IPSWICH — It’s cold outside while you are waiting in the pickup line at your child’s school, and you would like to relax, listening to the radio while you wait. But your battery is getting old, so you decide to leave the car running to keep the heat and radio on. ...
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.
Dining in the Street, Parks May Be Coming Back – Forever
NEWBURYPORT – “That we are talking about outdoor patios in February is awesome,” Nancy Caswell told an ad hoc committee of the City Council last week. With the city under a blanket of snow, the committee was debating whether to make the two-year experiment with...
Presidential Plunge for Funds
PLUM ISLAND – Nate Allard, as president of the Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce and Industry, usually wears a shirt and tie to important chamber events. But not on Monday. Allard has threatened to wear just a winter hat and speedo swim trunks when he and...
Blackburn Energy Is Bringing A Cleaner World
AMESBURY – At a time when there are too few people willing to drive 18 wheelers, when the world is experiencing global warming because of too much carbon in the air and when there is not enough electricity, it is too expensive or not available in remote areas, Andrew...
Winfrey’s: A Valentine’s Day Tradition
REGIONAL – It’s that time of year again. If you want to keep your sweetie happy, don’t forget Monday is Valentine’s Day. Remember the adage: Happy wife, happy life – all year long. You still have time to make it to one of the Winfrey’s shops or another retailer that...
What To Do With An Old Truck Stop?
AMESBURY -- Trader Alan’s Truck Stop just off Interstate 495 was always a busy place. Truckers pulled in for gas, service and some of the best hot dogs. They might even join locals at the Fifth Wheel bar to stomp and sing along with a country and western band. If the...
Sisters Find Each Other
NORTH SHORE – Pam Drolet and Heller Shoop may have played tennis on adjacent courts at the Newburyport Tennis Center. They had mutual friends whose children attended the Page School in West Newbury. Pam lives with her husband in Amesbury. Heller had also lived in...
Topsfield Resident Earns Faculty Honors at Georgia Tech
ATLANTA, GA - Jessica Bermudez of Topsfield earned the distinction of Faculty Honors for Fall 2021 at the Georgia Institute of Technology. This designation is awarded to undergraduate students who have earned a 4.0 academic average for the semester.
Celebrate Spring With Greater Newburyport Chamber Pot Fun
REGIONAL – Signs of spring -- much needed after last weekend’s snowstorm – are beginning to appear like crocus in the snow. The Boston Red Sox equipment truck left Monday for Florida, where assuming the owners and players reach a new agreement, the first spring...
Above and Beyond to Help Fire Victims
SALISBURY – On the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday last week, 32 people from 24 families, including a six-year-old boy, two dogs, a parrot and a ferret, came to the Hilton Senior Center in shock and sleep deprived. They had been roused from their beds after...
Local Forecast


Recent News
- TOASTS & TRUSTS: ESTATE PLANNING FOR RETIREES – THURS FEB 5 8:30 – 10:30 AM Feb 02, 2026
- Civil War Roundtable of the Merrimack February Meeting Wednesday, February 11 Feb 02, 2026
- Joaquim De Almeida III Feb 02, 2026
- Boxford Select Board Seeks Resident Input on Future of Stiles Pond Beach Operations Jan 28, 2026

