The two men are not considered suspects in Monday's stabbing death of Miguel Rodriguez.

Republican file photo

HOLYOKE - Reports of shots fired on Sargeant Street late Tuesday morning, not far from the spot where a 24-year-old city man was stabbed to death on Monday, led to the arrest of two suspects and the confiscation of a handgun.

No injuries were reported in the shooting, which was reported shortly before 11:15 a.m. outside a barbershop near Sargeant and Walnut streets, Capt. Alan G. Fletcher, said.

Fletcher said police found the two suspects inside the barbershop and discovered the handgun which had been left in plain view inside an sports utility vehicle that had been left idling out front. Police also confiscated drugs, he said.

Fletcher said the two arrested are not believed to be suspects in the homicide of 24-year-old Miguel Rodriguez about 50 yards away. Their names were not immediately available.

The body of Rodriguez, of 36 North Summer St., was found in the road between a pickup truck and a car in front of Hampshire-Pine Apartments shortly before 8:40 a.m.

Rodriguez, pronounced dead at the scene, is the city’s third homicide in less than two months.

Capt. Arthur R. Monfette, speaking before the reported shooting, said police are looking for what he described as a “person of interest,” seen leaving the area.

Authorities described that person as a dark-skinned male, possibly Hispanic, who appeared to be in his early 20s. Police said he was wearing blue-jean shorts, a black shirt and a black baseball cap, and he appeared to have puffy hair that spilled out from underneath the cap.

Fletcher said there is a lot of activity in the neighborhood today as people visit a shrine honoring Rodriguez. Additional police officers are also in the neighborhood.

One resident said she knows of at least five other neighbors who had vehicles broken into.

Republican file photo

SPRINGFIELD - Sixteen Acres neighborhood residents report that a number of their vehicles were broken into early Saturday morning.

Mohawk Drive resident Karen Powell said she learned of the break-ins at about 4 a.m. when a neighbor called to report that her car doors were open.

“It was pretty fast and pretty unnerving,” said Powell, adding that she lost a small amount of change, but, oddly enough, not all the change that had been in her car.

A neighbor, Robb Carty, who lives on the same street, was harder hit. He said lost some $400 or more in gift cards, CDs, a cell phone charger, a pair of prescription sunglasses - even the registration for his truck.

“They are having a field day,” Carty said. “They are very fast, very smooth.”

Powell and Carty said they routinely lock their vehicles “They must have used a shim to get in," Carty said.

Powell said a neighbor across the street who also got hit, believed that she too had locked her car the night before. “She always locks her doors,” Powell said, adding that her neighbor’s car beeps when locked or unlocked remotely and “nobody heard a noise.”

Powell said she knows of at least five others in the neighborhood who had items stolen from their vehicles and that anecdotal evidence suggests that a number of others may have been hit as well.

“It’s a shame because our neighborhood is very nice,” Carty said.

Carty said he heard reports residents in the South Branch Parkway area were similarly hit a week or so ago.

Springfield police detectives investigating the break-ins could not be immediately reached for comment.

How did you hear about the attacks? How has your life changed over the past decade? We want to hear your stories.

Work continues on the National September 11 Memorial at the World Trade Center site, Friday, July 15, 2011 in New York. The memorial will be dedicated in a ceremony on September 11, 2011, the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

A decade has passed since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. To recognize this somber anniversary, The Republican is preparing a series examining the attacks and their legacy.

We want to hear your stories.

How did you hear about the attacks? Where were you when you heard? How did you seek or offer comfort that day?

We'd also like to hear about how the attacks shaped your life in the decade that followed. Did September 11 and its aftermath influence a decision to move? To reconnect with someone? To view the world in a different way?

Please offer your contribution by posting to the comments section below. We'll select a number of contributions to appear as a part of The Republican's series in early September.

A total of 39 resumes were received and seven applicants were interviewed, resulting in five finalists, according to the Town Council president.

Paul Burns

PALMER - Town Council President Paul E. Burns announced the five finalists for town manager at Monday's Town Council meeting, and interviews are slated to begin next week. The finalists are:

• Joseph R. Becker, of Rutland, a section manager at Verizon Communications and a member of the Rutland Board of Selectmen since 2007; previously served on the Finance Committee for 10 years

• Richard D. Giroux, of Cambridge, Ohio, former city manager of Wauchula, Fla. from 2005 to 2011 and former director of public service in Green, Ohio from 2000 to 2005

• Donald I. Jacobs, of Holden, a consultant and former town manager in Plymouth (1996 to 1998) and Southbridge (1981 to 1985); also an assistant town manager in Amherst from 1977-1981

• O. Paul Shew, of Franklin, a consultant, and former city manager in Rye, N.Y. from 2003 to 2009

• Timothy Cummings, of Burlington, in charge of special projects in the town manager's office in Foxborough since 2010 and former research director for the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 2009 to 2011

Burns, who served on the town manager search committee with councilors Donald Blais Jr. and Blake E. Lamothe, called the group "very qualified" and said each finalist brings a "unique subset of skills and life experience."

The council will meet Monday to discuss interview questions, and interviews are slated to be held Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. The council spent some time discussing the timing - and times - of the interviews.

Interim Town Manager Charles T. Blanchard said he felt it's important to do interviews as quickly as possible, as the candidates could also be finalists for jobs elsewhere.

A total of 39 resumes were received and seven applicants were interviewed.

"I think one of these gentlemen will be a good fit for the town of Palmer," Burns said.

A spokeswoman for Baystate Health, Jane Albert, questioned 1199SEIU's call, noting that the union has "no connection" to Baystate Health.

By Kyle Cheney | STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

BOSTON - A Massachusetts health care workers union is calling on Baystate Health – a hospital network with facilities in Springfield, Greenfield and Ware – to cancel plans to cut 354 jobs, citing a $17 million infusion of federal funds that could be used to avert layoffs.

“In a healthcare setting, any job elimination of this magnitude is going to have an impact on patient care services for the community,” said Veronica Turner, Executive Vice President of 1199 Service Employees International Union, in a statement. “In light of this new federal funding, Baystate executives need to slow down, consider the impact their previous plans would have on the Springfield community, and rescind the devastating cuts they are proposing to jobs and services.”

According to 1199SEIU, which boasts 42,000 members statewide, Baystate Health will receive $17 million under a new federal funding formula for “rural” hospitals implemented by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The union also pointed out that Baystate posted a $49 million profit in 2010 and has reported healthy operating margins.

A spokeswoman for Baystate Health, Jane Albert, questioned 1199SEIU’s call, noting that the union has “no connection” to Baystate Health. She also described the $17 million infusion of funds as the federal government “righting a wrong” by returning funds that had been taken away in previous years. Additionally, she said, the hospital’s $49 million operating margin in 2010 – on a $1.6 billion budget – has been used to make necessary capital investments.

“Forty-nine million dollars that’s all been reinvested doesn’t even reach the level we need . . . in order to invest in capital and our facilities and technology,” Albert said. “In the context of the entire operation of Baystate Health on a $1.6 billion budget, there are a lot of capital needs that as a nonprofit we have an obligation to do and to provide the best care for our patients.”

Baystate Health announced the elimination of 354 positions – 169 layoffs and the elimination of 185 vacant jobs – in a statement last month, citing “continued cuts in state reimbursements and the government’s inability to properly fund the expansion of health care” as well as “a weak economy.” The cuts are scheduled to take place on Aug. 19.

“Massachusetts has expanded and enhanced healthcare for our residents which we applaud – but the Commonwealth is not paying for these commitments,” Mark R. Tolosky, president and CEO of Baystate Health, said in the statement.

The hospitals described a $26.5 million underpayment by state government for the cost of their Medicaid patients, which make up about a quarter of the total patient population at Baystate Health facilities. Officials also estimated a $25 million budget shortfall in 2011 and a $54 million shortfall in 2012 if expenses were not reduced.

Baystate Health’s network – Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Baystate Mary Lane Hospital in Ware and Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield – includes 783 beds and 10,000 employees, according to the company. More than 650 of those beds are located at the Springfield facility. The hospital is affiliated with Tufts University Medical Center, and 1199SEIU describes it as “Springfield’s largest private employer.”

Jeff Hall, a spokesman for 1199SEIU, acknowledged that the union has no members at Baystate Medical Center but added that officials had been contacted by hospital employees concerned about the layoffs.

“We have a responsibility as the largest health care union in the state to take their concerns to the next level, particularly in light of the $17 million that Baystate will be receiving through these new federal funds,” he said. “Employees at Baystate are friends and neighbors of our 5,000 members in Springfield. They’re turning to 1199SEIU for help in this matter. There’s a growing feeling that Baystate should slow down this process and reconsider these extreme layoffs in light of this new funding.”

Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts.

The Fed said so far this year the economy has grown "considerably slower" than expected.

Associated PressFederal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, July 13, 2011, before the House Financial Services Committee where he delivered the semiannual Monetary Policy Report.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve said Tuesday that it will likely keep interest rates at record lows for the next two years after acknowledging that the economy is weaker than it had thought and faces increasing risks.

The Fed announced that it expects to keep its key interest rate near zero through mid-2013. It has been at that record low since December 2008. The Fed had previously only said that it would keep it low for "an extended period."

Fed policymakers used significantly more downbeat language to describe current economic conditions. It said so far this year the economy has grown "considerably slower" than the Fed had expected. They also said that temporary factors, such as high energy prices and the Japan crisis, only accounted for "some of the recent weakness" in economic activity.

The more explicit time frame is aimed at calming nervous investors. It offered them a clearer picture of how long they will be able to obtain ultra-cheap credit, and was at least a year longer than many economists had expected.

But it didn't seem to help on Tuesday. Stocks initially fell after the statement was released, possibly reflecting disappointment that the Fed did not announce another round of bond buying.

Fed officials met against a backdrop of speculation that they would say or do something new to address a darkening economic picture. The stock market has plunged and government data have signaled a weaker economy in the four weeks since Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that the Fed was ready to act if conditions worsened.

The economy grew at an annual rate of just 0.8 percent in the first six months of the year. Consumers have cut spending for the first time in 20 months. Wages are barely rising. Manufacturing is growing only slightly. And service companies are expanding at the slowest pace in 17 months.

Employers hired more in July than during the previous two months. But the number of jobs added was far fewer than needed to significantly dent the unemployment rate, now at 9.1 percent. The rate has exceeded 9 percent in all but two months since the recession officially ended in June 2009.

Fear that another recession is unavoidable, along with worries that Europe may be unable to contain its debt crisis, has rattled stock markets. The Dow Jones industrial average has lost nearly 15 percent of its value since July 21. On Monday, it fell 634 points — its worst day since 2008 and sixth-worst drop in history.

The tailspin on Wall Street was further fueled by Standard & Poor's decision to downgrade long-term U.S. debt.

Bernanke didn't speak publicly after Tuesday's Fed meeting. The chairman this year made a historic change by scheduling news conferences after four of the Fed's eight policy meetings each year, but Tuesday's wasn't one of them.

Later this month at the Fed's annual retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyo., Bernanke will likely address the weakening economy, the S&P downgrade and the market turmoil.

Earlier this summer, the Fed ended a $600 billion Treasury bond-buying program. The bond purchases were intended to keep rates low to encourage spending and borrowing and lift stock prices.

The Ethics Commission fined Judd $2,500 for violating the state conflict of interest law.

GOSHEN – The state Ethics Commissioner has sanctioned selectboard member John Judd for violating the conflict of interest law in a contract involving his cousin.

According to David Giannotti, the chief of the commission’s communication division, Judd tried to get the selectboard to award a contract to purchase 3,000 of washed, screened sand from George D. Judd & Sons LLC, which is owned by his cousin Francis Judd, after the town already awarded the contract to another bidder. Although George D. Judd & Sons’ bid of $9 per ton was lower than the winning bid of $12 per ton, the town deemed its offer “unresponsive” because it only specified screened sand and not “washed screened sand,” according to the Ethics Commission.

At an Oct. 2010 board meeting, Judd raised the issue and said the board should rebid the contract to get a better price, according to the Ethics Commission. He also criticized the highway superintendent for not buy the sand from his cousin, the commission said.

Judd then provided the board a proposed contract in which Goshen would agree to buy 50 percent of its “screened sand” from George D. Judd & Sons for $13,500. The board did not approve his proposal.

Neither Judd nor any town official cold be reached for comment Tuesday.

The Ethics Commission fined Judd $2,500 for violating the state conflict of interest law. In addition, Judd agreed to receive training in the conflict of interest law from the commission’s staff.

Goshen Ethics Ruling

30 U.S. troops died Saturday when their helicopter was shot down by a Taliban insurgent using a rocket-propelled grenade.

Associated PressPresident Barack Obama salutes as he is greeted by Col. Mark Camerer, the 436th Airlift Wing Commander, left, as he steps off of Marine One, at Dover Air Force Base, Del., Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011. The President will meet privately with families of thirty Americans killed in an International Security Assistance Force helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. — Assuming the grimmest role of his office, President Barack Obama on Tuesday privately honored fallen forces returning home from war, this time the troops killed in a helicopter attack that claimed more American lives than any other strike of the Afghanistan war.

Obama's afternoon trip here was unannounced to ensure the security of his helicopter flight. Members of the media covering the trip agreed not to report on it until he had landed.

After about a half-hour flight from Washington, Marine One touched down at the base. The president climbed into a limousine that took him to the two C-17 aircraft that arrived earlier in the day carrying the remains of the 30 Americans killed in Afghanistan.

The president boarded each plane to pay his respects to the fallen.

The White House said Obama then spent more than an hour meeting with 250 family members and service members gathered at the base, offering his condolences for their loss and his gratitude for their service and sacrifice.

An entrenched wartime president, Obama has been here before.

In the dark of an October morning in 2009, Obama watched solemnly as 18 Americans killed in the Afghan war came home, a visceral reminder of a war that has long slipped from the forefront of American debate. He would later call it the most powerful moment of his young presidency.

That trip to Dover left searing images of a president standing in salute on a cold tarmac in the dead of night. One family had allowed media coverage.

But on Tuesday, the president was honoring the fallen out of the public eye. The Pentagon said there would be no media coverage at the Dover base because the badly damaged remains from the horrific crash were mingled and still being identified.

A total of 30 U.S. troops, seven Afghan commandos and an Afghan interpreter died Saturday when their helicopter was shot down by a Taliban insurgent using a rocket-propelled grenade.

They had been packed into a twin-rotor chopper, en route to help coalition ground forces in a battle with insurgents. Many of the Americans who died were members of the Navy's SEAL Team Six, the elite unit that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in a raid in Pakistan three months ago. None of the SEALs killed in the crash took part in the bin Laden mission.

The devastating loss comes just ahead of the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on America that prompted the war in Afghanistan.

Some of those killed had been motivated to join the Special Forces by the 9/11 attacks that bin Laden masterminded.

The Defense Department has not released the troops' names. Officials said it is taking time because there were so many killed. Others said privately there is hesitancy to release the names because the majority were from secretive special operations forces.

But the stories of the fallen have been emerging in the days since the crash. Those killed included young fathers, accomplished athletes and people of deep faith. One had dreams of becoming an astronaut after military service. All were deeply committed to the cause.

To Americans focused on economic crises at home, the death toll is a reminder that tens of thousands of U.S. forces will be in harm's way in Afghanistan through at least 2014.

"We will press on, and we will succeed," Obama said Monday in his first public comments about the helicopter crash. "But now is also a time to reflect on those we lost and the sacrifices of all who serve, as well as their families. These men and women put their lives on the line for the values that bind us together as a nation."

Obama scrambled his schedule to be at Dover when the bodies returned home. He canceled an event in Virginia.

The military calls the process of moving the remains a "dignified transfer." Cases draped in American flags are carried off a giant plane, one by one, by a team of military personnel from the fallen member's respective service. Each case is placed in a vehicle and then taken to a mortuary.

Top civilian and uniformed leaders will attend the proceeding, and so will some family members.

The department has had acting fire chiefs since the January 2010 retirement of former chief David LaFond.

HOLYOKE – The goal is that by late next month, the city will have its first permanent fire chief in nearly two years, an official said Friday.

The application deadline is Aug. 23, Fire Commission Chairwoman Priscilla F. Chesky said.

An evaluation known as an assessment center will be held beginning Sept. 13 at a time and location to be determined, she said.

The job’s yearly salary will be $95,000 to $104,500, City Solicitor Lisa A. Ball has said.

The three-member Fire Commission will hire a chief after the assessment center, which will include role-playing and other tests, she said.

The job is open only to deputy chiefs and captains now working for the Holyoke Fire Department. Lieutenants will be eligible only if less than four of the higher-ranked officers apply, she said.

Applications are due in writing by the close of business Aug. 23 at Office of the City Solicitor, Korean Veterans Plaza, Holyoke, Mass. 01040.

Deputy Chief Robert Shaw has been acting fire chief since June 17.

The department hasn’t had a permanent chief since the Jan. 4, 2010 retirement of David A. LaFond, who was chief for 15 years.

William F. Kane was acting chief after LaFond retired until he retired in September.

Deputy Chief William P. Moran, as the longest-tenured deputy, was appointed acting chief after Kane’s departure. Moran held that post until the Fire Commission put him on paid administrative leave in mid-June.

Moran in relation to that faces a show-cause hearing Aug. 29 in Springfield District Court. That’s on a criminal complaint that Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni has sought against Moran for sending a fire truck on a fake call to the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside June 15.

Moran and David P. Hoose, the lawyer representing him on the criminal complaint, have declined to comment.

Moran since July 26 has been on leave using accrued vacation and sick time.

Jeffrey S. Morneau, Moran’s lawyer on issues before the Fire Commission, said Moran won’t be applying for the chief job.

Deputy Chief Timothy J. Moran, William Moran’s brother and a 20-year veteran, said he also won’t apply for the chief job.

Timothy Moran is the campaign manager of Mayor Elaine A. Pluta, as he was in her 2009 campaign. Pluta said William Moran worked on her campaign in a lesser role holding signs.

The city has hired MMA Consulting Group Inc., of Brookline, to do the assessment center, Ball said.

The city will pay the company $8,950 to $11,850 depending on the number of candidates who participate in the assessment center, she said.

All the computers at the high school were replaced when a new school was built eight years ago.

Republican file photoSchool officials reportedly told CBS-3 that if official charges are leveled against the teacher, he could be fired for the allegations.

CHICOPEE – When Chicopee High School was built eight years ago, school officials were delighted to be able to purchase brand new computers for the library, technology centers and all classrooms.

The problem is all those computers are becoming outdated at the same time.

This year the School Committee set aside about $100,000 to begin replacing the equipment, which is a small amount that will be needed to update all the equipment.

“It is the problem with the evolving of technology. Everything seems to update so fast,” said Rose Y. Blais, assistant to the superintendent for telecommunication and technology services. “What we are doing today with pictures and video and audio is more demanding and taxing on the system.”

Typically schools replace their oldest computers on a cyclical basis. But because the state School Building Authority agreed to pay 90 percent of the costs of constructing a new school and purchasing equipment, all the new computers were bought at the same time and few have been added since.

Comprehensive High School, which opened a new school in January 2008, will also be facing the same problem in a few years.

Chicopee High Principal Roland R. Joyal Jr. said there is no major systems failure and the school is not having serious problems, it has just found the computers are slowing down and the equipment is worn because it is used daily by students and teachers.

“We want to be pro-active. Seven years is a long time for a computer,” he said.

Joyal said he and Blais are working together to figure out what computers should be a priority to be replaced. He also plans to meet with department supervisors to talk about how the equipment is used.

In some cases, students are simply using the computers for word processing and Internet searches, so those computers do not need to be updated as quickly, Joyal said.

Blais said the schools can also update more computers if they chose to replace part of the equipment. For example the mouse and the monitors may be fine.

“We may be able to extend the life of the computers by installing new hardware,” she said.

Some of the older computers can also be used in elementary schools, which may be looking to replace equipment which is much older.

The Federal Reserve sketched a dim outlook for the economy Tuesday, suggesting it will remain weak for two more years.

Associated Press photoFederal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke promised to keep interest rates at record lows, likely for another two years, in an effort to spur the sputtering U.S. economy.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve sketched a dim outlook for the economy Tuesday, suggesting it will remain weak for two more years. As a result, the Fed said it expects to keep its key interest rate near zero through mid-2013.

It's the first time the Fed has pegged its "exceptionally low" rates to a specific date. The Fed had previously said only that it would keep its key rate at record lows for "an extended period."

The Fed's synopsis and its implications for the economy led to a wild afternoon of trading on Wall Street. Stocks plunged after the statement was released, but then shot up shortly after. The Dow Jones industrial average sank more than 176 points, then recovered its losses and closed up 429 points for the day.

Many investors sought the safety of long-term Treasurys. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note touched 2.03 percent — a record low.

The two-year time frame for any rate increase underscored a stark reality: A sluggish economy and painfully high unemployment have become chronic.

"The tone of the Fed's statement is very downbeat. They are very nervous about the economy," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. "This is unprecedented for the Fed to indicate they are ready to keep rates low for two more years."

Not all were impressed. University of Oregon economist Timothy Duy called the move "weak medicine."

Duy said he wanted to see the Fed commit to buying more Treasury bonds. Earlier this summer, the Fed ended a $600 billion Treasury bond-buying program. The bond purchases were intended to keep rates low to encourage spending and borrowing and lift stock prices.

The Fed did hold out the promise of further help down the road but did not spell out what else it might do.

The central bank's decision was approved on a 7-3 vote with three Fed regional bank presidents who have been worried about inflation objecting. It was the first time since November 1992 that as many as three Fed members have dissented from a policy statement.

Dean Maki, chief U.S. economist at Barclays Capital, said the large number of dissents suggests that Bernanke would have trouble building consensus for another round of bond purchases.

"Nothing here says they're not going to do (it)," Maki said. But "it does suggest that there is significant resistance on the committee."

The Fed used significantly more downbeat language to describe current economic conditions. It said so far this year the economy has grown "considerably slower" than the Fed had expected and consumer spending "has flattened out." It also said that temporary factors, such as high energy prices and the Japan crisis, only accounted for "some of the recent weakness" in economic activity.

The more explicit time frame on the Fed's key interest rate is aimed at calming nervous investors. It offered them a clearer picture of how long they will be able to obtain ultra-cheap credit, and it was at least a year longer than many economists had expected.

Fed officials met against a backdrop of speculation that they would say or do something new to address a darkening economic picture. The stock market has plunged and government data have signaled a weaker economy in the four weeks since Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that the Fed was ready to act if conditions worsened.

The economy grew at an annual rate of just 0.8 percent in the first six months of the year. Consumers have cut spending for the first time in 20 months. Wages are barely rising. Manufacturing is growing only slightly. And service companies are expanding at the slowest pace in 17 months.

Employers hired more in July than during the previous two months. But the number of jobs added was far fewer than needed to significantly dent the unemployment rate, now at 9.1 percent. The rate has exceeded 9 percent in all but two months since the recession officially ended in June 2009.

Fear that another recession is unavoidable, along with worries that Europe may be unable to contain its debt crisis, has rattled stock markets. The Dow Jones industrial average has lost nearly 15 percent of its value since July 21. On Monday, it fell 634 points — its worst day since 2008 and sixth-worst drop in history.

The tailspin on Wall Street was further fueled by Standard & Poor's decision to downgrade long-term U.S. debt.

Bernanke didn't speak publicly after Tuesday's Fed meeting. The chairman this year made a historic change by scheduling news conferences after four of the Fed's eight policy meetings each year, but Tuesday's wasn't one of them.

Later this month at the Fed's annual retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyo., Bernanke will likely address the weakening economy, the S&P downgrade and the market turmoil.

___

AP Economics Writer Christopher S. Rugaber contributed to this report.

Police said Reyes stabbed Rodriguez as a result of a dispute over money.

Republican file photo

Update: Holyoke police report Joshua Reyes is in custody. Details will be posted shortly.

HOLYOKE - Police have issued an arrest warrant for city resident Joshua Reyes in connection with Monday's homicide of Miguel Rodriguez, who was found stabbed to death on Sargeant Street, police said.

Captain Arthur R. Monfette of the Holyoke Police detective bureau said issued the warrant for Reyes, 19, of 164 Sargeant St., apartment 5D.

Rodriguez was found dead of multiple stab wounds in front of 164 Sargeant St. at about 8:30 a.m. Monday morning.

Monfette said police have determined that just before the stabbing, Rodriguez and Reyes got into an argument about money.

No photo of Reyes was issued to the press because people are still interviewing, he said. The concern is that releasing the photo could influence potential witnesses, he said.

Police are searching for Reyes and hope to make an arrest shortly, he said.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked call the police department at (413) 536-6431.

The stabbing death is the city's third homicide of the year.

Reynaldo Fuentes was gunned down behind an Appleton Street convenience store on June 20. Brothers Juan, Carlos and Leonardo Perez were arrested and charged with murder. A day earlier, Oscar Castro was shot and killed in front of the Clover Cafe on High Street. Police have yet to make any arrests in connection with that case.

The club had more than twice as many people as legally allowed the night Conor W. Reynolds was stabbed.

The Republican/Mark MurrayEric B. Denson

SPRINGFIELD – The owner of the Blue Fusion Bar and Grill says he grabbed the man who fatally stabbed 17-year-old Cathedral High School student Conor W. Reynolds on March 13, 2010 and physically threw him out of the club.

Despite his ejecting the man from his establishment, Tony Taylor told a judge on Tuesday that he could not identify the assailant in groups of photographs shown him by police after the incident.

Taylor, owner of the property which housed the now-defunct club on St. James Avenue, took the witness stand in Hampden Superior Court during the second day of a pre-trial hearing that will decide what witnesses will be allowed to testify at the trial of Eric B. Denson.

Denson, 22, of Springfield, has denied a murder charge for the killing of Reynolds, a Cathedral soccer standout. The stabbing occurred during an overcrowded birthday party at Blue Fusion, and Denson’s defense team is asking that identifications of the defendant by 12 people be thrown out as evidence.

Taylor said after he was shown several different groups of photos and couldn’t identify anyone, police showed him a photo taken from a surveillance video camera at the Racing Mart near the club. He told police the person in the photo wore the same hat as the assailant he threw out of the club.

“I said, ‘That’s the red cap,’” Taylor testified to Judge Peter A. Velis.

Denson’s trial is slated for Oct. 3.

Taylor said he was primarily behind the assailant as he led him to the door, picked him up and threw him on the ground outside. After he threw the assailant to the ground, the man was “looking right at me, his eyes and such,” Taylor testified.

Taylor said the man then got up and walked toward the Racing Mart convenience store.

Taylor testified that his attention then turned to Reynolds, who was walking towards him. He said he helped hold Reynolds in a standing position, telling him not to lay down.

Taylor said he also yelled to other partygoers leaving the club to pursue the attacker. “That kid with the red hat. Go get him,” he recalled, adding that he does not know if anyone chased the man.

Taylor testified that he was first asked to review more than 500 pictures on police computers but did not recognize the assailant. Denson’s picture was among that collection, police have testified.

Taylor said he also could not pick the assailant from among two, eight-person photo arrays that also included Denson, according to police.

The defense contends police use of the Racing Mart photo improperly influenced a dozen of the prosecution’s witnesses. Hampden district attorney Mark G. Mastroianni, who is prosecuting the case, argues the police acted legally and responsibly in their identification process.

The photograph outside the Racing Mart does not show the individual’s facial features, but does show a red hat and dark jacket, as well as white shoes, according to Mastroianni and defense lawyer Harry L. Miles. Mastroianni has said the individual is Denson.

In Taylor’s testimony, he said he arrived at the club about 20 minutes before the stabbing, found it to be very crowded and told the two people working security not to let anyone else in unless some people left.

More than 200 people were crowded into the club, which had a capacity set by the Fire Department of 97 people, the night of the party.

He said he was not involved with the event’s planning other than renting his club for the party given by Cathedral student Javaughn Griffin. The event was to be organized by an “entertainer-producer” whose last name he could not remember, Taylor said. No alcohol was to be served at the party.

The city ordered the club closed in the wake of the stabbing. Blue Fusion’s liquor license was canceled in 2008 for non-payment of real-estate taxes. It was rented out for Griffin’s party but no alcohol was to be served. The building is under a petition for foreclosure by the city.

Testimony continues today in the hearing.

The defense also called several police officers to testify on Tuesday about how they showed groups of photographs to witnesses.

Belchertown's Economic Development Industiral Corp. plans to use the state's district improvement financing system to borrow money for work to entice an assisted living center to be built at the former Belchertown State School property.

BELCHERTOWN – Representatives of the town development corporation hope to have Town Meeting approval by November for about $1 million in financing for roads and other infrastructure at the former Belchertown State School.

William A. Terry, chairman of the Belchertown Economic Development Industrial Corp., said the infrastructure work would be the town’s contribution toward the development of an assisted living facility at the former state school campus.

Terry said that Weston Solutions, Inc., has committed to spending $2 million removing contaminants from about 10 acres of the campus.

“They are looking to work with us going forward,’’ Terry said.

To pay for the town’s $1 million share of infrastructure work, the Economic Development Industrial Corp. has proposed using a state authorized type of bond program, called district improvement financing, which allows the town to pay back the money borrowed with up to three-fourths of the anticipated property taxes from the first years of the development.

Kirk B. Stevens, a member of the town development corporation board of directors, said that while the town would still have the responsibility for paying the bond costs even if the assisted living center project stalled, the town would only move ahead with building a road and making other improvements when construction of the facility seems a certainty.

Terry said the state would have to approve the town’s application to use district improvement financing, and the application must be filed by early October.

Four years ago, Belchertown successfully applied to the state for a district improvement financing program for the entire state school campus in connection with a proposal by Chicago developer Paul T. McDermott’s plans for a health-theme resort being built there.

Those plans fell through, and Terry said that the authorization for that financing program expired this year.

Terry told the selectmen that the development team wants to hire a consultant at a price of about $15,000 to help prepare the application for the district improvement financing.

Selectmen Chairman Kenneth E. Elstein urged the Economic Development Industrial Corp. members to meet next week with the Finance Committee to find an appropriate place in the town budget for the $15,000 to come from.

Stevens said the development corporation could pay back the $15,000 when the financing is in place but would need to spend it in the next few months.

Elstein said he wants to meet again with the development corporation in two weeks to deal with the $15,000 payment for a consultant and to state laying the ground work for a special Town Meeting in the fall to deal with the financing plan.

Apple Inc.'s stock gained 5.9 percent to $374.01 on Tuesday, bringing its market capitalization to about $347 billion.

Associated PressApple Inc. Chairman and CEO Steve Jobs stands under an image of the iPad 2 at an Apple event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco, March 2, 2011. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

NEW YORK — Apple briefly surpassed Exxon Mobil on Tuesday as the nation's most valuable company.

The iPhone and iPad maker had the lead for much of the afternoon before its stock closed just behind Exxon's. The two companies are so close that Apple is likely to keep the top spot soon.

Apple Inc.'s stock gained 5.9 percent to $374.01 on Tuesday, bringing its market capitalization to about $347 billion.

Exxon Mobil Corp.'s stock, meanwhile, closed up 2.1 percent at $71.64. That gives the oil company a market cap of $348 billion. Its stock was down earlier in the day, allowing Apple to take the lead.

Other big-name corporations, such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and General Electric Co., don't even come close. Apple overtook Microsoft Corp., the previous No. 2, just last year.

Does this mean people need iPads more than oil?

"Exxon obviously sells a product that people need. Apple sells a product that people want," said Brian Marshall, an analyst with Gleacher & Co. who follows Apple.

Exxon, which set a record in 2008 for the highest quarterly earnings by any company, has limited growth prospects, which are driven by oil prices and discovering new oil. It's growing, but not as quickly as Apple, which is charging ahead at the pace of a startup, Marshall says, even though the company is 35 years old.

Apple, which is based in Cupertino, Calif., has been on a roll with the soaring popularity of its iPad tablet computer and strong sales of the iPhone. Its growth is limited only by innovation. Investors expect it to grow as long as it keeps making products that people want. So investors are betting on Apple's stock even though it currently makes less money than Exxon.

In its latest quarterly report, Apple said stronger iPhone and iPad sales helped more than double its net income to $7.31 billion and grow revenue by 82 percent to $28.6 billion.

Exxon Mobil, meanwhile, posted a 41 percent increase in its second-quarter earnings to $10.68 billion, the largest since it set a record of $14.8 billion in the third quarter of 2008. Its revenue grew 36 percent to $125.5 billion.

International companies that vie for the most valuable spot in the world include PetroChina Co., the publicly traded unit of China's biggest oil and gas company, and Petrobras, Brazil's state-controlled energy company.

In the U.S., Exxon and General Electric had been trading off the No. 1 and No. 2 spots until Microsoft surpassed them both in early 1999, at the height of the dot-com boom. By 2000, though, GE was No. 1 once again. According to data from FactSet, the three were close over the next five years, though Apple was ascending quickly.

Exxon Mobil, which is based in Irving, Texas, took the top spot in 2005 and, for now, remained there on Tuesday.

Marshall believes Apple may pass yet another milestone next year, when it's likely to surpass Hewlett-Packard Co. as the world's largest technology company by revenue. In the quarter that ended in April, HP reported $31.6 billion in revenue, compared with Apple's $28.6 billion in the just-ended period. HP reports results for the May-July period next week.

Authority officials dispute the contention they are ignoring the bills and say a problem is only 75 percent federal reimbursements.

Republican file photoHolyoke Geriatric Authority

HOLYOKE – The Retirement Board Tuesday delayed until Sept. 20 a decision about making taxpayers responsible for $449,000 in delinquent payments from the Holyoke Geriatric Authority.

Also, Mayor Elaine A. Pluta is scheduling a special City Council meeting to discuss a councilor’s proposal for a public hearing to decide whether to remove the seven members of the authority board of directors.

Ward 5 Councilor Linda L. Vacon said she filed the order for the hearing because authority board members have failed to recognize the authority’s more than $2 million in unpaid bills to city agencies, including the Retirement Board.

The five-member Retirement Board opted to delay a vote on whether to request that the Board of Assessors add to the next tax levy the authority’s unpaid retirement appropriations that go back to 2008.

Some retirement officials sought the delay because they wanted to see first how the City Council deals with Vacon’s order and other authority-related orders, said Pluta and Daniel R. Owens, Retirement Board executive director.

Councilor at Large Patricia C. Devine asked Pluta to schedule the special meeting to try to resolve years-long authority issues such as the unpaid bills.

“Let’s get together and figure this thing out, once and for all,” Devine said.

The authority is a nursing home at 45 Lower Westfield Road with more than 120 employees, 80 beds and 80 daycare slots for senior citizens.

The authority became a quasi-official city agency in 1971, with the City Council appointing three board members, the mayor appointing three and those six voting a seventh.

State law requires that entities such as the authority and the city make contributions according to a schedule to ensure retired employees’ pensions get funded.

Officials have said the authority is current on pension payments made from employee payroll deductions, but struggles with its own pension contributions.

The problem, they said, is federal reimbursements cover only 75 percent of costs and the struggle is covering the remaining 25 percent.

Steven J. Kravetz, a member of the authority board of directors, said it was untrue to say board members fail to recognize the unpaid bills. The authority wants to discuss payment plans with officials, he said.

“I think that would be appropriate, obviously, to try to figure out if there’s a way that we can pay them back,” Kravetz said.

Besides Kravetz, the authority board consists of Chairman Joseph T. O’Neill, Helen Arnold, John P. Counter, Charles F. Glidden, Raymond P. Murphy Jr. and Jacqueline Watson.

Owens said he disagreed with the decision to delay the request to the Board of Assessors and said he still believes it will pass at the Sept. 20 meeting.

If the request to shift the authority’s unpaid costs to taxpayers is denied by the Board of Assessors, the issue will wind up in court because the city is obligated to fund employee pensions, he said.

City councilors and others said it would be unfair to make taxpayers take on the authority’s unpaid bills.

Consumers can receive up to $200 in rebates under state energy program.

File photo by Mark M. Murray Bruce Durocher, manager of the Manny's TV & Appliance Store at 1872 Boston Road in Wilbraham, organizes a display of air conditioners at the store last month. Under a statewide rebate program that is currently under way, consumers can get up to $50 for a new air conditioner if they trade in an old one.

Consumers in Massachusetts purchased about 10,500 refrigerators and air conditioners over the past two weeks in a special state rebate program that is running far more efficiently than a similar effort last year.

Rebates, including $150 for Energy Star refrigerators and $50 for room air conditioners, could also still be available on Saturday and Sunday, when the state is set to hold a two-day sales tax holiday. Consumers might have a chance to receive a rebate for a refrigerator or air conditioner and a break from the 6.25 percent sales tax.

The rebate program appears to be meeting its main goals of helping the retail industry and helping consumers save energy.

According to the state Department of Energy Resources, consumers purchased more than 10,500 appliances including 8,633 refrigerators and 1,941 air conditioners under the rebate program, which started on July 28.

The program requires that people first purchase an appliance and then reserve a rebate over the telephone or on the Internet. People must certify on their rebate application that they have traded in an old appliance and replaced it with a new, more-efficient refrigerator or room air conditioner.

As of late Tuesday, people had reserved 75 percent of the funds available for rebates, but $481,150 remained in the program, according to a state web site. State officials said the program will continue until the rebate funds are spent, but they can't predict when that will occur.

Mark D. Sylvia, commissioner of the state Department of Energy Resources, said Tuesday he was very pleased with the response so far to the rebate program, partly funded with a federal stimulus grant.

Sylvia said the design of the program played a big role in its success.

Last year, people could reserve rebates for dishwashers, refrigerators, clothes washers and freezers without first making a purchase. People hurried to a web site to make reservations, causing a computer server to crash and exhausting initial funds in about two hours.

"We designed this program taking into account lessons learned from the last program," Sylvia said.

Several retailers in Western Massachusetts said the program is helping increase sales.

Vincent Salemi, owner of Salemi Appliance in Springfield, said the rebate effort is especially boosting sales of refrigerators.

"Anything that brings people through the door, I like," Salemi said. "Anything they do to help consumers is a great thing."

Christopher Fickett, owner of Besko's Appliance in Easthampton, said he expected the rebates would have gone faster. The rebate program won't provide anywhere near the revenue boost of a sales tax holiday, but it has improved sales of refrigerators at his store, he said.

Fickett said a few customers are tracking the state web site to see if rebates will be available on Saturday, the first day of the sales tax holiday.

Fickett and other retailers said they have worked closely with customers on the rebates. Retailers can check the status of rebate funds from their store computers.

"A lot of people didn't understand how it worked," Fickett said. "We tried to guide them in the right direction."

Carol Bartosz, administrative assistant at the Valley Sales Co. in West Springfield, said some customers were not aware of the rebate program until store employees mentioned it. The rebates helped close some sales, she said.

Bartosz said it's terrific that the state rebate money will last at least a couple of weeks. She said last year's rebate program was a mess, but this year's effort is "a win-win" for all involved.

"It's a great selling tool," she said. "It works."

People can find participating retailers and check for the availability of rebate funds at www.MassEnergyRebates.com.

If people don't have access to the Internet, they can also call a customer service center at (877) 574-1128.

Under the program, people fill out a rebate application on the Internet, putting a hold on the requested funds. People who apply via telephone at the service center will receive their completed application in the mail, state officials said.

The signed application must be sent with proof of purchase to Helgeson Enterprises Inc. of Minnesota, administrator of the program. People can also choose to purchase both a refrigerator and air conditioner. Rebate checks will be sent via the mail.

Critics say the scarcity of candidates for the ward council seats in 2011 reflect the lack of excitement in ward representation.

SPRINGFIELD – While supporters of ward representation say they are pleased with the early results, namely a more diversified City Council, they acknowledged on Tuesday that much more needs to be done to spur more people to run for office and vote.

Long-term critics of the ward system had a harsher view.

Bud L. Williams

“I would give it a C-plus,” said Bud L. Williams, a former city councilor, in grading the success of ward representation. “I have always been a firm believer in the at-large system.”

The differing opinions occurred as several community activists announced an action plan on Tuesday to generate more candidates for office in future elections. They said they were disappointed that just one ward councilor, John A. Lysak of Ward 8, faces an opponent on the November ballot.

The other seven ward seats have six unopposed incumbents and one unopposed non-incumbent, Kenneth E. Shea, running in Ward 6.

Community activists, ranging from Michaelann C. Bewsee of Arise for Social Justice, and The Rev. Talbert W. Swan, Springfield branch president of the NAACP, say that ward representation has succeeded in bringing more racial and geographic diversity to the council, but more must be done.

The new ward system took effect in the 2009 election, with the council changing from nine at-large seats to a mix of eight ward seats and five at-large seats.

Swan said the apathy shown in the number of candidates and voter turnout reflects the continuing effects of “40 years of disenfranchisement.”

Activists including Bewsee and Frank Buntin said the past at-large system favored well-funded, established incumbents who could wage citywide campaigns, resulting in less diversity and some poorer, higher-minority wards lacking representation.

Councilor Timothy J. Rooke, a long-time opponent of ward representation, said the argument that the ward system would generate increased candidates and increased turnout “have not proven to be a legitimate argument.”

Both Rooke and Williams said the ward councilors now in office are now the incumbents difficult to defeat, as reflected by the lack of opponents and the ward system has not generated the excitement some predicted. Rooke said that under the at-large system, incumbents had to work harder to get elected which he considered to be a good thing.

Ward representative supporters at Tuesday’s press conference included Jose F. Tosado, a mayoral candidate and City Council president; and Gumersindo Gomez and Joseph Fountain, two past participants in federal suits seeking ward representation. The activists said the system has led to fairer representation for people of all wards.

The activists on Tuesday said it will take time to increase candidate interest and voter interest, but Bewsee said it is “never too late.”

They will be assisted in their efforts to energize voters and future candidates by MassVote, a statewide organization promoting voter participation, and the Springfield Institute, an area “think tank” on community engagement, Bewsee said.

Incumbent councilors such as Lysak and Melvin Edwards in Ward 3, said they believe the ward system is working, and has not resulted in “ward bosses,” as some feared.

Both said the ward councilors have shown they can focus on the concerns of their ward, while also focusing on the citywide issues and challenges.

The stabbing death on Monday was the city's third homicide of the year.

Republican file photo

HOLYOKE – Joshua Reyes was arrested Tuesday hours after police issued a warrant in relation to the stabbing death Monday of Miguel Rodriguez on Sargeant Street.

“We just booked him like 10 minutes ago, Hampshire Street, he was in an apartment there. Top-notch police work,” Capt. Arthur R. Monfette said about 9 p.m.

“We just charged him with murder.”

Reyes didn’t struggle when police came for him. He is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Holyoke District Court, Monfette said.

Reyes lives at 164 Sargeant St., apartment 5D. He is 19 and and his birthday is Thursday, Monfette said.

Rodriguez was found dead of multiple stab wounds in front of 164 Sargeant St. at about 8:30 a.m. Monday.

Reyes and Rodriguez knew each other, Monfette said. Police determined the stabbing occurred after an argument about money, which makes the killing unusual because most homicides here are street-gang- or drug-related, he said.

Rodriguez’ death was the city’s third homicide of the year.

On June 20, Reynaldo Fuentes was shot to death behind an Appleton Street convenience store. Brothers Juan, Carlos and Leonardo Perez were arrested and charged with murder. A day earlier, Oscar Castro was shot and killed in front of the Clover Cafe on High Street. Police have yet to make any arrests in that case.

The financial terms of the agreement should be worked out this week.

File photo by Dave Roback / The RepublicanThe Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School Committee has agreed to allow the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield to use the former Memorial School in Wilbraham as a temporary home for Cathedral High School.

WILBRAHAM - The Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School Committee has voted to award a contract for the educational use of Memorial School to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield for temporary use by Springfield's Cathedral High School.

The financial terms of the agreement should be worked out this week, Scott R. Chapman, chairman of the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School Committee, said.

Cathedral High School sustained significant structural damage as a result of the June 1 tornado.

Chapman said Cathedral will lease the building for one-year, with six-month extensions to be made available as needed.

Chapman, who is a graduate of Cathedral High School, said, “On behalf of the district, I am pleased to welcome our neighbor, Cathedral High School, and hope that Cathedral’s use of Memorial School will help the students and families as they move forward toward rebuilding their high school.”

“We hope our action helps them. That’s how we feel,” Chapman said. Springfield and Wilbraham both received heavy damage in the June 1 tornado.

Mark Dupont, spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, said the diocese envisions that it will take two years to rebuild Cathedral High School.

Dupont said the diocese is very fortunate that Memorial School is available. “Our families are comfortable with the location,” Dupont said. “It’s not easy to find a place to relocate a high school.”

Dupont said he heard during a national newscast that students from Joplin High School in Joplin, Mo., which was heavily damaged in the Joplin tornado have had to relocate to a shopping mall for fall classes.

Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell said Cathedral is relocating to Memorial School on Main Street in Wilbraham until the tornado-damaged campus on Surrey Road in the East Forest Park section of Springfield can be rebuilt.

Chapman said it is his understanding that some trailers may be brought to the site for administrative use.

“We would have no problem with that,” he said.

Chapman said the Wilbraham selectmen are supportive of the School Committee’s decision to lease the building to Cathedral High School.

He said school start times are being worked out to lessen the impact on traffic.

It is not the first time that the former Wilbraham elementary school has been used to house students displaced by bad weather. In February, students and staff from Mapleshade Elementary School in East Longmeadow were moved to Wilbraham after their school was closed Feb. 4 due to cracks in the cafeteria roof caused by heavy snow.