Salem

Witches, zombies in Salem turf war

The Salem News reports: Witches accused of zombie abuse.

Police expressed some frustration with the situation and an off-the-record longing for November.

Sounds like a job for Vimes of the City Watch.

Salem witch hearings

The Salem News reports the city licensing board put a local witch on watch for a spell for making alleged online threats against other witches and psychics. The board voted to suspend his witchcraft license for six months - but to belay the punishment if he stays out of double, double toil and trouble for a year.

Salem used to get really fired up over the Fourth

Yoni Appelbaum reports on days of yore when Salem would light massive bonfires to herald July Fourth:

For weeks, volunteers assembled materials, stacking them into a towering pyramid reaching high into the air. Fat hogsheads on the bottom supported row upon row of oily casks, topped with layers of smaller kegs. The pyramid claimed eight thousand barrels; some years, it had forty tiers. At midnight, a bundle of burning rags was run up to the top on wire pulleys, igniting the pile and announcing "that the night has turned into the morning of a new year of liberty."

Summer Camp Shakespeare

Hello U-Hubbers,

I know some of us still have snow on the ground and summer time seems like a far away midsummer night's dream. But I thought I'd throw this out there in case some of you are looking for a summer program for your kid(s) that is a little different/interesting/unique than the average summer camp program.

Rebel Shakespeare Company is located in Salem MA and this year we find our enrollment for July and August is a lot lower than it usually is (ie: by now we're usually full with a waiting list).

So this could be your opportunity if you're looking for something different for the summer activities. Our regular program is for kids aged 9-15, and no acting experience is needed. Everyone is taught, learns, explores, grows. In July we're doing "Romeo and Juliet" with this age group, and in August we're either doing "Hamlet" or "A Comedy of Errors," depending on the enrollment. Our Teen program is doing "The Scottish Play"... ahem, in July. And in August, "The Tempest." The Teen program is usually for kids who have had acting experience, and we take a tour around the north shore and Boston doing 10 shows in a week's time. It's a great adventure.

One Dunkin' Donuts to customers in the blizzard: You morons

Check out the note posted on the door of a Dunkin' Donuts in Salem at the height of the storm.

H/t Aaron Donovan.

Lawsuit charges Salem power plant clearly breaking clean-air law

The Conservation Law Foundation and HealthLink yesterday sued the owner of the Salem power plant, alleging the facility is pumping far more visible pollution into the air than allowed under state and federal regulations.

The two groups allege that the coal and oil plant, owned by Dominion Energy New England has been violating state and federal "opacity" limits - basically how much visible smoke comes out of its stacks - for at least five years, exposing downwind residents to God knows what. The two groups are seeking fines of at least $11 million for the alleged violations.

Read the complaint.

Mulch madness: Tons of mulch erupt in flames, shut down 128

Channel 5 reports on the fire in a storage yard at 95/128 in Peabody.

Photo by the Salem Evening News.

Modern-day Salem witch trial

Hollywood East Connection reports that the latest required Boston-area contestant on a reality show is a woman from Salem who is a witch appearing tomorrow on TLC's "What Not to Wear."

Court gives Salem police right to tell loud-mouthed preachers with megaphones to knock it off on Halloween

The Massachusetts Appeals Court today upheld the disorderly-conduct conviction of a Philadelphia preacher who likes to show up in Salem on Halloween and use a megaphone to demand that revelers repent.