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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com MONDAY, MARCH 16, 2015
VOL. 84 NO. 067
Members of the Westfield High School Jazz Ensemble perform their “Back To The 80s” set. From left to right: Nina Rodriguez, Maddie Lukomski, Sara Miller, and Dan Hixon. (Photo by Liam Sheehan)
“The only joy
in the world is to begin.” — CESARE PAVESE
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Baker requests $200M for roads The JV Jazz ensemble performs their setlist. (Photo by Liam Sheehan)
62ND ANNUAL POPS CONCERT
‘Back To The 80s’ The “Dixieland Jam” group performs their set at the 62nd Annual Pops Concert at Westfield High School. (Photo by Liam Sheehan)
Westfield High School Band Director Patrick Kennedy welcomes friends and family to the The Westfield High School Band starts off the 62nd Annual Pops Concert Saturday 62nd Annual Pops Concert Saturday night at night with their “Back To The 80’s” theme. (Photo by Liam Sheehan) Westfield High School. (Photo by Liam Sheehan)
BOSTON – Governor Charlie Baker has filed H.D. 3712, “An Act Financing Improvements to Municipal Roads and Bridges,” to allocate $200 million in Chapter 90 transportation funds to the Commonwealth’s cities and towns for local transportation infrastructure improvements. “After keeping our promise to release additional transportation funding shortly after taking office, we are proud to continue our commitment to Massachusetts’ cities and towns with an additional investment for the upcoming construction season,” said Baker. “The access to flexible funding MAYOR DANIEL for transportation M. KNAPIK improvements is essential to our municipalities’ ability to provide for reliable infrastructure, public safety, new job opportunities and a growing economy, and I hope the legislature will take swift action to see these investments become a reality.” The Baker administration released $100 million in budgeted Chapter 90 transportation funds on their first day in office, which with the passage of this legislation, would make $300 million in funding available for the 2015 construction season. Chapter 90 funding is issued by municipality and predetermined by a formula that includes factors such as population, road miles and employment. “This winter has been especially hard on our cities’ and towns’ infrastructure, and as we enter another construction season, Governor Baker and I believe in providing dependable support for both short and long-term improvements needed to improve our local transportation networks,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “In addition to the increases to local aid committed in our Fiscal Year 2016 budget, these investments in transportation are a part of our administration’s ongoing partnership with local government.” “I would like to thank the Governor for his continued commitment to cities and towns. Unlike in past years where authorization for Chapter 90 funds occurred after July, an early spring release will allow for more time in the construction season,” said Westfield Mayor See Roads, Page 3
Boston breaks snowfall record
Boston Marathon bombing trial moving faster than anticipated By DENISE LAVOIE AP Legal Affairs Writer BOSTON (AP) — The first two weeks of the Boston Marathon bombing trial focused on the injuries and deaths from the 2013 attack: Survivors recounted losing limbs and loved ones as federal prosecutors told of the killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s trial, which begins its third week today, had been expected to last three to four months but it is moving faster than anticipated, largely because the defense has not crossexamined many witnesses. On Thursday, Dun Meng, a Chinese national who moved to the U.S. in 2009 to attend Boston’s Northeastern University,
described being carjacked at gunpoint by Tsarnaev’s older brother, Tamerlan, on the night of April 18, 2013, three days after the bombing. Meng said after he and Tamerlan drove around for 20 or 30 minutes, they pulled over on a street in Watertown and Dzhokhar drove up in another car. The brothers then took Meng in his car to a bank machine and Dzhokhar used his pin number to withdraw money from his account. When Tamerlan pulled into a gas station and Dzhokhar went inside to pay, Meng bolted from the car and ran into another gas station for help. He described the encounter with the brothers as “terrifying.”
Tamerlan died following a shootout with police early the morning of April 19. Dzhokhar was captured hiding inside a boat that night. Tsarnaev’s lawyer admitted during opening statements that he participated in the bombings and the later crimes, but said his brother was the mastermind who recruited the then 19-year-old Dzhokhar to help him. Prosecutors say Tsarnaev was a full and willing participant. Now 21, he faces the possibility of the death penalty if convicted. The same jury that decides guilt will decide whether he receives life in prison or the death penalty. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured in the attack.
Boston Marathon bombing survivor Marc Fucarile leaves federal court Wednesday, March 4, in Boston, on the first day of the federal death penalty trial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Fucarile lost his right leg in one of the explosions. (AP Photo)
BOSTON (AP) — Boston finally has its snow record, and it could get more. With 2.9 inches yesterday, Logan International Airport hit 108.6 inches for the season, topping a record of 107.6 inches set in 1995-96, according to the National Weather Service in Taunton. “Superbowls, World Series’, Stanley Cups, and snowfall records,” Mayor Marty Walsh tweeted. “We are truly a title city. There will be no parade.” Residents have had mixed feelings about the record, with some rooting for it. Richard Gilberg, a 57-year-old employee for Boston Harbor Cruises, said he’s happy about it. “I figure with all the suffering we’ve gone through this winter we can deal with a couple more inches of snow,” he said as he cleared the company’s icy dock this morning. The weather service noted that more snow is See Snowfall Record, Page 3
New England states face off in a ramped-up race for casino dollars By PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — A casino arms race is ramping up in New England. From Connecticut to Maine, lawmakers worried about losing jobs and revenue are proposing expansion of the gambling industry in the increasingly casino-crowded Northeast. Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun and other wellestablished gambling houses, meanwhile, are making moves to shore up business as MGM, Wynn and other new rivals prepare to open their doors.
“It could get nasty in New England,” says Keith Foley, a senior vice president at Moody’s Investors Service in New York. “You’ve got a Cold War going on. Everybody is trying to protect their border.” In Connecticut, lawmakers made a surprise pitch for opening up to three new casinos this week, including an unprecedented joint venture between Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods, which are also planning major improvements to their flagship casinos. The key driver in the region’s ever-changing casino calculus: no less than three casinos
are opening in Massachusetts in the coming years. “Massachusetts has declared economic war on us,” said Connecticut Senate Majority Leader Robert Duff, a Democrat. “And we’re going to fight back.” At Suffolk Downs, a horse track in Boston, Patrick Pelosi thought the prospect of so many new casinos in New England sounded like overkill. “One or two new ones in Massachusetts would have been more than enough,” the Chelsea resident said while placing simulcast
bets Friday. “We’ve been dying for one up here forever. Now they want to put ten of them in? Come on. That’s completely out of control.” Other gamblers said they looked forward to having closer options than the Connecticut casinos, which are about two hours away from Boston, and Rhode Island’s more modest Twin River Casino, which is about an hour away. Many said they were anxiously awaiting the See Casino Dollars, Page 3