A Look Back: March 30

50 Years Ago

■ Armed with the facts that over $1 billion is lost annually in the U.S. to shoplifters and that 77% of a group of students polled at the University of Massachusetts say they shoplift, a panel of experts yesterday told businessmen that shoplifting is much like the common cold: there are many methods of prevention, but there is no cure.

■Support increased today for a meat boycott April 1-7 to protest high prices. The Massachusetts Senate adopted on Tuesday a resolution to be sent to the White House and the state’s congressional delegation supporting the boycott “wholeheartedly.”

25 Years Ago

■The intersection of Burts Pit and Florence roads will be studied to determine whether it qualifies for a traffic light or other improvements, the Board of Public Works was told Wednesday night. If the city were to install a traffic light, the cost was estimated at $100,000.

■A Northampton woman has been named the first permanent director of a 20-year-old nonprofit organization that counsels battered women and operates a shelter and 24-hour telephone hotline. Kendall Clawson, 33, will begin work as chief administrator of Necessities/Necesidades on April 24.

10 Years Ago

■Recipients of medical marijuana in Massachusetts would be allowed up to 10 ounces of pot for 60 days under proposed rules issued Friday by state health officials. The draft recommendations also require all licensed marijuana dispensaries to cultivate their own supply of the drug, a rule intended to exert control over the process from planting through distribution.

■The Mountain Goat, a Main Street store that specializes in outdoor wear and equipment, will close Saturday, ending nearly 24 years of business. Co-owner Mary Colwell said Friday the store could not compete with Internet retailers, big-box stores and warmer winters.

]]>