Last week, a Methuen City Council meeting degenerated into a circus, complete with an orchestrated political attack on newly elected mayor Neil Perry. First, City Councilor Steve Saba (who campaigned against Perry) had his brother get up at public participation to lay the groundwork for a later discussion about Perry’s “rumored” choice for a new […]
Ethics Commission Issues “Letter” to Secretary of the Commonwealth Galvin The State Ethics Commission issued a Public Education Letter today to Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin to resolve allegations that he violated the conflict of interest law. According to the letter, Secretary Galvin, a candidate for re-election in 2018, benefited politically from early […]
The election of a new mayor and city council in Methuen, and the impending departure of Mayor James Jajuga will mark the end of conflict, chaos, and controversy that has divided the city and left Methuen’s reputation as a national disgrace. Over the last two years of the Jajuga administration the mayor refused to fulfill […]
BY: Bharani Padmanabhan – Oct. 2019 On September 24, 2019 Governor Charlie Baker suddenly declared a public health emergency and invoked MGL chapter 17 § 2A, which allows the Public Health Commissioner to “during such period of emergency, take such action and incur such liabilities as he may deem necessary to assure the maintenance of […]
October 29, 2019-3:30pm Campaign supporters of Methuen mayoral candidate Jen Kannan – chairman of the Methuen City Council – is calling on her opponent Neil Perry to release his personnel records from Raytheon where Perry has been a top executive for the last few decades. This afternoons press release from the Kannan campaign reiterates her […]
October 1, 2019 The Methuen Police Superior Officers Union has issued a public statement disputing public claims that there was sleight of hand or that two different contracts were used to deceive the city council. The claim is, one contract had “stacking language” in it which grew the police salaries larger than the contract that […]
By: Brian Genest – September, 2019 So much for a nice, quiet summer in Dracut. In recent weeks, a tidal wave of self-inflicted bad news has washed over town hall. With a flood of lawsuits, potential legal issues and plenty of well-deserved scrutiny, it certainly hasn’t been a day at the beach for Town Manager […]
By: Bharani Padmanabhan – Aug 2019 Governor Charlie Baker did nothing over four long years to fix fundamental regulatory problems at the RMV. This led directly to seven innocent people being killed. Charlie owns those deaths. In order to escape censure and future oversight from the Legislature, Charlie bribed them by signing the budget without […]
By: Brian Genest, August, 2019 Have you ever dealt with the Conservation Commission in Dracut? Did the board require staked haybales and siltation fence for your project? Would you be surprised to find out the town didn’t comply with that standard requirement or other environmental regulations for its own Beaver Brook trail project? “Where we […]
Hello Valley Patriot Readers, The devastating events of September 18, 2018, which destroyed homes and buildings in communities in North Andover, Lawrence and Andover will be long remembered. With negligible assistance from the Columbia Gas, residents turned to social media for help and called daily for relief from my office. Not only was restoration […]
Fellow Committee Member Says DiZoglio Should Resign Last month, we learned at an open meeting that whistle-blower Ian Gosselin – the business manager of the Methuen Public Schools – told School Committee member Nick DiZoglio in early 2018 that school finances were out of whack and that the budget numbers were fake. DiZoglio didn’t inform […]
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By: Bharani Padmanabhan – July, 2019 This month, as the nation celebrates Independence from England, as my friend Kevin Leach correctly insists, we must also consider the sectors of the country where the founding principles are still observed only in the breach. I have written here earlier about progressive Massachusetts’ medical board coercing, on behalf […]
POLICE AND DA’S NOW CONTROL WHAT YOU KNOW Four men were stabbed on Kendall Street in Lawrence on the 4th of July. One man, the aggressor in the situation, was charged with attempted murder. You didn’t read that in the daily paper or see it on the news because the new norm by our public […]
By: Brian Genest – July, 2019 In some towns in Massachusetts, our independence is celebrated on July 4th. In Dracut, there’s plenty of opportunities to fight for – and celebrate – freedom all year long. No matter the season, the First Amendment always seems to be the last resort for town government, sadly. This year, […]