NEWBURYPORT – It’s a battle between baseball, America’ national sport, which traces its origins to immigrants who brought a game of hitting balls with a bat from the Old Country, and pickleball, the nation’s newest sport, which traces its beginnings to a Sunday...
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.
Health Board May Make Mello Station More Expensive
GEORGETOWN – The town’s three-member Board of Health may approve this week the site on Carleton Drive for a proposed 550-ton trash transfer station, but it could make building and operating the station for G. Mello Disposal Corp. much more expensive. The board may...
Could Georgetown Have Two Women Selectmen?
GEORGETOWN – This Monday, voters may choose to elect its second woman to this town’s Board of Selectmen. If Rachel Bancroft is elected to join Amy Smith on the board, the town may decide it is time to drop the “men” from its name and follow nearby Ipswich in adopting...
500-Ton Trash Station ‘Will Contaminate Our Lives’
GEORGETOWN – Emma Driskill bought one of a handful of homes on Spaulding Road two years ago, unaware that she and Conor Powers-Smith were moving only 1,200 feet from a proposed 500-ton trash transfer station. In the months since becoming the closest neighbor to the...
Following The Child For 15 Years
ROWLEY – Driving along Rte. 1A beside the Town Common, you may have noticed one of the trees at the southern end of the park has sprouted colored paper this spring. Stop and look closely. The papers are poems, written by students at the North Shore Montessori School...
Veterans Versus Newcomer
SALISBURY — Three candidates, including two who have served several terms, are vying for two seats on the town’s Board of Selectmen. Freeman Condon, former owner of the Beach Plum Farms, is seeking his fourth three-year term. Ronalee Ray-Parrott, a social worker, is...
Newburyport Literary Festival Kicks Off Again This Weekend
NORTH SHORE AND BEYOND – Since its intrepid founders created the Newburyport Literary Festival 17 years ago, it has been one of the rites of Spring in Newburyport. Authors and poets interacted with enthusiastic readers, darting about downtown venues from the Firehouse...
Songs For The Soul
NEWBURYPORT – Ken Medema finishes his solo, 90-minute concerts with three to five songs that are improvised on the spot, complete with rhyming, from stories he gleans from members of the audience. And if that is not remarkable enough, Ken is blind. Nearing his 80th...
Celebrate Reading
GEORGETOWN – Whether you prefer stories about Judy Moody, Ramona Quinby or Mia, there’s a book waiting for you in front of the Penn Brook School, thanks to months of hard work by a group of five young Girl Scouts. The scouts in Troop 82937 led by Lori Kloc have been...
Jersey Mike’s Helps Special Olympics on Company’s Busiest Day
NEWBURYPORT – Last week, Jersey Mike’s 2,200 stores nationwide had its busiest day in company history as it raised $20 million to benefit the Special Olympics program. It was the 12th year the chain of submarine franchises has devoted its sales to a charity. In the...
Local Forecast

Priced Right Junk Removal
Recent News
- IPSWICH, GEORGETOWN, ROWLEY, and BOXFORD Town Meetings Face/Faced Tough Decisions May 14, 2025
- AMESBURY: Enjoy the Merrimack May 14, 2025
- IPSWICH: End of an Era – Beloved Majestic Dragon Provides Area Firefighters Training Ground Prior to Demo May 14, 2025
- Rowley Country Club Food Drive! May 14, 2025