The Minutemen haven't had an official team skate since a Dec. 11 loss to Yale.

The UMass hockey team returned to practice Thursday in preparation for the Ledyard Bank Classic at Dartmouth, which begins Sunday. J. Anthony Roberts  

AMHERST — When University of Massachusetts hockey coach John Micheletto looked around the locker room after nearly two full weeks away from his team, he was pleased with what he saw.

“Looking around the locker room, nobody looks like they packed 12 pounds on over the break,” Micheletto quipped. “Our guys are diligent enough to know what they need to do to stay in shape.”

His team returned to practice Thursday for the first time since a Dec. 11 loss at Yale — the team’s third straight before it broke for final exams and the holidays.

Players traveled near and far to return home. Senior captain Kevin Czepiel took a short drive down I-91 to Holyoke, and though he spent time skating at Amherst College to stay in shape, he said that obviously wasn’t the same as a full-team practice.

“You have to push yourself. It’s a little more about committing yourself to doing stuff and getting out there and not just fooling around,” Czepiel said. “You’re not going to get the quality of skates that you’re going to get here during the season.”

Junior forward and leading scorer Branden Gracel had a little farther to go — flying cross-continent to his native Calgary, where he spent the break playing pond hockey and working out.

“Within a ten minute span of my house, there’s probably ten rinks,” Gracel said. “Me and my buddies just go out and it’s kind of nice, because it’s more casual than a real practice. You can kind of make mistakes and just have fun.”

Though Micheletto joked about his players putting on weight during the break, he was never really concerned that anyone would show up completely out of shape.

“You’re at a point in the development of college athletics that that’s not a concern. If you’ve got committed players, which we do, and you’re a Division I athlete, you know what the routine is, you know what your responsibilities are,” he said. “When I was in college, that was probably more of a concern.”

Micheletto spent the time off recruiting as well as reviewing plenty of video of his current squad.

“Now that you’re kind of out of the battle, you jot down some notes and thoughts,” he said. “You’ve got an opportunity to reflect a little bit more.”

While Micheletto said he didn’t come to any grand revelations, he did identify quite a few areas for his team to work on, citing a lack of conversion on scoring opportunities and slow puck movement as two problem points for his team in the first half.

Another factor Micheletto mentioned that was missing was consistency, a sentiment Gracel echoed.

“We’ll just not show up for sometimes for a whole period or a shift, and that will kill us because everybody’s so good in college hockey, when you make a mistake, they’re going to score on it,” Gracel said. “We need to limit the amount of mistakes we make and just be more consistent all around.”

Micheletto said Thursday’s initial practice would be focused on getting the team’s legs back under it, and that he would ramp up more special teams and systems work Friday before departing Saturday for the Ledyard Bank Classic in Hanover, N.H.

“(Thursday) is about renewing habits and making sure we’re focused on the fact that we’re back and not on break,” he said.

That meant plenty of skating, but Gracel said he and his teammates were prepared for it.

“This week will be tough. We all know that, but we’ve got to prepare for the two games coming this weekend, so we’ve got to get after it,” Gracel said. “I think everybody’s excited about it. We all just want to get the season going again and get started with the games.”

The Minutemen take on Bemidji State on Sunday, then will face either No. 2 New Hampshire or the tournament’s host, No. 10 Dartmouth on Monday.

Thorpe was required to gather at least 40 signatures to file for a recount.

Angela Thorpe  

EAST LONGMEADOW - Angela Thorpe, the candidate who lost out on a seat on the Board of Selectmen by a dozen votes during a special election on Dec. 18, has submitted the required signatures to secure a recount.

Town Clerk Thomas Florence said he will certify the signatures Thorpe collected to support her petition for a recount. She was required to gather 10 in each of the town's four voting precincts.

Thorpe, a small business owner, said she will opt for a hand recount because a sticker campaign for another seat on the board could have confused some voters who wanted to vote for her, but juxtaposed the races.

Debra Boronski beat write-in candidate Bryan Doe for former selectman Enrico Villamaino's seat, set to expire in April 2014.

"I want to be sure of what the voter's intent was," Thorpe said, "But I want to thank all the voters of East Longmeadow no matter who they voted for."

The candidate who beat her, Peter Punderson, a former oil company owner, said Thorpe is entitled to the recount.

"She deserves to have one. She worked hard and she got a lot a votes and if that’s what she feels she needs to do, I have no problem with it," Punderson said.

Punderson won 836 votes to Thorpe's 824.

The recount will cap a wild ride in elections for the town. Selectman James Driscoll announced his intention to resign after 14 years over the summer, citing work pressures. The late summer brought a ballot tampering scandal that caused chairman Enrico "Jack" Villamaino III to abruptly resign after his home and Town Hall offices were raided by state and local police.

Villamaino was vying to be the Republican candidate for the 2nd Hampden District state representative seat and came under investigation for allegedly pilfering hundreds of absentee ballots from the Town Hall and switching voters' affiliations - presumably to cast them in his favor. Villamaino and his wife, Courtney Llewellyn, a town employee, have since been charged with dozens of counts of voter fraud in Hampden Superior Court.

The back-to-back resignations left the three-member board with a single member, Paul Federici. Rather than limping along with a solo selectman, town officials opted for two special elections. The field was culled down by a run-off in November.

Thorpe ran against Punderson for Driscoll's seat, set to expire in April.

Punderson fired his campaign manager, Carol Johnston, after she made a comment on election night about the number of votes Thorpe won possibly being attributed to black voters coming out to the polls: "just like with Obama ... they come out to vote just because he's black."

Thorpe said both Johnston and Punderson apologized to her for the comment after a story ran about it in The Republican and on MassLive.com.

In an interview on Thursday, Thorpe said she wants to bring closure to the issue and focus on the recount, plus running for the seat anew in April.

Punderson also said he intends to run for re-election. The deadline to submit nomination papers for that election is Jan. 29.

Florence said he estimates the recount in the Thorpe-Punderson contest will take place late next week. State law requires that he give 72 hours advance notice before setting the date. The public is entitled to attend. It will unfold at Town Hall at 60 Center Square in the Board of Selectmen hearing room.

A much-decorated combat soldier in Vietnam, Schwarzkopf was known popularly as “Stormin’ Norman” for a notoriously explosive temper.

U.S. Army Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf points to row of photos of Kuwait's Ahmadi Sea Island Terminal on fire after a U.S. attack on the facility in 1991. Schwarzkopf died Thursday in Tampa, Fla. He was 78. Associated Press / Laurent Rebours  

By RICHARD PYLE
and LOLITA C. BALDOR

WASHINGTON – Retired Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, who topped an illustrious military career by commanding the U.S.-led international coalition that drove Saddam Hussein’s forces out of Kuwait in 1991 but kept a low public profile in controversies over the second Gulf War against Iraq, died Thursday. He was 78.

Schwarzkopf died in Tampa, Fla., where he had lived in retirement, according to a U.S. official, who was not authorized to release the information publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

A much-decorated combat soldier in Vietnam, Schwarzkopf was known popularly as “Stormin’ Norman” for a notoriously explosive temper.

He served in his last military assignment in Tampa as commander-in-chief of U.S. Central Command, the headquarters responsible for U.S. military and security concerns in nearly 20 countries from the eastern Mediterranean and Africa to Pakistan.

Schwarzkopf became “CINC-Centcom” in 1988 and when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait three years later to punish it for allegedly stealing Iraqi oil reserves, he commanded Operation Desert Storm, the coalition of some 30 countries organized by then-President George H.W. Bush that succeeded in driving the Iraqis out.

At the peak of his postwar national celebrity, Schwarzkopf – a self-proclaimed political independent – rejected suggestions that he run for office, and remained far more private than other generals, although he did serve briefly as a military commentator for NBC.

While focused primarily in his later years on charitable enterprises, he campaigned for President George W. Bush in 2000 but was ambivalent about the 2003 invasion of Iraq, saying he doubted victory would be as easy as the White House and Pentagon predicted. In early 2003 he told the Washington Post the outcome was an unknown:

“What is postwar Iraq going to look like, with the Kurds and the Sunnis and the Shiites? That’s a huge question, to my mind. It really should be part of the overall campaign plan,” he said.

Initially Schwarzkopf had endorsed the invasion, saying he was convinced that former Secretary of State Colin Powell had given the United Nations powerful evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. After that proved false, he said decisions to go to war should depend on what U.N. weapons inspectors found.

He seldom spoke up during the conflict, but in late 2004, he sharply criticized then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the Pentagon for mistakes that included inadequate training for Army reservists sent to Iraq and for erroneous judgments about Iraq.

“In the final analysis I think we are behind schedule. ... I don’t think we counted on it turning into jihad (holy war),” he said in an NBC interview.

Schwarzkopf was born Aug. 24, 1934, in Trenton, N.J., where his father, Col. H. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., founder and commander of the New Jersey State Police, was then leading the investigation of the Lindbergh kidnap case, which ended with the arrest and 1936 execution of German-born carpenter Richard Hauptmann for stealing and murdering the famed aviator’s infant son.

The elder Schwarzkopf was named Herbert, but when the son was asked what his “H” stood for, he would reply, “H.” Although reputed to be short-tempered with aides and subordinates, he was a friendly, talkative and even jovial figure who didn’t like “Stormin’ Norman” and preferred to be known as “the Bear,” a sobriquet given him by troops.

He also was outspoken at times, including when he described Gen. William Westmoreland, the U.S. commander in Vietnam, as “a horse’s ass” in an Associated Press interview.

As a teenager Norman accompanied his father to Iran, where the elder Schwarzkopf trained the country’s national police force and was an adviser to Reza Pahlavi, the young Shah of Iran.

Young Norman studied there and in Switzerland, Germany and Italy, then followed in his father’s footsteps to West Point, graduating in 1956 with an engineering degree. After stints in the U.S. and abroad, he earned a master’s degree in engineering at the University of Southern California and later taught missile engineering at West Point.

In 1966 he volunteered for Vietnam and served two tours, first as a U.S. adviser to South Vietnamese paratroops and later as a battalion commander in the U.S. Army’s Americal Division. He earned three Silver Stars for valor – including one for saving troops from a minefield – plus a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and three Distinguished Service Medals.

While many career officers left military service embittered by Vietnam, Schwarzkopf was among those who opted to stay and help rebuild the tattered Army into a potent, modernized all-volunteer force.

After Saddam invaded Kuwait in August 1990, Schwarzkopf played a key diplomatic role by helping to persuade Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd to allow U.S. and other foreign troops to deploy on Saudi territory as a staging area for the war to come.

On Jan. 17, 1991, a five-month buildup called Desert Shield became Operation Desert Storm as allied aircraft attacked Iraqi bases and Baghdad government facilities. The six-week aerial campaign climaxed with a massive ground offensive on Feb. 24-28, routing the Iraqis from Kuwait in 100 hours before U.S. officials called a halt.

Schwarzkopf said afterward he agreed with Bush’s decision to stop the war rather than drive to Baghdad to capture Saddam, as his mission had been only to oust the Iraqis from Kuwait.

But in a desert tent meeting with vanquished Iraqi generals, he allowed a key concession on Iraq’s use of helicopters, which later backfired by enabling Saddam to crack down more easily on rebellious Shiites and Kurds.

While he later avoided the public second-guessing by academics and think tank experts over the ambiguous outcome of Gulf War I and its impact on Gulf War II, he told the Washington Post in 2003, “You can’t help but... with 20/20 hindsight, go back and say, ‘Look, had we done something different, we probably wouldn’t be facing what we are facing today.’”

After retiring from the Army in 1992, Schwarzkopf wrote a best-selling autobiography, “It Doesn’t Take A Hero.” Of his Gulf war role, he said, “I like to say I’m not a hero. I was lucky enough to lead a very successful war.” He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and honored with decorations from France, Britain, Belgium, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain.

Schwarzkopf was a national spokesman for prostate cancer awareness and for Recovery of the Grizzly Bear, served on the Nature Conservancy board of governors and was active in various charities for chronically ill children.

“I may have made my reputation as a general in the Army and I’m very proud of that,” he once told the AP. “But I’ve always felt that I was more than one-dimensional. I’d like to think I’m a caring human being. ... It’s nice to feel that you have a purpose.”

Schwarzkopf and his wife, Brenda, had three children: Cynthia, Jessica and Christian.

The development capped a day of growing urgency in which Obama returned early from a Hawaiian vacation while lawmakers snarled across a partisan divide over responsibility for gridlock on key pocketbook issues.

President Barack Obama walks past a Marine honor guard as he steps off the Marine One helicopter and walks on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012, as he returned early from his Hawaii vacation for meetings on the fiscal cliff. Associated Press  

DAVID ESPO

WASHINGTON — A deadline looming, President Barack Obama will meet with congressional leaders at the White House on Friday in search of a compromise to avoid a year-end "fiscal cliff" of across-the-board tax increases and deep spending cuts.

The development capped a day of growing urgency in which Obama returned early from a Hawaiian vacation while lawmakers snarled across a partisan divide over responsibility for gridlock on key pocketbook issues. Speaker John Boehner called the House back into session for a highly unusual Sunday evening session.

Adding to the woes confronting the middle class was a pending spike of $2 per gallon or more in milk prices if lawmakers failed to pass farm legislation by year's end.

Four days before the deadline, the White House disputed reports that Obama was sending lawmakers a scaled-down plan to avoid the fiscal cliff of tax increases and spending cuts.

Administration officials confirmed the Friday meeting at the White House in a bare-bones announcement that said the president would "host a meeting."

An aide to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said the Kentucky lawmaker "is eager to hear from the president."

A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner issued a statement that said the Ohio Republican would attend and "continue to stress that the House has already passed legislation to avert the entire fiscal cliff and now the Senate must act."

While there was no guarantee of a compromise, Republicans and Democrats said privately elements of any agreement would likely include an extension of middle class tax cuts with increased rates at upper incomes as well as cancellation of the scheduled spending cuts. An extension of expiring unemployment benefits, a reprieve for doctors who face a cut in Medicare payments and possibly a short-term measure to prevent dairy prices from soaring could also become part of a year-end bill, they said.

That would postpone politically contentious disputes over spending cuts for 2013.

Top Senate leaders said they remain ready to seek a last-minute agreement. Yet there was no legislation pending and no sign of negotiations in either the House or the Senate on a bill to prevent the tax hikes and spending cuts that economists say could send the economy into a recession.

Far from conciliatory, the rhetoric was confrontational and at times unusually personal.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., accused Boehner of running a dictatorship, citing his refusal to call a vote on legislation to keep taxes steady for most while letting them rise at upper incomes. The bill "would pass overwhelmingly," Reid predicted, and said the Ohio Republican won't change his mind because he fears it might cost him re-election as speaker when the new Congress convenes next week.

Boehner seems "to care more about keeping his speakership than keeping the nation on a firm financial footing," he said in remarks on the Senate floor.

A few hours later, McConnell expressed frustration and blamed the standoff on Obama and the Democrats. "Republicans have bent over backwards. We stepped way, way out of our comfort zone," he said, referring to GOP offers to accept higher tax rates on some taxpayers.

"We wanted an agreement, but we had no takers. The phone never rang, and so here we are five days from the new year and we might finally start talking," McConnell said.

Still, he warned: "Republicans aren't about to write a blank check for anything the Democrats put forward just because we find ourselves at the edge of the cliff."

Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Boehner, responded in a similar vein to Reid's comments. "Harry Reid should talk less and legislate more if he wants to avert the fiscal cliff. The House has already passed legislation to do so," he said, referring to a measure that extends existing cuts at all income levels.

Addressing the GOP rank and file by conference call, Boehner said the next move is up to the Senate, which has yet to act on House-passed bills to retain expiring tax cuts at all income levels and replace across-the-board spending cuts with targeted savings aimed largely at social programs.

"The House will take this action on whatever the Senate can pass - but the Senate must act," he said, according to a participant in the call.

Boehner told Republican lawmakers the House would convene on Sunday evening. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., an ally of the speaker, quoted him as having said "he didn't really intend to put on the floor something that would pass with all the Democratic votes and few of the Republican votes."

The risk of higher milk prices stems from the possibility that existing farm programs will expire at year's end, and neither chamber of Congress has scheduled a vote on even a temporary extension to prevent a spike. There have been unverified estimates that the cost to consumers of a gallon of milk could double without action by Congress.

The president flew home from Hawaii overnight after speaking with top congressional leaders.

Before leaving the White House last Friday, the president had called on lawmakers to pass scaled-down legislation that prevents tax increases for the middle class, raises rates at upper incomes and renews expiring unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless. He said he still supports a more sweeping measure to include spending cuts to reduce deficits, but said they could wait until the new year.

That capped an unpredictable week in which Boehner pivoted away from comprehensive deficit reduction talks with Obama to an aborted attempt to push legislation through the House that retained existing tax levels except above $1 million. Anti-tax Republicans rebelled at raising rates on million-dollar earners, and Boehner backpedaled and canceled the planned vote.

Without congressional action, current tax rates will expire on Dec. 31, resulting in a $536 billion tax increase over a decade that would touch nearly all Americans. In addition, the military and other federal departments would have to begin absorbing about $110 billion in spending cuts.

Failure to avoid the "fiscal cliff" doesn't necessarily mean tax increases and spending cuts would become permanent, since the new Congress could pass legislation cancelling them retroactively after it begins its work next year.

But gridlock through the end of the year would mark a sour beginning to a two-year extension of divided government that resulted from last month's elections in which Obama won a new term and Republicans retained their majority in the House.

The tax issue in particular has been Obama's first test of muscle after his re-election in November. He ran for a new term calling for higher taxes on the wealthy, and postelection public opinion polls show continued support for his position.

Boehner's decision to support higher rates on million-dollar earners marked a significant break with long-standing GOP orthodoxy, but the resistance among his rank and file so far has trumped him as well as any mandate the president claims.

here are signs the economy is improving. The once-battered housing market is recovering, which should lead to more construction jobs in the coming months.

In this Friday, Dec. 7, 2012, photo, a help wanted sign is posted on the front window of a clothing boutique in Los Angeles.The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell sharply for a fourth straight week, a sign that the job market may be improving. Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The average number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits over the past month fell to the lowest level since March 2008, a sign that the job market is healing.

The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly applications dropped 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 350,000 in the week ended Dec. 22. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, fell to a nearly five-year low of 356,750.

Still, the Christmas holiday may have distorted the figures. A department spokesman said many state unemployment offices were closed Monday and Tuesday and could not provide exact data. That forced the government to rely on estimates. Normally, the government might estimate application data for one or two states. Last week, it had to use estimates for 19.

The estimates are usually fairly accurate, the spokesman said. Even so, the government will likely revise the figures by more than normal next week.

Weekly applications are a proxy for layoffs. They have mostly fluctuated this year between 360,000 and 390,000. At the same time, employers have added an average of 151,000 jobs a month in the first 11 months of 2012. That's just enough to slowly reduce the unemployment rate.

Economists were mildly encouraged by the decline in applications. But they emphasized that the figures are volatile around the holidays. They were also distorted until recent weeks by Superstorm Sandy.

Many expect next week's jobs report to show that employers added about 150,000 jobs in December.

The decline in unemployment benefit applications suggests companies are not yet slashing jobs because of concerns over the "fiscal cliff." That's the name for sharp tax increases and spending cuts that are scheduled to take effect next week unless the Obama administration and Congress can reach a deal before then.

Still, unemployment remains high and companies are reluctant to ramp up hiring. The unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent in November from 7.9 percent in October mostly because many of the unemployed stopped looking for jobs. The government counts people as unemployed only if they are actively searching for work.

Negotiations between President Barack Obama and House Republican leaders on a package to avoid the fiscal cliff stalemated last week. Obama and congressional lawmakers return to Washington Thursday with just days to go before the deadline.

The total number of people receiving benefits rose 73,000 to 5.48 million in the week ended Dec. 8, the latest data available.

That includes about 2.1 million people who have been out of work for at least six months and are receiving extended benefits paid for by the federal government. The program is ending at the end of the year. That means those recipients will receive their final checks next week, unless an extension is granted.

Obama wants an extension included in the budget deal. Republicans have yet to agree to that.

There are signs the economy is improving. The once-battered housing market is recovering, which should lead to more construction jobs in the coming months. Companies ordered more long-lasting manufactured goods in November, a sign they are investing more in equipment and software. And Americans spent more in November. Consumer spending drives nearly 70 percent of economic growth.

While a short fall over the cliff won't push the economy into recession, most economists expect some tax increases to take effect next year. That could slow growth.

Consumers are starting to worry about higher taxes. A measure of consumer confidence fell to a five-month low this month, a survey released Friday found. And reports show the holiday shopping season was the weakest since 2008, when the country was in a deep recession.

The report said their complaint alleged that the opposition leaders were "duping simple Egyptians to rise against legitimacy and were inciting against the president," which constitutes treason.

In this Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012 file photo, released by the Egyptian Presidency, Nobel Peace Prize winner and head of the opposition Egyptian Constitution political party, Mohamed ElBaradei, left, meets with Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, in Cairo, Egypt. An Egyptian official says the country’s top prosecutor has ordered an investigation into accusations against opposition leaders, Mohammed ElBaradei, Amr Moussa, and Hamdeen Sabahi, of inciting the overthrow of Egypt's first elected president, Mohammed Morsi. Associated Press  

SARAH EL DEEB

CAIRO — Egypt's chief prosecutor ordered an investigation on Thursday into allegations that opposition leaders committed treason by inciting supporters to overthrow Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

The probe by a Morsi-appointed prosecutor was launched a day after the president called for a dialogue with the opposition to heal rifts opened in the bitter fight over an Islamist-drafted constitution just approved in a referendum. The opposition decried the investigation as a throwback to Hosni Mubarak's regime, when the law was used to smear and silence opponents.

The probe was almost certain to sour the already tense political atmosphere in the country.

The allegations were made initially in a complaint by at least two lawyers sent to the chief prosecutor earlier this month. They targeted opposition leaders Mohammed ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace laureate and former head of the U.N. nuclear agency, former Foreign Minister Amr Moussa, and Hamdeen Sabahi. Both Moussa and Sabahi were presidential candidates who competed against Morsi in the last election.

There was no immediate comment by any of the three opposition leaders named but the opposition dismissed the allegations.

Emad Abu Ghazi, secretary-general of the opposition party ElBaradei heads, said the investigation was "an indication of a tendency toward a police state and the attempt to eliminate political opponents." He said the ousted Mubarak regime dealt with the opposition in the same way.

Mubarak jailed his opponents, including liberals and Islamists. International rights groups said their trials did not meet basic standards of fairness.

ElBaradei was a leading figure behind the uprising against Mubarak and at one point, he was allied with the Brotherhood against the old regime.

The investigation does not necessarily mean charges will be filed against the leaders. But it is unusual for state prosecutors to investigate such broad charges against high-profile figures.

Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president, asked the opposition on Wednesday to join a national dialogue to heal rifts and move on after a month of huge street protests against him and the constitution drafted by his allies.

Some of the protests erupted into deadly violence. On Dec. 5, anti-Morsi demonstrators staging a sit-in outside the presidential palace in Cairo were attacked by Morsi supporters. Fierce clashes ensued that left 10 people dead.

The wave of protests began after Morsi's Nov. 22 decrees that gave him and the assembly writing the constitution immunity from judicial oversight. That allowed his Islamist allies on the assembly to hurriedly rush through the charter before an expected court ruling dissolving the panel.

After the decrees, the opposition accused Morsi of amassing too much power in his hands. They said the constitution was drafted without the participation of liberal, minority Christian and women members of the assembly, who walked out in protest at the last minute.

Even though the constitution passed in a referendum, the opposition has vowed to keep fighting it. They say it enshrines Islamic law in Egypt, undermines rights of minorities and women, and restricts freedoms.

Morsi and Brotherhood officials accused the opposition of working to undermine the president's legitimacy, and accused former regime officials of working to topple him.

Although he reached out to the opposition for reconciliation, Morsi did not offer any concessions in his speech Wednesday calling for a dialogue.

On Wednesday Morsi asked his prime minister to carry out a limited reshuffle of his government, without offering the opposition any seats.

In an apparent protest against the decision to keep the same prime minister, the minister of parliamentary affairs resigned. A member of his Islamist party said Prime Minister Hesham Kandil has not lived up to the challenges of the previous period, and a stronger, more political prime minister should be nominated.

This is the second resignation of a Cabinet minister this week and follows a spate of resignations of senior aides and advisers during the constitutional crisis.

Details of the complaint filed by the two lawyers were carried on the website of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic fundamentalist group that has become Egypt's most powerful political faction since the 2011 uprising.

The report said their complaint alleged that the opposition leaders were "duping simple Egyptians to rise against legitimacy and were inciting against the president," which constitutes treason.

Yara Khalaf, a spokeswoman for Moussa, said there were no official charges and he had not been summoned for investigation. But she declined to comment on the accusations.

Heba Yassin, a spokesman for the Popular Current headed by Sabahi, said Sabahi faced similar charges under Mubarak and his predecessor. She dismissed them as fabrications and an attempt to smear his reputation and silence the opposition.

"Morsi is confirming that he is following the same policies of Mubarak in repressing his opponents and trying to smear their reputation through false accusations," Yassin said.

"Also this is evidence of what we had warned about — the judiciary and the prosecutor-general must be independent and not appointed by the president," she said. "He is a Morsi appointee and this is where his loyalty lies and he is now implementing orders to eliminate the opposition."

The chief prosecutor, Talaat Abdullah, was appointed by Morsi at the height of the political tension over the constitution. He could not be immediately reached for comment.

Morsi's Nov. 22 presidential decrees appointed Abdullah to replace the chief prosecutor who was a holdover from the Mubarak regime. The judiciary protested the move, seeing it as trampling of its authority to choose the chief prosecutor.

The Supreme Judicial Council, the country's highest judicial authority, asked Abdullah to step down Wednesday because he was appointed by the president.

Human Rights lawyer Bahy Eddin Hassan said the fact that the chief prosecutor has asked for an investigation meant he is taking the accusations by the lawyers seriously.

Abdullah asked a judge to conduct the investigation, the state news agency reported.

Hassan said this was an attempt to show that the investigation is independent. However the judiciary, like the rest of the country, is divided between supporters and opponents of Morsi and the Brotherhood.

"This is the beginning of a series of events where the judiciary will be used to settle political scores with opponents," Hassan said. "This is not a new policy. But it is new that a regime that is just starting out uses such tools."

With an economic crisis and unpopular austerity measures looming in Egypt, Hassan said: "The regime wants to keep the opposition busy with its legal battles."

A second storm on Saturday is expected to bring 1-2 inches of snow. Watch video

The first major snowstorm of the season caused accidents during the Thursday morning commute and slippery conditions in the evening as wet roads froze, but it also attracted many to the ski slopes.

Between 8 and 10 inches of snow fell on Blandford Ski Area in the Hilltowns. The area opened on Dec. 26 for the first time with four trails covered in man-made snow. The snow the next day allowed operators to open four more trails and families on vacation for the Christmas holiday started arriving.

“We have seen a large increase of people today with a lot of new families coming up,” said Anna Pac, the general manager. “We are getting a lot of new beginners. It is great to see everyone so excited.”

After a warm start to the winter, the new snow was welcome at Blandford. Still the area will continue to make snow so it can open more trails and build up its base.

The storm was a gift especially since it came in one of the busiest times of the year for skiing. But areas will get more help over the next week or so since winter seems to be here to stay, said Mike Skurko, meteorologist with CBS 3, media partner of The Republican and MassLive.com.

 

The storm that started Wednesday and stayed through Thursday brought a varied snowfall with Heath receiving the most in Western Massachusetts with 10 inches of snow. Charlemont received 9 inches, Greenfield saw 7 inches and Holyoke saw 6 inches. Rain mixed more with snow in more southern communities bringing totals down to 5 inches for Ludlow and 4 inches for West Springfield and Palmer, Skurko said.

A number of meetings and events were canceled because of the storm and communities called for parking bans so plows could clear the streets.

“The ski areas got a good share of what they wanted,” he said.

A second storm is expected to come through on Saturday afternoon but it will be minor, bringing 1 to 2 inches in the area. That will be followed by cold temperatures with high in the 20s and overnight lows in the teens for New Year's Eve, Skurko said.

Mount Snow ski area in West Dover, Vt., located about 80 miles north of Springfield, received the “mother lode” of snow from the storm. Around 3:30 p.m., 17 inches was measured at the base of the mountain, totals were higher on the peak and it was still snowing, said David Meeker, communications manager.

“This was more than we expected. Any more would be fantastic,” he said.

 

The ski patrol spent the day opening trails and preparing for a busy weekend. Hotel rooms at the mountain were mostly sold out from Friday night through New Year's Eve, Meeker said.

“In the ski area there is a saying that snow brings people and people have time off now during winter break,” he said.

Despite the snowfall there were limited problems with accidents and no motorists were seriously injured, said Trooper Kenneth Gaetz of the Massachusetts State Police.

At 4 a.m. Thursday, 10 accidents had been reported on state highways from Palmer to the Berkshires. There were a number of minor crashes later in the morning, he said.

“State police on the (Interstate) I-91 corridor were held over on the midnight shift to the assist the day shift with the number of motor vehicle crashes in the commuter hours,” Gaetz said.

The biggest concern Thursday night was temperatures were expected to fall and freezing was likely on the roadways, he said.

“Plowing and spreading of (sand and salt) is still ongoing,” state Department of Transportation spokesman Michael Verseckes said Thursday night.

In the Springfield area a total of 68 different pieces of equipment were being used to treat the roads Thursday night and in the Berkshires and Franklin county, where snow totals were higher, there were 95 pieces of equipment being worked.

At the peak of the storm at about 2 a.m. Thursday there were 1,200 trucks sanding, salting and plowing statewide, he said.

Two years ago, the federal government cut Social Security withholding taxes by two percentage points in hopes of stimulating consumer spending and thus the economy in general. For wage earners, the tax on income went from 6.2 percent on income to 4.2 percent.

Stephen E. Sugermeyer, Rodney D. McCorkill and Daniel W. Polachek, from left, are among the financial advisers who are concerned about the looming effects of going over the so-called "fiscal cliff.:  

SPRINGFIELD – Americans will feel the initial jolt of the fiscal cliff in their first paycheck of the new year, according to local tax experts.

Two years ago, the federal government cut Social Security withholding taxes by 2 percentage points in hopes of stimulating consumer spending and thus the economy in general. For wage earners, the tax on income went from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent.

“So people have been recognizing a net increase in their take-home pay. They can kiss that goodbye,” said Stephen E. Sugermeyer, a professional educator in accounting at Western New England University and an accountant at Gauthier & Sugermeyer in Ludlow.

If it isn’t averted by Jan. 1, the fiscal cliff means a $500 billion increase in all federal taxes, according to the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington. That works out to an average of about $3,500 a household. Middle-income households making $40,000 to $64,000 will see an increase of nearly $2,000.

Nearly 90 percent of all households will see some tax increase, according to the Tax Policy Center.

“I think it will make a difference to just about everyone,” said

As Rodney D. McCorkill, tax director at the accounting firm Moriarty & Primack in Springfield explained it, all the tax policies of the Bush era go away. That means instead of having a set of tax brackets that today range from 10 percent to 35 percent, the tax brackets revert to the Clinton-era 15 percent to 39.6 percent

“All of the brackets would ratchet up several percentage points,” McCorkill said.

Other tax increases will impact, among other things, capital gains from the sale of assets like stocks.

Tax credits for education and corporate research and development will also go away.

But most of that will be for the 2013 tax year, the year where returns aren’t due until April 15, 2014, McCorkill said.

Some aspects of the fiscal cliff apply to the 2012 tax year though, including the federal alternative minimum tax. Congress meant the tax to apply only to the wealthy, McCorkill said. But “patches” that kept it in tune with inflation expired during 2012. Accountants were hoping Congress would retroactively extend the patches. But no deal was struck.

McCorkill said the alternative minimum tax without the inflation adjustments could impact 28 million taxpayers, most of them middle class.

“So you are talking almost anyone with more than let's say $60,000 or $70,000 in income,” he said. “It could be several thousand dollars each.”

Daniel W. Polachek, an accountant and financial adviser in Northampton, said he doesn’t even know how to advise his clients. Should they sell assets now to avoid the higher capital gains tax? What will the capital gains tax be?

He does predict that the tax filing season, and the April 15 deadline, could be pushed back. The IRS will need time to issue regulations based on whatever tax law Congress and the White House come up with. That will take time.

The bar also faces a hearing before the city in the future to determine if its should revert to a 1 a.m. entertainment curfew.

The Fat Cat Bar and Grill is seen at 232 Worthington St. in downtown Springfield. The Republican file / Mark M. Murray  

SPRINGFIELD – The License Commission on Thursday suspended the liquor license at Fat Cat Bar & Grill on Worthington Street for 15 days, effective immediately, based on the commission’s finding that the bar falsely claimed to have a kitchen to help secure a 2 a.m. entertainment license.

The 15-day direct suspension will be served just on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, effective immediately and continuing through Jan. 26, the commission ruled. An additional 15-day suspension will be held in abeyance for one year and dismissed at that time if there are no additional violations, the commission stated.

The manager, Shavone L. Gauthier, accepted the penalty during a pre-hearing conference at City Hall, rather than choose a full hearing before the commission at a later date.

Peter L. Sygnator, commission chairman, said Fat Cat was listing the adjacent business, Brick City Pizza, as part of its operations and providing its kitchen. That was not true as Fat Cats was subleasing Brick City without permission or knowledge of the License Commission or the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, Sygnator said.

“I think they realized it probably could have been a harsher penalty if this had been at the state level,” Sygnator said. “The commission needs to know who is operating a licensed premises, and if you have subleased your kitchen without our knowledge, we don’t know who is there.”

The License Commission is still awaiting a report from the Police Department regarding a November brawl that began as a fight at Fat Cat among a group of women that spilled into the street, leading to four officers being sent to hospital with injuries including sprains, a broken finger and a concussion, police said.

No hearing has been scheduled on that matter.

Gauthier, through her lawyer, V. Van Johnson III, of Springfield, had proposed a five-day license suspension on Thursday regarding the kitchen issue, and 10 additional days suspended for two months. The commission voted to reject that offer, and countered with the 15-day direct suspension by a 3-1 vote.

Johnson said it was not Gauthier’s intention to do anything wrong. and that she paid for kitchen services. The business has suffered in the current climate, and has invested much time, energy and money to provide a positive business, he said.

Sygnator said there was “gross misrepresentation” to the commission in the past. As part of the commission’s decision, Fat Cat must submit plans on Jan. 24, that reduces its licensed premises to no longer include the pizza shop, and show proof of an operating kitchen, he said.

Commission member Raymond Berry was opposed to the 15-day direct suspension, saying he was concerned about jobs and wages being lost in a difficult economy.

Fat Cat's management is still scheduled to appear before a city hearing officer to determine if it should lose its 2 a.m. entertainment license, and return to a 1 a.m. curfew on entertainment. The late night permit was granted in August by Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, allowing the 2 a.m. entertainment.

Under a 1 a.m. curfew in Springfield, bars may remain open until 2 a.m., but must shut off all forms of entertainment including music and television sets, at 1 a.m., unless they obtain the late-night permit.

Investigators from U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz’s office have said that state Rep. Stephen Smith, a Democrat from Everett, submitted fraudulent absentee ballot applications for voters who were ineligible or unaware the ballots were being requested in 2009 and 2010.

By STEVE LeBLANC

BOSTON – The state’s top election official says he’s asking federal prosecutors for more information about a lawmaker who agreed to plead guilty to casting invalid absentee ballots but he’s reluctant to recommend tightening access to the ballots.

State Secretary William Galvin says he wants more details about the case of Rep. Stephen Smith before deciding if any other steps needs to be taken. Galvin said he’s most interested in finding out who might have helped Smith.

William F. Galvin  

“I’ve very interested in finding out if there was any kind of electoral misconduct,” Galvin said. “If I believe there is any involvement of any election officials, I’m going to take action.”

Investigators from U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz’s office have said Smith, a Democrat from Everett, submitted fraudulent absentee ballot applications for voters who were ineligible or unaware the ballots were being requested in 2009 and 2010.

“Smith was able to obtain many of the official absentee ballots and cause them to be delivered to the ineligible voters, who would then cast votes despite lacking any eligibility to do so, or Smith would cast the absentee ballots himself,” prosecutors said in court papers.

Investigators said in the cases of unaware voters, one or more government officials helped Smith in tracking and/or intercepting the absentee ballots before their delivery to the voters. In those cases, they said, the absentee ballots “were cast for the unaware voters.”

Smith, 57, has agreed to resign and not seek elected office for five years. A call to his lawyer was not immediately returned Thursday.

Smith isn’t the only elected official charged with tampering with absentee ballots this year.

In October, former East Longmeadow selectman Enrico “Jack” Villamaino pleaded not guilty to 12 voter fraud-related counts after prosecutors accused him of trying to rig absentee ballots during an unsuccessful Republican primary campaign for the Legislature's 2nd Hampden District.

Investigators said Villamaino took absentee ballot applications from the East Longmeadow clerk’s office and cast some of them after altering the voter registrations of some Democrats to independent.

Election officials from Galvin’s office supervised the East Longmeadow clerk’s office before the Sept. 6 primary to ensure the voter registrations and absentee ballot requests were valid.

Galvin, a Democrat, took the action after what he said was an influx of forged absentee ballot requests and hundreds of people whose voter affiliations were changed from Democrat to Republican in town voting rolls without their permission.

Despite the two recent cases, Galvin said he’d be reluctant to clamp down too tightly on access to absentee ballots, saying that could create an added burden for voters including those serving in the military.

“What I wouldn’t want to do is to make it harder,” he said. “Would we want someone in Afghanistan to have to go looking for a notary public?”

By law Massachusetts voters can use absentee ballots if they plan to be away from their cities or towns on Election Day, have physical disabilities that prevent their voting at polling locations or cannot vote at the polls due to religious beliefs.

Voter can apply in writing at their local clerk’s offices to have absentee ballots mailed to them. The requests also can be downloaded from the Internet and mailed in.

Once a ballot is completed, the voter can mail it back to election officials.

Critics say the increased use of absentee ballots nationwide also increases the potential for fraud, mistakes or lost ballots.

Despite concerns, the use of absentee ballots is growing. The mail-in ballots accounted for barely 5 percent of the total vote nationwide 40 years ago compared to 16 percent in the 2008 election.

Temperatures fall to the lower-20s, refreezing surfaces and black ice possible

A few reported snowfall totals from today: Heath 15 inches, Charlemont 11 inches, Greenfield 10.5 inches, Northampton 6.2 inches, Holyoke 6 inches, Palmer 4 inches, West Springfield 4 inches. A complete list can be found on the CBS3 Pinpoint Weather Blog.

Watch out for black ice and refreezing roads overnight. A few lingering flurries are possible, but temperatures will drop well below freezing overnight. With all of this water still left on the roadways, untreated surfaces, bridges, overpasses and even some main roads still have the potential of icing over tonight and for the Friday morning commute. So, even though the winter storm is over, still be alert for slick spots out there.

Friday brings partly cloudy skies to the region, and other than some flurries in the Berkshires, it will be a dry day. A quick shot of a fresh coating of snow may clip the region Saturday afternoon. Expected snowfall totals for this system are generally 1 to 3 inches across the Springfield area. This will be an all-snow event, no ice or rain is expected to be in the mix with this one. The snow should also be a little fluffier and easier to shovel than the heavy, wet snow from this morning.

Temperatures drop radically for the start of 2013. Highs may be stuck in the 20s for the start of the New Year, with overnight lows in the single digits!

Tonight: Leftover flurries, icy spots overnight, low 21.

Friday: Partly cloudy, mountain flurries, high 35.

Saturday: Light afternoon snow showers, 1-3 inches of accumulation, high 32.

Sunday: Partly sunny, breezy and cold, high 27.

Nouel Alba, of New York, was accused of using her Facebook account, telephone calls and text messages to seek donations for what she called a "funeral fund."

Pictures of Newtown shooting victims are imprinted on fake roses at a memorial in the Sandy Hook village of Newtown, Conn., Saturday. Assopciated Press file / Seth Wenig  

HARTFORD, Conn. — A New York City woman tried to scam donors by posing as the aunt of a child killed in the Connecticut elementary school massacre, federal authorities said Thursday.

Nouel Alba, 37, was arrested Thursday and accused of using her Facebook account, telephone calls and text messages to seek donations for what she called a "funeral fund." She told one donor that she had to enter the scene of the mass shooting in Newtown to identify her nephew, according to the criminal complaint.

Alba is charged with lying to FBI agents who were investigating charity scams related to the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, where a gunman killed 20 children and six adults on Dec. 14.

Alba, of the Bronx, appeared Thursday in federal court in Hartford and was released on $50,000 bond. A telephone number listed for her was not in service.

In text messages with a donor, Alba allegedly said she hugged President Barack Obama during his visit to Newtown and said she was afraid to see her nephew in a casket: "11 gun shot in his little body," she wrote, according to the complaint.

Investigators say Alba told them she did not know her PayPal account was being used to solicit money and refunded donations right after receiving them. According to the complaint, however, she did not return the donations until several days later.

If convicted, she faces a maximum prison term of five years and a fine of up to $250,000.

The FBI is asking anybody with knowledge of scams related to the Newtown shootings to contact it. The state is also checking the identities of people soliciting money in the name of the Newtown victims, according to William Rubenstein, state commissioner of consumer protection.

Three Flynn family members, all named John, have served on the board over the years.

John M. Flynn  

John M. Flynn is seen in this undated family photograph.  

HAMPDEN - John M. Flynn, who with 33 years on the job was the longest-serving selectman in town history, died Thursday.

He was 79.

"He was the most pragmatic selectman the town ever had," said former selectman Richard R. Green, who served with Flynn. "He was just great."

Green added that Flynn even had custom license plates on his car that were an abbreviation of the town's name.

John M. Flynn left the board in 1997.

Flynn was the second of three generations on the board, said his son, current Selectman John D. Flynn. John M's grandfather, John J. Flynn, also served.

"And my father was on the planning board before he was a selectman," John D. Flynn said.

John M. Flynn was also president of family-owned Hampden Engineering Corp. in East Longmeadow, a manufacturer of educational equipment for the vocational-technical , engineering and industrial training.

He is survived by his wife, Sheila, and their eight children.

Calling hours will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Byron Keenan Funeral Home, 1858 Allen St., Springfield. the Funeral will be 10 a.m. Thursday, also at the funeral home, followed by services at 11:30 a.m. at St. Mary's Church, 27 Somers Road, Hampden, according to John D. Flynn.

At age 69 and after nearly a half century in the barber business, he's heading into retirement to enjoy life.

SPRINGFIELD — When Richard A. Polidoro bought a barber shop at 890 Carew St. 47 years ago, the name on it was Angelo’s Barber Shop.

So it stayed for almost a half century until Saturday, when Polidoro hangs up his tools for a final time and heads into retirement.

“The name was there when I came in,” Polidoro said on Friday as clients came and went. “It stayed."

A city native, Polidoro was born on Eastern Avenue and lived for a time in the Forest Park neighborhood before marrying his wife, Joan, and moving to Wilbraham, where they still live. He is a 1961 graduate of Technical High School.

“I pretty much got out of high school and went to barber school,” said Polidoro. “It seemed like a good idea. Nobody else in the family had done it.”

For the past 30-plus years, Polidoro has plied his trade alone in his shop.

“It gave me a living all these years. I enjoyed working with all the people, chitchatting,” Polidoro said.

His oldest customer is in his 90s, Polidoro estimated, and "he still comes in.”

Through the years he had his own hair cut by good friend Angelo Polumbo, who ran another Angelo’s Barber Shop in Southwick until he became ill, Polidoro said.

Asked what leaving his one-man business is like, Polidoro said, “It’s sentimental, kind of a hard decision to make.”

Polidoro operated in rented space with five-day work weeks and a schedule that lasted from 6 a.m. until at least 6 p.m. There is no one to take over the shop, he said. "I spent a lot of time here," he said.

His immediate plans include visiting one of his sons, Richard Polidoro Jr., and family, including grandchildren Tyler and Katie, who live in Florida, playing bocce and tinkering with his old Volkswagen.

Another son, Michael Polidoro, lives in Chicopee, with four more grandchildren, Anthony, Joseph, Samantha and Ally.

The businesses now need local approval.

Popcorn Noir on Cottage Street in Easthampton is in the process of obtaining an over quota liquor license along with the Hideway Bar at Riff's Joint. The Republican staff file photo  

EASTHAMPTON – Gov. Deval L. Patrick has signed legislation to grant over-quota licenses to two establishments here clearing the way for the businesses to apply to the License Board for the licenses.

Popcorn Noir and The Hideaway Lounge part of Riff’s Joint applied for the over quota licenses. Both have seasonal licenses, which means they cannot serve alcohol from Jan. 15 to March 31.

Popcorn Noir, at 30 Cottage St., has said it would have to close without the license and Riff’s Joint, at 116 Pleasant St., would have to close the bar.

While it is not likely they will receive licenses before Jan. 15 under any scenario, they could begin the process of applying to the Licensing Board which would then have to set a public hearing. Abutters must be given a 10-day notice. If the local board agrees to issue the licenses, they then the application goes to the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission for approval.

The House and Senate approved the legislation earlier this month and it went to the governor’s desk for his signature last week.

The state had indefinitely suspended the package store license after an investigation regarding who owned and managed the site.

File photo | The Republican  

SPRINGFIELD – A package store that was shut down by the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission in August, cited for failing to keep accurate and full management records, was unsuccessful this week in applying for a new license from the Springfield License Commission.

The License Commission rejected the new request for the beer and wine package store at 668 Liberty St., formerly known as Stephen’s Liquors. Commission members said they did not have faith in the new business, given the state’s critical findings and indefinite suspension of the license, as well as concerns raised by the Hungry Hill Neighborhood Council regarding traffic and schools in the area.

Under the new application, a new corporation, Liberty Beer and Wine LLC, with Raju R. Patel listed as manager, was seeking to reopen the business as the Beer & Wine Depot.

The corporation lawyer, Thomas Rooke of Springfield, said the former manager/owner, Hasmukh Patel, had no further link with the business.

The state commission, in its August ruling, indefinitely suspended the package store license, stating that past applications filed with the state listed Hasmukh Patel as the corporate officer and manager, but that a state investigation found that Raju Patel, his brother-in-law, was actually serving as manager.

License Commission Chairman Peter L. Sygnator said he had “serious concerns over management” given the state findings and false filings. If the commission had approved the license, it still would have needed approval of the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission.

“We need to show Boston we are paying attention,” Sygnator said.

Rooke said Hasmukh Patel had left the state to care for his very ill son, and that Raju Patel took over responsibilities and gave truthful answers when questioned by state investigators.

The state found the past licensee was in violation because of a false statement on an application, a transfer of management without proper approval, and a failure to disclose all persons who have a financial interest in a license, the ruling stated.

Rooke said the neighborhood council’s concerns were invalid because there was no school within 500 feet of the business, and the business had not harmed traffic. There is also a gas station and convenience store at that location.

Rooke had presented a petition which he said was signed by 345 people in favor of the beer and wine package store.

Commission member Orlando Ramos, in joining the vote to deny the license, said he was also concerned about the significant number of liquor licenses in that Liberty Street area.

Stuckenbruck, 62, was a probation officer in juvenile court when he applied as a court clerk for the late U.S. District Judge Frank H. Freedman in 1979.

John Stuckenbruck, second from left , division manager of the U.S. District Clerk Office, who retired Friday after 34 year, is shown with his co-workers, Theresa Pelegano, left, Maurice Lindsay, and Bethaney Healy in their office at the U.S. District Courthouse on State Street. The Republican / Mark M. Murray  

SPRINGFIELD - Though not a poker player, John Stuckenbruck has among the best poker faces in town.

As the division manager of the federal court in Springfield, he has overseen the administrative end of trials of bombers and bank robbers, serial killers and scammers, while managing scores of juries and hundreds of harried lawyers struggling to make filing deadlines and begging for continuances.

"Nothing's ever shocked me," he said mildly during a recent interview in his office. "As an administrator in a small office, things can change every day, or pop up all the time."

What may be a shock to his system, however, is retirement. After 34 years on the job, Stuckenbruck's last day at the U.S. District Court on State Street was Friday.

"I'll wake up on Jan. 2 and I won't be coming to work. It'll be strange. But I just felt it was time to go," Stuckenbruck said, adding that he took a buyout offered by the federal government and plans to spend his days babysitting for his new grandson, working on home improvement projects and golfing, when weather permits.

Like most newly minted retirees, he has a few loftier goals as well - including reviving his classical piano playing skills he all but abandoned after high school.

Stuckenbruck, 62, was a probation officer in juvenile court when he applied as a court clerk for the late U.S. District Judge Frank H. Freedman in 1979. The federal court in Springfield, at that time located at 426 Dwight St., was new and none of the established federal court staff in Boston were interested in the job, according to Stuckenbruck.

"I applied for it and I got it. I didn't know what to expect, but basically I did everything - sitting in court sessions, scheduling, ordering supplies ... there was basically nothing there. We brought all the files with us, set up shop and off we went," he said.

Stuckenbruck's job is one of little glamour and notoriety among the public, but of critical importance to the operation of the courthouse. Along with his staff, he basically ensures that the whole operation goes smoothly: motions hearings, status conferences, jury selections, guilty pleadings, trials, sentencings and the like.

When Freedman passed away in 2003, Stuckenbruck admitted he felt a bit adrift, but assumed more of the administrative tasks in the building. The courthouse has moved twice since being established on Dwight Street, first to the former federal building on Main Street and more recently to a slick, new modern courthouse with towering glass windows on State Street.

He has remained a steady presence, however.

"He's quite unpretentious, very approachable and really dedicated to getting the job done," said Senior U.S. District Judge Michael A. Ponsor, who has primarily handled the trial load after Freedman's death along with Magistrate Judge Kenneth P. Neiman. "If there's a big snowstorm during a trial and we're worried about getting court business done, he'll be here at 7 or 7:30 in the morning. He is the kind of person who makes democracy work."

Asked about his legacy at the courthouse, Stuckenbruck's response was as mild as his demeanor.

"I have never really thought of myself as a boss. I've always tried to be helpful to everyone - to my co-workers, to staff in other agencies, to the bar and to the public. I would hope that I have been perceived in that fashion," he said.

Ponsor also noted Stuckenbruck's little-known singing voice and penchant for karaoke, which he may be showcasing at his retirement party at the Delaney House in Holyoke on Jan. 4.

The Dow dropped 158.20 points to 12,938.11 points, with losses accelerating in the last 20 minutes of trading as reports circulated that President Barack Obama would not be making a new budget proposal in a meeting with congressional leaders.

By STEVE ROTHWELL
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK — Stocks fell for a fifth day on concern that Washington lawmakers will fail to reach a budget deal before a self-imposed year-end deadline – the fiscal cliff.

The five-day losing streak for the Dow Jones industrial average was the longest since July.

The Dow dropped 158.20 points to 12,938.11 points, with losses accelerating in the last 20 minutes of trading as reports circulated that President Barack Obama would not be making a new budget proposal in a meeting with congressional leaders.

The Standard & Poor 500 index fell 15.67 points to 1,402.43, its longest losing streak in three months, and the Nasdaq dropped 25.59 points to 2,960.31.

"The reality, late in the day, is that a deal is just not going to get done," said Ryan Detrick, a senior technical strategist at Schaeffer Investment Research. "We could be greeted by a big sell-off at the start of January."

President Barack Obama returned from a Christmas break in Hawaii to meet with congressional leaders at the White House to try thrash out the terms of a deal that would prevent across-the-board tax increases for millions of Americans as well as simultaneous government spending cuts beginning Jan. 1. Those measures, if implemented, could push the economy back into recession, economists say.

Stocks closed lower Thursday but erased most of an early loss after Republicans said they would reconvene the House of Representatives Sunday in hopes of piecing together a last-minute budget deal.

Traders have been focusing on Washington, and the budget negotiations, since the Nov. 6 presidential election returned a divided government to power.

"I can't wait till this is done, so we can start talking about markets again and not just about politics," said Doug Cote, chief market strategist at ING Investment Management. Cote doesn't expect lawmakers will manage to reach a deal before the deadline and says that when people assess the extent of tax increases on the way, "the market is going reel."

Cote also expects slowing earnings growth to hit stocks.

Despite the fiscal gridlock in Washington, major stock indexes are holding on to gains for the year. The Dow is up 5.9 percent, the S&P 500 index is 11.5 percent higher and the Nasdaq is up 13.6 percent.

Stocks rose in 2012 on optimism that a housing market recovery, coupled with an improving job market, will support economic growth. The Federal Reserve has also extended its bond purchasing program, which is intended to lower borrowing costs and encourage spending and investment.

Stocks declined despite reports that suggested the outlook for the economy is improving.

A measure of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes increased last month to its highest level in two and a half years, the latest sign of improvement in the once-battered housing market. The National Association of Realtors said Friday that its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index rose to its highest since April 2010.

The Institute of Supply Management's Chicago-area purchasing managers index for December came in at 51.6, beating estimates for a gain to 51.

Bond prices rose as investors moved money into defensive investments. The yield on the benchmark rise 10-year Treasury note, which falls when bond prices rise, dropped to 1.70 percent from 1.75 percent late Thursday.

Among stocks making moves:

• Hewlett-Packard fell 36 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $13.68 after the computer and printer maker said the Department of Justice is investigating H-P's business software unit Autonomy. H-P bought Autonomy for $10 billion in 2011 and has accused the company's former management of fudging its accounting before the acquisition. H-P has lost almost half its market value this year, making it the biggest decliner among the 30 stocks in the Dow average.

• Barnes and Noble rose 62 cents, or 4.3 percent, to $14.97 after the U.K. publishing and education company Pearson said it is making an $89.5 million investment in the company's Nook Media division, as the two companies look to make a bigger digital push into the education sector.

Surprisingly, after weeks of post-election gridlock, Senate leaders sounded even more bullish.

By DAVID ESPO
and JIM KUHNHENN

WASHINGTON — The end game at hand, the White House and Senate leaders took a final stab at compromise Friday night to prevent middle-class tax increases from taking effect at the turn of the new year and possibly prevent sweeping spending cuts as well.

"I'm optimistic we may still be able to reach an agreement that can pass both houses in time," President Barack Obama said at the White House after meeting for more than an hour with congressional leaders.

Surprisingly, after weeks of post-election gridlock, Senate leaders sounded even more bullish.

The Republican Leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said he was "hopeful and optimistic" of a deal, adding he hoped a compromise could be presented to rank-and-file lawmakers as early as Sunday, a little more than 24 hours before the year-end deadline.

Said Majority Leader Harry Reid: "I'm going to do everything I can" to prevent the tax increases and spending cuts that threaten to send the economy into recession. He cautioned, "Whatever we come up with is going to be imperfect."

Officials said there was a general understanding that any agreement would block scheduled income tax increases for middle class earners while letting rates rise at upper income levels.

Democrats said Obama was sticking to his campaign call for increases above $250,000 in annual income, even though in recent negotiations he said he could accept $400,000.

The two sides also confronted a divide over estate taxes.

Obama favors a higher tax than is currently in effect, but one senior Republican, Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, said he's "totally dead set" against it. Speaking of fellow GOP lawmakers, he said they harbor more opposition to an increase in the estate tax than to letting taxes on income and investments rise at upper levels.

Also likely to be included in the negotiations are taxes on dividends and capital gains, both of which are scheduled to rise with the new year. Also the alternative minimum tax, which, if left unchanged, could hit millions of middle- and upper-income taxpayers for the first time.

In addition, Obama and Democrats want to prevent the expiration of unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless, and there is widespread sentiment in both parties to shelter doctors from a cut in Medicare fees.

The White House has shown increased concern about a possible spike in milk prices if a farm bill is not passed in the next few days, although it is not clear whether that issue, too, might be included in the talks.

One Republican who was briefed on the White House meeting said Boehner made it clear he would leave in place spending cuts scheduled to take effect unless alternative savings were found to offset them. If he prevails, that would defer politically difficult decisions on government benefit programs like Medicare until 2013.

Success was far from guaranteed in an atmosphere of political mistrust — even on a slimmed-down deal that postponed hard decisions about spending cuts into 2013 — in a Capitol where lawmakers grumbled about the likelihood of spending the new year holiday working.

In a brief appearance in the White House briefing room, Obama referred to "dysfunction in Washington," and said the American public is "not going to have any patience for a politically self-inflicted wound to our economy. Not right now."

If there is no compromise, he said he expects Reid to put legislation on the floor to prevent tax increases on the middle class and extend unemployment benefits — an implicit challenge to Republicans to dare to vote against what polls show is popular.

The guest list for the White House meeting included Reid, McConnell, Boehner and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

The same group last met more than a month ago and emerged expressing optimism they could strike a deal that avoided the fiscal cliff. At that point, Boehner had already said he was willing to let tax revenues rise as part of an agreement, and the president and his Democratic allies said they were ready to accept spending cuts.

Since then, though, talks between Obama and Boehner faltered, the speaker struggled to control his rebellious rank and file, and Reid and McConnell sparred almost daily in speeches on the Senate floor. Through it all, Wall Street has paid close attention, and in the moments before the meeting, stocks were trading lower for the fifth day in a row.

The core issue is the same as it has been for more than a year, Obama's demand for tax rates to rise on upper incomes while remaining at current levels for most Americans. He made the proposal central to his successful campaign for re-election, when he said incomes above $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples should rise to 39.6 percent from the current 35 percent.

Boehner refused for weeks to accept any rate increases, and simultaneously accused Obama of skimping on the spending cuts he would support as part of a balanced deal to reduce deficits, remove the threat of spending cuts and prevent the across-the-board tax cuts.

Last week, the Ohio Republican pivoted and presented a Plan B measure that would have let rates rise on million-dollar earners. That was well above Obama's latest offer, which called for a $400,000 threshold, but more than the speaker's rank and file were willing to accept.

Facing defeat, Boehner scrapped plans for a vote, leaving the economy on track for the cliff that political leaders in both parties had said they could avoid. In the aftermath, Democrats said they doubted any compromise was possible until Boehner has been elected to a second term as speaker when the new Congress convenes on Jan. 3.

Further compounding the year-end maneuvering, there are warnings that the price of milk could virtually double beginning next year.

Congressional officials said that under current law, the federal government is obligated to maintain prices so that fluid milk sells for about $20 per hundredweight. If the law lapses, the Department of Agriculture would be required to maintain a price closer to $36 of $38 per hundredweight, they said. It is unclear when price increases might be felt by consumers.

Associated Press writers Alan Fram and Andrew Taylor contributed to this report.

Some Western Massachusetts booksellers are taking steps to reap some benefit from the trend by selling e-readers themselves, although they say the new wave isn't exactly a tsunami.

A study released by the Pew Internet Research Center last week shows that electronic reading devices, or “e-readers,” are changing the way people read.

Some local booksellers are taking steps to reap some benefit from the trend by selling e-readers themselves, although they say the new wave isn’t exactly a tsunami.

“I think there are small incremental changes we see every year,” said Roxie Mack, co-owner of the Broadside Bookshop in Northampton, “but it’s not at the rate people have been predicting.”

“I think people are going to read in all different kinds of ways,” said Joan Grenier, owner of the Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley.

At the Westfield Athenaeum, the city’s public library, technology services librarian Tegan Mannino said the boom in technology has translated into “getting new patrons and serving long-term patrons in a new way.”

On the other hand, while circulation at her library has “skyrocketed” in the past year, “e-book lending is comparatively a small fraction of what we circulated,” Mannino said.

The Pew study showed that in the past year, the number of Americans over age 16 who had read an electronic book went from 16 percent to 23 percent. The percentage of people who owned e-readers rose from 18 to 33 percent.

The study, which was based on phone interviews with 2,252 people, also revealed that readers of traditional books dropped from 72 percent to 67 percent.

Only 75 percent of those surveyed reported reading any book at all in the past year.

In response to the technological trend, both Odyssey and Broadside sell not only paper books but e-readers by Kobo, a company that has 10 million users worldwide and a library of 3 million e-books.

Thanks to a contract Kobo has signed with the American Bookseller’s Association, bookstores get a percentage every time a user downloads a book.

“We’re delighted to be in the market this way, but we definitely have customers who enjoy and read ‘physical’ books,” said Grenier, referring to traditional paper books. Her bookstore stocks both the Kobo Mini and the Kobo Glo.

Some books, such as academic books, art books and photography books, don’t lend themselves to e-readers, Grenier said.

“The Irish Legacy,” a coffee-table book produced by The Republican, is another example of a book that doesn’t translate readily to electronic reading.

Nat Herold, owner of Amherst Books, said he owns an electronic tablet but doesn’t feel comfortable with it. “I can’t flip back,” he said, “and I can’t make notes in the margin.”

In spite of the Pew study, there may be evidence that e-reading is flattening out. On a nationwide level, Grenier said, booksellers have found that electronic reading “didn’t grow as they thought it would – and growth is slowing.”

Mannino said the Westfield Athenaeum had a big burst of people signing up for library cards after Christmas in 2011 because they had gotten e-readers for Christmas and wanted to check out e-books for free, but the phenomenon was not repeated this year.