WASHINGTON—A soldier in the U.S. Army National Guard pleaded guilty today to federal charges that he conspired with his cousin to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization in the Middle East. Hasan R. Edmonds, 23, of Aurora, Illinois, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to provide material support to ISIL, a designated […]
By: Tom Duggan – Dec. 11, 2015 The recall efforts against Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera was dealt a critical blow Friday as recall supporters fell 655 signatures short of the 5,645 required to trigger a special election to throw Rivera out of office. This is only one of two recall efforts to unseat Rivera. Both recalls are being […]
In November of 2013, (then) Lawrence City Councilor Dan Rivera defeated incumbent Mayor Willie Lantigua by 84 votes. After a recount was conducted, and Rivera was again declared the winner, Mayor Lantigua told The Valley Patriot that he would be coming back to run against Rep. Marcos Devers and then, working full time to recall […]
Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera says he has been “deceived” in the closing of Polartec on Broadway in Lawrence. The mayor released a statement late on Thursday saying that when he met with the company over their purchasing a similar business in Tennessee. Rivera says he was assured when they made that purchase that the Lawrence […]
BOSTON – Two Lawrence men were charged in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with a scheme to file fraudulent federal income tax returns using stolen identities. Furvio Flete-Garcia, 42, and Juan Santiago, 36, nationals of the Dominican Republic, were indicted on conspiracy to defraud the United States, theft of government property, access device […]
BOSTON -The owner of a Salisbury marina property, has been fined $14,380 by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), for failure to take necessary safety measures prior to initiating construction activities on the site at 179 Bridge Street. The property is owned by the commercial realty firm BM, LLC, and has an Activity and […]
Dec. 4, 2015|4:04pm UPDATED: 5:25pm LAWRENCE – The Valley Patriot has learned this afternoon that James “Jimmy” Derepentingy of Lawrence was arrested at gunpoint near the Saint Patrick’s School on Parker Street. Derepentingy was wanted in connection with the suspicious package that was detonated on Atlantic Avenue in Boston by the bomb squad early Friday afternoon. The Valley […]
BOSTON – A Lawrence man was arrested today on charges that he received stolen U.S. Treasury checks. Rolfi Espinal, 49, was indicted on 24 counts of receipt of stolen public money and two counts of making false statements. The indictment alleges that from approximately September to December 2011, Espinal accepted fraudulent U.S. Treasury checks totaling […]
By: Carina Pappalardo As Valley Patriot readers know, The Psychological Center in Lawrence has undergone some major changes this past year. Fortunately, Daybreak Shelter and our other programs, Pegasus House, Women’s View, and Safe Haven are weathering the storm that passed. As you can imagine, it takes a lot to run a shelter the size of […]
Last month, Methuen Village Assisted Living and Compass Memory Support hosted their annual Casino Night, an evening of spectacular food and games, to support a cause. This year, all proceeds were donated directly to the Alzheimer’s Association, Massachusetts/New Hampshire Chapter. Local individuals, organizations and businesses showed additional support by donating creative gift baskets for the evening’s […]
By: Kathy Runge – November, 2015 The election has come and gone and the good news is, I should have no scarcity of material for the foreseeable future. The bad news is that Brian DePena was top vote getter in the Councilor at-Large race. Mr. DePena, I will be thrilled if you prove me wrong. […]
By: John MacDonald – November 2015 The results of the Lowell City Council and Lowell School Committee elections are in. A message that was loud and clear … don’t mess with a local guy. When all things are equal, you put personal feelings aside and support the local guy. The ghost of Jay Lang hung […]
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is due to make a formal recommendation on whether to adopt the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) test or to continue with the MCAS test at their meeting on November 17. In the final weeks leading up to the decision, the debate […]
By: Peter Larocque – November, 2015 I remember years ago, a friend of mine who lived down the street from where I lived got a new bike. But this was not just an ordinary bike; it was The New Varoom Bike from Mattel with Stingray handlebars, which came with the sound of a motorcycle. This […]
By: Cindy Annis – November, 2015 One of the most successful couples of the 60s and 70s were Sonny and Cher. Cher was born on May 20, 1946 in El Centro, California. Her real name is Cherilyn Sarkisian. Her parents divorced when Cher was ten months old. Being of a poor, broken home was tough […]