By: State Rep. Ryan Hamilton One question I have received while out working during the month of December is: What do elected officials do when they are not in formal session? Throughout the past few weeks, the house has been out of formal session. Often, when not in a formal session, the media portrays Reps […]
Jan. 2024 Last November the Town of Salisbury finally responded to multiple public records requests showing that the town misled several courts when their lawyers claimed that the town was court ordered to abate water pollution, (mandated to construct the U.S. EPA/State sewer project) and that this “one project” included contracts one to five as […]
11-29-24 Haverhill, MA — Local veterans seeking care at the VA Bedford Healthcare System will soon have access to a free door to door ride service with the launch of the new MeVa Transit VA Bedford mediMeVa. Last Thursday, the MeVa Transit Advisory Board unanimously approved the new mediMeVa service to the VA Bedford Healthcare […]
1-25-24 Mayor Brian A. DePeña was honored to host and once again welcome Dr. Abha Agrawal, MD, FACP, FACHE, the new President and CEO of Lawrence General Hospital. Mayor DePeña alongside Dr. Abha Agrawal and Ellen Murphy Meehan who is a health system consultant, spoke topics of discussion included how to improve patient care in […]
1-22-24 BOSTON – A Lawrence man was sentenced today for his role in a scheme to use the stolen identities of United States citizens from Puerto Rico to fraudulently purchase vehicles and other merchandise and apply for, and utilize bank accounts and credit cards. Joshua Cruz, 35, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Patti […]
BOSTON – A Lawrence man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston to his role in a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy. Melvin Antonio Perez Medina, 33, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 64 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. In October 2023, Perez Medina […]
State Senator Pavel Payano (D-Lawrence) Reveals Senate Priorities State Senator Pavel Payano – Jan 2024 On January 4th, 2024, the Massachusetts Senate made significant strides by unanimously passing three key pieces of legislation aimed at addressing public health concerns and enhancing consumer rights. The bills cover a range of critical issues, including harm reduction in […]
BOSTON – Today, State Auditor Diana DiZoglio released her tenure’s first annual fraud report. The fiscal year 2023 (FY23) Bureau of Special Investigations (BSI) annual report summarizes BSI’s work to help make government work better by investigating, under the law, fraud, abuse, and illegal acts involving public assistance benefits throughout the Commonwealth. This year, […]
1-12-24 NEWBURY — Police Chief Patricia Fisher reports that the Byfield man identified Friday as the person who drowned in the Parker River, David Harwood, had been the subject of an active arrest warrant but that Newbury police officials had had no contact with Harwood and were not actively pursuing him, nor were police aware […]
Blanchette used Fire Department position to secure business for his private detector company 1-11-24 Former Lawrence Fire Department Fire Prevention Inspector David Blanchette will pay a $65,000 civil penalty for violating the conflict of interest law multiple times by using his official position to secure business for his private smoke and carbon monoxide detector maintenance […]
Threats caused evacuation at Harvard and the controlled detonation of a hoax device BOSTON – A Manchester, N.H., man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston for a series of extortionate bomb threats against Harvard University. The extortionate threats caused the evacuation of Harvard’s Science Center Plaza and surrounding academic buildings, and the controlled […]
January, 2024 It used to be that if an elected official said or did something blatantly racist – regardless of party affiliation – the leaders of the Democratic Party in Massachusetts would denounce them so viciously and so relentlessly that the offender would resign in disgrace and be completely unemployable. Now, they elect them to […]
PDF of the January, 2024 Valley Patriot
1-6-24 With a major snow storm predicted to hit the Merrimack Valley this weekend, Lawrence Mayor Brian DePena has established warming centers this weekend. In case of fire or flood the City of Lawrence will have two (2) warming centers for the residents only: • South Lawrence East School 165 Crawford St. […]
By: John Cuddy – 12-23 Born and raised in South Lawrence, Joseph Cuddy attended St. Patrick’s Grammar School and graduated from Central Catholic High School in the Class of 1952. Joe played basketball, hockey and football and ran track. After graduation, he enlisted in the US Army. As the middle of 5 brothers, Joe’s brother, […]