Opinion

To the editor: There have been so many negative comments and questions recently regarding the quality of our roads, and their repairs. Yes, they are shameful to a town that claims so much pride. They make driving miserable, and are causing long-term havoc with the overall condition of our cars, e.g., average alignment work costs in the four hundreds.  Is it really that hard to do what is necessary to achieve basic quality work, i.e., repairs that are smooth and are tapered to marry into…

To the editor: When we started the League of Women Voters of Marblehead’s Observer Corps in 2019, we were living in different times. The existing “news desert” and then COVID motivated League members to fill in for the lack of information about town boards and committees. Our observer reports were often the only local “news” being reported, and many readers expressed how grateful they were for our efforts.  Volunteering as an observer was a substantial commitment requiring many hours between trying to figure out when…

To the editor:  It's time for Marblehead to confront the issue of noise pollution. It doesn’t matter how pretty a town is if there is no meaningful guarantee of peace and quiet. This evening, after spending a fair part of the day listening to backup beepers in my neighborhood, I thought I’d settled in to enjoy a good book. Not going to happen. A neighbor had workers on his roof replacing tiles at 6 p.m., and the sound carried for blocks. I wasn’t going to…

To the editor: On behalf of the Marblehead Museum, we would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the community for making our recent tag sale a resounding success. It is truly an event that is loved and supported by the community and beyond. The success of this sale is due to the incredible leadership of Barbara Wright and Christine Nuccio, who ran the event flawlessly. They were ably assisted by the tireless, hands-on efforts of Elizabeth Freeto, Jarrett Zeman, Rick Dodge, dedicated members of…

To the editor: As the town prepares to lock in the design for the Marblehead Rail Trail, I want to echo Marblehead Conservancy and urge our planners to rethink over-developing large portions of the trail. According to the town, the main driver for paving the trail near Lead Mills is to mitigate erosion for concrete vaults installed by our electric utility company. While protecting infrastructure is rational, surely engineering has evolved past "just pour asphalt over it" as a primary means of waterproofing. There must…

To the editor:  Leigh Blander's article in the Aug. 26 edition, "Looking for answers to road and sidewalk projects" prompted me to write. I have a simple question that demands a simple answer about three streets and when they will be paved.  The three streets are Atlantic Avenue from Seaview Avenue to Ocean Avenue, Washington Street from Five Corners to the Muffin Shop, and Gerry Street. These three streets carry a huge volume of traffic and are central to getting around town. In addition, Atlantic…

To the editor: I read with great interest Tom Connolly’s letter to the editor regarding the race for Governor’s Council.  I have also looked carefully at the candidates, and reached a very different conclusion.  I plan to vote for Marblehead Immigration attorney Diann Baylis in the Democratic primary. Diann is a part of and has been very involved in our community as we have worked to address the mistreatment of immigrants in our town, speaking at multiple public forums in Marblehead and conducting “know your…