Eastec will return to West Springfield in 2013, a senior event manger at the Society of Manufacturing Engineers said.

Republican File Photo5-18-11 - West Springfield - Republican staff photo by Don Treeger- EASTEC , the East Coast's largest annual manufacturing event was held at the Big E through May 19 2011. This is a view of one of the aisles in the Young building.

HARTFORD, Conn. — Eastec, the mammoth precision manufacturing trade show at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, will give way this year to Mfg4, a seminar-focused event that will take place at the Hartford Convention Center this week.

Mfg4 takes its name from the four growing industries that will be the focus: aerospace, defense, medical and energy.

“The conference is designed to provide solutions in those four industries,” said Kimberly L. Farrugia, a senior event manger at the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, which puts on both Mfg4 and Eastec.

Mfg4 starts Tuesday and runs to Thursday. More information is available online at www.mfg4event.com.

Going forward, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers will host Mfg4 in Hartford on the even years and Eastec in West Springfield on the odd years, Farrugia said.

“We love West Springfield and certainly are looking forward to being back there in 2013,” she said.

Farrugia expects 270 exhibitors in Hartford this week, albeit with smaller displays than the huge complicated machinery on display at Eastec. The event will draw about 4,000 people, she said. Eastec drew 10,592 people in 2011 and 10,948 in 2010.

Gingrich endorsed Romney, calling him "conservative."

AP Photo/Evan VucciRepublican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich announces that he is suspending his presidential campaign, Wednesday, May 2, 2012, in Arlington, Va.

Former presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said Sunday that there are no negotiations between himself and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney over Gingrich’s role at the Republican National Convention or anything else.

Gingrich, speaking on CNN’s State of the Union, said he would “love help” paying off his campaign’s debt, which was $4.3 million at the end of March. He said he would speak at the convention, if asked. But, Gingrich said, “There’s no negotiation.”

“What I want Mitt Romney to do is help us achieve a victory in the Senate, House, and presidency,” Gingrich said.

Asked if he would consider being Romney’s vice president, Gingrich said, “I can’t imagine it… I think Romney’s going to look for somebody who’s younger.” Speaking on CBS’s Face the Nation, he added, “I’m so much my own agent, it’s inconceivable.”

As he did when he formally suspended his campaign last week, Gingrich, in his Sunday morning appearances on CNN and CBS, did not give a ringing endorsement of his former opponent, but argued that Romney is better than Democratic President Barack Obama. “This is not some magic show,” Gingrich said. “You’re either going to get Barack Obama or you’re going to get Mitt Romney. I don’t see how any conservative given that choice could end up favoring Barack Obama.”

During the primary campaign, Gingrich said frequently that Romney was not conservative enough. Sunday, he said that Romney is a conservative. “The choice is the most radical president in American history and a failed president on the economy, and someone who has a solid record on jobs and who in fact on basic principles is conservative,” Gingrich said.

Gingrich said Romney earned the right to represent the Republican Party. “He’s fought his way to the nomination. Nobody gave him an inch….You have to have some respect for a guy who spent six years of his life, put together a serious national campaign, made the case, and in the two debates that were decisive, frankly, he beat me.”

Gingrich also tried to lay to rest the question of whether he had formally endorsed Romney. Gingrich said he and Romney are talking about doing several events together. “As far as I’m concerned, I’ve endorsed him,” Gingrich said.

Obituaries from The Republican.

Armando Diaz

Amando J. Diaz, 61, of Springfield, passed away Friday. He was born in the Harlem section of New York City. Raised in New York, he resided there most of his life and in Springfield for the past 20 years. He received a bachelor's degree in psychology from Queens College in New York and a master's degree in education from the Elms College in Chicopee. Diaz was employed by Jewish Family Services as Director of Immigration Service. He was a professor of technology at Springfield College, and also worked at the New North Citizens Council. He was an avid reader and horseman.

Obituaries from The Republican:

• 
  Bernardara, Lisa (Chandler)
  



• 
  Bibiloni, Luis M.
  



• 
  Chelo, Manuel A. "Manny"
  



• 
  Diaz, Amando J.
  



• 
  Gallant, Nancy (Malcolm)
  



• 
  Geissler, Dr. Elaine
  



• 
  Haaga, Hella I. (Kress)
  



• 
  Hartmann, Mildred H.
  



• 
  Heckman, Elizabeth A. (Bruno)
  



• 
  Hubbard, Ashley A.
  



• 
  Kmon, Michael M.
  



• 
  Quirk, W. Michael
  



• 
  Royce, James D.
  



• 
  Rozwadowski, Stanislaw R.
  

Springfield firefighters search for North End Bridge jumper.

Springfield Fire DepartmentSPRINGFIELD Springfield firefighters search for man who jumped off the North End Bridge Sunday morning.

This is an update of a story posted at 9:20 a.m.

SPRINGFIELD- A variety of agencies will continue to monitor the Connecticut River after firefighters failed to locate a man who jumped off the North End Bridge around 4 a.m. Sunday.

The man was running from police when he jumped. It is not known exactly why he was running, Lt. John Slepchuk said.

Firefighters from Springfield, West Springfield, Longmeadow and Agawam searched in boats for at least three hours, Dennis G. Leger, aide to Springfield Fire Commissioner Joseph A. Conant, said.

It is unclear whether the man escaped or drowned. A body has not been found, officials said.

Holyoke firefighters respond to fire at Madison Avenue home Sunday.

File photo by Dave Roback / The RepublicanHolyoke Fire Department personnel head up the Mount Tom access road in July to help with the rescue of stranded hikers.

HOLYOKE - State and local fire authorities are investigating a fire that left one firefighter injured and caused nearly $22,000 in damage, officials said.

Holyoke Fire Department Public Information Officer Lt. Thomas G. Paquin said there were two people living in the home, but only one was present during the fire at 88 Madison Ave. at 10:32 a.m. Sunday.

Paquin said the man in the home escaped without injury, however one firefighter was transferred to Holyoke Medical Center to be treated for a knee injury.

Paquin stressed that it is extremely important for homes to have working smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.

"This home did not have working smoke detectors and if it had not been a fire during the day this could have been a tragic incident," he said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Calling the 2012 elections a crucial point in deciding the direction the country will take, Massachusetts Democratic Party Chair John Walsh rallied some of the party's key leaders Sunday morning in Longmeadow. Watch video

5-6-2012- LONGMEADOW- Massachusetts Democratic Party Chair John Walsh speaks with Senate hopeful Elizabeth Warren ahead of their respective speeches at the Longmeadow Democratic Town Committee's annual awards breakfast at Twin Hills Country Club. (Staff Photo by Robert Rizzuto)

LONGMEADOW - Calling the 2012 elections a crucial point in deciding the direction the country will take, Massachusetts Democratic Party Chair John Walsh rallied some of the party's key leaders Sunday morning in Longmeadow.

Walsh, who delivered the keynote address at the Longmeadow Democratic Town Committee's annual awards breakfast at Twin Hills Country Club, said that Democrats must work harder than ever to get out the vote as President Barack Obama takes on former Republican Gov. Mitt Romney, and Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown faces opposition from his chief rival, Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Warren.

"It is important for us as Democrats, as we plan our efforts in this campaign, (to remember) that there's only one question voters need to answer when they go into the polling places," Walsh said. "That is 'what kind of country do you want to live in?'"

Walsh cited reports concluding that approximately 300,000 registered Democrats in the Bay State haven't voted in any of the past three elections, and he encouraged the local Democrats to work on getting out the vote.

"I'm not asking you to be responsible for 300,000 people. But I am asking you to be responsible for the ones in your precinct," Walsh said. "If we can get 25 or 30, that will translate to 75,000 Democratic votes."

Walsh said that in order to avoid the same pitfalls that contributed to Attorney General Martha Coakley's loss against Brown in the 2010 special election following the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy, Democrats need to take action now.

"Scott Brown won an election with 1.1 million votes. And lets be honest, we blew that election- every one of us," Walsh said. "We took it for granted, we didn't get started early enough, we didn't take responsibility until it was time."

As Warren took the podium, she did so with the confidence and poise that made her a YouTube sensation with her videos on economic inequality. And her speech was a familiar one, as she talked about her childhood in Oklahoma.

Warren recounted her story about her father suffering a heart attack as she began babysitting for 35 cents an hour at the age of 9, to help out the family, only to ascend the socio-economic ladder to become a law professor at Harvard and a candidate for the U.S. Senate.

"I tell this story all around the commonwealth and I tell it for two reasons. I am deeply grateful for the opportunities that were given to me and has let me do so many things," Warren said. "The second reason I tell this story is I worry it is a story embedded in time. I grew up in an America that was still investing in kids. An American that was still investing in opportunity, and that we have increasingly turned away from them. The Republicans have a different version of America and that is what the election is all about."

Warren talked about the financial growth the country experienced following the Great Depression and attributed it to an increase in the median household income, a number which has taken a reverse trend in recent years. She said that now she sees a country that is at risk of limiting the opportunities of the next generation rather than promoting them.

"It didn't matter about how you were born, it mattered what you could do. And the job of all of us was to create those opportunities so everyone had a shot," Warren said. "And then, starting about 30 years ago the Republicans had a different vision for this country. They told us that it was the job of government to protect those who've made it and that we shouldn't be making the investments together in our future, in our children. A kid today who goes to a state university the cheapest way possible, lives at home and borrows the books, will pay 350 percent of what her dad would have paid 30 years ago. That doesn't build a future. It's not an investment in our kids and our tomorrow. That's what I see this election is all about."

Following Warren's speech, she crossed back east to Gloucester while the Longmeadow Democratic Town Committee led by Chair Candy Glazer, honored Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, who accepted the Democrat of the Year award in part for his work following the tornadoes that destroyed parts of the city in 2011.

"It has been a tumultuous year, but I think people have realized how Springfield goes, so goes the surrounding area," Sarno said. "We have our urban challenges here but is important for each of you to act as ambassadors in your travels. When someone knocks Springfield, you tell them two good things we have going here."

Hampden County Sheriff Michael J. Ashe Jr. was also honored as he received the committee's Member Achievement Award. Also present was U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, and Andrea Nuciforo Jr., one of the longtime congressman's challengers to represent the newly drawn 1st Congressional District.

In his speech to the group, Neal recounted several of the big legislative leaps forward the U.S. experienced over the 20th century, such as civil rights, as he exclaimed "That's what the presidency is for."

Family of Agawam's accidental shooting victim says she is out of surgery.

The Republican | Patrick JohnsonThe scene at Elizabeth Manor Apartments at 238 Maple St. Agawam police accidentally shot a woman there will responding to a domestic call.

AGAWAM - Robert Connell, the uncle and spokesman for a woman who was accidentally shot by police on Saturday, said she made it through emergency surgery, but will have a long road to recovery.

The 21-year-old victim, whose name is not being released at this time, was accidentally shot by an officer who responded to a home on Maple Street for a domestic disturbance.

The incident happened at about 4:30 a.m. Saturday in an apartment at Elizabeth Manor Apartments, 238 Maple St.

According to a press statement issued by the Agawam police, officers arrived and could hear yelling and noise inside. “As police entry was made, the weapon of one of the responding officers was discharged. The bullet struck a female party within the apartment causing a non-fatal injury,” the statement reads.

Connell said the young mother of two is pregnant and recovering at Baystate Medical Center after suffering a gunshot wound to her jaw.

Police could not be reached to confirm Connell's statements.

He said she will have to undergo several more surgeries to her face.

"We expect a thorough and transparent investigation of what happened and we hope no other family has to endure something like this," he said.

Agawam police said they are not releasing any new information at this time.

Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni could not be immediately reached for comment. The investigation is being conducted by the Agawam police, the state police and Mastroianni’s office.

Roast hostsare Dan Williams and Kim Zachary of the "Dan and Kim Morning Show” on abc40/Fox 6.

Submitted photoDan Williams and Kim Zachary of the new, televised "Dan and Kim Morning Show," will be the emcees for the Valley Press Club annual roast May 18 in Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD – The Valley Press Club has scheduled its annual roast on May 18 at 5:30 p.m. at Smith’s Billiards above Theodore’s at 207 Worthington St.

The emcees for the roast are Dan Williams and Kim Zachary of the new “Dan and Kim Morning Show” on abc40/Fox 6 television.

The roast satirizes the news and the newsmakers. Local and state politicians are expected to attend, and the event is open to the public.

The event includes hors d’oeuvres, a raffle and a cash bar. The proceeds benefit the club’s scholarship fund for journalism students.

Members of the area media and Springfield City Hall staff are among the participants in the roast. Some of the guest participants include Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Hampden County Sheriff Michael Ashe.

Topics of the skits include the Massachusetts Senate race, the downtown Springfield Entertainment District and Holyoke City Hall.

Tickets are now on sale for $20. The price includes food and use of the pool tables. Advance tickets are available by sending a check made out to “Valley Press Club,” mailed to the ROAST, Valley Press Club, P.O. Box 5475, Springfield, MA 01102. Tickets will also be available at the door.

In addition, tickets can be reserved by calling (413) 575-4954.

The Valley Press Club consists of active and retired journalists from all media, and public relations professionals from corporate and nonprofit organizations.

The club hosts meetings with newsmakers, is helping organize a debate with U.S. Senate candidates Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren in the fall, and presents its annual scholarships to high school senior pursuing a career in journalism in June.

A mild winter of 2011-12 has lead to a glut on the natural gas market and expected low prices in the foreseeable future.

SPRINGFIELD — Despite Columbia Gas of Massachusetts’ request for a rate increase, the average bill for a home-heating customer who also cooks with gas is expected to fall $15 a year from $1,268 a year for November 2011 to October 2012 to an estimated $1,253 for the fiscal year starting in November.

That’s because gas bills, like electricity bills, are based both on the cost of the energy and on the cost of getting that energy to consumers’ homes, said Sheila A. Doiron, director of communications for Columbia Gas. That’s why any increase in the cost of distribution is offset by falling commodity prices for gas.

A mild winter of 2011-12 has led to a glut in the natural gas market and expected low prices in the foreseeable future. Proposed gas commodity costs for customers for the summer season effective May 1 are 31 percent lower than last year, according to Baystate Gas.

Columbia Gas has asked the Massachusetts Public Utility Commission for permission to raise its base rate, the distribution and administration charge, $6.10 per month, or 5.8 percent, in November. The request can’t go forward without approval from Department of Public Utilities. A public hearing on the matter is set for May 23 at 7 p.m. at the School Committee Chambers in Springfield City Hall, 36 Court St.. Other public hearings are scheduled for May 22 in Brockton and May 24 in Lawrence.

Formerly called Bay State Gas, Columbia Gas of Massachusetts distributes natural gas to about 300,000 customers in 60 communities throughout the state.

The base rate hike is designed to raise $29.2 million a year in additional revenue. That revenue will be used to replace aging infrastructure, including outmoded steel and cast iron gas mains installed during the building boom that followed World War II.

Doiron said gas is still a bargain. With all the rate fluctuations, the price of gas is going from $1.31 to $1.30 per therm, a measurement of gas. Converted to BTU’s, that works out to paying the equivalent of $1.82 a gallon for home heating oil.

Heating oil is selling for $4.06 a gallon, according to the state Department of Energy Resources.

Preliminary reports show there are no injuries.

Republican file photo

WESTHAMPTON - The pilot of a small plane lost control while taxiing at a family-owned airstrip and hit a tree off Southampton Road Sunday.

The pilot, whose name was not available, was alone in the plane. He got out by himself and was taken to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton by Westhampton Fire Department.

The man, who is in his 40s, had minor injuries, Westhampton Fire Chief Chris Norris said.

The single-engine plane was taxiing at about 4 p.m. when the accident happened. It is not believed to have gotten off the ground, Norris said.

"It went nose first into the tree," he said. "There was significant damage to the plane."

The Federal Aviation Administration will come to Westhampton Monday to investigate the crash. Massachusetts State Police also responded to the accident, Norris said.

The accident happened behind 96 Southampton Road. The homeowner holds the proper permits to have a private airstrip at his home, Norris said.

Mild and affable, the leftist president-elect inherits a country deep in debt and divided over how to integrate immigrants while preserving its national identity.

By ANGELA CHARLTON and ELAINE GANLEY

Associated PressPresident-elect Francois Hollande delivers his speech in Tulle, central France, Sunday, May 6, 2012. Francois Hollande defeated Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday to become France's next president, Sarkozy conceded defeat minutes after the polls closed. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)

PARIS — France handed the presidency Sunday to leftist Francois Hollande, a champion of government stimulus programs who says the state should protect the downtrodden — a victory that could deal a death blow to the drive for austerity that has been the hallmark of Europe in recent years.

Mild and affable, the president-elect inherits a country deep in debt and divided over how to integrate immigrants while preserving its national identity. Markets will closely watch his initial moves as president.

Hollande portrayed himself as a vehicle for change across Europe.

"In all the capitals ... there are people who thanks to us, who are hoping, who are looking to us, and who want to finish with austerity," he told exuberant crowds of supporters in a speech early Monday at Paris' Place de la Bastille. "You are a movement lifting up everywhere in Europe, and perhaps the world."

The party reached into the night on the iconic plaza of the French Revolution, with revelers waving all kinds of flags and climbing the base of its central column. Leftists are overjoyed to have one of their own in power for the first time since Socialist Francois Mitterrand was president from 1981 to 1995.

Hollande narrowly defeated the hard-driving, attention-getting Nicolas Sarkozy, an America-friendly leader who led France through its worst economic troubles since World War II but whose policies and personality proved too bitter for many voters to swallow.

He will take office no later than May 16.

Sarkozy is the latest victim of a wave of voter anger over spending cuts in Europe that has ousted governments and leaders in the past couple of years.

In Greece, a parliamentary vote Sunday was seen as critical to the country's prospects for pulling out of a deep financial crisis felt in world markets. A state election in Germany and local elections in Italy were seen as tests of support for the national governments' policies.

In France, with 95 percent of the vote counted, official results showed Hollande with 51.6 percent of the vote compared with Sarkozy's 48.4 percent, the Interior Ministry said. The turnout was a strong 81 percent.

"Too many divisions, too many wounds, too many breakdowns and divides have separated our fellow citizens. This is over now," Hollande said in his victory speech, alluding to the divisive Sarkozy presidency. "The foremost duty of the president of the Republic is to unite ... in order to face the challenges that await us."

Those challenges are legion, and begin with Europe's debt crisis.

Hollande has said his first act after the election will be to write a letter to other European leaders calling for a renegotiation of a budget-trimming treaty aimed at bringing the continent's economies closer together. Hollande wants to allow for government-funded stimulus programs in hopes of restarting growth, arguing that debts will only get worse if Europe's economies don't start growing again.

Sarkozy and Germany's Angela Merkel spearheaded the cost-cutting treaty, and many have worried over potential conflict within the Franco-German "couple" that underpins Europe's post-war unity.

Merkel called Hollande to congratulate him on his victory. Hollande has said his first trip would be to Berlin. Merkel's foreign minister joined calls for a growth pact — but one that doesn't necessarily require more spending.

Hollande will also head soon to the United States for summits of NATO — where he will announce he is pulling French troops out of Afghanistan by the end of the year — and the Group of Eight leading world economies.

While some market players have worried about a Hollande presidency, Jeffrey Bergstrand, professor of finance at the University of Notre Dame, said it's a good thing that Hollande will push for more spending throughout Europe to stimulate the economy.

Europe is "going into a really serious and poor situation." Hollande "is going to become the speaker for those countries that want to do something about economic growth," Bergstrand said.Sarkozy conceded defeat minutes after the polls closed, saying he had called Hollande to wish him "good luck" as the country's new leader.

"I bear responsibility ... for the defeat," he said. "I committed myself totally, fully, but I didn't succeed in convincing a majority of the French. ... I didn't succeed in making the values we share win."

Sarkozy came to office on a wave of hope for change that critics say he squandered even before the economic crises hit. They saw his tax reforms as too friendly to the rich, his divorce in office and courtship of supermodel Carla Bruni as unseemly, and his sharp tongue as unfitting for his esteemed role.

French politicians turned their attention to parliamentary elections next month. With what appears to be a thin victory margin, Hollande must more than ever count on a healthy majority in June legislative elections — the next challenge for Sarkozy's conservatives.

"The hour is one of mobilization ... We must not give all the power to the left," said Jean-Francois Cope, leader of Sarkozy's UMP party.

The Socialists will have blanket control of the country if they get a majority in the decisive lower house of parliament. They already preside over the Senate and hold most regions and municipalities in France.

Hollande has pledged to tax the very rich at 75 percent of their income, an idea that proved wildly popular among the majority of people who don't make nearly that much. But the measure would bring in only a relatively small amount to the budget, and tax lawyers say France's taxes have always been high and unpredictable and that this may not be as much of a shock as it sounds.

Hollande wants to modify one of Sarkozy's key reforms, over the retirement age, to allow some people to retire at 60 instead of 62. He wants to hire more teachers and increase spending in a range of sectors, and ease France off its dependence on nuclear energy. He also favors legalizing euthanasia and gay marriage.

Sarkozy supporters call those proposals misguided.

"We're going to call France the new Greece," said Laetitia Barone, 19. "Hollande is now very dangerous."

Sarkozy had said he would quit politics if he lost, but was vague about his plans Sunday night.

"You can count on me to defend these ideas, convictions," he said, "but my place cannot be the same."

Sarkozy alienated many voters with a lunge to the right during the last two weeks of campaigning as he tried to lure backers of the far-right anti-EU and anti-immigration candidate Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Front party.

People of all ages and different ethnicities celebrated Hollande's victory at the Bastille. Ghylaine Lambrecht, 60, who celebrated the 1981 victory of Mitterrand at the Bastille, was among them.

"I'm so happy. We had to put up with Sarko for 10 years," she said, referring to Sarkozy's time as interior and finance minister and five years as president. "In the last few years, the rich have been getting richer. Now long live France, an open, democratic France."

"It's magic!" said Violaine Chenais, 19. "I think Francois Hollande is not perfect, but it's clear France thinks it's time to give the left a chance. This means real hope for France. We're going to celebrate with drink and hopefully some dancing."

Jamey Keaten in Tulle, France, and Elaine Ganley, Sarah DiLorenzo, Thomas Adamson, Greg Keller, Sylvie Corbet and Cecile Brisson in Paris contributed to this report.

The former Massachusetts governor has 856 of the 1,144 delegates he needs to officially earn the Republican nomination.

Republican file photoMitt Romney speaks at a breakfast in New Hampshire

By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican party leaders are starting to rally around Mitt Romney, but it's not exactly a stampede of support for the expected GOP presidential nominee.

With Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich out of the race, Romney is his party's pick to take on President Barack Obama this fall, barring a catastrophe. While Romney talks like the nominee, the former Massachusetts governor has work to do to round up enough convention delegates to make it official.

Romney has 856 delegates, according to The Associated Press count. That's 288 short of the 1,144 he needs to win the nomination. Romney could get about 100 delegates from Tuesday's primaries in North Carolina, Indiana and West Virginia, if he dominates the voting in all three states.

But unless he persuades a lot more Santorum and Gingrich delegates to switch allegiances, Romney might not clinch until the Texas primary May 29. On Sunday, Romney lost 11 delegates to Texas Rep. Ron Paul when Paul's supporters won control of the Maine GOP convention and elected Paul delegates to the party's national convention.

Romney is "the projected candidate," said Peggy Lambert, a member of the Republican National Committee from Tennessee who endorsed Romney last week. "Let's go ahead and get this thing over with. Let's get as many delegates as we can."

Santorum and Gingrich have said they will help Romney defeat Obama, but neither has released his delegates to vote for Romney at the national convention in August. Santorum has 257 delegates and Gingrich has 130. In interviews during the past week, many delegates said they were reluctant to back Romney without guidance from their former candidates.

Paul is the only other Republican still in the race, and he has 94 delegates.

Many committee members are getting behind Romney, though some are half-hearted about it. These party leaders — three from each state and U.S. territory — automatically attend the national convention and, in most states, can support any candidate they choose.

They will be asked to donate, volunteer and work for Republican candidates up and down the ticket, making their support for Romney an important barometer of enthusiasm and unity among GOP loyalists.

"I think the process has narrowed down and we've got a chance to hear all the candidates and all the debate," said Jonathan Barnett, an RNC member from Arkansas who serves in the state Legislature. "Really, he's pretty much the only one left standing. It's time to get on board."

Alabama GOP chairman Bill Armistead sounded more enthusiastic. He said he's recruiting volunteers to help Romney in Florida, where the race will be much closer than in Alabama.

"The No. 1 objective of the people I talk to is to defeat Barack Obama," Armistead said.

The RNC has 168 members. Some are required to support the candidate who wins the primary in their state. The AP has identified 120 who are free to support any candidate they choose, regardless of the primaries.

Romney has endorsements from 57 of them, according to the AP's latest survey, conducted in the past week after Gingrich's plans to leave the race became public. Paul has one endorsement, while 60 RNC members are holding off on endorsing anyone, even with the race essentially decided. (Two RNC spots won't be filled until June.)

Some RNC members say they have yet to endorse Romney because of local concerns.

Kentucky GOP chairman Steve Robertson said he isn't endorsing anyone out of deference to Paul's son, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. In Oregon, Nebraska and New Mexico, RNC members say they won't endorse anyone before their states' primaries, which have yet to be held.

Back when the primary race was competitive, some RNC members questioned Romney's conservative credentials. In the latest survey, no RNC member was willing to say he or she had a problem with him.

But Richard Giessel, a Santorum delegate in Alaska, wasn't shy about his disdain for Romney, calling him "a big government guy."

"We've got too big a government now," said Giessel, who said he now plans to support Ron Paul.

Romney added 22 RNC endorsements since the last AP survey in early April, and he has support from every region of the country. None of Romney's rivals was able to gain much traction among the RNC delegates. Gingrich had four endorsements at one point, more than any of the others.

Drew Johnson, a Gingrich delegate from South Carolina, said he thinks the state's delegates will unite behind Romney. South Carolina, a solidly Republican state, was one of only two states Gingrich won in the primaries.

"Romney has my endorsement and he can count on South Carolina to be one of his biggest cheering sections at the national convention," said Johnson, who leads the Chester County Republicans. "My focus is crystal clear for the upcoming election. We will be making calls to any state it is needed and even send South Carolina activists to real swing states to defeat Obama."

___

Associated Press writers Erik Schelzig in Nashville, Tenn.; Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Ark.; Phillip Rawls in Montgomery, Ala.; Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska; Meg Kinnard in Columbia, S.C.; Kristen Wyatt in Denver, Colo., and Glenn Adams in Augusta, Maine, contributed to this report.

Police did not chase the driver of the scooter for safety reasons.

Republican file photo

SPRINGFIELD – A man who was not wearing a helmet was injured when he crashed his scooter on Hancock Street Sunday.

Police on patrol noticed the man driving the scooter on Central Street and signaled him to stop because he was not wearing a helmet. The man refused and tried to speed away. Officers did not chase him at high speeds for safety reasons but did follow slowly behind, Police Lt. John Slepchuk said.

The man crashed the scooter at about 7:30 p.m. He was taken to Baystate Medical Center with non life-threatening injuries, Slepchuk said.

He has not been charged, but will be cited for motor violations in the future, Slepchuk said.

One man is believed to have stuffed 31 cans of Red Bull into his coat.

Republican file photo

LUDLOW – Police are reporting two shoplifting incidents of large amount of Red Bull energy drinks over the weekend.

The first happened at about 4:30 p.m. from the Big Y on Center Street. A store manager approached a man who left with a grocery cart with multiple cases of the drink later totaled at $229. When he demanded a receipt, the man fled, leaving the cart behind, Sgt. Daniel Valadas said.

Police are continuing to investigate the theft.

On Sunday police arrested John Sousa, 58, of Ludlow, and charged him with shoplifting 31 cans of Red Bull valued at $70.

A clerk at the Cumberland Farms at 463 Center St. phoned police with a report of a suspected shoplifter putting items into his coat. Police spotted the man walking down the street at about 6 p.m. and asked him to open his coat. When he did one can rolled onto the sidewalk, Valadas said.

Sousa was being held on $140 cash bail and is to be arraigned Monday.

Robert Maginn asks the Harvard president to investigate whether Warren committed "academic fraud" by listing her heritage as Native American.

Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate Elizabeth Warren faces reporters during a news conference at Liberty Bay Credit Union headquarters, in Braintree, Mass., Wednesday, May 2, 2012. Warren responded to questions on her Native American heritage. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Massachusetts Republican Party Chairman Robert Maginn wrote a letter to the president of Harvard University asking the university to investigate whether Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren committed “academic fraud” when she listed her heritage as Native American.

The state Republican Party has been attempting to prolong a controversy that has dogged Warren since it first came out that Harvard listed her in a faculty directory in the 1990s as Native American. A genealogist found that Warren has Cherokee heritage and is 1/32nd Native American. When asked, Warren has said she is proud of her heritage.

In the letter, Maginn wrote to President Drew Gilpin Faust asking for an investigation. Maginn wrote that from 1984 through 1995, Warren designated herself as a “minority” in the American Association of Law Schools deskbook. Warren was hired by Harvard in 1995. “The problem is that Ms. Warren is not a Native American. She is Caucasian,” Maginn wrote. “Despite her insistence that she is an American Indian…she has failed to produce a single shred of evidence to substantiate her claim.”

Maginn wrote: “Harvard must investigate Ms. Warren’s false claims to be a minority; how it came to pass that Harvard accepted these claims; and the extent to which Ms. Warren’s alleged minority status afforded her advantages to which she would not otherwise have been entitled.”

Robert Clark, the dean at Harvard Law School when Warren was hired, released a statement last week saying three factors contributed to the faculty’s decision to hire Warren: “Our goal of adding a top-notch academic expert in debtor-creditor law to the regular faculty; her excellent scholarship in that field; and her fabulous success as a teacher.” Clark said her Native American heritage was not a factor.

Harvard Law School Professor Charles Fried, who was on the law school’s appointments committee when Warren was hired and presented her case to the faculty, told The Republican and MassLive.com that he was not aware of her minority status at the time and there was no discussion of it. “To start talking about her as an affirmative action hire, it’s just stupid,” Fried said.

When asked about the controversy swirling around her Native American heritage at a Longmeadow Democratic Town Committee on Sunday, Warren wouldn't address the issue directly.

"I am proud of my family," Warren said. "I am proud of who I am."

The city has appealed the state ruling in superior court but a decision is not expected until late summer.

SPRINGFIELD – Four months after a state Civil Service Commission report blasted the Fire Department for allowing a deputy fire chief to participate in a candidate search that resulted in his own son being hired, the city has not yet fully complied with the report’s recommendations.

Chief among them, the city has yet to hire an independent firm to oversee the screening of job applicants and take the responsibility for finding new firefighters out of the hands of the Fire Department. The recommendations were aimed at making things right with those who may have been wrongly passed over.

The city has also failed to provide the state with the names of two firefighter candidates who, the ruling said, had been unfairly passed over because they were on active duty with the U.S. military at the time of the hirings two years ago.

Interim Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant and the city’s labor relations director, William Mahoney, said in separate interviews last week that the hiring of an outside firm will only come into play when the city is ready to hire new firefighters. There are no immediate hirings planned, each said.

Joseph A. Conant

“We are not in the process of hiring firefighters,” Mahoney said. “If we get to that position, then, yes, we have to hire a firm.”

The department may not be in a position to request new firefighters for several months, and possibly not until next year, according to Conant. “There are no plans to hire at this time,” the commissioner said.

In the meantime, the city is appealing the ruling to Hampden Superior Court, seeking to have independent firm condition overturned. Mahoney said he does not expect any action in court until at least August.

Civil Service commissioner Christopher Bowman, who authored the report about the department’s hiring practices, said he is aware the city is challenging the order in court, but unless a judge rules otherwise, the order stands.

“Absent a stay, or a decision in their favor on the appeal, the Springfield Fire Department would need to comply with this order if any hiring occurs beforehand,” Bowman said.

Bowman, in the Dec. 15 report, was heavily critical of the Fire Department hiring practices, citing in particular the case of Deputy Chief Jerrold E. Prendergast for having played a major role in applicant screening while his son, Zachary Prendergast, was among candidates under consideration. Zachary Prendergast was one of 21 hired in 2010 out of a field of 51 applicants.

Bowman’s report cited “strong circumstantial evidence” that Deputy Prendergast “tipped the scales” in his son’s favor. The elder Prendergast conducted background checks on 14 applicants, including his son, and recommended that his son and six others receive follow-up interviews.
Springfield Fire Department Investigation
Among the seven people who were bypassed were two applicants who had been on active duty in the U.S. military. Under civil service rules, applicants cannot be bypassed solely because they are on active duty and otherwise unavailable.

Then-Fire Commissioner Gary Cassanelli disagreed with the report’s findings when the report was issued and said there was never any favoritism shown toward any applicant. Cassanelli retired on Jan. 13.

The report also ordered the Fire Department provide the state with the names of the two bypassed applicants who were in the military. If either is still interested in working on the Fire Department, they are to be placed at the top of the next civil service list. Bowman said the city has not complied with that detail of the order, either.

Shortly after the ruling was issued, fire officials indicated to the commission they would be making a written request for clarification on how it was to be implemented.

“We have not received any formal request for clarification and-or confirmation that the Springfield Fire Department has complied with this order,” Bowman wrote.

Conant maintains the city is still seeking clarification.

The department was also ordered to contact each applicant who was tied with Zachary Prendergast on the civil service examination and inform them they have a right to appeal being passed over for jobs. At least five such appeals have already been filed, and hearings are underway.

One such appeal, filed by Jeffrey Pereira, of Springfield, was dismissed. Pereira, the son of a firefighter, missed a filing deadline and was disqualified. He argued that he was not notified of the deadline until it had passed, but the commission ruled Pereira was at fault for having moved and not provided the department with a change of address.

Conant said the city has made an effort to reach out to nine bypassed applicants who were at least tied with Prendergast. Of the nine letters sent out, five were returned because the addresses were no longer valid, he said. For the four others, there have been no replies.

Deputy Prendergast, meanwhile, remains involved with personnel issues within the department, according to Conant. With Cassanelli retired, Prendergast is the most experienced and knowledgeable in personnel issues, the acting commissioner said.

All actions related to the cases from which the report stemmed, however, are in the hands of the city’s Law and Labor Relations departments, Conant said. “I’ve instructed labor relations to keep me involved in the appeals and to comply with all of (civil service’s) orders,” he said.

Mayor Domenic Sarno has not yet indicated whether he will appoint a permanent fire commissioner from within the department or launch a national search for a successor to Cassanelli. Conant said he is interested in being considered for the permanent appointment as commissioner.

If he still holds the position when the department is authorized to hire new firefighters, Conant said he would work to ensure the selection process is more transparent and intends to play a role in the process.

“Moving forward, I will be directly involved with screenings and interviews,” Conant said. In the issues of hiring new firefighters, he said, he would prefer to use his own judgment “instead of going on the recommendations of others.”

A man who tried to rob a woman at knifepoint stabbed the woman in the collarbone as her young child looked on, according to police and press accounts.

SPRINGFIELD – A Friday night robbery attempt was captured by surveillance footage, which shows a mother and daughter being accosted by a knife-wielding man who stabs the woman in the lower throat as she enters Ben Thanh Market at 455 Belmont Ave. in Forest Park.

The video, which aired Sunday night on both 22News and abc40, shows the assailant threaten the mother, who bolts from the man and leaves her 4-year-old daughter behind. The man then grabs the girl and holds a knife near her head. The child, who never lets go of her doll, manages to break free from the man, who then pursues the mother again.

The incident happened at about 8:35 p.m. Friday, but the suspect was still at large as of Monday morning.

Copies of the surveillance video apparently were not made available to local TV stations until Sunday. The video shows the man catching the mother as she attempts to enter the Asian market, stabbing her in the front of her lower neck near the collarbone. The woman was treated at Baystate Medical Center and later released, abc40 reports.

Springfield Police Lt. James M. Rosso said the incident is under investigation by city detectives, who couldn't be reached for comment this morning.

Detective Jim McCoy previously told 22News that the woman received a stab wound to the collarbone area. He characterized the incident as an attempted robbery, with the man demanding the woman's purse. The surveillance footage shows a handful of men chasing after the suspect.

Police are asking anyone with information about the suspect to contact detectives at (413) 787-6355. Anonymous text-message tips may be sent to CRIMES (274637), with the body of the message beginning with the word SOLVE.

WARNING: Images may be disturbing to some viewers.

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Only 0.2 percent of former college students -- both graduates and dropouts -- who began repaying loans in 2008 stopped doing so in 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

AP File photoIn this Oct. 6, 2011 photo, Gan Golan of Los Angeles, dressed as the "Master of Degrees," holds a ball and chain representing his college loan debt during Occupy DC activities in Washington.

By ERIC CONVEY
Boston Business Journal

It’s graduation season for the state’s colleges and universities, which means it also is time for recently sprung students to start thinking about how they’ll repay their federally backed student loans.

If recent history is a guide, graduates of some institutions will do far better than their peers at others.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stonehill College were tied for the lowest default rates in 2009, the most recent year for which the federal government has made data available.

Only 0.2 percent of former students – the data includes dropouts and graduates – who began repaying loans in 2008 stopped doing so in 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Hampshire College, Harvard University, Babson College and Brandeis University also had default rates of 0.5 percent or less.

At the other end of the spectrum, Berklee College of Music (7.8 percent), Salem State University (6.9 percent), Mount Ida College (5.7 percent) and Anna Maria College (5.5 percent) posted the highest default rates in 2009. universities. -RT>

None came anywhere near the levels of default that could trigger federal sanctions.

Frank Mullen, director of financial aid at Berklee, noted that the 2009 figures were tabulated shortly after the economy tanked.

“I think we have to take into consideration the fact that the people who were graduating at that point were under far greater economic strains ... than the graduates who finished prior to them and even those who are finishing after them,” Mullen said.

Mary Lou Retelle, executive vice president at Anna Maria, said the new president at the Paxton college has focused on addressing the repayment issue. Indeed, the college’s default rate declined during a time when many colleges were seeing their rates increase amid the tough job market.

Retelle said demographics are a factor in repayment rates.

“The average income for our students and their families is about $65,000,” she said. “With the economy being the way it is, we find that some have been having a little more difficulty helping our students meet their expenses.”

A Salem State spokesman said the university serves a disproportionate percentage of students with substantial financial need. Additionally, she said, “Reductions in state support, thus increased fees, have hampered our students’ ability to finance their education.”

Berklee’s Mullen said part of the school’s approach is to get prospective students thinking early about the cost of an education there.

“We do counsel our students who plan to borrow and we try to give them the best advice we can and to make the right decision in selecting a school,” he said. “It’s not solely academic or performance, it’s also a financial decision.”

Hess said UTC President and CEO Louis Chenevert has set a lofty goal for Pratt to double engine sales by the end of this decade.

Republican file photoA Pratt & Whitney engine during a media day tour company headquarters in East Hartford, Conn. in 2010

Pratt & Whitney President David P. Hess in an undated portrait taken at the East Hartford facility. Hess last week said the company has no plans to leave Connecticut.

By HOWARD FRENCH
Special to The Republican

WINDSOR LOCKS – Pratt & Whitney’s headquarters will remain in East Hartford, and its plant in Middletown will stay put as well, even after Pratt is folded into a new subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. that will be based in North Carolina, Pratt President David Hess said Wednesday.

Hartford-based UTC announced last fall that it would acquire Goodrich Corp. for $18 billion. Goodrich, based in Charlotte, N.C., makes aircraft parts including landing gear and brakes.

UTC plans to create an new aviation parts subsidiary to be known as UTC Propulsion and Aerospace Systems that would include Goodrich, Hamilton Sundstrand in Windsor Locks, and Pratt, with its headquarters in North Carolina.

But at Pratt’s annual news briefing for reporters Wednesday at Bradley International Airport’s Sheraton Hartford Hotel, Hess said he doesn’t expect to move Pratt’s remaining
Connecticut operations out of state.

“Pratt will continue to be based in East Hartford and will have a significant presence in Connecticut for some time to come,” he said.

Pratt has laid off hundreds of production workers in the state over the past two years and closed a plant in Cheshire, moving the work to lower-labor-cost, non-union plants in Georgia and overseas.

But Hess said Wednesday that Pratt has hired 600 additional engineers in the last four or so years to help develop its new jet engines. A large percentage are in Connecticut, he said.

Hess said UTC President and CEO Louis Chenevert has set a lofty goal for Pratt – to double engine sales by the end of this decade.

Using Pratt’s 2010 sales total of $12 billion as a baseline, Hess said, that means engine sales of $24 billion by 2020. And that’s in the face of challenges such as cuts in Pentagon spending and the general economic downturn that began in 2008.

Complicating matters, some of the military programs for which Pratt provided engines are winding down, including the C-17 Globemaster military transport and the F-22
Raptor.

“Certainly, there is a short-term challenge,” Hess acknowledged, calling this a “transitional time” for Pratt. But with new military business “ramping up” and a burgeoning commercial demand for the company’s new geared turbofan engines, Pratt is prepared for much better days ahead, he said.

“Pratt & Whitney is positioned very well for growth,” Hess said.

Despite cuts in defense spending, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program is moving ahead, and Pratt is the sole engine supplier. Production of engines is expected to rise sharply by the middle of this decade, he said

And Hess said there is a growing demand for the company’s newest commercial engine, the geared turbofan that has been selected for use on the new Airbus A320neo as well as on regional jets being built by Japan’s Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. and Bombardier of Canada.

Pratt flew its so-called “flying test bed,” a Boeing 747 aircraft, with the newest version of the engine, into Bradley on Wednesday. The plane later flew over Pratt’s East
Hartford headquarters and its Middletown plant to give employees a closer look.

Hess also said Wednesday that Pratt’s decision to buy out partner Rolls-Royce’s half interest in the International Aero Engine partnership ultimately will mean Pratt will receive the lion’s share of proceeds from future sales of IAE’s popular V2500 jet engines. Pratt bought out Rolls-Royce in October for $1.5 billion.

The IAE partnership, based in Glastonbury, also includes two minority partners, Japanese Aero Engines Corp. and Germany’s MTU Aero Engines.

Employers surveyed by the National Association of Colleges and Employers predict hiring 29,237 new hires from the class of 2012, according to a report issued last month.

Photo by Clint Austin / Duluth News Tribunet051609 --- Clint Austin --- The "Hire Me" message on the mortarboard of University of Wisconsin-Superior graduate Mitchell Davis reflects the current economy and job market. Davis, a mass communications major, does not have a job in his field at the time of graduation.

SPRINGFIELD – Jordan Gilliam, 22, started his job search when a lot of his fellow members of the Class of 2012 were still settling in for their senior years on campus.

Now, Gilliam can relax knowing that he has capitalized on his bachelor’s degree in marketing from American International College, a degree he won’t officially get until May 20, by securing a job in sales for Alliance Medical Gas in the Springfield Technical Community College Technology Park.

He met with Alliance after the company set up a table in AIC’s student center. But that was only after he made the rounds of job fairs, resume in hand.

“You’ve got to practice for job fairs,” said Gilliam, who is from New Haven, Conn., but will stay in Springfield after graduation. “You want to keep everything to the point and short. The job market is tough. There is a lot of competition.”

That tough job market has improved slightly for Gilliam and the rest of the class of 2012. Employers surveyed by the National Association of Colleges and Employers predict hiring 29,237 new hires from the class of 2012, according to a report issued last month. That’s a 10.2 percent improvement over the 26,529 hired from the class of 2011 and a dramatic reversal from 2009, when hiring plunged 21 percent, NACE said.

Full-time hiring at PricewaterhouseCoopers, the accounting firm, has increased 15 percent from two years ago, Kerry Stakem, the firm’s Northeast recruiting coordinator, told the Boston Business Journal recently.

“Compared to last year, there is definitely a lot more activity,” said Abby W. Mahoney, director of career services at AIC. “We are seeing more employers calling, (and) more are posting on our database. Our students are at least being offered interviews. That wasn’t happening as much last year.”

Mark M. Murray/ The Republican05/04/12-Springfield -Jordan Gillian, 22, right a senior at American International College with Abby Mahoney, director of Career Services. Jordan has a job lined up after her graduates.