Tsarnaev is accused of being responsible for the bombings that killed three people and injured 260.

United States prosecutors will seek the death penalty against alleged Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

In a court filing on Thursday, U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said the United States will be seeking the death penalty for several different offenses, including the use of a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death and the bombing of a public place resulting in death.

The court filing accuses Tsarnaev, 20, of the murder of Boston Marathon bombing victims Krystle Campbell, Martin Richard and Lingzi Lu and MIT Police Officer Sean Collier, who was shot in his police car days after the bombings. The bombings also injured more than 260 people. Tsarnaev's older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, also suspected in the bombings, was killed in a shoot-out with the police after Collier's murder. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev escaped the shoot-out and was captured a day later hiding out in a boat in a Watertown backyard.

As aggravating factors, the filing says Tsarnaev caused "grave risk of death" to additional people. It cites the "heinous, cruel and depraved manner" of the offense, and notes that he acted with planning and premeditation, killed multiple people and was responsible for the killing of a particularly vulnerable victim in 8-year-old Richard. (The Richard family, through a spokesman, declined to comment.)

The filing said Tsarnaev "obtained citizenship and enjoyed the freedoms of a United States citizen; and then betrayed his allegiance to the United States by killing and maiming people in the United States." It also cited his lack of remorse.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said in a statement, "I'm sure that after very thoughtful consideration, (U.S.) Attorney General (Eric) Holder has made this decision based upon the facts of this case and applicable federal law."

"My thoughts continue to be with the victims who were murdered and their families, as well as the other victims who are still dealing with the horrific consequences of this grievous and intentional act of terror," Coakley said. "The Marathon bombers may have tried to put the people of Boston in fear, but instead only made us stronger and brought us together as a Commonwealth."

Coakley previously supported the death penalty in some circumstances, but during her 2010 Senate race, she said she opposed it under all circumstances.

Massachusetts abolished the death penalty in 1984. But Tsarnaev is being tried in federal court, which does provide for the death penalty. The last federal death penalty case in Massachusetts was the case of Gary Lee Sampson, who was sentenced to death after he was convicted of carjacking and murdering three men in 2001. A judge later vacated the decision, and prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty again.

Miriam Conrad, the federal public defender representing Tsarnaev, declined to comment. Attorney Judy Clarke, who specializes in death penalty cases, is among the team of attorneys defending Tsarnaev. Clarke also defended Unabomber Ted Kaczynski and Jared Loughner, who shot a judge and wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, a Democrat, said in a statement, "One way or another, based on the evidence, Tsarnaev will die in prison. In each milestone of this case -- today's announcement, the trial and every other significant step in the justice process -- the people hurt by the Marathon bombings and the rest of us so shocked by it will relive that tragedy. The best we can do is remind each other that we are a stronger Commonwealth than ever, and that nothing can break that spirit."

U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, a Democrat, said he opposes the death penalty - but will make an exception in the case of terrorism. "In this case, a terrorist attack killed and injured innocent people, and one law enforcement officer was gunned down and another gravely wounded. I trust the Justice Department to prosecute this case appropriately," he said.

The news drew an immediate response from death penalty opponents. Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, said the ACLU was "disappointed" that Attorney General Eric Holder authorized prosecutors to seek the death penalty. "The ACLU opposes the death penalty in all cases, because it discriminatory and arbitrary, and inherently violates the Constitutional ban against cruel and unusual punishment," Rose said. "After the horrible Marathon attack, this community rallied around the slogan 'Boston Strong.' Even -- and especially -- in case like this, that means not letting terrorists or anyone else shake us from staying true to our values."

Boston Bar Association president Paul Dacier said in a statement that he is disappointed in the decision to seek the death penalty. "Pursuit of the death penalty is almost always an empty and inordinately expensive gesture, inconsistent with the sensible allocation of resources in a criminal justice system already laboring under great financial strain,” Dacier said.

Shane O'Hara, store manager at Marathon Sports on Boylston Street, was among those personally touched by the bombing. The first bomb detonated in front of his store, and employees used the store's apparel to help the injured. O'Hara, speaking for himself and not on behalf of the company, said he would like Tsarnaev to be put to death. "Me personally, I hope he gets the death penalty because of what he did. He's not even a citizen of the United States, he comes in here and pulls that kind of stunt," O'Hara said. (The Tsarnaev family came to the U.S. from Chechnya as refugees.)

"The only bad thing is it's going to cost us taxpayers, the people here and doing good, more money if he gets on death row, because he will do appeal after appeal after appeal," O'Hara said.

This is a breaking news story that will be updated.

Notice of Intent to Seek Death Penalty US v. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

U.S. Representative Jim McGovern is pushing President Obama to prioritize the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program in the President's 2015 budget.

Massachusetts congressman James McGovern. 

“This has been a very difficult winter, and many families have already used up their energy allowance,” Rep. McGovern said in a press release. “LIHEAP helps some of our most vulnerable neighbors to stay warm and safe during the cold winter months.”

LIHEAP is the main federal program that helps low-income households and seniors with their energy bills. As a result of declining funding, said McGovern, nearly 1.5 million vulnerable households have lost access to LIHEAP assistance.

The congressman is pushing for the President to include no less than $4.7 billion for the program that has seen a 30-percent decline in recent years.

McGovern has previously raised the issue with the President, but his latest letter comes with the bipartisan support of nearly 125 members of the U.S. House, according to the release.

Obituaries from The Republican.

 

Michael Pajak 

Michael E. Pajak, 56, passed away on Tuesday. He was born in Ware, and was a longtime West Springfield resident. He was a senior systems analyst for Monarch Life Insurance. He was a graduate of North Adams State College and earned master's degrees in math and computer science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He was an avid traveler and collector.

A Worcester man allegedly drove over a police officer's foot and hit an unmarked police car before 60 grams of heroin were found in his vehicle on Shrewsbury Street Thursday.

"Worcester police narcotics detecting K-9, Brie, searched the vehicle. Brie made strong indications within the vehicle," according to a press release from the Worcester Police Department. "A vice detective searched the area where Brie indicated that there were drugs and recovered 100 knotted bags of heroin weighing approximately 60 grams."

Police had executed a search warrant on a car being driven by Jose Lora, 20, of 18 Second St. while it was on Shrewsbury Street. As they approached the car with their badges out, Lora reportedly locked the doors, hit an unmarked police vehicle and drove over an officer's foot, according to police. The officers were able to remove Lora and his passenger — Alexander Matias, 33, of 37 Pemberton St., Apt. 3 — and search the vehicle.

During that search, detectives from the Worcester Police Vice Squad reportedly found additional bags of heroin, five bags of crack cocaine and $6,002 in cash. A search warrant was issued for Lora's home where police found 70 grams of heroin, drug paraphernalia, drug packaging material and over $5,500 in cash, stated police.

Police arrested Lora and charged him with resisting arrest, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, trafficking heroin (100-199 grams) and conspiracy to violate controlled substance laws.

Matias was arrested and charged with trafficking heroin (28-99 grams), possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and conspiracy to violate controlled substance laws.

The coke bust was the largest in Springfield in a number of years, police said.

 

In photos provided by Springfield police: Top row, left to right, Angel Gonzalez and Evangelina Gonzalez, and bottom row, left to right, Nefateris Medina and Reynaldo Velasquez. 

SPRINGFIELD — City, state and federal law enforcement personnel arrested two men and two women at the Main Street post office Thursday night after they allegedly signed for two packages containing more than $100,000 worth of pure cocaine.

The suspects, three from Holyoke one from Florida, were quickly arrested without incident, Sgt. John M. Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William Fitchet, said.

The bust, 6 kilos worth of cocaine, marked the city’s largest in a number of years, Delaney said, adding that it followed a days-long investigation by the department’s narcotics unit, the state police gang unit and U.S. postal inspectors.

The suspects arrived at the 1883 Main St. facility to pick up the two packages (one containing four kilos, the other, two) at about 5:30 p.m., Delaney said. They signed for the packages and were surrounded and arrested as they left the building.

One of the four, Reynaldo Velazquez, 25, of 21 Bowers St., Holyoke, was carrying a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson semiautomatic handgun containing 11 rounds of ammunition, Delaney said.

Also arrested were: Angel Gonzalez, 37, of 576 East St., Holyoke; Evangelina Gonzalez, 47, of 111 Newton St., Holyoke; and Nefateris Medina, 33, of 1235 SW 29th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

All four were charged with trafficking in cocaine (200-plus grams). Velaquez also was charged with carrying a firearm in commission of a felony.

Delaney, citing the ongoing investigation, declined to say where the package had been mailed from.

The odor at Mohawk Trail Regional High School and Middle School in Shelburne Falls was traced to an overheated ventilation motor on the roof of the library.

 

SHELBURNE FALLS — An electrical burning odor that emanated from the ventilation system at Mohawk Trail Regional High School and Middle School on Friday morning prompted the evacuation of staff and students.

Superintendent Michael Buoninconti said the source of the odor could not be immediately identified and he opted to send students home at about 9:15 a.m. as a precaution.

The early dismissal went well Buoniconti said. “Everybody did their job and they did it with a level head,” he said.

Technicians have since isolated the problem to an overheated ventilation motor on the roof of the library, Buoniconti said. The motor has since been disconnected and replacement parts are on order.

Normal school hours will resume on Monday, Buoniconti said.

The state Department of Correction said Friday it will request a hearing by the full 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Michelle Kosilek.

FILE - In this Jan. 15, 1993 file photo, Robert J. Kosilek, now known as Michelle Kosilek, sits in Bristol County Superior Court in New Bedford, Mass., where Kosilek was on trial for the May 1990 murder of his wife. Kosilek was convicted and lives as a woman in a Massachusetts prison serving a life sentence for murder. A federal appeals court on Friday, Jan. 17, 2014 upheld a judge's ruling granting a taxpayer-funded sex change operation for Kosilek, saying receiving medically necessary treatment is a constitutional right that must be protected “even if that treatment strikes some as odd or unorthodox.” (AP Photo/Lisa Bul, file)AP 

The state Department of Correction said Friday it will request a hearing by the full 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Michelle Kosilek.

Two weeks ago, a three-judge panel of the same court upheld a judge's decision granting Kosilek's request for sex-reassignment surgery. The rehearing would be before the full court of six justices.

The appeals court panel said receiving medically necessary treatment is a constitutional right that must be protected "even if that treatment strikes some as odd or unorthodox."

Michelle Kosilek was born Robert Kosilek and was convicted in the killing of spouse Cheryl Kosilek in 1990.

Judge Andrew Mandell ordered Leeanna Wilson to be held on $22,000 bail following an arraignment in Fitchburg District Court Friday.

FITCHBURG — Judge Andrew Mandell ordered Leeanna Wilson held on $22,000 bail following an arraignment in Fitchburg District Court Friday.

Wilson was arraigned on three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, one count of assault and battery, one count of reckless endangerment of a child and one count of kidnapping of a minor relative, according to the Worcester District Attorney's Office. Her case has been continued to Feb. 25.

Wilson was arrested in North Carolina after triggering an Amber Alert when she left Massachusetts with her 5-year-old daughter Alize Whipple. She is being transported Friday from North Carolina and will be arraigned in Fitchburg District Court later today or Monday, according to the Worcester District Attorney's Office.

Reports in North Carolina suggest Wilson fled Massachusetts because the state Department of Children and Families was about to take custody of the young girl.

The Nov. 11 fire caused some $80,000 in damage to Hall's home at 225 Durant St. in the Sixteen Acres section of springfield.

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Arson & Bomb Squad arrested a 24-year-old city man Friday and charged him with setting his Sixteen Acres home on fire in November.

Bryan Hall, 24, formerly of 225 Durant St., was charged with arson of a dwelling and injury to a firefighter, Dennis Leger, aide to Commissioner Joseph Conant, said.

Hall is suspected of setting fire to his Durant Street home on Nov. 11, Leger said. A firefighter suffered a leg injury after he fell off a ladder while fighting the fire.

The blaze displaced six adults and three children. Investigators quickly determined that it was deliberately set.

It caused an estimated $80,000 in damage to the property, Leger said at the time, adding that the building sustained fire damage on the first floor and exterior, heat and smoke damage on the second floor, and water damage in the basement.

The Pioneer Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross aided those displaced. Assessor records state the property is owned by Jonathan B. and Tammy Y. Hall and assessed at $177,900.

Hall denied the charges in District Court. He was released on is own recognizance and ordered to return on March 25 for a pre-trial hearing.

Alan J. Black, Hall's lawyer in the Berkshire triple murder case, rested the defense early Friday.

SPRINGFIELD — Jurors in the Adam Lee Hall triple murder case have now heard all the evidence, and on Monday both sides will present closing arguments.

Alan J. Black, Hall's lawyer in the Berkshire triple murder case, rested the defense early Friday.

He had called one witness Thursday, Dr. Jonathan Arden, a forensic pathologist.

Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder apologized to jurors for having them come in for such a short day, but said he and lawyers need to further discuss what his jury instructions will be.

The prosecution had called more than 80 witnesses over three weeks of trial. Jurors had been told the trial could last four to six weeks after jury selection, but last week it became clear it would be shorter.

Hall, 36, of Peru, is facing 19 charges, including multiple counts of murder and kidnapping from three separate incidents from 2009 through 2011.

In August 2011, weeks before he was to testify against Hall in another case, David 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.

Hall is being tried first.

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

One of the instructions Black asked Kinder to include is a "limiting instruction" on items found in Veiovis' home. He said he wants an instruction covering this idea: "Mr. Hall can't be convicted because Mr. Veiovis' is weird."

Black said, "There are some strange things in that (Veiovis) house that aren't related to this case."

Kinder said he will give Black's request some thought.

Berkshire District Attorney David Capeless had, through witnesses, introduced photos of items found at Veiovis' home, although they were not seized as evidence in the case and were not tied forensically to the case.

Those included photos of a machete, knives, a cat o' nine tails, a nunchuck style item, a meat cleaver (on a cutting board in the kitchen), and two baseball bat type items with rows of nails sticking out.

Kinder said he will repeat his cautionary instruction to the jury on the Hells Angels. He has told the jury repeatedly they should not take Hall's affiliation with the Hells Angels as any indication of bad character.

A total of 16 jury members were selected and have heard the case. After closing arguments and jury instructions, four will be selected randomly to serve as alternates.

They will not take part in deliberations but will sit in another room each day, in case any of the 12 deliberating jurors is excused during deliberations.

The jury will have over 350 pieces of evidence in the jury room – photos, videotapes, copies of relevant reports and items seized.

The next co-defendant, Chalue, has a trial date of April 14. Veiovis is to be tried in June.

The state’s education chief says any plans to replace the MCAS assessment instrument are at least two years away -- and that no decision has been made on whether PARCC would be the successor.

Massachusetts Secretary of Education Matthew Malone on the left during a visit to Ware public schools Jan. 29. To his right are Sen. Stephen Brewer, D-Barre, Rep. Anne Gobi, D-Spencer, Supt. Mary-Elizabeth Beach, and Rep. Todd Smola, R-WarrenJimRussell 

WARE – The state’s education chief says any plans to replace the MCAS assessment instrument are at least two years away -- and that no decision has been made on whether PARCC would be the successor.

Secretary of Education Matthew Malone also discussed ways for the state to directly pay some of the costs to purchase computers and install security enhancements to buildings.

He spoke during a meeting with Ware public school officials and area legislators on Wednesday at the Ware campus. The secretary visited classrooms, spoke with students, urging them to attend college and sought out comments from teachers.

State Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, and Ware superintendent Mary-Elizabeth Beach told Malone a belief that PARCC testing is coming soon has jolted school systems. And that many districts, such as Ware, do not have adequate computer resources to implement it. The PARCC exam is an acronym for Partnership for Assessment of Readiness of College and Careers; MCAS refers to Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System.

Brewer told Malone that he recently attended a conference attended by 20 school superintendents and that most worrisome to them was the PARCC exam.

The state education “board has not (been) sold yet that this is the best system,” Malone responded. He said no decision would be forthcoming from the board for at least two years on whether PARCC – or if another testing system – would replace MCAS.

While no decision has been made, many school districts are being asked by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to be part of the pilot program for the PARCC tests. The DESE Commissioner Mitchell Chester currently serves as the chairman of the PARCC Governing Board.

“PARCC is the one thing that is going to roll us over,” Beach said to Malone and the legislators.

In a letter to parents posted on the DESE Website, Chester sought to assuage concerns about the piloting of PARCC and said no decision has been made on whether that would someday replace MCAS.

"Over the next two years, Massachusetts is piloting PARCC to see how well it measures the state's learning standards and whether it should replace MCAS, our current testing program," Chester wrote on Jan. 23.

Brewer said the state should invest in computer and technology for schools in the same manner it funds new buildings and expensive remodeling via the Massachusetts School Building Authority [MSBA]. Brewer spoke along with others during a half-hour meeting in Beach’s office with Malone. The MSBA pays for more than half the costs for new school building construction. Other attendees included Reps. Anne Gobi, D-Spencer and Todd Smola, R-Warren; Ware School Committee member Danielle Souza; middle school Principal Robert Warren; Keith Abete, sixth grade instructor and teacher’s union vice president; and Beach.

“The next phase is to get a cost-sharing on this technology for schools – we have to have a buy-in” using the MSBA model, Brewer told Malone.

The education secretary called Brewer’s proposal a “great idea,” saying: “we have to do that with technology and with (school building) security.” Malone said state bonding could fund the ideas.

After touring the school Malone said the Ware students “are focused and engaged and are working on the right stuff.”

Then-state representative Martin J. Walsh was not a fan of the state's medical marijuana law when it passed as a statewide ballot question in 2012. But as mayor, he said will enforce the new law, though he still has his concerns.

BOSTON — Then-state representative Martin J. Walsh was not a fan of the state's medical marijuana law when it passed as a statewide ballot question in 2012. But as mayor, he said will enforce the new law, though he still has his concerns.

"I have concerns about it, the intent of the law when it was first passed. I think it passed under false pretense. I was never a big supporter of the law," said Walsh.

Walsh also said he was concerned the dispensaries could lead to a spike in illegal drug activity.

On Friday, the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services awarded two medical marijuana licenses to Green Heart Holistic Health & Pharmaceuticals and Good Chemistry of Massachusetts. The Greater Boston area is slated to get six dispensaries.

When asked if he would try to block the dispensaries from entering Boston, Walsh said "We can't stop them."

"As the mayor of the city of Boston, I am going to enforce the law and support the law," said Walsh.

The calls are originating from a 617 area code phone number. When the number is called, the person answering claims to be from National Grid.

 

WALTHAM — Once again National Grid customers in New England are being targeted by utility bill scammers demanding immediate payment for electric bill balances, which customers might not even owe.

The fraudulent callers are claiming to be from National Grid and threatening customers with immediate service shut-off unless they provide credit card or bank account numbers.

The calls are originating from a 617 area code phone number. When the number is called, the person answering claims to be from National Grid.

There have been numerous reports of these types of scams in several states over the past year. National Grid has issued multiple consumer warnings advising customers to be wary of any caller who threatens service termination unless an immediate payment is made.

National Grid does contact customers with past due balances by phone to offer payment options, but never demands direct payment over the telephone. If customers wish, they can arrange for a payment by check, credit card or debit card if they speak directly to a customer service representative. Payment can also be made by credit card or debit card without a representative’s assistance.

Customers who have received calls demanding immediate payment and are asked for bank account information should contact National Grid immediately. To verify information and for any billing-related questions in New England, customers should call National Grid’s Customer Contact Center at 1-800-322-3223.

The expansion of cancer services comes one year after the Northampton hospital signed an affiliation agreement with the Boston-based Massachusetts General, widely considered one of the nation’s best medical centers.

NORTHAMPTON - Cancer services at Cooley Dickinson Hospital will be expanded in the next few months as a benefit of the hospital’s partnership with Massachusetts General Hospital.

A new unit of the Massachusetts General Cancer Center will open this summer at Cooley Dickinson, according to Craig Melin, the hospital’s president and CEO.

Beginning in 2015, the new unit will be located in a $5 million extension built above the current radiation therapy department .

The expansion of cancer services comes one year after the Northampton hospital signed an affiliation agreement with the Boston-based Massachusetts General, widely considered one of the nation’s best medical centers.

While the hospitals have collaborated on cancer care since 2009, the opening of a Mass General cancer unit is “the first local clinical service to be strengthened” as a result of the partnership agreement, Melin said.

“The new venture will substantially broaden the depth and breadth of cancer services at Cooley Dickinson,” Melin said.

The new center will offer Mass General’s chemotherapy and radiation treatment, genetic screening and counseling, access to clinical trials for therapies targeting lung cancer, melanoma and other diseases, according to Melin and Sean D. Mullally, director of Cooley Dickinson’s cancer center.

All physicians working in the unit will become Mass General doctors, Melin said.

Joel H. Schwartz, clinical director at Mass General’s cancer center, will provide oversight for the Northampton unit.

The new relationship, Schwartz said, epitomizes the future of cancer care.

“Cancer is complex and it takes a coordinated relationship between community hospitals and academic medical centers to create a new cancer care paradigm, where the right approach to care and treatment is delivered to the right patient at the right time and in the right place,” Schwartz said.

Medical marijuana is coming to Worcester's canal district at 9 Harrison St care of the Colorado medical marijuana dispensary company Good Chemistry.

WORCESTER — Medical marijuana is coming to Worcester's canal district at 9 Harrison St, care of the Colorado medical marijuana dispensary Good Chemistry.

The company was one of two that received medical marijuana licenses in Worcester County Friday. It will be setting up shop at 9 Harrison St. between Water and Green Streets in Worcester's canal district.

The Colorado company has two medical marijuana dispensaries located in Denver where they cultivate and dispenses marijuana, according to an informational folder that was given to MassLive. The company has 26 employees and grows over 60 strains of marijuana.

The storefronts in Denver have the atmosphere of a 1940's apothecary, according to the company. The store is designated by a single lowercase "g" above the doorway. In addition to the storefront on Harrison Street, the company will also have a growth facility at another location in Worcester.

The company sells marijuana-infused products made in-house in addition to marijuana. These products are sold under the name Mountain Medicine and sold wholesale to approximately 25 other dispensaries in the Denver area. These products include edibles such as brownies and chocolates as well as tinctures and medicine drinks.

"After harvesting, the company uses the leftover plant byproducts to extract medicine to make hash and marijuana infused products (MIPs)," according to a statement from the company.

Officials added, as soon as the marijuana plant has a fully developed root ball it is tagged, labeled and entered into a computerized system to be tracked. The plant is tracked using this computer software all the way through as it is dried and ultimately packed and transported to the storefront facility.

The founder and chief executive officer of the company, Matthew Huron, has 13 years of commercial cultivation and retail experience in California and Colorado. He is also a founding member of the Cannabis Business Association and a board member of the National Cannabis Industry Association.

Chief Operating Officer Jaime Lewis oversees the retail operation and is the executive chef of Mountain Medicine being in charge of product development and quality control. Lewis is a founding member and chair of the Cannabis Business Alliance and a board member of the National Cannabis Industry Association.

Duncan Cameron, the chief manufacturing officer has three years experience managing medical marijuana facilities, including permitting and environmental compliance.

Earlier on Friday, the jury sent word that it was having difficulty viewing a surveillance video from the Stop & Shop Supermarket in Holyoke showing a white object a red bag in the back of Rintala’s pickup truck.

NORTHAMPTON – The jury in the second Cara Rintala murder trial sent word to the judge late Friday that it is deadlocked on a verdict, echoing the message from the jury at the first trial.

Hampshire Superior Court Judge Mary-Lou Rup read the jury’s note to a stunned courtroom at about 3:30 p.m., half an hour before court would normally recess for the week. The jury reported that it was deadlocked 8-4 and asked for guidance. The note did not indicate how many jurors were for acquittal and how many want to convict Rintala. At least one juror was crying as they left the courtroom for the weekend at about 3:50 p.m.

Rup has instructed jurors to return on Monday. When the jury comes back next week, Rup will read them the American Bar Association charge urging them to continue deliberating until reaching a verdict.

Rintala’s original murder trial ended in a hung jury in March after the jury reported several times that it could not come to an agreement on a verdict. Rup, who also presided over that trial, read that jury a different charge, called Tuey-Rodriguez. It has not yet been determined if Rup will read Tuey-Rodriguez to this jury if it cannot come to an agreement following the American Bar Association charge. When a jury sends word after Tuey-Rodriguez that it is still deadlocked, the judge must accept that result and declare a mistrial.

Rintala, 47, is charged with first degree murder in the strangling death of her wife, Annamarie Cochrane Rintala. Prosecutors maintain that she killed Cochrane Rintala in their Granby home in March 2010, putting an end to a stormy marriage marked by dueling restraining orders and divorce filings.

The case hinges largely on circumstantial evidence. Rintala told police she was out doing errands from mid-afternoon until 7 p.m., when she returned home to find her wife dead in the basement. The prosecution claims the defendant killed Cochrane Rintala before going out on her errands at 2:30 to 3 p.m.

Earlier on Friday, the jury sent word that it was having difficulty viewing a surveillance video from the Stop & Shop Supermarket in Holyoke showing a white object a red bag in the back of Rintala’s pickup truck. The prosecution says the white object is a laundry basket bearing DNA evidence from the crime scene. Police fund the basket in Cochrane Rintala’s van at the Granby home after the murder. Prosecutors claim Rintala put it there.

The case went to the jury at about 4 p.m. on Tuesday. In the first trial, the jury deliberated for four full days before Rup declared a mistrial on the fifth. Rintala has been in jail since she was arrested on the evening of her indictment in October 2011.

Eight companies have been asked to reapply in the four counties, including Franklin and Berkshire counties, which did not receive any licenses in the first stage.

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Public Health on Friday awarded 20 licenses to medical marijuana dispensaries – but only two in Western Massachusetts and none in Berkshire or Franklin counties [see the full list].

The two licenses were granted to Debilitating Medical Condition Treatment Centers in Holyoke, run by Dr. Samuel Mazza; and New England Treatment Access in Northampton, run by Kevin Fisher.

Former State Sen. Brian Lees, a Republican who previously served as state senate minority leader and Hampden County clerk of courts, serves on the board of Debilitating Medical Condition Treatment Centers. (The board president is Heriberto Flores, president of the New England Farm Workers Council.)

"We're certainly pleased," Lees said. "It's been a long process, but very open, very fair, and now the real work begins of putting the facility together and beginning to serve those folks in Western Massachusetts that will have prescriptions."

Lees said his political position had nothing to do with the application's success. "It's very clear through phase one and phase two that this was a process that had nothing to do with politics in any way. It had to do with putting together the right team and the right application," Lees said. "In my entire time being in public and private life, I've never seen anything done to this level of review, this level of transparency, and the guidelines were very specific."

New England Treatment Access is run by Fisher, who owns Rocky Mountain Remedies, which sells marijuana in Colorado. It is backed by the Kessler family, Boston area philanthropists who have donated to medical causes. Howard Kessler started the financial services company, the Kessler Group. Its patient services director is Leslie Laurie, the former president and CEO of Tapestry Health. It was also licensed to run a facility in Brookline.

View full sizeThe locations of the cities and towns where medical marijuana dispensaries have been approved for 2014.  

The state was allowed to issue up to 35 medical marijuana licenses across the state in the first year. Each county must have at least one dispensary, but not more than five. But only two licenses were granted in the four Western Massachusetts counties – one each in Hampden and Hampshire Counties.

The Department of Public Health has invited eight applicants who were denied their first choice location to re-apply to one of the counties that did not get a license, which also include Dukes and Nantucket counties. The eight applicants include Patriot Care Corporation, which had hoped to build in Northampton.

Massachusetts Medical Use of Marijuana Program Executive Director Karen van Unen said, “Only dispensaries with the highest quality applications were selected to be a part of this new industry, which will create hundreds of jobs while maintaining community safety.” Van Unen predicted that the dispensaries will serve 120,000 to 130,000 patients over two years.

Van Unen, in a conference call with reporters, said the department will launch a process in the next few weeks in which the eight applicants can re-apply. The department plans to announce final selections for the remaining four counties by early June. Van Unen said these companies will have an advantage because they already got approval from the department. "I would be surprised if they did not jump at the opportunity," she said.

Applicants other than those eight who were not selected in the first round of licensing will not be allowed to reapply in the four remaining counties.

Brian Foote, whose Northampton-based project did not receive a license, said Hampshire County was a competitive county. "A local group like Hampshire Health going up against big players in finance and corporate retail establishments, I thought we scored really well," Foote said. "I'm obviously a little disappointed because we didn’t get chosen. Going forward, I believe we will be awarded maybe in another round of licenses."

Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse said he welcomed the news of the license for the Holyoke facility. Morse said the applicant has "abided by every rule and regulation city has placed on them." "We see this as an investment in downtown, job creation and a needed service for many people who live here in the city of Holyoke," Morse said. Morse said he is not worried about security issues, because the company has a comprehensive security plan in place.

Medical marijuana became legal in Massachusetts after it was approved as a ballot question by 63 percent of voters in November 2012.

The licensing process has been done in stages. There were 159 potential applicants who made it through an initial review in September 2013. Of those, 100 applied in November for the second stage of licensing. In Western Massachusetts, there were five applicants from Berkshire County, three from Franklin County, and four each from Hampden and Hampshire counties.

An evaluation committee then reviewed those applications and looked at the quality of the application, appropriateness of the sites, geographical distribution of dispensaries, local support, and the applicant’s ability to meet the health needs of registered patients while ensuring public safety. The committee included representatives from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the state's Executive Office of Health and Human Services, trade associations of health boards and pharmacists, and the police.

Each facility will be a non-profit company responsible for entire control of the business, including the dispensary and a secure cultivation facility.

Friday's announcement opens the door for the chosen dispensaries to move forward with the next steps: building their facilities, growing marijuana and working with cities and towns to conform to their regulations. Some municipalities, although not Holyoke or Northampton, have passed temporary moratoriums on medical marijuana to give local officials time to develop regulations. The licensees also have to go through a final inspection by the Department of Public Health. Van Unen said most applicants have said they plan to open their doors this summer.

"This is a very important benchmark, and there's a lot of excitement in the patient community that we're getting very close to having dispensaries open their doors so people have safe access to this medicine," said Matthew Allen, executive director of the pro-medical marijuana Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance.

The medical marijuana facilities that received the licenses will have to pay a $50,000 annual registration fee, plus $500 a year for each agent working at a dispensary. There will be an additional fee of at least $1,500 for an architectural review.

Advocates say medical marijuana will help patients deal with chronic pain, nausea and muscle spasms generated by a variety of debilitating diseases, such as cancer, multiple sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Amanda Bagley of Worcester works for a marketing company and has been an advocate for medical marijuana for four years, after seeing its effects on her husband Brian. Brian, 43, has chronic sciatica and two slipped disks. He is in constant pain and is limited in the medications he can take because of a kidney condition. He left his job at a towing company and is getting disability payments from Social Security. The couple has two children.

Amanda Bagley said marijuana relieves her husband's nerve pain, helps his muscle spasms and does not harm his kidneys. Since possessing small amounts of marijuana is decriminalized in Massachusetts, Brian Bagley has tried to buy it on the black market. But because selling marijuana is still illegal, Amanda Bagley said, "It's hard to find, you never know what you're getting when you do get it and you have to deal with street punks."

"We're really glad now he'll have dispensaries where he can buy things that are tested, that he knows will work, that are guaranteed and tested for adulterants," Bagley said.

But there are still concerns surrounding medical marijuana. Ronald Dunlap, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, warned that the safety of marijuana still has not been proven scientifically, and, because it remains illegal on a federal level, it does not undergo the same Food and Drug Administration testing as other drugs. State rules do not include regulations regarding dosage or how to take the drug.

Dunlap said he worries that "certification centers," where patients will see doctors specifically to get a marijuana recommendation, will circumvent an ongoing doctor-patient relationship. The state established those centers to help patients whose primary care doctors will not recommend marijuana.

"We are…treading into new territory in Massachusetts with medical marijuana, and it will be critical to oversee and monitor the work of dispensaries to ensure they act consistently within the law and regulations," Dunlap said.

Elsewhere in the state, four licenses were issued in Middlesex County, which is the state's most populous county, and two licenses each were issued in Barnstable, Bristol, Essex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk and Worcester counties. A company run by Democratic former U.S. Rep. Bill Delahunt, Medical Marijuana of Massachusetts, received licenses to run dispensaries in Mashpee, Taunton and Plymouth.

Asked how politics were kept out of the selection process, selection committee member John Carmichael, the Walpole deputy police chief, said on a conference call with reporters that there was a merit-based scoring system in place, in which applicants were evaluated based on operations, public health, security, strength of the business, geographic dispersion and local support of the applicant. An independent firm reviewed the applications and scored them, and an outside investigative firm conducted background checks of managers, board members and investors. "We didn’t focus on anything that had to do with the face of the applicant, what their status might have been," Carmichael said.

This is a breaking news story that will be updated.

List of approved provisional medical marijuana licenses: [Back to top]

The purpose of the Innovation District meeting was to show how well the city has used the high performance computing center to bring in new businesses for economic development, officials said.

Gerardo Ramos, of Marine Reef Habitat, after his presentation at the Holyoke Innovation District meeting Jan. 31.Mike Plaisance, The Republican 

HOLYOKE -- Gerardo Ramos grows coral in a shop on Sargeant Street and visits his native Puerto Rico once a year to do underwater work on restoring the dying coral reefs.

"My name is Gerardo Ramos and I'm an entrepreneur with a passion for coral," Ramos said at the Jan. 30 annual meeting of the Holyoke innovation District.

The meeting brought together the creative-minded, business operators and city and state officials to discuss what they do in the continuing effort to highlight innovation and economic development anchored by the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center.

The purpose of such meetings is to assess progress on the mission to use the computing center downtown on Bigelow Street -- such as by attracting and helping business owners like Ramos -- to benefit the city, said Marcos A. Marrero, director of the city Department of Planning and Economic Development.

Ramos began his business, Marine Reef Habitat, downtown at Main and Cabot streets before moving to 275 Sargeant St. Simple Diaper & Linen moved the business that provides reusable cloth diapers to prevent landfills from overflowing from Northampton to the Wauregan Building at 420 Dwight St. last year. A group of artists that work with metal, sculpture, tattoos and other areas -- known as Brick -- also recently opened in the Wauregan Building.

"This is how we hold ourselves accountable, to make sure the plans are implemented. At the end of the day, what we're all talking about is what we're seeing here," Marrero said.

Coral reefs nurture and sustain marine life, according to online sites such as OneOcean.

Among factors blamed for depletion of coral are human mining of coral, fishing, coastal development, pollution and tourism, as well as global warming.

That's what happened off the coast of Pozuelo, the fishing village where Ramos, 40, grew up. His business sells the coral he grows to aquarium-supply businesses and he uses some of the revenue to return to Puerto Rico to replant coral, he said in remarks to The Republican and MassLive.com.

In his presentation during the meeting, Ramos said coral reefs should be preserved and studied because they could be the undiscovered "medicine cabinet" of the world, offering elements and elixirs like the plant life of rainforests to treat and cure ills.

"That is the passion of what I do," Ramos said.

Kathleen G. Anderson, president of the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce, thanked Ramos.

"Was that cool or what?" Anderson said.

Mayor Alex B. Morse said the meeting showed the city is trying to leverage the presence of the computing center and the new businesses coming here prove it can work.

"It was a fantastic demonstration of the success of the Innovation District in the past year," Morse said.

The Innovation District consists of the downtown blocks around the computing center, which is between Cabot and Appleton streets overlooking the first-level canal. The meeting was held at the $165 million center.

The partners who built and run the research center are Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Massachusetts, Boston University, Northeastern University, EMC Corp., of Hopkinton, an information storage, backup and recovery firm, and Cisco Systems Inc., a California-based Internet network equipment maker.

Among its current research topics: researching the structure of galaxies and studying to develop sequencing techniques to identify DNA markers in relation to neuroblastoma, a common tumor-causing cancer in children.

Three people have been displaced as an electrical fire forced them from their Mill Street home.

SPRINGFIELD— At least one family was left homeless after an electrical fire in an attic damaged the kitchens in two units of a three-family house at 251 Mill Street in the city's Forest Park neighborhood early Saturday morning.

The one alarm fire was quickly put out after firefighters lugged hoses up four flights of stairs to fight the blaze.

Dennis Leger, aide to Springfield Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant, said the 4:04 a.m. fire started in the attic of the triple-decker, wood-framed structure. Flames spread into the kitchen and pantry areas on the floor below. The kitchen of the second floor of the building was also damaged as water flowed down into it.

Leger estimated damage at approximately $10,000. There were no reported injuries.

A family of two adults and one child, living in the third floor apartment, will stay with family, Leger said. It is unclear if the second floor is habitable. That family may be able to remain in their home, he said.

A Friday night car fire was intentionally set, the Arson and Bomb Squad said, following an investigation.

 

Dennis Leger, aid to Springfield Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant, said firefighters were called to an area behind 112 Industry Ave. at approximately 9:45 p.m. Friday for a reported car fire. When they arrived on scene firefighters found a 2000 Chevrolet Tahoe completely engulfed in flames, Leger said. The Springfield Arson and Bomb Squad was called in to determine the cause of the fire.

After an overnight investigation, Leger said the squad announced that the fire was intentionally set.

The department is asking for the public's help. Anyone with information about this fire is asked to call the Arson and Bomb Squad at 787-6370.