■While earth graders, caterpillar tractors and dump trucks roared in the background, Mayor Sean Dunphy, Vincent Caroleo of the State Department of Commerce, and the seven members of the Northampton Redevelopment Authority joined in groundbreaking ceremonies at Northampton’s Industrial Park yesterday.
■Although he can’t decide before he sees the formal proposal by the American Legion, Mayor Sean Dunphy said last night he has serious reservations about a plan for the city to give the armory on King Street to the legion. The city-owned armory, which has not been used for years, has been offered informally to the Northampton School Committee and the youth commission.
■Two of three operating rooms at Cooley Dickinson Hospital that were closed three weeks ago were reopened Wednesday, after tests showed no evidence of a troublesome fungus behind walls there. A fourth operating room, however, is still closed on the recommendation of a consultant, so that a new air filtration system can be installed.
■The city has begun charging groups for using Pulaski Park at a time when its popularity as a spot for gatherings, concerts and parade stops is soaring. After a debate that ranged over several seasons of meetings, the Board of Public Works this summer started collecting a fee and deposit for the downtown park’s use, to ensure that it is left clean and damage-free after each event.
■City Council President David J. Narkewicz today becomes only the second city official in recent years to fill the role of acting mayor when the incumbent leaves office. Narkewicz takes over as the city’s top official at 4:30 p.m. when Mayor Clare Higgins officially resigns to take a job as executive director at Community Action, an anti-poverty agency based in Greenfield.
■In an era when many predict the demise of newspapers, the Daily Hampshire Gazette’s new advertising director takes a much more optimistic view of the fourth estate. “I think small daily newspapers in small communities are not only going to do well, they’re going to thrive,” said Joel Morse, 56, who joined the Gazette in July.