TOM DUGGAN’S NOTEBOOK ~ June, 2020

TOM DUGGAN’S NOTEBOOK ~ June, 2020

ANDOVER FIREFIGHTER IS A RACIST BECAUSE … HE’S WHITE Last month an Andover Firefighter was put on leave after an altercation with one of his neighbors. The firefighter saw someone he did not recognize taking mail from one of his neighbor’s mailboxes and confronted her saying he did not know her thinking she was stealing […]

Media Hysteria and Scare Tactics Frighten a Nation – VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL

Media Hysteria and Scare Tactics Frighten a Nation – VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL

APRIL, 2020 Since the beginning of the coronavirus hysteria in this country the news media and even local officials have been only telling you part of the story. CNN, FOXNEWS and even local news networks have gone 24-7 with doom and gloom predictions about the virus, giving people the impression that if you get the […]

Gov. Charlie Baker Praises Career Tech Education Efforts at GLTS

Gov. Charlie Baker Praises Career Tech Education Efforts at GLTS

ANDOVER — Gov. Charlie Baker announced last week the launch of a statewide effort to expand career technical opportunities expanding on a model already successfully in place at Greater Lawrence Technical School (GLTS). Gov. Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and approximately 150 guests gathered at GLTS for the announcement by the Administration about the Career […]

My Predictions for 2020 ~ PAYING ATTENTION with TOM DUGGAN

My Predictions for 2020 ~ PAYING ATTENTION with TOM DUGGAN

Jan. 2020 Methuen Councilor Jim McCarty will get pulled over by State Troopers for speeding on Route 213 and blame it on a conspiracy by former Methuen Mayor Sharon Pollard and Police Chief Joe Solomon. Newly elected member of the Gr. Lawrence Technical School Committee, Stephani Infante will continue to appropriate white culture by whitening […]

Tom Duggan’s Notebook ~ HEROES and BOZOS OF 2019

Tom Duggan’s Notebook ~ HEROES and BOZOS OF 2019

VALLEY PATRIOT BASH The Valley Patriot’s 16th Anniversary BASH! will be held at the Firefighter’s Relief In (2 Market St. in Lawrence) on March 27th. Tickets will be available on Eventbrite.com. MARK YOUR CALENDAR. If you enjoy our news  coverage please consider making a $1 donation HEROES AND BOZOS OF 2019  HERO – SENATOR DIANA DIZOGLIO Newly […]

One Year After the Columbia Gas Disaster ~ VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL (9-19)

One Year After the Columbia Gas Disaster ~ VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL (9-19)

September, 2019 This month marks the one-year anniversary of the Columbia Gas explosions that rocked Lawrence, Andover and North Andover. For those who lived through it, it will be something we will never forget. Homes and businesses blew up, caught fire and the magnitude of the disaster eventually resulted in the evacuation of all of […]

TOM DUGGAN’S NOTEBOOK (JUNE, 2019)

TOM DUGGAN’S NOTEBOOK (JUNE, 2019)

CHANGES TO METHUEN’S CITY CHARTER The Methuen City Council and the charter commission are considering changes to the city charter this year (the document that governs how the city operates). Some of the proposed changes being discussed are minor tweaks to the document to make city government more effective and accountable. But, some of the […]

MONDAY: Senator Markey, Rep. Trahan, Merrimack Valley Leaders, and Rondon Family to Unveil New Federal Pipeline Safety Legislation Named After Leonel Rondon

MONDAY: Senator Markey, Rep. Trahan, Merrimack Valley Leaders, and Rondon Family to Unveil New Federal Pipeline Safety Legislation Named After Leonel Rondon

Rondon family will join lawmakers, first responders, community organizations in Lawrence as Senator Markey outlines new legislation in wake of Merrimack Valley natural gas disaster Washington (April 5, 2019) – Senator Edward J. Markey and Congresswoman Lori Trahan will hold a press conference on Monday, April 8 with Merrimack Valley elected officials, state legislators, first responders, and […]

Meet the New Restaurant Pop Up in Lawrence

Meet the New Restaurant Pop Up in Lawrence

We are getting ready to welcome a new food entrepreneur into our business incubator, the Revolving Test Kitchen (RTK). RTK is a collaboration between Lupoli Companies, the city of Lawrence, The Lawrence Partnership, Northern Essex Community College (NECC) and EParaTodos/EforAll. “The Revolving Test Kitchen was created to provide food entrepreneurs with a special opportunity to […]

Mayor Rivera Takes a Page from Lantigua Playbook ~ VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL (03/19)

Mayor Rivera Takes a Page from Lantigua Playbook ~ VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL (03/19)

03-19 When former Lawrence Mayor Willie Lantigua first took the corner office at Lawrence City Hall he fired a number of department heads whom he believed had campaigned against him. He wasn’t firing them for doing a bad job or committing a crime; it was all politics. Lantigua did not want anyone in his administration […]

All those EVIL Outsiders Bad Mouthing Lawrence! ~ PAYING ATTENTION with TOM DUGGAN

All those EVIL Outsiders Bad Mouthing Lawrence! ~ PAYING ATTENTION with TOM DUGGAN

March, 2019 There is no question that the City of Lawrence is the hub of the opioid epidemic in New England. There is also no question that while violent crime is drastically down over the last year, Lawrence is still a crime riddled city and a destination for heroin and other drug traffickers, users, and […]

Tom Dugga’s Notebook Feb. 2019

Tom Dugga’s Notebook Feb. 2019

IG REPORT HAS TONS OF ERRORS…. LIKELY, MAYBE, KIND OF One thing that popped out at me while digesting the IG report on corruption in Methuen was the fact that it never actually concluded anything. It didn’t really rule anything and contained words like “Likely illegal” and “may be” against the law. People who are […]

Encrypting Police Scanner in Lawrence is Wrong

Encrypting Police Scanner in Lawrence is Wrong

By: Rich Russell – January, 2019 On December 20, 2018, as Mayor Dan Rivera was having his annual Christmas party, a tragic event happened. The Lawrence Police Department ENCRYPTED all of their radio traffic including their routine dispatch transmissions. A new radio system was part of the City’s Capital Improvement Program. The upgrade was mentioned […]

Violent Crime Plummets in Lawrence

Violent Crime Plummets in Lawrence

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM OR A NEW NORMAL IN LAWRENCE?  It isn’t a sexy story, so you probably won’t read about it in the local daily newspaper, but violent crime in Lawrence is plummeting and the results are quite noticeable. Lawrence has a new Police Chief Roy Vasque who certainly can take credit for […]