The Weekend Current: Early voting opens in the race for state representative

Here is what happened in Gloucester, Rockport, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea from Friday evening, Oct. 16, through Sunday night, from public records and our earlier coverage.

Five things to know

1. Early voting for the Nov. 3 election began Saturday. It runs through Oct. 30, and the deadline to register is Saturday, Oct. 24. Compare the three candidates for state representative. See the voting dates.
2. Gloucester field hockey is 13 and 0 after a 1 to 0 win at Masconomet on Friday. Read the game story.
3. Gloucester football beat Swampscott 17 to 7 on Friday night at Newell Stadium. The Fishermen are 5 and 1. Read the game story.
4. Essex's school plan is headed to the state. The Essex School Building Committee voted 10 to 0 to send a $95.4 million design for a new Essex Elementary School to the state agency that pays part of the cost. Town meetings vote Nov. 16, and ballot votes follow Dec. 10. Read the story.
5. Gloucester's Licensing Board picks Monday between two restaurants for the city's last full liquor license: Rocky Neck Lobster Company II in East Gloucester and Mehfil on Washington Street. The Zoom meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. Read the story.

Scores and standouts

Gloucester. Mia Rodolosi scored the only goal at Masconomet, and senior captain Mackayla Allen set it up. The boys soccer team beat Danvers 2 to 1 at home on Friday afternoon. Read the soccer story.

Rockport. Field hockey lost 7 to 0 at Bishop Fenwick on Friday evening. The Vikings play at Amesbury on Monday. Read the game story.

Manchester Essex. The girls soccer team lost 1 to 0 to Marblehead at home on Friday afternoon. Read the game story. Football played at Triton on Friday night. The MIAA had not posted that score by Sunday night.

No varsity games were listed for Saturday. Gloucester competitive cheer was scheduled to compete at Wilmington on Sunday. Scores are from the MIAA. See Friday's scoreboard and Sunday's scoreboard.

Police and fire

Essex. The weekly log police sent Sunday morning covers Friday evening through about 6:30 a.m. Sunday. It lists 68 calls and no arrests. Most were patrols and traffic enforcement. Officers also took an animal complaint on Story Street early Sunday. Later Sunday calls are not in the log yet.

Rockport. The newest log we have covers Thursday into Friday morning. The weekend logs have not arrived yet.

Gloucester and Manchester-by-the-Sea. Logs for the weekend have not arrived yet. Manchester posts its weekly log about 10 days later.

We found no fire department records for the weekend. Logs go into our police log as they arrive, with street names only.

Around town

• Friday and Saturday: The calendar listed the Manchester Essex Boosters carnival at Masconomo Park in Manchester. The forecast called for rain Friday and a gale watch on the water into Saturday evening. See the midweek list. See Friday's forecast.
• Sunday: The city's free Halloween party at Stage Fort Park in Gloucester moved to Sunday, noon to 3 p.m., after the storm. The forecast called for sun and a high near 55. Read about the party. See Sunday's forecast.

Decided late last week

Manchester. On Thursday, the Finance Committee backed $710,927 from free cash, the town's leftover money from past years, to finish paying for a new fire engine. It also backed $192,605 from water fees toward the loan for new water meters, and Manchester's share of the new Essex Elementary School, about $49.9 million. It held off on the senior center. The Select Board sets the final warrant Monday. Read the story.

Rockport. On Thursday, the Board of Health voted 4 to 0 that septic tight tanks 30 years or older need a full state inspection every three years. Enforcement starts June 1. Read the story. The Planning Board talked about smaller lots for tiny houses the same night but took no votes. A work session is Thursday, Oct. 22. Read the story.

No Friday board votes in the four towns appear in our coverage.