January 18, 2016 – Monday Martin Luther King Day – no sales January 19, 2016 – Tuesday 3 Ames Place for $117,000. Prior sale in 1979 68 Billerica St for $200,000. Prior sale in 2015 for $120,000 136 Andrews St for $269,900. New condo January 20, 2016 – Wednesday 52…
Amy Bisson covered Wednesday’s Lowell School Committee meeting. She opened her coverage with some procedural observations: Twenty-seven items were posted on this agenda which included an Executive Session to discuss contract negotiations and consideration of contract extensions for two Assistant Superintendents. Although most of the meeting was routine, there were…
An article in this morning’s Boston Globe (“Boston trails other cities in arts funding”) along with the blog post I wrote last night about the history of Lowell’s Brush Gallery got me thinking about the arts in Lowell. I define “arts” broadly. It includes painters and performers but also public…
This past Saturday (January 16, 2016), I visited The Brush Art Gallery & Studios at 256 Market St. in Lowell for a panel discussion on “The Roots of ‘The Brush’ & Lowell’s Cultural Revival” which featured Paul Marion. Rosemary Noon, Fred Faust, and Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord who were all “present…
Firearms Policy – Manager Murphy explains that the last time this was before the council, the council asked the manager to meet with the people critical of the current firearms policy. He says they had two main objections: the first was that the requirement was more stringent than in other…
By Fred Faust: Monday, January 18, 2016 at noon is the annual celebration at the Tsongas Center of the life and lessons of Martin Luther King Junior. Organized by Lura Smith for her foundation at Middlesex Community College, It is a meaningful way to spend a part of this national…
Smith Baker Center Tuesday night the city council unanimously voted to sell the Smith Baker Center to the Coalition for a Better Acre (CBA) for $300,000. This is a big deal because without major renovations in the near future, the prominently-placed building will suffer the same fate as another unused…
The following real estate sales took place in Lowell last week: January 11, 2016 – Monday 4 Ardell St for $217,500. Prior sale in 2003 for $215,000 129 Remington St for $300,000. Prior sale in 1987 820 Bridge St Unit 6 for $115,000. Prior sale in 2013 for $100,000 1431…
By Vincent Valentine, founder of the Telephone Museum: In 1877, Boston was the global epicenter of innovation and Lowell was a prominent industrial complex supplying granite for canals and factory foundations. Rudimentary electrical componentry such as telegraph and alarm systems were leading edge. Charles Williams Jr’s electrical shop in Boston…
Coverage of the presidential election is increasing as the first electoral events draw near. The Iowa Caucus is on February 1, 2016, the New Hampshire Primary is on February 9, 2016, and the Massachusetts Primary is on Super Tuesday, March 1, 2016. With that in mind, I decided to review…