Meetings about St. Anne’s Church
This week there were several meetings held at Northern Essex Community College Allied Health & Technology Center, to get input from community members. There was great enthusiasm from most of the attendees and some concerns, particularly the parking situation in that area of Haverhill and Franklin St.
Generally speaking, everyone recognized that this is an advantage not just for Lawrence but surrounding cities and towns to present all types of performances, concerts, symphonies and even private parties.
I am planning to write a longer article next week describing people’s concerns.
Homeless
For a long time I have been critical of the way the City of Lawrence has abused the homeless population (far from helping them or find solutions to that problem) and last week, they performed the annual census to see how many we have here. They even sent out an email to the entire city asking for volunteers in assisting to count the homeless. I think they just wanted to have witnesses that they were doing something for the homeless because it doesn’t go any further. The Police Chief posted a press release on the department’s internet page. You can see it on LAWPD.com but it says in part:
“Typically, these counts occur annually during the last week in January. As a City, it is important to make sure those who are homeless are counted and are accurately represented. The results of the City’s Point in Time count determines federal funding that comes to the City for services, programs and resources, for housing and homelessness.
“Today for the first time, in preparation for this year’s count, Lt. Jay Cerullo and Officer Eddey Southworth of the LPD Drone Unit joined with the City’s Homeless Coordinator Sandy Guerrier to use the Department’s drone to locate areas along the banks of the Merrimack River where homeless encampments have been set up. The purpose of this operation was to use drone technology to better allocated resources for the actual count. Using the drone, a vast area along the river was covered in a short time.”
So, what are they going to do with that information? Sandy Guerrier, the homeless coordinator was hired to provide services such as housing, education, medical care, employment services, etc. to help them get on their feet, according to her job description. None of that is taking place.
First they bought the cameras and now the drone. Why not just purchase facial recognition software and count faces. I have an idea! Better yet, use the drones for census taking!
UMass job is gone
The State House Newsletter published an article announcing the hiring of UCLA Dean Marcelo Suárez-Orozco as Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts/Boston. After interviewing 11 candidates for the position, he rose to be the lone finalist and was voted unanimously voted by a 21-member committee.
Suárez-Orozco is Argentinian and has done research focusing on mass migration, globalization and education and the psychological effects of those trends. This will be a great fit for UMass-Boston since 54% of their 2019 fall enrollment is made up by students of color. There were rumors that a Lawrencian was already hired for that position. I guess it was not true. Oh well, we’re getting used to it.
About news coverage
Last week I wrote about the lack of local news coverage and a friend pointed out that it is not just local: It’s a national issue. True but we should be concerned with the local aspect because it is the one affecting us more immediate and where we could do something – if we try.
Yes, we should read different publications and watch different newscasts (even if we disagree with the content) because that’s the only way to tell the differences and find some truth.
My friend is from Haverhill and made a suggestion. Since the Haverhill Spanish-speaking community is better organized than Lawrence, they should try speaking with Tim Coco, owner of WHAV-FM 97.9 to have a regular talk show.
That should interest also Lawrence residents because, although it is licensed to Haverhill, it can be heard clearly in Lawrence. Whether a regular show or simply providing news as they happen, I’m pretty sure if someone approached Tim with a story he would run it in a heartbeat.
Most people want to complain, while few want to accomplish.
