Advocates for three ballot questions this fall submitted a final round of voter signatures on Monday to Secretary of State William Galvin.

BOSTON - A judge on the state's highest court has approved new language for a proposed ballot question on medical marijuana to make clear that the plant would be produced and distributed in Massachusetts.

Advocates for medical marijuana and two other planned ballot questions on Monday submitted a final round of voter signatures to Secretary of State William F. Galvin. The questions appear set to qualify for the Nov. 6 ballot.

Another question would allow independent repair businesses to obtain access to all the diagnostic information they need for fixing motor vehicles. A third question would permit terminally-ill people to take life-ending medications with a physician's oversight and certain safeguards.

Robert J. Cordy

In a decision released on Monday, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Associate Justice Robert J. Cordy, acting on an appeal by opponents, approved new language for people who vote "yes" to approve medical marijuana.

The new "yes" statement reads, "A yes vote would enact the proposed law eliminating state criminal and civil penalties related to the medical use of marijuana, allowing patients meeting certain conditions to obtain marijuana produced and distributed by new state-regulated centers, or, in specific hardship cases, to grow marijuana for their own use."

Previously, it had said, "A yes vote would enact the proposed law eliminating state criminal and civil penalties related to the medical use of marijuana by patients meeting certain conditions."

Heidi Heilman, president of the Massachusetts Prevention Alliance and lead plaintiff in the case, said many people are not aware that approval of the question would create up to 35 dispensaries in the state in the first year of legalization including at least one in each county.

If the question is approved, a person could obtain up to a 60-day supply if diagnosed as having a debilitating medical condition.

Heilman said many people don't know that the drug will be easy to access and abuse. She said she is especially concerned that marijuana will be more available to youths. "It's really about selling pot in our neighborhoods," she said.

John S. Scheft, lawyer for the plaintiffs, said he will not appeal Cordy's ruling on June 28 to accept the revised "yes" statement forwarded by Assistant Attorney General Peter Sacks. Scheft said the attorney general was required by law to write the statement in a neutral way. "We're very happy with it," he said.

Following the appeal filed by Scheft, Cordy earlier had ruled that the original "yes" statement was flawed because it failed to inform voters they would be authorizing a system of production and distribution. Cordy ordered the offices of the attorney general and the secretary of state to amend the statement

Jennifer Manley, a spokeswoman for the Committee for Compassionate Medicine, which is sponsoring the medical-marijuana ballot question, said the committee agreed with the attorney general's re-write of the "yes" statement. She said the committee was mainly concerned that the statement show the distribution centers would be regulated by the state.

Manley said the committee is confident it submitted enough voter signatures to qualify for the ballot, but she could not say how many signatures were provided to Galvin's office. She said the committee is also confident that medical marijuana will be approved by voters.

Stephen Crawford, spokesman for the Massachusetts Death with Dignity Act, and Arthur Kinsman, coordinator of the Massachusetts Right to Repair Coalition, said each of those organizations filed 16,000 certified signatures of voters to Galvin's office on Monday to make the ballot.

Petitioners needed to file an additional 11,485 certified signatures to Galvin's office by tomorrow's deadline. A spokesman for Galvin said the office needs to count the signatures, which were already certified by local election officials.

Kinsman said his group would prefer to have a bill approved by the state Legislature, but at this point, is gearing up for a campaign for the ballot question. The state Senate has approved a "right to repair" bill and a version could still be approved by the state House of Representatives.

"We like our chances in the fall," Kinsman said. "The ballot question is the best right to repair proposal we could ask for."

Daniel Gage, a spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers in Washington, said on Monday that the auto makers have created a campaign committee to lead an effort to defeat the ballot question. Automakers made significant concessions over the past eight months, but "national auto parts companies" have repeatedly rejected compromise, Gage said in a prepared statement.

According to the "right to repair" proposed ballot question, vehicle manufacturers would be required to sell to independent shops or individual car owners all the computer software they need to correctly figure out the problems of every make and model of autos.

Gage has said that independent repair technicians and consumers can currently obtain diagnostic repair codes if they purchase access to a web site and buy the right tools.

Under the "death with dignity" question, terminally-ill patients would be allowed to ask for life-ending medications from a doctor. The proposed law would be similar to laws that exist in Oregon and Washington.

Crawford said people "want the kind of control and peace of mind the death with dignity statute can provide for people in their final days of life."

Lisa Barstow, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Family Institute in Woburn, which opposes the ballot question, said that with existing palliative care and hospice care, people can die with dignity but more along with nature.

"Life is precious, from conception to natural death," Barstow said.

Holub has been named professor and Ohio Eminent Scholar in German at Ohio State's College of Arts and Sciences.

File photo | The RepublicanFormer UMass Chancellor Robert Holub has been named a professor at The Ohio State University

AMHERST – According to The Ohio State University website, former University of Massachusetts Chancellor Robert C. Holub has been named professor and Ohio Eminent Scholar in German at the College of Arts and Sciences.

His position 
begins on Aug. 16.

Holub was chancellor at UMass for four years. His term ended over the weekend.

Kumble R. Subbaswamy, physicist and former provost at the University of Kentucky, took over Sunday at UMass after being hired in March.

Prior to coming to UMass, Holub was provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and held a range of positions at the University of California at Berkeley from 1980 until 2006, including dean of the undergraduate division.

He was a finalist for chancellor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa this spring.

Massachusetts' open meeting law permits exceptions to the requirement to meet in public.

BELCHERTOWN — The Belchertown School Committee met in executive session last week “to discuss the complaints brought against a public officer, employee, staff member or individual,” according to a motion that passed unanimously.

The committee did not say whether the executive session was related to the May bus incident involving what police termed an assault on an elementary school student that was also investigated by the Northwestern district attorney’s office.

The committee was handed more than 20 written complaints about the school’s handling of the bus incident at the previous week’s contentious meeting attended by many parents.

The state’s open meeting law permits exceptions to the requirement to meet in public.

The exception cited by the school board last Tuesday night includes a section that requires “A public body [to] hold an open session if the individual involved [with a complaint against them] requests that the session be open.” Anyone accused of wrongdoing must also be given a minimum 48-hour written notice, according to the open meeting law – unless the parties agree in writing to waive that requirement.

Prior to the vote to meet behind closed doors, no one was asked if they wanted the matter discussed in public.

It is unclear if the closed meeting involved allegations against more than one person, as the committee did not identify the subject(s) of the allegation.

In an interview prior to closing the doors, committee chairman Linda Tsoumas said confidentiality rules prevent committee members from discussing anything about the executive session.

School superintendent Judith Houle said the effects on liability coverage and the potential costs to Belchertown from an accident at the Chestnut Hill Community School Pool are financial risks best avoided.

File photo | Associated Press

BELCHERTOWN – A controversial idea to reinstall a 1-meter diving board that was removed from the Chestnut Hill Community School swimming pool about 10 years ago was referred to a subcommittee for further study at Tuesday’s School Committee meeting.

School superintendent Judith Houle is opposed to the diving board. She said the effects on liability coverage and the potential costs to Belchertown from an accident at the pool are financial risks best avoided.

As things stand, without the diving board, if there is an accident in the pool area, a victim must show there was negligence to collect a settlement from the town, the school committee and town officials attending the meeting said.

But with the diving board installed, any injury in the pool area would mean the town is liable to pay a claim because a victim would no longer have to prove negligence, they said.

Town Administrator Gary Brougham and Selectman Ron Aponte said the town has been trying to find an insurance company willing to negotiate a policy to exempt the automatic payouts and require proof of actual liability should the diving board go back up, but has been unsuccessful.

“I’m entering my third year on the board of selectmen and my sixth lawsuit,” Selectmen Chairman George D. “Archie” Archible said. He said he would like to see the diving board reinstalled but not at the price of another court action against the town.

Recreation Commission members Ed Sokolowski and Kelly Harris attended the meeting. They gave the school board a copy of a petition signed by 200 people that included more than 100 voters urging the reinstallation of the 1-meter board.

“We are advocates for recreation – the same with the diving board,” Sokolowski said. “We have massive support for the diving board” to be reinstalled. He said the board was removed because it needed to be re-sanded and not because of an injury.

Sokolowski said a new board costs $3,800 to $2,845 to install.

The School Committee unanimously approved a motion by Eric Weiss to refer the matter to the Property and Transportation subcommittee for review – to be considered again by the full committee in the next six months to a year.

He warned that if the committee had outright tabled the matter, it would likely not have been considered again “for a very long time.”

There will be no municipal trash collection on Wednesday because of the July 4th holiday.

File photo / The Republican

SPRINGFIELD — The Department of Public Works announced that there will be no municipal trash collection on Wednesday because of the July 4th holiday.

Collection of rubbish will take place on Saturday this week for residents with Wednesday rubbish collection. Residents who have recycling collection service on July 4 should also place their recyclables and yard waste on Saturday.

Items should be placed out for collection no later than 6:30 a.m., on the day of collection, the DPW said.

For additional information on collection days residents can call 3-1-1 or (413) 736-3111.

All children are welcome, there are “no questions asked or ID required,” Superintendent of Schools Mary Elizabeth Beach said.

WARE – Ware public schools have began their summer meals program.

Breakfast and lunch is served Monday through Friday, free of charge, for children through age 18. Seating is at the Koziol Elementary School cafeteria. The cost is reimbursed by the federal government.

Breakfast is 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., lunch is 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

All children are welcome, there are “no questions asked or ID required,” Superintendent Mary Elizabeth Beach said.

Concerns about proper nutrition prompted Beach and food services director Jeff Nicholas to initiate the meals program, which runs until Aug. 3.

Beach said data from the ConAgra Foods Foundation shows one in five children in the US – more than 16 million – “are at risk of hunger” from lack of resources.

The school chief said children have breakfast and lunch provided during the school year and that the summer meals program will help prevent child hunger in the community.

“In the summer, the breakfast and lunches are available free for kids 1 to 18, no questions asked,” she said.

“Not as many families take advantage of this resource as you would expect or that we would like,” Beach said. She urged families to utilize the program.

The food is prepared by Ware public schools. The elementary school is located at 4 Gould Road.

For more information, call the Ware School Lunch Program at (413) 967-5248 or (413) 967-5977.

Westbound traffic was stopped on the highway so helicopters could transport the wounded motorists to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.

The Republican file photo

Updates a story posted at 11:46 a.m. Monday, July 2.

CHARLTON – A 26-year-old Worcester woman is dead and two men are hurt after a single-car, rollover crash on the Massachusetts Turnpike on Monday morning.

A preliminary Massachusetts State Police investigation indicated the woman was driving the car when the accident happened in Charlton at about 11 a.m.

Police said she was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center, where she died. A 24-year-old Worcester man and a 27-year-old Millville man were being treated at the Worcester hospital on Monday night.

Police said the car rolled over in the westbound left lane, ejecting one person and trapping another who had to be extricated from the wreck by firefighters.

Police didn’t release the names of the victims. No further details about the crash or the condition of the surviving passengers was available on Monday night.

A MassLive editor en route to Springfield from the eastern part of the state reported lengthy delays in the westbound lane of the Mass Pike, where traffic backups lasted for more than two hours.

The westbound lane of the turnpike was closed until shortly before noon so medical helicopters could land on the highway and transport the wounded motorists. Eastbound traffic moved freely. Traffic came to a standstill for about an hour. Two highway lanes remained closed after the helicopters left, with traffic trickling through as authorities investigated the fatal crash, according to radio reports from WBZ-AM in Boston, and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s 511 traffic cell phone line.



Traffic at one point was backed up all the way to Millbury, or about 16 miles east of the crash scene, according to WBZ,

Some travelers paused at the westbound Charlton rest area while waiting for traffic to begin moving again.

The cause of the crash remained under investigation Monday night.

The project was funded with a $500,000 state Gateway Cities Parks grant, awarded early in 2011, and $468,000 in city funds approved by the City Council in September.

View full sizePhoto by Manon MirabelliJenna N. Westcott, 10, of Westfield, enjoys the spray park at the newly rebuilt Chapman Park on St. Paul Street after a ribbon-cutting ceremony held Sunday.

WESTFIELD - St. Paul Street families were part of Sunday's celebration of the grand opening of the newly re-built Chapman Park, an endeavor that cost nearly $1 million and took about six years from inception to completion.

The three-acre facility, once a run-down eyesore with outdated, broken and unsafe equipment, now boasts an all-new spray park, which came with a price tag of about $60,000, a modern playscape, a fitness trail, a basketball court, an open field for softball, soccer and other sports, park lighting, ample parking and restrooms.

In addition, the fitness trail, which circles the park, also runs along the Rail Trail bike path, and the new parking lot can be used by those enjoying the trail.

The project was funded with a $500,000 state Gateway Cities Parks grant, awarded early in 2011, and $468,000 in city funds approved by the City Council in September.

At the time, several councilors complained of cost overruns for the project, but officials said an original $215,000 estimate of the city's financial share was made six years ago and for a smaller package.

Mayor Daniel M. Knapik said, "It is not a case of overruns. It is a case of a six-year-old estimate and slowly adding elements to it."

On Sunday, the city hosted a neighborhood celebration for families who enjoyed all those elements and were treated to free Parks and Recreation Department t-shirts, hats and tote bags, as well as ice cream and face painting.

It was a day, said one resident, that has been a long time in the making and was made possible by those who persevered to follow through on the plan initially envisioned by former Parks and Recreation Director Anne Marie Heiser in 2006.

View full sizePhoto by Manon MirabelliNeighborhood children enjoy the spray park at the newly rebuilt Chapman Park on St. Paul Street after a ribbon-cutting ceremony held Sunday.

Dawn M. Sienkiewicz, a member of the neighborhood crime watch, said residents have been involved with the project since that time, and have been instrumental in its planning by participating in Parks and Recreation and other municipal meetings concerning Chapman Park.

"This is a hugely pedestrian neighborhood," she said, "and now families have a safe place to bring their kids."

Sienkiewicz also said surveillance cameras will be installed to keep "riff raff" from vandalizing the park.

"This gives the kids somewhere to go and spruces up the neighborhood," she added.
Parks and Recreation Director James Blascak said handicapped-accessible park can now be enjoyed by younger families in the neighborhood off Meadow Street.

"In the last 15 years, there has been an influx of younger families moving into this neighborhood," he noted.

High pressure returns for a sunny day tomorrow. Thunderstorms threaten July 4th.

Overall it will be pretty nice overnight...mainly clear skies and lows comfortably in the mid-50s. Those pop-up isolated showers dotted across the region today are done for the evening. High pressure will be sliding into the region, and this will continue to dominate our weather into Tuesday. Mostly sunny skies with highs in the upper-80s tomorrow...similar to today but minus any threat of rain showers.

Heading into the Fourth of July, we will be faced with some rain showers and the possibility of some stronger/severe thunderstorms. An approaching cold front will be clashing with a very hot and humid airmass. The timing of the storms will waver a little bit, but lately it has been tracking more for mid-day instead of the evening...which would be good news for the fireworks shows.

After the 4th, we could be faced with another heat wave across the region. High temperatures return to the 90s for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday...with humidity a bit on the high side.

Monday night: Mainly clear skies, comfortable, low 56.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny, warm, high 89.

Independence Day: Scattered afternoon showers and thunderstorms, a few storms may be severe, humid, high 88.

Thursday: Hazy, hot, and humid, high 91.

Select Board Chairman Paul Santaniello said it is time for the board to do something about the town website which has been in need of an upgrade for the past several years.

LONGMEADOW – The Select Board has appointed Finance Director Paul P. Pasterczyk as the acting town manager until a new town manager is hired.

Several board members will be visiting the communities of town manager finalists Thomas Guerino and Mark Stankiewicz in the next few weeks.

During its meeting Monday night the board also discussed the town’s website which is currently being managed by various departments.

Select Board Chairman Paul Santaniello said it is time for the board to do something about the site which has been in need of an upgrade for the past several years. Santaniello explained that the website functioned well until two years ago when volunteer webmaster James Moran was asked to stop maintaining the site.

“It was all politics, but the board decided to vote him out and we were left with the website,” he said.

Santaniello said after Moran was let go the town realized it was much more difficult to maintain the website then they initially thought.

Board member Marie Angelides suggested hiring a company like CivicPlus, which specializes in creating and maintaining municipal websites.

“I believe the Information Technology department has already set aside money for this,” she said.

Members Mark Gold and Richard Foster said they are against paying a company to manage the website and instead would prefer to have an intern from a local college update the site.

Currently individual departments have designated a person to update their portion of the website. Santaniello said the system has not worked well and often times information is not up in a timely manner.

Angelides said she would rather see a professional company handling the website because with an intern they run the risk of having the person lose interest.

“We had students design the new website and they did a great job, but then we had to have the IT department come in and maintain it,” she said.

She also said she would like to see the site do more than just update residents.

“I’d like to see the site used to pay for permits or bills,” she said.

Gold, who said he thinks the current website is subpar, suggested issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) asking someone to create a website that can be easily managed by the town.

“We might very well get companies like CivicPlus or Virtual Town Hall, but we might also get Bay Path College or an independent contractor who is interested in doing it,” he said.

The board voted to issue the RFP by Sept. 1.

Obama and his allied groups aren't keeping pace with Romney and the Republican fundraising machine, and that places more pressure on the president to solicit huge sums himself.

AP PhotosPresident Barack Obama and Republican Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney both have problems that they would like to solve before the next federal holiday.

By CHARLES BABINGTON, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The presidential race is entering the sultry summer, a final lull before the sprint to Election Day, with President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney neck and neck and no sign that either can break away.

As both candidates take a breather this week — Romney at his lakeside compound in New Hampshire and Obama at the Camp David presidential retreat — each sees problems he'd like to cure before Labor Day.

Obama and his allied groups aren't keeping pace with Romney and the Republican fundraising machine, and that places more pressure on the president to solicit huge sums himself. And the Supreme Court ruling that saved Obama's signature health care initiative last week didn't change the fact that most Americans don't like the law.

Romney's fundraising is impressive. But, in a sign of his hurdles, he's spending heavily in North Carolina, a state he almost certainly must win to have a chance at the White House. And some voters in key states appear uncomfortable with his record at a corporate restructuring firm before he became Massachusetts governor.

National polls suggest that Obama holds a small, perhaps meaningless lead as he awaits a new jobs report Friday that could bring bad news similar to last month's. Romney is offering few details of his own health and economic proposals for now, perhaps thinking outside forces will dislodge the president.

"When it's a 2 or 3 point race, that's not good for an incumbent president," said Republican strategist Rich Galen, who is not affiliated with Romney's campaign. "Obama's political career is totally dependent on Angela Merkel holding the eurozone together," he said, referring to the German chancellor and Europe's financial woes, which could further hurt the U.S. economy.

An eventful June began badly for Obama. Anemic job-creation numbers followed news that Romney's campaign was raising more money than his. Things got worse when Obama told reporters, "The private sector is doing fine," a line now featured in countless GOP attack ads.

The month ended better for Obama. The Supreme Court struck down much of Arizona's strict anti-immigration law, a law the president opposed. Then the justices upheld the 2010 national health care law, a victory that nonetheless forces Obama to keep defending an unpopular mandate to obtain insurance or pay a fee, which the court labeled a tax.

"Last week was a reminder to the American people of who the president is fighting for," said Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki. She cited "access to health care" and "immigration reform."

"But we're looking ahead, and we know this race is going to be really close," she said.

Obama on Thursday starts a two-day bus tour of Ohio and western Pennsylvania, a trip that partly mimics Romney's earlier and longer recent tour. The president might spend part of his drive time dialing for dollars. It's a chore all candidates face, but it poses new urgency for the president, because pro-Romney "super PACs" are raising far more campaign money than are Democratic groups.

In a leaked recording of a conference call Obama recently placed from Air Force One to top donors from 2008, the president implored them to match their earlier generosity. "We're going to have to deal with these super PACs in a serious way," Obama said, according to the Daily Beast.

Obama's team may find some comfort in knowing that since April 10, pro-Romney forces have spent more money on TV ads in North Carolina — $6.4 million — than in any other state except Florida and Ohio. Four years ago, Obama narrowly won North Carolina, which had voted Republican in seven straight presidential races. Most plausible scenarios for a Romney presidency require him to secure the state, the sooner the better.

The two campaigns, including their allied super PACs, are matching each other nearly dollar for dollar on TV ads in Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Virginia and New Hampshire. Romney's forces are out-spending Obama's in Iowa and Michigan. The opposite is true in Colorado.

Romney is vacationing this week in New Hampshire, where family games might mix with talk of who his running mate should be. Romney, whose oversight of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games won wide praise, plans to attend the Summer Games later this summer in London.

He also will go to Israel, a trip that could appeal to Jewish voters and donors, and to conservatives who see Israel as a vital military and political ally.

Meanwhile, Republicans worry that Democrats are making headway with claims that Romney supported shipping jobs overseas when he headed a corporate restructuring firm called Bain Capital. His campaign says Romney did not oversee the export of U.S. jobs, although Bain at times invested in companies that helped pioneer outsourcing certain jobs to places such as India.

"It is a problem," Galen said of anti-Romney ads citing Bain and outsourcing. But he said the ads might have had greater impact if Obama could have saved them for September. Instead, Galen said, Democrats had to throw every weapon possible to counter the damage from Obama's "private sector is doing fine" remark.

It's not clear how June's biggest political headline — the Supreme Court's decision to uphold "Obamacare" — will play out in the campaign.

Congressional Republicans have jumped on the court's conclusion that a fee to be imposed on people who refuse to obtain health insurance is actually a tax. Romney tiptoes around the issue because the fee/tax is similar to one he imposed on Massachusetts residents who failed to buy medical insurance.

"Once the dust settles, the health care issue still serves as a way for both sides to motivate their respective bases, but it's hard to see it playing much of a role with the rest of the electorate," said Dan Schnur, a former Republican adviser who teaches political science at the University of Southern California. A more important issue, Schnur said, "is Bain vs. Solyndra."

Solyndra was a California-based solar panel manufacturer that received a large federal loan and big compliments from Obama before filing for bankruptcy.

"There's no question the Bain argument is working very effectively for Obama," Schnur said, "because it hits directly at voters' biggest concerns about a private sector-driven approach to the economy. But Solyndra accomplishes exactly the same thing for Romney, when he argues about too large a role for government."

The economy, Schnur said, will remain the top issue until polling places close on Nov. 6.

Summer vacations and Olympic Games might distract voters for the next several weeks, and political and legal activists might keep arguing over health care and immigration. But Romney is staking his candidacy on the claim that Obama has failed on the economy.

An election that seems destined to be tight will largely turn on voters' gut feelings about job security, the government's role in boosting or hindering employment, and candidates' visions for the nation's role in a global economy.

State lawmakers were urged Monday to use their legislative powers to pursue allegations of racism and discrimination at the Department of Children and Families' juvenile detention facility in Middletown.

By SUSAN HAIGH, by Associated press

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — State lawmakers were urged Monday to use their legislative powers to pursue allegations of racism and discrimination at the Connecticut Department of Children and Families' juvenile detention facility in Middletown.

"I'm here to ask the legislators to investigate cases of discrimination and injustice within DCF at the Connecticut Juvenile Training School," said Lynette Gaunichaux, a supervisor and 19-year veteran at the state's only secure facility for delinquent boys.

Gaunichaux was one of several past and current DCF employees who testified at an informational session at the Legislative Office Building organized by Hartford state Reps. Matthew Ritter and Douglas McCrory. Some spoke of being wrongly terminated, believing their race had played a role, or being unfairly reprimanded.

"Discrimination is alive and well throughout CJTS," said Anthony Gaunichaux, who retired as a supervisor in 2001.

Several other people testified about their concerns about racism involving DCF, the state's child welfare agency, including Lillie Holiday, the mother of Omar Thornton, who killed eight co-workers and himself in an August 2010 shooting rampage at a Manchester beer distributor.

Thornton, who was black, had said he was a victim of racism at work. A police investigation concluded there was no evidence to support that claim. Holiday recently set up a memorial fund site for her son to solicit donations to fight institutionalized racism, saying his case should be used as a learning tool.

Monday's informational session came about eight months after a youth service officer at CJTS, activist and minister Cornell Lewis, waged a seven-day hunger strike to draw attention to what he called a racist attitude by mostly white supervisors toward employees at the juvenile detention facility. Lewis is one of four black workers who sued the child welfare agency in 2010 alleging that black employees have been the target of racially motivated disciplinary actions and are promoted at a lesser rate.

DCF said its commissioner didn't attend the hearing because of the pending lawsuit.

"However, she looks forward to participating at some point in the future when the litigation is resolved," DCF said in a statement.

The statement said the agency is proud that it is "one of the most diverse agencies in state government."

"We believe the diversity of our staff is a point of strength for our agency and have made cultural competence a priority for our work," it said.

Lewis said he believes DCF and CJTS officials are in a state of denial about the problems with racism. He said the workers' concerns, identified in a petition and in the lawsuit, have been "dismissed and ridiculed."

"They won't even broach the subject," Lewis said.

Ritter and McCrory said they need to decide how to proceed and plan to speak with their colleagues. In the meantime, McCrory said other residents and employees with concerns about racism at CJTS or within DCF should contact the legislators.

"These are the most vulnerable individuals that we have in our state of Connecticut," McCrory said. "It is important that people who are servicing them are treated appropriately."

CNN journalist Anderson Cooper revealed that he is gay, ending years of reluctance to talk about his personal life in public.

These were the most-read stories on MassLive.com yesterday. If you missed any of them, click on the links to read them now. The most-viewed photo gallery was the Associated Press', "What does Mitt Romney do on vacation?" at right.

1) Great white shark spotted 100 yards from Cape Cod coast [Conor Berry]

2) Gabby Douglas, Needham's Aly Raisman make U.S. Olympic gymnastics team [Associated Press]

3) Anderson Cooper: 'The fact is, I'm gay' [Associated Press]

4) Springfield judge denies bail for Charles Wilhite, citing extensive criminal record [Jack Flynn]

5) Richard Larivee of West Springfield, finds wallet containing $912, turns it over to police [Sandra Constantine]

Mostly sunny skies today, but strong thunderstorms possible tomorrow.

High pressure will be sliding into the region, and this will continue to dominate our weather today. Mostly sunny skies with highs in the upper-80s this afternoon...similar to yesterday but minus any threat of rain showers. That will change overnight, as an approaching system triggers some scattered rain showers and thunderstorms, mainly in Springfield after 4 a.m.

Heading into the Fourth of July, we will be faced with some rain showers and the possibility of some stronger/severe thunderstorms. An approaching cold front will be clashing with a very hot and humid airmass. The timing of the storms will waver a little bit, but lately it has been tracking more for morning and mid-day instead of the evening...which would be good news for the fireworks shows.

After the 4th, we could be faced with another heat wave across the region. High temperatures return to the 90s for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday...with humidity a bit on the high side.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny, warm, high 89.

Tuesday night: Increasing clouds, scattered thunderstorms by morning, low 64.

Independence Day: Scattered afternoon showers and thunderstorms, a few storms may be severe, humid, high 88.

Thursday: Hazy, hot, and humid, high 91.

An 18-year-old was speeding when he crashed into a tree near 572 Dwight Road in the city's Forest Park neighborhood, according to authorities.

SPRINGFIELD — A speeding car driven by a teenager crashed into a tree near 572 Dwight Road at about 2:15 a.m. Tuesday, according to police.

The 18-year-old, whom police declined to identify, was taken to Baystate Medical Center for treatment. The extent of his injuries was not immediately known, and the cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Speed was a factor in the single-car crash, Springfield Police Capt. Cheryl Clapprood told 22News, adding that the teen was bleeding from the mouth.

The crash occurred near Franconia Golf Course in the southeastern corner of the city's Forest Park neighborhood.

MAP of crash scene area:

View Larger Map

Eliseo Chicas, 36, of Brentwood, N.Y., was charged with operating under the influence of alcohol, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and failure to stop for police, according to Holyoke police records.

Republican file photo

HOLYOKE — City police investigating a traffic accident on Beech Street at about 10:12 p.m. Sunday ended up arresting a Long Island man on drunken-driving charges, according to Holyoke Police Department records.

Eliseo Chicas, 36, of Brentwood, N.Y., was charged with operating under the influence of alcohol, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and failure to stop for police, the records show. Arraignment information and details of the accident were not immediately available.

The incident happened near 185 Beech St., police said. No further information was available.

Police arrested the suspect shortly before 10:30 p.m.on Monday.

EAST LONGMEADOW - Police arrested a 22-year-old Springfield man Monday night after he allegedly threatened a person with a knife at the summer carnival on Maple Street.

Sgt. Richard Bates said a knife was shown but the victim was not injured.

Aaron S. Bodley, of 224 El Paso St., Springfield, was arrested shortly before 10:30 p.m. and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, according to police documents.

The property is targeted for public and commercial development that Mayor Daniel Knapik said might include a public transit terminal, community police station and Westfield State University.

File photo | The RepublicanThe corner of Arnold and Elm streets in Westfield.

WESTFIELD — The city has received a $480,200 grant from MassDevelopment to move forward with the demolition of several buildings at the corner of Arnold and Elm streets.

The demolition and site clean-up will clear the way for new development along that section of Elm Street that includes the vacant parcel where a J.J. Newberry’s Department Store stood until it was leveled by fire some 30 years ago.

Mayor Daniel M. Knapik and City Advancement Officer Jeffrey R. Daley announced the grant award Tuesday. The funding is for demolition and mitigation of ground contamination at the rear of the structures, Daley said.

Republican file photoDaniel Knapik

Buildings targeted for demolition are the Block Building at the corner of Arnold and Elm streets and an adjoining one-story structure that currently houses four or five vacant storefronts. The city is continuing negotiations with Hampden Bank for acquisitions of the one-story, multi-unit structure, but already owns the Block Building, Daley and Knapik said.

The property is targeted for public and commercial development that Knapik said might include a public transit terminal, community police station and Westfield State University. The mayor has indicated support for a 15,000-square-foot building on that Elm Street parcel.

The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority and the city recently launched a $400,000 study of Westfield’s downtown to determine transportation and development needs.

The rear of those properties, including off-street parking facilities, are part of the city’s Gaslight District, which will see an estimated $5 million upgrade in utilities and pedestrian walkways beginning in the fall.

Knapik said the plans for building in that section of Elm Street are for demolition in the fall and environmental cleanup of the site next spring.

That area was considered prime location of a proposed hotel and intermodal transit center for more than 10 years. But, in 2007, local developer John E. Reed, owner of Mestek Inc., withdrew his plan to invest $12 million in the hotel project, claiming it was no longer viable.

“I do expect any building constructed on this site will include a form of public transportation,” Knapik said this week.

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Terry said he is not optimistic that Dallas will make an acceptable counteroffer.

AP fileJason Terry, 41, of the Dallas Mavericks could be in a Boston Celtics uniform next season.

Jason Terry and the Boston Celtics have agreed to a three-year deal, according to Yahoo! Sports, but Terry tells Fox Sports he is giving the Dallas Mavericks one last chance to make a counteroffer.

"I want to see what they come up with," Terry told Fox Sports' Chris Tomasson. "But I’m not optimistic."

Terry added of the Celtics, "I just love that they have a championship pedigree. And I think their point guard (Rajon Rondo) is the best in the business at controlling both ends of the floor. And they’ve got Hall of Famers."

The contract Terry and the Celtics reportedly agreed to is for Boston's midlevel exception of $5 million annually.

While Terry and Ray Allen have similar skill sets, bringing Terry aboard doesn’t necessarily mean the Celtics don’t want to re-sign Allen. Boston coach Doc Rivers told Yahoo!’s Marc Spears recently that both shooting guards can fit on on his squad next season. Allen is meeting with the Miami Heat and L.A. Clippers this week, but Boston maintains it wants to bring him back.

Kevin Garnett and the Celtics agreed to a three-year, $34 million contract before the start of free agency.

New polls find Americans remain divided on the Affordable Care Act, after the Supreme Court decided to uphold it.

Supporters of President Barack Obama's health care law celebrate outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Thursday, June 28, 2012, after the court's ruling was announced. AP Photo/David Goldman)

The public remains divided on the Affordable Care Act, according to several new polls.

The polling was done in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul as constitutional.

A poll by ABC News/The Washington Post found that 45 percent of those polled view Obama’s health care law favorably and 48 percent see it unfavorably.

However, the split over Obama’s plan is not sending respondents running to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Just 30 percent of those polled had a favorable opinion of Romney’s approach to health care, while 47 percent had an unfavorable opinion.

The results of the ABC News/Washington Post poll were slightly different from the findings of another new poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Asked for their views on the Supreme Court’s decision, 47 percent favored it and 43 percent opposed it. Independents who did not lean toward either party were evenly split.

However, while the recent ruling has done little to change views on the health care policy, it has changed views of the court, according to a poll by CNN/ORC International. That poll found that when asked about the Supreme Court’s decision, 50 percent of respondents said they agreed with it and 49 percent disagreed, largely along party lines. While the court's approval rating among Democrats jumped by 23 points, it fell among Republicans by 21 points.