■The Regional Recycling Center shed is under construction at the DPW yard on Locust Street in preparation for the opening of the full-time recycling center on April 29. The structure, being built by DPW employees, will include three storage bins for clear, brown and green glass. Newspapers, magazines and aluminium products will also be accepted for recycling at the new center.
■A group of more than 1,000 students at the University of Massachusetts voted last night to boycott classes on Thursday and Friday as a protest against the Indochina War and “the oppression of women and minority groups on campus.” The meeting was called by a joint committee whose members represent the Valley Peace Center, Students for McGovern and several other groups.
■The United States Gambling Research Institute, founded by Hampshire College Professor Robert Goodman and journalist Stephen Simurda, has opened in offices above the Broadside Bookstore in Northampton. Their mission is to provide independent and unbiased information about the economic and social impacts of casinos to government officials, communities, and the media nationwide, both say.
■Scott Goldman, 34, dean of students at Concord-Carlisle Regional High School, has been selected as principal of Amherst-Pelham Regional High School. According to Gus Sayer, superintendent of schools in Amherst, “Scott comes to us very highly recommended. He has done an outstanding job as dean of students in Concord and we are very excited about him.”
■During a press conference held Wednesday at the offices of Tapestry Health in Florence, Tapestry President and CEO Leslie Tarr Laurie said an amendment pending in the Massachusetts House could completely eliminate funding for family planning programs. “It’s not just Texas and New Jersey where politicians are playing politics with women’s lives,” Laurie said. “It’s right here in the commonwealth.”
■Officials in Easthampton and Northampton have joined forces to look into creating a regional dispatch center for emergency services. After years of discussing the possibility of a regional dispatch, the two cities have applied for a $50,000 state grant to study the feasibility of adopting a two-city approach to dispatch needs.