BrocktonPost City Hall & Public Affairs

Catholic Charities Celebrates New Brockton Site

2012-02-23T07:27:00.000-08:00

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--Catholic CharitiesSouth willcelebrates its relocation with a specialribbon cutting ceremony Thursday, March 1,from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. which will be highlighted by a visit from Most Reverend John A. Dooher, South Region Bishop of Boston's Archdiocese.
The event is open to the public and attendees are asked to help restock Catholic Charities' food pantry shelves by bringing a bag of non-perishable groceries or a grocery store gift card to donate to the pantry.
Participants are asked to RSVP by contacting Nicki Meade Draves at 508-587-0815 x 264 or email norma_draves@ccab.org.
The ceremony will be held at Catholic Charities' new location at 169 Court St., Brockton.
Also inattendance will be members of the Metro South Chamber of Commerce, Deborah Kincade Rambo, President of Catholic Charities, Brockton Mayor Linda M. Balzotti, and theCatholic Charities South Advisory Board and Staff.
Catholic CharitiesSouth, one of the largest social service providers in the state, offers nearly 100 programs and services to the poor and the working poorthroughout Eastern Massachusetts.
Thegoal at Catholic Charities is to help people become self-sufficient, providedwith the very basics of life – food, fuel and shelter.

Cronin Highlights Mediation, Activism Skills In Run For 11th Plymouth

2012-02-14T18:54:00.000-08:00

Lisa E. Crowley

BrocktonPost

BROCKTON--Days after State Rep. GeraldineCreedon announced she would not seek reelection to the 11^th Plymouthseat, an Easton resident and Brockton native is ready to launch a campaign forthe district.

Claire Cronin, 52, in an email announcing hercandidacy, said she believes her skills as a lawyer and active member of the Eastonand Brockton communities would bring effective leadership in the politicalarena.

“My mediation experience requires an abilityto bring parties with different agendas together and I hope to apply this skillto make government the best it can be,” Cronin said. (Pictured, top)

Creedon, (Pictured, middle) who has had medical problems over thelast few years, announced over the weekend she would not seek reelection to theseat she has filled since 1995.

The 11^th Plymouth district

represents Precincts 1 through 5 in Easton and Wards 1, 3D, 7C and 7D in Brockton.

Croninis believed to be the first candidate to announce she will seek election toCreedon’s seat.

Brockton Councilor-at-large Jass Stewart (Pictured, below) saidCronin’s announcement will not effect his decision to run for Creedon’s seat-- arun that has been speculated about in political circles for at least a year.

Stewart said in a phone call tonight he wouldnot decide until after two meet-and-greets with residents Feb. 25 and 26 if hewill make a run for Creedon’s seat.

“Whether(Creedon) was in the race or not was irrelevant to me,” Stewart said.
Stewart said Cronin seeking the position has not prompted him to run or not run for the 11th Plymouth and repeated his Super Bowl Sunday statement that he will decide to run aftertaking into account the feedback he has received from constituents while out in the city and during the public meet-and-greets at the end of the month.

Cronin and any other candidate for Creedon’sseat must collect the necessary 150 signatures to be placed on the ballot forthe Sept. 6 primary and, if successful in the party primary, the Nov. 6 election.
Nomination papers are due at thecity elections office May 1.

For those who may not know Cronin, here is abrief bio she provided with her email:

Cronin was born and raised in Brockton, thedaughter of James and Phyllis (Lucey) McLaughlin. She is the niece of formerBrockton Mayor C. Gerald Lucey.

A 1978graduate of Brockton High School, she earned a bachelor’s degree in political sciencefrom Stonehill College in 1982 and a law degree from Suffolk University LawSchool in 1985. She is a former member of the Brockton Democratic CityCommittee.

Cronin lives in Easton with her husband, RayCronin, and their two daughters. She hasher own law practice in Brockton. She isalso a mediator at Commonwealth Mediation and Conciliation, Inc., in Brockton,where she mediates civil disputes including business, contractual, and personalinjury matters.

Cronin serves on the board of OldColony YMCA and has also been chair of the Frothingham Family YMCA’s AnnualStrong Kids Campaign.

She also serves on the Foundationfor Excellence in Education in Easton (FEEE), a non-profit organization thatsupports the students of the Easton Public Schools by raising funds forstate-of-the art technology and innovative grants.

Cronin is a member of the EastonDemocratic Town Committee.

Wed. Last Day To Register For Presidential Primary

2012-02-14T11:34:00.000-08:00

Below is a list of deadlines for voter registration from Secretary of State William Galvin's Office.

If you are not already registered to vote, these are the deadlines for upcoming federal and state elections.

As noted, Wednesday, TOMORROW, Feb. 15 is the last day to register for the Presidential Primary which will be held "Super Tuesday," March 6, when Republican hopefuls will get a sense of who Bay Stater's want to put up against President Barack Obama.

Head to City Hall and register vote, otherwise...here are other ways to register, just remember...

* When registering by mail, your voter registration form must be postmarkedby the deadline for you to be eligible.

To register to vote in person, you mustappear and register at a registration location by 8 p.m. on the last day toregister--Wednesday, Feb. 15 for the Presidential Primary.

Registration sessions will be held in cities and towns on the lastday to register from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m., except in towns having lessthan 1500 registered voters, registration sessions will be held from 2to 4 p.m. and from 7 to 8 p.m.
Mail-in registration forms are widely available.
The Secretary of State has a Voter Registration Formrequest feature to obtain a mail-in registration form or call 617-727-2828 or1-800-462-VOTE and a form will be sent to you or you can visit the Secretary's website to download a NationalVoter Registration form.
Mail the completed form to your local city or town hall. You should receivea confirmation notice in 2 to 3 weeks. If you do not receive a confirmationnotice, or wish to confirm your voter registration status, please contact your local City or TownClerk to verify your voting status.
Who may register?Only a person who is:

a US citizen, and
a resident of Massachusetts, and
18 years old on or before election day (must still meet registration deadlines set forth below)
For more information on how to register to vote, click here to visit Secretary of the Commonwealth's website....

2012 Voter Registration Deadlines

Election Type	Election Date	Voter Registration Deadline*
Presidential Primary	Tuesday, March 6, 2012	Wednesday, February 15, 2012
State Primary	Thursday, September 6, 2012	Friday, August 17, 2012
State Election	Tuesday, November 6, 2012	Wednesday, October, 17, 2012

Learnard's History Passion Crosses Country, Generations

2012-02-13T10:12:00.000-08:00

By Lisa E. Crowley

BrocktonPost

BROCKTON—When AmeriCorps volunteers come to Brockton to workin the community, one of their first stops before hitting the streets is tovisit with John W. Learnard, a pillar of knowledge about Brockton’s history, and now the namesake of Brockton’s Shoe Museum.

“John’s passion for Brockton’s history is unparalleled,”said Matt Powers, a 20-something Pembroke native who joined AmeriCorps and metLearnard to learn a little bit about Brockton’s history.
Powers said the visit has stayedwith him and dozens of AmeriCorps workers who come from all over the country toserve in Brockton.

“I’m here because of his passion for Brockton’s history,”Powers said, “and he’s spreading that passion for Brockton’s history around thecountry.”

Learnard, a longtime member of the historical society andpast president, was honored Sunday with the dedication of the Brockton ShoeMuseum in his honor.
More than 200 people attended a celebration of not onlyLearnard’s stewardship, but also the release of a new book, “BrocktonRevisited,” by recently outgoing historical society president James E. Bensonthrough Arcadia Publishing’s “Images of America” series.
The foreword iswritten by Mayor Linda Balzotti.

Benson said the book is a trip through Brockton’s past duringthe 1950s and 1960s, when Rocky Marciano lived and rose to fame in thecity’s Ward 2, and the book is filled with pictures of city life byphotographer Stanley Bauman, whose collection has been at Stonehill Collegesince Bauman died in 2007.

Over the last few years, Stonehill College has become arepository for Brockton-centric photographs, collections, and librariesbeginning with the Bauman collection in 2007, and in June 2011 the college cameto an agreement with Brockton’s Historical Society to transfer the society’srare and unique shoe collection to Stonehill’s archive department forpreservation and exhibition.

Stonehill has promised to continually display the historicalsociety’s shoes and prevent further deterioration of the collection.

The society’s collection had been exhibited and stored atthe society’s headquarters at 216 Pearl St. where the Shoe Museum, Fire Museum, Marciano Museum and Edison Museumare located.
However, the museum building is not climate controlled and some ofthe shoes were being ruined by a major mold infestation, humidity and chewed by mice who found theleather tasty.

The buildings are small and many of the society’s artifacts were tucked away in the basement and attic, out-of view and rarely seen by thepublic.

A problem noted by Learnard Sunday when he thanked LynnBrandenburg, daughter of Bill Rossi, who after years of balking, finally agreedto donate his extensive shoe collection to the historical society which has inturn donated to Stonehill for exhibit and research.
The Rossi collection and those donated by William Doyle were the core artifacts which launched the Shoe Museum in the 1970s and 1980s.

“I asked him over and over again: Are you ever going to giveus your collection? Absolutely not, he said, not if you’re just going to put itin that basement or an attic,” Learnard recalled.

Since the opening of a relationship with Stonehill, mostnotably through Archives and Historical Collections Director Nicole TourangeauCasper, last fall negotiations began with Stonehill to receive as a loan the historical society's collections with the underlying goal to preserve them and open more of them to the public.
Many items have been moved to the Stonehill campus, but a standing exhibit will always be on view at the Pearl Street headquarters of Brockton's Historical Society.

Learnard said with the addition of the new collections,Stonehill’s archive department is a premier facility to learn about the oncethriving shoe industry.

“Now, perhaps we have the library of shoemaking in thecountry, maybe even the world,” Leanard said, noting the Stonehill collectionmaybe second to none, except possibly an archive in England.
For her part, Stonehill's Tourangeau Casper, said the college is looking forward to preserving Brockton's rich history and developing rotating exhibits for public view.
"Our goal is to help the historical society preserve and exhibits its collections," Tourangeau Casper said. "We're caretakers," she said.

Balzotti Appoints Gomes As Interim PD Chief

2012-02-08T04:08:00.000-08:00

BrocktonPost

BROCKTON--On Friday, Feb. 10, Brockton Police Capt. Emanuel Gomes will be sworn-in as interim police chief in preparation for the retirement of current Chief William Conlon.

“The position of police chief is one of the most, if not the most important job in the city,” Mayor Linda M. Balzotti said in a prepared statement.

“Captain Gomes has the experience and knowledge to continue the successful work being done by the Brockton Police Department,” she added.

Gomes is expected to take over for Conlon, who will be retiring after more than 6 years as chief, and 26 in the department.

The ceremony will be held at City Hall, Friday, Feb. 10 at 11 a.m. in City Council Chambers.

The event is free and open to the public.

“A lot of very good things are going on in the Brockton Police Department, and we want to continue being a full service police department,” Gomes said in the prepared statement.

“I intend to continue the good things Chief Conlon has put in place and maintain those standards,” he said.

A 25-year veteran of the Brockton Police Department, Gomes began his career as a patrolman in April of 1986.

He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in April 1997.

Gomes became a Lieutenant in July 2000, and promoted to Captain in April 2002.

Gomes has overseen operations of the department on several occasions in the chief’s absence.

Gomes was born in Portugal and moved to Brockton’s Campello section at the age of 8.

He attended the Huntington School and South Junior High. He is a 1981 graduate of Brockton High School.

Following his graduation from Brockton High School, Gomes earned an associate’s degree in Criminal Justice from Massasoit Community College.

He also holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Roger Williams University.

Warren Visits Brockton's Cindy's Kitchen

2012-02-07T10:03:00.000-08:00

By Lisa E. CrowleyBrocktonPostBROCKTON--Democratic Party senate hopeful Elizabeth Warren spent more than an hour Monday afternoon visiting with owners and employees of Cindy's Kitchen in Brockton during campaign stops that included Brockton, Abington and New Bedford. "It was great," said Cindy's Kitchen co-owner Eddie Byers, who with his wife Cindy escorted Warren around the company's plant. Warren aide, Alethea Harney said Cindy's Kitchen was singled out because it is one of the manufacturing success stories in the state. "We want to make sure the conditions exist for these type of companies to succeed," Harney said. Warren, a Harvard professor and consumer advocate, is running against Republican Senator Scott Brown for the seat in Congress. While Warren has competition in the Democratic Party, most believe she will be the party's eventual nominee.

For his part, Byers said he was happy, but unsure how Warren and her campaign heard about Cindy's Kitchen, a producer of all natural salad dressings, marinades, dips and sauces that ship to restaurants and wholesalers across the country, including Whole Foods, Costco, and Roche Bros. Byers, a Brockton native, who began operating in 1996 and in 2008 expanded the facility to its headquarters at Minuteman Way, (correction: Industrial Way) said he is not involved in Warren's campaign and only knows he was contacted by her staff members for a visit yesterday. Harney said during Warren's travels across the state they heard great things about Cindy's Kitchen and wanted to highlight a successful manufacturer as a part of a program to continue positive conditions for small business and manufacturing growth. Harney noted Cindy's Kitchen has grown from less than 50 employees, to about 100 today, and the company hopes to double by the end of 2012. "They're a success story," Harney said. Earlier in the day, Warren visited Cafe Arpeggio and the downtown business district in New Bedford. Warren then headed to Brockton and Cindy's Kitchen, followed by a stop at Martin's Bakery in Abington. (Photo caption: Top photo: Co-owner Eddie Byers shows Warren one of the company's specialty dressings. Second photo: Warren, center, talks with Cindy Byers, left and Eddie Byers, right. Photos courtesy Cindy's Kitchen/by Justin Kane.)

Stewart State Rep Run Still Undecided

2012-02-05T14:58:00.000-08:00

By Lisa E. Crowley

BrocktonPost

BROCKTON—Councilor-at-large Jass Stewart’s decision to run against State Rep. Geraldine Creedon is still up in the air—at least until after two meet-and-greets with residents at the end of this month.

“I’ll know in March,” Stewart said during a telephoneinterview Sunday afternoon.

Stewart, who has said he is considering a run against Creedon, issued an email Saturday whose subject was titled “Serving as yourState Representative,” which some took as a signal Stewart was all-in for a runat the state position.

Creedon has represented Brockton and Easton as the 11^thPlymouth District Rep since 1995.

Stewart said in fact he received several emailscongratulating him on his decision to run and wishing him good luck.

However, Stewart said his mind is not made up, and the twomeet-and-greets scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 25 and Sunday, Feb. 26, will bethe final information gathering sessions.

“I want to hear what the public has to say about where I cando the best for Brockton,” Stewart said.

The meet-and-greets are open to the public.

The first will be held Saturday, Feb. 25 from 11 a.m. to 1p.m. at the home of John and Holly Thomas, 221 Depot St., South Easton.

The second will be held Sunday, Feb. 26 from 1 to 3 p.m atthe home of Gary Lyon and Joe Rucker, 117 Fairview Ave., Brockton.

Patrick Highlights Massasoit In Community College $ Appeal

2012-02-02T08:31:00.000-08:00

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BrocktonPost 
BROCKTON--FROM GOV. DEVAL PATRICK: 
 
We have 240,000 people looking for work and
nearly 120,000 open jobs today in Massachusetts.   
 How can we have so much opportunity available
and so many people still looking for a chance? 

 
Business leaders tell me over and over again
that it is because the people looking for jobs don’t have the skills
required.    
Many of these openings are for
“middle skills” jobs that require more than a high school diploma but not
necessarily a four-year degree: jobs in medical device manufacturing or lab
technicians or solar installers, for example. 
And a lot of those forced by the economic downturn to make a change in
their careers, people in their thirties or forties or fifties, don’t have the proper
training for those jobs.    
We have a
“skills gap.”  
We
can do something about that.  We can help
people get back to work.  And our
community colleges should be at the center of it.
 
For
the work they do, community colleges rarely receive proper recognition, let
alone adequate funding.    
I have visited many
of our community colleges and seen their good work.  They are an important resource, and we must
ask more of them.
 
At Massasoit Community College right now,
students in the one-year Medical Assistant program learn hands on skills
through an 8-week clinical internship at a local facility.  
This is good - - but
we need more of it and we need it everywhere. 

 
We need that kind of sharper mission across
the Commonwealth, so that community colleges become a fully integrated part of
the state’s workforce development plan.    
Our
colleges must be aligned with employers, voc-tech schools and the Workforce
Investment Boards in the regions where they operate; aligned with each other in
core course offerings; and aligned with the Commonwealth’s job growth
strategy.    
We can’t do that if 15
different campuses have 15 different strategies.  We need to do this together.  We need a unified community college system
in Massachusetts.    
Our competitors –
states like Virginia, North Carolina and Washington – have instituted unified
systems and are using them to their competitive advantage.  
 
I have proposed a $10 million increase in
state funding for community colleges to help them meet this mission – and I
have challenged the business community to come up with a match to help make
this a reality.    
It is not unreasonable
for community colleges to ask for more resources to support their mission; and
it is not unreasonable to ask for them to be more accountable to our workforce
development strategy in exchange. 
 
Given how important community colleges are to
their local cities and towns, some are concerned that this proposal would mean
Beacon Hill is telling their campus what to do. 
I don’t want that any more than you do.  
The goal of this proposal is to ensure that
community colleges have the tools they need to be as responsive as possible to
the job openings in their region.  Creating a more unified system is not about
losing local control; it is about connecting every city and town to the full
range of economic possibilities in the Commonwealth.  It’s about making sure a large employer in
Boston knows that there is a skilled workforce in Brockton and reason to expand
there.    
It’s about making sure the small
business in Canton has a convenient, locally focused, fully supported resource
to help its workers build careers in Norfolk County and grow the economy
there.  
 
The problem we are trying to fix is the
skills gap; the problem is not the community colleges.  The community colleges are the solution.  
The
challenge facing people looking for work, people in doubt about the future of
their American Dream and their place in the workforce belongs to all of us. We
can meet that challenge if we work together. 
  
For the good of the Commonwealth and the sake of our future, we must.
 
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Illegal Video Poker Games Found, Say Brockton PD

2012-01-26T10:28:00.000-08:00

By Lisa E. Crowley

BrocktonPost

BROCKTON—Two Brockton businesses—Patriot Convenience and Joe Angelo’s Café--will face possible license and criminal penalties after Brockton Police said they found illegal gambling video machines at both locations during License Commission inspections.

“We are pursuing these violations both at the state and local level,” said Capt. Manuel Gomes.

Gomes said Code Enforcement Officer Scott Uhlman spotted the video gaming machines in rear rooms of each establishment, and police believe they may have been used for illegal gambling.

“We’re told all the time they're for entertainment purposes,” Gomes said.

Gomes said he couldn’t say if much, or any, money was gambled via the video games.

Gomes said a full report of the video games will be forwarded to the License Commission, who are expected to hold a disciplinary hearing on each business, if not next month, sometime in the future.

“Penalties could run the gamut of fines, suspension, and even the revocation of the license,” Gomes said.

Gomes said the state Attorney General’s Office would also be contacted for potential criminal charges, however, Gomes said, under most circumstances the penalties that can be inflicted at the local level are often more harsh.

“They can pull the license,” Gomes said.

Joe Angelo, owner of Joe Angelo’s Café on Main and Crescent Streets, said his four video poker games have all the required state licenses and are legal.

He said there was no gambling going on, and the reason the videos were in a back room, closet-like space was because he had to move them from the front dining room when he hired a new chef and needed to create a new waitress station.

However, because he is already facing sanctions from the License Commission because of a stabbing outside the bar and other issues, Angelo said he is going to remove the video machines from the bar-restaurant.

“They hold all of the cards,” Angelo said.

A police log entry by Officer Uhlman states at 12:52 p.m. on Jan. 19 he found four video gambling games in a separate room with “people drinking, smoking, and gambling.”

Patriot Convenience, located at 963 Main St., whose owners could not immediately be reached, had two video poker machines and another video game towed away and seized by police as evidence last week.
The machines were seized Jan. 19.

Joe Angelo’s’ machines were not seized.

Property Tax Bill Fight Needs Sales, Housing Data

2012-01-19T04:11:00.000-08:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Homeowner Bill Russell and more than 30 other residents met Wednesday night to hear the numerous steps and research they must complete to possibly reduce their property tax bills—in some cases which have jumped $15,000 to $20,000 this quarter.
One resident, Bill Russell, who lives at 39 Grinnell Road, adjacent to Deanna Road where many residents have issues, showed his latest tax bill that went from $159,000 to $180,900—a more than $21,000 difference and wondered even if he went through the process to gain an abatement, or a decrease in the tax assessment, if the city assessors would lower his bill.
“You know they’re not going to do anything,” Russell told the crowd that gathered Wednesday at the Arnone Elementary School. Ward 2 City Councilor Thomas Monahan organized the meeting because he has received dozens of calls, as has his fellow councilors about the jump in residents’ tax bills during this quarter that are for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
Nearly 50 residents and officials attended. Residents must file an abatement petition by Feb. 1 in order to have the city officially review the assessed value.
During the meeting Bill Bearce, owner of Bearce Insurance, said residents will have to do a lot of research to show the city assessor’s office that the assessed property value, a calculation which all tax bills are based, is too high for the current home sales market.
“It’s a paper-laden process and it’s also a research-laden process,” Bearce said.
A description City Assessor Paul Sullivan would agree with.
Sullivan, in a telephone interview late last week, said residents must follow a deadline-oriented process that begins at City Hall.
“Read the website, read the website, read the website,” Sullivan said.
The assessor’s website outlines all of the steps residents must take in order to request their assessment be lowered.
It also lists criteria for those who can ask for tax deferments—or postpone of paying tax bills—such as the elderly.
Sullivan stressed that the website offers residents a lot of information on the how the city calculates a property’s assessment and the process of what residents must do if they disagree with the city’s number. “You have to prove us wrong,” Sullivan said.
“You can’t just come in and say, “I don’t want to pay this. I don’t want to pay any tax.' You have to prove us wrong. Prove us wrong,” he said.
Also topping the list of resident must dos is filing an abatement request by Feb. 1.
During last night’s meeting, Bearce agreed residents need to be armed with information such as sales data or square foot percentages and not anger and indignation.
“It keeps going back to ‘what would someone buy your house for,’” Bearce said.
Bearce said City Councilor Thomas Monahan has posted a link on his website for home sales “comps,” or comparables.
Residents can type in their address and search their neighbors’ property values to see if one house is larger or smaller than the other and has the same assessed value.
Bill Russell and several Deanna Road residents, a street they said has no more than 12 houses on it and is a Campanelli development where the houses are all very similar, have seen their assessed values jump $10,000 to $20,000.
Russell, who has lived his house since 1970 when the neighborhood was constructed, said he believes the reason is because two homes in the neighborhood were bought as foreclosures, completely gutted and renovated with new kitchens, bathrooms, decks and other accessories.
Bearce and Bernie Hassan from Briarwood Real Estate looked at Russell’s bill and some others in the neighborhood like Jerry Epstein, a retired truck driver living on a fixed income whose tax bill for his house on Deanna Road increased by $16,000 and said the group had some ammunition to take to the assessors. Officials suggested meeting with the assessors office informally, but if that initial meeting was unsatisfactory, then residents must file an abatement petition by Feb. 1.
Forms are available at the assessor’s office or on the board’s website.
The assessors office does not actually hold a hearing unless the resident asks for one. The assessor’s office must issue a written decision.
If the decision is unsatisfactory to the resident, the next step is an appeal to the state Appellate Tax Board. Registrar of Deeds John Buckley said his website also has information about foreclosures and home sales from not only Brockton, but also the more than 20 other cities and towns in Plymouth County.
He urged residents to view the website, contact his office or city councilors if they need help to do the research because it is the information about area sales and comparable home values that residents must be armed with to even begin the abatement process.
“The more evidence you have--the better,” Buckley said. “Data speaks for itself,” he added.

Grease Ignites Johnson Court Fire

2012-01-09T08:58:00.000-08:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—A blaze at a Johnson Court three-story apartment house has left more than a dozen people without a home after firefighters knocked out a fire that began on the third floor.
“The third floor and the roof were heavily involved,” said Fire Chief Richard Francis Monday morning.
He said he believed 14 people living in the building are now looking for a place to stay.
Francis said the Friday night fire, which began at about 9:17 p.m, is believed to have started when a man on the third floor made French fires in a pan full of grease.
Francis said the man told fire officials he made the French fries and believed he had turned off the pan on the stove when he went to eat them.
However, his snack was interrupted when the kitchen filled with smoke and a roaring fire began to spread through the top floor of the house at 10 Johnson Court.
Francis said one occupant was transported to an area hospital and suffered smoke inhalation. He said she is believed to be fine.
The second and first floors were evacuated and otherwise no one was hurt.
“Anytime you can contain the fire to the house or floor where the fire is, you’ve done a good job,” Francis said.
He said battling the fire was made difficult because of the narrow street and the electrical wires that criss-cross the road from house-to-house on the tightly packed street that has a handful of other high occupancy three-story apartment houses.
“We had a lot to contend with,” Francis said.
The American Red Cross is helping individuals and families who may have been displaced by the blaze.
He said part of the roof caved into the third floor and the first and second floors have suffered extensive water damage.
Francis said the building has been deemed uninhabitable at this time, and residents who receive a letter from the Fire Department indicating the building has been ruled as unlivable, may be able to seek help through the Brockton Housing Authority.
For those in the future who might be cooking French fries in a pan on a stove full of hot grease, if there is a fire the last thing to do is throw water on it.
"If you have a grease fire do NOT throw water on it," Francis said. "When you have hot grease and you throw water on it, all it does is splatter and everything around it--curtains, napkins, anything--can catch fire," he said.
The best way to put out a grease fire is to cover it and smother the flames. If the fire is still contained in a pan, Francis said use a pot cover to smother it. If it has spread, use an extinguisher rated for grease fires.
He said baking soda or flour might help smother it, but the best thing to do before trying to fight the fire is call the Fire Department.
"Call us first," Francis said.

Stacks Of Plans For 2012 At Brockton Libraries

2012-01-05T08:38:00.000-08:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Brockton Public Library advocates are not only looking forward to the new year, they are waiting with anticipation for 2012’s first Friday the 13th when the main branch library will open its doors on a Friday for the first time in years.
“We are really excited about it,” said Elizabeth Marcus Wolfe, Brockton Public Library’s new director. “There are lot of people to thank for making this happen,” she said.
Starting on Friday, Jan. 13 the main branch library will open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Also, the hours at the West Branch and East Branch libraries will be expanded.
The West will open at 2 p.m. instead of 3 p.m. beginning Jan. 11 and the East will open at 2 instead of 3 p.m. on Thursdays, starting Jan. 12.
The extra hour for each of the branches coincides with the 2 p.m. closing of the high school and middle schools near the two libraries.
Wolfe said students for years have walked past the libraries at 2 p.m. instead of walking in to complete homework or divert from other activities afterschool that might not be of a positive nature.
“We want to capture that student population—junior high and high school students,” Wolfe said.
Wolfe, who took over three months ago, said it was the library’s staff who are making the new hours possible by their willingness to take on different roles and responsibilities, including administrative staff manning the public desk on Fridays at the main branch.
She said the library’s employee schedule is very complex, and very tight, and a lot of work went into extending hours, and appreciates everyone’s hard work to bring a much-desired result.
Wolfe said the staff is “stretching its resources” and although the main branch at 304 Main St., will be open 8 additional hours, some services such as extensive research or special events or children’s programs will not be available, but overall opening the main branch on Fridays and adding an extra hour each at the branches is a step in the right direction.
“All felt it was the right thing to do,” Wolfe said.
On the job for about three months, Wolfe said she has had the chance to meet with the library’s directors, patrons and members of Friends of Brockton Public Library, get a preliminary view for the future.
She said extending library hours is not only a way to better serve the public, but also chips away at the Brockton system’s teetering position as a state certified facility.
Due to budget cuts, numerous areas have been neglected Wolfe said, jeopardizing Brockton’s certification status, a situation that results in the city getting less money from state aid.
She said through a discount program the city has retained its certification and some state money, but worries that program will not last much longer.
“It’s a compromise already. Some people might say we don’t have the money for other services like the schools, police or fire, so just close the library, or don’t buy books, but the state doesn’t give money to libraries that are just warehouses for old books,” Wolfe said.
“We’re losing money because of it,” Wolfe said. “We need to have that full certification,” she said.
Also on the docket for the upcoming year, Wolfe said, is the beginning of a capital improvement fund to renovate the West Branch, a building she said is fraught with electrical, plumbing, heating, and other structural deficiencies.
“The whole building needs to be renovated,” Wolfe said.
Another initiative for 2012 that is in its early stages is the development of a long-range strategic plan.
Wolfe said library officials will host meetings and other events to seek information from residents, volunteers, government officials—everyone and anyone to let them know what people like about the library, what they don’t, what they might want to see the library offer in the future.
“A café? That’s something we can look at,” Wolfe said.
Wolfe, 58, vivacious, quick-witted, and with a good sense of humor, is a native of Bridgewater.
She graduated from Bridgewater-Raynham High School and went on to earn her undergraduate degree at Harvard University in English and history. She received a master’s in library sciences and media from Simmons College, where she has taught as an adjunct professor.
She was the director at Braintree’s Thayer Public Library before taking the position in Brockton.
She has two adult children, daughter Laura and son Greg.
Currently Wolfe lives in Holliston, but is in the process of selling her house to meet a residency requirement for her position.
“I have 9 months to go,” Wolfe said, crossing her fingers that her sells within the one-year residency requirement stipulated in her contract.
At first glance Wolfe might not look like someone who would fit-in as director of a city library system where the population’s majority is more than 50 percent minority and for-better-or-worse boasts a reputation predominantly based on the city’s crime rate.
Wolfe--known as Betsy--chuckled at the erroneous first impression.
She said she recognizes and is aware of the wealth of positives in Brockton and negatives associated with city life—homelessness, poverty, mental illness, drugs and crime that permeate some of the elements in the community.
Wolfe said the first stop to combat some of those problems is a free and open library for all—one of the most important offerings of a democratic civilization.
“I like diversity--Brockton is a city that has so much potential,” Wolfe said. “I’ll be an advocate for the library and its services. Having our doors open as much as possible for as many people as possible is so important—literacy is the cornerstone of our society,” she said.

U.S. Postal Service Holds Brockton Hearing

2012-01-04T09:56:00.000-08:00

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--United States Postal Service officials and employees will meet tonight in Brockton for one of several meetings across the region for the U.S. Post Office to take comments from the public about a feasibility study that could close or consolidate area distribution facilities, including one in Brockton.
The plan could affect hundreds of jobs and businesses in the area near the distribution sites.
Information from the U.S. Post Office's website is as follows:
What:
Postal Service Managers will give an overview and listen to community input regarding a proposal to move mail processing operations from the Brockton, MA Processing and Distribution Facility to the Providence Rhode Island Possessing and Distribution Facility.
Who:
Postal Officials from the Greater Boston Postal District will be in attendance to make a presentation and field comments and questions.
When:
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Where:
West Middle School--Cafeteria
271 West Street
Brockton, MA
Details:
Recently, the USPS undertook an Area Mail process (AMP) feasibility study at the Brockton Processing and Distribution Facility. The Greater Boston District Office has completed its review and submitted it to the Northeast Area office for consideration.
The USPS welcomes public input and will hold a meeting to explain the proposal on Wednesday, January 4, 2012.
The USPS will post a meeting agenda and a presentation, along with a summary of the brief, on their website, usps.com, one week prior to the meeting.
The USPS will also accept any public comment on the study up to 15 days after the meeting.
For those who cannot attend the meeting, comments may be mailed to:
Consumer & Industry Contact Manager
Greater Boston District
25 Dorchester Ave.
Boston, MA 02205-9631
Hearings will also be held in Shrewsbury, tomorrow, Thursday, Jan. 5 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Richard D. Carney Municipal Office Building, 100 Maple Ave.
and in Waltham at Waltham High School from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10.
The first hearing was held yesterday in Wareham.

Mayor Balzotti States Tax Bills' Land Data Wrong, Tax Amount Correct

2012-01-04T04:57:00.000-08:00

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--Mayor Linda M. Balzotti issued a press release about wrong information on the latest tax bills that numerous people have said the land acreage of their homes was wrong.
Here is the statement:
Mayor Linda Balzotti today (Wednesday, Jan. 3) investigated concerns about the most
recent property tax bills issued by the City of Brockton.
The acreage amount listed on the tax bills was misprinted. Taxes owed and property
value were correct.
“Kelley & Ryan Associates failed to adjust their printing program for a change in the
MUNIS acreage field,” said Mayor Balzotti.
The upgrade, completed by the city in October 2011, increased the number of digits that can be listed after the decimal point in the acreage content field.
Kelley & Ryan was notified of the MUNIS upgrade in November of 2011. Tax bills for the third financial quarter of FY ’12 were not printed until the tax rate was set by the City Council.
James J. Broduer, Jr., Vice President of Operations for Kelley & Ryan Associates said
the company had been notified by the City of Brockton’s Information Technology
Department in November, but failed to make a change to their printing program.
The required change has since been made. Broduer also said this error was in no part due to the file sent by the City of Brockton.
Once the problem was identified, city officials immediately contacted the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.
The DOR is the overseer of all property taxes issued in the state.
On Monday (Jan. 3rd), the DOR advised the city that, “the errors in the third quarter
actual tax bill are limited to the acreages included in the property descriptions, increasing them by a factor of 10, and there were no misleading errors in the value, tax, due date, or abatement guidelines…The bills would be considered valid for all important purposes.
In addition, when the city issues any fourth quarter bills, the error should be corrected and an explanation of the change from the third quarter bill should be included.”
Kelley & Ryan has handled the printing of city bills for at least the last five years.
The City of Brockton issues more than 20,000 property tax bills each quarter.
The City of Brockton Tax Collector electronically sends information to Kelley & Ryan for inclusion on tax bills. A random sample of property tax bills – both residential and commercial – are sent to the city for review each financial quarter. T
he samples are checked by both the Tax Collectors’ and Assessors’ offices for calculation errors – value, tax rate, total tax, and date. The city then approves the sample bills before they are mailed.
To avoid a recurrence of this issue, Mayor Balzotti said that moving forward city staff will review each and every data field on the property tax bill samples prior to approval.
A mass-mailing explaining the misprint will be sent out to all Brockton property owners the week of January 10, said Mayor Balzotti.
Kelley & Ryan will cover the cost of the mailing.
For more information about this issue, please contact the Assessors’ Office at 508- 580-7194.

Tax Hike Repeal Rally Expected Before Inauguration

2012-01-01T18:07:00.001-08:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--Opponents of a tax increase for homeowners and other city issues will hold a rally at City Hall Monday, Jan. 2 at 9:30 a.m., 30 minutes before Mayor Linda Balzotti will be inaugurated for her second term in office.
Ron Matta, who ran against Balzotti and lost in the November election, said a group has been organizing over the holiday weekend to protest numerous issues in the city.
The rally is expected to take place at 9:30 a.m.
Leading the rally will be Kate Archard, who ran unsuccesfully for a city councilor-at-large seat. On her Facebook page, Archard notes the residential tax increase jumped her bill by $200.
Last month the City Council, by one vote, increased the residential tax rate from $15.46 to $16.14 per $1,000 of assessed value.
Archard's post also states the acreage description on her bill is inaccurate, and demands a repeal of the tax hike.
Balzotti's inauguration and expected speech is scheduled for 10 a.m. and will be followed by the swearing in of new and reelected members to various committees and boards.

Lowell Ref Attack Earns Fan Inaugural "Horse's Ass" Award

2011-12-29T21:06:00.000-08:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Exactly what happened at a youth basketball tournament at UMass Lowell is why refereeing SUCKS!!
For those who haven’t heard, UMass Lowell Police Officer Peter Morelli confirmed an angry spectator attacked a basketball referee after being ejected from a game between Lowell and Portsmouth, N.H., Tuesday afternoon during a tournament that featured 193 teams from across the region.
Players’ ages ranged from 5th grade to 8th grade—roughly boys and girls ages 11 to 15.
Players on the court for the game were 7th graders.
“We don’t know if it was a parent or relative of a parent, but it was an adult,” Morelli said.
He said the about 6-feet, 3 to 4-inch, 220 pound black man threw water at the referee as he was being escorted out of the gym after being ejected.
"He didn't make an obscene gesture," Morelli said. "He was waving his arms and being verbally abusive--overly verbally abusive," he said.
Tossed from the gym near the end of the game, the man waited for the ref to come through a corridor and then punched him in the chest, a blow that was hard enough to knock down the referee, a man he described as just about as tall as the assailant.
"He looked like a basketball type--almost as big as the alleged suspect," Morelli said.
Morelli said the man took off afterward and initially people in the auditorium balked at telling police who the man was. Morelli said very few tried to help the ref after the attack.
"A few took the lead, but no one did much to help," Morelli said.
Since the game, Morelli said calls have come in and police may question a suspect and possibly press charges.
Morelli said he was concerned about the punch because a hard blow to the chest could have triggered a heart attack.
“That was my concern,” Morelli said. “I told him if he had complications later he should go to the hospital,” Morelli said, noting the referee was probably in his mid-40s.
Luckily, an actual physical attack on a referee is pretty rare and in this case injuries are said to be minor and the referee did not go to the hospital—at least right away.
There have been times when refs have taken their lives into their own hands, most memorably when a referee was gunned down after a World Cup soccer match in 1989, a player in 1994, and in Kenya in 2002.
But that’s pro sports, right? Youth sports aren’t hostile and dangerous. Most of the time they’re not, and Tuesday, the suspect was lucky. His attack thus far has not caused injury, but what if it had?
Just ask Thomas Junta, the hockey dad who killed another parent after losing control over play between their sons. He spent 8 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter.
As a rookie soccer referee, I still remember the immortal words of advice from long-time soccer referee Dennis LaVersa--namesake of the Dennis LaVersa Massachusetts Tournament of Champions Referee of the Year award--telling would-be refs in my first certification class back in the mid-1980s that one of the best things you can do as a referee is park your car so you can drive away as fast as possible.
“In case you have to make a fast get-away,” LaVersa said then and his words of wisdom still hold true nearly 30 years later.
Yeah, being involved in youth sports most of the time is fun and rewarding, but when it isn’t, it’s the worst of nightmares.
"You want to volunteer, you want to, but things like this make it very difficult," Officer Morelli said.
I’ve got an idea.
Whoever the culprit is should be forced--either by the courts or his own shame--to community service, as a referee.
Give him 4 years and make him be a basketball ref AND a referee in a sport he knows nothing about, since most spectators haven’t got a clue what the rules of the game—any game--are.
Four years. That’s about right--enough time to take the courses—and he should pay for them—and then hit the court or field in the black and white stripes and see what it’s like.
Maybe after that he’ll punch himself in the face.
It ain’t easy being the ref.
People shouting at you all the time. Telling you you’re an idiot and you need glasses. Mostly it’s small stuff. Most of the time everything is fine. The comments toughen you up, and the more experience you get the more confidence you build. You realize most of the time the fans are clueless and should be ignored.
Becoming a ref is a great way to grow a thick skin and prepare for life’s road ahead. It can also be good extra money.
Some refs relish the abuse. Some tune it out. A huge percentage quit.
Luckily, the kids are great. I understand their passion. The coaches’ too, but an overheated schmuck sitting in the stands?
To the spectator: What game am I watching? Which one are YOU watching?
Do YOU know the rules?
From your comments, doesn’t sound like it.
Oh, you do know the rules?
Then get off your keister and become a ref and see what it’s like.
Sitting in the stands is sooooooooo much easier!!
How comfortable it is to just sit there on your rump, yell, scream and point fingers at the ref.
We can take stuff like, “are you blind,” or “you’re an idiot,” or “what game are you watching,” or “is your kid on the team.”
Even “you suck” is easily deflected.
I’ve seen some games that have been so badly officiated I’m not sure they should even count. Sometimes the comments are deserved.
OK fine.
But to chase down a ref after the game and confront him, punch him, throw water on him, and knock him down is completely ridiculous.
You go do it.
Yeah, maybe there’s a bad call—we’ve seen a few around the state lately, most recently a football referee who called a penalty on a Cathedral High School player for taunting when he momentarily put a #1 in the air with his hand while he was on his way to scoring what would have been a Super Bowl winning touch down.
Instead, the referee threw a flag, called the touch down back and Blue Hills Regional Vocational Technical High School went on to win the championship.
Bad call?
From the news clips, I thought so, but that ref—I’m sure—has taken his lumps for the call.
Don’t think he needs to be assaulted.
Maybe he thinks it was the right call. League officials supported it, the public disagrees.
So be it.
We all live with the results.
Sadly, this man in Lowell lost his cool.
From all accounts, both teams and their supporters vocally let the ref know they thought he sucked.
Guess being pelted with insults wasn’t enough to show the ref how terrible he may have been.
Maybe the ref had the worst game of his life.
Maybe it was quite the opposite and he called a great game under intense play and extreme pressure.
Officer Morelli said the game was very intense and hard-fought. He said he felt uncomfortable around the parents and spectators even after the game when police sought the identity of the suspect.
Sounds like emotions were waaaay high...maybe the ref did a better job than fans gave him credit for.
Plus, basketball refereeing is so technical, no way on this planet would I officiate the sport.
Whether it was a badly called game or well done under the conditions, either way, Mr. attack-the-ref, you are BrocktonPost.com’s first-ever “Horse’s Ass Award” winner.
You think you can do a better job?
Go do it—I dare you.

Inauguration, Swearing-In Ceremony, Monday

2011-12-29T09:19:00.001-08:00

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--Although City Hall will be closed in observance of the New Year's holiday, Brockton's first female mayor, Linda Balzotti will be sworn in for her second term.
Also, returning and new members of the City Council and School Committee will be sworn in.
The ceremonies begin at 10 a.m. at City Hall. The event is free and open to the public. All are welcome.

New League, New Chance For Rox?

2011-12-27T14:30:00.000-08:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—The Rox are not done for the 2012 season, yet.
According to Brockton’s Finance Director John Condon, plans are in the works to continue the Rox at Campanelli Stadium for the 2012 season and beyond.
“I’m pretty confident there will be baseball at Campanelli Stadium next season,” Condon said.
He said discussions are ongoing, but the ball is in the hands of the Brockton 21st Century Corp., a public-private entity that oversees the Rox, Campanelli Stadium and the Shaw’s Center.
Condon said because of a complicated lease arrangement with the Rox, the City of Brockton and Shaw’s Center it is up to the Brockton 21st Century to give the go-ahead to a new league that would play at Campanelli Stadium.
“It’s hanging on a lease agreement,” Condon said. “I’m involved but I don’t have the power to say ‘yea’ or ‘nay,” Condon said.
Maura Russell, with Brockton 21st Century Corp., pointed all questions about the matter to Condon, who would only say discussions are close to completion.
Sources close to the Rox have said plans are in the works for a lease agreement for the Rox to leave the Can-Am League and move to the Futures Collegiate Baseball League, a move that requires the Brockton 21st Century change its requirement that professional baseball be played at Campanelli Stadium.
The Futures Collegiate League is a one-year-old league that showcases elite college ball players from the New England area, many of whom are expected to make the prestigious Cape Cod League and possibly earn their way into a Major League Baseball team.
Chris Carminucci, general manager for the Rox, said he could not comment about any plans to move the Rox to the Futures league, however, Carminucci is a director of the Futures league, and the Rox logo has already been posted under the Lowell Spinners on the Futures League website.
Another director of the Futures League is Drew Weber, owner operator of the Lowell Spinners, a Red Sox minor league affiliate.
Sources said they hoped an announcement would be made today, however, with the holidays sources said negotiations are still taking place.
The Futures League includes a handful of teams from Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut. Recently a group from Pittsfield and Wachusett announced it would join the Futures league as has another from Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

Chief Conlon Pushes Retirement To Feb.

2011-12-19T14:30:00.000-08:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Brockton Mayor Linda Balzotti said it is very likely that she will name an interim chief after current chief William Conlon retires—a step she will take once Conlon leaves office, which was expected at the end of this month, but has been postponed until February.
“Right now what I want to do is maintain consistency and I will more than likely put someone in as an interim acting chief,” Balzotti said.
In June, Conlon announced he would retire at the end of the year, however, Conlon said he has extended his retirement to about the middle of February.
Conlon’s contract ends April 30, 2012, and he can stay until then, although he said he doubts he will stay longer than about mid-February when he plans to take a couple weeks vacation before heading into the next phase of his life.
“When I take my vacation I’ll be done,” Conlon said in a telephone interview Friday. (Conlon pictured above during Memorial Day Parade)
Conlon said he does not plan to stay until the April 30th end of his contract and is waiting until the middle of February to retire because the weather at the end of December and through January doesn’t offer a lot of activities for someone just embarking on the end of a career.
“I figured I’d wait until the middle, or end of February, but it looks like the middle of February,” Conlon said.
He said he doesn’t expect to extend his extension to April 30.
Until Conlon officially submits his retirement in writing, Personnel Director Maureen Cruise said Mayor Balzotti can’t take any action to fill his shoes.
“He hasn’t given the mayor a retirement date and until he does the mayor can’t take any action because there is a contract in place,” Cruise said.
Cruise said Balzotti also must wait to make any appointment, police chief or otherwise, until her re-inauguration Monday, Jan. 2 because city ordinance prevents the mayor from making any appointments during the 90 days leading to the end of a term—even if reelected.
Balzotti said Conlon’s retirement extension isn’t a problem because she plans to take her time with a permanent replacement and expects to name a temporary department head.
“There’s nothing that says the minute the chief steps down I have to name a successor,” Balzotti said.
Because the city voted to move the police chief’s position out of Civil Service about 10 years ago, the mayor is responsible for Conlon’s replacement.
According to Cruise, Balzotti does not have to have a wide search, publicly advertise the position or form a search committee--as some have called for.
Conlon said it is Balzotti’s appointment to make and although he has extended his retirement more than a month, there is nothing stopping Balzotti from moving toward filling his position.
Conlon said he believes it is important for Balzotti to choose a new chief who is willing to work with a host of local, state and federal organizations, not only law enforcement types like the State Police, Drug Enforcement Agency, DA’s Office, and FBI, but also local groups like the Rotary Club, school officials, parent organizations and the media.
“The position really needs someone who is willing to cooperate with numerous committees, organizations and groups,” Conlon said.
Balzotti echoed Conlon’s words, noting she is in agreement that the next chief must be someone who can continue the cooperation between Brockton’s Police Department and other law enforcement agencies operating in the city.
“We can’t afford to have an individual who can’t or won’t—because there are those who won’t—work with those other agencies,” Balzotti said.
She also said the next chief has to be someone she is comfortable having in the job and who she is comfortable working with, who she is certain can run day-to-day operations, communicate with other city departments and the public.
Although there is not a specific process of accepting resumes and applications, Balzotti said through her tenure as a public official she has a good grasp on who might be interested in the acting or permanent chief’s position, and those who may not want any part of being temporary or permanent chief.

Constable Will Not Face Gun, Endangerment Charges

2011-12-14T10:08:00.000-08:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—A clerk magistrate has decided a South Shore constable will not face charges after pulling a gun during an arrest of a dead-beat dad in the student-filled parking lot of Trinity Catholic Academy’s Upper Campus.
William Sullivan, the lawyer for Adam Loomis, one of two well-known South Shore constables who arrested parent George Haikal at the school in October, said he has received a letter from Clerk Magistrate Philip McCue that rejects charges of endangerment of the dead-beat dad’s children and assault with a dangerous weapon issued by Brockton Police and the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office.
“I think this was the right decision under the law,” Sullivan said in a telephone interview.
While he would not release a copy of the letter—which court officials said was not a public document—Sullivan said in McCue’s decision, McCue writes that Loomis, 27, pulled the gun after witnesses said Haikal’s car jumped forward toward Loomis during the early morning arrest and put him in danger of being run down.
A probable cause hearing was held Dec. 1 at Brockton District Court for McCue to decide if the complaint should continue and an arraignment beheld on the felony charges.
McCue, a Plymouth District Court magistrate, heard testimony from four witnesses from the school, including teacher Annette Bailey and Ward 5 City Councilor Dennis DeNapoli.
“I think the evidence was very clear when (the constables) went to effectuate the arrest the intention was not to use force,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said he believed it was Annette Bailey’s testimony that made the difference.
During testimony Bailey said she believed Adam Loomis would have been knocked over by Haikal’s car and it was not until then did he pull his gun.
Dennis DeNapoli, who was standing near the vehicle said in news accounts and in court he did not believe Loomis was in danger when the car rolled forward. He also said he believed the car moved forward because Haikal was being grabbed by the neck by Loomis’ father Jerold Loomis, and his foot came off the accelerator.
DeNapoli, who has said he believes the pair should lose their constable licenses, did not return calls for comment.
Sullivan said he does not believe Adam or Jerold Loomis intended to use force that day and it was Haikal who did not exit the vehicle when ordered to do so that escalated the situation.
Sullivan would not say if the pair of constables made a bad decision to try and arrest Haikal on the school’s grounds.
“I think the lesson to a lot of (constables) is not to anticipate the person they are arresting will go peacefully,” Sullivan said.

Brockton Postal Plant Part Of Closure Study

2011-12-07T08:07:00.000-08:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Seven regional postal facilities, including Brockton are being looked at for possible closing next year, however a spokesman for United States Postal Service said no decisions have been made and reports that the facilities in the state will close are not accurate.
“We haven’t made a decision one way or another,” said USPS spokesman Dennis P. Tarmey. “We are still studying these plants for possible consolidation and no decision has been made to close the Brockton plant at this time,” he said.
The USPS announced Monday it was continuing a process to look at closing or consolidating seven plants around the state, including Brockton’s facility at 225 Liberty St. that employs nearly 400 people.
The other facilities are in Boston, Waltham, North Reading, Shrewsbury, Wareham, and Lowell.
Tarmey said the announcement was misconstrued and disseminated by news outlets that the plants were in fact closing.
He said the news reports prompted calls of concern from employees and customers throughout the state.
Tarmey said what the USPS is doing is continuing to look at these plants for consolidation, a plan that began in September and will continue into next year.
He said before any decision is made public meetings will be held, in or near the seven communities, including Brockton.
Those meetings have not been scheduled yet and are expected early next year.
No decisions would be made until those meetings are held, and no decisions would be made until the USPS receives an advisory opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission.
He said in each plant’s case, there is a possibility that one or more could close or be consolidated into another, such as Boston moving to North Reading, or North Reading moving to Boston.
“It depends on a lot of issues—transportation, space…we have to see what makes the most sense,” Tarmey said.
He said one idea is possibly to consolidate Brockton's plant with one in Providence, Rhode Island.
The USPS is looking at closing or consolidating 252 processing facilities across the country and could potentially layoff about 30,000 employees to save $3 billion and avoid potential bankruptcy.
According to the USPS, annual mail volume has decreased by more than 43 million pieces over the last 5 years and total first class mail volume has dropped 25 percent and single-piece first class mail—letters bearing postage stamps—has declined by 36 percent during the last 5 years.
The closings and consolidation's would be a change in the postal service's 40-year-old standard of delivering first-class mail the next day.

Celebratory Send Off For Matriach Cruise Kennedy

2011-12-06T08:27:00.000-08:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Family and friends of Mary Cruise Kennedy, the matriarch of Brockton’s Cruise-Kennedy clan, gathered Saturday to not only mourn the loss of the 101-year-old former head nurse, but also celebrate the life of a woman who was ahead of her time.
“She had such a great life,” said Ward 1 City Councilor Timothy Cruise, Mary Kennedy’s nephew. “She was blessed,” he said.
Cruise said in a recent interview that while family members were saddened by the news Mary died peacefully of pneumonia Saturday, Nov. 26 at Brockton Hospital where she graduated from the hospital’s nursing school in 1931.
Mary Cruise Kennedy was the eldest of 9 children who led the family when the children's parents died young.
During a brief time when she worked at the former Lakeville State Hospital, she met her husband Bob, and had four children of her own, including State Senator Thomas Kennedy.
Tim Cruise said while Mary’s passing is sad, he said hundreds of family members were expected to converge on Russell & Pica Funeral Home last Thursday and Friday for calling hours, followed by services at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Brockton.
“It’s a celebration, a celebration of a great lady,” Cruise said. “She had a great run. She was the glue that kept things together. We’ll miss her,” he said.
Tim Cruise said the 40 or so first cousins who were expected to attend last week’s services held a lot of respect for his aunt, and many children in the family didn’t dare cause trouble while Mary Cruise Kennedy was around.
“Just a look was enough,” Tim Cruise said.
Cruise Kennedy was also a woman ahead of her time in the medical field.
Graduating from Brockton Hospital’s Nursing School in 1931, she soon became the head nurse, a position she held for decades.
Tim Cruise said he always took for granted his aunt’s position as a nurse and only realized how hard she struggled and fought to be taken seriously and not let male chauvinism stop her from helping her patients.
“I never realized until I was older how difficult it was for her, and other women back then,” Cruise said. “If she thought a doctor was wrong, she would let them know, she wasn’t going to back down,” he said.
Cruise Kennedy volunteered in many capacities, and helped found first of its kind programs the Edwina Martin Recovery House for Women and the Ann Ward Congregate Assisted Living Home at the former St. Edward's Convent.
Active and sharp, Cruise Kennedy's endeavors decreased in her 90s when she voluntarily gave up her driver's license.
She is also the namesake of the Council on Aging's Mary Cruise Kennedy Senior Center where she made a surprise and welcome visit with one of her two sons State Senator Thomas Kennedy for the Council on Aging's annual St. Patrick's Day celebration.
For a full background on Mary Cruise Kennedy’s life, please click here to visit Mary Cruise Kennedy’s obituary.

Constable Gun Draw Charges Rest With Magistrate

2011-12-02T13:18:00.000-08:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—All a South Shore constable, his constable father, school officials, witnesses and a dead-beat dad the two well-known constables arrested in the parking lot of Brockton's Trinity Catholic Academy can do is wait for a clerk magistrate’s decision on whether or not pulling out a gun during the arrest should be a criminal offense.
During a probable cause hearing in Brockton District Court Thursday afternoon, Philip McCue, a Plymouth District Court magistrate, after about 90 minutes of testimony from Trinity Catholic School officials—including Principal Cynthia Dunn-McNally and Ward 5 City Councilor Dennis DeNapoli—said his decision would be based on whether the gun draw by constable Adam Loomis was an assault with a dangerous weapon and endangered the two children of the arrested father.
The two charges are felonies and could jeopardize Loomis’ right to carry a firearm and possibly result in the loss of his constable’s license in the communities he operates.
“It’s clear what happened that day is really inexcusable, but whether it rose to criminality,” McCue said at the close of the hearing.
Loomis’ defense hinges on whether he was justified in drawing his gun against George Haikal, a former restaurant owner and father of two boys who had been arrested by the Loomis’ in 2008 and 2009, and April, 2011 for nonpayment of child support for his two sons.
Another arrest warrant was issued for Haikal in October for non-payment of $45,000 in child support.
Loomis, standing in front of Haikal’s station wagon, pulled his gun when the car driven by Haikal lunged forward when the constables attempted to make the arrest.
What’s not disputed is that Loomis pulled the gun.
What is in dispute is why, and if brandishing the weapon endangered Haikal’s two young sons, who were in the car and in the process of getting out of the car, when the weapon was pointed over the hood at the windshield toward Haikal.
The arrest warrant allowed Loomis and his father Jerold—best known for his participation in pop star Bobby Brown’s 1997 arrest--the authority to arrest Haikal anywhere in the state, and after spotting Haikal heading to Trinity Catholic in a brown station wagon on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at about 7:15 a.m., the two constables followed Haikal to the school’s busy parking lot.
Loomis, who lives in Rockland and is a licensed constable in Scituate and Quincy, in a statement read by Quincy attorney William Sullivan and submitted into evidence, said Haikal appeared to know he was being followed because Haikal took evasive and erratic steps to “lose” the constables by taking sharp quick turns without signaling and turning up and down different streets until the trio of vehicles arrived at Trinity Catholic’s Upper Campus at 35 Erie Ave.
Loomis, said Haikal’s car moved forward and that was when Loomis pulled the gun because he feared for his life.
In the statement, Loomis said he had his badge displayed and identified himself.
Witnesses disagreed, the Loomis’ made it clear who they were and what they were doing.
City councilor Dennis DeNapoli, who testified he has known Haikal for 10 to 12 years, said the car lunge- forward was not life threatening and may have jumped because the other constable was grabbing Haikal by the neck and Haikal’s foot came off the brake.
The car, DeNapoli said, had not been placed into park.
Four witnesses testified, including Principal Dunn-McNally, DeNapoli, and Trinity Catholic teachers John Ballard and Annette Bailey.
Loomis did not testify and neither did Haikal, who attended the hearing with his lawyer David Asack.
All of the witnesses except Ballard, who is hard of hearing, said the constables shouted at Haikal to get out of the car, and the shouting drew attention to the scene in the parking lot.
DeNapoli said he heard the shouting and recognized Haikal’s car and headed over to see what was going on. He said he did not know Haikal was wanted for arrest.
DeNapoli said the constables did not identify themselves and only about ¾ quarters of the way through the event--that all witnesses said happened in less than 1 or 2 minutes—that he heard the constables were there on an arrest warrant.
Loomis’s lawyer Sullivan questioned DeNapoli’s memory and observations when he presented a written statement by DeNapoli about the event in which DeNapoli says it is Jerold Loomis at the front of the car pulling the gun and not his son Adam—a description DeNapoli first gave to BrocktonPost.com.
In another article, DeNapoli told BrocktonPost.com he had the men “mixed up” and not knowing which was which or who was who until after the event, came to learn it was Adam Loomis who pulled the gun and that he was initially mistaken.
Sullivan continued to question DeNapoli about the letter and DeNapoli tried to explain the mistake, but became agitated at Sullivan’s questions, and began to move in a herky-jerky way--moving from one foot to the other, side to side, and putting his hands in his pockets, and making hand gestures. .
Eventually DeNapoli’s right hand went up in the air in an unusual manner.
Magistrate McCue interrupted DeNapoli’s explanation and told him attorney Sullivan was just doing his job and until that point DeNapoli had “comported himself as a gentleman” and should continue doing so.
DeNapoli said he understood and his testimony ended with him saying Haikal’s two sons were exiting the car when Loomis pulled the gun.
DeNapoli, unlike the other three witnesses, said the Loomis’ came in one vehicle and not two.
The witness after DeNapoli, sixth grade teacher Annette Bailey, testified she saw two cars pull up—one behind, and the other to the right side of Haikal’s wagon—said she heard a commotion and yelling and then saw Haikal’s car lurch forward in a lurch-and-stop, lurch-and-stop action.
She said Loomis had to back up from the car’s movement.
“Yes, I thought he was going to be hit. I thought he was going to go down,” Bailey said.
Another witness, Trinity Catholic computer science teacher John Ballard said he saw Adam Loomis put his hand on or very close to the hood of the car.
“It was clear that the intention was for him to say to the guy stop,” Ballard said.
All of the witnesses said Haikal’s children were in the car when the gun was drawn.
Principal Dunn-McNally said she was standing about 20 to 30 feet away from the car when she saw the gun drawn.
She said not knowing who the Loomis’ were and did not hear anything about an arrest warrant, she thought there had been a road rage incident and once seeing the gun she ordered teachers and students for a building lock-down.
Dunn-McNally said Haikal’s children were in the car when she began rounding up students and staff, and it was not until after Haikal had been pulled out of the car and handcuffed did she see the children again.
“I was at the top of the (school) steps when the two Haikal children ran to me,” Dunn-McNally said. “They were very frightened and I brought them to my office,” she said.
Assistant District Attorney Matthew Libby said Loomis’ actions showed poor judgment because they could have made the arrest somewhere other than the grounds of Trinity Catholic and the gun draw placed children in the parking lot in danger.
Libby said Loomis’ actions exceeded the arrest warrant and the charges should proceed to an arraignment.
Loomis’ lawyer Sullivan disagreed and said Haikal was “hiding behind his kids,” and he was the one who put his children in danger by not getting out of the car and not paying the child support demanded by Brockton District Court rulings.
“Maybe the arrest would have been better somewhere else, but it’s not enough to meet the standard,” Sullivan said.
Yesterday's probable cause hearing was expected to be closed to the public, however when Magistrate McCue learned members of the press were in attendance he allowed arguments from BrocktonPost.com and WXBR to allow the media to cover the hearing--which McCue did.

Brockton Health Center Awarded $40,000

2011-11-29T20:15:00.000-08:00

BrocktonPost
BOSTON--Brockton Neighborhood Health Center was among 24 community organizations in Massachusetts who were awarded more than $1.2 million in grants from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation.
These grants, announced Nov. 8 in a prepared statement, include $40,000 to Brockton Neighborhood Health Center which will use the money to provide outreach and individual assistance with applications, referrals to primary care providers, education on health plans, and assistance with annual renewals.
The program will focus particularly on assistance to those attending local food pantries and being released from the Plymouth House of Corrections.
“Our grantees’ efforts have ensured health care access and improved the system for thousands of Massachusetts residents,” said Sarah Iselin, President of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation. “We look forward to their new approaches to addressing coverage and affordability in their communities.”
The foundation made the grants to organizations whose missions are dedicated to promoting the health care needs of uninsured and low-income residents.
The grants range from $40,000 to $75,000 per year, and represent the first of two years of funding.
The grants were made in two grant program areas, Connecting Consumers with Care and Strengthening the Voice for Access, both of which were created in 2001 when the Foundation first began its grantmaking efforts.
Connecting Consumers with Care provides programmatic support to organizations that will provide comprehensive outreach and enrollment services, an enhanced approach to educating consumers on effective navigation of the health care system, and strategic collaboration with the advocacy community to identify and address barriers that prevent consumers from easily accessing coverage and care.
Strengthening the Voice for Access provides core operating support to organizations that will strengthen community-based policy activities, increase citizen participation in public policy development, and promote collaboration among statewide policy and advocacy organizations on coverage and affordability.
The complete list of grant awards is as follows:
Connecting Consumers with Care

Boston:

1. Boston Public Health Commission $40,000

The Boston Public Health Commission will use funds to train staff of city agencies and consumers on how to navigate the health care system and a newly launched web-centric resource database will be developed to help locate referral organizations. Customized 'My Health Portfolios' will educate consumers on facts to consider when obtaining health
care and topics.

2. Whittier Street Health Center $40,000

Whittier Street Health Center will use funds to provide enrollment and redetermination assistance through 'Virtual Enrollment Sites' and make referrals to services at Whittier and partner organizations. A yearly redetermination education campaign will include educational workshops and fliers/brochures based on MassHealth's guidelines.

Brockton:

3. Brockton Neighborhood Health Center $40,000

Brockton Neighborhood Health Center will use funds to provide traditional outreach and individual assistance with applications, referrals to primary care providers, education on health plans, and assistance with annual renewals. The program will focus on local food pantries and the Plymouth House of Corrections.

Everett:

4. Joint Committee for Children's Health Care in Everett $40,000

The Joint Committee for Children's Health Care in Everett will use funds to provide outreach, interpretation, application assistance, and scheduling support. The program will target children and their parents, particularly Latino and Haitian immigrant populations.

Fitchburg:

5. Community Health Connections $40,000

Community Health Connections will use funds to provide street outreach, and one-on-one application and enrollment assistance to children and adults who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, as well as members of the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking communities.

Hyannis:

6. Community Action Committee of Cape Cod & Islands $40,000

Community Action Committee of Cape Cod & Islands will use the funds to provide residents of Cape Cod and the Islands with enrollment in public health insurance programs. The program will focus on recently unemployed residents or those whose employers have eliminated health benefits or raised employee contributions beyond their ability to pay.

Lynn:

7. Lynn Community Health Center $40,000

Lynn Community Health Center will use funds for their Keep Your Care Project an innovative, exciting, and urgently needed project with the ultimate goal of helping low income people in Lynn access and maintain their health care through insurance coverage, consumer education, and advocacy.

North Adams:

8. Ecu-Health Care $40,000

Ecu-Health Care will use funds to provide public health outreach, application assistance, and support accessing primary care providers. One-on-one training will educate clients on the individual mandate, minimum creditable coverage policies, and affordability regulations.

Springfield:

9. Caring Health Center $40,000

Caring Health Center's program will use funds to target refugees, immigrants, and other linguistic and cultural minority groups who face barriers to enrollment and health care navigation. The health center provides comprehensive primary medical care and dental services to residents in the medically underserved city of Springfield and its surrounding areas.

Turner Falls:

10. Community Health Center of Franklin County $40,000

Community Health Center of Franklin County will use funds to provide a comprehensive continuum of services including community outreach, enrollment and eligibility assistance, transportation assistance, Spanish interpretation, case management, and care coordination. The health center will target residents affected by significant social and geographic barriers to care, as well as new immigrants, migrant workers, and non-English speakers.

West Tisbury:

11. County of Dukes County $40,000

County of Dukes County will use funds to provide culturally and linguistically competent enrollment assistance, referrals, and retention services for public insurance and safety net programs, with a focus on the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking communities.

Worcester:

12. Family Health Center of Worcester $40,000

Family Health Center of Worcester will use funds for their Consumer Self-Sufficiency Program to improve access to health care and insurance coverage for low-income individuals and families, and increase patient self-sufficiency in navigating the health care system and obtaining the appropriate level of preventive and acute health care.

Worthington:

13. Hilltown Community Health Centers $40,000

Hilltown Community Health Centers will use funds to assist clients to access and maintain health insurance coverage, aiding them in learning how to stay enrolled in the public programs for which they are eligible. The program will also connect clients with a primary care physician and address prescription costs.

Strengthening the Voice for Access

Boston:

1. Boston Center for Independent Living $35,000

The Boston Center for Independent Living will use funds to support advocacy on behalf of those living with disabilities. BCIL is a frontline civil rights organization led by people with disabilities that advocates for supports and services that enhance the independence of people with disabilities.

2. Disability Policy Consortium $35,000

The Disability Policy Consortium (DPC) will use funds to unify the voice of disability groups as a leader in the Disability Advocates Advancing our Healthcare Rights (DAAHR) coalition, and in particular will focus the work of that coalition on the “dual eligibles” initiative, an effort to improve services for those dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare. DPC will also address barriers to access such as underinsurance and advocate for the needs of those with disabilities who do not meet the federal definition of disabled.

3. Greater Boston Interfaith Organization $75,000

The Greater Boston Interfaith Organization will use funds to develop and implement a strategic advocacy agenda focused on health care cost containment. The goals of this effort will be to slow the growth of health care costs and to engage consumer participation in all levels of the cost and quality debate.

4. Health Care For All $75,000

Health Care For All (HCFA) will use funds to build a movement of empowered people and organizations to create a health care system that is responsive to the needs of all people, especially the most vulnerable. HCFA will continue its advocacy in pursuit of three key objectives: ensuring maximum enrollment in existing coverage programs, preserving and strengthening public program eligibility, and identifying and representing consumer needs within delivery system reforms.

5. Health Law Advocates $60,000

Health Law Advocates will use funds to provide legal representation to low-income residents experiencing difficulty accessing or paying for needed medical services.

6. Massachusetts Association of Community Health Workers $60,000

The Massachusetts Association of Community Health Workers (MACHW) will use funds to strengthen the professional identity, foster leadership, and promote the integration of community health workers (CHWs) into the healthcare, public health, and human services workforce. MACHW will continue to organize and empower CHWs to participate in policy and advocacy, conduct direct advocacy to ensure that CHWs are integrated into guidelines for medical homes and accountable care organizations, and will participate in advocacy coalitions and campaigns focused on health care access and payment reform.

7. Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition $75,000

The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition will use funds to develop its organizing framework by engaging a statewide coalition to monitor the continued implementation of health reform and its effect on immigrant communities. The program will promote positive policy change for greater immigrant access to affordable health care and educate communities to advocate for access to health care coverage including defense of the Health Safety Net.

8. Massachusetts Law Reform Institute $75,000

The Massachusetts Law Reform Institute will use funds to advocate on six key issues: ensuring affordable and accessible health care for vulnerable populations, improving the administration of public coverage programs, ensuring Affordable Care Act implementation benefits low-income and vulnerable populations, protecting the rights and enhancing services for those dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare. The program will ensure elders have access to services to prevent or delay institutionalization and that consumers have a voice in health care reform.

9. Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers $60,000

The Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers will use funds to serve as a key resource to its membership as cost containment and payment reform continue to reshape the health care environment. The League will conduct a multi-tiered advocacy strategy on a statewide level, including analyzing and disseminating policy information, engaging its members on key issues, and collaborating with other organizations and coalitions that share community health and primary health care goals.

10. Massachusetts Public Health Association $75,000

The Massachusetts Public Health Association (MPHA) will use funds to support collaborative efforts to integrate public health and prevention into health care payment reform discussions. MPHA is a statewide membership organization that undertakes advocacy, education, coalition-building and organized action to improve the public's health.

11. Massachusetts Senior Action Council $60,000

The Massachusetts Senior Action Council will use funds to enable the voice of seniors in pursuit of two key objectives. First, to defend current health coverage which is essential for vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities to obtain needed services. Second, for the development of a robust advocacy strategy for improving existing health care systems, restraining health care cost growth, and redressing current inequities caused by coverage gaps and variations in quality.

Thousands Enjoy 25th Annual Brockton Parade

2011-11-28T07:37:00.001-08:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—It may sound unbelievable, but Brockton Garden Club member Judy Burnett stunned those around her when she said Saturday’s 25th annual Greater Brockton Holiday Parade was the first parade she had ever attended or been a part of—at least that she can remember in 61 years.
“I’ve never been to a parade,” Burnett said matter-of-factly before she and members of the Garden Club walked the parade route dressed in vintage 1930s and 1940s style hats, raccoon and fur coats and leading a trailer depicting a homey Christmas scene, including a decorated Christmas tree, fireplace with stockings, and a rocking chair.
Burnett, 61, said when she was too young to remember she may have been brought to a parade by her parents, but she cannot recall from memory ever attending a parade, and was pleasantly surprised by the thousands of spectators who lined the parade route as well as the thousands of students, parents, coaches, businesses, and a host of local organizations who marched through the streets from Legion Parkway around the Main Street area and ending at City Hall.
“I’m impressed,” Burnett said. (Pictured at right) “This was a really good parade, and what a crowd,” she said.
For its 25th holiday parade celebration, organizers highlighted those who began the parade 25 years ago.
Leading the parade as grand marshals were Ugo Paparo, and family members of John Dreystadt, who died in March at age 77.
Also leading the numerous marching bands, cheerleaders and antique cars was the only Latino heavyweight boxing champion John "the Quietman" Ruiz.
Paparo and Dreystadt met as members of the Rotary Club more than 25 years ago, and in 1986 held the first parade in the downtown area to spark more customers in the city center.
Dreystadt’s wife Sondra, better known as “Sonnie,” said she was nominated by Paparo and the other Dreystadt family members to speak for all of them during closing ceremonies at City Hall, which included the lighting of the city’s holiday tree and the announcement of the 2nd annual James Edgar Service Award.
Sonnie Dreystadt said her husband John would have been proud of Saturday’s parade—many believing it was a record breaker for attendance--and believed he was with everyone in spirit even if not in body.
“He's here with us. I can feel it," Dreystadt said.(Pictured above, right with James Edgar Award winner Kristina Lutz. Inset, John Dreystadt)
Kevin Brower, business service officer at HarborOne Credit Union, one of the parade’s sponsors said the 60 degree temperature Saturday likely helped bring the crowd to record-breaking numbers, and pointed out a little history.
“The parade started out being held on Friday nights,” Brower said.
Brower unexpectedly had to take on Master of Ceremonies duties Saturday because usual parade leaders John and Paul Merian, co-owners of Tuxedos by Merian, had to miss the parade after Paul took a terrible spill from a ladder cleaning his gutters Friday.
The Merian brothers also provide narration and commentary on Brockton Community Access, the city’s local cable station.
Brower said once word of Merian’s fall spread, everyone involved came together to help and make sure the parade would go on Saturday as planned.
“They would have wanted it to go on without a hitch,” Brower said.
Merian is listed in stable condition at Boston Medical Center.
One of the highlights of the ceremony after the parade was the acceptance of the James Edgar Service Award by Kristina Lutz, who helped spearhead reconstruction and fundraising efforts to bring new playgrounds to the Brookfield and Howard Elementary Schools.
Lutz is also a mother, wife, paraprofessional at Brookfield School and is a volunteer basketball coach.
Lutz said she was proud of the award, but pointed to many others who helped bring the new playgrounds to the schools.
“This wasn’t just me,” Lutz said. “Many, many, many people went into this,” she said.

Weymouth Murder Victim Alleged To Have Stolen Pills

2011-11-22T09:00:00.000-08:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Had 24-year-old Caylin Rudolph not been allegedly murdered by her brother Donald in Weymouth, she would have been scheduled to appear in Brockton Superior Court to face one count of larceny of a drug.
According to a Brockton Police report, Rudolph was to receive a summons for the alleged theft of 29 Clonazepam pills, a charge made by Wenonah Bowen, who periodically stayed at a Brockton rooming house at 220 N. Main St. (Rudolph pictured at top)
Bowen’s complaint was filed with Brockton Police on Oct. 6, at 6:41 a.m. (Bowen pictured second from top)
No other charges are listed against Rudolph in Quincy or Brockton courts.
“Had she not been killed she would have been in court,” said Brockton Police Capt. Manuel Gomes, who noted Rudolph’s death in the gruesome Weymouth triple homicide was a sad situation.
In the report, Bowen states she worked with Caylin Rudolph at the Aria Day Spa in Brockton, which was raided Oct. 22 by police units assigned to the Attorney General’s Office.
The state Division of Professional Licensure shows Rudolph was a registered aesthetician and Bowen a licensed massage therapist. The state agency does not list places of occupation.
Aria Day Spa owner, Terry Mussari, 45, of Stoughton, has been charged with deriving support from prostitution for activities at the Aria Day Spa in Brockton and two others in Canton and Norwood.
The AG’s office also alleges employees at the day spas were selling drugs to customers and among themselves.
Caylin Rudolph was issued an aesthetician's license in May 2005 from Weymouth Vocational High School.
The license expired on Oct. 21, the day of her 24th birthday.
Authorities believe Caylin Rudolph was murdered, along with her mother Paula, and her mother's boyfriend Frederick Medina, by brother Donald Rudolph in Weymouth on the night of Nov. 10.
Gomes said it often takes several weeks to several months before complaints are scheduled for hearings and in Rudolph’s case a hearing had not been scheduled prior to Rudolph’s murder.
In light of Rudolph’s death, Gomes said the charge against Rudolph, which is a felony, likely will not proceed through the courts.
It is unclear what would have happened to the charges against Rudolph had the summons for a court date been processed completely before her murder.
Bowen, 39, who in court documents lists 220 North Main St., Brockton and 937 Plymouth St. in Abington as her addresses, faces four cases of her own--including two sex for a fee charges--in Brockton Superior Court.
In Bowen’s complaint against Rudolph, documents show Bowen states when she awoke on the morning of Oct. 6, 2011 she noticed the cap was loose on her bottle of Clonazepam, a much prescribed anti-anxiety and anti-seizure drug, which she filled the day before.
Bowen told police she should have had 90 pills in the bottle.
Bowen told police she was missing 29 pills and Bowen suspected Rudolph, who Bowen said was at the rooming house the day before.
The summons report continues:
“The victim states her boyfriend is the only other one who would have had access and he did not take them. The suspect was in her room last night with the victim’s pocketbook where the pills were kept. The suspect was aware that the victim filled the prescription yesterday. The victim stated the suspect is not answering her cell phone this morning. Ms. Bowen states she works with Ms. Rudolph at Aria Day Spa and is aware that she has a drug habit.”
Rudolph's remaining family members could not be reached for comment.
Bowen faces a number of legal matters, and from court documents and interviews it is unclear what may have happened to Bowen's pills.
One charge against Bowen dates from April, 6, 2011 when Bowen was charged with subsequent offense operating a motor vehicle with registration suspended and uninsured motor vehicle.
Two months later, on June 5, Bowen was arrested by Abington Police after several residents in Abington contacted police about a woman going door-to-door claiming she was collecting money for charity, including for victims of recent natural disasters.
Abington Police have charged Bowen with larceny under $250 by single scheme.
In Brockton on Oct. 7—the day after she lodged the complaint against Rudolph--Bowen was arrested for assault and battery after a fight she had with her then-boyfriend James Bernard Green, who lives at 220 N. Main St. (Rooming house pictured above)
Bowen left 220 N. Main after the fight and headed to a nearby Hess gas station where she called police at about 9:41 a.m.
When police investigated the situation, it was Bowen who was arrested and charged with assault and battery.
Herbert Matta, cousin of Ron Matta, who unsuccessfully ran against Linda Balzotti for mayor earlier this month, said Bowen had some type of relationship with James Bernard Green, known as “Tex,” and would stay at the rooming house Matta owns and was born in at 220 N. Main St.
Matta is the second prominent Brockton family to have a possible connection to the Aria Day Spa.
Philip Nessralla Jr., the city’s head attorney, helped Mussari incorporate her business in 2004 as a part of his private practice, and as a member of Rock Meadow LLC, owns Michael’s Plaza where Aria Day Spa operated until the raid.
Nessralla has said he had no idea what was taking place at Aria Day Spa and his filing of Mussari’s incorporation papers was routine.
Matta said he had no knowledge that Bowen or Rudolph may have worked at Aria Day Spa. Matta said he has never met Rudolph, but knows Bowen.
Matta said he did not know where either woman may have worked.
James Bernard Green, who declined comment, states in court documents Bowen is a recovering heroin addict and was doing well until she was prescribed Clonazepam, which she began abusing.
Matta, who is a witness in the assault and battery case, said Bowen was in “Never, Never Land,” at the time of the charge against Rudolph and the assault and battery against Green.
Matta said he suspects Bowen does not recall taking her own pills and would doubt any accusations she made against Green or Rudolph.
Matta said police charged Bowen because she went crazy on Green, who is a quasi-manager at the rooming house, including scratching him and biting his chest—injuries that were visible to police.
In an unusual step, Bowen’s court-appointed attorney, Daniel Kallenberg Jr., who has an office in Brockton at 1265 Belmont St., has asked the court to release Green’s and Matta’s probation records, and requests $500 for an investigator in Bowen’s defense on the simple, misdemeanor assault charge.
Kallenberg did not return repeated calls for comment.
Matta said about 7 to 10 years ago he was arrested and charged with assault and battery and breaking and entering when a woman at the 220 N. Main St. rooming house accused him of entering her room without permission.
He said the woman was causing problems and he had to take care of the situation.
"She said I didn't have permission to go into my own house," Matta said.
Matta said the charges were eventually dismissed.
Bowen’s legal matters increased on Oct. 25 and Nov. 3 when she was charged by Brockton Police for sexual conduct for a fee.
Court documents state in the Oct. 25 arrest, a Brockton Police detective working a prostitution sting, while driving in an unmarked vehicle, made eye contact with Bowen near Spring and Walnut streets.
He asked Bowen if she was working.
Police reports state Bowen said she was working and the detective asked her how much it would cost for fellatio—although the officer used the street term for the sex act.
Allegedly Bowen, who documents show has several tattoos, including one on her buttocks that reads, “guys ass,” said he should ask for “adult entertainment,” and her prices start at $40.
The officer asked if he could get fellatio for $50 and Bowen agreed.
The officer said he had to go to an ATM to get money. The officer then contacted another police officer who moved in and arrested Bowen.
In most court documents Bowen lists that she is unemployed.
However, in documents associated with the Oct. 25 arrest, she states she is self-employed and works at a place called Healing Hands.
Bowen is due back in Brockton court Dec. 2, the same day Caylin Rudolph's brother is due back in Quincy court for a pretrial hearing on the Weymouth murder charges.

Santa Hat Wearers Shatter Record

2011-11-21T09:41:00.000-08:00

EDITOR'S NOTE: TO VIEW PHOTOS AS A SLIDESHOW, DOUBLE CLICK ON ONE OF THEM!!
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--Nearly 1,800 people gathered in Brockton's downtown to celebrate the holiday season and once again break the city's own record for the most people in one place wearing Santa hats.
John Merian, owner of Tuxedos by Merian, who is trying to turn the city's downtown into "Christmas Town," said organizers tallied 1,792 tickets and exceeded expectations during Sunday's holiday primer.
"It was a great day," Merian said.
Thousands turned out on an unusually warm day and enjoyed music, raffles and a celebratory atmosphere.
The 1,792 people who wore Santa hats blew away Brockton's record of 872 set last year.
On Friday, more than 2,500 Brockton High students donned red felt hats and more than 14,000 were given to Brockton's school children before Sunday's tally, but that didn't stop thousands from joining in the fun.
"We're wearing our Santa hats," said Deanna Greenstein, who joined the third annual Santa Hat Day for the first time with her 20-month-old daughter Sadie, 5-year-old son Damon and 4-year-old son Ashton.
Numerous organizations hosted games and information about their groups, and hundreds followed Santa, a costumed reindeer and snowman courtesy of radio station WROR.
Merian--who launched the Santa Hat Challenge three years ago as a way to spark downtown business and awareness of Brockton's James Edgar, considered the first department store Santa--is a featured interview in a new docummentary, "Becoming Santa," which is expected to be aired on the Oprah Network next month.
Click here to visit the documentary's website.

Rooney Meeting Lasts Minute--Lifetime

2011-11-15T12:32:00.000-08:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
If Andy Rooney wasn’t late for his presentation during a journalism conference in Hartford, and I wasn’t late for Andy Rooney’s presentation during that conference in Hartford, we never would have met in a cramped elevator.
Of course I was late…I often am.
During one of those late-Lisa moments I nearly backed into Andy Rooney in a hotel elevator.
Along with doing whatever else to be late for his program, I ran back to my hotel room to get Rooney’s book, “Not That You Asked,” printed way back in 1989. The conference Rooney was speaking at was sometime between 2000 and 2002. I can’t remember exactly.
Anyway, late as usual, I squeezed myself into an elevator packed with people heading down to the lobby about 8 floors away.
I didn’t look at any of the people as I got in. I just wedged myself in, trying not to run over the people who were already in the sardine can. I faced the closing metal doors--we were so tightly packed my nose practically touched the doors--and wondered how much of Rooney's presentation I might have already missed.
As I was thinking to myself, it dawned on me the whole car was silent.
I thought that was odd since it was full of people. At least 20, maybe more. We were packed in row after row, back to front.
But no sound. No talk. Usually somebody says something to somebody, even if it’s “excuse me,” for stepping on feet or bumping each other as the car moved.
Nothing but silence.
While thinking this, I got a nudge in my side from one of my fellow reporters. I looked at her and she cocked her head and eyes to the small, older man in the gray suit directly behind me.
I swiveled my head and immediately recognized Andy Rooney.
My eyes opened wide and so did my mouth.
I bellowed: “Hi Andy Rooney! Guess I’m not late for your talk,” and nearly elbowed him in the gut as I maneuvered in the small space to face him.
That would be my luck--break Rooney's rib with an elbow trying to say "Hi."
He cracked a smile and said, “No, guess not, but I am.”
God knows what I said after that, something like it didn’t matter if he was late, or sorry, didn't mean to almost put you in the hospital.
For the ride down to the lobby, Andy Rooney and I were best buddies.
He asked me where I was from and I told him outside of Boston.
Rooney said he loved visiting Boston, and that his daughter Emily worked in the city.
I was happy to tell him I knew of his daughter Emily Rooney from WGBH, Boston’s public broadcasting station.
He was obviously proud of Emily and happy to know I knew her work.
He knew the Patriot Ledger, where I was working at the time, and we had a grand conversation in that 45-to-60 second time frame as the elevator headed to the lobby.
Rooney’s crusty, grumpy TV personality was nowhere to be found.
Curmudgeon my eye—try cream puff!
On the ground floor, Rooney pointed to the book under my arm, which of course I had forgotten about, and he asked me if I’d like him to sign it for me.
“You won’t have to waste time in line later,” Rooney said, knowing hundreds would be lined up after his talk for autographs—the only time I got a hint of his cynical side.
When I passed the book to him, his famous bushy brows rose up in surprise, when he saw it was more than 10 years old.
"That's an old one--everyone's got the new one," he said, adding I must have dug into the attic for that old relic.
I said no--it's on my bookshelf next to the AP stylebook and Molly Ivins' "Molly Ivins Can't Say That--Can She?"
He smiled and said, "that's good company."
As he opened the cover to sign it, Rooney asked what I wanted him to write. I said I didn't know, but whatever he wrote to make it out to my then-boyfriend,(now husband) Tom, who was the one who bought, read, enjoyed and kept the book since 1989--seven years before we started dating.
I was just an emissary on this one.
Rooney chuckled and said something like I picked a smart man with good taste.
He signed the book: “To Tom, not Lisa from Andy Rooney.”
We shook hands, exchanged farewells and he went to give his talk, and I found a seat in the conference room to listen.
Because I was late there were only seats in the back and except for a few shoulder movements and some gray hair, I couldn't see a thing.
And, yes, I did not have to wait in line for more than an hour to have him sign Tom’s book.
I pretty much got way more than I bargained for that day. Thanks Andy Rooney for that moment and so many others—funny, sad, insightful, and all of the other adjectives used to describe your one-of-a-kind commentaries on 60 Minutes.
Farewell Andy Rooney. The Crowley household will miss you.

Hallucinatory Teen Heads For Psych Exam In Weymouth Triple Murder

2011-11-14T17:14:00.000-08:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Accused triple-murderer Donald Rudolph, an 18-year-old with a history of paranoid schizophrenia was placed on probation Sept. 14 by Quincy District Court officials after shooting two women with a BB gun from the yard of his father’s rooming house in Quincy.
Today, two months later, Rudolph has been held without bail and ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation at Bridgewater State Hospital after prosecutors and court documents shaped a story of mental illness, violence, robbery and drug use leading up to last Thursday night’s grisly murders of Rudolph’s 50-year-old mother Paula, his 24-year-old sister Caylin and Paula Rudolph’s 52-year-old boyfriend Frederick Medina.
A plea of not guilty was entered on Rudolph’s behalf by attorney John Darrell, who told reporters outside the court house his client does not remember the killings and had to be told why he was appearing in court.
Darrell said the case could not proceed until Rudolph understood what had happened and what he was being accused of.
“He suffers from visual and auditory hallucinations and he’s having them now,” Darrell said.
Assistant District Attorney Craig Kowalski told a courtroom filled with anguished and audibly horrified family and friends of the Rudolphs and Medina,that Medina and sister Caylin suffered from multiple stab wounds.
Kowalski said Medina’s throat was cut and his body was covered with several dozen Beanie Bag stuffed animals—one which was crammed into Medina’s mouth.
While Rudolph’s lawyer told reporters Rudolph does not remember anything of last Thursday night, Nov. 10, reports from police who arrived at the scene and found the bodies tell a different story and indicate Rudolph attempted to clean-up the crimes.
“I’m f*****d, I’m f****d, “ Rudolph allegedly told Weymouth Police at about 8 p.m. when police found him trying to crawl out of a basement window after a neighbor reported suspicious activity at the house at 10 Upland Road.
Police spotted a silhouette moving through the house in a “tiptoe” fashion and while they called for the person inside to come to the door, Rudolph was caught up to his “torso” in a basement window trying to escape.
Rudolph was asked by police to come out of the house.
When Rudolph did, police found his hands were covered in blood.
Officers and detectives did not yet know the hollow and dark-eyed young man they were placing in handcuffs had brutally murdered his mother, her live-in boyfriend and his sister.
Rudolph was asked what he meant by his swear-filled comments.
Rudolph allegedly said, “you’ll see when you go in there.”
Weymouth officers and detectives began to search the two-story bungalow, which is tucked into a close knit Weymouth neighborhood near Whitman’s Pond.
An officer entered the kitchen and found a hammer and knife covered in blood on the kitchen table.
The instruments of death were partially covered with a place mat wrapped around them.
The officer then went to a doorway leading from the kitchen to the living room and while shining a flashlight in the dark house, abruptly stopped at what he saw.
Frederick Medina was found lying on his back with a slice wound across his neck and multiple stab wounds to his body.
On the floor to the left of Medina’s head, covered in a pool of blood, were several silver knives.
A Beanie Bag stuffed animal was in Medina’s mouth and his body was covered with several dozen of the toys.
It was then the officer warned other police they were in a crime scene.
A search ensued for Paula Rudolph who the neighbor had told police was likely in the house.
Officers found two rooms upstairs that had been locked.
Police kicked in the doors, but found only a burning candle in one of the rooms—both described as female’s bedrooms.
Police found other rooms with locked doors on the main floor, but no Paula Rudolph.
In the basement, where Rudolph had tried to escape through a window, Paula Rudolph still was not found, but police noted the stairs to the basement were extremely slippery and were covered with a liquid substance described as smelling like Pledge furniture polish.
With the house searched and still no Paula Rudolph, officers headed to a one-car garage at the rear of the house.
Officers saw one door to the garage. It had blood on the threshold.
Police tried to open the door, but it would only move a few inches because something was leaning against it.
An officer pushed his head in through the crack and realized a body was blocking the door.
Police entered the garage through a window to avoid harming evidence at the door.
They found Paula Rudolph dead against the door. She had been bludgeoned to death.
Not far away was Paula Rudolph’s daughter and Donald Rudolph’s sister Caylin, stabbed and beaten to death.
It is unclear where Paula and Caylin Rudolph may have been killed, although Kowalski said mother and daughter were killed before Medina.
Police reports note blood and a spray bottle of what appeared to be cleaning fluid were found on the outside of a bulkhead.
There was blood on the ground outside the bulkhead door and drag marks leading through the grass and dirt from the bulkhead to the garage door.
While family, friends and neighbors have said Donald Rudolph’s decline has been taking place for years-- including a stint living with former New England Patriots player Ronnie Lippett, whose jaw Rudolph reportedly broke when Rudolph was living with Lippett as part of a Lutheran social service program—Rudolph’s troubles with the law took a turn in April 2011, when he was charged with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon when a Quincy woman contacted police reporting she had been shot in the thigh by a BB while walking near a rooming house on Washington Street where Rudolph was living with his father, Donald.
Officers searched the porch where Rudolph lived and found a BB, or pellet rifle with a scope on the porch.
The next day, April 7, a day after interviewing two BB-gun shot victims, witnesses, and Rudolph, Rudolph was asked to Quincy Police headquarters for an interview, where police reports indicate after being read his Miranda rights and signing a waiver, Rudolph admitted to intentionally shooting the two women after more than 2 hours of questioning.
During the interrogation, Rudolph stated he was not on any drugs or alcohol.
Rudolph told police he bought the BB gun at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Brockton and used a gift card.
The two assault charges, felonies, carry a sentence of up to 2 ½ years in Plymouth County House of Correction.
He was arraigned in May and released on his personal recognizance.
Rudolph received a suspended sentence and was placed on probation beginning Sept. 14. The conditions of Rudolph’s probation included enrolling in a mental health program and complying with recommendations from that program. He was also ordered to take prescribed medications, not possess any weapons and have no contact with the victims.
However, Rudolph’s freedom on bail for the BB gun incidents and his probation were threatened on October 13, 2011 when a complaint was filed by Weymouth Police after a neighbor--Beverly McDermott, the same neighbor who called Thursday night to alert police to what turned out to be the triple murder--reported on Sept. 3 her house had been burglarized and jewelry, foreign currency, cash, cuff links and a pain-itch medication had been stolen from the house.
Witnesses pointed to Donald Rudolph as one of a ring of culprits from the Weymouth neighborhood. Over the next few weeks, police contacted Paula Rudolph who told police her son suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and is not taking his medications.
Paula Rudolph told police Donald was living with his father, her ex-husband, in Quincy and a backpack Donald left at her house at 10 Upland Road was not hers and she did not want it on her property. The backpack contained a BB-firing pistol and a container of BBs. Police confiscated the backpack as evidence.
Also, Paula Rudolph, according to court documents, had talked with her ex-husband about their son and the ex-husband affirmed Rudolph had arrived at the rooming house with coins, foreign currency and other items.
The father also told Paula Rudolph Donald “took” 23 klonopin (sic) pills.
Eventually police met with Rudolph’s father Donald Sr., at his rooming house in Quincy. The father said the teenager sometimes stays with him and was there when police arrived. The father let police in and through his efforts was able to talk his reluctant son into letting police look in a closet in the room.
Police reports show the jewelry, coins, foreign currency and cuff links McDermott reported stolen were found in the closet.
Also found was a baseball autographed by Red Sox players, and in a container a small marijuana cigarette and 23 klonopins (sic).
Rudolph was charged with receiving, buying or aiding in the concealment of stolen property not exceeding $250—a felony with a sentence of up to 2 ½ years in Plymouth House of Correction, a $250 fine or both.
The complaint was issued October 23 and court documents show court officials filed motions to charge Rudolph with probation violation and possible revocation of his bail.
Rudolph was scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment Tuesday, Nov. 29 on the stolen property charges.
Instead, Rudolph is being held at Bridgewater State Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation and faces life in prison for the murders of his mother, his mother’s boyfriend and his sister.
He returns to court on the murder charges Dec. 2.
(Photos from top: Rudolph booking photo; Paula Rudolph's house at 10 Upland Road; Caylin Rudolph's photo from her Facebook page; Family photo from surviving sister Brittany's Facebook page; garage where Paula and Caylin Rudolph were found by police)

Gun Wielding Constable Due In Court

2011-11-14T12:21:00.000-08:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—A South Shore constable who is accused of pulling a gun on a dead-beat dad at Trinity Catholic Academy is expected in Brockton District Court next month for a clerk's hearing to face charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and reckless endangerment of a minor.
According to court filings, Adam Loomis, 27, a constable in Scituate and Quincy, is scheduled to appear Thursday Dec. 1 at 2 p.m. before a clerk magistrate to address the two felony charges in connection with an arrest Loomis made with his father Jerold on the private Catholic school’s property.
Brockton Police Capt. Emanuel Gomes said it was the first he heard of the hearing and expects a summons to arrive soon.
However, he was surprised the matter has been scheduled for a clerk’s hearing and not an arraignment.
“That’s unusual for felony charges,” Gomes said. “Both are felony charges,” he added.
Court officials said the Dec. 1 hearing is not open to the public.
If a clerk decides the matter should move forward, documents and hearings in the case will then be open to the public.
Loomis is accused of endangering the children of George Haikal, who was dropping off his two sons at the school Oct. 11, when Loomis and his father Jerold moved toward Haikal’s car to arrest Haikal for back payment of more than $45,000 in child support payments.
Witnesses, including Brockton City Councilor Dennis DeNapoli who works at the school, have said Haikal’s vehicle jumped forward and Adam Loomis drew a gun from a holster on his hip in response to the movement and pointed the weapon at the windshield of the car Haikal was driving.
There were more than 100 students in the playground at the time and school officials immediately hustled the children into the building and locked-down the facility for about 10 minutes.
Brockton Police brought the two charges forward Oct. 21 after an investigation into the matter.
Gomes has said police concluded the vehicle’s lunge forward was not willful and there was no indication Haikal accelerated the car forward.
Following the incident, DeNapoli told BrocktonPost.com Haikal was being grabbed by the neck and dragged out of the car by Jerold Loomis, while the son Adam was at the front of the vehicle.
Loomis’ lawyer, Glenn Hannington, could not immediately be reached for comment.
The December hearing is not the only issue Loomis faces in connection to the school incident.
Gomes said Quincy and Scituate have contacted Brockton for reports about the incident and may consider revoking Loomis’ constable license in both those towns.
Also, Gomes said, Rockland has inquired about the matter.
Adam Loomis lives in Rockland and his permit to carry a firearm is approved through that community.
Gomes said it is unclear what those communities will do, but he has forwarded officials whatever information has been asked for.
“They could revoke his constable license, or his firearms license in Rockland, or they could wait and see what happens in court,” Gomes said.

Council Seat Run An Education, Newcomer Says

2011-11-09T11:35:00.000-08:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Councilor-at-large candidate Kate Archard said she met with Brockton Election Commission officials this morning and is satisfied that all of the votes in Tuesday’s election have been calculated properly and she will not seek a recount.
“There were something between 150 and 180 absentee ballots—we were hoping there would be more,” Archard said.
Archard, with the support of Stop The Power forces, fell short of unseating any of the four incumbents who sought election to their councilor-at-large seats.
She was 248 votes behind Todd Petti, the only councilor who has been in favor of a proposed 350-megawatt natural gas power plant planned for the Brockton-West Bridgewater border.
Archard said Tuesday night she might seek a recount because of the woeful electronic data management associated with the city’s water billing debacle.
However, after meeting with commissioners this morning she is satisfied every ballot has been counted and the absentee ballots were not enough to force the city to spend $5,000 to hold a recount.
“I’m disappointed, but I learned a lot,” Archard said.
She said it is unclear if a mailing from Stop The Power’s financier Eddie Beyers that notably left off Councilor-at-large Jass Stewart’s name as a staunch opponent of the power plant hurt her cause, but noted many observers believed it was a misstep.
However, she said the mailing was something Beyers did on his own and felt strongly about.
She said as a newcomer she had many obstacles to overcome, including the several years head-start each of her opponents have had building committees and voter support during past elections.
Archard said she will remain involved in city politics as well as her numerous volunteer endeavors.

Alleged Spa Madam Faces More Legal Issues

2011-11-09T11:08:00.000-08:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Brockton’s Aria Day Spa and two others in Canton and Norwood involved in a recent prostitution and drug raid will not be allowed to offer customers massages after state officials realized none of the three spas have a required license to operate a massage therapy business.
Jason Lefferts, a spokesman for the state Division of Professional Licensure, said last Thursday cease and desist orders were sent to Terry Mussari, a 45-year-old Stoughton resident, who faces prostitution charges after a raid by the law enforcement officials working with the state Attorney General’s Office Oct. 22.
“She had a message therapist license for herself, but not for the establishments,” Lefferts said. “Each of the spas needs an establishment license and none of them had one,” he said.
Lefferts said he couldn’t answer why state officials did not catch the glitch, even after several inspections of Mussari’s spas in Brockton and Norwood.
“I can’t answer that,” Lefferts said.
He said the matter is an ongoing investigation and the Board of Cosmetology will issue a show cause order to Mussari who will have the opportunity with her lawyer, Kevin Reddington, to submit information about the matter and then the board will hold a hearing to decide if an establishment license should be issued for one or all of Mussari’s spas.
The AG’s office also alleges employees at the spa were selling drugs to customers and to themselves.
Mussari has pleaded not guilty and has hired Brockton lawyer Kevin Reddington to fight the allegations. Another woman, Terri Burgess, 31, was also arrested in the raid for outstanding warrants.
Since Mussari's arrest, the spas have shown few signs of operations, and telephone calls to each have gone unanswered.
State Sen. Thomas Kennedy, who represents Brockton, said he wants Mussari’s charges to be investigated by the Division of Professional Licensure even as Mussari’s case works its way through the courts.
Kennedy said when the division investigated Mussari she passed a Criminal Offenders Record Inquiry which did not take into account a prior investigation into illegal activities at her spas.
Kennedy noted thus far Mussari has not been convicted of the charges against her, which the states regulations ostensibly would prevent the issuance of a massage therapy license.
However, Kennedy said, the regulations have a so-called morals clause, that the licensee should be of good moral character.
Kennedy declined to answer if Mussari is a person of good moral character, and that decision would be left to the board.
“This will be a good test of the regulation,” Kennedy said.
Mussari’s licenses are not the only avenue investigators are following in connection with her arrest.
Fox 25 has reported an employee of the spas has accused police officers of paying for legitimate massages then tipping cash for sex in a back room.
Also, State Police trooper David Lemar has been suspended without pay as a part of the ongoing investigation into the day spas.
Lemar has denied any wrongdoing.
According to court documents, an undercover state trooper had several conversations with Mussari about sexual services her employees could provide, including an alleged private party at the Aria Day Spa scheduled for Oct. 22 when Mussari agreed to provide 12 different girls to a group of men who would come to the party.
Documents state the cost for the girls would be $1,720.
The day of the party, which turned out to be the day of Mussari’s arrest, court records state the undercover state police officer paid the money owed to Mussari and it was discussed between him and Mussari that he would “go first” and the other 11 girls would be at Aria Day Spa later that night for the rest of the men.
Records state once the balance was paid, the undercover state trooper was taken to a private room where two different female employees came into the room separately and offered to provide the officer with sex acts, as was arranged with Mussari.
After the second female offered to perform a sexual act, the trooper gave a prearranged signal to surveillance officers who executed search warrants at all three spas.

All Brockton Incumbents But Beyer Back In

2011-11-09T06:34:00.000-08:00

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--All but one incumbent retained their seats in Brockton's 2011 general election.
Janice Beyer was unseated by Anthony J. Donegan Jr., who after winning September's primary went on to defeat longtime schoolcommitteewoman Beyer by a slim 83 votes.
Balzotti easily won reelection tallying 5,320 votes to Ron Matta's 1,732, or about a 75 to 25 percent difference.
Newcomer Kate Archard fell short of unseating any of the four incumbents for a councilor-at-large seat. Archard collected 3,518 votes, 248 shy of closest contestant Todd Petti, who retained his seat with 3,766 votes.
Thomas Brophy, Robert Sullivan and Jass Stewart all kept their at-large seats on the council.
All other races were uncontested.

DuBois Focuses On Ordinance Not DPW Head's Comments

2011-11-08T15:11:00.000-08:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Ward 6 City Councilor Michelle DuBois isn’t as worried about comments made to her by Department of Public Works ead Michael Thoreson near the end of an ordinance committee meeting Monday night as she is about getting a new water bill ordinance passed that she believes will help residents today and in the future when problems with their bills arise.
“I don’t really want to dwell on what he said,” DuBois said after the meeting. “I don’t want the importance of the problems to get lost…I don’t understand the personal nature of it all. They seem to think if I stop asking questions it will all go away,” she said.
About 15 minutes before the end of last night’s meeting that wrapped up with a favorable vote for DuBois’ new ordinance, Thoreson, who has been under fire for over a year from residents and some councilors, lost his temper while discussing his side of DuBois’ ordinance and responded by saying, “I’m at wits end taking this crap from you.”
Thoreson could not immediately be reached for comment about last night’s meeting.
DuBois said while she found Thoreson’s comments offensive, she would prefer to highlight different information that came out of the meeting, such as the difference between how many residents or households will be affected by the outcome of her ordinance.
Her ordinance would require the water department get an actual meter reading once every year, unlike the current ordinance which does not require an actual for at least two years.
The whole water mess began because many residents had not received actual readings in months and in some cases, 8 to 12 years, until bills trying to catch-up those estimates nearly gave residents heart attacks when they opened their mail to find water bills from $3,000 to $23,000 to, in one case, $100,000.
DuBois’ ordinance also gives residents who have two years or more of estimated readings to have their usage based on 6 months of actual readings, unlike the current ordinance which only allows an actual reading to be used for the lookback if meters have been tested and identified as faulty.
The current lookback policy, DuBois said, falls short of expectations and doesn’t take into account many things, especially the 2-year lookback based on actual readings over the last six months.
Officials have been against this formula because residents could conserve water over those 6 months and skew the readings.
The current formula uses an average based on two years of estimated bills—even though those bills are disputed and residents may not have all the information they need—such as if their meter has been tested, proof the meter has been tested, and the results of those tests—to decide if they want to sign-off on the city’s agreement notices for disputed bills.
Residents who agree to the city’s latest attempt to resolve disputed bills, must also agree not to take the city to court or appeal the water bill with the state Appellate Tax Board.
DuBois said officials are also misinforming people when they say 14 of 20 residents who have taken their cases to the state Appellate Tax Board have agreed to the city’s terms under the current two-year lookback policy and claim it is a sign of satisfaction with the policy.
Dubois said those remaining 6, including Robert Ford and Ayanna Cato--who were the first to make their water woes public—are struggling under a policy whose formula for payment often depends on how DPW employees feel about the person and not on actual water usage.
“A lot of this is being based on the department’s thoughts about someone,” DuBois said. “There needs to be a formula,” she said.
DuBois said the 20 residents might be a positive case study, but she is looking toward the next phase of lookback notices when more than 700 residents who have been identified as having problem bills begin to get their latest notices and agreement offers.
Ford has said he will not pay the city a dime, and since the current lookback policy was put in place, his bill has dropped from $23,000 to $4,000 and now about $2,500.
Even so, Ford is adamant he will not pay anything to the city, especially since the city’s independent auditor concluded the city owes Ford money.
“We’ve waited two years and people are still being shafted,” DuBois said.
The full City Council will still have to vote on DuBois’ additions to a two-year look back policy approved by the City Council and Balzotti a few months ago.
Since the water bill debacle began in the summer of 2010, Thoreson has taken heat from many of the residents who have been fighting outrageously high water bills. City Councilors like DuBois and Jass Stewart have asked tough questions about management. Some public meetings and many private meetings with some residents have devolved into personality attacks on both sides.
Animosity toward city officials over the water bill fiasco, in part, launched resident Ron Matta’s mayoral campaign against incumbent Mayor Linda Balzotti with a platform that he would fire or demote Thoreson if elected, and possibly look at the employment of Chief Financial Officer John Condon, who Matta blames for not having replaced outdated water meters five years ago when it was first brought forward to the City Council.
Balzotti and other city officials have said the situation is complicated, and a program of water meter replacement was not initiated five years ago, mostly because application for low-interest loans from the state did not receive approvals until last summer.
Balzotti has also said management issues within the DPW are being addressed, but because they are personnel matters she is not at liberty to discuss what is taking place in closed meetings.
DuBois said she has nothing personal against Thoreson or his department—even though they might think so.
She said her ordinance and constant questions, emails and phone calls aren’t about DPW employees individually, it’s about fairness for residents of Brockton and management of difficult issues, especially more than 700 lookback offers that will soon be sent to residents.
“Seven hundred bills will be looked at through this lens,” DuBois said. “We need to delineate exactly what the formula is,” she said.

Trinity Financial, Downtown Projects Gain Historic Credits

2011-11-07T13:27:00.000-08:00

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--FROM THE MAYOR'S OFFICE:
Three Brockton redevelopment projects, including Trinity Financial's $100 million commercial and residential project in downtown Brockton, have received a total of $900,000 in the latest round of historic rehabilitation tax credits from Secretary of State William F. Galvin’s office.
Trinity Financial, which has proposed the redevelopment of the dilipidated former Enterprise building, received $300,000 for the redevelopment of the Gardner Building.
Trinity’s proposal includes the redevelopment of approximately four acres from the north side of Main Street from Petronelli Way to Centre Street and east to Montello Street.
The proposed project calls for the construction of residential, retail and commercial space, as well as a 325-space city parking garage.
Capstone Communities LLC and Brophy & Phillips Company each received $300,000 in
tax credits from the Massachusetts Historical Commission to help finance their proposed redevelopment projects in the downtown area.
The Capstone Communities’ project plans to turn 124 Montello St., the former Stall and Dean sporting goods company, into a 25-unit residential building.
Brophy & Phillips proposal for 88 Lincoln St. will turn the former mill into commercial office space.
This is the second round of historic tax credit funding Capstone Communities and Brophy & Phillips have received.
“Brockton has a rich history. That history can be seen through the distinctive
architecture in our downtown,” said Mayor Linda M. Balzotti in a prepared statement.
“These grants help make preservation and redevelopment happen at the same time without having to sacrifice one for the other. I am proud of the hard work and collaboration between the developers, the city, Brockton’s planning and economic development agencies, as well as our state delegation which helped bring about these grants.”
The allocation of the historic tax credit funding is contingent upon the successful
completion of the project and certification by the Massachusetts Historical Commission.
Receiving the historic tax credit does not prohibit the developers from seeking additional funding from the state or other sources.

Stewart Supporters Urge Mailing Rejection

2011-11-03T09:11:00.000-07:00

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
There was a mass mailing of a political flyer with candidates for councilor-at-large expressing that they are against the power plant. On this card were the names Tom Brophy, Robert Sullivan and Kate Archard. Perhaps it was a typographical error or maybe the persons responsible for printing this flyer ran out of ink. However, Jass Stewart and Todd Petti’s names were omitted from this flyer giving the impression that Mr. Stewart like Mr. Petti is in support of the power plant.
Nothing could be further from the truth than to have them insinuate that Mr. Stewart supports the power plant. It is a fact that in the city of Brockton Mr. Stewart is a staunch opponent of the power plant.
We urge all voters to take a look at the whole picture and know that it is not in the city’s best interest to have Jass Stewart unseated due to tactics that unduly represent his position.
Please do not let their agenda deter you from giving Mr. Stewart your vote on November 8th. If you are concerned about your city, and most of us are, we need ALL voters to go out on November 8th and cast your vote.
Thank you,
Joan Madden
Harold “Bo” Marrow
Eugene Marrow

Nominations Due Friday For James Edgar Award

2011-10-31T10:33:00.001-07:00

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--The Downtown Brockton Association is accepting nominations for the annual James Edgar Community Service Award, given each year to the person in the community who best exemplifies first department store Santa Edgar’s spirit of generosity toward the city’s children.
To nominate someone for the James Edgar Award, please submit the following:
•Your name and contact information including phone number and email address;
•The name and address of the person you are nominating;
•A detailed description of how this person has benefitted the children of Brockton and why they deserve this recognition.
Please keep responses to a maximum of 250 words.
All nominees must be a Brockton resident.
The deadline for submitting nominations is Noon on Friday, November 4th.
Please submit nominations to Jennifer Kovalich, communications manager, Good Samaritan Medical Center at Jennifer.Kovalich@steward.org or Robert Malley, Executive Director, Brockton Parking Authority, at RMalley@cobma.us.
The recipient of the James Edgar Award will be honored during the 25th Annual Downtown Holiday Parade on Saturday, Nov. 26.
The honoree’s name will also be included on the Edgar Plaque on the James J. Adams Parking Garage on Main and Crescent streets.
Each person may only nominate one individual.
James Edgar was an immigrant from Edinburgh, Scotland who opened Edgar’s Department Store on Main Street in Brockton.
In December of 1890, he dressed up as Santa Claus based on a popular illustration of a jolly Santa drawn in 1863 by the famous cartoonist Thomas Nast.
Edgar did not intend for this to be a commercial attraction. He did it for the enjoyment of the children and to promote Christmas.
Edgar is considered the first by many to have begun the tradition of the department store Santa Claus.
Within days trains from as far away as Boston and Providence brought families and their children to downtown Brockton to see Santa. The idea quickly transferred to department stores around the country and continues to this day.
A city park is named for him.

Campaign Mailing Splits Power Plant Candidates

2011-10-25T14:56:00.000-07:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—It didn’t take long before Councilor-at-large Jass Stewart’s supporters began calling, emailing and Facebooking him to make him aware of a bright yellow political endorsement that arrived in 3,000 residents’ mailboxes over the weekend from anti-power plant group Stop The Power that most noticeably excluded his name from city council candidates in the Nov. 8 election who are against the proposed $350 million natural gas power plant.
“I didn’t receive it, I guess I’m no longer on the list, but I received a number of (phone) calls, emails and messages on Facebook about it,” Stewart said in a telephone interview Monday with BrocktonPost.com.
“Regardless of how I found out about it, I am definitely against the power plant,” Stewart said, adding he has responded to the exclusion on Facebook and in the media because he wants to make sure his supporters and those inclined to vote for his reelection understand he is against the power plant.
However, a leader and money behind Stop The Power, Eddie Byers, owner of Cindy’s Kitchen, a Brockton salad dressing manufacturer, said he paid for the mailing and Stewart’s name was left off the endorsement for a reason.
“We’re not going to endorse someone who uses words like ‘contingency plan’ and ‘mitigation,’ as part of the fight against the power plant,” Byers said. “We endorsed candidates who are completely on our side—not those who are negotiating with the power plant people,” Byers said.
The candidates Stop The Power has endorsed for councilor-at-large are newcomer Kate Archard, who many see as a Stop The Power insider, and incumbent councilors Robert Sullivan and Thomas Brophy.
The mailing also supports for reelection the 6 other councilors who are running unopposed and supports incumbent Ward 3 Councilor Dennis Eaniri and his opposition Gerald Conefrey.
Todd Petti, who has been the only city councilor, state representative or state senator in favor of the power plant, was also left off Stop The Power’s endorsement, but many said that is to be expected.
The rift between Stop the Power and Stewart became public during the summer when Stewart angered and upset Stop The Power forces when, in a private meeting with Stop The Power activists suggested the group consider a “worst-case scenario” in case the power plant won legal cases or regulatory battles and the city was forced to allow the plant be constructed.
During the private meeting Stewart told Stop The Power activists he had met with former Mayor Jack Yunits about money, services and other mitigation the power plant could offer the city in the event the plant received approvals.
Stewart calls the meeting a responsible move by an elected councilor to protect the city’s interest in the face of potential backlash from the Stop The Power coalition. He likened a contingency plan in case of defeat to that if the Brockton Rox are unable to pay its debts and the city has to take over payments for the stadium's construction.
Stop The Power members and Byers call it a back-door play, a “betrayal” and “stab in the back” and they want their members to know Archard, Brophy, and Sullivan have not said one thing in public and another in private.
Stewart has he is disappointed in Stop The Powers’ mailing, but is not surprised, because the rift has become a divide and now the group is actively against his reelection, calling saying he expected something negative about his reelection, but not to exclude him as someone in favor of the power plant--similar to Petti's stance.
"I think it's a bit more of a shady play than I expected," he said.
Stewart said he was the first city official to publicly announce his opposition to the power plant during his unsuccessful run for mayor against James Harrington beginning in 2006 and culminating in Harrington’s reelection by a slim margin.
Stop The Power members are disputing the claim, saying Ward 6 Councilor Michelle DuBois was the first public official against the plant.
In 2009, when Stewart ran for councilor-at-large, Stop The Power supported Stewart in similar mailings while excluding others, like former Yunits staff member Mark Lucas who Byers said flip-flopped on his stance toward the power plant.
Two years later the group has sent a similar mailing excluding Stewart, and possibly splitting its supporters between Archard and Stewart for one of the four councilor-at-large seats.
Byers said the mailing isn’t about Archard even though she is a staunch supporter of Stop The Power, rather it’s about the fight against the power plant and letting Stop The Power’s supporters know who is on their side.
“If Jass didn’t say he was meeting with Yunits to negotiate and met with Yunits…his name would be on there,” Byers said.
Byers said two years ago he personally paid for a similar mass mailing and he did the same during this election.
Two years ago Lucas raised questions about Byers’ and Stop The Powers' campaign expenditures and timely filing of financial disclosures.
Byers said those disclosures were a couple of days late and he is following the advice of his lawyer Paul Glickman to make sure he is doing everything required under the state’s Office of Political and Campaign Finance.
BrocktonPost.com has contacted Glickman and the Secretary of State, which oversees the Office of Political and Campaign Finance, to clarify Byers’ and Stop The Power’s requirements under the law.
Glickman said Byers paid for the mailing as an individual and not as a group or corporation and a filing will be submitted to the city’s Election Commission within the deadline.
A draft filing states Byers paid $1,507 for the mailing, including the 3,000 postcards, postage and tax.
Questions have been raised whether Stop The Power is a political action committee or a group, but Glickman said because Stop The Power does not raise any money—it all comes from Byers—it is not a political action committee, and although there are activists involved with Stop The Power, Stop the Power is Eddie Byers and not a group because mailings and other activities are paid for by no one other than Byers.
According to Jason Tait, spokesman for the Secretary of State’s campaign finance office, in general an independent expenditure has limits if any of the candidates who were supported were consulted before the endorsement went out and if there was consultation there are different spending limits for individuals and groups.
Tait said if the candidate or candidates were consulted the expenditure would be considered an in-kind contribution and individuals would be limited to spending $500 and a group would be capped at $15,000 or 10 percent of the group’s general fund or treasury.

Otherwise, an individual can spend an unlimited amount of money, but must disclose the expenditures as required by law.
Kate Archard said she knew the mailing was going to go out and it was being worked on by Byers’ consultant, but she did not have any hand in its inception, design or final product approval.
Other candidates could not immediately be reached for comment.
Glickman said he did not believe Archard’s involvement prior to the mailing rises to the level of consultation under the law and believes Byers is taking all of the right steps to disclose expenditures in the campaign.
Whether the mailing has an impact on election results remains to be seen.
Voters can choose up to 4 of the 5 candidates in the councilor-at-large race and can decide to cast all of those votes or hold some back.
Stewart said he has had positive responses from supporters since the mailing and believes voters will see his overall record and understand he met with Yunits to protect the city and he is still firmly against the power plant whether or not Byers and others believe otherwise.
Byers said the mailing wasn’t an endorsement against Stewart, it was a way to tell power plant opponents which candidates have been resolute in their opposition to the power plant and voters will decide for themselves.
“They’ve got a 4th pick…I just didn’t feel good enough to have Jass on the list,” Byers said. “People want to know who is with us and who isn't,” he said.

Ward 2 Meeting Thursday, 7 p.m.

2011-10-25T06:46:00.000-07:00

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--Ward 2 City Councilor Thomas Monahan will host a ward 2 meetingThursday, October 27 at 7 p.m. at George's Cafe. Guest speakers will be School Commmittee member Richard Bath who will talk about the reopening of Marciano Stadium and other school issues; a representative of Brockton Police department to talk about Dover St. and Neighborhood Watch; Steve Torrey of Torrey Associates who will talk about Johnson Sq. and other developments.
Also on the slate is John Merian of the Downtown Business Association to talk about the Holiday Parade coming up in November and downtown police patrols; and 21st Century Corp. head Mary Waldron, who is battling cancer, is tentatively scheduled to talk about the agency's work.
Monahan also invites any candidate who is running in the Nov. 8 election who would like to appear are more than welcome to say a few words.
For more information, contact Tom Monahan at 508-942-0385.

AG's Office Raids Area Spas

2011-10-24T08:18:00.000-07:00

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--Two local women were arrested Saturday and charged with offering sexual activity and selling narcotics at three day spas in Brockton, Canton and Norwood.
According to a statement from Attorney General Martha Coakley's office, Terry Mussari, 45 of Stoughton, and Tiffany Burgess, 31, of Raynham were arrested during the raids that took place at Aria Day Spa, 1280 Belmont St., Brockton, Sparkle Day Spa, 95 Washington St., Canton MA and Spa Bellissimo, 1210 Boston-Providence Turnpike, Norwood.
Search warrants were executed by State Police assigned to the AG's office and members of the FBI in Boston who have been investigating allegations of prostitution and drug distribution from the three spas that are owned and operated by Mussari. (Pictured above)
According to the AG's statement, investigators developed evidence indicating that all three spas were allegedly offering sexual activity between masseuses employed by Mussari and their clients in exchange for cash that was characterized as "tips." In addition, authorities also allege employees of the spa were selling narcotics to customers as well as each other.
Following the execution of the search warrants authorities arrested Mussari and Burgess.
Mussari was charged with deriving support from prostitution and taken to the State Police Barracks in Middleboro.
Burgess (Pictured, right) was arrested on multiple outstanding arrest warrants and also taken to the Middleboro Barracks. Mussari is due to be arraigned on Monday, October 24 in Brockton District Court.
The investigation remains active and ongoing.
(Photos courtesy of AG's office)

ICE Opens New Boston Forensics Lab

2011-10-23T16:10:00.000-07:00

BrocktonPost
BOSTON--U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations has announced the dedication of an expanded new state-of-the-art forensic laboratory in Boston Friday, Oct. 21.
The facility will assist federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities in New England with a wide range of forensic investigative support in cases that are often complex, and require significant examination and analysis, ICE said in a prepared statement.
"Whether it's an examination of computers in cyber crimes or fraudulent travel documents in an international human trafficking ring, this facility has the investigative keys to unlock the mysteries of crime," said Bruce M. Foucart, Homeland Security Investigations special agent in charge in New England. "This lab also illustrates our professional commitment to develop the strongest evidence possible to successfully prosecute these cases," he added.
The forensic lab will help prepare investigators as they team with other state and local investigative experts as well as prosecutors from U.S. attorney's offices in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine and Vermont.
Several other federal, state and local law enforcement authorities have expressed their support of efforts to strengthen investigative techniques to remain competitive with the ever-changing world of scientific technology.
"This facility, and, more importantly, the expertise of the agents who are responsible for conducting the daily examinations and analyses, enhances ICE's ability to successfully solve crime and to bring those responsible for it to justice," said Foucart.
The new forensic lab will support the work of ICE HSI special agents and other federal, state and local law enforcement authorities, including those who investigate crimes as part of the Document & Benefit Fraud Task Force in Boston, one of 18 cities in the U.S. where task forces have been established.
The lab will also support the work of its Boston-based cyber crimes group and investigations of transborder production and distribution of images of child abuse, as well as individuals who travel abroad to engage in sex with minors.
The lab employs the latest technology to collect evidence and track the activities of individuals and organized groups who sexually exploit children through the use of websites, chat rooms, newsgroups and peer-to-peer trading.
As Internet access continues to expand, the forensic lab brings the full range of ICE HSI computer and forensic assets together in a single location to combat such Internet-related crimes as:
*Possession, manufacture and distribution of images of child abuse;
*International money laundering and illegal cyber-banking;
*Illegal arms trafficking and illegal export of strategic/controlled commodities;
*Drug trafficking, including trafficking in prohibited pharmaceuticals;
*General smuggling, including trafficking in stolen art and antiquities and violations of the Endangered Species Act;
*Intellectual property rights violations, including music and software;
*Immigration violations; and
*Identity and benefit fraud.

Aquaria Head Takes Heat From Brockton Council

2011-10-18T21:47:00.000-07:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Although it may take years before a developer looking to build a 350-megawatt natural gas power plant can buy water from desalination water provider Aquaria LLC, Brockton city councilors are indignant that Aquaria’s general manager did not inform them a potential deal was in the works and instead had to learn the details from the media.
“With all due respect, I see it as a slap in the face,” said Councilor-at-large Thomas Brophy during Monday night’s City Council Finance Committee meeting when Aquaria’s general manager Alfredo Andres attended the meeting to talk about the potential sale of 1.7 million gallons of water to cool the turbines that would power the proposed natural gas plant on Oak Hill Way.
Andres and Aquaria came under fire at the end of last month following a state hearing with the Energy Facilities Siting Board that upheld the city’s denial of drinking water for the power plant’s turbines.
The power plant project has been mired in controversy, lawsuits and a grassroots uprising against it that includes 10 of 11 city councilors and the city’s state legislators.
The water issue is seen as a linchpin in the plant’s construction and along with denying the plant drinking water, the city has rejected the plant’s request to pay for the use of treated wastewater—the plant’s first choice in the approval process.
When the waste water was denied, power plant officials sought approval from the state to use the city’s drinking water.
The Siting Board’s decision upholding the city’s drinking water denial was seen as a major victory until word spread Advanced Power—the power plant’s developer—had signed a letter of intent to get the needed water from Aquaria which was somewhat of a shock to councilors because Andres had met with the council just days before the Siting Board hearing and did not mention the possible deal with Advanced Power.
Andres said when he was in front of the council in September they had not asked questions that were specific to a deal with Advanced Power, however Ward 1 Councilor Timothy Cruise disagreed.
”I think you were very disingenuous that night,” Cruise said. “I’m very offended over how we were treated that night,” he said, adding he believed Andres did not tell the council the whole truth because Andres knew what the council’s reaction would be.
Councilor-at-large Robert Sullivan also disagreed with Andres’ assertion the board was not specific in its questions about the possibility of the plant using Aquaria’s desalinated water.
“I feel that the questions you were asked were pointed—I asked them myself,” Sullivan told Andres. “I’m extremely disappointed that wasn’t disclosed,” Sullivan said.
Andres, who did more listening than talking, told councilors that the letter of intent was agreed upon about two or three months ago and initial talks with Advanced Power began 6 to 8 months ago in January or February.
He said there was little to no talk about how much it would cost Advanced Power for the water, only that the power company would have to pay what Brockton pays as a minimum.
Andres characterized the two meetings as discussions and not negotiations—a point Cruise disagreed with—and that Advanced Power would have to be characterized as a public utility or wholesaler by several state agencies before Aquaria could sell water to the plant. Such a process could take years, if at all. (SEE BROCKTONPOST.COM'S INTERVIEW WITH ANDRES BY SCROLLING DOWN TO SEPT. 26)
According to Catherine Williams, a spokeswoman with the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, thus far, Advanced Power has not submitted an application to be declared a wholesaler or public utility.
Andres said he understood councilors were angry about the matter, but said he had to meet with Advanced Power because they were a potential customer interested in buying 1.7 million gallons of water—an issue heightened by the need for the company to sell a surplus of its water.
Councilors have requested a copy of the letter of intent. Andres said he was unsure if Aquaria has received that request yet.
City Councilor Philip Nessralla said Aquaria has only recently been asked for a copy of the letter and will inform the council when the request is answered.
Andres, who was interviewed by BrocktonPost.com following the Siting Board hearing and subsequent anger over the letter of intent was asked by BrocktonPost.com for the letter, also. During that interview Andres said he was not certain if the letter was a public document and suggested a copy of the letter might be obtained through Advanced Power.
Advanced Power has not responded to BrocktonPost.com’s requests for comment or information since the Siting Board hearing held Thursday, Sept. 22.

Good Sam Celebrates ER Opening

2011-10-17T08:31:00.000-07:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Respiratory therapist Deb Owen could not, and did not want to hide the happiness she felt as she enjoyed the public preview of the opening of Steward Good Samaritan Medical Center’s $30 million state-of-the art emergency room.
“I’ve been waiting 30 years,” Owen said as she and Darlene Gareri, head of the hospital’s catheter lab, were set to enter a large inflatable heart that gave grand opening goers a look into the workings of the human heart. (Pictured, second photo)
“I’m thrilled and the new ER is stunning—it’s beautiful,” Owen said.
On Saturday, Oct. 15 hundreds of doctors, nurses, therapists, staff and residents joined Good Samaritan for public tours of the new ER and also had the opportunity to have footballs, hats, and T-shirts signed by New England Patriots 3-time Pro Bowler Matt Light.
The new ER does not open for services until Wednesday, Oct. 19.
During brief comments, Light said the new facility is an important addition to the community, and has learned how fantastic area medical services are after having to confront his son’s rare heart disease.
“We are very lucky to have the health care we have here in New England,” Light said.
(Pictured, top with from left, Dr. Richard Herman, Mary Richardson and hospital head Jeffrey Liebman)
Nicole St. Laurent, 11 of Lakeville and friend Anne Pearce, 12, of Mansfield—both students at Taunton Catholic Memorial School stopped in at the celebration after running in the Saturday road races held each week at D.W. Field Park where Pearce took first place and St. Laurent third in their age groups. (Pictured, third photo with EMT Jeffrey Kaplan)
Linda St. Laurent, Nicole’s mother, said they saw the celebration going on and decided to stop in and see what was happening.
“It’s a good opportunity for them to learn about medical services,” St. Laurent said. “It’s good exposure for them. It’s another way to learn,” she added.
Dr. Richard Herman, chairman of emergency medicine, who was excited for the new ER’s opening, said the new facility is wired and ready for future growth and will allow the hospital to handle 65,000 emergency visits a year.
“Saying it’s a big day for us is an understatement,” Herman said smiling from ear-to-ear. “This is an epic moment in health care for the region,” he said.
The old emergency room was built in 1968 and was state-of-the-art at the time, Herman said, but more than 40 years later the ER needed an overhaul to catch-up with technology, patient comfort and privacy.
He said the life span of an emergency room is about 20 to 25 years, and the old one served for more than 43.
The old ER’s capacity was about 25,000 visits per year, about half the 54,000 patients the ER has been handling for years.
“We had it in life support for the last 20 or so years,” Herman said.
The new facility is modern, spacious and bright and features cutting edge equipment, including a 64-slice CT scan machine and a new digital imaging area in the ER.
Before the new building, patients had to be shuffled to another end of the hospital for X-rays, ultrasounds and CT scans. Now, instead, it is a short walk from room-to-room, and the new digital imaging suite uses no film—everything is computerized—and the CT scan and X-rays use a quarter of the radiation than older models—a key for patients who have to have those services, said X-ray Supervisor Chris Stillman. (Pictured, fourth photo)
A huge feature of the new ER are 42 private rooms for patients.
Before the new facility, patients were crammed together in rooms and beds were separated by a thin curtain.
Each room has televisions and chairs for the comfort of family and friends.
“Now you don’t have to listen to the conversation in the bed next to you,” Herman said.
There are also new psychiatric rooms, and a decontamination room, that officials said is the only one in New England, and while everyone hopes it will not be used too often—at least it is there.
“This is awesome,” said Councilor-at-large Robert Sullivan. “This is a good thing for Brockton and the entire region,” he said.

Good Sam ER Open House Sat., Oct. 15

2011-10-11T08:25:00.000-07:00

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--Good Samaritan Medical Center will begin a new era of emergency care October 19 with the opening of its new, $30 million state-of-the art emergency room.
“The emergency department is the front door to the hospital, and our front door needed to be bigger and more welcoming,” said Richard Herman, chairman of emergency medicine.
“It wasn’t designed for our current high volume. The focus was not on patient privacy and comfort. Now we will be able to provide the best that emergency medicine has to offer, in a modern facility that is safe, comfortable, and convenient,” Herman added.
Good Samaritan is inviting the public to celebrate this momentous occasion.
There will be a community open house, with special guest, three-time Pro Bowler Matt Light of the New England Patriots Saturday, October 15 from Noon to 3 p.m. at the new emergency room on Pearl St.
All are welcome to come and view the brand new 32,000-square-foot space and its amenities.
The open house will include free educational sessions on infant car seat safety, breast cancer awareness, surgery, triage and medication safety.
Tours of the “Mega Heart,” an inflatable educational tool on cardiac care that visitors can walk through, will also be offered.
Staff will also give Halloween safety tips for children and tours of an American Medical Response ambulance will also be available.
“It is so gratifying to provide our employees, physicians and EMS partners with a facility and environment that matches their talents, skills and compassion for emergency medicine,” said Good Samaritan President Jeffrey H. Liebman. “This facility puts us on the map as a premier regional medical center.
The new ER includes:
•42 private rooms, including 6 fast-track bays
•2-bay trauma room
•cardiac care room
•7-bed observation unit
•64-slice CT scanner and X-ray suite
•dedicated space for behavioral health, pediatric and gynecological patients
•isolation room for patients with infectious diseases
•decontamination unit
•private workroom for EMS providers
The current emergency room opened in 1968 with an expected annual capacity of 25,000 visits.
In the last few years, the average annual visits have more than doubled the original t 54,000 per year.
Once operational, the new emergency department will accommodate approximately 60,000 yearly visits.
The new ER has private rooms with televisions and telephones instead of curtained cubicles, and will provide enhanced confidentiality and make the facility more welcoming for family members.
Physicians, nurses and ancillary health care professionals at the hospital will also find an improved environment for delivering care because the facility was designed with an eye on workflow optimization.
“Our emergency department will be much more efficient and effective thanks to this project,” Herman said. “We already provide exceptional quality, but we will be able to do an even better job in a modern environment,” he noted.

"Get Help," Past Domestic Abuse Victim Urges

2011-10-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Brockton resident Irma Walat cruised past the finish line and talked to old friends and some new ones as she helped bring more awareness to domestic violence during the Family and Community Resource’s “Hearts and Hands for Hope” 5K run/walk last Saturday.
At 71, Walat (Pictured, second photo) has been running road races without fear for 17 years after she escaped the fists and words of her abusive and alcoholic husband—a man whom she married when she was 18, spent decades with raising two children and did not try to leave until she was 54.
“My life is very good and happy, now,” said Walat, a well-known and much-loved member of the Colonial Road Runners, an association of runners from across Massachusetts who Walat joined in 1978 when she began running to relieve the stress in her marriage and home life.
Walat said when she was 54 their relationship—marred by years of brawls and booze—took a malevolent turn for the worse and she began to fear for her life.
“I was young, I was naïve,” Walat said. “There was a lot of drinking…it was a very bad marriage,” she said.
As luck would have it, as she sought help to leave, a miracle of sorts happened.
“He got sick,” Walat said. “He got lung cancer and died—thank god,” she said laughing heartily as she told her story.
Her adult children, Walat said, struggle with alcohol and the affects of years of abuse, but since the husband died, the gut-wrenching anxiety and fear the family lived with has disappeared.
“Some people might think that is cruel,” Walat said of her delight over his death, “but the best thing that could have happened was that he died. You know what I mean if you’ve been through it.”
Walat joined about 100 runners, walkers and volunteers for Family and Community Resource’s “Hearts and Hands for Hope” run and walk.
The event took participants from the Raymond Elementary School to D.W. Field Park and back. Fourteen vendors sponsored the event and gave away free prizes and information. An after-event party was held at Mickey Malone's.
Some participants like Michael Matt, 13, and Asa Habb, 14, best friends from Providence, R.I. joined the run to continue their weekend training regimens for their cross-country teams and raise money for a good cause. (Pictured, top photo)
“We’re part of Peg’s Posse,” said Andy Matt, Michael’s father who grew up in Sharon and entered the boys as part of a group from Keller Williams Realty led by Peg Carbone, a volunteer at food pantries in Brockton and Stoughton.
Marshfield resident Debra Bloom was running her first 5K road race, having been recruited by Brian Quinn, an Easton resident who was there to support organizers.
Scituate Police officer Ted Coyle—who won the 5K road race—said he wanted to support Family and Community Resources because as one of two officers in Scituate who handle domestic violence issues with the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office, he knows how difficult it can be to raise awareness so victims will get help. (Pictured, right)
“No town is immune to it. We have our share. We just don’t get the volume Brockton has,” Coyle said.
Coyle said law enforcement officials appreciate the people who volunteer with domestic violence programs such as Family and Community Resources, Jane Doe in Boston and the other services available to victims of domestic violence.
"We wouldn't be as far as we are without the volunteers," Coyle said.
Karen Slaby, director of marketing for Family and Community Resources, said the event was a great time and she thanked everyone involved.
"We get so much help and support from the community," Slaby said.
After years of suffering, Walat said she understands how difficult it might be for someone to leave an abusive and violent relationship, but that pain can lead to a life that is much better than the pain of an abusive relationship.
“Reach out. Get help,” Walat said.

Ashland Man Charged in D.C. Terror Plot

2011-09-28T17:08:00.000-07:00

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--A 26-year-old Ashland man was arrested and charged this morning in connection with his plot to attack the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol using large remote controlled, model airplanes filled with C-4 plastic explosives.
According to a statement from Boston U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, following a nearly year-long undercover sting operation, Rezwan Ferdaus, 26, a U.S. citizen who holds a bachelor's degree in physics from Northeastern University, was also charged
with attempting to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization, specifically to al Qaeda, in order to carry out attacks on U.S. soldiers stationed overseas.
Authorities said the public was never in danger because the people Ferdaus thought were al-Qaeda recruits were actually undercover FBI agents and not actual al-Qaeda operatives.
In the federal complaint against Ferdaus, investigators stated Ferdaus declared a personal "jihad," or war against the U.S. in 2010.
An investigation into Ferdaus' activities began in January, 2011 when a corroborating witness met with Ferdaus to record conversations about Ferdaus' desire to aid in terror operations against the U.S. and "kill the armies" of non-believers.
From March 2011 to September 2011, the affidavit states undercover agents with the FBI pretended to be members of al-Qaeda, a recognized terror organization, who wanted to help Ferdaus with his desire to plot an attack against the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol building.
The criminal complaint against Ferdaus states not only did Ferdaus plan to crash three explosive-laden, remote control airplanes with lengths of 6 to 8 feet and wing spans of 14 feet into the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol, but also wanted to recruit and supply two teams of 6 men with AK-47 machine guns to join him in killing as many "kafirs," or non-believers as they could following the plane attacks.
Prosecutors said Ferdaus was arrested and charged this morning following a meeting with undercover operatives who delivered a fake supply of C-4 plastic explosives, six AK-47 rifles, and grenades.
When Ferdaus took possession of the supplies and locked away the supposed explosives and machine guns at a rented storage facility in Framingham, agents and police moved in and immediately arrested Ferdaus.
During the investigation, agents said they accepted numerous mobile telephones Ferdaus had modified to be used as electronic detonators for improvised explosive devices for al-Qaeda to use against U.S. forces overseas.
Agents also said Ferdaus recorded a video showing how to turn cell phones and mobile devices into electronic bomb detonators.
Undercover operatives falsely told Ferdaus during a meeting June 27, 2011 that his first phone had been used to kill 3 U.S. servicemen and injure four or five others in Iraq.
Ferdaus allegedly responded,"That is exactly what I wanted."
The complaint says Ferdaus used false identities during the plot, including using the name "Dave Winfield" when he opened a Pay-Pal account to buy one of three remote-controlled planes.
Officials said when the Florida distributor asked Ferdaus why he was buying the plane, Ferdaus--unmarried and without children--told the representative it was for his son.
The complaint states during recorded conversations with undercover agents early in the investigation, Ferdaus told agents more than a year before their meeting he realized from viewing jihadi websites and videos "how evil" America is and jihad is the solution. In his own words, agents said, he decided to "terrorize" the U.S. by attacking Washington D.C. and looked forward with excitement to the prospect of shooting down politicians at the Capitol Building.
Ferdaus visited Washington D.C. to locate a launch site and plan the attacks, including taking surveillance photos, and creating a lengthy, step-by-step manual of how the attack and subsequent machine gun raid would take place.
Agents said Ferdaus did not feel any compassion for the killing of women and children, saying they are "enemies of Allah."
Ferdaus was charged with numerous federal crimes and faces up to 20 years in prison for the charge of attempting to destroy national defense premises and up to 20 years for attempting to damage or destroy buildings owned by the U.S. by using an explosive.
He appeared in U.S. District Court in Worcester and is expected to be held without bail until a detention hearing Monday.
(Photo above is of a model plane similar to those Ferdaus bought to attack Washington D.C. Courtesy Boston U.S. Attorney's Office)

Aquaria Water Talk Expected Monday

2011-09-27T05:19:00.000-07:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--City Councilors plan to invite Aquaria desalination plant general manager Alfredo Andres to clarify information about meetings with developers of a 350-megawatt natural gas power plant after power plant officials claimed Aquaria had signed a deal to provide much-needed water for the project.
Councilor-at-large Thomas Brophy said after last night's City Council meeting members of the board expect to contact Andres today and request he attend the council's finance committee meeting next Monday, Oct. 3.
Brophy said he has been angry with Andres and Aquaria after hearing since last Thursday from officials and residents that Advanced Power-Brockton Power, the company trying to build the power plant, had issued a statement claiming it had signed a notice of intent with Aquaria for 1.7 million gallons of water to cool the proposed power plant's turbines.
Advanced Power released a statement following a hearing with the state Energy Facilities Siting Board Thursday, Sept. 22, when the Siting Board strongly reaffirmed its 4-3 decision in June by voting 6-1 last Thursday to deny the power plant its request to use the city's drinking water to cool its turbines--a critical issue in the plant's construction.
Advanced Power has not returned telephone calls or emails for comment since last Thursday.
"Until I read your story on the website I was going to blast him," Brophy said last night of Andres and Aquaria.
Brophy and other city officials had met with Andres and other Aquaria representatives last Monday, three days before the state Siting Board meeting when Andres assured council members Aquaria could not sell desalinated water to the power plant, because the power plant was not a wholesaler or official public water district.
Brophy said he and his fellow council members were livid after learning Advanced Power announced some sort of deal had been arranged with Aquaria after Andres told the board it could not sell water to Advanced Power.
In an interview with BrocktonPost.com yesterday morning, Andres said the only way Aquaria could sell water to Advanced Power is if Advanced Power began a series of permit requests at the state and local level that would begin with the state Department of Public Utilities to be designated a wholesaler of water.
Andres said there would be many other regulatory hurdles that could take Advanced Power years to meet, if ever.
(Please scroll down to read yesterday's interview with Andres)

Power Plant Water Hurdles Add Up In Aquaria Sale Attempt

2011-09-26T09:32:00.000-07:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—The general manager for Aquaria Water LLC, the company that owns and operates a desalination plant in North Dighton said selling much needed water for a proposed 350-megawatt natural gas power plant in Brockton is far from a done deal.
Alfredo Andres, general manager for Aquaria Water, said in a telephone interview if Advanced Power-Brockton Power wants to buy water from the desalination plant, there are a whole host of regulatory hurdles it must overcome before his company can supply the 1.7 million gallons a day the proposed 350-megawatt power plant needs to cool its turbines.
“Whenever we have met with Advanced Power we have told them that if Brockton doesn’t want the project it is going to be very difficult for them,” Andres said.
He said Advanced Power contacted them last about 6 months ago and expressed interest in buying water for the power plant.
Andres said in a letter to Advanced Power, Aquaria outlined numerous contingencies and regulatory hurdles at the state and local level Advanced Power would have to overcome before Aquaria can provide the water.
Andres said he has not been contacted by or met with Advanced Power officials in months, and not since last Thursday, when the power plant company suffered a major blow when the state Energy Facilities Siting Board rejected Advanced Power's request to use city drinking water to cool the plant’s turbines--a pivotal issue in the construction of the natural gas plant.
Last Thursday following the hearing with the Siting Board, Advanced Power stated it had a letter of intent from Aquaria to purchase water.
Andres said that is not correct—entirely. “I can’t just say no to potential clients, but there are numerous contingencies,” he said.
Andres said Advanced Power's statement has caused a lot confusion that needs to be clarified.
He said Aquaria is drafting a letter to Mayor Linda Balzotti and Brockton City Council to reiterate the obstacles Advanced Power faces in order to buy water from Aquaria.
The first step Advanced Power has to take, Andres said, is to gain a designation from the state Department of Public Utilities as a wholesaler of water.
“We can’t just sell to anyone—a restaurant or other businesses,” Andres said. “They have to be a wholesaler,” Andres said.
Another critical issue facing Advanced Power, Andres said, is piping the water from the North Dighton plant to Advanced Power’s site on Oak Hill Way on the Brockton-West Bridgewater border.
Andres said it is very unlikely Brockton City Council or other city boards will approve permits for Advanced Power to tie to the desalination plant's pipe to the city.
Advanced Power’s next option would be to request a dedicated tie-in with West Bridgewater--not an easy process because West Bridgewater residents and some officials are opposed to the power plant.
Andres said gaining the wholesaler designation and possibly connecting to West Bridgewater’s pipeline could take years to accomplish if it all.
If Advanced Power can become a wholesaler and can convince West Bridgewater, or another community or communities connected to the desalination plant's 17 miles of pipes to allow them a route to Brockton, then Aquaria would have no choice but sell Advanced Power the water.
However, Andres said, Advanced Power will have a long and difficult time to get there.
“We can’t say no if they can meet the contingencies,” Andres said. “It is not my job to decide whether this is a good project for Brockton or not, but it will be very, very difficult for Advanced Power to get this if Brockton doesn’t want it,” he said.

South Shore Towns Gain HUD Funds

2011-09-22T12:36:00.000-07:00

BrocktonPost
BOSTON--The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, today awarded Massachusetts more than $2.5 million to help public housing agencies, including Brockton, Milton, Hingham, Braintree, and Taunton to retain or hire service coordinators to work directly with families who participate in HUD's Housing Choice Voucher program.
The coordinators will assist these voucher recipients to find employment resources and job training opportunities to put them on a path toward self-sufficiency, HUD officials said Thursday, Sept. 22 in a prepared statement.
Across the country HUD has allotted nearly $60 million to housing agencies in 2011.
"In today's economy, it's never been more critical to help families obtain the skills that lead to jobs," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.
"With HUD's help, these housing agencies will be able to assist families in finding employment, increasing their earning potential and putting them on a path to self sufficiency."
Massachusetts
Acton Housing Authority $58,000
Arlington Housing Authority $67,327
Boston Housing Authority $206,040
Braintree Housing Authority $26,982
Brockton Housing Authority $68,680
Chelmsford Housing Authority $63,356
Chelsea Housing Authority $32,779
Commonwealth of Massachusetts $730,429
Fall River Housing Authority $36,664
Framingham Housing Authority $33,485
Gardner Housing Authority $50,762
Gloucester Housing Authority $42,953
Greenfield Housing Authority $63,159
Hingham Housing Authority $67,332
Holyoke Housing Authority $48,680
Leominster Housing Authority $48,250
Lowell Housing Authority $65,558
Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development (LHAND) $60,639
Malden Housing Authority $56,468
Medford Housing Authority $67,332
Melrose Housing Authority $19,510
Methuen Housing Authority $55,668
Milton Housing Authority $33,364
North Andover Housing Authority $57,857
Plymouth Housing Authority $46,363
Revere Housing Authority $66,600
Somerville Housing Authority $62,392
Taunton Housing Authority $61,248
Wayland Housing Authority $18,200
Winchester Housing Authority $69,000
Worcester Housing Authority $131,300
MA TOTAL $2,516,377

HUD's Housing Choice Voucher Family Self-Sufficiency Program supports public housing agencies to retain or hire family self-sufficiency coordinators.
These coordinators in turn link adults in the housing voucher program with welfare agencies, schools, businesses and other local partners to develop the skills and experience to enable them to obtain jobs that pay a living wage.
The local organizations typically provide participating individuals job training, childcare, counseling, transportation, job placement and homeownership counseling.
Participants in the program sign a contract that requires the head of the household to get a job and the family will no longer receive welfare assistance at the end of the five-year term.
As the family's income rises, a portion of that increased income is deposited in an interest-bearing escrow account. If the family completes its contract, the family receives the escrow funds that it can use for any purpose, including a down payment on a home, paying educational expenses, starting a business or paying back debts.
HUD's Family Self Sufficiency Program is a long-standing resource for increasing economic security and self-sufficiency among participants. HUD issued a new report earlier this year that evaluated the effectiveness of the FSS Program. Conducted from 2005 to 2009, the study shows the financial benefits are substantial for participants who complete the program.
This study is the second of a three-part series by HUD that evaluate the effects of the FSS program. The first study found individuals who participated in the FSS program fared better financially than those who did not enroll in the program. HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research will launch the third and final installment to complete the series this year.

Power Plant Hearing In Boston Today

2011-09-22T06:36:00.000-07:00

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--Brockton city officials and opponents of a proposed 350-megawatt natural gas power plant will participate in a public hearing this morning with the state Energy Facilities Siting Board about the potential use of city water to cool the proposed plant's turbines.
Officials from Advanced Power, the company that has proposed building the plant at Oak Hill Way on the south side of Brockton, have asked the Siting Board to overturn its own 4-3 decision made in June that rejected the company's use of the city's drinking water to cool the turbines.
The move by the Siting Board was seen by power plant opponents as a crucial victory in the fight against the plant's construction because the Siting Board in 2009 approved the project contingent upon the use of treated waste water and not the city's drinking water supply.
However, Advanced Power officials have said the 4-3 decision shows there is room for argument, and have requested the decision be looked at again.
A host of city officials and an opponents group, Stop The Power, will attend the hearing, which is open to the public.
The hearing begins at 10 a.m. at 1 South Station, Boston.
Water to cool the turbines is considered a linchpin in the development of the power plant.
Advanced Power initially requested to pay the city to use nearly 2 million gallons of treated wastewater a day.
However, 10 of 11 City Councilors since have said they would not vote in favor of Advanced Power's use of treated waste water, so Advanced Power then requested the Siting Board allow the plant to use the city's drinking water.
In June, the Siting Board rejected using the city's drinking water.
Officials on both sides of the argument have said Advanced Power could use machines to air cool the turbines if water use is not approved.

Balzotti Wins Prelim Election, Faces Matta In Nov.

2011-09-20T18:43:00.000-07:00

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--Mayor Linda Balzotti will faceoff against Ron Matta in the Nov. 8 mayoral race and Janice Beyer will take on Anthony Donegan Jr. for the second time in as many elections in the Ward 3 school committee contest.
In voting yesterday, Balzotti topped the ticket with 1,649 votes, or 75 percent of the 2,208 votes cast. Matta placed second with 342 votes, or 15.5 percent and followed by Gwendolyn Garvin who collected 195 votes.
In what could be considered the only surprise of the night, Donegan topped the school committee ticket by capturing 242 votes, or 47 percent of the the 522 cast in the Ward 3 preliminary. Beyer, running for her 7th term, collected 185 votes, or 36 percent, and Joao Rosa, tallied 85 votes, or 16.5 percent.
Balzotti, Matta, Donegan and Beyer will join candidates in the general election Nov. 8.
Councilors-at-large Jass Stewart, Todd Petti, Robert Sullivan and Thomas Brophy face a challenge from Kate Archard, a vocal opponent of plans to build a natural gas power plant on the south side of Brockton.
Ward 3 City Councilor is facing a challenge by Gerald Conefrey, a retired school teacher.

Polls Open Until 8 P.M. For Primary

2011-09-20T08:03:00.000-07:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Brockton residents have until 8 p.m. tonight to vote in this election season’s primary to pare candidates will be on the ballot for the general election Nov. 8 in the mayor and Ward 3 school committee race.
Mayor Linda Balzotti (pictured, right) has competition from political newcomers Ron Matta and Gwendolyn Garvin and longtime school committee woman Janice Beyer faces challenges from lawyer Anthony Donegan and Dr. Joao Rosa.
Matta, 68, said he believes the city is broken and needs much more oversight from elected officials, most especially when it comes to the budget and its many nuances.
He said while he doesn’t have political experience he has been a small businessman for most of his life and feels confident he can cut through the city’s budget.
“We need to run the city like a business,” Matta said.
In 2009, Matta ran for school committee in Ward 3 against Janice Beyer. Matta lost the school committee primary to Beyer and Donegan.
Matta said if he is elected he would give back 20 percent of the mayor’s salary, or about $26,500, or Balzotti’s $137,000 yearly wage, and put it towards paying for a police officer.
Balzotti said hiring police officers is not as easy as it may seem. She said Matta’s gesture is noble, but wonders where the money will come from to pay for the new officer’s health insurance and other benefits.
Money also has to be available for more than one year, or the city will have to pay unemployment costs if the officer has to be laid off.
Matta said it would be a step in the right direction, much like the city’s recent $63,000 move to put beat cops back on the streets of downtown.
“We have to make this city safe for everyone,” Matta said. “People need to be able to go out at night without fear of being robbed, raped or murdered,” he said. (Pictured, above)
Garvin, 46, a marketing specialist for WXBR 1460 AM, said she has three main planks on her platform: business development, finances and tourism to Brockton.
She said she has run for other political offices, but did not specify what those were. She earned her masters from Ohio State University and bachelor’s from Benedict College in South Carolina. From 2003 to 2004 she was a member of the board of directors of Brockton Symphony Orchestra.
On the school side, Janice Beyer is facing another run by Anthony Donegan and a challenge from Dr. Joao Rosa.
Beyer, 79, said she is seeking a 7th term because there are many things left for her to do, including curriculum development, school renovations that have just begun and connecting the numerous schools and activities with the committee and broader community.
“Two experienced people are not running again,” Beyer said. “We’re going to have two new people no matter what,” she said.
Richard Bath and James Daley are not seeking reelection in Wards 2 and 6.
Beyer noted she had not missed a meeting during her time on the board.
Beyer was a teacher at the Kennedy School for 31 years and is still a tutor.
Donegan, 49, who ran against Beyer in 2009 and lost, said Beyer is a well-liked and nice woman, but she has not been a strong voice that asks questions about the budget, or issues with Superintendent Matthew Malone.
“One of my strengths is my ability to slow people down, and ask the questions that need answers,” Donegan said. “She connects the schools with all her other civic activities, but over the last 5 or 6 years, I don’t think she has done everything she could with some other issues,” he said.
Donegan, a juvenile defense lawyer, said he is unsure if Malone should be paid nearly $1 million during the 5 years of Malone’s contract.
He said he believes the school committee needs to press Malone to make Brockton his full-time residence—an aspect of Malone’s contract that was clear to all two years ago when Malone was offered the position.
“It’s a question of his credibility and his word,” Donegan said.
Dr. Joao Rosa is a member of the board of directors of Brockton’s Cape Verdean Association. He is an assistant professor at UMass Dartmouth.
Rosa could not be reached for comment by today’s deadline.

Brockton Remembers 9-11

2011-09-15T22:36:00.001-07:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—More than 250 residents, Brockton officials, Girl Scouts, Brockton Police Honor Guard, military veterans and Brockton Fire Department Pipes and Drums gathered for a solemn remembrance of the 10th anniversary of terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, Sept. 11, 2001.
Officials, including Mayor Linda Balzotti, U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, Police Chief William Conlon and Fire Chief Richard Francis recalled moments from 10 years ago when they first heard about the attacks and its aftermath.
Parent Amy Dwyer, wife of Brockton firefighter Roger Dwyer, attended with the couple’s 1-year-old son Noel, who like dozens of other children who participated in the commemoration, was not born when the attacks came on 9-11. (Pictured at top)
“I felt profound sadness,” Amy Dwyer said, remembering when she watched on T.V. as the Twin Towers collapsed knowing so many people—first responders and innocent people--were not going to survive the devastation.
“It’s still a sad time, but people have to remember what happened,” she said.
Another parent Ellen Deppner remembered the pit in her stomach when she learned of the attacks.
“I felt fear. I didn’t feel safe,” Deppner said.
Her 10-year-old daughter Kaitlyn, who joined dozens of Brockton Girl Scouts who carried a banner listing the names of the victims, was a newborn and her 4-year-old son Kamryn Fletcher,who shared a sad moment with his Mom (pictured above) during Brockton Pipes and Drums playing of “Amazing Grace.”
“Hearing the bagpipes got to me,” Deppner said.
For more comment and speeches, please view video below.

Kentucky Marine Receives Medal of Honor

2011-09-15T15:16:00.001-07:00

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--President Barack Obama today conferred the Medal of Honor on Sgt. Dakota Meyer, a Colombia, Kentucky native, during a ceremony at the White House earlier today.
Meyer, who was 21 in 2009, as part of a U.S. team training Afghan security forces when more than 50 insurgents attacked.
During the battle, when U.S. and Afghan forces came under heavy attack, Meyer went into a storm of bullets 5 times to search for wounded and to retrieve the bodies of those who were killed.
The following is the official citation made to Meyer from Obama.
The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pleasure in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR to:
CORPORAL DAKOTA L. MEYER
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
For service as set forth in the following:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with Marine Embedded Training Team 2-8, Regional Corps Advisory Command 3-7, in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, on 8 September 2009.
Corporal Meyer maintained security at a patrol rally point while other members of his team moved on foot with two platoons of Afghan National Army and Border Police into the village of Ganjgal for a pre-dawn meeting with village elders.
Moving into the village, the patrol was ambushed by more than 50 enemy fighters firing rocket propelled grenades, mortars, and machine guns from houses and fortified positions on the slopes above.
Hearing over the radio that four U.S. team members were cut off, Corporal Meyer seized the initiative.
With a fellow Marine driving, Corporal Meyer took the exposed gunner’s position in a gun-truck as they drove down the steeply terraced terrain in a daring attempt to disrupt the enemy attack and locate the trapped U.S. team.
Disregarding intense enemy fire now concentrated on their lone vehicle, Corporal Meyer killed a number of enemy fighters with the mounted machine guns and his rifle, some at near point blank range, as he and his driver made three solo trips into the ambush area.
During the first two trips, he and his driver evacuated two dozen Afghan soldiers, many of whom were wounded.
When one machine gun became inoperable, he directed a return to the rallypoint to switch to another gun-truck for a third trip into the ambush area where his accurate fire directly supported the remaining U.S. personnel and Afghan soldiers fighting their way out of the ambush.
Despite a shrapnel wound to his arm, Corporal Meyer made two more trips into the ambush area in a third gun-truck accompanied by four other Afghan vehicles to recover more wounded Afghan soldiers and search for the missing U.S. team members. Still under heavy enemy fire, he dismounted the vehicle on the fifth trip and moved on foot to locate and recover the bodies of his team members.
Corporal Meyer’s daring initiative and bold fighting spirit throughout the 6-hour battle significantly disrupted the enemy’s attack and inspired the members of the combined force to fight on.
His unwavering courage and steadfast devotion to his U.S. and Afghan comrades in the face of almost certain death reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.
To learn more about Meyer's career in the Marine Corps, during tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a personal videos by Meyer, his family, friends and comrades in arms, click here to visit the Marine Corps website...
(Top photos courtesy of Reuters/Jason Reed. Third photo and Medal of Honor courtesy U.S. Marine Corps)

Air Quality Tests Topic Of Statehouse Visit

2011-09-13T07:38:00.000-07:00

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON-Brockton lawmakers plan to meet with Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Tuesday September 13 in Boston at the Statehouse offices.
The meeting is expected to include Rep. Christine Canavan, Rep. Geraldine Creedon, Rep. Michael Brady, and City Councilor-at-large Thomas Brophy.
The group plans to request the Department of Environmental Protection install meteorological air monitoring equipment at two elementary schools, and the city's wastewater treatment facility at Brockton’s Southside where developers Advanced Power have proposed building a 350-megawatt natural gas plant.
The delegation plans to ask Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr. to direct the DEP to install the type of air monitors that censor the air in the area and make the data available on the DEP’s website.
The delegation will ask Secretary Sullivan for the type of air monitoring with real time data that other Environmental Justice areas like Roxbury have in operation under the DEP’s regulatory watch.
The group intends to request the new monitors to ensure more accurate information for Brockton’s Environmental Justice populations.
The state’s Environmental Justice policy is meant to protect certain populations, including low-income and minority residents from being unfairly burdened by polluting industry.
The DEP recently made a decision stating Brockton does not meet the criteria of an Environmental Justice community.
However, residents and city officials believe this is an error in judgment.
In 2010 Veolia Water, a private contractor hired by the city to run the wastewater plant, twice submitted faulty data on the plant’s emissions of fine particulate matter--a toxin residents ad officials are worried will create more pollution in Brockton and surrounding towns.
In a letter sent to Secretary Sullivan’s predecessor Ian Bowles, Brockton’s Executive Health Officer Louis Tartaglia stated, “This office, in conjunction with the Massachusettes Department of Public Health, Bureau of Environmental Health, have one day readings of Particulate Matter 2.5 of 31.0 taken on the grounds of the Gilmore Academy.”
The reading of 31.0 is higher than average readings in nearby
communities. The Thatcher Street Landfill, the trash transfer stations and the foundry in the area are all likely factors contributing to the overburdened nature of pollution in Brockton.
Increased levels of particulate matter, or fine particles in the
air, have been linked to increased hospitalizations and health hazards such as heart disease, altered lung function, and lung cancer.
Human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels in vehicles, power plants and various industrial processes also generate significant amounts of particulates.
For more information go to www.stopthepower.net or call 508-326-1029.

Healthy Kids At Heart Of Produce Promo

2011-09-13T06:54:00.000-07:00

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--Stop & Shop grocery stores all over New England, New York, and New Jersey will join Produce for Kids to encourage families to learn more about healthy eating with fresh produce and to raise money for PBS KIDS.
From now until October 8, all Stop & Shop stores will feature Produce For Kids, a non-profit organization, Ideal Meals card displays as part of the promotion, called Eat Smart For a Great Start.
Ideal Meals are chef-created, nutritionist-approved meals for breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner. In-store Ideal Meal recipe demonstrations will take place in select stores on Saturday, September 17.
“We are always seeking new ways to help educate customers about the importance of healthy food choices,” said Suzi Robinson, manager of public and community relations in a prepared statement.
"By working with Produce for Kids, and helping support PBS KIDS’ healthy eating programming, Stop & Shop is helping parents teach their children how to eat in order to make their bodies strong and healthy,” Robinson said.
Shoppers can also enter the “Play With Your Produce Challenge” for a chance to win PBS KIDS personalized back-to-school gear and grocery gift cards valued up to $100. Teachers are also invited to enter their classrooms in the “Play With Your Produce Classroom Challenge” and can win $500, $750 or $1,000 cash rewards for their classroom.
Teachers can find out more and enter online at produceforkids.org.
New this fall, Produce for Kids will introduce the Parents on Produce Board.
The board is made up of influencers in the online parenting community and will provide resources for busy parents year round that will support healthy lifestyles and balanced eating habits for families.
The purchase of the following items during the promotion at all Stop & Shop stores in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New York, and New Jersey will benefit PBS KIDS:
Del Monte Gold Extra Sweet Pineapple, NatureSweet Vine Ripened Cherry Tomatoes, SUNSET Sweet Bell Peppers, Green Giant Fresh Klondike Gourmet Petite Potatoes, RealSweet Sweet Onions, Olivia’s Organics, Microwave Spinach and TopLine Tomatoes on the Vine.
In addition, these foods are featured in the Ideal Meals recipes found in the stores.
Produce for Kids promotes healthy lifestyles for children by educating kids and parents about the benefits of eating fresh fruits and vegetables while also supporting worthy children’s causes.
Since its creation in 2002 by Shuman Produce Inc., Produce for Kids has raised more than $3.1 million for children’s hospitals across the country and PBS KIDS to educate kids, parents and teachers about healthy eating.

Woman Survives Sunday Double Shooting

2011-09-12T19:15:00.000-07:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
Brockton--A Brockton man has died and a woman has been hospitalized after a shooting early Sunday morning.
Bridget Norton Middleton, spokeswoman for Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz, said 19-year-old Kalvin Santos, 19, was pronounced dead shortly after the shooting.
A 21-year-old woman, Monica Lopes-Teixeira, was also shot during the incident, but her injuries are not considered life-threatening, Norton Middleton said.
Calls came in reporting gunshots near Tremont and Main Streets came into police at about 1:15 a.m. Sunday morning.
Police also received a report from Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital that a woman had arrived at the emergency room with a gunshot wound.
Teixeira-Lopes, who was brought to the hospital by an unnamed individual, was transferred by ambulance to Massachusetts General Hospital, where she is reported in stable condition.
Norton Middleton said when police and fire arrived at the scene, the found 19-year-old Santos shot in the chest and right hand. Santos was unresponsive and pronounced dead shortly after, Norton Middleton said.
No arrests have been made in the matter.
It is the 9th murder in Brockton this year.
Norton Middleton said anyone with information should contact police at 508-941-0234.

Sound of Silence Marks NYC After 9/11

2011-09-11T09:58:00.000-07:00

The video above is courtesy of Bob and Bri, who were in their apartment frighteningly close to the Twin Towers. It is an amazing, gut-wrenching personal account of people witnessing the historic events of Sept. 11, 2001, literally out their window. BrocktonPost.com thanks Bob and Bri for sharing their video. Bob and Bri's video can be seen on YouTube along with other tributes and personal videos by clicking here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRYdRse76FM
Story and photos by Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
Eleven days after the planes struck the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, the twisted carnage of the buildings and piles of rubble still smoldered in spots, thick, toxic dust filled the air and covered everything, and security around the site had been tightly controlled and closed to the public by barricades and machine gun-toting U.S. soldiers.
Me and my friend Christine Raeder, an Abington resident, drove the 3 ½ hours to New York City, Friday Sept. 21—10 days after the attacks.
Had another girlfriend not been married Friday, Sept. 14, we would have gone then.
The first sign we knew something was wrong in New York was when we exited Interstate-Route 95 and drove south on the Hudson River Parkway toward mid-town Manhattan.
We were in shock to realize we were the ONLY vehicle heading south.
On the other side of the parkway heading north was a traffic jam of thousands of vehicles leaving the city. It was surreal.
Our hearts began to pound and the pit in my stomach that began seconds after I watched the second plane hit the South Tower Sept. 11 returned in full force.
I had visited high school and college friends in New York countless times, it is me and my husband’s favorite weekend get-a-way, and second to Boston, I consider it my home city.
Except for the Yankees—I love New York.
It shocked us that thousands were leaving the city. It was stunning that we were the only vehicle heading into New York on a Friday night at about 5:30 p.m.
It also scared us. We told ourselves there would be no other attack. We were safe. It would be OK, but in the back of our minds we wondered if another terror plot could unfold while we were there.
We stayed with my friend Courtenay Harrington Bailey, a 1987 graduate of Whitman-Hanson who had moved to New York to make her fame and fortune on Broadway.
As we made our way to her apartment, it was impossible to fathom the lack of traffic, mobs of people and—most shocking---not one taxi beeped its horn on the empty thoroughfares. Even after partying in the city until 4 or 5 in the morning had I ever heard silence in Manhattan. New York City—the city that never sleeps—was deserted. It was mind boggling. Native New Yorker Paul Simon's "Sound of Silence" came to mind.
That evening we visited a nearby pub and met male and female firefighters who were gathered to blow off steam. It wasn’t rowdy. It was quiet and talk was hushed. Several knew Courtenay. Friends and family lost in the attacks were remembered. Their tears came. Their tears stopped. The tears came again.
Saturday, Sept. 22, I planned to head to the Jacob K. Javits Exhibition Center miles away from Ground Zero near Times Square where I was warned by press relations officials that I may have to wait 4 to 8 hours to tour the wreckage first hand and close up. Any member of the press who was willing to wait was assured entry.
I intended to wait and join the media in walk-throughs that from all accounts were stunning, horrifying and gruesome. Many members of the press reported in the days before our arrival how clean-up crews had encountered body parts while removing debris.
Like the rest of us, New Yorkers and visitors to the city could only get views of the damage and updates on the situation at Ground Zero from television footage and newspaper coverage because the area had been sealed off shortly after the attacks.
Barricades, police and soldiers encircled Ground Zero for 20 to 30 blocks. No one without some sort of credentials could get near Ground Zero.

Our plan was to jump on the subway and see how close to the World Trade Center we could get. If we were stopped short of the site, I would double-back to the Javits Center and meet Courtenay and Christine later.
South of Times Square subway cars were emptied. Two stops away from Canal Street, a main exiting stop for the World Trade Center, we were the only ones on the train, except for a man and woman wearing medical scrubs who had air masks around their necks.
We got off at Canal Street and made our way to Broadway and Ground Zero—a short walk away.
We couldn’t get over the smell. Still can't. I remember it well.
It smelled like a barbecue and there was an eerie undercurrent of disinfectant that permeated the air.
We saw soldiers with M-16 machine guns, but they didn’t stop us.
We kept walking and reached Trinity Church, which people remarked was a miracle that it had not collapsed or was harmed much during the blast.

Then we saw the burned, charred remains of World Trade Center #5--a hollow, copper-colored, rectangular shell of a building that gave us a hint of what was to come.
We kept walking and no one stopped us or the hundreds--and then thousands--who during a 2 ½ hour span were able to visit the site personally for the first time.
Most of the photos are from our slow walk—it took about 2 hours—for us to make our way around the site.
The crowds were polite and mostly silent, except for the gasps, the muffled sound of crying, and “Oh, my Gods,” that couldn’t be held back as the wreckage became worse and worse.
The photo of the police officer (whose name I had that day, but have since misplaced my notes) watching all of us taking pictures is one of the moments I remember most.
He was so tired. He was so sad. He was so nice to all of us. He patiently answered questions. He knowingly nodded and shook his head in empathy as people told him of relatives and family members who died in the attacks. He thanked them for their wishes of condolence for those he lost. He asked the people who climbed the light pole to get better pictures to be careful.

It was then that I cried.
Shortly after, there was a plaza where many of us congregated for a breather and to pull ourselves together.
We hugged strangers who consoled us because we felt guilty two of the planes came from Boston. They assured us it wasn’t our fault. They THANKED us for coming to the city. It was clear from their accents that most were native New Yorkers or transplants from all points on
Earth who, like us, headed to lower Manhattan to see how close they could get and were, like us, thrilled, but dejected and saddened that the foul-smelling rubble we were looking at was where nearly 3,000 people lost their lives in such a horrific way.
Me, Christine and Courtenay were with New Yorkers the day, we the public, we the people, without credentials were able to see for ourselves one of the most devastating moments in our history.
Needless to say I didn’t bother going to the Javits Center.
Just as we completed viewing the destruction, helicopters began circling above and soldiers, police and construction crews began replacing the barriers and moving the thousands who for 2 ½ hours visited the site. Officials told us one of the buildings we had just passed had suffered major structural damage and they were worried it was going to collapse.
We left and headed to Washington Square Park where a massive memorial of candles, flowers, photos of victims, poems, keepsakes and mementoes were placed around the statue of first president George Washington.
I have never felt more pride to be an American than that day.
Writing this I am again overflowing with pride.
From the rubble, we came together as Americans. We are the United States—initials U.S.—us.
We are the first country in the world to reject government by royalty and inheritance in favor of one elected by the people, for the people.
It ain’t perfect, but, while 9-11 changed everything for my generation, the U.S. changed everything for every person in the world.
People still risk life, limb and all they own to come here. That’s one of the reasons the terrorists hate us.
We will not sit still for their totalitarianism and blind rule.
It’s about freedom, baby—Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness—for all—not just the privileged, wealthy or those who use terror to instill their will on a population.

I hope everyone today on the 10th anniversary remembers the sense of community the attacks fostered for a far too short a time and try to emulate it.
The 2,977 people who died on Sept. 11 between New York, Washington D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania were from all walks of life. Every race, creed, religion and sexual preference were represented.
Terrorists don’t discriminate and we shouldn’t either.
We have differences—politically, financially, socially—but we are ALL Americans.
Above all, live life to the fullest for all of those who have died in the attacks and the wars and conflicts before and since Sept. 11, 2001.
Don’t be afraid. FDR was right—there is nothing to fear, but fear itself.
Don’t let them have died in vain.
In the immortal words of Flight 93 passenger Todd Beamer, one of those who stormed the cockpit and brought the fourth flight down in Shanksville preventing it from doing more damage in Washington D.C.: “Let’s Roll!”

Spellman Opens New Fitness Center, Science Labs

2011-09-08T17:24:00.000-07:00

Submitted by Nate Merritt, communications coordinator, Cardinal Spellman
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--For the first time in 53 years, Cardinal Spellman High School has a new addition to their campus.
Spellman plans to unveil their state-of-the-art fitness center and three new science labs to the public Friday, September 9.
The grand opening will begin at 6 p.m. with a ribbon cutting ceremony and continue with tours of the brand new facility.
All are welcome to attend.
The grand opening will be followed by the Cardinals first football game of the season against Winchester High School at 7 p.m.
Spellman officials are very excited about the new fitness center and science labs, that each in their own way will offer a greater high school experience for its students.
“Spellman was well designed in the 1950s and the buildings and grounds have been meticulously maintained over the years, but it was time for some improvements," said Dr. John McEwan, Spellman's president. “A school’s facilities are an important part of teaching and learning in any academic program," he added.
Spellman, a Catholic college preparatory high school which serves 40 communities in the area, broke ground on the new 5,000 square-foot fitness center last November 9 and completed the construction in August.
It houses state-of-the-art equipment and celebrates over 50 years of athletic competition with an Athletic Hall of Fame. It also provides two new offices for the athletic director and trainer.
The fitness center offers improved access to the school’s gymnasium in addition to more space for ticket sales and concessions.
The fitness center is an important resource for students and faculty during physical education classes, and for after-school workouts.
The public will also be given an opportunity to tour some other improvements to the Spellman campus.
There are three new science lab classrooms. The new labs are intended for chemistry, biology and anatomy classes. Physics and other science electives will also share the labs.
The new classrooms have state-of-the-art technology and the student desk-lab tables were custom designed for Cardinal Spellman High School.
There are three new teacher prep rooms and places for supplies adjoining each lab. This year, Spellman added A.P Biology to its curriculum and next year Spellman will add A.P. Chemistry. The new labs are expected to greatly enhance those courses.

Residents Track Loss Of StopThePower Domain Name

2011-09-08T11:36:00.000-07:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—A battle between a grassroots group and the company that has proposed constructing a 350-megawatt power plant in Brockton has moved into a new arena: Cyberspace.
Leaders of Stop The Power--a group of residents from Brockton and the Bridgewaters-- are awaiting Brockton Power-Advanced Power’s promise to give back the group’s once-held internet domain name, StopThePower.org—a website name Advanced Power bought about 8 months after the grassroots group had an internal fight which required Stop The Power reregister its domain name as StopThePower.net.

Eddie Byers, one of the leaders of Stop The Power, said while his group believes it was one of their own working against them who initially caused the domain name snafu, he does not understand why Advanced Power would have bothered to purchase the group’s original website name, and wonders how—and most notably who—informed the company there was a problem when the group tried to renew the name.
“Why would they buy it? How did they find out it was available,” Byers asked several times during a recent interview.
He said it seems the company is using its might in every way against a grassroots group with very little money except what Byers himself provides, and residents who have jobs and lives to attend to.
“They get paid to do this—we’re a group of residents with jobs and lives,” Byers said. “What does that say about them,” he said.
Advanced Power company representatives have directed all comment to a letter sent to Stop The Power dated Sept. 1 in response to Stop The Power’s letter by its legal counsel Paul M. Glickman demanding Advanced Power relinquish control of the .org domain name because it is a violation of common law trademark rights and is cyberpiracy.
Through telephone calls and emails Advanced Power has ignored the question Byers posed as to why the company bought the .org name and will only point to the letter from its lawyers.
In the response letter written by Siobhan E. Mee, an attorney with Bingham McCutcheon LLP in Boston, Advanced Power said “despite having a lawful, good faith basis for registering the .org domain name, our client is not currently using the .org domain name and in fact has never used the .org domain name.”
The letter continues, “Although we believe Stop The Power’s claims are meritless, use of the domain name is not something our client intends to pursue.”
Advanced Power states in the letter while it has every legal right to maintain control of the .org domain name, it is in the process of de-registering the .org domain name and will be available for Stop The Power, if it so chooses."
The de-registration has not been completed. As of Sept. 6, Stop The Power has sent a second letter to Advanced Power stating the group disagrees the company had the right to purchase the domain name and believes the company did it to confuse and silence opposition to the project.
While Byers and other Stop The Power leaders are annoyed with Advanced Power for “hijacking” its website name, they are just as aggravated with one of its members—now former member—David Trojano, owner of Trojan Oil, who was the administrator of Stop The Power’s website when the problems occurred.
Justin Kane, a volunteer who joined the group a few months ago, and who has more technical savvy than some of the other volunteers, said he traced the problem back to Trojano.
“He made some moves,” Kane said.
Byers said the group and Trojano had a falling out during the time and Byers’ wife Cindy tried to renew the site and believed she did in February, 2010 after receiving a completed order receipt for the domain name after using her credit card for a two-year renewal costing $38.
It was about one month later when Byers and others realized the transaction had not completed and they began to scramble to renew the domain name, but because of reasons unknown to them at the time, they could not.
Instead, the group opted to launch a new site, StopThePower.net, and have all visitors to StopThePower.org redirected to the new domain.
StopThePower.net became active in April , 2010.
Byers said it was not until Kane about a month ago began to look at what happened to the .org name did they learn Trojano—who had stopped doing volunteer work for the group in January/February, 2010 and did not return their calls when volunteers tried to iron out problems.
The group gave up on Trojano and tried to solve the renewal problem on its own, but could not and instead changed over to the .net domain name.
The group, Kane said, could not renew the .org name because someone else using the names of Marnell and J. Campello with an email address of joecampello@gmail.com renewed the domain name for a year in May, 2010.
One document Kane has uncovered states the .org domain name expires May 2, 2010 with the registrant name listed as “domain admin,” a sponsoring registrar listed as UK2 Group Ltd., a European telephone # is listed, a town in Holland, Moergestel is listed, and an email contact@privacyprotect.org.
The next day, May 3, 2010, the .org name is renewed for 1-year under UK2 Group Ltd., registrant name Marnel, from Easton, Mass., with an email of joecampello@gmail.com, the same sponsoring registrar UK2 Group Ltd. and with status of the site noted as autorenewperiod. The telephone number, 508-443-3114 is no longer in service.
Marnel/Campello let the domain name lapse in June, 2010 and Advanced Power bought in in December, 2010.
During the first months of 2010, Byers and other volunteers said, issues between the group and Trojano arose and culminated in Trojano’s departure from the group and work on the website.
When Trojano left, volunteers said, none of the group could easily decipher or understand the “Morse code” they say Trojano used to set up the original domain name, and after the renewal failed took the simplest route by changing the website to StopThePower.net.
Byers and Kane said they believe Trojano renewed the site for himself and likely did it out of spite.
“There was a rotten apple in drum,” Byers said.
Trojano, during a brief telephone interview, said it was Byers’ “own mismanagement” of the site name that caused the problems and it had nothing to do with him.
“Everything they’re saying is false,” Trojano said. “It’s all his fault,” Trojano said of Byers, adding that if Byers had anything to say about it, Byers knew where to find him.
“If he has anything to say, tell him to call me,” Trojano said. "He knows where I am," he said.

Hagler Manager Funeral Thursday

2011-09-07T10:55:00.000-07:00

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--A memorial and remembrance will be held in honor of Pat Petronelli, trainer and manager of World Middleweight Champion "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler, after his death Sept. 2, 2011.
A service will be held Thursday, Sept. 8, at 11:45 a.m. at Newton Cemetery Chapel, 791 Walnut St., Newton, followed by internment at Newton Cemetery.
Petronelli, renowned in the boxing world died on Tuesday.
The following was posted by Tony Demarco, a boxer and longtime friend, on Eaton & Mackay Funeral Home's website:
They called themselves a triangle. Marvelous Marvin Hagler, World Middleweight
Champion, the summit, flanked by his manager and trainer.
Technically both Pat Petronelli and his brother Goody were Marvin's managers and trainers, but for all intents and purposes Pat's greater responsibilities revolved around managing.
More than a manager and trainer, however, Pat Petronelli was Marvin's friend, father figure and first line of defense in the tough world of boxing and celebrity… a role he assumed 24-7 without exception.
Pat Petronelli, 89, died September 2, 2011 at Stone Institute Nursing Home in Newton with his wife Betty by his side.
In addition to his love and pride in the great success of Marvin Hagler, Petronellis was equally proud of his service to his country.
A veteran of World War II, member of the Blue Devils and the 88th Infantry Division [351st], he served in Italy and often recalled those days with vivid memories and great humility.
While he was a fierce defender of his country, Petronelli, like many veterans, was not a proponent of war. He preferred diplomacy, and that was evident in his
management style. Upon his return to the U.S., he joined the workforce of American labor, but soon opened a gym dedicated to boxing.
For a man with no formal education beyond high school, he went toe-to-toe with promoters, lawyers, other managers and trainers, television officials, referees and all comers who would dare to be less than fair to any of his fighters.
Although Petronelli worked in the Navy shipyards in Quincy and in construction, it was his love of boxing that eventually led him to make this endeavor his career for
the greater part of his adult life.
He was known as a tough negotiator with a heart soft as putty. He never failed to come to the aid of family, friends and boxers who needed help--whether it was a tank of fuel, an uninsured medical expense or a stint in a rehab, his singular generosity and loyalty were well known by those he helped.
In addition, he donated the funds necessary to build a Little League baseball field in the City of Brockton in memory of his parents.
Petronelli married Betty Whitney in March 2002, after a very long courtship and stroke that left him disabled.
He would tell you it was the happiest day of his life, and apologized--mostly to himself--for putting off this union for so long.
He fought valiantly for quality of life after additional strokes and in recent
years was captivated by politics and the election of President Obama.
He was a great fan of most sports and was delighted with the many world titles that
Boston brought home with the Red Sox, Celtics and New England Patriots.
He had an unabashed love of horses and horse racing from the obscure "bull rings" of
Northampton and Great Barrington to the aristocracy of Saratoga.
In addition to his wife Betty and her family, Nancy and Frank DiMella of Newton,
Barbara and Bill Struzenski of San Antonio, Texas, Loretta Pizzella and Pat Coffey
of Clinton, Conn.,, he leaves a son and daughter-in-law, Anthony and Roselyn
Petronelli of Easton, two granddaughters, Lisa and Laurie, and a great
grandchild.
Petronelli, born in Milford, Mass., was one of 12 brothers and sisters--
three who have already died.
He leaves his brothers Goody, Nick, Guido, Ronnie and Henry Petronelli and his sisters Rose Clark, Eleanor Walsh and Lorraine
Santoro, as well as many nieces and nephews.

(Photo courtesy Kay Guarino and Marvelous Marvin Hagler website)

Be Extra Cautious On Streets At Night

2011-09-02T08:13:00.001-07:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Brockton Police are asking residents—especially females—to be extra cautious if they are going to walk the city streets in the early morning hours after a woman was raped by an unknown assailant at about 3:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 27 while walking home from a shift at a restaurant that closes late on weekends.
“This isn’t something that happened in the middle of the day,” said Police Chief William Conlon.
“It was early in the morning, everything’s closed, no one’s around, it’s pitch dark, and she was alone. You’re very vulnerable at that time alone. It’s tragic, she didn’t have any other means to get home,” he said.
Conlon said he was in no way blaming the victim--whose identity is being withheld because she is a victim of a rape or sexual assault—he only wants to warn residents—especially women—to be aware of the dangers in the city at night.
“It seems to have been a crime of opportunity,” Conlon said. “This is a hard-working woman with an honest job who was raped by someone unfamiliar to her. This poor lady did nothing wrong. She was simply trying to earn an honest living and had no car to get her home. It’s a shame,” he said.
Conlon said the investigation is ongoing and they have a description of the man, described as a possibly light-skinned black, Cape Verdean, or Hispanic male, about 5-feet, 9- or 11-inches tall, medium to muscular build, dark hair, wearing a white tank-top and knee-length baggy shorts.
The attack took place on Battles Street after the victim left work with another woman. The other woman called a taxicab because she had farther to go.
The victim, whose home was not too far from the attack, opted to continue walking, Conlon said, possibly to save the money she just made at work.
Conlon said the woman, in her 30s, told police the man came from the direction of the Golden Triangle restaurant, at the corner of N. Main Street and E. Battles Street.
The victim told police, Conlon said, he shouted to her something like, “Hey, baby, talk to me.”
She tried to ignore him and kept walking westerly on Battles Street.
He pursued her and caught up to her as she was on the sidewalk on the north side of Battles Street.
He grabbed her by the arm, pushed her down onto a grassy area near the sidewalk and then raped her.
“He closed ground very quickly. It all happened very quickly. He tackled her and forced himself upon her,” Conlon said.
Once he was done, Conlon said, he got off her and left in an unknown direction.
The victim made her way home and went to an area hospital a couple of hours later.
Later the same day, she came to the lobby of the police station to report what had happened, Conlon said.
Conlon said although the man’s description is vague, police maybe able to catch him in the future through DNA evidence.
“Our best hope at this point is to get a match from the DNA evidence that was collected,” Conlon said.
To be able to use the DNA collected at the hospital, Conlon said, the suspect has to have been previously arrested and court ordered to submit a DNA sample, or if the suspect gets arrested in the future for some other assault that requires he give a DNA sample.
Once his sample is in the computer system, police would be able to ascertain a match and then obtain an arrest warrant—a process that could take time, and although there are many unsolved cases, some suspects are captured and face justice.
“I hope that we get such a match so we can get this creep off the streets,” Conlon said.

Remembrance Garden Dedicated To Parsons

2011-08-30T10:34:00.000-07:00

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--From Plymouth County Commissioner Anthony O'Brien:
Register of Deeds employees and title examiners held a dedication of a Remembrance Garden at the Plymouth County Registry of Deeds office in Plymouth Wednesday, August 24 in memory of Marilyn Parsons, a title examiner for 40 years, who died last year after suffering a stroke while working in her garden.
Parsons was an avid gardener widely known for sharing plants with family and friends.
The small Remembance Garden includes a Kwanzan Cherry tree, bench, and flowers. Materials were either donated by local businesses or purchased from donations by her family, current & former co-workers, and friends who also attended the dedication.
Pictured above, left to right: County Register John Buckley, Marilyn's husband Russ Parsons, Project Committee co-chairs Ellen Kennedy and Tiara Tracy, and County Commissioner Anthony O'Brien.

Irene Knocks Out Trees, Power Across South Shore

2011-08-29T13:38:00.001-07:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Douglas Avenue resident Lucy Nugent knows exactly why her electricity has been out since 1 p.m. Sunday.
Nugent was on the second floor of her home at 14 Douglas Avenue sewing when a large, and old tree (pictured at top) was knocked over, taking down electrical lines with it during a wind surge as Tropical Storm Irene roared up the East Coast, leaving more than 700,000 customers in Massachusetts without electricity during the height of the storm Sunday, Aug. 28.
“There was a thud…and a noise like a muffled crash and then the lights, and everything went off,” Nugent said.
Nugent said being without power has been “no big deal,” and expects, and hopes, her electricity will be restored by nightfall.
Surrounded by Winter Street and Howard Street, Nugent said areas all around Douglas have electricity, but Douglas seems to be on its own.
“We must be on some type of grid of its own,” Nugent said.
As of about 11:45 a.m. today, National Grid reported more than 77,000 power outages in Plymouth County, including more than 27,000 in Brockton, 6,500 in Pembroke, nearly 5,700 in Scituate, and nearly 10,000 more in East Bridgewater and Bridgewater.
Hayward Street, on the West Bridgewater border, was closed to traffic as crews worked to clear utility lines of trees and restore electrical service to the area. (Pictured at right)
By the time Irene reached Massachusetts it had been downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm and although she did not reach the destructive force felt during Hurricane Bob in 1991, and Gloria in 1985, it has been reported Irene is responsible for 18 deaths along her path and severe flooding in coastal areas including Long Island and Cape Cod, and surging, deadly rivers in Vermont.
From Virginia to Maine, residents are taking stock of the storm the National Weather Service estimated cut a swatch more than 300 miles outward from its center.
Logan Airport in Boston canceled more than 15,000 flights and Amtrak canceled service on most of the East Coast and as of this afternoon, Amtrak service is still not at full-capacity.
During the height of the storm, sheets of rain pummeled the South Shore as wind wildly whipped trees and shrubs.
Blue Hills Weather Observatory reported winds up to 81 mph. Gusts averaged 40 to 60 mph throughout the day.
Birute Silvia, a Keith Avenue extension resident, sweeps sticks, twigs and leaves that have been left on her driveway.
She is concentrating on the small debris, because the more than 30-foot tree that came crashing down from her neighbor’s yard has bisected her backyard and crushed numerous shrubs, plants and decorations in her award-winning gardens.
(Pictured at right)
Like thousands of others, Silvia, 72, said she is learning the steps she now has to take to contact her homeowner’s insurance and figure out who is responsible to pay for the damage to her garden from her neighbor’s tree.
“It is what it is,” Silvia said.

New Technology, Battles For Programs In ER Doc's Future

2011-08-25T20:14:00.000-07:00

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the the third article in a three-part series about Dr. Gary Witman, an emergency room doctor at Good Samaritan Medical Center, who last summer lost the use of his arms and legs after a rogue wave paralyzed him while at the beach.
Links to previous articles and Dr. Witman's personal blog are below.

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Nearly a year since the accident that has left him paralyzed from the neck down, Good Samaritan emergency room Dr. Gary Witman has had his voice return after vocal cord damage and just Wednesday afternoon he was able to move his thumb—a seemingly small, but enormous feat during what is expected to be years and decades of therapy that will coincide with battles with health insurance representatives for costly programs Witman will need to regain whatever movement in his body he can.
“The first thing they say is ‘No,’ You have to fight for everything,” said Dee Dee exasperatingly when she talks about paying for Gary’s extensive, and expensive medical care during the initial two months of recovery and a year’s worth of subsequent rehabilitation that began last fall when Gary was flown from Massachusetts to Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colorado—one of the few spinal cord rehabilitation facilities in the U.S.
They would have loved to stay in Boston at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, well-known for physical and rehabilitative therapies, but Spaulding, Gary said, offers general care and he needed specialized treatment offered at Craig, and other centers like Shepherd Center in Atlanta or Kessler Institute of Rehabilitation in New Jersey. 4k3BqJaYF_Y/s1600/wedding2.JPG">
The Witmans—through help from family and friends--now have a handicapped van which they have used to travel to Los Angeles for daughter Samantha’s wedding, a week later to Philadephia for another wedding and Toronto, Canada for business reasons, and Baltimore, Maryland for a month-long battery of intensive therapies at Kennedy Krieger Institute.
Last fall when Gary had to leave Brigham and Women’s in Boston for Colorado for physical rehabilitation, the only available option was a medical evacuation flight via jet plane.
“It cost $18,000 to fly him to Colorado,” Dee Dee exclaimed. The flight was denied at first.
“What was he supposed to do? Take a bus," she said.
If an $18,000 flight wasn’t enough, during the 21 days Gary was in Brigham and Women’s surgical ICU it cost $15,000 per day, or about $315,000.
After countless phone calls and the help of Susan Brown, the benefits manager for Good Samaritan, the flight to Colorado was assured, however the battle over payments, Gary’s eligibility for government medical programs, and their desire to attain the best services, therapies, technology and rehabilitative programs—traditional or experimental--is expected to be a life-long, day-to-day battle.
"They deny, and deny, and deny," Dee Dee said. "You'd think they were they to help people. I think they get paid to deny," she said.
A recent study by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation found approximately 5.6 million people, or 1 in every 50 Americans, suffer partial or complete paralysis.
The number one cause of paralysis is from a stroke, followed by multiple sclerosis and then spinal cord injuries which are mostly caused by motor vehicle accidents, work-related incidents, and sporting or recreational activities.
Whether a paraplegic or quadriplegic, patients and their families face a mountain of costs, paperwork, and red-tape associated with their new lives in wheelchairs.
According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Association, the average first year costs for quadriplegics— is about $400,000.

“You have to stay on them. They say no to everything and hope you’ll go away,” Dee Dee said, vowing to fight for every therapy and every penny they are entitled to.
Mountains of costs are compounded by mountains of medical complications.
People who have been paralyzed have a multitude of secondary medical complications such as cardiovascular, respiratory, bladder and bowel function problems, sexual function and temperature control issues, skin care and bed sore worries, and loss of touch and feeling—a loss of sensation that is a new disorienting sensation for paralyzed people.
Depression is a constant plague for patients, and Gary said he counts himself lucky, because through it all he never became darkly depressed or, like so many others who have suffered catastrophic injuries, contemplated suicide.
“I wanted to live and I have so many people to thank for helping me get here,” Gary said—topping the list wife, Dee Dee, his children, friends and colleagues. ““I don’t think of myself as a quadriplegic or a tetraplegic,” he said. “I think of myself as someone who can’t do all the things I used to do.”
While there are a lot of things he can’t do, like ski down the slopes with Dee Dee or save patients in an emergency room, there are a lot of things he can do—especially with his mind—which both Dee Dee and Gary agree is a miracle that he didn’t suffer any brain damage.
After more than three months at Craig Hospital in Colorado many medical problems Gary suffered were resolved including, anemia and hypoxia, severe deficiencies of much needed oxygen to his body tissues; excessive edema or swelling caused by excessive fluids in body tissues; and the need to use a feeding tube for nutrients.
While medical problems were resolved, he underwent aggressive physical and occupational therapies designed to get him back into a “normal” role as fast as possible, but with the caveat that normal would be much different than a few short months ago before the accident.
“The reality began to set in that tetraplegia is a life-long condition and one is not going to get up and walk,” Gary said.
What has been a god-send is a computer and software that function on a “sip-and-puff” system that allows Gary to operate a motorized wheelchair and Dragon voice-activated software that lets him use a computer to surf the Web, communicate with family and friends on his blog, “The Life and Spines of Dr. Gary,” possibly rejoin the staff at Good Samaritan in some way, and create presentations like the one he gave about his experience in May when he returned to the hospital for the first time.
Technology such as Dragon software and the sip-and-puff wheelchair have made a marked improvement in the quality of life for many paralyzed people.
Medical advances have also changed the prognosis for spinal cord injured people.
A generation ago, patients with paralysis had few options to increase their mobility and advice was to not try, or shouldn’t or couldn’t try, because it wouldn’t help anyway—there’s no cure for paralysis.
Since, due to advocacy and fundraising by non-profit organizations like the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation numerous experimental methods have been initiated, and in some cases have helped some people actually walk again.
Functional electrical stimulation, the sending of an electrical current or wave to the muscles and nerves, has been an integral therapy since the 1980s when a paralyzed college student, Nan Davis made headlines in 1983 when she got out of her wheelchair and, powered by a special functional electrical stimulation system, walked to the stage to accept her diploma.
Since the ‘80s, functional stimulation has taken on many forms including a device used at home called an EMPI, and an exercise bicycle that has shown dramatic benefits, not only in increased movement, but offers the benefits of exercise—increased heart and lung function, building of muscle and bone mass, and improved strength and stamina—for those who cannot exercise on their own.
In Massachusetts the only functional electrical stimulation cycles to be found, Gary said, are at Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital in Braintree and Boston University Medical Center in Boston.
Dr. Steve Williams, chair of Rehabilitative Studies and head of New England Regional Spinal Cord Injury Center at BU Medical Center, has been treating Witman for many months now and is pleased with Witman’s progress which has gone from an A on the American Spinal Cord Injury Association, or ASIA scale, or having no movement below the neck at all, to a C, where there is some sensation below the level of injury.
However he doesn’t want to be too pessimistic or too optimistic, and notes spinal cord injury patients usually show the greatest amount of improvement in the first and second years after injury.
“He’s got a long way to go,” Williams said.
Williams said the stimulation cycle helps increase brain activity in an unusual way—through the soles of the feet.
“We don’t know how or why,” Williams said, but data has shown the pedals of the bike stimulate the soles of the feet which send electrical messages from the feet, up the legs, through the torso and to the brain and back.
Stimulation has been shown to increase nerve activity in the brain, which increases movement and range of motion, but it is a slow, grueling process, that for some can be miraculous, and for others, it all depends.
“Yes, I have seen people who have been paralyzed walk, but, like every person, every injury is different,” Williams said.
Dee Dee said the bike gives Gary an obvious lift and they have seen a noticeable improvement in all areas. “It’s very exciting when Gary is on the bike. He shows so much improvement,” Dee Dee said.
Williams said Witman’s case is unusual because Gary did not hit his head on the beach sand—which would have made sense that he suffered severe neck and spine injury.
Mind-boggling to all—medical personnel included—is that the wave caused the injury to Gary.
In most circumstances it is the impact the head, neck or spine takes from an accident, wave or otherwise that causes bones to snap or fracture causing pressure on the spine which results in paralysis.
The accident did not cause any bones to break or fracture, and there was no sign of injury to his vertebrae. What was found was a “perfect storm” of bleeding in his spinal cord from C-3 to C-5, and edema, or fluid, through the rest of the spinal canal caused by the force of the wave, only.
“When he was knocked down the bone moved against the spinal cord,” Williams said. When Gary’s spinal cord was pinched by the bone the cells it caused bleeding in the spine and cells--neurons—died because of the bleeding.
The death of the cells, Williams said, causes messages to be sent to the brain telling the brain the cells are now dead. Because the brain has been told the cells are dead, messages from the brain no longer tell those body parts to move because they will no longer work.
In essence, Williams said, communication to the spine from the brain no longer takes place.
The only explanation for Gary’s injury is that in 1994, Witman was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, a narrowing of one or more areas of the spine that can cause pressure on the spine which can result in paralysis.
He had surgery about a year later. Sixteen years later, Dee Dee and Gary hypothesize it was the stenosis and subsequent surgery that not only caused the paralysis, but probably saved his life because there was enough elasticity in his spine to prevent a death-causing fracture.

“If it was another person, that person probably would have died,” Dee Dee said. “It caused his injuries, but it probably saved his life. That’s the irony,” she said.
A creepy remembrance trickles in when the Witmans are reminded of the stenosis surgery.
When Gary was flown to Craig Hospital in Colorado for rehabilitation, the plane made a stop to refuel. The plane refueled in Rockford, Illinois, the same city signs of stenosis in Gary’s spine first appeared 16 years before.
Gary is willing to try cutting-edge and experimental treatments in his attempt to find a cure for his paralysis.
He has researched new advancements in stem cell research. Witman has his eye on surgically implanted spine electrical stimulation that in an article in Lancet medical journal in May helped a 23-year-old paraplegic, after more than two years of experiments and stimulation, stand, with assistance for balance, on his own two feet for about 4.25 minutes and was able to take a few steps.
Witman said he is willing to face experimental electrical stimulation to his brain, a risk he is willing to take if it will help him regain movement, or possibly walk.
“I’ll be a human guinea pig—what have I got to lose,” Gary said.

Click here to read Part 1 of Dr. Witman's story...

Click here to read Part 2 of Dr. Witman's story...

Click here to visit Dr. Witman's blog, "The Life and Spine of Dr. Gary B. Witman," ....http://garywitman.tumblr.com/

Unusual Earthquake Shakes East Coast

2011-08-24T04:58:00.001-07:00

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--The United States Geological Survey said an earthquake centered near Mineral, Virginia was felt more than 500 miles away in Boston and as far away north as Ontario, Canada, and south to Alabama.
The United States Geological Survey said the quake struck at 1:51 p.m. The strongest quake measured 5.8 and lasted 20 to 30 seconds, and was felt the most in Virginia, including Washington D.C., where several national monuments were cracked.
Survey officials reported two small aftershocks, of magnitude 2.8 and 2.2, within 90 minutes of the original jolt.
Buildings in Boston and up and down the East Coast were evacuated and many people were shocked at the sudden rumbling of the earth that, to some in Brockton, felt like a commuter train rushing through.
Cities and towns north and south of Boston reported rumbling and shaking for about 10seconds.
Media reports say it is the first time in nearly 100 years Boston and the surrounding area has felt an earthquake rumble through the area.
According to the USGS, historically 19 earthquakes of intensity V or greater, have centered in Massachusetts--unlike yesterday's rattling, which began in Virginia and sent seismic waves more than 1,000 miles away.
A shock in 1755 reached intensity VIII at Boston and was felt across the state.
In addition, Massachusetts was affected by some of the more severe Canadian shocks plus the earthquake of 1929 that centered on Grand Banks of Newfoundland.
The residents of Nantucket Island were jolted by a moderate earthquake on October 24, 1965.
Very slight damage, mostly to ornaments, was reported. Doors, windows, and dishes rattled, and house timbers creaked.

Life's No Beach After Paralyzing Accident

2011-08-23T16:46:00.000-07:00

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second in a three-part series about Good Samaritan Medical Center emergency room Dr. Gary Witman, who last August was paralyzed by a wave during a day at the beach in Rhode Island.
Click here to read the first article...
To follow Dr. Witman's personal blog, "The Life & Spines of Dr. Gary Witman," click here...
By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—On Aug. 31, 2010, Good Samaritan Medical Center emergency room Dr. Gary Witman and his wife Dianne, better known as Dee Dee, visited some friends at a private section of Narragansett Beach in Rhode Island for his once-per-year visit to the ocean.
“Gary doesn’t like the beach. I love skiing. You don’t know how many accidents we’ve had (skiing),” Dee Dee said. “There’s so much irony in all of this,” she said.
Gary doesn’t particularly care for the beach and only goes once a year. Dee Dee loves the ocean and her friends had a cabana on a private section of Narragansett Beach that the Witmans once visited regularly until the town banned those not living in town from the privilege about 6 or 7 years ago.
The Witmans hadn’t been back to Narragansett Beach since the Town of Narragansett excluded non-residents from the section with cabanas.
Gary agreed to what was expected to be a fun Tuesday visiting with beloved friends from Pittsburgh, gabbing about family triumphs and disappointments, and splashing around in the beach’s waves that children and adults alike grab bogey boards and surf boards to ride the surges to shore.
It never crossed their minds one rogue wave, a day at the beach, would turn their lives upside down.
“Never, never, never take anything for granted,” Dee Dee said.
In many ways the Witmans were living the good life, an upper middle class, bordering on wealthy, American dream.
Gary, a much respected emergency room doctor at Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton since 1997, worked as a resident at Brown University, and put people back together as an overnight shift emergency room intern--when he met Dee Dee also a working student. Witman worked the overnight shift at Good Samaritan until his accident.
His salary and private investments, and Dee Dee’s position as a political consultant afforded the family a beautiful home in Providence, the opportunity to send all three of their adult children, Samantha, 32, Zachary, 29, and Amanda Rose, 26, to college, and watch them build families of their own.
The couple enjoyed traveling and dinner parties and Dee Dee’s involvement as a volunteer in Rhode Island made the pair—both down-to-earth and funny-- an admired and well-liked two-some.
While there are still parties and the Witmans still travel—some for therapies and some for family events like oldest daughter Samantha’s wedding in Los Angeles—it is all much different, much more difficult, and much, much slower.
“It was such a freak accident, but we are living with it, we’re adjusting,” Dee Dee said after a recent physical therapy session at Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital, where Gary visits two or three times a week and travels 60-90 minutes from their home in Providence to Braintree or Boston University Medical Center for therapy unavailable in their home state.
“One day at a time,” Dee Dee said.
A year later, as Gary fights to regain some of his old life, now without the use of his arms and legs and confined to a wheelchair, and Dee Dee attends him 24-7 helping him eat, drink, bathe, change clothes, and nearly every other daily activity the vibrant couple once so easily enjoyed—they wonder why it all happened and have been spooked by some ironies and coincidences.
“It was a quiet day. The waves were quiet. They weren’t surging,” Dee Dee said, unusual for a beach with an ever-present instructor who offers surf lessons by the half-hour and hour.
Gary remembers the moment the wave crashed into him and sent him sprawling wildly. When the wave hit, Gary was bent over as he stooped to pick up Dee Dee’s hat that had accidentally fallen into the water.
The wave hit his upper body and he immediately knew he was paralyzed after hearing a “pop.”
Due to numerous reasons we posted yesterday Dr. Witman slammed his head on hard-packed sand. That did not happen--to the astonishment of family, friends and every medical person who has treated Witman--an added irony to the tragedy.
The injury was caused by the power and surge of the wave.
Unable to move or yell for help, Witman said he knew he was paralyzed and, while not a religious man—it’s never too late to learn he said--prayed someone would notice he was floating face down in the water quickly drowning.
“The lifeguards did nothing. They just sat on their butts,” Gary said. “It was Dee Dee and other doctors from California who happened to be there who saved me. The lifeguards just sat there on their chairs and none of them came to my rescue,” he said.
Before help arrived Gary nearly drowned in about 3 feet of water, about 50 feet from shore—no sharks, no power boats, he wasn't miles out to see in a 100-year storm. There was no apparent danger, except that Witman was paralyzed, face-down in the water helpless to help himself.
Dee Dee, who had been knocked over and washed up on shore by the same wave, turned around and looked for her husband of 36 years after recovering from her own spill.
She saw Gary face down in the water. She began to yell for help and raced toward Witman.
Other beachgoers also began to run to help the face-down floating doctor.
“Thirty-seconds of my life seemed like forever,” Witman said.
Torrents of thoughts ran through his mind as he waited for help. He envisioned himself like a rubber duck floating in a bath tub. He prayed for help. He had a darkly cheerful thought his life insurance policy would be ample for his family if he died. He didn’t want to die. He wanted to live, he thought as salty water filled both his lungs.
He passed out before rescuers reached him and he remembers nothing about being dragged to shore.
Dee Dee and the other beachgoers turned over Witman, allowing the water to clear and opening air ways to his seawater-filled lungs. Dee Dee and four others dragged Gary's motionless body to shore.
Still showing the sense of humor that has won them many friends, Witman said he and Dee Dee still joke about the tell-tale sign, that indeed, he had been paralyzed.
“What was most impressive to my wife was my presentation of priapism,” Witman said, using the medical word for an erection.
Dee Dee called 911. Fifteen minutes later a rescue team from Narragansett arrived at the beach. Witman was immobilized, placed on a board with his neck in a collar and was to be raced by ambulance to Rhode Island Hospital--a Level I trauma center 30 minutes away.
While in the ambulance and having regained consciousness, Gary said—along with asking Dee Dee to tell ER Chief Rick Herman he wouldn’t be able to work that night--he made the first demand of a long list of demands—often lifesaving--based on his medical knowledge.
Witman said he couldn’t breathe and knew he was having respiratory distress—a life-threatening condition-- and did not feel he could survive the 30 minutes to Rhode Island Hospital.
Upon his request, Witman was taken to South County Hospital, the closest hospital of any kind to the beach. Witman requested the attending emergency room physician perform an urgent intubation—the insertion of a tube down the throat to open air passages.
The procedure saved his life, but he lost his voice for about eight months because the tube harmed his right vocal cord.
It was the first in many gaffes by doctors and others that has left Witman with a less than exemplary opinion of some medical personnel and procedures, and a gloomy vision of what life is really like for a patient when it comes to medical care and paying for that medical care.
Within 24 hours he was stabilized at South County and Gary was eventually transferred to Rhode Island Hospital where he suffered more complications—including a barely-won bout with highly dangerous pneumonia that developed in both lungs from the ocean water that filled his lungs while he was floating upside down and helpless.
In his weakened and traumatic state the pneumonia could have, and almost did, kill him.
At Rhode Island Hospital, Dee Dee and son Zachary were told it was likely Gary would never be removed from a ventilator.
After three weeks in the ICU unit where he barely beat the pneumonia, lived on a feeding tube, had no bowel movement for nine days and his testicles grew to the size of tennis balls, Witman wanted out.
“Get me to Boston,” Gary told his family and friends, and they requested he be transferred to Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Transferring was not an easy process.
A medical helicopter was available, but he had to wait 18 hours before a pilot could be found to fly him to Boston.
Once in Boston, Witman said he has no memory of the first three days at Brigham and Women’s where he spent 21 days in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit.
While at Brigham and Women’s the worst thing that happened—besides some visitors having their belongings stolen--was he caught a fever of 104.6 degrees—a volatile situation that could have killed him.
A cooling blanket could have helped, Witman said, but the resident who was working had no experience using one and only provided Tylenol which did little to bring the fever down.
“My son spent the entire night putting ice on my head,” Witman said.
There had to be a reason for the fever, Witman said, and it began to dawn on him the cause of the fever was an allergic reaction to an antibiotic he was prescribed to control infections.
Outside help was needed. Witman’s son Zachary worked the telephone lines until they could reach Good Samaritan’s Dr. Dan McQuillen, an infectious disease specialist and Dr. Derrick Crook, chairman of the Infectious Disease Department at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, England.
As fever poured from Gary, Zachary iced his father’s head and the telephone lines buzzed in the darkness of the wee early morning hours between England, Boston and Brockton, and the group came to the conclusion Witman’s fever was triggered by the antibiotic.
The trio insisted it be cut-off and another administered in its place. The change was made, Gary’s fever broke, and with the fever’s departure went most of the life-threatening medical situations he faced during the two months after the injury.
Gary continued to recover and medical discussions shifted from fighting for survival to rehabilitation and physical and occupational therapies.
The next phase would perhaps be the worst: barring a medical miracle, the family would have to prepare mentally and physically for Gary’s life in a wheelchair, the household needed to be reorganized, work schedules juggled, and the war with health insurance representatives would be waged.
“When I was an emergency room doctor I never thought about the financial consequences of saving a patient—how much it might cost them later,” Gary said. “We’re learning,” he said.

Accident Doesn't Paralyze Witman's Fight

2011-08-22T07:22:00.000-07:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—One wave.
One rogue ocean wave in Rhode Island last August 31 forever changed the life of Dr. Gary Witman, an emergency room doctor at Brockton’s Good Samaritan Medical Center, who in one surge of Mother Nature’s power has gone from a leading ER doctor to struggling quadriplegic—not only fighting for his life and to walk again, but also fighting for the medical care and denials of that care from health insurance companies.
“I only go to the beach once a year—and that day was it,” Witman said after a recent session at Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital, where he is undergoing extensive physical and occupational therapies.
Sometimes it is difficult for him to speak—although speaking is progress—and he practically lives in an electrified wheelchair that is now the only means for Witman to get around.
He uses a "puffer," or strawlike device to operate the wheelchair, and his wife of 36years, Diane, better known as Dee Dee, is constantly on the move helping him with all of the once-taken-for-granted needs of everyday life from helping Witman eat, drink, bathe, change clothes, get in and out of bed and run the household.
"This isn't love--it's more than love," Dee Dee said, as she wiped a drip from Gary's mouth as juice spilled from his lips and down his face.
"This is like. I love him, but I like him, too. This is companionship, friendship--this is committment," she said.
Unlike some of the thousands in the U.S. who suffer from quadriplegia—commonly called tetraplegia-- Witman, 61, a determined, sharp-witted, gregarious, and humorous father of three adult children, said while there are things he can no longer do, he will not be anchored by this enormous and unwanted change in his life.
He has no desire to stay home and wither away, and doesn’t care if people are uncomfortable seeing him wheel around hotels for his daughter’s wedding in California, or around the streets of his neighborhood in Rhode Island, or around the grounds of the hospital he expects to return.
“There was never going be retirement,” Witman said. “People tell me I should just retire, stay home, take care of myself. That’s what I’m doing. Taking care of myself. With or without this, I never intended to retire,” he said.
At the moment of the accident nearly a year ago, immediately realizing he was paralyzed and unable to move, roll over or yell for help during the time he was face-down in 3 feet of water only 50 feet from shore, Witman said he contemplated several things while waiting to die:
He was glad he took out a substantial life insurance policy for his family and that the universe is not in the control of humans.
“What I recall most was the sound of the waves and the fact that I was bobbing on the ocean like a rubber duck in the bathtub,” Witman said. “I felt absolutely helpless and awed by the power of Mother Nature,” he said.
Since the wave caused injuries to his spinal cord in several places, Witman, has made an amazing amount of progress, including the ability to speak eight months after the accident, he and Dee Dee have had a rude awakening to what it is like on the other side of medicine—including frustrating battles with insurance companies over services and rehab programs.
“I’m not only a doctor now. I’m a patient,” Witman said. “I’m on the other side,” he said.
While there is progress, Witman has a long way to go to reach some of the goals he has set for himself: possibly walking again and returning as a regular member of the Good Samaritan Medical Center staff.
He has been in touch with new hospital President Jeffrey Liebman to create some type of position that would allow Witman to use his keen mind, if not body, to help at the hospital where he has been a leader since 1997 when he joined the staff.
“We’re going to try to custom-shape something,” Witman said.
His friend and colleague at Good Samaritan’s emergency room Dr. Christopher Johnson said Witman’s accident was a shock to all in the close-knit Good Samaritan community.
When Witman gave a presentation to the hospital’s paramedic service in May, Witman’s wheelchair was surrounded by paramedics, doctors, nurses and other staff wishing him well and giving him kisses and hugs. (Photo at top with Dr. David Mudd, left)
“Through all of this, at some point he’s going to prevail,” Johnson said. (Pictured above)
Johnson said it is inevitable that Witman will, in some shape or form, return to the hospital as a doctor.
“He loves medicine and he has an unbridled and unmatched energy,” Johnson said. “He has dedicated his life to medicine. He’s one of those doctors you can call at 3 a.m. for help and he doesn’t mind,” he said.
Johnson said Witman is sorely missed at the hospital.
“He’s such an intellectual, so dedicated and he has so much knowledge,” Johnson said. “He’s really missed by the staff and patients,” he said.

AG Coakley Brockton Visit Highlights Copper Stripping Problem

2011-08-17T15:54:00.000-07:00

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--FROM ATTORNEY GENERAL MARTHA COAKLEY'S OFFICE:
Attorney General Martha Coakley Monday met with local officials and visited a three-family property in Brockton that was stripped of copper to highlight the need for legislation to address the illegal stripping and dealing of metal in the state.
The abandoned property is in the process of being repaired and renovated by Neighborhood Housing Services of the South Shore.
Coakley and state Sen. James E. Timilty filed a bill in January called An Act Regulating Secondary Metals Dealing which aims to address the illegal stripping and dealing of metal through the creation of a central Secondary Metals Computer Registry and an Abandoned Property Registry.
During the visit, Coakley toured the property to observe the damage caused by copper stripping. She was joined by local officials and legislators including Timilty and Brockton Mayor Linda Balzotti.
“This property highlights the serious issues that come with the stripping of metals from vacant properties,” Coakley said in a prepared statement.
“Metal stripping adds costs to the rehabilitation of these properties and can pose public safety threats due to gas leaks and structural damage caused by pipe stripping. Our legislation will provide law enforcement and communities with the tools they need to address metals dealing and continue to revitalize their neighborhoods,” she said.
Sen. Timilty, D-Walpole, said in a prepared statement he is proud to co-sponsor the bill with Coakley and Senate President Theresa Murray.
“My office has heard from historical societies, veterans groups, utility companies, sculpture artists, police chiefs, the brewers guild, and many others who support (the bill)," Timilty said.
"These much needed regulations intend to curb metals theft by going after those who profit from stolen goods, while protecting the legitimate secondary metals industry,” he said.
In the last few years, Coakley’s office has seen an uptick in reports of abandoned properties.
The mortgage foreclosure crisis has caused many properties throughout Massachusetts to be abandoned.
Many of these vacant properties pose a threat to public safety due to building code violations, dilapidation, and criminal activity such as theft, drug dealing, and arson.
Many of these properties have been significantly damaged by acts of vandalism, including the stripping of copper and other metals, which are then resold on the secondary market.
The City of Brockton has worked to sell, rehab or repair vacant and foreclosed properties.
Over the past three years, the Highland Goddard Street neighborhood of Brockton has seen a transformation.
When the City began neighborhood walk throughs and clean ups three years ago, there were 15 vacant homes in foreclosure.
Thanks to the efforts fo the City and non-profit and for-profit developers, today there are none.
Based on the experience of Coakley’s Abandoned Housing Initiative, two of the largest obstacles to revitalizing vacant residential properties in Massachusetts are the cost of rehabilitation and identifying the parties responsible for the property. The AG’s Abandoned Housing Initiative uses the state sanitary code’s receivership statute to assist cities and towns in rehabbing many of these problem properties. According to rehabilitation experts working with the AG’s office, the stripping of copper can cause up to $15,000 worth of damage to a residence, often times aiding in the conclusion that rehabilitation is not a financially feasible option.
An Act Regulating Secondary Metals Dealing has the potential to have a profound effect on the problem of abandoned and vacant properties in Massachusetts.
The new law mandates the creation of an Abandoned Property Registry, a two-year pilot program established and maintained by the Division of Banks to catalog all foreclosed, abandoned, and vacant properties in the Commonwealth.
The creation of the Abandoned Property Registry will assist municipalities and law enforcement officials in locating the owners of abandoned properties or the criminal offenders involved in stealing metal from such structures.
The legislation also establishes the Secondary Metals Computer Registry, which will be maintained by the Executive Office of Public Safety.
The Registry is designed to increase the availability of the records and identities of metal scrap dealers, sellers and their wares to law enforcement. The legislation also allows for more accurate record keeping and tracking of items and their sellers, so that stolen metals are more easily recovered.
Coakley testified in support of the legislation in July, and the bill is currently before Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure.

Investigation Continues In Bridgeway Liquors Shooting

2011-08-16T08:43:00.001-07:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Police continue to investigate a shooting at Bridgeway Liquors Friday, Aug. 12 that took the life of a 19-year-old Brockton man.
Russ Eonas, a spokesman for Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said James Ortiz, 19, of Brockton was killed Friday night at the liquor store at 142 Howard Street.
A Norwood man, Vincent Wadlington, 17, has been charged with unlawful carrying of a firearm, possession of ammunition without a license, and unlawful carrying of a loaded firearm, Eonas said.
Eonas said no one has been charged with homicide.
“The investigation is on-going,” Eonas said.
Wadlington was arraigned in Brockton District Court, Monday, Aug. 15, and held on $500 bail. He is scheduled for a pretrial conference Oct. 11.
Malkiat Singh, owner of Bridgeway Liquors, said he and his nephew were working Friday night and preparing to close, when at about 10:45 p.m. a group of cars pulled into the parking lot.
“They were yelling and fighting in the parking lot,” Singh said. “They came from somewhere else,” he said.
Singh said he heard the yelling and then three males ran through the store—two chasing one.
“One guy grabbed a bottle to defend himself,” Singh said.
Singh said none of the three men was Ortiz.
Singh said he told them if they had a fight to take it out side and leave the property.
As his nephew called police, Singh said he heard five or six gun shots and knew something bad had happened.
“He died right there,” Singh said pointing to an area of the parking lot in front of the store that is now covered in sand to soak up the blood from head, neck and leg wounds suffered by Ortiz.
Another man, 21-year-old Donte Ortiz, James Ortiz’s brother, was stabbed in the back.
"It all happened in five minutes," Singh said.
Singh said the suspects sped away, but some members of the group left cars in the parking lot, which police towed.

Brockton Mosquito Spraying Begins Tonight

2011-08-11T05:28:00.000-07:00

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--The Brockton Board of Health has announced there will be mosquito ground spraying throughout the city and school grounds Thursday, Aug. 11, following test samples last week that detected the West Nile virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus in mosquitoes.
In a prepared statement, the Board of Health said groundspraying will take place later this evening, Aug. 11, weather permitting, and will include the entire city, including all school grounds, playgrounds, Rox Stadium and Brockton fairgrounds.
Fifteen of the city's public and private schools will take place tonight, weather permitting, with the remaining schools to be done on Monday and Tuesday.
Brockton's playgrounds, schools, Rox Stadium and fairgrounds were sprayed at the end of June, early July, but because of the detection of the diseases, officials said the city requested the whole city be sprayed by Plymouth County Mosquito Control.
While no humans in the state have yet to contract either of the mosquito-borne illnesses, residents are urged to take precautions to prevent getting mosquito bites.
Click here for more information about precautions to prevent bites, test samplings, and state and local board of health contacts...

The Sometimes Scary, Sometimes Spectacular Power of Social Media

2011-08-10T10:20:00.000-07:00

EDITOR'S NOTE: We at BrocktonPost.com are pleased to welcome Liz Downey as a contributing correspondent. Downey is a Norwell resident, who holds a master's degree in English from Bridgewater State College and in 2009 earned a bachelor's from Stonehill College in English and theater arts. We look forward to her submissions. She has her own website, http://www.lizdowney.com/ and can be reached via email at etdownney@gmail.com.

By Liz Downey
BrocktonPost Correspondent
Two weeks ago, a popular Southern California DJ who goes by the name of Kaskade tweeted about what was supposed to be a small, private, invitation-only film screening of The Electric Daisy Carnival Experience at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.
He spilled the details of this event in a single 140-character hiccup that echoed to the timelines of his 90,000 followers:
“ME+BIG SPEAKERS+MUSIC=BLOCK PARTY”
Of course, it wasn’t until that evening when Kaskade, overcome by police riot squads, circling helicopters, and thousands of fans who filled the streets of Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard, tweeted:
“EVERYONE NEEDS TO GO HOME NOW. I DON’T WANT THIS TO REFLECT BADLY ON EDM OR WHAT WE ARE ABOUT. BE RESPECTFUL AND CHILL OUT!!!”
He just tweeted that a little too late.
Many of the thousands were already out-of-control, jumping on top of squad cars, and subsequently, arrested.
For those of you unfamiliar with Twitter, adding a hashtag (#) to a word or phrase can help it trend on Twitter. For something to trend on Twitter, great numbers of people have to tweet about the hashtagged keyword or phrase in order for it to show up on the Twitter website as a “trending topic.”
Today, my boyfriend messaged me about a startling, trending topic on Twitter: #reasonstobeatyourgirlfriend.
The “trend” was tweeted amongst hateful and angry statements and inappropriate uses of humor.
It was also met by users horrified by the trend, who sought to renounce anyone making light of physical abuse.
Of course, these do-gooders overlooked the fact that replying to and reusing the hashtag only strengthens its “trendiness.”
What probably began as one inappropriate joke grew to unimaginably large proportions because it was broadcast on the Internet.
What these stories really should be telling you is that what you say matters. Yes--it does.
What you say on the Internet matters beyond the scope of your imagination.
And yet, this power can be also used for good.
If you say interesting things, seem likeable and passionate about your topic, you will harness more of an audience. Crafting the perfect tweet or Facebook status can generate more of these people. Eloquence is empowered if your message has a call to action.
In this case, saying stuff online can be a lead generator for your business.
Social media has also been the hub of legal change.
The Casey Anthony Trial was the biggest trial to date on social media sites. I think, of course, that this trial will be surpassed at some point by an even more dramatic trial. Further, the population of people on these sites will continue to grow as the population does.
However, the important part is this: everyone had something to be mad about with Casey Anthony. Because of social media outlets, users were able to articulate specifically why they were enraged at her release: not notifying police of her daughter’s disappearance.
In response to the heavily texted and tweeted discussion, the people came together on Facebook creating a group to advocate a new legal measure called “Caylee’s Law” after Anthony’s daughter which would make it a criminal act not to report you child missing within 24 hours of his or her disappearance.
The page has over 690,000 Facebook Fans. The petition has over 1.25 million signatures.
Countless other examples could be cited. On the small side, pets and owners are reunited much more quickly.
On the large side, Egyptians used social networking to overthrow their government. Either way, it should be clear to you, reader, that social media isn’t a fad. It’s not going away.
It’s a force to deal with and to master.
Click here to view videos of the Kaskade riot on YouTube...
(Twitter logo courtesy of Twitter.com. Egypt riot photo courtesy of friezsnake-YouTube. Caylee Anthony photo courtesy Change.org. Casey Anthony photo courtesy Facebook)

Verizon Strikers Say They Are Defending The Middle Class

2011-08-10T06:34:00.000-07:00

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Verizon worker Vic Smith of Bridgewater said union members will do what it takes to save jobs from being sent overseas and to protect the middle class, as he and dozens of other striking workers picketed at two locations in Brockton.
“We’re all standing here together,” Smith said Tuesday afternoon as he (pictured at top) and more than 30 other Verizon employees made it difficult for the telephone company’s trucks to enter the plant at the end of West Chestnut and Pearl streets, on the West Side of Brockton.
As Smith spoke, fellow strikers struck up a chant, shouting “we’re united," and passersby heading to area shops and restaurants, honked their horns and waved.
Two Brockton police officers, hired by Verizon, slowly moved a group of 5 or 6 strikers from the path of the Verizon truck as it pulled in at the intersection of Pearl and West Chestnut, a 50-yard strip of road leading to the plant.
When picketers moved, the truck rolled a few yards toward an open fence where a core group of about 30 strikers carried signs and blocked the entrance to the Verizon plant.
Sting's "Message in a bottle" blared from a car stereo parked on the side of the road where employees set up beach chairs and tables.
The two police officers slowly walked to the strikers, who broke their circle and formed on each side of the truck.
The driver--either an active or retired member of Verizon management who has been trained to step in during emergencies and strikes—pulled past the group and into the facility as strikers shouted at him.
Strikers said they live in Brockton, Bridgewater, Raynham, Taunton, Easton, Whitman, Abington and other towns across the South Shore and have joined more than 45,000 members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and Communication Workers of America from Massachusetts to Virginia in a battle with Verizon management over what strikers call the battle for the middle class.
In Massachusetts, 6,500 IBEW and CWA workers have joined the strike.
Union workers went on strike at Midnight, Sunday, Aug. 7, after negotiations with company heads in Rye, New York ended Saturday with no agreement on a new contract.
Local union leaders said when the unions' three-year contract expired Saturday night with no agreement, the unions had no choice, but walk off the job.
“Going on strike is an absolute last resort,” said Eric Hetrick, business manager of IBEW Local 2322, which represents members in Southeast, Mass., Cape Cod and the Islands.
“The last thing a union business manager wants to ask its members is to strike,” Hetrick said.
Hetrick said IBEW workers who are participating in the strike will begin paying their own bills after this week when they get their last check from Verizon because the IBEW does not have a defense fund to help pay bills while workers are on strike.
CWA members, Hetrick said, have had additional dues set aside for a defense fund and believes members have about two months before the fund runs out.
The last Verizon strike was in 1989. It lasted 17 weeks.
Picketers downplayed reports of sabotage and cut lines in Tewksbury and Plymouth, noting crying sabotage and cut lines is the first play in management’s playbook during a strike.
Verizon officials could not immediately be reached for comment, but a prepared statement on the company’s website notes the contract includes employees who work in Verizon’s landline operations, which has lost nearly 60 percent of its customers over the last 10 years, while Verizon’s cellphone customers have increased by 94 million during the same period.
Picketers said Verizon, which netted a profit of $16 billion last year, is being greedy and only wants to give bonuses to its head managers and destroy the middle class.
Hetrick said the $16 billion profit was after “everything right down to paying for paper clips” and workers believe the company has plenty to offer employees without damaging the company’s bottomline.
“We’re not talking about getting rich here,” Hetrick said. “Workers want to be able to buy a house, raise their kids and send them to college, and pay their bills. None of us are going to get rich on what we’re asking,” he said.
Hetrick said one of the main points on the table is Verizon’s demand it be able to move thousands of customer service employees who handle landline billing and service calls from customers in the Northeast to the Philippines and India.
“It’s about losing jobs here in the Northeast. Here in the United States,” Hetrick said. “It’s a bitter pill to swallow," he said.
Another sticking point, Hetrick said, is Verizon’s demand employees pay for health care costs.
He said Verizon has asked employees to pay on average $4,000 to $6,000 per year for health care insurance.
Hetrick said Verizon employees currently do not pay anything for health care premiums.
He said he understands millions of Americans often pay an 80-20 percent share, with employees paying 20 percent, of health care costs, but added IBEW and CWA representatives have offered health care proposals where employees would still not pay any premiums and it would save Verizon money.
He said Verizon officials would not discuss the unions’ counterproposals.
Negotiators met in New York Monday and Tuesday, and were expected to resume talks this morning.
Picketers in Brockton said, although it may be difficult if the strike is prolonged, like 1989 when it lasted more than four months, they said they are fighting for the middle class.
"We're united, we're united, we're united," they shouted.

Officials Offer Precautions To Avoid Mosquito Bites

2011-08-09T07:55:00.000-07:00

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--FROM THE BOARD OF HEALTH:
The City of Brockton Board of Health was notified Friday, Aug. 5 by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health that West Nile virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus have been detected in mosquitoes collected from the city.
State Board of Health officials said there have been no humans infected with either mosquito-borne virus, so far, in 2011.
Bridgewater, Brockton, and a host of other communities this summer have been identified as having mosquito samples bearing the viruses, and officials urge residents to take precautions to avoid contracting the illnesses, including using specific insect repellent, staying indoors during peak mosquito hours and repairing ripped or broken door and window screens.
During 2010, according to state Board of Health statistics, seven Massachusetts residents were infected by the West Nile virus. Residents in Hampden, Worcester, and three in Suffolk County were treated for either fever or meningoencephalitis.
No human in Plymouth or Norfolk County contracted the infection during 2010, however nationwide the number of West Nile virus cases increased in 2010 to 981 cases versus 720 in 2009.
Here are a few steps to take to avoid getting mosquito bites:
Avoid Mosquito Bites
•Apply Insect Repellent when Outdoors. Use a repellent with DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide), permethrin, picaridin (KBR 3023), oil of lemon eucalyptus [p-methane 3, 8-diol (PMD)] or IR3535 according to the instructions on the product label. DEET products should not be used on infants under two months of age and should be used in concentrations of 30% or less on older children. Oil of lemon eucalyptus should not be used on children under three years of age.

•Be Aware of Peak Mosquito Hours. The hours from dusk to dawn are peak biting times for many mosquitoes. Consider rescheduling outdoor activities that occur during evening or early morning.

•Clothing Can Help Reduce Mosquito Bites. Wearing long-sleeves, long pants and socks when outdoors will help keep mosquitoes away from your skin.

Mosquito-Proof Your Home
•Drain Standing Water. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water. Limit the number of places around your home for mosquitoes to breed by either draining or discarding items that hold water. Check rain gutters and drains. Empty any unused flowerpots and wading pools, and change water in bird baths frequently.

•Install or Repair Screens. Keep mosquitoes outside by having tightly-fitting screens on all windows and doors.

More information is available on the DPH website: www.mass.gov/dph/wnv.
Information about WNV and Eastern Equine Encephalitis is also available by calling the DPH recorded information line at 1-866-MASS-WNV (1-866-627-7968), or the Epidemiology Program at 617-983-6800.

BrocktonPost City Hall & Public Affairs

Catholic Charities Celebrates New Brockton Site

Cronin Highlights Mediation, Activism Skills In Run For 11th Plymouth

Wed. Last Day To Register For Presidential Primary

Below is a list of deadlines for voter registration from Secretary of State William Galvin's Office.

If you are not already registered to vote, these are the deadlines for upcoming federal and state elections.

As noted, Wednesday, TOMORROW, Feb. 15 is the last day to register for the Presidential Primary which will be held "Super Tuesday," March 6, when Republican hopefuls will get a sense of who Bay Stater's want to put up against President Barack Obama.

* When registering by mail, your voter registration form must be postmarkedby the deadline for you to be eligible.

To register to vote in person, you mustappear and register at a registration location by 8 p.m. on the last day toregister--Wednesday, Feb. 15 for the Presidential Primary.

2012 Voter Registration Deadlines

Election Type

Election Date

Voter Registration Deadline*

Learnard's History Passion Crosses Country, Generations

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Warren Visits Brockton's Cindy's Kitchen

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Nominations Due Friday For James Edgar Award

Campaign Mailing Splits Power Plant Candidates

Ward 2 Meeting Thursday, 7 p.m.

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Good Sam Celebrates ER Opening

Good Sam ER Open House Sat., Oct. 15

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Power Plant Hearing In Boston Today

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Polls Open Until 8 P.M. For Primary

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Air Quality Tests Topic Of Statehouse Visit

Healthy Kids At Heart Of Produce Promo

Woman Survives Sunday Double Shooting

Sound of Silence Marks NYC After 9/11

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Hagler Manager Funeral Thursday

Be Extra Cautious On Streets At Night

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Irene Knocks Out Trees, Power Across South Shore

New Technology, Battles For Programs In ER Doc's Future

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Life's No Beach After Paralyzing Accident

Accident Doesn't Paralyze Witman's Fight

AG Coakley Brockton Visit Highlights Copper Stripping Problem

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