A casino plan is slowly advancing in Springfield, but a similar proposal for Holyoke could be in trouble.

The Republican | John SuchockiHolyoke Mayor Alex Morse gives his inaugural address at Holyoke High School. Morse this week made it clear to leaders of a proposed casino for Holyoke that he does want a casino in the Paper City.

A casino plan is slowly advancing in Springfield, but a similar proposal for Holyoke could be in trouble, following separate meetings in both communities with municipal leaders and casino executives who want to build in the cities.

During a meeting on Monday, Holyoke Mayor Alex B. Morse said he let a top executive for Hard Rock International, a giant entertainment company, know that he is opposed to a casino for Holyoke. Hard Rock and a local development group want to build a gambling resort on the 100-acre Wyckoff Country Club off Interstate 91 in Holyoke.

In Springfield, a proposed casino received a better reception. Kevin E. Kennedy, the chief development officer for the city, said he is working with other city officials on a plan to assure that Springfield gets the best deal from any possible casino operator. Kennedy and other city officials met for the first time last week with leaders of a Nevada company proposing a gambling resort on Page Boulevard in the city.

In Holyoke, Morse, who was sworn into office Jan. 3, and other leaders in his administration met for about 45 minutes on Monday with James F. Allen, CEO of gaming operations for Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida; Anthony L. Cignoli, a partner in Paper City Development, which is a local development group teamed up with Allen, and Joseph Lashinger Jr., a former Pennsylvania state lawmaker and managing partner in the local group.

Morse said he listened to their presentation and let them know he was opposed. Morse said Allen and the others didn't tell him anything that he didn't already know.

Morse said the meeting was straightforward and that he is staying true to his anti-casino platform during his campaign. Morse said he will soon spell out his position on casinos in a letter that will be made public and will be applicable to anyone interested in a casino for Holyoke.

"As I said throughout the campaign, I do not want a casino in the city of Holyoke," said Morse, who said he wants to build the city's economy around technology, innovation, the arts, a revitalized downtown and a high-performance computing center now under construction.

Morse said a casino proposal can't move forward in Holyoke without the support of his administration and the City Council.

Cignoli and Lashinger said they didn't think they heard anything definitive from Morse about the future of the proposed Holyoke casino, which they said would create about 2,000 permanent jobs and 2,000 construction jobs.

Lashinger said he was surprised that Morse's only question was whether the group could develop a casino elsewhere, after Lashinger had first said that Hard Rock had other options but believed Holyoke was the best choice.

Lashinger said the planned $500 million to $600 million casino resort is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Holyoke. The project is a "win-win" that would create tourism, jobs and revenues for city government, he said. "I don't know how you can take a pass other than the emotionalism of anti-casino," he said.

Last Thursday in Springfield, Kennedy said he and other city officials, including City Solicitor Edward M. Pikula and Lee C. Erdmann, chief administration and finance officer for Springfield, met with a couple of leaders of Ameristar Casinos Inc. of Las Vegas.

Kevin Kennedy

Kennedy said city officials were obligated to listen to Ameristar, but it's difficult to plan because the rules and regulations for siting a casino still need to be approved and released by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, a regulatory agency created in a new casino law.

Kennedy said a group of city officials will begin putting together a document that could serve as a general agreement with any possible casino company that wants to locate in the city and could lay out possible benefits for Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and the City Council to help them decide on casinos. Kennedy said the document could be a starting point for negotiations with any casino developer in Springfield, not just Ameristar. Kennedy said the city may need to hire expert advice to help in the process.

Under a new state law that legalized casinos, developers need to sign comprehensive deals with officials of communities where they want to locate and then place the details before the community's voters for an up or down vote.

The law authorizes up to three casino resorts in the state including one for anywhere in the four counties of Western Massachusetts.

An agreement could include road or other infrastructure improvements, taxes, fees, guarantees for local jobs and local vendors, assurances to help existing venues such as Symphony Hall, City Stage and the Mass Mutual Center and other provisions.

Kennedy said there will be "a community-wide discussion" on a possible casino for Springfield.

"This has to be good for the community," Kennedy said. "Otherwise, the community won't vote for it."

Kennedy said it's possible another casino company could make a proposal for Springfield, though Ameristar is offering the only formal proposal at this point. He said he would work with casino companies in drafting an agreement.

"We anticipate having to negotiate a host community agreement," Kennedy said. "We have to get it in place."

Troy A. Stremming, senior vice president of government relations for Ameristar, said the meeting last week went well and served as "a great introduction" for the company.

Ameristar should close this month on the purchase of 41 acres off Page Boulevard and Interstate 291 for a casino resort, he said. Ameristar plans to pay $16 million for the land of the former Westinghouse plant.

Stremming said he would encourage the city to work on a host agreement that could apply to any casino applicant.

Stremming said Ameristar plans to establish a local office in Springfield and hire an employee to represent the company in the city. The company aired its plans during a meeting on Dec. 6 in Springfield attended by about 500 people.

Rolling Hills Estates Realty Trust owns a 150-acre property just north of the Massachusetts Turnpike bordering Palmer and Warren.

The Republican | Lori StabilePalmer Paving Chairman David J. Callahan points to the area in Brimfield where he wants to build a resort casino on 180 acres. The parcel is in the northwest corner of town and borders Palmer and Warren. Callahan discussed the project at a community meeting Tuesday night in Brimfield.

Updates a story posted Wednesday at 3:51 p.m.

BRIMFIELD – The rural town of Brimfield soon could be known for more than the antique shows it holds three times a year.

David J. Callahan, chief executive officer of Palmer Paving and a principal with Rolling Hills Estates Realty Trust, is expected to announce on Thursday that he will partner with Las Vegas casino giant MGM Resorts International to build a resort casino on 150 acres in the northwest corner of town.

MGM is the latest company to vie for the one casino license that will be available for the four Western Massachusetts counties.

A source close to the project revealed the developer, though Callahan will make the formal announcement at 11 a.m. at Hitchcock Free Academy on Route 20.

The realty trust owns the property, which is just north of the Massachusetts Turnpike, and is surrounded by Washington and Old Millbrook roads. The remote site borders the communities of Palmer and Warren.

Palmer and Brimfield are in Hampden County, while Warren is in Worcester County, which is not included in the Western Massachusetts casino region.

Selectmen Chairman Diane Panaccione said she is glad that she finally knows the identity of the developer so that the Casino Study Committee can move forward with impact plans.

She said the board is remaining neutral on the project – for now – and wants what is best for the town. She said the selectmen want to hear how the developer will address the impact on schools and infrastructure that the project will create.

Panaccione said residents have mixed feelings about a casino.

"From what I hear in town, it's 50/50," Panaccione said.

Selectman Thomas C. Marino said he is undecided about the project, and, like Panaccione, wants to hear more about the potential impacts, as well as the project details. Marino said he is keeping "an open mind" about the project.

"I'm sure there's going to be a lot of people wanting a lot of answers," Marino said.

Resident Christopher J. Olsen, a vice president with the AFL-CIO, said he is in favor of the project, and the jobs it will create. He called MGM a "quality project" and likes what he has heard about the project so far. He attended a forum Callahan held about the project last month.

"Brimfield's been stagnant for a long time. My taxes have gone up horrendously the last couple of years ... With proper negotiation this could be a win-win situation for everybody," Olsen said.

At the December meeting, Callahan estimated that the project could generate an extra $6 million in taxes annually for the town.

He, along with Callahan representative Dennis M. Murphy, have said the only access to the site would be through a dedicated exit off the turnpike, and that there would be no access through the town.

For a casino to open in a community, there must be a binding vote in favor of it.

"If we don't get approval, it's game over," Murphy said last month.

The property in question is zoned residential agricultural, according to selectmen's assistant Carol M. DelNegro.

To change the zoning for a commercial venture, a two-thirds vote would be required at a Town Meeting. Brimfield's annual Town Meeting is in May. The annual election is in June.

The Brimfield Board of Selectmen is meeting Tuesday at 7 p.m. to discuss hiring a consultant to help study impacts a casino would create. DelNegro said there are two proposals, and there may be a third. She declined to release the names of the consultants at this time.

MGM Resorts International operates such well-known Las Vegas resort casinos as the Bellagio, New York-New York, Mirage, Monte Carlo, Excaliber, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, and MGM Grand.

According to the MGM Resorts website, it owns and operates 15 properties in Nevada, Mississippi and Michigan, and has 50 percent investments in four other properties in Nevada, Illinois and Macau. It also is developing a "Las Vegas-style" resort casino in Vietnam called the MGM Grand Ho Tram.

A representative from MGM could not be reached; officials from the company are expected to be at Hitchcock Academy on Thursday.

State Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, whose district includes Brimfield and Palmer, said he will stay neutral on any casino proposals. Brewer said he was not surprised to hear of the latest casino plan for his district.

Connecticut-based Mohegan Sun want to build a resort casino across from the turnpike exit in Palmer, a project it has been touting since 2007.

Brewer said the state's new casino law allows an independent, five-member Massachusetts Gaming Commission to take bids, select licensees and regulate casinos. The law was designed to establish "a fire wall" between politics and process, he said.

"You cannot start allowing the politicians to determine winners and losers," Brewer said. "That is a prescription for disaster."

The commission has a chairman – Stephen P. Crosby – but no other members have been selected. The other four members need to be appointed by March 21, according to the law.

Casino supporters in Palmer are keeping a close eye on the Brimfield proposal, which would compete with the Mohegan Sun.

Town Council President Paul E. Burns, a casino supporter, said the Brimfield proposal faces a difficult hurdle in winning approval of Town Meeting for a zoning change.

"It's one of those things that makes you scratch your head," Burns said of the Brimfield site.

There are also casino proposals for Holyoke and Springfield.

Staff writer Dan Ring contributed to this report.

The program for call and volunteer firefighters provides the same level of training given to career firefighters.

View full sizecourtesy of the state Department of Fire ServicesGraduates of the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy Call-Volunteer Training Program seen here at the academy training facility in Stow

PALMER - Twenty-five volunteer firefighters from area departments graduated from the state Firefighting Academy Tuesday in a ceremony at Palmer High School.

State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan and academy Director Edmund M. Walker presented certificates of completion to members of the Call/Volunteer Firefighter Training class number 37.

The Call/Volunteer Firefighter Training program provides 240 hours of training for firefighters in smaller departments that meets that national standards for the firefighter recruit training curriculum. Classes and training is held on nights and weekends to accommodate schedules of the trainees, many of who have fulltime jobs or go to school.

Students receive classroom training in all basic firefighter skills, including proficiency in life safety, search and rescue, ladder operations, water supply and pump operation, and fire attack. Upon successful completion of the program, graduates are certified to the level of Firefighter I/II by the Massachusetts Fire Training Council.

The class was featured last month in a Republican / Masslive.com article about the training program.

Graduates were James Beauregard, and Scott Chapman of Belchertown, Andrew Golas of Bondsville, Seth Beall of Brimfield, Christopher Albano, Joshua Aliengena, Patrick Hawley, and Matthew Turowsky of East Longmeadow, Richard Bramucci, Jr. and Monica Czerwinski of Hadley, Sharon Paquette, Bryan Markham and John Moriarty of Hampden, Justin Dufault and Shane Finnegan of Monson, Paul Pasierb and Christopher Trainor of North Brookfield, Joshua Chaples of Palmer, Joseph Chmielewski Jr., Joshua Clegg, Kyle Sodano, Joshua Steininger of South Hadley-District 1, Jason Rogers of Three Rivers, and Zachary Kareta and Keith Robbins of Westhampton.

As much as 2-4 inches of snow coats much of the Pioneer Valley with some schools facing a 2-hour delay.

01.12.2012 | SPRINGFIELD - A worker clears snow and slush from a sidewalk in the city's North End early Thursday. [The Republican / Greg Saulmon]

Good morning!

Snow is covering much of the western Massachusetts this morning with 2-4 inches in most areas, the first accumulation of snowfall since the devastating October snowstorm and resulting power outages across Massachusetts, Connecticut and beyond.

The morning snow is already changing to sleet, freezing rain and rain in many areas of Hampden and Hampshire County this morning, with that change happening within the past hour in many cities and towns.

For the latest school closing information visit our media partner, abc40/Fox 6. In the valley schools with a 2-hour delay currently include Hampshire Regional, Southwick-Tolland, Gateway Regional, Monson and Ware schools.

A winter weather advisory remains in effect until 1 p.m.

The rain is expected to taper off this afternoon, with high winds expected at times in the 10-20 mph range later today. Temperatures are expected to reach as high as 40 degrees.

In South Carolina, people have little sympathy for the Occupy Wall Street movement. Low wages and lack of unions are the norm.

Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

LEXINGTON, S.C. (AP) — At first glance, South Carolina seems like a place where attacks on Mitt Romney's experience at the helm of a venture capital firm that cut jobs would resonate in the GOP primary.

The state's unemployment rate hasn't been below 9 percent in three years and a third of its manufacturing jobs have disappeared in the last decade.

But from South Carolina's urban centers to its old mill villages, many workers still view their employers paternalistically, even when their bosses' decisions hurt them. And that may blunt the criticism that Romney is a greedy fat cat who squashes employees while lining his own pockets.

In South Carolina, people have little sympathy for the Occupy Wall Street movement. Low wages and lack of unions are the norm, so much so that economic developers refused to even recruit companies to the state in the 1960s and 1970s if they allowed unions. Less than 5 percent of the state's workers belong to a labor union, one of the lowest rates in the nation, and income per person is just over $33,000, about $7,000 below the national average.

"Once you get hired, the employer has done his part," Kenneth Dock, 59, said outside the unemployment office in Lexington County, a heavily Republican area on the outskirts of Columbia. He was filing for unemployment a few weeks after losing his job in the produce department at a nearby Walmart.

Dock plans to vote in the Jan. 21 GOP primary in South Carolina, but he hasn't decided which candidate to support. Romney is still a possibility.

"People get laid off. People lose their jobs," he said. "It's just a part of business."

Romney, fresh off back-to-back victories in Iowa and New Hampshire, hopes that mindset will have South Carolina Republicans dismissing attacks on his tenure at Bain Capital as he campaigns ahead of the state's primary.

Over the past few days, Romney has faced intense criticism by rivals Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry as they worked to undercut the central rationale of his candidacy — that his experience in private business makes him the strongest Republican to challenge President Barack Obama on the economy.

Perry likened the private equity firm to "vultures" that ruin workers' lives. And Gingrich has demanded answers about how many jobs were lost under Romney.

The criticism is certain to make its way into hard-hitting TV advertisements in the coming days, with outside groups aligned with the candidates — called super PACs — doing most of the dirty work. One supporting Gingrich plans to spend $3.4 million to run ads on this subject as well as air part of a documentary about Bain called "When Mitt Romney Came to Town." In the film, former employees of four companies bought by Romney's firm talk about how they lost their homes, their livelihoods and their dreams as jobs were cut.

Romney's opponents also have the story of a South Carolina company to use against him.

A photo frame factory in Gaffney in what used to be the manufacturing center of the state was owned by a company Bain controlled. It closed in 1992 just four years after it opened. A hundred workers lost their jobs, while the move helped the Bain subsidiary go from a $12.4 million loss to a $3 million after-tax profit the year after the closing.

Rivals also are seizing on a couple of missteps Romney made in the closing days of the New Hampshire campaign.

At one point, Romney said, "There were a couple of times when I was worried I was going to get pink-slipped." Neither he nor his aides provided specifics.

And at another, he said, "I like being able to fire people who provide services to me." The former Massachusetts governor later emphasized he was talking about health insurance and how people should have choices with their health care.

For all the criticism, there's been a collective shrug in South Carolina so far, perhaps because of the way many workers view employers in the state.

It's only about a generation removed from a time when companies essentially created villages by building the houses, schools, ball fields, dance halls and churches their employees used. Wages were low and these companies provided almost everything, creating a society where even surviving outside of an employer's benevolence may have seemed impossible.

Malissa Burnette has seen such bonds between employers and workers in her 35 years as a labor attorney who has represented workers suing their employers in the state.

"When employees come to me, I see a lot of shock and disillusionment and disappointment in their employers because they did have the belief that employers were there to treat them well, look after them, to have their best interest at heart," Burnette says.

Further evidence of how the people in South Carolina view businesses can be found on the Facebook page of Gov. Nikki Haley, who endorsed Romney last month. She spent her first year in office fighting unions and encouraging businesses find to come to the state.

"South Carolina continues to be one of the lowest union participation states in the country," Haley wrote on Facebook in November. "The reason is that our companies understand that they have to take care of those that take care of them. Our employees appreciate the direct honest relationship that they have with their employers. It will continue to be a winning combination."

To be sure, there are voters in South Carolina who are angry with the way businesses operate these days. Just ask Wayne Ott, 64, who was applying for unemployment for the first time in his life after being laid off after 40 years as a truck driver.

"I believe in capitalism. I just don't think we've been doing it right," Ott said. He is deciding between Gingrich and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum because he thinks Romney is part of a greater problem of people who get rich without earning it.

Others are taking a more pragmatic approach.

Angela Frost, 41, lost her job as an insurance underwriter in September. She blames Obama for the stagnant economy and has decided to support Romney because she thinks he has the best chance of winning back the White House.

"Cutting jobs and closing businesses are a part of the system," Frost said. "The system has failed a lot of people. You can't blame one person for the system."

Jolie also met with CIA Director David Petraeus at the agency's headquarters

Actor Brad Pitt is seen in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012, during a meeting with President Barack Obama. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama might be powerful and well-known, but the White House got some Hollywood star power Wednesday: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie stopped by for a chat with the chief executive.

The actors were spotted in the Oval Office by photographers waiting outside for the president to take off for a trip to Chicago.

The White House confirmed Pitt and Jolie were in town to screen Jolie's movie about Bosnian war crimes at the Holocaust museum. They dropped by so the president could talk with Jolie about her work on preventing mass atrocities and combating sexual violence against women.

Pitt was seen sporting a cane, which he's been using following a skiing injury.

It's not the first time Obama's met with one of the pair. In 2009 the president met with Pitt to discuss his working rebuilding New Orleans' Ninth Ward after Hurricane Katrina.

Jolie also met with CIA Director David Petraeus at the agency's headquarters. Jolie wanted Petraeus' perspective on cultural trends in Afghanistan for her work with Afghan refugees, an official close to the former U.S. commander in Afghanistan said, speaking anonymously to discuss the private meeting. They had a similar meeting in Baghdad in 2008.

Park visitors found the bodies in a vehicle near the Winnikenni Castle in Haverhill.

HAVERHILL — A man and woman have been found dead in an apparent murder-suicide at a Massachusetts park.

The Essex County District Attorney's Office says park visitors found the bodies in a vehicle near the Winnikenni Castle in Haverhill Wednesday afternoon.

The victims are identified as Kristin Broderick of Houston, Texas, and Martha McDermott of Hampton, New Hampshire. They're believed to be married.

Authorities say the investigation continues.

Snow turned to rain as the morning commute got underway.

This updates a story originally filed at 6:45 a.m.

SPRINGFIELD – State police on the Massachusetts Turnpike in Westfield reported numerous accidents in Blandford and points west as the morning commute got underway.

State police, however, from Springfield to Shelburne Falls, said Interstate 91 and other major roadways were in good shape as rain continues to fall.

“Traffic is flowing smoothly, no problems,” said Sgt. John Cummings of the Shelburne Falls barracks.

Abc40 / Fox 6 meteorologist Rick Sluben said 2 to 4 inches of snow fell overnight in Franklin County and in the higher terrain with just a coating to an inch in much of the Pioneer Valley.

The slushy storm marks the region’s first significant snowfall since a late October storm brought as much as two feet of snow to some areas of Western Massachusetts and left widespread and long-last power outages in its wake.

Sluben said rain will taper off to mist this afternoon. Rain showers Friday morning, however will change over to snow showers and a heavier snow squall mid-day.

The valley could one again see a coating to an inch of snow and another 1 to 3 inches is expected for the hilltowns, Sluben said.

Speed on the Massachusetts Turnpike has been reduced to 40 mph and tankers and tandem-trailers have been prohibited.

For the latest school closing information visit our media partner, abc40/Fox 6. In the valley schools with a 2-hour delay currently include Hampshire Regional, Southwick-Tolland, Gateway Regional, Monson and Ware schools.

A winter weather advisory remains in effect until 1 p.m.

The Marine Corps said Wednesday it is investigating the YouTube video but has not yet verified its origin or authenticity.

Associated PressIn this Sept. 20, 2011 file photo, President Barack Obama meets with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in New York. The Obama administration hopes to restore momentum in the spring to U.S. talks with the Taliban insurgency that had reached a critical point before falling apart this month because of objections from Afghan President Hamid Karzai, U.S. and Afghan officials said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday condemned a video depicting what appears to be four U.S. Marines urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters.

A presidential statement described the act as "completely inhumane" and called on the U.S. military to punish the Marines.

The Marine Corps said Wednesday it is investigating the YouTube video but has not yet verified its origin or authenticity. The case has being referred to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Navy's worldwide law enforcement organization.

The Afghan Ministry of Defense also condemned the actions in the video, which it described as "shocking."

The NATO-led security force in Afghanistan released a statement Thursday saying, "This disrespectful act is inexplicable and not in keeping with the high moral standards we expect of coalition forces."

The International Security Assistance Force said the actions "appear to have been conducted by a small group of U.S. individuals, who apparently are no longer serving in Afghanistan." The statement did not identify the personnel or explain why the ISAF thought they had left the country.

Sen. John McCain, a Navy veteran who fought in the Vietnam war, said the incident "makes me so sad."

McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the Marine Corps one of America's strongest institutions and said its image has apparently been tarnished by "a handful of obviously undisciplined people."

Appearing Thursday on "CBS This Morning," the Arizona Republican said, "There should be an investigation and these young people should be punished."

On Wednesday, the Council on Islamic-American Relations, a prominent Muslim civil rights and advocacy group based in Washington, protested the video in a letter faxed to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

"We condemn this apparent desecration of the dead as a violation of our nation's military regulations and of international laws of war prohibiting such disgusting and immoral actions," the group wrote.

"If verified as authentic, the video shows behavior that is totally unbecoming of American military personnel and that could ultimately endanger other soldiers and civilians," the letter said.

Marine Corps headquarters at the Pentagon said: "The actions portrayed are not consistent with our core values and are not indicative of the character of the Marines in our Corps. This matter will be fully investigated."

A Marine Corps spokesman, Lt. Col. Stewart Upton, added, "Allegations of Marines not doing the right thing in regard to dead Taliban insurgents are very serious and, if proven, represent a failure to adhere to the high standards expected of American military personnel."

A Pentagon spokesman, Navy Capt. John Kirby, said the video is deeply troubling.

"Whoever it is, and whatever the circumstances — which we know is under investigation — it is egregious behavior," Kirby said.

It is unclear who shot the video and who posted it online.

Update: Panetta: Video of Marines urinating on dead 'utterly deplorable'

City Council President James Ferrera and some council colleagues defended the appointments.

Republican file photoJames J. Ferrera III

SPRINGFIELD – The Outer Belt Civic Association has urged City Council President James J. Ferrera III to change some of his committee appointments, saying his treatment of two councilors is childish and politically motivated.

“If this cannot be rectified, then we are prepared to ask for Councilor Ferrera to step down as president,” the association stated in a letter this week. “If necessary, we are prepared to ask for his resignation or impeachment.”

Ferrera said Wednesday he has no intention of changing his appointments, adding the process was open, fair and “absolutely not” politically vindictive.

“I respect their opinion but I stand by my committee appointments and chairpersons that I selected and that is not going to change,” Ferrera said.

Ferrera said he tried to accommodate councilors who supported him for president early, and who wanted certain appointments. He offered to meet with all councilors but some councilors who were “last to commit” to voting for him “received whatever was left over,” he said.

The association letter, signed by its board officers and directors, was particularly critical of Ferrera for his treatment of Ward 2 Councilor Michael A. Fenton and of Ward 7 Councilor Timothy C. Allen, who represents that neighborhood and sought the presidency himself.

“We did not put them in office to become Councilor Ferrera’s punching bags,” the letter stated. “This is not about Councilor Ferrera, it is about the City of Springfield.”

Allen received no chairmanships and is a member of one committee, Human Services. Fenton also received one assignment, as a member of the Animal Control Committee.

In contrast, all other councilors were appointed to two or more committees, as well as chairmanships, including Ward 1 Councilor Zaida Luna, who was assigned to five committees and one chairmanship.

Allen and Fenton joined in the 13-0 council vote for Ferrera as president in a late December caucus.

The president, under council rules, annually appoints council committees. The association states that Ferrera has decided he can do whatever he wants.

“This is a childish, self-motivated, unkind, political demonstration of someone who has allowed his new status to become dictatorial,” the association stated.

The letter was signed by Outer Belt Civic Association President Walter Gould and five board directors and officers.

Ferrera said the assignments do not limit Allen or Fenton.

“There is not going to be a limit of how Councilor Fenton and Allen are going to serve, and what meetings they can attend,” Ferrera said. “They are more than welcome to attend every committee meeting and to participate in the meetings, and I encourage them to do so.”

Some councilors, including Timothy J. Rooke and Thomas M. Ashe, praised the appointments. Rooke said the process was probably the most open process he has been involved in.

Rooke is chairman of the Finance Committee, but stated there are years when you get desired appointments, and sometimes you do not. Ashe is chairman of Public Health and Safety.

Issues are referred to committee and discussed during meetings and are often followed by reports and recommendations to the full council.
Outer Belt Citizen Council criticizes Springfield City Council President James Ferrera

The FDA had said Monday that an unnamed juice company detected low levels of the fungicide in orange juice products after testing its own and competitors' products.

NEW YORK — Coca-Cola Co. says it alerted the Food and Drug Administration after it found some Brazilian growers had sprayed their orange trees with a fungicide that is not approved for use in the U.S.

The FDA had said Monday that an unnamed juice company detected low levels of the fungicide in orange juice products after testing its own and competitors' products.

Most orange juice products made by Coke and other companies contain a blend of juice from different sources including Brazil.

Atlanta-based Coca-Cola did not say which products it tested contained the fungicide. Its own orange juice products include Simply Orange and Minute Maid.

The FDA has said the low levels found of the fungicide aren't a safety risk but they will increase testing to make sure the contamination isn't a problem.

People should run their taps if the water is discolored.

Amherst Town Hall

AMHERST – Officials are working to repair a water main break on McClellan Street that was discovered early Thursday morning.

As a result water pressure has dropped throughout the town.

Beston and McClellan streets and Pease Place are without water.

Officials are advising people to run their taps if they notice their water is discolored.
Officials will provide an update later. People with questions should call the public works department at 413-259-3050 ext. 0.

The settlement money is currently being held by the court.

Cara L. Rintala pleads innocent to Annamarie Cochrane Rintala's murder.

SPRINGFIELD - A dispute between the brother of Annamarie Rintala and her widow, Cara L. Rintala, over a $.5 million life insurance policy is playing out in federal court, pending the resolution of Cara Rintala’s murder case.

Annamarie Cochrane Rintala, 37, was found strangled to death in her Granby home on March 29, 2010. Police responding to a 911 call from a neighbor found Cara Rintala, 45, sitting on the basement floor cradling her wife’s paint-spattered body. Prosecutors maintain that Rintala was using the paint to cover up the evidence of the murder.

Rintala was not indicted for the murder until last October, but court documents show that the victim's brother, Charles W. Cochrane of Springfield, attributed the killing to her months before that. Contesting her status as the prime beneficiary on Annamarie's $512,000 life insurance policy, Cochrane claimed that, under federal law, Rintala caused his sister’s death and “cannot benefit from her actions and cannot receive the Death Benefit.”

An emergency medical technician who worked for American Medical Response, Annamarie Rintala had a $512,000 life insurance policy through Prudential Insurance Company. In 2003, she named Cara Rintala, who was then listed a “friend,” as her prime beneficiary and her brother, Charles Cochrane, as the contingent beneficiary. The couple married in 2007, three years after same-sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts.

Cara Rintala put in for the settlement on April 14, 2010, less than a month after her wife’s death, but Cochrane contested it. William and Lucy Cochrane, Annamarie’s parents, also intervened but have been dismissed as parties from the matter.

Because the claim was contested, Prudential brought the matter to U.S. District Court and withdrew from the case. The settlement money is currently being held by the court. Northampton lawyer Paul S. Weinberg, who represents Cara Rintala, said the parties held a pretrial conference and agreed to put the money in an interest-bearing account pending the resolution of the criminal case, but the court has taken no action since Rintala’s indictment. The insurance case is scheduled to go to trial in November.

Should Rintala be acquitted of the criminal charges, Cochrane could bring a civil suit claiming she killed his sister and contesting her eligibility as beneficiary. The standard of proof in civil cases is lower than in criminal cases.

The blaze at 3020 Palmer St. was reported shortly before 10:30 a.m.

PALMER - Firefighters were at the scene mid-Thursday morning of a working house fire the Bondsville section.

The fire at 3020 Palmer St. was reported shortly before 10:30 a.m. Additional information was not immediately available.

Panetta said he had ordered the Marine Corps and Marine Gen. John Allen, the top commander of the NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, to fully investigate.

Associated PressThis Jan. 6, 2012, image released by CBS News Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012, shows U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta speaking on CBS's "Face the Nation" in Washington. Panetta talked about the Defense Department's recently announced new strategy.

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Thursday condemned as "utterly deplorable" a video that purports to depict four U.S. Marines urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters, saying such behavior is "entirely inappropriate for members of the United States military" and those responsible will be held accountable.

Panetta said he had ordered the Marine Corps and Marine Gen. John Allen, the top commander of the NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, to fully investigate.

The Marine Corps said Wednesday it would investigate the YouTube video but had not yet verified its origin or authenticity. The case has been referred to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Navy's worldwide law enforcement arm.

The video, posted on the Internet, shows men in Marine combat gear, standing in a semi-circle over three bodies. It's not clear whether the dead were Taliban or civilians or someone else. The title on the posting called them Taliban insurgents but it was unclear who added that title, Marine Corps officials in Washington said.

The reaction from Afghanistan was angry.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the video as "completely inhumane." The Afghan Defense Ministry called it "shocking." And the Taliban issued a statement accusing U.S. forces of committing numerous "indignities" against the Afghan people.

"First they killed the Afghans with mortars, and they then urinated on their bodies," Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said. "We strongly condemn this inhumane action by the wild American soldiers."

Panetta said the actions, if true, were inexcusable.

"I have seen the footage, and I find the behavior depicted in it utterly deplorable. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms," Panetta's statement said. "Those found to have engaged in such conduct will be held accountable to the fullest extent."

The video came to light at a delicate time in relations among the United States, Afghanistan's elected government and the Taliban insurgency fighting for both territorial control and cultural and religious preeminence in Afghanistan. The U.S. is trying to foster peace talks between the Karzai government and the Pakistan-based Taliban high command, and has made unprecedented offers to build trust with the insurgents, including the planned opening of a Taliban political office to oversee talks.

One of the largest obstacles to peace discussions has been widespread Afghan contempt for U.S. military tactics that many — both Taliban sympathizers and not — see as heavy-handed. Opposition to the U.S. and NATO military presence in Afghanistan usually centers on civilian casualties from military engagement, although the vast majority of those deaths are caused by the insurgents.

Although the video purports to show Taliban fighters, not civilians, it is likely to resonate with those opposed to the U.S. presence and to peace with the U.S.-backed Karzai government. In his statement, Karzai called on the U.S. military to punish the Marines.

The NATO-led security force in Afghanistan released a statement Thursday saying, "This disrespectful act is inexplicable and not in keeping with the high moral standards we expect of coalition forces."

The actions "appear to have been conducted by a small group of U.S. individuals, who apparently are no longer serving in Afghanistan," the International Security Assistance Force said. The statement did not identify the personnel or explain why the ISAF thought they had left the country.

A spokesman at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina would not confirm reports that the Marines were based there. "We have had elements of that unit that have deployed to Afghanistan and have returned. However, we have not yet confirmed if anyone in the video is from that unit, or whether they are attached to a unit from Lejeune," said Capt. Scott Sasser.

Sen. John McCain, a Navy veteran who fought and was held prisoner in the Vietnam war, said the incident "makes me so sad."

McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the Marine Corps one of America's strongest institutions and said its image has apparently been tarnished by "a handful of obviously undisciplined people."

"There should be an investigation and these young people should be punished," McCain, R-Ariz., said Thursday on "CBS This Morning."

Pentagon officials said the criminal investigation would likely look into whether the Marines violated laws of war, which include prohibitions against photographing bodies and detainees and a range of other rules.

In an emailed statement, Taliban spokesman Mujahid said, "During these 10 years American soldiers have tortured our people in various ways, they have shown disrespect to the holy Quran and other holy books, they have burned our bodies, they have killed and tortured our women and children and ... have committed other hateful actions."

Mujahid urged the U.N. and other international groups to end such actions by U.S. troops.

On Wednesday, the Council on Islamic-American Relations, a prominent Muslim civil rights and advocacy group based in Washington, protested the video in a letter to Panetta.

"We condemn this apparent desecration of the dead as a violation of our nation's military regulations and of international laws of war prohibiting such disgusting and immoral actions," the group wrote.

"If verified as authentic, the video shows behavior that is totally unbecoming of American military personnel and that could ultimately endanger other soldiers and civilians," the letter said.

Marine Corps headquarters at the Pentagon said: "The actions portrayed are not consistent with our core values and are not indicative of the character of the Marines in our Corps. This matter will be fully investigated."

A Marine Corps spokesman, Lt. Col. Stewart Upton, added, "Allegations of Marines not doing the right thing in regard to dead Taliban insurgents are very serious and, if proven, represent a failure to adhere to the high standards expected of American military personnel."

The two pleaded guilty to malicious destruction of property and disturbing a correctional institution.

GREENFIELD – Two of the 12 inmates from Vermont charged with participating in a riot at the Franklin County Jail have pleaded guilty and been sentenced to an additional year behind bars.

Joseph White and Jamie Woodman pleaded guilty Wednesday to malicious destruction of property and disturbing a correctional institution for their roles in the July riot at the Franklin County jail. All 12 inmates charged are from Vermont, doing time in Massachusetts under an agreement with Vermont prison officials.

The Recorder of Greenfield reported that a judge sentenced them to a year in a maximum security Massachusetts prison after their Vermont sentences are completed.

Franklin Sheriff Christopher Donelan said the riot cost $250,000 for damage and cleanup. He said it started as a sit-in to protest jail rules and escalated.

Associated Industries Business Confidence Index rose in December by nine-tenths of a point from 50.1 in November to 51 points in December. Fifty points is considered neutral on scale.

The majority of employers across the state plan to stand pat when it comes to hiring over the next six months, but those who foresee changes in their employment are three times as likely to add people as they are to lay off.

Associated Industries of Massachusetts said Tuesday that 24 percent of the employers who responded to its monthly business confidence survey plan to add staff in the first half of 2012. Just 8 percent predict cutting their staff.

“I think it is a sort of cautious optimism,” said Michael D. Goodman, chairman of the public policy program at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth and a member of Associated Industries of Massachusetts’s Board of Economic Advisors. “It suggests slow but steady improvement.”

Also on Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Labor reported positive national labor statistics. Employers filled almost 4.15 million jobs in November, a 3 percent increase from the previous month, according to the Associated Press. It also nearly matched September’s hiring level, which was the highest since May 2010.

“Of course that isn’t much consolation for all the people in the state who are searching for work and their families,” Goodman said.

Associated Industries Business Confidence Index rose in December by nine-tenths of a point from 50.1 in November to 51 points in December. Fifty points is considered neutral on scale.

The last time business confidence was this high was when it was 51.7 points in May. The average for 2011 was 51.1 points, up from 49.4 in 2010 and 39.4 in 2009, Associated Industries said.

Business confidence was 52.1 points a year ago in December 2010.

Confidence was higher last month inside Metropolitan Boston at 51.8 points than it was in the rest of the state at 49.3 points.

Andre Mayer, senior vice president for education and research at Associated Industries, said things might look a little gloomier outside Boston because those areas depend more heavily on manufacturing. Many Massachusetts manufacturers export to Europe where debt crisis have put the Eurozone economy in peril.

“European customers are already cutting back on spending,” Mayer said.

Associated Industries' Manufacturing Index fell 2.9 points from 52.2 in November to 49.3 points in December.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained nearly 22 points after being down most of the day.

File photo by Matthew West / Boston HeraldCasino mogul Steve Wynn, left, gestures as New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft listens during an interview at Gillette Stadium regarding a proposed casino on nearby land owned by Kraft last month. On Wall Street Thursday, Wynn Resorts Ltd. stock fell 2 percent after the company disclosed in a regulatory filing that its vice chairman has filed a lawsuit against the company.

By SAMANTHA BOMKAMP

NEW YORK – A drop in oil prices and strong bond auctions in Europe drove stocks to a slightly higher close Thursday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose for the fourth straight day.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 21.57 points, or 0.2 percent, to end at 12,471.02 It was down most of the day, losing 64 points in the first hour of trading, following a spike in unemployment claims and a weak report on December retail sales.

Materials and industrial companies led the afternoon recovery. Caterpillar and Alcoa rose the most in the Dow. The S&P 500 finished up 3.02 points, or 0.2 percent, at 1,295.50. The Nasdaq composite rose 13.94 points, 0.5 percent, to 2,724.70

Stocks drove higher in the last hour and a half of trading after oil prices dropped below $100 per barrel for the first time this year. Oil fell on rumors that Europe will delay an embargo on Iran. Crude plunged $2 a barrel in just eight minutes, ending at $99.

Also pushing stocks were strong bond auctions in Italy and Spain. European markets ended mostly higher rose after Italy and Spain held highly successful bond auctions, easing worries about Europe’s debt crisis. Italy’s benchmark stock index rose 2.1 percent.

In Italy’s first bond auction of the new year, the country was able to sell one-year bonds at a rate of just 2.735 percent, less than half the 5.95 percent rate it had to pay last month. That’s a signal that investors are becoming more confident in Italy’s ability to pay its debts.

Spain was able to raise double the amount of money it had sought to raise in its own bond sale as demand for its debt was strong. Both auctions were seen as important tests of investor sentiment.

Investors have been worried that Italy and Spain, the third- and fourth-largest countries in the euro area, might get dragged into the region’s debt crisis. Greece, Ireland and Portugal have been forced to get relief from their lenders after their borrowing costs spiked to levels the countries could no longer afford.

The euro rose nearly a penny against the dollar, to $1.28, as worries eased about Europe’s financial woes. The currency, which is shared by 17 European countries, fell to a 16-month low against the dollar the day before.

In other trading, corn futures plunged 6.1 percent to $6.12 per bushel after the government reported that supplies of the grain were higher than traders had expected. Wheat also fell 5.6 percent. An auction of 30-year Treasury bonds drew meager interest from investors as cash flowed back into European debt.

It was the latest day of quiet trading in the stock market. There have been six consecutive days with moves of less than 1 percent in the S&P 500, the quietest stretch since May.

Ralph Fogel, investment strategist and partner at Fogel Neale Partners in New York, said the moderate moves were an encouraging sign following the steep rises and sudden declines that were typical of last summer. “This is a much healthier market than we’ve seen.”

Unemployment benefits spiked last week to the highest level in six weeks, mostly because companies let go of thousands of holiday hires, the government reported. Retail sales barely rose in December and were lower than analysts were expecting.

Despite the mixed news on the economy, investors are starting to focus on the U.S. corporate earnings season, which got under way this week with Alcoa Inc. The aluminum maker predicted stronger demand for its products this year and surprised the market with revenue that was higher than analysts were expecting.

“There’s a fair amount of pessimism out there but I also think that investors are slowly becoming immune to the bad news,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank in Chicago. “As long as the stuff you can sink your teeth into, like corporate profit, is improving, I think it bodes well for the markets this year.”

Among stocks making big moves:

• Chevron fell 2.6 percent after the world’s second-largest publicly traded oil company said its income will be “significantly” below its fourth-quarter results in the prior quarter because of narrower margins on refining and selling fuels.

• CA Inc. jumped 4.3 percent. The hedge fund Taconic Capital disclosed in a regulatory filing that it has taken a 5.1 percent stake in the business software and technology company and is pressing CA to return more cash to shareholders and increase its profit margins.

• Casino operator Wynn Resorts Ltd. fell 2 percent. The company disclosed in a regulatory filing that its vice chairman has filed a lawsuit against the company. Kazuo Okada claims that Wynn has refused to give him access to records relating to a $135 million donation the company made to the University of Macau and other matters.

Elizabeth Warren talked about the importance of investments in infrastructure and addressed criticisms of her campaign finance numbers during a visit to Western Massachusetts on Thursday. Watch video

HOLYOKE - Reinvesting in infrastructure and education are among the initiatives that Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Elizabeth Warren believes will bring a long-term change to the country's economy.

That message was delivered in Holyoke on Thursday during a visit with Mayor Alex Morse at the future site of the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center.

"Making the investments in infrastructure that will bring future development is at the heart of what keeps our economy going," Warren said. "This is an exciting project. Alex and others in Holyoke are creating the future. No one knows exactly what the future will look like but this project is certainly special and a part of it."

While looking at historic pictures of the Paper City with the newly-elected mayor, Warren said that the juxtaposition between the past and the present offer inspiration for the years to come.

"Someone back then had to have the vision to create this here. They did it here for a reason." Warren said, referring to a picture of the paper mills. "And now it's up to us to have the vision for what comes next."

Warren, who must gain her party's nomination over Marisa DeFranco and James King, in her bid to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, is a relative newcomer to the political arena, like Morse.

The young Holyoke mayor said that is a benefit to Warren and also to the Bay State, should she win come November.

"It is an asset not to be burdened by years of political experience," Morse said.

Warren's Holyoke visit came immediately after she spoke about her upbringing and work experiences at a Westover Job Corps lunch. That stop, however, was not considered an official campaign event as she appeared as a guest of Chicopee Mayor Michael Bissonnette.

Warren, in a conversation with reporters, addressed the fact that her campaign coffers have swelled to more than $6 million, with a reported $5.7 million coming in during the fourth quarter of 2011.

Following the release of those figures this week, Super PAC American Crossroads, to which Republican strategist Karl Rove serves as an advisor, called Warren a hypocrite, following up with demands that she reject any donations from Wall Street businesses.

“As Professor Warren gloats about her campaign haul, perhaps she should also come clean with Massachusetts voters about her abject hypocrisy in bagging funds on Wall Street,” said American Crossroads President and CEO Steven Law in a statement. “Warren decries campaign cash from Wall Street while simultaneously asking them to line up with her campaign. It’s the height of hypocrisy, and Professor Warren should refund any Wall Street contributions and at the same time ask the Wall Street-backed DSCC to stop supporting her campaign.”

Warren shook off the allegations on Thursday, reinforcing a statement made at a recent appearance in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood.

"People are excited and are investing in this campaign. No one expected this. We started $10 million behind Scott Brown," Warren said. "All I can say is that when someone gives money to my campaign, they know exactly what they are getting and that's not going to change in the slightest. Scott Brown's got his wing man Karl Rove who has come in with two rounds of negative ads. So far, the people of Massachusetts aren't buying the message of the Karl Rove ads and I hope it stays that way."

Brown's latest campaign finance report stated that in the fourth quarter of 2011, his campaign brought in $3.2 million, bringing his cash-on-hand total to nearly $13 million.

Brown is scheduled to spend the day Friday campaigning in the eastern Massachusetts towns of Weymouth, Kingston and Norton.

Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren was paid $429,981 as a Harvard law professor from 2010 to 2011.

01.12.2012. HOLYOKE- U.S. Senate hopeful Elizabeth Warren and Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse look at the developing site of the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center. (Staff Photo by Robert Rizzuto)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren was paid $429,981 as a Harvard law professor from 2010 to 2011 and got nearly $134,000 in consulting fees on legal cases in 2010.

Warren's new personal financial disclosure report filed recently with the Senate shows she got $90,000 from a Florida law firm for her work as an expert witness against credit card companies in an antitrust case.

She also got $43,938 in consulting fees from Travelers Insurance on a legal case involving asbestos victims. Warren worked defending Travelers in a Supreme Court case involving a mining company that set up a trust fund for asbestos victims.

Warren, a bankruptcy expert, argued that the insurance company should be protected from future lawsuits from victims because such suits would prevent similar trusts from being created, making it impossible for all victims to be paid.

"Elizabeth served as a consultant and wanted to ensure that all victims got a fair shake and had an equal chance to get paid," Warren spokesman Kyle Sullivan said in a statement. "That is why she supported all insurance proceeds being put in a trust rather than fighting lawsuit-by-lawsuit until the money ran out."

The case drew scrutiny in the Senate race last year after a Boston Herald story on Warren's role.

Aspen Publishers in New York paid Warren $136,946 in royalties during 2010 and 2011 for books such as "Chapter 11: Reorganizing American Businesses" and "Bankruptcy and Article 9."

The report does not provide salary figures for Warren's recent government jobs. But her campaign said she was paid $192,722 during the period from 2008 to 2010 for heading the congressional panel that oversaw the government's bank bailout. She launched the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for President Barack Obama, earning an annual salary of $165,300 from September 2010 to July 2011, her campaign said.

Warren and her husband, Bruce Mann, who also teaches at Harvard, have financial investments, bank accounts and other various holdings worth more than $3 million, the report showed. They have several mutual fund investments through TIAA-CREF, the financial services company. Warren's holdings include IBM Corp. stock valued at between $250,000 and $500,000.

Warren said her home near Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass., is worth between $1 million and $5 million. She rented it out for a few months while she was working in Washington, earning between $5,000 and $15,000.

The longtime consumer advocate, who is on leave from her Harvard teaching job, is the Democratic favorite to challenge Republican Sen. Scott Brown. Brown is seeking his first full six-year term after winning the special election in 2010 for the seat formerly held by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy.

The issue of personal wealth is expected to play a prime role in what is shaping up as one of the biggest Senate races in the country this year. Outside groups are expected to pour tens of millions of dollars in TV ads into the race. Brown holds one of the few Republican seats that Democrats believe they can flip in 2012 as they try to keep control of their narrow Senate margin.

Warren has cast herself as a crusader on behalf of the middle class against Wall Street abuses, while conservatives have attacked her as an out-of-touch liberal from Harvard. Brown has painted himself as a moderate Republican, but Democrats say he's too beholden to powerful Wall Street interests who they say have lined up behind the Republican freshman.

Brown's financial disclosure form filed last spring showed received a $700,000 advance from publishers HarperCollins for his memoir "Against All Odds" that told of his rise from a hardscrabble childhood to the Senate and revealed he was sexually abused as a child. Brown earns a base pay of $174,000 as a U.S. senator.

Brown and his wife, Gail Huff, reported owning a home in Wrentham, a law office and three rental condos in Boston. He reported assets between about $1 million and $2.3 million, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks money and influence in politics.