The Northampton City Council last night took under advisement Charles J. Eberlein’s request for a special zoning exemption to build a new facility for the state Registry of Motor Vehicles outside the downtown area. Eberlein is interested in building a 4,200 square ft. building on Atwood Drive near the Colonial Hilton and renting it to the state.
Postal officials confirmed today that Northampton Postmaster John F. “Chick” Murphy has applied to retire. Murphy, who is absent on leave from his Northampton job, has been the city’s postmaster since being appointment by President Harry Truman in 1952.
25 Years Ago
For the first time since 1993, the state’s highest court, the Supreme Judicial Court, met in Northampton Monday in a historic old court room on Main Street. Schoolchildren from the city and towns around Hampshire County, as well as area colleges, along with lawyers and members of the public, took advantage of the opportunity to get a firsthand look at the judicial system at work.
A group of citizens seeking to save the historic main building of the Northampton State Hospital from the wrecking ball will meet this week to discuss options for re-using the structure. The current master plan for developing the 124-acre hospital property calls for saving a portion of the main building.
10 Years Ago
To commemorate the 400th anniversary of the death of poet and playwright William Shakespeare, several of the Bard’s original 1623 First Folios are embarking on a cross-country tour. In Massachusetts, Amherst College will be the only stop for the traveling exhibition.
Reproductive rights will be the topic at the 35th anniversary conference of Hampshire College’s civil liberties and public policy program this weekend. The conference, “From Abortion Rights to Social Justice: Building the Movement for Reproductive Freedom” is scheduled for early April at Hampshire.