Both Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and Democratic rival Elizabeth Warren say renewing the Violence Against Women Act, which extends protections to same-sex couples, undocumented immigrants and Native Americans, is the right thing to do.

View full sizeSPRINGFIELD, 3/11/12, (Staff Photo by David Molnar) -- A large gathering of people protested domestic violence along Plainfield Street in Springfield in the wake of the murder of Jessica Rojas whose boyfriend was charged in that killing. Anna Cruz, who was killed due to domestic violence in July 2009, is pictured in the photograph.

Citing his own story of abuse at the hands of previous step-fathers, Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown said he doesn't see reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act as the divisive political issue some GOP legislators do. To him, it is just good legislation.

"It is something that is personal to me. My first experience was when I was 6 years old, trying to save my mom from getting the crap kicked out of her. It's still something I vividly remember," Brown said. "My message to women, men and children, is that you're not alone. If you're feeling that you are, you should know you have many groups, groups which weren't available when my Mom was experiencing it, that are out there. You should leave and get help. That's something my Mom didn't have the ability to do back then."

In 1994, Congress stood together and passed the Violence Against Women Act, which provides grant money for police departments and agencies to aid victims and prosecute domestic violence offenders.

The law, which is up for re-authorization, is facing opposition from many Republicans who believe Democrats included language which would extend protections for tribal Native Americans, undocumented immigrants and same-sex couples, to politicize the typically bipartisan re-authorization.

Prior to a Senate Judiciary Committee vote on the bill in February, which passed with a solid split along party lines, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said he wants to see the bill extended, but without the new language.

"I wish we could proceed in a consensus fashion again," Grassley said in a statement. "But there are provisions in the bill before us that have never been part of VAWA before. They're not consensus items."

In addition to providing funding for advocacy groups in the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender community to combat abuse and aid victims, the legislation would also increase protections for rural and tribal Native American citizens who are victims of domestic abuse.

Additionally, it would increase opportunities for undocumented immigrants who are victims of domestic violence to receive visas.

Other conservative opposition to the renewal has centered on the effectiveness and potential effects of the legislation.

In a letter sent by conservative leaders to Senate Judiciary Committee members ahead of the vote that moved the bill along last month, the argument was made that it actually hurts the family structure in America.

"There is no denying the very real problem of violence against women and children," the letter from Concerned Women for America said. "However, the programs promoted in VAWA are harmful for families. VAWA often encourages the demise of the family as a means to eliminate violence."

The bill has five Republican co-sponsors in the U.S. Senate, including Brown, who is in a heated campaign for his Senate seat in Massachusetts. His chief Democratic opponent, Elizabeth Warren, stands in agreement with Brown in support of the re-authorization.

View full sizeAP file photosBoth Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and Democratic rival Elizabeth Warren said renewing the Violence Against Women Act is the right thing to do.

"Elizabeth understands the critical need for advocacy and support services for victims of domestic abuse and strongly supports the renewal of the Violence Against Women Act," said Alethea Harney, Warren's press secretary.

Brown's backing of the bill comes on the heels of his support of the failed Blunt Amendment, which would have amended the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act mandate requiring health insurance providers to cover preventative female care and contraception.

The bill which Brown supported would have allowed any employer or insurer to opt out of covering any procedure or prescription on the basis of a moral or religious conflict. The Blunt Amendment, which was killed in the Senate on March 1, was framed by some liberal groups as the latest attack against women by the Republican Party.

In light of the Republican opposition to the expanded domestic violence legislation, a number of female senators are expected to protest on the floor of the U.S. Senate on Thursday.

Brown spoke in the Senate on Wednesday about his childhood and his belief that the bill should pass.

During his speech, he read the names of dozens of victims of domestic violence from Massachusetts, including Jessica Rojas of Springfield and Jessica Ann Pripstein of Easthampton, who police say were killed by men they were dating or had dated.

On Friday, Brown is visiting a shelter in Framingham and holding a press conference alongside his sister to push for the bill's renewal.

"There's no reason why Democrats and Republicans can't get together on this issue. If there are concerns then we should hammer it out on the Senate floor through an open and thoughtful amendment process," Brown said. "I usually find that when that happens, reasonable minds prevail and we get these things done."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has indicated that the bill will come up for a vote by the end of March.

Wolcott was convicted of the same crime at her first trial in 2007, and successfully completed six months in jail with two years probation.

Photo by Michael Gordon / The RepublicanDonna Wolcott is seen in Hampden Superior Court at the start of her second trial.

SPRINGFIELD – A Hampden Superior Court jury on Wednesday found Donna M. Wolcott guilty of trying to solicit someone to kill her then-husband in 2006.

Wolcott had been convicted of the same crime at her first trial in 2007.

But the state Appeals Court in 2010 overturned the conviction, ruling that she was entitled to a new trial based on the jury selection process being closed to members of the public who wanted to watch.

Wolcott was also convicted Wednesday, for the second time, of two counts of violation of a restraining order for calling her then-husband Jeffrey Wolcott when he had a restraining order against her.

Judge Bertha D. Josephson said under state law, Wolcott cannot be sentenced to anything over the sentence she got at the first trial - a sentence she has already completed.

Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder had sentenced Wolcott to six months in jail and two years probation.

Wolcott served her sentence and successfully completed probation with no problems, Josephson was told.

The only factor that could cause consideration of a greater sentence would be if there was any pertinent additional information about the defendant’s behavior between the two convictions, the judge noted

Josephson asked the Probation Department to prepare a pre-sentence report for her regarding Wolcott and said she will sentence her on April 25.

Assistant District Attorney Maida H. Wassermann said prosecutors wanted to retry Wolcott after the appeals court overturned the conviction – even though Wolcott had served her sentence – because they felt strongly the conviction needs to be on Wolcott’s record.

John Jamroz, Donna Wolcott’s cousin, contacted state police saying she told him she wished her husband would disappear and asked him if he or anyone he knew wanted money.

Defense lawyer Michael J. Hickson had argued Wolcott was very unhappy woman who vented to people she knew but “what was not on her mind was the actual murder of her husband.”

The overall number of those with unclaimed money or property hovers around 600,000.

Steven Grossman

The Office of the State Treasurer wants you to take your money.

Please.

The Unclaimed Property Division under the Treasurer’s Office says it's eager to give back $2 billion in unclaimed cash and $100 million in stocks and bonds to state residents who may not know a windfall awaits them.

“If a grandmother passes away and a bank passbook with $4,000 sits in a bottom drawer and no one knows it’s there ... If they find the passbook, even 10 years later we are obligated to give them that money with interest. There’s no statute of limitations,” State Treasurer Steven Grossman said during an interview.

The state plans run a list in The Republican and other papers Thursday, following an information blitz on Facebook, Twitter and at state fairs and other events. It will run on Pages A9-A11 of The Republican.

“We’re trying to find creative ways to get it back in people’s hands,” Grossman said.

Last year his office returned over $76 million in cash and other assets to Massachusetts residents. The list that will appear in newspapers includes only the names that have been flagged over the last six months and those owed more than $100, Grossman said.

The overall number of those with unclaimed money or property hovers around 600,000. Of those, 6,400 are owed $1,000 or more; 49 are owed between $50,000 and $100,000; and 15 are owed at least $100,000.

The recent list of potential recipients include local names such a late bus mogul, a university president and a grassroots activist.

Peter Picknelly’s name appeared on the list, and an executive from Peter Pan Buslines responded to a reporter’s call to the late Picknelly’s son, Peter A. Picknelly.

“Peter L.’s estate has not been fully settled. It will be in a couple of weeks, so we’re thinking it’s related to that,” executive vice president Robert Schwarz said of the late Picknelly, who died in 2005 and left a $4 million estate. “But nothing ventured, nothing gained. You never know with Peter L. ... He could own some exotic island somewhere.”

Schwarz said lawyers for the family will follow up with the state.

Westfield State University President Evan S. Dobelle also was on the list and was similarly mystified, according to a spokesperson.

“He didn’t know about it, but it’s usually some small amount owed to someone who’s moved around a lot and he certainly fits that bill,” said Molly Watson, spokeswoman for the university.

ARISE for Social Justice President Michaelann Bewsee also was on the list. She did not return a call for comment.

Anyone can search the larger database of names at findmassmoney.com and click on “search for unclaimed property.”

While the Dow Jones industrial average closed down 45 points, the Nasdaq composite index closed up 1.

Photo by Richard Drew / Associated PressMatthew Weiner, left, creator of AMC's "Mad Men" television show, shares the NYSE bell podium with Jon Hamm and January Jones as they prepare to ring the New York Stock Exchange opening bell, Wednesday. The show is scheduled to premiere its new season Sunday.

By DANIEL WAGNER

WALL STREET - U.S. stocks closed mixed Wednesday after a quiet trading day that left the indexes little changed.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 45.57 points, or 0.3 percent, to 13,124.62. It had been up 20 shortly after the opening bell. The Dow had its biggest loss in two weeks on Tuesday, falling 68.94 points.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed down 2.63 points, or 0.2 percent, at 1,402.89. The Nasdaq composite average closed up 1.17 at 3,075.32.

Hewlett-Packard led the Dow lower, sliding 2.2 percent after saying it would combine its printer and PC divisions to save money and improve efficiency. H-P is coping with declining sales of PCs and printer ink as smartphones, tablets and electronic document-sharing gain popularity.

Earlier Wednesday, the National Association of Realtors released a mixed report about the state of the housing market. Sales of previously occupied homes dipped last month, but the sales pace for the winter was the best in five years, NAR said. Housing has been dragging on the economic recovery; an oversupply of homes has decimated construction and other trades in many parts of the country.

Without strongly positive or negative news to move the market, stocks meandered sideways for most of the day. John Manley, chief equity strategist for Wells Fargo Advantage Funds, said the lack of market-moving events is generally good for stocks. Traders are increasingly confident that the risks hanging over the market from Europe, oil prices and China will blow over, he said.

“If it hasn’t happened today, that means it might not happen tomorrow,” Manley said. “My guess is, no news means a slight upward bias to the market.”

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.30 percent from 2.36 percent late Tuesday. Gold and crude oil prices rose slightly.

Stocks closed lower on Tuesday after two reports signaled an economic slowdown in China. Supercharged growth in China over the past three years has helped sustain the global economic recovery. The Dow had its biggest loss since March 6.

The Dow is still up 1.3 percent this month and 7.4 percent so far this year. Other indexes are up even more for the year: The S&P 500 has gained 11.6 percent; the technology-focused Nasdaq composite 18.1 percent.

In a research report Wednesday, Goldman Sachs analysts urged investors to dump bonds and put money into stocks. The report argues that the weak economic growth in the United States and Europe is not universal, and that the 2010s could be the strongest period for world growth between 1980 and 2050.

It also argues that, while Japan’s two decades of economic stagnation in the 1990s and 2000s are a tempting comparison to what the U.S. and Europe face today, Japanese stocks were far more overvalued before Japan entered its decline.

“We think it’s time to say a ‘long goodbye’ to bonds, and embrace the ‘long good buy’ for equities as we expect them to embark on an upward trend over the next few years,” the report says.

Among stocks making big moves:

• Baker Hughes fell 5.8 percent, the most of any company in the S&P 500, after the oil-field services company said its profit margin would fall below last quarter’s as companies shift from natural gas to crude exploration. Baker Hughes faces shortages of raw materials used in its pressure pumping business, a decline in fleet usage and higher-than-expected personnel and logistics costs.

• Hartford Financial jumped 1.4 percent after the company said it would get out of the annuity business and focus on property and casualty insurance, group benefits and mutual funds. Hedge fund manager John Paulson had urged Hartford to spin off businesses.

• Green Mountain Coffee Roasters soared 10 percent. The company said it was expanding its partnership with Starbucks to sell Starbucks’ Vue coffee packs for use in Green Mountain’s Keurig single-cup machines. The news relieved investors concerned that Starbucks’ new single-cup Verismo coffee machine might be a competitive threat to Keurig.

• FSI International, which makes equipment for producing microelectronics, jumped 5.9 percent after the company reported that orders skyrocketed in the latest quarter, helping it beat analysts’ forecasts.

Authorities said Moran jeopardized public safety by sending a fire truck to a fake call.

HOLYOKE – How much money should former Fire Department official William P. Moran have to pay the city for sending a fire truck to a fake call last year?

Lawyers are discussing the amount of a possible restitution to try to resolve the criminal case against Moran in Springfield District Court. The next step is an April 5 hearing, officials said.

“We’re just trying to figure out what a fair number is,” lawyer David P. Hoose, who represents Moran, said Wednesday.

William Moran

“We’re still working those numbers out,” City Solicitor Elizabeth Rodriguez-Ross said.

Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

Assistant Clerk Magistrate Barbara Y. Burton wrote in a decision released in November that Moran put the public in danger with a “hazardous condition” and must answer criminal charges for sending firefighters to a phony call to the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside on June 15.

One charge against Moran is of willful and malicious communication with public safety answering points. That charge carries a penalty of up to 2½ years in jail, $1,000 fine and mandatory restitution to cover costs related to any damage that occurred from the fake call, according to Burton’s signed criminal complaint.

The second charge is of disorderly conduct, which has a penalty of a fine of up to $150, according to the criminal complaint.

Rodriguez-Ross declined to identify the possible amount of money Moran might have to pay the city.

Hoose said the incident was “ephemeral,” tough to quantify with a dollar figure. The three firefighters sent on the call were on duty, meaning it wasn’t a call that required summoning others for overtime, he said.

“It’s hard to put a dollar amount on,” Hoose said.

Moran, 49, retired in November as a deputy chief, the yearly salary for which is $74,555 to $86,788. He was a 27-year veteran.

The political landscape here tilted in the aftermath of Moran’s actions. The incident occurred when Moran was acting fire chief and considered a top candidate for the permanent chief job.

But Moran never worked for the department again. The Fire Commission put him on paid administrative leave.

Moran’s status changed several weeks later when former commission Chairwoman Priscilla F. Chesky said Moran would remain out using accumulated vacation and sick days.

Former Mayor Elaine A. Pluta has acknowledged that negative publicity about the incident involving Moran, who had helped on her 2009 mayoral campaign, contributed to her reelection defeat on Nov. 8. She lost to current Mayor Alex B. Morse.

The Fire Commission on Oct. 18 made John A. Pond, a captain, the department chief.

Various outcomes could be agreed upon to ensure Moran pays restitution. One is pre-trial probation. Another is continuing the case without a finding for a period of time like a year with a condition he pay the money.

Police in Enfield are responding to an armed standoff on Circle Drive with an unknown man armed with a rifle.

Republican file photo

Update: The Hartford Courant is reporting Enfield police say the man has killed himself inside the house. More information will be posted as it becomes available.

ENFIELD - Police in Enfield are responding to an armed standoff on Circle Drive with an unknown man armed with a rifle.

Police have so far released little information on the incident, which is on-going. Police Chief Carl Sferrazza is supposed to be briefing the press at the Enfield police station momentarily.

WTNH, Channel 8 news is reporting a SWAT team has been deployed to the area, and residents are being told to stay in their houses.

The Hartford Courant is reporting the suspect has barricaded himself inside a house on Circle Drive after fleeing the scene of a car accident.

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The school began in 1867 but enrollment was too weak to continue, officials said.

File photo by Mark M. Murray / The RepublicanPatricia Kern, principal of the Holy Name School in Chiocpee, is seen with a fifth grader in 2005, just before she became principal of the school. The Holy Name parish announced Wednesday that the school will be closing in June.

CHICOPEE – Declining enrollment and aging facilities will force the closing of Holy Name School at 63 South St. in June, officials said Wednesday.

Holy Name pastor the Rev. David M. Darcy and Principal Patricia A. Kern announced the closing in a meeting with parents, according to a prepared statement from Mark E. Dupont, spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield.

“I deeply regret the challenges and difficulties that such a decision causes,” Darcy said.

“However, there was no financial solution, sustainable enrollment or resource that could ensure our future commitment to academic excellence which was the hallmark of this school throughout its history,” he said.

The school was founded in 1867.

An academic fair featuring Catholic schools from neighboring communities will be offered to Holy Name families in the coming weeks, the press release said.

This year 118 students attended the pre-kindergarten to grade eight school. Last year, the decision to re-open for the current school year was finalized only in June and was based on a parish and school community discussion in which certain enrollment and financial goals were set. Unfortunately those trends did not improve enough to allow another year, the press release said.

The number of teachers and other staff working at the school was unclear, Dupont said. The school website lists 18 faculty and other staff, including Kern.

Springfield Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell expressed sadness at the school’s closing, the statement reads.

“I offer my prayers to faculty, students and families as they learn of this sad news. I know that Father Darcy and Mrs. Kern made tremendous efforts to keep this school open; unfortunately as we have all experienced the economy has not cooperated. I hope they are recognized for their valiant efforts,” McDonnell said.

Those drug stores that sell tobacco after the 60-day notice face a fine of $300 per violation.

Helen R. Caulton-Harris

SPRINGFIELD – The city’s Public Health Council approved a new regulation Wednesday night that will ban the sale of tobacco products in drug stores and stores with pharmacies, set to take effect in 60 days.

The board’s vote was unanimous, and follows a public hearing in February.

“It makes common sense,” said Dr. Paul Hetzel, a member of the health council and a retired oncologist. “You don’t want to be in business to improve people’s health and at the same time be in business to have a negative impact on their health.”

Springfield is the latest of 25 communities statewide that has bans on the sale of tobacco in stores with pharmacies, joining communities such as Boston, Worcester, Fall River and New Bedford. Bans already affect more than 260 stores statewide including CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid.

The new regulation defines drug stores and stores with pharmacies as “health care institutions,” and refers to the sale of tobacco in those stores as “detrimental to the public health and undermines efforts to educate patients on the safe and effective use of medication.”

Any violation in Springfield will carry a fine of $300, set for enforcement by the Health Department.

The health council stated the new regulation takes into account that tobacco causes cancer and respiratory and cardiac diseases, and is one of the leading causes of death in the United States.

Some opponents said tobacco products are legal and highly regulated already, questioning any need for the new regulation. In addition, other stores would still be able to sell tobacco, they said.

At the February hearing, the health council received letters of concern from the Massachusetts Food Association, representing supermarkets and grocery stores, and from one resident. Several high school students, involved in an anti-smoking group, spoke or wrote in favor of the regulation.

“I just wish they would tread a little lighter,” said Brian Houghton, spokesman for the Massachusetts Food Association. “The ordinance will only shift sales from one location to another. They would lose foot traffic sales as well as tobacco sales.”

Public Health Director Helen R. Caulton-Harris said the chain stores and local stores were largely silent on the issue. She said she is not aware of any evidence that restricting sales of tobacco products in those stores harms those businesses or causes layoffs.

Dr. Jeffrey Scavron, a member of the health council, said the regulation is “a very positive thing.”

“Am I worried that Wal-Mart will not be able to sell cigarettes?” he said. “I don’t think so.”

Gloria M. Wilson, a registered nurse and health council member, said the board is promoting good health.

Mike DeAngelis, a spokesman for CVS stores, said that as a pharmacy healthcare provider, CVS recognizes that the sale of tobacco products in our stores “is a challenging issue.”

“However, they are legal for adults to purchase and we make them available for our adult customers who choose to purchase them,” DeAngelis said. “We do not advertise or promote tobacco products and we place them behind the counter so customers must ask for them.

CVS also has smoking cessation products, and has “longstanding policies and procedures intended to prevent tobacco products from being sold to minors,” he said.

Some residents are considering circulating a petition to recall Cykowski.

Donald Cykowski

EASTHAMPTON – City Council President Justin P. Cobb has scheduled an executive session April 4 to discuss issues related to City Councilor Donald Cykowski in the wake of recent concerns raised about sexual harassment.

Former library Director Rebecca Plimpton had told the library board that Cykowski, a library corporator, harassed her for years before she left the position in 2007. She was concerned that no policy had been put in place to address it.

Cykowski as a councilor was criticized in December for an incident at a public meeting in which he said, "Where's a Puerto Rican when we need one?" when a colleague could not open a locked door. Some in the city called for his resignation from the council. He apologized but did not resign. â ¨

Cykowski resigned Sunday from the Emily Williston library board and said Monday he wouldn't answer questions but said in a statement, "I have been interested in the library and used the library since I've been a kid. I've enjoyed serving" on the board. But, he said, "rather than seeing the library getting so much negative publicity, I decided to resign."

At the council meeting Wednesday night, he had no comment about whether he would resign from the council.

The council does not have the authority to force Cykowski to resign.

“We depend on the voters to do the right thing,” Cobb said interview Wednesday. That would be a recall vote. That is the only legal way for the city to expel him from office. Cobb said he what he can do as council president is “expel him. I can ask him to leave the council chambers” for something that happens at a meeting. But he can come back at the next meeting.

At the council meeting, he told members that he is scheduling the executive session to be able to talk about a member’s reputation or character. He did not name Cykowski and Cykowski was about 35 minutes late to the meeting and did not hear of the plan for the executive session.

Cobb said earlier if he was in the situation and knew the charges of harassment were true, he would resign. The attention Cykowski is drawing keeps the focus from “all the good things we do,” he said.

Councilor Daniel Rist in an interview said, “The best thing he can do for himself and the City Council, he should resign. This casts a black cloud on the city.”

The head of the Springfield chapter of the NAACP on Tuesday issued a letter to residents of Easthampton, urging them to demand the ouster of Cykowski as well. "I challenge the residents of Easthampton to display moral courage and have the gumption to remove Donald Cykowski from public office," Talbert W. Swan II wrote.

Swan also wrote that he was “somewhat miffed at how a community that struck so forcefully against allegations of sexual harassment by a white woman had such a lukewarm response to the racist comments of the same man against persons of Puerto Rican descent.

The outcry over Mr. Cykowski’s racist act pales in comparison to the swift public retribution in response to his alleged acts of harassment.

Rist said that the city did respond to the attacks of racism and is in the process of crafting an ethics rule.

A resident who attended the council meeting but asked not to identified said she is in the beginning stages of working on a recall. To recall an at large elected official, an affidavit signed by at least 400 voters must be filed board of registrars of voters containing the name of the officer to be recalled and a statement of the grounds for recall.

Then a recall petition must be signed by 20 percent of the total votes in the last city election and filed within 21 days for the date the petition was issued. With 11,177 on the rolls last November that means 2,034 must sign the recall petition.

The subject in question has five days in which to resign, if not a special election would be scheduled.

Westfield Mayor Daniel Knapik has been accused getting city workers to illegal remove some campaign lawn signs before the Nov. 8 election.

This is an updated version of a story posted at 3:15 this afternoon.

Westfield City Councilor David Flaherty and Municipal Light Board member Jane Wensley are involved in a civil rights suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union against Westfield Mayor Daniel Knapik.

SPRINGFIELD – Three people have filed a suit against Mayor Daniel Knapik in federal court, stating he had city workers remove campaign signs on private property in November.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday by the Western Regional Office of the American Civil Liberties Union in U.S. District Court of behalf of City Councilor David Flaherty and municipal light board representative Jane Wensley as well as Westfield property owner David Costa, of Russell.

The suit states Knapik had public employees on Nov. 7, one day before an election, remove signs supporting Flaherty and Wensley from the yard of property at 38 East Silver St. owned by Costa.

“This action was no accident, and it was no routine enforcement of Westfield’s signage laws,” attorney Luke Ryan, who filed the complaint for the ACLU, stated in a press release. “That the mayor of Westfield had instructed the public employees to remove the signs, including signs endorsing the candidacy of a city council with whom the mayor had a long-standing, contentious relationship, is the essence of the complaint.”

“These are important First Amendment rights,” Ryan said of the posting of lawn signs.

City employees removed signs promoting Flaherty and Wensley, and which met local requirements, within an hour and a half of two calls made by Knapik to the manager of the Westfield Department of Public Works, according to the lawsuit.

Signs for other candidates had been posted at the same location for as long as a month and city workers did not remove similarly displayed signs from nearby properties, according to the lawsuit.

“Citizens have a right to post lawn signs,” William C. Newman, director of the ACLU’s Western Massachusetts legal office, stated. “The ACLU vindicated that right in a case against Longmeadow in federal district court in Springfield in 1988. The breach of that right by a high-ranking public official should not go unchallenged.”

“I believe the evidence will substantiate all of the claims made in the complaint and that Mayor Knapik, in an attempt to influence the outcome of the election, ordered city employees to illegally remove my campaign signs the day before the election,” Flaherty stated in a written statement. “This case is about what’s right and wrong, and about stopping this type of illegal activity in the future.“

The mayor could not be reached for comment.

A string of brush fires that started in an area between Brandon Avenue and Boston Road near Five Mile Pond appear to be the work of an arsonist,

File photo | The Republican04.24.2008 | Springfield Fire Lt. Patrick Keough douses a hot spot in the woods off Michon Street in the city's Indian Orchard section.

SPRINGFIELD - A string of brush fires Wednesday night that started in an area between Brandon Avenue and Boston Road near Five Mile Pond appear to be the work of an arsonist, said Dennis Leger, aide to Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant.

Leger said that in an span of about 75 minutes Wednesday, firefighters had to contend with 11 separate brush fires. The first was in the area of 161 Brandon Ave. at about 7:30 p.m., and the last one was reported at about 8:45 p.m. in the area of 980 Boston Road.

In between, nine other small fires were spotted and taken care of, he said.

That many small fires occurring over an area roughly 1,800 feet long appears to be the work of someone walking and lighting brush on fire, Leger said.

“It’s quite a distance between them. Someone is setting them,” he said.

Four engine crews have been out at the scene putting out the fires, he said.

The Springfield Arson and Bomb Squad is also investigating, he said.

View A string of brush fires in Springfield, 3/21/12 in a larger map

Typical customers will see their bills fall 10.4 percent from $74.21 to $66.47, according to a National Grid news release issued Wednesday afternoon.

This is an updated version of a story posted at 3:45 this afternoon.

Typical National Grid residential electricity customers could see their monthly bill decline by about $7.74 starting May 1, if the state approves new rates submitted this week.

Typical customers will see their bills fall 10.4 percent from $74.21 to $66.47, according to a National Grid statement issued Wednesday afternoon. The new rates would be in effect through October with the approval of the state Department of Public Utilities.

National Grid defines an average household customer as someone who uses 500 kilowatt hours of electricity a month.

The state Department of Public Utilities still has to rule on the proposed rate changes, however.

The cost of electricity makes up approximately 50 percent of a residential customer’s bill. The remainder covers the costs incurred to deliver the electricity to the customer.

On March 1, with Department of Public Utilities approval, National Grid raised its transmission charges by 60 cents for residential customers in Massachusetts, said National Grid Spokesman David D. Graves. That rate increase will likely be in place for a year, he said.

The cost of electricity is falling with the price of natural gas used to generate most of the power used in the region, Graves said. A mild winter has left natural gas storage facilities filled to capacity, especially in the Northeast, he said.

“It’s really market forces that are at work,” he said.

Last week National Grid asked the Department of Public Utilities to reduce natural gas rates by 13 percent for the off-peak season running from May 1 until November 1. That translates into a monthly savings of approximately $6 for the typical National Grid natural gas customer in Massachusetts.

Western Massachusetts Electric Co., the region’s other large electric utility, also changes its residential prices twice a year. As of Feb. 1, WMECO raised its price of power and cut its transmission charges for a net increase in the average monthly bill of about $5 a month.

WEMCO spokeswoman Sandra Ahearn said natural gas prices are seasonal and tend to be higher in winter. WEMECO adjusts its rates again in August.

National Grid delivers electricity to approximately 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island. Locally, the company serves customers in towns such as Palmer, Wilbraham, East Longmeadow, Hampden and in Northampton, Williamsburg and a few other Hampshire County communities.

Increasing the reward from $6,000 to $10,000 is seen as a way to bring new information forward about those responsible.

BOSTON -MSPCA-Angell announced on Wednesday it has increase a reward offer from $6,000 to $10,000 for information leading the conviction of those responsible for the shooting death of two dogs in New Bedford last month.

The bodies of the two dogs, a golden retriever and a Chihuahua, were found Feb. 13 in a New Bedford business park. Both had been shot.

The skeletal remains of a third dog found on march 2 at the same location, and MSPCA law enforcement officials are working to determined how that dog died and if the death is in any way connected to the two others.

The MSPCA, in cooperation with local law enforcement entities, are conducting forensic testing of the three sets of remains and the bullets found at the scene. They have also performed an extensive search of the area but to date have found few clues.

“We are tracking down every lead we can in an effort to identify the person or persons who committed this crime,” said Peter Gollub, director of law enforcement, MSPCA-Angell. “The information we have thus far has not proved sufficient to help us identify a suspect, so we’re reaching back out to the community for help,” he said.

Publicity surrounding the case has resulted in the organization receiving some donations, which is allowing MSPCA - Angell to increase the reward offer in the hope of bringing new information forward, Gollub said.

Anyone with information is asked to call its Law Enforcement Hotline at (800) 628-5808.

A two-hour standoff with police on Circle Street ended Wednesday night when police entered the house and found the suspect dead of a self-inflicted gunshot.

Republican file photo

This is an update of a story first posted at 7:50 p.m.

ENFIELD - A two-hour standoff with police on Circle Street ended Wednesday night when police entered the house and found the suspect dead of a self-inflicted gunshot.

The man, who officials have not identified, was a correctional officer at the prison in Somers, according to the Hartford Courant.

Police were called to the scene at about 5 p.m. after receiving a 911 report from the man's wife. He had returned home and began barricading himself in the home. The man's wife fled the house and called police

Enfield Police Chief Carl Sferrazza told WTHN, Channel 8 that the man's wife became alarmed when he appeared intoxicated when he arrived home and began loading his rifle.

"Officers responded immediately, secured the perimeter to ensure that he stayed in the house and didn't go outside."

Police began telling neighbors to stay inside and a SWAT team was dispatched to the area.

After about two hours of trying to talk the man out, police entered the house and found him dead.

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The French interior minister says the suspect in a killing spree has died after jumping from his apartment window after police stormed his apartment following a 32 hour standoff.

The Associated PressA woman and children are escorted by a police officer near a building where the chief suspect in an al-Qaida-linked killing spree is holed up in an apartment in Toulouse, France Thursday March 22, 2012. Mohamed Merah France's chief suspect in the shooting of three Jewish schoolchildren, a rabbi, and three French paratroopers in three separate incidents wants to "die with weapons in his hands," the interior minister said Thursday, as a standoff between the gunman and hundreds of police entered a second day.(AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)

By JOHANNA DECORSE and SARAH DiLORENZO, Associated Press

TOULOUSE, France (AP) — The French interior minister says the suspect in a killing spree has died after jumping from his apartment window after police stormed his apartment following a 32 hour standoff.

Claude Gueant says the suspect, who claims links to al-Qaida, jumped after police entered the apartment and found him holed up in the bathroom. Police and the suspect exchanged fire before Mohamed Merah died.

Gueant says two policemen were injured.

Already serving a five-year jail sentence for a 2009 conviction, James Rattell, 58, of 19 Chartier Drive now faces multiple new counts of possession of kiddie porn.

The Republican / File photoThe Hampshire County Courthouse in Northampton

NORTHAMPTON – A Belchertown man serving a five-year jail sentence for sexually assaulting a child has been subsequently charged with possession of child pronography, according to a published report.

James R. Rattell, 58, of 19 Chartier Drive denied nine criminal counts at his arraignment Wednesday in Hampshire Superior Court in Northampton, the Daily Hampshire Gazette reports. Rattell, who pleaded guilty in 2009 to sexually assaulting a 14-year-old acquaintance, is now facing eight counts of possession of child pornography and one count of distributing obscene material to a minor.

Investigators recovered dozens of illicit videos during a search of Rattell's Belchertown home, according to prosecutors. It was not immediately clear when the search, which was linked to the sexual assault case investigation, was conducted.

Judge Mary-Lou Rup set bail at $10,000 cash, $50,000 bond, and ordered Rattell to return for a May 15 pretrial hearing.

A newly appointed member of the Massachusetts gambling commission has asked for and been granted a deep pay cut to avoid the impression that he is taking advantage of a system that would allow him to draw a state pension as well as a six-figure salary.

Photo by Josh Reynolds / Associated PressMembers of the five-person Massachusetts Gaming Commission attend a news conference in Boston on Tuesday, March 20, 2012, where the last two appointees were introduced. From left the members are Enrique Zuniga, James F. McHugh, Chairman Steve Crosby, speaking, Bruce Stebbins, and Gayle Cameron.

BOSTON (AP) — A newly appointed member of the Massachusetts gambling commission has asked for and been granted a deep pay cut to avoid the impression that he is taking advantage of a system that would allow him to draw a state pension as well as a six-figure salary.

Retired Judge James McHugh, appointed Tuesday to the board that will decide who gets casino licenses and where the facilities will be located, is eligible to collect a nearly $100,000 annual pension after 27 years on the bench. His salary as a member of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is $112,500.

A spokeswoman for the commission tells The Boston Globe that McHugh will collect a $35,000 salary as a member of the commission to avoid the impression he is "double dipping."

The Animal Rescue League estimates the cat fell between 150 and 200 feet.

BOSTON (AP) — A veterinarian says acting like a flying squirrel may have saved a cat from serious injury in a 19-story plunge from a Boston high rise.

Sugar the cat had no broken bones or cuts, just some bruising on her lungs after the fall from a window owner Brittany Kirk had opened to enjoy the recent unseasonably warm weather.

(Video from CBSLocal.com)

The Animal Rescue League estimates Sugar fell between 150 and 200 feet.

Kirk tells WBZ-TV she thinks Sugar used up "one or two or maybe eight" of her nine lives.

Veterinarian Hugh Davis says in falls from high places, cats splay their legs in a "flying squirrel position" which slows their descent.

Kirk calls Sugar's survival a "miracle" and says building management has since installed a screen in her window.

The liberal organization Media Matters for America is using a past campaign against Glenn Beck as a template.

Associated Press Limbaugh's opponents are starting a radio campaign against him Thursday, seizing upon the radio star's attack of a Georgetown law student as a "slut" for a long-term effort aimed at weakening his business.

NEW YORK — Rush Limbaugh's opponents are starting a radio campaign against him Thursday, seizing upon the radio star's attack of a Georgetown law student as a "slut" to make a long-term effort aimed at weakening his business.

The liberal Media Matters for America is using a past campaign against Glenn Beck as a template. In Limbaugh, however, they're going after bigger game. He's already fighting back and the group's stance has provoked concerns that an effort to silence someone for objectionable talk is in itself objectionable.

Media Matters is spending at least $100,000 for two advertisements that will run in eight cities.

The ads use Limbaugh's own words about student Sandra Fluke, who testified at a congressional hearing that contraception should be paid for in health plans. Limbaugh, on his radio programs, suggested Fluke wanted to be paid to have sex, which made her a "slut" and a "prostitute." In return for the money, he said Fluke should post videos of herself having sex. Under sharp criticism, Limbaugh later apologized.

In one of the anti-Limbaugh ads, listeners are urged to call the local station that carries Limbaugh to say "we don't talk to women like that" in our city.

Ad time was purchased in Boston; Chicago; Detroit; Seattle; Milwaukee; St. Louis; Macon, Ga.; and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The cities were selected to support active local campaigns against Limbaugh or because of perceptions Limbaugh may be vulnerable in that market, said Angelo Carusone of Media Matters.

"What we're really looking for is a way to demonstrate the persistence of the effort and the fact that it is on a wide scale," Carusone said.

A spokeswoman for Premiere Radio Networks, which syndicates Limbaugh's show to more than 600 radio stations nationally, said Media Matters has gone beyond criticism of Limbaugh's words to an attempt to silence him and intimidate advertisers.

"This is not about women," said Rachel Nelson, Premiere spokeswoman. "It's not about ethics and it's not about the nature of our public discourse. It's a direct attack on America's guaranteed First Amendment right to free speech. It's essentially a call for censorship masquerading as high-minded indignation."

Limbaugh, on his radio show Wednesday, said he's being targeted in an attack that was long-planned — not mentioning it was his words that lit the fuse.

"They're not even really offended by what happened," he said. "This is just an opportunity to execute a plan they've had in their drawer since 2009."

Determining how much of a financial impact the Fluke comments have already had on Limbaugh is murky business.

Radio stations in Hawaii and Massachusetts have dropped his show. Media Matters claims that 58 companies have specifically asked that their ads be excluded from Limbaugh's show. Radio-Info.com's TRI Newsletter said Premiere has circulated a list of 98 advertisers who want to avoid "environments likely to stir negative sentiments," essentially all politically pointed talk shows.

There's more. TRI also said a group with several stations that air Limbaugh sent out a list of 31 advertisers who don't want to be on Limbaugh's show.

Premiere notes that a list is sent out four times a year reminding stations of advertisers who don't want to be part of controversial programming, and suggests a reported exodus is exaggerated. The company offered no list of its own, or a comparison that could show advertisers resistant to Limbaugh or other controversial shows that predated the Fluke comments.

Some companies said not to want to advertise within Limbaugh's program — JC Penney, NAPA Auto Parts, Chapstick, Gold Bond, Green Mountain Coffee — did not respond to requests to clarify their policies. One company listed, NBC-TV, said the network was unaware of any policy or past efforts to advertise with Limbaugh.

Valerie Geller, a veteran radio consultant who worked at Limbaugh's WABC flagship in New York, said it appears that advertising money coming into Limbaugh's show is slowing down. "I think it's a very big wakeup call," she said.

Whether the advertisers return is another question. Limbaugh has a daily audience estimated at between 2 million and 3 million people, according to Talkers magazine.

"I suspect some people will permanently stay away," said Tom Taylor, executive editor at Radio-Info.com. "I suspect some people will drift back to Rush. What you won't see is a press release of someone saying, 'Hey, we're back with Rush!'"

While a law student, Carusone was active in a campaign to reach Beck's advertiser that began after the commentator said in July 2009 that President Barack Obama had "a deep-seated hatred for white people." Eventually, more than 400 advertisers said they didn't want to be part of Beck's show and, for Fox, the ad revenue was nowhere near what would be expected for a TV show as popular as Beck's. When Beck left Fox in June 2011 to take his show to the Web, the parting was mutual.

The idea with Limbaugh is similar: take advertisers away so rates go down, Carusone said. Couple that with the need to keep track of ever-changing lists of who will advertise with Limbaugh and who won't, and Media Matters hopes that station managers, market by market, may someday conclude that it's just not worth the trouble.

Conveniently, many stations will soon have a choice. Former GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is launching his own syndicated radio show in April that will air at the same time as Limbaugh's, and Huckabee's backers are touting the show as a more civilized alternative.

Beyond the First Amendment concerns, industry experts like Talkers magazine publisher Michael Harrision are concerned that Media Matters' effort will simpy take some advertisers out of radio altogether when they have different options.

Carusone said Limbaugh has a chilling effect of his own. "There are plenty of people who self-censor out of fear that Mr. Limbaugh will smear them," he said.

The means of protest puts Media Matters and the conservative Media Research Center in the unlikely position of agreeing with each other. Brent Bozell, founder of the conservative media watchdog, said his group also informs advertisers of things it considers objectionable.

"We all have free speech," Bozell said.

That's where the agreement stops. Bozell this week called on MSNBC chief Phil Griffin to resign, citing objectionable things said in the past by Ed Schultz and Al Sharpton, both MSNBC show hosts. It's in part retaliation for attacks on Limbaugh, he said. The Fluke story was covered extensively by MSNBC.

"There's a great sense of selective outrage that is going on here," he said.

The self-defense law helps explain why a neighborhood watch captain has not been arrested in the shooting death of an unarmed teenager.

MIAMI — Florida is among 21 states with a "Stand Your Ground Law," which gives people wide latitude to use deadly force rather than retreat during a fight. The self-defense law helps explain why a neighborhood watch captain has not been arrested in the shooting death of an unarmed teenager.

The Florida law lets police officers on the scene decide whether they believe the self-defense claim. In many cases, the officer's defer to making the arrest, letting the courts work out whether the deadly force is justified. In this case, however, police have said they are confident they did the right thing by not charging 28-year-old George Zimmerman, a white Hispanic.

The shooting's racial overtones have sparked a national outcry and debate over whether the shooting was warranted. And like many self-defense cases, two sides of the story have emerged.

Zimmerman told police he was attacked by 17-year-old Trayvon Martin after he had given up chasing the boy and he was returning to his truck. He had a bloody nose and blood on the back of his head, according to police. Martin's family questions Zimmerman's story, and believes if their races were reversed, there is no doubt a black shooter would be jailed, even if he claimed self-defense.

"They are making it look like Zimmerman is the victim and their son is in the grave," said Benjamin Crump, attorney for Martin's parents. "It's about equal justice."

The Justice Department and FBI have opened a civil rights investigation, and the local prosecutor has convened a grand jury April 10 to determine whether to charge Zimmerman.

Based on what's publicly known about the case, Michael Siegel, a former federal prosecutor who now directs the Criminal Justice Center and Clinics at the University of Florida law school, said it appears Sanford police were too quick to decide whether Zimmerman should be charged. If the evidence is murky, he said the usual practice is to make the arrest and let the court system sort it out.

"The law has definitely shifted and given a signal to law enforcement to be more careful," he said. "But in a case where the self-defense claim is weak, you would think they would do their job."

In a statement released Wednesday, Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee insisted his officers were "prohibited from making an arrest based on the facts and circumstances they had at the time," including physical evidence that supported Zimmerman's self-defense claim.

"The Sanford Police Department has conducted a complete and fair investigation of this incident," Lee said, adding that it's now up to prosecutors to determine whether to bring charges.

Late Wednesday, commissioners in Sanford, a city of 53,000 people outside Orlando that is 57 percent white and 30 percent black, voted 3-2 to express "no confidence" in the police chief.

Under the National Rifle Association-backed Florida law passed in 2005, Florida, unlike most other states, grants immunity from prosecution or arrest to suspects who successfully invoke the "stand your ground" claim. And if a suspect is arrested and charged, a judge can throw out the case well before trial based on a self-defense claim.

That happened Wednesday in an unrelated case. A Miami judge dismissed a second-degree murder case, citing the Stand Your Ground law and ruling that 25-year-old Greyston Garcia's testimony about self-defense was credible. The Miami Herald reported that Garcia was charged after chasing down and stabbing to death a 26-year-old suspected burglar in January.

Still, it's not enough for Zimmerman or anyone involved in a confrontation to simply claim innocence based on no duty to retreat, said Fordham University law professor Nicholas Johnson.

"By the Florida law, he is not relieved of the traditional and basic requirement of showing that he fairly perceived an imminent deadly threat," Johnson said.

Crump, the Martin family attorney, said the teenager weighed about 140 pounds and was carrying a bag of Skittles and a can of ice tea he had bought at a nearby convenience store when Zimmerman began following him in his sport utility vehicle. Zimmerman, meanwhile, weighs around 200 pounds and was armed with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun, which he had a permit to legally carry.

"So the facts that have come out that I have become aware of, would tend to indicate he should not be granted immunity," Roger Weeden, an Orlando defense attorney closely following the case, said of Zimmerman.

State figures indicate that justified use of deadly force by private citizens is on the upswing.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement statistics show that before the law was enacted in 2005, there were about 13 justified killings each year by citizens from 2000 to 2005. Between 2006 and 2010, the average has risen to 36 justified killings each year.

Some state lawmakers are already questioning whether the law should be revisited.

State Sen. Chris Smith, a Fort Lauderdale Democrat, said he is preparing a bill that would not allow a self-defense claim in cases where the shooter appeared to provoke the victim. That could have be a factor in the Martin case, where 911 calls and other evidence shows that Zimmerman was following the teenager in his vehicle and approached him aggressively despite specific instructions from police to back off.

"Stand your ground appears to be giving suspects better protections from arrest and prosecution than increased security measures for the citizens the law was originally intended to protect," said Smith, whose bill would also limit legal use of lethal force to places such as a person's home, car or workplace.

Lee, the police chief, said in a statement that the police dispatcher's "suggestion" to Zimmerman that he did not need to follow Martin "is not a lawful order that Mr. Zimmermann would be required to follow."

"Mr. Zimmerman's statement was that he had lost sight of Trayvon and was returning to his truck to meet the police officer when he says he was attacked by Trayvon," Lee said.

Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who was elected after the law's passage, said he's open to suggestions if the Martin case illustrates problems with it.

"If there's something wrong with the law that's in place, I think it's important we address it," Scott said Tuesday. "If what's happening is it's being abused, that's not right."