“Known in the whole world” – (PIP #24) By Louise Peloquin On March 20th, the International Day of Francophonie, it is fitting to remember that, for decades, French echoed in the streets of Little Canada. L’Etoile’s main objective was offering its readership a wide variety of articles in French. Since…
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March 17, 2024 Much of Tuesday’s Lowell City Council meeting was devoted to discussing the implementation of the new citywide 25 mph speed limit. Councilors seemed confused about it which is understandable: The new speed limit is citywide, yet it doesn’t apply to every street in the city. According to the report,…
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This blog celebrates its 17th birthday this week. It was born on March 11, 2007. I purchased the URL “richardhowe.com” a year or two earlier in preparation for my 2006 reelection campaign for register of deeds. Once that campaign was over, I added Lowell City Council election returns to the…
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Tick … Tick … Tick … By David Daniel I am haunted by clocks. Last weekend brought the semiannual conspiracy of mass self-deception wherein we pretend to alter the space/time continuum. Sure, I know. It’s good to have a little more daylight at the end (or the beginning) of the…
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“Consumers are complaining” – (PIP #23) By Louise Peloquin Food prices, shortages, rationing, accessibility and distribution have always made the news. Media outlets cover the very same topics today. As the editorial below demonstrates, L.-A. Biron and his readership were impacted by food accessibility and the allegedly inefficient administrative management…
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What to do with the Smith Baker Center was back before the City Council on Tuesday in the form of a motion response from the city’s Department of Planning and Development. Here are the major points made in that report: A grant from the Massachusetts Historical Commission is not a viable option…
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A recent email correspondent asked why the Northern Middlesex Registry of Deeds district consists of just 10 communities whereas the Southern District had the other 44 communities in Middlesex County. Like so much else, the answer involves some history. To start, the Northern Middlesex Registry of Deeds District consists of…
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Review of new books about Bob Dylan & Allen Ginsberg Reviewed by David Daniel [This article originally appeared in Arts Fuse.] Books reviewed: Material Wealth: Mining the Personal Archive of Allen Ginsberg compiled and annotated by Pat Thomas. Powerhouse Books. 256 pages. $58. And: Bob Dylan: Mixing Up the Medicine…
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L’Etoile and Women – (PIP #22) By Louise Peloquin On March 8th, International Women’s Day, we remember the women who shaped our lives. Here is an example, kindly provided by Bob Vandenbulcke, whose father worked at L’Etoile. (1) Women were always an integral part of L’Etoile. PIP #10, posted on…
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On Tuesday night, Assistant City Manager/DPD Director Yovani Baez-Rose made an excellent presentation to the City Council on Lowell Forward 2040, the city’s comprehensive master plan update that will now be considered by the Council. The executive summary and the full plan are online. At more than 200 pages, the…
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