■Recently elected to the board of directors of the Northampton Co-operative Bank are Thomas M. Growhoski, Gordon F. Neylon, and Thomas C. Hodgkins. The new directors will fill vacancies caused by the retirement of William E. Dwyer, Walter C. Jones, and Alexander August.
■The results of a poll of the Ad Hoc Cable Advisory Committee shows a majority of the committee opposed to bringing cable TV into Northampton at this time. The poll results showed 10 members of the committee opposed to the cable and even members favoring it.
■Parking, traffic, public safety and “perpetual care” were among the concerns voiced at a public hearing Wednesday night on a proposal to install a bronze statue of Sojourner Truth in a triangle of grass at the corner of Pine and Park streets in Florence. About 25 people showed up for the hearing, held so that the Board of Public Works could hear public sentiment on the proposal.
■With button sales for First Night now tallied, organizers of the city’s biggest New Year’s Eve celebration say it raised a record amount of money for the Northampton Center for the Arts. Michael Kusek, the center’s director, said the fifteenth annual event took in a total of $102,000.
■Hadley Police Sgt. Michael Mason will be the town’s new police chief. The Select Board unanimously chose Mason, 36, over two other finalists from outside of town, after interviewing the candidates and hearing from a group of dozens of residents, all Mason supporters, who attended the meeting Wednesday.
■A proposal to ban plastic bags in supermarkets and other retail stores will get an airing before the Northampton City Council Thursday. The ban, proposed by Vice President Jesse M. Adams and Ward 2 City Councilor Paul D. Spector, has been reviewed by many committees and commissions over the last few months and, if approved, would take effect Jan. 1, 2016.