takes hold, but a month-to-month increase is an important sign that summer might show some year-over-year improvements. She said lenders are offering incentives to buyers. A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.91 percent. The average was 5.07 percent a year ago.

In Hampden County, sales were down 9.4 percent, from 523 in the first quarter of 2010 to 474 this year. The median price was down 8.3 percent, from $169,000 in the first quarter of last year to $155,000 this year.

In Hampshire County, sales were down 0.7 percent, from 150 in the first quarter of 2010 to 149 in the first quarter of 2011. The median sales price rose 0.6 percent from $231,500 to $233,000.

In Franklin County, sales fell 9.1 percent, from 77 to 70 houses, and the median price fell from $165,000 to $155,500.

There was some good news on the foreclosure front, with the number of completed mortgage foreclosures falling all over the Pioneer Valley.

In Springfield alone, the number of foreclosure deeds filed in the first quarter was down 69.3 percent, from 179 a year ago to 54 in the first quarter of this year, according to data released by The Warren Group, a Boston-based provider of real-estate information.

For Hampden County as a whole, foreclosure deeds fell 66 percent, from 294 in the first quarter of 2010 to 100 this year.

In Hampshire County, the number of foreclosure deeds filed fell 72 percent, from 50 to 14. In Franklin County, the number of foreclosure deeds fell 51.6 percent, from 43 to 21.

Statewide, the number of foreclosure deeds fell 60 percent, from 3,449 in the first quarter of 2010 to 1,593 this year.

Foreclosure deeds are typically the last step in the foreclosure process.

But Eugene B. Berman, chairman of the Hampden County Bar Association’s foreclosure prevention task force, said the mortgage crisis is not really ending. Banks are just holding off because foreclosed-upon homes are hard to sell.

Also, in January the state’s highest court overturned two Springfield foreclosures because the foreclosing party couldn’t show proof that they owned the loan. Called the Ibanez case, the decision caused many lenders to stop their foreclosure processes cold while they reviewed each paper trail, Berman said.

Associated Press file photoA home is listed for sale in Ohio in September.

The bill seeks to restrict nepotism and favoritism in state hiring.

Associated PressMassachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo, left, shakes hands with Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Roderick Ireland during a joint press conference at the Statehouse in Boston Thursday, April 21, 2011 where they discussed and unveiled legislation designed to overhaul the state Probation Department. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

BOSTON – The state’s top judge on Thursday endorsed legislation by the speaker of the state House of Representatives to restrict patronage and limit nepotism in the state’s troubled Probation Department.

The 12-page bill would require applicants for probation jobs and court officers to pass an exam and be screened before advancing to an interview. The bill also calls for creating a new civilian administrator within the Trial Court to handle certain business duties such as the budget, contracts and leases.

Judge Roderick L. Ireland, a Springfield native and chief justice of the state Supreme Judicial Court, stood next to Speaker Robert A. DeLeo during a Statehouse press conference and called for approval of the bill.

“This legislation is designed to bolster progressive management efforts already under way in the court system,” Ireland said.

DeLeo said the bill marks the end of tensions between the judicial and legislative branches that he said have prevented changes in the past. DeLeo said the bill would likely be taken up in the House early next month.

“Today, two branches of state government stand together to support a bill aimed at reorganizing certain aspects of the judiciary,” DeLeo said.

The bill calls for keeping the probation department under the judiciary. The bill rejects Gov. Deval L. Patrick’s plan to combine probation for adult offenders with the parole system and leave the Trial Court with probation functions only for juveniles and probate and family courts.

Alex Goldstein, press secretary for Patrick, said the administration is reviewing the bill and looks forward to working with DeLeo and other legislators.

“It has been Governor Patrick’s goal ... to restore the public’s confidence in the probation department and to make it more accountable,” Goldstein said in a prepared statement. “Speaker DeLeo and Chief Justice Ireland’s proposal reflects that they share those goals.”

Ireland said he was pleased that probation would remain in the judiciary.

"The probation department has a long successful history of service within the court system as probation officers play a vital public safety role in the community," Ireland said.

The legislation removes unilateral hiring power from the commissioner of probation and makes hiring within probation subject to the approval of the new civilian court administrator.

The bill would also require all applicants for jobs within the executive, legislative and judicial branches to disclose the names of all immediate family members who are state employees. The information would be public if people are hired.

Any recommendations for jobs would need to be in writing and recommendations could only be considered by leaders in the three branches of government during the final stage of hiring. Recommendation letters for successful applicants would also be public.

The legislation comes after the release in November of a report by independent counsel Paul F. Ware. The report found that hiring at the 2,200-employee probation department was corrupt and was tilted heavily in favor of candidates recommended mostly by state legislators.

Ware said a rigged hiring process undermined qualified applicants. Ware's report said that probation officials, including former Commissioner John J. O'Brien, established a phony hiring process to conceal that jobs were being given to applicants with personal or political connections to legislators or judges.

The bill also follows the release of report on probation by a bipartisan, nine-member commission established last year by DeLeo, Patrick and Senate President Therese Murray. The bill also comes after a separate report by a task force appointed by the state Supreme Judicial Court.

Neal said he didn't believe that the seat of John Olver of Amherst is the one that most likely will be eliminated.

The Republican / File photosRichard Neal, left, and John Olver

BOSTON – U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal on Thursday said Western Massachusetts should keep its two seats in the U.S. House of Representatives during the redistricting process this year.

Neal said he didn't believe that the seat of U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, D-Amherst, is the one that most likely will be eliminated.

“What’s important in the redistricting argument is to keep two seats in Western Massachusetts,” Neal told reporters during a visit to the Statehouse for an event to mark Earth Day.

Neal, a Springfield Democrat, said it was "mere speculation" that parts of his district would be folded in with parts of Olver’s district to create one seat.

Neal said it is a misnomer to say that Olver’s district lost population. An analysis showed that the population of Olver’s 107-community district could grew by 1.65 percent, the slowest of any of the state’s 10 districts, and Neal’s, by 4.2 percent.

Neal said he is teaming up with Olver and U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester, on a key reason to preserve the two seats in Western Massachusetts. Neal said geography is a factor.

“When you keep two seats in Western Massachusetts, you keep three seats in central Massachusetts,” Neal said. “That’s an argument that Jim McGovern, John Olver and myself have applied. It’s based on evidence and rational.”

Neal said Olver’s district includes northern Worcester County and his own includes southern Worcester County.

“John Olver represents almost 40 percent of the land mass in Massachusetts,” Neal said. “I represent 41 cities and towns. So between the two of us, we represent well over half the land mass in the state.”

Neal said it is important for a U.S. representative to be able to visit those communities.

Neal said seniority is also terribly important, as well as committee assignments of members of Congress.

Neal, 62, elected in 1988, is the sixth-ranking Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee and the No. 3-most senior member of the state’s U.S. House delegation.

Olver ,74, elected in 1991, is the only member of the state’s delegation on the House Appropriations Committee and is No. 4 in seniority in the state’s House delegation.

The Legislature’s 24-member redistricting committee, co-chaired by state Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg, D-Amherst, and state Rep. Michael Moran, D-Boston, has opened hearings around the state as it prepares to redraw the congressional and legislative district maps. Massachusetts is losing a seat in the House because of population changes documented in the U.S. Census.

The committee held a hearing in Springfield on March 26. Other meetings in Western Massachusetts are scheduled for 6 p.m. May 31 at Greenfield Community College and 10 a.m. on June 11 at Pittsfield City Hall.

Neal said the redistricting committee has not made any decisions and probably won't produce a final plan until around Thanksgiving. Neal stressed that he was not trying to "trespass" on the work of the redistricting committee.

Rep. Anne M. Gobi, D-Spencer, a member of the redistricting committee, said she didn't see how the panel could combine the seats of Neal and Olver. Gobi said seniority does count in the process and that both Neal and Olver are effective in Washington.

“The first and second congressional districts have to be preserved,” Gobi said. “We just can't take away that type of representation in the western part of the state.”

The process could result in two incumbent members of the House being forced to run against each other in 2012. Neal and Olver have both said they are running for re-election. Other incumbents — all Democrats — have not given any indication that they do not plan to seek re-election, though Reps. Michael E. Capuano of Somerville and Stephen F. Lynch of Boston have been mentioned among several possible challengers to Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown in next year's election.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this story.