Amy Palmer

IPSWICH — All beaches and shellfishing flats in Ipswich have closed following a major sewer main break in Haverhill that has dumped millions of gallons of sewage into the Merrimack River since Friday. Ipswich Public Health Director Colleen Fermon announced on Monday that all beaches in Ipswich — including Crane, Pavilion, Steep Hill, Clark, and Little Neck — will be closed for swimming until further notice. “We understand that these closures come at an unfortunate time with the incoming heat wav...

IPSWICH — The School Committee adopted a policy banning the use of artificial intelligence to create or manipulate images, videos, or recordings of students and staff at the high school.Principal Jonathan Mitchell said the policy is intended to protect community members from deepfakes — online content that appears real but has been altered using AI — and other unauthorized uses of a person’s name, image, or likeness online.Deepfakes can include nonconsensual nude images intended to embarrass or...

ROWLEY — The Rowley Selectmen voted to offer the fire chief position to Topsfield Fire lieutenant Daniel Veinot after discovering the other finalist, Groveland Fire Chief Robert Valentine, does not have a current Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certification, which is a stated requirement for the job.Valentine’s EMT certification was from out of state and expired five years ago, according to Town Administrator Deborah Eagan.Eagan found the expired certificate on Monday, hours before the Selec...

IPSWICH — Nearly 100 Indigenous artifacts, including projectile points, stone tools, and pottery fragments, have been donated to the Ipswich Historical Commission (IHC), shedding light on Native American life in the area thousands of years ago.The artifacts, which were uncovered decades ago during a Water Department project on Arrowhead Trail and given to then-Supervisor Dana Parsons, were recently gifted to the IHC by Parsons’ grandchildren — Michael Hardy, Dale Ann Spaulding, Carol Thurber, Da...

IPSWICH — Ipswich recorded the lowest number of commercial shellfish permit applications in years this winter, underscoring just how deeply the local industry is reeling from recent setbacks.Typically, the town awards up to 125 permits a year for residents looking to harvest shellfish for commercial purposes, not counting students or clammers over age 70. This year, however, Ipswich has only awarded 69 so far — the fewest it has given out in the last 20 years. Since 2007, the number of commercia...

ROWLEY — The state is planning to use a 2.5-acre parcel that it owns on Haverhill Street for housing development. Under the Affordable Homes Act, the Town is legally required to permit at least 10 units on the site.There is a wide latitude for what the units can be — affordable or market-rate; single-family, townhomes, or multifamily; ownership or rental; etc. — according to Maggie Brown, a deputy director in the state’s Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM).DCAMM identifi...

IPSWICH — Salt Studio, a creative arts workshop on High Street, transformed into a bold and evocative art gallery last weekend.The airy 1,600-square-foot studio was rearranged like a museum exhibit, featuring deeply personal and visually striking artwork across a wide variety of mediums. Photographs of an expectant mother and a woman breastfeeding her baby hung from one wall. A black-and-white film of a dancer played soundlessly on a projection screen. Shredded medical documents from an IVF jour...