■Despite her broad smile, Maya Angelou appeared close to tears yesterday morning as she accepted a Smith College honorary degree of doctor of letters. Later, in a panel discussion, she referred to that degree: “I think that is one of the highest rewards I have received because it said to the artist, ‘thank you.’”
■Officials at the Pro Brush Division of Vistron Corporation in Florence said today that 30 workers have been laid off indefinitely this week, with 15 more layoffs expected next week. Eric Stahlberg, operations manager of Pro Brush, said today that the firm “does not look optimistically at the immediate future.”
■A driver of a PVTA bus called police Saturday morning to report that a man wearing only a hospital gown and a blanket had just boarded the bus near The Cooley Dickinson Hospital. It turned out that the man, a University of Massachusetts student, was on his way back to his dormitory in Amherst after being released from the hospital.
■A Whately artist wants to evoke infinite mysteries in the new lobby of the Northampton High School, with sculptures that suggest the swirl of subatomic particles and distant galaxies. Robert Cumming’s proposal to create two wall reliefs with those elements — and a salute to classroom computation — was the choice Monday from among 28 competing public art proposals for the new space.
■Two Northampton body work businesses were shuttered by officials Friday for multiple code violations as part of a multi-agency investigation to determine, in part, if they and two other city businesses were offering sexual contact for money, according to Northampton police Capt. Jody Kasper.
■The longest-serving member of the Northampton Public Works Commission is expected to lead his final meeting next month, capping nearly two decades on the board when some of the city’s biggest public works decisions in years were made. Terry Culhane, 66, announced his resignation at a recent commission meeting.