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Monday, January 31, 2011

Highlands Coalition Tonight - What Are We Doing?

Tonight at 7 pm The Highlands Coalition will be having a meeting tonight at the Ford School. Among other items on the agenda will be the discussion of the expenditures of the money from the recent fundraiser at the Old Tyme Italian Restaurant.

I feel that HICO can not be an employer and the attempt to be breaches the faith and trust our donors place in us. The goals may be honorable but the practical execution of those goals only leads us to become a disreputable employer to a small number of people. It does very little toward advancing HICO toward its stated goals.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Art Lives In The Highlands

Tentatively starting on Feb.7th the Highlands Coalition and Ford School are partnering with Students4students, Inc and Montserrat College to provide for an after school art program that will allow for creative expression of young Highlands students. For more details I urge you to check out the relative posting in "The Lynn School Watch", thelynnschoolwatch.blogspot.com.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Time For A Representative Revolution!

Hmmm! Citizens asked to pay taxes to a government where they have no voice. Seems like the Highlands has something in common with the original thirteen colonies.Taxation without representation. City council how do you like your tea?

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Is Anyone Listening?

The Highlands is a community represented by three different councilmen. How can our hopes, our dreams, our concerns for a cohesive neighborhood ever be realized by diffused brand of politics?

As a neighborhood, we rally around the elementary school we share and proudly boast of its successes. We see them as proof of our collective potential. However those from the outside looking in have chosen overlook them, thereby depressing our opportunities for growth and development.

The fact that we are so culturally diverse while at the same time coexist in a peaceful, homogeneous environment is a testimonial to our collective strength as a neighborhood. We need to fight for our right to speak with one voice. One powerful voice.

How do we do that? The same way all reforms are achieved in a democracy, by the ballot box. That is a little easier said than done. Normally it's one man, one vote. In the Highlands it's one man, one third a vote. The Highlands is gerrymandered in such a way that our polling places are out of our specific community. Effectively this reduces voter turnout imposing limits on the volume of an already fractured voice.

We need to return voting back to the Ford School as a polling place so the city of Lynn can hear what we say!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Birth of a Coalition

In our community there exists an organization that encourages the growth and development of our neighbors. That organization is the Highlands Coalition, Inc (HICO). HICO started out about three years ago as a loose collaboration of various neighborhood organizations.

A few months ago members got together with a lawyer, Mari McKeon, to formally incorporate as a 503 non-profit corporation. This legal status gives HICO greater flexibility in pursuing funding and recognition as a serious entity.

This attempt at recognition as professional organization was however fraught with unintentional missteps. Different group members had different objectives. Stopping the formation of a charter school, promoting open spaces, and fighting foreclosures were pet projects of individual members. One area where all the members came together though was the development of the Ford International Garden. A growing partnership between HICO and Ford Elementary school blossomed just like the flowers on the vegetable plants in the garden.


The young students reaped the rewards of this bountiful harvest. Still to come, future crops will yield priceless benefits to hungry community, starving to have their existence recognized and validated. More to come later.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Where It All Starts, The Seeds Of Development

Education is always the driving force behind any progress. This basic principle is embedded in our own developmental chronology. To move forward, a baby "learns" to walk. It's not only in our genes, it's in our jeans.

This is why the citizens of the Highlands should be proud of the fact that we have Robert L. Ford Elementary School. The school is the Highlands' crown jewel. We have a precious gem in this institution, a sparkling experiment in the growth of a community.

The elementary students come from all walks of life, all parts of the planet to synthesize into a homogeneous entity while at the same time preserving the individual essence of the wide variety of culture present throughout our neighborhood.Their education isn't limited to the 7:45 am to the 1:45 pm school day. Between after school tutoring sessions, Saturday school, and summer sessions, it seems like there is always something going on there for the students Affiliations with NASA, MIT, and Harvard provide students, families, and residents of the Highlands with unique opportunities that other communities do not have.

In the evenings the definition of who a student is is expanded to include adults who are mastering the skills necessary to earn a GED or maybe expanding their knowledge of the English language. Available resources are explored in order to maximize every individuals quality of life.

A stroll through the International Garden gives all of the students teachers, and other community members the opportunity to experience the blossoming of the plants representing the growth of the neighborhood.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

"The Highlands Watch" - New Community Publication

This is a new blog I am starting to bring attention to issues relative to the Highlands community in Lynn, Ma. It is my intention to bring to light all of the activities going on in this neighborhood and promote all of the positive things that are happening here.

Don't be misled by the positive nature of that last paragraph. In order to be truly uplifting, this blog will also address the negative aspects of our representation and perception. If we truly want change to come, we must also confront our demons.

Hopefully, "The Highlands Watch" can become a forum for all of our community leaders to address our neighbors. In that regard I hope to serve as editor and not sole contributor. That depends on you. I ask you to follow me on this journey.