By; Tom Duggan May, 2007 When Lawrence resident David Camasso was being interrogated by members of the Lawrence City Council last month, one issue was repeatedly brought up for Camasso to address: If hired as comptroller, would Camasso bow down to political pressure when it came to approving expenditures he believed were excessive, illegal […]
By: Tom Duggan – May 7, 2007 When I thought of my daughter Hanna advancing from 5th grade at the Thomson School to 6th grade at the North Andover Middle School (NAMS), the last thing I was thinking about was grade inflation. I was more concerned about issues relating to the transition, like bullying, […]
By: Tom Duggan – March, 2007 North Andover School Committee Chairman Al Perry has been seen driving around town in a new 2007 Cadillac Escalade with New Hampshire license plates. This week he admitted that he registered his new car in the state of New Hampshire, explaining that, “after March, I plan to spend much […]
PAYING ATTENTION! WITH TOM DUGGAN By Tom Duggan, February, 2007 Maybe the North Andover School Committee really isn’t incompetent. Perhaps it is completely capable of running the schools efficiently and just refuses to do so. Whatever the case, an education audit released last month on the condition of the North Andover school system showed that […]
By: Tom Duggan – February, 2007 For North Andover resident Al Movsesian, volunteering a day of his time at the old Lucent Technologies building on Rt. 125is a labor of love. With 150,000 square feet of warehouse space made available by Orit Goldstein, Movsesian and dozens of other volunteers for the International Medical […]
By: Tom Duggan – February, 2007 NORTH ANDOVER – At a recent meeting of the Board of Selectmen, where the town’s capital improvement plan was being discussed, tax and spend “school advocate” Cindy Jalbert stood before the board whining about how the town needs a Prop. 2 1/2 Override and how her Committee on Capital […]
Defends Grant Spending, Says Eagle~Tribune Attacks on Him and Dept. Motivated by “Racism Against Arab-Americans” By: Tom Duggan – February, 2007 Methuen Police Chief Joe Solomon said in an exclusive interview with The Valley Patriot this week that federal grant money from the Department of Justice for thecity’s Weed & Seed program was spent legally […]
By: Tom Duggan – January, 2007 While other communities are making cuts in their budgets and forcing some layoffs, Lawrence continues to spend on unnecessary items. Recently, DPW spent its time, resources and money to remodel and make improvements to the City Council chambers and the City Council office floors at […]
PAYING ATTENTION! WITH TOM DUGGAN By: Tom Duggan – January, 2007 Over the last several months, we have heard members of the Lawrence City Council complain about wasteful city spending while at the same time voicing strong opposition to raising property taxes up to the Proposition 2 1/2 levy limit. While I agree that […]
By: Tom Duggan – January 2007 Lawrence City Council President Patrick Blanchette has been on a mission for the last few months. His mission: create a firestorm around Budget and Finance Director John Griffin so that he either quits or gets fired, create a firestorm around Caroline Ganley (who has left) and Planning Director […]
PAYING ATTENTION WITH TOM DUGGAN By: Tom Duggan – December, 2006 The grandstanding, self praise and speech-making at Lawrence City Council meetings have got to stop! Too often these meetings go on for hours with no end in sight because certain councilors have a deep personal need to speak on every single issue whether […]
PAYING ATTENTION! With TOM DUGGAN By: Tom Duggan – November, 2006 BACKGROUND….. Upon learning that Deval Patrick had fought to free admitted cop killer Carl Roy Songer, I, like many of you, was outraged that this man was a finalist for the top seat at the State House in Massachusetts. Songer pumped five bullets into Florida State Trooper Ronald Smith […]
Councilor Grisel Silva Details Gun Incident By: Tom Duggan – August 11, 2006 Ten days ago a gun was found at the home of Lawrence City Councilor Grisel Silva. The gun was found by a family member in the bedroom of Silva’s 17 year old learning disabled daughter. The District “B” city councilor issued […]
Perry and Company Engage in Personal Attacks, Makes Lawrence Look Like Geniuses Paying Attention With Tom Duggan By Tom Duggan – August 9, 2006 So you thought the Lawrence School Committee was a joke? Well, last night the North Andover School Committee made the Lawrence School Committee look like educational geniuses as their meeting […]
PAYING ATTENTION WITH TOM DUGGAN By Tom Duggan – August 8, 2006 It was chaos last night at the Lawrence City Council’s Ordinance Committee meeting as chairman Nick Kolofoles lost control, sparred with fellow councilors, and refused to allow them to make motions that were contrary to his own stated agenda. At issue was […]