■Bjorn S. Wiberg, assistant executive director in charge of programs at the Hampshire Regional YMCA, is resigning effective tomorrow to become the new executive director of the Zanesville YMCA in Ohio.
■An early season snowstorm took area communities by surprise last night when a rainy, sleeting afternoon turned to as much as an estimated foot of snow in the hilltowns. The snow was responsible for a rash of accidents throughout local communities, and power failures in parts of Amherst and Hadley that lasted for as long as three hours.
■Northampton High School hopes to institute a program designed to encourage college-level scholarship in students at risk of dropping out. Officials want funding for a cooperative effort with Greenfield Community College that would allow students to continue their education at the college, instead of at the high school.
■With a building permit in hand, the Northampton Community Music Center has begun renovations on the former South Street School, which the center will move to next spring. Under the direction of Wright Builders, demolition began immediately last week, with the help from members of Bill Nagle’s Honor Court.
■For the first time since Northampton was incorporated in 1884, the mayor is officially no longer at the head of the City Council table. That’s one of many changes taking place — though likely the most noticeable — as the city transitions to a new charter overwhelmingly approved by voters Nov. 6.
■Michael Kittredge II, founder of Yankee Candle Co., has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke. Kittredge, 60, was taken to a Boston area hospital Tuesday, according to the Facebook site of Kringle Candle Co., the Bernardston business started by his son, Michael Kittredge II.