By: Christine Morabito, Greater Boston Tea Party – June, 2012 Gone are the days when local newspapers did anything resembling in-depth investigative reporting. Whether the issue is lack of funding, under-staffing or in far too many cases, blatant political bias, it is the news-consuming, tax-paying citizens who are left unprotected. In essence, the mainstream media […]
VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL June, 2012 Receiver Jeffrey Riley’s plan to improve the educational opportunities for the children of Lawrence contains a few ideas that, if fully exploited, may improve performance. That being said, the parents of Lawrence’s school children and the taxpayers that fund this educational debacle, were both left out of the process of creating this […]
By: Peter Larocque – June, 2012 I would like to respond to an Editorial entitled, “Bake Sale Band Flap” that was published in the Eagle-Tribune on 5/13/2012. Towards the end of the editorial, the writer makes a conclusion concerning the crux of the matter, “when Legislators hand off their power to control the fine […]
By: Joe D’Amore – June, 2012 The community action movements that swept Lawrence “It’s Your Right” and “Uniting Lawrence” appear to have initated derivative actions that speak to a yearning for change in this city. These have manifested themselves in unique ways such as a proliferation of Face Book groups, radio programs, letter writing […]
By: Bob Cuomo – June, 2o12 On May 19, 2012 the Mount Vernon Neighborhood Association had its election of Officers and Trustees. This year for the first time in 20 years they had to make changes as Frank Incropera was stepping down as President of the MVNA, a position he has held for some […]
VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL May, 2012 For nearly 40 years Phil Laverriere served the Merrimack Valley as the head of the Greater Lawrence Community Action Council. In that time, Mr. Laverriere helped tens of thousands of poor people get heat in the winter, day care for their children, provided education and English Classes for newly arriving […]
By: Ronnie Ford – May 2012 Get your calculators out folks! Yep! There are 763 candidates for various offices in the Merrimack Valley area. Some are good, some not so good. So be very careful when casting your vote. Do some homework on the candidates that you choose; make sure that they have the views […]
Free Dental for all LPS Students and their Families By: Tom Duggan, July, 2012 LAWRENCE – With the Lawrence Public School under the complete control of the State Department of Education there are a lot of changes coming to the school system, and a lot more money being spent.Where we are – State Commissioner […]
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 […]
THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX SIMPLE MATH Only 25 percent of Lawrence’s eighth grade students, based on MCAS test results, are proficient in mathematics. The percentage of proficient students increases to only 27 percent in tenth grade (winter 2011), but this can hardly be considered progress since there are roughly 12 percent fewer students remaining to […]
April, 2012 State Representative Marcos Devers (DLawrence) was honored as the Legislator of the Year from CLASS, Inc. on Thursday, March 22, 2012. “I feel humbled and honored with this unexpected and delightful distinction.” said Representative Devers “My commitment to families, children and persons with disabilities is one of the main aspects that drive my performance and advocacy at the […]
By: Peter Larocque – April, 2012 The response to an article in March’s Boston Magazine entitled, “Lawrence, MA: City of the Damned” by city politicians and community activist young and old has me scratching my head. I do understand some of their reasoning, but in the end it is just more of the same, […]
By: Ronnie Ford – April, 2012 Central Catholic High School introduces their first Spanish American Hall of Fame recipient. His name is Jonathan Cruz. Jonathan stands at six feet seven inches. And believe me when I tell you, the size of his body isn’t even close to the size of his class and personality. Not […]
By: Jamison Tomasek – March, 2012 The entire region was buzzing recently as Boston Magazine published an article titled “Lawrence: City of the Damned.” The online version of the magazine added a response from City Councilor Dan Rivera. The Eagle Tribune followed with an editorial which tried to put some positive spins on Lawrence, but […]
By: Peter Larocque – March, 2012 The way the Massachusetts Law that allowed Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester to Takeover Lawrence’s Public Schools is being implemented could be Unconstitutional! According to this law, the Commissioner shall appoint a Receiver to a School District that has been declared chronically underperforming by the State Board of Elementary and […]