GazetteNET - News and Information from Northampton, MA by the Daily Hampshire Gazette

Manhunt under way for groom of slain bride in Ill.

AP Wire — Thu, 17 May 2012 05:00:00 -0400

CHICAGO (AP) - A groom whose bride had sought to keep their impending wedding secret from most of her family is wanted on a murder charge after his new wife was found stabbed to death in a bathtub in her suburban Chicago home just hours after the ceremony, still dressed in silver sequins.

Ratko Mladic's genocide trial gets under way

AP Wire — Thu, 17 May 2012 05:00:00 -0400

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - Twenty years after his troops began brutally ethnically cleansing Bosnian towns and villages of non-Serbs, Gen. Ratko Mladic went on trial today at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal accused of 11 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Greece: Business blasts 'undertaker' politicians

AP Wire — Thu, 17 May 2012 05:00:00 -0400

ATHENS, Greece (AP) - The head of a major Greek business organization has lashed out at the country's politicians for failing to form a coalition government and triggering new elections, accusing them of acting like "undertakers"

Rhode Island working to keep Schilling's company afloat

AP Wire — Thu, 17 May 2012 05:00:00 -0400

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island is looking to help Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's video game company after it missed a scheduled $1.1 million payment to the state's economic development agency.

Gov. Lincoln Chafee vowed to do "everything possible" to assist 38 Studios and prevent the state from having to pay the company's debts.

Falmouth wind turbine found to be too loud

AP Wire — Thu, 17 May 2012 05:00:00 -0400

FALMOUTH (AP) - State environmental regulators have recommended the shutdown of a wind turbine in Falmouth because of unacceptable noise levels at nearby homes, lending fuel to those fighting the proliferation of wind energy.

Springfield teen honored for bravery

AP Wire — Thu, 17 May 2012 05:00:00 -0400

SPRINGFIELD (AP) - A 13-year-old Springfield boy who saved nine lives when he ran through the two-unit home where he lived to alert family members and other residents about a fire is being honored by a city veterans group.

UN team in Syria evacuated from tense town

AP Wire — Thu, 17 May 2012 05:00:00 -0400

BEIRUT (AP) - A team of international observers was evacuated today from a tense town in northern Syria a day after their convoy was hit by a roadside bomb, a U.N. spokesman said.

China TV blames Dalai Lama for Tibet immolations

AP Wire — Thu, 17 May 2012 05:00:00 -0400

BEIJING (AP) - China has released a documentary accusing the Dalai Lama of orchestrating a wave of self-immolations by Tibetans, in its most elaborate attempt so far to shape international opinion about the protests against Chinese rule.

Capistrano's last-ditch bird mission

Daily Hampshire Gazette — Thu, 17 May 2012 05:00:00 -0400

LOS ANGELES (MCT) - A bird's call rings endlessly inside the adobe walls at Mission San Juan Capistrano as tourists wander through the courtyard - ablaze with flowers in full bloom - and a handful of fourth-graders snap pictures and take notes for class projects.

Protesters gearing up for NATO summit

Daily Hampshire Gazette — Thu, 17 May 2012 05:00:00 -0400

CHICAGO (MCT) - Some are anti-war. Others want economic reform. Still others are environmentalists.

Editorial: Bulking up veterans' care

Daily Hampshire Gazette — Wed, 16 May 2012 05:00:00 -0400

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' decision to hire nearly 2,000 new mental health clinicians in the year ahead is an admission that the VA system is unable to provide help that today's veterans need. It comes as hundreds of thousands of veterans prepare to close out deployments overseas.

Power Play: How to find the best deal on electricity

Chad Cain — Wed, 16 May 2012 05:00:00 -0400

On its surface, the offer in the mailer sent to thousands of Western Massachusetts Electric Company customers seems like a no-brainer.

Switch to us, claims independent electricity supplier Dominion Energy Solutions, and watch your electricity costs drop nearly 10 percent.

State Senate airs bill to cap health care costs

AP Wire — Wed, 16 May 2012 05:00:00 -0400

BOSTON - The Massachusetts Senate on Tuesday began debating a bill that sets an ambitious goal of reducing projected health care costs in the state by $150 billion over the next 15 years.

Hollande takes over as French president

AP Wire — Wed, 16 May 2012 05:00:00 -0400

PARIS - Socialist Francois Hollande assumed France's presidency Tuesday, inheriting a country fearful for its financial future and jetting off immediately to Berlin to tackle his most pressing problem: Europe's debt crisis.

A flash of lightning nearly derailed Hollande's blitz diplomatic foray, striking his plane and sending him briefly back to a Paris area military airbase.

Northampton, Frontier girls track close season with wins

Daily Hampshire Gazette — Wed, 16 May 2012 05:00:00 -0400

The Northampton and Frontier Regional girls track & field teams both prepared for this weekend's divisional championships with easy wins Tuesday.

Adrienne Pascucci won the long jump and 100 hurdles to pace Hamp Amherst 86-42 in Amherst. Mel Devoney won the mile and Maisy Sylvan took first in the 100 for Amherst.

David J. Anderson, husband, father, friend

Daily Hampshire Gazette — Wed, 16 May 2012 05:00:00 -0400

GRANBY - David James Anderson, 71, of Granby, died suddenly Friday, May 11, 2012, while at home working in his yard.

He was the son of the late Lucille Huot and Sylvester P. Anderson, beloved husband of Yvonne M. Anderson, brother of Robert Anderson of Hatfield and Carol Border of Holyoke.

He was predeceased by his sister Susan Anderson of Holyoke.

Massachusetts gaming panel to meet; Needs new director

AP Wire — Wed, 16 May 2012 05:00:00 -0400

BOSTON (AP) - The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is holding its first meeting after their pick to serve as interim executive director declined the offer.

Carl Stanley McGee told Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby last week that he didn't feel he could be effective in the job and wanted to allow the commission to do its work.

Chamber seeks easier permitting

Daily Hampshire Gazette — Wed, 16 May 2012 05:00:00 -0400

EASTHAMPTON - On May 3 the Greater Easthampton Chamber of Commerce and City Planner Jessica Allan facilitated a roundtable discussion on the permitting process for new businesses. The event was attended by 15 department heads and members of city committees and boards. Members of the Greater Easthampton Chamber of Commerce board and its director, Eric Snyder, also attended.

Celtics, 76ers series shifts to Philadelphia

AP Wire — Wed, 16 May 2012 05:00:00 -0400

PHILADELPHIA - See ya, Chicago. Thanks for the split, Boston.

These young-and-fun 76ers are loaded with postseason surprises, aren't they?

Who guessed Lavoy Allen, an unheralded rookie, would toss a last-gasp bank shot with .9 seconds left on the shot clock for the clutch points in Game 2?

Not the Celtics. And probably not even the Sixers.

Court boosts openness in campaign finance

AP Wire — Wed, 16 May 2012 05:00:00 -0400

WASHINGTON - Advocacy groups spending millions of dollars in the 2012 campaign are now faced with the prospect of having to reveal the donors who have been secretly financing their efforts after a federal appellate court panel refused to block a lower court order requiring the move.