For decades the two political parties have engaged in parallel social contracts with workers and management: Come election time, unions support Democrats and the people who unions work for support Republicans. Legislatively, the two parties advocate the agendas of their respective constituencies. Since the 1980s, the Republican-management axis has been…
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Move Lowell Forward, the local non-partisan political action committee, hosted a Planning and Development Forum featuring Assistant City Manager for Planning and Development Adam Baacke. Adam spent about 90 minutes reviewing and answering questions about many projects underway and planned in the city before a crowd of about 50. Here…
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With the centennial of the famous 1912 Bread and Roses Strike in Lawrence approaching, will scenes like this one below of union workers protesting cuts in pay and benefits multiply in the months ahead as state legislatures grapple with budget shortfalls? Read the NY Times article that goes with the…
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Monday night I watched the very exciting 2011 Beanpot final on TV. Boston College defeated Northeastern in overtime by a score of 7-6. While the consolation game earlier that evening wasn’t televised, someone who was there told me that was a fantastic game as well, with Harvard beating Boston University…
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I’ll admit. I’m not really a big animal lover. I’m OK with dogs, but that is about it. Last night as I was flicking through the channels I came across the Westminster Dog Show at Madison Square Garden. I couldn’t stop watching it. Its a fast paced show filled with…
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MassMoments tells us this morning that in 1849 – the first American-made Valentine cards were created and sold in Worcester, Massachusetts by Mt. Holyoke graduate Esther Howland. Modeled on the English-style Valentine, her fancy designs, embossed, cut and colored paper along with romantic sentiments and hidden messages soon grew into a…
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These ten districts will be downsized in to nine districts as a result of the 2010 Census. (Note: Include Middlesex above with Essex.) A headline in yesterday’s MetroWest Daily News asks: ” Is there political gamesmanship in Mass. redistricting?” Redistricting in Massachusetts – and elsewhere – is always political – it’s the nature…
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John Edward, a resident of Chelmsford who earned his master’s degree at UMass Lowell and who teaches economics at Bentley University and UMass Lowell, contributes the following column There is an intriguing sub-plot to the Republican takeover of the U.S. House of Representatives. Self-proclaimed Libertarian, Representative Ron Paul of Texas,…
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Interested in what needs to be done to improve workforce development in the state? Read what Lowell’s John Schneider has to say. He’s vice president of MassINC and director of its New Skills for A New Economy Program as well as a moving force in the Gateway Cities initiative. John…
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Read E. J. Dionne’s latest column from the Wash. Post, which I picked up from realclearpoltics.com. He says US Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia, the one not running for re-election, is a rare political bird, a Jacksonian Democrat who measures the health of the society from the bottom up not…
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