MeVa Transit Offers Free Veteran Transportation to Bedford V.A.

MeVa Transit Offers Free Veteran Transportation to Bedford V.A.

11-29-24 Haverhill, MA — Local veterans seeking care at the VA Bedford Healthcare System will soon have access to a free door to door ride service with the launch of the new MeVa Transit VA Bedford mediMeVa. Last Thursday, the MeVa Transit Advisory Board unanimously approved the new mediMeVa service to the VA Bedford Healthcare […]

State Auditor DiZoglio Finds $12M+ in Public Benefit Fraud in FY23

State Auditor DiZoglio Finds $12M+ in Public Benefit Fraud in FY23

  BOSTON – Today, State Auditor Diana DiZoglio released her tenure’s first annual fraud report. The fiscal year 2023 (FY23) Bureau of Special Investigations (BSI) annual report summarizes BSI’s work to help make government work better by investigating, under the law, fraud, abuse, and illegal acts involving public assistance benefits throughout the Commonwealth. This year, […]

Bay Staters Deserve Opportunities To Build a Better Financial Future

Bay Staters Deserve Opportunities To Build a Better Financial Future

By: State Rep. Francisco Paulino ~ 12-23 Whether you grew up in Lawrence, Methuen, Revere, Winthrop, Brighton, or Boston, every community in the Commonwealth values kitchen-table issues; an honest day’s work, safe streets, affordable homes, good schools, access to quality and affordable healthcare, and the ability to earn a good living and save for the […]

PAYANO: MA Senate Passes PACT Act 3.0 for Affordable Healthcare

PAYANO: MA Senate Passes PACT Act 3.0 for Affordable Healthcare

  Massachusetts State Senator Pavel Payano December, 2023 In a historic move, the Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed the Act Relative to Pharmaceutical Access, Costs, and Transparency, commonly known as the PACT Act 3.0, on November 15, 2023. This bipartisan legislation is a crucial step in urgently needed reforms to address the rising costs of prescription […]

Methuen Police Receive $400K Grant to Create Clinical Community Response Team

Methuen Police Receive $400K Grant to Create Clinical Community Response Team

METHUEN — CEO Matthew Page-Shelton and Police Chief Scott McNamara are pleased to announce that Front Line and the Methuen Police Department will receive a two-year, $400,000 grant to fund the addition of a clinical co-response clinician with the Methuen Police Department, as well as the creation of a civilian Community Response Team. The addition […]

Karen Silva-Brown of Methuen Pleads Guilty to Stealing Social Security Benefits

Karen Silva-Brown of Methuen Pleads Guilty to Stealing Social Security Benefits

BOSTON – A Methuen woman pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to stealing Social Security benefits intended for her child.    Karen Silva-Brown, 57 pleaded guilty to one count of theft of public funds before U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs, who scheduled sentencing for March 7, 2024. Silva-Brown was arrested and […]

Factorial Energy Opens New Manufacturing Facility in Methuen

Factorial Energy Opens New Manufacturing Facility in Methuen

Will House Largest Solid-State Battery Line in the US   Factorial Inc. (Factorial), an industry leader in the development of solid-state battery technology for electric vehicle (EV) applications, today announced the opening of its new battery manufacturing facility in the Boston suburb of Methuen. The state-of-the-art facility represents a significant step in scaling up the […]

Rep. Reyes: Co-Sponsoring Environmental Legislation

Rep. Reyes: Co-Sponsoring Environmental Legislation

  By: State Rep. Estela  Reyes – Nov. 2023 First, I want to congratulate Valley Patriot publisher Tom Duggan who received an “Overcoming Obstacles” award from the Greater Lawrence Psychological Center last month. Given what Tom has been through, just in the last year alone, he has certainly earned this award. I also want to […]

Commitment to Growth and Remembrance in Methuen and Lawrence

Commitment to Growth and Remembrance in Methuen and Lawrence

By: State Rep. Francisco Paulino Dear Residents of Methuen and Lawrence, It is with a heart full of pride that I recount a recent moment of honor and duty. Standing shoulder to shoulder with Methuen’s finest—Ryan Campbell, Adam Marino, Kyle Sheehy, and Liam Sheehy—at their graduation in Stow, Massachusetts, I witnessed the embodiment of courage […]

State Senator Payano ~ Raising the Bar on Education

State Senator Payano ~ Raising the Bar on Education

The Crucial Need to Increase the Dropout Age State Senator Pavel Payano – Nov. 2023 As a State Senator, my commitment to improving education in Massachusetts is unwavering. Senate bill 341, “An Act Relative to Dropout Prevention and Student Recovery,” a pivotal piece of legislation, which I sponsored, aims at reshaping the educational landscape for […]

Reforms Sorely Needed at the Sex Offender Registry Board ~ IN YOUR CORNER with AUDITOR DIZOGLIO

Reforms Sorely Needed at the Sex Offender Registry Board ~ IN YOUR CORNER with AUDITOR DIZOGLIO

By: Massachusetts State Auditor Diana DiZoglio – Nov. 2023 Hello Valley Patriot readers, Serving as Massachusetts State Auditor doesn’t just mean reviewing finances. A big part of my role, as I often speak about with folks across the state, is reviewing the performance and efficacy of the Commonwealth’s agencies and entities. A great example of […]

America in World War II and Korea, James Fiorello ~ VALLEY PATRIOT OF THE MONTH

America in World War II and Korea, James Fiorello ~ VALLEY PATRIOT OF THE MONTH

By: John Cuddy – Nov. 2023 Hailing from the long-gone Boston neighborhood, once known as the West End, Methuen’s James Fiorello graduated from Boston’s Mechanic Arts High School with the class of 1941. He then enrolled at Fitchburg State College, with the intent on becoming a teacher. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December […]

Our Silent Generation Speaks – Two-Service Vet Robert Lister ~ Valley Patriot of the Month

Our Silent Generation Speaks – Two-Service Vet Robert Lister ~ Valley Patriot of the Month

By: John Cuddy 10-23 Raised in Methuen, Massachusetts, where he returned to over thirty years ago, ninety-year-old Robert Lister and his daughter Joan, recently met with the Valley Patriot to tell his story. Growing up, he had three sisters and one brother. Robert attended Lawrence High School for a while before joining the US Navy […]

Write-in Candidate for Methuen School Committee, Ken Willette

Write-in Candidate for Methuen School Committee, Ken Willette

10-23 Kenneth Willette (10 Burnham Road, Apt. 506A) officially announced his campaign today as a write-in candidate for the Methuen School Committee. Willette previously served six years on the Methuen School Committee and six years as a Methuen City Councilor at Large. “Based upon positive feedback from family and friends, I wanted to offer my […]