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US Senate gives pre-dawn OK to $3.7 trillion Democratic budget with nearly $1 trillion in tax increases

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This year's projected deficit of nearly $900 billion would fall to around $700 billion next year and bottom out near $400 billion in 2016 before trending upward again.


By ALAN FRAM, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — An exhausted Senate gave pre-dawn approval Saturday to a Democratic $3.7 trillion budget for next year that embraces nearly $1 trillion in tax increases over the coming decade but shelters domestic programs targeted for cuts by House Republicans.

While their victory was by a razor-thin 50-49, the vote let Democrats tout their priorities. Yet it doesn't resolve the deep differences the two parties have over deficits and the size of government.

Joining all Republicans voting no were four Democrats who face re-election next year in potentially difficult races: Sens. Max Baucus of Montana, Mark Begich of Alaska, Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Mark Pryor of Arkansas. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., did not vote.

The vote came after lawmakers labored through the night on scores of symbolic amendments, ranging from voicing support for letting states collect taxes on Internet sales to expressing opposition to requiring photo ID's for voters.

The Senate's budget would shrink annual federal shortfalls over the next decade to nearly $400 billion, raise unspecified taxes by $975 billion and cull modest savings from domestic programs.

In contrast, a rival budget approved by the GOP-run House balances the budget within 10 years without boosting taxes.

That blueprint— by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., his party's vice presidential candidate last year — claims $4 trillion more in savings over the period than Senate Democrats by digging deeply into Medicaid, food stamps and other safety net programs for the needy. It would also transform the Medicare health care program for seniors into a voucher-like system for future recipients.

"We have presented very different visions for how our country should work and who it should work for," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who chairs the Senate Budget Committee. "But I am hopeful that we can bridge this divide."

A day that stretched roughly 20 hours featured brittle debate at times. The loudest moment came toward the end, when senators rose as one to cheer a handful of Senate pages — high school students — who lawmakers said had worked in the chamber since the morning's opening gavel. Senators then left town for a two-week spring recess.

Congressional budgets are planning documents that leave actual changes in revenues and spending for later legislation, and this was the first the Democratic-run Senate has approved in four years. That lapse is testament to the political and mathematical contortions needed to write fiscal plans in an era of record-breaking deficits that until this year exceeded an eye-popping $1 trillion annually, and to the parties' profoundly conflicting views.

"I believe we're in denial about the financial condition of our country," Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, top Republican on the Budget panel, said of Democratic efforts to boost spending on some programs. "Trust me, we've got to have some spending reductions."

Though budget shortfalls have shown signs of easing slightly and temporarily, there is no easy path for the two parties to find compromise — which the first months of 2013 have amply illustrated.

Already this year, Congress has raised taxes on the rich after narrowly averting tax boosts on virtually everyone else, tolerated $85 billion in automatic spending cuts, temporarily sidestepped a federal default and prevented a potential government shutdown.

By sometime this summer, the government's borrowing limit will have to be extended again — or a default will be at risk — and it is unclear what Republicans may demand for providing needed votes. It is also uncertain how the two parties will resolve the differences between their two budgets, something many believe simply won't happen.

Both sides have expressed a desire to reduce federal deficits. But President Barack Obama is demanding a combination of tax increases and spending cuts to do so, while GOP leaders say they won't consider higher revenues but want serious reductions in Medicare and other benefit programs that have rocketed deficits skyward.

Obama plans to release his own 2014 budget next month, an unveiling that will be studied for whether it signals a willingness to engage Republicans in negotiations or play political hardball.

The amendments senators considered during their long day of debate were all non-binding, but some delivered potent political messages.

They voted in favor of giving states more powers to collect sales taxes on online purchases their citizens make from out-of-state Internet companies, and to endorse the proposed Keystone XL pipeline that is to pump oil from Canada to Texas refineries.

They also voted to voiced support for eliminating the $2,500 annual cap on flexible spending account contributions imposed by Obama's health care overhaul, and for charging regular postal rates for mailings by political parties, which currently qualify for the lower prices paid by non-profits.

In a rebuke to one of the Senate's most conservative members, they overwhelmingly rejected a proposal by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to cut even deeper than the House GOP budget and eliminate deficits in just five years.

The Democratic budget's $975 billion in new taxes would be matched by an equal amount of spending reductions coming chiefly from health programs, defense and reduced interest payments as deficits get smaller than previously anticipated.

This year's projected deficit of nearly $900 billion would fall to around $700 billion next year and bottom out near $400 billion in 2016 before trending upward again.

Shoehorned into the package is $100 billion for public works projects and other programs aimed at creating jobs.


Associated Press reporter Andrew Taylor contributed to this report.

Chicopee City Council approves final funding for senior center construction

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A groundbreaking is scheduled for April 8.

chicopee senior center View full size This is an artist's conceptual drawing of the front of the new senior center  

CHICOPEE – The City Council approved the final funding for the senior center, allowing construction to begin in early April.

In a unanimous vote, the council agreed to borrow $4 million in additional money to fund the project, which will be constructed on the property of the former Facemate factory complex off West Main Street.

In total, the senior center will cost $8 million to build. The city is expected to put in $4 million, which was approved more than a year ago. The Friends of the Senior Center have also pledged to raise $2 million.

The city has also received permission to borrow a total of $5 million over a 20-year period from funds it receives annually through the federal Community Block Grant program. About $2 million is set aside for the construction of the building and the remaining $3 has been used to help demolish the Facemate buildings and help clean the property.

A longtime advocate of the project, Councilor Jean J. Croteau Jr. urged his fellow councilors to support the final funding needed for the project to proceed. The city has already hired Fontaine Brothers Construction, of Springfield, to build the center and scheduled a groundbreaking for April 8.

He explained half of the $4 million additional money is being used to pay the portion of the money that the Friends is working to raise. The $2 million is needed up front before construction begins and will be paid back as the group raises the money.

The second half, another $2 million, is needed for cost overruns for cleaning up the hazardous waste on the former factory site, said Carl Dietz, community development director.

“We ran into some costs related to the ground. The latest problem is finding PCBs in the ground,” he said.

A total of $10 million in federal brownfields funds and state development grants have already been spent to remove asbestos and tear down the former factory buildings. Dietz explained the removal of the toxic materials called polychlorinated biphenyls will be the last step to cleaning up the site.

Croteau urged councilors to approve the money Thursday, concerned they might instead delay construction by moving to subcommittee for more discussion.

But members said they were completely supportive of the project.

“I think we are definitely committed and I'm excited,” Councilor John Vieau said. “I'm glad to see this one proceeding.”

Councilor Robert J. Zygarowski agreed saying he did not want to delay construction.

“Let’s get going and pass this tonight so we can move on,” he said.

Three arrested after drive-by shooting in Springfield

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Police said they found drugs and a handgun in a Cadillac that was involved in the shooting.

SPRINGFIELD — A victim of a drive-by shooting is recovering after being hit multiple times by a shooter in a black Cadillac as the man was walking through Stearns Square early Saturday, according to Springfield Police Lt. Robert P. Moynihan.

Three men were arrested in connection with the shooting, which happened just after 2 a.m.

Police said Anthony Smith, 20, of Pendleton Avenue; Trevor Gayle, 22, of Marion Street; and Charles Darby, also 22, of Tyler Street have been charged in connection with the incident. Police said they found drugs and a handgun when they searched the car.

The suspects will be arraigned Monday in Springfield District Court.

The victim was reportedly in stable condition after being rushed to Baystate Medical Center. However, the man's condition was unknown as of late Saturday afternoon, police Lt. James Rosso said.

Northampton hopes to save $900,000 in health insurance costs

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Narkewicz said the insurance savings will decrease the projected $2.4 million gap for the fiscal 2014 budget to about $1.5 million.

NARK.JPG Mayor David J. Narkewicz  

NORTHAMPTON – Mayor David J. Narkewicz told the City Council Thursday he had identified a way to save some $900,000 in insurance costs for city employees, a move that will decrease the number of jobs he expected to be cut because of a budget gap.

Narkewicz said the insurance savings will reduce the projected $2.4 million gap for the fiscal 2014 budget to about $1.5 million. He has already told School Superintendent Brian Salzer that he may increase the school department budget by $450,000, the mayor said Friday. Salzer had anticipated cutting nearly two dozen jobs because of the gap.

As Narkewicz laid it out for the council Thursday, he plans to take advantage of a state law that allows him to negotiate insurance costs outside the collective bargaining process. Last year, the council adopted the Massachusetts Municipal Insurance Reform Law at the mayor’s request. Instead of working with the Insurance Policy Committee now in place, Narkewicz will consult with a Public Employee Committee yet to be appointed. If he cannot reach and agreement with the Public Employee Committee, Narkewicz can turn to a state panel for approval of an insurance plan.

The mayor hopes to drop Health New England, the city’s current health care insurer, and join the Group Insurance Commission, a large group that negotiates health plans for thousands of state employees. Even if he attains that objective, Narkewicz said the city will not be able to enroll in the Group Insurance Commission plan until Jan. 1, halfway through the fiscal year. Nonetheless, he would be able to budget according to the projected savings.

In other council business Thursday, Terry Culhane, the chairman of the Board of Public Works, told the council his board expects to vote for modest increases in the water and sewer tax rates for fiscal 2014. Culhane said the water fee will increase by 1.38 percent, or $2.53 per person. For the average two-person household, that will amount to $5.06 a year. The sewer rate will go up slightly more, by 2.96 percent. The additional cost will be $5.83 per person, or $11.66 per two-person household. Both the water and sewer fees are based on metered usage.

Chicopee Comprehensive High School to offer new type of arts show

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The show will be held from 6 to 8 p.m., March 26 at Comprehensive High School.

arts.jpg A visitor checks out student art work last year at Chicopee Comprehensive High School's annual art show.  


CHICOPEE – Students will become the teachers in a new type of arts show where they will demonstrate and teach a wide variety of visual art and music.

Comprehensive High School will host an Interactive Arts and Media Student Exhibition for the general public March 26 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the school.

The school hosts an annual art show where students from all art classes as well as after-school programs put their art on display, but this show will have a different feel, said Paula Fahey, an art teacher who is organizing the event with student teacher Amanda Robillard.

“I’m trying to get more of the school involved and having it interactive so people understand what kids learn in an art room,” Fahey said.

One of the differences is there will be learning stations set up in one of the art rooms where students will be there to teach parents and other members of the public about water color techniques, acrylic painting and a student will be modeling for a figure-drawing demonstration, she said.

“It will be all the kids hosting it, sharing their talents and abilities,” Fahey said.

In another area, one of the students will display how he creates different special effects that can be used in movies, she said.

Students art work and other work will also be on display during the event, she said.

“I’m trying to get more of the school involved and having it interactive so people understand what kids learn in an art room,” Fahey said.

It is common in art class for students to be offering their classmates ideas and teaching their peers techniques they have tried, she said.

Music students will also perform solo or in small groups for visitors, those in the culinary arts department will cook and serve food for the visitors and the horticulture department is growing plants for display, Fahey said.

Some of the other groups involved will be the National Honor Society, the Yearbook Club, the Best Buddies program where regular education students join with those with disabilities, and the Anime Club will be showing off some of the students’ cartooning work, she said.

Students who take a television class and air a weekly breakfast show will also talk and demonstrate their work, Fahey said.

Other students will work on computers and demonstrate photograph programs and web design.

“I think it will be fun,” Fahey said. “It empowers them and gives them a sense of accomplishment and pride and makes them a part of the teaching process.”

Pope Francis meets Benedict XVI for lunch, tells him 'we're brothers'

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Pope Francis traveled Saturday from the Vatican to this hilltown south of Rome to have lunch with his predecessor, Benedict XVI, an historic and potentially problematic melding of the papacies that has never before confronted the church.

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (AP) — The two men in white embraced and showed one another the deference owed a pope in ways that surely turned Vatican protocol upside down: A reigning pope telling a retired one, "We are brothers," and insisting that they pray side-by-side during a date to discuss the future of the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis traveled Saturday from the Vatican to this hilltown south of Rome to have lunch with his predecessor, Benedict XVI, an historic and potentially problematic melding of the papacies that has never before confronted the church.

In a season of extraordinary moments, starting with Benedict's resignation and climaxing with the election of the first Latin American pope, Saturday's encounter provided perhaps the most enduring images of this papal transition as popes present and past embraced, prayed and broke bread together.

"It was a moment of great communion in the church," said the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi. "The spiritual union of these two people is truly a great gift and a promise of serenity for the church."

Benedict, 85, has been living at the papal retreat in Castel Gandolfo since he stepped down Feb. 28 and became the first pope to resign in 600 years. From the moment he was elected, Francis, 76, made clear he would go visit him, refusing in a way to let Benedict remain "hidden from the world" as he had intended.

Wearing a white quilted jacket over his white cassock to guard against the spring chill, Benedict greeted Francis on the helipad of the Castel Gandolfo gardens as soon as the papal helicopter landed. They embraced and clasped hands. And in a series of gestures that followed, Benedict made clear that he considered Francis to be pope while Francis made clear he considered his predecessor to be very much a revered brother and equal.

Traveling from the helipad to the palazzo, Benedict gave Francis the seat on the right-hand side of the car, the traditional place of the pope, while Benedict sat on the left. When they entered the chapel inside the palazzo to pray, Benedict tried to direct Francis to the papal kneeler in the front, but Francis refused.

Taking Benedict's hands and drawing him near, Francis said, "No, we are brothers," Lombardi said. The two used a longer kneeler in the pews and prayed side-by-side, the papal kneeler facing the altar left vacant.

It was a gesture that, 10 days into Francis' papacy, is becoming routine: a shunning of the trappings of the papacy in favor of a collegial and simple style that harks back to his Jesuit roots and ministry in the slums of Buenos Aires.

Francis also brought a gift for Benedict, an icon of the Madonna.

"They told me it's the Madonna of Humility," Francis told Benedict. "Let me say one thing: When they told me that, I immediately thought of you, at the many marvelous examples of humility and gentleness that you gave us during your pontificate."

Benedict replied: "Grazie, grazie."

Outside the villa, the main piazza of Castel Gandolfo was packed with well-wishers bearing photos of both popes and chanting "Francesco! Francesco!" But the crowd soon dissipated after Francis' helicopter left 2.5 hours later, without either pope coming to the balcony as many had hoped.

The Vatican downplayed the remarkable reunion in keeping with Benedict's desire to stay out of the spotlight so as not to interfere with his successor's papacy. There was no live coverage by Vatican television, and only a short video and still photos were released after the meeting. No details of the pair's private talks or lunch were released.

All of which led to enormous speculation about what these two men in white might have said to one another. That the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was second only to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in the 2005 conclave that elected Ratzinger pope — considered then to be the "anti-Ratzinger" candidate — only added to the popular imagination about what two men with such radically different styles, backgrounds and priorities might have chatted about over lunch.

Perhaps during their primo, or pasta course, they discussed the big issues facing the church: the rise of secularism in the world, the drop in priestly vocations in Europe, the competition that the Catholic Church faces in Latin America and Africa from evangelical Pentecostal movements.

During their secondo, or second course of meat or fish, they may have discussed more pressing issues about Francis' new job: Benedict left a host of unfinished business on Francis' plate, including the outcome of a top-secret investigation into the leaks of papal documents last year that exposed corruption and mismanagement in the Vatican administration. Francis might have wanted to sound Benedict out on his ideas for management changes in the Holy See administration, a priority given the dysfunctional government he has inherited.

Benedict's resignation — and his choices about his future — have raised the not-insignificant question of how the Catholic Church will deal with the novel situation of having one reigning and one retired pope living side-by-side.

Before Benedict announced his decision to be known as "emeritus pope" and "Your Holiness," one of the Vatican's leading canon lawyers, the Jesuit Rev. Gianfranco Ghirlanda, penned an article suggesting that such a title would be inappropriate for Benedict since in renouncing the papacy he had "lost all the power of primacy" conferred on him by his election. The Vatican had originally said Benedict would likely be known as "emeritus bishop of Rome" precisely to avoid confusion with the new pope.

But Benedict went ahead with the title and chose to keep wearing the white cassock of the papacy, albeit without the sash and cape worn by Francis, leading to questions about both his own influence on the future pontiff and whether Catholics more favorable to his traditional style might try to undermine his successor's authority and agenda by keeping their allegiance to the old pope.

Clearly aware of that potential, Benedict in his last meeting with his cardinals on Feb. 28 pledged his "unconditional reverence and obedience" to the then-unknown future pope, who was nevertheless in the room.

Lombardi said he understood Benedict had repeated that pledge of obedience to Francis on Saturday. Asked how the popes addressed one another, Lombardi demurred, saying he didn't think they addressed one another as "Your Holiness" or "Pope," saying the exchange was too familiar and warm for such titles.

The two men couldn't be more different in style and background: The Argentine-born Francis has made headlines with his simple gestures — no papal regalia, simple black shoes, paying his own hotel bill — and basic message that a pope's job is to protect the poor.

As archbishop of Buenos Aires, the man now known as Pope Francis worked in the slums, celebrating Masses for prostitutes and drug addicts. He plans to celebrate Holy Thursday Mass this week at a juvenile detention center, where he will wash the feet of 12 inmates in a show of humility echoing that of Jesus.

The German-born Benedict is an academic, one of the world's leading theologians who spent more than 30 years in the frescoed halls of the Vatican where he was first its chief doctrinal watchdog and then its pope. His primary concern was to remind Christians in Europe of their faith and bring back a more traditional Catholic identity, and with it the brocaded style of the papacy. His Holy Thursday Masses included the traditional foot-washing, but it involved clerics at the St. John Lateran basilica.

While there is a difference in style, there is a "radical" convergence in their spirituality, according to Civilta Cattolica, the Italian Jesuit magazine whose articles are approved by the Vatican before publication.

"They are two figures of the highest spirituality, whose relationship with life is completely anchored in God," the magazine wrote. "This radicalness is shown in Pope Benedict's shy and kind bearing, and in Pope Francis it is revealed by his immediate sweetness and spontaneity."

Springfield Budget Director LeeAnn Pasquini resigns to accept budget director job at the University of Massachusetts

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LeeAnn Pasquini has resigned as Springfield budget director to take a job at the University of Massachusetts

finance.phot.JPG Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, center, is flanked by former Chief Administrative and Financial Officer Lee C. Erdmann to his right, and Budget Director LeeAnn Pasquini to his left, in this file photo from 2011. Erdmann resigned in December and Pasquini will leave soon.  

SPRINGFIELD – City Budget Director LeeAnn Pasquini is resigning her city job, effective next Friday, to become the director of budget and planning at the University of Massachusetts.

Pasquini has served as city budget director for three years, at an annual salary of $90,900, and previously worked as the budget director for the state Office of Administration and Finance.

Her resignation follows the December resignation of Lee C. Erdmann, who served as the city’s chief administrative and financial officer in December.

“I want to thank LeeAnn for her service to the city and wish her well,” Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said Friday, in announcing the resignation. “LeeAnn has worked tirelessly on behalf of the residents and businesses of Springfield. Her aptitude in finance combined with her personality and work ethic make LeeAnn very special.”

Sarno has appointed Senior Management Analyst Jennifer Winkler of the city’s Finance Department to serve as acting budget director, effective April 1.

Pasquini, a Springfield resident, starts her new job on April 2, serving the college system for the University of Massachusetts in the Office of the President. Her new annual salary is $120,000.

Timothy J. Plante has served as Springfield's acting chief administrative and financial officer since the resignation of Erdmann. The Finance Department, having numbered 14 employees several years ago, now consists of Plante, Winkler and three other employees. Plante is also seeking to fill two vacant financial management analyst positions.

The job at UMass was “a golden opportunity” for Pasquini, and one that the city could not match, Sarno said.

Sarno described her as “young, knowledgeable and aggressive” in her work.

“It’s bittersweet,” Sarno said. “Boy, am I sorry to lose her. She was a very dedicated professional. It was an opportunity to move her career forward.”

The city has struggled with budget challenges and tight revenues for several years, and another challenging year is expected in the coming fiscal year, Sarno said. City departments have been directed to prepare budgets that reflect a potential 10 percent cut in funds, he said.

Pasquini said she is grateful to Sarno and Plante and the Finance Department staff “for having confidence in my work and for supporting me during my time with the city.”

“I am proud of the Finance Department and the accomplishments we have made as a team,” Pasquini said. “As a resident, I look forward to seeing the department’s and the city’s continued success.”

Winkler, a Springfield resident, has worked for the city since 2007 in budget and finance roles, and previously worked for the budget department of Baystate Medical Education and Research Foundation. She was also recently appointed as a member of the Board of Assessors.

As acting budget director, her annual salary will be $80,327.

Original Western Mass. Home and Garden Show 2013 a promising barometer for local housing market

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The Home Show puts on display everything from major construction contractors to architects and specialists in cabinetry, additions, landscaping, roofing, spas and everything in between.

goy.JPG Robert Goyette, president of Heritage Homes in Westfield, mans his booth at the the Original Western Mass. Home & Garden Show, sponsored by Home Builders & Remodelers Association. They are one of the original companies at the show, exhibiting since the 1950s.  
WEST SPRINGFIELD - For longtime vendors at the Original Western Mass. Home & Garden Show, the four-day event can amount to Christmas, or four days on your feet with nothing in your stocking, depending on economic trends.

For Robert T. Goyette Sr., who runs Heritage Homes Inc., the longest-running vendor at the 54-year-old show on the grounds of the Eastern States Exposition, this year has significantly more jingle than recent years.

"This time last year there was no talk about new construction at all. It was really dead," said Goyette, who has passed the torch to his son, Robert T. Goyette Jr., now president. "The last couple of years at the show have been the leanest and I've been through a lot of ups and downs over the years."

This year, Goyette said, there are serious inquiries from those with plans in hand or land lots purchased - serious buyers.

"People talk about that stuff and I get all smiles," Goyette said, adding that his company owns a subdivision in Belchertown called Pepper Ridge Estates and he expects to fill a few more lots as a result of the show.

The Home Show puts on display everything from major construction contractors to architects and specialists in cabinetry, additions, landscaping, roofing, spas and everything in between.

"Tankless hot water heaters?" one woman inquired of show manager Bradford Campbell, executive director of the Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Western Massachusetts, which runs the show.

AE_HOME_3_12179383.JPG Architect WIlliam J. Devlin of Springfield talks to a potential new customer at the the Original Western Mass. Home & Garden Show, sponsored by Home Builders & Remodelers Association.  
Campbell quickly consulted his roster and sent the woman to the right vendor. He said attendance was up 130 percent over last year and 70 percent up on Friday; Saturday's numbers had yet to be tallied but crowds were brisk in the Better Living Center and Young Building.

"Modular homes have certainly been a big attraction," Campbell said. "This year we have nine solar companies, three new Realtors and seven banks."

The crowds and response from vendors seemed a promising forecast of an economic rebound - at least in the housing market, Campbell said.

Springfield architect William J. Devlin agreed with Goyette in that interest seemed to be more of the serious brand this year.

"I've gotten work out of this show every year, but this year seems different than recent years. I love it though. You turn into a show guy during these four days and I have a ball," Devlin said.

The Home & Garden Show will continue March 24 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.


Ludlow residents invited to serve on Community Preservation Committee

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There are two more open seats on the committee.

LUDLOW - The Board of Selectmen has appointed Lisa LaBonte to the town’s Community Preservation Committee.

Raymond Phoenix, chairman of the committee, said there are still two more open seats on the committee.

Phoenix said he is pleased that LaBonte came forward to volunteer to serve on the committee.

The Community Preservation Act Committee is in the process of developing a bylaw to be presented to voters at the annual Town Meeting for approval which would then go to a town election ballot.

The bylaw would allow the town to impose a community preservation tax with the revenues to be appropriated for the preservation of open space in the town.

The Community Preservation Committee was created 10 years ago, Phoenix said, but townspeople have not yet approved a community preservation tax for the preservation of open space, Phoenix said.

Anyone interested in volunteering to serve on a Community Preservation Committee may apply by contacting the selectmen’s office in the Town Hall.

Commentary: Nuttie Goodie and its owner were part of Springfield's gentler past

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he Nuttie Goodie of my memory had few pretentions, with a long counter and lots of food and trays of baked goods right out where you could see them. The day’s “specials” (called, ‘extra-special’) were presented on a neatly typed menu and the food was hearty — meat loaf, pork chops, broiled chicken.




nuttie3.jpg



The Nuttie Goodie Tea Room on Main Street in Springfield





 

A rookie reporter learns to eat on the run.

For a reporter, as it is for EMTs and cops, mealtime is sort of anytime you can fit it in and is likely to be interrupted at a moment’s notice. You learn to eat between assignments, after speeches, and with the smell of smoke still on your coat from chasing down a fire. You’re looking for food that is tasty and reliable and cheap.

And, if you’re new in town, as I was nearly 40 years ago, you ask where such a place can be found within a few blocks from the newspaper.

What I was told consistently back then was “try the Nuttie Goodie. And, look for George”

Technically, they meant George Legos, the owner; and, technically, they meant “Nuttie Goodie Tea Room” whose full name exuded a kind of gentility more associated with the Steiger’s Tea Room, located a few blocks down Main Street atop the city’s flagship department store. My wife recalls many excursions she took as a child to Steiger's Tea Room, with her mother, white pocketbook in hand, at a time when going downtown to shop was a very big deal and might end with a dainty cucumber sandwich and some steaming chamomile served from a pot.

Perhaps such fare was available at the Nuttie Goodie, but I don’t remember it. In fact I don’t remember a single cup of tea I ever had there. Ditto, 8-year-old girls with white anklets and parochial-school dresses, clutching carefully wrapped gift boxes.

The Nuttie Goodie of my memory was far less pretentious, with a long counter and lots of food and trays of baked goods right out where you could see them. The day’s “specials” (called, ‘extra-special’) were presented on a neatly typed menu and the food was hearty — meat loaf, pork chops, broiled chicken.

And, the price was right.



nuttie2.jpg


The menu at the Nuttie Goodie Tea Room where a full dinner, dessert and coffee could be had for under $2.





 

Helene Kelly, George’s niece, who, like most of the family, worked at the Nuttie Goodie throughout her childhood, recalled one day’s menu from November, 1958: Chicken rice soup, bowl, 20 cents; cup, 15 cents. One pound, prime porterhouse steak, with french fries and chef salad; $2.50. Roast native turkey, cranberry, vegetables, potatoes, coffee, dessert, (no doubt the Thanksgiving extra-special), $1.30 For dessert, homemade ice cream, 15 cents; strawberry shortcake 35 cents.

The Nuttie Goodie Tea Room might not have been five-star rated, but you got your money’s worth, and you never left hungry.

Besides being the owner, George Legos was resident cook, waiter, philosopher and commentator on all things Springfield. Stick around long enough at the Nuttie Goodie and in would walk politicians, lawyers, cops and city employees. It was a perfect watering hole for a beginning reporter looking for stories. Why, I could almost convince myself I was working.

George certainly was.

He knew some of his customers had all day, and he certainly never rushed anyone out. But, he also knew others were eating on the run and his job was to deliver them a decent meal at a fair price in double time.

Which he did.

And, the conversation was pretty tasty, too.

In later years, my work kept me more in the office and by that time, I had a houseful of daughters whose taste gravitated toward that other tea room. But, I would still on occasion visit the Nuttie Goodie where I received a warm welcome from George and was pleased that he remembered me until I realized that he remembered everyone.

By the time the Nuttie Goodie closed in 1986, downtown Springfield had fallen on hard times. Steiger's and its twin department store, Forbes & Wallace, were gasping for air and would soon shut their doors. Moms and their young daughters had decamped to the malls, where cucumber sandwiches and melon balls had given way to a Happy Meal with an action figure toy. The Nuttie Goodie would soon be replaced by a shoe store.

From time to time I still saw George, unseasonably dressed in shorts, making his rounds around downtown Springfield and chatting up old customers he met along the way. On a few occasions I saw him presiding over the locker room at the Springfield Jewish Community Center where someone would invariably ask, “Aren’t you Nuttie Goodie?”

“Yes, I am,” he would say.

Slowly, over the years, the Nuttie Goodie and George Legos disappeared behind the veil of memory of what now seems like a gentler time long ago and far away in Springfield. Until, that is, I was jarred into the present by his obituary.

George Legos, the article read in the timeless prose of obituary writers, “was called Safely Home on Sunday Feb. 17. He passed into Eternal Life at the Soldiers Home in Holyoke surrounded by the care and comfort of his loving, family, his comrades in arms and his wonderful caregivers.”

The obituary goes on to say that George was a lifelong resident of Springfield (I could have guessed) owner of the Nuttie Goodie (I knew that) loved scotch and was an avid sports fan (it figures.) He served in the Korean Conflict (never mentioned it) and spent the last years of his life at the Soldiers' Home in Holyoke.

He was 80 years old.



nuttie1.jpg
George Legos, owner of the former Nuttie Goodie Tea Room in Springfield, dances with his sister, Dena Clay.





 

Helene Kelly tells me the tea room took its name from its beginnings as a candy store originally located on Bridge Street and Broadway. Customers would come in and note all the crunched-up nuts in the candy and remark the confections were real goodies.

And, so, the name stuck.

Helene, who now owns a small advertising company, can conjure up the long candy counters, the 3-foot tall Easter bunnies and the gaily painted Easter eggs of her youth.

And, oh, that homemade ice cream.

“I remember when I was 10, the way my uncle George would meticulously make it in a back room from cream and sugar and how I would rush in with a coffee cup and catch the concoction on its way to the freezer.

“I can still taste it,” she says. “I’ve been searching for that taste ever since.”

Wilbraham's Minnechaug Regional High School to host financial literacy program for teens

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The Credit for Life financial literacy program aims to give students a glimpse of the sorts of tough fiscal decisions they'll face as adults.

WILBRAHAM — Do I buy the sleek, expensive furniture that would look cool in my apartment, or the affordable, sensible furniture that's pragmatic? Should I get that new sports car I've had my eye on, or should I go for a used vehicle?

These are the sorts of real-world decisions seniors from Minnechaug Regional High School and Monson High School will have to make during a one-day financial literacy session on Thursday, March 28, from 9 a.m. to noon at Minnechaug, 621 Main St.

The "Credit for Life" program is a financial literacy exercise involving more than 300 Minnechaug and Monson seniors, all of whom will be asked to make real-life decisions about spending money.

Students, who will be assigned mock checking and savings accounts, will play the role of 25-year-old adults with careers, salaries and credit scores. They'll be asked to make decisions that affect their personal finances, such as renting an apartment, buying a car or furniture, or saving for retirement – not your typical, everyday teenage concerns.

Booths staffed by Country Bank and business community volunteers will be set up for the various financial decision students must make. The professional volunteers will offer money management advice, with each booth representing actual financial decisions students will have to make as adults.

The goal is to make students fiscally literate so they can better understand, analyze and use information in their day-to-day financial decisions, according to organizers.

More information is available by contacting Paula Talmadge, Minnechaug's career coordinator, at (413) 279.3832 or ptalmadge@hwrsd.org, or contacting Jodie Gerulaitis, Country Bank's financial education officer, at 800-322-8233, ext. 2024.

Hitler joins gun debate, but history is in dispute

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In the months since the Newtown, Conn., school massacre, some gun rights supporters have repeatedly compared U.S. gun control efforts to Nazi restrictions on firearms, arguing that limiting weapons ownership could leave Americans defenseless against homegrown tyrants.

324gun_control.JPG Gun rights advocates demonstrate outside the Capitol in Albany, N.Y. on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013. The group rallied against the recently legislated NY SAFE Act and other measures they say infringe on their constitutional right to bear arms. The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil rights group, is calling on critics of gun control to keep Hitler and the Nazis out of the debate. The rhetoric "is such an absurdity and so offensive and just undermines any real understanding of what the Holocaust was about," said Ken Jacobson, the ADL's deputy national director. "If they do believe it, they're making no serious examination of what the Nazi regime was about."  

By ADAM GELLER

When the president of Ohio's state school board posted her opposition to gun control, she used a powerful symbol to make her point: a picture of Adolf Hitler. When a well-known conservative commentator decried efforts to restrict guns, he argued that if only Jews in Poland had been better armed, many more would have survived the Holocaust.

In the months since the Newtown, Conn., school massacre, some gun rights supporters have repeatedly compared U.S. gun control efforts to Nazi restrictions on firearms, arguing that limiting weapons ownership could leave Americans defenseless against homegrown tyrants.

But some experts say that argument distorts a complex and contrary history. In reality, scholars say, Hitler loosened the tight gun laws that governed Germany after World War I, even as he barred Jews from owning weapons and moved to confiscate them.

Advocates who cite Hitler in the current U.S. debate overlook that Jews in 1930s Germany were a very small population, owned few guns before the Nazis took control, and lived under a dictatorship commanding overwhelming public support and military might, historians say. While it doesn't fit neatly into the modern-day gun debate, they say, the truth is that for all Hitler's unquestionably evil acts, his firearms laws likely made no difference in Jews' very tenuous odds of survival.

"Objectively, it might have made things worse" if the Jews who fought the Nazis in the 1943 Warsaw ghetto uprising in Poland had more and better guns, said historian Steve Paulsson, an expert on the period whose Jewish family survived the city's destruction.

But comparisons between a push by gun control advocates in the U.S. and Hitler have become so common — in online comments and letters to newspaper editors, at gun rights protests and in public forums — they're often asserted as fact, rather than argument.

"Absolute certainties are a rare thing in this life, but one I think can be collectively agreed upon is the undeniable fact that the Holocaust would have never taken place had the Jewish citizenry of Hitler's Germany had the right to bear arms and defended themselves with those arms," former Major League Baseball pitcher John Rocker wrote in an online column in January.

After some gun advocates rallied at New York's capitol in February carrying signs depicting Gov. Andrew Cuomo as Hitler, National Rifle Association President David Keene said the analogy was appropriate.

"Folks that are cognizant of the history, not just in Germany but elsewhere, look back to that history and say we can't let that sort of thing happen here," Keene, who was the lead speaker at the rally, told a radio interviewer March 1.

Those comparisons between gun control now and under Hitler joined numerous other statements, including the one by the Ohio school board president, Debe Terhar, on her personal Facebook page in January and by conservative commentator Andrew Napolitano, writing in The Washington Times.

The comparisons recently prompted the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil rights group, to call on critics of gun control to keep Hitler and the Nazis out of the debate.

The rhetoric "is such an absurdity and so offensive and just undermines any real understanding of what the Holocaust was about," said Ken Jacobson, the ADL's deputy national director. "If they do believe it, they're making no serious examination of what the Nazi regime was about."

But some gun rights advocates firmly disagree.

"People who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it," said Charles Heller, executive director of Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, which has long compared U.S. gun control to Nazi tactics. "I guess if you're pro-Nazi, they are right. But if you're pro-freedom, we call those people liars."

Comparing gun control activism to Hitler is not new. In a 1994 book, "Guns, Crime and Freedom," NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre wrote that "In Germany, firearm registration helped lead to the Holocaust."

But the history of civilian gun ownership under the Nazis, scholars say, is far more complicated than the rhetoric indicates.

After World War I, Germany signed a peace treaty requiring dismantling of much of its army and limiting weapons import and export. But many of the 1 million soldiers returning home joined armed militias, including a Nazi Party force that saw Communists as the leading threat.

"Technically, they (the militias) were illegal and the guns were illegal, but a lot of government officials didn't care about right-wingers with guns taking on Communists," said David Redles, co-author of "Hitler and Nazi Germany: A History," a popular college text. By 1928, however, officials decided they had to get a handle on the militias and their weapons and passed a law requiring registration of all guns, said Redles, who teaches at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland.

Soon after Hitler was named chancellor in 1933, he used the arson of the Reichstag as an excuse to push through a decree allowing for the arrest of many Communists and the suspension of civil rights including protections from search and seizure. But as the Nazis increasingly targeted Jews and others they considered enemies, they moved in 1938 to loosen gun statutes for the loyal majority, said Bernard Harcourt, a University of Chicago professor of law and political science who has studied gun regulations under Hitler.

The 1938 law is best known for barring Jews from owning weapons, after which the Nazis confiscated guns from Jewish homes. But Harcourt points out that Hitler's gun law otherwise completely deregulated acquisition of rifles, long guns and ammunition. It exempted many groups from requiring permits. The law lowered the age for legal gun ownership from 20 to 18. And it extended the validity of gun permits from one year to three years.

"To suggest that the targeting of Jews in any of the gun regulations or any of the other regulations is somehow tied to Nazis' view of guns is entirely misleading," Harcourt said, "because the Nazis believed in a greater deregulation of firearms. Firearms were viewed, for the good German, were something to which they had rights."

With the 1938 law, Nazis seized guns from Jewish homes. But few Jews owned guns and they composed just 2 percent of the population in a country that strongly backed Hitler. By the time the law passed, Jews were so marginalized and spread among so many cities, there was no possibility of them putting up meaningful resistance, even with guns, said Robert Gellately, a professor of history at Florida State University and author of "Backing Hitler: Consent and Coercion in Nazi Germany."

U.S. gun rights advocates disagree, pointing to the 1943 Warsaw ghetto uprising by about 700 armed Jews who were able to fend off a much larger force of German troops for days until retreating to tunnels or fleeing. The Nazis won out by systematically burning the ghetto to the ground, house by house.

"Once the Germans began adopting that strategy there really wasn't very much that people armed with pistols, or even rifles and machine guns, could do," said Paulsson, the historian and author of "Secret City: The Hidden Jews of Warsaw."

Paulsson said it is possible that if Polish Jews had limited their resistance, Nazi troops might not have destroyed the ghetto, allowing more to survive in hiding or escape. When armed Jews shot at mobs or troops at other times in 1930s and 1940s Poland, it incited more vicious counter-attacks, he said.

But to Heller, the gun rights activist, the Warsaw uprising is proof of power in firearms. Giving Jews more guns might not have averted the Holocaust, but it would have given them a fighting chance, enough that perhaps a third of them could have shot their way out of being marched to the concentration camps, he said.

"Could they have fought back? They did (in Warsaw). You know why they (the Nazis) destroyed the ghetto? Because they were afraid of getting shot," he said. "Now, will it get to that in the U.S.? God, I hope not. Not if (U.S. Attorney General Eric) Holder doesn't start sending people to kick doors down."

But Paulsson, whose mother was freed from the Auschwitz concentration camp at the end of the war, dismisses that argument as twisting the facts.

"Ideologues always try to shoehorn history into their own categories and read into the past things that serve their own particular purposes," he said.

U.S. Senate passes Sen. Elizabeth Warren's fishery assistance plan

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The bipartisan amendment, introduced by Warren and Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski, was included in the Senate budget proposal that passed early Saturday.

32313 elizabeth warren.jpg Sen. Elizabeth Warren's amendment came after a federal disaster was declared last year in several fisheries, including in the Northeast, where fisherman face massive cuts in 2013 groundfish catch allocations.







 

BOSTON – The U.S. Senate has passed an amendment that would allow funds in next year's federal budget to be used to aid fishermen in the Northeast and elsewhere.

The bipartisan amendment, introduced by Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren and Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski, was included in the Senate budget proposal that passed early Saturday.

It's uncertain whether the provision will survive budget negotiations before final legislation is passed. The House has passed a rival budget proposal and President Obama has yet to introduce his plan.

Warren's amendment came after a federal disaster was declared last year in several fisheries, including in the Northeast, where fisherman face massive cuts in 2013 groundfish catch allocations.

The Senate last year approved $150 million for fisheries assistance, but that measure died. Warren says disaster aid is critically needed by fishermen.


Charlie Kingston's Springfield: Consultant has advised city mayors from William Sullivan and Theodore Dimauro to Domenic Sarno

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During the Sarno administration, Kingston has been asked to review documents ranging from a draft inaugural address to press releases announcing board and commission appointments.

SPRINGFIELD – Mayor Domenic J. Sarno won a third term by a landslide in 2011, but municipal records obtained by The Republican raise questions about who really wields the most power at City Hall.

The emails and telephone messages from a former top aide to Sarno indicate Charles “Charlie” Kingston, a ubiquitous and enduring political consultant who has advised mayors for decades, enjoys an unusual level of influence under the current administration. The documents suggest Kingston green-lights everything from policy and personnel decisions to appointments to municipal boards and commissions.

charles kingston august 1994.jpg In an August 1994 file photo, Charles Kingston stands during a recess at his Suffolk Superior Court trial for allegedly failing to report income totaling $160,000. He ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor tax charge.

Talk of Kingston's sway has festered among City Hall insiders for years. But, electronic records provided for Thomas T. Walsh, Sarno's former communications director, in response to a public records request by the Republican and MassLive.com, shed some light on just how much power Kingston exercises.

Sarno dismisses Walsh as a classic example of a disgruntled ex-employee trying to tarnish his former boss’ reputation.

“He walked out on me during the middle of a crisis,” Sarno said of Walsh. “We were in the middle of a gas explosion, and he walked out.”

Walsh says he departed the mayor’s office on Dec. 3, nearly two weeks after the Nov. 23 natural gas blast at a downtown strip club.

“I am not a disgruntled ex-employee. I truly loved the public service aspect of my job there and had immense respect for many of my co-workers. A personal insult is the last recourse of an exhausted mind,” Walsh said.

While Sarno confirmed during an interview that he relies on Kingston’s counsel for a wide array of public policy and internal matters, he insists he has the final say.

“I’m the mayor. I make the decisions. Charlie has always indicated to me: Make good policy decisions for the citizens of Springfield. I think people have to judge me on the decisions that I’ve made. Charlie always tells me: You make the decisions and always make them based on good public policy. The politics will fall as they may,” Sarno said. “I only ask him for the pros and cons.”


Master of the City Hall message

The emails and voicemails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request suggest Kingston, 71, of West Springfield, is at the very least, the master of the City Hall message. He orchestrates political debates, crafts inaugural and state-of-the-city addresses, op-ed pieces on major policy decisions, the trash fee and budgetary woes – and, in some instances, advises the mayor on what public appearances to make.

Case in point: Kingston left a voicemail message with Walsh on May 23, 2012, advising Sarno to avoid appearing with then-U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, a Republican, for a tour of the city’s tornado-stricken neighborhoods. The tour was scheduled amid the run-up to the Democratic State Convention being held in Springfield, and a dueling visit by Brown’s then-challenger Elizabeth Warren.

good tom.jpg Thomas Walsh

“Domenic mentioned this late yesterday and I was thinking about it last night. I think clearly what he’s doing here is he wants to pre-empt Elizabeth Warren and the Democratic convention,” Kingston said in a voicemail message to Walsh. “You know, I don’t think it’s any coincidence that (Brown’s) coming in on (May) 31st and the convention starts on (June) 1st. My take on it is that Domenic should not participate and if there is going to be a representative it should be somebody like a Brian Connor (deputy economic director) to do it. I wouldn’t let Kevin Kennedy do it, and I don’t think Domenic should do it.”

Walsh said the Brown tour went off without Sarno or Kennedy, Sarno’s chief economic officer and a former aide to U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield.

Walsh, whose work included writing press releases and public announcements for the mayor, says Sarno required him to present every syllable of nearly every announcement for Kingston’s review. Prospective employees also were almost invariably vetted by Kingston, Walsh said.

“I think the voters’ intent on who they elected was clear, but, at times, I felt that I was working for Mr. Kingston,” Walsh said.

Walsh and Sarno’s chief of staff, Denise Jordan, met periodically with Kingston in the lobbies of downtown buildings to discuss candidates for board and commissions. “From the Park Commission, School Building Commission, Planning Board, to the Zoning Board of Appeals, they all had to get Mr. Kingston’s approval,” Walsh said.



charles kingston on right 1980.jpg

A March 13, 1980, file photo shows Mayor DiMauro's official staff, with Charles Kingston on far right.



An adviser through
the decades

In his interview with The Republican, Sarno repeated, as he has since Kingston’s presence emerged in his first mayoral campaign in 2007, that Kingston is a family friend dating back 50 years to Sarno’s father, a barber. He also volunteered that Kingston had Julius Erving’s number – 32 – when Kingston played basketball for the University of Massachusetts at Amherst years before Erving did.

Sarno acknowledged that Kingston helped identify those who had been helpful in his campaigns as potential appointees to boards and commissions.

Indeed, Sarno is not the first, second nor even third Springfield mayor to rely on Kingston’s tutelage.

Published reports show Kingston has been an adviser to mayors on their campaigns dating back to the 1970s. Those include a long list of former mayors, among them William Sullivan, Theodore DiMauro, Richard E. Neal, who is now the city’s congressman, Mary Hurley, who is now a judge, Robert T. Markel and now-Governor’s Councilor Michael J. Albano.

“Charlie has one of the best political minds out there. He has a good sense of the political dynamics; he’s able to gauge a race,” said Albano, a four-term mayor who used Kingston’s guidance to run a 2003 race against former state Rep. Paul A. Caron, while Albano’s administration was under FBI investigation for allegations of public corruption.

“He’s like a technician. He’s not an issues guy; he’s a data-driven, get-out-the-vote person,” Albano said, adding that he chose not to seek Kingston’s advice on matters of how to run the city.

“I might rely on my department heads for certain issues, housing for instance. But, for better or for worse,” Albano said with a laugh, an unspoken nod to his troubled tenure in later years when several in his administration were indicted on fraud charges, “I was the only guy in the room making the choices.”

Neal declined an interview for this story, but, through a spokesman, issued a statement in response to questions about Kingston’s roles in Neal campaigns for City Council, mayor and his congressional seat.

The statement rattled off a litany of Neal advisers with stature as campaign experts: political strategist Joseph Napolitan; the late Judge Daniel Keyes; former mayor Sullivan; and retired attorney David Keaney (who also worked as an aide to the congressman). Players like Kingston and attorney Frank Antonucci were listed as secondary strategists who preferred behind-the-scenes work, according to Neal spokesman William Tranghese.

“Congressman Neal has known Charlie Kingston and his family for many years. He believes Charlie understands the personalities and politics of Western Massachusetts as well as anyone. And, he is one of those rare people who genuinely enjoys the competitive nature of politics,” Tranghese said in the prepared statement. “When he has contested campaigns, Congressman Neal always relies on Charlie for help and good advice.”

Tranghese added later that Kingston was never paid for his work on Neal’s behalf, nor has the lawmaker ever sought Kingston’s advice on policy matters.

DiMauro, for whom Kingston worked as chief-of-staff in the late 1970s, declined to be interviewed. Hurley, propelled into her first term in a special election with Kingston’s help, also declined an interview. Markel did not respond to inquiries; he most recently served as city administrator in Kittery, Maine, before resigning in January.


Behind-the-scenes, and working for free

Other political insiders who declined to be quoted talked about Kingston’s expertise at “messaging,” or finding the buzzwords and issues that will resonate with voters.

Neal, Albano and Sarno all made a point of Kingston's preference to stay “behind-the-scenes” or “off the radar”. He has been highly successful on that front.

A public records search reveals Kingston is not registered with the state or the city as a lobbyist. Nor is he listed in any public corporate records, though he lists himself as a political consultant and principal of his own public relations company in campaign finance records. He has not been paid by the city, nor has he been paid by any campaign, according to state records.

Asked whether he thinks it is unusual that Kingston would do so much work for free, Sarno said he did not.

“I don’t see why it’s so unusual. You have to understand the bond, the kinship. Everyone has advisers: presidents, governors, CEOs,” Sarno said, conceding that most are paid for their advice.

Privately, insiders call Kingston “a ghost.”

kingston's West Side pad.JPG This triple-decker apartment complex at 1343 Riverdale St. in West Springfield is Charlie Kingston's local address, according to campaign finance records.  

He lists in state campaign finance records a post office box in Springfield and an address in West Springfield: 1343 Riverdale St. The spot is a rundown, triple-decker stack of efficiency apartments wedged between a Subway and a car dealership with an overflowing Dumpster in the parking lot. The address also has a current telephone number associated with it, with Kingston’s voice on the message. Repeated requests for comment left on that number and Kingston's cell phone were not returned. Friends say he spends most of his time in Florida, where he has a home.

Since 2001, Kingston has made nearly $30,000 in contributions to political campaigns, records show. Despite his reputation as local power broker, however, Kingston appears to have never voted in a municipal or statewide election since 1996 and was taken off the voting rolls in Springfield in 2001 for inactivity.

He appears to have no website in this electronic age – and not even a business card, say those who know him.

According to one voicemail left for Walsh, Kingston directed Sarno’s former press secretary to provide him two written statements via his wife’s personal email account.

“Hey Tom, I was just talking to Domenic and wanted to touch base. He said you’ve got some first drafts on the op-ed piece with regards to the (city) budget crisis so I wanted to touch base on that,” the voicemail from April 17, 2012 states. “If you get a chance maybe you can start by emailing that to Mary Jane’s account, if you would please. (Sarno) also said that something has been put together on the health insurance. I don’t know if that’s going to be an op-ed piece or a letter to the editor or whatever, if you could send both of those, that would be great and we could talk about them.”

"Not an email guy"

Walsh said his discussions with Kingston began almost immediately during Sarno’s first term in 2008 but ramped up after the state-run Finance Control Board left town later that year.

The new mayor had wooed Walsh, an attorney, away from a job in the legal department of a private insurance company the previous year with a promise to join the municipal Law Department after Walsh cut his teeth at City Hall. The promise was never fulfilled.

Walsh said he initially sent an email or two to Kingston from his City Hall email address but was quickly cautioned by both Kingston and Sarno to use an alternative account. All emails provided to The Republican between Walsh and Kingston originated from Walsh’s personal email account and were sent to Kingston’s wife’s account.

“They both told me to restrict my emails to Charlie through my personal email account. I could guess, but didn’t ask why. I was a new employee,” Walsh said. "I quickly learned to stay in my lane and collect my check."

When asked about Walsh’s assertion, Sarno said he could not remember having told Walsh or any other staff member to exchange emails with Kingston by using only their personal accounts.

“I don’t recall,” Sarno said. When pressed about whether he was concerned such a directive could send a questionable message, he responded: “I’m not an email guy.”


Investigations, past and present

Kingston’s influence in political circles has scarcely waned despite becoming ensnared in a corruption probe of city government in the early 1990s. During that era, Kingston had on his roster a private client list that included Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., another insurance company that received a no-bid contract during the Neal administration, construction giant Fontaine Brothers, the powerful Picknelly bus company family, multiple towing companies and a school transportation vendor with which Kingston may still have ties today.

Those records of Kingston’s one-time clientele became public during the investigation under then-state Attorney General Scott Harshbarger. Kingston faced a charge hiding income linked to private clients from the IRS while he was deputy tax collector during Neal’s administration as mayor. Kingston was tried and convicted for tax crimes, but those convictions were later overturned by the state Appeals Court in 1999.

Kingston ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor tax charge. His political clout appeared to have waned for a few years afterwards, but he regained legitimacy when he ran Albano’s successful campaign in 2003, according to political observers.

Harshbarger, now in private practice in Boston, did not respond to a request for an interview.

Barring another law enforcement investigation, it seems unlikely Kingston’s existing client list will come to light. Though speculation is widespread, private business owners rarely speak publicly of affiliations with him.

A void of available documentation on his political consulting business makes a conventional search of legally-required lobbyist rosters virtually impossible.

“He’s a businessman. He has private clients. He’s no different than those guys on K Street,” Albano said, referring to the epicenter of lobbyists and think tanks in Washington, D.C.

One agency that seems to be wondering about Kingston's ties to City Hall is the FBI. Agents have been conducting interviews with a small number of municipal insiders in recent weeks, according to those familiar with the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity. The head of the local office was mum on the topic.

“The FBI does not confirm or deny ongoing investigations,” said Special Agent Mark S. Karangekis, supervisor of the FBI’s Springfield office, when asked for comment.


Kingston and the casino question

With the range of Kingston’s influence becoming clearer, a peripheral question is how it could affect the debate over the potential location of a casino in Springfield.

MGM Resorts International and Penn National Gaming, two powerful gaming companies, are vying to locate a casino in the City of Homes and are in competition with developers with proposals for West Springfield and Palmer for a single license in Western Massachusetts.

For the Sarno administration, the stakes are undeniably high. If the casino question is affirmed by the city’s voters on a ballot question later this year, Sarno has sole discretion to present one or more proposals to the state Gaming Commission.

Enter one of the most massive economic development opportunities for the region since the Industrial Era - potentially in Sarno’s lap.

The project has brought lobbyists running. They include players like Dennis Murphy, a former Springfield state representative who represents MGM and joked about Sarno’s power over the casino contest at the centennial celebration of the Springfield Urban League at the MassMutual Center on March 16.

“We have a major project pending before the mayor so I would in no way want to be perceived as pandering to the mayor, except to say that he’s a very talented mayor,” Murphy quipped before a crowded banquet room, with an MGM sponsorship flag hanging in the background.

The casino topic, however, is scant in the emails and voicemails between Walsh and Kingston.

One letter which Walsh sent for Kingston's review was drafted by political consultant Anthony Cignoli to the leaders of the state Senate and House of Representatives.

The undated letter, signed by Sarno, advocated for a “Western Massachusetts Zone” to be included in the final version of the gaming legislation before it had been passed.

Between MGM and Penn National, Sarno has never publicly advocated for one casino vendor over another. He has been vocal, however, about having it be sited in the downtown as opposed to an outlying neighborhood. A third company, Ameristar, dropped out of the competition after buying a huge parcel of land in East Springfield.

“Please give us the unique opportunity to benefit from the many employment and economic benefits that a resort casino specifically allowed within the Western Zone can afford us. This is an opportunity that can benefit generations of people here in the four Western Counties and that your leadership alone can provide us,” the letter reads.

Walsh could not confirm whether the letter ever was delivered to legislative leaders. Of his departure from Sarno’s employ, he would only say that he had become frustrated with the inner workings at City Hall.

“Everyone who knows me knows I am dictated by the highest level of honesty and professional integrity,” Walsh said.

Others in City Hall agree.

“Tom Walsh is without a doubt a man with a moral compass. His integrity and work ethic are beyond reproach. Citizens, business people and city employees who have worked with him will tell you that they have never been called into question,” longtime City Councilor Timothy J. Rooke said. Rooke, like many others, won’t make any comments about Kingston.

Holyoke honored for energy efficiency by the Pioneer Valley Sustainability Network

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Holyoke was praised for its use of hydroelectric power, and returning to passenger rail service, among other steps.

View of the Holyoke Gas and Electric Department hydroelectric dam from May 2012. City use of such power is one reason it is being honored by a sustainable energy group.  


HOLYOKE -- The city is co-winner of a local group's Champions of Sustainability Award.

The Pioneer Valley Sustainability Network praised the city for getting most of its electricity from the hydroelectric dam owned by the Holyoke Gas and Electric Department, planning a platform for the return of passenger train service, and supporting groups like Nuestras Raices and the Holyoke Food and Fitness Policy Council that try to improve residents’ access to healthy food, a press release said.

Sustainable energy is energy that is produced using the sun, wind, etc., or from crops, rather than using fuels such as oil or coal which cannot be replaced, according to Cambridge Dictionaries Online.

The city and Co-Op Power, of West Hatfield, will be honored at the fourth annual Celebration of Sustainability April 16 from 4 to 9 p.m. at the Clarion Hotel in Northampton.

The Pioneer Valley Sustainability Network consists of dozens of local governments, companies, trusts, farms and other entities "dedicated to creating a just and sustainable future for the Pioneer Valley region," according to the group's website.

The group also singled out Mayor Alex B. Morse "and his outstanding staff" for praise.


Springfield police investigating armed robberies in East Springfield and Liberty Heights

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A clerk at a Page Boulevard convenience store refused to handover money to a white woman armed with a box cutter. A more detailed description of the woman was unavailable.

page convenience facade.jpg A clerk at Page Convenience, 500 Page Boulevard in East Springfield, refused to hand over money to an armed robber, who fled on foot.  

SPRINGFIELD — Police are investigating a pair of armed robberies early Saturday that may have been committed by the same woman.

In the first incident, a white woman wearing a black jacket entered the 7-Eleven at 425 Springfield St. just after 3 a.m.

The woman, armed with a box cutter, demanded money from the register and fled with an unspecified amount of cash, according to Springfield police.

No one was injured in the incident. A more detailed description of the woman was unavailable.

The convenience store is located along the northern edge of the Liberty Heights neighborhood, just south of the Chicopee city line.

Police said they believe the same woman is behind an attempted robbery at Page Convenience, 500 Page Blvd., at about 5:30 a.m.

The woman entered the East Springfield store with a box cutter and demanded money, but the clerk refused to part with any cash, prompting the woman to flee. "Nobody got hurt; we are all safe," a Page Convenience clerk said Saturday evening.

Springfield detectives are asking anyone with information to call them at (413) 787-6355.

Meanwhile, Chicopee police are looking for a white woman, believed to be in her twenties, who robbed two gas station-convenience stores last week.

The first incident was reported Wednesday night at the Pride Station, 363 Burnett Road, while the second was reported late Thursday evening at the Shell Station, 197 Grove St.

In each instance the robber was identified as a white woman, about 5 feet, 5 inches tall, with light hair and a thin build. Chicopee detectives are asking anyone with information to call them at (413) 594-1731. Detective Lt. Mark Higgins is handling the probe.


Abc40 report on Chicopee robberies:

Norfolk District Attorney's Office to host conference on school violence

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The Norfolk District Attorney's Office is sponsoring a conference about how to respond to school-based violence and bullying.


CANTON, Mass. (AP) — The Norfolk District Attorney's Office is sponsoring a conference about how to respond to school-based violence and bullying.

The training conference for school staff and community professionals will include speakers discussing ways to identify differences between bullying, violence and gender-based harassment; exploring strategies for strengthening written policies for student conduct; and implementing federal and state requirements related to bullying prevention and cyber-bullying in schools.

The conference is intended to help educators, administrators, counselors, school resource officers and others to identify and respond to students who may be experiencing or perpetrating harassment or abusive behavior in school.

The conference will be is scheduled for Thursday at the Bank of Canton's administrative offices in Canton. It's sponsored by Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey and Norfolk Advocates For Children.

Braintree karate instructor faces sexual assault charge

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A martial arts instructor at a Braintree studio is headed to court to face charges of sexually assaulting a student.


BRAINTREE, Mass. (AP) — A martial arts instructor at a Braintree studio is headed to court to face charges of sexually assaulting a student.

Kevin Carmichael of Millis is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Quincy District Court on a charge of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.

Police say the 40-year-old Carmichael was arrested Saturday after going to the Braintree police station to talk with detectives.

He was being held on $25,000 cash bail pending his arraignment.

Police say Carmichael was under investigation for an alleged assault that took place at his Masters Self Defense karate school. Authorities learned of the allegation on Friday.

It was not clear if Carmichael had a lawyer.

Massachusetts spends more on prisons, as crime rates drop

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A new report is critical of Massachusetts for putting more people behind bars and spending more on prisons, even though the state's violent crime rate is down dramatically.


BOSTON (AP) — A new report is critical of Massachusetts for putting more people behind bars and spending more on prisons, even though the state's violent crime rate is down dramatically.

The 40-page report commissioned by the nonpartisan MassInc research group says the percentage of Massachusetts residents behind bars has tripled since the early 1980s, as the state has clung to tough-on-crime laws and mandatory minimum sentences that other states have abandoned as ineffective.

The Boston Globe (http://bo.st/10co5BX ) reports that the study also criticizes the state for paying too little attention to successfully integrating prisoners back into society.

The report estimated that policies that have led to more Draconian sentences and fewer paroles have extended prison stays by a third since 1990, costing the state an extra $150 million a year.

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Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.boston.com/globe

Lynn fire displaces as many as 80 residents

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Authorities say a four-alarm fire in a Lynn apartment building has displaced as many as 80 residents, but there were no reports of injuries.

LYNN, Mass. (AP) — Authorities say a four-alarm fire in a Lynn apartment building has displaced as many as 80 residents, but there were no reports of injuries.

The blaze in the three-story building with 25 units was reported just before midnight Sunday.

A nearby elementary school was opened as a shelter for the displaced residents, and the Red Cross was at the scene.

Firefighters say the fire spread quickly, sending residents scrambling down fire escapes.

There was no immediate word on a cause.

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