■Ice skating and hockey enthusiasts have bemoaned their fates this winter as unseasonably warm weather, coupled with rain, has kept outdoor ice to a bare minimum. Until last week youngsters with ice skates from Christmas had been unable to use them and now the outdoor rinks have melted away as the mercury climbed into the 50s yesterday and today.
■The $4.5 million dam project proposed for the Mill River in Northampton and Williamsburg may die before it even reaches the detailed planning stage. Comments by public officials at a hearing last night indicated that public opposition might be sufficient to force the two sponsoring communities to withdraw from any further participation in the project.
■The part-time position of equity coordinator for the city schools, vacant since the summer, will be filled for the rest of the year by the school system’s health director. Superintendent Bruce E. Willard said he decided to appoint M. Patricia Williams to be the system’s civil rights officer, after two separate searches failed to produce a qualified candidate.
■Citing a lack of industrial space in the city, the owner of an injection mold manufacturing company that counts Reebok among its clients is moving to Hatfield. James Patenaude said he would prefer to keep the firm, Wilderness Mold, in Northampton but the business is bursting at the seams on Damon Road and no suitable alternative sites are available.
■Despite pleas from supporters of a later start time that Northampton High School make a change in the school day for next fall, the School Committee decided Thursday to delay action on the issue until 2013. The extra time is intended to give school leaders a year to examine costs, busing schedules and the impact that moving the start time to 8 a.m. or later would have on other financial and programmatic priorities.
■Massachusetts wildlife officials say bad weather has caused experts and volunteers to spot only 26 bald eagles during the annual midwinter survey of the coast and major rivers, lakes and reservoirs. Last year, Massachusetts counted a record 107 bald eagles.