From the NYTimes: WASHINGTON – The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, proposed legislation on Monday to continue the Bush-era income tax cuts indefinitely, even for the wealthiest Americans, testing the willingness of Democrats to vote for a tax increase in a weak economy and making clear that the…
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Russell Banks (web photo courtesy of cmu.edu) After 22 years of the annual Lowell Celebrates Kerouac! festival on the first weekend of October, the long-time organizers and new allies and partners came together to boost the festival to a higher orbit. The re-named Jack Kerouac Literary Festival will open on…
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The NYT today has an article about the current exhibition of photographs by poet Allen Ginsberg at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. The article in the paper includes a photograph of Kerouac making a goofy face on the street in NY in 1953. Read the article by…
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This is a great video posted by mshane123. Its a behind the scene look at fiddler Natalie MacMaster’s recent performance at Boarding House Park. The guy featured in the video and doing most of the talking is guitarist Shane Hendrickson who was touring with MacMaster at the time of her…
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Answer: Roof racks, matchbooks and newspaper ads Question: Name three things no longer used in modern political campaigns The Donoghue v Doherty state senate race has given those of us interested in politics much to contemplate. You have two capable candidates who have each raised more than $100,000, and the…
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Boston Globe columnist Yvonne Abraham was in Chicago last week. Her column today compares the extraordinary commitment to public art by that city with the lackadaisical approach followed in Boston. This past July, I also visited Chicago and concur with Abraham. Above is a photo I took of “Cloud Gate”…
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Please welcome Tony Sampas, the newest contributor to richardhowe.com. Tony grew up in Lowell and after two decades in the building trade now works as an archivist at UMass Lowell and as a reference librarian at The Pollard Memorial Library. In 2009 he began making a habit of capturing images…
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With just 48 hours until the primary, local electioneering should peak today and tomorrow. There has been a noticeable uptick in the volume of political info flowing into my home. Friday, there was a robocall from Steve Panagiotakos in support of Guy Glodis, a candidate for State Auditor. Suzanne Bump,…
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The above photo shows Mehmed Ali, a friend who continues to serve the US government in Iraq, presenting Dr. Salah Abdul Razak, the Governor of Baghdad, with several cans of Moxie as a gift to recognize the end of the month of Ramadan. No matter how far from Lowell he…
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Voices are getting louder and more anxious as the country openly re-examines its value system. I have a sense that some key brick in the wall of national identity has come loose, leaving us with a very shaky structure that is causing widespread instability. I had an encounter today with an…
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