Move your way into the Malden Senior Center programs

Story by Diti Kohli John Matheson, four-term city councillor for Ward 3, said he will decide whether to launch an official bid for mayor before May. In a phone interview, the prospective candidate stressed his self-identification as a “populist and idealist” and said his potential platform would include policies that would expand commercial development. The councillor also plans to focus on increased ticketing, worsening street and traffic patterns, city beautification, and environmental issues, like challenging the contentious mandatory use of blue trash bags and eliminating lead pipes in homes.   Matheson announced the formation of his exploratory committee to the public on March 16 via Facebook. “Residents have said the administration has ignored their issues,” said Matheson. “And the government we have now is not a government that’s for the people.” Matheson is no stranger to local politics; in addition to his four terms on the city council, he ran an unsuccessful race for state representative in 2014.  If he officially posits himself as a candidate this month, Matheson will be the first to challenge the […]

By Sky Malerba Killer Kowalski never intended to go into  professional sports. However, he eventually became one of the most feared and simultaneously admired villains in professional wrestling. For many years, he ran a popular wrestling school in Malden. This week, Killer Kowalski is the subject for Malden Arts Mondays, a two-month long celebration of artists and figures associated with Malden.  Born Edward Władysław Spulnik on Oct. 13, 1926,  Kowalski began training at a YMCA at age 14 when he was lanky and already over six feet tall. Although he planned to become an electrical engineer, he saw opportunities in the world of professional wrestling and attended a wrestling school. As a son of Polish immigrants who was raised in Ontario, he learned he could make a solid living being a wrestler. He would come to prominence when the emerging popularity of television created a golden age of professional wrestling.  Kowalski took on a number of different identities as his wrestling persona evolved, as influenced by the technique of his craft. His names cycled through different strongman archetypes: Hercules, Tarzan, the more tame […]

By Joe Bohrer Photos by Paul Hammersley On Oct. 16, the downtown Malden came alive with the sounds of rock ‘n’ roll when classic rocker and former Malden resident Norman Greenbaum returned home to participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the mural inspired by his famous “Spirit in the Sky” hit. Also on hand was Texas-born artist Jesse Melanson who had painted the four-story mural at 110 Pleasant Street, facing the Exchange Street side, to honor Greenbaum and his enduring song. A small but excited crowd gathered before the ceremony. When learning that “Spirit in the Sky” would be played,  a participant said, “I hope they blast it!” Another participant commented, “This is so nice” when asked about the mural. When Greenbaum walked in from across the street, he got stuck in the crowd because so many wanted to talk to him, shake his hand and get a picture with him. When the crowed finally let Greenbaum get to the front, a representative of Malden Arts ARTLine, which sponsored painting of the mural, gave a quick speech […]