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Springfield's anniversary celebration continues with road race, string serenade and more

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Activities in honor of the city's anniversary will continue throughout the spring, including more events this month and next.

Springfield birthday cake.jpgActivities coinciding with Springfield's 375th anniversary continue Sunday.

SPRINGFIELD -- The organizers behind festivities marking the city's 375th anniversary estimated that up to 25,000 people packed downtown Springfield on Saturday for the big pancake breakfast and birthday parade, which went off without a hitch.

"Everything went very smoothly," Springfield Police Lt. John K. Slepchuk said Sunday.

Officials said the crowd was in good spirits and the weather, which had threatened rain, turned out to be better than expected with a light breeze, patchy skies and temperatures reaching around 70 degrees.

Extra police were assigned to the downtown detail to handle crowds and reopen roads after the parade ended early Saturday afternoon.

boycake.JPGBraydon Taylor, 3, of Springfield, eats pancakes during the World's Largest Pancake Breakfast on Saturday.

"There was a quantitative police presence," Slepchuk said.

National Guardsmen also were on hand to help out; several military jeeps were seen throughout the downtown area.

Judith A. Matt, president of Spirit of Springfield -- the group that threw the city a birthday bash -- said between 20,000 to 25,0000 people attended the breakfast and parade. She said another 2,000 or so marched in the parade, including Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Massachusetts Army National Guard Assistant Adjutant General Paul Smith.

happy faces.JPGMembers of the Mary M. Lynch Elementary Dance Team march down State Street on Saturday.

More activities are scheduled for Sunday including the Keep Springfield Beautiful Road Race, a 10K race that begins at 9 a.m. outside the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and the Howard Drew Mayor's Cup, a track-and-field event that starts at 10 a.m. at Central High School.

At 2 p.m., the 22nd Annual Suzuki String Serenade will take place at Faith United Church, 52 Sumner Avenue.

On May 20 and 21, respectively, the Deep River Choral Classics will perform at 7:30 p.m. at Old First Church and the Musical Roots & Traditions festival will be held from noon to 5 p.m. at Community Music School of Springfield.

A complete list of activities is available at www.springfield375.org.


Holyoke police pull body from Connecticut River

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The victim, whom police declined to identify, was an apparent suicide victim from Hampshire County whose body entered the river north of Holyoke.

1999 holyoke police car.jpgHolyoke police retrieved the body of an apparent suicide victim from the Connecticut River on Saturday morning.

HOLYOKE -- Authorities pulled a body from the Connecticut River shortly after 7 a.m. Saturday.

The body of an apparent suicide victim was spotted in the vicinity of 25 Gatehouse Road, Holyoke Police Lt. Michael Higgins said Sunday.

"There was a body recovered out of the river," he said.

Police did not release the gender or name of the victim, whose body likely entered the river north of Holyoke in Hampshire County, according to Higgins.

The victim was not a Holyoke resident, he said.

No further information was available.

The Holyoke incident was the second apparent suicide victim found dead in a public setting on Saturday. A couple of hours after the river incident, a person apparently died after coming in contact with high-tension wires in Chicopee.

Chicopee authorities declined to release any information about that death. A ranking city police officer said investigators were treating the incident as a possible suicide.

THE MAP BELOW shows the approximate location where Holyoke police retrieved a body from the Connecticut River Saturday morning:


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AM News Links: Massive Pittsfield fire leaves dozens homeless, Phoebe Prince's mom returns to Ireland, and more

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Grizzly tales from Alaska, LA teens get theatrical about bullying, and more of this morning's headlines.

mississippi.jpgA traffic sign is reflected in the Mississippi flood waters in south Vicksburg, Miss., on Saturday. The waters from the Mississippi River and its tributaries are expected to crest in Vicksburg by Thursday.

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Eastec 2011 comes to West Springfield as the manufacturing sector rebounds

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The U.S. Census Bureau also announced that manufacturers sales and shipments for March, adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences but not for price changes, was estimated at $1.2 trillion, 2.2 percent from February 2011 and 0.4 percent from March 2010.

05/11/11 West Springfield - Republican Photo by Michael S. Gordon - Getting ready for Eastec 2011 at the Eastern State Exposition, James H.Cepican, General Manger of Tooling & Accessories at Citizen Machinery America Inc. of Agawam. Eastec runs May 17-19.

WEST SPRINGFIELD – Brooks Associates Inc., a dealer of precision metal-working equipment based in Norwell, will spend $75,000 to $80,000 exhibiting at Eastec 2011 at the Eastern States Exhibition Grounds in West Springfield.

That includes bringing in equipment that can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, and setting up and staffing the company’s booth at the three-day fair, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

And Peter J. Klier, an owner of Brooks Associates, said it might take a few months, but he expects to generate $3 million to $4 million worth of orders from contacts the company makes this week in West Springfield.

“Manufacturing is coming back,” said Klier, who owns the company with brothers Joseph D. Klier Jr. and Michael R. Klier. “It’s manufacturing that is really leading this country back out of the recession.”

05/11/11 West Springfield - Republican Photo by Michael S. Gordon - Getting ready for Eastec 2011at the Eastern State Expostion are Jospeh D. Klier Jr., left and Peter J. Klier, right from Brooks Associates of Norwell Mass. Eastec is open May 17-19.


James H. Cepican, general manager of the tooling and accessories division for Citizen Machinery Inc. in Agawam said industries like medical devices, aeronautics, electronics and alternative energy are all seeing orders pick up. That demand trickles down to the mom-and-pop job machine shops that proliferate here in the Pioneer Valley. As their orders pick up, they buy more and newer equipment to maximize productivity.

“The end of 2010 was very strong and it continued on,” Cepican said. “ March was one of our best months ever. Manufacturing is just really hot right now.”

Among the models Cepican will have on display is a $230,000 milling machine that can turn a 12-foot-long bar of stainless steel into thimble-sized parts for spinal implants.

“We’ll have a machine over there that makes bone screws,” Cepican said.

Interest in Eastec is one gauge of that recovery, said Kimberly L. Farrugia, senior show manager for the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, the Michigan-based organization that puts on Eastec every year. There will be 500 exhibitors at Eastec this year, up from 486 in 2010. Organizers expect about 14,000 visitors, up from about 11,000 last year.

Eastec also promises 130 new products introduced since the last Eastec on display this week at the Big E, Farrugia said.

Admission is free to those who registered by the end of last week. Admission at the door is $50. Eastec runs from 9 am. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday.

On Thursday, 250 vocational-school students from around the region will attend the show, Farrugia said. They’ll get a chance to visit booths and check out new technologies.

Nationally, factory orders rose 3 percent to a seasonally adjusted $463 billion in March, well above Wall Street economists’ forecasts of a 1.9 percent pickup, the Associated Press reported last week.

The U.S. Census Bureau also announced that manufacturers sales and shipments for March, adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences but not for price changes, was estimated at $1.2 trillion, 2.2 percent from February 2011 and 0.4 percent from March 2010.

The reason, economists say, is that the relatively weak U.S. dollar is making American-made goods less expensive than foreign-made goods and things Made in the USA are more affordable to foreign buyers.

“Reshoring,” said Joseph D. Klier said. “A lot of our customers are bringing production back from overseas. They don’t like the quality and the product is too expensive to ship. Also it increases the lead time. In New England we can turn orders around quickly.”

Obituaries today: Joseph Lariviere was boxer, co-owner of Granby L&L Concrete

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Obituaries from The Republican.

051511_joseph_lariviere.jpgJoseph Albert Lariviere

Joseph Albert "Al" Lariviere, 80, of Granby, died Thursday. He was born in Holyoke, and attended schools in Holyoke and South Hadley. Upon graduation from South Hadley High School in 1949, he furthered his studies at UMass-Stockbridge, where he earned an associate's degree in animal husbandry. In his youth, Lariviere was a professional boxer at the former Valley Arena in Holyoke. He spent most of his life working as a co-owner of Granby L & L Concrete, and retired in 1989. He was a longtime parishioner of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Granby, and was an active member of the Wrestling Booster Club for Granby High School.

Obituaries from The Republican:

Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau says Howdy to award winners

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The nine awards were handed out last week.

2011 howdy awards winners.jpgView full sizeWinners of the 2011 Howdy Awards for Hospitality Excellence are (from left) Amanda Malone of Chandler's Restaurant at Yankee Candle Flagship in South Deerfield (Food category), Khia Eagan of the 7-Eleven store in Sunderland (Retail/Business category), Bob Aubrey of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield (Attractions category), Elise Wright of the Belchertown United Church of Christ (Public Service category), Melanie Smith of Six Flags New England in Agawam (Howdy Spotlight Award winner), Mary Mercier of The Yardehouse in South Hadley (Beverage category), Tony Rogers of the Comfort Inn & Suites in Ludlow (Accommodations category), Jason Guzman of Valet Park of America in Springfield (Transportation category) and Judy Brinn of Peter Pan Bus Lines in Springfield (Unseen Hero category). The Howdy Awards, which honor frontline hospitality employees in the Pioneer Valley, were held at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting Room in Holyoke on Tuesday, May 10.

HOLYOKE – Nine front-line employees in the Pioneer Valley’s hospitality industry received Howdy Awards and hearty thank-yous last week from the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The awards recognize employees that have gone above and beyond in the performance of their duties and provided outstanding service to their guests and customers. Their work is vital to the region’s tourism industry.

Winners are: Tony Rogers, desk clerk at the Comfort Inn & Suites in Ludlow, in the accommodations category; Bob Aubrey of West Springfield, a show staff member at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, in the attractions category; Mary Mercier, a bartender at The Yardhouse in South Hadley, in the beverage category.

Amanda Malone, event coordinator at Chandler’s Restaurant at Yankee Candle Flagship in South Deerfield won in the food category. Elise Wright of Belchertown, secretary at the Belchertown United Church of Christ, won in the public service category.

In the retail category, the winner was Khia Eagan, assistant manager at the 7-Eleven in Sunderland. Jason Guzman of Chicopee, a valet for Valet Park of America in Springfield won in the transportation category. Judy Brinn of Agawam, a charter coordinator for Peter Pan Bus Lines in Springfield, won the Unseen Hero Award.

Melanie Smith of Greenfield, a national tour and travel representative for Six Flags new England in Agawam, won the Spotlight Award.

Members of the general public nominate employees, and the Howdy Awards Committee narrows that list of more than 800 people to 47 finalists, who were honored at a reception in April.

A group of judges then selected winners. The judges for this year’s event were Mark Dorr, communications manager for the New York State Hospitality & Tourism Association; Steve Jacques, director of customer services at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, Highway Division; and Katrina White, Travel Trade Manager for the Rhode Island Tourism Division.

Sponsors for the 2011 Howdy Awards for Hospitality Excellence are Baystate Health, CBS-3 Springfield, Eastern States Exposition, Global Spectrum, The Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House/The Delaney House, MassLive.com, Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, The Republican, WRNX-FM and Yankee Candle Company.

For more information, visit www.valleyvisitor.com.

Bay Path College graduates told to accept change

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672 graduates celebrated the importance of a college education during Bay Path College’s 114th commencement ceremony.

5/15/11 MassMutual Center, Springfield - Staff photo by Michael Beswick - Bay Path College had their 114th Commencement Sunday at the MassMutual Center. Pictured is Zahra Chaudhry from South Hadley (Left) and Elizabeth Zaccaro from Enfield.

SPRINGFIELD – A princess, an actress, the president of a newspaper and 672 graduates celebrated the importance of a college education during Bay Path College’s 114th commencement ceremony Sunday at the MassMutual Center.

Student speaker Zara H. Nizami, of Lowell, told her fellow graduates that their time at Bay Path has taught them to accept that life will always change.

“When I first came to Bay Path I was going to be a criminal profiler for the FBI and that was my dream. My sophomore year I became a marketing major, I was going to be a CEO of Fortune 500 company and that was my dream. Then my dream became teaching, and then event planning and then at one point I convinced myself that if Sanjaya could do so well on American Idol, then so could I. Now I have a different dream of going to grad school,” she said.

Nizami said Bay Path was more than an academic experience, it was a personal one.

“I was taught life skills here. I was given the time to get to know myself and love the person I have grown to be. I can enter the workforce knowing I have been prepared for life. In life you will fail tests, you will change careers, you will get fired and hired, you will make up your mind about your life and then change your mind. You will have 526 epiphanies about what you want to be and where you want to go and that’s completely okay,” she said.
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Joseph Gonclaves DaSilva, of Longmeadow, credits his parents, his wife and his daughters for helping him reach graduation day.

“They have given me all the support I needed,” he said.

A Portuguese immigrant who struggled to adapt to American schools, DaSilva now has a master’s degree in higher education administration and has been named the vice president of administration and chief executive officer of Springfield Technical Community College.

Honorary degrees were given to Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, of Thailand, the commencement speaker; actress and Bay Path alumna Paige Turco; president of The Republican David Starr and his wife Peggy Starr; and retired Bay Path professor and administrator William L. Sipple.

“Each of you graduates and honorees has helped to improve the world we live in by conducting yourselves ethically and passionately in your educational, cultural, business and philanthropic endeavors,” said Bay Path College president Carol A. Leary.

She told graduates to never forget the people who helped them get to where they are today.

“Take the time to thank your family, friends, employers, staff and children who where there when you needed them,” she said.

Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn has spent her life helping provide education and services to children and women in Thailand. She told the graduates to treasure and appreciate their education and to use it to change the world.

Bay Path’s graduation was one of many over the weekend including The University of Massachusetts and Elms College Saturday, and Smith College, Springfield College Sunday.


Teen arrested in Wales for vandalizing a building with swastikas and racial epithets

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The nature of the vandalism led to the violation of constitutional rights charge.

police lights.jpg

WALES - A 17-year-old Hollow Road resident will be arraigned Monday in Palmer District Court in connection with vandalism last month at the former Tedore’s restaurant, which included swastikas, racial epithets and the words “white power,” Police Chief Dawn M. Charette said Sunday.

Charette said Stephen Smola was being held on $5,000 bail at the state police barracks in Sturbridge. She said a citizen provided police with information that led to Smola’s arrest on felony charges of malicious destruction of property over $250, violation of constitutional rights, and intimidation of a witness.

The nature of the vandalism led to the violation of constitutional rights charge, she said.

“People were very upset and fearful,” Charette said. “I will not tolerate any type of behavior like this in town.”

She said Smola allegedly intimidated someone who had provided information to police early in the investigation.


34-year-old woman, cut with box cutter during robbery in East Longmeadow, reflects on experience, impact on her family

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Police are still looking for the suspect who stole $10 from the woman last month in a store parking lot.

erin, attacked at heritage park plaza east longmeadow, and husband angel.jpgErin, right, stands in the Heritage Park Plaza Shopping Center parking lot in East Longmeadow, where she was attacked by a knife-wielding man in late April. With her is her husband, Angel, left.

EAST LONGMEADOW – Four-year-old Hayden saw the blood on his mother’s arm and, later, the stitches. He worried that she had been bitten by a “goblin.”

It wasn’t a goblin, of course, unless that word applies to a man in dirty jeans who sneaks up on victims from behind with a box cutter in his hand and demands money.

Police continue to probe the attack on the 34-year-old woman, 22 weeks pregnant, that occurred in a deserted corner of the Heritage Plaza parking lot on the afternoon of April 27.

As crimes go it could have been a lot worse. Erin lost $10 and gained the realization that the world is not quite as safe a place as she thought it was.

“It wasn’t like I was brutally attacked or anything, but it shakes up your sense of security because anything could have happened,” she said.

Such crimes are reported by the media all too often but the lingering, sometimes life-long, impacts on the victims – and their families – are typically unseen by the public eye.

Erin and her 39-year-old husband, Angel, agreed to talk to The Republican about the attack and the impact that it has had on their lives with the stipulation that only their first names be used and their address not be revealed. They are not especially fearful that Erin’s attacker will try to track them down, but they don’t want to take any chances either.

“He is still out there,” she said.

Erin said she had just picked Hayden up from school and decided on a whim to buy him a Wiffle Ball bat at the Dollar Tree store, which is located at the eastern end of the plaza.

After exiting the store, Erin placed her son in his safety seat inside her car. She said she was standing by her open trunk when she saw a scruffy-looking white man come from around the back corner of the store.

She gave it no mind.

“All of a sudden there is somebody right in back of me,” she said, adding that the man then placed an orange-colored box cutter against her upper left arm and demanded money.

Her wallet was in the glove compartment of the car, Erin said. She had $10 in a pocket, however, and gave him that.

“This is all I have,” she told the man. “Please, please, my son is in the car.”

The man grabbed the money and jogged back towards the rear of the store and the woods behind it. Erin, shaken, got into her car to drive home.

That’s when Hayden noticed the blood. “My son said to me ‘Mommy, what’s red?,’” Erin said, adding that she hadn’t realized until that moment that she had been cut.

Erin’s wound took five stitches to close, but the shock of the attack remains open and raw.

Hayden had nightmares about the blood and Angel had a tough time being away from his family the following day when he went to work

“I felt extreme anxiety because you feel very vulnerable,” he said. “I felt like I can’t be secure in the knowledge that my family is safe if I can’t be with them.”

Hayden, when he saw the stitches, asked if she had been bitten by a goblin because they resembled teeth marks, Erin said.

The couple said the perception of relative safety in East Longmeadow often brings them there to shop.

“You feel like you are in a better area,” Erin said. “You don’t have to look over your shoulder every second – well, there goes that.”

Angel, for his part, said he plans to apply for a license to carry a firearm and secure a firearms identification card for Erin so she can carry Mace.

Both said they realize that Angel carrying a gun would have done nothing to stop this particular attack. “It just reminds you that you have to have a little protection in your house,” Erin said.

“I am definitely pro-firearm,” said Angel, an ex-military man who served overseas during the first Persian Gulf War in the 1990s. “If other people are not, it’s their life.”

The couple said they wanted to tell their story so that others, especially women, may be able to benefit by it. “I am sure there are plenty of women out there who are as unaware as I am,” Erin said.

“I think a certain level of paranoia is healthy as long as you don’t let it rule your life,” said Angel. “It could have been much worse.”

The couple said they believe that the suspect may strike again and police agree that it’s a possibility.

“They usually do it until they get caught,” said Sgt. Patrick Manley.

Heritage Plaza, located on Route 83, also known as North Main Street, is about a mile away from Springfield’s Forest Park and East Forest Park neighborhoods. Police said the area is not known for a high level of crime.

“I am not aware of any significant increase in the crime in that area,” said Sgt. Richard Bates on Friday, adding that stores in the area occasionally draw shoplifters. “But, that’s a general problem everywhere,” the sergeant said.

Erin described the suspect as being between 5 feet, 8 inches and 5 feet, 10 inches tall, with a slim build. He wore a green sweatshirt and soiled jeans, according to her description, and had neck-length and oily salt-and-pepper colored hair. She also estimated he is in his mid-40s.

Those with information are urged to call police at (413) 525-5440.

Erin said she thinks of the attack as a kind of blessing in disguise and that she is thankful that her new-found awareness came at the relatively cheap price of $10 and five stitches.

She also remains thankful that the open trunk prohibited Hayden from seeing a stranger approach and harm his mother.

“The blood made him have nightmares for a few nights,” Erin said. “If he had seen (the attack), it would have been a lot worse.”

Study: Pioneer Valley Transit Authority and Greenfield Franklin Regional Transit Authority do a good job linking people with jobs

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A review of the PVTA's operations in 2012 will include enhanced technology to measure ridership and determine which stops are busy and when.

PVTA_439.jpgPassengers board a PVTA bus.

SPRINGFIELD – The region’s two public transit systems in Springfield and Greenfield do a better-than-average job of connecting people with jobs, according to a study by the Brookings Institution.

The Springfield metropolitan area, defined as Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties, ranked 44 out of 100 across the country, according to the report “Missed Opportunity: Transit and Jobs in Metropolitan America.”

The compact Honolulu, Hawaii, area was first and the Poughkeepsie, Newburgh and Middletown region of New York ranked last.

In New England, Boston ranked 34th, Hartford 47th and Worcester 80th.

The study comes as high gasoline prices are pushing increasing numbers of people to ride the bus and the Springfield-based Pioneer Valley Transit Authority prepares for a top-to-bottom review of its services to be conducted in 2012, says Mary L. MacInnes, administrator of the PVTA.

Brookings also looked at the Franklin Regional Transit Authority based in Greenfield.

Above: After clicking on the "click to interact" icon, mouse over a bar to see specific data. Definitions are as follows: Coverage - Share of working-age residents near a transit stop | Service frequency - Median wait (minutes) for any rush hour transit vehicle | Job access - Share of all jobs reachable via transit in 90 minutes.



The rankings were based on three factors, according to Alan Berube, senior fellow at Brookings, a Washington-based think tank. The study looked at the number of people who live near a bus stop, how long they can expect to wait for a ride and how many jobs are also located along the transit routes.

In the Pioneer Valley, 72 percent of all working-age adults live within ¾ of a mile of a bus stop, Berube said.

“That’s the outer limit of how far people would walk to meet a transit stop,” he said.

The 72 percent figure beats the national average among the 100-largest metropolitan areas which is 69 percent. What’s more, 98 percent of the low-income working-age population lives close to a bus line.

MacInnes said she takes special pride in that 100 percent of Springfield’s population is within walking distance of a bus stop.

“So, it is saying that at least our route structure is good as far as being accessible to everybody,” MacInnes said.

But the Springfield metropolitan area starts to fall short when it comes to service frequency, according to Berube, who happens to be a Worcester native.

The median wait time was 21.1 minutes, compared to an average of 10.1 minutes across all 100 metro areas. infrequent buses also hurt the region when it comes to “job access.” Just 27 percent of the region’s jobs are reachable in 90 minutes by mass transit.

“This is at rush hour. If there are fewer buses, it’s going to take you longer to get places,” Berube said. “It’s that simple.”

MacInnes said there just aren’t enough riders in a region like ours to justify more frequent service. Also, she said, Springfield is judged against metropolitan areas which have systems that provide speed and more frequent conveyances like subways, trolleys and commuter rail.

“We have buses,” she said. “We have to deal with traffic.”

The study looked at every means of transport that gets a government subsidy, which can include subways, trolleys, subways, commuter rail and even ferry service, Berube said.

Michael Perrault, assistant administrator of the Franklin Regional Transportation Authority, said it’s more challenging to run fixed-route bus service in rural areas like those his agency serves. He also said the Brookings report only looks at one facet of the business, taking people to work while many people use public transportation to shop or go to doctor’s appointments, for instance.

“We don’t do a lot of intense surveying of our riding public,” he said.

This is the first time Brookings has done this particular study, according to Berube.

“We just think there are a lot of things going on in America right now with high gas prices and a greater awareness of public transportation, as a result owning a car is expensive.”

For the PVTA, ridership is up 3 percent year over year through March, from 7.4 million to 7.6 million, according to MacInnes.

She says a “soup-to-nuts” review of the authority’s operations in 2012 will include enhanced technology to measure ridership and determine which stops are busy and when. The authority will also look at what companies are adding jobs, where and when the shifts change.

Metropolitan Transit Rankings

Springfield firefighters at the scene of Bowdoin Street blaze

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There were no reported injuries in the Monday morning blaze at 104 Bowdoin St., a large, unoccupied home that's under renovation, according to Springfield Fire Department spokesman Dennis G. Leger.

best ftruck.JPGSpringfield firefighters were on the scene of a structure fire reported just before 5 a.m. Monday.

SPRINGFIELD -- City firefighters were at the scene of a structure fire that broke out shortly before 5 a.m. Monday at 104 Bowdoin St. in the city's McKnight neighborhood.

By 5:19 a.m., however, fire crews had already extinguished the blaze, which was contained to the ground floor of the 2 1/2-story building at the corner of Bowdoin and Worthington streets.

There were no reported injuries in the fire, which remains under investigation, according to Springfield Fire Department spokesman Dennis G. Leger.

As of 6:15 a.m., Worthington Street between Florida and Bowdoin streets remained closed to traffic. The closure was expected to remain in effect through the morning rush hour, according to officials.

Leger described the home, which was vacant at the time of the fire, as a "stucco mansion."

"It's not occupied currently, but somebody's in the process of fixing it up," Leger said of the building.

Even though the fire didn't spread to the second floor, Leger estimated the house sustained between $30,000 to $40,000 worth of damage.

Arson investigators were summoned to the scene, which is standard protocol.

More details will be posted as information becomes available.

THE MAP BELOW shows the approximate location of a structure fire reported just before 5 a.m. Monday in Springfield's McKnight neighborhood:


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Springfield police catch armed robbery suspect minutes after he robbed the Starbucks on East Columbus Avenue

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Authorities did not immediately identify the robbery suspect, who told a Starbucks employee he had a gun. Police said they did not recover a weapon.

starbucks_6141.jpg05.16.11 | SPRINGFIELD - Starbucks on East Columbus Ave.

SPRINGFIELD -- City police hunted down an armed robbery suspect who allegedly held up the Starbucks coffee shop at 1089 East Columbus Avenue around 5 a.m. Monday.

Police officers who were in the downtown area were able to quickly track the man -- described as a 5-foot, 6-inch white male with blonde or white hair -- to the corner of Dwight Street and Falcon Way, where he was apprehended without incident.

Two Starbucks employees reached by The Republican / MassLive.com shortly after the incident declined comment, saying all media inquiries must go through company headquarters in Seattle.

The assailant told the employees he had a gun. But it turned out the man apparently was "bluffing," Springfield Police Sgt. Jeffrey Martucci said.

Police said the man, who claimed to have a gun but didn't show a weapon during the holdup, fled with some cash from the coffee shop. However, authorities declined to say how much money was taken.

Police didn't immediately identify the robbery suspect, who was still being booked shortly before 7 a.m. and is expected to be arraigned on charges Monday in Springfield District Court.

More details will be posted on MassLive.com as additional information becomes available.

THE MAP BELOW shows the approximate location of the Starbucks coffee shop at 1089 East Columbus Avenue, which was the scene of an alleged armed robbery early Monday morning:


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Springfield College to add psychology doctorate

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The program in counseling psychology will have sports psychology among its focuses.

05/12/11 Springfield -Judy Van Raalte is in charge of the new doctorate program in psychology at Springfield College.

SPRINGFIELD –Springfield College is starting a doctoral program in counseling psychology that will have sports psychology among its focuses.

It will be the only program of its kind in the country, according to the college.

“Can you deal with difficulty?” said Judy L. Van Raalte, director of the PsyD. program and a professor of psychology at Springfield College. “We have kids who can deal with it on the field, but not in the classroom.”

For that reason, Van Raalte said, the doctorate program dovetails perfectly with Springfield College’s historic ties to the YMCA movement and its emphasis on youth development through sport. The college was founded on the idea of humanics, or the concept that mind, body and spirit come together to form the whole person.

“I personally have worked with a 6-year-old,” she said. “We’ll train our graduates to work with everyone from children up to college and elite-level athletes.”

Van Raalte said her research focuses on “self-talk” or a person’s inner monologue in athletic performance and body-image issues. Other faculty members in the psychology department focus their research on youth development or on the role of the mind on athletic injures and recovery.

Psychology doctorate candidates can also concentrate in marriage and family counseling and clinical mental health counseling, a specialty that focuses on people with more severe difficulties.

Founded in 1885, Springfield College has 2,328 undergraduates on its Springfield campus and 1,079 graduate students. Its psychology department already offers a master’s degree in these concentrations, Van Raalte said.

Springfield College offers doctorate degrees in physical education and in physical therapy. The new doctorate program in psychology, abbreviated Psy.D., will start recruiting students in January 2012 and the first class will begin in the fall of that year.

The plan now is to admit 15 new students a year, five in each of the three concentrations, Van Raalte said.

“I think the job trend is good,” Van Raalte said. “More states are passing mental-health parity, making coverage for mental health mandatory on insurance plans. A lot of people don’t go for counseling because they can’t afford to pay.”

Veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are also creating the need for trained psychologists, she said.

Having a doctorate will allow graduates to accept insurance and have a private practice, Van Raalte said.

And modern technology allows Springfield College to add the program relatively cheaply, she said. In the old days, offering doctorate-level programs in psychology required large libraries full of research materials. But today, colleges can access those publications electronically.

Students entering the program with a bachelor’s degree need to earn 115 credits over four to five years. Students who arrive with master’s degrees can transfer as many as 60 credits.

The college’s psychology department has 15 full-and part-time faculty, Van Raalte said. Springfield College will add about three more professors over time as the program ramps up.

The program has already been approved by the state Department of Higher Education and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. Accreditation by the American Psychological Association won’t happen until the program is up and running, Van Raalte said.

But many of the experts who have already scrutinized the proposed doctorate program are also on the accreditation team for the American Psychological Association.



Business Monday from The Republican, May 16, 2011

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From this week's Business Monday from The Republican. Watch video

PVTA_439.jpgPassengers board a PVTA bus.

From this week's Business Monday from The Republican:

Study: Pioneer Valley Transit Authority and Greenfield Franklin Regional Transit Authority do a good job linking people with jobs

A study by the Brookings Institution finds that transit systems in the United States are largely a "missed opportunity," but that transit systems in Springfield and Greenfield do a better-than-average job of connecting people with jobs. Read more »

Eastec 2011 comes to West Springfield as the manufacturing sector rebounds

Peter J. Klier, an owner of Brooks Associates, tells The Republican his company will spend $75,000 to $80,000 exhibiting at Eastec 2011 at the Eastern States Exhibition Grounds in West Springfield — and that he anticipates the company will make more than three times that amount from orders at the annual tech show, as manufacturing bounces back from the recession. Read more »

How Darby O'Brien convinced Stephen Buoniconti to appear in a TV commercial for The Republican

The Republican's new television ad has people talking. We talk to the people involved in making it. Read more »

More Business Monday

Voices of the Valley: Alan Fauteux, Fire Fighting Equipment, Palmer

Jeff Cohen of Jeff's Picture Framing turns pictures and other momentos into works of art

Local businesses need to take care that Hispanic marketing efforts are not lost in translation

After a long winter, roofers, painters and landscapers see spring as the busy season

Theraputic Systems of Amherst designs special vest designed to sooth autistic children

Massachusetts small-business owners say improving economy is leading them to add jobs

Washington D.C., Boston are tops on the East Coast for highest average salary

Notebook

Pioneer Valley business calender for May 17 - June 15

Pioneer Valley Business etc.

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Sunrise report: Forecast, poll and more for Monday May 16

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Today's poll: Would Massachusetts benefit from greater political diversity in its state legislature?

80th Elms College Commencement05.14.2011 | SPRINGFIELD - Jacqueline Baez sends a message during the Eightieth Commencement of Elms College, held Saturday at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. View more of our graduation galleries.

The Forecast

The stellar weather we enjoyed late last week finally gave way over the weekend to clouds and a few heavy downpours.

Forecasts from the National Weather Service for the next several days read like a skipping record, stuck on the phrases "Showers" and, when they feel like hedging, "Showers likely."

Chance of precipitation today is 60%, with highs only in the upper 50s. Right now it looks like we won't make it back over 60 until Wednesday when, yes, showers are likely.

Find the full forecast here.




Today's Poll

Speaking at Lasell College's commencement ceremony Sunday, U.S. Sen. Scott Brown warned of the dangers of single-party dominance in the political arena.

Citing the federal corruption trial of former House speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, Brown told graduates: “I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or a Republican — just as one political party can’t be right 100 percent of the time, it shouldn’t have 100 percent of the power. Unchallenged power grows arrogant over time. It is what has given us one case of graft after another.’’

What do you think -- would Massachusetts benefit from greater political diversity in its state legislature? Vote in our poll, and check back tomorrow for the results.

Friday's results: On Friday, we asked, "Are zero-tolerance policies for bringing weapons to school appropriate?" 16 people voted. 75% said, "yes," and 25% said "no."




Sunday's Top 5

The top 5 headlines on MassLive.com on May 15 were:
  1. Holyoke police pull body from Connecticut River
  2. 2011 Pathfinder Regional High Prom [photo gallery]
  3. Jorge Posada, New York Yankees telling different stories after he is taken out of lineup
  4. Frontier Regional prom [photo gallery]
  5. Holyoke teenager shot in abdomen by family member



Quote of the Day

"The trees had all offered an attractive border to what is now a depressing landscape bordering Riverside Road."
— Mark G. Hambley, on the removal of several trees along Springfield's Connecticut River Walk and Bikeway. Read Jack Flynn's story here.


AM News Links: Stephen Hawking says heaven's 'a fairy tale,' Boston cabbies want cash, not credit cards, and more

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IMF chief returns to NYC to face sex assault charges, Connecticut man dies in small plane crash in Pennsylvania, and more of this morning's news.

sunrise rocket.jpgPhotographers take pictures of the space shuttle Endeavour as the sun rises Monday over the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

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Lawyer for former Speaker Salvatore DiMasi says release of financial documents would jeopardize fair trial

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DiMasi's trial on corruption and conspiracy charges continues Monday.

Salvatore DiMasi 2009.jpgFormer Massachusetts House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi's trial resumes Monday.

By Kyle Cheney

BOSTON — Former House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, whose trial on corruption and conspiracy charges continues Monday, is fighting an attempt by a TV station to force him to release a document detailing his financial condition.

The document, sought by Fox TV (WFXT) but currently under seal, led Judge Mark Wolf to grant DiMasi public assistance to pay for his trial counsel.

Thomas Kiley, a lawyer for DiMasi, argued in a court filing Friday that disclosure of DiMasi’s financial wherewithal would prejudice a jury, falls outside the scope of public access and violates the former speaker’s privacy.

“Mr. DiMasi’s Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial rises to the level of a compelling interest, and substantially outweighs WFXT’s claimed right of access,” Kiley wrote in opposition to Fox’s motion. “The request comes at a time when the jury is seated – not after a determination of guilt or innocence. Thus the potential for jury contamination by publicity about Mr. DiMasi’s finances (which has no bearing on guilt or innocence) is now at its zenith, as is the danger of impairing the judicial process. It also comes at a time when no billing pursuant to the appointment has occurred, so that the public’s interest in overseeing the Court’s performance of its administrative duties is at its nadir.”

Kiley and his co-counsel in the DiMasi trial, William Cintolo, received Wolf’s approval in March to work as court-appointed attorneys, funded by public dollars.

In a ruling that month, Wolf wrote, “The court finds that DiMasi is unable to retain counsel privately and that exceptional circumstances justify the appointment of his previously retained counsel.”

Wolf also ordered DiMasi to inform Kiley and the court if he experiences any “material improvement” in his finances.

Fox filed its motion two weeks ago, seeking DiMasi’s financial documents based on “public interest in the trial.”

Kiley acknowledged, in his Friday filing, that Judge Wolf has said “demonstrated willingness” to review DiMasi’s right to court-appointed counsel if “new information comes to light.”

“There is no reason to doubt that if circumstances change, judicial inquiry and public scrutiny of it may occur,” Kiley wrote. “It is not now appropriate, however.”

James Eisenberg, chief of staff to House Speaker Robert DeLeo, is expected to take the stand Monday in federal court, as the DiMasi trial launches into its third week.

Prosecutors have already previewed part of Eisenberg’s expected testimony: that in 2006, he made a notation to check with DiMasi about a budget amendment to provide funding for education data software.

That software is now the subject of intense legal scrutiny because it was eventually supplied by Cognos Corp., the company that prosecutors say DiMasi aided in exchange for $65,000 in kickbacks.

At the time the budget amendment passed providing funding for what would ultimately be a $4.5 million contract for Cognos, Eisenberg was working for DeLeo, who was then chair of the Ways and Means Committee.

Defense attorneys have attempted to block Eisenberg’s notation, claiming it is hearsay and that Eisenberg is expected to admit he is unsure of the actual meaning of the note.

In 2006, Eisenberg wrote “ck w/speaker” in the margin next to a copy of the amendment.

Prosecutors say Eisenberg will testify that he had planned to check directly with DiMasi – who was speaker from 2004 to 2009 – or with a member of the speaker’s staff about the amendment.

Also scheduled to testify Monday: Maureen Chew, the Patrick administration’s chief applications officer in the information technology Division; Barbara Martin, an accountant in the office of Richard Vitale, a codefendant in the DiMasi trial; and Louis Gutierrez, the information technology chief in the Romney administration.

DiMasi, Vitale and lobbyist Richard McDonough are charged with conspiring to steer $17.5 million in state contracts to Cognos in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks. DiMasi allegedly received $4,000 in weekly payments funneled through a law associate, eventually amounting to $65,000 in total kickbacks, while Vitale and McDonough received hundreds of thousands of dollars when Cognos successfully won Massachusetts business.

Defense attorneys have portrayed the arrangements – the fee-sharing agreement between DiMasi and his law associate, the lobbyist fees paid to McDonough and the consulting fees paid to Vitale, who once lent DiMasi a $250,000 line of credit – as entirely legal. They argued that DiMasi sought the software because it was high-quality, filled a state need and was part of an effort to improve government efficiency and accountability.

State police charge 23-year-old Easthampton resident John Vanvalkenbu with drunken driving (second offense) following accident on Interstate 91 in Springfield

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State police arrested the suspect at Magnolia and Greenleaf streets in Chicopee.

police lights.jpg

SPRINGFIELD – An alleged hit-and-run accident involving two vehicles on Interstate 91 Sunday night led to the arrest of a 23-year-old Easthampton man on a drunken driving charge for the second time, state police said.

Trooper Gary Woods said victim reported the crash shortly before 11 p.m. and followed the suspect’s vehicle, a green Saturn sedan, for a time.

The Saturn pulled onto Interstate 391 and then onto the surface roads of Chicopee where Trooper Evan Breeding saw it heading north on Magnolia Street and pulled it over near Greenleaf Street, Woods said.

The driver, John Vanvalkenbu, of 13 Maple St., Easthampton, was charged with drunken driving (second offense), leaving the scene of a property damage accident, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and open container.

Endeavour shuttle launches amidst exhilarated crowd of thousands, including Gabrielle Giffords

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The Arizona congresswoman was shielded from the cameras on launch day, as were the families of the other five astronauts. All watched the liftoff in private.

Gallery preview

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Endeavour blasted off on NASA's next-to-last shuttle flight, thundering through clouds into orbit Monday morning as the mission commander's wounded wife, Gabrielle Giffords, watched along with an exhilarated crowd well into the thousands.

NASA is winding down its 30-year-old shuttle program before embarking on something new. The event generated the kind of excitement seldom seen on Florida's Space Coast on such a grand scale — despite a delay of more than two weeks from the original launch date because of an electrical problem.

The shuttle quickly disappeared into the clouds, within seconds of liftoff.

Just before launching, commander Mark Kelly made some patriotic remarks: "It's in the DNA of our great country to reach for the stars and explore. We must not stop. To all the millions watching today, including our spouses, children, family and friends, we thank you for your support."

Remarkably, Giffords made a return visit to see Kelly off. She is still undergoing rehabilitation in a Houston hospital to recover from a gunshot wound to the head in an assassination attempt little more than four months ago.

The Arizona congresswoman was shielded from the cameras on launch day, as were the families of the other five astronauts. All watched the liftoff in private.

Giffords has kept out of the public eye since the Jan. 8 shooting that wounded her and killed six others in Tucson, Ariz.

She and Kelly said their goodbyes, face to face on Sunday.

"Who's ready for the best show on Earth?" her staff asked in a Twitter update before liftoff.

With Kelly at the helm, Endeavour and its experienced crew of five Americans and an Italian are headed for the International Space Station. They will arrive at the orbiting outpost Wednesday, delivering a $2 billion magnetic instrument that will seek out antimatter and dark energy in the universe.

Up to 45,000 guests jammed into NASA's launch site, and thousands packed area roads and towns to see Endeavour soar one last time. Only one shuttle flight remains.

Advance estimates had put Monday's crowd at 500,000, more than the number that saw Discovery's final hurrah in February. Across the Indian River in Titusville, though, the number of spectators appeared to be down compared with Endeavour's previous launch attempt.

Electrical trouble grounded the shuttle on April 29, disappointing the hordes of visitors, including President Barack Obama and his family. Repairs over the past two weeks took care of the problem.

"God Speed Endeavour We're ready for you!" space station resident Ronald Garan Jr. said in a Twitter update. At launch, the space station was 220 miles high, just southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Kelly almost didn't make the flight.

The 47-year-old Navy captain took a leave from training to be by his wife's side after she was wounded. He was gone a month, and it seemed unlikely he would make the space flight he was training for. But Giffords improved and was moved from the hospital in her hometown of Tucson to Houston where Kelly lives and does astronaut training. Her days were filled with rehab work, and he yearned to see the shuttle mission through. A month after the shooting, he announced he would fly.

"Everybody felt that this was the right thing for me to do," he said at the time. He added that his wife "is a big supporter of my career, a big supporter of NASA."

He rejoined his crew in February, still managing to see his wife across town every morning and evening.

Giffords' visit to Kennedy Space Center — the third time she's seen her husband soar into space — ratcheted up the excitement level for what already was a big event, said launch officials.

Kelly's identical twin, Scott, who's also an astronaut, witnessed the launch with his two teenage nieces, Mark's daughters from a previous marriage.

This is the 25th and final flight of Endeavour, the baby of NASA's shuttle fleet. It was built to replace Challenger, destroyed during liftoff 25 years ago this past January, and made its maiden journey six years later to capture and repair a stranded satellite. That first flight ended 19 years ago Monday.

Endeavour carried the first Hubble Space Telescope repair team, which famously restored the observatory's vision in 1993, and the first American piece of the space station in 1998.

It will end its days at the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

As of Monday, Endeavour had logged more than 116 million miles, circled Earth some 4,500 times, spent 283 days in space and carried 170 people, including the last two people to fly a space shuttle for the first time. American Mike Fincke and Italian Roberto Vittori are making their first flight on a shuttle although they've been to the space station twice, ferried their by Russian Soyuz rockets.

Fincke will team up with Andrew Feustel and Gregory Chamitoff for four spacewalks during the 16-day mission. It will be the last spacewalks conducted by a shuttle crew.

NASA's last shuttle flight, by Atlantis, is targeted for July. After that, Atlantis will remain at Kennedy, where it will go on display at the visitor complex. Discovery will head to the Smithsonian Institution's hangar outside Washington.

American astronauts, meanwhile, will continue to hitch rides to the space station on Russian Soyuz rockets. Private companies hope to pick up the slack, but that's still years away.

Once Atlantis flies, it will be three years — at best — before Americans are launched again from U.S. soil. Some NASA observers fear it could be a full decade.

The White House wants NASA focusing on eventual expeditions to asteroids and Mars, unfeasible as long as the shuttles are flying given budget constraints.

It was the first shuttle launch for spectator Frewen Wilson of Raleigh, N.C. He and an old college buddy set up lawn chairs on the back of a pickup truck in Titusville to watch.

"There are not many chances left to see this," Wilson said.

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AP writers Seth Borenstein and Mike Schneider in Titusville, Fla., contributed to this report.

'Lazy Cakes' sleep-inducing brownies draw criticism from Massachusetts mayors

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The brownies contains 8 milligrams of melatonin, a sleep-inducing supplement

BOSTON (AP) — Two mayors in Massachusetts want to ban a brownie that contains a sleep aid and features a cartoon character that critics say appeals to children.

A Lazy Cakes brownie contains 8 milligrams of melatonin, a sleep-inducing supplement.

Fall River Mayor William Flanagan calls the brownies despicable and has drafted an ordinance to ban them. New Bedford Mayor Scott W. Lang also wants a ban.

Caroline Apovian, director of the Nutrition and Weight Management Center at Boston Medical Center, says it's not appropriate to put herbal supplements in brownies or other foods that could appeal to children. She calls the herbal supplement a drug.

Lazy Cakes spokeswoman Laura Finlayson says the label's cartoon character, "Lazy Larry," is not targeted to children. She says the brownies are labeled for adult use only.

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Information from: Boston Herald, http://www.bostonherald.com

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