At least four structures, two of which were vacant, were affected by the fire, which displaced several tenants and shut down Pine Street between Dwight and Suffolk streets, according to Holyoke Fire Lt. Thomas Paquin

Holyoke Police DepartmentThe fire began in a Pine Street home early Wednesday morning and spread to neighboring structures. No one was injured in the blaze, which was one of the most destructive in recent memory, according to Holyoke fire officials.

HOLYOKE – City firefighters battled a multi-building fire that destroyed a portion of a city block on Pine Street early Wednesday morning.

No one was injured in the blaze, which was reported at 2:15 a.m. and affected at least four buildings, Holyoke Fire Lt. Tomas G. Paquin said.

"It's been a while since we've had one like this," he said of the fire.

Paquin said the flames were mostly knocked down by 4:30 a.m., but firefighters were expected to remain on scene to chase hot spots and ensure the fire didn't reignite. "It's going to be going for several hours," Paquin said of the fire.

The affected buildings — 133 to 141 Pine St. — included a multi-unit apartment building with tenants, two empty buildings and a local landscaping business, Paquin said. Information about how many tenants were displaced by the fire was not immediately available.

Fire officials identified the owner of the first building to burn as Mike Ostapovicz, who couldn't immediately be reached for comment. The ownership status of the other buildings was unavailable.

The Chicopee Fire Deparment provided station coverage while Holyoke firefighters battled the blaze, which tore through the block and sent large, orange flames and smoke billowing into the dark sky.

The Republican | Greg Saulmon03.07.2012 | HOLYOKE - Firefighters at the scene of a major fire on Pine Street Wednesday morning. The headquarters of CMS Landscaping, at left, was one of several buildings damaged or destroyed in the blaze.

A large crowd gathered to watch as flames engulfed several buildings on Pine Street between Dwight and Suffolk streets. Barricades were erected to prevent people from getting too close to the scene, and the city's power company had to shut off electricity to the entire block.

The affected section of Pine Street includes several bus stops. Officials said city buses would have to be rerouted until the street reopens later today.

Holyoke Deputy Fire Chief David O'Connor was incident commander for the fire, which remains under investigation by city and state fire officials. A team of investigators from the office of state Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan were dispatched to the scene.

"We don't know what caused it at this point. It's under investigation," Paquin said.

More details will be posted on MassLive as they become available.

THE MAP BELOW shows the affected portion of Pine Street in Holyoke, where a fire tore through several buildings early Wednesday morning:

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An Ethics Commission lawyer told Devine she was eligible now to be on the authority board.

Former Holyoke city councilor Patricia C. Devine

HOLYOKE – The Holyoke Geriatric Authority board of directors tabled a vote on a seventh board member pending a discussion with the state Ethics Commission on whether a former city councilor is eligible to be on the board.

Board lawyer Edward J. McDonough Jr. said late Tuesday he spoke with an Ethics Commission lawyer about the issue and they plan another discussion “soon,” though he was unsure when.

The authority is a nursing home at 45 Lower Westfield Road. It is overseen by a board consisting of three appointed by the City Council, three by the mayor and a seventh chosen by those six. The current seventh member is Steven J. Kravetz.

Uncertainty about the next seventh member is among the issues surrounding a facility known as much in recent years for unpaid bills and battling board members than other things.

Authority officials have yet to give a public response to questions such as a notice from City Auditor Brian G. Smith. Smith has told the authority it must repay the city $465,000 to cover employee-retirement costs that the authority had failed to pay dating back to 2008 and for which the City Council approved payment in December.

McDonough told The Republican and MassLive.com that he learned his opinion on the eligibility of a former city councilor to be on the board is “diametrically different” from an opinion that an Ethics Commission lawyer gave to former councilor Patricia C. Devine.

In a Feb. 7 letter to board Chairman Joseph T. O’Neill, McDonough said the state conflict of interest law requires that a former councilor wait six months in order to be eligible to be on the board.

Devine lost a reelection bid in the Nov. 8 election and her last day on the City Council was Jan. 3.

But Ethics Commission lawyer Norah K. Mallam told Devine she could be appointed without violating the conflict of interest law.

“The conflict of interest law does not impose any time restrictions on your ability to be appointed to the Geriatric Commission effective immediately,” Mallam told Devine in an email Monday.

Because of that, McDonough said, he spoke to Mallam this week and they will discuss whether common ground can be found on their opinions, with the understanding this is a pressing issue.

“Everybody has an interest in this happening sooner rather than later,” McDonough said.

Board members are paid $4,000 a year each, though some decline the payment.

Another fight has to do with Helen Arnold and whether she is on or off the board.

Arnold participated in Tuesday’s meeting, held at the facility, voting in open session to go into executive session and particpating in the executive session. She also participated in the Feb. 14 meeting.

But City Clerk Susan M. Egan, City Council President Kevin A. Jourdain and others said Arnold is off the board. The council voted to replace her Jan. 17. And even though the council replacement, former councilor Donald R. Welch, was deemed ineligible by the Ethics Commission – in a ruling Welch himself sought – that vote ended Arnold’s tenure, Egan and Jourdain said.

But McDonough has said Arnold remains on the board because her replacement has yet to be voted in.

The council is advertising for candidates to replace Arnold, and in any event, Jourdain said, “I want to be clear that she is not a member.”

The authority board held a closed-door session Tuesday for more than two hours to discuss what O’Neill said was potential sale of property and litigation.

Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum are trying to make the most of a mixed Super Tuesday, each claiming a measure of victory but unable to settle the most tumultuous race for the GOP presidential nomination in decades.

The Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney addresses supporters at his Super Tuesday campaign rally in Boston, Tuesday, March 6, 2012.

WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum are trying to make the most of a mixed Super Tuesday, each claiming a measure of victory but unable to settle the most tumultuous race for the GOP presidential nomination in decades.

Romney narrowly won in pivotal Ohio, seized a home-state victory in Massachusetts, triumphed in Idaho, Vermont and Alaska, and won easily in Virginia — where neither Santorum nor Newt Gingrich was on the ballot.

Romney was forced to share the attention with Santorum, who won contests in Oklahoma, Tennessee and North Dakota.

"This was a big night tonight," Santorum said. "We have won in the West, the Midwest and the South, and we're ready to win across this country."

The results padded Romney's delegate lead in the nomination fight, but they also refreshed questions about his appeal to conservatives in some of the most Republican states in the nation. The best-funded and best-organized of the four Republican candidates, Romney vowed to press on.

"Tomorrow, we wake up and we start again," he told supporters. "And the next day, we'll do the same. And so we'll go, day by day, step by step, door by door, heart to heart."

The man they are angling to face in the general election chose the busiest day of the GOP race to speak from the presidential bully pulpit, where he dismissed the Republicans' almost constant criticism of his administration.

"Those folks don't have a lot of responsibilities," President Barack Obama said during a White House news conference earlier in the day. "They're not commander in chief."

Gingrich won his home state of Georgia, his first victory since he captured the South Carolina primary on Jan. 21. The former House speaker said it would propel him on yet another comeback.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul, still in search of his first victory of the nomination battle, had pinned his hopes on winning Idaho and Alaska but fell short in both.

Ohio was the marquee matchup, and for good reason. No Republican has won the presidency without carrying the state in the general election. It was a second industrial-state showdown in as many weeks between Romney and Santorum and drew the most campaigning and television advertisements of the 10 Super Tuesday states.

Romney trailed much of the night but rallied near midnight. With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, he had 38 percent to Santorum's 37 percent, an uncomfortably close margin for a candidate who had spent nearly four times as much money as his rival in the state.

Romney spent $1.5 million in television advertisements and Restore Our Future, a super PAC that supports him, spent an additional $2.3 million. Santorum and Red, White and Blue, a super PAC that supports him, countered with about $1 million combined, according to information on file with the Federal Election Commission.

The Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speaks to supporters at an election night party at Steubenville High School in Steubenville, Ohio, Tuesday, March 6, 2012.

There were primaries in Virginia, Vermont, Ohio, Massachusetts, Georgia, Tennessee and Oklahoma. Caucuses in North Dakota, Idaho and Alaska rounded out the contests. In all, 419 delegates were at stake across the 10 states. Romney picked up at least 212 delegates during the night; Santorum got 84, Gingrich 72 and Paul at least 22.

That gave the former Massachusetts governor 415, more than all his rivals combined. Santorum was second with 176 delegates, Gingrich had 105 and Paul had 47. It takes 1,144 delegates to win the nomination at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., this summer.

In interviews across all of the primary states, Republicans said the economy was the top issue and a candidate's ability to defeat Obama was what mattered most as they cast their votes.

Ohio Republicans were sharply divided, according to the popular vote and interviews with voters as they left polling places. Santorum triumphed over Romney among Ohioans with incomes under $100,000, while Romney won among those with six-figure incomes and up. Romney won among working women; Santorum won among women who do not work.

Santorum also was preferred by the half of the electorate that is born-again, while Romney was the favorite among those who were not.

The race moves to contests in Kansas, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Alabama, Hawaii, Mississippi and Missouri. Voting in Puerto Rico, Illinois and Louisiana rounds out the nomination schedule for March.

The No. 2 House Republican says Mitt Romney, despite some setbacks, will emerge from the GOP presidential nominating fight as the party's standard-bearer against President Barack Obama.

The Associated PressIn this photo taken Jan. 31, 2012, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Va., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington.

WASHINGTON — The No. 2 House Republican says Mitt Romney, despite some setbacks, will emerge from the GOP presidential nominating fight as the party's standard-bearer against President Barack Obama.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor tells CBS "This Morning" that Romney's ascension to the top is inevitable, saying his two closest rivals, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, "have not demonstrated an ability to do what needs to be done" to lock down the nod.

Cantor says Romney will ultimately be chosen as the party's nominee "because he's the only candidate in this race who's got a plan to turn this economy around."

The Virginia Republican, who has endorsed Romney, calls the former Massachusetts governor the man who has "outperformed all the other candidates." He says, "You're seeing an increasing flow toward Mitt Romney."

Authorities announced Tuesday that 42-year-old Joseph Cordes will be summoned to East Boston District Court to face a charge of disturbing the peace.

WINTHROP, Mass. — A Massachusetts man accused of aiming a laser pointer into the eyes of the opposing goalie at his daughter's high school hockey game is facing criminal charges.

Authorities announced Tuesday that 42-year-old Joseph Cordes will be summoned to East Boston District Court to face a charge of disturbing the peace.

Police say Cordes pointed the light at the Medway/Ashland goalie during a Feb. 29 tournament game in Winthrop, north of Boston. He was ordered out of the arena by a school official.

Winthrop won 3-1, prompting a protest from the Medway/Ashland parents who asked that the game be replayed. The governing body of high school sports in Massachusetts denied the appeal.

Cordes hasn't been arrested. He tells WBZ-TV he feels "like a complete jerk" and humiliated his daughter.

Kucinich is an eight-term congressman known for his quirky style and politically combative flair.

Associated PressWith his wife Elizabeth at his side, U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Cleveland addresses supporters at Rubin's Restaurant and Deli in Cleveland as the votes are tallied in his race against U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Toledo in Cleveland, Ohio on Tuesday night, March 6, 2012.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Veteran Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur defeated longtime Washington colleague Dennis Kucinich Tuesday in a bruising Ohio showdown made necessary by a newly drawn congressional map.

She will face the winner of the Republican primary — Samuel "Joe" Wurzelbacher, who became known as "Joe the Plumber" during the 2008 presidential campaign — in November.

Kaptur is in her 15th term representing the Toledo area. She ran a campaign that emphasized her record of bringing federal money and projects back to the state.

In a concession speech just past midnight, a bitter Kucinich described Kaptur's campaign as "lacking in integrity, filled with false truths."

"I hope this is not a representation of how she'll run the district," he said.

Kaptur did not respond to Kucinich's criticism, but said in a statement said she will need his supporters, and those of another primary contender, Graham Veysey, in the fall.

"We will need them, and their supporters help to work for the betterment of all of northern Ohio," she said

Kucinich is an eight-term congressman and two-time presidential candidate from Cleveland known for his quirky style and politically combative flair. Last summer, as Ohio's redistricting process was under way, he had flirted with running for an open House seat in Washington state.

Districts are redrawn every 10 years to reflect population changes in the new census.
Ohio's lagging population growth caused the loss of two of its 18 congressional seats.

Whichever party controls a state legislature typically sets redistricting so that incumbents in the majority party are protected and minority party seats are put at risk.

Ohio Republicans drew just four of 16 districts that lean Democratic. The decision to snake a district along the Lake Erie shoreline linking the Democratic strongholds of Cleveland and Toledo resulted in the state's lone intraparty contest between sitting House members.

"I knew full well that redistricting would cause some challenges," Kucinich said early Wednesday. "From the beginning, I realized I was at a disadvantage, but the campaign made every effort to win."

Kucinich and Kaptur have been friends for years, but their campaign took a negative turn.

Kaptur sought to link her rival to a former Cuyahoga County commissioner facing bribery and racketeering charges.

Kucinich aired campaign ads accusing Kaptur of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions from defense contractors.

Wurzelbacher was thrust on the national scene during the 2008 campaign, gaining his nickname after expressing working-class concerns about taxes to then-candidate Barack Obama.

The state's new gaming law gives federally-recognized tribes first crack at the sole casino license in southeastern Massachusetts. They would need to gain approval from voters in the host community and negotiate a compact with the state by July 1.

The Associated PressBeverly Wright, left, chairperson of the Wampanoag Indian Tribal Council of Gay Head Aquinnah listens as Glen Bolger, right, a partner of Public Opinion Strategies, discusses the results of a statewide survey of 500 residents on the subject of allowing a single Native American casino to be constructed in southeastern Massachusetts at a news conference in Boston, Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2002. Wright said 60 percent of those asked approved of the idea.

FALL RIVER, Mass. — A Massachusetts Indian tribe is asking Fall River officials to schedule a referendum on a proposed casino in the city.

The Herald News reports that the Wampanoag Aquinnah made the request in a letter to Mayor William Flanagan and the city council.

It comes just days after the state's other federally-recognized tribe, the Mashpee Wampanoag, announced plans to seek a casino in Taunton.

The state's new gaming law gives federally-recognized tribes first crack at the sole casino license in southeastern Massachusetts. They would need to gain approval from voters in the host community and negotiate a compact with the state by July 1.

Flanagan said the request from the Martha's Vineyard-based Aquinnah for a vote is premature. He said the tribe hasn't said where the casino would be located or provide other details.

The state Supreme Judicial Court ruled municipalities are not responsible for 100 percent of Quinn Bill expenses, which provide police with additional salary based on college degree.

Westfield and Chicopee will continue to pay its police officers their full Quinn Bill educational benefits despite a ruling by the state’s highest court on Tuesday that they do not have to.

Mayor Daniel M. Knapik and Michael D. Bissonnette took the position that it is unfair to penalize police officers who pursued higher education under a promise of additional compensation.

Springfield officials will review the SJC decision before deciding on its response to the Quinn Bill issue.

West Springfield opted out of the Quinn Bill benefit in 2010 when the state stopped funding its share. The town, at that time, instituted a local educational benefit package for its officers, said Chief Financial Officer Sharon Wilcox.

Knapik plans to continue to pay the full educational allotment the city’s police officers, about $500,000 annually as he has done since taking office in 2010.

“I think it was a raw deal on the state’s park to withdraw this funding. Police officers, before they opted for this career, were told this benefit would be there for them. To withdraw on that commitment is a wrong move at the state level,” Knapik said.

The state’s Supreme Judicial Court ruled Wednesday that municipalities are not obliged to pay the state’s 50-percent share of the educational incentive.

Justice Francis X. Spina, writing the decision, said law does not require municipalities to pay more than their 50-percent share of the benefit. The court ruled that state law caps local funding at 50 percent and also requires the state to pay its share providing it has funding. The ruling was in response to Boston police unions claiming that the city had to pay 100 percent of the benefit cost.

The Quinn Bill has been in existence since the 1970s but not all municipalities adopted its provisions. Those that did agreed to provide police with additional salary based on college degree. Benefits ranged from 10 percent annually for officers with an associate degree to 25 percent annually for a master’s degree.

Bissonnette said the Quinn Bill has been replaced with a new education incentive for all newly hired Chicopee police officers.

“Chicopee will continue to pay our veteran officers under the Quinn Bill, a current cost of $900,000 annually, but that amount will decrease as officers retire,” Bissonnette said. “We are replacing that benefit with the hiring of new officers who will now receive an addition $1,000 annually for an associate; $2,000 for bachelor and $5,000 annually for a master degree.”

“The state, and communities who opted for the Quinn Bill made a commitment,” Bissonnette said. “They (police) cannot give back their education. You cannot change terms of a contract once it is approved. The state should live up to its agreement,” he said.

Springfield now pays the entire cost of the benefit to its police officers, about $3.9 million annually, according to Lee C. Erdmann, chief administrative and financial officer.

“We will have to review the decision and consider the implications as part of the fiscal year 2013 budget process,” said Erdmann.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno plans to consult with the city’s Law and Finance departments regarding the ruling and its implications.

Easthampton Mayor Michael A. Tautznik will continue that city’s 25 police officers the benefit through the end of the fiscal year when their current contract expires.

“It will have an effect on the city when it moves forward,” Tautznik said. The city paid out $254,901 in Quinn benefits in fiscal 2011.

Granby Selectboard chairman Mark Bail said he is not sure how the ruling will affect the town. He also expressed disappointment that the state has stopped funding the benefit.

“We have to balance the interests of employees and the town,” said Bail. “If we cut the Quinn bill, we could lose our police to better-paying jobs.”

Granby used to be known as “training ground for police because there was so much turnover. The Quinn Bill provided a greater incentive to stay and it made a difference in professionalizing our police force,” Bail said.

The Quinn Bill was late fully funded by the state in fiscal years that began July 2007 and July 2008. The state share then was $50 million, said Robert R. Bliss, spokesman for the state Department of revenue.

The state’s share of the incentive dropped to $5 million for each of the past two fiscal years and there is no funding in the state budget this year for Quinn Bill payments, Bliss said.

Gov. Deval L. Patrick did not recommend state funding of the incentive for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Staff writers Patricia Cahill, Peter Goonan, Diane Lederman and Daniel Ring contributed to this report.

Perez was first indicted last year with charges related to preparing false tax returns for customers of Lopez Multiservice, a small tax preparation business on Central Street owned by her common-law-husband.

File photo | The Republican

SPRINGFIELD – A Springfield woman who allegedly stole an identity to remain in the United States as a citizen after arriving here on a travel visa in 2001 is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in federal court for a fresh set of tax fraud and other criminal charges.

Yolanda Mercedes Perez de Lopez, 50, a Dominican national and mother of three, was masquerading as Alicia Perez after robbing the identity of a Puerto Rican woman, according to federal prosecutors. She was first indicted last year with charges related to preparing false tax returns for customers of Lopez Multiservice, a small tax preparation business on Central Street owned by her common-law-husband.

The couple’s home and business were originally searched in 2009, when de Lopez began lying to IRS agents, court records state.

“She lied to federal investigators by representing herself to be ‘Alicia Perez’ .¤.¤. and counseled several of her clients to lie,” an application to secure her pretrial detention states.

The defendant was first charged last year with falsifying tax records on behalf of several clients and her “domestic partner,” Jose Lopez. She would draft tax returns to gain her clients more credits and higher refunds, the charges state. She also obtained a mortgage for Lopez with bogus financials, prosecutors state.

De Lopez has been held for nearly a year and recently was hit with new charges by a grand jury in U.S. District Court that include falsely representing her citizenship and aggravated identity theft. The latter charge exposes de Lopez to a mandatory minimum two years in prison on top of any penalty she would receive if convicted of any of the other 22 criminal counts she faces.

The clouds should be visible to the human eye for about 20 minutes from roughly Myrtle Beach, S.C., to southern New Hampshire.

By BROCK VERGAKIS

NORFOLK, Va. — Skywatchers along the East Coast may be able to see a NASA experiment that will launch a series of rockets to learn more about the little-understood jet stream winds that circle the Earth at the edge of space.

On a clear night between March 14 and April 4, NASA plans to launch five rockets in five minutes from its Wallops Island facility in coastal Virginia.

Each rocket will release a chemical leaving a long, milky-white cloud to track the winds that scientists will monitor from cameras on the coasts of North Carolina, Virginia and New Jersey.

The clouds should be visible to the human eye for about 20 minutes from roughly Myrtle Beach, S.C. to southern New Hampshire, and as far west as Morgantown, W.Va.

"People will be able to see it. They can also photograph it pretty easily," said Miguel Larsen, a Clemson University professor who is the mission's principal investigator.

The possible viewing area covers major cities like Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston, although it depends on ground lighting, cloud cover and the rockets' trajectories. Those in a smaller area from New York City to the Outer Banks in North Carolina might be able to see the rockets' glowing exhaust trails. NASA plans to post pictures and video taken by bystanders on its social media sites.

The small sounding rockets that usually carry a payload to space and them come back to Earth will crash into the Atlantic Ocean, where they will become artificial reefs. NASA said the experiment will cost about $4 million.

Each rocket will be fired different altitudes and distances, with the rocket going the longest distance crashing about halfway to Bermuda.

Firing multiple rockets allows scientists to track the high-speed winds over hundreds of miles.

The winds in the thermosphere about 65 miles above the surface can reach speeds up to 300 miles per hour. Larson said scientists aren't sure why there are such high winds at that altitude and the experiment will help address that question.

That altitude is also part of the ionosphere, where there are strong electrical currents from solar radiation. Data gathered from the experiment should allow scientists to better model the electromagnetic regions of space that can damage satellites and affect radio communications. Scientists also hope the experiment will help explain how atmospheric disturbances in one part of the globe can be transported to other parts of the globe in a day or two.

They aren't the same jet stream currents that circle closer to earth, affecting weather patterns and air travel.

The state Appeals Court ruled the man whose estranged must pay child support even though the children are not biologically his and despite a signed agreement between the couple that he is not financially responsible for them.

File Photo

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Appeals Court has ruled that a man whose estranged wife conceived twins through in vitro fertilization must pay child support even though the children are not biologically his and despite a signed agreement between the couple that he is not financially responsible for them.

The court ruled Tuesday that because Chukwudera Okoli gave his consent to Blessing Okoli's in vitro fertilization with donated sperm and eggs, he is the legal father of the children born in 2003. The court said the signed agreement was invalid.

The decision upheld a 2009 Family Court ruling.

Chukwudera Okoli said he signed the agreement under duress because his wife threatened to withdraw her support for his U.S. citizenship application.

Blessing Okoli's lawyer said his client was pleased. The couple was married for nine years.

The new park is located adjacent to a new Gulfstream Aerospace expansion project.

WESTFIELD – The city is moving forward with plans to create a new air industrial park on land adjacent to Barnes Regional Airport and expected to begin marking parcels there within the next 18 months.

The City Council last week appropriated $21,700 from free cash to finance necessary surveying of the property that covers about 85 acres.

The goal, Mayor Daniel M. Knapik said this week is to attract light manufacturing g and aviation related business to the new park.

Advancement Officer Jeffrey R. Daley said the survey process will identify the exact perimeter of the property including any required acquisitions there to complete that phase of the process.

Next will be upgrades to Airport Industrial Road and other infrastructure work necessary to provide suitable access and utilities to the property.

“We hope by fall to be in the engineering and permitting phase of the overall project,” Daley said.

Road and other work will be finance through a $2 million state grant the city recently received, said Daley.

The new park includes some of the property previously used by Whip City Speedway which one year ago after hosting summer motor vehicle racing since 1995. The racetrack has another two year on its lease with the city at the time of the closure.

An auction of equipment at the former speedway took place last May. The speedway was located on property owned by Barnes Regional Airport and leased to the racetrack operators.

The property sits adjacent to two large aviation firms, General Dynamics Aviation Services and Gulfstream Aerospace located on Elise Street.

Gulfstream is currently preparing to expand, following its lease of 11 acres owned by airport and located in the same area as the new industrial park. The company is scheduled to break ground in May on a new $23 million maintenance facility that eventually will bring an additional 100 high-skilled jobs to its current 130 member workforce.

And while it looks like Romney and Santorum will continue sparring for a while longer, Newt Gingrich and Texas Rep. Ron Paul aren't showing signs of leaving the show anytime soon.

View full sizeRepublican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney shares a laugh with his wife Ann after voting in the Massachusetts primary in Belmont, Mass., Tuesday, March 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Although Rick Santorum soared to victory in three primary elections on Super Tuesday, the general consensus is that this is Mitt Romney's game, even if the Republican base is divided on his merits.

Romney, the one-time governor of Massachusetts, scored a home-state victory and five others on Tuesday, although his win in Ohio was narrow, highlighting his problem appealing to the Republican base as a whole.

"If Romney would have won decisively, it would have brought this closer to him becoming the eventual Republican nominee to take on President Obama," said John Baick, a professor of history and political science at Western New England University. "Romney seems to have outspent Santorum 10-1 in Ohio, so the fact that Santorum came so close is amazing. At the same time, Santorum wouldn't have gotten this far if Romney wasn't the front-runner. He rises mostly because of the lack of enthusiasm for Romney."

Romney has a few options when it comes to shoring up support with Republicans across the country, but they all involve avoiding future gaffes, particularly those which emphasize his wealth.

Baick noted that over the past few weeks, Romney's appearances are more scripted, thus limiting the chance of such a mistake being spoke. But in order to have a realistic chance of defeating Obama, he is going to have to go further.

"He is going to have to pick a vice president that satisfies the doubts people in the party are holding right now," Baick said. "Possibly a southerner, someone with impeccable religious credentials to appeal to the evangelical part of the party."

That eliminates Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Baick said. Although Rubio is Catholic, he was once a Morman, and that isn't solid enough for many hardcore Christians, particularly along the Bible Belt of the South.

A Los Angles Times article published Tuesday from Alabama highlights Romney's problem appealing to such voters and also showcases the rural-urban divide.

One man, a lifelong barber, told the LA Times that his problem with Romney is the fact that he is a Mormon.

"Christ is the head of my church, and his was some Smith guy who claimed to be a latter-day prophet," the man told the LA Times.

Another person said that he would support Romney against Obama, but he sees Romney as being cocky.

"In the contest until now, the rural urban divide has been negligible," said Matt Barron, a political analyst not working with any of the presidential campaigns. "But in Ohio on Tuesday, Santorum hammered Romney, taking much of the rural vote in part because of his appeal to Christian evangelicals. The same thing happened in Tennessee, which Santorum ended up winning."

In Ohio, Santorum took 42 percent of the rural vote, compared to Romeny's 30 percent. The overall state-wide vote broke down with Romney taking 38 percent of the vote, compared to Santorum's 37 percent.

"Romney has an organized political machine and Santorum doesn't," Baick said. "But the only way Romney could finish this race before the Republican National Convention is if he runs the table. And with Santorum's unexpected momentum, he isn't going to do that."

And while it looks like Romney and Santorum will continue sparring for a while longer, Newt Gingrich and Texas Rep. Ron Paul aren't showing signs of leaving the show anytime soon.

Baick said that he believes Gingrich, who won his home state of Georgia on Tuesday, will stick around to enjoy the political platform the race allows.

"Gingrich isn't thinking about 2016 like Santorum, he just wants to be seen and heard and he has this platform to speak his views right now," Baick said. "He could help shape the race by dropping out and endorsing Santorum wholeheartedly, but that isn't likely at this point."

The survival of Gingrich's campaign relies largely on the continued financial support from Sheldon Adelson, a Las Vegas casino owner who befriended Gingrich when he served as speaker of the house in the 1990s. Adelson has spent millions supporting Gingrich's run and continues to do so today.

View full sizeChristina Villagomez attracts the attention of caucus voters as she walks through the Lakeland High School gymnasium in Rathdrum, Idaho with an overside Ron Paul head Tuesday, March 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Coeur d'Alene Press, Jerome A. Pollos) MANDATORY CREDIT

And Paul, who has a dedicated support base, has no reason to stop, ever, according to Baick.

"Ron Paul has what the other Republican candidates wish they had- true believers," Baick said. "Paul's supporters believe in the man and his message. They see him as sincere. Romney is considered by many as a means to an end. But Paul will always be revered, even when he dies."

A Republican candidate must have 1,144 delegates at the national convention to win the party's nomination. After Super Tuesday, Romney has 415 delegates, followed by Santorum with 176, Gingrich with 105 and Paul with 47.

Looking forward, voters in Kansas will hit the polls for their caucus on Saturday with primary elections scheduled for Tuesday in Alabama, Mississippi and Hawaii.

Stick with MassLive.com for the latest Election 2012 coverage.

The Nauset Harbor closure announced by the Division of Marine Fisheries also covers the rest of the Nauset Marsh System.

File photo | The Republican

BOSTON — The state has closed Nauset Harbor on Cape Cod to shellfishing after the first red tide outbreak of the year in Massachusetts.

The closure announced Wednesday by the Division of Marine Fisheries also covers the rest of the Nauset Marsh System, including Mill Pond in Orleans, Salt Pond in Eastham and the waters of Town Cove in both Orleans and Eastham.

The same area was closed to shellfishing last May after discovery of red tide, also known as Paralytic Shellfish Poison.

The toxin is produced by naturally-occurring algae. It can affect the human nervous system and even cause fatal paralysis.

New city rules requires a five vote majority for such a motion to pass.

This is an aerial view of the New City neighborhood, including the lot where the proposed affordable housing development Parsons Village could be built (circled in red).

EASTHAMPTON – While a majority of the city councilors present Wednesday night voted to rescind Community Preservation Act funding for the proposed Parsons Village affordable housing project on Parsons Street, there were not enough votes for the motion to pass.

Four voted in favor of rescinding the $200,000 the City Council awarded to the Northampton Valley Community Development Corp. in October 2010 and three against with two members absent. Due to a change in charter, such a motion needed five votes.

Council President Justin P. Cobb brought the proposal forward first to the Finance Committee, because he said, “a significant change has occurred,” since the funding was initially approved by a 6 to 3 vote.

At the time, the developer sought a special permit before the Planning Board, but that permit was denied. The corporation is currently seeking a comprehensive permit for the 38-unit housing project.

A comprehensive permit allows the Zoning Boards of Appeals to approve affordable housing developments under more flexible rules when a community has less than 10 percent of its housing as affordable. The city has just 6.3 percent affordable housing.

For an hour, the council took comments from those for and against rescinding.

Both Edward Quinn, the former chairman of the Community Preservation Act Committee and current chairman Robert Harrison opposed the move to rescind.

“If you rescind, you put the city in a very bad place,” Quinn said. He felt “It could make Easthampton have a bad reputation.”

“It’s an eligible project,” Harrison said. “Don’t treat the CPA as a pawn to derail the Valley CDC. That’s why we have a ZBA.” The proposal is now before the Zoning Board of Appeals. The hearing continues Thursday night.

Harrison said whether they sought the special permit or a comprehensive permit did not matter to him. Money from the Community Preservation Act can be used for affordable housing and open space and historic preservation.”

Mary Westervelt, part of the New City Neighborhood Association, who supported pulling the funding, said the project in fact would be taking away open space.

Cobb said Valley CDC’s move to proceed with a comprehensive permit after stating they would apply for a special permit “as a bait and switch.”

Resident Erica Flood who lives next to the proposed project supported rescinding and said the whole project should just begin again.

The project includes a refurbished main terminal building, demolition of a baggage building and construction of a parking garage in its place.

Photo by Mark M. Murray / The RepublicanThe Union Station building in downtown Springfield on Frank B. Murray Street is seen in this Monday photo.

SPRINGFIELD – The Springfield Redevelopment Authority raved over the ongoing design of the Union Station redevelopment project this week, praising its architectural beauty, cavernous space and ample natural lighting, and welcomed the modern conveniences of elevators, a parking garage and Wi-Fi.

During a meeting Monday, architect Donald Warner, of HDR Architecture, provided an update on the design of the Union Station Intermodal Transportation Center project, saying it will provide a blend of the old and new.

The project to renovate and reopen the long-vacant station on Frank B. Murray Street for train and bus travel has an estimated cost of $83 million.

The project will include a refurbished main terminal building, and tearing down the adjacent baggage building to create space for a parking garage. The garage will connect to the terminal building and will have approximately 25 bus berths on the first floor and about 450 parking spaces on 2½ floors, Warner said.

Board members of the Springfield Redevelopment Authority, which owns the building, said they were impressed by the early plans. The design is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

“It’s a very beautiful architecture and very beautiful facade,” said Armando Feliciano, authority chairman. “Once it is restored, it is going to maintain the original beauty and architecture, while at the same time providing some modernization for the current needs of travelers.”

The project, located along the Main Street corridor, will be a great boost for the local economy and jobs, and will spur other developments along the Main Street corridor, Feliciano said.

“It’s very exciting,” said William MacGregor, also a board member. “I think this has the potential to be a real game-changing project for the city.”

There will be dedicated space in Union Station, including ground-floor ticketing and waiting areas and upstairs offices for the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority, Peter Pan Bus Lines, and Amtrak rail service, along with other office and retail space, and possibly a day care center, according to the plans.

Warner and board members spoke about the numerous windows that line the station, providing a great amount of natural light, and the large open spaces and archways that will be preserved in the building. Union Station was constructed in 1926 and closed nearly four decades ago.

A passenger tunnel with rail platforms and stairs will be restored and refurbished, along with the addition of elevators to provide direct access to passenger rail service, officials said.

“It is really preserving the unique features of the station and incorporating modern-day features,” said Maureen Hayes, a consultant for the city on the Union Station project.

There are $27 million in committed funds for the project from state and federal sources, along with about $24 million in previously awarded earmarks and funds that will be pursued for restoration, Hayes said. Additional applications for funding are being made, she said.

The Historical Commission issued a letter of support for the redevelopment project in the fall.

Some residents said they do not want a superintendent who would use Springfield as a "stepping stone."

SPRINGFIELD – Once again, residents have urged the School Committee to select an in-house, local candidate to serve as the next superintendent of schools, saying the system needs a leader with a proven record of commitment to the city and its children.

Approximately 25 people attended a community meeting at the Van Sickle Middle School on Carew Street on Wednesday, offering suggestions on the search for a new superintendent. It marked the School Committee’s eighth and final scheduled community meeting, with input sought from residents, students, school employees and business people in recent weeks.

“It’s about time to go with someone local,” said Jose Fernandez of Nottingham Street. “Not someone who just talks the talk, but someone who walks the walk. That’s what we need.”

Superintendent Alan J. Ingram is leaving Springfield in June at the end of his four-year contract. The School Committee wants his replacement chosen by the time of his departure.

Approximately 15 people spoke Wednesday, and 14 called for an in-house candidate to be chosen.

“It’s time we realize that we realize that we have wonderful people from within,” said Kathleen M. Donnellan, a retired Springfield principal.

She and others said that the superintendent position has been used as “stepping stone” in the past.

“I’m tired of it,” Donnellan said. “I know you do have great people from within and I hope you give them preference.”

School Committee members Christopher Collins, Peter Murphy and Denise Hurst attended the meeting and praised the public input.

The School Committee has hired the Massachusetts Association of School Committees to help seek candidates both locally and from around the nation. In addition, the School Committee will appoint a 13-member screening committee and has asked for letters of interest from residents by a March 16 deadline.

William J. Metzger, a neighborhood resident, a product of the Springfield school system, and retired city clerk, said the city needs someone who is “local and in-house” to lead the school system.

He listed some of the past local superintendents including Thomas Donahue, who he recalled as someone who was promoted through the school ranks in Springfield, and who reflected “an entire career dedicated to the children of the Springfield schools.”

An outside candidate might spend half of a four-year contract just to “become comfortable,” Metzger said.

Michele Curley, with three children in the public schools, said she really prefers someone already working in the school system, who knows the issues and the struggles of Springfield and the school system. It is a very large school system with many special needs children, and needs someone “who will instill pride in the public schools,” she said.

One resident, Madeline Martinez, primarily spoke about her concerns about the quality of the schools and said she wants to see a leader who helps turn around the system. She has one son in the school system, but said she wants to see improvements before a second son, age 3, is in first grade, or she will find another option for his education.

The call for the next school superintendent to have strong local experience has been a “common thread” at meetings, Collins said.

Elizabeth Warren is letting her supporters choose which charity Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown's campaign will donate to after a third-party was found advertising on his behalf.

View full sizeRepublican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown's campaign will donate to a charity chosen by Democratic rival Elizabeth Warren's supporters after a third-party was found to be advertising on his behalf in violation of the "People's Pledge" agreement. (AP photos)

Elizabeth Warren is letting her supporters choose which charity Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown's campaign will donate to after a third-party was found advertising on his behalf.

The Coalition of Americans for Political Equality, or CAPE PAC, was found to be running online ads to Brown's benefit, which means, according to the "People's Pledge" agreement, Brown has to pay half the cost of the ad buy to a charity of Warren's choice.

Brown's campaign has since contacted the CAPE PAC, which has reportedly agreed to pull the ads.

"After learning a third-party group was running Internet ads on behalf of Scott Brown, the Brown campaign agreed to honor the terms of the pledge with a donation to a charity of Professor Warren’s choosing," said Colin Reed, a spokesman for the Brown campaign on Tuesday. "Today, Scott Brown’s People’s Pledge worked exactly as intended."

In an email to supporters Wednesday evening, Warren's campaign gave the options to choose a category of charity to receive the donation.

"We've just learned that a pro-Mitt Romney PAC was caught running ads on Google in support of Scott Brown," the campaign said in the email. "The Brown campaign has agreed to donate 50% of the value of the advertising spend to a charity of our choice, as outlined in the pledge. This is the People's Pledge -- so we'd like your help picking the charity Scott Brown donates to."

The choices are:

• Animal Rights & Shelters


• Arts & Culture


• Children/Family Services


• Economic Justice


• Education


• Elderly Care


• Environment


• Food Banks & Pantries


• Health


• Homeless Services


• Human Rights


• Immigrant Rights


• LGBT Rights


• Women’s Rights

An exchange of gunfire outside a Tulsa courthouse sent people scattering from a crowded plaza as an employee at a nearby library used his camera to chronicle the events.

Associated PressIn this photo provided by John Fancher of the Tulsa City-County Library, sheriff's deputies surround a man who was wounded in an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement officers on the plaza in between the library and the Tulsa County Courthouse in Tulsa, Okla. on Wednesday, March 7, 2012. The shooter, a sheriff's deputy, and a bystander were wounded during the exchange, police said. (AP Photo/Tulsa City-County Library, John Fancher)

By ROCHELLE HINES

TULSA, Okla. — A sheriff's deputy, a suspected gunman and a bystander were wounded Wednesday afternoon during an exchange of gunfire outside a Tulsa courthouse, sending people scattering from a crowded plaza as an employee at a nearby library used his camera to chronicle the events.

Police spokesman Leland Ashley said authorities responded to a report of a person firing into the air between the Tulsa County Courthouse and the library. Deputies, including the one who was wounded, exchanged gunfire with the shooter, Ashley said.

John Fancher, a communications coordinator with the library, told The Associated Press that he heard gunshots, then grabbed his camera and stood at his office window to take pictures.

"I see a guy barefoot nonchalantly just waving a gun in the air," Fancher said. "I'm thinking this is not the downtown I remember working in. I start snapping off some shots and he sits down, just casually sits down, gun in his hand and three sheriff's come out of the courthouse and I can't hear what they're saying."

Fancher said the man turned around and stood up with his gun.

"That's when (the deputies) did what they had to do," he said.

Ashley said injuries to the deputy and the bystander did not appear life-threatening.

Authorities said Andrew Joseph Dennehy, 23, was being treated at a hospital, but his condition wasn't immediately available. Ashley said he was considered to be in police custody but hadn't been formally charged.

Tulsa County sheriff's Sgt. Shannon Clark said the deputy who was wounded was shot in both hands and both arms and was in surgery as of 7 p.m. He didn't know the extent of the injuries to the deputy, whom the department didn't identify.

Emergency Medical Services Authority Capt. Chris Stevens said one man was taken to a hospital in critical condition and that two other people were hospitalized, one in serious and one in fair condition. A woman, who was not hit by gunfire, was "shaken up" and treated at the scene.

Glyn Roe, 49, a heating and air-conditioning worker from Tulsa who was just visiting the library Wednesday, said he saw all the events unfold.

"Everybody was running," Roe said. "I was watching it to make sure he wasn't coming into the library, or I would have started running, too."

Virginia Jones, owner of Downtown Tulsa Tag Agency, where people can update their car licenses, said she and her son were leaving to pick up another child from school when they heard gunfire.

Police officers crouched behind giant planters that dot the plaza when more gunfire erupted.

"It wasn't long after that that police just started coming from everywhere," she said.

Library Chief Executive Officer Gary Shaffer said he was returning from lunch when he saw emergency vehicles. A man who appeared to have been shot in the leg was wheeled out of the library by paramedics.

Shaffer said it was unclear if the man, who he said was unconscious, ran into the library after getting shot or if he was shot in the library. There was broken glass in the library from an apparent bullet.

Tulsa County District Court Judges Jefferson Sellers and Rebecca Nightingale told the Tulsa World that they were in courtrooms on the seventh floor when they saw the gunfire exchange. Nightingale said the gunman fired at least two shots at the deputies, and Sellers said the deputies fired multiple rounds back at him after ordering him to drop the weapon.

The exact cost to property owners will be determine when final costs are in.

File photo by John Suchocki/The RepublicanConstruction on the new Easthampton High School building is seen here last month from Bryan Avenue.

EASTHAMPTON – While the winter weather has caused mourning in the ski community, the dearth of snow has let the high school building project here proceed right on schedule.

Michael Buehrle, school building committee chairman, said they are at most are a week behind because last week’s storm delayed the pouring of the last two sections of foundation, delaying the remaining steel delivery by about a week or less.

But he said the project is still on target to open in a year, just after the 2013 April vacation.

Costs still are on the money coming in at budgeted or a little less, he said.

Bids for the $43.7 million project came in low, dropping the cost by $3 million, and in September the city sold a $14 million bond at a lower interest rate so the ultimate project cost was reduced to $39.2 million.

The City Council in October reduced the debt exclusion override voters agreed to pay by $159,201.73. The state is paying nearly two-thirds of the project.

The weather “has been a big plus,” said Buehrle, who meets weekly with project managers at the site. “You’re not dealing with stacks and stacks of snow.”

Concrete can’t be poured when there are mounds and mounds of snow, he said. Contractors had hoped to pour the last of the concrete Thursday but the storm did delay that. “We’re about a week behind.”

Mayor Michael A. Tautznik said, “we’re happy with it,” of the project and how it’s progressing. Fontaine Brothers of Springfield is the project’s general contractor. They began work last spring.

The mayor said the exact cost to taxpayers still is uncertain until they get final costs for the project and borrow that amount. Initially the cost estimate on an average single-family home was expected to be $280 annually in fiscal year 2013, however, with the costs less, the taxpayers will pay less, he said.

Finance Director Melissa Zawadzki said the cost for fiscal year 2013 will be about $190 for the year on a house valued at $229, 150. But she said that amount will change because the city has not yet borrowed the full amount for the project.

The next School Building Committee meeting, meanwhile, is March 19, Buehrle said and he will be updating everyone on the project.

Once the students move to the new building, the more than 50-year-old high school will be razed.