Haverhill

Podcast: Looking Back, Fiorentini Details 20-Year Path to Haverhill’s Turnaround

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Haverhill Mayor James J. Fiorentini was sworn in almost 20 years ago against the backdrop of the largest municipal debt in state history, downtown buildings that had been mostly vacant for decades, the recent layoffs of 43 city workers and even ragged carpets in City Hall held together with duct tape. The downtown commercial district had been in decline for decades, worsened by such efforts to prop it up as the federal urban renewal demolition program. It was the financial collapse of the city-owned Hale Hospital, part of a national trend, however, that turned simmering hopelessness into full-blown panic. As he prepares to leave office, the mayor detailed during an extensive WHAV interview how the city turned around. During a live appearance on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program, Fiorentini said, for example, downtown’s renaissance came down to parking, but not in a conventional sense.

Haverhill

Podcast: Temple Emanu-El’s Rabbi Stevens Discusses Hanukkah, Which Begins Thursday

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The Jewish festival of lights, Hanukkah, begins Thursday. Rabbi Ashira Stevens, of Haverhill’s Temple Emanu-El in Haverhill, speaking on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program, discussed the historical significance of the holiday. “When the Jews won against their enemies, back in those days, back in the days of the Maccabees, they then rededicated their temple. The word Hanukkah itself actually means dedication, or rededication, and when they did that, they cleaned everything up. The temple had been made into a complete mess, and they shined the menorah and they looked around for oil to light it, and they only found one cruise of oil, one small container.

Haverhill

Supporting Nonprofit WHAV on #GivingTuesday Underpins High Community Values

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Tomorrow is #GivingTuesday and the day nonprofit WHAV launches its year-end appeal to uphold the highest values and pay for local news and community programs.

During the past year, Greater Haverhill’s only public radio station and nonprofit local news service maintained the highest principles and played a far-reaching role in shaping the community’s future. At WHAV, it’s about staying true to sincerely held values and encouraging others to do the same for overall public good. WHAV’s local news reporting is about disseminating truth; holding people, government and organizations accountable; and helping nonprofits and civic organizations get the word about enriching, critical and—many times—lifesaving programs and services. WHAV is part of a national trend of household and small business-supported nonprofit local news services that are stepping up to provide vital information. It is widely understood that being locally owned and physically based here puts WHAV in the best position to uniquely recognize and address community needs.

Education

Podcast: As Dice Retires, Pentucket Regional High School Plans to Recruit New Service Dogs

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A retirement is on the horizon one of the beloved members of the Pentucket Regional High School staff, who offers comfort to both students and staff. Pentucket Regional School Superintendent Justin Bartholomew, a recent guest on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program, talked about the service dog named Dice, who is coming up on his 10th birthday. “That is about the age when you retire a service animal from a public space like this, so we have spent, at the end of last year and this summer, we have spent quite a bit of time trying to determine how do we replicate what Dice has brought to the students, what Dice has brought to the adults in that building as well,” Bartholomew says. Dice is a black lab that started going to Pentucket Regional High School in 2018. “Dice was originally—we have one of our teachers, Pam Shedd, her daughter had diabetes and because of certain situations, her daughter couldn’t have a pump.

Haverhill

Students Put Haverhill Mayoral Candidates to the Test During Forum; Hear It Tonight at 7

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Haverhill mayoral candidates—City Councilor Melinda E. Barrett and retired Haverhill Police Officer Guy E. Cooper—were put to the test last night by students during a forum at Haverhill High School. Moderators David Martinez and Sean Wynn, students of instructor Shaun Ashworth’s Advanced Placement Government class, peppered the candidates with a variety of questions from housing to taxes. The one-hour forum will be heard in its entirety tonight at 7 p.m. over 97.9 WHAV and WHAV.net. During, what was called “a lightning round of this or that,” Barrett and Cooper chose their favorite local ice cream stands, pizza places, gyms, Haverhill park and favorite local news source. “This might be the most difficult question—WHAV or Eagle-Tribune,” a moderator asked.

Election Central

Podcast: Haverhill’s Mayoral Candidates Favor Route 97 Fire Station, Share Other Views

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Haverhill’s two finalists for mayor approach the city’s problems in different ways, but both agree construction of a new Broadway-area fire station is a top spending priority. Councilor Melinda E. Barrett and retired Police Officer Guy E. Cooper both took time to visit WHAV’s downtown studios to detail their positions—including capital priorities, taxes and housing costs. Both vie to succeed outgoing, 20-year Mayor James J. Fiorentini during early voting this week and next week’s final election. Barrett says she has been working behind the scenes to secure land near Interstate 495 for a new fire station. “A fire station on (Route) 97 will give us a really, incredibly faster call time to Ayers Village and, even, Rocks Village because they could get on the highway there and get down to that other exit,” she said.

Haverhill

The Night the Martian ‘Death Ray’ Missed Haverhill; ‘War of the Worlds’ Airs Monday

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Editor’s Note: This is an update of earlier versions of this story. Marking the 85th anniversary of the historic broadcast, 97.9 WHAV airs the original “Mercury Theater on the Air” presentation of the “War of the Worlds,” Monday, Oct. 30, with an encore three hours later at 1 a.m. 

The supposed Martian invasion of Earth and its aftermath 83 years ago this week didn’t seem to faze Greater Haverhill residents. In fact, most locals didn’t even know about the “death rays” that destroyed metropolitan New York the night before. That is, until they picked up their newspapers Monday, Oct.

Haverhill

Podcast: Haverhill Exchange Club’s Annual Hillie Hunt Sends Teams Scurrying Next Week

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An old-fashioned scavenger hunt, using modern technology, sends teams traveling around town next week in search of the most clues to win. Haverhill Exchange Club’s annual Hillie Hunt offers prizes for first, second and third place as well as for best Halloween costume. There’s also an after-party and 50/50 raffle. Exchange Club member Michael Joy, a recent guest on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program explains participants will be using a phone app. “You just log into the app and then the questions start to pop up.