The suspect implied that he had a gun in his pocket, police said.

Michael Messier

This updates a story originally filed at 6:49 a.m.

SPRINGFIELD – A police officer, heading home Monday morning after working an extra-detail overnight, spotted a 44-year-old Holyoke man suspected of robbing the East Columbus Avenue Starbucks a short time before.

Sgt. John M. Delaney said the manager of the Starbucks, located at 1089 East Columbus Ave., called 911 at about 5 a.m. to report that the store had just been robbed by a white male with long hair who implied that he had a handgun in his pocket.

Officer John Zollo, just off his extra-detail, spotted a suspect matching the description walking on Dwight Street near Falcon Way, Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said.

Detectives responded and brought the man to the Starbucks where two witnesses and victims positively identified the suspect. Police found a knife that the suspect dropped after the alleged robbery and also a small amount of currency stuffed into his sock.

Michael Messier, 44, of 253 Oak St., Holyoke, was charged with armed robbery.

For more than a century, Clarke was predominantly a boarding school for students from kindergarten age through high school.

File photo by Don Treeger / The RepublicanNORTHAMPTON - William J. Corwin, President of the Clarke School for the Deaf, stands for a portrait in May 2009.

NORTHAMPTON – Clarke School for Hearing and Speech is listing nearly all that remains of its once sprawling campus with a large regional land broker, including a gymnasium with an Olympic-size pool and nine other buildings.

According to a map and an accompanying description on the website of the Boston-based LandVest, an affiliate of Christie’s, Clarke is selling a total of 11.7 acres of property, including 8.02 acres on the west side of Round Hill Road and 3.68 on the east side. The only building outside the boundaries of the map is Bell Hall, which was built in the 1970s as a dormitory for older students and is the newest building on campus. [View LandVest's listing for the Clarke School property.]

The buildings listed for sale are Hubard Hall and Rogers Hall on the east side of Round Hill Road. Gawith, Coolidge and Skinner halls on the opposite side of the street are also being offered, along with Galbraith Gym, Adams House, the building that houses the boilers and the cottage where the supervisor of the physical plant lives. In addition, there is a garage for sale.

Despite the fact that nearly all of the sprawling campus is up for grabs, Clarke President William J. Corwin emphasized that the historic school will maintain a presence on Round Hill Road. Rather, he said, the downsizing reflect profound changes in the treatment of the deaf.

“There’s not the same kind of need for the same kind of physical structure we’ve had historically,” he said.

Clarke School class in days gone by.

For more than a century, Clarke was predominantly a boarding school for students from kindergarten age through high school. It was not uncommon for families to move to Northampton so that their children could attend Clarke. Over the last 10-15 years, however, advancements in technology and in the screening of newborns for hearing impairments have resulted in better services for the deaf at an earlier age. Cochlear implants afford all but the most severely impaired a significant degree of hearing. As a result, Corwin said, most are able to remain in the mainstream, where Clarke reaches out to them.

“The vast majority of kids we serve as an organization are going to be under seven,” he said. “Most of them are mainstreamed at 4-6. There’s no way people would have imagined 20 years ago that you’d have profoundly deaf kids talking on cell phones, playing the violin and learning in the mainstream. There’s nothing they can’t do at this point.”

Although Clarke serves more than 700 students a year out of the Round Hill Road facility, there are only eight boarding students, Corwin said. He expects the school will continue to accept boarders.

“There are no plans to close the residential program,” he said.

According to Corwin, Bell Hall already hosts a number of the school’s main programs. Clarke may decide to keep other buildings included in the Request for Proposals or even rent other space in Northampton, he said.

Over the past few years, the school has already sold a number of other buildings. Most recently, a Connecticut couple purchased a Gilded Age mansion known as the President’s House for more than $1 million.

The Town Council president said he thinks residents should be able to hold more than six tag sales a year.

PALMER – A Town Council subcommittee will review the tag sale and nuisance ordinances put in place five years ago after Council President Eric A. Duda and District 1 Councilor Philip J. Hebert voiced their personal concerns about them at a recent meeting.

Displeasure over the tag sale ordinance prompted a trio of residents to initiate a petition drive to make changes to the government, and one of them, David L. Hale, has become the Town Council’s most vocal critic.

The tag sale ordinance, created to curb perpetual tag sales in town, limits residents to six a year; they also must apply for a permit in the town manager’s office, something that officials said is not enforced. But that’s not the only reason why it should be reviewed, Duda said.

While Duda said there are some positive aspects to the ordinance, he said he has an issue with the permit process, and said it may be better to have residents simply notify the town manager via email of their intentions to hold one.

Duda also said he thinks taxpayers should not be limited to holding only six tag sales a year.

“I think they should be allowed to hold one every Saturday during the summer,” Duda said.

At-large Councilor Paul E. Burns told Duda that there was a reason the tag sale ordinance was created, because tag sales became a nuisance.

Duda said he was looking for input from the other councilors regarding the tag sale ordinance.

“Hopefully we can get something rolling on this. There are definitely some changes that could be made. We want to try to allow people to have more opportunities with their own property in town,” Duda said.

Said Hale, “The nit-picking tag sale law is a symbol of intrusive government . . . It’s overreach by the Town Council. They should go through the list of all the laws that are only there to harass people and get rid of them, and that’s one of them.”

The nuisance property ordinance was another measure created to improve the quality of life in Palmer: its purpose is to preserve the appearance of neighborhoods, and prohibits residents from keeping junk or debris in public view for more than a reasonable amount of time.

Duda said he had a problem with defining a substantial amount of junk as more than 50 cubic feet. He said that equates to about 3 feet, 8 inches.

“That’s a very small amount. To call something somebody has on their yard . . . junk . . . is a hard thing to do. I have things in my yard that people would think are junk and to me they’re not,” Duda said.

Fusco's arraignment came slightly more than a month after three co-defendants -- Fotios and Ty Geas, and Arthur "Artie" Nigro -- were convicted at trial.

File photo / The RepublicanEmilio Fusco takes a smoke break during proceedings in 2001 at U. S. District Court in Springfield.

NEW YORK - Emilio Fusco, a Longmeadow man and convicted loan shark accused in the 2003 murder of mob boss Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno, was arraigned in federal court in Manhattan Monday morning after more than a year in his native Italy where he recently lost a bid to fight extradition.

Dressed in prison garb and pink slippers, Fusco, 42, denied charges of conspiracy, extortion and racketeering, including allegations he lobbied for a contract hit on Bruno and was among four men who killed and buried organized crime associate Gary D. Westerman, also in 2003.

Fusco's arraignment came slightly more than a month after three co-defendants, Fotios and Ty Geas, mob enforcers from West Springfield, and Arthur "Artie" Nigro, a former Genovese crime family boss from New York, were convicted at trial.

Federal investigators have said Fusco bought a one-way plane ticket to Italy last April, when FBI agents and Massachusetts State Police began digging for Westerman's remains in a wooded lot in Agawam. However, Fusco's lawyer, William Aronwald, said outside the courtroom on Monday that Fusco traveled there frequently to help his ailing mother and returned last year to attend his sister's 50th birthday party.

Fusco was arrested by Italian authorities in southern Italy in late July. With dual citizenship in Italy and the U.S., Fusco resisted extradition based on the fact that he may face the death penalty for capital murder allegations. Lethal injection is not on the table, however; he faces a maximum of life in prison if convicted.

"He went there to attend to legitimate issues with blood relatives. It had nothing at all to do with the criminal charges," Aronwald said, adding that rumors swirling around his client's predicted cooperation as a government witness are false.

"He is not cooperating. There have been no discussions or negotiations with the government about cooperation. There's nothing to cooperate about ... Mr. Fusco maintains that he is innocent of the charges."

NEW YORK - Emilio Fusco, a Longmeadow man and convicted loan shark accused in the 2003 murder of mob boss Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno, was arraigned in federal court in Manhattan Monday morning after more than a year in his native Italy where he recently lost a bid to fight extradition.

Dressed in prison garb and pink slippers, Fusco, 42, denied charges of conspiracy, extortion and racketeering, including allegations he lobbied for a contract hit on Bruno and was among four men who shot, bludgeoned and buried organized crime associate Gary D. Westerman, also in 2003.

Fusco's arraignment came slightly more than a month after three co-defendants, Fotios and Ty Geas, mob enforcers from West Springfield, and Arthur "Artie" Nigro, a former Genovese crime family boss from New York, were convicted at trial.

Federal investigators have said Fusco bought a one-way plane ticket to Italy last April, when FBI agents and Massachusetts State Police began digging for Westerman's remains in a wooded lot in Agawam. However, Fusco's lawyer, William Aronwald, said outside the courtroom on Monday that Fusco traveled there frequently to help his ailing mother and traveled there last year to attend his sister's 50th birthday party.

Fusco was arrested by Italian authorities in southern Italy in late July. With dual Italian-American citizenship, Fusco resisted extradition based on the fact that he may face the death penalty for capital murder allegations. Lethal injection is not on the table, however; he faces a maximum of life in prison if convicted.

"He went there to attend to legitimate issues with blood relatives. It had nothing at all to do with the criminal charges," Aronwald said, adding that rumors swirling around his client's predicted cooperation as a government witness are false.

"He is not cooperating. There have been no discussions or negotiations with the government about cooperation. There's nothing to cooperate about ... Mr. Fusco maintains that he is innocent of the charges."

Aronwald said the alleged evidence against Fusco is weak, and consist primarily of verbal testimony from two admitted onetime ranking mobsters from western Massachusetts, Anthony J. Arillotta, of Springfield, and Felix Tranghese, of East Longmeadow, plus Bruno's shooter, Frankie A. Roche, of Westfield. The three helped the government enormously during the March trial with testimony about the Bruno and Westerman murders, plus a shakedown scheme of Springfield strip club owner James Santaniello, for which Fusco also is charged.

The trio all pleaded guilty to their roles in the Bruno murder in the hopes of getting reduced sentences in exchange for their testimony. Arillotta, who told jurors he was formally inducted into the Genovese crime family during a secret ceremony in the Bronx in 2003, also pleaded guilty to murdering Westerman, a drug dealer-turned police informant and his brother-in-law, at the Geases urging.

He testified that in early November of 2003, he and Fusco hid in a garage at a house in Agawam where the brothers had lured Westerman under the guise of a home invasion. Arillotta said he and Fusco bludgeoned Westerman with shovels after Westerman initially survived several gunshots at the Geases' hands, then helped bury the man in a makeshift grave in the woods.

The Geases later marveled at the teamwork involved in the killing, according to Arillotta.

He also testified that Bruno was killed both as part of an organized crime power play sanctioned by Nigro and other New York bosses, and because Fusco had discovered Bruno confirmed Fusco was a "made man" to an FBI agent in a court filing.

Fusco was being sentenced that year for a loan-sharking case; he was picked up on a state police wire threatening to put a debtor "in cement" if he didn't pay up. He served two years in federal prison for that conviction.

Fusco flew to Italy in April of 2010 as the dig for Westerman's remains unfolded in the media, according to federal prosecutors. Italian police said he was arrested in Sorrento, a small village in the southern part of the country, by law enforcement officials dressed as sanitation workers.

Aronwald said his client would have come back to the United States on his own, and dismissed the government's witnesses as "the three stooges" and career criminals looking for parachutes out of life sentences.

"It seems to me the government sort of cut a deal with the sharks to get the guppies," he said.

Aronwald added that he plans to argue Fusco be released on bail at his next court appearance, scheduled in U.S. District Court in New York on June 17.

The Geases and Nigro are currently set to be formally senteced to life prison terms on July 15.

A three-member inspection team is headed to the Plymouth plant after an automatic shutdown last week.

AP file photoA tower at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, in Plymouth, Mass., is seen near the coast of Cape Cod Bay, Wednesday, March 30, 2011. Officials from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are reassuring state leaders that nuclear plants in and around Massachusetts are safe, even as they order inspections of the plants here and across the country. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

BOSTON (AP) — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission sent a three-member inspection team to the Pilgrim nuclear power plant on Monday to try and figure out what led to an automatic shutdown last week that's been blamed on human error.

The shutdown at the Plymouth plant occurred as the reactor was being returned to service May 10 from a scheduled refueling and maintenance outage.

The NRC and Entergy Corp., the owner of Pilgrim, have said there was no danger to the public or environment.

The NRC team will review plant operator performance and decision-making, the effectiveness of Entergy's response to the event, and any actions taken by the company to prevent it from happening again, NRC Region I Administrator Bill Dean said in a statement.

The reactor was being restarted after a planned shutdown for refueling and maintenance when operators identified a higher-than-expected heat-up rate. In an attempt to compensate, the operators tried making adjustments which resulted in the automatic shutdown, called a "scram," according to the NRC.

The reactor was operating at just 4 percent capacity at the time.

"The plant equipment did what it was supposed to do by shutting down," plant spokeswoman Carol Wightman said.

Pilgrim is conducting its own review of the situation, she said. "We'll work closely with the NRC and provide anything they request," she said.

The plant was operating at 14 percent capacity on Saturday when it was shut down again following the detection of a pressure differential, she said. It remained idle on Monday.

The Pilgrim plant has come under scrutiny since the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan damaged the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, because the two facilities have a similar design.

U.S. Rep. Edward Markey, the ranking Democratic member on the House Committee on Natural Resources, is demanding answers. He said in a letter to the chairman of the NRC that the Pilgrim incident "highlights the fragility of our nuclear power plants and the need to ensure that the highest possible safety standards are required and maintained."

Markey wants the NRC to weigh the lessons learned from the Fukushima disaster as it considers relicensing Pilgrim.

"I am concerned that our nuclear regulators are not taking into account all of the new knowledge gained following the Fukushima meltdown to analyze licenses to build or extend the life of nuclear power plants," he said in the letter.

Officials with New Orleans-based Entergy Corp. officials have told state leaders that Pilgrim is safe because it has backup systems that the Japanese plant lacked, including extra diesel generators and better venting systems. They say they have done everything to comply with relicensing requirements.

A report on the NRC's inspection is expected to be issued within 45 days after the review's completion.

The reality TV star and real estate magnate made his announcement at a Manhattan hotel as NBC, which airs his show, rolled out its fall lineup.

(AP Photo/Palm Beach Post, Gary Coronado) Donald Trump attends the South Florida Tea Party's third annual tax day rally Saturday, April 16, 2011 at Sanborn Square in Boca Raton, Fla. Sounding increasingly like a candidate, Donald Trump repeatedly told a raucous tea party crowd Saturday he has the qualities needed in the White House and the conservative ideals necessary to seal the Republican nomination should he decide to run.

NEW YORK (AP) — After months of flirting with politics, Donald Trump said Monday he won't run for president, choosing to stick with hosting "The Celebrity Apprentice" over entering the race for the Republican nomination.

The reality TV star and real estate magnate made his announcement at a Manhattan hotel as NBC, which airs his show, rolled out its fall lineup.

He's spent the past few months weighing whether to seek the presidency, delivering speeches to national GOP groups, traveling to early primary states like New Hampshire and criticizing President Barack Obama from afar.

He is the second Republican in a matter of days to say no to a bid for the GOP nomination. Mike Huckabee announced Saturday that he wouldn't seek the presidency.

At the Hilton hotel in New York, NBC said that "The Celebrity Apprentice" would be coming back in midseason. But Bob Greenblatt, the head of NBC entertainment, said the only mystery would be whether Trump was host.

Trump then took the stage, saying the show has made a lot of money for charity and that he wanted to continue doing so.

"I will not be running for president as much as I'd like to," Trump said.

The proposed 45-megawatt, $150-million plant at 1000 Page Blvd. would burn an average of 1,184 tons of green wood chips per day to create electricity.

John Suchocki / The Republican05.16.2011 | SPRINGFIELD - William W. Gibson, spokesman for Stop Toxic Incineraton in Springfield, shows off all the names of local companies that are against the building of a proposed biomass plant. The event took place at Mom & Rico's in Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD – Opponents of a biomass energy plant in the East Springfield neighborhood unveiled a petition signed by 170 businesses opposing the plant Monday, one day before a City Council vote that could rescind or amend the plant’s permits.

“Responsible development is green,” said William W. Gibson, a building contractor and member of Stop Toxic Incineration Springfield. “It’s not a dirty smokestack.”

He said the planned biomass plant could hurt small business here.

“People won’t want to come to a dirty city,” he said during news conference at Mom & Rico’s, 899 Main Street, one of the businesses that signed the petition. The 45-megawatt, $150-million plant at 1000 Page Blvd., at Cadwell Drive, would burn an average of 1,184 tons of green wood chips per day to create electricity.

The developers, Palmer Renewable Energy and Palmer Paving Corp., say 200 construction jobs and 50 well-paid full-time operation jobs, along with significant new tax revenue to Springfield. David J. Callahan, president of Palmer Renewable Energy, said Monday he’s made the benefits of this project well known repeatedly.

The company has also committed $2 million to address current health issues in Springfield, and more than $1 million in annual payments in lieu of taxes.

The plant will have a 275-foot high stack to disperse the smoke, developers have said. The plant will also have advanced air-cleaning equipment.

Even if Palmer keeps its permit, which was granted in 2008, it will need approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection to begin construction.

But the asthma rate in Springfield is twice the statewide average, and Hampden County has received failing grade for air quality from the American Lung Association, said Sylvia Broude, organizing director for the Toxics Action Center, a Boston-based group that has opposed not just this biomass plant but ones proposed for Russell and Greenfield as well.

The opposition also includes various health organizations including the American Lung Association, the Massachusetts Medical Society, and the Pioneer Valley Asthma Coalition.

Gibson said when he canvassed businesses with petitions, he said he heard the sentiment that Springfield ends up being the “dumping ground” for projects no one else wants.

His group of opponents will rally at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in front of City Hall. The Council special meeting is set for 4:30 p.m. in Council Chambers.

Stop Toxic Incineration in Springfield Business Endorsements

The actual trial is expected to begin on Tuesday.

Michael S. Gordon / The Republican05.16.2011 | WESTFIELD - Former Springfield Police Patrolman Danilo Feliciano in Westfield District Court Monday.

WESTFIELD – Jury selection was underway Monday afternoon Westfield District Court for the assault trial of fired Springfield patrolman Danilo Feliciano stemming from a Springfield incident in September, 2009.

He is accused beating Rolando E. Rivera, then 19, of 73 School St., Springfield Sept. 24, 2009 at Rivera’s apartment.

Judge Philip A. Contant is presiding and proceedings Monday were repeatedly delay because he was the only judge sitting at Westfield court.

Feliciano, who was fired as a result of the incident by Springfield Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet in March 2010, denied the assault change at his January, 2010 court arraignment.

That incident allegedly followed an earlier domestic assault involving Rivera and a woman, identified as Feliciano’s niece.

Fitchet fired Feliciano and patrolman Pedro R. Mendez after an independent hearings officer found they had violated departmental standards.

Mendez was accused of falsifying the police report of the Rivera incident but does not face criminal charges.

The trial is expected to last at least two days with at least five witnesses being called between prosecutor David Gagne and defense attorney Robert C. Butler.

The suspect was ordered held without right to bail and the victim remains in serious condition.

Amherst Police photoHarrison Madzy

AMHERST - A Friday night socket wrench assault in a downtown parking lot that left a 22-year-old Amherst man hospitalized in serious condition with a fractured skull was likely touched off when the suspect became enraged over losing a parking spot, police said.

The suspect, Harrison L. Madzy, 39, of 35 Church St., Apt. D, Easthampton, was charged with three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery with serious bodily injury, police said.

Madzy was ordered held without right to bail following his arraignment and dangerousness hearing in Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown.

The incident began shortly 8:45 p.m. when police responded to a report of a fight in the parking lot adjacent to the parking garage on Boltwood Walk.

The victim, a University of Massachusetts student, had been struck several times with a 24-inch flex-handle socket wrench. He sustained spinal and head trauma and multiple fractures in his leg.

The man’s brother — a 24-year-old New Jersey resident — sustained a hand injury during the altercation, police said.

“Investigating officers believe that the incident surfaced when Madzy became enraged over losing a parking spot,” Lt. Ronald A. Young said.

Madzy is a delivery driver for a local company and was in the parking lot for a food delivery, Young said.

Madzy denied the charges in court and was ordered to return for a pre-trial hearing on June 13.

Police executed their search warrant at 14 Apple Hill Road on Friday morning.

Republican file photo

WILBRAHAM - Police raided an 18-year-old Apple Hill Road man’s home Friday morning and arrested him on drug charges.

Police Chief Allen M. Stratton said that the suspect, James C. Shewchuk, of 14 Apple Hill Road, was charged with distribution of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, distribution of a Class B drug and possession of alcohol.

Stratton said Wilbraham police and members of the Eastern Hampden Narcotics Task Force executed their warrant shortly after 8 a.m.

Stratton could not immediately provide information on the nature of the Class B drug that was discovered in the home.

Stratton said the suspect is a student. He didn’t know, however, what school Shewchuk attends.

Shewchuk denied the charges in Friday in Palmer District Court. Conditions of his release include drug and alchohol screenings. Additional information was not immediately available for comment.

The budget cuts will not reduce police or firefighters, including staffing added through recent academies.

The Republican | Michael S. GordonLeft to right, Springfield Human Resources Director William Maloney; Chief Administrative and Financial Officer Lee C. Erdmann; Mayor Domenic J. Sarno; Budget Director LeeAnn Pasquini; and Timothy J. Plante, finance director for the city and school department at an announcement on Monday in which Sarno presented a proposal for Springfield's fiscal 2012 budget.

SPRINGFIELD – Mayor Domenic J. Sarno on Monday unveiled a proposed $544.9 million budget for the new fiscal year that begins July 1, saying it includes 33.5 layoffs, the elimination of 48.5 vacant positions and a reduction in library hours.

In addition, Sarno and his finance team said during a press conference at City Hall that 330 non-bargaining employees will have their pay frozen next fiscal year and have to take 12 unpaid furlough days. Sarno, who has an annual salary of $95,000, is among those taking a pay freeze and furlough days

The mayor also has asked for a wage freeze and other concessions from union employees, but those negotiations are continuing.

The budget cuts, however, will not affect police and firefighter staffing, Sarno said. Both departments have added personnel to fill vacancies through a recent fire academy and a police academy ending this week.

Sarno said the budget maintains core services including trash collection and after-school and summer programs for youth.

Layoffs are planned June 23, and would be in various city departments, Sarno said. The 33.5 layoffs does not include layoffs in the School Department, that are separately considered by the School Committee.

The city budget includes full funding, estimated at $3.7 million, for education incentive pay for police officers, known as the Quinn Bill. The state no longer provides partial funding.

The budget will now be considered by the City Council, which can approve the budget as presented, or make additional cuts. The council cannot add expenses.

The proposed budget is balanced in part by the planned use of $10.5 million from reserve funds, and assumes that the City Council will approve the extension of the $75 annual trash fee beyond June 30, which generates more than $3 million a year.

Library hours at branch locations in the city are being reduced from 18 hours per week to 14 hours per week, under the budget plan.

The proposed fiscal year 2012 city budget reflects an increase of 2.1 percent over the fiscal 2011 budget that was adopted last July 1.

When taking into account the projected budget for this year, including transfers, the new budget reflects a decrease of 0.7 percent, Sarno said.

The budget cuts were forced by an expected cut in state aid for the fourth consecutive year, along with declining property values and rising costs, Sarno said. He described the budget outlook as the most difficult since he took office in 2008.

"This is not a spending issue, it's a revenue issue," Sarno said.

Gov. Patrick has proposed legislation seeking to temper health care costs in the Commonwealth. See what witnesses had to say in their testimony. Watch video

Gov. Deval Patrick provided testimony on Massachusetts' health insurance law Monday, telling members of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing that rising health insurance premiums have "nothing to do with our 2006 health care reform."

Patrick acknowledged, however, that health care costs remain a major roadblock to the state's economic recovery, saying, "I have yet to meet a small business owner in the state who doesn’t see health care costs as a significant impediment to adding jobs."

Patrick was the major witness at the hearing held to explore legislation he has proposed, which he says would "hasten the move to integrated, high quality care and lower costs to consumers." Read the testimony [PDF] »

Also testifying Monday, as reported by the State House News Service, were:

Attorney General Martha Coakley, who warned that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to controlling health care costs, saying that her office will complete a follow-up review on Massachusetts health reform by June.

Economic Development Secretary Gregory Bialecki, who testified that, "We don’t see any evidence that the kind of changes the governor is advocating for in this bill will have that kind of negative effect on employment."

Sen. Richard Moore, who expressed concern that Patrick's proposal did not address the cost of implementation. "We’ve got a have a financial plan for how to get this implemented, and I don’t see it in the bill,” Moore said.

Finance Secretary Jay Gonzalez, who — addressing Moore's point — said he did not have a cost estimate on the bill, but said its “modest costs to state government” would produce a “huge return on investment.”

Lynn Nicholas, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Hospital Association, who called the proposal a "government-centric, Cabinet-centric approach that is highly regulatory and doesn’t strike the right balance” in giving hospitals a role to play in reform.

Rep. Jason Lewis, and Sen. Jamie Eldridge, who said the proposal didn't go far enough, advocating for a public option. “I’m a proponent of a universal single payer health care system, but should we feel that is further than we are able to go at this time, I do feel including a public insurance option would be appropriate and reasonable,” Lewis said.

Art Lerner, an attorney for the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, who warned of the dangers of market consolidation. “The danger of ACOs [Accountable Care Organizations] is that physicians may be pressured to join larger groups and they use this clout to negotiate for higher prices,” Lerner said.

Embedded below is Gov. Patrick's full testimony:

Healthcare Testimony May 11

Information from The State House News Service was used in this post.

The fund-raiser is set to Tuesday at Chili's restaurants in Springfield and West Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD – For ten police officers here and another ten in West Springfield on Tuesday, the phrase “book ‘em” could very well involve the scribbling of an order for crispy honey chipotle crispers or a Presidente Margarita

Ten of Springfield’s finest will go head-to-head with ten of their counterparts across the Connecticut River Tuesday as they compete to see which police team provides better service.

The officers will trade their pepper spray for pepper mills as they see which of the ten men and women in blue can raise the most in tips at their respective Chili’s restaurants.

Tip money, as well as ten percent of the restaurant proceeds during the good-natured competition, will benefit the Special Olympics of Massachusetts.

The event, a duel-fund-raiser if you will, takes place at both restaurants from 4 to 10 p.m. The West Springfield Chili’s is at 1175 Riverdale St., and the Springfield Chili’s is at 302 Cooley St.

The competition is clearly heating up. “If you want good service come to Springfield,” said Sgt. John M. Delaney, one of the ten who will be working the Chili’s on the eastern side of the river.

“That’s baloney,” said Officer Erica Ireland, organizer of West Springfield team which includes from other Western Massachusetts law enforcement agencies as well.

The event marks West Springfield’s fifth Tip-A-Cop fund-raising event and Springfield’s first, Ireland said. “We know the ropes,” she said. “We serve the food, we sing ‘Happy Birthday,’ we clear the tables, it’s a lot of fun.”

Ireland said, however, that it really doesn't matter which Chili's location raises the most money. "The real winners are the Special Olympics athletes," she said.

Obituaries from The Republican.

Louis Terebesi

Louis "Lou" Terebesi, 90, of Springfield, passed away on Friday. He was born in Hungary in 1920, and after immigrating to this country as a young boy his family settled in Ohio, where Terebesi grew up and worked on the family farm. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II in the Burma-India-China Theater in the 96th Fighter Control Squadron as a staff sergeant. After the war he settled in Springfield. Terebesi worked as division manager for Unifirst Corp. in Indian Orchard, retiring in 1984. After his retirement he volunteered for the Holyoke Soldiers' Home for almost 16 years. Terebesi also worked at The Reminder Publications in East Longmeadow for 27 years, retiring in 2010.

Obituaries from The Republican:

• 
  Davis, Nancy M. (Bohanon)




• 
  Doyle, John T. "Jack"
  



• 
  DuComb, George W.
  




• Jennings, Gloria M. "Glo" (Barry)
  




• 
  Lamoureux, Mark A.
  



• 
  Maloni, Geraldine "Nooksie"




• 
  Maruca, Dorothy E. "Dottie" (Webster)
  



• 
  McKay, Rita (Curran)
  




• Rossmeisl, Martha Anne (DiGeorgio Kibby)
  




• 
  Terebesi, Louis "Lou"
  

Feliciano is accused of beating Rolando Rivera at Rivera's Springfield apartment.

The Republican | Michael S. Gordon05.16.2011 | WESTFIELD – Former Springfield Police patrolman Danilo Feliciano in Westfield District Court on Monday.

Updates a story posted Monday at 1:44 p.m.

WESTFIELD – Jury selection will continue Tuesday morning in Westfield District Court, with an assault trial staring later in the day, for former Springfield Police officer Danilo Feliciano.

Feliciano is accused of beating Rolando E. Rivera, then 19, of 73 School St., Springfield, on Sept. 24, 2009 at Rivera’s apartment. Feliciano, who was fired as a result of the incident by Springfield Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet in March 2010, denied the assault change at his January 2010 court arraignment.

Feliciano was a nine-year veteran of the Springfield Police Department before being fired.

Frequent delays and a short jury pool delayed the start of the trial Monday before Judge Philip A. Contant. The delays, for procedural issues and other court business, were due to Contant being the only judge sitting in Westfield on Monday.

Twenty prospective jurors were scheduled for the jury pool Monday, but only 17 appeared in court. Of those, nine were immediately dismissed for various reasons. Another three were dismissed during the challenge process.

“I am afraid we ran out of jurors and need another panel to select additional jurors,” Contant said as he instructed the five remaining jurors to return to court at 8:45 a.m. Tuesday.

Contant told assistant Hampden District Attorney David Gagne and defense attorney Robert C. Butler that eight jurors will be impaneled for the trial. Two of the eight will be alternates.

The Sept. 24, 2009 incident allegedly followed an earlier domestic assault involving Rivera and a woman, identified as Feliciano’s niece.

Fitchet fired Feliciano and patrolman Pedro R. Mendez after an independent hearings officer found they had violated departmental standards.

Mendez was accused of falsifying the police report of the Rivera incident, but does not face criminal charges.

The trial is expected to last at least two days. At least six witnesses, including Rivera and several police officers, will be called to testify, Gagne and Butler said.

Rivera, according to court filings, claims that Feliciano and “other officers” went to his home and “beat me up very bad” after he had an argument with his girlfriend.

Obituaries from The Republican.

Louis Terebesi

Louis "Lou" Terebesi, 90, of Springfield, passed away on Friday. He was born in Hungary in 1920, and after immigrating to this country as a young boy his family settled in Ohio, where Terebesi grew up and worked on the family farm. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II in the Burma-India-China Theater in the 96th Fighter Control Squadron as a staff sergeant. After the war he settled in Springfield. Terebesi worked as division manager for Unifirst Corp. in Indian Orchard, retiring in 1984. After his retirement he volunteered for the Holyoke Soldiers' Home for almost 16 years. Terebesi also worked at The Reminder Publications in East Longmeadow for 27 years, retiring in 2010.

Obituaries from The Republican:

• 
  Davis, Nancy M. (Bohanon)




• 
  Doyle, John T. "Jack"
  



• 
  DuComb, George W.
  




• Jennings, Gloria M. "Glo" (Barry)
  




• 
  Lamoureux, Mark A.
  



• 
  Maloni, Geraldine "Nooksie"




• 
  Maruca, Dorothy E. "Dottie" (Webster)
  



• 
  McKay, Rita (Curran)
  




• Rossmeisl, Martha Anne (DiGeorgio Kibby)
  




• 
  Terebesi, Louis "Lou"
  

"Scenic vistas will ultimately be permanently protected," said Elizabeth Giannini, Franklin Regional Council of Governments senior transportation planner.

File photo | Associated PressA sign along Route 112 in Goshen marks the entrance of the DAR State Forest.

Federal funds will help protect land along the Route 112 Scenic Byway, which runs from the Vermont border south through several towns in Franklin and Hampshire counties.

The Federal Highway Administration announced an award of $228,000 to the Franklin Regional Council of Governments to go toward natural and scenic land preservation measures along the byway. Possible steps are the purchase of conservation restrictions and agricultural preservation restrictions from landowners.

FRCOG applied for the funding through the discretionary National Scenic Byway Program in February 2010. The money has not been disbursed yet.

“Scenic vistas will ultimately be permanently protected, “ said Elizabeth Giannini, senior transportation planner for the FRCOG. “It kind of exemplifies Franklin County in a lot of ways.”

In the case of agricultural land, the goal is to have it enrolled in the state’s protection program, she said.

FRCOG is teaming with Franklin Land Trust, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.

The project team will work only with willing landowners.

Similar projects have been completed on the Mohawk Trail and the Connecticut River Scenic Farm Byway. Since 1992, Massachusetts has received $11.4 million in grants from the National Scenic Byway Program, according to its records.

The timetable for the Route 112 project has not been finalized, but similar projects have taken six to nine months, Giannini said.

Because funding will come through the state department of transportation, the FRCOG and its partners must sign a contract with them and wait to begin work until they have received a notice to proceed, she said. When the work is complete, the funds will come in the form of a reimbursement.

“I’m thrilled. We submitted quite a few applications and there were only three projects in Mass. that received funding,” she said.

The other two are a study of possible trail linkages between Route 112 in Hampshire County and Jacob’s Ladder Trail, and phase two of a pedestrian and bicycle path connecting downtown Williamstown and North Adams.

The event is a fundraiser toward a memorial and scholarship to honor the Ludlow Marine, who was killed in action in Afghanistan a year ago.

Sgt. Joshua Desforges

LUDLOW – Two School Committee members have joined the fundraising effort underway for a memorial and scholarship to honor Marine Sgt. Joshua D. Desforges, who was killed in action in Afghanistan in May 2010.

School Committee members James P. “Chip” Harrington and Jacob Oliveira said they plan to participate in the Sgt. Joshua D. Desforges Physical Fitness Challenge fundraiser, which will be Thursday at 2 p.m. at Ludlow High School.

They will both compete in a one-hour, pull-up and plyometric competition. Competitors pay $5 to compete. Anyone able to keep up after one hour has met the Sgt. Desforges challenge, Thomas Cote, an attendance officer at Ludlow High School who knew Desforges, said. Cote, a retired state police officer and a Vietnam War Marine veteran, is organizing the fitness challenge.

Oliveira joked that if he is unable to keep up with Harrington in the challenge, he will wear a T-shirt which says, “I support Chip in the next election.”

He said he is getting calls from Marines who served with Desforges who want to buy the T-shirts.

Republican file photoThomas Cote with Joshua Desforges fitness challenge T-shirt

Donations in honor of Desforges may be made to the Ludlow High School/Sgt. Desforges Fund, 500 Chapin Street, Ludlow MA 01056.

For anyone who donates and wishes to attend, the $2 entry fee is waived when a laminated thank you card is shown at the door.

“My goal is to fill the gym on May 19 to show appreciation to Josh and his family,” Cote said. He added, “I am especially hoping that all marines in the community actively serving or on the inactive list donate in support of our fallen brother.”

Cote, who mentored Desforges while he was a Young Marine at Ludlow High School, said that Joshua dreamed of joining the Marines from a very young age.

He said Desforges joined the Young Marines at age 13, graduated from Ludlow High School in 2004 and went into the Marine Corps that September. Desforges’ mother is a special education teacher at Baird Middle School.

Cote said the Board of Selectmen has declared May 19 Sgt. Joshua Desforges Day in the town of Ludlow. He said that all town employees who have purchased a Sgt. Desforges Memorial T-shirt are allowed to wear it on that day.

“So far we have sold 250 memorial T-shirts toward our goal of 1,000,” Cote said.

Cote said members of the Art Department of Ludlow High School are designing a memorial to honor Josh to be placed at the turn-around behind Ludlow High School.

Cote said he wants to make the physical fitness challenge an annual event so a scholarship can be set up in Desforges’ name.

As a teenager in Puerto Rico, Colon-Martinez was convicted in a killing involving a firearm, the prosecutor said.

Eduardo Colon-Martinez

SPRINGFIELD – Convicted of murder in Puerto Rico two decades ago and charged with another killing in Holyoke last year, Eduardo Colon-Martinez already has pile of legal troubles.

But a federal prosecutor added to them Monday, requesting that Colon-Martinez’s probation on a 2004 cocaine distribution charge be revoked as he prepares to stand trial for a fatal stabbing in Holyoke last year.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow told a federal magistrate that Colon-Martinez had moved to Holyoke after serving a four-year prison term in Puerto Rico for conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

While still on parole for the drug conviction, Colon-Martinez was charged last year in the fatal stabbing of an 18-year old man on 188 Oak St., according to Breslow and court records.

In outlining Colon-Martinez’s criminal history, Breslow said he was convicted at 16 in a killing involving a firearm, and sentenced to 18 years for that crime; after his release, Colon-Martinez got involved in cocaine trade, leading his second prison term, the prosecutor said.

Magistrate Judge Kenneth P. Neiman delayed a decision on the case Monday, giving West Springfield defense lawyer Joseph A. Franco a week to decide whether his client will request a show cause hearing. Franco was given the case Monday, and said he needed time to review his client’s status.

Colon-Martinez is being held in state custody, pending trial July 11 on the Holyoke homicide. Holyoke police said Colon-Martinez went to the home of his former girlfriend on May 28, and stabbed her new boyfriend in the chest.

The victim was found bleeding and gasping for air, and Colon-Martinez was later arrested and charged with first degree murder.

Neiman continued the case until May 23.

Under federal guidelines, Colon-Martinez could be sentenced to three extra years for the parole violation, regardless of the outcome of the murder case.

The $19.2 million affordable housing project was funded primarily by federal grants, loans and tax credits.

The Republican | Mark M. MurrayThe Worthington Commons Apartments stand at the corner of Worthington and Federal streets in Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD – The city has gained a national award for a $19.2 million affordable housing project, completed in 2007, that was funded primarily by federal grants, loans and tax credits.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced recently that Springfield and the commonwealth of Massachusetts will share the “Door Knocker Award,” honoring “their outstanding work in producing affordable housing.” The award is tied specifically to the 149-unit, Worthington Commons housing revitalization project at Worthington and Federal streets.

The award was one of 14 issued nationwide, officials said. Of the 14 awards, three were awarded in Massachusetts.

“We are very proud of the fact that out of just 14 awards nationwide, five of them are in New England,” said Barbara Fields, the new regional administrator for HUD. “The project in Springfield is a great example of partnership.”

Worthington Commons involved the renovation of 12 apartment buildings, along with the construction of a community building and on-site office.

The project was boosted by a “great local, state and federal partnership” in working with the developer, Fields said.

The developer was First Resource Companies of Norwell and its president, Gordon A. Pulsifer, who has been involved in a number of housing projects in the region.

There has been some criticism of the extent of federal funding for affordable housing projects, questioning if the investment is justified. In 2006, City Councilor Timothy J. Rooke questioned the wisdom of adding units dependent on government funding, saying he would have favored demolition, citing the area as too dense and troubled for additional housing.

Fields said there is a great return on the dollars invested, including improvements to blighted conditions, returning properties to the tax rolls, and providing stable housing for lower income residents. The Springfield project also triggered additional private investments in the neighborhood, she said.

Primarily, it provides affordable housing and a decent place to live for working families, Fields said.

Geraldine McCafferty, the city’s director of housing, joined in praising the project.

“The city is pleased to be recognized for an important project which is transforming the Summit Hill neighborhood,” McCafferty said. “We are fortunate to be collaborating with Gordon Pulsifer, a highly skilled developer with the capacity to create healthy urban neighborhoods.”

Each year, HUD allocates approximately $2 billion to more than 600 state and local participating jurisdictions to increase the stock of affordable housing and provide tenant-based rental assistance for low- and very low- income households under its HOME program, according to a HUD summary.

All 149 units of the Worthington Commons project are affordable to families below 60 percent of area median income, while 15 units are reserved for those below 30 percent of the area median income, according to HUD.

Under the low-income guidelines, the income cap ranges from $45,100 for a single-person household to $64,400 for a four-member family, and higher for each additional person, according to HUD.

The development of Worthington Commons used green rehabilitation techniques including new roofs and windows, and improved the grounds, and has strong property management oversight, according to the HUD summary.