hey guys! do u know a parking lot in lowell where there's not light poles and parking curbs so that I can do a donut spin in my car? thanks!

Hey everyone! We started a new weekly podcast that dropped this week on all things New England strange called Weirder After Dark! We are three cousins, born and raised in the North East, who mix humor with facts to take you on a journey into all things New England weird—our next episode, which drops tomorrow (12/3) is on The Berkshire Abductions! An incident where 200+ people claim to have seen a UFO and 4 people claim to be abducted on the same night!

To give you a taste of what else we offer, we have future episodes on the Jane Toppan (Serial Killer from MA), The Lake Winnipesaukee Mystery Stone, Bridgewater Triangle, Smuttynose murders, Coos County Wood Devils, The Kennedys etc! We also already dropped an episode on the Haunted S.K. Peirce Mansion from Gardner, Ma!

We'd love to hear ideas on other local New England mysteries for us to go after! If you know/have anything spooky, share it here! Feel free to reach out if you've had any strange experiences with the paranormal, aliens, weird events, unknown artifacts, cryptids, or urban legends!

Also, if this sounds like your vibe, feel free to follow/subscribe/listen on the following platforms:

Instagram - Weirder After Dark

Spotify - Weirder After Dark

Apple Podcasts - Weirder After Dark

Amazon Podcasts

Or anywhere you get your Podcasts!

Saw it lit up on Saturday then it hasn’t been since (at least not when I’ve looked out my window in Christian Hill). Any idea why?

https://www.youtube.com/live/9_JWCyzNZ2E

Where is the best place to donate blood in and around Lowell?

There's a nice looking townhouse in the Highlands that's owned by a property management company in another town. First month's rent, security deposit, and the broker fee come out to $9k due up front (3k for each). A $3k broker fee to sign a few rental documents and run a credit check sounds similar to someone taking a wad of cash from me and lighting it on fire in front of my face. I understand the fees/costs that come with buying/selling a house as there is a lot going on with that process, but a broker fee for renting that is 8.3% of the cost of a 12-month lease? Psh...

Hear me out: Yes it is a fun place to go and yes it is a devastating loss. We may be at a moment of reinvention so we should also remember the times Mill 5 wasn’t so great so that the next version can be better.

Remember years ago when Mill no 5 inflicted serious pain on its neighbors when it came to parking? The unrelenting towing, blocking residents access to their own parking, and backlash by the community against Mill no 5?

Remember the business who were forced out of events like the farmers market and the other small businesses events.

Remember the reports of harassment and intimidation surrounding Coffee and Cotton and their strike.

This isn’t about slamming Mill 5, this is about remembering that there is opportunity to do better next time.

Anyone know where there is one of those little free standing libraries that I can donate some books to? Like one of those little library houses people put in their yards.

https://insidelowell.com/mill-no-5-gifted-to-lccps/

We hired this company to replace two exterior doors on our house. After signing a contract and paying the deposit in July, it was agreed and confirmed in writing that the estimate reflected the purchase of two doors which had a combined retail price of $2200 and would be ordered to custom specifications. I was informed that the installation would be carried out as soon as the materials were available. I received an email on Monday (November 4th) that the materials were ready and the installation would be carried out on Wednesday (November 6th). The work crew arrived on the 6th, removed my old doors, and began ripping out the frames. The supervisor or foreman person (not sure what they call it) told me he would be right back because he had to go pick up the doors. I believed that these doors he was referring to were the ones that were supposed to have been custom ordered, but once I saw them, I realized they were not the right ones. I called the office, and "B." (the manager/individual who signed the contract with me and confirmed that I would be receiving the doors I chose) soon arrived at the site and started giving me excuses about how they discussed this amongst themselves and decided I would be better off with these cheaper doors, etc. I told them to put back one of my original doors, board up the other opening with plywood, and come back with the correct doors. "B." said they couldn't do that because reasons. At this point it was obvious to me that they never ordered the custom doors I chose and made a conscious decision to deceive me in the hopes that I wouldn't notice until the job was completed, if ever. I knew they were trying to get me to "agree" to accept the cheaper doors and that this put me in a compromised position. "B." tried to corner me by asking for my consent and "approval" of the lower-quality products, and I told him that I no longer trusted him or believed anything he said, and that I did not accept these doors. Nevertheless, the holes in the house had to be closed somehow, and the only way they were willing to do that was by using the doors they had provided. They didn't even bother to paint one of the doors that needed it like the contract said they would, but it probably doesn't matter at this point because that door does not meet my needs for energy efficiency and security and will need to be replaced (in fact, both of these doors will need to be replaced, but the second one is a sliding door and didn't need to be painted).

Furthermore, these are not appropriate exterior doors for New England winter weather. These are not Energy Star qualified, and the ones I chose are ES qualified.

I almost forgot to mention the following: This company did not secure a building permit before starting the demolition, and right in the middle of everything, the city building inspector showed up and asked to see the permit. Since they didn't have one, the building inspector stopped the work and made them go downtown and get the permit. So not only is this company actively trying to scam hard-working, ordinary people in the community, they also don't even have their act together enough to know they need to secure a permit BEFORE they start the job.

Anyway, this company is now demanding that I pay the entire original balance on the contract, which was based on the higher price of the doors I chose (the doors they ended up installing retailed for less than $900 for both of them, while the ones I chose retailed for approximately $2200 for both), and threatening to put a lien on my house and to sic their collection agencies on me if I don't pay them the entire balance because I supposedly "unequivocally agreed" to the el-cheapo doors by "allowing" them to be installed (as if I am the one trying to stiff them).

I want other local homeowners to be aware of the dishonest and unethical business practices that Greater Boston Roofing uses so they can make a better choice than I did when it comes to choosing a contractor for their home improvement projects.

A friend of a friend is my source so keep that in mind but in a facebook post they announced that Mill 5 has been sold to the charter school and all businesses in the space have to relocate and/or close. I normally wouldn’t spread the word of a friend of a friend but in the thread a person who owns a business in the mill said it was true and they are “gutted”. This would obviously be a serious loss.

After leaving a message on the city government website about my (and others) displeasure with the daily fines being placed on Eliot Church, I received a call directly from manager Golden himself. In summary, he said that the city has been in correspondence with the church for months about this issue and said they needed to do something after multiple warnings. According to him park cleanup services spend 40 hours a week around the church where in comparison they spend only about 7 hours per week per other areas they tend to, and they have to clean up things like needles and human waste. Lowell is building two new shelters including a 50 bed shelter for women on church street. Other towns are not pulling their weight and Lowell is baring the brunt of the issue. He said he is open to any and all ideas and encouraged me to reach out to the state legislature. I just wanted to post to share what he said and to get all of your opinions and takes on the issue.

Hi all! We had a great turn out for November's sci-fi book club at the Dracut library, so I figured I'd post again for the December book.

On December 18th at 6:30pm at the Dracut Library (28 Arlington St, Dracut MA), we will be discussing The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. Both the Lowell library and Dracut library have plenty of copies, and you don't have to be a Dracut resident to come to the book club. It's open to all!

Here's a link to the library website advertising it. If you want to register for the club, you can do that HERE but it isn't required at all.

I'm making a Gumbo Z'herbes which I haven't made since I was a child in my aunties kitchen. I found a good recipe but I'm having trouble sourcing ingredients. Mainly chicory, peppergrass, sorrel, and dandelion greens.

Recipe for those interested:
https://www.gumbopages.com/food/soups/gumboz.html