MARBLEHEAD — The town's state representative, Lori Ehrlich, voted with her House colleagues last week to retain the state's insurance appeals board. "It's an important consumer option to preserve," she said. Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes had earlier proposed a new system — with no appeal when you're hit with a surcharge for "causing" an accident — but with an option to find another company that will want your business enough to drop the surcharge.
"Nonnie Burnes," Erhlich observed, "she's backtracking on this."
Just like her boss, Gov. Deval Patrick, Burnes cried uncle.
Whatever happened to "no-fault" auto insurance?
25 years of tunes
Radio host Douglas Mascott of Marblehead is celebrating 25 years on the air. It's more of a hobby than a job for Mascott, who washes windows for real money. But he started in radio at the Curry College station in Milton 25 years ago.
Today, he's heard on WMWM, the Salem State station, where he plays, well, just about any kind of music. Get your favorite garage band to send him demos, and he'll play those. "I like everything," he says. "You have to like it all."
He's even been known to bring locals in to play live on the air.
'Shrinkage' rap
Exploring the possibility of "outsourcing" or privatizing food services at the Marblehead public schools, Business Manager Jonathan Goldfield raised the specter of "shrinkage," losses of money or inventory "or through waste."
"The issue is shrinkage," said School Committeeman James Dearborn.
"Isn't that a 'Seinfeld' thing?" someone asked.
"It's a food service thing," Goldfield shot back, offering no hint on whether it gets worse in the cold.
Promoting from within
Superintendent Paul Dulac has chosen his curriculum director, Michael Hanna, as the new principal of Village School. "He will start in his role as principal of the Village School on July 1," Dulac said. "I'm very excited about this."
A Spanish inquisition?
A School Committee public hearing on the budget last week ran into trouble when members had the budget but no public. No resident, no budget hawk, no parent showed up. It must mean they're all happy with the budget.
Superintendent Paul Dulac, however, may have indicated some unhappiness with School Committee member Jonathan Lederman, who proposed teaching Spanish in grades one to four at a March 26 meeting. At that time, his colleagues were critical of him for not alerting the superintendent beforehand regarding the idea.
Last Thursday, Dulac offered a memo, "short and sweet as usual." He wrote that prior notice "is an appropriate and effective practice which I strongly recommend the School Committee continue to follow."
Speaking after the meeting, Lederman explained that he wanted his proposal inserted in the next meeting. This was the next meeting where Dulac's memo called Lederman's proposal premature. "Our goal is that we have world languages all the way down to kindergarten," he wrote, indicating that the money is not available and some kids will be better able to handle it "manana."
The controversial Lederman, who recently raised hackles by joining an expansion committee at the charter school, was unabashed, continuing to make the case for early Spanish. "As someone who speaks another language," he said, "that being the Spanish language, it's made a big difference and helped me a lot."
Later, he commented, "I believe people ought to come into the meeting with somewhat of an open mind."
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