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Rebecca Skloot’s “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” is the fascinating true story of a woman known to scientists around the world as “HeLa.” She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells, taken without her knowledge, became one of…
Read More »Read Corey’s always interesting thoughts about how cities are put together and what that means for urban life in his long post written in response to reading the Jane Jacob’s urban studies classic “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” (1961). He connects her insights and strong opinions to…
Read More »The Cultural Organization of Lowell (COOL) received great news this week, according to LZ Nunn of the City’s Office of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (CASE), who also serves as COOL’s executive director. COOL and its local partners were awarded a $30,000 grant from the Mass Cultural Council Adams Arts Program for the Discover Lowell…
Read More »From the UMass Lowell Public Affairs Office: Celebration Honors Black History Month, Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. “A performance by a nationally known poet, a screening of a documentary, a visit to the Black History Trail and a leadership workshop are just some of the events scheduled for the…
Read More »See this nugget over at Cliff’s place in which Larry Summers takes on the Tiger Mom-mom Amy Chau on the topic of strict study-and-learning practices vs. creativity.
Read More »Big. Huge. Vast. Jumbo. Massive. A cornucopia of American art. My wife and I met two friends for Sunday brunch at the Museum of Fine Arts. We hadn’t been to the MFA since the opening of the new Art of the Americas Wing and Shapiro Family Courtyard last November. To…
Read More »This is Catholic Schools Week. Catholic schools have a long and rich tradition in Lowell and in the Merrimack Valley. Of those schools still open and active: St. Patrick’s School in the Acre opened in 1852, the Immaculate Conception School in 1880, St. Michael’s in 1889, St. Jeanne d’Arc School…
Read More »The NYTimes today reports on dismal results in a recent national test on science knowledge administered to 4th, 8th, and 12th graders (the 12th grade sample is much smaller than the elementary school samples). Read the results here, and get the NYT if you want more. But the results showed…
Read More »NYTimes columnist David Brooks today says it’s imperative that 21st-century America be a talent magnet to stay at the front of the pack in the global economic and social long-distance race. For our purposes on this blog, substitute Lowell and/or Merrimack Valley every time he mentions America, and think about…
Read More »Pawtucket Congregational Church in Lowell, Massachuestt – National Register of Historic Places -2007 Today Secretary of State William F. Galvin – who also chairs the Massachusetts Historical Commission -announced that the Historical Commission is accepting nominations for the 33rd Annual Preservation Awards Program. This award program recognizes preservation projects and individuals that…
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