Motorists are being advised to seek an alternative route.
SOUTHAMPTON - Route 10 is closed between High Street and Fomer Road after a car struck a utility pole.
Motorists are being advised to seek an alternative route.
Power lines are reportedly down across the vehicle.
It's unknown if there are any injuries.
Below is a map of the closed section of Route 10.
View Section of Route 10 closed in a larger map
"I do not want any issue like this to distract from my teammates' focus for the biggest meet of their lives," Dunn said. "I wish Team USA (the) best in London as I work toward resolving this matter."
Relay sprinter Debbie Dunn took her name off the U.S. Olympic team roster Friday after testing positive for excessive testosterone.
Dunn, who finished fourth in the 400 meters at Olympic trials, was selected for the American relay pool. She is the 2010 world indoor champion at 400 meters and would have been a likely candidate to run in the Olympic 1,600-meter relay, which the American women have won every year since 1996.
But she released a statement acknowledging a positive doping test and said she was withdrawing from the Olympics while the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency pursues the case.
"I do not want any issue like this to distract from my teammates' focus for the biggest meet of their lives," Dunn said. "I wish Team USA (the) best in London as I work toward resolving this matter."
The Chicago Tribune first reported Dunn's positive test.
USADA CEO Travis Tygart said the agency is analyzing Dunn's 'B' sample. If that comes back positive, Dunn would have the choice of accepting a sanction or taking the case to arbitration.
"USADA appreciates Ms. Dunn voluntarily removing herself from the Olympic team while the full facts ... are evaluated," Tygart said in a statement. "As in all cases, all athletes are innocent until and unless proven otherwise through the established full, fair legal process which was approved by athletes, the U.S. Olympic Committee, and all Olympic sports organizations."
No replacement was immediately named, and it may not be necessary to find another sprinter to take Dunn's place. Among the candidates to run in the 1,600-meter relay are the top three finishers in the 400 at trials — Sanya Richards-Ross, Francena McCorory and DeeDee Trotter, along with Diamond Dixon, Keshia Baker and Allyson Felix, who qualified for the 100 and 200 sprints but also has experience running at 400 meters.
USA Track and Field CEO Max Siegel said Dunn did the appropriate thing by withdrawing.
"At this point, her case is being handled by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which will adjudicate the matter," Siegel said.
Sage Stallone was found unresponsive by an employee and a relative. There were no signs of foul play or trauma, and no suicide note was found, Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter said.
LOS ANGELES — The 36-year-old son of Sylvester Stallone was found dead in his Los Angeles home Friday, leaving the actor grief-stricken as authorities investigated the cause, a publicist and authorities said.
Sage Stallone was found unresponsive by an employee and a relative. There were no signs of foul play or trauma, and no suicide note was found, Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter said.
"Sylvester Stallone is devastated and grief-stricken over the sudden loss of his son," publicist Michelle Bega said in a statement. "His compassion and thoughts are with Sage's mother, Sasha."
He was found Friday afternoon at his home on Mullholland Drive in the Studio City area, and police arrived and confirmed he was dead, Winter said.
Prescription bottles were recovered in the investigation, but Winter could not say what kind or how many, and whether they had a role in his death. Winter said an autopsy will be performed in the next few days and investigators will look into Stallone's medical history, but a cause of death was likely to take several weeks while toxicology tests are performed.
George Braunstein, an attorney who has represented Sage Stallone for 15 years, said friends and acquaintances had become concerned because they hadn't heard from Stallone in the past day, Braunstein said. He said the employee who found the body was a housekeeper.
Sylvester Stallone appeared Thursday at Comic-Con, the San Diego pop culture festival, to promote his upcoming film "Expendables 2" with friend and co-star Arnold Schwarzenegger. It was not clear whether he had remained at the convention or had returned to Los Angeles Friday.
Sage Moonblood Stallone was the oldest of Sylvester Stallone's children and co-starred with his father in two films. He was the first of two sons Stallone had with first wife Sasha Czack.
"Sage was a very talented and wonderful young man, his loss will be felt forever," Bega said.
Sage Stallone made his acting debut in 1990's "Rocky V" and also appeared with his father in 1996's "Daylight."
Also in 1996, Sage Stallone and veteran film editor Bob Murawski co-founded Grindhouse Releasing, a company dedicated to preserving and promoting the B-movies and exploitation films of the 1970s and 80s.
"He was very respectful of all the actors in all the movies," Braunstein said. "You couldn't mention a movie that he didn't know everything about."
Sage Stallone also directed the 2006 short "Vic," which screened at the Palm Springs Film Festival.
Braunstein said Stallone was planning on getting married for the first time, and had frequent requests to work on films.
"He was a full of life filmmaker with his whole future ahead of him," Braunstein said. "He was just very up and enthusiastic and positive.
"I think it was probably some sort of accident," he said of the death.
Braunstein said Sage Stallone greatly admired his father but was working hard to make his own name in the film industry.
"He was very proud of his father and proud to be his father's son," Braustein said.
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Associated Press Writer Andrew Dalton contributed to this report
The Washington Post cited anonymous police officials in reporting that the officer allegedly told colleagues over breakfast at a restaurant that he would shoot the first lady and then showed a photo on his mobile phone of a gun he would use. He may also have used a phone application that makes the sound of gunfire, the newspaper reported.
WASHINGTON — If your job is protecting the first lady's motorcade, mouthing off about the boss can lead to more than a citation in a personnel file.
A District of Columbia police officer found that out this week when he came under investigation for threatening comments he was accused of making about first lady Michelle Obama, though police are still trying to figure out exactly what was said, Police Chief Cathy Lanier said Friday.
"Five people can be in the room and will relate five different kinds of stories or versions of a story," Lanier said. "As we take statements, there's going to naturally in every investigation be some inconsistencies."
Authorities have not identified the officer, a 17-year department veteran who has been placed on paid desk duty. He had been assigned to a unit that provides a motor escort for the White House and other dignitaries.
Lanier said the officer is accused of making a threat about the first lady — a comment overheard by another officer and then reported to a superior. The department's internal affairs division and the U.S. Secret Service are investigating the remarks and taking statements from officers who heard them.
The Washington Post cited anonymous police officials in reporting that the officer allegedly told colleagues over breakfast at a restaurant that he would shoot the first lady and then showed a photo on his mobile phone of a gun he would use. He may also have used a phone application that makes the sound of gunfire, the newspaper reported.
Lanier said she couldn't say for sure exactly what the officer may have said.
"Right now, because we're still taking statements, I can tell you that we haven't gotten to that point where we can kind of figure out what the real, closest to the best-kind-of-story" is, the chief said.
It's also not clear how seriously the comments were meant to be taken, but the officer could be referred for criminal prosecution if investigators believe his comment constituted an actual threat against the first lady. He could also face administrative discipline for conduct unbecoming. While the Secret Service investigates threats against the first family as a matter of routine, the comments no doubt take on added seriousness given the officer's role within the department.
There was no indication of a legitimate threat to the first lady.
"We have in the 150 years we've existed assisted in protecting the president, the first lady and foreign heads of state as they travel around the city, and we do it flawlessly," Lanier said. "The amount of frustration and outrage and hurt to the members of this agency, if the allegation is true, cannot be overstated."
Mayor Vincent Gray said in an appearance on NewsChannel 8 in Washington on Friday that it was hard to believe a police officer would do or say the types of things alleged.
But, he added, "There's no room for jokes or frivolity when you're dealing with the first family."
Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovan said the agency was aware of the report and was taking "appropriate follow-up steps."
A White House spokesman said Friday that President Barack Obama was also aware of the investigation but had nothing to say about it, and he referred questions to the Secret Service. Typically, in the case of a threat against a member of the first family, the Secret Service interviews participants and witnesses and then decides how to proceed.
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Associated Press writer Jim Kuhnhenn contributed to this report.
The fire has left a hole in the roof, but doesn't appear to have spread to other floors.
UPDATE: The scene was reported clear at 4:45 a.m.
CHICOPEE - Firefighters are putting out a fire in a fourth floor unit at the Memorial Apartments on Debra Drive.
The flames have left a hole in the roof, but don't appear to have spread to the lower floors.
The housing complex is owned by the Chicopee Housing Authority.
Further details are unavailable at this time. A fire department dispatcher could not comment.
Dr. Jill Stein isn't shy about admitting her candidacy is a super long shot. Still, she noted that a growing number of people are expressing frustration with the nation's two mainstream political parties. She cited the Occupy Wall Street movement as an example.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A Massachusetts doctor who ran against Republican Mitt Romney for governor a decade ago is poised to challenge him again as the Green Party's nominee for president.
Dr. Jill Stein isn't shy about admitting her candidacy is a super long shot. Still, she noted that a growing number of people are expressing frustration with the nation's two mainstream political parties. She cited the Occupy Wall Street movement as an example.
"People are not wedded to these parties, and they are as unhappy with the money-dominated political process as they are unhappy with the products of that process," Stein, 62, said in an interview the day before she was expected to accept the party's nomination at its convention on Saturday
So far, the Green Party has only qualified for the ballot in 21 states, and the party has not yet qualified for the ballot in Maryland, where its convention is being held. The party has until Aug. 6 to submit 10,000 signatures in Maryland. Stein said she is hopeful the party will eventually qualify in at least 40 states.
Stein noted that the Green Party has qualified for federal matching funds for the first time in its 11-year history.
"It is yet another sign that we are in a different historical moment right now — that people are taking the stakes here very seriously and understanding that it is we, ourselves, who are going to get us out of this mess, we, the American people," Stein said. "The corporate-sponsored political parties — the establishment — isn't going to change the status quo for us. We've got to do it."
Stein was far ahead of comedian Roseanne Barr for the party's nomination. Barr is also scheduled to speak at the convention.
Stein, of Lexington, Mass., has been running for office in Massachusetts over the past decade. In her first race against Romney, she only mustered 3 percent of the vote.
"I entered that race in desperation as a medical doctor and a mother seeing things unraveling and the political system incapable of responding to it," Stein said.
That desperation has her unconcerned that even a marginal performance by her candidacy in a battleground state could tip the scales against President Barack Obama, as many viewed Green Party candidate Ralph Nadar's showing in Florida in 2000, when Democrat Al Gore lost to Republican George W. Bush.
"You don't get democracy by silencing the voice of the public interest," Stein said.
Stein also made unsuccessful runs for secretary of state in 2006 and governor again in 2010.
She is highlighting what she describes as a Green New Deal as the main focus of her platform. She calls it an emergency program designed to create 25 million jobs and jump-start a green economy for the 21st century to help address climate change and make wars for oil obsolete.
Alex Okrent, who worked in the president's paid media department, also worked on Martha Coakley's U.S. Senate bid in Massachusetts.
These were the most-read stories on MassLive.com yesterday. If you missed any of them, click on the links below to read them now.
1) Boston Celtics are not rushing to unveil their free agent crop [Jeff Thomas]
2) Dominque Lind, 24, of Enfield, killed in Springfield accident when motorcycle collides with van in East Forest Park [Patrick Johnson]
3) Freon poisoning suspected in death of 9 dogs at Westfield kennel [Manon Mirabelli]
4) 54-year-old Springfield man dies after being found unconscious in Sixteen Acres pool [Patrick Johnson]
5) Obama campaign worker Alex Okrent, 29, collapses and dies at campaign headquarters in Chicago [Robert Rizzuto]
The Republican and MassLive.com's media partner CBS 3 Springfield reports that Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse has not renewed the city's contract with Hampshire Towing of South Hadley because of fraud allegations. Morse says the business has illegally charged customers for environmental material clean up.
NOTE: Users of modern browsers can open each link in a new tab by holding 'control' ('command' on a Mac) and clicking each link.
The victim was not cooperating with authorities, police said.
SPRINGFIELD - A man was stabbed once in the back early Saturday morning in the area of lower Fort Pleasant Avenue in the city's Forest Park neighborhood, police said.
He was taken to Baystate Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.
The victim was not cooperating with authorities, police said.
The incident was reported around 1:45 a.m.
Further information is not available at this time.
All residents of the 24-unit building are safe and receiving help from the Red Cross. The man who lives in the corner apartment was not believed home at the time of the blaze.
CHICOPEE - No one was injured in a fire inside a fourth floor apartment at the Memorial Apartments on Debra Drive earlier this morning, WWLP-22News reports.
While the flames remained within the one-bedroom apartment, there is smoke and water damage to eight nearby units.
All residents of the 24-unit building are safe and receiving help from the Red Cross.
The man who lives in the corner apartment was not believed home at the time of the blaze.
The fire's tricky location made putting it out several hours work for Chicopee firefighters.
The state fire marshal is investigating.
The housing complex is owned by the Chicopee Housing Authority.
Both side are hoping the partnership idea sways Massachusetts officials to approve grants to pay about 60 percent of the treatment plant improvements.
WARE – Selectmen unanimously endorsed a Kanzaki Specialty Papers company proposal on Tuesday to share costs with Ware for the estimated $5 million upgrade the town’s department of public works director says will eventually be required at the municipal wastewater treatment plant – because of stricter limits on phosphorous processing.
The company came to the table with the cost sharing idea after the state and the town told them that they must do something about the problematic sludge and heavy-metal wastewater Kanzaki sends to the aging municipal plant, and which it is unable to routinely process.
To solve the problem, the company had agreed to construct a $2.5 million pretreatment facility. The apparatus would have substantially cleaned up the thick industrial slurry the plant ships to the Ware facility. That slurry has been putting a huge strain on the system’s ability to function properly.
That action also would have satisfied the state Department of Environmental Protection and federal Environmental Protection Agency demands that the company abide by a 2010 permit that limits the amount of heavy metals and solids it sends to the Ware plant, company and town officials said.
The limits were put in place because “our treatment plant as it is cannot handle the industrial metals and solids at current intake levels,” Ware department of public works director Thom Martens said.
The parties said they are hoping the partnership idea sways state officials to approve grants to pay about 60 percent of the treatment plant improvements, or approximately $3 million, with the town and the company equally funding the balance. Kanzaki is the largest employer in town, with 227 workers; the firm paid $140,500 in taxes to Ware in 2011.
Martens and Stephen P. Hefner, chief executive officer and president of Kanzaki Specialty Papers, Inc., told selectmen Tuesday that sharing the costs is the most rational way to solve the problem.
Hefner said if the company spent $2.5 million building its own pretreatment plant, the town’s facility would still be substandard. Investing an estimated $1 million into the town’s plant would be a “win-win” outcome. He said it is important for “government and industry to work together.”
If Ware’s treatment plant is improved, the town could process all of Kanzaki’s waste, the men told selectmen. They estimate $5 million is needed to properly upgrade the plant.
Martens and Hefner said improving the plant would increase the municipal plant’s intake capacity and therefore allow other industries to locate in town.
Hefner said that in addition to contributing $1 million to fix Ware’s plant, the company would also invest about $1.5 million to build a massive holding tank that would control the flow of its waste to the plant.
Hefner was appointed company president in June 2003. Kanzaki is a subsidiary of Oji Paper Co., Ltd. Tokyo, Japan, which employs more than 20,000 worldwide.
The Ware sewer system operates as an enterprise fund, meaning it is paid by ratepayers that are hooked into it.
Selectman John Carroll asked how the cost to fix the plant would affect ratepayers. Martens and Town Manager Stuart Beckley said it should be a burden the entire town should pay for.
Selectmen said spending the estimated $1 million, to be obtained via borrowing, would be a tough sell at town meeting.
“In order to sell this, it is going to take an awful lot of effort,” selectman John Desmond said at the Tuesday meeting.
In addition to saying yes to the proposal, Selectmen voted Tuesday to convene a special town meeting to act on the borrowing request. The town meeting will occur Aug. 21. There was no discussion Tuesday on whether the proposed borrowing would occur via a Proposition 2½ debt exclusion.
Public forums are planned later in the summer, the parties said.
“If we don’t get a plan together now, down the road we are going to be stuck building a plant for ourselves, in eight or nine years, estimated to cost about $5 million – and that would be on our nickel” entirely, Martens said in an interview on Wednesday. He said the state DEP plans to require stricter phosphorous removal from wastewater – so that treatment plants discharge less of it.
“I want them (Kanzaki) to stay in town, they are a large employer but frankly, what it comes down to, I would rather have them spend money on our plant than spend it on their own plant. That is what I am trying to accomplish,” Martens said.
Despite a state aid increase of 3.7 percent, cities and towns will remain under fiscal pressure for the foreseeable future, one analyst said.
BOSTON — After years of cuts or stagnant funding, state aid for cities and towns staged a comeback this year.
The state budget for the fiscal year that started July 1, signed a week ago by Gov. Deval L. Patrick, includes $5.32 billion in statewide local aid, an increase of 3.7 percent from last year. While the lion's share of the aid in the $32.5 billion budget is for education and some cuts remain from prior years, the aid is helping some municipal budgets become more stable, officials said.
Michael J . Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said local aid was "the big winner" in the budget.
Nonetheless, Widmer said, cities and towns will be under fiscal pressure for the foreseeable future.
"They are not going to be on easy street any time soon, if ever," Widmer said. "We're not going to return to the 1990s."
Beacon Hill handed some other key victories to cities and towns in this year's budget including new money that should substantially increase state matches next year for 148 municipalities that have adopted a property tax surcharge to raise money to buy open space, create affordable housing and upgrade historic properties.
The budget also has first-time funding of $11.3 million to pay cities and towns for busing transient homeless students, helping Chicopee, Holyoke and Springfield.
The new measures follows last year's law that gives cites and towns more flexibility to save money by making changes in co-payments, deductibles and other aspects of public employee health insurance. The Patrick administration said last week that 77 communities and school districts have used the reform law to achieve savings.
A total of 159 municipalities are also raising revenues after approving a new 0.75 percent municipal tax on restaurant meals, an option passed three years ago by legislators and the governor, according to the state Department of Revenue.
While many communities are fiscally steady, some such as Springfield are still feeling the effects of past reductions in local aid.
Local aid is important for financing services such as schools, police and fire. When local aid is reduced, communities are forced to rely more heavily on the property tax to finance services, lay off employees or use reserves.
Communities are also restricted by Proposition 2½, a state law that limits growth in taxes.
The day after Patrick signed the budget, the state Division of Local Services notified cities and towns of aid numbers for the new fiscal year.
Geoffrey C. Beckwith, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, said the budget is very strong for local aid.
"These funds will support essential services and help communities stabilize their budgets," Beckwith said.
Out of the total $5.32 billion in local aid, general education aid was a historic high of $4.171 billion, up by 4.5 percent, according to the governor's office.
The second-biggest pot of aid – some $899 million unrestricted aid – was level funded.
"The fact that it is the same is good," said Palmer Town Manager Charles T. Blanchard. "We should be getting more than this, but it's better to have the same amount rather than a cut."
Statewide unrestricted aid still is down about 32 percent from $1.313 billion approved in the state budget in July 2008, just before a deep financial crisis started and the aid was cut to help balance the state budget.
The cut, preceded by other reductions in the early part of the last decade, has taken its toll on some communities.
Springfield, for example, received $47 million in unrestricted aid five years ago and $32 million this year. Northampton's unrestricted aid dropped from $5.4 million to $3.7 million over the same time; Chicopee's fell from $14.3 million to $9.7 million; Holyoke's declined from $12.6 million to $8.6 million; Ludlow's plunged from $3.8 million to $2.6 million and Easthampton's from about $3.4 million to $2.3 million.
"State aid is no longer sufficient and the cuts we have experienced over the past 10 years ... have resulted in a significant reduction in local service levels," Easthampton Mayor Michael A. Tautznik said in an e-mail. "Innovation and hard work have helped to relieve some of the burden but the damage exists in every aspect of our operation."
Local aid is also vital to Springfield. The aid comes to about $325 million for Springfield, or about 59 percent of the annual $552 million city budget.
The aid increased by $13.4 million, or 4 percent, from last year, with $10.4 million of that increase for the school department.
Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said the city appreciates the increase in local aid this fiscal year, but needs a lot more due to growing costs and an expected sharp decline in tax revenues.
Springfield is one of the poorer cities in the Northeast with 27 percent of its people living below the poverty level, according to the census.
The city's budget for this fiscal year eliminates 96 vacant jobs, lays off 11 people, closes three branch libraries, and reduces mowing and maintenance of parks, among other cuts.
Sarno said he is hopeful of additional increases in local aid for the next fiscal year to start compensating for past reductions.
The city has “cut things to the bone for all services, including police and fire,” and any further decreases in local aid would be devastating, Sarno said.
Chicopee Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette said he could not be more pleased with the increase in general education aid.
"That really has benefited our school system as we try to keep educational programs and extra-curricular activities in place," Bissonnette said.
Bissonnette said it's difficult to boost municipal services considering the limits of Proposition 2½ and that fixed costs such as payroll and benefits constitute about 95 percent of a city budget.
Chicopee's $163 million budget is up $4.5 million from last year. About $2.5 million of the increase is for schools, $900,000 for pensions and $950,000 for health insurance, he said.
Holyoke Mayor Alex B. Morse said the city was pleased with education aid, which was $69.5 million, an increase of 5 percent from five years ago. Morse said a few school employees were laid off because of a loss of federal grants.
Morse said Holyoke's budget is efficient and lean with nearly all the increases for fixed costs such as payments for long-term debt and pensions.
Morse and other municipal leaders said they are hoping for an increase next year in unrestricted aid.
In Ludlow, town officials added back six teaching positions after the state provided more aid than expected. Ludlow's general education aid rose to $13.21 million.
"The budget we have meets the needs of residents," said Ludlow Selectman Aaron L. Saunders. "We're in a good position to hold the line on taxes and provide services."
Staff reporters Fred Contrada, Peter Goonan, Diane Lederman, Suzanne McLaughlin and Lori Stabile contributed to this report.
The Select Board will present Musante's evaluation at its meeting Aug. 27.
AMHERST — It’s that time of year again – time for residents to offer their assessment of Town Manager John P. Musante's job performance.
The Select Board is asking that comments be submitted by Aug. 1.
Town staff has also been asked to submit comments to the board by then as well, said Select Board chairwoman Stephanie J. O’Keeffe.
“We want our evaluation to be as informed as possible about all aspects of John’s management style,” O’Keeffe said. “That’s dealing with us, dealing with staff, dealing with town meeting, dealing with the public.”
Typically the board receives dozens of comments about the manager, she said.
Board members will complete their own separate evaluations using a five-page evaluation grid that asks them to assess a range of performance areas from fiscal management to staff and personnel relationships. Those are due Aug. 15.
O’Keeffe said that deadline gives members two weeks to review comments from staff and the public before compiling their own reviews.
The board will talk about theevaluation at its Aug. 20 meeting and then, O’Keeffe said, she will compile the final evaluation based on the member evaluations and present it to Musante on Aug. 27.
He became manager on Oct. 1, 2010 after former manager Laurence R. Shaffer retired.
Musante’s evaluation is also based on performance goals set by the board. An evaluation that isn’t based on performance goals is almost worthless, O'Keefe said. The board also incorporates Musante’s self-evaluation, which he presented to the board last month.
Once the evaluation is finished the board will focus on setting future goals.
In smaller towns, the Select Board runs the town. “We delegate the day-to-day running based on our polices and our philosophy,” O'Keeffe said. The evaluation is a public document outlining how the town should be managed, she said.
After last year’s stellar evaluation, the board hiked Musante’s salary effective Oct. 1, 2011 to $140,000, up from the $127,500 he earned the year before.
Comments may be emailed to selectboard@amherstma.gov, or mailed to Town Manager Evaluation, c/o Stephanie O'Keeffe, Chair, Amherst Select Board, Town Hall, 4 Boltwood Ave., Amherst, MA 01002.
Neffinger said the general government salary account and another source of money he has not yet identified could be tapped to fund the new job.
WEST SPRINGFIELD — Mayor Gregory C. Neffinger is looking for a way to come up with about $65,000 to fund the position of economic development director, a post the Town Council cut from his fiscal 2013 budget.
Neffinger said Friday the newly created position is required by ordinance and is too important to leave unfunded.
“I think it is just as important as building commissioner or health director or any other position listed in the ordinances,” he said.
Currently, he said, the positions of building inspector and sealer of weights and measures are unfilled and could be combined into a position held by one person. The mayor said there is money in the general government salaries account that could be tapped, as well as another source of funding he said he is not yet at liberty to discuss.
The mayor had estimated filling the position of economic development director could cost anywhere from $54,000 a year to $75,000 a year. The responsibilities of an economic development director could also be taken on by someone already holding another position, Neffinger said.
The Human Services Department has posted on the city bulletin board that it seeks to fill the position with “a dynamic leader with energy, skill, creativity and experience to provide professionally highly responsible administrative work in providing complex policy direction and economic development activities for the town of West Springfield. Candidate will also perform other project-driven responsibilities in the Office of the mayor.”
The posting calls for someone to be responsible for all aspects of economic development strategies and for establishing and achieving the overall economic development goals of the city, including long-range plans for economic development and recommendations as to the allocation of funds.
The city seeks a graduate from a four-year college or university supplemented by graduate studies or equivalent experience with course work in economic development or community organization with more than three years of experience of an administrative or professional nature in economic development in municipal government or “equivalent experience.”
The Tornado Response Home Rehabilitation Program offers financial support to eligible homeowners to help supplement costs related to repair work to their properties.
Funding is available to eligible homeowners in the Pioneer Valley whose residence suffered damage during the 2011 tornado.
The Tornado Response Home Rehabilitation Program, administered by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, offers financial support to eligible homeowners to help supplement costs related to repair work to their properties.
Homeowners in tornado-struck Agawam, Brimfield, Monson, Southbridge, Springfield, Sturbridge, Westfield, West Springfield and Wilbraham are eligible for the assistance.
The program highlights repair work such as demolition of detached outbuildings, historic rehabilitation, removal of trees, water damage, mitigation of mold and water damage and standard building repair, such as on roofs, windows, siding, etc.
Funding from this program can also be used to alleviate expenses from rebuilding homes that were destroyed during the tornado or for the purchase and installation of a mobile or modular home to replace a destroyed home.
According to the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, the program has income restrictions and assistance limitations that may determine eligibility for funding. Assistance will be prioritized by need.
Applications should be completed by 5 p.m. on July 25. For a fact sheet and application, contact Paul Bracciotti at the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, 60 Congress St., Springfield, MA 01104. For more information, contract the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission at 413-781-6045 or Bracciotti at pbracciotti@pvpc.org.
Wilbraham Selectmen Chairman Robert Boilard said the Tornado Response Home Rehabilitation Program offers funding to homeowners who need the financial assistance for rebuilding and clean-up of their properties after the tornado.
In Wilbraham, applications and fact sheets for the program are available at the Wilbraham Senior Center, Wilbraham Public Library and at the Wilbraham Town Office Building on Springfield Street.
Obituaries from The Republican.
Emily "Meme" (Lapa) Gevry, 88, of Chicopee, passed away on Monday. She was born, raised and schooled in Chicopee, and was a lifelong resident of the city. She was last employed for 24 years as a machine operator at the former A.G. Spalding Company in Chicopee. She previously worked at the former American Bosch in Springfield and at the former Chicopee Undergarment Company.
Obituaries from The Republican:
The power generated is expected to save the city more than $7,000 in electricity for the month.
EASTHAMPTON — The solar array on the Oliver Street landfill produced nearly 267,000 kilowatt-hours in electricity last month, and that could save the city about $7,300 for the month in electric costs.
Mayor Michael A. Tautznik said the process is complicated and Western Massachusetts Electric Co. has not yet credited the city. This was the first month billing began for the project.
Borrego Solar Systems Inc., which installed the system, billed the city 6 cents per kilowatt-hour while the electric company should credit the city 9 cents per kilowatt-hour. But Tautznik said he wants to wait to see the actual dollar amount when the credits are issued.
The array went up this spring and is expected to produce 3 million kilowatt-hours a year and save residents $1.5 million on power over 10 years.
Work was completed in December, but several issues had to be resolved before the array could become operational this spring.
Tautznik said the city could save more than $90,000 in the first year of operation.
The savings will depend on the cost of electricity, he said. He was notified that the cost now is 8 cents per kilowatt-hour, down one cent from June.
He said clouds and the angle of the sun in the different seasons affect the solar output and the city will have a better understanding at the end of the first year how much was generated.
When undertaking the project officials knew "it would be profitable for the consumer and for the taxpayer." But he also said "it was the right thing to do."
The array was the first such project under construction in the state. Solar projects have come on line in Holyoke and Springfield. Ludlow officials signed a lease with Borrego in March, and Amherst officials are planning to move ahead with a project on a capped landfill in that town, among the area communities seeking power from the sun.
According to the PowerDash website, monitoring output at Oliver Street, the city has produced enough electricity for 23,823 days of electric use for the average user. PowerDash began monitoring May 17.
The president cast Romney as a "pioneer of outsourcing" and said Romney's ideas are outdated and discredited.
By JIM KUHNHENN and PHILIP ELLIOTT
GLEN ALLEN, Va. — President Barack Obama is keeping up his attacks on the policies of rival Mitt Romney and his Republican allies.
During a campaign stop Saturday in Glen Allen, Va., just outside Richmond, the president cast Romney as a "pioneer of outsourcing" and said Romney's ideas are outdated and discredited.
Obama campaigned in a downpour, delivering a stump speech to a crowd in the congressional district represented by a chief Republican nemesis, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.
The second day of Obama's Virginia tour came at the same time his campaign began airing an ad that attacks Romney's personal investments overseas and his business record.
Romney is in New Hampshire with his family and doesn't plan any public campaign appearances until Tuesday.
Obama was focusing on a state that he won in 2008, a first for a Democratic nominee since 1964, and on an issue that Romney says diverts attention from struggling economy.
A new ad from Obama's campaign repeated the charges that the firm shipped American jobs to China and Mexico; that Romney has personal wealth in investments in Switzerland, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands; and that as Massachusetts governor, he sent state jobs to India.
"Mitt Romney's not the solution. He's the problem," the ads says as Romney is heard singing "America the Beautiful."
At stake is Romney's chief contention that as a former businessman, he has the experience to create jobs and spur a struggling economy. The Obama campaign has countered that Romney ran a firm that pioneered the practice of sending American jobs out of the country and that his background is one of an investor.
The ad was set to run in closely fought Colorado, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia, and debuts as Democrats and some Republicans call for Romney to release tax returns going back several years. Romney has said he won't go beyond releasing his 2010 tax records and, before the November election, his 2011 taxes.
"You can never satisfy the opposition research team of the Obama organization," Romney told CBS on Friday.
In a round of interviews, the Republican candidate defended his account of his role at Bain, and said Obama owed him an apology for an aide's suggestion that the Security and Exchange Commission filings, if false, could bring a felony charge.
"This is simply beneath the dignity of the presidency of the United States," Romney told ABC.
Backhanding the request, the Obama campaign responded with a Web video that shows Romney criticizing Obama in speeches and interviews. Romney accuses the president of not understanding freedom and following an appeasement strategy in foreign affairs, and says he intends to "stuff it down his throat and point out that it is capitalism and freedom that makes this country strong."
On the flight from Washington to Richmond, Obama campaign spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said that Romney "spends a lot of time asking for apologies, but he spends a lot of time attacking."
It wasn't just Obama, though, pressuring Romney.
"There is no whining in politics," chided John Weaver, a veteran Republican strategist. "Stop demanding an apology, release your tax returns."
Romney seemed unlikely to find any contrition from the Obama campaign over an issue the president's aides see as a winner for them.
The candidate, taking a weekend off from public events, spent Saturday morning at his lake house in New Hampshire. He worked on his iPad on the lawn while his grandchildren played nearby.
The precise role Romney played at Bain between 1999 and 2001 raises questions about his credibility and whether he was in charge when Bain was sending jobs overseas during that period.
SEC documents show that Romney was in charge of the Boston-based company from 1999 to 2001, the period in which Bain outsourced jobs and ran companies that fell into bankruptcy. Romney says he was at the head of the company as it transitioned to new ownership but did not manage it.
Obama said the questions raised in numerous media reports and highlighted by his own campaign aides were a legitimate part of the race for the White House.
"Ultimately, I think, Mr. Romney is going to have to answer those questions because if he aspires to being president, one of the things you learn is you're ultimately responsible for the conduct of your operations," Obama said in an interview with the District of Columbia's WJLA-TV.
Romney called that "Chicago-style politics at its worst" and accused the president, who's from Chicago, and his campaign of trying to shift attention from the economy and unemployment situation.
In trying to put the matter behind him and return the campaign to his economic arguments, Romney declared he had "no role whatsoever in the management" of the company after he left to take over the Salt Lake City Olympic Games in early 1999.
Romney acknowledged that he would have benefited financially from Bain's operations even after he left management of the firm to others. That could open him up to criticism that he gained from investment in companies that sent jobs overseas.
"All of the investors participate in the success or failure of various investments, just like you do as a shareholder of an enterprise," Romney told CBS.
Bain Capital said in a statement that Romney "remained the sole stockholder for a time while formal ownership was being documented and transferred to the group of partners who took over management of the firm in 1999."
Power is expected to return in two hours, according to a utility spokesman.
SPRINGFIELD – More than 2,600 Western Massachusetts Electric Co. customers are without power in the city.
Utility spokesman Albert L. Lara said power is expected to be restored within two hours. The Western Massachusetts Electric Co. website states that 2,659 customers lost power.
Namer “Chip” Gorra of Westminster Street said he lost power around 2 a.m. Saturday. His wife, who has a severe case of sleep apnea, uses a machine to help her breathe when she sleeps.
When that went off, they realized their power was out, he said.
Gorra said the power returned briefly from 12:30 to 2 p.m.
If the outage persists, he said they may have to go to a hotel or stay with relatives tonight.
“My wife can’t sleep . . . We’re hoping the power comes back,” Gorra said.
Lara said the problem involves underground lines and originated in the area of a smoking manhole at Liberty and Carew streets and spread from there. Lara said crews are trying to isolate the damage and reroute power to customers. Each time the line is re-energized, he said it fails.
“That’s why customers have seen power go in and out,” Lara said.
A dry day continues, but showers and thunderstorms finish out the weekend tomorrow.
90-degree weather continued again this afternoon, under hazy sunshine across western Massachusetts. Fortunately, we will be staying dry this evening as an area of high pressure maintains control of the Northeast tonight. It will stay mild and muggy overnight with lows only dropping to the mid-60s.
Showers and thunderstorms will return to the region on Sunday, mainly for the second-half of the day. A system approaching from the west is going to draw in very moist air from the south (allowing those dewpoints to jump into the oppressive 70's). This moisture will fuel the atmosphere for developing thunderstorms in the afternoon and into the evening. High temperatures reach the mid-80s.
Hazy, hot, and humid weather continues for Monday, Tuesday, and part of Wednesday. High temperatures through the first-half of the workweek remain in the low-to-mid 90s with excessive humidity still in the region. A line of showers and thunderstorms will move through the region around Wednesday, which will then usher in a cooler, less humid airmass for the end of the week.
Tonight: Clear skies, mild and muggy, low 65.
Sunday: Afternoon showers and thunderstorms, very humid, high 86.
Monday: Hazy, hot, and humid, high 93.
Tuesday: Hazy, hot, and humid, high 94.
