■The local gas situation may be tight today. Local station owners contacted by the Gazette last night reported that several stations were out of one or more types of gas, and some have closed until early next week because they have drained their November allocation.
■The Sidney F. Smith Memorial Toy Fund kicked off Saturday with a Northampton Firefighters and I.A.F.F. Local 108 contribution of $100. This first gift was presented by Fred Vishaway, secretary-treasurer of Local 108, and Karl Zalesky, president.
■Northampton school officials will begin considering how best to correct a racial imbalance in the city’s elementary schools, armed with advice from a task force that studied the problem for more than a year. Although the Desegregation Task Force on Monday recommended a plan to let families choose their elementary schools, within limits, School Committee members indicated much more discussion and debate lies ahead.
■A gasoline additive designed to promote cleaner air is contaminating water supplies in Massachusetts and other parts of the country, and trace amounts of the chemical have been found in area communities. The substance, methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MBTE, is a petroleum-based product used since the early 1990s in “reformulated gasoline” as a replacement for benzene to reduce smog-causing emissions in car exhaust.
■Just two days after Thanksgiving, holiday spirit came out in full force when bagpipers, clowns, candy-throwing children and a colorful array of other marchers descended on Florence for its annual holiday parade Saturday. The parade is sponsored by the Florence Civic & Business Association.
■The American Society of Landscape Architects recently presented the national Community Service Award to Nicholas T. Dines for sustained pro bono work on behalf of the Williamsburg Public Gardens and Mill River Greenway over the last 14 years.