…the Lowell City Council: our heroes painted themselves into a corner with an agenda that would take well over 3 and 1/2 hours to complete. As such, they voted to continue the meeting to a Saturday. You mess with the bull, you get the horns. I’ll try to keep it brief as I’ve already outdone…

In his final State of the City address, Haverhill Mayor Jim Fiorentini said the most critical challenge the city faces today is to provide enough housing for residents, which he called a “moral issue.” “To combat this, we’ve changed our zoning laws to allow for more housing and accessory dwelling units.” When I look at…

There was a very full agenda for the March 14th meeting. Tragically, that meeting got cancelled due to a snow storm and all items on that agenda carried over to this week’s meeting. I assumed that they would go easy on adding to that agenda for the March 21st meeting. My assumption was wrong as…

1. Quick Update on the HCD I was hoping for more discussion on the response to the following motion: Councilors Jenness and Drinkwater – Request City Manager Have Proper Department Explore the Potential For Targeted Mixed Use Development On One Or More Remaining City-Owned Parcels Within The HCID And Report. I was happy to see…

I missed last week’s meeting and I should probably skip this week too as I’ve got nothing this morning. However, I’d hate to disappoint the dozen or so people in the market for a council meeting recap, so here we go: 1. Voting Machines A few weeks back, a poll worker addressed the council on…

Hell no. What kind of hedonist goes out on a Tuesday night anyway? 1. A Small Step Forward on Zoning In March of 2021, the city released a Housing Availability Report (in response to a motion by Councilors Rourke and Noun) seeking ways to increase housing availability by reviewing our zoning laws. The report is…

Dense meeting last night. Mona Tyree honored, class trip to Montreal, ARPA Funds, Fire Trucks, Inflation Reduction Act and Clean Energy, Facebook, disruptive audience members, Shedd Park, cannabis delivery and 18 new motions. As per usual, I’m going to cut some massive corners. Good time to remind that these meetings are broadcast in all their…

I swear to you that in years past these meetings used to feature yelling matches with the city manager and accusations of assault between councilors. It seems like those days are long gone. It’s all dry government business now However, it’s not all peace and love. Last night, there was a big development in the…

1. “Essential” But Not Essential “Essential” When Congress authorized ARPA, they permitted premium pay for frontline essential workers as one of four expressly permitted ways that state and local governments can use the funds. Premium pay is intended to compensate essential employees for heightened risk due to COVID-19. It must be entirely additive to an employee’s…

Government was happening last night. Maybe not as much as some councilors would have preferred, but let’s take a look. 1. New Show at the MRT Last night, representatives from the MRT were present to plug a new show titled “Letters From Home,” currently running until February 5th. The show is written and performed by…