There is a board meeting tomorrow (Monday) evening in the lobby office at 7:00, residents welcome.

Next Saturday is Lowell’s downtown Festival of Lights.  More info can be found here.  It’s a fun way to embrace the season, just as long as you bundle up well!

If you’ve been wondering when the lines and crosswalks were getting painted on Market Street, it should be in the next few days (assuming they didn’t already do it while I wasn’t looking).  The pavement had to cure for one to two weeks before painting but we’re well past that and the contractor is required to get it done before the Festival of Lights.

With the holidays coming up, Western Ave Studios are adding extra shopping days to their usual Open Studios schedule.  They’re open December 6, 7, 13, & 14 from noon to 5:00. They also have one evening for shopping on Thursday, the 18th from 5:00 to 9:00.

And now, for a shameless self-promotional plug:  For anyone who enjoys the Fantasy and Science Fiction genre of novels (or has someone on their gift list who does) and likes the idea of supporting local writers, you might consider checking out The Raven Coronet by Christina Briley (my pen name).  It’s available online in eBook or paperback at Barnes & Noble or Amazon.  With sex, romance, magic, humor, and circuses, how can you go wrong?

The latest news from the management about the fountain appears below.  My understanding from listening in on the last board meeting is that these repairs are being done by a different company with more experience in fountains at no extra cost to the association.

Beginning on Friday, November 14, 2014 the work on replacing the fountain will begin. 

• A protective barrier around the work area will be installed.
• The fountain components will be removed.
• The area will be measured so the new fountain can be properly fabricated offsite.
• The new fountain will then be installed.
• The metal platform will be cleaned and sealed and the cushions put back. 

This process should take about 5 weeks to complete.

Thank you for your patience.

Royal Management Company

There is now a textile drop-off trailer at 500 Pawtucket Street, right next to Orchard Hill Ice Cream. Clean, dry clothing and linens in bags may be dropped off at any time. From there they get sorted and go to thrift shops, charities, or to be shredded for recycling.  For a video on the subject, click here.

Other items can be dropped in the trailer at the DPW at 1365 Middlesex Street; more info here.

General recycling info and information about disposing of other items such as electronics or hazardous items can be found here.

If you’d like to register for updates directly from various government departments, such as recycling, that can be done here.

If you’re serious about recycling, you might consider this bag at Amazon: Whitmor Triple Sorter.  Lowell doesn’t require recycling be sorted but we’ve found this bag to be incredibly light and sturdy for both storage and transportation with no signs of wear after almost three years of use.  We keep ours tucked in a corner at the bottom of our unit’s stairwell.

For anyone interested in detailed info about the ongoing work on the building exterior, reports on the work are now available here. They’re arranged from newest (October 24th) to oldest (June 2nd).

Moving information has recently been posted around the building; a less detailed version is also on this site here, as well as a map with directions to the loading dock.

Future residents who show up during office hours looking for info but who can’t get into the building should knock (gently) on one of the office windows to the right of the front door to get the secretary’s attention. (I just noticed the other day that there’s a very old, faded, little plaque by the keypad about dialing the office but as far as I know, it’s totally out-of-date.)

Look like we should wake up to a better drive Monday morning: info

Two reminders and a bit of info:

Trick or Treating in the building is tomorrow from 6-8 PM. Please be sure to put your orange pumpkin note on your door (and have plenty of candy available) if you’d like to participate. Halloween is one of the few times of the year we have a communal event and get to see our neighbors.

Please vote next Tuesday, November 4th. Our polling station is at LTC, right across the breezeway from the National Park Visitor’s Center. Short of having it in our lobby, it really couldn’t be much more convenient! Polling hours are 7:00 am to 8:00 pm. Click here for more election information, including links to ballot questions and candidates.

According to a pothole complaint last week on SeeClickFix.com, Market Street is scheduled to be paved one night this week. Since we’re running out of this week, I would hope to see it done SOON. In the meantime, I am trying to find out if it’s still on schedule of if there’s been a delay.

And there was a major water main break at the intersection of Bridge Street and the VFW highway mid-day today so that’s what’s been causing the local traffic problems. They hope to have it fixed tonight or early tomorrow.

Lastly, if anyone whose announcements were getting caught in their spam filter wants to let me know that adding admin@canalplaceone.com to their address book worked and that this one’s gotten through, that would be reassuring!

Hello all. I believe I just figured out why some people’s subscriptions to the bulletin board appear to me as confirmed and some don’t. When you subscribe, the BB sends an e-mail that you need to respond to to confirm your subscription. I suspect these e-mails are getting caught in people’s spam filters.  I have been confirming everyone myself so everyone should be set, but I don’t know if the actual BB notifications are going to get caught in spam filters also. Please add admin@canalplaceone.com to your address book. And feel free to pass the word!

(Rats. Wish I’d known this before handing out all those flyers—I would have included this info.)

Just a few reminders:

In case anyone hasn’t seen it, there’s a notice on the front door saying that the masons will be working to the right of the Canal Place entrance this week. People need to be sure to leave those parking spaces empty as of first thing tomorrow.

Also, the October board meeting is tomorrow evening (Monday the 27th) at 7:00 in the lobby office. Residents are welcome. These meetings are not only a chance for community input, they can also sometimes provide fascinating bits of building history and neighborhood information. The agenda for this month’s meeting is posted on the bulletin board by the first floor elevator.

Lowell has a new program to lower electric bills.  I think that I got a flyer about it some time ago which I set aside and forgot about; I assume everyone else got the same flyer as well.  Cathy has forwarded the latest info from the city as it applies to individual residents (the building’s common areas get their electricity from a commercial supplier).  The info—in the form of a pdf flyer—from Cathy can be seen here.

There is a more general link about the Community Choice Power Program here (and on the “Links” page).

Hello all!  I’m just passing along info from the Lowell Downtown Neighborhood Association.

Register to Vote! If you are not already registered, you are almost out of time!

Here is a copy of the Registration Form.
It must be RECEIVED in the Lowell City Election Office by 8 p.m. Wednesday October 15, 2014 for you to be registered to vote in the November election.

Three questions that MUST be answered for your application to be accepted are:
1. Are you a US Citizen? ( Question #1)
2. Are you, or will you, be 18 years old by Election Day? (Question #1)
3. What is your Party affiliation? (Dem/Rep/No Party? (Question #9)

Mail this form to:  Election Commission City of Lowell
375 Merrimack Street
Basement, Room 5
Lowell, MA 01852

10/27: Meeting of Lowell Downtown Neighborhood Association, 7PM at LTC (Lowell Telecommunications Corporation), 246 Market St.

Representative Nangle will be the featured Speaker!

He will discuss his/our agenda for this year in the MA House of Representatives as well as giving us a brief overview of the Pro/Con’s of the 4 Ballot question on this year’s Voter Ballot.