By: Brian Genest – Oct. 2019 Where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire, especially in Dracut. Just ask town firefighters. As the result of a number of smoldering issues, members of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 2586, joined by the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts, picketed outside the board of selectmen’s meeting, before bringing the […]
By: Rep. Linda Dean Campbell – Oct.2019 One of my top priorities this session and last session, Nicky’s Law, has taken a big step forward in the legislative process. The bill, which I filed to help protect individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities from abuse by care providers, recently received a favorable vote from the […]
Hello Valley Patriot Readers, Recently, I was so pleased to host fellow senators from across the Commonwealth for a listening SenaTOUR of the Merrimack Valley. This was a prime opportunity to make the unique challenges facing our communities salient to legislators outside the region. I opened the SenaTOUR with a policy forum at CI Works, […]
BY: Bharani Padmanabhan – Oct. 2019 On September 24, 2019 Governor Charlie Baker suddenly declared a public health emergency and invoked MGL chapter 17 § 2A, which allows the Public Health Commissioner to “during such period of emergency, take such action and incur such liabilities as he may deem necessary to assure the maintenance of […]
By Rick Bellanti-October 2019 Do you remember that old saying, “Sometimes You Feel Like A Nut – Sometimes You Don’t.” Well you may want to start feeling like adding more nuts to your healthy diet, because those little guys pack an awful lot of goodness in them. It’s a healthy snack that’s good for you […]
Oct 21, 2019 (6:10pm) The Methuen Police will charge a juvenile in connection with the hit-and-run crash that killed a Methuen man last week. Methuen Police arrested a 16 year old (juvenile), male from Lawrence on charges of: Manslaughter Operating Recklessly Causing the Death of Another Leaving the Scene of a Personal Injury Collision Causing the […]
By: Bharani Padmanabhan – Sept. 2019 This past week, supporters of the rule of law encountered the shameful spectacle of a full page announcement in the Boston Globe, from 70 progressive outfits, condemning the jury verdict in the case of naked extortion by Marty Walsh’s agents. You remember Marty? Former union leader who became mayor […]
By: Rick Bellanti – Sept, 2019 Welcome to September, and say good bye to beach days, green leaves, mosquitoes and plain food. Let’s say hello to great NH foliage, cool evenings and a whole lot of pumpkin spice everything. From lattes to baked goods, the flavor of fall lies in the season’s desire for warmth […]
By: Bill Cushing – Sept, 2019 The new TV season is upon us and just like every year there are lots of new shows. Which shows are worth devoting your time to? Well, hopefully this column will help you decide the answer to that question. Here are some of the shows I think will […]
By: Pal Murano – September, 2019 In our era that emphasizes love as mercy, let us not forget that love is also justice. Compassion and mercy encompass only one side of love. Truth and justice make up the other. It is like the two sides of a coin: it fails to be a coin without […]
By Dani Langevin – Septmber, 2019 I have three grown children. My oldest, a daughter, recently gave birth to my first grandchild, a boy. How lucky he is to be a white male born into this world. At no time will he be discriminated against because he is white or male. He will not be […]
By: Linda Dean Campbell – Sept. 2019 In July, the state’s Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture voted to move forward legislation I filed with Sen. Pat Jehlen and Rep. Denise Provost that would require public notification of sewage discharges into rivers like the Merrimack. This is the first step the bill must […]
By Diana DiZoglio – Sept. 2019 Hello Valley Patriot Readers, Distracted driving, the act of driving while engaging in other activities that divert the driver’s attention away from the road, has become an epidemic on our roadways. We’ve all seen the constant news headlines reporting car crashes and fatalities. Take, for instance, a recent early-morning […]
By: Brian Genest – September, 2019 So much for a nice, quiet summer in Dracut. In recent weeks, a tidal wave of self-inflicted bad news has washed over town hall. With a flood of lawsuits, potential legal issues and plenty of well-deserved scrutiny, it certainly hasn’t been a day at the beach for Town Manager […]
By: Tomas G. Michel – Sept. 2019 “The everyday person is no longer voiceless or passive” —Jacob Benbunan, Disruptive Branding After the Columbia Gas explosion disaster on September 13 of 2018, the business community of Lawrence faced a harsh reality they had to acknowledge the hard way: their lack of sustainability. There was a wide […]