■The Hampshire Bookshop, Northampton’s “cradle of ideas” in the 1920s and 1930s when Robert Frost, Archibald MacLeish, Christopher Morley, and John Galsworthy gave readings there, has gone out of business. Ralph Intorcio, owner of the building on 8 Crafts Ave., said, “We were undercapitalized, and the bookshop wasn’t paying.”
■A Democratic primary battle for the nomination for the Ward 6 City Council seat was made official today with the announcement that Harry “Buzz” Chapman of 28 Beattie Drive would seek that party’s endorsement in the Sept. 14, city primaries. Councilor Joseph H. Bonneau has already announced his decision to seek another term.
■Employee benefits and salaries will be cut this fall at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, as its president and trustees initiate sweeping changes designed to keep the institution viable. The reductions in pay and benefits are expected to save $1.6 million a year, officials say.
■Jane Dyer, Northampton illustrator of such classic children’s books as “Time for Bed” and the “Piggins” series, recently painted the cover design for the fall issue of the Land’s End Clothing Catalog for kids. Inspired by a childhood friend of her daughter’s, Dyer’s piece features a young girl picking up an apple on her way to school.
■The state is once again dangling a sales tax holiday in front of consumers this weekend in hopes of spurring a little “Christmas in August” spending. Despite dismal economic headlines and a wild week in the stock market, state and local retailers are hopeful that the two-day tax break will coax cautious consumers into pulling out their wallets.
■Quipping in a press release that “This is the only airtime I can afford,” mayoral candidate Michael Bardsley announced Friday his plan to campaign via sky-writing Saturday. Bardsley is using an old-school aerial advertising tactic to display this message, “A Mayor Should be Elected, Not Selected” in the sky above Northampton from 10:30 to 12:30 p.m.