Quantcast
Channel: News
Viewing all 62489 articles
Browse latest View live

Springfield Fire Department: Blaze causes $15k to $20k in damage to Sumner Avenue home, but no injuries

0
0

A furnace steam pipe was identified as the source of a fire at 244 Sumner Ave., according to Dennis Leger, spokesman for acting fire Commissioner Joseph Conant.

sumner ave fire shot.JPG A furnace steam pipe ignited a fire within a kitchen wall at a two-family home at the corner of Sumner Avenue and Greenleaf Street, according to Springfield fire officials.  

SPRINGFIELD — A fire reported at 7:26 p.m. Saturday caused an estimated $15,000 to $20,000 worth of damage to a large residential property at 244 Sumner Ave., according to Dennis G. Leger, executive aide to acting Springfield fire Commissioner Joseph A. Conant.

The blaze at the two-family home started in the first-floor kitchen, Leger said. A preliminary investigation indicated that a furnace steam pipe inside a wall overheated and ignited a wire, causing the fire to spread within the wall, Leger said.

Firefighters quickly located the source of the fire and extinguished it before it spread to other parts of the structure, he said.

Residents of the beige, wood-frame residence at the corner of Sumner Avenue and Greenleaf Street were uninjured. The fire was not expected to displace them from their home. "They're going to stay," Leger said.


MAP OF FIRE LOCATION on Sumner Avenue in city's Forest Park neighborhood:


View Larger Map


Last-minute fiscal cliff talks in Senate

0
0

Senate leaders groped for a last-minute compromise Saturday to avoid middle-class tax increases and possibly prevent deep spending cuts at the dawn of the new year.

View full size  

WASHINGTON — Senate leaders groped for a last-minute compromise Saturday to avoid middle-class tax increases and possibly prevent deep spending cuts at the dawn of the new year as President Barack Obama warned that failure could mean a "self-inflicted wound to the economy."

Obama chastised lawmakers in his weekly radio and Internet address for waiting until the last minute to try and avoid a "fiscal cliff," yet said there was still time for an agreement. "We cannot let Washington politics get in the way of America's progress," he said as the hurry-up negotiations unfolded.

For all the recent expressions of urgency, bargaining took place by phone, email and paper in a Capitol nearly empty except for tourists. Alone among top lawmakers, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell spent the day in his office.

In the Republicans' weekly address, Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri cited a readiness to compromise. "Divided government is a good time to solve hard problems — and in the next few days, leaders in Washington have an important responsibility to work together and do just that," he said.

Even so, there was no guarantee of success, and a dispute over the federal tax on large estates emerged as yet another key sticking point alongside personal income tax rates.

In a blunt challenge to Republicans, Obama said that barring a bipartisan agreement, he expected both houses to vote on his own proposal to block tax increases on all but the wealthy and simultaneously preserve expiring unemployment benefits.

Political calculations mattered as much as deep-seated differences over the issues, as divided government struggled with its first big challenge since the November elections.

Speaker John Boehner remained at arms-length, juggling a desire to avoid the fiscal cliff with his goal of winning another term as speaker when a new Congress convenes next Thursday. Any compromise legislation is certain to include higher tax rates on the wealthy, and the House GOP rank and file rejected the idea when he presented it to them as part of a final attempt to strike a more sweeping agreement with Obama.

Lawmakers have until the new Congress convenes to pass any compromise, and even the calendar mattered. Democrats said they had been told House Republicans might reject a deal until after Jan. 1, to avoid a vote to raise taxes before they had technically gone up and then vote to cut taxes after they had risen.

Nor was any taxpayer likely to feel any adverse impact if legislation is signed and passed into law in the first two or three days of 2013 instead of the final hours of 2012.

Gone was the talk of a grand bargain of spending cuts and additional tax revenue in which the two parties would agree to slash deficits by trillions of dollars over a decade.

Now negotiators had a more cramped goal of preventing additional damage to the economy in the form of higher taxes across the board — with some families facing increases measured in the thousands of dollars — as well as cuts aimed at the Pentagon and hundreds of domestic programs.

Republicans said they were willing to bow to Obama's call for higher taxes on the wealthy as part of a deal to prevent them from rising on those less well-off.

Democrats said Obama was sticking to his campaign call for tax increases above $250,000 in annual income, even though he said in recent negotiations he said he could accept $400,000. There was no evidence of agreement even at the higher level.

There were indications from Republicans that estate taxes might hold more significance for them than the possibility of higher rates on income.

One senior Republican, Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, said late Friday he was "totally dead set" against Obama's estate tax proposal, and as if to reinforce the point, Blunt mentioned the issue before any other in his broadcast remarks. "Small businesses and farm families don't know how to deal with the unfair death tax_a tax that the president and congressional leaders have threatened to expand to include even more family farms and even more small businesses," he said.

Several officials said Republicans want to leave the tax at 35 percent after exempting the first $5 million in estate value. Officials said the White House wants a 45 percent tax after a $3.5 million exemption. Without any action by Congress, it would climb to a 55 percent tax after a $1 million exemption on Jan. 1.

Democrats stressed their unwillingness to make concessions on both income taxes and the estate tax, and said they hoped Republicans would choose which mattered more to them.

Officials said any compromise was likely to ease the impact of the alternative minimum tax, originally designed to make sure that millionaires did not escape taxation. If left unchanged, it could hit an estimated 28 million households for the first time in 2013, with an average increase of more than $3,000.

Taxes on dividends and capital gains are also involved in the talks, as well as a series of breaks for businesses and others due to expire at the first of the year.

Obama and congressional Democrats are insisting on an extension of long-term unemployment benefits that are expiring for about 2 million jobless individuals.

Leaders in both parties also hope to prevent a 27 percent fee cut from taking effect on Jan. 1 for doctors who treat Medicare patients.

There was also discussion of a short-term extension of expiring farm programs, in part to prevent a spike in milk prices at the first of the year. It wasn't clear if that was a parallel effort to the cliff talks or had become wrapped into them.

Across-the-board spending cuts that comprise part of the cliff were a different matter.

Republicans say Boehner will insist that they will begin to take effect unless negotiators agreed to offset them with specified savings elsewhere.

That would set the stage for the next round of brinkmanship — a struggle over Republican calls for savings from Medicare, Medicaid and other federal benefit programs.

The Treasury's ability to borrow is expected to expire in late winter or early spring, and without an increase in the $16.4 trillion limit, the government would face its first-ever default. Republicans have said they will use administration requests for an extension as leverage to win cuts in spending.

Ironically, it was just such a maneuver more than a year ago that set the stage for the current crisis talks over the fiscal cliff.

South Hadley Board of Health says state DEP should fine landfill operator

0
0

“A hefty fine will let the [landfill] operators know that MassDEP will not stand for these violations but will stand behind their policies and enforce them with significant fines,“ the board of health letter to the state department of environmental protection states.

121411 south hadley landfill.JPG The South Hadley landfill  


SOUTH HADLEY – The town Board of Health is asking the state to fine it’s landfill operator over the town’s claim that banned material has been dumped at the facility.

In a recent letter to Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Ken Kimmell, the Board of Health said the agency has shown “blatant indifference” to the dumping of banned material and urged DEP to fine the company.

“A hefty fine will let the operators know that MassDEP will not stand for these violations but will stand behind their policies and enforce them with significant fines,” the board of health letter dated Dec. 22 states.

The landfill operator has denied any wrongdoing.

DEP warned the landfill operator in writing about the problematic dumping on Dec. 19. The Notice of Noncompliance stated the landfill management ignored state laws and now faces criminal prosecution and fines if problems remain unfixed.

South Hadley owns the waste site. Florida-based Advanced Disposal operates the landfill.

Chris Spaulding is the landfill’s operations manager. Mark E. Harlacker is a company vice president. Both were sent a copy of the DEP notice.

In a recent interview Spaulding said the landfill is run properly. He denied allegations that banned items are dumped and buried at the landfill.

In a related matter, the Board of Health has reported to the DEP an apparent discrepancy in the amount of sewage sludge deposited at South Hadley landfill.

The South Hadley Landfill Operations Report of November 2012 states: “220.88 tons of WWTP sludge (13 loads) was received from the Town of South Hadley” wastewater treatment plant.

But the log attached to the report shows the town dumping 10 loads totaling 173.1 tons in November.

According to the 2007 site assignment governing landfill operations issued by the board of health, only “sewage sludge from the South Hadley wastewater treatment facility” can be dumped at the waste site.

The matter is expected to be discussed at the next health board meeting on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. in Town Hall.

The town derives close to $1.5 million annually from the landfill company in trade for allowing them to operate. State permits allow South Hadley landfill to accept 156,000 tons of trash per year.



Big Y honors victims of Newtown shooting, puts Toy for Joy over top, with contribution of nearly $4,000

0
0

The final tally came in at $26 over the $150,000 goal

ToyForJoyLogo2010.JPG  

SPRINGFIELDBig Y Foods, mindful of the 20 children and six educators who lost their lives in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, put the Toy for Joy holiday campaign over the top with a donation of nearly $4,000.

Toy for Joy, for the first time in its 90-year history of providing toys, books and games for needy children in Western Massachusetts, fell shy of its $150,000 goal on Christmas eve.

The final shortfall, after the processing of mail for the week, came up to $3,970 on Friday morning, and Big Y made a contribution of $3,996, adding in $26, or $1 for every child, teacher and school administrator killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

This year's tally came in at $150,026.

Donald D’Amour, chairman and chief executive officer of Big Y Foods, said the $26 addition was important for the Big Y family, as there is a store in Newtown. “The $26 is in honor of each of those 26 precious lives lost that day,” he said.

D’Amour said, "it seemed a shame to see Toy for Joy’s long stream of success broken. This is an opportunity to turn something bad into something good,” he said. ”

He added that the entire Big Y family, from the corporate to the store and customer level, is working to establish a fund for a scholarship at Newtown High School in honor of the Sandy Hook victims, too.

Toy for Joy is sponsored by The Republican and the Salvation Army. This season, the program served over 4,000 families in Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties. The Greater Springfield Citadel and Salvation Army units in Westfield, Holyoke, Northampton and Greenfield all participated.

“The generosity demonstrated by the D’Amours and the Big Y family is truly touching this holiday season. Their philanthropic efforts throughout the region served by Big Y markets spans many years and many charities. They answer the call often, whether it be in time of natural disaster, from hurricane to tornado, or to support education and the arts. We thank them for supporting Toy for Joy,” said Cynthia G. Simison, managing editor of The Republican.

“We are so pleased with the success of the Toy for Joy campaign,” added Ronda Ferreira, co-commander of the Salvation Army’s Greater Springfield citadel. “Thanks to Big Y for their very generous donation which brought us to our goal.”

Hasbro joined Toy for Joy last year and donates some of the toys for the campaign. The remainder is funded through the generosity of readers of The Republican and Masslive.com.

As of the noon deadline on Christmas Eve, Toy for Joy tallied to $139,387.47, leaving $10,612.53 to be raised.

Numerous other contributions received over the course of this week were made in memory of the pupils, teachers and administrators who were killed at Sandy Hook, many of them numbering $26, just as Big Y wanted its contribution to include.

Messages accompanying those contributions included “26 acts, JWT” - an apparent references to a growing movement that encourages people to commit 26 acts of kindness in wake of the shooting - and “In memory of the heroes and angels of Sandy Hook Elementary from Laura, Darby and Donna.

Springfield Central High School’s Honor Society donated $260 that members raised from a bake sale.

F.L. Roberts joined a long list of corporate and business donations this year, sending in $1,000.

A memorial contribution was also received in honor of one of the Western Massachusetts natives who were killed at the World Trade Center in the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, Melissa Harrington Hughes, of West Springfield.

A new group of donors to Toy for Joy this year was “Big Y Alumni.” It’s composed of 12 people who used to work together in the Information Technology Department of Big Y corporate offices in Springfield. About 50 co-workers in that office donated thousands of dollars as a group for many years.

The office has since moved on to other charities, according retiree Jeanne Kopcinski of Agawam, but some of the retirees still favor Toy for Joy. Kopcinski said the idea for a new group came from her former boss, John Sarno, of Wilbraham, who is also retired. Their donation this year was $325.

Here is the latest list of donors:

  • On behalf of our Newtown Big Y extended family of employees, customers, and friends, the D’Amours and the entire Big Y family are pleased to put our local Toy for Joy campaign over the top in honor of those 26 precious lives lost in the recent senseless act of violence in Newtown, Conn., $3,996

  • In memory of John and Catherine Monko, $20

  • Memory of Vincent, Stella and Phil, $25

  • Merry Christmas to all from Harlean and Clark, $35

  • In memory of Joe and Dot Caramazza, $10

  • Thoughts and prayers for Newtown, Conn., from the Navone family, of Southwick, $100

  • Joy from our grandkids Madison, Mia, Colton, Ryleigh and Avery, $25

  • Merry Christmas from Peter and Rose, $20

  • In memory of Mom, Dad, Mike and Rita, $25

  • In memory of Bob, Millie and Don Turnberg, $60

  • Ted and Ginnie, $25

  • Merry Christmas Ma, $25

  • In memory of Patty, Charlie, Kevin and Mike, $50

  • In memory of Allen H. St. Onge, $100

  • In loving memory of those no longer on Earth with us, $20

  • Merry Christmas Biggie, Bling, Pebbles and Bandit, $50

  • In loving memory of Ellyn and Tom Langlois, $100

  • In memory of Donald R. Moodie, $100

  • In memory of my husband Richard Janulewicz and son David. I miss you both from Jane, $10

  • Dade, $50

  • A blessed Christmas to all my family from Nanny, $100

  • Sharing Matthew Ratelle’s spirit. Love, Mary, $40

  • Happy holidays from Springfield Central High School National Honor Society bake sale, $260

  • In honor of Roland J. Robidoux, ummit General Store and all friends and customers, $300

  • Happy holidays from Dan and Jane, $100

  • Molly, $20

  • In loving memory of the boys from Hungry Hill who passed away in 2010, $10

  • In memory of my Mom who loved Christmas with her family from Deborah, $25

  • 26 acts, JWT, $26

  • In loving memory of Tony Gittles. Sadly missed by wife and family, $25

  • Merry Christmas to all, $50

  • In honor of Thomas, Nicholas and Arianna, $30

  • In memory of my mom Claire, $50

  • In memory of Poppy Frank and Uncle Ray, $10

  • In memory of Peaches, $25

  • In memory of Joseph and Victoria Ziencina and family. Love, Josie, $10

  • In memory of the Ziencina boys, Stan, Mitch, Ed and Gary, $10

  • In memory of the heroes and angels of Sandy Hook Elementary School from Laura, Darby and Donna, $150

  • In memory of Duffy Ankins from Duffy’s angels, $50

  • Paul and Joyce, $20

  • Happy holidays from the members and staff at Fitness First in Feeding Hills, $300

  • In loving memory of John Owczarski from wife and family, $25

  • To great friends who are fighting a difficult battle, Bob, Jason, Dave, Scott, George and many others, $25

  • In memory of lives lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School, $25

  • Sandy, $25

  • In honor of our granddaughter, Charlotte Alma, $50

  • Ruth, $10

  • In loving memory of Dan Hobart and the 26 angels, $100

  • In honor of Sasha and Lola, our precious granddaughters, $20

  • Anonymous, $100

  • In honor of our newest grandson, August, $25

  • Merry Christmas to all the children from Maria and Felice, $25

  • Remembering 20 angels and 6 guardian angels from Newtown, Conn., $26

  • Bless the children, $25

  • In memory of Aunt Vi, $25

  • In memory of our grandparents Ed and Gert Gleason, Karen, Jackie and Chris, $50

  • In memory of Sandy Hook children and teachers from Brigid, Sean, Mickey, Matt, Brian and Kate, $60

  • In memory of the 26 Sandy Hook school victims, $26

  • Happy holidays from Carando Foods in Springfield, $187

RECEIVED, $10,638.53
TOTAL TO DATE, $150,026.00

Construction at Walmart in Westfield headed toward fall completion

0
0

The expansion will allow Walmart to establish additional sales areas, parking and access and a new loading dock.

WESTFIELD — Construction continues on a 58,692-square-foot expansion at the Walmart at 141 Springfield Road, also known as Route 20.

The expansion will allow Walmart to establish additional sales areas, parking and access and a new loading dock. The chain will add an expanded grocery section to the store.

Construction is expected to be completed in the fall of 2013.

Rob Gronkowski scores touchdown in return to New England Patriots

0
0

Gronkowski is back, but he isn't all the way back.

FOXBOROUGH – Rob Gronkowski is back, but he isn’t all the way back.

The New England Patriots tight end, out since Nov. 18 with a broken forearm, returned in Sunday’s 28-0 win over the Miami Dolphins, but it’s clear he hasn’t been turned loose just yet.

Gronkowski played only 25 of 80 possible snaps and often favored his left forearm, which was protected by a white sleeve. However, getting back on the field was the first step, one that is now behind him.

“I got limited reps, obviously – not that many,” he said. “But you always want to get some reps before heading into the playoffs. It’s good to get the speed down, the feel of the game.”

Gronkowski made two catches for 42 yards. The second resulted in a 23-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that closed the scoring. It was when he was blocking that Gronkowski didn’t appear himself, often holding his left arm limp and doing the bulk of the work with his right shoulder.

“I was just out there doing what I had to do,” Gronkowski said. “We got a week off now. I’m just gonna be in the training room, trying to get stronger every day so I can go out there and make some good blocks when it comes down to it.”

As recently as Sunday, the Patriots played it off as though Gronkowski still had not received medical clearance to play. He also played coy when asked about the timeline, noting that what the doctors said didn’t matter in terms of his preparation.

“I just prepared all week thinking I was going to play,” Gronkowski said. “Really didn’t get an answer like, “All right, Rob, you’re good to go.’ The doctors cleared me and everything, so that was good, but I was just preparing my mind all week that I was going to play.”

Justin Francis breaks out against Miami, but Rob Ninkovich suffers injury

0
0

It was a good news, bad news kind of day for the Pats.

FOXBOROUGH – Defensive end Justin Francis, an undrafted rookie out of Rutgers, had his breakout moment of the season by recording three sacks against the Dolphins.

Afterward, he thanked the Lord and his teammates for helping him put together the performance, as well as for helping him make the team and last the season.

“It’s just the blessings of God,” Francis said. “It’s been a long journey, and it continues.”

Francis’ teammates reciprocated the good feelings and talked up his performance, but at least one person wasn’t impressed with Francis’ numbers and wanted to remind everyone the defense’s seven sacks were the result of a team effort.

“I think some of that is overrated,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “There were several times when one guy came in and flushed the quarterback out and somebody else got him. If we get him as a team, we get him. But they all did a good job.”

Belichick technically wasn’t wrong. One of Francis’ sacks was the result of pressure by Rob Ninkovich (eight sacks this season), and later Vince Wilfork recorded one after Trevor Scott pushed quarterback Ryan Tannehill up into the pocket.

But some of those good feelings could be coming up on hard times. Ninkovich, New England’s leading pass rusher, went out with a hip injury and had to be helped to the locker room.

The severity of the injury is not yet known, but players were aware of the potential enormity of the situation, with defensive lineman Brandon Deaderick classifying Ninkovich’s contributions this season as “monumental.”

“It will be huge. He does everything for us,” defensive end Trevor Scott said. “He’s a great player, but I don’t know what the status is.”

The Patriots faced a similar situation last year when leading pass rusher Andre Carter went down with a quad injury in December.

Patriots to play playoff game on Jan. 13

0
0

Playoff schedules have been announced.

The NFL just announced the upcoming playoff schedule for both conferences. The Patriots will have this week off before hosting a game Jan. 13 at 4:30 p.m. They will play the highest- seeded team remaining from Houston, Indianapolis and Baltimore.

Denver, the AFC's top seed, will play the lowest-seeded team.

First round

Saturday, Jan. 5

AFC: 4:30 PM (ET)
Cincinnati at Houston (NBC)

NFC: 8:00 PM (ET)
Minnesota at Green Bay (NBC)

Sunday, Jan. 6

AFC: 1:00 PM (ET)
Indianapolis at Baltimore (CBS)

NFC: 4:30 PM (ET)
Seattle at Washington/Dallas (FOX)

Divisional round

Saturday, Jan. 12

AFC: 4:30 PM (ET)
Baltimore/Indianapolis/Cincinnati at Denver (CBS)

NFC: 8:00 PM (ET)
Green Bay/Washington/Dallas/Seattle at San Francisco (FOX)

Sunday, Jan. 13

NFC: 1:00 PM (ET)
Washington/Dallas/Seattle/Minnesota at Atlanta (FOX)

AFC: 4:30 PM (ET)
Houston/Baltimore/Indianapolis at New England (CBS)


Hillary Clinton hospitalized with blood clot

0
0

Her doctors discovered the clot Sunday while performing a follow-up exam for a concussion she sustained earlier this month.

hillary clinton, ap Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton  

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was admitted to a New York hospital Sunday after the discovery of a blood clot stemming from the concussion she sustained earlier this month.

Clinton's doctors discovered the clot Sunday while performing a follow-up exam, her spokesman, Philippe Reines, said. He would not elaborate on the location of the clot but said Clinton is being treated with anti-coagulants and would remain at New York-Presbyterian Hospital for at least the next 48 hours so doctors can monitor the medication.

"Her doctors will continue to assess her condition, including other issues associated with her concussion," Reines said in a statement. "They will determine if any further action is required."

Clinton, 65, fell and suffered a concussion while at home alone in mid-December as she recovered from a stomach virus that left her severely dehydrated. The concussion was diagnosed Dec. 13 and Clinton was forced to cancel a trip to North Africa and the Middle East that had been planned for the next week.

Clinton was also forced to cancel Dec. 20 testimony before Congress about a scathing report into the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. The report found that serious failures of leadership and management in two State Department bureaus were to blame for insufficient security at the facility. Clinton took responsibility for the incident before the report was released, but she was not blamed.

Some conservative commentators suggested Clinton was faking the seriousness of her illness and concussion to avoid testifying, although State Department officials vehemently denied that was the case.

Lawmakers at the hearings — including Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman who has been nominated by President Barack Obama to succeed Clinton — offered her their best wishes.

The former first lady and senator, who had always planned to step down as America's top diplomat in January, is known for her grueling travel schedule. She is the most traveled secretary of state in history, having visited 112 countries while in the job.

Aqib Talib of New England Patriots missing from action against Dolphins

0
0

Talib warmed up before the game but did not play.

FOXBOROUGH -- Aqib Talib was active for Sunday’s game against the Dolphins but did not see the field.

The cornerback has been battling a hip injury that limited him last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars. When asked by MassLive why he didn't play against Miami and when that decision was made, he said nothing was decided until Sunday.

“I just warmed up and Coach made a decision,” Talib said. “I just did what Coach feels is right.”

Talib did, however, imply he could have played if called upon.

"If Coach would have wanted me to go, I would have went," Talib said.

Mainly clear skies, very cold, low 8

0
0

Staying dry, but cold for New Year's.

Gallery preview

Several inches of snow accumulated across the region last night, the final totals for more than 20 towns across western Massachusetts has been updated on the CBS3 Pinpoint Weather Blog.

Mainly clear skies tonight and a cold airmass still over the region will allow temperatures to fall into the single-digits overnight. Winds will die down, but wind chills will still be close to zero. This will easily be our coldest night of the season so far, with more cold weather on the way.

Temperatures drop radically for the start of 2013, with highs stuck in the low-20s and overnight lows still in the single digits. It will be fair mix of sun and clouds for a majority of the week (except for a few flurries at times in the Berkshires). We are taking out the chance of flurries for the Springfield area on New Year's Day. However, the cold temperatures will help keep the snow already on the ground from quickly melting away.

Tonight: Mainly clear skies, very cold, winds ease up, low 8.

New Year's Eve: Partly cloudy and chilly, high 33.

New Year's Day: Partly cloudy and chilly, high 31.

Wednesday: Partly cloudy and cold, high 23.

Radar | 5 Day Forecast

Springfield police investigating armed robbery of convenience store

0
0

The two men were armed with a gun and took $300 from the Liberty Heights store.


SPRINGFIELD — Two masked men robbed a store clerk at gunpoint and took about $300 Sunday night.

The armed robbery happened at about 8:55 p.m. at a convenience store at 889 Carew St. in the city's Liberty Heights neighborhood. No one was injured, police Capt. Cheryl C. Claprood said.

The suspects were described as being light-skinned Hispanic men. One was wearing a black puffy vest with a gray hooded sweatshirt underneath and a white baseball cap. The second was wearing a gray baseball cap, black jacket with red lining, black pants and white sneakers. They fled on foot and were last seen heading to Stockman Street, she said.


MAP SHOWING ARMED ROBBERY location in Springfield's Liberty Heights neighborhood:


View Larger Map

Metro North train collides with car in Redding, Conn., killing 1 person and injuring 3

0
0

Redding is just south of Danbury, Conn., and about 87 miles southwest of Springfield.

REDDING, Conn. — A Metro North train collided with a car at about 1:20 p.m. Sunday in Redding, Conn., killing one person and injuring three others, according to reports.

The name of the person who died has not yet been publicly released.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Sam Zambuto said the train, which was not carrying any passengers, struck the car as it was crossing railroad tracks on Long Ridge Road in Redding. It was unclear if the crossing had a gate.

Zambuto said all four people who were in the car were taken to Danbury Hospital, where one was pronounced dead. Updates on the health status of the other three people were not immediately available.

The train was headed south on Metro North's Danbury Branch line, which connects Danbury to South Norwalk.

Located in Fairfield County, Redding is just south of Danbury and about 87 miles southwest of Springfield.

The incident shut down the Danbury Branch for several hours, with service expected to resume by early Sunday evening, according to the Hartford Courant. Buses were used to ferry passengers while the section of track was closed.

The collision remains under investigation by authorities.


Material from the Associated Press and Hartford Courant was used in this report.

Psychiatric test ordered for suspect in NYC subway death

0
0

A 31-year-old woman accused of shoving a man to his death in front of a subway train laughed and smiled during a court hearing where she was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

1231subway.JPG New York City Police Department detectives escort Erika Menendez, second from left, out of the 112th Precinct in the Queens borough of New York. Menendez was arraigned Saturday night on a charge of murder as a hate crime. Judge Gia Morris has ordered that the 31-year-old be held without bail and be given a mental health exam.  

By COLLEEN LONG

NEW YORK — A 31-year-old woman accused of shoving a man to his death in front of a subway train because she believed he was Muslim laughed and smiled during a court hearing where she was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Erika Menendez, 31, was charged Saturday night with murder as a hate crime after she told police she spontaneously pushed Sunando Sen, according to prosecutors.

"There is no reason. I just pushed him in front of the train because I thought it would be cool," she said, according to the Queens district attorney's office.

She laughed so hard during her arraignment in Queens criminal court that Judge Gia Morris told her lawyer: "You're going to have to have your client stop laughing."

Defense attorney Dietrich Epperson said Menendez's behavior in court was no different from how she had been acting when he spoke to her privately, and said his client didn't really think the proceedings were funny. He represented her for the arraignment only and had no further comment. Menendez was held without bail and ordered to have a mental health exam.

Prosecutors said she pushed the 46-year-old India native to his death because she blamed "Muslims, Hindus and Egyptians" for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"I pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims — ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers I've been beating them up," Menendez told police, according to the district attorney's office.

Friends and co-workers said Sen, a native of Calcutta, was Hindu. He had lived in Queens for decades and was a graphic designer and copy shop owner. Sen was standing on an elevated platform of the 7 train that travels between Manhattan and Queens when he was shoved from behind as the train entered the station.

Witnesses told police a woman had been mumbling to herself and was sitting on a bench behind Sen until the train pulled in, then shoved him from behind. She then fled.

Police released a sketch and surveillance footage of a woman running from the subway station. Menendez was arrested after a passer-by saw her on the street and thought she looked like the wanted suspect. Witnesses identified her in a lineup and she was questioned by police, when she implicated herself, according to police and prosecutors.

Angel Luis Santiago, who used to work at the Queens building where Menendez's mother and stepfather live, said he was shocked by her arrest.

"It surprised me what she did," he said. "She never acted that way."

Menendez's next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 14.

Sen was the second man to die after being pushed in front of a New York City subway train this month. Ki-Suck Han was killed in a midtown Manhattan subway station on Dec. 3. A homeless man was arrested and charged with murder in that case and is awaiting trial. He claimed he acted in self-defense.

Such subway deaths are rare, but transit officials said last week they would consider installing barriers with sliding doors on some subway platforms. Other cities including Paris and London have installed such barriers.
___

Associated Press Writer Karen Matthews contributed to this report.

NHL, union likely to return to table Monday, time running out

0
0

There were no formal negotiations Sunday, but all signs pointed to talks on Monday in an effort to end the lockout and save the season.

12-30-12-nhl-talks.jpg This Aug. 14 file photo shows NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, left, and Bill Daly, deputy commissioner and chief legal officer, following collective bargaining talks in Toronto. The NHL is set to get back to the bargaining table on Monday with the locked-out players’ association.  

By IRA PODELL

NEW YORK — The NHL and the players' association are ready to get back to the bargaining table.

There were no formal negotiations Sunday, but all signs pointed to talks on Monday in an effort to end the lockout and save the season.

"There will be no further face-to-face meetings today," the union said in a statement Sunday. "The plan is for the sides to meet tomorrow."

Those would be the first negotiations since the sides met with a federal mediator Dec. 13.

The league and the union had informational discussions — by conference call and in meetings — with staff members that lasted much of Saturday and concluded Sunday. Those talks were spurred by the nearly 300-page contract proposal the NHL presented to the union Thursday.

All games through Jan. 14 have been canceled, claiming more than 50 percent of the original schedule. The NHL wants to reach a deal by Jan. 11 and open the season Jan. 19, with a 48-game schedule.

Bargaining sessions with only the NHL and union haven't been held since Dec. 6, when talks abruptly ended after the players' association made a counterproposal to the league's previous offer. The league said that offer was contingent on the union accepting three elements unconditionally and without further bargaining.

The NHL then pulled all existing offers off the table. Two days of sessions with mediators the following week ended without progress.

A person familiar with key points of the offer told The Associated Press that the league proposed raising the limit of individual free-agent contracts to six years from five — seven years if a team re-signs its own player; raising the salary variance from one year to another to 10 percent, up from 5 percent; and one compliance buyout for the 2013-14 season that wouldn't count toward a team's salary cap but would be included in the overall players' share of income.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the new offer weren't being discussed publicly.

The NHL maintained the deferred payment amount of $300 million it offered in its previous proposal, an increase from an earlier offer of $211 million. The initial $300 million offer was pulled after negotiations broke off this month.

The latest proposal is for 10 years, running through the 2021-22 season, with both sides having the right to opt out after eight years.

If this offer doesn't quickly lead to a new collective bargaining agreement, the next round of cuts could claim the entire schedule.

The NHL is the only North American professional sports league to cancel a season because of a labor dispute, losing the 2004-05 campaign to a lockout. A 48-game season was played in 1995 after a lockout stretched into January.

It is still possible this dispute could eventually be settled in the courts if the sides can't reach a deal on their own.

The NHL filed a class-action suit this month in U.S. District Court in New York in an effort to show its lockout is legal. In a separate move, the league filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, contending bad-faith bargaining by the union.

Those moves were made because the players' association took steps toward potentially filing a "disclaimer of interest," which would dissolve the union and make it a trade association. That would allow players to file antitrust lawsuits against the NHL.

Union members voted overwhelmingly to give their board the power to file the disclaimer by Wednesday. If that deadline passes, another authorization vote could be held to approve a later filing.


Serena Williams opens tennis season with comfortable win in Brisbane, Australia

0
0

The 15-time Grand Slam champion opened her 2013 season Sunday and needed less than an hour to beat fellow American Varvara Lepchenko 6-2, 6-1 in the first round of the Brisbane International.

12-30-12-serena-williams.jpg Serena Williams of the U.S. plays a shot during her first round match against Varvaro Lepchenko of the U.S. during the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane, Australia, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012.  

By JOHN PYE

BRISBANE, Australia — Serena Williams joked that since the calendar still read 2012, she needed to maintain this year's dominant form.

The 15-time Grand Slam champion opened her 2013 season Sunday, and Williams needed less than an hour to beat fellow American Varvara Lepchenko 6-2, 6-1 in the first round of the Brisbane International.

Williams won 31 of her last 32 matches during the 2012 season, including titles at Wimbledon, the Olympics, the U.S. Open and the WTA Championships. She was 58-4 overall.

"Tomorrow is the last day of the year, so technically I still had my 2012 rep on the line," she said. "I really needed to win today so I could finish the year with still just the four losses. So that was important for me."

The third-ranked Williams didn't show any signs of the minor surgery on her big toes that forced her to withdraw from an exhibition in Thailand. She moved freely throughout the match against the 21st-ranked Lepchenko.

Williams saved five break points in the first game as she adjusted to a strong breeze.

"I was a little nervous, but I was completely fine," Williams said. "The doctor said I would be fine. I was excited to get an early start, so just in case I did have any pain, I could have tomorrow off. But everything was fine."

Williams said she didn't believe in New Year's resolutions. Goals are a different story, and she's aiming to sweep the major tournaments.

She held all four Grand Slam championships at one point, winning the 2003 Australian Open after claiming the French, Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles in 2002. But she's never completed a season slam.

"I think for me, absolutely," she said of whether it was possible in 2013. "I think maybe whoever wins the Australian Open will have that same thought. I think there is no way that Victoria (Azarenka) or Maria (Sharapova) or maybe some other players don't feel the same way. So I think I definitely feel that way."

And if that doesn't happen, she plans to give herself a few more years to attempt it. Her experience at the London Olympics made her want to keep playing until the 2016 Games in Rio.

Eight of the top 10 women are entered in the Brisbane International, with Azarenka and Sharapova getting byes in the first round.

Sixth-seeded Petra Kvitova beat Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 6-3, 6-4 and will next meet Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who beat Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

In other matches, Australian wild card Jarmila Gajdosova beat 16th-ranked Roberta Vinci 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 to set up a second-round match against Sharapova. Urszula Radwanska of Poland beat Tamira Paszek of Austria 2-6, 6-0, 6-2, and Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova had a 7-5, 6-2 win over Lourdes Dominguez Lino of Spain.

Australia's Samantha Stosur was headlining the night session Monday.

Letters to the Editor: Police in schools won't stop shootings, schools need guards, and more

0
0

Letter writer: I’ve been concerned with the failing education system for many years.

Police in schools won’t stop shootings

School Security 2001.jpg El Cajon, Calif., Police Department school resource officer Rich Agundez Jr., who confronted and wounded a student who attacked Granite Hills High School with a shotgun in 2001, testifies in El Cajon. The National Rifle Association’s response to a Connecticut school massacre envisions, in part, having trained, armed volunteers in every school in America. But Agundez, school safety experts and school board members say there’s a huge difference between a trained law enforcement officer who becomes part of the school family and a guard with a gun.  

The NRA solution of armed guards at every school is ludicrous. In middle and high schools, the gangs are likely to challenge the guard and maybe take his gun away. If he shoots any student pre-emptively, he will be in lots of trouble. At best, the guard will be ineffective as he was at Columbine.

There are too many doors and windows to be guarded. How far do we take this expensive NRA type “protection?”

Anders Breivik could not get an assault weapon in his own country because they are outlawed in Norway but found one on the Internet from an American supplier. He then shot 69 teenagers in July 2011.

Do we supply armed guards to all Norwegian schools. Mexico is loaded with American guns as are many other locations. This NRA solution is not doable and makes no sense except to people making the money from all the gun sales.

It’s time to stop praying for the victims and carrying flowers to their graves. It’s time to grow a backbone and stand up to the NRA regardless of how much money they have from gun manufacturers. Why should they make the money while we pay the price with our children. Blaming gays, feminists, lack of prayer in school, abortion, movies, poor diet are all smoke screens.

We must split up the combination of mentally unstable and AR-15 assault weapons. These guns don’t fall from the sky. If we stop making and selling them, we can ban them as other nations have. It takes political will. We must support Obama and Biden in this effort.

– MALITA BROWN, Wilbraham


Schools need police guards

As the debate on gun control continues, some are calling for police to be stationed in our schools. I agree with them.

There are some, however, who say this is ridiculous and merits no consideration. They believe that the would-be deranged domestic terrorist would just go through the back door or a window or somewhere else entirely where someone else would then be at risk, or it would just simply cost too much.

I respectfully disagree with their premise. It seems to be somewhat of a defeatist mindset. In a country that frivolously wastes more tax dollars than some countries produce, forgive me for dismissing the cost factor in this case.

It is sad and very true that our children cannot be guaranteed protection in every space that they occupy but shouldn’t we at least go down fighting and try it first?

Other than their homes, children spend most of their time in their schools. By including police and various other security measures in schools as part of the solution, wouldn’t it create a real and immediate deterrent for some demented coward looking for an easy target?

Would it help with the bully problem in schools? Wouldn’t the addition of our courageous first responders allow school employees (who in the Sandy Hook incident also earned that distinction), parents and the schoolchildren themselves, to have some comfort in knowing that someone is there trying to protect them. Then, perhaps, they focus more on learning, without being preoccupied with thoughts of the next villain lurking in the shadows?

– KEVIN DeGRAY, Hampden


1950s education had its merits

I’ve been concerned with the failing education system for many years. And while I’ve no children in school I still find it necessary to alert everyone as to what I feel should be done to improve the system.

There are times when one has to back-up before going forward. Schooling prior to the 1950s couldn’t have been that bad. Those graduates produced many of the electronics in our lives today.

The education policies of those days should be analyzed and applied where possible. There is no need for backpacks. The only items they should be carrying is the material required for the day and possibly a lunch.

Next, no electronic devices should be allowed in the classroom. I know individuals that can’t do math without a calculator. As cell phones have become an important safety device and are a must they should be left by the door inside the classroom and not at their desks. All assignments should be done in long hand. No computer-generated work should be accepted. Also physical education should be a required.

Wood and machine shop courses are missing in many schools. These are important courses in today’s world as there are shortages in these fields.

As many students are not planning to go on to college these courses give them a valuable alternative. I’ve found these subjects important throughout my life. Without these my life would be entirely different, and possibly not to the good.

– JOSEPH A. COSTANTINI, East Longmeadow

A Western Massachusetts casino - the promise and the process - led the list of Top 10 business stories of 2012

0
0

Springfield's Union Station in Springfield, Baystate Medical Center's Hospital of the Future, tornado recovery efforts, UMass' building boom and the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center in Holyoke made the list.

casino.JPG A casino for Western Massachusetts was the top business story of 2012.  

SPRINGFIELD – The year 2012 held promise for growth for the future along with the current reality of an economy that has not grown fast enough to satisfy anyone.

So, as households and businesses take stock of the past year and prepare for a new one, it is a good time to take a look back at the top business stories of 2012.

1. Casino gambling 

A number, and the number keeps changing, of developers are vying for the single state casino gambling license that will be available in Western Massachusetts. In Springfield, contestants include Penn National Gaming, with a $807 million proposal for north Main Street, and MGM Resorts International, which has plans for a $800 million to $900 million casino in the city’s South End.

Outside Springfield, the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority is planning a casino on 152 acres off Exit 8 of the Massachusetts Turnpike in Palmer to complement its casino near Uncasville, Conn. Another project, with much less detail available, has been proposed for the Eastern States Exposition Grounds in West Springfield.

Interested developers must provide the state with a $400,000 fee and background-check materials by Jan. 15.

In Springfield, a citywide referendum is likely in the spring, probably in April. Holyoke Mayor Alex B. Morse has changed his mind on casino development a few times and now opposes gambling in his city.

The state predicts construction on any resort that gets approved would begin in 2014.

U.S. Secty. of Transportation Raymond LaHood at Union StationOn July 23, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Raymond H. LaHood announced a grant to start the renovation of Union Station in Springfield. 

2. Springfield's Union Station and plans for high-speed rail in the region

Work has already begun preparing the former baggage warehouse at Springfield’s Union Station for demolition.

It’s part of a multiphase, $78 million reconstruction of the historic depot that once served as the city’s bustling gateway. The first phase, to cost $48.6 million, includes demolition of the warehouse. In its place, contractors will build a 24-bay bus terminal and a 146-space parking garage, with another four bus bays to be built adjacent to this garage. Inside, the city will restore and reopen the first floor of the station and the great hall. It will have ticket counters for Amtrak, Peter Pan Bus Lines, Greyhound and the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority, plus limited retail. The city also will restore and reopen a pedestrian tunnel linking the station with train boarding platforms that are now accessible only from Lyman Street. The elevator from the tunnel to the boarding platforms will be replaced and made handicapped accessible. Work on the first phase is expected to be completed in late 2014 or 2015.

In concert with the station, work is ongoing to improve north-south passenger rail service from New Haven, Conn., through Springfield and into Vermont.

Work has already begun in Franklin County at the northern end of the Massachusetts portion of project, which is funded with $73 million in federal stimulus money.

In Vermont, work on that state’s $54 million stimulus-funded rail project began in 2011 but suffered a setback due to flooding from tropical storm Irene.

Connecticut’s $121 million rail project is expected to be completed in 2014.

The goal is to have passenger trains reaching speeds of up to 70 mph on new rails. Work also will speed the passage of freight up and down the valley.

Transportation planners also are looking at east-west improvements that would link Springfield and Boston through Worcester.

biz tell tool 1.jpg Mike Murray, of East Longmeadow, operations manager at Tell Tool PRV Aerospace in Westfield, holds a holder and bit from one of the four vertical machining centers the company has invested in.  


3. The Fiscal Cliff 

It was tenuous that a deal would be done by New Year’s Day to avert the oncoming fiscal cliff, a package of automatic spending cuts and tax increases taking effect Jan. 1.

Included in that is a 2 percentage-point increase in the Social Security withholding tax.

Defense cuts also loom, with funding for both Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee and Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield in the balance.

There are about $14.3 billion in contracts let by the U.S. Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to Massachusetts companies each year. That includes high-tech manufacturers of defense equipment.

Delays in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program have already cost Massachusetts companies. Tell Tool of Westfield invested $6 million in equipment and facilities upgrades in the hope that the company would soon be doing $10 million a year in business making fuel and hydraulic control manifolds for the F-35. But only about $4 million a year of that work has materialized.

United Technologies cut 300 salaried employees from its Pratt & Whitney subsidiary back in May because orders for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter have been slow. Of those, 200 of the jobs were at Pratt & Whitney in Middletown, Conn.

Retired Air National Guard Brig. Gen. Donald J. Quenneville, a South Hadley native, was appointed in August to lead the state's efforts to block any reduction and closing of the commonwealth's six military facilities as the Defense Department moves forward with plans to cut $500 billion in spending over the next 10 years.

Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray created the Military Asset and Security Strategy Task Force at the end of the summer, during which he had toured all of the bases across the state,


Baystate Hospital of the Future Dedication CeremonyThe Baystate Medical Center Hospital of the Future, featuring the Davis Family Heart & Vascular Center, the MassMutual Wing, and the D'Amour Family Healing Garden, was dedicated in February 2012.  

4. Baystate Medical Center Hospital of the Future 

Baystate Medical Center in Springfield opened its new $45 million emergency room in December.

The new emergency room totaled 72,000 square feet and 94 private patient rooms, including 18 rooms in its Sadowsky Family Pediatric Emergency Department. The previous emergency department had 54 rooms in 17,000 square feet of space. The new emergency room follows the $296 million MassMutual Wing and its Davis Family Heart and Vascular Center, which opened in March. Both the MassMutual Wing and the emergency room are part of the “hospital of the future” project more than four years in the making.

The 640,000-square-foot “hospital of the future” addition includes as-yet unfinished space. It might one day include a new children’s hospital and other uses.

110411-october-snowstorm-cleanup.JPG In this Nov. 4, 2011, file photo, a worker removes trees around downed lines in Simsbury, Conn., after the late October snowstorm.  

5. Utility fines

In December , the state Department of Public Utilities issued a combined $24.8 million in fines against National Grid, NStar and Western Massachusetts Electric Co. for their responses to Snowtober, the late October snowstorm that left some without power for more than a week back in 2011.

That fine against National Grid, of $10.575 million, was more than double the prior record, which had been levied against the company three years ago. 

021712-job-fair-six-flags.JPGJessica Johnston, an employee trainer at Six Flags New England in Agawam, looks over the application of Derick Handley, of Manchester, Conn., during a job fair at the park in February. 

6. High unemployment persists as housing rebounds

Springfield’s unemployment rate rose in November to 10.2 percent, up from 9.9 percent in October, according to figures released last week. The number of employed city residents fell from 59,475 in October to 59,109. The number of jobless rose from 6,558 to 6,701. As a region, Greater Springfield has lost 1,500 jobs on the year from November 2011 to November 2012, a drop of 0.5 percent. That’s compared with a 49,000-job - or 1.5 percent - increase statewide.

As a region, Greater Springfield had an unemployment rate of 7.2 percent, down from 7.3 percent in October and an identical 7.3 percent rate in November 2011.

Also for November, housing numbers continued their improvement. Sales of single-family homes rose 10.3 percent across the Pioneer Valley. There were 395 homes sold here last month, up from 358 a year ago in November 2011.

The median price brought by those homes fell 3.4 percent from $184,250 a year ago in November 2011 to $178,000, according to data released by the Realtor Association of Pioneer Valley.

The large number of distressed and bank-owned properties may be holding back a rise in median prices, Realtors said.

082312-bertelli-langones-florist.JPGCatherine and Brent Bertelli stand in front of the building they bought at 935 Main St. in Springfield's South End, which they will be renovating and to which they will relocate their business, Langones Florist, from the present nearby location.This building had been closed since the June 1,2011, tornado. 

7. Tornado recovery 

The June 2011 tornadoes killed three, injured dozens and damaged or destroyed more than 2,000 homes and businesses.

For many of those business and home owners, 2012 was a year of recovery.

In Springfield’s South End, the owners of 1020 Main St. replaced a storm-damaged hulk with a new 5,000-square-foot, one-floor commercial and retail building. Nearby at 935 Main St., the owners of Langone’s Florist plan to renovate the 20,000-square-foot tornado-damaged building at the corner of Main and William streets into a new florist shop with workspace. The new owners plan to rent out a second storefront on the first floor and office space for financial services and law offices on the upper floors.

biz friendly's 4.jpgGeorge Oliveras, of Chicopee, works on the ice cream packaging line at the Friendly Ice Cream Corp. factory in Wilbraham in July. 

8. Friendly’s emerges from bankruptcy 

Local mainstay Friendly Ice Cream Corp. emerged from bankruptcy protection in January 2011 and now has plans to reinvigorate its restaurants with a back-to-basics burger and ice cream menu and a new decorating scheme.

Company officials said bankruptcy saved 377 restaurants and about 5,700 jobs. It also freed up capital to invest in locations.

Its corporate owners, Sun Capital Partners LLC, repurchased the iconic brand for $122.6 million, and in the process wiped away $297 million in debt and closed more than 100 locations, nine of them in the Springfield area. The sale price was about a third of the $337.2 million owners Sun Capital paid for the chain in 2007.

As part of that bankruptcy, Friendly’s abandoned the company’s pension plan to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. which can result in lower pension payments to retirees.

112812-umass-classroom.construction.JPGNew academic and classroom building under construction on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus.  

9. University of Massachusetts at Amherst improvements

The University of Massachusetts board of trustees has recommended $1.1 billion in new construction for the Amherst campus.

The budget for the next five years includes projects that are under way now, including $44 million for the New Life Science Laboratories, $129 million for the Commonwealth Honors College residential life building and $75.7 million for an academic classroom building.

Also, UMass Springfield might become a reality. University President Robert l. Caret wants to recreate satellite campuses in cities around the state offering courses and programs of studies not otherwise available. Springfield is campaigning hard for one of those.

111412-holyoke-computing-center.JPGThe Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center on Bigelow St. in Holyoke was dedicated in mid November. 

10. Holyoke Computer Center opens

The Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center opened in November. The $165 million center built on the city’s canals will house sophisticated computers adept at crunching oceans of data and supporting groundbreaking research at universities and corporations all over the region.

Funding came from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Massachusetts, Boston University, Northeastern University, Harvard University, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Cisco Systems, EMC and the Federal New Markets Tax Credit program.

'Cabbage Patch' coming to Majestic Theater

0
0

The play begins its West Springfield run on Thursday.

Cabbage Patch.jpg  


When you hear the words “cabbage patch” some people think of the popular dolls, while others use it as a response to young ones wanting to know where babies come from.

But at West Springfield's Majestic Theater beginning Thursday, “The Cabbage Patch,” a play by Daniel Lillford, is where some think Jean, one of the characters in the play who is missing, might just be buried.

Lillford call his play a “black comedy and mystery” which focuses on Arthur, an ex-Canadian Army captain who now spends his time as an inventor and gardener; his British-born wife, May; Roy, the town drunk, who served with Arthur in Korea; and Arthur’s sister-in-law, Jean, who has gone missing.

In a forward to the script, the author wrote, “I am drawn to the soldiers’ stories because of my grandfathers. Through their stories, and through others, comes this play. It’s not a big play. It is merely like that poppy I buy each year, one small mark of respect and remembrance.”

“John Thomas Waite who appears in our version of the play recommended it to me. So I got the script from the author and found it to be a very different and unusual story, which I thought we could bring to our audiences here in West Springfield,” said Majestic founding producer Danny Eaton.

Waite, who portrays Roy in the Majestic production, appeared in the play’s world premiere last year at the Depot Theatre in Westport, New York, on Lake Champlain.

“Daniel, I believe, is from Australia and now lives in Nova Scotia, so that makes him an Australian-Canadian playwright, and there aren’t a hell of a lot of them,” laughed Waite.

“So, here’s the thing about this play, which is sort of a dark comedy-mystery. What caught me up in it is that it is really a play about relationships – the relationship between Arthur and his wife, between Arthur and his old girlfriend, Jean, who is now his brother’s wife, and the relationship between Arthur and my character, Roy. And, everything that happens in the play is because of these different relationships,” he added.

According to Waite, who resides in New York City, the play takes place in the 1980s with flashbacks to the 1970s. Arthur and Roy were in the Korean War together where Roy served under Arthur. Roy is now the town drunk and Arthur is an inventor who is about to make a lot of money after a letter arrives from someone “who is going to take his invention and do something with it,” said Waite.

“Despite their differences, the reality is that the bonds forged between these two men during the war has kept them together all this time,” said Waite.

Eaton has tapped Canadian Kristen van Ginhoven, who now lives in the Berkshires, to direct “The Cabbage Patch.”

“This is my first time directing for the Majestic. Other than wanting to work with their players and Dan (Eaton), I was attracted to the play which takes me back home to Canada and Nova Scotia and to Dalhousie University, which I attended and where one of the characters in the play went to college. I understand the world of the play and where it is set, as well as many of the references in the script. It’s a very heartfelt and intriguing play,” said van Ginhoven.

Equal part mystery – fans of the television show “Law and Order” will enjoy following the crumbs of a trail throughout the play to try to figure out where the body went to – and comedy, the play opens with a grown man on stage who comes wearing a dress.

“That sets the whole tone for the play,” said van Ginhoven.


'Fiscal cliff' deal proving elusive

0
0

A Capitol Hill deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" was proving elusive Sunday as a deadline to avert tax hikes on virtually every American worker and block sweeping spending cuts set to strike the Pentagon and other federal agencies grew perilously near.

1231cliff.JPG Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, walks to a closed-door GOP caucus as Congress meets to negotiate a legislative path to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff" of automatic tax increases and deep spending cuts that could kick in Jan. 1., at the Capitol in Washington, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012.  


By ALAN FRAM and ANDREW TAYLOR

WASHINGTON — A Capitol Hill deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" was proving elusive Sunday as a deadline to avert tax hikes on virtually every American worker and block sweeping spending cuts set to strike the Pentagon and other federal agencies grew perilously near.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell remained at odds on such key issues as the income threshold for higher tax rates and how to deal with inheritance taxes, among other issues. McConnell complained that Reid had yet to respond to a GOP offer made Saturday evening and reached out to Vice President Joe Biden, a longtime friend, in hopes of breaking the impasse. Biden assumed the lead role for Democrats, and a McConnell spokesman said the Kentucky Republican and the vice president were expected to negotiate by telephone into the night.

Rank-and-file lawmakers left the Capitol Sunday night with hopes that their leaders would give them something to vote on when they returned Monday morning.

One sign of progress came as Republicans withdrew a long-discussed proposal to slow future cost-of-living increases for Social Security recipients as part of a compromise to avoid the cliff. Democrats said earlier Sunday that proposal had put a damper on the talks, and Republican senators emerging from a closed-door GOP meeting said it is no longer part of the equation.

"I was really gratified to hear that Republicans have taken their demand for Social Security benefit cuts off the table. The truth is they should never have been on the table to begin with," Reid said late Sunday afternoon. "There is still significant distance between the two sides, but negotiations continue."

At stake are sweeping tax hikes and across-the-board spending cuts set to take effect at the turn of the year. Taken together, they've been dubbed the fiscal cliff, and economists warn the one-two punch — which leaders in both parties have said they want to avoid — could send the still-fragile economy back into recession. Tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 expire at midnight Monday, and $109 billion in across-the-board cuts in federal spending this year would also begin this week.

Workers could see more taxes withheld from their paychecks and federal agencies are likely to soon receive warning of possible furloughs if lawmakers fail to reach a deal to avert the cliff. The new Congress will be sworn in on Thursday and would inherit the problem if the current crop of lame-duck lawmakers can't find an answer before then.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said the two sides remained at odds over the income threshold for higher tax rates and tax levels on large estates. Republicans said that Democratic demands for new money to prevent a cut in Medicare payments to doctors and renew jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed should be financed with cuts elsewhere in the budget. Republicans also balked at a Democratic proposal to use new tax revenues to shut off the across-the-board spending cuts, known as a sequester in Washington-speak.

President Barack Obama, in a televised interview, blamed Republicans for putting the nation's shaky economy at risk.

"We have been talking to the Republicans ever since the election was over," Obama said in the interview that was taped Saturday and aired Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." ''They have had trouble saying yes to a number of repeated offers."

"The mood is discouraged," said Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent who caucuses with Democrats. "The parties are much further apart than I hoped they'd be by now."

The pessimistic turn came as the House and Senate returned to the Capitol for a rare Sunday session. Reid and McConnell had hoped to have a blueprint to present to their rank and file by mid-afternoon.

McConnell and Reid were hoping for a deal that would prevent higher taxes for most Americans while letting rates rise at higher income levels, although the precise point at which that would occur was a sticking point.

Obama had wanted to raise the top tax rate on individuals making more than $200,000 a year and families making more than $250,000 from 35 percent to 39.6 percent. In talks with Republican House Speaker John Boehner, he offered to raise that threshold to $400,000.

The estate tax issue was particularly tricky since several Democrats, including veterans like Max Baucus of Montana, disagree with Obama's proposal to increase the top estate tax rate from 35 percent to 45 percent.

Republicans said Democrats pressed to turn off more than $200 billion in the across-the-board spending cuts over the coming two years. This so-called sequester is the punishment for last year's deficit "supercommittee" failure to strike a deal.

Hopes for blocking across-the-board spending cuts were fading and Obama's proposal to renew the 2-percentage-point payroll tax cut wasn't even part of the discussion.

Obama pressed lawmakers to start where both sides say they agree — sparing middle-class families from looming tax hikes.

"If we can get that done, that takes a big bite out of the fiscal cliff. It avoids the worst outcomes. And we're then going to have some tough negotiations in terms of how we continue to reduce the deficit, grow the economy, create jobs," Obama said in the NBC interview.

Gone is the talk of a grand deal that would tackle broad spending and revenue demands and set the nation on a course to lower deficits. Obama and Boehner were once a couple hundred billion dollars apart on a deal that would have reduced the deficit by more than $2 trillion over 10 years.

Republicans have complained that Obama has demanded too much in tax revenue and hasn't proposed sufficient cuts or savings in the nation's massive health care programs.

Obama upped the pressure on Republicans to negotiate a fiscal deal, arguing that GOP leaders have rejected his past attempts to strike a bigger and more comprehensive bargain.

"The offers that I've made to them have been so fair that a lot of Democrats get mad at me," Obama said.

Boehner disagreed, saying Sunday that the president had been unwilling to agree to anything "that would require him to stand up to his own party."

The trimmed ambitions of today are a far cry from the upbeat bipartisan rhetoric of just six weeks ago, when the leadership of Congress went to the White House to set the stage for negotiations to come.

But the deal under discussion Sunday appeared unlikely to settle other outstanding issues, including the sequester, which would total more than $1 trillion in cuts over 10 years, divided equally between the Pentagon and other government agencies. And off the table completely is an extension of the nation's borrowing limit, which the government is on track to reach any day but which the Treasury can put off through accounting measures for about two months.

That means Obama and the Congress are already on a new collision path. Republicans say they intend to use the debt ceiling as leverage to extract more spending cuts from the president. Obama has been adamant that unlike 2011, when the country came close to defaulting on its debts, he will not yield to those Republican demands.

Meanwhile, a senior defense official said if the sequester were triggered, the Pentagon would soon begin notifying its 800,000 civilian employees that they should expect some furloughs — mandatory unpaid leave, not layoffs. It would then take some time for the furloughs to begin being implemented, said the official, who requested anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the internal preparations.

Lawmakers have until the new Congress convenes to pass any compromise, and even the calendar matters. Democrats said they had been told House Republicans might reject a deal until after Jan. 1, to avoid a vote to raise taxes before they had technically gone up, and then vote to cut taxes after they had risen.

Associated Press writers David Espo, Robert Burns, Julie Pace, Jim Kuhnhenn and Michele Salcedo contributed to this report.

Viewing all 62489 articles
Browse latest View live


Latest Images