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 Residents Step Up to Replace Stolen Christmas Gifts: Thanks to some local residents who embraced the true spirit of the holidays, a young Salem boy who would have otherwise been cheated out of gifts this year woke up to a miracle on Christmas morning.

Salem's Most Bizarre Police Log Entries of 2012: Every weekday morning, Salem Patch provides our readers with a bulleted list of the entries included in the Salem Police Department's log from the day before. Over the last 12 months, we have published some truly bizarre entries.

How Can Salem Crosswalks Be Made Safer for Pedestrians: It seems like almost every month we publish a police log post featuring an entry about another pedestrian struck while crossing a Salem crosswalk. The most recent incident occurrted at 8:39 a.m. on Christmas Eve, when police responded to a report of a pedestrian struck by a motor vehicle on North Street.

Congressman Edward Markey Will run for US Senate: Congressman Edward Markey, D-Malden, announced Thursday that he will run for Sen. John Kerry's seat, if Kerry is appointed U.S. Secretary of State. Markey, who has been a U.S. Representative since 1976, doesn't represent any North Shore towns or cities. The Seventh District runs from Winthrop and Revere roughly westward and a bit south toward Framingham.

10 Most Expensive Homes Sold in Salem in 2012: Due to a lack of home sales over the holiday break, we provided a closer look at 10 of the most expensive homes sold in Salem in 2012.

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