The Springfield City Council approved the project this week following approval of up to 80 percent reimbursement of the cost by the Massachusetts School Building Authority

Springfield - Drawing for the planned new Science Lab wing at Central High School  

SPRINGFIELD – A $32 million science lab project is slated to begin this summer at Central High School as approved by the City Council and is expected to be completed within two years.

The council voted unanimously to approve the project this week, with the Massachusetts School Building Authority previously agreeing to reimburse up to $25.6 million – 80 percent – of eligible costs, officials said.

“Anytime you can improve your existing facility in programs that you offer, you have to be excited,” Central Principal Thaddeus Tokarz said. “It just continues to allow us to push forward and offer our students the best education possible.”

The project will include construction of a new three-story science wing, to consist of 12 new laboratories and preparation rooms. In addition, the project will include renovations of existing science labs within the high school, installation of a new roof for the entire schools and a sprinkler system.

The Central project is one of eight projects statewide and one of two in the region under the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s “Science Lab Initiative,” officials said. The Central project is the largest in the state.

In November, the authority voted to approve up to $5.2 million in reimbursement to assist Holyoke with a project to construct six science labs at the William J. Dean Vocational Technical High School.

The authority launched the science lab program in 2011, setting aside $60 million to assist schools with providing a “top notch 21st century science curriculum,” said Steven Grossman, state treasurer and chairman of the authority.

At Central High School, the initial work in the summer will be installation of a new roof for the entire school and a sprinkler system, said Rita L. Coppola Wallace, the city’s director of capital asset construction.

The roof is in bad shape, and the state’s inclusion of that work in the upcoming project is a “home run for the city,” Coppola Wallace said. Having new science wing and a leaking roof did not make sense, she said.

Central, otherwise, is in excellent condition, Coppola Wallace said.

In the fall, the construction of the science wing is expected to begin and the project should be completed by February of 2015, she said.

Coppola Wallace is working with School Department officials to plan for the construction and disruptions. The efforts including finding a new location for Central’s summer programs during the roof construction and sprinkler system work, she said.

The city will be hiring a construction manager to build the science wing and hire subcontractors.

The city will borrow funds for the project through a bond, offset by reimbursements from the authority.

On the 10th anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq, Lynch defended his vote to authorize the war, saying that he voted the same way as his Democratic opponent in the race for U.S. Senate.

U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-South Boston; and U.S. Rep. Edward Markey, D-Malden, will square off in a Democratic primary on April 30 in the special election to replace John Kerry. 

On the 10th anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq, U.S. Rep. Stephen F. Lynch on Tuesday defended his vote in 2002 to authorize the war, saying that he voted the same way as his opponent in the Democratic race for the U.S. Senate.

Lynch, 57, and his Senate primary rival, U.S. Rep. Edward J. Markey, 66, were later divided on funding the war. Lynch also has traveled far more extensively in Iraq and Afghanistan than Markey.

Both Lynch, of Boston, and Markey, of Malden, in 2002 voted to authorize then-President Bush to use force in Iraq, but they disagreed on a vote the next year on approval of $87.5 billion to fund the war.

Lynch voted for that funding package, while Markey voted no. Lynch also voted for four bills between 2004 and 2006 partly to fund the war, while Markey was opposed to those bills.

"I will say that once we made that commitment, I tried to make sure we had the resources on the ground to be successful and to bring our troops home as soon and as safely as possible," Lynch told reporters on Tuesday during an event at the John P. McKeon Veterans Post in Boston to mark the on the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

As a member of the first congressional delegation to fly into Iraq after the invasion, Lynch said, he saw first-hand that many military vehicles needed better armor to protect against roadside bombs. He said one appropriations bill included money for improved armor on trucks.

Lynch and Markey are running in the April 30 primary to fill the vacant seat of Secretary of State John F. Kerry.

Massachusetts Republican hopefuls for the U.S. Senate, from the left, Cohasset businessman Gabriel Gomez, former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan, and Norfolk state Rep. Daniel Winslow greet one another and people in the audience before a debate at Stonehill College earlier this month. Steven Senne / Associated Press file  

The Republican primary candidates are state Rep. Daniel B. Winslow of Norfolk, businessman and former Navy SEAL Gabriel E. Gomez of Cohasset and former U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan of Abington.

The primary winners will advance to the June 25 general election.

In a statement in response to questions, Markey directly blamed Bush for misleading Congress in 2002.

"Ten years ago, the Bush administration perpetrated a fraud on Congress and the American people and launched an invasion into Iraq even though the administration knew that there were no nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction," Markey said. "As a result, we fought a conflict that cost thousands of lives, billions of dollars, and untold damage."

Lynch also described some of his numerous visits to Iraq and Afghanistan. Lynch said he has made 14 trips to Iraq and eight trips to Afghanistan.

Markey has had one visit to Afghanistan and two to Iraq, according to a campaign spokeswoman.

The Senate candidates commended the troops for their service and conduct during the war.

“We honor the courage of the men and women who serve and have served this country admirably, some making the ultimate sacrifice, but it was a conflict that could have been avoided,” Markey stated.

During his press conference, Lynch called for reducing a backlog in claims by veterans for benefits. He also urged approval of a bill to require Congress to fully fund the budget for the federal Department of Veterans Affairs a year in advance to ensure timely and predictable delivery of services.

Lynch appeared at the post with Iwona Londono of Randolph, mother of Army Sgt. Daniel J. Londono, who died in Iraq in 2004 when his vehicle was bombed. "They didn't have mass destruction," the mother said when asked about the war. "I don't think it was necessary."

Lynch said he would not have voted to authorize the war in 2002 if he had the correct information. While he did not specifically blame Bush, he said Congress had "misinformation" that Iraq was harboring weapons of mass destruction.

In an interview on Monday, Gomez, one of the GOP aspirants for Senate, said that in the 1990s both Democrats and Republicans were convinced Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

“You can talk about it differently now, because obviously there’s been evidence that maybe he didn't have weapons of mass destruction,” Gomez said. “But leading up to that point, the right thing to do was to go into Afghanistan, go after al Qaida, its safe haven, and if you really thought there was weapons of mass destruction like a lot of people did…You've got 30 plus Democrats who voted to authorize the use of force in Iraq.”

The other two Republican candidates for U.S. Senate - Winslow and Sullivan - issued statements on Tuesday in response to questions from reporters about whether the invasion of Iraq was warranted.

"Every man and woman who served our nation in Iraq, especially those who lost their lives or who were injured, deserves our eternal admiration and appreciation,” Winslow stated. "They ended the reign of Saddam Hussein who was a destabilizing presence in the Middle East. There is no doubt that the world is a better and safer place with the end of this dangerous dictator who was an exporter of terrorism and who no longer controls one of the most important countries in that region."

In a release, Sullivan's campaign said, “Mike Sullivan supported the goal of helping to build a free Iraq that would respect the human rights of its people and create a more peaceful and secure Middle East—benefiting not only that region but the world.

The cost to America has been significant and personal - 4,600 American lives and many more wounded warriors who deserve our ongoing support. And an American taxpayer investment approaching $1 trillion to build a new, more stable region, which serves to honor the sacrifice of our men and women for generations to come.”

The last U.S., troops left Iraq in 2011. In Afghanistan, Afghan forces are scheduled to take the lead on security in 2013, with U.S. troops scheduled to withdraw from the country in 2014.

Lynch provided statistics from the Department of Defense that said there were 4,488 U.S. deaths in the war in Iraq, including military members and 13 civilians, and 32,221 wounded.

There were 2,059 killed in Afghanistan and 18,333 wounded.

Political correspondent Shira Schoenberg contributed to this report.

Spring arrives at 7:02 a.m. but don't put away the winter jacket and mittens just yet.

SPRINGFIELD – Spring has almost sprung but one would never know it by looking out the window.

A late-winter storm – late as in on the last full day of winter – dumped close to 10 inches in parts on Western Massachusetts on Tuesday. The snow, much of it on the road in time for the morning commute, caused numbers school cancellations throughout the region, as well as numerous car accidents.

Spring begins officially at 7:02 a.m. Wednesday, but springtime weather may be a little tardy, according to Mike Skurko, meteorologist for CBS 3 Springfield, media partners of The Republican and Masslive.com.

Temperatures are expected to say chilly for the next few days. “High temperatures remain in the upper-30s for a majority of the week, about 10 degrees below normal,” he said.

Police throughout the region were kept busy with many sliding accidents and cars spinning off roadways Tuesday morning.

A number of area school districts were closed for the day, and the Registry of Motor Vehicles canceled road tests in Springfield, Chicopee and Pittsfield.

The Weather Channel, continuing its controversial practice of naming winter storms, dubbed the last snow storm of this winter Ukko for the god of the skies, thought to be the most powerful in Finnish mythology. But with only moderate snow totals reported throughout the region, the storm might have lived up to another Finnish meaning for Ukko: "old man."

According to snowfall totals tallied by the National Weather Service, the highest snowfall total in the state was in the Worcester County community of Lunenberg with 14 inches.

In Western Massachusetts, snowfall amounts varied with areas north of the Massachusetts Turnpike receiving higher amounts.

In Franklin County, Shelburne recorded 9.5 inches, Montague 9, and Greenfield 7 inches. In Hampshire County, Westhampton tallied 8 inches and Granby 6 inches. In Hampden County, Holyoke and Westfield recorded 5 inches, and Springfield 4 inches, according to Nick Morganelli of CBS 3.

State police at the Westfield and Charlton barracks on the Massachusetts Turnpike reported several cars off the road but traffic was moving smoothly nevertheless. Speed seemed to be the major factor in the reported spin outs.

Massachusetts Turnpike authorities ordered the speed limit reduced to 40 miles per hour for the entire length of the highway and tandem tractor trailers and tanker rigs were banned.

Traffic westbound on the Massachusetts Turnpike was slowed Tuesday afternoon when a tractor trailer skidded off the road shortly before 4 p.m. Until the road was cleared, police reported the backlog of traffic extended 10 miles.

State police reported that at 8:23 a.m. a Greyhound bus carrying the Harlem Globetrotters was involved in a minor crash on Route 290 east, near Exit 25 in Marlborough. No injuries were reported, and the scene was cleared in 25 minutes. "Unfortunately for the Washington Generals," a state police spokesman quipped, "the Globetrotters were hardly delayed."

Minor injuries were reported in an accident on Route 116 in South Deerfield, but all of the parties involved declined to be taken to hospitals.

Staff writer Dave Canton contributed to this report.

Votes said no to the last attempted charter change in 2011.

A copy of Holyoke's 1896 Charter.  

HOLYOKE -- The City Council Tuesday agreed to discuss the merits of shrinking itself.

The council's city charter and rules committee will schedule a meeting to debate Councilor at Large Daniel B. Bresnahan's order to reduce the 15-member council, with councilors' reactions showing the proposal is likely to revisit political fights over the city's form of government.

Changing the size of the City Council requires a change to the city charter, which needs approval from the voters on a ballot question and state Legislature. Voters here defeated the last charter-change attempt in 2011, 57 percent to 43 percent.

The charter is a 117-year-old document that outlines that the city will have a mayor, City Council and School Committee, as well as departments such as for the schools and tax collection.

Bresnahan, who was on the commission that recommended charter changes two years ago, said one reason the council should shrink is to reflect the city's smaller population compared to decades ago.

The population has dropped steadily to about 40,000 from its height of 60,000 people in 1920.

Also, Bresnahan said, revenue shortages likely mean spending will have to be cut and with budget preparations to begin soon, the council should do its part by trimming costs. Each councilor is paid $10,000 a year.

"When we talk about the fiscal hardships we're talking about in the city of Holyoke, I think it's prudent to start with ourselves," Bresnahan said.

The council now has eight members elected at large, or citywide, and one for each of the seven wards.

Councilor at Large Joseph M. McGiverin warned a change should ensure the council maintains more at-large than ward members to prevent a mayor from trying to make deals with ward councilors, which he called "boss politics."

Councilor President Kevin A. Jourdain and Ward 6 Councilor Todd A. McGee said they had heard a move was on to get another charter-change question on the November election ballot.

Carl Eger Jr., chairman of the charter review commission two years ago, couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.

Bresnahan said he was acting alone and only for the population and budgetary reasons he cited.

"I want to assure everyone this is in no way, shape or form a conspiracy," Bresnahan said.

More than 50 foreclosed properties that Belchertown owns may finally get sold at public auction.

BELCHERTOWN - More than 50 foreclosed properties that Belchertown owns for nonpayment of taxes that have been sitting around for a year may finally get sold at public auction.

At Monday's meeting, selectmen authorized the tax collector to begin the process of selling them.

Gary L. Brougham  

Town Administrator Gary Brougham told the board that the large volume of foreclosed properties on the town books have become "a liability" and said the municipal bond rating will suffer unless something is done.

He said they have a combined assessed value close to $1.5 million, with a low of $2,800 up to $706,000.

Selectmen also said they are facing funding requests about $1 million more than current spending that includes school department requests for a "level services" budget. The money is sorely needed to avoid layoffs and budget cuts, selectman Ron Aponte said.

"We should have sold these a year ago," said Selectmen Chairman George "Archie" Archible.

He and Selectman Ken Elstein were at loggerheads related to Elstein's proposal to delay the auction of two properties that used to have houses on them.

Elstein persuaded three other selectmen to delay authorizing auction for the pair of tax title properties until next month, when he said Habitat for Humanity would make a presentation to possibly make a purchase.

The chairman of the town's needs assessment committee, Matt Charette, told the board, "Habitat would not be able to pay the taxes."

Elstein asked Charette to refrain from discussing what Habitat might say as they would be present at the April 8 meeting to make their own case.

In another matter, selectman William Barnett said the town needs to vote at an election to approve of something that Belchertown has been doing the past 52 years.

A state law passed in 1961 allowed employees to purchase more liability insurance, out of their own pocket, than the amount the town was providing. And, according to Barnett, there should have been a townwide vote to adopt the law. He said Belchertown never did that. Officials said an affirmative vote by residents would not cost the town any money.

The forum is for adults only.

LUDLOW - The Ludlow Cares Coalition will hold its second annual forum to address problems encountered by adolescents in the community April 1 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Ludlow High School auditorium.

Spokesman Laura Rooney said the forum is for adults only, but child care for school aged children will be available in the Ludlow High School cafeteria.

The forum is aimed at parents of children in grades four through eight. All members of the community and parents of older children are welcome as well.

The forum will include a presentation by Robert Robinson, a child and family psychologist from Wilbraham.

Issues which will be addressed include problems faced by adolescents due to social media and social networking, bullying and peer pressure.

“The focus is prevention,” Rooney said.

She said the name of the forum is “Guiding Our Children Through a Rapidly Changing World.”

The intent of the forum is to help adolescents deal with issues of self esteem and peer relationships, Rooney said.

After Robinson speaks he will take questions from the audience. School officials and police officials also will be on hand to take questions from the audience, Rooney said.

“We are looking for a good crowd,” Rooney said. She said the forum hopes to attract parents of elementary and middle school children.

“We are using PTOs, churches and athletic associations as well as social media and email chains to get the word out,” she said.

Rooney said a survey which students took at school showed that 90 percent of students “feel very connected to their families.”

“There are things which parents can do to help students,” she said.

Selectman William Rooney said that last year’s forum on drug and alcohol addiction issues had a very large turnout from the town.

He said that because of the showing at last year’s forum, “I was never more proud to be a resident of Ludlow.”

“I am looking forward to a good showing at this event,” he said.

Laura Rooney, who is married to William Rooney, said she hopes coaches encourage families to participate in the forum.

The two robberies occurred roughly an hour apart.

The Republican file photo

SPRINGFIELD – Police are investigating two separate armed robberies involving different suspects that occurred roughly an hour apart in the eastern sections of the city, police said.

The first occurred just before 8:30 p.m. at the Mobil convenience store, 1828 Boston Road, near the Wilbraham town line, said Sgt. Christopher Hitus.

A man wearing a mask entered the store and threatened the clerk with a knife, forcing him to open the register. The robber then pulled the cash drawer out of the register and ran out the store, he said.

Because of its proximity to the town line, Springfield police alerted Wilbraham to be on the lookout for the suspect.

He was described as a 5 foot, 9 inch tall and white. He was wearing blue jeans and a multi-colored hooded jacket, Hitus said.

The second robbery occurred at around 9:30 p.m.

A masked man with a gun held up Meldrum’s Package Store, 969 Berkshire Ave. in Indian Orchard. He threatened store employees and forced them to wait in a basement storage area while he took money from the register, Hitus said.

None of the employees was hurt.

The suspect was described as a black man with a black and white jacket, he said.

Springfield detectives were on the scene of each robbery Tuesday night, Hitas said.

View Two armed robberies, 3/19. in a larger map

When the road was finally opened, traffic was backed up 5 miles, state police said.

Republican file photo

FRAMINGHAM - Three people were injured and westbound traffic on the Massachusetts turnpike was halted for about an hour Tuesday afternoon when a tanker truck spun out of control after being struck by another vehicle, state police said.

The accident occurred at about 3 p.m. near the 115 mile marker, police said.

According to initial reports, a Honda Pilot SUV drifted off the road, struck the guardrail and spun back into the roadway and collided with the right side of a Western Star tanker truck, police said.

The truck then jack-knifed and came to a stop blocking all three lanes.

A third vehicle, a Honda CRV SUV, was unable to stop in time and became lodged under the trailer, police said.

The driver of the first vehicle that caused the accident, Andres Pineda, 59, of Hartford was transported to Leonard Morse Hospital in Natick. His injuries were described by police as not life-threatening, police said.

Two people in the vehicle that was stuck under the trailer, driver, Trang Pham, 39, of Everett and passenger Lisa Nguyen, 32, of Malden, each suffered minor injuries. They were taken by ambulance to Leonard Morse Hospital in Framingham, police said.

The driver of the tanker, Mark Letourneau, 42, of Worcester, was not hurt.

All three lanes of the pike were closed for an hour as EMS personnel treated the injured, and state police investigated the crash scene. When the debris was cleared and the road reopened, traffic was backed up for about 5 miles, police said.

Newspapers are employing fewer than 40,000 full-time professional employees for the first time since 1978, the Pew Research Center writes. Television stations are cutting back on news reporting in favor of less staff-intensive opinion pieces.

The center’s annual in-depth report on the state of journalism, “The State of the News Media 2013,” notes the significant challenges currently facing the media.

On the newspaper side, the report finds that newspapers are employing fewer than 40,000 full-time professional employees for the first time since 1978 - putting the industry down 30 percent from its peak in 2000. And a Pew Research Center public opinion survey finds that readers are taking notice. Nearly one third of respondents – particularly those who were better educated, wealthier and older - reported that they had left a news outlet because it no longer provided the information they were used to getting. A majority of those who left said they did so because they felt stories were less complete.

On the television side, the report found that on both CNN and three cable news networks, the types of reporting that require more staff – in-depth story packages and live event coverage – were cut significantly. MSNBC in particularly has moved toward a heavy focus on commentary and opinion rather than news reporting.

The report noted that new specialized media outlets are popping up to provide the in-depth coverage that beat reporters are less able to do – for example, Kaiser Health News publishes health reporting that has run in The Washington Post.

One of the biggest challenges facing traditional media today is how to deal with the fact that so many consumers get their news online. Traditional media continues to struggle to attract digital advertising, the study found. However, more news sites are turning toward a model of paid subscriptions. Of 1,380 daily newspapers in the country, 450 have started or announced plans for some kind of subscription or pay wall. “With digital ad revenue growing at an anemic 3 percent a year in the newspaper industry, digital subscriptions are seen as an increasingly vital component of any new business model for journalism—though, in most cases, they fall far short of actually replacing the revenue lost in advertising,” the study's authors wrote.

Officials involved in the planning of the new municipal building have already had to scale down the original proposal due to budget constraints.

View of rear portion of the planned Monson Town Office-Police Station complex, which will be built where the existing town municipal building currently stands. That structure will be razed in a few weeks. Town of Monson  

"It's a working-class brick structure," said John F. Goodrich II, co-chairman of the Town Offices/Police Facility Building Committee. "It's nothing fancy, but it's going to be durable, it's going to look nice, and it's going to last," he said.

Goodrich made those remarks at a recent Board of Selectmen meeting, prompting a board member to ask if the design would produce a tornado-proof structure. "No such thing," quipped Goodrich, eliciting a few laughs.

"But it will last better than the other one did," chimed Town Administrator Gretchen E. Neggers, referring to the former town office building at 110 Main St. that will soon be razed. The building, which also housed the Monson Police Department, was severely damaged in the June 1, 2011, tornado that wreaked havoc across parts of Western Massachusetts and Worcester County.

The demolition will be performed by Associated Building Wreckers Inc., whose bid of $283,300 made the Springfield company "the lowest qualified bidder," Goodrich said. Selectmen awarded the contract to the firm at their March 12 meeting, giving the demolition company eight weeks from that date to complete the teardown of the 31,000-square-foot, brick-and-mortar structure.

This rendering shows the front of the planned Monson Town Office-Police Station complex on Main Street. Work on the project is expected to begin by late summer. Town of Monson  

In its place will rise a roughly 27,500-square-foot building that will house various town government offices and the Police Department. Sketches of the new Town Hall-Police Station complex were publicly unveiled for the first time at the town's March 11 special Town Meeting, at which voters approved a zoning change for the project.

"These are conceptual schematics," Neggers said, noting that "space is at a premium" and the size of the project could be reduced due to funding limitations. "The budget is really so tight that it's really not adequate," she said. "We're making it work, but there's no capacity for growth."

Goodrich, who's intimately involved in preliminary design discussions, said they started with a roughly 30,000-square-foot proposal, not much smaller than the the existing Main Street building. But that plan was quickly reduced to the current 27,500-square-foot proposal, which may shrink further. "We're hoping to get down to 26,000 square feet, but in order to get below the 27-5 we're at now, we would have to make some significant concessions," he said.

"The offices are all very small compared to current space, but we believe that will work," Neggers said. "I think everyone's committed to making it work."

Goodrich said the new building, which includes two floors and ample meeting space, may be smaller than the old building, but it's being specifically designed for the work to be performed in the space.

"The saving grace with the reduction in the square-footage, in my opinion, is that the spaces are being designed for the jobs that are going to be done in them, whereas you've never had that," he said. "You've always been put into a space and (told) 'Here's your office; set it up however you need to make it work as best you can.' But this is being designed around the work that each office does, so we're very optimistic that the square-footage is going to be compensated with efficiency."

About $7.3 million has been allocated for actual construction costs, about $6.9 million of which will be covered by an insurance settlement resulting from the tornado. The project is also being financed by a $3.4 million debt exclusion to be paid by taxpayers over a 15-year period.

Once the demolition work is done, the project is expected to be put out to bid by late May or early June. Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin by late summer, with town employees moving into the new space by fall 2014. The town received 12 bids for the demolition contract, including one exceeding $800,000. "On a positive note, this is actually below the budget that we had estimated for it," Neggers said.

Cheap doesn't necessarily mean poor quality, and project designers are working hard to ensure they get the most bang for their buck. The building that's being replaced is nearly 100 years old, "and we don't want to replace it with a disposable building," Goodrich said.

Selectmen Chairman Edward A. Maia said the cost limitations seem to be making the design phase a daunting process. "It's going to be challenging," he said.

"It's going be very challenging," Goodrich agreed.

Councilors praised the collective bargaining and budgeting experience of the new city solicitor.

Holyoke City Solicitor Heather G. Egan submitted photo  

HOLYOKE -- It's safe to say that somewhere, Elizabeth Rodriguez-Ross, Lisa A. Ball and Karen T. Betournay might have been shaking their heads.

Heather G. Egan sailed through the City Council with a 15-0 vote Tuesday confirming the local lawyer as Mayor Alex B. Morse's new choice for city solicitor.

Rodriguez-Ross, Ball and Betournay all clashed with the council in varying degrees.

Egan, of 46 Allyn St., is scheduled to begin work Wednesday morning in replacing Rodriguez-Ross, who was city solicitor for a year before resigning Feb. 1.

Councilors said they questioned Egan for an hour during an interview last week in a meeting of the Public Service Committee and came away impressed.

Committee Chairman Peter R. Tallman said Egan was asked whether she could be fair to the City Council and the mayor, given that she is chosen by the mayor. She told councilors she would represent the city fairly, Tallman said.

"All in all, I think she'd be a real asset to the city," Tallman said.

Councilor at Large Joseph M. McGiverin said he found Egan knowledgeable about union contract negotiations and budgeting.

"I commend the mayor for bringing her forward," McGiverin said.

Egan was most recently with the Troubh Heisler law firm of Portland, Maine, where she worked from 2003 to 2010. She earned a law degree at the University of Maine School of Law, in Portland, in 2005 and a bachelor's degree in sociology from Smith College, in Northampton, in 2002.

Ward 6 Councilor Todd A. McGee said Egan's experience representing police and firefighter unions in contract negotiations will help the city in such talks.

"I can't recommend her enough. I've known Heather for quite some time," McGee said.

Egan said after the vote she appreciated the council confirmation.

"It's really exciting that they voted unanimously for me as city solicitor. I hope that reflects the relationship I'm going to be able to have with all of them. I hope to bridge a gap between the executive branch and the City Council," Egan said.

Morse said he was glad to see the council's unanimous backing of Egan.

"She is prepared to hit the ground running and will no doubt represent the city of Holyoke honorably," Morse said.

Some councilors questioned Rodriguez-Ross' commitment after she said she would have to work one day a week on private-practice cases that judges refused to let her surrender, though she said she would work nights and weekends to complete city work.

Ball assured councilors when appointed by former Mayor Elaine A. Pluta in 2010 she would avoid any involvement in a suit that her law firm had pending against the city at the time. McGee voted against Ball's confirmation, but two years later said that he was wrong and that Ball had done "a phenomenal job" saving the city money by reducing the hiring of outside legal help.

Ten years ago, the council and Betournay, who was former Mayor Michael J. Sullivan's solicitor, collided and councilors refused to confirm her reappointment because they said she was belligerent to them. Betournay said it was a case of a lawyer sometimes having to give a client news they'd rather not hear and that she was "very straightforward" but never intentionally disrespectful to councilors.

Baystate Medical Center is one of two hospitals in the state that is so far participating in the program to allow medical-device entrepreneurs to shadow doctors.

Baystate Medical Center Trauma and Acute Care Surgeon Dr. M.George DeBusk, left, and Andrea Stamp, right, a director at the Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council, look over one of the new patient rooms at Baystate. Mark M. Murray / The Republican  

Dr. M. George DeBusk could soon be working under a shadow.

DeBusk, a trauma surgeon at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, is participating in a new program that will allow certain entrepreneurs to "shadow" physicians as they work in a hospital. The entrepreneurs will be seeking to develop new or improved medical devices or possibly startup companies in the field.

Under the program -- an initiative of a unit of the private, nonprofit Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council in Boston --entrepreneurs will experience firsthand doctors' use of technology and equipment, not just talk about it in an office. The ultimate goal is to improve patient care, he said.

DeBusk said the program is "quite unique" and should provide some insights and new perspectives for medical professionals.

"We're hoping for that innovative spark, that spark of brilliance and creativity," DeBusk said.

Baystate, a 716-bed teaching hospital, and the Boston Medical Center are the only two hospitals that have so far agreed to participate in the "Bay State Shadowing Program." Eleven surgeons at Baystate are taking part in the program.

"It's a wonderful opportunity to bridge a gap between entrepreneurial folks and physicians," DeBusk added.

Patients would need to consent to the program.

"It's a highly-innovative approach to bring entrepreneurs into the trenches of medicine," said Richard Anders, founder and executive director of Mass Medical Angels, one of the nation's leading groups for financing start-up businesses in the life sciences.

Mass Medical Angels is collaborating with the medical-device council on the shadowing program. Leaders are currently finalizing candidates to shadow doctors and will mentor the teams as they develop and commercialize their ideas.

Massachusetts is noted as a center of the medical device industry. The state has more than 400 medical device companies, led by manufacturers of surgical and medical instruments, according to the industry council.

The industry employs 24,268 people, including 500 in the Pioneer Valley, and exists in almost every region of the state. Medical devices are more than 10 percent of the state's total exports and have been growing at more than twice the rate of the state's exports as a whole, the council said.

Anders, who has a bachelor's degree in math and a law degree from Harvard, said that under the program, people will "act like anthropologists" and will search for concrete solutions to problems. Entrepreneurs will intensely follow doctors in their daily work, see things that might not work the way they should and maybe come up with a way to solve them, Anders said.

The program could lead to advances in instruments or tools used to diagnose, prevent or treat a wide range of health problems.

The effort could prompt improvements in medical software, laboratories, or procedures involved with hip replacements, for example, heart pacemakers or prosthetics.

Anders said it is impossible to know right now what specific innovations could result from the program.

Anders said it is great that Baystate Medical Center is participating.

"It takes a lot of courage to do this," he said. "Every institution likes to think what they are doing is just fine."

Anders said it can be an "incredibly tortured" process to launch a successful medical device company. If that process can be shortened, it will benefit everyone, he said.

"Everything needs improvement," said Anders, a member of a board that reviews clinical trials for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. "This is not about a hospital. This is about treating patients in general."

Andrea Stamp, director of a medical-device council program called "Inspiring Growth in New Innovative Technology Entrepreneurs," is organizing the shadowing program and working with Anders to find the right candidates to take part in the effort.

Stamp, who has a bachelor's degree and master's degrees in biomedical engineering and a master's in business administration from Boston University, said she believes the shadowing program can have "a huge impact" in the medical device industry and will help keep Massachusetts at the top of research in the life sciences.

Stamp said the program should narrow the gap between theoretical research and practical applications.

At $7,753,500, Fontaine Brothers of Springfield won the bid to build the new South Hadley library

This is an artist's rendering of the new library proposed in South Hadley.  

SOUTH HADLEY - Ground breaking on the 23,000-square-foot South Hadley Public Library is expected to start this spring as selectmen on Tuesday approved the lowest construction cost bid.

At $7,753,500, Fontaine Brothers, of Springfield, was low bidder and won the contract. Two other firms submitted bids: Souliere & Zepka, of Adams, $7,701,858; and W.J. Mountford Construction, of South Windsor, Conn., $7,730,000.

Library officials hope the new building is completed by fall 2014. Funding comes from town borrowing, a state grant and private donations. The total cost estimate is $10.1 million.

The current library was built in 1906 with a 1974 addition creating 8,800 square feet.

The original was built with funds from Andrew Carnegie.

"Residents wrote Carnegie a letter in his castle in Scotland. He responded, and gave $10,000 and it was built in 1906," South Hadley Library Director Joseph J. Rodio said in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

The brick structure that houses 50,000 volumes has parking for only seven vehicles.

The new building, to go up at 2 Canal St. on the corner of Main Street, will be fully handicap accessible and come with 62 parking spots, Rodio said.

In 2011 voters approved borrowing $4.2 million of bonds to be repaid in 20 years by raising taxes. The state library board also approved a $4.8 million grant.

To date the volunteer group Friends of South Hadley Public Library have raised $570,000, according to Rodio. He said the plan is to raise enough so that the town's share is actually reduced.

"Our goal is to have town pay closer to $3.5 million" instead of the $4.2 million, the librarian said.

Rodio said the new library "is an investment - if you let public buildings go, it reflects on a community's values. Voter approval [of the temporary tax increase] showed the community has an eye to the future."

In a separate development, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation warned against the governor's plan to tax software services.

BOSTON - Gov. Deval L. Patrick on Wednesday pledged to continue to press for a $1.9 billion annual tax increase, after receiving support for his plan from dozens of business leaders.

Patrick, a two-term Democrat, said he is open to revising the specific tax hikes he is proposing. But he said he is sure about the need for the additional $1.9 billion in order to finance improvements in education and transportation.

Gov. Deval Patrick is shown in Holyoke last month when he presented a grant to Holyoke Community College. John Suchocki / The Republican file  

"I got a lot of encouragement to be firm about that number," Patrick said at a press conference, after meeting privately in his office with about 20 business leaders and economists who support his plan. "The consensus of the group was to stick to my number."

Patrick is proposing to raise the income tax from 5.25 percent to 6.25 percent and to lower the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 4.5 percent. He also wants to eliminate 44 tax deductions and exemptions including the current exemption from the long term state capital gains tax on the sale of a primary home.

He also wants to increase corporate taxes by $500 million, impose the sales tax on candy and soda and pass a $1 per pack increase in the cigarette tax, to $3.51 per pack.

Patrick received support for his tax increase a letter signed by 87 business leaders.

One leader who signed the letter, Thomas N. O'Brien, a founding partner of the HYM Investment Group, LLC, said he wants to upgrade and repair the state's transportation system, partly to help employees of the state's booming pharmaceutical and technology industries.

"There's a real need to fix the transportation system," O'Brien said after the meeting with Patrick.

The letter said the business leaders support the governor's plan to use new tax dollars to reduce a 30,000 wait list for state-subsidized early education and care for pre-school children. They urged legislators to approve his plan - and the taxes to finance it - for early education and care.

"It acts on the research that indicates that the best chance we have of closing our achievement gaps in the commonwealth is to do exactly what the governor is proposing," said Carolyn Lyons, president and CEO of Strategies for Children in Boston.

Patrick is facing the possibility that his tax plan will be downsized. House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo has said that any tax increase would be "far more narrow in scope and of a significantly smaller size" than proposed by Patrick.

In a new report, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation also warned against Patrick's plan to impose the sales tax on computer and data processing services and custom software, saying it will open a Pandora's box. Patrick wants to tax the software services to raise $265 million of the $500 million in corporate taxes.

Michael J. Widmer, president of the foundation, said the tax increase would hurt a fast-growing part of the state's economy.

"This is much more sweeping than meets the eye," Widmer said. "That's why we use the term Pandora's box."

Widmer said the foundation does not support Patrick's tax package. He said $1.9 billion is too large in a fragile economic environment.

In defense of the proposed tax on software services, Patrick said the majority of states have such taxes.

Linda M. Noonan, executive director of the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education, a statewide group based in Boston, said the organization is not supporting Patrick's tax plan because about half of the proposed increase in education money is not targeted.

Patrick is proposing $550 million increase in education spending in his proposed $34.8 billion state budget for the fiscal year starting July 1.

The education plan includes $226 million increase in general education aid to communities, $131 million increase to reduce a wait list for state-subsidized early education and care for pre-school children and $152 million increase for state colleges and universities.

Noonan said the $226 million in general education aid, known as Chapter 70, would go to communities with no accountability or ways to measure its effectiveness.

But the letter from the 87 business leaders said that investing in young children is one of the most cost-effective uses of tax dollars.

“Participants in high-quality early education demonstrate improved school readiness, higher language and early math skills, and enhanced social-emotional development," the letter said.

A jury was selected Wednesday and was taken by bus to Dewey Street in West Springfield to view the area of the crash that killed David Laduzenski.

Daniel Leary The Republican/Don Treeger  

SPRINGFIELD – Opening arguments are slated for Thursday in the motor vehicle homicide trial of Daniel Leary.

A jury was selected Wednesday and was taken by bus to Dewey Street in West Springfield to view the area of the crash that killed David Laduzenski.

Leary, 37, of Southwick, is charged with motor vehicle homicide while under the influence of alcohol and negligent or reckless driving for the March 25, 2011, crash that killed David Laduzenski.

He has been free awaiting trial after posting bail in the case.

Laduzenski, 29, of Somerville, grew up in West Springfield and was visiting his family that March weekend.

He was in the driveway area of a friend’s house on Dewey Street at about 10:20 p.m. when he was struck by Leary, who had a blood alcohol level of .19, more than twice the legal limit, prosecutors have said. He was struck on a Friday and died the following Sunday.

About three dozen family members and friends of Laduzenski were in the courtroom Wednesday. About a dozen people were in the courtroom in support of Leary in the trial before Hampden Superior Court Judge Tina S. Page.

Winslow's tax plan would lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 26 percent. It would also eliminate tax breaks for oil and gas companies, wind farms and other businesses.

Republican Senate candidate Daniel Winslow on Wednesday laid out a tax plan that focuses on reducing business tax rates while eliminating corporate tax breaks.

“Special interests get government subsidized tax earmarks while everyday small businesses, who can't afford millions in lobbying fees, are stuck footing the bill,” Winslow said in a statement. “If elected to the United States Senate I will close the loopholes, simplify the tax code, and reduce the marginal tax rate on all businesses.”

Winslow, a Norfolk state representative, is competing with former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan and private equity investor Gabriel Gomez in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. The plan fits with the image Winslow is trying to project as a candidate who favors government reform and who can work across party lines. Ending corporate tax breaks is a common trope for Democrats, while Republicans generally favor lowering taxes on business.

“I think he’s not going to endear himself to either party, but he may find himself appealing to a lot of independent voters who would look at that package as a fair and complete package,” said Peter Ubertaccio, director of The Martin Institute at Stonehill College and an associate professor of political science. “One element of it isn’t going to make the Republican Party happy, the other element won’t make Democrats happy. Independents may find it appealing.”

The first part of Winslow’s plan involves eliminating a series of tax subsidies that he refers to as “corporate welfare.” “Corporate loopholes won by million dollar fat cat lobbyists do not represent sound fiscal policy,” Winslow said in a statement.

The loopholes Winslow enumerates include $7 billion a year given to oil and gas companies and $300 million a year in corporate jet tax write-offs. He would also eliminate tax credits for a variety of other businesses: wind farms, railroad companies, Hollywood films, Whirlpool appliances, NASCAR racetrack owners and golf course owners. Winslow estimates this would save the government $1 trillion over 10 years.

Some of these are conservative ideas. The Heritage Foundation, for example, has criticized tax breaks for wind farms. Some fiscally conservative Republicans have spoken out in favor of ending certain tax expenditures. But breaks for oil and gas companies and corporate jet write-offs are common pet peeves among Democrats. Many Republicans have opposed ending tax breaks as another form of raising taxes.

“He’s taking on some of members of his own party by proposing those kinds of changes,” Ubertaccio said.

The second aspect of Winslow’s plan is lowering the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 26 percent. This is the same rate proposed by a plan released by Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, co-chairs of President Barack Obama’s bipartisan deficit commission, and is a common campaign plank for Republican candidates looking to boost businesses. Winslow said lowering the rate “will create opportunity and jobs.”

Winslow is also advocating simplifying the tax code; requiring that any member of Congress looking to create future tax subsidies attach their name to the change; and requiring the IRS to immediately deposit tax payments.

A Lynch spokesman accuses Steyer of "a special kind of arrogance" while a Steyer spokesman says the Lynch campaign is "suffering from the symptoms of March Madness."

Democratic U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch and California clean energy activist Tom Steyer are engaged in a public spat over a letter Steyer sent Lynch threatening to launch an aggressive public relations campaign against him because of Lynch’s support for the Keystone XL pipeline.

“This sort of behavior exemplifies the problem with the Washington establishment,” said Scott Ferson, a senior Lynch campaign advisor, in a statement sent to the press. “It’s not enough to support environmental efforts 94 percent of the time, as Congressman Lynch does. You need to be with every radical group 100 percent of the time or they will unleash millions of dollars against you.”

Steyer’s spokesman Chris Lehane hit back in an email to MassLive.com, “Lynch's response suggests he and his campaign must be suffering from the symptoms of March Madness as he continues to duck, dodge, bob and weave as it relates to coming clean as to why he is one of the very few Democrats in Washington who is putting foreign oil profits first - and refusing to demand that the oil company keep the oil in the U.S.”

Lynch and U.S. Rep. Edward Markey are competing in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. Markey, along with many Democrats and environmentalists, opposes the controversial pipeline, which would bring oil from Canada to the Gulf coast. Opponents cite its potential for pollution and the lack of a guarantee that oil transported through the pipe would remain in the United States. Lynch, along with many Republicans and labor leaders, supports it. Supporters say it will create jobs and give the U.S. a new source of energy.

MassLive.com reported Monday that Steyer, the founder of one of the world’s largest hedge funds, Farallon Capital, joined four local Massachusetts climate change activists in a letter to Lynch criticizing his support for the Keystone XL pipeline.

“Because climate change is such a serious issue, and because it is on the ballot as never before, we are asking you, Congressman Lynch, today to do one of two things by high noon on Friday, March 22,” the group wrote. “Either act like a real Democrat and oppose Keystone’s dirty energy. Or, get a sworn, binding statement – with securities law enforcement – from TransCanada and the refiners that all of the Keystone-shipped oil will stay here.”

Craig Altemose, a Massachusetts climate change activist who signed the letter, said Steyer, a billionaire, had committed to spending a “significant sum” of money opposing Lynch if their demands were not met.

Steyer has contributed millions of dollars to a variety of clean energy causes. But Lynch’s campaign pointed out that Farallon Capital, which Steyer founded and left in 2012, has invested in tens of millions of dollars of stock in oil companies including Chevron, Exxon and Shell, as well as $40 million in stock in BP - including stock purchased a year after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which BP was responsible for. Farallon also has a stake in a large coal mining company in Indonesia. The international hedge fund manages over $20 billion assets.

“This guy made a fortune managing funds that invest heavily in oil, and even bought shares of BP after one of the worst oil spills in history,” Ferson said. “He has the audacity to call himself an environmentalist and threaten members of Congress? That takes a special kind of arrogance.”

Lehane responded that one reason Steyer left Farallon was because he was no longer comfortable being at a fund that was invested in virtually every economic sector, including fossil fuels. Steyer signed a “Giving Pledge” created by Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates committing to giving away the majority of his money to philanthropy. “Nothing is more important when it comes to our kids than climate, which is now on the ballot in (Massachusetts),” Lehane said. “He certainly hopes Congressman Lynch will see the light and put the children of Massachusetts before the profit interests of a foreign oil company.”

Lehane repeated his demand that Lynch “has an opportunity between now and high noon on Friday to make clear whether he is going to continue to stand with Republicans like George W. Bush and Dick Cheney to allow a foreign oil company to reap a huge windfall by piping oil through the U.S. so it can be shipped to China or whether he will stand for the common good and common health of the children of the Commonwealth.”

A spokeswoman for Farallon Capital declined to comment.

Lynch and Markey have signed a “people’s pledge” barring outside groups from advertising in the race.

The Boston Globe editorial board wrote Wednesday, “Steyer may seek to evade that pledge by focusing on other forms of political spending — such as ‘guerrilla marketing’ and door-to-door campaigning — but his threat against Lynch surely violates the spirit of the pledge. Markey should tell Steyer to back off.”

By law, Markey’s campaign cannot coordinate with an outside expenditure group. Asked about Steyer’s involvement, Markey campaign manager Sarah Benzing said, "Ed Markey categorically rejects any third-party expenditure against Stephen Lynch that would violate the People’s Pledge that they both have signed, and urges groups and individuals on both sides to respect the pledge to keep outside advertisements off Massachusetts airwaves. Unlike the Republicans in this Senate race who have flatly refused to follow the lead of Scott Brown in condemning the influence of outside money in our politics today, Ed Markey remains committed to cleaning up our elections by repealing the court’s misguided Citizens United ruling."

Daniels, 28, of Springfield, pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal contempt Wednesday in Hampden Superior Court.

The Republican / File photo  

SPRINGIELD - Brandon Daniels failure to show up to testify in a murder trial ended up costing him 141 days in jail.

Daniels, 28, of Springfield, pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal contempt Wednesday in Hampden Superior Court.

Judge Richard J. Carey accepted an agreed upon recommendation by prosecution and defense to sentence Daniels to 141 days, which is the time he has served in the Hampden County Correctional Center in Ludlow since his arrest.

Assistant District Attorney Eduardo Velazquez said Daniels, who was the prosecution’s crucial witness, was in a difficult situation since he knew both the victim and defendants in the trial.

But, he said, people need to honor their promise to the court when they tell a judge they will return to testify.

Defense lawyer Luke Ryan said Daniels was not “thumbing his nose to the court,” but had reason to believe testifying would put him in grave danger.

Both defendants in the case in which Daniels was to testify - the shooting death of Jerry Hughes III in Springfield - ended up pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter.

More than seventy percent of those contributions were for less than $100, the campaign said.

Massachusetts Republican hopeful for the U.S. Senate Cohasset businessman Gabriel Gomez, left, responds to a question during a debate at Stonehill College in Easton last week. Steven Senne / Associated Press  

Republican private equity investor and Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez has raised $350,000 in the past five weeks, Gomez plans to announce Thursday.

Gomez, a former Navy SEAL, is facing Norfolk State Rep. Daniel Winslow and former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. The fundraising figure is a substantial sum for a candidate who was largely unknown on the state political scene before launching his U.S. Senate campaign.

“From the beginning, I’ve said the problem in Washington is not a lack of ideas, but a lack of courage,” Gomez said in a prepared statement. “The overwhelming level of grassroots and financial support shows that Republican and independent voters agree.” Gomez said he will continue to ask voters for support “in sending to Washington a new, fiscally conservative voice for reform.”

More than 70 percent of those contributions were for less than $100, the campaign said, and the money came from all of Massachusetts’ 14 counties and more than 200 cities and towns.

Gomez worked as a principal at the Boston private equity firm Advent International from 2004 until he launched his Senate campaign, working on Advent’s investment team and managing the company’s investment banking relationships. Tax information released by his campaign shows he has earned $8.5 million in adjusted gross income over the past five years.

Gomez spokesman Will Ritter said Gomez has also loaned money to his campaign, but that amount is not included in the $350,000, which Gomez has raised since Feb. 12.

Gomez has already put his money to use. Republican insiders say Gomez was the first of the Republican candidates to start talking to potential staff and party leaders, even before Republican favorite former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown decided not to run. Early on, Gomez hired several top campaign staffers who previously worked for 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

The special election candidates are not required to file fundraising reports with the Federal Election Commission until April 18, for the period covering Jan. 1 to April 10. The primary will be held April 30.

By releasing fundraising numbers early, Gomez can boost his profile and ensure he is taken seriously by potential supporters and the news media.

The announcement comes as Gomez is trying to recover from revelations that he told Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick in a letter that he supported Democratic President Barack Obama in 2008, and agreed with Obama on gun control and immigration reform. Gomez has since said that he voted for and supported 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain and did not agree with all of Obama’s positions on those issues. However, the letter has cost him some support.

Tufts University Professor Jeffrey Berry said $350,000 is a “substantial amount for a rookie, who had little name recognition before he started.” At the same time, Berry said it is only a “down payment” for what Gomez will need later on in the race. In the 2010 special Senate election between Brown and Democrat Martha Coakley, Brown spent $11 million and Coakley spent $9.6 million.

And Berry said Gomez is “badly compromised” by the letter to Patrick. “The fundraising is secondary to that,” Berry said. “If his profile was more popular with the type of people who would vote in a Republican primary, they would help him raise the kind of money he needs.”

Neither Sullivan nor Winslow has yet released any fundraising numbers.

May was apprehended by Holyoke police as they spotted him walking out a building at South Bridge and Hamilton streets.

Richard May Greenfield Police Dept.  

HOLYOKE - A man wanted by police as a suspect in three separate robberies in Greenfield over the last few weeks has been arrested in Holyoke, police said.

Holyoke Police Sgt. Kevin Thomas said Holyoke police stopped and arrested Richard May at about 8 p.m. Wednesday as they spotted him leaving a building at South Bridge and Hamilton streets.

May, 38, was charged with an outstanding arrest warrant issued by Greenfield. He is being held overnight without bail in Holyoke and will be brought to Holyoke District Court in the morning and from there be transferred to Greenfield where he will be charged in connection with the the bank robberies.

Surveillance footage from a Feb. 17 robbery, top photo, and a March 3 robbery at TD Bank, 324 Main St., Greenfield. A man suspected by police of being the robber was apprehended Wednesday in Holyoke.
Greenfield police photos




 

In each robbery, the suspect was masked, wore gloves and threatened tellers with a black handgun.

In the March 13 robbery, a witness saw the robber leaving in a car and was able to provide police with a description of the vehicle.

Police later found the vehicle and information from the car led them to identify May as the robbery suspect. Similarities with the other two robberies made him a suspect in those as well, Greenfield police have said.