Salem Residents Survey Online Through April 18

City seeks residents’ input and feedback on quality of life and city services

Mayor Kimberley Driscoll today announced the fifth annual Salem Residents Survey is now online. The survey will be available at www.salem.com/mayor until Friday April 18. A Spanish language version of the survey will also be posted at that website in the next several days.

All Salem residents are encouraged to visit the online survey and share their opinions on a range of issues facing the City of Salem and their view of City services.

“The 2014 survey marks the fifth year this data has been collected,” said Mayor Driscoll. “Hearing directly from residents allows us to improve service delivery and focus our public resources on those issues that are of most concern to the people of Salem. Having a number of years’ worth of data now also enables us to take a closer look at trends and changes that are taking place.”

The final data is compiled and included in the Mayor’s annual budget, issued in May. The information provides important performance and outcome measures, which have, in the past, contributed to the City of Salem being one of just a handful of Massachusetts communities to be awarded both a Certificate of Excellence and a Distinguished Budget Award from the Government Finance Officers Association.

Another Great Documentary Line-up on Tap for Salem Film Fest

If you are looking for something to do during the first week of March, check out the 7th annual all-documentary Salem Film Fest . Salem Film Fest will be held March 6 – March 13, 2014, in Salem, MA, with a strong line-up of 37 films from 14 different countries. Twenty-three of these films will be making their World, North American, US, East Coast, New England or Massachusetts premiere – the most “first looks” ever in the festival’s seven year history – including the World premiere of KASHEER, directed by Salem filmmaker Elayne McCabe who will be at the festival to present.

Spread out over eight days with film screenings at three different venues in downtown Salem, the festival will kick off at CinemaSalem with the New England premiere of A FRAGILE TRUST, which tells the shocking story of Jayson Blair, the most infamous serial plagiarist of our time, and how he unleashed the massive scandal that rocked The New York Times and the entire world of journalism. A Q&A with filmmaker Samantha Grant will follow. Other festival premieres include ELEKTRO MOSKVA, an “electromagnetic fairytale” showcasing Russia’s electronic music history; WEB, a thought-provoking film that explores the human and societal impact of global connectivity; POWERLESS, which examines the class battle over electricity in India; EVERYBODY STREET, about the lives and work of New York’s iconic street photographers; and RICH HILL, which recently won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Filmmakers will be present for over half of this year’s screenings, providing audiences with a unique opportunity to learn more about the documentary filmmaking process.

All film screenings will be preceded by our homegrown and wildly popular shorts Salem Sketches. Shot, edited and produced by festival organizers Joe Cultrera and Perry Hallinan and a mix of Salem Film Fest alumni filmmakers and filmmakers-in-residence, these short vignettes capture the heart and soul of Salem and bring to light some of the city’s hidden gems. “It seems we have discovered a way to add a touch of Salem to our lineup while also creating original content for the festival that was about the city. It’s something I don’t think any other film festival is doing,” says Cultrera. “I think it’s something that will organically grow each year as other filmmakers come here to show their work, enjoy the city and see these Salem Sketches. It’s becoming Salem Film Fest’s unofficial filmmaker-in-residence program.”

An exciting addition to the festival awards this year will be the presentation of The Michael Sullivan FRONTLINE Award for Journalism in a Documentary Film, a $1,000 cash prize that will be awarded to the filmmaker judged to have presented a tough, controversial story through engaging and fair minded investigative reportage. The award is in honor of the late Michael Sullivan, a guiding figure behind PBS’ FRONTLINE as well as a Salem Film Fest participant and supporter. FRONTLINE Executive Producer David Fanning will be on hand to present.

“We have a diverse group of films from all over the world screening at this year’s festival, yet there is something in each and every one of these films that anyone can relate to,” says program director Jeff Schmidt. “As one of America’s oldest port cities, there is something special about that notion of the stories from far off lands that were shared in the old trading days that we’ve been able to recapture with this festival that’s a lot of fun in today’s instant gratification via the Internet world.”

For more information about Salem Film Fest visit www.salemfilmfest.com, follow Salem Film Fest on Facebook (www.facebook.com/salemfilmfest) and Twitter (@_SalemFilmFest).

Reporting Potholes in Salem

As the warmer weather approaches and snow is melting, potholes become more apparent and prevalent on Salem’s roadways. The City’s Department of Public Services (DPS) is tasked with repairing these holes and maintains a regular protocol for doing so.

If you know of a pothole on a public roadway, please help the City keep our roads in good repair by reporting it directly to DPS by emailing: potholes@salem.com or calling 978-744-3302. When you email or call, be sure to include the exact address or a location description, along with a contact name and telephone number if possible. Feel free to send any photos, as well.

While reporting a pothole does not guarantee it will be immediately repaired that day, it will be added to the list for DPS crews to fix. DPS prioritizes potholes based on their severity and attempts to work in geographic clusters to maximize efficiency of resources.

Free Book Swap Saturday, March 15th

Those of you who have been dumping your books and other unwanted items in the laundry room, you may want to consider participating in this event!

On Saturday March 15th, SalemRecycles – the City of Salem’s Recycling Committee – will hold their eleventh free Book Swap. The event will take place at the Senior Center at 5 Broad Street from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

The book swap is a great way to recycle unwanted books, greeting cards, and commercial CDs, DVDs and videos. Those attending can take home a whole new selection of commercial media items, cards, and even some bestselling books. All books are accepted—even text books and no swap is needed. Residents can donate materials, take materials, or both. Those wishing to donate materials may drop them off on Friday, March 14th, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., or bring them between 9:45 a.m. and noon on Saturday, March 15th.

When: Saturday March 15, 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.

**Please no book dealers or more than two bags per swapper before noon**

Where: City of Salem Senior Center, 5 Broad Street

Why: To promote re-use and recycling of books, greeting cards, and other commercial media items (CD’s, DVD’s and videos).

Drop-Off: Friday, March 14, 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm at the Senior Center at 5 Broad Street, or Saturday March 15, from 9:45 a.m. to noon. Volunteers will be available to help.

Items will be loosely categorized and all ‘unswapped’ items will be reused or recycled.

SalemRecycles is the City’s volunteer Recycling Committee, which works to increase recycling and encourage positive recycling practices through educational outreach and special events. Through the last ten Book Swaps, SalemRecycles has hosted over 3,000 participants, recycled around 30,000 books, and avoided almost 16 tons of landfill disposal. For more information about SalemRecycles or the Book Swap, please call (978)-619-5679 or visit www.salem.com/recycling or GreenSalem.com. 
Like SalemRecycles on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SalemRecycles.

NO SMOKING REMINDER

 
( image courtesy of http://www.mydoorsign.com/)

In 2013, the Norman Street Condo Association, with the majority support of the building unit owners,  amended the master deed to create a smoke free building. This means that there is NO SMOKING allowed anywhere in the building, including inside the units. 
Violations of this amendment will result in fines, the same as would be incurred for the breaking of any other condo regulations. If you have questions, please contact Markwood Management at 781-639-4080 or e-mail them at markwoodmgt@hotmail.com.

Christmas Tree Update

Due to the heavy snow in early January, curbside Christmas tree pick-up for the weeks of January 6th and 13th is running behind schedule. If your tree is curbside, please leave it there. The City's contractor should have all trees picked up by Saturday, January 18th. You may also bring your tree any time to the lower field area at Gallows Hill Park on the corner of Mansell Parkway and Witch Hill Road.

Christmas Tree Disposal

Well it's that time of year again when people pack up their Christmas decorations and wrapping paper, and dispose of their Christmas trees. In past years you could take your tree to Dead Horse Beach in Salem for the Annual Christmas Tree Bonfire, but that event was recently cancelled because of the snow storm and record cold temperatures. This may leave you wondering what to do with your tree this year. As usual, some people resort to dragging it down the hallway and stairs and throwing it in the dumpster. This is not the preferred method as the trees take up so much space as to make it difficult to dispose of our regular trash.
Salem has scheduled curbside pick-up of Christmas trees as part of the regularly scheduled recycling pick-up, from Monday, January 6 2014, till Friday, January 17. Our regular trash/recycling day is Tuesday. Remove all decorations, tinsel, and lights from the tree and drag your it to the curb by the end of the driveway (do not block the driveway or the sidewalk) for Tuesday, January 7 , or missing that, Tuesday January 14, and the City of Salem will pick it up. If you miss those dates, leave the tree by the side of the dumpster rather than throwing it in the dumpster. If you have any questions, please contact Markwood Management. Thanks!