Thoughts on… Bomb Cyclones, Nor’easters and Cabin Fever

While I sit here by the fire embraced by a case of cabin fever, I am gazing out my front window at 10 feet of frozen snow (I exaggerate) the result of “Fern,” a bomb cyclone storm, that dropped too much snow on the South Coast. My memory… what’s left of it… hearkens back to […] Read more »

Is The Cold Snap Over Yet?

No. Sorry, but not quite yet. The yearly sighting of the famed polar vortex is here for a little longer, which is also primarily to blame for the nor’easter a couple weeks ago.             Temperatures across the Tri-Town look to peak midweek at just around freezing temperature and then take a dive again over the […] Read more »

Artemis II Launch Delayed

We reported last week in our “What’s Up There?” column, rather excitedly I might add, that the launch of the spacecraft Artemis II would take place on Saturday, February 7 or someday soon after. NASA has officially delayed that launch until March, though no official date has been announced yet.             Astronauts were already in […] Read more »

The Noble Train Reaches Its End

            ​This week in Revolutionary War history, let’s check up on what was going on 250 years ago in and around the colonial Province of Massachusetts Bay. Last week, news of the catastrophic defeat and decimation of the Continental forces assaulting Quebec City finally reached General George Washington in Cambridge. Urgent back-to-back War Council meetings were […] Read more »

What’s Up There?

            This is the continuing monthly column for the astronomer in all of us; or the aspiring astro-physicist. Compared to areas near Boston or New Bedford, generally speaking, the Tri-Town has pretty good dark skies, and we are very fortunate in that regard. Though we can’t normally make out the Milky Way’s signature glow, we […] Read more »

Hoo-ah! Snow Days!

            Snow, as any New Englander knows, is a great facilitator to sports and play. It’s the stuff that gives us snow angels, snowmen, sledding, skiing, and snowshoeing. Or, if you prefer, snow is the inducer of deep hibernation and resting for the season to come.             Whatever way you look at it, snow falling […] Read more »

January 2026 Nor’easter

            This past weekend, we had our first major winter storm of 2026, unofficially dubbed “Winter Storm Fern” by The Weather Channel. The colossal storm system stretched across most of the nation, leading to winter storm warnings for over 200 million Americans from Texas, across the Great Plains to the Great Lakes region, over Appalachia […] Read more »

MSEFC Donates Buddy Benches to Sippican School

If a Sippican Elementary School student feels lonely during recess, they now have a safe space to sit with the knowledge that a peer will soon see them and extend an offer to play.             This is a result of the Marion Scholarship Education Fund Committee’s recent donation of $2,500 to Sippican, which funded the […] Read more »

Panicked Responses over Quebec

This week in Revolutionary War history, let’s check up on what was going on 250 years ago in and around the colonial Province of Massachusetts Bay. Last week, activity in Boston Harbor sparked a flurry of speculation as to what the British were planning. Retreat or counter-attack? Thomas Paine first published his 47-page book, Common Sense, […] Read more »

Can we Make Healthcare Affordable?

On January 15, President Trump announced a “great healthcare plan” that seemed to have three components. It would formalize his push for pharmaceutical companies to lower their prices, send funds to individuals to help pay their insurance premiums and mandate price transparency for any hospital or other provider who participates in Medicare.             Will this […] Read more »