Salem's Top 5 Stories of The Week

Here are our top five stories of the week, they are listed in no particular order. Click on the headlines to read the full story.

Salem Package Thief Caught on Video [VIDEO]: When Salem resident Bill Bushong's pet bird started getting into mischief by sticking its head throught the bars of it's birdcage, he knew it was time to order a new one. So, right before Christmas, Bushong went online and arranged to have a $300, 64-pound birdcage delivered to his home on Mason Street.

300 Votes Not Enou: Freshman Councilor at Large Kevin Carr predicted that he and his colleagues would be known after Thursday night as "the gang that couldn't shoot straight." The 10-member council met until 2:30 a.m. and voted 300 times trying to appoint a successor to now state Sen. Joan Lovely, who until recently was president of the council. She resigned to move to the Senate, leaving a fractured council seemingly incapable of choosing her replacement.

Salem Welcomes First Baby of 2013: For two years running the first North Shore baby of the year has been born at the North Shore Medical Center in Salem and come from Peabody. This year's bundle of joy entered the world at 2:26 a.m., healthy at 7 pounds, 11 ounces, 20.5 inches long and not the "screamer" her mom was expecting.

: Rail passengers riding the MBTA's Newbury/Rockport line Wednesday night experienced some delays out of Salem after a local dog was reportedly run over on the train tracks.

Salem Firefighters Called to Three-Alarm Swampscott Blaze [VIDEO]: Fire apparatus from numerous North Shore communities, including Salem, were called to assist with a three-alarm fire that broke out in a home on Andrew Road in Swampscott Thursday morning. It took more than 50 firefighters about two hours to extinguish the blaze, which resulted in the displacement of a family of six and the death of the family dog.

For more of this week's stories, check out our news section.