Representing the First Middlesex District: Dracut, Dunstable, Lowell, Pepperell, and Tyngsborough
State Senator Ed Kennedy joined with other elected officials in Lowell to march in the Annual City of Lights Parade on Saturday, November 26. The Grand Marshall for this year’s parade was Middlesex Community College President Phil Sisson. The popular parade featured the high school marching bands from Chelmsford High School, Dracut High School and Lowell High School.
State Senator Ed Kennedy joined with an army of volunteers at the Dwelling House of Hope Food Pantry on Saturday, November 19. The food pantry, which is located at 125 Mount Hope Street in Lowell gave out more than 3,000 boxes of food and turkeys for the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday. This year the Dwelling House of Hope was joined by the United Way and the Greater Boston Food Bank at the Mount Hope Street location. Among the volunteers were State Representative Vanna Howard, State Representative-Elect Rodney Elliott, Lowell City Councilors Erik Gitschier and John Drinkwater and Lowell School Committeeman Dominik Lay.
On Friday, November 18 State Senator Ed Kennedy, State Senator Jaime Eldridge, Groton Selectman Peter Cunningham and Susan Templeton from State Senator John Cronin’s office met with several members of the Friends of the Nashua River Rail Trail to inspect the condition of the popular Nashua River Rail Trail.
The Nashua River Rail Trail is 12.3 miles long and stretches from the Ayer Central Business District through Ayer, Groton, Pepperell, Dunstable and Nashua, New Hampshire. Along the way the rail trail travels through wooded areas and passes by ponds, fields, swamps, farms. The entire trail is paved with asphalt.
The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation purchased the rail trail corridor in 1987 and it is designated as a Massachusetts state park. The official opening and dedication of the Nashua River Rail Trail took place more than 20 years ago, on October 25, 2002.
State Senator Ed Kennedy attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion and renovation of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell on Wednesday, November 16. Upon completion, the 53,000 square foot building will be able to accommodate up to 600 young people daily. The expanded and renovated building will feature a new cafe and community center, a modern teen center, an arts and education center and a sports and fitness center.
Congratulations to Boys & Girls Club Executive Director, Joe Hungler and his staff for their work on the building project.
State Senator Ed Kennedy attended Mayor Sokhary Chau’s Reception for the Lowell Delegation to Kalamata, Greece on Tuesday, November 15 at Lowell City Hall. The seven-member delegation traveled to Kalamata in September to formalize the Sister City Agreement between Lowell and Kalamata. A delegation from Kalamata had visited Lowell earlier in the year. In addition to Senator Kennedy, the seven-member delegation consisted of Lowell Mayor Sokhary Chau, Former Lowell Mayor Bill Samaras, Middlesex Community College Dean Judith Hogan, UMass-Lowell Associate Vice-Chancelor Arlene Parquette, Federation of Hellenic-American Societies of New England President Bill Kafkas and Federation board member, Dimitrios Mattheos.
On Tuesday, November 15th, State Senator Ed Kennedy attended the UMass Lowell College Student Hunger Discussion and Strive Pantry Tour. The purpose of the event was to discuss the crisis of food insecurity among college students and advocate for the passage of S.2811 / H.4697, An Act establishing the Massachusetts Hunger Free Campus Initiative.
In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, more than one third of students who attend a public university are food insecure. Of that population, only 20% utilize Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Plan benefits. Food insecurity is disproportionately affecting Black, Latinx, and LGBTQ+ students at rates of 52%, 47%, and 46% respectively. Secure accessibility to food is essential to a student’s academic success.
An Act establishing the Massachusetts Hunger Free Campus Initiative aims to address the challenges faced by colleges and universities tackling food insecurity. The bill would create an Office of Capacity Building Services at the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education to provide funding, technical assistance, and grant opportunities to campuses aiming to address food insecurity. This legislation would incentivize campuses to leverage existing resources and maximize enrollment in federal nutrition programs. Additionally, S2811 / H.4697 urges campuses to create student-led food insecurity task forces to explore instituting anti-hunger initiatives to be considered for grant funding.
State Senator Ed Kennedy recently visited the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The Museum was first created in 1903 as part of the Old Dartmouth Historical Society. The museum collection contains more than 750,000 items relevant to the whaling industry and local history in the New Bedford area. The museum also maintains a significant collection of fine art and crafts by local artisans from the whaling era.
New Bedford Whaling Museum offers visitors the opportunity to explore the rich history of the whaling industry and New Bedford. The Museum features interactive exhibits, including the world’s largest whaling ship model; displays of fine and decorative arts, collections of cultural artifacts, rare antiquities, logbooks; and five whale skeletons including the rare blue and northern right whale. Today, the Museum plays a critical role as a champion for whale preservation and as a guardian of our heritage and culture.
Historically, whaling was an essential economic driver for our port communities and also for a rapidly expanding and industrializing society. The wealth and economic capacity generated by whaling fueled the growth and diversity of the SouthCoast region. New Bedford was known as “The City that Lit the World” and was home to more than 500 whaling ships during the 19th Century.
The Museum is open daily from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. It is part of the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park and it is located at 18 Johnny Cake Hill in New Bedford.
On Tuesday, November 1, Massachusetts Cultural Council Executive Director Michael Bobbitt and State Senator Ed Kennedy joined Groton Selectman Peter Cunningham, Groton Hill Music Center’s CEO Lisa Fiorentino and Director of Development Catherine Coleman on a tour of the Groton Hill Music Center located at 122 Old Ayer Road in Groton. The 126,000 square foot facility features 35 classrooms, a 65-seat recital theatre, 1 dining room, 1 cafe, a 300-seat performance space that opened in October of 2022 and a 1,000-seat concert hall that will open in January of 2023. The concert hall will have a sliding back wall that can be opened to accommodate an additional 1,300 outdoor seats.
The Groton Hill Music Center was founded in 1985 and has been a leader in music education and performance for more than 35 years. It was originally known as the Indian Hill Music Center and was located on King Street in Littleton. In 2014 plans were hatched to build a new world-class music education and performance center on a stunning 110-acre parcel of agricultural land on Old Ayer Road in Groton. Construction began in 2017 and the new Groton Hill Music Center opened in September of 2022.
Interested parties may contact the Groton Hill Music Center by telephone at 978-486-9524 or by email at info@grotonhill.org.
