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: