WHO’S IN AND WHO’S OUT IN CITY COUNCIL AND SCHOOL COMMITTEE RACES Candidates wishing to have their names appear on the September ballot for municipal elections had until close of business on Tuesday to turn in the required number of signatures. The Lawrence City Council is made up of nine members. Six members of the […]
Jan. 7, 2015 It’s his last day as Governor of Massachusetts and Deval Patrick is making his ceremonial exit from The State House for the last time. He may not have noticed, but if he had looked up from his cheering supporters on his way out the door he might have recognized Lawrence’s favorite […]
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 […]
Kathy Runge – June, 2014 Hi guys! The Valley Patriot decided to suspend the rules and I’m writing the column this month. Yes folks, it’s as easy as that; suspend the rules and anything goes. More on suspending the rules later. First up is important news affecting all renters and landlords in Lawrence. Renters and […]
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 […]
$66K LAST MINUTE CASHOUT FOR LANTIGUA CRONIES By: Tom Duggan – February, 2014 Four Lawrence city workers took home checks totaling more than $66,000 for unused sick and vacation time on their way out the door, as part of the defeated Lantigua administration. (See documents at bottom of page). The City of Lawrence paid out […]
By: Tom Duggan – January, 2014 Lawrence’s new Mayor, Dan Rivera, wasted no time making personnel changes in Lawrence City Hall, firing the City Comptroller David Camasso on his first day, and telling the Valley Patriot in an exclusive interview that he also plans to fire City Clerk William Maloney. Maloney’s firing must be […]
Rivera Hires Three Assistants, Neighborhood Planner and Business Development Director By: Tom Duggan – January 3, 2014 LAWRENCE – Less than twenty four hours after taking office as the new Mayor of Lawrence, Dan Rivera has started naming new members of his administration and removing The Valley Patriot has learned that on Friday, Lawrence’s City […]
By: Peter Larocque – December 2013 Almost four years ago at the inauguration and installation of Mayor William Lantigua which had the atmosphere of a coronation of a king, the posture and disposition of his administration was unveiled. Then, State Representative Lantigua entered the auditorium from the back and walked through the crowd of loyal […]
December, 2013 Right to the bitter end, Lawrence Mayor Willie Lantigua went down swinging as he told reporters on the day he conceded that if he were white, he would be on the cover of Forbes or Money magazine for his financial achievements as mayor. “Those who are not blind of conscience, as I always […]
We started off the year of 2013 losing our good friend and colleague, Ronnie Ford of Methuen. We missed him all year and it would be impossible to start a “year in review” without remembering Ronnie and his family. AUDITOR SUZANNE BUMP & ALL THOSE MISSING EBT CARDS Massachusetts State Auditor Suzanne Bump conducted an […]
By: Tom Duggan – August 13, 2013 State Representative Marcos Devers says he wants to be the next mayor of Lawrence and given the chance, will start to reverse what says are the “failures” of the current Mayor Willie Lantigua. “I am running against him because we are disappointed, everybody is disappointed,” Devers told the […]
By: Tom Duggan – June 2013 The DiAdamo and DiAdamo Law Firm has been paid millions of dollars over the last ten years representing the City of Lawrence on worker’s compensation claims, rental payments made to the DiAdamos for the Lawrence School Department Central Offices on Essex Street, payments made for their representation of the […]
By: Tom Duggan While the Democrat leadership on Beacon Hill has blocked any attempt by Republican Legislators to change the Massachusetts Public Records Law (M.G.L. Ch. 66), a revolt among Democrats has caused a tidal wave to build in both the House and the Senate where rank and file members of both parties are calling […]