Dozens of local middle and high school students are being honored in the state 2026 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for their artistic and literary work.
The annual awards celebrate artists, photographers and writers in grades 7-12 across the nation. This year alone, more than 12,000 entries were submitted to the Massachusetts contest.
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Beverly Bootstraps and The Salem Pantry have seen a surge in donations and people seeking help over the weekend in anticipation of SNAP payments ending Nov. 1 amid the ongoing government shutdown.
Some of the pressure on local food pantries could ease after Monday, when the Trump administration announced it would pay out about half of regular SNAP benefits this month after two federal judges ruled the administration’s prior decision to stop all SNAP payments was unlawful.
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One person has been rushed to the hospital following a shooting in Beverly, Massachusetts, Saturday night.
Beverly police say they responded to a Simon Street home for a report of shots fired around 7:17 p.m. and found an injured female victim who appeared to have been shot.
The victim, whose name and age have not been released at this time, was initially taken by ambulance before being transported via medical helicopter to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, police said. There was no immediate word on her condition.
Police haven’t announced any arrests but say there is no danger to the public. This is believed to be an isolated incident.
Further information has not been provided, including what led to the shooting. An investigation is active and ongoing by state and local police.
NBC10 Boston has reached out to the Essex County District Attorney’s Office but has not heard back yet.
This developing story will be updated when we learn more.
DANVERS — Municipal leaders from various North Shore communities met Wednesday for the North Shore Chamber of Commerce’s annual State of the Region discussion that was dominated by housing and infrastructure issues.
The breakfast meeting at Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School featured updates about the projects and initiatives underway in each community
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It’s 24 years since that morning in September when a collective America watched in disbelief as within two hours two hijacked passenger planes took down New York City’s two 110-story world trade towers.
By noon, two more hijacked planes went down, first, slamming into the Pentagon headquarters, followed by the forced crash of a fourth plane found incinerated in a field in Pennsylvania, its passengers having perished fighting the hijackers to avert them from their intended target thought to be the Capitol Building.
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SWAMPSCOTT — Rain did not dampen the mood of roughly 1,000 peaceful and boisterous protesters from Swampscott, Lynn, Nahant and Marblehead who turned out to King’s Beach and the Monument Avenue area on Saturday for a No Kings on King’s Beach protest.
Many arrived expressing anger at policies of the second Trump administration, including an immigration crackdown in Los Angeles that has sparked days of protests and the deployment there of the National Guard.
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Numerous North Shore and Cape Ann communities will take part in mass protests planned to be held across the country this Saturday in opposition to President Donald Trump and his administration — the same day the president will host a military parade to celebrate the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary that also falls on Trump’s birthday.
For one, Cape Ann Indivisible plans to stage a protest at Stage Fort Park on Hough Avenue this Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. for a “No Kings” rally in Gloucester.
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Nicky’s of Beverly is not a vegan restaurant. Since 1997 and across two different locations (three years ago they moved to 105th Street and Western), chef-owner Paul Kostopanagiotou has built a formidable following of carnivorous and plant-based eaters alike. A fast-casual neighborhood spot featuring “elevated street food, the restaurant’s massive menu features everything from salads, smoked brisket, filet mignon sliders, Nashville hot chicken, and even a lobster roll.
There’s also Nicky’s version of the Big Baby, an underrated Chicago classic that originated in the South Side, featuring twin beef patties with cheese and topped with grilled onions. Ketchup, mustard, and pickles slide under the patties.
The veganized Big Baby.
Nicky’s has a quite a comfortable space and occassionally hosts live music.
Nicky’s moved here in 2021.
Kostopanagiotou sees an opportunity to introduce non-meat eaters to the specialty. On Friday, November 1, Nicky’s will enthusiastically participate in World Vegan Day with a vegan version of the Big Baby featuring Beyond Meat patties and Daiya dairy-free cheddar taking center stage.
“We’ve been growing the vegan category at the restaurant for years. I just think vegans are a great customer base, and there was a void in the area for that,” Kostopanagiotou says.
While he’s not a vegan himself (though he and his team do enjoy plant-based dishes), he’s made a point of connecting with plant-based eaters in the community, like the Chicago Southside & South Suburban Vegans. “I know some of the founding members and admins. We lean on them a lot as a partnership, as they have suggestions and recommendations and vegan meetups,” Kostopanagiotou explains.
Through those contacts, he’s discovered a variety of plant-based producers, like Good2Go Veggie and Chunk Foods, as well as institutions that help animals. That’s where he learned about the Tiny Hooves Sanctuary, a woman-led nonprofit animal sanctuary located across state lines in Union Grove, Wisconsin. The institution focuses on providing a safe haven — a “forever sanctuary,” as their website calls it — to “abandoned, abused, neglected, and unwanted farm animals while inspiring positive change through the human and animal bond.” Kostopanagiotou said he listened to his local vegan friends when they told him, ‘’This is a solid group — you should look into donating to them.’” On Friday, Nicky’s of Beverly will donate a portion of proceeds from all vegan menu items to the Tiny Hooves Sanctuary.
The Big Baby is a Chicago classic.
Italian beef, gyros, and salads are also on the menu.
The heat lamps can squeeze a little more out of patio season.
A lot of restaurants will simply throw on a veggie burger, fried cauliflower, or maybe a half-hearted pizza to appease vegan diners who happen to wind up there, but investing in the plant-based portion of his menu is something to which Kostopanagiotou is seriously committed. Nicky’s of Beverly offers close to two dozen vegan items, such as a vegan shrimp po boy, vegan nachos, vegan Buffalo chicken salad, a vegan banh mi, and much more. There’s coconut milk-based peanut butter gelato and even a vegan shake.
Kostopanagiotou points out that he develops the vegan part of the menu side-by-side with everything else to make sure there’s plenty to enjoy for everyone. “It just continuously expands, and is creative,” he says. “I’m very mindful as I expand the normal menu that I can do that for the vegan menu also.”
There’s plenty to experience at Nicky’s of Beverly, whether customers like vegan food or not. They also have a weekday happy hour, live music, and a gelato bar.
Welcome to the Scene Report, a new column in which Eater Chicago captures the vibe of a notable Chicago restaurant at a specific moment in time.
Locals can scream to the top of their lungs that Chicago has a distinctive barbecue style, chefs can hold panels, and writers can publish explainers to try to educate and even bridge the North and South Side divide. But Chicago is a city where many are unaware of barbecue history, and it’s not shocking that few outside the 312 and 773 area codes will truly acknowledge aquarium smokers, sticky tomato-based sauces, and tip-link combos.
But a pitmaster must exude confidence without allowing perception or history to distract them from the goal of perfectly smoked meats. The crew at Sanders BBQ Supply Co. have demonstrated their prowess since the restaurant opened in June in Beverly. The restaurant is led by James Sanders, a veteran chef who ran a catering business out of a West Side kitchen and who owned Dirty Birds Southern Kitchen, a restaurant serving chicken and fish.
The smoked meats are delightful, but so are the side dishes.
Sanders pulled Nick Kleutsch off the deck to join the team as pitmaster. Kleutsch soaked up Central Texas’s barbecue culture in Austin before honing his craft in Indiana where he ran a Texas-stye barbecue pop-up called Lucy’s BBQ from a bar in Highland. The Tribunelauded Lucy’s last year. Sanders isn’t a Central Texas operation. They’re an amalgamation of different styles. The team also includes sous chef Nehemiah Holmes and chef Bill Jones. Here’s the scene at Sanders BBQ Supply around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 27.
The prime brisket and ribs are purchased by the pound.
Nick Leutsch is at the carving station with the rest of the crew.
Make sure to grab the spicy and sweet mustard sauce that is packed with cumin.
The wait: Over the weekend, Sanders made an Instagram post apologizing for running out of food. But visit Austin, Kansas City, Memphis, or any barbecue-crazed town and customers risk missing out on specialty items if they show up late. The cure to combat this is to set your alarms or calendar reminders. Sanders opens at 11 a.m. Thursday through Sunday. Parking is a breeze along 99th Street. There’s a slight wait, but it’s fun chatting with customers and sharing ordering strategies. On this particular Saturday, the restaurant wasn’t serving links and that’s clearly communicated on the menu board. It took about 20 minutes from waiting in line, watching staff carve up prime brisket and Texas-style smoked beef ribs, to sitting down and having a food runner drop off an order.
The menu: For all the charm that Chicago’s South and West side barbecue restaurants have to offer, a glance at the food at Sanders shows that diners are in for a different experience. The menu offers both prime brisket and pulled pork by the pound. Chicago barbecue rarely includes so-called beef dino ribs, but for $35 customers can indulge on Saturdays only. These beef ribs are more or less brisket on a bone, and that gives a fattier and more flavorful bite.
The menu with all the goodies.
The chicken wings are smoked and perfectly charred, glazed with a sticky sweet peach tea sauce. The sauce wasn’t my favorite, but once dunked in the cumin-forward mustard sauce — a concoction Kleutsch brought with him from LeRoy & Lewis in Austin, the wings activate into some of the best in the city. There are two kinds of sausage — cajun and jalapeño cheddar.
The sweet tea chicken wings are perfectly cooked.
While customers usually don’t visit a barbecue restaurant for its sides, Sanders’ cornbread and mac and cheese stand on their own.
Fried catfish is also available.
A word about the pork ribs — they’re fantastic and might be the best in Chicago. They’re St. Louis-cut spare ribs. They’re not doused with sauce. Seemingly, the team found a compromise between Chicagoans’s love for saucy food and more traditional dry-rub barbecue. The meat is tender but does not fall off the bone. There’s plenty of bark and the sauce isn’t providing the smoke. It’s the post-oak burned from a 4,600-pound M&M1000 rotisserie smoker. It’s a pure wood smoker without a gas assist. What that means is this is a serious and top-of-the-line machine. As I walked out of the restaurant, a neighbor greeted me and gushed about the ribs. I consented: If I lived nearby my cholesterol would be in trouble. These ribs are divine. I think about them a lot.
The sides, like mac and cheese, are also serious. Sanders serves a sweet potato cornbread with a creamy texture inside. If a customer orders one of the two salads, they’ll be treated to a crispy version as the greens are served with sweet potato cornbread croutons. These croutons are outrageous. The smoked burger also looked formidable, but my stomach was full of spare ribs and brisket. Kleutsch insists it’s the best item on the menu.
These St. Louis-cut pork spare ribs come from Iowa.
The verdict: Sanders BBQ ticks all the boxes. It’s a comfortable place to sit down and enjoy smoked meats. There are two patios with live music. I hear whispers of expansion in the future, but I won’t jinx it. In a city where civic barbecue traditions aren’t celebrated very loudly, Sanders finds itself playing an important role in uniting old and new school philosophies while introducing a whole new generation to a world of tasty barbecue. Sanders has a chance to be one of the best casual restaurants in Chicago, one that customers from all walks of life can enjoy. Even vegetarians — the pulled jackfruit sandwich looks awfully tasty.
Sanders BBQ Supply Co., 1742 W. 99th Street, open 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. — or until they sell out — Wednesday through Sunday.
North Shore communities will commemorate Juneteenth next week with flag raisings and celebrations.
Swampscott, Marblehead, Peabody, Beverly, Lynn, Hamilton and Wenham kicked off the holiday this week with flag raisings at their city and town halls.
Held each June 19, the federal holiday commemorates the official end to slavery in the United States, when on June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to inform more than 250,000 enslaved people of their freedom — two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
The red, white and blue Juneteenth flag will be raised June 17 in Danvers. Starting at 2 p.m. outside Town Hall, Danvers is scheduled to host its fourth annual Juneteenth celebration featuring singing, poetry and an address by Northshore Juneteenth Association founder Nicole McClain. The event will be followed by a dialogue and viewing of a documentary about Race Amity Day at the Gordon room of the Peabody Institute Library.
The flag will be raised in Salem’s Riley Plaza at noon June 18 during the city’s Juneteenth Jam that runs from noon-5 p.m. that day.
Community members can take part in a public reading of Frederick Douglass’s speech, “The Meaning Of The Fourth Of July For The Negro,” led by McClain.
Games, activities, crafts, face painting, music and food from Ray Adea’s will be available following the flag raising. Salem Historical Tours will give a free Black history walking tour of Salem starting at 2 p.m. from Riley Plaza.
The tour is expected to last 90 minutes. Participants can sign up on a first-come, first-serve basis the day of the event.
At 8:30 p.m., the Salem Common Neighborhood Association will host a free screening of Disney’s 2018 hit “Black Panther” at the Common.
Salem received a grant from Mass Humanities to expand its annual Juneteenth flag raising into this year’s event, in collaboration with the North Shore Juneteenth Association, the city said in a statement.
“Thanks to the work from members of the mayor’s office staff along with the consultation of North Shore Juneteenth, this year’s ceremony will be thoughtful, fun, and allow our community to come together to celebrate,” Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo said in the prepared statement.
In Beverly, The Cabot Theatre will host a free screening of Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Ava DuVernay’s new film, “Origin,” at 7 p.m. on June 18. A community conversation about the film will be hosted at The Cabot the next day at 7 p.m.
Then, on Friday, June 21, Doreen Wade of Salem United Inc. and McClain will launch their inaugural racial communication forum, “Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Modern Day Feelings of Racism and Inequity.” The public discussion will start at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the National Parks Service, Salem Armory Visitor Center, 2 New Liberty St. in Salem.
Bill and Juliet share their insights on the most pivotal episodes throughout Brenda and Brandon’s season-long MVP run before breaking down the tumultuous Mardi Gras finale in full
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SALEM, Mass. — Two local mayors, Massachusetts Division of Banks staffers, FDIC examiners and others will volunteer at Institution for Savings’ 14th annual Credit for Life Fair on Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon at Salem State University’s O’Keefe Sports Complex.
One-hundred forty bank and community volunteers will join more than 1,100 juniors from 14 area schools, including Amesbury, Newburyport, Triton Regional, Pentucket Regional, Ipswich, Georgetown, Masconomet Regional, Hamilton-Wenham Regional, Salem, Swampscott, Beverly, Rockport and Gloucester high schools as well as Landmark School in Beverly. The goal is to help students develop personal budgeting skills they will use throughout their lives.
Utilizing the bank’s Credit for Life website, creditforlife.org, students will create profiles on their mobile devices and choose professions. Using the website and their devices, they will visit 12 booths and purchase everything they would need to live as 25-year-olds using their monthly paycheck, savings account and/or a credit card.
The website was the result of a 2020 collaboration between seven of Massachusetts’ leading banks that in addition to Newburyport-based Institution for Savings, included Cape Cod Five, Rockland Trust, Harbor One, BayCoast Bank, Country Bank, Westfield Bank and The Savings Bank.
The banks, along with nonprofit FitMoney, pooled financial and informational resources to develop the online site, which has been used by tens of thousands of students throughout Massachusetts and beyond. The site has been improved each year, and this year includes translation to Spanish and Portuguese.
Despite a longstanding record of providing high academic achievement, Massachusetts has not been as successful with mandating financial education.
A recently published opinion piece says Massachusetts is now one of 25 states that guarantee a standalone half-credit course in financial literacy for high school students before graduation or is implementing such a policy, according to Nex Gen Personal Finance, a nonprofit that provides free personal finance curriculum. In fact, only 17 districts in Massachusetts require a financial literacy course to graduate high school.
“The goal of the fair is to help empower students to be proactive about their financial futures by beginning to develop sound personal finance habits,” said Michael J. Jones, Institution for Savings’ president and CEO.
“Each year, we hear from parents and teachers after the event that they wish this had been around when they were in school,” Jones added. “We are glad to host this event every year – it is invaluable to these students and information they will use throughout the lives.”
Local community volunteers include Amesbury Mayor Kassandra Gove and Newburyport Mayor Sean Reardon, North Shore Chamber CEO Karen Andreas, representatives from the FDIC and Massachusetts Division of Banks and many others, including 50 Institution for Savings employees.
Two bonus booths are also included: Money Smarts and Safety and Security. Money Smarts will provide students with information about timely teen finance topics, including about paychecks and taxes, check writing, mobile payment apps and the latest scams and fraud threatening teens and young adults.
Safety and Security, staffed by local public safety and law enforcement, will focus on important issues to keep young adults safe, such as texting and avoiding substance use while driving and having smoke detectors in living spaces.
The event receives high marks annually from schools, parents and volunteers, many of the latter whom come back each year to participate, according to organizers.
“The level to which the bank has taken this event is outstanding and unequaled by any other event I have attended,” said Rodi Adema, a FDIC field supervisor who has volunteered at the fair for multiple years.
Rachel Lindsay, Callie Curry, and Jodi Walker break down ‘Summer House,’ the ‘Real Housewives of Miami’ Season 6 reunion, and the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 13 reunion
Rachel Lindsay and Callie Curry begin today’s Morally Corrupt with a breakdown of Summer House, Season 8, Episode 4 (4:21), before getting into the conclusion of the Real Housewives of Miami Season 6 reunion (24:20). Then, Rachel is joined by Jodi Walker to discuss the end of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 13 reunion (30:45) and Season 11, Episode 7 of Vanderpump Rules (51:39)
PEOPLEGreg Stevens was recently announced as the new president at Cabot Wealth Management. Rob Lutts and the firm’s managing partners made the announcement last week. It was effective Jan. 1. Stevens has been with Cabot for 20 years and has been instrumental in managing the growth and success of the firm over those years. He takes over the role of president from Lutts who founded the firm in 1983. Lutts will remain with Cabot as part of the management team. “I am confident that Greg will be a solid leader for the firm and, along with other senior leadership, will continue to ensure that our key focus is the same as it has been for 40 years — doing everything we can to help our clients achieve their goals,” said Lutts. The firm, based in Salem, is a leading wealth management firm that provides a wide range of services including investment management, financial planning, estate planning, tax filing and planning. Cabot is a national firm that serves clients across the country.
Aubrie L. Gallagher recently joined Downey Law Group, LLC/DLG Closing to its law practice based in Topsfield and Haverhill. Gallagher is an experienced estate planning, probate, and trust administration attorney, having practiced as a solo practitioner for over 10 years. An Amesbury native, she graduated from Massachusetts School of Law in 2011. She comes from three generations of estate planning and probate attorneys, following in the footsteps of her mother, attorney Janice Weyland Sinclair, and her grandfather, attorney Wendell P. Weyland, who was a CPA and estate attorney in the Topsfield/Boxford area. Gallagher lives in Amesbury with her husband and family.
Hancock Associates, a leading provider of land surveying, civil engineering and wetland science services, has announced the semi-retirement of Don Frydryk PE, PLS. Frydryk joined Hancock Associates, which has offices in Danvers, as a Regional Office Manager when the firm acquired Sherman & Frydryk, LLC, a land surveying and civil engineering firm located in Palmer. He will continue in a smaller, part-time role as Business Development Coordinator and focus on business development for Hancock’s western Massachusetts offices and mentoring staff.
MILESTONESConnolly Brothers Inc., a construction management firm based in Beverly, recently completed a 52,000-square-foot design-build fit-up project for Calare Properties. The facility, located in Milford, will serve as a new state 911 Public Safety Answering Point, State 911 Training Center, Municipal Police Training Committee Academy and offices for the Massachusetts Department of Correction Professional Standards Unit. The two-story building was vacant for seven years, presenting challenges for Connolly’s design team. At first, it was critical to ascertain an understanding of the existing infrastructure, such as underground plumbing and structural components. Connolly proceeded to update the structural requirements, such as reinforcing second-floor and roof bar joists, strengthening steel column brace frames and creating four new grade beams, in order to meet updated building code requirements for use group risk category of the building. Connolly provided additional accessible entrances and replaced the exterior stairs with new granite. The electrical requirements to support the 911 Communication Center required a high level of coordination between Connolly’s design and construction teams, as this included design of 22 workstation consoles that support the intricate technological infrastructure needed to support the operating requirements for a 911 emergency dispatch center. Connolly served as both Architect of Record and Construction Manager for this design-build project. The project team also included Platinum Fire Protection, D+D/DNET and Tech Mechanical.
Rachel Lindsay and Jodi Walker begin this week’s Morally Corrupt by dissecting the idiotic comments made by Sandoval in his interview with The New York Times magazine (1:10). Then they launch into a recap of Vanderpump Rules Season 11, Episode 4 (12:30) and discuss the Season 13 finale of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (25:18), before Rachel is joined by Callie Curry to break down The Real Housewives of Miami Season 6 finale (41:26) and the Season 8 premiere of Summer House (54:25).
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