One is a high-ranking member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee while the other claims a similar status on the equally important Ways and Means Committee. Representative John Olver of Amherst and Representative Richie Neal of Springfield have made it clear – they are running for reelection come 2012. These…
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This essay 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 shared this essay with rh.com readers last…
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[youtube]PuPxA7w3oFs[/youtube] Friday night was the annual Lowell High School Winter Concert featuring various student bands and choruses. The above video shows the finale of “Bells of Joy” by the combined concert band and concert chorus.
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I joined dozens of early movie goers at the 11:10 a.m. showing of “The Fighter” today. The movie is fantastic. If “awesome” was part of my vocabulary, that’s also how I’d describe it. When articles began dribbling out that the movie or at least some of the actors in it…
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In today’s NYTimes, historian Jill Lepore, who has spoken in Lowell in the Parker Lectures series, writes that Longfellow’s famous poem about Paul Revere was prompted more by the coming Civil War than by the poet’s recollection of the Revolutionary War. Read the article here, and get the NYT if you…
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Read the NYTimes report on the historic vote in the Senate. Having already been passed by members of the US House of Representatives, the bill will now go to President Obama for his signature. Let’s remember the early leadership role played by former Congressman and now UMass Lowell Chancellor Marty Meehan on…
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I love this stuff. AOL has a feature on the best images of space taken this year by the Hubble Telescope. “In celebration of the Hubble Space Telescope’s 20th year in space, NASA released a new photo of the Carina Nebula, one of the largest star-birthing regions astronomers have seen.…
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99 years ago on Janurary 15, 20,000 people took to the streets of Lawrence, Massachusetts. Why? Prof. Bob Forrant of the UMass Lowell History Dept. sent news about a community meeting to help plan events for the 2012 centennial of the legendary Bread & Roses Strike in Lawrence. The meeting,…
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“On June 29,1995, the U.S. Post Office issued a set of 20 commemorative stamps showing 16 individuals and 4 battles of the Civil War. Official first day of issue ceremonies were held in front of the Cyclorama Center at the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania. A pictorial cancellation showing…
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Earlier today Governor Patrick signed into law a major revision to the state’s Homestead statute that was enacted by both houses of the state legislature a short time ago. With the governor’s signature, the new law will take effect 90 days from today. I’ve previously written about some of the…
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