Manley received questions on topics ranging from his time as a Fulbright scholar in Bangalore, India, to his thoughts on bullying.

The Republican | Michael BeswickRichard Manley, a finalist for South Hadley High School principal, spent the day at the school on Tuesday.

SOUTH HADLEY – The public had a chance to meet one of the candidates for principal of South Hadley High School on Tuesday.

Richard Manley, who currently teaches history at the high school in Windham, N.H., which he founded and where he previously served as principal, spent the day in South Hadley, talking to students, teachers and parents.

Tuesday night, the public had a chance to meet and question him on a broad range of topics, from his time in Bangalore, India, where he was a student on a Fulbright grant, to his thoughts on bullying.

Manley said he was eager to go back to being a principal. “It’s what I do and what I know,” he told his audience of about two dozen.

He told them schools must keep touch with parents so there are no surprises when grades come out. Parents want to know not just “How is my child doing?” but “What can we do about that?” he said.

The Internet is useful in that respect, he said, but “you can’t replace one-on-one communication.”

He believes that administrators should be visible to both teachers and students. One of his favorite places for informal conversation is the cafeteria, where he spent time Tuesday asking students about their school.

“What they communicated was very positive feedback,” said Manley.

“There’s an air of anticipation that the school is ready to develop the next chapter of its history.”

Manley said schools have to be serious about bullying prevention because “it’s not just a safety and emotional issue, it’s an academic issue.” If students are worrying about bullies, they can’t concentrate on their studies.

Manley taught middle school for five years and high school for 15 years. He was principal of North Middlesex Regional High School and assistant principal of the Hollis- Brookline district in New Hampshire. He earned a certificate in school administration and learned to speak Spanish.

He also earned a law degree from Suffolk University, but returned to the field of education because he found it “more personally satisfying,” he said.

The search for a new principal began when current South Hadley High School principal Daniel T. Smith announced in February that he would leave his post at the end of the year.

The Republican | Michael BeswickRobert Manley, a finalist for South Hadley High School principal.

Moore was captured without a fight outside of a grocery store after he was spotted having coffee.

Associated PressInvestigators the scene of King Soopers grocery store on Tuesday, April 26, 2011 morning in Boulder Colo., where a suspect in the leaving a pipe bomb and two propane tanks at a Denver-area shopping mall on April 20 has been arrested. Earl Albert Moore, 65, was captured Tuesday at the grocery store, said Boulder Police spokeswoman Kim Kobel. (AP Photo/The Camera, Paul Aiken)

By P. SOLOMON BANDA

BOULDER, Colo. — A man suspected of leaving a homemade bomb at a Colorado shopping mall — initially raising concerns about a possible Columbine-inspired plot — was captured Tuesday without a fight outside of a grocery store after he was spotted having coffee.

Federal and local officials allege 65-year-old Earl Albert Moore planted a pipe bomb and propane tanks in the Southwest Plaza Mall in the south Denver suburbs last week. The explosives were found April 20 after a fire in a hallway at the mall's food court, but they didn't detonate.

The discovery came on the 12th anniversary of the Columbine shootings and the mall is just two miles away from the high school where teenage gunmen killed 12 students and a teacher in 1999. Both the fire and the school shootings occurred around the same time of day and a pipe bomb and propane tanks were also found at Columbine after the shootings.

Authorities looked at the possibility of a connection between the two events but say they've concluded there was no tie. FBI agents have said they have found a motive, but they refused to reveal it Tuesday.

Police arrested Moore after a shopper spotted him having a cup of coffee in a Starbucks inside a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder. Authorities said he was unarmed and officers didn't have to draw their weapons.

Associated PressFILE - This undated photo released by the Denver FBI shows Earl Albert Moore, 65, who was captured Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at a grocery store after being suspected of leaving a pipe bomb and two propane tanks at a Denver-area shopping mall on April 20. (AP Photo/FBI Denver Division)

Police and store security searched the store after Moore's arrest and said they didn't find anything suspicious.

Supermarket spokeswoman Kelli McGannon said the shopper who spotted Moore alerted a store manager and then dialed 911. She said that a police officer also happened to come into the store.

Boulder Police Officer Greg Perry was in the store watching Moore when the suspect went out a side entrance near the coffee shop. Officer Steve Cast, a 12-year veteran who responded to the 911 call in a marked police car, was able to stop him.

"He turned toward me and realized I was the police and did an about-face," Cast said. Cast said he swung his car around to block Moore and got out of the car, with his hand on his gun. Moore immediately got on the ground when ordered and didn't talk to Cast.

Boulder police spokeswoman Kim Kobel said Moore had some facial hair, like he hadn't shaved, but had no mustache as shown in pictures released by the FBI.

Officials identified Moore as the suspect on Sunday after viewing surveillance video showing him in the mall and on a bus. The FBI then alerted its field offices covering all 50 states and Puerto Rico to be on the lookout for Moore, who was released from prison a week before the explosives were found.

It's unclear where Moore spent the past six days but FBI spokesman Dave Joly said he was homeless. Kobel said it was unclear whether he was camping in Boulder. He's due to appear in court Wednesday.

Moore has an extensive criminal record and public records show he lived in Colorado at least part time from the mid-1980s to 2004.

Federal Bureau of Prisons records show that Moore was released from prison April 13 after serving time in a federal prison in Atlanta and Estill, S.C. Federal court record show that Moore pleaded guilty in May 2005 to robbing a bank in Crab Orchard, W.Va., of $2,546.

A judge sentenced Moore to 18 years in prison for the bank robbery. However, his sentence was reduced to seven years in February 2008 after prosecutors asked for a reduction because he cooperated with authorities in another case, according to court documents.

Colorado Bureau of Investigation records show several arrests for possession of dangerous drugs, theft, and possession of burglary tools dating to 1984. Court records show that an arrest warrant had been issued for Moore in September 2004, six months before the West Virginia bank robbery, for his failure to appear at a court hearing related to a burglary tools case.

In 1985, Moore pleaded guilty to unlawful escape from custody of the attorney general and possession of an unregistered firearm and was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, according to court records. Moore had walked away from a halfway house and was later found with machine gun parts, according to records.

Federal authorities could not immediately provide details of where he served his sentence in that case.

In that case, U.S. District Judge Zita Weinshienk noted in July 1985 that Moore had a "long past history of offenses involving firearms and explosives" and denied a reduction of his sentence, saying that Moore "was not an 'average' offender." Moore's public defender asked for a reduction in his sentence partly because he cooperated with federal agents in the discovery of a drug lab in New Jersey and aided in their apprehension, according to documents stored at the Federal Records Center in suburban Denver.

Moore also served a year in Danbury, Conn., federal prison in 1983, according to Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesman Edmond Ross.

Details of his previous court cases were not immediately available.

Moore has used at least seven aliases that include variations of the names Earl Albert Buchannan, Donald Charles Morelli and Gary Steele, according to state arrest records. In addition, the FBI said Moore also uses the alias John Lindzy.

Public records show the owners of an apartment complex in Denver had filed to evict Moore and a female relative in October 2004 for failure to pay rent, The Denver Post reported.

Two banks also filed claims saying he owed them a total of more than $11,000, Denver court records show.

Associated Press writers Catherine Tsai, Sheila V Kumar, Dan Elliott and Judith Kohler contributed to this report from Denver.

Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Robert Haynes: "We're going to fight this to the bitter end."

The Republican | Joe DeburroThe Massachusetts Statehouse in Boston.

BOSTON — Massachusetts House leaders are offering to modify their plan to cut employee health insurance costs for cities and towns in the hopes of heading off union opposition to the proposal.

The offer was quickly rebuffed by labor officials who accused House leaders of stripping away collective bargaining rights.

The leadership plan would create a 30-day negotiating window between city and town leaders and unions. If no agreement is reached, municipalities would still be allowed to impose changes in co-payments, deductibles and other aspects of health care plans.

In that case, however, municipalities would have to return 20 percent of savings back to employees in the first year, instead of the 10 percent in the original proposal.

Union officials vowed to fight the plan, saying it still goes too far.

File photo | The RepublicanRobert J. Haynes, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, rejected House leaders' latest proposal to cut health care insurance costs for municipal employees, saying, "We're going to fight this to the bitter end."

"You don't take collective bargaining away from unions here in Massachusetts," said Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Robert Haynes. "We're going to fight this to the bitter end."

Municipal leaders said they were pleased with the proposal. They said soaring health care costs are threatening core services.

"This is about saving jobs," said Massachusetts Municipal Association President Geoffrey Beckwith. "It's about providing services — public safety and education services — and making sure taxpayer dollars are being spent in a way that sustainable and appropriate."

The deal emerged during the second day of debate on the House's proposed $30.4 billion spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Earlier in the day, lawmakers voted to bar welfare recipients from using their state-issued electronic benefits cards to buy alcohol, tobacco or lottery tickets.

Supporters of the ban say it not only safeguards public resources, but guarantees recipients are using public dollars for essential needs.

"It will prevent further scamming of the system and abuse of taxpayer dollars," said Rep. Shaunna O'Connell, R-Taunton.

The ban also extends to store owners who would be prohibited from accepting the cards as payment for the banned products or face fines up to $1,000.

The House plan would also create tough sanctions against anyone who steals or embezzles welfare funds, with violators facing fines of up to $25,000 or five years in jail.

The ban passed unanimously.

House lawmakers also voted 128-22 to repeal a law requiring medical companies to disclose to state regulators any gifts given to doctors while banning other kinds of gifts outright.

The 2008 law bars pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers from giving doctors tickets to sporting events and the theater, as well as vacation trips.

The law also requires the firms report to the state Department of Public Health all gifts over $50 offered to doctors, hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacists and other health providers.

Critics say the law harms the state's competitive edge while backers say it helps prevent pharmaceutical groups from encouraging doctors to prescribe pricier brand-name drugs instead of lower-cost generics. Violators face $5,000 fines.

"There is ample evidence that the biotech industry is not shying away from Massachusetts" despite the ban, said Rep. Jason Lewis, D-Winchester, who said the state added 800 biotech jobs last year.

The repeal faces a tougher fight in the Senate.

One of the law's top backers is Senate President Therese Murray, D-Plymouth, who has said a goal of the ban is to reduce waste and inefficiencies that could threaten the state's landmark 2006 health care law.

While more than 700 amendments have been proposed, much of the House budget debate is conducted away from the public eye.

Throughout the debate, House leaders tell lawmakers they can adjourn to a separate room to discuss which amendments in a given category should be approved and which should be defeated. Those meetings are closed.

Amendments deemed worthy of passing are gathered into a single, so-called "consolidated amendment," which is then typically approved on with a single vote.

On Monday House lawmakers defeated a Republican-backed amendment to cut the state's 5.3 percent income tax to 5 percent over a three-year period beginning July 1, 2012.

A proposal to reduce the 6.25 percent sales tax was also defeated Monday.

Democratic House leaders say their budget trims spending and dips deeper into the state's reserve fund. The plan, which includes no new taxes, is designed to bridge what's been estimated as a nearly $2 billion gap between revenues and spending levels in the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The Senate will take up the budget after the House completes its action.

Any differences between the two branches will be worked out by a House-Senate conference committee before the spending plan is sent to the governor for his signature.

Planning Board chair Ann Parizo said the board may vote on the New City neighborhood project after the next hearing.

View full sizeA southerly aerial view of Parsons Village from the Valley CDC's special permit application, filed Dec. 28, 2010.

EASTHAMPTON – Planning Board chair Ann Parizo announced Tuesday that the final public hearing on the special permit application for Parsons Village will be May 10, possibly followed that night by a vote.

Parsons Village is the affordable housing development proposed for Parsons Street, which is in Easthampton’s New City section. The permit is necessary because the development would be multi-family and it would fall partly in a residential district and partly in a commercial district, said city planner Stuart Beckley.

The applicant, Northampton-based Valley Community Development Corp., has a purchase and sale agreement on the 4.3-acre lot at 69 Parsons St. and is working to secure low-income housing tax credits.

The New City Neighborhood Association has argued that the project violates the city’s Master Plan, especially its recommendations, called Smart Growth, that new housing should be in developments near transportation hubs and commercial districts. The New City Neighborhood Association says access to public transportation is half a mile away from the project, making it difficult for residents to get to grocery stores, the post office and houses of worship.

In a letter to the Planning Board dated April 25, David Boyle, owner of the parcel and former chairman of the Master Plan committee, said the association is wrong.

“...In no way does this project violate the Master Plan,” Boyle wrote. “Maybe there are details that are open to some interpretation but in no way does the Valley CDC project run counter to the spirit or results of that process.”

Submitted by Amy HeflinA yard sign, one of many in the New City neighborhood, expressing opposition to Parsons Village.

Association member Amy Heflin said if the permit is granted, it will signify that city officials do not take the Master Plan seriously.

Another major concern among abutters is that there are already several affordable and elderly housing projects in the neighborhood.

“If there’s a need for housing of this kind, I think you should look to another neighborhood which isn’t as dense,” said resident Susan Hess at Tuesday’s hearing.

“No one debates that low-income housing is needed,” said Heflin. “We’re suggesting an alternative.”

Heflin said she would be happy if there were 22 units instead of the proposed 38 and some were owner-occupied. Valley CDC executive director Joanne Campbell said there is no state funding available for owner-occupied units and that reducing the number of units any further would hurt them economically.

“(The neighbors’) input has got to count ... or we’re not doing a very good job as government officials,” said City Councilor Justin P. Cobb, a New City resident who has opposed the project since its inception.

The New City Neighborhood Association has brought its concerns to state affordable housing grantors to try to cut off the development’s funding.

Campbell said the development meets all zoning requirements. If the permit is denied, she said, “Our team will have to determine what to do.”

The final public hearing will be held May 10, at 6:05 p.m. at the Municipal Building at 50 Payson Ave. Parizo said she would like to keep the public comment portion brief. She said the board may vote afterward.

Union officials vowed to fight "to the bitter end."

The Republican | Joe DeburroThe Massachusetts Statehouse in Boston.

Updates a story posted Tuesday at 10:24 p.m.

BOSTON — The Massachusetts House has voted to dramatically strengthen the power of city and town leaders to change health insurance plans for municipal employees over the objections of unions.

The 111-42 vote late Tuesday came after House leaders agreed to modify their original plan in the hopes of heading off labor opposition.

The modified plan would add a 30-day negotiating window between city and town leaders and unions to work out disagreements.

If no agreement is reached, municipalities would be allowed to impose changes in co-payments, deductibles and other aspects of health care plans.

In that case, however, municipalities would have to return 20 percent of savings to employees in the first year, instead of the 10 percent in the original plan.

Union officials vowed to fight "to the bitter end."

Hackers forced Sony to shut down its PlayStation Network for the past week, disconnecting 77 million user accounts.

File photo | Associated PressVisitors at the Sony Building in downtown Tokyo play Sony's PlayStation 3. Sony Corp. said Tuesday that the credit card data of PlayStation users around the world may have been stolen in a hack that forced it to shut down its PlayStation Network for the past week, disconnecting 77 million user accounts. (AP Photo/Katsumi Kasahara, File)

By JORDAN ROBERTSON
and RYAN NAKASHIMA
AP Business Writers

LOS ANGELES — Sony Corp. said Tuesday that the credit card data of PlayStation users around the world may have been stolen in a hack that forced it to shut down its PlayStation Network for the past week, disconnecting 77 million user accounts.

Some players brushed off the breach as a common hazard of operating in a connected world, and Sony said some services would be restored in a week. But industry experts said the scale of the breach was staggering and could cost the company billions of dollars.

"Simply put, one of the worst breaches we've seen in several years," said Josh Shaul, chief technology officer for Application Security Inc., a New York-based company that is one of the country's largest database security software makers.

Sony said it has no direct evidence credit card information was taken, but said "we cannot rule out the possibility."

It said the intrusion was "malicious" and that the company had hired an outside security firm to investigate. It has taken steps to rebuild its system to provide greater protection for personal information and warned users to contact credit agencies and set up fraud alerts.

"Our teams are working around the clock on this, and services will be restored as soon as possible," it said in a blog post Tuesday.

The company shut down the network last Wednesday after it said account information, including names, birthdates, email addresses and log-in information was compromised for certain players in the days prior. Sony says people in 59 nations use the PlayStation network.

Purchase history and credit card billing address information may also have been stolen but the intruder did not obtain the 3-digit security code on the back of cards, Sony said. Spokesman Satoshi Fukuoka said the company has not received any reports yet of credit card fraud or abuse resulting from the breach.

Shaul said that not having direct proof of credit card information theft should not instill a sense of security, and could mean Sony just didn't know what files were touched.

"They indicated that they're worried about it, which is probably a very strong indication that everything was stolen," he said.

If the intruder successfully stole credit card data, the heist would rank among the biggest known thefts of financial data.

Recent major hacks included some 130 million card numbers stolen from payment processor Heartland Payment Systems. As many as 100 million accounts were lifted in a break-in at TJX Cos., the chain that owns discount retailers T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, and some 4.2 million card numbers were stolen from East Coast grocery chain Hannaford Bros. Those attacks allegedly involved a single person: Albert Gonzalez, a Miami hacker who was sentenced last year to 20 years in prison for the attacks.

The Ponemon Institute, a data-security research firm, estimated that the cost of a data breach involving a malicious or criminal act averaged $318 per compromised record in 2010, up 48 percent from the year earlier.

That could pin the potential cost of the PlayStation breach at more than $24 billion.

Alan Paller, director of research for the SANS Institute, a security training organization, said that even if credit numbers weren't stolen, knowing someone's name, email address and which games he or she likes can lead to expertly crafted scam e-mails. Knowing billing histories can be even more harmful, since they can identify big spenders.

"If you know someone's spent a lot on gaming, they could be a spectacular target," he said.

The PlayStation break-in serves as a reminder of the danger of large-scale breaches, even as hackers gravitate toward smaller attacks that target specific, valuable data and are harder to detect.

Some PlayStation users appeared to shrug off the danger although they were taking precautions.

Joshua Delgado, a 36-year-old self-employed gamer in Moreno Valley, said he now wants to check to see if the credit card he registered on the network was one that had recently expired or not. For now, he's no longer playing the multiplayer shooter game, "MAG," nor is he renting movies over the system any more.

"There are worse things that are going on in the world — it's a game," he said. "But I'm disappointed that they weren't more prepared for something like this."

The theft of credit card numbers has taken on a routine feel, even though instances of mega-breaches have been declining.

Verizon's latest annual security report, one of the industry's most authoritative analyses, found that the number of compromised records in cases examined by it and the U.S. Secret Service dropped from a record-breaking 361 million in 2008 to under 4 million last year.

The decline was the result of more targeted attacks, as well as the lack of major breaches to inflate the numbers.

Michael Brant, a 52-year-old railway worker in Columbus, Ohio, said the network outage prevents him from playing "Call of Duty" on a team with his 8-year-old grandson against potential online opponents, who have numbered above 150,000 at any one time.

He's been able to catch up on TV shows and news in the down time and he didn't seem worried about the possible loss of data.

"Everybody gets hacked," he said. Brant said he would not hold a long-term grudge against Sony "as long as they get the stuff back up and running and nobody has to suffer from it."

Robertson reported from San Francisco. Associated Press Writer Shino Yuasa in Tokyo contributed to this report.

The sponsors of California's same-sex marriage ban are arguing the judge's decade-long relationship with another man poses a potential conflict because they might want to get hitched themselves.

In this photo taken Nov. 19, 2010, Chief District Judge Vaughn R. Walker, of the Northern District of California, speaks at a legal conference in Seattle. The sponsors of California's same-sex marriage ban say the recent disclosure by Walker that he is in a long-term relationship with another man has given them new grounds to appeal the ruling that struck down Proposition 8 last summer. Walker retired from the bench at the end of February. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

By LISA LEFF, Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The sponsors of California's same-sex marriage ban insist they are not trying to disqualify the federal judge who struck down Proposition 8 because he is gay.

Instead, they argue the judge's decade-long relationship with another man poses a potential conflict because they might want to get hitched themselves.

Experts in judicial ethics said Tuesday that carefully parsed line of reasoning is unlikely to prevail.

They pointed out that while courts have not yet had to wrestle with sexual orientation as grounds for judicial recusal, judges typically have rejected efforts to remove jurists based on personal characteristics such as race, gender, religion or even the contents of their investment portfolios.

"I don't think this judge had any more duty to disclose his sexual orientation than a Christian or Jewish or Muslim judge has a duty to discuss their religion or a heterosexual judge has his duty to discuss their sexual orientation," retired Illinois state Judge Raymond McKoski said.

At the center of the dispute is Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, who issued the ruling last August declaring Proposition 8 to be an unconstitutional violation of gay Californians' civil rights.

"We are not suggesting that a gay or lesbian judge could not sit on this case," attorneys for the backers of Proposition 8 wrote in their motion filed Monday to overturn the landmark ruling. "Simply stated, under governing California law, Chief Judge Walker currently cannot marry his partner, but his decision in this case ... would give him a right to do so."

They claim Walker should have disclosed the relationship while presiding over the case and said if he had any interest in marrying his partner.

This September 2010 picture provided by the family shows Tim Smulian, a South African citizen, left, and Edwin Blesch, an American, outside the Au Petit Poucet restaurant in Val David, Quebec, Canada. They married in 2007 in South Africa. Because of the U.S. law barring federal recognition of same-sex marriages, Smulian uses tourist visas which limit him to six months annually in the U.S. That means that to be together, the two retirees have to uproot themselves from their home on Long Island and spend half the year abroad. (AP Photo)

DePaul University College of Law professor Jeffrey Shaman, co-author of a widely used textbook on judicial conduct, said the fact that Walker was rumored to be gay from the moment he randomly drew the Proposition 8 case "somewhat undercuts the argument that he should have disclosed he was in a long-term relationship."

Lawyers for backers of the ban seem to be grasping at straws in making their argument against the now-retired Walker, Shaman said.

"But it's their prerogative to do this as lawyers," Shaman said. "It might indicate they are worried about the judge's opinion, which was such a strong opinion, and they are trying to make an end run around it."

The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, a political action committee and recruitment organization for gay politicians, said there are now 102 openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender judges in the U.S.

Only one, U.S. District Judge Deborah Batts in New York, serves at the federal level, although President Barack Obama has nominated two gay men for federal judgeships but they have not been confirmed.

Rumors that Walker was gay and had a long-term partner who accompanied him to social functions circulated during the 13-day trial that preceded his decision and after he handed it down. The judge declined to comment at the time.

Members of the Proposition 8 team openly complained about Walker's handling of the case and accused him of favoring the same-sex couples who had sued in his court for the right to marry. But they refrained from raising the specter of the judge's sexual orientation, saying media reports and gossip were an unsound basis for legal strategy.

"The bottom line is this case, from our perspective, is and always will be about the law and not about the judge who decides it," Jim Campbell, a lawyer with the Christian legal defense group Alliance Defense Fund, told The Associated Press in August.

That might have remained their position if Walker, who retired in late February after two decades on the federal bench, had not decided to end the speculation himself.

Earlier this month, Walker had a farewell meeting with a select group of courthouse reporters. When the topic came up, Walker said he never thought about recusing himself because he was gay and noted that no one had asked him to, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, which had a reporter at the gathering.

The judge also revealed that he'd been in a relationship with a man he identified only as a physician for a decade.

"If you thought a judge's sexuality, ethnicity, national origin (or) gender would prevent the judge from handling a case, that's a very slippery slope," Walker said. "I don't think it's relevant."

The lawyers who filed the motion to wipe out the judge's ruling declined to elaborate outside their written arguments about why they concluded that Walker's comment about his partner caused them to change course.

In their filing, they stated in a lengthy footnote that the burden for "maintaining impartiality and the appearance of impartiality" lies with judges, and that it was not the place of the lawyers to investigate Walker's private affairs.

Retired California state Judge Jeffrey Rothman said bias claims have arisen in the past surrounding judges with strong religious views. But he noted that the bar for disqualification is purposefully set high. Lawyers representing a clinic that performed abortions, for example, would not be able to challenge a devoutly Catholic judge, he said.

"They would get absolutely nowhere with such a challenge unless that judge had gone out and made statements or speeches saying he believed that Roe v. Wade ought to be overturned if that case ever came before them," Rothman said. "The question is, can the beliefs be set aside and the judge decide the case on its merits and be fair."

Facebook is launching a deals program Tuesday in five U.S. cities, following on the popularity of Groupon and other services that offer deep discounts.

FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2011 photo, a Facebook page is seen on a computer in Montpelier, Vt. Following on the popularity of sites like Groupon, Facebook is launching its own daily deals program Tuesday, April 26, 2011 in five U.S. cities. The social network hopes to exploit the peer-to-peer aspect of group buying when it begins testing offers in San Diego, San Francisco, Austin, Atlanta and Dallas. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)

By ELLEN GIBSON, AP Retail Writer

What happens when you cross the world's largest social network with one of the hottest business models in e-commerce? Facebook wants to find out.

Facebook is launching a deals program Tuesday in five U.S. cities, following on the popularity of Groupon and other services that offer deep discounts — for example: $50 worth of food at a local eatery for $25.

By allowing small businesses to leverage the Internet while helping consumers score great deals, these group-couponing services have become some of the fastest-growing businesses in the world.

Facebook now wants a part of that. It hopes to exploit its existing networks of friends and family when it begins testing offers in San Diego, San Francisco, Atlanta, Dallas and Austin, Texas.

Many deals sites have a social component. For instance, if you get three friends to buy a LivingSocial voucher, yours is free. Groupon's offers become valid only after a certain number of people purchase them.

But the deals are circulated to users through email, and the community aspect is secondary.

Facebook is hoping to change that.

"We're building a product that is social from the ground up," says Emily White, director of local for Facebook. "All of these deals are things you want to do with friends, so no teeth whitening, but yes to river rafting."

Starting Tuesday, when Facebook users in the five test markets log in to the site, they will see a deals insignia at the bottom of the page. (The dashboard pops up automatically if the "current city" listed in your profile is one of the five included in the pilot.)

Clicking on it brings up a list of currently available offers. A user can buy one, click the "like" button to recommend it to others or share the offer with friends through Facebook's private messaging system. When users purchase or "like" a deal, it shows up in their friends' news feed.

That means "the discovery of the product can happen in lots of different places," White says.

To get the program started, Facebook has enlisted 11 companies that already supply deals elsewhere. Restaurant reservation service OpenTable will broadcast offers for local eateries, while online ticket seller Viagogo will market events.

"Dining out is an inherently social activity, so extending our reach to deals on Facebook is a natural experiment for us," says Scott Jampol, general manager of OpenTable's deals program, Spotlight.

By allowing small businesses to leverage the Internet while helping consumers score great deals, group-couponing services such as Groupon have become some of the fastest-growing businesses in the world and now Facebook wants a share of the profits.

Facebook now wants a part of that.

Not all offers involve discounts. Some are experiences people may not otherwise have access to, such as a backstage pass to Austin City Limits concerts, a tour of the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium, or a children's sleepover at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco with live-snake demos.

In some cases, you'll get a "friend bonus" — an additional discount — if at least one other person in your social network buys a deal.

Leveraging social tools and direct sharing among friends will be "a key to success for daily deal companies" going forward, says Lou Kerner, social media analyst at Wedbush.

This is not the first time a social network has made a foray into disseminating deals. Twitter launched its own daily deal program called Earlybird Offers last year but canceled it after just two months. Last November Facebook launched a product called Check-in Deals that allowed users to "check in" via their mobile phones when they visit certain businesses and in turn receive discounts and other special offers. Location-based social network Foursquare has a similar program.

Offers through Facebook can last anywhere from a day to a week. The social network won't disclose how much commission it takes. (With Groupon and others, the deal site typically takes up to half the revenue.)

There are hundreds of Groupon copycats willing to accept lower commissions, but many small businesses prefer to partner with larger companies such as Groupon and LivingSocial because they reach more potential customers.

Facebook will bring deals to even more people. While Groupon has 70 million members and LivingSocial has 28 million, Facebook has 500 million users worldwide.

Add to that the fact that many small businesses already have a Facebook presence, and the social network becomes a good fit for daily deals, says Greg Sterling, senior analyst for Opus Research.

Groupon declined to comment on Facebook's competitive threat or whether the coupon site will continue to advertise on Facebook.

As a share of overall Web surfing, visits to group-buying sites grew ten-fold over the past year, according to research firm Experian. LivingSocial had 7 million unique visitors in March, up 27 percent from February, making it one of the 10 fastest-growing websites in the U.S., according to ComScore.

"Groupon and LivingSocial have shown how much demand there is out there," Sterling says. "Facebook, if they do this right, can have a big hit on their hands."

Massachusetts House lawmakers are returning for a third day of debate on their proposed $30.4 billion state budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts House lawmakers are returning for a third day of debate on their proposed $30.4 billion state budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

On Tuesday lawmakers adopted an amendment to bar welfare recipients from using their state-issued electronic benefits cards to buy alcohol, tobacco or lottery tickets.

Supporters of the ban say it safeguards tax dollars.

The House approved a second amendment Tuesday that would repeal a law requiring medical companies to disclose to state regulators all gifts over $50 given to doctors while banning other kinds of gifts outright.

Democratic House leaders say their proposed budget trims spending and dips deeper into the state's reserve fund.

It also offers local communities relief from soaring municipal health insurance costs at the expense of some union bargaining rights.

Gov. Deval Patrick's latest choice for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is preparing for her Statehouse confirmation hearing.

Barbara Lenk, Gov. Deval Patrick's latest choice for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is preparing for her Statehouse confirmation hearing.

BOSTON (AP) — Gov. Deval Patrick's latest choice for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is preparing for her Statehouse confirmation hearing.

Appeals Court Judge Barbara Lenk is scheduled to go before the Governor's Council on Wednesday. The eight-member panel must approve judicial nominees.

At least three panel members have faulted Patrick for his handling of her nomination, in part because Patrick noted that Lenk would be the court's first openly gay member.

One council member, Charles Cipollini of Fall River, suggested Patrick nominated Lenk to cater to groups that have backed him politically, including members of the gay community.

Patrick dismissed the criticism, calling Lenk "more than qualified" to serve on the high court.

Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray will chair the meeting.

The council is not expected to vote on Lenk's nomination immediately.

Police in two states are probing the disappearance of 32-year-old Joshua Parrott, who was last seen in the early morning hours of Friday, April 22.

Joshua Parrot was last seen on April 22 in Vermont and his car was found in New Hampshire a short time later.

NORTH WALPOLE, N.H. - Police in two states are probing the disappearance of 32-year-old Joshua Parrott, who was last seen on Friday, April 22.

According to published media reports, Parrott, a North Walpole, N.H. resident, was last seen in in Westminster, Vt., at 3 a.m. Friday, although his vehicle was found in his hometown a short time later.

On Saturday, police searched a wooded area not far from where his car was found. The New Hampshire Sentinel Source reported that the Cheshire County Sheriff’s Office and N.H. Fish and Game assisted in the search and on Monday expanded the efforts to include the waters of the Connecticut River.

Police have released few details about the incident but did tell the Sentinal Source that foul play isn't directly suspected, but not being ruled out at this point.

Parrott is described as a white man weighing approximately 190 pounds, 5-feet, 7-inches tall with blue eyes and brown hair. He was reportedly last seen wearing black sneakers, blue jeans and a brown shirt.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts may contact the Walpole New Hampshire Police Department at 603-355-2000.

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The earliest material is now in the UMass library archives but there’s still more to come from the Hampshire Council of Government office.

Photo by Diane Lederman / The RepublicanThis cabinet shows where the earliest Hampshire County records were stored in the Hampshire Council of Government's office dating back to 1677. These records are now with the University of Massachusetts special collections and university archives. The council is donating its archives to UMass.

NORTHAMPTON - Michael Cote, an environmental planner, was working on a project for the city when Planning Director Wayne M. Feiden suggested Cote go over the Hampshire Council of Governments office to see if he could find an old map.

Cote said they were looking for an old parcel the city was thinking of buying for conservation and Feiden remembered seeing old maps at the council officer.

Lydia King, executive assistant took Cote into the large storeroom where the materials were kept and Cote said “I almost dropped dead. It was amazing.”

What he found were records dating back to 1677.

“It was stunning, stunning stuff.” Among the archives were court dockets kept by the court magistrate. Cote said he read of a dispute before the court between a husband and wife. On this particular complaint, the judge sentenced the woman to 40 lashes about the breast to be administered in public. While Cote was stunned by the punishment, he was also thinking “I shouldn’t be holding this” because of how old and fragile the document was. Cote, who also does work in historic preservation, and King were talking about what was there and King told him that that no one could get the stuff preserved. Cote said he took that has a challenge.

Now, two years later, the collection of materials is making its way to the University of Massachusetts Libraries’ Special Collections and University Archives.

The announcement of the donation is being made Thursday morning at the council officer.

Cote said he had been hunting for someone who word preserve the material thinking it would be good for a private collector or historian but “I couldn’t find anyone reliable.” Someone suggested he contact Robert S. Cox, head of Special Collections and University Archives.

Cox, who’s a historian with a focus on the early period, said he was shocked by what was there. Not only was it a period he loved personally, but said, “I never thought it was possible that this quantity, this quality( of material was available.)”

The earliest material is now in the library possession but there’s still more to come from the council office.

The trove contains all kinds old county records, including a coroner’s inquest form from someone suspected of dying by witchcraft. There were records of someone being fined for wearing silk outside his social station, Cox said.

Cote remembers how when the discovered an early map of New Salem where Cox lives in an historic house, “he welled up,” seeing it.

Cox said the courts dealt frequently with cases involving illegitimate children, or negligence on the part of parents. There was as record of record of a black man found guilt of having sexual relations with a white woman. And both were whipped.

“Because it is so detailed, when you look at this material in connection with other material, you have a very detailed picture of the formation of the community,” Cox said.

There are all kinds of maps, records of road and bridge work among the collection. The hope to get it all up on line soon.

“This is a good thing for UMass, for the people of Western Massachusetts.” Cox said it will provide access to so many more people than it did while sitting in the council closet.

We're working on a story looking at consumers' experience with auto insurance shopping.

Business WireReaders of Entertainment Weekly's website named Flo, the perky insurance clerk from car insurance company Progressive, the number one advertising icon in the country.

It’s been three years since the state deregulated its car-insurance market and gave consumers the ability to shop around for the best deal. I’m doing a story for The Republican and MassLive.com looking at the impact and I’m looking for people to talk with. How is it working for you?

Do you shop around? Have you saved money? Are you using your old agent? A new agent? Buying online? Have you noticed better service from your insurer? How has the claims process changed?

I’d love to hear from you – please call me at (413) 788-1307 or send me an email at jkinney@repub.com. And please feel free to discuss your experiences in the comments section of this post.

The FBI on Tuesday joined the investigation into the disappearance of a 20-year-old Maine woman whose car and toddler were found in New Hampshire, as family members held out hope that she will turn up alive.

This undated picture made available by Conway, N.H. Police shows 20-year-old Krista Dittmeyer, of Portland, Maine. Police said Sunday, April 24, 2011 they have no reason to believe that the Maine woman voluntarily abandoned her car with her infant daughter inside in a New Hampshire parking lot. The baby is in good condition and has been turned over to family members. Dittmeyer lives in Portland and has ties to Bridgton, Maine. (AP Photo/Conway Police)

CONWAY, N.H. (AP) — The FBI on Tuesday joined the investigation into the disappearance of a 20-year-old Maine woman whose car and toddler were found in New Hampshire, as family members held out hope that she will turn up alive.

Conway police believe Krista Dittmeyer was a crime victim and did not voluntarily leave her car at the Cranmore Mountain ski area parking lot with her 14-month-old daughter, Aliyah, inside. When police responded to a report of Dittmeyer's car idling with its hazard lights blinking at 6:30 a.m. Saturday, they found the infant unharmed and asleep but no trace of Dittmeyer.

The FBI offered three agents from its New Hampshire office to help in the investigation, said Conway police Lt. Chris Perley.

"We now have a conduit to federal resources we didn't have before, as well as three trained professional investigators," Perley said.

Perley declined to comment on a news report of blood being found in the car. He said the sheriff who released that information is not involved in the investigation.

This Saturday, April 23, 2011 photo released by the Conway, N.H., Police Department, as part of a reward poster, shows the car of Krista Dittmeyer of Portland, Maine, found Saturday in Conway with its engine running and hazard lights flashing in the parking lot of the Cranmore Mountain ski area. Dittmeyer was missing but her daughter was found safe inside the car. (AP Photo/Conway Police Department)

Dittmeyer grew up in Bridgton, Maine, about 25 miles from where her car was found. She moved to Portland shortly after her 2008 high school graduation and has been working as a waitress at a South Portland restaurant, according to her older sister, Kayla Dittmeyer.

Kayla Dittmeyer, who is 22 and lives in Colorado, said the family remains hopeful that Kristen will turn up alive. The family is offering a $3,000 reward for information leading to her whereabouts and has planned a candlelight vigil for Thursday night in Bridgton. Aliyah is now staying with Krista's mother in Bridgton.

"We don't know where she is, we don't know if she's OK, we don't know if she's hurt," Kayla Dittmeyer said. "For some reason somebody was after her, but we don't know who or why."

Lt. Chris Perley, of the Conway Police Department talks Tuesday, April 26, 2011 in Conway, N.H. about the investigation of Krista Dittmeyer, a missing mother who's car was found Saturday in a parking lot at the base of Mount Cranmore ski area with her baby inside the car. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

She declined to comment when asked about the father of her sister's daughter and his whereabouts during the ordeal. The father is not considered a suspect and police know he was not in the Conway area at the time of her disappearance, Perley said.

Perley said investigators have a good idea of when the car arrived at the Cranmore Mountain parking lot, but he wouldn't reveal the time, saying that kind of information will help police judge the credibility of potential witnesses.

The ski area closed in early April, but the resort is popular among joggers and those walking dogs. It also has a fitness center that is open year-round, but it was not yet open for the day at the time police got the report of Dittmeyer's car.

Dittmeyer Poster

A leading Rhode Island lawmaker charged with marijuana possession and drunk driving in Connecticut said Tuesday that police targeted him because he is a legislator.

FILE - In this Feb. 9, 2010 file photo, Rhode Island House Minority Leader, State Rep. Robert Watson, R-East Greenwich, is seen during a session in the House Chamber at the Statehouse. Police in East Haven, Conn., said Watson was stopped at a police checkpoint Friday, April 22, 2011, and charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, and driving under the influence. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

By DAVID KLEPPER, Associated Press

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A leading Rhode Island lawmaker charged with marijuana possession and drunk driving in Connecticut said Tuesday that police targeted him because he is a legislator.

House Minority Leader Robert Watson was arrested Friday after he was stopped at a police checkpoint in East Haven, Conn. Watson addressed the charges Tuesday on the House floor. He told lawmakers that police adopted a more aggressive attitude once they saw a legislative ID in his wallet.

"It seemed from that moment on the whole dynamic changed," said Watson, R-East Greenwich. "I was immediately told that I would have to submit to a field sobriety test."

East Haven Police Sgt. Gary DePalma, who was working the police checkpoint Friday, said Watson's claim that he was targeted because he is a lawmaker is "ridiculous."

"We interviewed hundreds of people," DePalma told The Associated Press. "I'm sure we talked to lawyers, doctors, carpenters. We don't care what you do."

Watson said he uses marijuana to treat recurring pain from a severe bout of pancreatitis that hospitalized him last fall, but he insisted that he hadn't smoked any the day of the arrest.

The veteran legislator apologized to citizens and lawmakers for creating a distraction as the General Assembly struggles to resolve the state's fiscal crisis.

Watson failed field sobriety tests and smelled of marijuana and alcohol, according to the police report on the incident. The officer who detained Watson reported that he slurred his words, had bloodshot eyes and showed difficulty keeping his balance. Police found a small bag of what they believed to be marijuana and a pipe in Watson's pocket.

Watson faces a May 11 hearing on charges of drunk driving and possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. He said he will fight the drunk driving allegations and the officer's depiction of him.

"I wish there had been cameras there. I wish it wasn't just my word against the police," Watson said. "I dispute the representations, the caricature that is depicted in the police report."

Watson was in Connecticut to help a friend move and was returning from dinner when he was stopped. He said he had consumed "several" drinks but wasn't drunk. An alcohol breath test performed at the police station determined that Watson's blood-alcohol level was 0.05, below the state's 0.08 limit.

Watson said he had a small supply of pot with him Friday in case he experienced a recurrence of his pancreatic illness. He said the illness put him in a coma for several days last fall and caused pain that he likened to a gunshot. He turned to marijuana after other pain medications gave him an allergic reaction, Watson said.

Rhode Island has a medical marijuana law, but Watson never sought a marijuana prescription because he wanted to keep his use private.

Watson said he would work to regain the trust of lawmakers and voters.

"I'm human," he said. "I'll hold my head up. The people of Rhode Island are a forgiving community."

Earlier in the day, House Republicans unanimously voted to retain Watson as their leader, a position he has held since 1998.

Rep. Michael Chippendale, R-Foster, said his faith in Watson's leadership isn't tarnished by the incident. But he is concerned about its impact on the legislative session.

"I'm worried it's going to be a distraction," he said. "Any time something sensational like this happens, it has that potential."

House Speaker Gordon Fox, D-Providence, said it's up to lawmakers to move on. "It's a distraction only if we let it become one," he said.

Two weeks ago, Watson called on lawmakers to focus "like a laser beam" on the state's budget and its projected $331 million deficit. He said lawmakers had become distracted by debate surrounding a bill giving gay couples the right to marry.

Now Watson worries that he himself is the distraction.

"The irony is not lost on me that that laser beam is now focused on me," he said.

Amherst Redevelopment Authority chairman John Coull said consultants will listen to what residents want and don't want and then come up with a plan that reflects that.

AMHERST – As John Coull, chairman of the Amherst Redevelopment Authority has said on many occasions – there is no plan. Not yet.

John Coull

But from Thursday through Saturday nights, anyone one who wants to help shape a vision for the Gateway project should attend one or all three meetings at the Bangs Community Center, where consultants will gather comments, concerns and suggestions.

The town and the University of Massachusetts plan to develop an 1,800-foot stretch of land at North Pleasant Street connecting the northern end of Amherst’s downtown business center with the UMass campus. The idea is to create a mixed use plan that could include businesses and some kind of housing to benefit the town and the university.

In March, the town selected the New York-based ACP Visioning & Planning, Ltd., the same firm that worked with the community on development of the Amherst Master Plan, to create a project vision.

“I’m hoping people with divergent interests are there (at the meetings,)” Coull said. “I’m hoping there is a good deal of consensus on which to build a plan. Contrary to people’s concerns, I don’t have a plan.”

He said consultants will listen to what residents want and don’t want and then come up with a “plan that reflects that.”

With the different sessions over the three nights, officials were hoping “to make it possible for anybody to get there at some time,” Coull said.

Consultants will work with town staff to refine the vision and in June will present that vision a well as steps for the Amherst Redevelopment Authority to take to implement it. That will include any necessary zone changes that Town Meeting would have to consider. All public meetings will be held from 6 to 9 p.m.

During the day Friday and Saturday, consultants will work with staff to refine the plan based on comments and concerns from the previous night.

UMass and the town signed a memorandum of understanding that UMass will convey the UMass land to the town once a vision and plan are created. The state legislature needs to pass legislation to finalize that transfer.

A portion of the parcel under consideration for development was once the home of four UMass fraternities and one sorority that have been razed.

Gateway Planning Areas

Next year, Boy Scout Troop 168 will take over the planning for the annual cleanup.

View full sizeVolunteers who participated in the townwide clean-up in 2007 include, front row, Alexandra Smith, Anna Bilotti, Karen Bilotti and Gillian Smith. Middle row, Mary Jane Russell, Jeff Lord, Stanley Hull, Phyllis Klick, Barbara Moran and Ed Maia. Top row, Nancy C. Morrell, Dorothy P. Jenkins and Jeanne A. Bailey, the project coordinator.

MONSON – The townwide clean-up day will be held Saturday, and this year residents are expected to again be out in full force cleaning up the roads after the long, hard winter.

Joanie Simmons of Boy Scout Troop 168 said the troop is working with the Monson Tourism Committee on the event, and said that next year, the troop will take over the planning. The Monson Tourism Committee is in the process of disbanding.

Jeanne A. Bailey, who has organized the clean-up through the Tourism Committee for the past 12 years, said it is time for a new group to take over. She said the committee is disbanding due to a lack of membership.

“It’s a perfect fit for the scouts,” Bailey said about the annual clean-up. “The kids need to do community service.”

Those interested in helping spruce up the town can report at 8 a.m. to the gazebo downtown at Dave Grieve Park, where they will be assigned to a road. Volunteers also will be given orange caps, gloves, garbage bags and fluorescent vests. Adams IGA supermarket will supply cold water, soda and sandwiches to participants. The event will last until about 3 p.m.

Lord Manor Bed & Breakfast donated garbage bags and gloves, and Dorsie Kovacs, a veterinarian at Monson Small Animal Clinic, donated caps for volunteers to wear.

Bailey said it amazes her how much trash they find along the roads. Discarded lottery tickets are plentiful. Once, they even found a boat.

Simmons wrote in a press release: “Keeping our roads, parks, school areas and public grounds litter free is dependent upon our citizens and dependent upon the success of this day of work. We are all well aware that the town budget cannot support the person-power required to accomplish this task and therefore we need to find willing volunteers.”

Clubs, schools and town organizations have been asked to volunteer and to adopt a road. Groups, families or individuals can sign up for a road beforehand by calling (413) 267-3996 or (413) 267-9771; or by coming to the gazebo that morning.

The following week, on May 7, the Board of Health will sponsor its spring bulk waste day from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Quarry Hill Community School. Only those users current with their trash payments will be allowed to participate. Contact the Board of Health at (413) 267-4107 for information.

Alex Morse and Daniel Boyle, who plan to challenge Mayor Elaine Pluta in her bid for re-election, criticized her for how she has handled the police chief selection process.

Alan Fletcher

HOLYOKE – Capt. Alan G. Fletcher, the senior-most officer in the department, said Monday he feels Mayor Elaine A. Pluta slighted him by appointing another captain interim chief when Police Chief Anthony R. Scott retires Saturday.

Pluta also received criticism from Alex B. Morse and Daniel C. Boyle, who are running against her for mayor in the fall election, for how she has handled the police chief process.

Pluta said that she was confident that Capt. Frederick J. Seklecki would do well as interim chief and that Fletcher’s status as one of the 40 candidates for the chief job made him ineligible to be given the provisional position.

Scott has been chief since 2001. He turned 65 April 19, and he must retire within the month in which he turns 65, under state law. His yearly salary is $133,164.

Seklecki began with the department Jan. 26, 1983. Fletcher began Aug. 11, 1968.

“I’m very disappointed in the mayor, that’s all I can say, with the selection,” Fletcher said. “I’ve lived in Holyoke all my life. It’s a professional insult.”

Another potential interim chief candidate was Capt. Arthur R. Monfette, who began Oct. 20, 1978, but he was ineligible because he is on the search committee reviewing police chief applications, Pluta said.

“We have three good captains. Unfortunately, the other two were tied up. Capt. Seklecki was the logical choice,” Pluta said.

A search committee Pluta appointed Nov. 30 is reviewing candidates and will recommend three to five finalists from which Pluta said she will choose a chief by late June.

Morse for weeks has said the search committee should have been appointed sooner so a new chief would be ready to step in upon Scott’s retirement, a departure the city has known about for a year.

“I think that’s good common sense. I think the mayor should have had the foresight to begin the chief candidate search earlier so we wouldn’t have had to appoint an interim chief,” said Morse, youth counselor at CareerPoint here.

Boyle, a business consultant, said Pluta is contradicting herself by saying Fletcher’s candidacy omits him from interim chief consideration. Deputy Fire Chief William P. Moran has been provisional fire chief since September by vote of the Fire Commission, a three-member board Pluta appointed, and Moran is a candidate for the permanent chief job, Boyle said.

“So, how can Mayor Pluta treat Capt. Fletcher one way and Deputy Chief Moran differently? One contradicts the other. The citizens of Holyoke deserve to have the most qualified person as acting police chief and in this instance that police officer is Capt. Fletcher,” Boyle said.

Pluta said regarding the criticism from Morse and Boyle, “The committee did start later than I expected....It took me a couple of weeks to really get a good group of people together, with a diverse mix, that I wanted on this committee.”

Once the committee was chosen, she said, the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day holidays made for scheduling problems.

A preliminary election would be held Sept. 20 to narrow the field to the top two finishers for mayor who would then compete in the general election Nov. 8.

After innocent man cleared by DNA evidence serves 20 years, jury convicts another in 1980s Hartford killing, Angry Birds downloads tops 140 million downloads and more headlines.

Photo courtesy of Seti.orgThe Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) will shutter its Allen Telescope Array, a complex of 42 listening dishes set up at the Hat Creek Observatory in San Francisco, due to a lack of federal funding.

• After innocent man cleared by DNA evidence serves 20 years, jury convicts another in 1980s Hartford killing [Courant.com]


• Afghan military pilot kills 8 NATO troops at airport [LATimes.com]


• Mass. company and Toyota strike deal for wireless battery charging [StockHouse.com]


• What to do if the Sony Playstation hacker may have got your info [Guardian.UK]


• Nielsen study says Android phones now more desirable than iPhones [TGdaily.com]


• Layoff Notices Could Go Out To Conn. State Employees Next Week [Courant.com]


• Angry Birds Game Reaches 140 Million Downloads [PCMag.com]






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


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Two other male victims were taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield with serious injuries.

Republican file photo

WESTFIELD –Speed appears to be a factor in a single-car crash on Route 202 that took the life of a 23-year-old city man early Wednesday.

Two males were taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield with serious injuries following the crash which occurred shortly after 12:15 a.m. near the Russian Evangelist Baptist Church.

Two of the victims, including the man who was fatally injured, were ejected from the car, a 1998 BMW, police said.

Police have yet to release the names of the victims and the ages and hometowns of the survivors were not available. Their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, Traffic Sgt. Edward Murphy said.

The crash occurred as the BMW drove west on the roadway, also known as North Road, Murphy said. The car crossed over to the eastbound lane, struck a guardrail, crossed back into the westbound lane and then off the roadway.

The BMW came to rest on a dirt pile near the church which is undergoing an expansion, Murphy said.

Police closed that section of the roadway for about 4½ hours while they investigated the crash. A state police accident reconstruction unit is assisting in the investigation.

Murphy said it is not yet known which of the victims was driving the BMW. Additional information, including seat belt usage, was not immediately available.

Murphy said that stretch of roadway is not known for being particularly dangerous. “It’s a pretty straight road,” he said.

The crash marks Westfield’s second traffic fatality in less than a week. A three-vehicle crash last Wednesday afternoon at Route 20 and East Mountain Road took the life 78-year-old Antoinette Stark, of 330 Rock Valley Road, Holyoke.

Murphy said that the Route 20 crash remains under investigation and that charges have not been filed.