Jim Bridgman

50 Years Ago

  • The new Hampshire County Superior Courtroom was hailed yesterday as an important addition to the Commonwealth by Justice Paul A. Tamburello who inaugurated the use of the courtroom. The opening of the courtroom marked the completion of the second of three stages in the $3.3 million courthouse project begun in 1972.
  • A proposal to tear down two old structures on Elm Street in order to build an addition to a local nursing home got a cool reception from the Northampton Historical Commission yesterday. “A monstrosity on a very small piece of land,” was how commission member Gordon Murphy described the proposal of Northampton Pine Rest, Inc., to build a 91-bed addition to its present facility by raising the buildings at 221 and 219 Elm St.

25 Years Ago

  • The owners of two companies that excavate at a gravel pit and quarry on Turkey Hill Road are asking a Hampshire Superior Court judge to issue an order allowing them to continue mining, despite an order from the city to cease operations there. Residents in the area surrounding the site have aired several concerns about the quarry operations, ranging from complaints about speeding and noisy trucks that haul the gravel, to the blasting that shakes the foundations of their homes
  • The city will proceed with plans to convert 15 acres of farmland off Burts Pit Road into athletic fields but will modify its design for the recreation area in an attempt to satisfy the concerns of neighborhood residents. Recreation Director Ray Ellerbrook said many residents who attended the Recreation Commission meeting last week appeared satisfied with the latest plan after designers agreed to revise it in response to their concerns.

10 Years Ago

  • Noah Jackson, a Sunderland native and graduate of Northampton High School, has secured a spot on Gwen Stefani’s team on the current season of the popular NBC television show “The Voice.” During his blind audition for the show, Jackson’s rendition of the song “Elastic Heart” by Sia gained Stefani’s approval.
  • The head of MGM Resorts International said Monday the company remains committed to building a casino in downtown Springfield despite a recent redesign that eliminated a 25-story hotel and associated apartments. The project will still include a 250-room, six-story hotel and 30 to 35 market-rate apartments.