Left In Lowell

Just received a notice from the city:

Beginning on or about Thursday July 30, 2009, Revere Street and parts of Jackson Street from Revere Street to King Street are scheduled to be closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic as part of the demolition of the buildings located at 360 and 324 Jackson Street. Vehicular and pedestrian access will be restricted through the use of concrete jersey barriers and fencing. Residents are asked to seek alternate travel routes until such time that Revere Street and or this portion of Jackson Street are re-opened. It is anticipated that Revere Street and or Jackson Street will be re-opened prior to the opening of the Charter School on August 25, 2009. During demolition activities, appropriate precautionary measures will be taken to protect adjacent property, and vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

So make plans accordingly!

Just a couple of pics I snapped yesterday of the setting up of tents for the Lowell Folk Festival this weekend. It starts tonight, and goes all weekend! (Beginning Friday with the Downtown Parade at 6:40 p.m., then on to Boarding House Park and Dutton Street Dance Pavilion at 7:00 p.m., then noon through 6pm and beyond Sat and Sun.) Anyway, this is just to peak your curiosity! As much of a pain as parking is for the second half of this week, it’s really exciting to be downtown while all this activity is going on.

In an editorial in today’s Sun, the paper asks the legislature (and for Governor Patrick, if it gets to his desk) to reject the request for a waiver on our city election primary. Some salient points, which have been made but should be made again:

Two years ago, state legislators warned the council to not request another waiver. Local legislators told councilors that deferring the preliminary was becoming habitual; they should either abide by the rules set forth in the city’s charter or change the rules.

Also, this, to explain why the Sun endorsed eliminating the primary two years ago:

Two years ago, The Sun supported the City Council in its push to waive the preliminary, but 2007 had unique circumstances. It included unexpected primary and general elections to fill former U.S. Rep. Marty Meehan’s seat. The two extra elections cost the city as much as $130,000 of which only $28,000 was reimbursed by the state.

However, there are no special elections this year and the money for the city preliminary election is already in the municipal budget.

It’s been pointed out to me, that in our last primary triggered by having over 18 candidates, there were a number of unserious campaigns, including one candidate who had pulled papers but was in jail. We had just 19 candidates. This time around, we have a great number of very serious candidates, much more than 19.

I also like this (bold mine):

We are additionally troubled by the council’s decision earlier this week to eliminate the preliminary regardless of the number of candidates running, which won’t be known for certain until Aug. 11, when nomination papers must be returned.

A big “duh” to that.

Finally, the really cool part (again, bold mine)!

In fact, The Sun communicated its position to Gov. Deval Patrick on Tuesday during an editorial board meeting. Patrick didn’t take a definite stance regarding a veto but said he hopes the petition never reaches his desk and that he would prefer to respect what a city’s charter provides.

I hope this is the case, and that’s why your letters and calls to Governor Patrick are so important. If you are a candidate who opposes waiving this primary, even better - make sure you let the Governor know you are running for city council and want a primary.