As part of her sentence, Knibbs will be on probation for a year and cannot during that time work in a job that includes patient care

SPRINGFIELD - A nursing assistant from Springfield who was accused three years ago of slapping a resident at an East Longmeadow elderly care facility was found guilty in Springfield District Court.

Alvira Knibbs was convicted of assault and battery on an elderly person, according to information from the office of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley.

District Court Judge Robert A. Gordon sentenced Knibbs to serve one year of supervised probation. During that time, she is to have no contact with the victim or hold a job involving patient care.

Charges where brought against Knibbs in 2009 after she was accused of assaulting a 64-year-old patient at the East Longmeadow Skilled Nursing Center in East Longmeadow.

According to court records, Knibbs and another nursing assistant were transferring a 64-year-old patient from her wheelchair to her bed. The patient, who was blind and suffering from dementia, hit Knibbs, and Knibbs retaliated by slapping her in the face.

The U.S. economy grew at a 1.8 annual rate in the first quarter, the weakest rate since last spring.

Associated PressDonald Vaneck, center, of Barclays Capital, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, in New York. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

By CHIP CUTTER
and DAVID K. RANDALL

NEW YORK — Stocks closed at another 2011 high Thursday despite modest U.S. economic growth in the first quarter.

The economy grew at a 1.8 annual rate between January and March. That's the weakest rate since last spring. Higher oil prices cut into consumer spending and bad weather slowed down construction projects.

Stocks rose modestly as investors bet that the economy would grow at a faster annual rate once gasoline prices stabilized.

The S&P 500 rose 4.82 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,360.48. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 72.35, or 0.6 percent, to 12,763.31. The Nasdaq composite gained 2.65, or 0.1 percent, to 2,872.53.

The Russell 2000 index rose again, a day after reaching a record high. The index of small companies rose 3.24, or 0.4 percent, to 861.55.

Corporate earnings were mixed. Procter & Gamble Co. rose nearly 1 percent after the maker of Tide detergent and Pampers diapers reported higher earnings but cut its forecast for the year due to rising costs for raw materials.

Sprint Nextel Corp. rose nearly 7 percent. The company added twice as many wireless subscribers in the first quarter as analysts had expected.

Viacom Inc. rose 3.6 percent. The owner of MTV and Paramount Pictures reported that its income grew 53 percent thanks to popular shows such as "Jersey Shore" and an improved advertising market.

Exxon Mobil Corp. fell 0.5 percent even after the oil giant reported its best quarterly earnings since 2008. The world's largest publicly traded company earned $10.65 billion in the first quarter, up from $6.3 billion in the same period last year.

Steve Quirk, senior vice president of the trader group at TD Ameritrade, said investors have come to expect strong earnings from Exxon, so even a solid quarter doesn't necessarily lift its stock price. "The anticipation is so high right now," he said.

More people applied for unemployment benefits for the first time last week. The increase, the second in three weeks, suggests that the job market remains sluggish.

The weaker economic reports helped push bond prices higher and yields lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.32 percent from 3.35 percent late Wednesday.

Stock indexes hit 2011 highs on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said it would keep interest rates low.

Two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume came to 4.2 billion shares.

Cuts will occur throughout the system that includes Mercy Medical Center in Springfield and Providence Behavioral Health Hospital in Holyoke.

Republican File Photo

SPRINGFIELD – Citing a looming budget shortage of “several million dollars”, the Sisters of Providence Health System has laid off 19 full- and part-time administrative workers from its total staff of 3,113.

The Sisters of Providence Health System is also reducing the hours of 45 employees of between two and 20 hours a week, said Mark M. Fulco, senior vice president for marketing and strategy.

Reductions in hours become effective May 1.

In addition, a number of vacant positions will never be filled, including the role of chief operating officer.

He said the cuts will occur throughout the system that includes Mercy Medical Center, a 182-bed hospital in Springfield and Providence Behavioral Health Hospital, a 126-bed behavioral health hospital located in Holyoke.

The Sisters of Providence system also includes Weldon Rehabilitation Hospital located at Mercy Medical Center campus in Springfield and Brightside for Families and Children in Holyoke.

Mercy Continuing Care Network includes six nursing care facilities and an adult day health program in Springfield, Westfield, Turners Falls, Lenox and Holyoke. The Sisters of Providence also have Mercy Home Care and Mercy Hospice arms.

“The financial challenges we face at Sisters of Providence Health System are not unique, and most heath care providers are facing similar, difficult operational decisions. The changes, however unfortunate, are necessary and will not impact the quality of patient care,” Fulco said.

The impact is both from changes in the way health-care providers are reimbursed and continued weakness in the general economy.

“I think we are seeing the first impact of health-care reform,” he said.

The Providence Health System is still hiring clinical workers like doctors, nurses and laboratory technicians in all its workplaces, Fulco said.

Sisters of Providence laid off 163 all over its system in June of 2010.

Last week, Noble Hospital in Westfield announced that would either reduce to part-time or cut outright 25 jobs from a staff of 600.

At Northampton’s Cooley Dickinson Hospital, 30 full-time equivalent positions were eliminated last May in the face of a projected $4 million deficit for 2010; that figure came on top of 100 jobs lost in previous two years.

Fulco said Mercy is moving ahead with a $1.3 million expansion of its emergency room from 28 beds to 43 beds. The project is expected to be completed by early summer.

Police confiscated 105 bags of heroin, 10 grams of crack cocaine, and a 9 mm handgun,

Springfield police photoLeft to right: Luis Aponte, Edna Cintron

SPRINGFIELD – Narcotics detectives arrested two people during a raid on a Forest Park apartment Wednesday night, and confiscated a large amount of heroin, crack cocaine and a handgun. police said.

Sgt. John M. Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said the raid at 36 Malden Street, led by detective Edward Kalish, resulted in the arrests of residents Luis Aponte, 30 and Edna Cintron, 33.

Aponte and Cintron were both charged with possession of heroin and possession of crack cocaine, each with intent to distribute, and possession of a large capacity firearm in the commission of a felony, possession of a firearm without a license and possession of ammunition without a firearms identification card.

Police confiscated 105 bags of heroin, 10 grams of crack cocaine, a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun, $1,090 and packaging materials.

The apartment in Malden Street is within 1,000 feet from the Brookings School.

The most disputed aspect of the budget includes a measure that strips away some bargaining rights on health insurance for municipal employees.

The Republican | Joe DeburroThe Massachusetts Statehouse in Boston.

BOSTON – The state House of Representatives on Thursday approved a dismal state budget for the next fiscal year, ending debate on a bill marked by reductions to local aid and human services.

The House voted 157-1 to approve $30.51 billion budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. The budget includes about $1.25 billion in cuts and savings initiatives and uses $200 million in reserves to help eliminate a budget gap caused by the loss of federal stimulus.

The budget now moves to the state Senate, which is scheduled to debate its version of the spending plan during the week of May 23.

The House added about $67 million over four days of debate, but the extra money wasn't enough to negate cuts to local aid, human services, state university campuses and other programs.

The Republican file photoRep. Sean Curran says the state budget is largely devoid of earmarks for local programs.

Rep. Sean F. Curran, a Springfield Democrat, said House leaders kept a tight rein on spending. Legislators had little money for earmarks for local programs, Curran said.

"There wasn't a lot of money to go around," Curran said. "It was pretty cut and dry."

Rep. Angelo J. Puppolo Jr., a Springfield Democrat and member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said the budget contains no new fees and taxes and includes a measure to ban welfare recipients from using their cash assistance on alcohol, cigarettes and lottery tickets.

"It's been a tough budget," Puppolo said. "The fiscal crisis made it difficult."

Rep. Brian S. Dempsey, a Haverhill Democrat, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said he was grateful for the discipline shown by members in controlling spending. Dempsey said the budget remains about $30 million less than the budget proposed by Gov. Deval L. Patrick.

The most disputed part of the budget includes a measure that would give municipal leaders the option to raise co-pays and deductibles in municipal health insurance. The bill allows 30 days for negotiations between city and town leaders and unions. If no deal is reached, municipalities would be allowed to unilaterally impose changes in co-payments, deductibles and other aspects of health care plans.

In that case, however, municipalities would have to return 20 percent of savings back to employees in the first year. The co-pays and deductibles could be no higher than those paid by state employees in the state health insurance plan.

The Republican file photoRep. Angelo Puppolo said the budget contains no new taxes or fees.

Right now, co-pays and deductibles need to be negotiated with unions, driving up the costs of health insurance.

House members on Wednesday approved $25 million to provide basic health care to about 20,000 low-income legal immigrants, drawing praise from Patrick, who has worked to preserve the program.

"I am grateful that Speaker DeLeo and his colleagues in the House have recognized the vital importance of restoring funding that provides health care for legal, taxpaying immigrants here in Massachusetts. All of the Commonwealth's residents deserve access to quality and affordable health care, and by protecting this program we can continue to do just that," Patrick said in a statement.

The budget cuts unrestricted aid to cities and towns by $65 million, or 7 percent, down to $834 million for the next fiscal year. It would be the fourth year in a row of reductions to unrestricted aid, down $481 million, or 37 percent since the fiscal year that started in July 2007, according to the Massachusetts Municipal Association.

While House members cut unrestricted local aid to cities and towns, they did approve a $10.7 million amendment for other local programs including an extra $500,000 in grants to cities and towns to tutor students who perform poorly on the MCAS test, raising the account to $9.6 million, up 5 percent from this year.

The amendment also includes and an extra $1.5 million for the so-called Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity, or METCO, a voluntary school desegregation program that allows minority students from Boston and Springfield to attend suburban schools in nearby towns, bringing the program to $17.6 million, the same as this year.

In the amendment, House members restored $1.3 million for YouthBuild programs for teaching carpentry and other skills to troubled youths, the same as this year.

The budget has $948 million for higher education, including community colleges and state university campuses, a cut of about 6.4 percent from this year.

The five-campus University of Massachusetts received $418 million, a 9.5 percent cut from $462 million this year. The university system is losing some $38 million in federal stimulus that helped this year's budget. The Amherst campus receives about half the total.

The cuts could spark fee increases for students for the academic year that begins in September.

Michael D. Weekes, president of the Providers Council, said House members approved additional money for some key programs, including employment services for the disabled and prevention and treatment of the virus that causes AIDS.

Weekes said he will continue to work for funding in the Senate including a salary reserve to provide a small cost-of-living raise for workers in private, nonprofit human service agencies across the state. The workers earn less than $40,000 a year.

A House-Senate compromise budget is expected to be sent to the governor sometime around the end of June.

Material from the State House News Service was used in this story.

Launch time is scheduled for 3:47 p.m. on Friday.

Associated PressThe space shuttle Endeavour sits on Launch Pad 39-A during fueling at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, April 29, 2011. Endeavour is scheduled to lift off one her final flight this afternoon with a 14-day mission to the international space station.

Update: NASA delays space shuttle Endeavour's last launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Just a few hours from liftoff, NASA fueled space shuttle Endeavour for one last ride into orbit Friday as hundreds of thousands of visitors converged on the coast for prime viewing spots.

The launch team began loading more than a half-million gallons of fuel into Endeavour at dawn, moments after Prince William and Kate Middleton exchanged wedding vows across the ocean in London. Three hours later, the tank was full and NASA was keeping a close watch on a nearby storm.

Forecasters put the odds of acceptable weather at 70 percent.

Commanding Endeavour on NASA's next-to-last shuttle flight is Navy Capt. Mark Kelly, who is married to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. She planned to watch the launch from Kennedy Space Center. Giffords was shot in the head in January and left rehab in Houston behind to attend the afternoon liftoff.

"Gabrielle is just as excited as all of you!" her staff said in a Twitter update late Thursday.

She's being accompanied by her husband's identical twin, Scott, also a space shuttle commander.

"Ready if replacement is required," Scott joked in a tweet.

President Barack Obama also will attend with his wife and two daughters — the first time in NASA history that a sitting president and his family will have witnessed a launch.

A storm pushed through the area after daybreak, but NASA expected it to be gone by launch time at 3:47 p.m. Low clouds and stiff crosswind, however, remained a concern. Launch controllers quickly resolved a minor shuttle problem: elevated pressure in a fuel tank for on-board thrusters.

Endeavour is bound for the International Space Station.

For its last hurrah, it's carrying one of the most expensive payloads in NASA's 30-year shuttle history: a $2 billion particle physics detector that will seek out antimatter and dark energy across the universe.

Kelly and his all-male crew — all six of them space veterans — saw their families for the last time Thursday. Four of them went for a 3-mile early morning run Friday on the beach, including astronaut Mike Fincke, who thanked the Lord for his family and "the chance to fly in space again."

"Please don't let me mess it up!" he said in a tweet.

As the sun rose, recreational vehicles already lined the Banana River to the south, with a wide open view of the launch site.

As many as 700,000 people were expected to crowd nearby coastal communities. For days, police have been warning of massive traffic delays.

In Titusville — a prime viewing location — shuttle watchers lined up three rows deep along the Indian River more than five hours before show time. Parking spots went for as much $30 a shot, and businesses, churches and vendors raked in the money.

Corrine Summers was hawking T-shirts that read "Godspeed Endeavour on her final mission" made by her husband's print shop. She watched the royal wedding, then hit the street.

"It's a chance to make a few extra bucks," she said. "You won't always have this opportunity with so many people here."

The space center itself was bracing for 45,000 guests, including more than three dozen members of Congress, at least two former NASA administrators, and a score of high-level academic and space industry officials. The California Science Center in Los Angeles — Endeavour's retirement home — also was going to be represented.

NASA is ending the shuttle program this summer, after one last trip by Atlantis. Obama has put the space agency on a path to asteroids and Mars, ultimately, while encouraging private companies to take over Earth-to-orbit operations.

In the meantime, U.S. astronauts will keep using Russian Soyuz rockets to get to the space station.

Once Atlantis flies, it will be at least three years before America launches astronauts from their home soil again. Some fear it could drag on for a full decade.

Judge Constance M. Sweeney, who presided over Dostie's murder trial, denied the motion less then ten days after it was filed.

Court officers escort Sandra Dostie during her 1994 murder trial.

NORTHAMPTON – Calling her claims “unfounded” and “roughly cobbled together,” a judge has denied Sandra Dostie’s motion for a new trial on the murder of her stepson.

Dostie, who is now 42, was convicted of first-degree murder in 1995 for smothering her 5-year-old stepson Eric Dostie in their Easthampton home. Prosecutors said Sandra Dostie resented the child support that Eric’s father paid to his mother and the care Sandra had to provide the sickly boy, who had hemophilia. She was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.

Earlier this month, Dostie’s new lawyer, Framingham attorney Sandra F. Bloomenthal, filed a motion for a new trial based on the contention that Janice Healy, who represented Dostie at her murder trial, violated attorney / client privilege by providing damning information to reporter Pippin Ross. Ross allegedly used the material in a Boston Magazine story published shortly before the trial. Although she included a copy of the story in her motion, along with an undated letter purportedly sent by Ross to Healy, Bloomenthal did not specify what information Healy supposedly shared with Ross. In fact, Ross’ letter appears exculpatory, telling Healy she was not the primary source of the information for her story.

Judge Constance M. Sweeney, who presided over Dostie’s murder trial, denied the motion Friday, less then ten days after it was filed, calling the claims unsupported.

“A letter, which the defendant claims was written by the reporter to one of the defense attorneys, does not assist the defendant,” Sweeney wrote. “The defendant fails to provide any credible basis for her allegation that one of her attorneys violated the ethical obligations attendant on the attorney-client relationship.”

Sweeney goes on to say that Dostie was well represented, calling Healy a “highly experienced and skilled chief trial counsel.” Healy, who currently works in the office of Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan, could not be reached for comment. First Assistant District Attorney Steven E. Gagne released a statement saying, “We are pleased the Court denied the defendant’s motion and preserved Dostie’s conviction for murdering a five-year-old defenseless child.”

In her request for a new trial, Dostie seemingly admits murdering her stepson but claims she was suffering from a “severe mental illness” brought on by pregnancy. Sweeney also dismisses that argument, noting that Dostie swore under oath at her trial that she did not kill the child but rather that Eric was murdered by two unidentified men who supposedly broke into the house.

“The evidence revealed that the defendant hatched an elaborate plan to murder the child and an even more elaborate plan to deflect suspicion away from her,” Sweeney wrote. “She is not entitled to nor does she deserve a new trial.”

Bloomenthal said Friday she will appeal Sweeney’s ruling. She declined to comment further, saying she had not yet seen it.

Ross did not respond to requests for an interview. At the time of Dostie’s trial, she enjoyed a successful career as a journalist, reporting for the Amherst-based radio station WFCR-FM and writing for magazines. An alcohol addiction took a toll on her career, however, and she was sentenced to jail in 2005 for operating under the influence of alcohol as a fourth offender. Ross compounded her troubles when she forged documents for her early release. Charges resulting from that crime landed her in Framingham State Prison, where she became Dostie’s fellow inmate. Although the two women were acquainted there, Dostie’s lawyer has declined to disclose the nature of their discussions.

Dostie Decision

Trump promised to use swear words while negotiating with China.

Associated PressDonald Trump speaks to a crowd of 600 people during a gathering of Republican women's groups, Thursday, April 28, 2011, in Las Vegas. Trump's flirtation with a White House bid continued Thursday night with a lavish reception at the Treasure Island casino in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS — Real estate developer Donald Trump unleashed a tirade of profanity in a speech at a boisterous Las Vegas casino as he assured a crowd of adoring supporters Thursday night that he is seriously weighing a presidential run and will make a decision soon.

During a 30-minute stump speech focused mostly on foreign affairs, Trump sprinkled in a number of insults directed toward the nation's leaders.

"Our leaders are stupid, they are stupid people," he said. "It's just very, very sad."

The setting was fitting for the casino mogul whose moniker is draped across the gold-tinged Trump International Hotel & Tower just off the Las Vegas Strip. An open bar greeted more than 1,000 people, waiters passed hors d'oeuvres and a Trump impersonator entertained the crowd.

At one point, a woman in the lavish reception at the Treasure Island casino on the Las Vegas Strip yelled out that Trump should run for president.

"I think I am going to make you very happy," the developer said.

But he later said: "There is a really good chance that I won't win because of one of these blood-sucking politicians."

Trump blasted President Barack Obama's handling of Libya, Iraq, China and Afghanistan, and in one of his many curse-bombs, he lamented the nation's focus on building schools in war-torn Afghanistan, while neglecting education in the United States.

He said he wouldn't help struggling nations such as South Korea or Libya without payment and promised to use swear words while negotiating with China.

"I'm not interested in protecting none of them unless they pay," he said.

A frequent critic of the federal health care law passed last year, Trump said the Supreme Court should decide the dozens of lawsuits challenging the legislation and urged district courts not to waste their time on it.

Trump has created waves by questioning whether the president was born in the U.S. Obama produced his detailed Hawaii birth certificate on Wednesday, and Trump eagerly took credit for the reveal.

Trump's visit to Nevada came a day after he traveled to New Hampshire, which is set to host the first presidential primary in 2012. Nevada's caucus is scheduled to be the third presidential contest next year.

Trump hosts the successful reality series "The Celebrity Apprentice" on NBC.

"I would have to give a lot of stuff up," he told the casino crowd Thursday. "But you know what? It is peanuts compared to the importance of this country."

The gunshots were reported shortly before 11:15 p.m. on Tuesday.

Somrathona Soeng

AMHERST – A reports of shots fired Tuesday night in the East Hadley Road area led to the arrest of a 21-year-old Holyoke man.

Officers, responding to the area shortly before 11:15 p.m., found a suspect who refused to cooperate and was eventually arrested for being a disorderly person.

The firearm was not yet been recovered and there were no reports of any injuries.

The suspect, Somrathona S. Soeng, of 98 St. James Ave., Holyoke, was found to be in possession of cocaine packaged for sale and a large amount of cash. He was also charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.

Soeng denied the charges in Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown. He was released on his own recognizance and ordered to return to court on June 14 for a pre-trial hearing.

NASA spokesman George Dillard says the next try will be Sunday at the earliest.

Associated PressThe space shuttle Endeavour sits on Launch Pad 39-A during fueling at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, April 29, 2011. Endeavour is scheduled to lift off one her final flight this afternoon with a 14-day mission to the international space station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA has called off Friday's launch of space shuttle Endeavour because of a heater failure.

Commander Mark Kelly and his crew were on their way to the launch pad, when NASA halted the countdown. The astronauts' van did a U-turn, and returned the astronauts to crew quarters.

NASA spokesman George Dillard says the next try will be Sunday at the earliest.

NASA reported earlier that two heaters on an auxiliary power unit were not working. Engineers could not understand the problem, and the launch was halted.

Kelly is married to wounded congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. She is already in Cape Canaveral. President Barack Obama planned to watch the launch but had not yet arrived.

Police have responded to two incidents involving BB guns in recent weeks.

File photo

PALMER – Police arrested a 14-year-old male after he shot his 14-year-old female friend seven times with a BB gun.

Lt. John J. Janulewicz said the incident happened at noon on Springfield Street in the Three Rivers section on April 20, but was not reported to police until about four hours later. The girl was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, where she was treated and released. Janulewicz said the two children were friends.

The boy was charged with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and for discharging the BB gun as a minor. The boy was held overnight at the juvenile lock-up facility in Springfield for his arraignment in Juvenile Court last week.

In another BB gun incident, police arrested 17-year-old John Seymour Jr., of 1608 No. Main St., on Thursday after he shot a BB gun at an 11-year-old boy in the area of the Pride Plaza on Thorndike Street. Seymour did not hit the boy, police said.

Seymour was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, and being a minor in possession of a BB gun, and discharging it. The incident was reported by the 11-year-old’s mother. Seymour denied charges in Palmer District Court on Friday.

Two students at Dean Technical High School in Holyoke are recognized for their hard work inside and outside of the classroom.

Left to right: Holyoke Family Literacy Director Jody Spitz; Andrew Melendez, Holyoke Director of Mass Latino Chamber of Commerce; Wesley Velez Cappa, "H Award" Winner; Mayor Elaine Pluta; Principal Linda Rex, Dean School; Culinary Director Ralph Webb.

Holyoke – Two students from William J. Dean Technical High School in Holyoke were presented with the monthly ‘H’ Award today.

Today’s award, presented by Mayor Elaine E. Pluta and the Holyoke Literacy Coalition, went to Wesley Velez Cappa and Joshua Suriel-Montero for their outstanding community service and their hard work inside of the classroom.

The ‘H’ awards, which stands for ‘Hardworking Holyoke Heroes,’, have been issued since January 2011. The award honors students in the Holyoke school system who put in an extra effort to succeed. Students receiving the award are recommended by teachers and the school principal. Teachers are encouraged to reward students for improvements outside of reading and math.

Andrew Melendez, director of the Holyoke Latino Chamber of Commerce and the founder of the ‘H’ award, said that anywhere from 70 to 75 Holyoke students are presented with the award every month. “Not every student can be an ‘A’ student, but any student can be an ‘H’ student,” he said.

The purpose of this award, according to Melendez, is to recognize young students for their hard work. “This is a way to have an impact on the kids. The award highlights the success stories of Holyoke students,” he added.

The award given to the winning student bears the signatures of Mayor Pluta, Superintendant David L. Dupont and Melendez. Each student who receives an ‘H’ award is entered into a raffle and the student’s name that is selected is invited, along with their families, to have lunch with the mayor in her office.

According to Melendez, oftentimes a student will improve their grades in school but a lack of support and positive reinforcement at home leads to a decline in grades again. Recognizing their hard work, said Melendez, is essential for their self-esteem and gives those students a reason to continue on that path.

“The kids appreciate knowing that someone sees how hard they worked,” Melendez said.

The only race on the June 14 annual election ballot in Palmer will be for district 1 town councilor.

PALMER – Palmer Town Clerk Patricia C. Donovan said that Malinda C. Lastowski of Bondsville has withdrawn her name and will not run for at-large town councilor in the June 14 town election.

That leaves incumbents Paul E. Burns and Karl S. Williams and former School Committee Chairwoman Mary A. Salzmann running unopposed for three at-large council positions.

And it means that the only race on the ballot will be for District 1 town councilor, with incumbent Philip J. Hebert facing off again against former Bondsville Fire and Water Commissioner Carl F. Bryant.

Hebert beat Bryant by four votes in 2007, prompting Bryant to request a recount, which didn’t change the results but lowered Hebert’s margin two votes.

Daniel Leary has been released on $10,000 cash bail.

The Republican / Don TreegerDaniel Leary pictured at his March arraignment in District Court

SPRINGFIELD – Daniel Leary of Southwick denied charges of motor vehicle homicide while under the influence of alcohol at his Hampden Superior Court arraignment Friday.

Judge Peter A. Velis ordered bail to remain at the $10,000 cash or $100,000 surety amount set in Leary’s District Court arraignment for the crash that killed 29-year-old David Laduzenski in West Springfield March 25.

Leary, 35, had posted bail and been released after the District Court arraignment. He is subject to random drug and alcohol screening by the Probation Department as a condition of his relief. His lawyer is Aaron Wilson.

Laduzenski, of Somerville, grew up in West Springfield and was visiting his family the weekend he was killed.

Laduzenski was in the driveway area of a friend’s house on Dewey Street at about 10:20 p.m. Friday when he was struck by Leary, who had a blood alcohol level of .19, twice the legal limit, said Assistant District Attorney James R. Goodhines.

Goodhines said according to police who responded, the vehicle’s owner, Peter Desrosiers, said Leary was driving because he (Desrosiers) was “more intoxicated“ than Leary.

Leary also pleaded innocent to possession of cocaine
.
The crash happened near 461 Dewey St., as Leary drove west, police said.

The nightmare storms in the South have killed about 300 people, chiefly in Alabama.

Associated PressPresident Barack Obama, holds up Isaih Florence, 2, as he stands with Tuscaloosa Mayor Walter Maddox, right, at Holt Elementary School in Holt, Ala., Friday, April 29, 2011, during their tour of tornado damage

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Expressing amazement at the destruction around him, President Barack Obama on Friday stepped through the wreckage left by rampaging tornadoes and pledged help to those who survived but lost their homes in a terrifying flash. Said the president: "I've never seen devastation like this."

"We're going to make sure you're not forgotten," Obama said as he and first lady Michelle Obama walked the streets of a reeling neighborhood. He said that although nothing could be done for the many who were killed — "they're alongside God at this point" — Obama assured support for resilient survivors.

Hurrying to Alabama, Obama offered comfort and help in a role he and presidents before him have had to assume time and again in moments of crisis. "It is heartbreaking," he said, standing under a sunny sky that was a stark contrast to the wreckage and bleakness around him.

It was a day of disparity remarkable even for a president. From Alabama, Obama flew to Cape Canaveral, Fla., where he had planned to cheer the final launch of space shuttle Endeavour alongside injured Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. But that launch was called off suddenly Friday because of a technical problem. The next launch attempt won't occur until Monday, at the earliest, NASA said.

Obama planned to visit NASA facilities despite the scuttled takeoff before heading to south Florida to deliver an evening commencement address at Miami Dade College.

As he traveled throughout Tuscaloosa, Obama absorbed the scenes of a community deeply deformed by the twisters, with trees uprooted and houses demolished. One young man told Obama he had witnessed debris lifting up all around him, yet he emerged with only cuts and bruises. "It's a blessing you are here," the president said back.

The nightmare storms in the South have killed about 300 people, chiefly in Alabama. Obama has stepped into the role of national consoler in chief before, including after the shooting of Giffords earlier this year, but he has not had to deal with the scope of such community obliteration until now.

"What's amazing is when something like this happens folks forget all their petty differences," said the president after spending time talking to the state's governor and Tuscaloosa's mayor. "When we're confronted by the awesome power of nature and reminded that all we have is each other."

The president said Tuscaloosa would rebuild in a way that would give him a story of pride he would tell all over the nation. He spoke with sleeves up rolled up under sunny skies, offering warm reassurances but no big display of emotion.

Visible from Air Force One as Obama neared a landing in Tuscaloosa: a long swath of tornado damage that looked like a wide, angry scar across the land. And as the president moved by motorcade through communities and business districts, suddenly the devastation was everywhere: flattened buildings, snapped trees, collapsed car washes and heaps of rubble, twisted metal and overturned cars as far as the eye could see.

Earlier, as he arrived in Alabama, Obama fell into lengthy conversations with Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley and Tuscaloosa mayor Walt Maddox before heading off to inspect the damage and spend time with local families and officials.

All told, the day had shaped up as an object lesson in the many roles a president must play, from healer to cheerleader, beginning with a nod to the country's civil rights past and ending with a speech to its future in a class of graduating students. Before departing the White House, he met with participants in the iconic 1968 Memphis sanitation workers' strike. The president was to end his day with the evening commencement address at Miami Dade College.

The president has declared a major disaster in Alabama and ordered federal aid to assist with recovery efforts.

In Florida, a pivotal swing state for Obama's re-election hopes, the president had been ready to act as cheerleader-in-chief for NASA's second-to-last space shuttle launch and for Giffords' encouraging if gradual recovery after she was shot in the head in an assassination attempt in Tucson, Ariz., in January.

Giffords' husband, Mark Kelly, was commander of the scheduled shuttle flight, and the president had Mrs. Obama and their two daughters with him, the first time an entire presidential family had planned to view a launch.

Although the shuttle program was ended by Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, Obama has angered some NASA workers with his own space plans. He canceled Bush's proposed replacement for the shuttle program — a new mission to the moon — putting in its place vaguer plans for sending astronauts to land on an asteroid and ultimately Mars.

Obama wants private companies to pick up the shuttle's role of delivering payloads to the space station, an approach that is costing thousands of government jobs, including 2,000 contractors to be laid off after the final shuttle flight in June.

More than 500 employees lost their jobs earlier this month.

The 30-year-old man was found stabbed in the front seat of a car in the city's Six Corners neighborhood.

SPRINGFIELD - Police found a stabbing victim unconscious and bleeding heavily in the front seat of a parked car on Hancock Street Friday morning, police said.

Sgt. John M. Delaney, aide to Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said the 30-year-old man was rushed by ambulance to Baystate Medical Center by ambulance. At last report he was in stable condition in the hospital's Emergency Department, he said.

His name was not disclosed.

Delaney said officers Debra Rooke and Thomas Douglas were dispatched to the area of 511 Hancock St. at about 10:45 a.m. where they found the man in the front seat of a car, a black 1995 Toyota Camry.

The driver's side door was open, and the man was bleeding from several stab wounds to the abdomen and both arms, Delaney said.

The Springfield police Detective Bureau are investigating the incident.

People with information are asked to call the Detective Bureau at (413) 787-6355. Those who wish to remain anonymous may text a tip via a cell phone by addressing a text message to “CRIMES,” or "274637," and then beginning the body of the message with the word "SOLVE."

View Larger Map

Brown voted to ban the EPA from controlling gases blamed for global warming.

Associated PressIn this April 26, 2010 photo, Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., speaks to reporters during a crucial test vote for the financial reform bill on Capitol Hill in Washington.

BOSTON — The League of Women Voters is launching an advertising campaign faulting U.S. Sen. Scott Brown for voting with other Senate Republicans to ban the Environmental Protection Agency from controlling gases blamed for global warming.

The amendment was defeated in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

The television ad shows a child breathing through an oxygen mask and urges the Republican to "protect the people and not the polluters."

Brown called the ad "political demagoguery" and said it exposes the League as "nothing more than a pawn in the Massachusetts political machine."

The measure would have repealed a 2009 finding that climate change caused by greenhouse gases endangers human health and would have prevented the EPA from using existing laws to regulate heat-trapping pollution.

The League also paid for a similar ad criticizing Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill.

Attendees were dressed to the nines in fancy hats, sipping tea and eating cake and scones as Prince Williams slipped the ring on Kate Middleton.

Belchertown - Republican staff photo by Michael S. Gordon - Helen F. Simpson of Belchertown joined others celebrating the royal wedding in England of Prince William and Kate Middleton Friday at a special tea at the Belchertown Senior Center.

BELCHERTOWN – Dressed to the nines in fancy hats, sipping tea and eating cake and scones. Prince William slipping the ring on his new bride’s finger.

It may sound like a scene from across the pond, but the scene was none other than the Belchertown Senior Center, where royalty was celebrated with a “royal tea,” one of several events held Friday around the Pioneer Valley in honor of the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey.

With the television turned to the TLC cable channel, the wedding was replayed for the 25 seniors to watch as they sipped tea, ate heart-shaped chocolates and wedding cake, and talked about the big event. Each guest had a fancy invitation inviting them to the nuptials and each was given a royal party favor – a tea bag packaged neatly with the words “Love is Brewing,” “April 29, 2011” and “Kate & William.”

Volunteer and program coordinator Susan Shea-Bressette came up with the idea for the tea party. She served the yellow cake as the guests sampled ginger ale from a champagne fountain. Nearby was a handmade poster depicting pictures of the young royals with the words “just married.”

“I thought it would be fun, that we’d have a little tea. I never realized how big this was going to become,” Bressette said.

“I love weddings. I just think they’re so much fun,” Bressette added.

She even threw a bouquet of lilies, encouraging the married and unmarried to line up to catch it. Rosemarie Knight, who announced, “OK, I’m not married,” caught the bouquet.

Some of the seniors had already seen the wedding, having woken up at 4 a.m. to watch it live from London.

“It was wonderful,” said Martha E. Lofland, 85, of Belchertown, who wore a straw hat.

Belchertown - Republican staff photo by Michael S. Gordon - Susan Shea-Bressette, program and volunteer coordinator of the Belchertown Senior Center, dishes out pieces of special cake during a tea celebrating the royal wedding in England of Prince William and Kate Middleton Friday at a special tea at the center. At right is Irene C.Methe of Belchertown.

Her daughter, Patricia L. Fuller, also of Belchertown, brought her mother-in-law’s tea cup depicting Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip during their 1959 visit to Canada.

Friends Helen R. Farrell, 68, of Belchertown, and Wendy Marion, 70, of South Hadley, decked themselves out for the tea. Farrell wore a red feather boa and matching hat, while Marion wore a black hat and black dress.

“I thought it was wonderful,” Farrell said of the wedding. She said she enjoyed seeing all the different kinds of hats on television. Marion, who started watching the wedding at 5 a.m., said she liked that the queen wore yellow.

Marion said the wedding represented hope, and some happiness, things that are needed in the world. Marion said when she heard about the tea party at the Senior Center, she knew she had to attend.

“It’s something different,” Marion said.

Etta S. Hillman, 88, of Belchertown, wore a white hat with flowers she bought for Easter years ago, while Elizabeth M. Whidden, 86, of Belchertown, wore a beige hat that she decorated herself with fake purple flowers.

“It was the most beautiful wedding that I had ever seen,” Hillman said. “I watched his mother’s wedding years ago. This was as beautiful, if not more so.”

Whidden also remembered the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana.

“This one was more simple,” Whidden said.

She said she preferred the new princess’s gown to what Diana wore, calling it “simple but gorgeous.” Whidden added that she had been looking forward to the wedding – and tea party – all week long.

Seniors in Granby also celebrated the royal wedding with a royal tea party, and the Holyoke Children’s Museum offered activities on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in honor of the big day. Those who dressed as princes and princesses received reduced admission, and those who didn’t come in costume could play dress up once they arrived, according to director Susan A. Kelley, who estimated more than 100 children attended.

Retired wedding dress designer Yoko Kato of South Hadley said she was surprised Kate chose a "fingertip veil," rather than a longer veil.

Retired wedding dress designer Yoko Kato of South Hadley knows about royal wedding dresses.

So it's no surprise she reported that she got up before 4 a.m. Friday to watch the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey.

Kato, who designed a replica of Princess Diana’s 1981 wedding dress, was very curious about what the new princess would be wearing.

“I didn’t expect her to wear that type of dress. I thought it would be much more form-fitting, like her sister’s maid of honor gown,” Kato said.

Kato said Middleton’s gown was simple and elegant, “very suitable for her age and her personality.” She said she was surprised she chose a “fingertip veil,” rather than a longer veil.

Kato said the dress Diana wore, with its 25-foot train, was suitable for her age, as she was only 20. Middleton is 29. Kato said everyone has been eagerly waiting to see Middleton’s gown, as it is expected to influence the decisions of other brides-to-be.

Yoko Kato

“The whole rest of the year, brides will choose a similar style as hers,” Kato said.

Kato is eager to watch the reruns because she wants to get a better look at the back of the dress and some of its finer details. She called the dress, with its lace bodice and 10-foot train, “very, very pretty.”

“She looked very confident. I thought she would be crying, but she wasn’t,” Kato said of Middleton.

Morse talked about public safety in his bid for mayor and Burns said he will run full time for mayor.

Holyoke mayoral candidates Alex Morse, left, and Daniel Burns, right

HOLYOKE – Mayoral candidate Alex B. Morse released his public safety plan while mayoral candidate Daniel C. Burns announced he will quit city job to focus on his campaign.

View their statements in their entirety:

Holyoke mayoral hopeful Alex Morse issues public safety plan

Holyoke’s Daniel Burns will leave city job to focus on run for mayor