MAYOR SAYS VOWS HE WILL NOT SUPPORT A PROP. 2 1/2 OVERRIDE June 15, 2016 – With Methuen Mayor Zanni proposing a 1% increase in the school budget, Superintendent of Schools Judy Scannell is threatening to make staffing cuts saying the increase is not enough. Superintendent Scannell says the 1% increase will result in eliminating four police […]
June 3, 2016 Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed a public records reform bill Friday, after a joint conference committee of the Massachusetts legislature negotiated and reached a final deal on final language of the bill. For the first time in the state’s history, members of the public and the press will be able to hold […]
By: Dr. Frank MacMillan – May, 2016 I’m like many of you. I never liked to do my homework as a kid. When my mother asked my elementary school teacher why my younger brother had so much more homework than I did, the teacher answered that I rarely did it, and when I did, it […]
By: Tom Duggan – May, 2016 The cozy relationship between The Eagle-Tribune (which is headquartered in Alabama) and town officials in Salem, NH has come to an abrupt end this month, with the Board of Selectmen banning an Eagle Tribune reporter from public meetings in town and raising serious doubts about the credibility of […]
This is part II of our sit down interview with State Senator Barbara L’Italien concerning her trip to Israel late last year. Since part I of our interview in March, Senator L’Italien and the other Senators who visited Israel have come under fire by anti-Semitic, hate groups disguised as “peace” organizations but actually support Palestinian […]
By: State Rep. Linda Dean Campbell – May, 2016 Following a three-day session and a process that starts in the fall, we in the House of Representatives finalized our FY17 budget. We held the line on spending and included no new taxes or fees. As a member of the Committee on Ways and Means, I […]
Methuen residents and business owners will save more than $900,000 annually thanks to the newly created Methuen Community Choice Power Supply program. The City of Methuen and Colonial Power Group, Inc. announced that they have entered into a two-year agreement to bring significant energy cost-savings to the city’s residents and small businesses through this initiative. […]
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 […]
By: DJ Deeb – May, 2016 The debate over Common Core has been heating up over the past several months, especially with the Presidential and Congressional Elections looming. The purpose of this article is to explain the origins of Common Core, summarize the standards, and offer suggestions on how to stop Common Core from being […]
NORTH ANDOVER – Last month The Valley Patriot went along with Gerard Maguire, the Veteran’s Services Coordinator for the towns of North Andover and Boxford as he delivered a custom fitted, electric wheelchair for a WWII hero veteran who lost his arm in battle and now is unable to walk. Richard Lussier fought against the […]
By: Tom Duggan – May, 2016 14th Essex District State Representative Diana DiZoglio will have a challenger for the Democratic Party’s primary in September. She is North Andover attorney Phyllis Jones, who says that she is “disappointed” in the incumbent’s lack of transparency and refusal to support gay marriage and “transgender rights”. Originally from New […]
By: Tom Duggan – May 25, 2016 The Valley Patriot has learned that Andover High School has changed their longstanding policy and tradition of crowning a king and queen of the prom, replacing them with what they are now calling the “prom court”. The 2016 graduating class at Andover High had their prom two weeks ago, […]
By: Jeff Katz – May, 2016 Hollywood types have seemingly never been big fans of Ronald Reagan. They did not like the fact that he had been one of them before he stopped reading lines and instead set out to make history. There’s a certain antipathy towards the man who once headed up the actors’ […]
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 […]
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