By Tom Duggan – June, 2014 Lawrence City Councilor Roger Twomey is running for state representative as a Republican making this a three way race among himself, incumbent Marcos Devers (Democrat) and embattled former Mayor, Willie Lantigua (Independent). Some say Twomey is only in the race to divide the anti-Lantigua vote and help the […]
MA DEMOCRATS PATHETIC LACK OF LEADERSHIP Massachusetts is a one party state. Democrats hold every executive elected state office from Governor all the way down to State Auditor. Democrats also control both the State Senate and the House of Representatives. Yet with 133 children missing from DCF care (the Department of Children and Families), with […]
Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera has come into office with a great deal of good will from the public and the media. He has made some critical moves in his first few months to make Lawrence’s city government more efficient. We applaud that. But, Rivera recently cut fire protection in Lawrence, temporarily closing stations and shutting […]
By: Peter Larocque – April, 2014 This admonition is for all the voters in the 2nd Essex and Middlesex Districts, meaning Andover, Tewksbury, Dracut and Lawrence. You are being given an opportunity for a do over. Coming to a voting booth near you in November of 2014 is a chance to put Alex Vispoli, candidate […]
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR4PzEKaC0M &w=380&h=320] State Senator Kathleen O’Connor Ives (D-Newburyport) has received the first ever Valley Patriot 1st Amendment Award at the newspaper’s tenth anniversary BASH last month. The 1st Amendment award is given to individuals who show with their actions that they value the 1st Amendment to the Constitution and are willing to fight for it. […]
VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL For years we have called for investigations into what State Rep. Jim Lyons called the “criminal enterprise” of the Lantigua Administration in Lawrence. For years we have detailed in this newspaper the myriad of questionable and sometimes blatant criminal actions of those on the taxpayers dime at Lawrence City Hall. Now, Lantigua’s […]
By Tom Duggan – April 4, 2014 Attorney Carmine DiAdamo is suing the City of Lawrence for $5MIL, after Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera made it clear to him that the City of Lawrence was no longer interested in continuing the lease of his building at 255 Essex Street. DiAdamo’s downtown building has housed the Lawrence […]
Current and Former Political Officials Ask Judge for Leniency at Degnan Sentencing Hearing By: Tom Duggan: April 3, 2014 Willie Lantigua’s former Chief of Staff Lenny Degnan will pay a fine of $10,000 and serve 18 months in the Middleton House of Corrections for his role in soliciting a bribe from Allied Waste, the company that contracts […]
All major mayoral fundraising and expenditure records, which former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino held during his 21 years as mayor, were eclipsed during the 2013 election, according to a study of campaign finance reports filed by mayoral finalists. The 63 mayoral candidates in 2013 reported total expenditures of $8.8 million and receipts of $8.5 million […]
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: 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 […]
March 16, 2014 The days of public officials refusing to comply with the state’s public records law are almost over. So says State Senator Kathleen O’Connor Ives (D), Newburyport who told the Valley Patriot on Wednesday that a Massachusetts joint House and Senate Committee on Public Administration has given a favorable recommendation to House Bill H2846, an […]
By: Peter Larocque – February 2014 You probably have heard of some movies titles like, “The Return of Batman” or “Superman Returns”, well just like these, State Senator Barry Finegold has returned! You may be asking where he went. I do not know the answer to that but what I do know is that for […]
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD OR LISTEN TO HOUR 1 CLICK TO DOWNLOAD OR LISTEN TO HOUR 2 Starting the show off Tom was a bit lethargic after the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade fundraiser last night but that didn’t stop the usual hilarity that is Tom’s take on things to dominate the show. Tom Took a few […]
By: Peter Larocque – January, 2014 Just because you can, doesn’t necessarily mean that you should unless there is undisputed cause to do so! I am of the opinion that no mayor should mess with the leadership infrastructure within a Public Safety Department like was performed in the City of Lawrence four years ago. Shortly […]