Jim Bridgman

50 Years Ago

  • Voters in Northampton who thought Tuesday that they had done their civic duty for this year had better start sharpening their ballot marking pencils again. TOPICS is coming. A special city-wide referendum on the controversial $1.2 million traffic control plan for the downtown area will be held Nov. 23.
  • The directors of the financially troubled Hampshire Community Action Commission, Inc., voted yesterday to end daycare programs in 30 days to keep the agency from going bankrupt. However, the directors left open the possibility that if their attempts to secure financing for the program are successful, they would reconsider the move.

25 Years Ago

  • Plans for the former Northampton State Hospital property that would funnel traffic through the South Street area have galvanized residents who say the increased traffic would pose a threat to pedestrians and hurt their neighborhood. “Making South Street the gateway to the hospital promises to flood an already over-stressed, under-enforced road with traffic volume which will have a detrimental impact on the quality of life for more than 1,000 city residents,” said Gregory Sandler, co-chair of the alliance.
  • The Northampton Community Music Center received a $7,100 grant from the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts this fall. The grant will pay for rentals of violins and cellos in a popular program at Bridge Street School, outreach programs and a digital piano to accompany groups away from the center.

10 Years Ago

  • The Holyoke Community College Board of Trustees on Thursday recommended Christina Royal as its pick to become the institution’s next president. Pending Royal’s approval to the position, she will be HCC’s first woman president as well as the fourth person to occupy the role in the school’s 70-year history.
  • For the second time in 11 years, hydroelectric power facilities on the Deerfield River are being sold. ArcLight Capital Partners, a Boston-based energy investment company, has signed an agreement to buy TransCanada’s hydroelectric facilities along the Deerfield and Connecticut rivers.