What are the odds of a UFO sighting during the London Olympics opening ceremony? Or of the final torch bearer tripping as they ascend to light the flame?

The Associated PressIn this photo provided by LOCOG, Amelia Hempleman-Adams poses with the Olympic Flame on top of a London Eye pod on the Torch Relay leg through London. Opening Ceremonies for the 2012 London Olympics will be held Friday July 27. (AP Photo/LOCOG, Lewis Whyld)

By PAUL HAVEN, Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — What are the odds of a UFO sighting during the London Olympics opening ceremony? Or of the final torch bearer tripping as they ascend to light the flame? Or would you prefer a more traditional wager on the battle for gold between Russia and Spain in synchronized swimming duos?

London betting houses will offer odds on almost anything, including all 26 sports at the games, from the 100-meter dash to fencing, from diving to soccer. The industry expects to handle a record 100 million pounds ($155 million) in wagers during the July 27-Aug.12 competition — even some pretty outlandish parlays.

"We try to cater to most people's tastes," said Joe Crilly, a spokesman for William Hill, a gambling house that encourages punters — the U.K. term for gamblers — to contact them with any bet they can dream up. They also offer online gambling in 182 countries, though not in the United States or in other countries where it is prohibited.

Ladbrokes, another British bookmaker, will offer 11,000 different wagers during the games, according to spokeswoman Jessica Bridge. Those bets include that the Olympics will be over budget, that a British athlete will be photographed eating a McDonald's Big Mac, or that the athletes village in Olympic Park will run out of condoms.

William Hill offers perhaps the longest odds of the games: 1,000-to-1 that a flying saucer will appear over Olympic Stadium during Friday's opening ceremony. Tough luck, presumably, if aliens don't make first contact until the next day.

Other longshots get slightly better odds, like 250-to-1 that every team in the 4x400-meter relay final drops the baton, or 33-to-1 that flamboyant London Mayor Boris Johnson accidentally lights his hair on fire with the Olympic torch.

And this being famously soggy London, of course they are taking bets on the weather, paying even-money that rain will mar the opening night. If that's not enough to make an Olympic fan cry, Ladbrokes will pay $50 on a $1 bet that it will rain every day, and 10-to-1 that a strike by transit workers will halt train service on the London Underground.

But the gambling story is not all fun and games.

The British betting industry is worth $9 billion a year, one of the biggest in the world, according to a 2010 study by accounting and consultancy firm Deloitte. Most houses offer online gambling as well.

There have been fears that the massive gambling volume could lead to corruption, which would forever mar London's legacy. The IOC has barred athletes from betting on the games — and sports, police and gambling industry officials plan to meet daily to ensure that no illegal bets are placed.

Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee, has said previously that illegal betting can fuel the scourge of match-fixing.

Crilly said the betting industry is heavily regulated and immediately reports suspicious activity to Britain's Gambling Commission.

"We have a lot of strict regulations in place to guard against any funny business," Crilly said. "If we were to see an unusually large bet for a sport we were not particularly expecting large amounts of money for, it would flash up ... If there was any suggestion that it was suspicious we would get authorities involved."

The most heavily wagered event during the London games is expected to be the 100-meter dash, where Jamaican Usain Bolt, the reigning Olympic champion, is still the odds-on favorite despite a rough run-up to the games that saw him bested in trials by countryman Yohan Blake. Soccer will also be an extremely popular wager, as will the women's heptathlon, where star British athlete Jessica Ennis is expected to compete for gold.

A major challenge for the gambling houses is setting the odds for the more obscure sports. Who is to say Dutch rider Adelinde Cornelissen should be a 15-to-8 shot in dressage, an equestrian discipline? Or if Sweden's Anders Gustafsson should be set as a 9-to-1 shot in the 1,000-meter men's single kayak race?

Crilly says ahead of the Olympics, betting firms assign teams to research each sport, spending weeks immersing themselves in facts and figures.

Punters can also bet on which country will win the overall medals table (the U.S. is favored, with China a close second), or how many golds the host nation will take home.

Bridge says Ladbrokes has already taken a 10,000 pound ($15,500) bet on Bolt to win the 100-meter dash and expects much larger wagers ahead of the big race.

"We anticipate our high roller customers will fancy him to do the business,' she said. "If they were to want 50,000 pounds ($77,500) or more on Bolt, then we will happily lay it."

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is voicing confidence the Obama administration and Congress will avert a fiscal crisis.

AP Photo/J. Scott ApplewhiteTreasury Secretary Timothy Geithner leaves a closed-door meeting with Senate Democrats on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 10, 2012.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is voicing confidence the Obama administration and Congress will avert a fiscal crisis.

Geithner tells "CBS This Morning" it would be "untenable" to defer critical spending and tax decisions when the economy is still struggling.

Asked what would happen if the Bush era tax cuts are allowed to expire as automatic budget cuts take effect, he replies, "It would cause a lot of damage to the economy."

Asked if that could cause another recession, Geithner says, "Many people look at this say, yes, you would get a recession out of this."

But he says he's optimistic the government won't trip over the so-called "fiscal cliff" because, "I also think you're seeing people show more realism about what is necessary" to avoid a fiscal crisis.

Last year’s halftime show was seen by an estimated 114 million people - a higher average than the game itself.

NEW YORK (AP) – Pepsi has scored the Super Bowl halftime show.

The soda giant says it struck a multiyear deal with the National Football League to sponsor the big game’s musical performance. Financial terms and the exact duration of the deal were not disclosed.

The Purchase, N.Y.-based company says it also bought 60 seconds of ad time during the big game, which has seen record ratings for the past three years.

Pepsi last sponsored the show in 2007, when the rock musician Prince performed. Bridgestone Tires sponsored the show after that.

PepsiCo Inc.’s reunion with the nation’s biggest sporting event comes at a time when the company is working to put some fizz back in sales of its flagship soda. Earlier this year, Pepsi announced its “Live For Now” global marketing campaign, which is intended to rekindle the company’s long ties with pop culture and music.

Although PepsiCo has a broad and diverse portfolio of brands – including Frito-Lay, Gatorade and Quaker Oats – its namesake cola remains by far its single biggest moneymaker.

So far this year, the marketing push for Pepsi has included a TV ad with singer Nicki Minaj, a global marketing campaign featuring 1 billion cans of Pepsi with a silhouette of the late pop star Michael Jackson and a partnership with Twitter to stream live concerts.

The latest move is nevertheless the most high-profile; an estimated 111.3 million people watched in February as the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots, 21-17, in a thrilling rematch of the contest four years earlier, according to The Nielsen Co. That made the game the most-watched television show in U.S. history for the third straight year.

Even better for PepsiCo, last year’s halftime show with Madonna, Cee Lo Green, Minaj and M.I.A. was seen by an estimated 114 million people – a higher average than the game itself.

Adam Harter, Pepsi’s vice president of consumer engagement, said that the NFL is letting Pepsi have more input than past sponsors have had – including on stage design and which musicians perform during the show.

He declined to give details, but said Pepsi will also partner with the league in how the halftime show can be viewed online. Pepsi will also use the sponsorship for promotions on the soda cans and bottles its sells in stores.

“I think you’ll see more activation around sports and music together as the year unfolds,” Harter said.

On Monday, PepsiCo also announced a multiyear deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers to provide its drinks and Frito-Lay snacks at Heinz Field. The company said the conversion to Pepsi from The Coca-Cola Co. will be complete in time for the start of the coming season.

Coca-Cola has big marketing plans this year as well, with its sponsorship of the London Olympics this summer. The Atlanta company has sponsored the games since 1928, making it the longest continuous sponsor.

U.S. stock futures fell Tuesday for a second day on weak quarterly results from corporations in the industrial and tech sectors.

(AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)Wingszi Chang, left, of Getco Securities, and Michael Smyth of MND Partners trade on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Monday, July 23, 2012 in New York. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 101.11 points to 12721.46.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock futures fell Tuesday for a second day on weak quarterly results from corporations in the industrial and tech sectors.

Dow Jones industrial futures gave up 14 points to trade at 12,631. The broader S&P futures fell 2.5 points to 1,341.20. Nasdaq futures slid 1.3 points to 2,573.50.

Companies like DuPont are taking a hit on slowing business in Europe and Asia. The chemical maker posted a 3 percent decline in net income for the second quarter and revenue was short of Wall Street expectations. Shares edged lower in premarket trading Tuesday, as did shares of UPS.

The United Parcel Service cut its earnings expectations and shares slid 4 percent. Like DuPont, UPS is seeing global economic weakness and says its customers fear a downturn later this year.

European markets stabilized Tuesday after a rough start to the week, even after Moody's Investors Service issued a negative outlook for Germany, the continent's dominant economy.

Moody's sees a growing burden for the most highly rates European countries that will be forced to step in and prop up countries like Spain and Italy. It also cited the "increased likelihood" that Greece would leave Europe's monetary union.

It also lowered the outlook for the Netherlands and Luxembourg late Monday.

Germany's DAX fell 5.58 points to 6,413.75. Markets in France, Spain, Japan and China fell as well.

Conditions overseas are hitting the tech sector before Apple Inc. and Netflix post quarterly results after the market closes.

On Monday, Texas Instruments was the latest tech company blaming economic conditions in reporting its results or outlook. Cisco Systems, the world's largest maker of computer networking equipment, said it would lay off about 1,300 workers, 2 percent of its payroll, because of global economic uncertainty.

Seagate Technology has already warned this month that quarterly revenue will fall below expectations after shipping fewer hard drives than expected and chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices lowered its guidance this month because of weaker-than-expected sales in China and Europe.

Analysts that follow Apple are looking for net income of $9.8 billion from the third quarter.

Bill Shein, a writer, political satirist and activist living in Berkshire County, is not your average political candidate.

Bill Shein, a political activist and writer living in Alford, Mass., holds up his receipt after he dropped of more than the required 2,000 signatures to the Secretary of the Commonwealth's Springfield office on June 1, 2012. (Photo courtesy of Shein for Congress)

Bill Shein, the Berkshire County writer and political activist who is running to represent the 1st Congressional District in Massachusetts, will participate in a live chat with MassLive.com readers on Thursday, July 26 at noon.

Shein, who is facing Andrea Nuciforo Jr. and longtime U.S. Congressman Richard Neal in a three-way Democratic primary to represent the newly drawn district, said he has covered a lot of ground since jumping into the race and is eager to talk directly to the voters online.

"I’ve spent a great deal of time this year in Springfield meeting all kinds of voters. And I’ve also talked to a great many non-voters in Springfield who have given up on electoral politics," Shein said. "So I’m looking forward to (the) exchange of ideas with MassLive readers about how we can address this crisis in our democracy, increase voter participation, and build a fair, durable economy that works for everyone."

Shein is not your average politician or political candidate. With years of political satire and activism under his belt, Shein's campaign is the antithesis to all he sees wrong with the political system in Washington.

In 2012, where national elections are dominated by big money and secretive super PACs, Shein is accepting only individual financial contributions of $99 or less. Despite the small threshold, he has raised approximately $18,000 throughout his entire campaign, ending the most recent fiscal quarter with $6,200 in the bank.

And despite being significantly out-raised by his opponents, Shein is quite proud of what he has accomplished so far, primarily how it's been done.

The Republican | Mark M. MurrayCongressional candidate Bill Shein, far right, has participated in several Bay State protests including the Occupy the Courts demonstration pictured above which was to draw attention to the 2010 Supreme Court decision that overturned many campaign finance restrictions.

"While the wealthiest corporations, Wall Street banks, pharmaceutical and insurance companies and powerful Washington lobbyists protect their investment in the status quo by hosting fundraisers for incumbent members of Congress and writing more $1,000, $2,500 and $5,000 checks, voters here in western Massachusetts are coming together to say, 'Enough!'" Shein said in a statement. "Given what we all know about decades-long concentration of wealth, flat and declining wages, long-term unemployment, rising foreclosures, unaddressed climate change, mounting student debt, and so many things that are upside-down in America, one thing is clear: All of that corporate and lobbyist money works. It’s distorting our democracy for the exclusive benefit of those who provide it – in greater sums every election cycle – to both Republican and Democratic lawmakers."

Shein, 44, is a 1990 graduate of Tufts University, where he majored in American history. His column in the Berkshire Eagle newspaper called "Reason Gone Mad," was awarded the National Press Club Award for Humor in 2005, 2008 and 2009.

Nuciforo, a former state senator and the present Berkshire Middle District register of deeds, will participate in a MassLive.com live chat on Monday, July 30 at noon.

Neal, who represents the current 2nd Congressional District, will also participate in a live chat, although the date is yet to be scheduled.

Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and his Democratic rival Elizabeth Warren have both also agreed to chat live with the readers of MassLive.com. Future live chat dates will be announced when they are confirmed with the candidates.

To learn more about Shein ahead of his live chat, visit his website, his Facebook page, his Twitter profile, or the archive of MassLive.com stories referring to him.

Readers are encouraged to submit questions ahead of time either by commenting on this post or sending an email to rrizzuto@repub.com with the subject line "LiveChat Question" followed by the appropriate candidate's name.

There seems to be very little of the blame-it-on-Hollywood backlash in the wake of the Colorado theater massacre that so often occurs when people struggle to make sense of a senseless, violent act.

(AP Photo/Warner Bros. Pictures, Ron Phillips)In this publicity photo provided by Warner Bros. Pictures, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake is shown in a scene in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ action thriller "€œThe Dark Knight Rises." After the theater shooting in Colorado on July 20, 2012 at the film's midnight screening, Warner Bros. quickly pulled a trailer for its upcoming film "Gangster Squad." The new movie features a star-studded cast, along with a climactic scene in which mobsters fire automatic weapons into a movie theater audience from behind the screen.

By CHRISTY LEMIRE
AP Movie Critic

LOS ANGELES (AP) — There seems to be very little of the blame-it-on-Hollywood backlash in the wake of the Colorado theater massacre that so often occurs when people struggle to make sense of a senseless, violent act.

Many agree that you simply can't hold the art form itself responsible in the shooting that left 12 people dead and 58 others injured at a packed midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises." The alleged shooter, 24-year-old James Holmes, appeared in court Monday for the first time since the bloody attack of early Friday morning. While his hair was dyed the kind of bright, orange-red shade you might see in a comic book, authorities say it could take months to determine a motive.

Still, the film industry seems to recognize the potential for scrutiny and has shown sensitivity in response to the tragedy, if not some defensiveness.

Warner Bros., the studio that released the much-anticipated final piece in writer-director Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, quickly pulled a trailer for its upcoming film "Gangster Squad," which was playing in theaters before "The Dark Knight Rises." The promo for the 1940s period film — which features a star-studded cast including Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin and Emma Stone — features a climactic scene in which mobsters fire automatic weapons into a movie theater audience from behind the screen.

But now there's the problem of what to do with that scene when the film itself comes out Sept. 7. Trim it to make it less graphic? Edit it out entirely? Warner Bros. would not confirm Hollywood trade reports that the footage will be cut from the movie and a costly reshoot has been ordered to replace the theater scene.

The studio also canceled "The Dark Knight Rises" premieres in Paris, Mexico City and Tokyo as well as delayed reporting of its usual Sunday box office estimates out of respect for the victims, with other studios following suit. The film earned an impressive $160.9 million over the weekend, making it the biggest 2-D opening ever, but falling just short of expectations following the mass shooting.

And late Monday, Warner Bros. announced it was making a "substantial" yet undisclosed donation to victims of the shooting.

Finding the right tone going forward, especially when it comes to violent content, has been on the minds of industry leaders and performers alike since the deadly attack.

Asked whether Hollywood bore any responsibility for the violence in Colorado, producer and DreamWorks Studios co-founder David Geffen said: "I don't think that's true at all."

"I think it's a tragedy and to blame the movie business is incorrect and inappropriate," Geffen said Sunday at the Television Critics Association meeting in Beverly Hills.

Diane Lane said during the same event that she doubts the content of "The Dark Knight Rises" provided inspiration. Among the film's big, action set pieces are organized attacks on a stock exchange and a football stadium, but the violence features no blood.

"I think it's just an opportunistic scenario," the actress said. "I leave it to people who sit in rooms with diagrams and charts to try to correlate cause and effect. And I think hindsight is 20-20 and we're not anywhere near hindsight. This is still fresh paint on the canvas of our culture and it remains to be seen. There's a lot of healing to go on."

Asked on Saturday whether the television business should cut down on violence in programming, PBS President Paula Kerger said: "We think about the images particularly that children see, and as we look at the programming that we design for our schedule — obviously, the programming that we produce is educational — but we think a lot about the images that particularly the most impressionable, and I would say that children are at the top of that list, are confronted with."

And recording artist Will.i.am said before Sunday night's Teen Choice Awards that responsibility for any sort of negative behavior begins at home with the parents rather than with the media.

"If you are not raising your kids to have balance in life, that is one place we have to look at," he said.

Several recent films have depicted this sort of mass violence with sensitivity and sympathetic portrayals of the suspects' families as they attempt to pick up the pieces afterward.

"We Need to Talk About Kevin" from 2011, starring Tilda Swinton as the mother of a tormented teenage boy who goes on a deadly rampage, tries to help us understand the nature of a sociopath as well as the lifelong struggle of parenting such a difficult child.

Also from last year, "Beautiful Boy" follows a husband and wife (Michael Sheen and Maria Bello) on the verge of separation whose marriage collapses entirely when their 18-year-old son goes on a killing spree at his college, then takes his own life. And Gus Van Sant's artful, mesmerizing "Elephant" from 2003 tracks the lives of several ordinary high school students who are about to become targets of a Columbine-style shooting.

Vincent Grashaw, who produced and played a supporting role in last summer's intense, graphic drama "Bellflower," says he understands the need to find answers when a tragedy like this occurs. But he has no plans to soften the violence as he prepares to start production on his directorial debut, "Coldwater," about a teenage boy's struggle for survival in a wilderness juvenile reform center.

"As a filmmaker, when I hear people even utter questions like, 'Should Hollywood tone it down in terms of violence on film?' All I can do is just shake my head at this broad inquisition for it's an easy and obvious target," Grashaw said. "Having recently produced a pretty violent film and having seen the effect it had on many, I would be saddened if you were to harness anyone from that form of expression."

___

AP Television Writer Lynn Elber and AP Television reporter Marcela Isaza contributed to this report.

Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray, state and local officials will be celebrating the completion of a multi-million dollar project to enhance visitor experience at Wachusett Mountain State Reservation.

AP Photo/The Boston Herald, Ted FitzgeraldLt. Gov. Timothy Murray

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray, state and local officials will be celebrating the completion of a multi-million dollar project to enhance visitor experience at Wachusett Mountain State Reservation.

Murray will be joined by Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rick Sullivan, Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Ed Lambert and local officials for a Tuesday morning celebration at the Princeton, Mass. reservation.

DCR officials say the Wachusett Mountain State Reservation Parkway Rehabilitation and Summit Enhancement Project improves traffic circulation, public safety and accessibility for visitors of the state park.

Costing $8.4 million, the project features a newly reconfigured summit with an 80-foot-tall steel fire tower and 12-foot high public observation deck.

Wachusett Mountain is the highest peak in eastern and central Massachusetts.

So far, 103 communities now bear green community status.

Amherst Town Hall

AMHERST – Amherst officials went to Boston Tuesday to officially receive green community status.

The town was one of 17 receiving the designation bringing the total number of green communities to 103.

There are 351 communities in the state.

Conway, Pelham, Gill, Huntington, Northfield and Sunderland also received that designation Tuesday.

Those communities join Springfield, Holyoke. Easthampton, Greenfield, Deerfield, Hatfield, Granby, Belchertown and Shutesbury which previously received that designation.

“It’s been a major priority for the community laid out by the Select Board,” said Town Manager John P. Musante. “Getting this designation, we’re committed to further energy use reduction. We’re really excited by it,” he said.

Communities with the green designation are eligible for grant funding. To be eligible for green status, communities must meet five criteria including establishing a municipal energy use baseline and a program to reduce use by 20 percent within five years.

Musante said the town wants to replaces its streetlights with LED lights, which would save the town money and electricity, Musante said. With the designation, the town is eligible for $302,000, according to the green communities Web site.

Also, Pelham is eligible for $138,100; Sunderland $146,450; Huntington, $140,650; Conway, $139,650; Northfield, $143,750 and Gill $139,900.

Driscoll has been hired as the national sales manager for Secure Bill Pay in St. Paul, Minn.

James D. Driscoll

EAST LONGMEADOW – After nearly three terms as a selectmen and five years on the Planning Board James Driscoll will be resigning from the Board of Selectmen.

“I’ve served this town for a long time now, but with my new job responsibilities I will not be able to do both,” Driscoll said.

Driscoll will be working for Secure Bill Pay based out of St. Paul, Minn., serving as the company’s national sales manager. He will begin working for the company on Aug. 7.

“I will not be relocating to Minnesota, but the position requires that I move to Cape Cod,” he said.

Driscoll announced his resignation during a selectmen's meeting held Tuesday.

In the past several months Driscoll has not physically attended several meetings although he has been teleconferencing in. He was also absent from this year’s 4th of July Parade.

“Being on the board requires a community presence and 20 to 30 hours a week of my time and I will not be able to do that with this job,” he said.

Town counsel James Donahue said the remaining members of the board now have to decided whether they will hold a special election to fill the vacancy.

“They are not required to by law. They could continue with just two members until the regularly scheduled election in April,” Donahue said.

Selectmen Chairman Enrico Villamaino said the board will discuss its options.

Legally although a special election can be held anytime before a regular election the date must be set at least 100 days before a regularly scheduled election.

“I was looking back at the years I’ve spent in this town and I served on the student council in sixth, seventh and eighth grade at Birchland Park Middle School and then I was class president all through high school, so I’ve been involved for a long time,” Driscoll said. “I have lived my life here and love this town, but it’s time for me to take this great opportunity.”

Driscoll will remain on the board until Sept. 4.

Baye is expected in court to be arraigned Thursday on the charges before Judge Constance Sweeney.

The Republican file photo | Don TreegerAnthony Baye, seen here during a 2011 appearance in Hampshire District Court.

NORTHAMPTON - A Hampshire County grand jury on Tuesday issued a 42-count indictment against Anthony Baye, charging him with multiple counts of arson and two counts of murder in connection with a series of fires that shook Northampton in late 2009, according to the office of Hampshire District Attorney David E. Sullivan.

The indictment comes a little more than a week after Sullivan’s office on July 16 dropped all charges against Baye after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled Baye’s confession was inadmissible because police investigators overstepped their authority while they questioned him.

At that time Sullivan said his office was launching a new grand jury investigation into the case as a result of the ruling on the inadmissible confession.

Sullivan in a prepared statement following the grand jury's decision said “The grand jury has established probable cause that Anthony Baye is responsible for the fires which endangered Northampton over two years.”

Baye is expected in court to be arraigned Thursday on the charges before Judge Constance Sweeney.

The 42-count indictment charges Baye with setting 26 fires, including 15 in the early morning hours of Dec. 27, 2009. There were also 11 other fires on eight separate dates between Jan. 19, 2007 and Nov. 10, 2009.

He is facing six counts of arson of a dwelling, 21 counts of arson of a motor vehicle, five counts of attempted arson of a dwelling, three counts of attempted arson of a motor vehicle and a single count of arson of a building.

It also charges him with two counts of murder in the deaths of Paul Yeskie and Paul Yeskie Jr., who died when their house at 17 Fair Ave. caught fire on Dec. 27, 2009.

The indictment also includes four count of armed burglary.

The grand jury heard testimony from 19 witnesses and reviewed more than 100 pieces of evidence during the last two weeks leading up to the indictment.

Sullivan also offered thanks to the Northampton police and fire departments, the Massachusetts State Police and the state Department of Fire Services for their respective work in the investigation. 

Prosecutor Brett Vottero, who was brought in by Sullivan especially to try the case, said Tuesday that his office received some response from its public request for new information about the fires, and that he is confident about the indictments.
 

  “We wanted to make sure the grand jury heard all the evidence,” he said. “We’re confident the grand jury took its responsibility seriously.”

    David P. Hoose, who is defending Baye along with Thomas Lesser, said he is not surprised by the quick turn-around.
    “The question remains whether they have any evidence to support the indictments,” he said.

    Baye is currently being held on $150,000 bail. If convicted of the murder charges he could be sentenced to life in prison. He also faces six counts of misleading investigators from his previous indictment. Those charges were not dropped.

Republican reporter Fred Contrada contributed to this story.
Anthony Baye Charges

Several fringe benefits, including an auto allowance and life and disability insurance, were also left out of the contract at Warwick's request.

File photo | The RepublicanThe Springfield School Committee has approved a contract for new Superintendent Daniel Warwick.

SPRINGFIELD — By a unanimous vote, the School Committee today approved a five-year contract for new Superintendent Daniel J. Warwick that includes $198,500 in salary for this school year.

The figure represents a reduction of more than $14,000 from the amount earned by Warwick’s predecessor, Alan J. Ingram.

Several fringe benefits, including an $7,800 annual auto allowance and additional life and disability insurance, were also left out of the contract at Warwick’s request.

“I want to be fair to the taxpayers,” said Warwick, a former teacher, principal and deputy superintendent who was hired to replace Ingram last month.

He earned $156,000 last year as Ingram’s top assistant.

Approved on a 6-0 vote, the contract calls for Warwick to receive mandatory 2 percent cost-of-living increases each year, plus annual performance raises of zero to 3 percent awarded by the School Committee.

Like his predecessor, Warwick will receive 22 vacation days each year, but not a severance agreement or the $15,000 annual annuity included in Ingram’s contract.

Overall, the savings from the new contract will be 22 percent over the $257,023 compensation package paid to Ingram, committee members said.

“I think the public will be impressed,” said Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, who serves as committee chairman.

School Committee Chairman Christopher Collins said the contract negotiations went smoothly, and the contract itself contains no hidden benefits or surprises.

“We have crafted a no-frills, what-you-see-is-what-you-get contract,” Collins said.

School Committee member Antonette E. Pepe also praised Warwick for his willingness to sacrifice potential compensation.

Pepe had criticized Ingram’s contract, which was negotiated in 2008 by the state-imposed Finance Control Board.

Ingram announced his resignation last summer after Pepe pointed out that he collected a $30,000 housing allowance without purchasing a home in Springfield.

Ingram, now serving as deputy commissioner for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, left on June 30.

Several committee members said they were concerned that several standard fringe benefits were not included in the contract before learning that Warwick had willingly given them up.

“It just goes to show his commitment to the community,” member Peter M. Murphy said.

Daniel Warwick Contract

With an unemployment rate of 10.3 percent, the city of Springfield had the fifth-highest unemployment rate in the state.

This is an updated version of a story posted at 1:42 this afternoon.

SPRINGFIELD – The city’s unemployment rate rose in June to 10.3 percent from 9.4 percent in May, according to figures released Tuesday by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics and the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

The number of Springfield residents with job rose from 59,364 to 59,606. But the labor force also grew, pushing the number of unemployed up from 6,189 to 6,871. As a region, Greater Springfield gained 1,800 jobs on the month.

The regional unemployment rate rose to 7.5 percent from 6.8 percent in May. Regional unemployment was 8.8 percent a year ago.

On the year, jobs for the region are up just 700, for Greater Springfield as a region.

Rena Kottcamp, director of research for the Massachusetts Division of Unemployment, said unemployment always goes up in the summer as graduates start to look for jobs, raising the labor supply, and educational institutions and companies that depend on those institutions lay off workers for the summer. Local unemployment numbers are not seasonally adjusted.

The statewide seasonally-unadjusted unemployment rate is 6.3 percent, up from 5.8 percent in May but down from 7.6 percent in June 2011. The statewide average adjusted for seasonality is 6 percent. The national average, also adjusted, is 8.2 percent.

With an unemployment rate of 10.3 percent, the city of Springfield had the fifth-highest unemployment rate in the state.

Springfield’s unemployment rate was 11.9 percent a year ago in June 2011.

The regions unemployment rate rose to 7.5 percent, up from 6.8 percent last month and 8.3 percent a year ago. Statewide seasonally unadjusted unemployment was 6.3 percent, up from 5.8 percent in May but lower than the 7.6 percent unemployment rate recorded a year ago in June 2011.

But Robert A. Nakosteen, a professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst’s Isenberg School of Management, said global factors are at work.

The European debt crisis, a slowdown in China’s economy and looming federal decisions about the Bush-era tax cuts set to expire at the end of the year and budget cuts set to take force at the end of the year are all contributing to that stall. The budget cuts and expiring tax cuts are collectively called the “fiscal cliff”.

“Some companies are trying to prepare for it now just in case,” Nakosteen said. “God knows we have all been watching Washington.”

Kevin E. Lynn, manager of business services at FutureWorks , a one-stop career center in Springfield, said he’s seeing a reluctance to hire.

There were 262 job openings posted at the center in June a 30 percent decrease from 374 June 2011. It was a five-percent increase from May 2012. FutureWorks job seekers reported they found 165 jobs in June. That is a 38 percent decrease from June 2011.

“I think the business owners, people who would be in a position to hire, are wondering if they want to take this gamble now,” he said.

Business owners aren’t the only ones. Consumer confidence in Massachusetts fell to 75.9 points from 79.2 points in April, according to a poll conducted earlier this month by MassInc, a Boston research company.

Respondents told MassInc that they are less likely to buy big-ticket items like cars and appliances.

Shiancoe joins what is quickly becoming a crowded tight end group.

APVisanthe Shiancoe signed with the Patriots Tuesday.

The New England Patriots have signed veteran tight end Visanthe Shiancoe to a one-year deal.

The 10-year veteran, most recently of the Minnesota Vikings, can make up to $1.2 million this season, with $400,000 guaranteed.

ProFootballTalk.com first reported the terms of the deal.

Shiancoe visited with the Patriots last week before meeting with the Philadelphia Eagles. He becomes the fourth tight end on the roster, joining Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Tyler Urban and Daniel Fells (who was placed on the physically unable to perform list).

The team also claimed Jake Ballard off waivers from the New York Giants, though it is unlikely he will play this year after undergoing ACL and microfracture surgery during the offseason.

The 6-foot-4, 240-pound Shiancoe caught 36 passes for 409 yards and three touchdowns last season. He has played all 16 games every season of his career.

The school department issued a document comparing Warwick's contract to those during Ingram's 4-year tenure.

File photos | The RepublicanNew Springfield School Superintendent Daniel Warwick, left, will receive total pay of $198,500 in fiscal 2013; former superintendent Alan Ingram, right, received $257,023 in total compensation in fiscal 2012, according to information provided by the school department.

SPRINGFIELD — On the day the School Committee approved a contract for new Schools Superintendent Daniel Warwick, the Springfield Public Schools communications office issued a document comparing Warwick's contract with that of Alan Ingram, whose four-year tenure as superintendent ended in June.

According to a statement issued Tuesday by Azell Cavaan, chief communications officer for the schools, Warwick's compensation represents a 22 percent reduction in the superintendent's salary. The reduction, according to Cavaan, includes elimination of a $15,000 per-year annuity and abolishing an automobile allowance that totaled $7,800 annually.

Warwick's $198,500 contract for fiscal 2013 includes no monetary fringe benefits. Ingram, who had a base salary of $212,778 in fiscal 2012, was paid $257,023 after fringe benefits were added.

Warwick will receive a cost of living adjustment of 2 percent annually, and can earn up to an additional 3 percent annually based on performance. Ingram's base compensation rose from $192,850 in 2009 to $212,778 in 2012. He received an annual percentage increase equal to the average percentage increase "received in the same fiscal year by superintendents in a cluster of comparable school districts," according to the side-by-side comparison.

The comparison shows compensation given Ingram related to his relocating to Springfield from Oklahoma City when he was hired, including a $30,000 "market differential" signing bonus as a down payment on a mortgage on a Springfield home.

Comparison of Springfield Superintendents Compensation

The parts of a small playground structure have also arrived and soon will be installed in the area this summer.

File photo | The RepublicanThe former St. Patrick's School which was purchased by the city and re-named Belcher School.

CHICOPEE — Children at Belcher School will finally have their own fenced-in playground, nearly two years after the school opened.

The city is in the process of erecting a chain link fence around the back fields of the school on Montgomery Street. The parts of a small playground structure have also arrived and soon will be installed in the area this summer, Principal Samuel A. Karlin said.

“The problem was we needed to define where the property line was,” he said.

The city purchased the former St. Patrick’s School in 2009 from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield to replace the Belcher School building, which is more than 110 years old, on Southwick Street. The new school, which took the Belcher name, was renovated and expanded and children moved in October 2010.

But before the sale was completed, city officials realized neighbors had built stone walls, fences, sheds and, in one case, part of a garage on the school property. The city purchased the school but delayed buying the back half of the property where the grassy area was until the problem with the property lines could be resolved by the diocese.

“We finally got the coordinates down and we went out to bid for the fence,” School Superintendent Richard W. Rege Jr. said. “They will have a fully operational playground in September.”

The fence is needed to separate the school property from abutting property and for the safety of the children, Karlin said. For the past year children played on the blacktop in the back of the school. Children could safely play outside, but it was not ideal, he said.

“We had a temporary play area on the blacktop with Jersey barriers,” Karlin said.

Karlin said the Parent Teacher Organization for the school pushed city officials to solve the issues so they could have a fence erected.

“I really have to thank them. Much of the support came from our PTO,” he said.

The chief development officer in Springfield said he would expect that Mayor Domenic Sarno would identify one casino site as the most advantageous to the city, before putting that proposal before the voters.

Photos by Mark M. Murray / The RepublicanHere are two views of where Ameristar Casino wants to build a facility in East Springfield. In the photo on top, a view of some of the business and neighborhoods across the street from the proposed site on Page Boulevard is seen. In the photo below, Ameristar Casinos representatives Jonathan Little, left, director of government and community relations, and Matthew Block, vice president of government relations, stand in front of the now cleared former Westinghouse Electrical Corp. site.

SPRINGFIELD — Patricia A. Daniel on Tuesday stood outside her home on a quiet, leafy street in East Springfield and talked about how the neighborhood would be affected by a $500 million casino resort planned for just a couple of blocks or so away.

Daniel, a retired sales person and grandmother of five, has lived on Osborne Terrace for 57 years, and fears the effects of the planned casino.

"It's too close to my house for comfort," Daniel said.

In January, Ameristar Casinos of Las Vegas, which operates eight casino properties in other parts of the country, said it completed $16 million purchase of a 41-acre site in Springfield on Page Boulevard and Interstate 291 for the planned casino.

Ameristar is the only casino company that has unveiled plans for a resort in Springfield, but more competition appears on the horizon.

Kevin E. Kennedy, the chief development officer for Springfield, said he knows of four proposed casino locations in the city, including one possible new site in the heart of downtown Springfield.

Kennedy said he would expect that Mayor Domenic J. Sarno would identify one casino site as the most advantageous to the city, before putting that proposal before the voters.

"Multiple locations with multiple host community agreements would be thoroughly confusing for the electorate,” Kennedy said. “As a result, we hope we are able to better define the best location for Springfield through the process we will be announcing very shortly.”

"I am pleased there is this level of interest,” Kennedy said. “It will give us an opportunity to get the best deal possible for the city. I would expect we will announce a process through our casino consultants in the next two to four weeks, so we can lay out for the developers and operators, and for the voters, what to expect in terms of process.”

Under the state's expanded gaming law, people in so-called "host communities" would vote in referendums on proposed casino deals before companies apply for state licenses.

The law authorizes the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to issue up to three licenses for casino resorts in different geographic regions, including one for anywhere in the four counties of Western Massachusetts.

The state's three most populated cities, including Springfield, would have to hold a ward vote on a casino, unless the governing body of a city chooses to put the question to all voters. Leaders in Springfield are expecting a city-wide vote.

In East Springfield, Daniel said she believes the planned resort would lower property values and attract too much traffic to Osborne Terrace, which has picket fences, trimmed hedges and modest homes. The street could become a cut through for motorists from Chicopee, Holyoke and other nearby points, she said.

"Would you want to buy a home with a casino around the corner?" said Daniel, 67, who owns two homes on the street. "Of course not."

Across the street, her neighbor, George A. Bolduc, a 9-1-1 radio dispatcher for the Springfield Police Department, said he supports the Ameristar proposal. Bolduc is a member of the board of the East Springfield Neighborhood Council, but he said he was speaking only for himself, not as a board member.

Bolduc, who has owned his Cape-style home on Osborne for 24 years, said he backs the Ameristar casino proposal for two reasons. "Just for the revenue and the jobs," Bolduc said.

The comments of Daniel and Bolduc could reflect the division among residents in East Springfield, which has about 2,600 households.

"The people's opinions are all over the place," said Kathleen Brown, president of the East Springfield Neighborhood Council who said she did not want to share her personal position on the Ameristar proposal. "The opinions are very diverse on this."

Bolduc said the council has "nine board members and nine different scenarios whether we like it or don't like it."

Ameristar officials gave their first tours of their East Springfield property on Tuesday.

Three leaders at Ameristar -- Matthew A. Block, a vice president; Jonathan G. Little, director of government and community relations, and Roxann M. Kinkade, director of communications -- discussed the company's plans while standing on the roof of an old administration building on the site.

The land, now barren, was once home to a massive Westinghouse Electric Corp. manufacturing operation that employed up to 7,000 people before closing in 1970.

The former owner of the property, an affiliate of the O’Connell Development Group in Holyoke, demolished old brick and cement buildings and leveled the 41 acres before turning the land over to Ameristar.

Little said Ameristar examined the North and South ends of downtown Springfield for a possible casino. He said the company believed it would be too complex and disruptive to piece together enough properties for a site for a casino resort.

"There is no other place in Springfield where you can get 41 acres," Little said as he looked over the acreage that could become a fancy resort. "This is the only one available."

Ameristar is the only casino company that owns land in Massachusetts, Little said.

The Mohegan Sun, for example, is planning a casino for 152 acres it leases off Exit 8 of the Massachusetts Turnpike in Palmer.

Block said the Ameristar casino would have about 4,000 slot machines and about 150 table games. The casino would be connected to 650-room hotel, with two 3,000-space parking garages, one on each side, he added. The company's investment at the site, excluding the purchase of the land, could reach about $600 million.

Block said Ameristar would attempt sell the property if it loses an expected competition for a casino license in Western Massachusetts.

The Ameristar site is adjacent to the giant scrap metal operation of the Joseph Freedman Co. Block said Ameristar plans to screen out the towering scrap metal buildings.

Kinkade said Ameristar wants to show that the 41 acres off Page Boulevard is cleared and ready for construction.

"We believe this is the best site to build a casino in Western Massachusetts," Kinkade said. "Bottom line, it's ready."

In June, Ameristar unveiled $50 million traffic plan designed to keep casino traffic off residential streets near Page Boulevard. Residential neighborhoods and small businesses fill the streets around the casino site.

The plan, designed by VHB Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc. in Springfield, calls for dedicated lanes in the rights-of-way of both sides of I-291.

Despite the traffic-control plan, nearby residents seem at odds.

"I don't think it's a good spot for it," said Casey Reardon, 22, an employee at a supermarket who lives on Osborne Terrace. "I just don't want traffic down my street all the time."

Christopher M. Benevento, 50, a custodian at the Samuel Bowles School in East Springfield, said the casino would create jobs and generate tax revenues for the city.

"It would be good for the local economy," said Benevento.

Ameristar and the Mohegan Sun in Palmer soon could face more competition for a casino in Western Massachusetts.

In a press release on Tuesday to release his company's quarterly earnings, Peter M. Carlino, CEO of Penn National Gaming in Wyomissing, Pa., said the company is pursuing new gaming opportunities in Western Massachusetts, but he did not elaborate.

Hard Rock Cafe, a Florida-based company, dropped a casino plan for Holyoke, but apparently is still interested in opening a casino in Western Massachusetts.

MGM Resorts, which canceled a plan for Brimfield, "remains 100 percent committed to bringing a world-class casino resort to Western Massachusetts," according to a spokeswoman for the company, which provided a $15,000 donation to the city's Fourth of July festivities and fireworks scheduled at Riverfront Park.

Peter A. Picknelly, chairman and chief executive officer of Peter Pan Bus Lines, is proposing a casino on land in the North End of Springfield that would include the bus station property on Main Street.

Two companies associated with Peter Picknelly last month presented an option to buy The Republican's Main Street building and property, as well as the newspaper's eight vacant acres on the Connecticut River, which is adjacent to property that Peter Picknelly owns.

Heriberto Flores, a local developer and executive director of the New England Farm Workers Council, said he was part of an investment group involved in a proposed South End casino in downtown Springfield, but he has withdrawn. He declined comment on other investors involved with the project.

Flores said he favors a casino in Springfield because he said it would create needed jobs, but he said he is keeping an open mind on where it should be located.

“I have talked to all the different players,” Flores said. “I would like to hook up with a project that is in the best interest of the New England Farm Workers Council and other organizations we represent and the entity that presents the best interest of Springfield. I want to be objective.”

The farm workers council owns a number of buildings in downtown Springfield including the Paramount Theater building, purchased in March for $1.725 million, and the large block that houses The Fort and Student Prince and a parking lot, bought in 2010 for $2 million. Flores has redevelopment plans for both sites.

Staff writer Peter Goonan contributed to this report

The Republican | Mark M. MurrayA view of the neighborhood across the street from the proposed Ameristar Casino site on Page Boulevard, the former Westinghouse property.

Wagner also suggested the bottle-bill expansion probably does not belong in bill intended to spur economic growth.

A used bottle is redeemed at a bottle collection site in Beaverton, Ore., Wednesday, May, 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

By MATT MURPHY

BOSTON — The Senate’s unexpected decision to include an expansion of the state’s bottle redemption law in a bill designed to promote job creation and economic development has done little to budge the House from its position that the initiative is a tax.

And the House doesn’t want to raise taxes this year.

“We view it as a tax in the House and the speaker and the House have been clear with their opposition to increases in taxes,” Rep. Joseph Wagner, who was appointed on Tuesday as his branch’s lead negotiator on the economic development bill, told the News Service early Tuesday afternoon.

Joseph Wagner

In light of the House’s position on the bottle bill, Wagner, who helped write the House proposal and co-chairs the Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, went further to suggest that the bottle-bill expansion probably does not belong in bill intended to spur economic growth.

Wagner, along with Reps. Brian Dempsey and Kevin Kuros, were named as House negotiators on the jobs bill Tuesday morning, while the Senate late Tuesday named Sens. Gale Candaras, Stephen Brewer and Richard Ross to begin talks in the final week of formal sessions.

While bottle bill update supporters say a majority of House members support the proposal, the initiative has not surfaced for a House vote this session. A chart created by MassPIRG to show support for the bill indicates Ross is the only conference committee member to go on record with that group supporting the bill. The other five conference committee members did not provide their position on the issue when requested to by MassPIRG. Bottle bill update supporters plan a rally outside the State House on Wednesday.

Wagner was cautious to say that he could not predict how negotiations in conference committee would play out now that the Senate has made clear the bottle bill is a priority, but he said he was “not comfortable” with the idea of presenting the House with an expanded bottle bill proposal as part of a conference report that can’t be amended.

“In the view of the House at least, the idea of a bill relating to jobs and economic develop didn’t contemplate new taxes,” Wagner said.

The Senate last week quietly adopted Sen. Robert Hedlund’s amendment to the jobs bill expanding the state’s redemption law to include water, juices, and sports drinks among the types of containers eligible for a 5-cent redeemable deposit when the bottle or can is recycled at a specific location. The measure was gaveled through without a recorded vote just months after senators went on record during budget debate to refer the issue to study.

Always controversial on Beacon Hill, the bottle bill expansion has been a perennial issue for more than a decade given the proliferation of individual water bottles and other drinks that have become popular since the redemption law was first adopted.

In addition to the debate over whether the law is the most effective way to promote recycling, its fate in recent years has been intertwined with disagreement between proponents and detractors about whether it constitutes a tax.

"I respect the speaker’s opinion, but I think on that particular argument I think he's kind of out on a limb by himself. I don't think that argument holds any water. It's a voluntary transaction, it's a deposit. When I return my containers I get my money back. When I pay my sales tax, I don't get my money back," Hedlund said last week.

Wagner, however, pointed to Gov. Deval Patrick’s budget proposal filed in January that estimated the state could collect as much as $22 million in unredeemed deposits from an expansion of the bottle law. The governor proposed to spend that revenue on recycling and water and sewer rate relief.

“When the governor put it in his budget proposal to the Legislature there was an associated amount of revenue, I think by any reasonable definition it’s a tax,” Wagner said.

Wagner also said he believed the bottle bill had outlived its usefulness, suggesting it “made a great deal more sense then than it does now.” “Many communities have moved to single stream recycling so you don’t have to separate out paper and bottles and cans and there is a value that these things are collected and recycled in bulk. We should be moving more toward that versus imposing a tax on people,” Wagner said.

Tax or not, supporters of the expansion have an ally in Gov. Patrick, though it remains unclear how hard, if at all, the governor will push to have the provision included in the final bill.

“It’s no secret to the speaker or anybody else that I think updating the (bottle) bill is good policy. It’s smart,” Patrick said on Tuesday, when asked if he would urge DeLeo to accept the expansion.

Despite having agreed with supporters in the past that the bottle bill is not a tax, Citizens for Limited Taxation Director Barbara Anderson this week said if calling it a tax will get it defeated, then “let's consider it a tax and urge the House conferees to reject it.”

“This is outrageous,” Anderson wrote in a memo to the Legislature on Monday. “CLT does not support the expanded bottle bill because it is an ‘anti-jobs’ intrusion on small food stores who shouldn’t be expected to handle bottles of all sizes, shapes and materials in their limited space. Curbside recycling is the fair environmental alternative.”

Phil Sego, of the Sierra Club Massachusetts, pointed out Anderson’s contradiction on taxes, and noted that small stores under 4,000 square-feet would be exempt from having to invest in a system to collect bottles for recycling.

Rep. Richard Bastien, a Gardner Republican, said he agreed with Wagner that investing in curbside recycling would have a great impact on recycling rates than tacking a 5-cent deposit on to more types of drinks.

“I think that when you make recycling easier for people as we’ve seen in Somerville and Gardner then more people do it and I think having an expansion of the bottle bill is detrimental and especially in a bill that’s designed to create jobs I think it’s a step backwards,” Bastien said.

Hemsley, who also played Ernest Frye on "Amen," died at the age of 74, according to reports.

CBSSherman Hemsley, left, who played George Jefferson on "The Jeffersons" from 1975 to 1985, has died. Pictured on the right are Isabel Sanford, who played Louise Jefferson, and Mike Evans, who played Lionel Jefferson.

Sherman Hemsley, who played George Jefferson on hit television sitcoms "The Jeffersons" and "All in the Family," has died, according to multiple media reports.

With his death, all three actors who originally played "The Jeffersons" family are gone. Isabel Sanford, who played George Jefferson's wife Louise, died in 2004 at the age of 86. Mike Evans, who was the first actor to play their son, Lionel, died in 2006 at the age of 57. Damon Evans, who is 62 and not related to Mike Evans, played Lionel Jefferson for a brief period.

Hemsley died at home in El Paso, Texas, at the age of 74, according to People Magazine.

Hemsley first appeared as George Jefferson on "All in the Family" on CBS in 1973, playing a neighbor of the show's bigoted lead character, Archie Bunker (portrayed by Carroll O'Connor) on the fictional Hauser Street in Queens, N.Y. "All in The Family" producer Norman Lear spun off "The Jeffersons" in 1975, as George Jefferson and his family "moved on up" to a swank apartment in Manhattan when Jefferson's cleaning store business expanded into a successful chain.

"The Jeffersons" ran for 11 seasons on CBS until 1985.

The following year, Hemsley was cast as church leader Ernest Frye on "Amen," which was broadcast on NBC for five years.

He left neither a wife nor children, according to People.

CBS

Using the arts to get people downtown and have bosses require their firms to spend locally were among ideas discussed.

HOLYOKE — About 120 people attended a state conference here Tuesday on how creativity can help the economy.

Nancy Urbschat had this idea: Urge bosses to require that their companies spend locally for services and products.

“It has to be a policy-driven decision. ... If you are buying equivalent services, then, by God, why don’t you buy local?” said Urbschat, owner of TSM Design of Springfield, a marketing, advertising and branding specialist.

The CreativeNEXT conference at Open Square off Lyman Street was the first of 21 such discussions being held statewide.

The conferences are to help the Creative Economy Council set priorities, said Helena Fruscio, state creative economy industry director.

The council is an adviser to the Legislature and the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development.

Fruscio said she will write reports about the conferences to the council, which will publicly issue its priorities, though it was unclear when.

Business owners, artists, city, state and federal officials and others discussed topics at seven tables and in brief remarks to the gathering when called to the microphone by Fruscio.

She began the event by having the 50 or so table participants introduce themselves, say what they do and describe “what makes your business awesome.”

“I’m so excited to be here,” Fruscio said. “I can’t tell you how long I’ve been waiting for this event to come.”

Charles Flachs, co-director with his wife Rose Flachs of the Massachusetts Academy of Ballet Educational Training Association here, said such a conference can help solve problems like how to persuade people to come downtown.

“I think it opens a discussion into how it can increase the arts in the area,” Flachs said.

The conference comes as Holyoke Mayor Alex B. Morse begins reviewing 30 applications for the new job of city director of the creative economy industry. Fruscio attended a City Council Ordinance Committee meeting in May in support of the new position.

The council agreed to establish the new position more than a month later by a vote of 11-4.

“We’re really excited by the enthusiasm of the room, the enthusiasm in the community,” Morse said, opening the conference.

A long version of this story will appear in an upcoming edition of Business Monday.

He said he is trying to reclaim his anonymity, and doesn’t want to be in the press anymore.

George W. Bush

BOSTON – Former President George W. Bush talked about his memoirs but made no references to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney during a speech at the Global Business Travel Association’s annual convention in Boston.

Bush addressed more than 6,500 airline, hotel and other travel industry professionals on Tuesday.

Bush said he doesn’t think former presidents should undermine current presidents. He also said he was trying to reclaim his anonymity and doesn’t want to be in the press anymore.

The 43rd president referred several times to his 2010 book, “Decision Points,” which came out in paperback last fall. He also talked about his struggles with alcohol, growing up in West Texas and the importance of public service.