Iuliano said 2 resort casino developers have shown interest: Penn National Gaming and the Seminole Indian Tribe of Florida.

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CHARLTON – The owner of 114 acres being marketed for a casino resort next to the Charlton eastbound service plaza on the Massachusetts Turnpike said he has an option to buy an additional 90 acres, which would make his parcel attractive for multiple hotels.

Vincent P. Iuliano also said that his property meets criteria advocated this month by the administration of Gov. Deval L. Patrick to locate casinos near other entertainment centers.

“I have had two inquiries for hotels, so this would be ancillary to the casino,” said Iuliano, the owner of Jencent, LLC, which has been marketing its land adjacent to the turnpike to casino developers.

Iuliano said his property, bordered by the turnpike, the service plaza and a four-lane stretch of Route 20, has attracted interest from two casino resort developers: Penn National Gaming and the Seminole Indian Tribe of Florida, which owns the Hard Rock entertainment brand.

“We have water and sewer and the right zoning already. It is shovel ready,” Iuliano said.

“Our location offers the operator the lowest-cost access to the highways. We are the most central to all of the arteries. We do not need to move mountains or build a (highway) fly-over,” Iuliano said.

Iuliano announced his potential for nearly doubling the size of his property in a letter distributed to state legislators and the press.

Legislation to legalize casino gambling was approved by both houses of the Legislature last summer but died when Patrick refused to sign it because of his objections to provisions pushed by House Speaker Robert DeLeo to allow slot machines at race tracks.

Patrick and DeLeo have had recent talks aimed at coming to agreement on terms for casino legislation this year, and the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies held a hearing on casino legislation May 4.

Iuliano said his property’s proximity to the intersection of the turnpike and Interstate 84 and to entertainment sites like the Brimfield Antiques Shows and Old Sturbridge Village make it “the most advantageous casino site in the state.”

Another advantage of the Charlton site is its having a population of 7.4 million people living within a 55-mile radius, Iuliano said.

There are also proposals pending for building a resort casino in Holyoke and in Palmer.

The Charlton site was being marketed as a casino site in 2010 by Springfield lawyer Paul P. Nicolai, but Iuliano said Nicolai no longer has an option to purchase the original 114 acres of Jencent property.

Iuliano said his property has 0.8 miles of frontage along the Massachusetts Turnpike, just east of the service plaza. The 114 acres is divided by Route 20, with 46 acres to the north of Route 20 and 68 acres south of it.

It is four miles east of Exit 9 in Sturbridge, the location where Interstate 84 traffic from New York and Connecticut reach the turnpike.

This property at 130 Sturbridge Road was the location of American Reclamation Co., a hazardous waste recycling business that Iuliano operated for 35 years.

Iuliano said his property was used as a facility for crushing concrete, asphalt and brick and for processing oily soils and is ready now for construction of a casino and hotel.

"It is shovel ready, zoning compliant and has successfully passed a 21E (environmental test) and has drinking water quality tested monitoring wells,'' Iuliano said.

Iuliano said the additional 90 acres he now has an option to buy is contiguous to the 68 acres he owns south of Route 20.

In July 2010, when the Legislature was considering whether to establish geographic zones for licensing casinos in Massachusetts, the Charlton Board of Selectmen went on record urging legislators not to establish zones because that system could mean that Central Massachusetts communities would have to compete with Boston.

(AP Photo/File)American Indian casinos in the Palm Springs-Indio area carrie maney of the trates of the rival Las Vagas, Navada including hotel accomidations. Gambler takes a chance with the slot machine at the Fantansy Springs Casino in Indio.

Hundreds of flights were canceled as winds blew the cloud of ash from the Grimsvotn volcano over Scotland and other parts of Europe.

Associated PressPassengers rest on the floor as their flights have been canceled at Edinburgh Airport in Edinburgh, Scotland Tuesday, May 24, 2011. A dense ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano blew toward Scotland, causing airlines to cancel Tuesday flights and raising fears of a repeat of last year's huge travel disruptions in Europe that stranded millions of passengers. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)

By SYLVIA HUI

LONDON — Ash spewing from an Icelandic volcano is bringing disruption and days of uncertainty to more parts of Europe, as officials in Germany said dozens of flights will be grounded on Wednesday.

Even though some say it's been a massive overreaction by badly prepared safety regulators — one airline even claims the official scientific findings are simply wrong — hundreds of flights were canceled Tuesday as winds blew the cloud of ash from the Grimsvotn volcano over Scotland and other parts of Europe. Experts say that particles in the ash could stall jet engines and sandblast planes' windows.

The only comfort for frustrated passengers and airlines is that officials in Iceland said the amount of ash being released by the volcano is decreasing, and officials don't expect the disruption to be as bad as last year, when millions were stranded after the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano.

Travelers trying to go to or leave Scotland have been hit hardest, but the problem also began to affect Germany, where weather officials said it would not allow any takeoffs or landings at the northern Bremen and Hamburg airports early Wednesday due to increased levels of ash in the atmosphere.

Dozens of domestic and international flights were to be affected by the closure early Wednesday. Authorities said it may be necessary to halt all air traffic coming and going from Berlin's airports, as well as Hannover, depending on the winds.

In Sweden, 10 domestic flights were canceled Tuesday evening. The country's aviation officials say they expect medium concentrations of ash over its western coast late Tuesday, including over its second-largest city Goteborg.

Although British authorities said concentrations of ash in the skies over Scotland were too high to fly through, Irish budget airline Ryanair challenged the results, saying it had sent its own airplane into Scottish airspace and found no ash in the atmosphere.

"All the data we are receiving confirms our forecasts, that there is high-density ash over Scotland," said Barry Grommett, spokesman for Britain's weather agency.

Ryanair's chief executive Michael O'Leary disagreed.

"Exactly as we predicted, we encountered absolutely no problems," he told The Associated Press. "There's no cloud over Scotland. There's no dusting of ash on the airframe or the wings. The airspace over Scotland should never have been restricted in the first place."

Still, Ryanair was forced by Irish authorities to cancel all 68 flights in and out of Scotland for the rest of Tuesday. Seven other airlines — most of them regional carriers — also grounded their Scottish flights.

In Edinburgh, meanwhile, several hundred passengers faced either a patient wait or overnight stays in the city.

"I've been told I'll get home tomorrow, but who knows," said Kgeld Westh, an architect from Copenhagen. He was heading to a hotel in Edinburgh after his flight was canceled.

Among the crowds at the airport were soccer fans heading to Dublin for the international match between Scotland and Ireland.

"If all else fails we'll make our way by train and ferry," said Gary Clark, from Hamilton near Glasgow wearing a kilt and a Scotland shirt.

The main international body representing carriers, the International Air Transport Association, complained to the British government about the way it had handled the issue, saying it should have had Cessna planes ready to carry out tests, instead of relying on the weather service. British Airways said it sent its own verification flight, an Airbus A320, to Scotland late Tuesday to assess the risk.

The Grimsvotn volcano began erupting on Saturday, sending clouds of ash high into the air. The amount of ash spewing from the volcano tapered off dramatically on Tuesday, however, said Elin Jonasdottir, a forecaster at Iceland's meteorological office. She added that because the plume has decreased in height — it's now at about 5,000 meters (16,000 feet) — the ash won't travel far and will most likely fall to the ground near its source.

U.K. air traffic control company NATS said that the ash cloud is expected to clear British airspace early Wednesday. Earlier there were fears that the ash cloud might also affect France, but French civil aviation authority DGAC on Tuesday sounded an optimistic note.

"Forecasts for the next few days are promising, French airspace should be affected only very marginally by the volcanic ash," it said in a statement. "No closure of French airspace is currently envisioned."

U.K. airspace was not closed, but some airlines would rather not take risks and were willing to follow official advice. EasyJet had 113 cancelations Tuesday in and out of Scotland, Newcastle and Northern Ireland. British Airways grounded 92 flights in total, and Dutch airline KLM canceled a total of 42 flights. Declan Kearney, spokesman for Aer Lingus, said it had canceled 22 flights between Ireland and Scotland.

"We take the advice given to us," he said. "We have no reason to question the advice being given to us by the aviation authorities at this time. We need to accept what the experts in this area are telling us."

The ash cloud forced President Barack Obama to shorten a visit to Ireland on Monday, and has raised fears of a repeat of last year's huge travel disruptions in Europe.

Last year, European aviation authorities closed vast swaths of European airspace as soon as they detected the presence of even a small amount of volcanic ash in the atmosphere. This year, they are trying a more sophisticated approach.

Aviation authorities will give airlines information detailed information about the location and density of ash clouds. Any airline that wants to fly through the ash cloud can do so, if it can convince its own national aviation regulators it is safe.

The closures are already affecting travel plans across Europe. Officials at Spanish soccer team Barcelona, which plans to travel to London on Thursday for Saturday's Champions League final against Manchester United at Wembley Stadium, say they are monitoring the ash cloud disruption and could change their departure date.

In Ireland, a couple who were due to fly to Edinburgh for a friend's wedding were told their flight had been canceled. Anne and Damien Farrell decided on the spot to reclaim the car they'd just parked in Dublin Airport's long-term parking lot, drive the 100 miles (160 kilometers) north to Belfast, and take the ferry to the Scottish port of Stranraer.

"Fortunately we have a day of lead-in time before the wedding party gets going, otherwise we'd be up a certain creek without a paddle," said Damien Farrell, 29.

Meera Selva in London, Slobodan Lekic in Brussels, Shawn Pogatchnik in Dublin, Ben McConville in Edinburgh, Melissa Eddy in Berlin and other AP writers across Europe contributed to this report.

The $16 million project would yield more than 250 jobs and up to $590,000 a year in property taxes, officials said.

HOLYOKE – Mostly positive comments at a public hearing Tuesday greeted a proposal to put a Big Y supermarket at the former Atlas Copco factory in a project that would bring 250 jobs.

“The people we work with are very much in need of work,” said Larry Bay, executive director of HolyokeWorks, which helps people find jobs and education.

“They are a responsible corporate family,” Richard P. Purcell, of 99 Martin St., said of Big Y.

The Planning Board later voted unanimously to recommend that a zone change, which was the subject of the hearing at City Hall, be granted after the 75-minute hearing, said Kathleen G. Anderson, director of the city Office of Planning and Development.

Big Y would anchor a small retail plaza with other stores at Lower Westfield Road and Homestead Avenue.

The $16 million project would yield more than 250 jobs, including 150 to 175 jobs at Big Y.

Officials said 38 to 44 of the Big Y jobs would be full time. Other retail stores yet to be chosen would yield about 100 jobs, officials said.

The project also would net the city $520,000 to $590,000 a year in property taxes, up from the $100,000 the site now generates, said Francesca Maltese, development manager for O’Connell Development Group, which owns the site. Some tenants now lease space there.

O’Connell Development, of Holyoke, wants a zone change from the current Industrial Park to General Industry, which would permit a supermarket.

The Planning Board’s recommendation on the zone change request goes to the City Council Ordinance Committee.

The Ordinance Committee’s recommendation will go to the full City Council, which has final authority whether to grant zone changes.

Concerns were raised about adding to traffic in an already busy area down the road from the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside.

Edward G. Miles, of Lower Westfield Road, said another concern is whether delivery trucks will make noise if they arrive and leave at night.

Truck deliveries and other issues can be addressed during the site plan review process if the zone change is granted and the project proceeds, Anderson said.

Katherine Smith, of Homestead Avenue, questioned how officials can make a decision on the project before a fully detailed plan has been submitted.

“I’m still not seeing an actual plan,” Smith said.

Ordinance Committee Chairman Diosdado Lopez and other officials said the process is that a developer will file a detailed site plan only if a zone change request is granted, because without the zone change, it makes no sense to compile and pay for such a plan.

Steve Corrigan and Robert W. Gilbert Jr., of the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce and the group Grow Holyoke, and School Committee member Michael J. Moriarty were among those praising the project for the jobs and tax revenue.

“We’re looking at this development as an ideal opportunity for more jobs and tax revenue,” Corrigan said.

“We need the jobs, we need the tax revenue,” Gilbert said.

“We don’t have enough money from our real estate taxes to pay for our teachers payroll, let alone the rest of the services,” Moriarty said.

The project is set to open in late 2012 or early 2013, Maltese said.

The various O’Connell properties pay nearly $2 million a year in property taxes, she said.

“We look forward to the opportunity to generate more tax revenue for the city,” Maltese said.

Big Y has 61 stores in Massachusetts and Connecticut with more than 10,000 employees.

The late Gerald E. “Gerry” and Paul H. D’Amour founded Big Y in 1936. The company is this year marking its 75th anniversary in business.

The cause of Spirit's silence may never be known, but it's likely the bitter Martian winter damaged its electronics

By ALICIA CHANG | AP Science Writer

Associated PressFILE - In this Jan. 28, 2004 photo provided by NASA/JPL of a photo shot by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. NASA is ending efforts to revive the sand-trapped rover Spirit, which has been silent for more than a year. Project manager John Callas of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory says the last commands will be sent up Wednesday, May 25. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL,File)

LOS ANGELES — Spirit, the scrappy robot geologist that captivated the world with its antics on Mars before getting stuck in a sand trap, is about to meet its end after six productive years.

Spirit has been incommunicado for more than a year despite daily calls by NASA. The cause of Spirit's silence may never be known, but it's likely the bitter Martian winter damaged its electronics, preventing the six-wheel rover from waking up.

The space agency tried every trick to listen for Spirit to no avail. Project manager John Callas of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said the last commands will be sent up Wednesday. Though orbiting spacecraft will continue to listen through the end of May, chances are slim that Spirit will respond.

"Spirit went into a deep sleep," said Callas, who said the plucky rover will be remembered for demystifying Mars to the masses.

When the rover team gets together this summer, David Lavery of NASA headquarters said the mood would likely be that of an Irish wake rather than funeral.

"We drove it until its wheels came off," he said. "We never expected that that would be the way that we'd finish up with this project."

The solar-powered Spirit and its twin Opportunity parachuted to opposite ends of the Martian southern hemisphere in January 2004 for what was supposed to be a three-month mission.

The golf cart-size rovers were an instant hit with the public who followed the rovers' every move as they rolled across the Martian plains and stopped to drill into rocks.

Their greatest achievement was uncovering geologic evidence that Mars, now dry and dusty, was far more tropical billions of years ago. The red planet was toastier and wetter, conditions that suggest the ancient environment could have been favorable for microbial life.

As far as sibling rivalry went, Opportunity was the overachiever while Spirit was every bit the drama queen underdog.

Soon after landing, Spirit went into critical condition and sent nonsense data back to Earth. Engineers had to nurse it back from the brink of death.

Unlike Opportunity, which landed in an ancient lakebed awash with water-forming minerals, Spirit plopped into a Connecticut-sized crater named Gusev that contained limited hints of past water.

Spirit had no choice but to trek toward the hills to make discoveries. It managed to shine despite having a rocky start on Mars.

In 2005, Spirit scaled a mountain the height of the Statute of Liberty. It also was the first to record Martian dust devils as they formed, which NASA later made into movie clips.

As the years passed, Spirit began showing signs of aging.

In 2006, one of its front wheels stopped spinning, forcing the rover to drive backward and drag its lame wheel. More recently, it suffered bouts of amnesia by failing to record data to its flash memory.

Spirit survived three Martian winters, but the hardy rover was no match for the latest cold.

The troubles began in April 2009 when Spirit broke through crusty ground while driving backward and became bogged in a sand pit. During attempts to get it unstuck, one of the back wheels stopped working — essentially turning Spirit into a four-wheel drive.

Unable to provide roadside assistance, NASA declared an end to Spirit's mobile career in January 2010 — six years after landing — and it became a stationary spacecraft.

The woes continued when engineers failed in efforts to tilt Spirit's solar panels in a favorable position toward the low winter sun. With no way to power its heaters to stay warm, Spirit went into hibernation, its internal temperature plunging to minus 67 degrees Fahrenheit — the coldest it has experienced on the red planet.

NASA had hoped to hear from Spirit when the seasons changed. Orbiting spacecraft passing overhead took turns every day hailing Spirit while deep space antennas in California, Spain and Australia listened for any peep.

Mission managers had been weighing whether to scale back the listening campaign to once a week. On Monday, Callas of JPL notified the rover team that he decided against that plan, saying that any continued effort will cut into other missions.

A formal farewell is planned at NASA headquarters after the Memorial Day holiday and will be televised on NASA TV.

The mission's deputy investigator, Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St. Louis, said he will remember Spirit as a fighter.

"It wouldn't quit just like the little engine that chugged up the hill," said Arvidson, referring to the children's bedtime story.

Mission scientist Jim Bell of Arizona State University is a bit disappointed that Spirit will no longer study its surroundings. Before falling silent, Spirit had made progress sampling soil while stuck in place.

"This is a story of perseverance," Bell said. "Spirit got a lot of bum breaks including almost dying early on and wheel problems."

Spirit trekked 4.8 miles since landing. Its healthy twin Opportunity has logged 18.5 miles so far — surpassing the distance of a half marathon — and poked into three craters.

Opportunity has been trundling toward a large crater named Endeavour. It is currently less than 3 miles away, and if all goes as planned it should reach the rim later this year.

Spirit is the second Mars spacecraft in three years to stop working. In 2008, NASA bid adieu to the Phoenix lander after five months of studying a Martian arctic plain.

Opportunity could soon get some company on the Martian surface. NASA later this year is expected to launch a megarover the size of a Mini Cooper that will land at a still-to-be-determined spot on Mars in summer 2012.

Springfield, with 16 homicides last year, is considered more dangerous than Washington, D.C, and Philadelphia, which respectively had 123 and 306 homicides.

EMTs tend to the victim on a May 8 shooting at Dwight and Allendale Streets in the city's North End. The man was shot in the leg

SPRINGFIELD – An online publication ranks Springfield as the 12th most dangerous U.S. city, putting it in the same company as metropolitan areas such as Detroit, St. Louis, Mo., and Philadelphia.

The ranking of the top 25 most dangerous cities was compiled by Business Insider using numbers from the FBI’s most recent Uniform Crime Report data based on 2010 crime statistics.

Springfield, with a population of 154,314, warrants inclusion on the list because it has a violent crime rate of 1,354 incidents for every 100,000 people.

That is a higher per-capita rate than Boston at 903, Lowell at 1,155, and Hartford, Conn., 1,292.

It is also enough to rank Springfield more dangerous than Washington, D.C., which ranked as 15th, and Philadelphia, which came in 17th. The cities respectively tallied 123 and 306 homicides in 2010.

Springfield had 16 homicides in 2010 and has eight so far this year.

While Springfield ranks as the second most-dangerous New England city, Hartford, and Lowell ranked 14 and 18, respectively, and Boston, Worcester and Providence, did not make the list.

The title of most dangerous city in New England falls to New Haven, Conn., with a violent-crime rate of 1,584 incidents for every 100,000 people, which puts it in fourth place nationally, behind only St. Louis, Mo., and the Michigan cities of Detroit and Flint.

Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said he was not going to try to argue against the ranking or spin the numbers, even though he said he took issue with how the report was compiled.

In particular, he noted that the ranking, while using FBI crime data, was not compiled by the FBI.

The FBI does not rank use the data to rank cities. As it notes in the introduction to the report, it cautions against anyone "drawing conclusions by making direct comparisons between cities" and such comparisons "lead to simplistic and/or incomplete analyses that often create misleading perceptions."

Sarno said, “You’re not going to get any spin from me. The city is facing a challenge and we are continuing to conquer it.”

The ranking was criticized by the police, neighborhood council members and anti-violence advocates who said to rank Springfield with much larger cities that have several times as many homicides is a comparison that is either misleading or preposterous.

Sgt. John Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet said, “You can’t go comparing city to city.”

To put Springfield on the same list with, for example, Detroit, which has a population of just under 900,000, and had 310 homicides and 11,000 assaults, is just misleading, he said.

“People will look at this and say Springfield is out of control when in fact it’s not out of control,” he said.

The police so far this year have made 2,100 arrests, he said. “We are doing our part.”

Walter Kroll, president of the McKnight Neighborhood Council and the McKnight Neighborhood Crime Watch, said his cousin who works in Detroit would laugh if Kroll ever tried to compare crime in the two cities.

“One thing I learned in college is you can make numbers say what you want them to say,” he said.

DeJuan Brown of the anti-youth violence organization AWAKE said he could not put much credence to the ranking. He said it is undeniable there are some bad characters in the city who cause enough harm to ruin the city’s reputation.

But, he said, “The city is not that dangerous.”

However, Antonette Pepe who is running against Sarno for mayor, seized upon the ranking to charge the Sarno approach is not working.

“We must look to new ways to stop crime in the city,” she said. “We need a mayor that
is a leader that is not going to settle for excuses and this is inexcusable.”
Most Dangerous Top 25

Sarno said that numbers or no numbers, it is clear Springfield has a problem with crime and violence, and he reiterated the public safety has and continues to be his main priority.

Springfield, like many urban areas, is dealing with the fallout from high amounts of poverty, youth violence and drugs.

“We have many great areas in this city, but we do have many hot spots,” he said.

The Police Department has new deployments in high-crime areas, 30 officers have been added this week, and the department is working with state and federal law enforcement agencies to target gangs and drugs, he said.

Jay Griffin, of the Old Hill Neighborhood Council, said he did not know if one can compare violence in Springfield with Detroit or Philadelphia.

But, he said, “the conditions (in Springfield) are not unlike Detroit or Philadelphia.”

High unemployment, particularly among minorities, has many families feeling stress.

“Those are conditions that exist that put people in a position of feeling helpless and hopeless,” he said. “And that is a bad combination.”

Griffin said if the city is going to combat crime, it needs to do more to bring together different and diverse communities that make up Springfield.

“Sometimes when we report (about crime), we isolate, we make it us and them,” he said. “There is no us and them. There’s just us.”

The seat became vacant when Republican Rep. Chris Lee resigned after shirtless photos he sent to a woman surfaced online.

By BETH FOUHY and CAROLYN THOMPSON

Associated PressDemocratic candidate for the 26th District Congressional seat, Kathy Hochul arrives at a campaign stop at a restaurant in Amherst, N.Y., Tuesday, May 24, 2011. Hochul is running against Republican Jane Corwin and tea party candidate Jack Davis in the race to succeed Republican Chris Lee. Lee resigned in February after shirtless photos surfaced that he'd sent to a woman on Craigslist. (AP Photo/David Duprey)

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Democrats picked off a heavily Republican upstate New York congressional seat Tuesday night in a special election that became a referendum on Medicare.

Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul edged past Republican state Assemblywoman Jane Corwin to win the seat in the 26th Congressional District.

The rural-suburban district between Buffalo and Rochester is one of the state's most conservative. But Corwin saw her early lead dissolve after coming out in favor of a Republican budget plan that would cut billions from Medicare, the government health plan for seniors.

With 83 percent of precincts reporting, Hochul had 48 percent of the vote, compared with 42 percent for Corwin.

A chant of "Kathy, Kathy" went up at the Hochul headquarters at a suburban Amherst union hall.

A third candidate, tea party contender Jack Davis, also siphoned votes away from Corwin.

The seat became vacant in February when Republican Rep. Chris Lee resigned after shirtless photos he sent to a woman surfaced online.

The 26th Congressional District, which covers a swath of rural and suburban towns between Buffalo and Rochester, was one of only four districts in the state — out of 29 — that favored Republican John McCain over President Barack Obama in 2008.

But Corwin, a multimillionaire state assemblywoman, watched her lead evaporate after expressing support for a plan crafted by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to strip billions from Medicare and recast it as a voucher program. Corwin said she supported the Ryan plan as a way to ensure Medicare for future generations.

Hochul quickly seized on Corwin's position and cast herself as the protector of Medicare in a district with a large population of voters over 55. Her television ads hammered the issue even as Corwin tried to shift her position, suggesting she'd favor changing the Ryan plan if elected.

Davis further vexed Republicans in a district that has many tea party supporters. Local GOP leaders tried to make hay of an encounter between Davis and a videographer Davis appeared to shove after the videographer taunted him for refusing to appear in a debate with Hochul and Corwin. The GOP tried to use the video to paint Davis as a bully.

But it backfired when the videographer turned out to be Corwin's chief of staff.

The race drew attention and more than $2 million from both national parties and several independent groups. Ryan and New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie endorsed Corwin, while former President Bill Clinton recorded a phone call for Hochul and New York's popular Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo released an ad supporting her.

The married Lee, who had just started his second term, abruptly resigned after a gossip website published a shirtless cell phone photo he sent to a woman he'd been flirting with on Craigslist.

Kerrigan, who has worked in Congress for 14 years, serves as U.S. Sen. John Kerry's tax counsel.

WASHINGTON– Springfield, Mass., native Kathy Kerrigan has been nominated by President Obama to serve as a judge on the U.S. Tax Court, according to the office of U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., where Kerrigan serves as Kerry’s tax counsel.

Kerrigan has worked in Congress for 14 years, and Kerry, in a release, said she knows the tax code “inside and out.”

“She will be a phenomenal tax judge, and she will continue to make Massachusetts proud,” Kerry said.

The Court held that the maintenance records were business records that did not require live testimony for their introduction in evidence.

The Republican | Michael BeswickNorthwestern District Attorney David Sullivan.

NORTHAMPTON – Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan is applauding the Tuesday decision of the Supreme Judicial Court that prosecutors may introduce in criminal trials the maintenance records from breathalyzer machines without the live testimony of the technicians who performed the tests on the machines.

Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Steven Greenbaum argued the case before the Supreme Judicial Court on behalf of the Commonwealth in Commonwealth vs. Zoanne Zeininger, according to a press release from the district attorney’s office.

Zeininger had been convicted in Greenfield District Court in 2007 for operating a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent or greater.

She argued on appeal that the admission at her trial of the breathalyzer records without live testimony violated her constitutional right to confront witnesses against her. The appeal was closely watched by the legal community because potentially hundreds of similar convictions could be affected.

In an opinion written by Associate Justice Robert Cordy, the Court held that the maintenance records were business records that did not require live testimony for their introduction in evidence.

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has been transferred back to her rehabilitation hospital in Houston after recovering from last week's surgery at a nearby hospital.

In this March, 2010 file photo provided by the office of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., Giffords poses for a photo. Giffords is recuperating from implant surgery on her skull following a milestone in her recovery from an assassination attempt, as doctors focus on the upcoming stages of her rehabilitation. (AP Photo/Office of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, File)

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has been transferred back to her rehabilitation hospital in Houston after recovering from last week's surgery at a nearby hospital.

The 40-year-old Arizona Democrat had been recuperating at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center since last Wednesday's surgery to implant a synthetic replacement for a portion of her skull. Doctors also gave Giffords a permanent shunt to relieve fluid buildup in her brain.

Part of Giffords' skull was removed Jan. 8, the same day she was shot in the head in a shooting in Tucson that left six dead and 12 others wounded.

The Arizona Daily Star says Giffords is back at The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research Memorial Hermann rehabilitation hospital, which is in the same complex as Texas Medical Center. She's been undergoing intensive therapy to recover speech and movement since late January.

Massachusetts state senators are set to begin debate on their proposed $30.5 billion state budget.

Massachusetts House Minority Leader Bradley Jones, R-North Reading, leaves the House Chambers during a recess at the Statehouse in Boston Monday, April 25, 2011. The Massachusetts House has opened debate on a $30.4 billion state budget that further trims spending and dips deeper into the state's reserve fund.(AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts state senators are set to begin debate on their proposed $30.5 billion state budget.

Democratic leaders say their spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1 protects the state's most vulnerable residents while spending slightly less than budgets proposed by the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Gov. Deval Patrick.

Debate is scheduled to begin Wednesday.

The Senate plan includes no new taxes and dips into the state's one-time savings accounts for $440 million. It closes an estimated $1.9 billion spending gap without additional federal stimulus dollars.

Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairman Stephen Brewer has acknowledged the spending cuts are painful, but says his plan protects key services such as adult day care, veteran's services, domestic violence programs and early intervention programs for children who face developmental difficulties.

After setting a soaring vision to land a man on the moon, President John F. Kennedy struggled with how to sell the public on a costly space program he worried had "lost its glamour" and had scant political benefits, according to a newly released White House tape.

In this May 25, 1961 file photo, President John F. Kennedy speaks in the House of Representatives before a joint session of Congress in Washington. In the background are Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, left, and House Speaker Sam Rayburn. During that speech, Kennedy issued the challenge for NASA to send a man to the moon. That challenge that was met on July 20, 1969, when Apollo 11's lunar module landed on the moon. (AP Photo, File)

By JAY LINDSAY, Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — After setting a soaring vision to land a man on the moon, President John F. Kennedy struggled with how to sell the public on a costly space program he worried had "lost its glamour" and had scant political benefits, according to a newly released White House tape.

Kennedy and NASA Administrator James Webb hashed out how to strengthen public backing for the mission, such as by highlighting its technological benefits and military uses.

And in a scenario that echoes today, the two worried about preserving funding amid what Webb calls a "driving desire to cut the budget," according to the tape recorded two months before Kennedy was assassinated.

"It's become a political struggle now," Kennedy says, near the end of the 46-minute tape. "We've got to hold this thing, goddamn it."

The Sept. 18, 1963, conversation is among 260 hours of White House recordings that archivists at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum have been reviewing in chronological order.

In this Jan. 30, 1961 file photo, President John F. Kennedy poses at the White House with James Webb after he was named new chief of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The John F. Kennedy Library on May 25, 2011 will release a new audio of Kennedy discussing with Webb in September 1963 his concerns about public support for space exploration. During a famous speech 50 years ago on May 25, 1961, before a joint session of Congress in Washington, Kennedy issued the challenge for NASA to send a man to the moon. (AP Photo/Bill Allen, File)

Its release Wednesday comes on the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's May 25, 1961, speech in which he made his famous call to reach the moon by decade's end. While that speech is remembered for its ambition, it also included a caveat that "no single space project in this period ... will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish."

In the tape recorded more than two years later, Kennedy and Webb are heard dealing with that reality. With the 1964 election approaching, Kennedy frets a massive program that's not making obvious advances will prove a liability.

"I don't think the space program has much political positives," Kennedy tells Webb.

The president seems to lament that the rival Russians haven't made the progress in their half of the space race that could bring needed attention to America's program.

"I mean if the Russians do some tremendous feat, then it would stimulate interest again, but right now space has lost a lot of its glamour," Kennedy said.

(Photo/NASA)In one of the many iconic photos from the Apollo 11 mission of July 1969, Buzz Aldrin, the second man to step foot on the moon, is pictured standing by the American flag. In all, six of NASA's Apollo missions landed astronauts on the moon between 1969 and 1972.

Webb acknowledges that the tens of billions of dollars spent over a decade made the program a target for lawmakers. But he repeatedly pushes its merits, including spurring technological advances he says will vastly expand the country's economic might.

"I think it's going to generate the technology that's going to make a difference for this country far beyond space," Webb says.

At one point, Kennedy challenges Webb to answer, "Do you think the lunar, manned landing on the moon is a good idea?" The president also asks for and receives assurances from Webb that sending a man to the moon isn't just a "stunt" that will yield the same advances as sending scientific instruments to the moon's surface for billions less.

Kennedy and Webb then agree it's crucial to emphasize the space program's importance to the military and national security, or risk it being considered wasteful.

"The heat's going to go on unless we can say this has got some military justification and not just prestige," Kennedy says.

"I think it's the only way we're going to be able to defend it before the public in the next 12 months," Kennedy says. "I want to get the military shield over this thing."

Maura Porter, a John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum archivist, said the tape offers a look at the pragmatism behind Kennedy's vision for America's future in space. Kennedy's prime motivations for pushing the program were far less practical than what he knew would fly with the public or with Congress, she said.

"He loved the idea of being adventurers and being explorers," Porter said.

Porter said some historians have speculated Kennedy would have backed away from the space program if he won a second term. But the tape indicates he was hoping to be in office when America reached the moon.

On the tape, Kennedy asks Webb if there's any chance the lunar landing will happen during a second term. Webb says no, and the president sounds deflated.

"It's just going to take longer than that," Webb says. "This is a tough job, a real tough job."

The estranged husband of the woman identified by some media as the mother of Arnold Schwarzenegger's out-of-wedlock son says he feels betrayed by the former governor.

(Photo/Entertainment Tonight)Rogelio Baena, the ex-husband of Mildred "Patty" Baena, spoke to "Entertainment Tonight" on Wednesday, saying he felt "betrayed" by the former governor.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The estranged husband of the woman identified by some media as the mother of Arnold Schwarzenegger's out-of-wedlock son says he feels betrayed by the former governor.

In an interview broadcast Tuesday on "Entertainment Tonight," Rogelio Baena said he learned last week he was not the boy's biological father. He says he will always regard the boy as his own.

"The Insider" also broadcast video Tuesday of Maria Shriver praising Mildred Baena at a 2001 celebration for one of Baena's relatives.

Shriver said she was proud of Baena for being a single, hard-working mother. Schwarzenegger can be heard echoing her praise, saying the housekeeper did "an incredible job."

Mildred Baena has been identified as the mother of Schwarzenegger's child by The New York Times and other media. The Associated Press has not independently verified she is the mother.

Online discount retailer Overstock.com Inc. says it has canceled ad contracts with Connecticut affiliates rather than collect the state's sales tax recently extended to online sales.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Online discount retailer Overstock.com Inc. says it has canceled ad contracts with Connecticut affiliates rather than collect the state's sales tax recently extended to online sales.

The Salt Lake City-based company said Tuesday it believes the law requiring out-of-state retailers to collect sales tax is unconstitutional. Web sites that get a share of the sales price when an online customer buys a product through an Overstock.com link will no longer be paid.

The 6.35 percent tax, which applies to online sales for the first time, takes effect July 1. The state expects to raise $9.4 million.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy was asked about Overstock.com's decision. He said he supposes the tax could have an impact on other businesses, but that he is not familiar with how much business Overstock.com does in Connecticut.

According to the Hartford Business Journal, Overstock.com is not alone in its decision to sever ties in Connecticut.

The news organization published a report on Wednesday revealing that dozens of online retailers are calling it quits in Connecticut over the new law, leading many to question how the law will raise additional revenue when companies are ending relationships that pay websites and bloggers based in the state.

For a look at all the businesses giving up on Connecticut, click here.

The renovation includes a new play structure, basketball court, walking path, picnic tables and benches and landscaping throughout the park.

SPRINGFIELD – The public is invited to join Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Executive Director Patrick Sullivan for a ribbon cutting ceremony at Johnny Appleseed Park at Hancock and Mill streets, Wednesday at 2:30 p.m., according to a release from the mayor’s office.

Funding for the new playground was made possible by a $150,000 Community Development Block Grant in the amount of $150,000 and a grant from the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs in the amount of $258,230. The renovation includes a new play structure, basketball court, walking path, picnic tables and benches and landscaping throughout the park.

City officials on Thursday unveiled a $750,000 master plan to convert the former Thomas M. Balliet Elementary School and grounds into a new park in the Pine Point area.

The site must first be transferred from the School Department to the city. The project will also depend on successful applications for state grant funds and private contributions.

A Hartford school teacher has been placed on administrative leave after school officials say she forced students to clean a toilet in a portable classroom.

HARTFORD, Conn. - If cleanliness is indeed next to godliness, then Hartford art teacher Catherine Saur might be considered a saint.

Unfortunately for her, many parents at the E.B. Kennelly Elementary School aren't seeing things that way.

Saur was placed on administrative leave after Jane Russell, a parent of a student in Saur's 8th-grade class, complained to school officials on May 17 after her son's hands showed redness and signs of irritation from cleaning the toilet in his classroom.

Russell claims that her son was forced to use bleach to clean a bathroom in a portable classroom, even if he only entered to use the sink.

Although no one is denying Saur had a strict rule about cleaning the bathroom after using it, school officials refuted the bleach claim while condemning the overall practice at an emergency PTO meeting on the issue.

Many parents, including Yulissa Espinal, expressed outrage over the situation. Espinal has two children enrolled in the school, according to a report by the Hartford Courant, and she expressed concern about her 7-year-old daughters recent incontinence.

"She had wet underpants because she didn't want to clean the toilet," Espinal told the Courant. "I identify with this mom (Russell) and this kid because I don't want to be in this position."

Not everybody is angry at Saur however.

Nancy Moreaux, secretary of the school's PTO said that she supported the practice, or at least the idea behind it.

"If you sprinkle when you tinkle, please be neat and wipe the seat," she told a reporter for NBC Connecticut.

Russell reportedly contacted Peter Dart, the school's principal, after learning about Saur's rule, which has reportedly been in effect for the past two years.

According to WFSB.com, Dart sent a letter out to parents on Monday and met with them on Tuesday.

While Saur is out of the classroom pending the results of the investigation, the issue has been brought to the attention of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families and the Hartford Public Schools Board of Labor Relations.

Investigators with the Massachusetts Office of the State Fire Marshal are working to determine what sparked a blaze at a garage in Granby Tuesday evening that spread to a neighboring structure.

GRANBY - Investigators with the Massachusetts Office of the State Fire Marshal are working to determine what sparked a blaze at a garage in Granby Tuesday evening that spread to a neighboring structure.

According to Sgt. Kevin O'Grady of the Granby Police Department, the fire at 380 Batchelor St. was reported at 10:53 p.m. and when first responders arrived, the garage at that address was fully involved.

Police evacuated the surrounding houses and closed down the streets as firefighters worked to contain the flames which had just jumped to a neighboring pool house.

With the assistance of the Belchertown and South Hadley fire departments, the fire was "quickly" brought under control, according to O'Grady.

No injuries were reported and crews managed to contain the fire to the garage and the adjacent pool house.

The map below shows the approximate location of the fire that broke out on Tuesday, May 24 in Granby.

The search for missing victims of Joplin's lethal twister inched forward methodically on Wednesday, with city leaders refusing to abandon hope that they would find more survivors even as rescuers prepared to go over ground searched as many as three times already.

Rescue workers gather at a destroyed Home Depot in Joplin, Mo. Tuesday, May 24, 2011. A large tornado moved through much of the city Sunday, damaging a hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

By NOMAAN MERCHANT, Associated Press

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — The search for missing victims of Joplin's lethal twister inched forward methodically on Wednesday, with city leaders refusing to abandon hope that they would find more survivors even as rescuers prepared to go over ground searched as many as three times already.

The death toll ticked upward to at least 122, with 750 people hurt, from a mighty twister that the National Weather Service said was an EF5, the strongest rating assigned to tornadoes, with winds of more than 200 mph.

"We are still in a search-and-rescue mode," said Mark Rohr, Joplin's city manager. "I want to emphasize that."

Even as Joplin limped forward, violent weather struck again, killing at least five in Oklahoma, two in Arkansas and two more in Kansas. Late-night tornado sirens had Joplin's residents ducking for cover again before the storm brushed past without serious problems.

Shadowing the rescue work in the southwest Missouri city of 50,000 people was uncertainty over just how many survivors remained to be found. Nine people have been rescued since Sunday's disaster, including two on Tuesday, but authorities have hesitated to say how many people are unaccounted for. They also said many were believed to have simply left the area safely.

A destroyed apartment complex is seen in Joplin, Mo. Tuesday, May 24, 2011. A large tornado moved through much of the city Sunday, damaging a hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Social networks were the tool of choice for many people trying to track the missing — or to let their loved ones know they were OK.

Several online efforts have focused on Will Norton, a teenager who vanished on his way home from his high school graduation ceremony. Norton was driving with his father, Mark Norton, when the storm hit his Hummer H3. The vehicle flipped several times, and Will was thrown from it, likely through the sunroof.

Sara Norton was on the phone with her father as the two drove home. Mark Norton asked her to open the family's garage door so Mark and Will could get inside quickly. But the two never made it.

I could hear him saying, 'Will, pull over, pull over,'" Sara Norton said.

Mark Norton tried to grab his son, but the storm was too strong. He was hospitalized Tuesday, seriously hurt but still able to talk to his family about what happened.

Will's sister, Sara Norton, and other relatives drove to hospitals throughout Missouri to search for Will. More than 19,000 people supported the "Help Find Will Norton" community page on Facebook, and Twitter users were tweeting heavily about the missing teen.

"I just want to find him, that's all," Sara Norton said Tuesday, on her way home from a Springfield, Mo., hospital. "I'm just determined. I have to find him."

Many posted prayers for Norton's safe return or repeated rumors about where he might have been taken. Others commented on videos that Norton, an avid videographer with plans to study film in college, had posted on YouTube.

Joplin schools were ravaged by the twister and classes have been canceled the rest of the school year, but district officials are trying to locate both faculty and many of the school's 2,200 students. The effort has been crippled by downed phone lines. Some students have been located using Facebook.

Joplin High School sophomore Landan Taylor makes has way across the wreckage of the school's theater in Joplin, Mo., Tuesday, May 24, 2011. At least 116 people were killed and hundreds more injured when a tornado cut a destructive path through Joplin on Sunday evening. Classes at all Joplin schools have been canceled for the rest of the schoolyear after four schools were damaged or destroyed. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

"We just want to be able to find who we can find and then as confirmation happens offer support to the families if we find out that a kid didn't make it," Joplin High Principal Kerry Sachetta said. "When a tragedy happens for a kid or a family, everybody tries to come together and console everybody and make up what we can whether it is food or emotional support or a place to stay. That's what we are trying to do a little piece at a time."

The Joplin tornado was the deadliest single twister since the weather service began keeping official records in 1950 and the eighth-deadliest in U.S. history. Scientists said it appeared to be a rare "multivortex" tornado, with two or more small and intense centers of rotation orbiting the larger funnel.

Bill Davis, the lead forecaster on a National Weather Service survey team, said he would need to look at video to try to confirm that. But he said the strength of the tornado was evident from the many stout buildings that were flattened: St. John's Regional Medical Center, Franklin Technology Center, a bank gone except for its vault, a Pepsi bottling plant and "numerous, and I underscore numerous, well-built residential homes that were basically leveled."

Davis' first thought on arriving in town to do the survey, he said, was: "Where do you start?"

___

Heather Hollingsworth contributed to this story from Kansas City.

A suspicious white substance brought to the Worcester police station caused an evacuation, Lady Gaga is rumored to be staying on Martha's Vineyard for the summer and more headlines.

Local and mainland Chinese university students, dressed as the Foxconn workers and wearing mock iPad with a skeleton print as they try to block the customers at an Apple Premium Reseller shop in Hong Kong Saturday, May 7, 2011. An explosion that occurred on May 20, 2011, at one of two factories that make Apple's new iPad 2 highlights the risks of a global manufacturing strategy that has cut costs but concentrates production in a few locations. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

• Hazmat team investigates suspicious white powder at Worcester police station [WorcesterTelegram.com]


• Northampton police probe Florence man's story about being shooting victim in Holyoke [GazetteNet.com]


• Massachusetts unions soften their tone on health care contributions [Boston.com]


• Is Lady Gaga taking up residence on Martha's Vineyard? [BostonHerald.com]


• State expected to call more witnesses in Casey Anthony Trial [OrlandoSentinel.com]


• Apple offers assistance to users infected with Mac Defender malware [Cnet.com]


• One Seriously Injured In Hartford Crash Involving Wrong Way Driver [Courant.com]


 




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A recent rash of vandalism has police investigating as officials with the agency are increasingly concerned about the animals' well being.

Greg Saulmon | The Republican05.25.2011 | SPRINGFIELD - A window at the entrance of the Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society was broken this week in a series of incidents of vandalism.

SPRINGFIELD - A recent rash of vandalism at the Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society has the agency's employees concerned and police on the lookout for those responsible.

In the past week, the facility has had bricks thrown through the front window, damage to a piece of plywood where a window used to be and an attempted break-in right above a cage holding an animal waiting to be adopted, according to a report by CBS3.

A spokesperson for the humane society told reporters that during one of the incidents, broken glass made its way across the room and into an animal's cage. Although no animals have been harmed yet, the crew at the humane society is concerned about them dealing with repeated trauma.

Additionally, making repairs to the building isn't cheap and takes cash away from animal care.

The organization operates solely based on the donations it receives from supporters and isn't sponsored nationally or government funded, according to its website. That is what makes it even more difficult to replace things that vandals destroy.

CBS-3 reported that an unidentified person made a $1,200 donation to the center to help pay for a new door.

Police have stepped-up patrols around the Union Street facility in an effort to apprehend those responsible.

To make a donation to the center, click here

Greg Saulmon | The Republican

Today's poll: Should major nonprofits offer payments in lieu of taxes to the cities and towns they call home?

The Forecast

The bright light you saw on the horizon this morning was caused by an astronomical object that scientists call "the sun." You can learn more about it at NASA's website.

The National Weather Service predicts that this "sun" will be visible overhead for most of the day, causing temperatures to rise to a high of 79 degrees.

Although it has been elusive for the past who can really remember how long, this very large star -- located 93 million miles from Earth -- is expected to appear again on Thursday, producing weather humans tend to regard as "pleasant," with highs around 80.

Find the full forecast here.

Today's Poll

The Republican's Peter Goonan reports that Baystate Health has agreed to provide a $250,000 payment to Springfield in lieu of taxes in the coming fiscal year. That amount is half of what Baystate has paid annually for the past five years under an agreement that expires June 30.

While Baystate is tax-exempt, the institution agreed to a $500,000 annual payment-in-lieu-of-taxes in 2006, with the amount increasing by 2.5 percent each year. That agreement was negotiated by the state-imposed Finance Control Board and former Mayor Charles V. Ryan.

Under the new agreement, Baystate Health's payment to the city will drop to $150,000 in fiscal year 2013, and to $100,000 in fiscal year 2014.

The city is evaluating how feasible it is to solicit voluntary contributions from other major nonprofit institutions.

What do you think -- should major nonprofits offer payments in lieu of taxes to the cities and towns they call home? Vote in our poll and check back tomorrow for the results.

Tuesday's results: Yesterday we asked, "Do you agree with Springfield City Council's decision to revoke the permit for the proposed East Springfield biomass plant?" 11 people voted. 54.55% said "No"; 45.45% said "Yes".

Tuesday's Top 5

The top 5 headlines on MassLive.com on May 24 were:

1. 2011 High School of Commerce prom [photo gallery]


2. 2011 Ludlow High School Prom[photo gallery]


3. Ware High School Prom [photo gallery]


4. 2011 Renaissance School Jr and Sr. Prom [photo gallery]


5. 32-year-old man, found with gunshot wound at Shell station in Northampton, tells police he had just been shot in Holyoke

Quote of the Day

“Creating 200,000 jobs across the country last month made headlines. But in other recoveries it was not unusual to create 300,000 or 400,000 jobs in a month. There is a broad-based economic recovery. But boy is it ever at a snail’s pace.”
&mdash Robert A. Nakosteen, professor of economics and statistics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst’s Isenberg School of Management, on the latest unemployment figures. Read Jim Kinney's story here.