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One of the reasons the history of Lowell is so fascinating is that you can take almost any issue of national importance and see how it played out in this city. Looking at a global issue in a local context makes it easier to relate to what was or is…

Lowell resident Joe Smith, a longtime observer of city and national finances, shared the following with me. I’m posting it here with an invitation to readers to share their feedback on the comment section of the blog. Some Economic Policy Ideas By Joe Smith (with some help from AI) I…

Photo Fix By Leo Racicot I’ve always liked taking photos. The idea that you can click a button and capture a person, a place forever (or at least for as long as the photo lasts, appealed to me from childhood. When, as a nine-year-old, I acquired a Brownie camera for…

A weekly report on things I’ve read, heard and seen since last Wednesday.  Book Review: Republic and Empire: Crisis, Revolution, and America’s Early Independence by Trevor Burnard and Andrew Jackson O’Shaughnessy (2025). In honor of the US Semisesquincentennial, this book presents the American Revolution from the British perspective. Seen from…

Two years ago, Louise Peloquin began sharing excerpts from L’Etoile, a French-language newspaper published in Lowell from 1886 to 1957. At my urging, she has agreed to compile some of her previous posts with added contextual information into a book manuscript to be called, L’Etoile: A Star on Prince Street.…

The Lowell City Council last met on Tuesday, August 11, 2026. I was away that week, so I was unable to write about that meeting on the following Sunday. However, I have since watched a recording of the meeting on YouTube and will write about it here. The council covered…

Fast Food, Spindle City By Leo Racicot In 1965, when radio and newspaper ads announced that a new type of eating place was coming to town, area excitement was high. The restaurant was called McDonald’s and promised to offer fast, cheap service, new kinds of food flavors different from the diner and…

A weekly report on things I’ve read, heard and seen since last Wednesday.  Museum Exhibit: “American Stories: Revolution to Rockwell” at Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Massachusetts until October 26, 2026. Anytime we visit the Berkshires, the Rockwell Museum is a regular destination, mostly because of the interesting temporary exhibits presented…

Two years ago, Louise Peloquin began sharing excerpts from L’Etoile, a French-language newspaper published in Lowell from 1886 to 1957. At my urging, she has agreed to compile some of her previous posts with added contextual information into a book manuscript to be called, L’Etoile: A Star on Prince Street.…

The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons-Barron’s own blog. Years ago, when Martha Raddatz was Martha Bradlee, we were colleagues at WCVB-TV, Channel 5 in Boston — she in the newsroom chasing stories, I in the editorial department, commenting on the news from a safe distance. Millions…