By: Ronnie Ford – June, 2011 Naomi Klien’s “The Shock Doctrine” is a New York Times best seller. It is a scary book explaining the many machinations and illegal activities that has contributed to our topsy-turvy economy today. The manuscript pointed out documented happenings that point to profit at all costs, inclusive of which is […]
By: Lonnie Brennan – June, 2011 So, what did the spring Georgetown elections and the approved $1.2 million school override cost you? If you’re the average homeowner (half of whom sat at home and ignored the election), the vote raised your property tax to the point where either this year, next year, or the year […]
By: Gerry Nutter – June, 2011 Election Season has begun here in Lowell. This year in the City Council Race we have one open seat with the retirement of longtime Councilor Edward “Bud” Caulfield who was truly ‘The People’s Representative” and was the epitome of the neighborhood councilor. It leaves 8 strong Incumbents running including […]
By: Tom Duggan – June, 2011 After ten years of managing the Town of North Andover, Mark Rees has taken a job as the city manager of Portland Maine, leaving members of the Board of Selectmen looking for a new manager with what they called Rees’ “financial genius and even temper.” Selectman Dan Lanen said […]
By: Tom Duggan – June, 2011 Local U.S. Marine recruiters in The Valley got their first look at the latest batch of recruits last month at Ft. Devans Army Base in Massachusetts. The new recruits, called “poolees” (recruits yet to attend basic training) were put through preliminary training to get them ready for the extensive […]
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 […]
By: PuppyGirl Kate Whitney June, 2011 Last month in my column, I wrote about my experience being a foster to rescued puppies. My hope was that my wonderful experience would encourage others to lend a hand and help this effort. Many of you did respond, and for that, I thank you from the bottom of […]
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: Ted Trip – June, 2011 NORTH ANDOVER – On the morning of June 6, 1944, the allies finally began the liberation of Europe from the Nazi nightmare. Tens of thousands of American, British and Canadian troops poured onto the shores of Normandy to engage the Germans and drive them out of France. The […]
May, 2011 Amesbury, MA — Minutes before 8:00 a.m., Amesbury resident Alex Talcott requested and obtained nomination papers from the Amesbury Town Clerk, becoming the first person to do so on the first day papers were available for the fall municipal elections. Talcott, a consulting entrepreneur and attorney by trade, is considering opportunities to […]
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: Lawrence, “Lonnie” Brennan – May, 2011 Hi. Did I mention that Georgetown School Superintendent Carol Jacobs will garner $174,300 of taxpayer money this year? And that we have a lovely $1.2 million dollar override that, by the time you read this, is supposed to be inflicted upon the taxpayer? Someday, perhaps 20 years […]