Haverhill

Planned Sale of Haverhill Nursing Home at Center of Care Controversy

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(Additional photograph below.)

As the state moves to revoke RegalCare of a dozen nursing home licenses following a Boston Globe Spotlight report on debilitating cost cutting, the company’s chief is involved in an effort to buy a nonprofit nursing home in Haverhill. Last June, Covenant Health President and CEO Stephen J. Grubbs told staff the nonprofit planned to sell its 160-bed Penacook Place in downtown Haverhill to Azure Healthcare. Filings at the Secretary of State’s Corporations Division, however, suggest Azriel Lieberman, founder of Azure Healthcare Management, is working with RegalCare CEO Eliyahu Mirlis on the purchase of the Haverhill home. Lieberman is listed as manager of OC Penacook Center, in a filing last November, while Mirlis filed last March to create 150 Water St Realty, a name mirroring the address of Penacook Place.  State Rep. Andy X. Vargas told WHAV Wednesday he is alarmed to see the pair working together.

Region

Trahan Says Federal Home Heating Help Drops Even as Costs Skyrocket

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Congresswoman Lori Trahan said Wednesday there will be fewer federal dollars this year to help residents pay for home heating even as oil costs skyrocket. She said Massachusetts was awarded $142 million through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program or nearly $4 million less than the state’s initial allocation last year, which totaled $146 million. She attributed the drop to expiration of the five-year home heating increase in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Trahan said, “No family in Massachusetts should have to choose between heating their home and affording groceries or medicine. With heating oil prices up nearly 75% from last year, that choice is becoming a reality for far too many households.”

She said the early allocation responds to her request for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to release assistance before the end of the month.

Community Spotlight

‘Get Inky! Get Spooky’ Oct. 24 at Museum of Printing

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Haverhill’s Museum of Printing is offering children a chance to “Get Inky! Get Spooky” Oct. 24. It’s offering Lego printing, cookie decorating and skeleton building as part of a collection of Halloween activities Saturday, Oct. 24, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the museum, 15 Thornton Ave., Haverhill

Required tickets are $23.18 with fee, and include admission to the museum, and available at Eventbrite.

Crime

New York Woman Faces Prostitution-Related Charges Related to Methuen Massage Parlor

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A New York woman, alleged more than a year ago to have managed a Methuen house of prostitution, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to related charges in Essex County Superior Court. At her arraignment, 39-year-old Suping Zhu answered to charges of trafficking a person for sexual servitude, deriving support from prostitution, and keeping a house of prostitution. As WHAV reported more than a year ago, Methuen Police obtained a search warrant to enter Beauty Garden Spa, 5 Wallace St., Methuen, after receiving complaints from nearby resident. Officers said they conducted surveillance and undercover operations. The matter was originally heard in Lawrence District Court.

Haverhill

Northern Essex Community College Plans Women’s Flag Football Program

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Northern Essex Community College is adding women’s flag football to its varsity athletic offerings beginning with practice in the fall of 2027 with competitions the following spring. The fastest growing sport at the collegiate level, the National Junior College Athletic Association will offer a national championship in the sport for the first time at the same time. The Knights are also expected to be taking the field by then on its outdoor athletic complex at the Haverhill campus. “We’re excited to join the growing number of schools to sponsor Women’s Flag Football, and offering new opportunities for women to continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level,” said Knights Athletic Director Dan Blair, adding, “Right now, the sport has its greatest number of participants in Massachusetts within the Merrimack Valley and this will help us tremendously in building our program.”

The college said, girls flag football participation at the high school level has increased nearly 50% over the previous year across the nation and more than 80 high schools in Massachusetts will sponsor the sport in the spring 2027. Participation at the NJCAA has more than doubled since it began recognizing the sport in 2025.

Business Bulletin

Amazon GM Speaker for Merrimack Valley Chamber Annual Dinner

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Amazon’s North Andover general manager addresses Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce members when they convene for the annual awards dinner in Haverhill. Gareth Watkins will be the keynote speaker as Greater Lawrence Family Health Center CEO Zandra Kelley takes the Chamber’s highest honor—the Ralph B. Wilkinson Award. Other award winners are Princeton Properties, Business Development Award; Lawrence Partnership, Community Service Award; and Mary DeDonato and Sal Lupoli Jr., Emerging Leaders Award. The Merrimack Valley Chamber’s annual awards dinner takes place Wednesday, Oct. 28, starting at 5 p.m. with appetizers and 6 p.m. dinner, at Michael’s Function Hall, 12 Alpha St., Haverhill.

Election Central

Question 3 Debate Highlights Disagreements Over Fixing Lack of Competition in Mass. Elections

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by Hallie Claflin, CommonWealth Beacon
October 13, 2026
PERHAPS THE MOST controversial of the nine ballot questions that will appear before Massachusetts voters in November is Question 3, which would replace partisan primaries with all-party primaries for most state, federal, county, and district offices, allowing the two candidates receiving the most votes to advance to the general election. CommonWealth Beacon hosted a debate Tuesday night at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill between Danielle Allen, a Harvard University professor who founded the group advancing the ballot initiative, and Jordan Berg Powers, chair of Voter Rights MA, which is opposing the ballot question. The debate comes as election day nears, and the question draws high-profile supporters and opponents. Former Republican Gov. Charlie Baker and former Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick recently united in favor of the question, while other high-profile figures, including US Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Sen. Ed Markey, have lined up to oppose all-party primaries. A recent CommonWealth Beacon survey conducted by the MassINC Polling Group found that Question 3 had the support of 43 percent of likely voters, with 36 percent opposed and 20 percent undecided.

Haverhill

Haverhill Battles Back-to-Back Fires; One Building Part of Downtown Development

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Haverhill firefighters battled back-to-back fires Tuesday night, one in a vacant downtown building slated for redevelopment, with no injuries reported or residents permanently displaced. Fire Chief Christopher Cesati told WHAV an automatic master box alerted the department at 5:44 p.m. to, what turned out to be, a basement laundry room fire with heavy smoke at Columbia Park apartments, 449 Main St. “They got a quick knock down on it. There was an extensive amount of smoke. They evacuated the building.