MARBLEHEAD — He's a neighbor and an earnest-looking fellow, but not everyone loves former Swampscott Selectman Charlie Baker as a prospective governor.
Marblehead political consultant Michael Goldman has been sending out a steady stream of e-mails to friends and reporters and other interested party people, taking the Republican Baker to task for various hypocrisies. "Remember when the Cellucci administration lied and said that the Big Dig was on time and on budget? Remember who said it? Wonder no more!"
A video starring Charlie Baker follows.
Goldman gets paid for his efforts in politics. But not this time. "I'm a Democrat," he explains. "But I'm not working for (Gov.) Deval (Patrick). I'm working against Charlie. I'm working against Cahill." (Treasurer Tim Cahill, a former Democrat, is running for governor as an independent.)
Goldman does have several paid clients this time around, like Suzanne Bump, candidate for state auditor.
"I don't have that much against Charlie," Goldman adds. But he works to educate others in a spirit of "fellowship."
Superintendent sees self
"I made a lot of hard decisions in the last four years," school Superintendent Paul Dulac recently told the school board. "And some people have not been too happy." (He didn't say who.) Later, Dulac joked, "I don't have to impress you guys because I'm retiring this year."
When committee member Jonathan Lederman complained that the department seemed to lack goals, Dulac, who is recuperating from heart surgery, replied, "I have the hardest goals of any superintendent I know."
No one argued the point.
The board also offered a tribute to retired Superintendent George Gearhardt, who came in as a temporary replacement when the previous business manager was let go. "I've enjoyed it," Gearhardt said. "Believe it or not, I've enjoyed it."
Landing on the Rockmere
In the early 20th century, the Rockmere Hotel on Marblehead Harbor was as much a landmark as Marblehead Light. "In its heyday, it was a beautiful hotel," local historian Don Doliber says. "It was a yachting hotel. It had a nautical theme."
By 1964, the place had gone to seed. "It was in deplorable condition," Doliber says. Soon, the once-popular spot was pulled down. In its place up went Glover's Landing, still a desirable collection of condos.
Meanwhile, on July 13, Snelling Robinson Brainard died in Bangor, Maine, at age 83. He was the designer of Glover's Landing. According to an obituary, his "Shaker Village" vision for Glover's Landing won the Progressive Architecture award. Of more interest to folks here, the project was named after the great-grandfather of Brainard's wife, Patricia Lee. Edmund F. Glover was a Grand Banks fisherman in 1866.
"On the return journeys," according to the obituary, "the fish were dried on fish fences on Skinner's Head. Patricia Lee named all of the streets in the residential community and kept the name of Skinner's Head."
Here comes the sun
And the energy. At least that's the plan.
The Abbot Public Library and Sunshine Solar Energy will be offering a program on solar energy Aug. 12 at 7 p.m. It's the kind of event where organic refreshments are provided by Greenland Cafe of Salem, one of the few eateries with an online mission statement.
"We're thinking the food is 'planet-conscious,'" library director Patty Rogers says. More important, she added, the program will include advice on accessing generous government subsidies for solar.
Speakers will include people who have already put solar technology to practical use, including at least one Marblehead couple who have solar panels on their roof.
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