PERISOCOPE – With the advance of technology, The Valley Patriot is now using a cell phone application called Periscope to do live video interviews online. On Election Day, we were able to get out to Lawrence and Methuen to interview the candidates and some of their supporters. As soon as we got LIVE on the […]
By: Oscar Camargo – Sept., 2015 The opiate crisis in the Valley has had a chilling effect on the whole community. The town of Andover alone has laid seven of its citizens to rest – several of them children. Elected leaders, school officials, and families seem paralyzed by a sense of uncertainty. For me, this […]
METHUEN, MA – A New Doctors Express Urgent Care Center opened at 380R Merrimack Street in Methuen last month, drawing local movers and shakers in the Valley, from state representatives and city councilors, to the mayor of another community as well as Governor Charlie Baker’s Secretary of Housing and Economic Development, Jay Ash. (PHOTO […]
The president of a local union has come forward saying he and his organization are going to bankroll the recall petition against Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera to have Rivera removed from office. A recall effort is underway in the city by undertaker Louis Farrah and his group Mike Gagliardi, head of Laborers Union Local 175 in Methuen, […]
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 […]
By: Tom Duggan – August 4, 2015 In order for any candidate for public office to have their name appear on the ballot at election time, they must get nomination signatures by voters in their respective districts. Voters in each city in Massachusetts will hold primary elections in September and final elections in November of […]
July, 2015 When Christy Rivera and her friend Lisa Henshall called into Valley Patriot publisher Tom Duggan’s radio show on 980WCAP a few weeks ago, they had no idea the outpouring of support they would get in their efforts to raise money for a headstone for Rivera’s sister, Michelle Pimentel. Pimentel was murdered by her […]
July 16, 2015 BOSTON – Next Wednesday, the state’s public records law will be one step closer to being a real law with real penalties, after forty years of being merely a suggestion for public officials to turn over public documents when requested. MGL Ch. 66 mandates that public agencies turn over public documents within ten […]
By: Bharani Padmanabhan – June, 2015 This month, Valley Patriot Publisher Tom Duggan was front and center in this state’s media environment for a couple of days. Most media people referred to him by name except for Dan Kennedy who refused to do so while using Tom’s testimony to support the new public records bill. Tom had […]
By: State Rep. Linda Dean Campbell June, 2015 Massachusetts gets an F grade for access to public records according to some very respected public interest groups. A number of bills have been filed to change this including legislation filed by Senator Ives and co-sponsored by both Representative DiZoglio and myself. As a member of the […]
PUBLIC RECORDS SIDENOTES By now you know I’m in a fight to change the state’s fake public records law. One of the things not really discussed in the many stories this month about that fight is the MMA, or the Massachusetts Municipal Association. This is a group that opposes putting penalties on public officials who […]
Massachusetts Legislators, members of the media and 1st amendment advocates testified last month before a joint House and Senate committee on Beacon Hill, asking legislators to add penalties to the state’s fake public records law. The law, MGL Ch. 66, states that the keeper of records in any municipality or public agency must turn over public […]
Hosts DiZoglio for Civic Education Day at North Andover Middle School Patrick McGravey, head of the social studies department at North Andover Middle School, was recently awarded the 2015 C-SPAN Teaching Fellowship, an honor presented to just three educators across the nation. C-SPAN’s Fellowship program recognizes educators who demonstrate successful methods of integrating C-SPAN’s […]
June 1, 2015 LAWRENCE — Residents looking for help or support from their state senator or state representatives can now find it at City Hall. The Lawrence delegation has opened a local office at Lawrence City Hall, 200 Common St., Mayor DanielRivera and the city’s state delegation announced. The office – Room 203 on the […]
AUDIO: Tom Duggan on Afternoon LIVE discusses the state’s impotent Public Records law and how it affects you. (VIDEO of Duggan’s testimony below at 41 MIN mark) Valley Patriot publisher Tom Duggan testified before a sub committee of the Massachusetts State Legislature in favor of a bill he wrote S1700 that would finally put teeth into […]