The City of Methuen is in a serious crisis. Not just a funding crisis but a management crisis, a leadership crisis and most frightening a structural crisis as a municipality.First, we had the previous city council which was so corrupt and incompetent that it will take a decade or more to rectify the financial and […]
By: Tom Duggan – July. 2017 This is the third part of our series on the changes in the Boxford Police Department. Part I Part II For this segment, we interviewed Police Chief James Riter on about our previous reports and where he sees the department going under his new leadership. “When I took over I […]
By: Tom Duggan – July 8, 2017 OCPF-contributions maldonado OCPF-expenditures maldonado According to The Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance, (OCPF) an enforcement arm of the Secretary of State’s Office, Lawrence City Councilor Modesto Maldonado has taken more than $2,410 in campaign contributions that have not been accounted for. Maldonado is running for mayor […]
By: DJ DEEB – June, 2017 At our May 22nd Methuen School Committee meeting, members of the committee voted to approve an operating budget for fiscal year 2018 of $72 million, a decrease of 2% from last year’s operating budget of $73.47 million. This is a positive development given the constraints of our city, but […]
Defendants in Discrimination Case Say They May Be Filing a Defamation Suit Against Fellow Officer By: Tom Duggan – 4-26-17 The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) has ruled in favor of Lawrence Police in a discrimination suit filed by embattled Lawrence Police Officer William Green. Green accused the Lawrence Police Department, and in particular Superior […]
By: Tom Duggan, January, 016 For the last few months, The Valley Patriot has been sifting through dozens of complaints about the police chief and the inner workings of the Boxford Police Department. In any case where accusations are made against a public official, we requested public records, interview people involved, go to the town […]
HEROES AND BOZOS OF 2016 HERO CHARLIE BAKER – One of the most important things that happened in Massachusetts this year was the passage of a new public records law that actually holds public officials accountable for concealing public documents. When Charlie Baker was running for the governor he said on my radio show that […]
NEWBURY, MA – Newbury resident and wounded Iraqi war vet, Donald Jarvis, says he is tired of waiting for the VA or anyone else in the government to do something about veterans dying while waiting for health care. “We served our country, we did what was asked of us, and in return we were promised […]
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 […]
Methuen State Representative Diana DiZoglio and Cambridge Doctor Bharani Padmanabhan were both bestowed one of the highest honors by The Valley Patriot newspaper last month, when they were each given the newspaper’s First Amendment Award. Each year, The Valley Patriot’s 1st Amendment award is given to two individuals who show with their actions that […]
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 […]
By: Senator Kathleen Ives Dec. 2015 The Massachusetts Senate recently completed the first year of a two-year legislative session by sending to the governor’s desk legislation for increased penalties for trafficking fentanyl, and five bills related to veterans. To further address the health crisis of opiate abuse in the Commonwealth, the legislature passed House Bill […]
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 […]
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, July 31, 2015 The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) has granted a hearing to former members of the Salisbury Board of Health, after Town Manager Harrington fired the entire board for trying to expose corruption, conflicts of interest, fraud, “apparent government waste” and retaliation against them as “whistleblowers”. The suit was filed […]