By: Jamison Tomasek – June, 2011 I noticed from Facebook the number of people that grew up in Lawrence and settled in the Merrimack Valley is very high. While this might not just be a Lawrence thing, it seems particularly pronounced here. The Lawrence Diaspora (migration) doesn’t seem like a random scattering. Almost everyone who […]
By: Peter Larocque – June, 2011 As the City of Lawrence prepares itself to begin budget discussions on the FY-2012 Budget, I thought it would be good to review some background information concerning Labor Unions. According to Wikipedia, the Web-based free encyclopedia, labor unions in the United States are legally recognized as representatives of workers […]
VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL June, 2011 For the last few years The Valley Patriot has sporadically received information about prisoners from the Lawrence Jail (the “Farm”) on Marston Street escaping from the facility. Each time we are informed by law enforcement officials at other agencies that another escape has occurred, we wait. We wait, and […]
By: Tom Duggan, June, 2011 With several law enforcement agencies investigating the finances and political dealings of Lawrence Mayor Willie Lantigua, and the Boston media finally waking up to his political shenanigans, the question most people are asking is: can Lantigua survive? Let me start by saying that I’ve known and studied the political genius […]
By: Tom Duggan, May, 2011 Bob Ansin, (CEO of sustainable development company MassInnovation, and developer of the Wood Mill in Lawrence) has had his multi-million dollar renovation project on hold since October of 2007. That’s when several erroneous Eagle-Tribune stories alleged that Ansin was running out of funds and that asbestos was found inside the […]
By: Tom Duggan – May, 2011 A Full year ago, in May of 2010, The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent a letter to Lawrence DPW Director Frank McCann informing the City of Lawrence that the EPA has first hand knowledge that the city was pumping wastewater (human waste) into the Shawsheen River. According to documents […]
By; Tom Duggan – May, 2011 Lawrence School Committeeman Sammy Reyes (District D) has written a scathing letter to the city council demanding that education funds (which were used for city services) be repaid to the school children of Lawrence. In his letter, Reyes threatens to turn in the Lantigua administration for misappropriation […]
The following letter was sent to Lawrence Mayor Willie Lantigua from members of the Lawrence City Council The Honorable William Lantigua Mayor, City of Lawrence City Hall 200 Common Street Lawrence, MA 01840 Dear Mayor Lantigua, We are writing to emphasize that public safety is a core function of our government, and that the […]
Catholic Church to Close Saint Mary’s After Promising to keep it Open By: Tom Duggan – May, 2011 Hundreds of students, parents and supporters of Saint Mary’s School of the Assumption in Lawrence, rallied and held a vigil Saturday to oppose the decision of the Boston Archdiocese of the Catholic Church to close the school […]
By: Peter Larocque – May, 2011 When words in our English Language are used without any adherence to their meaning or definition, the result is meaningless! Please allow me to explain. To put things in perspective, here’s a little timeline without re-hashing all the details. Former Lawrence School Superintendent Dr. Laboy went on sick […]
By: Jamison Tomasek – May, 2011 A recall effort is underway in the City of Lawrence. The process of a recall is contained in the City Charter (hereafter Charter). Section 9.7 entitled “Recall of Elected Officials.” As this section is written in government lingo, it does require a careful reading as well as some […]
By: Peter Larocque – April, 2011 According to Wikipedia, (meaning quick encyclopedia), a multilingual, web-based, free content encyclopedia, Public Safety involves the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety of the general public from significant danger, injury/harm, crimes or disasters, (natural or man-made). In the United States we have the […]
By: Jamison Tomasek – April, 2011 While everyone wants to feel good and say nice things, it is hard to feel good or say nice things about what is going on in the Lawrence Schools. Yes, there are successful students there. Yes, there are great teachers, and yes there are good programs and happy […]
Opponents of Secure Communities Come Out in Full Force By: Tom Duggan, Valley Patriot Publisher – April, 2011 A forum was held last month at Lawrence High School by the Deval Patrick administration. Governor Patrick wanted to get feedback from the public on a federal program that would allow police to […]
By: Jamison Tomasek – April, 2011 While everyone wants to feel good and say nice things, it is hard to feel good or say nice things about what is going on in the Lawrence Schools. Yes, there are successful students there. Yes, there are great teachers, and yes there are good programs and happy […]