Home Articles posted by BusinessWest Staff (Page 500)

By
Departments

Local Jobs Outlook Positive

SPRINGFIELD — A new survey suggests that employers in the Greater Springfield area are poised to hire staff during the first quarter of 2006. Manpower
Inc.’s quarterly survey for Western Mass. is very positive, according to Cathy-Ann Paige, Northeastern vice president for Manpower. Paige acknowledged that hiring has not gone as fast as it has in the past, particularly because there are fewer prospective employees with the right skill sets for the jobs available. She added that survey results indicate businesses remain cautious when making hiring decisions, however, if the right person comes along, they will be hired. Paige estimates that 47% of area businesses interviewed expect to add jobs in the first quarter. Manpower surveys approximately 16,000 employers nationwide for its quarterly report.

CFOs: Financial Incentives to Hold Steady in ’06

MENLO PARK, Calif. — The majority of the nation’s employees are not expected to receive larger raises and bonuses in 2006 than they did in 2005, a recent survey finds. Less than one-third (29%) of chief financial officers (CFOs) recently polled said they will give higher salary increases in the coming year, and just 20% anticipate boosting bonus amounts. The survey was developed by Robert Half International Inc. and was conducted by an independent research firm that includes responses from more than 1,400 CFOs from a stratified random sample of U.S. companies with 20 or more employees. CFOs who said they expected to increase raises and bonuses in 2006 were asked by what percentage these forms of compensation would rise. The mean responses were 5% for raises and 7% for bonuses. Many companies may be hesitant to increase employee compensation because of other expenses impacting the business, including rising health care and energy costs, according to Max Messmer, Chairman and CEO of Robert Half International Inc. Messmer added that being overly cautious can be detrimental, particularly as the competition for top candidates intensifies. Firms that fail to reward good performance risk losing their best talent, he added.

MassMutual Cites Harassment by Galvin

SPRINGFIELD — MassMutual Financial Group recently filed papers in Suffolk Superior Court accusing Secretary of State William F. Galvin with making “baseless, inflammatory and harassing public statements” that are causing harm to the company. Galvin is quoted as saying in a Nov. 23 Reuters dispatch that MassMutual continues to “stonewall the process at every turn.” Galvin has made several legal attempts over the past few months to force MassMutual to turn over
documents that involve the dismissal of Chairman and CEO Robert J. O’Connell last summer. MassMutual contends it has provided all relevant documents to Galvin, and would include two internal reports on O’Connell’s dismissal if Galvin agrees to keep the reports confidential. On numerous occasions, Galvin has refused to promise confidentiality since the reports come under the state’s public access law. MassMutual has also provided the internal reports to the state Division of Insurance and the attorney general’s office, which are continuing their inquiries. Galvin, as the state’s chief securities regulator, has jurisdiction over fraud in the sale or purchase of securities or in advising people on the purchase of securities. However, MassMutual contends that the information Galvin seeks involves only alleged violations of nepotism and company policy, not securities fraud.

WNEC Announces Admissions Agreements With STCC and HCC

SPRINGFIELD – Western New England College President Dr. Anthony Caprio, Springfield Technical Community College President Ira Rubenzahl, and Holyoke Community College President William Messner announced today that WNEC will offer HCC and STCC students dual admission under a new joint admissions program. The agreement will allow students accepted to HCC and STCC to also be accepted at WNEC. It also provides for academic support for students at WNEC while they attend one of the two community colleges. The agreement between the college and the two community college will emphasize collaborative communication and jointly supported advisement of students, and students who take advantage of the joint admissions option will be encouraged to use the WNEC library and support programs, engage in frequent contact with faculty and advisors, and to attend campus events. Students will also be eligible for scholarships at WNEC.

By
Departments

The following building permits were issued during the month of December 2005.

 

AMHERST

Amherst Commer. Assoc. LTD
PARTN.
370 Northampton Road, Bldg. 5
$5500 — Construct assessable ramp

Amherst Shopping Center Association
181 University Dr.
$17,000 — Modify existing
sprinkler system

D.M.P Trust
64 Montague Road
$7,000 — Separate one of
three bays in existing garage
to insulate for winter use

Eric Perkins
408 Northampton Road
$7,166 — Install new windows
Village Auto Service
24 Montague Road
$10,000 — Install new roof

NORTHAMPTON

Cooley Dickinson Hospital Inc.
30 Locust St.
$6,500 — Remove plumbing
fixtures, construct wall to
create two offices

Joe-Mae Realty Associates
147 Main St.
$3,675 — Rebuild parapit wall
between buildings

Smith College
West Street
$60,000 — Replace roof —
physical plant building

SPRINGFIELD

Baystate Medical Center
759 Chestnut St.
$300,000 — Sleep-study
observation room

Beth El Temple
979 Dickinson St.
$150,000 — Interior alterations

Jon Goff
125 Carando Dr.
$45,000 — Addition for shipping

Mercy Medical Center
271 Carew St.
$132,700 — Renovate office space

Price Cutter Inc.
2633 Main St.
$5,400 — Alterations

St. Johns Church
69 Hancock St.
$129,000 — Air
conditioning, lighting,
general construction

WEST SPRINGFIELD

F.L. Roberts & Co. Inc.
916 Riverdale St.
$5,000 — Alter for reoccupancy

Mike Kravitz
30 Capital Dr.
$22,000 — Renovate office space

Pioneer Spine & Sport
1275 Elm St.
$11,500 — New Entrance

WESTFIELD

Brooks Pharmacy
7 East Silver St.
$5,500 — Ramps

Mark Greenbers
587 East Main St.
$50,000 — Interior renovations

Westfield Women’s Club
16 Court St.
$19,000 — Replace columns

By
Departments

Süddekor Honored for Economic Development
AGAWAM — Süddekor LCC recently received honorable mention from the Mass. Alliance for Economic Development for its impact on economic development in the western part of the state. The company received recognition for opening a $20 million, 108,000-square-foot paper-treating plant in East Longmeadow, which added 37 jobs to the region’s economy. With the addition of the new treating plant, Süddekor will add capacity for impregnation of the papers prior to laminating. The company’s new facility is located on 22 acres, which will provide space for expansion of up to 300,000 square feet. Süddekor
LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Süddekor Printer GmbH & Co. KG, headquartered in Laichingen, Germany. The company started production in Agawam in 2000.

Solutia Plant Earns OSHA ‘Star’
SPRINGFIELD — Solutia Inc.’s Indian Orchard plant has been recertified for an
additional five-year membership in the prestigious ‘Star’ Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) of the U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The manufacturer of plastic sheeting, which employs 560 workers at the Indian Orchard plant, continues as part of an elite corps of approximately 1,370 workplaces nationwide that have earned VPP recognition. The ‘Star’ recertification came after an OSHA team’s thorough on-site review of the plant’s safety and health programs, interviews with employees, and a tour of the work site. The plant was first certified as a ‘Star’ site in February 1997 and recertified in September 2000. VPP companies achieve average injury rates 50% lower than other companies in their industry.

Kanzaki Gets Green Light for Expansion WARE — The town’s planning board recently approved a special permit for Kanzaki Specialty Papers Inc. to build a 44,000-square-foot addition to its existing building. The company manufactures coated papers that are used in inkjet printing as well as other paper products. The expansion plans will also add 13 jobs to the local economy, according to company officials. The permit was approved with stipulations ranging from a new traffic plan to assurances there would not be an increase of effluent to the town sewer system.

UMass Dining Commons Set for $10M Renovation
AMHERST — Starting in January, the Berkshire Dining Commons at UMass Amherst will undergo a $10 million renovation to improve students’ dining experience. The renovation project is expected to be completed by August, according to Ken Toong, director of dining services. Toong said the expanded 26,000-square-foot facility in the Southwest residential area will have 800 seats, an increase of 120. When completed, the new space will feature a stand-alone vegetarian and vegan station, expansive salad, fruit, and soup bar, hot food stations with rotating cuisine, and a made-to-order Pan Asian station. In addition, grill and pasta stations are planned, as well as an on-site bake shop and a separate grab-and-go takeout area. Students will be able to dine from 7 a.m. to midnight. During the renovation, said Toong, the university will make special arrangements to reduce inconvenience for students, including expanded shuttle service to other dining areas on campus.

UMass Researchers to Study Geohazards.
AMHERST — UMass Amherst scientists are part of a collaborative project that recently received nearly $2.4 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop worldwide protocols for identifying and studying offshore geohazards, including earthquakes that can trigger tsunamis. In addition to helping engineers, geologists, and geophysicists understand the nature of geohazards and identify where they might occur, protocols established by the project will also help governments and regulatory agencies make moreinformed decisions about shoreline development, building codes, and international agreements related to populations located in harm’s way, according to Don DeGroot, civil and environmental engineering. The protocols will be designed to offset or minimize the damage from incidents such as the Sumatra earthquake and tsunami of December 2004, which killed more than 283,000 people and displaced some 1.1 million others in 10 countries throughout South Asia and East Africa. Collaborators in the project include Tufts University, Northeastern University, Vassar College, the University of California Davis, the International Centre for Geohazards at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, and the Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems at the University of Western Australia.

By
Departments

The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and organizations.

These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law. Readers are advised to contact the parties listed, or the court, for more information concerning the individual claims.

NORTHAMPTON DISTRICT COURT
Select Energy Inc. v. Olde Hadleigh Grill
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure
to pay for goods and services: $6,925.89
Date Filed: Nov. 21

HOLYOKE DISTRICT COURT
Guard Insurance Group v. Quality Looseleaf Co. Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure
to pay for workmen’s comp insurance:
$2,606.00
Date Filed: Nov. 10

SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Select Energy Inc. v. Orlando Alban Jr.
d/b/a Mason Food Market
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure
to pay for goods or services: $6,097.03
Date Filed: Oct. 26

CACV v. Gary E. Dion and Chicopee
Concrete Services Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure
to pay for services: $2,699.24
Date Filed: Nov. 18

Acme Site Work Inc. v. Sentry Services Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure
to pay for goods and services: $10,435.73
Date Filed: Nov. 22

By
Departments

The following business incorporations were recorded in Hampden and Hampshire counties, and are the latest available. They are listed by community.

EASTHAMPTON

Injury Rehab Medical
Assoc. Inc., 1 Northampton
St., Easthampton 01027.
Alexei S. Levine, 86
Crossbrook, Amherst 01002.
Injury rehabilitation.

HADLEY

Pioneer Valley Learning
Inc., 104 Russell St., Hadley
01035. Christina M. Buehrle, same.
To provide supplemental education services and materials for students preschool through adult.

LONGMEADOW
Creative Design Works
Inc., 67 Forest Glen Road,
Longmeadow 01106. Paul G.
Lagunowich, same. Interior design, decorating and related activities.

NORTHAMPTON

Lulublue Inc., 97 Laurel
Park, Northampton 01060.
Jena Sujat, same. Retail gifts and art sales. Quality Care Nurse Staffing

Agency Inc.,
13 Old South
St., Suite 2C, Northampton
01060. Fola Fagade 212
Acrebrook Dr., Florence
01062. Provider of temporary medical personnel.

SOUTHAMPTON

AAP Consulting Inc.,
76 Whiteload Road,
Southampton 01073. Andrea
Przybyla, same. Selling
nutritional supplements to
practitioners.

SPRINGFIELD

Certified Environmental
Technologies, Corp., 15
Park St., Loft 304,
Springfield 01103. Richard
A. Britt, 22 Rachel St.,
Springfield 01129.
Management services/
brokers, distributor of products.

Champion Foods Inc.
, 355 Belmont Ave.,
Springfield 01108. Antonio Collado,
same. To own and operate a retail establishment.
Ogirri Corp.,
164 Balboa
Dr., Springfield 01109. Henry Ogirri, same. To engage in the wholesale and retail selling of food products and groceries. Seeley Capital

Management Inc., 1365
Main St., Suite 320,
Springfield 01103.
Christopher J. Seeley, 101
Sheffield Ave., Longmeadow
01106. Investment advisory
services.

WESTFIELD

DC Cable Inc.,
62 Union St.,
#3, Westfield 01085. Dovydas
Cepulis, same. Installing cable
and providing service.
Pro Automotive Repair Inc.,
979 Southampton Road,
Westfield 01085. John A. DeNnardo, Jr., 628 Southampton Road, Westfield 01085. All aspects of automotive repair, towing, used car sales, inspections, etc., for heavy-duty diesel, car and fleet service.

WEST SPRINGFIELD

HAQ Corp.,
55C Van Deene
Ave., West Springfield 01089.
Jahoor Ul Haq, same. A retail
gas and convenience store.

Positive Pregnancy Solutions of Western Massachusetts
Inc., 116 Forest Ridge Road,
West Springfield 01103.
Barbara Shea, same. (Nonprofit) To assist women who desire information and services concerning pregnancy.

By
Departments

Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas, LLP in Springfield announced the following:

Daniel J. Blake

• Daniel J. Blake has been named Counsel. He is a member of the Litigation/ Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Department and
Employment Law Practice Group;

 

 

Gastón de los Reyes

• Gastón de los Reyes has been named an Associate. He is a member of the Litigation/ADR Department;

 

 

 

Jennifer K. Cannon

• Jennifer K. Cannon has been named an Associate. She is a member of the Litigation/ADR Department;

 

 

 

Daniel A. Leonardo

• Daniel A. Leonardo has been named an Associate. He is anew Associate in the Boston office and a member of the Litigation/ADR Department, and

 

 

 

Seth M. Wilson

• Seth M. Wilson has been named an
Associate. He is a member of the Intellectual Property Group.

 

 

 

•••••

Meyers Brothers Kalicka of Holyoke and Greenfield announced the following:

• Brenda D. Olesuk has joined the firm as the Firm Administrator in the Holyoke office, and
• Daniel J. Eger has joined the firm as an Associate in the Holyoke office.

•••••

Western New England College Professor of Management Dr. William P. Ferris has been appointed Associate Editor of the Journal of Management Education. Ferris is an expert in team-building, leadership, and management education. It is his second stint as associate editor, having previously served from 1999-2002. In addition to this appointment, Ferris was recently named the Editorial Board Member of the Year for the Academy of Management and Learning, the educational journal of the National Academy of Management.

Edward J. Terault, President of Reil
Cleaning Services in Greenfield, recently attended the SSA/Interclean Conference and Trade Show in Las Vegas, which showcased new processes and cost-cutting methods in the commercial cleaning industry.

•••••

Tereza Perez-Morale recently joined the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission in West Springfield as a Secretary.

•••••

Junior Achievement of Western Mass., based in Springfield, announced that the following individuals have been elected to the Board of Directors:

• Sara McFadden, Assurance Manager for ricewaterhouseCoopers LLP;

• Lynn Starr, Vice President, Systems & Operations for Easthampton Savings Bank;

• Ravi Kulkarni, Business and
Professional Coach, and

• Russ Davies, Director, Manufacturing Logistics & SAP Operations for Hasbro Games.

•••••

PeoplesBank in Holyoke announced the following:

• Mary J. Meehan has been named Vice President for Commercial Loans;

• Joyce A. O’Connor has been named Assistant Vice President and Manager of the new Westfield office, opening in early 2006;

• Heidi Nowak Leonard has been named Mortgage Consultant for the new Westfield office;

• Halena Ramos has been named a
Mortgage Consultant for the Chicopee, Ludlow, Monson, Palmer, and Springfield areas, and
• Brady D. Chianciola has been named Branch Officer for the Chicopee office.

•••••

Hampden Bank announced the following:

• Donna J. Kennedy has been hired as a Customer Service Representative and Sales Manager in the Agawam office, and • Sheryl Shinn has been named Vice
President of Information Technology.

•••••

Two MassMutual Financial Group executives were recently elected to posts in industry associations:

• Matthew M. Abraham, National
Managing Director of Public Markets for MassMutual’s retirement services division, has been elected President of the 2005- 2006 Industry Committee of the National Assoc. of Government Defined Contribution Administrators. He will also serve on the association’s seven-member executive board, and

• E. Thomas Johnson Jr., Senior Vice President of Enterprise Marketing for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America. He will serve a three-year term.

And Now, A Little Optimism

By
Opinion
As 2005 winds to a close, economic analysts are focusing their attention on the year ahead and what it might bring. For the most part, the forecasters aren’t very hopeful.

Indeed, they look at the recent surge in energy prices, the prospects for higher interest rates, and continued losses of population and innovative talent in the Bay State, and generally conclude that ’06 will be a time of slow and unspectacular growth.

That’s one way of looking at things. From a regional perspective, and without discounting what the scholarly analysts have to say, BusinessWest looks more positively toward the year ahead. In some ways, we have to; considering what the past few years have brought Springfield and the surrounding region, things can only get better.

But with a less cynical eye, we can say that the City of Homes, and, to a lesser extent, the entire region, are turning a page. If nothing else, many people feel comfortable saying that the worst is now behind us.

Granted, there is a long way to go, and if Judge Constance Sweeney’s ruling that the Albano administration improperly froze teachers’ wages is upheld, then the city will be faced with an even deeper budget crisis. But there are some signs of progress:

• The MassMutual Center is open for business:Granted, we have yet to see any of the big conventions and shows we’ve been promised, but the center is big, bold, and it has people talking. Better still, it is providing people with new and different reasons to come downtown – from chamber trade shows to the Bright Nights Ball – and this can only help Springfield in the long run.

• Some Movement on the Riverfront:After years of talk, we have a formal, approved plan for development of the old Basketball Hall of Fame. It’s a $9 million sports and fitness complex that the developers and the Springfield Riverfront Development Commission (SRDC) believe will effectively complement the new Hall, its tenants, and neighbors. If they’re right (work is expected to be completed in 12-15 months) then the city will gain some valuable momentum in its efforts to make the riverfront a true destination spot. That’s good, because another development team is looking at a hotel proposal for Riverfront Park, several options for the York Street Jail, and some other parcels along West Columbus Avenue.

• Progress on the Smith& Wesson Property:This is another project that has been years in the making, and the fact that the city is close (or at least much closer) to landing tenants for the property, is a positive sign. Springfield needs many things, but at the top of the list are tax revenues and jobs. The property at Smith & Wesson holds promise for both.

• Strength in the Suburbs:As we’ve noted many times before, other cities and towns in the region are thriving.

Northampton is enjoying explosive growth, and more lies ahead due in part to the longawaited redevelopment of the former Northampton State Hospital site. Westfield is on the verge of adding hundreds of new jobs in the distribution sector, and has an industrial park primed for development. In Chicopee, a city rocked by the indictment of its sitting mayor on extortion charges seems poised to put that sad episode behind and move forward.

•Eds and Meds:Two pillars of the region’s economy – education and health care – are positioned for continued growth. As the Baby Boom generation nears retirement, the already steady health care sector will continue to add jobs across a wide spectrum. Meanwhile, the area’s colleges and universities are continuously adding new programs and services to bolster the economy. From the Virtual Hospital at STCC to the soon-to-open Kittredge Business Center at Holyoke Community College, the schools are developing new ways to spur entrepreneurship and train people for the jobs of tomorrow.

This optimism must be tempered somewhat by the recent ruling on the Springfield teachers contract, which might ultimately wind up costing the city $30 million, undoing all of the budget progress made by the Control Board. Meanwhile, the ongoing epidemic of crime in Springfield must be curbed if the city is to move forward.

If Springfield can manage to somehow navigate that whitewater – and that is a big ‘if,’ then there is reason to believe that 2006 holds the promise of better times.

The Elephant in the Room

By
Opinion
Massachusetts stands at a crucial point in the push for health care reform. Gov. Romney and the state Legislature are in agreement about passing health care legislation to extend care to more of the 750,000 uninsured in Massachusetts. A driving force for reform is retaining current federal funding for Medicaid; Massachusetts stands to lose significant federal funding if legislation to cover more of the uninsured is not in place by June 2006.

As a result, the government is tinkering with the health care insurance system to try to cover more patients who do not have insurance.

Romney, Senate President Travaglini, and House Speaker DiMasi have each proposed their ideas for this “reform,” and the Legislature will hammer out the details.

Meanwhile, everyone is ignoring the elephant in the room. That would be the private health insurance industry, which siphons off a huge percentage of the health care budget. In fact, the United States would save $200 billion per year if this elephant were eliminated.

Private health insurance through employer-based plans, which all three of these Massachusetts legislative proposals would perpetuate, funds only 19% of the health care in the United States. The other 81% comes from taxpayer-funded public programs and private spending. Yet our legislators choose to support and take care of the private insurance companies, rather than the citizens of the Commonwealth.

For example, the nation’s largest private health insurer, Wellpoint, more than doubled its earnings in the third quarter of this year. Our state and national policies have been designed, and are continuing to be fashioned right now in Massachusetts, to protect and nurture the private health insurance industry, even though more and more burdens are being placed on employers, towns, patients, doctors, and hospitals.

Employment-based health coverage segregates a large sector of primarily healthy working individuals, and places them in a low-cost and low-risk pool for the insurance companies, while the state and federal governments pick up the costs of those with significant health care needs.

And what do we get for all the money that is funneled into the private health insurance industry? We get high administrative costs and exorbitant insurance company profits, while the price of insurance keeps going up and up, and patients are required to “share” more of the costs of their health care. (For example, the CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts earned more than $3 million in salary and benefits in 2002).

Why don’t we extend government insurance coverage to everyone, and eliminate the middlemen? Why should administrative expenses consume 30% of the health care dollar, when a government program like Medicare takes only 3%?

Single-payer health care is the name for government-funded and administered health insurance; instead of many insurance companies, the government is the single payer. The legislation for single-payer health care in our state, The Massachusetts Health Care Trust, Senate Bill 755 (S.755), would cover everyone in the Commonwealth. But S.755 is not even on the negotiating table in this go-around for health care reform in the Legislature.

This affordable and comprehensive bill is the only one that meets the five criteria of the Institute of Medicine for coverage that is (1) universal (covers everyone), (2) continuous (not tied to a job), (3) affordable for individuals and families, (4) affordable for society, and (5) equitable and patient-centered (choice of doctors and hospitals). Yet single-payer legislation is being ignored by Romney and the state Legislature.

The insurance company elephant looms large; many politicians are ignoring it. Towns can do something about their out-ofcontrol costs, and citizens can create a grassroots movement to influence their politicians to legislate real health care reform. Suzanne L. King is a practicing physician and health care reform activist based in Lenox.

Soaring Energy Costs Fuel Speculation in Manufacturing

By
Sections Supplements
Chris Geehern says that even minor surges in fuel and electricity costs are cause for concern among the region’s manufacturers.

So when the talk about the upcoming winter includes speculation about 30% or 40% increases in electricity costs and the possibility – if not the likelihood – of rolling blackouts, then those in this sector have good reason to be alarmed.

“Manufacturers are large consumers of electricity,” said Geehern, vice president of the Associated Industries of Mass.

(A.I.M.) “So as we head into what could be a long, cold winter, there is a lot of concern in that sector.”

How that concern will manifest itself remains to be seen, said Geehern, adding that much depends on just how severe the winter is and what transpires with other related issues, especially the broad subject of health care reform and proposed legislation with mandates requiring employers to assume more of the cost of that care.

The confluence of these issues will determine if and to what extent the region can build on some modest growth in manufacturing employment recorded over the past year, said Geehern.

Between October 2004 and October ’05, the number of manufacturing jobs in the Greater Springfield area climbed from 39,600 to 40,200, he explained, adding that the ’05 figure probably does not reflect layoffs at Springfield’s Danaher Tool plant, Holyoke’s Ampad facility, or other recent closings.

Geehern speculated that much of the 1.5% growth recorded since October of ’04 came in the durable goods realm, specifically aerospace-related products and medical device manufacturing. This compares to relatively flat numbers the previous few years, and declines for much of the past decade.

“That 1.5% increase may not sound like much, but it’s a pretty good number, especially when you look at the rest of the state,” said Geehern, noting that, over the same period, manufacturing employment in the Commonwealth fell from 313,400 to 312,500, a .2% drop.

Given the projected increases in electricity and fuel prices and other factors that may increase the cost of doing business, the region is unlikely to see 1.5% job growth between now and next October, Geehern said, adding that while smaller increases are likely, overall job loss is a distinct possibility.

The worst-case scenario, he said, is that plant owners, especially those with facilities in other regions of the country or overseas will be prompted by those increasing costs to move operations out of the Pioneer Valley.

Bruce Stebbins, director of the regional office of the National Assoc. of Manufacturers (NAM), agreed that energy prices will likely be the most critical challenge for manufacturers in the year ahead. The reason is that the soaring costs touch producers in many ways – from heating and lighting plants to production processes (most of which involve petroleum- based products of some kind) to shipping expenses.

“And although there’s a little more flexibility on pricing than there has been, it’s very difficult for most manufacturers to pass on those additional costs to consumers,” he said.

Nancy Creed, a spokesperson for Springfield-based Western Mass. Electric Co., said new, much higher rates for electricity will go into effect Jan. 1. Increases, which result largely from soaring natural gas prices in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, will vary with the size of the customer, she told BusinessWest. Large users, many of them manufacturers, will see increases of about 50% over current rates, while smaller businesses will see costs rise about 28%. The rates are higher for the larger users because there are fewer of them and their demands are greater, she explained.

To date, there have been few calls to the utility concerning the increases and how to cope with them, said Creed, who expects that to change with the arrival of the first bills reflecting the new rates. WMECO is being proactive, she added, noting that letters have been sent to customers explaining the increases and outlining conservation programs.

“Conservation is really their best tool,” said Creed, referring to area business owners.“We can’t control the marketplace, butwe can help people control their consumption.”

While doing battle with soaring energy costs, many manufacturers are facing another challenge, said Stebbins – finding enough help.

Indeed, even at a time when some plants are closing or scaling back, many producers are struggling to find qualified workers, he explained, noting the problem is national, not regional in scope.

It is outlined in a study commissioned by NAM that identified what the agency is calling a “workforce skills gap.” More than 800 manufacturers were surveyed nationwide, said Stebbins, and roughly 75% of them said they have or had plans to hire, but can’t find the help.

Theories abound, he said, but the probable causes for the shortage include the retirement of many long-time manufacturing sector workers and a subsequent shortage of replacements, as well as a general shift in opinion about the sector following substantial job losses in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

To inform young people about the opportunities that exist – and eventually change some attitudes in the process – NAM launched a program called “Dream It, Do It.” The initiative educates young audiences about jobs in the field and the educational requirements needed to perform them.

“Locally, there is recognition of the fact that there are not enough qualified people out there,” said Stebbins, noting that there is interest among area manufacturers in‘Dream It, Do It’ and other programsdesigned to put more people in thepipeline.

Employment Picture Continues to Churn

By
Uncategorized
Volatile. That’s the word David Gadaire kept coming back to as he talked about the regional employment scene.

He has a front-row seat as director of Holyoke-based CareerPoint, one of the region’s two one-stop career centers that recently marked 10 years in business. In 2005, CareerPoint set new highs for people it placed in jobs, said Gadaire, adding quickly that this good news is balanced by the fact that the agency also set a new high-water mark for requests for assistance from those looking for work.

What that tells him is that there is quite a bit of instability in the local market, or “churning,” as he put it.

This is really nothing new, and it’s all part of what he refers to as the “free agent” nature of today’s jobs scene. There is less permanence, on the part of both employers and employees, he said, adding that he tells clients the agency places that, in all likelihood, they’re not going to a job they’ll retire to.

Meanwhile, many of the jobs that the region is losing are being replaced by service- oriented positions that are not as highpaying as some of the manufacturing jobs that have been lost.

“There’s not a lot of permanence in the job market,” he explained. “We’re busy in all areas – helping companies fill spots and also assisting people with finding employment.”

Bill Ward, director of the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County, said the job market in the region has mirrored most other elements within the economy; in other words, there was slow, steady growth, which represents a slight improvement over the previous few years.

“The job market is certainly not robust,” he explained. “But it’s holding it’s on own – we’re slowly starting to move forward.”

Mary Ellen Scott, president of United Personnel in Springfield, used similar adjectives to describe her company’s year– and the outlook.

“Our business was ahead of last year by about 5%; that’s not huge, but it is growth,” she said. “It’s always good when staffing companies see growth of any kind, because it means there is movement in the market.”

That movement, from what she has observed, has been in several areas, but especially light manufacturing.

On the supply side of the labor market, the region’s unemployment rate is around 5%, near the state figure. The number is higher in the urban areas, topped by Springfield’s rate of about 7.2%. On the demand side, there has been some hiring, but mostly in small denominations, he explained.

The ongoing challenge for the region, said Ward, is to properly match people to positions that come onto the market; in many cases, it’s a mismatch, which explains the higher employment rate at a time when many employers are struggling to find good help.

This is especially true in machining, where many tool and die shops are looking to add staff, but often cannot because properly skilled individuals are in demand – and not in adequate supply.

“Right now, those precision machining companies are pirating from one another,” said Ward. “That’s because there are few of those people out there, and you can’t grow them overnight.”

Looking back on 2005, Ward said the region lost several hundred jobs to plant closings and consolidation initiatives, including just over 300 to the closing of the Danaher Tool plant in Springfield’s North End. Other losses came at Holyoke’s Ampad plant, which has been downsizing for the past few years, and with the closing of a few manufacturing facilities in the Quaboag area. The closing of Ludlow Textiles Co. has been announced, but the plant still remains open, and no timetable has been established, he said.

Those losses have been mostly absorbed, he said, noting that Danaher employees were able to tap into federal re-training programs. Many Danaher employees were hired by other area manufacturers looking for qualified machinists, said Ward, while others, with fewer specialty skills have been retrained for other types of manufacturing or have opted to leave that sector due to its volatility.

Meanwhile, the region did gain some jobs, said Ward, with the health care and higher education sectors leading the way, and some gains in specialty manufacturing. Overall, the growth has been modest, but across the board, and more is expected for the year ahead.

“I think we’re though the worst of it,” said Ward, referring to the times when the losses were outnumbering the gains.

“Slowly but surely, the job market is moving forward.”

Death Without the Estate Tax?

By
Sections Supplements
Although Congress has often discussed the elimination of an estate tax, it has yet to do so.

When George W. Bush was first elected president, part of his campaign was based on his promise to eliminate the estate tax.

At the time of this writing, the law currently stands that the exemption through 2008 will be $2 million per person for federal estate taxes. In 2009, the exemption becomes $3.5 million. In 2010, an unlimited deduction is available for any United States citizen, so anyone who dies then will pay no estate tax.

In fact, many practitioners have suggested that in 2010, wealthy clients who are not physically well should consider chartering a plane to the Netherlands or some similar country that permits assisted suicide.

Although this may be a harsh statement, this would completely eliminate federal estate tax as the law now stands. The government’s plan is to return the limitation back to the amount of $1 million in 2011.

With the current economic and budget crisis in the United States and with the need for additional funds to be raised, it is unlikely that a full, unlimited estate deduction will be available for every individual.

Many proposals have surfaced providing that each decedent will have an exemption credit of between $2 million to $5 million, and this would certainly eliminate estate tax for most individuals. Therefore, with proper planning, a married couple would have the benefit of up to $10 million in assets that could pass to family members or friends without any estate tax.

With estate taxes making up less than 1% of the income received by the federal government from all sources, it is hard to imagine why the government would not consider eliminating this tax. It has been suggested that there be should be a tax on the very wealthy. Certainly, they can either afford to pay the taxes or leave a significant portion of their wealth to charity, which eliminates estate taxes.

Many charities are concerned that without an estate tax the charitable intention will be lessened, and wealthy individuals will plan fewer gifts without the incentive to reduce their tax liabilities. However, in light of Hurricane Katrina and other recent natural disasters, it appears that many companies and individuals may make significant gifts without regard to the value of a tax deduction, even though recent legislation has allowed increased gifts with fewer limitations for deductibility on income tax returns.

There are two other reasons for maintaining at least some form of estate tax.

The Internal Revenue Service needs to left many of its employees in the estate and gift tax area. There are thousands of individuals who process estate tax returns, audit them, and process payments. They could possibly lose their jobs, and may not be able to reclassify their positions within the government if the estate tax was totally eliminated.

Another group lobbying for a persistent estate tax includes insurance companies. Life insurance is often sold in order to replenish wealth as a result of payment of estate taxes. In order to alleviate the requirement to sell property, force a closing and sale of businesses, or liquidate other stocks or personal assets, life insurance is often used as the means to obtain ‘fast cash’ for payment of estate taxes, which are due nine months from date of death.

Another frequently sold option is the socalled joint and survivorship policy, or second- to-die policy, which is marketed as one policy on two lives, normally a husband and wife. Since all estate taxes may be deferred until the second death, the second-to-die policy is available as a resource that provides for liquidity upon the second death, when the significant tax liability is due.

If there were no estate taxes, there would be less of a need for life insurance in the role of estate tax liability. However, there may still be a need for life insurance if a person has a spouse and children, and also wishes to ensure that funds are available to pay mortgages, provide liquidity for college education or otherwise supplement the surviving spouse or children in order to meet their future needs.

The government has also suggested that in the event that estate taxes are eliminated, there may be an adjustment to the basis of assets that are passed on to heirs upon death. This will result in significant income tax issues for heirs to review in lieu of estate tax issues.

Under the current rule, in most situations, assets passing to children receive a date-of-death basis if as the asset is includable in the estate for estate tax purposes, even if there is no estate tax due. Under suggested rules, there may be a threshold of between $1 million and $1.5 million for basis adjustment, but assets in excess of this amount will be taxable at the basis of the person who died.

Since assets included in the exempted amount are flexible, this could cause significant problems within families who may argue about one sibling’s inheritance being included as a step up asset and another sibling’s inheritance being taxed at the lower basis.

Therefore, it will be essential to do prior estate planning around the allocation of the basis adjustment and make decisions about which assets will be sold and which assets will be maintained upon death.

Hyman G. Darling, Esq. is chairman of Bacon & Wilson’s Estate Planning and Elder Law Department. His expertise includes all areas of estate planning, probate and elder law; (413) 781-0560;harling@baconwilson. com.

Food for Thought

By
Sections Supplements
PeoplesBank Finds A Healthy Alternative to Traditional promotions
Sue Wilson says the bank was looking to go beyond toasters – and most of those other traditional, if not exactly original, enticements for people to open new accounts.

That’s how Holyoke-based PeoplesBank began a process that found up partnering with Whole Foods Market and its Hadley store, said Wilson, vice president of Marketing for the bank. It’s a promotion that is providing some effective exposure for both companies, while giving new customers something they can put in the toaster.

Last month, PeoplesBank launched a new customer-incentive program that offers a free $10 Whole Foods Market gift card for opening a checking account. In addition, the bank started holding weekly drawings for $500 gift cards at the market, a promotion open to existing bank customers and, essentially, anyone who visits one of its branches and wants to participate.

Thus, the promotion is similar to others staged by the bank in the past – giveaways have included stadium seats, coolers, mini food choppers, and fleece blankets– but different in that in involves free food(and, in the case of the larger gift card, lotsof it) at a time of year when people havethat topic on their minds.

There are still a few weeks left in the promotion (it will end when the year does), but there are indications that it has been more successful than some previous promotional efforts in generating new accounts, said Wilson.

“It seems to be running ahead of many of our other promotions,” she said, declining to give specific numbers. “I think that results from the product – food – and the time of year.”

Ann Walsh-Sullivan, marketing team leader for the Hadley Whole Foods Market facility, said that while the store cannot accurately gauge the full impact of the promotion – the bank’s gift cards are not distinguishablefrom others the store sells – she believes it has generated more trafficand exposure for the store.

“I think it’s been an effective partnership that has made us more visible,” she said, referring to the slew of newspaper and radio ads and a billboard in Hadley that have announced the promotion. “And I think it has introduced us to some new customers.”

Creating new customers was certainly the goal for PeoplesBank, said Wilson, noting that both the $10 gift cards and the larger, weekly drawings have been effective in that mission.

The former, like other give-aways for new accounts, is designed to provide some needed incentive to those thinking about switching banks or opening additional accounts. The free-gift tactic, used for decades with items ranging from oven mitts to dashboard mugs to Ray Borque bobble-head dolls, has stood the test of time, said Wilson, adding that PeoplesBank was looking for a new twist.

It found one in Whole Foods Market, the Texas-based chain that that now boasts more than 180 stores in North America and the U.K, and is now the world’s leading retailer of natural and organic foods.

The Hadley market on Route 9 is only a few hundred feet from one PeoplesBank branch and a few blocks from another.

The gift-card promotions was seen as a way to not only support a neighbor, said Wilson, but also to build visibility – and a broader customer base – in a region, Hampshire County, where it has launched a major expansion effort over the past several years.

In those branches, and at all of PeoplesBank’s facilities, the focus is on customer service, and this is where the larger gift-card give-away comes in, said Wilson. Because no purchase is necessary, it is drawing people into the branch offices, she said, adding that this is the first step in the process of converting them into new customers.

“This gives people a reason to come in and meet our people,” she explained.“When they do that, they can get a feel forthe kind of service we deliver.”

Not an Impossible Dream

By
Sections Supplements
Single? You Can Still Own A Home!
I’ve had many opportunities to go to Hawaii in my life, but I always found a way to put it off because I was saving it “for my honeymoon.”

Twenty years later, I am still single and have yet to go to Hawaii. The lesson here is that you don’t have to wait for Mr. or Mrs. Right to come along in order to enjoy life, own a home, invest in your future. or even start a family.

Whether you are single by chance or by choice, owning a home does not have to be an impossible dream. Let’s look at some of the obstacles that you may think stand in your way.

•“I need sufficient savings for a down payment and closing costs.”

Today there are many programs available that require little or no money down. It is also very common today for a seller to contribute toward the closing costs. Loans close every day where borrowers do not have to bring a cent to the closing.

•“My credit may not be good enough or I don’t have any credit.”

You might be surprised to learn of the programs available that cater to borrowers with credit issues. If you have no credit, there are programs available that will accept alternate sources of credit, such as rent payments, utilities and insurance payments.

If you have had some difficulty in the past, there are programs that will accept lower credit scores. Perhaps, if you need to repair a few items before purchasing, the lender can recommend a plan to get you back on track.

•“Living in a single household may not give me enough income to qualify for a mortgage loan.”

Today, with the exorbitant costs of rent, you may be able to find a home where the mortgage payment is comparable to renting. Many lenders have programs available that will allow you to use alternate sources of income, (cash income, boarder income, etc.) In the past, the debt-to-income ratio was very conservative, but today it has been stretched to allow more borrowers to purchase a home.

•“Homes are a money pit ……what if I cannot afford the expenses that go along with owning a home?”

Yes, you will have additional expenses that will include the maintenance and repair of your property. If the furnace goes, the roof needs repair or the faucet needs to be fixed, it is your responsibility. However, there are many other positive reasons for owning a home.

Owning a home is one of the best ways to create future wealth. Each time you make a mortgage payment a portion of that payment goes toward your principal balance, which in time creates equity. That equity can eventually provide you with the ability to purchase a larger home, assist your children with their educational expenses or provide for future investments.

It could also provide for you in your retirement years.

Owning a home has tax benefits. The mortgage interest you pay each month can be deducted from your taxes up to certain limits of debt. Every person’s situation is different and it is always a good idea to check with your tax accountant.

Owning a home of your own allows you the freedom to live your desired lifestyle. If you want pets you can have them. If you want to paint your walls with polka dots, you don’t have to ask anyone. Perhaps you might like to plant a vegetable garden, put in a swimming pool or play your guitar into the night …. the choice is yours. Of course, normal limits should be observed. In most of these scenarios you won’t run into the“it’s not in the lease,” like you would if youwere renting your house or apartment.

If you have children, both national and regional studies have shown that children of homeowners are more likely to stay in school through high school, score higher on math and reading achievement tests and are more likely to graduate from college.

Besides, there is nothing like having your own backyard to play in.

There are fears associated with home ownership and those fears may be increased if you are in a single household.

However, the benefits are substantial. Paying rent will not provide you with future equity as it will your landlord. If you wait until you find someone to share in the expense and the responsibilities, you may prolong the ability to create equity, provide for your retirement and live more freely. It may be time for you to sit down with a mortgage professional to review your financial situation and explore the many options available.

Jeannie Boudreau has 23 years experience in residential lending and is branch manager of National City Mortgage in West Springfield; (413) 788 – 9924.

Peaking Interest

By
Berkshire County Museum
Sections Supplements
The Berkshire Region Builds on its Economic Strength – Tourism

Berkshire County Museum

Berkshire County has historically recorded the best tourism statistics in Western Mass., and recent years have been no exception. To capitalize on that strength for the greater good of the region, the Berkshires are taking tourism efforts a step further, maintaining a knack for welcoming affluent, urban visitors, but paying more attention to young up-and-comers, families, and perhaps most importantly, the people in the neighborhood.

Bill Wilson, president and CEO of the Berkshire County Tourism and Visitors Bureau, says there’s something in the air in the region that sparks creativity, peace, and tranquility.

“Things move a little slower here,” he said. Except reservations. Those are made at breakneck speed.

In terms of visitation, Berkshire County has recorded its best numbers this year since 2001 and several businesses and attractions across the region are also reporting positive year-end numbers. Tanglewood, for instance, the concert venue in Lenox that Wilson has dubbed ‘the granddaddy of them all,’ welcomed about 400,000 visitors this past season and projects another strong season next year.

The Williamsville Inn in West Stockbridge, voted ‘Best of the Berkshires’ by Boston Magazine after only three years under the current ownership, logged its best season in terms of revenue in its entire 54- year run.

Even one of the region’s more unassuming attractions, Pittsfield’s Berkshire Museum, was pleased to announce that its recent reptile exhibit welcomed a record number of visitors to its halls – about 40,000. Its current fairy-tale inspired Christmas tree exhibit is on its way to similar success.

As Wilson explained, tourism has always been strong in the Berkshires. But it’s showing some considerable momentum of late, and that’s enabling the region to take a hard look at its marketing and branding initiatives, and to add some new numbers to its tourism repertoire.

“Tourism is increasingly important to the Berkshire economy,” said Wilson, a 20- year veteran to his post. “Our economic development council has recently identified it as one the fastest areas of growth for the region; last year we logged $263 million spent by visitors, and that’s not counting international visitors or day-trippers. If we factor everything in, I think we are looking at a figure of around a half-billion.”

And while many tourism-centered regions took a hit after 9/11, the blow to the Berkshires was less severe than most, he added. That was due in part to consistently strong drive-in business, which balanced a decline in long-distance travel. A regionwide branding initiative that began in 1997 and took a two-pronged approach to luring guests from urban areas also deserved some credit.

Using the tag line nature sets the stage and culture steals the show, the Berkshire Tourism Bureau became the first in the state to successfully brand an entire region and note the effect thereof.

There’s also that peaceful vibe the Berkshires possesses, too, that Wilson said can’t go unmentioned.

“We had what people were looking for,” he said of the tourism climate shortly after 9/11. “We felt some effects of the attacks, but not as much as many, and the market held steady for us. Now, we’re coming back strong.”

Tour of Duty

Wilson told BusinessWest that roughly one-fifth (12,000) of the Berkshire region’s 60,000-person workforce is employed by businesses that are either directly related to tourism – hotels, inns, attractions, etc. – or indirectly related, such as shops and restaurants that would not survive without the heavy traffic the summer months and fall foliage weeks bring, or that brought by the winter skiing crowd. What’s more, those visitors come ready to spend.

“Our typical visitors come from household with incomes of $100,000 or more, are typically urban, and affluent,” said Wilson, adding that Berkshire County has long served as a weekend get-away for the wellto- do who hail from New York, Boston and its North Shore, and New Jersey, as well a vacation spot for the rich and/or famous. He continued that the trend is showing no signs of slowing.

But that doesn’t mean he and others involved in the tourism industry – and in Berkshire County, that’s practically everyone– plan to rest on their laurels and enjoythe brisk business. Rather, Wilson said theregion is making a concerted effort to takeadvantage of existing strengths by usingthem as a platform to expand into new territories,targeting new groups of potentialvisitors, promoting up-and-coming areasand attractions in the Berkshires, andcatering to the growing number of yearroundresidents, as well.

“Tourism is one of our top industries here in the Berkshires, but we’re excited because we haven’t even reached our potential,” said Wilson. “Now, we’re trying to expand our market to appeal to new audiences – we’re reaching out to younger people and beefing up our marketing of recreation and outdoor adventure options.

“We’re also targeting families,” he noted. “We want to create a group of kids that will grow up in the Berkshires.”

That new tactic has been put in place to further diversify the types of visitors to the area, Wilson said, but he admitted that serving as a draw to affluent, out-of-state, and often international populations is a luxury the Berkshires as a whole should never ignore.

“We want to give those kids great experiences in the Berkshires,” he said, “but when they grow up and have their own turbo-charged Saabs, we also want them to come back.”

A Family Affair

Families and younger visitors are constituencies that several businesses and attractions are poised to welcome, especially in areas of the Berkshires that are breaking new ground in the cultural and artistic arena.

Kandy Wendt, co-owner of the Williamsville Inn with her husband, executive chef Erhard Wendt, has watched her business grow and flourish since taking the helm at the inn three years ago, thanks to the incorporation of several new ventures. “We’ve found two niches,” she said.

“One is our cooking school, which no one else in the area offers. The other is our family- friendly concept. As many as 80% of the other inns in the area don’t accept guests with babies or young children, but we have found ways to welcome those guests that work very well.”

Wendt added that catering to families also helps Berkshire businesses strengthen their year-round presence among the permanent population, not just boost their numbers during peak tourism seasons. It has created a word-of-mouth effect that the inn is one of few that will welcome families of all sizes, and that in turn has spread the word about the Williamsville Inn culinary school – which offers classes to individuals at all levels of expertise in the kitchen, under the direction of Erhard Wendt. And that, further, has called greater attention to the inn’s German-inspired restaurant, which is open year-round by reservation only.

Now, the inn is introducing classes in Nia, a hybrid of yoga and dance, to continue that trend of constantly refreshing the business.

“The whole concept has really worked for us,” said Wendt. “Our diversity makes people who live here feel welcome, and attracts new visitors too.”

That, she said, is important because those busy seasons are consistently strong – it’s the off-seasons that need the greatest attention.

“In the summer, everyone is busy,” she said. “If you’re not, something is really, really wrong. But the banks still need their payments throughout the year, not just during the busiest months. We need the locals to keep going through the winter, and stay where we want to be in terms of business.

“And business is very good,” she noted.“Before we had call-forwarding to our cell phones, if we stepped out for two hours we missed 13 calls.”

The Accidental Tourist

Sherrill Ingalls, director of marketing and public relations for the Berkshire Museum, agreed that attracting families and continuing to regard the region’s nontourist population as a valuable resource for tourism-related business is the key to sparking some new life into Berkshire County’s already robust tourism industry.

She said that currently, about 60% of the museum’s visitors are families, many of whom are year-round residents. Greater attention to bringing in more families during strong tourism months, she said, would undoubtedly have a positive impact on the museum’s bottom-line.

“We’re perfectly poised to take advantage of that,” she said. “The museum itself is very family-friendly, and lately we’re on a roll in terms of successful activities and exhibitions geared toward that market.”

Regardless of the strength of the region, museums nationwide face a common set of challenges, ranging from finding new ways to bring people in to see permanent exhibits, defining which rotating exhibits will have the greatest impact, and most importantly, operating on increasingly lean budgets.

But Ingalls added that Berkshire Museum isn’t the only attraction in Pittsfield that is on board with the tourism bureau’s new initiatives. As a city often seen as the blue collar blip on Berkshire tourism’s radar screen, new cultural endeavors including the formal creation of the Downtown Arts District by Mayor James Ruberto, are in keeping with the region’s push to promote its many cultural assets to a wider audience.

Pittsfield is currently home to more than 50 working artist studios and several restaurants and shops, for example, as well as five of the Berkshire’s most prominent cultural attractions; in addition to the Berkshire Museum, there is the soon-to-be restored Colonial Theatre, the Berkshire Music School, the Berkshire Atheneaum, the Berkshire Opera Company, and the City of Pittsfield’s Lichtenstein Center for the Arts.

All are receiving a shot in the arm from both the city’s renewed focus on the arts and the region’s push to include Pittsfield in its new marketing campaigns.

“We have a great amount of family-oriented activities here, and the new attention is really beneficial for us,” said Ingalls.

“Often, people visit and they do Williamstown, or they do South County. A lot of times, Pittsfield gets lost in their travels, but there is a lot happening now and that is slowly bringing people in.”

Winning the Race

And even in a positive climate, that’s something Wilson said he and his office have recognized as integral to maintaining that Berkshire pull – keeping the draw fresh, while still cultivating its traditional attributes.

“There is no other place like this in the world,” he said. “We have world-class venues in a country environment. We have quality and quantity, so naturally we want to open that experience up to as many people as possible.

“I’m confident that the influx of people to our area is only going to become even more substantial,” he concluded.

Slowly, but surely. Jaclyn Stevenson can be reached at[email protected]

Scene Two

By
Julianne Boyd, artistic director
Sections Supplements
Barrington Stage Co. Takes a Lead Role in Pittsfield’s Emerging Arts Scene
Julianne Boyd, artistic director

Julianne Boyd, artistic director for the Barrington Stage Co., said the

Posted around the interior of the Berkshire Music Hall are dozens of 8 x 10, pale blue ‘watch for’ signs.

Watch for……a new box office! Reads one in the lobby. Watch for …… a new lighting and sound system! Reads another in the balcony.

The hall, nestled on a side street in the center of Pittsfield, is currently undergoing renovations and is, for now, easy to miss. A simple blue and pink placard belies the size and scope of the theater inside, which houses an historic vaudeville stage, 11 rows of orchestra seating and seven in the balcony, formal dressing and green rooms in the basement, and loads of New England charm.

But it’s neither the unique architecture nor the building’s history that many in Berkshire County are keeping an eye on these days; it’s the hall’s new owner, the Barrington Stage Company (BSC), and the commitment the group has made to breathing new life into an old music hall, the craft of theater itself, and the City of Pittsfield as a whole.

BSC, a non-profit, up-and-coming theater group, may have yet to carve a niche in the Berkshires as deep as some other regional theater staples, like Shakespeare and Co. or the Berkshire Theatre Festival.

But the company has already burst out of the Berkshire seams by garnering national acclaim for locally staged productions as well as world premieres of shows such as The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, now playing on Broadway and the winner of two Tony Awards.

Until this year, BSC grew incrementally over the past decade from its headquarters in Sheffield, an arts and culture-rich section in the Berkshire’s South County.

Although the company was established in that area, BSC’s artistic director, Julianne Boyd, felt it was time to break new ground, both literally and figuratively. So BSC purchased the hall and an adjacent structure known as the Octagon House for $785,000 in July, marking the procurement of the company’s first-ever permanent home. It was also a significant move away from the familiar and toward the unknown, where instead of capitalizing on an already strong arts and theater climate, BSC will be a front-runner in creating such a culture in Pittsfield.

Setting the Stage

The purchase and subsequent renovawww.tion of the Berkshire Music Hall, which began in November and has closed the facility to the public until a projected completion date of June 1, 2006, is one of several initiatives currently underway in Pittsfield as part of the Downtown Arts District project, established to help bring the city’s cultural assets to the forefront of its economic picture.

Not all of the reasons Boyd first considered the Berkshire Music Hall as a potential new home for BSC were as lofty as jump-starting an entire community’s cultural vibe, though. She said one major deciding factor was the surprising intimacy she felt within the expansive building.

“The actors don’t have to yell their lines,” she said, recalling the acoustics Barrington Stage players enjoyed during their first production – Hair – at the Berkshire Music Hall last summer. That intimacy, coupled with the space the building offers for preparation, rehearsals, management of the company, fundraising, and other satellite events associated with the group, is what sealed the deal for Boyd.

She said it offered a physical space in which to house the work that is central to BSC’s mission: producing quality, compelling work, developing new plays and musicals, and finding fresh, new ways to introduce theater to new audiences.

“When I founded Barrington Stage Theater,” Boyd explained, noting she began with a partner but has since struck out on her own, “I had been with the Berkshire Theatre Festival for two years, and had some great experiences. But I wanted to create a company that would produce topnotch work, and also include a strong educational arm.”

That educational aspect has become one of Barrington Stage’s strongest features. It works with drama students of all ages and levels, including youths in the area through programs such as KidsAct!, a year-round dramatic training program, Youth Theatre, a musical theater performance opportunity, and through youth-at-risk initiatives such as the Playwright Mentoring Project, designed to provide positive interventions for children and teenagers, steeped in the theater experience.

“The youth-at-risk program has taken place around Berkshire County, in Pittsfield, Lee, and Sheffield,” Boyd said. “It’s a project that allows the kids to work with playwrights and essentially tell their stories, after first creating a safe and secure environment.”

Boyd said the students create a play based on their lives, and Barrington Stage Co. will travel to schools, community groups, and social service organizations to perform the piece for audiences.

But the youth-at-risk program, though both effective and groundbreaking, is just one piece of the broad organizational plan the Barrington Stage Co. employs on a year-round basis.

In addition to producing its own, original plays, the company also stages traveling shows and more-well-known productions, like last summer’s Hair that inaugurated the BSC’s new home.

And now, with the hall’s renovation underway, Barrington Stage has its sights set on introducing its unique mix of educational activities and performing arts to a larger audience. It will also rent the space to other performing arts groups, in order to contribute to what amounts to a cultural renaissance in Pittsfield.

“We wanted to try to stay in area, and for a long time we could not find the theater that we wanted,” Boyd said of the move from Sheffield to Pittsfield. “We didn’t want to build from the ground up, because that would have to become the focus for years. Then, we found this great space, and the community of Pittsfield has been totally supportive from the beginning. We really feel like we’re going to be at the forefront of this community as it moves toward greater cultural significance.”

Culture Shift

Indeed, Pittsfield is in the building years of an arts and entertainment movement. Existing attractions, such as the Berkshire Museum and Berkshire Opera House, are benefiting from a county-wide push to attract younger visitors as well as families to the region (see story, page 41). And new additions like the Barrington Stage Co. are receiving special attention from legislators and residents alike as one of the more visible examples of a cultural shift in the city.

“We are moving into what has been long considered a blue collar town, and the community is totally embracing us,” Boyd said, returning to her original mission of opening a theater that would reach diverse audiences and benefit a wide range of people in the community, year-round. “I wanted to found my own theater and do year-round theater in the Berkshires, not just during those busy summer months. In Pittsfield, we are going to be more able to capitalize on a more year-round community, and we can affect the lives of the people that live here year-round as well as the tourists.”

Boyd added that the greater accessibility to other locales from Pittsfield, including Springfield, Albany, and the major hubs of Boston and New York City, are an added plus associated with the move.

“I think that positioning ourselves here will prove better because it is more accessible than South County was for us,” she said.

“We love Sheffield, and we’ll still serve South County through traveling shows and other programs, but we had to change our hub, and in the process, we’re hoping that Pittsfield becomes a destination as well.”

Renovations at the Berkshire Music Hall, which will surrender its name to make way for a new, as-of-yet unannounced moniker upon completion (slated for Summer 2006, when BSC also plans to open its 12th season), are expansive and being made possible by a capital campaign already supported by several Berkshire County businesses and grant funding.

According to facilities manager Jeff Gardner, the Octagon House (named for its unique shape) will house the administrative offices now located in rented space in Sheffield, and he and Boyd hope to have them ready for occupancy as early as March.

The theater itself requires more involved attention, however, and work will continue into the summer months. A new HVAC system must be installed, in addition to a new ceiling, new seats, sound and lighting and sprinkler systems, and an enlarged, fully accessible lobby and box office.

Gardner, a Pittsfield native, said he has a greater understanding of the impact the project will have, beyond BSC’s growth. He added that for Pittsfield, the scope of the project is not only heralding a new shift in the city, but serving as a snapshot of the overall needs of the community.

“Pittsfield is a story in and of itself,” he said. “It’s a city that has experienced both greatness and struggle, and now this cultural shift we’re seeing is a real opportunity for the community to redefine itself.”

Curtain Call

He added that the support given the theater project from within the city will also determine its level of success.

“Operating a theater isn’t always a winning proposition,” said Gardner. “Now, we’re riding a wave, but it’s very possible that in the future we’ll have some flat years. It makes all the difference knowing that the support of the community is there for us.”

And while the marquee currently reads ‘closed for renovations,’ passersby can be seen glancing up at the building, waiting – and watching – for a change. The next act should be an exciting one.

Jaclyn Stevenson can be reached at[email protected]

In Construction, A Firm Footing

By
Sections Supplements
All land is not created equal. And yet, people are quick to talk about price per acre or price per square foot of land as if direct comparison is valid. To be sure, identical Peter Wood calls it the “end of the pent-up demand.”

That’s how he described a series of building projects that made 2005 a record year for South Hadley-based Associated Builders, which he serves as director of marketing.

As Wood explained to BusinessWest, following 9/11 there was a prolonged period of indecision for many business owners.

Uncertain about which direction the economy would take, these individuals back-burnered many new-building and expansion projects. When the economic picture came more clearly into focus, many of those ventures started to move forward, he continued, adding that it took some time to get through the pile.

He figures that point came sometime late this year.

And with that pent-up demand gone, there are some questions about what lies ahead for the construction sector, which is traditionally a good barometer of the overall economy.

Wood told BusinessWest that Associated has several projects currently in progress and more on the docket for the start of the spring building season – but most are smaller in size and scale than some of the company’s recent assignments. There is enough volume, however, for him to project that ’06 might eventually wind up as good as this year.

“For many years, I was cautiously optimistic about the prospects for this sector,” he said. “I haven’t had to use the word cautious lately, and don’t think I need it now.”

Still, there are question marks. Tom Zabel, who recently acquired The O’Leary Company in Southampton, which specializes in fabricated metal buildings, said there are several factors that could impact the construction sector in the year ahead, starting with interest rates.

They continue to rise, he explained, which could prompt some business owners to think twice about building or expanding – or … the trend might prompt some to strike now, before the rates go much higher.

“The bottom line is that money is still relatively cheap,” he said, noting that while rates are rising they are still near record lows. “I think you’ll see some move now out of concern that rates will only go higher down the road.”

Joe Marois, president of Chicopeebased Marois Construction agreed, but said interest rates could be one of many factors to sow uncertainty among business owners, which often translates into delaying new-building, expansion, or renovation projects.

“Most of the things we’re doing now are deferred maintenance projects and other things that need to be done,” he explained. “I don’t see as many people looking at new building; if they don’t have to spend the money right now, they’re waiting to see what happens with the economy.

“I suppose that’s what people do every year,” he continued, “But it just seems that people are being more cautious right now.” Beyond this heightened level of caution, there are other immediate challenges for builders – specifically emerging supply problems involving buildable land and qualified construction workers.

Indeed, both Wood and Marois said that over the past few years, and especially over the past several months, it has become increasingly difficult to find good help at nearly all levels – from laborers to tradesman such as carpenters and drywallers.

Wood said he doesn’t have a firm grip on the reasons for the shortage, although he suspects that many individuals who might have sought out construction work in the past are now looking elsewhere, even though the field provides ample opportunities with decent wages.

“I’m not really sure why it’s happening, I just know it is, and it’s happening across the industry,” he told BusinessWest. “It’s puzzling in a way, because there are good jobs out there and fewer people to take them.”

Marois speculated that many of the summer workers that area contractors have relied on – college students on break – are now finding summer jobs in other fields, including technology and health care.

“This is something everyone is dealing with,” he said. “There are simply fewer good people out there.”

As for the land supply, Wood said several of the area’s municipal and private industrial parks are at or near capacity, and there have been few additions to the inventory.

“Land is becoming an issue,” he said, adding that the dwindling supply is one reason why. Associated is working on smaller projects this year. “Business owners like to have options, and they don’t have as many now as they once did.”

By
Departments

The following bankruptcy petitions were recently filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Readers should confirm all information with the court.

Adon, Sergio E.
17 Leyfred Terrace
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Alderman, Laura B.
6 Meadow Glen Dr.
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/10/05

Alderman, William N.
6 Meadow Glen Dr.
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/10/05

Almodovar, Rosemary
45 West Court
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Attanasio, David Paul
28 Jennings St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/17/05

Attanasio, Pamela Jean
28 Jennings St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/17/05

Barabolkin, Dmitriy
Alexander
447 Page Boulevard, Apart
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Barabolkin, Marie Ellen
447 Page Boulevard, Apart
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Bashaw, Gerald. J.
126 Main St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Bauer, Karen L.
20 Taylor Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Beauchene, Meghan M.
36 Peterson Circle
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Beyer, Jill
50 Calumet Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Boothby, Mary Ann
70 Ottawa St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Boucher, Sandra A.
77 Highland View St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/02/05

Brow, Elizabeth M.
41 Everett Ave 29A
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Buoniconti, Theresa
430-432 South Westfield S
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Cannamela, Audrey J.
35 McKinley Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Capaccio, Mary E.
45 Fremont St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Capaccio, Pasquale
45 Fremont St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Cardona, Willy J.
32 Acushnet Ave.
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Carosello, Richard
85 Sessions Dr.
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/08/05

Cayon, James M.
322 Main Street, Apt. B
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Ceccarini, Bridget Lynn
22 Princeton St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Conley, Kenneth George
99 Falley Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05


Cyranowski-Grimaldi, Jane C.
567 Dickenson St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 10/27/05

Dana, Scott D.
123 Hamilton St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/14/05

Dana, Stephanie B.
123 Hamilton St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/14/05

Davieu, Charles R.
35 Oconnor Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Doyle-Workman, John Charles
44 Park St
P.O. BOX 1027
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Ducharme, Esther
164 Hubbard St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Figueroa, Wanda I.
747 Hampden St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Flowers, Daniel
21 Flynt Ave.
Monson, MA 01057
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Fogarty, Kelly Nicole
25 Depote St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Ford, Gary T.
198 East Allen Ridge Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Ford, Gary T.
198 East Allen Ridge Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/21/05

Frenier, Margaret
21 Summer St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/17/05

Gordon, Richard E.
3 Hidden Place
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Gouvin, Bernice R.
31 State Street Apt. 302B
Monson, MA 01057
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Griggs, Jeffrey L.
50 Church Street, Apartme
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Gubula, Matthew P.
6 Cherry Hill Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Gubula, Shana A.
6 Cherry Hill Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Hamre, Elizabeth A.
50 Manor Court
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/17/05

Harris, Isaiah L.
29 Claremont St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 11/03/05

Heimsath, Steven M.
129 Sumner Ave., Apt. 4
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Howland, Pamela J.
27 Ireland St.
Worthington, MA 01098
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Keller, Joan
144 Cabot St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Kolosewicz, Loretta Jean
41 South Street, Unit 45
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Larkin, Thomas Francis
13 Fred Jackson Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Le, Hong Thi
580 White St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Le, Viet The
1135 Shoemaker Lane
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Lee, Patricia A
229 Hillside Rd.
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 11/01/05

Lee, Xiong Chue
16 Lucretia Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Leigh, Denise A
87 Marion St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Lewis, Jason E
81 Blanford Road
Granville, MA 01034
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Littlejohn, Mark
80 Craiwell Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/02/05

Maguire, Edward J.
135 LaPlante Cirecle
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Messenger, Susan Diane
38 Berkshire Ave.
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/15/05

Miller-Baker, Maryanne
397 Centenial Way
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Morgan, Gordon Samuel
86 Lakevilla Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 10/26/05

Mularski, Peter J.
85 Pomeroy Meadow
Southampton, MA 01073
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Murphy, Ellen M.
542 White St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Nestor, Melissa
45 Garden St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Nevue, Thomas M.
132 Comins Pond Road
Warren, MA 01083
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/15/05

Newsky, Victoria B.
489 Skyline Trail
Chester, MA 01011
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

O’Keefe, Edward F.
PO Box 1108
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Ortiz, Janet
45 North Bridge St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Otis, Lisette J.
281 Chauncey Walker Road
Ave. B, Lot 78
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Paton, Christopher L.
14 Honeysuckle Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01022
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Paton, Katherine W.
14 Honeysuckle Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01022
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Perry, Russell D.
196 King St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Pixley, Sandra J.
14 1/2 Park Ave.
Monson, MA 01057
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Provost, Anelda A.
61 Greene St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Punderson, Todd Breck
140 Union St.
#77
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/17/05

Racine, Lori-Ann
253 WARE ST., #B
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Renaud, Richard E.
32 Bliss Street Apartment
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Renaud, Rosemary
32 Bliss Street Apartment
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Rivera, Josue
1340-1342 Dwight St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Robbins, Lori Jean
44 Martin Farm Rd.
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Robbins, Mattie B.
32 Westford Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/01/05

Rosado, Hector L.
35 Wolcott St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Rzonca, Daniel M.
PO Box 204
Westfield, MA 01086
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Sanchez, Betsy
67 Leslie St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Santiago, Enrique
1068 Main Street, 2nd Flo
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Santiago, Rose M.
1068 Main Street, 2nd Flo
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Sargis, Thelma Celeste
11 4th Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/17/05

Sayers, Robin L.
Post Offfice Box 134
Worthington, MA 01098
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Schell, Yong S.
17 Barton St.
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Snyder, Lisa M.
86 Kowal Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Sollecito, Andrew P.
42 Virginia St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Stevenson-Mitchell,
Christina Ann
92 Riverboat Village Rd.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/25/05

Sullivan, David W.
253 C Ware St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Sullivan, Robert A.
4 3rd Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Taylor, Earlene V.
94 Genesee St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Thomas, Karen A.
P.O. Box 51406
Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Tucker, Catrese Shubrick
6 Alsace St
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Vega, Onelia
101 Oakwood Ter.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Veloz, Rene
22 Hadley Court
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Vicki, LaBonte
83 Sheridan St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Wallace, Joanne
1343 East Mountain Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Wallace, LeRoy
1343 East Mountain Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Wallis, Guy C
20 Taylor Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Walz, Dawn Marie
244 Granville Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Walz, Glen Richard
244 Granville Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Wilkinson, Melissa Anne
162 Russell Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Young, Grace A.
P.O. Box 33
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Morin, George C.
2210 Main St.
West Warren, MA 01092
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

By
Departments

AGAWAM

OMG Inc.
153 Bowles Road
$13,110 — Construct office space

AMHERST
Amherst College Trustees
155 South Pleasant St., College
Hall A.C.
$125,000 — Repair and replace
dome

Amherst Shopping Center Assoc.
181 University Dr. A-D
$241,000 — Divide unfinished
space into four commercial units

Arigato Sushi Japanese Restaurant
11 North Pleasant St.
$8,550 — Interior alterations

Eagle Crest Management
664 Main St.
$69,546 — Repairs and
renovations

Slobody Development Corp.
101 University Dr.
$57,050 — Build-out for office
space

NORTHAMPTON

Hampshire Regional YMCA
286 Prospect St.
$148,000 — Install new roof

Northampton Housing Authority
143 West St.
$40,219 — Convert garage into office space

Mass Mutual
1500 Main St.
$80,000 — Expansion

Mass Mutual
1500 Main St.
$19,500 — Alterations

Mass Mutual
1500 Main St.
$94,533 — Alter Suite 1406

Springfield Self Storage
192 Cadwell Dr.
$135,000 — Pre-fab buildings

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Eastern States Exposition
1305 Memorial Ave.
$50,000 — Replace 60-squarefoot ground sign

Lane Inc./Optasite Inc.
1583 Prospect Ave.
$40,000 — Add antennas and
equipment to cell tower

New England Lumber Spec.
202 Day St.
$55,000 — Re-locate offices

WESTFIELD

Apaloosa Inc.
1144B Southampton Road
$4,800 — Renovations Children’s Museum
28 West Silver St.
$1,409,484 — New building

Preferred Freezer
45 Campanelli Dr.
$11,638,000 — New building

By
Departments

Florence Savings Bank Reports Continued Strong Growth
FLORENCE — Florence Savings Bank recently reported third-quarter results that indicate a continuation of the bank’s strong growth trend, according to President John F. Heaps Jr. The bank’s total assets at the end of September stood at $865.8 million, an increase of $70.2 million, or 8.8% from the corresponding period last year. Growth in the bank’s loan portfolio was the primary source of the asset growth, with total loans up $66.4 million or 15% from the prior year. The loan growth was spread across the portfolio as residential real estate loans ended the quarter at $348.7 million, up $40.5 million or 13.1% from the prior year. Equity loans increased $17.1 million or 38.5% from September 2004 levels, and commercial loans grew $12.6 million or 15.6% over the same period. Deposit growth was also strong as total deposits ended the quarter at $619.6 million, up $26.0 million or 4.4% from September 2004 levels.

Federal Funding Will Benefit STCC Commuter Student Transportation
SPRINGFIELD — U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal recently secured federal funds to
support Springfield Technical Community College’s effort to resolve student transportation challenges. The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA) will receive the funding and will provide additional bus service to the campus. The transportation and parking project will help make the college more accessible throughout the region. Congressman Neal secured the funds through the FY ’06
Transportation Appropriations bill.

AIC Receives Foundation Grant
SPRINGFIELD — American International College recently received a $138,400 grant from the Davis Educational Foundation of Falmouth, Maine that will be used to establish a division of Institutional Research to assist with strategic planning. The grant will improve data assessment on campus which will enable better institutional, operational, programmatic, curriculum and enrollment planning and management, according to John T. Short, Jr., vice president for Development and Alumni Relations. AIC officials applied for the grant in September and received approval following a site visit by trustees in October and
review of the application.

TD Banknorth Provides Springfield Museums with Grant
SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Museums recently received a $10,000 grant from TD Banknorth Charitable Foundation for the museums’ Weekend Family Fun series of educational programs. Weekend Family
Fun programs highlight holidays, special exhibitions, cultural traditions
and topics with family appeal. Each program includes a performance, art
demonstrations, science activities and hands-on craft workshops. TD Banknorth,
through its charitable giving arm, the TD Banknorth Charitable Foundation, supports programs and organizations which have proven records of arts and cultural enrichment programs.

UMass Film Library Honored in Berlin
AMHERST — The DEFA Film Library at UMass Amherst was recently awarded a 5,000-euro Program Prize at the Kino Babylon: Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The
award recognizes the library for “Rebels With A Cause: The Cinema of East
Germany,” a retrospective of 22 films presented in October at the Museum of
Modern Art in New York. The library was selected for the program prize by the DEFA Foundation in Berlin to acknowledge the archive’s efforts to extend the boundaries of scholarly work on DEFA films and postunification German cinema and developing an international network of filmmakers and film scholars. Starting in January, the Rebels With A Cause will tour the United States and Germany, including exhibitions at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. In collaboration with partners in this country and Germany, the DEFA Film Library has worked for more than 10 years
to make the cinema of East Germany available and known in the United States and Canada. The film library is directed by Barton Byg, professor of Germanic languages and literatures at UMass Amherst.

Employee Benefits Firm Expands Operations
NORTHAMPTON — American Benefits Group recently reached a mile-
C O M P A N Y N O T E B O O K www.BusinessWest.com 6 1 D E C E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 0 5stone by acquiring its 100th employer client for its flexible spending administrative services, and by opening an Eastern Massachusetts office in Topsfield. The firm has been based in Northampton since 1987, and specializes in employee benefits consulting. Longtime clients include Amherst
College, Mount Holyoke College, Hampshire College and Florence Savings Bank, and its current national employer clients include Ferrari and Mazerati of
North America, Apogen Technologies, Jupiter Medical Center and Healthtrax
International. Robert L. Cummings, the firm’s founder and CEO, said that the
administration business is adding an average of one new employer client each week, having growth the business 100% in the past year alone. Cummings added that he expects the company to double its client base again in 2006. Flexible spending accounts allow employees to pay for unreimbursed medical, dental and vision expenses, as well as work related child care expenses, with pre-tax dollars.

Japanese Manufacturer Set to Acquire Local Plant
AGAWAM — Marubeni Citizen- Cincom of Japan is expected to purchase Brookdale Associates in early 2006. Brookdale owners Jim and Patricia Sasanecki started the company in Springfield 15 years ago. The company services, sells, and makes accessories for machine tool equipment. Terms of the purchase were not disclosed. As part of the deal, Jim Sasanecki will serve as vice president of Engineering when the business transaction is complete. Marubeni Citizen- Cincom is a joint venture between Citizen Machinery Co. Ltd. and Marubeni Corp. The firm will continue operations in Agawam with the same staff.

Easthampton Savings Assets Continue to Grow
EASTHAMPTON — Easthampton Savings Bank saw its assets grow by $8 million during the third quarter, an increase of $28 million over the previous 12 months. The bank ended its third quarter with assets of $656 million. William S. Hogan Jr., president, said the bank’s loan portfolio showed robust growth during the third quarter. Also, the bank’s total loan portfolio grew by $7.7 million or 6%, to stand at $482 million. Lastly, deposits grew by $13.1 million or 3%, over the year, to $511 million. In other bank news, an automated teller machine was recently installed at the intersection of Routes 10 and 202 in Westfield, the bank’s first location in Hampden County.

Edible Arrangements Receives Award
WILBRAHAM — Pam and Greg Clark of Edible Arrangements recently received
the 2005 Best New Boston Road Business award by the Boston Road Business
Association. The award is given to the business with the most votes cast by customers. Arrangements include fresh cut fruit in the form of floral bouquets that can be accented by gourmet chocolate-dipped strawberries or Granny Smith apples, a Mylar balloon, a jar of gourmet fudge, a Blue Mountain greeting card or a Russ teddy bear.

Smith & Wesson Debuts M&P Pistol
SPRINGFIELD — Smith & Wesson has launched a new part-plastic gun, the M&P Pistol, it hopes will win back some of the law enforcement market it haslost over the ears to competitor Glock. The M&P Pistol was designed specifically for law enforcement personnel, however, it will also be available for retail sale. The list price of the pistol is $695. The new gun will also supplement Smith & Wesson’s model 1911 and SW99. In addition, the company also resells some pistols manufactured by Walther of Germany.

HCC Receives $100,000 Grant From MassMutual
HOLYOKE — The MassMutual Financial Group recently approved a $100,000 grant for Holyoke Community College’s The Gift of Opportunity campaign to support the college’s efforts to provide necessary resources for Springfield students to attain a quality education. The grant allows the college to support the capital needs of its Center for Academic and Program Support, where tutoring and mentoring services take place, and the adjacent library information instruction lab where students learn vital research skills. The campaign seeks to raise $4 million over the next five years and is the largest endeavor in the college’s history.
For more information on the campaign,
contact Joe April at (413) 552-2746; [email protected]

New Plant Ready to Recycle
WARE — It was a six-year struggle but Richard C. O’Riley persevered and the
town now has a state-of-the-art demolition materials recycling facility and 25 new jobs. ABC&D Recycling, Inc., a 21,000-squarefoot facility on Route 9, will soon be processing asphalt, brick, concrete and demolition materials, according to O’Riley. Central to the operation are an 80-ton grinder and a 60-ton shredder, which will digest construction materials. O’Riley anticipates recycling up to 80% of the materials that are sent for processing. Customers will include construction companies, contractors, private customers and hauling firms.

By
Departments

The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and
organizations.

These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law. Readers are advised to contact the parties listed, or the court, for more information concerning the individual claims.

NORTHAMPTON DISTRICT COURT
Quality Care Nurse Staffing Agency v. Poets
Seat Healthcare Center
Allegation: Breach of
contract — Failure to
pay for nursing services:
$18,486.85
Date Filed: Nov. 7

HOLYOKE DISTRICT COURT
George Weston Bakeries Inc. v. La Sequnda Food Corp.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure
to pay for goods sold and delivered: $7,575
Date Filed: Nov. 9

SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Dion Label Printing Co. v. Paper City
Brewery Co. Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure
to pay for goods sold and delivered:
$4,486.49
Date Filed: Oct. 26

Delta Dental Plan of MA v. Specialty Looseleaf Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for insurance coverage: $6,850.17
Date Filed: Oct. 31

Abide Inc. v. Barrett Co. Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for asbestos removal: $4,550.00
Date Filed: Nov. 21

WESTFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Southwick Couriers Inc., John Autonuzzo a/k/a
John Rosario Autonuzzo, Sr.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay money loaned by way of Retail Installment Sale Agreement: $8,068.70
Date Filed: Nov. 10

By
Departments

The following Business Certificates and Trade Names were issued or renewed during the month of November and December 2005.

AGAWAM

Affordable Landscaping
42 Cricket Road
Kamron Kafi

Happy Homes
173 Leonard St.
Phyllis Scott Bamford

AMHERST

China Business Update
44 South Mountain
Wayne Xing

J. Carizan Home
Improvement
151 Colonial Village
Juan Carizan

SSL Sushi Inc.
11 North Pleasant St.
Hakji Song, Hyo Kyoung Lee,
Young Sung

Y & Z Market Analysts
990 North Pleasant St.
Li Yan

CHICOPEE

A-1 Pizza
Springfield Street
Koray Durmaz

Jenrose Wine & Liquors
945-947 Chicopee St.
Manuel Costa

EAST LONGMEADOW

Amicus Healthcare
100 Shaker Road
Jerry Torrant

Coffee Roaster & Gifts
52 Maple St.
The Coffee Roaster Inc.

D’Meara & Associates International
8 Redin Dr.
Scot Meara

Finishing Touches
41 Franconia Circle
Louise Gudwin, Carolyn Huges

Go Geeks
15 Crescent Hill
Stan Prager

Michael Albano & Associates Inc.
280 North Main St.
Michael Albano

Senior Financial Advisors Inc.
264 North Main St.
Gerald Nannen

HOLYOKE

Airbrushing
50 Holyoke St.
Christopher Lombardi

Crowley Transport Service
15 Dillon Ave.
William Crowley
David Tetrault, Private
Detective
3 Claren Dr.
David Tetrault

LONGMEADOW

Deborah Hoadley, MD LLC
175 Dwight Road
Deborah Hoadley

NORTHAMPTON

Antiques on Strong Ave.
17 Strong Ave.
Gary Perman

Hickory Dell Farm
245 West Farms Road
John Omasta

The Real Estate Connection
141 North Main St.
Nancy Nickerson

Werewolf Movie
171 Crescent St.
Stephen Decky

SPRINGFIELD

A.H. Enterprises
28 Amherst St.
Alan Howard

B.C.N.G. Property Rehab
73 Clayton St.
Brent Pieczarka

Bement Associates
35 Lenox St.
Marta Leander

Beyond Catering
136 Fair Oak Road
Gregory Calloway

Champion Child Care
30 Bowdoin St.
Tony Taylor

Church of Pentecost Inc.
71 Allen St.
Mensha Ansah

Dollars Variety
1611 Main St.
Willie Harris

Eagle Transit LLC
49 Newland St.
Marie Correa

Felix’s Distributors
19 Hope St.
Roberto Felix

Infinite Productions 2020
148 Santa Barbara St.
Russell Moussignae

K.G. Home Improvements
357 Cottage St.
Richard Koslik

La Favorita Mini Mart
179 Walnut St.
Majid Nizam Din

Lean Back Barber Shop
165 White St.
Jose Treijillo

Maxim Seamless Gutters
21 Ouster Circle
Maksim Barabolkin

Park View Rehabilitation &
Nursing Ctr.
1400 State St.
Springfield Park View Hospital
LLC

Rent-A-Geek Computer Services
126 Feltham Road
Wayne Whitlock

S & S Food Mart
61-67 Locust St.
Shoukat Hussain

Simple Treasures
99 Westbanks Court
Deborah and Allan Curran

Southend Mart
679 Main St.
Zhhoor-Vi-Haq

Suds & Scissors
1 Lakevilla Ave.
Terrance Clanton

Touch-Ups Plus
1213 Worcester St.
Javier Carrucini

WEST SPRINGFIELD

A to Z Moving and Storage Inc.
380 Union St.
Robert Post

Atlas Appraisal
53 Amostown Road
Peter Brayton

Bryant General Contracting &
Construction
83 York St.
John Bryant

C.H.I. Design
162 Wolcott Ave.
Cynthia Henriquez

Dependable Trustee Services
117 Park Ave.
D & L Property Investments

Elm Market & Package Store
246 Elm St.
Walter Rickus Jr.

Finishing Touch Home
Improvements
48 Hill St.
William Young

Grosso Chiropractic P.C.
615 Westfield St.
Cynthia Okeef-Glebner

Hardy’s Home DÈcor
86 Connecticut Ave.
Stephen Hardy

The Ivanhoe
1422 Elm St.
Ronald Abdow

Kabab and Curry Restaurant
903 Main St.
Muhammad Sabir

LHQ Dance Force Unlimited
1700 Riverdale
Lynn Hadden-Quinn

Management Consulting Services
121 Westwoof Dr.
Phillip Guazzaloca

Miguel Coamo Barber Shop
1146 Union St.
Miguel Valzaquez

New England Novelty
183 Ashley St.
Dean Vogel, Sr.

Oem Telematics Services
1385 Riverdale St.
OnStar Corp.

Page One Productions LLC
117 Upper Beverly Hills
Roberta Page

Pizza King
1140 Memorial Ave.
Maria Kaitis

Rapidcreditrecovery.com
148 Chilson Road
Peter Ansara

Right Constraction
57 Russell St.
Dmitriy Shapovalov

Spruce Facilities
Management Inc.
3 Witch Path
Kathering Zimmerman

Venetian Bakery
90 Baldwin St.
Mark Maniscalchi

West Springfield Mobil
562 Westfield St.
Syed Bokhari

WESTFIELD

Acme Burner Service
2 Birch Ter.
David Engley

Carpet Ends
1006 Southampton Road
Gabriel Khatchadouian

Custom Graph
146 Sackett Road
William Gorman

Grazers
43 Pochassic St.
Rhona Medrek

Jan Woodworks & Renovation
61 Bowdoin St.
Joseph Muto

Louis & Clark Drug Inc.
1029 North Road
Clark Matthews

By
Departments

The following business incorporations were recorded in Hampden and Hampshire counties, and are the latest available. They are listed by community.
CHICOPEE
Fearn Electric Inc.,
159 Granby Road, Chicopee 01013.
Scott A. Fearn, 65 Mandalay
Road, Springfield 01118.
Electrical contracting, installations and repair services.

EAST LONGMEADOW
East Side Pub Inc.,
67 Favorite Lane, East Longmeadow 01028.
Michael T. Katsounakis, same.
To own and operate an eating and drinking establishment.

HUNTINGTON
CWK Inc., 3 East Main St.,
Huntington 01050. Charles W.
Kinloch, same. To operate a restaurant.

NORTHAMPTON
Health in Harmony Inc.
, 341 Prospect St., Northampton
01060. Julia Riseman, same.
(Nonprofit) To support programs in Indonesia, etc., that provide medical care,
training, and a healthy natural environment, etc.

K-7 Realty Inc.,
210 Florence Road, Northampton 01062.
Kevin A. Kochapski, 1195
Westhampton Road,
Northampton 01062. Holding real estate.

RUSSELL
The Russell Elementary
School Parent Teachers
Organization Inc., 155
Highland Ave., Russell 01071.
Andrea D. Smart, 289
Woodland Way, Russell 01071.
(Nonprofit) To support the health, safety, welfare and education of the Russell
Elementary schools students, etc.

SPRINGFIELD
D-Soto Corp., 77 Ogden St.,
Springfield 01151. Daniel A.
Soto, same. Sewing household, industrial and other commercial business.

House of Refuge Inc.,
15 Rochelle St., Springfield
01109. Ryan O’Neal Walker,
56 Mapledell St., Springfield
01109. (Nonprofit) To proclaim the Gospel, minister to the needs of the people of God, etc.

Second Stage Inc.,
44 Greene St., Springfield 01109. Antonio
Yates, 43 Berkley St., Springfield
01109. (Nonprofit) To support young adults to gain independent living, recreation and social skills, etc.

Springfield Veterans
Activities Committee Inc., 77
Dorset St., Springfield 01108.
Eugene Brice, 10 Berkley St.,
Springfield 01109. To support and promote military veterans and related organizations throughout Western Massachusetts, etc.

The Longmeadow Rotary
Foundation Inc., c/o Jerry N.
Plumb, 1500 Main St.,
Springfield 01115. Jay Leib,
200 Tanglewood, Longmeadow
01106. (Nonprofit) To provide scholarships and loans to individuals, etc.

WESTFIELD
Axis Precison Inc.,
121 Summit Lock Road, Westfield
01085. Raymond Paquette, 172
Kings Highway, Westhampton
01027. Production and sales of
precision machined parts.

Beach Club Tanning Inc.,
The Westfield Shops. Space D,, 459
East Main St., Westfield 01085.
Michael Serricchio, 118 Rachel
Ter., Westfield 01085. Tanning salon.

Tekoa Golf Inc.,
459 Russell Road,
Westfield 01085. Brett A.
Remillard, 376 North Main St.,
South Hadley 01075. To own and operate a golf and banquet facility.

Westfield Elm Street
Redevelopment Corp.,
53 Court St., Westfield 01085.
Paul Lischetti, 402 W.
Cummington Road,
Cummington 01026. Real estate management and development.

WEST SPRINGFIELD
Stevens Forest Products Inc.,
277 Woodbrook Ter., West
Springfield 01089. Lawrence E.
Stevens, same. Sale of sand, stone, wood and similar natural resources.

By
Departments

PeoplesBank announced the following:

• Joyce A. O’Connor has been appointed Assistant Vice President and Manager of the Bank’s new Westfield office, opening in early 2006.
Joyce A. O’Connor  

•••••

• Halena Ramos has been named a Mortgage Consultant. She will develop residential mortgage business in Chicopee, Ludlow, Monson, Palmer, and Springfield.
Halena Ramos

•••••

Attorney Brian Ladouceur Jr. of Nicolai Law Group P.C. in Springfield, was recently sworn into the Massachusetts Bar. He was previously admitted to the Connecticut Bar.

•••••

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc. of Pittsfield announced the following:
• Thomas C. Crowley, an Albany-area banker, has been named President-New York Region for a separate business unit in downtown Albany, N.Y., and

• Joseph P. Richardson, an Albany commercial banker, has been named Director of Business Development-New York Region for the Albany, N.Y. office.

•••••

UMass Amherst announced the following:
• William J. Gerace, professor of physics and director of the Scientific Reasoning Research Institute at the university, has been awarded a Fulbright grant to South Africa, where he will work with educators to improve physical science instruction. During his six-month term at the University of Fort Hare, Gerace and Professor Yaliwe Jiya of the faculty of Education will collaborate on a research study to define the needs and barriers faced by rural in-service teachers, and deliver workshops and visit rural schools to help address these needs. Other UMass faculty members awarded Fulbright grants this year are Joyce Avrech Berkman, history; Eduardo H. Cattani, mathematics and statistics, and Robert L. Wick, plant, soil and insect sciences.
• Faculty member Lynne Baker, Philosophy, has been named a Distinguished Professor, and • Faculty member Vincent Rotello has been named to the Charles A. Goessmann Chair in Chemistry. The designations recognize Baker and Rotello for outstanding academic distinction.

•••••

Patricia Hurteau has joined Century 21 Pioneer Valley Associates in Northampton as a Sales Person.

•••••

Berkshire Bank of Pittsfield announced the following:
• Susan L. Bettis has been appointed Mortgage Administration Officer;
• Susan Bianchi-Smith has been appointed Mortgage Originator in the Great Barrington office;
• Sally A. Angers has been appointed Security Officer;
• Michael T. Macy has been appointed Assistant Treasurer, and
• Patricia N. Sinclair has been appointed Credit Officer in the Commercial Department.

•••••

Michael Poggi, a Registered Representative with Morgan Stanley in Springfield, has earned membership in the Leadership Council of PLANCO, a subsidiary of Hartford Life Inc., and a wholesaler of investment and insurance products for The Hartford.

•••••

Betty Ann Learned, Assistant Vice President for Administration and Finance at Springfield Technical Community College, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of Educational and Institutional Cooperative Services Inc., a North American higher education purchasing organization.

•••••

G. Patrick Leary has been admitted as a shareholder of Moriarty & Primack P.C., and was recently elected Vice President and Director. Leary is the partner in charge of the firm’s audit division. The firm has offices in Holyoke and Springfield.

•••••

David L. Rainey of Longmeadow recently authored Product Innovation: Leading Change Through Integrated Product Development, published by Cambridge University Press. Rainey is Chairperson and Associate Professor in the Hartford department of the Lally School of Management and Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Betty Ann Learned

•••••

Anna Nagurney of the Isenberg School of Management at the UMass Amherst is the leader of a team that has translated a 1968 paper on the Braess paradox that states within some types of transportation networks, the addition of a new road may not improve travel time, and instead may make the area worse off. The original article that was published in German appeared in the November issue of the journal Transportation Science.

•••••

Wolf & Company P.C., with offices in Springfield and Boston, announced the

• Carol E. Tully, CPA, JD, AEP, has been elected President of the National Association of Estate Planners and Councils for 2006. She will lead an organization of professional estate planners comprised of 175 affiliated estate planning councils;
• Ruth A. Atchison has been promoted to Tax Supervisor;
• Michael J. Farrell, CPA, has been promoted to Audit Supervisor;
• Derek M. Graves, CPA, has been promoted to Audit Supervisor;
• Erica Hague-Antos, CISA, has been promoted to IT Supervisor, and
• Brian S. Westerlind, CPA, has been promoted to Audit Supervisor.
Carol E.Tully

•••••

The law firm Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas, LLP in Springfield announced
the following:
• Attorney Sandy Dibble has been inducted as one of 500 American Fellows in the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, as well as being named for the second year in a row as one of the top 100 lawyers in Massachusetts. She has also been recognized for being listed in Best Lawyers for 10 years or more;
• Peter Roth, Family Law, has been listed in the 2006 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. He has also been recognized for being listed in Best Lawyers for 10 years or more, has been named a Massachusetts Super Lawyer in Boston magazine and a “Top 100 Massachusetts Super Lawyer” for 2005;
• Ronald P. Weiss, Corporate and Tax
Law, has been listed in the 2006 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. He has also been recognized for being listed in Best Lawyers for 10 years or more and has recently been named a Massachusetts Super Lawyer in Boston magazine. The following lawyers were listed in the 2006 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® and also named a Massachusetts Super Lawyer in Boston magazine;
• Michael H. Burke, Personal Injury
Litigation;
• Francis D. Dibble, Jr., Commercial
Litigation;
• Daniel J. Finnegan, Construction Law;
• Robert A. Gelinas, Personal Injury
Litigation;
• Christopher B. Myhrum,
Environmental Law; and
• David A. Parke, Corporate Law;
The following lawyers were named
Massachusetts Super Lawyers in Boston magazine;
• Peter H. Barry, Schools and Education;
• James C. Duda, Intellectual Property
Law;
• Felicity Hardee, Real Estate Law;
• Mary J. Kennedy, Labor and
Employment Law;
• Kevin C. Maynard, Business Litigation;
• Kelly A. McCarthy, Health Care Law;
• Donn A. Randall, Banking;
• Ellen M. Randle, Family Law.

By
Departments

The Fifth Annual Festival of Trees to benefit the Springfield Boys and Girls Club was made possible by dozens of Western Mass. businesses, organizations, and individuals that donated fully decorated trees for the event. The trees, many of which also included a number of gifts and surprises, were put on display for thousands of visitors who could vote on their favorites as well as take a chance at winning one of the festive creations through a raffle.

BusinessWest’s own entry into the event included a bevy of Christmas treats, including a chocolate fountain, a missionstyle coffee table decorated with Santas, reindeer, and candles, and issues of BusinessWest Magazine and its sister publication, The Healthcare News.

Dianne Mitchell, chair of the Festival of Trees event for 2005, poses with the tree she decorated and donated to the event.

Proceed with Caution on the Riverfront

By
Opinion
Springfield Mayor Charles Ryan was asked to gauge the still very preliminary plans for development of Springfield’s riverfront. He was cautious in his response, which is understandable given how little is actually known about the plans and the people behind them.

But he told BusinessWest that, at the very least, it’s good to have some actual competition — and from the private sector, no less — for sites such as the old Basketball Hall of Fame. And we couldn’t agree more.

Nearly everything that has been developed in Springfield over the past several years — including the new Hall, the MassMutual Center, and the new federal courthouse now under construction, have been built with mostly public dollars. What Springfield needs is private investment, and it’s finally starting to see the potential for some on its long underutilized riverfront.

At the moment, there are at least two proposals still under consideration for the old Hall of Fame. One is for a sports and fitness center, and the other for a mixed use concept that includes a public market and restaurant.

Meanwhile, two partners who are now part of the public market complex, and who together formed the Connecticut River Development Corp., are gauging the feasibility of locating a hotel on the Riverfront Park site just south of the Memorial Bridge.

These are positive developments for Springfield, but we urge caution as the city mulls its options for the riverfront. This is an important piece of the economic development puzzle in Springfield and everyone is anxious for something to happen. But we think it’s far more important for things to be done right than for them to be done quickly.

Take the proposed hotel, for example. CRDC’s principals say the hotel-building entity they’re working with fell in love with the Riverfront Park site and wants to develop there.

That’s fine, but there are a number of logistical hurdles to be cleared before a hotel can even be considered; the biggest of which would be the railroad tracks that sit between the site and West Columbus Avenue.

And even if that access problem can be solved, does the city want to put another hotel on the riverfront when all indications are that downtown, specifically the area near the recently opened MassMutual Center, would make far more sense?

As for the public market concept, we’ve said before that it looks good on paper, but we’re not convinced that it can draw the high volume of traffic needed to make such a venture viable. The Springfield Riverfront Development Corp. (SRDC), the real estate arm of the Hall of Fame, has been weighing the public market concept for more than a year now, carefully considering whether or not it will work.

We encourage more of this due diligence because the old Hall of Fame is an asset that shouldn’t be developed (or torn down, as is now likely) merely for the sake of development.

The same is true of the old York Street Jail, which has sat idle for many years now, making the imaginative ‘Jail for Sale’ sign on its east wing a seemingly permanent part of the downtown Springfield landscape.

Like the old Hall, the jail seems destined for the wrecker’s ball, because its quirky design does not lend itself to easy redevelopment.

Razing the structure should open the door to a number of opportunities, but the city must carefully weigh what the next use will be.

Indeed, if Springfield’s riverfront is to become the destination everyone hopes it will be, it must draw people from across Columbus Avenue — and across the region. Ideally, locations like Springfield’s riverfront work best when people can work, play, eat, shop, and live there — and we believe this is the multi-faceted course the city should pursue.

Above all, patience must dictate the overall development process. People in Springfield talk about how long the old Hall of Fame has been vacant — three years — and they express frustration. Then they consider how long the jail has been rotting (more than a decade) and they really get frustrated.

But the task at hand is not to merely develop the riverfront, but to develop it properly. Thus, the city must proceed with caution.?

The Time Has Come for Health Reform

By
Opinion
On Beacon Hill, legislators are debating ways to increase the number of people with health insurance coverage. The outcome of that debate will reshape the health insurance landscape, protect the health of more of your friends and neighbors, and affect your medical costs.

Change is coming, and it is needed. Though they differ on specifics, the governor, the Senate president and the speaker of the House all agree on that point. For the wellbeing of hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents, we must seize this once-in-a-generation moment.

Health insurance enables patients to access the preventative care that saves lives, so it is time to set ourselves on a path to affordable, meaningful coverage for everyone. It is at the heart of what hospitals stand for in this debate.

Coverage should take the form of expanded Medicaid for the needy and new, more affordable private health insurance.These options should truly meet peoples’ medical needs. Reform that offers benefits that are low and co-pays and deductibles that are high will not work.

There must also be a recognition that no matter how generous the benefits, no matter how broad the coverage, there will still be those who will fall between the cracks.There must be a safety net for them and for those who provide their care. The form of such a safety net can be debated, but there should be no disagreement about its necessity.It’s not realistic to assume that we won’t need a safety net once health reform becomes law. That will put vulnerable people in harm’s way.

As lawmakers focus on reform, one of the great challenges confronting them is affordability to consumers, businesses and taxpayers. As you might expect, in the current system, all sides try to reduce costs.But if a business chooses to cut expenses by dropping coverage for employees, we all end up paying for that choice as those employees become state-subsidized ‘free care’ patients. At the vast majority of good businesses that offer health benefits, some employees who are financially capable of enrolling sometimes gamble by opting out. And these aren’t the only “free riders.” The state has a track record of consuming services through Medicaid and paying for far less than the cost of those services.

That is why coverage for all requires ‘shared responsibility’ by all. Without it, the cost of caring for the uninsured will still be unfairly carried, in the form of higher premiums, by responsible citizens and companies. For state government, shared responsibility means stepping up with fair Medicaid payments.

For individuals, it means living up to the personal responsibility to purchase insurance.Reform can help make insurance more affordable, and it is fair to offer public subsidies to help those who find that insurance is just beyond their financial grasp.

Employers – including hospitals – that provide coverage to their workers should not have to bear the cost for those who do not. Businesses that are struggling to offer health benefits should not be put at a competitive disadvantage against those that are not making the same effort. It may also require assistance to small businesses that want to step up and do the right thing on health benefits.

Hospitals have a critical role to play in the affordability challenge. We support efforts to reduce administrative costs, to manage costs more effectively, and to be publicly accountable for the care we provide.Better information technology is a key component. We also know that, depending on the needs of a patient, care should be delivered in lower cost settings. All patients deserve the right care, at the right place, at the right time.

These lofty goals can be realized. But, it will take more revenue, whether it comes from tobacco money, gaming revenue, assessments on employers who do not provide coverage, or increased Medicaid reimbursements.

This is Massachusetts and this is the moment. With commitment, collaboration and, most importantly, leadership, we can make coverage for all a reality. Let’s do it.

Ronald M. Hollander is President and CEO of the Massachusetts Hospital Association. (781) 272-8000.

Off and Running

By
Susan Jaye-Kaplan
Sections Supplements
Go FIT Foundation Provides Youths, Women with An Exercise in Healthy Lifestyles
Susan Jaye-Kaplan

Susan Jaye-Kaplan

Susan Jaye-Kaplan knows all the statistics about obesity in America, especially among young people. She doesn’t need numbers, however: she can see the problem as she conducts programs in conjunction with the foundation she has created called Go FIT. Designed to provide life-long lessons in good health and nutrition, the program stresses that children have to walk before they can run.

Susan Jaye-Kaplan knows what it’s like to be underprivileged. Orphaned at an early age, she lived with various relatives in Boston, and was on her own‘ and on the streets‘ before graduating from high school.

“I knew what it was like to not have a roof over my head and not know where the next meal was going to come from,” she told BusinessWest, adding that she was essentially going nowhere, and fast, until a mentor stepped into her life.

His name was Lippman Hart Geronimus. He was a bacteriologist at Beth Israel Hospital, and he came across Jaye-Kaplan as she walked around various offices and labs looking for a summer job.“He found something for me to do,” she said, adding that his help went well beyond a paycheck.

“He made me say the same thing every day‘ that I can do anything and be anything I want to be as long as I remain focused, hard-working, challenged, and honest.”

Inspired by her own good fortune and how it was shaped by someone who gave her guidance and direction and helped her believe in herself, Jaye-Kaplan has dedicated much of her adult life to providing similar opportunities for others. A year ago, she and her husband founded the Go FIT Foundation, which provides health and fitness opportunities to economically underprivileged and underserved youth and women in inner city and rural settings.

The foundation conducts six-week programs designed to stress the benefits of walking and running. But its overall mission is to go much further.

Indeed, Go FIT is about more than helping an increasingly overweight population of young people and women learn about diet and exercise, said Jaye-Kaplan.

It also exists to provide guidance, show children that others care about them, and convince these young people that they should care about (and take care of) themselves.

The foundation has conducted 12 programs to date, at sites ranging from YMCAs to area inner-city schools to the Mass. Career Development Institute, and has received requests for dozens more. The early success of programs conducted in the Pioneer Valley, coupled with exposure in publications such as New England Runner and Runners World, has prompted requests for programs from across the state and, more recently, other areas of the country.

Taking Go FIT from a local to a regional and then national (and perhaps international) initiative is inevitable, said Jaye- Kaplan, noting quickly that she and the group’s board of directors will move carefully as they consider expansion.

Like the young people involved in the Go FIT programs, the group’s leaders will walk before they run.

Step by Step

Jaye-Kaplan doesn’t hide her frustration as she talks about the overall fitness and athletic abilities of the youths she sees at Go FIT programs‘ or the distinct lack thereof.

When they start the six-week programs, she said, participants do 30 minutes of walking and running‘ in repetitions involving four minutes of walking followed by one minute of running‘ and more than half simply are not up to it.

The poor conditioning is attributable to a number of factors, she said, including everything from improper diet to the influence of video games to the fact that parents living in many inner-city neighborhoods will not let their children out to play because the streets and parks (what few exist) are too dangerous.

Participation in a Go FIT program will not change a child’s physique, weight, or endurance level, said Jaye-Kaplan. “Six weeks will not change who they are today, but the hope is that their perception of who they are for themselves will change.

“We’re hopeful that we can change the way young people perceive what they can and can’t do for wellness and life,” she continued.

“If they can look at one less day of television and one less day of fast food … if we can change the perception of what they’re capable of doing in their own minds, that’s truly the beginning of what can happen for the rest of their lives.”

This was Jaye-Kaplan’s vision when she and other members of the Pioneer Valley Women’s Running Club, which she formed, started a ‘Walk to Run’ program that engaged area youths in programs stressing exercise and nutrition.

Conducted in conjunction with groups such as Girls Inc. in Holyoke and area YMCAs, the ‘Walk to Run’ programs used running as a way to get young people thinking about the long-term benefits of exercise and healthy eating habits‘ for both the body and mind, she explained.

The running club was not in a position to expand ‘Walk to Run’, said Jaye- Kaplan, so she and her husband created the Go FIT Foundation to carry on the mission and take it to a higher level.

The group received more than 80 requests for programs in its first year, she said, and it conducted as many as time and resources would allow. The sessions are carefully prepared, she explained, adding that there is a lengthy training regimen for mentors prior to each program. Each day’s session begins with a meeting in a “friendship circle,” she said, adding that there are speakers on subjects ranging from nutrition to dental hygiene, as well as exercise routines. Participants log their activities‘ and their thoughts about them‘ in Go FIT journals.

Students are given sneakers and Tshirts, said Jaye-Kaplan, but, ultimately, they take something more valuable with them come program’s end‘ appreciation of the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

Programs generally cost about $5,000, which covers clothing and footwear for participants and other expenses, said Kaplan, noting that corporate sponsors have helped offset those costs.

Incorporated last January, Go FIT has exploded onto the local health and education scene, picking up major corporate sponsors, energetic and community-minded board members, and considerable momentum along the way.

Carol Leary, president of Bay Path College and one of those board members, told BusinessWest that she became involved because she believes in Go FIT’s mission of both educating and mentoring young people and women.

The college has taken part in a number of the group’s initiatives, she said, including a program for students of Springfield’s Beal School that took part on the campus, and a nutrition program designed to help Bay Path students make smart nutrition decisions.

“These students are enjoying real independence, usually for the first time in their lives,” she said. “They can eat whatever they want; we want them to make smart, informed decisions about nutrition.”

Leary said she has been inspired not only by GoFIT’s mission, but by Jaye- Kaplan’s energetic, imaginative approach to carrying it out.

By that, she meant the creation of what she called ‘concentric circles.’ “Touch one person, and they are educated in a new way of thinking or a new way of behaving,” he explained, “then they will touch another person. And that’s the brilliance of this program.

“Those individuals who go through the program … their lives will be changed forever; they will always think about what they eat and about the value of exercise,” she continued. “And they will hopefully then touch another person‘ their own child, a brother, a sister, a mother, a father‘ who will hopefully be touched by the Go FIT philosophy.”

Other area colleges and businesses have been similarly inspired. The list of sponsors and supporters includes Springfield College and Western New England College, Big Y, Reebok, Lenox American Saw, Health New England, Baystate Health, Spalding, and others.

Looking forward, Jaye-Kaplan said Go FIT’s early success and its strong base of support should enable it to expand its reach well beyond the Pioneer Valley. Already, the Boston Parks & Recreation Dept. has made inquiries about scheduling programs for dozens of sites, and Jaye-Kaplan anticipates handling that assignment in 2007.

“We’re getting calls from Wisconsin, Kansas, Tennessee, all over,” she said. “It’s gratifying but also a little overwhelming. We’re going to expand at a workable pace; we want to get all our ducks in a row.”

The Finish Line

Jaye-Kaplan told Business West that many young people cry when their sixweek Go FIT programs end‘ and she often gets teary eyed herself. That’s because she views those final sessions not as the end of something, but rather a continuation (hopefully) of a new and different outlook on health, fitness‘ and life.

As she said, she can’t take an obese child and make her fit and trim in a month and a half. But she can lay the foundation for a healthier life, and that is her ultimate mission. And she’s going to take it take one child, and one step, at a time.

George O’Brien can be reached at[email protected]

Flight Plan

By
Dr. Richard Brown
Sections Supplements
Health Care Providers Wait “ and Prepare ” for Avian Flu
Dr. Richard Brown

Dr. Richard Brown says the medical community is better prepared avian flu than it has been for other major health risks.

Avian flu is nothing new. The last three major flu pandemics, in fact, were caused by influenza viruses that stemmed from fowl and migratory bird populations. Those outbreaks were in 1968, 1957, and 1918 (the Spanish flu), and all originated in Asia, not unlike the current bird flu being monitored. “Usually, there are about three pandemics a century,” said Dr. Richard Brown, chief of infectious diseases at Baystate Medical Center. “So we’re sort of due. The question is: is this it?”

The term ‘pandemic’ refers to any outbreak that crosses borders as it spreads; i.e., a regional pandemic or global pandemic. The term does not refer to the actual severity of the illness that spreads, but the swift response on the part of various countries across the globe to the current avian flu ’ type H5N1, to be exact ’ is an effort to avoid the worst case scenario: a lethal, wide-spread public health issue.

Winging It

Carol Wojnarowski, RN, manager of Infection Control at Holyoke Medical Center, said there’s no way to tell if the danger associated with the flu virus currently on the global radar screen will increase, but said there is certainly cause for concern.

A strain of bird flu can exhibit either high or low pathogenicity, she explained, meaning it either exhibits a quick onset and the ability to kill an organism, or a slow onset and less likelihood to result in death.

The birds carrying the H5N1 virus in Asia and some parts of Eastern Europe have been exhibiting high pathogenicity, although only a handful of human cases have been recorded in remote areas of Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam to date.

“Those humans who have contracted the flu are those who are coming in very close contact with these birds,” Wojnarowski said.

“We would be incredibly concerned if we started to see it spreading in the urban centers of those countries, because that would mean it was probably being passed from human to human.”

In short, it’s the ease of spread coupled with a high pathogenicity that has government officials, including those in the U.S., on high alert.

“The common flu viruses we have here now kill 36,000 people in the U.S. each year,” she said. “90% of those people are over the age of 65, and usually die from pneumonia, which sets in after a prolonged illness.

“With a flu that has a high pathogenicity (for humans), people don’t have time to get to the pneumonia stage ’ they get sick very quickly and die from their flu symptoms. There’s also the danger of younger, healthier people getting the disease and dying from it ’ that’s what happened during the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, and that’s what has people worried.”

Further, since migratory birds are carrying the virus as much as fowl relegated to farms or contained areas, the virus has been seen creeping across the Asian continent steadily, another warning sign of an approaching pandemic.

“There’s no question that these birds are moving,” Brown said. “The spread is directly related to their flight patterns.”

Shot in the Dark

To address those concerns, a vaccine is currently in development for avian flu, although scientists are working with a moving target ’ flu viruses tend to mutate easily, making vaccines ineffective.

“If a flu virus mutates in a major way, it essentially becomes a new virus to which populations are susceptible,” Brown explained.

So in addition to vaccine development, contingency plans are being put in place on various plateaus, from the federal level to the state level and within hospitals and communities across the country.

Some policies being drafted are simple and resemble those often recommended for dealing with traditional flu viruses ’ avoiding the workplace when ill and constant hand-washing, for instance.

Hospitals are also working to stock greater numbers of masks, and create isolation wings or rooms and quarantine plans for the facilities, as well as for entire communities. They are also developing ‘surge plans,’ designed to help facilities handle the sudden onset of a number of patients that exceeds normal levels.

Wojnarowski added that all hospitals work closely with the Centers for Disease Control to report instances of flu hospitalizations and other instances of infectious disease.

If any patterns begin to develop, that ‘fish-net approach’ catches them early. In addition, she said the nation is also surveying poultry and migratory bird populations, in order to identify potential carriers of the virus.

“Once the birds are sick, it’s too late ’ the virus is already doing its damage,” she said. “The country is taking the monitoring and evaluation of these birds very seriously.”

Referring not only to his own organization but the country as a whole, Brown added that he’s seeing a greater response to this health issue than others in recent memory, such as SARS.

“I think we’re responding better to this issue than we have in the past,” he said. “This flu has the potential to attack healthier populations than we are used to; it’s more virulent, and people could be more prone to respiratory failure. That prompts a lot of questions, from the availability of ventilators to staffing, and the discussions to answer those questions are happening.”

It’s important to note, Wojnarowski and Brown agreed, that the U.S. does not anticipate imminent danger from the avian flu, although the plans being put in place now are not being considered pre-emptive or kneejerk reactions; rather, they are examples of proactive measures.

“They’re a good test,” said Brown. “In regard to the vaccinations, as we develop vaccines we’re also developing better ways to make them. There has been a lot of collaboration with hospitals and the state. Disaster plans are becoming more streamlined, and any weaknesses are being pointed out and fixed.

“There are also medications available that are likely to have some impact on this flu, he continued. “People should remember to live their lives ’ there are no restrictions on travel at this time, and people should feel free to eat chicken and other poultry. “This flu may not be on its way this year,” he concluded, “but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen next year.”

And he hopes it won’t be news to anyone.

Full Speed Ahead

By
Dr. Charles Cavagnaro
Sections Supplements
Beacon Hill Pushes for A Consensus on Health Care Reform
Dr. Charles Cavagnaro

Dr. Charles Cavagnaro said the quick pace at which lawmakers are approaching heath care reform is necessary to securing federal funds.

The fast track. That’s where the Commonwealth’s health care reform efforts currently sit, only temporarily stalled after speeding toward the point at which the House and Senate must hammer out a compromise between rival plans. While it’s true that the proposals have some similarities, they also have some major differences, especially when it comes to their effect on the business community.

When reached, that compromise will go to Gov. Mitt Romney, who has forwarded his own health care reform proposal, giving lawmakers three measures from which to craft a response.

It remains to be seen what the final draft of this, the most recent attempt at reform legislation in Massachusetts will look like. But legislators hope to have a plan in place by early January ‘ an ambitious goal, given that the House and Senate approved their respective bills on Nov. 3 and 9. But time is of the essence — and it’s a big part of the story.

A plan must be in place soon if the state is to qualify for $335 million in federal funding used as both the carrot and the stick in an effort to compel states to provide health insurance for more of their residents. According to Eileen McAnneny, vice president for Government Affairs for the Associated Industries of Mass. (A.I.M.), an original deadline of March 1 was set by the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Studies (CMS), however the center recently requested that Massachusetts file its proposal by Jan. 15.

“The state and federal governments have a binding agreement that all proposals are submitted at the absolute latest by March 1,” she said, “but since that agreement was made, CMS has requested that the work be done by Jan. 15. Some would argue that the request is not legally binding, but there are millions of dollars riding on this and it is probably best to honor that request.” All states are currently working under the same federal guidelines that require health care reform packages be approved at the state level and later at the federal level, in order to receive federal dollars that have been earmarked for state health care programs by CMS. It’s also money that is necessary for most states, including Massachusetts, to put new programs into place for the coming year.

Jeffrey Ciuffreda, vice president for Government Affairs with the Western Mass. Economic Development Council, echoed McAnneny’s comments in regard to the importance of chasing those dollars. “We’re talking about matching funds for health care for all of the states,” said “It’s roughly 50 cents on the dollar that came into the picture a few years ago when the feds said the states needed to start better controlling their costs and revamping their health care systems.

“There’s some debate as to where that deadline will finally fall, but it has to be soon,” he said. “The original date was last year, but a waiver was granted to all states, so that’s why there is such a push on now.” The speed at which Massachusetts legislators have moved to craft their respective measures — not to mention individual provisions — has been cause for concern for some, who fear that a hastily drafted plan could lead to problems in the future, such as health insurance plans with high deductibles or penalization systems. In a statement issued on Nov. 1, Richard Lord, president of A.I.M., criticized the House for rushing its proposal.

“A hasty process lends itself to errors, omissions, and unnecessary confusion, particularly when we are analyzing, reviewing, and digesting a proposal of this magnitude,” he said. Later, on Nov. 9, Lord targeted the Senate, saying that A.I.M. was “disappointed that this far along in deliberations, the current Senate bill has serious shortcomings.” He went on to list several bullet points the organization had previously cited as important to a complete reform package, including a vehicle or entity to facilitate use of pre-tax dollars by individuals to purchase health insurance. Still, many, A.I.M. officials included, contend that garnering that $335 million is necessary in order to foster change in the health care system, and therefore the quick turnaround of the House and Senate bills is also essential, especially as the deadline approaches. “We recognize the pressures,” said McAnneny.

“We understand the importance of submitting these proposals soon, so we’re certainly not asking the Legislature to take its time.” Dr. Charles Cavagnaro, chief executive officer for Wing Memorial Hospital, and also a practicing physician, also underscored the importance of those federal dollars by pointing out that without them, health care reform will be delayed substantially in the future. “It is not the plan that is important now, but the funding behind it,” he said. “Without it, we can’t implement anything. That federal funding is important to the state and the legislators, and they don’t want to lose it.”

The Power of Three

The three rival health care reform initiatives have similar goals: increasing coverage to the uninsured — thus shrinking or eliminating the Uncompensated Care Pool — and streamlining the state’s health care system. All three plans, however, differ in several respects. Both the House and Senate bills followed an early, more global health care reform proposal set forth earlier in the year by the governor. That proposal included a mandate that all Massachusetts residents obtain coverage, either on their own, through a state-controlled program such as MassHealth, or through a low-cost-policy program.

It also advised improvement of the malpractice system and consumer access to health care provider quality and cost information, and increases in Medicaid reimbursement rates for providers. Both the House and Senate bills include some provisions similar to Romney’s, however they also approach several issues, particularly the uninsured population, in different ways The House bill requires that people who can afford insurance purchase it, and would increase the number of people covered by Medicaid by tapping the tobacco settlement fund (in its entirety) ‘ a figure of about $255 million a year. The House bill also mandates that busi-ness owners provide insurance for their employees or pay into an insurance fund ‘ essentially, a tax is levied on employers with 11 or more employees ‘ employers with 10 or fewer employees are exempt.
This controversial provision has drawn fire from state business groups including A.I.M. “Proponents of the new tax are characterizing it as a ‘fair-share assessment’ designed to require businesses that don’t offer health insurance to pay into our health care system. This description is patently false,” said Lord. “By providing a carve-out to really small businesses (10 or fewer employees), the bill would exempt 95% of employers that do not currently provide health insurance to their workers from this new tax, estimated to cost $700 million annually. This bill is really about asking employers of Massachusetts that already provide insurance to foot the bill for health care expansion.” Currently, only Hawaii uses a system similar to that contained in the House version, and Lord believes that such a move would hurt the Commonwealth’s already fragile economy. “Simply shifting the burden to pay for an inefficient system is not reform,” he said. “Controlling costs is the linchpin for addressing access and accountability. We must examine the way that health care is delivered in this state and begin to reshape our delivery system into a more efficient, financially viable system that can be sustained over time without sizeable new contributions from the paying public each and every year.” The Senate bill does not include such a mandate, but it does stipulate that employers who don’t pay for health insurance cover the health care costs of those workers who receive health care services.

Romney opposes the employer mandate set forth by the House, but has said he wants legislators to move quickly to reach a compromise, in order to tap $335 million in federal money to fund the finalized plan. Ciuffreda said that Romney got the ball rolling with an early set of health care reform proposals, in part to meet the deadline for acquiring those federal funds, but stepped back while the House and Senate drafted their bills. “He deserves the credit for getting this started by using the bully pulpit and fueling the fire,” said Ciuffreda. “There were three pieces to this debate and there are still many, many moving parts, but now it comes down to the House and the Senate, and the plan they’re going to decide on between them.” While Romney has steered clear of threatening a veto of any legislation that proposes mandated health insurance for employers, or penalties for those who do not provide it, Ciuffreda added that the governor is likely to enter the ring again if the provision shows up on the draft of the bill that emerges from conference committee sessions. “He’s firmly against that employer mandate, and if needed, that’s where we’re going to see him weigh in,” he said.

Drawing Distinctions

Arguably, Romney’s proposal and the Senate bill are most similar in their approach to reform. The Senate measure is considered more cautious than that of the House; Ciuffreda explained that the Senate bill lays out a plan to cover about half of the state’s uninsured over the next two years, whereas the House bill proposes that 95% of that population’s insurance needs be immediately addressed through the mandated insurance requirements.

“The Senate’s bill could be considered conservative, while the House bill is more aggressive,” said Ciuffreda. “The House is trying to take 95% of a problem and solve it, but the Senate is trying to help 50% or 60% of the uninsured population and provide assistance, then look at how the plan is working in a couple of years.

“That might mean that we have a better handle on who those people are in two or three years,” he continued, “and at that time it’s possible that an even better bill can be drafted.” Not unlike the bills themselves, the impressions of professionals in health care of the current trifecta of legislation are varied.

Cavagnaro said hospital administrators support the general concept of reform as a step in the right direction. “It’s safe to say that all hospitals are united in believing that this is something that needs to be done, but we are not as united in how that should be done,” he said. Cavagnaro noted, however, that most hospitals agree that the impetus behind each piece of legislation is a good faith effort to improve health care in Massachusetts. “In general, all three versions have merit,” he told BusinessWest. “I’m hopeful that all three parties will come to a compromise without trying to get each other’s goat. “The bottom line is the health care system is broken across the country,” he added, “and it is particularly broken in Massachusetts, so it’s clear that something needs to be done.”

Cavagnaro said the uncompensated care pool has become the crux of the issue for many of the Commonwealth’s hospitals. “For some, it is a huge burden,” he said. “It’s behind all of this legislation. Even a compromised bill would begin to address the needs of the free care pool.”

Proceeding With Caution

And, he added that the speed at which the proposals have been drafted on Beacon Hill will likely contribute to a plan that will prove to have some holes. However, Cavagnaro said it could also be a necessary risk. “It has definitely moved the discussion to a new level,” he said. “And it has put greater importance on it than has ever been there before. The attention to the matter alone is a step forward.”?

Current Events

By
Springfield Technical Community College
Sections Supplements
What’s Next for Springfield’s Riverfront?
Springfield Technical Community College

Evan Dobelle, left, seen here with Springfield Technical Community College President Ira Rubenzahl, says “eds and meds” are the future of the New England economy.

While the process of selecting a developer for the old Basketball Hall of Fame continues, a development team has forwarded what it calls a “bridge-to-bridge” plan for the riverfront that includes several challenged properties, including the old Hall, the long-idle York Street Jail, and the underutilized Riverfront Park site. Just what will develop, however, and when, are still very big questions.

Tim Mulcahey says it all started with idle talk about building a facility for a CYO basketball program on a parcel near the former York Street jail.

That is how the ball started rolling toward formulation of an ambitious, still-evolving venture for Springfield’s riverfront. For now, it’s being called the “bridge-to-bridge” plan, said Mulcahey, a Longmeadow real estate developer, who has partnered with Dennis Serna, a Connecticut-based developer, and created an entity called the Connecticut Riverfront Development Corp.

The CRDC is currently looking at several pieces of property along a roughly mile-and-a-half long stretch between the South End and Memorial Bridges. These include the long-vacant prison, the former Basketball Hall of Fame, and a little-used recreational area called Riverfront Park.

The proposed CYO basketball facility was long ago put on the shelf, said Mulcahey, the long-time director of that youth program. But he, Serna, and some other players have moved on to bigger and hopefully better ventures.

They have joined forces with the Springfield Business Development Corp. (SBDC) in a proposal for the old Basketball Hall of Fame site that combines several elements, including a public market, a restaurant and some retail. That plan is one of two considered finalists for re-use of the old Hall, which has been closed and unused for three years.

Meanwhile, the CRDC is in the exploratory stage of a project to locate a hotel on the Riverfront Park site. The partners have signed a letter of intent with the city that gives them, in essence, an exclusive window of opportunity for that parcel.

They’ll have roughly the next three months to finalize plans for what Mulcahey describes as a “destination hotel.” Should a concrete proposal come forward, the city would then have 45 days to look it over and decide whether it earns a thumbs-up.

As for the old jail, Serna said several possible uses have been considered, and more are being formulated. For now, though, the jail is at least third on the to-do list for the real estate between the two bridges.

“We started with the jail, and will probably still do something with that site,” he explained, “but as it worked out, the focus went north of the jail, because opportunities presented themselves there first.”

Both Springfield Mayor Charles Ryan and David Panagore, deputy executive director of the Springfield Finance Control Board, welcomed the CRDC’s initial plans for the riverfront, but cautioned that they have been ‘ and will continue to be ‘ closely scrutinized to ensure that they are both feasible and compatible with other economic development initiatives.

“We’re not going to hand over development rates on a speculative basis,” said Panagore, who is now leading the city’s economic development efforts. “We’re not going to give someone those rights for two years and say, ‘go come up with a plan.’ We’ll hand over development rights when there are viable projects.”

Ryan concurred, but said the level of interest in various riverfront parcels, especially the old Hall site, is cause for optimism. “It’s been quite a while since we’ve seen actual competition for development of that area,” he said. “Lately, most all of the development has come from the public sector; this a welcome turn-about.”

Mulcaheny and Serna acknowledged that they are not big players when it comes to real state development. Their goals ‘ much easier to enunciate than their plans ‘ are merely to develop (or redevelop, as the case may be) an untapped asset in the riverfront, and give a beleagured city a boost.

“We want to do something that will hope move Springfield forward,” said Mulcahey. “We’re part of this community, we’re involved in it, and we want to see it prosper.”

BusinessWest looks this issue at how this unique partnership plans to go about that assignment.

Money in the Bank

As they talked about CRDC’s preliminary plans for the riverfront, Serna and Mulcahey were long on optimism but short on specifics, especially with regard to potential pricetags.

“The riverfront should be a crown jewel, it should be a real destination,” said Mulcahey, noting quickly that details of many components of the bridge-to-bridge project cannot be revealed due to various confidentiality agreements ‘ and also because some of the plans are still quite vague.

What is known is that CRDC is moving forward on at least two of the three (or more) phases of its broad riverfront development initiative. More will certainly be known by the end of this year or early next, said Mulcahey, noting that a developer should be chosen by then for the old Hall, and he and Serna will know if they can clear the many hurdles standing in the way of the hotel project (more on that later).

As for how the bridge-to-bridge concept ‘ and its first phase, the hotel ‘ came together, said Serna, it was a case of getting some unique perspective on the riverfront; in other words, a look from someone who doesn’t see it every day.

“They walked that entire length of riverfront, from the jail to the bridge, and simply fell in love with that park site,” he explained, referring to a hotel-building entity he chose not to name.“They said, ‘this is where we’d like to be.’”

Getting them there will be the mission for some unlikely partners who have some experience in construction and real estate development, but certainly nothing on the scale of Springfield’s riverfront.

Mulcahey’s resume includes a variety of work in property development. He worked for Ohio-based Dairy Mart as a project supervisor and manager, and helped select and develop many sites in the Northeast and Midwest. Later, he worked as a project manager for a New York-based businessman, Andrew Stone, who developed a number of office buildings, industrial parks, and other ventures in Connecticut. From there, Mulcahey developed a project in Boston called First Atheneum Street, a large office project, before joining a Hartford-based real estate development firm.

Serna, meanwhile, also has a background in commercial real estate development. He started in Stamford, Conn., and later relocated to Manhattan, where he worked on several projects, before joining Starwood Capital Group. Based in Greenwich, Conn., SCG is a multi-faceted real estate group that specializes in hotels, among other things.

While the two partners would not identify the hotel-building entity they are currently working with, they have been linked in some published reports with Atlantabased Nylo LLC, a company launching a chain of small hotels with loft-style rooms.

Mulcahey would say only that what is being considered for the riverfront site is a new concept, especially in this market, and would be classified as a destination hotel.

While the Riverfront Park location offers sweeping views of the river and the historic Memorial Bridge, it is challenged in many ways. For starters, it is separated from West Columbus Avenue by a wide set of railroad tracks, used primarily by Amtrak for commuter runs.

This logistical concern has limited use of the park, said Ryan, noting that while the property is used as a park, it is not designated as ‘park land,’ an important distinction because the latter would pose a much larger obstacle to development. Creating access to the proposed hotel ‘ either over or under the railroad tracks ‘ will be one of the main questions to be answered during CRDC’s 135-day window for devising plans for the site, said Serna, noting that the partners have become convinced that there is a need for additional hotel rooms in the city.

A market demand study for Springfield, conducted by the Boston-based Pinnacle Advisory Group, revealed as much. It said that a growing inventory of tourist attractions and completion of the MassMutual Center should increase demand to the point where greater supply is necessary.

However, the report’s authors concluded that downtown, rather than the riverfront, would be the better location for such a hotel.

“Although both areas are viable options for new hotel development, the benefits of a downtown hotel outweigh the riverfront,” the report stated. “Furthermore, a downtown location would provide more benefit to the MassMutual Center, which is strategically important to future growth in Springfield.”

Mulcahey acknowledged the report’s findings, but told BusinessWest that the Riverfront Park hotel, as currently conceptualized, could become an effective link between downtown and the riverfront and accentuate current efforts to enhance the State Street corridor. “It could become a great asset for Springfield.”

Going Through Hoops

As could a new development on the old Basketball Hall of Fame site, which became the “second race,” as Mulcahey called it, that the CRDC found itself in.

Indeed, as they were conceptualizing the hotel project, the two partners also became involved in the ongoing effort to develop the old Hall, a project being overseen by the Springfield Riverfront Development Corp. (SRDC), the real estate arm of the Hall of Fame.

The SRDC has spent the past year or so hearing and weighing proposals on the old Hall. Among them is a plan conceptualized by the Springfield Business Development Corp. that centers around a public market, similar in many ways to the Portland (Me.)Public Market, which opened in 1998 and has had a strong impact on that region’s economy.

Other proposals have included a fitness and sports complex, proposed by East Longmeadow developer Peter Pappas and a restaurant/retail mix forwarded by CRDC. That latter proposal has now been merged with the public market concept, said Mulcahey, noting that it and the Pappas complex are under what is considered final review by the SRDC.

“We took the public market project and we enhanced it,” said Mulcahey, adding that as it sits now (and few details were revealed) the plan calls for demolishing the old Hall and constructing a new building that would house the market, a restaurant, and several retail components in a facility to be built through a mix of public and private funds.

SBDC Director Michael Graney would say only that the development of the old Hall is a “process,” one that is ongoing, and with no firm timetable, although he expects a developer will be named soon.

Regardless of who that is, the CRDC will press ahead with other components of its ‘bridge-to-bridge’ proposal, said Mulcahey, noting that there are other parcels, including the jail, to be considered.

Like others, he said the jail site offers promise, but its design limits what can be done with it. “That’s a challenging building, but there are opportunities for things to happen there.”

Panagore agreed, and said there is a strong possibility that all or major portions of the building will have to be razed if development is going to occur on that site. When asked if the city, and specifically the Economic Development Department would prefer one developer for the riverfront or a group of different teams, Panagore said the most important element is the quality of the proposals, not who is making them.

“We’re looking for viable projects, that’s the bottom line,” he said. “We’ve seen enough master plans on the riverfront, we don’t need to see any more. What we need are sound, doable projects that make sense for the city.”

Channeling Resources

Whether the CRDC’s concepts fall into that category remains to be seen.

For now, the partners have a window in which to work on phase one of their initiative, while also focusing on other parcels to the south.

If their ‘bridge-to-bridge’ vision can be realized, then the days of talking about the riverfront’s great potential will finally be in the past.

George O’Brien can be reached at[email protected]

By
Departments

The following bankruptcy petitions were recently filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Readers should confirm all information with the court.

Adon, Sergio E.
17 Leyfred Terrace Springfield,
MA 01108 Chapter: 7 Filing
Date: 10/16/05

Alderman, Laura B.
6 Meadow Glen Dr. Granby,
MA 01033 Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/10/05

Alderman, William N.
6 Meadow Glen Dr. Granby,
MA 01033 Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/10/05

Almodovar, Rosemary
45 West Court Holyoke,
MA 01040 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Attanasio, David Paul
28 Jennings St. Springfield,
MA 01119 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/17/05

Attanasio, Pamela Jean
28 Jennings St. Springfield,
MA 01119 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/17/05

Barabolkin, Dmitriy
Alexander 447 Page Boulevard,
Apart Springfield, MA 01104 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Barabolkin, Marie Ellen
447 Page Boulevard, Apart Springfield,
MA 01104 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Bashaw, Gerald. J.
126 Main St. Agawam,
MA 01001 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Bauer, Karen L.
20 Taylor Ave. Westfield,
MA 01085 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Beauchene, Meghan M.
36 Peterson Circle Feeding Hills,
MA 01030 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Beyer, Jill
50 Calumet Road Holyoke,
MA 01040 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Boothby, Mary Ann
70 Ottawa St. Agawam,
MA 01001 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Boucher, Sandra A.
77 Highland View St. Westfield,
MA 01085 Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/02/05

Brow, Elizabeth M.
41 Everett Ave 29A Belchertown,
MA 01007 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Buoniconti, Theresa
430-432 South Westfield S Feeding Hills,
MA 01030 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Cannamela, Audrey J.
35 McKinley Ave. Ludlow,
MA 01056 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Capaccio, Mary E.
45 Fremont St. Springfield,
MA 01105 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Capaccio, Pasquale
45 Fremont St. Springfield,
MA 01105 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Cardona, Willy J.
32 Acushnet Ave. Springfield,
MA 01105 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Carosello, Richard
85 Sessions Dr. Hampden,
MA 01036 Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/08/05

Cayon, James M.
322 Main Street, Apt. B Easthampton,
MA 01027 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Ceccarini, Bridget Lynn
22 Princeton St. Westfield,
MA 01085 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Conley, Kenneth George
99 Falley Dr. Westfield,
MA 01085 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Cyranowski-Grimaldi, Jane C.
567 Dickenson St. Springfield,
MA 01108 Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 10/27/05

Dana, Scott D.
123 Hamilton St. Belchertown,
MA 01007 Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/14/05

Dana, Stephanie B.
123 Hamilton St. Belchertown,
MA 01007 Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/14/05

Davieu, Charles R.
35 Oconnor Ave. Holyoke,
MA 01040 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Doyle-Workman, John Charles
44 Park St P.O. BOX 1027 Belchertown,
MA 01007 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Ducharme, Esther
164 Hubbard St. Ludlow,
MA 01056 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Figueroa, Wanda I.
747 Hampden St. Holyoke,
MA 01040 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Flowers, Daniel
21 Flynt Ave. Monson,
MA 01057 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Fogarty, Kelly Nicole
25 Depote St. Belchertown,
MA 01007 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Ford, Gary T.
198 East Allen Ridge Road Springfield,
MA 01118 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Ford, Gary T.
198 East Allen Ridge Road Springfield,
MA 01118 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/21/05

Frenier, Margaret
21 Summer St. Northampton,
MA 01060 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/17/05

Gordon, Richard E.
3 Hidden Place Southwick,
MA 01077 Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Gouvin, Bernice R.
31 State Street Apt. 302B Monson,
MA 01057 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Griggs, Jeffrey L.
50 Church Street, Apartme Westfield,
MA 01085 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Gubula, Matthew P.
6 Cherry Hill Road Holyoke,
MA 01040 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Gubula, Shana A.
6 Cherry Hill Road Holyoke,
MA 01040 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Hamre, Elizabeth A.
50 Manor Court Springfield,
MA 01118 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/17/05

Harris, Isaiah L.
29 Claremont St. Springfield,
MA 01108 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 11/03/05

Heimsath, Steven M.
129 Sumner Ave., Apt. 4 Springfield,
MA 01108 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Howland, Pamela J.
27 Ireland St. Worthington,
MA 01098 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Keller, Joan
144 Cabot St. Chicopee,
MA 01013 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Kolosewicz, Loretta Jean
41 South Street, Unit 45 Easthampton,
MA 01027 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Larkin, Thomas Francis
13 Fred Jackson Road Southwick,
MA 01077 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Le, Hong Thi
580 White St. Springfield,
MA 01108 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Le, Viet The
1135 Shoemaker Lane Feeding Hills,
MA 01030 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Lee, Patricia A
229 Hillside Rd. Southwick,
MA 01077 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 11/01/05

Lee, Xiong Chue
16 Lucretia Ave. Chicopee,
MA 01013 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Leigh, Denise A
87 Marion St. Chicopee,
MA 01013 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Lewis, Jason E
81 Blanford Road Granville,
MA 01034 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Littlejohn, Mark
80 Craiwell Ave. West Springfield,
MA 01089 Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/02/05

Maguire, Edward J.
135 LaPlante Cirecle Easthampton,
MA 01027 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Messenger, Susan Diane
38 Berkshire Ave. Southwick,
MA 01077 Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/15/05

Miller-Baker, Maryanne
397 Centenial Way Springfield,
MA 01118 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Morgan, Gordon Samuel
86 Lakevilla Ave. Springfield,
MA 01109 Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 10/26/05

Mularski, Peter J.
85 Pomeroy Meadow Southampton,
MA 01073 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Murphy, Ellen M.
542 White St. Springfield,
MA 01108 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Nestor, Melissa
45 Garden St. South Hadley,
MA 01075 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Nevue, Thomas M.
132 Comins Pond Road Warren,
MA 01083 Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/15/05

Newsky, Victoria B.
489 Skyline Trail Chester,
MA 01011 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

O’Keefe, Edward F.
PO Box 1108 Belchertown,
MA 01007 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Ortiz, Janet
45 North Bridge St. Holyoke,
MA 01040 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Otis, Lisette J.
281 Chauncey Walker Road Ave. B, Lot 78 Belchertown,
MA 01007 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Paton, Christopher L.
14 Honeysuckle Dr. Chicopee,
MA 01022 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Paton, Katherine W.
14 Honeysuckle Dr. Chicopee,
MA 01022 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Perry, Russell D.
196 King St. Springfield,
MA 01109 Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Pixley, Sandra J.
14 1/2 Park Ave. Monson,
MA 01057 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Provost, Anelda A.
61 Greene St. Springfield,
MA 01109 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Punderson, Todd Breck
140 Union St. #77 Westfield,
MA 01085 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/17/05

Racine, Lori-Ann
253 WARE ST., #B Palmer,
MA 01069 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Renaud, Richard E.
32 Bliss Street Apartment West Springfield,
MA 01089 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Renaud, Rosemary
32 Bliss Street Apartment West Springfield,
MA 01089 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Rivera, Josue
1340-1342 Dwight St. Holyoke,
MA 01040 Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Robbins, Lori Jean
44 Martin Farm Rd. Hampden,
MA 01036 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Robbins, Mattie B.
32 Westford Ave. Springfield,
MA 01109 Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 11/01/05

Rosado, Hector L.
35 Wolcott St. Holyoke,
MA 01040 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Rzonca, Daniel M.
PO Box 204 Westfield,
MA 01086 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Sanchez, Betsy
67 Leslie St. Springfield,
MA 01104 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Santiago, Enrique
1068 Main Street, 2nd Flo Holyoke,
MA 01040 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Santiago, Rose M.
1068 Main Street, 2nd Flo Holyoke,
MA 01040 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Sargis, Thelma Celeste
11 4th Ave. Westfield,
MA 01085 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/17/05

Sayers, Robin L.
Post Offfice Box 134 Worthington,
MA 01098 Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Schell, Yong S.
17 Barton St. Granby,
MA 01033 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Snyder, Lisa M.
86 Kowal Dr. Chicopee,
MA 01020 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Sollecito, Andrew P.
42 Virginia St. Springfield,
MA 01108 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Stevenson-Mitchell,
Christina Ann 92 Riverboat Village Rd. South Hadley,
MA 01075 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/25/05

Sullivan, David W.
253 C Ware St. Palmer,
MA 01069 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Sullivan, Robert A.
4 3rd Ave. Westfield,
MA 01085 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Taylor, Earlene V.
94 Genesee St. Springfield,
MA 01104 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Thomas, Karen A.
P.O. Box 51406 Indian Orchard,
MA 01151 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Tucker, Catrese Shubrick
6 Alsace St Springfield,
MA 01108 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Vega, Onelia
101 Oakwood Ter. Springfield,
MA 01109 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Veloz, Rene
22 Hadley Court Springfield,
MA 01119 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Vicki, LaBonte
83 Sheridan St. Chicopee,
MA 01020 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Wallace, Joanne
1343 East Mountain Road Westfield,
MA 01085 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Wallace, LeRoy
1343 East Mountain Road Westfield,
MA 01085 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Wallis, Guy C
20 Taylor Ave. Westfield,
MA 01085 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Walz, Dawn Marie
244 Granville Road Westfield,
MA 01085 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Walz, Glen Richard
244 Granville Road Westfield,
MA 01085 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Wilkinson, Melissa Anne
162 Russell Road Westfield,
MA 01085 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Young, Grace A.
P.O. Box 33 East Longmeadow,
MA 01028 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

Morin, George C.
2210 Main St. West Warren,
MA 01092 Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 10/16/05

By
Departments

Bank Named Philanthropic Corporation

EASTHAMPTON — Easthampton Savings Bank was recently recognized by the Western Mass. Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals as the 2005 Outstanding Philanthropic Corporation of Western Mass. In other company news, the bank continued to experience steady growth in assets, deposits, loans, and capital during the third quarter, according to William S. Hogan, Jr., President and CEO. The bank’s total assets increased $28 million from a year ago, and an increase of $8 million over the last quarter. Also, total assets now stand at $656 million. The loan portfolio totaled $482 million at the end of September, an increase of $7.7 million or 6% for the quarter and $23.1 million or a 5% increase since the end of September last year. The bank also experienced a deposit gain of $13.1 million from a year ago.

Advertising Club Sports New Logo

SPRINGFIELD — The Advertising Club of Western Mass. has a new logo, created by Lilly Pereira of Bidwell ID in Florence. The logo was selected from more than 40 submissions sent to the Ad Club in response to a design contest last February. The Ad Club, celebrating its 90th anniversary, called for designs that would update as well as reflect the image and mission statement of the club. As the contest winner, Pereira will receive a one-year Ad Club membership and her logo will be entered into the 2006 Ad Club awards competition.

Fair Trade Coffee Served At UMass

AMHERST — UMass Amherst has joined the Fair Trade coffee movement by adopting Pura Vida, a fair trade coffee provider, as one of its coffee suppliers in the dining commons and other retail outlets on campus. Pura Vida Coffee sells Fair Trade, organic coffee throughout the United States. It was founded by John Sage and Chris Dearnley, and is based in Seattle, Wash. The partners actively promote a business model based on more humane capitalism built on economic fairness, environmental sustainability, and philanthropy. The mission of Pura Vida is to use capitalism to empower producers, motivate consumers, inspire business leaders, and ultimately serve the poor. The Dining services Department completed extensive market research that indicated that 59% of students agreed they would like to see Fair Trade coffee provided on campus. In addition to Pura Vida, dining services will still provide coffee from other suppliers, including local coffee from Rao’s, an Amherst coffee shop, New England Coffee and Starbucks.

MassMutual To Pay $1.2B Dividend

SPRINGFIELD — MassMutual Financial Group recently announced the distribution of nearly $1.2 billion to eligible participating policyholders under the dividend payout for 2006 – a double-digit increase over the 2005 dividend payout. Nearly all traditional life insurance policyholders will receive a 2006 dividend larger than or equal to the dividend they received in 2005. More specifically, more than 89% of traditional life insurance policyholders will receive a 2006 dividend at least 10% larger than they received in 2005, and 54% will receive a 2006 dividend at least 20% larger than they received in 2005. Dividends for a given policy are influenced by factors including policy series, issue age, policy duration, policy loan rate and changes in experience. For more information, visit www.massmutual.com.

WNEC Named Employer of the Year; College of Distinction

SPRINGFIELD — Western New England College (WNEC) has been honored as “Employer of the Year” by the Employers Assoc. of the Northeast in the nonprofit/over 100 employees category. Awards are based on several criteria, including effective communication, fostering employee input and feedback, encouraging professional development, fostering work/life balance, and promoting a positive, professional culture while valuing diversity and individuality. In presenting the award, the Employers Association saluted WNEC as an organization that values and respects its employees’ commitment to the organization. In other campus news, WNEC will be featured in Colleges of Distinction, a new college guide and Web site profiling some of America’s best bets in higher education. Based on the opinions of guidance counselors, educators and admissions professionals, Colleges of Distinction honors colleges that excel in key areas of educational quality. In order to qualify for inclusion, WNEC was evaluated for its performance in the Four Distinctions: “Engaged Students,” “Great Teaching,” “Vibrant Communities” and “Successful Outcomes.” Guidance counselors and admissions professionals around the country recommended WNEC in every category. WNEC was also noted for its active student body, devoted faculty, and academic programs based on developing collaboration, communication, and problem-solving skills. WNEC will also be profiled in the forthcoming book, Colleges of Distinction, which will be published in 2006.

By
Departments

The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and organizations. These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law.

Readers are advised to contact the parties listed, or the court, for more information concerning the individual claims.

NORTHAMPTON DISTRICT COURT

Todd Campbell d/b/a Millenium Painting v. Haydenville Woodworking & Design Inc. Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods and services: $11,500 Date Filed: Oct. 14

HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT

The Street Lumber Co. v. Steven R. Wolf a/k/a Steven Wolf a/k/a Steve Wolf d/b/a Steve Wolf General Contractor Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $26,428.56 Date Filed: Oct. 28

HOLYOKE DISTRICT COURT

Marken Properties Inc. v. Millar Elevator Service Co. and Schindler Elevator Corp. Allegation: Breach of contract — Nonpayment of deposits on cancelled contracts and refund of monthly service charges on elevators that did not work: $21,008.65 Date Filed: Oct. 17

Hamel’s Creative Catering v. Hampshire Community Action Commission Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for services: $3,103.68 Date Filed: Oct. 24

CHICOPEE DISTRICT COURT

Accutech Insulation & Contracting Inc. v. Target Restoration Inc. Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for services: $4,860 Date Filed: Oct. 21

SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT

Liberty Mutual Insurance v. Properties of Elmwood Cemetery Inc. Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $8,656.90 Date Filed: Oct. 6

Bradco Supply Co. v. Ellsworth, Allen & Anthony Inc. and Gregory K. Coons a/k/a Greg Coons Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $3,226.24 Date Filed: Oct. 7

Clear Channel Communications v. Randy Sefton d/b/a Automotive Restylers of N.E. Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for advertising: $9,345 Date Filed: Oct. 11

Everett J. Prescott Inc. v. J. D. Contracting Inc. Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for supplies: $16,582.24 Date Filed: Oct. 13

Associated Rubber Co. v. Paul-Martin Rubber Corp. Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $5,217.44 Date Filed: Oct. 13

WESTFIELD DISTRICT COURT

Tri-State Industrial Laundries Inc. v. Air Compressor Engineering Co. Inc. Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $10,472.38 Date Filed: Oct. 8

By
Departments

The following Business Certificates and Trade Names were issued or renewed during the month of November 2005.

AGAWAM

Beautiful Hair Ltd.
1325 Springfield St.
Antoni Lech

The Bridal Gallery
31 Meadow St.
Angela Valego

First Nationwide Realty
48 Jamie Lane
Oleg Abramchuk

Ready, Set, Hire
1094 Suffield St.
Robert MacDonald

Tony’s Discount Store
250 Poplar St.
Antony Vazquez

AMHERST

Annie’s Garden-Gift Store
515 Sunderland Road
Michelle Elston

Delano’s Restaurant
57 North Pleasant St.
Chick Delano

Herbworks
731 West St.
Elaine Cox

Internet Commerce Co.
1240 South East St.
Patricia Smallman

The Loose Goose Café
1 East Pleasant St.
J.L. Gourmet Inc.

Merchants Bancard Services
6 University Dr.
Ronald Cooper

Sonnhalter, Etc.
17 Aubinwood Road
Christine Sonnhalter

CHICOPEE

Brazilegal
26 Center St.
Ailton Correia

Floral Dynamics
148 Broadway St.
Robert Buzzeo

Laureano Property Management
19 Laureano Ave.
Ivan Laureano

Perfectly Clean Windows & House
290 School House Road
Tomasz Tylenda

Shelly’s Variety
824 Chicopee St.
Shelly Rivera

Suds Your Duds Laundry
349 Chicopee St.
Preston and Elemer Carr

EAST LONGMEADOW

Adam Go
58 Mapleshade Ave.
Adam Seegars

Bridge Associates
30 Summerville Road
Paula Butler

Deb-Mar Co.
36 Elm St.
Raymond Stevens

Performance Title Co.
44 Harkness Ave.
Gary Pfisterer

HADLEY

Davis & Crevier
100 Venture Way
Allen Davis

Ecuador Andino Store
206 Russell St.
Antolin Garay

Inspirit Common
123 Russell St.
Bucky and Emily Sparkle

Sprint Nextel
7 Maple St.
Nextel Retail Stores LLC

Valley Vintage Cars
81 River Dr.
Michael DiCola

HOLYOKE

Emab Construction
1047 Dwight St.
Otilio Gonzalez

Hartig Associates
11 Grant St.
Carl Hartig

Holyoke Pallet Co.
72 Elmore St.
William Delude

M & J Painting
127 Pine St.
George Melendez

One Stop Discount Liquors
165 Suffolk St.
Jean Weldon

Salsa Renque Restaurant
392 High St.
Jose Bou, Jaime Cotto

LONGMEADOW

Freelance Interpreting
168 Lawrence Dr.
Linda Randall

NORTHAMPTON CDT

Construction
158 North Maple St.
Eugene Tacy

CiCi Boutique
150 Main St.
Cynthia Tardy, Camille Radina

Danica Perry Photographer
237 Main St.
Danica Perry

Detangle
12 Pine St.
Dena Childs

Digital Doodah Imaging
61 Leonard St.
Danny Chiamis

New School Builders
42 Carolyn St.
Blake Nicols, Lyle Hackerson

Reflections
16 Center St.
Bette Kay Elsden

Steele & Assoc.
38 Spruce Hill Ave.
Jason Steele

SPRINGFIELD

AED Moving & Enterprises
22 High St.
Angelo and Ewa DiRosa

Arnold’s Automotive Garage
182 Hancock St.
William Arnold, Sr.

Arts & Ambiance
285 Orange St.
Daine Roswess

Broadway Office Brokering
90 Tapley St.
Ron Gordenstein

Burns Builders
1350 Main St.
J. Kirk MacNaughton

Collectibles & Cards
1655 Boston Road
James Dent

By
Departments

The following business incorporations were recorded in Hampden and Hampshire counties, and are the latest available. They are listed by community.

AGAWAM

Proden Enterprises of America Inc.,
630 Silver St.,Agawam 01001.
Daniel Luquette, 2665 Marcel St.,
St. Laurent, Quebec, H4R 1A6 Canada.
National Corporate Research, Ltd., 630 Silver St.,
Agawam 01001, registered agent.
(Foreign corp; DE) Sales of steel rule dies.

CHICOPEE

Andre Marcoux Enterprises Inc.,
86 Catherine St., Chicopee 01013.
Andre Marcoux, same.
Auto body repair.

C.S.D. Inc.,
1860 Westover Road, Chicopee 01020.
Stephan Krugsman, same.
(Foreign corp; DE) Software development and sales.

JCE Textile Corp.,
15 DeJordy Lane, Chicopee 01020.
Edward F. Mrozinski, 138 Slate Road,
Chicopee 01020. To manufacture textiles.

Royal Regal Entertainment Production Inc.,
36 Savory Dr., Chicopee 01020.
Winchell P.C. Woo, same. Entertainment production.

Royal Regal International Inc.,
36 Savory Dr., Chicopee 01020.
Winchell P.C. Woo, same. International trade.

EASTHAMPTON

Jai Shree Ram, Corp.,
24 Kingsberry Way, Easthampton 01027.
Yogesh C. Patel, same.
To conduct the business of a package store.

EAST LONGMEADOW

Admiral Roofing Inc.,
444 A North Main St., No. 136,
East Longmeadow 01028.
Yana Abramovich, 84 Fairviedw Ave.,
Chicopee 01013. Home improvements — roofing, siding, etc.

Che Pecat Inc.,
83 Harkness Ave., East Longmeadow 01028.
Maria Cardinale Joyce, same.
To manufacture, create, distribute and
otherwise transfer any and all goods.

GRANBY

Granby Community Access and Media Inc.,
257 State St., Granby 01033.
Teresa Lajoie, 160 School St.,
Granby 01033. (Nonprofit) To operate a public,
educational, and governmental access
programming television studio, etc.

MONSON

L.I.G.H.T. Ministries Inc.,
14 King St., Monson 01057.
Joseph Wilson, same. (Nonprofit)
Recording and promoting music ministries
geared around local talents and churches of New England.

PALMER

KATC Corp.,
1465 North Main St., Palmer 01069.
Anthony Ventura, 1007 Woonsocket
Hill Road, North Smithfield, RI 02896.
Kristopher Ventura, 1465 North Main St.,
Palmer 01069, registered agent. Restaurant operations.

SOUTH HADLEY

Yankee Onsite Wastewater Association Inc.,
68 Fairview St., South Hadley 01705.
John J. Higgins, same. (Nonprofit)
To improve the onsite management of wastewater in New England, etc.

SOUTHWICK

Whitfield Enterprises Inc.,
17 Charles Johnson Road, Southwick 01077.
Karen G. Whitfield, same.
To operate a boarding kennel for dogs, cats and other household animals.

SPRINGFIELD

Cortes School Services Inc.,
611 Union St., Springfield 01109.
Nancy Cortes, same.
To transport school children from pick-up
locations to school and from school to drop-off locations.

LKM Modeling Inc.,
38 Angelica Dr., Springfield 01129.
Elizabeth J. Mitchell, same. Modeling.

Masosaw Management Inc.,
340 Cooley St., Unit 278, Springfield 01128.
Samuel A. Forde, 30 Grove St.,
Springfield 01107. To deal in real estate and ancillary services.

McKnight District Improvement Association Inc.,
The, 21 Clarendon St., Springfield 01109.
Hazel L. H. Adams, 47 Forest Park Ave.,
Springfield 01108. (Nonprofit)
To preserve and enhance the McKnight District of Springfield.

R&D Development Inc.,
93- 95 High St., Springfield 01105.
Lynden Greaves, same. To deal in real estate.

Springfield Titans Baseball Club Inc.,
65 Palo Alto Road, Springfield 01128.
Alphonse DeMaio Jr., same. (Nonprofit)
To provide the opportunity of youths under 19 to participate in organized competitive baseball and softball programs. etc.

ZDB-CAB Corp.,
501 St. James Ave., Springfield 01109.
Daniel Bean, same.
To own and operate a used vehicle sales business.

WESTFIELD

A-One Realty Inc.,
11 Knox Circle, Westfield 01085.
Robert J. Corcoran, same. Real estate sales, development and management.

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Bernardas Bucas Inc.,
166 River St., Apt. 6, West Springfield 01089.
Bernardas Bucas, same. Cable installation service .

Time Design International Inc.,
150 Front St., West Springfield 01089.
Jonathan Haverly, same. Daily planner manufacture and sales.

Another Blow to the Region’s Psyche

By
Opinion
Disappointment. That was our first, and most lingering, reaction to the news that Chicopee Mayor Richard Goyette was arrested earlier this month and charged with extorting campaign contributions from two city business people in exchange for favors from City Hall.

These are merely allegations and, as always, there is a presumption of innocence. But at the very least, Goyette has embarrassed his city and further eroded the public’s trust in officials not only in Chicopee, but everywhere.

There was much surprise at the news, and much anger as well. After all, BusinessWest did endorse Goyette for a second term as mayor, believing that he had the leadership skills and common sense needed to move the community forward. We, like many Chicopee residents, feel betrayed and misled.

We have seen time and again the strong, negative impact of corruption in Springfield. Former Mayor Michael J. Albano’s actions have left the city’s residents bitter, skeptical, and far less willing to give appointed and elected officials their trust. Meanwhile, it has left business owners wary about the community and hesitant to make the kinds of investments we know are needed if Springfield is to rebound. We were of the opinion that area elected officials had learned from Springfield’s problems and fully understood the high cost of corruption.

We were wrong. If the allegations against Goyette are true, then he, like so many members of the Albano’s administration, put his own interests above the community’s – and with possibly dire consequences.

We say possibly, because there is a chance – maybe a goodchance – thatChicopee will sufferthe same fate as Springfield. That it willbecome the butt of jokes and the subject ofcountless newspaper and magazine articlessuggesting – strongly – that the community’sbest days are well behind it, with federalagents announcing one indictmentafter another.

Chicopee has enjoyed a strong resurgence in recent years. The second-largest city in the Pioneer Valley has seen an influx of new businesses – from manufacturers in the Westover business parks to national retailers taking up residence on Memorial Drive. Meanwhile, it has also seen a number of public investments in the form of new schools, including two high schools, a new city library, and many infrastructure projects.

The city is primed for continued growth, and it is our hope that the city will survive this recent embarrassment and the crisis of confidence that may ensue. As we’ve said many times, while it is important for this region to have a strong Springfield, we also need a strong Northampton, Westfield, Agawam, West Springfield – and Chicopee.

But someone else is setting up shop in Chicopee – the FBI. Indications are that investigators have been turning over rocks in that community, and they are finding some things. We can only hope that charges against Goyette represent the end, not the beginning, of real trouble for this proud city.

In the meantime, we also hope that what transpired earlier this month with Goyette is not forgotten, and that lessons are learned from this fiasco.

Indeed, the worst thing about Goyette’s arrest, and his silence thereafter, is that it gives people cause to believe that this kind of behavior is commonplace; it gives people license to say, ‘they’re all like that.’

Well, they’re not all like that. The vast majority of the people serving cities and towns in our region are honest, hard-working people who have only their community’s best interests at heart.

Still, this would be a great time (just a few days after the local elections) to remind all those fortunate enough to gain the favor of voters that a vote is an instrument of trust, and that trust is not to be violated or in any way taken for granted.

Maybe, in some small way, Goyette did this region a favor by reminding everyone who serves local communities about the price that is paid when greed, arrogance, or poor judgment overtakes responsibility, and when power corrupts.

If Goyette is guilty, he will certainly pay a high price for his actions. Hopefully, Chicopee and this region won’t suffer the same fate.

Celebrating Proposition 2 1/2

By
Opinion
Proposition 2 1/2 was passed by voters on Nov. 4, 1980. It was a revolution, a passionate and controversial ballot campaign; now, 25 years later, it is an institution. Yes, once upon a time the property tax burden was the second-highest in the nation, which called us Taxachusetts.

Over the decades, taxpayers had been promised lower property taxes in return for other revenue sources. So by 1980 we had a high income tax, a sales tax, a lottery, and high property taxes. Further, we were one of the few states with an automobile excise and something called school committee fiscal autonomy, which gave local schools any amount of money they requested regardless of the wishes of city councils or town meetings.

On top of this, instead of getting a fair share of state tax revenues in local aid, the cities and towns had to fund any new bright idea that came down from Beacon Hill. And on top of that, the courts had just ordered all communities to comply with the state Constitution and assess all property at its full and fair market value. Many homes were assessed much lower; people imagined the community’s existing tax rate being applied to their home’s true value.

Between outrage at broken tax-relief promises and panic about the coming revaluation, Proposition 2 1/2 was born. Citizens for Limited Taxation (CLT) collected signatures on an initiative petition that limited property taxes to 2.5% of a community’s value, cut the auto excise from $66 per $1,000 to $25 per $1,000, gave renters an income tax deduction, repealed school committee fiscal autonomy, and forbade new unfunded state mandates on cities and towns.

Battle lines were drawn: CLT, the Mass. High Technology Council, the Mass. Auto Dealers Assoc., and the National Federation of Independent Business against almost everyone else. Leading opponents were the Legislature, the Mass.

Municipal Assoc., the Mass. Taxpayers Foundation, the Mass. Teachers Assoc. and other public employee unions, various human service organizations, the Mass. Council of Churches, the Catholic Church, and, incredibly, the Mass. Assoc. of Older Americans.

Union fliers featured either a picture of a gun shooting backward, titled “How Prop 2 1./2 Works,” or the heading “Cutting Taxes? Or Cutting Our Throats? Human service fliers featured a senior with a walker, a young man in a wheelchair, and a couple of minority kids looking terrified. There were debates galore, hours of talk radio devoted to the issue, yard signs, and bumper stickers.

The League of Women Voters held onesided forums that presented only its point of view: Prop 2 1/2 will cause drastic cutbacks to basic public services.

Nevertheless, the people passed Prop 2 1/2, 59%-41%.

Then the battle really began: public employee marches, demands for repeal. But the Leguslature, getting the message, decided to work with the people’s law. CLT teamed up with the MMA, legislative Republicans, and conservative Democrats to get more local aid. With Gov. Ed King promising a veto of any changes that would damage Prop 2 1/2, a sensible provision for new growth was added, and the two-thirds vote for an override became a majority vote for various kinds of overrides, intended for bonded projects or emergencies.

Local officials were more respectful of taxpayers whose support might be needed to pass them. Local aid increased almost every year. Opponents who prophesied the end of the world looked silly.

Back then, of course, it was impossible to imagine voters raising their own taxes for operating expenses and teacher pay raises.

Twenty-five years later, the property tax burden is still too high, at eighth in the nation.

The long-term goal, to get education spending off the property tax, has yet to be realized, But individual taxpayers have saved a bundle on both the property tax limit, the rental deduction, and the auto excise cut. Twenty-five years later, Proposition 2 1/2 is still cause for celebration.

Barbara Anderson is executive director of Citizens for Limited Taxation, which created Proposition 2 1/2.

The People in Your Neighborhood

By
Ernestine Johnson
Features
AIC Creates Scholarship Program for Springfield Homeowners
Ernestine Johnson

Ernestine Johnson, president of the Bay Area Neighborhood Council,addresses the audience at AIC’s announceent.

In a move that Springfield Mayor Charlie Ryan called “revolutionary,” American International College (AIC) has announced plans to offer annual $10,000 scholarships to its closest neighbors. The college unveiled its ‘Community Engagement Initiative’ on Oct. 31, which will award four-year renewable scholarships to homeowners and their children residing in the Bay Area neighborhood and who meet AIC’s general admission requirements.

The section of the city includes portions of the State Street corridor, Mason Square, Tapley Street, and Roosevelt Ave., and is home to just over 4,000 of the city’s 152,000 residents.

According to AIC president Vincent Maniaci, the program was designed to not only boost AIC’s enrollment numbers, but to also spur revitalization in the Bay Area.

“We hope this will attract people to the area and have a positive impact on property values,” he said, noting that if the program proves successful over the next year, the Bay Area will represent the first of several Springfield neighborhoods to benefit from the scholarship program, which essentially covers half of AIC’s annual tuition and does not preclude students from securing other loans, including federal loans.

“We’re going to approach this one neighborhood at a time,” he said. “But we hope to gradually build the program, and connect the dots from one neighborhood to the next, in order to bring them together.”

Ryan expressed the same hope, and also called upon Springfield’s remaining colleges to follow AIC’s lead.

“All of the colleges play a strong role in the city,” he said. “AIC has just gone beyond what anyone would have contemplated, creating a program we didn’t even know was in the cards. Thousands of people could theoretically qualify … I hope that the other colleges will see fit to replicate this.”

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal also praised the program, calling it a “bold, assertive move.”

“Over the past few weeks, several key people within the city of Springfield have been given an opportunity to say what they think would best help this city, and the colleges and their roles in our future come up again and again,” he said. “AIC is the first college in the city to do anything about it.”

The announcement comes on the heels of the establishment of a dual admissions agreement between AIC, Springfield Technical Community College, and Holyoke Community College, which allows students applying to one of the two-year schools to simultaneously apply at AIC, and take advantage of significant scholarship opportunities. Maniaci said the programs are similar in that they were both designed to open up the four-year college experience to as many people as possible.

“We are looking to incorporate a number of other partnerships and programs in the future,” he noted, declining to offer specifics until the initiatives are firmly in place. “There are two or three things that are definitely in the works right now, each designed to make us an integral part of the Springfield community. If it’s not good for Springfield, we shouldn’t be doing it, and we’re not going to.”

Ernestine Johnson, president of the Bay Area Neighborhood Council, said she and her fellow Bay Area residents are pleased to enter into a new collaboration with the school.

“Over the years, we have all watched AIC grow and change. Now, we’re thrilled to be part of something new and exciting … all we can say is ‘thank you.’”

News

Contact

Advertise

Events