■A telephone pole, chopped half way through and tied to a neighboring pole for support, was the victim of sabotage Thursday in the Loudville section of Easthampton. At 1 a.m. Thursday a resident heard chopping outside his home and, upon investigation, found someone chopping down the pole. Police were notified but the man was gone by the time they arrived.
■Northampton Mayor Sean Dunphy has asked for what he described as a “routine” report on an incident early New Year’s Day in which two city policemen reportedly fired 12 pistol shots at an allegedly fleeing and stolen car.
■William M. Bulger reported for his new job as president of the University of Massachusetts today eager to use the negotiating skills he honed at the helm of the state Senate to improve the five-university system. Bulger said his first job would be to enhance the school’s reputation beyond its alumni, who he said are positive about their experience.
■Plans to open a Jewish day school in Northampton in September are progressing so well that one organizer has proclaimed: “It’s a go.” Kenneth Glickman White, who with his wife, Gail Glickman White, has been organizing interested parents, said a board of directors has been formed and important initial decisions have been made.
■Massachusetts residents face a new routine when they pick up certain prescription drugs at the pharmacy. Under a new law, they have to show a driver’s license or another approved ID before the druggist can give them a wide range of prescriptions, from addictive opiates to certain medicines for diarrhea.
■A proposal to shutter the “old courtroom’ at the Hampshire County Courthouse is on hold as state officials explore other cost-saving measures. The courtroom and adjoining offices are rented by the state for $83,000 per year from the Hampshire Council of Governments, which owns the 1887 courthouse on Main Street.