Kris Olson - Marblehead Current

02 Sep

YOU ASKED, WE ANSWER: Given father’s job, how does conflict-of-interest law apply to candidate Tristan Smith?

Kris Olson0 CommentsLocal News, Top Stories

In discussing with Marblehead voters the highly competitive race in the Democratic primary for 8th Essex District state representative, we were asked whether the state's conflict-of-interest law, G.L.c. 268A, might pose a problem for one candidate in particular. Tristan Smith Swampscott's Tristan Smith is the son of James E. "Jim" Smith, a founding partner of Smith, Costello & Crawford, a public policy law firm that offers lobbying and consulting services that is very much still active trying to influence outcomes on Beacon Hill. It is…

01 Sep

MUSICAL MARBLEHEAD: Local icon never ceases to a-Maes

Kris Olson0 CommentsEntertainment, Local News, Top Stories

Local icon Brian Maes has shared stages worldwide with U2, Aerosmith, Robert Plant, Barry Goudreau (formerly of the band Boston), and Peter Wolf (of the J. Geils Band), to name a few. Local musician Brian Maes, with his three-book series, 'Brushes With Greatness' On Saturday, Sept. 10, Maes will takes the stage at The Beacon in Marblehead with The Brian Maes Band. Local roots run deep for Maes, who grew up on Harrison Avenue in Lynn and graduated from Lynn Classical High School. In his newly…

29 Aug

Markey endorsement of Smith, latest in series, triggers response from women seeking 8th Essex seat

Kris Olson0 CommentsLocal News, Politics, Top Stories

Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey The Aug. 24 endorsement of U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, along with endorsements of several other high-profile Massachusetts political figures announced by the campaign of Tristan Smith, "highlight the structural failures of our political system" and appear to be the product of "generational loyalty... maintained, if only in part, by significant financial contributions," the four women competing with Smith in the Democratic primary to represent the 8th Essex District said in a joint statement Aug. 29. The statement, authored by candidate Polly…

23 Aug

Marblehead News election letters policy

Kris Olson0 CommentsOpinion

The Marblehead News will be accepting letters related to the Tuesday, Sept. 6 state primary election until noon Friday, Sept. 2. Submission guidelines are as follows: Generally, letters should not exceed 500 words. The Marblehead News reserves the right not to publish submissions over the word limit and may instead return the letter to the writer for editing. Letters must include: 1. The author’s name. Unsigned letters and form letters will not be published. 2. The name of the street the author lives on in…

22 Aug

New principals ready to ring in new year Marblehead elementary schools

Kris Olson0 CommentsLocal News, Marblehead Public Schools, Top Stories

Brown School Principal Mary Maxfield, left, and Glover School Principal Hope Doran The members of the incoming pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classes at Marblehead's Brown and Glover schools will not be the only ones beginning a new adventure when the school year starts Sept. 6. Welcoming them will be two principals who are new to Marblehead, too. Brown School's Mary Maxfield and Glover School's Hope Doran recently took a brief break from settling into their new professional homes to discuss with Marblehead News their backgrounds, their…

22 Aug

YOU ASKED, WE ANSWER: How to distinguish Marblehead News from other publications

Kris Olson0 CommentsLocal News, Top Stories

On Friday, you may have received in your mailbox a print newspaper bearing a name similar to ours. In an attempt to resolve the understandable confusion of having two outlets with similar names covering Marblehead, we thought we would offer some helpful ways you can distinguish between the two. Look for the "cod" logo. If you see it, that's us! If you don't, it's not. Look at the bylines. Marblehead News was founded as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and is produced by trusted journalists with a…

20 Aug

DOC IN A BOX: Easy-to-remember passwords pose security risk

Kris Olson0 CommentsLocal News

True story: Researchers at NordPass, an internet security firm, recently combed through a database of 500 million passwords leaked in data breaches, and ranked them in order of the most popular. Are you ready for this? Here’s the Top 10 in order: 12345123456123456789test1password12345678zinchg_czechoutasdfqwerty If you use a password like any of these, your personal information is at risk! (To get the full list go here) We understand why people use such passwords – convenience, simplicity... or perhaps they don’t think hackers will come after…

20 Aug

Essex County’s Coppinger, Leigh complete ‘Know Your Sheriff’ questionnaires

Kris Olson0 CommentsLocal News, Politics

Incumbent Essex County Sheriff Kevin Coppinger and his challenger, Virginia Leigh, have completed questionnaires about their candidacies as part of the ACLU of Massachusetts' Know Your Sheriff campaign. Incumbent Essex County Sheriff Kevin Coppinger is being challenged by Virginia Leigh. You can read their responses here: CoppingerLeigh Both candidates are Democrats and will appear on the Sept. 6 primary ballot. There is no declared Republican candidate, meaning the winner of the primary will likely secure a six-year term in office. According to the ACLU, the…

19 Aug

‘A true force’: Morton’s contributions to be celebrated at Marblehead Little Theatre

Kris Olson1 CommentLocal News, Top Stories

Rarely has a celebration of life been hosted in a more appropriate venue than the one that will run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20 at Marblehead Little Theatre. MLT is the "house that Ginny built," after all. Ginny Morton with 'Toto,' at a rehearsal for the Marblehead Little Theatre's production of 'Wizard of Oz' To be sure, others were involved in first acquiring and then raising the funds to renovate the old School Street firehouse. But more often than not, those…

18 Aug

Marblehead Dollars for Scholars update: Eliza Howells finds her voice at UMass

Kris Olson0 CommentsLocal News, Top Stories

Coming from a musical family and performing in local theater productions since the age of 3, Eliza Howells credits her involvement in chorus and a cappella groups at Marblehead High School as the formative experience that led her to pursue a degree in music composition and voice performance at UMass-Amherst. Due to COVID protocols over the last few years, some of Eliza Howells’ performances were forced outside. Here, the recent college graduate performs indoors in the UMass opera production of 'Die Fledermaus.' PHOTO BY AWLee…