Jim Bridgman

50 Years Ago

  • Michael S. Robertson, the 41-year-old Berkley selectman and drapery manufacturer who is running as the Republican candidate against Sen. Edward M. Kennedy this fall, said last night that he believes that he will win. “The spirit of America has always been the unexpected. I don’t feel that I’m an underdog,” Robertson told a press conference at the University of Massachusetts, where he gave a speech.
  • Sen. John W. Olver, D-Amherst, will be named a “Legislator of the Year” for his “outstanding service to municipal government,” by the Massachusetts League of Cities and Towns. The award will be presented to the senator at the league’s 14th annual meeting to be held Oct. 29 and 30 at the Sheraton Inn in Boxborough.

25 Years Ago

  • Northampton School Committee member M. Francisco Palomo said Wednesday that he will seek reelection to a third term after all. Palomo earlier this month said he was mulling whether to withdraw from seeking election to a third term. He had said he was frustrated with working with other school committee members.
  • In the past week, more than 900 members of the Air Force Reserves have been called to active duty at Westover Air Reserve Base. Gordon Newell, base public information officer, said no specific reason was given for the sudden increase. “Everything we’re doing comes from the Pentagon,” Newell said. “Yesterday it was 300, today it’s 900. Something’s coming down, I think.”

10 Years Ago

  • Remarks in which the president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police apologized Monday to minority groups for the “historical mistreatment of communities of color” have drawn praise from city police. Northampton Police Captains John Cartledge and Dorothy Clayton attended the San Diego conference. “There’s thousands of police officers here from around the world,” Cartledge said. “To hear that at a convention this size is certainly refreshing.”
  • A parking rate increase Mayor David Narkewicz proposed last month will go to a City Council vote on Thursday. Currently, parking on Main Street is restricted to one hour, which costs 75 cents. The proposal calls for $1 per hour and would allow parking for up to two hours.