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Winterfest 2016 Congratulations to the organizers of Winterfest 2016 for a successful reset of an existing event that was ready for some new ideas. The highlight for me was the illuminated Merrimack Canal which glowed red, white, and blue on Friday night. After the opening festivities and the flipping of…
Read More »By Steve O’Connor On February 14th, Bobby Lambert died in South Deerfield, MA. at the age of 94. Bobby was a lifelong friend of my father, Jim O’Connor. Both, like Jack Kerouac, were born in Lowell, MA in 1922, and Bobby was later to play football with Jack Kerouac at…
Read More »The following real estate sales occurred last week: February 15, 2016 – Monday President’s Day – no sales February 16, 2016 – Tuesday 25 Nicollet St for $290,000. Prior sale in 2010 for $149,500 80 Clark Rd for $270,000. Prior sale in 1991 27 Ostrander Ave for $239,000. Prior sale…
Read More »After our weekend deep freeze and yesterday’s tropical rain, the bright sunshine and 40-something temperatures today convinced me to take a lunchtime walk downtown. My first stop was 200 Central Street which had put on an unauthorized pre-Winterfest light show last night when water infiltrated an underground electrical fixture and…
Read More »Personnel subcommittee report: On Monday, February 29, three candidates for auditor will be interviewed by the full council. Plain Street Realignment motion response – Councilor Belanger asks about the extent of property takings. Manager Murphy says the city is minimizing the amount of land to be taken from the VFW.…
Read More »Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey shared her thoughts on our society’s opioid epidemic in yesterday’s Boston Globe (“Cutting off the opioid epidemic at the root”). Despite all the attention devoted to this issue by legislators, public safety officials, and community groups, nothing will change, she wrote, until “we change the…
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Trolley Expansion Dies Quietly For nearly a decade, there has been talk of a greatly expanded trolley system for Lowell. Conceptually, the project would expand the National Park’s existing 1.5 mile trolley system to connect the Gallagher Terminal with downtown and with UMass Lowell campus centers. A consortium of local…
Read More »The following real estate sales took place in Lowell last week: February 8, 2016 – Monday No sales – snowstorm February 9, 2016 – Tuesday 205 Smith St for $252,400. Prior sale in 1995 for $80,000 19 E. Richardson St for $245,000. Prior sale in 2015 for $160,000 16-18 Ecklund…
Read More »My ability to predict the outcome of elections is as bad as my ability to predict football games. Here’s what I wrote this past Sunday morning: As for tonight’s [Super Bowl] game, I pick the Panthers. Since I’m making predictions, on Tuesday in New Hampshire, I think Donald Trump will…
Read More »Update on Auditor selection process: Councilors have each submitted their top three choices from the resumes/applications, so the next step is to schedule interviews with the three top candidates. The three top candidates are Brian Perry, John Linnehan, and Sheila Rouix. Next Tuesday, the council will pick a future dates…
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