Author Archive

Images from tonight’s debate

Tonight’s debate between Chris Doherty and Eileen Donoghue, the Democratic candidates for the First Middlesex State Senate seat was held at Nashoba Valley Technical High School in Westford. The candidates were seated at individual tables on the auditorium stage with moderator Michael Goldman’s large lectern separating them (and possibly even…

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Doherty and Donoghue compared

Tonight’s debate at Nashoba Valley Technical High School made one thing quite clear: Eileen Donoghue and Chris Doherty agree on almost every issue. Moderator Michael Goldman did a nice job of establishing that early on. Both oppose the death penalty; both support choice; both support marriage equality; both support casinos;…

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Doherty – Donoghue finances compared

Yesterday was the deadline for legislative candidates to file the pre-primary report with the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance. Covering the period from January 1, 2010 to August 27, 2010, these reports show all incoming contributions and all outgoing expenditures. Eileen Donoghue’s was filed early enough in the…

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Donoghue files campaign finance report

Candidates for the state legislature must file their pre-primary campaign finance reports today. I was able to find Eileen Donoghue’s but not Chris Doherty’s (as of 9:45 pm). Candidates may file electronically, so Doherty does have a few more hours. These reports cover all activity from January 1 thru August…

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What’s with all the shooting?

Maybe it’s my imagination, but there seems to be a real uptick in the number of shootings in the city over the past few days. Consider this: Last night at midnight there was a report of shots being fired on Alma Street in Centralville Yesterday afternoon police rushed to Jewett…

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Robert Frost Fountain

While in Lawrence today for the Bread & Roses Festival, I got my first look at the city’s Robert Frost Fountain, pictured above. This is what is written on the plaque alongside the fountain: Robert Lee Frost, born Mach 26, 1874 was raised here in Lawrence. His first published poem…

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Bread and Roses Festival

To commemorate Labor Day this year I decided to visit the 26th annual Bread & Roses Festival in Lawrence, an event that celebrates the gains made by workers as a result of their nationally significant strike in the city back in 1912. Even before I left Lowell, however, I was…

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“The mills weren’t made of marble”

Here is the lead editorial from the September 7, 1992 edition of the New York Times – A Labor Day piece about the recently opened Boott Cotton Mill Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts: Youngsters who are made to troop through America’s historic landmarks might reasonably conclude that in the past, rich…

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Neighborhood Schools

Earlier this week I posted something on Facebook regarding the start of school which prompted a conservative friend to comment on the benefits of “neighborhood schools,” a term I haven’t heard in a few years. It might surprise readers to learn that I am a proponent of neighborhood schools only…

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