■Abandoned cars in Northampton are becoming a problem, but one that is under control, according to James Whalen, chief of the Northampton Police Department. “The problem is mainly in the Meadows, and not here in the city,” stated Chief Whalen.
■Historian Eleanor Flexner, whose 1959 book “A Century of Struggle” is the definitive work on the women’s rights movement, will discuss “Women’s Rights, 19th Century Style vs. Women’s Lib” in a lecture at Smith College Thursday. Miss Flexner has been a resident of Northampton since 1957.
■A critical piece in the long-proposed WestMass project is in place: $1.9 million in state grants to pave the way for the research center. “This pushes the ball over the goal line,” Sen. Stanley Rosenberg, D-Amherst, said today of the money, intended to make necessary road and utility improvements for the project.
■Gov. William F. Weld has gotten involved in the race for Hampshire County Commission by this week endorsing Christopher A. Casale, the chairman of the Republican City Committee. The move came just two days before Weld proposed eliminating county government as part of his plan to streamline state government.
■Jim Koch, founder of the Boston Beer Co. and master brewer of Samuel Adams beer, addressed a room full of aspiring or current small business owners Friday in Northampton, explaining his company’s “Brewing the American Dream” microloan program and encouraging them to apply.
■Mark Iacuessa has retired as advertising director for the Daily Hampshire Gazette. For 37 years, Iacuessa worked in the newspaper business, most of it as an advertising executive in New England.