RichardHowe.com – Voices from Lowell & Beyond

Lowell Politics: April 26, 2026

Perhaps the most important thing to arise at last Tuesday’s Lowell City Council meeting was an announcement that City Manager Tom Golden, on behalf of the city, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Solar International Core Canada Ltd (SICC) of Toronto, Canada, in which SICC will serve as the “Master Investor and Capital Partner” for development projects within the Hamilton Canal Innovation District (HCID) and will provide a pool of investment money worth up to $2 billion.

Because this was just a “for your information” item, councilors were not required to take any action, but most of them spoke about it. Their responses brought to mind a community theater production of Goldilocks and the Three Bears with some councilors acting like the MOU was “too hot” (as in, this is the greatest thing that has ever happened in Lowell) and others deeming it “too cold” (as in, I can’t be overtly against it but I’m skeptical of the whole thing). To be fair, a couple of councilors thought it was “just right” (as in, this is a tremendous opportunity but let’s not plan the ribbon cutting just yet) which was the most reasonable approach.

I’ve read the agreement several times and still find it difficult to comprehend, although I suspect anyone who is not an investment banker would feel similar. Here is how I understand it to work:

Last year, Lowell was designated the first Frontrunner City in the United States. The Frontrunner City program is a strategic international partnership led by the Urban Economy Forum (UEF) and the United Nations to foster sustainable urban economies and advance UN Sustainable Development Goal 11, which aims to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.

One of the benefits to Lowell of this designation is to unlock significant international funding for urban development projects in the city, which is where SICC comes in. My initial guess was that SICC was not a bank or private equity company sitting on billions of dollars to invest. Instead, it seemed like a pass through for foreign investors seeking stable opportunities in which to invest (and earn interest from) their wealth.

Poking around online, there seems to be a connection between SICC and Oman, an Arab nation much in the news recently because it’s across the Strait of Hormuz from Iran.  Although Oman’s incredible wealth comes from oil and gas, the country’s leaders, like every other nation in the world other than the United States under the current regime, understand that the age of oil is dying and that their country must diversify into green energy technologies to strengthen it for the future. In the meantime, Oman still derives enormous wealth from petroleum sales, so the country desires stable investment opportunities that will help preserve and grow that wealth.

With the basis of the Frontrunner Program being the advancement of the UN’s sustainable development goals and, with the United States (despite the trepidation most of us feel when we awake each morning about what craziness has come out of Washington overnight) still seen as a stable and profitable venue for investment, the underlying framework of this agreement makes sense to me.

As for what’s in it for Lowell, I see two things: This deal potentially provides funding to a real estate developer who wants to construct something at an interest rate lower than what might be obtained from more traditional US lenders; and the partnership arrangement between the city and SICC, particularly the Advisory Joint Task Force committee, could accelerate the concept-to-completion timeline by providing the big-project equivalent of a pre-approved mortgage right from the start. Together, these two things would increase the odds of HCID projects happening.

I envision representatives of the Department of Planning and Development going to developers and saying, “We understand you plan to construct a building in community X, but if you come to Lowell and build it here, we have a lender offering favorable terms already lined up and ready to proceed.” Between a slightly lower interest rate than could be obtained elsewhere and the speed and ease of approval, it could be an attractive enough proposition for the developer to shift their project to Lowell.

That’s viewing this MOU in the most favorable light. Still, it’s understandable (and prudent) to have some concerns. The MOU provides some level of exclusivity to SICC so there’s a risk that projects with funding from other sources might be blocked and go elsewhere.

For example, what if an irrational war with no strategic goals was to break out in the Persian Gulf and paralyze that region’s economy? That might cause investors in that region to keep their funds closer to home rather than invest them in a distant country. With the intended money pipeline shut off by extenuating circumstances, the city might be locked into a funder – SICC – that doesn’t have any funds to lend. I believe the MOU doesn’t grant totally exclusive rights to SICC, but it’s probably enough of an obligation to make using another funder a messy undertaking.

Still, notwithstanding the thrilling announcement of the Draper project on the old National Park surface parking lot in the HCID to create a LINC Annex just a few weeks ago, in the context of a quarter of a century’s worth of effort to maximize the HCID’s potential, not much has happened, certainly nothing that meets the aspirations of the community back in 2001 when this project was conceived.

In the absence of anything better, why not give SICC a try?

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The council also received an interesting presentation from Bridget Cooley, the director of the Pollard Memorial Library. She highlighted the library’s role as a vital community hub that provides essential services to Lowell residents. She also presented data about circulation, program attendance, and the library’s digital and physical collections. Although most library patrons in Lowell prefer tangible mediums such as printed books, the library continues to grow its digital holdings with e-books, databases and online resources. A bright spot has been the success of the relatively new bookmobile which has brought the library’s resources to neighborhoods and community events.

As a longtime user of Lowell’s library – I’m approaching the 60th anniversary of obtaining my library card – I’m thrilled to hear of the institution’s success. While I don’t use it weekly, I’m probably a monthly user. More importantly, whenever I need it, the library has always been there for me. From the comments of city councilors on Tuesday night, many of them see the value in the library and support its mission. Hopefully that will carry forward through coming budget deliberations.

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Last week in “Seen & Heard” I wrote about my recent visit to the Massachusetts Historical Society and its “1776: Declaring Independence” exhibition now on display; I reviewed the book, Battle Green Vietnam: The 1971 March on Concord, Lexington, and Boston, by Elise Lemire (whose family roots are in Lowell), which is the story of an anti-war protest by local chapters of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War that gained national attention; I noted the obituary of Norman Bussel, a World War II POW who in later years wrote about PTSD and whose B-17 crewmate, Vasilios Mpourles of Lowell, died when their plane was shot down; and finally, an article on former NBA coach Dick Motta not being selected for the Basketball Hall of Fame led me to recall my enthusiasm for the Boston Celtics of the early 1970s.

Also, on richardhowe.com, on Marathon Monday, I reposted my April 22, 2013, article about the days-earlier Boston Marathon Bombing; and on Friday, I posted a new poem by the stellar poet and Lowell-native Michael Casey about the Olympia Restaurant.

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One week to go until this spring’s Lowell Cemetery tours. They are on Saturday, May 2, and Sunday, May 3, both starting at 10am from the Knapp Avenue entrance of the cemetery. It’s free and there is no need to sign up in advance. Just show up. It’s the same tour both days.

‘Olympia restaurant’: New poem by Michael Casey

Olympia restaurant

by Michael Casey

here with a high school

friend Panos

and the restaurant is

in the Greek

neighborhood

in Lowell and in a far

corner are two elderly ladies

Panos excuses himself

and goes to say hello

to these homegirls

and the ladies

eventually recognize

him

as Soc’s son   Peter

and these ladies are

positively

effusively gaga over

meeting Peter

after so many  years

he returns to the table

and I say   trying to be

facetious

it’s clear it’s not

every day those ladies

meet a son of Socrates

and Peter’s blasé about

it

not one that buys them

lunch anyway

© 2026 by Michael Casey

Michael Casey, right, being interviewed by Doug Holder, Somerville Cable TV, 2018

The author of several collections of poetry including There It Is: New & Selected Poems, Mill Rat, and the award-winning Obscenities (drawn from his military service in the Vietnam War era), Michael Casey grew up in Lowell and is a distinguished alumnus of the public high school. A graduate of Lowell Technological Institute in physics, he earned a master’s degree in creative writing at SUNY Buffalo, now the State University of Buffalo in NY. He lives in Andover, Mass.

Nana

Nana

By Leo Racicot

Our beloved Nana. Her name was Adele but everybody called her Lena. My friend, David Bowles used to get a kick out of that. I still do. Nana was born in Alexandria, Egypt. As young girls, she and her twin sister, Mariam, emigrated to Paris where they both entered the convent. Mariam took her vows and Nana, realizing the religious life wasn’t for her, left Europe for America to Lowell where she met the man she would marry, Raef, a barber. They were to have four children, the youngest of whom was our mother, Edna (called Topsy). Even as a child, I found Nana so interesting, like no one else I knew in my young life; she spoke several languages which held her in good stead making her way in the melting pot that was Lowell in those days. (It’s still a melting pot but in different ways now). I credit my lifelong love of languages to her, sitting with her on our porch in summers, she, teaching me the foreign words she knew, having me repeat them, fine-tuning my pronunciation. I loved biking up to The Highlands, the section of the city she and our Aunt Marie, lived in, helping her in the kitchen, sitting beside her in the parlor, she, teaching me how to make carnations from pink tissue paper, telling me stories of “the old country”. I liked that she hailed from a place as exotic as Alexandria. I wanted so badly to know more about that ancient city and the life she’d led there. I used to seek out books about Alexandria, especially Lawrence Durrell’s The Alexandria Quartet, a masterful piece of storytelling if ever there was one, much more satisfying than Proust, in my opinion. She talked less to me about Paris though one time, at her home, she asked me if I’d like to see a photo of her twin. She took me into her darkened bedroom, opened a bureau drawer, opened the lid of a box and took out a photo of a dead nun laid out in her casket! I had nightmares for a week. I honestly think had I not come of age in her kind, gentle light, I might have turned out to be a serial killer or some such, so frightening and twisted were the other aspects of my young life. In a poem, I once wrote were the lines: If I was a boat that might drift out to sea, Nana was the harbor that waited for me.

She died in the year of the Bicentennial a couple of days after her Patriots Day birthday at the age of 88. I wouldn’t attend her services; it was too painful seeing the lid close on her life, a life I saw as a testament to her accepting, uncomplaining grace.

____________________

Nana on the porch

Nana and Leo (the author)

Seen & Heard: Vol. 16

Museum Visit: Massachusetts Historical Society – Last Friday I had an early appointment in Boston so when that was finished, I went to the Massachusetts Historical Society at 1154 Boylston Street which is not far from the Prudential Center. I’ve long been aware of the organization but had never visited its headquarters. My purpose for going now was to see an exhibit called “1776: Declaring Independence” which was excellent. The highlight was various copies of the Declaration of Independence including hand-written versions created by the hands of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson for their own use, and an early version of the Declaration – Jefferson’s first draft – which proposed the abolition of slavery. The committee overseeing the draft wanted nothing to do with that and forced it to be removed from the final version. My favorite artifact on display was a small brass cannon which had been used by US troops at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812. The cannon had found its way after the war to the Manchester-By-The-Sea home of William Saltonstall. Originally displayed in the Saltonstall living room, the family began dragging it outside and used it to fire wooden croquet balls into the Atlantic Ocean. When Mass Historic eventually came into possession of it, several of the balls were stuck inside the gun. The sign next to this artifact quotes one of the Saltonstalls as saying, “Every historical society should have a cannon” which is a noble sentiment. The Massachusetts Historical Society is at 1154 Boylston Street in Boston and is open at various times – check its website for those – for viewing of the exhibit. Entry is free although you have to get buzzed in by the receptionist.  

Book Review: Battle Green Vietnam: The 1971 March on Concord, Lexington, and Boston by Elise Lemire (2021). This is a fascinating account of a protest action over Memorial Day weekend in 1971 by local chapters of Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW). Lemire, a Professor of Literature at Purchase College, State University of New York (SUNY) with family ties to Lowell, interviewed many of the people involved including veterans, local residents, and public officials. This yields a compelling story for anyone interested in the Vietnam War but also for people involved in local government or in participating in collective protests. Memorial Day in 1971 was the first to occur after Congress passed Monday Holiday legislation. Taking advantage of the three day weekend, the VVAW framed themselves as the progeny of the American colonists who fought the British in 1775. The three-day action began at North Bridge in Concord on Friday where the veterans stayed overnight. On Saturday, they marched in patrol formation to Lexington’s Battle Green intending to stay the night there. While the National Park Service had given wink-and-nod permission at North Bridge – “you can’t camp there but if you stay all night, we’re not going to bother you” – Lexington Green was under the jurisdiction of the Lexington Board of Selectmen and they drew a line in the sand against an overnight stay. Understanding that non-violent confrontation would yield more attention to their cause than strict compliance with the rules, the veterans remained on the Green all night, or at least until two busloads of police arrived and arrested several hundred veterans and their supporters. The police chief, in his interview with the author, stressed that he ordered his officers not to resort to violence in conducting the arrests. This was consistent with the attitude of the veterans who saw the arrests as a positive development. All prisoners were transported to the town DPW garage where they were held for the rest of the night. Then, in a special Sunday session at the Concord District Court, the judge dismissed for all defendants the misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges and imposed a $5 fine for trespassing. The hundreds of supporters outside the court took up a collection and paid the fines. Supporters then car-pooled the veterans to Charlestown where they marched to the Bunker Hill Monument to spend Sunday night. They were not surprised that the more liberal and affluent suburbanites of Concord and Lexington had supported their cause, but were concerned that working class Charlestown which had contributed many young men to the Vietnam War would have a different response. However, the response there was quite positive which may have reflected eroding support for the war. After spending a peaceful night at Bunker Hill, the veterans marched to Boston Common for some closing ceremonies. 

Obituary: “Norman Bussel, 102, Who Helped Explain Veterans’ Trauma, Dies” by Clay Risen in The New York Times – In April 1944, Bussel was a 19-year old crew member on a B-17 heavy bomber based in England. On his third mission over Germany, his plane was shot down by antiaircraft fire and he became a POW. He was held in atrocious conditions but survived the war, but afterwards carried with him nightmares, claustrophobia and survivor guilt which led him to alcoholism. After many painful years, he began communicating with other former POWs and realized their experiences were alike. This led him to write about his experience and become an advocate of others, with his efforts contributing to the recognition of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a serious condition. Back to 1944, while Bussel made it out of the B-17, not everyone did. One crew member who perished in the crash was 24 year old Vasilios Mpourles who lived at 70 West Fifth Street in Lowell with his widowed father and three brothers. His father was born in Greece and worked in a cotton mill while Vasilios drove a milk truck before joining the service. He is buried in Lorraine American Cemetery in France. 

Newspaper Article: “At 94, a Champion with 935 Victories Seeks No Validation” by Jason Quick in The Athletic – This story, about former NBA coach Dick Motta, is not an obituary. Instead, it was prompted by the failure of the NBA to select Motta for its Hall of Fame this year. This leaves Motta as the coach with the most career victories to not be in the Hall. I don’t recall hearing Motta’s name or thinking of him for 30 years, but seeing this story triggered some good memories about my youthful enjoyment of the National Basketball Association in the 1970s. Motta’s first pro coaching job was in 1968 with the Chicago Bulls. He won the NBA championship with the Washington Bullets in 1978, then finished up with several other teams before retiring in 1997 with the Denver Nuggets. Now, Motta lives in Idaho (he’s a native of Utah) and is the primary caregiver of his wife of 70 years who has dementia. He told the reporter he is not bitter about the Hall snub, but his comments suggest otherwise. The article was most poignant when Motta recalled that all five starters from the 1978 championship team are deceased as is the star of Motta’s first team, which won a high school championship. I began the article to revive memories of Celtic glory days with John Havlicek, Dave Cowens, Jo Jo White, and others, but finished it with a reminder of how quickly life passes.