By: Tom Duggan – January 2007 Lawrence City Council President Patrick Blanchette has been on a mission for the last few months. His mission: create a firestorm around Budget and Finance Director John Griffin so that he either quits or gets fired, create a firestorm around Caroline Ganley (who has left) and Planning Director […]
December, 2006 Last month, Methuen city councilors tried to inject themselves into the so-called controversy between Police Chief Joe Solomon and the officers and union members under his command. What’s more, they tried to subvert the Methuen City Charter by interfering with Mayor Bill Manzi’s clearly defined duties as the chief executive officer of the […]
Classroom Credit to Support Terrorism? Ron Francis is an Andover High School teacher, co-chair of the Massachusetts Green-Rainbow Party, leader in the Somerville Divestment Project and, as some in thecommunity would argue, is “anti-Semitic.” “Ron Francis’ politics, statements and actions are anti-Semitic,” says Eric Danis, a graduate of Andover High School. “Both his […]
May, 2006 There used to be a well-known guy from Methuen named Greg Hyatt – he who would cry about conspiracies, the corrupt court system, and how everyone was wrong but him. He had a Web site where he would slander and vilify people he did not like, blaming everyone but himself for his problems. […]
By: Tom Duggan – March 2006 While suburban cities and towns like North Andover are cutting their teaching staff and eliminating art and music programs due to lack of funding, Wilfredo Laboy and the Lawrence School Committee have chosen to use state education dollars for out of state travel conferences (to the tune of $4,000) […]
PAYING ATTENTION EXTRA Larger than expected crowd turns out for Jorge Gonzalez By: Tom Duggan – August 25, 2005 Lawrence School Committee member Jorge Gonzalez now enjoys the unique distinction of being the only candidate for any office in Lawrence to have been publicly endorsed by the Superintendent of Schools. Last Thursday Gonzalez, (who is in […]
PAYING ATTENTION WITH TOM DUGGAN By: Tom Duggan – August 25, 2005 Lawrence City Councilor Marie Gosselin is always complaining about the “measly $97 a week” she gets paid for being a City Councilor. And she is right, of course. Lawrence School Committee members and City Councilors should be paid more for the amount of […]
“I believe that the only way Willie Lantigua can get political power is to control people who truly don’t know what is going on. He constantly stirs the pot of hate for his own political maneuvering. He doesn’t really seem to care who he hurts in the process, either.” ~Lawrence Licensing Commissioner Roger Twomey. By: […]
June, 2005 Lawrence State Representative Willie Lantigua has betrayed the Latino people of Lawrence. He has been playing a dangerous game of race baiting and making racial slurs for far too long, and it is about time someone called him to task for his shenanigans. Lantigua has deliberately misinformed his Dominican constituency about Licensing […]
By: Tom Duggan – January, 2005 LAWRENCE – Wild nights of cocaine parties and binge drinking were not isolated to the Lawrence 911 Emergency Call Center at the Bodwell Street Fire Station (Fire Alarm), according to former civilian dispatcher Judy Brito. Brito showed up at the front door of The Valley Patriot just days […]
January, 2005 Even if we accept that everything Judy Brito says is true, Lawrence Mayor Mike Sullivan is absolutely right when he says that most firefighters in the city of Lawrence are honest, decent, hard-working individuals. They are the men and women who go out and respond to the cries for help from innocent victims […]
By: Dr. Charles Ormsby – December, 2004 I became hooked on politics in High School in the early ‘60s. My favorite bumper sticker was in support of Communist China. It read: “Admit Red China to the U.N. – Give Them Our Seat”. I’d suggest such a trade today, but I think every despotic regime is […]
By: Paula Porten & Tom Duggan – December 2004 For the last two years, residents of Lawrence have been calling the construction of a $110 million high school “The Big Dig of Lawrence,” because of its price tag. For months, School Committeeman Amy McGovern and Superintendent Wilfredo Laboy have been questioning the quality of work […]
Hey People! It’s Just A News Story! October, 2004 Last month The Valley Patriot ran a front page news story about Brooks School Summer Camp in North Andover conducting mock marriage ceremonies between same-sex kids (some as young as five years old). Some people were clearly offended and outraged by the headline, “Brooks Marries Same […]
By: Tom Duggan – September, 2004 LAWRENCE – After more than thirty years of neglect and empty promises by elected officials, the Veterans Memorial Stadium has finally become a priority for government leaders in the city. In an unusual display of cooperation, Mayor Michael Sullivan and the Lawrence City Council worked out a $30 million capital […]