Obama hailed a rebounding economy and accused Republicans of banking on voters having "amnesia" about the steps that led to a brutal economic collapse.

Associated PressPresident Barack Obama gestures during a speech on the economy,Friday, March 9, 2012, at the Rolls Royce aircraft engine part production plant in Prince George, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

By KEN THOMAS

HOUSTON — Raising campaign cash in Republican territory, President Barack Obama on Friday hailed a rebounding economy and accused Republicans of banking on voters having "amnesia" about the steps that led to a brutal economic collapse.

"The recovery is accelerating. America is coming back," Obama told 600 supporters at a Texas fundraiser.

Bidding for re-election, Obama bounded between a rally-style event in a sprawling Rolls-Royce manufacturing plant south of Richmond, Va., to a pair of Houston fundraisers. Framing the trip: a new monthly jobs report showing employers adding 227,000 jobs in February, the latest sign that the economy is headed in the right direction.

Every month's jobs report is seen as a barometer of the economy and an important factor in the presidential race. The unemployment rate held steady at 8.3 percent, the result of more Americans looking for work as job growth takes hold month by month.

The jobs report and split loyalties among Republican voters assessing Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and the rest of the GOP field give Obama's team renewed confidence that the path he has forged could help him win re-election and rebuild the economy. But privately, his advisers know that outside factors in the United States and abroad — from high gasoline prices to instability in the Middle East — could still derail his political and economic ambitions in the months leading to the fall election.

Pointing at Republicans, Obama said: "They think you have amnesia. They think you've forgotten how we got into this mess."

He spoke at Union Station at Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros, with tickets starting at $500 per person.

Defending his health care law, Obama said preventive care for women was now covered, including "checkups, mammograms, birth control. We fought for this because the top doctors and medical experts in the country said this kind of preventive care saves women's lives," he said, arguing too that it saves money.

Obama's policy on access to contraception has faced criticism from Republicans and religious groups, who said the mandate that birth control be covered by insurance, even for employers whose faiths forbid contraception, was a violation of the Constitution's guarantee of religious freedom.

"So when you see politicians who are trying to take us back to the days when this care was more expensive and harder to get for women — and I know you're seeing some of that here in Texas — you just remember we can't let them get away with it," Obama said. "We fought for this change. We're going to protect this change."

Both in Houston and on the factory floor in Virginia, the president cautioned that too many Americans still long for work. But he said the nation's economy had made progress because of difficult decisions he made, including rescuing U.S. automakers.

Romney, campaigning in Jackson, Miss., took a different view: The unemployment rate remains above 8 percent. "This president has not succeeded; this president has failed — and that's the reason we're going to get rid of him in 2012," Romney said.

Obama was stocking up on campaign cash as Republicans appear locked in a primary process that may not be settled for months.

Republican Gov. Robert McDonnell of Virginia, who joined Obama at the factory and has been talked about as a potential vice presidential candidate, said he was heartened by Obama's recognition of the innovative Virginia plant. "When the president is right, I'm going to commend him and say he's doing things right," he said.

"If he really wants to get Americans back to work, he needs to look at cutting the taxes and the bureaucracy and the regulatory burden on American business," McDonnell said.

Yet every strong month of hiring undermines arguments from Republicans that Obama has failed to deliver on promises to pull the economy out of recession. Since the beginning of December, the country has added 734,000 jobs, the strongest three months of pure job growth since the Great Recession.

Obama has highlighted the U.S. economy's addition of 429,000 manufacturing jobs during the past two years, touring factories in Wisconsin, Washington state and North Carolina in recent weeks. The United States lost 2.2 million manufacturing jobs in the two years before that.

Political calculations are not far from the surface in these trips — Virginia is expected to be a major election battleground later this year, and the Houston fundraisers added to the president's campaign bankroll. Though the end of January, Obama's campaign and the Democratic Party have raised about $250 million.

In Virginia, Obama promoted a $1 billion plan to create a network of up to 15 regional institutes to create partnerships among private industry, universities and community colleges and government. He also announced a $45 million pilot program that would show the type of potential collaboration among academia and industry.

In Texas, Obama was raising campaign cash among supporters who live in a reliably Republican state. Jimmy Carter, in 1976, was the last Democratic presidential candidate to carry Texas, but changing demographics and an influx in Hispanic voters have given Democrats hopes of competing in the state beyond the 2012 elections.

The DPW plans to improve the intersection of Pondside Road and Tina Lane and the intersection of Emerson and Anthony roads.

LONGMEADOW - A public hearing will be held in the conference room at the Police Department, 34 Williams St., on at 7 p.m. Wednesday regarding a Department of Public Works proposal to improve the intersection of Pondside Road and Tina Lane and the intersection of Emerson Road and Anthony Road in Longmeadow.

For more information call the Department of Public Works at (413) 567-3400.

The protest will call for an immediate end to China’s crackdown on Tibet.

Photo by Ashwini Bhatia / Associated PressTibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama wears a ceremonial yellow hat as he gives a religious talk on the 15th day of the Tibetan New Year in Dharmsala, India, Thursday. The Dalai Lama has lived in northern India since fleeing Tibet after a failed 1959 uprising against Beijing's rule.

AMHERST - The Tibetan-American community of Amherst and Northampton and its supporters will join a global day of protest Saturday to mark Tibetan National Uprising Day and to demand an immediate end to China’s violent crackdown on Tibet.

The Solidarity Peace March begins in Amherst Center at 10:30 a.m. and continues on to Northampton.

The Select Board in Amherst recently proclaimed March 10 as “Tibet Day” and will raise the Tibetan national flag in honor of the Tibetan people in their nonviolent struggle for the independence of Tibet.

If the attacks between the Republican presidential hopefuls are a sign of things to come, the ugly attack ads will only increase through November's general election when one of the candidates takes on Democratic President Barack Obama.

View full sizeSen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, left, accompanied by Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012, to discuss the disclosure of super PAC donors to the Republican presidential candidates. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

If the attacks between the Republican presidential hopefuls are a sign of things to come, the ugly attack ads will only increase through November's general election when one of the candidates takes on Democratic President Barack Obama.

The campaigns of front-runner Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich have pulled out all the stops this election season, and nasty attack ads abound, not to mention the ads financed by the super PACs.

"We can expect Romney to go as negative as any campaign we've ever seen in his quest for the White House," said John Baick, professor of history and political science at Western New England University. "Because of the way he's had to run this primary, it is too late for him to project a positive businessman image like he once planned on doing."

And in a sign hinting that Baick is correct, the pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future has enlisted the man who's shown in past elections that he can effectively use negative attack ads to his client's benefit.

You may not know who Larry McCarthy is, but if you're a political junkie or have a good memory, you likely know his work.

He is the mastermind responsible for the notorious Willie Horton ad used to attack former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis after he attained the Democratic Party's nomination in the 1988 presidential election.

The ad, albeit incorrectly, attributed a Massachusetts weekend prison release program to Dukakis, citing Horton, who left one weekend only to surface in Maryland almost a year later, where he brutally attacked a woman and her fiance.

Horton was sentenced to two consecutive life terms, and the judge refused to allow Massachusetts extradite him for fear he may be released on furlough again.

Dukakis went on to lose the election to George H.W. Bush with the McCarthy ad going down in history.

The Restore Our Future super PAC has spent more than $33 million in ads attacking the other Republican presidential candidates so far, according to the nonpartisan research project Open Secrets. In contrast, the group has spent only around $900,000 on ads supporting Romney.

In the past two weeks alone, Restore Our Future has spent more than $65,000 on ads created by McCarthy Hennings Media, Inc., the company which Larry McCarthy leads as president.

One of the recent ads attacking Santorum likens him to Democratic Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, saying that the former Pennsylvania senator voted to restore voting rights for convicted felons. Another ad goes after Santorum for a vote which provided funding for Planned Parenthood.

"20 years in Washington changed Santorum's principles," is just one message reiterated through the anti-Santorum ads paid for by Restore Our Future.

"There is no doubt that super PACs are going to play a huge role, launching numerous negative attacks in this campaign," said Ray La Raja, a professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. "Since super PACs aren't directly tied to the candidate campaigns, it is easier for them to use negative advertising. And with Romney spending down his campaign money, donors and supporters are reaching the contribution limits. It is likely they will switch over to the super PACs supporting him where there are no limits on contributions."

The Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that corporations have individual rights to free expression protected under the Constitution. The decision allowed super PACs and their secrecy-shrouded non-profit associates to raise unlimited amounts of money and advertise at will, as long as they don't coordinate directly with a political campaign or candidate about a specific ad.

But Christopher Pyle, a professor of political science at Mount Holyoke College, said that the separation between the two is increasingly nonexistent.

"Many super PACs are created by former staffers of the candidates and the coordination is becoming quite blatant," Pyle said. "They share offices and swap staff, hire the same ad agencies and use the same candidate to entertain prospective donors at nominally separate events. The PACs seem confident that the Federal Election Commission won't call them out because it is stuck in partisan gridlock most of the time."

The FEC is comprised of six members, all appointed by the president. Its membership can't include more than three members of the same party and members serve for six-year terms. It is currently made up of three Republicans and three Democrats.

Common criticisms of the FEC charge that the fines and punishments it hands down often don't come until well after a violation and the associated election, making its effectiveness minimal.

Although there has been some talk about making legislative changes to place additional limits on super PACs, Pyle doesn't believe that a solution will be forthcoming anytime soon.

"There is a lot of energy and desire to make a change, but not much clarity of thought," Pyle said. "To say that 'corporations aren't people' makes for a good slogan, but it isn't that helpful."

The top 2 vote-getters among incumbent Joseph Cabrera, former School Committee member Angela Thorpe, Robert Richardson, Susan DeGrave and Deirdre Mailloux advance to the annual election.

Submitted photosThe candidates for East Longmeadow School Committee are, top row, left to right, Joseph Cabrera, Susan DeGrave and Deirdre Mailloux and bottom row, left to right, Robert Richardson and Angela Thorpe.

EAST LONGMEADOW – An incumbent, a former School Committee member and three newcomers will vie for one seat on the School Committee during the preliminary elections to be held Tuesday.

Incumbent Joseph Cabrera is being challenged by former School Committee member Angela Thorpe, Connecticut school teacher Robert Richardson, Susan DeGrave and Deirdre Mailloux. The two top vote-getters will move on to the annual election in April.

Cabrera has served on the board since 2010. A father of four, he said he has worked with every administrator in the system and can offer the insight necessary to ensure a diverse and productive committee.

“I have zealously maintained my positions even if they are not popular,” said Cabrera, citing his vote against using money designated for education and safety for outdoor lighting. Cabrera drafted a petition requesting that the $115,000 high school athletic field lighting project be funded through the town’s free cash.

“I have demanded accountability for money spent without the knowledge of the full committee or our citizens,” he said.

Thorpe served on the School Committee for six years before losing her seat in 2011. She is also running against Paul Federici for a seat on the Board of Selectmen.

“Along with six years of school committee experience another important qualification is my deep passion for education and a strong commitment to helping improve our schools, as well as removing obstacles that stop, prevent or curtail the process of delivering the ultimate educational experience,” she said.

Thorpe said she wants the district to produce students who can compete in a global market.

“I want to ensure that we are implementing the best practices in the classroom, in our financial planning, and school community policy,” she said. “ When it comes to educating the children of East Longmeadow, we want to be sure that we provide them with an education that gives them the ability to compete on a global scale if that is their desire.”

Susan DeGrave ran as a write-in candidate in 2010. An attorney since 1991, DeGrave focuses mainly on immigration, family and criminal law.

“I believe I have a good rapport with young people, having handled cases involving both care and protection of minors and delinquency matters. While I have not held elective office previously, I am very interested in applying my background and skills to analyzing and helping to tackle the issues and projects facing the committee moving into the future,” she said.

DeGrave said she is interested in seeing advances in the use of technology in the classroom.

“The world is changing rapidly and there are many demands on our students and families that did not exist in the past, particularly in the application of the Internet and computer technology to the educational process and to socialization,” she said. “The committee should model the need to absorb and take advantage of these new methods and sources of information while maintaining a tradition of collegiality and respect in all of our interactions.”

A mother of three, Mailloux said dedicated volunteers are what keep the school district thriving.

“I experience first-hand what is happening in our schools. I volunteer my time in the classrooms and involve myself in after-school activities. I want to be the School Committee member which anybody – parents, school staff, and town residents – can interact with and voice questions and concerns,” she said.

Mailloux said as a member of the Health Advisory Committee, she has learned about school finances and how it affects curriculum. “I would work diligently to be financially responsible in our spending. I understand many of the older adults of our town are on limited incomes and have seen the cost of living in town increase,” she said.

“Though I’m not a politician, I am excited about running for public office. I have the motivation, time and organizational skills necessary for this position, as well as the desire to ensure our schools strive for the best education and services for our children,” she said.

Robert Richardson is a middle school teacher in Connecticut and father of two. He said he would like to be a voice for students and parents. He said he has spoken with parents and they have concerns about the state of the school buildings as well as spending.

Richardson said he would look closely at the current transportation plan and look at the possibility of leasing instead of owning buses and having to be responsible for maintenance and fuel.

“In the past I have worked in a school system that is failing in large part because of the superintendent and one thing I appreciate about the East Longmeadow school system is the dedicated administration including the superintendent,” he said. “I want to continue the culture of excellence in the school system.”

In the Republican weekly address, North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple accused the Obama administration of blocking projects and technology that would allow greater energy production.

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event at Minute Maid Park, Friday, March, 9, 2012, in Houston, Texas.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is hitting back at Republican criticism of his energy policies and his role in controlling gasoline prices.

Obama used his weekly radio and Internet address Saturday to underscore his administration's work to develop alternative energy sources and increase fuel efficiency.

"I'm going to keep doing everything I can to help you save money on gas, both right now and in the future," Obama said. "I hope politicians from both sides of the aisle join me."

He accused Republicans of a "bumper sticker" approach to solving the nation's energy problems.

It's a familiar theme —Obama stuck many of the same chords during two out-of-town trips this week and during a White House news conference on Wednesday.

"We can't just drill our way to lower gas prices — not when we consume 20 percent of the world's oil," Obama said in the address, recorded during a visit Friday to a Virginia jet engine component plant.

In the Republican weekly address, North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple accused the Obama administration of blocking projects and technology that would allow greater energy production. He singled out the Keystone XL pipeline project, which Obama deferred.

"We cannot effectively market our crude oil domestically without a large north-south pipeline," Dalrymple said. "North Dakota oil producers were scheduled to feed the Keystone pipeline with 100,000 barrels of crude oil per day."

Obama said there wasn't enough time to properly study the project ahead of the deadline forced upon him by Republican congressional lawmakers. On Thursday, the Democratic-controlled Senate blocked another Republican bid to speed approval of the pipeline, which would stretch from Canada to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Also Thursday, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Obama is partly to blame for higher prices at the pump.

Gasoline prices paused this week in their march toward $4 per gallon.

After 39 straight days of increases, prices fell nearly a penny from Tuesday to Thursday and held steady on Friday at $3.758 per gallon for the national average. The lull won't last long, and gas is still nearly 50 cents higher than it was at the beginning of the year.

Despite Romney's assertions, economists say there's not much a president of either party could do about gasoline prices. The current increases at the pump have been driven by fears of a war with oil-rich Iran and by higher demand in the U.S. as well as in China, India and other growing nations.

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The public is invited to a seminar in the Monson High School cafeteria to discuss the replanting effort in the wake of the June 1 tornado.

File photo by Dave Molnar / The RepublicanSomeone placed small American flags in a tree trunk snapped by the June 1 tornado in Monson. This photo was taken on June 4.

MONSON - The Replanting Monson Tree Committee wants residents to tell it where they would like to see trees replanted on public land in town.

Audra L. Staples, committee chairwoman, said the public is invited to a seminar on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Monson High School cafeteria to discuss the replanting effort in the wake of the June 1 tornado that ripped up numerous trees throughout the downtown and beyond.

"It's our next step in the visioning process that the town is undergoing," Staples said. "We really want people's input."

The seminar was initially planned for March 1, but was canceled due to snow.
Thursday's meeting will follow a public forum hosted by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Hillside School on Thompson Street.

The Wednesday meeting will discuss results from an online survey that asked participants how they would like to see the downtown and adjacent tornado-damaged neighborhoods rebuilt.

Staples said her group on Thursday will give an overview of its mission, its goals and plans. It also will present another opportunity for residents to purchase trees, which are available at a discounted price. Flowering crabapple trees, as well as birch and maple varieties, are available.

On March 28, also at 6 p.m. at the high school, the tree replanting committee will hold a joint meeting with the state Department of Conservation and Recreation about tree care. Attendance will be mandatory for those who purchase trees from the committee, she said.

Staples said they have sold about half their tree inventory, and also discounted the tree prices, which range from $30 to $75, thanks to donations. The trees range in size from 10 feet to 15 feet.

The committee purchased approximately 60 trees from Amherst Nurseries and hopes to buy more, she said. They will be available for pick-up on April 28, Arbor Day weekend, the date of a Replanting Monson Tree Committee celebration.

For information, email monsontreecommittee@gmail.com.

Obituaries from The Republican.

Nicholas Hall

Nicholas Peter Hall, 25, of Springfield died Wednesday. He was born in Holyoke and lived in Springfield most of his life. He was a graduate of the High School of Commerce and at the time of his passing was attending the University of Massachusetts, studying as an apprentice for the Plumbers and Pipefitters union. Prior to that, Hall was a chef at Max's Tavern in Springfield.

Obituaries from The Republican:

• Angers, Dorothy M. (Mansfield)
  




• 
  Baker, Margaret M. (Duffy)
  



• 
  Brady, Anne Driscoll




• 
  Cunningham Sr., Michael Anthony
  



• 
  Cyr, Donald H.
  




• Danilels, Jean L.
  




• 
  Gauthier, Arthur J.
  



• 
  Hall, Nicholas P.




• 
  Hill, Andy L.
  



• 
  Kodis, Bertha Frances "Bert"
  




• Lavoie, Charles J. "Chip"
  




• 
  Loughrey, James Redmond
  



• 
  MacQuarrie, Alice B. (Barnes)




• 
  Marhoffer, Phyllis M. (McQuade)
  



• 
  Martin Sr., Hugh K.
  




• Miller, John A.
  




• 
  Nault, Raymond J. "Ray"
  



• 
  Rojas, Jessica R.




• 
  Serra, Mary Margaret
  



• 
  Siedel, John B.
  




• Walsh, C. Emett
  

The academic research facility is scheduled to open late this year.

Staff Photo by Dave RobackA crane lifts an outside wall of Holyoke's high performance computing center into place on Bigelow Street in February.

HOLYOKE – Some of the final exterior work will be done Wednesday on the $165 million high performance computing center in a ceremony for a project officials consider key to the city’s future.

“This is truly a historic moment for Holyoke as we transition from the Paper City to the Digital City,” Mayor Alex B. Morse said Wednesday.

“It has been exciting to see the activity on the construction site, including the symbolic presence of a large crane on a daily basis. The excitement around the (center) is unlike any other project, as interest in doing business in Holyoke has spiked in recent months,” he said.

The computing center is an academic research facility being built on Bigelow Street overlooking the first-level canal. It is at the former Mastex Industries Inc. site.

Gov. Deval L. Patrick, who visited Holyoke in June 2009 to announce the project, got an update about the computing center Thursday from the university and technology officials developing it.

“We have a great opportunity for our innovation economy to continue to grow in Western Massachusetts, and this meeting ... is an opportunity for us to continue that commitment in the region and throughout Massachusetts,” Patrick in a press release.

The project is expected to produce 600 construction jobs, 130 research jobs at the partnering colleges and 13 permanent positions at the center, the press release said.

The center is being built here because the college and private-company partners behind it said they wanted to take advantage of the plentiful and relatively cheap power generated by the hydroelectric dam owned by the Holyoke Gas and Electric Department.

The center will consist of numerous computers doing high-speed analysis of data into areas such as designing drugs, understanding the formation of galaxies, climate change, cell structures and the arts.

About 80 percent of the center’s interior will be computers and machines that power and cool them.

The ceremony will mark some of the last exterior work on pre-cast concrete panels at the site between Cabot and Appleton streets at 1 p.m. Wednesday. A media tour inside the building will follow, said spokeswoman Alexandra L. Swan, of the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center.

Construction began in August. Massive boxes containing heating and air-conditioning units are visible on the roof. The plan is for construction of the 90,000-square-foot, two-story complex to be done in November, with computers to be moved in and an opening to follow by year’s end, she said.

“The installation of the final panel is another big step toward completion of the facility,” said John T. Goodhue, computing center executive director.

The partners are the University of Massachusetts, Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, Northeastern University, EMC Corp., of Hopkinton, an information storage, back-up and recovery firm, and Cisco Systems Inc., a California-based internet network equipment maker.

With the center itself set to employ only about 20 people, officials have said they hope the city can gain in the form of the center drawing in new businesses that want to be around such a facility.

Morse said he has been giving tours to developers interested in space in the Innovation District around the center.

“We have a window of opportunity here in Holyoke and it is crucial that we seize this moment,” Morse said.

OPAL Real Estate in negotiating with potential tenants following a pre-lease advertising effort, according to its project manager

File photo by Dave Roback / The RepublicanThe developers of this long-vacant office building at 31 Elm St., in Springfield's Court Square says they have received a lot of interest from potential tenants in renting the building.

SPRINGFIELD – A group led by Peter A. Picknelly, proposing a multi-million dollar redevelopment of a long-vacant office building at Court Square, said there has been strong interest from potential tenants.

OPAL Real Estate Group, which is the preferred developer of the six-story building at 31 Elm St., is in “active negotiations for about 90 percent occupancy of the building,” said Demetrios N. Panteleakis, project manager for OPAL.

The interest was generated by pre-lease advertising in January and February, Panteleakis said.

“I was always confident about the project,” Panteleakis said. “After the response to the advertising and pre-lease efforts, I am exceptionally confident. The excitement is palpable. The response has been overwhelming.”

The redevelopment project has an estimated price tag of $20 million to $25 million.

There have been prior redevelopment projects proposed at the historic building, without success. Several years ago, Peter Picknelly’s brother Paul proposed an $18 million project, but it did not move forward.

A key to the current project’s success will be applications for state historic preservation tax credits for the building constructed in 1892, Panteleakis said.

Under OPAL’s proposal, the first floor would be developed for retail use, and the next four floors would be for office/institutional space. The top floor is slated for market rate housing, but that is being re-evaluated due to the strong interest for office space, Panteleakis said.

The interest thus far has been mostly from tenants in professional services such as law firms, Panteleakis said. The retail interest has included conversations with representatives of a pub and restaurant, dry cleaners, a health club, flower shop and a bank, he said.

“I think that this location is a landmark location,” Panteleakis said. “I believe it is very well known by professionals in town and its walkability is exceptional.”

Many of those showing an interest have some history with the building such as family connections with businesses that were there, he said.

The Springfield Redevelopment Authority chose OPAL as the preferred developer in July, and provided a four-month extension last week for OPAL to have additional time to advance the plans and engineering work.

Christopher J. Moskal, executive director of the redevelopment authority, said the board has been pleased by OPAL’s progress with architectural, engineering and environmental reviews.

“The Springfield Redevelopment Authority sees this as a transformative project for downtown Springfield,” Moskal said.

The city has assisted the project through a Sustainable Communities grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and a state MassWorks grant to help fund design parking options, he said.

OPAL hopes that environmental abatement work, including lead paint and some asbestos removal, can begin by the end of summer, Panteleakis said.

OPAL is also planning to purchase 11.2 acres and 12 buildings from the Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech in Northampton to convert buildings into 80 above-market-rate apartments.

University Housing LLC, a Peter Pan Bus Lines Co. managed by OPAL, is planning to create off-campus housing for Westfield State University students at the former Westfield Normal School in that city.

The alleged attacker started punching the coach of the winning youth team in the Catholic Youth Organization finals and then bit off part of his ear, according to Lt. Robert P. Moynihan.

SPRINGFIELD – Police are searching for a fan who allegedly attacked a basketball coach Friday night in the Holy Name School gymnasium.

Police said a fan began attacking the coach just after the game ended and as young players were shaking hands in the spirit of sportsmanship. The alleged attacker started punching the coach of the winning youth team in the Catholic Youth Organization finals and then bit off part of his ear, according to Lt. Robert P. Moynihan.

The coach was treated and police detectives are following up on the incident; Moynihan said he was not sure whether the coach recognized his alleged assailant.

Anyone who can help detectives find the attacker should call the detectives at 787-6355.

File photo | The Republican

The church at 603 New Ludlow Road received a $1 million renovation after the storm, including a new roof, worship space and lobby.

CHICOPEE – A Baptist church whose roof was hobbled by one of the less headline-making weather events last year will host its first services in its rightful home on Sunday.

LifePoint church congregants will give praise to the Lord and likely a good architect more than a year after an engineer said the roof was inches away from caving in after a major snow storm in early 2011.

Pastor Bryan Olden said city and School Department officials have been “incredibly gracious” in letting the church use the Edward J. Bellamy School for Sunday services in the interim. It has been a relatively labor-intensive chapter in the church’s 40-year history.

“We’ve had to set up and tear down our praise band every week, store everything, store it and do it all over again. Plus, clean-up and coordinating parking. It put more people to work serving in different capacities and it’s been a great experience for us,” Olden said.

The church at 603 New Ludlow Road received a $1 million renovation after the storm, including a new roof, worship space and lobby. About $65,000 of that was raised privately through a capital campaign, Olden said.

Engineers dubbed 53 of 55 wooden trusses in the roof fragile and workers were required to tear out much of the infrastructure of the church and replace it.

“They had to pretty much gut it .¤.¤. all the ceilings, drywall, duct work, electrical work. We never expected to not be able to come back for 13 months,” Olden said.

The church will revert to its old schedule of two services on Sunday and will host dedication services on March 25 at 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.

Santorum picked up 33 of the Kansas' 40 delegates at stake, cutting slightly into Romney's overwhelming advantage.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rick Santorum won the Kansas caucuses in a rout on Saturday and Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney countered in Wyoming, a weekend prelude to suddenly pivotal Southern primary showdowns in the week ahead.

The Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, talks to supporters during a rally Saturday, March 10, 2012, in Springfield, Mo., after winning the Republican presidential caucuses in Kansas. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

"Things have an amazing way of working out," Santorum told supporters in Missouri, where he traced his campaign through a series of highs and lows. He called his showing in Kansas a "comfortable win" that would give him the vast majority of the 40 delegates at stake.

Final returns in Kansas showed Santorum with 51 percent support, far outpacing Romney, who had 21 percent. Newt Gingrich had 14 percent and Ron Paul trailed with 13 percent.

Santorum picked up 33 of the state's 40 delegates at stake, cutting slightly into Romney's overwhelming advantage.

In Wyoming, Romney won at least six of the 12 delegates at stake, Santorum three, Paul one. Uncommitted won one, and a final delegate remained to be allocated.

The day's events unfolded as the candidates pointed toward Tuesday's primaries in Alabama and Mississippi that loom as unexpectedly important in the race to pick an opponent to President Barack Obama in the fall.

Polls show a close race in both states, particularly Alabama, where Romney, Gingrich and Santorum all added to their television advertising overnight for the race's final days.

Gingrich, struggling for survival in the race, can ill afford a loss in either Mississippi or Alabama. Romney is seeking a Southern breakthrough to demonstrate an ability to win the support of evangelical voters.

For his part, Santorum hopes to knock Gingrich out of the race and finally emerge as Romney's sole challenger from the right.

The contests in Kansas and Wyoming left Romney with 453 delegates in the AP's count, more than all his rivals combined. Santorum had 217, while Gingrich had 107 and Paul had 47.

Romney's totals included 22 that he picked up in the Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

A candidate must win 1,144 to clinch the Republican presidential nomination at the national convention in Tampa next August.

Kansas and Wyoming caucuses had little in common except a shared date on the campaign calendar.

Romney made a stop in sparsely populated Wyoming last summer.

Kansas drew more attention from the White House hopefuls, but not much more, given its position midway between Super Tuesday and potentially pivotal primaries next Tuesday in Mississippi and Alabama.

Romney left Kansas to his rivals, while Gingrich scrubbed a scheduled campaign trip to concentrate on the South.

Paul and Santorum both campaigned in the state on Friday, and Gov. Sam Brownback appeared with each, without making an endorsement.

In Topeka, Paul told an audience of about 500 that Kansas should be a "fertile field" for his libertarian-leaning views but declined to say how many delegates he hoped to gain.

Santorum, who hopes to drive Gingrich from the race in the coming week, lashed out at Obama and Romney simultaneously in remarks in the Kansas capital city.

"We already have one president who doesn't tell the truth to the American people. We don't need another," he said.

The former Pennsylvania senator told reporters he was confident "that we can win Kansas on Saturday and come into Alabama and Mississippi, and this race should come down to two people."

An aide to Gingrich said earlier in the week that the former House speaker must win both Southern primaries to justify continuing in the campaign.

But Gingrich strongly suggested otherwise on Friday as polls showed a tight three-way contest in Alabama.

"I think there's a fair chance we'll win," he told The Associated Press about the contests in Alabama and Mississippi. "But I just want to set this to rest once and for all. We're going to Tampa."

Romney had no campaign appearances Saturday. The former Massachusetts governor won six of 10 Super Tuesday states earlier in the week, and hopes for a Southern breakthrough in Alabama on Tuesday after earlier losing South Carolina and Georgia to Gingrich.

DevelopSpringfield, a non-profit organization that is leading an effort to rebuild the city in the wake of the June 1 tornado, sponsored the event at the MassMutual Center.

Manon Mirabelli photoPhoto by Manon L. Mirabelli Armando Feliciano, left, and Shalimar Colon, co-chairs of the Celebrate Springfield Gala held Saturday at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, announce auction winners.

SPRINGFIELD – Approximately 400 people turned out for the “Celebrate Springfield Gala” Saturday night, raising nearly $70,000 to help implement the Rebuild Springfield master plan.

DevelopSpringfield, a non-profit organization that is leading an effort to rebuild the city in the wake of the June 1 tornado, sponsored the event at the MassMutual Center.

Armando Feliciano, Springfield Redevelopment Authority chairman and gala planning committee chairman, told the crowd that the community experienced a disaster unlike any other on June 1 - “an unexpected tornado not common for this area.” While he talked about the tornado’s path of destruction – how it destroyed homes and buildings, how it left families homeless – he said it also brought people together.

“Out of all this destruction something there was something positive that has not been seen in a long time,” he said. “People from all walks of life came together.”

Public safety officials, the National Guard, volunteers, he said.

Republican photo by Dave RobackSpringfield mayor Domenic Sarno.

“It was an unforgettable day,” Feliciano said.

Feliciano knows firsthand about the tornado’s wrath. His home was destroyed on Amanda Street, and rebuilding is still ongoing. He hopes to move back in later this month.

Speakers included Congressman Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, who proclaimed that “Springfield’s best days lie ahead” and the guest of honor, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, who acknowledged the Guerrero family, Juan and his daughters Fabiola and Ibone, from West Springfield. The Guerreros stood, and the crowd applauded them and stood with them.

Juan’s wife Angelica died in the tornado after shielding their 15-year-old daughter Ibone in a bathtub in their home in the Merrick section of West Springfield. The tornado leveled their apartment building.

Before the gala got underway, Sarno said it was “heartwarming” to see such a large turnout for the event.

“People continue to give, not only from their wallet and pocketbooks, but from their hearts,” Sarno said.

Kevin M. Sweeney, executive director of DevelopSpringfield, said the money raised will go toward tornado rebuilding efforts and a broader revitalization of the city.

Baystate Health and MassMutual Financial Group each donated $10,000 for the gala.

The master plan calls for the development of a process for transforming vacant lots and structures into community assets, harnessing the city’s role as the economic heart of the Pioneer Valley, improving the reality and perception of public safety in the city, reforesting the Sixteen Acres and East Forest Park area, and helping to relocate the tornado-torn South End Community Center to a proposed new site at the Gemini property.

Daylight Saving Time, its official title, stays with us until the return to Standard Time on Nov. 4.

The Republican file photo | Dave RobackDaylight Savings Time begins on at 2 a.m. Sunday, when clocks will be set forward one hour.

Daylight savings time 2012 is upon us. Before you go to bed on Saturday night/Sunday morning, or at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 11, if you're still up, it will be time to spring forward an hour.

To be technical, the phrase used by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce that is the official timekeeper for the nation, is Daylight Saving Time, with no s on Saving.

And for those keeping score at home, especially if your home is in one of these locations, there are areas of the U.S. that will not spring forward, according to the NIST: Arizona, except the Navajo Indian Reservation, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Those lucky residents get an extra hour of sleep tonight.

The NIST has a helpful FAQ page explaining Daylight Saving Time and its history.

What does Daylight Savings Time 2012 mean, besides the lost hour of sleep? In Springfield, Massachusetts, for example, sunrise on Saturday, March 10 was at 6:11 a.m. and sunset was at 5:50 p.m. On Sunday, March 11, in Springfield, the sun will rise at 7:09 a.m. and go down at 6:52 p.m.

The weather is cooperating – the extra late afternoon daylight will come in handy on a day forecast by CBS3 Springfield meteorologist Mike Skurko to be sunny with temperatures in the mid-50s.

For those of us who like the extra light at the end of the day, we get to enjoy Daylight Saving Time until the return to Standard Time on Nov. 4 at 2 a.m. – that's 238 days of Daylight Saving Time.

Nearly 900 houses were damaged in Springfield when the tornado hit, and more than 200 were condemned.

View full sizePhotos by Mark M. Murray / The RepublicanSince the June 1 tornado hit Springfield, the lot at 32 Clark St., top, has turned into a dumping ground, while a new house has been built at 44 Clark St., bottom.

SPRINGFIELD – The tornado of June 1 took just minutes to sweep through the neighborhoods of Springfield, but the devastation lingers nine months later in the halls of Housing Court and in the hearts of its victims.

In Springfield alone, the tornado damaged nearly 900 homes and apartment buildings and led to more than 200 condemnations, city officials said. Approximately 150 cases continue to be on file in Western District Housing Court including cases of abandoned buildings, officials said.

The recovery, however, can be seen in the hundreds of building permits pulled and the construction work taking place, said Geraldine McCafferty, the city’s director of housing.

Of 889 residential properties damaged in the tornado, 824 have either been repaired, demolished, or building permits have been obtained, McCafferty said.

“We are seeing an overwhelming amount of work,” McCafferty said. “Still, there is an incredible amount of damage.”

Armando Feliciano, among residents who lost their homes, hopes that a new home built in its place will be ready by April 1, which occurs after multiple delays. He and four other family members and two dogs have waited in a small, one-bedroom apartment.

“It’s been a trying time, it’s been a stressful time,” said Feliciano, of 36 Amanda St., in East Forest Park. “We are really a home without a home.”

Other residents have returned to their homes sooner, but Feliciano said there were delays with insurance and with the contractor in his case. Feliciano said he did not just lose a home, but also lost personal belongings including some that can never be replaced.

“I lost lots of pictures of my (late) mother,” Feliciano said. “No insurance can replace that sentimental value.”

James P. Graham, of 29 Judith St., whose home was rebuilt in November, said insurance does not cover everything. He said he personally spent a total of about $3,000 for a city building permit and for reconnection to water service.

“It’s a long road to get back to normalcy,” Graham said. “A house is just walls and beams. A home is hopes and dreams.”

McCafferty and Associate City Solicitor Lisa DeSousa said they continue to track about 150 cases in Western Division Housing Court. In the first months after the disaster, they were in Housing Court five days a week trying to resolve cases, DeSousa said.

The city condemned more than 200 properties to ensure that people were not living in dangerous conditions, and went to court to ensure that repairs or demolition occurred, DeSousa said. In addition to protecting homeowners, the city must act to clean up blight that can harm neighborhoods, including abandoned buildings, she said.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said the city is working with state and federal agencies to ensure the recovery continues. Springfield is “light years ahead of many other places” in rebounding after a natural disaster, he said, “but there is still much more work to be done.”

The recovery has been slower in some areas including the Maple High-Six Corners area, DeSousa said. There is still “an incredible amount of damage” along the Central Street corridor, she said.

The Hampden County Bar Association immediately responded to the disaster after June 1, providing pro bono legal representation to the tornado victims and assistance in Housing Court, which continues, officials said.

Thomas A. Kenefick, president of the bar association, said the lawyers have donated hundreds if not thousands of hours, in providing a hotline, free legal advice and representing victims in court.

Tornado devastation, previously just something watched on television happening far away, had struck home, Kenefick said. “We felt we had to do something.”

Some homeowners have faced problems with their insurance, including being under-insured or facing delays in settlements, DeSousa said.

Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Joseph G. Murphy said his agency dispatched staff to the communities and to disaster centers following the tornado, and continues to work to resolve insurance issues and complaints.

He said the office received several dozen complaints, with many resolved and some withdrawn.

“There are issues and we are going to continue to work with the folks affected by this tragedy to make sure they get the money they are entitled to,” Murphy said.

In Monson, Town Administrator Gretchen E. Neggers said town officials are in the process of identifying problem properties where no attempt has been made to clean them since they were destroyed by the June 1 tornado. She said there are probably between 8 and 10 that fall into this category, and said two are on King Street and two are on Stewart Avenue.

The building inspector, Paul F. Tacy, is going to compile a list of these problem properties, Neggers said.

“We don’t have a full grasp of the magnitude of it. We’re starting to assess that now,” Neggers said. “Now that the warmer weather is coming out, the town is going to be kicking up enforcement of that.”

The property owner will be given notice to clean it, and if no progress happens, the town will take over the clean up and put a lien on the property.

In Westfield, officials cited 250 residential homes that suffered some degree of damage from the June 1 tornado, ranging from broken windows to ripped roofs. Munger Hill Elementary School had a 20-foot section of steel roofing ripped from the building.

Three homes were listed as extensively damaged, one on Glenwood Drive, one in Birbirch Bluff and 266 Shaker Road, which was eventually condemned because of a tree that pierced its roof damaging its structural supports.

Staff writers Lori Stabile and Ted LaBorde contributed to this report.

The map below shows the locations of residences in Springfield that were declared condemned as a result of tornado damage. Click on a neighborhood name in the map legend to show markers only for that neighborhood. Please allow a few moments for the map to load:

View Tornado damage: Condemned Springfield properties in a full screen map

Where killings are commonplace, it’s not unheard of to lose more than one son to street violence.

SPRINGFIELD – For nine years, praying and talking to his son was answered by the sterile silence of a hospital room, interrupted only by well-meaning staff and the hisses and clicks of the machines keeping the younger man alive.

Joseph White sat by his son’s bedside daily in the weeks after the shooting in 2002.

Louis L. White, 21, took a bullet in the neck during a drive-by shooting on Andrew Street on Oct. 6 that year. Police said the shooting signaled the early seeds of what would prove to be more than a decade of violent tensions between street posses around Eastern Avenue and the surrounding neighborhood.

Joseph White believes his son was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Neither theory was proven, as no arrests were made.

Doctors predicted from the outset that Louis White’s condition would not improve beyond his being able to blink his eyes, according to his father. Joseph White told his wife that their son would not recover.

“But, she said: ‘Let God take him,’” Joseph White recalled, and their son languished on life support until December, when the family decided to end his mechanically sustained life.

Both on fixed incomes, the Whites had to borrow money for a gravestone in Oak Grove Cemetery. They struck a payment agreement with Harrell Funeral Home, and owe $6,000, prompting community activist Chelan Jenkins Brown to post a call for financial help for the family on her Facebook page.

Joseph White felt he had no choice but to incur the debt so he could give his son a proper burial.

“My wife would have lost it if we had to cremate him,” the father said.

It didn’t help matters that both their sons’ lives were lost to street violence.

The Whites’ younger son, Adrian, was the victim of a double murder in 2005. Adrian White, 23, and a friend, Tyrone “Tee Jay” Lewis, 22, were executed during a drug-related robbery in the attic of a home at 121 Suffolk St. on Feb. 7, according to investigators.

Joseph White remembers the predawn telephone call he received from police to tell him a second son may have been mortally wounded. There was some confusion among investigators, he said, which prompted relief initially, and then horror.

“The police initially thought Tee Jay was my son, and brought me to his hospital room to identify him. He didn’t die right away. I told them he was not my son,” Joseph White said. But, he followed investigators when they considered the second victim might be a relation. “I thought they were leading me to a waiting room. But they took me to the morgue, and my son was there.”

Adrian White’s killing came one year after twins Darnell and Daylan Shepard, 19, were fatally shot in separate incidents within weeks of each other in 2004. That case received widespread publicity because of the tragic timing and vocal anti-violence advocacy by their mother, Sheila Shepard.

The Whites’ case was different, certainly, given the wider timeframe and the fact that Louis White took nearly 10 years to become a fatality. But, it illustrates that losing two sons to street violence in a medium-sized city is not a one-time phenomenon.

For that matter, street violence in this city has ceased to be a phenomenon at all, as poverty and the recidivism that comes with it don’t seem to be going away any time soon.

Case in point: 2011 saw 19 murders in the city. A spike in inner-city slayings brings a taint to the city which bleeds into the housing and business sectors. But, the personal impact on families often gets lost in the headlines, some say.

There are few who deal with the intimate side of urban violence more routinely than Ronald E. Harrell, the second-generation owner of Harrell Funeral Home on St. James Avenue. Harrell’s father opened the business 50 years ago and, over the years, has become a staple for this rite of passage in the inner city.

Harrell concedes that his is a niche market in an already complicated business.

“It’s getting to be a broad spectrum. For some, it means an open casket and traditional service. For some, it means cremation and a private cookout at uncle’s house later on,” said Harrell, who has a degree in civil engineering from Syracuse University and worked in that field until his father grew ill more than 20 years ago.

Being an only child, Harrell knew that taking over the funeral home was an inevitability. It handles approximately 150 services annually and handles those for a good number of the city’s murder victims.

The funeral business is a weighty task, Harrell adds, explaining how he must deal with both the issues of grief and frequent lobbying among family members over control of the services and other matters. Economics adds another layer of complexity and requires an even more delicate touch, he said.

“There are extra dynamics in death that come from poverty, whether it be a homicide or an illness or some kind of sudden accident,” he said.

Survivors may be embarrassed over a lack of health care before death, or a lack of proper funeral wear or a lack of funds to support the burial.

“But, I feel a human being is a human being and is entitled to have a service, if the survivors so desire,” Harrell said.

Springfield, the region's largest city, has for years also been the leader in homicides, and 2011 was no exception. But 2011 was a perplexing year for Springfield in some regards.

View full sizeRepublican file photoA Springfield Detective stands by the doorway of a house where 18-year-old James Rosario was shot to death on July 9. His death, one of 19 homicides in Springfield in 2011, came following a disagreement at a house party.

SPRINGFIELD – The Feb. 1 discovery of the body of Judy I. Ramirez, the city’s first homicide victim in 2012, brought to end a span of more than three months – 100 days to be exact – during which this city did not record a single homicide.

Ramirez was found dead in a stairwell outside a church on State Street. An autopsy determined she died of blunt trauma.

Prior to Ramirez’s death, the last official homicide in Springfield was recorded on Oct. 24 when Victor Martinez, the 19th homicide of 2011, was found dead outside his car on Garfield Street.

What would have been the 20th homicide, the death of Ramon Lopez, 23, who was found outside 564 Chestnut St., was removed from the statistics when a state medical examiner could not determine conclusive proof of foul play.

In addition, police are investigating the homicide of Louis L. White, 30, who died on Dec. 2 of injuries suffered eight years earlier in 2002. Police are counting White’s death in the 2002 homicide totals.

Despite its reputation for violence that plays out in the media and the public like dispatches from the Wild West, there have been periods over the past year in which Springfield was remarkably quiet.

Overall, Springfield averaged one homicide every 18 days, but there were six periods during 2011 when the interval between homicides was at least 40 days. There were four months, June, September, November and December, in which no one killed anyone else.

Of course, there were also times during the year when the Wild West reputation was on the mark. There were six separate periods when homicides occurred just days apart, including a period from July 3 to 13 during which five people were killed in 10 days and another from Oct. 4 to 24 when four people were killed in a 20-day span.

The high number of homicides has always hurt the perception of the City of Homes, both from outsiders looking in and from those who live and work here. And, perception is not always reality, stressed Hampden District Attorney Mark Mastroianni, himself a Springfield native.

“There are some areas that are high-crime areas; that is not deniable,” said Mastroianni. “But some of the perceptions are very overblown. And, those perceptions are certainly an inaccurate view of the Springfield as a whole.”

In 2011, there were 24 homicides in the Pioneer Valley, down five from 2010.

In addition to the 19 in Springfield, there were four in Holyoke, the same number as was recorded there in 2010, and one in Chicopee.

Springfield, the region’s largest city, has for years also been the leader in homicides, and 2011 was no exception. But 2011 was a perplexing year for Springfield in some regards.

For example:

• The 19 homicides is a four-year high, but it comes at a time when nearly every other major crime category is trending down.


• While Springfield wrestled with a reputation for youth violence for years, the average age of homicide victims in 2011 was 30.9 years, which is two years above the 10-year average of 28.8 years from 2000-2009 and six years above the 2010 average of 24 years.


• While the number of homicides increased, police have made arrests in 11 of 19 cases, or 57 percent. In 2010 cases, there were arrests in 12 of 16 incidents, or 75 percent.

Republican file photoHampden DA Mark Mastroianni is briefed by detectives at the scene of a fatal shooting on June 20 at 341 Appleton St. in Holyoke. Reynaldo Fuentes, one of four homicide victims in Holyoke, was gunned down. Police charged three brothers with his murder.

In some ways, Fitchet said, the annual homicide rate is a no-win situation for police. On one hand, it is impossible to take credit for, or even tally, the number of homicides prevented. On the other hand, every time someone is killed, the police catch heat for not doing enough to prevent it.

“If we had the old crystal ball, we’d put three cops out there (where a murder is to occur) and prevent it,” he said.

Fitchet said while police cannot prevent random homicides from occurring, they can, particularly in gang-related cases, work the streets to help prevent any retaliation.

“We take a log of our (intelligence work) and try to deploy and diffuse the potential for violence,” he said. “If we think there is going to be retaliation, we use police tactics to mitigate that from happening.”

The 19 homicides recorded in 2011 were the most since 1997 when there were 20. Fitchet said there could well have been more homicides were it not for the combined efforts of the department’s anti-gang and street-crime units and the detective bureau to prevent violence.

The increase in homicides comes at a time when by every other measure, crime is going down in the city. Of the seven categories for violent and property crimes used in the annual FBI Uniformed Crime Report, Springfield in 2011 saw declines in five of them.

Some of the declines are quite dramatic: 72 percent in reported rapes, 11 percent in both burglaries and robberies, 13 percent in car thefts, and 24 percent in felony assaults.

The only increases were 3 percent jump in larcenies and the 11 percent uptick recorded in homicides.

Despite numbers showing crime overall is going down, people still focus on the number of homicides going up, Fitchet said. “The other crimes are not – I don’t want to say glamorous, but the other crimes are not headline grabbers,” he said.

Statistically speaking, the average person in Springfield is more likely to be a victim of robbery than a victim of homicide – and the number of robberies is going down, the commissioner said.

“It isn’t reported that there was a shooting in one part of the city and for the next month there wasn’t another shooting there,” he said. “You can’t measure it because it’s not reportable, even if we feel it has an impact.”

In comparison to Springfield, Hartford had 27 homicides in 2011, an increase from 24 the year before, and Boston had 62 homicides, a decrease from 74 in 2010.

Since 2000, Springfield has averaged more than 14 homicides per year, but higher-than-average numbers in recent years has pushed the average during the past five years to about 17 per year.

A high percentage of homicides in Greater Springfield during the past 20 years or more have always involved young people, both as victims and as assailants. This matches FBI data for the entire country over the same period which show roughly half of all homicide victims were younger than age 30

For the years 2000-09, there were 145 homicides in Springfield. Sixty-three percent of victims were under the age of 30. The average age for the decade was 28.9 years.

In 2010, there was a noticeable spike in homicides involving young people. Twelve of the 16 victims, or 75 percent, were under 30, and 10 were under 25. The average age of victims was 24 years old.

In 2011, 10 of 19 victims were under age 30, or 52 percent. Nine were between 16 and 24. The average age was 29.8 years old.

In Holyoke, the average age also increased, albeit from 20.5 years in 2010 to 23.5 in 2011.

Granted, when dealing with fewer than two dozen data points, any shift in one direction or another will result in major swings in percentages. The numbers for 2011 may just be a statistical fluke, or it could be an early indication that the investment in many anti-youth violence programs are showing returns.

Mastroianni said the numbers are interesting, but he does not quite know what to make of it. He said that perhaps the change in average age of Springfield victims is a reflection of community-based programs and law-enforcement efforts to target youth and gang violence.

“I’d like to believe it has something to do with the effectiveness of youth initiatives,” he said. “Maybe young people are starting to get the message.

Of the 19 homicide cases in Springfield last year, eight remain active investigations with no arrests.

The arrest of Kimani Anderson on Jan. 30 in the July 7 shooting of 16-year-old Tyrell Wheeler, was the 11th case in which an arrest was made, bringing the 2011 clearance rate to 58 percent.

Arrests have been made in three of Holyoke’s four homicides; only the June 19 death of Oscar Castro remains open.

In Chicopee, police have yet to make an arrest in that city’s lone homicide, the Aug. 26 death of 20-year-old Amanda Plasse.

Submitted photoAn undated photo Amanda Plasse, supplied by her family. Plasse was found stabbed to death in her apartment on School Street in Chicopee on Aug. 26. Her case remains unsolved.

In 2010, police made arrests in 12 of 16 homicide cases, or 75 percent; for the previous decade the clearance rate was about 80 percent.

Boston in 2011 made arrests in just 40 percent of its 62 homicides, and just before the close of the year, Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis announced a top-to-bottom revamping of the homicide unit.

Data from the FBI shows clearance rates have fallen dramatically nationwide over the last 50 years, from 91 percent in 1963 to about 65 percent in 2010.

Fitchet said he has confidence in his detectives, saying they continue to do very good work and investigations are ongoing.

“We’re still working on them. There’s not a statute of limitations, and the cases ongoing,” he said. “It’s not a good answer, but it doesn’t mean that in a couple of weeks, or a month, or six months, there won’t be (arrests).”

A few weeks after his interview, police arrested Anderson.

Declining clearance rates are a national problem, not just a Springfield one, said Mastroianni, who ordered that state police investigators assigned to his office would take the lead role for a month in April in any new murder investigations in Springfield after the city recorded six homicides during the first three months of the year.

The district attorney emphasized he retains full confidence in the Springfield police to investigate homicides. Long-time investigators tell him it’s become increasingly difficult to find witnesses willing to testify even when there were plenty of witnesses to the crime, Mastroianni said. And, with people more reluctant to cooperate, it takes more time to close cases, he said.

“It’s not like it was 10 to 15 years ago. Clearly that has an effect, especially with drug cases,” Mastroianni said. “People may not want to cooperate at the time, but they may cooperate later if police stay on the investigation.”

Fire on Main Street in Springfield destroys home.

SPRINGFIELD- A two-family home at 2934 Main St. has been temporarily condemned after a fire destroyed the back of the house, said Dennis Leger, aide to Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant.

Leger said the fire started around 1 p.m. on the second floor near the porch. The fire destroyed the back porches on the first and second floor and caused $5,000 in damage.

Leger said the fire was most likely started by an unattended cigarette. He said the home has been condemned due to the structural damage on the back porches of the home. No one was injured.

Hikers get lost in The Meadows in Longmeadow.

File photo

LONGMEADOW - Four young hikers are safe after getting lost in The Meadows in Longmeadow Saturday night, police said.

Sgt. Robert Stocks said the Longmeadpw Police Department dispatcher received a call at 7:14 p.m. Saturday from a hiker stating a party of four was lost in the woods near the Connecticut River.

"It got dark and they lost their bearings. It's pretty easy to get lost down there," Stocks said.

Police tracked the caller's cellphone to the area of 271 West Road, but determined the hikers were further near the river.

Using a spotlight and the siren police were able to locate the hikers with the help of the state police.

Stocks said the hikers were found near Pondside and Bark Haul roads in Longmeadow and were uninjured.

The hikers included a 25-year-old and 23-year-old from Springfield, a 19-year-old from West Springfield and a 19-year-old form Longmeadow.