■Working models of mechanical designs by Leonardo da Vinci will be on display at the University of Massachusetts Art Gallery in Herter Hall until Feb. 5. An unrestricted gift to UMass from IBM, the models were built according to da Vinci sketches discovered in 1965 by Jules Piccus, professor of Hispanic languages and literature at UMass.
■Children apparently set fire to a pile of cardboard boxes outside a South Street service station Saturday afternoon and the resulting flames scorched the side of the building. Officials said a call was received at 4:19 p.m. for the blaze at Morton’s Service Station but the fire had been extinguished by the attendant, who used snow to put out the flames.
■Superior Court Judge John F. Moriarty will retire in May after 25 years on the bench. With his mandatory retirement date nearing, Moriarty was honored yesterday by family, friends and colleagues as a tireless jurist who epitomizes the old-time, hardline judge.
■Mayor Mary L. Ford will not help Holyoke’s mayor orchestrate support for a casino in his city, saying she is concerned about gambling’s effect on Northampton’s economy. Ford on Tuesday met with Holyoke Mayor Daniel J. Szostkiewicz, who is seeking regional support from officials on a proposal to bring casino gambling to Holyoke.
■Two unidentified men in Easthampton waved to motorists Monday, holding a sign that read “Pull over to stop Obama” along with an image of the president with an Adolf Hitler-style mustache. The two said the display was in response to Saturday’s shooting in Tucson, Ariz., that killed six people and wounded 14 others, including Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
■Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan has created a new position of communications director and named a former news reporter to fill it. Mary Carey, a former Daily Hampshire Gazette reporter who worked on Sullivan’s election campaign, was hired as communications director for the Northwestern district attorney’s office.