Kris Olson - Marblehead Current

15 Jan

MEETING MANDATES: Town Meeting to be asked to tweak floodplain, ADU bylaws

Kris OlsonLocal News, Top Stories

In addition to having a say over the town’s MBTA Communities Act compliance plan, the Planning Board is preparing two other articles for May’s Town Meeting. The articles — one dealing with the town’s floodplain district bylaw and the other with the town bylaw allowing for accessory dwelling units, or ADUs — are still in the “draft stage,” Town Planner Alex Eitler stressed. The purpose of providing the Planning Board with the draft language at its Jan. 8 meeting was to introduce the topics to…

18 Dec

LABOR OF LOVE: Academy for Afghan girls grows to meet staggering need

Kris OlsonTop Stories

In many ways, life for women and girls in Afghanistan is only getting harder, Marblehead’s Robert McNulty reports unhappily. Robert McNulty of Marblehead is the founder of Pax Populi Academy, which is now offering classes to 60 young women in Afghanistan. COURTESY PHOTOS “What is happening in Afghanistan is a human rights violation on a scale unparalleled in recent decades,” he says. Not satisfied with prohibiting girls from furthering their education, the Taliban has also banned women from going out in public without an escort.…

04 Dec

As mass deportation looms, chief recommits to bias-free policing

Kris OlsonTop Stories

As the incoming Trump administration prepares to fulfill its pledge to embark on a mass deportation campaign, the Marblehead Police Department will remain committed to protecting anyone who lives or visits the town regardless of immigration status, Police Chief Dennis King said. Marblehead attorney Diann Slavit Baylis speaks at an immigration event at The House of Seven Gables. COURTESY PHOTO Just how aggressive the deportation campaign will become remains to be seen. Trump has indicated on social media that he plans to use military assets…

25 Nov

Judge orders four educators to return to work immediately

Kris OlsonEducation, Local News, Marblehead Public Schools, Top Stories

Essex Superior Court Judge Janice W. Howe has ordered four individual Marblehead teachers to report for duty at their regularly scheduled work hours on Tuesday, Nov. 26, and every scheduled workday thereafter, even if the teachers strike persists. Howe made her ruling late Monday after a 3 p.m. hearing in her Lawrence courtroom on an emergency motion filed earlier in the day by the Commonwealth Employment Relations Board. Jonathan Heller and Sally Shevory, right, are two of the Marblehead teachers ordered back to work by…

15 Nov

PHOTO GALLERY: Scenes from the Marblehead teachers strike

Kris OlsonLocal News

A collection of images captured by the Marblehead Current's photographers of the town's teachers strike. Stay tuned to the Current for continuing coverage of the strike as it concludes its first week. A TV news station's microphone is set up at Seaside Park as members of the Marblehead Education Association prepare to announce their vote to strike on Nov. 8. CURRENT PHOTO/LEIGH BLANDER

11 Nov

Moulton: Firestorm over his trans athlete remarks proves his point

Kris OlsonPolitics, Top Stories

The backlash to comments he made about transgender athletes “has only served to reinforce my original point,” Congressman Seth Moulton wrote in a Facebook post Sunday night. Two different Nov. 7 stories in the New York Times — one about the “new anxiety” transgender Americans are voicing about the Trump agenda, the other a post mortem on Vice President Kamala Harris’ failed presidential bid — used the same quote from Moulton. “Democrats spend way too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being…

08 Nov

Marblehead teachers overwhelmingly vote to strike; superintendent cancels school Tuesday

Kris OlsonEducation, Top Stories

Members of the Marblehead Education Association have overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike beginning Tuesday, Nov. 12, if the Marblehead School Committee fails to negotiate a contract for all five bargaining units by Monday night, Nov. 11, the MEA announced Friday. According to the MEA, a "staggering" 99% of MEA members voted in favor of the strike. Around 4:15 p.m., Interim Superintendent John J. Robidoux sent an email to the school community canceling classes, including athletics and all other extracurricular activities on Tuesday, Nov. 12,…

30 Oct

TRAFFIC SAFETY: Five intersections eyed for enhanced crosswalk safety

Kris OlsonLocal News, Public safety

It may soon be safer to use five crosswalks in town. At the request of Police Chief Dennis King, the town’s Traffic Safety Advisory Committee on Oct. 22 identified the first five intersections to get rectangular rapid flashing beacons, or RRFBs, thanks to a grant the chief had obtained. Rectangular rapid flashing beacons, or RRFBs, may be coming soon to five Marblehead intersections, thanks to a grant obtained by Police Chief Dennis King. COURTESY PHOTO/CITY OF LINCOLN, NEBRASKA RRFBs alert drivers that a pedestrian is…

24 Oct

Kitchen heads serve up answers to Current’s queries

Kris OlsonLocal News

Chefs are a busy bunch, but Brayan Medina of The Landing and Kate Hammond and Jason Isaacson of Shubie’s were kind enough to lay down their whisks and spatulas to answer a few questions from the Current about how they came to be where they are, what they can’t live without in their kitchens and more. Brayan Medina, head chef, The Landing How long have you worked at The Landing/Shubie’s? Medina: I have been fortunate enough to work here at The Landing restaurant for about…

23 Oct

Marblehead officials wary of psychedelic decriminalization

Kris OlsonLocal News

While not necessarily denying the purported benefits of the natural psychedelic substances, local leaders say they are concerned — if not a little confused — about the effect of a “yes” vote on Question 4. The proposed law would allow people 21 and older to possess and use certain natural psychedelic substances, including two found in mushrooms and three found in plants. The substances could be procured in one of two ways: They could be purchased at an approved location for use under the supervision…