By: Kevin Cuff – July, 2012 Nearly forty years ago, my family taught me the values of civic RESPONSIBILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY. As a member of our hometown School Committee, my mother took positions that, at the time, were extremely controversial, challenging and polarizing. Her perseverance taught me that everyone including your established school systems […]
Will not commit to quitting council or stepping down as council President if he wins By: Valley Patriot Staff – May, 2012 Lawrence City Council President Frank Moran is a candidate for State Representative in the 17th Essex District. The newly created rep. district was created by the state legislature last year as a […]
By: Gary Manion – March, 2012 On Super Tuesday the voters of Lawrence, Tewksbury, Dracut and Andover not only cast votes for President but voted for local and state party committees. Lawrence’s Mayor William Lantigua was on the ballot to be reelected to the Democrat State Committee. His only opponent was Lawrence District “C” City […]
By: Anne Knowles – March, 2012 Andover is one of the best known towns in Massachusetts. It offers great schools, a well managed town and residents from all corners of the world that make this town their home. Andover has an exciting history going back in time to the first settlers around 1634 and […]
Looking Back at 8 Years And 100 Editions of Exclusive News And Views! February – 2012 Looking Back On Our First Edition Next month The Valley Patriot will celebrate our 8th anniversary. It’s quite a milestone considering that the experts in the industry and the local pundits predicted our doom from day one […]
By: Jamison Tomasek – November, 2011 The results of the Massachusetts legislature’s redistricting commission, at least as far as the House and Senate are concerned, are official. In a fair world we would have legislative districts that represent a common interest and have geographic integrity, but no one has ever called the political environment […]
Governor Patrick Administration Refuses to Say How Much is Spent on Illegals By: Tom Duggan – November 2012 State Representative Jim Lyons (D) Andover, has turned Beacon Hill on it’s dome by demanding to know how much money the state is spending for health care on illegal aliens. Last monthLyons made the Patrick Administration and […]
LYONS’ AMENDMENT CLEARS THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES October 5, 2011 BOSTON – State Representative Jim Lyons (R-Andover), joined by his Republican House colleagues, introduced a “transparency in spending” amendment to the state supplemental budget that passed the House of Representatives. Titled “An amendment to account for budget expenditures,” the Lyons-authored amendment directs the […]
Short Handed and Under Siege Cops Get Little Support At City Hall By: Tom Duggan – August, 2011 It was a busy Saturday night in Lawrence as the men of the Lawrence Police Force were once again under siege and short handed as they tried to bring order to a city plagued with violence […]
VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL July, 2012 Last month, The Valley Patriot criticized Essex County Sheriff Frank Cousins for his failure to notify the public of an escape from the Lawrence jail on Marston Street (known as “the farm”). After our editorial was published, we were contacted by Paul Fleming, the sheriff’s press director, stating that we were “wrong” and that they […]
By: Jamison Tomasek – June, 2011 I noticed from Facebook the number of people that grew up in Lawrence and settled in the Merrimack Valley is very high. While this might not just be a Lawrence thing, it seems particularly pronounced here. The Lawrence Diaspora (migration) doesn’t seem like a random scattering. Almost everyone who […]
April – 2011 ANDOVER – The Merrimack Valley YMCA announced last month that Watts Water Technologies, a leading manufacturer of flow control products for the water quality, residential plumbing & heating, commercial and OEM markets, has pledged $750,000. The generous donation will be spread over a five-year period to support annual operations, as well […]
The Valley Patriot Celebrates Seven Year Anniversary By: Tom Duggan – March, 2011 For as long as I can remember, my ability to succeed has always been underestimated by others. So, when the experts told us that going into the newspaper business was a losing proposition back in 2004, we paid no attention to […]
By: Jamison Tomasek – December, 2010 I was recently a candidate for the Massachusetts State Senate representing Andover, Dracut, Lawrence and Tewksbury. I have time on my hands to write this because I lost the election. While doing well in the towns, I lost Lawrence, and I lost it big. Voters, VP readers or […]
By; State Representative Paul Adams – December, 2010 An Eagle Tribune story last month called into question the source of campaign money spent by State Representative-elect Paul Adams and even insinuated that he lied about his background and work experience prior to the election. Adams issued this press release a few days later, and, […]