JANUARY 1 provides both a clean break and a fresh start. We embark on creating better versions of ourselves by setting practical and aspirational goals. And we set a timeline of 365 days in which to accomplish the mission. It’s an ambitious undertaking. But we all fall for it – every year. Who says “hope” is dead?
Probably the majority of personal goal-setting – certainly the advertising – is focused on healthier living by working out, eating better or eliminating bad habits and patterns. Some goals may include a community-minded focus such as volunteering or exploring more cultural experiences that a city like Lowell has to offer. Maybe a new job or home will make the list.
Those are all concrete and worthy pursuits, and congratulations to the people who have the courage to make New Year’s resolutions and actually write them down.
Speaking of writing, reporters will probably say that a better 2023 comes down to one word: information. That’s where the power of one becomes amplified through storytelling in the newspaper.
We decry the loss of neighborhoods, but when reporting stories, it can sometimes be difficult to find people who actually know their neighbors well enough to provide basic information about them like name or occupation. Sometimes, residents don’t even know what their neighbors look like.
So, in 2023, maybe “meeting the neighbors” makes your resolutions list. When we’re connected, the world expands by becoming more intimate. Plus, when a Lowell Sun reporter knocks on your door, your information helps us tell the story about your community.
“Silos” is a buzz word that describes discrete areas of expertise at the expense of the bigger picture – sort of the tree for the forest kind of idea.
Sometimes there’s a silo mentality in the institutions we cover, who may be subject-matter experts without the benefit of a broader perspective. Reporters connect the dots in a way that institutions may not be able to. Stories can reveal a brewing crisis or strengthen community efforts.
So, in 2023, maybe more city departments and nonprofits can expand on Mayor Sokhary Chau’s idea of collaboration, and bring more “stakeholders” into the information stream of their work. Kind of like a brown-bag lunch confab, old-school style. The paper could participate in more “editorial boards,” where we talk with the organizations we cover.
When employees have a big-picture outlook, and share that information with reporters, we can bring that to the reader, and it’s a win-win for the community.
Access to information isn’t free – either creating or consuming it. The subversive genius of social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook is that they provide a place for “free” content. Sure, both platforms allow the user to create their own “news” stream, and there’s value in telling personal stories, especially if they resonate with a larger community.
What they also provide is a free means to accessing other people’s content, and a good portion of that content is driven by news organizations, which is why The Sun requires a subscription to access articles from those sources (And we’re running a New Year’s special.)
Newspapers like The Lowell Sun, don’t push a personal agenda and hope it gets lucky with a viral, influencer-type hit. We cover everything: the good, the bad and the ugly. We report sports and scams, politics and people, business, crime and public safety, education, entertainment, deaths, community events and everything in between.
And we do that everyday all year long. We never sleep. We never close, We never stop. As much as some folks hate it, we don’t take “no” for an answer to bring the stories from more than 23 communities in the Greater Lowell and Merrimack Valley to your doorstep, a newsstand or mobile device.
So, let’s put each other on the resolutions list for 2023. We’ll collect information and write the stories, and you’ll read them and share them, because, at the end of the day, we’re in this together.
Happy New Year!
Tyngsboro Town Manager move awaits Baker signature
Sitting on Gov. Charlie Baker’s desk when he returns from the New Year holiday is a long-awaited piece of legislation for Tyngsboro. One of his final acts as governor will be to sign a bill creating the position of Town Manager. Current Town Administrator Matt Hanson will hold the new position.
Baker’s last full day in office is Wednesday. He has already signed legislation changing the terminology for the executive branch of town government from Board of Selectmen to Select Board.
Both changes are a result of home-rule petitions adopted by Town Meeting in October 2021. Home-rule petitions go to the legislature for approval. Both petitions were expected to wend their way through the legislature in a few months. Instead, they took more than a year, finally clearing both branches of the legislature before the Christmas holidays.
The change to Select Board means Tyngsboro joins more than 60 other towns in the state which have adopted gender-neutral language. The legislation does not change the authority or role of the former selectmen.
The town manager form of government will bring some change to how business is done in town. Hanson and his successors will have more control over the town’s day-to-day operations. The manager will have the power to hire and fire most employees except department heads. Select Board members will have that power.
In recent years, selectmen were often criticized for micro-managing employees in the various departments. That practice motivated the drive to change town governance.
Hanson will appreciate his new title. He won’t have to move to another town for the promotion. He was a finalist for the position of town manager in next door Westford, but that job went to someone else.
Congratulations, Manager Hanson!
