Columns - Marblehead Current

16 Sep

COLUMN: The best-laid plans of my morning self

Margaret BaconColumns, Opinion

At 8 o’clock in the morning, I am a person of considerable resolve. I will exercise before breakfast. I may even stretch afterward, a practice I have long admired in others. Tonight, I will eat a sensible dinner, go to bed on time and return to the half-read novel on my nightstand instead of scrolling on my phone. Current columnist Margaret Bacon COURTESY PHOTO But alas, at 10:30 p.m., this resolve is difficult to find. I am watching a French crime drama. The mayor has…

16 Sep

BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: Get messy at Slime Time Studios Marblehead

Submitted ContentBusiness, Columns, Discover Marblehead, Local News

The following is an interview with Stacey Barnes, co-owner of Slime Time Studios Marblehead, conducted by Discover Marblehead. Slime Time Studios MHD on Spring Street offers a fun, hands-on experience where kids can create their own craft project and mix up a custom batch of slime. With plenty of opportunities to personalize their creations, kids can unplug, get creative and take home something they made themselves. To learn more and see a schedule of classes, go slimetimestudiosmhd.com. Mother and daughter, Samantha Lendall and Stacey Barnes,…

12 Sep

GUEST COLUMN: ‘Til next summer, Marblehead

Submitted ContentColumns, Top Stories

By Paul Mazonson We arrived ready for another Marblehead summer in late May. That first morning of returning, walking our older dog to Crocker Park we noticed the beauty of the houses under the gaze of Abbot Hall, some with flowers in bloom, some under construction. Life happening here in Marblehead. As we approach the bandstand at Crocker Park, the harbor opens ahead, a particular kind of greeting after nine months away. I can smell the salt, feel the damp and I love it, it's…

08 Sep

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month: New ideas on causes, prevention

Marblehead Counseling CenterColumns, Community Resources, Health, Nonprofit corner, Opinion

Suicide claims about 50,000 lives each year in the United States, nearly double the homicide rate. According to the most recent full-year statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, another 2.2 million people attempted suicide in 2024, 14.3 million adults seriously thought about suicide, and 4.6 million planned a suicide attempt. Worldwide, approximately 720,000 people take their own life each year. For the past 18 years, September has been Suicide Prevention Awareness Month in the U.S., coinciding with World Suicide Prevention Day…

30 Aug

SUSTAINABLE MARBLEHEAD: Electric vehicles: Clean, affordable, fun

Submitted ContentColumns, Opinion

Every time I walk by a gas station with my dad, he looks up at the price and sighs in disappointment. It’s expensive. He owns a (gas and electric) hybrid car, charging it routinely and leaving gas as a backup. Even still, my family knows the burden of relying on that price, and we think of friends and other families who continue to do so. The hybrid car has saved a significant amount of money through electric charging, and it would only be better with…

29 Aug

BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: Visit O’Hare Williams studio

Leigh BlanderColumns, Discover Marblehead, Local News

The following is an interview with Patti O’Hare Williams, artist and owner of O’Hare Williams, conducted by Discover Marblehead. O’Hare Williams is a Marblehead-based artist and creative studio known for fine art, graphic design and visual storytelling. Patti creates expressive still lifes and landscapes inspired by New England’s coastal beauty, combining color, graphic lines and a touch of nostalgia in both watercolor and acrylic works. To learn more or view her artwork, go to oharewilliams.com. Patti, tell us about O’Hare Williams. For many years, I’ve…

28 Aug

MARBLEHEAD MEMORIES: Growing up at 120 Pleasant — part three

Don OrneColumns, Local History, Opinion

Editor’s Note: Donald Orne, 84, is a lifelong Marblehead resident whose family has been part of the town for generations. His father, Bud Orne, owned the barber shop at 120 Pleasant St., where the family also lived. This series shares Orne’s memories of growing up in Marblehead during the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s. The essays have been edited only for length, grammar and clarity. This is the second installment of Orne’s writings. You can read the first two installments at MarbleheadCurrent.org. I need to mention…

28 Aug

MONEY MATTERS: The true cost of raising kids

Emily PromiseColumns, Opinion

It’s back-to-school season. For parents, that means new clothes, school supplies, fall sports registrations, activity fees and the inevitable last-minute trip to the store for something you forgot. As you watch all of those expenses add up, have you ever stopped to think about what it actually costs to raise a child? According to a 2025 study by SmartAsset, Massachusetts ranked as the most expensive state in the country to raise a young child. Using data from the MIT Living Wage Calculator, the study estimated…

25 Aug

ASK LIZZIE: Crying at drop-off is not a red flag

LIzzie AssaColumns, Education, Opinion, Parenting

You stood at the school door this morning. You said goodbye, and maybe they skipped in and maybe they held onto your leg, stretching out your leggings and leaving wet tear and drool marks all down the side. Either way you walked back to the car and started worrying before you even got your seatbelt on. Now you've got a few hours. You're going to spend most of it holding your breath and wondering: Current parenting columnist Lizzie Assa COURTESY PHOTO Is she crying? Did…

24 Aug

Marblehead Cycle owner: I won’t sell e-bikes to — or for — kids

Submitted ContentColumns, Public safety, Top Stories

This is a guest column by Dan Shuman, owner of Marblehead Cycle Parents, please do not buy e-bikes for kids. Recently NBC Nightly News did a feature on the increasing numbers of fatalities and serious injuries kids are experiencing with electric scooters and e-bikes. We sell e-bikes in the bike shop and service many more bought online and there are simply no e-bikes available that are safe for kids. The human skull has developed over time to protect us from moving at the speed our…