Opinion

LETTER: Cutting off your nose to spite your face

LETTER: Cutting off your nose to spite your face

There is an old expression: Cutting off your nose to spite your face. That is exactly what this town's proposed budget does. The roles of town planner, grant coordinator and sustainability director not only enhance many aspects of our town, they fight back against climate catastrophe, find ways to maintain shared resources and bring in much needed funds! Between them Donna Cotterell and Logan Casey have brought hundreds of thousands of dollars to this town for both necessary and enhancing projects. None of that is…
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LETTER: ‘Let us old geezers count’ in protecting freedoms

LETTER: ‘Let us old geezers count’ in protecting freedoms

To the editor: I refer to the editorial in the Marblehead Current of March 25. It quoted President Obama when he attended the funeral for Rev. Jesse Jackson. The end of the quote was “… if we don’t stand up, no one else will.” I quote now a statement from a German pastor who originally supported the Nazis in the early 1930s but was later imprisoned in a concentration camp and survived. “As the Nazis arrested the communists, I remained quiet. I wasn’t a communist.…
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LETTER: A call for ‘principled governance,’ not ‘symbolic resolutions’

LETTER: A call for ‘principled governance,’ not ‘symbolic resolutions’

On behalf of the Marblehead Republican Town Committee, we welcome open discussion, but believe the Current’s March 25 editorial, “In abnormal times, an affirmation of basic rights” and Article 40 itself are built less on genuine threats to constitutional rights and more on political opposition to the current administration. Our founding principles—individual liberty, limited government and the rule of law—are not under siege. Framing them as endangered creates a narrative of crisis that is not supported by reality. In practice, Article 40 appears to be…
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LETTER: Marblehead is at a crossroads

LETTER: Marblehead is at a crossroads

To the editor: Marblehead is at a crossroads. In the weeks and months ahead, residents will be asked to make decisions that will shape the future of the town’s services, schools, and long-term stability. With the Select Board putting forward comprehensive, multi-year override options, this is an important moment for the entire community.  In this important moment, we want to introduce For Marblehead, a community coalition with a mission of strengthening our town’s municipal services, schools and infrastructure through sustainable funding, responsible policies and good…
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LETTER: Split the budget pain 50/50

LETTER: Split the budget pain 50/50

I’ve read with interest the articles and letters about how to balance Marblehead’s 2027 budget. I can understand the various arguments from the point of view from which the various people have brought them. And despite its critical importance I can also understand why the school budget is in the spotlight: It is the biggest pile of money. I enjoyed Seamus Hourihan’s point of view where he wants to spread the pain across the board and have each entity bear their share of the burden…
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DOC IN A BOX: What technology quietly learns about us

DOC IN A BOX: What technology quietly learns about us

Over the past few years writing for the Marblehead Current, I’ve noticed something interesting: The biggest tech stories aren’t usually about the technology itself. They’re about what technology quietly learns about us. And lately, the lesson seems to be this: The internet remembers more about you than you think. Your “anonymous” account probably isn’t. 
Many people assume that if they create a second account with a different name, they’re invisible online. But new research suggests otherwise. A recent study found that artificial intelligence can link…
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FOOD 101: Frittata — a meal any time of day

FOOD 101: Frittata — a meal any time of day

By Linda Bassett In Italian vernacular, the phrase “are una frittata” translates as “to make a mess.” But on the table, that mess becomes delectable. Quite different from a mess of grits or a mess of catfish, a frittata brings beaten eggs together with whatever the cook imagines for a quick meal  — breakfast, lunch or dinner. Often likened to an omelet, a plain frittata happily doesn’t require risky flipping for perfection. It puffs up to golden glory and interior creaminess with a quick trip…
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EDITORIAL: In abnormal times, an affirmation of basic rights

EDITORIAL: In abnormal times, an affirmation of basic rights

Why are the core principles embedded in two of our country’s foundational documents — the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution — up for discussion at this year’s Town Meeting? And how does Marblehead’s historic role in fighting for these inalienable rights figure in how the town might vote, considering our current political climate? We don’t know how Article 40 will fare. But its timeliness should resonate with most if not all voters, however symbolic its likely passage would be in terms of town governance.…
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MARBLEHEAD MUSINGS: Budget potholes — d’ah y’ah think?

MARBLEHEAD MUSINGS: Budget potholes — d’ah y’ah think?

It’s pothole season. On March 11, Amy McHugh, director of public works, informed the Select Board that there are more than 120 potholes in Marblehead on her list that need fixin’. D’ah y’ah think there is a relationship between pothole season and Marblehead budget season? I don’t know if there are more budget holes than potholes, but the budget holes are both deeper and wider monetarily. Back breakers. Here are my latest Marblehead Municipal Musings covering the latest budget discussions — balanced operating budget, operating…
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Why I’m going to ‘No Kings’

Why I’m going to ‘No Kings’

To the editor: I miss America — the one I have known all my life. In the past 14 months, I have watched OUR Democracy slowly dissolving before my eyes. I am stunned that we are allowing this administration to do whatever they want with no accountability. This is the third week of the Iran war, and this administration does not call this a war but an “excursion” and is unable to explain why they started it. It has already cost us $22.8 billion of…
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