■The possibility of calling a moratorium on subdivisions in Northampton until the new zoning ordinance is acted on is being investigated by the Planning Board. The move was spurred by the filing of three subdivision plans which, if approved, would add more than 160 units to the triangle of land formed by Florence Road, Ryan Road, and Burts Pit Road.
■A break-in at Trico Vendors on O’Neill Street in Easthampton netted thieves between $6,000 and $8,000 in loose, unrolled change, according to police. The money was in a large safe which police say was “peeled” open.
■Bishop Leo O’Neil, a Holyoke native, is being remembered for the compassionate and approachable way he led his life and the grace with which he accepted and prepared for his death. O’Neil, head of the Diocese of Manchester for the past seven years, died Sunday after a long fight with cancer. He was 69.
■The world’s nations convened today for an extraordinary 10 days of negotiations over the planet’s future, drawn together by a fear of global warming but divided over what to do about it. Japan, chair of the Climate Change Treaty talks, hoped to find a middle way forward through a thicket of technical and political disputes.
■After losing their church to a fire three years ago, members of the West Cummington Congregational Church have finally come home to a new building they can once again call their own. On Sunday morning, the church held its first service in the brand-new building that was built on the exact footprint of the original 1839 church.
■Open your notebooks and sharpen your pencils. School for thousands of public school students is about to get quite a bit longer. Five states, including Massachusetts, were to announce Monday that they will add at least 300 hours of learning time to the calendar in some schools starting in 2013.