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, […]
By; Brian Genest – June, 2019 A new chapter in Dracut history can be added to the books. For the first time, the Dracut Republican Town Committee (DRTC) marched in the town’s Memorial Day parade this year. Spoiler alert, brought to you by the First Amendment: it won’t be the last. Let’s face it… The […]
By: Brian Genest – May 2019 Some things are worth fighting for. Freedom of speech is one of them. Sadly, you have to fight for it every single day in Dracut! After Town Manager Jim Duggan illegally banned the Dracut Republican Town Committee from marching in the town’s Memorial Day parade to honor our fallen […]
By: Brian Genest – April, 2019 Free speech can be hard to swallow, especially in Dracut. You’d think that a letter from Judicial Watch challenging the constitutionality of the political sign bylaw would be the talk of the town government. You’d be wrong. Here’s some highlights, so you can see for yourself… “After hearing from […]
By: Brian Genest -Feb. 2019 In Dracut, you don’t question “the powers that be.” If you do, prepare to be attacked. Just ask Conservation Commissioner Fred Spicer. Fred Spicer broke the golden rule of Dracut politics: He dared to ask questions about a proposed town project, a path on a narrow strip of conservation land […]
By: Brian Genest – Feb. 2019 Here we go in Dracut, again. Town Manager Jim Duggan is getting a pay raise, again. Homeowners are getting higher property taxes, again. “Economic development” is what the politicians in town call it. It’s a very interesting formula: the money comes in and trickles up to Jim Duggan and […]
By: John Cuddy – Jan. 2019 Dracut’s Robert Belleau is one of the many US Military Veterans in the Merrimack Valley of French Canadian heritage. He joined the new US Air Force, (formed out of the US Army Air Corps shortly after World War II) partly out of patriotism, and partly, (his words) to avoid […]
By: Brian Genest – Nov. 2018 Ready or not, here comes the weed. A company that wants to run a recreational marijuana dispensary in Dracut unveiled its plan at a community outreach meeting in town last month. GreenStar Herbals is expected to open the business on Pleasant Street, if granted a special permit by the […]
By: Brian Genest – Oct 21018 If you love the culture of corruption on Beacon Hill… If you love record-high state spending and tax increases… If you love a state representative who votes with the progressive Democrats 89% of the time… Don’t bother reading this column; it won’t be of any interest to you. Feel […]
By: Brian Genest – Sept. 2018 There’s a lot to love about living in Dracut. I’m not going to talk about any of them in this column. Instead, here’s a rant about things that make this townie even more grouchy than usual. * Political signs littering the landscape like litter. Some intersections and properties in […]
By: Brian Genest ~ August, 2018 Have you seen this troupe of Democrats running in the 3rd Congressional District? The big top tent is stuffed with far-out lefties, even by Massachusetts standards. Forget the clown car; we need a bus! In the center ring is State Sen. Barbara L’Italien, a woman who truly knows no […]
By: Brian Genest – July, 2018 Broken promises. Broken partnerships. Broken party. Charlie Baker is a broken politician and he’s fractured the MassGOP, too. Remember when Charlie Baker used to be a Republican? It was way back in 2010, the first time he ran and lost the governor’s race. At the time, he was pro-life, […]
By: Brian Genest – June 2018 Hold onto your wallets in Dracut, again. Town hall is trying to raise property taxes, again. New Proposition 2 ½ debt exclusions are being pushed, again. The only thing less surprising than another attempt to get around Prop 2 ½ is that it took so long for it to happen. […]
By: Brian Genest – May, 2018 Congratulations to State Rep. Colleen Garry (D-Dracut). She has accomplished something that few entrenched Democrat legislators in Massachusetts ever seem to do: draw two challengers for her seat, including one from her own party. Someone chill the champagne! Here’s her problem: Colleen Garry has failed to deliver for Dracut […]
By: Brian Genest – April, 2018 There’s nothing more swamp-like than Dracut politics. Our town keeps living up to its reputation for local politics that is personal and putrid. The current race for the Board of Selectmen is no exception, sadly. Again this year, the nothing-to-offer negative voices are the Dracut Connection cable TV show and […]