Although the national chain of the W. T. Grant Co. has made plans to close the downtown Holyoke branch of the department store, there are no plans for phasing out the Northampton store, according to Richard J. Gregg, district manager for the firm. In a telephone interview this morning, Gregg said that “we have a successful store in Northampton, and we are very happy with it. We will keep it open as long as possible.”
The owner of the McCallum’s Department Store building told the City Council last night that he is prepared to spend $1 million in renovating the building if the council approves the pending urban renewal plan. Building owner Floyd Andrus of Northampton said he has put together a group of architects and a developer who could develop the building as a mall with as many of 35 to 40 specialty stores.
The effort to frame a mutual development plan for the land spanning Northampton and Hatfield’s common border got off to a friendly start Monday. The 12-member joint task force made up of representatives from Hatfield and Northampton met for the first time to beginning looking at the factors that must be addressed in developing the mile-long stretch of Routes 5 and 10.
Tax Collector Joanne Keefe Lobdell, described by coworkers as an exemplary public servant, a caring boss and an outgoing person with a great laugh who “spread her warmth around,” died Sunday after a brief illness. She was 53. “The city has lost a great worker,” City Clerk Christine Skorupski said Monday, echoing what grieving workers and officials throughout city government are saying.
A recent change to a University of Massachusetts Amherst policy aims to expand protections of transgender people’s rights to choose bathrooms that they feel most comfortable using. The policy was accepted last fall by the Campus Advisory Council and took effect at the start of the spring 2015 semester.
Northampton got back part of its “front lawn” last week. The front steps to the old Hampshire County Courthouse are back in place after being temporarily removed, cleaned and refurbished as a part of a series of repairs to the historic downtown landmark.