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US Senate hopeful Marisa DeFranco re-energizes as Democratic field narrows to 2

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As the field of Democratic challengers vying for Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown's Senate seat narrowed to two this week, immigration attorney Marisa DeFranco is refocusing her energy and her campaign for the road ahead.

Marisa DeFrancoView full sizeMiddleton immigration attorney Marisa DeFranco says she will keep trucking on with her grassroots campaign despite the fact that consumer advocate and Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren has millions in her war chest, compared to DeFranco's thousands. (AP File Photo)

As the field of Democratic challengers vying for Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown's senate seat narrowed to two this week, immigration attorney Marisa DeFranco is refocusing her energy and her campaign for the road ahead.

DeFranco is up against the odds, however, as her competition comes from consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren, who has raised millions and built strong name recognition since her days helping to create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the wake of the financial collapse on Wall Street.

In a fiery letter to supporters this week, DeFranco said that she is the only true "outsider" left in the race, and that she plans to keep on fighting to the Democratic Primary in September.

"In the past few weeks, there has been a lot of talk about poll numbers - who's up, who's down, what the trends are, etc. Some of these are national, some are local, and some are being produced by the campaigns themselves," DeFranco wrote. What we don't need is more numbers, except for this: 1. That is the number of United States Senators that Massachusetts will elect this November. It is also the number of grassroots-inspired, self-selected, outsider candidates in this race."

Ironically, the same polls which DeFranco shrugs off helped lead corporate lawyer James King to drop out of the race this week, as he pledged his support for Warren.

DeFranco, who runs her own immigration law firm north of Boston in Middleton, said her reasons for getting into the race are the same reasons she is trucking on against Warren, a Harvard law school professor and fundraising juggernaut.

"I began my campaign for the U.S. Senate because I believed that it would take someone with a background as a problem solver and an advocate to fight for Massachusetts families and offer comprehensive solutions to the issues we face today," DeFranco said. "I am continuing my campaign because now I know this to be the case. And this is what drives us forward each and every day."

Elizabeth Warren: Images from her youth and Massachusetts candidacy for U.S. SenateSPRINGFIELD- Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, left, talks Agnes Kearon of Springfield before the Ward 5 Caucus at the Mill Pond School in Springfield in February. (Staff Photo by Dave Roback)

Warren continues to hammer home her message of financial responsibility and a fair playing field for the middle class, leading a call this week for Congress to take action to renew legislation that keeps interest rates on student loans near the 3-percent mark.

"Interest rates on student loans will double this summer if Congress fails to act," Warren said in press release. "That interest rate increase is one more financial hit on middle class students and families who are already under pressure. It’s not right and Congress must stop it."

Under the 2007 College Cost Reduction and Access Act, interest rates on subsidized Stafford Loans were gradually reduced from the 2006 rate of 6.8 percent to today’s 3.4 percent rate. But without Congressional action, the provision will expire on July 1, meaning that all student loans disbursed on that day moving forward will be subject to the 6.8 percent interest rate.

"Young people all around the Commonwealth – from North Adams and Worcester to Charlestown and Quincy – are doing everything right," Warren said. "They work hard, they play by the rules, they recognize the importance of education and invest so they can get a better job and earn a brighter future. They should not suddenly face higher interest rates, and they should not be left drowning in debt because they are trying to get an education."


Baypath College's 17th Annual Women's Leadership Conference draws sold-out crowd

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This year's theme was "Lead with Compassion," and college President Carol A. Leary said compassionate leadership is not an oxymoron.

 03.23.2012 | Sister Helen Prejean, author of the book "Dead Man Walking," was among the keynote speakers at the 17th Annual Women's Leadership Conference held at the MassMutual Center Friday. The event is hosted by Bay Path College.

SPRINGFIELD - Bay Path College's 17th Annual Women's Leadership Conference drew a sold-out crowd of 1,100 at the MassMutual Center on Friday with keynote speakers that truly ran the gamut.

Featured speakers at the increasingly popular event include Sister Helen Prejean, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, "Dead Man Walking," and a renowned advocate for abolishing the death penalty; Majora Carter, eco-entrepreneur and founder of Sustainable South Bronx, a favorite among urban planners; and Ashely Judd, actor, best-selling author and HIV/AIDS humanitarian.

This year's theme was "Lead with Compassion," and college President Carol A. Leary said compassionate leadership is not an oxymoron.

"We've had resilience; we've had courage; we've had humanity," Leary said, touching on past themes. "But many people look at compassion as a weakness, not a strength."

College spokeswoman Kathy Wroblewski said more women are looking for compassion in the workplace, according to feedback from attendees of past conferences and professional research organizations. The fact that this year's conference sold out earlier than any other bolstered that trend, she said.

During her morning talk, Prejean grabbed the crowd's attention early and often with her salty, southern humor juxtaposed with the most somber of topics.

"I knew what my eyes had seen and I felt a responsibility to tell it," she said of her first book, written two years after she acted as spiritual advisor to convicted killer and death row inmate Patrick Sonnier and following him all the way to the electric chair in the early 1980s.

Sonnier and his brother had been convicted of brutally killing two teens in Louisiana. Prejean became involved with his case and subsequently with other death row inmates after writing a letter to him at the request of a prison worker in 1982.

"I wrote the letter. The problem was: he wrote back," said Prejean, her small figure and austere clothing against a neon backdrop on-stage, relating the first time she visited Sonnier in prison. "I looked at the face of a human being, and the two hours flew by."

At a book-signing afterward with a seemingly endless line of fans, Prejean chatted easily with women, accepted kudos for her speech and learned she had swayed at least one or two.

"I have to tell you: I wasn't exactly for it but I wasn't exactly against it. But after listening to you speak ..." said Tina Waterman, of Enfield, Conn.

Obituaries today: Phyllis Speanburg, 67, of Westfield; Little League coach, baseball reporter, tax professional

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Obituaries from The Republican,

Phyllis Speanburg

WESTFIELD - Phyllis Speanburg, 67, of Westfield, died after a hard-fought battle with cancer. She was the daughter of Anthony and Theresa Caffarelli. Born in Buffalo, N.Y.. she was raised on a grape farm in Silver Creek, N.Y. After graduating from Ithaca College, she became an English teacher. In Westfield, she was the area's first female Little League baseball, and was a baseball reporter for the Westfield News. She also pioneered the a local softball league. She served as a tax professional for over 20 years and was an advocate on the Westfield Parks and Recreation Commission for 22 years.

Obituaries from The Republican:

Obama taps Dartmouth College president Jim Yong Kim to lead World Bank

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Kim is a Korean-born physician and pioneer in the treatment of HIV, AIDS and tuberculosis.

jim yong kimPresident Barack Obama walks with Jim Yong Kim, his nominee to be the next World Bank President, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Friday, March 23, 2012. Kim is currently the president of Dartmouth College.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Friday nominated Dartmouth College president and global health expert Jim Yong Kim to lead the World Bank, an unconventional pick that could help to quell criticism in the developing world of the U.S. stranglehold on the international organization's top post.

Obama said Kim, a Korean-born physician and pioneer in the treatment of HIV, AIDS and tuberculosis, has the breadth of experience on development issues needed to carry out the financial institution's anti-poverty mission.

"It's time for a development professional to lead the world's largest development agency," Obama said Friday morning during a Rose Garden ceremony.

Obama was joined by Kim, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who first recommended that Obama consider Kim for the World Bank post.


The 187-nation World Bank focuses on fighting poverty and promoting development. It is a leading source of development loans for countries seeking financing to build dams, roads and other infrastructure projects.

Since its founding in 1944, the World Bank has always been headed by an American. But developing countries, who have long sought to gain more power in the organization, planned an unprecedented challenge to Obama's pick this year and considered nominating three other candidates.

However, Kim is still expected to succeed outgoing president Robert Zoellick, who announced in February that he was stepping down.

The actual selection will be made next month by the World Bank's 25-member executive board. The United States, as the world's largest economy, has the largest percentage of the votes.

Kim is expected to travel around the world on a listening tour to rally support for his nomination ahead of the board's vote.

Senior administration officials said Obama took a strong personal interest in filling the World Bank vacancy after current president Zoellick announced in February he was stepping down. Obama and his advisers considered more than a dozen candidates, including well-known figures in the administration. But in the end, officials said, Obama pushed for a nominee with broad development experience and was particularly drawn to Kim's innovative work fighting the spread of AIDS and tuberculosis.

"Jim has truly global experience. He has worked from Asia to Africa to the Americas, from capitals to small villages. His personal story exemplifies the great diversity to our country," Obama said Friday.

Obama was to travel to South Korea for a nuclear summit later Friday.

Administration officials said former President Bill Clinton weighed in with support for Kim during Obama's deliberations. In a statement Friday, the former president applauded Kim's nomination.

"Jim Kim is an inspired and outstanding choice to lead the World Bank based on his years of commitment and leadership to development and particularly health care and AIDS treatment across the world," he said.

U.S. and European officials have voiced support for the developing world's efforts to expand their power at the World Bank, as well as its sister lending organization, the International Monetary Fund. But the status quo remains, with France's Christine Lagarde holding the top spot at the IMF and Kim's candidacy for World Bank president all but certain to prevail.

Developing nations are expected to nominate Jose Antonio Ocampo, a Columbia University professor who had been finance minister for Colombia, and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria's finance minister, who has the backing of the three African countries on the World Bank board.

Economist Jeffrey Sachs, the director of Columbia University's Earth Institute, openly campaigned for the World Bank post, saying the position should be filled by an expert in development issues. But Sachs dropped his bid Friday after Obama announced his nominee, writing on Twitter: "Jim Kim is a superb nominee for WB. I support him 100%."

Obama administration officials said the pick was already being well-received in the developing world. After learning of Kim's nomination, Rwandan President Paul Kagame said the physician was "a true friend of Africa" and "a leader who knows what it takes to address poverty."

The World Bank opening put Obama in the awkward position of choosing between his desire to be seen as a supporter of rising economic powers and the pressures of a political year in which support for a non-U.S. candidate could have opened him to criticism.

Obama picked Kim over several more well-known candidates, including Susan Rice, current U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.; and Lawrence Summers, Obama's former director of the National Economic Council.

Others mentioned for the World Bank post included Indra Nooyi, the head of soft drink company PepsiCo, and Laura D'Andrea Tyson, who served in top economic jobs in the Clinton administration.

Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea, and moved to the U.S. at age 5. He is a graduate of Brown University and Harvard University. He co-founded the global health organization Partners in Health and served as director of the World Health Organization's department of HIV/AIDS.

He began his tenure as president of Dartmouth in 2009, becoming the first Asian-American to lead an Ivy League institution.

Fox News' Geraldo Rivera: Trayvon Martin's hoodie had role in death

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Rivera said the case should be a warning to parents to watch what their children should wear.

geraldo rivera trayvon martinIn this June 25, 2010 file photo, Fox News Channel commentator Geraldo Rivera speaks on the "Fox & friends" television program in New York. Rivera said Friday, March 23, 2012 that Florida teenager Trayvon Martin's hoodie is as much responsible for his death as the neighborhood watch captain who shot him. Rivera said Friday on "Fox & Friends" that people wearing hooded sweatshirts are often going to be perceived as a menace regardless.

NEW YORK — Fox News Channel commentator Geraldo Rivera said Friday that the hoodie an unarmed black teenager wore when he was killed in Florida is as much responsible for his death as the man who shot him.

The veteran TV personality, speaking on "Fox & Friends," waded in with an opinion on the shooting of Trayvon Martin, a story that has attracted national attention over the past month. He later acknowledged that his comments were "politically incorrect."

People wearing hooded sweatshirts are often going to be perceived as a menace, Rivera said.

"I'll bet you money that if he didn't have that hoodie on, that nutty neighborhood watch guy wouldn't have responded in that violent and aggressive way," Rivera said.

The unarmed 17-year-old Martin was killed Feb. 26 in Sanford. He was wearing a hoodie and returning from a trip to a convenience store when neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman started following him, telling police dispatchers he looked suspicious. Zimmerman hasn't been charged and says he shot Martin in self-defense.

The case brought hundreds of people together in New York with Martin's parents for a protest march this week. The BET television network said it would air a special, "Shoot First: The Tragedy of Trayvon Martin," on Monday.

Of Martin, Rivera said, "God bless him, he was an innocent kid, a wonderful kid." But he said the case should be a warning to parents to watch what their children should wear.

"If you dress like a hoodlum eventually some schmuck is going to take you at your word," he wrote in a commentary posted Friday on the website Fox News Latino.

Hundreds of people had posted messages on Rivera's Facebook page by Friday afternoon, the overwhelming majority of them negative about Rivera's comments.

Rivera compared his own comments to those of fellow Fox analyst Juan Williams, who was fired by National Public Radio in 2010 for saying on Fox that he gets nervous when he sees people on a plane with clothing that identifies them as Muslim.

"No one black, brown or white can honestly tell me that seeing a kid of color with a hood pulled over his head doesn't generate a certain reaction — sometimes scorn, often menace," Rivera wrote in his commentary.

Watch Geraldo Rivera's commentary below via Fox News

Springfield Fire Department responds to haz-mat emergency outside STEM academy

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Two students in a lab mixed a sulfur powder and some hydrochloric acid together. When the mixture started to produce a noxious smell, they put it in a trash bag and then threw it away, officials said.

SCT Springfield Fire Department and Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection officials respond to the scene of a hazardous materials situation at the STEM Middle Academy in Springfield on Friday afternoon.

SPRINGFIELD - Springfield firefighters are responding to STEM Middle Academy on Alton Street for a hazardous materials spill apparently caused by two students mixing chemicals together in a lab and then tossing the compound in an outside trash bin, a fire official said.

Dennis Leger, aide to Fire Commission Joseph Conant, said the fire department has declared the situation to be a level 1 haz-mat situation and is calling the regional hazardous materials team to the area to lead the clean up.

Leger said two students in a lab mixed a sulfur powder and some hydrochloric acid together. When the mixture started to produce a noxious smell, they put it in a trash bag and then tossed the bag into an outside trash bin, Leger said.

Officials with the School Department could not be reached for comment.

Officials with the school reported it to the fire department.

Firefighters located 10 children, two administrators, one custodian and one teacher who were all potentially exposed to the fumes. Two of the children, the administrators and the custodian each reported irritated eyes, a sign of minor exposure. The others all showed no ill effects, Leger said.

Longmeadow philanthropist Harold Grinspoon to be honored in New York City

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Emigre council recognizing his work, along with that of financier and New York Assemblyman, with Russian-speaking Jewish community.

haroldgrin.JPGFor his commitment to the Russian-speaking Jewish community, Longmeadow Jewish philanthropist Harold Grinspoon will be honored by the Council of Jewish Emigre Community Organizations at The Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City on March 29 at 6 p.m.

For his commitment to the Russian-speaking Jewish community, Longmeadow Jewish philanthropist Harold Grinspoon will be honored by the Council of Jewish Émigré Community Organizations at The Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City on March 29 at 6 p.m.

The event, entitled “Building the Future,” marks the council’s 10th anniversary. Others being honored include financier Feliks Frenkel and New York State Assemblyman Alec Brook Krasny.

Grinspoon, 82, is a real estate entrepreneur and philanthropist who established the West Springfield-based Harold Grinspoon Foundation in 1993 to promote Jewish life among young people, adults and families in Western Massachusetts, North America and Israel. Since its founding, the foundation has dispersed more than $110 million dollars to the Jewish world globally in programs, grants and operations.

He is the visionary behind the PJ Library program, which partners with 165 Jewish communities in North America to send free Jewish children’s books close to 100,000 children each month. He has been awarded the Jewish Book Council Impact Award for his creation of the library and its outreach to the next generation.

Grinspoon’s passion for Jewish overnight camping led him to create the Grinspoon Institute for Jewish Philanthropy, a program of the foundation, which has catalyzed 85 Jewish overnight camps to raise well over $70 million dollars with matching grants and consultation.

He has served on numerous boards including as a founding partner in the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education and on the boards of Birthright Israel and the Foundation for Jewish Camp.

For over two decades, Harold Grinspoon and his wife and philanthropic partner, Diane Troderman, who was recently featured as one of the women in The Republican’s salute to International Women’s Day, have been active philanthropists in the Russian Jewish community both in the former Soviet Union through organizations such as Project Kesher, the Jewish Community Development Fund, Hillel and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and in the resettlement of Jews in their own community.

Pioneers in the creation of a micro-finance program for women in Russia, the couple believes that the Russian Jewish community would one day bring its great intellect and cultural acumen to influence the changing landscape of the American Jewish community, and in doing so, both would be strengthened.

Grinspoon, Troderman, and the foundation are partnering to bring the PJ Library to thousands of families in the Russian Jewish community in North America and Sifriyat Pijama to children in Israel.

Troderman and Grinspoon also established the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation that has funded educational awards, including the funding of annual area awards for excellence in teaching, and other projects as far away as Cambodia.

The Jewish emigre council is a central coordinating body in the Russian Jewish community of New York that was formed in 2001 to facilitate the integration process of Russian-speaking Jews into the mainstream Jewish community and the greater American society. The council supports its 33 member organizations, and advocate for the community’s needs.

For information on the event visit http://cojeco.org/

For information on the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, visit http://www.hgf.org/

Actress Ashley Judd, Sister Helen Prejean headline Bay Path College's 17th Annual Women's Leadership Conference

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Prejean was among three keynote speakers at the sold-out conference which drew more than 1,100 women, according to a college spokeswoman.

This is an updated version of a story posted at 12:51 p.m.


 Sister Helen Prejean, author of the book "Dead Man Walking," was among the keynote speakers at the 17th Annual Women's Leadership Conference held at the MassMutual Center Friday. The event is hosted by Bay Path College.

SPRINGFIELD – When Sister Helen Prejean came out of the prison gates in Louisiana in the dead of night in 1982, she was gripped by two urges – nausea, and the irrepressible need to tell a story that began with a letter and ended at the electric chair.

A prison worker had asked that the Roman Catholic nun be a lone pen pal with death row inmate Patrick Sonnier, convicted along with his brother for killing two teens.

“I wrote the letter. The problem was: he wrote back,“ said Prejean – her small figure and austere clothing against a neon backdrop on-stage at Bay Path College’s 17th Annual Women’s Leadership Conference at the MassMutual Center on Friday – relating the first time she visited Sonnier in prison. “I looked at the face of a human being, and the two hours flew by.”

Prejean was among three keynote speakers at the sold-out conference which drew more than 1,100 women, according to a college spokeswoman. Though controversial, Prejean’s message fit precisely with the theme of the gathering: “lead with compassion.”

Ashley JuddActress Ashley Judd, seen here watching Kentucky play Iowa State in the first half of their NCAA third-round tournament college basketball game in Louisville, Ky.,March 17, was one of the keynote speakers at Bay Path College's 17th Annual Women's Conference Friday.

The line-up of keynote speakers truly ran the gamut with the “Dead Man Walking” author and death penalty opponent; Majora Carter, eco-entrepreneur and founder of Sustainable South Bronx, a favorite among urban planners; and Ashley Judd, actor, best-selling author and HIV/AIDS humanitarian.

“We’ve had resilience; we’ve had courage; we’ve had humanity,“ Leary said, touching on past themes. “But many people look at compassion as a weakness, not a strength.“

College spokeswoman Kathy Wroblewski said more women are looking for compassion in the workplace, according to feedback from attendees of past conferences and professional research organizations. The fact that this year’s conference sold out earlier than any other bolstered that trend, she said.

During her morning talk, Prejean grabbed the crowd’s attention early and often with her salty, southern humor juxtaposed with the most somber of topics.

“I knew what my eyes had seen and I felt a responsibility to tell it,“ she said of her first book, written two years after she acted as spiritual advisor to the Sonnier brothers.

“Dead Man Walking,” published in 1993, was adapted into an acclaimed film starring Susan Sarandon as Prejean. She told the crowd at the MassMutual Center that she and “a bunch of nuns” rented “Thelma and Louise” in order to familiarize herself with Sarandon’s work before the two met.

Equally as profound as shepherding Patrick Sonnier to the “death machine” was her reluctant but poignant experiences with the victims’ families, which Prejean focused on in the book at the urging of her editor.

“He said don’t just take them with you through the peaks of the waves, take them with you to the troughs and the mistakes,” Prejean said.

At a book-signing afterward with a seemingly endless line of fans, Prejean chatted easily with women, accepted kudos for her speech and learned she had swayed at least one or two.

“I have to tell you: I wasn’t exactly for it but I wasn’t exactly against it. But after listening to you speak ...“ said Tina Waterman, of Enfield, Conn.

Prejean said she finds that most people – she estimates 60 percent of Americans – are ambivalent about the death penalty.

“Twenty percent of Americans are against it, and another 20 percent think: fry ‘em and you won’t convince them otherwise. But (Waterman) mirrors the majority,” Prejean said.

Many who brought Prejean’s books to sign, including her second, “The Death of Innocents,” told the cleric she had moved them to tears. Prejean took it in stride and admitted she was probably among the only Catholic nuns in America with legitimate groupies.

“A friend of mine told me years ago: Once Mother Teresa goes – you’re it,” she said with a grin.


Ex-Sen. George McGovern, former presidential candidate, coming to Amherst for book signing

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Congressman McGovern was a volunteer on the elder's first Presidential campaign in 1972.

George McGovern 2000.jpgGeorge McGovern

AMHERST - Former Senator and Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern will be at Amherst Books Saturday having a conversation with another McGovern and signing his book "What it Means to be a Democrat."

George McGovern will be having the conversation with his friend and former aide U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester.

Congressman McGovern was a volunteer on the elder's first Presidential campaign in 1972. He became an aide and eventually became his Massachusetts chairman during the senator’s 1984 presidential campaign, delivering the nomination speech at the Democratic National Convention.

Because of redistricting McGovern could end up representing seven Hampshire communities, including Amherst and Northampton, plus Greenfield and 13 other Franklin communities and one precinct in Palmer in Hampden.

The talk and signing at the bookshop, 8 Main St., begins at 4 p.m. The event is free.

Sona Andrews, 1 of 3 candidates left for UMass Amherst chancellor post, takes other job in Oregon

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Susan Phillips withdrew from consideration earlier this week.

Sona Andrews 32312.jpgSona Andrews, seen during a visit to the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, has been named provost and vice president for academic affairs at Portland State University.

AMHERST – Another finalist for the University of Massachusetts chancellorship is out of the running, just a day a candidate withdrew her name.

Now there are two remaining finalists.

Sona Karentz Andrews Friday was named provost and vice president for academic affairs at Portland State University.

 Andrews is the current vice chancellor for academic strategies for the Oregon University system.

“This is an exciting opportunity for me,” said Andrews in a press release. “I share PSU’s aspirations to be among the nation’s leading urban public research universities. We can achieve this by striving for excellence, making strategic decisions, creating an institution that values equity and inclusion, being a place where students, faculty and staff thrive, and by developing a unified and strong voice for supporting public higher education in Oregon.”

In an email, Susan D. Phillips, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Albany/State University of New York wrote that she had withdrawn her name from further consideration.

“A complicated decision, of course, but I know that the other three finalists are all excellent candidates and that the very special place that is UMass will be well-served with their leadership.”
That was sent before the latest development.
Phillips, who called her style collaborative, was one of four finalists.

Now there are just two remaining candidates. UMass President Robert L. Caret has been slated to name a new chancellor Monday evening in Boston at a special Board of Trustees meeting convened to vote on that recommendation.
The new chancellor is then expected to visit the campus Tuesday morning.

The remaining candidates are Carlos E. Santiago, chief executive officer of Hispanic College Fund in Washington and former chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and Kumble R. Subbaswamy, provost at the University of Kentucky.

The chancellor would replace Robert C. Holub who has been chancellor for four years.

Wall Street closes up slightly despite investor concerns about global economic slowdown

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Although the Dow Jones industrial average closed up nearly 35 points on the day, it was down 152 on the week.

New Home SalesWorkers work on a new home in Mechanicsville, Va., Friday. Sales of new homes fell in February for the second straight month, a reminder that the depressed housing market remains weak despite some improvement.

By PALLAVI GOGOI

NEW YORK – Stocks eked out a small gain at the end of a rough week in which the market was weighed down by prospects of a global economic slowdown.

The Dow on Friday closed up 34.59 points, or 0.3 percent, at 13,080.73. Financial stocks performed well, led by a 2.6 percent gain for Bank of America.

For the week, the Dow Jones industrial average was off 152 points, the worst in a month despite reports of strengthening in the U.S. jobs market and better corporate profits. Investors were worried about a slowdown in Asia and Europe and the impact of higher oil prices on consumer spending.

Home builders and home improvement stocks fell Friday after the Commerce Department said sales of new homes fell 1.6 percent last month. PulteGroup fell 2.6 percent and Lennar declined 1 percent, while Lowe’s and Home Depot fell a little less than 1 percent.

In other trading, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index inched up 4.33 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,397.11 and the Nasdaq composite rose 4.6 points, or 0.1 percent, to 3,067.92.

A wide range of companies including Nike, Oracle, FedEx, and Tiffany have reported stellar earnings this week. However, those accomplishments were marred by worries of the effect of a slowdown in Asia and Europe on the companies that rely on global sales. Reports in China and Europe earlier in the week pointed to a likely slowdown in those economies.

Nike was off 3.2 percent, FedEx down less than 1 percent and Tiffany was off 1.4 percent.

“Investors are scared so they’re seeing a glass half empty rather than a glass half full,” said Rob Lutts, president at Cabot Money Management.

American consumers, who drive two-thirds of the economy, are spending more in stores and restaurants. But investors are worried about how long that will last if oil prices continue to rise.

Darden Restaurants, which operates Olive Garden and Red Lobster, beat Wall Street forecasts with an 8.5 percent increase in profits after warm weather brought more people to its restaurants. But Darden stock fell 1.7 percent.

Crude oil rose 1.4 percent after a brief downturn Thursday. Gasoline has risen 59 cents per gallon since Jan. 1 and the average price nationwide is above $4 in at least eight states, plus the District of Columbia.

And then there is China and Europe. New surveys showed a contraction in the manufacturing sector in China, a bellwether for world demand as it produces and exports a huge amount of consumer goods. In Europe, Ireland dipped back into recession.

However, Lutts believe the worries are overblown. “Though China is slowing, I’m not that worried because the government will do all it can to get growth back on track,” he said.

Treasury prices and gold rose. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.23 percent.

In other corporate news:

• Micron Technology fell 3.6 percent, one of the biggest drops in the S&P 500. The maker of computer chips and flash memory reported a larger loss than analysts expected after the market closed Thursday.

• KB Home stock plunged 8.5 percent after it said there was a spike in cancellations of contracts for new homes between December and February, driving its home orders down 8 percent. Buyers canceled orders because KB Home raised prices and some mortgage lenders backed away from making loans.

• Fertilizer maker Mosaic Co. was up 2.5 percent after JPMorgan analysts upgraded the stock for securing new contracts.

• Morgan Stanley stock moved up 3.8 percent, after a Credit Suisse analyst upgraded its stock on an improved outlook for its investment banking business.

Roland Ellison, on the stand in his own defense, admits repeatedly punching, kicking corrections officer

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Roland Ellison said his assault on the correctional officer was done alone, without his co-defendant.

SPRINGFIELD – Roland Ellison took the stand in his own defense Friday at his trial for the severe beating of a correctional officer at the Hampden County Correctional Center in Ludlow.

He didn’t deny pummeled and kicked correctional officer Joseph Giannetti repeatedly on Jan. 5, 2011, causing a severe concussion, broken rib, fractured cheek and forehead lacerations.

The Hampden Superior Court jury has seen the jail video of the beating numerous times during the trial in front of Judge Constance M. Sweeney.

Sheriff Michael J. Ashe previously called the assault the worst instance of an officer injured at the hands of an inmate in the last 20 years.

Ellison, 32, of Springfield, said when he was kicking and punching Giannetti he did not see Ellison’s head hitting a metal grate that was part of the shelving in the officers station.

And Ellison said his co-defendant, Alex Gonzalez, had no role in planning or carrying out the attack on Giannetti.

Edward C. Bryant Jr., Ellison’s lawyer, acknowledged in closing arguments the jury could see Ellison attacking Giannetti on the video.

That is the charge of assault and battery on a correction officer, Bryant said.

But, Bryant said, the state didn’t prove Ellison knew Giannetti’s head was hitting the metal grate. He said jurors should find him innocent of the charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (the metal grate).

Assistant District Attorney Howard I. Safford told jurors Ellison would have had to see and hear Giannetti’s head hitting the grate as he punched the correctional officer.

Jurors are scheduled to resume deliberating Monday.

Ellison said his beating of Giannetti was not planned, and he snapped because Giannetti said something about his mother, who died in November 2010.

Ellison said an exchange he started with Giannetti got acrimonious and the officer said he didn’t care about his (Ellison’s) dead mother.

Safford suggested to jurors Ellison fabricated that conversation, in tandem with Gonzalez, to have an excuse for the assault on Giannetti at trial.

Giannetti had testified his severe concussion caused him to have some memory loss from that day, but said he doesn’t recall saying anything about Ellison’s mother and he would not have said such a thing.

Elizabeth Rodriguez-Ross, lawyer for the 21-year-old Gonzalez, said there is no evidence at all Gonzalez had anything to do with planning the assault or helping Ellison.

She said Gonzalez, on the video, looks shocked and backs up when he sees Ellison beat Giannetti.

Safford said Gonzalez can be seen on the video with Ellison before the attack, watching him during the attack and shaking his hand and hugging afterwards.

Several jail staff people and inmates testifying for the prosecution said when inmates are planning to fight they “strap up,” or tighten the Velcro on their sneakers.

Safford said the video shows Gonzalez and Ellison “strapping up” before Ellison attacks Giannetti.

Ellison testified he was just tucking his pant leg into his sneaker.

Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School students get language credits for studying American Sign Language

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The South Hadley charter school is the only high school in Western Massachusetts in which students earning foreign language credits for learning this silent form of communication.

Ae sign 7.jpgStudents take part in an American Sign Language class at the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School in South Hadley recently. Students in front include, from left, Hannah McNeight, Isidora Germain and Liam Bobersky.

SOUTH HADLEY – The classroom is perfectly silent as the teacher points to words on a paper easel and students recite them soundlessly, with their hands.

The teacher is Ava Fradkin, and her students at Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School are learning American Sign Language.

Performing Arts is the only high school in Western Massachusetts in which students are earning foreign language credits for learning this silent form of communication.

Some in Fradkin’s class have friends or relatives who are hearing-impaired, but others say it’s just important to them to learn a different way of communicating.

“I thought it would be cool,” said Ali Kirschner, 14, of Haydenville, who had paired off with classmate Iris Suarez, 16, of Springfield, to practice a dialogue.

The class began seven months ago, and already the youngsters’ fingers seem to point, clench, flutter, float, flow and soar with an impressive fluency.

They insist the language is not hard to learn. When asked about finger spelling, Jared Franz, 14, of Chicopee, rattles off the alphabet on one hand. “Q is kind of weird,” he said.

Sentence structure can be hard, Franz admits.

Maddie Silverman, 15, of Southampton, said their teacher started the term by raising her elbows in the air and pretending to scratch her sides. That was their first word: Monkey.

Silverman wears a rolled-up red bandana to hold back lush dark-blond locks. Franz wears a maroon fedora. Around the room, a redhead wears a turquoise headband and another girl wears a beach dress over cuffed jeans.

These are, after all, youngsters in the performing arts. They dress and move to be seen, and in this respect, sign language seems especially suited to them.

“It definitely helps your body language,” said Aaron Collette, 16, of Chicopee, who sings and acts. Facial expressions are integral to sign, and can alter a word’s meaning.

“You learn easier by moving your body,” said Collette’s classmate Veronica Bergendale, 16, of Springfield. “You’re more involved in it.”

Fradkin said her students have signed at choral concerts and incorporated sign language into dance. One of her students became a professional interpreter.

She has been teaching at the school for eight years. Sign classes have been offered at Performing Arts ever since it opened 15 years ago.

Fradkin got interested in her field about 25 years ago, while working in Vermont as a teacher’s aide to a six-year-old girl who had “no communication skills at all.”

The parents wanted the child to learn oral communication, and resisted having her learn sign language.

Finally they relented. Fradkin took a course in sign and began teaching it to the child.

“Her mind opened up,” said Fradkin. “Within weeks, she was reading. It was so beautiful and exciting to see.”

Fradkin went on to study sign at the graduate level and now teaches beginner, intermediate and advanced sign at Performing Arts.

She also works with the deaf-blind community and participates in a sign-language group that meets twice a month.

An informal group for those interested in sign meets at 6 p.m. on second Tuesdays of the month in Amherst and third Tuesdays of the month in Northampton.

This is not a class. For more information, email afradkin@pvpa.org.

Former Massachusetts Probation Department officials face indictments in hiring scandal

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U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said the indictments are only one step in the investigation of corruption in the department.

This is an updated version of a story posted at 9:41 this morning.

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BOSTON - Declaring the charges as only "one step" in her investigation, U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz on Friday unveiled indictments against the former deputy probation commissioner in Springfield and the state's two former top state probation officials .

The indictments, a dramatic development in the ongoing hiring scandal in probation, charge the three former officials with operating a sham hiring system at probation that favored politically-connected candidates pushed mostly by current or former state legislators.

Indictments were lodged against former Springfield deputy probation commissioner William H. Burke III of Hatfield, former probation commissioner John J. O'Brien of Quincy and former second deputy probation commissioner Elizabeth V Tavares of Newton.

At a press conference to announce the indictments in Boston, US Attorney Ortiz said, "This is just one step in an ongoing investigation."

The indictment lists 23 examples of politically-connected hires or promotions. In the examples, the 20-page indictment uses only the initials of the successful applicants and identifies legislators only by their legislative titles or as "members" of the state House of Representatives or Senate.

William Burke 2004.jpgWilliam H. Burke III

Ortiz said that "Beacon Hill is full of a lot of hard-working, genuinely committed individuals." But she added, "Where there has been conduct involving political corruption in the past, we will clearly try to ferret it out."

She declined to specify whether legislators would be targets of potential future indictments.

"There's a lot of patronage that was clearly going on, but patronage in and of itself is not illegal," Ortiz said. "Our responsibility is to determine whether or not federal criminal laws were violated."

Here is a link to the indictment issued by Ortiz.

At their arraignments, Burke, O'Brien and Tavares each pleaded innocent in U.S. District Court in Worcester on Friday afternoon.

O'Brien, 55, Burke, 68, and Tavares, 54, were released on conditions but all were led out of the courtroom in handcuffs after their arraignments.

O'Brien, Burke and Tavares were each arrested on Friday and charged with one count of racketeering conspiracy and 10 counts of mail fraud. The mail fraud, part of the alleged illegal hiring scheme, include mostly mailing rejection letters to unsuccessful candidates for probation jobs.

O'Brien and Tavares were each also charged with a count of substantive racketeering.

If convicted, the defendants each face up to 20 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine on each count, Ortiz's office said.

Burke, a 35-year veteran of the probation department in Western Massachusetts who retired in 2009 with an $83,000 pension, was enmeshed in the hiring at probation, according to a 307-page report issued in 2010 by Paul Ware, an independent counsel appointed by the state Supreme Judicial Court to investigate probation hiring.

According to the indictment, Burke, deputy commissioner for 10 years before retiring, O'Brien and Tavares participated in a conspiracy between 2000 and 2010 including multiple acts of mail fraud.

They are charged with using a “sham hiring system” that favored candidates sponsored by legislators, judges and others including one hire, listed as only “K.P.,” in the indictment.

“K.P.,” who was sponsored by former House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran, was hired as a manager in the electronic monitoring program in Springfield in 2001, though she was not the most qualified, according to the indictment. Holding that position is Kathleen Petrolati, wife of Ludlow Rep. Thomas M. Petrolati, who has long been tangled up in the probation scandal and previously agreed to give up his position as the No. 3 power in the House.

John P. Pucci , a lawyer representing Petrolati, who is the dean of the Western Massachusetts legislative delegation, said on Thursday he has "absolutely no reason" to believe that Petrolati could be indicted. Pucci could not be reached on Friday.

As a matter of constituent service, Petrolati made recommendations for people to get jobs, but that is not a crime, Pucci has said. Many other members of the state Legislature also recommended people for positions in probation, he has said.

No legislators or other elected officials have been charged with criminal offenses in connection with the probation scandal.

According to Friday's indictment, the Senate President in 2008 -- who was Therese Murray, the current Senate president, -- sponsored three candidates for probation officers who were hired in Plymouth courts even though they were not the most qualified.

House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, a Winthrop Democrat, is also mentioned in the indictment for sponsoring the son of an aide for a probation officer's job in Boston in 2005. DeLeo was chairman of House Ways and Means at the time. DeLeo sponsored Brian Mirasolo, the son of his assistant Leonard Mirasolo, The son was hired even though he was not the most qualified, the indictment said.

In a statement, Murray said the indictment does not indicate she was aware of any fraudulent actions.

"My office receives many requests for assistance each year, including requests for public, private and institutional referrals," Murray said. "But we have no control over any hiring process and the indictment does not suggest that I was aware of any fraudulent conduct within the probation department. Indeed, when I did learn about what was going on in probation, we led a forceful and thorough overhaul of the department’s hiring practices last year to insure the highest degree of transparency possible."

Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr of Gloucester urged Ortiz to leave "no stone unturned" in her investigation.

People should not "rest until anyone who corrupted our state government in this case is appropriately punished, and all possible reforms are enacted to ensure that this behavior never happens again," Tarr said in a statement.

In U.S. District Court in Worcester on Friday, Magistrate Judge Timothy S. Hillman released Burke, O'Brien and Tavares on numerous conditions including that they surrender passports, give a DNA sample, provide an unsecured bond of $25,000 and avoid all contact with possible victims or witnesses in the investigation.

Only Burke had guns to surrender. He was ordered to remove all firearms from his residence and adjoining residence and surrender his firearm identification card to the Hatfield Police Department.

The judge agreed to allow Burke to have contact with his daughter, after Burke's lawyer, James C. Bradbury, told Hillman that Burke's daughter was mentioned in the indictment.

Burke's daughter, called "M.B." was also hired as an assistant manager in the electronic monitoring department in 2001 in Springfield. She also was not the most qualified, and she was sponsored by her father, the indictment said.

Burke's lawyer said after the arraignment that his client is doing "very well." He would not comment further on specifics because he said he had just received the indictment, including whether the hiring of Burke's daughter was legitimate.

"Mr. Burke has not committed any crime in the 38 years that he served the commonwealth," Bradbury said, adding he looks forward to defending his client.

Hillman was going to restrict the defendants' travel to Massachusetts, but because Tavares has an 11-year-old daughter on a traveling softball team, he opened it up to the New England states for all the defendants.

"Good luck," Hillman told the defendants.

The former probation officials hired people sponsored by legislators but also maintained a facade of a merit-based hiring system that increased their ability to win favorable votes on the budget and other interests, the indictment said.

Instead of hiring the best qualified, the former probation officials promoted the most politically connected or sponsored candidates, the indictment said. This was done to increase the probation budget, gain control over the enterprise and build their power, the indictment said.

They kept "sponsor lists" to ensure that legislators' candidates were hired, the indictment said.

"This sham system was used to conceal that the hiring systems were pre-determined and not based on the merits but upon the nature and extent of the sponsorship," the indictment said. "O'Brien would take names from sponsor lists and give them to Tavares, Burke and interview panels."

They sought to ensure that preferred candidates reached the final round of interviews and also had the highest score at the final interview, it said. Scoring sheets were falsified and other methods skewed to reach this result, prosecutors said in the indictment.

Friday's indictment follows the arrest in December of an acting chief probation officer in Western Massachusetts, who was charged with intimidating and harassing another probation officer who is a witness in the federal investigation of hiring practices at the state Probation Department, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

Christopher J. Hoffman, 39, of Hatfield, the acting chief probation officer in Hampshire Superior Court who was placed on leave on Oct. 26, was the first person to face criminal charges in the federal investigation of the probation department. Hoffman was charged with two counts of obstruction of justice.


Material from the Statehouse News Service was used in this report. Lori Stabile, staff writer for The Republican, contributed from Worcester.

Gov. Deval Patrick tours Fairview Veterans Memorial Middle School in Chicopee to highlight achievement gaps

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In January, Patrick announced $10 million in funding for the Gateway Cities program in 2013 budget, underscoring his administration’s commitment to ensuring all students are prepared for achieve in the classroom and in life.

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CHICOPEE – The state’s top executive met some of the city’s top students today when Gov. Deval L. Patrick visited Fairview Veterans Memorial Middle School.

The governor was serenaded by the school orchestra as he arrived with State Education Secretary S. Paul Reville to highlight efforts to close learning achievement gaps in 24 so-called Gateway Cities, including Chicopee.

Meeting with students in the school library, Patrick said the state had the highest overall achievement levels nationwide, but also had troubling pockets of underachievement, particularly with special needs and bi-lingual students as well as those from low-income families.

“I am proud of the progress we have made, but we won’t be satisfied until we have a system that prepares all of our students for success,” Patrick said.

In January, Patrick announced $10 million in funding for the Gateway Cities program in 2013 budget, underscoring his administration’s commitment to ensuring all students are prepared for achieve in the classroom and in life.

As outlined by the governor, the goals of the Gateway Cities program include getting all children to reading proficiency by the third grade; preparing all students for college or careers and providing bi-lingual students will support they need to succeed.

“This ... represents the next phase in our efforts to close persistent achievement gaps and focus our resources on our neediest children, while challenging all students to do significantly better,” Reville said.

Fairview Memorial, with about 700 students in grades six to eight, has its own achievements to celebrate; in September, the school was one of 127 commended statewide for sizable improvements in test scores during the last school year.

During a meeting in the library, students in the advanced placement program, called REACH, quizzed the governor about the pressures of his job and his adventures on the campaign trail for his friend Barack Obama.

Patrick, who has known the president for 15 years, said he was proud of Obama’s performance, particularly given the difficulties of running the country during a major economic downturn. He praised Obama for reviving the auto industry, reforming Wall Street and keeping the nation’s economy out of a depression.

“And he’s kept his cool,” Patrick added.

The program’s teacher, Michael J. Burke, was impressed with his students session with the governor. “I think they did an excellent job; I’ve very proud of then,” he said.

Patrick also took the opportunity to pay tribute to school staffer Sherlene Hart, a supporter who got Patrick to promise to visit the school during his first campaign.

He said Hart scolded him for taking five years to show up, but added: “Like (Hart), all my best teachers scolded me when I was in school.”


Charles Groce, Robert Murphy nominated as Springfield District Court judges

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Both Groce and Murphy got their law degrees from Western New England University School of Law.

ae groce 2.jpgSpringfiield lawyer Charles W. Groce III, who has been nominated to become a Springfield District Court judge is seen in a 2011 court appearance.

SPRINGFIELD – Governor Deval Patrick has nominated two local lawyers to be Springfield District Court judges.

Patrick on Friday nominated Charles W. Groce III and Robert S. Murphy Jr. to Springfield District Court.

If confirmed, they will fill vacancies in District Court here, where a shortage of judges has been a problem for some time.

He also named Theresa A. Bisenius to the Essex County Division of the Probate and Family Court.

“It is an honor to nominate these well qualified and highly respected attorneys,” said Patrick.

“I am confident that they have the experience, legal knowledge and temperament to excel on the bench,” the governor said.

Groce has been a solo practitioner in Springfield since 1999, with a focus on criminal defense.

From 1997 to 1999, he worked on both criminal and civil litigation in the Springfield law office of the late Perman Glenn III.

Groce, who lives in Springfield, serves as vice president of the Hampden County Lawyers for Justice.

He is a 1993 graduate of the University of Connecticut and got his law degree in 1997 from Western New England University School of Law.

Groce would fill the vacancy created by the retirement of the Judge Nancy Dusek-Gomez.

Robert S. Murphy Jr. is a partner at the Springfield firm of Bacon Wilson where he has worked since 1994 and is involved in all aspects of criminal, civil and administrative law.

Prior to joining the firm, Murphy, of Longmeadow, served as an assistant district attorney and chief district court prosecutor in Hampden County.

He is a mentor to first year law students and serves as a moot court judge at Western New England University School of Law.

Murphy is a 1981 graduate of Syracuse University and got his law degree in 1987 from Western New England University School of Law.

Murphy would fill the vacancy from the retirement of Judge Jacques C. Leroy.

These nominations were sent to the Governor's Council, a panel that must confirm or deny judicial nominations by the governor.

The council on Wednesday will schedule dates for interviewing each of the nominees. After the interviews, the council will vote on whether to confirm the two nominations.

The salary for each of the two judges would be $129,694 a year.

Dead man found in car on Pine Street in Holyoke's Churchill Neighborhood

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Police as of Friday night had no identify for the dead man.


HOLYOKE – A dead man was found in a car parked on Pine Street between Hampshire and Sargeant streets about 4 p.m. Friday, but foul play isn’t suspected, police said.

“But it’s still under investigation....We don’t have any identity yet,” Sgt. John P. Hart said.

Someone who saw the man at the Churchill Neighborhood site called police, said Hart, who said further details were unavailable.

Massachusetts fire towers are on lookout as dry conditions have state 'ready to burn'

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The state Department of Conservation and Recreation began staffing its fire towers Friday as dry conditions around the state elevated the danger of brush fires. Watch video

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PELHAM – Greg Whittier’s office comes with a view – and what a view.

“People sometimes pay big bucks to have a view like this,” said Whittier of Springfield. “On a clear day, you can see the Harford skyline.”

His office on this afternoon is the 80-foot fire tower on top of Mount Lincoln in Pelham, and the tools of his trade are a pair of binoculars, some maps and a radio.

Whittier, a patrolman - state firefighter II with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation's Bureau of Fire Control, and his task today is what those on the job call “chasing smoke.” With his binoculars, he scans 360 degrees of horizon looking for signs of fire, namely smoke. From there, he can coordinate with other towers in the region to triangulate an exact location and then alert the local fire departments.

The Department of Conservation and Recreation began staffing its network of fire towers across the state on Friday as all signs point to the state entering what is called “fire season,” the overlapping period during the end of winter and the start of spring, after the snow has melted but before the trees, bushes and plants begins to bloom.

“This spring has been unlike any other I’ve seen in my career,” Whittier said. He was hired in 1997.

“It’s a very early start this year,” he said

Fire season is when everything on the ground is very dry, and very susceptible for catching fire.

Typically fire season comes in April.

This year it has started much earlier. Since January, there have been more than 70 brush fires reported in Massachusetts, including many in the last week as temperatures have risen into the upper 70s.

“The amazing this year is the spring fire season has been moved up 1½ to 2 months,” said David Celino, state Fire Warden for the Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Celino said the state operates a network of 42 fire towers. They are staffed only on days when the conditions say there is at least a high risk of brush fires.

Twenty-two of the towers were staffed on Friday, primarily in the eastern part of the state, where northeast Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire were placed under a Red Flag warning by the National Weather Service.

A Red Flag warning means an elevated risk of fire potential.

“This is fire weather,” he said.

Celino said the relatively snow-free winter is contributing to the danger now. Snow not only keeps twigs and leaves moist but it also tends to compact it into the ground. Without that compacting, there are spaces of air around the brush and that contributes to the tinderbox conditions.

Essentially, he said, every bit of woods visible from the tower in every direction is “ready to burn.”

Whittier said regardless of when fire season is, the watchers job is the same: to watch for smoke, any smoke, and sound the alert.

Sometimes it isn’t always necessary. Sometimes the smoke is a homeowner burning leaves. Sometimes the smoke is someone cooking on an outdoor grill.

“Some of the colleges do cookouts and we can pick up the smoke,” he said, gesturing down to the University of Massachusetts and Amherst College some five miles distant. “It’s always exciting when you see a fire somewhere and it turns out to be a barbecue,” he said.

Throughout the conversation with Whittier, his eyes never leave the horizon.

During the typical day, that is what fire watchers do; they watch. The tower itself is quite Spartan. With the exception of the mini-refrigerator in the corner, everything up there relates directly to the job. There is no computer, no Internet, no television, no AM-FM radio.

All those things would be a distraction and are not allowed, he said.

“We’re on the clock and we’ve got a job to do,” he said. “Every time you’re up here, it’s crucial that the operator be paying attention to what is going on,” he said.

Minutes after saying this, a plume of smoke appears out of nowhere miles away to the west, and Whittier springs into action.

Using an alidade affixed to a circular table map, Whittier establishes a line of sight to the smoke. He then radios the tower in Goshen where the operator there is also going through the exact same steps. By combining his line with the Goshen line, he is able to triangulate the exact position of the fire some 17 miles away on North Road in Westhampton, and relay the coordinates to Hampshire dispatch.

A short time later, the smoke disappears. He suspects, based on the color of the smoke and how it stayed in one place, that it was a controlled burn in Westhampton.

Celino said the network of towers uses basically the same technology that has been in use for more than a half century.

The towers themselves were installed in the 1880s, and Massachusetts was one of the first states to devise a network for fire spotting. It remains one of the few states that still uses it, Celino said.

“The reason we still use it is it works for us,” he said.

Southwick property taxes proposed to go down in wake of failed school building vote

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Selectman Russell Fox said the board has supported the project and continues to do so, but it has also received a petition with 120 signatures from residents opposed to putting the project as originally drafted back on the ballot.

SOUTHWICK – The January defeat by town voters of a proposed $72 million school building project that has divided the community prompted officials to revise the plan to reflect a 40 percent reduction in the estimated average property tax hike of $400.

Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District officials presented to the Board of Selectmen Wednesday night changes to their proposal for the controversial project and said a total cost reduction of about 3 percent, a “more realistic” estimate of the interest rate and reduced capital borrowing on the part of the district and town are all “major components” in the new proposal that will be brought to townspeople for a vote during the May 8 annual Town Meeting.

“Taken together, these reductions represent a 30 to 40 percent cost savings for Southwick taxpayers,” said John D. Barry, superintendent for the Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District. “That’s pretty significant.”

Selectman Russell S. Fox said the board has supported the project and continues to do so, but it has also received a petition with 120 signatures from residents opposed to putting the project as originally drafted back on the ballot.

“This has divided the community,” he said. “It is not a healthy thing. We have to work together for a reasonable solution.”

In February, Barry and the School Committee drafted a letter to the Massachusetts School Building Authority, poised to reimburse the district 60 percent, or $40 million, of the cost of the project, outlining the district’s next steps in achieving their goal to repair and expand Southwick schools.

The letter also asked the MSBA to extend the timeline school officials have to make a decision before the grant funds are no longer available. The letter, Barry said, identified election results, the reasons why the proposal was not successful and an extension on the request for state funding as key issues.

As it stands now, the district remains at the top of the MSBA list for the funds, but the “essence” of the project must remain intact, Barry said.

“We can’t change too much,” he said. “We already have preliminary approval from the MSBA and our attorney for the revised plan.”

Officials fear that if they do not proceed with the project while it is on the MSBA’s radar, the district will be pushed to the end of the long waiting list for future funding.

“Right now, it’s an absolute certainty that the money is right there on the table,” Barry said. “We were invited to the reimbursement program.”

Finance Committee member Linda Bathel said the significant reimbursement rate being offered by the state makes it imperative for the district to move forward with the project while the funds are available, a status that may change if the opportunity is not seized.

“If we snub our noses at it after we’ve said we’re in extreme need, we are not going to get moved up on that list or approved (for the project as it stands now),” she noted.

In early October, Southwick, Tolland and Granville voters approved at respective Town Meetings a regionalization plan that made Granville a member of the school district with the intention of earning a more substantial reimbursement rate from the MSBA for including that town. That vote, school officials said, remains valid.

January’s special Town Meeting vote resulted in Tolland voters supporting the initiative with a 65-24 vote, and Granville residents also approving it with 217 of 337 votes. Southwick voters killed the measure by a 249-vote margin.

School officials have said one of the biggest factors responsible for the project’s defeat was the fact that people did not understand the net cost to taxpayers amounted to $29.1 million. The project includes an addition at the high school and the assignment of grades seven and eight at the facility. Powder Mill Middle and Woodland schools will receive needed repairs and updating. There will also be changes in class assignments in those buildings with grades three to six at Powder Mill and kindergarten through grade two at Woodland.

Under the proposal, the Granville Village School, a pre-kindergarten through grade eight facility, will remain open at least for a couple of years, Barry said, with no immediate plans for its closure.

Holyoke City Hall to share in worldwide Light It Up Blue display to raise awareness about autism

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The Paper City will join the "blue" seen in places like New York City, Paris, Cairo, Japan, China and Mexico CIty.

blue logo.png

HOLYOKE – The city will participate in the “Light It Up Blue” autism awareness effort by illuminating City Hall in blue at night for the month of April.

World Autism Awareness Day is April 2 in which homes, landmarks, schools, businesses and other locations will be lit blue, according to the group Autism Speaks.

City Treasurer Jon D. Lumbra, whose 4-year-old daughter has autism, said Friday he appreciated Mayor Alex B. Morse’s support in directing public works crews to light City Hall in blue for the month of April.

“I think it’s important that we raise awareness of autism, something that affects one in every 110 children,” Morse said.

Autism, or autism spectrum disorders, are a group of developmental disabilities that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates an average of 1 in 110 children in the U.S have autism. There is no cure.

Among places worldwide that have participated by shining blue-tinted lighting are Rockefeller Center in New York City, Paris Stock Exchange, Sydney Opera House in Australia, Niagara Falls, in Ontario, Canada, Canton Tower, in Guangzhou, China, Kobe Port Tower in Japan, Hungarian Parliament Building, in Budapest, Cairo Tower in Egypt and Palacio de Bellas Artes, in Mexico City, according to lightitupblue.org

“Spectrum disorders” means the disorder affects each person differently. People with autism share symptoms such as problems with social interaction. But there are differences in when the symptoms start, how severe they are, and the exact nature of the symptoms, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

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