Leigh Blander - Marblehead Current

18 Sep

Pooches in the pool

Leigh Blander0 CommentsLife Style, Local News, Top Stories

Dozens of dogs enjoyed an end-of-season swim at the Lynch/Van Otterloo YMCA's annual Doggy Dip on Sunday. The Y invites pups for the swim after closing the outdoor pool for the year.

09 Sep

Swastikas, racial slurs spray-painted on Marblehead’s Hamond Nature Center

Leigh Blander0 CommentsLocal News, Public safety, Top Stories

Marblehead's Hamond Nature Center Marblehead Police are investigating antisemitic and racist graffiti discovered Thursday, September 8, at the Hamond Nature Center, 30 Everett Paine Blvd. The property is owned by the town's Recreation and Parks Department, which runs programming there. It's also the site of the former Camp Shore Lea. “The whole back of the building was covered with bad stuff,” said Rec and Parks Dir. Peter James. He discovered the graffiti yesterday when he went to the building to check on its new roof.…

08 Sep

Marblehead Police continue to investigate latest instance of racist, homophobic vandalism

Leigh Blander0 CommentsLocal News, Public safety, Top Stories

Chief reports uptick in graffiti Marblehead police are continuing to investigate a case of racist and homophobic graffiti discovered July 26 in a vacant Marblehead Housing Authority apartment on Barnard Hawkes Court. Barnard Hawkes Court “Somebody used a marker to go throughout the apartment and write different things. There were about a dozen markings on the wall -- homophobic and racist comments,” said Chief Dennis King. There were also comments targeting a person at the Housing Authority, King added. He declined to elaborate because the…

07 Sep

Touring The Mariner, one year into construction

Leigh Blander1 CommentLocal News, Top Stories

It has been one year since The Mariner assisted living project broke ground at 265 Pleasant St., and construction is speeding toward a May 1 opening. Developers Heather Cairns and Michael LaFayette, who are married and live in town, led Marblehead News on a tour through the sprawling, 83,000-square-foot building that will soon be home to more than 100 seniors. Developers Michael LaFayette and Heather Cairns stand at the entrance to The Mariner, which is set to open May 1. PHOTO: Leigh Blander “We get…

06 Sep

Marblehead kids, parents excited on rainy first day of school

Leigh Blander0 CommentsLocal News, Marblehead Public Schools

Share your first day of school photos with us on the Marblehead News Facebook page. Ayden Sanchez and his dad, Junior, walked to the Brown School this morning. PHOTO: Leigh Blander It was a rainy first day back to school, but that didn't dampen the excitement for students and their parents at drop-off this morning. After a bowl of Fruit Loops, Ayden Sanchez walked to the Brown School with his dad, Junior, for his first day as a third grader in Ms. McMahon's class. "I'm…

01 Sep

Marblehead school superintendent reports ‘astronomical’ increase in enrollment

Leigh Blander0 CommentsLocal News, Marblehead Public Schools, Top Stories

Marblehead School Superintendent Dr. John Buckey Enrollment experienced an “astronomical” 6-percent increase over the summer, with 131 new students set to star the year in Marblehead public schools next week, Marblehead School Superintendent John Buckey announced at the Aug. 29 meeting of the Marblehead School Committee. “We’ve had an increase in enrollment in every grade level except at grade 4, and it was static at grade 10,” Buckey said. “We’re fortunate to have the staffing that we do, and we’re fortunate that we didn’t make…

29 Aug

Warwick Cinema reinventing itself post pandemic, launching Warwick TV

Leigh Blander1 CommentBusiness, Culture, Entertainment, Local History, Local News, Top Stories

The Warwick circa 1945. Courtesy Marblehead Museum Warwick Cinema, a landmark in Marblehead for more than 100 years, has survived the pandemic and is reinventing itself again. “We're thinking outside the box,” said Johnny Ray, who co-owns the Warwick and the adjoining restaurant ,The Beacon. “We’ll be doing events other than movies. Of course, we still do first-run movies all the time.” COVID-19 shut down cinemas for months and slashed profits as people shied away from public indoor spaces. The pandemic also prompted big changes…

25 Aug

UPDATED: Free-for-all throng clears shelves after Marblehead Community Store owners put call out

Will Dowd and Leigh Blander1 CommentLocal News, Top Stories

In a turn of events, people cleared several Marblehead Community Store shelves on Thursday afternoon after the business owners posted “please come and grab whatever you need” over Facebook. “We’re closing for good,” wrote the Beacon Street store. “Everything for the next two hours is free. Come and grab.” For more than a week, the Marblehead Community Store had been shuttered. A going-out-of-business sale was slated for the weekend, but the owners deviated from those plan on Thursday. A throng of people inside the Marblehead…

13 Aug

Marblehead School of Ballet celebrates 50th with pivot to popular hybrid classes

Leigh Blander0 CommentsCulture, Entertainment, Local News, Top Stories

Young dancers at Marblehead School of Ballet Karen Smith is stretching in a studio at the Marblehead School of Ballet while founder and teacher Paula K. Shiff gently places her hands on Smith’s leg and shoulder to emphasize proper form. MSB founder and teacher Paula K Shiff (right) with student Karen Smith “Paula is a master teacher,” said Smith, who is recovering from a back injury. “She addresses alignment, body mechanics and coordination.” In addition to these one-on-one stretch and strength lessons, Smith has taken…

09 Aug

Marblehead teen, dad ride PMC together to fund cancer research

Leigh Blander0 CommentsLocal News, Sports, Top Stories

Bodie Clifford (left) and his dad, Jim, at the Pan-Mass Challenge finish line in Provincetown There is one moment that stands out for Matthew “Bodie” Clifford, 18, from riding the Pan-Mass Challenge with his dad last weekend. “It almost made me tear up,” Clifford said. “Right before one of the water stops on the Cape, there was a kid with a sign that read, ‘Thanks to you, I am now 20 years old,’ with other, younger ages crossed off. It was just surreal to see…