50 Years Ago
- Paul J. Cantin III, of 462 North King St., left recently for a three-week trip to Guatemala, where he will take part in an archaeological and anthropological expedition. Canton, a student at the University of Massachusetts, together with eight other men and women, will assist in the work this winter.
- Mayor David W. Cramer last night urged the City Council ordinance committee to support his proposals for an expanded city law department and the permanent addition of an administrative assistant to the mayor’s staff. The two proposals would cost the city some $26,000 Ð $13,000 for expanded legal services, and about $13,000 for the administrative position.
25 Years Ago
- The residents who want to turn the Amherst Cinema building into a community arts center have received the loans they need and are confident that they will be able to acquire the property by the deadline Monday. The Amherst Cinema Center board learned Thursday that a key $300,000 loan from the University of Massachusetts Foundation will be available and can be paid back over the next year.
- The former board secretary in the city’s Office of Planning and Development has taken a new job at the fire station, where she oversees special projects for the Fire Department, dispatchers and emergency personnel. Laura Krutzler started the 20-hour post Jan. 2, after five years with the Planning Board.
10 Years Ago
- Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’ “Medicare for all” plan, unveiled Sunday hours before the televised Democratic debate in South Carolina, got a seal of approval from University of Massachusetts Economics Professor Gerald Friedman, who has argued for such a plan for decades. Friedman has written that such a plan would both save money and lead to higher-quality care.
- After nearly 24 years as a state representative, Ellen Story, D-Amherst, may not seek another term. “I’m considering retirement,” Story said in a telephone interview Monday. But she added that she has made no public announcement regarding her intentions.