Join us as We Celebrate The Valley Patriot’s 12th Anniversary! TICKETS ARE $30 in Adv. $40 at the Door * VETERANS AND ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY ARE FREE ORDER TICKETS ON-LINE HERE or mail your check to The Valley Patriot, PO BOX 453, North Andover, MA 01845 March 25th, 6PM @ The Relief’s In, 1 Market St. Lawrence, MA […]
By: Tom Duggan – Feb. 29, 2016 Superior Court Judge Robert Welch has rejected the claim by former Lawrence Redevelopment Authority member James Patrick O’Donoghue to remain on the board after his term expired. The judge dismissed O’Donoghue’s suit against the city in a written ruling February 24, 2016. O’Donoghue claimed that he was appointed […]
Lawrence resident James Patrick O’Donoghue has filed an injunction in Newburyport Superior Court, to try and halt his removal from the Lawrence Redevelopment Authority. O’Donogue was appointed February 4, 2014 to fill the unexpired term of Estella Reyes, who left the board after taking office as a Lawrence City Councilor. O’Donoghue claims in his filing with the […]
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 […]
By: Tom Duggan – Dec. 11, 2015 The recall efforts against Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera was dealt a critical blow Friday as recall supporters fell 655 signatures short of the 5,645 required to trigger a special election to throw Rivera out of office. This is only one of two recall efforts to unseat Rivera. Both recalls are being […]
In November of 2013, (then) Lawrence City Councilor Dan Rivera defeated incumbent Mayor Willie Lantigua by 84 votes. After a recount was conducted, and Rivera was again declared the winner, Mayor Lantigua told The Valley Patriot that he would be coming back to run against Rep. Marcos Devers and then, working full time to recall […]
Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera says he has been “deceived” in the closing of Polartec on Broadway in Lawrence. The mayor released a statement late on Thursday saying that when he met with the company over their purchasing a similar business in Tennessee. Rivera says he was assured when they made that purchase that the Lawrence […]
More than five years after being closed because of budget cuts, Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera has reopened the Engine 9 Fire Station on Bailey St., saying the station “will be operated by a minimum of three firefighters, one apparatus and one rescue boat twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.” “This is the best case […]
By: Tom Duggan – November 29, 2015 RELATED STORIES – PHOTOS (videos below) More than 100 people rallied in support of embattled Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera Sunday on the Campagnone Common, in the wake of two recall petitions to throw Rivera out of office. Rivera is in his second year of a four year […]
PERISOCOPE – With the advance of technology, The Valley Patriot is now using a cell phone application called Periscope to do live video interviews online. On Election Day, we were able to get out to Lawrence and Methuen to interview the candidates and some of their supporters. As soon as we got LIVE on the […]
Kemal Bozkurt is the first Muslim elected to public office in Lawrence. Bozkurt, the city’s acting library director, ran a sticker campaign for school committee last month as there was not even one candidate on the ballot to fill the seat. Now, Bozkurt is being pressured by members of the city council to either […]
LAWRENCE – The recall effort against Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera by former Mayor William Lantigua supporters has declined into chaos with two separate (legally valid) recall petitions circulating throughout the city to remove the mayor from office. Rivera’s attorney was in court Wednesday asking a judge to put a halt to the second recall, the […]
By: Tom Duggan – Sept 26, 2015 The viral media reports on a 911 dispatcher in Lawrence whose job was reportedly “on the line” for hanging up on “Spanish-speaking callers” has not only turned out to be false, but may cost the city millions of dollars. Diane D’Iorio, who has been a dispatcher since 2007, filed a lawsuit on Friday, (Complaint) seeking […]
Photo Gallery Audio of the Swearing In Audio of Interview with Chief Fitzpatrick (9-24-15) Acting Lawrence Police Chief Jim Fitzpatrick was sworn in as permanent chief by Mayor Dan Rivera Thursday night at the Fire Fighters Relief In. Chief Fitzpatrick told The Valley Patriot in a live internet broadcast of the event that his first […]
By: Tom Duggan – 9.22.15 With only 9% of registered voters in Lawrence participating in the city’s preliminary elections, at least one candidate has found himself one vote shy of being nominated for city council. Rich Russell, a Viet Nam veteran and activist at council meetings, placed seventh in an eight way race, being eliminated […]