Top Stories - Marblehead Current

21 Sep

POLICE LOG: Craft fair target of apparent scam; UN workers need help to return to Ethiopia

Marblehead Current staffPolice Log, Public safety, Top Stories

Sunday, Aug. 30Alarms: 2Building/property checks: 11Abandoned 911 calls: 0Vehicle stops, citations: 2Vehicle stops, verbal warnings: 0 12:16 a.m. Officers restored the peace after a disturbance was reported on Broughton Road. 1:12 a.m. A citizen was assisted on Washington Street. 8:59 a.m. An officer spoke in the police station with a man who explained that after a night out at Maddie’s Sail Loft he could not find his car. The man said he remembered parking it in the Crosby’s lot, but he had spoken to people…

21 Sep

Five thousand pumpkins, one big community effort

Leigh BlanderCommunity Resources, Environment, Nonprofit corner, Top Stories

At Clifton Lutheran Church, the pumpkins are multiplying. What began 10 years ago as a modest experiment — with about 600 pumpkins and a congregation wondering whether anyone would actually buy them — has grown into one of the church’s biggest annual traditions. This year, roughly 2,500 jack-o-lantern-sized pumpkins are already on the church's front lawn, with another full truckload arriving in two weeks. By then, Pastor James Bixby expects the total to reach about 5,000, not counting the countless tiny pumpkins and decorative varieties…

21 Sep

Max dresses to impress, year after year

Leigh BlanderEducation, Top Stories

Marblehead student and budding fashion icon Maximilian Averback has outdone himself again with another snazzy school photo. The Current has been sharing Max’s school pictures since kindergarten, when he first wowed us with his picture-day style. He's a student at Epstein Hillel Academy. Through the years: School photos of Maximilian Averback from kindergarten through fourth grade. Averback is a student at Epstein Hillel School. COURTESY PHOTOS Every year, he dresses to impress — and fourth grade is no exception. Max sported his signature bow tie…

20 Sep

Marblehead to again turn pink for Ellie Fund

Leigh BlanderHealth, Top Stories

When Marblehead resident Jillian French-Vitet was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2024, the news brought not only the shock of a cancer diagnosis but worries about how her family would manage financially while she underwent treatment. French-Vitet had just started a new job and didn’t qualify for paid leave. She knew she’d be out of work for at least eight weeks after surgery. And she was sending a kid off to college. “It was a lot, it was a lot,” she said. Then, a…

19 Sep

Whale, hello there: Marblehead boater gets some very large visitors

Leigh BlanderAnimals, Top Stories

Price Williams has spent most of his life on the waters around Marblehead. But nothing in nearly three decades of boating prepared him for what happened Thursday about six miles off Marblehead. Williams was out on the water with his mother and his golden retriever, Dash, when three humpback whales appeared. And then they stuck around. For about 90 minutes, Williams said, the whales repeatedly approached his stopped boat, swimming alongside it, passing underneath it and sometimes popping up close enough to seemingly get a…

18 Sep

Oh, what a night! Football Magicians shut out Mustangs

Luca TedescoSports, Top Stories

The Marblehead High football Magicians beat the Medway Mustangs under the lights at Piper Field Friday, 26-0. The Current spoke with MHS coach Jim Rudloff right after the game. https://videopress.com/v/o8wIWnIp?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true “I’m super happy for the guys,” said Marblehead head coach Jim Rudloff following the win. “The kids really performed outstanding tonight. The communication was terrific, the way the kids looked out for each other. I think offensively we made some mistakes, but both quarterbacks did a nice job tonight. It’s just a good win for…

18 Sep

State’s highest court rejects latest MBTA Communities Act challenge

Kris OlsonTop Stories

The state’s highest court on Sept. 18 has denied the latest legal challenge to the MBTA Communities Act, brought by Marshfield and its select board. Marshfield Town Meeting voters twice rejected zoning amendments that would comply with the law, G.L.c. 40A, §3A. The Marshfield Select Board then voted not to submit an interim action plan or take further steps towards compliance with the law. Instead, Marshfield joined several municipalities that took the state to court in litigation consolidated before Superior Court Judge Mark C. Gildea.…

17 Sep

Friends of Marblehead Hockey launches $25M campaign for indoor rink at Y

Leigh BlanderSports, Top Stories

A decades-old Marblehead dream is getting another shot. The Current has learned that Friends of Marblehead Hockey is mounting a $25 million fundraising campaign to build an indoor skating arena and new parking facility at the Lynch-van Otterloo YMCA, an ambitious project that would give local hockey players, figure skaters and recreational skaters access to home ice. Friends of Marblehead Hockey would raise the money, build the facility and then donate it to the YMCA of the North Shore, which would own and operate it.…

17 Sep

Conservancy airs concerns as Rail Trail work advances

Leigh BlanderEnvironment, Top Stories

Marblehead is moving ahead with plans to improve several stretches of its popular 4.5-mile Rail Trail, with one section approaching 90% design, another awaiting coordination with a Marblehead Municipal Light Department resiliency project and a third tied up in a state contract that town officials have been waiting more than a year to execute. But as the plans advance, the Marblehead Conservancy is raising concerns that the town may be going too far — transforming what it sees as a rustic, natural trail into something…

16 Sep

Reynolds plans put on ice as town untangles Lime Street issues

Leigh BlanderRecreation, Sports, Top Stories

The Recreation and Parks Commission is putting the Reynolds Playground redevelopment on pause while town officials investigate complicated ownership, drainage and easement issues involving nearby Lime Street. Commissioners agreed Sept. 15 that it would be premature to advance the project further into design until they better understand infrastructure surrounding the site, particularly a drainage pipe and Lime Street, which is a private way. “It doesn't mean it's not going to happen. It means it's a pause, right? Pause and wait and see,” Recreation and Parks…