Gov. Patrick says it is more cost-effective and efficient to hire full-time state lawyers to represent the poor than to contract with private lawyers.

The Republican photo by Mark M. MurrayGov. Deval Patrick speaks with reporters during his visit to the Dunbar Y Family & Community Center in Springfield Thursday. Also on hand are Victor Woolridge, left, the Dunbar board chair, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, and Kirk Smith, the YMCA President and CEO, on the right.

BOSTON – The state agency that oversees legal representation for the poor is raising some serious doubts about Gov. Deval L. Patrick's legislation to overhaul the state’s system of indigent defense.

Saying he wants to save costs in a tight budget, the governor submitted legislation last month to hire 240 additional full-time state lawyers at the agency in order to replace some of the work currently done under contract by 3,000 private lawyers for the poor across the state.

Patrick says it is more cost-effective and efficient to hire full-time state lawyers to represent the poor than to contract with private lawyers.

“It’s a move toward saving money and gaining efficiency,” Patrick said on Thursday in Springfield. “”Many other states have more robust staffs of public defenders.”

According to a new report by the state Executive Office for Administration and Finance, the hiring of 240 additional public staff lawyers to replace private work on contract, would cut total costs for legal representation for the poor – now about $196 million annually – by $9.7 million next fiscal year when compared to this fiscal year. Under Patrick’s plan, costs would drop by $24.9 million when compared to the prior fiscal year. That estimates for savings include fringe benefits such as pensions and health insurance, and indirect costs such as overhead, the administration said.

One potential problem for the governor is that the Committee for Public Counsel Services, which is in charge of legal representation for the indigent, disagrees with his administration. The committee studied the issue and reported to state legislators that the annual cost of a full-time staff public defender is 24 percent higher than the cost of a private lawyer for the poor.

Patrick's plan is scheduled to be aired during a hearing at noon on Tuesday at Springfield Technical Community College. Key state legislators will convene the hearing on the Judiciary budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

Lisa Hewitt, general counsel for the Committee for Public Counsel Services who plans to attend the hearing, said Patrick’s legislation doesn't seem like a prudent way to go forward. She said people don't know yet if it’s a better model to use more full-time state lawyers instead of private lawyers to represent the poor in criminal and civil cases.

“There is no evidence that it is going to be more economical,” she said.

According to a report by the committee, it costs the state $123,504 a year for each public staff lawyer for the poor including an estimated $50,000 salary, plus fringe benefits, supervision, support staff and management and non-payroll costs such as office space, phone and computer.

The Republican file photo by Dave RobackWilliam J. Leahy,left, the now-retired chief counsel for the Committee for Public Counsel Services appears in District Court in Springfield. At right in this 2004 file photo is Mark L. Hare, a Springfield lawyer and president of the Massachusetts Association of Court Appointed Attorneys.

On the other hand, a private lawyer for the poor costs $99,949 a year, including indirect overhead such as audit and oversight, said the committee's report, which was filed last year with budget leaders in the state Legislature.

Sen. Gale D. Candaras, a lawyer and Wilbraham Democrat who will co-chair Tuesday’s hearing in Springfield, said she questions if Patrick’s reform plan would achieve savings.

Candaras said the state does not have enough experience with a model that further depends on staff lawyers instead of private lawyers under contract.

The private lawyers receive $50 an hour for District Court cases, $100 an hour for a murder case and $60 an hour for Superior Court.

The private attorneys pay for their own business expenses and benefits such as office space, utilities and health insurance.

Currently, by the end of this fiscal year, private lawyers are expected to contract with the state to provide about 75 percent of legal representation for people who cannot afford a lawyer. State staff lawyers would handle 25 percent of the cases.

Before this year, private lawyers used to handle 90 percent of the cases and state staff lawyers 10 percent.

State legislators last year approved legislation by Patrick to hire about 200 full-time state staff lawyers this year to bring their share of representation of the poor to 25 percent. Before any new hires this fiscal year, the state already had 230 staff public defenders on the payroll to handle some criminal cases.

Hewitt said the committee for public counsel services is in the process of hiring hundreds of people and leasing new office space to comply with last year’s mandate.

Hewitt said Patrick’s proposed additional expansion of staff should be postponed for all of next fiscal year. That would allow some time to see how it works with 25 percent of the legal work being done by staff lawyers, she said.

The committee’s report said there would be no savings this fiscal year from the hiring of additional staff lawyers this year. The committee cited the need to recruit, select and train lawyers before assigning them cases.

Instead of delaying this plan, Patrick is seeking approval in his fiscal 2013 budget for hiring another 240 or so staff lawyers, plus support staff. Under his legislation, by the end of the fiscal year that starts July 1, representation for the poor would be split 50-50 between private lawyers and full-time state staff lawyers.

Alexandra Zaroulis, a fiscal spokeswoman for Patrick, disputed the findings of the committee’s report that it would cost more to hire staff lawyers. She said the committee’s facts are dramatically different from the administration’s facts.

“Our new fiscal reality demands that we change the way government does business to stretch every taxpayer dollar as far as possible," Zaroulis said in an e-mail. "In these difficult economic times, the Patrick-Murray Administration is committed to providing quality legal services to indigent persons legally entitled to those services in the most cost effective way possible. The administration’s FY 2013 budget recommendation seeks to build on last year’s reform by increasing the average caseloads of current public defenders, bringing on new public defenders in FY 2013 to absorb more cases and redirect cases from private bar advocates to more cost effective public defenders.”

In his budget, Patrick is also proposing an enhanced verification system to assure people are truly indigent and cannot afford a lawyer. A proposed new unit would verify a defendant's financial status by checking records from welfare, the state Department of Revenue and the state Registry of Motor Vehicles.

The improved verification would result in an estimated 5 percent reduction in total cases involving the indigent to approximately 235,640 for the next fiscal year.

Mark L. Hare , a Springfield private lawyer for the poor and president of the Massachusetts Association of Court Appointed Attorneys, said he can't understand the reasons for Patrick wanting to hire more state full-time lawyers.

“It makes no economic sense and the quality of representation will not be up to the standard of experienced bar on a contract basis,” Hare said.

Julia H. Durchanek, a private lawyer for the poor in Holyoke, said it’s “totally wrong” for the Patrick administration to conclude it’s cheaper to hire more full-time state lawyers. “Where are they getting their numbers from? We're all just scratching our heads.”

Staff reporter Jim Kinney contributed to this article.

Records show prostitution arrests are rare in the casinos and host towns and there is little evidence of mob activity.

Republican file photoAerial view of Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn.

By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN

LEDYARD, Conn. — When the first of two massive casinos opened in a remote corner of Connecticut two decades ago, some officials and residents feared the gambling centers would lead to organized crime, prostitution, drunken driving and other crime.

But the crime rate since Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun opened has fallen in the nearby municipalities compared to the years before the casinos opened — mirroring a drop in crime nationwide. Crime did not decline in some towns near the casinos as much as it fell statewide, but local officials acknowledge the worst fears never materialized.

"I'd say those fears have not come to pass," said Montville Mayor Ron McDaniel.

The crimes studied include murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary and thefts. Mohegan Sun opened in 1996; Foxwoods in 1992.

Montville has averaged 13 crimes per 1,000 residents annually since the casino opened through 2009 — down 35 percent from the 19 crimes per 1,000 residents logged in the seven years before either casino was opened, 1985-1991.

Montville's post-casino decline is slightly less than the statewide average decline of 36 percent, compared to the seven years before the casinos arrived.

Ledyard experienced a 25 percent decline compared to the period before the casino.

Crime fell 19 percent in the nearby city of Norwich, 33 percent in Preston and 24 percent in North Stonington.

Then-Gov. Lowell Weicker warned in 1991 that Foxwoods would lead to organized crime, prostitution, drunken driving and other crime.

But records show prostitution arrests are rare in the casinos and host towns and there is little evidence of mob activity.

"We haven't experienced that type of criminal behavior," said Lt. J. Paul Vance, a spokesman for Connecticut State Police, which has policed the casinos since they opened. Organized crime, he said, "really has not crossed our radar."

As for Weicker's prostitution prediction, Mohegan Sun had no prostitution arrests inside the casino from 2003 to 2008, the last year for which statistics were available. Foxwoods had two arrests. Montville and Ledyard, the towns that host the casinos, had none.

Drunken driving arrests are down in Norwich, an average of 208 from 1985 until 1991, the year before Foxwoods opened. From 1992 through 2009, Norwich averaged 163 drunken-driving arrests.

Disorderly conduct arrests are also down in Norwich, from an annual average of 767 in the pre-casino years to 354 arrests annually since the casinos.

Drunken-driving statistics for the other four towns were not available before 2003.

The two casinos attract tens of thousands of visitors daily and rank among the biggest in North America with about 18,000 employees combined. Mohegan Sun posted $719 million in slot-machine revenue in the last fiscal year, compared with $650 million for Foxwoods.

Thefts did rise substantially after Foxwoods Resort Casino opened. Larcenies account for most of the crimes that occur in the both casinos.

Around Connecticut, embezzlements have more than tripled, a trend some blame on gambling debts. The state has averaged 158 embezzlements annually since the casinos opened, more than triple the average of 49 before casinos.

Crime has fallen dramatically nationwide, starting around 1992, but experts have yet to show why, said David Kennedy, who directs the Center on Crime Prevention and Control at John Jay College in New York. He said the variables that can affect crime rates include "everything," including the economy, policing, guns, drug epidemics and the quality of education.

Studies have reached different conclusions on whether casinos cause more crime.

In a 2006 study, two economics professors looked at crime in every county in the country between 1977 and 1996 and compared crime rates in counties with and without casinos, taking into account factors ranging from population density to income. The professors, Earl Grinols at Baylor University in Texas and David Mustard at the University of Georgia, found a rise in all crimes except murder as a result of casinos and concluded that more than 8 percent of property crimes and more than 12 percent of violent crimes in counties with casinos were because of the presence of the casino.

"Specifically, problem and pathological gamblers commit crimes as they deplete their resources, nonresidents who visit casinos may both commit and be victims of crime, and casino-induced changes in the population start small but grow," they wrote.

Grinols said the paper was original academic research, and he was not paid to do it other than through his university position.

Steven Lanza, a University of Connecticut economist, concluded in a study in 2008 that the state had largely escaped the ill effects of casinos. Lanza found the crime rate fell less in the casino towns than the state average from 1990 to 2000, but concluded the casinos were not a significant factor.

Lanza said his study was the outgrowth of his research on the topic as editor of The Connecticut Economy, supported in part by the Mohegan Sun but mostly by the University of Connecticut and other partners. Mohegan Sun is no longer a financial contributor, he said.

Lanza said many factors affect crime rates, including population density, the age distribution of the population, the unemployment rate and the wealth of the community. He said after taking those factors into account, crime in Montville and Ledyard was actually lower in 2000 than might have been expected.

The improving economy in the 1990s probably provides much of the reason that crime dropped most everywhere in the state, Lanza said.

Connecticut may have escaped the adverse effects of the casinos because of their remote location and the fact that the state's casinos are destinations rather than gambling strips within a town or city, Lanza said.

"It's something of an obstacle to it spilling into the community," Lanza said. "The results were kind of surprising."

The 2 finalists, Baystate Medical Center and Massachusetts General Hospital, have submitted their proposals to Cooley Dickinson in Northampton.

NORTHAMPTON – The Cooley Dickinson Hospital Board of Trustees expects to select a new partner organization when it meets on Monday.

The hospital has been looking to affiliate with a larger institution to fortify itself financially to better deal with the changing health care system. The two finalists, Baystate Medical Center and Massachusetts General Hospital, have submitted their proposals to Cooley Dickinson, according to spokesperson Dianne Cutillo.

Cooley Dickinson already has clinical relationships with both Baystate and Massachusetts General. Its cancer center is connected with the Boston hospital, which offers cutting edge treatment in many areas.

Obituaries from The Republican.

May Doty

May P. (Peltier) Doty, 101, of Chicopee passed away on Thursday. Born in Holyoke, her family moved to Chicopee and settled in 1924 in the Aldenville section, where she resided until her 100th birthday. Doty graduated from Chicopee High School, class of 1926, and in the fall of that year began working in City Hall for the Office of the Highway Department as a clerk. During her 47-year career, she rose to the position of administrative assistant. She retired in 1973. Doty was a bookkeeper for the Aldenville Credit Union in its early years, and later was Trustee of the Thomas A. Laramee Memorial Scholarship Fund for future engineers.

Obituaries from The Republican:

• Anderson, Irene (Dion)
  




• 
  Arzola, Corporal Christopher A.
  



• 
  Barnes, Joseph C.




• 
  Bonavita, Vivian A.
  



• 
  Bonavita, Vivian A.
  




• Doty, May P. (Peltier)
  




• 
  Gelinas, Claire E.
  



• 
  Haddad, Helen Thomas




• 
  Hill, Gweneth (Willard)
  



• 
  Ksen, Madelyn B. (Plante)
  




• Laws, Lisa
  




• 
  Lincoln Jr., Walter F.
  



• 
  Maynard, Wayne Robert




• 
  Pettirossi, Mauro
  



• 
  Turgeon, Nicole E. (Goulet)
  




• Tyburski, Jessie P. (Evasias)
  




• 
  Wasiuk, Theresa E.
  



• 
  Williams, Leslie F.

MacDonald follows in the footsteps of her sister Maura, who was crowned Chicopee colleen five years ago.

View full sizeManon Mirabelli photoErin McDonald, 17, seated in center, the 2012 Chicopee Colleen, with her court and their escorts, from left, Annie O'Reilly, Tyler Naginewicz, Samantha Hill, Matthew Lukasik, Jonathan Sliwa, Sofia Carapeta, Bryan Dupre and Kara Lacoste at the Chicopee Coronation Ball held Saturday at the Castle of Knights, Knights of Columbus Council.

CHICOPEE – When Erin MacDonald’s name was announced as the 2012 Chicopee Colleen, the 17-year-old carried on a family tradition that began with her sister, Maura MacDonald, who captured the title in 2007.

“I’m so proud of her,” Maura MacDonald said of her younger sister. “She is an extremely accomplished young woman.”

Despite her pedigree, Erin MacDonald, a senior at Holyoke Catholic High School and the daughter of Patricia and Craig MacDonald, of Chicopee, was shocked to be selected from a contestant pool of 46 young women vying for the colleen title.

“I certainly didn’t think I would have this crown on my head,” she said.

To say that MacDonald has been enamored with the idea of being a colleen since before she could walk would not be an exaggeration. The teen was born on Feb. 7, 1994, and one month later was watching the parade as an infant in her parents’ arms. It was the first Holyoke St. Patrick’s parade she attended, and she has not missed one since – nor will she.

View full sizeManon Mirabelli photoErin McDonald

“It’s hard to describe in words how I feel right now,” she said after being crowned. “This is something I’ve wanted my whole life – ever since I was a little girl. This is so important to me. It’s been such a big part of my life.”

The experience, her sister, Maura, said, will serve Erin well in all future endeavors by giving her the poise, grace and confidence she will need to succeed in life, just as it has done for her as a consultant for Grant Thornton business advisors in Boston.

“The experience gave me the professionalism and confidence to reveal my true character and helped me in all my interviews by enabling me to communicate my strengths and abilities,” Maura MacDonald said. “I know it will do the same thing for Erin.”

Erin MacDonald will be joined on the Chicopee colleen float on parade day March 18 by her court: Sofia Carapeta, 18, Kara Lacoste, 17, and Samantha Hill, also 17, all students at Chicopee Comprehensive High School, as well as Annie O’Reilly, 19, a student at Johnson and Wales University.

The five young women were culled from a field of 46 contestants were scored on accomplishments, personality, poise and appearance. From that group, the five were selected as semi-finalists with the winner decided based on an interview question.

All five were asked: “If you could devote your time to any cause or organization, what would it be and why.”

MacDonald’s reply, which helped her capture the crown, was Homework House in Holyoke, where she is currently a tutor.

“To see one in Chicopee would be a dream of mine I would like to see fulfilled,” she said.

Acting Gov. Timothy P. Murray "has ordered that the United States flag and the Commonwealth flag be lowered to half-staff at all state buildings from sunrise until sunset on Monday, February 27, 2012 in honor of Marine Corporal Christopher Arzola."

View full sizeWestfield, 2/26/12, Staff Photo by David Molnar -- From left, Congressman Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield; Cheryl Poppe, Massachusetts Deputy Secretary for Veterans' Programs and Services; Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray; State Sen. Michael R. Knapik, R-Westfield; State Rep. Don Humason, Jr., R-Westfield; and Westfield Mayor Daniel M. Knapik attend the wake of Marine Corporal Christopher Arzola at the Firtion Adams Funeral Home.

WESTFIELD - Dozens of small American flags lined Broad Street on Sunday, guiding mourners to the wake of Marine Cpl. Christopher A. Arzola, a 21-year-old Springfield native killed in a car accident on Feb. 14.

And hundreds of tearful loved ones followed the stars and stripes to Firtion Adams Funeral Home to pay their respects to the Westfield High School graduate.

At the family's request, The Republican kept a respectful distance from the service and did not attempt to interview any mourners.

The accident occurred near Camp Pendleton, Calif., where Arzola was stationed. Two other Marines were killed and one was critically injured. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department said alcohol and unsafe speed were the main contributors in the one-car wreck. Officials did not identify the driver.

Arzola was born in Springfield on March 4, 1990, and joined the Marine Corps right after graduating from high school. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment.

He was a member of American Legion Post 124 in Westfield, according to his obituary.

Acting Gov. Timothy P. Murray's office released a statement saying he "has ordered that the United States flag and the Commonwealth flag be lowered to half-staff at all state buildings from sunrise until sunset on Monday, February 27, 2012 in honor of Marine Corporal Christopher Arzola."

Murray is acting governor while Deval Patrick is in Washington, D.C., for the the National Governor’s Association winter meeting.

Murray attended the wake, as did State Sen. Michael R. Knapik, R-Westfield; Cheryl Poppe, Massachusetts Deputy Secretary for Veterans' Programs and Services; State Rep. Don Humason, Jr., R-Westfield; and Mayor Daniel M. Knapik.

U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, issued a statement afterward, saying he was there "to pay respect to the Arzola family and to recognize the honorable service Corporal Arzola gave to our country."

"It's one of the great ironies," said Neal in a brief interview as he left the wake. "We've had 45,000 men and women wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan and this young life (ended) in this way."

Neal said he approved of Murray's order to fly the flags at half-staff.

"(Arzola's) full citizenship was marked by his service to this country," said Neal. "I think it's entirely appropriate."

Arzola's funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at Firtion Adams. He will be buried with military honors at Massachusetts Veterans' Memorial Cemetery in Agawam.

The Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded on April 20, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico. The blast killed 11 workers and led to 206 million gallons of oil spewing from the blown-out well, soiling miles of coastline.

View full sizeAssociated PressThis April 21, 2010 file photo shows the Deepwater Horizon oil rig burning after an explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, off the southeast tip of Louisiana. A investigation of the Gulf oil spill ordered by the president lends support to BP's own conclusions about the disaster and challenges congressional claims that the oil company and others made decisions that sacrificed safety to cut costs. Fred H. Bartlit, Jr., the panel's chief investigator, said Monday, Nov. 8, 2010, in a presentation to the seven-member oil spill commission that he agreed with about 90 percent of BP's findings, although the company left out some critical details and there were other areas where the panel's probe will conflict. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

By HARRY R. WEBER and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A judge has delayed the federal trial over the nation's worst offshore oil disaster by a week, saying Sunday that BP PLC was making some progress in settlement talks with a committee overseeing scores of lawsuits, according to people close to the case.

Two people close to the case told The Associated Press that the decision was made Sunday during a conference call between parties in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill case and U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the call.

They said the judge told those on the call that BP and the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee were "making some progress" in their settlement talks. The steering committee is overseeing lawsuits filed by individuals and businesses following the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig on April 20, 2010, in the Gulf. The blast killed 11 workers and led to 206 million gallons of oil spewing from the blown-out well, soiling miles of coastline.

However, the judge did not mention the status of settlement talks between other parties, nor did he mention any figures being discussed, according to the people close to the case.

The brief order issued by Barbier on Sunday said only that the delay was granted "for reasons of judicial efficiency and to allow the parties to make further progress in their settlement discussions."

Among other things, the trial that is now set to begin March 5 is meant to determine the penalties that need to be paid by BP and other companies involved in the oil spill. Billions of dollars are at stake.

BP confirmed in a news release that the trial had been delayed. It said the oil giant and the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee were working to reach an agreement that would fairly compensate people and businesses affected by the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and resulting spill.

Separately, BP has had discussions in recent days with the federal government and cement contractor Halliburton Energy Services Inc., according to several people close to the case.

If no settlement is reached, Barbier will preside over a three-phase trial that could last the better part of a year. The first phase is designed to identify the causes of the deadly blowout and to assign percentages of fault to the companies involved in the ill-fated drilling project.

Financial analysts estimate BP could wind up paying anywhere from $15 billion to $30 billion over the lawsuits, and BP's chief executive told a British newspaper that the company has set aside $40 million to deal with fines and costs associated with the spill. An AP analysis found that the company could conceivably face up to $52 billion in environmental fines and compensation if the judge determines the company was grossly negligent.

The trial may not yield major revelations about the causes of the disaster, but the outcome could bring much-needed relief for tens of thousands of people and businesses whose livelihoods were disrupted by the spill.

Relatives of the 11 people killed in the Deepwater Horizon blast say they are hoping for something more elusive: justice for lost loved ones.

Sheryl Revette, whose husband, Dewey, was among the 11 killed when BP PLC's Macondo well blew out and triggered an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, doesn't have anything to gain financially from the trial. She wants an apology from the oil giant, something she said she hasn't received yet.

"I've never heard a word from them," said Revette, 48, of State Line, Miss. "But an apology isn't going to bring my husband back."

Chris Jones, whose brother, Gordon, was also killed on the rig, had planned to drive in from Baton Rouge with other relatives to attend the start of the trial. He said he has mixed feelings about the prospect of a settlement that would eliminate the need for a trial. Jones said he would disappointed if BP manages to "write a check to solve their problems."

"I was ready to go to trial and see their feet held close to the fire," he said Sunday after learning of the postponement. "It seems like the easy way out to pay whatever the plaintiffs are willing to take."

Jones, an attorney, said he's not surprised that the oil giant would seek to avoid a long, costly trial.

"I know that is part of the game, so to speak," he said. "As long as they're paying a lot of money for the damage they caused, it would give me some relief."

The decisions and actions that led to the explosion and spill already have been painstakingly investigated by the Coast Guard, federal regulators and a presidential commission. Their probes concluded that BP, rig owner Transocean Ltd. and Halliburton deserve to share the blame for a string of risky decisions that were designed to save time and money.

The massive scope of the case — a maze of claims and counterclaims between the companies, federal and state governments and plaintiffs' attorneys — has elicited comparisons to the tobacco litigation of the 1990s.

Roughly 340 plaintiffs' lawyers have worked on the case. BP has spent millions of dollars on experts and law firms. More than 300 depositions have been taken. Millions of pages of legal briefs have been filed. One Justice Department lawyer said it would take him 210 years to read all the pages submitted into the record if he read 1,000 pages a day.

Barbier, a former president of the Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association and appointee of President Bill Clinton, has a reputation for speedy but fair trials. He will hear and decide the case without a jury. Each trial phase is expected to last two to three months, with breaks in between. Even if all parties settle their claims before or during the trial, it could take several months for claims to be paid.

___

Weber reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writer Cain Burdeau in New Orleans contributed to this report.

Despite Patrick Kennedy's claim that his father's stance on the issue was in opposition with Brown's position, 1997 legislation supported by both Kennedys hints otherwise.

Patrick Kennedy, the son of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy and Republican U.S. Sen Scott Brown are at odds in relation to the debate over the president's health care mandate. (AP File Photos)

BOSTON – In the latest chapter of the saga surrounding the debate over the president's health care mandate requiring insurance companies to provide female preventative care and contraception, the late Sen. Edward Kennedy's son Patrick is asking Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown to stop using his father's name in ads promoting the incumbent senator's stance on the issue.

Brown, who won the elder Kennedy's seat in a 2010 special election following the longtime Democrat's death in 2009, is supporting a bill proposed by Sen. Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican. The legislation, according to Brown, ensures religious liberty by preventing the religious from being forced to violate their faith.

Critics of the bill say it goes too far by allowing any insurer or business to deny coverage of any procedure or prescription altogether on the grounds of a religious or moral conviction.

Brown has been invoking his predecessor's name frequently while defending his position, including in a radio ad released this past week.

"Like Ted Kennedy before me, I support a conscience exemption in health care for Catholics and other people of faith," Brown said in his ad, which his campaign said will remain airing despite Patrick Kennedy's request.

In a letter sent to Brown this weekend, the younger Kennedy, an eight-term Congressman from Rhode Island, said that Brown's claim that his position is in line with his father's is false.

"My father believed that health care providers should be allowed a conscience exemption from performing any service that conflicted with their faith. That’s what was in his 1995 law and what he referenced to the Pope," Patrick Kennedy wrote in his letter. "That is completely different than the broad language of the Blunt Amendment that will allow any employer, or even an insurance company, to use vague moral objections as an excuse to refuse to provide health care coverage. My father never would have supported this extreme legislation."

But a 1997 bill sponsored in the Senate by the elder Kennedy and adjoining legislation in the House which was co-sponsored by Patrick Kennedy seems to have supported an exemption clause allowing businesses to limit health care coverage on the basis of religious or moral convictions.

In the legislation titled "Health Insurance Bill of Rights Act of 1997" (H.R.820 and S.353,) it states that a health insurance issuer may fully advise licensed or certified health care providers and enrollees "of the coverage's limitations on providing particular medical services based on the religious or moral convictions of the issuer."

Previous to the unearthing of this legislation, Brown's camp had cited a 1995 bill penned by the elder Kennedy which stated that a "health professional or a health facility may not be required to provide an item or service under a certified plan if the professional or facility objects on the basis of a religious belief or moral conviction."

The Blunt bill includes an exemption of coverage for procedures "contrary to the religious beliefs or moral convictions of the sponsor, issuer, or other entity offering the plan."

In response to the letter from Kennedy, Brown penned one of his own, detailing how he believes his predecessor would react to the situation today were he still alive.

"When your father told the Pope in his 2009 letter that he supported a conscience exemption for Catholics in health care, he did not mean to put himself on the opposite side of the church or to suggest that he would force them to accept a situation with which they could not abide," Brown wrote in his letter. "And yet, that is exactly the situation we are faced with today – despite a failed attempt at compromise, the church remains opposed to the federal government's intrusion into the affairs of private conscience. I'd like to think your dad would have been working with me to find an accommodation that all sides found satisfactory."

Brown also took aim at his chief Democratic opponent in his reelection bid, Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Warren.

Warren and Brown have been dueling over the issue for the past few weeks with Warren saying she believes the Blunt bill is dangerous.

Near the close of his letter, Brown says that despite the controversy swirling around the topic, he will continue to focus on economic issues in the campaign.

"I hope you share my belief the 2012 election is going to come down to jobs and getting this economy moving again," Brown wrote. "That has been my driving focus for the past two years, and I have been promoting an ambitious jobs agenda that will put people back to work in Massachusetts and all around this country."

"The money is mostly interest, the money is going to the state, the kids are usually adults, and it's leaving the payer with nothing," says Ashlee Highland, a legal aid attorney.

By DANIEL WAGNER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of poor and disabled men stand to lose their only income next year because of a change in government policy that will allow states to seize every dollar of federal benefits from people who owe back child support.

Previously, states could capture only 65 percent of benefits from people who opted to be paid by paper check. Advocates estimate that 275,000 men could be left destitute as a result of the change.

The concern is an unintended consequence of the Treasury Department's decision to pay all benefits electronically, including Social Security, disability and veterans' benefits, starting next year.

A separate Treasury Department rule, in place since last May in a preliminary form, guarantees states the power to freeze the bank accounts of people who collect federal benefits and owe child support.

By allowing seizure of the remaining 35 percent of benefits, the rules could cause thousands of poor men to lose their only income.

"It's kind of Orwellian, what's being set up here for a segment of the population," says Johnson Tyler, an attorney who represents poor and disabled people collecting federal benefits. "It's going to be a nightmare in about a year unless something changes."

In many cases, the bills are decades old and the children long grown. Much of the money owed is interest and fees that add up when men are unable to pay because they are disabled, institutionalized or imprisoned.

Most of the money will go to governments, not to the children of the men with child support debts, independent analyses show. States are allowed to keep child support money as repayment for welfare previously provided for those children.

In some instances, the grown children are supporting their fathers.

The rule change illustrates how a politically desirable goal like cracking down on so-called deadbeat dads can have complicated, even counterproductive, effects in practice.

"The rule doesn't look at the fact that the money is mostly interest, the money is going to the state, the kids are usually adults, and it's leaving the payer with nothing," says Ashlee Highland, a legal aid attorney who works with the poor of Chicago.

Highland says her office has clients in eviction, in foreclosure and unable to pay their bills because of states' aggressive efforts to collect back child support.

Marcial Herrera, 44, has had his bank account frozen repeatedly since 2009, blocking his access to $800 a month in government benefits. Unable to work because of a severe back injury he suffered in 2000, Herrera fell behind on child support. He owes more than $7,000 — not to his 22-year-old son, but to the state of New York, because his son received welfare years earlier.

Herrera sought help in court and had his son speak on his behalf, but the judge could not erase the thousands he already owed.

"I'm just waiting for them to lock me up," he says. "I don't see no other way of me repaying that debt."

A legal aid attorney suggested Herrera collect his benefits by paper check. It costs him $15 to cash the check each month, but at least he can be sure that he will have money to pay his bills.

States have had the ability to freeze accounts for years. That's why people like Herrera rely on paper checks to safeguard part of their income.

Starting next March, that option will disappear. The Treasury Department will deposit federal benefits directly into bank accounts or load them onto prepaid debit cards. Either way, state child support agencies will be able to seize all of it.

Electronic payments are expected to save the government $1 billion over the next 10 years, the Treasury Department says. It costs the government about $1 to mail a check, compared with about 10 cents for an electronic transfer.

The Treasury Department understands that forcing people into direct deposit could deprive them of all of their income, say officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the rule-writing process.

States can garnish only 65 percent of benefits before the federal government sends them out. But the limit does not apply once the money is in an account and states ask banks to freeze it, according to a Treasury Department memo obtained by The Associated Press.

A Treasury spokesman declined to discuss the policy. The officials who spoke on condition of anonymity say they believe the policy is legally unavoidable. They described a dilemma: Restrain states trying to collect child-support debts or risk depriving thousands of people of their only income.

Treasury's legal justification assumes that receiving a paper check is still an option, says Tyler, the Brooklyn attorney.

Letting state agencies seize the money contradicts the public stance of the Department of Health and Human Services, the federal agency in charge of child support collections. The department does not want states to collect child support so aggressively that poor people lose their only income, spokesman Ken Wolfe says.

"Child support enforcement — getting that money and passing it on to parents and children — is a measure to fight poverty, and it doesn't make sense to accomplish that by impoverishing somebody else," he says.

Wolfe says HHS is developing guidelines for states to "make sure we're not putting someone into deep poverty as a result of an automatic collection." He declined to provide details of those plans.

Lawyers from HHS agreed with Treasury's decision to let states seize benefits, according to the Treasury memo.

An early version of the Treasury department rule protected people from having their federal benefits frozen by debt collectors — including private collection agencies and states seeking back child support.

State child support agencies replied in public comments on the proposed rule that blocking their access to people's benefits would cause great harm to parents and children receiving child support.

HHS research suggests the policy could deepen the hardship for people who collect benefits as well.

People who owe large amounts of child support are almost universally poor. Among those owing $30,000 or more, three-fourths had no reported income or income of less than $10,000, HHS says. Many had their earnings interrupted by disability or jail time and are unlikely to repay the child support debt, the government-sponsored research says.

The usual methods of collecting back child support often don't work with the poor. States typically start by garnishing wages. If that doesn't work, they can suspend driver's licenses, revoke passports and take away professional credentials.

Those measures have little effect on poor people without jobs who rely on federal benefits. They have no wages to garnish and no passports. Many can't afford a car and do not need a driver's license.

State child support agencies echo the HHS view that child support enforcement should not be so draconian that people end up with nothing.

"You don't want the noncustodial parent to go out and be living on the streets. You're not going to collect anything at that point," says Tom Shanahan, spokesman for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

The Idaho department requires people who owe child support to show good faith by paying a minimum amount and seeking jobs when they are out of work, Shanahan says.

The White House is reviewing the final version of the rule. Its impact so far has been limited, legal-aid lawyers say, because people can still use paper checks. A White House spokeswoman did not respond a request for comment.

In a letter sent last week, the National Consumer Law Center and dozens of other groups called on the head of the Social Security Administration to withdraw his support for the rule.

"While both current and past due child support orders should be paid," the letter says, it should not result "in the complete impoverishment of recipients" of federal benefits.

The issue has failed to raise alarm in part because most people feel little in common with men labeled deadbeat dads, says John Vail, an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Litigation who provided legal services for the poor for decades.

"There's not a lot of sympathy for deadbeat dads, and justly so," Vail says. "But everybody's got limits, and I think people who have never walked a mile in some of those old, worn-out shoes are a little quick to rush to judgment about what that life might be like."

___

AP Business Writer Christina Rexrode contributed to this report.

"There was nothing deliberately done wrong here," Santorum said. "This was something that happened as a mistake. Killing Americans in uniform is not a mistake. It was something that deliberate."

View full sizeAfghan security forces arrive at the scene of an anti-U.S. demonstration at a NATO military base in Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012. Anti-American demonstrations continued for a second day Wednesday in Afghanistan over what the U.S. has said was the inadvertent burning of Muslim holy books at a NATO military base. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum criticized President Barack Obama's apology for the burning of Qurans in Afghanistan, adding that Afghanistan should apologize to the U.S. for the deaths of four U.S. soldiers during six days of violence sparked by the incident.

"There was nothing deliberately done wrong here," Santorum said Sunday on ABC's "This Week." "This was something that happened as a mistake. Killing Americans in uniform is not a mistake. It was something that deliberate."

More than 30 people have been killed in clashes since it emerged Tuesday that copies of the Muslim holy book and other religious materials had been thrown into a fire pit used to burn garbage at Bagram Air Field, a large U.S. base north of Kabul. Protesters angry over Quran burnings by American troops lobbed grenades Sunday at a U.S. base in northern Afghanistan and clashed with police and troops in a day of violence that left seven international troops wounded and two Afghans dead.

"The response needs to be apologized for by (President Hamid) Karzai and the Afghan people for attacking and killing our men and women in uniform and overreacting to this inadvertent mistake," Santorum said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "That is the real crime here, not what our soldiers did."

The president's apology suggests that there is blame and that the U.S. did something wrong "in the sense of doing a deliberate act," Santorum said.

Santorum says that rather than saying he was sorry, Obama should have only acknowledged that burning copies of Islam's holiest book in a trash pit was wrong and taken responsibility for the incident, "but to apologize, I think, lends credibility that somehow or another that it was more than that."

Santorum is the latest Republican to criticize Obama for apologizing for burning the religious materials. Despite apologies from the president and other U.S. officials for what they said was a mistake, their regrets have not quelled the anger of Afghans, who viewed the Quran burnings as an illustration of what they perceive as foreign disrespect for their culture and religion.

Kevin O’Hara is the 2012 John Fitzgerald Kennedy Award recipient.

Staff photo by David Molnaraymond Feyre with the St. Patrick's Committee of Holyoke Inc. announces the 2012 John Fitzgerald Kennedy Award recipient.

HOLYOKE – The St. Patrick’s Committee of Holyoke has selected author and Pittsfield resident Kevin O’Hara as the 2012 John Fitzgerald Kennedy Award recipient.

The award is presented annually to an American of Irish decent who has distinguished themselves in their chosen profession.

“He has everything we are looking for in a recipient. He is a writer, a traveler, a veteran. We are so honored to give him this award,” said Raymond H. Feyre, who announced the award at the Elks Lodge in Holyoke on Sunday.

Past recipients include Ambassador of Ireland Daniel M. Rooney, actress Maureen O’Hara and others.

O’Hara has written books including “Lucky Irish Lad,” and Last of the Donkey Pilgrims.”

“Our winner is a Vietnam Veteran, an acclaimed author and has spent a lot of time in Ireland,” Feyre said.

O’Hara is a psychiatric nurse at Berkshire Medical Center and has two sons. He and his wife still live in Pittsfield.

Feyre said O’Hara will receive the aware on March 17 at the Delaney House.

O’Hara is the 55th recipient of the award. He will march in the parade in Holyoke on Sunday March 18.

“We have more than 420,000 people attend the parade and we are proud to say it is one of the best St. Patrick’s Day parades in the country,” Feyre said.

He said many award recipients including O’Hara will be around for the road race on Saturday as well as the parade on Sunday.

“It’s a full weekend experience and we hope this year will give us great weather and a great time once again,” he said.

Police continue to follow leads to find the person who killed Amanda Plasse.

Photo of Amanda Plasse taken the day of her death.

CHICOPEE – Long-term friends, acquaintances and family released balloons into the sky in memory of a 20-year-old homicide victim described as sweet, funny and a great friend.

More than 200 people gathered Sunday to remember Amanda L. Plasse on the six-month anniversary of her death.

In her memory they released balloons each tied with a message asking people to call the Chicopee Police at 594-1736 or text a tip anonymously if they have even a tiny amount of information about her death.

“Six months ago somebody stole my beautiful daughter’s life, and I still have no answers,” said Michelle Mathieson, Plasse’s mother.

Wearing a yellow T-shirt made in her daughter’s memory, Mathieson thanked the crowd for coming to Ray Ashe Park for the balloon release and for remembering her daughter.

But the event was also held in part to remind the community that her killer has not been caught, Mathieson said.

“Six months later there is still no justice for Amanda,” she said.

Volunteers sold balloons, bracelets and T-shirts. All money raised went to the Wounded Warrior Project in Plasse’s name. The charity was selected because Plasse’ younger brother is a U.S. Marine, Mathieson said.

Life-long friends said they also cannot imagine anyone would have wanted to kill the 20-year-old, who was described as a free spirit and a beautiful person.

Police believe Plasse, a waitress at Friendly’s, was getting ready for work on Aug. 26 when someone entered her third-floor apartment at 73 School St. and stabbed her multiple times. She was found dead at about 4 p.m. by a friend.

Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni and police detectives have released few details about the circumstances of her death, saying they do not want to compromise the investigation.

An undated photo Amanda Plasse.

Chicopee Police detectives and state police investigators continue to track down every lead to her killing, which happened as Tropical Storm Irene was bearing down on New England. To leave a tip on the crime, people can text 274637, type SOLVE, type the message and hit send.

“She was always in a good mood, always smiling,” said Robert Dutton, of Springfield, who knew Plasse since she was a child and worked with her later at a restaurant. “We won’t stop until they find out who did this.”

Plasse loved sunflowers and they have become a symbol of her. Dutton said he and many of her friends have the flowers posted on their Facebook page to remember her.

Long-term friend Kelly Shannon, of Chicopee, proposed the idea of the vigil to Mathieson and helped organize it.

“I wanted to bring the community together and to let people know we aren’t giving up,” she said.

Another friend, Jesse Ginman, of Chicopee, called Plasse funny, caring and sweet.

“She was beautiful inside and out,” he said. “Her smile lighted up the room.”

Nick McDonald, of Chicopee, became friends with Plasse when the two worked together at Applebee’s.

“Mandy was probably the most genuine person I know,” he said. “She was a good friend, a really good friend. She was always there to listen.”

No one was injured in the accident

LUDLOW – A 44-year-old Chicopee man was arrested on his third drunken driving offense after he allegedly hit a car parked in a driveway parallel to the street.

Leonard E. Asselin, 44, was arrested at about 5:40 p.m. after a police officer pulled him over on Holyoke Street when he saw the car had serious front-end damage and was leaking oil and other fluids, Ludlow police Sgt. Daniel Valadas said.

At the same time of the stop, six people called 911 reporting an accident at 18 Fuller St., Valadas said.

Asselin is being accused of striking a 2007 Saturn with his 2001 Jeep Cherokee and leaving the scene of the accident. No one was in the parked car and Asselin was not injured. Both cars had serious damage, he said.

Police were able to follow a path of oil and other fluids to the car on Holyoke Street. Asselin was charged with drunken driving and other crimes including operating after license revocation, leaving the scene of a property damage accident, reckless operation of a car and on an outstanding warrant, Valadas said.

Asselin is scheduled to be arraigned in Palmer District Court Monday.

A number of streets including Lower Whitney, East, State and Windsor have been blocked because of the fire.

Submitted photoA Ludlow fire truck in front of the three-story building at 21 Lower Whitney Street. Smoke blanketed the neighborhood from the fire.

LUDLOW – A fire that started in the basement of a three-story apartment building spread to the third floor, forcing residents to evacuate.

All six families that lived in the building at 17-21 Lower Whitney St. were forced to leave for the night. Town officials were determining if they will be able to return to their homes soon, Ludlow Fire Capt. Joseph Crowley said.

The fire was reported at about 6:50 p.m. by a resident who was in an apartment on the second floor. Police officers arrived and were able to evacuate residents, Police Sgt. Daniel Valadas said.

When the fire department arrived they found a serious fire in the basement that was spreading to the first floor. Because of the older construction of the building, the fire was able to travel up the walls and into the attic of the right side of the building, which is 21 Lower Whitney St., Crowley said.

“We were able to keep the fire to the right side of the complex and hold it there,” he said.

The three apartments on the left side received heavy smoke damage. Utilities were turned off so residents could not return to any of the six apartments, Crowley said.

The Pioneer Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross were at the scene to assist the victims, he said.

The number of people living in the home was not available.

Wilbraham and Chicopee Fire Departments assisted Ludlow with extinguishing the fire. Springfield firefighters were called to cover vacant fire stations in the town, Crowley said.

Heavy smoke from the blaze blanketed the downtown area. A number of streets including Lower Whitney, East, State and Windsor were blocked off because of the fire, Valadas said.

The cause is under investigation by Ludlow firefighters and the state Fire Marshal’s office.

Turners Falls, Northampton, Orange Municipal and Barnes Regional airports provide employment for more than 2,280 workers and pump more than $196.5 million into the regional economy.

The Republican | John SuchockiBrian Barnes, airport manager for Barnes Municipal Airport, sits in the atrium of the airport administration building with the runway and control tower in the background. Barnes and 3 other small airports in Western Massachusetts pump more than $196 million into the regional economy.

Four airports in the Pioneer Valley contribute more than 44 percent of the total economic impact made statewide by Massachusetts’ 30 general-aviation airports.

Turners Falls, Northampton, Orange Municipal and Barnes Regional airports provide employment for more than 2,280 workers and pump more than $196.5 million into the regional economy; all told, the state’s 30 general-aviation airports employ more than 4,300 workers with a total economic impact of $443.2 million.

“Massachusetts airports contribute significantly to our state’s economy, and those airports in Western Massachusetts play a critical role whether it is military support, aircraft maintenance or aviation clubs. They all have very unique activities,” says Christopher J. Willenborg, administrator for the Aeronautics Division of the state Department of Transportation.

The economic impact, he says, will continue to grow in terms of jobs, visitors and construction.

A recently released report, “Massachusetts Statewide Airport Economic Impact Study,” completed by the state transportation agency, detailed that all 39 of the Bay State’s airports, which also include Boston’s Logan International, employ more than 124,369 workers, provide a combined payroll of $4.8 billion with a total economic impact which exceeds $11.9 billion. (Logan, alone, accounts for $8.9 billion of the economic impact.)

The 39 airports include nine commercial-service airports, among which Westover Metropolitan Airport in Chicopee and Logan are categorized, and the 30 general-aviation airports.

“The economic impact study confirms what the aviation community statewide understands about the vital role our airports play in providing safe transportation for commerce, military and recreational users,” Willenborg said.

That survey will now serve as a tool for DOT’s Aeronautics Division and Massachusetts airports to educate the home communities as well as the state Legislature as to the importance of maintaining airport infrastructure, Willenborg said. “This survey shows the value of our airports, what they do for the state and our economy. These are important assets that must be maintained,” he said.

The key, according to area airport managers, is the ability to attract business
necessary to provide services and the airport’s availability to the general public.

The study lists employment at Barnes Regional Airport at 2,119, but manager Brian P. Barnes said that is misleading because more than 1,000 of those are members or employees of the Air National Guard’s 104th Fighter Wing.

The report lists military employment at Barnes at 1,625 creating a payroll of more than $33.7 million and an economic impact on the region of more than$111.6 million. Included in the impact study was Hanscom Air Force Base, Westover Air Force Base and Otis Air National Guard Base. The four military installations combine to create 17,924 jobs representing a payroll of more than $929.7 million and a combined economic impact of $1.6 billion statewide.

Precinct 1 and 2 Committee chairwoman Diane Crowell said she will present the petition to the Zoning Board of Appeals during its 7 p.m. meeting Monday.

Republican file photo03.09.11 | Photo by Julian Feller-Cohen - West Springfield Town Hall.

WEST SPRINGFIELD – Diane Crowell, chairwoman of the Precinct 1 and 2 Committee, said Friday she has a petition signed by about 170 city residents opposing a controversial Cumberland Farms gasoline station-convenience store proposed for Union and Park streets.

Crowell said she will present the petition to the Zoning Board of Appeals during its 7 p.m. meeting Monday. The board is scheduled to take up the project during a continuation of a public on hearing of the venture.

Cumberland Farms needs a special permit as well as two variances from the Zoning Board of Appeals to develop the project.

Crowell said residents oppose it because they feel it will create more congestion at an already traffic-clogged intersection. The neighborhood advocate said they are also concerned about pedestrian safety because the site is near the Town Common, which is heavily used by the public.

“We are quite well served at that end of town for gas stations and convenience stores,” Crowell said. “We have at least 10 gas stations within a one-and-a-half-mile radius.”

She pointed out that there are also a Big Y and a Price Rite supermarket toward the end of Union Street. Crowell also complained that the project would be out of character for the neighborhood, which she described as having office buildings.

Officials from Cumberland Farms could not be reached for comment.

Cumberland Farms needs a special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals because the proposed project would constitute a use not allowed under the parcel’s A-1 zoning. Variances are needed to lift the requirements that side yards be landscaped and that a proposed freestanding sign not exceed 16 square feet. The company has proposed setting out a freestanding sign measuring 30 square feet.

Cumberland Farms would like to build a 4,242-square-foot convenience store of colonial design with 10 fueling stations on the site of the former Clark’s Gulf.

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A 7-11 representative said the employees saw the vehicle approaching the store at a high speed and moved away from the front counter just before the crash.

The Republican | Greg Saulmon02.27.2012 | SPRINGFIELD - An early morning crash destroyed the front window at a 7-11 store at 425 Springfield St.

SPRINGFIELD - An early morning crash left an SUV lodged in the front window of a city 7-11 store, but two employees on duty at the time escaped injury.

The driver, a 26-year-old Connecticut man, faces charges of operating under the influence and driving without a license, WWLP reports.

Speaking at the store as regular customers arrived for their morning coffees and newspapers, 7-11 field consultant Bryan McGrath said the crash happened shortly after 1:30 a.m. and forced the store to close for several hours. It reopened around 6 a.m.

"Drive through service?" one customer quipped as he surveyed the damage.

The impact destroyed one of the store's large windows. One of the vehicle's tires came to rest on a front counter, McGrath said, pointing to a debit / credit card point-of-service machine where clerks ring up customers. Damaged shelving units sat on the sidewalk outside the store.

McGrath said he had no estimate for the damage, adding that the window would be boarded up after a structural assessment of the building today.

The store is located at 425 Springfield St. in the city's Liberty Heights neighborhood, near the Chicopee line. The building occupies a lot on a small roundabout that guides traffic through the junction of Springfield Street, Hamburg Street, Hampden Street and Rimmon Avenue. It was not immediately clear what street the vehicle had been driving on prior to the accident.

An officer in the traffic bureau at the Springfield police department said an accident report had not been filed as of 8 a.m. The driver's name was not immediately available.

McGrath said the employees saw the vehicle approaching the store at a high speed and moved away from the front counter just before the crash.

"Something like that -- it takes a few hours to sink in, how lucky you are," McGrath said.

Nostalgia ruled at the Oscars, with the classic film homages "The Artist" and "Hugo" dominating with five awards each, Meryl Streep winning her first best-actress prize in nearly three decades and longtime favorite Billy Crystal returning as host.

The Associated PressOctavia Spencer with the Oscar for best actress in a supporting role for "The Help", left, and Meryl Streep with the Oscar for best actress in a leading role for "The Iron Lady" pose at the Governors Ball following the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES — Nostalgia ruled at the Oscars, with the classic film homages "The Artist" and "Hugo" dominating with five awards each, Meryl Streep winning her first best-actress prize in nearly three decades and longtime favorite Billy Crystal returning as host.

It was a rather safe, predictable affair all around, with the winners who've heard their names throughout awards season being called up on stage one last time Sunday night. "The Artist," a black-and-white love letter to silent film, won best picture, best director for France's Michel Hazanavicius and best actor for Jean Dujardin as an actor who finds his career in danger with the arrival of the talkies. It also earned prizes for costume design and original score.

"Hugo," Martin Scorsese's 3-D mixture of family adventure and plea for film preservation, collected its prizes in the technical categories: cinematography, art direction, sound mixing, sound editing and visual effects.

Streep, the most celebrated actress of our generation, found herself in the unusual position of playing the sentimental, underdog favorite. Many (including AP's film writers) had chosen Viola Davis as the likely favorite to win best actress for her formidable portrayal of a maid in the 1960s South in "The Help." But Streep, who's been nominated more than any other actor in Oscar history — 17 times — hadn't won since 1982's "Sophie's Choice."

The glittering crowd in the theater (and journalists in the press room alike) erupted in gasps and cheers when Streep's name was called for her uncanny performance as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady." Streep was quick to thank her longtime makeup artist J. Roy Helland, who was also a winner Sunday night, for transforming her for the past 37 years.

Asked backstage whether she might celebrate with a couple of whiskeys — Thatcher's favorite drink — Streep deadpanned: "I'm going to start with a couple."

The energy she brought to the show was a rarity. Sure, there was an inadvertent F-bomb from T.J. Martin, one of the directors of the high-school football film "Undefeated," which won best documentary feature. The women of "Bridesmaids" continued the "Scorsese!" drinking game they started a few weeks ago at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, taking a swig whenever someone said the director's name.

Bret McKenzie of "Flight of the Conchords" had a nice original-song win for the hilarious "Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets" — but even that was no big shocker in a field of just two nominees. And it was a pleasant surprise seeing Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall win film editing for the beautifully fluid "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" on a night when "Hugo" was expectedly (and deservedly) winning so many technical awards.

But for the most part, the Oscars were more of the same. Christopher Plummer, who's won every award and critics' group accolade imaginable, earned his long overdue Oscar for supporting actor for the romantic comedy "Beginners," in which he plays a 75-year-old man who finally comes out as gay. At 82, he's the oldest acting winner ever.

"You're only two years older than me, darling," Plummer said on stage, admiring his golden trophy. "Where have you been all my life?"

His supporting-actress counterpart, Octavia Spencer, also has been a repeated winner throughout awards season. She plays a sassy, subversive maid who dares speak her mind in "The Help," and drew a spontaneous standing ovation as she walked on stage for her tearful acceptance.

Afterward, she told reporters: "I was just trying not to fall down 'cause I had an incident where I fell at an awards show."

"This is one of those evenings in my life that I'll never forget," she added.

Crystal, overseeing hosting duties for the ninth time, was a familiar, reliable replacement after Eddie Murphy stepped down in solidarity with Brett Ratner, who was supposed to produce the show but resigned after making a gay slur.

The comedian trotted out all the usual routines we've come to expect from him, including being magically inserted into the action in best-picture nominees and blockbusters alike. He also did his usual song-and-dance routine with musical bits about each of the nine films competing for the night's top prize.

"You didn't think I was not going to do this, did you?" Crystal asked, as if acknowledging how reheated the gag was.

Even though the ceremony itself ran just 3 hours 13 minutes — which is comparatively short — it seemed a whole lot longer with the inclusion of comic bits that dragged and felt like filler. The normally solid Christopher Guest mockumentary crew pretended to be a focus group picking apart "The Wizard of Oz," for example. Co-presenters Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow bickered while pretending to make a documentary; it had its moments only because Downey is so charismatic.

But more often, we had montages of nominees describing the movies they love best on a night when the quality of films and the love of a shared moviegoing experience should be self-evident. At the end of an awards season in which films about the silent era dominated, we were repeatedly told how we should feel.

Some archived Red Sox photos could have been damaged in the fire that was blamed on a short circuit in a light fixture.

Associated PressWashington Dept. of Transportation workers put up a temporary fence next to a pile of discarded pallets at the Occupy Tacoma encampment, Monday, Feb. 27, 2012, in Tacoma, Wash. The Occupy group was one of the last Occupy Wall Street movement groups nationwide to maintain a physical location, but they were given an eviction notice last Thursday and asked to leave the land, which is owned by the Washington Dept. of Transportation. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

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• Fire at Fenway Park causes $100K in damage [BostonHerald.com]


• Easthampton murder victim Jessica Pripstein remembered at vigil [Gazettenet.com]


• Edward Eaton of Belchertown gets 3 years in jail for theft [Gazettenet.com]


• Father, son charged with baiting and killing bear in central Mass. [Telegram.com]


• Driver who hit Worcester house, killing woman, put on probation [Telegram.com]


• Police: Connecticut man faces hate crime charge after hurling racial insult at Oscars party [Courant.com]


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


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The meeting is for residents of Hampden and Wilbraham.

The Republican file photo | John SuchockiConstruction on the new Minnechaug Regional High School.

WILBRAHAM – An informational meeting to discuss progress on the Minnechaug Regional High School building project will be Thursday at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium.

Residents from Hampden and Wilbraham are invited to attend, M. Martin O’Shea, superintendent of the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District, said.

O’Shea said the purpose of the meeting is to provide the public with an update on the construction progress, to discuss the demolition and construction phase of the project and to review the project costs.

There also will be time for questions from the audience.

Participants in the presentation will be O’Shea, Stephen Hale, principal of the high school, members of the School Committee and Minnechaug Regional High School Building Committee and representatives from Mount Vernon Group, architect for the building project.

Open house events for the new building will be scheduled in the spring and summer, O’Shea said.

The new high school is scheduled to open in August, at the beginning of the next school year.