Carol Gray lost her bid for reelection as library trustee.

AMHERST – School Committee incumbent Irvin E. Rhodes lost his bid for a second term for one of two School Committee seats with two newcomers elected.

Also Library Trustee incumbent Carol Gray lost her bid for a second three-year term as well.

Belchertown High School teacher Lawrence O’Brien was the top vote getter for School Committee with 1,526 votes and University of Massachusetts professor Amilcar Shabazz earning the second most 1,160 votes.

Rhodes finished third with Michael Aronson fourth. Only Rhodes has held elective office.
As both a teacher and parent of children in Amherst, O'Brien said he wanted to “to be a strong supporter of getting as many resources in the budget as possible (in the elementary schools) to help children who are struggling in a variety of ways."

He said just as it's easier to learn to speak a foreign language or learn to play an instrument young, it's also easier for children to learn to read and write young.

Shabazz wanted to use his position as professor and member of the Five College Consortium, "to explore really creative dynamic partnerships with these institutions.” He also wanted to ensure that all groups are represented.

For Jones Library Board of Trustees incumbent Austin Sarat garnered the most votes with 1,380 and newcomer Tamson Ely coming in second with 1,245 for two seats. Gray came in third with 907. Gray led a controversial and prolonged review of long-time Library Director Bonnie J. Isman in 2010.

For a one-year term for trustees, Carl Erikson III beat Joyce Thatcher.

These were the only contests.

The state's Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs is already making policy changes.

Photo by John Suchocki / The RepublicanJeffrey Daley, lleft, the city of Westfield's advancment officer, and Brian Barnes, manager of Barnes Municipal Ariport check out a 10 acre plot of land set aside for a bird habitat near the planned GulfStream Aerisoace facility in the background.

WESTFIELD – The state Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, designed to protect endangered wildlife, is under fire for being an unfair burden on property owners and an impediment to development.

Meanwhile, the state’s chief environmental officer says the program is key to protecting natural resources, and he said his department is reforming the program to recognize the needs of developers.

A state Senate bill introduced last year by Sen. Gale D. Candaras, D-Wilbraham, and joined by several other state senators, would revise and rescind actions of the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife under the Natural Heritage program, specifically those involving land-taking or placing restrictions on land.

In her filing, Candaras said the purpose of Senate Bill 1854 is to compel the Natural Heritage program to abide by the law that created it.

“Their authority is to regulate and monitor habitat, but instead Natural Heritage has created another tier allowing it to take land without paying just compensation and without public hearings and without recording the taking. In some cases, its representatives did not even walk the property or inspect the land before the taking,” the senator said.

Candaras was referring to land that has been set aside at many property developments for endangered species that will or may be disturbed by development.

State Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr. said Candaras’ bill could curtail the state’s ability to protect its natural history and the administration opposes any legislation that would significantly weaken the state Endangered Species Act and its ability to protect rare species.

But Sullivan said changes in the process are being made. “There are reforms being promulgated and (that) will go into effect that will recognize the need for development while reinforcing the governor’s initiative to enhance our environmental stewardship.”

The current requirement to set aside land for habitat has resulted in additional costs for the development of property in Westfield for construction of a $400 million natural gas-fired electric generating plant.

Project manager Matthew A. Palmer called the Natural Heritage permitting “certainly quite a process” that eventually could add between $100,000 and $200,000 to the cost of construction.

He said the Natural Heritage permit received March 9 required Pioneer Valley Energy Center to set aside about 18 acres of new habitat for turtles adjacent to the plant site on ServiceStar Industrial Way. “We must physically relocate any turtles found on the land and we must educate the construction workers on turtle identification.

“They have a lot of requirements, like sizable portions of land that must be set aside for wildlife,” said Palmer. The permit will require PVEC to purchase 25 acres of additional land before it begins construction.

Allan W. Blair, president of the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts, said what happened with PVEC has happened countless times throughout the region.

“Natural Heritage has far-reaching regulatory issues that do not exist to this degree elsewhere in the country,” Blair said. “Almost all property in Western Massachusetts is affected, and it places a huge burden on property owners.”

Natural Heritage can delay or add costs to any project, private or public, Blair said “simply on a presumption that endangered species are there. The burden of proof that endangered species are not there is placed on the property owner.

“Their regulations have discouraged development in some areas. And in some cases there is a conflict of logic, such as setting aside grassland properties at airports for birds,” Blair said.

The city of Westfield is now planning to set aside grassland acreage just off the runways at Barnes Regional Airport for birds to nest because of a project to expand Gulfstream Aeronautics Corp. operations here.

Westfield Advancement Officer Jeffrey R. Daley said the Natural Heritage process “puts a stranglehold on development and it does not allow for best management practices.”

He also questioned providing habitat for birds at an airport, noting that “birds and airplanes do not mix.

“We respect the need to protect endangered species, but in this case we should be more concerned with an endangered bird coming in contact with an aircraft,” Daley explained.

He also expressed concern that once a piece of land is declared Natural Heritage habitat “it can never be developed, even if wildlife relocates on its own.”

Blair, Daley and Palmer said Natural Heritage has created overlay maps that identify habitat or potential habitat for endangered species that is used to assess land to be developed.

Blair said a certain land parcel may not fall under that map when it is purchased but it may several years later when development is being considered.

Blair, Daley and Palmer each agree with the need to protect endangered species. But they also agree that state regulations, considered among the strictest in the nation, need to be based on “common sense” and there is a need for more accountability on behalf of state agencies that oversee the environment.

Sullivan said changes in the works will provide longer periods of time for public comment and the gradual lessening of mitigation requirements for species. “We plan to provide a more streamlined and predictable process for developers,” Sullivan said.

The secretary said MassWildlife, which oversees the Natural Heritage initiative, is de-listing 12 species from the threatened or endangered lists for the state. That will lead to a decrease of about 25,000 acres from existing habitat maps and implementation next year of a conservation plan for the eastern box turtle.

“These and other recent and ongoing changes are responsive to the concerns and needs of conservationists, developers and other stakeholders while retaining the integrity of the state’s Endangered Species Act and the Natural Heritage program,” Sullivan said.

Mitt Romney tightened his grip on the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday night, sweeping primaries in Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington D.C..

AP Photo/M. Spencer GreenA jubilant Mitt Romney declares victory in the Wisconsin presidential primary Tuesday at the Grain Exchange in Milwaukee. Wins in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia strengthened his hold as frontrunner in the race to the Republican presidential nomination.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Mitt Romney tightened his grip on the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday night, sweeping primaries in Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington D.C., with time left over to swap charges with President Barack Obama.

"Four more years?" Romney asked sarcastically of the president as supporters cheered him in Milwaukee.

He said Obama was "a little out of touch" after spending four years surrounded by the trappings of power and had presided over near-record job losses as well as increases in poverty, home foreclosures, government debt and gasoline prices.

The victories enabled Romney to pad his already-wide delegate lead over Republican rival Rick Santorum, who flashed defiance in the face of pressure to abandon his own candidacy in the name of party unity.

Wisconsin was the marquee contest of the night, the only place of the three on the ballot where Santorum mounted a significant effort.

Returns from 15 percent of the state's precincts showed Romney with 43 percent of the vote to 38 percent for Santorum, 11 percent for Ron Paul and 6 percent for Newt Gingrich.

Returns from 25 percent of Maryland's precincts showed Romney with 48 percent of the vote to 30 percent for Santorum, 11 percent for Gingrich and 9 percent for Ron Paul.

With 43 percent precincts counted in Washington, Romney had 68 percent of the vote to 13 percent for Paul and 11 percent for Gingrich. Santorum was not on the ballot.

"'We won 'em all," he declared.

Romney won at least 74 delegates in the three races, with 21 yet to be allocated.

That pushed his total to 646 of the 1,144 needed to clinch the nomination. Santorum has 272 delegates, Gingrich 135 and Paul 51.

Interviews with voters leaving Republican polling places in Maryland and Wisconsin showed an electorate more concerned with a candidate's ability to ability to defeat Obama than with the strength of his conservatism, his moral character or his stand on the issues. Similar soundings in earlier states have consistently worked to Romney's advantage.

Voters in both states were less apt to be born again or evangelical Christians than in most previous contests — 34 percent in Wisconsin and 32 percent in Maryland. Based on earlier contests, that, too, suggested an advantage for Romney.

In this March 19, 2012, photo, Republican Presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney greets supporters after speaking at the University of Chicago in Chicago. Romney won the Illinois Republican presidential primary on Tuesday March 20. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

Increasingly, Romney and many senior figures in his party have begun behaving as if the primaries are an afterthought, hoping to pivot to the fall campaign and criticism of Obama.

"He gets full credit or blame for what's happened in this economy and what's happened to gasoline prices under his watch and what's happened to our schools and what's happened to our military forces," Romney said of the president while campaigning in Waukesha, Wis.

Obama said things could be worse — and predicted they would be if Romney and Republicans got their way.

In a speech to the annual meeting of The Associated Press, he said a House-passed budget written by Republicans was "antithetical to our entire history as a land of opportunity and upward mobility for everybody who's willing to work for it ... It is a prescription for decline."

When he wasn't focusing his rhetoric on Obama, Romney prodded Santorum to quit the race, suggesting a refusal to do so could cost the party the election in November.

"The right thing for us, I think, is to get a nominee as soon as we can and be able to focus on Barack Obama," Romney said in an interview with Fox News. "You have to remember that it was Ross Perot that allowed Bill Clinton to win" in 1992, he added, a reference to the Texan who ran as an independent that year.

Santorum, in his home state of Pennsylvania, took note of the calls for him to exit the race.

"Ladies and gentleman, Pennsylvania and half the other people in this country have yet to be heard, and we're going to go out and campaign here and across this nation to make sure that their voices are heard in the next few months."

AP Photo/Gene J. PuskarRepublican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum greets supporters at an election night party in Cranberry Township, Pa., Tuesday, April 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

For Romney, the end of the contested primary campaign could hardly come soon enough. Obama has gained in the polls in recent months, particularly among women, as Republicans vie among themselves for support from a conservative party electorate. Santorum has devoted more time to social issues — including birth control — than Romney, who has generally stayed focused on economic issues.

Additionally, surveys indicate Americans are growing more optimistic about the overall state of the economy. Unemployment has fallen in recent months, but it is still at a relatively high 8.3 percent of the work force.

Santorum made little or no effort in Maryland, was not on the ballot in Washington, D.C., and concentrated much of his time in Wisconsin in rural areas.

He all but conceded defeat in advance in Wisconsin, retreating to Mars, Pa., for an election night appearance in his home state.

Wisconsin was the fourth industrial state to vote in a little more than a month after Michigan, Ohio and Illinois, a string that Romney has exploited to gain momentum as well as a growing delegate lead in the campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. He and a super PAC supporting him have greatly outspent his rivals in state after state.

The surveys of voters in Maryland's and Wisconsin's GOP presidential primaries were conducted for AP and the television networks by Edison Research. They included preliminary results among 1,153 voters interviewed Tuesday as they left polling places at 25 randomly selected sites in Maryland, and among 1,063 Wisconsin voters as they left 35 polling places across that state. Results from both states had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Already, the early outlines of a general election ad war are visible. Obama's re-election campaign is airing commercials in a half-dozen battleground states that accuse Romney of siding with Big Oil "for their tax breaks, attacking higher mileage standards and renewables."

The ads are a rapid response to $3 million in commercials aired by an outside group, American Energy Reliance, blaming the president for rising gasoline prices.

In his campaign for the Republican nomination, Romney has collected endorsements from former President George H.W. Bush, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a tea party favorite, and Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, author of a conservative budget that Republicans pushed through the House last week and is certain to play a prominent role in the fall campaign for the White House.

At the same time, Romney continues to struggle for support from some of the party's most reliable conservative voters. In the past five weeks, while winning across the Midwest, he has lost to Santorum in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, all part of the traditional Southern political base.

___

The break was reported about 7 a.m.

EASTHAMPTON - The Department of Public Works continues to deal with a water main break that snarled traffic Wednesday morning at Main and Union streets.

The break was reported about 6:30 a.m.

Officials said traffic around the site, one of the city’s busiest intersections, started to flow better after vehicles that had been parked along Shop Row were moved to make way for a temporary traffic lane.

The Daily Hampshire Gazette reported Wednesday. that motorists can expect delays on Union Street for the next four months while aging natural gas lines under the street are replaced.

The work was slated to begin with the tearing up of the pavement at the intersection of Main and Union streets.

Sheila Doiron, director of communications for the gas company, told the Gazette that workers will replace approximately 2,700 feet of steel and cast iron pipes on the entire length of Union Street as part of a multi-year infrastructure replacement program around the area.

Allana Lewis, 27, of Pittsfield, was taken to Berkhsire Medical Center after a three-vehicle collision on Route 22 in Almenia, N.Y.

PITTSFIELD – A 27-year-old Pittsfield woman was in critical condition Wednesday morning following a three-vehicle collision Tuesday in upstate New York that sent four people to the hospital with injuries, including the Berkshire County woman.

Allana A. Lewis was taken to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, where her condition was still critical this morning, according to published reports. Lewis was a passenger in a car involved in a three-vehicle collision at about 4 p.m. Tuesday in Amenia, N.Y., a small Dutchess County community about 20 miles southwest of the Berkshires.

New York State Police said an independent FedEx contractor driving a van rear-ended a car as it slowed down to turn into a driveway off Route 22. The impact of the collision forced the car into the northbound lane of Route 22, causing a head-on crash with a southbound car in which Lewis was a passenger.

All three drivers, none of whose injuries were considered life-threatening, and Lewis were taken to Sharon Hospital in nearby Sharon, Conn. However, Lewis sustained internal injuries and was later transferred to Berkshire Medical Center, Country Courier Magazine reports.

Troopers ticketed the van's driver for following too closely, according to the Associated Press.

Material from the Associated Press and Country Courier Magazine was used in this report.

Yahoo estimates it will save about $375 million annually after the layoffs are completed.

Associated PressIn this Jan. 4, 2012 file photo, the company logo is displayed at Yahoo headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif.

SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo is laying off 2,000 employees as new CEO Scott Thompson sweeps out jobs that don't fit into his plans for turning around the beleaguered Internet company.

The cuts announced Wednesday represent about 14 percent of the 14,100 workers employed by Yahoo.

The company estimated it will save about $375 million annually after the layoffs are completed later this year. Yahoo will absorb a pre-tax charge of $125 million to $145 million to account for severance payments. The charge will reduce Yahoo's earnings in the current quarter.

Workers losing their jobs will be notified Wednesday. Some of the affected employees will stay on for an unspecified period of time to finish various projects, according to Yahoo.

The housecleaning marks Yahoo's sixth mass layoff in the past four years under three different CEOs. This one will inflict the deepest cuts yet, eclipsing a cost-cutting spree that laid off 1,500 workers in late 2008 as Yahoo tried to cope with the Great Recession.

The previous purges under Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang and his successor, Carol Bartz, boosted earnings. But trimming the payroll didn't reverse a revenue slump, which has disillusioned investors yearning for growth at a time when more advertising is flowing to the Internet.

The cuts are part of an overhaul aimed at focusing on what Thompson believes are Yahoo's strengths while also trying to address its weaknesses in the increasingly important mobile computing market.

Thompson is betting Yahoo will be able to sell more advertising if it's more astute in the analysis of the personal information that it collects from the roughly 700 million people who visit its website each month. He is also looking for ways to improve the products that it makes for smartphones and tablet computers, a goal that may require hiring more specialists in mobile technology.

Yahoo also has been exploring selling a service, called Right Media that helps place ads around the Web. If a deal gets done, that would enable Yahoo to shed even more workers. No further details on the Right Media discussions were provided on that effort in Wednesday.

Thompson is making his move three months after Yahoo lured him away from a job running eBay Inc.'s online payment service, PayPal.

The layoffs "are an important next step toward a bold, new Yahoo — smaller, nimbler, more profitable and better equipped to innovate as fast as our customers and our industry require," Thompson said in a statement.

"We are intensifying our efforts on our core businesses and redeploying resources to our most urgent priorities," he said. "Our goal is to get back to our core purpose — putting our users and advertisers first — and we are moving aggressively to achieve that goal."

Yahoo's stock rose 9 cents to $15.27 in morning trading Wednesday.

Thompson said he would elaborate on his plans April 17 when Yahoo, which is based in Sunnyvale, Calif., is scheduled to release its first-quarter results.

Wednesday's upheaval is the latest sign of Thompson's determination to shake up the company. Once a pacesetter, Yahoo in recent years has been outmaneuvered and outsmarted by Internet search leader Google Inc. and social networking leader Facebook Inc. in the race for online advertising.

Since Thompson arrived, Yang left Yahoo, and four other members of the company's board, including Chairman Roy Bostock, have decided to step down later this year. The exodus cleared the way to appoint five new directors to join Thompson on what will eventually be a 10-member board.

One of Yahoo's largest shareholders, hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb, is pledging to shake up the board yet again. Spurned by Yahoo, Loeb has launched a campaign to persuade the company to elect him and three other alternative candidates as directors. If a truce isn't reached, the dispute will be revolved in a shareholder vote at Yahoo's annual meeting.

Thompson also picked a fight with Facebook in an attempt to bring in more money to Yahoo. He is suing Facebook for alleged infringement on 10 of Yahoo's Internet patents. Facebook denied the claims and retaliated with a patent-infringement lawsuit of its own this week.

Dartmouth College has named its medical school after a famous alum: Theodor "Ted" Geisel (gy-ZEL'), better known as Dr. Seuss.

APTheodor S. Geisel, author of the Dr. Seuss books.

HANOVER, N.H. (AP) — Dartmouth College has named its medical school after a famous alum: Theodor "Ted" Geisel (gy-ZEL'), better known as Dr. Seuss.

Dartmouth said Wednesday that Geisel and his wife, Audrey, have been the most significant philanthropists in its history. The school is being named the Audrey and Theodor Geisel School of Medicine.

President Jim Yong Kim said Geisel, a 1925 graduate, lived out the Dartmouth ethos of thinking differently and creatively to illuminate the world's challenges, and the opportunities for understanding and surmounting them.

Audrey Geisel, who has a background as a nurse, said her husband would be proud to have his name forever connected to the school.

Geisel, who died in 1991, penned "The Cat in the Hat," ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas," among many other children's classics.

Timothy Cahill and two top aides entered their pleas Wednesday at Suffolk Superior Court and were all released on personal recognizance.

Associated PressIn this Sept. 14, 2010 file photo, independent gubernatorial candidate Timothy Cahill speaks during a debate in Braintree, Mass.

This is an update of a story first posted at 7:30 a.m.

BOSTON (AP) — Former Massachusetts treasurer Timothy Cahill and two top aides have pleaded not guilty to ethics charges.

Cahill and the aides entered their pleas Wednesday at Suffolk Superior Court and were all released on personal recognizance.

Cahill and the aides face public corruption charges for allegedly orchestrating a television advertising campaign for the state lottery, funded with taxpayer dollars, that prosecutors say was really intended to boost Cahill's failed 2010 campaign for governor.

Cahill is charged with violating state ethics laws, procurement fraud and conspiracy to violate both laws.

Cahill has called the allegations "unfounded."

Cahill's former chief-of-staff Scott Campbell is facing similar charges, and Alfred Grazioso, the lottery's former chief of staff, has been indicted on two counts of obstruction of justice.

A Sept. 24 trial date was set.

Wolowicz has already been performing many of the tasks of an Assistant Town Administrator, even while serving as personnel and chief procurement officer for the town.

SOUTH HADLEY – The town is creating a new position of Assistant Town Administrator, thus fulfilling another recommendation of the “Financial Management Review” produced for the town by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue in February 2011.

Jennifer Wolowicz

The Assistant Town Administrator will be Jennifer Wolowicz.

By all accounts, Wolowicz was already performing many of the tasks of an Assistant Town Administrator, even while serving as personnel officer and chief procurement officer for the town.

She has been serving as Acting Town Administrator since Town Administrator Paul Beecher resigned suddenly in January.

Selectboard chairman Robert Judge has sent a description of the new position to the Personnel Board, which will come up with a salary range.

The job description will also be sent to Town Meeting members, Judge said. They will be asked to approve the position, though they will not vote on the person who will fill it, or the salary.

“The Selectboard is intent on moving Jennifer into that position,” Judge said.

The document that recommends Wolowicz’s upgrade is the result of a free consulting service by the Department of Revenue to improve the efficiency of town government.

Participation in the program is voluntary on the part of a town, and many towns in Western Massachusetts have taken advantage of it.

When Selectboard members received the document last year, they seemed almost stunned by its clarity, insight and good sense, and they have been working their way through the recommendations.

Among the directives: Create financial guidelines, fix the personnel pay-for-performance program and look for ways to regionalize.

The document also recommends strengthening the office of Town Administrator, whose authority the consultants found ill-defined and largely dependent on how assertive a person was rather than on clear bylaws.

One of the ways to reinforce the “single-management presence,” the document went on to say, was to create a position of Assistant Town Manager. The consultants indicated that, from conversations with town officials, it was clear Wolowicz was already doing much of the job.

They described the then-chief procurement and personnel officer as someone who “regularly works outside her job description.

“Her scope of responsibility has expanded to include a wide array of highly visible and progressively responsible administrative duties,” the report continued.

It advised that her position be “reclassified, with the pay and benefits of a full-time Assistant Town Administrator.”

Ryan Seacrest is coming to NBC, but he won't be overthrowing Matt Lauer on the "Today" show.

The Associated PressIn a Jan. 15, 2012 file photo, Ryan Seacrest arrives on the red carpet to the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards, in Los Angeles. Seacrest announced on Wednesday's April 4, 2012 "Today" show that he'll be taking part in NBC's coverage of the Summer Olympics. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)

By FRAZIER MOORE, AP Television Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Ryan Seacrest is coming to NBC, but he won't be overthrowing Matt Lauer on the "Today" show.

The entertainment titan sat down with Lauer on Wednesday's show to announce that he'll be taking part in NBC's coverage of the Summer Olympics.

It will be the first of "a lot of fun things" he expects to be doing at the network, Seacrest said.

That apparently was the "big NBC announcement" the network had been touting all week. But the more interesting part of the interview focused on persistent rumors that NBC might be teeing up Seacrest to replace Lauer at the "Today" anchor desk, should Lauer decide to leave in the near future. His contract runs out at the end of the year, and his departure could threaten a 15-year winning streak in viewership for "Today."

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

"What kind of conversations have you had with NBC officials about joining the 'Today' show?" Lauer asked Seacrest during a lighthearted exchange.

"Oh," said Seacrest, grinning, as off-camera laughter was heard from the crew. "They didn't tell you?"

"Do you see yourself doing a job like this?" Lauer persisted.

"I see YOU doing this for as long as you want to," Seacrest replied. "So maybe the question is, how long will you be on the 'Today' show?" More laughter was heard.

Lauer offered no answer to that, but insisted there was "no tension" between him and Seacrest, adding, "I think you'd be great at this job."

"There's nobody better than you," Seacrest said.

Seacrest's new NBC duties add to a remarkably crowded portfolio that includes hosting Fox's "American Idol" and heading a production company that furnishes programming to many outlets, including NBC's sister network E!, where Seacrest co-hosts "E! News."

In addition, Ryan Seacrest Media holds an ownership stake in the re-branded HDNet, called AXS TV, and Ryan Seacrest Productions will develop and produce programming for that network.

Lauer asked how he manages his busy days.

"I think the key is that every morning when the alarm goes off, I'm excited about what I get to do," he said.

"Where do you see yourself in five years?" Lauer asked.

"The same height," Seacrest said with a laugh.

Police arrested a Springfield man and a woman apiece from Ware, Palmer and Warren.

From left to right in photographs provided by Springfield police: Alexis Garcia,21; Catrina Lanier, 25; Sandi Daley, 24; Beth Garceau, 29.

SPRINGFIELD - A Warren woman, arrested by narcotics detectives after they surveilled a heroin transaction in the Liberty Heights neighborhood Tuesday night, was allegedly poised to shoot up the drug as she drove down the street.

Catrina Lanier, 25, of 2322 Main St., Warren, driving a Toyota Yaris, was one of three women from out-of-town who apparently came to the city to buy drugs, Sgt. John M. Delaney, said. Her companions were from Palmer and Ware.

Detectives were surveilling the Cumberland Farms convenience store at 798 Carew St. when they spotted the women sitting in the Yaris at about 5:40 p.m., Delaney said.

A short time later, a man approached the vehicle and police could plainly see a drug transaction. Some of the surveilling officers followed the Yaris as it pulled out into traffic and others followed and then arrested the male suspect who left on foot.

Police pulled the Yaris over while it sat at a traffic light near the Armory Street rotary. “The officers could see all three females about to shoot the heroin with hypodermic needles and syringes - even the driver while she was driving the car,” Delaney, aide to Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said.

Along with Lanier, arrested and charged with possession of heroin were: Sandi Daley, 24, of 16 Gay St., Palmer; and Beth Garceau, 29, of 63 Coffey Hill Road, Ware.

Alexis Garcia, 21, of 1558 Carew St., was charged with distribution of heroin, possession of heroin with intent to distribute and violation of a drug-free school zone.

Garcia had 100 bags of heroin in his possession and the women had purchased another 20 bags, Delaney said. Police confiscated $130 in cash from Garcia.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission wants to hear from the public through a new website.

The new Massachusetts Gaming Commission has launched a web site with a pledge that resort casinos will open in three to five years.

The site is at mass.gov/gaming.

In a tentative timetable, the commission said it expects requests for bids for resort casinos and a single slot facility will be released next year and applicants will need three to six months to respond. The commission said it would take three to six months to evaluate the bids.

"Assuming one or more applicants are licensed, the Commonwealth should be able to enjoy fully operating resort casinos within three-five years of the creation of the commission," the commission said.

Stephen Crosby, on left, and Gov. Deval Patrick

The five-member commission, chaired by Stephen P. Crosby, said it would hold its first meeting at 1 p.m. Tuesday at a location to be determined.

Crosby said the website includes a section for the public to file comments.

"Your opinions and contributions are key to our success and we hope you will take the time to share you points of view," he said in a welcoming note.

The commission, an independent state agency, was created in a casino law signed in November by Gov. Deval L. Patrick. The law authorizes up to three casino resorts and a single slot facility.

The commission's job is to select, license, oversee, and regulate all expanded gaming facilities.

The website includes biographies of the five commissioners, who also include Bruce Stebbins, a former Springfield City Councilor; Gayle Cameron, a retired New Jersey State Police lieutenant colonel, James F. McHugh, a retired judge, and Enrique Zuniga, former executive director of the Massachusetts Water Pollution Abatement Trust.

The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act initially pushed by U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., was signed by President Barack Obama Wednesday, bringing the law regarding lawmakers and federal employees into line with laws that apply to private citizens.

View full sizePresident Barack Obama signs the STOCK Act into law at the White House on Thursday, April 4, 2012. (Photo courtesy of Sen. Scott Brown's U.S. Senate office)

WASHINGTON D.C. - The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act initially pushed by U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., was signed by President Barack Obama Wednesday, bringing the law regarding lawmakers and federal employees into line with laws that apply to private citizens.

In addition to holding federal lawmakers and many federal employees to the same insider trading rules citizens are held to, the STOCK Act will require lawmakers to disclose any purchase or sale of stocks, bonds, and other investments within 45 days of the transaction. The information will then be posted on the Internet and available to the general public.

“With so many challenges facing our country, we need our public servants focused on doing their jobs and putting America first every day,” Brown said in a statement. “This law makes clear that using public office for insider trading is wrong, and that Washington has to live under the same rules as the rest of America. I thank President Obama for signing this bill into law and staying true to our bipartisan effort by asking me to stand with him today.”

The original STOCK Act was introduced in 2006 but had only had six co-sponsors, no media attention and no chance of passing.

Then in November 2011, a 60 Minutes report revealed that members of Congress seemed to be using political knowledge gained through their position to invest in certain industries, giving them an edge on the typical American investor. Without the passage of the STOCK Act, members of Congress were exempt from insider trading laws.

The report pointed out that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, and her husband purchased 5,000 shares of Visa stock as the House of Representatives considered and voted against further regulating the credit card industry. Following the vote, her stock value doubled, according to the 60 Minutes report.

The report also questioned House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, and his purchase of health insurance stock days before he led a charge to kill the part of the federal healthcare overhaul that would have allowed government-funded insurance to compete with private insurance providers.

The report stated that his stock's value grew during that time as well.

Both Pelosi and Boehner declined to be interviewed by CBS in relation to the story, but later denied any wrong doing when questioned at their respective weekly press conferences.

Since the report and public outcry, several politicians, including Brown and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., whose revisions were merged as a compromise by the committee, took interest in the issue and the bill, which finally cleared Congress on March 22.

Critics of the legislation have charged that House Republicans stripped many of the safeguards against wrongdoing included in the bill by the Senate.

One provision eliminated would have given prosecutors more resources to pursue public corruption cases and another provision would have regulated the collection of political intelligence which is used by investors.

Elizabeth Warren, Brown's chief Democratic opponent in his re-election bid in Massachusetts, previously said she supports the STOCK Act, but believes legislation should go further to ensure honestly among lawmakers.

"I don't think members of Congress should be voting on issues relating to the individual stocks they hold," Warren said. "Members of Congress shouldn't be allowed to own individual stocks – period."

Warren said that if she was elected, she would sell stock she currently owns.

Brown will return to the White House on Thursday when Obama will sign his CROWDFUND Act into law.

Obituaries from The Republican.

Agnes Remington

Agnes L. "Aggie" (Manferdini) Remington, 89, of West Springfield, died Monday. She was born in West Springfield, graduated in 1940 from West Springfield High School and lived in West Springfield all her life. She started her career working at Pratt & Whitney for four years, then went to work at WICO Electric for 38 years and retired from Stop & Shop after 10 years. A communicant of the former St. Ann's Church, she also belonged to the Deadline Gang.

Obituaries from The Republican:

• 
  Barber, Sylvia L. (George)
  



• 
  Burke, William A.
  



• 
  Christian, Susan Ann
  



• 
  Cowan Jr., George W.
  



• 
  Davol, Marguerite Anne Welcher (Peg)
  



• 
  Galanis, Anita (Bretta)
  



• 
  Gallagher, Patricia Ann
  



• 
  Gonzalez, Jenny
  



• 
  Hurtle, Thomas Walter
  



• 
  Korzec, Richard R.
  



• 
  Larson, Mary Ann
  



• 
  LeMay, Zoey Jane
  



• 
  Masso, Marta
  



• 
  Merrell, John "Mort"
  



• 
  Remington, Agnes L. "Aggie" (Manferdini)
  



• 
  Scott, Florence Rhanes "Flo"
  



• 
  Zagura, Richard L.
  



• 
  Zebrowski, Edward
  

There also will be a 2-way race for an assessor position between incumbent William Huber and Donald Minney.

File photosLeft to right, incumbents Ronald Aponte and Kenneth Elstein and challenger Gerald Grasso have returned nomination papers for Board of Selectmen for Belchertown's 2012 town election.

BELCHERTOWN — There will be a three-way race for two positions on the Board of Selectmen, and a two-way race for an assessor position in the May 21 town election.

The deadline to return nomination papers was Tuesday, according to Town Clerk William R. Barnett.

Running for two three-year terms on the Board of Selectmen are incumbents Kenneth E. Elstein, of 76 North St., and Ronald E. Aponte, of 38 Azaela Way, and former selectman Gerald A. Grasso, of 30 Shaw St.

Grasso was on the board for 12 years until he was ousted in 2009 in another three-way race for two positions that pitted him against Elstein, a newcomer to the board, and Aponte.

Aponte has been on the board for 12 years.

Grasso said numerous people have asked him to run again.

"Several people said that they felt that when I was on the board, I was watching out for them," Grasso said.

Competing for a three-year term on the Board of Assessors are incumbent William Huber, of 281 Chauncey Walker St., #346, and Donald Minney, of 51 Ludlow St.

Raymond Goff, of 5 Jensen St., is running for a one-year position on the Board of Assessors. He has been serving as an assessor since the resignation of Sam Joyal, Barnett said.

There are two three-year positions available on the School Committee. Incumbent Clare Popowich, of 46 Azaela Way, and Richard Fritsch, of 283 South Liberty St., are running.

Committee member Paul Anziano took out papers, but did not return them, Barnett said.

The election will be held at Belchertown High School. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Appropriations Committee Chairman Russ Denver said the town has seen some savings in several departments.

Republican file photoEast Longmeadow Town Hall

EAST LONGMEADOW — The Appropriations Committee is proposing a $51.8 million budget, with $26 million going toward the school department for fiscal year 2013.

A budget hearing was held at East Longmeadow High School on Monday to discuss the town-wide budget.

Appropriations Committee Chairman Russ Denver said the town has seen some savings in several departments, including the fire department, which is asking for $666,111 in fiscal 2013, a decrease of more than $22,000 from the current fiscal year. The budgets for the information technology department and treasurer’s office would also be cut under the proposal, he said.

Denver said some of the positive developments in the budget include Fire Chief Richard Brady’s acquisition of a $320,000 grant for the fire department portion of a new radio system; more than $200,000 in savings from the transfer of eligible retirees to Medicare health insurance plans; and a bond refinancing that will result in $44,910 savings.

Denver said the committee has looked at the use of free cash funds in the past few years and members feel there needs to be less spending from the account. The committee is proposing a $500,000 cap on funds that can be used from the free cash account.

School Committee Chairman Gordon Smith presented the school committee’s $26 million level service budget, which is about 3 percent higher than last year’s $25.3 million. He also presented a needs budget of $26.4 million, a 4 percent increase over last year.

Smith said the needs budget includes several positions that he thinks are necessary to improve the department, including literacy coaches for the two elementary schools; two reading teachers and a secretary for Birchland Park Middle School; and a full-time freshman guidance counselor, an assistant principal and an athletics director at East Longmeadow High School.

The budget will be presented to voters during the annual Town Meeting in May.

A once-prominent research physician from Boston is being sentenced for traveling to Alaska with the intention of having sex with a 6-year-old boy.

Brian Turner (Creative Commons)

MARY PEMBERTON, Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A once-prominent research physician from Boston is being sentenced for traveling to Alaska with the intention of having sex with a 6-year-old boy.

John Mark Felton was in a child-sex chat room in 2008 when he engaged in a conversation with a man he believed was offering his grandson for sex. The man was actually an undercover agent.

Court documents say when Felton arrived in Alaska he had a child's Spiderman costume in his luggage and condoms.

Felton pleaded guilty last year to traveling to Alaska to engage in illicit sexual conduct. He tried to argue that his chats weren't real, but prosecutors say Felton's sadistic sexual interest in children goes back to the 90s.

He is expected to be sentenced Wednesday to between 20 and 30 years in prison.

In a Internet video called "Mitt Romney + Scott Brown = BFF" released on Wednesday, Brown and Romney's own words are woven into a narrative that ties them together under the bond of friendship, for better or worse, as far as politics in concerned.

View full sizeWhile former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and U.S. Sen. Scott Brown are friends and share a key advisor, Eric Fehrnstrom, they have distanced themselves from each other in their respective political races. (AP File Photo)

The Massachusetts Democratic Party is pulling no punches when it comes to linking two Bay State Republicans who are embroiled in heated election campaigns- U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and former Governor and presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.

In an Internet video released on Wednesday called "Mitt Romney + Scott Brown = BFF," Brown and Romney's own words are woven into a narrative that ties them together under the bond of friendship, for better or worse, as far as politics in concerned.

While Romney has tried to distance himself from the "Massachusetts moderate" title during his presidential bid against more conservative Republicans including Rick Santorum, Brown has worked to reinforce his bipartisan image in the U.S. Senate race.

The video is set to the song "Best Friend" by the late Harry Nilsson, which was the theme song of the 1969 TV show "The Courtship of Eddie's Father," and the 2006 MTV show "Rob & Big."

30 percent of the Associated Industry of Massachusetts survey respondents expect to add to their staffs in the next 6 months, 10 percent foresaw having to lay people off, and the remainder plan no changes.

Executives in Massachusetts are less optimistic about the state’s economy and slightly less willing to add to their payrolls, according to results of a survey released Tuesday by Associated Industries of Massachusetts, a Boston-based business lobbying organization.

Associated Industries of Massachusetts' monthly business confidence index was nearly unchanged in March, down to 54.8 points from 54.9 points in February.

That’s still higher than the 54 points recorded a year ago. The index is on a 100-point scale where 50 is considered neutral.

“What we see is some improvement in the current situation, but somewhat less optimism about how that will build momentum,” said Andre Mayer, senior vice president for communications and research at Associated Industries. “We are not seeing a takeoff into a particularly strong recovery, which is unfortunate because that is what we need to really spur the creation of jobs.”

This chart shows the level of business confidence as measured by the Associated Industries of Massachusetts (BCI=Business Confidence Index)

Associated Industries' employment index, a measure of hiring patterns over the next six months, fell slightly to 55.6 points in March from 55.9 points in February. It was at 56 points in March 2011. Thirty percent of the respondents expect to add to their staffs in the next six months and only 10 percent foresaw having to lay people off, with the remainder planning to make no changes. But a month ago, 32 percent of respondents planned to add staff and just 3 percent predicted cutbacks.

Alan Clayton-Matthews, a professor at Northeastern University ‘s School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, is a member of Associated Industries Board of Economic Advisers. Matthews said this survey is consistent with modest growth through all of 2012. There have been fewer new claims for unemployment insurance in recent weeks and consumer confidence is still strong.

According to The Associated Press, the consulting firm LMC Automotive has predicted U.S. sales of new cars and trucks reached 1.37 million last month, up 6 percent from March of 2011 and the highest number since May of 2008. Industry analysts predict that 14.1 million to 14.5 million vehicles will be sold this year across the country.

“It’s an indicator that households both have money and are willing to pay out a big chunk of that money,” he said. “It may also be saying something about the need. A lot of people put off buying new cars during the recession. Now they have to replace their car.”

In the Associated Industries survey, manufacturers lost confidence, with that index dropping from 55.3 to 53.2 points on the 100-point scale.

The city spent about $5.5 million on the cleanup for the October snowstorm.

Photo courtesy of Bellamy AssociationMarket Square's 200-year-old sycamores frame Chicopee City Hall.

CHICOPEE — Concerned about the city’s dwindling reserve account, the City Council is asking to meet with the mayor to discuss spending priorities.

Unspent money from the previous year is mostly tapped out because city spent about $5.5 million on the cleanup for the October snowstorm. The city also has a reserve account that has about $6 million in it.

Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette said he has been trying to tap into other funds, such as one that has accumulated money from the sale of city property, to avoid using money from the $6 million reserve account.

Chicopee, as well as most surrounding communities, is expecting 75 percent reimbursement for all costs associated with repairing and cleaning up damage caused by the storm and will beef up the stabilization account once the money arrives.

“Hopefully we can get reimbursements by June from FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency). Even partial reimbursements will help,” Bissonnette said.

The City Council, however, decided to put off spending a requested $160,000 to remove asbestos and gut the former city library so an engineering study can be done to see if the structure is sound enough to support the construction of a second floor.

“We need to know what our priorities are,” City Councilor Jean J. Croteau Jr. said.

He questioned if it is a good idea to do the study now when any work on the structure may have to wait for five years or more.

“We have been doing OK,” Croteau Jr. said. “We have to stop and look at what we can afford.”

There are proposals to repair or replace the aging public safety complex; purchase at least $1 million in equipment for the Department of Public Works and the Golf Course; and the city has started to build a new senior center. In addition, the city is designing a renovation project that will convert the former Chicopee High School to a middle school, he said.

Bissonnette said he is willing to meet with the council to talk about the different projects that are upcoming in addition to those mentioned by Croteau, he said. He said the Fire Department will soon need at least one new truck.

Councilor James K. Tillotson agreed saying he is not as optimistic the city will see the reimbursement from the federal government.

“Let’s decide where we are going first,” he said.