■A native of Northampton who grew up in Easthampton will be honored at a $100-a-plate black-tie testimonial dinner Oct. 21 in Los Angeles, where he owns and operates several restaurants. Bernard G. Tohl, 53, also known as “Barnie” Tolchinsky, will receive the Spirit of Life award from the City of Hope Medical Center in Los Angles at the dinner, held at the Century Plaza hotel.
■Mrs. Hollee Haswell-Bowman, newly appointed member of the Forbes Library staff, has just assumed her duties as art and music librarian. An alert, outgoing young woman, she is eminently well qualified for the position, bringing to it a great amount of enthusiasm and a wealth of practical experience as well.
■Two new stores, one that will sell freshly made dog treats and the other a gift store for both dogs and their owners, will be open in downtown Northampton by Nov. 1. Good Dog! — the gift store and a dog service referral center — will open at 18 Center St. “Taxi’s Dog Bakery” is scheduled to open at 88 Pleasant St.
■Incidents of domestic violence are slowly “creeping down” in Northampton. But Police Chief Russell P. Sienkiewicz says the issue remains one of the most pressing social problems. For that reason, about 75 people, including the police chief, turned out Friday for a rally downtown to mark National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, held every year since 1980.
■Laurie Bell Farkas, director of student services for the Northampton schools since 2012, is one of three finalists for the position of superintendent. The others announced at Thursday’s School Committee meeting are John W. Johnson, communications director for the superintendent of Wisconsin’s education department, and Timothy Lee, principal of the Morris School in Lenox.
■Cooley Dickinson Hospital is reconsidering its decision last month to close its pediatric unit, investigating alternatives put forward by pediatricians who raised objections to the move. One idea under consideration is maintaining a short-term pediatric stay or observation unit for children and teens who require hospitalization.