■On Aug. 21 the miniature train at the Look Memorial Park will celebrate its 22nd year of operation. The train, in operation since 1948, is built to one-fifth scale. Even the speedometer, when it registers 60 mph, means the train is traveling one-fifth of that speed or 12 mph.
■ “There are over 3,000 Northampton residents qualified to vote who are as yet unregistered,” Mayor Sean M. Dunphy said announcing plans for an intensive voter registration drive. The mayor said a door-to door canvass will be made on Friday and Saturday in the more densely populated areas of the city with low voter registration.
■Once hailed as the point guard of the future for the University of Massachusetts men’s basketball team, Andre Burks has ended a troubled year in Amherst by deciding to return to his native Louisiana. Burks, from Baton Rouge, will transfer to McNeese State in Lake Charles, La., according to McNeese Athletic Director Bob Hayes.
■A college professor active in Republican politics has been tapped by Republican Gov. William F. Weld to serve on the Northampton Housing Authority Board of Commissioners. John A. Andrulis, 52, of Leeds, succeeds Maureen C. Tobin, a Democrat and city councilor from Ward 7, whose term expired last year.
■Even though there has been no final decision on Greenfield opening a virtual school this fall, school officials are still optimistic they will get approval from the state, so they are working hard to ensure that the school will be able to open. School Committee Chair John Lunt said Monday he is optimistic the virtual school will move forward and he expects a decision soon.
■With efforts to legalize casino gambling in Massachusetts on the verge of dying, casino supporters say Massachusetts is in danger of letting the Mashpee Wampanoags have the upper hand in potential casino negotiations. The Mashpees have already filed an application with the U.S. Department of Interior to secure land in southeastern Mass. that could be used for gambling.