Articles by NeighborhoodView

Education

The vote for “the Voke” has led to a surprising twist

February 21, 2023 NeighborhoodView 0

Selected site for the Northeast Vocational High School building draws opposition A $317,422-million dollar plan to rebuild the Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational High School sounded promising to many when first proposed. “The Voke” hadn’t been significantly renovated since it was built nearly 50 years ago. It was time for a rebuild with updated technology.  However, the project has now sparked fierce opposition, even among those who voted in favor of it on Jan. 25, 2022.  The controversy is not about rebuilding the Voke, but what would be sacrificed for the new construction.  The 1/25/2022 ballot question approving the construction costs of $317,422,620 did not specify the location of the new building site other than to note the current school address of 100 Hemlock Drive. A low turnout of 9,043 residents voted on the issue of funding the new school building, with 7,471 in favor of rebuilding the Voke. However, some voters from the communities served – Wakefield, Chelsea, Malden, Melrose, North Reading, Reading, Revere, Saugus, Stoneham, Winchester, Winthrop, and Woburn – were later surprised to learn […]

Arts

Lunar New Year in Malden marked with joy and Chinese cultural flair

February 3, 2023 NeighborhoodView 0

By Jinghe Zhong, special to Neighborhood View MALDEN, MA — The Chinese Culture Connection (CCC) held its 14th annual Lunar New Year Celebration at Malden High School on January 14, 2022. For the Asian community in Malden, this was a momentous occasion. The event was finally presented in person after three years, bringing together hundreds of local residents and businesses of diverse cultural backgrounds. A spectacular lion dance performance by Wah Lum Kung Fu & Tai Chi Academy set the festive mood, and Mei Hung, Executive Director of the CCC, was joined by Malden mayor Gary Christenson to officially open the event. The nearly four-hour celebration featured over 20 performing groups and individuals from across the Greater Boston Area. A major highlight was Thousand Hands Guanyin, a large-scale dance performed by the Boston Chinese United Dance Group, whose members range in age from eight to 80. Together, they harnessed the power of dance to raise awareness of the importance of goodwill and selflessness in today’s society. There were also performances by students from the CCC’s […]

Contribute

How to help (close to home) this holiday season

December 10, 2022 NeighborhoodView 1

Are you looking for meaningful ways to give back this holiday season? Donating and volunteering locally has many benefits even beyond the most important of meeting local community needs.  Donating to a local food or toy drive or doing hands-on volunteering provides an opportunity to connect more deeply with one’s community and meet others who are spending their time giving back. Volunteering can also offer a different or broader perspective on one’s own life. The need for donations and volunteering is year-round, but giving back at this time could also help jump start a cycle of giving and volunteering during all seasons. Many sources support this notion around volunteering. The EF (Education First) blog states, “By immersing yourself in a community and surrounding yourself with people who are dedicated to bettering the world, you can learn so much about how the world works. You gain a unique sense of purpose by serving those around you, one which often manifests in other areas of your life.”  Malden is a community rich in nonprofits, service organizations and […]

Arts

Malden residents enjoy the city’s first Winter Festival

December 21, 2021 NeighborhoodView 1

By Martha Bezzat, Fern Remedi-Brown, Laura Cummingham, Susan Margot Ecker, Nikita Sampath On Saturday, Dec. 4, the sidewalks of Pleasant Street were lined with about 55 local artists and craftspeople, eager to share their wares with Malden residents as part of the first Winter Festival, sponsored by the City of Malden.  Malden Reads held its 2022 season “kick-off” event during the festival in the J Malden Center lobby. The group hosted poetry readings from local poets, children’s activities, dance videos from local dance group Monkeyhouse, and a raffle. J Malden Center also hosted the Chamber of Commerce’s 130th Anniversary closing event, which provided history and hot chocolate for crowds seeking warmth and nourishment from the cold weather.   The event had the dual goal of “bringing customers back to our downtown to support our businesses and [giving] our residents an outdoor activity to enjoy themselves safely,” said Kevin Duffy, the Strategy and Business Development Officer for the City of Malden. However, a runaway car parked on Pleasant Street momentarily shook up the festive atmosphere when it began to roll, went […]

Education

What does a water tower in Guatemala have to do with Malden?

March 22, 2021 NeighborhoodView 0

By Fern Remedi-Brown and Elena Martinez  Malden residents Fern Remedi-Brown and Ginny Remedi-Brown have been spearheading a nonprofit organization, Sowing Opportunities, that seeks to cultivate self-sustainability, education, and wellness in rural Guatemala – one village at a time. The locally based organization wants to highlight and celebrate Monday, March 22, United Nations #WorldWaterDay. This year’s theme is #ValuingWater  and the efforts of Sowing Opportunities demonstrate how a group of individuals is effectively addressing water issues in Guatemala.  Sowing Opportunities was born from the family’s quest and journey to find their adopted daughter’s birth mom. In 2015, Sowing Opportunities began working with the village of Chajmaic, Guatemala, where their daughter was born. With a Guatemalan team, they learned about the needs and aspirations of this indigenous, remote community.  Following a needs assessment conducted last summer, Sowing Opportunities decided to develop a greenhouse workshop in which a group of trainees would learn how to plant, to develop leadership skills, and to maintain a greenhouse – starting with corn and black beans – and to sell vegetables for their livelihood. […]

Education

The TrailblazHers host a 5K in Malden dedicated to Louise Stokes.

March 16, 2021 NeighborhoodView 2

The Boston-based women’s running group chose the Malden River Loop to host their weekly run dedicated to trailblazing women. (Photo by Frances Ramirez) By Saliha Bayrak, Amanda Hurley and Catherine Riordan A group of trailblazing women, clad in running gear and masks, were out for a run at the Malden River Loop on Sunday morning, March 7. The group, TrailblazHers Run Co, dedicated their weekly 5k run to Malden track & field star Louise Stokes, one of the first African-American women to qualify for an Olympic team.  TrailblazHers is a Boston-based women’s running group that was founded in October of 2020. The group’s members are fervently dedicated to unifying and uplifting each other while being powered by its mission to celebrate and empower women of all shapes, colors, and backgrounds.  The group originally emerged from an event known as the “Bra Run,” a tradition that continued for three years before the co-founders Elizabeth Rock, Abeo Powder, and Frances Ramirez, realized that there were many other women who were also looking for a community of runners.  Rock describes the organization as “A […]

Arts

Malden Reads Selects Trevor Noah’s “Born a Crime” for 11th Year Book

November 24, 2020 NeighborhoodView 1

By Natasha Eslami In Born a Crime, Trevor Noah, the popular comedian and host of the cable TV show “The Daily Show,” recounts his childhood growing up in South Africa, the son of a white father and a Black mother. At the time, such a union was punishable by five years in prison in apartheid South Africa, so Noah’s very existence was  “crime.”  Noah tells his story, which ranges from the humorous to the traumatic, with his cutting wit and incisive perspective. At times both poignant and outrageous, Noah deals with the intersection of his life and the history of a country reckoning with deep-seated racism and finds a parallel here to the United States. His memoir does not shy away from exposing deeply ingrained racism, sexism, violence, economic inequity, and domestic violence. And yet, his personal story reminds us that even in the deepest tragedy and among the most menacing of fears, there is hope and strength within ourselves and those around us to set us on a better path. The Malden Reads team wanted to select a book that would […]

Education

Teaching through the lens of love: A conversation with Jennifer Hedrington, MA Teacher of the Year

November 20, 2020 NeighborhoodView 1

By Antonia Sheel As an educator and mother to young children,  I had the opportunity to chat with the newly appointed Massachusetts Teacher of the Year (2021), Jennifer Hedrington a seventh-grade math teacher at Ferryway School in Malden, and her former student, Taylor Neal, a sophomore at Point University. The experience  was both refreshing and inspiring.  Our Zoom conversation touched on everything from what brought Hedrington  into the field of education to how Hedrington’s teaching impacted Taylor, who has kept in touch with her years after she first sat in her 7th grade math class.   This interview has been edited for space and clarity. Antonia: I want to say first and foremost congratulations! How do you feel? Jen: I’m overwhelmed and humbled. I’m very private. You know I went from having 100 people on my Facebook to 300 or 400.  I’m like, oh my gosh this is crazy. I have to remind myself that this is not about me. This is about them. God has blessed me for one year to be a voice to speak up for the kids. […]

Education

MaldenCORE conversation series

September 22, 2020 NeighborhoodView 0

MaldenCORE will hold a series of 4th Wednesday Conversations beginning Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 6:45 pm with a presentation by Daniel StrongWalker Thomas, Traditional Chief of the Delaware Nation (Anadarko Okla.), Lenape People, and a descendant of the Oneida People (of Green Bay,Wisc).  The topic for discussion will be Indigenous social justice issues. Due to the pandemic, the conversation series is online. Thomas serves as the President of the Board of Directors and Chief Servant Leader of Global Initiative for Indigenous Advancement, Inc. (GIIA).  As Keeper of Fire for GIAA, he believes that the concentration on the four pillars of social, health, education, and economic status will help generate the overall wellbeing of Indigenous People worldwide.  When he attended Salem State University he was awarded the Charlotte Forten Distinguished Scholar Award and was a member of the honors society. MaldenCORE, Malden Community Organizing for Racial Equity, hosts 4th Wednesday Conversations, community gatherings for community members, to learn about and confront systemic racism. Speakers introduce topics and then participants break into fall groups to share personal […]