■Left unattended momentarily yesterday, a rent-a-truck slipped down a steep incline, coming to rest in Paradise Pond. No one was injured and the truck was pulled out by two wreckers. The driver had stepped from the truck to ask for directions to the college’s receiving area when the brake slipped.
■On April 29, Northampton Mayor Sean Dunphy will join other city officials at the DPW building at Locust Street to open the new recycling center there, the first of its kind in Massachusetts, according to Charles Lyons, the chair of the Solid Waste Management Committee.
■The Hadley Village Barn Shops have a new tenant for the space vacated by the Christmas Shops — another Christmas store. The Christmas Loft, owned by Vermont retailers Richard and Ronnie Vander Veer, will hold its grand opening in August.
■Kathleen A. Borawski of RE/MAX Hill & Valley and Cheryl A. Pinkham of Pinkham & Associates, The Progressive Alternative in Real Estate, have formed a new business. RE/MAX Hill & Valley Inc., The Progressive Alternative in Real Estate, is the new corporation co-owned by the two.
■A pair of peregrine falcons that have spent the last decade nesting on the roof of the W.E.B. Du Bois Library at the University of Massachusetts are now the stars of an around-the-clock webcam feed. The recently installed camera arrives just as the birds of prey are beginning the process of brooding their eggs in a nesting box.
■A set of custom-made “Welcome to Northampton” signs, designed to reflect the city’s unique qualities, will soon greet visitors at all of the city’s major gateways. Supporters of the Gateways Beautification Project believe the signs will give visitors a sense of the city. Rather than simply naming the city, the metal signs will have an artistic flair that blends the themes of downtown, transportation and agriculture.