Valley Patriot, WCAP Debate for State Senate By: Tom Duggan – August, 2012 Last month the Valley Patriot and 980WCAP held an on air radio debate between the two Andover candidates, Alex Vispoli and Paul Adams, who are vying for the Republican nomination for State Senate. The winner of the September 6th state primaries will […]
Ovide Lamontagne and Kevin Smith Spar Over Who Should be Governor By: Tom Duggan, August, 2012 Last month republican candidates for Governor of New Hampshire, Ovide Lamontagne and Kevin Smith, sparred over who was “more republican” and their different set of priorities for their state. The debate was sponsored in part by The Valley Patriot […]
By: Eva Montibello For more than a decade several pieces of child protection legislation have been in front of Massachusetts’s leadership, typically dying in the Judiciary Committee. Finally, many pieces of legislation are progressing through the process with help from Merrimack Valley advocates Laurie Myers, Founder and President of VOICES, Joseph DiPietro, Founder and President […]
VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL August – 2012 The Valley Patriot submitted document requests to the City of Lawrence under the Massachusetts Public Records Law on February 22, 2012. The documents we requested are public documents that must be turned over within ten days by law. Yet, as of the date we published this edition, (August […]
Police Chief Joe Solomon Talks of Drugs, Politics and all those Lawsuits By: Tom Duggan, August 8, 2012 Methuen Police Chief, Joe Solomon, appeared on 980AM WCAP’s Paying Attention! Radio Program with Tom Duggan last month where he revealed details about Methuen’s increasing crime problems, his recent court battles with the city, and the direction […]
The State Ethics Commission has fined a salesman from CBE Holdings for paying bribes to an official at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to gain state funded contracts through the Transportation agency. According to the Ethics Commission, salesman John Dunnet of CBE, admitted violating Mass General Law 268A, (the conflict of interest law) by illegally […]
By: Tom Duggan – July, 2012 Lawrence Teachers Union President Frank McLaughin says that Receiver Jeff Riley has mandated a new contract for teachers in the now state run Lawrence School System. In a confidential letter obtained by the Valley Patriot that McLaughlin sent to members of the now powerless union, McLaughin told teachers: “We […]
The Massachusetts State Ethics Commission approved a Disposition Agreement in with former Lawrence Public School Department Graphic Designer John Laurenza today. Laurenza admitted to violating conflict of interest laws, (specifically MGL. c. 268A), by accepting bribes from a vendor, Wellington House Publishing to rig bids on two LPS contracts so that Wellington could be awarded […]
By: Tom Duggan – July, 2012 The race to fill the 2d Essex House District being left vacant by Harriet Stanley has three Republicans vying for the nomination in the September state primary election. The three Republicans are Bob Cronin of Boxford, Gary Fowler from Georgetown and Lenny Mirra from West Newbury. Here is where […]
By: Tom Duggan – July, 2012 Several readers of The Valley Patriot who also read the Bi-Lingual newspaper in Lawrence called “Rumbo” contacted the Valley Patriot last month complaining that the paper was not only targeting people based on their race (racism by definition) they were printing falsehoods in order to do it. The […]
By: Joe D’Amore – July, 2012 As part of a new public access TV program called Groveland Chronicles I devoted a portion of the first episode to the building of the new bridge. I had the opportunity to interview Vince DeAngelo the Resident Engineer of the project and his supervisor David Conroy of the Mass. […]
Magazine Shoot of Sexy Models at Lawrence Fire Station By: Tom Duggan, July, 2012 The city of Lawrence was featured on the front page of a national magazine last month where beautiful women were shown posing at the Lawrence Fire Stations Engine 5 on Lowell Street. The models were photographed with a Lawrence fire truck, […]
VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL July, 2012 This month we had written a 500 word editorial on our views concerning the Haverhill Board of Health’s move to ban smoking in private clubs. But when Dracut Editorial Cartoonist David Sullivan submitted his work, we took one look at it and realized it made our point far better than […]
By, Dani Langevin, Lesbian Columnist – July, 2012 This month, as we do every July here in America, we celebrate Independence Day. It is on this day over 230 years ago we declared our independence from an unjust government stating that we, as Americans, have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of […]
By: Kevin Cuff – July, 2012 Nearly forty years ago, my family taught me the values of civic RESPONSIBILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY. As a member of our hometown School Committee, my mother took positions that, at the time, were extremely controversial, challenging and polarizing. Her perseverance taught me that everyone including your established school systems […]