Arts

Malden Reads kicks off season with ‘bits & bites’ opener

The Malden Reads season kicked off 2015 with its “bits and bites” opener at the historic Converse building of the Malden Public Library. The community gathering was a success despite attendees having to trek out into one of the snowiest winters in New England’s history. Malden Reads is a community reading program that invites the entire city to read the same book and participate in events based on its themes. The grand opening on Thursday, Feb. 19 featured light refreshments, community conversation and a chance to learn more about the Malden Reads 2015 featured selection and companion books for younger readers. The 2015 featured selection is “Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore.” Written by Robin Sloan, the book combines elements of fantasy, mystery, friendship and adventure while musing on the transition between new information technology and traditional print books. In the video below, guests including Mayor Gary Christenson chat with Neighborhood View reporter Kylie Garcia about the festive opening celebration. –Photos by Elizabeth Scorsello

Events

Neighborhood View catches up with Congresswoman Katherine Clark

On Friday, Jan. 23,  a crowd gathered together at the Malden Access TV headquarters on Pleasant Street for the Mass Access 2015 Annual Membership Meeting in which Congresswoman Katherine Clark was honored as Legislator of the Year. Congresswoman Clark, known for her continued support of local access television, took a moment after receiving her award to speak with Neighborhood View about her first year as a United States Representative and share her thoughts on the value of community access television.

Featured

VIDEO: Annual Parade of Holiday Traditions 2014

On Saturday, November 29 starting at 2 p.m., hundreds of children and families from Malden gathered for the annual Parade of Holiday Traditions. The parade lined up along Waite Street Extension and traveled up Maplewood Street. It then turned left onto Salem Street. The parade ended at the viewing stand at Malden High School. Maldonians followed their yearly tradition of the Salem Street pre-parade stroll securing the perfect spot. The parade kicked off at 2 p.m. in 2014, four hours later than the traditional 10 a.m. start time of years past. Many nations, local organization and celebrations were represented at this year’s parade. Malden High School band, Triangle, Malden Girl Scouts, Malden Boy Scouts, Bread of Life, Outreach Community and Reform Center, Junior Aid Association of Malden, Bike to the Sea, Malden Public Library and many more.If you missed the parade … grab a cup of cocoa, sit back and enjoy the show. Happy holidays! –Elena Martinez

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Featured

80 is the new 60 at the Malden Senior Center

Many senior citizens know it’s advantageous to keep their mind and body active for their overall well being. Numerous older people make use of the John and Christina Markey Malden Senior Community Center located at 7 Washington Street, better known simply as the Malden Senior Center. The new facility opened in 2009 after a dedication ceremony to Senator Edward Markey’s parents and life-long Maldonians, John E. and Christina M. Markey. A public/private partnership leveraging funding resources brought this project to life in downtown Malden. To be specific the sources were as follows: $2M- HUD Section 108 Loan, $7.2M- City, $ 450K- Cambridge Health Alliance Donation, $250K- Private Foundation Grant. Rehabilitation cost $7.6M and $2.3M was used for acquisition of the old church site. Neighborhood View opted to profile a few of the seniors to obtain their insight as the intended end users of the facility. Join us as we meet 85 year old Ed Clarke, 86 year old Mary Peabody and 64 year old Peter Huang. We also hear from Silvia Banos, the current director of […]

Arts

Captivating artwork of Ming Huang Zhang .. now showing in the MATV Gallery

The MATV Gallery is exhibiting the work of Ming Huang Zhang, a participating artist in this year’s Window Arts Malden through January 2015. Zhang hails from China and immigrated to the United States in 2011. The work in this exhibit features his oil portraits which are painted in a western style but display subjects and details that are distinctly Eastern. Also on exhibit will be a number of his portrait sketches using a charcoal medium, a favorite of the artist. Zhang frequents Harvard Square where he finds plenty of people to pose for his sketches, which typically take about 15 minutes to complete yet are captivating in their level of fine detail and likeness to the original face. Says Zhang, “I live in Boston and I love this beautiful city. I have liked drawing since I was a preschool child. Every day, I drew on the road with small stones because my parents did not have enough money to buy drawing equipment for me.” In 2010, Zhang drew a giant mural (300 square meters) for the […]

Featured

Ghosts, graveyards, witches, crimes and Salem: a recipe for a book launch

First there was the Mod Squad, then the Police Squad, and now there is the Spirit Squad which helps  “rouse the dead and give a voice to the long departed.”  This according to Sam Baltrusis, author of a trilogy of ghost books taking us from Boston to Cambridge, and now on to Salem the ” Witch City.” Baltrusis explores the cursed history underlying Salem’s supernatural beings in his third book on Massachusetts haunts. Neighborhood View traveled to Salem to bear witness to the launch of Baltrusis’ latest book, Ghosts of Salem. The event was held in the Great Hall at the historic and beautiful Old Town Hall, Salem Mass. The building is the earliest surviving municipal structure in Salem, dating from 1816. Different kinds of haunts are investigated in the book from haunted burial grounds, visiting several cemeteries, to restless spirits of victims of heinous crimes. What is it that attracts so many to Salem every October? They come to be scared, to be fashionable, out of curiosity or just for fun. Some fear ghosts, some dismiss them […]

Featured

Malden High School principal gets new job

Dana Brown, the principal at Malden High School, recently got a new position. Brown is now President of the Massachusetts Secondary School Administration Association (MSSAA). The MSSAA is an association representing middle and high school assistant principals and principals across Massachusetts. In his new role, Brown will be helping set the agenda for the school year and also represent the MSSAA in group meetings and conventions. He will still be the principal at Malden High School while being part of the Massachusetts Secondary School Administration Association. The MSSAA advocates for faculty and students at the state level. The MSSAA will often meet with the Commissioner of Education and sometimes the Secretary of Education for Massachusetts. The focus this year for the group will be social and emotional health of the students specifically covering mental health. Brown waited his turn through the cabinet structure that was in place. The structure was third vice president followed by second vice president after president elect then finally president. Dana Brown worked his way up the ladder to become the […]

News

Will the Community Preservation Act (CPA) Benefit Malden?

Certain people say the Community Preservation Act is a wonderful mechanism to help cities and towns in Massachusetts to fund open space, historic preservation, community housing, and outdoor recreation projects. Others say it’s just a way for government to circumvent Proposition 2 ½. Let us take a deeper look at what the fuss is all about. According to the CPA Coalition the “CPA is a smart growth tool that helps communities preserve open space and historic sites, create affordable housing, and develop outdoor recreational facilities. CPA also helps strengthen the state and local economies by expanding housing opportunities and construction jobs for the Commonwealth’s workforce, and by supporting the tourism industry through preservation of the Commonwealth’s historic and natural resources.” The Act allows local communities to establish a Community Preservation Fund which gets generated through a local surcharge from 1 to 3% on property tax bills. At 1% this would average $15 to $44 increase per tax payer, annually. Estimated Yearly Cost to Average Malden Homeowner with a 1% CPA surcharge (based on FY2013 data, […]

Arts

Corita Kent Exhibit in Memory of Joan Aliberti at the Malden Public Library

An exhibit of works by renowned artist Corita Kent is on display at the Malden Public Library in the Lower Gallery of the Converse Memorial Building. The works were donated in memory of longtime Malden resident Joan Aliberti after her death in 2002 by her mother Tina Aliberti. Corita Kent, also known as Sister Mary Corita, is the artist behind the brightly colored gas tanks in Dorchester that are seen along the Southeast Expressway. Known as the Rainbow Swash, the painting on the gas tanks comprise the largest piece of copyrighted artwork in the world. A similar design was used for the artist’s widely recognized 1985 Love stamp. Kent has an extensive body of work that incorporates abstract color, collage, and writing, expressing values of peace and social justice. Her works are included in collections at The Whitney, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Joan Aliberti, a Malden educator, was a friend of the late artist and held a number of her works in her personal collection. The pieces […]

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About Us

MATV REWINDS: Flashback to 2002 wedding

In honor of its 25th anniversary, Malden Access Television has been airing programs from one quarter of a century of archives. The idea is to reconnect the community to local history in a creative way. A wide variety of topics and shows have made their way into this “Rewinds” series — to run though late August. One such program is the first ever live wedding of Malden locals Cathy and Jian on Valentine’s Day of 2002. The Chinese themed wedding included traditional music, explanations of decor and symbols, a candle-lighting ceremony and speeches from guests. The bride showed off traditional Chinese dress as well as a typical white gown provided by a local business — just one way in which this wedding mixed cultures from different sides of the globe in a beautiful display of what Malden and its history is all about. To view the full wedding and learn more about MATV Rewinds and programming, visit www.matv.org and tune in to its Public Access channel. –Suzanne Hishmeh