Weekly Recap: Principals Leaving, Full-Day K Funding, Local Aid

A look back at Melrose's top stories of the week.

Here are some of the highlights from Melrose Patch's news coverage this past week. This is only a small sample—to see all the coverage, click on the News tab on the navigation bar.

To see your neighbors' news, check out our Announcements section under News.

Also, check out the read Local Voices bloggers' latest posts, and start blogging yourself—no application necessary!

Top Three Articles of the Week

, as Roosevelt School Principal Kerry Clery and Horace Mann School Principal Jeff Strasnick are leaving for positions elsewhere, joining the departing Hoover School Principal Dr. Dennet Sidell.

One-time funding of $497,425 that would allow Melrose Public Schools to eliminate the $2,500 full-day kindergarten fee

over last year's state budget in the House Ways and Means fiscal 2013 proposal that the House began debating this week and approved on Wednesday night.

Real Estate

Documents filed with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) stated that contaminated soil had been found at the former factory site on Washington Street, the future home of the Alta Stone Place residential development. Richard Dickason, northeast director for developer Wood Partners, told Melrose Patch that the .

, while statewide sales in Massachusetts rose by double-digit percentages, according to the latest figures from The Warren Group.

Schools

Melrose High School has run mock car crash events in the past before prom, depicting the graphic aftermath and deadly consequences of drinking and driving.

for appearing in 'Ice Chips 2012, 100 Years of Excellence,' an ice skating show "celebrating the dreams and accomplishments of the past, present, and future of figure skating," according to an announcement from The Skating Club of Boston.

Police and Fire

Two juveniles were charged with setting a fire at The Knoll and .

Opinion

Christina Gagliano advocates in a letter to the editor that instead of relying on volunteers.

Melrose resident and small business owner Sarah-Beth Chester urges Melrosians to

The city's state delegation of Sen. Katherine Clark and Rep. Paul Brodeur and thanked retiring Superintendent Joe Casey.

Last Wednesday, we asked you to pretend you were voting on a controversial question that might appear on the November ballot: Should Massachusetts legalize marijuana for medical use? ; people with life-threatening diseases should be able to use the drug to alleviate their symptoms."

Government

. If you own real estate or personal property in Melrose, you should have received your quarterly tax bill in the mail at the beginning of January.

Best of Patch Readers' Choice

For this week's Patch Readers' Choice contest, we asked you which Melrose florist was the best. Between Monday and Friday mornings, there were 432 votes for seven local flower shops, and

Local Voices Bloggers

Arnie Fertig shares a YouTube video with tips on .

Photographer Matt Wallace shares .

John McLaughlin .

Moderno Salon starts a series of tips on climbing out of winter hibernation with .

Chris Cinella writes that not long ago, the Federal Reserve (Fed) announced that it plans to keep short-term interest rates near zero until late 2014, and says that .