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Looking through the Arts & Leisure section of the New York Times today, I saw a full page ad for a book called “Footsteps: Literary Pilgrimages Around the World,” which is drawn from past travel columns in the Times. The Times is considered by many people as the paper of…
Read More »We have a new poem from Tom Sexton today, which he sent from his home in Alaska. In this new composition Tom recreates an extended moment in his Lowell youth, reflecting on a kind of confusion most of us have experienced. The details are just right in this self-portrait of…
Read More »Maybe the American Psychological Association (APA) can add a new syndrome to the behaviors that members of the APA observe and treat. I don’t know what else to call it other than Trump-Monitoring Fatigue. I’m not so far over the edge that I need to check in with a…
Read More »I’m pinch-hitting for Dick this week while he is otherwise occupied. Instead of his usual round-up of major happenings and ongoing issues, I will share some observations about life in the city. It’s helpful to step back and look at the big picture. I had an opportunity to walk through…
Read More »I have a 15-year-old white T-shirt with teal blue lettering on the back that reads “Partners in Progress, UMass Lowell & the Community.” The Hanes Beefy-T has been washed maybe 700 times, but the fabric has not frayed and the words are not faded. There’s a slight tear under the…
Read More »NYTimes web page has a lead story about how the Republican Party and its financiers first sold to the public and then politically embraced the view that the facts and forecasts for global warming or climate change are “fake science.” There’s a lot of criticism of how the Democratic Party…
Read More »In the New York Times, scholar and activist Bill McKibben calls Trump’s decision to cancel U.S. participation in the Paris Climate Accord “stupid and reckless.” It’s looking more and more as if Pres. Trump is doing things, making decisions, and appointing people just because he can—not because the purpose is…
Read More »Dick Howe asked me to be the guest host for this important weekly ritual.—PM Garrison Keillor was known to start his regular report about local doings on his radio show A Prairie Home Companion by saying, “Well, it’s been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon . . .” I can’t remember…
Read More »The Sun newspaper today reported that 13 Lowell residents, Asian American and Latino voters, will challenge the city’s at-large voting system for city council and school committee in court, charging that the current system discriminates against voters from ethnic and racial minority groups. Read the story by Amaris Castillo here.…
Read More »Media Release May 17, 2017 Lowell Heritage Partnership Supports Downtown High School Location The Board of Directors of the Lowell Heritage Partnership (LHP) voted unanimously (two abstentions) on March 23, 2017, to renew and keep Lowell High School downtown, citing it as “an opportunity to ensure that our heritage…
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