CP_MBHC_20221123_1_A01
IN THIS ISSUE
SENIORS
EDUCATION
SPORTS
Bibbo biggest COA bocce booster
Following Ruby’s lead
Meet Marri, MHS’ latest running star
Page 20
Page 5
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
MARBLEHEAD, MA PERMIT NO. 25
Page 13
NEWS FOR PEOPLE, NOT FOR PROFIT.
TM
November 23, 2022
| VOLUME 1, ISSUE NO. 1
| MARBLEHEADCURRENT.ORG
| ON SOCIAL @MHDCURRENT
‘CURRENT’ TREND
As chain retreats, nonprofits rise BY KRIS OLSON For many people across eastern Massachusetts over the past couple of years, the question has become less “if” you were profoundly disenchanted with what your local community newspaper under chain ownership but rather when you might get motivated to do something about it. With today’s publication of its inaugural print edition, the Marblehead Current joins the
ranks of news nonprofits that have sprung up increasingly within the footprint of Gannett, Kennedy formerly known as Gatehouse Media, the parent company of the Marblehead Reporter, as Gannett increasingly abandoned local reporting. One of the earliest such ventures, the online-only
Bedford Citizen, was founded in June 2012 by three volunteers who had been active in their local chapter of the League of Women Voters, Meredith McCulloch, Kim Siebert MacPhail, and Julie McCay Turner. A decade later, the Citizen now has multiple paid, full-time editorial staff members. Then, the Ipswich Local News came along, co-founded by the late Bill Wasserman, former owner of North Shore Weeklies, a chain that included
the Marblehead Reporter before it was sold, first, to Fidelity, then the Boston Herald before being spun off to Gatehouse Media, which became Gannett. For Wasserman, the final straw came in June 2019, when Gatehouse merged his hometown paper, the Ipswich Chronicle, with two others covering an area that stretched from Middleton to Wenham. Wasserman died on Sept. 29, 2021, at the age of 94, but the Ipswich Local News continues to be overseen by his co-founder,
All four, one
John Muldoon. But for many — including the founders of this newspaper — the breaking point came earlier this year, when Gannett delivered the one-two punch moving nearly all the local staff reporters at its community weeklies to regional beats in February and then in March closing 19 weeklies and merging nine others into four. The Reporter was spared from the latter, but not the former. CURRENT, P. A9
Residents weigh in on ADU proposal
Zoning bylaw to be presented at Town Meeting in May BY WILLIAM J. DOWD
Photo by Nicole Goodhue Boyd
Marblehead High School seniors, from left, Arielle Mogolesko, Grace Cuzner, Lucy Sabin and Cate Santeusanio cheer on their classmates from the sidelines in the annual girls’ flag football game Nov. 19 at Blocksidge Field in Swampscott. Were the Magicians able to complete their comeback against their rival, the Big Blue? Find out in Sports, Page 17.
The art of the loom
Local artist keeps ancient craft alive one thread at a time BY CHRIS STEVENS Weaving has been called one of the oldest surviving crafts in the world, tracing back to Neolithic times, and one Marblehead artist is working hard to keep that thread of history alive. When she began working at craft fairs, Kari Breed discovered not a lot of people realized weaving is a craft that is still very much in vogue. So, she developed a slide show that she runs during shows to give people a feel for what has been her passion for decades. Breed deftly moves a shuttle WEAVER, P. A8
Weaver Kari Breed makes the ancient art look effortless on her loom in her home studio in Marblehead.
Adam Moore
Senior Loan Officer | NMLS #156393
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Marblehead Planning Board members picked up quite a few ideas to possibly incorporate into a zoning bylaw proposal that they are crafting for Town Meeting’s consideration in May. The zoning bylaw would aim to regulate what’s called accessory dwelling units – both their use and construction in Marblehead. ADUs are small living quarters on the same property as single-family homes, often referred to as “in-law apartments.” “They can be created in a house, attached to a house, or detached from a house,” said the Planning Board Chairman Robert Schaeffner on Nov. 15. “All of them are intended to keep the feeling of a singlefamily residence always.” Many communities, like Salem and Swampscott, have framed their ADU policies as one way to mitigate the Greater Boston housing crisis. ADUs can help families stay together, allow seniors to age in place, keep caregivers close and create affordable housing, among other benefits. The 2020 Marblehead Housing Production Plan notes the town’s
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demographic changes “compel expansion and diversification of its housing stock.” To that end, it lists ADUs as a way to “create naturally occurring affordable housing.” “In Marblehead, the number of households led by someone 55 or older increased by 21 percent in seven years: from 6,597 households in 2010 to 7,978 households in 2017,” the plan reads. “The number of residents between the ages of 25 to 44 shrunk by 63 percent.” Marblehead Town Planner Becky Cutting and members of the Planning Board have been working on the zoning proposal for months. On Nov. 15, they highlighed what they described as the policy’s well-ironed-out areas: » Restrict single-family homes to a single ADU per property » Either the ADU or the primary residence must be occupied by the single-family home’s owner » One parking space for each ADU must be provided » The units cannot be separated and sold » Short-term rentals are prohibited ADU, P. A9
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