By; Peter Larocque – August, 2o12 That’s right, folks! I said orphanages. Lawrence, the nation’s first planned industrial city; which was once known for its massive mills lining the Merrimack River producing textiles for American and European markets, is now a mere shadow of its former self. Only time will tell whether or not […]
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 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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
By: Peter Larocque – July, 2012 In case you didn’t know, In God We Trust is the motto of the United States of America and it has been on our coins beginning as far back as 1864. At first it was just printed on the new two cent coin, but by 1909 it was […]
Lawrence Receives Federal Funds to Hire 6 Police Officers Lawrence Must Pay $125,000 and pick up full tab after 3 years. “This year all new officers hired under the grant must be military veterans that have served at least 180 days of active military service, any part of which occurred on or after September 11, 2001.” […]
By: Christine Morabito, Greater Boston Tea Party – June, 2012 Gone are the days when local newspapers did anything resembling in-depth investigative reporting. Whether the issue is lack of funding, under-staffing or in far too many cases, blatant political bias, it is the news-consuming, tax-paying citizens who are left unprotected. In essence, the mainstream media […]
VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL June, 2012 Receiver Jeffrey Riley’s plan to improve the educational opportunities for the children of Lawrence contains a few ideas that, if fully exploited, may improve performance. That being said, the parents of Lawrence’s school children and the taxpayers that fund this educational debacle, were both left out of the process of creating this […]
By: Peter Larocque – June, 2012 I would like to respond to an Editorial entitled, “Bake Sale Band Flap” that was published in the Eagle-Tribune on 5/13/2012. Towards the end of the editorial, the writer makes a conclusion concerning the crux of the matter, “when Legislators hand off their power to control the fine […]
By: Joe D’Amore – June, 2012 The community action movements that swept Lawrence “It’s Your Right” and “Uniting Lawrence” appear to have initated derivative actions that speak to a yearning for change in this city. These have manifested themselves in unique ways such as a proliferation of Face Book groups, radio programs, letter writing […]
By: Bob Cuomo – June, 2o12 On May 19, 2012 the Mount Vernon Neighborhood Association had its election of Officers and Trustees. This year for the first time in 20 years they had to make changes as Frank Incropera was stepping down as President of the MVNA, a position he has held for some […]
VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL May, 2012 For nearly 40 years Phil Laverriere served the Merrimack Valley as the head of the Greater Lawrence Community Action Council. In that time, Mr. Laverriere helped tens of thousands of poor people get heat in the winter, day care for their children, provided education and English Classes for newly arriving […]
By: Ronnie Ford – May 2012 Get your calculators out folks! Yep! There are 763 candidates for various offices in the Merrimack Valley area. Some are good, some not so good. So be very careful when casting your vote. Do some homework on the candidates that you choose; make sure that they have the views […]