Mayor Michael Tautznik suggested separating the funding requests because some of the expenses would be one-time expenses.

Nancy Follansbee

EASTHAMPTON – Voters could be looking at two override questions in the fall – a nearly $1.4 million Proposition 2 1/2 property tax override and a $465,000 debt exclusion override to pay for new computers and repairs to the football field.

School Superintendent Nancy Follansbee presented the numbers to the City Council Finance Subcommittee Thursday night, which took a few comments but did not discuss the numbers in any depth.

About two dozen parents and school officials attended the meeting. The subcommittee was slated to review the proposed $15 million school budget.

Finance Subcommittee chairman Daniel C. Hagan said the committee would come up with a time to meet with school officials and those who wanted to address the override questions and let people know when at the full council meeting Wednesday.

Parents and school officials made their plea to the full City Council last week to place the Proposition 21/2 property tax override question on the ballot in November.

Follansbee said she talked to Mayor Michael A. Tautznik and he suggested the debt exclusion override for some of the items.

“Some of it’s for one-time expenses,” Tautznik said. This way, the costs would not be permanently added to the tax rate.

In her presentation, Follansbee said that the override request is divided into three sections. The first part looks at raising $515,956 to close the gap for the 2013 fiscal year; the second for $329,000 to restore some positions, programs and services that have been cut over the last five years; and $540,000 as an investment in the future. That section looks at what the district needs for a 21st century education, she said.

The total property tax override request is for $1,384,956 plus the additional $465,000 debt exclusion. The council, if it agrees, would place the questions on separately.
Follansbee said that they need new computers. The computers are “eight years old and can no longer be updated. We’re limping along.”

John R. Schott, technology coordinator said, “We are in dire straights.” He said that Department of Education plans to have all state testing done on-line in 2015. “We probably would not be able to comply,” he said.

“Give us the choice,” said Peter Marks, a father of three. He wants the questions on the ballot so that voters can decide the district’s future.

Easthampton voters have approved two debt exclusion overrides one for the Public Safety complex and another for the new high school under construction but not a Proposition 2 ½ tax override.

The cost of the new school has added 83 cents to the tax rate or about $190 a year for fiscal 2013 to the homeowner with a house valued at $230,000. The city will pay that off over 20 years.

Last month, Finance Director Melissa Zawadzki said an override of $500,000 would add 36 cents to the tax rate, a $1 million override would add 71 cents and a $1.5 million would add $1.07.

School officials said they will have to cut 15 positions next year including 10 teachers, a guidance counselor, two teacher aids and two tutors to stay within the guidelines set by selectmen.

LUDLOW - School Committee members have decided to seek a special meeting with the Finance Committee after selectmen said they will not support additional funds for the fiscal 2013 School Department budget.

School officials said their proposed $25.4 million is $579,000 less than the fiscal 2012 school budget.

Selectmen said residents faced a 7 to 8 percent increase in their tax bill this year, and they have heard from residents that they cannot afford another large tax increase.

Jacob R. Oliveira

School officials said they will have to cut 15 positions next year including 10 teachers, a guidance counselor, two teacher aids and two tutors to stay within the guidelines set by selectmen.

At Tuesday’s School Committee meeting, School Committee member Jacob Oliveira said that now that all federal stimulus funds have been used up, the School Department budget is no longer sustainable without additional help from the town.

Oliveira said the School Department lost 11 positions in 2009, five positions in 2010-11 and eight positions in 2011-2012 for a total of 25 positions.

“The School Department has made cuts,” he said.

Oliveira said the School Department has state mandates it has to fund such as special education mandates and providing bus transportation for students who live more than two miles from school.

“Even if there are only a few students on the bus, we still have to provide the bus,” Oliveira said.

School Committee member James P. Harrington said he understands that all sectors, including residents, “are feeling the pinch,” partly because of increased fuel charges.

He said, however, that the School Committee should seek a meeting with the Finance Committee to seek support for additional School Department funds.

Some additional state aid is expected to become available to the town, he said.

There could be an additional $100,000 in state aid to the schools and $300,000 additional aid to the community, school officials said.

Harrington said that as well as meeting with the Finance Committee, school officials should some additional public hearings to explain the proposed School Department budget to taxpayers and seek their support for additional funds at Town Meeting.

The annual Town Meeting is Monday, but selectmen have said they will delay voting on all budget articles until sometime in June.

Three weeks before he was to go on trial in Northampton for assaulting 2 women at UMass, Gorahkov was arrested in Rhode Island as part of a statewide anti-child pornography sweep.

Brian Turner (Creative Commons)

Luther Gorahkov

NORTHAMPTON - A former University of Massachusetts student who last week was found innocent by reason of mental illness to charges that he assaulted two woman at the Amherst campus in 2010 was arrested last month in Rhode Island during a state-wide child pornography sweep.

Luther Gorahkov, 25, of 23 Ray St., Providence was found not responsible for the Amherst charges after Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder ruled Gorahkov was innocent by reason of mental disease or defect. He had been charged with assault with intent to rape, kidnapping, and annoying or accosting a person of the opposite sex. His May 2 ruling brought to an end a two-day trial.

A psychologist, testifying for the defense, said Gorahkov has bipolar disorder with psychotic features.

Gorahkov, formerly of Amherst, was transferred to Worcester State Hospital last week following the ruling for an observation period of up to 40 days.

Gorahkov is awaiting trial in Rhode Island on charges of possession and transfer of child pornography.

He is one of nine people arrested April 12 as part of a multi-agency anti-child pornography sweep that was coordinated by the Rhode Island State Police Computer Crimes - Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

He was scheduled to appear in court in Providence on Monday, less than a week after Kinder issued his ruling. His trial in Rhode Island on those charges will likely be delayed while his mental health is being evaluated in Massachusetts.

Prosecutor Matthew Thomas said he was aware Gorahkov was arrested Rhode Island. He used the information of his arrest to motion the court to revoke his right to bail in the Amherst case, but the motion was denied.

Thomas said Gorahkov will be held for up to 40 days for the mandatory evaluation, and depending on the results, he could be detained even longer.

“If he is still considered a danger after his evaluation period then he will continue to be held and his case will be reviewed periodically thereafter,” he said.

One councilor asked if the town of Palmer could hold quarterly meetings with Mohegan Sun.

Mitchell G. Etess

PALMER - Mohegan Sun wants to be the first developer to open a resort casino in Massachusetts, but exact details of the project - its financial partner, and specific renderings - will remain confidential for now, representatives told the standing-room only crowd gathered in the Palmer High School library on Thursday night.

Mitchell G. Etess, chief executive officer of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, stressed that "a competition" is under way for the lone Western Massachusetts license, and that they do not want to jeopardize their chances by divulging too many details regarding their proposal.

Etess said Mohegan cannot afford, and Palmer cannot afford, to reveal even a small portion of its strategic advantage "by allowing our competitors knowledge that could only serve to help them and harm us."

The meeting was organized after casino supporters went to a Town Council meeting last month and presented a petition with 350 signatures asking for more details about the project, slated for 150 acres off Thorndike Street (Route 32).

Connecticut-based Mohegan first announced its plan to build a resort casino in Palmer in 2007, opening a downtown storefront two years later for the public to learn about the project. Casino gaming became legal in the commonwealth late last year.

Council President Paul E. Burns accepted questions for Mohegan via email, and he said he believes all were from Palmer residents. Sixty-two questions were submitted.

Most were asked, and those that weren't addressed were given to Mohegan to respond to later.

Many questions asked about plans for the facility, and if Mohegan has the financial capability to make it happen.

Etess spoke of Mohegan's commitment to the area, how it has spent $14 million to date on the $600 million project. He said Mohegan recently restructured its debt, and is negotiating with several potential investors regarding the project. Etess would not say if they have a partner already in place. He said the project would be 70 percent debt and 30 percent equity, with Mohegan and the financial partner comprising 30 percent.

"There seems to be this impression that we're behind, when really we're ahead," Etess said. "Is there any other company sitting down with their town tonight? No."

"I'm sure we're ahead of everybody in the west and perhaps everybody in the state," Paul I. Brody, Mohegan's vice president of development, said.

One resident wanted to know if the "flyover" ramp that would be built from the Massachusetts Turnpike to connect to the resort was even legal (Brody said yes).

The same resident asked if homes and businesses would be demolished to make room for the casino (no, they said). Others wanted to know if Mohegan is truly interested in Palmer, or if it is delaying the process to benefit its casino in Uncasville, Conn.

"We're doing everything we can. We disagree with that," Etess said.

"I'm flattered to think that someone thinks we can delay the commonwealth," Brody said.

Brody took some shots at the competition, saying "Brimfield is dead in the water. Holyoke is dead in the water."

MGM Resorts International backed out of Brimfield due to infrastructure problems. Hard Rock International of Florida and Paper City Development have targeted Wyckoff Country Club in Holyoke for a resort casino, but Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse is opposed to a gaming resort.

Brody also alluded to Ameristar Casinos, which bought land in Springfield off Page Boulevard for a casino, calling it a "congested" location, and said there might be more applicants interested in Westfield (Penn National Gaming) and Springfield, but nothing is definite.

Also this week, the Kraft Group announced that Wynn Resorts is halting plans to build a resort casino in Foxborough after Monday's election, in which residents voted in two anti-casino candidates for selectmen.

Etess and Brody maintained that they are in a position to comply with any process that the Gaming Commissions sets forth. They said they plan on continuing to lease the land from Northeast Realty, and do not intend to purchase it.

Brody said the entire project will be the 150 acres. He said they may have to draw some well water off property from an adjacent parcel - that would be the only off-site development. They said they also are talking with Palmer Water Department about water needs. Brody said security issues are being discussed in the mitigation agreement with the town, and that they would have a security team on site, and also would work with state and local police.

Etess said they have the best shot at the license for several reasons, including high brand recognition in the northeast.

"Being from New England is one of our biggest advantages in this competition," Etess said.

Charlotte Burns submitted questions regarding the "loss of quality of life" for residents, citing concerns about glare from the casino, traffic, population increases and the flight of the middle class, if Mohegan Sun is able to open a facility.

"That's not really a question," Brody said, "that's a political statement."

Brody said the casino will be positioned so it has the least possible impact, and that all light will be "down-focused." Traffic will be mitigated, he said.

"We can't build anything that you don't want to have here," Brody said, adding they will need to get a special permit from the town for the project.

Residents also will have their say in a binding referendum. Brody said all details - such as where the water will come from for the project - will be presented to the town prior to the referendum. Brody said they expect casino licenses to be issued by the Gaming Commission in 2014.

Etess said they also have no plans to "step aside" to make room for another developer, and are "in this to win it."

"I'm sorry to hear people are losing confidence in us," Etess said.

Councilor Mary A. Salzmann said impatience is growing because the project has been dragging on for four years. She asked if Mohegan could provide information on a regular basis.

Councilor Blake E. Lamothe suggested quarterly meetings with Mohegan.
Etess said there would be no benefit to handing in their application to the Gaming Commission early. Brody said they plan to hold their first job fair in Palmer.

After the meeting, David E. Whitney, who said he is for the 3,000 permanent jobs the casino would create, said he did not hear any discouraging news.

"It is a competitive process and I understand completely why they have to keep proprietary information to themselves," Whitney said.

Jennifer L. Baruffaldi, who head a pro-casino group, said she was concerned because Etess was not forthcoming about the issue of a financial partner. She said she is interested in the jobs and revenues a casino would bring to the town.

"I think this is too big for Palmer to lose. I still have my concerns, but I'm glad that they did come," Baruffaldi said.

Mohegan Sun Three Years

Mohegan Sun Fact Sheet

Both cars suffered front-end damage, and both were towed from the scene.

The Republican | Greg Saulmon05.10.2012 | HOLYOKE -- A driver from Hampshire Towing prepares to remove the Mercury sedan from the scene.

The Republican | Greg Saulmon05.10.2012 | HOLYOKE -- An Audi involved in a crash at the corner of High and Lyman streets Thursday night.

HOLYOKE -- A car careened into a park and at least one person was injured in a crash at the corner of High and Lyman streets Thursday night.

Witnesses at the scene said the driver of a full-sized Mercury sedan ran a stop sign at the end of High Street and collided with a four-door Audi driving northwest on Lyman Street.

The impact pushed the Audi into a large stone traffic bollard that stands between the sidewalk on Lyman Street and a patch of grass that runs behind an apartment complex. The Mercury traveled across Lyman Street, over the sidewalk and came to rest in a small park at the corner of Maple Street, narrowly missing several trees on its way.

One person was taken from the scene in an ambulance. Information about the extent of that person's injuries was not immediately available.

Both cars suffered front-end damage, and both were towed from the scene. Lyman Street was briefly blocked between High and Maple streets as a pair of tow trucks removed the vehicles.

An officer was seen removing a six-pack of an alcoholic beverage -- of which three bottles remained -- from one of the vehicles and placing it in the trunk of one of the police cruisers at the scene.

It was not immediately clear whether charges would be filed in connection with the crash.

This story will be updated as more details are released.

The map below shows the positions of the Mercury sedan (red marker) and Audi (blue marker) after the crash.

View Two-car crash at High and Lyman streets in a larger map

A federal grand jury has indicted the acting chief probation officer in Hampshire Superior Court on two counts including intimidating and harassing a witness in the federal investigation into the state Probation Department and attempted harassment of a witness, according to documents submitted by prosecutors.

Photo by Mark M. Murray / The RepublicanVictor Bruno hands out a statement regarding the death his father the late mobster Adolfo Bruno, during a press conference Thursday afternoon at his restaurant Aldolfo's in downtown Springfield.

These were the most read stories on MassLive.com yesterday. If you missed any of them, click on the links below to read them now.

1) Investigators identify police officer who accidentally shot woman while responding to domestic disturbance at Agawam apartment as officer Danielle Petrangelo [George Graham]

2) Victor Bruno, son of mob boss 'Big Al' Bruno, says investigators could have prevented father's murder Photo at right. [Stephanie Barry]

3) Acting chief probation officer in Western Massachusetts is indicted by federal grand jury [Dan Ring]

4) Agents swarm reputed mobster's home in Connecticut [Associated Press]

5) Massachusetts State Police: OUI checkpoints scheduled for Hampden, Worcester counties [Conor Berry]

The pancake breakfast is from 8 to 11 a.m. on Main Street Saturday.

The Republican | Greg Saulmon05.11.2012 | SPRINGFIELD -- A street sweeper cleans Main Street Friday morning in advance of the set-up for the World's Largest Pancake Breakfast.

Main Street in the downtown, from State to Bridge Street, will be closed at 10 this morning to allow for the set-up of the World's Largest Pancake Breakfast.

Temporary "no parking" signs were posted early Friday morning as street sweepers made passes along the thoroughfare.

Boland Way through to Harrison Avenue and Court Street through to Falcon Way will remain open until 4 a.m. on Saturday. Main Street is expected to reopen to vehicular traffic on Saturday by 3 p.m.

The pancake breakfast on Saturday is from 8 to 11 a.m. on Main Street. Breakfast, featuring pancakes, bacon, coffee, juice and milk, will be $3 for adults and $1 for children.

For more information, www.spiritofspringfield.org or call the Spirit of Springfield at (413) 733-3800.

The map below shows the stretch of Main Street that will be closed to traffic.

View Main Street in Springfield closed for World's Largest Pancake Breakfast in a larger map

The former New England Mafia boss was sentenced Friday to 5½ years in prison for his role in the shakedown of Providence strip clubs.

The Associated Press In this April 12, 1999 file photo Louis "Baby Shacks" Manocchio listens during his trial at Providence Superior Court in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Matt York)

By LAURA CRIMALDI, Associated Press

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The former New England Mafia boss was sentenced Friday to 5½ years in prison for his role in the shakedown of Providence strip clubs, becoming the first ex-mob leader to be locked up in a case that has ensnared nine people described by prosecutors as having ties to organized crime.

The sentence for the 84-year-old Luigi "Baby Shacks" Manocchio means he may live out his final days in prison. He turns 85 next month.

But U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith said he believes Manocchio, a former skier who loves the outdoors, will survive. "I think you are going to make it through this prison sentence and come out on the other end," Smith said.

Prosecutors had asked for a prison term of five years and 10 months. Under a plea agreement, Manocchio faced between 5 years and 3 months and 6 ½ years.

After being sentenced, Manocchio waved and gave a thumbs-up to his family, who sat in the back of the courtroom. His brother declined to comment.

Manocchio's role in the extortion plot went back to the 1990s and netted $800,000 to $1.5 million in ill-gotten gains through protection payments paid by strip clubs, including the Satin Doll and Cadillac Lounge, according to prosecutors. Manocchio acknowledged at sentencing that his conduct was "unlawful," but he maintained he did not personally threaten anyone.

"By virtue of my position, I inherited the deeds of my associates," said Manocchio, who wore headphones for assistance.

"I don't want my family or any of my friends to believe I personally threatened anyone," he said.

Prosecutors said whether Manocchio explicitly threatened anyone "is beside the point." Assistant U.S. Attorney William J. Ferland said that after a strip club owner reduced his payment to the mob, Manocchio visited him and informed the owner he needed to pay $4,000 a month.

"It's his personal appearance. It is who he is and what he represents that constitutes a threat," Ferland said.

The judge agreed to a request from defense attorney Joseph J. Balliro Sr. to recommend that Manocchio serve his sentence at a prison in North Carolina or Florida. The warmer climate is better for Manocchio's medical conditions, including osteoarthritis, vertigo and prostate problems, Balliro said.

Manocchio, Balliro said, was a mentor in the Federal Hill neighborhood where he lived in Providence and kept young people out of trouble.

"I think for anyone of the age of Mr. Manocchio any time at all is very, very serious," he said.

Last month, authorities arrested reputed acting New England mob boss Anthony L. DiNunzio, 53, on charges connected to the same plot. DiNunzio, who lives in the East Boston section of Boston, has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail.

Edward "Eddy" Lato, 65, the captain of the mob's Rhode Island crew, and mob member Alfred "Chippy" Scivola, 71, have also pleaded guilty to charges in connection to the scheme. They await sentencing.

The payments were set aside for the Mafia by Thomas Iafrate, 71, a former bookkeeper at the Cadillac Lounge, prosecutors said. Iafrate is serving a 2½ -year prison sentence for racketeering conspiracy. The monthly payments ranged from $2,000 to $6,000, the indictment said.

Manocchio started overseeing the collection of the protection payments in 1995 after another member of the Mafia was imprisoned, prosecutors said. Manocchio resigned his position as crime boss in 2009 but remained a member of the organization, according to authorities.

Another man, Raymond "Scarface" Jenkins, 48, was sentenced Friday to 3 years and 1 month in prison for his role in a plot hatched by the mob to shake down a used-car salesman for $25,000. He pleaded guilty to extortion conspiracy and admitted to being a mob associate, prosecutors said.

Defense attorney William C. Dimitri disputed the "Scarface" alias given to Jenkins by authorities. He called the moniker "horrible."

"No one calls him that except the press and law enforcement," Dimitri said.

Prosecutors say the used-car salesman, who owed a debt to a third party, approached Jenkins about the situation and asked for help.

Jenkins agreed to intervene, but the salesman later said he could not come up with the money he once thought he could get, prosecutors said.

The salesman borrowed the money after having defrauded his employer, Dimitri said. He added that the lender wanted the money repaid, leading the salesman to fear he would be exposed to his employer.

An admitted mob associate, 54-year-old Albino Folcarelli, went to the Johnston dealership where the salesman worked to intimidate him, according to prosecutors. The man was not there at the time of the visit and two people called to warn him to stay away from work, prosecutors said. Later, Folcarelli drove into the driveway of the salesman's home, prosecutors said.

After that, the man paid $20,000 to Jenkins, and $5,000 to a different person, prosecutors said. The funds, prosecutors say, were withdrawn from a retirement account belonging to the salesman's wife.

"He hasn't made excuses for what he did," Dimitri said.

Folcarelli has pleaded guilty to extortion conspiracy. He is scheduled to be sentenced in July.

Boston College Law School announced Friday that Victoria Kennedy will give the keynote address at its May 25 commencement.

Dave Roback/ Springfield RepublicanVictoria Kennedy, attorney, advocate and widow of the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, will give the keynote address at Boston College Law School May 25. She will also deliver the keynote at Berkshire Community College's 52nd commencement exercises June 1.

BOSTON (AP) — The widow of U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy will be giving a spring commencement speech at a Roman Catholic college in Massachusetts after all.

Boston College Law School announced Friday that Victoria Kennedy will give the keynote address at its May 25 commencement.

See a gallery of Western Massachusetts college commencement speakers

Kennedy had been scheduled to deliver this year's commencement speech at Anna Maria College in Paxton. But last month, the college withdrew the invitation under pressure from Bishop Robert McManus of the Diocese of Worcester (WUS'-tur).

McManus objected to Kennedy's public support for abortion rights and gay marriage, which are against church teachings.

On Friday, BC law Dean Vincent Rougeau said Kennedy has been a "powerful advocate for the powerless" on issues including gun control and education.

He said he was pleased Kennedy, a lifelong Catholic, agreed to offer her perspective to graduates.

Of the 1,300 municipal employees, public safety officias make up almost 800, Sarno said.

Springfield Police Chief William Fitchet, left, and Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant are seen in these file photos.

SPRINGFIELD – The number of police and firefighters facing layoffs in July ranges from zero to 50, based on budget scenarios presented Friday by city’s public safety officials.

In the first glimpse of the Police Department budget, Commissioner William J. Fitchet said several options – including laying off up to 30 employees, wiping out the overtime account or sharply cutting back funding for the Quinn Bill – are being considered to meet spending targets for the next fiscal year.

“We’ll have to pick the best of the worst scenarios,” Fitchet said, adding that choosing any option “is going to be painful.”

Fire Chief Joseph A. Conant said closing at least one station, leaving 12 vacancies unfilled and laying off as many as 20 employees could be necessary, depending on how much must be cut from the department’s current $19 million budget.

Spending for overtime, fire prevention and public education efforts will be sharply curtailed, even if layoffs are averted, Conant said.

Both commissioners made their estimates during a public safety budget hearing at City Hall attended by Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, chief administrative and financial officer Lee C. Erdmann, and other top officials.

Sarno said it was too early to tell how drastically next year’s budget will be cut, but he said reducing spending on police and fire services is unavoidable.

“Of the 1,300 municipal employees, public safety makes up almost 800,” Sarno said. “We’re cutting (those services) because they are the bulk of the budget.”

Sarno said several factors – including passage of new trash fee increases and hotel and motel taxes by the City Council, and the possibility of additional state aide – will determine how many layoffs and service reductions will be necessary.

Tapping into the $40 million surplus account will help soften the cuts, but the mayor warned against plundering the city’s reserves to balance its budget. That tactic helped devalue the city’s bond rating and spur creation of the state-ordered Finance Control Board to oversee municipal finances from 2005 to 2009, Sarno noted.

“We’ve come a long way – we can’t go back to the old days,” the mayor said, referring to the city’s financial tumble during Mayor Michael J. Albano’s fourth term.

“We’re not going back to the brink of bankruptcy,” he added.

Fitchet said he will discuss budget options with Sarno, and offer a recommendation on the best choice for the department.

To prevent or limit layoffs, the chief suggested reducing Quinn Bill benefits for officers by 15 percent, 25 percent or 50 percent. Another possibility would be cutting some or all of the $820,000 overtime account, Fitchet said.

Sarno said any cutbacks to fire or police are unfortunate but unavoidable. Five years of sharply reduced state funding, a national recession and two natural disasters since June have taken a toll on the city’s finances, the mayor said.

“We’ve been doing more with less, and now we’re looking at doing less with less,” he said.
.

The Massachusetts Democratic Party blasted Brown for voting with Republicans on a 2011 budget bill.

U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., at Bunker Hill Community College in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, Wednesday May 2, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

As Republican U.S. Senator Scott Brown tours a Boston school with members of the service group AmeriCorps, Massachusetts Democrats are hitting Brown for a vote that would have cut money from AmeriCorps.

The attack is the first of what is likely to be many similar attacks. While Brown has never said he wants to end AmeriCorps, Democrats are pointing to his vote on a budget bill – a vote that was entirely along party lines, and touched on virtually every area of government, including AmeriCorps.

Brown on Friday visited the Dever-McCormack Lower School in Boston and met with representatives of City Year and Generations Incorporated, two service programs funded by AmeriCorps.

In response to the visit, Democrats sent out a press release pointing to Brown’s vote on H.R. 1, a Republican House-sponsored budget continuing resolution, in March 2011. The Republican plan, made in the midst of a fierce budget battle, was an attempt to cut the deficit by $35 billion, and included cuts to more than 60 programs. The bill would have ended funding for AmeriCorps and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and would have cut the level of funding for everything from the Environmental Protection Agency to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Boston chapter of City Year would have lost $1.7 million in AmeriCorps funding if the Republican resolution passed.

Massachusetts Democratic Party Chair John Walsh said in a statement, “Scott Brown is voting against our kids and the education and opportunities they need to get ahead.”

In a statement when the vote was taken, Brown said he did not agree with all the House cuts, but voted with his party in favor of the plan because it was a step toward cutting spending. “While I don’t agree with how the House prioritized its spending or cuts, I do believe that significant spending reductions and reforms are needed to bring fiscal discipline and strong management to Washington,” Brown said. “I voted today in favor of the House proposal with the recognition of these problems and the understanding that it will soon move us toward a realistic and pragmatic compromise package that will contain smarter and more judicious spending reductions so that we can get our fiscal and financial house in order.”

The attack shows the political danger for any legislator, who must vote on large numbers of procedural motions, versions of bills, and large appropriations bills. “Senators have tremendous records to pick at,” said Professor Fred Bayles, director of the State House program at Boston University’s College of Communication.

Bayles pointed to Democratic Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry’s famous comment in 2004, "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it," referring to appropriations for military action in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In this case, Democrats could use the same vote to criticize Brown if he visits a facility funded by the National Institutes of Health or the National Science Foundation, takes an Amtrak train, or visits a nuclear reactor – all areas that would have seen cuts under the Republican House plan.

The new facility is expected to be operational by April.

View full sizeThe Republican | Michael S. GordonEmployees at the Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. facility at Barnes Regional Airport listen to comments by company officials and local political figures Friday before the groundbreaking for a new maintenance building there.

WESTFIELD — A new $23 million, 125,000 square-foot maintenance hangar at Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. here will create the need for an additional 130 to 150 new local jobs.

Those numbers represent an upward revision of figures announced last fall after the private aircraft builder announced plans to expand its Westfield operations.

Mark L. Burns, Gulfstream’s president of product support, announced the new growth estimates Friday during groundbreaking for the new building located on 11 acres of leased property owned by Barnes Regional Airport.

“Our previous estimates will prove to be very conservative,” Burns said, noting the new maintenance hangar is being built to provide service and maintenance to the company’s newest long-range corporate jet aircraft.

The new facility will be completed and operational by April 2013, he said.

Mark Burns

Westfield Gulfstream operations currently employs about 100 workers and Burns said 30 new employees have already been hired because of the expansion effort. “We now expect to double our current workforce, if not more,” he said.

Mayor Daniel M. Knapik said news of additional job opportunities at the local facility is “great news. I always believed this project had great growth potential and I am pleased to learn it is already proceeding at an increased pace.”

The expansion was called “the next milestone that will change the landscape of Gulfstream in Westfield” by local Gulfstream manager Fran Ahern.

The project includes tax incentives offered by both the state and Westfield, but the city expects to received an additional $4 million in property taxes, along with the $54,000 annual property lease payments during the first 15 years of operations. The company will save an estimated $4.2 million in taxes, and the state has also provided $3 million toward road and other infrastructure improvements to accommodate the expansion.

State Department of Transportation secretary Richard Davey said the incentives and infrastructure improvements represent the state's belief in Gulfstream. "The $3 million grant is our downpayment on that belief,” he said.

State Sen. Michael R. Knapik, R-Westfield, called the expansion “the most significant announcement in Westfield during my 22 years in the state Legislature.”

State Rep. Donald F. Humason Jr., R-Westfield, said “This project puts both Gulfstream and Barnes Regional Airport on the map.”

Originally Gulfstream planned an 85,000 to 100,000 square-foot hangar at a cost of $20 million. New job growth originally had been listed at 100.

Gulfstream has operated a facility just outside the airport perimeter for many years. The expansion is a first involving leasing airport property.

The airport land lease is good for 50 years and there are five 10-year extensions. The cost of the lease increases, based on market rates, every five years.

The initial costs of setting up the four teams will be $84,000.

File photo | The RepublicanMinnechaugh Regional of Wilbraham plays South Hadley in a boys high school lacrosse game.

CHICOPEE — After talking about it for four years, the School Committee has agreed to start a high school lacrosse program in September.

The initial costs to create boys and girls teams at Chicopee High School and Comprehensive High School is $84,000. That includes coaches’ salaries, equipment, transportation and uniforms. The annual costs will drop significantly after the first year, Superintendent Richard W. Rege Jr. said.

“The fields are available and I know the Chicopee Arbors started the lacrosse program for smaller children that became the feeder program for the high schools,” committee member Mary-Elizabeth Pniak-Costello said.

Pniak-Costello proposed the idea years ago and has pushed for it annually until the School Committee agreed it could afford to add the team sport.

The schools needed enough money to start the program, the field space for practices and games and also a so-called feeder program that would teach children the sport at a younger age so they would be ready to compete at a varsity level when they reached high school, she said.

“One good thing about this is we are not going into it too quickly. It has been studied and re-studied by administration,” Pniak-Costello said.

The sport is growing in popularity, which made the athletic department interested in the idea of starting a team, Rege said.

Because next year will be the first time the city schools have a team, they will play a modified varsity program so relatively inexperienced players from Chicopee will not have to face powerhouse teams from schools such as Longmeadow and South Hadley, he said.

The athletic department has already taken registration for spring sports and does have enough students signing up for the four teams. Coaches want at least 18 students for each team, but can accept more if more students want to play, Rege said.

Committee members agreed to create the program in a 9-0 vote.

“There is no downside to this,” Committee member David G. Barsalou said. “Everything we can add that gets kids to want to come to school is great.”

A 40,000-pound, 26-foot statue of Marilyn Monroe's famous pose from "The Seven-Year Itch" was dismantled in Chicago this week in preparation for the long drive to its new home in California.

File photo by Charles Rex Arbogast / Associated PressCurious spectators gather around Seward Johnson's 25-foot-tall sculpture of Marilyn Monroe in her famous pose from the film "The Seven Year Itch," on Michigan Ave. in Chicago, last summer. Click on the link, above right, for a photo gallery from MSNBC.com showing the dismantling of the statue this week.

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Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz reportedly is unhurt after a minor car accident on his way to Fenway Park.

AP Photo/Winslow TownsonBoston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz follows through during the second inning of Tampa Bay's 1-0 win in a baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston Monday, April 16, 2012

BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz reportedly is unhurt after a minor car accident on his way to Fenway Park.

WBZ-TV in Boston reports (http://cbsloc.al/JJNUBn) Ortiz was involved in the multi-car accident on Boylston Street on Friday afternoon on his way to prepare for a game with the Cleveland Indians.

Ortiz tells the station: "I lost a little control coming out of the gas station and I hit a car, but I'm fine. Everybody is fine."

He said "we're going to try to be fine" for Friday night's game.

Boston police said they didn't immediately have details but were investigating an accident at the location.

Ortiz is hitting .352 with 7 home runs and 23 RBI this season for the last-place Red Sox.

Police arrested Raphael Garay of Springfield a few blocks away. The second suspect got away but police know his name and are seeking an arrest warrant.

The Republican file photo

Raphael Garay

SPRINGFIELD - Springfield detectives arrested one of two suspects involved in a midday robbery at Spring and Pearl streets in which a man pushing his child in a baby stroller was robbed at gunpoint, police said.

It’s the second armed robbery in less than a week in which a parent was been targeted while they had a young child present.

On May 4, Diem Nguyen was attacked by a man with a knife as she went to a grocery store on Belmont Avenue with her four year old daughter. The woman fought off her attacker and suffered a minor stabbing injury before people came to her aid and chased him off.

The suspect in that incident remains at large.

In the most recent incident, a man was pushing a baby stroller when he was approached by two men at Spring and Pearl at about 11 a.m., said Sgt. John Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William Fitchet.

One of the men pulled a gun and demanded the man hand over his wallet, some jewelry and his cell phone. Both suspects then fled toward Worthington Street, Delaney said.

The victim immediately headed to the police station, about 100 yards away at 130 Pearl St., where he flagged down two detectives, Gizenia Sedergren and Carmen Ayala of the Special Victims Unit, and told them what happened, he said.

The two detectives drove around the neighborhood and spotted two men fitting the descripions of the robbers at Chestnut and Taylor streets. They were able to apprehend one but the other managed to run off, Delaney said..

Arrested was Raphael Garay, 24, of 24 Lexington St.

He was charged with armed robbery, possession of a dangerous weapon, a spring-loaded knife, and outstanding warrants. He is due to be arraigned Monday in Springfield District Court.

The second suspect has been identified and police have requested an arrest warrant, Delaney said.

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The arrests were made in the area of Mill and Main streets in the city's South End.

Springfield police photoTop row, left to right: Nelson Moody, Michael Vega. Bottom row, left to right: Adnan Akbar, Jessica E. Chaclas

SPRINGFIELD - A Springfield police anti-vice detail in the city’s South End Thursday evening netted three men and one women on charges related to prostitution, police said.

Arrested and charged with engaging in sexual conduct for a fee were Springfield residents Nelson Moody, 55 of 97 Groveland St., Michael Vega, 26, of 66 Grenada
Terrace, and Adnan Akbar, 32, of 15 Preston Road, Windsor Locks, Conn.

Also arrested and charged with prostitution was Jessica E. Chaclas, 25, of 115 Regency Park, Agawam.

According to Sgt. John Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William Fitchet, undercover detectives with the department’s vice unit, under the command of Capt. C. Lee Bennett, were deployed to the area of Mill and Main streets in the city’s South End.

The three men were arrested after they approached an undercover female officer and offered money in exchange for sex, Delaney said.

Chaclas was arrested after she propositioned a male detective who was pretending to be a customer, Delaney said.

At their arraignments Friday in District Court, all four were released from custody on their own recognizance instead of being required to post bail.

Chaclas is due back in court for a pre-trial conference on Monday, and Akbar has a similar conference scheduled for June 22.

Vega’s case was continued without a finding. Information was not available on Moody’s arraignment.

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Fitch Ratings has downgraded its assessment of America's biggest bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

AP Photo/Frank Franklin IIPeople walk inside the lobby of a JPMorgan Chase building Thursday, May 10, 2012, in New York. JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States, said Thursday that it lost $2 billion in the past six weeks in a trading portfolio designed to hedge against risks the company takes with its own money. The company's stock plunged almost 7 percent in after-hours trading after the loss was announced. Other bank stocks, including Citigroup and Bank of America, suffered heavy losses as well.

The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Fitch Ratings has downgraded its assessment of America's biggest bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The rating agency's move comes a day after JPMorgan disclosed a surprise $2 billion trading loss in a portfolio designed to hedge against risks the company takes with its own money.

Fitch says the size of the loss is manageable but the risk it brings is not. It says the magnitude of the loss and JPMorgan's hedging position imply a lack of liquidity. It also raises questions about JPMorgan's practices, oversights and other key issues.

Fitch says JPMorgan's risk to its reputation and governance no longer merit an "AA-" rating and lowered its long-term issuer default rating one notch to "A+", still investment-grade.

It placed the New York company on review for possible future downgrades.

A Chicago jury convicted the Oscar-winner's former brother-in-law of murdering her mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew in what prosecutors' described as an act of vengeance by a jilted husband.

AP photoThis undated file photo provided by the Cook County Sheriff's Department shows William Balfour, who is charged in the murders of the mother, brother and nephew of Oscar winner and singer Jennifer Hudson.

CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago jury on Friday convicted Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson's former brother-in-law of murdering her mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew in what prosecutors' described as an act of vengeance by a jilted husband.

Hudson, who expressed her undisguised disdain for William Balfour when she took the witness stand and who endured weeks of excruciating testimony about the October 2008 killings, was visibly overcome with emotion as the verdict was read. Hudson's eyes filled with tears and she shook her head and bit her lip.

Balfour, 31, faces a mandatory life prison sentence.

Jurors deliberated for three days before reaching their verdict against Balfour, a former gang member who was the estranged husband of Hudson's sister, Julia Hudson, at the time of the triple murders.

With no surviving witnesses to the Oct. 24, 2008, slayings or fingerprints, prosecutors built a circumstantial case against Balfour by calling 83 witnesses over 11 days of testimony. Witnesses said he threatened to kill the entire family if Julia Hudson spurned him.

Balfour's attorneys proposed an alternate theory: that someone else in the crime-ridden neighborhood on Chicago's South Side targeted the family because of alleged crack-cocaine dealing by Jennifer Hudson's brother, Jason Hudson. During the 30 minutes in which they called just two witnesses, however, they presented no evidence to support that theory.

Jennifer Hudson, who was in Florida at the time of the killings, attended every day of the two-weeks of testimony, sobbing when photos of her relatives' bloodied bodies were displayed to jurors during closing arguments. Known for wearing tony designer dresses on Hollywood's red carpets, Hudson wore toned-down clothes at the trial, often all black.

Hudson, 30, rose to prominence as a 2004 "American Idol" finalist. But she became a bona fide star for her performance in the film adaptation of the musical, "Dreamgirls," for which she won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Hudson was the first witness prosecutors called to testify, and during her more than 30 minutes on the stand she talked about her murdered family members and spoke endearingly about her nephew, Julian King, whom she called Tugga Bear. She said she knew Balfour since the eighth grade but always deeply disliked him.

Balfour had lived in the Hudsons' three-story Englewood home after marrying Julia Hudson in 2006. He moved out in early 2008 after falling out with his wife, but witnesses told jurors he often stalked the home.

The killings occurred the morning after Julia Hudson's birthday, and prosecutors said he became enraged when he stopped by the home and saw a gift of balloons in the house from her new boyfriend.

After his estranged wife left for her job as a bus driver on the morning of Oct. 24, 2008, prosecutors said Balfour went back inside the home with a .45-caliber handgun and shot Hudson's mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, in the back; he allegedly then shot Jason Hudson, 29, twice in the head as he lay in bed.

Prosecutors said Balfour then drove off in Jason Hudson's SUV with Julian — Julia's son, whom she called Juice Box — and shot the boy several times in the head as he lay behind a front seat. His body was found in the abandoned vehicle miles away after a three-day search.

The defense tried to counter the portrayal of Balfour as an embittered husband by noting Julia Hudson continued to have sex with him until just days before the killings.

The Perks saved dozens of at-risk teens from a life in the criminal justice system, and helped those hit by the June 1 tornado. Watch video

File photo by Mark M. Murray / The RepublicanMaj. Thomas D. Perks and his wife, Maj. Linda Perks, co -commanders of the Greater Springfield Salvation Army citadel, stand in the chapel at the Salvation Army headquarters on Pearl Street at the start of the 2009 Toy for Joy campaign.

SPRINGFIELD - Springfield’s loss is the gain of Massillon, Ohio.

Salvation Army commanders Thomas and Linda-Jo Perks, the husband-and-wife team of officers who have led nine years of Toy for Joy and winter coat drives, saved dozens of at-risk teens from a life in the criminal justice system, and helped those hit by the June 1 tornado, are leaving their posts in this city go to the Western Stark County Ohio area.

Thomas Perks made the announcement on Friday; the Perks, of Agawam, will be leaving their office at 170 Pearl St. on June 27 and picking up in the manufacturing city just below Akron on June 29. The locale is midway between where the couple’s two daughters live in Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

“We have learned so much from so many wonderful people in Springfield .¤.¤. we are looking forward to moving closer to family. But at the end of the day God calls us to love people and care for them whether in Springfield, Ohio or Anchorage, Alaska. That’s why we get up every morning,” said Perks.

Replacing them in Springfield will be Capts. John and Rhonda Ferreira, commanders at the Trenton, N.J., Salvation Army, also a husband and wife team. It is part of the Salvation Army tradition to marry within the ranks, if officers do marry, Perks said.

He said the Massillon has been hard hit by plant closings and growing numbers of jobless, so they plan to expand job readiness and training services there.

Over the Perks’ tenure here, they have grown the Toy for Joy holiday gift program for the poor to help over 16,000 children in Greater Springfield with the help of The Republican and partner Hasbro, Inc. They also have spearheaded winter coat drives, tutoring program and a “Bridging the Gap” initiative for first-time teen criminal offenders.

That program has grown from 12 to 40 children and has an 89 percent success rate of keeping kids out of trouble and in school after their first brushes with the law, according to Perks.

He has a staff of six full-timers and 300 volunteers.

The agency was particularly critical after last year’s natural disasters.

“During the post-tornado response we saw the whole community come together with a focused goal of responding to the needs of our neighbors who were hurting,” Perks said, adding that the Salvation Army and volunteers provided over 14,000 meals through roving mobile units and emergency assistance and emotional support to over 2,400 in the initial aftermath.

“I was personally enriched by the experience,” Perks said.