Protesters in Ferguson pressed pause Thursday as the city welcomed Thanksgiving, decorating boarded-up storefronts with some Dr. Seuss inspiration and gathering for church services -- a stark contrast to previous days of outrage over the grand jury decision in the Michael Brown case.

FERGUSON, Mo. -- Protesters in Ferguson pressed pause Thursday as the city welcomed Thanksgiving, decorating boarded-up storefronts with some Dr. Seuss inspiration and gathering for church services -- a stark contrast to previous days of outrage over the grand jury decision in the Michael Brown case.

No police officers or Missouri National Guard members stood sentry outside the Ferguson police station, which has been a nexus for protesters since Monday night's announcement that Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, who is white, wouldn't be indicted for fatally shooting the unarmed black 18-year-old in August.

On that downtown street, beneath a lighted "Season's Greetings" garland, three children used paintbrushes to decorate the plywood covering many storefront windows that was put up to foil potential vandals. One quoted from "The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss: "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it's not."

"We thought we'd do what we could to make it a little more attractive and then try to bring the kids into it and get them involved in making the businesses appear a little less scary, depressing," said Leah Bailey, as her 7-year-old son Dennis climbed a ladder to finish an orange dragon.

Since the grand jury's decision, protests have taken place across the country. Most have been peaceful. But at least 130 demonstrators who refused to disperse during a Los Angeles protest were arrested Wednesday night, while 35 people were detained in Oakland following a march that deteriorated into unrest and vandalism, according to police officials.

Back in Ferguson, Greater St. Mark Family Church sits blocks from where several stores went up in flames after the grand jury announcement. A handful of people listened to the Rev. Tommie Pierson preach Thursday that the destruction and chaos was by "a small group of out-of-control people out there."

"They don't represent the community, they don't represent the mood nor the feelings of the community," Pierson said. "I would imagine if you talked to them, they probably don't even live here. So, we don't want to be defined by what they did."

In downtown St. Louis, a group gathered near Busch Stadium for what organizer Paul Byrd called a "pro-community" car rally meant to be peaceful and counter the recent Ferguson violence he suggested has tarnished the region's image.

Byrd, a 45-year-old construction worker from Imperial, Missouri, declined to say whether he supported Wilson but noted, "I totally support police officers." The cruise was escorted by a city police vehicle; no protesters showed up.

The two major utilities in the region expect to have the bulk of their affected customers back on line by midnight.

SPRINGFIELD - More than 16,000 electric customers in Massachusetts, primarily in Western Massachusetts and Worcester county, remain without power Thursday night as a result of a storm that dumped as much as 15 inches of snow in places.

In Western Massachusetts, the number of outages at 5:30 p.m. totaled more than 12,000.

Western Massachusetts Electric Company was reporting 7,480 outages in the four western counties, while the National Grid was reporting another 4,397.

The National Grid was also reporting an additional 4,745 outages in Worcester County.

Power in some areas had been out for most of the day as a result of the storm that rolled through the region Wednesday and early Thursday.

The hardest hit areas appeared to correspond with those areas that saw the highest snowfall, as numerous tree limbs brought down power lines.

In the town of Huntington, one of the major roadways, Route 66, remained closed to all but emergency vehicles as crews tried to removed downed tree, according to the State Police barracks in Russell.

At its peak, there were more than 20,000 customers without power during the day.

Danielle Horn, spokeswoman for The National Grid, said the utility is estimating that most of its customers without power will begin to see a restoration by 7:30 p.m.. and most will be on line by midnight.

She said all remaining outages should be repaired by sometime Friday morning.

She said an estimated 400 electrical workers are out repairing lines. The company has brought in some crews from as far away as Maryland and Pennsylvania to aid in the restoration, she said.

Crews are concentrating on repairs for the most populated areas first, and will then chase remaining outages in isolated areas, she said.

Priscilla Ress, spokeswoman for WMECO, also said that utility expects to have much of its affected customers back on line by midnight.

"We expect to restore all of our large area outages before the end of the day today and be substantially complete by noon Friday," she said.

Crews have made great progress during the day, she said. The company performed aerial inspections of problem areas to speed up assessments, and WMECO and NSTAR crews have been working around the clock, she said.

"We appreciate our customers patience and understand this is tough time of year to be without power," she said.

Among the hardest hit communities served by WMECO were:

• Colrain, 753 customers, 81 percent

• Gill, 406 customers, 58 percent,

• Greenfield, 438 customers, 5 percent,

• Leverett, 502 customers, 56 percent,

• Northfield, 474 customers, 30 percent,

• Worthington, 710 customers, 100 percent.

According to the National Grid, some of the hardest hit of their communities include:

• Sheffield, 687 customers, 32 percent,

• West Stockbridge, 545 customers, 982 percent

• Royalston, 221, 39 percent,

• Milbury, 1,390 customers, 22 percent,

• Sutton, 514 customers, 13 percent.

The WMECO outage map can be found here

The funds are being sought by the Friends of Wilbraham Seniors.

WILBRAHAM - The Friends of Wilbraham Seniors is requesting $250,000 in Community Preservation Act funds for recreation equipment and furnishings for a proposed new senior center.

The equipment includes $19,000 for billiards equipment, $28,000 for fitness equipment, $24,000 for round tables and chairs, $19,000 for woodworking equipment, $10,000 for kitchen dishes, pots and pans, $30,000 for outdoor furnishings, $15,000 for computer stations, $6,000 for a teaching kitchen and $32,000 for unforeseen contingencies.

The Community Preservation Act provides funding through a local property tax surcharge and state funding for open space, historic preservation, affordable housing and recreation.

Robert Page, president of the Friends of the Wilbraham Seniors, said a Senior Center should provide, among other things, recreational activities geared mostly to adults over 60.

Page said the current senior center provides very little in the way of facilities for this population.

Page said that building a new senior center traditionally triples usage of a facility by seniors. He said the current senior center has 68 visitors per day, and it is estimated that building a new senior center would triple usage to about 205 visitors per day.

Page said in an application to the Community Preservation Committee that it is estimated that the true cost to outfit a new senior center would be $500,000 to $600,000.

He said the Friends of Wilbraham Seniors expects to raise $200,000 which it would contribute and pledges from businesses and grants of $100,000 which would be added to the $250,000 in Community Preservation Act funds.

Page said that if $250,000 is too much to be funded in one year, that amount could be appropriated over two years.

Members of the Friends of Wilbraham Seniors and Paula Dubord, director of elder affairs for the town, plans to meet with the Community Preservation Committee Dec. 18 at Town Hall to explain the request for funds, Page said.

The Chicopee demonstration was one of nine Friday at area Wal-Marts and one of 1,600 arround the country.

CHICOPEE — More than 350 people staged a Black Friday demonstration in front of the Chicopee Walmart to protest what they called the unfair dismissal of a 14-year employee of the store as well as they said is the retail giant's history of paying employees low wages.

The demonstration was one of several throughout the day at area Walmart locations but organizers said it was by far the largest.

It got larger still when a second group of demonstrators protesting the recent grand jury ruling in Ferguson, Missouri arrived on scene and turned the focus from economic justice to social justice.

The second group, calling itself the Vanguard, led some of the demonstrators into the store, where they paraded up the aisle chanting "No justice, no peace, no racist police" and other slogans before hundreds of perplexed Walmart shoppers.

Police allowed the demonstrators to be in front of the store as long they as stood on the sidewalk and allowed shoppers to pass in and out. Once members of the Vanguard attempted to block a crosswalk and cause a traffic backup in the parking lot, several Chicopee police officers moved in to warn the group to get out of the road or risk arrest.

A demonstrator in a Guy Fawkes mask stands outside the Chicopee Wal-Mart during a 'Black Friday' demonstration. Patrick Johnson / The Republican

After several moments of discussion with police, the Vanguard members complied with the police and moved back to the sidewalk.

The hour-long demonstration, organized by Western Massachusetts Jobs with Justice and the United Commercial and Food Workers union and a group called Our Walmart, was similar to other actions at Walmart locations across the county on Friday, including one in Hadley.

One of the demands was that the retail chain pay its employees $15 per hour.

Demonstrators says many Walmart employees earn less than $25,000 per year, which is not enough to escape poverty.

The demonstration also rallied around the plight of Aubretia "Windy" Edick, a 14-year employee of the Chicopee store who was fired on Friday for what they considered a trumped-up charge in order to silence her.

Edick, who has been active and outspoken in worker rights at Walmart, was fired Nov. 21 after the company accused her of hitting a customer with her car in the parking lot.

Edick said the customer fell on her own and never made contact with her car. She reported it immediately to police and said she was cleared by police of doing anything wrong. Surveillance video show she did not run into the woman, she said.

"There was no reason for them to fire me," she said. Her dismissal, she said, is retaliation.

Edick said she has a meeting Tuesday with the regional manager and if she is not reinstated, she intends to file an unfair labor practice suit.

"If they think they can fire me to keep me quiet, they are mistaken," she said.

State Sen. James Welch, D-West Springfield, was present for a part of the demonstration. He said he had heard recently of Edick's case and said he wanted to show his support. He repeatedly used the word "retaliation" when discussing Edick's dismissal.

"I'm showing my support for the workers, and for Windy," he said. "I wanted to come out and show my support."

Asked if there was anything he could do in his official capacity as a state senator, Welch said he was not sure and would have to look into it further.

Hollywood actor Mickey Rourke returned to the boxing ring Friday at the age of 62, defeating a fighter less than half his age in an exhibition bout.

MOSCOW — Hollywood actor Mickey Rourke returned to the boxing ring Friday at the age of 62, defeating a fighter less than half his age in an exhibition bout.

Rourke sent 29-year-old Pasadena native Elliot Seymour to the canvas twice in the second round before the referee stopped the fight.

The bout at a Moscow concert hall was Rourke's first fight in 20 years. He took a break from acting in the early 1990s, finishing a three-year pro boxing career with six wins and two draws.

He hinted that the return to the ring has helped him cope with unspecified personal issues.

"I've got some things going on in my life so that (boxing has) sort of saved me from myself," Rourke told Russian TV. "And for a man like me, it's better to live in fear than go on in shame."

He has said he plans to hold another four fights in Russia.

Rourke prepared in a dressing room in front of a shrine featuring candles, images of saints, and photographs of his dogs. Rourke said he had been in mourning for his recently-deceased Chihuahua.

He took to the ring in a Stetson hat, a red-and-gold robe and shiny gold gloves, repeatedly crossing himself.

Rourke, who had said he lost 35 lbs (16 kilograms) to prepare to the fight, was much thinner than in his best-known cinematic fighting persona, when he bulked up to play the title character in 2008's "The Wrestler." His shorts bore his ring nickname from the 1990s, Marielito, with a Spanish-language message reading "always handsome."

The fight was held at a pedestrian pace, with both Rourke and Seymour frequently backing away from one another and letting down their guard.

Several of Rourke's punches appeared illegal. His final punch struck the stumbling Seymour on the buttocks and the 29-year-old went down to all fours until the referee stopped the contest. The Russian crowd chanted "Misha," a short form of the Russian name Mikhail, in Rourke's honor.

Seymour, a former California Golden Gloves champion with a 1-9 pro record, did not land any significant blows on Rourke, whose previous boxing career left him with injuries that he has previously said necessitated extensive plastic surgery to his face.

Following the fight, the crowd was treated to a concert by Grigory Leps, a Russian rock singer who has been barred from entering the United States due to alleged mafia connections.

On the undercard, Olympic light-heavyweight champion Egor Mekhontsev continued his unbeaten start to his professional career, moving to a 7-0 record with a win over Ugandan fighter Joey Vegas.

Russia's Eduard Troyanovsky knocked out Jose Agustin Feria of Colombia in the first round for the WBA intercontinental lightweight title, moving to a 20-0 record.

The hearing is at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Hall.

LUDLOW - The Board of Selectmen will conduct a public hearing Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the selectmen's conference room of the Town Hall.

Manuel Silva, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, said the hearing is scheduled for public questions and/or comments regarding the proposed adoption of percentages of the local tax levy to be borne by each class of real and personal property for the taxable year ending June 30, 2015.

The Board of Assessors will be available at the hearing to provide information and data relevant to the classification and taxation of property in town.

Information should be available at the hearing on the proposed fiscal 2015 property tax rate.

Demonstrators temporarily shut down a large shopping mall in suburban St. Louis on Black Friday during one of several organized rallies to protest a grand jury's recent decision not to indict the police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown in nearby Ferguson.

FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) -- Demonstrators temporarily shut down a large shopping mall in suburban St. Louis on one of the busiest days of the year during Friday during one of several organized rallies to protest a grand jury's recent decision not to indict the police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown in nearby Ferguson.

Several stores lowered their security doors or locked entrances as at least 200 protesters sprawled onto the floor while chanting, "Stop shopping and join the movement" at the Galleria mall in Richmond Heights, about 10 miles south of Ferguson.

The protest prompted authorities to close the mall for about an hour Friday afternoon for a security sweep. It didn't appear that any arrests were made.

The protest was among the largest on Black Friday, which also saw a large rally in Chicago and smaller ones northern California and other cities. Demonstrations also are ongoing in Ferguson, where officer Darren Wilson fatally shot the 18-year-old Brown, who was unarmed, in August.

"We want to really let the world know that it is no longer business as usual," Chenjerai Kumanyika, an assistant professor at Clemson University in South Carolina, said at a rally at a Wal-Mart in Ferguson.

Monday night's announcement that Wilson, who is white, wouldn't be indicted for fatally shooting Brown, who was black, prompted violent protests that resulted in about a dozen buildings and some cars being burned. Dozens of people were arrested.

The rallies have been ongoing but have grown more peaceful this week, as protesters turn their attention to disrupting commerce.

Mindy Elledge, who runs a watch kiosk at the Galleria, said it is working.

"I think people are afraid to come here," Elledge said. "With the protests going on, you never know when or where they're going to happen."

The Black Friday protests extended beyond Missouri.

About 200 people demonstrate at a plaza near the historic water tower, located along Chicago's Michigan Avenue, on Friday, Nov. 28, 2014, in Chicago. The protestors called on people to boycott shopping on Black Friday as a show of solidarity with protesters in Ferguson Missouri. At one point the demonstrator lay down on the cold ground in a silent protest.AP Photo/Sara Burnett 

In Chicago, about 200 people gathered near the city's popular Magnificent Mile shopping district, where Kristiana Colon, 28, called Friday "a day of awareness and engagement." She's a member of the Let Us Breathe Collective, which has been taking supplies such as gas masks to protesters in Ferguson.

"We want them to think twice before spending that dollar today," she said of shoppers. "As long as black lives are put second to materialism, there will be no peace."

Malcolm London, a leader in the Black Youth Project 100, which has been organizing Chicago protests, said group was also trying to rally support for other issues, such as more transparency from Chicago police.

"We are not indicting a man. We are indicting a system," London told the crowd.

Other planned events around the country seemed relatively brief and thinly attended in contrast to the large demonstrations earlier this week. In Brooklyn, New York, a "Hands Up, Don't Shop" protest had been scheduled, but no one materialized.

At a shopping center in the St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood, a dozen people gathered and chanted "Black lives matter." Security was heightened at the Wal-Mart in Ferguson on Friday morning, with military Humvees, police cars and security guards on patrol. The store was busy, but there were no protesters.

In California, more than two dozen protesters chained themselves to trains running from Oakland to San Francisco. About 25 protesters started Friday morning by holding train doors open to protest Brown's death. No one was hurt.

Vermont police say a fight broke out two groups of men after snowballs were thrown at a car in Burlington.

A digest of news stories from around New England and beyond.

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

The Dow Jones industrial average inched up half a point to eke out another record high at 17,828.24.

By MATTHEW CRAFT

NEW YORK — A sharp drop in crude prices tugged down shares in oil and gas companies on Friday, leading the Standard & Poor's 500 index to a slight loss in a short trading session on Wall Street.

The index, a benchmark for many investments, still closed out November with its third-best month this year.

"Crude is the big story today," said JJ Kinahan, TD Ameritrade's chief strategist. "There are very clear winners and losers. The Chevrons and Exxons of the world are getting hammered; then on the other side you have the shipping companies — UPS and FedEx — along with the airlines. For them, it's a beautiful story."

The S&P 500 index lost 5.27 points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 2,067.56. As a group, energy companies lost 6 percent, the worst drop of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500 by far.

The Dow Jones industrial average inched up 0.49 of a point, a sliver of a percent, to eke out another record high, 17,828.24. The Nasdaq composite picked up 4.31 points, less than 0.1 percent, to 4,791.63. Regular U.S. trading closed at 1 p.m. Eastern time on Friday and the market was shut Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Rising corporate profits and a steadily improving U.S. economy have helped push the stock market to record highs this month. The S&P 500 gained 2.5 percent in November. But it was a quiet climb, a combination of many small steps. There wasn't a single day in November that the index rose more than 1 percent.

The main news driving trading was a decision made Thursday by the OPEC oil cartel to keep production at 30 million barrels a day. That announcement hit oil prices hard as traders expect the global supply of oil to stay high. Crude oil slumped $7.54, or 10 percent, to settle at $66.15.

The recent slide for oil prices has had a double-edged effect on the market. It has given a boost to airlines, shippers, retailers and cruise lines, which benefit from both falling costs and customers having more money in their pockets to spend. But it has battered drillers, producers and other companies that provide services to the oil and gas industry.

It was the same story Friday. United Parcel Service gained 3 percent, and FedEx added 2 percent.

Around the world, the slide in crude prices pulled oil and gas companies down. Newfield Exploration lost 16 percent and QEP Resources 15 percent, the two steepest drops by any company in the S&P 500 index.

In Asia, China's state-owned oil giant CNOOC, the country's biggest crude producer, plunged. In Europe, shares in Royal Dutch Shell, Total and other energy giants fell.

Despite those steep drops, Europe's major markets ended with slight gains. France's CAC 40 added 0.2 percent, while Germany's DAX inched up 0.1 percent. In the U.K, the FTSE 100 index of leading British companies barely moved from the previous day.

"The template for equity markets today has been clear from the beginning," said Alastair McCaig, market analyst at IG. "Oil and energy manufacturers are down, while those companies that are oil consumers are up."

In government bond trading, prices for 10-year Treasurys rose. The yield, which moves in the opposite direction, fell to 2.17 percent.

In metals trading, the price of gold for February delivery lost $22 to $1,175.50 an ounce, and silver for March fell $1.05 to $15.56 an ounce. Copper for March fell 11 cents to $2.85 a pound.

In other energy futures trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange:

1. Wholesale gasoline for December delivery fell 13.12 cents to $1.90 a gallon.
2. December heating oil fell 16.57 cents to $2.23 a gallon.
3. January natural gas fell 27 cents to $4.09 per 1,000 cubic feet.

AP writer Pan Pylas contributed from London.

Symington also is the town archivist.

WILBRAHAM - The Board of Selectmen has appointed Timothy Symington, a seven-year town resident and the town archivist, to the Historical Commission.

Symington is an eighth grade history teacher in Longmeadow.

He has been serving as the town archivist and said he has been keeping old photographs and scrapbooks for the town at his home.

Interim Town Administrator Thomas Sullivan said the town should find a space in the Town Hall for the town archives.

The Parade of Bit Balloons was one of a number of events held downtown.

The City Hall Christmas tree is set to be lit Saturday at 6 p.m.

HOLYOKE -- John Twohig stood in a hydraulic bucket a third of the way up the 35-foot-tall blue spruce Friday (Nov. 28) and called out to co-worker Tim Figueroa.

"Give me another box of those ornaments," Twohig said. "Thank you, sir."

Twohig and Figueroa were the work preceding the festivity, attaching colorful balls and lights to the Christmas tree in front of City Hall to ready the donated spruce for Saturday events that include its official lighting at 6 p.m.

Twohig, the city forester, and Figueroa, a parks maintenance worker, also trimmed and straightened the tree on its stand on the High Street side of City Hall.

They began at 9:30 a.m. and by 4 p.m. the temperate was about 16 degrees with the wind-chill factored in.

"They've been working on it all day," said William D. Fuqua, general superintendent of the Department of Public Works.

Tim Figueroa, a Holyoke parks maintenance worker, was busy Friday (Nov. 28) decorating a 35-foot-tall blue spruce for Christmas in front of City Hall on High Street.(MIKE PLAISANCE / THE REPUBLICAN) 

They also had to work around protesters. A demonstration of about a dozen people proceeded down High Street Friday afternoon apparently in relation to events in Ferguson, Missouri, where a grand jury Monday decided against indicting a white police officer who killed a black man in an incident in August. The protesters stopped at intersections to block traffic before moving along when police cruisers showed up, Twohig said.

Someone on Homestead Avenue donated the blue spruce to the city and Curran Construction delivered it to City Hall, Fuqua said.

Also, Fuqua said, Twohig and Figueroa were the ones who worked from midnight into Thanksgiving Day on Thursday to prepare Roberts' Field Sports Complex at 500 Beech St. after the storm of heavy wet snow. They got the gridiron ready for the annual football game between Holyoke High School and Chicopee High School. Holyoke won 36-16.

"Those are the two guys who cleared the football field. They worked from midnight on, two guys and two tractors," Fuqua said.

The Department of Motor Vehicles is expecting thousands of immigrants to begin taking the steps needed to obtain a new state-issued driver's license or learning permit next week.

By SUSAN HAIGH

HARTFORD - Immigrants living in Connecticut illegally will soon be able to obtain a driver's license under a new program designed to teach the rules of the road to people who likely have been behind the wheel for years anyway.

 

The Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles is expecting thousands of immigrants to begin taking the steps needed to obtain a new state-issued driver's license or learning permit. Beginning at noon Dec. 1, immigrants 16 years and older can begin making online appointments on the DMV's website to schedule a written test for a Drive Only License.

The program, approved by the General Assembly in 2013, officially begins Jan. 2 and could affect tens of thousands of drivers who cannot establish their legal presence in the U.S. or may not have a Social Security number.

Eight states already offer such licenses, according to the DMV. The number will grow to 10 when Connecticut and California begin issuing them in January.

Connecticut officials have been preparing nearly two years for the new program by upgrading outdated Spanish versions of the written test and driver's manual and creating new tests in French, Polish, Portuguese and Italian. There are also plans to develop a test in Mandarin Chinese. The DMV has also been meeting with immigrant advocacy groups to train them in how to help their clients study the driver's manual and learn where to take the required eight-hour, safe driving practices course.

"Our goal is to make this work as easily as possible for our undocumented residents who may have been waiting a long time to obtain this credential, which can open many doors for them," said DMV spokesman William Seymour.

The license will be stamped with the words "not for federal identification." If immigrants pass the test, there's a three-month practice driving time before the road test is administered, Seymour said.

Some immigrant advocacy groups estimate that as many as 200,000 eligible immigrants live in Connecticut without legal permission, Seymour said.

Werner Oyanadel, executive director of the state's Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission, estimates that about 65,000 people could seek Drive Only Licenses. But that number could change depending on whether President Barack Obama's new executive order on immigration will allow parents of drivers who've obtained regular licenses under the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to also acquire regular licenses.

Oyanadel sees the program as a way to ensure public safety and improve the lives of these immigrants and their families.

"The truth of the matter is people are driving back-and-forth from work to home," Oyanadel said, adding that the difference now is that they'll be properly trained. Like other drivers, they must register their vehicles and prove they have purchased insurance.

Participants must bring two forms of identification when they apply for a Drive Only License and two pieces of mail from different sources to prove they're living in Connecticut.

When they schedule an appointment for the written test, they must also sign an affidavit indicating they will file an application to legalize their immigration status when eligible. The DMV also plans to check the applicants' criminal history. If they have a Connecticut felony, they will not be eligible for a Drive Only credential.

Republican Gov. Chris Christie has vetoed a politically charged bill that would have banned the use of certain pig cages in his state, a move many observers see as aimed at appeasing Iowa voters ahead of a potential 2016 presidential run.

By JILL COLVIN

NEWARK, N.J. — Republican Gov. Chris Christie has vetoed a politically charged bill that would have banned the use of certain pig cages in his state, a move many observers see as aimed at appeasing Iowa voters ahead of a potential 2016 presidential run.

In a veto message issued Friday, Christie called the bill opposing gestation crates a "solution in search of a problem."

"It is a political movement masquerading as substantive policy," he said.

The crates, which are so small that pregnant pigs can't turn around in them, have been criticized by animal welfare activists as cruel. Pigs can spend years in them, and advocates say they don't want their use to spread.

The bill had overwhelming support from Republican and Democratic state lawmakers but would have had little to no impact in New Jersey, whose roughly 300 pig farms don't regularly use the crates.

But the crates are widespread in Iowa, which is home to millions of pigs and the nation's first presidential nominating caucuses. Christie has invested significant time building relationships in Iowa, campaigning on behalf of its Republican governor, Terry Branstad, who had urged him to squash the bill.

New Jersey state Sen. Raymond Lesniak, a Democrat and the bill's lead sponsor, expressed disappointment after the veto and accused Christie of "capitulating to political influences in a state thousands of miles away."

"Obviously, the governor is putting his personal political ambitions ahead of the humane treatment of animals," he said.

The fight over the legislation had become one of the most heated in recent memory.

Animal welfare advocates launched a public relations blitz, complete with celebrity endorsements, and staged events at which activists stood inside cages. They also commissioned polls to show support for the ban in New Jersey and Iowa and said they flooded the governor's office with thousands of phone calls and emails.

The National Pork Producers Council, based in Washington, D.C., sent a lobbyist to New Jersey to try to scuttle the attempt. It was pleased with Christie's action.

"Gov. Christie recognized that it's the hog farmers not national animal rights groups who know best how to ensure the well-being of pregnant sows," Council spokesman Dave Warner said in an email.

The Humane Society of the United States' vice president of farm animal protection, Paul Shapiro, characterized Christie's decision as a "cynical political calculation."

But Christie said it was the other way around. In his veto message, he urged lawmakers to stop "using their lawmaking authority to play politics with issues that don't exist in our State" and shilling for groups that "want to use the law making process as a political cudgel on issues outside our borders."

New Jersey is "at the vanguard of protecting domestic livestock from animal cruelty," he said.

Christie vetoed similar legislation last year, but advocates had hoped changes would address his concerns. Instead, Christie said he would leave state policy in the hands of the Board of Agriculture and the Department of Agriculture.

"I will rely on our in-state experts rather than the partisan politicians who sponsor this bill," he said.

Longmeadow resident Moshe Ronen, owner of Brake King Automotive / Autoservice Inc., is due back in Suffolk Superior Court on Tuesday, Dec. 2, according to the office of state Attorney General Martha Coakley.

SPRINGFIELD — A Springfield businessman under indictment for allegedly failing to pay $373,000 in taxes to the state's Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund is due back in court next week.

Longmeadow resident Moshe Ronen, 63, president and owner of Brake King Automotive / Autoservice Inc., didn't make employer contributions to the unemployment insurance fund from 2007 to 2013, according to the office of Attorney General Martha Coakley.

In July 2013, a Suffolk County Grand Jury handed up a 24-count indictment against Ronen, who's scheduled to appear in Suffolk Superior Court on Tuesday, Dec. 2. Ronen is free on personal recognizance and denies the charges.

Unemployment insurance, a joint federal-state program, temporarily helps workers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. The benefits typically last for about 30 weeks in Massachusetts, about four weeks longer than in most other states. However, the majority of Bay State residents typically receive less than 30 weeks of benefits, which cover about half of a recipient's former wages.

Ronen was charged after an investigation by Coakley's office and the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development's Department of Unemployment Insurance.

Chicopee police have not released much about the crash, other than to say it was serious and occurred near 369 Granby Road.

CHICOPEE — Police were investigating a Friday evening crash involving a tractor-trailer and at least one other vehicle on Granby Road.

The incident happened shortly before 7 p.m. in the area of 369 Granby Road, according to Chicopee police, who characterized the crash as "serious" but weren't immediate available for an update on the situation.

It was unknown if anyone was injured in the crash, which remained under investigation and closed Granby Road between Nelson and Chicopee streets (Route 116).

An accident reconstruction was called to investigate and police were asking motorists to avoid the area.

This developing story will be updated as information becomes available.

Chandler Swink was a sophomore nursing student at Oakland Uniiversity.

A 19-year-old Michigan college student who was in a coma for a week with a severe allergic reaction to peanut butter died the day before Thanksgiving.

Chandler Swink, who was in his second year as a nursing student at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., was hospitalized Nov. 19 after coming in contact with peanut butter at a friend's house, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Doctors told Swink's family that he suffered anaphylactic shock, an asthma attack and cardiac arrest at the same time.

"Chandler Swink's death is a tragic loss for our university," Glenn McIntosh, interim vice president for student affairs and enrollment management at the university said Thursday. "He was a scholarship student with a passion for learning and had a very bright future. We offer our condolences and stand by to support his family, friends and his girlfriend."

USA Today reported that an online GoFundMe fund-raiser had raised $30,000 of Thanksgiving night to help the family pay for expenses associated with Swink's death. As of Friday evening, the amount was closer to $55,000.

The newspaper said that Swink graduated from Avondale High School, and was last year's recipient of the Oakland University Huntington Ford Scholarship, a four-year, full-tuition scholarship offered to an incoming freshman from a Rochester-area high school.

Swink was at a friend's apartment, where someone had baked peanut butter cookies, his mother, Nancy, told the Oakland Press. His mother said he either ate some food that had come in contact with the cookies, or someone who had touched the peanut butter touched him.

"When he started having a reaction, Chandler went out to his car to inject himself with an EpiPen and drove himself to the hospital," the newspaper reported. "He was found unconscious in the parking lot of St. Joseph Mercy Oakland around 1 a.m. (Nov. 19)."

He mother told the newspaper that now people will understand that allergies can be life threatening. While the public schools he attended accommodated him and made the district "peanut free" for him, he was bullied for 12 years by both parents and students who blamed him for the peanut restrictions, she said.

"They would say, 'It can't be that bad,'" Swink told the Press. "You can't segregate people based on what they were born with. It wasn't a choice. ... I truly believe that God gave me (Chandler) for a reason - so that I could fight for him."

Another local newspaper, the Oakland Post, reported that the younger Swink was diagnosed with a Level 6 severe nut allergy at the age of 2.

"It's been tough on all of us the past few days," Swink's cousin, Mike, told the newspaper explaining that the family wrestled with whether to take Swink off life support. "It's brought our family closer but we miss him so much."

Funeral arrangements are planned for Sunday and Monday.

A demonstration related to this week's Ferguson grand jury decision broke out Friday afternoon in the Holyoke Mall, but just as quickly as it started, it ended, according to Holyoke police.

11.28.2014 | HOLYOKE -- Holyoke police say they escorted about 20 "Ferguson" protesters away from the upper level of the Holyoke Mall near the Target store early Friday afternoon.GEORGE GRAHAM / THE REPUBLICAN 

HOLYOKE — A demonstration related to this week's Ferguson grand jury decision broke out Friday afternoon in the Holyoke Mall, but just as quickly as it started, it ended, according to Holyoke police.

Police said fewer than 20 demonstrators paraded in through one entrance and out the other side. One of them had a bullhorn, which made the group seem louder than it actually was, police said.

Police received multiple calls from the public and dispatched officers to the scene, but by the time they arrived, the demonstrators were already filing out, police said.

Ravil Asadov, who works at the mall, said he saw eight to 10 protesters draping a big sign over the railing inside the shopping center, which was crowded with thousands of Black Friday shoppers. "They were shouting," Asadov said of the protesters.

According to ABC News, there have been Ferguson protests at retail outlets all over the country.

Tweets from the scene:

A demonstration just broke out at the Holyoke Mall. Security is trying to usher the demonstrators out but they refuse to go down quietly.

— Nora Drapalski (@ndrapalski) November 28, 2014

lol protest @ Holyoke mall

— Ryan Luong (@rylu2) November 28, 2014

Riot at holyoke mall smh

— amber montgomery (@amber_anne11) November 28, 2014

The fact that there were protesters at the Holyoke Mall just now. [?]

— Austin Crowley (@AJCrow23) November 28, 2014

ferguson protest in holyoke mall got shut down

— lil miss flex (@supershehlanot) November 28, 2014

I just witnessed a ferguson riot at the holyoke mall... I was so not expecting that.

— Elizabethhh (@lizowl4) November 28, 2014

A passenger at Bradley International Airport boarded a US Airways flight earlier this week with a pig in tow.

You've heard the expression, "when pigs fly" haven't you?

It's is an adynaton, or, a figure of speech, if you will, so hyperbolic that it describes an impossibility. It's used humorously, when someone wants to make fun of over-ambition.

But a passenger at Bradley International Airport, in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, wasn't kidding when she boarded a US Airways flight with a pig in tow.

Jonathan Skolnik, a professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst told ABC News he thought the woman with the pig was carrying a duffel bag when she got on the plane.

Skolnick, a passenger on the plane, became quite concerned when the woman, and her pig, headed straight for the empty seat next to him.

"But it turns out it wasn't a duffel bag. We could smell it and it was a pig on a leash," he told ABC. "She tethered it to the arm rest next to me and started to deal with her stuff, but the pig was walking back and forth."

"I was terrified, because I was thinking I'm gonna be on the plane with the pig," Snolnik added, saying he guesses the pig weighed between 50 and 70 pounds.

Another passenger on the flight commented on ABC's website, "This was the most surreal flying experience of my life. How are animals of this size allowed in a passenger compartment of an airplane? This should not be permitted."

View full sizeA passenger named Bonnie tweeted this photo of a woman boarding a US Airways flight at Bradley International Airport with a pig in tow.Twitter photo 

A passenger named Bonnie, took a picture of the woman and her pig, tweeting, "A pig landed on a US Airways flight out of Connecticut on Wednesday, but was taken off."

According to Britain's Daily Mail newspaper, the woman had the pig as an emotional support animal, but was asked to leave the plane after it became disruptive.

The Department of Transportation has certain guidelines concerning animals, including pigs, monkeys and miniature horses, that can be taken on flights if they are determined to be needed as emotional support for a person. TSA officials are supposed to determine whether the animal is permitted on the plane by running through a list of guidelines, the newsaper reported.

"Pigs are favored service animals for people allergic to dogs," the Daily Mail wrote. "Guidelines suggest they are intelligent companions and attuned to dangerous situations."

According to a 2012 CNCNews.com report, airlines must let passengers fly with pigs if they are for such emotional support. The department published a manual in July of that year designed to "help carriers and indirect carriers and their employees/contractors that provide services or facilities to passengers with disabilities, assist those passengers in accordance with" the Air Carrier Access Act.

Here is a scenario described in the manual.

"A passenger arrives at the gate accompanied by a pot-bellied pig. She claims that the pot-bellied pig is her service animal. What should you do?"

"Generally, you must permit a passenger with a disability to be accompanied by a service animal," reads the manual. "However, if you have a reasonable basis for questioning whether the animal is a service animal, you may ask for some verification."

The manual instructs airline carriers and their employees to begin by asking questions about the animal's training and what service it performs for the individual.

"If you are not satisfied with the credibility of the answers to these questions or if the service animal is an emotional support or psychiatric service animal, you may request further verification," the guidebook states. "You should also call a CRO [Complaints Resolution Official] if there is any further doubt as to whether the pot-bellied pig is the passenger's service animal."

If the answers are satisfactory, pigs, which can weigh as much as 300 pounds, must be accepted aboard the plane.

"Finally, if you determine that the pot-bellied pig is a service animal, you must permit the service animal to accompany the passenger to her seat provided the animal does not obstruct the aisle or present any safety issues and the animal is behaving appropriately in a public setting," the manual states.

So, I guess, some pigs can fly.

Route 20 in Westfield has been reopened after a single car crash sent one man to the hospital

1.10.13 Westfield Photo by Manon L. Mirabelli Westfield Police Officer Charles "Chip" M. Kielbasa is the Pioneer Valley's friendliest police officer, an title he received from MassLive's Reader Raves voters.Conor Berry | cberry@repub.com 

Westfield Police Lt. Michael LaCroix said the roadway was reopened at about midnight, but Westfield police remain on the scene. Massachusetts State Police assisted local police at the crash scene.

Police said the driver apparently lost control of the vehicle and went off the side of Russell Road, or Route 20, just before 10 p.m. The car slammed into a tree. The driver was taken to Noble Hospital by ambulance, but there has been no report as the extent of his injuries.

Westfield police say they are continuing their investigation.