The City of Lowell’s own Ron LaBrecque has been recognized as a Massachusetts Master Roads Scholar by the Bay State Roads Program. Great job, Ron!
“I began my career with the City
of Lowell as a draftsman in 1969.
I worked in the City Engineers
Office drawing maps for assessment
purposes. Several years later I started
to do construction inspections for
underground telephone, electric, water
and sewer lines for new subdivisions
that were being built throughout the
city.
When the City of Lowell began
to construct new schools, there were
not enough Clerk of Works/Engineers
to oversee each school to be built. I
was sent out for three years to oversee
the construction of three new schools.
After getting back into the office, I
handled inspections of city streets that
needed to be reconstructed, and also
collected estimates and quantities for
the new contracts.
I spent many years gathering
quantities and estimates in order to
write contracts for streets needing
reconstruction. I have also spent
many years with the Baystate Roads
Program, improving my skills through
its many workshops.
After 43 years with the City
Engineers, I’m now the Sr. Assistant
City Engineer for the City of Lowell. I
supervise the reconstruction of streets
and review new contracts for bid,
many of which are for Chapter 90
funds.”
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Public Meeting Notice
The Department of Planning and Development invites you to participate in a meeting regarding the restoration of two-way traffic in downtown Lowell.
The City’s consulting engineers from Nelson Nygaard and TEC will present their proposals for the restoration of two-way traffic to Merrimack, Market, Central, and Shattuck Streets as well as
the extensive traffic analysis they have conducted to establish the feasibility of this change.
The City is very interested in hearing from Downtown stakeholders regarding your reactions to the proposal.
Should you have any questions about the meeting or the project, or if you require any special accommodations to participate in the meeting, please contact Transportation Engineer Eric Eby at 978-674-4252 or eeby@lowellma.gov.
The meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 29th at 6:00 PM in the Mayor’s Reception Room in City Hall.
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The Lowell Election and Census Commission announces that absentee ballots for the June 25 Special US Senate election are now available.
Under Massachusetts Law, voters may cast absentee ballots for the following reasons only:
1) absence from the City during polling hours (7am – 8pm); or
2) physical disability preventing you from going to your polling location; or
3) religious belief
To request an absentee ballot, you may request an absentee ballot application from the Election & Commission or send a letter of request including the following: your name and Lowell address where you are registered to vote, the address where the ballot is to be sent, your signed name, your printed name, and reason for voting absentee. Our address is 375 Merrimack Street, Room 5, Lowell, MA 01852.
Voters who are not current in the census will only be allowed to vote if they submit their ballots with a copy of identification and sign an affidavit that they still reside at the given Lowell address.
The deadline to apply for absentee voting is 12:00 noon on Monday, June 24 but voters who are requesting voting through the mail are urged to apply well in advance of the deadline. Only ballots received by the close of the day on Election Day will be counted.
For further information on your voter registration status or absentee voting procedures, please call the Election Office at 978-674-1200.
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Tonight, Lowell students will be competing in the “Louder Than a Bomb” slam poetry festival in Boston!
Louder Than A Bomb was started in 2001 in Chicago by poets Anna West and Kevin Coval. It’s since grown to be the largest youth poetry festival in the world, and even inspired a full-length feature film.
Louder Than A Bomb aims to bring together a diverse group of teens through a friendly competition that emphasizes self-expression and community via performance poetry.
In 2012, MassLEAP kicked off the very first Louder Than A Bomb in the sate of Massachusetts!
Finals: Thursday, May 23, 6 pm – 9 pm
Boston University Theatre | Huntington Theatre Company
264 Huntington Avenue, Boston
For tickets: http://ltabmass.brownpapertickets.com/
Further reading: http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/2013/05/20/poetry-slam-competition-louder-than-bomb-nears-finals/twNbEAod8ZQg7ma4nf5CIJ/story.html
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Some news out of Cultural Affairs!
What’s new in the past year in Lowell:
o UnchARTed opened a permanent gallery space on Merrimack St.
o The Zeitgeist Gallery opened on Market St. with a co-op gallery & vintage clothing store
o HOWL in Lowell started up as a new on-line arts and culture magazine
o The Brush Gallery turned 30, the Quilt Museum and Angkor Dance each celebrate 25 years!
o Western Avenue Lofts opened offering 50 affordable live/work spaces for artists
o The MRT completed a major renovation of their theater
o 119 Gallery installed a new mural on the side of their building
o The ATHM partnered with the Smithsonian to bring astronauts to Lowell!
o Middlesex Community College and the NPS partnered with Cambodian Master Ceramicist Yari Livan in the creation of a traditional wood fired kiln
o Lowell hosted the New England Music Awards
What can we look forward to:
o Arts League of Lowell opens their permanent home in the Gates Block on Market St. The new space has a members gallery, a cooperative gallery, classrooms, Van Gogh’s Gear art supplies and 36 artists’ work studios
o Renovations at Western Avenue Studios that will increase the number of studios to 245 and create new event spaces. WAS will now be the largest community of its kind on the East Coast
o The opening of two new Maker spaces in the Canalway Cultural District, one for fashion and one for community makers
o A new mural at 119 and the introduction of an Artist in Residence program in the fall
o Angkor Dance begins work on a 10 year plan that will include the creation of a school for traditional dance
Articles in the Boston Globe on Lowell arts:
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“Hydro” is the new piece that was selected for Point Park in the Hamilton Canal District. It represents water flowing through turbines to generate power, a vital part of Lowell’s industrial history.
