First Game of Basketball played in Massachusetts

As UMass Lowell is in the midst of a Division One basketball game with Duquesne University this afternoon at the Tsongas Center, we are reminded that on this day – December 21, 1891 – the game of basketball as designed by James Naismith was first played at what is known today as Springfield College in Massachusetts.  ON THIS DAY  …

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Two days, two shootings

While most in Lowell enjoy the lead up to Christmas, the city was smacked by two separate shootings in the past 48 hours. The first, at 49 Second Street in Centralville at about 8 pm on Wednesday (Dec 18) night, resulted in the murder of a man living in an…

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‘Oranges at Christmas’

This essay was first heard on the former “Sunrise” radio program of WUML, 91.5 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 shared this essay with readers of this blog for…

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Winter Driving

The weather forecasters seemed to get yesterday’s storm just about right: one burst at lunchtime, a lull of a couple of hours, and then the heaviest stuff from 3 pm until 10 pm. Sure enough, I went out at 9 pm and used the snow blower to clear the driveway…

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