The governor will discuss the state's fiscal health and spell out objectives in the address, which precedes the release of his proposed spending plan for fiscal 2013.

AP file photoMassachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick will deliver his state of the commonwealth address Monday evening at 7:30. The annual speech might reference some of the highlights of his proposed fiscal 2013 budget, scheduled for release on Wednesday.

BOSTON – Gov. Deval L. Patrick will deliver his state of the commonwealth address at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the House chamber of the Statehouse

The address comes just two days before Wednesday's unveiling of Patrick's proposed budget for fiscal 2013, which begins July 1. The spending plan is expected to include cuts and higher taxes on candy, soda and tobacco, including hiking the cigarette tax by 50 cents and applying the state's 6.25 percent sales tax to candy and soda.

This evening's annual address, in which the governor lays out his objectives for the year, might also provide a glimpse of Patrick's proposed budget, which will be presented to state lawmakers for debate.

The current $30.6 billion budget, which took effect July 1, 2011, was one of the tightest in recent memory as Massachusetts continues to grapple with the economic downturn.

Patrick last week revealed plans to raise $260 million in new revenue, which includes the 50-cent-per-pack hike in the cigarette tax from $2.51 to $3.01 a pack. Administration officials said the new cigarette tax is projected to raise around $62.5 million, while a proposed doubling of the tax on other types of tobacco, including cigars and chewing and pipe tobacco, could raise another $10.4 million.

"We are doubling the existing tax on all other tobacco products to put it in line with the previous and new proposed increase in the cigarette tax," Alex Zaroulis, a fiscal spokeswoman for Patrick, told The Republican.

AP PhotoA hike in the cigarette tax is among the proposals included in Gov. Deval Patrick's proposed state budget.

The state's cigarette tax was last increased in 2008, when it was raised by $1 a pack. Taxes on all other tobacco products remained the same.

Money raised through the proposed hikes would help pay for a recent court decision that requires Massachusetts to enroll legal immigrants in Commonwealth Care, the state's subsidized health care program. The Supreme Judicial Court earlier this month ruled it was unconstitutional to exclude noncitizen immigrants from the program. Officials estimate it will cost an additional $150 million to cover legal immigrants under Commonwealth Care.

"We need to pay for the somewhat late-breaking court decision. This will help pay the cost of that," David E. Sullivan, general counsel for the state Executive Office of Administration and Finance, told The Republican.

Despite predictions of another lean budget, leaders of the state's 350-plus municipalities got some good news last week: The Patrick administration said it would maintain current funding levels for cities and towns, which had faced local aid cuts for several consecutive years.

Cities and towns also are poised to share a $145 million increase in state aid for elementary and secondary schools under Patrick's budget plan.

Crete Kochanek, who died last week after being overcome by carbon monoxide fumes at her Westfield home, was a teacher in the East Granby, Conn., school district, according to officials.

File photo

WESTFIELD – Connecticut school officials have identified the Westfied woman who died last week from carbon monoxide poisoning as Crete Kochanek, a music teacher in the East Granby school district.

"This is a very sad day for East Granby because Mrs. Kochanek has touched the lives of
so many of our students and their families over the years, and she will be greatly missed," Christine Mahoney, superintendent of East Granby Public Schools, said in a statement posted on the district's website.

"We know that this terrible loss will cause great grief and a sense of enormous loss for all of us," Mahoney said.

Kochanek and her husband, whom police declined to identify, were found unresponsive in their home at 118 Elizabeth Ave. just after 3 p.m. Thursday, according to Westfield police.

Police were alerted by a home health care aide, who had checked on the elderly couple. Kochanek died from carbon monoxide fumes, but her husband was rushed to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield and is expected to survive.

Authorities continue investigate the incident, which they believe was caused by a faulty furnace.

Supreme Judicial Court Justice Ralph Gants is joining attorneys from more than 50 Boston-area law firms to request more state funding for programs that provide civil legal aid to low-income Massachusetts residents.

BOSTON — Supreme Judicial Court Justice Ralph Gants is joining attorneys from more than 50 Boston-area law firms to request more state funding for programs that provide civil legal aid to low-income Massachusetts residents.

"Walk to the Hill for Civil Legal Aid," an annual lobby day, will be held Thursday.

Gants and lawyers will visit their legislators and ask them to increase funding for the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation by $5 million to $14.5 million in the fiscal year 2013 budget.

The event is sponsored by the Equal Justice Coalition, the Boston Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association, and 30 county and specialty bar associations.

The groups say legal aid programs have been struggling to meet demand.

The jobless rate is dipping, but millions of people are still out of work. And that could have implications when they file their income tax returns.

The Associated PressIn this file photo taken Jan. 7, 2011, unemployed workers use computers to search for jobs at the Virginia Employment Commission's Reemploy Virginia office in Mechanicsville, Va. The jobless rate is dipping, but millions of people are still out of work. And that could have implications when they file their income tax returns for 2011.

The jobless rate is dipping, but millions of people are still out of work. And that could have implications when they file their income tax returns.

Collecting unemployment insurance benefits? All that you received in 2011 is taxed as income. Unless you requested that federal taxes be withheld, you could be in for a big surprise when you calculate taxes owed.

"People tend to believe unemployment benefits are still not taxable," said Bob Meighan, a vice president at TurboTax. That was the case in 2009, for the first $2,400 in unemployment benefits. But that provision was not renewed by Congress.

If it's any consolation, you may find yourself in a lower tax bracket because of reduced income, even counting the unemployment benefits. And you might also be eligible for tax breaks that you didn't qualify for before.

"If you have major household changes, say you lost your job in 2011, we encourage people to take a close look at things like the earned income credit," Internal Revenue Service spokesman Terry Lemons said.

He said people should go ahead and file their taxes even if they don't have the money to pay any taxes that are due. "There are more options there than many people realize," he said, including installment agreements.

The aftermath of the Great Recession, which gripped the nation from 2007 to 2009, is still being felt across America. Employers still worried about the state of the economy are hesitant to bring on new workers. And many of the more than 13 million unemployed people have stopped looking for jobs.

For those who spent part or all of 2011 searching for work, there are tax breaks.

"All of those job search expenses are deductible — the stationery, the long-distance phone calls, the hotels, anything you can relate to the job search," said Jeff Schnepper, author of "How to Pay Zero Taxes" (McGraw-Hill, 2011).

To qualify for this deduction, you have to be looking for a job in the same field or profession as your previous one. Expenses incurred trying to get your first job are not deductible. "Until you start working, you don't have a profession," Schnepper said.

You also have to itemize. And the cost of preparing your resume, working with job search services, mileage and other job search expenses has to exceed 2 percent of your adjusted gross income if you are to benefit, according to Greg Rosica, tax partner with Ernst & Young.

Make sure you save your receipts. "You have to be able to substantiate," he said.

Those out of work may find the jobs have dried up in their cities or towns. "Many people are picking up and moving to where the jobs are," Meighan said.

If you land a job across town or across the country, you might be eligible to take a deduction for moving expenses. "It's an above-the-line deduction, dollar for dollar a reduction in your income," Schnepper said. In this case, unlike job-search expenses, you don't have to itemize to take advantage of the deduction.

To qualify, there's a distance test that has to be met: Your new job has to be at least 50 miles farther from your old house than your former job was.

Also unlike the job-search deduction, you can deduct moving expenses even if this is your first job, provided your workplace is at least 50 miles from your former home. Same if you're returning to work after being unemployed, the IRS says.

And there's a requirement that you work at least 39 weeks in the new location over the first 12 months in the new area. You can take the deduction even if you started your job late in the year and won't meet the time test in 2011. But if you fail to meet it in 2012, you'll either have to file an amended return or report the deduction as income when you do your 2012 taxes.

What's deductible?

The IRS says expenses that are "reasonable for the circumstances of your move." That includes the cost of moving yourself and members of your household, as well as your household goods and personal effects. Shipping a car or the family pet is covered.

If you drove to your new home during the first half of 2011, the mileage rate is 19 cents per mile. The rate for July through December is 23.5 cents a mile. Or, the IRS gives you the option of deducting the actual cost of gas and oil for the car. But if the car broke down on the move, you cannot deduct the cost of the repair.

The cost of lodging on the way to your new home is deductible, but not the meals you eat on the road.

These days, "moving can be hard to do," especially if you can't sell your house in the depressed housing market, said Mark Steber, chief tax officer for Jackson Hewitt Tax Services. If you decide to commute to the new job instead of relocating, those commuting expenses are not deductible.

To claim the moving expense deduction, file Form 3903 with your tax. IRS publication 521 provides more information.

If you went back to school to train for a new job, you may qualify for the American Opportunity Credit, which is partially refundable, or another education tax break.

Looking ahead to 2012, if you're still on unemployment you can use Form W-4V to voluntarily request that a flat 10 percent tax be withheld.

"Withholding on these payments is voluntary," the IRS said. "However, choosing this option may help avoid a surprise year-end tax bill or a possible penalty for having paid too little tax during the year."

The European Union formally adopted an oil embargo against Iran on Monday and froze the assets of Iran's central bank, part of sanctions to pressure Tehran into resuming talks on its controversial nuclear program.

The Associated PressEU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton speak with journalists prior to a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the EU Council building in Brussels on Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. EU foreign ministers are expected on Monday to agree to new economic sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.

BRUSSELS — The European Union formally adopted an oil embargo against Iran on Monday and froze the assets of Iran's central bank, part of sanctions to pressure Tehran into resuming talks on its controversial nuclear program.

Diplomats said the measures, approved in Brussels by the EU's 27 foreign ministers, include an immediate embargo on new contracts for crude oil and petroleum products. Existing contracts with Iran will be allowed to run until July.

Some 80 percent of Iran's oil revenue comes from exports and any measures or sanctions taken that affect its ability to export oil could hit hard at its economy. With about 4 million barrels per day, Iran is the second largest producer in OPEC.

Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, but the United States and other nations suspect it is trying to build nuclear weapons. Iran is now under several rounds of U.N. sanctions for not being more forthcoming about its nuclear program.

Two Iranian lawmakers, meanwhile, stepped up threats that their country would shutter the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's crude flows, in retaliation for the EU oil sanctions on Tehran.

Lawmaker Mohammad Ismail Kowsari, deputy head of Iran's influential committee on national security, said Monday the strait "would definitely be closed if the sale of Iranian oil is violated in any way."

Tensions over the strait and the potential impact its closure would have on global oil supplies and the price of crude have weighed heavily on consumers and traders. Both the U.S. and Britain have warned Iran not to disrupt the world's oil supply.

Many analysts doubt that Iran could set up a blockade for long, but any supply shortages would cause world oil supplies to tighten temporarily.

For its part, the United States has enacted, but not yet put into force, sanctions targeting Iran's central bank and, by extension, the country's ability to be paid for its oil.

After news of the EU move, benchmark crude for March delivery rose 90 cents higher on the day at $99.23 a barrel in early morning European time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude was down 35 cents at $109.51 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange in London.

EU diplomats are calling the measure part of a twin track approach toward Iran: increase sanctions to discourage what they suspect is Iran pursuit of nuclear weapons but to emphasize at the same time the international community's willingness to talk.

Iran says its nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes, but EU foreign ministers are not convinced.

"The recent start of operations of enrichment of uranium to a level of up to 20 percent in the deeply buried underground facility in Fordow near Qom further aggravates concerns about the possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program," they said in a statement.

That accelerated enrichment is in violation of six U.N. Security Council resolutions and 11 resolutions by the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency, "and contributes to rising tensions in the region," the statement said.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague called the embargo part of "an unprecedented set of sanctions."

"I think this shows the resolve of the European Union on this issue," Hague said.

The EU also agreed to freeze the assets of the Iranian central bank. Together, the two measures are intended not only to pressure Iran to agree to talks but also to choke of funding for its nuclear activities.

In October, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton sent a letter to Saeed Jalili, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, saying her goal was a negotiated solution that "restores international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program."

She says she has not yet received a reply.

Ahead of Monday's decision, negotiators worked hard to try to ensure that the embargo would punish only Iran — and not EU member Greece, which is in dire financial trouble and relies heavily on low-priced Iranian oil.

The foreign ministers agreed to a review of the effects of the sanctions, to be completed by May 1. And they agreed in principle to make up the costs that Greece incurs as a result of the embargo.

"It is important to know what will happen to individual countries as a consequence of the sanctions," Ashton said before the meeting.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran, an exile group opposed to Iran's clerical regime, welcomed the new sanctions and called for their implementation without delay.

"For over two decades, the Iranian Resistance has called for comprehensive oil and financial sanctions against the religious and terrorist dictatorship ruling Iran," Maryam Rajavi, the organization's president-elect said in a statement.

He said "the five-month delay in putting these sanctions in full force provides a significant amount of time for this regime to implement its ominous plots."

The council, founded in 1981, is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, but not by the European Union.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said it was critical that action be taken.

"This is not a question of security in the region," he said. "It is a question of security in the world."

Start the week informed with Business Monday from The Republican.

Michael S. Gordon / The RepublicanJanuary 11, 2012 - Springfield - Staff photo by Michael S. Gordon - Chesterfield based artist James Kitchen with one of his metal scultures called Linear and Out the Other Wednesday in one of the public spaces inside 1550 Main St. Serveral of Kitchen's thoughful and whimsical pieces, made of found metal products, some very old, are on display in the building. In the coming months Kitchen's work will be displayed in and outside of other downtown buildings.

Start the week informed with Business Monday from The Republican:

Sculpting Springfield's future: art as a way to bring people to downtown
Chesterfield-based artist James Kitchen has more than 20 sculptures displayed at 1550 Main St., where the Internal Revenue Service is located, and his pieces will remain there for the better part of 2012. Read more >>

Editorial: Tax breaks for Hollywood movies filmed in Massachusetts a luxury the state cannot afford
The Boston Business Journal's editorial board argues that with all of Massachusetts' fixed costs, the state doesn't have room to support film tax credits when "taxpayers get a very poor return for subsidizing Hollywood." Read more >>

Use of recycled building materials in 'eco-friendly' construction is expected to grow in Pioneer Valley
Using recycled building materials isn't just for environmentalists anymore. Eco-friendly projects are now popular in the building and construction sector. Read more >>

Girls Inc. of Holyoke and Lego team up to inspire young girls with mentoring program
Earlier in January, female Lego employees mentored girls, showing them what it is like to work for Lego before the girls grouped up to discuss what they learned. Read more >>

More Business Monday:

• Voices of the Valley: Trinda Agostinho, Alterations Unlimited West, West Springfield
• Commentary:Changing times mean the days of 'easy money' for asset managers are nearing end
• R.R. Donnelley to close Windsor site in March, 117 to lose jobs
• Smaller banks worry Dodd-Frank rules and regulations will put them out of business
• Plans underway to renovate former Circa restaurant on Center Street in Northampton

Notebooks:

• Business etc: United Bank donates to United Way, Aucella wins award for logo, Baystate retains Level 1 status, and more
• Business bits: Constant Contact acquires CardStar, Cancer Genetics pays $1 million in fraud case, and more

The Boston-based Catholic school is reviewing its legal options, according to a spokesman. Critics of the ruling say it will endanger people's lives.

AP file photoInterviews conducted with former Irish Republican Army members for a Boston College oral history project could prove damning for Gerry Adams, the president of Sinn Fein, Northern Ireland's second-largest political party.

BOSTON – Boston College says it will consider its legal options following a federal order to hand over more recorded interviews with former members of the Irish Republican Army, the mostly Catholic guerrilla group that waged war on British targets in England and Ireland for more than a quarter century.

Judge William Young, in a five-page ruling Friday, ordered Boston College to turn over transcripts and recordings to U.S. prosecutors, who had subpoenaed the material on behalf of British investigators probing the 1972 killing of Jean McConville.

Allegations have emerged that Gerry Adams, an internationally known figure in the Irish peace process, commanded the IRA unit responsible for ordering McConville's execution and secret burial.

The controversial material is part of an oral history project conducted by Boston College, and its release could prove damning for Adams, who in recent years has distanced himself from the IRA. Despite being incarcerated for Irish nationalist causes, Adams, the president of Sinn Féin (Irish for "Ourselves Alone"), the second-largest political party in Northern Ireland, has repeatedly denied ever being a member of the proscribed organization.

Critics of Young's ruling believe relinquishing the archived material could implicate and harm former IRA members, some of whom are now elected officials in Northern Ireland. Boston College has expressed disappointment with the judge's ruling.

"We are disappointed with (Young's) ruling in light of the effect it will have on the enterprise of oral history," Jack Dunn, a spokesman for the college, said in an email Sunday to the Boston Globe. "We will take the time allotted us to review our legal options, which include the right to appeal this decision."

Two of the 26 people interviewed as part of the history project are believed to implicate Adams in the killing of McConville, a Catholic widow, mother of 10 and suspected informant. She was abducted from her home and shot in the back of the head, according to the Times of London.

Those opposed to the court order include a former IRA member and an Irish journalist, both of whom say turning over the material could trigger attacks against IRA veterans and undermine Northern Ireland's peace.

Boston College had promised interview subjects anonymity until they died. Friday's ruling follows previous court orders to turn over other materials from the oral history project.

Material from the Associated Press, Boston Globe, Huffington Post, New York Times and Times of London was used in this report.

A Sunderland man charged with sexually assaulting a girl more than 20 years ago has been declared competent to stand trial.

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. — A Sunderland man charged with sexually assaulting a girl more than 20 years ago has been declared competent to stand trial.

Jose Calderon has been held at the Hampshire County House of Correction in lieu of $2,500 cash bail since his arrest in October.

The 48-year-old Calderon appeared in Hampshire Superior Court on Friday and his lawyer said his client has been declared competent.

Calderon pleaded innocent Oct. 4 in Hampshire Superior Court

The Daily Hampshire Gazette reports that the alleged victim who is now in her 30s, told police that Calderon used to pick her up at ballet class when she was a young teen and assault her in a wooded area before driving her home.

Calderon was dating her mother.

A tractor trailer crash on the Mass. Pike causes four-mile traffic jam on eastbound lane in Warren.

File photo

WARREN - A tractor trailer collided with a sports utility vehicle on the Massachusetts Turnpike this morning causing a four-mile traffic jam on the eastbound lane between Exits 8 and 9, said Charlton State Trooper Darren Specht.

State police responded to the crash at 5:25 a.m. after the driver of a tractor trailer rear-ended an SUV, he said.

Specht said police believe the driver of the truck may have fallen asleep. He was taken to Wing Memorial Hospital where he was being treated for minor injuries. The driver of the SUV was unharmed, police said.

After the crash the truck hit the guardrail and fell down the embankment, Specht said. Crews are still cleaning up the accident site.

The largest teachers' union in Massachusetts has filed a lawsuit in an effort to bar a ballot question that if approved in November could change the way teachers are evaluated.

BOSTON — The largest teachers' union in Massachusetts has filed a lawsuit in an effort to bar a ballot question that if approved in November could change the way teachers are evaluated.

The Massachusetts Teachers Association complaint filed Monday with the Supreme Judicial Court is in violation of the state constitution because it contains too many unrelated components and is confusing, affects the powers of the courts by restricting their ability to review arbitration cases, and is incomplete in its explanation. The union also says the question does not improve education as its supporters contend.

The ballot question if passed would use performance rather than seniority when determining teacher layoffs.

Stand for Children, the group that proposed the question, stands behind it. The attorney general's office says the question was properly certified.

AAA Southern New England reports Monday that self-serve, regular has risen two cents in the past week to an average of $3.42 per gallon.

The Associated PressIn a Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011 photo, Jordan Harrison fills his vehicle with gas at Smitty's One Stop in High Point. He was unaware of the four cent state gas tax increase taking effect on Jan 1. Revenue Secretary David Hoyle said last month the state motor fuels tax would grow by 3.9 cents per gallon to 38.9 cents starting Sunday.

BOSTON — Massachusetts residents are paying more at the pump for the fifth consecutive week.

AAA Southern New England reports Monday that self-serve, regular has risen two cents in the past week to an average of $3.42 per gallon.

That's 18 cents more than a month ago and four cents above the national average. The current price is also 32 cents more than at the same time a year ago.

AAA found self-serve, regular as low as $3.33 and as high as $3.89 per gallon.

Brown called the agreement a "great victory for the people of Massachusetts."

Associated PressU.S. Sen. Scott Brown, left, and Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren have signed a pledge to curb political attack ads by outside groups.

BOSTON – U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and his chief Democratic rival Elizabeth Warren have signed a pledge to curb political attack ads by outside groups.

Warren on Monday sent a letter to Republican incumbent Brown urging him join her and sign an agreement to prevent third-party ads. Brown signed the pledge minutes later.

Top level staffers for both candidates failed to reach a deal during a meeting last week.

Warren in her letter said "we don't want outsiders running this election" and said her agreement sews up loopholes in a proposal Brown made last week.

Brown suggested that each candidate donate half the cost of any third-party ad to charity if that ad either supports their candidacy or attacks their opponent.

He called the agreement a "great victory for the people of Massachusetts."

The mayor said issues related to traffic and a possible fast-food restaurant at the site can be resolved.

Republican file photoA restaurant drive-up window like this one would be unattractive to some neighbors of a Big Y mini-plaza planned for Homeastead Avenue and Lower Westfield Road.

HOLYOKE – A public hearing will resume Tuesday on a plan for a $16 million mini-plaza anchored by a Big Y supermarket at Homestead Avenue and Lower Westfield Road.

The Planning Board hearing is at 6:30 p.m. at Lt. Elmer J. McMahon School, 75 Kane Road.

Mayor Alex B. Morse said Friday concerns raised when the public hearing began Jan. 10 will be resolved because the project is important to the city.

“We can’t afford for this not to happen. This needs to happen,” Morse said.

Residents said the main issues were that the project would clog traffic at an already busy intersection – the site is down the road from the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside – and that the possible inclusion of a fast-food eatery with drive-through service would decrease quality of life.

The city Office of Planning and Development will work to ensure a traffic problem is avoided, Morse said.

As for the fast food restaurant, he said, an official with O’Connell Development Group, which owns the site, has said such an establishment is a possibility. The city can urge that another kind of restaurant such as Panera Bread instead be included, he said.

The project would have 110,000 square feet of retail on the 29.5-acre site.

Besides the Big Y and a restaurant, other tenants could include a bank with drive-up windows and a few other stores, said Andrew J. Crystal, vice president of O’Connell Development Group, which owns the site.

The project would yield more than 250 jobs, in addition to 120 to 130 construction jobs, officials said.

The site is the former Atlas Copco compressor factory, which closed in 2005.

The National Weather Service in Taunton has issued a freezing-rain advisory for parts of the Pioneer Valley on Monday evening due to a combination of drizzling rain and temperatures in the low 30s.

Associated PressIcicles hang on a roof in Lofer, Austrian province of Salzburg, Monday Dez. 20, 2010.

The National Weather Service in Taunton has issued a freezing-rain advisory for parts of the Pioneer Valley on Monday evening due to a combination of drizzling rain and temperatures in the low 30s.

The advisory is in place for eastern Hampshire and Hampden counties and all of Franklin County through 7 p.m.

The light rainfall with temperatures hovering around 32 degrees could lead to slippery sidewalks and road surfaces, especially on elevated highways and bridges.

People are encouraged to use caution while driving.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell nearly 12 points to close at 12,708.

Photo by Virginia Mayo / Associated PressGreek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos, left, speaks with Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker during a meeting of European Union finance ministers in Brussels on Monday.

By MATTHEW CRAFT

NEW YORK – The S&P 500 index eked out a tiny gain Monday while traders kept an eye on talks in Europe to cut Greece’s crushing debt load and prevent a global financial crisis. Other indexes ended slightly lower.

The S&P added 0.62 of a point to close at 1,316 on Monday. The broad market measure has now closed higher on 12 of 14 days this year.

European stocks and the euro rose after the continent’s finance ministers put pressure on banks that hold Greek government bonds to accept new ones that are worth half as much and carry a lower interest rate.

The Greek stock market gained 5 percent, and indexes in Germany, France, Spain and Britain all advanced less than 1 percent. The euro rose more than a penny to $1.302, close to its highest level against the dollar this year.

Negotiators are trying to prevent a disorderly default by Greece in March. The worst-case scenarios include a credit crisis similar to what happened after the Lehman Brothers investment bank fell in 2008.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 11.66 points to 12,708.82. That’s a loss of 0.1 percent.

The Nasdaq composite index fell 2.53 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,784.17.

Stocks are still off to a strong start in 2012. Investors’ biggest fears have slowly faded. Stronger than expected job growth in the U.S. and falling borrowing costs for European governments have helped send the S&P 500 index up 4.6 percent for the year.

Maybe the biggest boon to markets this year is the lack of scary headlines, said Jeff Lancaster, a principal at the investment firm Bingham, Osborn & Scarborough.

“When everybody is feeling distressed, anxious and worried as they were at the end of last year, it doesn’t take a lot of good news for the mood to change,” he said. “It just takes a diminishing quantity of bad news.”

Many energy stocks jumped along with prices for natural gas and crude oil. Chesapeake Energy Corp., the No. 2 producer of natural gas in the United States, gained 6 percent after it said it plans to cut production, a response to the recent slump in natural gas prices.

Natural gas futures rose 7.9 percent to $2.60 per 1,000 cubic feet. Gas futures were trading above $4 just six months ago.

Stocks of other gas producers shot higher. Southwestern Energy Co. jumped 10 percent, the biggest gain in the S&P 500. Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. was close behind, rising 6.5 percent.

Apache Corp., a producer of oil and gas, rose 1.6 percent after saying said it plans to buy Cordillera Energy Partners in a $2.85 billion deal. It’s the largest merger announced in the U.S. this year.

The price of oil rose 1.3 percent to $99.58 per barrel. The European Union tightened sanctions against Iran by banning the purchase of Iranian oil. Iran threatened to block shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the passageway for one-sixth of the world’s oil exports.

Research In Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry, sank 8.5 percent after its new chief executive said no drastic changes are needed. The company’s founders announced they were stepping down as co-CEOs late Sunday.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare says 85 dolphins have stranded the Cape since the middle of the month, including 30 in one day.

WELLFLEET – Two more dolphins have died as the animals continue to strand themselves on Cape Cod.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare said the dolphins stranded in Brewster Monday. One died shortly after rescuers found it. The other was initially guided out to sea, but stranded again in Orleans and died just as workers were starting to move it to a rescue trailer for care.

The group says 85 dolphins have stranded the Cape since the middle of the month, including 30 in one day on Jan. 14.

Fifty of the dolphins were dead when they were found and 11 died later. An IFAW spokesman said 24 were able to be released back into the open ocean, though three of those have since died.

The building includes a 1,500-seat auditorium on the top floor with stage, balcony, pipe organ and theater lighting.

Republican file photo | Mark M. MurrayExterior of the former Masonic temple at 339 State St. in Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD – The ornate former Masonic Temple at 331-339 State St. will be sold at foreclosure auction Thursday afternoon, according to auctioneers Aaron Posnik & Co.

The 77,600-square-foot , three-story building includes a 1,500-seat auditorium on the top floor with stage, balcony, pipe organ and theater lighting , a commercial kitchen and dining room with seating for 800, two chapels, a robing room once used by lodge members and an art gallery.

The sale is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday, at the Temple.

Built in 1924, it is on the National Register of Historic Places. It takes more than 1,000 gallons of heating oil a week to keep it heated.

The Archdiocese of New England of the International Communion of the Holy Christian Orthodox Church bought the building in 2007 for $1.7 million and has spent another $500,000 in improvements and referred to it as the Basilica of the holy Apostles.

The Archdiocese narrowly saved the building from foreclosure back in 2009.

The library at 335 Maple St. is undergoing a $14.5 million reconstruction.

File photo | The RepublicanHolyoke City Hall.

HOLYOKE – The Holyoke Public Library on Monday opened to the public in its temporary headquarters at City Hall.

“We are officially open,” Library Director Maria G. Pagan said.

Access to the makeshift library – in the upstairs auditorium at City Hall at High and Dwight streets – had been delayed this month because of a heating problem and extra time needed to install bookshelves, computers and phones.

The 110-year-old library building at 335 Maple St. is getting a $14.5 million reconstruction, forcing library services into the provisional space.

The renovated library is scheduled to reopen in 2013.

The library hours at City Hall are Monday to Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Auditorium space allows for ready availability of only about a third of the library’s books, DVDs, CDs and other materials. Everything else is still accessible, Pagan said, but might require a request be made of a staff member who will have to find it in storage.

An open house at the temporary library is scheduled for Jan. 30 from 9 to 11 a.m., she said.

Patron use of the library was steady Monday, Pagan said. In fact, she said, library users have been showing up at City Hall for the past few weeks and staffers have tried to help them.

Renovations at 335 Maple St. will include an addition built onto the rear of the building, adding 15,000 square feet to the existing 25,000 square feet, as well as the addressing of water and mold damage.

In his annual State of the State speech, Patrick thanked state legislators for making some "politically tough" decisions to improve the way state government operates.

Photo by Steven Senne / Associated PressMassachusetts Gov. Deval L. Patrick delivers his State of the State address in the House Chamber at Statehouse in Boston Monday night. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

BOSTON - Massachusetts Gov. Deval L. Patrick called for new laws Monday night to reduce crime and prison overcrowding, overhaul health care and boost job training.

In an annual State of the State speech, Patrick thanked state legislators for some "politically tough" decisions, including closing a massive state budget gap, but he said now is the time to step up and approve further changes.

"Things are better in Massachusetts than in most other places," Patrick said. "But that doesn't mean they are good enough. We have hard choices yet to make."

Patrick , elected in 2006 as the state's first Democratic governor in 16 years and re-elected in 2010, said he will ask the Legislature and people to help move "an ambitious agenda" this year on Beacon Hill

"We need action promptly on helping people get back to work, lowering health care costs and making neighborhoods safer," said Patrick.

Patrick, former general counsel for Texaco and Coca-Cola, said that if people work together and put aside "sound-bite politics and insider games," they can overcome any challenge.

Patrick referred to the way people in Western Massachusetts pulled together following the June 1 tornadoes.

Click here to read the text of Gov. Patrick's speech.

"The people of Westfield and Monson, of Brimfield and West Springfield, the people of Massachusetts, opened their homes and their hearts," Patrick said. "They cried together and they prayed together and they went to work together rebuilding their community."

With his wife, Diane B., daughter Katherine, sister Rhonda Sigh and her family looking on from the gallery, Patrick delivered the estimated 30-minute speech to a crowded chamber of the state House of Representatives.

Legislators, administration officials, and others often interrupted Patrick 's speech with applause.

Emma M. Henderson, 12, a student at the John F. Kennedy Middle School in Northampton, helped open the event by singing the national anthem. The state Department of Veterans Services recommended Henderson, whose grandfather is a veteran of the Korean War and uncle is a Navy veteran. Henderson came to the Statehouse with her parents, Gail and Michael Henderson of Southampton.

Saying the state must be smarter about ensuring public safety, Patrick said he would support bills to end mandatory minimum sentencing for drug offenses that do not involve guns or children and to toughen the state's habitual offender law.

"For the good of the Commonwealth, send me a bill with the right reforms to both our habitual offender law and our mandatory minimum sentencing laws for nonviolent drug offenders," Patrick said. "I will not accept one without the other."

Patrick said he was seeking a bill that would lengthen the time before a third-time violent felon would become eligible for parole and would impose a mandatory sentence of life with no possibility of parole for anyone whose third felon is murder or a similar terrible act of violence.

Patrick said non-violent drug offenders should be eligible for parole sooner. He said they should receive supervised release after serving half their sentence, something that he said would allow the state to release about 500 non-violent offenders in the next year and save millions of dollars in prison costs each year.

The governor also asked legislators to put a priority on health care reform.

"Before you take up next year's budget, pass health care cost containment," Patrick said. "This is another hard decision. But for the good of the Commonwealth, let's do it and do it now."

In order to lower health care costs, Patrick submitted legislation 11 months ago that seeks to move the state away from the current system of allowing providers to charge a fee for every service. Instead, Patrick wants to establish a monthly budget for each person.

He also wants to require hospitals, doctors and other providers to better coordinate in providing an individual's care. Patrick has said both changes together could lower costs over time.

In education, Patrick called for unifying the state's 15 community colleges under a statewide governing board. Patrick said this would better connect job training with the needs of employers, vocational-technical schools and workforce investment boards in the regions where they are located.

"We can't do that if 15 different campuses have 15 different strategies," he said.

In a unified system of community colleges, courses would be specifically tailored to meet local employment needs, along with a core curriculum that could be easily transferred to a four-year college or another community college, Patrick said. Students could earn a "certificate of workplace readiness" that would allow them to get a job in a chosen field, Patrick said.

Local legislators who watched the speech generally gave Patrick high marks.

Rep. Donald F. Humason, a Westfield Republican, said he needs to know further details, but he likes what Patrick said about unifying community colleges.

"The Legislature needs to look at what he says," Humason said. "I don't see any real reason why we would oppose that."

Rep. Nicholas A. Boldyga, a Southwick Republican, said he was looking forward to working on a bill to cut costs of health care. Boldyga said the state House of Representatives would come up with its own bill.

"Let's work together to make sure it is done right for the Commonwealth," Boldyga said.

Rep. Angelo J. Puppolo Jr., a Springfield Democrat, commended Patrick for spelling out some of the successes in recent years including making the hard choices to balance the state's $30 billion budget.

Puppolo said Patrick's plan for community colleges is an interesting concept. "I think it needs to be looked at, but I'm not convinced we need to go down that route," Puppolo said.

The next primary is set for Jan. 31 in Florida, a state particularly hard hit by the housing crisis of 2008, and one where Gingrich's connections with Freddie Mac may carry a stigma.

AP photoNewt Gingrich

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Under pressure, Newt Gingrich arranged the release of a contract Monday night showing the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. paid his consulting firm a $25,000 monthly retainer fee in 2006, for a total of $300,000.

The agreement calls for "consulting and related services" but makes no mention of lobbying.

Gingrich has likened his work for the federally-backed mortgage giant known as Freddie Mac to that of a historian. Campaign rival Mitt Romney says he was lobbying.

The work the former House speaker did for Freddie Mac was disclosed long ago, but controversy has flared in the 48 hours since he trounced Romney in the South Carolina Republican presidential primary.

The next primary is set for Jan. 31 in Florida, a state particularly hard hit by the housing crisis of 2008, and one where Gingrich's connections with Freddie Mac may carry a stigma.

The material was released by the Center for Health Transformation, which Gingrich helped create, and has since sold.

Its disclosure came about two hours before a campaign debate in Tampa, and the timing suggested Gingrich was hoping to blunt any attack Romney might make at the event.

Newt Gingrich's Freddie Mac Agreement