Defending the First Amendment and protecting confidential sources PAYING ATTENTION! with Tom Duggan By: Tom Duggan, November, 2008 The most important function a newspaper or media outlet can perform is to serve as a watchdog for the way taxpayer’s dollars are spent in their community and expose information that public officials and those who do […]
Paying Attention! with Tom Duggan October, 2008 Last May the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) notified the North Andover Public Schools that their high school was being put on warning of losing its accreditation. But, it wasn’t until August 25th that North Andover Superintendent of Schools, Marini notified the public that the […]
Family of hero soldier killed in Iraq says Eagle~Tribune Reporter had to be thrown out of wake and funeral as well By: Tom Duggan – August, 2008 Slain soldier, Army Pfc. Alex Jimenez was captured by Al Qaeda and had been missing for 15 months before his remains were finally found in Iraq. “As hard as […]
By: Tom Duggan – May, 2008 July 29, 2008 — Following Police Chief John Romero’s issuing of the School Resource Officer (SRO) report detailing an increase in arrests in the District, Superintendent Wilfredo T. Laboy has issued a statement disputing the data in the report: The Lawrence Public Schools constantly monitors data pertaining to […]
By: Tom Duggan – June, 2008 The Valley Patriot was invited into the Selimiye Mosque in Methuen where an interview took place with several members, including Shaban, Yusef and Hussein. More than 250 families are members and worship at the Selimiye Mosque on Oakland Avenue in Methuen. Most are from Turkey and hail from Methuen […]
PAYING ATTENTION! with Tom Duggan By: Tom Duggan – May, 2008 While the politicians and the American people debate about what to do with illegal immigrants and whether or not to give them a pathway to citizenship, nobody seems to be doing anything to help the people who followed the law, did the right […]
PAYING ATTENTION WITH TOM DUGGAN SUNDAY, APRIL 13, 2008 It doesn’t take much courage to come out and take a stand on an important public issue after that issue has been decided upon and concluded in a court of law. .. years after other newspapers have discussed and debated the issue a hundred different […]
PAYING ATTENTION! with TOM DUGGAN By: Tom Duggan – February, 2008 LAWRENCE, MA – Last month I wrote about the $610,000 lawsuit settled by the City of Lawrence with former Assistant City Clerk Jenniffer Padellaro. (Blanchette was Absolutely Right on Padellaro Lawsuit) Padellaro had been on worker’s compensation after leaving the position because she was exposed […]
VALLEY PATRIOT EXCLUSIVE! By: Tom Duggan – January, 2008 The North Andover School Committee is suing their former acting Superintendent Richard Bergeron for illegally giving himself a $4,484.34 raise without school committee approval. A complaint filed in Lawrence District Court claims that Bergeron ordered a payroll clerk to put the additional money in […]
Tom Duggan – December, 2007 Last month, my 7th grade daughter at the North Andover Middle School came home from school and said that she learned in her Spanish class how the leader of Venezuela (Hugo Chavez) was a “good guy” for giving cheap oil to poor people here in the US. She also said […]
By:Tom Duggan – October, 2007 District “A” – Council president survives … barely Lawrence city council president Patrick Blanchette rightly brags that his family name has been on the ballot in the Prospect Hill section of Lawrence for more than 25 years. However, the embattled District “A” councilor nearly lost his seat on […]
PAYING ATTENTION! With TOM DUGGAN By; Tom Duggan – September, April, 2007 Did anyone else notice in the Alabama Eagle~Tribune’s story on Ethics among elected officials on Sunday quoted Lawrence Council President Patrick Blanchette without mentioning that he had his city council office renovated out of the DPW budget, all the while he was […]
Ansin Offers Condo Buyers a Refund Most Refuse & Stick with Monarch Project In the face of adversity, developer’s commitment to sustainable business practices goes beyond environmental concerns By: Tom Duggan (09/21/07) LAWRENCE, MA – The Eagle~Tribune’s bogus hit piece (story here) on sustainable developer Bob Ansin’s $200 million “Monarch on the Merrimack” project (Valley Patriot […]
Eagle~Tribune Hit Piece Costs Ansin $40 Million PART 1 WEB EXTRA By: Tom Duggan (09/20/07) An Exclusive Interview with Bob Ansin (Part 1) Sustainable developer Bob Ansin has pumped $25 million dollars of his own money into the Monarch on the Merrimack project (MIRACLE ON MERRIMACK ST) to revitalize the old Wood Mill on […]
PAYING ATTENTION EXTRA! (video here) By: Tom Duggan – August 28, 2007 Lawrence Mayor Michael Sullivan marched into city hall Thursday night to a packed city council chambers. Hundreds of police and firefighters crowded the hall bearing signs that chastised the city council for trying to cut public safety in the city. Mayor Sullivan took […]