■Resident groundhog observers were disappointed today, when a number of the animals with the legendary weather predictive ability were seen scurrying back underground, having been intimidated into six more weeks of slumber by the sight of their shadows.
■Karen Lee Gutfinski, a junior at Simmons College, was recently reappointed art editor of “Janus,” the college weekly newspaper. Miss Gutfinski, a 1968 graduate of Northampton High School, was listed in “Who’s Who in American High Schools,” a member of the National Honor Society, and the recipient of a National Merit Letter of Commendation.
■The University of Massachusetts plans to open a Center for Renaissance Studies in a converted home on East Pleasant Street, which will be one of only six such centers in the country. Its mission is to promote the study of early modern culture, from 1400 to 1700, in an interdisciplinary way that unites the disciplines, according to Arthur F. Kinney, professor of literary history at UMass, who has for years been spearheading efforts to create the center.
■The University of Massachusetts is reviewing its policies on internet use, in part pointing to a site created by a graduate student that questions whether the Holocaust occurred. The university has ordered the web site closed.
■Grow Food Northampton achieved its $670,000 fundraising goal on Monday, clearing the way for the sale of 120 acres of protected farmland in Florence and the creation of a community-supported agriculture farm.
■Welcome to Groundhog Day. A powerful snowstorm that roared into the Valley overnight is expected to add another 8 to 10 inches of snow, capped with an icy mix, to nearly a foot dumped Tuesday across parts of Hampshire County.