Viewpoints - Marblehead Current

21Jul

By Brenda Kelley KimNo Comments

Local News, Opinion, Viewpoints

ANCHORS & SAILS: Find your beach

“For whatever we lose (like a you or a me), it’s always our self we find in the sea.” – E. E. Cummings It’s not hard to love the ocean in this community. It’s all around us, almost like an embrace. And yes, when there’s a wicked Nor’easter, it can be like a hug from that one family member that pinches your cheeks and squeezes the breath out of you, but still, it’s a gift beyond measure. I refer to the beach at the end of the street as "my beach," even if it's just a line in my house deed that says I have "beach rights.” I have no idea what beach rights mean, but I still consider all of it mine, at least metaphorically. I recently spent a day with my cousin on a beach in a neighboring town. Full disclosure, I am not a "True 'Header" because I moved here from Nahant when I was eight ...

11Jul

By Brenda Kelley Kim1 Comment

Local News, Opinion, Top Stories, Viewpoints

ANCHORS & SAILS: Staying put and moving on

“It is the set of the sails not the direction of the wind that determines which way we will go.”Jim Rohn Anchors and Sails. Two very important parts of a boat, but they are somewhat opposite, when you think about it. When the wind fills a sail, an adventure begins. You’re off, you’re moving across the water, toward a destination or a dream, hopefully with fair winds and following seas. When you drop anchor, usually it means you’ve reached your journey’s end. You’ve come over the waves, perhaps through a storm, and now you’re safely anchored, ready to regroup for whatever is next. Much like roots and wings, which we are what we hope to give our children, in everyone’s life there are sails that propel us to wherever the next task, job, or goal is. There are anchors as well...

LETTER: ‘I am honored to be your voice,’ writes School Committee member

23Jun

By Submitted ContentNo Comments

Opinion, Viewpoints

LETTER: ‘I am honored to be your voice,’ writes School Committee member

To the Marblehead community, Tonight will be my first meeting as an officially sworn-in, Marblehead School Committee member. Thank you to all of you who voted for me. I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support by so many of you during my run for school committee. Most importantly, my son, for his unwavering support and patience as we walked through this journey together - this is all for you, my sweet boy. I would also like to thank Reece Dahlberg and Sarah Fox for a professional and hard fought race. I am proud to have run with such strong women. With this nomination, I will begin the work I laid out during my campaign; asking tough questions when needed, ensuring transparency in decision making, and holding myself and the rest of the a...

LETTER: Know the facts before voting on Question 2

20Jun

By Letter to the editor1 Comment

Opinion, Viewpoints

LETTER: Know the facts before voting on Question 2

As Election Day nears, yard signs and door hangers have appeared around town making unsubstantiated claims that investing in our public schools is not in the best interest of Marblehead citizens. Every Marblehead voter who goes to the polls on June 21 has a decision to make on Question 2, but let’s make sure those decisions are guided by facts: The Marblehead Public Schools have a strategic plan. It’s on the website for anyone to review. It was created by a committee of 26 and with input from a wide cross-section of the community. Debate the merits of that plan if you want, but the plan exists and guided the development of the FY23 budget.The School Department budget is not created in a vacuum nor is it administered in secret. School leadership worked closely with Fin Com in develo...

18Jun

By Letter to the editorNo Comments

Opinion, Viewpoints

LETTER: No on roads

As you report, Marblehead's transportation network costs $3.1 million annually to repair, improve, and maintain. But town leaders and town voters have come up with only $600,000 a year. Now, they want a taxpayer bailout to the tune of $12.5 million. But the town lacks a strategic plan to address the public health crisis they have created by misappropriating existing funds -- including state Chapter 90 funds. For example, 12 years after a child was killed in the Pleasant Street school crossing at Mohawk Road and the rail trail, the Board of Selectmen had spent not a penny on making that intersection safe. Worse still, it rejected hundreds of thousands of dollars in state money to improve not only that crossing but the entire segment of Pleasant St. where it runs past our town's two l...

17Jun

By Kris OlsonNo Comments

About Us, Opinion, Viewpoints

Marblehead News election letters policy

The Marblehead News welcomes letters to the editor related to the upcoming June 21 election, which will be accepted until noon on Monday, June 20. Submission guidelines: Generally, letters should not exceed 500 words. The Marblehead News reserves the right not to publish submissions over the word limit and may instead return the letter to the writer for editing. Letters must include: 1. The author’s name. Unsigned letters and form letters will not be published. 2. The name of the street the author lives on in Marblehead. Only the street name will be published next to the author’s name – not their full address. 3. For every letter, we will need an author’s daytime/cell phone number (not for publication) for verification purpo...

17Jun

By Kris OlsonNo Comments

Opinion, Viewpoints

LETTER: Hazlett a ‘natural leader’

Please join us in casting your vote for Helaine Hazlett for the Board of Health. Throughout most of her adult life, Helaine has been a tireless and dedicated contributor to the physical and mental well-being of Marblehead citizens of all ages. Helaine served for many years on the Marblehead School Committee and more recently, she has served multiple terms on the Board of Health. Helaine is a natural leader who first takes the time to listen to concerns of the town’s citizenry and then assimilates what she has learned in deciding what action to take. In addition to her many years of elective public service on Marblehead boards and committees, Helaine has also committed herself to a wide range of community needs, having served as past president of the Marblehead Counseling Center, ...

16Jun

By Brenda Kelley Kim1 Comment

NOT THE SAME OLD THING: The importance of ‘local’

"The best way to be global is to be local."Alex Atala I know, I know, this quote sounds like some Alice in Wonderland, "Sometimes down is up, sometimes up is down" kind of concept, but really, it's absolutely true. We are all citizens of the world; we all live on this beautiful blue marble and have our humanity in common. But let's face it: When you drill down to a region, a country, a state, city, town, or street, the picture changes a bit, doesn't it? While I am a born-and-raised New Englander and have lived here all my life, being a college student in Vermont was vastly different from commuting to Boston in my first real job, and both of those times were nothing like the years spent raising children in the suburbs. Those local areas each offered different experiences, an...