Merrimack Valley Newsmakers

WHAV Staff
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  • Updated Biweekly

Thought-provoking words from the Merrimack Valley's most influential voices in education, politics, environment and more, as heard exclusively over 97.9 WHAV FM.

  1. Jul 27

    Moulton Spells Out Differences in U.S. Senate Run, Says Feds Can Help Haverhill

    U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton says he believes the federal government will come through for Haverhill to fix infrastructure and, with his help, continue to make good on health and education. Moulton, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to run for Senate against incumbent. Edward J. Markey, expressed his confidence and answered questions during a live interview Friday on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program. Following Haverhill’s force main sewer failure, Moulton and 5th District Congresswoman Lori Trahan, proposed raising the ceiling on federal money to upgrade Haverhill’s wastewater infrastructure from $40 million to $50 million. Moulton said he is confident the federal government would come to the rescue. “Haverhill residents can’t take care of this on your own. You need help. This is exactly what you should expect the federal government to do,” Moulton said, adding this situation is proof Congress “can get things down” even in a “divided environment.” Moulton, 47, is pitching himself as the young progressive choice against Markey, who is 80. On a question about what he would do as a senator to ensure Haverhill gets its fair share of federal help for healthcare, schools and other social programs, Moulton touted his success in bringing $2 billion in federal funding to the city of Lynn. “Well, you know I’ve already delivered $2 billion to the City of Lynn. Imagine what $2 billion would do for Haverhill. That’s the kind of hard work that I’ve been putting in in Washington for 10 years. So, I know how the system works,” Moulton argued. Moulton added, in his opinion more money must be earmarked for vocational education because the jobs are waiting and students are clamoring for seats in vocational programs. “A lot of kids, for example, want to go to vocational school right now because they know that being an electrician or plumber is not a job that will get automated out of existence by AI. But we’re not giving enough opportunities for kids to get a vocational education,” he observed. Asked whether terminology he used in 2024 to describe transgender individuals was insensitive when he said he doesn’t want his daughters “getting run over by on the playing field by a male or formerly male athlete,” Moulton said the quotation was taken out of context. “I have a 100% voting record on this issue. And I recognize that a lot of transgender people are getting attacked right now by this administration. But in fairness you cut off half my quote. What I said is that as a Democrat we’re not even allowed to discuss these issues and that’s wrong,” Moulton fired back. Moulton said he thinks it is healthier for the party to raise contentious issues and not be afraid to debate them, that in those discussions, support emerges. “We ought to lead that discussion as Democrats. We should not cede that territory to the Republicans which is what we have been doing for far too long,” Moulton argued. Moulton was first elected to the House of Representatives from the 6th Congressional District in 2015 and is in his sixth term. Markey was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1976 following a stint in the state Legislature. He was elected as one of Massachusetts’s two senators in 2013. He is in his third term. Moulton faces Markey in the Tuesday, Sept. 1, state primary. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mail in ballots may be requested by calling the Haverhill city clerk’s office at 978-374-2312. The last day to request a vote-by-mail ballot is Tuesday, Aug. 25.  In-person early voting at Haverhill City Hall begins Saturday, Aug. 22, and runs through Friday, Aug. 28. The full schedule is available on the city website at HaverhillMA.gov. WHAV is reaching out to all candidates to outline their positions in advance of their respective, contested elections. Support the show

  2. Jul 17

    Haverhill Police Uses 3 Drones to Better Move Traffic, Possibly Save Lives

    Haverhill Police are using drones to assist traffic navigation and these could also soon be used to quickly get life preservers to potential drowning victims. Police Capt. Garrett Sarfde, appearing recently on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” show, shared what three new drones will achieve for the department. Haverhill Police first used the drones for the fourth of July fireworks ceremony, July 3, to monitor traffic and public safety. He explained how the drones helped ease the flow of traffic leaving the show. “Logistically, getting everybody out of the area when the fireworks end has always been a little bit of a challenge. This year was probably the fastest that we got people out of there because we were able to put the drone above the intersections and determine the best route to send people and make sure that people were getting onto the rout that they needed to get to,” Sarfde said. The drones, which are approximately 24 to 30 inches across, are the same type used by the U.S. military. Capabilities include thermal heat sensing, speakers that can sound pre-recorded messages and carry on one-way communication. Additionally, drones will soon be fitted with self-inflating life preservers to stop potential drowning accidents. Sarfde is one of eight trained drone pilots at Haverhill Police. He discussed the how the department plans to keep drone operators safe. “We’ll have continuing practice, continuing training, quarterly trainings with all the drone operators. Making sure that their skills are up to date, making sure that they know what they’re doing from day to day, Sarfde said. “It’s a perishable skill so if you’re not using it day to day to day, it can become a little more challenging,” he added. Sarfde explained Haverhill Police have been in communication with Amesbury and Merrimac Police for direction on how to best use the drones as they also have similar technology. The police department also communicates with Lawrence Municipal Airport when the drones are in use to ensure no interference in flights. Support the show

  3. Jul 7

    Police Capt. Landry Speaks on Often-Overlooked Summer Dangers

    Haverhill Police Capt. Jamie Landry urges people to be safe especially with an influx of e-bikes and scooters and extreme heat are presenting dangers. Appearing live recently on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” morning show, Landry says he’s seen many more e-bikes, scooters and other recreational vehicles on public ways. He calls for people to tell their kids about the dangers of riding in traffic. “Kids, they just don’t get how dangerous it can be weaving in and out of traffic, and whether they just don’t get it or whether they don’t care, we need to start getting serious about educating these kids and coming up with a plan with the legislature and the city to up with some enforcement options for this,” he says. He suggested that children stay to the side of the road and wear protective equipment when riding. He offered further advice. “Be aware of everything around you, the cars the pedestrians, you have to be careful out there. Follow the intersections. If there’s a stop sign you should stop. If there’s a red-light you should stop. If you’re at a crosswalk and there’s a no-walk sign you should stop. We all have to watch out for each other and be as safe as we can be out there on the roads,” Landry adds. Landry discussed the Haverhill Police Department’s efforts to create a safer city, listing Plug Pond as another activity closely monitored this time of year. He explained what often leads to people falling into trouble at Plug Pond. “Especially this time of year when it’s super hot, people want to get in the cool water to refresh whether they can swim or not,” Landry said. “Make sure that you’re paying attention to each other, and make sure that there’s a lifeguard on duty, watch out for each other,” he added. He discussed the dangers of fireworks and sparklers adding, “We want to remind people that fireworks are not legal in the state. Please don’t use them.” Suggesting that people go to local events in the Merrimack Valley to see firework displays, instead of using them at home. Support the show

  4. Jun 25

    Stem Haverhill’s CEO Marches on Following Cancer Scare

    Caroline Pineau, owner and CEO of Stem, a Haverhill cannabis retailer, recently shared her story of navigating the struggles of breast cancer, while managing a company. She appeared on WHAV’s morning program. Pineau explained, after being diagnosed last October, she underwent a double mastectomy to avoid chemotherapy and radiation treatments. She was encouraged by medical professionals to have an early mammogram due to breast cancer running in her family. Pineau said her thankfulness in catching the cancer early saying, “I was grateful that early detection allowed me to have more options in my treatment,” said Pineau. “If there’s one thing that I could empower women to do more is to be more on top of early detection when it comes to your breast care health,” she added. Despite Pineau’s cancer scare, she continues her work as Stem launched a campaign to collect signatures to allow on-premise cannabis consumption in Haverhill. Explaining, Stem will need 4,700 signatures from registered Haverhill voters in order to get its question on the November ballot. Stem was looking to collect signatures at CiderFeast last Thursday, June 18, and again Wednesday night at the Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce, where Stem had a “community education evening” to answer question from potential supporters. Stem is also hosting its fifth annual Green Goddess Invitational golf tournament on Oct. 26, at Renaissance Golf Club in Haverhill to support early detection breast cancer advocacy and support for women facing cancer diagnoses. Pineau described how Stem sees itself contributing not just to the community of marijuana users in the city but to Haverhill as a whole, “We have a vision for Haverhill as a thriving community where small businesses can flourish and contribute to the local economy. So, we really see social consumption as a way to create more jobs, boost local businesses and foster a sense of community here in Haverhill.” She added, “We really believe this can help bring more vibrancy to Haverhill’s downtown.” Pineau remarked on Haverhill’s desire to have a 18-hour economy, believing that Stem can be a contributing factor in this endeavor. Currently, Stem is breaking ground on phase two of its construction to turn its 124 Washington St. building’s third and fourth floors and roof into a cannabis lounge. The building within the Washington Street Shoe District, was built in 1876, prior to the Great Fire of 1882. Pineau said she believes the location was “born to be a cannabis building.” Stem has hearings scheduled Wednesday, July 8, before the Planning Board and Tuesday, July 14, before the City Council. Support the show

  5. Jun 17

    Historic New England to Open Haverhill Center with ‘Shoe Stories’

    Historic New England plans to open its long-awaited preservation and collections center a week from Saturday with “Shoe Stories: Part, Present, Future” as its opening exhibit along with a day of free activities for the public. The nonprofit, which operates 38 museums across the region, began housing its collections in 1988 within a former shoe manufacturing building in Haverhill. It went on to buy the building and its twin, spurring plans in 2023 for a history center. Vin Cipolla, president and CEO of Historic New England, appeared recently on WHAV and outlined the plans. “Historic New England owns twin former shoe manufacturing buildings on Essex Street, 151 Essex and 143 Essex. And we have made a major investment. And the entire first floor of one of those historic buildings will be the new Historic New England Haverhill Center,” Cipolla said. The ribbon cutting is Saturday, June 27, at 11 a.m., followed by a block party at noon on Essex Street. Historic New England Curator Michelle Tolini Finamore leada a guided gallery walk of “Shoe Stories: Part, Present, Future,” at noon. A question-and-answer session on the Historic New England Haverhill Immersive Experience follows at 12:30 p.m. The Innovators Series launches at 1:30 p.m. with a conversation on the future of shoe design hosted by Finamore and including shoe designers Thom Solo, Yuly Fuentes-Medel and Kelly Chickering. The winners of the Stuart Weitzman Heart & Sole Teen Shoe Design competition will be announced after the lecture. The day concludes with a hip-hop dance performance at 3 p.m. by the Floor Lords, followed by an interactive hip-hop dance for kids led by the group. Historic New England bought the Lang building in 2006 to store its more than 125,000 New England decorative arts and 1.5 million historic documents. In 2023, the nonprofit bought the adjacent Burgess building which allowed it to imagine the site as a cultural hub. Haverhill architect Charles Willis Damon designed the two eight-story buildings in 1912 for bankers William H. Burgess and Howard W. Lang of Boston. They were the largest concrete shoe factories in the world at that time. Historic New England hired DesignLab Architects of Boston to design the exhibition space located in the Burgess building at 143 Essex St. Three other architecture firms, TenBerke, Brandon Haw Architecture and Howeler + Yoon, have been asked to come up with ideas for a cohesive cultural campus that Historic New England plans to develop in the coming years. The Shoe Stories exhibit includes footwear designed for Boston Ballet Company principal Diana Albrecht, Beyoncé, Julia Childs and Walter Gropius. Designers include Chris Donovan, Gucci, Sarah Guerin, Viktoria Modesta, Thom Sol, Louis Vuitton and Stuart Weitzman. The exhibit is divided into five sections: The New England Shoe Industry, Artful Accessories, All Seasons Sporting and A Family Recipe: Seymour and Stuart Weitzman and Workers Stories. Curating the exhibit with Finamore is Nora Ellen Carleson and Lorna Condon, both on the staff of Historic New England. The center will be open Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, from noon to 5 p.m. and Fridays, from noon to 8 p.m. “Obviously, we are really dialing into the extraordinary shoe manufacturing legacy of Haverhill and the Merrimack Valley region and beyond. And the objects that will be in the exhibition center for the Shoe Stories exhibit are just going to be extraordinary and delightful,” Cipolla said. Founded in 1910 as the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, Historic New England owns 38 historic properties in New England, 11 in Essex County. Support the show

  6. Jun 3

    Haverhill Schools Win National Recognition for Faster Progress

    Haverhill Public Schools recently won national recognition as one of 192 districts in 38 states whose students have improved significantly faster in math than peer schools. The award called “Districts on the Rise” is a collaboration of the Harvard University Center for Education Policy Research and the Stanford University Educational Opportunity Project along with faculty at Dartmouth College. Haverhill School Superintendent Margaret Marotta talked recently about the honor on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program. She explained how the Education Scorecard is computed. “They take every school district across the country, all public school districts, and they look at their test scores, they look at their NAEP, the National Educational Progress Assessment, and they look at your standardized test scores and your attendance scores,” Marotta explained. The partnership has produced its Education Scorecard for the last four years. The most recent report analyzed national student achievement trends for approximately 35 million students in grades three to eight, from 2022 through 2025. Eleven states were not included due to data limitations. The Beverly, Braintree, Reading, Scituate and Westfield school systems also received the honor for their students’ progress in math. Other Massachusetts schools honored were Cambridge, for both reading and math progress, and Duxbury, Lexington, Mansfield, Plymouth, Salem, Sharon and Weymouth for reading progress. Marotta credited both the adoption of a new math curriculum as well as the hard work of teachers in implementing it for the recognition. “We’ve been changing up the curriculum, trying to improve things over in the last couple of years, and it is paying off. But it was definitely our teachers and their hard work and learning curve,” Marotta said. Haverhill was also called out by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as a statewide Spotlight District during a recent education conference in Washington, D.C., for its implementation of a new literacy curriculum at the high school. Specifically, DESE said, Haverhill has been effective in providing coaching to high school teachers as they introduce the new reading supports in their classrooms. The coaching has helped the teacher feel more engaged and less overwhelmed, DESE reported. Support the show

  7. May 20

    Haverhill Preps for Memorial Day with Event Lineup Starting Friday

    Memorial Day observances are scheduled throughout Haverhill in the lead up to the holiday itself, next Monday. Jeffrey Hollett, Haverhill’s veteran services director, gave an overview of upcoming Memorial Day-related happenings during a recent appearance on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program. He said this year’s theme is “What Does Memorial Day Mean to You?” “I would like to see Memorial Day Week become a week of events every single day of the week prior to,” Hollett said. This Friday, May 22, students at the John C. Tilton School on Grove Street will hold the school’s Annual Memorial Day Ceremony at 1:30 p.m. Veterans, families and friends have been invited to the tribute which includes a student concert. On Saturday, May 23, veterans, scouting and other youth groups, services clubs and allies are gathering at 9 a.m., at the Haverhill AmVets Post 147, 576 Primrose St. The post is the staging area for those who are placing small American flags on veterans’ graves buried within Haverhill’s 17 cemeteries. Hollett said for many this rite has become an annual tradition. “We’ve purchased over 8,000 flags this year. We have plans to put out over 8,000 flags. We can’t do that without volunteers,” Hollett said. On Sunday, May 24, church bells across the city will ring at noon as part of the national “Ring For the Fallen” tribute. Hollett notes this ritual has been adopted by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation as a way of honoring firefighters who have died in the line of service as well. Haverhill’s Annual Memorial Day Parade step off Monday, at 10:45 a.m., from the Haverhill Firefighting Museum, 75 Kenoza Ave. Those marching are asked gather at 10 a.m. The parade will march to Linwood Cemetery, 41 John Ward Ave., where the Memorial Day ceremony will take place. The AmVets host lunch following the ceremony at the post, 576 Primrose St. The city’s Memorial Day activities conclude with the National Moment of Silence at 3 p.m., Monday, May 25. Anyone with a bell is asked to ring it for 21 seconds beginning at 2:59 p.m. Then, at 3 p.m., the moment of silence commences for 21 seconds. Hollett is also encouraging veterans to take part in the Memorial Day Creative Sanctuary. The online program encourages anyone inspired by the solemnity of the day to submit an essay or poem to Mission Belonging’s website. The organization’s “Writing in the Arena” provides a place “to explore identity and to find purpose and meaning following military service through creativity and shared experience.” Those interested in participating may visit MissionBelonging.org. Hollett also asked that other city organizations planning an observance let him know by calling his office at 978-374-2351, ext. 3932. Support the show

  8. Apr 9

    Podcast: Northern Essex Community College Seeks Student Support on 5th Annual Giving Day

    Northern Essex Community College is celebrating its Fifth Annual Giving Day with a 24-hour push to replenish its NECC Fund. It is also getting ready for its Fourth Annual Impact Awards Event. Shana Murrell, the college’s director of alumni relations and annual giving recently appeared on WHAV’s morning program to explain how the fundraiser works and how donations meet student needs. The blitz, scheduled for today, April 9, aims to unite alumni, staff, students and friends in a common goal of supporting the college and its students, Murrell said. The first Giving Day in 2022 raised $34,000 from just over 200 donors. That was the largest single-day fundraising effort in the college’s history.  (CUT: murrell-as-they-come.wav) “Essentially, our NECC Fund allows us to have the flexibility to fund different needs for the college. So, we’re very excited to have the opportunity to have that fund available so that we can meet the needs of our students as they come,” Murrell said.  Among programs the college supports through its NECC Fund is the Internship Stipend Program. Murrell said because so many Northern Essex students work part time while they are also attending classes, it can be difficult to give up a paying job to take an unpaid internship. (CUT: murrell-program-of-study.wav) “An internship stipend helps a student to be able to make up some of that income they may have had to give up while they are participating in a valuable internship that may be related to their major and program of study,” Murrell explained. Contributions to the NECC Giving Day can be made on NECC.edu. Lane A. Glenn, college president, also recently appeared on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” to talk about another college fundraiser. The college’s Fourth Annual Impact Awards is happening Wednesday, May 6. As WHAV reported in February, five awards will be given. The Community Partner Award will go to the Merrimack Valley Transit Authority, while the Outstanding Alumnus Award goes to former state Rep. Michael Costello, a member of the class of 2012; Philanthropy and Volunteerism Award to Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation and Senior Program Officer Marjorie Ringrose; and Public Service and Advocacy Award to Essex County Sheriff Kevin F. Coppinger.  (CUT: glenn-have-seats-available.wav) “You’ll be happy to know, or some of the listeners might be happy to know, there’s still room for sponsors at the Impact Awards. We have sponsorships available. We have got some seats available,” Glenn said.  Impact Awards tickets are $150 each and available at NECC.edu. Support the show

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About

Thought-provoking words from the Merrimack Valley's most influential voices in education, politics, environment and more, as heard exclusively over 97.9 WHAV FM.

Information

  • Creator
    WHAV Staff
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    295
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Public Media of New England Inc.
  • Show Website
    Merrimack Valley Newsmakers