Lovely Named Committee Chairwoman in First Term

State Sen. Joan Lovely has been named to seven committees on Beacon Hill, including chairwoman of one of the committees.

The state senator representing Danvers has been named chairwoman of a Beacon Hill committee just a month after being sworn in to her first term in office. State Sen. Joan Lovely (D-Salem) announced on Tuesday that she has been named chairwoman of the Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse. Lovely was elected to the Second Essex District seat in the state Senate in November, filling the seat that was held by Sen. Frederick Berry for 30 years. Lovely emerged on top of a field of four Democrats in the September primary and beat Republican Richard Jolitz of Beverly in November to be the first person besides Berry to represent Danvers in the state Senate in three decades. Before being elected to the state Senate, Lovely was a 15-…

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5 Things To Know on Jan. 31: Senator Kerry Says Goodbye

A great way to start the day with a quick look at the events and happenings in town.

Welcome to “5 Things,” your daily resource for community events, happenings in town and other little tidbits of information. Here are five things you need to know on Thursday, Jan. 31. 1. Upside down: Thursday will be an “upside down” day weatherwise, with warm temperatures to start the day and then cooler temperatures later on. Temperatures in the 50s will drop into the 40s and eventually reach a low in the mid-20s overnight. Rain is also expected to move through on Thursday morning. 2. Kindergarten: Registration for Danvers Public School kindergarten runs all week and continues on Thursday at both 9 a.m.-1 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. at Peabody Institute Library. Be sure to bring all along all the required forms. 3. John Kerry: Outgoing U.S. …

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Homeless in Motels a 'Top 3' Issue for Lovely

Three weeks into her first term in office, state Senator Joan Lovely addressed small business owners from the North Shore on Friday.

State Senator Joan Lovely addressed dozens of North Shore small business owners on Friday, identifying constituent services and an effort to drop the statue of limitation on child sex abuse as top key focuses. Lovely, a Democrat from Salem, was elected last November and has been in office for 23 days. She takes over for Frederick Berry, the former Senate Majority Leader who served for 30 years before retiring. Timely response to constituents is "crucial," she told the North Shore Business Forum as it gathered for breakfast at Danversport Yacht Club. "My time as a City Councilor taught me constituent service comes first," she said, after earlier saying she became involved in Salem city government after her concern about the condition of a …

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5 Things To Know on Jan. 25: Where to Get Girl Scout Cookies This Weekend

A great way to start the day with a quick look at the events and happenings in town.

Welcome to “5 Things,” your daily resource for community events, happenings in town and other little tidbits of information. Here are five things you need to know on Friday, Jan. 25.  1. Cold Again: The forecast for temperatures on Friday call for it to be slightly “warmer,” with the temperature getting into the low 20s. The sky will be mostly cloudy and the west wind may gust to 24 miles per hour, creating wind chill factors as low as -6 degrees. 2. Cookies Are Here!: Girl Scout cookie sales continue this weekend. They’ll be on sale at Market Basket on Saturday from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. 3. Senator Lovely: Joan Lovely, the newly elected state Senator to the Second Essex District that includes Danvers, with address the North Shore Business Forum …

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Lovely Sworn in to Massachusetts Senate

Joan Lovely officially began her term as Danvers' newest state Senator on Wednesday.

Salem's Joan Lovely took her seat in the Senate chamber Wednesday to officially start her tenure on Beacon Hill, according to the Salem News. She now represents Danvers in the state Senate. Lovely was sworn in by Gov. Deval Patrick during a brief ceremony and then took her first vote to return Therese Murray to the Senate presidency -- it was a unanimous vote. The 54-year-old Lovely, a longtime and popular Salem city councilor, defeated Peabody opponents John Slattery and Mary-Ellen Manning along with Salem's Ed Carroll during the Democratic Primary in September. She then easily beat Beverly Republican Richard Jolitz in November for the 2nd Essex District seat. The seat was long held by by Peabody's Fred Berry, who retired last year after …

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Lovely Says She 'Can't Wait to Get Started' in Senate [VIDEO]

Salem Democrat Joan Lovely attributes much of her successful run to a grassroots campaign of knocking on doors all across the district.

Salem Democrat Joan Lovely earned a seat in the state Senate Tuesday in a landslide victory over Beverly Republican Richard Jolitz. With all the official results in, Lovely garnered 71 percent of the vote to Jolitz' 29 percent. Lovely, her family and a roomful of supporters gathered at the Old Town Hall in Salem to celebrate Tuesday night. Lovely arrived just after 8 p.m. and finally took the podium to give her victory speech shortly before 9:30 p.m. "What an amazing year this has been. We started back in January...we started knocking on doors and we've been knocking on doors ever since across this district and the response has just been phenomenal," Lovely said. "I just feel so greatful and so honored to stand here tonight before all of …

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Senator Berry to be Feted at Soldout Event in Danvers Thursday Night

Outgoing state Senate Majority leader Fred Berry will be honored at an event at the Danversport Yacht Club on Thursday night.

Outgoing state Senator Fred Berry will be honored at a soldout event at Danversport Yacht Club on Thursday night. Berry, a Democrat from Peabody, was first elected to the state Senate in 1982. In recent years, he has served as the Majority Leader. He announced earlier this year he would not seek reelection to the Second Essex District seat this fall. This district includes Danvers, plus Beverly, Peabody, Salem and Topsfield. He is a Peabody native who graduated from Bishop Fenwick High School and Boston College. Before he was elected to the Senate, he served two terms on the Peabody City Council. Nelson Benton, who recently retired as editorial page editor of the Salem News, will serve as the Master of Ceremonies. Proceeds from the event …

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VIDEO: Joan Lovely Celebrates Primary Win

Joan Lovely and her supporters joined at the Moose Lodge in Salem Thursday night to celebrate her victory.

Joan Lovely said her victory in the Second Essex Senate race primary was a team effort, and she plans on succeeding Sen. Fred Berry with a November win against Republican challenger Richard Jolitz. After the win was made official, Lovely joined supporters, which included Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll, Rep. John Keenan, Police Chief Paul Tucker, city councilors and school committee members at the Moose Lodge — headquarters  for her campaign during Thursday's election. Danvers is in Second Essex District, along with Beverly, Peabody, Salem and Topsfield. Lovely thanked her family, supporters, Berry and even her opponents — Edward Carroll, Mary-Ellen Manning and John Slattery — during her acceptance speech. Lovely ended up with 50 percent of the …

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