■Northampton High’s athletic field became a desert yesterday afternoon, as the temperatures boiled over the 90s for the New England senior A.A.U. track and field championships. No records were set by the more than 130 athletes who competed; for once the track burned up the runners.
■Dr. Paul J. Carroll Jr. has joined Dr. Henry J. Philie Jr. in the practice of dentistry at his offices in the Nonotuck Savings Bank Building at 78 Main St., Northampton. Dr. Carroll is a lifelong resident of Northampton. He is the son of Paul J. and the late Teresa W. Carroll, and resides on Roe Ave.
■Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman, co-creators of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, are stepping away from day-to-day business operations at Mirage Studios to concentrate on new creative projects. They have ceded daily management and decision-making responsibilities to Gary Richardson, in the newly created post of executive vice president and chief executive officer.
■Local cities and towns may soon get money for the trash they haul to the region’s recycling plant in Springfield, according to managers of the state-subsidized Materials Recycling Facility. According to Hilltown Resource Management Cooperative coordinator Eric Weiss, the payback is likely to be around 15 to 25 cents per ton of recyclables received.
■All that lies between a “nightmare” road project and clear sailing on an Interstate 91 bridge — and on East Street below — is the planting of grass seed and a bit of paving. The much-reviled job, which dragged on for more than three years, exceeded its budget and has been blamed for several highway accidents, is expected to wrap up by the end of next week.
■Nearly two years into a recession, local retailers say they see light at the end of the tunnel — though the view, in many cases, remains hazy. And even when sales are up, a number of retailers say they have to work harder to clinch the deal.