■Agricultural fairs are normally not associated with major issues of the times, but an exception will be made at Northampton’s Three County Fair this season. The fair will feature a number of commercial and civic exhibits, including booths sponsored by the local Zero Population Growth chapter and the Valley Peace Center of Amherst.
■ The Leeds Civic Assn. has asked the City Property Committee for permission to turn the old Leeds school property, formerly used by the Occupational and Vocational Development Center for the Handicapped, into a green park. The association would like to clean up the site and develop it into a green park, possibly tying it in with the present Memorial Park at some future time.
■Max Hartshorne of South Deerfield has won the watermelon seed spitting contest at the annual Northeast Organic Farmers Association convention at Hampshire College. Hartshorne, a first-time spitter, was tops with a 25-foot, 10-inch spit.
■U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry and Gov. William F. Weld last week added to their schedule an eighth debate — to be held in Springfield — making for an unprecedented number of head-to-head meetings in recent Massachusetts political history. With half of the encounters over, western Massachusetts residents have been hard-pressed to see the candidates first-hand, because most of the debates have not been televised locally.
■Top lawmakers are one step closer to bringing expanded gaming to Massachusetts after unveiling a proposal that would bring casinos to the state. After months of closed-door negotiations, legislative leaders Tuesday made public their most recent gaming bill that would allow three resort casinos and one slots parlor to be built in the state, all competitively bid.
■A proposal for a 2-megawatt solar farm that would provide renewable energy for the University of Massachusetts aroused opposition Tuesday from neighbors concerned about the visual impact of such a large facility. The installation is proposed for a 15-acre field northwest of the campus.