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IN THIS ISSUE
GRIDIRON
I DO?
Magicians looking to rebound after opening loss
When an engagement ends, who keeps the ring?
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CURRENT EVENTS
NONPROFIT ORG PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE
Go on a ghost hunt at Lee Mansion
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MARBLEHEAD, MA PERMIT NO. 25
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NEWS FOR PEOPLE, NOT FOR PROFIT.
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September 11, 2024
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VOLUME 2, ISSUE NO. 41
| MARBLEHEADCURRENT.ORG
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ON SOCIAL @MHDCURRENT
HOUSING DEBATE
Board to revisit MBTA zoning issue »For complete coverage of the MBTA zoning debate, check out the Current’s special landing page with news articles, editorials, letters to the editor and more. MarbleheadCurrent. org
BY WILL DOWD The Select Board will again discuss the contentious MBTA Communities Act zoning issue at its meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. in Abbot Hall, following more than a week of behind-the-scenes discussions and community outreach. The board’s renewed focus on the issue comes after a heated debate at its Aug. 28 meeting, where residents and officials clashed over whether
to hold a special town meeting to reconsider compliance with the state’s MBTA Communities Act. Voters narrowly rejected a proposed zoning change to comply with the act in May. Select Board member Dan Fox said the board has been gathering information and consulting with various stakeholders, including state officials, to gain clarity on the potential consequences of non-compliance with the act. “We’ve been talking to the state through [the office of Lt.
Gov. Kim Driscoll], trying to get more information on exactly what happens if we are out of compliance,” Fox said. “We’re trying to get clarity on different grants and whether we stay in the queue or are knocked out for the year, where a lot of these grants are decided in the first half of the year.” The MBTA Communities Act, signed into law in 2021, requires 177 communities served by the MBTA to zone for multifamily housing. Marblehead risks losing
access to certain state grants if it fails to comply by Dec. 31. Fox emphasized that the board’s primary goal is to make an informed decision that benefits the town and promotes unity rather than division. “Ultimately, we want to do what’s best for the community and bring this town together, as opposed to dividing it,” he said. “We’re just all, individually, talking to different people and 3A, P. A6
SCHOOLS
CUZNER IN NATURE
Next round of teacher contract talks set
Seal of approval
Union blasts district for ‘botched payroll’ BY LEIGH BLANDER
COURTESY PHOTO / RICK CUZNER
Nature photographer Rick Cuzner snapped this shot of a lobsterman hauling his traps while seals rest at Great Pig Rocks off Devereux Beach. Cuzner says the seal colony there seems to be growing every year.
GOING THE DISTANCE
RocknRow mother-of-four completes 106-mile solo voyage BY LEIGH BLANDER In addition to being a mother of four and a computer programmer, Maureen Lyons has what she calls a “side quest.” She’s an endurance solo rower out of Marblehead’s RocknRow rowing club. “I love being on the ocean,” Lyons told the Current. “It brings its own challenges that I find compelling. I’m also very into ultra distances.” Lyons, who lives in Swampscott, just completed a 106-mile, four-day solo rowing trip along the Maine Island Trail. On her 19-foot boat, she had dry bags with gear and some food (more on that later.) After rowing seven-hour days, she camped on land at night. Lyons is building a new boat that she can sleep on. “I like rowing hand-built boats,” she said. “I’m building one out of marine plywood. It’s an Angus rowcruiser. You can camp and sleep in there rather than camping on land.” Lyons, who is 42, trains about 12 hours a week — on the ocean in the
BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW
COURTESY PHOTO
Maureen Lyons launches her 106-mile solo row from Kittery, Maine, this summer.
summer and on a rowing machine in her basement in the winter. She’s preparing for a 360-mile race in Puget Sound next summer. And in the summer of 2026, she hopes to compete in the 760-mile Race to Alaska. “No woman has single-handed the Race to Alaska,” she said. “It’s on my bucket list.”
Lyons, who rowed on the Charles River when she was at MIT, learned some important lessons on her recent Maine voyage. “I need at least eight liters of water a day, I had only budgeted five,” she said. “The challenge is: Where do you store
The teachers union was expected to meet with the School Committee bargaining team Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 10, the latest session in contentious negotiations. Both sides have filed grievances against the other, the School Committee has called in a state mediator for the custodians’ contract, and teachers walked out of a meeting last month. On Thursday, Sept. 6, the Marblehead Education Association slammed the district for what it called a “botched payroll.” “As students and educators recently returned to school, Marblehead school administrators failed to update pay rates to agreed-upon steps and tracks. Stipends and paychecks for summer work were similarly withheld from educators, due to what interim Superintendent John Robidoux shrugged off as ‘an unfortunate clerical error,’” the MEA wrote. Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Mike Pfifferling explained what happened. “The issue surrounded the loading of staff into the payroll system for the year’s first payroll,” he said. “The error affected 90 staff members, which is approximately 30% of the 10-month teaching staff. As soon as we received the first notification from our staff, we immediately investigated and began working towards a quick resolution. The school Business Office and town Finance Department spent the majority of the day re-calculating and re-entering the payroll difference for the 90 affected staff members.” Sixth-grade teacher and MEA Co-President Jonathan Heller said there’s no excuse for under-paying teachers. “We are already some of the lowest-paid educators in the region, and the School Committee keeps telling us that we do not deserve a fair wage,” he said. “Now, we’re starting the new school year without a contract, and they can’t even get our paychecks right? It only makes us feel more disrespected.” MEA Co-president and third-grade teacher Sally Shevory added, “Our members have bills SCHOOLS, P. A2
LYONS, P. A3