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The entry below is being cross-posted from Marjorie Arons-Barron’s own blog. Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald has a little bit of Marcel Proust, something of James Joyce, a dose of Freud and a lot of post-WWII PTSD. The landscape is usually desolate, the lighting dark; the often-abandoned buildings are old, dank and soot-stained,…

The highlight of Tuesday’s Lowell City Council meeting was a presentation by City Manager Tom Golden titled “2024 Year in Review.” There is no written version that I can find online, but the LTC YouTube recording captures the full presentation starting 38 minutes into the video. After watching the comprehensive…

A Most Gracious Rebuttal to the Modest Proposal of Annexation By Rich Grady (anonymously) In the spirit of Jonathan Swift . . .  To our dear friends south of the border: It is in the spirit of Monty Hall and “Let’s Make a Deal” that we acknowledge your proposal for…

“Love loves to love love” (1) – (PIP #57) By Louise Peloquin Valentine’s Day celebrates love. Love is a promise, love is a souvenir, once given never forgotten, never let it disappear. – John Lennon Stories of love regularly spiced the columns of L’Etoile. A love-souvenir sampling below, ends with details…

The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons-Barron’s own blog. Trump world is giving us the “madman theory of foreign policy” and a reign of terror domestically. Around the world, he is fashioning himself as unpredictable and irrational, which comes naturally to him and doesn’t have to be “fashioned.” Just…

On Tuesday the City Council voted unanimously to prohibit the use of “second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides” (SGARs) on city-owned properties. Eight residents spoke in support of the ordinance, and one spoke against it. A rodenticide is a pesticide intended to “prevent, destroy, repel or mitigate rodents that are declared to be…

Opinion: Destruction of Smith Baker Center is Short Sighted Suicide By Cameron DaCosta This piece is a guest contribution from UMass Lowell Class of 2022 alumnus Cameron DaCosta. The views and opinions expressed herein are the author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those of Richard Howe Jr. I want…

Why I Love Lowell By Jacqueline Malone I’ve lived in Lowell longer than any other place—ten years longer than I lived in my home state, Tennessee, for the first 21 years of my life. Both Tennessee and Lowell have their own strong ties to my heart. But I recently left…

Educational offerings  in Lowell –  (PIP #56) By Louise Peloquin     After last week’s peek into the past at Lowell High School (1), here are three articles on educational offerings. The first presents opportunities for Lowell workers. The second brings up the recurring “back to basics versus specialized course” debate. A surprising news item follows.…

The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons Barron’s own blog. Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson is a relatively short, exquisitely written novel (published five years ago) about two Black families, divided by economic status, whose lives become joined when their children conceive a baby. Iris, 16, insists…