Recently, 216 Northern Essex Community College students were awarded 236 scholarships totaling more than $200,000 for the 2014/2015 academic year. “Our students are deeply appreciative of the many generous individuals and organizations that make these scholarships possible,” said Jean Poth, vice president of institutional advancement. “For many of our students, a scholarship is what allows […]
Good grades were something Valeryn Polanco, 18, had always worked hard to earn. So when those grades started sliding her senior year at Methuen High School, leaving her in danger of not graduating on time, Valeryn sought out an opportunity to turn things around. She, along with nine of her classmates, enrolled in the Senior […]
This is part III of our series on Law Enforcement in Massachusetts from our interview with Methuen Police Chief Joe Solomon. Solomon appeared on Valley Patriot publisher Tom Duggan’s radio program (Paying Attention!) last month to talk about the city’s new “shooter detection system” being used in the Methuen Schools as well as the “militarization of […]
By: Tom Duggan 9/23/14 Senate Candidate Barbara L’Italien issues a statement today in response to The Valley Patriot’s news story that she owes more than $7,000 in back taxes while loaning more than $13,000 to her senate campaign. (STORY HERE) In her statement L’Italien blamed the issue on her opponent Alex Vispoli and the Republicans but does not […]
By: Tom Duggan – 9/23/14 (Follow up story HERE) The Massachusetts Department of Revenue has placed a tax lien on former State Representative Barbara L’Italien, who is a member of the Andover School Committee and a candidate for State Senate in Massachusetts. According to the tax lien L’Italien refused to pay $7,618.58 in taxes in 2011 […]
Last Year, Valley Patriot publisher Tom Duggan sat down with Jeff Riley, the man tapped by the Massachusetts Department of Education to run the Lawrence Schools after putting the city schools into receivership. This year we did a follow up interview to see what has changed for the good and bad. Here is Part I […]
BOSTON – On August 4, 2014, the state Board of Registration of Hazardous Waste Site Cleanup Professionals suspended the license of Richard J. Cushing of Clinton for eight months in a Consent Order that resolved disciplinary charges that were pending against him. While Mr. Cushing did not admit to any wrongdoing, he agreed to the […]
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD OR LISTEN TO HOUR 1 CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD OR LISTEN TO HOUR 2 Paying Attention is hosted by Valley Patriot Publisher Tom Duggan. Tom’s, Co-host is Paul Murano was off today. Paying Attention with Tom Duggan is produced by Chris Poublon of Dracut. Paying Attention airs on 980WCAP in Lowell,Massachusetts on Saturday’s from 10am to […]
By Tom Duggan – August 31, 2014 A social media post by Republican Lawrence City Councilor Roger Twomey is causing controversy after Twomey mislead his supporters to believe that the photo he posted on a social media site Twitter was at a fundraiser for himself. Twomey (R) is in a three-way race with former Lawrence Mayor William […]
By: Tom Duggan, August 30, 2014 Doris Rodriguez is in a three way primary race for the Democrat nomination for State Senate against failed state Representative Barbara L’Italian and Lawrence School Committeeman Pavel Payano. Rodriguez appeared on the Paying Attention Radio program for a debate but L’Italian and Payano refused to be int eh same room with […]
By: Cheryl Hajjar – August, 2014 This past month, our community has been inundated with the Market Basket saga. A family feud that has been going on for decades. It is perceived by all of us as a good vs. bad battle, much like scenes from a Spiderman or Batman movie where the superhero fights […]
LARE Institute offering free Customer Service Certification training and assessment for qualified Lawrence residents, as made possible through Santander Foundation grant. Opportunity is knocking at the doors of Lawrence residents looking to get back to work or advance in their careers. LARE Institute, a branch of American Training, is now offering National Professional Certifications in […]
By: Attorney Timothy Stark – August, 2014 For this week’s column, I thought I would discuss some specific Massachusetts laws that make an involuntary termination from employment unlawful in Massachusetts. Please keep in mind, however, that as a general rule, Massachusetts is an employment at will state. Therefore many involuntary terminations, even though unfair, are […]
By. Dr. Frank MacMillan – August, 2014 Health care consolidation is a bad deal for Massachusetts’s consumers. Over the past two decades, our hospitals, physicians, and health plans have been concentrating market power to a degree that is unprecedented, and this trend has been stimulated and accelerated by government intervention. This has led to monopoly […]
Dr. Bharani Padmanabhan – August, 2104 Every day the media talk about the high cost of healthcare. The media go out of their way to give the impression it is due to greedy doctors who charge too much. These stories are, at the same time, accompanied by others that state that doctors are paid too little […]