Hut! Hut! Hike! It's football time again!

By By Joshua Boyd
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Alex Valente and the Reading Rockets are ready to make the postseason a fifth straight time.

Gillette Stadium is booked for Dec. 1, and now the high school football teams of Massachusetts just have to work their way through their schedule to see which teams will be able to grace The Razor with their presence that first Saturday in December.

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How to ride a bicycle without getting hit by a car

By Charlene Peters / cpeters@wickedlocal.com

Top 10 tips to avoid bicycle collisions

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Priest's arrest opens old wounds

By Lisa Guerriero

It's hard to believe that it has been a decade since the clergy abuse scandal first hit Greater Boston. The tragedy is that new claims continue to come to light. On Thursday, Aug. 30, Ipswich police arrested a retired priest who faces charges of child rape. Rev. Richard McCormick, now 71, once ran a summer camp in Ipswich and is accused of raping a male victim during the summers of 1981 and 1982.

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Medford couple looking for your vote to help disabled

By Nell Coakley
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Medford residents Ruth Unger and Dean Wallace are hoping you will vote for them so they can win a $5,000 grant to help the disabled.

Ruth Unger and Dean Wallace are looking for your vote so they can start up their own non-profit organization, the Able Disabled Project (ADP) in order to help the disabled.

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Mmmm....tomatoes!

By Nell Coakley
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Spun sugar tomatoes were one of the desserts on Chef Vittorio Ettore's Bistro 5 heirloom tomato menu.

What do you get when you cross an enthusiastic chef and a crate full of tomatoes? A celebration of heirloom tomatoes, featuring a five-course meal and yes, even a tomato dessert dish!

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When Bruce Springsteen met Pete ...

By Pete Chianca

Yes, I know: The title of this post might give you the idea that Bruce Springsteen and I recently sat down over Cabernet and crullers to discuss music theory and world politics. Actually, our encounter was slightly more fleeting.

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Daily Grind: 10 most overplayed alternative rock songs ever

By Nathan Lamb

In my younger and more impressionable days, I listened to a top-40 station with a very peculiar tradition.

This was the type of the operation that would take every new Jennifer Lopez single and overplay it to the point where your head hurt. Then, after 90 days, the lead morning DJ would retire that worn-out chestnut by running it through the shredder on air.

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Savor these moments, they’ll be gone before you know it

By Katrina Powell/swampscott@wickedlocal.com

With Labor Day fast approaching, many folks are getting ready to say goodbye to the hot, fun-filled days of summer and send their kids back to school. It can be a hectic time of year, with back-to-school shopping, reviewing class schedules, returning health and emergency contact forms and deciding on a first-day outfit.

No matter how stressful these activities can be, it’s important for parents to stop and savor the moments while you can; children grow up so fast!

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Mosquitoes make headlines

By Natalie Miller

Is mosquito-terrorism a threat on the North Shore?

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A lose-lose campaign strategy in the 6th

By Janet Mackay-Smith
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Richard Tisei, left, and Congressman John Tierney need to start talking about issues. Soon.

The campaign between the Democratic incumbent and the Republican challenger in the 6th congressional district needs a change in attitude. Fast.

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I'd like a Pampers refill with my Happy Meal

By Mike Gaffney
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A diaper

Check out this eye-opening entry in the Aug. 16 Saugus Police log, when officers were called to the McDonalds at 127 Broadway at 1:32 a.m. for a report of male wearing a diaper.

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Springsteen's misunderstood anthem

By Dan Mac Alpine
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The cover to Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA album. The title track is probably rock's most misunderstood and misappropriated songs.

Bruce Springteen's misunderstood and misappropriated anthem.

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The Boss in Boston: Get there early!

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Bruce Springsteen played Boston's TD Garden Monday, March 26.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band must be eager to get back on stage on U.S. soil — that would explain the 6:30 start time for tonight and tomorrow night’s Fenway Park shows in Boston. Is happy hour even over by then?

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North Shore mourns Johnny Pesky

By Kris Olson / kolson@wickedlocal.com
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Red Sox legend Johnny Pesky wipes a tear from his eye just prior to recieving an honorary doctorate from Salem State College during commencement Saturday.

Yes, Johnny Pesky was Mr. Red Sox. But he was also Big Blue, through and through.

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North Shore Sports: Olympic fever? Call your doctor

By Joshua Boyd
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Marblehead is certainly glad Olympic champion Kayla Harrison will call their seaside town "home."

It's almost over, folks. For the next two years, good luck finding swimming, gymnastics or track and field on prime-time TV. The Olympics and Presidential elections share that every-four-years build-up, and then - snap - it's over.

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TORNADO WATCH!

By Nell Coakley

A Tornado Watch was issued at: 3:30 p.m. EDT on Aug. 10 for eastern Massachusetts, including Middlesex and Essex counties. The watch expires at: 9 p.m.

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An interview with ‘Sunshine’ singer Jonathan Edwards

By Kathy Sands-Boehmer
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Jonathan Edwards will perform in Marblehead on Sept. 7 at me & thee coffeehouse.

Jonathan Edwards will perform at me & thee coffeehouse in Marblehead, Sept. 7

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At the Refuge: Plovers are safe, but ...

By Donna Capodelupo
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A flock of tree swallows lands on a dirt access road inside the Parker River Wildlife Refuge on Plum Island.

While beach closures keep pesky feet and tire treads away from the nesting areas of protected piping plovers, more common birds have come under attack from man and beast on the Parker River Wildlife Refuge this summer.

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Lions and tigers and bears. You know the rest.

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The Good Witch of the North, played by Lia Parisi reacts as Dorothy, played by Taeghan Hagood and the Lullaby League, played by Jillian Osmond, Elizabeth Hanson, Rhiannon Hurst look on during rehearsal of "The Wizard of OZ" at the Annisquam Village Hall Tuesday July 24. The Annisquam Village Players will present "The Wizard of Oz" Aug. 6-12.

Looking for something fun to do next week?

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Help Georgetown family 'Blow Away' diabetes

By Donna Capodelupo
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Georgetown students and bagpipers Tom Mulligan, Keegan Ricker and Owen Ricker perform near a half-mast American flag during a memorial ceremony for Georgetown High School history teacher Tess LaChance who died from cancer a few days before the end of the school year.

If you've ever been to a patriotic observance in Georgetown -- Memorial Day, July 4, Veterans Day -- you've probably seen Keegan Ricker. Dressed in his tartans and wailing away on bagpipes, the young musician is nearly always at the front of the procession.

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