PODCAST: Paying Attention! GUESTS: Ann Wofford, Diana DiZoglio (10-25-14)

PODCAST: Paying Attention! GUESTS: Ann Wofford, Diana DiZoglio (10-25-14)

CLICK to LISTEN TO OR DOWNLOAD HOUR 1 CLICK to LISTEN TO OR DOWNLOAD HOUR 2 Rosemary Smedile refused to come in for a debate with State Rep Diana DiZoglio so we gave DiZoglio time to talk to the voters about why she should be elected. Congressional candidate Ann Wofford also joined us she is running against […]

Is the 2014 Gubernatorial Contest a Bellwether for 2016?

Is the 2014 Gubernatorial Contest  a Bellwether for 2016?

By: David “D.J.” Beauregard – October, 2014 At first glance, most political observers would neglect to see any similarities between this year’s race for Governor of Massachusetts and the upcoming Presidential campaign in 2016. When one digs a little deeper into the details, it becomes clear that the race unfolding in our backyard is going […]

Interview with Superintendent-Receiver, Jeff Riley, PT II ~ No Condoms in Lawrence Schools, Test Scores and Teen Pregnancy Under Receivership

Interview with Superintendent-Receiver, Jeff Riley, PT II ~ No Condoms in Lawrence Schools, Test Scores and Teen Pregnancy Under Receivership

This is part II of Valley Patriot publisher Tom Duggan’s interview with Lawrence State Receiver for the Lawrence Public Schools who took over and replaced the school committee nearly three years ago. Jeff Riley interview PART 1 Here    DUGGAN: What are your thoughts on the teacher’s union. RILEY: There’s this huge fight in the […]

14th Essex District State Rep. Race Candidate Profile: State Rep. Diana DiZoglio

14th Essex District State Rep. Race Candidate Profile: State Rep. Diana DiZoglio

By: Tom Duggan – October, 2014 14th Essex District State Representative Diana DiZoglio is seeking her second term in the legislature. She says that what she is most proud of is co-sponsoring a bill to put photo ID on EBT (welfare) cards. “It’s really important to have photo ID on EBT cards because it helps […]

14th Essex District State Rep. Race Candidate Profile: North Andover Selectman Rosemary Smedile

14th Essex District State Rep. Race Candidate Profile: North Andover Selectman Rosemary Smedile

By: Ralph Wilbur – October, 2014 Rosemary Smedile is running for state representative from the 14th District including parts of North Andover, Lawrence, Methuen and Bradford. Rosemary graduated from Boston College with honors. Married 33 years with three children, she is a small business owner and has served the North Andover community for 5 years […]

Ethics Commission Finds that New Bedford Housing Authority Senior Property Manager Bruce Duarte Violated the Conflict of Interest Law

Ethics Commission Finds that New Bedford Housing Authority Senior Property Manager Bruce Duarte Violated the Conflict of Interest Law

  Intervened to stop the eviction of his brother from NBHA housing The State Ethics Commission issued a Decision and Order (“Decision”) finding that Bruce Duarte, a senior property manager at the New Bedford Housing Authority (“NBHA”), violated section 19 of G.L. c. 268A, the conflict of interest law, by directing NBHA staff to stop […]

How One Party Rule Fuels Fraud and Mismanagement in MA, Part I

How One Party Rule Fuels Fraud and Mismanagement in MA, Part I

The Valley Patriot has covered many state corruption stories in the past ten and a half years. What we observed in that time is that scandals come and go, but very rarely does anything ever change. Our editorial board sat down with State Representative Jim Lyons and Shauna O’Connell to ask them the gravity of […]

HEEE’S BAAACK! Lantigua Primed to Return to Power as Lawrence State Rep.

HEEE’S BAAACK! Lantigua Primed to Return to Power as Lawrence State Rep.

  By: Tom Duggan – October, 2014 While many believe former Lawrence Mayor Willie Lantigua is now a bad memory never to return, the fact is the man who ruled Lawrence with an iron fist is now positioned as the front-runner in a three way race for his old seat in the Massachusetts House of […]

What Are They Putting in Haverhill’s Water? ~ Thinking Outside the Box with Dr. Ormsby

What Are They Putting in Haverhill’s Water? ~ Thinking Outside the Box with Dr. Ormsby

    By: Dr. Charles Ormsby – October, 2014 In our September issue, Michael Veves of Haverhill weighed in with a critique of my August article, entitled “Can You Resist the Devil’s Brew.” I typically let such attacks pass and permit the readers of The Valley Patriot to make their own assessments of the veracity […]

Distorting the Record, Political Deceptions – Valley Patriot Columnist Apologizes to Rep. Campbell, The Truth on the Gas and Sales Tax

Distorting the Record, Political Deceptions – Valley Patriot Columnist Apologizes to Rep. Campbell, The Truth on the Gas and Sales Tax

Political Deceptions Valley Patriot columnist and member of the Methuen School Committee, DJ Deeb wrote in his column this month that voters should choose Republican candidates in the upcoming state elections. Deeb listed a number of reasons to make his case, but is now issuing a public apology to Democrat State Representative Linda Dean Campbell […]