Shortly after Lowell received its charter in the early 1800s, the city adopted a seal. Many people confuse the motto – “Art is the handmaid of human good” – with the seal. True, the motto rings the seal but the seal is a type of mural in miniature that tells…
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I just got back from tonight’s debate of the candidates for the 18th Middlesex State Representative District. The debate was sponsored by the Lowell Sun and UMass Lowell and it was held in the new University Crossing Building which is at Merrimack and Pawtucket Streets. If you’ve lived in Lowell…
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I attended the debate of the candidates for the 18th Middlesex Representative District which was held this evening at UMass Lowell’s new University Crossing building. The following are the notes I took during the debate. It’s not a verbatim transcript but it gives you a pretty accurate account of who…
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Next Tuesday, voters in the 18th Middlesex District will go to the polls to select the Democratic nominee for the rare vacant state representative seat that was created when Kevin Murphy resigned to become city manager. For that reason, this seemed like a good time to trace the lineage of…
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The City Council and Downtown Instead of travelling to a distant location for a summer vacation I stuck around New England and made short trips to cities like Boston, Salem, and North Adams in Massachusetts, Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Portland, Maine. Anytime I go to such places I always compare…
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August 25, 2014 – Monday 38-40 Fairfield St for $359,250. Prior sale in 2003 for $355,000 19-25 Merrimack St for $485,000. Prior sale in 2007 for $500,000 August 26, 2014 – Tuesday 171 Upham St for $324,900. Prior sale in 2004 for $318,000 100 Rogers St Unit 1 for $110,000.…
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City Auditor Report: 2009–2014 Surveillance Spending Report. Mayor relinquishes chair to Vice Chair Leahy. Mayor finds many things troubling including that names of investigative subjects were blacked out on original invoices. This should be investigated. Says the city should have a list of people who were followed. Also dismayed that…
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Jim Peters returns with some end-of-summer observations: It has been a very good summer. On my television show, I have been blessed with a bevy of guests who are all interested in what is happening to Lowell. The City Councilors, the candidates for State Representative, the business persons,…
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First Congregational Church (aka Smith Baker Center) viewed from inside the Pollard Memorial Library. Photo by Tony Sampas.
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John Edward teaches economics at Bentley and UMass Lowell. He’s a frequent contributor of columns on economic issues. Here is his latest: America is the land of opportunity, isn’t it? Free-market capitalism, I thought, is the prevailing economic regime. Economics is the science of incentives. Profit is the ultimate incentive.…
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