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- - Leftyblogs MA Blogroll - Almost all of my favorite lefty blogs in Massachusetts can be found here. Linking here keeps my own blogroll short but still up to date! Below are some other MA blogs which are not listed at LB.
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- Open Source :: Chris Lydon's new show, broadcast on WUML and WGBH locally.
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- WCAP radio :: Talk radio in Lowell - still locally owned, and in transition.
- WUML :: The student- and community-run radio station of UMass-Lowell. Lynne hosts a radio show, Thinking Out Loud, 10am on Fridays.
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- 119 Gallery - Art gallery with exhibitions of many local artists, interesting events, and living, breathing culture.
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- Brush Art Gallery - Come and meet working artists in their natural habitats!
- Cultural Organization of Lowell (COOL) - Great local calendar of events.
- Lowell Opera Company - Community opera.
- Lowell Philharmonic Orchestra - Local community orchestra.
- Lowell Poetry Network
- Lowell Rocks - List of live music events
- Merrimack Repertory Theatre - A local theatre "presenting an exciting mix of contemporary and new plays in historic downtown Lowell."
- OUtlET - Paper and online 'zine making a splash locally with events in art, poetry, music, and everything in between!
- Revolving Museum Contemporary, local, public art space with a plethora of children's programs and art by and for the community.
- The Fine Print - Socially aware, themed, arts and issues periodic publication available throughout Lowell.
- The Image Theater - Theatre company which puts on all original works by local playwrights.
- Whistler House Museum - A great collection of contemporaries of Whistler at his historic birthplace.
April 18th, 2008 at 9:48 am
It might be allergies.
Just spotted the new crosswalk technology at UML North. There are two white poles on the sidewalks around the crosswalk. When someone walks through the poles, LEDs embedded into the road in heavy metal plates flash for a certain period of time. It was interesting watching the drivers notice these lights and stopping when some may not have stopped in the past.
It’s kind of like having a pedestrian traffic signal but this probably costs quite a bit less than a traffic signal and should be more efficient than a timer.
April 18th, 2008 at 10:10 am
No, definitely a cold, with all the requisite hacking and coughing and sore throat. Still have it mildly, been taking zinc/C/etc supplements to keep it mild.
For me, allergies come in the form of either itchy eyes, or more often, sinus headaches. Which I hate, though there are good fast acting OTC drugs I can take.
That sounds really cool! Will that be implemented elsewhere in the city?
April 18th, 2008 at 10:29 am
UK has similar crosswalk aids, except that there are lights atop the poles and they blink when a pedestrian is about to cross. The neater system at UML is probably funded by the “wealthy” university, so I wouldn’t expect it to be widespread in the City.
April 18th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
UML Student Email:
A “Light Guard Systems” lighted crosswalk has been installed on Riverside St. between the entrances to Ball Hall to the walkway to Olsen Hall.
The purpose of this system is add another element of safety for the students and residents that use this crosswalk that will warn motorist travelling North or South on Riverside St. that pedestrians are crossing and are in the roadway area.
Sensing bollards have been installed on each side of the street at the entrance to the crosswalk that are activated by a pedestrian passing through the activation zone (between the bollards) breaking the optical beam and turning on the LED light modules imbedded into the road surface on each side of the crosswalk.
The light modules will remain on after activation for a pre-determined set period of time allowing a pedestrian ample time to cross the street before shutting off automatically. The system was activated on April 16, following approval from the Lowell City Council.
The system will be periodically monitored for the next 7-14 days by the contractor and any necessary adjustments and modifications will be made during this “burn in” phase that may require an interruption of service to the lighted crosswalk system.
After all the initial adjustments have made the system will be activated for continuous use.
The source of power for this system is derived from a generator back-up panel in Ball Hall that will maintain the integrity of the system in the event of a utility electrical interruption or outage.
This is a pilot project and a collaborative effort by the University of Massachusetts, Lowell and the City of Lowell to introduce another element of safety to a well used and busy street crossing.
The University and the City will continue to evaluate the system for the dependability and the durability of the components selected for this installation over a period of months to determine the effectiveness and functionality for potential future applications.
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I think that Amherst College is the wealthy college referred to by the other poster. It would be interesting to see if this gets implemented elsewhere. I think that this wouldn’t work that well downtown for really wide streets but it would work for streets that have two to four lanes. We’ll also have to see how it works in the winter. I hope the design doesn’t cause problems for snowplows.