‘Oranges at Christmas’

This post was first heard as a radio essay on the Sunrise program of WUML, 92.5 FM, at UMass Lowell. Executive producer Chris Dunlap assembled writers in the area for the daily essay feature, a  popular component of the morning public affairs show. I have shared this essay with rh.com readers…

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Franco American School: Some history

The Sun’s Chris Scott reports that the Franco American School, which closed as a school this past June, will be sold to a partnership of the Coalition for a Better Acre and TMI Property Management & Development which plans to convert the school into 40 units of market and affordable…

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Lowell Week in Review: December 18, 2016

City Council Round-Up A couple of discussions from last Tuesday’s City Council meeting are worth mentioning. The first was about the planned expansion of Lowell High School. Some preliminary cost estimates that had appeared the week before were so high that a sense of panic seemed to emerge in some…

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Elizabeth Warren right to apologize by Marjorie Arons-Barron

The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons-Barron’s own blog. photo Getty Images Shortly before Elizabeth Warren announced her Senate candidacy,  my husband asked her what past senators were her consumer protection role models and where on the spectrum between William Proxmire and Phil Hart she’d place herself. Proxmire was a maverick legislator, renowned…

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One Degree

One degree. That’s the temperature outside at 6 this morning, but there’s also a steady wind that makes it feel like 16 degrees below zero. School in Lowell has been cancelled because of the cold. The call came in last night at about 8 pm. Scrolling through the “Weather Closings”…

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Don’t Let Go

I knew a politician who used to say that he inflated the skill and strategy of an opponent whenever he ran for office, typically worried about his opponent locking up volunteers, endorsements, and donors before he himself would get to the sources of those advantages. Inevitably, though, he found that…

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Lowell City Council Meeting: December 13, 2016

Motion Responses: Speed Limits. Report is referred to the Transportation Subcommittee. Franklin Park Development Westminster Village – There have been productive meetings with the management, which plans to initiate police details four nights per week, for four hours per night. This will be in addition to private security. Appoint Cliff…

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We Have a Basket Full

UMass Lowell history professor Bob Forrant spoke at Saturday’s Pollard Memorial Library “Community Conversation” on the 2016 election. Here’s what Bob had to say: We Have a Basket Full By Robert Forrant First, some historical context: Hillary Clinton will be the fifth candidate in the nation’s history to win the…

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