■Hiram Brownell, Robert Holland, and Leslie Adelson, seniors at Northampton High School, have been notified by the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test that they have advanced to Finalist status.
■Brownie Troop 388 went by car Tuesday afternoon to tour McDonald’s on King Street. The assistant manager met the troop and the Brownies were taken downstairs to a room where they were treated to a movie about making McDonald’s hamburgers.
■The company that purchased the Stanley Home Products name and license earlier this year has announced plans to open a division in Easthampton. According to a vice president of the CPAC Inc, a chemical company based in Leicester, N.Y., the company will be opening a sales and marketing division in Easthampton.
■The Republicans’ “Contract with America” was denounced by the Northampton City Council last night as a legislative agenda that ultimately would hurt Northampton’s poor. By a unanimous vote, the council passed a resolution opposing the “Personal Responsibility Act,” the cornerstone of the contract’s welfare reform.
■In the wake of several recent high-profile bullying cases, House lawmakers Thursday evening unanimously passed legislation targeting school bullying that will require school administrators to report bullies to the police. The state Senate passed similar legislation last week.
■The continuing drama surrounding the Northampton landfill took another twist this week after a prominent land-use attorney advised that a special permit is not required to expand. The opinion of Mark Bobrowski debunks a years-held belief that any expansion of the Glendale Road facility would require a special heavy-use permit from the City Council and site plan approving from the planning Board.