■Tim Brennan is one of 14 municipal administrative aides sponsored by the State Department of Community Affairs. Brennan has made himself so valuable to the Northampton mayor’s Solid Waste Management Committee that they want him to stay on until classes start in September. Brennan is a graduate student in regional planning at the University of Massachusetts.
■There has been a lot of hoopla in the area about the coming appearance at South Hadley’s Odyssey Book Shop of Anne Rice. She is the author of a popular book series about vampires. Her book signing at the Odyssey on Monday will be her sole appearance in Massachusetts during her current book tour.
■Defying a new push by police to roust campers from Rainbow Beach, about eight groups spent Saturday night on what wildlife officials say is the last refuge of the puritan tiger beetle in Massachusetts. The state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife moved this spring to enforce a ban on camping on the beach, on the Northampton side of the Connecticut River, at the easternmost point of the Meadows.
■With its current lease set to expire, the Northampton Center for the Arts is looking at the possibility of relocating to the First Churches downtown. Penny Burke, executive director of the center, said the center has been talking with leaders of the First Churches about ways the historic meetinghouse could be used for creative purposes, while making sure the congregation and its programs remain intact.
■U.S. Sen. Scott Brown was confronted by protesters yelling “tax the rich” on Wednesday as he continued his statewide tour on creating jobs with a hike of the New England Scenic Trail in Amherst. But Brown said he is opposed to “job-killing” tax increases at a time when the nation’s economy is so weak.