Politics

Giving 17 year olds the right to vote

“Just wondering if you’d be interested in tagging along to the statehouse on April 13th to attend he Joint Committee on Election Laws’ public hearing on the teen-led initiative to Lower the Voting Age to 17 in Lowell’s muni elections.” Above is a message I received from a proponent of…

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In the Merrimack Valley: Steward and Saints Medical Center Letter of Intent to Buy

The Globe is reporting on BusinessUpdates that Steward Health Care Systems announced this morning that they have a letter of intent to purchase yet another hospital in the Merrimack Valley. Saints Medical Center in Lowell seems to find Steward “a good fit” for the hospital’s  “mission, vision and values” according…

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Tewksbury Results (Unofficial) – Incumbent Selectman Wins – Incumbent Town Clerk Loses – Ballot Question “Yes” Wins

Tony – ever efficient – got the Tewksbury and Billerica results up very quickly. These results are unofficial as posted on the Tewksbury Patch website but are sure to be confirmed. In Tewksbury, there were a few glitches with the ballot boxes in precincts 2, 2A and 4 at different times…

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“Remember the Ladies”

  First Lady Abigail Adams (1744-1818) On this last day of March – Women’s History Month – it is fitting to note that on this day – March 31, 1776 – in a personal letter  – Abigail Adams urged her husband John Adams “to remember the ladies.” As the Continental…

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Jim Shannon On Hospitals Going “For-Profit”

Posting that photo this morning reminded me that former Congressman/former Massachusetts Attorney General Jim Shannon wrote a thoughtful op-ed piece in the Globe back in September 2010 about the Cerberus/Steward take-over of the six-hospital Caritas Health Care System. The situation with Saints Medical Center and a quite likely buy-out by Steward makes…

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In the Merrimack Valley: Steward/Caritas to Lowell?

There’s a report in today’s Boston Globe that there is a tentative agreement in place for the Steward Health Care System that recently purchased the Caritas hospital system to acquire Saints Medical Center in Lowell. For-profit health care is expanding in Massachusetts, with community hospitals in Taunton and Lowell expected…

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