The North Shore's Race Debate: Patch Week In Review

The national debate on race in America has not bypassed the North Shore, and this week it got ugly.

The week started with Beverly Mayor Mike Cahill condemning racist messages in an unsanctioned Fourth of July parade just hours after Patch reported a Black Lives Matter banner had been stolen from city hall. In Marblehead, another Black Lives Matter banner was vandalized at a church.

In Salem, an ice cream parlor's Facebook page was overrun with comments, many of them hateful, after explaining its decision to stop using the potentially-racist term "jimmies" for the chocolate sprinkles used to top ice cream cones. And in Swampscott, a petition effort to recall a selectman accused of making disparaging comments about Black Lives matter gained momentum.

Also on the North Shore this week:

Sandler's North Shore movie nears finish line: "Hubie Halloween," which spent much of last summer filming in locations across the North Shore, is back on track for a fall release with some final filming scheduled for Saturday in Los Angeles. The coronavirus shutdown of Hollywood productions threatened the movie's fall release on Netflix. Many North Shore residents were cast as extras when the crew was here a year ago.

No new trial for Peabody murderer: A jury convicted Ashley Fernandes in 2012 for the 2008 murder of his girlfriend, Jessica Herrera. This week the state's highest court upheld his conviction.

Salem housing proposal falls short (again): If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different result, Salem city councilors must be feeling pretty crazy these days. An ordinance that would have required all housing projects with six or more units to include affordable housing units failed to get the required two-thirds super majorityneeded to pass. Salem has passed just one, minor proposal aimed at increasing affordable housing over the past three years, thanks to a bloc of four councilors who consistently vote against the proposals.

North Shore companies cash in on PPP loans: We broke down the list of companies that received loans of $150,000 or more from the federal coronavirus relief program in Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott (keep in mind tens of thousands of other Massachusetts companies, whose names were not released Monday, received loans under $150,000 and have to follow the same reporting rules). You can also view a complete list of all Massachusetts businesses that have received PPP loans over $150,000.

Danvers wants state to pick up PPE tab: The school committee will consider a resolution Monday calling on the state to reimburse it for the cost of safety equipment when schools reopen this fall. In Danvers, those costs could be as high as $56,000 per week. Look for other school committees to follow Danvers's lead in the coming weeks.

More North Shore properties face flood risks: A new report estimates that 14.6 million properties across the United States are at substantial risk of flooding, which is a staggering 5.9 million more properties than the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) shows on federal government flood maps. We've broken out the data for Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. You can also use a new Flood Factor tool to check the flood risk of your exact address.

And, finally this week:

Good luck to Salem Police Chief Mary Butler, who announced her retirement this week. Butler, who had dreamed of being a police officer since she was 12 years old, was the department's first female chief. She will leave at the end of the month to become director of security at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem.

Dave Copeland writes for Patch and can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).