Email us!
LiL Fundraising for Elizabeth Warren!
Lowell Area Bloggers/Forums
- Art is the Handmaid of Human Good
- Blog from the Office of the City Manager, Lowell MA
- Captains Log (Paul Belley)
- Choosing a Soundtrack
- Corey Sciuto
- Downtown Lowell Blog
- Dracut Forum
- Dracut Musings
- Dracut Politics
- gerrynutter'slowell
- JackieDoherty.org
- Lowell Deeds
- Lowell Police Dept WebNews
- Lowell Public Schools Blog
- Lowellest Common Denominator
- lowellresident
- Middlesex Community College Blog
- MV Homlessness Blog
- RichardHowe.com
- Right-Side-of-Lowell
- Tewksbury Issues
- The New Englander
Lowell Politics
Mass Bloggers
- - 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.
- H2Otown (Watertown, MA)
- MargeBLOG (Williamstown)
- Michael Forbes Wilcox (Western MA)
- The Gazebo (Worcester area)
Media in Lowell
- Chelmsford Mass News
- Community Connections The online archive of many of WUML's radio shows.
- LTC :: Our community cable access channel (8 & 10). Excellent people, I've worked with them before.
- Open Source :: Chris Lydon's new show, broadcast on WUML and WGBH locally.
- The Lowell Sun :: Love it or hate it, it's the big newspaper in town.
- 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.
Media in MA
Other Daily Reads
Politics Online
- City Council Agenda Past City Council agendas, posted in a mostly timely manner
- Lowellma.gov Official city website
Progressive Local Orgs
Snark and politics
The Arts in Lowell
- 119 Gallery - Art gallery with exhibitions of many local artists, interesting events, and living, breathing culture.
- Arts League of Lowell (ALL) - Artist community group, a recent but welcome addition to the arts scene in Lowell.
- 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.
February 16th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
OK, but what land on Pawtucket Blvd? Where?
February 16th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
As for where the money will come from my friend Mimi, it’s called Obama’s stimulus
February 16th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
And at the end of it all, the 2 newest CC will be able to say at election time that “they saved the city” fromlofty long term debt…still want to know if Lenzi will get the food service contract at UML and CC K..if he’ll get the towing and plow contracts at UML.
February 17th, 2009 at 7:58 am
I still agree with Mimi that once the Devils lease is up the Arena finances will improve. And Ilso still believe that using the adjacent land for a practice arena will allow not only more available dates for arena events but will also allow a professional hockey team to co-exist with a profitable arena.
February 17th, 2009 at 8:35 am
said it before and will say it again - when the university is cutting way back on all of its community-based programs and laying people off and can not figure out a way to house students in Lowell and instead is sending them to a hotel in NH, how does the arena make any sense to its core educational mission? Afterall, the core educational mission was proffered as the litmus test for the previous cuts in jobs, programs and a variety of outreach efforts, esp. in Lawrence. If you can not sleep in it, teach in it, or do research in it, please UML forget about it! And, lets hope the governor and UMass president can think of better things to do with whatever portion of the stimulus dollars the Commonwealth recieves devoted to higher education.
February 17th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Putting a practice rink next to the arena is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. If and when the Devils leave town there will be no need for it. Where is the taxable income from a practice rink? Do we live in Cananda? The Celtics have their practice facility in Waltham and Bruins in Wilmington. Why? Because it’s too expensive AND the North Station area is better served by office buildings, hotels, restaurants etc. Jobs Jobs Jobs!!! If Marty wants a practice rink build it somewhere else ON campus.
February 17th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
I meant Canada.
February 17th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Better yet, use the Janas Rink! Consistently, we engage in the useless exercise of repeating the same mistakes over and over again, with the same result.
February 17th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
I’m just wondering what is going to happen to the arena after the Devil’s leave and the UMass Board of Trustees removes UMass Lowell’s hockey team from Hockey East! That would be the first step toward elimination of hockey and moving the UMass sports brand to Amherst.
Then there is a nice big cold building, not on the tax rolls, occupying waterfront property owned by the state. Ever drive by MDC rinks (now DCR) and see what kind of shape they keep them in?
February 17th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
One more year….Devils are gone The city didn’t make money because all the act’s coming up the northeast couldn’t get the venue. My agent as told me time and time again that the only reason Manchester gets the act’s is because Lowell is always booked with hockey. I don’t think we as a city should not give anything away.
What about student housing The old ST. Joes Hosp. is going to be foreclosed on. It’s already set up for two in aroom a cafe, parking,I don’t know am I missing something.
February 17th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Everyone is assuming that the Devils will leave once their current contract expires? Has anyone thought of keeping them here, or that they might want to stay?
If they leave what will replace them?
February 17th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
The Devils aren’t going anywhere. Whether or not they stay, is dependent upon the rent agreement. Doesn’t matter who owns the arena…the city or UML. The sticky issue w/ UML owning it, is that we’ll be paying for it twice over. The fact that most have not grapsed that issue, is a bit disturbing.
February 17th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Captain Paul,
Manchester has the Monarchs, in the same league as the Devils…same number of home dates. If they are getting concerts that Lowell isn’t, it has to be for another reason, like seating capacity.
February 17th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Tom…
Yes, the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester has a larger seating capacity, 9,932 (hockey), 11,140 (basketball), 10,050-11,770 (concerts) than the Tsongas Arena 6,500 (hockey and basketball) 7,800 (concerts) but the Verizon Wireless Arena is not “home” to two hockey teams.
The second pro team at the Verizon Wireless is an arena football team that plays 8 games at the facility a year. Manchester is larger and has more open dates…they win.
How did Verizon Wireless Arena not become a drain on the City of Manchester? One way they avoided the problem is their politicians didn’t rush to give the name away to another politician…
”…Verizon Wireless paid $11.4 million for the naming rights for 15 years.)…”
http://www.newhampshire.com/venues/nh-verizon-arena.aspx
So while Lowell’s Paul Tsongas arena bleeds money, Manchester gets just over $750,000 a year for the naming rights. That would have gone a long way toward the deficit Lowell is paying wouldn’t it?
February 18th, 2009 at 9:38 am
Eleanor,
Umass plays 15 games at home this season - 7 more than the Arena football team. I don’t think thats enough to make or break a concert season.
The other two differences cited, seating capacity and naming rights say it all. We can’t easily add more seats, but changing the name can be done in a day.
February 18th, 2009 at 9:40 am
There is no way if the University takes over the Tsongas Arena that the River Hawks would be removed from Hockey East. Its a cause and effect thing. The only “excuse” that Tocco was using to eliminate the River Hawks is that UML is the only team in Hockey East that doesnt own its own arena and doesn’t have a practice rink. The question is do we want UMass Lowell to be a top university in the city of Lowell or do we want it to be relegated to a second class citizen in the UMass system. The hockey team has a lot to do with that “status” and there’s no way that the state/university would own the arena only to do away with the hockey team. Also this was the aim of one man, the former chairman, Stephen Tocco, who was obsessed with diminishing the other 3 campuses to prop up the flagship. I think its important for UMass Lowell to stand on its own within the UMass system and not become simply a sattelite campus 2 hours away from Amherst.
February 18th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Transferring the arena to UMASS is simply changing which pocket the government reaches into to take money from taxpayers to pay for it. Though under UMASS a greater percentage will be funded by user fees. The cost over runs will be paid for by tax payers out in Berkshires, not just Lowell tax payers.
The city also needs to sell the ball park to the Spinner’s owner and sell off the auditorium and parking garages and disband the “parking authority.” None of these things fall under the necessary functions of government.
Politicians love to talk about “money into the local economy.” But they never mention that the taxpayer is still holding the bag for all the debt and future pension liabilities and is a net loser for taxpayers. If these things were economically viable, the private sector would build and operate them.
The city counsel has a duty to keep taxpayer liabilities to the minimum possible.
I’d rather see the arena sold off to a private business. That would put the property back in the taxable pool. But at least with the current plan, my former neighbors are no longer holding the bag for the dinosaur.
February 18th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Ah, we have our resident naysayer government-hater back…
“I’d rather see the arena sold off to a private business.”
OK, you’d be interested in buying it with its current problems? Didn’t think so.
February 18th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Tom…both the UML RiverHawks and Lowell Devils, when they are not playing, practice at the Tsongas arena eliminating the venue for anything else. That is different from Verizon Wireless because only one hockey team plays and practices there.
As Mart…uh…UML Alum points out, Steven Tocco is obsessed with building the athletics at UMass Amherst, perhaps at the expense of the other schools in the system, but I ask you isn’t that what this system is designed for? Each campus has it’s own area of dominance so that students can go to the campus that best suits his or her goals, and not have 5 campuses competing with each other as well as all other institutions of higher learning.
If UMLowell Hockey remains in the basement of Hockey East Tocco and his supporters will eventually get it moved out of Hockey East and eliminated to focus athletics at UMass Amherst…ask the UMass Lowell football squad!
Fishydude, the city can’t sell. The city, even though it is the lead in the arena, holds a minority share when it comes down to it. The state put up the bulk of the money, the city and UMLowell put up minority shares. If the city wants out of the arena UMLowell is really the only place it can go, another stake in the heart of Lynch’s ability to get a good deal from Marty.
No one has addressed the issue of putting the naming rights out to bid. That is something the city can do without permission from UMLowell or the state. Perhaps a talk with Nicki and the girls might be in order. If that is successful then suddenly the hemorrhaging becomes a minor cut.
February 18th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
I don’t think people should be advocating for the elimination of the hockey program. Many would argue that the Riverhawk team has a richer tradition and better proximity to other teams in Hockey East than Amherst. If more students live on campus and a winning program can ever be put together it will be the hottest ticket in town.
The football team was Division II and didn’t compete with Division IAA Amherst. The program was cut because of “budget cuts” by Mitt Romney. That was too bad. Same goes for wrestling and I think golf. I believe giving more kids an opportunity to play collegiate sports is a good thing. I just don’t think a practice rink should be put next to the Arena.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
I am not advocating the elimination of UML hockey, just pointing out that there are those on the UMass Board of Trustees that would like to see it gone and some of the biggest justifications are poor performance and consolidating the athletic program at UMass Amherst.
The football squad was eliminated long long long before Mitt Romney set foot in the Statehouse!
Because a practice rink was cut from the Tsongas arena when the first round of bids came in it means that two hockey teams, with full schedules, use the main ice to practice on eliminating the arena as a venue for other events and putting it at a disadvantage to arenas with only one squad to work around like the Verizon Wireless Arena.
Still no thoughts on naming rights to stem the bleeding heh?
February 19th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
With regard to UML hockey and the arena, I guess I’m advocated that the university seriously consider avoiding either. Times are tough and costs need to be considered. I think the arena will be a money sink to them if the point is to keep UML hockey. Now is not the time for new money sinks.
February 19th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
But Eleanor, we’ve named so many things around here for grasping, GOBish politicians, the Tsongas is one of the few named for a pol I actually respect!!! LOL
February 19th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
I say let the Sun put it’s money where it’s mouth is…$11.5 Million dollars for 15 years and people will know it as The Sun Arena! lol The bleeding stops, Marty gets nothing…because we all know that in a few years if it goes to UML that it will become known as the Martin Meehan Arena right?
What say there Campy/O’Neil?