Amy Palmer

Recent Work

The Local News (Ipswich/Rowley, Topsfield/Boxford) •

Ipswich Woman Starts Educational Scholarship with Spinal Cord Injury Group in Boston

IPSWICH — On October 12, 2004, resident Linda Riley and her husband, Steve, were driving back from a visit with friends in Canada when the unthinkable happened. Roughly two hours into their trip home, at around 9:30 a.m., their car went off the road, rolling down an 18-inch drop onto a pile of concrete rubble. Ten days later, Riley woke up from a coma. She was paralyzed from the breastbone down, and her sister told her that Steve had died almost immediately after the crash. He was 50 years old.“...
The Local News (Ipswich/Rowley, Topsfield/Boxford) •

"Nothing Will Ever Top This": Ed Sheeran Treats Fans to once-in-a-lifetime Experience in Downtown Ipswich

IPSWICH — Ed Sheeran hit all the right notes during his Friday visit to Ipswich.In town for a music video shoot and the opening of his pop-up pub, the Old Phone, Sheeran showed Ipswich that he’s a down-to-earth crowd-pleaser — a trait that you might not expect from a star of his magnitude.Surrounded by a dozen police officers, Sheeran emerged from behind EBSCO’s Old Mill building, where his temporary pub is located, at around 1 p.m. But he didn’t let the protective bu...
The Local News (Ipswich/Rowley, Topsfield/Boxford) •

Rowley to Pay $14 Million for Triton, Clashes with School Committee over $54 Million Budget

ROWLEY — The town must pay roughly $14 million for Triton in the upcoming fiscal year (FY26).Last week, the Triton School Committee approved its $54 million budget for FY26. This represents an increase of roughly $2.4 million, or 4.4%, from last year.Rowley’s required payment increased by $951,278, or 7.09%, from FY25, according to the Triton final operating budget. FY26 will be the most challenging fiscal year in Rowley’s recent history, according to finance committee chair Dennis Roy, with add...
The Local News (Ipswich/Rowley, Topsfield/Boxford) •

“Make Compassion Great Again”: More Than 200 Show Up to Protest on International Women’s Day

IPSWICH — Downtown Ipswich was alive and beating with the thrum of protest on Saturday afternoon. More than 200 people packed the lawns at Five Corners on the deceptively frigid March day to protest President Donald Trump’s administration and billionaire Elon Musk’s major funding cuts to the federal government. “We won’t go back! We won’t go back!” the crowd chanted.The rally, organized by Ipswich’s Carol Bousquet, was one of hundreds that took place across the country on this International Women...
The Local News (Ipswich/Rowley, Topsfield/Boxford) •

Danvers Man Charged with Breaking and Entering Newburyport District Court

NEWBURYPORT — A Danvers man has been charged with breaking and entering Newburyport District Court at night on March 11.Kenneth Donis, 53, appeared in court on March 12 for the felony charge, according to court documents. He was also charged with vandalizing property, which is also a felony, and trespassing on state property, which is a misdemeanor, records said.  Donis was allegedly caught on video footage entering Newburyport District Court at 11:57 p.m., according to police reports. The build...
The Local News (Ipswich/Rowley, Topsfield/Boxford) •

“We Took an Oath … and It’s the Law”: Selectmen Say Rowley Must Vote on 3A Again

ROWLEY — Rowley will vote on 3A once again. And this time, the board of selectmen said the town has to comply.“In light of the SJC’s decision and what’s come out, we don’t have a choice,” vice chair Sheri David said on Monday night.The Supreme Judicial Court upheld the controversial multifamily zoning law on January 8 and ruled that the state has the power to enforce it. Any community that fails to comply will lose access to certain state grants and will almost certainly face a lawsuit from the...

Community Coverage

Relevant and timely people-centered reporting

The Local News (Ipswich/Rowley, Topsfield/Boxford) •

Rowley Scoutmaster Earns His Retirement Badge

ROWLEY — It was the end of April 2001, and George Pacenka Jr. was lying in a hospital bed down in Boston. He had contracted a nasty bacterial infection in his right leg, and the doctor had to amputate it just below the knee.Pacenka remembers lying there, unsure of what would come next, when two of his Boy Scouts suddenly appeared at his bedside.They traveled all the way from Rowley with a question that couldn’t wait: Could they take him to summer camp?The troop was set to go to camp in July, and...
The Local News (Ipswich/Rowley, Topsfield/Boxford) •

Ipswich Native Krystelle Bamford Explores the Dark Side of Inheritance in Debut Novel Idle Grounds

IPSWICH — Something sinister lurks in the woods, just beyond the trees that surround one Ipswich home. On a bright and clear June day, a band of cousins sets out to explore these woods in search of one of their own, who has mysteriously disappeared. It was the 1980s — before the age of cellphones — when children roamed free and parents only expected them to return before dark.This is the premise of Krystelle Bamford’s debut novel, Idle Grounds. It is also the world Bamford grew up in — save for...
The Local News (Ipswich/Rowley, Topsfield/Boxford) •

Case Closed: This Court Officer Has Retired!

IPSWICH — When Michele Gaeta began her career as a court officer in 1987, she was one of five female court officers in all of Essex County, she said. At the time, there were probably about 100 court officers in the county, according to her estimates.Working in such a male-dominated environment certainly had its challenges, Gaeta said. “It wasn’t easy all the time working in a ‘man’s world.’”She can easily recall walking into a room and being the only woman there, listening to male officers discus...
The Local News (Ipswich/Rowley, Topsfield/Boxford) •

Miniature Clam Box Earns Major Recognition

IPSWICH — Richard Josselyn has been a loyal patron of the Clam Box for more than 30 years.He visits every spring and fall, to avoid the summer crowds, and orders his signature dish: a plate of fried clams and scallops served with a side of onion rings and coleslaw. Josselyn likes the Clam Box so much that he decided to create one of his own. In the unfinished basement of his Andover home, he spent nearly 30 hours crafting a miniature replica from scratch, using pictures from his last trip as a r...
The Local News (Ipswich/Rowley, Topsfield/Boxford) •

A Reporter at the Pulpit: Rowley’s New Reverend Balances Faith and Journalism

ROWLEY — More than a decade ago, Rev. Jeff MacDonald spent months in a courtroom for the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bomber. He wasn’t there for the reasons you might expect. He wasn’t counseling the defendant or any of the victims, and he wasn’t serving as a juror or a witness. MacDonald was there as a reporter for USA Today. He covered the Boston Marathon bombing from the day of the attack through Tsarnaev’s trial, during which he was found guilty on all 30 federal counts a...

Local politics

Critical coverage of decisions that shape the community

The Local News (Ipswich/Rowley, Topsfield/Boxford) •

Major Water and Wastewater Projects to Place “Tremendous Burden” on Ipswich Rate-Payers

IPSWICH — When water and wastewater director Vicki Halmen made her budget requests to the finance committee, she warned that major projects — such as the water treatment plant replacement — will place a heavy financial burden on the town’s rate-payers.“[Our operating and managing budget] is mostly pretty consistent, but our capital improvements are vast and expensive and are a tremendous burden on the rate-payers,” Halmen said.Because the water and wastewater departments are entirely funded by t...
The Local News (Ipswich/Rowley, Topsfield/Boxford) •

Rowley Withdraws from Regional Law Enforcement Agreement

ROWLEY — The Rowley selectmen voted to withdraw from a regional mutual aid law enforcement agreement last week. The North Eastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (NEMLEC) Agreement, established in 1963, coordinates the sharing of resources, services, and personnel among member police agencies to enhance public safety. There are 54 municipalities in the agreement, according to NEMLEC’s website. Rowley joined NEMLEC under retired chief Kevin Barry. At the time, the state police were facing bu...
The Local News (Ipswich/Rowley, Topsfield/Boxford) •

Trifecta: MSBA Invites Ipswich, Triton, and Whittier Tech into Funding Process

ESSEX COUNTY — The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) board of directors voted unanimously to invite the Ipswich, Triton, and Whittier Tech school districts into the state agency’s school building program.A total of 22 schools were invited to join the 270-day eligibility period, which kicks off the MSBA’s funding process. During this phase, the MSBA will assess whether each district “is ready to manage and fund a capital project,” identify planning and bu...
The Local News (Ipswich/Rowley, Topsfield/Boxford) •

Rowley Marketplace Alters Accessible Parking Spaces Amid Safety Concerns from Officials

ROWLEY — Last month, two town officials watched an elderly man struggle to exit a accessible parking space at the Rowley Market Basket. The man was trying to cross over an island surrounded by granite curbs just outside of his car. He was very unsteady and relied on a cane, they said.“This poor man. It was just [like] waiting for something bad to happen, because he had to keep getting up on the curb and off the curb, up on the curb and off the curb,” said Sheri David, vice chair of the selectmen....
The Local News (Ipswich/Rowley, Topsfield/Boxford) •

Rowley Refuses to Sign on to Whittier/NECC Working Group

ROWLEY — Rowley selectmen have refused to sign a memorandum supporting the Whittier Tech and Northern Essex Community College (NECC) shared campus, citing the proposed merger’s “rushed timeframe” and Whittier’s repeated lack of transparency. The two schools sent the memorandum to all 11 Whittier communities to rally support for the new project with the goal of securing funding from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). Rowley is the only community that did not sign the document. In...
The Local News (Ipswich/Rowley, Topsfield/Boxford) •

Rowley Strikes Down 3A for Second Time, but in Much Narrower Vote

ROWLEY — Rowley voters struck down a second MBTA zoning proposal at the special town meeting on Monday night. It failed by a margin of 26 votes.The final result was 217–191. Residents cast their votes by placing a slip of paper that said “yes” or “no” into a box at the front of the room. They each received the slip of paper at the start of the meeting. Town meeting officials counted the votes at a table on the stage at the front of the auditorium. Rowley’s previous MBTA zoning proposal, which wa...