By: Sid Smith – August, 2015 When is the last time you heard anything encouraging from the race relations standpoint? Never? Well, here is one, and I would be willing to venture that less than one American in over ten thousand has ever heard of it. The story involves Mississippi and Massachusetts. So … how […]
By: Ken Willette – August, 2015 I have enjoyed living in Methuen for most of my life. As a former City Councilor at Large and School Committee Member, I have been honored to serve the interests of Methuen residents to the best of my ability. Now as the father of two young children attending the […]
By: Kathy Runge – August 2015 We’re starting campaign season and I’m already preparing myself for the onslaught of robo-calls and junk mail we’ll be receiving in a couple of months. Please don’t vote for candidates that spend thousands of dollars trying to impress you. The more money a local candidate receives in donations, the […]
Last month while watching the Salisbury Selectmen meeting, I noticed how openly and blatantly they violate their own policies for public participation at their meetings. I also noticed how they rudely talk over members of the public and try to silence those who have something to say that the selectmen would rather conceal. They call public […]
By: Vipsania Pimentel – August, 2015 While most of my classmates were getting ready to enter the real working world after our college graduation, I was packing a suitcase, and getting ready to move thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean. After studying abroad in Florence, Italy as an undergraduate, I never imagined that I […]
By: Al Kaprielian – August, 2015 Clouds are classified by different levels: high, middle, low and towering. High clouds, known as cirrus clouds, are thin, feathery and hair-like. They are too thin to produce any precipitation, and can often precede a low pressure system. They can also produce a halo around the sun and moon. […]
A few weeks back, The Bride and I had to fly from Seattle to San Francisco and then on to Boston. The experience at SEA-TAC was the worst I’ve encountered in a long time. Ridiculous lines. Nasty T.S.A. flunkies. Delayed planes. Nobody seemed to care, and I was in a pretty foul mood by the […]
By: DJ Bettencourt – August, 2015 The announced retirement last month of former New Hampshire House Speaker Bill O’Brien is certain to set off reflections and reactions from across the political spectrum as the legislative session winds down next year. To his liberal critics, the departure of their favorite boogeyman is bittersweet. While they were […]
By: John MacDonald – August, 2015 Little did anyone suspect that the vote to hire a new Superintendent of Schools in Lowell would have such a profound effect on this year’s City Council race? Several months ago the match was lit, on what has become political dynamite. A divided Lowell School Committee had a choice […]
By: Amy Berard – August, 2015 I am one of the 59 Lawrence teachers whose contract was not renewed this year. Recently, on June 11, you reported on this. I would like to share with you and possibly your readers my experience teaching within the Lawrence Public School District. I have taught in Lawrence at […]
By Christine Morabito – August 2015 It is difficult to believe that a project which will permanently alter the environment, kill thousands of birds and bats, threaten marine life, trample the religious freedom of Native Americans, destroy the livelihood of fishermen and those in the tourist industry, risk oil spills, jeopardize public safety and public health, all […]
Last month the Massachusetts Legislature delayed a scheduled vote on a public records reform bill after getting pressure from the very politicians who will have to pay the price for concealing such public documents. The Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) initially opposed the public records reform bill, but after realizing there was too much momentum in […]
Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera said Wednesday that even though he opposes making Lawrence a sanctuary city, he will not veto the city council’s vote Tuesday to stop criminal illegal aliens from being deported when arrested by Lawrence Police. Rivera said in a long statement (below) that vetoing the council’s decision will only drag out the process of an […]
By: Joe D’Amore – July, 2015 Our state is reeling from spiraling crises in opioid addiction and the newest statistics confirm the need for a coordinated policy response from the Governor’s office. The state Department of Public Health revealed the depth of the crises by reporting 1,008 overdose deaths in 2014 which compares drastically to […]
By: Dr.Bharani Padmanabhan – July, 2015 Governor Baker’s task force recently issued its much awaited report which advocated a comprehensive approach to dealing with the state’s heroin epidemic. This report has much to appreciate within but also a few points that remain worrisome. For example the recommendation to stop asking patients in hospitals if their pain […]