Will Dowd

769 Posts
Marblehead taps ex-Ipswich chief as new light manager
23 Jul

Marblehead taps ex-Ipswich chief as new light manager

Will DowdTop Stories
The Marblehead Municipal Light Commission selected Jonathan Blair as its new general manager Tuesday, choosing the former Ipswich Electric Light Department leader from a field of more than 90 applicants. Jonathan Blair, left, speaks at a past electric vehicle charging station ribbon-cutting while serving as general manager of Ipswich Electric Light Department. Blair was named the new general manager of Marblehead Municipal Light Department on Tuesday. COURTESY PHOTOS / IPSWICH LOCAL NEWS Blair currently works as a senior managing consultant at Energy and Environmental Economics…
Read More
BLISTERING SUMMER: Town’s outside workers power through as heat index hits 107 degrees
23 Jul

BLISTERING SUMMER: Town’s outside workers power through as heat index hits 107 degrees

Will DowdPublic safety, Top Stories
The cramp hit landscaper Stephen Martin’s leg like a vice grip, a sharp reminder that after 47 summers in landscaping, his body still demands respect. Sgt. Timothy Morley directs traffic along Pleasant Street on July 15, as road crews work under intense heat. The day’s high reached 90 degrees, with a heat index near 100. CURRENT PHOTOS / GREY COLLINS “You’ll get some muscle aches, almost like a charley horse,” Martin said, describing the warning signs when he doesn’t drink enough water during Marblehead’s increasingly…
Read More
RIDE OF A LIFETIME: Local teen navigates Italy’s iconic Mille Miglia race
23 Jul

RIDE OF A LIFETIME: Local teen navigates Italy’s iconic Mille Miglia race

Will DowdTop Stories
Dante Genovesi, 18, of Marblehead, was at the mall last fall when his 2025 summer plans changed in an instant. At the same time, his mom, owner of Roses and Thistle on Pleasant Street, was chatting with family friend Jeff Gault about the iconic Italian car race Mille Miglia. Dante Genovesi sits in Mookie’s in Marblehead, reviewing Mille Miglia route maps and reflecting on his summer racing through Italy. CURRENT PHOTO / WILL DOWD Mid-conversation, Gault — a longtime racer in the event who also…
Read More
NEWS IN BRIEF: Week of Monday, July 21, 2025
21 Jul

NEWS IN BRIEF: Week of Monday, July 21, 2025

Will DowdLocal News
The Current welcomes submissions (150-200 words) to the news in brief. Send yours to wdowd@marbleheadnews.org. Moulton joins 988 protest Congressman Seth Moulton joined fellow lawmakers and mental health advocates on Capitol Hill July 17 to protest the Trump administration’s elimination of the LGBTQ+ line of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. The LGBTQ+ line went that same day. "Letting kids die is not government reform—it’s cruelty," Moulton said. "When your child is in crisis, the last thing on your mind should be politics. But Donald…
Read More
Decision on new MMLD leader expected after finalist interviews
21 Jul

Decision on new MMLD leader expected after finalist interviews

Will DowdTop Stories
The Marblehead Municipal Light Commission plans to select its next general manager Tuesday from three finalists after deciding not to renew General Manager Joseph Kowalik’s contract, which expires April 7, 2026. The Marblehead Municipal Light Commission planned to select its next general manager Tuesday, July 22, from three finalists after deciding not to renew General Manager Joseph Kowalik’s contract, which expires April 7, 2026. The finalists, interviewed last week, were Salem resident Mary Usovicz, current general manager of Merrimac Municipal Light Department; Gloucester resident Jonathan…
Read More
At State Street Landing, ‘Headers hold ‘funeral for democracy’
17 Jul

At State Street Landing, ‘Headers hold ‘funeral for democracy’

Will DowdPolitics, Top Stories
Marblehead resident Joanne Stone-Libon stood near the harbor at State Street Landing Thursday afternoon, holding a cardboard tombstone and recounting the story of Nevaeh Crain — an 18-year-old Texas woman who died during a miscarriage after being denied medical care. Marblehead residents converse at Thursday’s protest while holding signs criticizing Donald Trump and lamenting the state of American democracy. Organizers staged the event as part of a nationwide “Good Trouble Lives On” day of action honoring the late congressman John Lewis. “She was six months…
Read More
HISTORY IN STONE: Peterson publishes field guide to Marblehead burial grounds
16 Jul

HISTORY IN STONE: Peterson publishes field guide to Marblehead burial grounds

Will DowdLocal News, Marblehead Chronicles
A single museum presentation sparked historian Pam Peterson’s years-long journey through Marblehead’s 13 historic cemeteries. What began as a basic presentation on them evolved into the first comprehensive book on these burial grounds. Pam Peterson, center in black-and-white blouse and white cotton pants, stands with friends and fellow historians during her book launch party at the Marblehead Museum on June 30. CURRENT PHOTO / WILL DOWD Peterson’s new book — “A Guide to Historic Burial Grounds of Marblehead” — fills what Marblehead Museum Executive Director…
Read More
Financial advisor Emily Promise joins Current as newest columnist
16 Jul

Financial advisor Emily Promise joins Current as newest columnist

Will DowdLocal News
Emily Promise was licensed to provide investment advice before she had a driver’s license. Now 27, the Marblehead native and president  and owner of Blakely Financial will bring her expertise to readers of the Marblehead Current as the newspaper’s newest columnist. Emily Promise, president of Blakely Financial, is the newest columnist for the Marblehead Current. CURRENT PHOTO / BLAKELY FINANCIAL. Promise grew up in Marblehead, playing softball, volleyball and basketball at Marblehead High School. Her path to finance began during her senior year when she won…
Read More
NEWS IN BRIEF: Week of Monday, July 14, 2025
15 Jul

NEWS IN BRIEF: Week of Monday, July 14, 2025

Will DowdLocal News
The Current welcomes submissions (150-200 words) to the news in brief. Send yours to wdowd@marbleheadnews.org Artists to create pop-up sculpture installation at Goldthwait beach Artistic design team Jeremy Barnett and Jason Maracani will create their third public art pop-up sculpture installation in Marblehead on July 19 and 20 at Goldthwait Reservation Beach. Artistic design team, Marblehead native Jeremy Barnett (left) and New York-based Jason Maracani, return to Marblehead on Saturday, July 19, to construct a 100-foot pop-up sculpture on Goldthwait Reservation Beach within an amazing…
Read More
AG’s MBTA-zoning advisory seals grant loss as Marblehead appeals to governor
15 Jul

AG’s MBTA-zoning advisory seals grant loss as Marblehead appeals to governor

Will DowdTop Stories
In response to the funding crisis triggered by voters’ July 8 rejection of MBTA Communities Act zoning requirements, the Marblehead Select Board sent a formal letter Tuesday to Gov. Maura Healey and Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Edward Augustus requesting exemption from compliance requirements. Select Board Chair Dan Fox, head down, reads a section from a letter formally requesting exemption from the state’s MBTA Communities Act zoning mandate, as fellow board members listen. CURRENT PHOTO / WILL DOWD The letter comes as Massachusetts Attorney…
Read More
© 2025 Marblehead News Group, Inc. All Right Reserved.