50 Years Ago

■Ward 1 School Committeeman Russell W. Carrier is attending the 58th Annual Convention of the American Federation of Teachers in Toronto, Canada. Carrier is representing Local 484 of the Springfield Federation of Teachers, which is affiliated with the AFL-CIO. The keynote speaker is Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Delaware.

■Trooper Paul E. Malatesta, a city resident who has been working in the district attorney’s office as a detective, has been promoted from corporal to sergeant. Malatesta has worked for the state police for 15 years.

25 Years Ago

■State health officials have backed away from the idea of imposing a statewide ban on smoking in restaurants. The state Public Health Council voted Tuesday to continue pursuing efforts to encourage cities and towns to restrict smoking, rather than seek a statewide ban.

■The City Council will be asked Thursday night to approve paying $30,000 for a study of the city’s well-discussed parking crunch. The money would not come from the pockets of taxpayers — it would be taken from a special account known as the “Payment-in-lieu of Parking Fund,” which holds money assessed to businesses who don’t meeting parking requirements.

10 Years Ago

■Exactly 40 years to the day after arriving, Rabbi Saul Perlmutter retired Aug. 1 as executive director of Hillel at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, leaving a legacy of growth. Rabbi Aaron Fine of Amherst has succeeded Perlmutter as executive director.

■Southampton lawyer William O’Grady, 59, will become an associate justice of Chicopee District Court on Sept. 5. O’Grady was nominated in July by Gov. Deval Patrick to replace retiring Judge Mary E. Hurley.