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Arizona parole hearing airs Jacob Wideman's 25-year-old murder of Eric Kane

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Jacob Wideman, who is serving time for killing Kane, is the son of former University of Massachusetts professor and author John Edgar Wideman.

Louise Kane 52011.jpgLouise Kane, right, is comforted by family friend Paulene Thompson Tuesday after a clemency board in Phoenix, Ariz., denied parole for Jacob Wideman, who killed Kane’s son in 1986. Wideman is the son of prominent novelist and college professor John Edgar Wideman, formerly at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

By MICHAEL KIEFER
Arizona Republic


Twenty-five years after the murder, the hurt is still fresh.

The victim’s mother described the killer as “so violently intent on killing someone.”

The killer’s father, a renowned writer, said, “I am stunned still by what happened 25 years ago. ... I find myself unable to speak about it to the (family). I can only prostrate myself before them and say good luck.”

But he also felt his son had raised himself well in prison, and he was proud of the man he had become.

On an August night in 1986, in a hotel room in Flagstaff, Ariz., Jacob Edgar Wideman plunged a knife into Eric Kane while he slept.

Both boys were 16 years old, on a summer-camp-sponsored tour of Western national parks.

Wideman told police he killed Kane because he’d had a “tough year.”

“It was not premeditated,” he told police. “It was the buildup of a lot of emotions. I never thought about what I did.”

He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years – which brings him to this October.

On Tuesday, Wideman spoke at length with the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency, asking for a second chance.

The board turned him down.

Weight of murder

Jacob Wideman 52011.jpgJacob Wideman

Jacob Wideman speaks with concise diction in a breathy mid-Atlantic accent. On Tuesday, he told the clemency board by telephone hookup that the murder “has weighed on me for 25 years.”

Though he went to prison before he could shave, while he still had braces on his teeth, he has become an articulate, intelligent 41-year-old man. During his imprisonment, he landed an attractive fiancee, a psychologist who told the clemency board she wants him to move into the home she shares with her children.

Wideman wrote in his parole application and said in his hearing that he wants to become involved in mental-health care, that he wants to work with children, that he has managed to overcome his own mental-health issues in recent years with meditation and breathing techniques and a new understanding of who he is.

Said Louise Kane, his victim’s mother, “Anyone who could kill for no reason at all, other than that he had violent thoughts and impulses, shouldn’t be in society.”

Sandy Kane, Eric’s father, told The Arizona Republic that he spent the first years after Eric’s death agonizing over how his son suffered, then the next decades thinking about everything that Eric had missed: weddings, graduations, births.

And now that Wideman can apply for parole again in a year, he worries about Wideman being out of prison.

“It doesn’t go away,” he said. “I would do anything to keep him out of society.”

John Edgar Wideman 1998.jpgJohn Edgar Wideman

Jacob Wideman’s father is the prominent novelist and college professor John Edgar Wideman, formerly at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, who twice won the prestigious PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction.

“I have nothing to say to John Wideman,” Sandy Kane said. “I have nothing but contempt for the man.”

Among Wideman’s books is a 1985 memoir, Brothers and Keepers, which describes how Wideman pulled himself out of a Pittsburgh ghetto to become an Ivy League basketball star and a Rhodes Scholar, while his brother succumbed to the streets and was beaten down by the establishment until he landed in prison with a life sentence for murder.

His older brother never had a chance, Wideman theorized. That logic folded back on him when his son, who did have a chance, committed murder and was also sentenced to life in prison.

Other children thrived

Wideman’s other children thrived. His older son, Daniel, is a published author and a businessman in North Carolina. His daughter, Jamila, became a lawyer after a career in the WNBA. She was a basketball star at Amherst Regional High.

John Edgar Wideman wrote in a letter of support to the parole board, “Today, at this very moment, I remain appalled, bewildered, diminished by the fact that twenty-five years ago my son was responsible for taking another boy’s life. One boy’s life lost, another boy’s life devastated and those excruciatingly cruel facts will never change. They embody a nearly unspeakable truth from which the victim’s family, Jake’s family, Jake, society, none of us will ever fully recover.”

Eric Kane and Jacob Wideman were children of privilege spending the summer of 1986 at a camp in Maine that was owned by Wideman’s maternal grandfather. The highlight of the summer was a tour of Western national parks. On that Aug. 13, the tour stopped in Flagstaff on the way to the Grand Canyon.

The boys, both lanky six-footers, were bunkmates in the hotel. Eric went to sleep. Jacob stayed awake, and in an instant of impulse, picked up a knife he had bought at Yellowstone National Park and buried it twice in Eric’s chest. He stole the group’s car and $3,000 in traveler’s checks and took off on a cross-country odyssey to the East Coast.

Eric was discovered dead the next morning in the room’s bathroom. The medical examiner determined it had taken him hours to bleed to death.

A week later, Jacob’s parents brought him back to Flagstaff to turn himself in. He was initially released on bond and his parents put him in a succession of psychiatric hospitals on the East Coast. At one of them, he was accused of assaulting another youth.

He confessed to killing Eric to Flagstaff police. A year later, he confessed to a second murder that had taken place in Laramie, Wyo., in 1985, where his father was teaching. A young woman had been stabbed to death, her apartment set on fire. Jacob later recanted the confession. He was never charged with the murder.

At his parole hearing Tuesday, Jacob said he had confessed to the crime as a suicidal act, to speed up getting the death penalty, recalling details he read in the newspaper at the time of the crime.

But the death penalty was taken off the table. Jacob pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison with chance of parole after 25 years. The judge in the case stated his hope that Jacob never be granted parole.

On Tuesday, Jacob Wideman spoke about the violent impulses he has suffered since a small child, urges that made him feel awkward and out of place.

He described Eric as equally awkward and said that he associated Eric with the things he hated most about himself. And so he killed him.

That behavior continued during his early years in prison, he said, ending with a 1993 assault on a prison staffer that earned him time in isolation.

Like a screenplay

There, in a scene much like something out of a screenplay, he met an older prisoner who counseled him to start making something of himself.

And then, recounting the story using psychological buzz words, he transformed himself through counseling and introspection. The impulses faded to a point where he could control them, while “taking responsibility for what lives in me,” he said.

He diagnoses himself as having obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Eric’s sister, Laurie, attended the hearing by phone.

“I’m not convinced – and I say this as a psychiatrist – that he’s capable of change that can make us all feel safe,” she said.

The parole board did not buy Jacob’s story, either. Chairman Duane Belcher chased him down with questions about his last impulsive episodes, his most recent psychological evaluations, the Laramie murder.

And ghosts of his Flagstaff trial bore witness.

The victim advocate from the case said, “I don’t think meditation stops someone from murdering.”

The former Flagstaff chief of police said, “His slow deliberation now is the same slow deliberation he used when he pulled out a Bowie knife and plunged it into a boy who was sleeping.”

The board voted unanimously to deny parole. Jacob Wideman can apply again in a year.

“I’m understandably disappointed,” John Edgar Wideman said as he left the hearing.

Sandy Kane fretted about going through another hearing a year from now.

“I’m not sure if I’m ever going to get back to that nicer place where I remember my son,” he said.


Organizers say Springfield Vintage Grand Prix races in jeopardy

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Mayor Domenic Sarno said the promoters have failed to provide critical information regarding liability and safety issues.

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SPRINGFIELD – A group planning a Vintage Grand Prix race in Springfield in July said Friday the event is in jeopardy because of roadblocks by city officials with unrealistic expectations.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, however, said the promoters failed to provide needed information and to address basic concerns about liability and safety. The organizers have themselves to blame if the event does not take place, he said.

“To throw out that the city administration is trying to kill this thing is ridiculous,” Sarno said. “I would love to have the event, but it needs to be done in the right way.”

Michael A. Hall, of Springfield, founder of the Springfield Vintage Grand Prix, said he and other organizers and promoters have a meeting with Sarno and his advisors on Monday to ask if the city wants the race or not.

“There has been roadblocks, hurdles and really unrealistic expectations,” Hall said. “People have to stop putting their personal agendas in front of the community. Yes, of course it’s politics.”

“That’s outrageous,” Sarno said of the allegation of politics. “That shows me how low they have stooped to.”

The event, featuring pre-1960 race cars, is being presented by the Vintage Sports Car Club of America in collaboration with the city. Hall and City Councilor Melvin A. Edwards are among the key local organizers.

A key stumbling block is that the city wants to organizers to provide a $300,000 performance bond to cover city costs including police details and the Department of Public Works, Hall said.

The organizers are covering costs for the event, and the city’s figure for its own expenses is unrealistic and inflated, Hall said.

The event, which is planned July 22 to 24, is free to the public and a charity for the Springfield schools, Hall said. It will bring in tens of thousands of people, benefiting the local economy and filling area hotels, organizers said. The race route is in the downtown area.

The Law Department, in multiple letters to Hall, said it needs formal guarantees that the city’s liability is fully covered and that public safety is fully addressed.

SVGP-logo.jpg

The race days are Saturday and Sunday, ending by late afternoon each day, Hall said. The route will be protected by Jersey barriers and professionally installed fencing, and the vintage cars will be traveling at reasonable speeds, as the event is more of an exhibition of vintage cars than a race, he said.

Hall said the organizers, working with the New England Farm Workers Council, are planning the event, and have $30 million in liability insurance. Springfield officials should determine what provisions need to be added to that insurance plan to meet the city’s needs, he said.

Sarno and his chief of staff, Denise Jordan, said various city departments and department heads have worked long and hard with the organizers, but have not gotten needed information.

“I cannot put the city, nor its residents, nor its business community in harm's way,” Sarno said.

The City Council approved a home rule bill to allow street racing, but it needs approval from the Legislature and governor. The bill is before the House-Senate Joint Transportation Committee.

Edwards, a first-term councilor, said the mayor was initially “quite welcoming,” with the provision that the event must be safe and privately funded. The organizers agree fully, and have been providing all the information needed for a successful event, he said.

“I’m really disappointed,” Edwards said. “It has been a very arduous journey. Nobody is saying flatly we can’t do this. They have created all these obstacles.”

The city has to follow rules, procedures and laws, Sarno said.

“We are trying to work with the promoters to make this happen,” Sarno said. “We can’t hold their hands. They are trying to turn it, that if it is not done, it’s the city’s fault. That’s not true.”

In a letter May 5, Associate City Solicitor Patricia Bobba Donovan said there has been “oral” information provided, but the city needs a written agreement that “details and assures all aspects of the event, to the satisfaction of the city, especially safety, consideration for business and residents in the area, and full guaranteed financial protection for all of the city expenses.”

She said the city needs an insurance binder that proves the city and the licensee are fully covered by liability insurance.

The organizers and the Sarno administration said there have been many phone calls, emails and meetings to address issues and concerns. Those taking part have included representatives of the mayor’s office, Public Works, Law Department, Police Department, Economic Development and Office of Emergency Preparedness.

Hall said time is too short for any further delay. People are already booking hotels and making freight arrangements for the vintage cars, he and Edwards said.

“I think it’s great but has to be done in the right way,” Sarno said. “I can’t help it if the promoter is dropping the ball in some way.”

University of Massachusetts President Jack Wilson to seek fee increase for students

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The fee increase could be between $587 to $821, up 5-7% from the academic year that just ended.

BOSTON - University of Massachusetts President Jack M. Wilson will recommend a fee increase for students of about 5 to 7 percent for the next academic year to help deal with declining state financing for the campuses, a spokesman said on Friday.

102210 jack wilson umass mug shot.jpgJack Wilson, the outgoing president of the University of Massachusetts, will recommend a fee increase of about 5 to 7 percent for students for the next academic year.

Wilson's decision means that University of Massachusetts students will be joining students at many community colleges and state university campuses in paying higher fees to help foot the bill for state budget cuts and a loss of federal stimulus dollars.

Trustees at Holyoke Community College and Springfield Technical Community College have already voted to approve fee increases for students for the upcoming academic year. Trustees at Westfield State University and Greenfield Community College might vote on fee increases during meetings in June.

During this past year at the university's Amherst campus, in-state undergraduates paid $11,732 in tuition and fees. That means the fee increase is likely to be about $587 to $821.

Robert P. Connolly, a spokesman for Wilson, said Wilson's decision is not final. Connolly could not provide a precise number for the fee increase but said it would be "mid single digits" on a percentage basis, somewhere between 5 and 7 percent.

Connolly said state support for the University of Massachusetts dropped from $8,000 per student five years ago to about $6,000. "The implications are pretty clear and somewhat dramatic that the state subsidy declined by that amount," he said.

Rep. Sean F. Curran, D-Springfield, a member of the Committee on Education, said he hears from students about fee increases and that he agrees the fees are too high. "Nobody can be happy with that," Curran said of a fee increase. "These are tough times."

brewer.jpgSen. Stephen Brewer, the budget chief in the Massachusetts Senate, said fee increases for college students stem from a grim budget scenario.

Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said he was not pleased with fee increases for students in higher education.

"You never like that," said Brewer, a 1971 graduate of the Amherst campus. "It's part and parcel of a very grim budget scenario."

In February, Wilson said a fee increase would be needed to help close $54.5 million budget gap for the next fiscal year, but he didn't know then if the increase would be more than a typical 2 to 3 percent hike needed to cover inflation.

The gap was caused largely by the loss of $37.8 million in federal stimulus for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

In the Senate Ways and Means budget for the next fiscal year, the five-campus university system would receive an operating budget of $418 million, the same as the state House of Representatives. The university system received a state budget of $461.8 million this year, including a $424 million state appropriation and the stimulus money.

Wilson's recommendation, developed after consulting with campus chancellors, would first go to the university's Board of Trustees' committee on administration and finance. The committee is meeting June 1 in Boston.

After the committee votes, its own recommendation would go to the full board of trustees on June 8 at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. Trustees would have final say on a fee increase.

In June of last year, trustees for the University of Massachusetts voted to keep for the current academic year a $1,500 fee increase approved in 2009 for students.

During the 2009-10 academic year, the university offset the $1,500 fee increase by providing students with rebates up to $1,100 on a sliding scale, depending on financial need. Because of the state fiscal crisis, no rebate was provided for this past academic year.

Springfield's Central High School and Sabis Charter School and Northampton High School make Washington Post 2011 Challenge List

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Nationally, 1,900 of 36,000 high schools made the list.

springfield central high school entrance.JPGCentral High School in Springfield is one of three high schools in the Pioneer Valley that made the Washington Post's 2011 Challenge List.

SPRINGFIELD – Central High School is one of three Western Massachusetts high schools which made a national Washington Post listing of challenge index public high schools.

Sabis International Charter School in Springfield and Northampton High School were the other high schools in Western Massachusetts which made the list. Nationally, 1,900 of 36,000 high schools made the list.

To qualify for the list, a high school had to have half its students take at least one advanced placement, international baccalaureate or advanced international certificate of education test in their junior year and one in their senior year.

“You had to throw your hat into the ring to be considered for this,” Azell Cavaan, chief communications officer for the Springfield public schools, said.

Central High School Principal Thaddeus Tokarz said that in the past five years the number of Central High School students enrolled in advanced placement courses more than doubled, going from 222 to 517.

“Our program has grown, exponentially,” Tokarz said.

Advanced placement classes are college level courses that can earn high school students college credit upon successful completion.

083010 alan ingram mug small.jpgAlan Ingram

School Superintendent Dr. Alan J. Ingram congratulated Tokarz and the entire staff and student body at Central High School, calling the distinction a “great honor for the entire school district.”

Central High School is the largest school in Western Massachusetts with more than 2,000 students.

Karen Reuter, director of Sabis International Charter School in Springfield, said that a high school’s offering advanced placement courses bridges “a level of expectation” that graduating seniors can do college level work.

Reuter said she is proud that Sabis was recognized for the number of juniors and seniors taking advanced placement courses.

“We have expanded our offerings in recent years,” she said.

Northampton High School Principal Nancy Athas said Northampton High School has improved in recent years in increasing the number of students taking advance placement courses.

She said Northampton High School staff have been encouraging students to take advance placement courses.

Payton Shubrick, a senior at Central High School, said she has taken five advanced placement courses during her four years at the school.

She said the courses helped give her the confidence to apply to colleges and visit campuses. Shubrick will attend College of the Holy Cross in Worcester in the fall.

Belchertown firefighters extinguish barn fire

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The person calling in the fire believed the barn had been struck by lightning.


BELCHERTOWN
– A fire at a barn at 241 Warren Wright Road was extinguished by firefighters Friday night.

The fire was reported to the Fire Department about 8 p.m. and firefighters said it was under control by about 8:45 p.m.

The initial report to the Fire Department indicated that the person calling believed the barn had been struck by lightning.

Four rookie police officers are combat veterans who served together in Iraq

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The 4 new officers,Naomi Reyes, Juan Rodriguez and Juan Taveras of Springfield, and Jeffery Ortiz of Holyoke, all served in the same MP unit in Iraq

Ae newcops.jpgView full sizeFour newly appointed police officers that all served in the same National Guard unit in Iraq, from left to right Juan J. Taveras, Naomi Reyes and Juan C. Rodriguez, all are Springfield Police and Jeffrey Ortiz, right a Holyoke Police Officer. They are all still active members of the 972 M.P. Company Massachusetts National Guard out of Reading Mass.

SPRINGFIELD – High crime areas in Springfield and Holyoke are commonly described as “hot spots” or even “war zones.”

Four of the area’s newest police officers, Naomi Reyes, Juan Rodriguez and Juan Taveras of Springfield, and Jeffery Ortiz of Holyoke, know what real hot spots and war zones are like - and it’s not anything around here, they say.

“People say I left one war zone and jumped into another,” said Rodriguez, 27, of Indian Orchard. “It’s not true.”

The four served together in Iraq in 2007-08 in Iraq with the Army National Guard 922nd Military Police. They also were also among the 37 police recruits to graduate on Thursday from the Springfield Police Academy and will begin their police careers as early as Sunday.

Each said they’ve heard all the comparisons between Iraq and Springfield or Holyoke from friends and family. Sometimes people are joking, and sometimes they are not.

“My family was worried,” Ortiz said. “They say ‘you were in danger over there and now when you’re safe you’re looking for danger again.”

Ortiz, 26, a Holyoke native, said his family is proud of him for becoming a police officer, but they remain concerned.

“I just want to serve my hometown of Holyoke the way I did my country,” he said.

Rodriguez said there are places in Springfield and Holyoke that are hurting, where there are high amounts of crime and violence. But at its worst it’s still not comparable with Iraq at the height of the occupation, he said.

In their duties in Iraq, they provided security to top officials in the Iraqi government and the occasional visiting dignitary like former Vice President Dick Cheney or former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Basically, whenever a VIP wanted to go somewhere, the MPs would form a column in heavily armored, heavily armed vehicles and escort them to their destination.

Reyes, 28 of West Springfield, said their mission was more akin to serving on a specialized SWAT team than it was routine police work. “It wasn’t community patrols.”

Having prior military experience going into the police academy put them one up on other recruits who did not have that experience, Rodriguez said.

He said that with their experience at basic training and in Iraq, they came into the academy having the edge physically, mentally and emotionally.

“We knew from Day 1 they were going to come out screaming. We were ready for it.”

Springfield police Sgt. Brian Keenan, a member of the academy training staff, said it was clear from the beginning that the four were more on the ball than the other recruits. One could see from the outset that they were experienced with working as a team.

“Their commitment and dedication to disciple paved the way for their success,” he said.

Each were among the class members honored at graduation with awards.

Ortiz was ranked number one in firearms proficiency. Rodriguez was named the class’s Most Valuable Person, which was defined as the class member who did the most to help his classmates, in and out of the classroom.

Taveras, 24, of Springfield, said he really became interested in police work as a career while stationed together.

There were several state troopers and police officers from different communities in the unit who were called up to active duty. He said it was sitting around and talking with him that got him to give the job some thought.

Reyes said she has wanted to be a cop for a while.

“I joined the military to become a police officer. I joined right after Sept. 11,” she said. “Just like when I joined the military to serve my country, now I want to serve my community.”

Space Shuttle Endeavour crew to take close-up look at damaged tile

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Using the shuttle's robotic arm, astronauts will scrutinize the gouge on the shuttle's underbelly with a high resolution camera.

By SETH BORENSTEIN | AP Science Writer

052011 damaged space shuttle tile.jpgThis undated image made available by NASA on Friday, May 20, 2011 shows a damaged thermal tile on the space shuttle Endeavour's underbelly. The crew is planning to use a laser-tipped boom early Saturday, May 21, 2011 to inspect the gouge which is about the size of a deck of cards. (AP Photo/NASA)

HOUSTON — NASA ordered Endeavour's crew to take an unusual close-up look at a damaged tile in the space shuttle's delicate heat shield early Saturday morning.

Using the shuttle's robotic arm, astronauts will scrutinize the gouge on the shuttle's underbelly with a high resolution camera and a laser attached to a boom.

"There's nothing alarming here and we're not really concerned," said LeRoy Cain, chairman of the shuttle mission management team that decided Friday to order what's called a "focused inspection."

Cain said the two-hour maneuver is being done out of an abundance of caution and won't cause any disruption to the crew or its 16-day mission to the International Space Station.

The damaged tile was spotted in photos snapped by the station crew just before the shuttle linked up Wednesday. Initially, the photos showed seven sites with dings or gouges, but six of them were further analyzed and turned out not to be a problem.

The one site that remains a concern is the size of a deck of cards, just below the rear landing gear.

The location and size gives engineers a bit of confidence that the damage is not the type that caused the disintegration of the space shuttle Columbia in 2003. They also note that similar damage on Endeavour in 2007 — coincidentally commanded by Scott Kelly, brother of current commander Mark Kelly — turned out not to be a problem.

Cain told reporters that it's so unlikely that the gouge will be problematic that NASA hasn't even considered making contingency plans for fixing the tile in flight. NASA can repair damaged tiles using a souped-up version of a caulking gun during a spacewalk.

The delicate tiles are part of an intricate heat protection system that keeps the shuttle, especially its bottom and edges, from burning up during its fiery re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. In 2003, damage to the edges and tiles allowed too much heat in, destroying Columbia and killing seven astronauts.

Since then, shuttles have been checked in flight for any ice or foam debris damage from liftoff, to make sure the shuttle is safe to fly home. This is only the fifth time an extra inspection has been needed in 21 flights.

051911 space shuttle over italy.jpgThis picture provided by NASA shows the space shuttle Endeavour docked with the International Space Station and Italy seen in the background. (AP Photo/NASA)

For Saturday's inspection, the camera will take just three close-up photos from 7 feet away and the laser will get two sets of data. Officials expect that will be enough information to plug into computer models to assure them that the damage isn't anything to be worried about.

This is Endeavour's last flight and the second last of the 30-year space shuttle program. NASA is shutting down the program to focus on eventual missions to a nearby asteroid or other places further out than Earth's orbit. Shuttle Atlantis is tentatively set to make the last flight on July 8 with a load of supplies and equipment for the station.

Friday turned out to be a day of small concerns for NASA, after an early morning routine spacewalk had to be cut a tad short because of a sensor problem on an astronaut's spacesuit.

Nearly five hours into the 6½-hour spacewalk, mission controllers noticed that Gregory Chamitoff's carbon dioxide sensor wasn't working. NASA needs to know if levels of carbon dioxide — expelled when you breathe — get too high.

It's likely that moisture caused the infrared sensor to fail, said lead spacewalk officer Allison Bolinger.

The levels were probably not too high, but controllers told Chamitoff and spacewalking partner Drew Feustel not to finish installing an antenna on the space station because it would take too much time.

In the end, the spacewalk was 11 minutes shorter than planned. Feustel and Chamitoff installed a light fixture and swapped out some experiments parked outside the space station.

This was the first spacewalk for Chamitoff. He called it "a dream come true for me."

Endeavour's astronauts will make four spacewalks while docked at the space station.

NASA approved a first-of-its-kind maneuver on Monday for a photo op when a Russian Soyuz capsule undocks from the space station with three astronauts aboard. The capsule will back away to about 600 feet and stop. Then the station will slowly rotate so the Soyuz can get rare photos of the shuttle docked to the station from different angles and from another spaceship.

Delivered by Endeavour and added to the space station on Thursday was a $2 billion physics experiment that looks for antimatter and dark matter. Saturday, the two crews will get an unprecedented VIP call — Pope Benedict XVI will make the first papal call to space.

Virtual High School going strong at South Hadley High

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The most popular subjects in the past five years have been Anatomy and Physiology, Animal Behavior and Zoology, Personal Finance and Psychology I.

SOUTH HADLEY – Students today have learning options that were undreamed of even a generation ago.

Among these is the on-site Virtual High School (VHS), a school-within-a school that operates online.

At a recent South Hadley School Committee meeting, high school principal Daniel T. Smith updated the group on enrollment and grades in the Virtual High School at South Hadley High.

South Hadley High has about 700 students, of whom 62 were approved to take virtual school courses this year.

The Virtual High School should not be confused with the Virtual Academy at Greenfield, an online school that opened in 2010 to serve kindergarten through 8th grade.

The Virtual High School has 770 member schools. At South Hadley, it has students with diverse levels of accomplishment, from advanced placement students to whose who are struggling.

Its main function, said Smith, is to provide students with courses that are not being taught in the classroom.

The most popular subjects in the past five years have been Anatomy and Physiology, Animal Behavior and Zoology, Personal Finance and Psychology I.

The students who take virtual courses at South Hadley are usually juniors and seniors, said Smith. They are usually limited to two virtual courses a year.

The rest of their day is spent in regular classes. They take tests and get grades like their classmates.

Student enrollment in the virtual school has increased from 34 in the 2005-6 school year to 62 this year. Withdrawal is low – three students out of 64 last year.

Students usually do well in the virtual classes, said Smith. At South Hadley, they get more A’s than all other grades combined. Last year there were also six failing grades.

The virtual courses are taught by professionals who are not only expert in their subjects, but have also been certified to teach online. Two of the courses, including Advanced Placement Calculus, are taught by South Hadley High teachers.

It costs South Hadley $5,000 for every 20 students they “seat” in the virtual school. They can seat up to 40.

They can also get extra seats free through their connection with the Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative, a consortium of seven schools.

Smith said that, with colleges relying more and more on online materials, the Virtual High School can prove very useful to a student’s future.


Parents and teens warned about dangers of 'sexting' at Minnechaug Regional High School

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National studies show 20 percent of teens have been involved in "sexting."

WILBRAHAM – Parents and teens were warned about the dangers of “sexting” at a Thursday night forum at Minnechaug Regional High School.

Sgt. Karen Pitts of the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department said sexting is the sending or receiving of sexually explicit or sexually suggestive images or videos via a cell phone. She said four national studies have shown that 20 percent of teens ages 13 to 19 say they have either sent or received a sexually suggestive photo or video of themselves or someone else.

With three of four teens having their own cell phones, which allows them to stay in contact with parents and friends, sending and receiving text messages, including pictures, has become extremely popular, Pitts said.

She said a girl may agree to send a nude photograph of herself to her boyfriend because of pressure from her boyfriend. After the relationship sours, the boy may then forward the photograph to a group of friends who may forward it to another group of friends. By the time the photograph has circulated through a high school the girl may be repeatedly harassed and called names.

“Think before you post,” Pitts told the teens in attendance. She said it is impossible to remove a photograph from the Internet.

Pitts told the story of a popular teen who ended up committing suicide after a nude photograph of herself was circulated through her school via other students’ cell phones.

Pitts said disseminating nude photographs of children under age 18 is child pornography. Teens may not realize that such crimes are felonies and are punishable by heavy fines and jail terms. Those convicted are listed as sex offenders, which may restrict their access to higher education and jobs, she said.

“Teens are sometimes unable to recognize the long-term consequences of their actions,” Pitts said.

Parents should discuss such issues with their teens.

Sexting is an issue for children as young as sixth grade, Minnechaug Regional High School School Resource Officer Daniel Menard said.

Besides sexting, Menard said teens need to remember that there are new harassment laws which they can be prosecuted for.

Hit-and-run driver leaves Granby bicyclist seriously injured

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The impact with the car sent the woman flying off her bicycle and into a telephone pole, police said.


GRANBY - Town police are investigating a hit-and-run accident Friday night on East Street that left a 50-year-old bicyclist with serious injuries, police said.

Police were called to the area of 513 East St. at about 5:30 for a report of a bicyclist struck by a motor vehicle that then fled the scene.

The impact sent the woman flying off her bicycle and into a telephone pole, police said.

She was taken by Granby Ambulance to the hospital. Police did not disclose the hospital.

Witnesses described the vehicle as a tan-colored older Dodge or Chrysler minivan, possibly a model from 1990 through 1995. It was described as having black front and rear bumpers. It is also damaged on the passenger's side and is missing a side mirror.

It was last seen heading south on Route 202.

Anyone with information on the vehicle or its driver is asked to call the Granby Police at (413) 467-9222.

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Arnold Schwarzenneger scandal halts 'Governator' cartoon

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The cartoon was to focus on a family man and former governor who secretly fights villainy.

Arnold SchwarzeneggerActor and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, poses for photographers on April 4, 2011, in Cannes, France. Schwarzenegger was back in Cannes for the first time in eight years to unveil a new international television series "The Governator". (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)

LOS ANGELES — The animated series starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a superhero is officially on hold.

The companies behind “The Governator” said Friday they have stopped working on the budding franchise that Schwarzenegger helped announce to much fanfare in Cannes, France, last month.

“In light of recent events, A Squared Entertainment, POW, Stan Lee Comics, and Archie Comics, have halted production” on the project, the companies said in a written statement. There is no word when or if production on the planned TV series, comic book, movie and video game will resume.

“The Governator” is to star Schwarzenegger as a superhero living a double life: A family man and former governor who secretly fights global villainy and modern-day disasters alongside a team of hip teenagers.

Schwarzenegger said Thursday that he was postponing his movie projects. He acknowledged earlier this week that he fathered a child out of wedlock more than a decade ago and neglected to tell wife Maria Shriver until this year. The couple announced their separation last week.

The former movie star and California governor was also set to star in the film “Cry Macho” and in talks for more “Terminator” sequels. Producers of “Cry Macho” did not respond to a call seeking comment. Annapurna Films declined to comment Friday about the future of the “Terminator” franchise.

Falcons make comeback in Massachusetts

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There are more than a half-dozen pairs of nesting falcons in Western Massachusetts this spring.

BESWICK-FALCON.JPG05.06.2011 | DEERFIELD - A peregrine falcon rides the thermal near Sugarloaf Mountain.

Like grizzly bears and timber wolves, peregrine falcons, which historically hunted from nests set on remote mountain cliffs, were thought of as a wilderness species, likely to retreat from the spread of human development.

Not true, it turns out.

Today, in Massachusetts, having come back from the brink of elimination in much of the nation in the 1960s, these increasingly abundant birds of prey readily construct nests on bridges, skyscrapers and even airport towers.

In fact, there are thought to be more nesting falcon pairs in Massachusetts now – 20 – than in historic times, with most now nesting on manmade structures, says Thomas W. French, assistant director of the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.

“Our highest wild population was believed to be 14 pairs in the 1930s and 1940s. I would say of those 14 nest sites, only three are currently occupied. Apparently the birds don’t consider them as good as the artificial stuff,” he said. “It’s quite remarkable. Peregrine falcons were really thought to be an icon of the wilderness.”

UMASS-FALCON.JPGAMHERST - A breeding pair of peregrine falcons have been returning to the W.E.B. DuBois Library at UMass for the past 6 years. Here, the female is perched on the top edge of the library in view of her nest.


Use of the pesticide DDT after World War II nearly wiped out falcons, eagles and other birds of prey in much of the United States, as it caused them to lay eggs with deficient shells. But, a ban on the chemical in 1972 allowed their populations to recover.

However, following the ban, it was not until 1989 that the first falcon pair produced young in Western Massachusetts. A pair nested on an upper floor window ledge on the Monarch Place office building in downtown Springfield.

The Monarch Place nest site became the most successful in the region, producing nearly 30 chicks over the years. In the past three years, the pair that had been nesting there moved to a cement support beneath the Memorial Bridge between Springfield and West Springfield.

Elsewhere in the Pioneer Valley this season falcons are nesting, or have shown signs of nesting, beneath the Massachusetts Turnpike bridge crossing the Connecticut River in West Springfield, on Mount Tom in Easthampton, on Mount Sugarloaf in Deerfield, on Holyoke City Hall, on the W.E.B. Du Bois Library at University of Massachusetts in Amherst and on a cliff face near French King Gorge in Gill.

French says the only historic cliff sites now occupied by falcons in the state are the three in the Pioneer Valley.

“Historically, in Western Massachusetts, we also had Monument Mountain in the Berkshires, Hanging Mountain in Sandisfield and Pettibone Falls in Cheshire. None of the three is occupied,” he said.

While peregrine falcons recovered enough that they were dropped from the federal endangered species list in 1999, they remain on the state’s endangered list. French said their growing numbers in Massachusetts means “we’re contemplating bringing them down in listing.”

Hampshire College graduates told to make the world a better place

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Hampshire College had 310 graduates at its Saturday commencement.

winona.JPGStaff photo by Michael Beswick - Winona LaDuke, keynote speaker at Hampshire College's 2011 commencement ceremony.

AMHERST – At the Hampshire College commencement Saturday, there was talk about the end of the world, introductions of speakers by an emcee with a flair for the spotlight, and a recurring message to make the world a better place.

The keynote speaker was Winona LaDuke who told the 310 graduates that it was time for their new life, to be the example, and to have the courage “to get outside of the box.”

Before she took the stage she was introduced by 2011 graduate Rance J. Palmer, who listed LaDuke’s accomplishments for the crowd, including Ms. Woman of the Year in 1997.

LaDuke, an environmental activist and former Green Party vice presidential candidate, alluded to the date, as the Web has been swallowed by doomsday predictions.

“I’m not a Christian, so I’m not too worried about that Rapture thing,” she said.

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LaDuke said each day, the graduates have the opportunity to become a better person.

“Be the people your ancestors would be proud of,” LaDuke said. “You go through once.”

The idea, she said, is to go on to the next world and say, “I did my best.” Whether that be keeping a few things from being genetically engineered, or preventing the world from combusting itself into oblivion.

LaDuke also is program director of Honor the Earth and founder of the White Earth Land Recovery Project, a reservation-based nonprofit organization. She works to protect indigenous plants and heritage foods from patenting and genetic engineering. She is a member of the Ojibwe Native American tribe.

“Keep a good heart and a good mind because we are the ones that are here,” LaDuke said.

She also told the graduates to pace themselves, because “it’s kind of a long haul.” She said when she was their age, she was fighting “big nuclear power plants” and “the FBI was chasing us around.”

“It takes time to make change,” LaDuke said.

She also advised them to be humble, saying in places like Amherst, people can get to be an “island” of political correctness. Lessons can be learned from the strangest people, ones that wouldn’t necessarily come to mind, she said.

She apologized to the students about the economy, but said what has happened has not really surprised her. Seventy percent of the economy is based on consuming “stuff,” she said.

“You can’t build a country based on empire,” LaDuke said.

Palmer also introduced Roberta Tudryn, the dining commons cashier, a Hampshire employee for over 30 years. She was the staff speaker.

roberta.JPGStaff photo by Michael Beswick - Staff speaker Roberta Tudryn speaks at the Hampshire College graduation Saturday.

“She’s always there to tell you to put some damn shoes on . . . it’s policy,” Palmer said, to laughs.

Tudryn said she calls Hampshire College “Happy College” because of the happiness it brings her.

Sigmund Roos, chairman of the board of trustees, urged the graduates to leave the world healthier, and more sustainable than how his generation left it.

“Today was to be the end of the word, so I’ll speak quickly, briefly, and because you all have such a short time left on this earth . . . Party like there’s no tomorrow, because there may be no tomorrow,” Roos said.

“I think that’s nonsense,” he added. “This is a great beginning, not an end.”

Interim President Marlene Gerber Fried paraphrased a quote from “Alice in Wonderland”: “As the queen told Alice, ‘You can think impossible things before breakfast, you just have to practice.’”

Obituaries today: John A. Bennett was bricklayer, driver, ham radio operator K1JAB

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Obituaries from The Republican.

05_21_11_Bennett, John.jpgJohn A. Bennett

John A. "Jack" Bennett, 78, of Wilbraham, died on Friday. Born in Springfield, he lived in Wilbraham for the last 14 years. An Army veteran of the Korean War, Bennett was a bricklayer for many years, and retired as a truck driver for Ryder P.I.E after 27 years. He was a limousine driver for many years for Rokosz Livery Service, and worked as a funeral director's assistant for several area funeral homes. He belonged to St. Patrick's Church in Springfield, and was a member of Teamsters Local #404, Knights of Columbus #69 in Chicopee, Elks Lodge #1849 in Chicopee and the Prime Timers Bowling League. Bennett was a HAM radio operator, call sign K1JAB.

Obituaries from The Republican:

Staind drummer Jon Wysocki out of rock band; fans left to wonder why

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Staind fans wonder what the future holds for the multi-platinum hard rockers from Springfield.

WKD_STAIND_2293174.JPG Staind, shown here in an AP file photo:Guitarist Mike Mushok, left, drummer Jon Wysocki, background, singer Aaron Lewis and bassist Johnny April.

SPRINGFIELD – Drummer Jon Wysocki has left Staind, leaving fans to wonder what the future holds for the most successful rock‘n’roll band to come out of Western Massachusetts.

Wysocki, singer Aaron Lewis, guitarist Mike Mushok, and bassist Johnny April formed Staind in 1995, playing local clubs like Mikara's before achieving national success. They have released six albums and sold 15 million records worldwide.

On Staind’s website, there was a brief statement from Wysocki’s three former band mates: "Staind has parted ways with drummer Jon Wysocki. We wish him the best, and thank him for all the years he dedicated to Staind. Drummer Will Hunt will join us on our upcoming dates.”

There was no further explanation from Staind’s camp, their recording label or the band's Los Angeles-based publicity agency.

Hunt - Wysocki's fill-in on at least three Staind live shows scheduled for this month - has played with Evanescence, Black Label Society and Tommy Lee.

Lewis recently released a successful country solo CD, “Town Line,” but he told The Republican earlier this year Staind was working on a new disc with a far heavier sound.

It’s uncertain whether Wysocki will be heard on that disc, scheduled for release in the fall. The upcoming album would fulfill Staind’s contractual obligation to Atlantic Records.

Fans of the hard rocking act were surprised and upset by word of Wysocki’s exit.

On the official website, repeated questions from fans about his sudden departure went unanswered. A fan-run website, addictedtostaind.com, has fielded comments from Staind devotees. Some worried Wysocki’s departure meant the eventual dissolution of Staind, while others mourned it as the loss of a beloved family member.

In a 2007 interview with Modern Drummer, Wysocki spoke of his fondness for performing, but admitted he was uncomfortable with some aspects of fame.

"People view you a certain way, but we’re just like anybody else who happens to be in a position that people think is glamorous. I don’t feel any different from anyone else, it’s just that I make my living playing the drums,” Wysocki said. “People say certain things and I freeze up, I don’t know what to say back. If it’s a compliment, I say thanks, but when it’s that gawking, worshiping type of thing, it just makes me uncomfortable. But don’t get me wrong – I love and appreciate our fans!"


Holyoke City Council approves increase in senior citizens' tax break

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The work-off program for property taxes will provide a break of $750.

HOLYOKE – The City Council has voted unanimously to increase a property tax break in a program for senior citizens to $750 from $500.

“This is something we pay for, but we feel this is something of great value to senior citizens, and we get a lot of work for the city” from seniors who volunteer, Councilor Kevin A. Jourdain, who proposed the measure, said Thursday.

The council Tuesday approved an increase in the Senior Tax Work-Off Program in which senior citizens who do 100 hours of work for the city get the property tax break.

About 25 to 30 seniors participate in the program each year by a lottery administered earlier in the calendar year by the Council on Aging. With 30 participants each getting $750, that would cost the city $22,500.

The volunteering has included clerical work at City Hall, watering plants, reading to children and shelving books at the Holyoke Public Library and carpentry and painting at Wistariahurst Museum.

Seniors cannot participate in the tax-break-volunteer program two years in a row, but can reapply after waiting a year.

“This is has been a tremendous program that has helped hundreds of Holyoke’s seniors over the last 10 years,” Jourdain said.

In October 2009, the City Council adopted an order from Jourdain that lets more senior citizens qualify for a property tax exemption, by lowering the eligibility age to 67 from 70.

Other changes included in that council vote affected income levels and asset totals to help more senior citizens qualify for the tax break.


Westfield State Class of 2011 called unique

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The 1,200 graduates began their college careers the same year as the school's president.

Westfield_prez_52111.jpgWestfield State University President Evan A. Dobelle high-fives graduates before Saturday's commencement ceremony on campus.


WESTFIELD – The 1,200 graduates who comprised the Westfield State University Class of 2011 were in the unique position of being the first and the last in the history of the institution to bid farewell to their college while receiving degrees from their university.

Near and dear to the heart of university President Evan S. Dobelle, the class was also special in that the students gathered before him under the tent on the campus green Saturday began their academic career at Westfield State College the same year he began his tenure as president.

“This is a historic occasion,” said Dobelle, who has the distinction of being the 19th president of Westfield State College as well as the first president of Westfield State University.

“You’re my class,” he said. “I came here when you started your first year here as students. You’re part of my family, and part of a historic change. Each of you is special to me. You are the sons and daughters of Westfield State University.”

One of those students, Class President Courtney E. Sarantos, took to the podium and thanked Dobelle for bringing a Dunkin’ Donuts coffee shop on campus, then advised her peers to head toward the future aiming for big things in life.

“Take opportunities and dream high,” she said.

Sarantos was also instrumental in bringing Collins M. Tuohy to campus as the Class of 2011 commencement speaker.

Tuohy’s family, depicted in the movie “The Blind Side,” adopted African-American Michael Oher, who originally lived in public housing with his crack-addicted mother. Collins Tuohy helped Oher adapt to college life and her family before he went on to become a first-round pick for the Baltimore Ravens in the 2009 National Football League draft.

“We picked Collins Tuohy because of her attitude about approaching the world with an open mind and to never let race or gender come between making relationships with anyone,” said Sarantos, 21, of Scituate.

Tuohy, 24, who was awarded an honorary doctorate degree, said “it’s a big deal for someone my age to be here speaking to you,” and added that the graduates should put aside any unrest they were feeling about the future.

“It’s completely OK to not have a plan,” she said. “I had no idea what I was doing.”

The most important message Tuohy shared with the graduates, however, was a lesson she learned firsthand from her experience with Oher. She noted that she and her family first encountered Oher on a Thanksgiving Day on a major, heavily traveled Memphis street where others simply continued on their path without paying any attention to him.

“He was someone deemed valueless – there was no value placed on Michael,” she said. “You are now fixing to be college graduates and about to go forth in the world and do what you’re going do. Will you pass people every day without placing a value on them?

"One of the most valuable people to come out of Memphis was someone who was deemed valueless,” she continued. “Value your neighbor when you leave here. The next person you see who you don’t know, get to know and place an appreciative value on them. They may be the person to change your entire life.”

In addition to Tuohy, honorary doctorate degrees also conferred upon David Carter, Connecticut State University chancellor; John A. DiBiaggio, former University of Connecticut, Tufts University and Michigan State University president; Marilynn Monahan, executive director of Reading Assist Institute and former secretary of National Education Association; and Laura Dubester and Alan Silverstein, both of Pioneer of Green Movement and co-founders of the Center for Ecological Technology.

Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection affirms its review of proposed Springfield biomass plant

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The DEP issued a letter to Springfield’s director of health and human services in response to questions regarding local Public Health Council oversight and "site assignment" powers.

051511 palmer renewable energy artist's rendering.JPGAn artist's rendering of the proposed Palmer Renewable Energy biomass plant off Page Boulevard in East Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD – A state agency has advised local health officials that questions raised about a proposed wood-burning plant in East Springfield, such as nuisance concerns and emissions, are being addressed in a state review and by federal regulation.

The state Department of Environmental Protection issued a two-page letter to Helen R. Caulton-Harris, the city’s director of health and human services, in response to her questions regarding if the local Public Health Council has oversight and “site assignment” powers over the 35-megawatt biomass plant planned for 1000 Page Boulevard.

The City Council, in separate action, will consider amending or revoking the plant’s 2008 special permit at a meeting on Monday. The meeting begins at 7 p.m., at City Hall, and follows a four-hour public hearing last week.

The Public Health Council met Wednesday with City Solicitor Edward M. Pikula to further discuss the issues raised in Caulton-Harris’ letter, and the state’s response. No decision has been made if the health council should conduct a site assignment hearing for the plant under a state law regulating a “noisome trade.”

The law pertains to trades that may be a nuisance or be harmful to the inhabitants.

Michael Gorski, regional director for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said the state’s draft plan approval for the proposed biomass project, contains conditions that address “these types of ‘noisome’ or nuisance conditions, including odor, noise and fugitive emissions.”

Regarding local health council questions about plant emissions, Gorski said the emissions are covered under the national ambient air quality standard under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, designed to protect sensitive populations.

The predicted impact of the plant is within those guidelines, he said.

Gorski said that any approval of a new source of pollution “includes an array of systems to assure conformance with any emission limitation,” including continuous emission monitors.

Opponents of the plant have argued that it will worsen pollution and harm public health.

Palmer Renewable Energy, the developer, says the plant is safe and not a health hazard.

Frank P. Fitzgerald, lawyer for Palmer Renewable Energy, said the letter from Gorski “takes its place in a long line of well-documented government affirmations of the science and safety behind our project.”

Michaelann Bewsee, a representative of Stop Toxic Incineration in Springfield, said her group hopes the health council will proceed with a site assignment hearing.

“We have to do everything we can to protect the health of Springfield residents,” Bewsee said. “The overall tone of the (state) letter is ‘don’t worry, we got it covered.’ Of course, if we really thought that, we would not be doing the kind of organizing we are.”

DEP Letter to Springfield Health Services Director RE Palmer Renewable Energy Project

Rapture 2011: Apocalypse believers await end, skeptics carry on

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"I was hoping for it because I think heaven would be a lot better than this earth," Keith Bauer said outside the headquarters of Family Radio International, whose founder, Harold Camping, has been broadcasting the apocalyptic prediction.

Harold-Camping.jpgA loosely organized Christian movement has spread the word around the globe that Jesus Christ will return to earth on Saturday, May 21, 2011, to gather the faithful into heaven. While the Christian mainstream isn't buying it, many other skeptics are believing it. The prediction originates with Camping, the 89-year-old retired civil engineer, who founded Family Radio Worldwide, an independent ministry that has broadcasted his prediction around the world.

By GARANCE BURKE

OAKLAND, Calif. — They spent months warning the world of the apocalypse, some giving away earthly belongings or draining their savings accounts. And so they waited, vigilantly, on Saturday for the appointed hour to arrive.

When 6 p.m. came and went at various spots around the globe, including the East Coast of the United States, and no extraordinary cataclysm occurred, Keith Bauer — who hopped in his minivan in Maryland and drove his family 3,000 miles to California for the Rapture — took it in stride.

"I had some skepticism but I was trying to push the skepticism away because I believe in God," he said in the bright morning sun outside the gated Oakland headquarters of Family Radio International, whose founder, Harold Camping, has been broadcasting the apocalyptic prediction for years. "I was hoping for it because I think heaven would be a lot better than this earth."

But he added, "It's God who leads you, not Harold Camping."

Bauer, a tractor-trailer driver, began the voyage west last week, figuring that if he "worked last week, I wouldn't have gotten paid anyway, if the Rapture did happen." After seeing the nonprofit ministry's base of operations, Bauer planned to take a day trip to the Pacific Ocean, and then start the cross-country drive back home Sunday with his wife, young son and another family relative.

The May 21 doomsday message was sent far and wide via broadcasts and websites by Camping, an 89-year-old retired civil engineer who has built a multi-million-dollar Christian media empire that publicizes his apocalyptic prediction. According to Camping, the destruction was likely to have begun its worldwide march as it became 6 p.m. in the various time zones, although some believers said Saturday the exact timing was never written in stone.

In New York's Times Square, Robert Fitzpatrick, of Staten Island, said he was surprised when 6 p.m. came and went. He had spent his own money to put up advertising about the end of the world.

"I can't tell you what I feel right now," he said, surrounded by tourists. "I don't understand it. I don't know. I don't understand what happened.

"Obviously, I haven't understood it correctly because we're still here," he said.

Many followers said though the sun rose Saturday without the foretold earthquakes, plagues, and other calamities, the delay was a further test from God to persevere in their faith.

"It's still May 21 and God's going to bring it," said Family Radio's special projects coordinator Michael Garcia, who spent Saturday morning praying and drinking two last cups of coffee with his wife at home in Alameda. "When you say something and it doesn't happen, your pride is what's hurt. But who needs pride? God said he resists the proud and gives grace to the humble."

At Chicago's Millennium Park, hours before 6 p.m. arrived locally, people continued to take photographs of the famed Cloud Gate as they do every other Saturday — and poked fun at the Judgment Day prophecy.

"I guess the whole school thing was a waste of time," said Sarah Eaton, a 19-year-old college student visiting the city from St. Paul, Minn.

The Internet also was alive with discussion, humorous or not, about the end of the world and its apparent failure to occur on cue. Many tweets declared Camping's prediction a dud or shared, tongue-in-cheek, their relief at not having to do weekend chores, pay their bills or take a shower.

The top trends on Twitter at midday included, at No. 1, "endofworldconfessions," followed by "myraptureplaylist."

Camping's radio stations, TV channels, satellite broadcasts and website are controlled from a modest building sandwiched between an auto shop and a palm reader's business. Family Radio International's message has been broadcast in 61 languages. He has said that his earlier apocalyptic prediction in 1994 didn't come true because of a mathematical error.

"I'm not embarrassed about it. It was just the fact that it was premature," he told The Associated Press last month. But this time, he said, "there is...no possibility that it will not happen."

Camping has preached that some 200 million people would be saved, and that those left behind would die in a series of scourges visiting Earth until the globe is consumed by a fireball on Oct. 21.

Christian leaders from across the spectrum widely dismissed the prophecy. One local church was concerned that Camping's followers could slip into a deep depression come Sunday.

Pastor Jacob Denys of Milpitas-based Calvary Bible Church planned to wait outside the nonprofit's headquarters on Saturday afternoon, hoping to counsel believers who may be disillusioned if the Rapture does not occur.

"The cold, hard reality is going to hit them that they did this, and it was false and they basically emptied out everything to follow a false teacher," he said. "We're not all about doom and gloom. Our message is a message of salvation and of hope."

As the day drew nearer, followers reported that donations grew, allowing Family Radio to spend millions on more than 5,000 billboards and 20 RVs plastered with the doomsday message. In 2009, the nonprofit reported in IRS filings that it received $18.3 million in donations, and had assets of more than $104 million, including $34 million in stocks or other publicly traded securities.

Marie Exley, who helped put up apocalypse-themed billboards in Israel, Jordan and Lebanon, said the money allowed the nonprofit to reach as many souls as possible.

She said she and her husband, mother and brother read the Bible and stayed close to the television news on Friday night awaiting word of an earthquake in the southern hemisphere. When that did not happen, she said fellow believers began reaching out to reassure one another of their faith.

"Some people were saying it was going to be an earthquake at that specific time in New Zealand and be a rolling judgment, but God is keeping us in our place and saying you may know the day but you don't know the hour," she said Saturday, speaking from Bozeman, Mont. "The day is not over, it's just the morning, and we have to endure until the end."

Camping, who lives few miles from his radio station, was not home late morning Saturday.

But Sheila Doan, 65, Camping's next-door-neighbor of 40 years, was outside gardening. She said the worldwide spotlight on his May 21 forecast has attracted far more attention than Camping's 1994 prediction.

Doan said she is a Christian and while she respects her neighbor, she doesn't share his views.

"I wouldn't consider Mr. Camping a close friend and wouldn't have him over for dinner or anything, but if he needs anything, we are there for him," Doan said.

Associated Press reporters Don Babwin in Chicago, Mike Householder in Detroit, Janet McConnaughey in New Orleans, David R. Martin in New York and video journalist Haven Daley in San Francisco contributed to this report.

Scientists: Iceland volcano Grimsvotn erupts

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An eruption on the North Atlantic island shut down European air traffic for days last year.

052111 iceland volcano grimsvotn.jpgSmoke rises from the Grimsvotn volcano, Saturday, May 21, 2011 in Reykjavik, Iceland. Iceland's most active volcano has started erupting, scientists said Saturday – just over a year after another eruption on the North Atlantic island shut down European air traffic for days. Iceland's Meteorological Office confirmed that an eruption had begun at the Grimsvotn volcano, accompanied by a series of small earthquakes. (AP Photo/Halldora Kristin Unnarsdottir)

By GUDJON HELGASON

REYKJAVIK, Iceland — Iceland's most active volcano has started erupting, scientists said Saturday — just over a year after another eruption on the North Atlantic island shut down European air traffic for days.

Iceland's Meteorological Office confirmed that an eruption had begun at the Grimsvotn volcano, accompanied by a series of small earthquakes. Smoke could be seen rising from the volcano, which lies under the uninhabited Vatnajokull glacier in southeast Iceland.

A no fly zone has been designated for 120 nautical miles (220 kilometers) in all directions from the eruption. Isavia, the company that operates and develops all airport facilities and air navigation services in Iceland, described this as standard procedure around eruptions.

"The plume of smoke has reached jet flying altitude and plans have been made for planes flying through Icelandic air control space to fly southwardly tonight," said Hjordis Gudmundsdottir, the spokeswoman for Isavia.

Grimsvotn last erupted in 2004. Scientists have been expecting a new eruption and have said previously that this volcano's eruption will likely be small and should not lead to the air travel chaos caused in April 2010 by ash from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano.

History shows that previous eruptions in Grimsvotn have not had much influence on flight traffic — unlike the massive disruption caused last year.

Pall Einarsson, geophysicist at the University of Iceland, said last year's eruption was a rare event.

"The ash in Eyjafjallajokull was persistent or unremitting and fine-grained," Einarsson said. "The ash in Grimsvotn is more coarse and not as likely to cause danger as it falls to the ground faster and doesn't stay as long in the air as in the Eyjafjallajokull eruption."

A plane from the Icelandic Coast Guard carrying experts from the University of Iceland will fly over the volcano and evaluate the situation.

One eyewitness, Bolli Valgardsson, said the plume rose quickly several thousand feet (meters) into the air.

Sparsely populated Iceland is one of the world's most volcanically active countries and eruptions are frequent.

Eruptions often cause local flooding from melting glacier ice, but rarely cause deaths.

Last year's Eyjafjallajokul eruption left some 10 million air travelers stranded worldwide after winds pushed the ash cloud toward some of the world's busiest airspace and led most northern European countries to ground all planes for five days.

Whether widespread disruption occurs again will depend on how long the eruption lasts, how high the ash plume rises and which way the wind blows.

In November, melted glacial ice began pouring from Grimsvotn, signaling a possible eruption. That was a false alarm but scientists have been monitoring the volcano closely ever since.

The volcano also erupted in 1998, 1996 and 1993. The eruptions have lasted between a day and several weeks.

Jill Lawless and Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report.

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