TOMORROW – Saturday – April 23, 2016 – 10 a.m. – SPECIAL TOUR Urban Renewal and UMass Lowell East Campus with Bob Forrant The Northern Canal Urban Renewal Project of the 1960s tore down the long-established Little Canada neighborhood and the Merrimack Mill complex to make way for new industry…
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Michael Leong in the online cultural publication hyperallergic.com contributes what could be a game-changing review of recent books by poet Joseph Donahue (Lowell-connected and holder of an endowed professor’s chair at Duke University). Here’s the opening paragraph: Among contemporary American poets, Joseph Donahue is an underrecognized master. For years, he…
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I will post updates on the wild and cultivated things around my house this spring and summer in the spirit of the “Flowering City” concept of our community. These are my notes from yesterday when the morning air was cooler than today.—PM The air still has a chill in it…
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April 23, 2016 – 10 a.m. – SPECIAL TOUR Urban Renewal and UMass Lowell East Campus with Bob Forrant The Northern Canal Urban Renewal Project of the 1960s tore down the long-established Little Canada neighborhood and the Merrimack Mill complex to make way for new industry that never came. Today,…
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Special joint meeting of city council and school committee begins at 6:15 pm to brief the two bodies on the status of Lowell High School project. City Manager Murphy explains that is the biggest project in the history of the city of Lowell. The city has selected its project manager…
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About ten years ago, there was an annual program called “Be a Tourist in Your Own Town” organized by the Lowell Historic Board, Greater Merrimack Valley Convention and Visitor Bureau, National Park Service, and others. It was a franchise-type operation like the various “First Night” celebrations around the country. I…
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Apartments on Wellman Street Councilors Bill Samaras and Jim Leary had similar motions on the council agenda last Tuesday (full report on Tuesday’s meeting HERE). Both wanted reports from the city manager on the benefits of residential versus commercial use at Connector Park, the location of the large parcel at…
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There’s no such thing as bad weather; there’s only bad clothing. (Anonymous). Tomorrow night (April 7, 2016) I will lead a walking tour of a portion of the Lowell Canal system as part of Downtown Lowell First Thursdays. The tour will begin at 6 pm at Lowell National Park Visitor…
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Mayor Kennedy introduces Bryan Perry, the new city auditor. Councilor Leahy asks for a point of personal privilege, then moves that the council demand an apology from the government of Cambodia for statements by a government spokesman that were critical of Councilor Rita Mercier. Motion passes unanimously. Lowell National Park…
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