Team president Larry Lucchino said the press is part of the story.

(AP Photo/Nick Wass)Boston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine, right, talks with, from left, Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz and first base coach Alex Ochoa in the dugout before a game against the Baltimore Orioles, Tuesday. The Red Sox lost two of three to the Orioles and are fading from the playoff race.

NEW YORK - There you have it. Bobby Valentine says the disappointing Red Sox season is NOT the fault of media.

The Sox manager was asked the question before the series opener at New York. Team president Larry Lucchino said this week that media involvement was partly to blame for a season gone sour.

"Partly? Totally incorrect - I think it's all the media's fault,'' Valentine said in jest.

Then he got serious.

"(Responsible for) the whole season? No, the media has had nothing to do with our season.''

Noticeably careful in his comments, and using humor at times to confront the touchier subjects, Valentine seemed determined not to point fingers at anybody except perhaps himself.

"I haven't managed some situations as well as they could have been managed,'' he said, calling such instances "well documented.''

He rebuffed a suggestion that starting pitching was the overriding problem, even though Boston's starting ERA ranks 26th in baseball.

He did acknowledge that the Red Sox offense has been challenged by facing semi-constant early deficits.

The poor first-inning performance of the starters makes that point hard to argue. Valentine said he has not researched whether the Red Sox have spent an abnormal amount of time playing from behind.

"It might not be statistically true, (but) it seems it,'' he said.

Reports of a team meeting with ownership in late July - the last time the Red Sox were in New York - have made Valentine's relationship with his players a subject of national debate.

He did not address that Friday, nor did he use injuries as an excuse for a 58-61 record he called very disappointing.

He did say "we've had our share'' of injuries.

Valentine also downplayed suggestions that managing in Boston is much different than elsewhere. He has managed in Texas, New York and Japan.

"I'm not sure it's different, just because it's Boston. I've only been there for months,'' he said.

"I come to work each morning, there's a great fandom, a support group, great players ... I don't know if it's that much different,'' he said.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi also manages in a big-market fishbowl. He was asked how he has been able to avoid having his team become involved in the drama that has engulfed the Red Sox.

"I've just been myself. I haven't said I have purposely tried to avoid the drama,'' Girardi said.

"Relationships (with players) are important. My first year, I had to build relationships.
Replacing someone who has been there a long time, someone the players are comfortable with - you've got to work at it. It's not easy.''

Girardi did not mention Valentine by name. The Yankees manager followed Joe Torre in 2008.

Valentine replaced Terry Francona this year. Much of the debate has centered on whether Valentine has tried hard enough to develop the relationships needed to succeed as manager of the Red Sox.

The Boston manager said for all the challenges, he cannot say this season has been more trying than he expected when it began.

"It's been really challenging, yes,'' he said dryly. "Just the way we like it.''

The left-hander's turn has been skipped as his pitch counts and innings have risen.

The Associated PressBoston Red Sox pitcher Felix Doubront has been fine in the early innings, but struggled to get past the fifth and is being rested.

NEW YORK - Red Sox pitcher Felix Doubront threw 45 pitches in a simulated game setting Friday, and will have another such workout before the Red Sox decide if it's time to restore him to the rotation.

He has also been dealing with a knee problem. Manager Bobby Valentine said the knee issue had cleared up, but Doubront could still wind up on the disabled list.

More likely is that Doubront will return to the rotation soon, perhaps by the end of this week. Valentine wants the pitcher to take his regular turn once he is ready, which would require the Red Sox to again revisit the issue of trying to fit six starters into five spots.

That's not counting Daisuke Matsuzaka, who might be activated after one more start at Triple A Pawtucket.

Doubront has been pitching off flat ground. Valentine said the pitcher has had a good, "active rest.''

He last pitched Aug. 9 at Cleveland, a 3-2 loss.

Doubront has hit a fifth-inning wall in each of his last two starts. High early pitch counts have contributed to the trend of a pitcher who starts out well but fades quickly in the middle innings.

The left-hander is 10-6. His 122 innings are seven fewer than his pro career high.

Doubront's start was skipped as the Red Sox decided he needed a break. The knee issue is not considered serious, but if he is not going to pitch, the Red Sox gain nothing by keeping him on the active roster.

They have until Sunday to retroactively place him on the disabled list. Teams have 10 days from the time of a player's previous appearance to do so.

If they do, they can activate Doubront from the point 15 days after his last outing, not the day they actually decided to put him on the DL.

After Sept. 1, the roster moves become moot. Teams can expand their rosters to up to 40 players, so putting Doubront on the DL after that point would serve no purpose.

David Ortiz took batting practice Friday, and some light running was possible. The DH remains on the disabled list for an Achilles strain that has sidelined him for a month.

Ortiz had been shut down for several days. On Thursday, he was pain-free, Valentine said.

The manager said Ortiz will not play in the Yankees series.

The main characters are connected by a bond forged on the battlegrounds of the Civil War, which was still raging.

History professor Dan Czitrom sits on the set of 'Copper.

SOUTH HADLEY – “Copper,” a new historical crime drama set in New York City in 1864, is making its debut on BBC America Sunday at 10 p.m. If its gritty realism jumps off the screen and grabs a contemporary audience, as seems likely, some of the credit goes to an academic here in the Pioneer Valley.

History Professor Dan Czitrom of Mount Holyoke College serves as “historical advisor” to the show and was present, if not at conception, then shortly thereafter.

“What happened was serendipitous,” Czitrom said in an interview by phone from New York City on Wednesday, where he had been invited for a preview of the show.

In 2006, he got a call from screenwriter Will Rokos, who had seen Czitrom on a PBS documentary. “I’ve been a talking head in a number in a number of shows,” said Czitrom.

Rokos told him he had been working on pilot script called “Copper,” and he asked Czitrom to read it for historical accuracy. He couldn’t offer a fee because the script hadn’t been sold yet.

Czitrom agreed to read it and was impressed, as well he might be. Rokos’ resumé includes a nomination for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for the movie “Monster’s Ball.”

“I could tell he was serious about history,” said Czitrom, who arranged to meet Rokos in New York.

“Copper” is about an Irish immigrant named Kevin Corcoran, who returns from the Civil War to the Five Points neighborhood in lower Manhattan, to find that his daughter has been killed and his wife is missing. The tragedy adds a personal layer to his commitment as a policeman solving crimes.

The story is set in a particularly violent place and time, said Czitrom. The main characters are connected by a bond forged on the battlegrounds of the Civil War, which was still raging.

Five Points, the setting for the show, contained a mix of ethnic groups. Irish immigrants came in the wake of blight and starvation, but it was a “polyglot neighborhood,” as Czitrom calls it, with Blacks, Jews and Italians, too.

One of the characters in “Copper” is a self-taught Black physician named Matthew Freeman.

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln had instituted the first military draft in American history. Men could buy their way out of it for a payment of $300, but this amounted to a whole year’s pay for some. “The law was seen as tremendously unfair by working-class people,” said Czitrom. As a result, there were draft riots.

Part of the anger was directed at African Americans, who were exempt from the draft and were associated with the roots of the war. They were hunted down and lynched. A Colored Orphan Asylum holding 200 Black children was burned down on 43rd Street in 1864.

In the show, the writers wanted to have the asylum temporarily rebuilt in Five Points, but it was in situations like these that Czitrom intervened. It could never have happened, he said, because at that time Five Points was a “murderous place” for Black people to be.

Czitrom said sometimes his contributions are minor. “I’m reading the script and a characters says he’s going to take the trolley uptown,” he said. “Well, there were no trolleys at that time.

“Little details add up,” he said. “The big challenge is to make the show plausible.”

AMC was the first network to express interest in the show, but turned it down. After Rokos teamed up with Thomas Fontana, who had worked on “Homicide” and “St. Elsewhere,” they sold it to BBC America.

Czitrom, a New York native, earned his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin. For a while, before joining the faculty at Mount Holyoke in 1981, he drove a cab in New York City.

Voters will also be asked to approve a change that would transfer chairmanship of City Council meetings from the mayor to the council president.

NORTHAMPTON – The City Council voted Thursday to add a ballot question on the proposed charter changes to the Nov. 6 election, though it appears it will be at Northampton’s expense.

The question asks residents if they approve of a number of changes to the charter under which Northampton operates, a document created in the 1880s. More notable changes include the extension of the mayoral term from two to four years and the transfer of chairmanship of council meetings from the mayor to the council president.

The original plan was for the state to put the question on the Nov. 6 ballot along with the presidential and senate races, but the Secretary of the Commonwealth informed the city last month that it had missed the June 1 deadline for submitting such a question. The charter changes must be approved by the Legislature before they can go before the voters. The House of Representatives is still studying the document.

Although the state insists it told the city clerk and city solicitor of the deadline in May, Northampton officials maintain that they were notified long after the fact. Mayor David J. Narkewicz has sent a public records request to Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin seeking proof of the May notification. There has been no response to date.

City Clerk Wendy Mazza told the council she will have to hire additional poll workers to oversee the ballot question, but officials have not yet ventured an estimate of the cost.

The council rejected a request by the Department of Public Works to include a question about plowing private ways on the charter change ballot. The city has historically plowed a number of streets that are not public rights of way, but the state has ruled this practice illegal.

However, City Solicitor Alan Seewald has advised the council that the plowing question cannot be included on a special ballot. The earliest it can come before voters is the next municipal election in 2013.

The council is scheduled to take a second and final vote on the charter ballot at its next meeting on Sept. 20.

Recklessly pedaling his bicycle on the sidewalk led to Hector Gonzalez being arrested for peddling drugs, police said.

Hector Gonzalez

SPRINGFIELD – Recklessly pedaling his bicycle on the sidewalk led to a 34-year-old city man being arrested for peddling drugs, police said.

Hector Junior Gonzalez of 413 Riverside Road was arrested Thursday afternoon and charged with possession of oxycodone with intent to distribute, assault and battery on a police officer, and as well a bicycle law violation: failing to yield to pedestrians.

Officers Kevin Merchant and Eugene Roux spotted Gonzalez riding his bicycle on the sidewalk along Main Street in what was described as a reckless manner, causing several pedestrians to dodge him, said Sgt. John Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William Fitchet.

According to state laws, bicyclists may ride on the sidewalk instead of the road in high-traffic areas but must yield to pedestrians. When the officers pulled up along side of Gonzalez and told him to ride more responsibly, he shouted “No, I’m not stopping,” Delaney said.

He then turned onto Boylston Street, ditched the bicycle and ran off on foot, leading police on a brief chase that ended with Gonzalez attempting to hit and kick Merchant and Roux, Delaney said.

During the pursuit, they saw him toss a plastic bag that was later found to contain 30 oxycodone tablets, he said.

Gonzalez was scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Springfield District Court, but information on the arraignment was not available.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed within 4 points of 13,279, its high for the year.

Associated Press file | Paul SakumaApple customer Shayan Hooshmand, 11, uses PhotoBooth on a 21.5-inch iMac at an Apple store in Palo Alto, Calif., last maker. Stocks of the California-based computer maker hit an all-time high Friday, rising almost 2 percent to $648.11 per share.

By JOSHUA FREED

NEW YORK - Stocks resembled summer vacationers on Friday, rising not-too-impressively in the morning and then mostly laying around for the rest of the day.

Positive news from retailers was the main reason U.S. indexes posted small gains. Apple helped too by hitting a new high.

Traders in both the U.S. and Europe are on vacation, so volumes were low. And the dog days continued for Facebook. A 4 percent decline left it shares at about half the price of its May initial public offering.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 25.09 points to close at 13,275.20. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 2.65 points to close at 1,418.16. The Nasdaq rose 14.20 points to close at 3,076.59.

The modest gains put some indexes close to their highs for the year. The Dow is now within four points of 13,279, its high for the year set on May 1. The S&P 500 is within one point of its four-year high set on April 1.

The Dow has now risen eight out of the last 11 days and finished the week up a half-percent. The Dow is sporting a gain for the year of almost 8.7 percent for the year, while the S&P 500 is up almost 12.7 percent.

Next week is likely to be more eventful. Investors will get Chinese housing reports, minutes from a closely-watched Federal Reserve meeting, and jobless claims. And Europe’s problems, which were mostly off center stage in recent days, return front-and-center as German Chancellor Angela Merkel meets in Berlin with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to talk about progress in overcoming Greece’s debt crisis.

“Next week, you have somebody say something that no one expects, in thin trading it could really move markets around,” said John Canally, investment strategist at LPL Financial.

Strong retail earnings and outlooks drove Friday’s gains. Gap Inc. shares rose 4.8 percent after it boosted its outlook and posted a 29 percent jump in net income. That suggests the operator of Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic stores is finally on the way to a turnaround.

Shares of Ann Inc., the parent of retailer Ann Taylor, jumped 20 percent after its second-quarter profit rose 24 percent. Foot Locker rose 1.7 percent after quarterly profits leaped 59 percent, boosted by higher sales, cost controls and a small tax-related gain.

A few retailers did struggle. Sears Holdings Corp. fell 1.3 percent, giving back some of Thursday’s big gain.

Expectations for retailers were low, but they beat them, said Lawrence Creatura, portfolio manager at Federated Investors.

“Nobody going into the summer expected a vibrant consumer, so expectations were muted,” he said.

Technology stocks saw both highs and lows on Friday.

Apple hit an all-time high, rising almost 2 percent to $648.11. It now has a market value of about $608 billion, almost 50 percent higher than No. 2 Exxon Mobil Corp. at $408 billion.

But declines continued for Facebook and Groupon, the online coupon company.

Facebook closed at $19, about half the value of its initial public offering price of $38. Investors are worried that mobile ads won’t bring in as much money as those seen on desktop computers. And Facebook’s short-term problems include the expiration of a lock-up period on Thursday that had kept early investors from selling.

Groupon lost another 5 percent to close at $4.75. It has now set a new low every day since Tuesday. Its woes include foreign-exchange rates in Europe and a worry that its business isn’t very hard for competitors to copy.

Health care stocks declined a half-percent, the biggest drop among the 10 industry groups in the S&P 500. Pharmaceutical companies led the decline. Pfizer fell 1 percent, and Merck dropped 1.4 percent.

Computer chip maker Marvell Technology Group Ltd. stock dropped 14 percent after a revenue decline sliced its quarterly net income by more than half. Its CEO cited a slowing economy for the trouble.

Global markets edged higher after German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave a new pledge of support for the euro. On Thursday she said that “we feel committed to do everything we can to maintain the common currency.” Germany is Europe’s economic powerhouse, so its support is critical to the euro’s survival. The German DAX rose 0.6 percent.

Both drivers were taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries suffered in the crash, police said.

View full sizePhoto courtesy of Kenneth RogersPolice investigate the scene of an accident on Route 202 that sent two to the hospital.

View full sizePhoto courtesy of Kenneth RogersThe Ford pickup involved in the collision on Route 202 came to rest off the side of the road a distance from the crash.

GRANBY - A collision between a sedan and a pickup truck Friday afternoon closed Route 202 for more than an hour and sent both drivers to the hospital, police said.

The accident was reported at about 2 p.m. in the area of 25 West St., near the South Hadley line, according to Granby police.

Both drivers were given first aid at the scene before being taken by ambulance to an area hospital, police said. Police did not disclose either driver’s name or the nature of any injuries.

Granby, South Hadley and state police responded to the scene, as did the Granby fire department.

The road was closed and traffic detoured for more than an hour while police investigated the accident.

The investigation determined the sedan, a 1998 Mercedes, crossed over the center line, striking the front driver’s side portion of a Ford F-250 truck. Both vehicles sustained heavy damage and had to be towed from the scene.

Police did not disclose if any citations were issued.

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Despite protests from Emanuel Nocolescu that he was not involved in a plot to extort his wealthy former employer, a jury found that the butler did it.

File photo | Associated PressFormer butler Emanuel Nicolescu,left, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his part in an extortion attempt against his former employer, Connecticut philanthropist Anne H. Bass.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A former butler insisted on his innocence and said he's scared to go to jail as he was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison for trying to extort millions of dollars from philanthropist Anne H. Bass, who was injected with what masked intruders claimed was a deadly virus during a night of terror in 2007.

Emanuel Nicolescu, who was convicted in March of attempted extortion and other charges, said at his sentencing hearing that he had no role in the ordeal suffered by Bass and her companion at her western Connecticut estate.

"I am sorry for what they went through but I didn't do it," said Nicolescu, who paused and fought back tears as he spoke at length in federal court in New Haven.

Nicolescu noted that he is only 150 pounds.

"In jail I'm a target for a lot of things," he said, asking for mercy. "I'm scared."

Authorities said the masked men injected Bass and her partner, Julian Lethbridge, and refused to provide an antidote unless they turned over $8.5 million. The injected substance turned out to be harmless, and the intruders fled without the cash.

"This lengthy sentence is appropriate for a defendant who participated in a violent home invasion," said U.S. Attorney David Fein.

Alex Hernandez, an attorney for the victims, said the crime was profound and long-lasting.

"The perpetrators executed this crime with military precision and left no doubt about their intentions," Hernandez said, reading a victim impact statement. "The terror they inflicted was real and was clearly intended to be perceived as such. Anne and Julian believed that each moment could well be their last."

The victims, who did not attend the sentencing, also live in constant fear that others involved in the crime have not been captured. They said they hope Nicolescu will help authorities bring the others to justice.

"To date, he has not accepted any responsibility for what he did, he has expressed no remorse for what took place and he has done absolutely nothing to help bring others to justice," the letter states. "If he should now choose to do so, he will have earned a measure of forgiveness from them."

Nicolescu is the only person who has been arrested for the crime at the estate in Kent, a scenic rural town of about 3,000 residents near New York. He had been fired by Bass for wrecking a car about a year before the crime on April 15, 2007.

Authorities say at least four men were involved, including one outside the house.

The jury did not reach a finding on the role of Nicolescu or the others, so it's unclear whether they believed he was in the home, outside or elsewhere, said his attorney, Gerald McMahon. A prosecutor said the jury did not make special findings as to Nicolescu's role, but authorities have argued they believed he was in the house.

Prosecutors said Nicolescu's DNA was found in a Jeep stolen from the property during the home invasion.

Bass, the former wife of Texas billionaire Sid Bass, testified during the trial that she heard "war cries" from men dressed in black who threw her to the floor, tied her up and talked about whether to kidnap her 3-year-old grandson.

She said she told the men the boy would be terrified to see them dressed in black.

"I spent a lot of time thinking about my children and how horrible it was going to be for them because I was sure I was going to die," said Bass, whose grandson was unharmed.

Nicolescu said the case was devastating to him and his family. His voice breaking, he said he would never hurt anyone and knew such a sum of money could not be obtained, especially at night.

"I don't wish what happened to them on anybody," he said. "There has to be a way I can show the court, the world, everybody I'm not that person."

Nicolescu said he did not receive a fair trial.

His attorney sought a sentence of no more than eight years, saying no one was seriously hurt. McMahon said Nicolescu had no prior criminal record and was described by many as sweet.

Prosecutors sought a sentence of about 25 to 30 years, citing the emotional trauma suffered by the victims, the painful nature of the injections and that Nicolescu was likely a leader of the crime.

Bass also has homes in New York City and Fort Worth, Texas.

The Yankees hit five home runs in the series opener.

Associated Press photoFranklin Morales pitched into the sixth and allowed six hits against the Yankees, but four of them were home runs.

NEW YORK - The last time the Red Sox visited Yankee Stadium, they took two of three games and lit a flickering flame to their playoff hopes.

That was only three weeks ago. Much has happened since, little of it good, so Friday night's 6-4 loss to New York was disappointing but unsurprising.

The Yankees hit five home runs - four off Red Sox starter Franklin Morales - but it was a 135-foot single by Jayson Nix that turned this one.

Nix swatted an opposite-field, two-out single to shallow right in the sixth, scoring Casey McGehee to break a 4-4 tie.

It came off Clayton Mortensen, who looked poised to pitch out of an inherited jam before Nix bested him.

"He got the barrel on it and just flicked it out to right. It was not a bad pitch, but it's got to be better - very frustrating,'' Mortensen said.

Nick Swisher's second home run in the game came in the seventh, with Mortensen the victim. Dustin Pedroia nearly tied it in the eighth, but his 400-foot drive off David Robertson with a man on was caught at the wall in center.

Pedroia's three-run homer in the third had given Boston a 4-3 lead. They managed only three baserunners over the final six innings, and five hits in the game.

"(The Yankees) hit five home runs, and that's the way they live, and that was too much for Dustin to combat,'' Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said.

"He almost did. He hit that last ball a ton.''

Pedroia marked his 29th birthday Friday, but his glum post-game look said this was not a day of celebration.

By winning two of three at the Stadium in late July, the Red Sox made a trade deadline statement that they still saw themselves as playoff contenders, not pretenders.

What followed has been a 5-11 record in August, stories of a near-mutiny by players during that late-July trip to New York, and a tumble from playoff contention that might be too late to reverse.

Morales is 3-4. He had made seven previous starts, and six were excellent.

The only rough time came against the Yankees, who reached him for six runs and six hits in 3 1/3 innings of a 6-1 loss on July 7 at Fenway Park.

Morales has given up one home run over six starts to teams other than New York. The Yankees have clubbed him for eight homers in two starts.

Part of the problem is that against more patient teams, Morales' strike-pounding style gives him the edge.

The Yankees, however, don't wait for the pitcher to dictate the terms. They swing early in the count, and get results.

"I try to attack the hitters, but when you miss with that team, somebody's going to pay,'' Morales said.

"I'm the guy that paid, and I lose.''

"Other than the home runs, Franklin wasn't that bad. He just wasn't good enough,'' Valentine said.

"They hit all his pitches. It wasn't just one type of pitch.''

For a time, it looked as if only a rain stoppage would save Morales, who gave up home runs in an early-inning downpour to Swisher, Curtis Granderson and Russell Martin in the first two innings.

Granderson's second-inning homer was the first allowed by Morales to a left-handed hitter in 106 at-bats this season. No American League pitcher had faced more lefty hitters without giving up a home run.

A throwing error by Yankees starter Phil Hughes and Pedroia's three-run homer created a four-run Red Sox rally in the third. Hughes had previously been 3-6 with a 6.17 ERA against Boston, but he has beaten them twice in the last three weeks.

His error on Friday was a mark against him, but it meant he allowed the Red Sox no earned runs in seven innings.

"You've got to give their side credit, and we had some bad at-bats. Probably a combination of both,'' Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford said.

After Granderson and Martin went back-to-back in the second, the Yankees went quietly until the fifth.

Derek Jeter's home run tied it 4-4. It was the 250th home run of Jeter's career.

"I talked to myself and said you've got to keep this score and execute. Jeter hit the first slider I threw,'' Morales said.

Valentine was asked if Pedroia's drive in the eighth, which died in Granderson's glove, typified the way the season has been going.

"Not necessarily,'' he said.

Yes, necessarily.

Outsiders were shocked when Hawlemont balked at accepting the displaced students, but it’s all part of a bitter history between the two school committees.

File photo by Jeff BrownA firefighter from Greenfield pours water on some of the hot spots in a fire that the Rowe Elementary School recently.

Officials at Hawlemont Regional Elementary School had still not decided Friday evening whether the school will take in the students who were displaced when Rowe Elementary School burned down on August 4.

Rowe Elementary was struck by lightning, and much of the school was destroyed.

Outsiders were shocked when Hawlemont balked, but it’s all part of a bitter history between the two school committees.

Fortunately, what everyone agrees on is that the children of Rowe will get an education this year.

“It’s my intention to find a way, no matter what it takes,” said Michael Buoniconti, Superintendent of the Rowe, Hawlemont (a combination of Hawley and Charlemont) and Mohawk Regional School districts, on Friday.

“If we have to delay school for a week, that’s not off the table,” said Lisa Miller, chairwoman of the Rowe School Committee. “Everything is on the table. Whatever we have to do, our kids will get their education.”

Hawlemont was all set to welcome the children from Rowe, according to Hawlemont School Committee vice-chairwoman Ivy Palmer. They were planning on T-shirts and an ice cream social.

Then, at the last minute, Rowe appointed a close friend of former Rowe School Committee chairman Bill Loomis to the Rowe committee.

When Cynthia Laffond was appointed, that was a deal-breaker.

The history of the three-district school system is long and complicated. “This has been called the most complex regional school system in the state,” says Noel Abbott, chairman of the Select Board in Rowe.

The three school districts encompass nine towns. Rowe is the wealthiest. At some point, the other, poorer towns realized that without Rowe they would have better access to funding from state government. In 1982, they asked Rowe to withdraw from their system for that reason.

Rowe agreed. The deal was that their kids would still be able to go to Mohawk Regional after they left elementary school, that they would pay tuition, but they would have access to all the services of the Central Office, including transportation.

Then things changed. In 2011, Rowe’s assessment was increased by 37 percent. Rowe wound up suing the school system. Several of the people in this story said Rowe has withdrawn its lawsuit, but if it’s true it seems not to have dampened the flames.

There’s more. In 2010, Buoniconti did not renew the contract of Robert Clancy, who had been principal of Rowe Elementary School for 14 years and happens to be married to Miller.

About a third of the town’s population signed a petition in support of Clancy, according to a report in the Greenfield Recorder at the time.

Palmer, the Hawlemont committeewoman, said that after Clancy left, his supporters zeroed in on the Superintendent’s office, “harassing them with endless requests for old information.”

Prominent among them was Loomis. He is a close friend of Laffond and her husband, and in Hawlemont there’s a suspicion that she has been planted to do Loomis’s bidding, which Miller vigorously denies.

“All I was doing was asking for information,” said Loomis. “What I’m dragging up people don’t like.”

Many say the conflict is one of personalities. Whatever it is, it feels toxic to the Hawlemont School Committee, and Palmer said she doesn’t want it to affect the children.

“I’m thinking of the 100 Hawlemont kids, and what’s going to happen when we bring the animosity and hostility of the Rowe School Committee into our school,” said Palmer.

“We’re going to be in close quarters and everyone has to be working together,” she said. “Kids are so sensitive to underlying tensions. We have to make sure that when they come to school they have a good, positive experience.”

Steady rain possible by sunrise, decreasing afternoon clouds tomorrow.

Scattered thunderstorms will take a temporary break through the overnight hours, but are expected to redevelop towards the morning. Mostly cloudy skies will be sticking around overnight with low temperatures in the mid-60s.

Rain showers will be developing again for Saturday morning as this system exits...some of the rain could be pretty steady right around sunrise. Most of the rain will be down towards the coast, which means areas south of the Mass Pike...and east of the Springfield area...will be the prime target for steadier rain Saturday morning. This is expected to clear out by the afternoon as the cold front pushes through and brings mostly sunny skies back to finish the day.

We finish out the weekend on a pleasant note with partly cloudy skies for Sunday too. A pleasant cool down comes to western Massachusetts as well...high temperatures will only be in the upper-70s this weekend. A majority of next week looks dry.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy, periods of rain, low 64.

Saturday: Showers, mainly in the morning, decreasing afternoon clouds, cooler, high 78.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, comfortably cool, high 78.

Monday: Partly cloudy, comfortably cool, high 78.

Kenny the Clown downloaded the theme to "The Pink Panther" and other songs for his act, but never realized he had Steve Job's hot iPad.

AP Photo/Marcio Jose SanchezKenny the Clown," otherwise known as Kenneth Kahn, applies make-up as he readies to perform in San Francisco, Friday, Aug. 17, 2012. Kahn says he unwittingly received a stolen iPad from a friend who was later arrested for breaking into former Apple CEO Steve Jobs' residence in Palo Alto.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Families waiting for San Francisco's cable cars on a recent morning couldn't help but notice Kenny the Clown, who wore a curly rainbow wig as he twisted brightly colored balloons into animal shapes for visitors, blasting Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" from an iPad at his feet.

Little did the clown know that the tablet doubling as his stereo would turn out to have been stolen from the home of the late Steve Jobs.

"The thing that is embarrassing to me is I'm a huge fan of Steve Jobs," said Kenneth Kahn, 47, a professional entertainer who police say unwittingly received a silver 64GB iPad pilfered from the home of the Apple co-founder last month. "It's just bizarre."

Kahn's friend, Kariem McFarlin, 35, of Alameda was arrested on suspicion of breaking into Jobs' Palo Alto residence on Aug. 2.

The pair had been planning a vacation to Hawaii, and when their trip fell through, Kahn said McFarlin gave him the iPad in exchange for money he had borrowed.

"He owed me $300 for the plane tickets, so he said he had an Apple computer that he wasn't using anymore. I said fine, not having any clue what the hell was going on," Kahn told The Associated Press on Friday.

Kahn, a well-known local street performer who has also made unsuccessful bids to become mayor of Alameda and San Francisco, said he never examined the contents of the device and had no idea where it came from.

It was unclear if Jobs had ever used it.

Kahn said he downloaded Dave Brubeck's "Take Five," the "Pink Panther," and other tunes for his clowning routine, which includes magic shows and torch juggling on a unicycle.

Kahn said he played pop songs on the iPad for a few days at several San Francisco landmarks and at an Alameda street fair before police came for it. The device has been returned to the family of Jobs, who died last Oct. 5.

Apple investigators identified McFarlin after he used the stolen device to connect to his iTunes account on the Internet, police said. He acknowledged to police that he broke into Jobs' residence, as well as other homes, and wrote an apology letter to Jobs' widow, according to a police report.

The unoccupied Palo Alto home was targeted on July 17 because it was under renovation, authorities said. When construction crews left, a burglar hopped a fence and found a spare key, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

The newspaper said the thief apparently didn't realize he was in Jobs' house until he saw a letter addressed to the Silicon Valley icon.

File photo / Associated PressApple CEO Steve Jobs shows off the new iPad during an event in San Francisco, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010.

During the 15-hour overnight heist, Jobs' wallet and driver's license were taken as well as iPhones, iPads, iPods, Mac computers, champagne and $60,000 worth of Tiffany & Co. jewelry, police said.

Kahn said he met McFarlin when he coached him on a high school basketball team in Alameda more than a decade ago.

"Kariem and I used to talk about ethics all the time, so I thought we were on the same page," Kahn said. "I guess he just got desperate, and made a terrible decision."

McFarlin remained jailed on $500,000 bail and was expected to appear in court Monday. If convicted, he could face almost eight years in prison.

Kahn said he has not been questioned in the case. Law enforcement officials did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.

The Santa Clara County public defender's office, which is officially representing McFarlin, did not immediately provide comment. McFarlin has recently hired a private attorney who wants to remain anonymous until Monday's hearing.

Authorities could provide no information late last night, but had strung police tape around the multi-family building. A neighbor reported hearing gunshots and two ambulances were seen leaving the scene.

The Republican | Patrick JohnsonPolice investigate the scene at 88-90 Commonwealth Avenue late Friday where two people were shot.

The Republican | Patrick JohnsonA Springfield detective emerges from the side yard at 88-90 Commonwealth Ave. where two people were shot late Friday.

SPRINGFIELD – Police late Friday night were investigating a report that two people were shot at 88-90 Commonwealth Ave. around 11 p.m.

Authorities could provide no information late last night, but had strung police tape around the multi-family building. A neighbor reported hearing gunshots and two ambulances were seen leaving the scene.

Police at the scene seemed to concentrate on the first-floor apartment.

The incident occurred one day after Mayor Domenic J. Sarno called for a united effort to fight city crime that had resulted in the murder of Antonia Gonzales on Aug. 11 and five woundings since then.

Gonzales became the city’s seventh homicide victim in 2012 when he was shot outside a teenager’s birthday party on Bay Street. He was trying to intervene in a disturbance. A 16-year-old was charged with murder.

Also on Aug. 11 a 26-year-old man was shot in the leg at a “youth party” in Old Hill and a 23-year-old man was shot in the ankle in a drive-by in the Forest Park neighborhood.

On Tuesday evening, two people were shot outside 110 Noel St., also in Forest Park. The man and woman survived gunshot wounds to the shoulder and leg, respectively.

On Wednesday afternoon, a 19-year-old man was shot in the leg near the intersection of Maple and High streets after an argument with another man.

“This youth violence has been the scourge of urban America,” Sarno said in an interview Thursday with MassLive.com and The Republican.

Despite preventive and proactive policing in the city’s fight against crime, the mayor said the public must play a bigger role. “We can’t do it alone,” Sarno said, referring to his administration and Springfield Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet.

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Angelides, a virtual unknown, beat Villamaino in the 2010 primary for the same seat by just 284 votes; she was beaten by Democrat Brian Ashe of Longmeadow.

Enrico P. Villamaino III

EAST LONGMEADOW – Selectmen Chairman Enrico “Jack” Villamaino III left the state Friday as the town voter fraud probe continued following the search of his home three weeks before the Sept. 6 primary.

A mysterious quadrupling of absentee ballot applications and a flurry of party affiliations shuffling led state and local police to execute search warrants at Town Hall and at the home of Villamaino, a Republican running a tight race for the state representative 2nd Hampden District against Longmeadow candidate Marie Angelides.

Angelides beat Villamaino in the 2010 primary for the same seat by just 284 votes. She, in turn, was beaten by Democrat Brian Ashe, of Longmeadow, in the general election.

Enrico P. Villamaino III

State and local police executed search warrants Thursday at Town Hall, and, according to a law enforcement official, at the homes of Villamaino and Courtney Lllewlyn, a special projects manager for the town public access cable television station.

In an email obtained by The Republican, Selectman James Driscoll alerted department heads that Lllewlyln was suspended with pay on Monday in connection with the investigation. She did not return calls from a reporter Thursday or Friday.

The investigation, which now encompasses state and local police and the offices of the Hampden district attorney and secretary of the commonwealth, was triggered when 445 applications for absentee ballots poured in – four times that of the last election – and some voters’ political affiliations were changed to GOP alliances without their consent.

Even before the police searches occurred, Villamaino refused comment and has since ignored inquiries from reporters.

On Friday, a reporter visited the address he lists as his home on the state election website – 834 Somers Road – and was told by a woman who emerged in the driveway that it is his grandmother’s home.

“We don’t know where he is,” she said.

Down the street at 437 Somers Road, where law enforcement officials say Villamaino lives, no one answered the door. Another law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity said Villamaino was served the search warrant at his father’s home at 49 Kennedy Drive in Enfield, Conn.

A woman who answered the door at that address said Villamaino was staying there but wasn’t in at the moment. A car matching the make and model of Villamaino’s Honda was parked in the driveway.

Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni has said the investigation is “very active” but would not provide a timeline for when the probe may yield results.

“Investigations like this include many interviews and poring through hundreds of documents. We’re going to take it where it leads us. Their deadline is not our deadline,” Mastroianni said in a previous interview.

Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has called the situation a “brazen” attempt at voter fraud and intends to send state elections officials to East Longmeadow’s single polling site to monitor the voting process on Sept. 6.

Galvin spokesman Brian McNiff said it will be the first time in his memory that the state will send watchdogs to Western Massachusetts to monitor balloting under these circumstances.

Brown in recent days has criticized his Democratic opponent Elizabeth Warren as anti-free enterprise.

The Associated PressIn this Dec. 2011 file photo, Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., speaks with reporters at Mul's Diner in Boston. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

BOSTON (AP) — U.S. Sen. Scott Brown is trying to build on his endorsement from two national business groups by launching what he's calling a "Small Business Owners for Brown" coalition.

Brown made the announcement at C.N. Wood Co. Inc. in Woburn Friday.

In recent days, Brown has criticized his Democratic opponent Elizabeth Warren as anti-free enterprise.

The Massachusetts Republican has called Warren a "jobs destroyer" who backs $3.4 trillion in higher taxes.

Warren says Brown is distorting her proposals by including tax hikes she hasn't formally endorsed, inventing others and offering only one side of the fiscal ledger.

While Warren supports some higher taxes, her campaign says Brown is trying to come up with an artificially high total.

Romney wanted photographers to get a shot of him mingling with voters on a day otherwise totally devoted to raising millions of dollars in six closed events at Massachusetts resorts.

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney makes a stop at Millie's to talk with voters before attending a fundraising event on Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012 in Nantucket, Mass. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

By CHARLES BABINGTON, Associated Press

NANTUCKET, Mass. (AP) — Mitt Romney briefly mingled with voters in Massachusetts even though he has no hopes of winning the state in the election this fall.

The Republican presidential candidate spent 10 minutes Saturday shaking hands and posing for pictures in Millie's restaurant in Nantucket.

Romney wanted photographers to get a shot of him mingling with voters on a day otherwise totally devoted to raising millions of dollars in six closed events at Massachusetts resorts.

Romney was governor of the state, but has conceded President Barack Obama's almost certain win here in November.

Several Millie's patrons wished Romney well. But one man shouted "five years' returns."

He was alluding to Democrats' demands that Romney release five years of his tax returns instead of two.

Romney previously released his 2010 tax return and has pledged to release his 2011 returns, but said no other tax returns will be made available for public scrutiny.

The notice will stress that parents and guardians have the right to “opt out,” by signing a form if they do not want their children to have access to condoms.

SPRINGFIELD – The School Department will be contacting parents by letter and by telephone during the next two weeks to provide details of a new program that allows students ages 12 and older to have access to condoms.

The notice will stress that parents and guardians have the right to “opt out,” by signing a form if they do not want their children to have access to the program.

Helen R. Caulton-Harris

The access to condoms under the new “Comprehensive Reproductive Health Policy,” was approved by the School Committee in April by a 4-3 vote, with the aim of reducing teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted illnesses.

“We are using all forms of communication to make sure parents are aware of this policy,” said Helen R. Caulton-Harris, the city’s director of health and human services. “We strongly believe that parents are our partner in implementing this policy.”

Letters and opt-out forms will be mailed before school starts, just targeting the affected families of middle school and high school students, ages 12 and older. The opt out forms can be returned by mail or in person, or written notice can be provided any time during the year, according to the policy.

In addition, parents will be contacted by the Connect-Ed telephone system before school starts, with basic information about the new program, officials said.

Under the program that takes effect Sept. 1, condoms will be available for eligible students from school nurses at the middle schools and high schools and the school-based health clinics.

“School nurses will educate eligible students on abstinence, faithfulness, STI/HIV, pregnancy, and storage and usage of condoms,” the policy states. “Eligible students will be able to ask questions which will be answered factually and in an age-appropriate manner.”

The student would have access to one condom per visit, but there is not a limit on the number of visits, Caulton-Harris said.

Matthew H. Ferri, who was among residents who raised objections and concerns about the condom policy, praised the outreach effort.

“I applaud both the Springfield public school system and the Springfield Department of Health and Human Services for being thorough, professional and courteous with this rather provocative and difficult issue.”

Last March, Ferri said he planned to “opt out” his children from the program. He has since decided to have his twin daughters attend private school, but the decision was not related to the condom issue, he said.

The Comprehensive Reproductive Health policy will be included in the student-parent handbook given to students the first week of school, said Azell Cavaan, director of communications for the Springfield Public Schools.

The implementation plan was jointly drafted by the School Department and the Springfield Adolescent Sexual Health Advisory council, Cavaan said.

School nurses will be provided with detailed information about the condom policy and procedures during a professional development day on Tuesday, Caulton-Harris said. That will include “making sure the nurses are comfortable answering questions and clear about the policy and the process,” she said.

“Obviously our hope has been that we decrease the teen birth rate in city of Springfield, and we increase the high school graduation rates,” Caulton-Harris said. “We believe those two factors are tied together.”

Three Rivers Fire Chief Patrick J. O’Connor, who is retiring at the end of the year after 41 years with the department, said “there have been some great chiefs before me” and praised his firefighters.

PALMER – The Three Rivers Fire Department celebrated its 100th anniversary at Pulaski Park on Saturday with a chicken barbecue and music.

State Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre; state Rep. Todd M. Smola, R-Palmer; and District 4 Town Councilor Donald Blais Jr. all delivered citations to the department, in recognition of the milestone. Palmer Fire Chief Alan J. Roy also presented a plaque.

Brewer praised the courage of firefighters, who risk their lives by entering burning buildings to save lives. He told the young firefighters to learn from the older members.

“Thank you for carrying on the spirit of this fire department,” Brewer said.

He closed with God bless and “stolat,” which means “100 years” and is from a traditional Polish song, an appropriate sentiment as Pulaski Park is known as the “polka capital of New England.”

Smola has lived his whole life in Three Rivers.

“It’s great to see so many people here in Three Rivers, the capital of the town of Palmer,” Smola said.

Blais, who represents the village on the Town Council, praised the fire department, which is primarily volunteer.

“We have such a dedicated fire department that risks their lives every day on our behalf,” Blais said.

Three Rivers Fire Chief Patrick J. O’Connor, who is retiring at the end of the year after 41 years with the department, said “there have been some great chiefs before me” and praised his firefighters.

“I look good because of the guys under me,” O’Connor said.

O’Connor is the department’s ninth chief. It has 32 call firefighters.

Approximately 200 people turned out for the event.

Michael Courchesne, who moved to Florida last year, came back specifically for the anniversary celebration. Courchesne was on the department for 10 years, and was the department driver.

“I wouldn’t have missed it. It’s all about the department. It’s the best department I’ve ever been associated with,” Courchesne said.

There are three fire departments in Palmer: Palmer, Three Rivers and Bondsville.

City Council President James J. Ferrera Jr. said he also is concerned about the recent violence, and said citizens need to get involved in their community and report crime.

The Republican I Patrick JohnsonPolice investigate the scene at 88-90 Commonwealth Ave. in Springfield late Friday where two people were shot.

SPRINGFIELD – With seven people shot and one man killed in less than a week, the mayor said officials will “utilize everything at our disposal to quell this recent spike of gang, drug and gun violence.”

“Youth violence . . . It is the scourge of urban America,” Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said Saturday, a day after a shooting outside 90 Commonwealth Ave. that left one man with a bullet in his head, and another man shot in his leg.

Sarno, who said he lives about three blocks from where the shooting took place, said he was at the scene early Saturday morning.

“It seems to be a home invasion that is drug- and gang-related. It’s not a random act. Police are working it hard,” Sarno said.

Sarno said he will talk to Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet on Monday about the spike in violence. He said he would like to see an increased state police presence, to work alongside city police. Sarno said he would more of a “pronounced attack” in the lower Forest Park neighborhood.

Arrests have been made in the majority of the cases, but Sarno said he needs the community and parents “to step up and say they are not going to tolerate this in their neighborhood.” Earlier this week, Sarno called for a united effort to fight city crime.

City Council President James J. Ferrera Jr. said he also is concerned about the recent violence, and said citizens need to get involved in their community and report crime.

“It appears to be an unusual uptick in crime. Hopefully it will subside,” Ferrera said. “However, we must do more to address violent crime in our city.”

Ferrera said he wants to encourage more neighborhood crime watches in smaller areas, such as block by block, and focus on how police are being deployed.

“Finally there needs to be greater communication and feedback from both the Police Department and the neighborhood councils on what we can do to make our neighborhoods safer,” Ferrera said.

In the most recent incident on Friday night, the men were shot just before 11 p.m.

Police Sgt. John M. Delaney said two masked subjects entered the apartment with guns and investigators consider it a possible drug-related home invasion. The victims’ names have not been released and police say witnesses described two Hispanic males fleeing the scene on foot.

The victim who suffered a bullet wound to the head is in critical but stable condition. The second victim also is in stable condition, Delaney said.

The alleged ambush took place as Officer Darren Nguyen was headed into work for the midnight shift and heard the shots and the call come out over his portable radio.

“He was first on the scene right away to render first aid and secure the witnesses and crime scene,” Delaney said.

Police had strung tape around a multi-family building next door, at 88-90 Commonwealth Ave., Friday night and appeared to be concentrating on the first-floor unit.

No arrests have been made. Lt. Thomas Kennedy and Det. Timothy Kenney along with other members of the Robbery and Homicide Unit have been working around the clock to find the shooters, Delaney said.

Anyone with more information should call the Detective Bureau at (413) 787-6355 or text-a-tip.

Antonio Gonzales, 38, the city’s seventh homicide victim, was murdered on Aug. 11, after he was shot on Bay Street outside a teenager’s birthday party. Joshua Pena, 16, has been charged with his murder.

Also on Aug. 11, a 26-year-old man was shot in the leg at a “youth party” in Old Hill and a 23-year-old man was shot in the ankle in a drive-by in the Forest Park neighborhood.

On Tuesday evening, two people were shot outside 110 Noel St., also in Forest Park. The man and woman survived gunshot wounds to the shoulder and leg, respectively.

On Wednesday afternoon, a 19-year-old man was shot in the leg near the intersection of Maple and High streets after an argument with another man.

The shootings remain under investigation.

Staff writer Stephanie Barry contributed to this story.

Clear and cool overnight. Sunny and seasonal for Sunday.

Clouds decreased throughout this afternoon as an area of high pressure is moving in behind last night's system. This will keep our skies clear tonight and temperatures take a refreshing dip into the lower-50s overnight.

Another mostly sunny and very comfortable afternoon is expected for Sunday as well. High pressure will maintain control, and high temperatures will settle near 80 degrees. Light northerly flow around this high will also keep the humidity levels very low tomorrow...dewpoints flirting with the 40s!

On Monday, a weak system will be moving into the region, which may trigger a late-day scattered shower. Other than that, most of the week will be dry and offer plenty of sunshine under a very quiet weather pattern. Temperatures will stay very steady and very seasonal...the expected highs in Springfield only ranging from 79 to 82 degrees throughout the entire workweek.

Tonight: Clear skies, cool, low 52.

Sunday: Sunny and comfortable, high 81.

Monday: Partly cloudy, a scattered shower late in the day, high 81.

Tuesday: Mix of clouds and sun, a touch of humidity, high 79.