https://malegislature.gov/Bills/189/House/H4333 5-23-16 On Monday, a joint conference committee of the Massachusetts legislature negotiated and reached a final deal on a new public records reform bill for the first time in 40 years. CHANGES TO THE PUBLIC RECORDS LAW If signed by Governor Baker, the new law, (Final BillH4333) , would allow judges to award legal costs and attorney […]
By: Duncan Burns – May, 2016 Right now, when it comes to labor issues, all eyes are currently on The Verizon Strike, which affects many municipalities across The Merrimack Valley. Many will question the union’s motives, as the tactic of going on strike is usually in order to strong-arm a company into submission and usually […]
By: Tom Duggan – 5-15-16 LAWRENCE – The gymnasium of the old high school on Haverhill St. was filled to capacity Sunday afternoon as Dominican citizens who live in the City of Lawrence, Massachusetts turned out in large numbers to vote for the next Dominican President. Dominican citizens who have dual citizenship with the […]
VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL For years, the false media narrative has been that the Tea Party controls the Republican Party and is made up of a bunch of “extremists” who could turn violent any minute. They are mocked and linked to the Republican Party on TV dramas like Law and Order, and are portrayed as bigots […]
PAYING ATTENTION ON-LINE EXTRA This week the Newburyport Daily News (owned by the Eagle ~Tribune, headquartered in Alabama) ran a hit piece on Salisbury Selectman candidate Gil Medeiros being fired 8 years ago from his job at the Essex County Sheriff’s Department. And, while the Daily news seems to have finally figured out how […]
Board Has Taken Steps to Address Problem, Recoup Funds BOSTON, MA — Auditor Suzanne M. Bump today issued an audit of the Massachusetts State Retirement Board (MSRB), which found that the agency made more than $687,000 in payments to deceased pensioners, and underpaid more than $271,000 to pensioners whose designated beneficiaries had died. The error […]
By: Tom Duggan, May 3, 2016|820pm The Lawrence City Council refused to tear down a crumbling building owned by one of their own councilors by refusing to take the measure up as an emergency. The roof of the building has collapsed and the cinder blocks at the top of the building and are […]
Foskett hired his brothers and his son to plow snow for the town, hired his son to build retaining wall for new Highway Department Bar The State Ethics Commission approved a Disposition Agreement in which Gerry Foskett, the Town of Charlton Highway Department Superintendent, admitted to violating G.L. c. 268A, the conflict of interest law, […]
By: Dr. Bharani Padmanabhan – April, 2016 John Ehrlichman authorized breaking into Dr. Fielding’s office on September 3rd, 1971, to steal Daniel Ellsberg’s medical chart. In those days, medical charts were confidential and access strictly controlled. Any break-in was physical and impossible to miss. Even if the government did steal your private chart, at least […]
WANT YOUR EVENT OR ORGANIZATION LISTED IN THE NOTEBOOK? FOR $150 WE WILL PUBLISH YOUR NOTICE, EVENT, ETC. (150 word max) EDITION #150 – In case you didn’t notice the small number at the top of page one, this is our 150th edition of The Valley Patriot. While we were all celebrating the newspaper’s 12th […]
BOSTON, MA — Massachusetts State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump has released the findings of her audit, announcing that MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program, paid a total of $476,787 for medical services or prescriptions from doctors that are disallowed by federal law from participating in the program. The prohibition resulted from violations of federal laws and […]
By: Senator Kathleen O’Connor Ives – April, 2016 Recently, the State Senate unanimously, and in a bipartisan fashion, passed a bill I filed to protect consumers from unknowingly entering a credit contract and to limit instances of fraud resulting from the mailing of unsolicited and often predatory loans. Every day, residents across Massachusetts find what […]
Methuen State Representative Diana DiZoglio and Cambridge Doctor Bharani Padmanabhan were both bestowed one of the highest honors by The Valley Patriot newspaper last month, when they were each given the newspaper’s First Amendment Award. Each year, The Valley Patriot’s 1st Amendment award is given to two individuals who show with their actions that […]
By: Duncan Burns, Political Oberserver 4-18-16 This is not the story of a lottery winner, nor is it one of a successful rags-to-riches journey, no, this is the story of a Massachusetts Legislator. The Massachusetts State Representative in question name is Brian Dempsey, who has served on Beacon Hill for over two (2) decades. Over […]