■An Amherst College sophomore was sentenced this morning to one year in the House of Correction for “contemptuous treatment of the United States flag.” The man was arrested last May at the Friendly’s Restaurant in Hadley after a number of complaints that a young man was walking in the Zayre’s parking lot with an American flag sewn to the seat of his shorts.
■Architectural plans and a model of the proposed new hexagonal-shaped Hampshire County Courthouse were examined by the Courthouse Building Committee last night and tentatively approved for presentation to the County Commissioners in about two weeks.
■As UMass trustees once again search for a new president, they are grappling with a key question — should he or she come from the academic world or elsewhere, possibly the Statehouse. The question is more than academic because Senate President William M. Bulger is being promoted for the job by a few trustees.
■The Hill Institute in Florence became a showroom of sorts this week, as adult students of the facility showed off what they had produced in classes this year. This exhibition of talents is a yearly thing — and has been since 1901.
■State Rep. Ellen Story, an 18-year veteran of Beacon Hill, will face two challengers this fall in her bid to secure a 10th term representing the county’s Third District. Republican Daniel Sandell, 32, and independent Daniel Melick, 23, are each looking to capitalize on a moody electorate to unseat Story.
■A candidate for Northwestern district attorney is one of four prosecutors from around the state to be honored at a law enforcement conference today. Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Michael A. Cahillane of Northampton and prosecutors from Middlesex, Plymouth and Worcester counties will receive the William C. O’Malley Prosecutor of the Year Award.