The council's inability to approve funding won't cause layoffs but will force more belt-tightening.

HOLYOKE – Faced with three choices, the City Council was unable to agree on the amount of a cash transfer for the School Department.

That leaves the school budget short more than $344,000 in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.

The highest amount of the three choices before the council March 20, $344,352, was tabled. That means councilors can consider whether to approve a transfer of that amount from the free cash account at the next meeting April 3.

Councilors were considering funding-transfer options of $258,264 and $172,176, in addition to the $344,352.

School officials have determined job losses will be unnecessary in the current fiscal year, however long the period lasts in which a cash transfer is unapproved. But department heads and school principals have been told to prepare for the remainder of the fiscal year on some expected spending not being available, said Devin M. Sheehan, School Committee vice chairman.

“Obviously, we would prefer the full amount and we would work with whatever we got back,” Sheehan said Friday.

The School Department budget is short, but different officials cite different reasons for that.

Todd A. McGee, chairman of the council Finance Committee, said during the March 20 meeting that preparations of the school budget for the current fiscal year were based on best estimates of what the state funding totals to the city would be.

It turned out, school officials had over-budgeted, and, in order to abide by the net school spending formula the state requires of the city, the $344,352 had to be returned to the city side of the budget, McGee said.

But, he said, the school budget for the current fiscal year was based on having the original estimated total of state aid, and that included the $344,352.

School officials said the issue is that the city is under-funded by the state in charter school reimbursements, special education costs and the more than $500,000 the city will spend this year to transport homeless children to school.

Councilors in debating the school funding transfer request seemed to be confused about procedure and options. They were given a “menu” of funding choices. The highest was the $344,352.

The second option was 75 percent of that, or $258,264. The third option was half, or $172,176.

McGee said school officials had said they would prefer the full $344,352, but could deal with $258,264.

Councilors became bogged down in debate about procedure related to there being three different financial totals for one purpose. They also were plowing through a 100-plus-item agenda that would take their meeting that night until midnight.

“I think the important thing here is not to lose touch of the true issue, education,” McGee said.

The council was facing winding up the night with less than $1 million in free cash.

That’s on top of possibly facing an additional $500,000 to cover the state’s unfunded share of educational incentives for police and a $465,000 bailout to the Holyoke Geriatric Authority in December, Ward 5 Councilor Linda L. Vacon said.

“Everytime we do this, we are putting the burden on the taxpayers,” Vacon said.

The council approved a cash transfer of $344,352, but it was by a vote of 9-6 – one short of the two-thirds required for passage. The item was then tabled.

The budgeted amount for the School Department for the current fiscal year is $88.2 million.

The school budget includes a city appropriation of $62,879,111, but most of the school budget, including part of the funding that is considered the city appropriation, consists of state aid.

The budget funds a system of 5,900 students, 1,600 employees, 11 schools and the administration.

When asked point-blank if he is supportive of Elizabeth Warren, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said he isn't with anybody, yet.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino during his State of the City address at Boston's Strand Theatre in Boston in January 2007 (Elise Amendola/AP)

BOSTON - During an interview with CBS affiliate WBZ-TV, Boston's Democratic Mayor Thomas Menino said he is not yet committed to either Elizabeth Warren or Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown in the U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts.

Menino, when asked who he would help Warren collect votes if the election were held today, said "When you vote, it's a secret ballot," before pausing for an awkward couple seconds of air time with the station's Jon Keller.

When asked point blank if he is supportive of Warren, a Harvard Law School professor who helped create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Menino said he isn't with anybody, yet.

"I'm not with anybody at this time," Menino said. "I got a lot of things I'm trying to do in the city of Boston."

He did hint that a Warren endorsement would be coming, saying that he wouldn't endorse a Republican or let such a high-profile election pass without throwing his two cents into the race.

"I never sit out an election. I always get involved, somehow, somewhere, some place," Menino said. "If it's not me, it's someone else, who stands in my shadow."

The fire chief said the wind blew the smoldering ashes into leaves, starting the fire. The shed was destroyed.

Three Rivers firefighters extinguish a shed fire at 77 Belchertown Road in the Three Rivers section of Palmer on Saturday.

PALMER – Unattended ashes caught fire on Saturday morning, burning a shed and siding on the homeowner's home and his next door neighbor's home.

Three Rivers Fire Chief Patrick J. O'Connor said Peter Lisak Jr. was burning brush and had left the ashes unattended because he had thought they were out. Lisak left his home at 77 Belchertown Road in the Three Rivers section of Palmer, and the fire was called by neighbors and a passing motorist.

O'Connor said the wind blew the smoldering ashes into leaves, starting the fire. The shed was destroyed.

O'Connor advises residents to clear around the area they will be burning, and to also wet the ground. He said they should have a rake and a hose nearby.

“Make sure everything is completely out . . . Watch it until it is completely out,” O'Connor said.

It took firefighters approximately 15 to 20 minutes to extinguish the fire.

Public Works Director Jeffrey Neece anticipates it will take about three weeks to complete the work.

Photo by Manon MirabelliDespite the official closure of the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail in Southwick until further notice, people continue to use it. Town officials urge residents to stay off the trail while the work in underway.

SOUTHWICK – The destructive effects of the surprise October snowstorm continue to affect the community with the temporary closure of the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail for the removal of debris and broken limbs and trees.

Public Works Director Jeffrey A. Neece said preliminary clean-up had already begun, but the work began “in earnest” on Thursday with state-contracted crews beginning the job at the Depot Street, Powder Mill and South Longyard roads intersection.

“The trail is currently closed to all activity, and it is anticipated that it will take about three weeks to complete the clean-up,” Neece said. “The reason for the closure is not only because work crews will be on site, but because leaning trees and hanging limbs are a danger to residents using the trail.”

The $99,000 job is part of a total $2 million town facilities storm clean-up cost that is being federally reimbursed through the Federal Emergency Management Administration at a 75 percent rate, said Chief Administrative Officer Karl J. Stinehart.

“These funds are part of an emergency authorization from the Department of Revenue,” he said.

Voters authorized at the January Town Meeting $2.3 million in short-term borrowing to cover the cost of the town-wide clean-up of municipal facilities, including the rail trail, town beach, the old town beach on Berkshire Avenue and the public library grounds, as well as roadways including Tannery, Powder Mill, North Longyard and Feeding Hills roads.

“Ground debris and all dangerous trees and hanging limbs will be removed and ground,” Neece said.

Stinehart said more concrete figures on the final cost of the job will not be known until it is complete and may come in closer to $2.5 million or $2.6 million, a short-term borrowing expenditure which will again have to be approved by voters at the May special Town Meeting.

Short-term borrowing, Stinehard added, allows the town to retain its reserve funds.”We have until June 30 to get the money back into the account,” he said. “We pay the cost up front then submit a reimbursement request to FEMA.”

The work is being done by vendors contracted by the state, Stinehart said.

The town’s 25 percent share of the cost, he said, will be paid through the free cash account. “We will seek a supplemental appropriation from voters to pay down the storm costs,” Stinehart said.

Weak readings on consumer confidence gave investors little reason to extend the recent rally.

By MATTHEW CRAFT | AP Business Writer

Associated PressTrader Christopher Morie, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Wall Street was poised for a higher opening Tuesday March 27, 2012, with Dow Jones industrial futures and S&P 500 both up. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK — Major stock indexes dipped Tuesday as weak readings on consumer confidence gave investors little reason to extend the recent rally.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 43.90 points to close at 13,197.73, a loss of 0.3 percent. Bank of America fell 3.3 percent, the biggest drop in the Dow, after an analyst downgraded the stock.

Major indexes opened higher, then pulled back after 10 a.m., when the Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence slipped in March. Higher gas prices offset the surging stock market. Around the same time, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Virginia reported that a measure of regional manufacturing plunged this month.

Other indexes edged lower. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 3.99 points to 1,412.52. The Nasdaq composite fell 2.22 points to 3,120.35.

More than four stocks fell for every three that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Trading volume was well below average at 3.4 billion.

The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq are up more than 1 percent for the week. The S&P 500 has already gained 12.3 percent to start the year. That three-month surge easily beats the 8 percent return most fund managers hope to make in a whole year. The Nasdaq is up even more for the year, 19.8 percent.

Brian Gendreau, market strategist at Cetera Financial, said the stock market still has room to go higher even after such a strong start. Companies in the S&P 500 index are trading for around 13 times their expected earnings over the next year, below the average of 14.6 times over the past decade. And there's plenty of cash still tucked away in the Treasury market.

"Compared to bonds, stocks remain very attractive," Gendreau said. "That doesn't tell you if we'll get a move in a week or a month from now, but it does tell you that there's a lot of pent-up demand."

Earnings from Lennar Corp. pulled housing stocks up. The country's third-largest builder reported quarterly profits that beat analysts' estimates by delivering more houses and pulling in more orders. Lennar rose 4.7 percent, the best gain in the S&P 500 index. PulteGroup rose 3.6 percent, D.R. Horton 2.8 percent.

The economic reports on consumer confidence and regional manufacturing helped push up prices in the U.S. government debt market, where traders park funds when the economy looks sluggish. The 10-year Treasury note rose 53 cents for every $100 invested. The yield fell to 2.18 percent from 2.26 percent late Monday.

Demand for Treasurys has pulled yields down from highs reached last week. The yield on the 10-year note touched 2.4 percent last Tuesday, the highest yield since October.

Natural gas prices fell again Tuesday on rising supplies and warmer winter weather. Natural gas futures fell 1.8 cents to $2.21 per 1,000 cubic feet. That's near a 10-year low and half of what natural gas fetched back in July.

Any money that consumers are saving on natural gas could wind up in the gasoline tank. The national average for regular gasoline in the U.S. is $3.90 per gallon. It's risen 62 cents since Jan. 1.

Among stocks making big moves:

• Walgreen Co. rose 1.2 percent. The drugstore chain posted a drop in quarterly earnings but the results still topped analysts' expectations.

• Apollo Group Inc. fell 8.5 percent, the biggest drop in the S&P 500. The for-profit education company reported a profit in the most recent quarter but issued a dim forecast. Apollo expects fewer students to enroll in the coming quarter.

• Ista Pharmaceuticals Inc. leapt 7.8 percent on news that Bausch & Lomb plans to buy the drug maker for roughly $500 million in cash. Ista gets most of its revenue from Bromday, an eye drop for patients recovering from cataract surgery. Bausch & Lomb plans to pay $9.10 per share for Ista, a 72-cent premium over Monday's closing price. Bausch & Lomb is privately held.

The pilot ranted about al-Qaida and a possible bomb onboard, passengers said.

By BETSY BLANEY and OSKAR GARCIA

Associated PressEmergency workers tend to a JetBlue captain who had a "medical situation" during a Las Vegas-bound flight from JFK International airport, Tuesday, March 27, 2012, in Amarillo, Texas. Passengers said the pilot screamed that Iraq or Afghanistan had planted a bomb on the flight, was locked out of the cockpit, and then tackled and restrained by passengers. The co-pilot who subsequently took command of the aircraft elected to land in Amarillo at about 10 a.m., JetBlue Airways said in a statement. (AP Photo/Steve Douglas)

LAS VEGAS — Passengers onboard a JetBlue flight bound for Las Vegas on Tuesday tackled and restrained the plane's captain after he was locked out of the cockpit by crew members, screamed 'they're going to take us down' and ranted about al-Qaida and a possible bomb onboard, passengers said.

The captain of JetBlue Airways Flight 191 from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport had a "medical situation" and the co-pilot diverted the plane to land in Amarillo, Texas, around 10 a.m., the airline said.

Passengers said the captain stormed out of the cockpit and started acting erratically and seemed disoriented. Tony Antolino, a 40-year-old executive for a security firm, said the captain walked to the back of the plane after crew members tried to calm him down. He then began yelling about an unspecified threat linked to Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan.

"They're going to take us down. They're taking us down. They're going to take us down. Say the Lord's prayer. Say the Lord's prayer," the captain screamed, according to Antolino.

Josh Redick, a passenger sitting near the middle of the plane, said the captain seemed "irate" and was "spouting off about Afghanistan and souls and al-Qaida."

The captain then tried to re-enter the cockpit, but he was not allowed back in. The captain had been exhibiting "erratic behavior," so the co-pilot locked him out of the cockpit, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.

Gabriel Schonzeit, who was sitting in the third row, said the captain said there could be a bomb on board the flight.

"He started screaming about al-Qaida and possibly a bomb on the plane and Iraq and Iran and about how we were all going down," Schonzeit told the Amarillo Globe-News.

Antolino, who said he sat in the 10th row, said he and three others tackled the captain as he ran for the cockpit door, pinned him and held him down while the plane landed at Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport.

"That's how we landed," he said. "There were four of us on top of him. ... Everybody else kind of took a seat and that's how we landed."

An off-duty airline captain who just happened to be a passenger on the flight went to the flight deck and took over the duties of the ill captain "once on the ground," the airline said in a statement. It didn't elaborate.

Shane Helton, 39, of Quinlan, Okla., said he saw emergency and security personnel coming on and off the plane as it sat on the tarmac at the Amarillo airport.

"They pulled one guy out on a stretcher and put him in an ambulance," said Helton, who went to the airport with his fiancée to see one of her sons off as he joined the Navy.

Helton said the ambulance then sat on the tarmac next to the plane for more than 30 minutes.

JetBlue said the ill captain was taken to a medical facility in Amarillo.

Authorities interviewed each of the passengers once they had landed and left the plane, said 22-year-old passenger Grant Heppes, of New York City.

The FBI was coordinating an investigation with the airport police, Amarillo police, the FAA and the Transportation Safety Administration, said agency spokeswoman Lydia Maese in Dallas. She declined to say if any arrests had been made.

As a result of the incident, the FAA is likely to review the captain's medical certificate — essentially a seal of approval that the pilot is healthy. All pilots working for scheduled airlines must have a first-class medical certificate. The certificates are required to be renewed every year if the pilot is under 40, every six months if 40 or over.

To obtain a certificate, the pilot must receive a physical examination by an FAA-designated medical examiner that includes questions about the pilot's psychological condition. The medical examiner can order additional psychological testing.

Pilots are required to disclose all existing physical and psychological conditions and medications.

In 2008, an Air Canada co-pilot had a mental breakdown on a flight from Toronto to London and was forcibly removed from the cockpit, restrained and sedated. A flight attendant with flying experience helped the pilot safely make an emergency landing in Ireland, and none of the 146 passengers and nine crew members on board were injured.

Blaney reported from Lubbock, Texas. Associated Press writer Samantha Bomkampf contributed to this report from New York City.

Mayor Neffinger has said it is important to have a friendly face in the Assessors Office.

Photo by Don Treeger / The RepublicanWest Springfield Mayor Gregory C. Neffinger introduces Lauren J. Elliott, of Longmeadow, as West Side's new principal assessor.

WEST SPRINGFIELD – The city has hired a lawyer with experience representing cases before the state Appellate Tax board and doing municipal assessing as its new principal assessor.

Mayor Gregory C. Neffinger announced the news during a press conference Tuesday during which he introduced the new official, Lauren J. Elliott of Longmeadow, to the public.

“It is very important to me and to West Springfield to have a face there that is friendly and accessible,” Neffinger said of the Assessor’s Office.

Elliott was sworn in Tuesday morning as the permanent replacement for Christopher Keefe, whom Neffinger fired Feb. 8 following a dispute about tax abatement hearings for social clubs. In the interim, retired Agawam Assessor Chester J. Nicora Jr. has filled in a few hours a week. Elliott, 49, will be paid $69,878 a year.

Neffinger said Elliott has 25 years experience in all aspects of assessing, including serving as an assessor in Canaan, Salisbury and Goshen, Conn. as well as in Portsmouth, N.H.

Elliott has served as an expert witness on property tax issues in many trials, including testimony for the attorneys general offices in Connecticut and New Hampshire, according to Neffinger.

She has also worked for revaluation companies and understands Massachusetts General Laws, the mayor said.

“She will ensure the highest level of service and fairness to all residents and businesses in West Springfield,” Neffinger stated in a press release issued at the press conference. “She will be a great asset to our town.”

Elliott has a law degree from Western New England University School of Law.

The mayor said with Elliott’s hiring the city will have three members of the Board of Assessors as required in the city charter for the first time in eleven and a half years.

Earlier this month, the Town Council appointed Hans A. Doup and Stella E. Kalamarakis to the board. They had been nominated by Neffinger to fill a long-empty slot as well as the slot held by Kathleen Cooley, whom the mayor removed for what he said were state Open Meeting Law violations.

Neffinger said the new board will be able to get started right away with hearings on requests by property owners for real estate tax abatements.

The policy, if approved April 5, would take effect next year after training of school nurses and outreach to parents.

SPRINGFIELD – School Committee members heard a mix of public support and opposition on Tuesday in considering a policy that would provide students, ages 12 and older, with access to condoms in the schools aimed at reducing teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

Approximately 25 people attended the Parent-Student Concerns Subcommittee meeting at Frederick Harris School including parents, grandparents and health professionals, discussing the policy for about 90 minutes.

Committee Chairman Antonette E. Pepe said she will seek final approval of the “Comprehensive Reproductive Health Policy” at the committee’s next meeting, April 5, and will continue to support it based on believing it is in the best interest of the children’s health and success. Children are having unprotected sex, and are being harmed by it, she said.

Under the policy, students in the middle schools and high schools can request condoms from a school nurse before school or during lunch, and would receive some counseling including discussion of abstinence and how to use the condom. The policy received first-step approval March 15, by a 5-1 vote, with committee member Peter Murphy casting the sole vote against the policy.

Superintendent of Schools Alan J. Ingram, said if passed, the policy will take affect next school year after training of school nurses and after all affected parents are contacted, informed, and given an “opt-out” option for their children.

Matthew H. Ferri, among residents who raised objections about the condom policy, said that although he received much more information at the meeting, it has not changed his mind and he will exercise his right to “opt out” his children. His twin daughters are entering middle school next year.

“What I fail to understand is the School Committee’s urgency to implement this policy without fully vetting this hot-button social issue throughout the community; to allow for great community input, testimony and concern,” Ferri said in a prepared statement during the meeting.

There was also debate if there are legal or liability issues, with Ferri saying he believes the health workers would be mandated by law to report that children asking for condoms are at “substantial risk of harm.”

Dr. Sarah Perez McAdoo, co-chairwoman of the Springfield Adolescent Sexual Health Advisory council and also a parent, said a key to the policy is that it will include counseling to those students seeking condoms, provided by a trained health clinician. The policy is to protect their health, she said.

She and other policy advocates said Springfield has high rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, and that a poll of Springfield 9th graders in 2010 found that 22 percent reported having sex at age 12 or younger.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, chairman of the School Committee, said the program is not just “throwing” condoms to students. Everyone would hope that teens are relying on information from their parents and church, but sex at a young age is happening, hurting them and the economy, he said.

George M. Laroe, a parent of seven adult children and 13 grandchildren, said he cannot support the condom policy.

“I still can’t picture a 12-year-old having condoms,” Laroe said. “I think it’s a family issue. It should be taught in the church. It’s not a school issue.”

Laroe said it was disappointing how few parents attended the meeting.

Another resident, Elizabeth Lewis, said she would be more comfortable with the policy if brochures are given to students who seek condoms, with the brochures stressing abstinence as the best avenue. While the draft policy states that a brochure would be offered, Lewis said it should not be optional.

Most of the speakers had lived in the family-friendly neighborhood for decades, and were especially worried that renters would not fit in.

SOUTH HADLEY – The Planning Board has approved unanimously the request of Gerald Coderre Development to build a duplex for rental on Wood Avenue, a small dead-end street off Route 116.

The plan had met with objections from about a dozen residents at a public hearing in Town Hall that was held a week earlier and had to be continued on Monday.

Most of the speakers had lived in the family-friendly neighborhood for decades, and were especially worried that renters would not fit in.

They also expressed concerns about parking, water drainage and the “character” of the street being changed by the one-story design – which, ironically, Gerald Coderre said he had chosen to make his building less obtrusive.

After listening to the objections, Coderre and his surveyor, Randall Izer, came back this week with a “plan B,” a two-story house that better matched the roofline of the street and reduced the amount of “impervious surface” on the lot. The new plans also include a catch-basin in the southwest corner of the lot for water runoff.

Planning Board members told the developer they appreciated his coming up with a new design. Board member Helen Fantini said some petitioners just keep coming back with the same thing, but Coderre had listened.

Other members of the board also preferred Plan B.

They said the new structure might actually improve the drainage problem on Wood Avenue, and if it continued it should be reported to the town’s Department of Public Works, since it did not concern Coderre.

As for parking, they said Coderre had planned for enough parking spaces on his lot that renters would not be clogging the streets as residents feared. In fact, homeowners had been parking on Wood Avenue in violation of the law.

The board added many conditions to the special permit it was providing, including assurances that a maple tree would not be harmed and, being in a “pretty beat-up” state to begin with, would be replaced if it did not survive.

The fire chief said Holyoke is among 22 communities in Massachusetts in which population density prohibits open burning.

HOLYOKE – A swimming pool deck was destroyed Tuesday by a fire caused by a woman burning leaves a day after the Fire Department issued a reminder that all open burning is illegal, officials said.

“We can’t stress it enough that nobody should be doing any outdoor burning,” Fire Department Lt. Thomas G. Paquin said.

Firefighters extinguished a backyard blaze at 31 Congress Ave., which is between Chapin and South Elm streets in the Elmwood neighborhood. The fire spread from leaves to a pool deck that measured 6 feet by 8 feet, Paquin said. The call came just after 2 p.m.

Holyoke Fire Chief John A. Pond

On Monday, Fire Chief John A. Pond reminded residents Holyoke is among 22 cities and towns in the state where all open burning is prohibited because of the density of population and the close proximity of buildings.

The reminder came now because the danger of brush fires is a concern after the mild winter left the landscape “extremely dry,” Pond said.

The state no-open-burning list includes Chicopee, Springfield and West Springfield.

The open-burning ban doesn’t apply to outdoor cooking.

Besides the fire risk, open burning pollutes the air and can make it difficult for people with respiratory problems to breathe, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Fappiano is serving a life sentence in the death of her son, Clyde Harper Jr.

File photo by David Molnar / The RepublicanSusan Fappiano, formerly of Holyoke, is seen in Hampden Superior Court in Springfield in 1998.

NATICK - A former Holyoke woman, convicted of murdering her 15-month-old son in 1996, on Tuesday pleaded for early release from state prison, saying she deeply regrets abusing her children.

"I want to have another chance to prove myself, to show that I can go out in society," Susan Fappiano, who is 41, told members of the state Parole Board during a hearing in her first attempt at parole for the killing in Holyoke.

Fappiano is serving a life sentence after being found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of her son, Clyde Harper Jr., who suffered a severed small intestine and a lacerated liver, according to testimony in the case.

"My son died in my arms," Fappiano told the parole board during her testimony. "I wish it never happened. I wish there was way to bring him back."

After serving about 15 years, she is now eligible for parole on the second-degree murder conviction. Even if she wins parole on that charge, she then must serve two consecutive 9- to 10-year sentences on other convictions including assault and battery on two of her other four children, Jeffrey Columbus, who was 5, and Shy-la Harper, then 3.

Photo by Dan Ring / The RepublicanSusan Fappiano is seen seated in front of microphones at her parole hearing Tuesday.

At the end of the hearing, Fappiano broke down and sobbed when she read a prepared statement to apologize to those two children. Fappiano said she knows she was wrong to abuse them.

"You don't have to be afraid," Fappiano said, sitting with her arms and legs in chains. "I can't hurt you any more."

Fappiano's boyfriend, Alberto Torres, then of Springfield, was convicted of first-degree murder in the beating death of the 15-month-old boy.

After a jury verdict on Fappiano's case, the judge said the woman was operating "a torture chamber" in her home and beat the children mercilessly.

Fappiano, who grew up in Holyoke, also has a third surviving child, who has Down's syndrome and lives with her mother. Fappiano appeared at the parole hearing with no lawyer and no one in support of her parole bid.

At the hearing, Elizabeth Dunphy Farris, the legal counsel to the Hampden District Attorney, opposed parole for Fappiano. She said Fappiano lacks any insight about what she had done to the children.

"This is a horrific case," Dunphy Farris said, adding that Fappiano's punishment requires much more time.

During her testimony, Fappiano portrayed Torres as the killer and downplayed her own role.

She said Torres was stepping on the child's back the night of the murder. "I ran and knocked him off," she told the parole board. "I said, 'What are you doing?' He laughed."

She said Torres also often battered her and required her to beat her children with a belt.

"I would tell him, 'Hit me. Don't hit the kids.' He would give me a weird evil look."

Parole board members indicated it was unlikely they would grant parole to Fappiano.

Joshua Wall, the chairman of the board, told Fappiano that she failed to describe herself as criminally responsible. Wall told her that she needs a lot more work with a counselor.

"We can't accept your version of events," Wall said. "It's not accurate."

Parole board member Sheila M. Dupre also told Fappiano that she is not taking responsibility for the abuse of her children. Dupre said she had trouble sleeping after reading the file on Fappiano and looking at pictures of her abused children.

"You are sitting here today still protecting yourself," Dupre said.

Given its losses, the business could have moved on, rather than rebuilding, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said at the reopening ceremony in the building’s foyer.

Photo by Mark M. Murray / The RepublicanSpringfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, right, talks with Dave Dudley and Linda Guidetti, owner and manager respectively of Dave's Furniture at Main and Union streets, which reopened Tuesday, 10 months after being hit by the June 1 tornado.

SPRINGFIELD – Nearly 10 months after taking a direct hit from the June 1 tornado, Dave’s Furniture celebrated its reopening Tuesday.

The store, at 1028 Main St., suffered structural and roof damage from the storm that inflicted extensive damage on businesses and homes across the city’s South End.

Given its losses, the business could have moved on, rather than rebuilding, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said at the reopening ceremony in the building’s foyer.

“They could have gone someplace else, but they didn’t want to,” Sarno said, standing with store owner David Dudley, manager Linda Guidetti and several state and city officials.

Sarno said the reopening was another sign of the economic strength and resilience of the South End business district.

To defray some storm costs, the city awarded Dave’s $10,000 in rebuilding funds.

Dudley said he was delighted to be back in business and encouraged by the pace of rebuilding throughout the South End.

While the one year anniversary of the tornado is approaching, Dudley said the past 10 months have been especially challenging. “It’s been a long year,” he said.

Guidetti recalled seeing the funnel cloud approaching, then running into the cellar. An air conditioner was torn off the wall and flung into the cellar, just missing Guidetti and another employee.

“I thought the building was going to collapse. It sounded just like a freight train was going by, and then there was silence,” she said.

Debris from the adjacent South End Community Center created severe roof damage at Dave’s; part of the brick facade in the front also had to be rebuilt, Guidetti said.

Besides commending Dave’s for its return, Sarno praised city economic development officials for helping South End businesses survive the storm. He said 67 businesses were able to relocate or reopen within several weeks, despite widespread damage along the Main Street corridor.

Audrey Geisel is 90-year-old widow of the beloved author and native of Springfield, Mass., whose real name was Theodore Geisel.

Associated PressThis undated photo shows a Lorax statue at the home of Audrey Geisel, widow of Theodore Geisel, the real name of Dr. Seuss, in San Diego. The 2-foot statue of Dr. Seuss's the Lorax has been stolen from the San Diego home of the author's 90-year-old widow. U-T San Diego says Audrey Geisel noticed Monday, March 26, 2012, that the statue was missing from her garden. (AP Photo/U-T San Diego)

SAN DIEGO — They took the Lorax, made of bronze, the thieves they came, and now he's gone.

A 2-foot statue of Dr. Seuss' Lorax character was stolen from the San Diego backyard garden of the 90-year-old widow of the beloved author whose real name was Theodore Geisel.

Audrey Geisel noticed the statue and its tree-stump base were missing from the garden and were likely stolen over the weekend.

Property manager Carl Romero told U-T San Diego on Tuesday that he found footprints indicating the thieves had dragged the 300-pound statue to an access road and lifted it over a fence.

He had seen the statue Saturday afternoon, and Geisel noticed it was missing Monday morning.

Audrey Geisel's daughter Lark Grey Dimond-Cate cast two of the sculptures. One was the lone Seuss character to reside on the family's property overlooking the Pacific Ocean in La Jolla. The other sits at the Dr. Seuss National Memorial in the author's hometown, Springfield, Mass. Theodore Geisel died in 1991 at age 87.

"I want very badly to get our little Lorax back home where he belongs," Dimond-Cate said. "Wherever he is, he's scared, lonely and hungry. He's not just a hunk of metal to us. He was a family pet."

The Lorax has enjoyed special notoriety because of the recently released film version of Dr. Seuss's 1971 environmental fable, in which the mustachioed main character speaks out for the Truffula trees against corporate greed, personified by the evil Once-ler.

Dimond-Cate said she actually hopes the Lorax was stolen because of his newfound fame. Otherwise it could mean he was stolen for the bronze.

"I hope he hasn't been taken across the border into Tijuana for scrap," she said. "Worst-case scenario, I'll get the foundry to create another one, but he won't be the same."

Romero said the statue was stolen just before security cameras were installed, and few knew it was there.

The family has called San Diego police.

Romero said Audrey Geisel doesn't want to punish anyone and just wants the Lorax back.

"You can't sell it on eBay," he said.

Associated PressThis undated photo shows a Lorax statue at the home of Audrey Geisel, widow of Theodore Geisel, the real name of Dr. Seuss, in San Diego. The 2-foot statue of Dr. Seuss's the Lorax has been stolen from the San Diego home of the author's 90-year-old widow. U-T San Diego says Audrey Geisel noticed Monday, March 26, 2012, that the statue was missing from her garden. (AP Photo/U-T San Diego)

Gamache was stabbed multiple times Monday night, but as yet police have not disclosed a possible motive.

Staff photo by Michael GordonThe scene at 42 Pioneer Way, the site of Springfield's fourth homicide of the year, was quiet by 9 a.m. Tuesday as a lone police cruiser watched the home where Charles Gamache, 54, was stabbed to death Monday night.

SPRINGFIELD – Police continue to investigate the fatal stabbing late Monday of a 54-year-old resident of the Boston Road Mobile Home Park.

Police Capt. Peter Dillon, head of the Criminal Investigations Bureau, identified the man as Charles Gamache, of 42 Pioneer Way. Gamache was found stabbed just before 10 p.m. inside his mobile home inside the park at 1157 Boston Road.

Dillon would not disclose any information about the case, saying only that it remained under investigation.

The homicide is Springfield’s fourth since Jan. 1. Last year at this time there were six homicides in Springfield. There were 19 homicides in 2011.

Sgt. John M. Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet, speaking shortly before noon on Tuesday, said the investigation is ongoing.

“Detectives are following leads, chasing down some witnesses, taking statements,” he said. “We can’t really release any motive.”

Delaney said the neighborhood is virtually crime-free and well-patrolled by police. “Area residents that live off Boston Road have nothing to fear,” he said.

Police said Gamache was stabbed multiple times, but it was unclear if he was killed inside or outside his residence. The name “Gamache” appears on signs posted at both 42 and 44 Pioneer Way. Police said the latter address is the home of the victim’s 85-year-old mother.

From late Monday into Tuesday, cruisers blocked the one-way street between Easy Way and Zinnia Way as detectives shuttled between the crime scene and a forensic investigation
truck parked outside 42 Pioneer Way.

Staff photo by Patrick JohnsonDetectives open the rear door of the Springfield Police Department Forensic Investigation truck at the scene of a homicide investigation at the Boston Road Mobile Home Park.

The slaying occurred in the city’s Boston Road section, a neighborhood with a crime rate that’s lower than many other parts of the city.

In July, however, a neighborhood woman was killed at her home at 100 Phillips Ave., located several blocks west of the Boston Road trailer park. The death of Doris Alzak, 81, has been ruled a homicide, but authorities have not released an official cause of death.

Zinnia Way resident Antoinette Skiba was out walking her dog Tuesday morning. She expressed shock that a neighbor had been killed in the quiet trailer park, saying she tends to equate such violence with “downtown” or other city neighborhoods.

“I’m shocked because it’s in our neighborhood. It’s a little too close to home,” she said, pausing with her pug just a few yards from the homicide scene. “This is the first time I’ve ever heard about anything like this happening here. It’s shocking.”

Skiba, a New Jersey native who has lived in the park for about six years, said most park residents know each other, if not by name at least by sight. “We’re basically a family here. We all try to take care of each other,” she said, adding that she only knew Gamache in passing.

Skiba said the park’s older residents were particularly upset that such a crime could have
taken place in their close-knit community. “They’re scared,” she said.

CBS3 coverage of Springfield's latest homicide

Some thirty people attended the Tuesday night meeting of the Sector G Community Police Management Team in the Pine Point Community Center. The Boston Road mobile home park is part of Sector G, which includes Pine Point and the Boston Road neighborhoods.

The first question asked during the question-and-answer portion of the meeting concerned the status of the investigation.

Lt. Alberto Ayala said he knew the subject would come up but he said he regretted that he did not have anything to add about the status of the investigation. The homicide unit is working the case and it is the nature of their investigations that information is restricted to those directly involved in the case, he said.

Ayala said police plan walking patrols for that section of Boston Road including the mobile home park later this week.

After that, questions shifted to concerns about on traffic enforcement concerns throughout the sector.

Afterward, Sector G co-chair Kimberly Dinoia said residents of the park have attended the monthly meetings previously to express concerns ranging from parking issues to drug dealing, but seemed to be no concerns about violence previously.
Reporters George Graham and Patrick Johnson contributed to this report.

The legislators are expected to wear hooded sweatshirts, or "hoodies", in recognition of the now-iconic item of clothing that Martin was wearing when he was killed.

The Republican file photoCheryl Coakley-Rivera

BOSTON - State Representative Cheryl Coakley-Rivera will lead a "silent protest" outside House Chambers at the State House today in honor of slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.

Rivera, a Springfield democrat, will be joined by fellow Springfield State Rep. Benjamin Swan, State Rep. Gloria L. Fox, D-Roxbury, and State Rep. Linda Dorcena Forry, D-Dorchester, in a moment of silence at 1 p.m.

The legislators are expected to wear hooded sweatshirts, or "hoodies", in recognition of the now-iconic item of clothing that Martin was wearing when he was killed.

Martin, 17, was fatally shot Feb. 26 in Sanford, Fla. in a confrontation with neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman.

The circumstances of Martin's death – and the fact that Zimmerman has not been arrested in connection with the incident – have inspired protests around the country. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the incident, and Martin's parents appeared before a congressional panel Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

In Springfield, the Alliance of Black Professionals has scheduled a Saturday march called “1,000 Hoodies - A Walk for Trayvon Martin.” The march is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at City Hall.

In 1990, thieves made off with upward of a half-billion dollars in masterworks by Rembrandt and other famous artists.

HARTFORD, Conn. — A federal prosecutor has revealed that the FBI believes a reputed Connecticut mobster was involved in a Boston heist that became the largest art theft in history.

The Hartford Courant reports that Assistant U.S. Attorney John Durham said Tuesday that government investigators believe 75-year-old Robert Gentile of Manchester has information about the unsolved 1990 heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, where thieves made off with upward of a half-billion dollars in masterworks by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Manet and other famous artists.

Durham's comments came during a hearing in federal court in Hartford where Gentile was unsuccessful in an attempt to bail himself out of jail while awaiting trial on a drug arrest. Durham didn't elaborate his claims.

Gentile's lawyer says his client doesn't know anything about the stolen art.

Your odds? 1 in 175,711,536.

A record jackpot of $476 million is up for grabs in the Massachusetts Lottery's "Mega Millions" game.

Players in the game choose 5 numbers out of a field of 56, plus an additional "Megaball" number from a field of 46. The jackpot goes to the player who chooses all 5 winning numbers plus the "Megaball" number.

The odds? 1 in 175,711,536.

The current jackpot has grown from an amount of $108 million on March 2. Drawings are held on Tuesdays and Fridays at 11:24 p.m.

The estimated jackpot for Tuesday's game was $356 million. The winning numbers were 09-19-34-44-51, Mega Ball: 24.

Mega Millions is a multi-state lottery game. Massachusetts began participating in August of 1996, when the game was called, simply, "The Big Game". The name "Mega Millions" was adopted in June, 2005, according to the state lottery website.

The Bay State's biggest winner was Maria Grasso, a babysitter from Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood, who claimed a $197 million jackpot in April, 1999.

Republican Sen. Scott Brown has transferred out of the Massachusetts Army National Guard to a unit in Maryland, allowing him to work in a major position at the National Guard's Pentagon office.

The Associated PressSen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, right, and Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., stand together following a news conference at Brown's campaign headquarters in Boston, Monday, March 26, 2012. Snowe is urging Massachusetts voters to support her fellow Republican senator saying he's one of a dwindling number of lawmakers willing to work across party lines. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

BOSTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Scott Brown has transferred out of the Massachusetts Army National Guard to a unit in Maryland, allowing him to work in a major position at the National Guard's Pentagon office.

Brown tells The Boston Globe he requested to be moved out of Massachusetts because the focus of news organizations and national Democrats on his Guard record made it untenable to continue serving here. He was promoted to the rank of colonel in November.

Brown, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, is now the assistant to Col. Christian Rofrano, the chief counsel of the National Guard Bureau. Brown's new duties require him to work two full days a month and up to two weeks during the summer, a schedule that applies to all Guard members.

Brown has served in the National Guard for 33 years.

In late January, Brown released his full National Guard record and it is summarized here or can be viewed in its entirety below.

Scott Brown Military Record

The woman was admitted to Baystate Medical Center for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

Luis Alberto Gonzalez

SPRINGFIELD –A 24-year-old Pearl Street man, accused of holding his estranged girlfriend against her will, repeatedly punching her and hitting her with a dog leash, has been ordered held without right to bail pending a dangerousness hearing in District Court.

Luis Alberto Gonzalez denied charges of kidnapping, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, (dog leash), assault and battery and assault with a dangerous weapon (a knife) during his arraignment.

The assaults began when the woman went to Gonzalez’s apartment Monday night to collect some of her belongs. He forced her inside, locked her in a room and assaulted her throughout the night, Sgt. John M. Delaney said.

The woman, bleeding profusely from a serious wound to the head and other wounds, managed to escape from the apartment after he allowed her to use the bathroom, Delaney, aide to Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said.

She was spotted by a motorist about 9:40 a.m. as she ran barefoot down Pearl Street towards the police station with the suspect in pursuit, Delaney said.

The motorist took the woman to the lobby of the police station where officers provided first aid and called for an ambulance, Delaney said.

While she was in the lobby, Delaney said he and Officer James Efantis spotted the suspect “peering around” a pay telephone near the building. When the officers went out to question the man, he fled, ultimately climbing up to the third floor fire escape of his home at 206 Pearl St. where he was arrested, Delaney said.

The dangerousness hearing has been scheduled for April 3.

The woman was admitted to Baystate Medical Center for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

In February, a jury found Asher guilty of beating Melvin Jones III with a flashlight during a traffic stop.

CHICOPEE - Former Springfield police officer Jeffrey Asher, convicted in February on assault charges in connection with the Nov. 2009 arrest of Melvin Jones III, was sentenced this morning to 18 months in jail.

Asher was taken into custody immediately after his sentence was read.

Asher -- a 17-year-veteran of the police force -- was convicted Feb. 28. The assault was caught on amateur video by a neighbor.

Meanwhile, the motorist, Melvin Jones III, has sued the police and the city in federal court for civil rights violations and use of excessive force -- exposing Asher, three other officers present and the city to a financial settlements since Jones was blinded in one eye and suffered broken facial bones.

Asher has been fired. Before his firing he’d been suspended once previously on the allegation of excessive force and named in 5 civil lawsuits, according to a lawyer for the city.

At the time of Asher’s conviction, Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni said that he was satisfied with the jury’s decision.

“It was the right verdict. A crime was committed; that was why I prosecuted it,” Mastroianni said, cautioning that local police should not view the prosecution as a broad condemnation of the force.

“I certainly recognize that 99.9 percent of police interaction with the public is at the highest level of professionalism. I recognize what an enormous responsibility and what difficult jobs they have,” he said.

After the verdict Melvin Jones II, father of Melvin Jones III, said he was very pleased with the verdict. “I didn't know what to expect, but at this point I think justice has finally been served,” he said.

The Nov. 27, 2009, arrest was captured on videotape by a woman trying out her new camera. According to the video and testimony, Jones, who tried to run from police, was eventually pinned to the hood of a police vehicle by two officers. One officer said he felt Jones going for his service weapon and he yelled at Asher to hit Jones, which he did.

Jones denied trying to get the officer’s gun and said he doesn’t remember anything after Asher hit him the first time in the head with the flashlight. The video appears to show multiple blows, but Asher said most missed Jones because the other two officers were in the way.

The Republican and Masslive.com published the video made by Tyrisha Greene, a woman who lives on Rifle Street. Parts of the video, enhanced by a company hired by prosecutors, were shown at the trial repeatedly.