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MCAS tests should be postponed this year because of tornado, October snowstorm, Springfield officials say

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The tests are scheduled during March and April, but local officials including the Springfield Education Association are lobbying for a delay until April and May.

This is an updated version of a story posted at 12:28 this afernoon.


SPRINGFIELD – The City Council and local legislators are considering ways to postpone the MCAS exams this year in Springfield, saying students need more time to prepare because of disruptions including a June tornado and late October snowstorm.

On Monday, the council will consider approving a home rule bill aimed at delaying the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment Systems tests.

Sean Curran 2011.jpgSean F. Curran

The tests are now scheduled during March and April, but local officials including the Springfield Education Association are lobbying for a delay until April and May.

The home rule bill will need approval from the council, mayor, state Legislature and Gov. Deval L. Patrick.

State legislators attending a meeting Friday at City Hall with Councilor Kateri B. Walsh said they are ready to lobby for the bill’s passage, as well as other lobbying efforts including seeking a meeting with Patrick.

“The paramount question is what is in the best interest of the children and the students in Springfield,” said state Sen. James T. Welch, D-West Springfield, among those attending the meeting. “This is a very unique situation.”

He and other legislators said the children, their families, teachers and administrators went through traumatic times, disruptive at home and academically, as a result of a series of severe storms in the past year. Dating back to June, school has been canceled a total of 10 days due to the tornado, a hurricane threat, and the freak pre-Halloween snowstorm.

In addition, there is much pressure on the school system with Springfield having 10 underperforming (Level 4) schools, officials said.

State Rep. Sean F. Curran, D-Springfield, said he is ready to fight for the bill as well as lobby the governor and others for the postponement of the MCAS tests in Springfield. The children in Springfield do not have a “level playing field” with students in Eastern Massachusetts, given what they have gone through, he said.

Mitchell D. Chester, the state commissioner of elementary and secondary education, however, has warned the city that such a delay in not permitted.

Passage of the proposed bill would mean that Springfield “would fail to administer the 2012 ELA (English Language Arts) MCAS tests to its students,” Chester said in a letter to Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, dated Wednesday. Multiple drawbacks would include that students in Grade 10 would “lose a critical opportunity” to pass the test needed for graduation, Chester said.

The education department could provide only a very limited extension for Springfield students, he said.

Others attending the City Hall meeting included representatives of the Springfield Education Association and Massachusetts Teachers Association, state Rep. Michael J. Finn, and legislative aides to Rep. Benjamin Swan and Brian Ashe. All said they will do whatever is feasible to pursue the delay the MCAS exams.

Curran, however, said there would likely be a long and difficult process in gaining passage through various legislative committees.


Springfield Democrats to elect delegates to Massachusetts Democratic Convention

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Registered Democrats in five city wards will elect alternates, too.

ELECTLOGO12.JPG

Registered Democrats in five Springfield wards will conduct caucuses Saturday to elect delegates and alternates to the 2012 Massachusetts Democratic Convention.

The caucuses are: Ward 2, at 11:30 a.m., Raymond Sullivan Safety Complex, 1212 Carew St.; Ward 3, at 10:30 a.m., Gentile Apartments, 85 Williams St.; Ward 5, at 9:30 a.m., at Mill Pond School, 91 Old Acre Road; Ward 7, at 10 a.m., at St. Michael Academy, 153 Eddywood St.; and Ward 8, at 1 p.m., at the Hubbard Park Community Room on Parker Street.

Holyoke police arrest Ethan Emirzian of Chicopee on heroin charge after vehicle crash

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The man was unresponsive until EMTs revived him.

HOLYOKE – A Chicopee man was arrested Friday and charged with driving under the influence of narcotics after the vehicle he was in hit the back of a parked trailer of a truck on Hadley Mills Road, police said.

Ethan Emirzian, 29, also was charged with possession of heroin. He was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield after the 3:30 p.m. accident, Lt. Laurence P. Cournoyer said.

Emirzian was unresponsive in a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee when police arrived, but emergency medical technicians revived him, Cournoyer said.

“When we first arrived, he was unresponsive and wasn’t breathing,” Cournoyer said.

Yesterday's top stories: Driver arrested after cops see him using heroin, Eric Suher takes ownership of Holyoke Country Club and more

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A report of a hostage situation on Leitch Street in Springfield Thursday night, which ultimately proved to be false, led to the discovery of 31 dogs and 2 cats being kept under horrific conditions.

Gallery preview

These were the most read stories on MassLive.com yesterday.

If you missed any of them, click on the links below to read them now:

1) Longmeadow driver arrested on drug charges after Holyoke cops see him using heroin while stopped at Main Street red light [Patrick Johnson]

2) Iron Horse mogul Eric Suher takes ownership of Holyoke Country Club [George Lenker]

3) Springfield police, animal control personnel, remove 31 dogs and 2 cats from Leitch Street home [George Graham]

4) Massachusetts state representative and senator payroll database Feb. 2012: What's your legislator's salary? [Mandy Hofmockel]

5) PM News Links: Video taunts family of missing UMass student Maura Murray, teen shoots self in New Hampshire school and more [Dwight Shepard]

6) Raids in Holyoke by local, state and federal investigators yield 24 arrests, 3,300 bags of heroin [George Graham]

Friends of Westfield Dog Bark gain support in effort to create a park

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The full City Council may be asked to help effort to create a Westfield Dog Park.

WESTFIELD – City Councilors Christopher M. Crean and James R. Adams agree with residents of the Paper Mill Recreation Area neighborhood is not a good place for creation of a dog park.

But, they have offered their assistance to the Friends of Westfield Dog Bark in finding a suitable location for dogs to run and play. And, Crean expects to expand that effort to include others in the form of a special advisory committee.

“It is obvious that Westfield needs a dog park and we will work with that organization to try and find a suitable location,” Adams, an at-large councilor, said following a public hearing on the proposal conducted by the Parks and Recreation Commission.

Crean, who represents the Paper Mill Road neighborhood, questioned whether placement of the dog park at Paper Mill “creates another hazard for the neighborhood. I am not totally convinced we are not putting another hazard there, adding to existing public safety and traffic issues that already exist.”

To that end Crean offered his assistance, along with Adams, to “take a hard look at this issue and work with the commission and friends group to launch a serious search for a better location.”

Crean said the City Council has never been asked for funding for a dog park project but indicated it is something that will receive consideration. He said Friday he will ask the City Council at its Feb. 16 meeting to support the search effort. Joseph Avenue resident Donna Vella cited concerns with “safety for children and parking” if the dog park is created. “I am an animal lover but I am not able to support this as a place for a dog park,” she said.

Paper Mill Recreation Area, located adjacent to Paper Mill Elementary School, serves as the city’s Northside location for Westfield Little League baseball.

Little League President John Wheeler said “baseball is for kids and I understand dogs need to run” but disagreed with mixing both activities.

Friends officers Edward J. Phillips and Marilyn Sandidge said the group proposed the Paper Mill because it is the only current available public place. Other recreational areas and playgrounds are not suitable because of location in a flood plain or other issues, they said.

The Friends group wants to build the fenced-in park, police and maintain it free of charge to the city.

Phillips said there are specific rules for use of the facility by dog owners. He and Sandidge said there will be no charge to users of the facility, indicating financial support will come from fund raising activities and donations.

“Dog owners will be responsible for their dogs when using the park,” Phillips said.

The Park and Recreation Commission is expected to consider allowing the project to proceed at a Feb. 27 meeting.

Elizabeth Warren draws criticism from Democratic contenders for missing public forums

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Consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren drew fire from the other Democratic Senate hopefuls this week after missing another public forum.

Democratic Senate Candidates Warren King DeFrancoView full sizeDemocratic U.S. Senate candidates Marisa DeFranco, Elizabeth Warren and James Coyne King. (AP file photos)

Is it disrespectful to the Democratic process and the voters when a candidate misses a number of public forums?

Marisa DeFranco, one of the three Democratic challengers in Massachusetts looking to gain the party nomination and fight to unseat Republican U.S. Sen Scott Brown in the general election, thinks so.

After consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren missed such an event in Boston this week, DeFranco expressed her frustration about the lack of an opportunity to let the voters hear from herself, Warren and contender James Coyne King, at one time on one stage.

The three remaining Democratic Senate hopefuls have debated twice in media-sponsored events, but at a number of smaller public forums, Warren has been absent.

"I love debating and talking about the issues. It is the best way to engage the voters and a fundamental part of the process," said DeFranco, an immigration lawyer from Middleton. "The fact that she's missed so many of these forums is disrespectful to the process and the voters. There are so few ways in modern politics where voters can get an actual feel for the candidates, and these forums are one way to do it. Voters should be able to see how the candidates respond when they don't have a prepared answer."

King, a Boston lawyer, said that he believes Warren should attend the forums because all three candidates share a common goal.

"We are all here for the same reason- to defeat Scott Brown," King said. "The best way to do that is to have a competitive primary, and these forums are a key component of that process. At the forums, the public asks us about the issues on their minds and we address them directly. Her lack of attendance is not conducive to a competitive process."

Warren's press secretary, Alethea Harney, said that the Harvard Law School professor has attended two debates, but hasn't been able to make the forums mesh with her visits across the commonwealth.

"Elizabeth is working hard all across the state to earn the Democratic nomination by participating in organizing meeting and events, including two Democratic debates, and recruiting thousands of volunteers," Harney said. "She came up the hard way, like a lot of people, and knows you've got to work for what you want - and that's exactly what she's doing."

DeFranco said she finds the potential scheduling conflicts "hard to swallow" since the forums were scheduled several months ahead.

"The voters are hungry for substance. I find it puzzling that I'm a candidate for the U.S. Senate and we are yet to have a discussion about foreign policy," DeFranco said. "As a voter, I want to know where she stands. I'm willing to show up anytime, anywhere to let you know where I stand on the issues."

Harney said that Warren is open to attending future forums if they work with her schedule, but she is now focusing on the Democratic caucuses, where each candidate must land 15 percent of the vote as well as 10,000 signatures to make to make it to the primary election.

John Walsh, chairman of the Democratic Party in the Bay State, didn't share the same criticism of Warren as DeFranco and King.

"All of our Senate candidates are actively engaging the grassroots in smart and effective ways," Walsh said in a statement. "If they weren't, I'd tell them."

Below is one of the two debates the Democratic U.S. Senate candidates in Massachusetts have taken part in.


What is your take on the issue? Should Elizabeth Warren make time for public forums with the other Democratic candidates? Do her appearances across the commonwealth compensate for not debating in public forums?

Chime in below and let us know what you think.

Westfield Mayor Daniel Knapik plans to restore funding for parks and recreation director

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The position has been vacant for four years.

WESTFIELD – Mayor Daniel M. Knapik plans to restore funding for a permanent director of parks and recreation in the city’s Fiscal 2013 budget.

That funding is in response to a recent request by the Parks and Recreation Commission that the position be filled on a permanent basis. The post has been vacant for the past four years, leaving James Blaschek as acting director.

Commission chairman Kenneth Magarian said there is an “important need” to permanent fill the director’s post as well as the position of program coordinator.

“We really need two professional people because there is a lot going on,” said Magarian. He cited the city’s plan to begin construction this spring on phase one of Westfield’s Columbia Greenway Rail Trail project, completion on three new parks in association with the Great River Bridge construction at Depot Square, completion of the Downtown rehabilitation project involving Park Square Green and the need to identify new ball fields for Parks and Recreation Commission programs.

Knapik, who has started review of financial needs for the new fiscal year that begins July 1, said he intends to providing funding for the director’s position and possibly limited funding for either an assistant director of program coordinator post.

“Funding for the secondary position may only be for a partial year,” the mayor said. He did not reveal the salary amounts he is considering.

Parks and Recreation Department, along with Council on Aging and Veterans’ Services, were joined to form the Community Services Department in 2004 in an effort to curb spending.

The department head position has been vacant since April 2008 and Blaschek has been serving as acting parks director since then.

Tina Gorman, who had been acting director of Council on Aging for several years, was named permanent director of the COA late last year, at a salary of $69,100.

Magarian said job descriptions of both parks and recreation positions have been upgraded and forwarded to the mayor for approval.

Ward 2 City Councilor James E. Brown Jr., chairman of the Legislative and Ordinance Committee, said the council will consider the permanent directorship. “We have been expecting the request,” he said.

Obituaries today: Geoffrey Cornish was international golf course designer

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Obituaries from The Republican.

021112_geoffrey_cornish.jpgGeoffrey Cornish

Geoffrey Cornish, 97, of Amherst, passed away on Friday. He was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and formerly lived in West Vancouver, British Columbia. From 1935 to 1940 and 1945 to 1947, he worked with famed Canadian golf course architect Stanley Thompson as construction foreman, superintendent and apprentice architect. From 1940 to 1945, he served in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany with the Canadian Army, attaining the rank of Major. Subsequently, for four years Cornish lectured and conducted research at the University of Massachusetts on golf course design, agronomy, and turfgrass science. In 1953, he began practice as a course architect. Since then, he and his associates have designed over 200 courses, including nine-hole additions in the United States, Canada, Europe and Central America. A past president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, he was also an honorary member of the European Institute of Golf Course Architects.

Obituaries from The Republican:


Holyoke councilors pepper acting personnel director Adam Pudelko and acting solicitor Elizabeth Rodriguez-Ross with questions

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Despite the criticism, Mayor Alex Morse said he was confident the council would approve the appointments.

Adam Pudelko Elizabeth Rodriguez-Ross.jpgAdam Pudelko, left, and Elizabeth Rodriguez-Ross were on the hot seat with city councilors.

HOLYOKE – City councilors questioned the qualifications and work habits of Mayor Alex B. Morse’s choices for personnel director and city solicitor in a committee meeting Thursday.

Morse, who took office Jan. 3, also was criticized by councilors who said he was playing the kind of politics in the appointments that he campaigned against in the fall election.

Morse on Jan. 3 appointed Adam Pudelko, a city staff attorney, as personnel director and Elizabeth Rodriguez-Ross, a private-practice lawyer, as city solicitor. But the decisions are subject to City Council confirmation.

The meeting of the council Public Service Committee was part vetting of candidates, part display of the pain involved when change occurs in government and part interesting seating arrangement.

During the 3½-hour meeting, Morse in sat one row in front of the three former long-time city employees who have lawsuits filed against him because he fired them minutes after taking office.

Morse was confident the council still would vote to approve the selections Feb. 21, he said later.

“I think the City Council will confirm both appointments. I think both demonstrated their qualifications, their compassion for Holyoke and their desire to improve their respective departments,” Morse said.

Some councilors had doubts.

“It’s just the same old way of doing business, new face in the chair – very disappointing to me,” Ward 5 Councilor Linda L. Vacon said.

Pudelko’s yearly salary would be $60,600 and Rodriguez-Ross’ would be $70,000, Morse said.

Pudelko, of Springfield, would replace Jeanette Berrios, of Springfield, whom Morse said he fired because she lacked a bachelor’s degree as the job requires.

Berrios was joined at the meeting by former employees Charles Lavelle and Donna J. Dowdall, as well as Shawn P. Allyn, the lawyer representing all three.

Pudelko graduated from Harvard University in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in biology and Western New England University School of Law in 2009.

Pudelko supervised a staff of more than 300 as managing editor of EssayEdge.com, which helped college and other school applicants with admissions essays, Morse said.

“I see myself doing every single one of the duties listed in the ordinance for that job,” Pudelko said.

Councilors faulted Pudelko for involvement in a Dec. 27 meeting at the headquarters of then-Mayor-elect Morse that led to Berrios’ firing.

Ward 6 Counclor Todd A. McGee said it was troubling that Pudelko might wind up with the job of his predecessor in this way.

“To me, that has serious ethical violations. Things aren’t jelling here for me to vote for you,” McGee said.

Pudelko said he was at the Dec. 27 meeting at the request of Morse, to whom he had applied for the personnel director job shortly after Morse’s Nov. 8 election victory.

Pudelko told McGee he was unable to say what was discussed at the meeting because he is name in Berrios’ Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination complaint.

It is common for a new mayor to appoint his or her own solicitor, an official relied on daily for advice. Rodriguez-Ross said she has been a Holyoker since 1991 and raised her three children here.

“This is my city and I feel like I’m very excited ... to be able to have this position,” Rodriguez-Ross said.

But councilors told Rodriguez-Ross it was unacceptable that she spends Thursdays working on her private practice and hired a college friend for a city staff attorney job without posting the position.

“That is problematic. That to me is disqualifying. I couldn’t vote for any city solicitor that is maintaining a private practice. We want 100 percent devotion to this position exclusive of all others,” council President Kevin A. Jourdain said.

Rodriguez-Ross said she has taken a leave from her private practice but judges refused to release her from six of the cases she was working on.

She also does contract work for the practice on noncity time, she said, but assured councilors she does city solicitor work after hours and on weekends and is always available.

“I’m available at all hours,” Rodriguez-Ross said.

“Four days a week,” Councilor at Large James M. Leahy said.

“I am available anytime,” Rodriguez-Ross said. “I came from a thriving private practice.”

“That might be a hard thing for my constituents to take,” Leahy said. “I have a problem with that.”

Councilors also bristled at learning Rodriguez-Ross had given a city job to college friend Elizabeth White.

“The government has to be open, whether you’re hiring a custodian or an attorney in your office,” Councilor at Large Daniel B. Bresnahan said. “When you have transparency, you can sleep at night.”

Rodriguez-Ross said she reviewed state laws and determined that posting the city attorney job for all possible applicants was unnecessary. Ward 7 Councilor Gordon P. Alexander she should have sought an outside opinion.

“We don’t just hand people jobs,” Jourdain said. “You may think the law allows you. That is not OK, not with me.”

Jourdain also praised Rodriguez-Ross for the prose and thoroughness of her opinions as solicitor.

A few councilors acknowledged the intensity of the questioning.

“You’ve had some tough questions,” Ward 3 Councilor David K. Bartley said to Pudelko. “It’s almost like you’ve been in the witness box.”

“It kind of feels that way,” Pudelko said.

Chairman Peter R. Tallman said that having 13 of the 15 councilors attende the committee meeting showed how important they consider the appointments.

“It was an interesting night,” Tallman said.

U.S. Senate candidate Marisa DeFranco takes on healthcare, immigration and Elizabeth Warren

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DeFranco thinks Sen. Scott Brown talks more about being a moderate than his voting record indicates, and she says Democratic competitor Elizabeth Warren lacks actual ideas.

Marisa DeFrancoView full size01.05.12. MIDDLETON, Mass. - Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Marisa DeFranco, a North Shore federal immigration lawyer, as seen in her Middleton, Mass. campaign office. (Staff photo by Robert Rizzuto)

MIDDLETON — U.S. Senate candidate Marisa DeFranco thinks Sen. Scott Brown talks more about being a moderate than his actual views indicate. She says that her Democratic competitor Elizabeth Warren lacks actual ideas and has been skipping public forums across the commonwealth so voters can't compare candidates.

DeFranco, as she recalls the past 14 years running her own immigration law firm in Middleton, said that her experience working with federal law and negotiating agreements is what makes her the best Democratic candidate to unseat Brown in November.

"If you are really tired of politics as usual, look at my views and give me a chance," DeFranco said. "I've written every word on my website and explained each of my ideas. I'm a better candidate than Elizabeth Warren and Scott Brown because I would go to Washington and use my experiences to fight for the average person rather than just saying so."

DeFranco is up against Warren, a consumer advocate and Harvard Law School professor, and Dover attorney James Coyne King, in an effort to gain her party's nomination to run against Brown, who won his seat in a special election two years ago following the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy.

DeFranco, who grew up in Erie, Pa. descends from grandparents who came to the U.S. from Sicily and Italy. She said her husband's parents came to the U.S. from China. They all shared a determination to create a better life for themselves, DeFranco said, and that is something which motivates her as an immigration lawyer every day.

"A lot of people will say to me that their grandparents came legally, and why can't immigrants do that today?" DeFranco said. "But what they don't realize is that back then there was an open border policy. Now you can only come through an immediate relative or through business. There are asylum cases, but those are much more complicated. It is not easy or cheap to become a U.S. citizen, although the process does have its fair points such as a citizenship option following five years with a green card."

DeFranco said what gets lost in much of the "hysteria" about immigration is that many immigrants today, like previous generations, are looking for a better chance to make it and some are simply looking to survive.

"I've had a number of asylum cases in my career," DeFranco said. "Lawyers don't usually get to say they saved someone's life but I get to say that, and I'm proud of it."

One example of such a case involved a gay, hearing impaired man from Uganda who DeFranco helped become an American citizen. In his native country, same-sex relationships are illegal and pending legislation in Uganda would apply the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality."

The man was eventually granted asylum by the U.S. government following a legal process that spanned more than a year, with DeFranco's assistance.

She said it is the cases like that which make her happy she decided not to become a prosecutor as she initially intended. It is also the fight involved in those cases which make DeFranco believe she is ready to take a role in the U.S. Senate, to fight for the people of Massachusetts.

One example she cited where more of a fight would have been beneficial is the healthcare overhaul and its exclusion of a public option which would have made health insurance companies compete with the federal government.

"The mandate to buy coverage from the health insurance companies, which is a Republican idea, is the crux of the problem," DeFranco said. "I'm glad we did something on the national level but the Democrats really capitulated on the public option and that was a mistake. They started with the public option as their top marker. It's classic negotiation 101, you negotiate high to end up at middle or high ground of where you want to end. They should have started with single-payer and they would have ended up with a public option. Poll after poll showed that 70 percent of people wanted a public option. It's just an option. If the insurance companies are really behind their free market mentality, then operate in a market. And if the government is your competitor and you're so much better than the government, compete."

Also on the topic of healthcare, DeFranco said she believes the system has to change further because she has seen first-hand the effect it can have on those practicing medicine.

"My father was a doctor and my mother was a pediatric surgeon and a nurse. He ran his own practice and I saw the healthcare companies running good doctors out of their business," DeFranco said. "I watched them work really hard and finally come to a point where they couldn't practice the way they wanted to do it."

She said she supports single-payer healthcare, funded through taxes, to pay the doctors.

"Don't fall for the myth that a single-payer system is going to ration care," DeFranco said. "If we had single-payer and people had good care for the first 40 or 50 years of their lives, when they hit 65 we would save so much money with Medicare because they would be healthier. That's how you save money in the long-run."

DeFranco said she also has a plan for putting unemployed Americans back to work. She said it centers on investing $100 billion over two years to create two million green jobs in the short-term. Renewable energy is something the candidate believes could provide benefits to not only the currently unemployed but also future generations.

The long-term plan involves spending $500 billion jobs to create five million jobs over a period of ten years, which could be partially funded by closing corporate tax loopholes which DeFranco says "allows corporations to duck paying their fair share."

"The difference between me and other candidates is that I actually have a plan," DeFranco said. "Like I've said on the campaign trail, we deficit-spent to win World War II and ended up with a stronger economy from it. This is a classic (example) of investing government money to gain a much bigger return on our investment."

DeFranco, like Warren and Brown, is against the Stop Online Piracy Act and its Senate counterpart the Protect Intellectual Property Act. The bills came under heavy criticism recently after individuals and technology companies charged that the legislation was overreaching and would stifle freedom and technological advancements in relation to the Internet in an effort to curtail piracy.

"The open flow of information on the Internet is vital to our democracy and our economy," DeFranco said. "These bills overreach and will stifle free speech and hurt small businesses who depend on the Internet because they do not have the marketing budgets of big firms."

DeFranco is not unsympathetic to the plight of the motion picture and recording industries, she said, but she believes that legislation must be balanced with common sense and consideration of freedom and the free market.

And when she is not fighting legal battles in a federal courtroom, DeFranco said she enjoys watching TV shows like "Modern Family" and reruns of "Seinfeld," "Monk" and "Law and Order."

"I like comedy, drama and anything that has a touch of mystery where you have to figure something out," she said. "But I do have a problem with legal shows that don't depict the process properly. I know it's entertainment but people can get the wrong ideas from those shows."

A few years back, DeFranco and her husband appeared as extras in the pilot episode of The Practice, a predecessor to the award-winning TV show "Boston Legal."

DeFranco, who has a mother, sister and brother who are all musically inclined, said she enjoys listening to a variety of different genres as well as playing the piano. And she makes no apologies for what she plays in her car when she wants to rock out.

"I got some grief on Facebook over liking Journey," DeFranco said. "This guy said he couldn't vote for me over liking Journey. I guess if that's how you're choosing your candidates, good luck."

Stick with MassLive.com for comprehensive coverage of the U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts. .

Road to a Western Massachusetts casino groundbreaking a long one

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Several developers are already joining in the casino sweepstakes in Western Massachusetts.

BOSTON — Casino gambling now is legal in Massachusetts, but it could take about five more years for a casino resort to open its doors in the state.

The chairman of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, which is still being organized and would select developers and regulate casinos, said he is doubtful bids will be sought this year for casino resorts.

Chair Stephen P. Crosby, appointed by Gov. Deval L. Patrick, says his best guess for a timetable is that requests for applications for casino licenses will be issued in nine to 18 months.

After bids are awarded, it could take another two years of construction, meaning a casino resort may not open its doors until 2015 or 2016, according to estimates by a top legislator.

cros.jpgStephen Crosby, chair of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. To his left is Gov. Deval Patrick. The governor appointed Crosby on Dec. 13.

During the year ahead, the commission will get organized, and casino operators will continue to jockey for position and make the case for their proposals.

Several developers are already joining in the casino sweepstakes in Western Massachusetts. Ameristar Casinos, of Las Vegas is proposing a casino for Springfield, the authority that owns the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut is proposing one for Palmer and MGM Resorts International of Las Vegas wants to build one in Brimfield.

“I’m excited,” said Rep. Joseph F. Wagner, a Chicopee Democrat who was a key author of the state’s casino law, after the casino bill was approved. “It’s been a long road.”

Hard Rock International, of Florida, may select a site in a different community in Western Massachusetts, after its initial location in Holyoke ran into opposition from new Mayor Alex B. Morse. Penn National Gaming, of Pennsylvania, has also said it will propose a casino for Western Massachusetts.

The law authorizes three $500 million casino resorts in different geographic zones around the state, including one for anywhere in the four counties of Western Massachusetts. The law also includes a single, $125 million slot facility that could be anywhere in the state.

Wagner, too, predicts construction on a casino resort won’t begin for some time, perhaps in about three years with doors opening in about five.

In an interview in late November, Wagner also said a slot parlor, meanwhile, could be open within a year or 18 months.

Crosby spelled out an extensive process that must first be completed by the gaming commission, which, he said, is not expected to be up and running until mid-March.

The commission plans to hire between 100 and 200 employees, design bids to approve licenses and draft regulations to guide the process, according to Crosby.

In the meantime, cities and towns in Western Massachusetts, notably Palmer and Springfield, are working with casino developers. Municipal leaders in host and surrounding communities need to reach agreements with casino operators as part of the application for a license.

After that, up or down votes on those agreements would be held in host communities.

“Communities that want this and can collaborate with developers and figure out how to get this to serve their local interests, as well as the commonwealth interests – more power to them,” Crosby said. “I think it’s great that communities are working on this already.”

It’s unclear if any local votes on casinos will take place this year because the commission needs to write regulations for the proposed votes. Absent those regulations, Crosby said, developers should think about whether they should proceed to ballot questions.

JFWagner2009.jpgJoseph F. Wagner

“If I were a developer, I’m not sure I would know how to thread that needle just yet,” Crosby said.

The state law, signed on Nov. 22 by the governor, is designed to create jobs, boost local and state government revenues and attract tourism.

State Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, a Barre Democrat and chairman of the Senate Ways & Means Committee, said three casinos and a slot parlor could generate up to $1.8 billion in sales each year.

The casino law mandates 25 percent tax on casino gross revenues and 40 percent tax on the slot parlor. That would raise in the vicinity of $400 million a year in casino tax dollars, Brewer said.

The law carves up that tax money and sends certain percentages to programs such as gambling addiction, local aid, tourism, mitigation of casino effects on services such as transportation and education in host and surrounding communities, reducing debt and local capital projects.

The Palmer casino, for example, would cost about $600 million and would be located on 152 acres off Exit 8 of the Massachusetts Turnpike. It would create about 2,500 to 3,000 permanent jobs to operate the casino and 1,200 to 1,500 construction jobs each year during up to two years of building, according to company officials.

Mitchell G. Etess, chief executive officer of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, said the company has “a huge advantage” because it proposed the Palmer casino four years ago and has had a local storefront office for more than two years.

“We feel very, very good about all the time and effort we’ve put in,” Etess said. “It will certainly pay dividends for us.”

Etess said he understood the state wants to take the time to assure casino gambling is done right in Massachusetts. At the same time, Etess said, “The sooner they get going, the sooner they get jobs and tax revenues.”

In Springfield, Ameristar closed in January on a deal to buy 41 acres at the old Westinghouse site on Page Boulevard in Springfield. The company said it paid $16 million.

Ameristar said the project would create 2,000 construction jobs and 2,800 permanent jobs. Ameristar would buy the land from an affiliate of the O’Connell Development Group Inc., which had anticipated a large-scale retail project on the site.

A lot of factors will determine the winning bid for Western Massachusetts, including a casino’s plans to work with vendors and entertainment facilities and to hire locally including minorities, women and veterans. Operators also need to assure access to the site and they need to reach strong agreements with municipalities that would host casinos.

Troy Stremming, a senior vice president for Ameristar, said it’s important that Springfield land the single gaming license for Western Massachusetts. As a casino host community, Springfield would receive millions of dollars in property taxes and meals taxes, thousands of jobs, plus any benefits included in an agreement with a casino company.

Stremming said his company wants to market all of Springfield, not just a casino in Springfield. “It would be an economic shot to the arm for the city of Springfield,” Stremming said.

MGM announced in January a plan to buy 150 acres in Brimfield close to the Massachusetts Turnpike. The company estimated the development, tentatively named Rolling Hills Resort, would create 3,000 permanent jobs along with several thousand construction-related jobs.

Casino companies likely will need to wait until next year to submit bids.

Crosby said there are two ways to design bids. The commission could approve a set of guidelines and financial standards that he said would make it relatively easy to compare proposals and make objective decisions.

Another possibility, he said, is to write a general request for bids that would give companies some leeway for offering creative ways to boost job creation and other economic benefits of casinos. Companies also need to offer approaches for reducing problems caused by casinos including compulsive gambling and crime.

“Is there some way we can approach this, which will really maximize the public good?” Crosby said. “If at the end of the first year, we can have that conversation going and people were looking at this from that standpoint, that would be a success.”

Farewell ceremony held for 655th Regional Support Group at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee

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There were lots of hugs and some tears at the ceremony on Saturday at Westover Air Reserve Base.

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CHICOPEE – Col. Stephen Falcone told the families and friends gathered on Saturday at Westover Air Reserve Base to see the 655th Regional Support Group off before their deployment to Afghanistan that they never say goodbye in the Army.

“We call this a farewell ceremony for a reason . . . In the Army, we don’t say goodbye. We say godspeed, farewell and see you in a year,” Falcone told the crowd.

He told them the next year will be difficult, as their loved ones will be stationed in Kandahar, Afghanistan, but told them to be strong, and to rely on family, friends and support organizations.

“Stay strong,” he told them. “You’ll get through this.”

“The soldiers need to be focused. That way they’ll be safe,” Falcone said. “You didn’t sign up for this. Your soldiers did. It will be a tough year, but you will get through it.”

The 50 Army reservists are part of the 655th Regional Support Group; they will be an airfield base camp garrison command for United States Forces in Afghanistan. To prepare for the deployment, they were trained on weapons and casualty evacuation.

Col. Ernest Erlandson Jr., the commander of the 655th unit, said they will first go to Fort Hood, Texas, for 45 days of additional training. There, he said, they will learn what it’s like “to run a city.”

At the end of the ceremony, Staff Sgt. Kevin McKanna scooped his 14-month-old son, Calvin, in the air. He and his wife, Esther E. McKanna, are expecting their second child in July. Esther said there is a “slight possibility” he may be allowed to return for the birth, but they are uncertain. They are from Tyringham, in the Berkshires.

“I support him. We always knew it was a possibility,” she said about the deployment. “We’ll leave it in the Lord’s hands.”

Master Sgt. Andrew F. Fierlit, 41, of Hamden, Conn., received a tearful hug from his 5-year-old daughter, Chloe. His wife, Tina; daughters Kaitlin, 15; Victoria, 13; and Sabrina, 10; and family from Connecticut and Rhode Island all attended, and they took plenty of photographs. Kaitlin said they just set up a Facebook page for him so they communicate while he is away. They are hoping they can use Skype, too.

Fierlit, a Bridgeport firefighter, said he is nervous, but excited.

“I look forward to the opportunity to serve my country,” he said.

Staff Sgt. E6 Kein M. Milledge, 27, of Springfield, said this will be his second deployment. He previously served in Iraq.

“I’m not too worried. I know we have a good group. I’m pretty much prepared,” Milledge said.

Milledge said they spent the last month training, and were instructed on how to deal with people from other countries. They were told not to degrade their customs.

Spec. Armando C. Santiago, 19, of Springfield, is the unit’s youngest member. Approximately a dozen family members from New York and Springfield were with him at the ceremony. He said he is ready to go.

“I want to get the experience,” Santiago said. “I’m with a good group of guys. We have a camaraderie, a brotherhood. Even though I’m going to be away from my family, it’s like I’ll be with another family.”

Santiago said he is studying psychology at Holyoke Community College, and will return to his studies when he gets back. His mother, Aileen Tirado, of Springfield, said Santiago is her only son, noting it was his choice to join the reserves. After the ceremony, Santiago said they will go out to eat, probably at Golden Corral.

“We’ll spend some quality family time,” he said.

Before they left, Santiago stood on the stage with his arms outstretched in front of a giant American flag as his family snapped photograph after photograph.

Possible race for selectman shaping up in Monson

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Selectman John Goodrich II is not seeking reelection, creating a vacancy on the three-member board.

hillside school.JPGTown offices, including the town clerk's office, are at the former Hillside School on Thompson Street in Monson.

MONSON - There could be a four-way race for a three-year term on the Board of Selectmen.

Friday was the deadline for residents to take out nomination papers to run for town positions in the April 2 election.

According to the town clerk's office, Charles Cournoyer of 172 Silver St.; former selectman Edward S. Harrison of 7 Beebe Road; Patrick Goodreau of 173 Moulton Hill Road; and Steven J. O'Neill of 90 Main St. all have taken out papers for the position. Only Cournoyer has returned them so far.

Monday is the deadline to return nomination papers, said Town Clerk Nancy C. Morrell.

Selectman John Goodrich II is not seeking reelection, creating a vacancy on the three-member board.

Suspicious fire destroys house in Southwick

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The fire is being investigated by the town’s police and fire departments and the state fire marshal’s office.

030911 Southwick Fire Patch03.09.11 | Photo by Julian Feller-Cohen. The Southwick Fire Department's patch.

SOUTHWICK – Investigators say a fire that broke out Friday night and destroyed a vacant home at 11 Tobacco Road is suspicious.

Trooper Michael S. Mazza, who is attached to the state fire marshal’s office, said the fire was called in Friday night at approximately 10:15 p.m. by at least three neighbors in the thickly settled neighborhood.

When firefighters arrived, there was heavy fire and smoke pouring out of the windows and doors of the home, a raised ranch.

The fire is being investigated by the town’s police and fire departments and the state fire marshal’s office, Mazza said.

He said firefighters were at the scene all night and part of Saturday morning fighting the blaze.

“We are still following up certain leads,” Mazza said.

Mazza said the homeowner, Peter Mason, died in June, and the house has been vacant since then.

There were no injuries, he said.

Monson High School shows its spirit during winter carnival games

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Sticking the principal to the gym wall raised approximately $150 for the Student Council. Watch video

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MONSON – Students raced with flippers on their feet, pushed their friends in shopping carts while blindfolded, dove into whipped cream pies and raced in potato sacks. Teachers broke into a Zumba-inspired flash mob dance - and all while the principal was duct-taped to the gymnasium wall.

It was winter carnival time at Monson High School on Friday, an annual event that pits each class against each other in a series of madcap competitions that also featured a scooter race, three-legged race, beach ball boogie, obstacle course and dramatic three-point basketball shoot-out.

“Let’s go seniors!” was a constant chant.

And go they did- winning a majority of the nine competitions.

“It’s all about school spirit. They get to act like kids and have fun,” said guidance director Robert Bardwell, who later strutted his stuff on the gymnasium floor as part of the flash mob.

The master of ceremonies was physical education teacher Eric T. Degnan, who explained why math teacher Tracie A. Lamson - wearing a T-shirt with “Mama” on the back - was slowly duct-taping Principal Andrew H. Linkenhoker to the wall.

For a dollar a strip, students could pay to stick the 190-pound Linkenhoker to the wall. And the student who spent the most money got the chance to pull the chair out from underneath him, leaving him suspended like a painting.

“This is a fundraiser for the Student Council,” Linkenhoker explained. “We talked about it together.”

Joseph Willis, who had his face painted in school colors of blue and white, won the shopping cart for the seniors. Willis said he looks forward to the winter carnival.

“It gives us a chance to compete against the other classes,” Willis said.

The pie-eating contest featured four students who slid on scooters across the gym floor into a whipped cream pie. They then had to find a piece of bubble gum and blow a bubble - a difficult feat to do since the gum was frozen.

Senior Joseph Shrewsbury was madly chewing and trying in vain to blow a bubble as a bunch of his classmates pounded the gym floor and urged him on. Finally, he blew the bubble, winning the contest. With his face still covered in whipped cream, he and several other seniors ran over to freshman Nick Lloyd, still struggling with his pie, and taunted him. Turns out that’s tradition, according to Shrewsbury.

“It’s a blast,” Shrewsbury said about the winter carnival.

“It was tough,” Lloyd conceded. “The whipped cream got gross after a while. I like pie, but it was all whipped cream.”

During a lull, counselor Dale Conrad asked Linkenhoker how he was doing.

“Just hanging around,” Linkenhoker replied.

The three-point shoot-out added an element of drama as it came down to freshman Kyle Table and senior Jordan Whittemore.

“He’s a freshman!” chanted the underclassmen.

“Let’s go Jordan!” yelled the seniors.

In an upset, Table beat Whittemore by two baskets, 9 to 7, prompting Degnan to declare it “the most impressive three-point shoot-out we’ve ever had” and to announce to the teachers along the sidelines that Table made a name for himself that day.

That was the only competition that the freshmen won, and Table's classmates cheered as he returned to his spot on the bleachers.

But by the end, when it was clear the seniors would win, they were chanting, “It’s all over!”

Alyssa Pacocha, who said her strategy during the flipper race was running like a duck with her legs out, said the winter carnival is “a way to get everyone together” and have fun, too.

The nicknames and sayings that the seniors put on the backs of their T-shirts is one of the amusing parts of the competition. Pacocha had “Katniss,”a nod to the heroine of the “Hunger Games” books and “Aly Baba,” while Whittemore had “Mrs. Gronkowski” and Dennis Vacon had “Mrs. Brady” – referring to Patriots football stars Rob Gronkowski and Tom Brady.

The duct-tape fundraiser raised $153, and freshman Quintin Ostrander was the one who pulled the chair out from underneath the principal.



Whitney Houston, 48, dies of unknown causes

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UPDATE: The singer was was pronounced dead at a Beverly Hilton hotel despite resuscitation efforts.

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UPDATE: CNN is reporting Whitney Houston was found dead Saturday at a Beverly Hills, California, hotel. The entertainer was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. (6:55 p.m. ET) at the Beverly Hilton hotel despite resuscitation efforts. Beverly Hills Police Lt. Mark Rosen said there were "no obvious signs of criminal intent" and that the cause of her death is being investigated.

______________________


LOS ANGELES – Whitney Houston, who reigned as pop music’s queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.

Publicist Kristen Foster said Saturday that the singer had died, but the cause and the location of her death were unknown.

At her peak, Houston the golden girl of the music industry. From the middle 1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world’s best-selling artists. She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful, and peerless vocals that were rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen.

Her success carried her beyond music to movies, where she starred in hits like “The Bodyguard” and “Waiting to Exhale.”

She had the he perfect voice, and the perfect image: a gorgeous singer who had sex appeal but was never overtly sexual, who maintained perfect poise.

She influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey, who when she first came out sounded so much like Houston that many thought it was Houston.

But by the end of her career, Houston became a stunning cautionary tale of the toll of drug use. Her album sales plummeted and the hits stopped coming; her once serene image was shattered by a wild demeanor and bizarre public appearances. She confessed to abusing cocaine, marijuana and pills, and her once pristine voice became raspy and hoarse, unable to hit the high notes as she had during her prime.

“The biggest devil is me. I’m either my best friend or my worst enemy,” Houston told ABC’s Diane Sawyer in an infamous 2002 interview with then-husband Brown by her side.

It was a tragic fall for a superstar who was one of the top-selling artists in pop music history, with more than 55 million records sold in the United States alone.

She seemed to be born into greatness. She was the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston, the cousin of 1960s pop diva Dionne Warwick and the goddaughter of Aretha Franklin.

Houston first started singing in the church as a child. In her teens, she sang backup for Chaka Khan, Jermaine Jackson and others, in addition to modeling. It was around that time when music mogul Clive Davis first heard Houston perform.

“The time that I first saw her singing in her mother’s act in a club ... it was such a stunning impact,” Davis told “Good Morning America.”

“To hear this young girl breathe such fire into this song. I mean, it really sent the proverbial tingles up my spine,” he added.

Before long, the rest of the country would feel it, too. Houston made her album debut in 1985 with “Whitney Houston,” which sold millions and spawned hit after hit. “Saving All My Love for You” brought her her first Grammy, for best female pop vocal. “How Will I Know,” “You Give Good Love” and “The Greatest Love of All” also became hit singles.

Another multiplatinum album, “Whitney,” came out in 1987 and included hits like “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”

The New York Times wrote that Houston “possesses one of her generation’s most powerful gospel-trained voices, but she eschews many of the churchier mannerisms of her forerunners. She uses ornamental gospel phrasing only sparingly, and instead of projecting an earthy, tearful vulnerability, communicates cool self-assurance and strength, building pop ballads to majestic, sustained peaks of intensity.”

Her decision not to follow the more soulful inflections of singers like Franklin drew criticism by some who saw her as playing down her black roots to go pop and reach white audiences. The criticism would become a constant refrain through much of her career. She was even booed during the “Soul Train Awards” in 1989.

“Sometimes it gets down to that, you know?” she told Katie Couric in 1996. “You’re not black enough for them. I don’t know. You’re not R&B enough. You’re very pop. The white audience has taken you away from them.”

Some saw her 1992 marriage to former New Edition member and soul crooner Bobby Brown as an attempt to refute those critics. It seemed to be an odd union; she was seen as pop’s pure princess while he had a bad-boy image, and already had children of his own. (The couple had a daughter, Bobbi Kristina, in 1993.) Over the years, he would be arrested several times, on charges ranging from DUI to failure to pay child support.

But Houston said their true personalities were not as far apart as people may have believed.

“When you love, you love. I mean, do you stop loving somebody because you have different images? You know, Bobby and I basically come from the same place,” she told Rolling Stone in 1993. “You see somebody, and you deal with their image, that’s their image. It’s part of them, it’s not the whole picture. I am not always in a sequined gown. I am nobody’s angel. I can get down and dirty. I can get raunchy.”

It would take several years, however, for the public to see that side of Houston. Her moving 1991 rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” at the Super Bowl, amid the first Gulf War, set a new standard and once again reaffirmed her as America’s sweetheart.

In 1992, she became a star in the acting world with “The Bodyguard.” Despite mixed reviews, the story of a singer (Houston) guarded by a former Secret Service agent (Kevin Costner) was an international success.

It also gave her perhaps her most memorable hit: a searing, stunning rendition of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You,” which sat atop the charts for weeks. It was Grammy’s record of the year and best female pop vocal, and the “Bodyguard” soundtrack was named album of the year.

She returned to the big screen in 1995-96 with “Waiting to Exhale” and “The Preacher’s Wife.” Both spawned soundtrack albums, and another hit studio album, “My Love Is Your Love,” in 1998, brought her a Grammy for best female R&B vocal for the cut “It’s Not Right But It’s Okay.”

But during these career and personal highs, Houston was using drugs. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2010, she said by the time “The Preacher’s Wife” was released, “(doing drugs) was an everyday thing. ... I would do my work, but after I did my work, for a whole year or two, it was every day. ... I wasn’t happy by that point in time. I was losing myself.”

In the interview, Houston blamed her rocky marriage to Brown, which included a charge of domestic abuse against Brown in 1993. They divorced in 2007.

Houston would go to rehab twice before she would declare herself drug-free to Winfrey in 2010. But in the interim, there were missed concert dates, a stop at an airport due to drugs, and public meltdowns.

She was so startlingly thin during a 2001 Michael Jackson tribute concert that rumors spread she had died the next day. Her crude behavior and jittery appearance on Brown’s reality show, “Being Bobby Brown,” was an example of her sad decline. Her Sawyer interview, where she declared “crack is whack,” was often parodied. She dropped out of the spotlight for a few years.

Houston staged what seemed to be a successful comeback with the 2009 album “I Look To You.” The album debuted on the top of the charts, and would eventually go platinum.

Things soon fell apart. A concert to promote the album on “Good Morning America” went awry as Houston’s voice sounded ragged and off-key. She blamed an interview with Winfrey for straining her voice.

A world tour launched overseas, however, only confirmed suspicions that Houston had lost her treasured gift, as she failed to hit notes and left many fans unimpressed; some walked out. Canceled concert dates raised speculation that she may have been abusing drugs, but she denied those claims and said she was in great shape, blaming illness for cancellations.



Palmer gets 2 Congressmen after Massachusetts redistricting

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While Palmer wasn't the only community that was divided in the redistricting process, it is the only one in Western Massachusetts.

dave whitney, palmer .JPGDavid E. Whitney talks about redistricting at his home in Bondsville; he is one of 364 residents affected by the change.

PALMER – Under the new congressional redistricting, all of Hampden County belongs to the first congressional district – all, that is, except for one tiny corner of Palmer.

That means the north-central chunk of town that is home to 364 people will have a different U.S. Congressman than the rest of the 11,779 people in Palmer and 463,126 citizens in Hampden County come Jan. 1.

For years, the town has been represented by U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, but this slice of Palmer – now part of the second congressional district – will be represented by U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, a Worcester Democrat, if he wins re-election in November.

While Palmer wasn’t the only community that was divided in the redistricting process, it is the only one in Western Massachusetts.

And now, the residents there will be known as “Precinct 1A,” whereas before they were part of Precinct 1.

The new precinct is bordered by the town of Ware to the north and (Ware Street) Route 32 to the east, and includes part of the village of Bondsville.

It also includes sections of River, Ware, State and Emery streets, all of the Countryside Acres neighborhood behind Rondeau’s Dairy Bar on Route 32 (Brittany, Countryside and Lauren drives), most of Bennett Street, as well as Off Bennett Street, and all of Kelly and Jim Ash roads and Foster Street.

“They probably won’t even notice anything ... The only time it will affect them is when the representative will be on the ballot,” Town Clerk Susan Coache said about the approximately 90 registered voters affected by the change.

Voters will continue to vote at the same spot – Sts. Peter and Paul Parish Hall at Divine Mercy Parish. Cards informing the voters of their change in precinct were sent out last week. A total of 152 residences are affected.

andrew golas.JPGAndrew M. Golas

The new districts go into effect when the 113th Congress begins in January 2013, according to William Tranghese, spokesman for Neal.

“Congressman Neal enjoys representing and serving the people of Palmer. While he was disappointed that a precinct will be moved into another congressional district, he is pleased that the vast majority of the town will remain in his constituency. He will continue to be a strong voice for their concerns in the U.S. Congress,” Tranghese said.

Residents and officials had mixed feelings about the change.

State Rep. Todd M. Smola, R-Palmer, said that having two congressmen looking out for the town’s interests in Washington is a good thing.

redistricting palmer map.JPGA map in red shows the part of Palmer that will be in a different congressional district than the rest of the town; residents there will be in the second congressional district.

“This is a positive thing. Most communities of Palmer’s size do not have this advantage. We are fortunate to have two voices,” Smola said.

Smola also said that even though precinct 1 is split, he expects that the congressmen will look at the town as a whole, and not ignore the parts that are not in their jurisdiction.

Town Council President Paul E. Burns thinks having two congressmen will be to Palmer’s advantage.

“It can’t help but benefit us to have a second representative in Congress,” Burns said. “Not that Neal hasn’t done a good job, but it never hurts to have more representation.”

A member of the new Precinct 1A, David E. Whitney, of 65 Jim Ash Road in Bondsville, had a different view.

“I think when you divide the town like that it dilutes the representation. I think if we had one person focused on the whole town we’d be better off,” Whitney said.

Andrew M. Golas, administrative assistant in the town manager’s office, called the split a “unique opportunity.” He noted that even though he is moving a mile away from his parents, who are on Foster Street in Bondsville, they will be in different precincts.

mary bernat.JPGMary Bernat

Mary J. Bernat, of 109 Jim Ash Road, was surprised to hear about the change, and questioned why this particular area of town was pulled into the second congressional district.

“Why are we with Worcester? I’m sorry to hear Congressman Neal will not be my congressman anymore. I felt he did a lot of good for the district,” Bernat said.

Redistricting was needed after the state lost one of its 10 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives because of slow population growth over the last decade.

As a result, the remaining nine districts all had to be the same size, with a population of 727,514 people, according to state Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre. The idea was to have each district the same size, to stave off potential court challenges, he said.

State Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg, D-Amherst, the senate chairman of the Joint Committee on Redistricting, said the districts could only veer by plus or minus one person. To accomplish this, some communities had to be split, he said.

In addition to Palmer, the communities of Winchendon, Sudbury, Cambridge, Andover, Bellingham, Milton, Raynham, Fall River and Boston also experienced changes due to redistricting, according to Brewer.

palmer_congressional_districts.pngView full sizeThis detail from the Massachusetts Legislature's Congressional redistricting map shows portions of the 1st and 2nd Massachusetts Congressional districts with most of Palmer in District 1 (blue) and a small part of the town in District 2 (red).

“It’s a lot like squeezing Jell-O. It’s an inexact science, but at some point something has to give,” Brewer said.

Brewer said it can be helpful for communities to have more than one representative “making noise” for them.

Rosenberg said people generally do not like having their precincts split, but he has not heard anything about it from the people in Palmer. Rosenberg explained that the north-central section of Palmer – Precinct 1A – was chosen because it is next to a community in a district that needed to pick up additional population. In this case, the abutting community was Ware, part of the second congressional district.

Redistricting means that McGovern gained a portion of the district of U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, an Amherst Democrat, who is retiring. The great majority of the rest of Olver’s district - including all of Berkshire County – was folded into Neal’s district. McGovern’s district picked up seven Hampshire County communities, plus 14 Franklin County communities. Voters will elect people to the new districts this year.

Whitney, of Bondsville, said the change has not been the talk of the neighborhood.

“I haven’t heard much about it. I think people are still getting over the (October) snowstorm,” Whitney said.

Maine caucuses: Mitt Romney ekes out narrow victory over Ron Paul

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The former Massachusetts governor won only a plurality of the Maine vote, suggesting he still has work to do to unite GOP voters behind his candidacy.

021112 mitt romney.jpgRepublican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks at a caucus, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012, in Portland, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

By BETH FOUHY and STEVE PEOPLES

PORTLAND, Maine — Mitt Romney narrowly won Maine's Republican caucuses, state party officials announced Saturday, providing his campaign with a much-needed boost after three straight losses earlier this week. But the former Massachusetts governor won just a plurality of the Maine vote, suggesting he still has work to do to unite GOP voters behind his candidacy.

At a gathering in Portland, state Republican Chairman Charlie Webster announced Romney had won with 2,190 votes, or 39 percent, compared to 1,996 — about 36 percent — for Ron Paul, the only other candidate to aggressively compete in the state. Rick Santorum received 989 votes and Newt Gingrich won 349, but neither actively campaigned there. Other candidates drew 61 votes.

The totals reflected about 84 percent of the state's precincts. Webster insisted that any caucus results that come in after Saturday wouldn't be counted no matter how close the vote.

"Some caucuses decided not to participate in this poll and will caucus after this announcement," Webster said. "Their results will not be factored in. The absent votes will not be factored into this announcement after the fact."

Romney's win, combined with his victory in the presidential straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Committee conference in Washington hours earlier, helped slow an embarrassing skid that began Tuesday when he lost contests in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado to Santorum. The twin triumphs dampened the perception — for now — that conservatives were unwilling to support Romney.

021112 ron paul.jpgRepublican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, kicks balloons from the stage after speaking to supporters following his loss in the Maine caucus to Mitt Romney, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012, in Portland, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Romney's campaign has demonstrated skill and flexibility in winning a big state like Florida and eking out a victory in a low-turnout contest like Maine, where organization and voter contact are essential. Out of Maine's 258,000 registered Republicans, nearly 5,600 cast ballots in the weeklong contest.

But questions about Romney's durability as the party's presumed front-runner persist. Fully 61 percent of Maine voters selected another candidate than Romney in a state practically in his back yard. And Romney's showing was down considerably from 2008, when he won 51 percent of the vote.

Maine's caucuses began Feb. 4 and continued throughout the week. Several communities elected to hold their caucuses at a later date.

Caucuses in Washington County that had been scheduled for Saturday were postponed until Feb. 18 because of a major snowstorm that blanketed the region. Earlier, party Executive Director Michael Quatrano said county officials had been told the results of that caucus would not count toward the total.

But in an interview, Washington County Republican Chairman Chris Gardner said that when the decision was made to postpone the caucuses, he didn't realize his county's votes wouldn't count toward the total.

"I don't know that it would have changed the decision, but at least they would have known the consequence," Gardner, a Romney supporter, said.

Many Paul supporters were angry.

"There's a very good chance that you'll find that Washington County goes for Ron Paul," said Mark Willis, a county coordinator for the Paul campaign.

His wife, Violet, added, "We don't want to be disenfranchised."

Webster told reporters there were less than 200 votes in Washington County and he doubted that including them would have changed the outcome.

Speaking to supporters in Portland, Paul expressed disappointment that only a portion of the state's caucuses had counted toward the total.

"I wish all the caucuses had met today," Paul said, adding, "It's almost like we could call it a tie."

Romney was attending a fundraiser in California late Saturday, after visiting caucus sites in Maine earlier in the day, where he pressed voters for their backing.

"I thank the voters of Maine for their support," Romney said in a statement late Saturday. "I'm committed to turning around America. And I'm heartened to have the support of so many good people in this great state."

Romney visited two caucus sites Saturday after abandoning plans to take the day off. The change made clear that his campaign could ill-afford another loss.

Romney also held a town hall-style meeting in Maine on Friday night. It was the first time he'd taken voter questions since campaigning in South Carolina last month.

Maine's nonbinding presidential straw poll had drawn virtually none of the hype surrounding recent contests in Florida and Nevada, where candidates poured millions of dollars into television and radio advertising.

Romney's campaign had placed only a small cable television ad buy airing Friday and Saturday, at a cost of several thousand dollars. But he sent surrogates to the state in recent days and hosted a telephone town hall in addition to Friday's campaign stop.

Romney consistently declined to criticize Paul, however.

Instead, he lobbed indirect criticism at Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, and Gingrich, a former House speaker, by repeating intensifying rhetoric of recent days that paints them as tainted Washington insiders.

"I have never spent a day in Washington working," Romney said. "I expect to go there, get it fixed and then go home."

He added, "In my home with my mom and dad I learned conservative values. In my faith I learned conservative values. And in my business."

Romney won 11 delegates in Maine and Texas Rep. Ron Paul won 10, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich were shut out.

Fouhy reported from Washington. Associated Press writers David Sharp in Portland, Maine, and Glenn Adams in Augusta, Maine, contributed to this report.

Celebrities react to the death of Whitney Houston

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The troubled singer was remembered for her remarkable voice

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — A collection of reactions to Whitney Houston's death Saturday in Beverly Hills at age 48.

— "Heartbroken and in tears over the shocking death of my friend, the incomparable Ms. Whitney Houston. She will never be forgotten as one of the greatest voices to ever grace the earth." — Mariah Carey, in messages posted on Twitter.

— "A light has been dimmed in our music community today, and we extend our deepest condolences to her family, friends, fans and all who have been touched by her beautiful voice." — Neil Portnow, president and CEO of the Recording Academy.

— "I truly, truly adored Whitney Houston. Her album 'I'm Your Baby Tonight' was the very first album I ever bought." — Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child.

— "I can't believe that Whitney is gone. My heart goes out to her family, to Clive (Davis), and to everyone who knew and loved this amazingly talented and beautiful artist. I will always love her." — Barry Manilow.

— "The morning of the Grammys, the world should pause and pray for the memory of a gifted songbird." — Rev. Al Sharpton, who called for a national prayer to honor Houston and support her family.

— "I've know Whitney since she was a little girl and I loved her. She was like family to me. I will miss her." — Smokey Robinson.

Powerball: Winning numbers for Feb. 11, 2012 $325 million drawing

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The Powerball jackpot has risen to a cool $325 million smackeroos.

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You could be a millionaire. Actually, you could be a millionaire 325 times over.

That is, if you're holding the winning Powerball lottery ticket for Feb. 11, 2012. You'd have to have played, of course (who here stopped playing Powerball after they raised the single ticket price to $2?), and have these numbers:

1-10-37-52-57 with a Powerball of 11.


Got 'em? Really? You just won Powerball? Holy (fill in your favorite expletive)!

Right now, we don't know if you or anyone else hit the number. Or if 325 people hit it ... and then we'd have 325 millionaires for the jackpot estimated at $325 million.

Now, if you won, and this is where you learned you won, please remember where you learned you won, and if you're in a giving mood, well, if you ever payed any attention to Mr. Rogers' lessons on the virtue of sharing, now is the time. We mean sharing your news, of course. If you just won $325 million, or anything between that and even just a million bucks, we'd love to hear from you ... and we'll understand if you need to wait to talk to your accountant.

Good luck!

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