Tom Duggan – Sept 2, 2015 Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera has responded to allegations against him in a recall petition filed last month with the Lawrence Election Department. AFFIDAVIT HERE Lawrence Police Officer William Green, a candidate for city council, told The Valley Patriot that the affidavit filed with the Lawrence Election Department to recall […]
By: Joe D’Amore – Sept. 1, 2015 She was a woman in love with a man who could not help her with her addictions At the age of 11 she took her first drink and from there a nightmarish escalation materialized starting with prescription drugs, cocaine and eventually heroin. Even the methods to deliver the […]
September 1, 2015, Lawrence, MA- Mayor Daniel Rivera announces that he will hold office hours at Market Basket on Essex Street in Lawrence this Thursday evening. The Mayor’s Office at City Hall will close at 3pm on Thursday, September 3rd. Mayor Rivera, along with his staff, will be at Market Basket. “I want our community […]
By: Tom Duggan Sept, 1, 2015 Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has ruled that Lawrence City Council President Modesto Maldonado has violated the open meeting law by holding secret meetings and not notifying the public of what was to be discussed or what was discussed during their secret session. Ruling The state’s open meeting law […]
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 […]
By: Tom Duggan – August, 2015 Explosive new details have come to light revealing that viral media reports on a 911 dispatcher in Lawrence, whose “job is on the line” over hanging up on Spanish-speaking callers … is false. CBS news and other outlets reported this week “A 911 dispatcher’s job is on the line […]
By: Sid Smith – August, 2015 When is the last time you heard anything encouraging from the race relations standpoint? Never? Well, here is one, and I would be willing to venture that less than one American in over ten thousand has ever heard of it. The story involves Mississippi and Massachusetts. So … how […]
Last month while watching the Salisbury Selectmen meeting, I noticed how openly and blatantly they violate their own policies for public participation at their meetings. I also noticed how they rudely talk over members of the public and try to silence those who have something to say that the selectmen would rather conceal. They call public […]
By: Amy Berard – August, 2015 I am one of the 59 Lawrence teachers whose contract was not renewed this year. Recently, on June 11, you reported on this. I would like to share with you and possibly your readers my experience teaching within the Lawrence Public School District. I have taught in Lawrence at […]
By Christine Morabito – August 2015 It is difficult to believe that a project which will permanently alter the environment, kill thousands of birds and bats, threaten marine life, trample the religious freedom of Native Americans, destroy the livelihood of fishermen and those in the tourist industry, risk oil spills, jeopardize public safety and public health, all […]
Last month the Massachusetts Legislature delayed a scheduled vote on a public records reform bill after getting pressure from the very politicians who will have to pay the price for concealing such public documents. The Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) initially opposed the public records reform bill, but after realizing there was too much momentum in […]
Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera said Wednesday that even though he opposes making Lawrence a sanctuary city, he will not veto the city council’s vote Tuesday to stop criminal illegal aliens from being deported when arrested by Lawrence Police. Rivera said in a long statement (below) that vetoing the council’s decision will only drag out the process of an […]
State Representative Diana DiZoglio (D-Methuen) says she believes those who put their lives on the line for our country in the United States military should not have to pay excise taxes. DiZoglio said on Thursday that under her proposed legislation active duty members of the military would be exempted from motor vehicle excise taxes while serving. […]
By: Tom Duggan, July 31, 2015 The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) has granted a hearing to former members of the Salisbury Board of Health, after Town Manager Harrington fired the entire board for trying to expose corruption, conflicts of interest, fraud, “apparent government waste” and retaliation against them as “whistleblowers”. The suit was filed […]
By: Dr.Bharani Padmanabhan – July, 2015 Governor Baker’s task force recently issued its much awaited report which advocated a comprehensive approach to dealing with the state’s heroin epidemic. This report has much to appreciate within but also a few points that remain worrisome. For example the recommendation to stop asking patients in hospitals if their pain […]