By Paul Craney – January, 2014 The Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University (BHI) estimates that Massachusetts state tax revenues will come in at $23.283 billion for Fiscal Year 2014, 5.3% above FY 2013. Meanwhile, revenues will be $25.132 billion for FY 2015, 7.9% above FY 2014. The 7.9% increase for FY 2015 is largely […]
By: Senator Kathleen O’Connor Ives – January, 204 A year ago I was sworn in as the State Senator of the First Essex District, representing the communities of Amesbury, Haverhill, Merrimac, Methuen, Newburyport, North Andover and Salisbury. It has been a very busy and productive year, during which I have advocated for initiatives that have […]
By: Paul Murano – January, 2014 I have noticed a pattern. It seems that at the beginning of every new year people proclaim two things: 1) that the previous year was a bad one, and 2) that the next year will be better. This new year’s eve I again observed this same mantra. Why is […]
By: Dani Langevin – January, 2013 Last month Valley Patriot publisher Tom Duggan posted an article on Facebook about a gay teacher who had been fired from his position at a Catholic school. Just as Tom hoped, the comments came flooding in fast and furious and with a great deal of misplaced passion. The perspective […]
By: Dr. Charles Ormsby – January, 2014 It is sad that President Obama did not see fit recently to travel a mere seventy miles from the White House to Gettysburg to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s famous speech in honor of those who fought and died to end slavery and preserve the union. With […]
VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL JANUARY 2014 Earlier this month former Lawrence City Councilor Dan Rivera was sworn in as Lawrence’s new mayor after defeating the once-thought unbeatable, William Lantigua by 82 votes. We know all too well the problems Lawrence faces and the long road ahead of Mayor Rivera just to get the city to stop […]
By: Jeff Katz – January, 2014 I may be a Jewish guy but I notched a few credits at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, so I am familiar with the Jesuits’ worldwide focus on helping the disabled. I’m only an Eagle by marriage, but I’ve got to weigh in on something happening at the Jesuit […]
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD OR LISTEN TO HOUR 1 CLICK TO DOWNLOAD OR LISTEN TO HOUR 2 With Co-Host Paul Murano off saving the world at a pro life rally today it was Tom and George Papoulias in the studio. In the first hour they talked about: abortion, local artists, why Dan Rivera should rehire Tom […]
By: Tom Duggan – January 17, 2014 The Valley Patriot has obtained the police report, photos, and video of today’s bank robbery suspect and his vehicle in Methuen. The robbery occurred at the Bank of New England on Cross Street. Police say the suspect walked into the bank, demanded money but did not show a weapon […]
By: Tracey Zysk – January, 2014 On December 30, 2013 I received a call from Lt. Gray of the North Andover Police dept. Lt. Gray went on to tell me that retired K-9 Kyzer had passed away. Shocked, I took a second before responding, took a deep breath and wiped the tears from my eyes. […]
RELEASED BY CHIEF FITZPATRICK January 16, 2014 LAWRENCE – Chief Fitzpatrick and Mayor Rivera announce today the establishment of a “Robbery Reduction Initiative”. This is an effort to combat the recent spike of armed robberies in our city. After multiple meetings with the mayor and the Lawrence Police Command staff a strategy to address the recent […]
“If Attorney DiAdamo is now stating he is ‘shackled’ and he cannot produce that evidence, it is not the courts obligation, nor ours, to give him the keys by granting an order of protection. If his client, the City of Lawrence has not given him a waiver of confidentiality, if he doesn’t have evidence to […]
Yesterday’s Updated Fire Story LAWRENCE – Records from the city of Lawrence show that The Merrimack Paper Company, which burned down in a six alarm fire on Thursday, owes the city more than $5M in back taxes and sewer bills on their property at 9 South Canal Street and more than $231,000 on their property […]
By: Christine Morabito – January 2014 Raising the minimum wage – sounds like a good idea. Fair? Compassionate? Would you feel differently if you knew it would hurt the very people it claims to help? If you were to peek behind the curtain, you might see your favorite politician in the warm embrace of the […]
MAYOR RIVERA ON THE SCENE OF OF 5 ALARM FIRE FIRST MAYOR ON SCENE SINCE 2009 UPDATE Jan. 13, 2014 7:27pm Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera was on the scene as a 5 alarm fire raged on Merrimack Street in Lawrence at the old Merrimack Paper building. Firefighters reported that there is no working gas in the […]