■Miss Mary Lou Cutter has announced that she is seeking one of two three-year positions on the Hatfield School Committee in the up-coming local election. She has been a resident of Hatfield for almost 16 years, coming to town after marrying Hatfield native, Robert Cutter.
■Bjorn Wiberg, program director of the Hampshire Regional YMCA in Northampton, today announced that the “Y” will start jujitsu for adults and judo for children next week. Both programs will be taught by George Eisen, presently a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts School of Physical Education.
■The subject of storefront vacancies was discussed at a Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce meeting Jan. 22, with some merchants wondering whether all the “For Lease” signs mean that downtown Northampton is not as healthy and vibrant as most people think. At least eight storefronts on Main Street are empty.
■Northampton Bowl at 525 Pleasant St. is undergoing a major renovation and redesign that includes a new façade, neon lighting and landscaping on the outside of its building and the addition of a new sports bar and restaurant on the inside. The new sports bar and restaurant, Grandstands Bar and Grill, replaces Alley Oops, which was solely a bar.
■Entertainment magnate Eric Suher added to his investment portfolio Thursday by purchasing the Holyoke Country Club. Suher’s Iron Horse Entertainment Group, which operates the Calvin Theatre in downtown Northampton and an outdoor music venue at Mountain Park in Holyoke, will take over management of the club immediately.
■An eleventh-hour effort to save a century-old trolley stop on the University of Massachusetts campus has won support from the town’s Historical Commission. The structure, built in 1911, in recent weeks has been the focus of Preserve UMass, a 150-member organization of former and current UMass professors, staff, alumni and professional dedicated to recording the history of the campus.