Swan said that among the things they discussed were partnering on an initiative to reduce youth violence in Springfield and Western Massachusetts.

Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, left, and Springfield NAACP President Rev. Talbert Swan met in Springfield on Monday, March 19, 2012, to discuss a number of issues. (Republican file photos)

SPRINGFIELD - A closed-door meeting between Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and Springfield NAACP President the Rev. Talbert Swan on Monday was "productive" and "promising," Swan said Monday afternoon.

The meeting, which was initially rejected by Brown's Boston office but scheduled the same day the denial hit the news, was praised by Swan, who said they discussed a number of issues without coming to any specific agreements.

"I would say it was a productive meeting with good dialogue on a number of issues," Swan said. "We discussed several ideas for partnering to make a positive difference in the community."

Swan said that among the things they discussed were partnering on an initiative to reduce youth violence in Springfield and Western Massachusetts.

"We talked about his office helping build up agencies providing service in communities of color that have been suffering from budget cuts," Swan said. "I also talked to him about the need to have a voice in the Republican Party to speak against the racism we hear coming from some on the right. I explained that he is in a good position being from Massachusetts and being known as one of the most bipartisan people in Washington."

Swan said that since he and Brown are both basketball players, he challenged the Senator to a friendly charity game sometime this summer, a challenge which Brown reportedly seemed receptive to.

"We're going to stay in contact with his staff in Springfield and Boston to flesh out our ideas moving into the future," Swan said. "All-in-all, it was a good conversation."

The meeting took place as Brown swept through Western Massachusetts on Monday, visiting Westover Air Force Base and a job fair he organized in Chicopee, followed by the 2012 CheckPoint Legislative Luncheon in Holyoke and a visit to Shriner's Hospital for Children in Springfield.

At Shriner's Hospital, Brown thanked the staff for the important work they do caring for sick children.

"As a father of two children, I know how precious they are," Brown told the staff at the hospital. "Thank you for doing all that you do to care for them."

Following his back-to-back events throughout the Pioneer Valley, Brown headed to New York City where he was scheduled to appear on CNN's Piers Morgan show Monday evening.

While best-selling authors like McGinniss are the envy of other writers, that path can be full of rocks and thorns.

Photo by John Suchocki / The RepublicanJoe McGinniss outside Hampshire Superior Court where he is writing a book abiout the court.

NORTHAMPTON – A Springfield man has just been sentenced to prison on gun charges in Hampshire Superior Court and Joe McGinniss is out in the lobby talking with the defendant’s family. Herbert Levy’s case has a number of interesting sidebars, notably that he’s a black man from Amherst with a name right out of the synagogue. Then there was the photograph his lawyer gave the judge during his sentencing argument: Levy in an Easter Bunny costume, entertaining his nieces and nephews.

Levy’s family is still bristling over the 5-7-year prison sentence and the fact that he ended up being the only person arrested following a fight in which he didn’t participate. Head slightly bent, McGinniss listens to them vent. Though he takes no notes, their sentiments could well show up in his new book, “15 Gothic Street.”

The title is the address of the Hampshire County Courthouse and it concisely states the book’s premise. For the year 2012 (give or take a few months) McGinniss will chronicle what goes on in the courthouse and follow some of those stories outside its walls. Casting a wide net that includes defendants, victims, lawyers, witnesses, family members and court employees, McGinniss is reaping a haul of emotions: pain, sorrow, vindication, closure, regret and, sometimes unexpectedly, humor.

“There’s all kinds of great characters,” McGinniss said. “I haven’t had a day yet when I said, ‘Gee, I wish I hadn’t come.’”

McGinniss’ career as a best-selling author of non-fiction books spans more than four decades, beginning with his 1969 breakthrough “The Selling of the President.” He has followed that up with 11 more books on a wide range of topics, from soccer to psycho killers. His most recent book, “The Rogue,” drew the wrath of conservatives for its unflattering portrayal of Sarah Palin and for the fact that McGinniss moved into the house next to hers while doing his research.

Father of five and grandfather of seven, McGinniss, 69, has lived in Pelham with his wife, Nancy Doherty, since 2007. Although he has traveled the world in his career as a writer, he finds himself not far from where he started when he graduated from Holy Cross in 1964. His first job after college was as a reporter at the Worcester Telegram.

“My goal was to get to the sport department so I could get the Red Sox beat,” he said.

McGinniss did get the sports beat at his next job on the Philadelphia Bulletin, but his career took a different turn in 1968 while he was doing a story on the late Howard Cosell for TV Guide. He was carpooling to work with the broadcaster when a man from a New York advertizing agency jumped in the car and announced that his company has just gotten “the Humphrey account.” McGinniss was surprised to learn that presidential candidates like Hubert Humphrey hired ad agencies.

“It turned out nobody else knew, either,” he said.

“The Selling of the President” focused on Humphrey’s opponent, Richard Nixon, and how he was packaged for public consumption. The book spent 31 weeks on the New York Times best seller list and is still in print.

“I never looked back,” said McGinniss.

His other best sellers include “Fatal Vision,” (1983), the story of Green Beret and physician Jeffrey MacDonald, who was convicted of murdering his wife and two young daughters, and “Going to Extremes,” (1980), a first-person account of Alaska replete with colorful characters from the last frontier. Each of those projects took on a life of its own that transcended the book.

MacDonald, who had courted McGinniss to write the story of his innocence, sued the author after McGinniss concluded that he had in fact committed the murders. The case settled out of court and some journalists publicly questioned McGinniss’ ethics.

His experience with “Going to Extremes” led McGinniss to propose a sequel looking at Alaska today. When Alaska governor Sarah Palin was tapped as the vice presidential candidate in the 2008 election, that project turned into a book on her. “The Rogue” was written after the McCain/Palin ticket lost. Through a stroke of luck, McGinniss was offered the chance to live in the house next to Palin’s while he was doing his research. With Palin’s beating the drum, right wing pundits blasted him as a literary stalker.

McGinniss said that “Going to Extremes” started as an effort to go back to his beloved Alaska but got swept up in the Palin-mania. He was convinced to make her the main subject after listening to her claim in a speech that she was responsible for the creation of a billion dollar natural gas pipeline that didn’t exist.

“By then I’m learning she’ll say anything,” he said.

Once in Alaska, he was hours from signing a lease on an apartment in Anchorage when a woman offered to rent him her house, which happened to be next to the Palins’ in Wasilla.

“I would have been crazy not to,” he said.

Palin and McCain had already lost by then, but her star was rising among the Right. Todd Palin immediately walked over to confront McGinniss, who assured him he was not there to spy on the family. Nonetheless, pundits such as Glenn Beck accused McGinniss of oogling the Palin daughters through their bedroom windows. The people who believe that, McGinniss said, never read the book.

Once Palin gave up her presidential ambitions, interest in “The Rogue” abated. For McGinniss it was almost a relief.

“I spent far too much time learning about somebody who really has no redeeming qualities,” he said.

The McGinnisses, who had been living in Williamstown since the 1980s, moved to the Valley in 2007 so Nancy could finish her degree at Mount Holyoke College. Although she went on to a successful career as a journalist and free-lance editor, Doherty had dropped out of Mount Holyoke after her freshman year. She earned both her BA and an MFA while McGinniss was at work on “The Rogue.” Once that project was done, McGinniss started searching around for a new subject.

In the small fraternity of non-fiction book authors, McGinniss was familiar with Jonathan Harr and Tracy Kidder, who also live in the area. He was particularly intrigued by Kidder, whose books were set close to home.

“Tracy Kidder is a really smart guy,” he said. “He’s able to find terrific stories where doing research enables him to sleep in his own bed at night.”

McGinniss, who ran up $75,000 in expenses researching “The Rogue,” thought local and came up with the courthouse idea.

“I’ve been in court as a plaintiff, a defendant and a reporter,” he said. “There’s always something in the balance here. Every courtroom tells a story.”

He considered several other courts before settling on Hampshire Superior Court. McGinniss was won over, in part, by the Cara Rintala case. In what is perhaps the first murder case involving two married women, Ringala is charged with killing her wife, Annemarie Cochrane Rintala.

But McGinniss has found some gems in less publicized cases, like that of William Oldershaw, “the bourgeois bank robber.” Oldershaw pleaded guilty to robbing a Bank of America in Amherst. He handed the clerk there a note demanding $249 because he had been told that robbery under $250 was only a misdemeanor, according to testimony. To make his getaway, he called a cab. Oldershaw ended up sentenced to probation at a drug rehab facility.

“Here in Hampshire County you get a better class of defendants,” McGinniss joked.

Thus far, people have been cooperative and congenial, McGinniss said. He’s been impressed by the professionalism of the public defenders and by the general atmosphere in the courthouse.

“There’s no ill will between the DA’s office and the defense attorneys,” he said. “I think Dave Sullivan gets some of the credit for that.”

Although he knows that relations weren’t as smooth under the previous administration, McGinniss does not plan to go into Elizabeth Scheibel’s tenure as Northwestern District Attorney except to occasionally compare it to Sullivan’s.

While best-selling authors like McGinniss are the envy of other writers, that path can be full of rocks and thorns.

“It’s like walking across a tightrope with no safety net,” he said. “There’s no insurance. You always live on your next advance. With non-fiction you’re only as good as your next idea.”

Like other forms of publishing, the book business is in rough shape, making a hard job even harder.

“The printed word had a great run,” McGinniss said, “starting with Gutenberg all the way to the Internet.”

As a hedge against this, McGinniss hopes to serialize “15 Gothic Street” on the on-line site Byliner.com. This way, the work will be available in installments before it’s published in book form. There will undoubtedly be some people in and around the courthouse who will anxiously log on to see what he has wrought. That’s just the way it is when a writer like McGinniss is in town.

“I think everybody’s probably a little wary,” he said. “There’s nothing to be wary of.”

Borrego was the town manager’s choice out of the three proposals submitted to the town for the solar project at the defunct 10-acre landfill in the Bondsville section.

PALMER – Town Manager Charles T. Blanchard plans to ask the Town Council Tuesday to approve a contract with Borrego Solar of Lowell for the development of a photovoltaic project at the former Emery Street landfill.

Borrego was Blanchard’s choice out of the three proposals submitted to the town for the solar project at the defunct 10-acre landfill in the Bondsville section.

He said he selected Borrego because they have negotiated similar power purchase agreements, and designed and constructed three similar landfill projects in Easthampton, Dartmouth and Kingston. He said the company also has the ability to finance a project in Palmer.

“We were impressed with their technical presentation. Their overall offer we felt had the most benefit to the town. We also were impressed with their financial capability and the fact they could move forward,” Blanchard said last week.

In a report last month to the Town Council, Blanchard wrote that the town could save anywhere from $2.7 million to $4.1 million over the next 20 years through a power purchase agreement with Borrego. The savings depends on the rate of increase in the electric grid power cost that will be offset with the solar power generated by the project, he said.

Blanchard said even if the council approves the agreement, it is not a done deal. He said Borrego has to send an application to National Grid to tie-in to the system, and approvals from the state Department of Environmental Protection are needed. Blanchard noted that other solar companies have sent applications to National Grid to tie-in to this particular connection; there are several proposals in the works for solar projects in town.

If everything goes well, Blanchard said the project could be “on line” as early as the first quarter of 2013.

Borrego is proposing a 3.5 megawatt facility at the former landfill. One megawatt can generally power approximately 1,000 homes. It would pay the town approximately $88,000 each year for the next 20 years as part of its lease payment. Blanchard said the facility would be taxed, and expects that would bring in an additional $341,000 in revenue.

Through the project, it is expected that 80 percent of the town’s municipal electricity needs will be met. That includes town buildings and schools. Borrego would sell electricity back to the town, at a fixed price of 9.25 cents per kilowatt hour for 20 years, Blanchard said. For fiscal 2011, Blanchard has said the town of Palmer spent $536,360.72 on electricity.

In Easthampton, Borrego broke ground on a 2.3-megawatt facility at its former landfill featuring 9,620 solar panels in September. That project is expected to generate enough power to supply electricity for 20 percent of Easthampton’s municipal buildings, and was the first such project under construction in the state. The city has a 10-year power purchase agreement with Borrego.

David Graves, National Grid spokesman, said each proposal has to be studied to make sure it is safe to tie-in to the grid. Extensive engineering has to be done, he said.

The Palmer Town Council meeting is at 7 p.m. at the Town Building.

A developer hoping to open at Doctors Express office in West Springfield said there was a misunderstanding about the project between the owner, builder and the city.

Photo by Mark M. Murray / The RepublicajnThis is the site of the former International House of Pancakes restaurant at Park and Union streets in West Springfield. The structure was supposed to have been modified to accommodate a new Doctors Express outpatient clinic, but most of the building has been taken down.

WEST SPRINGFIELD – The developers proposing a Doctors Express office for the site of the former International House of Pancakes building on Union Street have demolished so much of the structure they must now get Planning Board approval for the project.

Planning Administrator Richard A. Werbiskis said Wednesday the special permit granted them by the Board of Appeals for the project applies only to ventures that involve “minor alterations.”

As a result, the developers are scheduled to come before the Planning Board at its 7 p.m. April 4 meeting to seek a special permit from it as that is the procedure involved when doing substantial restorations.

“They portrayed it as being a renovation of a building and they took more down than seems reasonable for a renovation. It seems like a rebuilt,” Werbiskis said.

“It was more than a little bit,” the planning official said of the extent of demolition of the building at Union and Parks streets. “It caught the attention of quite a few people.”

Among them was Commissioner Patrick J. Moore. He said he talked with the developers and got them to agree to halt work until permission is given by the Planning Board.

A recent visit to the site reveals that about all that is left of the structure is a cinderblock wall and small parts of some other walls.

Longmeadow residents Richard F.P. Crews and James Brennan obtained a special permit for the project in October from the Board of Appeals in hopes of opening an office by April 1.

Plans they filed with the city called for adding 406 square feet to the existing building at 18 Union St. so that the resulting structure would consist of 2,866 square feet on an approximately half-acre parcel.

Crews said the project is still on track, but the office is now expected to open June 1.

“There was some misunderstanding between the owner, the builder and the town,” Crews said of the special permit snafu.

He said the landlord, Andy Crews, is handling preparing a building for Doctors Express.

The entrepreneurs opened a Doctors Express on Cooley Street in Springfield about a year and a half ago. Doctors Express is a franchising operation in Towson, Md., that helps doctors and/or investors set up offices that offer immediate care by a physician.

The offices are promoted as an alternative to an emergency room visit. Care is available on a walk-in basis. Plans called for the West Springfield site to have one doctor, an X-ray technician and two medical assistants at the office seven days a week.

Although Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Warren has the most money and name recognition among her Democratic rivals, Middleton Immigration Lawyer Marisa DeFranco remains active on the campaign trail.

01.05.12. MIDDLETON, Mass. - Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Marisa DeFranco, a North Shore federal immigration lawyer, as seen in her Middleton, Mass. campaign office. (Staff photo by Robert Rizzuto)

In the race for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Sen. Scott Brown, three Democratic candidates remain.

Although Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Warren has the most money and name recognition among her Democratic rivals, Middleton Immigration Lawyer Marisa DeFranco remains active on the campaign trail.

In an email sent to supporters this week, DeFranco reflected on the year she has spent campaigning for her party's nomination to take on Brown in November's general election.

"One year ago today, the United States Senate passed a measure to keep our government funded for three weeks. The tone of the debate that surrounded this vote was disheartening, characterized as much by its incivility as its lack of effectiveness," DeFranco wrote. "Once again, American families were confronted with leadership that was unable to offer comprehensive solutions. One year ago today, I, like many Americans, knew that there was a smarter way forward. I knew that the people of Massachusetts deserved better."

DeFranco said that many of the problems facing the nation and the Bay State one year ago remain, a situation she attributes to the lack of proposals addressing unemployment, energy independence, financial stability and immigration reform. She said that despite the challenges she faces as a candidate, she isn't going away quietly.

"No one asked me to get into this race. A few folks have asked me to leave," she said. "But I will not—because I am a fighter, and because I can win. As a fighter, I know never to quit until the bell rings at the end of the final round. Right now, we are just coming out of our corner for the start of round one."

In 2011 DeFranco pulled $32,539 in campaign contributions, according to Federal Election Commission records.

James King, a Boston lawyer whose campaign has been mostly silent for several months, brought in more than double that amount, a total of $66,565.

Warren, on the other hand, raised a total of $8.9 million was left with just over $6 million at the end of the year. Although her cash-on-hand fell short of Brown's $12.8 million, both candidates trumped DeFranco and King in terms of the numbers.

DeFranco has previously said that she is not concerned about having the most money, only that she has an opportunity to explain her ideas to the voters ahead of the September primary election.

"The difference between me and other candidates is that I actually have a plan. I've written every word on my website and explained each of my ideas," DeFranco said in a previous interview with The Republican. "If you are really tired of politics as usual, look at my views and give me a chance."

In the economic development group, some people took shots at large business like Kollmorgen that command tax breaks and other concessions from the city.

Photo by Michael Beswick / The RepublicanHeather Kuhn discusses issues with Max Weider during an open forum held by Occupy Northampton the JFK Middle School Monday night.

NORTHAMPTON - Occupy Northampton demanded a dialogue when it occupied a City Council meeting last month, and it got it in spades Monday as members of the movement squared off with city leaders to discuss a number of issues.

Some 50 people batted around topics such as economic development, civil liberties and corporate accountability with Mayor David J. Narkewicz and a six city councilors at the John F. Kennedy Middle School. The meeting came about after protesters occupied council chambers during the Feb. 2 City Council meeting. Interrupting a discussion about the snow and ice removal budget by shouting "mike check!" they demanded that their voices he heard.

"We know there are some important decisions being made," they chanted, "and we have something to say."

The protesters said they wanted city money spent on items such as food for the hungry and orchards, and spoke out against tax breaks for corporations like Coca-Cola and Kollmorgen. They also said the city does not need the $20 million police facility currently being built.

Council President William H. Dwight proposed a meeting to discuss these issues and Monday night came to fruition. Lisa DePiano, an organizer with the group, started the evening by outlining the topics and going ove the hand signal the group uses to express approval, disapproval and the wish that someone would stop talking.

Those in attendance then separated into five groups to address economic development, civil iberties, public space, civic engagement and corporate accountability. Names were exchanged, hand signals reviewed and the talking was on,

In the group discussion on civil liberties, Sue Norton praised the local police for showing restraint during the Occupy Northampton protests last year.

"They were very moderate and compassionate," she said. "It never got nasty."

City Councilor Marueen Carney noted that Police Chief Russell P. Sienkiewicz has been outspoken about supporting civil liberties. That spirit of respect carries over to the community in general, she said.

Narkewicz explained the city's bonding system to people who questioned the involvement of big banks in city loans. Because various spending items are bundles into big packages, bigger banks are inclined to bid on the bonds, Narkewicz said in a discussion of corporate accountability. He noted, however, that nearly all of the city's money is in local banks, which also buy some of Northampton's shirt-term bonds.

"We've made a point of not inveswting in banks that are involved in the mortgage crisis," he said.

In the economic development group, some people took shots at large business like Kollmorgen that command tax breaks and other concessions from the city. Susan Lantz suggested they reciprocate by helping the environment.

"I'd like to see us have the guts to go to Kollmorgen and ask them to makes turbines to put in the river for alternative energy," she said.

After the group discussions, everyone rubbed their hands together and clapped. Then members from each group gave a synopsis of their talks.

Across New England, residents basked in warm temperatures and picture-perfect sunny skies on the last full day of winter before the traditional start of spring.

The Republican | Don TreegerTaking advantage of summer-like weather with a basketball game at Szot park, are Marquis Chase (jumping), Jonathan Enriquez (shooting) and Brendon Green (right).

With the weather just perfect, Heather Rush of Holyoke found the time to get outside and go for a walk -- but not just any walk.

Rush, 34, was passing through Deerfield when she decided to climb Mount Sugarloaf.

Once on top, she admired the view, took some pictures and just radiated in the sunshine.

“To me, it’s a crime if you’re driving by Sugarloaf on a 75-degree day when traditionally it should be winter and you don’t go for a hike,” she said. “Can you believe it’s 75 degrees and winter still?”

Across New England, residents basked in warm temperatures and picture-perfect sunny skies on the last full day of winter before the traditional start of spring.

Winter official ends at 1:14 a.m. Tuesday, but you would have a hard time proving it to those on Monday who ditched the heavy jackets, rolled up their sleeves and rolled down their car windows.

The high temperature at Bradley International Airport reached 78 degrees, breaking the previous mark of 73 degrees set two years ago.

Worcester, 77 degrees, broke a record high set in 1894, while Boston’s 74 degrees
bested the previous mark of 72 set in 1903.

The Republican weather station in downtown Springfield measured a high of 81 degrees just after 3 p.m.

The National Weather Service reports Fitchburg reached 81 degrees Monday, and 80 degrees was reported in Norwood, Taunton and North Adams. Widespread readings in the upper 70s were reported in inland areas.

The Republican | John SuchockiAs temperatures made it into the 70's Anthony Coppol of Springfield used the bleachers at Sarah Jane Park on Chicopee Street to read the Republican and get a start on his tan.

Erica Martin, meteorologist for CBS3 said warmer temperatures are most likely here until the weekend.

Monday’s forecast is likely to hang around through Friday when the thermometer is expected to dip to the 60s. Until then, high temperatures in the low- to mid-80s are expected, she said.

The average high temperature for this time of year in Western Massachusetts is about 49 degrees.

Martin was nonplused about Tuesday being the first day of spring, and her answer revealed a fundamental schism between the fields of astronomy and meteorology.

The astronomers keep track of the movements of the earth in relation to the sun and used that to determine precise start and end of each season. spring, for example, begins each year with the vernal equinox, that moment when the Earth tilts so the length of daylight is roughly equal to the length of nightfall.

Meteorologists use the calendar to keep track of the seasons, and the four seasons are each 3-month periods that begin on a fixed date. Spring this year arrived at the same time it does every year: March 1, she said.

“Spring has already happened,” she said. “I’ve been calling it spring for a while.”

For the first time in decades, there was a joint meeting of the trustees of the two libraries last week.

SOUTH HADLEY – It’s sometimes called the “other” South Hadley library.

The Gaylord Memorial Library, which sits opposite Mount Holyoke College on Route 116, is a private library that opened in 1904.

Two years later, Andrew Carnegie provided the funds for the South Hadley Public Library on Bardwell Street, which then outgrew its older sibling.

Now, with a major fund-raising effort under way to build a new public library on the banks of the river, the Gaylord is making sure it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.

.For the first time in decades, there was a joint meeting of the trustees of the two libraries earlier this week

“We certainly have the best interests of both libraries at heart,” said Connie Clancy, former director of the Gaylord and now a trustee of the Public Library, in a phone interview.

The Gaylord has had its ups and downs. When money got tight in 1968, there was an attempt to close it down. Loyal clients fought to keep it alive, and for more than a quarter-century the little library survived as the “branch library” of the Public Library.

Then the situation reversed. In 1995, the public library decided it could no longer afford to help support the Gaylord, and the little library was on its own again.

The Gaylord supports itself on donations, a small endowment and a stipend from Town Meeting.

In this bad economy, the Public Library is also working hard to raise funds for its new building. “It’s a ticklish question,” said Clancy.

What the Gaylord has going for it, besides its collections and programs, is its location in the northern end of town – the Public Library is at the southern end – and a fiercely loyal clientele, including 70 volunteers.

At the joint meeting, which brought together about 20 trustees and directors, the group discussed ways to coordinate programs, share resources, plan joint activities for their respective “Friends of the Library” and develop a single index for their archival collections.

“It was a very positive and useful meeting,” said Charles Viens, president of the trustees of the Gaylord Library.

The meeting grew out of the 2010 “Comprehensive Plan of Library Services for the town of South Hadley,” which stated that, “moving forward, the two libraries will develop a formal working relationship.”

Viens says the Public Library would not have won its $4.8 Massachusetts Public Library Construction Grant had it not been for the Gaylord.

“A joint effort was required for the main library to get the grant,” he says. “It was a requirement and a precursor to the grant.”

Councilors cited a need to get on with city business in appointing two mayoral nominees to the Board of Assessors.

WEST SPRINGFIELD – Town councilors voted unanimously 9-0 Monday to appoint the mayor’s two nominees to the Board of Assessors to allow that body to act on requests for property tax abatements and deal with state Appellate Tax Board cases.

The board has 200 to 250 requests for abatements before it that will be automatically denied unless acted on by April 30, Town Council President Kathleen A. Bourque said. The three-member board must have at least two members to act on abatement requests. The city also has 50 abatement requests that have been appealed to the state.

Bourque and several other councilors said they would prefer to reinstate former Board of Assessors member Kathleen Cooley rather than appoint her replacement, praising her work. However, because they do not have that authority they said they want the town to move forward.

Cooley was removed from the board last month by Mayor Gregory C. Neffinger, who said she violated the state Open Meeting Law in e-mails between herself and former Principal Assessor Christopher Keefe. Prior to removing Cooley Neffinger fired Keefe following a disagreement on abatement hearings.

Town Councilor Brian J. Griffin called Cooley’s removal “unconscionable,” but said the community has to move on.

“The Town of West Springfield is being hurt right now,” Griffin said.

“We can’t stand in the way of someone who needs an abatement at this time,” Town Councilor Lida M. Powell said.

Appointed to the Board of Assessors were Hans A. Doup of 62 Ohio Ave. and Stella E. Kalamarakis of 48 Beacon Hill Road. Doup is to fill out Cooley’s unexpired term, which runs to June 30 2014.

Interviewed following the vote, Neffinger said he was pleased with appointments.

“Now we can get going and do the business of the town,” Neffinger said, adding that they signal a “new direction” for the community.

The mayor said by that he meant the city would be in compliance with a requirement by its charter that there be three members of the Board of Assessors. In recent years there have been only two — Keefe and Cooley. The third member of the Board of Assessors is interim Principal Assessor Chester J. Nicora Jr.

Cooley spoke briefly before the council during its public comment period. She said she has had e-mails examined by two different law firms and both agree she did not violate the state Open Meeting Law.

The $52.5 million proposed budget includes using $343,318 in free cash, while an alternative $51.9 million spending plan eliminates several proposed positions and calls for a $50,000 cut in school spending.

Robin Crosbie

LONGMEADOW – Town Manager Robin Crosbie presented the Select Board and residents two budgets during a public forum Monday night.

Crosbie presented a $52.5 million budget that relies on $343,318 in free cash. She also presented an alternative budget of $51.9 million that does not include the use of free cash and eliminates several proposed positions and reduces the School Committee budget by $50,000.

The board discussed many of the proposals, but did not choose a budget. It will continue discussions with the Finance Committee and School Committee regarding the budget later this week.

The board did discuss whether to fund two new positions proposed by the library and fire departments as well as other post-employment benefits, the storm clean up and more.

Crosbie’s original budget would include $74,563 for a deputy fire chief and $35,000 for a circulation librarian.

Fire Chief Eric Madison said the deputy position would be an asset to the town and is a necessary position for public safety.

“This has been a request for many years and it’s really never a good year to do it,” he said.

Select Board member Robert Aseltine said he would rather wait until a new town manager is hired before funding these two new positions.

Members also discussed OPEB which provides health insurance benefits for retired town employees.

Aseltine and member Marie Angelides agreed the town should make a yearly commitment to putting a substantial amount of money in the fund.

“I think this is a moral issue,” Aseltine said. “ We are putting this off on future generations and future Longmeadow residents and it’s not good fiscal practice. We are not fully funding the services we are offering.”

Angelides said with rising health insurance costs, more money should be set aside for OPEB.

“Insurance costs are skyrocketing and we are looking at more people retiring,” Angelides said.

Select Board member Paul Santaniello said he is not willing to put more than $100,000 in the account this year without getting a further explanation of exactly how much needs to be put in ever year to properly fund it.

Gold said he thinks they are funding OPEB adequately now.

They also discussed smaller projects like money for sidewalk repairs and the Blinn Tennis Courts, which have been closed down for many years.

Crosbie said she has spoken with Parks and Recreation Department Director Bari Jarvis who said a town resident has offered to pay the $17,000 to repair the courts if the town will make a commitment to maintain them. The maintenance for the clay courts is estimated at $3,000 to $5,000 per year.

The proposed budgets may be found on the town’s website www.longmeadow.org.

Community activists conducted a rally on the steps of Springfield City Hall and urged passage of the tax reform proposal.

Michael Fenton

SPRINGFIELD – The City Council passed a resolution Monday night that urges the state Legislature and Governor to raise more revenue and provide more funds for services by increasing taxes on upper income people.

The vote was applauded by many residents and community activists who overflowed the City Council Chambers and conducted a rally on the front steps of City Hall just prior to the council meeting.

The resolution, sponsored by several councilors led by Michael A. Fenton, stated that Massachusetts “has made $3 billion in cuts to essential programs since the current recession began, including cuts to K-12 education, higher education, local aid, services for seniors, public safety, human services and other programs.” Funding is also needed for “critical services” such as police and fire protection and road repairs, garbage collection, playgrounds and libraries, the resolution states.

The resolution urges the gvernor and Legislature to “invest in our communities, to strengthen our economy, and to improve the quality of life of Massachusetts residents by passing legislation, such as the Act to Invest in Our Communities, that raises substantial new revenue by increasing taxes on upper income filers while decreasing taxes on lower income filers.”

No one spoke against the resolution.

An Act to Invest in Our Communities, before the Legislature, would increase the income tax rate but would raise the personal exemption for single and married taxpayers, according to a summary. It would also increase the tax rate on investment income, but with certain exemptions, the summary states.

Fenton said the council, in its vote, does not specifically endorse the act, but supports tax reform that results in additional aid from the state for community needs, but with the stipulation that it “should not do it on the backs of the people with the fewest resources.”

Community activists said Monday that the tax code is unfair, saying it favors the highest income taxpayers.

Elsie Sanchez of Springfield, an organizer with Neighbor to Neighbor, said there are members of her organization who choose between paying for dental care out of pocket or paying for other needs. Increasing the personal tax exemption would help the middle income and low income, she said.

“We’re broke, all over the country and all over the state,” said Calvin Feliciano of Springfield, of the Service Employees International Union Community Action. “Big classrooms, less police, less health care workers. It’s just ridiculous.”

Kyreem Tabar of Springfield, also of the community action group, said more money should be invested in the community for needed programs. Springfield Education Association President Timothy Collins also urged passage, saying tax reform is needed.

Council President James J. Ferrera III said he believes “government needs to respond to its citizens and in order to do so, has to have proper resources to respond.”

In other action, a proposed home bill that calls for a ballot question to extend the term of city councilors from two years to four years was referred to committee for further review, because the main sponsor, Councilor E. Henry Twiggs was absent from the meeting.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy called it the worst school shooting in French history.

Associated PressA French schoolchild leaves a Jewish school in Paris watched by police officers, Monday, March 19, 2012 after the French Interior Minister ordered security to be tightened around all French Jewish schools after an attack on one in Toulouse, in southwest France. A father and his two sons were among four people who died Monday when a gunman opened fire there.

TOULOUSE, France (AP) — A motorbike assailant opened fire with two handguns Monday in front of a Jewish school in the French city of Toulouse, killing a rabbi, his two young sons and a girl. One witness described him as a man chasing small children and "looking to kill."

One of the guns he used also had been fired in two other deadly motorbike attacks in the area that targeted paratroopers of North African and French Caribbean origin, officials said. French President Nicolas Sarkozy suggested one person was responsible for all the killings.

A massive manhunt was under way and the terrorism alert level was raised to its highest level ever across a swath of southern France surrounding Toulouse. Hundreds of officers increased security at schools, synagogues and mosques around the country, and Sarkozy said 14 riot police units "will secure the region as long as this criminal" hasn't been caught.

Monday's attack revolted France and drew strong condemnation from Israel and the United States. Sarkozy called it the worst school shooting in French history.

France has seen a low drumroll of anti-Semitic incidents but no attack so deadly targeting Jews since the early 1980s. This country is particularly sensitive toward its Jewish community because of its World War II past of abetting Nazi occupiers in deporting Jewish citizens.

French prosecutors were studying possible terrorist links but the motive for all three attacks was unclear. Still, issues about religious minorities and race have emerged prominently in France's presidential campaign, in which the conservative Sarkozy has taken his traditional hard line against immigration.

News that the gun was used in attacks last week around Toulouse fueled suspicions that a serial killer was targeting not only Jews but French minorities.

In all three cases, the attacker came on a motorcycle, apparently alone, and then sped away.

Monday's attack was as quick as it was terrifying. A 30-year-old rabbi, Jonathan Sandler, and two of his sons were killed just before classes started at the Ozar Hatorah school, a junior high and high school in a quiet neighborhood, Toulouse Prosecutor Michel Valet said. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the sons were 4- and 5-years-old.

Another child, the 7-year-old daughter of the school principal, was also killed, school officials said. Valet said a 17-year-old boy was also seriously wounded.

"He shot at everything he had in front of him, children and adults," Valet said. "The children were chased inside the school."

Nicole Yardeni, a local Jewish official who saw security video of the attack from the single camera near the school gate, described the shooter as "determined, athletic and well-toned." She said he wore a helmet with the visor down.

"You see a man park his motorcycle, start to shoot, enter the school grounds and chase children to catch one and shoot a bullet into her head," Yardeni said. "It's unbearable to watch and you can't watch anymore after that. He was looking to kill."

The bodies were brought in hearses to the school Monday night for an evening vigil. All of the dead had joint Israeli-French citizenship and will be buried in Israel, the Israel Foreign Ministry said.

A police official said the same powerful .45-caliber handgun used in Monday's attack on a school in Toulouse was used in shootings four days ago that killed two paratroopers and seriously injured another in nearby Montauban, and in an attack that killed a paratrooper eight days ago in Toulouse.

In Monday's attack, which took place about 8 a.m., the killer also used a .35-caliber gun, the police official said. At least 15 shots were fired at the school, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

A police union official in Paris said the shooter knew weapons well to handle a .45-caliber handgun plus a second gun.

"The shooter is someone used to holding arms," Nicolas Comte of the SGP FO police union. "He knows what he's doing, like an ex-military guy."

Sarkozy rushed to Toulouse to visit the school with Richard Prasquier, the president of CRIF, the umbrella group representing Jewish organizations.

"This act was odious, it cannot remain unpunished," Sarkozy said.

"We do not know the motivations of this criminal. Of course, by attacking children and a teacher who were Jewish, the anti-Semitic motivation appears obvious. Regarding our soldiers, we can imagine that racism and murderous madness are in this case linked," he said Monday night after returning to Paris.

Sarkozy's challengers for the presidential vote in April and May also hurried to the scene.

The slain rabbi taught at the school and reportedly arrived from Jerusalem last September with his wife and children.

France has the largest Jewish community in Western Europe, estimated at about 500,000, as well as its largest Muslim population, about 5 million.

Toulouse, a southwestern city north of the Pyrenees mountains, has about 10,000 to 15,000 Jews in its overall population of 440,000, said Jean-Paul Amoyelle, the president of the Ozar Hatorah school network in France. He said its Jewish community is well integrated into the city.

The school targeted Monday, behind a high white wall, was cordoned off by police, who then escorted other children out as forensics police combed the scene. Six bullet holes circled an aluminum fence that surrounds the school.

One officer held a distraught girl, her face in her hands. A mother and son wearing a yarmulke walked away from the site, their faces visibly pained.

"Everything leads one to believe that these were racist and anti-Semitic acts," Toulouse Mayor Pierre Cohen said on BFM-TV.

"This is a Jewish school, well identified as such, and it is normal to think that anti-Semitism is at cause," CRIF said in a statement.

Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told The Associated Press the suspect made his getaway on a dark-colored scooter — just as the assailant or assailants did in the two deadly shootings last week.

On March 10, a gunman on a motorbike shot and killed a paratrooper in Toulouse. Last Thursday, a gunman on a motorbike opened fire on three uniformed paratroopers at a bank machine in Montauban, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Toulouse, killing two and critically wounding the other.

The mother of one student, Corinne Tordjeman, had just finished dropping off her 14-year-old son Alexandre when the attacker came. Alexandre described hearing the shots and parents shouting and how he saw blood all over the ground. Her younger daughter was supposed to go to a birthday party this weekend with the girl who was killed.

The killer "knew that killing Jewish children would make a lot of noise, but tomorrow it could be a Christian, a Muslim, or anyone else," she said.

One man who lives near the school had just spoken with the rabbi.

"I said "Bonjour" to him like normal," said the 29-year-old, asking to be identified only by his first name, Baroukh. "Then he went out into the school entrance. I heard the shots and I turned around and saw him on the ground. He looked dead. But I didn't have much time to see who did it because I panicked and started running away."

Paris police said Monday they are also investigating threats against two synagogues in Paris from last week. A police official said there was no apparent link between those threats and Monday's shooting.

In Jerusalem, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said "whether it was a terror attack or a hate crime, the loss of life is unacceptable."

The U.S. government said it joined France in condemning this unprovoked and outrageous act of violence in the strongest possible terms."

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the victims, and we stand with a community in grief," U.S. National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said.

Special prayers were offered Monday at a Paris synagogue, attended by Sarkozy, and at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. A minute of silence in all French schools was to be held Tuesday and Sarozy also planned to meet with Jewish and Muslim leaders.

The senior citizen was working at Crabtree's Service Station on Northampton Street when the suspect entered the business with a knife and tried to rob him.

HOLYOKE – A 70-year-old employee of Crabtree's Service Station, 1530 Northampton St., said he successfully thwarted a knife-wielding attacker who tried to rob him late Monday night.

"He put the knife against my throat, but I fought him off," said the man, who asked not to be identified.

"He didn't get away with anything, and they (the police) got him," he said, referring to Andre J. McClendon, the 29-year-old Holyoke man arrested in connection with the incident.

The worker said he was uninjured in the scuffle.

Police charged McClendon, who lives at 40 Suffolk St., Apt. 4C, with single counts of armed and masked robbery; assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a person age 65 or older; wantonly injuring real or personal property; breach while armed with a dangerous weapon; disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

He was expected to be arraigned Tuesday in Holyoke District Court.

The incident was reported just before 10:30 p.m. Monday at Crabtree's, a Shell gas station located directly across from Reardon's Garage on Northampton Street (Route 5).

In July, McClendon was the victim of stabbing that occurred in the vicinity of 859 Main St., according to police. McClendon was uncooperative after being stabbed in the back, police said at the time.

THE MAP BELOW shows the approximate location of an attempted Monday night armed robbery at Crabtree's Service Station on Northampton Street in Holyoke:

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Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales remembers little about the night he is accused of slaughtering 16 Afghan civilians in a nighttime shooting rampage, his lawyer says.

By GENE JOHNSON and JOHN MILBURN, Associated Press

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales remembers little about the night he is accused of slaughtering 16 Afghan civilians in a nighttime shooting rampage, his lawyer says.

The Associated PressIn this Aug. 23, 2011 Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System photo, Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, 1st platoon sergeant, Blackhorse Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division participates in an exercise at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif. A senior U.S. official, Friday March 16, 2012 identified Bales as the man accused of killing 16 civilians in an attack on Afghan villagers five days ago. (AP Photo/DVIDS, Spc. Ryan Hallock)

He has a sketchy memory of events from before and after the killings but recalls very little or nothing of the time the military believes he went on a shooting spree through two Afghan villages, attorney John Henry Browne said Monday after meeting his client for the first time.

Browne and other members of Bales' defense team have said they plan additional meetings this week with the soldier, who is being held at Fort Leavenworth.

Meanwhile, more details have come to light about Bales' troubles on the home front.

Records show he owes $1.5 million from an arbitration ruling nearly a decade ago that found him guilty of securities fraud.

The ruling stemmed from a complaint by a Columbus, Ohio, man that Bales defrauded him and his wife while working as their stockbroker in 2003.

Bales, 38, has not been charged yet in the March 11 shooting spree, though charges could come this week. The killings sparked protests in Afghanistan, endangered relations between the two countries and threatened to upend American policy over the decade-old war.

Browne met with his client behind bars for the first time Monday to begin building a defense. He said Bales has "some memory of some things that happened" the night of the shootings.

"He has some memories of before the incident and he has some memories of after the incident. In between, very little," Browne told The Associated Press by telephone from Fort Leavenworth, where Bales is being held.

Pressed on whether Bales can remember anything about the shooting, Browne said, "No," but added: "I haven't gotten that far with him yet."

In an earlier interview with CBS, Browne said unequivocally that Bales can't remember the shootings.

(Video from CBSNews.com)

Bales arrived at Fort Leavenworth last Friday and is being held in an isolated cell. He is "already being integrated into the normal pretrial confinement routine," prison spokeswoman Rebecca Steed said.

The routine includes recreation, meals and cleaning the area where he is living. Steed said once his meetings with his attorneys are complete later in the week, Bales will resume the normal integration process.

Browne said he and Bales met for more than three hours at the military prison.

Browne said the soldier gave a powerfully moving account of what it is like to be on the ground in Afghanistan.

"You read about it. I read about it. But it's totally different when you hear about it from somebody who's been there," Browne told the AP. "It's just really emotional."

Browne, a Seattle attorney who defended serial killer Ted Bundy and a thief known as the "Barefoot Bandit," has said he has handled three or four military cases. The defense team includes a military defense lawyer, Maj. Thomas Hurley.

Military officials have said that Bales, after drinking on a southern Afghanistan base, crept away to two villages overnight, shooting his victims and setting many of them on fire. Nine of the dead were children and 11 belonged to one family.

Bales' wife, Karilyn, offered her condolences to the victims' families and said Monday she wants to know what happened. She said her family and her in-laws are profoundly sad, and that what they've read and seen in news reports is "completely out of character of the man I know and admire."

Court records and interviews show Bales had commendations for good conduct after four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He enlisted in the military after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The Associated Press

He also faced a number of problems in recent years: Florida investment job went sour, his Seattle-area home was condemned as he struggled to make payments on another, and he failed to get a recent promotion. He also still faces the $1.5 million securities fraud judgment from 2003.

The National Association of Securities Dealers found that Bales, another man and his company "engaged in fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, churning, unauthorized trading and unsuitable investments."

Records show Gary Liebschner of Columbus, Ohio, filed the complaint in 2000, when Bales was a stockbroker.

WCPO-TV in Ohio quoted Liebschner's wife as saying her husband became ill so they asked Bales to sell stock to pay medical bills, but never received the proceeds.

An arbitration panel found Bales, Michael Patterson and Michael Patterson Inc. individually and jointly liable for $637,000 in compensatory damages, $637,000 in punitive damages, $216,500 in attorneys' fees and several thousand dollars in other fees.

Punitive damages were allowed because the panel found Bales' conduct "fraudulent and malicious."

Bales did not file a "statement of answer," get an attorney or appear at an Ohio hearing, records show.

About a year and a half after the complaint was filed, Bales enlisted — just two months after 9/11.

His legal troubles included charges that he assaulted a girlfriend and, in a hit-and-run accident, ran bleeding in military clothes into the woods, according to court records. He told police he fell asleep at the wheel and paid a fine to get the charges dismissed.

In March 1998, Bales was given a $65 citation for possessing alcohol at Daytona Beach, Fla. He did not pay the fine nor did he defend himself in court. A warrant was issued for his arrest, but it later expired.

If the case goes to court, the trial will be held in the U.S., said a legal expert with the U.S. military familiar with the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the case.

That expert said charges were still being decided and that the location for any trial had not yet been determined. If the suspect is brought to trial, it is possible that Afghan witnesses and victims would be flown to the U.S. to participate, he said.

After their investigation, military attorneys could draft charges and present them to a commander, who then makes a judgment on whether there is probable cause to believe that an offense was committed and that the accused committed it.

That commander then submits the charges to a convening authority, who typically is the commander of the brigade to which the accused is assigned but could be of higher rank.
___

Associated Press writers Manuel Valdes in Seattle, Richard T. Pienciak in New York and Deb Riechmann in Kabul, Afghanistan, contributed to this report. Johnson reported from Seattle.

Wednesday is the deadline for the appointment of the final two members of the five-member commission.

Update, 10:50 a.m.: Former Springfield city councilor Bruce Stebbins has been named to one of the open spots on the commission. Click here for an updated story.

BOSTON – Western Massachusetts will soon have its own representative on the state’s fledgling gaming commission.

Announcement is expected today of an appointee from Greater Springfield, according to Statehouse sources. Two open seats remain on the five-member panel.

Gov. Deval L. Patrick named Stephen Crosby, a University of Massachusetts professor and former state budget chief, to chair the commission.

Last month, Attorney General Martha Coakley named Gayle Cameron, a former New Jersey state police investigator, to the spot on the panel requiring a law enforcement background. And, earlier this month, state treasurer Steven Grossman named Enrique Zuniga, the executive director of the Massachusetts Water Pollution Abatement Trust, as his appointee to the panel.

Patrick, Coakley and Grossman have until Wednesday to make the final two appointments.

Crosby has said it will be nine to 18 months before the commission seeks bids for casino resorts. He has also expressed doubt that any applications will be received during this year for casino resorts.

Western Massachusetts has been designated as the site for one of the resort casinos to be licensed in the state. Several casino companies are already pitching plans, including proposals in Palmer, Brimfield, Holyoke and Springfield. Chicopee has also been mentioned as a potential site for a casino.

When Justin Bassett interviewed for a new job, he expected the usual questions about experience and references. So he was astonished when the interviewer asked for something else: his Facebook username and password.

The Associated PressRobert Collins of Baltimore poses for a photo Friday, March 16, 2012 at Cylburn Arboretum in Baltimore. When Collins returned from a leave of absence from his job as a security guard with the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services in 2010, he was asked for his Facebook login and password during a reinstatement interview, purportedly so the agency could check for any gang affiliations. (AP Photo/Steve Ruark)

By MANUEL VALDES and SHANNON MCFARLAND, Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — When Justin Bassett interviewed for a new job, he expected the usual questions about experience and references. So he was astonished when the interviewer asked for something else: his Facebook username and password.

Bassett, a New York City statistician, had just finished answering a few character questions when the interviewer turned to her computer to search for his Facebook page. But she couldn't see his private profile. She turned back and asked him to hand over his login information.

Bassett refused and withdrew his application, saying he didn't want to work for a company that would seek such personal information. But as the job market steadily improves, other job candidates are confronting the same question from prospective employers, and some of them cannot afford to say no.

In their efforts to vet applicants, some companies and government agencies are going beyond merely glancing at a person's social networking profiles and instead asking to log in as the user to have a look around.

"It's akin to requiring someone's house keys," said Orin Kerr, a George Washington University law professor and former federal prosecutor who calls it "an egregious privacy violation."

Questions have been raised about the legality of the practice, which is also the focus of proposed legislation in Illinois and Maryland that would forbid public agencies from asking for access to social networks.

Since the rise of social networking, it has become common for managers to review publically available Facebook profiles, Twitter accounts and other sites to learn more about job candidates. But many users, especially on Facebook, have their profiles set to private, making them available only to selected people or certain networks.

Companies that don't ask for passwords have taken other steps — such as asking applicants to friend human resource managers or to log in to a company computer during an interview. Once employed, some workers have been required to sign non-disparagement agreements that ban them from talking negatively about an employer on social media.

Asking for a candidate's password is more prevalent among public agencies, especially those seeking to fill law enforcement positions such as police officers or 911 dispatchers.

Back in 2010, Robert Collins was returning to his job as a security guard at the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services after taking a leave following his mother's death. During a reinstatement interview, he was asked for his login and password, purportedly so the agency could check for any gang affiliations. He was stunned by the request but complied.

"I needed my job to feed my family. I had to," he recalled,

After the ACLU complained about the practice, the agency amended its policy, asking instead for job applicants to log in during interviews.

"To me, that's still invasive. I can appreciate the desire to learn more about the applicant, but it's still a violation of people's personal privacy," said Collins, whose case inspired Maryland's legislation.

Until last year, the city of Bozeman, Mont., had a long-standing policy of asking job applicants for passwords to their email addresses, social-networking websites and other online accounts.

And since 2006, the McLean County, Ill., sheriff's office has been one of several Illinois sheriff's departments that ask applicants to sign into social media sites to be screened.

Chief Deputy Rusty Thomas defended the practice, saying applicants have a right to refuse. But no one has ever done so. Thomas said that "speaks well of the people we have apply."

When asked what sort of material would jeopardize job prospects, Thomas said "it depends on the situation" but could include "inappropriate pictures or relationships with people who are underage, illegal behavior."

In Spotsylvania County, Va., the sheriff's department asks applicants to friend background investigators for jobs at the 911 dispatch center and for law enforcement positions.

"In the past, we've talked to friends and neighbors, but a lot of times we found that applicants interact more through social media sites than they do with real friends," said Capt. Mike Harvey. "Their virtual friends will know more about them than a person living 30 yards away from them."

Harvey said investigators look for any "derogatory" behavior that could damage the agency's reputation.

E. Chandlee Bryan, a career coach and co-author of the book "The Twitter Job Search Guide," said job seekers should always be aware of what's on their social media sites and assume someone is going to look at it.

Bryan said she is troubled by companies asking for logins, but she feels it's not a violation if an employer asks to see a Facebook profile through a friend request. And she's not troubled by non-disparagement agreements.

"I think that when you work for a company, they are essentially supporting you in exchange for your work. I think if you're dissatisfied, you should go to them and not on a social media site," she said.

More companies are also using third-party applications to scour Facebook profiles, Bryan said. One app called BeKnown can sometimes access personal profiles, short of wall messages, if a job seeker allows it.

Sears is one of the companies using apps. An applicant has the option of logging into the Sears job site through Facebook by allowing a third-party application to draw information from the profile, such as friend lists.

Sears Holdings Inc. spokeswoman Kim Freely said using a Facebook profile to apply allows Sears to be updated on the applicant's work history.

The company assumes "that people keep their social profiles updated to the minute, which allows us to consider them for other jobs in the future or for ones that they may not realize are available currently," she said.

Giving out Facebook login information violates the social network's terms of service. But those terms have no real legal weight, and experts say the legality of asking for such information remains murky.

The Department of Justice regards it as a federal crime to enter a social networking site in violation of the terms of service, but during recent congressional testimony, the agency said such violations would not be prosecuted.

But Lori Andrews, law professor at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law specializing in Internet privacy, is concerned about the pressure placed on applicants, even if they voluntarily provide access to social sites.

"Volunteering is coercion if you need a job," Andrews said.

Neither Facebook nor Twitter responded to repeated requests for comment.

In New York, Bassett considered himself lucky that he was able to turn down the consulting gig at a lobbying firm.

"I think asking for account login credentials is regressive," he said. "If you need to put food on the table for your three kids, you can't afford to stand up for your belief."
___

McFarland reported from Springfield, Ill.

The unarmed black teen was fatally shot by a neighborhood watch captain who claims self-defense.

Associated PressIn this undated file family photo, Trayvon Martin poses for a family photo. College students around Florida rallied Monday, March 19, 2012, to demand the arrest of a white neighborhood watch captain who shot unarmed teen Martin last month, though authorities may be hamstrung by a state law that allows people to defend themselves with deadly force.

SANFORD, Fla. — The growing national attention — and outcry — over the case of an unarmed black teen in Florida who was fatally shot by a neighborhood watch captain has culminated with the federal government's announcement that it will launch an investigation.

The announcement late Monday by the Justice Department followed a day of protests calling for the arrest of George Zimmerman, 28, who claims he shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin last month in self-defense during a confrontation in a gated community in Sanford, Fla. Police have described Zimmerman as white; his family says he is Hispanic and not racist.

Zimmerman spotted Martin as he was patrolling his neighborhood on a rainy evening last month and called 911 to report a suspicious person. Against the advice of the 911 dispatcher, Zimmerman then followed Martin, who was walking home from a convenience store with a bag of Skittles in his pocket.

"The department will conduct a thorough and independent review of all the evidence and take appropriate action at the conclusion of the investigation," the agency said in an emailed statement.

The federal agency said it is sending its community relations service this week to Sanford to meet with authorities, community officials and civil rights leaders "to address tension in the community."

An online petition urging local authorities to prosecute Zimmerman has drawn more than 500,000 signatures at website Change.org

Civil rights activist Al Sharpton is expected to join Sanford city leaders in a Tuesday evening town hall meeting to discuss with residents how the investigation is being handled. Earlier Monday, students held rallies on the campus of Florida A&M University in Tallahassee and outside the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center, where prosecutors are reviewing the case to determine if charges should be filed.

Yet authorities may be hamstrung by a state law that allows people to defend themselves with deadly force.

Prosecutors may not be able to charge Zimmerman because of changes to state law in 2005. Under the old law, people could use deadly force in self-defense only if they had tried to run away or otherwise avoid the danger.

Under the new law, there is no duty to retreat and it gives a Floridian the right "to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force," if he feels threatened.

"I don't think a man who exited his vehicle after the 911 dispatcher told him to stay inside the car can claim self-defense," Carl McPhail, a 28-year-old Barry University law school student, said at the Sanford rally.

The 70 protesters at the Sanford rally chanted "What if it was your son?" and held posters saying, "This is not a race issue." Many carried Skittles.

Martin's parents and other advocates have said the shooter would have been arrested had he been black.

"You would think that Sanford is still in the 1800s claiming that this man can call self-defense for shooting an unarmed boy," restaurant owner Linda Tillman said.

U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla., along with members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, had asked the U.S. Department of Justice to review the case, and White House spokesman Jay Carney said earlier Monday during a briefing that officials there were aware of what happened.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Trayvon Martin's family," Carney said at the time. "But obviously we're not going to wade into a local law enforcement matter."

A message to Brown's spokesman late Monday was not immediately returned.

Late Monday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott directed the state Department of Law Enforcement to help local authorities in their investigation. The governor said in a memo to department Commissioner Gerald Bradley that the circumstances surrounding the death "have caused significant concern within the Sanford community and the state."

Prosecutors can have a hard time making a case if there is no one else around to contradict a person who claims self-defense, said David Hill, a criminal defense attorney in Orlando. So far, Sanford police have said there is no evidence to contradict Zimmerman's claims.

"If there is nobody around and you pull a gun, you just say, 'Hey, I reasonably believed I was under imminent attack. Hey, sorry. Too bad. But you can't prosecute me,'" Hill said, somewhat tongue-in-cheek.

Gun control advocates said the case is emblematic of permissive gun laws in Florida, which was among the first states to allow residents to carry concealed weapons. Florida was the first state to pass a "Stand Your Ground" law, which has been dubbed a "Shoot First" law by gun control advocates.

Currently, about half of all U.S. states have similar laws, said Brian Malte, legislative director of the Brady Campaign, which describes itself as the nation's largest organization dedicated to the prevention of gun violence.

"It's coming to dangerous fruition," Malte said. "There are more states like Florida." The "Stand Your Ground" law's legislative sponsor, Florida Rep. Dennis Baxley, said it wasn't written to give people the power to pursue and confront others.

"That's not what this legislation does," said Baxley, a Republican. "Unfortunately, every time there is an unfortunate incident involving a firearm, they think it's about this law, and it's not."

Authorities do not expect to file charges in connection with the incident, which Montague Police Chief Christopher Williams described as a "bizarre accident."

MONTAGUE – The 5-year-old girl who fell out of a second-floor window at her Turners Falls home on Sunday is expected to recover from her injuries, Montague Police Chief Christopher Williams said Tuesday.

"The detective investigating the case said she's expected to make a recovery," Williams said, adding that the girl did not sustain life-threatening injuries.

The incident — the second involving a young child falling from a window in as many days — is being investigated by the state Department of Children and Families.

On Monday afternoon, a 3-year-old New Bedford boy was hospitalized after falling from a second-floor window at his home in the Bristol County city. The child was reportedly leaning against a window screen when it gave way, causing him to fall about 25 feet onto the pavement below. Witnesses said the boy was alert and conscious, although the extent of his injuries was not immediately known. Officials continue to investigate.

In the Franklin County case, Williams described the incident as a "bizarre accident." Police do not expect to file charges, he said Tuesday, adding that DCF was notified and continues to probe the incident.

The little girl, who was not publicly identified, was playing with a sibling near an open, second-floor window at 76 Second St. when she fell and landed in a parking lot at the rear of the building, police said. She suffered head and leg injuries and was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield for treatment.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Jamie Asselin, 35, of Chicopee, is accused of beating and robbing Donald Partyka, 75, at the man's South Hadley home. Partyka died several months later from causes unrelated to the alleged home invasion.

The Republican / File photoThe Hampshire County Courthouse in Northampton

NORTHAMPTON – Jury selection got underway Monday in the Hampshire Superior Court trial of a man accused of injuring and robbing a senior citizen during an alleged 2010 South Hadley home invasion.

Jamie R. Asselin, 35, of Chicopee, broke into the South Hadley home of Donald W. Partyka in August of that year and assaulted and robbed the man, according to police and prosecutors. Several months later, Partyka, 75, died from causes unrelated to the alleged attack.

Asselin was arrested four days after the alleged Aug. 6, 2010, attack. A Hampshire County grand jury later indicted him on a host of felony charges.

Authorities claim Asselin entered Partyka's home, stuffed a pillow in his face, then tied him up and cut his face with a knife. Cash and credit cards were taken during the home invasion, investigators said.

Jury selection was expected to continue Tuesday before opening arguments in the trial. The Daily Hampshire Gazette reports that Asselin is representing himself in the trial, which could extend into next week.

Asselin's criminal history includes past convictions and violations of probation conditions and restraining order, according to court records.

Authorities say Keith Dumont and his wife were riding on Route 119 in Ashburnham when they struck a 600- to 800-pound moose.

Photo by Michael Beswick/The RepublicanA moose seen in Belchertown, Massachusetts in this Dec. 24, 2011 file photo.

ASHBURNHAM — Police say a Tewksbury man has died after the motorcycle he was on collided with a moose.

Authorities say Keith Dumont of Tewksbury and his wife, Caroline, were riding on Route 119 in Ashburnham at about 7:45 p.m. on Sunday when they struck a 600- to 800-pound moose crossing the road.

The Dumonts were thrown from the bike.

Keith Dumont was taken to Heywood Hospital in Gardner where he was pronounced dead. Caroline Dumont was taken to Leominster HealthAlliance Hospital, and then flown to UMass Memorial in Worcester. Police say she is expected to recover.

The moose also died.

Police tell the Sentinel & Enterprise that alcohol and speed do not appear to be factors