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Tonight was Dr. Karla Brooks Baehr’s final school committee meeting. At the public reception in her honor, held in the Mayor’s reception room immediately preceding, fitting tribute was paid to the woman who has led our school system for the last 8 years. Brian Martin brought a congressional citation for service to the city from Congresswoman Niki Tsongas’ office, the school committee presented a certificate of honor and a key to the city, city manager Bernie Lynch thanked her for working for the ‘good of the city’. But best of all, in my opinion, was the Citywide Parent Council outgoing Chair Anita Downs’ announcement that over 150 books had been donated to Lowell Public Schools in honor of Dr. Baehr. The good news is that Barnes & Noble will extend the period for donating a book or books, and they make it so easy- just stop in or give them a call at 978-458-3939 (they’ll even give you a 20% discount). The other fun thing about the evening was hearing Dr. Baehr give a few zingers, especially toward the editor of the Sun and toward Lowell politics in general. Still, she affirmed that the work could still get done, that when she came to Lowell she signed her name in a book under the names of all of Lowell’s school superintendents going to the 1800s, that she was proud that day and was just as proud today of having been one of the leaders of this school system. As a parent in the system during her tenure, I can only say again how lucky we were to have her. I believe and hope that the good work she has done will endure. Goodbye, Dr. Baehr, and thank you. (Posted by Margaret)

Hello, world! We’re back. The technological nightmare is over; well, there’s still some work to be done as you can see by this stripped-down version of our blog. But for now I just want to get away from this computer and enjoy the day. Jackie’s on vacation, but hopefully she’ll check out the site and post a line or two about her travels. There’s a lot to talk about, but for now, just a quick reminder: tonight is the School Committee reception in honor of departing superintendent Dr. Karla Brooks Baehr. It will be held at City Hall from 5:30-7:00 pm. Hope to see you there!

As Jackie and her family set out for parts unknown:

When you travel
You find yourself
Alone in a different way
More attentive now
To the self you bring along,
Your more subtle eyes watching
You abroad;
And how what meets you
Touches that part of the heart
That lies low at home

When you travel
A new silence goes with you
And if you listen
You will hear
What your heart would
Love to say.

A journey can become a sacred thing.

John O’Donoghue

The school committee reception in honor of Dr. Baehr is a week from today, that’s Wednesday, June 18, 5:30-7:00 pm, in the Mayor’s reception room at City Hall, ust prior to her last school committee meeting. Light refreshments will be served and all are welcome.  The Citywide Parent Council has arranged “Books for Baehr” as a way to help our schools and pay a tribute to Dr. Baehr’s eight years of service to the city.  To participate in this “twofer” in Baehr-speak simply go to Barnes & Noble at 151 Merrimack Street, purchase a book, and choose a school library, or EVEN EASIER, call Barnes & Noble at 978-458-3939 and purchase the book by telephone with a credit card. B&N will record your donation for the presentation to Dr. Baehr and deliver your book to the school library you selected. The downtown store is also offering a 20 percent discount on books purchased for this program and can recommend children’s favorites. See Mimi’s post for inspiration or if you need help picking a book, look at these great recommendations from Bright Horizons. (I just ordered a beautiful book of poems, Talking Like the Rain for the McAuliffe School where I used to work and for the Bailey, where my son went to elementary. For the Daley Middle School, I am ordering two books by Richard Peck that look great:  A Long Way from Chicago and A Year Down Yonder.  These look so good, I am going to read them myself.

If you’re reading this, you took the time to scroll through the June 2008 archives, thank you!  Not being able to blog while the school budget is being decided, with our new superintendent being welcomed to Lowell tomorrow (public reception at the auditorium, 5:30-7:00 pm), Dr. Baehr’s last school committee meeting coming up next week with a reception in her honor (as well as a great program for donating books to the schools in her name) and so many end-of-school year events has us totally frustrated!  We hope to be back to normal soon….

What is so rare as a day in June?  Then, if ever, come perfect days. 

This snippet from a much longer poem by James Russell Lowell popped irresistably into my head on this superlative morning. I wondered if the poet Lowell had any connection with our founding father Francis Cabot Lowell and found that Francis was half-brother to James’ father, a Unitarian minister (thanks Wikipedia!). 

You can now view the proposed fiscal 2009 budget for the city here. We’ll be taking a closer look and giving our thoughts on the school funding piece, but in the meantime, thanks to Manager Lynch for making this document so accessible!

Hi, everyone, we seem to be experiencing some problems with our hosting platform. We’ll try to stay calm and get things fixed as soon as possible. Thanks for your patience.

Margaret and Jackie

When I was in Barcelona last year, I marvelled at the amount of public art that enlivens that city; there are new and exciting pieces around every corner which refresh the eye and stimulate the mind.  Thanks to the wonderful Revolving Museum, Lowell is on it’s way to becoming a ‘mini-Barcelona’ – well, without the ocean and the fabulous, fresh seafood, the Gaudi buildings and Picasso and Dali museums  - okay, maybe it’s a stretch, but still, public art is a great thing, for tourists and residents, that we should celebrate! Tomorrow afternoon, at 4:00 pm,  come on downtown for the latest installation by the museum’s Teen Artist Group (TAG).  For sixteen months, the young artists have been working on panels reflecting concern for the environment that will be placed side-by-side between Enterprise Bank and Sovereign Bank on Merrimack Street. The completed mural, entitled “We Are One…Love Our Mother Earth,” is the fourth Merrimack street mural installed by TAG.  At the opening ceremony, you can meet the artists and learn about their thoughts, concerns and hopes for the future.  In addition, Gunther Wellenstein from Lowell’s Recycling Department will be on hand to share green solutions for everyone. 

Four Lowell city councilors and their fellow passengers met with a wet end when their bus broke down on Route 495 today after an instructive field trip to see how Worcester manages its recycling and trash disposal program. The ten-member crew, which included Mayor Bud Caulfield, councilors Rita Mercier, Rodney Elliott and Alan Kazanjian, as well as city staff, involved citizens and a state recycling coordinator, had to wait in the rain for about 25 minutes after their bus started blowing oil just before exit 32. As luck would have it, the bus, an LRTA Road Runner used primarily for seniors, ran well enough to get the crew to Worcester and tour the streets so its passengers could observe trash and recycling pickup as well as visit the city’s recycling center. Despite the wet ending, the trip was deemed successful since the group saw firsthand how Worcester, a city serving twice the households as Lowell, generates half the trash (23,000 tons compared to Lowell’s 40,000 tons) due to effective recycling. With 15 years of experience, Worcester provides a good model of how Lowell can do a better job of reducing trash disposal, and the council will be deciding how to move forward with improving its recycling program soon. Now if we can only do something about that bus…