City Officials Tell Store Owner To Remove Madonna Statue From Traffic Island

West Springfield, Massachusetts has created a beautification initiative under which businesses and individuals on the West Side agree to landscape and maintain specific parcels of public property. According to today's The Republican, officials in West Springfield have told local pizza store owner Antonio Liquori that he has gone too far in his beautification activities. After receiving several complaints, officials have ordered Liquori to remove a statute of the Virgin Mary that he put up nearly a year ago on a traffic island he has adopted. At least one local resident, Joan Palermo, is mounting a petition drive to get the statute returned. According to 22 News, Palermo complained: "Everyone I know was very upset…The Virgin Mary wasn't doing anything, she was beautiful." City officials say that in the future, beautification efforts will be limited to plantings.