Mother Earth Grumbles – PIP #111 By Louise Peloquin “Peeks into the Past” #11 and #54 were a sampling of a local newspaper’s coverage of climate concerns. (1) As the summer of 2026 is punctuated by horrifying images of extreme weather all over the globe, these two stories…
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The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons-Barron’s own blog. Bay State Democrats have arranged themselves in a circular firing squad, leaving voters to choose between a senator who is old (80) but effective, or a congressman who is younger (47)– and gratuitously snide. Monday night’s televised debate…
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There was no city council meeting this week so today we have more Lowell political history . . . **** Over the course of four weeks earlier this summer, I posted mini biographies of those who have served as mayors of Lowell since the receipt of the city charter in…
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What Haberman and Swan’s New Trump Book Gets Right Rev. Steve Edington [Text of this op-ed as it ran in the July 17, 2026, issue of the New Hamshire Union Leader] I tried to purchase a copy of Maggie Haberman’s and Jonathan Swan’s Regime Change at my local Barnes &…
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My wife Rosemary and I live in a townhouse condo atop a former ski slope in Amesbury, Mass., just uphill from the compact but busy downtown. Called Powwow Hill for the original residents in this area, the 330-foot hill is crowned with a small public park and woods that…
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Amusement Parks of the 1960s By Leo Racicot Canobie Lake Park in Salem, New Hampshire, was a favorite getaway for families seeking escape from city life, the daily grind, especially on weekends. Marie took us there many times over the years in her Rambler. It was a quick trip over…
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A weekly report on things I’ve read, heard and seen since last Wednesday. Book Review: Rasputin: The Downfall of the Romanovs by Antony Beevor (2026). Earlier this year a glowing review of this book caught my attention and, since I’m already a big Antony Beevor fan (he’s a military historian…
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Forest Fires – PIP #110 By Louise Peloquin American media have largely covered the unprecedented inferno consuming southern Europe. From January to the end of July, wildfires destroyed approximately 287,000 acres in France. In the Gironde region, over 220,000 people were forced to evacuate. Mayor Thomas Cazenave of Bordeaux,…
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Here’s another tribute to the late David Daniel (1945-2026) from longtime friend Bill Crawford. He and Dave met long ago as fellow US Army soldiers and remained in close contact until Dave’s recent passing. Bill, a writer and photojournalist, composed this poem while on a road trip from Death Valley…
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The Lowell City Council met on Tuesday (July 28, 2026). I don’t watch council meetings live. Instead, I catch them Wednesday morning from the YouTube recording. It’s always interesting to open that app and discover how long the meeting took, although in summer when there are just two meetings per…
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