Community Spotlight

Haverhill and Plaistow YMCA Plans 2025 Legacy Gala in May

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Ticket sales have started for this year’s Haverhill YMCA and Plaistow Community YMCA Legacy Gala. The gala, Honoring Y Legacies in Our Community, takes place Saturday, May 10, beginning at 5 p.m., at Bradford Country Club, 201 Chadwick Road, Haverhill

Organizers encourage festive dress for the fundraiser in support of affordable access to childcare, health initiatives and mental wellness. The 2025 Legacy Gala features dinner, complimentary cocktails, live music and other activities. Individual tiuckets start at $175 each and may be reserved online here. Sponsorships are also available by emailing Executive Director Tracy Fuller at [email protected].

Business Bulletin

Haverhill Bank Supports Haverhill Boys & Girls Club After-School Rides

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The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Haverhill is driving into the new year thanks to a $25,000 van sponsorship from Haverhill Bank. The organization says the bank’s donation supports after-school programs for underserved youth by providing much needed transportation for field trips, sporting events and meal deliveries. Boys & Girls Club Executive Director Javier Bristol explains, “The funding will allow the club to keep up with maintenance and repairs of the van. We are so appreciative of Haverhill Bank and all they do to support nonprofits in this community.”

Cannabis

Haverhill to Return Nearly 70% of Disputed ‘Impact Fees’ to Cannabis Shop After Legal Accord

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Haverhill’s first cannabis retailer is getting back about 70% of its disputed “community impact” fees from the city after both sides filed a “Stipulation of Dismissal” Friday with Essex County Superior Court in Salem. The agreement, which WHAV obtained Tuesday, settles Haverhill Stem’s suit brought in April of 2021 against both the City of Haverhill and former Mayor James J. Fiorentini. Owner Caroline Pineau filed suit about a year after opening, demanding Haverhill “provide the required documentation and substantiate the (impact) fee.” Stem argued the store had not made more of an impact on the city than any other kind of business. While Stem, of 124 Washington St., Haverhill, made community impact fee payments to the city totaling about $887,488, the settlement calls for Haverhill to return $612,500 without interest or reimbursing Stem for the cost of its lawyers. The refund must be paid within 30 days.

Haverhill

Plans Call for State Route 110 Through Methuen, Haverhill, Etc. to Better Serve Non-Drivers

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State highway Route 110, which largely hugs the Merrimack River through Methuen, Lawrence, Haverhill, Merrimac and Amesbury, is targeted for improvement with a $1.2 million federal grant. Haverhill-based Merrimack Valley Planning Commission said it will use the money from a Department of Transportation Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program grant to pay for planning and design, reimagining transportation along the Route 110 corridor. Officials said improvements have the potential to connect two anticipated north-south active transportation routes—the Lawrence to Manchester Rail Trail and the Border to Boston Trail. As WHAV reported first earlier this month, the project envisions “safe and comfortable active transportation options, especially in high-crash areas.”

“This funding will enable us to develop a comprehensive network of safe and accessible pathways for walking and biking throughout the Merrimack Valley. By enhancing connectivity between our communities, we aim to promote healthier lifestyles, reduce traffic congestion and improve access to essential services for all residents,” said Commission Executive Director Jerrard Whitten.

Education

Healey Proposes $2.5 Billion to Improve Public College Campuses, Cites Buildings Built in 70s

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By Colin A. Young

Forecasting “a transformative impact on the economic landscape of our state,” Gov. Maura Healey detailed plans Tuesday to pump at least $2.5 billion into campus facilities at the University of Massachusetts, state universities and community colleges by the middle of the 2030s. The governor outlined her new proposal after touring the Cyber Range at Bridgewater State University, a hands-on lab where she lamented that too many public higher education campuses don’t have the proper facilities to train students for cutting-edge jobs that can keep the state economically competitive. “Our public university and college campuses have suffered from historic underinvestment since they were built in the 1970s. We refuse to kick the can down the road any longer when it comes to educating our kids and training our workers of tomorrow,” the governor said, using the same idiom she has taken to using when talking about transportation financing. “With these transformative infrastructure investments, we will give students a cutting-edge education in our affordable public universities and colleges, create thousands of good-paying jobs for our workers and keep our state economically competitive for years to come.”

Northern Essex Community College’s Haverhill campus, built in 1971, is one such property.

Haverhill

Officials Urge Caution in Area Communities Where Open Burning is Allowed Through May 1

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While open burning season began last week in area communities, state officials are urging caution after, what they called, an unprecedented fall fire season in Massachusetts and as wildfires rage in California. State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine, Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bonnie Heiple and Chief Fire Warden David Celino of the Department of Conservation and Recreation said residents should follow restrictions on open burning that are imposed at the state and local levels. “Even where burning is authorized, a permit from your local fire department is always required in advance and it’s your responsibility to be able to extinguish the fire on a moment’s notice. For two years in a row, Massachusetts residents have lost their lives when they couldn’t contain their fires. Please make safety your priority when burning,” Davine said in a release.

Business Bulletin

Beyond Walls, Group Behind Many Haverhill Murals Names Daniel as Chief of Staff

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eyond Walls, the organization responsible for a series of large, outdoor murals around Haverhill, recently named Tiffany A. Daniel as chief of staff. According to Lynn-based Beyond Walls, Daniel, of Natick, has managed teams and projects large and small from hospitals, to colleges to start ups. In her new role, she will oversee all programs and projects and managing relationships with outside organizations and community partners. Previously, Daniel served as business operations manager at Via Separations of Watertown and chief of staff at City University of New York School of Law. Last fall, Beyond Walls commissioned murals for a second year of a three-year partnership with the City of Haverhill, Creative Haverhill and Team Haverhill.

Education

Haverhill High Teacher Kempinski to Attend 80th Anniversary of Auschwitz Liberation

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A Haverhill High School history teacher will be in attendance for the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp next week. Theodore “Ted” Kempinski attends the observance as an invited witness and the only teacher from the United States to be invited. He, as WHAV reported last year, is honorary consul of memory for the Auschwitz Birkenau Memorial. On his website, Kempinski details the trepidation he experienced while planning for the trip. “There are no words that can truly capture human understanding or emotion, at those moments.