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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.

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

Insourcing: Foreign Companies, American Jobs

Nov. 17: The World Affairs Council (WAC) of Western Mass. will present a program Insourcing: Foreign Companies, American Jobs at the TD Banknorth Conference Center, 1441 Main St. in Springfield, from 5:15 p.m. to 7 p.m. Often lost in the outsourcing debate is the fact that nearly 5.5 million Americans — 190,000 in Massachusetts — are employed by U.S. subsidiaries of foreign businesses. Panelists will discuss the impact these businesses have on the local and national economies and how we might attract more foreign direct investment in our region. Tickets are $15 for WAC members, and $20 for nonmembers. For reservations or more information, call (413) 733-0110.

WNEC Tax Institute

Nov. 18: Updates on federal and state tax laws, new manufacturer deductions, section 1031 “like kind” exchanges and identity theft are topics of the 44th annualWestern New England College Tax Institute, planned from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. in Sleith Hall on the college’s main campus, 1215 Wilbraham Road, Springfield. To register or for more information, call (413) 782-1473 or visit www.wnec.edu/tax.

City of Bright Nights Ball

Nov. 19: The Spirit of Springfield’s 10th annual gala, the City of Bright Nights Ball, will be conducted at the MassMutual Center, sponsored by the MassMutual Financial Group. The evening of fine dining and dancing will also include live and silent auctions. The Boston Culinary Group, bringing in chefs from throughout New England, will serve a gourmet dinner featuring plank salmon and beef tenderloin. Tickets are $400 per couple with tables of 10 available for $2,000. For tickets or more information, call the Spirit of Springfield office at (413) 733-3800.

Economic Impact Awards

Nov. 22: The Mass. Alliance for Economic Development will host its second annual Team Massachusetts Economic Impact Awards at the Sheraton Boston Hotel. Gloria Larson, Chair, Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, will be the Master of Ceremonies, with Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney as the keynote speaker. Honorees include Kleer Lumber, Interprint and Suddekor from Western Massachusetts. Registration begins at 11 a.m., followed by the program and lunch at noon. For reservations and more information, call (781) 489-6262 or visit www.massecon.com.

By
Departments

Loan Fund Marks 15th Anniversary

SPRINGFIELD — The Western Mass. Enterprise Fund Inc. (WMEF), a non-profit community loan fund, marked its 15th anniversary on Nov. 4 .During its most recent fiscal year, the WMEF disbursed $556,000 to 11 businesses in Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire counties. According to the projections of the borrowers, last year’s loans will create or retain 95 local jobs. WMEF provides financing and technical assistance to businesses and nonprofit organizations that may otherwise not qualify for traditional funding. For more information, call (413) 774-4033 or visit www.wmef.org.

Bradley Sees Double- Digit Monthly Passenger Increases

WINDSOR LOCKS, CT — September passenger traffic at Bradley International Airport soared by more than 15% over September 2004 (485,000) as more than half a million customers (560,000) used New England’s second largest airport. Overall, year-to-date passenger numbers are up more than 12% for the first nine months of 2005 over the same period in 2004. With new non-stop destinations including Los Angeles added in September and Salt Lake City coming on board in Dec., 21 additional daily non-stop flights have been added since August 2004.

SBID Receives Grant For Tree Planting

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Business Improvement District (SBID) and the Springfield First Church of Christ Congregational (Old First Church) have received a grant to plant 12 250-300-pound trees in the downtown area. The planting of these trees took place at the end of October and the SBID will maintain them for three years. This event marks the sixth year of the tree-replanting program that the SBID began in 2000. To date, 93 trees have been planted in downtown.

GSCVB Celebrates 20 Years

PIONEER VALLEY — The Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau (GSCVB) recently celebrated 20 years of promoting Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley as a visitor destination during its annual meeting at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. Following the meeting, the Bureau’s charter members were recognized with a special poem and plaque that will be displayed at the GSCVB’s offices at 1441 Main St., Springfield. Former staff and Board members were also recognized for their contributions. Charter members recognized were AAA of the Pioneer Valley; the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center; Eastern States Exposition; Holiday Inn, Springfield; Hotel Northampton; MassMutual Center (Springfield Civic Center); MassMutual Financial Group; Old Sturbridge Village; Peter Pan Bus Lines, Inc., and SER All American Exposition Services. Also, Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel, Six Flags New England (Riverside Amusement Park); Springfield Marriott Hotel; Springfield Museums Association; Springfield Symphony Orchestra; Storrowton Village Museum; Thornes Marketplace; Tower Square (Baystate West), and Yankee Candle Company.

Jobless Rate Up in Region

SPRINGFIELD — The unemployment rate for the Pioneer Valley rose to 5.0% in September from 4.5% in August, according to the state Division of Unemployment Assistance. Statistics also show that the labor force decreased slightly in Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties in September, and the number of unemployed people in the region was up slightly compared to September 2004. The labor force saw a decline, going from 348,400 in 2004 to 347,600 in 2005, while the number of unemployed people grew from 16,980 to 17,290. Officials at FutureWorks, a one-stop career center in Springfield, recently reported that regional employers posted 628 jobs in September which was down from 1,081 in August. State statistics show that the Greater
Springfield area added 700 jobs over the past 12 months, indicating a 0.2% increase to 297,800 jobs.

By
Departments

AGAWAM

Berkshire Agawam
63-79 Springfield St.
$100,000 — Remodel storefront

Olympic Mfg. Group
153 Bowles St.
$80,000 — Addition

AMHERST

Immanuel Lutheran Church
867 North Pleasant St.
$7,500 — Interior partitions

Mauro Aniello
30 Boltwood Walk 3
$6,500 — Renovate restaurant

CHICOPEE

Elms College
291 Springfield St.
$165,000 — Renovate kitchen

Munich Haus Inc.
13 Center St.
$3,000 — Repair exterior wall

Top Flite Golf Co.
425 Meadow St.
$52,300 — Increase size of golf ball swing lab

EAST LONGMEADOW

East Longmeadow High
School
180 Maple St.
$7,500 — Bleachers

HOLYOKE
South Street Plaza
209-235 South St.
$14,300 — Ronnie’s Restaurant
— Remove bearing block wall

NORTHAMPTON

Alexander Bykhovsky
159 Main St.
$8,000 — Remove and construct
non-bearing walls

City of Northampton
212 Main St.
$30,000 — Install rooftop units,
duct work and roof curb

City of Northampton
20 West St.
$187,000 — Renovate exterior stone

Clarke School for the Deaf
47-49 Round Hill Road
$1,600,000 — Add elevator
accessible entrance, bathroom, renovations

Laurel Ridge Realty Associates
312 Hatfield St.
$5,000 — Replace 10 exterior bulkheads

Paul H. D’Amour
162 North King St.
$95,000 — Construct wall,
mechanical room, roof-top equipment and store front
Richard W. Finck, Trustee
63 Main St.
$15,650 — Office renovations

Smith College
Elm St., Gillett House
$7,250 — Renovations
Suburban Linoleum Co. Inc.
63 Maple St.
$45,000 — Interior renovations for new offices

Valley Community Dev.
Corp.
3 North Main St.
$46,884 — Construct cafe in
existing
space

SPRINGFIELD

Amerada Hess Corp.
991 St. James Ave.
$155,000 — Build store

Diamond Affiliates
125 Paridon St.
$60,000 — Flagpole

Fountaine Properties
66B Industry Ave.
$72,000 — New entrance,
renovate dock area

Mass Mutual
1500 Main St.
$56,000 — Modify Suite 215

Shiloh Seventh Day Church
797 State St.
$15,000 — Renovate heating
and roofing

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Eastern States Exposition
1305 Memorial Ave.
$2,788,705 — Construct new visitor’s center

WESTFIELD

PeoplesBank
281 East Main St.
$760,000 — Expand

By
Departments

Spalding Launches NEVERFLAT™ Basketball

SPRINGFIELD — Spalding recently introduced NEVERFLAT™, the first-ever ball with proprietary pressure-retention technologies guaranteed to hold air up to 10 times longer than traditional basketballs. The NEVERFLAT™ basketball, designed by Primo Innovations, is the only ball guaranteed to stay fully inflated for at least one year – with no additional air needed during that period. The basketball, with a suggested retail price of $39.99, hits store shelves in mid-November.

Hampden Bank Opens at Tower Square

SPRINGFIELD — Hampden Bank’s new Tower Square branch office is the seventh in the bank’s branch network and provides a full array of convenient banking and financial services to individuals and companies headquartered at both the Tower Square and Monarch Place office complexes. The 1,000-square-foot facility contains a 24-hour ATM and Night Drop services area, teller and CSR stations, and private banking area. Also, there is space for financial services consultation through the bank’s Hampden Financial division affiliated with The Novak Charter Oak Group and MassMutual. The branch also features plasma screens, interactive kiosks and merchandising walls that inform customers of the latest products and services the bank offers.

Isenberg School MBA Program Receives Top- 10 Rankings

AMHERST — For the second consecutive year, the Isenberg School of Management’s MBA program has received two top-10 national rankings in the Princeton Review’s annual Best Business Schools publication, which ranks MBA programs in 11 strategic categories. In the 2006 edition – the Best 237 Business Schools – the Isenberg School’s full-time residential MBA program repeated last year’s ranking of fourth in the nation in the category “Best Professors.” At the same time, it improved its national ranking in the category “Best Overall Academic Experience,” from tenth to sixth.

3rd Quarter Net Loss for United Financial Bancorp

WEST SPRINGFIELD — United Financial Bancorp Inc., the holding company for United Bank, recently reported a net loss of $173,000 for the quarter ended Sept. 30. The results reflect a one-time after-tax expense of $2.2 million, which was incurred to establish and fund the new United Charitable Foundation. Excluding this charge for the charitable foundation, net income would have been $2.0 million for the three-month period, compared to $1.7 million for the same three-month period in 2004. Since the company’s initial public offering of common stock concluded during this quarter, earnings per share data is not being presented because it is not considered meaningful. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2005, net income amounted to $2.8 million compared to $4.3 million for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2004. The company’s initial public offering concluded on July 11, and raised $74.8 million in the offering, selling 7.5 million shares of common stock at $10 per share.

Paradise City Voted Favorite Arts Festival East of the Rockies

NORTHAMPTON — Paradise City Arts Festivals makes the 2005 list of America’s 10 favorite shows for the second year in a row, with a ranking of #2 nationwide, according to AmericanStyle Magazine. The publication’s December issue reveals their readers’ favorite shows of high-caliber fiber art and craft from across the country. Approximately 300 shows nationwide fit the description for high quality, collectible fine art and craft shows. Paradise City, the only organization of the top five with shows in the Northeast, was the clear first-place winner among gated indoor events. Also, Paradise City’s hometown, Northampton, was ranked #9 nationwide as a small city arts destination. Paradise City, founded in 1995, also was ranked #1 for the best arts festival east of the Rockies.

Belt Technologies Acquires Mississippi Company

AGAWAM — Belt Technologies recently acquired Clark Manufacturing, a belt manufacturer based in central Mississippi. The acquisition will complement Belt Technologies current offerings of steel belts to the robotics, semiconductor, packaging, medical and pharmaceutical industries. Manufacturing from the Mississippi plant will be moved to the Agawam facility where new product lines will be absorbed within the current manufacturing capacity, according to company officials. No terms of the sale were provided at press time.

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

Energy East Solutions Inc. v. LaVera Cruzana Restaurant
Allegation: Breach of contract —
Failure to pay for goods and services:
$3,331.91
Date Filed: Oct. 7

HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT

Patrons Mutual Insurance Co.
of CT as surrogee of S. Michael Figarsky v. Cook Builders Supply, Hearts & Home Technologies Inc. and Valley Home Improvement, Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to do work in a workman-like manner:
$400,000
Date Filed: Oct. 7

HOLYOKE DISTRICT COURT

The Darcy Co. v. Aekara Inc. d/b/a Red
Rock Pizza
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure
to pay for goods and services: $1,372.87
Date Filed: Oct. 5

CHICOPEE DISTRICT COURT

Instar Services Group LP d/b/a Action
Fire Instar Services Group v. John
Leslie and Robert W. Hawley, Jr. d/b/a
U-Save Quality Builders & Remodelers
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure
to pay for services: $5,193.50
Date Filed: Oct. 17

SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT

Electrical Wholesalers Inc. v. Kevin
Garibian d/b/a Garibian Electric
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure
to pay for goods sold and delivered:
$2,760.47
Date Filed: Sept. 23

Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. v..

M & J Co. Inc. d/b/a Roof
Remedy Associates Allegation: Breach of contract —
Failure to pay for workmens comp insurance: $7,826.20
Date Filed: Sept. 27

Mountainview Landscapes & Lawn

Carev. Techni Products Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for lawn care services: $10,412.81
Date Filed: Sept. 27

Cordi Foods Inc. v. Crescenzo

Enterprises Inc. d/b/a Little Italy Pizza
Alligation: Breach of contract — Failure
to pay for goods sold and delivered:
$11,202.32
Date Filed: Sept. 28

HDC Three LLC v.. Harding of N.E. LLC

Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure
to clean trash and debris: $20,000
Date Filed: Oct. 3

WESTFIELD DISTRICT COURT

Salt City Inc. v.. Metro West
Management Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for road salt sold and delivered:
$16,818.04
Date Filed: Oct. 7

By
Departments

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

AGAWAM
B & M Construction
308 Leonard St.
Marcus Kashmanian

Body Kneads, Massage & Body Work
567 Springfield St.
Sarah Hebert

Cigar by the Box
26 North Westfield St.
John Pereg

Luis Auto Detail
119 Walnut St.
Luis Martinez

Sunny Enterprises LLC
650 Suffield St.
Muhammad N. Imtiaz

Unique Creations Embroidery
157 Elmar Dr.
Cheryl Walker

AMHERST

Amherst Martial Arts
48 North Pleasant St.
Annie Schwarz

Bekapak
172 Colonial Village
Rebecca Owens

Delta Organic Farm
352 East Hadley Road
James Pitts III

Holeshot’s Premium Tattoo
71 North Pleasant St.
Brent Cummings

KC’s Home DÈcor
16 Edgehill Pl.
Kim Chicoine

Masters
6 University Dr.
Mary O’Connell, William
Trumble

CHICOPEE

Bear Auto
49 Montville St.
Daniel Hebert

Brett’s Stump Grinding
299 Grattan St.
Brett Ray

Ladies Workout Express
29 White Birch Plaza
Aaron Patterson

N.E. Relocation Group
1847 Memorial Dr.
Eastern MA Real Estate

Ron’s Services, Heating & Refrigeration
66 Jacob St.
Ronald Surrell Sr.

Steven Hemphill CMMA
357 Burnett Road
Steven Hemphill

EAST LONGMEADOW

A.T.D. Cleaning Services
51 Dawes St.
Anthony King

Chocolate Works
33 Harkness Ave.
Erika Noble, Dominick Anzalotti

Lighthouse Liquors
199 North Main St.
Janet Collins, William Collins Jr.

Stixx-N-Stones
39 Center Square
Christopher Roberts

HADLEY

Candy Stand
367 Russell St.
Syed Ali

Doubleday Farm
185 Bay St.
Thomas Doubleday

Firehouse
322 Russell St.
Dallas Branch

Sprint
7 Maple St.
Nextel Retail Stores LLC

Tran’s World Food Market
50 Russell St.
Johnny Tran

HOLYOKE

The Black Sheep
110 Lyman St.
Nick Seamon

Harmony
173 Southampton Road
Nancy Dalessio

Hidden Hollow Floral Designs
244 Rock Valley Road
Marcia Cassidy

Kennedy & Williams Homes
440 Appleton St.
Neal Kennedy

900 Broadway Communications
108 Hitchcock St.
Davita Westbrook

Prints Plus Inc.
50 Holyoke St.
Theodore Upland III

Tempos Inc.
187 High St.
David Anable

LONGMEADOW

Animal Instincts Pet Sitting & Dog Walking
P.O. Box 60581
Jennifer L. Burgess

OG Solutions
536 Frank SmithRoad
Oleg Goffman

NORTHAMPTON

Blue Jar Software
50 Union St.
Louis Franco,
Jennifer Rippel

Cassandra’s
518 Pleasant St.
Cassandra
Holden

Clarity Data Services
36 Wilson Ave.
Graham Ridley
Dean Powers
Electric
98 Brierwood Dr.Dean Powers

Mill River Woodworks
320 Riverside
Dr. Johnathon
Aronstein

Pioneer Naturopathic Medicine
16 Armory St.Kate Kennedy

Sam’s CafÈ
22 Elm St.
Samantha Ross

Village Antique
7 Main St.
Gordon Murphy

SPRINGFIELD
A+ Property Management
253 Bay St.
Michael Ayittey

The Aged Polish Vodka Co.
69 Maplewood
Terrace
Rudy Vogel

Around the Clock Home Care
130 Fenwick St.
Linda Sheehan

BSB Express
114 Byer St.
Byron Brown

Buck’s Electronics
96 Kenyon St.
Albert Whitfield, Sr.

Clerk St. Press
181 Mazarin St.
Marcus Alston

Computer Ambulance
93-B Mill St.
Michael Smith

Dazzle Studio of Dance
605 Page Blvd.
Lisa Attanasio

Field Spring
1 Federal St.
Johnathon Brown

Glitterz Girlz Nail Salon
795 Liberty St.
Alexis Huff

I Wireless
390 Dickinson St.
Phung Minh Li

JT Graphics
1663 Wilbraham Road
Thomas and John Dill

Mary Kay
92 Mill St.
Susan Miller

New York Nails
1368 Allen St.
Nga Van Nao

Pasquale Perrotta
47 Wilcox St.
Pasquale Perrotta

Smith Fashions
34 Collins St.
Steve Smith

Trans Border Marketing
69 Maplewood Ter.
Rudy Vogel

WEST SPRINGFIELD

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

Building News Service
16 Ryan Dr.
Linda Desnoyers

Denny’s Trading
1044 Piper Road
James Denny

Fini’s Auto Sales
68 Baldwin St.
RCR Enterprises Inc.

Hallies Comet
28 Van Horn St.
Christina Okeef-Giebner

KJ Woodworking
43 Skyline Dr.
Kevin Kras

Mobil Auto Repair
601 Birnie Ave.
TJS Inc.

Oem Telematics Services
1385 Riverdale St.
OnStar Corp.

The Ivanhoe
1422 Elm St.
Ronald Abdow

West Springfield Mobil
562 Westfield St.
Syed Bokhari

WESTFIELD

Adam’s Power Services
19 Family Lane
David Tremblay

Bryant’s Auto Solutions
82 Elm St.
Bryant James

Eternal Stone Works
57 South Meadow Road
Jack Kimball

Ray Davidson’s Home Improvement
45 Rogers Ave.
Raymond Davidson

Simplicity Salon
1144 Southampton St.
Jacqueline Dominquez, Janine
LaPointe

By
Departments

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

AGAWAM

The Travel Group Inc., 375
Walnut St., Agawam 01001.
Michael S. Egan, same. Travel agency and travel group tour service.

BONDSVILLE

Pure Water Solutions Inc.,
3161 Main St., Bondsville
01009. Ricky Lamprey, 124
Chestnut St., Southbridge 01550. Residential, commercial, and industrial water testing and treatment services.

EASTHAMPTON

Off The Map Inc.,
112 Cottage St., Easthampton
01027. Gabriel Ripley, 114A
Hawley St., Northampton 01060. To design and apply all types of tattoos including unique custom tattoos.

HAMPDEN

Central Enterprises Inc.,
180 East Longmeadow Road,
Hampden 01036. Mark Reisner, same. Internet marketing.

LONGMEADOW

Vikam Associates Inc.,
46 Whitmun Road, Longmeadow
01106. Catherine A. Fountain, same. Construction consulting and project management.

NORTHAMPTON

When Children Save The Day Inc.,
210 Elm St., Northampton 01060. Jennifer Jacobson, same. (Nonprofit) To engage, educate and inspire children through experiential learning, storytelling, creative community service, etc.

SOUTH HADLEY

C.S.A. Restaurant Inc.,
2090 Memorial Dr., South Hadley
01075. Sue Huang, 48 Edison
Ct., Chicopee 01020.
Restaurant.

SOUTHAMPTON

Charles J. Hubbard Inc.,
9 Glendale Woods Dr.,
Southampton 01073. Charles
J. Hubba Road, 241 King St.,
Suite 118, Northampton
01060. Consulting and yoga
studio.

SPRINGFIELD

Albert Jolicoeur & Sons Inc.,
794 Bay St., Springfield 01119.
Michael Lolicoeur, 1 Crest St.,
Wilbraham 01095. General contracting and masonry services.


C F Inc.,
815 State St., Rear,
Springfield 01109. Robert L.
Jones, 51 Westwood Dr., East Longmeadow 01028. Motor
vehicle towing and storage.

E A & T Entertainment Arts & Technologies Corp.,
195 Worthington St., Springfield
01107. Wildredo Ortiz, 17
Roosevelt Ave., Holyoke 01040. Musical producer and agent for the production and sale of musical creations, etc.

Freedom Credit Union,
1976 Main St., Springfield 01103.
Barry F. Crosby, 52 Nathaniel
Way, Belchertown 01007. State
chartered credit union offering
savings accounts, NOW accounts, etc.

Scibelli and Associates
Consulting Inc., Scibelli
Enterprise Center, One Federal
St., Springfield 01105. Andrew
M. Scibelli, 101 Mulberry St.,
Springfield 01105. Consulting.

Synthetic Stucco Systems Inc.,
110 Lorimer St., Springfield
01151. Joseph E. Babin, same. Installation and application of stucco wall systems.

Vec-Tec Inc.,
9-11 Rimmon
Ave., Springfield 01107. Joseph
Francis Vecchiarelli, 197
Springfield St., Springfield 01107. Restaurant and bar.

WILBRAHAM

Celtegrity Corp.,
3 Hemlock Circle, Wilbraham 01095.
Christopher C. Hill, sae. Wireless consulting integration & software development.

Riverbend Steak and Ale Inc.,
2701 Boston Road,
Wilbraham
01095. Edmund
T. Ward Jr., 58
Holland Ave., Westfield 01085. Restaurant business.

WEST SPRINGFIELD

MRI Network- SCHC Inc.,
30 Capital Dr.,
West Springfield
01089. Robert J.
Francoeur. same. Sales consultant.

By
Departments

Super 60 Lunch

The Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield recently staged its annual Super 60 luncheon, an event to honor the region’s top-performing companies in the chamber’s Total Revenue and Revenue Growth categories. At left, Cordia Harrington, president and CEO of the Tennessee Bun Company and the luncheon’s keynote speaker, chats with Mark Morris, public relations manager for Health New England, and Peter Straley, president/CEO, Health New England, the event’s presenting sponsor. At right, Straley and Jay Primack, right, managing partner, Moriarty & Primack, PC (platinum sponsor), present a Super 60 plaque to Jim Sasenecki, president, Brookdale Associates Inc. the top finisher in the ‘growth category.’

Topping-off Ceremony

Cooley Dickinson Hospital President Craig Melin, left, shakes hands with John Heaps, president of Florence Savings Bank, at a recent ‘topping off’ ceremony for the $50 million expansion project at the hospital. Employees and physicians of the hospital, donors to its Caring for the Future campaign, and nearly 100 members of the community attended the ceremony, which marked a milestone in a two-year project that started in April of 2005 that will add a four-story, 116,000-square-foot building to the hospital’s campus. The building will contain eight surgical suites, a wing of 32-single-occupancy patient rooms, a centralized laboratory, and central sterile supply area and an expanded Joint
Replacement Center.

Branching Out

Hampden Bank recently staged an open house for its newest branch on the mezzanine level of Tower Square. Here, Hampden’s president, Thomas Burton, left, chats with BusinessWest Editor George O’Brien.

Commerce 2005

The Chicopee and Greater Holyoke Chambers of Commerce staged Commerce 2005, their fall trade show, on Nov. 3 at the MassMutual Center. Clockwise from top left: Andy Hogan, Kevin Hart, Marcos Garcia, and Sean Hogan of Hogan Communications do their best Blues Brothers impression; Martin Johnson and Gilbert Nieves greet visitors to the Citizens Bank booth; Bob Gaboury and Tim Haas of Holyoke Gas & Electric staff the utility’s booth.

 

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.

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

Jack Richeson & Co. Inc. v. Guild Art Centre Inc.

Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to
pay for goods sold and delivered:
$11,265.49
Date Filed: Sept. 7

SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT

United Rentals (North America Inc.) v.
Hope Trucking & Demo Inc. and Frank
A. Hope III

Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to
pay for goods and services: $16,788.61
Date Filed: Sept. 15

Home Lumber Co. Inc. v. Athanasios
Asimakopoulos a/k/a Thomas
Asimakopoulos d/b/a T.A. Woodworking
a/k/a T.A. Woodworks
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to
pay for goods sold and delivered: $8,432.74
Date Filed: Sept. 15
Medical Diagnostics & Rehab d/b/a MVA
Center for Rehabilitation v. Premier
Insurance Co.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to
pay for bills for services for covered clients:
$2,181.06
Date Filed: Sept. 19

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT

Alton & Gleason Co. Inc. v. CAP
Development Corp. and Mheid-Koseissi Inc.
Allegation: Breach of performance: $27,460
Date Filed: Sept. 19

By
Departments

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

AGAWAM

Online Distributions
76 Dogwood Lane
Kimberly Kersey
Shop Easy Enterprise
650 Suffield St.
Latif Abdul

AMHERST

For Pet’s Sake
29 Amity Place
Jill Westley

Subway of Amherst
4 Main St.
Ivan Tristan

CHICOPEE

KM Home Improvement
95 Southwick St.
Keith Mortineau

The Natural Look
766B Memorial Dr.
Hang T. Bui

Transitional Funding Agency
796 Burnett Road
Bruce Gutkowski

HOLYOKE

Aquilas Market
773 Dwight St.
Luz Ramos

Farms Auto
200 Whiting Farms Road
James Levelle

Moore & Moore Enterprises
10B Maplecrest Circle
Michael Moore

LONGMEADOW

Matthew Brais Home Improvement
93 Westmoreland Ave.
Matthew Brais

NORTHAMPTON

Lucky Nails
1 Round House Plaza
Truong Vo Minh Nguyen

On the Level

50 Chapel St.
Shawn and Helicia Forest

SOUTH HADLEY

Suds Your Duds
14 Main St.
Preston and Wilson Carr

SPRINGFIELD

Asher’s Teaching Service
195 Hickory St.
Katrika James

Curves
1916 Wilbraham Road
L. Lee Scott

Dwight Convenience Store
135 Dwight St.
Lack Shah
KDM Assoc.
1535 Wilbraham Road
Kristoffer Manalohan

M & MB
Express 164 Jeffrey
Road
Edwin McCray
Pete Williams
191 Wellington
St. Pete Williams

Smoothie Delight
1535 Wilbraham Road
Kristoffer Manalohan

Victor Figueroa Communication
145 Nassau Dr.
Victor Figueroa

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Carrabba’s Italian Grill
955 Riverdale
St. Thomas
Schwensfeir

Expo Liquors
1122 Memorial
Ave. Dadson Inc.

S & M Auto
Repair 22 Summer St.
Donald Schebel

WestSide Urban Gear
440 Main St.
Sonia Tyndal

WESTFIELD

Garvey Landscaping
23 Crescent Circle
Patrick Garvey

Opal Ventures VI
162 Southampton St.
Jaafar Kafel

By
Departments

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

AGAWAM

Heather A. Pellerin Inc., 26E
Castle Hill Road, Agawam
01001. Heather A. Pellerin,
same. Providing court room and stenographer services.

AMHERST

AK Technologies Inc., 36
Hitching Post, Amherst 01002.
Andrey Kvasyuk, same.
Computer technology services.

Legal Problem Solving P.C.,
67 No. Pleasant St., Amherst
01002. Michael J. Mascic,
same. The practice of law.

Sunwood Builders Inc., 84
Potwine Lane, Amherst 01002.
Shaul Perry, same.
Construction, repairing and renovating
commercial and residential structures.

BELCHERTOWN

Sun Struck Tanning Salon
Inc., 39 Federal St.,
Belchertown 01007. Lisa C.
Murphy, 80 North Main St.,
#1, Belchertown 01007.
Tanning salon.

CHICOPEE

Eurobex USA Inc., 285
McKinstry Ave., Chicopee
01013. Maurizio Ciocca, 4175
St. Catherine St., West, Apt.
505, Montreal, Quebec,
Canada H3Z 3C9.

Robert G. Agnoli,
1391 Main
St., Springfield 01103,
registered agent. (Foreign
corp; DE) Warehousing and
distribution of electrical boxes.

J P Fitness Inc.,
29 White
Birch Plaza, Chicopee 01020.
Aaron Patterson, 187
Venntura St., Ludlow 01056.
Ladies fitness center with
circuit training, etc.

JSLC Corp.,
232 Fletcher Cir.,
Chicopee 01020. Joseph
Martin, same. To operate UPS
stores.

S. G. Contractors Corp.,
419 Mont Calm St., #404,
Chicopee 01020. Gurdayal
Singh, same. Construction.

HOLYOKE

Dhaliwal 2 Inc.
, 1532 – 1534
Dwight St., Holyoke 01040.
Rattan Singh, same. Sale of
pizza, sandwiches, pasta, and
soft drinks.

Kay/Bravo Pest Management
Services Inc., 225 High St.,
#501, Holyoke 01040. Larry
Villalobos, same. Inspection,
control and extermination of
wood destroying insects, pests,
etc.

Mendoza Inc.,
One Main St.,
Holyoke 01040. Robert
Mendoza, 36 Pleasant St.,
Westfield 01085.
Transportation of individuals
and families by chauffered
vehicles.

HOLLAND

Northeast Concepts Inc., 16
Lakeridge Dr., Holland 02521.
Chad E. Brigham, same. Real estate development and
construction.

EAST LONGMEADOW

Court Street Management, L.L.C.,
200 North Main St.,
Suite 204, East Longmeadow
01028. Ernest A. Gralia, III, 24
Ridgewood Road, East
Longmeadow 01028. To deal in
real estate.

LONGMEADOW

IQ Design Group Inc.,
56 Severn St., Longmeadow 01106.
Eve K. Kinne, same. To own
and operate an interior design
business and deal in related
products and services.

Meridian Street Management
Co. Inc., 200 North Main St.,
Suite 204, East Longmeadow
01028. Ernest A. Gralia, III, 24
Ridgewood Road, East
Longmeadow 01028. Real estate
development.

LUDLOW

Advance Way
Inc., 146
Laconia St.,
Ludlow 01056. Masanori
Kofune, same. International business consulting.

NORTHAMPTON

Collective Initiatives Inc.,
43 Center St.,
Northampton
01060. Wilton
Earle Hall, III, 3
Edwards Square, Northampton 01060.
(Nonprofit) To promote collective based social education and action initiatives outside the cultural and political mainstream, etc.

SPRINGFIELD

Exile Entertainment
Corp., 935 Main
St., Springfield
01103. Paul V.
Ramesh, same.
To own, lease and operate restaurants, taverns, clubs, etc.

Family Group
Inc., 52
Thornton St.,
Springfield
01104. Michael
L. Burton, same.
To own and operate an automobile repair business.

GL Rising Inc.,
155 Chestnut St., Suite 315,
Springfield 01103.
Gerald F. Rising, 77 Garfield
St., Springfield 01108. To operate a cleaning business.

K. C. Temp Service Inc.,
Wilbraham Road, Springfield
01109. Kim Lam, same.
Temporary employment agency.

New World Real Estate Inc.,
2460 Main St., Springfield
01107. Pedro M. Gonzalez, 216
Springfield St., Springfield
01107. To deal in real estate.

WKB Carpentry Inc.,
44 SavoyAve., Springfield 01104.
William K. Butler Jr., same.
Carpentry service.

WILBRAHAM
Dejavous Hair and Nail Salon
Inc., 1038 Boston Road,
Wilbraham 01095. Lisa A.
Wilson, 85 Glenwood St.,
Ludlow 01056. To carry on the
business of cosmetology.

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Cap & Hitch of New England
Inc., 2001 Riverdale Road,
West Springfield 01089. Shane
M. Duffy, 158 Fountain St.,
Springfield 01108. To install
and sell truck caps, hitches, and accessories.

Ethnic Foods Inc.,
233 Christopher Terrace, West
Springfield 01089. Maria A. Pitaridis, same. Restaurant specializing in Greek food.

US Telecom Group Inc.

354 Lancaster Ave., West
Springfield 01089. Joey Sutton,
same. Telecommunications.

By
Departments

Legislative Breakfast

Nov. 4: Massachusetts Treasurer Tim Cahill will be the keynote speaker at the West Springfield Chamber of Commerce Legislative Breakfast from 7:15 to 9 a.m. at Springfield Country Club, 1375 Elm St., West Springfield. State Sen. Stephen Buoniconti and state Rep. James Welch will also make brief remarks. The cost is $20 for members and $25 for nonmembers. For more information or to make reservations, visit www.myonlinechamber.com.

City of Bright Nights Ball

Nov. 19: The Spirit of Springfield’s 10th annual gala, the City of Bright Nights Ball, will be conducted at the MassMutual Center, sponsored by the MassMutual Financial Group. The evening of fine dining and dancing will also include live and silent auctions. The Boston Culinary Group, bringing in chefs from throughout New England, will serve a gourmet dinner featuring plank salmon and beef tenderloin. Tickets are $400 per couple with tables of 10 available for $2,000. For tickets or more information, call the Spirit of Springfield office at (413) 733-3800.

WNEC Tax Institute

Nov. 18: Updates on federal and state tax laws, new manufacturer deductions, section 1031 ‘like kind’ exchanges and identity theft are topics of the 44th annual Western New England College Tax Institute, planned from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. in Sleith Hall on the college’s main campus, 1215 Wilbraham Road,
Springfield. To register or for more information, call (413) 782-1473 or visit
www.wnec.edu/tax.

Economic Impact Awards Nov. 22: The Mass. Alliance for Economic
Development will host its second annual Team Massachusetts Economic Impact Awards at the Sheraton Boston Hotel. Gloria Larson, Chair, Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, will be the Master of Ceremonies, with Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney as the keynote speaker. Honorees include Kleer Lumber, Interprint and Suddekor from Western Mass. Registration begins at 11 a.m., followed by the program and lunch at noon. For reservations and more information, call (781) 489-6262 or visit www.massecon.com. Government Reception Nov. 30: The Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield presents its annual Government Reception at the Carriage House at Storrowton Tavern, Eastern States Exposition, Memorial Avenue, West Springfield. For more information or to register, visit www.myonlinechamber.
com.

By
Departments

Springfield Museums Receive Support for ‘Learning Together’

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Museums has received a grant for the second year in a row for $95,000 from the MassMutual Financial Group for Learning Together,” a series of educational programs for Springfield Public School students. “Learning Together” addresses the goals of Step Up Springfield, the citywide initiative that challenges the entire community to work together to promote academic proficiency and character development among Springfield’s youth. The grant will support fee waivers for students to participate in educational school group programs at the museums and bus transportation for all fifth-grade students in the city to visit the museums for grade-specific science and social studies programs that target the M a s s a c h u s e t t s Curriculum Frameworks and MCA’s testing. Also, funding will be used toward coupons for a free adult admission to encourage students to visit the museums with their families, and afterschool outreach programs at the North End Youth Center, South End Community Center and Springfield Day Nursery. “Learning Together” activities will take place during the 2005/2006 school year. Throughout the year, museum staff, in consultation with Springfield Public School and MassMutual officials, will evaluate the progress of the project and discuss ways to expand and refine the program in succeeding years.

.Bright Nights Adds ‘Jurassic World’

SPRINGFIELD — The Spirit of Springfield recently announced a major addition to its popular “Bright Nights at Forest Park” for this holiday season – Jurassic World. The 12-piece display is being presented by the MassMutual Financial Group. The new light display features an array of dinosaurs, trees, and an erupting volcano. Jurassic World will be located in the park’s Memorial Grove. Jurassic World is the first major addition to “Bright Nights” since 2002, according to Judith A. Matt, President, Spirit of Springfield. The 11th season of Bright Nights opens Nov. 23 and operates Wednesday through Sunday until Dec. 11. Beginning Dec. 14, the holiday lighting display operates nightly through Jan. 1. Nightly, buses with reservations, are welcome from 5 to 6 p.m. For personal vehicles, Bright Nights is open Monday through Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m. for $12 per vehicle, and 6 to 11 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and holidays at $15 per vehicle.

For more information, call (413) 733-3800 or visit www.brightnights.org.

MHA: Nursing Vacancies Down Slightly

BURLINGTON, Mass. — The vacancy rate for registered nurse positions in Massachusetts hospitals dropped only slightly in 2005, as hospitals continue to battle against the current and looming larger national nursing shortage, according to a new study by the Massachusetts Hospital Association and the Massachusetts Organization of Nurse Executives. According to the survey of hospitals, the RN vacancy rate as of January 2005 was 6.4%, down from 6.8% in 2004 and 8.5% in 2003. The report noted that while vacancy rates have declined for the third consecutive year, they still stand at a high level relative to rates over the 18 years of data collection. National studies suggest that the slight dip in vacancy rates is caused by the reentry to the workforce of older, married nurses responding to increasing RN wages and the toll of relatively high unemployment rates on their families, and more recently, widespread private sector initiatives aimed at increasing the number of people who become nurses. However, these studies say the forecast of a long-term, structural shortage is unchanged. The acute care hospital respondents represented 91% of the state’s 66 acute care hospitals and 94% of the state’s acute care hospital beds.

UMass Computer Models Sharpen Securities Fraud Detection

AMHERST — The world’s largest private- sector securities regulator, the National Assoc. of Securities Dealers (NASD), has teamed up with UMass Amherst researchers to bring cutting-edge computer science to the world of securities fraud. By developing statistical models that assess data that most models can’t manage, the scientists aim to help the NASD discover misconduct among brokers and concentrate regulatory attention on those who are most likely to misbehave. Because broker malfeasance is often encouraged by the presence of those conspiring to commit fraud themselves, the researchers were given the task of developing statistical models that made use of this social aspect of rule-breaking. Such “relational” data is difficult for many models, which often assume independence among records. The work is part of an ongoing, joint project exploring fraud detection by UMass Amherst researchers and the NASD, and it was presented recently by doctoral student Jennifer Neville at the 11th ACM SIGKDD International Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining.

30-Year Mortgage Rates Climb Past 6%

NEW YORK — As realtors note a drop in the housing market frenzy of late, mortgage rates have climbed above 6% — the secondhighest level of the year. According to Freddie Mac, the nation’s housing agency that sells guarantees for home loans, this recent surge can have a psychological effect on persons considering purchasing a home or refinancing a home loan. A chief economist with Freddie Mac speculates that mortgage rates will gradually rise over time but that the 6% rate will hover for awhile before it rises again.

Small Businesses To Benefit From Grants

SPRINGFIELD — Small businesses in the North and South Ends and in Old Hill and Six Corners will benefit from an $80,000 grant administered by the Affiliated Greater Springfield Chambers of Commerce Inc. Several vacant storefronts in each neighborhood will be spruced up and occupied in the hopes it will turn the neighborhood around. Grant money will not be given to the business owners directly, but can be used for architectural costs, marketing, advertising, legal and accounting fees. Bills for the services will be processed through the office of Chamber President Russell F. Denver, who will use the grant money to pay them. Grant money can be used for a new business moving into a storefront or an existing business that wants to expand into an adjacent storefront. The state Division of Employment and Training provided the grant. For more information, contact Denver at (413) 787- 1555.

Two Supermarkets Planned for Sixteen Acres

SPRINGFIELD — Stop & Shop and Big Y Foods announced plans in October forsupermarkets in the city’s Sixteen Acres neighborhood. Big Y plans to reopen a store that was closed two years ago on Wilbraham Road – with a new twist – a smaller, specialty- food theme called Fresh Acres Market. Features of the market would include an area for a farmers market, floral and produce sections, food take-out, a deli and bakery. In addition, the market would feature a gourmet section and conventional store. Stop & Shop has proposed converting 415 Cooley St. into a Super Stop & Shop of 60,000-square-feet, along with 10,000 square feet for other retail space. Stop & Shop has purchased and plans to demolish four homes on Allen Street to accommodate its site needs, however, it still needs zone changes from the Springfield City Council in order to move ahead with its plans.

Food Bank Breaks Ground for Addition

HATFIELD — Western Mass. has a hunger problem, according to Robert Moorehouse, executive director, Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. In an effort to address the rising needs of those facing hunger throughout the region, the Food Bank recently broke ground on a 16,000- square-foot addition that will double the size of its facility. Currently, the Food Bank distributes perishable food to more than 400 shelters, pantries and social service agencies throughout Western Mass. With the new industrial coolers and freezers, the capacity for more perishable food, fruits and vegetables will help provide a healthier diet for the hungry. The Food Bank launched a Room to Grow Campaign last year which has raised $3.6 million toward the new $3.9 million addition. In addition, the Kresge Foundation has offered a $150,000 challenge grant to implement green technology in the new facility.

U.S. Colleges Still Costly

uring the annual survey recently released by the College Board, college cost increases slowed in 2005, the lowest rate since 2001. For students attending a public four-year university, a 7.1% increase is still well above the inflation rate and translates into an average of $5,491 for tuition and fees for one year. Students at two-year public colleges rose by 5.4% to $2,191. At private fouryear, nonprofit colleges, costs increased by 5.9% to $21,235. Most students do not have to pay the full price because of loans and grants, as well as tax breaks. The College Board noted that while total financial aid is increasing, loans accounted for more of the growth than grants for the third consecutive year. Students have to pay back loans, but not grants. Undergraduate borrowers are seeing an average debt of $15,500 – an amount that most experts feel is manageable for students. The College Board also criticized the proliferation of popular state programs that award college grants based on merit and not need.

By
Departments

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

AMHERST

Jones Properties LTD
Partnership
53 Hobart Lane
$5,000 — Construct handicap ramp at front of building, deck and ramp at rear

Woodgreen Amherst Limited Partnership
6 University Dr.
$2,000 — Install sign at
UPS Store

HOLYOKE

Hazen Paper Co.
240 Southwater St.
$18,350 — Re-roof

NORTHAMPTON

Kollmorgen Corporation
347 King St.
$76,000 — Install three overhead doors in tower Northampton Aeronautics
Inc.
152 Cross Path Road
$14,850 — Demolish
7,920 square-foot building

SPRINGFIELD

City of Springfield
200 Bernie Ave.
$167,000 — Construct new
dental clinic
Springfield College
283 Allen St.
$20,850 — Install new metal decking

WESTFIELD

Getty
41 Franklin St.
$57,000 — Renovate
interior White Street School
300 White St.
$32,000 — Install new insulation

Businesses Should Follow MassMutual·s Lead

By
Opinion
While there remains some disagreement about Springfield, it’s current state of health, and its prospects for the future, there is agreement on at least one thing: that this city would be in much more trouble — truly dire straits — without its leading corporate citizen: MassMutual.

Indeed, area business leaders can often be heard referencing this line of thinking — while discussing everything from local cultural treasurers to the region’s Class A office occupancy rate — and acknowledging that they’re glad they don’t have to imagine life without ‘Mother Mutual,’ as it’s called.

We raise the point because, through a combination of current events and seasonal happenings, the depth of the company’s contributions to Springfield and the surrounding region can — or should — be truly appreciated. And we take the opportunity to say that while people can be pleased and proud that they have the corporate giant in this area code, we would be wise never to take its generosity for granted.

Scan the pages of this edition of BusinessWest, or any edition, for that matter, and one can immediately grasp the importance of this Fortune 100 company to the City of Homes and the region that surrounds it. There are prominent examples of the company’s impact on the area, such as attaching its name to the new convention center that opened last month in downtown Springfield. Without that $5 million investment, the entire project might not have moved forward, and if it had, it would not have been the same facility.

There are also many smaller, but in many ways no lessimportant, examples of the company’s generosity and civic-mindedness, such as its gift of the latest display, ‘Jurassic World,’ for Bright Nights. Meanwhile, another area attraction, the Springfield Museums, received another $95,000 grant from the company for ‘Learning Together,’ a series of educational programs for Springfield public school students.

Beyond the monetary and in-kind gifts to the community, MassMutual has also had a profound impact on the region’s real estate market, repeatedly filling large vacancies in downtown Springfield office towers, while also rescuing properties such as the former Charles River Hospital building in Chicopee, which the company converted into a meeting and training center. The latest example of the company’s influence on the office market was the recent opening of its new offices in Enfield, in the former Phoenix complex.

If there is a downside to MassMutual’s generosity, it is that this region might in some ways be too dependent on it, or, worse, that it is starting to take the company’s largesse for granted.

What we would like is for other companies, and individuals as well, to be inspired by MassMutual and to follow its lead — to the greatest degree possible.

By that, we mean that companies don’t have to fund an entire new exhibit for Bright Nights. But they should recognize the importance of that attraction to both the city and the region’s efforts to expand its tourism sector — and support the project accordingly.

Likewise, they can assist institutions like the Springfield Museums, the city’s orchestra, the community’s higher education system, and unique assets like Forest Park.

MassMutual has taken a lead role in supporting each one, and has set an example worthy of emulating.

As we said, it is a combination of news items — from the first events in the MassMutual Center to the recent open house at the Enfield facilities to the Bright Nights announcement — that remind of us how fortunate Springfield is to have a corporate citizen like this. And if you think all Fortune 500 companies are like this, you need to think again.

MassMutual’s donations are almost always large in size, but they are inspired by a fairly simple mindset: that the company does business in Springfield, it takes from the region and benefits from it — and therefore it gives back.

If every business took that same attitude, maybe we would be so dependent on MassMutual — and maybe we wouldn’t spend so much time wondering, and worrying, about what life would be like without it.

By
Departments

Baystate Achieves ‘Magnet’ Status

SPRINGFIELD — Baystate Medical Center and its nurses have been named a Magnet™ hospital for excellence in nursing services by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), a subsidiary of the American Nurses Assoc., earning what less than 3% of the nation’s hospitals have achieved. Earning Magnet hospital status is among the highest of distinctions a hospital and its nurses can achieve, recognizing the caliber of its nursing staff. There are only five Magnet hospitals in Massachusetts, including Baystate, and 13 in New England and 170 nationwide. The Magnet Recognition Program® establishes standards of excellence which health care organizations must attain. Magnet designation helps consumers locate health care organizations that have a proven level of excellence in nursing care and assists hospitals in attracting and retaining quality employees.

WNEC One of ‘America’s Best Colleges’

SPRINGFIELD — U.S. News and World Report has again named Western New England College (WNEC) as one of “America’s Best Colleges.” The magazine ranked WNEC in the top tier of masterslevel universities in the North. For the purpose of its rankings, the magazine compared WNEC with 164 other schools in the North who offer a full range of undergraduate programs and some master’s level programs. This is the second year in a row that WNEC has been ranked in the top tier. In determining the rankings, U.S. News and World Report collected data on more than 1,400 schools nationwide. The magazine assesses schools on 15 separate indicators of academic quality, including academic reputation, freshman retention and graduation rates, class size, student/faculty ratios, and academic achievement among incoming freshmen. WNEC received high marks for the number and quality of its faculty, small class sizes, and per-student expenditures.

Holyoke Health Center Receives $300,000 Grant

HOLYOKE — The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation has awarded $3 million in grants to 10 nonprofit health care organizations across the state in an effort to reduce racial and ethnic health care disparities, including $300,000 to the Holyoke Health Center. Modeling this new program on its successful diabetes and weight loss programs, the Holyoke Health Center will provide a series of interventions tailored to the psychosocial and cultural needs of Holyoke Latinos who have or are at high risk for developing cardiovascular disease. The foundation’s grants across the state will support initiatives that take a comprehensive and innovative approach to improving access and reducing barriers to health care and support services for racial and ethnic minorities. In the largest grant program yet established by the foundation, each of the grant recipients will receive $300,000 to fund one year of program planning and two years of program implementation.

Spalding’s Heavy Duty NBA Ball Truck Debuts

SPRINGFIELD — A new Spalding NBA pro grade ball truck – an indestructible unit with improved performance for NBA players and equipment managers – will debut this season on NBA courts. Spalding has outfitted the 30 NBA teams with two mammoth-sized ball carts made to withstand the rigors of the NBA arenas. Comprised of heavy duty, all metallic, square and rectangle structural tubing, sheet metal and solid rod, the new trucks were furnished to each NBA team along with 50 laser engraved NBA leather game balls (each with their respective team name). Both the truck and the NBA basketballs feature Spalding’s new logo and S icon and represent Spalding’s new “True to the Game” positioning. According to company officials, Spalding is in the development stages of creating a replica ball truck for consumers in 2006 with plans for distribution through www.NBA.com and institutional channels.

New Name for Baystate

SPRINGFIELD — In October, Baystate Health System simplified its corporate name to Baystate Health. Baystate officials stress that the name change better emphasizes the mission of improving the health of the communities it serves. The new name is also reflected in two entities of Baystate – the Baystate Medical Center Children’s Hospital is now Baystate Children’s Hospital, and BHS Ambulance is now Baystate Health Ambulance. A new logo was also part of the overall marketing strategy.

Coldwell Banker Opens New Office

EAST LONGMEADOW — Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage recently held a reception to celebrate the opening of a new, high-tech, expansive real estate sales facility at 55 North Main St., which will continue to support East Longmeadow and Greater Springfield, Enfield, Somers and Suffield. The opening was attended by more than 100 Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage sales associates and employees. Rick Loughlin, President of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Central New England, was joined by Robert Molta, regional vice president Central New England, and additional Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage senior executives, to welcome the sales associates to their new location. East Longmeadow resident Marilyn Ghedini is the sales manager for the new location with responsibility for more than 30 sales associates and staff.

Fran Johnson’s Marks 30th Anniversary

WEST SPRINGFIELD — Fran Johnson’s Golf & Tennis will celebrate 30 years in business from Nov. 11-13 with a community event that will include the opportunity to donate to the American Red Cross to help assist hurricane relief efforts. Highlights of the three-day event include a putting contest that will feature three age divisions, 5-7, 7-16, and adult. In addition, silent auction tables will feature a variety of items including golf equipment, golf trips, and tennis packages. Area residents are also invited to donate used golf clubs that can be refurbished for its Clubs for Kids program. The 15-year-old program refurbishes clubs and distributes them to area junior programs. For more information, visit www.franjohnsons.com.

A Call for Leadership

By
Opinion
Last issue, BusinessWest offered a strong endorsement to Springfield Mayor Charles Ryan’s bid for a second term. Given the many stern challenges the city faces, Ryan’s strong leadership skills will be needed if the city is to make a full rebound from its current fiscal and public relations woes.

But Springfield is merely part of a region that continues to see strong growth in many areas, including health care, higher education, retail, distribution, and other sectors. Indeed, while Springfield has in many ways been stagnant, other cities, such as Holyoke, Northampton, Easthampton, Westfield, and Chicopee, and smaller communities like Belchertown, East Longmeadow, South Hadley, and others, have enjoyed strong commercial and residential growth.

The common denominators in each of those communities are vision and strong leadership. And with municipal elections only a few days away, we encourage area residents and business leaders to exercise sound judgment in the voting booth and support those individuals who will move their communities — and this region as a whole — forward.

People like Westfield’s Rick Sullivan. The city’s five-term mayor is running unopposed this November, but he deserves some recognition for his decade-long dedication to his community. Sullivan has guided the city through a period of change and challenge, and enabled it to take more and better advantage of its many resources, from ample developable land to its airport. Sullivan should be mayor for as long as he wants the job.

Likewise for another leader named Sullivan — Mike. Since becoming mayor of Holyoke in 1999, he has helped orchestrate a notable turnaround in that historic city. This is still a work in progress, but Holyoke has seen an exciting mix of new development and rehabilitation of many of its old mills. A proposal for a minor league baseball team has the potential to bring even greater diversity to an economic base already supported by manufacturing, health care, and retail.

Sullivan, a former business owner, has sought to make city government operate more like a business — meaning a higher level of accountability and, for lack of a better term, customer service. His efforts have brought positive results, and we look for more of them.

Broader diversity is a common goal across the Valley, and Easthampton is another community to make great strides in that area. Mike Tautznik, the city’s first and only mayor, has brought vision and determination to the community’s ongoing efforts to create new business opportunities, particularly in arts-related areas, and deserves the full support of residents.

Perhaps the most intriguing race this fall is in Chicopee, where incumbent Richard Goyette is seeking a second term. Goyette has been challenged by many factors in his first two years in office — from an uncooperative Board of Aldermen to a protracted (and controversial) school superintendent search, to a political campaign this fall that has focused more on personalities and mud slinging than on the issues.

Chicopee is facing a number of business and development concerns — from the redevelopment of the former American Bosch property to downtown revitalization efforts; ongoing growth along Memorial Drive to a reshaping of the Cabotville Industrial park, now under new ownership.

Tackling these issues, as well as others involving education, public safety, and fiscal management, requires real leadership.

The city won’t find any in Mike Bissonnnette, who has a made a career out of running for public office but not winning it. We admire his persistence, but not his resume.

Goyette has some work to do building the kinds of partnerships needed to move any agenda forward, but we believe that he is the best the answer for Chicopee. He is not the lesser of two evils, as some have suggested, but the community’s best hope for real leadership.

Like the mayors of Holyoke, Westfield, Easthampton, and other area cities, Goyette has the requisite vision to take his city forward. Voters should give him at least two more years to carry on that assignment.

John Gormally, BusinessWest Publisher

Staying the Course with Charlie Ryan

By
Opinion
There doesn’t seem to be much interest in this fall’s municipal election in Springfield, and that’s understandable.

Many Springfield residents are apparently of the opinion that the state-appointed control board is calling all the shots, especially with regard to the budget, and that it doesn’t really matter who is elected to serve the community as mayor, city councilor, school board member, or other office holder.

While the control board certainly holds most of the power in Springfield, it is wrong to believe that this election doesn’t have much meaning, especially in the mayor’s race.
The next two years will be pivotal for Springfield. What transpires will likely determine how soon the city can regain control of its finances, and what kind of community we will have when the control board packs its bags — hopefully in July 2007.

And that’s why we strongly endorse Mayor Charles Ryan for re-election. He has the strong leadership skills — and the ability to make hard decisions — that will be needed over the next two years. Ryan, who will be in his 80s by the end of 2007, will likely not seek another term beyond the next one, but he can use the next two years to construct a solid platform on which the next generation of Springfield’s leaders can operate.

Ryan was given an extremely difficult challenge when he took office in January, 2004: starting the process of repairing the considerable damage done to the city’s balance sheet, and its psyche, by an utterly corrupt Michael J. Albano administration. And we believe he has done an admirable job with that assignment.

Much work needs to be done in many areas, including public safety, education, and the broad topic of economic development, but we see some progress on many of these fronts. And any progress would be an accomplishment given the depth of the hole the city found itself in courtesy of its former mayor.

Indeed, the city had real problems with everything from paying its bills to putting police on the streets — and, as a result, had a massive public relations problem as well. Over the course of the past year or so, every major regional newspaper, from The Boston Globe to the Worcester Telegram to the Hartford Courant turned the spotlight on the City of Homes. The headlines varied but the theme was the same: ‘What’s Wrong with Springfield?’

The answer is complicated, and Ryan understood that going in. He also understood that the place to start — beyond the hard work on the city’s bottom line — was restoring trust in City Hall and the people who work there.

Albano’s legacy is a faulty bureaucracy defined by greed, cronyism, and rampant criminal activity. Ryan has taken major steps toward repairing the city’s tarnished image and restoring trust in local government.

With that foundation now laid, he should be given the chance to build on it.

We are especially eager to see progress on the economic development front. If Springfield is to see the kind of rebound everyone wants, there must be an infusion of new, well-paying jobs. To attract those jobs and the companies that provide them, the city must foster new-business development, while also focusing on what David Panagore, deputy executive director of the control board and this issue’s cover story, calls the “fundamentals” of economic development.

By this, he means a focus not only on the six or so major (and also stalled) projects in the city like Union Station, the old Hall of Fame, and the York Street jail, but also on safe streets, education, neighborhoods, and parks.

Charlie Ryan knows all about these fundamentals, and offers real leadership in the ongoing, and critical, work to give people reasons to live and work in Springfield.

Ryan has spent the past two years digging Springfield out of a very deep hole. But the job is far from complete. When it is, there remains the task of fully restoring confidence in a community that has little of that precious commodity left.

For both of these reasons, voters should take this fall’s election seriously, and give Ryan another two years to finish what he’s started.

Going Beyond Laptops

By
Opinion
Gov. Mitt Romney’s proposal to equip all secondary school students in Massachusetts public schools with laptop computers is a necessary first step toward providing a 21st century education to all our young people. Such an initiative, properly implemented, can help raise student aspirations and assist them in developing the skills they will need to succeed in school and in life.

The 2004 report of the Special Commission on Educational Technology, made up of educators, business leaders, legislators, and representatives of the administration, supported a one-to-one, student-to-computer ratio as a means to achieve equity and improved learning, to involve and communicate with parents, and to interest students in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills valued in our economy. This report, and the dozens of statewide and district laptop initiatives that have been implemented over the past five years, point to some important lessons about how to proceed and what to expect.

One lesson is the necessity of professional development for teachers. Laptops can catalize positive changes in teaching and learning only if teachers take the lead through effective use of the technology to transform classroom instruction, and if teachers and principals learn to use technology to help them make sound instructional decisions based on achievement data. This will require training and support.

Another lesson is to plan well for robust networking and to budget for the total cost of ownership of the hardware, including maintenance, repairs, upgrades, and technical support. We must make certain from the start that the choice of hardware and software supports the many dozens of applications that have proven effective. The governor’s plan to make replacement laptops a yearly part of the budget in schools makes sense.

A final important lesson is that we will see “soft” results before test scores show any change — improved attendance, decreased discipline problems, and increased student engagement in learning. Evaluations thus need to focus on students’ attitudes and what teachers find successful, not just on test scores. This is an investment in our future workforce and the payback will take time.

The controversy about the governor’s plan to use low-cost laptops — being developed at MIT for schools in developing countries — has diverted attention from a key point: Whatever hardware we choose, Massachusetts must act now, or our students will soon be losing ground in the race for 21st century skills to millions more potential competitors around the world.

Students will recognize this initiative as a vote of confidence. They see that the world is changing rapidly and that to compete they must master the computer and the Internet with newfound information-age skills. If we challenge them to excel at writing, presentation, collaboration, analysis, and logical thinking — and give them the tools to meet those challenges — they will create a prosperous future for themselves and the Commonwealth.

Andre Meyer is senior vice president for Communications and Research at Associated Industries of Massachusetts. Isa Kaftal Zimmerman is chairman of the Educational Technology Advisory Council and director of Professional Education at Lesley University.

By
Departments

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

Alexander, Andrew
Alexander, Maria J.
8 Mercury Court
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/02/05 Ambrose,

Joanne Mary
106 Colonial Village
Amherst, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/13/05

Anderson, Nicole Elaina
491 Bridge Road, # 417
Florence, MA 01062
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/04/05

Antle, Barbara Jean
156 King St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/04/05

Auclair, Ronald D
Auclair, April A
136 Aldrew Ter.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/08/05

Birk, George W.
Birk, Ethel L.
20 Everett St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/09/05

Bonanno, Christopher M.
1 Belden Court
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/14/05

Boucher, Desiree A.
7 Washington St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/07/05

Bowler, Richard D.
Bowler, Donna M.J.
48 Kendall St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/08/05

Bryant, Gina B.
17 Pasadena St., Apt. 7
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/06/05

Caldwell, April S.
304 Regency Park Dr.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/05

Carlson, Rosalie
548 Armory St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/05

Castro, Alberto M.
80 Pine St.
Florence, MA 01062
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/13/05

Champigny, Patricia A.
208 Edendale St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/14/05

Cherry, Sonja C
10 Wolcott St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/09/05

Clark, Michael A.
33A Clark St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/09/05

Collier, Chester W.
Collier, Lisa C.
71 Elmwood Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/07/05

Cook, Veronica M.
21 Willard Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/02/05

Cormier, David Joseph
90 Mary Coburn Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/13/05

Cunningham, Susan J.
22 Eagle St.
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/14/05

Dabkowski, John
20 North Lake Ave.
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/08/05

Dameworth, Heather Marie
19 Florence Road
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/10/05

Danek, Mark
1035 Central St., Apt 1
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 09/08/05

Daniele, Gennaro T.
162 Birchland Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 09/14/05

Davis, Mae Carrie
414 Chestnut St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/09/05

Dearborn, William R.
Dearborn, Barbara J.
23 Amherst Ave. #23
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/07/05

Dearden, Lesley
297 Commonwealth Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 09/08/05

Dobbins, Chris Jonathan
Dobbins-Woods, Brandie Maureen
7 Campechi St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/02/05

Domingues, Ulises Arnel
52 Patton St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/15/05

Dow, Alexis V.
76 St. Lawrence Ave.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/13/05

Dow, Perry J.
85 Edwards St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/13/05

Dowd, Matthew J.
Dowd, Shelby L.
72 Audubon St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 09/15/05

FitzGerald, David B.
37 Columbus Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/09/05

Fitzgerald, Kellie A.
624 Main St.
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/05

Ford, Thomas E.
PO Box 102
Hadley, MA 01035
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/02/05

Fugiel, Corrie Michele
265 Sargeant St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/04/05

Gamelli, Linda L.
44 Elbert Road
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/15/05

Godard, Gregory A.
Godard, Karen A.
71 Forge Pond Road
Granby, MA 01033
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/11/05

Gonzalez, Alfredo
88 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/14/05

Gonzalez, Hilda N.
1118 St. James Ave.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/14/05

Goodreau, Brian R.
68 Michigan St.
Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/07/05

Goodwin, Derek
P.O. Box 461
Northampton, MA 01061
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/09/05

Graveline, Roland J.
Graveline, Rose
22 Fremont St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/05

Gray, Kathleen A.
97 Almon Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/08/05

Green, Anne
391 Main St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/13/05

Hall, Carol Ann
11 Old Farm Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/09/05

Harris, Wilhamenia
277 Fernbank Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/06/05

Haseltine, Kerry Liane
23 Berkshire Ave.
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/05

Hebda, Lynne M
34 South St., Apt. 2
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/09/05

Hernandez, Christine Ann
78 Paul Revere Dr.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/08/05

Hohenberger, Henry Kenneth
202 South St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/13/05

House, Shatarra B.
112 Canon Circle
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/02/05

Huynh, Duc Hoang
105 S. Tallyho Dr.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/05

Johnson, David S
Johnson, Joan M
73 Barrett St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/09/05

Johnson, Karin M.
15 Horseshoe Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01022
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/14/05

Jones Callands, Nancy L.
76 Buckingham St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/14/05

Keeney, Tammy L.
24 Chestnut St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/09/05

Kervian, Edouard J.
43 School St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/14/05

Koziol, Elizabeth G.
79 Northwest Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/14/05

LaClair, Kim P.
37 Church St.
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 09/10/05

Langevin, Steven G.
69 Hanover St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/11/05

Laramee, Kevin D.
130 Lavoie Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/06/05

Lavalle, Susan J.
P.O. Box 774
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/14/05

Lavin, Michael P
17 Dana St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/13/05

Lavin, Noreen F
P.O. Box 70576
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/13/05

Lemon, MaryAnn C.
610 Old County Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/05

Leonard, Gary M.
22 Leslie St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/11/05

Leveille, Mark D.
Leveille, Debbi L.
9 Mutter St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/14/05

Lindsey, Edward
97 Elm St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/08/05

Lubanski, Donna Lee
57 Hill St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/08/05

Maldonado, Haydee
860 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 09/09/05

Maldonado, Sonia
4 Waterford Circle
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/07/05

Melao, Daniel Anthony
82 Frink St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/06/05

Michalak, Anthony F.
Michalak, Carolyn J.
115 Pomeroy Meadow Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/09/05

Motley, Robert Richard
Motley, Lisa Meryem Kayi
61 Columbia St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/13/05

Mulvey, David E.
12 Holyoke St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/05

Nagiyeva, Mutallim
Nagiyeva, Anna
7 Manor Court
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/09/05

Nemec, Andrew G
9 Belvedere Gardens
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/08/05

Nemec, William G.
Nemec, Carol L.
11 Belvidere Gardens
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/10/05

Nguyen, Hieu Ngoc
109 Sierra Vista Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/06/05

Nichols, Randy
110 Bondsville Road
Ware, MA 01080
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/05

Nunnally, Paul J.
93 Wolcott St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/05

O’Brien, Pamela A.
267 Center St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/07/05

O’Connell, Charles M.
5 Center St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/13/05

Ovtchinnikova, Valeria
241 Beacon Circle
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/08/05

Padilla, Glenda Liz
63 Brightwood Ave.
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/02/05

Pagan, Eubill
PO Box 3751
Springfield, MA 01101
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/06/05

Paquette, Karen Ann
22 Ambrose St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/10/05

Pastore, Donna M.
40 Sioux Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/15/05

Pastorello, Richard R.
Pastorello, Roberta A.
6 Whippletree Lane
Amherst, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/13/05

Payson, Clifford A.
33 White St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/08/05

Pierce, Dean Howard
18 Shibley Court
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/10/05

Pike, Stanley Ronald
159 Ferry St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/09/05

Poehler, Matthew J.
72 Mayher St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/02/05

Politella, Daria K.
33A Clark St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/09/05

Provost, Renee C.
46 Warebrook Village
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/13/05

Ranson, Yvonne Lavelle
10 Cloran St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 09/10/05

Raymond, Douglas D.
4 Ross Ave.
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/07/05

Reardon, Beth
8 Ranger St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/05

Richard, Kenneth L.
12 Turkey Hill Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/05

Rivera, Jose M.
120 Lowell St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/05

Rodrigues, Adam A.
11 Helen Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/14/05

Rodrigues, Helen
120 Wilson St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/15/05

Rodriguez, Aileen J.
16 Narragansett St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 09/08/05

Rodriguez, Juanita
98 Pheasant Hill Dr.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/08/05

Rogalski, Cynthia Marie
2101 Calkins Road
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/08/05

Rohde, David Richard
P.O. Box 2682
Amherst, MA 01004
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/05

Rosienski, Tod J.
Rosienski, Donna
159 Prospect St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 09/02/05

Ross, Raeann
515 Montgomery St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/06/05

Rouillard, Roger J.
215 Meadow St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/11/05

Russell, Sara L.
63 Teawaddle Hill Road
Leverett, MA 01054
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/13/05

Sanders, Helene Elike
1 Springfield St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/02/05

Scuderi, Michelle J
47 Hendom Dr.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/09/05

Shaver, Richard W.
Shaver, Holly W.
36 Fruit St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/14/05

Shea, Robert P.
19C Higland Village
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/03/05

Sheldon, Darlene A.
32 Laurel St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/15/05

Sheldon, Randy R.
1302 South Main St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/05

Sherman, Thomas E.
26 Goldenrod St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/08/05

Sipe, Patricia L.
80 Pine St.
Florence, MA 01062
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/13/05

Skala, Deborah J.
391 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/07/05

St. Peter, Donald G.
St. Peter, Dianne M.
246 Kendall St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/13/05

Stenta, Richard P
63 Duclos Dr.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/13/05

Sweeney, Julie Elisabeth
211 M. Sears Rd.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/02/05

Tetreault, Elizabeth A.
57 George Loomis Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/07/05

Thompson, Lisa D
277 North Valley Road
Pelham, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/15/05

Tower, George Robert
Tower, Michele Ann
19 Warebrook Dr.
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/15/05

Tremblay, Gerard N
199 Poplar St.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/13/05

Turgeon, William Joseph
Turgeon, Joyce Marie
270 Allen St.
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/04/05

Veighey, Ruth Beatrice
10 Valley View Court
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/13/05

Veillette, Anne Marie
88 Riverview Terrace Apt.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/13/05

Walczak, Thomas A.
47 Hamilton St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/05

Warner, Daniel A.
71A Elm St.
Hatfield, MA 01038
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/12/05

Washington, Michaela G.
81 Brickett St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/15/05

Weber, Roberta M.
40 Root Road
Barre, MA 01005
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/10/05

Wegiel, Mark A.
21 Dwight St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/02/05

White, Pamela Joy
23 1/2 Elm St.
Ware, MA 01082
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/04/05

Wilcox, Ed
ar Horace
135 Westminister St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 09/14/05

Williams, Ronald R.
50 Castlegate Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/13/05

Williamson, Eddie J.
Williamson, Thelma E.
45 McKnight St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 09/06/05

Wright, Pennie M.
14 Elsie St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/15/05

Zych, Timothy Richard
340 North Liberty St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/04/05

By
Departments

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

AMHERST

Amherst Realty Co.
36 Main St.
$15,000 — Install new kitchen grease hood system with hood suppression system

Amherst Tire Center Inc.
292 College St.
$13,300 — Re-roof

EAST LONGMEADOW

Grace & Glory Church
93 Meadowbrook Road
$32,000 — Siding and windows

HOLYOKE

Holyoke Medical Center
262 Old Lyman Road
$23,491 — New lavatories in Skinner building

NORTHAMPTON

Paul H. D’Amour et al
162 North King St.
$65,000 — Demolish stand-alone bank building

Michael B. Gormely
92 Main St.
$5,000 — Erect wall sign – Murduff’s Jewelry

SPRINGFIELD

Brookdale Park Properties
189 Brookdale Dr.
$28,000 — Exterior renovations

John Masler
868-870 Main St.
$35,000 — Create physical therapy office

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Lanere Holdings
208 Ashley Ave.
$50,000 — Renovations

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

Nishimoto Trading Co. LTD v. House of Teriyaki a/k/a U—One Inc. and Gao Hee Chung
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $15,754.04
Date Filed: Sept. 2

SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT

Grand Lumber Co. Inc. v. Sunrise Properties Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for materials: $8,348.92
Date Filed: Sept. 14

Normandeau Trucking Inc. v. O’Brien Excavation & Trucking Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for trucking and hauling services: $15,934.80
Date Filed: Sept. 15

U.S. Foodservice Inc. v. ES Enterprises Inc. d/b/a Brass Rail and Debra Casale
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $3,687.15
Date Filed: Sept. 15

WESTFIELD DISTRICT COURT

Getty Petroleum Marketing Inc. v. Classic Fuel LLC and Gary Kevorkian
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $7,344.27
Date Filed: Aug. 25

By
Departments

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

AGAWAM

Kudlic Brothers
491B Springfield St.
John Kudlic

Perez Handyman Service
1013 Main St.
Margarita Perez

Union Mart
308 Suffield St.
Anjum Khawaja

AMHERST

Bosom Buddies
40 Spaulding St.
Dawn Kennedy

Jonathon Abbott, Esq.
30 Boltwood Walk
Jonathon Abbot

Unit Rental Inc.
408 Northampton Road
Gale French

CHICOPEE

Chick’s Lawn Care
19 Willette St.
Richard Cecchetti Jr.

New Dragon House
480 Burnett Road
Zhie Gao

EAST LONGMEADOW

J.T. Construction
36 Dartmouth St.
John Turowsky

HOLYOKE

America Buses & Trucks
56 Jackson St.
Medin Dominguez

Cuba Supermarket
439 High St.
Siloana Colon

J.O. Auto Repair
75 Clemente St.
Arturo Sanchez

LONGMEADOW

J. Jill LLC
712 Bliss Road
Kerry Brunette

NORTHAMPTON

Evolution, Renovation & Building
32 Elizabeth St.
Jonas LaPointe

The Gutterman
132 Crosspath Road
Robert Messier Sr.

SOUTH HADLEY

Common Cuts
470 Newton St.
Deborah Blaney

SPRINGFIELD

Alan Epstein Photography & Digital
50 Ingersoll Grove
Alan Epstein

Bryan’s Roofing
39 Gardens Dr.
Bryan Trombley

Design Plus
1140 Main St.
Yevgenig Norkin

The Firm
490 Main St. William McCarthy

Latin Mark
1655 Main St.
Rene Romaro

NLB Appraisal Services
36 Sunapee St.
Chris Bertelli

R & B Auto
380 Bay St.
Richard Ricketts

Stunin Records
1655 Main St.
Virgen Lopes

Wilson’s Leather
1655 Boston Road
Wilson’s Leather of MA Inc.

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Brothers Covers
239 Western Ave.
Kenneth LaBelle

Convenience Mart
7 Chester St.
Muhammad Sabir

Kia M. Brokos, L.M.T.
425 Union St.
Kia Marie Brokos

The Kung Fu Academy 1
869 Memorial Ave.
Mark Ostrander

WESTFIELD

Be Well Massage
30 Court St.
Shan Marie Jackson

Kitchen Resources
18 Sabrina Brook Lane
Stephanie Hoey

V.P.I. Construction
251 Valley View Dr.
Peter Nedeoglo

By
Departments

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

AMHERST

Youth Action International Inc., 58 Tracy Circle, Amherst 01002. Cherrine Smith, 40 Abbey Road, Newark, DE 19702. Jackie Pateguana, 58 Tracy Circle, Amherst 01002. (Nonprofit) To develop programs to alleviate the suffering of children affected by war and by living under difficult circumstances, etc.

BONDSVILLE

Source Two Inc., 7 Third St., Bondsville 01009. Michael W. Shields Jr., 11 Shelby Lane, East Longmeadow 010128. Custom design engineering and manufacturing of automation equipment.

EAST LONGMEADOW

Care Biopharma Inc., 146 Tanglewood Dr., East Longmeadow 01028. Penelope Johnson, same. To provide staffing, clinical research and consulting services to entities in the biopharmaceutical industry.

GRANBY

Seasonal Bids Inc., 417 East State St., Granby 01033. Bruce A. Peltier, same. To broker the bidding, management and implementation of landscaping jobs between landscapers and property management.

HADLEY

Sugarloaf Mountain Athletic Club Inc., 277 Bay Road, Hadley 01035. Donna Utakis, 71 Blue Hills Road, Amherst 01002. (Nonprofit) To foster amateur sports competition including promoting road racing and/or running related events, etc.

NORTHAMPTON

Accents ‘N Art Inc., 351 Pleasant St., Ste. B321, Northampton 01060. Elizabeth A. Monaghan, 24 Mutter St., Easthampton 01027. Manufacturing home accents and artwork.

Easthampton Trading Company Inc., 222 North King St., Northampton 01060. Thomas R. Broadhurst, 476 East St., Easthampton 01027. Broker/dealer of automobiles.

SPRINGFIELD

Crystal Brook Landscape Construction Inc., 52 Hardy St., Springfield 01129. Justin Haggerty, same. To provide landscape design, construction, etc.

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Spruce Facilities Management Inc., 43 Witch Path #1, W. Springfield 01089. Katherine M. Zimmerman, same. Janitorial service.

By
Departments

The Springfield-based accounting firm Downey, Sweeney, Fitzgerald & Co., P.C., announced that Janelle A. Davenport has joined the firm as a Staff Accountant.

•••••

Nicholas DeCristofaro has been named the Director of Commercial Ventures and Intellectual Property at UMass Amherst. He has served in a variety of research, technology and business leadership roles throughout his industrial career, with a primary focus on new-product development.

•••••

Bay Path College in Longmeadow announced the following:
• Sheila J. Foley has joined the full-time faculty as Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice. An adjunct professor at Bay Path for three years, she earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in criminal justice from Westfield State College and has more than 20 years experience in the field.
• June Sullivan has joined the faculty as Professor of Law and Chair of Bay Path’s Legal Studies Program.

•••••

Gene Talsky has been named Director, Small Business Development, for the Valley Community Development Corp. in Northampton. He will help low-and moderate- income and minority entrepreneurs launch their own businesses. He will also work with existing small business owners, helping them to grow their ventures. Services are available to those who live or work in Northampton or Easthampton.

•••••

The Springfield Museums announced the following:
• Michael F. Golden, President and Chief Executive Officer of Smith & Wesson Holding Corp., has been named a Corporator;
• Michael Matty, Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer at St. Germain Investment Management, has been named a Corporator, and
• Peter A. Picknelly, President of Peter Pan Bus Lines Inc., has been named a Corporator.
Golden, Matty and Picknelly will serve three-year terms.
• Re-elected to the Springfield Museums’ Board for three-year terms were Richard B. Collins, David W. Glidden, Noel R. Leary, Elsie Smith, and J. Michael Wallace, Esq.
• The annual corporators meeting was followed by the organizational meeting of the Board of Trustees at which the following officers were elected for one-year terms: J. Michael Wallace, Esq., Chairman; John M. O’Brien, III, CPA, Treasurer; Richard B. Collins, Assistant Treasurer; Frances M. Gagnon, Clerk, and David Starr, Assistant Clerk.

•••••

Francis X. McCarthy has been named to the Springfield financial services practice of Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America.

• Frank Bullard has joined the Wilbraham office, and
• Robert W. Schwaber has joined the Westfield office.

Sarah Jewell has been named General Manager of the new Homewood Suites by Hilton in Holyoke. The 114-room hotel, owned by Buffalo Lodging Associates, is scheduled to open in early 2006.

•••••

Attorney Caroline E. Nicolai of Nicolai Law Group in Springfield, recently published an article in the Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce on the treatment of women under Islamic law. She is a 2004 graduate of the Syracuse University School of Law.

•••••

Michael Behaylo has joined Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage of New England as a Sales Associate in the Longmeadow office.

•••••

Kurt MacDonald has been named National Sales Manager of Janlynn Corp. in Chicopee.

•••••

American International College in Springfield announced the following:
• Judith Syner, Registrar, has been named Executive Director of Student Financial Services;
• Pauline Mortenson has been named Director of Transfer and International Admissions, and
• Denise Carmody has been named Budget Director and will continue to serve as Assistant Comptroller.

•••••

Sanjay Kumar, M.D., joined the staff of Johnson Memorial Hospital and is in practice with Enfield Orthopedics of Enfield.

•••••

Banana Publishing Inc. publisher of the Border Busters Yellow Pages community directory, announced the following:
• Christine Cox has joined the staff as Art Director;
• Bruce Beard was recently named Sales Manager;
• Samuel O’Connor, Ronny Sinn, Mark Villano, Michael Burnham, and Lindsey Palumb have joined the sales staff.

•••••

Berkshire Bank announced the following:
• Shelley K. Guyette has been named Assistant Vice President for Human Resources, and
• Ronald H. Spring has been named Assistant Vice President for Facilities and Purchasing.

An Energetic Course

By
Opinion
At the Region’s Colleges
The headband read ‘president.’
That was the only clue most people had that the man helping students unload refrigerators and stereo systems on moving-in day at American International College a few weeks ago was none other than the institution’s recently named chief executive — Vincent Maniaci.

He told the local press that his box-lifting escapades were his way of telling students and their parents that the school was going to be there for them. We can see even more symbolism in his desire to break a sweat and get his hands dirty.

Indeed, we count Maniaci among a host of new or relatively new college presidents that are bringing a sense of energy to their schools, and thus to the larger economic development engine that is the region’s higher education system.

The Valley’s seats of higher learning have always been an important cog in the development of the region’s workforce. But an injection of new blood at several area institutions fosters hopes for continued growth of these schools and more and greater relationship-building with the business community that will benefit the entire region.

In other words, we should look forward to more of the imagination and inspiration we have seen at Bay Path College, which has flourished under the leadership of President Carol Leary. The institution has added several degree programs, introduced a women’s leadership conference, and injected a broad focus on innovation and entrepreneurship, among other initiatives.

And we should also see more of the leadership and creative risk-taking that we have witnessed at Springfield Technical Community College, which, under the leadership of former President Andrew Scibelli, created a technology park and enterprise center that are currently home to dozens of businesses employing nearly 1,000 people.
A quick look around the region reveals some of the reasons for the optimism:

  • At STCC, there are new examples of innovation and community involvement, including the recent relocation of the municipal police academy to the historic campus, as well as talks about creation of a high school, geared specifically toward students interested in math and science, at the campus;
  • At Elms College, another new president with a strong track record for community involvement and raising a school’s profile, is at the helm. Jim Mullen comes to the Chicopee institution from the University of North Carolina at Ashville, where he succeeded in both boosting enrollment and involving students and faculty in the community. He has already pledged to do the same at The Elms.
  • At Holyoke Community College, work is nearing completion on the Kittredge Business Center, a facility that will add a new and intriguing layer to the work currently being done at STCC, Bay Path, UMass, and other schools to foster entrepreneurship and help business owners clear the many hurdles they face.

There are other signs of progress; Springfield College has launched an ambitious, $40 million building program, and Westfield State College, with its new athletic and convocation center, is looking to forge new partnerships with the residents and businesses of that city. Meanwhile, Western New England College, which has also expanded its campus, recently opened a facility called the Law and Business Center for Advancing Entrepreneurship. It will utilize the talents of law and business students, and their faculty, to help fledgling entrepreneurs with matters ranging from trademarks to business plans.

At UMass, perhaps the biggest economic engine in the Pioneer Valley, president Jack Wilson and Chancellor David Lombardi are aggressively forwarding plans to double the amount of research grants awarded the university. And with those research dollars comes the promise of new businesses — and jobs.

Maniaci may have the sternest challenge — and greatest opportunity — of all the area’s college presidents. His school, directed by Harry Courniotes for nearly four decades, finds itself in need of a spark and in search of niche it can exploit. Meanwhile, it has to overcome a budget deficit.

Its new president brings energy — and a strong back — to his assignment, and we’re confident that AIC, with help from area graduates and business leaders, can return to prominence.

Make Investments in a Healthy Community

By
Opinion
Neal Lane, an advisor to President Bill Clinton, once commented in a speech, “It is only by building a sense of teamwork and community that we can overcome the unexpected detours and hurdles we encounter on our own journey and gain satisfaction that ought to derive from such achievements. Those organizations that prepare themselves for the unexpected and help to build a sense of community will become the leaders of the 21st century.”

The United Way is one of those organizations.
Recently, our community has responded well to the unexpected. More importantly, a strong sense of community has emerged from all the efforts to assist the Hurricane Katrina victims. We are proud of our Red Cross chapters, our Salvation Army Corp., and the many other organizations and individuals that responded so passionately to this human crisis.

A crisis of this magnitude captures everyone’s attention, as it should. But it’s important to remember that the same organizations that responded so well to Katrina are working hard every day in our community, alleviating the individual crises we all have in our lives. United Way of Pioneer Valley is helping to lead that network of agencies and programs. Many of those agencies depend on the success of our annual fund drive to run the programs that serve our community.

Our mission has always been to strengthen our community by empowering every individual. United Way’s goal is to create a community where all of our citizens are valued; where diversity becomes a strength; where the voiceless are heard; where children have opportunities to grow into productive, responsible adults; where we can all live in a community that is safe.

A healthy community requires a healthy partnership between the United Way and its 57 partner agencies and we’re proud to foster that partnership every day. We want people to know that our service area may include 23 cities and towns, but we serve every citizen that reaches out for help.

Our United Way campaign kicked off on Sept. 9 with a goal of $6.5 million. We know this is not nearly enough to meet all the pressing needs that our community faces. Still, together we have a responsibility to provide the financial resources necessary to create a strong, healthy, and secure community in order to be able to respond to the concerns and needs of our larger community.

Your individual and corporate gifts to the United Way campaign are the single best investments you can make toward reaching the goal of a healthy community.

United Way will provide you, the donor, the accountability and the assessment of how your investment is working. It can also provide the information you need to make prudent decisions about how to distribute your financial resources. But most importantly, this campaign can and will help unite us in a worthy cause; the wellbeing of our community and our children’s community.

The Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation has generously offered to match every new and increased leadership donation of $1,000 or more to the annual campaign. Please help us reach our goal by doubling your gift this year through this wonderful matching grant.

What we do know is that we must throw aside everything that is dull, motionless, and backward looking. Together, as partners, we need to see and embrace new ways and new solutions to our needs and problems. We need to understand that, if we do business today as we did yesterday, we are bound to lose; if we do business tomorrow as we do today, we will surely be doomed.

If you own or manage a local business that does not participate in United Way, we hope you will consider joining our community of business partners. It will strengthen our community and your business. We can’t thank you enough for your generous support in past years and hope that you will join us in a successful campaign this year.-

Joel Weiss is president & CEO of United Way of Pioneer Valley; (413) 737-2691.

By
Departments

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

Aguirre, Felix Alejandro
PO Box 5672
Springfield, MA 01101
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/28/05

Allen, Russell H.
2661 Boston Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/24/05

Anderson, Donald G.
208 Bay Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/05

Andis-Hamlett, Nora C.
101 Fowler St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/05

Anziano, Anthony C.
P.O. Box 191
West Springfield, MA 01090
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/26/05

Arnold, Jenelle E.
116 N. Lake Ave.
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/26/05

Aubuchon, Richard P.
43 West Summit St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/05

Bak, Felicia L.
Bak, Heather D.
98 Skyridge St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/24/05

Banach, Michelle M.
25 Berwyn St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/19/05

Barber, Maria R.
155 Carroll St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/26/05

Bates, Larry J.
Bates, Joya D.
3 Fenwick St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/22/05

Beaulieu, Amanda L.
Beaulieu, Luke J.
1430 Russell Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/23/05

Bergeron, John A.
P.O. Box 591
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/05

Bergstrom, Diane T.
86 Alvin St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/17/05

Bertelli, Dennis John
Bertelli, Nancy Ann
41 Margaret St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/20/05

Bigda, David M.
62 White St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/05

Bouchard, Alice M.
93 East Pheasant Hill Dr.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/16/05

Bouche, Kimberly A.
241 Jackson St., Apt. 4D
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/29/05

Bousquet, Donald F.
62 South Park Ter.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/18/05

Briggs, Marilyn L.
106 Wood Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/18/05

Bruso, Donald J.
Bruso, Laureen R.
129 South St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/26/05

Buendia, Patricia A.
182 Hampden St.
Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/24/05

Butler, Marcus Calvin
35 Fruit St., A22
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/16/05

Calabrese, Lori B.
30 Bel Air Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/25/05

Caloon, Pamela A.
37 Drexel St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/18/05

Canady, Jo-Anne
327 Beacon Circle
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/19/05

Carter, Cara J.
44 Warrenton St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 09/01/05

Cedrez, Wilber A.
23 Noel St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/17/05

Chamberlain, Brian E
90 Debra Dr. – Apt. 4F
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/05

Chicklowski, Christina R
69 Roy St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/31/05

Clayton, Sandra J.
24 Cyran St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/23/05

Closser, Edward W.
l64 Eddywood St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/31/05

Closser, Kelly A.
55 Old Farm Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/31/05

Collins, Craig Allen
16 Camp Jahn Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/28/05

Colon, Miguel A.
Colon, Lourdes M.
37 St. Jerome Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/31/05

Comtois, Raymond L.
Comtois, Mary L.
55 Farnum Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/17/05

Connell, Donna M.
2 Geryk Court
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/23/05

Connolly, Carolyn Louise
1103 Liberty St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/23/05

Connor-Fusco, Pamela Jane
130 Crosspath Road
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/20/05

Cote, Kelly E.
67 Manchonis Rd.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/05

Couture, Robert A.
Couture, Carolyn A.
124 Joan St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/05

Crescione, Doreen Yvonne
46 Newbury St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/20/05

Crichlow, Bessie M.
12 Florida St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/01/05

Cruz Alvarez, Jose
Cruz, Gladys E
15 Prew Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/16/05

Cyranowski, Jane
567 Dickinson St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/16/05

Dasso, Ramona A.
1358 Bay St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/19/05

Davila, Jovanni
P.O. Box 2511
Holyoke, MA 01041
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/26/05

Delaney, Luke W
261 Arcade St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/25/05

Devins, Arthur R.
Devins, Karen A.
79 Howard St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/23/05

DiAugustino, Eric J.
29 York St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/23/05

Dowd, Thomas L.
Dowd, Jean C.
98 Arthur St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/01/05

Dragon, Lisa L.
47 King St., Apt # A
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/25/05

Drainville, Paul Henry
120 Derryfield Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/26/05

Duprey, Daniel P.
58 Calumet Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/18/05

Dygon, Suzanne M.
9 Thaddeus St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/29/05

Elliott, Sonya R.
16 Main Blvd.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/16/05

Fernandes, Brenda A.
312 James St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/23/05

Florentino, Teresa M.
16 Carriage Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/26/05

Foley, Joseph Vincent
10 Lamb St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/26/05

Fonseca, William M.
Fonseca, Darlene A.
31 Van Dyke Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/31/05

Foote, Christopher J.
Foote, Jennifer A.
56 Dwight Road
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/18/05

Fournier, Ross W.
P.O. Box 337
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/24/05

Frey, Tammy Ann
P.O. Box 284
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/18/05

Gahres, Sylvia A.
132 E. Main St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/25/05

Gamidov, Samir N
19 Sessions Dr.
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/17/05

Gesell, Carol Ann
28 Clinton St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/19/05

Giroux, Christine M.
696 Britton St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/01/05

Gonzalez, Judy
81 Drexel St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/24/05

Gouger, Steven L.
Gouger, Susan M.
61 Eskett St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/26/05

Green, Carrie Ann
1607 Main St.
Springfield, MA 01103
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/17/05

Greenberg, Stephanie Lyn
188-A Rocky Hill Road
Florence, MA 01062
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/20/05

Griffin, Janis M.
67 Labelle St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/26/05

Hall, Latasha M.
86 Pheland Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/25/05

Hamlett, Daniel J.
101 Fowler St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/05

Hanjack, Lorie L
117 Leonard St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/25/05

Harrigan, Michael J.
320 Maple St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/17/05

Hatfield, Jeremy
14 Royalton St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/25/05

Hayden, Patricia L.
513 Parker St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 09/01/05

Hernandez, Dario
68 Tokeneke Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/29/05

Holbrook, Ella B.
3 Mobile Home Way
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/25/05

James, Lorna Claralee
985 Roosevelt Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/28/05

Johnson, Thomas E.
32 Governer St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/25/05

Krstyen, Amy A.
611 Narragansett St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/24/05

Lafrenaye, Irene Rose
58 Crescent Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/01/05

Kane, Thomas J.
66 Forest Hills Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/31/05

Kelly, Cheryl A.
430 Pleasant St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/25/05

Kenyon, Nancy K.
Kenyon, Robin A.
93 Orpheum Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/22/05

Kowal, Daniel M.
116 Narragansett St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/25/05

LaRussa, Thomas J
LaRussa, Irene B.
27 Kingman Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/26/05

Lee, Nicholas D.
4 Devonshire Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/26/05

Loddo, Jennifer M.
541 Nassau Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/31/05

Lorion, Carolynn M.
27 Champlain St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/05

Lorion, Jeffrey R.
27 Champlain St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/05

Marcial, Evilin
22 Massreco St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/28/05

Marcoullier, Ronald Paul
30 East Street Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/20/05

Marie, Lee
92 Fairview Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/05

Marsche, Judith Antoinette
74 Paul Revere Dr.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/01/05

Martin, Michael R
272 Sargeant St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/26/05

Martin, Richard M.
10 Fairview St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/24/05

Matthews, Yvonne R.
59 Edendale St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/24/05

McGuill, John P.
33 Greenwood St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/31/05

McMaster-Marcelina,
Eunice F
16 Driftwood Road
Springfield, MA 01128
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/19/05

Monahan, Kevin C.
47 Broad Street, Apt. B31
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/22/05

Morancy, Patricia M.
7-B Kasper Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/28/05

Morgado, Marco A.
Morgado, CathyAnn
38 Fisher Road
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/24/05

New England Food Distribution, Inc.
1158 East St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/17/05

Nunez, Myrna
123 Brown Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/20/05

Page, Lucille A.
60 Forbes Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/18/05

Palka, Martin R
Palka, Debra C.
126 Summer St
Thorndike, MA 01079
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/22/05

 

Parslow, Michele M.
384 Nichols Road
Barre, MA 01005
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/25/05

Pepe, Denise M.
17 Manor Court
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/31/05

Perez, Andres
PO Box 6345
Springfield, MA 01101
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/29/05

Perreault, Michael G.
Perreault, Robin A.
491 McKinstry Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/26/05

Perry, LaShawne
4 Fanwood St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/19/05

Pettico, Michael T.
3 Harrison Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/16/05

Pinto, Migdalia
41 Central St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/05

Plante, Tonya L.
43 Hope Farms Dr.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/17/05

Poirier, James E.
Poirier, Carmen M.
23 James Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/16/05

Radomski, Benjamin
49 Loretta St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/26/05

Rathbun, John Michael
20 Lori Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/28/05

Ravenscraft, Paul M.
48 Evergreen Road #214
Leeds, MA 01053
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/05

Raymond, Lezime
Raymond, Theresa M.
38 Thomas St., Apt 302
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/20/05

Reichsman, Laura J.
94 Pratt Corner Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/25/05

Reyes, Angel M.
Reyes, Nelly
332 Maple St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/01/05

Ringer, Richard K
198 Mill St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/17/05

Rivera, Ruben
21 Ormond St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/01/05

Roberts, Scott A.
PO Box 327
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/29/05

Rodriguez, Miguel A.
90 Newfield St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/29/05

Rumore, Gino J.
33 Norman Ter.
Feeding Hills, MA 01030
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/25/05

Russo, Robert
210 Walnut St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/19/05

Saluk, Patrick Edmond
17 Bushwick Place
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/05

Santamaria, Jodi L.
42 Stratford Ter.
Springfield, MA 01108
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/16/05

Santiago, Carmen S.
163 High St., Apt. # 203
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/16/05

Slate, Kenneth P.
11 Catherine Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/18/05

Small, Debra A.
57 Minechaug Heights
Ludlow, MA 01057
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/01/05

Sorokin, Nikolay P
372 Granby Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/31/05

Spear, Gerald E.
Spear, Laurel A.
14 Pennsylvania Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/25/05

Specht, Paul Vernon
87 Prospect St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/05

Staccato, Maureen L.
60 Elmdale St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/26/05

Stamm, Supanee
73 Silver St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/05

Stanfill, Phyllis R.
34 Ina St.
Springfield, MA 01108|
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/18/05

Swearingen, David W.
54 Loomis Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/30/05

Symington, Kenneth James
43 Craig Dr., Apt. R-1
West Sp
ingfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/20/05

Taliceo, Kim E.
75 Bluebird Circle
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/18/05

Theriaque, Arthur J.
127 Ambrose St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/26/05

Thibault, Gilles A
67 Labelle St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/26/05

Thrower, Brian
180 Moss Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/18/05

Tiffany-Teece, Gail E.
485 South St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/22/05

Toledo, Carmen M.
24 Cameron St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/25/05

Torres-Fernandes, Diana I
12 Pine Grove
Amherst, MA 01002
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/19/05

Tosado, Maria C.
834 Parker St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/17/05

Turgeon, Sandra L.
24 Water Lane
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/05

Van Beek, Holly G.
3 Park Ave., #1
Westfield, MA 01085
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/29/05

Vanasse, Peter C.
Vanasse, Pamela J.
13 Point Grove Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/01/05

Voyik, Jennifer L.
113 Geneva St.
Indian Orchard, MA 01151
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/25/05

Weatherbee, Thomas C.
77 Davis St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 09/01/05

White, David J.
314 St. James Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/23/05

Widun, Mitchell R.
2 Iroquois Dr.
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/24/05

Wiezbicki, Steven M
80 Paradise St., Unit 3
Springfield, MA 01129
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/22/05

Williams, Marion Matthew
20 Easthampton Road K-11
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/25/05

Wyda, John M.
Wyda, Joan M.
23 Pearl St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/30/05

Young, Kerry Ausa
159 B. Montague Road
Leverett, MA 01054
Chapter: 7
Filing Date: 08/23/05

Zygarowski, Robert J.
159 Casey Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 13
Filing Date: 08/19/05

By
Departments

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

AMHERST

Amherst College Trustees
280 Main St.
$1,900 — Install four signs

Amherst College Trustees
Johnson Chapel
$21,474 — Structural repairs and renovations

Charles DeRose
55 University Dr.
$3,500 — Erect sign – The Hanger

Kamel R. Hassan
660 West St.
$17,000 — Re-roof

EAST LONGMEADOW

Coleman Cable
50 Industrial Dr.
$94,012 — Foundation for three silos

HOLYOKE

Albert LaFluer
399-403 Hillside Ave.
$30,300 — Construct garage

Holyoke Mall Co.
50 Holyoke St.
$37,550— Remodel GNC

South Street Plaza
209-235 South St.
$40,000 — Interior renovations

NORTHAMPTON

Bennett and Lilly Gaev
94 King St.
$$16,400 — Create offices in basement

Lieberman Gallery
34 North Maple St.
$34,000 — Relocate bath door, construct office/reception area

Michael Gormely
92 Main St.
$5000 — Erect wall sign – Murduff’s Jewelry

Northampton Veterinary Clinic
227 South St.
$7,825
— Construct handicap ramp

SPRINGFIELD

Baystate Health
759 Chestnut St.
$827,489 — Renovations and small addition

C & W Breckwood Realty
1060 Wilbraham Road
$40,000 — Add office space

Dominican Nuns
1430 Riverdale St.
$50,000 — Enlarge meeting room

Freedom Credit Union
1976 Main St.
$32,000
— Interior renovations

NEFWC
1628-1640 Main St.
$29,000 — Interior renovations

Salamon Realty
42 Myron St.
$100,000
— Addition

Syed Absar
2645 Main St.
$218,340 — Create retail business

WESTFIELD

Devcon Shops
433E Main St.
$2,000 — Interior renovations-

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
Rugg Lumber Co. Inc. v. Federal Management Co. Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $14,400.68
Date Filed: Aug. 31

HOLYOKE DISTRICT COURT
Carrier Nationwide Trucking Systems Inc. v. Specialty Loose Leaf Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for services: $8,075
Date Filed: Sept. 9

SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT
David Collins d/b/a Collins Insurance Agency v. James A. Velis d/b/a Velis Insurance Agency
Allegation: Breach of promissory note: $14,622.80
Date Filed: Aug. 23

Standard Tools & Equipment Co. v. America’s Pride Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $5,281.27
Date Filed: Sept. 2

Network Employment Services Inc. v. The Holyoke Card & Paper Co.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for services: $3,548.16
Date Filed: Sept. 7

Medical Diagnostic & Rehab LLC d/b/a MVA Center for Rehab v. Hanover Insurance Co.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for services: $4,639.30
Date Filed: Sept. 12

Webster Architectural Woodworking Inc. v. Comcolor Photographics and Imaging Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $14,070
Date Filed: Sept. 14

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT
Westover Building Supply Co. v. Andrew Mitchell d/b/a Mitchell Drywall & Plaster
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $66,477.89
Date Filed: Aug. 24

By
Departments

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

AMHERST

American Loss Mitigation Agency of Amherst
57 Olympic Dr.
Philip Brady

Everyday Enchantments
33 Kellogg Ave.
Heather Lowing, Antonio Landati

Grace Bodywork
196 North Pleasant St.
Mary Grace Farley

Royal Technical Services
37 Tamarock Dr.
Raymond Frankel

Sun Day Greetings
55 Chesterfield Dr.
Alan and Brenda Kellman

AGAWAM

All Clean Powerwash
90 Alhambra Circle North
Cynthia Hutcheson

Omega Transportation of Western MA
104 Regency Park Dr.
Steven Cagan

Packaging Service
168 Elm St.
Vincent Zucco

Shepard Renovations
45 Southwick St.
Michael Shepard

Tower Electric
578 North Westfield St.
Johnathon Tower

CHICOPEE

C.A.S. Services
141 Grape St.
Cassandra Salvador

Comforte Contracting Co.
31 Moore St.
Anthony Comforte III

Marshalls
591 Memorial Dr.
Marshalls of MA Inc.

New England Aquatic Designs
297 Broadway St.
Mark Johnston

Perfect Fit Dental Lab
44 Blanche St.
Yuri Murzin

EAST LONGMEADOW

Erin Chrusciel Photography
29 Country Club Dr.
Erin Chrusciel

MKR Fleet Washing & Maintenance
13 North Main St.
Mark Rogensky

HOLYOKE

ABC Sales & Service
621 South Canal St.
Robert Celi

Abbondanza! Personal Chef Service
21 Dexter St.
Cindy Pierce

Davans
245 Main St.
David Rodriguez

Holyoke Works
100 Front St.
Doris Ransford

MA Academy of Ballet
4 Open Square Way
Rose and Charles Flachs

South Summer Auto Repair
525 South Summer St.
Jose Burgos

U-Haul of Holyoke
250 Appleton St.
Matthew Pepin

LONGMEADOW

Creation World-Art and Design Studio
226 Franklin Road
Tatyana Glukhovsky

Animal Instincts Pet Sitting & Dog Walking
P.O. Box 60581
Jennifer L. Burgess

NORTHAMPTON

Currant
33 Hawley St.
Hamenth Swaminathan

Gallery 55
18 Strong Ave.
John Mottern

House to Home Staging
66 Willow St.
Pam Rose Eden-Cox

Meridian Acupuncture
52 Center St.
Jonathos Kapsted

Unlikely Aesthetics
19A Market St.
John Courtemanche

SOUTH HADLEY

College Consulting
25 Charon Terrace
Joanna Brown

Karen’s Place
59 High St.
Karen Archambault

SPRINGFIELD

Acupuncture & Chinese Herbal Medicines
1502 Allen St.
Stanley Baker

Angie & Blanca Ceramic
36 Winnipeg St.
Angela Rodriguez

Bliss Ceramics
29 Leitch St.
Trevis Wray

Comfort Zone Heating & Air
180 Laurelton St.
Richard Barry

Daniel Gomez Cable Service
33 Nathaniel St.
Daniel Gomez

Diamond Cut Barber Shop
616 Belmont Ave.
Osagie Ekhorytomwen

En Motion Dance Theater 156 Main St.
Shire Brown

Jose Stripping & Waxing
927 Worthington St.
Jose Santiago

Kinder Rides Transport
65 Morgan St.
Deona Rivera

Lids
1655 Boston Road
Robert Dennis

Metindu
225 Rosewell St.
Bryan St. Amand

Peoples Pawn & Jewelry
363 Worthington St.
William Miller

Photo Technique
30 Montgomery St.
Marek Tracz

Scope Spot 2
451 State St.
Francis Okyere

Stan & Fran’s Flooring & Carpeting
5 Paramount St.
Michael Burelle

Tony’s Place
739 Liberty St.
Hector Diaz

Walnut Soda & More
136 Walnut St.
Maxwell Phan

WEST SPRINGFIELD

The Advertising Club
of Western MA
104 Brookline Ave.
Richard DeBonis

Canterbury Masonry
72 Kings Hwy.
Darcie Lee Canterbury

Comfort House Cleaning
198 Labelle St.
Lyudmila Zubik

Dot’s Hair Care
975 Elm St.
Dorothy Dougherty

Kar-Needz Auto
811 Union St.
Stephen Scott

Kim’s Cleaners
935 Riverdale St.
Sun Na Kim

R.G. Management
425 Union St.
Robert Guarente

TBR Auto Reconditioning
21 Sumner St.
Anthony Cecchetelli

WESTFIELD

Apex Claims Services of N.E.
125 North Elm St.
Tom Abel, Ron Pike, Marion Guzik

Ed’s Handyman & Home Improvement
51 Robinson Dr.
Edward Daley

Global Engineering
97 Paper Mill Road
Gary Drenzek

Lampson Construction
318 City View Blvd.
Jon Lampson

Paul’s Picture Framing by Keith
22 Cherry St.
Keith Browning

By
Departments

Stephen M. Quink has returned to the Lending Department of North Brookfield Savings Bank as Vice President/Lending.

•••••

Ernestine “Tini” Sawicki, a broker and owner of Realty World Sawicki in Amherst, has been named recipient of the Mass. Association of Realtors® (MAR) Milton H. Shaw Distinguished Service Award for 2005. The award is presented annually to one Realtor® member or staff executive who has demonstrated leadership abilities and volunteered countless hours of personal time to serve on state association committees and participate in MAR activities.

•••••

The Bank of Western Massachusetts in Springfield announced the following:
• Tracy L. Fleming has been promoted to Business Services Officer, with responsibility for the development of new business services accounts, including payroll, merchant processing and cash management and the servicing of existing accounts.
• William A. Fontes has been promoted to Senior Vice President/Commercial Loan Officer, with responsibility for administering an existing portfolio of commercial loan accounts as well as acquiring new business in Hampshire County.
• Gail A. Goraj has been promoted to Business Services Officer, with responsibility for the development of new business service accounts, including payroll, merchant processing and cash management and the servicing of existing accounts, and
• Antonios D. Liberopoulos has been promoted to Senior Vice President/Commercial Loan Officer, with responsibility for administering an existing portfolio of commercial loan accounts as well as acquiring new business in Hampden County.

•••••

Nathan Winstanley, founder and president of Winstanley Associates in Lenox, was the guest speaker at the Western Mass. Ad Club’s Sept. 28 luncheon. Winstanley is also president and founder of Lenox SoftWorks, a software development company.

•••••

Gary E. Rosentreter, Ed.D., has been appointed Executive Director, Connecticut Quality Council (CQC), located at Rensselaer’s Hartford (Conn.) campus. CQC is associated with Rensselaer’s Centers for Professional Development.

•••••

Moriarty & Primack, P.C., Certified Public Accountants, in Springfield announced the following:
• Melissa English has been promoted to Senior Associate, and
• Stacey St. Pierre has been promoted to Senior Associate.

•••••

Attorney Dorothy Varon of Robinson Donovan, P.C., with offices in Springfield and Northampton, has been selected by the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly as an “Up and Coming Lawyer.” She joined the law firm in 2002 and concentrates her practice in the areas of federal litigation, civil rights, health insurance law, publishing law and civil litigation.

•••••

 

Jeremy Redmond has recently joined Innovative Business Systems, Inc. in Easthampton. Redmond holds CompTIA A+, Network+, and Security+ certifications, as well as being a Microsoft Certified Professional, Systems Administrator, and Systems Engineer (MCP, MCSA and MCSE).

•••••

Bobbi Pitkin has joined Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage of New England as a Realtor in the Longmeadow office.

•••••

Jill T. Lyons has been appointed an Associate at Morrison Mahoney in Springfield. She will concentrate her practice in health law and defense of medical malpractice claims.

•••••

Matthew McDonough, formerly of Holyoke, has joined Yale-New Haven Health System as Administrative Fellow for the 2005-2006 program year.

•••••

Richard T. O’Connor has been named Legal Counsel at Holyoke Medical Center.

•••••

Karen E. Eaton has joined Martinelli, Discenza & Hannifan in Longmeadow as an Associate. She will practice in estate planning, real estate development and finance law, municipal law, and general business practice, securities law, and investment management law.

•••••

Jacqueline McNinch has joined the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency’s Home Ownership Business Development Group as a regional Business Development Officer for Western Massachusetts.

•••••

Jane E. Fountain has joined the faculty of the UMass Amherst in its Center for Public Policy and Administration and the Department of Political Science.

•••••

Christopher Camerlin has been appointed Manager of William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services in East Longmeadow.

••••••••••

Banana Publishing Inc. of Springfield announced the following:
• Christine Cox has been named Art Director;
• Bruce Beard has been named Sales Manager;
• Samuel O’Connor has been named to the Sales Team;
• Ronny Sinn has been named to the Sales Team;
• Mark Villano has been named to the Sales Team;
• Sarah Clark has been named Office Manager, and
• Donna Fein has been named Sales Representative.

By
Departments

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

AGAWAM

Oakridge Golf Club
850 South Westfield St.
$50,000 — Install wireless equipment

AMHERST

Amherst College Trustees
62 Snell St.
$68,000 — Remove and
replace shingles

Jeffrey Eisman
650 Main St.
$20,250 — Renovate business office and reception area of dentist office

Trustees of Hampshire College
Greenwich House 3
$25,913 — Extend roof overhang

EAST LONGMEADOW

St. Lukes Church
400 Prospect St.
$600,000 — New classrooms

HOLYOKE

Light of Restoration Ministries
98 Suffolk St.
$40,500 — Offices, handicap bathroom

NORTHAMPTON

Cooley Dickinson Hospital Inc.
30 Locust St.
$2,000,000 — Construct four-story surgical/bed expansion

Hampshire Council of Governments
Gothic St.
$4,164 — Erect ground sign

Treasure Towns LLC
24 North Maple St.
$10,000 — Construct two accessible bathrooms and mechanical room

SPRINGFIELD

Baystate Visiting Nurses
50 Maple St.
$42,000 — Exterior stairs

MRI Center of New England
3500 Main St.
$4,600 — Enlarge reception area

Picknelly Family
1414 Main St.
$64,250 — Create studio for CBS 3

Springfield College
263 Colby St.
$131,500 — Install handicap bathroom
$400,000 — Create parking area

WEST SPRINGFIELD

PR Restaurants LLC
935 Riverdale St.
$300,000 — Renovate retail space into restaurant-

By
Departments

St. Germain Opens Hartford Office

HARTFORD — St. Germain Investment Management, with offices in Springfield at 1500 Main St., has opened a new office in downtown Hartford. Company president, Paul Valickus, CFA, said a steady increase from Connecticut investors requesting more of St. Germain’s financial management services has prompted the firm to open the new facility at 100 Pearl St. in Hartford.

MicroTest Laboratories To Expand

AGAWAM — MassDevelopment recently announced an $800,000 Emerging Technology Fund loan and a $370,000 mortgage insurance guaranty to MicroTest Laboratories Inc. and MicroTest Properties, LLC for expansion plans. The company, which provides laboratory and environmental testing services to the medical device, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries, will use the funds to expand its manufacturing and new virology laboratory facility, upgrade utilities, and purchase equipment to accommodate its growth into the biopharmaceutical product testing and manufacturing business. MicroTest employs 89 and expects to create an additional 49 jobs when the expansion efforts are completed. Administered by MassDevelopment, the state’s $25 million Emerging Technology Fund provides loans and guarantees for facilities and specialized equipment for technology-based companies.

Rocky’s Ace Expands to Norwood

SPRINGFIELD — A new Rocky’s Ace Hardware Store will open in Norwood in November. The new store is part of Rocky’s Ace Hardware’s and Ace Hardware Corp.’s progressive strategy to spark growth and expand customer service by opening additional stores in New England. Since 1999, Rocky’s Ace has grown from eight stores in Western Massachusetts, to 26 stores across New England.

VPT Consulting Opens Springfield Office

SOUTH DEERFIELD — Vincent P. Traina Jr., founder and principal of VPT Consulting, has announced the company’s expansion with new offices at 1441 Main St., TD/Banknorth Center, in downtown Springfield. VPT Consulting offers a full range of marketing, advertising and business development services.

PIP Printing Receives Industry Awards

SOUTH HADLEY — PIP Printing and Document Services recently received a “Top 25” award for sales performance during the PIP Annual Convention in Tampa, Fla. This is the fifth time that owners Dorene and Wendell Pennell and John Bledsoe have received the annual award. Also, PIP Printing has received a “Franchise of the Year” Award by the International Franchise Association. The annual award is given as a symbol of recognition for the brightest and best leaders in franchising.

Berkshire Bank Opens N.Y. Branch

PITTSFIELD — Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc., the holding company for Berkshire Bank, recently announced the opening of a full-service branch in Shoppers World Plaza in Clifton Park, N.Y. This is the bank’s second branch opened this year in the Albany region and its third in New York.

UMass Amherst Construction Projects Exceed $40M

AMHERST — As students returned to UMass Amherst this month, the campus is sporting some $40 million in new construction projects and improvements. Ongoing projects include the deck replacement at the DuBois Library, which began last year. The $6.35 million state-funded effort involves the installation of a new, waterproof membrane and concrete deck over an underground section of the library. Also taking shape is a $3.1 million athletic track facility, located near the softball and soccer fields at the north end of Stadium Drive. The new Llewellyn Derby Track, which is expected to be ready by the end of September, replaces an outmoded facility on the site of a planned central heating plant for the campus. Several health and safety projects were also completed or are continuing. These include new fire alarm systems in Goessmann Laboratory, Morrill Science Center, Fernald Hall and Goodell at a cost of approximately $3 million. Construction efforts also include security cameras, health and fire safety-related projects, roof replacements and work in residence halls.

Monson Savings Bank Opts For New Structure

MONSON — Monson Savings Bank is in the process of converting to a two-tiered mutual holding company structure that will create Monson Financial Services Mutual Holding Co. and Monson Financial Services Corp. The Monson Financial Services Corp. would be a stock bank owning Monson Savings Bank. The bank has three branches in Hampden, Monson and Wilbraham, with total assets of $177 million.

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

Rugg Lumber Co. v. Pinncon Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $21,534.34
Date Filed: Aug. 18

HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT

The Travelers Indemnity Co. of Illinois v. Drywall Systems Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay workmen’s comp insurance: $73,752.00
Date Filed: Aug. 8

SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT

K.S. Trading Corp. v. Hot Fashions II
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $2,315.95
Date Filed: Aug. 8

Longhorn Carpet Co. Inc. v. Chase Décor Inc. f/k/a Chase House of Décor Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $11,724.51
Date Filed: Aug. 9

Saga Communications of N.E. Inc. d/b/a WHAI/WHMP/WLZX/WAQY v. Bare Furniture & Reproductions Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $7,385.60
Date Filed: Aug. 11

Arrow Oils Inc. v. Alice Stepanik d/b/a Alice Stepanik & Sons Farm
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods and services: $11,227.06
Date Filed: Aug. 15

John Deere Landscapes Inc. d/b/a Century Supply Corp. a/k/a Century Rain Aid v. Joseph Barrepski f/d/b/a Aqua Flo Lawn Sprinkler
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $12,028.82
Date Filed: Aug. 22

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

Morris Switzer Environments for Health Inc.
v. Loomis Communities Inc. f/k/a Loomis
Village Inc. and Loomis Communities
Allegation: Breach of contract and mechanic’s
lien: $1,997,101.50
Date Filed: Aug. 9

By
Departments

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

AGAWAM

Birch Hill LLC
72 Birch Hill Road
Maurice Casey

Fdubbs Video Games and More
525 Springfield St. #11
Frank Bond Jr.

In-N-Out Auto & Trucks
91 Ramah Circle
Mark Walker

Longo Carpet Cleaning
80 Ramah Circle
Christopher Longo

M & M Links and Business Services
541 Springfield St.
Maureen Abdullah

Quick Pic
1 River Road
Ali Khan

Viola House Cleaning Service
420 Main St.
Wuoletta Ramanowska

Zen-Ergenic
75 Joanne Circle
Frederic Brodeur III

AMHERST

Ambrosia’s Emporium
178A North Pleasant St.
Leanne Moulton

Dare to Thrive
129 Gray St.
Virginia Lewis

Footprints to Success
170 East Hadley Road
Hughia Magnue

Kamins of Amherst
55 South Pleasant St.
Patrick Kamins II

Red Cab
38 Justice Dr.
Houshany Ansarifar

Zoo Mass Books.com
180 Clark Hill Road
James Highsmith

CHICOPEE

Candon’s Art
157 Old Lyman Road
Kevin Candon

Gamestop and Movies Too
649 Memorial Dr.
David Carlson

J & K Properties
20 Parker St.
Jesus Delgado

Robare’s Variety
32 Center St.
Theresa Robare

Skye Mountain Realty Inc.
406 Britton St.
Patricia Gajda

EAST LONGMEADOW

Encore
60 Shaker Road
Kelly Lavillette

Terri’s Barber Styling Shop
641 North Main St.
Theresa Fitzgerald

Thomas Behan
31 Brook St.
Thomas Behan

HADLEY

Howard Johnson
401 Russell St.
Robert Shumway

Reiki Room
245 Russell St.
Nancy Johnson

HOLYOKE

Botanica San Lasaro
1375 Dwight St.
Elmis Coilado

Elmwood Fish & Chips
37 Myrtle St.
Eusaquio Rivera

Marie’s Market
149 Suffolk St.
Geraldo Rodriguez

Roham’s News Room
648 High St.
Rajendra Pandit

Wing Chun Kung Fu Council
349 High St.
Juan Fernandez

LONGMEADOW

Maritime Smarts Inc.
141 Lawnwood Ave.
Stephen and Patricia Larivee

NORTHAMPTON

Club Bus
735 Westhampton Road
Ryan Hammel, Aaron Fradkin

Faith Sullivan, M.Div.
199 Main St.
Faith Sullivan

Helping Hands
18 Perkins Ave.
Marcus Yarde

The Jamescyn Collection
61 Gothic St.
Cynthia James

Morintouch Chair Massage
11 Overlook Dr.
Christopher Morin

Unite
1022 Main St.
Thuan Luu

SOUTH HADLEY

Benny’s Produce Delivery Service
12 Ingram St.
Binyam Avnalem

SPRINGFIELD

Able Maintenance Co.
73 Naragansett St.
John Muise

Atlas Flooring
8 Vandise Circle
Pauline Edwards

Cafe Di Vang
605 Dickinson St.
Anh Bui

Corona Enterprise
45 Willow St.
Ronal Corona

E.N.M. and Associates
663 State St.
Edmund Candelaria

5 Star Video Games
599 Page Blvd.
Shaun Kelly

Ghazala Magazine
112 Price St.
Tahirah Wadud

KDH Assoc.
104 Buckingham St.
Kelvin Hines

Main St. Bottle & Can Return
611 Main St.
Duc Truong

Nobody’s Kitchen & Bath
1257 Boston Road
Nobody’s Kitchen & Bath LP

Pinacle Power Washing
9 Ramah St.
Jamie Connell

Silver Construction
88 Biltmore St.
Gleb Leiderman

Stefano’s Style
66 Glenwood St.
Stephen Crenshaw

Two Brother’s Restaurant
67 Liberty St.
Manuel Sandova

Walnut’s Bottle & Can Redemption
136 Walnut St.
Maxwell Phan

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Baystate Family Chiropractic
346 Main St.
Filomenar Larroca-Strobel

Comfort Inn and Suites
106 Capital Dr.
Nataver Inc.

Delicious Kitchen
715 Main St.
Radames Garcia

Edible Arrangements
1702 Riverdale St.
Lisa Beachemin

JVD Tek
67 Irving St.
Viet Do

Mamma Mia’s Pizzeria & Ristorante
60 Park St.
Farone Inc.

Panera Bread
935 Riverdale St.
PR Restaurants LLC

Pioneer Valley Hobbies Inc.
54 Myron St.
Dennis Gamelli

Rose Day Spa
524 Main St.
Van Le Rowen

Stevens Jewelers Inc.
2068 Riverdale St.
Eric Stevens

Upscale Nails
84 Westfield St.
Minh Nguyen

Westside Market
204 Baldwin St.
Zahoor Ul-Haq

WESTFIELD

Annatana
92 Beveridge Blvd.
Louliia Kroutii

Carpentry Services
140 Wyben St.
Kerry Plourde

Center City Service & Muffler
709 Russell St.
Frank Scigulinsky

Getty Gas Station
41 Franklin St.
Syed Bukhart

J.C.K. Construction
25 Darby Dr.
John Kent

The Krafty Shack
37 Berkshire Dr.
Merritt Gayle

N.E. Home Improvement Service
37 Crown St.
Dustin Taudal

Northeastern Auto Coach
321 Munger Hill Road
Sewall Sachs