A Look Back: April 19

Jim Bridgman

Jim Bridgman

By JIM BRIDGMAN

For the Gazette

Published: 04-19-2024 6:01 AM
50 Years Ago

■A city budget of $11,687,698 for the fiscal year July 1, 1974, through June 30, 1975, some $400,000 over last year’s 12-month expenditure, was passed unanimously at last night’s City Council meeting. At some point between now and June the tax rate will be determined based upon the city budget. The present tax rate is $54 per $1,000 property valuation.

■Easthampton Deputy Fire Chief Roland Dragon, who resigned unexpectedly two weeks ago, decided yesterday to return to his post, following the equally unexpected resignation Wednesday night of Fire Chief Robert F. Ulm. Deputy Chief Dragon, who will reach mandatory retirement age next year, said yesterday that he is withdrawing his letter of resignation.

25 Years Ago

■City lawyer Leon Malinofsky, who announced last month his intention to run for mayor, said he is “in negotiations with a couple of people who might have the time and the wherewithal to run a campaign.” He said he hopes to hold his first fund-raising event by the end of May, and in the meantime, he is studying the way the city and its departments work.

■About 100 people showed up to the first organizational meeting held for the campaign to elect Mary Clare Higgins mayor, according to the candidate. She said she was not expecting the turnout. In brief remarks to those in attendance, Higgins said, “I’m very surprised that you’re all here. I didn’t expect that many people.”

10 Years Ago

■A regular bus stop at the Amherst Survival Center in North Amherst will be part of the revised routes the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority puts in place later this year, Town Manager John Musante told the Select Board Wednesday. Musante serves as president of the PVTA Advisory Board.

■On Monday, Annie Baker’s “The Flick,” a play that examines the lives of three young employees of an aging Massachusetts movie theater, won this year’s Pulitzer Prize for best drama. Baker, who graduated from Amherst Regional High School in 1999, has earned national acclaim and a bevy of other awards for her plays in recent years.