Columns - Marblehead Current

26 Oct

SUSTAINABLE MARBLEHEAD: Is it time to rethink black plastic food containers?

Elaine LeahyColumns, Environment, Opinion

By Elaine Leahy As cooler temperatures arrive, cozy weekends call for a big pot of homemade soup. But when it’s time to scoop out a bowl, do you reach for a black plastic ladle? You may recall media coverage a few years ago about potential health risks associated with black plastic kitchen utensils. As a result, many of us took a second look at our kitchen drawers and replaced those familiar black plastic tools with alternatives made of wood or stainless steel. Yet black plastic…

21 Oct

FOOD 101: It’s apples & cider season

Linda BassettColumns, Food, Opinion

Apple picking is always a highly anticipated autumn Saturday to revel in crisp air and sapphire skies. Pack up the kids and head north to farm country to wander an orchard. Breathe the spicy breeze while filling a big basket with apples and letting the little ones run through fields and roll down hills. Catch a ride on a hay wagon. Bite into a warm cinnamon-y cider donut. Watch the cider press pour out delicious juice, then load up an extra gallon for cooking great…

20 Oct

COLUMN: Halloween, assembled

Margaret BaconColumns, Opinion

By late October, we accept a number of things that would look peculiar at any other time of year. Women fly on broomsticks. Black cats become ominous. Pumpkins acquire frightening faces. Skeletons take up residence on otherwise respectable lawns. Children demand candy from whoever answers the door. Each of these traditions has its own backstory. Halloween was assembled slowly, over centuries, from religion, folklore, domestic life, old-world customs and, unexpectedly, the beer business. Ghosts have the oldest claim on this season Part of Halloween’s ancestry…

19 Oct

Y shines a (blue) light on growing need for after-school care

Submitted ContentColumns, Opinion

By Brian Flynn, executive director of the Lynch/van Otterloo YMCA Licensed after-school programs managed by the Lynch/van Otterloo Y have grown by 65% over the past three years in response to the growing need for reliable childcare, reflecting a national conundrum posed by a lack of youth supervision during the post-school day, reports Brian Flynn, executive director. Nearly 475 young people are served by the Y’s after-school program at six schools in Marblehead and Swampscott. At the Swampscott Elementary School alone, 208 kids attend daily…

15 Oct

MONEY MATTERS: Don’t let these financial mistakes haunt you

Emily PromiseColumns, Opinion

October on the North Shore brings cooler temperatures, changing leaves and, of course, Salem’s famous Halloween festivities. While October is known for its haunted attractions and spooky surprises, some of the scariest surprises aren’t found in a haunted house. Sometimes, they're hiding in your finances. Current Money Matters columnist Emily Promise COURTESY PHOTO Unlike a Halloween scare that quickly fades, financial planning mistakes can quietly follow us for years, often without us realizing it until the consequences become costly. The good news? Most financial mistakes…

13 Oct

EVERYTHING WILL BE OK: The nature of sanctuary

Virginia BuckinghamColumns, Environment, Opinion, Virginia Buckingham

I took a lovely fall walk through the Audubon Sanctuary on Marblehead Neck recently, enjoying the quiet under a not-yet-colorful canopy. The path in parts was slightly muddy, rather than crunchy with leaves, from the recent Nor’easter. I gathered a perfect fallen acorn, another kind of tree nut I couldn’t identify, and a red and green spackled maple leaf in the palm of my hand, lifting the other to greet a male passerby talking to someone through his air buds. Otherwise I was alone. I…

30 Sep

Investments can be your climate action

Elaine LeahyColumns, Environment, Nonprofit corner, Opinion

When we think about reducing our carbon footprints, what usually comes to mind are actions like electrifying our home heating systems, driving less, walking and biking more, or using less energy. These are important measures to consider, but another very effective — and often overlooked — way to make a difference is to consider our investments and what our money is supporting. Whether it’s a retirement account, mutual fund or other investment, our money doesn’t simply stay put. Financial institutions invest and lend money throughout…

25 Sep

Confused? Your Windows 10 PC still works, but the clock is running out

Stephen BachColumns, Opinion, Stephen Bach

A customer came into our “hospital” on Elm Street recently with a perfectly good Dell laptop. It turned on, checked email, printed fine, everything worked perfectly. The only problem? It was running Windows 10, and Microsoft’s totally free mainstream support ended last October. “So what?” she said. ”It still works.” Current columnist Stephen Bach COURTESY PHOTO And she’s absolutely right. Your Windows 10 computer did not turn into a pumpkin on Oct. 15, 2025. It still boots, still browses, still plays solitaire. But here is…

23 Sep

DOC IN A BOX: Confused? Your Windows 10 PC still works, but the clock is running out

Leigh BlanderColumns, Opinion, Stephen Bach

A customer came into our “hospital” on Elm Street recently with a perfectly good Dell laptop. It turned on, checked email, printed fine, everything worked perfectly. The only problem? It was running Windows 10, and Microsoft’s totally free mainstream support ended last October. “So what?” she said.”It still works.” And she’s absolutely right. Your Windows 10 computer did not turn into a pumpkin on Oct. 15, 2025. It still boots, still browses, still plays solitaire. But here is the part that matters: Microsoft is no…

23 Sep

FOOD 101: This classic soup bridges the seasons

Linda BassettColumns, Food, Linda Bassett

During this summer’s wanderings, I felt the urge to taste vichyssoise on its home turf. Yes, despite the French name, the cold potato soup was born in the USA. In New York City. The brainchild of a French immigrant chef, and a classic on menus for over 100 years. Louis Diat, started chef’s training as a teenager. A strong work ethic — and an equal amount of talent — brought him to the Ritz in Paris, then to London, starting as a potager, soup maker.…