Patch Facts

Work Underway on Essex Street Ped Mall

Here are the five things you need to know before you start your day in Salem.

Today is Friday, May 17, and here are the five things you need to know: 1. It should be another beautiful day in Salem. The National Weather Service is predicting that local residents can expect it to be sunny, with a high near 66. Tonight should be mostly clear, with a low around 47. (sunrise, 5:19 a.m.; low tide, 11:06 a.m.; high tide, 5:27 p.m.; sunset, 8:00 p.m.) 2. A contracting crew was hard at work Thursday afternoon pulling up cobblestones along the mid-section of the Essex Street Pedestrian Mall. Click on the video attached to this post for a closer look at recent progress and Click Here for a break-down of what you can expect this summer. 3. The Salem and Beverly drinking water supply’s primary source – Wenham Lake – is under the…

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A Virtual Look Inside Salem State's New Library

Local officials took a guided hard hat tour of Salem State University's Frederick E. Berry Library and Learning Commons Friday afternoon.

City and state officials were treated to a hard hat tour of Salem State University's new $74 million Frederick E. Berry Library and Learning Commons Friday afternoon. Construction on the 122,000-square-foot library and learning commons began in December 2010 and is expected to wrap up in August. The new library is the first new building built on the university's North Campus since the old library was completed in 1972. The new library will replace the old building, which was "outdated and had been plagued with problems since its construction," according to release. Check out the video above for a virtual look around the university's new library.

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Doctor: 'Cautiously Optimistic' on Injured MBTA Officer's Recovery

Dr. David Miller said he was "cautiously optimistic" about Winchester native and MBTA Officer Richard Donohue Jr.'s recovery after he was wounded during a shoot-out with the Boston Marathon bombing suspects early Friday morning.

During a press conference Sunday afternoon at Mount Auburn Hospital, Dr. David Miller said he was "cautiously optimistic" about Winchester native and MBTA Officer Richard Donohue Jr.'s recovery after he was wounded during a shoot-out with the Boston Marathon bombing suspects early Friday morning. Following the conference, Dr. Russell Nauta, professor of surgery at Mount Auburn Hospital, explained what happened to Donohue Jr. "He was shot through the anterior thigh and there was an entrance wound and no exit wound so the bullet remains in the leg," Nauta said, adding that there were no fractures and partial transection of three out of the four blood vessels that are in the leg. "There was bleeding from the wound that led to cardiac arrest …

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Elizabeth Warren Tours Community Health Center in Salem

US Sen. Elizabeth Warren made a few stops in Salem Friday morning.

United States Senator Elizabeth Warren made a swing through Salem Friday morning to take part in a roundtable discussion with city and state leaders about the impact federal funding has on the local level. After a stop at Beverly Cooperative Bank, Warren joined state Sen. Joan Lovely, Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll and other local officials for a tour of the North Shore Community Health Center on Congress Street. Warren paused at several stops along the tour to point out the important role community health centers play in Massachusetts and applaud the work that is being done on behalf of area residents.

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Salem State Students Take Crash Course in Texting While Driving

The Essex District Attorney's Office and AT&T teamed up to bring a texting-while-driving simulator to Salem State University Tuesday afternoon.

I was in the middle of texting "Bringing home dinner, will be there in 10" when I mowed down two pedestrians in a crosswalk Tuesday afternoon. Thankfully, the virtual accident took place inside a texting-while-driving simulator at Salem State University aimed at raising awareness about how dangerous texting behind the wheel can be. On hand for Tuesday's exhibit were Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett and Salem State University Police Chief Gene Labonte. Blodgett has partnered with AT&T for the last two years to educate students throughout Essex County about texting and driving. The simulator is a computerized system used within a real car that provides a realistic experience for drivers to safely learn just how dangerous texting and…

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Salem Skateboarders Hoping to Change City Ordinance

Two brothers who both attend Salem State University are raising awareness about local skateboarding regulations.

Two brothers who love to longboard are looking to spark a conversation among city residents about a Salem ordinance that prohibits skaters from riding on sidewalks and streets. On March 27, Mike Rappa, 21, a senior at Salem State University and his brother, Brian, 18, a freshman at the college, were each issued $50 tickets for cruising down Linden Street and had their boards confiscated by Salem police officers. When Mike Rappa got home, he began looking into exactly which city ordinance he and his brother had violated and found that it was Section 24-7, which mandates that “it shall be unlawful for any person to play at skateboarding in any street or sidewalk within the city limits”. After the Rappas paid their fines and retrieved their …

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Unsealing Salem's Past: St. Joseph Church Time Capsule Cracked

The time capsule that sat in the cornerstone of St. Joseph Church for more than 60 years was opened at a crowded church service in Salem Sunday.

For more than 60 years, an air-tight copper container roughly the size of a shoebox sat undisturbed in the cornerstone of Salem's St. Joseph Church. On Sunday, the time capsule was pried opened during a packed church service at St. James Parish. Inside the capsule were assorted church documents, a hand-written registry of the church officials who planned the time capsule and a list containing the names of the workers who built the church. There were also news clippings from 1949, a document honoring the local soldiers who fought for their country during World War II and pins representing a variety of city organizations. All of the items collected from the capsule will be scanned and posted to the church's website, the Rev. John Sheridan …

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Lt. Gov. Tim Murray Tours Vocational Programs at Salem High School

Lt. Gov. Tim Murray toured Salem High School's vocational programs Thursday morning.

Lt. Gov. Tim Murray toured the vocational programs at Salem High School Thursday morning in an effort to spread awareness about a grant program aimed at providing new equipment to students. The deadline for eligible schools to apply for funding through the New Equipment Grant Program for Vocational Program is April 10, and Salem was the first of several stops Murray made Thursday.

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