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The prestigious Library of America series now includes two volumes of the short stories of John Updike. Born in Pennsylvania, but a long time resident of our region of Massachusetts, John Updike was awarded an honorary degree by UMass Lowell (University of Lowell) in the 1980s. He also gave a…
Read More »I spent some time this weekend with the Lowell voter database. Here are some numbers as of January 1, 2013: Total registered voters – 54,943 Number of male voters – 26,771 (49%) Number of female voters – 27,978 (51%) Democrats – 22,005 (40%) Republicans – 4,827 (9%) Unenrolled – 27,731…
Read More »Did you catch the news last week that the Boston Globe is being sold? John Henry, the principal owner of the Boston Red Sox purchased the paper from the New York Times Company which had owned the Globe since 1993. Included in the sale were the websites boston.com and BostonGlobe.com…
Read More »One more bit of commentary about the notion of distinctive cities or particular heritage sites as works of art in themselves. Cultural critic Lucy Lippard mentions Lowell’s national park in her book about the power of special places, The Lure of the Local. The following passage is from my manuscript…
Read More »” “Yellow Arches” by Richard Marion (c) 2013 [drawing, 2008] See more artwork at www.richardmarion.net
Read More »Whatever our religious leanings or lack thereof – we need to remember our history and not repeat those intolerant mistakes… From the achives: Mass Moments reminds us today that on August 12, 1834 the Catholic convent housing the Ursuline order of nuns in Charlestown, Massachusetts was sacked by a Protestant mob…
Read More »Dick’s post about public art in cities prompts me to add this thought from my book-in-progress about the origin and impact of the national park in Lowell. In the early planning phase, advocates used the term urban cultural park for what they were envisioning for Lowell. That terminology changed when…
Read More »I noticed the following Help Wanted ad in yesterday’s Boston Globe: Greater Lowell Technical High School Tyngsboro MA Superintendent-Director Located in northeastern Massachusetts, this district of approximately 150,000 people is seeking an accomplished educator/administrator to lead the school district of 2,100 students, 340 staff members, and a budget of $36…
Read More »John Edward, a resident of Chelmsford who earned his master’s degree at UMass Lowell and who teaches economics at Bentley University and UMass Lowell, contributed the following column. In my last column, I discussed marginal thinking. Marginal analysis is a very useful decision-making tool. If you are trying to figure…
Read More »Two more bulletins from Martha’s Vineyard by our far-flung correspondent Ray LaPorte. So, the handy Wikipedia tells us that English seaman Bartholomew Gosnold ventured near the Atlantic coast in 1602 and named a smaller island near today’s M.V. for his young daughter who had died—and historians say the name migrated…
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