A Look Back, April 29

50 Years Ago

■Daniel L. Labato, 42, a sergeant in the police department, was appointed deputy police chief by Mayor Sean M. Dunphy at a special meeting of the City Council last night. The $12,999 per year position of deputy chief has been vacant since the retirement of James J. Corbett over a year ago.

■Members of the Northampton Historical Commission are worried that an upcoming vote by congregations of Edwards Church and the First Church of Christ on whether to merge may have unhappy consequences. The ornate First Church of Christ, with its Tiffany windows, may be in danger of demolition if services are no longer held there.

25 Years Ago

■The Northampton Cycling Club has been given approval to hold the Criterium race on Woodlawn Avenue and North Elm and Prospect streets. The short-course race that will circle Childs Park will be the second day of competition in the North Atlantic Cycling Championships, which are expected to draw 500 racers and another 500 spectators.

■Chancellor of Higher Education Stanley Z. Koplik wants to reduce the number of tenured professors at state colleges by giving newcomers a choice of tenure, or more money. Koplik says he does not want to eliminate tenure, but widespread use of it makes it difficult for colleges to drop undersubscribed courses and meeting demands for new courses, and stay within spending limits.

10 Years Ago

■Not everyone is over the rainbow about changes coming to a Main Street crosswalk. A fair amount of objection to the plan that would replace the existing black and white crosswalk between Thornes Marketplace and TD Bank with rainbow colored stripes has surfaced in recent weeks.

■Westover Air Reserve Base will lose half its massive C-5 cargo planes and more than 300 jobs as a result of military budget cuts, base officials announced Monday. Eight of the 439th Airlift Wing s 16 C-5 planes, the largest military aircraft in the U.S., will move to Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas beginning next year, they said.