Left In Lowell

As we all know, this is the time of the year when everyone thinks/decides/promises about making changes in their lifestyle; smokers swear that they will stop this nasty and expensive habit; and the less active swear that they will begin exercising.

Since I do not allow smoking in my house and the place I work does not allow any smoking on its property, including the parking lot, I am very rarely exposed to someone who is smoking in my presence. What I am exposed to are those hundreds of cigarette buts that line the drive thru of my local DD. I know there are a lot of things to worry about in this world and I should focus on them but what is with smokers who throw out their burning cigarette out their car window? Sometimes I think it is a silent protest against the rest of us for treating them like social outcasts.

And if you are considering joining a health club or the Y, when you join, please do not keep driving around the place until you find a parking spot next to the door; or even worse, park in an illegal lane so that you do not have to walk an extra 10 yards. This type of behavior will always remain a mystery to me.

So if you are trying to quit smoking, good luck and if you want to get healthy, walk that extra 10 yards. And if you are a real contrarian (i.e. P.C.), you may want to take up smoking and stop exercising.

On behalf of the LiL family, we wish you a happy, prosperous and healthy new year.

Lowell Telecommunications Corporation (LTC) will be holding its annual membership meeting and Board Election on January 16, 2008 at Wannalancit Mills first floor conference area. The meeting was originally scheduled for Thursday, December 13th but we all know what happened that night.

LTC is Lowell’s community television station, media and technology center. Lowell Telecommunications Corporation serves the interests and needs of our diverse and vibrant community by providing equipment and training for residents to create and share media in a no-cost, free speech environment.

If you are not a member of LTC, you can easily join; individual membership for Lowell Comcast (cable tv) subscribers is $30/year; non-Comcast (cable tv) subscribers is $45/year. And if you are interested in taking any of the courses offered such as Studio Production, Digital Storytelling: Intro to MAC Basics or Web Design or produce your own show, and have never taken the Orientation class, the Winter one is scheduled for Wednesday, January 9; first session 10:00 a.m. – 1 p.m. and the second session 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

This past year LTC had many highlights. For me the best improvement was the live streaming video of municipal meetings on their web site. This is in addition to the expansion of the digital video archives and the quick turnaround, within 48 hours, of posting those meetings. I was so impressed with this service that I purchased QuickTime Pro to save the files on my computer. Now if I only could figure out how to post portions of those meetings on Youtube!

The City of Lowell Division of Planning and Development is holding its annual Public Hearing for CBDG, HOME and ESG grant applicants next Thursday, January 10, 2008. It will begin at 6:00 p.m. and take place at the Lowell Senior Center, 276 Broadway Street.

Applicants are given three minutes each to present their proposals to the Citizen Advisory Committee but anyone interested in speaking on any of these grant applications are allowed to speak; you just need to contact the DPD office at 978-336-7200.

Here is the list of this year’s Citizen Advisory Committee; this year five new members joined the committee to replace those whose terms have expired.

Last year the DPD had posted on the City’s web site, the list of applicants who were signed up to speak and the order of the presentation but I could not find it on the site this year. It may take up to 4 – 5 hours for all applicants to speak.
If you are interested in reading last year’s action plan and see how the funds were distributed, the 209-page *pdf file , Action Plan is available on the City’s web site.

The City is anticipating that there will be about $3,450,000 available for fiscal year beginning July 1, 2008 and ending June 20, 2009. The Citizen’s Advisory Committee will make its recommendations to the City Manager who in turn will present the final distribution list to the City Council for approval. All this takes a few months and there are plenty of opportunities for appeal, review and commentary.

If you have a few minutes on the 10th, I would strongly suggest you stop by the Senior Center and observe this public gathering. First the City’s e and entire, and I mean the entire, non-profit community is there, so there is a lot to learn; second it is your money and you should understand how and where it is spent. Also, if you are a non-profit and are thinking of participating in the process next year, it is imperative that you come and observe.

This past week, the Federal Election Commission issued the latest fundraising totals (money raised in the first 3 quarters of this year) for the Presidential Candidates. For the most part, the greater Boston media focused on Barack Obama raising $2.7 Million to Hilary Clinton, $2.1 Million. Romney still leads the pack with $3.6 Million raised in this state.

After reviewing the FEC’s data, I was surprised that of the $11,570,298 raised in Massachusetts only $23,680 came from Lowell. That is about .002%; 0.2 of 1%; An insignificant amount for the State’s fourth largest city.

There are a number of reasons for this low figure. One has to do with the lack of funds available for political campaigns. We just finished a highly contested municipal election with many candidates and we had the special Congressional election. Those who would donate to election campaigns are probably dried out. Also, most Lowellians involved in politics focus on local and state campaign.

Another contributing factor may be that since Congresswoman Nikki Tsongas is not supporting anyone in the primary, there is no major push for fundraising in Lowell.

Maybe some participated through PACs or unions; I am not sure.

Here is the breakdown by candidate:

Dick Howe really says it all.

The editorial then warns those on the Commissioner of Education selection committee to avoid being seduced by geographical considerations (Baehr is from Massachusetts while the other two finalists are from Ohio and New York). The Sun demands that “The best leader among the finalists should be named the state’s next commissioner no matter where he or she lives or works.” Isn’t this the same newspaper that spent the fall condemning Baehr for not promoting or hiring enough people from Lowell.

Indeed…but then, logical analysis has never been certain editors’ strong suits over at the Sun.

But for those certain persons, any chance not taken to bash the Lowell schools, teachers, or unions is a tragedy of the highest level, isn’t it?

Really, MediaNews Group, Inc. ought to find some better leadership for the Sun. It’s dying a slow death of irrelevancy and stupidity.

If School House Rock were still around doing new episodes, this might be what they’d look like:

Perhaps in the past, the Lowell Sun’s Washington reporter Evan Lehman was somewhat critical of Congressman Marty Meehan’s moves (i.e. the Wikipedia incident; “Wallet stays shut” for Democratic Party article) but today Chancellor Meehan has none of those problems.

First there was the December 8th editorial on the university dormitory/residence hall situation and the Renaissance on the River Condo owners.

Instead of digging in their heels immediately, condo residents would be far better served if they wait to hear the proposals as they develop and work cooperatively with the university and the city to advocate for items that will improve their properties, such as additional parking for their building.

Then there was the December 11th editorial in which the paper praised the decision to allow New Hampshire student to receive a price break on U. Mass/Lowell tuition.

We applaud UMass Lowell Chancellor Marty Meehan’s push to reduce tuition for students from a dozen southern New Hampshire communities, many of whom otherwise could not afford to attend the school that is so close to their homes.

And today, there is the lead, above the fold Matt Murphy article, “Meehan Making the Grade at UML.” I am surprised that there isn’t at least one official at U. Mass Lowell who may have issues with the new Chancellor’s philosophy and objectives but maybe there is no such individual and everything at U. Mass Lowell is really peaches and cream.

The Lowell School Committee has begun the search process for a new Superintendent, two week late but that’s another story. In case you want to apply, here is the link to the Yahoo Hot Jobs post.

The ad states that the “Lowell School Committee is seeking a dynamic education leader with a collaborative management style and excellent communication skills.”

The ad should read, A dynamic education leader who will defer to the egos of some of the School Committee; whose collaborative management style includes asking her subordinates to define how they want to do their job and for how long; and by communications skills we mean schmoozing with the City’s self-appointed movers and shakers.”

After a mini-vacation, I am back to work; both at the job that pays the mortgage (vocation) and at LiL (avocation). On Christmas Day, the Lowell Sun published a letter-to-the-editor from John Greenwald, a local artist who has posted on LiL.

John addresses the whole Merry Christmas versus Happy Holiday issue and calls it a “phony ‘war against Christmas’…an invention to attract audiences and sell advertising on cable news and talk.”

It is a fantastic letter.

Yes, there has been a war against Christmas in America. It began almost a century ago, and it was won some 30 years ago by American capitalism. It has turned a religious holiday into a tasteless orgy of spending, shopping, ostentation and sentimentality having nothing to do with the original Christmas story.

I hope once and for all this non-issue is finally put to bed. If Bill O’Reilly thinks he has won this war, fine with me. Maybe now we can move on to less symbolic gestures and more substantive actions.

As for the spending, well I did my fair share of that. But from now on, no one can tell me to get lost anymore. I along with 100,000 of other Americans received a portable GPS as a Chistmas gift.

Ryan has unearthed a disturbing connection between Governor Patrick and casino interests.

It shouldn’t be a shocker that such a firm would support the casino industry’s quest to overturn the Commonwealth’s Class 3 gambling ban - and thus, Mega-Resort, Class 3 casinos.

What just may surprise a few people, though, is the fact that Governor Patrick’s wife, Diane Patrick, is a partner at Ropes and Gray (three woots for google!). While I hate to be cynical, I don’t know if there’s another explanation that exists that can so easily describe why the Governor is pulling out all the stops on this issue, one that’s quickly turning his entire base against him and one that’s no easier than the Municipal Partnership Act to get through the state legislature.

The Governor’s sudden tin ear when it comes to his casino proposal and how his supporters feel about it has been disturbing to say the least. As Ryan says,

He’s packaged casinos as ‘just another’ revenue avenue to pursue, but it’s obvious by the lengths to which he’s gone to pass some kind of casino bill that his actions don’t match his rhetoric: casinos have quickly become issue numero uno in the Patrick Administration, while the Municipal Partnership Act died a horrible - and almost uneventful - death.

It begs the question “why?”

That’s the question a lot of people have been trying to answer, and with the rhetoric from the Governor contradicting itself, and his own actions, people are answering it themselves. And the answers are going to ruin what started and still could be a very promising tenure as Governor.

I’m not naive…I know that idealism almost always clashes with reality in politics, and that our leaders are bound to disappoint us sometimes (look at the results of the 2006 Congressional midterms). I am not ready to declare all hope lost and all ideals betrayed just yet (I am not a Green party member after all). However, that’s the direction this is heading, and this is not a good trend.