Joel-Lowell Rhymes

Just back from an inspiring “performance” by Billy Joel in Durgin Concert Hall on UMass Lowell’s South Campus. For two hours the music mega-star engaged in a lively conversation with the audience, using a green laser pointer to call on this or that eager person in a sea of hands.…

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Christmas Lights

I drove downtown about 30 minutes ago and stopped near City Hall. In my side mirror, the mid-section of Merrimack Street behind me sparkled. People sometimes say Lowell is a “little big city”—and that’s what it looked like at 5 p.m. with the going-home traffic filling the intersections and the Christmas…

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$1.6 Million STEM Grant to UMass Lowell

The Governor Patrick/ Lt. Governor Murray administration  announces a $1.6 million STEM grant to UMass Lowell:  Wednesday, December 14, 2011 – The Patrick-Murray Administration today announced a $1.6 million grant to the University of Massachusetts Lowell for the creation of a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teacher preparation program in Massachusetts. This initiative,…

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Brad Marchand TV commercial

I’ve been a lifelong fan of Boston’s professional sports teams, but my enthusiasm has its peaks and valleys. While I don’t consider myself a “front runner”, when teams are playing well, they are more interesting to watch. These days I’m very bullish on the Bruins, catching most of their games…

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The Power of Place

I thought of Lowell and the power of “place” to speak to us through sights that are beautiful, stirring, wondrous, or calming when I read NYTimes writer Frank Bruni’s essay this morning—about visiting past homes and the importance of seeing what’s in front of us. Read his Op-Ed piece here,…

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Ignoring the obvious in urban education

On Op-Ed in today’s New York Times by Helen Ladd, a professor of public policy and economics at Duke, and Edward Fiske, a former education editor of The New York Times, tackles the issue of the lagging performance of urban schools in America today. Entitled “Class matters. Why won’t we…

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