HARRINGTON SOFTENS – After years of complaints from residents about the way the Town of Salisbury charges for sewer user fees based on “flat fee” per unit, Town Manager Neil Harrington seems to be coming around on the idea of charging for sewer user fees based on their actual metered water usage instead of […]
PAYING ATTENTION ON-LINE EXTRA This week the Newburyport Daily News (owned by the Eagle ~Tribune, headquartered in Alabama) ran a hit piece on Salisbury Selectman candidate Gil Medeiros being fired 8 years ago from his job at the Essex County Sheriff’s Department. And, while the Daily news seems to have finally figured out how […]
WANT YOUR EVENT OR ORGANIZATION LISTED IN THE NOTEBOOK? FOR $150 WE WILL PUBLISH YOUR NOTICE, EVENT, ETC. (150 word max) EDITION #150 – In case you didn’t notice the small number at the top of page one, this is our 150th edition of The Valley Patriot. While we were all celebrating the newspaper’s 12th […]
Each year The Valley Patriot gives awards in three categories to people who volunteer, contribute, or pitch in during the many special projects and charities the newspaper is involved with throughout the year. The three categories of awards are: The Valley Patriot Goodwill Ambassador Award, The Valley Patriot President’s Award, and The Valley Patriot Editor’s […]
JUST ONE MAN’S OPINION On September 14, 2015 the Tomasellis went before the Salisbury Board of Selectmen/Sewer Commissioners and asked them to instruct attorneys for the town to tell the courts, that the Tomasellis were not responsible to pay for this sewer betterment. They did not own the property in 1982 when the assessment was […]
IT’S NICE TO BE NICE… OR IS IT? THE NICE GUY CANDIDATE Salisbury Selectman Chuck Takesian is a nice guy, isn’t he? Everybody loves Chuck. It’s hard to find anyone with a bad word to say about him. When he dies people will give the old cliché that “everybody loved him, nobody had a […]
By: Tom Duggan – September 2015 MORE ON SALISBURY Salisbury beach residents say they are fed up with Town Manager Neil Harrington and the board of selectmen ignoring their complaints about the town overcharging for sewer and water. For those who only have property occupied at the beach during the summer, homeowners are charged […]
By: Tom Duggan – July, 2015 Salisbury Town Manager Neil Harrington has once again violated state laws governing public records. This time, laws governing the retention of public records as part of a lawsuit. The lawsuit in question was filed by the Tomaselli sisters. Harrington is claiming that permanent documents being sought by Gracemarie and […]
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 […]
DOWNLOAD OR LISTEN TO HOUR 1 DOWNLOAD OR LISTEN TO HOUR 2 In the first hour Tom and Paul started the show talking about BAD customer service at #Travelocity, The Tea Party, North Andover election results and the disgraceful low turnout in the election, elected officials who don’t reach out to the press, the Tea […]
BOZO OF THE YEAR – LENNY DEGNAN – It takes a lot to get bozo of the year but Lenny Degnan, (former Chief of Staff for Lawrence Mayor Willie Lantigua) has managed to do just that. Degnan was convicted of fraud and corruption earlier this year as the result of his role […]
By: Tom Duggan – December, 2014 SALISBURY, MA – For the last year and a half The Valley Patriot has been investigating the way the Town of Salisbury charges rate payers for construction projects – sewer betterments, sewer user fees, water fees, taxes on property, and exactly how much tax and at what rate payers were […]
IN YOUR CORNER WITH KATY IVES By: Senator Kathleen O’Connor Ives October, 2014 I recently invited Undersecretary of Environmental Affairs, Martin Suuberg, to join me and Representative Michael Costello to visit Salisbury Beach and learn about ongoing and potential revitalization opportunities at Salisbury Beach Center. Town Manager Neil Harrington, Chairman of the Board of […]
BOSTON PRESS FAKES POLL NUMBERS IN TIERNEY RACE I declare shenanigans! Before the September 9th primary elections in MA the Boston Globe and the Boston media was so desperate to inflate congressional candidate Seth Moulten’s numbers against John Tierney that they released a bogus poll a week before the election showing Tierney at 47% and […]
SALISBURY FREE CASH? – Why would Town Manager Neil Harrington and Sewer Commissioner/Selectmen transfer $460,000 from the Sewer Enterprise Fund (SEF) – and name it “free cash” when it absolutely is not free cash? On May 19th voters spoke up at Town Meeting saying Salisbury had special “Step 3” Federal Grant conditions in order to […]