The License Commission will take up the bar tonight for an unrelated matter in which an employee allegedly assaulted a patron with a gun.

Updates stories posted at 2:30 a.m. and 4:15 a.m.

SPRINGFIELD -- Duck's Place, the scene of a fatal shooting just after midnight Thursday, was already on the License Commission's agenda tonight for an April incident in which an employee allegedly assaulted a patron with a gun after that man attempted to steal his car.

Detectives, meanwhile, continue to probe the overnight shooting, which took the life of a 24-year-old Holyoke man. Police said the victim was shot multiple times around 12:03 a.m. at the bar’s outdoor patio at the rear of the building, located at the corner of State and Austin streets.

Police have yet to release the victim’s name. Witnesses told officers a heavyset man wearing a baseball cap, white T-shirt and jeans fired several gunshots before fleeing the scene. Additional descriptive information of the suspect has not been released.

The man’s death is the latest in a string of violent crime and other problems that have dogged the storied watering hole, once known as the Café and located at 1146 State St.

The incident is not the first homicide to have occurred there. Patrick Sheklude, a 30-year-old Willard Ave. man, died after being shot twice in the abdomen as he watched another man play a video game at the bar in the summer of 1991.

Drug busts, sales to underage drinkers and city license suspensions have also been a common thread running through the bar's history.

In 2004, Michael Pope, representing the Café during a pre-violation hearing held by the License Commission, said he himself had been stabbed in the bar the year before.

“I know I consider it a successful night when I get home alive. I know that neighborhood is completely and totally out of control,” said Pope, then promotions and security manager for the Café.

On Dec. 2, 2006, the bar -- then known as the Hideway -- was the scene of a double shooting. The License Commission responded by voting in March 2007 to suspend the Hideaway Lounge’s liquor license for three days. Former bar owner Tammy L. Table’s decision to address the problem by firing all workers on duty during the Dec. 2 shooting prompted the commission to issue that penalty instead of a longer suspension.

In 2009, a man was robbed and then shot behind the Hideaway.

In January, the License Commission set a mandatory midnight closing time when it approved a liquor license for the bar's latest incarnation. The all-alcohol license was issued for J.B. King, Inc., doing business as Duck’s Place.

J.B. King, Inc. was organized on Feb. 21, 2013. Located at 101 King St., its registered agent is James J. Bennett Sr.

A police report on the April 2013 assault, which the License Commission will review tonight, states that the incident began when a suspect stole either a patron or employee's car keys from inside the bar and was found outside trying to get inside the vehicle.

The owner of the vehicle, who had a valid license to carry a handgun, fired a warning shot in the air with his 9 mm pistol before eventually detaining the suspect until police arrived, according to the report.

The police report does not describe the owner of the vehicle as an employee of Duck’s Place. The license commission agenda, however, states that an employee assaulted a bar patron with a gun that night.

The vehicle's owner -- Anthony Pearson, 45, of 95 Fargo St. -- was charged with discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling and assault by means of a dangerous weapon. The alleged car thief, Barry Davis, 28, of 38 Brooks St., was charged with attempted larceny of a motor vehicle, possession of cocaine and larceny under $250.

A Troubled History
Below, a history of incidents involving the bar at 1146 State St., compiled from reports in the archives of The Republican. The bar operated for many years as the Charm Café.

Jan. 9, 1990: City police arrest a man inside the Charm Café and seize a small amount of crack cocaine and $637 in cash.

Aug. 3, 1991: Neighborhood resident Patrick Sheklude is shot and killed inside the Charm Café while watching another patron play a video game. The investigation is hampered by the fact that despite the presence of roughly 50 patrons in the bar at the time of the shooting, few witnesses come forward. Two men are eventually charged, with one convicted of manslaughter and another convicted of second-degree murder.

Aug. 6, 1991: In the wake of the Sheklude murder, City Council candidate Harold F. "Buddy" Langford calls on city officials to "tear up" the Charm Café's liquor license and shut the bar down. Standing next to a sign advertising the Charm as the "cleanest bar in town," Langford rails against the License Commission's inaction despite alleged widespread drug dealing inside and outside the bar. He tells a reporter: "The commission has got to get out in the neighborhoods, and get their heads out of the sand."

Dec. 3, 1991: In a hearing regarding the murder of Patrick Sheklude, the License Commission rules that the Charm Café is not responsible for the shooting because workers could not have anticipated the problem. Commissioners rule that the bar's owners are not guilty of running a disorderly establishment. "This could have happened in Friendly's," Commissioner James Kaufman says. In response to the ruling, Mayor-elect Robert T. Markel vows to seek the resignations of two long-time commissioners. Markel had attacked them in his campaign as lax in enforcing liquor license rules.

March 10, 1993: A 32-year-old city man accused of selling marijuana at the Charm Café is arrested at the bar after detectives allegedly find him in possession of 11 bags of marijuana. A search of his car by police yields an additional six bags of marijuana, 17 rocks of crack cocaine and $389 in cash.

March 29, 1994: A New York City man is shot three times after walking out of the Charm Café by a man who allegedly fired at a crowd of people.

April 10, 1995: Narcotics officers charge a patron at the Charm Café with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. At the time of the arrest, the bar is in the midst of appealing a 90-day license suspension due to "excessive drug arrests".

May 27, 1999: The Charm Café is fined $100 for selling tobacco to a minor.

July 20, 1999: The agenda for a meeting of the Upper Hill Community Council includes a discussion of complaints involving the Charm Café.

April 2, 2000: Fights inside and outside the Charm Café result in six arrests, several injuries, a report of shots fired and the confiscation by police of a .357 Magnum revolver reported stolen from Belchertown.

Sept. 25, 2001: The Charm Café is one of 40 bars, restaurants and variety stores in Greater Springfield raided in an operation targeting illegal video poker machines.

Sep. 28, 2001: James W. Fiore, who took over as manager of the Charm Café in 1999, lobbies the License Commission to drop a requirement to hire two police officers on Friday nights, telling commissioners he is planning to shift to a restaurant-bar atmosphere. "There is currently not a need for police officers, especially in light of the fact we are going more for a restaurant than a nightclub," Fiore tells the commission. The commission had, at one point, required the bar to have police officers on hand on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

Oct. 23, 2001: The Charm Café hosts a neighborhood meeting for residents and businesses concerned about drug activity in the neighborhood.

Oct. 26, 2001: Fiore is one of a number of Upper Hill residents and business owners participating in a vigil protesting drug activity in the area. "We've had a continued problem with drug sales on these four corners," Fiore tells a reporter, adding: "They stand out all night selling drugs and we need help. We're trying to turn the Charm Café into a restaurant now but a lot of people say, 'I don't want to walk through because of the drugs'."

July 2002-July 2004: Over a two-year period, the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission and the city suspend the bar's license a total of 27 days for various violations.

Sept. 6, 2003: A patron of the bar, now known as Peppers Nightclub, is shot and wounded as he is leaving the establishment. Police arrest two men in connection with the shooting. Owners had changed the name to Peppers without properly notifying the city.

Nov. 10, 2003: The Charm Café is included on a list prepared by the License Commission of 11 bars posing "housekeeping" problems for the city – for example, by advertising under names that aren't on file with the city or always being closed when commissioners make regular visits.

June 25, 2004: Two people are arrested at the bar for possession of marijuana. According to one detective's narrative report on the arrest, officers encountered "an overwhelming odor of marijuana" in the bar. "The entire interior of the establishment was blanketed in a smoky haze," the detective wrote. Officers make further marijuana arrests on July 2 and July 18.

July 29, 2004: A License Commission meeting addresses the unauthorized name change of the Charm Café. The bar's promotions and security manager tells the commission, "I know I consider it a successful night when I get home alive. I know that neighborhood is completely and totally out of control." Chairman Peter L. Sygnator tells a reporter he can't envision the bar's operators making enough improvements to prevent a license revocation.

Aug. 12, 2004: The License Commission votes 5-0 to revoke the license of The Charm Café because of repeated violations.

Dec. 2, 2006: Two men are wounded in a double-shooting inside the bar -- which, following the 2004 license revocation, has reopened as the Hideaway Lounge.

March 22, 2007: Citing the December double-shooting, the License Commission votes to suspend the Hideaway Lounge's liquor license for three days. A decision by the bar's owner to fire all workers on duty at the time of the shooting convinces the commission to vote for the shorter suspension, instead of a penalty of at least 30 days recommended by the police department.

May 26, 2009: A patron leaving the bar, now known as the State Street Café, is shot in the leg during a robbery.

Jan., 2013: New owners seek to reopen the bar as Duck's Place. The License Commission approves a liquor license but sets a closing time of midnight. Commission member Denise Kelcey offers the lone vote against the license, siding with representatives from American International College who attend the meeting and urge the commission to deny the license. The college officials tell commissioners there is no need for the bar, and raise concerns that the bar will continue to be a neighborhood trouble spot.

April 26, 2013: A patron or employee of Duck's Place who is a licensed gun owner foils the attempted theft of his vehicle outside the bar, firing a warning shot on State Street before eventually holding the suspect down until police arrive. The incident prompts a new review of the bar's standing with the License Commission. That hearing is scheduled for July 18, 2013.

July 18, 2013: Police respond to Duck's Place at 12:03 a.m. for a report of a shooting and find a 24-year-old Holyoke man who sustained multiple gunshot wounds. The man dies of his injuries.

Staff writers Conor Berry and Dave Canton contributed reporting to this post; assistant online editor Greg Saulmon contributed research.

Tim Maland, the president of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino New England, has been involved in the gaming industry since 1977.

WEST SPRINGFIELD — Tim Maland, the president of the recently created Hard Rock Hotel & Casino New England, once thought his future was in accounting.

A University of Arizona graduate with a CPA, Maland found himself in the '70s working for
the Las Vegas firm that audited Howard Hughes’ casinos. After a few years, some of his bosses migrated over to the casino business at the Tropicana after it was taken over by Ramada, and Maland soon followed.

He has been involved with casinos since 1977.

Maland, 59, recently joined Hard Rock Hotel & Casino New England, which was created by Hard Rock International to oversee the development of an $800 million destination resort casino it would like to build at the Eastern States Exposition fairgrounds. If West Springfield voters authorize a casino to be built in their city and the state awards a license to Hard Rock, Maland will stay on in the area to run the new operation.

He comes to West Springfield from his job as general manager of MontBleu, a hotel-casino on Lake Tahoe.

“This had all the challenges you could imagine in a project,” he said during a recent interview at the headquarters of the Eastern States Exposition. “I needed a personal challenge and needed to make a change.”

Among the challenges he cited are the need to win a casino license from the state. Many states like Mississippi, Nevada and New Jersey are free market and do not require casino operators to compete with each other for licenses as is the case in Massachusetts, according to Maland.

In Massachusetts, the state Gaming Commission is expected to award one casino license in Western Massachusetts. In addition to Hard Rock’s venture, there are competing proposals on the table in Western Massachusetts to build one casino each in Springfield and Palmer.

Maland said he strongly believes a Hard Rock casino on the grounds of the Big E could be successful and the partnership would help the Big E. If it gets approval for a casino here, Hard Rock will rent about 38 acres of the approximately 175-acre campus the exposition has as its fairgrounds off Memorial Avenue.

Hard Rock has agreed to work with the exposition in booking trade shows and entertainment. Maland also said the site at the fairgrounds is ideal for development as it is flat and unoccupied. The casino complex has been proposed for land at the fairgrounds’ Gate 9 entrance near Circuit Avenue.

Working in gaming has become somewhat of a tradition in Maland’s family. His wife, Donna Eliakis Maland, has worked in the field many years, including having been director of the front office at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, N.J.

Maland has been chief financial officer with Starwood Hotels & Resorts at the 2,460-room Caesars Palace in Las Vegas; president of the Reno Hilton Hotel and Casino in Nevada, and executive vice president at Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City. He has also served as director of the Nevada Commission on Tourism, where he promoted tourism and drove regional tourism efforts.

Parents are being urged to read the handbook of students' rights and responsibilities.

Republican file photo 

CHICOPEE – When students return to school in September, one of the first things they will be handed is the new 92-page discipline code – now called the "students' rights and responsibilities" book.

Sharon M. Nowrocki 

The School Committee, which has been working on modifying the book for months, approved it in a unanimous vote last week.

As is tradition, every child will be given one to take home.

“I would like to urge parents to read this,” School Committee member Sharon M. Nawrocki said. “There are things in here parents need to know.”

While the discipline code usually stays the same year to year, there are more than 20 changes that have been made this year that will affect students and their parents. Changes were made in areas including physical examination requirements, identification policies for school visitors, release of student information and home tutoring for chronically ill students.

There are entirely new policies on Internet safety, animals in school, concussion and head injuries received in athletics, home education and anti-harassment procedures for transgender students.

A number of changes were made to meet state law, School Committee memberMichael J. Pise said.

“It will be a good source of information,” Pise said, adding it gives parents a clear overview of what is expected of students.

This is also the first year the schools will allow parents to register online for all athletic programs, which will save paper and make it easier to manage and collect all the necessary documents. Instructions on how families can complete the process online are included in the handbook.

The high schools are also trying a new cell phone policy this year which will allow students in grades nine through 12 to make phone calls and text during their lunch periods and only in designated areas. Previously cell phones were banned during school hours in every building.

The policy was created this year after the Student Advisory Council researched the idea and lobbied the School Committee. It is a pilot program that will be allowed for four months and then reviewed by school officials who will decided if it should continue.

The average family would pay an additional $19 per year if the Community Preservation Act is approved.

 

LUDLOW - The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday voted to place an article on the October 7 special Town Meeting warrant which would ask voters to act on the spring town election ballot to adopt a 1 percent Community Preservation Act tax on residents’ property tax bills.

The first $100,000 of property value would be excluded from the tax. Residents who qualify as low income and seniors who qualify as moderate income would be exempted from the tax.

Angie Tierney, a member of the Community Preservation Act Committee, said the funds collected from the tax could be used for open space preservation, rehabilitation of athletic fields and playgrounds, renovation of community housing and historical preservation.

“There are things the town has needed to fix,” Tierney said. She gave as an example the fence around Haviland Pond which the town just paid to have repaired.

Raymond Phoenix, a member of the Community Preservation Act Committee, said the state is expected to match the funds spent from the surcharge at a 40 percent rate.

Phoenix said the town has school playgrounds which are failing safety standards and need to be rehabilitated.

Phoenix said in his opinion having some funds available to help pay for town projects which are needed will help to stabilize the tax rate.

The town tried to pass the Community Preservation Act 10 years ago and failed.

This year, proponents are proposing a 1 percent tax instead of the 3 percent tax proposed 10 years ago, Phoenix said.

“We will present the pros and cons at Town Meeting,” Tierney said.

Tierney said her committee has calculated that the average family in Ludlow would pay an additional $19 per year if the Community Preservation Act is approved.

Curtatone has been mayor of Somerville for the past decade.

SOMERVILLE — Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone has confirmed he's considering running for governor, a move that could add another candidate to an already crowded Democratic primary race.

Curtatone told reporters Thursday that he has no firm timetable for making a decision, but said he's confident he has more than enough skills to do the job of governor.

If he jumps into the race Curtatone, who has been mayor of Somerville for the past decade, would add one more name to a burgeoning Democratic field.

State Treasurer Steven Grossman said Saturday that's he'll be a candidate for the state's top political office next year.

Other announced Democratic candidates include state Sen. Dan Wolf from Cape Cod, Newton pediatrician Don Berwick and former Wellesley selectman Joseph Avellone.

Attorney General Martha Coakley also said she's "definitely thinking about" running.

Selectman Manuel Silva said he would like to see the next sergeant promoted from within the department.

LUDLOW — Selectman Brian Mannix said he would like to see the board call for an “open, competitive Civil Service exam” for police sergeant.

Mannix said he would like to see an exam held that is not limited just to candidates from the Ludlow Police Department. In the past 10 years, very few Ludlow applicants have passed the Civil Service sergeant’s exam, Mannix said.

Selectmen Chairman William Rooney said he wants an opinion first from Civil Service regarding if an open exam is given, whether selectmen will be required to hire a sergeant from that list. Selectmen said they would prefer to hire the next sergeant from the Ludlow Police Department.

Selectman Manuel Silva said, “I would rather see us hire from within. We’ve got good candidates. I would rather not bring in an outsider.”

Mannix said he would prefer to promote a Ludlow police officer if there is one who passes the Civil Service test. But he said members of the department do not have a good track record in the past 10 years of passing the Civil Service exam.

Mannix is a retired Ludlow police sergeant.

“What if no-one passes?” Mannix asked.

This month selectmen approved the appointment of patrolman Mark Witowski to the position of provisional sergeant in the Police Department. Witowski, who has served the department as a full-time police officer for 27 years, said he does not plan to apply for the permanent position.

Mannix said the town could have three or four police sergeant openings in the next five years. He said he does not want to see a long string of provisional appointments.

Mannix said it can take two years for a Civil Service test to be scheduled and for the results to be received in Ludlow. “If we have more slots to fill, I want them to be filled by permanent personnel,” he said.

State police will periodically return to the pond for training and to continue to the search.

BECKET -- State police from Massachusetts and New York Thursday have concluded their third day of searching Greenwater Pond for any remains of James “Jamie” Lusher without finding any evidence connected to the case.

The 16-year-old was last seen in Westfield on Nov. 6, 1992. He had taken off on his new mountain bike to visit his grandmother’s house in Blandford.

Officials announced on Monday that convicted serial child murderer Lewis S. Lent Jr., who is serving a life sentence in New York, has admitted to killing Lusher. Lent told authorities he left the boy’s body in the Becket pond.

Jamie’s father, James Lusher, spoke briefly at a press conference at about 2:30 p.m. He started by thanking all the law enforcement agencies that had worked in an attempt to recover his son.

“It is quite honestly amazing to me,” Lusher said. “These are awesome, excellent people who don’t just do it because it’s a job. We are realistically optimistic that something will turn up.”

Lusher also thanked the media for respecting the family’s privacy and “giving us our space and distance.”

Jamie’s sister, Jennifer Nowak of Westfield, also spoke. “This has been the most amazing thing I have ever seen,” she said. “Now when I go down the Mass Pike there is a place I can blow him a kiss. We believe this is his final resting place.”

Lusher added, “(Lent) unwittingly placed my son in a place my son would love.” The father said he now has a specific spot where “I can talk to him.”

In a statement to the media Thursday morning, Massachusetts State Police Superintendent Col. Timothy P. Alben said the search, covering an area of the pond about the size of a football field, had been like looking for a needle in a haystack. But, Alben said, "Frequently in this business we find a needle in a haystack."

Divers on Thursday worked in 30-minute shifts in water 35-feet deep that was about 44 degrees Fahrenheit, Alben said. With little visibility at that depth, divers were mostly searching by hand.

David Procopio, a spokesman for the Massachusetts State Police, has said state police divers will return to the pond for training and to continue their search. He asked that people who use the lake report any unusual or personal items found in the water. Divers had been searching for either skeletal remains or items like clothing and shoes that might not have decayed in the two decades since Lusher went missing.

Despite the fact that the three-day search was drawing to a close, Alben said: "We are not abandoning our operation here. We are going to look at some new technology."

Learn about a possible cure for those itchy bug bites, or hear about the bears in P'town this week.

• Parents in India bemoan deaths of 23 children in school lunch poisoning [CNN]
  

• If you don't want people to know how old you are don't use this social media tool [Time]
  
• New treatment promises to end itchy bug bites [NECN]
  
• Justin Bieber fever expected to bring in traffic nightmare [Hartford Courant]
  
• STCC closes early due to heat [WWLP-TV, 22News, Chicopee]
  
• Immortalizing the first Civil War black regiment [WBUR-FM, Boston]
  
• 'Bears' seen in Provincetown this week [Cape Cod Times]
  
• Healthiest colleges in the U.S. listed [Boston Globe]
  
• Twitter posts tagged #westernma in Western Mass. [Masslive.com]
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Frank Glenowicz said he assumed he was thanking state Rep. Thomas M. Petrolati, D-Ludlow, for a probation appointment.

Christopher HoffmanFile photo 

WORCESTER - Frank Glenowicz, now acting probation chief in Franklin Superior Court in Greenfield, testified Thursday he was told to thank state Rep. Thomas M. Petrolati, D-Ludlow, for his appointment as an assistant chief probation officer.

Glenowicz told a jury in U.S. District Court here that he later did thank Petrolati and he "assumed" he was thanking him for help in securing the assistant chief job. He was not asked who told him to thank Petrolati.

Glenowicz took the witness stand in the trial of Christopher J. Hoffman, acting chief of the Hampshire Superior Court Probation Department.

Hoffman is on trial on charges of witness tampering, which allege he made certain comments to his employee, Maureen Adams, while the FBI was investigating the probation department. The trial is before U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman.

Hoffman's first trial ended in a mistrial when the jury could not reach a verdict.

Glenowicz and his family were friends with the the state's then-deputy probation commissioner, William H. Burke III, according to his testimony..

A probe of the Probation Department statewide resulted in charges of conspiracy, fraud and bribery against former probation commissioner John J. O'Brien, Burke and second deputy commissioner Elizabeth V. Tavares. All three have denied the charges and are awaiting trial.

No legislators have been charged.

Glenowicz has a grant of immunity from the prosecution that protects him from having his testimony in this trial used against him in a criminal proceeding.

The prosecution called Laurie Clark, a District Court probation officer and friend of Adams. Clark said Adams told her Hoffman said Adams should not be a rat. That was after the FBI contacted Adams to set up an interview with her.

Clark said Adams was alarmed by the comment.

After the prosecution rested, the first defense witness called by Vincent A. Bongiorni, Hoffman's lawyer, was Francine Ryan, Western Massachusetts regional supervisor for probation.

Ryan, of East Longmeadow, testified about a directive that issued orders to tighten procedures and institute new policies after a state report was released in connection with the investigation into the Probation Department.

Ryan is the daughter of the late longtime Hampden District Attorney Matthew J. Ryan Jr.

The 2010 report by lawyer Paul F. Ware Jr., of Boston, concluded that former probation commissioner John J. O'Brien and his top lieutenants operated a hiring system that was rigged in favor of politically connected candidates mostly recommended by current and former state lawmakers.

When Fisher was cross-examining Ryan, a defense witness, he asked if she knows Burke hand selected Hoffman for acting assistant chief.

"I believe so," Ryan said. Burke did not consult her about any recommendations he made, she said.

Bongiorni called Denise McCarthy, a probations operation supervisor, to the stand. She said she and Adams were friends and walked together.

McCarthy said she heard the conversation Hoffman had with Adams after Adams was interviewed by the FBI. Adams was crying in her office. Hoffman went in.

McCarthy said Hoffman was joking around with Adams and he said, "Maureen, Maureen, everyone is going to think you're a rat for talking to the FBI."

Adams was laughing and crying, McCarthy said. McCarthy thought Hoffman was joking.

Hoffman is on suspension from his post.

The trial continues Friday.
.

The new CEO also said he was proud of his work leading the Hoboken hospital and eager to be in Holyoke.

HOLYOKE — The new boss at Holyoke Medical Center pledged his vision for the hospital will include working with the public schools, such as a collaboration with the city's vocational school and scholarships.

"I think it's not (just) a nice thing to do, it's a must do," Spiros Hatiras, president and chief executive officer, told The Republican and MassLive.com Thursday at the hospital.

His previous job leading the city-owned Hoboken University Medical Center in New Jersey will help him in this community, said Hatiras, 48.

"Here I think you can form really good partnerships and relationships," he said.

Hatiras also addressed criticism aimed at him for getting a $600,000 payout less than three weeks before the Hoboken hospital filed for bankruptcy in 2011 and praised the work of Holyoke Medical Center staff and predecessor Hank J. Porten, citing its top-ranked stroke care.

Hatiras declined to reveal what his yearly salary will be. It will be similar to what other community hospital executives are paid in Massachusetts, he said, but less than the $771,363 in salary and $13,517 in benefits Porten received in the fiscal year ending Sept. 20, 2011, according to state records.

He understands the interest in hospital CEO compensation and especially in a poor community like Holyoke, where the median per capita income is about $20,000, he said. But he said discussion should be about his plans here.

"I'm not comfortable putting that out there because people focus on that. It doesn't matter what I make. My kids don't know what I make, so I don't want that in the newspaper," Hatiras said.

Mayor Alex B. Morse said in remarks to The Republican and MassLive.com he would like to see partnerships between the hospital and Dean Technical High School, as well as a program of scholarships and grants for the schools.

Hatiras said he wants to explore such collaborations, which he has experience with in Hoboken. He has already spoken about the city's large Hispanic population with City Councilor Anthony Soto, he said.

The hospital's job also is to make sure it helps a poor community with health issues like diabetes and obesity, he said.

"What I really want to do is have an impact on the community," Hatiras said.

Hatiras stepped down as chief executive of Hoboken University Hospital on July 16, 2011 after two years on the job. His severance package included $600,000 in compensation and full medical benefits for a year, according to The Star-Ledger.

The hospital filed for bankruptcy in a chain of events that "bitterly divided the community," according to The Star Ledger. A labor union official said that with the bankruptcy jeopardizing workers' health benefits, such a pay package to Hatiras was "clearly out of whack."

Hatiras said he didn't comment at the time because he was bound by non-disclosure agreements, which recently expired.

"I'm extremely proud of what I did in Hoboken," Hatiras said. "What I did in Hoboken, at the risk of being immodest, was I saved Hoboken."

Priscilla Mandrachia, chairwoman of the Holyoke Medical Center board of trustees, said a key reason the board chose Hatiras from among the six candidates who visited the hospital was the financial turnaround he engineered at the Hoboken hospital.

Hatiras' contract in Hoboken was set to expire five months after he left, and the contract called for a severance payment only in the event the hospital terminated the contract. When officials told him they planned to file for bankruptcy, he refused to go along, he said.

"I had no other alternative plans for employment. The severance payment was part of my contract. I wasn't planning to resign," Hatiras said.

The Stroke Collaborative Reaching for Excellence, a group affiliated with the Department of Public Health, ranked Holyoke Medical Center No. 1 in stroke care among 58 hospitals in the state.

Part of his job will be to spread the word about the hospital's good work, Hatiras said.

"There's actually a lot of things that they do very well here," Hatiras said.

Holyoke Medical Center has a staff of 1,324, including 300 physicians, and a payroll of $73.4 million, according to an IRS 990 form filed in August 2012. The emergency department handles 45,000 visits a year.

Reflecting the poor community, 73 percent of the hospital's patients receive Medicare, Medicaid or another government payer benefit, according to state records. The hospital's annual operating budget is $124 million, spokeswoman Nancy A. Coley said.

Hatiras said he has been in the city for five or six days. He is leasing a home here and eventually will move his wife Gwen and their two children from New Jersey to Holyoke, he said.

"It's amazing. It's a great community. I love it. I just want people to know I consider myself to be very lucky," Hatiras said.

According to the news release about the Holyoke appointment, Hatiras was previously chief operating officer of NIT Health in New York.

He is certified in health care management by the American College of Healthcare Executives. He has a master's degree in health care management from New York University and a bachelor's degree in physical therapy from the Athens Institute of Technology in Athens, Greece.

Highway construction has been causing delays in the area since October 2012.

HOLYOKE - The Interstate 91 southbound on-ramp off of Lower Westfield Road is scheduled to reopen early Friday, a state official said Thursday.

"The ramp will be open (Friday) morning by the morning commute," said Michael Verseckes, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.

Work on the ramp near the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside has been part of a $14.8 million rehabilitation of 16 bridges along a five-mile stretch of Interstate 91 north and south between Holyoke and West Springfield. It began in October 2012 and is scheduled to be done mid-June 2015.

SPS New England, of Salisbury, is the contractor, he said.

The Senate has approved Gina McCarthy to head the Environmental Protection Agency, hours after it also approved a new secretary of labor.

By ALAN FRAM, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has approved Gina McCarthy to head the Environmental Protection Agency, hours after it also approved a new secretary of labor.

McCarthy was approved 59-40. Minutes earlier, senators voted 69-31 to overcome Republican objections against her nomination, nine votes more than are needed to end filibusters.

McCarthy has headed the agency's air pollution office since 2009. Democrats consider her to be a longtime environmental champion. Republicans say she has helped write regulations that hurt the economy.

Among her past bosses: former Massachusetts governor and Obama's Republican presidential opponent Mitt Romney, for whom she was a special adviser on climate and environmental issues.

Since coming to Washington in 2009, McCarthy has been the most prominent defender of EPA policies. As the head of the air pollution division, she has been behind many of the agency's most controversial new rules — from placing the first limits on greenhouse gases on newly built power plants to the first-ever standard for toxic mercury pollution from burning coal for electricity.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, has been one of McCarthy's biggest advocates in the Senate, chastising Republicans for blocking her confirmation since January.

Earlier Thursday, the chamber confirmed Thomas Perez to lead the Labor Department on a 54-46 party-line vote.

The Senate has filled four top Obama administration posts this week. The progress followed a bipartisan deal on Tuesday that freed the nominations for votes and saw Democrats halt efforts to weaken the minority GOP's powers.

The company, which has a game factory in East Longmeadow, also announced KRE-O Cityville invasion and and new building sets based on Star Trek and GI Joe and Transformers.

Photo provided 

SAN DIEGO - Hasbro Inc. used the massive Comic-Con International in San Diego, to announce an expansion of its KRE-O brand of construction toys to include the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.

The company, which has a game factory in East Longmeadow, also announced KRE-O Cityville invasion and and new building sets based on Star Trek and GI Joe and Transformers.

Comcion, which runs this week, has morphed from a comic-book convention to a giant festival of popular culture.

Detroit on Thursday became the largest city in U.S. history to file for bankruptcy, as the state-appointed emergency manager filed for Chapter 9 protection.

DETROIT (AP) — Detroit on Thursday became the largest city in U.S. history to file for bankruptcy, as the state-appointed emergency manager filed for Chapter 9 protection.

Kevin Orr, a bankruptcy expert, was hired by the state in March to lead Detroit out of a fiscal free-fall and made the filing Thursday in federal bankruptcy court.

A number of factors — most notably steep population and tax base falls — have been blamed on Detroit's tumble toward insolvency.

Detroit lost a quarter-million residents between 2000 and 2010. A population that in the 1950s reached 1.8 million is struggling to stay above 700,000. Much of the middle-class and scores of businesses also have fled Detroit, taking their tax dollars with them.

Orr was unable to convince a host of creditors, the city's union and pension boards to take pennies on the dollar to help facilitate the city's massive financial restructuring.

He laid out his plans in June meetings with debt holders, in which his team warned there was a 50-50 chance of a bankruptcy filing.

Some creditors were asked to take about 10 cents on the dollar of what the city owed them. Underfunded pension claims would have received less than the 10 cents on the dollar under that plan.

A team of financial experts put together by Orr said that proposal was Detroit's one shot to permanently fix its fiscal problems.

If the bankruptcy filing is approved, city assets could be liquidated to satisfy demands for payment.

Detroit's budget deficit is believed to be more than $380 million. Orr has said long-term debt was more than $14 billion and could be between $17 billion and $20 billion.

The state PAC, NewMassPlaybook, will focus on increasing Republican participation in races for municipal office, particularly in urban areas, including Springfield.

A Republican consultant is forming a new political action committee to try to boost GOP candidates’ chances in local races in Massachusetts.

The state PAC, called NewMassPlaybook, will focus on increasing Republican participation in races for municipal office, particularly in urban areas, including Springfield.

“We have to do a better job reaching out to new voters - urban professionals, college graduates or students, minority voters, to grow the big tent,” said PAC chairman Dean Cavaretta. “Our point of view is we have no choice. We have to realize some of our changing demographics, take chances, have frank, honest discussions with people.”

The new PAC’s creation comes as Massachusetts Republicans are regrouping after a string of defeats, including losses in U.S. Senate races in 2012 and 2013 and the gubernatorial race in 2010. The state GOP must prepare for the next major election, in November 2014, when the governor’s office and other statewide offices will be up for grabs. One persistent criticism among many in the state Republican Party is that the party has fielded candidates for top offices, but has not created a farm team of potential candidates who can work their way up through the political ranks.

That is something Cavaretta hopes to change. In the short-term, he said the PAC wants to recruit and help candidates in municipal races for school board, selectman, city council and mayor. He said that will compliment efforts at the state party to recruit candidates for legislative offices. Looking ahead, he said, “Maybe a municipal candidate we field this year would become a good state representative candidate next year.”

Political consultant Dean Cavarettawebsite of Dean Cavaretta 

Cavaretta, of Stow, was a consultant for the Massachusetts Republican Party during the 2013 special election for U.S. Senate. He ran for the state Senate in 2012 and was deputy campaign manager for Republican Karyn Polito’s 2010 state treasurer campaign. Neither of those campaigns were successful. He ran for Republican Party chairman in January, but withdrew his candidacy after failing to gain enough support.

The PAC’s other officer is treasurer Clay Evans, a recent college graduate from Nantucket.

Cavaretta said he decided to go public now to try to recruit more activists and raise money. Cavaretta said the PAC has gotten some private donations. It will hold its first fundraiser July 25 in Malden, followed by an event with 2010 auditor candidate Mary Connaughton in August. Cavaretta said he plans to focus on cities such as Springfield, Boston and Worcester, though he has not yet recruited staff in Springfield.

The name of the PAC was inspired by a website, NewMassPlaybook.com, which is run by Cavaretta and Malden Republican activist and public relations professional David D’Arcangelo. On the site, they argue that the state GOP needs a “new playbook” that will unify Republicans and build a base of activists to compete in the heavily Democratic state. The site argues that Republicans must reach out in urban areas; train and reduce turnover among political operatives; and invest more money in local candidates. (D’Arcangelo is not involved in the PAC due to campaign finance rules.)

Cavaretta said the PAC will reach out to local civic and religious groups and at neighborhood meetings and will talk to people about the Republican philosophies of less government, personal freedom, school choice, and local control of curriculum decisions and of property taxes.

One area where state Republican are often divided is on social issues, such as abortion and gay marriage. Asked whether the GOP group would talk about these issues, he said that falls under “personal freedom,” but he would “rather focus on issues that unite conservatives.”

Paul Moore, a long-time Republican political strategist, said he thinks Cavaretta’s idea is a solid concept that can help find better candidates and “develop a message tailored to what people actually feel and need.” Moore, who managed 2012 congressional candidate Richard Tisei’s campaign and former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan’s 2013 Senate campaign, said the Massachusetts Republican Party too often has “simply handed the reins over to candidates with thick wallets.”

“The closer our candidates are to 'what's happening on the ground,' the better they'll be,” Moore said. “Combining effective candidate recruitment with relevant, effective messaging is a winning combination….We need candidates who are very close to the ground and understand the dire economic circumstances so many people find themselves in."

Tim Buckley, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Republican Party, said party chairwoman Kirsten Hughes has been pushing the party to recruit, train and assist candidates at a local level since she took office in January. “It’s good to see more people out there with the same shared goal,” Buckley said. “We welcome anyone and everyone if they’re working for responsible, representative, smaller government and lower taxes.”

Patrick promised to veto the transportation bill in its current form, if the Senate on Thursday passes the same bill as the House did on Wednesday.

BOSTON - Gov. Deval Patrick vowed on Thursday to veto a version of a transportation funding bill that the Massachusetts House passed Wednesday and the Senate is considering on Thursday.

“If the bill comes to me the way it came to me in the first place, I’m going to veto it,” Patrick told reporters after an event at the future site of Greentown Labs in Somerville. “Like I said before, it’s wrong to say to the public, we’re sending you an $800 million solution that is not in fact an $800 million solution.”

Patrick, a Democrat, had proposed an amendment to a transportation bill passed by the legislature. His amendment would raise the gas tax by 3 cents to compensate for the $135 million in revenue that is expected to be lost when tolls on the Massachusetts Turnpike west of Route 128 are set to expire in 2017.

The House voted down that amendment. Instead, the House voted to keep its original package that would raise $500 million a year this fiscal year and about $800 million a year by 2018 by increasing the gas tax, the cigarette tax and the tax on cigars and smokeless tobacco and imposing the state sales tax on certain software services. On Wednesday, it added an amendment listing when certain taxes will go into effect and clarifying the intent of the Legislature on certain taxes.

Patrick says the legislature’s plan would not actually raise $800 million without his amendment.

The House rejected the governor’s amendment by a veto-proof majority, 121 to 31.

But the governor said the House bill is not satisfactory. “We have $130 million of uncertainty in a bill which, even at $800 million, does not meet all of our needs,” Patrick said Thursday.

When the House came up with its plan, Patrick said, “There’s no indication what they were thinking of spending that money on, which projects are in, which projects are out.”

Speaking before the Senate vote, Patrick said he had met with some senators to come up with “some alternative ways to plug the hole” in the bill. But he indicated that there was no clear solution.

“We’re dealing with unquestionably an uphill political climb, but we’ll see what happens in the Senate,” Patrick said. “I won’t say that coming out of that we have a clear path forward, but they’re caucusing after that meeting and we’ll see.”

Patrick said even if the Senate passes the House bill with a veto-proof majority, he will not reconsider his intention to veto it. Once a final bill is passed, he said he will then have the conversation about what can and cannot be funded with the money.

Either funding plan, Patrick said, would take the state “a big step further” than it was before he made the initial transportation funding proposal. “We’re talking about the difference between $630 million and $800 million in new transportation investments. That’s not zero,” he said. “It’s not like we have nothing to show for nearly a year’s work.”

Staff writer Dan Ring contributed to this report.

The Fire Department will endorse the Holyoke Early Literacy Campaign.

HOLYOKE -- Parents that get child safety seats installed for free at the fire department will soon also get a free book to read to their children.

The department will formally endorse the city's Early Literacy Campaign Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Fire Department headquarters, 600 High St., a department press release said.

"Beginning on Aug. 1, parents will also receive a free book for parents to read to their children and a letter from (Fire Chief John A. Pond) congratulating them on keeping their children safe and reminding them why reading to their children is so important," the department wrote in a press release.

The city police department endorsed the program in April.

The Holyoke Early Childhood Literacy Task Force supports the goal adopted by the Holyoke School Committee that 85 percent of all Holyoke children be proficient readers by the end of third grade by 2014. Building on the success of past initiatives and the current work within the Holyoke Public School System, the Early Literacy Campaign focuses on establishing a city-wide understanding of the importance of literacy, according to the city website.

In September, Mayor Alex Morse announced that Andrew L. Melendez was the city’s new early literacy coordinator, working out of City Hall thanks to a $100,000 grant from the United Way of Pioneer Valley and the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation. Melendez formerly was director of the Greater Holyoke office of the Massachusetts Latino Chamber of Commerce.

Cooler temperatures are expected on Sunday.

SPRINGFIELD – Oppressive heat and humidity continued throughout Western Massachusetts on Friday but forecasters says the week-long heat wave is approaching an end.

Temperatures on Friday nudged up from just a day before on Thursday, which of course had nudged up from Wednesday.

The high for the day was 96 degrees at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee and Orange Municipal Airport in Orange.

Barnes Regional Airport in Westfield appeared to have the highest temperature in the area with 98 degrees.

If it is any consolation, the temperature Friday was a few degrees cooler than the record for the date. That would be an even 100 degrees recorded at Bradley in 1991.

But the temperature was only the half of it. The humidity levels for the region ranged between 42 and 48 percent on the day, and the combined high temperatures and high humidity combined for a high heat index.

The heat index, or the measure of how hot it seems not how hot it necessarily is, reached 106 degrees at Bradley and Westover, 105 in Westfield, and 103 in Orange.

Meteorologist Nick Morganelli of CBS 3 Springfield, media partner for The Republican and Masslive.com, said conditions should be somewhat cooler on Saturday. It will be hot – 90 degrees - just not as hot, he said.

“As a cold front approaches from Canada Saturday, strong to severe thunderstorms are likely as it presses into Western Massachusetts. This front will break the heat wave dropping temperatures back to the lower 80s Sunday through Tuesday,” he said.

The National Weather Service forecast calls for temperatures in the low 90s during the day and a chance of severe thunder storms after 4 p.m.

Sunday should be sunny and in the upper 80s.

For much of Friday, the National Weather Service declared a heat advisory for most of Massachusetts and Connecticut. It was lifted at 7 p.m. but was expected to be issued again on Saturday from noon to 7 p.m.

A heat advisory means that the conditions from the combined heat and humidity could cause health problems. People are urged to avoid prolonged exposure and strenuous activity outside. People are also urged to drink plenty of fluids and stay in air conditioned areas if possible.

An malfunctioning air conditioning unit at the Chicopee Public Safety Complex sent temperatures inside the building into the low 90s and caused the city to send nonessential personnel home for the day, according to CBS 3 Springfield.

The unit has been down for weeks and is in the process of being replaced. Mayor Michael Bissonette told the station a new unit has been ordered at a cost of $360,000 but it will not be installed until the fall.

In the meantime, workers have been trying to get the existing unit operational, he said.

Springfield announced it will extend the operation of cooling centers throughout the city on Saturday. The centers had been in operation all week and were scheduled to conclude on Friday.

With oppressive conditions expected on Saturday, the centers will continue from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at various library branches, including Forest Park, 380 Belmont Ave.; Indian Orchard, 44 Oak St.; Liberty, 773 Liberty St., and Sixteen Acres, 1187 Parker St.

In addition, the Greenleaf Community Center, 1188 Parker St., will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Easthampton will maintain a cooling shelter Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Public Safety Complex on Payson Avenue.

Greenfield will operate a center at the town library, 402 Main St., on Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

In Sunderland, people can go to the town library, 20 School St., from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

After a week of chaos, the suspect in the deadly Boston Marathon bombings emerged from his hiding spot bloodied and seemingly exhausted – the red dot of a sniper's rifle lighting his forehead. Photos of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev released by a state police officer give a long-awaited glimpse into the end of an episode that kept the city and its suburbs on edge.

By JAY LINDSAY

BOSTON — After a week of chaos, the suspect in the deadly Boston Marathon bombings emerged from his hiding spot bloodied and seemingly exhausted — the red dot of a sniper's rifle lighting his forehead. Photos of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev released by a state police officer give a long-awaited glimpse into the end of an episode that kept the city and its suburbs on edge.

The images, the first of Tsarnaev from that night in April, were released to Boston Magazine on Thursday by a state police photographer angry about a Rolling Stone cover shot of Tsarnaev and hoping to counter what he said was the music magazine's glamorization of the terror suspect.

The release was unauthorized, and Sgt. Sean Murphy faces an internal investigation and possible suspension.

Murphy's 14 photos show the 19-year-old Tsarnaev emerging from his hiding spot in a drydocked boat in Watertown, just west of Boston, his right hand up in surrender in one, his head buried in his arms in another. In every picture of Tsarnaev, the red dot of a sniper's rifle sight is trained on his head.

To Watertown resident Anna Lanzo, the photos show a teen, as weary as he appears, still capable of standing, running and doing the damage she worried he'd do when she was trapped in her house three months ago while her neighborhood was on lockdown.

"I was petrified," said Lanzo, 70, who recalled police swarming her yard, searching under her car and motioning her to get back whenever she approached her windows while they searched for Tsarnaev.

Watertown town Councilor Cecilia Lenk saw nothing she didn't expect in the pictures of Tsarnaev, but it doesn't mean the photos had no effect. Starting with the Rolling Stone cover, the pictures have revived memories of a terrifying time for Watertown residents, she said.

"It's kind of like you're not able to get away from it," Lenk said.

Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty to numerous charges related to the April 15 bombing, which killed 3 and injured more than 260 others near the marathon's finish line.

He was captured April 19 after escaping during a shootout with police in Watertown the night before, running over his older brother and fellow suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, in the process. Tamerlan Tsarnaev died following the shootout.

Watertown was in lockdown the next day as thousands of law enforcement officers, in helmets and Humvees, descended for a door-to-door search for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. He was captured, and caught on film by Murphy, after the lockdown was lifted and a homeowner noticed streaks of blood on his boat.

The Rolling Stone cover story on Tsarnaev was released online this week, a few days after his public court appearance. Critics blasted the magazine, saying the cover shot of Tsarnaev was reminiscent of the magazine's flattering portrayals or rock legends such as Jim Morrison. Rolling Stone says the story was part of its commitment to "serious and thoughtful coverage" of important political and cultural issues.

Murphy, in his statement to Boston Magazine, said his photos show "the face of evil" and "the real Boston bomber, not someone fluffed and buffed for the cover of Rolling Stone magazine."

Murphy has not returned calls from The Associated Press. No one answered the door Friday at the blue cottage along the coast in Biddeford, Maine, where neighbors said he spends weekends.

Christina DiIorio-Sterling, a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, who is prosecuting the marathon bombing case, called Murphy's release of the photos "completely unacceptable."

Defense attorney Peter Elikann, who's not involved in the case, said that Tsarnaev's attorney could try to use Murphy's statement to try to show the investigation was biased against her client.

"If he expressed that he released those because of anger or because of hatred, that's never good to do in a criminal investigation," Elikann said.

Lanzo said she's glad Murphy released the photos, especially after the Rolling Stone cover, even though it brought back unsettling memories.

"You're almost making him look like this kid that, you know, doesn't look too bad," she said. "And then when you know the whole story and you see these pictures, I think it sheds a different light on it."

The mayor said about 250 people attended the opening of his campaign office.

HOLYOKE -- Mayor Alex B. Morse opened his reelection campaign headquarters at 1548 Northampton St. Friday to a full house.

"It's wonderful. I think we had about 250 people here tonight. It was a cross section from across the city. We have elderly people, we have young people, Latino people. It sends a message that they want us to continue what we're doing," Morse said, as he greeted visitors.

Morse, who took office in January 2012, is seeking his second, two-year term. As many as five opponents could be on the ballot against him in the Sept. 17 preliminary election.