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: State Rep. Linda Dean Campbell June, 2015 Massachusetts gets an F grade for access to public records according to some very respected public interest groups. A number of bills have been filed to change this including legislation filed by Senator Ives and co-sponsored by both Representative DiZoglio and myself. As a member of the […]
PUBLIC RECORDS SIDENOTES By now you know I’m in a fight to change the state’s fake public records law. One of the things not really discussed in the many stories this month about that fight is the MMA, or the Massachusetts Municipal Association. This is a group that opposes putting penalties on public officials who […]
Listen to or Download Hour 1: Methuen Mayor Steve Zanni talks about running for reelection, the new turf at Nicholson Stadium, and more. Listen to or Download Hour 2: State Senator Katy Ives talks about her transparency bill, S-1700 which will penalize public officials who refuse to comply with the state’s public records law. Ives also […]
BOSTON- May 18, 2015 Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester), flanked by members of the Senate Republican Caucus, called for strong reforms of the ailing MBTA transit system at a State House press conference today. Citing years of troubles stemming from lax fiscal controls and poor management practices, the entire membership of the State Senate […]
By: Tom Duggan – April, 2015 Embattled Salisbury Town Manager Neil Harrington has been ordered by Secretary of State Bill Galvin’s office (right)to turn over public documents he has been concealing from the taxpayers for months. Harrington was requested by Salisbury residents Joyce and Gracemarie Tomaselli, to turn over a certified copy of the vote […]
By: State Rep Linda Dean Campbell – April, 2015 Constituents and members of the press often run into significant roadblocks trying to obtain public records. These include excessive wait times and excessive fees charged which prove to be an insurmountable barrier for constituents attempting to access government publications and records which are public property. A […]
Valley Patriot columnists John MacDonald of Lowell and Kathy Runge from Lawrence were honored with The Valley Patriot’s Editor’s Choice Award. John MacDonald was presented his award by Lowell Mayor Rodney Elliott for his columns on police, public safety and using his column to rally our readers to a pro-police rally in Lowell last January. […]
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 […]
By Senator Katy Ives – February, 2015 As I begin my second term as State Senator and a new two-year legislative session, I have filed a cross section of bills that will directly benefit constituents, municipalities and small businesses in my district. I filed 33 bills in total and also co-sponsored a number of important […]
By: Kathleen O’Connor Ives – January, 2015 In my first legislative session we passed a number of significant laws, including requiring nursing homes, rest homes, or other long term care facilities to first obtain informed, written consent if psychotropic medications are to be administered, along with a description of the side effects. We also passed […]
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 […]
CHANNEL 5 DEBATE – Of all the debates this political season, Channel 5’s debate between Charlie Baker and Martha Coakley was by far the worst. It was so awful and apparently biased that I actually had to go back and watch it twice. It was like a train wreck you can’t look away from. […]
By: Tom Duggan, November 3, 2014 While The Valley Patriot newspaper has a policy against endorsing candidates, each member of our editorial board is free to endorse or make public who we are voting for. Here are my personal picks for the 2014 election season and why. Governor Charlie Baker, Republican As a right […]
By: Tom Duggan – October, 2014 14th Essex District State Representative Diana DiZoglio is seeking her second term in the legislature. She says that what she is most proud of is co-sponsoring a bill to put photo ID on EBT (welfare) cards. “It’s really important to have photo ID on EBT cards because it helps […]