■The annual graduation exercises for Northampton State Hospital classes of 1970 were held in the Main Building Auditorium Wednesday for 32 graduates of the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, School of Practical Nursing, Pioneer Valley Division.
■Students from Hawley Junior High School marched through Downtown Northampton yesterday in part of the environment day activities in city schools. Carrying placards calling for a fight against pollution the youngsters marched down to City Hall area and back to school.
■Frances Crowe, referred to by some as the mother of the peace movement in western Massachusetts, will receive an award for her activism later this month in Cambridge. A group known as Citizens for Participation in Political Action, or CPPAX, will present Crowe with its 1995 CPPAX Activist Award on April 29.
■Workers from Hicks Building Movers transported portable classrooms to their new location at the JFK Middle School in Florence on Saturday afternoon, part of shifts at the school in a multi-million dollar expansion and renovation project.
■In a move that backers say puts the city of Northampton in the vanguard among regional municipalities when it comes to energy-efficiency measures, the city council Thursday night adopted a strict building code for new structures that is expected to significantly reduce energy use. The measure, which is called the “stretch code,” adds a tighter layer of regulations on top of the state’s new building code.
■President Barack Obama’s mandate that hospitals extend visitation and medical decision-making rights to same-sex couples is being greeted with open arms by local advocates, who call the directive a monumental civil rights initiative. “We are ecstatic,” said Kelly Wagoner, who co-owns Pride & Joy in downtown Northampton.