NEWBURYPORT – The city is joining about 150 Massachusetts communities in reducing skyrocketing electricity rates by bundling most of its residents’ purchases this winter to save more than $2.2 million. The city signed a 10-month contract with Direct Energy Services,...
Stewart Lytle

Stewart Lytle is the lead reporter for The Town Common newspaper. Before joining The Town Common, he was a national correspondent for Scripps-Howard Newspapers in Washington, D.C., covering the Pentagon and Congress. He has also written for newspapers in Dallas, TX, and Birmingham, AL.
As a national reporter for the Scripps Howard newspaper chain, Stewart wrote the inside story on military life of soldiers and sailors and their families. He landed on aircraft carriers, experienced oxygen deprivation for high-altitude flight training and crawled through the mud with Marine snipers.
One of his proudest achievements outside of journalism was assisting USAA Chairman Robert McDermott in securing federal legislation that mandated air bags in vehicles.
Stewart is also a novelist and has written non-fiction books. He is currently working on a non-fiction book and screenplay about an incident that occurred in Boston.
His first novel, Iron City Conspiracy, explores power in a city. It features a black newspaper editor solving the bombing of a historic black church in a tough Alabama town.
Following in the footsteps of his idol, Ernest Hemingway, Stewart has completed a new novel about a love affair in the midst of the Spanish Civil War. The book, Montserrat, is based on a true story and has been made into a screenplay that will become an international feature film.
A graduate of Phillips Academy and Princeton University, Stewart lives with his wife, Mary, in Newburyport.
Jim Wilson Was A Wonderful Man
No matter what Jim Wilson was into on any day, Bill Brett, his boss for years in the Boston Globe photography department, recalls that if you asked how things were going, he always said, “Wonderful.” Even last week when a stroke, induced by chemotherapy treatments to...
Vote By Tuesday!
REGIONAL — Redistricting every 10 years usually brings change to the political landscape as district lines are moved. This year, the impact of redistricting combined with legislators leaving office for other posts may be a near complete makeover of the North Shore’s...
A New Link In Trail System
NEWBURYPORT — For decades, New England towns have been turning unused rail lines into popular running and biking trails. Now Newburyport may blaze a new trail, converting an interstate highway, which once served trucks and cars, into a trail designed for bicyclers and...
Newburyport to Offer Aggregation Electricity Program
REGIONAL — In the wake of National Grid’s announcement that electricity costs are rising by 64 percent starting Nov. 1, the city of Newburyport expects to offer residents a lower rate through a new electricity aggregation program by January. For National Grid’s 1.3...
Vote By Tuesday!
REGIONAL — Redistricting every 10 years usually brings change to the political landscape as district lines are moved. This year, the impact of redistricting combined with legislators leaving office for other posts may be a near complete makeover of the North Shore’s...
Who Should Pay to Repair Old Benches?
NEWBURYPORT — A bench on Market Square, which has been there almost a decade, has a plaque that declares it to be “A great place for Peyton and her Nana, Peg Roney.” Another bench, donated in honor of Pat Connelly, has a five-line tribute, “Forever Remembered for her...
The City May Move Mountain Biking Off March’s Hill
NEWBURYPORT — The Parks Commission is launching a citywide search for a place young mountain bikers can ride and jump their bikes without annoying neighbors and those who enjoy hiking and dog walking in March’s Hill. For months, the neighbors and the bikers have been...
Parks Conservancy Called ‘Ghost Company’
NEWBURYPORT — Ann Marie Monzione’s $3,000 donation to purchase a bench or plaque to honor her deceased sister has prompted a city council inquiry into the Parks Conservancy’s finances and operations. A city audit of the Conservancy’s finances was already underway. ...
State Agency Surveys Triton High and Middle School Buildings
TRITON REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT — The team from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) toured the high school and middle school buildings this month to determine if the state agency will accept the school district as a partner. “It was a great visit, and...
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