We’re halfway through Franco-American Week. Here’s a quick update on remaining events: Thurs, June 24, 9.15 am—Memorial ceremony at Little Canada Monument, Aiken St, opposite UMass Lowell Recreation Center; 10 am—Flag-raising at Lowell City Hall; 7 pm—Prayer service to honor St. Jean Baptiste at Franco-American School Grotto followed by wine-and-cheese…
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Well, if we had a Campaign for Local Literature, I’d propose ‘Support the Books’ as one of the Campaign’s bumper stickers, but we don’t. What the readers of the region can do, though, is show up en masse at the next available local book launching, which happens to be this…
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I have cities on my mind because of the recent Innovative Cities Conference in Lowell. This morning, I turned on the TV and while looking for something to watch I came across the Sunrise Earth series on Discovery HD Theater, an amazing set of documentaries that capture the sunrise moment…
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We were fortunate to hear from the National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis at the Innovative Cities Conference. He and many other US Interior Department officials have been on duty in the Gulf of Mexico region responding to the oil pollution disaster. I think his visit was evidence of how highly Lowell…
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Mayor Terry Bellamy of Asheville, N.C., yesterday spoke about her city at the Innovative Cities Conference. One of the important attractions is the Thomas Wolfe House, the childhood home of the author immortalized in his novel “Look Homeward, Angel.” Read about the memorial and programs at the Wolfe House here.…
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SUN reporters wrote about the Innovative Cities Conference yesterday and today. Read Jennifer Myers from today’s paper here, and consider subscribing to the SUN if you appreciate the writing. Read Dennis Shaughnessey’s story from the Friday paper here.
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Occasional New York Times columnist Bono offers his thoughts on the extraordinary report about the killings of civil rights demonstrators in Northern Ireland in 1972. A few of the Catholic-side leaders during the long and brutal “troubles” in that place stopped in Lowell over the years, in particular, Gerry Adams…
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Nearly 200 people last night gathered for the opening dinner of the Innovative Cities Conference at the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center. In a video message, Congresswoman Niki Tsongas emphasized that older, mid-sized industrial (or post-industrial) cities have a particular set of challenges and assets that must be addressed…
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The Globe reports that IBM opened its new centers in Westford and Littleton. The two represent IBM’s “largest software development facility in North America.” Repeat: largest in North America. The campuses will be crawling with 3,400 workers. These folks are within reach of the Lowell Connector. Let’s get a bus…
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Lowell and Middlesex Community College had a big night tonight at the Auditorium, where “documentarian” Ken Burns wowed the crowd with his visual and verbal eloquence. I particularly enjoyed the question-and-answer portion of the program in which Burns demonstrated how quick he is on his “intellectual feet,” fielding questions on…
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