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Thank you to City Manager Kevin Murphy, the City Councilors, and City planning staff for moving forward with improvements to the historic South Common. The first phase of the big park’s upgrade will involve a pathway from Thorndike Street to South Street to enhance walking and biking, especially people moving…
Read More »The media commentariat and political insiders seem astounded that Bernie Sanders is attracting vast support among young voters on the Democratic side. Setting aside Bernie’s views on government policies and social values, remember that people in their 20s grew up watching movies that featured a wise old man with special…
Read More »On the eve of the Iowa caucuses and with political ads in heavy rotation on Boston TV stations in advance of the New Hampshire primary, here’s a poem with a bit of politics in it from the vault that goes back to 1988. I rarely use rhyme in compositions, but this one…
Read More »Okay, here’s another one of those Lowell connections. There’s a scene in the brilliant new film “The Martian” in which astronaut Mark Watney (actor Matt Damon of Massachusetts) travels to a remote location to uncover a craft sent to Mars long before his space mission. According to sources, it’s actually…
Read More »There’s always a Lowell connection, right? Farewell, David Bowie, rock star, pop star, culture star, endlessly inventive artist. When I heard the news today, I was reminded of a story told to me by Lowell singer-songwriter extraordinaire Bob Martin. He was breaking into the music business in the early 1970s,…
Read More »Around 1996, there was a lot of activity flowing from an idea about transforming Lowell into “The Flowering City,” with a new effort to enhance the parks, forest, waterways, gardens. The thinking was that the community was ready to shift its attention from 20 years of bricks-and-mortar rehab and redevelopment…
Read More »As the final year of President Barack Obama’s presidency kicks off, here is one of what will be many retrospectives. Edel Rodriguez wrote this for Politico Magazine. President Barack Obama (whitehouse.gov)
Read More »About 200 people rallying in the Free Speech Zone at 5.30 p.m. Happy to see the second shift show up outside the Tsongas. After 45 minutes, frostbite was setting in, so I gladly handed off my piece of the stand-out to the next group. Thousands upon thousands in line from…
Read More »Rosemary and I were lucky enough to get tickets to the sold-out New Year’s Eve celebration organized by the ever-active Made in Lowell group led by Tobi Marx and his team. At least 350 people converged on the majestic stone “cathedral” that was once St Jean Baptiste church (also Nuestra…
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