Polls show Romney running ahead in Arizona, where a strong Mormon presence should help in Tuesday’s GOP presidential primary.

Photo by Eric Gay / Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speaks during a campaign rally at the Sabbar Shrine Center, Wednesday in Tucson, Arizona.

By CHARLES BABINGTON

TUCSON, Ariz. – Rick Santorum acknowledged Wednesday that he’s probably running behind Mitt Romney in Arizona, but he implored a tea party crowd not to settle for “a Johnny-come-lately to the conservative cause.”

The former Pennsylvania senator told 400 people that Romney proposed a lower corporate tax rate long after Santorum had done so.

“Welcome to the party, governor. It’s great to have you along,” Santorum said as the crowd hooted and cheered.

Polls show Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, running ahead in Arizona, where a strong Mormon presence should help in Tuesday’s GOP presidential primary. Arizona has a winner-take-all system for awarding convention delegates, so a close-second finish by Santorum would be a moral victory at best.

Santorum urged the crowd not to accept “a pyrrhic victory,” which he says would be the result and come at too great a cost if the party settles for Romney because he is seen as having a better chance at defeating President Barack Obama.

The crowd laughed and clapped when Santorum said America doesn’t need a leader who has been “a well-oiled weather vane,” a veiled reference to Romney’s changed positions on various issues.

Santorum aimed his sharpest barbs at Obama. He said the president’s economic plan is “more food stamps and government dependence,” comments that echoed rival Newt Gingrich’s assertions about Obama’s policies.

Santorum also pressed his theme that Obama has ulterior motives for some of his social policies. He said Obama cares about Americans “enough to get them addicted to government programs so he can get their vote.”

Some tea party activists who warmed up the crowd labeled local Democratic lawmakers as anti-American. Republican congressional candidate Gabby Saucedo Mercer said Obama “is a communist.”

Truehart said being thrown into a mix of 25 women competing for one man can be very stressful and intense. Watch video

SOUTHAMPTON - Rachel Rose Truehart did not receive the final rose or win the affections of Ben Flajnik, on the ABC show “The Bachelor,” but she did travel the world, swim with sharks and make new friends.

Truehart, a Southampton resident who now resides in New York City, was eliminated during the seventh week of the show. In an interview at her parents home on Wednesday Truehart said she has no regrets and knew it was her time to go.

“I knew it was coming from some talks we had. He told me that I was hot and cold and that’s how I felt. Sometimes I had strong feelings and other times I didn’t really know what I was feeling and I held back,” she said.

Truehart said being thrown into a mix of 25 women competing for one man can be very stressful and intense.

“There is so much going on and there are so many cameras and so many different personalities. It can get very stressful and some girls just could not handle it,“ she said.

Of her portrayal on the show Truehart’s mother Cathy Truehart said it was accurate.

“She was herself. We were so proud of her and everyone keeps telling us how sophisticated and nice she came off on the show,” she said.

“I wanted my family and friends to be proud of the person they saw,” Rachel Truehart said. “I tried to stay true to myself even if that meant sometimes getting wrapped up in the drama or sometimes just stepping back.”

Her father Rick Truehart said it was exciting to see his daughter on television.

“I found out that her personality is very similar to her mother’s, especially with how she communicates with people,” he said.

Truehart, formerly a fashion sales representative, said the show came along at the right time in her life.

“I had just left my job of five years and I wanted something different. I was single and I wanted a new experience,” she said.

Truehart said she watched “The Bachelorette” season where Flajnik was rejected.

“He seemed like a nice guy and I was open to the possibility of starting a relationship with someone new,” she said.

Truehart said after seeing the show she hoped that he would have a little more personality then they showed.

“I was surprised by how funny and how genuine he was,” she said. “He had a great personality and he tried to give attention to all of the girls on the group dates.”

Truehart had some successful outings with Flajnik including a double date with Blakeley Shea, a 34-year-old Hooters and Maxim magazine model. During that episode Flajnik chose Truehart and sent Shea home.

The two also had an uneventful one-on-one date in Park City, Utah. The date went well except for several awkward pauses and quiet moments. Truehart said those moments did happen, but it can be hard to keep a conversation going for seven hours.

Filming for that date was about 11 hours and we were actually together for about seven or eight hours that day, she said.

“There were times when we had great chemistry and were having fun and then there were moments when we ran out of things to talk about. A first date can be so stressful, especially when it’s being filmed.”

Truehart made it through six eliminations, which gave her the opportunity to travel all over the world with the show including Sonoma and San Francisco, Calif., Park City, Utah, Vieques, Puerto Rico, Panama City, Panama and Belize.

“I had not done much traveling before except for the Bahamas and Aruba when I was a teenager, so it was an amazing experience to see these different places,” she said.

One of her favorite and most terrifying moments was a group date where she swam with sharks in Belize. Truehart said she has had a fear of sharks since as a child one of her cousins told her there were sharks in a swimming hole near her home.

“All of my friend and family who saw it couldn’t believe that I would do that,” she said. “But I did it and it was an amazing experience.”

Although she did not end up with Flajnik Truehart said she made great friendships.

“We were all away from our family and friends and really had to depend on each other. You get very close,“ she said.

One of her favorite moments was a day when the women did not have to film and were given a break to watch movies.

“We pulled our comforters together and ate candy and watched movies and it was so much fun,“ she said.

Now that she is off the show she is looking for a new career and still looking for love.

“I’m just going to get back out there,” she said.

Police earlier Wednesday charged Ryan Welch, who had a dating relationship with Pripsein, with murder.

The Republican | Diane LedermanNorthwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan takes questions at a Wednesday evening press conference while Easthampton Police Chief Bruce W. McMahon looks on.

EASTHAMPTON — Jessica Ann Pripstein died as a result of a “sharp force injury to the neck,” said Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan at a Wednesday evening press conference.

Police earlier Wednesday charged Ryan D. Welch, who had a dating relationship with Pripstein, with murder. Pripstein was found dead in her Ward Avenue apartment early Monday morning after police responded to an emergency call.

Sullivan did not know how long the two were dating. He asked for anyone with information to contact police.

Welch was arraigned Wednesday afternoon at Baystate Medical Center and is being held there without the right to bail. When he’s well enough, he’ll be sent the Hampshire County Jail and House of Correction, Sullivan said.

LinkedIn.com profile photoJessica Pripstein

Welch was treated for self-inflicted injuries to his neck that were initially life-threatening, Sullivan said. He has since been stabilized.

Police received a call just after midnight from Pripstein, 39, who told that dispatchers that “my boyfriend is attempting to kill me,” according to a state police probable cause statement.

During the conversation, Pripstein could be heard yelling “Oh my God” and “Oh my God, please” before the call was cut off, according to the statement.

Easthampton Police photoRyan Welch

Police arrived minutes later and found her unresponsive on the bathroom floor. They then found Welch, “also unresponsive on the floor” in the bedroom. Police determined he was still alive and took him to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

Sullivan did not identify the type of weapon used. According to the state police statement, three "edged weapons" were found in the apartment.

According to the state police statement, a witness interviewed by police “revealed on the evening before the assault Ms. Pripstein had expressed concerns relative to Mr. Welch’s behavior and attitude.”

Pripstein was a licensed aesthetician and worked at Liora Gabrielle European Skin Care in Northampton. She had worked on an off at Adamo’s Restaurant for three or four years, said owner Con Adamo. But she hadn’t worked for him in about a year. Still he couldn’t believe what happened to her.

“She was a very organized person, a very skillful person. She was a work-a-holic,” he said. She was “so good” that she could call him anytime and ask for a shift or two and he was happy to oblige.

“I’m like wow, what happened?” He said he did not know Welch.

Welch, had been arrested on drunk driving charges on Valentine’s Day, Sullivan said. Those charges are still pending.

Welch, 36, lived in city-owned housing at 75 Oliver St. that is run by South Middlesex Non-Profit Housing Corporation. The housing is described as supportive sober housing that offers shared community living while residents there have their own bedroom, said South Middlesex Non-Profit Housing Corporation spokeswoman Jane Lane. She said that Welch had lived there for three or four years.

Sullivan said Welch was not working at this time.

The Republican | Diane LedermanThis is 75 Oliver St. in Easthampton, where Ryan D. Welch has a room. According to a woman with South Middlesex Non-Profit Housing Corporation, based in Framingham, which runs the building, supportive sober housing services are offered there.

In a statement earlier Sullivan had said, “this is yet another tragic case of domestic violence, which unfortunately happens all too often in our homes and communities."
"A beautiful life was lost in this case due to the defendant's violent acts," Sullivan said.

Marianne Winters, the director of the Northampton-based Safe Passage, could not comment on whether Pripstein sought help at the agency that provides help to women to keep themselves and their children safe.

But she said generally women are most vulnerable “right at the time the relationship is ending. It’s been a common dynamic.”

To an abuser that “is a sign the control and power is breaking. As long as the control and power is in place, it’s ironically safer.” She was talking about cases in general and not speaking about Pripstein.

But she said, it “is a myth (that the abuser) just totally goes out of control.”

Sullivan praised both Easthampton and State Police, who he said “worked round the clock since this happened to make the arrest.”

A pre-trial conference for Welch is slated for March 16 in Northampton District Court.

Ashley Long, 14, of Eagle Point, Ore., passed out and later died at a hospital, the result of an obstruction in a blood vessel caused by inhaling helium from a pressurized tank.

Associated PressLoriann Earp, center, cries with her husband, Justin Earp, on Wednesday. Feb. 22, 2012, in their home in Eagle Point, Ore., as they view photos of their daughter, Ashley Long, 14, who died after inhaling helium at a party. The Earps hope their daughter's death will help spread the word about the dangers of inhaling helium. (AP Photo/Jeff Barnard)

By JEFF BARNARD

EAGLE POINT, Ore. — Last weekend, 14-year-old Ashley Long told her parents she was going to a slumber party. But instead of spending the night watching videos and eating popcorn two blocks away, she piled into a car with a bunch of her friends and rode to a condo in Medford, Ore., where police say the big sister of one of her friends was throwing a party with booze and marijuana.

After drinking on the drive, and downing more drinks in the condo, it came time for Ashley to take her turn on a tank of helium that everyone else was inhaling to make their voices sound funny.

"That helium tank got going around," said Ashley's stepfather, Justin Earp, who learned what happened from talking to Ashley's friends at the party. "It got to my daughter. My daughter didn't want to do it. It was peer pressure. They put a mask up to her face. They said it would be OK. 'It's not gonna hurt you. It'll just make you laugh and talk funny.'"

Instead, she passed out and later died at a hospital, the result of an obstruction in a blood vessel caused by inhaling helium from a pressurized tank.

It's a common party trick — someone sucks in helium to give their voice a cartoon character sound.

But the death exposes the rare but real dangers of inhaling helium, especially from a pressurized tank. The gas is also commonly seen in suicide kits — mail-order hoods sold out of Oregon and elsewhere that can be attached to a helium tank by people who want to kill themselves. In those cases, the helium crowds out the oxygen, asphyxiating a person.

For Ashley, the pressurized tank forced the helium into her lungs, her blood vessels and her brain, her father said,

Dr. Mark Morocco, associate professor of emergency medicine at the Ronald Reagan Medical Center in Los Angeles, said what happens is similar to when a scuba diver surfaces too quickly. A gas bubble gets into the bloodstream, perhaps through some kind of tear in a blood vessel. If it is a vein, the bubble will stay in the lungs. If it is an artery, it can block the flow of oxygen-laden blood to the brain, causing a stroke. If there is a hole in the heart, the bubble can go from a vein to an artery and then to the brain.

Morocco said the other risk of using helium is apoxia, which can cause wooziness, but it's not lethal.

Death from inhaling helium is so rare that the American Association Poison Control Centers lumps it in with other gases, such as methane and propane. Only three deaths from simple asphyxiants were recorded in 2010, said spokeswoman Loreeta Canton.

It's important to remind kids that ingesting any substance — for the sake of getting high or just changing their voices — can be dangerous, said Frank Pegueros, executive director of DARE, Drug Abuse Resistance Education.

Pegueros said the first defense is for parents to tell their kids about the dangers of certain substances. He said kids need to also ask themselves whether going along with the crowd at a party is worth it.

"Peer pressure is a very potent force," he said. "We've all gone through it growing up."

"It's getting somebody to pause and think and evaluate the situation and determine, is this something that's going to have a bad consequence," he said.

Police have arrested 27-year-old Katherine McAloon, who lived in the condo, on charges of providing alcohol and marijuana to minors. Four men who were at the party have been questioned by police, but have not been charged, said Medford Police Lt. Mike Budreau. More charges may be filed after police turn over their evidence to the district attorney.

Ashley was a goofy, nerdy eighth-grader who struggled with her weight, was just starting to notice boys, got top grades in school, had posters of Justin Bieber all over her room and wanted to grow up to be a marine biologist, said her mom, Loriann Earp. The family moved from Grants Pass, Ore., to Eagle Point about a year ago, and Ashley had just gotten over the difficulty of adjusting to eighth grade in a new school.

Justin Earp said the kids had four wine coolers each in the car, and four mixed drinks at the condo, before they started passing around the helium.

Police said it was an 8-gallon canister, the kind you can buy at many stores. The kids were taking hits directly from the tank, not putting the gas into a balloon first.

When Ashley passed out, someone tried CPR. Then they called 911. Paramedics tried to revive her and took her to the hospital.

"About 11:30 we got a phone call from police saying they were doing CPR on our daughter," said Justin Earp.

At the hospital, they were told that Ashley had died.

Her family has set up a foundation, Ashley's Hope, to spread the word about the dangers of inhaling helium.

Loriann Earp feels like her daughter was stolen from her.

"My whole chest is collapsed and my heart is broken," she said through sobs. "I don't understand."

The FDA rejected Qnexa in October 2010, citing numerous side effects including elevated heart rate, psychiatric problems and birth defects.

By MATTHEW PERRONE

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — A previously rejected weight loss pill won an overwhelming endorsement from public health advisers Wednesday, raising hopes that the drug from Vivus Inc. could become the first new anti-obesity medication to reach the U.S. market in more than a decade.

The Food and Drug Administration has rejected three weight loss pills in the last two years, including Vivus' pill Qnexa, due to safety concerns. Experts agree new weight loss drugs are needed to treat an estimated 75 million obese adults in the U.S., but the string of rejections has raised questions of whether any pharmaceutical treatment is safe enough to win approval.

At a public meeting Wednesday, an FDA panel of outside physicians voted 20-2 in favor of the weight loss drug from Vivus, setting the stage for a potential comeback for a drug that has been plagued by safety questions since it was first submitted to the agency in 2010.

Nearly all the panelists backed the drug due to its impressive weight loss results, with most patients losing nearly 10 percent of their overall weight after a year on the drug. But the group stressed that the drugmaker must be required to conduct a large, follow-up study of the pill's effects on the heart. Studies of Qnexa show it raises heart rate and causes heart palpitations, a longtime concern with diet pills over the years. The group of experts said it is still unclear if those side effects lead to heart attack and more serious cardiovascular problems.

"The potential benefits of this medication seem to trump the side effects, but in truth, only time will tell," said Dr. Kenneth Burman of the Washington Hospital Center.

The FDA is not required to follow the advice of its panels, though it often does. A final decision on the drug is expected by mid-April.

In a key question, the physicians said Vivus could conduct the cardiovascular safety study after FDA approval. A requirement to conduct the study ahead of market approval would cost the company millions of dollars and take at least three more years.

"There is an urgent need for better pharmacologic options for individual patients with obesity," said Dr. Elaine Morrato, of the University of Colorado. "I believe Qnexa demonstrated a meaningful efficacy benefit and that there are consequences to not treating obesity."

Vivus, based in Mountain View, Calif., is one of three small drugmakers racing to bring the first new prescription weight loss drug to market in more than a decade. In the past two years the Food and Drug Administration has rejected pills from all three: Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc., Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. and Vivus. All three companies are in the process of resubmitting their products.

The FDA rejected Qnexa in October 2010, citing numerous side effects including elevated heart rate, psychiatric problems and birth defects. Vivus has resubmitted the drug with additional follow-up information on safety, hoping for a more favorable ruling.

Vivus President Peter Tam said the overwhelming panel vote Wednesday indicates doctors recognize the urgent need for effective weight loss drugs.

"Right now there aren't any good treatments out there besides dieting and bariatric surgery — clearly there's a huge gap," Tam said.

With U.S. obesity rates nearing 35 percent among adults, doctors and public health officials say new weight-loss therapies are desperately needed. And even a modestly effective drug could have blockbuster potential. Analysts expect a new weight loss pill to garner at least 10 million users within a few years.

Qnexa is a combination of two older drugs: the amphetamine phentermine, which is approved for short-term weight loss, and topiramate, an anti-seizure and anti-migraine drug sold by Johnson & Johnson as Topamax. Phentermine helps suppress appetite, while topiramate is supposed to make patients feel more satiated.

Along with heart safety, panelists raised concerns about potential birth defects in women who become pregnant while taking Qnexa: topiramate is known to more than double the risk of birth defects.

There were 34 pregnancies among 3,386 women enrolled in Vivus' studies of Qnexa, despite precautions to make sure women used contraception. An FDA expert on birth defects estimated there would be five babies born with a cleft lip defect for every 1,000 women who became pregnant while taking Qnexa.

If approved, FDA scientists said they would require Vivus to train prescribers to educate patients on the pregnancy risks of Qnexa. The drug would only be available from 10 mail-order pharmacies.

Qnexa's other ingredient, phentermine, was one half of the dangerous fen-phen combination, a weight loss treatment pushed by doctors that was never approved by the FDA. The regimen was linked to heart-valve damage and lung problems in the late 1990s, and the FDA forced drugmaker Wyeth to withdraw two versions of its drug fenfluramine.

Fen-phen is just one example in the decades-long history of failed weight loss drugs, which have continued to pile up in recent years.

Four years ago Sanofi-Aventis SA discontinued studies of its highly anticipated pill Acomplia due to psychiatric side effects, including depression and suicidal thoughts. In 2010, Abbott Laboratories withdrew its drug Meridia after a study showed it increased heart attack and stroke. The drug won approval in 1997 in the wake of the recall of fenfluramine but never achieved widespread use due to modest weight loss and safety concerns. Only 100,000 prescriptions were written in the U.S. during Meridia's last full-year on the market.

Currently there is just one prescription drug on the market for long-term weight loss: Roche's Xenical, which is sold over the counter as alli by GlaxoSmithKline. The drug is not widely used because of modest weight loss results and unpleasant side effects, including gas and diarrhea.

Jones said he remembers nothing after the first hit to his head, until he woke up in Baystate Medical Center.

CHICOPEE – Melvin Jones III sat on the witness stand in Chicopee District Court – a short distance from former Springfield police officer Jeffrey M. Asher – and said he was struck in the head with a flashlight as he was pinned by officers on the hood of a police car.

“They had me pinned down on the car. I couldn’t move. They had control of me,” Jones said Wednesday at the police brutality trial of Asher.

Jones said he remembers nothing after the first hit to his head, until he woke up in Baystate Medical Center.

In opening statements first thing Wednesday, prosecutor Elizabeth Dunphy Farris said Asher made decisions, including hitting Jones, who was not resisting at the time.

She said Asher used unreasonable force and injured Jones seriously by hitting him repeatedly with a flashlight.

Defense lawyer Joseph W. Monahan III told jurors Asher believed rightfully he had to use deadly force to diffuse a dangerous situation.

“He hit him hard. He hurt him. He hit him again. There’s no question about that,” Monahan said. He said Asher wanted to keep Jones from grabbing any officer’s gun.

The seven jurors were brought to the back of the courthouse to see a green Ford Taurus, the police vehicle Jones was held against when hit with the flashlight.

There were some clearly visible dents in the hood of the car, where Jones was held and struck.

Asher is charged with assault and battery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in connection with the November 2009 traffic stop of Jones on Rifle Street in Springfield.

An amateur video of the arrest made public by The Republican and MassLive.com appears to show Jones, who is black, being struck during an arrest by four white officers.

Tyrisha T. Greene, the woman who lived on Rifle Street and shot the video, testified that Jones was hit 16 or 17 times with a flashlight.

Jones testified he never attempted to grab any officers gun. He said he got out of the car in which he was riding when police asked, and was pat frisked at the back of that car.

When an officer grabbed his waistband he ran because he was afraid he would be beaten, Jones said.

Officers quickly caught him and put him on the hood of the police vehicle, he said.

Jones had surgery for an orbital bone broken in his eye in December 2009. He had a broken nose. He could not see out of his right eye at that time because of swelling.

He said today he has blurry vision in the right eye and can’t see in some spots. Dunphy Farris circulated pictures of Jones’ injuries to jurors.

Jones left finger was broken and he said he can’t close it completely even though he had surgery. His two front teeth were broken.

Jurors watched the video taken by Greene, and enhanced by a company hired by the prosecution. They were given earphones to better hear the audio portion.

Monahan told jurors in his opening they will, when deliberating, go over and over what Asher did. He said Asher had to make a split second decision, because “who knows what could have happened.”

The trial continues Thursday with the prosecution’s last two witnesses. Then the defense will being its case.

The number of violent deaths declined to 33 in the 2009-10 school year, the lowest number on record since agencies began collecting data in 1992.

By CHRISTINE ARMARIO

MIAMI (AP) — Violent crime at the nation's schools is declining, and students and schools are reporting less bullying and gang activity.

But new government data reports an increase in cyber bullying and youth suicides.

"Cyber bullying issue has really moved to center stage and that's probably the next major challenge that school officials and others will have to address," said Ron Stephens, executive director of the National School Safety Center, a nonprofit advocacy organization.

He said the higher number of suicides wasn't surprising.

"I think that's a number we'll see increasing based on what's happening with all the cyber bullying," Stephens said.

The number of violent deaths declined to 33 in the 2009-10 school year, the lowest number on record since the agencies began collecting data in 1992, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Justice on Wednesday. In the previous school year, there were 38 such deaths.

Thefts and nonfatal violent crimes declined from 1.2 million in 2008 to 828,000 in 2010.

"Students perceive schools as being safer than they were," said Tom Snyder, a project director of the National Center for Education Statistics.

While the data show a consistent decline across several indicators, there were increases in a few areas, including cyber bullying and suicides among youth age 5-18 outside of school. Some school safety advocates question whether the numbers are accurate at all, noting the data is collected through surveys and not incident-based reporting.

"The federal reports grossly underestimate the extent of school violence," said Ken Trump, president of the National School Safety and Security Services, a Cleveland-based consulting firm.

Veronica Joyner, president of Parents United for Better Schools in Philadelphia, said the numbers did not ring true to her.

"It's underreported," Joyner said. "Many of the administrators will not report serious incidents because it looks like they're not doing their job at the school and that is part of their evaluation."

Snyder said the report is based on seven surveys.

"We were showing fairly consistent patterns of decreases," he said.

Of the 33 violent deaths involving students, staff and others on school campuses, 25 were homicides, five were suicides and three involved a law enforcement officer. Among youth ages five to 18, there were 17 homicides and one suicide that occurred on school grounds.

The highest number of violent deaths at schools occurred in the 2006-07 school year, when there were 63.

"These tragic incidents are fortunately relatively rare, but it's hard to interpret a change from one year to another," Snyder said. "The numbers are lower but you don't know if it's part of a national pattern or just reflecting random occurrences in those years."

View full sizeThe Republican file photoPhoebe Prince

The annual report comes after a number of high profile incidents, including the 2010 suicide of Phoebe Prince, who hanged herself after repeated bullying at a high school in South Hadley, Mass. Five students later accepted plea deals in criminal cases. Prince's death was among several that led to new laws cracking down on bullying in schools.

The total number of homicides, including those not committed on school grounds, declined from 1,701 to 1,579 among youth ages five to 18 in the 2008-09 school year. The number of suicides, however, saw an increase, from 1,231 to 1,344 in the 2008 calendar year.

And while the proportion of students ages 12 to 18 who reported being bullied at school has declined from 32 to 28 percent, more say they are being cyber bullied, an increase from 4 to 6 percent.

Trump said he was skeptical of the numbers showing an overall decrease in crime. He said that in traveling across the country and conducting school safety presentations with administrators, he asks whether they've experienced the crime decline the federal government reports.

"I have yet to have one person raise their hand," Trump said.

Joyner said her advocacy organization has noticed an increase in violent attacks on children. The Philadelphia School District recently decided to eliminate 91 school police jobs.

"You always need supervision, particularly in high schools," Joyner said. "My concern is the impact of what's going on in our schools is going to get worse."

Owners Cheryl Maffie and Jonathan Stevens opened an addition to their Hungry Ghost in October that doubled the floor space to 1,000 square feet.

Photo by John Suchocki / The RepublicanHungry Ghost Bread Jonathan Stevens and Cheryl Maffei are seen last year showing some of the breads they bake at the bakery at 62 State St. in Northampton.

NORTHAMPTON – Hungry Ghost Bread and its handmade loaves and pastries have once again been named finalists for the “Oscars of the Food World” – the 2012 James Beard Foundation Awards.

The awards are given each May in New York City. The James Beard Foundation culls the nominees from thousands of entries submitted online.

“We have no idea who comes in here and decides that we are worthy of a nomination,” said Cheryl L. Maffie who owns Hungry Ghost with Jonathan Stevens. “It’s a mystery, but a fun mystery.”

While she’s proud of her baked goods, Maffie said Hungry Ghost, at 62 State St., isn’t as posh as the other nominees.

“All of the people in all these categories are these big fancy restaurants, and they have books,” she said. “There is a whole professional foodie world out there. It’s our goal just to be best at what we do. But we know we have a big following with people who come up from New York City. And Northampton has a reputation as a great food town, so that helps.”

The business is nearly nine years old.

Stevens and Maffie opened an addition to their Hungry Ghost in October that doubled the floor space to 1,000 square feet. They have a new, larger oven. It’s wood-fired like the old one, but has a turntable allowing them to make pizzas at dinner time.

“It’s also large enough so that we can make enough bread and pastries to last the day,” she said. “We used to run out.”

They use no packaged yeast, instead relying on “wild yeast” for their European-style and sourdough breads, she said.

“We’ve also gotten famous for our vegan cookies,” Maffie said.

More than 120 meals were served to needy people.

Submitted photo by Leida Cartagena. Local AmeriCorps Vista volunteers prepared and served 120 meals to needy people at the A Family Place shelter on Oak Street on Jan. 13 in honor of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, which was Jan. 16.

HOLYOKE – Volunteers from the AmeriCorps VISTA program were looking for a way to provide proper honor on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

They decided to prepare and serve a meal to needy people at A Family Place shelter at 288 Oak St., outreach specialist Shannon Massey said in a phone interview Jan. 26.

“People were really grateful that we were there. It was really nice,” Massey said.

The holiday was on Jan. 16, and volunteers served the dinner, 120 meals, on Jan. 13, she said.

Food was donated by Mountain View Farm, of Easthampton; Red Fire Farm, of Granby; and Enterprise Farm, of Whately, she said.

The meal consisted of salad, a stew of vegetables, rice and beans, and sweet potato pie for dessert, she said.

The volunteers were grateful for help provided by the Holyoke Council on Aging and the War Memorial Commission, which allowed use of the kitchen in the War Memorial, 310 Appleton St., she said.

AmeriCorps VISTA is a national service program designed to fight poverty, in which 46 million Americans currently struggle, according to americorps.gov

Authorized in 1964 and founded as Volunteers in Service to America in 1965, VISTA was incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of programs in 1993, the website said.

More than a dozen AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers serve with New England Farm Worker’s Council here, the Picknelly Adult and Family Education Center at the Holyoke Transportation Center and the Five College Consortium VISTA Programs, Massey said.

They wanted to commemorate King in a meaningful way, she said.

“We took on a project that combined the themes of food justice, homelessness, health and economic opportunity,” she said.

King, a clergyman and civil rights leader, was assassinated April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tenn.

Massey said some of the volunteers established relationships with families living at the shelter, including planting a community garden. They plan to maintain those ties with the families, she said.

The buffer zone law was signed by Gov. Deval Patrick in 2007.

BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge has upheld the constitutionality of a Massachusetts law barring protests in 35-foot "buffer zones" around the entrances and driveways of abortion clinics.

Attorney General Martha Coakley's office defended the statute, which applies to reproductive health care facilities in Boston, Worcester and Springfield.

The law allows individuals to enter the buffer zone only to enter or leave the clinic or reach a destination other than the clinic.

Abortion opponents have fought the law, saying it violates their First Amendment rights to free speech.

U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro rejected the argument, saying the law allows alternative channels of communication and is instead a valid regulation of the time, place, and manner of the protesters' speech.

The buffer zone law was signed by Gov. Deval Patrick in 2007.

An electrical problem was blamed for the fire in a dryer that was inside a closet.

Republican file photo

HOLYOKE – Firefighters quickly extinguished a dryer fire in a single-family home at 1105 Hampden St. Wednesday.

An electrical problem was believed to be the cause of the fire, the call for which came just before 5 p.m., Fire Department Lt. Thomas G. Paquin said.

Fire damaged a dryer that was inside a closet and surrounding woodwork, and the house also had smoke damage, he said.

The home was built in 1920 and is owned by Barbara M. LaFlamme, city online records show.

Asked whether the FBI considers him a terrorism threat, spokeswoman Beth Anne Steele noted that the indictment was on interfering charges, not terrorism.

View full sizeYazeed Mohammed Abunayyan (AP Photo/Multnomah County Sheriff's Office)

By NIGEL DUARA

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A teenager on a flight from Portland to Houston who caused a ruckus by swinging his fist at an attendant and praising Osama bin Laden as the flight turned around was indicted Wednesday on charges of interfering with the jetliner's crew.

He was identified as 19-year-old Yazeed Mohammed A. Abunayyan.

Ashland police they believe he is the Saudi Arabian teenager who led police on a slow-speed chase in the Southern Oregon town on Sunday, ramming two police cars and nearly hitting a pedestrian. He was accused of drunken driving and assaulting an officer. He was released on bail Monday.

On Tuesday night, the Continental flight he was on returned to Portland, where he was arrested.

The indictment said he interfered with a flight attendant and a flight crew member, "specifically by refusing to stop smoking or relinquish an electronic cigarette at the request of the member or attendant, yelling profanities and swinging his fist at the flight attendant."

Abunayyan also hit or attempted to hit several passengers and spoke or sung about Osama bin Laden and his hatred of women, the indictment said.

Asked whether the FBI considers him a terrorism threat, spokeswoman Beth Anne Steele noted that the indictment was on interfering charges, not terrorism.

Electronic cigarettes use batteries to heat a liquid nicotine solution to create a vapor for inhaling.

The demonstrations prompted the U.S. to lock down its embassy and bar its staff from traveling.

View full sizeAfghans walk past tyres that were burnt by protesters during an anti-U.S. demonstration in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012. Anti-American demonstrations erupted on the outskirts of Kabul for a second day Wednesday and in another Afghan city over an incident that the U.S. said was inadvertent burning of Muslim holy books at a military base in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Ahmad Jamshid)

By HEIDI VOGT and RAHIM FAIEZ

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Clashes between Afghan troops and protesters angry over the burning of Muslim holy books at a U.S. military base left at least seven people dead and dozens wounded Wednesday as anger spread despite U.S. apologies over what it said was a mistake.

The demonstrations across four eastern provinces illustrated the intensity of Afghans' anger at what they saw as foreign forces flouting their laws and insulting their culture.

The violence was also a reminder of how easily Afghan-U.S. relations can deteriorate as the two countries work to forge a long-term partnership ahead of the withdrawal of foreign forces in 2014.

The unrest started Tuesday when Afghan workers at the main American military base, Bagram Air Field, saw soldiers dumping books in a pit where garbage is burned and noticed Qurans and other religious material among the trash.

The top U.S. and NATO commander, Gen. John Allen, quickly issued an apology and telephoned President Hamid Karzai and major news organizations to explain that a collection of religious materials, including Qurans, had been mistakenly sent to be incinerated. As soon as someone realized what they were burning, they stopped and retrieved what was left, Allen said.

Four copies of the Quran were burned before the incineration was halted, according to initial Afghan government reports.

Anger about the burning spread overnight. A single demonstration outside the Bagram base on Tuesday gave way to three protests in the capital, Kabul, on Wednesday, along with demonstrations in the major eastern city of Jalalabad and in Logar and Parwan province, where Bagram is located.

In Kabul, about 2,000 people massed outside a heavily guarded housing complex for foreigners, chanting "Death to America!" as they hurled rocks at the compound's reinforced walls and set a fuel truck ablaze. The complex — known as "green village" because it boasts security equal to a military base — houses foreign contractors, police and some coalition military forces.

Eighteen-year-old Mohammad Shaker said he first heard about the Quran burning on Tuesday, and he and other members of his mosque decided to take to the streets Wednesday after morning prayers.

"This is not the first time they're doing these things. They are killing civilians and taking photos of them. Every day they kill civilians with airstrikes. We can't accept their crimes in our country," Shaker said.

The demonstrations prompted the U.S. to lock down its embassy and bar its staff from traveling.

By nightfall, seven people had been killed — four in Parwan province and one each in Kabul, Jalalabad and Logar province, and dozens were wounded, the Interior Ministry said. In some cases, security guards or police were accused of shooting protesters, while in others, officials said the shooting started from within the mob of demonstrators.

The country's council of Muslim clerics called the apologies from U.S. authorities insufficient and said military officials should punish those responsible.

"Disrespecting religious materials is never acceptable," the council said, condemning what it called an "un-Islamic and inhumane act."

Afghanistan's president called on Afghans to stay calm.

"The people have the right to protest peacefully, but I appeal to my countrymen not to resort to violence," Karzai said in a statement. He also urged the Afghan security forces to protect the protesters, not battle them.

Karzai said he shared the Afghan people's pain at hearing of the Quran desecration, but asked them to stay calm.

"Please be patient and wait for the end of the investigation," Karzai said.

NATO and Afghan investigators visited the Parwan detention facility Wednesday.

German Brig. Gen. Carsten Jacobson said the international coalition would issue a "very clear statement" of what happened and those responsible would be held accountable. He said the incident had "grave implications" for the war effort.

Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters he was hopeful he incident would not rupture relations with the Afghan government.

"It wasn't intended in any way to be an act of malice toward a particular religion or its practices," Dempsey said at a Navy base in Florida. Asked whether NATO troops were in greater danger as a result of Afghan outrage over the Quran burning, he said: "This event raises my concern, sure."

U.S. officials said the materials had been taken from the shelves of a detention center library because they contained extremist messages or inscriptions. The White House said it was an accident that they were sent to be burned.

Karzai, however, appeared ready to use the uproar to his political advantage.

When Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter called with an apology, the Afghan leader said the incident could have been prevented if Afghans were in charge of the detention center.

"The sooner you transfer the prison, the sooner you will be able to avoid such problems and unfortunate incidents," Karzai told Carter, according to a statement provided by the president's office. Karzai has set a March 9 deadline for the U.S. to hand over control of the Parwan detention facility adjoining Bagram, but the Americans have said so far the Afghan justice system is not yet capable of overseeing the operation.

Adding to the heightened anti-foreigner sentiment in Afghanistan, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid issued a statement Wednesday encouraging the nation's youth to join the insurgency, not the ranks of the Afghan security forces.

Mujahid said the Taliban has ordered all its commanders to embrace and protect the families of any Afghan policeman or soldier who turns his gun on foreign troops. "Call them heroes," he said.

A rising number of Afghan security forces, or militants wearing their uniforms, have shot and killed U.S. and NATO service members. On Monday, gunmen in Afghan police uniforms opened fire on NATO troops in southern Afghanistan, killing an Albanian soldier. Last month, France suspended its training program and threatened to withdraw its forces a year ahead of schedule after an Afghan soldier shot and killed four French soldiers on a base in the east.

__

Associated Press writers Amir Shah, Deb Riechmann and Patrick Quinn contributed from Kabul.

The forum is sponsored by some local groups ranging from Arise for Social Justice to the Springfield Chapter of the NAACP.

MassLive.comJury selection remains a controversial process.

SPRINGFIELD – A "Town Hall" forum is scheduled Thursday at the Rebecca Johnson School to discuss the “Habitual Offender” or “Three Strikes” legislation that is under legislative review.

The forum is from 6 to 8 p.m., at the school at 55 Catharine St.

The bill was approved by the House in November, designed to crack down on repeat offenders in the state’s criminal justice system. A key provision would deny parole eligibility to three-time violent felons.

The free forum is sponsored by organizations that include: the Springfield Chapter of the NAACP; Neighborhood to Neighbor in Springfield; Ex-Prisoners and Prisoners Organizing for Community Advancement; Prison Policy Initiative; Criminal Justice Policy Coalition; Coalition for Effective Public Safety; Arise for Social Justice; the Springfield Institute; and Alliance to Develop Power.

The forum will include discussion of the folllowing subjects:

• Specifics of the “3-Strikes” portion of the bill;

• An explanation of ”Mandatory Post-release Supervision” and its costs;

• Reforms of “Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentences” for non-violent offenders

•·Reforms of “School Zone” sentencing

The paneists are: Ryan McCollum, RMC Strategies (Emcee); Luis Bajana, EPOCA Vice President; Maurice Powe, NAACP Legal Redress Committee Chair; Professor Roderick Anderson, Trinity College; Peter Wagner, JD, Prison Policy Initiative; Michaelann Bewsee, Arise for Social Justice; Aron Goldman, The Springfield Institute; Amaad Rivera, former city councilor; Elsie Sanchez, Neighbor to Neighbor and New England International Chaplaincy.

But the poll also indicates Americans are not happy with the way the president has dealt with rising gasoline prices.

Photo by Susan Walsh / Associated PressPresident Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama during the groundbreaking ceremony at the construction site of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday. A new poll indicates that the presidents is benefiting politically from an improving economy.

By LAURIE KELLMAN

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is reaping political benefits from the country’s brighter economic mood. A new poll shows that Republicans and Democrats alike are increasingly saying the nation is heading in the right direction and most independents now approve the way he’s addressing the nation’s post-recession period.

But trouble could be ahead: Still-struggling Americans are fretting over rising gasoline prices. Just weeks before the summer travel season begins, the Associated Press-GfK survey finds pump prices rising in importance and most people unhappy with how Democratic president has handled the issue.

It’s seemingly no coincidence that Obama this week is promoting the expansion of domestic oil and gas exploration and the development of new forms of energy.

It’s his latest attempt to show that he, more than any of the Republican presidential contenders, knows that voters’ pocketbooks remain pinched even as the economy improves overall. And on that question of empathy, solid majorities continue to view him as someone who “understands the problems of ordinary Americans” and “cares about people like you,” the AP-GfK survey found.

There is evidence that the nation is becoming markedly more optimistic, and that Obama benefits from that attitude.

Thirty percent in the poll describe the economy as “good,” a 15-point increase since December and the highest level since the AP-GfK poll first asked the question in 2009. Roughly the same share say the economy got better in the past month, while 18 percent said it got worse, the most positive read in over a year.

Looking ahead, four in 10 said they expect the economy to get better in the next year and a third said they think the number of unemployed people in the U.S. will decrease, the highest share on either question since last spring. A quarter of those surveyed said they expect the economy to get worse over the next 12 months, while 31 percent said it would stay the same, the poll found.

As optimism has risen, Obama has received a corresponding bump in his approval rating for handling the economy. Forty-eight percent now say they approve of how he’s handling it, up 9 points from December.

Still, for some it’s hard to sense an improvement – or give Obama credit for it – when any extra money is being gobbled up at the gasoline pump.

“I give him credit for trying to make improvements, but I don’t believe it’s had that much effect,” said Michael Lee Real of Indianola, Iowa, a city water authority worker who counts himself as a Republican-leaning independent. The cost of gasoline is “one of the big things,” says Real, 58. “It fluctuates so much, it makes it hard for me to budget my money.”

Overall, seven of 10 respondents called gas prices deeply important, up 6 points from December. Those who view gas prices as “extremely important” rose 9 points, to nearly 39 percent.

The average cost of a gallon has risen 30 cents in that time, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Views on the president’s handling of the issue are about the same as in December: Six in 10 respondents disapprove, including 36 percent who strongly feel that way, while 39 percent approve.

Presidents don’t have a great deal of control over oil or gas prices, which now are being influenced by higher U.S. demand and tensions over Iran’s nuclear program. But few factors generate as much interest and anxiety among Americans. The rise in prices, faced almost daily by voters, could undercut Obama’s argument that he’s strengthening the economy and making families more financially secure.

Though Obama’s approval rating on the economy has climbed, his negative rating on handling gas prices is stagnant. Just 39 percent approve of what he’s doing there, and 58 percent disapprove.

Republicans, locked in battle for the right to face Obama in the general election, expect gas prices to be a top issue by the time Americans set out on their summer vacations. The four vying for the GOP nomination already are warning of higher prices and are pushing for more drilling and relaxed regulations on domestic oil production. Some are talking dollars and cents: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is dangling the prospect of $2.50-a-gallon gas if he’s elected; former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum is warning of $5-a-gallon gas if he’s not.

Generally, the public’s approval of Obama has risen with the economy’s climb from recession.

The unemployment rate dropped to 8.3 percent in January, the lowest level in nearly three years. The housing market is flashing signs of health ahead of the spring buying season, with mortgage rates still low, sales of previously occupied homes at their highest level since May 2010, and more first-time buyers making purchases.

The nation is far from a full recovery. Millions of Americans remain out of work. And Wall Street investors still worry over the details of Greece’s economic bailout plan.

According to the poll, Obama’s overall approval rating ticked upward slightly, from 44 percent in December to 49 percent now.

The 9-point approval increase for his handling of the economy comes from Democrats and independents, constituencies crucial to Obama’s re-election hopes. Among Democrats, his approval on the economy has shot from 67 percent to 83 percent. Among independents, 49 percent now approve, up from 38 percent in December.

Obama also gained support among women during a period in which his administration seemed to stumble over whether religious employers should be forced to pay for contraception. In overall approval, Obama rebounded from 43 percent among women in December to 53 percent now, according to the survey.

And half of all adults now say Obama deserves to be re-elected, a 7-point rise from December that reverses a downward trend that had been in place since May.

More than eight in 10 Democrats say he should be elected to a second term, and half of all independents feel the same way, the survey found.

The AP-GfK poll was conducted Feb. 16-20 by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cell phone interviews with 1,000 adults nationwide and had a margin of error of 4.1 percent.

It may be difficult to find classroom space to expand the program.

CHICOPEE – School officials are hoping to expand early childhood programs to give more students a better start in school.

Among the initiatives being used to improve local schools, Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette said in his state of the city speech last week that he hopes to receive the money to expand the early childhood program so the city can offer high-quality preschool to more children who need it most.

This year, Gov. Deval L. Patrick put $10 million in his budget for initiatives at schools in the so-called 24 Gateway Cities that are mostly former mill cities with a high population of low-income residents who have low educational levels and often speak little English.

Richard W. Rege Jr.

The money is earmarked for expanded early childhood programs, career awareness classes and summer and after-school programs to help children learn English.

Bissonnette said he is hoping especially for money that will allow the early childhood programs for 3- and 4-year-olds to expand, saying children who start kindergarten behind their peers who have attended preschool have a hard time catching up; and if they do not, they tend to do poorly in elementary school and frequently drop out of high school.

“If they are not even when they get to the third grade, it’s over,” he said. “Can you imagine that? It’s over at the age of 8.”

Superintendent Richard W. Rege Jr. said he would like to see an expansion of the preschool program if there is funding, but finding room for the extra classes could be difficult.

All districts are required to offer preschool for children with disabilities by the time they turn 3. Chicopee, like most, offers an integrated program, where slightly more than half the children have no developmental delays. Parents of children without disabilities pay a fee for the classes and are charged on a sliding scale depending on their income.

Currently about 240, 3- and 4-year-olds attend the Szetela Early Childhood School in full- or half-day classes. There is also a full-day program at Chicopee High School and two, half-day classes at Patrick E. Bowe School.

Because of the philosophy of early childhood education is different, ideally the classes would be together, Rege said.

As part of the proposal to convert the former Chicopee High School into a middle school, the Fairview Veterans Memorial Middle School students would move to the renovated school, and the middle school would be used as an elementary school and students from Szetela Early Childhood School would move to the other half. Administrators are to move to the Szetela School.

But there is an alternative plan to move administration to the now-closed Chicopee Public Library next to City Hall if several issues, including a lack of parking, can be resolved.

“If we moved to the library, you could easily add onto Szetela,” he said.

New Britain Police Chief John Gagliardi said a hospital employee shot and wounded two supervisors amid a dispute over a disciplinary issue.

Photo by Jessica Hill / Associated PressArmed police walk in front of the Hospital for Special Care as employee vehicles leave after two people were shot inside the rehabilitation hospital in New Britain, Conn., Wednesday. Authorities say one person is in custody.

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — Police say a Connecticut hospital employee shot and wounded two supervisors amid a dispute over a disciplinary issue.

New Britain Police Chief John Gagliardi said 65-year-old Victor Valcarcel Sr. was arrested at his home without incident a mile away from the hospital.

Gagliardi says the two victims are in serious but stable condition at a hospital in Hartford.

The shootings took place late Wednesday afternoon at the Hospital for Special Care, a private nonprofit facility specializing in rehabilitation and long-term acute care.

A helicopter with a search light flew over the hospital as police cars and ambulances responded to the shooting.

A hospital spokeswoman said Valcarcel is a maintenance worker at the hospital. Officials say there had been a dispute with his supervisors but no further details were immediately available

Savery’s wake and funeral were held at the O’Brien Hilltown Community Funeral Home in Huntington.

File photo by Manon MirabelliThe late Emily J. Savery, of Middlefield, is seen at the 2009 Gateway Regional High School prom.

HUNTINGTON – Emily J. Savery was a perfectionist whether she was leading a cheer at a Gateway Regional High School football game or working on an art project, said friends leaving the 18-year-old’s wake Wednesday night.

“Everything had to be perfect,” said Chelsea K. Cassidy, a 19-year-old 2011 Gateway graduate from Huntington.

“Perfectionist” was the word Emily S. Surprise, 18, of Blandford, also used to describe Savery, as well as “happy.”

“She was always smiling,” Surprise said. “She would want to be remembered as happy.”

The wake, with a funeral service immediately following, was held Wednesday at O’Brien Hilltown Community Funeral Home where throngs of mourners lined the sidewalk and steps leading into the home to pay their last respects to the family of the young woman killed early Friday morning in a fiery car crash on Bates Road in Westfield after the car she was a passenger in left the roadway, hit a stump and overturned.

A heavy silence hung in the cool air of the small town’s center where Savery’s family and friends from the tight-knit Hilltown community gathered for the wake, funeral and a vigil held after the service on the town green just across the street from the funeral home.

Photo by Manon MirabelliMourners wait outside O’Brien Hilltown Community Funeral Home in Huntington to pay their respects to Emily J. Savery, 18, who was killed last week in a Westfield car crash.

Marcedes S. Henry, 18, of Worthington, had just come out of the funeral home with her mother, Diane V. Henry, and was preparing to go back in at the request of Ashlin Dion, 18, of Huntington, also a senior at Gateway, who was in the vehicle when it crashed. She was treated at Noble Hospital in Westfield and released, police said.

“She’s doing as well as can be expected,” Marcedes Henry said of Dion. “She’s trying to cope as best she can.”

As a mother, Diane Henry could only describe Savery’s death as “a terrible, terrible tragedy.”

“There’s nothing I can say that hasn’t already been said before,” she added through tears.

Randy Smith, 22, of Douglas, the third passenger in the vehicle, remains hospitalized at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

The driver of the 1994 Ford Escort, Jay Franklin, 23, of Upton, has been charged with motor vehicle homicide while operating under the influence of alcohol and other charges. He has pleaded innocent.

Savery, of Middlefield, was pronounced dead at Noble Hospital following the crash. It was reported shortly before 12:50 a.m. near 233 Bates Road.

Those gathered called for a superintendent who has experience in urban districts and the ability to collaborate and motivate.

Photo by Dave Roback / The RepublicanFrom left, B. John Dill, president of Colebrook Group, Mike Crowley of the Springfield Riverfront Development Agency and Allan W. Blair, president and CEO of the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts listen to comments during a meeting on selecting the new superintendent of schools.

SPRINGFIELD – Business leaders and residents said Wednesday the stakes are too high and the challenges too deep for the School Committee to fail in choosing the best and most inspirational person possible as the next superintendent of schools.

About 35 people attended the community meeting at the Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy to offer ideas on the superintendent search. Superintendent Alan J. Ingram is leaving in June at the end of his four-year contract.

It was the fifth community meeting in recent weeks and was primarily geared to hear from the business sector.

One after another, business people and residents said they are concerned about the quality of education in Springfield public schools and the urban challenges faced and that they believe the person chosen as superintendent is critical for the future of the city. The person chosen must have great skills in collaboration and motivation in dealing with teachers, supervisors, students, parents, the business sector and other stakeholders, several people said.

B. John Dill, president of the Colebrook Group of Springfield, said the economic future of Springfield “depends on the quality of education.”

The children deserve the best superintendent and to fail to pick that person would not only be an economic mistake, but “frankly, a moral and ethical mistake,” Dill said. No decision is more important than finding the best, he said.

That person needs to have experience in urban districts, be a great communicator, dedicated to the school system, and have the ability to engage all constituencies, he said.

Paul Hetzel, a doctor, described it as “someone willing to get out and get their hands dirty.”

John H. Davis, a trustee of the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation, was among several people who said the superintendent must actually be in the schools rather than tied to the central office. The foundation, which provides major grants to the school system, wants far greater results, he said.

“We’ve got to have some massive change,” Davis said.

Davis was among several business people who noted their active involvement in the group Springfield Business Leaders for Education.

Sally C. Fuller, project director for the Davis Foundation, said it is critical for the next superintendent to be focused on early literacy and to “set the tone” so that schools with successes share their best practices with other schools.

Nancy Urbschat, of Springfield, who is owner of TSM Design of Springfield, said Springfield needs a superintendent with “guts,” who can make the difficult decisions and not become politicized within the community. She and other business people said the drop-out rate in Springfield, and the extremely high number of students deemed at risk of dropping out, are issues the superintendent must be ready to address every day.

Thomas J. Yarsley, a West Springfield businessman with ties to Springfield, said the superintendent must be a “career professional educator” rather than someone who is a graduate of a “superintendent farm.” The city does not need a carpetbagger, he said.

City Councilor and local businessman Timothy J. Rooke said dismal results in the schools are a driving force for people to leave Springfield or to place their children in private schools, as done in his family.

“If we don’t fix it this time, I don’t know who will be left,” Rooke said.

Nicholas Fyntrilakis, of the MassMutual Financial Group and Rebuild Springfield, said there is a tendency to look for “the messiah,” but the focus should be on choosing a person who has the “skill sets” to address the gaps in education.

Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum were front and center in the GOP debate in Arizona.

Photo by Jae C. Hong / Associated PressRepublican presidential candidates, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, right, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum argue a point during a Republican presidential debate Wednesday in Mesa, Ariz.

MESA, Ariz. — Primed for a fight, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum traded fiery accusations about health care, spending earmarks and federal bailouts Wednesday night in the 20th and possibly final debate of the roller-coaster race for the Republican presidential nomination.

Santorum, surging in the race, also took his lumps from the audience, which booed when he said he had voted several years ago for the No Child Left Behind education legislation even though he had opposed it.

"Look, politics is a team sport, folks," he said of the measure backed by Republican President George W. Bush and other GOP lawmakers.

With pivotal primaries in Arizona and Michigan just six days distant — and 10 more contests one week later — Romney and Santorum sparred more aggressively than in past debates, sometimes talking over each other's answers.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul chimed in from the side, saying with a smile that Santorum was a fake conservative who had voted for programs that he now says he wants to repeal. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich acted almost as a referee at times.

On foreign affairs, all four Republicans attacked President Barack Obama for his handling of Iran and its attempt to develop a nuclear program, but none of the contenders advocated providing arms to the rebels trying to topple the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The most animated clash of the evening focused on health care in the United States.

Santorum said that Romney had used government money to "fund a federal takeover of health care in Massachusetts," a reference to the state law that was enacted during Romney's term as governor. The law includes a requirement for individuals to purchase coverage that is similar to the one in Obama's landmark federal law that Romney and other Republicans have vowed to repeal.

In rebuttal, Romney said Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, actually bore responsibility for passage of the health care law that Obama won from a Democratic-controlled Congress in 2010, even though he wasn't in office at the time. Romney said that in a primary battle in 2004, Santorum had supported then-Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, who later switched parties and voted for the law Obama wanted.

"He voted for Obamacare. If you had not supported him, if we had said no to Arlen Specter, we would not have Obamacare," Romney contended.

Santorum was the aggressor on bailouts.

While all four of the Republicans on the debate stage opposed the federal bailout of the auto industry in 2008 and 2009, Santorum said he had voted against other government-funded rescue efforts.

"With respect to Governor Romney that was not the case, he supported the folks on Wall Street and bailed out Wall Street — was all for it — and when it came to the auto workers and the folks in Detroit, he said no. That to me is not a principled consistent position," he said.

The debate had a different look from the 19 that preceded it. Instead of standing behind lecterns, the four presidential rivals sat in chairs lined up side by side. Romney, Santorum and Paul recently announced they would not participate in another four-way appearance that had been scheduled in Atlanta, raising the possibility that the 20th debate might be the last.

There was another difference, as well, in the form of polls that underscored the gains that Obama has made in his bid for re-election.

An Associated Press-Gfk poll released Wednesday found that Obama would defeat any of the four remaining Republican contenders in a hypothetical matchup. It also found that the nation is showing more optimism about the state of the economy, the dominant issue in the race.

But for two hours, Romney, Santorum, Paul and Gingrich had a different campaign in mind, their own race for the Republican nomination and the right to oppose Obama in the fall.

After a brief lull, the campaign calendar calls for 13 primaries and caucuses between next Tuesday, when Arizona and Michigan have primaries, and March 6, a 10-state Super Tuesday.

Romney is campaigning confidently in Arizona, so much so that his campaign has not aired any television ads.

But the former Massachusetts governor faces an unexpectedly strong challenge in his home state of Michigan, where Santorum is hoping to spring an upset. Santorum's candidacy has rebounded in the two weeks since he won caucuses in Minnesota, Colorado and a non-binding primary in Missouri.

The result is a multimillion-dollar barrage of television commercials in Michigan in which the candidates and their allies swap accusations in hopes of tipping the race.

In all, 518 Republican National Convention delegates are at stake between Feb. 28 and March 6, three times the number awarded in the states that have voted since the beginning of the year. It takes 1,144 to win the nomination.

The dynamic of the campaign — Santorum challenging Romney — made their clashes Wednesday night inevitable.

Romney said Santorum voted five times while in Congress to raise the government's ability to borrow, supported retention of a law that favors construction unions and supported increased spending for Planned Parenthood. He said federal spending had risen 78 percent overall while the former Pennsylvania senator was in Congress.

Santorum retorted that government spending declined as a percentage of the economy when he was in the Senate, and he noted that when Romney was asked last year if he would support a then-pending debt-limit increase, "he said yes."

There was a clash over federal spending earmarks, as well, and Gingrich sought to intervene as if serving as a referee instead of a debate participant.

He said he supported the earmarks that Romney had sought for the Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002, but then he accused Romney of observing a double standard by running television ads attacking Santorum for having voted for different earmarks.

He said it was silly for Romney to take the position that "what you got was right and what he got was wrong."

In the hours leading to Wednesday night's debate, Romney called for a 20 percent across-the-board cut in personal income taxes as part of a program he said would revitalize the economy and help create jobs. The top tax rate would drop from 35 percent to 28 percent, and some popular breaks would be scaled back for upper-income taxpayers. However, aides provided scant details.

"We've got to have more jobs, less debt and smaller government, they go together," Romney said in an appearance in nearby Chandler. "By lowering those marginal rates, we help businesses that pay at the individual tax rate to have more money so they can hire more people."

Romney's proposal sharpened his differences with Obama, who favors allowing tax cuts enacted under President Bush to expire on higher incomes.

Santorum, who has emerged as Romney's leading challenger in the Republican race, campaigned at a tea party gathering in Tucson, where he said his rival's new tax proposal largely mirrored one he had had already made.

"Welcome to the party, governor, it's great to have you along," he said.

Santorum's rise in the race has left Gingrich and Paul on the outside looking for a way in.

The former House speaker has yet to recover from a campaign nosedive that began after he won the South Carolina primary on Jan. 21, and he is pinning his hopes on his home state of Georgia to begin a comeback on March 6.

His campaign announced plans Wednesday to buy 30-minute blocks of television time in upcoming primary and caucus states for an infomercial on reducing energy prices.

Gingrich's decision not to campaign in Michigan so far has allowed Santorum to compete against Romney without also having to fend off a rival for the votes of conservatives.

Paul has yet to win any primaries or caucuses.

He has weighed in against Santorum, though, airing an ad in Michigan that challenges the former senator's claim of taking a conservative line against federal spending. The ad says Santorum voted to raise the debt limit five times, and also supported legislation that created a prescription drug benefit under Medicare.