■About 30 people watched as attorney John M. Callahan took the oath of office as district attorney of the Northwestern District in courtroom No. 2 this morning. Also sworn in at this morning’s ceremonies were assistant district attorneys for Hampshire and Franklin counties, attorney John Murphy Jr. of Northampton and attorney Jack D. Curtiss of Greenfield.
■Wednesday evening square dance instruction sessions at Northampton State Hospital will resume this week with Larry Larange of Greenfield calling and teaching. This will be the first meeting of the Hilltop Square Dance group since Dec. 16, because of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
■Mayor Mary L. Ford this week named Anthony Patillo as acting building commissioner, saying she intends to appoint him to the permanent position. Patillo, who has been an assistant building inspector since 1993, takes over for Francis X. Sienkiewicz, who retired in December after working for the city for seven years.
■Despite a city ordinance banning smoking in eateries, ashtrays are back in vogue and clean air is taking a back seat in several of Northampton’s restaurants and bars that serve food. Fourteen months after the ban was enacted, some have simply elected not to comply with the measure.
■Calling it “a new day and a new era,” Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan took the oath of office Wednesday along with 25 prosecutors, each of whom he said will be “guardians of our rights and liberties.” Sullivan, 51, of Easthampton, was elected in the first contested race for the office in early three decades.
■With break-ins plaguing area towns since last summer, local law enforcement agencies are ramping up efforts to put a stop to the crimes through a regional approach. A summit of several police departments and others involved in crime prevention took place Thursday at the Amherst police station.