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Purple Fountain Grass
Purple Fountain Grass at the corner of Middlesex and Wood Streets (Rourke Bridge). Courtesy of Lowell Pride – Adopt an Island. Photo by Tony Sampas
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By the Merrimack, foot of Wilder Street
Photo by Tony Sampas
Read More »City Council Succession and Vote Totals
With the resignation of Kevin Broderick and the ascension of John Leahy as his replacement, I started thinking of other instances when sitting councilors left before the end of a two-year term. Both my memory and my records on the Elections section of this site are a bit sketchy, so…
Read More »“In search of grape leaves” by Bette Skandalis
Blog co-author Paul Marion recently discovered the blog of a friend of his from Dracut High School – Bette Skandalis – who is now a writer living in Cambridge. On her blog, called First Lines, Bette writes about “the interplay of food, family and love” with many of her stories…
Read More »“Nobody Beats the Fizz: Lowell’s Engines of 21st Century Development” by Bob Forrant
UMass Lowell Professor Bob Forrant shared the following essay that explores the relationship between the city of Lowell, the University, and the National Park: Introduction For thirty-seven years I’ve lived and worked in Massachusetts industrial cities and for the last twenty-five I’ve thought a lot about how cities like Springfield,…
Read More »Kevin Broderick to resign from City Council?
Rob Mills (@Robert_Mills) tweeted this earlier this evening: City Councilor Kevin Broderick just confirmed to me that he plans to resign tomorrow night to spend more time with his wife and five kids That’s certainly big news in Lowell politics. Normally the tenth place finisher in the last council election…
Read More »A City plagued by trash
Walking around downtown early Saturday morning, I was impressed by the state of cleanliness in the sections I traversed. UML Professor and Centralville resident Bob Forrant had a far different experience on a lengthy weekend walk through several neighborhoods. Bob posted the following on “Innovative Cities: Lowell” Facebook page, which…
Read More »Civil War Lowell
A group of historically minded individuals from Andover who had previously participated in one of my tours of Lowell Cemetery, asked me to give a walking tour of “Civil War Lowell.” We met this past Saturday at the National Park Visitor Center on Market Street and spent 90 minutes walking…
Read More »Mayor Murphy endorses Elizabeth Warren for US Senate
[youtube]nMQxgv9I1uw[/youtube] Lowell Mayor Patrick Murphy endorsed Elizabeth Warren for the US Senate at a recent visit by both to Art Ramalho’s West End Gym. Because it’s an actual gym where boxers train (as did the Mayor and his brother, Dan, in their younger days), the background noise makes it difficult…
Read More »Trends in Lowell Real Estate
Driving through Belvidere the other day, I noticed quite a few “For Sale” signs stuck in front lawns. The same is true in my own Highlands neighborhood. Drawing any inferences from those observations will take a while; it all depends on how long it takes until the “Sold” placard is…
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