Featured
The Warmth of Hospitality: Malden pastor helps locals in need during the winter season
Gerald Whetstone, the founder and executive director, hopes the Malden Warming Center can be an example to neighboring cities. […]
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Events
Bread of Life’s Annual 5k Walk honors Tom Feagley
By Sabrina Monteiro Bread of Life’s (BOL) annual 5k event took place on Sunday, October 1, 2023. Continuing BOL’s tradition of honoring someone new each term, this year’s walk was in memory of former Executive Director, and loving friend, Tom Feagley, who passed away last May. Feagley started out volunteering at the Saint Paul’s Parish Supper Program in Malden, a social time intended for members of the parish. He took note that many homeless individuals, who were not part of the parish, were showing up at the meals. Recognizing the apparent need, he went on to found the Bread of Life, managing supper and pantry programs for Malden and surrounding communities. The organization grew under three decades of his leadership. In later years and before his retirement in 2019, he worked to secure funding to build a permanent home for all of BOL’s programs. This project has now officially come to life as it is currently being constructed at 54 Eastern Avenue in Malden. “Tom was very involved in the community…he was a lovely and […]
Education
Growing for Malden: behind the high school community garden that could
By Bryan Liu In an empire of sawdust, a jungle blooms. Malden High School’s makerspace is a warehouse-sized engineering classroom that doubles as a fully-stocked workshop for hands-on STEM-based extracurriculars — but against the windowsill, a row of lush hydroponics sticks out like a sore thumb — a green one. This is where Malden’s Youth Community Garden trains in the off-season. Malden High School Senior, Jadelini Mora, explains that the makerspace is the perfect nursery for plants to mature indoors during the colder months until it’s warm enough for them to be moved into one of 23 planting beds that make up the garden outside. To expand their planting space, the club built a greenhouse in April. It’s somewhere between professional and DIY. The thermal ‘greenhouse effect’ owes its namesake to the sheets of UV-resistant plastic affixed with only a mile of duct tape and several elbows’ worth of elbow grease. The layers of tarp are just translucent enough to glimpse the sun-kissed gloss of green-ish horticulture from a distance. Now the club can garden […]
Featured
Turf battle heats up: An update on Roosevelt Park
Four years later, where is the project headed? By Colette Lauture A debate over the use of artificial turf has stalled the proposed redesign of Malden’s Roosevelt Park. The ongoing conversation is vast, covering everything from environmental concerns to sports teams wanting more playing time. Since its inception nearly four years ago, the project has experienced support and pushback. Malden residents have voiced their apprehension and excitement alike for the field’s redesign, the back-and-forth causing confusion about its trajectory. Debbie Burke, Executive Director of the city’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, said that the city is eager to complete the project. With hazardous soil removed, flood storage capacity would be set to improve, and the number of residents who will be able to play on the field will increase. Youth athletic groups, Salemwood School students, and the surrounding neighborhood would experience these benefits. “The project also responds to climate change by increasing stormwater capacity in a floodplain, increasing resiliency on the field and in the neighborhood…It also reduces water use and increases access […]
Events
MTEC Brings Malden Teens to Cardigan Lodge
By Zhi Zhu Nineteen lucky Malden teens were in for a treat last February as the Malden Teen Enrichment Center (MTEC) took them on a three-day excursion to Cardigan Lodge in Alexandria, New Hampshire. MTEC had announced in January that they were organizing a trip for the winter break. Due to high interest, the center chose teens on a first-come-first-served basis. Those selected were Allison Yu, Nikki Blue, Nasuh Kacmaz, Jelani Tah, Matteo Tah, Jason Chen, Emilee Tortorella, Slade Harding, Francis Doza, Julianna Lin, Archer Ou, Makeila Scott, Darian O’Brien, Kaneli Kaukko, Sabrina Dangervil, Cheryl Pidakala, Gurudit Thakur, Hasnaat Khan, and Zhi Zhu. MTEC has organized many trips before, bringing teens camping in the summer and hiking during the spring. MTEC is able to provide teens the opportunity to go on trips like these through their ties with the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) which provides training and outdoor gear. Jacob Mullin-Bernstein of the MTEC staff mentioned that AMC is a “huge organization, but they have a specific section of their organization known as ‘OLT’, Outdoor […]
Business
Pho99 was the last great Malden dynasty
By Bryan Liu The tablecloth is a faded floral—the kind that was initially made to look vintage and over time actually became vintage. The menu is laid out in print: CHEF SPECIALTIES, APPETIZERS, FRESH SPRING ROLLS, BEEF NOODLE SOUP—there are 16 pages in total arranged to fit the tabletop. The whole affair is topped with a thick glass table-protector that gets wiped down after every meal. The table is wood. Not that it’s obvious—but after 22 years, the flowers still bloom. Three lucky cats sit on the counter with gold paint over their ceramic bodies—their paws wave back and forth in unison as if they’re stuck in salute. Each one is clutching a gold coin. The newscast is on but nobody really cares enough to look away from their food. The talking head is drowned out by low-key restaurant-esque jazz music and ambient dining room chatter. It smells delicious. This is a memory. One for the books—a page for Malden’s collective unconscious. Wynn Tran ran Pho99 for over two decades, and before that he didn’t […]
Business
Malden Gaming District: A center for immersion, fun, and escape
By Jack Drees Want to play a game? Malden has you covered. Within the confines of Malden’s Gaming District, gamers and hobbyists alike are treated to a variety of concepts that allow people to enter another reality. From technology-infused experiences to role-playing games to athletics, it is game on, all the time. Gaming is often viewed as an escape to another world. Some of these escapes involve immersive experiences that put you in the eyes of your character. Boda Borg offers the video game experience, only without the video. No consoles. No controllers. No save files. At Boda Borg, you are the protagonist. The gaming experience chain traces its start back to Torpshammar, Sweden. Today, that is one of the country’s seven locations. Worldwide, Boda Borg has ten locations in four countries, including Ireland and Switzerland. This also includes its only United States location, Malden’s Pleasant St establishment known as Boda Borg Boston, which opened in 2015. With its strong community feel and thriving restaurant scene, Malden was “just the right kind of location,” said […]
Arts
Sneaker-ism: how a local bodega is leaving their footprint on Malden
By Bryan Liu MAPLEWOOD SQUARE—past the doors of a rather unassuming storefront, a red Supreme ping pong table half-filled with sneakers stands at the center of the room. When it isn’t being used for play, it makes for a pretty good countertop. One side of the store are rows of shelves packed with neatly arranged pairs of shoes: Jordans, Forces, Dunks, Maxes, Breds—there’s also a giant glass case of collectible Be@rbrick figurines in the corner about the size of a refrigerator. Racks of designer clothes surround the interior to make for easy browsing. It’s undeniable: the drip is wall-to-wall. This is LaaTiendaa: a community-oriented local fashion collective emphasizing real merchandise and authentic individuals. Their name comes from the Spanish word “la tienda” which literally translates to “the store”—but for owners Gabriel Toribio and Jezmani Kraus, LaaTiendaa is more than just a store: it’s culture. “Sneaker-ism” first kicked off when people realized their shoes could define a generation—the advent of iconic shoes like the Adidas Samba and Nike’s Air Jordan inspired countless sneakerheads to turn their […]
Education
The vote for “the Voke” has led to a surprising twist
Selected site for the Northeast Vocational High School building draws opposition By Karen Buck 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 […]
Arts
“If you’re gonna learn to garden, you need to know how to say hello to a worm.”
Artist Kari Percival and the importance of connecting children to nature By Colette Lauture When author, illustrator, and mother of two Kari Percival was little, she tried to grow orange seeds in her backyard. Saving the seeds from an orange she ate, she brought them outside, and buried them in the ground. When nothing came up, she asked her parents about the delay. She felt embarrassed to learn that orange seeds don’t grow in this New England climate. With parents who grew up in Maine, Percival always engaged in gardening activities with her family. She remembers planting peas with her grandfather, specifically. “I felt like I was a sorcerer’s apprentice standing next to a magician and learning the art of life,” she said. “How we’re alive is that we get food from sunshine, [and] through these other beings that we can learn to grow.” Stories like this are what contributed to the publishing of her February 2022 award-winning book, “How to Say Hello to a Worm: A First Guide to the Outside.” Its digital woodcut […]