■Calling on Smith College graduates to “fight racism and racial injustice” wherever they find it, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, D-N.Y., received a standing ovation following her address at the college’s 97th commencement exercises held yesterday in the Smith quadrangle.
■Walkers yesterday contended with muggy weather and the prospect of sore feet to raise an estimated $1,500 for programs for young people at Threshold. A goal of at least $1,000 had been set. Approximately 70 young people completed the 20-mile course, which started at the headquarters of the multi-service center at 9½ Market St.
■Lawrence Tatro, who wears badge number one as Northampton’s longest-serving letter carrier, retires Friday after nearly 34 years of work. Tatro delivers to 430 different households, between 1,000 and 2,000 pieces a day.
■Channing L. Bete Co. a publisher of instruction booklets and a business heralded for its employee benefits and open management style, is laying of 67 employees, a fifth of its workforce. Turmoil in the nation’s health care system and competition from Internet start-ups that give away information are two main reasons for a downturn in business that led to the layoffs.
■A Northampton native and her partner will embark Monday on a bicycle trip across the country to raise money for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. Kayla Strom, 21, of Florence and Cameron Nevin, 23, of Moretown, Vermont, organized the trip because they wanted to go on an adventure while helping others.
■After 21 years of operating ATA Martial Arts in South Deerfield, Tom Norwood decided to team up with a student-turned-instructor to open a second studio in Easthampton. Norwood owns the studio at 126 Northampton St. along with Rene Gagnon. The Easthampton site, which opened in late March, offers Taekwondo, Krav Maga and fitness classes to people of all ages.