Haverhill

Podcast: Riding with MeVa Regional Bus Regulars and Driver Larry Corcoran

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(Additional photograph below.) The sky is still dark when Larry Corcoran, a bus driver for Merrimack Valley Transit, starts his route outbound from Haverhill at six a.m. For the few who ride this early in the morning, the transportation is essential. When MeVa leaders went before state lawmakers to request more money early this month, Chief Communications Officer Niorka Mendez said, for some of the people they serve, “This is the only way to get to food access, to get to medical care—even in the social aspect of visiting friends. On the bus, as a bus driver, I used to talk to them, and maybe we are the only people they talk to during the whole day. They don’t have a family member to talk to or vent [to].”

Corcoran, the most senior MeVa driver, said his job requires multitasking. He has to be “an expert motor vehicle operator, and also a personality.

Haverhill

Podcast: Haverhill Native Brian McGravey Releases New Album, ‘Feather in the Wind’

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When it comes to making an impact in the world of music, it often takes a lot of time to become an “overnight” success, and success knows no zip code. But, when you love to play, you play! That’s Haverhill native Brian McGravey with the title track from his new album “Feather in the Wind.” McGravey was a recent guest on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program. McGravey has been playing in bands and composing music for the past 20 years—some of his work is in the form of production music that can be heard on dozens of TV channels including HBO, Nickelodeon and the History Channel. “It’s really kind of a dream come true, and it’s usually not that I go and listen, or I just hear it randomly, ‘cause I usually don’t know ahead of time when it’s going to be used, or where, but I use the website called TuneSat, and basically it will detect any music that’s used.

Education

Podcast: Haverhill Mayor Barrett Brings Listeners Behind the Scenes on School Decisions

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In a wide-ranging interview with WHAV this week, Haverhill Mayor Melinda E. Barrett took listeners behind the scenes on recent moves affecting the futures of both the “big” and “little” Whittier schools. Barrett, in her fourth month working out of the corner office at City Hall, took some time Wednesday to appear on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program. The mayor said she spoke with Gov. Maura T. Healey recently as plans took shape to explore a shared campus for Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School and Northern Essex Community College. “So, the idea would be to build a Whittier Vo-Tech and align it with NECCO so they could capture some different dollars rather than just the 11 communities relying on (Massachusetts School Building Authority) and their own tax levy capacities. This would open up even more grant opportunities, some federal funding, take advantage of job training monies that might be out there from both the state and federal government to try to reduce the cost to the communities and produce a school that will produce workers for the future,” she said.

Haverhill

Today’s Coverage Shows WHAV’s Unique Local Model is the Future; Will You Help?

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Take a look at today’s WHAV local news headlines today and you’ll see there’s no question WHAV provides more local news, more news that really matters and more often. This extensive coverage is all the more remarkable when others are cutting back. While the nonprofit news model appears to be the winning economic formula for the future, it is not without setbacks. Recently, both of Boston’s public radio outlets have acknowledged huge projected deficits and contemplating cuts and layoffs. As Greater Haverhill’s only public radio station and nonprofit local news service, WHAV is different, uniquely centering on local news and staying away from the distracting, divisive and questionable national news angles available elsewhere.

Haverhill

Podcast: Haverhill Bank’s Temple Pruyn Offers A Word About Retirement Accounts Before Tax Day

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Federal and state tax returns are due in a little more than a month, and for people with retirement accounts, such as a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA, it also means a deadline is approaching for making contributions that count for the 2023 tax year. It also means, for some, a deadline to start taking money out. The heads up comes from Haverhill Bank Assistant Vice President and Mortgage Officer and Originator Sherry L. Temple Pruyn, who stopped by WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program. She spoke about people with a traditional Individual Retirement Account. The traditional IRA is funded with pre-tax money, unlike the Roth IRA which is funded with money already taxed, and the federal government requires taking distributions by a certain age.

Business Bulletin

Podcast: Haverhill Chamber Readies for 26th Winning Opportunities for Women Conference

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The Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce is getting ready for its 26th annual Winning Opportunities for Women conference in April. Chamber President and CEO Alex Eberhardt said the conference—called WOW, for short—is expected to draw more than 200 people and feature speakers discussing professional and personal development. Speaking on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast,” Eberhardt said this year’s venue takes place at a woman-owned business in Lawrence. “This year it is at a new event space, owned by Wendy Estrella out of Lawrence, called The Vault. If you have not seen it yet, it is breathtaking. It’s a breathtaking new event space.

Haverhill

Visitation Friday for Early WHAV FM Announcer Bob Clinkscale, Who Died at 92

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An announcer heard on an early version of WHAV on the FM dial, Robert F. “Bob” Clinkscale, died last week from complications of Alzheimer’s at age 92. Clinkscale was known when he arrived at WHAV in 1959 as “Bob Douglas,” and later moved to Boston television in the 1960s at WBZ and WLVI. He became a regular TV anchor at WCVB in 1972, part of the Eyeopener News. Clinkscale came to WHAV after serving honorably in the U.S. Coast Guard. Early in his career, he was a disc jockey, writer and reporter at multiple radio stations as he built his career in Vermont and Massachusetts.

Business Bulletin

Posner Joins WHAV News as Staff Writer; Journalism Interest Began in High School

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Jacob Posner, a recent Williams College graduate, started working this past fall at WHAV in Haverhill as staff writer. Born in Chicago, he got his start in journalism in high school, since then writing for his college newspaper and serving as a features intern for the Berkshire Eagle, an award-winning local newspaper covering all of Berkshire County. Posner has a passion for audio and hopes one day to be a podcaster or longform journalist. In his free time, he enjoys playing ultimate frisbee, watching TV and reading.