The Route 5 tunnel under the Route 20 rotary in West Springfield at the end of the North End Bridge will be closed for 6 weeks starting at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

WEST SPRINGFIELD — The tunnel that carries Route 5 under the Route 20 rotary will be closed for six weeks, starting Wednesday morning, for emergency repair, state officials announced Tuesday.

The tunnel will be closed at 9 a.m.

The repairs are needed because of advance deterioration in the tunnel’s concrete driving surface, according to the state Department of Transportation.

The tunnel has been closed at least three times over the last several months because of a rash of potholes that have caused a number of flat tires and other damage to vehicles.

DOT spokesman Michael Verseckes said the sudden decision to close the tunnel is a preemptive measure due to the warmer weather slated to arrive later this week.

"We are worried that the substantially warmer temperatures will exacerbate the problem," Verseckes said.

The work, expected to cost about $420,000, is being done by SPS New England, Verseckes said.

During the closure, the deteriorated portions of the roadway through the tunnel will be chipped to a solid base prior to filling with a special rapid-setting concrete, which must be special ordered.

Vehicles will be detoured off Route 5 and up the ramp to the rotary for Route 20 and the North End Bridge. Vehicles heading in both directions will travel through the rotary and rejoin Route 5 at the second rotary exit.

The DOT urges drivers to allow for extra time when traveling through the detour and to be mindful of the additional vehicles traveling through the rotary.

CBS 3 Springfield meteorologists forecast a high of 38 degrees on Wednesday, 42 on Thursday and 46, with rain, on Friday.

The $10 million tuition fund drive has been described as a key factor in rebuilding Cathedral High School on Surrey Road in Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD — Cathedral High School has announced the official start of a $10 million drive for student tuition assistance boosted by a $500,000 gift and a challenge grant of up to $1 million from Michele and Donald D’Amour.

A letter, announcing the leadership gift and launching the tuition endowment fund campaign was sent to more than 22,000 alumni nationwide, according to Cathedral officials. The campaign was announced jointly by Cathedral President Ann M. Southworth and Board of Trustees Chairman Patrick Garrity.

Cathedral relocated to Wilbraham temporarily after the school on Surrey Road had extensive damage from the tornado of June 1, 2011. The rebuilding of Cathedral depends in large part on making tuition more affordable through the tuition endowment fund, according to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield.

Under terms of the challenge grant, the D’Amours, after the initial gift of $500,000, will provide the additional gift of $500,000 when 1,500 donors have responded with either a gift or pledge. When that number reaches 2,000, they will make a third gift of $500,000, Southworth and Garrity said.

Michele Gaudette D’Amour is a 1969 graduate of Cathedral, and her husband, Donald, is chairman and chief executive officer of Big Y. The D’Amours have been longtime supporters of Catholic education, Southworth said.

On Sept. 11, 2013, when announcing a settlement of the insurance claims related to the June 1, 2011, tornado that destroyed the Cathedral High School campus, Springfield Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell challenged the Cathedral High School community to create a tuition endowment fund so the the Catholic high school would be more financially viable for interested families.

In the current academic year, 57 percent of the students attending Cathedral receive tuition assistance. Many other families have asked for scholarship assistance.

“We are most grateful to the D’Amours for once again recognizing the importance a Catholic education plays in the lives of not only its students but the community as a whole,” Southworth said.

“We hope others will now follow their lead and help us address this important need to make this educational opportunity affordable for more families.”

The D’Amours are among the first to respond in making their leadership gift and challenge grant.

“After a long, arduous and ultimately successful negotiation process, Cathedral is ready to rebuild,” said Michele D’Amour. “It is time for all interested parties to join together in order to secure Cathedral’s long-term growth and show support for Catholic education in our diocese. Don and I are grateful to be able to offer a financial challenge to this critical effort.”

In addition to the D’Amour leadership gift, a number of other supporters have come forward and made commitments totaling more than $100,000 to the Cathedral Endowment Fund for Tuition Assistance Campaign.

Combined with previous Cathedral High School tuition assistance funds, these gifts would make $1 million available towards the campaign goal, not including the D’Amour challenge grants.

McDonnell made it clear that payment on pledges and gifts would begin only when construction commences.

Michele D’Amour said, “The future requires an up-to-date facility, but also a respectable endowment fund to provide financial assistance to those who desire to benefit.”

“It is time for all alumni, friends, committee members, political leaders and all who who are committed to seeing a new and vibrant Cathedral in the city of Springfield to walk the walk and contribute whatever they can to this noble effort,” she said.

Although the alleged victim was offered the services of an interpreter, Wang was not, according to his lawyers, who filed a motion to suppress his statements to police.

NORTHAMPTON – A Chinese national accused of raping a University of Massachusetts student will have to wait until March to argue statements he made to the police should be suppressed.

Weiland Wang, 19, of 36 Greenleaf Drive, Hadley, is charged with one count of rape and three counts of indecent assault and battery for a 2013 incident reported in his dorm room at UMass, where he was a student at the time. According to court documents, police arrived at the room in the late hours of Feb. 19 after receiving a call from the defendant. The woman, a UMass freshman who is also from China, told the officers that she had gone to Wang’s room to study and had fallen asleep in his bed. When she woke up, she said, Wang tried to kiss and touch her and assaulted her sexually.

According to the woman, she had met Wang recently among a group of Chinese students. Shortly afterwards, she said, Wang told her that she was his girlfriend and to “dump” her boyfriend back in China. She refused but had dinner with him nonetheless, she told police.

The woman said she tried to resist Wang’s assault. At one point, she said, Wang gave her his cellphone and invited her to call her boyfriend. When she got through to him, Wang took the phone and called the boyfriend a cuckold, using Chinese slang. It was Wang who eventually telephoned the police, according to the report.

When the police arrived, the woman refused their offer of a Mandarin interpreter, although her English was flawed, according to the report. The report states that Wang admitted many details of the incident during a two-hour interview with police, though he denied assaulting the woman sexually.

Although the woman was offered the services of an interpreter, Wang was not, according to his lawyers, who filed a motion to suppress his statements to police. The motion includes an affidavit by Wang in which he states that his English is poor and that he did not fully understand his rights. Wang said there is no parallel to the Miranda warning in China, and he believed he was obligated to speak with police.

A hearing on the motion was scheduled for Tuesday in Hampshire Superior Court, but a Mandarin interpreter was not available. Judge Mary-Lou Rup continued the hearing to March 7.

The collections were the result of a plea for financial help from the Sisters to allow them to continue their ministries and care for their elder members.

ister Maxyne D. Schneider, president of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Springfield, stands outside the order's motherhouse in Holyoke. As the sisters age and their numbers diminish, the order is facing a dire financial situation. Photo by Cori Urban 

SPRINGFIELD – In a response the Sisters of St. Joseph called “remarkable,” parishioners throughout the Springfield Diocese have donated more than $625,000 to the Sisters’ Retirement Fund.

The congregation of Catholic Sisters continued to receive donations following special collections taken up in parishes during Masses last November. The collections were the result of a plea for financial help from the Sisters to allow them to continue their ministries and care for their elder members.

Sr. Maxyne Schneider, president of the Sisters of St. Joseph said in a release, “We are truly overwhelmed and deeply grateful to all of you for your generous response.”

The Sisters also expressed thanks to Bishop Timothy McDonnell for his support at a critical time in their history and to the Diocesan clergy for their encouragement and friendship.

Sr. Maxyne added, “For the past 130 years we have been honored to serve the people of the Springfield Diocese, and we are truly grateful now to receive their outpouring of generosity towards us.”

The grant is from the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health.

SPRINGFIELD - Behavioral Health Network announced that it has an $80,000 grant available for police departments to be given crisis intervention training.

The grant is from the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health. It will be renewable for two years.

The training is to equip police officers with crisis resolution and de-escalation skills when responding to persons with emotional disturbances.

The training is to help police guide community members away from arrest and toward community-based crisis services, Tracy Caisse, spokesman for the Behavioral Health Network said.

Police departments interested in learning more about the training and jail diversion programs may call Meg Mastriana, senior program manager at Behavioral Health Network at (413) 301-9352.

Both the Holyoke and Westfield police departments have received grants to provide training from the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health.

“The Westfield Police Department is excited to be a part of the Crisis Intervention Team Jail Diversion Program,” said Westfield Police Chief John Camerota. “This grant will allow the police department to better serve the mental health community members by training our officers to understand the causes of mental health disorders, while at the same time giving them the tools to identify individuals with mental health disorders as well as the services that are available to individuals with mental health.”

Camerota added, “The design of the program is to help the officers build a closer relationship with outside agencies, such as Behavioral Health Network and their sub-contractor in Westfield, The Carson Center, so they are able to guide individuals to the proper services rather than the criminal justice system.”

Two of Gov. Deval Patrick’s judicial nominees were unanimously approved by the Governor’s Council.

By Colleen Quinn, State House News Service

Two of Gov. Deval Patrick’s judicial nominees were unanimously approved by the Governor’s Council Wednesday.

Laurence Pierce was approved 7-0 as an associate justice of the Superior Court. Pierce is currently an associate justice of the Appellate Division of the Northern District Court and regional administrative justice for the District Court Department. Previously, he was a partner at the Boston law firm Choate Hall & Stewart. He was an assistant district attorney at the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office from 1984 to 1988. Pierce received his law degree from Antioch School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College.

The council also voted 7-0 in favor of Matthew Shea for a seat on the Holyoke District Court. Since 2011, Shea has worked as an assistant district attorney in the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office, supervising a team of Superior Court trial attorneys. Previously, he was an assistant attorney general, and also an assistant district attorney in the Hampden County District Court. He received his law degree from Catholic University of America Law School, and a bachelor’s degree from Boston College.

The area around 142 Eastern Ave. has been closed and city officials are monitoring the status of a triple-decker built in 1892 that is in a stage of partial collapse.

WORCESTER — The area around 142 Eastern Ave. has been closed and city officials are monitoring the status of a triple-decker built in 1892 that is in a stage of partial collapse.

The third floor of the blue structure, which is owned by JP Morgan Chase Bank and located near the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center, has buckled, possibly under the weight of the heavy snow built up on its flat roof.

The structural damage to the home, which officials believe to be unoccupied, has caused city officials to post a safety advisory warning homeowners of the potential for roofs to collapse under the weight of heavy snow.

Earlier in the day in Framingham a barn roof collapsed killing three dairy cows.

City officials said questions or concerns about whether a roof could collapse can be directed to city's DPW Customer Service Center at (508) 929-1300 where homeowners can ask to speak with an inspector.

The trial of Jose Santiago is now slated to begin March 3.

Jose Santiago at 2012 arraignment Photo by Dave Roback / The Republican [file] 

SPRINGFIELD - A Hampden Superior Court judge has denied a defense lawyer's motion to move the murder trial of Jose Santiago for the fatal stabbing of Jessica Rojas out of Springfield.

Judge Richard J. Carey wrote in his ruling the publicity around Rojas' killing was "not significantly different in kind or amount" from similar cases.

David Rountree, Santiago's lawyer, had said the death of Rojas got a large amount of media coverage and an unbiased jury could not be found in Hampden County.

The trial, which had a trial date of Feb, 20, is now slated to begin March 3.

Rojas, a 25-year-old mother of four, was found stabbed in her 132 Washburn St. home on March 3, 2012, and died later at the hospital. Santiago, 32, her boyfriend, was charged in the killing.

In keeping with Chick-fil-A tradition, those "First 100" to come through the Chicopee location's doors will receive 52 free Chick-fil-A meal certificates for a year – a total of more than $30,000 in free food.

CHICOPEE — Chick-fil-A fans lined up Wednesday hoping to be among the first 100 people through the doors of the first Western Massachusetts location.

In keeping with Chick-fil-A tradition, those "First 100" will receive 52 free Chick-fil-A meal certificates for a year – a total of more than $30,000 in free food, owner / operator Robert Hewes said in a news release.

The restaurant is at 501 Memorial Drive in Chicopee.

Participants, 18 years and older with identification, can line up no earlier than 24 hours prior to the store's grand opening set for 6 a.m. Thursday. Participants do need to camp out to reserve their space in line.

Also on Wednesday, the new restaurant is hosting a food drive in partnership with The Boys and Girls Club of Chicopee until 8 p.m. Anyone dropping off four or more non-perishable food items will receive a coupon for a free Chick-fil-A sandwich.

This is Chick-fil-A's first store in Western Massachusetts. Well known for its chicken-breast sandwich, the restaurant also features breakfast burritos, yogurt parfaits, slow-cooked multigrain oatmeal and its signature Chick-fil-A Chicken Biscuit.

The menu also features lunch and dinner fresh fruit cups, boneless chicken nuggets, waffle fries and, for a limited time, Chicken Tortilla Soup made with shredded breast of chicken, three beans and a blend of vegetables and spices topped with seasoned corn tortilla strips.

Chick-fil-A also recently introduced three premium salads – a Cobb Salad, Asian Salad, Grilled Market Salad – and Grilled Chicken Cool Wrap.

The Melville, N.Y.-based pizza chain said Wednesday the closures affect 1,400 workers.

NEW YORK — Sbarro Inc. says it's closing 155 of its locations, mostly in mall food courts where traffic has declined.

 

Jonathan Dedmon, a representative for Sbarro, says the targeted locations will close Thursday.

"The last day of business is today," he wrote in an email.

Sbarro owns 400 locations in North America. The closures do not affect 175 Sbarro locations that are owned by franchisees. Sbarro will operate 800 stores worldwide after the closures, including 81 that were opened last year.

The announcement comes after the privately held company had touted a revamped pizza recipe in 2012 in hopes of boosting sales.

Sbarro filed for bankruptcy protection in April 2012 when it was no longer able to contend with rising food costs and declining sales related to the recession. The company completed its reorganization and left Chapter 11 protection in November 2012, saying at the time that it had significantly cut its debt and received a new $35 million capital infusion.

The cost of the renovations at the former Chicopee High School are expected to increase by $3 million.

CHICOPEE – In just 45 days in office, Mayor Richard J. Kos said he has discovered numerous financial challenges, including two major capital improvement projects that are over budget.

Every year the Chicopee Chamber of Commerce invites the mayor to give a state-of-the-city address. Kos, who took office on Jan 6, spoke Wednesday about his outlook for the city and problems he has discovered in part through work of volunteers on his transition team.

“Several large-scale projects already begun are now under my watch and, while these projects are ones of popularity, the decisions that have been made have left the city vulnerable on several fronts,” he said.

He said one of his chief concerns is the construction of the senior center that is scheduled to be finished this spring. The cost of the project, which is being built on the former property of the Facemate factory, has increased to $20 million, he said.

But Tim Alix, project manager for Strategic Building Solutions of Agawam, said the $10.2 million senior center project is on budget and expected to be finished early. That budget includes construction costs, site improvements including building the road to the center, materials testing, architectural and project manager fees.

The expenses that bring the project to about $20 million are the costs to clean up the contaminated Facemate site and demolish the building. Those did increase as unexpected contamination, including debris from entire buildings that had been demolished and buried, were discovered during the cleanup.

Those costs, most of which were paid for with federal and state grants, were considered part of a separate budget related to the long-term cleanup of the Facemate and Uniroyal project under former mayor Michael D. Bissonnette.

Mary Moge, Kos' chief of staff, said the value of the new senior center includes the site, so the cleanup and demolition costs should have been included for accounting purposes.

Additionally, Kos said he is concerned about the choice made by Bissonnette and approved by the City Council to borrow on future federal Community Development Block Grant funds to pay for part of the senior center building. Nearly $400,000 a year will be withdrawn from the city's annual grant to pay off the 20-year bond.

That will mean there will be less money to fund youth programs, anti-poverty programs and to make improvements in low-income neighborhoods, which are also funded with block grants, he said.

“The decision was made to mortgage our future instead of using our checkbook and does not accurately reflect the cost of that project,” Kos said.

The city also learned recently the renovation project to convert the former Chicopee High School into a middle school has increased by $3 million from the original cost of $38 million. The state School Building Authority has agreed to fund 80 percent of the costs but only up to the $38 million cap.

In his address, Kos promised to have an independent audit performed on the senior center project.

In addition, policies and practices in the police department will be reviewed after an appeal over the hiring of the police chief is decided by the Civil Service Commission, which is expected within the next few months. The police department came under fire last year for problems including the discovery that two officers took unauthorized cell phone photographs at the murder scene of Amanda Plasse in 2011.

“Meetings on Cabotville (mill building), Uniroyal, the landfill, our homeless hotels have been, or will be, scheduled to identify issues and opportunities as we go forward,” he said.

Kos also told the Chamber that he has a positive feeling about the future of the city and said he has forged a new working relationship with the City Council as well as building new partnerships with organizations that will help the economic future including the Regional Employment Board, and WestMass Development Corp.

As part of the settlement, the city acknowledged no wrongdoing by Daniele, 42, a veteran police officer who has figured in two other high profile cases in the past year.

SPRINGFIELD — City officials have agreed to pay $28,000 to settle a lawsuit by two women claiming they were strip searched by Springfield police officer Carla Daniele in front of male officers and passing traffic in 2009.

The women, Meredith Blakeslee and Darlene Palazzi, will receive $14,000 each in exchange for dropping the suit filed in U.S. District Court after police stopped their vehicle on Plumtree Road and searched them for drugs.

No drugs were found despite “an extensive strip and body cavity search” conducted by Daniele in view of seven male officers and motorists, the two women alleged in the lawsuit.

As part of the settlement, the city acknowledged no wrongdoing by Daniele, 42, a veteran police officer who has figured in two other high profile cases in the past year.

Neither Kevin Coyle, the lawyer representing Daniele, nor lawyers for the women could be reached for comment Tuesday. No officers were disciplined based on actions described in the lawsuit, City Solicitor Edward Pikula said.

In unrelated matters, Daniele, 42, pleaded guilty to a charge of improper storage of a firearm after her domestic partner, Amy Vacirca, committed suicide with her service revolver in Jan. 28, 2013. The case was continued without a finding, and Daniele was placed on probation for six months.

Last month, Daniele testified in Hampshire Superior Court in the second murder trial of Cara Rintala, who is charged with killing her wife, Annamarie Rintala, at their Granby home in 2010. For the second time in two years, the case ended in a hung jury.

The defendant’s lawyer, David P. Hoose, identified Daniele as a potential suspect during the first trial, but prosecutors ruled her out based on surveillance video showing her at an East Longmeadow health club around the time of the killing.

Daniele, who has returned to work after taking a stress-related leave last year, could not be reached for comment.

In the lawsuit, Daniele and seven unidentified male police officers, listed only as John Doe 1-7, were accused of assault, invasion of privacy and conducting an illegal search.

The seven John Does were later dropped as defendants in the suit, filed by lawyers John J. Green of Northampton and David Kuzmeski of Springfield.

The incident began when Danielle and another officer pulled over a vehicle carrying Blakeslee, Palazzi and a male friend on Plumtree Road on Jan. 15, 2009. Three other cruisers pulled up behind them, according to the suit.

“Where’s the cocaine?,” Daniele asked after the two women and the driver, identified as Kyle Bruno, were pulled out of the vehicle.

Daniele patted down the two female suspects, then conducted a strip search that included probing their breasts, buttocks and genitals without wearing a glove, according to the suit.

No charges were filed after the search, which was conducted in view of the seven male officers and “numerous members of the public (who) were in the vicinity watching the police search the car, Blakeslee and Palazzi,” the suit states.

During the traffic stop, Bruno was arrested for an outstanding warrant in an unrelated case. Police gave both women rides home.

In pre-trial motions last year, Daniele's lawyers denied there had been a strip or body cavity search.

Palazzi, in a deposition, admitted she had two drug convictions in the 1980s and 1990s, and served a year in the federal penitentiary in Kentucky for possessing and transporting marijuana.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday praised the decision by clothing chain Gap Inc. to raise the minimum hourly wage for its U.S. employees to $10 in 2015.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday praised the decision by clothing chain Gap Inc. to raise the minimum hourly wage for its U.S. employees to $10 in 2015.

Gap, based in San Francisco, said Wednesday that the minimum wage for workers at all of its brands will be raised to $9 an hour in 2014 and $10 an hour in 2015. Gap said the increases will affect about 65,000 store employees.

The president cited Gap's move in calling on Congress to act on a bill that would raise the minimum wage across the U.S. to $10.10 an hour.

Here is the text of Obama's statement:

In my State of the Union Address, I asked more businesses to do what they can to raise their employees’ wages. Today, I applaud Gap, Inc. for announcing that they intend to raise wages for their employees beginning this year – a decision that will benefit about 65,000 workers in the U.S. As a chief executive, I’ve required federal contractors to pay their employees a wage of at least $10.10 an hour, and more states are taking steps to raise their minimum wage as well. But only action from Congress can make a difference nationwide. Right now, there is a bill in front of both the House and the Senate that would boost America’s minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, and lift wages for more than 16 million workers – all without requiring a single dollar in new taxes or spending. It’s time to pass that bill and give America a raise.

Gap Inc.'s stores include Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy. Gap shares fell 4 cents to $42.19 on Wednesday.

Material from The Associated Press was included in this report

More independent thinkers are needed in the State House, Wilbraham Selectman Robert Russell said.

WILBRAHAM - Republican Selectman Robert Russell announced he will challenge state Rep.Angelo Puppolo, D-Springfield, for the 12th Hampden District seat.

Robert RussellThe Republican [file] 

“Beacon Hill has lost touch with the best interests of the voters,” said Russell, a one-term selectman and 11-year member of the Finance Committee.

Russell said the Legislature’s approval of a permanent increase in the gasoline tax to help fund improvements to the MBTA in Boston amounts to “taxation without representation.”

He added that the implementation of the new Common Core education standards is “distracting from the teaching mission” of local teachers.

State revenues are projected to be at a record high, while state aid to cities and towns is flat, Russell said, adding that the state, meanwhile, continues to implement unfunded state mandates.

“It is time for a change,” Russell said.

Russell, 60, a U.S. Air Force veteran and the owner of Sixty Minute Photo until 2005, said the state is on “an unsustainable path.”

“We can’t keep taxing small businesses and homeowners,” Russell said. “Property taxes keep going up. People have had enough.”

Russell, who said he grew up in Springfield before his family moved to Wilbraham, said his father always told him that if you feel change is needed and you do nothing about it, you are just “whining.”

He said he decided to challenge Puppolo for the seat. It is more difficult to unseat an incumbent; thus many incumbents go unchallenged, Russell said.

The 12th Hampden District includes Wilbraham and part of East Longmeadow and Springfield.

“My daughter lives off Sumner Avenue in Springfield,” Russell said. “I want her to have the same opportunity here that I had.”

He said many young people are leaving the area for lack of opportunity.

“We need more independent thinkers in the state House,” Russell said. “I will advocate for the people in the district, not just follow along on Beacon Hill.”

Andrew Denney of Springfield was at the Baystate Medical Center emergency room Tuesday night following a car crash. As he was being discharged, he learned that he was not allowed to leave as the hospital was on lockdown because of a standoff with a gunman outside.

Stocks fell Wednesday as investors were left uneasy by news that some Federal Reserve policymakers were willing to start raising short-term interest rates sooner than previously expected.

By KEN SWEET
AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK — Stocks fell Wednesday as investors were left uneasy by news that some Federal Reserve policymakers were willing to start raising short-term interest rates sooner than previously expected.

The market was mixed most of the day, then turned lower after 2 p.m., when the Fed released the minutes from its January policy meeting.

The minutes revealed that some policymakers "raised the possibility that it might be appropriate to increase the federal funds rate relatively soon."

That came as an unwelcome surprise to many investors, who haven't had to worry about increases in the Federal Reserve's benchmark short-term interest rate for about five years.

"The working assumption among investors was that the Fed was going to keep short-term interest rates as low as possible for as far as the eye can see," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank, which oversees $66 billion in assets.

Wednesday's numbers:

• The Dow Jones industrial average lost 89.84 points, or 0.6 percent, to 16,040.56. It had been up as much as 95 points earlier in the day.
• The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 12.01 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,828.75.
• The Nasdaq composite fell 34.83 points, or 0.8 percent, to 4,237.95.

Rate near zero for more than five years

The Federal Reserve has kept the federal funds rate, the interest banks charge each other to borrow money, near zero since December 2008 in an effort to support the U.S. financial system by keeping borrowing costs low. The rate has remained close to zero since then.

In more normal years, short-term interest rates were the Fed's main tool for regulating the U.S. economy. Even small changes in its benchmark borrowing rate could have an impact throughout the economy by raising or lowering interest rates on many kinds of loans, including home mortgages and business loans. Since the financial crisis, the Fed has turned to less traditional ways of stimulating the economy, including the Fed's current bond-buying program.

It's unlikely that the Fed would raise interest rates soon, especially since the Fed is in the middle of winding down its bond-buying program. Newly installed Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and her predecessor Ben Bernanke both repeatedly indicated that the central bank wouldn't raise rates until 2015 at the earliest.

Nonetheless, the comments from Fed policymakers caught many investors off guard.

"Any time we hear 'increase in rates,' we listen," said Jonathan Corpina, a trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with Meridian Equity Partners.

Energy stocks were among the few sectors to close higher, helped by a surge in natural gas prices.

Natural gas jumped 60 cents, or 11 percent, to $6.15 per 1,000 cubic feet, the first time it's been over $6 in four years. Natural gas has climbed sharply this year, due in large part to the cold weather that has plagued most of the country, leading to higher-than-usual demand.

Natural gas companies Chesapeake Energy and Devon Energy rose more than 2 percent. Energy giant Chevron rose 89 cents, or 1 percent, to $113.60, making it the second-biggest gainer in the Dow 30.

Investors also reacted to the latest merger of name-brand companies Wednesday, this time in the jewelry industry.

Signet Jewelers, which owns Kay Jewelers and Jared the Galleria of Jewelry, said it is buying Zale's for $21 per share in cash, a 40 percent premium to where Zale's was trading at Tuesday. The news sent both stocks sharply higher. Zales jumped $6.01, or 40 percent, to $20.92 and Signet rose $14.38, or 18 percent, to $93.65.

The Zales-Signet combination is the latest in a series of notable deals that have been announced in the last few weeks. On Monday, pharmaceutical giants Forest Laboratories and Actavis announced they would merge in a $25 billion deal.

"I suspect we'll see more M&A, with all the money these companies have on their balance sheets," said Ian Winer, director of trading at Wedbush Securities.

In other company news:

— Netflix fell $8.62, or 2 percent, to $428.23. The company is reportedly in a dispute with Verizon and other telecom companies over the cost of carrying Netflix's programming over their networks. Netflix is one of the biggest users of Internet bandwidth in the U.S., and it usage continues to grow as more high-definition video becomes available. Verizon and other Internet service providers want Netflix to pay more to use their network, according to The Wall Street Journal and other news outlets. Verizon rose 55 cents, or 1 percent, to $46.53.

— U.S. Steel fell $1.88, or 7 percent, to $24.65. The Commerce Department decided not to impose tariffs on South Korean steel pipe makers. The U.S. is South Korea's biggest market for steel, and imports from Korea push down steel prices in the U.S., hurting companies like U.S. Steel.

Marlon Brown's death occurred during a swim class as Kiley Middle School, triggering investigations by the district attorney and by a judge appointed by the School Department to conduct a separate review.

SPRINGFIELD – Hampden District Attorney Mark Mastroianni said Wednesday he is preparing to release the results of his office investigation into the death of 12-year-old Marlon Brown, who drowned a year ago in the swimming pool at Kiley Middle School.

Mastroianni said he expects to publicly release the findings next week at a date not yet scheduled. The investigation has been prolonged, slowed in part by the final autopsy report and related supplemental information not being finalized until mid-December, he said.

“All of us would have liked it (done) a lot quicker,” Mastroianni said. “Everyone accepts that it has to be done thoroughly. As the process has gone on, we have communicated with the family.”

Brown’s death, that occurred Feb. 15, 2013, during a swimming class at Kiley, was ruled an “accidental drowning” by the Chief Medical Examiner's office in Boston, according to Terrel Harris, a spokesman for the state Executive Office of Public Safety, that oversees the examiner's office.

According to police, there were approximately 45 students in the swim class at Kiley and two instructors when Brown’s death occurred. Brown was a sixth grader at the school.

Marlon Brown 

Mastroianni said his investigation was focused on whether there was any criminal conduct, but examined all aspects of the death and the circumstances. He praised the patience of Brown's family,

Retired judge and current Springfield Housing Authority Executive Director William H. Abrashkin is conducting an independent review of personnel, policies and the circumstances that led to Brown’s death. Superintendent of Schools Daniel Warwick appointed Abrashkin to the task soon after the death, and Abrashkin said he has awaited the district attorney's report before finalizing and submitting his own report.

The Boston branch of the medical examiner’s office conducted the autopsy, and follow-up reports. The Boston office conducts autopsies in a timely matter, but its analysis and reports take longer under a heavy caseload including many cases that have shifted from Western Massachusetts since the retirement of a Holyoke-based medical examiner in early 2011, officials said.

The pools in the school system have not been used for the past year for physical education classes, pending the district attorney’s report, the autopsy report, and Abrashkin’s report, Warwick said.

However, the pools have been used for Park Department programs, after-school programs, and by other groups where there is supervision, Warwick said. It is also open to swim teams and interscholastic sports, he said.

The School Department has reviewed its swimming procedures and policies, to look for any changes and improvements, Warwick said.

Abrashkin said that his appointment to investigate the matter requires that the district attorney’s investigation be completed before he concludes his own review and submits a report to Warwick.

Abrashkin said he has been in contact with Mastroianni and was aware there were factors beyond Mastroianni’s control preventing the district attorney’s investigation from being concluded.

Once the district attorney’s report is ready, “I will be ready to proceed, wrap up my review and submit my report as soon as I get the green light,” Abrashkin said.

The District Attorney’s office collected all statements from the initial police investigation and talked to various witnesses, and viewed photographs as part its of investigation, Mastroianni said.

The investigation was overseen by his first assistant, Jennifer Fitzgerald, and himself, Mastroianni said. Fitzgerald met several times with the family, and family members were aided by a victim witness advocate with expertise in helping families after tragic losses, he said.

Warwick said that based on the results of the independent report from Abrashkin, the School Department could choose to change procedures and policies relating to the pools and swim classes.

The pools are a “tremendous asset” to the community, and there are clear lifeguard requirements overseen by the Park Department when the pools are used for after-school and summer programs, he said.

There are pools at 10 schools in Springfield.

A visitor center and park project in the Quinsigamond Village area of Worcester will serve as a gateway to the city while funneling over $14 million in funding into the area.

WORCESTER — A visitor center and park project in the Quinsigamond Village area of Worcester will serve as a gateway to the city while funneling over $14 million in funding into the area.

"This is real and this is happening," said U.S. Congressman James McGovern. "Alongside City Square and the opening of Front Street, Worcester's Blackstone Gateway Visitors Center is one of Worcester's signature projects ... This is something to be very, very proud of."

The project will kick off with $5.5 million in federal funding towards a 10,000-square-foot visitor center on land bordering Route 146, a park and other area improvements. Federal money will fund a $1.5 million Quinsigamond Village Bikeway that will attach to the current Blackstone River Bikeway, while over $1 million will go toward sidewalk improvements.

A rendering of the Blackston Gateway Park shows the incorporation of the Blackstone River into the park.Sam Bonacci, MassLive.com 

The center will open to the public in the summer of 2016, according to Frank DePaola, MassDOT's Highway Administrator. It will contain exhibits, a theater, restroom facilities, a classroom and meeting space. It will also serve as the new location for the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation Central Regional Office, which will operate the center.

The accompanying Blackstone Gateway Park will increase recreational opportunities in the area, said DePaola. The parks will include trails, boardwalks, observational platforms and interpretive signs and kiosks.

"The infrastructure upgrades in the vicinity of the center and adjacent park will become a destination for those seeking leisure and recreational activities in our community," said Worcester Mayor Joe Petty.

The visitors center project has been in the works for over 10 years. A huge setback came from a 2008 fire that destroyed the Rome building that was to house the center.

The project continued to be championed by residents of the Quinsigamond Village and has come to fruition through the work of a myriad of agencies and organizations. The College of the Holy Cross will be paying for half of the salary of the center's Project Coordinator Devon Kurtz, who is the former Director of Education at the Higgins Armory Museum.

The improvements to the area will serve as a new welcoming point for visitors to the city while revitalizing the Quinsigamond Village area, said officials. The sidewalks will open up the area to Holy Cross students, benefiting both the community and the college, said Interim City Manager Ed Augustus, who was previous employed by the college.

"They are going to take a lot of energy and activity that happens at Holy Cross and bring it off of that campus and into this neighborhood," he said.

Bob Largess, the owner of Hotel Vernon, has been pushing for the return of the canal to Water Street. He believes opening up the Blackstone River is the right thing to do environmentally and has the potential for paying dividends to the economy as well. He said he would not have missed the announcement of this piece of the puzzle for anything.

"We don't give up easy in the Canal District," said Largess. "It's all about the water."

Police arrested 29-year-old Juan Alejandro Perez, of 270 Walnut St., Holyoke

West Springfield Police vehicle turning out of the police station. 

WEST SPRINGFIELD – Narcotics detectives arrested a 29-year-old Holyoke man on heroin and marijuana charges Wednesday night after seeing large numbers of people coming and going from his room at the Knights Inn.

Capt. John Ferrarini said detectives spotted the unusual activity while surveilling the motel, located at 1557 Riverdale St.

Along with marijuana, police seized approximately 75 bags of heroin, each stamped "Skull and Swords," Ferrarini said.

Juan Alejandro Perez, 29, of 270 Walnut St., Holyoke, was charged with two counts of distribution of heroin (subsequent offense), possession of heroin with intent to distribute and distribution of marijuana.

A few dozen Clark University students and alumni demonstrated outside the school's admissions building Thursday to protest a change in admissions policy.

A few dozen Clark University students and alumni demonstrated outside the school's admissions building Thursday to protest a change in admissions policy.

Students are concerned that an end to the school's long-held "need-blind" policy will change the nature of the university.

Clark University President David Angel has said the policy would apply only to a few students at the end of the admissions process, once the school's financial aid budget has run out.

The primary criteria for admission of these additional students will remain "academic ability and fit with Clark," Angel said in an email sent to faculty and students on Feb. 17.