■A jug band, penny candy, and long-skirted salesgirls at old-fashioned booths will be part of North Country Fair to be held at Smith College on Wednesday. The fair is this year’s version of Sophia’s Circus, an annual benefit event named for Sophia Smith, the college’s founder.
■Boston’s Mayor Kevin White, Democratic nominee for governor, said that he cannot comprehend a situation where he, as governor, would have to use the National Guard to quell a civil or campus disturbance. White said in an interview at the Hotel Northampton here that a situation would have to be totally out of control for him to call in the National Guard to restore order.
■Even after repeated advance warnings, about 40 percent of the establishments selling liquor in the city were caught selling alcohol to a minor this summer, police say. A three-month sting netted 25 places that sold alcohol to a minor, said Northampton Police Chief Russell P. Sienkiewicz.
■Downtown Northampton’s reputation for being visitor-friendly is under watch, now that panhandlers seem to have become more brazen in their pitches for spare change. Shop owners and managers report an increase in complaints from customers who tell of being asked for money by people on downtown streets.
■The two men seeking to unseat 10-term U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, D-Amherst, say they are hoping to ride an anti-incumbent wave to victory in this midterm election. William L. Gunn Jr., 48, a Republican from Ware, and Michael Engel, 65, an independent from Southampton, come from different sides of the political spectrum.
■The Fedor Pontiac Dealership in Easthampton is preparing to close for good, according to Charlie Fedor, a lifelong East Street resident who has owned and operated the business since 1948. Although Fedor was happy to report that business has been booming in the dealership’s service department, he said General Motors’ decision to discontinue the Oldsmobile line in 2004 and then Pontiac in 2009 spells the end of a business that dates back more than 60 years.