The Holidays in North Andover, Massachusetts

VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL   December, 2009 One of the reasons the entire Valley Patriot editorial board loves living in North Andover is because the town has never bowed down to political correctness. We’d drive by the common during the holidays and enjoy seeing a Jewish menorah and Christmas tree. We also enjoyed passing the “Merry […]

Sgt. Maj. Eric Nelson, U.S. Army (retired)

Sgt. Maj. Eric Nelson, U.S. Army (retired)

VALLEY PATRIOT OF THE MONTH – HERO IN OUR MIDST   December 2009 – While attending the North Andover Veteran’s Day observances, I was privileged to listen to guest speaker Sgt. Major Eric Nelson. Nelson is a retired U.S. Army officer of 24 years. he spent his first career in the U.S. Army and is […]

Lawrence City Council refuses to set tax rate, sticks freshmen councilors with budget mess

Blanchette Pats himself on the back while purposely trying to create budget deficit, state takeover    By: Tom Duggan, December, 2009   Under the leadership of Council President Patrick Blanchette, the Lawrence City Council spent the last two years taking “symbolic” budget votes, blaming the Sullivan administration for their own inaction, and refusing to pass […]

The City of Lawrence has No Idea What is About to Hit Them

The City of Lawrence has No Idea What is About to Hit Them

  PAYING ATTENTION with Tom Duggan – November, 2009 Few people can really understand the magnitude of the changes that are about to occur in the City of Lawrence with the election of State Representative Willie Lantigua (da chief). Not only did Willie win an overwhelming victory on Election Day, but almost every one of […]

Lantigua victory masterfully done – now the real work begins

Lantigua victory masterfully done – now the real work begins

  By: Robert O’Koniewski – November, 2009 The votes are in and Lawrence finally has met demographic expectations to attain its first popularly elected mayor of Hispanic descent. We will not use the trite adjective of “historic” to describe State Representative William Lantigua’s victory over District E City Councilor David Abdoo, as that has really […]

Today we are all Lawrencians

VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL November, 2009   In last month’s race for the Mayor’s office in Lawrence, Willie Lantigua (da chief) defeated David Abdoo. While we have some serious reservations about Lantigua’s ability to manage the city of Lawrence, as well as the character of those insiders he has surrounded himself with, today is a new day. The election is […]

Who Will Lead Lawrence? An Evaluation of the two Candidates for Mayor in 2009

By: Tom Duggan – October, 2009 ELECTION EDITION Lawrence Mayor Michael Sullivan is finishing his final term because the city charter limits the mayor’s job to two, four year terms. Sullivan defeated Isabel Melendez in 2001 and Marcos Devers in 2005. Ironically Willie Lantigua endorsed and supported Isabel Melendez in ’01 but flipped in ’05 […]

If you don’t vote, you’re part of the problem

VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL   October, 2009 Last month, the city of Methuen held a preliminary election for mayor and city council and only 9% of the registered voters bothered to participate. In Lawrence, only 30% of the registered voters participated in their preliminary and that was considered unusually high. Though many candidates would like to blame their opponents or the […]

Five of ten mayoral candidates fail to file campaign finances

Five of ten mayoral candidates fail  to file campaign finances

  By: Tom Duggan – October, 2009 Only half of the ten candidates running for mayor in Lawrence filed their campaign finances reports with Lawrence City clerk Billy Maloney by the September 15th deadline before the primary. By state law, candidates for all municipal offices must record and file a detailed accounting of all money raised and spent on […]

The Government Healthcare Tar Baby (Opinion)

The Government Healthcare Tar Baby (Opinion)

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX By: Charles Ormsby – September, 2009 Having consulted with their constituents over the August recess, our elected representatives will be heading back to Washington fully intending to ignore what they were told. Their meetings with voters ranged from respectful (Niki Tsongas) to downright contemptuous (Barney Frank) to non-existent (John Tierney). Presumably, […]

Massachusetts Congressional Delegation Betraying Our Most Precious Legacy

VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL September, 2009 It took centuries of economic and political experimentation coupled with tremendous intellectual effort for human beings to discover the concept of individual liberty. It took the blood of millions to establish a beachhead for freedom and to protect it so it could grow and prosper. Now that precious legacy is being squandered […]

Local mortgage company proves that bigger isn’t always better

Local mortgage company proves that bigger isn’t always better

 By: Tom Duggan – September, 2009 First Integrity Mortgage, located in Sal’s riverwalk, has become a local favorite among those purchasing or refinancing their homes. In fact, they were voted Methuen, Lawrence, and the Andover’s “Best Mortgage Company” for 2008 by Market Surveys of America. owners Anne Marie Concemi and Steven Sirmaian, both life-long residents of the Merrimack Valley, credit this to […]

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