■Local followers of the Eckankar movement will speak on the subject on April 17 at the People’s Institute on Gothic Street. Eckankar is said by its followers to be the “path to total awareness by means of soul travel.” Its followers say that they can transcend the physical world and “experience heightened levels of consciousness.”
■Diana Romer, chair of the finance committee, edged out Leo Bouchard in his bid for re-election to the Amherst Board of Selectmen yesterday by 104 votes, but voters returned selectman Robert J. Garvey for a second term.
■Motorists along Route 9 in Williamsburg this weekend may puzzle at a group of people in hip-high waders sloshing through the cold waters of the Mill River. They are some of about two dozen folks who will be there to gently dump about 64,000 inch-long baby Atlantic salmon into swift sections of the Mill River’s east and west branches.
■Some 50 people advocating for a bicycle lane, sidewalk, and narrower roadway on Damon Road and a pedestrian crossing light at the corner of Damon and King Street packed an informational hearing on the proposed reconstruction of Damon Road Thursday night.
■Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito met Tuesday with Mayors David J. Narkewicz and Karen L. Cadieux promoting a new state program that aims to build more solid partnerships between the state and each of its 351 cities and towns. “Our compact is focused on making every region of the state strong,” Polito said.
■Though many residents are in favor of a proposed ban on single-use plastic bags in Northampton, some business owners have hesitations about its impact on retailers. “Your ideas are very admirable, but I think you need to step back and look at the time,” said Steve Elkins of Deerfield, who owns WEBS Yarn Store on Service Center Road.