March 1st, 2011
by PaulM
Chris Camire of the SUN today reported on Monday’s hearing in Methuen at which arts advocates from the area spoke about the negative effects of proposed cuts in state funding for cultural programs. Read the article here, and get the SUN if you want more. In the article, Lowell is praised by the executive director of the Mass. Cultural Council [my bold below]:
“For every dollar invested in the Massachusetts Cultural Council, [Anita] Walker said $5 goes back into the state’s general fund through tax revenue generated by tourism and in-state spending. She said the agency supports 400 nonprofit agencies, including COOL, that have a combined state budget of $4 million and support 37,000 jobs. Calling Lowell the council’s ‘poster child,’ Walker said her agency helps fund the city’s annual Folk Festival and Southeast Asian Water Festival. It also played a part in bringing Jack Kerouac’s On The Road scroll to Lowell in the summer of 2007, as well as in keeping the Revolving Museum, American Textile History Museum and Brush Art Gallery afloat, she said. Elected officials acknowledged the importance of funding arts and cultural programs during the hearing, but said the $1.5 billion deficit Massachusetts faces means very few state programs are safe from the ax.”
Culture, Current Events, Greater Lowell, History, Lowell | 
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July 30th, 2010
by Marie
The embargo broken, Noah Bombard is reporting on the Eagle Tribune blog that fired former Methuen Police Chief Joseph Solomon has won his case with the Massachusetts Civil Service Commission. Solomon was fired over two years ago. This finding must come as a bombshell to Methuen Mayor Bill Manzi.
Staff writers Gretchen M. Putnam and JJ Huggins are reporting on the Eagle Tribune website from the finding:
The state’s Civil Service Commission today set aside Joseph Solomon’s firing as police chief, ordering him returned as Methuen’s top cop Oct. 1. In a 125-page, and sometimes scathing decision, Commissioner Paul Stein found Solomon worthy of a 12-month unpaid suspension but did not believe the city’s claims the chief was guilty of ethical misconduct, poor managerial decisions and mismanagement of federal grant money.
Instead, Stein found Methuen was guilty of “improper overreaching” and “piling on a number of dubious and stale charges without merit which Solomon was obliged to defend.”
They also spoke with Mayor Bill Manzi:
An obviously disappointed Mayor William Manzi chastised civil service, saying “the system is clearly broken.” The mayor said the city will fight the decision in Superior Court in hopes of keeping Solomon from returning until the appeal is heard.
This story will certainly play out over the next few days and beyond. Read the full article here on the Eagle Tribune website. Stay tuned.
Current Events, Greater Lowell, Politics | No Comments »
June 15th, 2010
by Marie
The Merrimack Valley has seen changes or changes are in the works at the top level of many school districts lately – Tewksbury, Dracut, Andover, Lawrence, Haverhill, Greater Lowell Voke, Greater Lawrence Voke and probably more. There are so many that even the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents can’t keep its website member-roster current. It sometimes seems like a chess game as retired superintendents return as interims and administrators from one district – Greater Lowell for example – move across the Valley to head another. Fiscal considerations, falling state reimbursements and revenue constraints have school districts on the hot seat these days with the superintendents needing all the answers. Retirement beckons – or maybe just a change of scenery.
Another change is on the horizon – this time in Methuen. Superintendent Dr. Jeanne Whitten – who includes a stint in the Lowell School system on her resume - announced last night that she will retire in August. Family concerns triggered her decision. Dr. Whitten has spent thirty-eight years as an educator. See the Eagle-Tribune article here.
Culture, Current Events, Education, Greater Lowell | No Comments »
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