Viewpoints - Marblehead Current

04 Jan

State Rep. Jenny Armini: A charge to keep

Leigh Blander0 CommentsLocal News, Opinion, Politics, Top Stories, Viewpoints

Marblehead resident Jenny Armini has been sworn in as the new 8th Essex District state representative today. Armini submitted this column to the Marblehead Current to mark the occasion. Having scrupulously avoided brushes with the law in my 53 years, I was surprised to receive a court summons the other day. Granted, this one came worded in olde English, with a gold seal, signed by the governor, but I was taken aback. “Whereas, it appears, by the returns of votes for Representative… You are therefore…

28 Dec

EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY: New Year, New You?

Will Dowd0 CommentsOpinion, Viewpoints

If you’re looking for one of those columns which provides you tips and tricks for making this the year you become a heathier, better version of yourself, skip on to the next article. This space is a New Year’s resolution safe zone. I play along every year on Jan. 1 when my husband eagerly leans forward (he does everything in life enthusiastically, argghh) and asks over morning coffee to discuss our resolutions. I try to dodge with a mumbled, “I didn’t think of any yet”,…

24 Dec

Marblehead nonprofit keeps up its work with Afghanistan

Will Dowd0 CommentsOpinion, Top Stories, Viewpoints

For almost 15 years, Applied Ethics, Inc. (AE), a Marblehead-based nonprofit has been working with Afghanistan through its people-to-people peacebuilding program called Pax Populi, which is Latin for “the People’s Peace.” In 2010, we began collaborating with universities to offer one-on-one English tutoring programs via Skype or Zoom. Working with individual volunteers and institutional partners in the US and overseas, we developed a network of educational partners in several major cities in Afghanistan never doubting that student by student, we had a role in supporting…

19 Dec

LETTER: Marblehead’s energy transition will take a village

Will Dowd0 CommentsOpinion, Viewpoints

To the editor: Richard Smith raises some important issues regarding the energy transition Marblehead and other communities are currently facing (“Net zero goal is laudable, but transition demands more time,” Dec. 14, 2022). As members of Sustainable Marblehead’s Clean Energy Working Group, we are encouraged by his and others’ interest and offer the following additional information. Because of the urgency of the climate crisis and its impact on our seaside town, the Marblehead Select Board voted unanimously in November 2020 to adopt a goal of…

14 Dec

EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY: It’s time for a healthier media diet

Will Dowd0 CommentsOpinion, Viewpoints

Marblehead Current columnist Virginia Buckingham. Biased media consumption – or filtering – is one of the more challenging byproducts, some would say a cause, of our country’s cultural and political divide. If you consume your news online, as 50 percent of American adults do at least sometimes according to Pew Research Center, then it’s even more probable you are reading, watching or listening to only one side of the story, living in a news “filter bubble”. Algorithms that follow your clicks and tastes are designed…

14 Dec

ANCHORS AND SAILS: Find your holiday

Will Dowd0 CommentsOpinion, Viewpoints

"A holiday is an opportunity to journey within." ---Prabhas Honestly, at this point, I would take a ticket to ride anywhere because, so far, this holiday season's "journey" has been one of cleaning out closets, mopping floors, and organizing way too much stuff. In our house, we celebrate Christmas, but you'd never know it since the tree is not up, there are no lights, no décor, and not a single bit of holly or other seasonal plants. I'm just not there yet. While I miss…

11 Dec

LETTER: An appeal from the Marblehead Task Force Against Discrimination

Will Dowd0 CommentsLETTERS, Opinion, Viewpoints

To the editor: The Marblehead Select Board has set up donation accounts for various committees within the Town of Marblehead for citizens to make charitable contributions. One of the committees is the Marblehead Task Force Against Discrimination (MTFAD) which was founded in 1989 by the Select Board after a series of hate crimes in our community. For over 30 years, the Task Force has provided programs combating bigotry and promoting respect while seeking to support those affected by discrimination in Marblehead. As part of its…

11 Dec

LETTER: Net Zero goal is laudable, but transition demands more time

Will Dowd1 CommentLETTERS, Opinion, Viewpoints

To the editor: A column entitled “Local actions have global consequences” in the Nov. 23 issue of the Marblehead Current sets out goals for the town to reach Net Zero by 2040. These goals, while ambitious are also risky. The energy supplied by fossil fuels has supported an ever-increasing standard of living and life expectancy since the late 1800s. Alternatives must be affordable and reliable if we move away from fossil fuels. Otherwise, our standard of living will be degraded. Acting locally makes sense, but…

06 Dec

ANCHORS AND SAILS: Find your spot

Will Dowd0 CommentsOpinion, Viewpoints

“Since I was little, this is my favorite place to come.” ----Peter Pan I'm a fan of finding a favorite spot, hunkering down with a comfy blanket, and diving into a good book. I got the beating of my life when I was at the beach with my mother and decided to go back home to get my book without letting her know I was leaving. She was both grateful I was alive and hadn't wandered off and drowned in a rip current and madder…

06 Dec

EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY: Welcome dark and cold

Will Dowd0 CommentsOpinion, Viewpoints

If I controlled the universe there’d be no such thing as turning the clocks back, and we’d wing through January and February as if through the portal of a tesseract, wrinkling time. Alas, I do not. What I can control is my attitude in these dark, cold months. Curse or embrace? This year I choose the latter. In the past couple of years, the darkness descending ever earlier made the late afternoon and early evening feel suffocating, impenetrable, imprisoning. I don’t remember being as affected…