Holyoke residents stop by Nick's Nest for hot dogs and a bit of tradition.

HOLYOKE— Sporting matching bunny ears, Carson Mayer, 4, and his mom Sherry Mayer, of Holyoke, walked up Northampton Street during the annual Easter Drag celebration Sunday.

"Any local community event in Holyoke - we are all about it," said Mayer, who also took her son to the city's Easter egg hunt on Saturday.

"We moved back here from Texas a few years ago, and we have been coming to the event ever since," she said.

Families, some donning their Sunday best, huddled around Nick's Nest taking pictures with the Easter Bunny and Nick's Nest mascot, a giant hot dog.

The drag tradition started in the 1920s, when people would dress up on Easter and walk down Northampton Street to Mountain Park. The park used to open for the first day of the year on Easter. Former Holyoke mayor Michael J. Sullivan helped revitalize the event several years ago.

The Melha Shriners Go Kart Unit attended the event and set up shop in front of Nick's Nest. They displayed the go karts and sold t-shirts and other trinkets.

"We are trying to raise money to buy a new ramp trunk," said Dave Duncan, captain of the Go Kart unit.

He said the truck will cost between $60,000-$70,000.

"People really look forward to seeing the go karts during the parades," he said. "The truck we have now is from 1978. We have a few ideas for the new truck, but we need to raise the funds."

Fellow Shriner Don Succa Jr. said this is the first time the Shriners have set up a table at the event.

"It's really nice. I'm surprised to see so many families out," he said.

Friends and business partners Donna, Judy and Deb opened up their store, Bumblebee's, for the event and set up face painters outside.

"We opened in September and sell women and children's items," said Judy M. Nadler. "We feature a lot of local artists as well."

She said the event is a great way to welcome spring.

Many kids and adults also stopped to chat with the Shriners Clowns who were at the event promoting the upcoming Melha Shrine Circus on May 2-5 at the Eastern States Exposition grounds in West Springfield.

New Hampshire could find a future claim to fame in birch syrup, a nontraditional but increasingly popular product pulled from New Hampshire's state tree.

By HOLLY RAMER

LEE, N.H. — Unlike maple syrup-drenched Vermont and lobster-rich Maine, New Hampshire doesn't have much to call its own in the food world. But it could find a future claim to fame in birch syrup, a nontraditional but increasingly popular product pulled from New Hampshire's state tree.

For now, New Hampshire has just one known commercial producer of birch syrup, which is made in a similar manner as maple syrup but tastes completely different and commands a significantly higher price. But the industry is growing in western Canada and Alaska, and it's being studied as a possible add-on venture for maple syrup producers across the northeastern United States.

Cornell University researchers tapped 400 birch trees in Lake Placid, N.Y., last year and 300 more this year to determine everything from optimum tapping times and collection practices to consumer preferences. Similar work is under way at the University of Vermont's Proctor Maple Research Center, where professor Abby van den Berg is studying whether it makes economic sense for maple syrup producers to expand into birch.

The first step is figuring out how much sap can be extracted from the average birch tree in the Northeast using modern practices, she said. Then comes number-crunching to figure out how many birch trees would have to be tapped to turn a profit. Given that much of the same equipment and techniques can be used to make both syrups, and the fact that birch sap generally starts to flow just as maple sap dries up, "it does present a tantalizing possibility," van den Berg said.

Michael Farrell, director of Cornell's Uihlein Sugar Maple Research and Extension Field Station, also sees a big opportunity for northeastern maple producers.

"We have all the infrastructure. So as soon as the season's over for maple, you clean up your maple stuff, start tapping your birch and make your birch syrup," he said. "Where it's made in Alaska and western Canada — especially in Alaska — the cost of materials is very high, and your shipping costs to get everything in there are high. ... So we should be able to make it at a lower price in the eastern U.S. than what is currently produced."

While interest in birch syrup is growing, there are a few reasons why it has yet to catch on, Farrell said. The maple season is short but exhausting, he said, so many producers may not relish the prospect of starting all over again with birch. And though birch trees are plentiful, they may not be growing close enough to maple trees to make it worthwhile for established maple producers. Finally, there's the taste: Those accustomed to the sweetness of maple are often shocked by the fruity, tangy flavor of birch, which is more suited to marinades and savory dishes.

"If you were to put birch syrup on pancakes, you would regret that," Farrell said.

Birch syrup does have a following among high-end chefs, and Alaskan producers have seen success selling it overseas, particularly in Italy, he said. Closer to home, the syrup sells well in small containers as a novelty item or souvenir, he said.

"How you collect the sap and process it really determines the flavor of it, so if you're skilled and know what you're doing, you can make good-tasting birch syrup. I've had it," he said. "It's way different than the bad stuff. It doesn't have that bitter molasses flavor to it. And when you're making the syrup, that smells incredible. It actually smells like you're making raspberry jam."

David Moore, New Hampshire's only known commercial birch syrup producer, got his start in 2008, when he was a student at the University of New Hampshire. His senior project involved testing the sugar content of various birch varieties, and he found that white birch — New Hampshire's state tree — was the sweetest.

Birch sap overall has a much lower sugar content than maple syrup, however. It takes more than 100 gallons of birch sap to produce one gallon of syrup, compared with a 40:1 ratio for maple syrup. And because birch sap contains different types of sugar, it caramelizes rapidly and can scorch easily. Moore said he doesn't actually boil his birch sap but instead lets it simmer until most of the water evaporates.

Moore, who takes a month off from his full-time job at another farm to run his syrup operation, tapped 210 trees this year, and was just beginning to collect and process the sap last week. He sells some of his syrup to restaurants and the rest through general stores and farmers markets, priced at $25 for 8 oz. or $300 per gallon. Many customers who try a sample are surprised, he said.

"The most common reaction is, 'It's very molasses-y,'" he said. "I think they're expecting it to taste like maple syrup."

In Maine, Kevin Grant has been tapping birch trees on his property in Ripley for six or seven years, and he and his wife enjoy the results in baked beans, beer and other recipes. He doesn't have the fancier tubing used by commercial producers, just buckets hung on trees. Sometimes, he's had to empty the buckets two or three times a day to keep up with the flow, Grant said.

"You get a lot more sap in a short amount of time," he said.

He was collecting sap by the roadside years ago when an older couple pulled up in their car.

"I heard some fool out here was tapping birch trees," the driver said.

When Grant replied, "You found him!" the man shook his head.

"Now I've seen it all," he said.

The Mashpee Wampanoag have 12 millennia of history behind them, but whether their history to come includes a Massachusetts-licensed casino depends now on what a state commission believes will happen in the tribe's near future.

Members of the five-person Massachusetts Gaming Commission attend a news conference in Boston where the last two appointees were introduced on Tuesday, March 20, 2012. From left the members are: Enrique Zuniga, James F. McHugh, Chairman Steve Crosby, Bruce Stebbins, and Gayle Cameron.  

By JAY LINDSAY

BOSTON — The Mashpee Wampanoag have 12 millennia of history behind them, but whether their history to come includes a Massachusetts-licensed casino depends now on what a state commission believes will happen in the tribe's near future.

Lawmakers gave the tribe exclusive rights to southeastern Massachusetts' only casino license, but the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is considering opening the region to other bidders.

The Wampanoag's would-be competitors say the tribe faces so many legal and bureaucratic obstacles that it won't open a casino for a decade, if ever. But the tribe says it's making historic progress and plans to open its $500 million casino in Taunton in 2015.

The commission is left to decide which timeline will be most accurate. Commission Chairman Steve Crosby fretted over the task after he heard from both sides at a March 21 commission meeting.

Crosby offered that lawmakers clearly want to give the tribe a chance to make things work but don't want to give them forever. "And they are leaving it up to us to determine what forever is," he said.

"They would want us to understand how long this is going to take and make a decision based on that," he said. "And I don't know how we ever figure that out."

He has said he hopes the commission will vote by mid-April.

The state's 2011 casino law created a casino license for each of three geographic regions and gave exclusivity to the Wampanoag in the southeast. But the commission can open the area to other bidders if it determines the tribe's plans won't work.

Tribal chairman Cedric Cromwell has indicated that if bidding is opened, the tribe will stop pursuing a state license — eliminating any chance of state revenues from the project — and seek gambling rights exclusively through the federal government.

Before it can build anything, the Wampanoag need the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs to take the proposed 146-acre casino site in Taunton into trust for the tribe.

Opponents of extending the tribe's exclusivity say a 2009 U.S. Supreme Court decision prevents the Wampanoag from getting that land because it limits the land-taking to tribes that were federally recognized before the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. The tribe, which was recognized in 2007, argues it can proceed by showing it was under federal jurisdiction as of 1934.

If the government awards the Wampanoag the land-in-trust, it will prompt immediate lawsuits that could last years, said Marsha Sajer, an attorney for KG Urban Enterprises, which wants to build a casino in New Bedford.

Washington state's Cowlitz tribe, which also wasn't federally recognized before 1934, has pursued land-in-trust under the same theory as the Wampanoag. And while the government did award the land in 2010, litigation has left the case unresolved a decade after it started, Sajer said.

She added that the land-in-trust process on its own is purposely long and deliberative, since casinos have such significant regional effects. As examples, she pointed to eight tribes from California to Michigan that have recently pursued land-in-trust to operate gambling facilities. Some cases stretch back a decade, and none has been resolved, she said.

History simply provides no basis for the Wampanoag's confidence about quick approvals and construction, Sajer said.

"I think it's optimism; I don't think it's reality, because they have not been able to distinguish why their situation would be any different from any other," she said.

New Bedford state Rep. Robert Koczera said forgoing years of jobs and revenue waiting for a Wampanoag casino that won't happen would be a travesty in the struggling region. Unemployment in its largest cities, New Bedford and Fall River, exceeds 14 percent.

"We border on being an economic Appalachia," Koczera said.

For its part, the Wampanoag question whether the commission even has the authority to open up the bidding ahead of the government's land-in-trust decision.

The Wampanoag also dispute that the land-in-trust process will take years. In a letter from their lawyer, Howard Cooper, delivered to Crosby on Thursday, the tribe listed procedural markers it has already cleared, laid out a timeline for the others and noted that federal officials have vowed a speedy review.

The tribe said it expects a favorable land-in-trust decision by early 2014, when it will immediately move forward with the project. The only way to slow it down, Cooper said, will be if opponents seek a preliminary injunction to stop development. But he predicts that will fail.

"The soundness of the trust application of the Mashpee will overcome any request for a preliminary injunction," Cooper wrote.

State Sen. Marc Pacheco of Taunton said it's too early for the commission to open up the region, especially with the tribe making progress. Just Tuesday, he noted, the tribe reached agreement with Taunton officials about the specifics of their partnership. This, while the two other regions don't yet know where their casinos will be located because they have competing bidders.

Pacheco said he is not sure how long is too long to extend the tribe's exclusive rights, but that time hasn't come.

"They have been ahead of the game," he said.

The man awoke and tried to drive away from police.

Republican file photo

BOSTON – A Framingham man was arrested for drunken driving second offense after state police officers observed him stopped in the high speed lane of Route 93 and unconscious.

When a Trooper James DeAngelis approached the man, Eric Funes, 29, awoke and started to drive away. DeAngelis pursed him on a slow speed chase for about three miles until other troopers could deploy a tire deflation device in the area of Exit 15, state police officials said.

Funes was charged with drunken driving, second offense, failure to stop for police, driving to endanger and marked lanes violations, police officials said.

Mike McLelland and his wife Cynthia were shot to death in their home Saturday.

Kaufman County Sheriff David Byrnes, right, speaks at a news conference, Sunday, in Kaufman, Texas. On Saturday, Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, were murdered in their home. The Associated Press  

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI and
NOMAAN MERCHANT, Associated Press

KAUFMAN, Texas (AP) — Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland took no chances after one of his assistant prosecutors was gunned down two months ago.

McLelland said he carried a gun everywhere he went and was extra careful when answering the door at his home.

"I'm ahead of everybody else because, basically, I'm a soldier," the 23-year Army veteran said in an interview less than two weeks ago.

On Saturday, he and his wife were found shot to death in their rural home just outside the town of Forney, about 20 miles from Dallas.

While investigators gave no motive for the killings, Forney Mayor Darren Rozell said: "It appears this was not a random act."

"Everybody's a little on edge and a little shocked," he said.

The slayings came less than two weeks after Colorado's prison chief was shot to death at his front door, apparently by an ex-convict, and a couple of months after Kaufman County Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse was killed in a parking lot a block from his courthouse office. No arrests have been made in Hasse's slaying Jan. 31.

McLelland, 63, is the 13th prosecutor killed in the U.S. since the National Association of District Attorneys began keeping count in the 1960s.

Sheriff David Byrnes would not give details Sunday of how the killings unfolded and said there was nothing to indicate for certain whether the DA's slaying was connected to Hasse's.

El Paso County, Colo., sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Joe Roybal said investigators had found no evidence so far connecting the Texas killings to the Colorado case, but added: "We're examining all possibilities."

Colorado's corrections director, Tom Clements, was killed March 19 when he answered the doorbell at his home outside Colorado Springs. Evan Spencer Ebel, a white supremacist and former Colorado inmate suspected of shooting Clements, died in a shootout with Texas deputies two days later about 100 miles from Kaufman.

McLelland himself, in an Associated Press interview shortly after the Colorado slaying, raised the possibility that Hasse was gunned down by a white supremacist gang.

The weekend slayings raised concerns for prosecutors across Texas, and some were taking extra security precautions. Byrnes said security would be increased at the courthouse in Kaufman but declined to say if or how other prosecutors in McLelland's office would be protected.

Harris County District Attorney Mike Anderson said he accepted the sheriff's offer of 24-hour security for him and his family after learning about the slayings, mostly over concerns for his family's safety. Anderson said also would take precautions at his Houston office, the largest one in Texas, which has more than 270 prosecutors.

"I think district attorneys across Texas are still in a state of shock," Anderson said Sunday.

McLelland, elected DA in 2010, said his office had prosecuted several cases against racist gangs, who have a strong presence around Kaufman County, a mostly rural area dotted with subdivisions, with a population of about 104,000.

"We put some real dents in the Aryan Brotherhood around here in the past year," he said.

In recent years, the DA's office also prosecuted a case in which a justice of the peace was found guilty of theft and burglary and another case in which a man was convicted of killing his former girlfriend and her 10-year-old daughter.

McLelland said he carried a gun everywhere, even to walk his dog around town, a bedroom community for the Dallas area. He figured assassins were more likely to try to attack him outside. He said he had warned all his employees to be constantly on the alert.

"The people in my line of work are going to have to get better at it," he said of dealing with the danger, "because they're going to need it more in the future."

The number of attacks on prosecutors, judges and senior law enforcement officers in the U.S. has spiked in the past three years, according to Glenn McGovern, an investigator with the Santa Clara County, Calif., district attorney's office who tracks such cases.

For about a month after Hasse's slaying, sheriff's deputies were parked in the district attorney's driveway, said Sam Rosander, a McLelland neighbor.

The FBI and the Texas Rangers joined the investigation into the McLellands' deaths.

McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, 65, were the parents of two daughters and three sons. One son is a police officer in Dallas. The couple had moved into the home a few years ago, Rozell said.

"Real friendly, became part of our community quickly," Rozell said. "They were a really pleasant, happy couple."

Jeanne M. Lareau McLain, who grew up in Springfield's Hungry Hill neighborhood but later moved to Westfield, died in the arms of her "soul mate," Dennis O'Connor, according to McLane's lifelong friend, Ann Marie Smith.

Republican file photo  

The former Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church at the corner of Armory and Carew streets in Hungry Hill used to be the spiritual home of Springfield's Irish population. A neighborhood love story involving two Hungry Hill natives ended in tragedy Saturday, when Jeanne McLain died in a hit-and-run-car crash Saturday at the corner of Carew and Chestnut streets. McLain had recently rekindled a past relationship with Dennis O'Connor, and the pair had become "soul mates," according to family friend Ann Marie Smith. Republican file photo  

McLain, 55, and O'Connor, 59, both of whom grew up in the former Irish stronghold, were spun like tops after a speeding Jeep Cherokee nailed the passenger side of O'Connor's Pontiac sedan, forcing it into a fire hydrant at the corner of Carew and Chestnut streets. The Jeep kept driving after the high-speed collision, according to police.

O'Connor, who was behind the wheel of the Pontiac, survived the crash. But McLain – a Lareau by birth with a McAnanama for a mother – succumbed to her injuries, according to Ann Marie Smith, a lifelong friend of McLain's who also grew up on Hungry Hill.

"They were soul mates," Smith said of McLain and O'Connor. "They were reunited last year at the 2012 Hungry Hill reunion, and the depth of their affection ..." she said, her words trailing off.

Smith said McLain died in O'Connor's arms as the suspect in the hit-and-run crash continued east on Carew Street. Officers followed a trail of busted car parts and leaking fluids to the suspect's Narraganset Street home, police said. As officers fanned out around 25 Narraganset St., 25-year-old Mark Perez made a final attempt to escape by jumping from a window and dashing for a backyard fence, police said. Officers quickly tackled him to the ground and took him into custody.

Mark Perez, 25, of 25 Narraganset St., Springfield, is charged with marijuana possession with intent to distribute; leaving the scene of a personal injury accident resulting in death; leaving the scene of a personal injury accident; leaving the scene of a property damage accident; reckless operation of a motor vehicle; resisting arrest; and larceny of a motor vehicle. Springfield police say Perez was behind the wheel of a stolen SUV when he slammed into a car at the corner of Carew and Chestnut streets late Saturday morning, killing a Westfield woman who used to live in Springfield's Hungry Hill neighborhood. Springfield Police Department  

Police said a subsequent warrant search of the Narragansett Street residence found large quantities of cocaine and marijuana and packaging materials commonly used by drug dealers. Perez and two others were charged with drug possession with intent to distribute. Perez also was charged with auto theft and leaving the scene of a fatal car crash.

Police said he's expected to be arraigned Monday in Springfield District Court on seven criminal charges, with the possibility of additional charges once the investigation is completed.

Smith said the loss of her childhood friend, who ended every phone call with "I love you" and "God bless," is utterly incomprehensible. "It is just surreal that she's gone," Smith said.

The girlfriends had just spoken on the phone on Friday and, ironically, that conversation included a discussion about wills, according to Smith, who is taking a will-writing class. McLain revealed she did not have a legal document detailing how she would like her assets to be divided or managed after death, Smith said.

McLain, a Westfield resident, had dated O'Connor years ago when they were growing up on Hungry Hill. She went on to marry a McLain, from whom she had long been estranged, and just last fall had gotten reacquainted with O'Connor at their old neighborhood reunion. The two picked up from where they had left off, according to Smith. "They were blissfully in love," she said, adding that McLain "was the happiest I think she's ever been."

Smith grew up on Mooreland Street, while McLain grew up a few blocks away on Cleveland Street in a neighborhood long identified as the epicenter of Springfield's Irish community. Over the years, though, the Irish population has dwindled as new groups have moved into a neighborhood that once overflowed with big families whose roots stretched back to counties Kerry, Cork and Galway.

"Our mothers were best friends," Smith said. "Jeannie was a second mother to my daughter."

Smith said she will attend Monday's arraignment for Perez so she can "look him in the eye," hoping to see some glimmer of remorse. She called the suspect a coward for fleeing from a fatal crash scene and from police, saying it's time for Perez to "man up." Smith, who said she plans to follow the criminal case through the courts to ensure "justice for Jeannie," is encouraging McLain's family and friends to attend Perez's arraignment.

Meanwhile, O'Connor, who was injured in the 10:15 a.m. crash but is expected to recover, is still trying to grasp the enormity of his loss, according to Smith. "He's just so numb. Everybody's very raw," she said.

Perez was "carrying a large amount of marijuana" at the time of his arrest, and large quantities of cocaine and marijuana were found inside his apartment, according Springfield Police Sgt. John M. Delaney, a spokesman for Commissioner William J. Fitchet.

Delaney said the Jeep Cherokee Perez was driving at the time of the fatal collision was reported stolen by its owner, who lives on Patton Street. Perez first drew police attention as he exited Patton Street onto Main Street in the wrong direction, Delaney said.

Two other residents of 25 Narraganset St. were arrested on drug charges. Joseph A. Cruz, 24, and Hailey Luz Rodriguez, 20, were each charged with marijuana and cocaine possession with intent to distribute, Delaney said. All three were being held without bail pending arraignment in Springfield District Court, Delaney said.

McLain was raised in a large Catholic family. Besides O'Connor, she leaves behind a daughter, three grandchildren and two sisters. She was predeceased by her parents, Robert J. Lareau and Margaret McAnanama Lareau, and several other siblings. Services have not yet been announced.

This was Pope Francis' first Easter message after being named pope last month.

Pope Francis holds a San Lorenzo's soccer team jersey after celebrating his first Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, March 31, 2013. Pope Francis celebrated his first Easter Sunday Mass as pontiff in St. Peter's Square, packed by joyous pilgrims, tourists and Romans and bedecked by spring flowers.Wearing cream-colored vestments, Francis strode onto the esplanade in front of St. Peter's Basilica and took his place at an altar set up under a white canopy. The Associated Press  

FRANCES D'EMILIO, Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis marked Christianity's most joyous day with a passionate plea for world peace, celebrating his first Easter Sunday as pontiff in the enthusiastic company of more than 250,000 people who overflowed from St. Peter's Square.

With eloquent words in his Easter message, Francis lamented enduring conflicts in the Middle East, on the Korean peninsula and elsewhere and remembered the world's neediest people. With physical gestures, he illustrated the personal, down-to-earth caring he brings as a pastor to this new papacy — cradling a disabled child held out to him in the crowd and delightedly accepting a surprise gift thrust at him.

Francis shared in his flock's exuberance as they celebrated Christianity's core belief that Jesus Christ rose from the dead following crucifixion. After Mass in flower-bedecked St. Peter's Square, he stepped aboard an open-topped white popemobile for a cheerful spin through pathways in the joyous crowd, kissing babies, smiling constantly and patting children on the head.

One admirer of both the pope and his favorite soccer team from his Argentine homeland, Saints of San Lorenzo, insisted that Francis take a team jersey he was waving at the pontiff — "take it, go ahead, take it," the man seemed to be telling the pope. Finally, a delighted Francis obliged, briefly holding up the shirt, and the crowd roared in approval. He handed the shirt to an aide in the front seat, and the popemobile continued its whirl through the square.

In a poignant moment, Francis cradled and kissed a physically disabled boy passed to him from the crowd. The child worked hard to make one of his arms hug the pope back, then succeeded, smiling in satisfaction as the pope patiently waited for the boy to give his greeting.

Francis has repeatedly put concern for the poor and suffering at the center of his messages, and he pursued his promotion of the causes of peace and social justice in the Easter speech he delivered from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, the same vantage point above the square where he was introduced to the world as the first Latin American pope on March 13.

The Roman Catholic leader aimed his Easter greetings at "every house and every family, especially where the suffering is greatest, in hospitals, in prisons." Francis prayed that Jesus would inspire people to "change hatred into love, vengeance into forgiveness, war into peace."

As popes before him have, he urged Israelis and Palestinians to resume peace talks and end a conflict that "has lasted all too long." And, in reflecting on the two-year-old Syrian crisis, Francis asked, "How much suffering must there still be before a political solution" can be found?

The pope also expressed desire for a "spirit of reconciliation" on the Korean peninsula, where North Korea says it has entered "a state of war" with South Korea. He also decried warfare and terrorism in Africa, as well as what he called the 21st century's most extensive form of slavery: human trafficking.

The first pontiff to come from the Jesuits, an order with special concern for the poor, and the first pope to name himself after St. Francis, a medieval figure who renounced wealth to preach to the down-and-out, Francis lamented that the world is "still divided by greed looking for easy gain."

Earlier, wearing cream-colored vestments, Francis celebrated Mass on the esplanade in front of the basilica at an altar set up under a white canopy. He frequently bowed his head as if in silent reflection.

Francis seems to bring good weather to Rome. As has happened on several of the other first public outdoor appearances of his fledgling papacy, huge throngs defied forecasts of heavy rain to turn out. They were rewarded by dry skies and some bursts of sun through clouds.

Vatican officials said by mid-ceremony, 250,000 people had come to the square, and thousands of others, including last-minute Romans, flocked to the square just in time to catch his blessing at the end.

The square was a panoply of floral color. Chilly winter has postponed the blossoming of many flowers. Yellow forsythia and white lilies shone, along with bursts of lavender and pink, from potted azalea, rhododendron, wisteria and other plants.

Francis thanked florists from the Netherlands for donating the flowers. He also advised people to let love transform their lives, or as he put it, "let those desert places in our hearts bloom."

The Vatican had prepared a list of brief Easter greetings in 65 languages, but Francis didn't read them. The Vatican didn't say why not, but has said that the new pope, at least for now, feels at ease using Italian, the everyday language of the Holy See. Francis also has stressed his role as a pastor to his flock, and, as Bishop of Rome, Italian would be his language.

The pontiff improvised his parting words to the crowd. He repeated his Easter greeting to those "who have come from all over the world to this square at the heart of Christianity" as well as to those "linked by modern technology," a reference to TV and radio coverage as well as social media.

Francis added that he was especially remembering "the weakest and the neediest" and praying that all of humanity be guided along "the paths of justice, love and peace."

In another departure from Easter tradition, Francis won't be heading for some post-holiday relaxation at the Vatican's summer palace in Castel Gandolfo, in the hills southeast of Rome. That retreat is already occupied by his predecessor, Benedict XVI, who went there in the last hours of his papacy on Feb. 28. Benedict became the first pope in 600 years to resign from the position, and eventually is to move back to the Vatican, after a convent there is readied for him.

Francis so far has declined to move into Benedict's former apartment in the Apostolic Palace, into the rooms whose studio overlooks St. Peter's Square. He is still in the Vatican hotel where earlier this month he was staying along with other cardinals participating in the secret conclave to choose Benedict's successor.

While Francis has just begun to make his mark on the church, it is plain he has little desire to embrace much of the pomp customarily associated with the office.

A state transportation official said the state will consider casino issues when repairing or replacing an elevated section of Interstate 91.

A planned overhaul of an elevated section of Interstate 91 in Springfield is raising questions about access to two proposed downtown casinos in the city and in West Springfield and could emerge as a key issue in the casino competition in Western Massachusetts.

The mega-project, estimated to cost between $360 million and $400 million, could be a wild card in the region’s casino sweepstakes, especially for MGM Resorts International.

MGM is planning an estimated $800 million South End downtown casino in Springfield that would front the highway and would be served by three exits on the raised section of 1-91. The elevated part of the highway hovers over the entire downtown Springfield area.

Penn National Gaming, which is planning an $807 million casino in the North End of Springfield, including properties owned by The Republican, estimates that 40 percent of its traffic would come from the south over the elevated section of Interstate 91.

The raised part of the highway was built about 45 years ago and is plagued with corrosion from road salt and worn from constant pounding of vehicles, according to officials.

Stephen Crosby The Republican photo by Michael S. Gordon  

Stephen P. Crosby, chairman of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, which would license and regulate casinos, said traffic plans will be a "major factor" when awarding licenses.

Crosby said he does not know anything about the planned replacement of the raised section of 1-91 in Springfield.

"But impact on access to and from these facilities and traffic in the area is clearly a factor," Crosby said. "If 1-91 construction or lack thereof is going to have an impact on access to or from or traffic flow in the area, that would be relevant."

Hard Rock International, which is planning a $700 million to $800 million casino in West Springfield on the grounds of the Eastern States Exposition, would also count on patrons traveling from Interstate 91, but is still working on a detailed traffic plan.

Carole Brennan, a spokeswoman for MGM, said the company needs more details from the state about how the highway project would affect the casino.

"We have had meetings with MDOT to discuss our project and the I-91 plans and plan to meet with them again soon,” Brennan said in an e-mail. “We look forward to getting more details on the project as they become available."

"We are hopeful that any highway reconstruction could occur at the same time as MGM Springfield was being developed."

Paul Burns  

Paul E. Burns, a town councilor in Palmer who supports a casino for Palmer, said the need to repair Interstate 91 should be "a huge plus" for the Mohegan Sun, which is competing for a casino license in Western Massachusetts with the developers in Springfield and West Springfield.

The Mohegan Sun is planning a $775 million casino in Palmer, about 20 miles east of Springfield off Exit 8 of the Massachusetts Turnpike, a well-maintained highway. The Mohegan Sun faces its own traffic challenges including possible congestion on local roads. The Mohegan Sun is planning to build a flyover off the Massachusetts Turnpike to reach its resort, but has yet to provide specifics.

Burns said the elevated section of Interstate 91 is already in poor condition and substandard. He questioned how the highway could accommodate potentially thousands of additional vehicles if a casino is approved in Springfield or West Springfield, and whether the work would send traffic to local roads such as Route 5.

Burns said the gaming commission needs to consider the planned highway work when selecting a casino for Western Massachusetts.

The five-member gaming commission is tasked with awarding the single casino license reserved for Western Massachusetts. The casino projects would need approval of voters in communities where they want to locate.

Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said the upgrade of Interstate 91 "always comes into discussions," because he wants to make sure smooth transportation continues for existing businesses and a potential casino.

Sarno said he is keeping in constant contact with the state on the highway project.

Cynthia Roy Photo provided to The Republican  

Sarno is currently negotiating agreements with Penn National and MGM. After that, the mayor will decide if one or both of the proposed casinos goes to the ballot for city voters.

Sarno said he did not believe the planned Interstate 91 work would affect attendance and therefore revenues from a possible Springfield casino.

MGM officials said that the majority of its traffic, or 88 percent, will come from the highways – Interstates 91, 291, and the Massachusetts Turnpike.

That includes a great deal of traffic taking three exits off Interstate 91 – at Union Street, Howard Street and State Street – all served by the elevated section facing replacement.

Mark Rivers, president of Los-Angeles-based The Bronson Companies, a consultant for Hard Rock, said the company is keeping an eye on what some people are calling “Springfield’s Big Dig.” Hard Rock is in the middle of a very detailed traffic study, he said.

“Whatever is planned for 1-91 is not going to occur directly adjacent to our site,” Rivers said.

Customers for a Hard Rock casino would come from every notch on the compass, Rivers said.

Hard Rock is studying whether it will fund enhancements to Memorial Avenue, a key road to the fairgrounds long noted for its traffic congestion during the 17-day “Big E” fair, or a possible new road to the fairgrounds, according to Rivers.

Penn National casino’s traffic from the south would be traveling north on Interstate 91, and get off at Exit 6, at Union Street in Springfield, which is on the elevated section. Like MGM, Penn would also face a traffic hindrance during an overhaul of the highway.

"We believe that our North End location is ideal for many reasons, first among them is multiple entrance and exit points for traffic from both I-91 and I-291 to our casino,” stated Eric Schippers, a senior vice president for Penn National Gaming. “If, or when, the state moves to repair or rebuild the elevated sections of I-91, we are confident that, working with the city, we'll be able to develop an effective traffic plan using the numerous access points to our facility."

Penn National’s traffic from the North – Chicopee, Holyoke, Northampton, or Vermont -- would be southbound on Interstate 91, and would take the Birnie Avenue exit, which is prior to the elevated section, and thus would not be directly affected by the highway overhaul.

Traffic coming from the East – from the Massachusetts Turnpike – would be traveling westbound on Interstate 291, and get off at the Dwight Street exit off 291, again before the elevated section of the highway.

State Sen. Gale D. Candaras, a Wilbraham Democrat, said she met with Richard A. Davey, secretary and CEO of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, in Ludlow recently in an effort to assure the state is coordinating the planned work Interstate 91 with potential casino developers.

Gale Candaras The Republican photo by Michael Beswick  

"The casino developers well know this is going on," Candaras said. "They will have a voice in it and a level of coordination and great synergies."

Timothy W. Brennan, executive director of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, said Penn National, Hard Rock and MGM all need the 1-91 viaduct. "It's a main driveway to all those proposals," Brennan said.

While casinos are on everyone's mind these days, the I-91 viaduct is also important for moving freight and for access to attractions such as the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Six Flags New England in Agawam and the annual 17-day "Big E" fair at the Eastern States Exposition, Brennan said.

Brennan said the overhaul of the 1-91 viaduct is one of three "mega projects" to improve roads in the state, including a couple of major highway interchanges outside Boston.

Cynthia M. Roy, director of communications for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, said the department's office of transportation planning is completing a study on the replacement of the highway viaduct in Springfield.

"We will absolutely consider casino issues in the context of repairing or replacing the viaduct," she said.

Roy described the elevated section of the highway as stretching from the intersection with Interstate 291 to the State Street exit in Springfield.

The state is planning the project, but financing still needs to be secured. No schedule for design or construction has been released. Gov. Deval L. Patrick touted the project when he filed $19 billion transportation bond bill earlier this month.

Roy said the administration is focused on Patrick’s plan to raise $1.9 billion a year, partly by hiking the income tax from 5.25 percent to 6.25 percent, to help pay for transportation projects such as the Interstate 91 replacement.

Staff reporter Peter Goonan contributed to this story.

CBS 3 Video: Mark Perez denies motor vehicle homicide charge for crash that killed Jeanne Lareau McLain; Bail set at $250,000 cash

Salzer came aboard after the School Committee learned that one of the other finalists in the last superintendent search submitted a resume with inaccurate information.

NORTHAMPTON — The School Committee took its first step toward finding a new school superintendent to replace Brian Salzer Thursday, asking the mayor to gather appropriate information to post for the job opening.

Salzer, 45, announced this month that he is leaving on July 31 to take a position at the John F. Kennedy School in Berlin, Germany, after less than two years in Northampton. At the same time, three principals at city schools are either retiring or leaving for other reasons. Salzer or his replacement is charged with filling those positions, but it is up to the School Committee to pick a new superintendent.

School Committee Vice Chairman Edward Zuchowski said Friday that the committee did not feel it was ready to take a major step forward in the process Thursday, asking Mayor David J. Narkewicz instead to appoint a search committee and gather information about the job description and report back to them. The committee hopes to schedule a special meeting next week.

The committee is undecided whether or not to seek an interim superintendent while interviewing candidates for the long haul, Zuchowski said, and it has not determined if it will use a consultant as it did in 2011 when it hired Salzer.

Salzer came aboard after the School Committee learned that one of the other finalists submitted a resume with inaccurate information. That candidate was not the principal of a Massachusetts middle school, as he had maintained. The New England School Development Council, which had been aiding the School Committee in its search, said it did not catch the inaccuracy because it does not vet candidates during the screening process.

Noting that the committee paid its outside consultant more than $25,000 last time, Zuchowski said it hopes to use the city’s Human Resources Department this time to perform some of the consultant’s duties, perhaps using a hybrid model that employs both a consultant and city resources.

Between Aug. 28, 2011, and Sept. 6, 2011, Pancione manufactured and distributed counterfeit $20 bills in Easthampton and Southampton.

U.S. District Court  

SPRINGFIELD — An Easthampton man already serving time in state prison was given a 33-month sentence in federal prison for manufacturing and distributing counterfeit currency.

Shayne Pancione, 36, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release by Judge Michael A. Ponsor during a hearing Monday in U.S. District Court.

Pancione pleaded guilty to manufacturing and distributing counterfeit currency in February. Between Aug. 28, 2011, and Sept. 6, 2011, Pancione manufactured and distributed counterfeit $20 bills in Easthampton and Southampton.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Regan prosecuted the case.

Pancione was sentenced on Dec. 4 to eight years in prison on charges related to an Aug. 13, 2011, bank robbery in Brattleboro, Vt.

The decline in the Institute for Supply Management's benchmark manufacturing index for March was worse than economists had forecast.

By STEVE ROTHWELL
AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK — The stock market got off to a slow start in April, edging lower after the Standard and Poor's 500 index eclipsed its all-time high last week.

The main catalyst was a slowdown in U.S. manufacturing growth last month. The decline in the Institute for Supply Management's benchmark manufacturing index for March was worse than economists had forecast. Stocks started falling shortly after the report came out at 10 a.m. and stayed lower the rest of the day.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed 5.69 points, or 0.04 percent, lower at 14,572.85. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 7.02 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,562.17.

Industrial companies fell 1 percent, the most in the S&P. 3M, which makes Post-it notes, industrial products and construction materials, fell 66 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $105.65. Caterpillar, a maker of construction and mining equipment, dropped $1.33, or 1.5 percent, to $85.64.

Investors have raised their expectations for the U.S. economy as the market has climbed this year, said JJ Kinahan, chief derivatives strategist at TD Ameritrade. The Dow is up 11.2 percent in 2013, the S&P 9.5 percent.

"The numbers have to be outstanding in order to drive the market higher," Kinahan said. "It's a different mindset when we're at these levels."

The S&P 500 closed the first quarter at an all-time high of 1,569.19, surpassing its previous record close of 1,565.15 set on Oct. 9, 2007. The index has recaptured all of its losses from the financial crisis and the Great Recession. The Dow broke through its previous all-time high March 5.

The market has risen this year because of optimism that housing is recovering and that employers and starting to hire again. Strong company earnings and continuing stimulus from the Federal Reserve have also increased demand for stocks.

Small stocks fared worse than large ones Monday.

The Russell 2000, a benchmark of small-company stocks, fell 1.3 percent to 938.78, paring its gain for the year to 10.5 percent. It was the index's biggest decline in more than a month. The Nasdaq composite fell 28.35 points, or 0.9 percent, to 3,239.17.

April is historically the second-strongest month for stocks, Deutsche Bank analysts said in report released Monday. The S&P 500 has gained an average of 1.4 percent in April, based on returns since 1960, making it the second strongest month after December.

The last meaningful setback for stocks started before November's election. The market slid 6 percent between Oct. 1 and Nov. 15 in the run-up to the vote and immediately afterwards on concerns that Washington would be unable to enact reforms to keep the economy growing.

Evidence that growth is continuing, despite the political tensions in Washington, have kept stocks on an upward trajectory since then, leaving investors waiting for dips to add to their holdings.

"I'd love to have some sort of a pullback here because I'd think it's an opportunity," said Scott Wren, an equity strategist at Wells Fargo Advisors. "But it doesn't feel like we're going to have one in the near term."

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, fell to 1.84 percent from 1.85 percent.

Markets were closed in observance of Good Friday last week. European markets were closed Monday for Easter.

Among other stocks making big moves:

— Tesla Motors jumped $6.04, or 16 percent, to $43.93 after the electric car company said sales are running ahead of schedule. The Palo Alto, Calif., company said Sunday night that first-quarter sales have exceeded 4,750 Model S sedans, above its previous forecast of 4,500.

— DFC Global, a finance company that provides loans to consumers without bank accounts, fell $3.60, or 22 percent, to $13.04 after slashing its earnings estimate for its fiscal year because of increasing loan defaults in its business in Britain.

— American Greetings rose $1.95, or 12 percent, to $18.05 after the company agreed to be taken private for about $602 million by a group led by some of its top executives.

The Springfield City Clerk's office has dog licenses available, costing $5 for spayed or neutered pets.

SPRINGFIELD — Dog licenses for April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014, are now available at the city clerk's office at City Hall, 36 Court St., in Room 123, or by going to the city’s website at www.springfieldcityhall.com/cityclerk.

The registration period is April 1 to May 31, and the fees are $5 for sprayed or neutered dog and $25 for all other dogs. Those not registering their dogs by June 1, face a late fee of $5 per month after that date.

A current rabies vaccination is required, and owners who register by mail must include a self-adressed, stamped envelope.

The city clerk’s office will also post a list of all registered and unregistered dogs for year 2012 (April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2013) on the city’s website on or about July 1, 2013, based on information received from local veterinarian’s offices, City Clerk Wayman Lee said.

For information, call the city's call center by dialing 3-1-1, or (413) 736-3111 if using a cell phone or calling from outside Springfield.

The shooting was reported at 5:19 p.m.

The Republican file photo

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SPRINGFIELD - Police are investigating a shooting at Bay Street and Berkshire Avenue in the city's Pine Point neighborhood just after 5 p.m. Monday that left a woman with a gunshot wound to the upper leg, according to Springfield police Lt. Alberto Ayala.

One person was taken into custody shortly afterward and is expected to be charged in connection with the shooting, he said. The suspect has not yet been brought back to the station from the scene and Ayala said he had not yet been briefed about the arrest. He said he did not have the suspect's name, the charges or even the person's gender.

The victim was brought by ambulance to Baystate Medical Center for treatment. He did not yet have an update on her status.

Police were not releasing her name.

The shooting was reported at 5:19 p.m.

More information will be posted as it develops.

The City Council rejected the proposal once and then reconsidered it.

CHICOPEE — The City Council was once again urged to purchase wheeled trash barrels for all residents as a way to upgrade the city’s refuse collection system.

The City Council has gone back and forth on a plan to spend $850,000 to purchase the barrels which are similar to recycling barrels purchased several years ago. The advantage of the new barrels is they can be lifted automatically into the refuse trucks so the city would need to hire fewer laborers.

It is also designed so people will recycle more and throw less away extending the life of the privately owned landfill on New Lombard Road where the city now dumps its refuse.

In December the Council rejected the proposal. It reconsidered the vote in January and sent it to subcommittee where it has stagnated.

The issue appeared on its agenda again last week and the council again referred it to subcommittee in a 13-0 vote. A meeting is scheduled for April 3.

Stanley W. Kulig, retired Department of Public Works Superintendent who is working as a consultant, told the City Council he has plans to begin developing a public relations campaign but did not want to begin if the council decided against buying the barrels.

He and Steven Frederick, acting superintendent for Public Works, agreed there are a number of issues to be discussed and had no concerns about answering questions in subcommittee.

“We are supposed to get large and small barrels,” Councilor Frank N. Laflamme said. “I want to see how many of each we will get as well as what happens with stuff that doesn’t fit inside.”

One of the complaints when the recycling system started was the barrels were too large for small households and difficult for older and disabled people to push. When people requested smaller ones, they were told a limited number were ordered and none were available.

Now the concern about using they same system for trash is that one barrel may not be large enough for bigger families. There are also questions about how items which do not fit in the barrels will be handled since the Department of Public Works now picks up nearly anything left curbside that will fit in a truck.

“Can people buy another if they want a second or a third,” Laflamme said.

Councilor James K. Tillotson again expressed his doubts about the change.

“They are not going to pick up everything they do now,” he said. “People are going to pay more in barrels (through tax money) and get less in service.”

A spokesman for the Conservative Campaign Committee said it started production on the radio ads on Monday and is shooting a TV ad in Boston on Tuesday.

By STEVE LeBLANC

BOSTON — A conservative group whose leader has lamented what he calls the "homosexuality is normal movement" is planning to produce two radio and one television ad to support Republican Michael Sullivan in the state's special U.S. Senate election.

A spokesman for the Conservative Campaign Committee said it started production on the radio ads on Monday and is shooting a TV ad in Boston on Tuesday. The group said last week it hopes to raise more than $200,000 to help elect Sullivan.

A Sullivan campaign official said Monday that he wasn't familiar with the leader of the group, Lloyd Marcus.

In an Internet posting, Marcus says he has "dear friends and beloved relatives who are homosexual," while also criticizing gay activists as "outrageously aggressive."

"The Homosexuality is Normal Movement is not passive well-meaning victims simply seeking tolerance and their place in the sun," Marcus wrote. "They are relentless, viscous and hell bent on forcing all of us, particularly Christians, to say their behavior is normal."

Sullivan has said he's a "traditionalist" on marriage, believing it should be between a man and a woman.

But Sullivan, a former U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, has also said he supports repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which denies legally married gay couples a range of federal benefits available to other married couples.

Sullivan has also said that the definition of marriage is best left up to individual states.

"I believe DOMA should be reversed and the federal government should respect those states that recognize gay marriage by providing those couples with the same level of benefits," Sullivan said in the statement last month.

An official for Sullivan's campaign said he "welcome the support of people and groups who share Mike's humility and good heart toward his fellow human beings."

Sullivan is facing Norfolk state Rep. Daniel Winslow and Cohasset businessman Gabriel Gomez in the Republican primary.

Winslow faulted Sullivan for not distancing himself from what Winslow called "anti-gay hate groups."

"The politics of division and hate have no place in Massachusetts politics and Sullivan should disavow himself from these organizations," Winslow spokesman Charlie Pearce said in a statement.

Winslow and Gomez support gay marriage.

Both Democratic candidates — U.S. Reps. Stephen Lynch and Edward Markey — say they also support gay marriage.

Lynch and Markey have signed a so-called "people's pledge" designed to discourage radio, television and Internet ads by outside groups. The deal also applies to political mailings.

The Republican candidates have not agreed to a similar pledge. They note that Lynch and Markey began the campaign with hefty campaign accounts.

The Democratic and Republican primaries are April 30. The special election in June 25.

Roughly $10,000 worth of grants have been awarded to small, volunteer fire departments in primarily rural sections of Hampden, Hampshire and Worcester counties. The funding is part of an overall pot of grant money totaling more than $70,000 that's being distributed to some 50 commonwealth communities.

From left, Massachusetts Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Edward Lambert, wearing black top, was joined by Monson Fire Chief Laurent "Larry" McDonald and Monson Selectman Edward Harrison, wearing sport coat, at a ceremony Monday at the Monson Fire Department. Lambert was there to award more than $10,000 in grant assistance to rural volunteer fire departments in Hampden, Hampshire and Worcester counties. Conor Berry, The Republican  

MONSON — State Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Edward Lambert Jr. stopped by the Monson Fire Department on Monday to award grants totaling more than $10,000 to small volunteer fire departments in Hampden, Hampshire and Worcester counties. The money will be used to help departments purchase equipment and gear to fight forest fires, Lambert said.

The commissioner presented more than $5,800 worth of Volunteer Fire Assistance grants to Hampden County fire departments, including $2,000 to Monson, $1,870 to Palmer and $1,987 to Wales.

About $2,000 was awarded to Hampshire County fire departments, including $50 to Granby and $1,962 to Hadley, while $2,200 went to Worcester County departments, including $1,554 to Milville and $650 to Brookfield.

VFA grants, as they are commonly called, provide technical, financial and other assistance to departments for forest fire-related purposes. The grants are designed to provide a financial boost to rural, nonprofit volunteer or call departments serving communities with fewer than 10,000 residents. In order to qualify for assistance, at least 80 percent of a department's personnel roster must be composed of volunteer or call firefighters.

David Celino, chief fire warden for the Department of Conservation and Recreation's Bureau of Forest Fire Control, said the grant amounts may be small, but they are significant for small departments faced with fighting fires in heavily wooded western and central sections of the state. He said it's often a financial challenge for small departments to purchase necessary equipment, so the money definitely helps.

"It's about firefighter safety and being able to come home when it's over," Celino said.

Area fire chiefs expressed their gratitude, noting that every penny counts. "We are very grateful for the money that comes down," Monson Fire Chief Laurent "Larry" R. McDonald said.

Monson Selectman Edward S. Harrison said the cash infusion comes at a good time, noting that the "economic downturn" has affected funding in small communities such as Monson, which suffered severe damage in the June 2011 tornado.

The funding comes from a larger pot of grant money totaling about $70,000, which is being disbursed to about 50 Massachusetts fire departments that applied for grants, Lambert said. The matching funding covers up to 50 percent of the cost of gear and equipment purchases by departments, the commissioner said.

After the Monson ceremony, Lambert was expected to travel to the Berkshires to hand out more grant checks to small fire departments in the westernmost corner of the state.

The sheer amount of deadwood produced by the June 2011 tornadoes, which primarily affected Western Massachusetts and a smaller portion of Worcester County, has heightened the risk of brush and forest fires, leaving some communities "very much on edge," Lambert said.

The show, produced by CNN and Fox Business News and which airs in regional markets, is hosted by Terry Bradshaw.

LUDLOW — The Board of Selectmen has voted 5 to 0 to put an article on the Town Meeting warrant to have the town be featured on the "Communities of Distinction" television program.

Selectman Carmina Fernandes said the show is produced by CNN and Fox Business News and airs in regional markets.

The show is hosted by Terry Bradshaw, the retired quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers who was instrumental in helping the team win four Super Bowls.

The show, which is broadcast on many national and regional cable television markets, features American bedroom communities which were developed near major cities.

The show says it features commuter towns where families raise children, retired people relax and new business owners flourish.

Fernandes said she thinks if Ludlow is featured on the show, it could help with development of the planned $300 million Ludlow Industrial Park being developed on the old Ludlow Mills site.

The town must contribute $25,000 to be featured on the show, she said.

Selectmen Chairman Jason Barroso said, “This could be a good advertising opportunity for the Ludlow Mills.”

“This could bring more attention to our town,” Fernandes said.

Fernandes said she would like to see whether any businesses in town would like to share the cost of the town’s being featured on the television program.

“This will focus on the quality of life of our town for residents and businesses with a focus on economic development,” Fernandes said.

Selectman Aaron Saunders said that if no business is interested in sharing the cost, it might be a worthwhile investment for the town to use $25,000 from its $2.2 million free cash account to fund the program.

“This will help our community to look attractive,” Fernandes said.

“It will be up to Town Meeting to decide,” Saunders said.

Holyoke still has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the state and Springfield has the third-highest.

Updates a story posted Monday at 1:50 p.m.

The teen pregnancy rate has dropped by 15 percent statewide, but Holyoke and Springfield continue to have some of the highest rates statewide.

The Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy, a private nonprofit agency, released the rates for 2010, with officials calling the decrease a positive trend. It typically takes two years to compile the rates.

“We are excited to see teenage pregnancy dropped by 14 percent, and Holyoke and Springfield have been on a decline,” said Elizabeth Peck, alliance public policy director.

In addition, statistics show there has been a 50 percent decline in the teen pregnancy rate since it peaked in 1989, she said.

Statewide the number of teenage girls who gave birth in 2010 dropped to 3,907 from 4,538 births in 2009. That translates into a rate of 17.1 births per 1,000 girls aged 15 to 19. In 2009, the birth rate was 20.1 per 1,000 girls.

The reduction of local rates is seen as encouraging, especially since there are so many Western Massachusetts cities are listed among the top 20 highest rates. Chicopee this year came in 16th with a birth rate of 27.6 children per 1,000 teenagers and saw a 28 percent drop. Pittsfield came in 11th with 34.4 births per 1,000 teenagers, and its rate dropped 34 percent, Peck said.

Holyoke’s rate of teenage births dropped from 96.9 per 1,000 births to 83.6 per 1,000 births, or by 14 percent. It remained the highest rate in the state; 126 Holyoke teens gave birth in 2010.

Springfield’s rate dropped by 19 percent from 64.1 births per 1,000 teenagers in 2009 to 54.3 births per 1,000 in 2010. Despite the improvement, Springfield moved from having the fourth-highest rate in 2009 to the third-highest rate in 2010.

Local officials who have been working on the problem cheered the improvements.

“The data is very promising. There is a lot of work happening in Holyoke and Springfield,” said Sarah Perez McAdoo, director of the Youth Empowerment Adolescent Health Network, a nonprofit agency funded with private, state and federal grants.

The mayors of both cities have teen pregnancy task forces, both school systems updated their curricula to offer science-based sexual education, and many grassroots groups are working together to show students they have opportunities in the future, since studies show teenagers who have access to jobs, internships and other meaningful afterschool activities tend to put off sex or use contraception, McAdoo said.

“Our first goal is, we prefer they don’t become sexual active, but if they do, they have the means to protect themselves,” she said.

Also encouraging is the data is from two years ago when many of the programs were in their infancy or had not started, she said.

“I’m hopeful that it will drop more, and I think it is because I’ve seen a real deep commitment,” she said.

The network was created in 2006 to write policy and do research and advocacy on teen pregnancy prevention and other adolescent health issues. It links about 35 organizations mostly from Springfield and Holyoke, McAdoo said.

One of the organizations involved is the Holyoke-based Girls Inc. that provides a wide variety of programs to girls, including health education, economic literacy, academic assistance and science and technology programs, said Sarah Dunton, director of education for Girls Inc.

“It is great the numbers have dropped. I think what is nice is there are so many more partners doing this type of work,” Dunton said.

“Youth need to be getting the same information in school that they are getting on sports teams, at home and in afterschool programs,” she said.

Massachusetts Births 2010 by masslive

Local road projects were stalled during each of the past two years because of a delay in approving state Chapter 90 money for cities and towns.

BOSTON — Gov. Deval L. Patrick on Monday notified each city and town of its share of a planned $300 million statewide municipal road repair program, but warned that it might not be provided at that level without raising additional state revenues.

Patrick's letter was sent as state legislators are moving to speed approval of legislation for the so-called Chapter 90 program this year, after local officials said the money was approved too late for last year's construction season. Patrick and legislators are planning to increase statewide funding to $300 million, up 50 percent from last year.

Patrick said he would need a bond bill and new revenue to fund the program at the increased amount of $300 million.

"Without the passage of either our tax reform proposal or additional revenue that is derived from options substantively comparable to that which we have proposed, investment in the Chapter 90 program will not be implemented," Patrick wrote to leaders of cities and towns. "Without enactment of our plan, necessary road and bridge projects, including your local transportation needs, will go unaddressed, creating longer commutes, eliminating public transit options and slowing economic recovery and growth."

Sen. Gale D. Candaras, a Wilbraham Democrat and a member of the Joint Committee on Transportation, said Patrick's letter is consistent with his effort to seek support from cities and towns for his tax proposal, but no consensus has been reached on Beacon Hill for a revenue package.

Patrick is pushing for approval of a bill to raise $1.9 billion a year for education and transportation, including $1 billion for transportation. Patrick's bill calls for raising the income tax from 5.25 percent to 6.25 percent and lowering the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 4.5 percent. He would dedicate money from the sales tax to transportation and other public capital projects.

Cynthia M. Roy, director of communications for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, said it's not certain at what level the state can fund Chapter 90 without new revenue.

After being told of Patrick's letter late on Monday, David Desrosiers, highway superintendent in Granby, said he was concerned that Chapter 90 money could be late arriving again this year because of the debate on Beacon Hill over raising new revenues.

"In the meantime, it just puts all cities and towns at a big disadvantage," said Desrosiers.

Pothole filling time is here as area DPW's can now use hot patch to repair the winter caused defects in area roads. Michael J. Shewchuck with the Holyoke DPW rolls the asphalt on a Chestnut St. hole while Neil Lafleur (background) brings another shovel full. The crew of three will lay down three tons of hot asphalt a day filling holes. The Republican photo by John Suchocki  

According to Geoffrey C. Beckwith, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, the state has not given final approval to Chapter 90 money until well into the summer for each of the past two years.

The delay has stalled projects and dramatically shortened the construction seasons in 2011 and 2012, Beckwith said.

In an interview, Beckwith said communities cannot sign contracts for road work or borrow in anticipation of state funds until final approval of Chapter 90 money.

"When the construction season is shortened, important projects are delayed until the next year, driving up costs and adding to the deterioration of local roads," Beckwith said in a letter last week to the transportation committee.

During a conference call on Monday, Desrosiers joined Joseph I. Pipczynski, director of the Department of Public Works in Easthampton and Tim Kilhart, superintendent in Warwick, in talking about the importance of the Chapter 90 program and the need for formal approval of the money in time for this construction season.

Desrosiers said that because of inflation, even the $300 million does not cover all the needs for repairing roads. The cost of asphalt, for example, has risen from $27 per ton in 2000 to the current $69 per ton.

Under state law and custom, cities and towns are supposed to receive formal notice of their Chapter 90 allocation by April 1 of each year. Patrick only sent out provisional notice.

"That puts us behind the eight ball," said Kilhart, who is president of the Tri-County Highway Superintendents' Association, including Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire counties. "We can't schedule construction until we have the money."

Pipczynski said the Chapter 90 money is crucial. "In Easthampton, we can't afford to appropriate any local funds," he said. "We rely solely on Chapter 90 funds. If we don't get our Chapter 90 funds, we don't pave anything."

Rep. Michael J. Finn, a West Springfield Democrat and a member of the Transportation Committee, said the state House of Representatives might approve $300 million Chapter 90 bond bill on Wednesday.

"It shows a commitment to the municipalities," Finn said. "We've heard their concerns."

The Transportation Committee voted on Friday to approve $300 million bond bill for Chapter 90. Finn and Candaras both voted in support.

There is a lot of money riding on approval of the $300 million. Springfield, for example, would receive $5.438 million, up from $3.625 million; West Springfield, $1.313 million, up from $875,000; Wilbraham, $829,000, up from $552,000; Easthampton, $739,000, up from $493,000 and Granby, $422,000, up from $281,000, according to estimates from the municipal association.