By: Senator Katy Ives – August, 2015 The Massachusetts State Senate debated the Fiscal Year 2016 state budget last month, where I advocated for key provisions that will be beneficial to the constituents of my district. The items below are a number of the district-specific priorities included in the final budget: Fixing the MBTA Over […]
By: State Senator Kathleen O’Connor Ives July, 2015 In June, I attended the Methuen City Council’s special meeting where Kinder Morgan, a Houston-based energy infrastructure company, presented their plan for a proposed natural gas pipeline that would travel through Methuen, Massachusetts. I joined Representative Linda Dean Campbell and concerned residents to speak during the public […]
By: Bharani Padmanabhan – July 3, 2015 Valley Patriot readers may be familiar with the 17 month long ordeal suffered by young Justina Pelletier at the hands of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) and the huge effort it took from 100,000 ordinary people from across this great land who came together to […]
By: John MacDonald – June, 2015 This past Memorial Day weekend I traveled down to a campground in Rhode Island. It’s a place called Holiday Acres and it has a lot of seasonal campers year round and, of course, many weekenders during weekends in the summer. Those of us who have made the decision and […]
By: State Senator Katy Ives – June, 2015 Last week, I testified on a bill I filed, S.1700, An Act Relative to Obtaining Information, before the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight. This bill promotes access to information, available to all, within a reasonable time frame and for residents to have recourse in […]
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 […]
By: State Senator Ives – April, 2015 The Massachusetts State Senate organized eight days throughout the winter to host Commonwealth Conversations across the state, comprised of roundtables, forums and town hall-style meetings to hear from residents and stakeholders–gathering input on policy and budget priorities. These forums are part of an effort to make government even […]
By: Kathleen O’Connor Ives – March, 2015 The Crow Lane Landfill in Newburyport has long been the source of environmental and public safety concerns since the process of closing and capping the landfill began nearly fourteen years ago. Closure remains unfinished to date. In that time, abutters of the landfill have been subjected to ongoing […]
FIRST AMENDMENT AWARD WINNER JIM LYONS The Valley Patriot newspaper bestowed its’ highest honor Friday to Andover State Rep. Jim Lyons (R) of Andover. Lyons received the Valley Patriot newspaper’s 1st Amendment Award for his dedication to the releasing of public documents to the public in the face of stonewalling by government officials. Lyons is […]
State Senators Kathleen O’Connor Ives and Bruce Tarr will be hosting their Senate colleagues in North Andover on Monday, February 23, 4:00 – 5:15 pm to attend a Commonwealth Conversation focused on: “Challenges and Opportunities in the Small Business Community” at the Good Day Cafe, 19 High Street, North Andover. The Massachusetts State Senate has […]
Last week, State Senator Kathleen O’Connor Ives was appointed as the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Businesses. “This is a great opportunity to oversee meaningful legislation that will impact my district. I look forward to serving in this capacity in the new legislative term, knowing that small businesses play a […]
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 […]
By: Paul Murano – December, 2014 As I witnessed a bit of the mayhem of protesting the latest fatal police action within the black community – the rioting, the peaceful marching, and the sitting on the nation’s highways – I noticed this sign held by a protester: “Black Lives Matter”. Instead of thinking about whether […]
By: Senator Kathleen O’Connor Ives September, 2014 There are several pieces of legislation I supported and co-sponsored, which have been signed into law by the Governor and will assist the disabled community and their families in Massachusetts. These measures will expand employment opportunities, health care coverage and ensure these residents are being cared for in […]
By: Senator Kathleen O’Connor Ives – August, 2014 July is one of the busiest months in the legislature because the legislative session comes to a close on July 31, 2014. As such, the Senate acted on a number of notable pieces of legislation. S. 2337 An Act Relative to Unsolicited Loans This bill was one […]