By: Jeff Katz – February, 2012 It is a very rare occasion when I am surprised by a politician’s action. At this point in my life, I’d like to think I’ve seen it all. Growing up in Philadelphia, where we routinely had 75% or higher voter turnout from cemeteries, I learned that death did […]
By: Alex Talcott – November, 2011 Hanover, NH – Long before Republican voters and the media class turned blue holding their breath for a white-knight 2012 presidential candidate, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg publicly decided against a run in late 2010. The business and financial television network bearing his name broadcasted a presidential […]
VALLEY PATRIOT OF THE MONTH By: Helen Mooradkanian – September, 2011 Out of the darkness, engines roaring, hundreds of American B-17 Flying Fortresses took off March 20, 1944, in World War II, from Deenethorpe, England. Destination: Frankfurt. Mission: destroy production of dreaded Luftwaffe FW-190 fighter planes. At 30,000 feet, under heavily overcast skies and […]
By: Jamison Tomasek – September, 2011 Last month’s article detailed irregularities in the list of Lawrence registered voters. On the official voter list hundreds of voters were registered two or three times, with the repeating names typically spelling errors or maiden names.In any circumstance this would be troubling, as one of the primary responsibilities […]
Last month’s article detailed irregularities in the list of Lawrence registered voters. On the official voter list hundreds of voters were registered two or three times, with the repeating names typically spelling errors or maiden names.In any circumstance this would be troubling, as one of the primary responsibilities of the City Clerk’s Office is to […]
VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL August, 2o11 The number of underhanded tactics employed by Lawrence Mayor Willie Lantigua and his supporters against the efforts to gather signatures for his recall were staggering. And they weren’t shy about it. They even bragged about it on Facebook. On the pro- Lantigua webpage Yo No Firma (which means DO NOT SIGN), Lantigua supporters attacked […]
By: Christine Morabito (June, 2011) Merrimack Valley Tea Party After we elected our first black president, I recall Rush Limbaugh correcting a caller who predicted that henceforth, liberals would finally stop playing the race card. Rush disagreed, arguing that race relations would worsen, not improve. In Limbaugh’s opinion, you would now be unable […]
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 […]
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 – March, 2011 Last month North Andover Selectman Rick Nardella called into the Paying Attention! radio program with Tom Duggan on WHAV.NET to discuss his campaign for reelectoin on the board. He faces two challengers Joe E. Smith and Don Stewart, (and one incumbent): Tracy Watson .Two will get elected […]
February, 2011 Valley Patriot readers will recall that last summer, residents living near the Shawsheen River reported the smell of raw sewage and a foul, cloudy discharge coming from a stormwater drain behind the South Lawrence East School. In May of last year, The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent a letter to Lawrence DPW Director […]
VALLEY PATRIOT OF THE MONTH By: Gary Mannion – September, 2010 LOWELL – Greg Page sat on his couch waiting to leave for Newark International Airport to catch his plane to San Francisco; he was about to embark on his senior year at Stanford University. Whatever it was that seemed important to him as […]
Corruption 101: Willie Lantigua, Lenny Degnan and Patrick Blanhette, By: Robert O’Koniewski, Esq.- June, 2010 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts comprises 351 cities and towns. From the Berkshires to the Cape, 350 communities and their leaders play by the rules and actually follow the laws as written. Then there is Lawrence, where apparently no rules or […]
Hero In Our Midst By: Gary Manion – April, 2010 In August of 1942, Dominic Scarpignato did what most boys his age were doing; he enlisted in the Navy. Almost a year after Pearl Harbor, boys like Dominic flocked to serve their country without a second thought. At 19 years of age, Dominic left […]