GOP Candidates for Sheriff Tackle Issue of Homeless Inmates

GOP Candidates for Sheriff Tackle Issue of Homeless Inmates

THE ELECTION IS THURSDAY, SEPT. 8th The Valley Patriot in conjunction with the Greater Lawrence Psychological Center’s Carina Pappalardo, hosted a debate for the Republican candidates for Essex County Sheriff. The event was held at the American Legion on Broadway in Methuen and was covered by both the Methuen and Salisbury cable access channels. The […]

2016 Essex County Sheriff Republican Candidate Debate

2016 Essex County Sheriff Republican Candidate Debate

Four of the five Republican primary candidates for Essex County Sheriff debated at the American Legion on Broadway in Methuen. They are: Anne Manning-Martin, Jeff Gallo, Craig Lane, and Jim Jajuga, Jr. Moderating the debate were Valley Patriot publisher Tom Duggan and Executive Director of the Greater Lawrence Psychological Center, Carina Pappalardo.) CLICK PHOTO TO […]

VIDEO: Essex County Sheriff Democratic Candidate Debate in North Andover

VIDEO: Essex County Sheriff Democratic Candidate Debate in North Andover

  The Valley Patriot newspaper hosted a debate for the Democratic Candidates for Essex County Sheriff at North Andover High School on Thursday, August 18, 2016. The candidates are: Michael Marks, Paul Russell, Jerry Robito, Kevin Coppinger, and Ed O’Reilly.  The debate moderators were: Tom Duggan, Valley Patriot Publisher, Christine Morabito and Jerry Flynn. The […]

Closing the Loopholes on Drunk Driving Laws ~ IN YOUR CORNER WITH SENATOR KATY IVES

Closing the Loopholes on Drunk Driving Laws  ~ IN YOUR CORNER WITH SENATOR KATY IVES

By: State Senator Kathleen O’Connor Ives August, 2018 In July, the Massachusetts Senate passed legislation to promote the use of ignition interlock devices by OUI offenders, which test a driver’s blood-alcohol content before starting a car. Mothers Against Drunk Driving and AAA Northeast have endorsed the use of the devices as an effective means to […]

Disparity in Health Care Costs and Services

Disparity in Health Care Costs and Services

By: State Representative Lenny Mirra – July, 2016 Here’s why you should care, and care A LOT, about health care costs: Massachusetts has the highest healthcare costs in the world. No place else spends what we spend per capita on health care and it affects every part of our lives. We’re in the process of […]

Veteran Employment and Housing Security ~ IN YOUR CORNER with SENATOR IVES

Veteran Employment and Housing Security ~ IN YOUR CORNER with SENATOR IVES

The Massachusetts Senate unanimously approved omnibus veterans’ legislation in June known as the Veterans H.O.M.E. Act. State Senator Katy Ives – July, 2016 Senate Bill 2325, “An Act Relative to Housing, Operations, Military Service, and Enrichment,” seeks to improve housing and employment opportunities for military veterans and their families. The bill allows municipalities to offer […]

Kinder Morgan Pipeline Suspension is Victory for Merrimack Valley – IN YOUR CORNER WITH SENATOR IVES

Kinder Morgan Pipeline Suspension is Victory for Merrimack Valley – IN YOUR CORNER WITH SENATOR IVES

By: State Senator Katy Ives May, 2016 Kinder Morgan, a Houston, Texas-based energy infrastructure company, submitted its first letter related to their Northeast Energy Direct Project (NED Project) to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on September 15, 2014. It detailed a plan to construct 177 miles of new pipeline from Wright, New York to […]

Continuing our Focus on Veterans and the Opioid Epidemic ~ IN YOUR CORNER with SENATOR IVES

Continuing our Focus on Veterans and the Opioid Epidemic  ~ IN YOUR CORNER with SENATOR IVES

By: Senator Kathleen Ives Dec. 2015 The Massachusetts Senate recently completed the first year of a two-year legislative session by sending to the governor’s desk legislation for increased penalties for trafficking fentanyl, and five bills related to veterans. To further address the health crisis of opiate abuse in the Commonwealth, the legislature passed House Bill […]

Stopping Addiction Before It Starts – IN YOUR CORNER WITH SENATOR IVES

Stopping Addiction Before It Starts – IN YOUR CORNER WITH SENATOR IVES

By: Senator Kathleen O’Connor Ives  – October, 2015 The State Senate recently passed additional reforms aimed at combatting the substance abuse epidemic in Massachusetts. Senate Bill 2020, which passed unanimously, focuses on prevention and early intervention, responsible pain management, expanded drug take-back programs by manufacturers, and reducing the number of opiate pills in circulation by […]

Advocating for Key Priorities in State Senate Budget ~ IN YOUR CORNER WITH SENATOR KATY IVES

Advocating for Key Priorities in State Senate Budget ~ IN YOUR CORNER WITH SENATOR KATY IVES

By: Senator Katy Ives – August, 2015 The Massachusetts State Senate debated the Fiscal Year 2016 state budget last month, where I advocated for key provisions that will be beneficial to the constituents of my district. The items below are a number of the district-specific priorities included in the final budget: Fixing the MBTA Over […]

O’Connor Ives to Serve as Senate Chair of Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Businesses

O’Connor Ives to Serve as Senate Chair of Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Businesses

Last week, State Senator Kathleen O’Connor Ives was appointed as the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Businesses.  “This is a great opportunity to oversee meaningful legislation that will impact my district.  I look forward to serving in this capacity in the new legislative term, knowing that small businesses play a […]

Reflecting Back and Moving Massachusetts Forward ~ IN YOUR CORNER WITH SENATOR IVES

Reflecting Back and Moving Massachusetts Forward ~ IN YOUR CORNER WITH SENATOR IVES

By: Kathleen O’Connor Ives – January, 2015 In my first legislative session we passed a number of significant laws, including requiring nursing homes, rest homes, or other long term care facilities to first obtain informed, written consent if psychotropic medications are to be administered, along with a description of the side effects. We also passed […]

Awareness for COPD – 3rd Leading Cause of Death

Awareness for COPD – 3rd Leading Cause of Death

By: State Senator Katy Ives Dec. 2014 Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death in the United States. It disproportionately impacts women and is caused by smoking and poor air quality. It severely impacts quality of life by causing a shortness of breath, which makes it difficult to do the […]

Ethics Commission Fines Groveland Selectman Elizabeth Gorski $2,500 for Conflicts of Interest

Ethics Commission Fines Groveland Selectman Elizabeth Gorski $2,500 for Conflicts of Interest

Selectman found in one instance to have threatened Police Chief and Deputy Chief’s employment contracts after Police Chief placed her son on administrative leave;  Enforcement Division committed admits “egregious” error The State Ethics Commission issued a Decision and Order  following a public hearing regarding allegations that Elizabeth Gorski, a Selectman in Groveland, violated the conflict […]

PODCAST of Paying Attention (Nov. 7, ’14) with State Rep. Lenny Mirra and Phil DeCologero

PODCAST of Paying Attention (Nov. 7, ’14) with State Rep. Lenny Mirra and Phil DeCologero

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD HOUR 1 CLICK HERE TO LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD HOUR 2 Today Tom, State Rep. Lenny Mirra and Phil DeCologero talked about the election results, analyzed the numbers and dissected the raw numbers from Tuesday. TOPICS: The governor’s race, the Rosemary Smedile race against Diana DiZoglio, the Jim Kelcourse race in […]