Left In Lowell

Today’s Lowell Sun’s “The Column” comments on the proliferation of naming city “squares” as memorials to Lowell veterans.

The Sun reports that for the past 10 years, the City Council has been passing an average of 24 motions a year to honor a veteran by assigning a particular name to a city square. There is a ceremony involved where a sign is put up on a pole at the square.

No one is against honoring a veteran? On the contrary, today we are all witness to the courage, dedication and sacrifice of thousands of young American men and women. Those people should be recognized. For one we should show the flag-draped coffins as they are returned home; however, that is a blog for another day.

I, for one, am glad the issue of naming of squares has been raised and hope that a non-emotional, rational public discussion can take place so that we can address some concerns before they becomes a problem.

Why would it become a problem? Well, for one, at this rate and with no guidelines in place, we will run out of squares. Also, we need to ask ourselves: Do all veterans receive the same honor? Does one who has achieved more or perhaps given his life gets the same recognition as one who was drafted and put in his time?

What is even more disturbing is that according to the Sun, “(Lowell City) Councilors have ignored the pleas of the Lowell Veterans Council, which has been asking them to put the brakes on the practice since 1999. Group members would like councilors to restrict their naming at the very least to veterans who have earned a Purple Heart.”

But then the Sun (and I am assuming Mike Lafleur, the City Hall reporter) addresses the real problem: “ Why are councilors so inclined to dole out squares? They’re pandering for votes, of course.”

We should have well defined standards to guide the City Council; for one they should discuss the suggestion of the Veterans Council. I know it is a political football because if you disagree, you may sound as if you are not patriotic; but by honoring everyone, we honor no one.

Some exciting things are in the works around Mass these days. If you haven’t been reading BMG about the Patrick transition teams, including the civic engagement group co-chaired by BMG’s David, go check it out!

Also, our Lowell Victory Party is set for next Sunday, Dec. 3rd, from 6PM to about 8PM, at Cafe Paradiso. There will be snacks, tickets are $10. All are welcome!

This will serve as your friendly neighborhood open thread until tomorrow sometime. Please forgive any weirdness in this post - this is my first attempt at writing from my new Palm, while sitting around with my family for our “second Thanksgiving.” I’ve had a lovely weekend off and look forward to being back!

I will still be hosting this Friday, despite the holiday, on WUML’s Thinking Out Loud at 10am. It’s about 20 minutes of live commentary between some very cool progressive segments like one from Jim Hightower. It airs on local FM station 91.5, or you can stream it live over the internet.

This week, co-host Charlotte and I are just going to chat about the grassroots resurgence during the 2006 election season, looking at the national trends as well as here in Massachusetts, and what this might mean for the future of politics. And we’re working on guests for next week’s show already. Thanks for the ideas you’ve already given and I welcome any more!

This is a plea to your conscious, gentle readers.

There’s going to be ample opportunity in December to go local for the holidays. Haven’t finished your shopping yet? Good. Don’t go for the latest gimmick deal from Best Buy; come and support your local artist community!

First, Western Ave Studios is holding two open studio Saturday events, December 2nd, and December 9th, from noon to 5pm. We’re located at 122 Western Ave in Lowell, and we have over 100 artists on three floors in a beautiful old mill building. (In early 2007, another floor of studios will be finished as well.) We have sculptors and painters and ceramicists and jewelers and fiber artists and more! And most artists have refreshments, wine, or coffee to offer the weary shopper.

The Brush Art Gallery will be open during its normal hours in December, Tuesday through Saturday 11 - 4, and Sunday 12 - 4. They will also be open this Friday after Thanksgiving (so skip the malls and come downtown!) and also be open after the City of Lights Parade (Nov 25, 4:30pm) as well.

Buy unique Fair Trade gifts during Second World Saturdays, every Saturday from November 25 until Christmas, 1 - 7pm. To quote the email: “Fair Trade Cultural Arts, Crafts, Jewelry, Holiday Ornaments, Hot Apple Cider, Music and more! It is all happening at Second World Gallery. Stroll the quaint cobblestone streets of the heart of Downtown Lowell’s Art District each Saturday until Christmas. Give the gift of economic empowerment when you purchase fair trade arts at Second World Gallery, or online. Relish in unique experiences while shopping- watch films, learn more, hear the personal stories of fair trade to understand how your purchase makes a lasting difference in the global struggle against poverty. All purchases benefit Second World arts and development educational programs.” 172 Middle Street in downtown Lowell.

Please let me know if there are artists or galleries I’ve missed! And while you’re downtown, there are plenty of other venders and restaurants to stop at to support local businesses. I have to plug my favorite local coffeeshop, Brew’d Awakening on Market St., where they serve fair trade coffee, sandwiches, Belgian waffles, and other treats.

You know you give the same old boring types of gifts each year. Local artists and shop owners make it easy to feel good about your buying choices! So I challenge each and every one of you, to buy at least one gift (or if you’re like me, almost all of them!) for your loved ones from a local artist or merchant.

Update: Lowellian in comments tells us about the Coalition for a Better Acre’s Holiday Craft Fair on December 2, 10:00am—4:00pm, 517 Moody Street, 3rd floor. From their website: “Join us for a Holiday Craft Fair and Open House. CBA’s Community Support Group has been hand-crafting quilts, embroidered placemats, and other beautiful items. All items will be for sale and all proceeds will benefit the Support Group’s giving campaigns. If you have questions or would like more information please contact Marianne Gries at 978/452-7523 ext. 815.”

He couldn’t be much bothered to help build the Massachusetts Republican party, but he can help his friend Eric Fehrnstrom on the way out the door by giving him small appointments that will allow them to qualify for a pension.

Healey wanted to reform the pension system by making it higher risk (ie like privatizing it). The state pension system needs serious reform, but not Healey’s kind…I like commenter Peter Porcupine’s idea - make it 10 years that are used to average a salary for purposes of determining pension, to reward the lifelong public servant and not the temporary hack.

Sounds like the pension system needs a little Bernie Lynch to clean it up - this whole thing reminds me strangely of the benefits that Lowell’s appointed board members were getting, illegally, and how a few of them seemed to believe they were entitled to them for all their great sacrifices (how come the ones who proclaim their public servitude are the ones who quit when the hammer came down on their bennies?).

By the way, Governor (elect) Patrick, you canNOT have Bernie Lynch. That was a rhetorical statement.

I don’t have a whole lot to talk about right now, since I’m trying to get a lot of work done before the long weekend and things are pretty quiet out there. Unless something changes, I will be hosting on WUML’s Thinking Out Loud on Friday at 10am (91.5 FM), if you are coming back from your 5am jaunt to the malls. Me, I avoid shopping on Black Friday like the plague. Ug.

A second installment of John’s email newsletter of cultural events in and around the Merrimack Valley. (more…)

I get John’s great cultural events emails (”News from the Lowell Cultural Roundtable”) all the time, and I always want to post snippets of interest from it, but I never have enough time to go through every one and pick out the ones I want and then edit them for HTML (making links into links, etc). So I’ve decided every time I get one, I’m just going to post them verbatim without editing them so you can find what is of interest to you. The events list covers a wide variety of the arts as well as geographical area, but it’s all fairly local.

I will always post the events after the jump, because they are long. (more…)

Deval Patrick and Tim Murray have announced their transition team and since I didn’t really know much about that process, or the players therein, I wasn’t going to post much about it. But then I got another email with a link to a new website of that transition team. It’s not much to look at yet, but it is an attempt to open up the process to the public, with a comments section for us to make suggestions, and apply for positions.

Though it’s a simple site, it’s more than we the people of Massachusetts ever gotten before, so far as I know. As with Patrick’s previous uses of the internet, I expect it will evolve along with the Patrick administration itself. The internet is a great place to open up access to government, and I am looking forward to seeing new ground broken with the this administration.

[Update: Talking Politics has more about members of the new Patrick/Murray team itself; they will be assigning a grade, but more importantly, giving us some background.]

Well, it’s official…on Fridays I will be co-hosting the 10am slot at local radio station WUML (91.5 FM) for their show, Thinking Out Loud. You can listen to nationally-produced commentaries (like the great Jim Hightower segments) as well as local live interviews and commentary from the studio.

You’ll be able to listen locally on the FM dial (91.5) or on the web as streaming media.

So, what do folks want to hear and who do they want to hear from? TOL focuses on progressive issues, activism, and grassroots populism, but the sky’s the limit. I’m looking for ideas, and people to interview!