The Council provides support for companies considering locating or growing in the region help that might include: real estate searches, workforce, manufacturing supply chain, data and demographics, incentives and financing, new market opportunities, service procurement and academic and research and development opportunities.

SPRINGFIELD - Allan W. Blair is retiring as president and CEO of the Western Mass Economic Development Council at the end of 2014 after 18 years at the helm of the region's economic development entity.

Blair, who is 65 and will be 66 when he steps down Dec. 31, was a founding member of the Economic Development Council.

Blair made the announcement Thursday morning, and a search committee, headed by Peter F. Straley, chairman and chief executive of Springfield-based insurer Health New England, is already set up.

"No precipitous event," Blair said Thursday afternoon. "It's part of a long-range plan I've had with my wife and family."

He also expects to continue working up until his retirement date.

"I've been involved in the economic development world for 30 years," Blair said. "I've got a year ahead and I expect to be full tilt at what I'm doing."

The council provides support for companies considering locating or growing in the region. The help that might include: real estate searches, workforce, manufacturing supply chain, data and demographics, incentives and financing, new market opportunities, service procurement and academic research and development opportunities.

The Economic Development Council also acts as an umbrella group for other business oriented organizations including: Affiliated Chambers of Commerce, Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, Amherst Business Improvement District, Westfield Business Improvement District, Northampton Business Improvement District, Springfield Business Improvement District, Westmass Area Development Corp. and the Westover Metropolitan Airport and Westover Metropolitan Development Corp.

The organizations has 50 employees including those working at affiliated organizations, Blair said.

According to an IRS tax document, the Economic Development Council had an annual budget of $3.3 million in 2011. Blair made $254,901 in total compensation that year, also according to IRS tax documents. Those are the most recent figures available.

Blair said that over the years the Economic Development Council has helped bring a number of projects to fruition, including the $71 million renovation of what is now the MassMutual Center in Springfield and the $12 million refurbishing of the Calvin Coolidge Memorial Bridge between Northampton and Hadley in 2000.

That doesn't count the businesses that have grown or relocated here as a result of the Economic Development Council's efforts.

"Of course in the last six or seven years with the recession it has been very difficult," Blair said. " I believe we are an attractive place. One of the tasks is to make sure that people outside the region recognize that. But we are in the Northeast and we have winters and we have expenses other parts of the country don't have."

Born in Springfield and raised in Chicopee, Blair worked in vocational education and job before taking jobs at the Springfield Chamber of Commerce and the as head of the Westover Metropolitan Development Corp and Westmass Area Development Corp. That brought him into the real-estate arena and led to him helping to found the Economic Development Council in June 1996.

It is the fourth day of testimony in the trial of Hall, 36, of Peru.

SPRINGFIELD - The prosecution Thursday began its quest to prove to a jury Adam Lee Hall is guilty of a Berkshire County triple murder.

It is the fourth day of testimony in the trial of Hall, 36, of Peru.

Up until Thursday afternoon, Berkshire District Attorney David Capeless and his staff called witnesses to prosecute the 2009 charges against Hall for allegedly beating David Glasser with a baseball bat and forcing Glasser to sign his truck over to him.

They also called three witnesses who said Hall involved them in a 2010 conspiracy to frame Glasser for kidnapping, robbery and assault.

The prosecution produced police witnesses and telephone records Thursday to back up the testimony of Scott Langdon, Alexandra Ely and Nicole Brooks, who face charges with Hall in the 2010 case.

Then testimony moved to the week before the triple murder.

In August 2011, weeks before he was to testify against Hall, Glasser and his roommate, Edward Frampton, and their friend Robert Chadwell, all of Pittsfield, disappeared.

Their dismembered bodies were found in Becket nearly two weeks later.

Hall was a ranking member of the local Hells Angels when he, David Chalue, 46, of North Adams, and Caius Veiovis, 32, of Pittsfield, kidnapped the three victims from Frampton’s Pittsfield home sometime in the early hours of Aug. 28, 2011, and fatally shot them, according to prosecutors.

Defense lawyer Alan J. Black fought unsuccessfully Thursday to keep testimony of two prosecution witnesses out.

He said their testimony had nothing to do with the charges against Hall in this case.

Kinder ruled it showed a pattern of Hall trying to frame Glasser for crimes, so he allowed the testimony.

Justina Coe, who said she was a long-time friend of Hall in 2011, said Hall said in 2009 he wanted her to go to Glasser’s apartment, give him oral sex, get his semen on her clothes and frame him for rape.

She declined, she said.

Timothy Rondeau of New Ashford, said he has known Hall for six or seven years.

He had worked on Hall’s house in Peru for a few days with Glasser and Langdon.

In August 2009 Hall told Rondeau he wanted Rondeau to ask a woman friend to bring Glasser to New York and have sex and bring a rape charge against Glasser.

Rondeau said Hall made the request while they were at the Berkshire County House of Corrections.

Rondeau said he passed the information along to the woman but to his knowledge the woman never did anything.

In the murder case, Hall is being tried first, Chalue second, and Veiovis last. The three men are being charged as joint venture defendants.

The trials were moved to Hampden Superior Court after defense lawyers said publicity in Berkshire County would make is impossible for a fair trial.

Thursday afternoon saw the first testimony about Veiovis, as his lawyer sat in the courtroom listening.

The action being discussed - complete with video clips - took place at Home Depot in Pittsfield.

William Gregory, who was working at the store Aug. 24, 2011, testified two customers came in that day and one in particular caught his attention.

That man had bumps in his forehead, piercings, and his hair was cut strangely, Gregory said.

“Never saw it before,“ Gregory said.

He was shown a picture of Veiovis and identified him as the man who came into the store with another man and looked at saws and hatchets.

The other man was not identified in court except to say it was not Hall.

The only purchase the men made that day was of a small tool containing wrenches, according to testimony.

Gregory said the man with Veiovis asked him where the power saws and chain saws were kept. Gregory said he told them where they were kept but doesn’t know if they went to look at them.

The trial continues Friday.

The January melt has brought the waters of the Connecticut River to 4 feet over the Holyoke Dam.

HOLYOKE — The January melt has brought the waters of the Connecticut River to 4 feet over the Holyoke Dam.

Holyoke Gas & Electric spokesman Paul Ducheney said the amount of water flowing over the 973-foot dam amounts to more than 320,000 gallons per second.

In the 116 seconds of this video, that is enough water to fill 371 Olympic 100,000 gallon swimming pools and weighs almost as much as the Queen Mary 2 at 135,360 tons.

President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama opened the summit.

SOUTH HADLEY — Lynn Pasquerella, president of Mount Holyoke College, was one of 85 college presidents who attended a White House summit on Thursday to discuss increasing college opportunity for low-income and disadvantaged students.

Pasquerella said the White House was interested in hearing the ideas of college presidents to increase college affordability to low-income students.

President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama opened the summit which was followed by workshops in which college presidents shared their ideas, Pasquerella said.

Steps Mount Holyoke has taken to increase college affordability include giving full tuition scholarships to all new non-traditional age Frances Perkins scholars. The students also will receive extensive support from an enhanced advising program, she said.

Mount Holyoke also is working more directly with community colleges, Pasquerella said.

She said an urban planning course is being offered half time at Holyoke Community College and half time at Mount Holyoke College which helps community college students to be able to “envision themselves” at the college.

Sometimes students have a perception that they cannot afford a private college like Mount Holyoke, but financial aid packages can make a private college economically competitive with a state college or university, she said.

The average financial aid package at Mount Holyoke is $35,000 a year, Pasquerella said.

Pasquerella will support access and affordability for low-income, first-generation college students across Massachusetts as a member of the Governor’s Commission on Higher Education Quality, Efficiency and Finance.

Pasquerella herself is a first generation college student. Neither of her parents graduated from high school, she said.

She said she was raised by a single mother and she attended community college because her mother was chronically ill.

She later transferred to Mount Holyoke College, Pasquerella said.

Currently, the five UMass campuses are receiving a combined $479 million in state funding, a $40 million increase over last year and the largest hike in school history.

AMHERST – Student trustees at the University of Massachusetts are appealing for a $519 million budget this year, enough to guarantee a freeze on tuition and fees for a second year in a row.

The trustees – representing 72,000 students at the Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell and Worcester campuses – made their request Thursday, a week before Gov. Deval L. Patrick is expected to unveil his budget proposal .

Currently, the five UMass campuses receive a combined $479 million in state funding, a $40 million increase over last year and the largest hike in school history.

For the coming year, the $519 million proposed by the trustees would be enough to avoid tuition and fee increases and achieve an equal split between state funding and student fees.

The so-called 50-50 split is a goal of student leaders, who say too much of the university’s financial burden is placed on them and their families, according to trustees Megan Kingston, UMass Amherst; Nolan O’Brien, UMass Boston; Colin Murphy, UMass Dartmouth; Phillip J. Geoffroy, UMass Lowell; and Patrick Lowe, UMass Medical School.

In 2012-2013, students accounted for 57 percent of the funding through tuition and fees, with the state providing 43 percent. The goal is to return to a 50-50 split next year, the trustees said.

For this school year, tuition and fees amount to $13,258 for undergraduates living in the state and $29,974 for those living out-of-state; room and board is $10,439 for all students.

If approved, the proposed budget increase, combined with this year’s increase, would represent a landmark investment in the university in two years, the trustees said.

“(This) would allow the University of Massachusetts to continue to provide high-quality academic programs and unrivaled opportunity to the citizens of the Commonwealth,” the trustees said.

The $519 budget would also “ease financial burden on students and their families at a time when affordability and student-debt remain significant issues in the nation and in our state,” they said.

“With double-digit unemployment prospects for the typical college-aged youth, continued state investment in university education is critical now more than ever,” they added.

A Cape Cod man appeared in federal court on child pornography charges after he reportedly admitted to taking photos of children on local beaches.

WFXT-TV, Fox25, Dedham

Do you have news or a news tip to submit to MassLive.com for consideration? Send an email to online@repub.com.

Former Chicopee Mayor Michael Bissonnette disputed allegations leveled by Mayor Richard Kos that he illegally deleted e-mails and recycled paper files and left Kos with no information about ongoing projects and city workings.

CHICOPEE — Former Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette disputed allegations leveled by Mayor Richard J. Kos that he illegally deleted e-mails and recycled paper files and left Kos with no information about ongoing projects and city workings.

Bissonnette, speaking Thursday night, said he did clean out his office of eight years of paperwork and scrubbed the computers clean, but said all major documents are with department heads or the staff member who was in charge of the project. Important paper documents also were placed in binders and left in the law department conference room, he said.

Bissonnette said the city's computer network was set up years ago to be backed up not only to the city server but to a second remote one in case there is a serious problem.

"All material has been maintained electronically or there are hard files left with project managers," he said.

When Kos officially entered the office after the inauguration, he said he was shocked to find all file drawers empty and computers scrubbed of all information. He called for a state investigation into the possibly illegal deletion of public information.

But Bissonnette said the thousands of email messages deleted are mainly responses to comments on his Facebook page and other correspondence that is not of an official nature.

Bissonnette said when he took office after the indictment of former Mayor Richard Goyette, he walked into an office that was a mess, and he inherited a dirty car, so he wanted to leave the office empty and had the car detailed for Kos.

"I appreciate his concerns, but I think a single phone call in the last few months could have solved a lot of his concerns," Bissonnette said.

Subject: Project Files

Please be advised that no requests for any materials pertaining to ongoing projects, municipal finances or other city matters were received from anyone on behalf of the Kos administration prior to November 7th.

As I indicated to the mayor-elect shortly after the election, I and my staff were prepared to cooperate fully in a smooth transition. An exchange of text messages further confirmed this willingness.

However no contact was made and no requests for documents or other materials was ever received. In fact no one was contacted by the transition team or anyone else on behalf of the mayor-elect. Further it was apparent that all contact concerning the transition was being made thru the departments as evidenced by Clerk Rattell's email to department heads announcing the transition process.

Therefore all documents would be found with the respective departments involved in the matter for which information is sought. I would have been happy to provide any and all information upon request prior to the inauguration. Regrettably no such request was made to my office nor was any contact concerning same initiated. As a result, most paper materials were recycled they the single stream collection system in City Hall as electronic copies exist elsewhere.

It was not until the Tuesday of New Years Eve that I heard from the mayor-elect requesting a meeting on Thursday afternoon. Unfortunately you and your colleagues were apparently delayed and were unable to meet at 2pm as planned. When you arrived at 2:45pm, a decision had been made to close City Hall due to weather conditions. At that time, no document requests were made and to my understanding none were made at any other time.

My offer of cooperation continues in effect. However the official city files are not kept by the office of the Mayor and I believe whatever type of information is sought can easily be obtained from the project managers or involved departments. Please feel free to let me know if there are any difficulties in obtaining whatever materials are sought. I will be happy to provide whatever assistance I can to insure that Mayor Kos has the information he needs to fully understand the issues facing the city.

Best of luck in your new responsibilities.

Michael D. Bissonnette

On Thursday, a succession of scientists took the stand to testify about how they gathered and analyzed evidence at the house.

NORTHAMPTON - Drama was at a minimum Thursday at the Cara Rintala murder trial as a parade of scientists detailed the processes they use in their investigations without directly connecting the evidence they found to a suspect.

Rintala, 47, is charged with first degree murder in the death of her wife, Annamarie Cochrane Rintala, who was 37 when she was found strangled on March 29, 2010 in the couple’s Granby home. Police arrived at the house shortly after 7 p.m. that evening to find the defendant cradling her wife’s rigid, paint-spattered body and wailing. The case originally went to trial last March, but it ended in a hung jury.

On Thursday, a succession of scientists took the stand to testify about how they gathered and analyzed evidence at the house. Several of them work in the state police crime lab. Parker Putnam said a white substance found on the tip of a shovel at the scene was consistent with paint in the nearby door jamb. The prosecution maintains that Rintala hacked at the door post with the shovel to create the impression that an intruder was trying to break in, but no one tied her to the shovel Thursday.

Christopher Dolan, a crime scene investigator with the state police, told the jury he found few prints to compare with the samples he had from Cara Rintala, Annamarie Rintala, Mark Oleksak, Carla Daniele and William Cochrane, Annamarie’s father. The defense has argued that investigators did not look hard enough at Oleksak and Daniele as possible suspects. One of the few usable prints, found on an overturned paint bucket, matched Cochrane’s, Nolan said, but he could not tell how old they were.

Although First Assistant District Attorney Steven Gagne handled all the questioning prior to Thursday, co-counsel Jennifer Suhl questioned Caroline Tatro, who works in the criminalistics unit of the state police crime lab. Tatro said she found traces of blood on a white laundry basket, a shelf in the basement and the bottom step of the stairs leading down to the basement. A rag recovered from a McDonald trash receptacle also tested positive for blood, she said. The prosecution claims Rintala put the rag there on the day of the murder.

Tatro also said she had DNA samples from both wives, Olesak and Daniele, but she did not tie the blood stains to any of them.

Defense lawyer David Hoose has continually raised questions about the evidence, saying the collection process was flawed. Under cross-examination by Hoose, several witnesses conceded that their methods sometimes produce false positives and that the crime scene was contaminated by the sheer number of investigators there.

Tatro also told Hoose that some of the hairs found in Annamarie Rintala’s hand were cat hairs. The couple did not have a cat at the time of her death. The defense has suggested that the hairs are from a cat belonging to another suspect.

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh made a friendly wager with Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock on the outcome of this Sunday's AFC Championship game between the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos.

BOSTON — Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh made a friendly wager with Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock on the outcome of this Sunday's AFC Championship game between the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos.

The key part of the wager involves next week's U.S. Conference of Mayors, where both will be in attendance. According to the terms of the bet, the loser will have to wear the jersey of the opposing team at the mayors conference in Washington, D.C.

If the Patriots are victorious on Sunday, Mayor Hancock will send to Boston some of Denver’s fabulous "green chile," as well as gear and handmade skis from Icelantic Skis, a local Denver ski and apparel company.

If the Broncos win, Walsh will send five pounds of Boston’s chocolate turtles from Phillips Candy House in Dorchester and make a donation of books with Boston themes and by Boston authors to the Denver public library. Some of the authors Walsh intends to send to Denver are Dennis Lehane, James Carroll, Doris Kearns Goodwin, David McCullough, Jackie MacMullan, Kevin Cullen and Shelley Murphy, Kevin O'Connor and Mike Casey, Jarrett Krosoczka, Casey Sherman and Brian McGrory.

Here's a clip of the phone call taking place.

A condemned man appeared to gasp several times and took an unusually long time to die — almost 25 minutes — in an execution carried out Thursday with a combination of drugs never before tried in the U.S.

This undated file photo provided by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction shows inmate Dennis McGuire. McGuire was executed Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014, by means of a two-drug lethal injection process never before tried in the U.S.  

By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS

LUCASVILLE, Ohio — A condemned man appeared to gasp several times and took an unusually long time to die — almost 25 minutes — in an execution carried out Thursday with a combination of drugs never before tried in the U.S.

Dennis McGuire's attorney Allen Bohnert called the convicted killer's death "a failed, agonizing experiment" and added: "The people of the state of Ohio should be appalled at what was done here today in their names."

An attorney for McGuire's family said it plans to sue the state over what happened. Dayton defense lawyer Jon Paul Rion said the family is deeply disturbed by the execution, which it believes violated his constitutional rights.

McGuire's lawyers had attempted last week to block his execution, arguing that the untried method could lead to a medical phenomenon known as air hunger and cause him to suffer "agony and terror" while struggling to catch his breath.

McGuire, 53, made loud snorting noises during one of the longest executions since Ohio resumed capital punishment in 1999. Nearly 25 minutes passed between the time the lethal drugs began flowing and McGuire was pronounced dead at 10:53 a.m.

Executions under the old method were typically much shorter and did not cause the kind of sounds McGuire made.

Ohio prisons spokeswoman JoEllen Smith had no comment on how the execution went but said a review will be conducted as usual.

Prison officials gave intravenous doses of two drugs, the sedative midazolam and the painkiller hydromorphone, to put McGuire to death for the 1989 rape and fatal stabbing of a pregnant newlywed, Joy Stewart.

The method was adopted after supplies of a previously used drug dried up because the manufacturer declared it off limits for capital punishment.

The execution is certain to launch a new round of federal lawsuits over Ohio's injection procedure. The state has five more executions scheduled this year, with the next one to come on Feb. 19.

What was particularly unusual Thursday was the five minutes or so that McGuire lay motionless on the gurney after the drugs began flowing, followed by a sudden snort and then more than 10 minutes of irregular breathing and gasping. Normally, movement comes at the beginning and is followed by inactivity.

"Oh, my God," his daughter, Amber McGuire, said as she watched his final moments.

In pressing for the execution to go ahead, state Assistant Attorney General Thomas Madden had argued that while the U.S. Constitution bans cruel and unusual punishment, "you're not entitled to a pain-free execution."

U.S. District Judge Gregory Frost sided with the state. But at the request of McGuire's lawyers, he ordered officials to photograph and preserve the drug vials, packaging and syringes.

The selection of drugs for use in executions in the U.S. involves more than just considerations of effectiveness. It is complicated by the politics of the death penalty, questions of medical ethics and the constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment.

In Ohio's case, the state in recent years used pentobarbital — a form of which is used to put down cats and dogs. But the state's supply ran out after the manufacturer refused to allow its use in executions.

Some executions with pentobarbital ran into problems, but they involved difficulties inserting the needle, not trouble with the effectiveness of the drug itself.

A few minutes before McGuire was put to death, Ohio prison director Gary Mohr said he believed the state's planning would produce "a humane, dignified execution" consistent with the law.

Strapped to a gurney in the death chamber, McGuire thanked Stewart's family members, who witnessed the execution, for their "kind words" in a letter he apparently received from them.

"I'm going to heaven. I'll see you there when you come," he said.

Stewart's slaying went unsolved for 10 months until McGuire, jailed on an unrelated assault and hoping to improve his legal situation, told investigators he had information about the death. His attempts to pin the crime on his brother-in-law quickly unraveled, and he was accused of the killing.

More than a decade later, DNA evidence confirmed McGuire's guilt, and he acknowledged his responsibility in a letter to Gov. John Kasich last month.

The death row inmate's lawyers argued McGuire was mentally, physically and sexually abused as a child and had impaired brain function that made him prone to act impulsively.

"We have forgiven him, but that does not negate the need for him to pay for his actions," Stewart's family said in a statement after the execution.

Arrested were Israel Perez, 19, formerly 68 Calhoun St. and now homeless, and a juvenile boy whose name was not released due to his age, Delaney said.

This is an update of a story originally published at 4:04 p.m. Thursday.

SPRINGFIELD – Police arrested two suspects, a 19-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy, and recovered a handgun on State Street after Springfield police converged on the High School of Science and Technology after learning of possible large fight at dismissal.

Officers dispersed a crowd that had gathered in front of the school, but a short time later, the two suspects were arrested a few blocks down State Street after officers witnessed one of the firing shots in the air, said said Sgt. John Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William Fitchet.

“The Springfield police did a tremendous job getting two suspects off the street and recovering a loaded weapon,”

Arrested were Israel Perez, 19, formerly 68 Calhoun St. and now homeless, and a juvenile boy whose name was not released due to his age, Delaney said.

Each was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, resisting arrest, carrying a firearm and receiving a stolen firearm.
Perez also had outstanding warrants for disturbing school while in session, threatening to murder, and malicious damage over $250.

The gun, a .25 caliber semiautomatic handgun, had been reported stolen during a house break in Vermont.

Perez was scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Springfield District Court.

Police had already had a heavy concentration in the area after gaining information that some students at the nearby Springfield High School of Science and Technology were planning trouble after the final bell, Delaney said.

Several additional uniform officers and plainclothes officers were dispatched to the school for dismissal to prevent any trouble, Delaney said. Officers broke up a crowd that had gathered and the school closed in an orderly fashion, he said.

“The planning, preparation and deployment prevented anyone from getting seriously injured,” Delaney said.

Springfield Police on scene on Wilbraham Road near Norfolk Street on Thursday afternoon. Police were looking for two suspects who fired a gun in the air on State Street. Two people were arrested.Dave Roback / The Republican 

Shortly after the crowd at Sci-Tech had been dispersed, plainclothes officers Selenia Cruz and Kevin McCaffery were patrolling in the area of State and Berlin when they spotted Perez and the juvenile get out of a car. Perez was wearing a mask and fired two shots into the air, Delaney said.

Delaney said Cruz and McCaffery apprehended the juvenile immediately, but Perez ran off toward the Zion Baptist Community Church.

K-9 officer Timothy Morrow and his dog Cairo and Detective Michael Carney found Perez hiding in a trash bin behind a house near the Roosevelt Avenue service road, Delaney said. They also recovered the gun and mask.

Delaney gave credit to the Quebec unit, under the direction of Sgt. David Kane, for gathering intelligence about the possible trouble after school and for taking steps to prevent it.

“The Quebec officers sources and their relationship with students paid off by having police officers where the potential of violence is about to take place,” he said.

The school had been placed on temporary lockdown at the time of the shooting, but school had been dismissed and no one at the school was in danger, he said.

Delaney said additional Quebec officers will be deployed to Sci-Tech again for dismissal on Friday as a precaution.

Approximate locations of the shots-fired incident and where Israel Perez was arrested.

State Rep. Carlos Henriquez, D-Dorchester, was led to jail Wednesday from a Medford courtroom after a jury convicted him on 2 assault and battery charges stemming from a domestic violence incident.

By ANDY METZGER
and MATT MURPHY

A day after her client was convicted on two counts of assault and battery, Rep. Carlos Henriquez’s attorney, Stephanie Soriano-Mills, said the Dorchester Democrat was still considering his options over whether to resign from the House while he serves six months in jail.

Carlos Henriquezmalegislature.gov 

Soriano-Mills also told the News Service on Thursday evening her client would appeal his conviction.

Henriquez was led to jail Wednesday from a Medford courtroom after a jury convicted him on two assault and battery charges stemming from a domestic violence incident in July 2012. He was acquitted on one count of assault and battery, witness intimidation and a charge relating to larceny of a SIM card, but was sentenced to 2½ years in a house of correction, with six months to serve.

Democrats and Republicans, including Gov. Deval Patrick, House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, called on Henriquez to resign immediately, and DeLeo referred the matter to the House Ethics Committee to begin disciplinary proceedings against Henriquez, which could lead to expulsion if he doesn’t resign.

The House voted to give its Ethics Committee subpoena power on Thursday to investigate. – A. Metzger, M.Murphy/SHNS

A day after eking out its first record high of 2014, the stock market lost ground Thursday as electronics retailer Best Buy, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and railroad operator CSX had disappointing earnings news.

By KEN SWEET
AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK — A batch of negative company news gave investors something to fret over Thursday.

A day after eking out its first record high of 2014, the stock market lost ground Thursday as electronics retailer Best Buy, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, and railroad operator CSX had disappointing earnings news.

Consumer discretionary companies and banks fell the most.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 2.49 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,845.89, retreating from the all-time high it hit the day before.

Best Buy fell the most in the S&P 500 index after the company reported a decline in sales during the crucial holiday season. Its shares plunged $10.74, or 29 percent, to $26.83.

Investors had high hopes that Best Buy, which has faced intense competition from companies like Amazon.com, would put itself back on track. The stock soared 236 percent last year. However, the company said Thursday that the aggressive price-matching policy it offered during the holidays backfired and sales fell 0.8 percent compared to a year ago.

Best Buy is not the only retailer to disappoint investors in the last week.

Bed Bath & Beyond, Family Dollar and Target all cut their full-year outlooks last week after a weak holiday season. The only bright spot in the retail industry was Macy's, and even it announced layoffs of 2,500 employees as part of a restructuring.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 64.93 points, or 0.4 percent, to 16,417.01. The Nasdaq composite had a modest gain of 3.80 points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,218.69.

Goldman Sachs was the biggest drag on the Dow, falling $3.58, or 2 percent, to $175.17.

The bank reported a drop in fourth-quarter profit due to problems in its mortgages and bond trading division. However, Goldman's earnings did beat analysts' expectations.

The bond and mortgage businesses were also weak at Citigroup, whose results fell short of expectations. The stock dropped $2.39, or 4 percent, to $52.60.

The stock market is "fragile" right now, said Scott Clemons, chief investment strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman.

"If something were to go wrong, like if this earnings season continues to disappoint, I think any negative market reaction would be magnified," Clemons said. "The market is not as resilient as it was last year."

The company disappointments were not limited to retailers and banks.

CSX warned investors that it might be difficult to reach its own profit targets over the next two years because of ongoing weak demand for coal. The news pushed CSX down $1.99, or 7 percent, to $27.24. Other railroad stocks including Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern also fell.

It's still very early in earnings season. Roughly 70 members of the S&P 500 index report next week, including Microsoft, IBM, Delta Air Lines and McDonald's.

Quincy Krosby, a market strategist with Prudential Financial, said the market desperately needs companies to deliver on expectations this quarter and should find more direction next week once more companies release their results.

"We need the economic data and corporate earnings to be strong enough to support these valuations," Krosby said.

Investors retreated into traditional "safe havens" like government bonds, high-dividend stocks and gold. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.84 percent from 2.89 percent the day before. Bond yields fall as their prices rise.

Gold rose $1.90, or 0.2 percent, to $1,240.20 an ounce.

In other company news:

— CEC Entertainment, the parent company of the Chuck E. Cheese pizza parlor chain, rose $6.32, or 13 percent, to $54.75. CEC agreed to be bought by the private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $950 million.

— Nu Skin plunged $30.43, or 26 percent, to $84.80. Chinese officials accused Nu Skin of operating a pyramid scheme. Nu Skin, based in Provo, Utah, sells skin care and nutritional products through a direct-selling model.

Chicopee Mayor Richard Kos said IT experts found 28,000 emails had been deleted from the mayoral office computers.

UPDATE, 7:25 p.m.: Former Chicopee Mayor Michael Bissonnette: No documents erased illegally
» Read the story

CHiCOPEE — Mayor Richard J. Kos is asking the state attorney general, inspector general and secretary of state to investigate missing emails and electronic files that were deleted before he took office Jan. 6.

In his first days on the job, Kos said, he and his staff found all the computers in the mayor's office had been electronically scrubbed and some files that had been properly moved to other locations were also deleted.

Information technology experts who work for the city said they found evidence that 28,000 emails had been deleted from the mayoral office computers, Kos said.

Under the state public records law, all emails and working files must be preserved.

While there is a process to legally eliminate files, it must be done through the Secretary of State's office, and there is no evidence that permission was sought, City Solicitor Marshall Moriarty said.

Kos took office after an election battle with eight-year incumbent Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette. Kos had previously served as the city's mayor from 1994 to 2007.

Another area of low pressure will track into our area early Saturday and bring us snow showers for the morning mixing with and changing to raindrops during the afternoon for valley locations. A strong cold front will follow Sunday night. It stays cold through the middle of next week with some arctic air trying making a return after Monday. The...

Another area of low pressure will track into our area early Saturday and bring us snow showers for the morning mixing with and changing to raindrops during the afternoon for valley locations. A strong cold front will follow Sunday night. It stays cold through the middle of next week with some arctic air trying making a return after Monday. The core of this air will stay north of us in northern New England.

Tonight: Clear start, cloudy finish. Low near 25.

Saturday: Periods of light snow. Mixing with rain by afternoon. Highs near 35.

Sunday: Flurries, sun and clouds. Breezy. High near 30.

Radar | 5 Day Forecast

The statistics for 2011 and 2012 show a dramatic increase over the 171 priests removed in 2008 and 2009.

By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press

By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press

VATICAN CITY — A document obtained by The Associated Press on Jan. 17 shows Pope Benedict XVI defrocked nearly 400 priests over just two years for sexually molesting children.

The statistics for 2011 and 2012 show a dramatic increase over the 171 priests removed in 2008 and 2009, when the Vatican first provided details on the number of priests who have been defrocked. Prior to that, it had only publicly revealed the number of alleged cases of sexual abuse it had received and the number of trials it had authorized.

While it's not clear why the numbers spiked in 2011, it could be because 2010 saw a new explosion in the number of cases reported in the media in Europe and beyond.

The document was prepared from data the Vatican had been collecting and was compiled to help the Holy See defend itself before a U.N. committee this week in Geneva.

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican's U.N. ambassador in Geneva, referred to just one of the statistics in the course of eight hours of oftentimes pointed criticism and questioning from the U.N. human rights committee.

The statistics were compiled from the Vatican's own annual reports about the activities of its various offices, including the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which handles sex abuse cases. Although public, the annual reports are not readily available or sold outside Rome and are usually found in Vatican offices or Catholic university libraries.

An AP review of the reference books shows a remarkable evolution in the Holy See's in-house procedures to discipline pedophiles since 2001, when the Vatican ordered bishops to send cases of all credibly accused priests to Rome for review.

Then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who would become Benedict XVI, took action after determining that bishops around the world weren't following church law to put accused clerics on trial in church tribunals. Bishops routinely moved problem priests from parish to parish rather than subject them to canonical trials — or turn them into police.

For centuries, the church has had its own in-house procedures to deal with priests who sexually abuse children. One of the chief accusations from victims is that bishops put the church's own procedures ahead of civil law enforcement by often suggesting victims keep accusations quiet while they are dealt with internally.

The maximum penalty for a priest convicted by a church tribunal is essentially losing his job: being defrocked, or removed from the clerical state. There are no jail terms and nothing to prevent an offender from raping again.

According to the 2001 norms Ratzinger pushed through and subsequent updates, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith reviews each case sent to Rome and then instructs bishops how to proceed, either by launching an administrative process against the priest if the evidence is overwhelming or a church trial. At every step of the way the priest is allowed to defend himself.

The Congregation started reporting numbers only in 2005, which is where Tomasi's spreadsheet starts off. U.N. officials said Friday that the committee has not received the document.

In 2005, the Congregation authorized bishops to launch church trials against 21 accused clerics, and reported that its appeals court had handled two cases. It didn't say what the verdicts were, according to the annual reports cited by the spreadsheet.

In 2006, the number of canonical trials authorized doubled to 43 and eight appeals cases were heard. And for the first time, the Congregation revealed publicly the number of cases reported to it: 362, though that figure includes a handful of non-abuse related canonical crimes.

A similar number of cases were reported in 2007 — 365 — but again the Congregation didn't specify how many were abuse-related. Vatican officials, however, have said that it received between 300-400 cases a year in these years following the 2002 explosion of U.S. sex abuse cases in the U.S. In 2007, 23 cases were sent to dioceses for trial.

By 2008, the tone of the Vatican's entry had changed. Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, traveled to the scandal-hit United States that year and is quoted in the annual report as telling reporters en route that he was "mortified" by the scale of abuse and simply couldn't comprehend "how priests could fail in such a way."

That year's entry was also notable for another reason: For the first time, an official Vatican document made clear that nothing in the church process precluded victims from reporting abuse to police.

There was also another first in 2008, a critical year as abuse lawsuits in the U.S. naming the Holy See as a defendant were heating up: For the first time, the Vatican revealed the number of priests who had been defrocked: 68. Some 191 new cases were reported.

A year later, the number of defrocked priests rose to 103, while some 223 new cases were received, the vast majority of them abuse-related.

The year 2010 was another milestone in the sex abuse saga, with the explosion of thousands of cases reported in the media across Europe and beyond. Some 527 cases were reported to the Congregation. No figures were given that year for the number of defrocked priests, rather the Congregation described new church laws put in place to more easily and quickly remove them.

By 2011, with the new streamlined laws in place, the number of defrocked priests rose dramatically: 260 priests were removed in one year only, while 404 new cases of child abuse were reported. In addition to those defrocked, another 419 priests had lesser penalties imposed on them for abuse-related crimes.

In 2012, the last year for which statistics are available, the number of defrockings dropped to 124, with another 418 new cases reported.

Heilprin reported from Geneva.

The company blamed for a chemical spill that left 300,000 West Virginians without safe drinking water filed for bankruptcy Friday.

By JONATHAN MATTISE, Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The company blamed for a chemical spill that left 300,000 West Virginians without safe drinking water filed for bankruptcy Friday.

Freedom Industries Inc., facing multiple lawsuits and state and federal investigations after the Jan. 9 spill, filed a Chapter 11 petition with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of West Virginia.

Company president Gary Southern signed the paperwork, which lists the company's assets and liabilities as a range — both between $1 million and $10 million. It says the company has at least 200 creditors and owes its top 20 creditors $3.66 million.

The water was tainted after a chemical used to clean coal leaked from a storage tank and then a containment area at a facility owned by Freedom Industries. The water ran into the Elk River, contaminating the state's largest water system.

The bankruptcy document says the leaky storage tank appears to have been pierced through its base by some sort of object. It also says a current theory for the hole is that a local water line that broke near the Charleston plant could have made the ground beneath the storage tank freeze in the cold days before the spill.

After the spill, residents in a nine-county area around the state capital of Charleston were told not to use the water for anything other than flushing toilets. Some businesses and schools were forced to close for several days. The water restrictions have since been lifted for most residents.

The terminal that leaked had not been inspected by state officials since 2001, when it was owned by a different company operating under more stringent rules. State officials said Freedom Industries bought the terminal last month.

Inaugural poet Robert Blanco will speak at Clark University Monday on the one year anniversary of the reading of his poem "One Today" at President Obama's inauguration.

WORCESTER — Inaugural poet Robert Blanco will speak at Clark University Monday on the one-year anniversary of the reading of his poem "One Today" at President Barack Obama's second-term inauguration.

“So much of what it means to be an American has to do with the stories we tell ourselves and that is so prominent in Blanco’s poetry,” said Professor Robert Tobin, the Henry J. Leir Chair in Foreign Languages and Cultures at Clark University. “This captures the bigger and broader sense of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which is about diversity and inclusion."

In his talk, "Journey to the Podium," Robert Blanco will discuss his journey as a gay Cuban-American immigrant, the “complex navigation through his cultural, sexual, and artistic identities” and what is means “to become an American.” The event will he held at Clark University in Razzo Hall at the Traina Center for the Arts, 92 Downing St. beginning at 4 p.m. on Monday with a book signing at 5:30 p.m.

Having Blanco speak on Martin Luther King Jr. Day was a happy coincidence of scheduling, but one with significance, said Tobin. Blanco's accessible poetry draws from King's influence, while he personally captures many aspects of an expansion of rights and what it means to be American, he said.

"I think Blanco in many ways represents the complexity of America now,” said Tobin. “He’s clearly whole-heartedly American and has spent a lot of time thinking about what it means to be American.”

Blanco is a physical representation of King's message of inclusion and the work of the many different groups that can draw their legacy to King's work, said Betsy Huang, associate professor of English and chief officer of diversity and inclusion at Clark University.

The more diverse the United States becomes, the more people attempt to narrow the definition of what it means to be American, she said, adding that King fought against that narrowing in his time by asserting that he was as American as anyone else. The civil rights movement enabled other ethnic groups to become activists in its wake, Huang said.

“(Blanco) is an embodiment of all those different groups – the people who worked tirelessly," said Huang. “You can hear undertones and overtones of all these issues in Blanco’s poetry.”

His poetry is accessible and grounded while being full of consideration for larger themes, said the professors. Blanco's straightforward style is excellent for people just starting to explore poetry, said Tobin who explained that the poet's subject includes pop culture references as well as historical ones. Blanco's work balances details and grand statements about hopes and optimism, said Huang.

“It’s such a great balance between what is in the stratosphere and what is on the ground," she said.

Copies of Blanco's book "For All Of Us, One Today" will be available for purchase during a reception and book signing by Blanco at 5:30 p.m. on Monday.

A sixth-grade boy at a Shrewsbury middle school created what he titled an "assassination list" with the names of eight other students and another untitled list of five students, according to a report

A sixth-grade boy at a Shrewsbury middle school created what he titled an "assassination list" with the names of eight other students and another untitled list of five students, according to a report.

The 11-year-old Sherwood Middle School student had the list on his iPad, which he showed to a another student. That student told his parents, who called the school Thursday morning, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported.

Shrewsbury police investigated the list, and said they didn't believe there was a credible safety threat.

"The matter was thoroughly investigated by our school resource officer in cooperation with the school. As a result, we're confident no credible threat exists and the students are safe," Police Chief James Hester told the Telegram.

It was unclear if the student has been removed from school.

Shrewsbury school Superintendent Joseph M. Sawyer or Sherwood Middle School Principal Jane O. Lizotte could not immediately be reached Friday afternoon. A message left for Hester was also not immediately returned.

Check MassLive.com later for more updates on this breaking news story.

A joint meeting with Ware selectmen is scheduled for Feb. 18 to name a temporary replacement to the five-person board. The appointment would be in effect until the next annual town election in May.

New Ware school board chairman Aaron Sawabi at the Jan. 15 2014 meetingJim Russell 

WARE – The Ware School Committee is concerned about replacing a member who recently quit and is also concerned about another member who has been persistently absent.

The committee acknowledged at the Jan. 15 meeting that, to date, no one has shown interest in replacing the former chairman Chris Desjardins, who served for 10 years. Citing the need to spend more time with his family, Desjardins resigned earlier this month.

A joint meeting with Ware selectmen is scheduled for Feb. 18 to name a temporary replacement to the five-person board. The appointment would be in effect until the next annual town election in May.

The board said those interested in the job should contact Superintendent Mary-Elizabeth Beach with a letter of interest.

“We do have a member that doesn’t come” to meetings, said School Committee member Brian Winslow, referring to member William Gunn.

The board’s new chairman, Aaron Sawabi said he had spoken to Gunn recently, saying he told Gunn the topic of his persistent no-shows at committee meetings would be discussed. Gunn did not attend the most recent meeting. The board did not provide data to show the number of meetings Gunn has not attended.

“I am not questioning the validity of his absences, I assume they are valid; we want to minimize absences,” Sawabi said.

Winslow said he is frustrated by Gunn not attending meetings and worries that with only four members at present, the risk of a meeting being postponed due to lack of a quorum is a concern.

Winslow also lamented that an elected member cannot be removed by the board -- despite not showing up for numerous meetings.

“There is nothing we can do unless we go through a recall process,” he said.

Contacted by telephone on Friday, Gunn said: “We are looking into ways we can use some of the modern multimedia such as Skype so that I can participate remotely when the need arises. When I am working out of state. Of course I am going to try to be there in person whenever possible. The approval for the remote access needs the approval of the town manager, that is my understanding.”