A Look Back: Feb. 12

50 Years Ago

■The Northampton Conservation Commission voted last night to write U.S. Rep. Silvio Conte, R-Pittsfield, and the Veterans Administration to protest federal plans to build a VA cemetery in Northampton. The commission argued that much of the 230 acres near the Northampton State Hospital which has been proposed as federal VA cemetery is the same land which the city had intended to use for conservation and recreation purposes.

■Donald B. Frizzle, acting superintendent of the Amherst schools, was named the new school superintendent by the Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee last night after another candidate for the post turned down the job.

25 Years Ago

■Five months after Community Builders Inc. won state approval to develop the former Northampton State Hospital property, progress on a master plan for the project has been negligible, people involved with the effort say. State officials this week expressed dismay with Community Builders for not having started work on a master plan, a necessary precursor, they say, to the state’s signing a final land disposition agreement.

■After more than two months, LaSalle Florists will be reopening its shop at 279 Main St. today, just in time for Valentine’s Day. The florist shop was displaced from its longtime home across from the Academy of Music after a fire Nov. 24 in a third-floor apartment above it caused severe smoke and water damage.

10 Years Ago

■The Northampton Business Improvement District is petitioning the City Council to lower the fees it assesses most members by 50 percent, a first step toward a required renewal vote that would force all property owners within the downtown district to become members.

■The Northampton High School Band is gearing up to perform in a legendary venue: Carnegie Hall in New York City. The 43-member band, led by director Deb Coon, successfully auditioned to be part of this year’s National Band and Orchestra Festival set for April at Carnegie Hall.