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Chicopee Family Dollar project rejected by Planning Board

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Neighbors said they purchased their homes understanding the vacant property was zoned residential.

CHICOPEE — After hearing residents’ concerns about a Family Dollar locating behind their back yards, the Planning Board voted against recommending a zone change that would allow the project.

The company, which currently leases a store in a strip mall at the corner of Memorial Drive and James Street, wants to purchase a piece of property across the street to built an approximately 10,000-square-foot store there.

While part of the land is zoned for businesses and the area where the store was to be located is part of a commercial strip, the remaining land is residential and backs up onto a neighborhood. To build, the store the owners would need to change the residential zoning to business.

The Planning Board voted 3-2 against recommending the change. It will now go to the City Council, which will make a final decision on the request for a zone change.

In a presentation to the board, Michael Schafer, a civil engineer for Huntley Association who is working for the store, explained the business would be bringing few extra cars and is located in an area that is mainly commercial.

“Family Dollar wants this to be an attractive project,” he said. “We are open to opportunities to make it less intrusive.”

The company is proposing a fence between the residential area and the store and a vegetative barrier that would likely be 6- to 8-foot arbor vitaes. Schafer also proposed 8-foot ornamental lights, instead of the 20-foot ones original discussed, to reduce light pollution.

A dozen residents, many of them from Barby Avenue, protested the proposal, saying the added noise and traffic would decrease the value of their homes and negatively impact their lives.

“When we bought the house, we were told that is residentially zoned,” said Chris Parker, of Prospect Street. “We are strongly opposed to this. It is not going to be good for our neighborhood.”

Richard Vincellette, a tractor-trailer truck driver who lives on Barby Avenue, questioned how trucks will get in and out of the street and lot without backing up traffic.

Janet Paquette said residents already deal with the noise and traffic problems of nearby Memorial Drive and this will make it worse.

“This will undermine and destabilize our neighborhood,” she said.

Roger Lapointe, a Barby Avenue resident, said the project does not fit with the neighborhood.

“Why are we forcing a round peg into a square hole in a residential area?” he asked.



Peace vigil held for Peter Stefan, 'decent burial' for Tamerlan Tsarnaev

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Douglas Medina stood across the street from Graham Putnam & Mahoney Funeral Parlors as part of the peace vigil that the Saints Francis & Thérèse Catholic Workers set up on Tuesday evening. Medina, 55, of Worcester, said he was not part of the religious group that set up the vigil, but he was there in support of Peter Stefan, the funeral director of Graham, Putnam & Mahoney.

WORCESTER - Douglas Medina stood across the street from Graham Putnam & Mahoney Funeral Parlors as part of the peace vigil that the Saints Francis & Thérèse Catholic Workers set up on Tuesday evening. Medina, 55, of Worcester, said he was not part of the religious group, but was there in support of Peter Stefan, the funeral director of Graham Putnam & Mahoney.

Medina said he was standing there with other peaceful protestors in support of Peters for taking in the body of one of the alleged Boston Marathon bombers.

"[Tamerlan Tsarnaev] is no longer able to hurt us," said Medina. "I am not condoning what he did, but he has to be buried."

The peace vigil, which was organized by Scott Schaeffer-Duffy, is typically held weekly in Lincoln Square. Today it was moved to Main Street in hopes of changing public opinion to favor a United States burial of Tsarnaev's body.

"I feel that this was a broad-based statement that the folks who have been here don't speak for America. That people of a real diverse background feel that giving this person a decent burial is completely divorced from what he did, and it should be left that way, and that it's the decent thing to do," said Schaffer-Duffy.

Close to 40 people showed up for the hour-long vigil.

Cap on Massachusetts charter schools would be loosened under bill proposed by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino

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Menino urged lawmakers do away with spending limits on charter schools in underperforming school districts.

By BOB SALSBERG

BOSTON – The Legislature’s Education Committee was urged on Tuesday to support further efforts to strengthen oversight of struggling public schools and narrow the achievement gap between students in urban and wealthier suburban school districts.

“We should not have to wait for a school to fail before we give it the tools to succeed,” Boston Mayor Thomas Menino told the panel during a public hearing at the Statehouse.

Menino, the city’s longest-serving mayor who recently announced that he would not seek a sixth term, urged lawmakers do away with spending limits on charter schools in underperforming school districts.

A bill proposed by Menino would also broaden the ability of administrators to intervene in struggling schools.

The Legislature approved a comprehensive education reform law in 2010 that allowed for enhanced state and local intervention in the lowest-performing schools, those designated as Level 4 or Level 5 in the five-tiered classification system for public schools.

Schools designated as Level 5 could be ripe for a state takeover while Level 4 schools would be subject to “turnaround” plans that could include measures such as longer school days.

Menino and others at Tuesday’s hearing proposed steps also be taken to shore up schools that were currently at the Level 3, or middle status, but were in danger of slipping into the lower designation.

“In our turnaround schools, we have the flexibility to intervene and innovate, but only in our lowest performing, Level 4 schools,” said Menino. “We need this flexibility in the Level 3 schools that are struggling near the bottom,” he said.

But some who testified at Tuesday’s hearing urged a different approach, including an unusual coalition of teachers unions and school superintendents who opposed Menino’s call for lifting the cap on charter schools and backed a separate bill that advocated a cooperative approach to improving schools that are drifting toward failure.

“This is an opportunity to sit down, work collaboratively, get yourself on the road to improvement and avoid being labeled Level 4 schools,” said Paul Toner, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association.

Under the bill backed by the union and the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, the lowest-performing Level 3 schools would be put on notice that they were in danger of sliding to the next lower level. But teachers, parents and school administrators would then be given time to mutually agree on improvement plans.

Menino called for an end to the cap on so-called “in-district” charter schools that were also created under the 2010 law and allow for independent groups to take over existing schools with the approval of the local school committee. He said the success of the concept at the Gavin Middle School in South Boston had been “off the charts,” and that lifting the cap would allow it to be used at more city schools.

The mayor, however, added that he did not support calls to eliminate current statewide limits on Commonwealth charter schools, which operate independently from local school districts.

Charter school critics say they can pull resources away or lead to privatization of public schools.

Lego issues apology for offensive sticker after complaint by Josh Stearns of Northampton hits Internet

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The sticker set for a Lego construction set features one sticker of a worker in a hard hat waving and shouting “Hey babe!”

hey babe II.jpgThe "hey Babe!" sticker that Josh Stearns found offensive. The Lego Group has apologized for its distribution. 

A Northampton father who objected on his blog to what he considered sexist language on a cartoon sticker for Lego toys said he watched in amazement as his protest spread around the world over the Internet and ultimately led to the corporate office of the toy manufacturing company apologizing.

Josh Stearns said Tuesday he was surprised both with at how quickly the controversy spread and with how quickly the giant maker of toy building bricks was willing to apologize.

“It took off like wildfire,” he said.

Within a week, he heard from two Lego executives who apologized and promised it would not happen again. “Lego contacted me out of the blue to apologize,” he said.

It all started recently when Stearns, the father of two young children who are into Lego toys, spotted some Lego stickers for sale in a store.

The stickers for a Lego construction workers set features one sticker of a worker in a hard hat waving and shouting “Hey babe!”

Stearns said it is no stretch of the imagination to see that the worker is making an unwelcome cat-call at some female passerby. The problem is that the sticker normalizes objectionable behavior and the street harassment of women by men.

He posted a photo of the sticker on his Tumblr blog along with a brief note about why he found it offensive, and it just took off from there.

“It was all organic,” he said.

It was written about on Slate.com and the blog StopStreetHarassment.org.

More than 1,000 people signed a petition at www.change.org calling for Lego to do away with the stickers.

Street harassment, the petition notes, is “the most widely experienced form of sexual violence and it is a massive problem. The fact that Lego is telling young boys that street harassment is okay is NOT okay.”

Within days, Stearns was hearing directly from Lego executives. Charlotte Simonsen, senior director at Lego's corporate communications office in Denmark, wrote Stearns an e-mail on April 27 apologizing.

The sticker was issued by a company called Creative Imagination under a Lego license. The product was discontinued in 2010, she wrote.

“To communicate the Lego experience to children we typically use humor and we are sorry that you were unhappy with the way a minifigure was portrayed here,” she wrote. “This product was discontinued in the summer of 2010 and we have forwarded your comment to the LEGO Licensing team for their future evaluation of how we can deliver the best possible LEGO experience across our licensed products as well.”

A second email, from Andrea Ryder, head of the Lego Licensing Department, also included an apology.

She reiterated that the stickers are no longer being produced, adding “we would not approve such a product again.”

News of the apology was written about throughout the mainstream media including ABC News,
Huffington Post and the Christian Science Monitor.

Stearns said he grew up playing with Legos and is pleased his children enjoy them now. The subtle message behind the sticker was disappointing, he said, because he had up to that point always had a great respect for the company and its product.

Sterns works as public-interest activist who specializes in media policy. Ironically, the Lego campaign arose not from his professional life as an activist, but from his personal life as a dad watchful of the media messages that his children are exposed to, he said.

He said he was pleased with how quickly Lego responded to address the issue. The lesson to be learned from it is that companies will be in a better position if they deal with complaints from the public immediately and in ways that are open and encourage dialog, he said.


Northampton police arrest 2 teens for beating 3rd teen in face with skateboard

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The victim reported suffered substantial injuries to his face and mouth and was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

NORTHAMPTON - Police have arrested two teen boys, ages 15 and 13, in connection with an assault on Thursday in which a 14-year-old boy was repeatedly hit in the face with a skateboard, according to media reports.

The Daily Hampshire Gazette reports Northampton police charged the two teens with aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in connection with the assault, reported Thursday afternoon at MeadowBrook Apartments on Bridge Road.

Police did not release the names of either boy because each is a juvenile.

The victim reported suffered substantial injuries to his face and mouth and was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. His name was also not disclosed to the press.

Sgt. Kenneth Watson told the Gazette that the victim and the 13-year-old boy got involved in a fistfight and at some point the 13-year-old hit him repeatedly in the face with a skateboard. The 15-year-old boy reportedly joined in on the assault.

The 13-year-old boy was arrested shortly after the assault was reported, and the 15-year old was arrested on Friday afternoon.

In Ohio neighborhood, suspect Ariel Castro was familiar figure

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Neighbors and friends were stunned by the arrest of Ariel Castro and his two brothers after a 911 call led police to his house, where authorities say three women missing for about a decade were held captive.

508suspects.JPGThis combination photo released by the Cleveland Police Department shows from left, Onil Castro, Ariel Castro, and Pedro Casto.The three brothers were arrested Tuesday, May 7, 2013, after three women who disappeared in Cleveland a decade ago were found safe Monday. The brothers are accused of holding the victims against their will.  

By JESSE WASHINGTON

CLEVELAND — In the tight-knit neighborhood near downtown where many conversations are spoken in Spanish, it seems most everyone knew Ariel Castro.

He played bass guitar in salsa and merengue bands. He parked his school bus on the street. He gave neighborhood children rides on his motorcycle.

And when they gathered for a candlelight vigil to remember two girls who vanished years ago, Castro was there too, comforting the mother of one of the missing, a neighbor said.

Neighbors and friends were stunned by the arrest of Castro and his two brothers after a 911 call led police to his house, where authorities say three women missing for about a decade were held captive.

Castro and his brothers, ages 50 to 54, were in custody Tuesday but have not been formally charged.

Ariel Castro was friends with the father of Gina DeJesus, one of the missing women, and helped search for her after she disappeared, said Khalid Samad, a friend of the family. He also performed music at a fundraiser held in her honor, Samad said.

"When we went out to look for Gina, he helped pass out fliers," said Samad, a community activist who was at the hospital with DeJesus and her family Monday night. "You know, he was friends with the family."

Tito DeJesus, one of Gina's uncles, said he played in a few bands with Castro over the past 20 years. He remembered visiting Castro's house after his niece disappeared, but he never noticed anything out of ordinary, saying it was very sparsely furnished and filled with musical instruments.

"That's pretty much what it looked like," DeJesus said. "I had no clue, no clue whatsoever that this happened."

Ariel Castro's son, Anthony Castro, said in an interview with the Daily Mail of London that he now speaks with his father just a few times a year and seldom visited his house. On his last visit two weeks ago, he said, his father would not let him inside.

"The house was always locked," he told the newspaper. "There were places we could never go. There were locks on the basement. Locks on the attic. Locks on the garage."

Juan Perez, who lives two doors down from the house, has known Castro for decades.

"He was always happy, nice, respectful," Perez said. "He gained trust with the kids and with the parents. You can only do that if you're nice."

He said Castro had an ATV and a motorcycle and would take children on rides. Nothing seemed wrong with it then, he said, adding that he now thinks that was one way Castro tried to get close to the children. He also worked until recently as a school bus driver.

Castro's personnel file with the Cleveland public school district, obtained by The Associated Press through a Freedom of Information request, shows he was hired in 1990 as a bus driver after saying on his application that he liked working with children.

The personnel file includes details on his dismissal, approved by the school board last fall after he left his bus unattended for four hours.

Police identified the other two suspects as the 52-year-old's brothers, Pedro Castro, 54, and Onil Castro, 50.

A relative of the three brothers said their family was "as blindsided as anyone else."

Juan Alicea said he hadn't been to the home of his brother-in-law Ariel Castro since the early 1990s but had eaten dinner with him at a different brother's house shortly before the arrests Monday.

Lucy Roman lives next to a house she said is shared by Pedro Castro and his mother. She said police arrested him Monday night.

"I feel sorry for her," Roman said of the mother. "She's a very nice lady."

Several residents said they saw Ariel Castro at a candlelight vigil for the missing girls.

Antony Quiros said he was at the vigil about a year ago and saw Castro comforting Gina DeJesus' mother.

One neighbor, Francisco Cruz, said he was with Castro the day investigators dug up a yard looking for the girls.

Castro told Cruz, "They're not going to find anyone there," Cruz recalled.

Castro's Facebook page identifies him as a Cleveland resident and says he attended the city's Lincoln-West High School. His interests include Virginia Beach, the Chinese crested dog breed and Cuban-born salsa singer Rey Ruiz.

On April 11, he wrote to congratulate "my Rosie Arlene" and wish her a fast recovery from giving birth to "a wonderful baby boy. That makes me Gramps for the fifth time. Luv you guys!"

Associated Press writers Mike Householder, Thomas J. Sheeran, Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Cleveland and Meghan Barr and Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pa., contributed to this report.

Crash deaths in cases where drivers were on the phone are seriously underreported, according to a recent analysis of state and federal data by the National Safety Council, an advocacy group.

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Crash deaths in cases where drivers were on the phone are seriously underreported, according to a recent analysis of state and federal data by the National Safety Council, an advocacy group.

508distracted.JPGA driver talks on the phone in Montpelier, Vt. Crash deaths in cases where drivers were on the phone are seriously underreported, according to a recent analysis of state and federal data by the National Safety Council, an advocacy group. 

By JOAN LOWY

WASHINGTON — Seventeen-year-old Kelsey Raffaele's last words were over a cellphone to a friend: "I'm going to crash!" The car she was driving had clipped a snow bank and spun into oncoming traffic, where it was T-boned by an SUV. She died at a hospital without regaining consciousness.

Police chalked the accident up to mistakes made by a novice driver, unaware that she had been on the phone at the time. Her phone was found later in the back seat, and the possibility that distracted driving might have been a cause is missing from statistics kept by police and the federal agency that compiles crash data.

Crash deaths in cases where drivers were on the phone are seriously underreported, according to a recent analysis of state and federal data by the National Safety Council, an advocacy group. The underreporting makes the problem of distracted driving appear less significant than it actually is, and impedes efforts to win passage of tougher laws, the council says.

The group reviewed 180 fatal crashes from 2009 to 2011 in which there was strong evidence that the driver had been using a cellphone, in a study paid for in part by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.

Of the 2011 crashes, only half were coded in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's accident database as involving cellphone use, the study found. That was still better than previous years: Only 8 percent of the 2009 crashes examined were coded as involving cellphones, and 35 percent in 2010.

Even when drivers admitted to authorities that they were using a phone during an accident in which someone was killed, about half the cases weren't recorded that way in the database, the council said.

The safety administration's database shows more than 32,000 traffic deaths overall in 2011, the latest year for which complete data are available. But only 385 are listed as involving phones.

"We believe the number of crashes involving cellphone use is much greater than what is being reported," said Janet Foetscher, the safety council's president and CEO. "Many factors, from drivers not admitting cellphone use to a lack of consistency in crash reports being used to collect data at the scene, make it very challenging to determine an accurate number."

The safety administration's database is the bible of traffic crash statistics, but it depends on accident information gathered by states from police reports.

"Most people assume unknowingly that if it is federal data, it must be accurate," said John Ulczycki, the council's vice president.

The council's analysis found large variations among states in the reporting of phone-involved fatal crashes.

Tennessee, for example, reported far more fatal crashes involving cellphone use than any other state — 93 in 2011 and 71 in 2010. California, the nation's most populous state, reported only 22 fatal crashing involving cellphones each of those years. New York, which has three times as many people as Tennessee, reported only one cellphone-involved fatal crash in 2011 and 10 in 2010.

One reason for the underreporting is that unless a driver, passenger or witness tells police a cellphone was being used, officers who respond to crash scenes may have no reason to investigate that possibility. Police are usually required to get a subpoena in order to obtain cellphone records.

"Can you imagine going through a subpoena process just to check a box on a form when you already have someone for running a red light and causing a fatality?" said David Teater, the council's senior director of transportation initiatives.

Even when such records are obtained, they must align with the precise moment of the crash — a moment that isn't always known.

NHTSA has acknowledged weaknesses in its distracted driving data and says it's been working with states and police to strengthen reporting of accidents involving distracted driving. So far, 35 states have told the Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents state highway safety agencies, that they have adopted model accident reporting forms that include a box for officers to check whether cellphone use was involved.

Reluctance to admit the behavior, lack of witnesses, and in some cases the death of the driver all make it hard to collect full information, the agency says. "That's why we're working with states and law-enforcement agencies to add more precise categories to police reports," NHTSA Administrator David Strickland said in a statement.

508distract2.JPG This Nov. 3, 2011 file photo shows, from left, Brock Raffaele of Cadillac, Mich. and Sault High students Lauren Gee, Conner Langendorf, and Emma Harrington, taking the KDR Challenge and sign the banner as speaker Bonnie Raffaele, right, watches in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.. Seventeen-year-old Kelsey Raffaele's last words were over a cell phone to a friend: "I'm going to crash!" The car she was driving had clipped a snow bank and spun into oncoming traffic, where it was t-boned by an SUV. She died at a hospital without regaining consciousness. Police chalked the accident up to mistakes made by a novice driver, unaware that she had been on the phone at the time. 

Kelsey Raffaele's mother, Bonnie, began lobbying the Michigan state legislature for tougher restrictions on cellphone use by novice drivers a year after her daughter's death in January 2010. She said some legislators told her the problem wasn't that big, pointing to the federal data.

"Every time I testified I would tell them Kelsey's crash was not reported as cellphone use, and she's just one of thousands of other crashes that are not on the books ... as being cell-phone (related)," said Raffaele, of Sault Ste. Marie. "I would tell them, 'The statistics are much higher than you think they are.' "

Raffaele eventually won the changes she sought.

State laws are a patchwork. Ten states and the District of Columbia require hands-free phones if a driver is going to make calls. No state bans all cellphone use for all drivers, but 36 states and D.C. ban all cellphone use by novice drivers. Currently, 39 states and D.C. ban text messaging for all drivers. An additional 6 states prohibit text messaging by novice drivers.

The National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates accidents, has urged states to ban all drivers from texting, emailing or chatting on a cellphone behind the wheel except in emergencies, saying the practices are simply too dangerous to be allowed.

It may not be possible to ever get complete reporting of cellphone involvement as long as reliance on driver admission is a factor, the safety council said.

Instead, the council is urging NHTSA to study whether it's feasible to develop a way to estimate cellphone-distracted crashes. The government already makes national estimates on drunken-driving accidents where data are lacking.

Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, scarred by scandal, wins back congressional seat

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The comeback was complete when he defeated Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch, the sister of political satirist Stephen Colbert.

By BRUCE SMITH

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Former Republican South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford revived a scandal-scarred political career by winning back his old congressional seat Tuesday in a district that hasn’t elected a Democrat in three decades.

Sanford told a cheering crowd of more than 100 supporters after his election victory on Tuesday that he has experienced human grace as he came back from political scandal to rebuild his political career.

He said that, unless you experience God’s grace, you really don’t get it and he says he didn’t get it before when his career was sidelined by a scandal in which he admitted an extramarital affair.

The comeback was complete when he defeated Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch, the sister of political satirist Stephen Colbert. With 87 percent of the precincts reporting, Sanford had 54 percent of the vote.

Sanford, who turns 53 later this month, has never lost a race in three runs for Congress and two for governor. And he said before the votes were counted Tuesday that if he lost this race, he wouldn’t run for office again.

“I think you can go back in and you can ask for a second chance in a political sense once,” he said Tuesday after voting in the special election.

Sanford saw his political career disintegrate four years ago when he disappeared for five days, telling his staff he was hiking the Appalachian Trail. He returned to admit he had been in Argentina with his mistress – a woman to whom he is now engaged. Sanford later paid a $70,000 ethics fine, the largest in state history, for using public money to fly for personal purposes. His wife, Jenny, divorced him.

Green Party candidate Eugene Platt also ran.

Sanford’s 1st District, slightly reconfigured from the one he held for three terms in the 1990s, is strongly Republican and Mitt Romney took it by 18 points in last year’s presidential race. But Sanford had to battle against his own past indiscretions and a well-financed campaign mounted by Colbert Busch in which she outraised her Republican rival.

Three weeks before the special election, news surfaced that Sanford’s ex-wife had filed a court complaint alleging he was in her house without permission in violation of their divorce decree, leading the National Republican Congressional Committee to pull its support from the campaign. Sanford must appear in court Thursday on the complaint.

Sanford said he tried to get in touch with his ex-wife and was in the house so his youngest son would not have to watch the Super Bowl alone.

The seat became vacant when U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint resigned from his Senate seat late last year. Governor Nikki Haley then appointed the sitting congressman, Tim Scott, to fill DeMint’s seat.

Colbert Busch had said after she voted in Mount Pleasant, across the Cooper River from Charleston, that she felt positive and encouraged. But in the end, despite Sanford’s past being an issue for some voters, she was defeated.

Gabriel Guillard, 49, a massage therapist and teacher, said she liked Colbert Busch but would have voted for anyone but Sanford.

“I would do anything to make sure Mark Sanford doesn’t get back in because of his past behavior,” she said. “And I am so tired of South Carolina being a laughingstock. I’m so sick of it.”

Others didn’t let the past dictate. Marion Doar, 79 and retired from careers in the military and business, said he voted for Sanford.

“Sanford was a fine fellow,” he said. “He still is a fine fellow. Following his heart as he did was foolish but it happens.”

Sanford already has survived a 16-way GOP primary with several sitting state lawmakers and Teddy Turner, the son of media magnate Ted Turner. He also won the primary runoff. Colbert Busch defeated perennial candidate Ben Frasier with 96 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary.

Colbert Busch, 58, picked up the endorsement of The Post and Courier over the weekend. The Charleston newspaper called her “a welcome tonic” for those who suffer from “Sanford Fatigue – a malady caused by overexposure to all of the cringe-worthy details of his 2009 disgrace as governor, his ongoing efforts for redemption via the political process, his resurgent personal problems, etc.”

Sanford, despite losing national GOP support, picked up the endorsement of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a tea party favorite who is well-known in the district.


Longmeadow voters OK extra funds for schools, approve $57.5 million town budget at annual meeting

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Longmeadow voters vote on 30 articles during annual Town Meeting.

LONGMEADOW - Voters approved an amendment to the School Committee budget for $353,000 during the annual Town Meeting Tuesday night.

Article 6 asked voters to add additional funds to the School Committee in order to prevent 10 layoffs and other cuts. Voters discussed the article for over an hour, before approving it.

Select Board member Richard Foster, who voted against the amendment, said there are nearly $200 million in infrastructure needs in the town and the town has to start addressing those problems.

"All I want is balance," he said.

Superintendent of Schools Marie Doyle gave a small presentation highlighting the cuts that would happen if the amendment did not pass. She said initially the School Committee needed $1.4 million to pay for mandated programs and other needs. They made cuts and came to the Select Board with a $706,000 request, it was then reduced to $353,000.

While there will still be cuts, the amendment will prevent several cuts including the loss of two high school teachers, the elementary school instrumental music program, a middle school social studies teacher and others.

With the amendment voters approved a $57,518,610 fiscal 2014 budget.

Voters approved Article 9, which raises and appropriates the amount of $308,930, transfers from the employee benefits stabilization fund the sum of $353,070 and borrow $293,000 for the drainage issues on Woodside Road, Williams Street and Merriweather Drive.

Bill Degiulio, a resident on one of the streets said the streets have flooded over 50 times in the past 10 years that he has lived there. He said the water is storm water with animal feces, pesticides and trash.

"We have been trying to get this resolved for ten years," he said."The drains are undersized, outdated and you can clean the storm drains all you want and it will not alleviate the problem."

Voters approved Article 4 which uses $110,000 from the treasury to pay the interest on the $10 million borrowed to pay for the October 2011 storm damage. The town's share of the damage is $2.4 million of which the town has already paid $1.7 million.

Voters also approved article 5 which will use $200,000 from the town's operations stabilization fund to pay a portion of the October 2011 storm damage.

The meeting began at 7 p.m. and by 9:30 p.m, its had only gotten through 6 of the 30 articles.


More details coming on MassLive and in The Republican.

Thomas Foye appointed provisional lieutenant of Ludlow Police Department

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Foye has worked in the Detective Bureau for the past nine years.

foye.JPGThomas Foye 

LUDLOW - The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday voted 5-0 to appoint detective Sgt. Thomas Foye as provisional lieutenant of the Police Department, effective May 26.

Foye will take over the position left vacant by Lt. Paul Madera who has been appointed acting police chief when Police Chief James J. McGowan retires on May 24.

Permanent appointments will be made at a later date by the Board of Selectmen.

Madera said a full-time replacement will be needed for Foye in the Detective Bureau, but temporarily the position will be filled with an officer who will serve as a half-time sergeant and a half-time detective.

Foye was asked by selectmen about recommendations for any changes in the Police Department.

Foye said that in the future police work may be done through a mixture of police officers in marked cruisers as well as unmarked cars which are not as readily detectable by the public.

Foye said he is a graduate of an 11-week program run by the FBI National Academy.

He said he started the K-9 unit for the Police Department.

He has worked in the Detective Bureau for the past nine years.

Foye told selectmen that Ludlow under McGowan has a very stable Police Department which helps make Ludlow a great place to live.

“I hope to help keep Ludlow a great place to live where our parents can grow old and our kids can go to school and maybe settle in town some day,” he said.

Foye said that one of the reasons he applied for a supervisory role in the Police Department is that experienced police officers “need to train those behind us.”

With the number of felonies increasing, Police Departments need officers “who can work in the face of chaos,” Foye said.

Selectman Carmina Fernandes praised the town’s Police Department for “making the work of protecting the town look easy.”



Connecticut's Millstone nuclear power plant seeks permission to use warmer Long Island Sound water

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One operating unit was forced to shut for nearly two weeks last summer because water was warmer than the 75-degree limit.

HARTFORD – Connecticut’s nuclear plant has asked federal regulators for permission to use water that’s warmer than what forced it to shut last summer.

In an application submitted last Friday to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Millstone Power Station in Waterford asked to use Long Island Sound water at 80 degrees to operate two units. That’s up from 75 degrees.

One operating unit was forced to shut for nearly two weeks last August because water was warmer than the 75-degree limit. It was the first in the United States caused by rising water temperatures. Millstone is a subsidiary of Dominion Resources Inc.

A spokesman for the federal agency said that due to the colder winter, hot water will be less of a concern this summer than last year.

A decision is not due until 2014.

At Palmer forum, Mohegan Sun employees talk about working at the casino

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Two vendors also discussed the services they provide to Mohegan Sun.

PALMER — Gerald L. Chudy went to the "Working at and Working with Mohegan Sun" event Tuesday at Palmer High School because he's interested in becoming a vendor if the Connecticut company wins the lone Western Massachusetts casino license.

Mohegan Sun, which has long wanted to build a resort casino off Thorndike Street (Route 32) across from Massachusetts Turnpike exit 8, held the forum to let residents and business and community leaders know what it's like to work with and work for Mohegan Sun.

Mohegan employees who spoke included a card dealer, restaurant supervisor, cashier operations shift manager, hotel manager, director of corporate purchasing and a human resources executive. Vendors represented include All Star, a Sturbridge incentive marketing company, and B&G restaurant equipment and supplies of Pittsfield.

Chudy, who runs Chudy Oil in Three Rivers, introduced himself to Mohegan officials as an oil man and hardware store owner.

"I want to be able to supply them with what they need," Chudy said.

Paul F. Surprenant, Mohegan's director of corporate purchasing, said he's unsure of what kind of vendors Mohegan would need in Palmer just yet. While he expects there would be some overlap with the Connecticut operation, there also will be a need for new vendors.

"That's one of the reason why we're out here. So (vendors) can start working with us now," Surprenant said.

Retired teacher David E. Whitney, who was with Chudy, said he found it interesting to hear from the employees about what it's like to work there. Whitney plans to be involved with the movement to get the casino referendum passed in town.

Mohegan is competing with MGM Resorts International in Springfield and Hard Rock International in West Springfield for the casino license. A host community agreement, which will detail Mohegan's community impacts, is expected to be completed in July, and there has been talk about a September referendum.

Kevin P. Charron, a card dealer, said he left behind a teaching career in Norwich, Conn., to work at Mohegan. Five years ago, he started off working part-time on weekends and summers, and ended up leaving teaching. Now, he's attending pharmacy school, and said he's grateful to the company for working around his class schedule.

"The job has treated me well," Charron said.

Vanessa L. Galica, who is involved with pro-casino Palmer groups, said she is interested in working at Mohegan, maybe in slot operations.

"I like the fact that they promote from within," Galica said.

Derrick R. Williams, hotel manager VIP reception, and Maria D. Echevarria, cashiering operations shift manager, both have worked at Mohegan since it opened 16 years ago, and moved up with the company.

"I started out of high school. I didn't have a clear direction. I moved up very quickly," Echevarria said.

Mohegan Sun Massachusetts is projected to have approximately 3,000 employees.


Holyoke Community College considering arming campus police force to increase public safety

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HCC is considering arming its police force as a way of increasing campus safety and in particular police to respond to "a shooter in the classroom" scenario.

HOLYOKE - The Holyoke Community College Campus Safety Committee has scheduled a May 22 public hearing to hear opinions from the college community about a proposal to arm the campus police force as a way increase public safety.

The public hearing is planned for 1-2 p.m. in the Leslie Phillips Theatre. Students, faculty or staff who wish to comment at the meeting are asked to email to Karen Desjeans at kdesjeans@hcc.edu in advance. People may also submit statements in writing in advance of the forum.

According to a release from the college, its Board of Trustees is considering arming the college's nine full-time police officers as a way of increasing campus safety and in particular to prepare them to respond to "a shooter in the classroom" scenario.

HCC is patrolled continually by its nine-member police force, all of whom are graduates of the Massachusetts Criminal Justice Training Academy or the Massachusetts State Police Training Academy.

Trustee chairwoman Helen Caulton-Harris has appointed an ad hoc Campus Security Committee to study the proposal and to make a recommendation to the full board.

The emphasis on campus safety is getting a new look in response to what was termed as only "unfortunate current events."

In February, the entire HCC campus was placed on lock down by state and local police after it was reported to police that a 23-year-old Springfield man, Cameron Faniel, threatened to go there "and shoot up the place."

Faniel, of 383 Beacon Circle, denied a charge of bomb / hijack threat with serious public alarm during his arraignment Feb. 27 in District Court. He is awaiting trial.

Following campus shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007 and Northern Illinois University in 2008, a report titled "Campus Violence Prevention and Response: Best Practices for Massachusetts Higher Education" was presented to the state Department of Recommendation. One of the recommendations is that "sworn campus police officers should be armed and trained in the use of personal or specialized firearms."

At least seven state colleges and universities have armed police, including the University in Massachusetts at Amherst. In the last year, the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams and Framingham State University have opted to arm their campus police.

Palmer police arrest Stephen Saluti Jr. in connection with alleged break-ins

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Haley said police recovered electronics, credit cards, prescription medicine and jewelry.

PALMER — Police arrested a 30-year-old Knox Street man in connection with several house breaks in the downtown area, according to Detective Sgt. Scott E. Haley.

Armed with a search warrant, Haley said Palmer police and state police entered 11 Knox St. Tuesday morning and arrested Stephen M. Saluti Jr. on four counts of breaking and entering in the daytime with intent to commit a felony, receiving stolen property and larceny over $250.

Saluti denied the charges at his arraignment later that day in Palmer District Court. He was ordered held on $2,500 bail and will return to court June 10 for a pretrial conference.

Haley said police recovered electronics, credit cards, prescription medicine and jewelry. Items were traced back to two homes on Longview Street, one on Squire Street and another on High Street in the Thorndike section.

Saluti's home was searched after police received information, Haley said.


UMass Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy to speak at Amherst Town Meeting about funding consultant to look at community-campus issues

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This could be the first time a UMass chancellor has spoken at Town Meeting in Amherst.

UMass Amherst seals.jpg 

AMHERST – University of Massachusetts Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy will speak to Town Meeting May 15 in what could be a precedent setting event.

Harrison L. Gregg said he doesn’t remember such a visit in the 19 years he was moderator. Other members contacted said the same.

The chancellor will be speaking about his proposal to hire a consultant to look at community-campus issues.

Subbaswamy suggested that the university and town split the $60,000 estimated cost. Town Meeting is being asked to appropriate and transfer $30,000 from free cash to fund the town’s share of the cost.

That article will be considered on that night the chancellor speaks. Town Meeting began discussing the 45-article warrant Monday night but set the May 15 night to consider article 26 to ensure the chancellor was available. Unless the meeting schedules articles on specific dates, it’s impossible to predict when an article might be considered.

The chancellor sees the consultant as being able to assess community campus issues, look at ways to strengthen the neighborhoods bordering the university, and bolster the local economy.

"UMass Amherst is an engaged and committed member of the Amherst community," Subbaswamy said in a statement when he made the proposal last month. "Throughout the course of our 150 years of shared history, the university and Amherst have grown and flourished together. With success, new challenges inevitably arise. This proposal will help us engage in creative discussions about how to strengthen our partnership and address issues that concern all our us."

Town officials support the proposal as well. In its 7-0 endorsement, the Finance Committee stated that UMass and Amherst “have many shared interests and seeking ways to promote and enhance our relationship is critical to the well being of both. Our roles and responsibilities are best enhanced by a cooperative approach and this project begins a renewed effort to work together to achieve the best outcomes for all.”

Town Meeting meanwhile set May 20 as the night to consider article 29, which would establish the registration and permitting of residential rental properties. That article was developed based on the work of the Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods Working Group to look at ways to address housing issues.

The meeting also set May 22 as the date to hear article 38, a petition article addressing the issues of rental registration as well.

That proposal offers changes to the town’s article including removing parking regulations, which the petitioners believe should be addressed in a separate bylaw, that rental permits should be required only for units that are not-owner occupied and that permit fees should be based on the number of rental units rather than a single address.

Town Meeting meets at 7 p.m. at the Amherst Regional Middle School with sessions scheduled throughout the month.


Gov. Deval Patrick named commencement speaker at STCC graduation

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Gov. Patrick will deliver the main address at the Springfield Technical Community College commencement ceremony on May 30 at the MassMutual Center.

deval patrick speaking.jpgGov. Deval Patrick has been selected to deliver the main address at this year's Springfield Technical Community College commencement on May 30 at the MassMutual Center. 

SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Deval Patrick has been selected to deliver the main address at the Springfield Technical Community College commencement ceremony on May 30, the college announced.

The commencement is planned for 6:30 p.m. in the MassMutual Center. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

A release from the college cites Patrick as a champion of education in Massachusetts since his election in 2006, and for his funding of public education that resulted in the state being selected for a federal "Race to the Top" grant program that will bring in $250 million in federal grant money.

A native of Chicago, Patrick moved to Massachusetts at age 14 when he was awarded a scholarship to Milton Academy through A Better Chance, a Boston-based organization that aides academically talented minority students.

Patrick is also a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School.


Monson annual Town Meeting on Monday

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The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. and will feature 28 articles.

monson sign.jpg 

MONSON - The annual Town Meeting will be held Monday at Granite Valley Middle School and will feature proposals to hire a town planner, reduce the building inspector's hours, create a payment in lieu of taxes plan for a proposed solar project and change the way Finance Committee members are appointed when vacancies arise.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. and will feature 28 articles.

Town Administrator Gretchen E. Neggers said the town planner would work four days a week and be paid $43,414. The building inspector would go from five days a week to four, and that salary would change from approximately $55,000 to $43,676. She said the town planner will help plan for the town's future, and can help address what to do with the sprawling - and now vacant - Monson Developmental Center. And the town is still recovering from being struck by a tornado in 2011.

"The downtown area post-tornado remains a concern," Neggers said.

Voters will be asked to approve an agreement for payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT agreement), as negotiated by the Board of Selectmen with Cornerstone Power Monson, LLC, an affiliate of Hecate Energy Inc., for a planned solar facility on the Arooth property on Macomber Road

Neggers said if all three phases of the project are constructed, it will result in total revenue to the town over the next 25 years of $4.7 million, ranging from a low of $171,275 to a high of $206,919 annually. These payments include real estate taxes on the land. She said the amounts will be pro-rated if the entire project is not built or if subsequent phases are brought on line later than anticipated.

"The Board of Selectmen remain very supportive of this project and believe it will provide multi-faceted benefits to our community," she said. "It's a good deal for the town."

Neggers said the developer has said it will purchase the property from the Arooth family.

Another article asks voters to allow the selectmen and town moderator to make appointments to the Finance Committee when vacancies arise. Now, the Finance Committee fills the vacancies. Town Moderator Richard E. Guertin has said this would bring more accountability to the process.

Easthampton resident Robert Wales, who allegedly punched and attempted to strangle his mother, denies charges in Northampton District Court

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The suspect was held in lieu of $10,000 personal surety and ordered to stay away from his mother.

EASTHAMPTON — A 33-year-old Main Street man, who allegedly punched and attempted to strangle his mother Sunday afternoon, denied the charges in Northampton District Court.

Robert C. Wales, of 391 Main St., Apt. 110, was ordered held in lieu of $10,000 personal surety and ordered to return to court on June 14 for a pre-trial hearing, according to court documents.

Wales was also ordered to stay away from his mother. He was charged with attempted murder and assault and battery.

Police Chief Bruce McMahon told the Daily Hampshire Gazette that that the suspect’s mother called police shortly after 3:45 p.m. to report that her son was intoxicated and had attempted to kill her.

McMahon said the victim suffered abrasions and bruises on her neck and abrasions on the right side of her face. She was reportedly treated at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton and released.


Government data shows wide disparity in hospitals charges

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For the first time, the government is publicly revealing how much hospitals charge, and the differences are astounding: Some bill tens of thousands of dollars more than others for the same treatment, even within the same city.

509disparity.JPGMedical bills are spread out on the kitchen table of a cancer patient in Salem, Va. Hospitals across the country, and even within the same city, sometimes charge tens of thousands of dollars more for the same procedures, according to figures the government released for the first time Wednesday, May 8, 2013. 

By CONNIE CASS and LAURAN NEERGAARD

WASHINGTON — For the first time, the government is publicly revealing how much hospitals charge, and the differences are astounding: Some bill tens of thousands of dollars more than others for the same treatment, even within the same city.

Why does a joint replacement cost 40 times as much at one hospital as at another across the country? It's a mystery, federal health officials say.

"It doesn't make sense," Jonathan Blum, Medicare deputy administrator, said Wednesday. The higher charges don't reflect better care, he said.

And the amounts are too huge to be explained by obvious differences among hospitals, such as a more expensive regional economy, older or sicker patients, or the extra costs of running a teaching hospital, he said.

The average charges for joint replacement range from about $5,300 at an Ada, Okla., hospital to $223,000 in Monterey Park, Calif., the Department of Health and Human Services said. That doesn't include doctors' fees.

Hospitals within the same city also vary greatly. At Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, the average charge to treat a blood clot in a lung is $51,580. Down the street at NYU Hospitals Center, the charge for the same care would be $29,869.

At the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, the list price is $16,861.

That isn't necessarily what you pay.

Medicare pays hospitals on its own fee schedule that isn't based on the listed charges, Blum said. And insurance companies routinely negotiate discount rates with the hospitals.

But patients who are uninsured can be billed the full amount. And some with private insurance may find their share of the bill is inflated as a result of a hospital's higher charges, officials said.

Blum said the Obama administration hopes that releasing the information, at the website www.cms.gov, will help lead to answers to the riddle of hospital pricing — and pressure some hospitals to lower their charges.

The database also will help consumers shop around, he said.

The variations shouldn't be a surprise, since hospitals might violate antitrust regulations if they shared "proposed or negotiated rates" with each other, said Rich Umbdenstock, president of the American Hospital Association. Forty states do require or encourage hospitals to make some payment information publicly available, he said.

"The complex and bewildering interplay among 'charges,' 'rates,' 'bills' and 'payments' across dozens of payers, public and private, does not serve any stakeholder well, including hospitals," Umbdenstock said.

Consumer advocates said making the charges public is significant, even if most patients don't pay those rates.

"I think the point is to shame hospitals," said Chapin White of the nonprofit Center for Studying Health System Change.

Dr. David Goodman, co-author of the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care, said, "It does show how crazy the system really is, and it needs some reform."

Goodman argues that hospitals should be required to go further and post the charges that patients actually pay out-of-pocket, depending on what medical coverage they have. The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy has long found wide geographic variation in Medicare payments for the similarly ill, yet people who receive more expensive care don't necessarily receive better care. Sometimes hospitals just add tests or treatments they don't really need.

A hospital's charges are akin to a car dealership's "list price." Hospitals say they frequently give discounts to the uninsured — $41 billion in financial aid in 2011.

But some people pay full price, or try to afford it, because they don't know they can seek a discount, White said.

And even for those who do bargain, the listed charge "is the opening bid in the hospital's attempt to get as much money as possible out of you," he said.

At Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Md. — serving an affluent community at the gates of the National Institutes of Health — the average charge for simple pneumonia was $5,284. Compare that to $79,365 at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia.

The database lists the average charges for the 100 most common Medicare inpatient services at more than 3,000 hospitals. The prices, from 2011, represent about 60 percent of Medicare inpatient cases.

"Hospitals that charge two or three times the going rate will rightfully face scrutiny," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told reporters.

And consumers will get insight into a mystifying system that too often leaves them with little way of knowing what a hospital will charge or what their insurance companies are paying for treatments, Sebelius said.

Previously, the price information that the government collects from hospitals wasn't available to the average consumer, although the data could be purchased for uses such as research, officials said.

The department also is making $87 million in federal money available as grants to states to improve their hospital rate review programs, research why hospital charges vary so much, and get more information to patients.

Todd Park, an assistant to President Barack Obama on technology issues, said he envisions entrepreneurs creating apps to help consumers compare hospitals and researchers combing through the data to explain the cost differences.

"Transparent marketplaces are more competitive, and more competitive marketplaces drive down costs," Park told reporters at the White House. "And that's certainly the hope here."

Online:

CMS data: http://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/Medicare-Provider-Charge-Data/index.html

'Cramming': Feds get closer look at phony cellphone charges

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When a mysterious, unauthorized fee appears on your cellphone bill, it's called "cramming" and consumer advocates and regulators worry it's emerging as a significant problem as people increasingly ditch their landlines for wireless phones.

Cellphone Cramming_LaVa.jpgAn unidentified man talks on his cell phone in Augusta, Maine. When a mysterious, unauthorized fee appears on your cellphone bill, it's called "cramming" and consumer advocates and regulators worry it's emerging as a significant problem as people increasingly ditch their landlines for wireless phones. 

By JENNIFER C. KERR

WASHINGTON — When a mysterious, unauthorized fee appears on your cellphone bill, it's called "cramming" and consumer advocates and regulators worry it's emerging as a significant problem as people increasingly ditch their landlines for wireless phones.

The cramming fee is bogus and usually small, under $10 a month. It might be listed on your bill as a "premium service" or other generic-sounding charge. Cramming had long been a problem with traditional landline phones, but after pressure from lawmakers, regulators and others, some of the largest landline carriers last year said they would no longer allow third-party billing — where an outside company offers and then charges the landline customer for services like third-party email, faxing, and voicemail.

Now, the focus of concern is shifting to wireless phones and cramming.

"As people continue to use mobile phones as a payment option, this problem is likely to grow," says Malini Mithal, an assistant director in the financial practices division at the Federal Trade Commission. "It's just a new opportunity for fraudsters."

The commission held a daylong conference on the issue Wednesday with consumer advocates, wireless carrier representatives, and state and federal officials. The meeting came just weeks after the FTC lodged its first mobile cramming case, accusing a Georgia-based company, Wise Media, of bilking consumers out of millions of dollars for text messages with horoscopes, flirting tips and other information.

According to the agency, consumers across the country were signed up randomly for text services from Wise Media and charged $9.99 a month on their mobile bills, without their knowledge or permission. The text messages suggested people had subscribed to the service, but many consumers dismissed the texts as spam. People who responded and said they didn't want the service were charged anyway, the agency said.

The wireless industry says the Wise Media case isn't the norm and mobile carriers are closely vetting third-party vendors who offer services for ringtones and other products and then have charges placed on consumers' mobile bills.

"We have not seen a spike or trend in complaints to the agencies that reflects that this is a growing problem," said Michael Altschul, senior vice president and general counsel at CTIA-The Wireless Association, the main trade group for cellphone companies.

Altschul said the mobile carriers not only monitor who is placing charges on their bills, they also require consumers to verify any premium messaging services with a second text to confirm the charge is allowed. Even so, the commission and others are pressing wireless carriers to offer consumers the option to block third-party billing as a way to prevent cramming charges.

The FTC didn't have recent figures on the number of complaints from consumers about mobile cramming. But Kate Whelley McCabe, an assistant attorney general at the Vermont attorney general's office, says cramming complaints are often underreported anyway. She said many consumers don't even know these charges are appearing on their bills.

McCabe released a study at the FTC workshop showing that of the 802 consumers who returned surveys in Vermont, 60 percent reported that the third-party charges on their mobile telephone bills were unauthorized. More than 55 percent of the respondents also reported that they were not aware of any of the third-party charges until they were asked to review their bills. Nearly 80 percent said that prior to the survey, they were not aware that companies other than their telephone company could bill them for products and services on their mobile phone bills.

Not all third-party charges that might appear on a consumer's cell phone bill are fraudulent, however.

Charities often use message texts as a way to raise money by allowing consumers to use their mobile device to text a donation for storm relief, vaccinating children or other causes. Regulators on Wednesday did not raise concerns about charity texting, but instead focused on commercial messaging services.

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