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We’re proud to introduce Palomo Mezcal as our first pour mezcal at Machaca, meaning this is our first choice when serving mezcal. Not a “well” in the cheap sense… but a thoughtfully selected, high-quality spirit we stand behind.
Smooth, smoky, and beautifully balanced, Palomo is meant to be sipped, appreciated, and shared. If you’re mezcal-curious or a longtime lover of agave, this is the pour we recommend every time.
Come taste why Palomo earned the top spot behind our bar. Enjoy!
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🚜 The work will require temporary traffic shifts and extended closures of the canal to marine traffic during the repairs. These repairs are necessary to maintain the safe and reliable operation of the bridge.
🚧 Repair work will proceed in two stages. Throughout both stages, Western Avenue will be alternating one-way traffic across the bridge, managed by temporary traffic signals.
➡️ Stage one will begin the night of Tuesday, January 6, with a work zone established on the westbound side of the bridge. Pedestrians will be detoured to the eastbound sidewalk. During this stage, scheduled drawbridge openings for marine traffic are anticipated on select workdays at 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Vessels are advised to coordinate crossings at these times with the bridge operator at least 24 hours in advance.
➡️ Stage two, anticipated to begin in mid-February, will shift the work zone to the eastbound side of the bridge and redirect pedestrians to the westbound sidewalk. In stage 2, work will occur across the center span, preventing drawbridge operation and requiring a full closure of the canal to marine traffic. A continuous full canal closure is anticipated to last approximately four weeks, from mid-February through mid-March. This closure has been coordinated with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Gloucester Harbormaster and is scheduled during a low-use period of the year.
⏰ Work will occur seven days per week, from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., during both stages.
🚗 Advanced signage for cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists will be posted from west of Essex Avenue to east of Centennial Avenue. Parking will be prohibited adjacent to work zones between the bridge and Essex Avenue. Additional details regarding impacts to traffic and marine vessels will be announced in advance as required.
⚠️ Drivers traveling through the affected areas should expect delays, reduce speed, and use caution.
📆The schedule for this work is weather‑dependent and subject to change without notice.
For more information on traffic conditions, travelers are encouraged to:
💻 Download the Mass511 mobile app or visit http://www.mass511.com to view live cameras, travel times, real-time traffic conditions, and project information before setting out on the road. Users can subscribe to receive text and email alerts for traffic conditions. Dial 511 and select a route to hear real-time conditions.
☎️Contact the project team via email at BlynmanBridge@dot.state.ma.us and through a 24/7 phone hotline number: (978) 792-3099.
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Traveling Mystery Room with Big Ryan Saturday, December 27 | 1:00–2:30 PM Children’s Program Room | Sawyer Free Library, 2 Dale Avenue, Gloucester
The Sawyer Free Library is calling all young detectives and adventure-seekers! Kids ages 7–16 are invited to join Big Ryan for an exciting Traveling Mystery Room experience — an interactive adventure filled with teamwork, creativity, and fast-paced problem-solving.
The challenge: You’ve been abducted by aliens along with a group of your peers. Your only hope of escape is to work together, follow the clues, and complete each step needed to charge the escape pod. But act quickly — you have just one hour before the aliens discover you’ve broken free!
Important details:
Registration is required at sawyerfreelibrary.org, and space is limited — please register each child individually.
Designed for kids ages 7–16.
Parents of children ages 7–9 are strongly encouraged to stay and lend a hand with the mystery.
Unrestored Fitz Henry Lane (1804–1865), Untitled (Floral Still Life), 1849, oil on panel. Gift of the Philip G. Lewis Family, 2025. On right, painting after being cleaned by Essex conservator, Lisa Mehlin. Original frame undergoing restoration by Boston-area conservator
The Cape Ann Museum has recently acquired a rare oil painting by Fitz Henry Lane (1804–1865), Untitled (Floral Still Life), 1849. The painting was cleaned in late November and is now undergoing additional restoration and conservation work on its original frame.
This early and distinctive work in Lane’s oeuvre depicts an arrangement of flowers gathered from a garden on Middle Street in Gloucester. The acquisition will be fully restored and displayed as part of the Museum’s main campus reopening in spring 2026, following a 16-month renovation. The Museum holds one of the world’s most extensive collections of Lane’s paintings and maintains the online Fitz Henry Lane catalogue raisonné, which has recently been updated for improved accessibility and ease of use, making it simpler for scholars, students, and the public to explore Lane’s works.
During Thanksgiving Week, art conservator Lisa Mehlin of Essex, MA, cleaned the painting at the Museum’s CAM Green location in Gloucester. Restoration of the frame is being carried out by Boston-area conservator Wenda Kochanowski over the coming weeks.
“It’s remarkable what the cleaning revealed, bringing out the vibrancy of color and the delicate detail of Lane’s floral depiction,” said Museum Director Oliver Barker. “We look forward to seeing the original frame restored and the painting hanging in the Museum when our main campus reopens next spring.”
The flowers Lane painted came from a house that once stood on the property at 44 Middle Street in Gloucester. Although the existing house on the site was built in 1883, an earlier residence occupied the property during Lane’s lifetime; no known images of that earlier home survive. In Gloucester Recollected, author Alfred Mansfield Brooks discusses the Stacy/Rogers family who lived there, noting the garden and the Lane paintings that once adorned the interior.
A letter, discovered on the reverse of the recently gifted work, detailed the delight that Harriet P. Stevens felt when she received the painting as a gift from Lane: “I cannot find words to express my thanks for the beautiful picture which you have presented to me.”
44 Middle Street in Gloucester (c. 1883).
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Good Morning Gloucester 