■An Amtrak official visiting Northampton yesterday to study the proposed Northampton Amtrak stop said he has a “fairly reasonable chance of selling” the proposal in Washington, but no stop could be arranged unless Amtrak is guaranteed that state and local government here will pick up two-thirds of any operating deficit the stop incurs.
■The surprise defeat of the $15 million Holyoke Range-Boston Harbor Island Bicentennial proposal in the State House of Representatives yesterday has discouraged local proponents of the plan, who say they will fight for reconsideration of the bill or seek funding for a similar state Department of Natural Resources plan to acquire upper reaches of the Holyoke Range.
■To mark the Gazebo’s 20th anniversary, owner Judith Fine is sponsoring a sculpture contest, of sorts. To enter, people must create fanciful versions of the brassiere. Fine says the contest was inspired by Samuele Maza’s “Brahaus,” a book of photographs of bras made of stained glass, bamboo, toy soldiers, Legos, and other unusual items.
■Helen L. Russell of Northampton received the Clara Barton Award at the 83rd annual meeting of the Hampshire County Chapter of the American Red Cross last weekend. Since her retirement as dean of students at Smith College in 1979, Russell has been an active Red Cross volunteer leader in areas of personnel and business practice.
■A malfunction to the card reader and gate system at the E. John Gare parking garage downtown has prevented the city from collecting money for about a week, prompting officials to speed up plans to replace the entire pay-on-foot system in use for the last eight years.
■After four years of enjoying free, spacious quarters in the basement of Thornes Marketplace, the Northampton Winter Farmers’ Market is on the hunt for new digs. Market manager Andrew Lacasse this week said he is busy trying to secure new space from which to operate the market.