By: Scott MacDonald – April 2014 On Monday March 19th, five Billerica selectmen candidates met for a final videotaped debate before the April 5th election. The debate touched on many important issues facing the Town of Billerica, including infrastructure improvements, economic development, and the town manager contract. As the debate was coming to a close, […]
By: Dr. Frank MacMillan – March 2014 Forget for a minute, the ongoing debate over national health care, and the endless shouting that never seems to persuade anyone to think differently than they already do. There are much more important topics that could affect your health and your enjoyment of living than the things the […]
By: John MacDonald – March, 2014 Anyone who knows even a little about economic development realizes that a downtown represents what is interpreted as the city or town’s window to the world… anywhere. The hustle and bustle, cleanliness and visual appeal of the downtown is the lasting impression people from outside communities absorb. Very few […]
The Street Narcotics Unit (SNEU) is a small, highly proactive narcotics unit under the Special Operations Division of the Lawrence Police Department. The unit is dedicated to the eradication of street level drug dealing in the city. The SNEU targets both the street dealers and the out of state buyers coming to the city to […]
By Dr. Charles Ormsby – March, 2014 A little over ten years ago, Tom Duggan, his girlfriend, Ralph Wilbur and I started a newspaper called the Valley Government Gazette. We applied for and (using some inside contacts) received a $500 million federal grant to start this much needed publication. Having received the mulla (that’s […]
Tracey Zysk – March, 2014 Over four years ago, I placed a business card size ad in The Valley Patriot. The calls were coming in and clients started signing up for my services. During that time, Tom being Tom, started asking around North Andover, “Who is this Tracey that owns Wiggles & Jiggles?” People were […]
By: Senator Katy Ives – March 2014 Given this is The Valley Patriot’s 10th year anniversary special edition, I would like to highlight legislation in the State House especially relevant to freedom of the press. Government should have transparency and accountability and the only way to ensure that this is occurring is to have access. […]
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD HOUR 1 (right click to save to your IPOD or desktop) CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD HOUR 2 Today Tom and Paul talked about the Valley Patriot’s 10th Anniversary BASH, Former Lantigua Chief of Staff Lenny Degnan’s corruption trial and the abysmal news media coverage of the supposed missing airliner from […]
By Anne Knowles – March 2014 Andover has sadly lost one of its most ardent supporters with the untimely death of Gregory Rigby. Mr. Rigby, a resident of Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts and the United States of America, was a man who believed in and practiced good citizenship. He was a native of Michigan, but […]
By Selectman Joe D’Amore – March, 2014 On February 25th the State’s wire services released a report that a committee known as the Tax Fairness Commission appointed by the Massachusetts legislature is expected to make recommendation for a graduated taxed to levy an increasing burden on high wage earners and supposedly a lesser burden on […]
By Lawrence “Lonnie” Brennan – March 2014 First, for the disclaimer: I very much like Georgetown Selectman Phil Trapani and I certainly very much like Georgetown Selectman Steve Smith. They are both great guys, and I very much like to chat with them at various events as they are both very intelligent and generally good […]
By: Peter Larocque – March, 2014 The most frequently asked question that I receive when the topic of The Valley Patriot newspaper comes up is why do you write for The Valley Patriot? The quick answer is, I want to and Tom lets me. But there is more, another reason is that when I send […]
The team at the Andover Inn was honored with the Charitable Excellence award during Waterford Hotel Group’s recent Annual Leadership Conference and Awards Celebration, held at the Marriott Hartford Downtown in Hartford, CT. The Inn was also recognized during the conference with a Core Value award for sustained success. The 2-day conference, attended by Waterford […]
By: Dani Langevin – March 2014 *WINNER OF A VALLEY PRESIDENT’S AWARD* I am married. I guess you could say I am ‘in a marriage’. I am not in a gay marriage, just like I don’t live in a gay house or drive a gay car. My parents weren’t in a heterosexual marriage nor are […]