■Smith College students and faculty returned to more normal life today with the end of the college’s two-day autumn centennial celebration. Classes at the college were suspended Tuesday and Wednesday as the fall observance involved virtually the entire college community.
■Multicolor Corporation has laid off nearly 25% of its workforce in Hatfield because of slowing business. Multicolor, which produces wallpaper and coverings, also has a factory in Florence.
■Northampton was declared to be in sound financial health by an independent bond-rating company this week. And in a new bond offering to investors, the city secured an interest rate that will slightly lower the cost of the fire station project on homeowners’ tax bills, compared to what was estimated in November 1997.
■Northampton senior homeowners who sustained damage form Tropical Storm Floyd could be eligible for economic assistance through the city. Mayor Mary L. Ford said Friday people 60 and older whose homes were damaged by the Sept. 16 storm might qualify for assistance through the city’s Community Block Grant program.
■A South Hadley company has won the contract to build the Nashawannuck Pond promenade in Easthampton. The long-awaited project is expected to begin within two weeks. Marois Construction was the winning bidder at $832,500 – and the only company among seven firms whose bid fell below $1 million.
■Lt. Robert J. O’Connor, a 35-year-member of the Amherst Police Department who assisted in the creation of a school safety response plan and was instrumental in the department’s participation in the Massachusetts Law Enforcement Torch Run to benefit Special Olympics, retired on Monday.