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Will Dowd

Will Dowd, a Salem resident, began his career in Marblehead and never really left it behind. Founder of The Marblehead Independent, he chases stories with deep curiosity and the relationships that shape town life.

Five art shows open Sunday at Marblehead Arts Association

Five art shows open Sunday at Marblehead Arts Association

Nearly 200 artworks by 50 artists will fill the King Hooper Mansion, 8 Hooper St., when the Marblehead Arts Association opens five exhibitions together this weekend. The shows run Sept. 27 through Nov. 2, with a free public opening Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. The exhibitions include traditional

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MLT's Andrew Barnett honored with Lifetime Achievement Award

MLT's Andrew Barnett honored with Lifetime Achievement Award

Marblehead Little Theatre’s Andrew L. Barnett has been recognized with the Eastern Massachusetts Association of Community Theatres’ Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award. Barnett, who serves as the theatre’s facility manager and technical director, has been a fixture of Marblehead Little Theatre for more than three decades. The board of

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Actors ready themselves for MLT production of ‘The Crucible’

Actors ready themselves for MLT production of ‘The Crucible’

Nearly 350 years after the Salem witch trials, Marblehead Little Theatre will revisit the story with its production of Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible,” running Oct. 3-19. The production features Marblehead residents Donna Cotterell, Niko King-Mahan and Flynn MacCallum in a drama that director Trudi Olivetti believes resonates powerfully with

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Marblehead residents gather for Charlie Kirk vigil

Marblehead residents gather for Charlie Kirk vigil

Get the latest from The Marblehead Independent delivered straight to your inbox. About 135 people gathered at Abbot Hall on Sunday afternoon for a vigil honoring Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist who was fatally shot 11 days earlier while speaking at an Utah college. The 12:30 p.m. memorial

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Marblehead wins $80K grant for climate resilience initiative

Marblehead wins $80K grant for climate resilience initiative

Marblehead, working with the Marblehead Housing Authority and Sustainable Marblehead, has been awarded an $80,000 grant to launch a project designed to cool public housing sites and protect vulnerable residents from extreme heat. The funding, announced Thursday by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, will support “Resilient by Design: Cooling

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Marblehead’s MMLD general manager starts Sept. 29

Marblehead’s MMLD general manager starts Sept. 29

The Marblehead Municipal Light Commission has finalized the appointment of Jonathan Blair as the department’s new general manager, with Blair set to begin his role on Sept. 29. Blair, who previously managed the Ipswich Electric Light Department for nearly seven years, was selected from a field of more than

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Public-private partnership delivers major cost savings on Gatchell lighting project

Public-private partnership delivers major cost savings on Gatchell lighting project

Get the latest from The Marblehead Independent delivered straight to your inbox. The Marblehead Parks and Recreation Commission has completed a $77,740 lighting upgrade at Gatchell Playground that could have cost taxpayers upward of $500,000 through traditional procurement methods. The project represents what commission Vice Chair Shelly Bedrossian

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Marblehead Museum sets date for annual Treasure Sale

Marblehead Museum sets date for annual Treasure Sale

The Marblehead Museum will hold its annual Treasure Sale from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 27 in the Jeremiah Lee Mansion gardens. The sale will feature a curated collection of vintage books, lighting, jewelry, artwork, maps, ceramics, Marblehead ephemera and small furniture, along with clothing, quilts and

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Marblehead Youth Soccer marks 50 years with golf classic

Marblehead Youth Soccer marks 50 years with golf classic

The Marblehead Youth Soccer Association will celebrate its 50th anniversary with the inaugural MYSA Golf Classic on Oct. 6 at Tedesco Country Club. The event, beginning with an 11:30 a.m. shotgun start, will bring together players, families, alumni and supporters. Proceeds will fund new AI-enabled video technology to

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Marblehead Animal Shelter seeks homes for foster cats

Marblehead Animal Shelter seeks homes for foster cats

The Marblehead Animal Shelter is spotlighting several cats and kittens in need of permanent homes this fall. Some are in foster care and can be adopted directly without entering the shelter. Among those featured are Carmelo, an orange-and-white cat with a curious personality, and Flower, a gray tabby with white

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Roadwork to begin Wednesday on West, Mystic, Florence roads

Roadwork to begin Wednesday on West, Mystic, Florence roads

Roadway reclamation work is set to begin on or after Wednesday, Sept. 17, at 7 a.m. on West Street, Mystic Road and Florence Road, the Marblehead Department of Public Works announced. Town contractor D & R Paving will carry out the project on multiple intermittent days. No on-street parking

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Sailing on the Fame commemorates Hannah’s role in naval history

Sailing on the Fame commemorates Hannah’s role in naval history

Residents and visitors will have the chance to step aboard history next weekend as Marblehead REV250 and the Harold B. and Elizabeth L. Shattuck Fund present two days of events honoring the schooner Hannah, the first commissioned vessel of the Continental Navy. The Fame, a replica schooner built to resemble

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