■Muhammad Ali spoke to an eager audience of about 2,000 last night at the University of Massachusetts Cage. Ali, former heavyweight boxing champion of the world, threw in a little bit of everything during his discussion, a sermonette on the meaning of life, how he plans to fight basketball giant Wilt Chamberlain, why Sportscaster Howard Cosell is his supporter, a poem about Joe Frazier’s defeat and “free” demonstration of the “Ali Shuffle.”
■The commanding general of the 26th “Yankee” Infantry Division, Maj. Gen. Edward Logan, has announced the promotion of William P. Hurley of Florence to the grade of colonel. Col. Hurley was assigned as commanding officer of the 3rd Brigade of the 26th Division which encompasses all National Guard units in western Massachusetts.
■Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost now sit on boulders, facing each other, in Sweetser Park in Amherst. Artist Michael Virzi created the town’s newest piece of public art, which is drawing favorable reviews form the members of the Amherst Public Arts Commission, which commissioned the project.
■A new committee is expected to look for relief for the many frustrated drivers who circle Northampton’s downtown, searching for places to park. The number of people using the city’s parking lots, garage and metered spaces continues to rise each year — and soon will reach a saturation point, said Robert Rocheleau, the manager for the E.J. Gare Garage and the municipal lots.
■The chief curator and deputy director of the Williams College Art Museum has been named director of Mount Holyoke College Art Museum. John Stomberg will take over his duties on Aug. 1, according to college President Lynn Pasquerella.
■Polarized opinions flew around the meeting room at the Easthampton Municipal Building Tuesday night during the Planning Board’s third public hearing on a proposed 38-unit affordable-housing development at 69 Parsons St. Supporters reasoned that it would help take families off the city’s waiting list for subsidized housing, while opponents questioned the development’s impact on traffic, drainage issues and the quality of living for neighbors.