Malden City Hall sold

By Diti Kohli The City Council approved all eight grant applications for town projects authored by the Community Preservation Committee, or CPC, at the City Council meeting on March 19. Hundreds of thousands of dollars, $637,549 to be exact, will aid the improvement and preservation of Malden’s recreational areas. The largest grants benefitted the fields outside of the Salemwood School known as Roosevelt Park ($250,000), followed by Fellsmere Park ($75,000), the Malden Community Garden ($63,022), Trafton Park ($45,000), pocket parks in Malden Artline ($40,643), and the High Rock Memorial Park ($5,300). More than $4,000 will aid the restoration of the original plaque on Malden’s World War I Memorial and finance the addition of two bronze plaques with the names of more veterans. The Malden Public Library will use $154,364 of grant funding to restore and rehabilitate its archives. Part of this money will fund the library’s historical photograph and artwork display, as well as the digitization of town records dating back to 1600. CPC chairman Julianne Orsino beamed in the back row of the Markey Senior […]

By Martha Bezzat Since launching in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, Malden Neighbors Helping Neighbors (MNHN) continues to make a profound impact on Malden households by connecting those in need with resources.  Formed by Malden resident Meera Krishnan — inspired by her own sister’s Newton Facebook group — her husband, AJ Kumar, and James Meickle, leader of a neighborhood mutual aid group, MNHN has blossomed from a tight knit group of “lead organizers” who interface with local and state agencies and officials to navigate larger issues. It now includes a network of “neighborhood point persons” who daily process requests through the organization’s website and Facebook page.  To date, the all-volunteer organization has helped more than 600 households with such tasks as food delivery, housing/financial assistance (through referrals to ABCD, Housing Families, CityLife, and others), and prescription pick-up. Volunteers have also managed yardwork, furniture moves, and assisting with baby equipment. Lead organizers and neighborhood point people, working from their computers, coordinate delivery volunteers (delivering weekly to now 80 households), check-in-callers, generous donors, […]

By Bonnie Blanchard Fourth of five parts Take the train from Casablanca going southBlowing smoke rings from the corners of my my, my, my, my mouthColored cottons hang in airCharming cobras in the squareStriped Djellebas we can wear at home Would you know we’re riding on the Marrakesh Express Would you know we’re riding on the Marrakesh Express All aboard the train “Marrakesh Express,” by Graham Nash, 1969 Many of those from the 1960s “hippie” generation remember the lyrics to the Crosby, Stills and Nash song “Marrakesh Express.”  The Marrakesh Express ran from Casablanca to Marrakesh and was a widely sought ticket. This song sums up the cultural reflections of singer Graham Nash on a trip he took in 1966  through India and North Africa. Fast forward 50 years and I find myself in that same world, snake charmers and all. One of the most colorful open air markets in the world, Djemaa el-Fna is something not to miss in Marrakesh. It would be akin to going to church and not praying. It is a […]