50 Years Ago
- Parents are protesting the “harsh punishments,” including suspensions, handed down by the Clarke School for the Deaf to 26 students who admitted smoking marijuana. At least one parent said he is consulting an attorney today about the legality of Clarke School’s refusal to allow 12 suspended seniors to participate in commencement ceremonies tomorrow.
- Eight residents of the Pomeroy Terrace-Hancock Street area appeared at an ordinance committee meeting last night to protest a plan to make Hancock Street one-way to cut down speeding problems in the area. Residents said that the one-way proposal would not solve the problem and would create new problems for residents of the Hancock Street area.
25 Years Ago
- Despite millions of dollars in federal restoration money, a scant 31 Atlantic salmon have made their way up the Connecticut River as annual spring run nears its end. It’s a disappointing figure to fishery biologists, who some years see as many as 500.
- The new School Committee member elected Thursday night is a 1972 graduate of Northampton High School who says she is taking her own daughter out of a private school to attend her alma mater. Joanne Montgomery was elected to fill an at-large seat made vacant when a member resigned mid-term.
10 Years Ago
- At dusk, downtown Northampton seemed to stand still as an estimated 1,000 people converged in front of City Hall to pay respects to those killed in the Orlando, Florida massacre. Wednesday night’s community-organized vigil effectively shut down Main Street. The crowd spilled out from the front of City Hall, packed a portion of Main Street and nearby sidewalks. Onlookers peered out and watched from windows of nearby apartments.
- The University of Massachusetts board of trustees voted Wednesday to endorse a decision made by the UMass Foundation in May to divest from the university’s direct holdings in fossil fuel companies. The vote was a symbolic gesture because the UMass Foundation manages the university’s $770 million endowment, not the trustees.