The Valley Patriot newspaper has announced the nominees for the 2016 Valley Patriot BASH Awards. Winners will be announced at the Valley Patriot’s 12th Anniversary BASH ceremony on March 25th at the Firefighter’s Relief In, 1 Market St in Lawrence at 7PM. (Get Tickets HERE) OFFICER TOM DUGGAN SR. LAW ENFORCEMENT AWARD On March 16, 1990, Lawrence Police Officer […]
Join us as We Celebrate The Valley Patriot’s 12th Anniversary! TICKETS ARE $30 in Adv. $40 at the Door * VETERANS AND ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY ARE FREE ORDER TICKETS ON-LINE HERE or mail your check to The Valley Patriot, PO BOX 453, North Andover, MA 01845 March 25th, 6PM @ The Relief’s In, 1 Market St. Lawrence, MA […]
RELATED STORIES The Massachusetts State Senate unanimously passed sweeping reforms of the state’s impotent public records law last month. Senate Bill 2120, “An Act Improving the Administration and Enforcement of Public Records Law”. The law will make sweeping changes to MGL Ch. 66, which currently states that public agencies and municipalities must turn over public […]
HEROES – REP. DIANA DIZOGLIO (Methuen) and STATE SENATOR KATY IVES (Newburyport). Both DiZoglio and Ives worked tirelessly to get my public records bill a fair hearing in sub committees, made sure they were voted out of those committees favorably, held strong on penalties for law breakers, and then forced a full vote in the […]
By: Tom Duggan – Dec. 2015 Serving more than 1,500 meals per month and having room to shelter only 50 people per night, the Daybreak Homeless Shelter in Lawrence is in severe need of additional funding as well as a new facility. According to Psychological Center CEO, Carina Pappalardo, the Daybreak Shelter serves 1,600 homeless […]
By: Maria Fiato. Christine Ryan, and Tom Duggan Nov. 23, 2015 MASSACHUSETTS – After nearly five years of trying to get the Massachusetts legislature to reform the state’s impotent public records law, Valley Patriot publisher Tom Duggan says that they have made a good first step towards holding public officials accountable for not turning over […]
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 […]