Margaret Bacon - Marblehead Current

02 Jun

COLUMN: A voter’s plain-English guide to the June 9 override questions

Margaret BaconColumns, Opinion

What's on your ballot, what each level costs, and how to vote for exactly what you want If you have looked at the June 9 ballot and wondered why there are four separate override questions, you are not alone. The ballot can look confusing at first glance. Here is a straightforward explanation of what each question means, what it is projected to cost, and how to vote for the outcome you actually want. The four override questions are really asking voters to make two separate…

13 May

COLUMN: Why waiting feels harder than it used to

Margaret BaconColumns, Opinion

Waiting used to be part of life. Now it feels like a glitch. There was a time when waiting was simply built in. You waited for letters. You waited for harvests. You waited for news. If someone was late, you assumed weather or traffic, not a character flaw. Waiting was not an interruption. It was normal. A spinning wheel on a screen can raise the pulse. A delayed text can feel like a verdict on your character. A package that arrives in three days instead…

28 Apr

COLUMN: Likes don’t shape a town, votes do

Margaret BaconColumns, Opinion, Town Meeting

In a world where it is easy to give a quick thumbs-up or thumbs-down online, Town Meeting asks something more of us. A click registers a reaction. A vote helps shape the schools, streets, services and taxes that affect daily life. Democracy is not something that happens only in Washington. Here in Marblehead, it happens in our high school field house, where neighbors gather to decide what kind of town they want to live in. That is no small thing. Marblehead has more than 16,500…

30 Mar

COLUMN: Why Marblehead’s budget feels so confusing right now

Margaret BaconColumns, Municipal Matters, Opinion

There’s a growing sense that something doesn’t quite add up. Residents are hearing about potential cuts, fewer services, higher costs and even the possibility of closing the library. At the same time, people see potholes that haven’t been fixed and are aware of recent high-profile expenses and projects that can be difficult to square with proposed reductions. That reaction is understandable. But it misses a key part of what’s actually happening. On March 28, the municipal and school budgets totaling $122.7 million were approved by…