By: Cheryl Hajjar – July 2013 It was 1999 and while the century was coming to a close and Prince was singing his iconic song , blogging was about to become one of the most used words in pop culture. A blog, as it is known today is a website that contains material of personal […]
By: Senator Kathleen O’Connor Ives BOSTON – Following a press conference that Senate President Therese Murray held Monday morning, the Senate is due to take up a comprehensive welfare reform bill on Thursday aimed at making state assistance transitional. The bill addresses cyclical issues that prevent recipients from transitioning off of welfare as well as […]
BOSTON – State Representative Diana DiZoglio (D-Methuen) joined her colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in passing legislation that provides immediate funds for reforms to the electronic benefit transfer (EBT) system and the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA). The bill updates EBT oversight measures included in the FY ’14 budget and advances continuous […]
By: Senator Katie O’Connor Ives – June 2013 May was a busy month in the Senate. It was my first budget season and per tradition in the legislature, a new legislator has to give a first formal speech – a “maiden speech” before being able to engage in discussion and debate on the floor. Senators […]
Downtown, Public Assets, Consolidating Town Services The Valley Patriot sat down with North Andover Town Manager Andrew Maylor in March of this year to give residents a chance to get to know the man running their town, and his plans for their future. ( Part 1 – Part 2) (Transcribed by Kathleen Laplante) VP: How do we […]
By: Cheryl Hajjar – June 2013 As the end of the school year approaches and families are making their summer vacation plans, both the seasoned and budding entrepreneur are most likely thinking of ways to gear their businesses up for the fall. If you are a business owner, you are well aware of the […]
LAST MONTH: An Interview with Town Manager Andrew Maylor – Part 1 The Valley Patriot sat down with North Andover Town Manager Andrew Maylor in March of this year to give residents a chance to get to know the man running their town, and his plans for their future. – Transcribed by Ben Flagg VP: So you’ve got […]
By: Tracey Zysk – May 2013 On September 24, 2011 I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Karen Smith of the Massachusetts Animal Coalition at the New England Pet Expo in Wilmington, MA. When I stopped at Karen’s booth it was well decorated and nicely organized, but more importantly, it was more informative than […]
RICH OLD WHITE GUY VS YOUNG VIBRANT LATINO … WHATS A LIBERAL TO DO? For 25 years, the news media and the democrat party narrative has always been to get voters to have a knee jerk, emotional reaction to a race. The narrative has always been “rich, old, white guy equals bad” and “young […]
By: State Senator Kathleen O’Connor Ives – May 2013 We are all shocked and saddened by the cruelty of the attacks inflicted on innocent people at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. We mourn for the four individuals who lost their lives and their grieving friends and families. Our hearts also go out […]
BOSTON – State Representative Diana Dizoglio (D) Methuen, got a hearing on her Campaign finance bill last week and is fighting hard to hold accountable those elected officials and candidates for office who refuse to follow file their campaign finance reports. DiZoglio’s bill, House Bill 573, was addressed last Wednesday at a public […]
By: Cheryl Hajjar – May, 2013 As I listen to my Ipod, I hear Christina Aguilera’s voice reciting “Nobody’s gonna hold us down, nobody’s gonna hold us down “, I remember a friend of mine once told his daughters they could be anything they wanted to be, that nobody could hold them back from […]
By: Clare Donegan NORTH ANDOVER: Town Meeting voters are considering a $4M expenditure involving 16 municipal buildings, including 8 schools. If the contract is awarded to AMERESCO the $40k study will be “free.” Forty percent is allocated for “new energy management systems” that communicate using wireless microwave radiation. Why install expensive infrastructure, which increases security […]
By: Mark Behan – May 2013 After a combined 70 years of coaching and 875 wins between them, two Lions of the Winter have retired. Longtime Andover High School girls’ basketball head coach Jim Tildsley has stepped down. Tildsley coached for 39 years, including the last 18 at Andover, where he shepherded the Golden Warriors […]
FROM SATE REP JIM LYONS Boston, MA -“This is the most disgraceful example,” said Representative Jim Lyons, “of those who break the rules being subsidized by decent, hard-working, taxpaying families – families who follow the rules.” Rep. Lyons, an Andover Republican, was referring to news reports exposing some of the taxpayer-funded benefits provided to the […]