Jim Bridgman

50 Years Ago

  • Quietly, after an avalanche of protests earlier this year eventually faded, state Secretary of Human Services Lucy Benson has given up her twice-weekly chauffeured trips from Amherst to Boston. A spokesman for Mrs. Benson confirmed today that the cabinet member started driving herself to work early last month.
  • Rep. William P. Nagle Jr., D-Northampton, has announced his support for the legislation that would legalize off-track betting, sports, pool betting and daily number games in the state. “If we don’t pass these bills, the state could be throwing away $85 million in potential revenue,” Nagle said in a prepared statement.

25 Years Ago

  • The Valley Community Development Corp. is in the process of forming a limited liability partnership with the Springfield-based Hampden-Hampshire Housing Partnership, better known as HAP, to build 10 new condominium apartment units on roughly two acres at the end of Michelman Avenue in Northampton.
  • Some 60 acres of meadows, floodplain and forest on the Connecticut and Mill rivers will become state conservation land, serving as a refuge for rare plants and migratory birds. Terry Blunt, head of the Connecticut Valley Action Program, said Monday that the state is in the process of acquiring the land, located in the Northampton meadows.

10 Years Ago

  • Caught between federal incentive programs soon to expire and a stalled state incentive program, Northampton officials are looking for a way to complete municipal solar projects while protecting against the potential elimination of some of their revenue. Meanwhile, state legislators are weighing how to increase solar construction while containing rising energy costs for non-solar customers.
  • A family that owns and operates several restaurants in the Pioneer Valley intends to reopen the former Route 9 Diner as Johnny’s Roadside Diner this fall. Andy Yee, general manager of real estate and development for Johnny’s Diner LLC, said Thursday that the diner-style restaurant — serving American comfort food and focused on breakfast offerings — should be open by Nov. 1.