The $240 million slugger gave up his hope to play again next month when the team's medical staff and front office advised him to avoid rushing back to the lineup late in the Angels' dismal season.

By GREG BEACHAM

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Albert Pujols finally agreed he should wait till next year.

Pujols will miss the rest of the season to rest his injured left foot, the Los Angeles Angels announced Monday.

The $240 million slugger gave up his hope to play again next month when the team's medical staff and front office advised him to avoid rushing back to the lineup late in the Angels' dismal season. Pujols partially tore his left plantar fascia last month, and only recently got his foot out of a walking boot.

While sitting out the past three weeks, Pujols repeatedly said he hoped to return at some point in September, even if the Angels remained hopelessly out of contention. He eventually acknowledged the plan made sense only as a salve to his pride.

"It's not an easy decision, as competitive as I am," Pujols said at his locker before the Angels opened a series against Cleveland. "But I also understand that we (need) to look beyond the season."

The three-time NL MVP hasn't played since July 26, when he partially tore his troublesome plantar fascia while running in Oakland. Pujols had been rehabilitating the injury with hopes of playing in September, but the struggling Angels' inability to get into playoff contention made that plan increasingly pointless.

Pujols, who has 492 career homers and 1,498 RBIs, consulted with owner Arte Moreno and general manager Jerry Dipoto before agreeing to shut himself down for the season. Moreno still owes Pujols $212 million over the next eight years in the third-biggest contract in major league history.

"It was a decision of the organization, Arte and Jerry, because I don't make a decision here," said Pujols, who had career lows of 17 homers and 64 RBIs this year. "I put my uniform on and get ready to play. They said, 'This is what's best for the organization in the long run,' and they came and brought it to me. And I just told them, 'Whatever you guys want to do, I'm all for it.' It's definitely hard, as I want to be out there, but I also understand that I can't be selfish and put myself out there."

The injury has hindered Pujols all season, forcing the first baseman to be a designated hitter for 65 of his career-low 99 games. Pujols will finish with fewer than 30 homers for the first time in his remarkable 13-season career, along with career lows in batting average (.258), on-base percentage (.330) and slugging percentage (.437).

Pujols also had more than 150 hits in each of his first 12 seasons, ending the third-longest streak in modern history.

Those numbers aren't exactly encouraging for a player who will be 34 years old in January — in fact, they're a bit frightening. The Angels are determined to give Pujols every chance to get into ideal health for the spring.

"The doctors think it's the best course of action," manager Mike Scioscia said. "For Albert, everything would have to have been perfectly aligned for him to come back and play. I think by trying to get to that level, maybe there were some things that would have been at risk in setting the healing process back. I think that it's a decision that everyone can be at peace with and get everyone ready for next year."

Pujols has been diligent in his rehabilitation while still hoping to play this season. He even did 45 minutes of cardiovascular work Monday before announcing he was done for the year, and Scioscia is confident Pujols will be in top form by February when he reports to spring training in Tempe, Ariz.

It's certain to be a long offseason for the Angels, all but certain to miss the playoffs for the fourth straight season despite their lavish payroll and sky-high expectations. Los Angeles has lost 23 of 34 heading into its series with the Indians, and most of Pujols' teammates have been similarly disappointing.

Josh Hamilton, who got a five-year deal worth $125 million from Moreno, began the week batting a career-worst .230 with 19 homers, 60 RBIs and career lows in slugging percentage (.425) and on-base percentage (.285). The Angels' starting rotation has one of the majors' highest ERAs, while their bullpen is one of the majors' worst — as is their team defense.

With everything going wrong for the Angels this summer, Pujols decided to try to make things right in 2014.

"Just look at it," Pujols said. "Unless in two weeks something happens and we're only two or three games out ... is it worth it to come back and put yourself in a situation where you take that risk? Or just wait six or seven months and get yourself ready for spring training? That's the decision we all came to."

A 10,000-gallon fuel oil tank exploded at an industrial park on Monday and went flying across a road, killing a worker who was welding nearby.

This still frame made from NewsChopper 2 video provided by KDKA-TV shows the scene of an explosion at a plant holding fuel tanks at Reynolds Industrial Park in Mercer County, Pa. on Monday, Aug. 19, 2013. 

GREENVILLE, Pa. — A 10,000-gallon fuel oil tank exploded at an industrial park on Monday and went flying across a road, killing a worker who was welding nearby.

The tank spilled 7,500 gallons of fuel and flooded a dike encircling the area, but the spill was contained, firefighters said.

The explosion happened Monday evening at Brownies Oil Co. in the Reynolds Industrial Park in Mercer County, in western Pennsylvania. The industrial park is in Greenville, a remote borough of around 6,000 residents about 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh and near the Ohio line.

The man who died worked for the oil company and had been welding near the tank when it exploded, Transfer Volunteer Fire Department Chief Phil Steele said. It was unclear what the man, who was from New Castle, was welding when the tank blew up, Steele told The Record-Argus newspaper.

The man died from blunt-force trauma to his head, and no one else was injured or killed, Steele said.

Department of Environmental Protection officials went to the scene. Investigators questioned oil company officials there late Monday.

Nearby propane tanks weren't involved in the blast, and damage to the oil company appeared to be minimal, firefighters said.

The younger Biden suffered a mild stroke in 2010.

WILMINGTON, Del. -- Beau Biden, the Delaware attorney general and the son of Vice President Joe Biden, is undergoing medical testing in Texas after being hospitalized last week for weakness and disorientation, his office said Monday night.

The younger Biden, who suffered a mild stroke in 2010, began experiencing the new symptoms last Wednesday night after driving to Indiana for a family vacation, said Jason Miller, a spokesman for the Delaware Department of Justice.

Biden, 44, was admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago and traveled the next morning to Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia to consult with his doctor.

He was discharged and spent the weekend at home in Wilmington. Miller said Biden currently is undergoing testing in Houston to determine the cause of his symptoms.

The White House says the vice president, who had been at his home in Delaware for the past several days, accompanied his son to Houston. There was no word on how long Vice President Biden would remain in Texas.

Miller said Beau Biden spoke by telephone with Chief Deputy Attorney General Ian McConnel over the weekend, and had been in touch with his office Monday evening.

Officials with Biden's office said they had no comment beyond the prepared statement Monday, but that further information would be forthcoming.

Biden's Twitter account on Sunday posted a photo of him and his father sitting on a porch and smiling while sending a message of encouragement to a Delaware team that was in the Little League World Series.

This isn't the first health scare for the younger Biden, who became Delaware's attorney general in 2007. After suffering a mild stroke in May 2010, he spent a week in the Jefferson University hospital and more than a month recuperating at home.

"I was just a little off," Biden later explained to The Associated Press when asked about his stroke. "My arm didn't feel right. I was able to move it, but I just wasn't myself."

"Stroke was the farthest thing from my mind when I went in," Biden added then, saying he didn't know enough to be scared, or to reflect on the brain aneurysm that nearly killed his father in 1987 at age 45.

Beau Biden is the eldest son of Vice President Biden. After the 1972 accident that killed his wife and daughter and critically injured brothers Beau and Hunter Biden, the vice president devoted himself to caring for his two sons as a single father.

Beau Biden served a yearlong deployment to Iraq with his Army National Guard unit, returning stateside in 2009.

Someone opened fire on an occupied vehicle in the city's lower Forest Park neighborhood, but police so far haven't received much help from the apparent targets of the shooting.

These were the most read stories on MassLive.com yesterday. If you missed any of them, click on the links below to read them now. The most viewed photo gallery was Conor Brennan's images of the Dropkick Murphys concert at Mt. Park in Holyoke, above.

1) Aaron Hernandez investigation: Massachusetts State Police reportedly find gun linked to Boston 2012 double homicide after Springfield car crash [Nick Underhill]

2) Paul Pierce: 'Without question,' Rajon Rondo ready to become Boston Celtics leader [Jay King]

3) Springfield police investigating shooting that damaged car, narrowly missed 2 occupants, in Forest Park neighborhood [Conor Berry]

4) Longtime UMass softball coach Elaine Sortino passes away after bout with cancer [Daniel Malone]

5) New England Patriots vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers review: Chandler Jones appears unstoppable in win [Nick Underhill]

The hours in the state's third- and second-largest cities, respectively, would revert to a traditional 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. model, losing an extra hour of operation that had been in effect since 2010.

SPRINGFIELD — The state Registry of Motor Vehicles is cutting hours at its Springfield and Worcester branches, citing a lack of business during the earlier part of the day.

Registrar Rachel Kaprielian said business tends to be heavier later in the afternoon, which is why the RMV will switch back to a traditional 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule on Sept. 9. Those hours will be in effect Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, while the hours for Thursday will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Since 2010, the RMV had been open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday. But not enough business was being conducted during the earlier hours of operation to justify maintaining that schedule, according to state transportation officials, who are cutting the overall weekly hours in Springfield and Worcester from 46 to 40.

The new hours also apply to branches in Brockton, Lawrence, Milford and Taunton. The changes will be most noticeable on Thursday, the RMV's "long day," so to speak, which will switch from a 10-hour day to an eight-hour day.

"Traffic in our branches continues to be heaviest late into the afternoon. This move will help guarantee staffing levels (that) more closely match customer demand throughout the day," Kaprielian said.

The RMV is also considering the possibility of consolidating its 30 state branches into 16 regional centers, including hubs in Greenfield, Pittsfield and Springfield, as the agency continues to transition from a traditional brick-and-mortar operation to more of an online service agency.

The consolidation model was discussed in a concept report that remains "years away" from possible implementation, a state Department of Transportation spokeswoman told The Republican/MassLive.com in July.

The Springfield RMV branch is located at 165 Liberty St. The Worcester branch is at 611 Main St.

Tereso De Jesus Ruiz-Hernandez, 25, of Bayville was arrested Monday by police in the North Shore community of Glen Cove and charged with rape and committing a criminal sexual act.

Tereso De Jesus Ruiz-HernandezNassau County Police Department via Glen Cove Patch 

GLEN COVE, N.Y. — A 25-year-old Long Island man has been charged in connection with the rape of a 13-year-old girl he met on Facebook, according to Nassau County police officials.

Investigators said Tereso De Jesus Ruiz-Hernandez, who lives in the North Shore community of Bayville, met the girl online in July and engaged in sexual activity with her in his vehicle on multiple occasions.

Ruiz-Hernandez was arrested Monday by Glen Cove police, who charged him with one count of second-degree rape and two counts of second-degree criminal sexual act, both felonies.

The alleged victim lives in Glen Cove, where she and Ruiz-Hernandez met on several occasions for sex, according to Patch.com.

Glen Cove police earlier this month launched a joint investigation with the Nassau County Police Department's Special Victims Section.

Ruiz-Hernandez was slated to be arraigned Tuesday in First District Court in Hempstead, N.Y. It wasn't immediately clear if he had a lawyer.

The gunpoint robbery happened on Parkwood Street in the city's Forest Park neighborhood. The delivery driver was uninjured, according to Springfield Police Lt. David Martin.

A Springfield police cruiser at night.(Republican file photo by Robert Rizzuto) 

SPRINGFIELD — A pizza delivery driver was robbed at gunpoint Monday night on Parkwood Street in the Forest Park section of the city.

The driver was approached at about 10 p.m. by a black man described as about 6 feet, 3 inches tall and wearing dark clothing. The driver was threatened with a gun but was uninjured, Springfield Police Lt. David Martin said.

Police were still at the scene investigating late Monday, Martin said.

Ex-police chief Joseph Buffis was fired after the town administrator Robert Nason accused him of misappropriating town funds for personal use, involving cell telephones.

LEE — Embattled Lee Police Chief Joseph Buffis’ long career with the town came to a crashing end Tuesday.

Buffis was fired after Town Administrator Robert Nason accused him of misappropriating public funds for personal use, involving cell telephones. Nason accused Buffis of "fraud," saying the former chief had no business billing the town for cell phones used by his wife and two grown children.

Joseph Buffis 

Accepting Nason's condemnation of Buffis, the Lee Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to fire the police chief during a dramatic public meeting filled with supporters of Buffis.

"As of this time, the chief is considered terminated," Selectmen Chairman Gordon Bailey said following the vote. Town Hall was packed with about 100 people, most of whom criticized the actions of the selectmen and town administrator.

Buffis, 55, of Pittsfield, is also facing federal extortion and money-laundering charges. Buffis did not attend Tuesday's meeting on the advice of his lawyer, Great Barrington attorney Lori Levinson.

Lee Town Administrator Robert Nason (Jim Russell) 

The indictment, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Springfield, says the two residents at issue were investigated by the former chief for allegedly running a prostitution ring at a local inn.

U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz’s office filed the charges against Buffis, who has been ordered to appear for an Aug. 29 arraignment in federal court.

Town officials had stood by Buffis until last week's indictment, but the federal charges changed the equation.

Nason had planned to officially ask Buffis to resign at a Monday afternoon meeting, but Buffis failed to show up for the closed-door session.

Selectmen had sought to meet with Buffis on Aug. 16, when he was given a 10-day suspension without pay or benefits by Nason.

Lee Selectmen Chairman Gordon Bailey (Jim Russell) 

During Tuesday's meeting, Nason said that Buffis had no authority to bill for $5,000 worth of personal cell phone usage by him and his family. Nason said the cell phones were used by Buffis, his wife, and his son and daughter.

“That amounts to over $5,000,” Nason said. “We discovered the fraud” on Friday.

Levinson, Buffis' lawyer, disputed Nason's version of events, telling selectmen that Nason had verbally approved of the arrangement.

Levinson vociferously denied Buffis engaged in any misappropriation of funds and told selectmen her client had actually requested the cell phone plan as part of his compensation package when he was promoted to chief in September 2011.

“He specifically asked for his cell plan. He was told yes,” she said.

“There was never, ever a discussion about his plan,” Nason told Levinson. “It is outrageous. We are talking $4,000 worth of fraud.”

Attorney Lori Levinson (Jim Russell) 

Several residents lambasted selectmen for firing Buffis during a public comment period following the vote to end Buffis' employment with the town.

"I don’t think selectmen made a good choice," Barry Collins, 65, of Lee, said in an interview after the meeting. "They just dumped on him. He's been a dedicated good cop for a multitude of years."

Housing Court Judge Robert Fields dismissed evictions of four families at Echo Hill.

AMHERST – Two Echo Hill Village families will be able to remain in their homes for at least a few more months, after Housing Court Judge Robert Fields dismissed their eviction because the landlord did not properly terminate the tenancy.

The ruling issued last week affected four families. However, two of those families already moved, said Jennifer Dieringer, a lawyer with Community Legal Aid in Northampton who is representing them.

Two more cases involving two other families are pending, she said.

James Cherewatti of Eagle Crest Property purchased Echo Village in January for $3 million, and in early February he issued the eviction notices.

Fields, however, dismissed the eviction notices because two weeks after Cherewatti issued them notices that he wanted to raise the rents, he signed a contract with the Amherst Housing Authority for the four units so that the authority could continue paying the portion of the rent through the Section 8 vouchers the tenants held.

That contract expires Sept 31.

The ruling “buys some time to work with the housing authority,” Dieringer said. She said the tenants could also continue trying to work with the landlord. The landlord could raise rents after Sept. 31 and present them to the housing authority. But if they are too high and exceed the federal limits, the authority would not be able to pay them.

If he decides to try eviction again, he would have to follow proper eviction proceedings, she said, which would also provide time for the tenants. Cherewatti could not be reached for comment.

If Cherewatti moves ahead to evict the tenants again, her office would continue representing the tenants, she said.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development caps rent based on the Springfield metropolitan market. Rents are much higher in Amherst. With a voucher, a tenant pays rent based on 30 percent of income with the federal government paying the rest.

Currently, HUD caps rents at $1,122 for a two-bedroom, $1,400 for a three-bedroom and $1,596 for a four-bedroom. Cherewatti notified TracyLee Boutilier, one of the parties allowed to remain in her home, that he plans to raise rents on three-bedroom units to $1,850.

The tenants asked Town Meeting in the spring to buy the apartments or put them under an affordability restriction, including by eminent domain, for low-income housing. But the article was referred to the Housing and Sheltering Committee.

Bonnie MacCracken, a member of the housing committee, has said it is looking at the feasibility of the town taking over the complex and at funding options.


She said there is great concern about losing these units because the town is losing affordable units at the nearby Rolling Green complex as Equity Resident repays grants it received from MassHousing for construction and renovations at the complex.

“We are very happy” with the ruling, Dieringer said.

Boutilier, a representative of the Echo Village Tenant’s Association, has said tenants want to stay in the building because of its diversity and the building is diverse and good for families. And she said, it’s not easy to find affordable housing in the town in which students live, driving up the market rents.

“This decision is an important step in the process,” Boutilier said. She said the ruling comes at an appropriate time, on the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream Speech.”

“Overall what we’re trying to do is preserve a local example of what a truly integrated community looks us. The decision has reenergized us.”

At one point, 19 families were affected, she said.

Meris L. Bergquist, executive director of the Massachusetts Fair Housing Center in Holyoke, said earlier that Echo Village is “one of a few successful models (of) an integrated community. There are so few. It’s very important to preserve it,” she said.

Town Manager John P. Musante said he and housing advocates and Cherewatti are looking at "what may be possible" to help tenants here. He said Cherewatti is actively cooperating with the town.

Carter has worked on over 50 movies, including “Malcolm X” and “Amistad,” for which she received Oscar nominations,

The costume designer for “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” playing now at local movie theaters, had to capture American style over the 34 years that the main character, an African American, serves eight presidents at the White House.

That task went to costume designer Ruth Carter, who grew up in Springfield. Carter has worked on more than 50 movies, including “Malcolm X” and “Amistad,” for which she received Oscar nominations, and “Dr. Doolittle” and “Daddy Day Care.”

“The Butler” is loosely based on the story of real-life White House butler Eugene Allen, who is called Cecil Gaines in the movie.

What Carter loved most about working on the project was the historical research, she said in a phone interview from Los Angeles. “I love history,” she said. “Not just black history, but American history. To bring people from the past to life is a great gift and a joy to do.”

For the movie, Carter had to dress characters ranging from a black child in a cotton field in the 1920s to Nancy Reagan at a formal White House dinner. She and her assistants pored over old photographs to make sure every stripe in a president’s necktie was just right.

She fondly remembers the colorful track suits worn by Forrest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey, who play Gaines and his wife, in a scene set in the 1980s. “It tells you right where we are in time!” said Carter.

She said Winfrey was no prima donna. “She was so friendly. It was like you were dressing your best friend. If something didn’t fit, she didn’t get upset. She just laughed it off.”

Carter spent six weeks doing “prep” for the movie, and eight weeks on the set in New Orleans, where it was filmed. She said she works on an average of two and a half movies a year, and can do four indies a year. She did the costumes for the Disney Channel’s “Teen Beach Movie,” which drew 13 million viewers, and has a Josh Brolin movie called “Oldboy” coming out in November.

Along the way, she has had cameo roles in many films, including several by Spike Lee.

Carter has “great memories” of growing up in Springfield with four brothers and a sister. Her mom, now 93, still lives in Springfield and is a member of Bethel AME Church. Her brothers Roy, a police officer, and Robert, an artist, also live in Springfield.

After graduating from Technical High School in Springfield, Carter went to Hampton University in Virginia, where she majored in theater and served as the resident costume designer for student productions.

In 1985, she returned to Springfield to work at what was then StageWest. “They had a terrific internship program,” said Carter. From there she took an internship at the Santa Fe Opera in New Mexico, which she said greatly enriched her knowledge of fabrics.

For anyone who dreams of doing what she does, Carter advises working in theater before attempting movies. “Theater is the best way to train,” she said. “There’s no money in theater, so you learn to work with your hands and troubleshoot. Otherwise you won’t understand the medium. Film is more complicated.”

Selectmen Chairman William Rooney released a statement in support of the Police Department.

LUDLOW - The Board of Selectmen met with Police Chief Pablo Madera in closed session Tuesday night and voted to place Lt. Thomas Foye on administrative leave with pay, while the state Attorney General and selectmen continue to investigate criminal charges brought against Foye.

Foye, 49, was charged by state police Thursday with theft of drugs from the police station evidence locker and possession of cocaine. The case, which is being prosecuted by the state attorney general, has been continued until Oct. 1 in Palmer District Court.

Selectmen Chairman William Rooney also released a statement on behalf of the selectmen in support of the Police Department. Rooney said the Police Department continues its mission of ensuring public safety.

Rooney said the Board of Selectmen can assure members of the community that “Chief Madera and the men and women of the department have handled this matter in a professional, responsible and compassionate manner, but always with a primary focus on public safety.”

Rooney said more facts must be gathered to resolve the case. “The Board of Selectmen is supportive of our Police Department and is confident it will continue its mission to protect our town,” Rooney said.

He added, “We ask the people of Ludlow for your support as we move forward.”

Selectman Carmina Fernandes, an attorney, said prior to the meeting with the police chief that she has represented Foye and his wife, Beth, in the past regarding a real estate transaction, but she has been advised that does not constitute a conflict of interest since the legal action is not ongoing.

Foye was paid $104,629.91 for 2012, which included $20,987.25 in overtime.

A 25-year member of the Police Department, he was appointed provisional lieutenant by the Board of Selectmen in May.

He took over the position left vacant by Madera, who has been appointed acting police chief.

At a press conference outside the Ludlow Police Department late Thursday afternoon, Madera said Foye’s arrest was the result of an internal investigation at his directive.

Foye denied charges of cocaine possession and larceny of a drug from the evidence locker at his arraignment Thursday afternoon in Palmer District Court.

Court documents said a video feed captures Foye entering the locked narcotics locker at the Ludlow Police Station, where he appears to manipulate and open evidence bags.

Assistant Attorney General Marina Moriarty is prosecuting the case.

Madera called Foye’s career with the Ludlow Police Department prior to his arrest Thursday “exemplary.”

Foye, a former School Committee member, worked for nine years in the Detective Bureau. In the 1990s, he served on an anti-gang unit.

Last year, Foye participated in a forum at Ludlow High School where he warned parents and residents about the growing danger of prescription drug abuse. He said the problem in Ludlow is the worst he has seen it in the 25 years he has been working for the Police Department.

The planning director wants a 40-foot buffer between the parking lot for the second phase of School Street Park and the back yards of Corey Street residents.

AGAWAM – The $2.2 million estimated second phase of the School Street Park project is wending its way through the Planning Board and the Conservation Commission, both of which have oversight of it.

 

The Planning Board Thursday tabled action on its site plan to give the Conservation Commission more time to set conditions for work around wetlands to the east and west of the 22-acre site off Corey Street. During the Planning Board public hearing Thursday, Planning Director Deborah S. Dachos told Michael Y. Liu, senior associate with Berkshire Design Group of Northampton, which did the designs, that she wants to see a 40-foot buffer between the 200-space proposed parking lot and the backyards of residents along Corey Street.

She said there is a buffer of only 20 feet in some instances.

“It is really not fair to have it 20 feet from the property lines,” Dachos said.

David W. Williams, of 446 Corey St., echoed that sentiment.

He said plans show the parking lot only 25 feet from his property.

“Get the parking lot away from the house,” Williams said.

Dachos asked that shade trees rather than ornamental trees be planted and that fruit trees not be planted near the splash pad. The planning director also stated she would like to see landscaping around the storage building.

Some residents expressed concern that runoff from the proposed parking lot might affect their homes.

Parks and Recreation Director Christopher M. Sparks said the city’s Engineering Department is working on that issue.

Andrea Machia, of 476 Corey St., said she is concerned water from the parking lot will drain onto her back yard.

Liu said water from the parking lot will flow into a detention basin before being discharged into wetlands.

“It will release into the wetlands at the same rate as if there were no construction,” he said.

Henry A. Kozloski, of 102 Meadow St., who chairs the Conservation Commission, said he would like to see more trees planted at the park as well as plantings of flowers. Current plans call for planting close to 200 trees.

Among the amenities proposed for the park, which will have access off Corey Street, are: a spray park, a band shell, a picnic pavilion with a concession stand and rest rooms, walking trails, a disc golf course, a sand volleyball court, a playground for children ages 2 through 5, and picnic tables as well as small, covered picnic shelters.

Funding for the project includes $1.8 million from the city’s Community Preservation Act money as well as a $400,000 state Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities grant.

Sparks has said he would like to go out to bid and start work on the project as soon as possible.

The first phase of the School Street Park project consisted of work on 30 acres at a cost of just more than $2 million. That project includes athletic fields, a playground, parking spaces and a basketball court.

The last radio transmission from the pilot was that he was in visual contact with the runway.

The preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board indicates the small private plane that crashed into two houses on Aug. 9 in East Haven, Conn., was flying upside down and at a high rate of speed just before impact.

The report, issued Tuesday by investigator Patrick M. Murray, quotes two separate witnesses who reported seeing the plane in distress moments before it crashed.

The crash killed four people, including pilot Bill Henningsgaard of Medina, Wash., and his son, Maxwell, 17, as well as Sade Brantley, 13, and Madisyn Mitchell, 1, residents of the houses that were struck.

The plane, a Rockwell International 690B, struck the homes just before 11:30 a.m. as it maneuvered for a landing at Tweed-New Haven Airport, roughly a mile away in New Haven, Conn.

Investigators said one witness, a student pilot who was driving on Interstate 95 near exit 51, described seeing the plane “flying inverted and traveling at a high rate of speed, nose first, toward the ground.”

The witness said when he first saw the plane, it appeared as if it was at the end of a right roll.

Another witness, who lives two doors away from one of the houses that was struck, reported looking out his window and seeing the plane descending while 90 degrees on its side just before the crash.

According to the report, the plane was found inverted with the cockpit, left engine and front portion of the fuselage found in the basement of one of the homes. The right wing struck the other house, and the right engine and propeller struck the ground in between them.

The plane departed Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, N.J., at 10:49 a.m. and was en route to Tweed-New Haven Airport.

Henningsgaard, a former Microsoft executive, was taking his son on a tour of colleges on the East Coast, a family member told the Associated Press.

At 11:20 a.m., Henningsgaard was given permission to land. His last radio transmission was that he was in visual contact with the runway. The last record of the plane on radar had it about seven-tenths of a mile from the airport at an altitude of 800 feet.

Weather conditions at the time of the crash included 13 mph winds with gusts of up to 21 mph, and visibility of up to 9 miles with a ceiling of about 900 feet.

The crash remains under investigation. There was no indication from the NTSB when the final report would be completed.

Preliminary NTSB report on the Aug. 9 plane crash in East Haven, Conn.

The prosecutor said it can't sustain the burden of proof.

SPRINGFIELD - Charges against Samuel Rivera and Tiffany Partridge, both of Springfield, have been dropped in Hampden Superior Court.

Partridge, 26, and Rivera, 25, had in March 2011 each denied a court of assault and battery on a child causing injury in a case involving their daughter, seven months old at the time.

On Aug. 16, the prosecutor in the case filed a document dropping the charges at the present time.

The prosecutor said the state is unable to sustain the burden of proof at this time and additional investigation is ongoing.

The two have been free on their own recognizance since being charged.

Annual premiums for employer-sponsored family coverage climbed nearly 4 percent this year to top $16,000 for the first time, according to a survey the Kaiser Family Foundation released Tuesday.

Dorothy Rossi of McCandless pays for a Medicare supplemental plan, but because of recent hospital visits, has to pay $1,000 in out of pocket costs. Paying medical debt for Rossi on a social security income of about $650 a month, or only about $7,800 a year, in social security income.Associated Press 

By TOM MURPHY
AP Business Writer

Workers saw a modest rise in the average cost of employer-sponsored health insurance this year, but they're probably not overwhelmed with relief.

Coverage costs still are climbing faster than wages. That means, in many cases, a bigger portion of the average paycheck is sliced off for insurance instead of being deposited into employee bank accounts.

Annual premiums for employer-sponsored family coverage climbed nearly 4 percent this year to top $16,000 for the first time, according to a survey the Kaiser Family Foundation released Tuesday.

The cost of single coverage rose almost 5 percent compared with 2012. Those are smaller increases than the spikes of 9 percent for family coverage and 8 percent for single coverage recorded in 2011. But this year's increases lap a 1.8 percent rise in worker wages over the same period.

Plus, more companies are giving their employees coverage with a higher deductible, which requires a patient to pay more out of pocket for things like blood tests or MRIs before coverage starts. Coupled with the growing cost of coverage, that means some employees may be paying more for insurance that covers less.

While health care costs have generally grown more moderately since the Great Recession eased, the average worker still feels the pain of paying more, said Drew Altman, CEO of the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation, which conducts the survey on coverage costs with the Health Research and Educational Trust.

"Their costs are going up, their cost-sharing is going up, wages are flat and inflation is much lower," Altman said.

Employer-sponsored health insurance is the most common form of coverage in the United States. Employers typically cover most of the health insurance bill for their workers, and the actual change a worker sees in health insurance costs can vary greatly.

Some employers absorb cost hikes for their workers. Rate changes also depend on where the employee lives, the coverage he or she has and the size of the employer. Employees of smaller companies tend to see bigger cost fluctuations in part because those businesses have less leverage for rate negotiations.

Smaller employers also are turning more to high-deductible plans to help control insurance cost growth. These plans can cost less for the employer and shift more of the expense to the employee.

More than half of companies with fewer than 200 employees offered insurance with an annual deductible of $1,000 or greater this year for single coverage, according to the Kaiser survey. That's up from 16 percent in 2006.

Jewelry design business Thomas Michaels Designers Inc. offers employee health insurance with a $5,000 deductible. The plan covers only four people, but co-owner Nora Michaels said the annual premium totals $22,000 and eats up about 20 percent of the Camden, Maine, company's budget.

Michaels said she plans to look into whether her employees can get a better deal through the health care overhaul and its upcoming coverage expansions. The federal overhaul will expand coverage next year to millions of uninsured people in part by providing income-based tax credits to help customers buy insurance through exchanges if they can't get affordable coverage through an employer.

Michaels said her coverage costs, which have grown for several years, prevent her from raising pay.

"There's a lot of things we don't do because we have to pay that kind of premium," she said. "It kind of stifles business."

Kaiser's study doesn't make forecasts about 2014, but lead author Gary Claxton said premium increases will likely be moderate next year, too. Altman, Kaiser's CEO, said the cost increases aren't big enough to force employers to make big changes in the coverage they offer.

"There really is no reason for employers to be radically whacking away at health coverage or health benefits in a slow health care cost environment like this," he said.

But expect high-deductible plans to grow. A total of 38 percent of all workers with single coverage have a deductible of at least $1,000 this year. That compares with 10 percent in 2006.

These deductibles can help employers avoid an overhaul-mandated tax on expensive plans that starts in 2018, said Paul Fronstin, an economist with the nonprofit Employee Benefit Research Institute who wasn't involved in the Kaiser study.

The kindergarten school bus orientation scheduled for Thursday has been postponed. A new date has not yet been scheduled.

PALMER - School and town officials are waiting for results of an air quality test that will help determine the future of Old Mill Pond Elementary School.

Superintendent Thomas A. Charko said last week that due to mold problem detected in the school last month, the start of school for all three schools will be pushed back to Sept. 4.

School was supposed to start on Aug. 28.

Charko said the school's approximately 600 students may be moved to Converse Middle School, or the high school, so the problem can be fixed, and a meeting is scheduled for Thursday night at 6 p.m. at the high school to discuss the issue. The Board of Health, and the town's health agent, Joshua Mathieu, have been invited to attend.

"The ultimate goal is to make sure we have a healthy, safe environment for faculty, staff and students. We want to make sure the building is safe," Mathieu said on Tuesday.

Mathieu, who visited the school last month, said there were "definitely visual signs" and "definitely an odor" associated with mold inside the building.

He said they are working with the state Department of Public Health's indoor air quality program, which will visit Friday to conduct testing. An outside firm also has been hired to conduct air quality tests, he said. One test was conducted over the weekend, and those are the results officials want to see.

Mold grew during a humid period this summer, but Charko had said it wasn't the first time there has been an issue with mold at the school. The cleanup was covered by the town's insurance, but subsequent air quality tests were not at acceptable levels, he said.

School Committee Chairman Gary Blanchette said they will make their decision based on what the experts say.

"Obviously we're not going to let anyone into the building unless it's safe," Blanchette said.

Meanwhile, the kindergarten school bus orientation scheduled for Thursday has been postponed. A new date has not yet been scheduled.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is among those slated to attend Ashe's annual clambake.

SPRINGFIELD — It's late August, which can mean only thing – it's time for a clambake.

And the man who'll be hosting Wednesday's gathering of politicians from near and far is Hampden County Sheriff Michael J. Ashe, whose annual gathering typically draws a broad mix of public officials – most of whom tend to be fellow Democrats.

But the partisan lines also tend to blur whenever elected leaders and public officials get together for the sheriff's spirited clambake, which for the second year in a row is being held at Springfield Elks Lodge #61, 440 Tiffany St., in the city's Forest Park neighborhood. The event starts at 4:45 p.m.

The longtime venue for the annual clambake had been Six Flags New England in Agawam, but the event switched locations last summer.

Among those slated to appear at today's annual clambake, the 36th for those keeping count, is Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who last year attended as the Democratic candidate seeking to unseat Republican Scott Brown to represent Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate.

Warren will be in Springfield and Worcester today before heading back east Thursday for stops in South Coast and Boston-area communities, according to the senator's schedule.

"I like to believe that this this is about more than politics, and (that) we all come together because we all know the value of serving the community," Ashe said at last year's clambake.

Over the years, the event has drawn everyone from U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal to Gov. Deval L. Patrick to Lt. Gov. Timothy F. Murray to Secretary of State William F. Galvin, and many others.

Agawam native Laura Zerra appeared on “Naked and Afraid,” a television series that aired this summer on the Discovery Channel.

These were the most read stories on MassLive.com yesterday. If you missed any of them, click on the links below to read them now. The most viewed photo gallery was Michael Beswick's images of Monday night's fire on Wilbraham Road in Springfield, above.

1) Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles cutting hours in Springfield, Worcester [Conor Berry]

2) Springfield pizza delivery driver robbed [Jeanette DeForge]

3) Agawam native Laura Zerra survives Discovery Channel challenge [Pat Cahill]

4) Nassau County police arrest 25-year-old Long Island man for allegedly raping 13-year-old girl he met on Facebook [Conor Berry]

5) Obituaries today: Wayne Edwards, 23, of Springfield; artist, electrician, former Putnam high school athlete [The Republican]

The home at 32 West School St. was declared a total loss by fire officials.

03.09.11 | Photo by Julian Feller-Cohen – A West Springfield Fire Department truck. 

WEST SPRINGFIELD — A multi-family residence at 32 West School St. was destroyed in a fire that broke early Wednesday, according to West Springfield Fire Department officials.

No one was injured in the blaze, which was reported at 2:25 a.m. and forced residents from the building between Main and Union streets.

The structure, located 1½ blocks west of the Connecticut River, has been deemed a total loss by officials. Firefighters were still at the scene as of 5 a.m., a department spokesman said.

The fire appears to have started in the kitchen, though investigators have yet to determine a cause.

At least five people were left homeless as a result of the fire. Red Cross officials responded to the scene to help the residents.

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Thirteen youths painted murals depicting the stained glass windows at City Hall to learn about art restoration.

HOLYOKE -- Yashira Alvarado used brushes that were narrow or wide depending on the detail she was painting. She heeded the black borders. And she learned how to mix colors.

She was among 13 young people who painted murals, which depict the stained glass windows at City Hall and that will be attached to plywood walls on the front of the old police station behind City Hall for the public to see.

"I loved it. I made friends and I was able to learn some English," Alvarado, 17, said on Aug. 6.

She spoke mostly in Spanish with translation by Katy Moonan of Reader to Reader Inc. in Amherst. That was one of a number of organizations involved in the project at Gateway City Arts on Race Street in which youths learned about art restoration, creative writing and working together, youths and organization representatives said.

The project is part of a larger effort to restore the 13 stained glass windows in the auditorium upstairs at City Hall at High and Dwight streets, said Holly Mott, principal, strategist and account planner at Clarity First, a marketing and communications company in Northampton and Springfield.

The youths were paid $8 an hour for 20 hours a week through CareerPoint, the job referral and counseling center at 850 High St., Mott said.

The windows' revivication will cost $400,000. Grants, donations and fund-raising have covered $320,000 and the hope is the youths' murals will be another way to direct attention to the windows' restoration to raise the remaining $80,000, those involved in the project said.

"I think this is the beginning of showing how capable our young people are and if they get the opportunity, to show it, they can do amazing things," said Vitek Kruta, artist, muralist, art restorer, set designer, teacher and founder of Gateway City Arts at 92-114 Race St.

Vitek Kruta of Gateway City Arts, right, works with Gildaly Negron, 16, on art restoration apprenticeship program at his Race Street facility on Aug. 6.Don Treeger, The Republican 

The murals the youths are painting, under Kruta's supervision, will show historic Holyoke scenes illustrated in the windows -- agricultural, water power, industrial and music. Panels in the murals also will show poetry by the youths, he said.

"So the stained glass windows are going to be exposed to people," Kruta said.

Kevin Calero, 18, said he could see a career blooming for himself with the painting techniques he learned on the project. That's if his first choice of drawing for anime, which is Japanese movie and television animation, doesn't work out.

"I've learned a lot of stuff," said Calero, such as mixing colors and using stencils.

"I want to do anime from Japan. This, I can use this as Plan B," he said.

The young people who worked on the restoration project were between ages 14 and 21. They were chosen from among applicants in a process conducted at CareerPoint, said Tamika Evans and Michelle Falcon, administrators at CareerPoint.

"We try to match them with what their interests are," Evans said.

The idea for the youths' murals arose from a meeting this year. William D. Fuqua, general superintendent of the Department of Public Works, Jeffrey C. Bianchine, the city's creative economy coordinator and Kruta were discussing how the DPW had had to board up a building downtown.

Kruta said that while such a draping of plywood on a facade can be necessary, it is often ugly, and suggested an art-related scheme for the next boarding-up. Fuqua mentioned the old police station, which has been vacant since the new station opened at 138 Appleton St. in 1997.

Public works employees will install walls on the facing of the old police station and the murals will be attached with screws, Kruta said.

The plan is for that to take place Aug. 31 during the annual block party sponsored by Citizens for the Revitalization and Urban Success of Holyoke, or CRUSH, Mott said.

Others involved in the project were Main Street Writers, Holyoke Restoration Guild, Holyoke Historical Commission and the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Mott said.

The windows of painted antique glass were designed and made by Samuel West of Ecclesiastical Stained Glass Works in Boston and installed when City Hall opened in 1876.

Julie Vazquez, 16, works on the art restoration project at Gateway City Arts in Holyoke Aug. 6.Don Treeger, The Republican 

Julie L. Sloan, a North Adams stained-glass consultant and appraiser, said in October a major problem is that the lead in the windows has weakened. Such lead usually lasts about 100 years, she said in 2011.

Also leading to the windows’ deterioration, she said, is that previous attempts at repair were “of egregiously poor quality.”