It’s a weekend afternoon, and a young father and mother walk through the doors of the newly opened “Frank’s Barber Shop” on 150 Main Street in North Andover. Two boys are in tow; knees dirty, shin pads in place, snug, along with jerseys which are draping loosely on the shoulders of both. On their way […]
By: Paul Murano -December, 2013 “Our world has always been at war with itself because it has been at war with God.” These are the words of renowned philosopher and author Peter Kreeft. In the same vein, spiritual theologian Thomas Merton once wrote: “We are not at peace with others because we are not at […]
By: Senator Kathleen O’Connor Ives – December, 2013 At the end of this year’s legislative session, the Senate took up a bill to increase Massachusetts’ minimum wage rate from the current $8.00/hr. to $9.00 in 2014, with automatic increases to $10 in 2015 and $11 in 2016. These increases would also be tied to the […]
By: Dani Langevin – December, 2013 In 1927, fifty-five year old Andrew Kehoe, school board treasurer in Bath, Michigan shot his wife, fire-bombed his own barn then set off a bomb at the Bath Consolidated School killing thirty-eight school children, six adults and injuring fifty-eight others. It was and still remains the deadliest act against […]
December, 2013 Right to the bitter end, Lawrence Mayor Willie Lantigua went down swinging as he told reporters on the day he conceded that if he were white, he would be on the cover of Forbes or Money magazine for his financial achievements as mayor. “Those who are not blind of conscience, as I always […]
By: Tom Duggan – December, 2013 In the ongoing battle between the Town of Salisbury and the Tomaselli sisters over the Town’s efforts to take their property, Town Manager Neil Harrington recently attacked the Tomaselli sisters at a Board of Selectmen Meeting saying that the sisters are trying to get out of paying their taxes, […]
By: Jeff Katz – December, 2013 It is that time of the year when Christmas is in the news. For many of my friends it is an extremely important time of the year. For truly faithful Christians, this is all about the birth of their Messiah and the tremendous hope and joy this brings to […]
By: Helen Mooradkanian – December, 2013 In the early dawn hours of March 25, 1969, in the rice paddies of South Vietnam, near Bong Son, in the province of Binh Dinh, 22-year old Sergeant Thomas F. Siopes, Company A, 2nd Battalion, 503d Infantry, 173d Airborne Brigade (separate), was leading a patrol on a “search and […]
We started off the year of 2013 losing our good friend and colleague, Ronnie Ford of Methuen. We missed him all year and it would be impossible to start a “year in review” without remembering Ronnie and his family. AUDITOR SUZANNE BUMP & ALL THOSE MISSING EBT CARDS Massachusetts State Auditor Suzanne Bump conducted an […]
Contract victory ensures wage increases, job security provisions, and affordable health coverage for hospital workers MASSACHUSETTS – Nearly 5,000 healthcare workers who are members of the state’s largest healthcare union have voted to ratify a new three-year labor agreement with Steward Health Care, the largest community hospital network in Massachusetts. The pact covers a broad […]
The December 2013 Valley Patriot, Edition #122
PART ONE: OBSERVING LAWRENCE POLICE AND DISPATCH By: Tom Duggan – December 16, 2013 Last week Lawrence City Councilor Mark Laplante went on a “ride along” with the Lawrence police, fire, and DPW snow plows to get a better understanding about how city services are delivered to Lawrence residents. In Part Two we will explore what […]
By: Christine Morabito – In July of 2013 the Massachusetts legislature did something both historic and fiendishly clever. When voting to increase the gas tax (not historic) they also voted to index the tax to inflation, meaning the tax will continue to rise, and rise without lawmakers having to perform the unpleasant task of voting […]
By: Tom Duggan – December 15, 2013 Last month all three of Lawrence’s State Representatives voted in favor of Voter ID in Massachusetts. This is odd given that we are told day in, and day out by the Democrat leadership, and the so called “news” media that people who support Voter ID are, in fact, […]
By: Dr. Bharani Padmanabhan Dear Madam, For a year now I have been waiting, living off my savings, to hear from you and your office about my written criminal complaint regarding Dr Julian Harris at Mass DPH and his controllers at Cambridge Health Alliance. Despite numerous pleas there has been absolute silence from you. Recently […]