Last week, the Methuen City Council had the chance to beautify a collapsing piece of public property on Union St., costing city taxpayers absolutely nothing. The state was willing to pay the full cost of the project. Instead of accepting the contract, however, two councilors harpooned the project, telling the public – and their fellow […]
REPORT: Four Councilors Benefited from Police Contract Vote The state Inspector General’s Office (IG) is an independent state agency that conducts investigations of government agencies and makes recommendations when wrongdoing is found. The IG investigated the process of the City of Methuen’s superior officer’s contract approval that has long been the subject of dispute. The […]
July, 2018 While voting on last year’s Methuen city budget and union contracts there were at least five (of nine) members of the city council who had a conflict of interest because they had immediate family members working for the city. The state’s conflict of interest laws say that elected officials with family members on […]
If there’s one thing I really hate, it’s when a politician deceives the public with promises that sound like one specific thing, when in reality it’s the exact opposite. So is the case Haverhill City Councilor Andy Vargas on the issue of sanctuary cities and his claim that he is for “deporting illegal aliens […]
DEC. 20, 2016| 8:30pm The Lawrence City Council approved the use of NARCAN Tuesday night, allowing Lawrence Police to carry the medication that literally revives people who die from heroin overdoses if they are caught in time. The measure passed unanimously. Vice Chairman of the Lawrence City Council Marc Laplante said that his first inclination […]
By: John MacDonald – October, 2015 The September 28th Lowell City Council preliminary election brought excitement and interested voters to the polls in droves! Street corners and coffee shops were abuzz with conversation about the highly anticipated and important municipal election. The people of Lowell realized the direct impact of the people they voted for […]
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By: Ken Willette – August, 2015 I have enjoyed living in Methuen for most of my life. As a former City Councilor at Large and School Committee Member, I have been honored to serve the interests of Methuen residents to the best of my ability. Now as the father of two young children attending the […]
By: John MacDonald – August, 2015 Little did anyone suspect that the vote to hire a new Superintendent of Schools in Lowell would have such a profound effect on this year’s City Council race? Several months ago the match was lit, on what has become political dynamite. A divided Lowell School Committee had a choice […]
By: Councilor Dan Grayton – July, 2015 After a couple weeks of delay, the council passed the fiscal year 2016 municipal budget on June 29th. The $156 million dollar budget was approved on a 7-2 vote with myself and Councilor Ron Marsan voting in opposition. The biggest topic of discussion throughout the night was the […]
It seems hard to believe. Since before the Haverhill Police Station was even occupied, concerns were raised about mold and mildew due to substandard construction work. That was in 1999. Today, 16 years later, Haverhill police officers and the civilians who work in that building continue to work in an unsafe environment. We readily concede […]
By: Dan Grayton, Methuen City Council November, 2014 Last October, Councilor Tom Ciulla introduced a resolution which would have eliminated the three parking spots at City Hall reserved for Councilors. The resolution would ultimately fail unanimously, but the spirit of it, which is “how do we make City Hall more accessible to the residents?” should […]
By: Tom Duggan – August 8, 2014 LAWRENCE, MA – Lawrence State Representative Marcos Devers (D-Lawrence) says he favors Voter ID and says that as a Dominican he is “offended” when he hears people say that those who support voter ID are “racist”. “I am for Voter ID, it’s a matter of transparency”, Devers says. […]
By: Joe Leone – August, 2013 Like many of my fellow Methuen voters, I try to keep myself informed about issues that affect the community and my tax bill. What I’ve been hearing and reading over the last 18 months has not made me a very happy camper. Not much seemed to be getting done, […]
By: Joe Mendonca – February, 2010 The City Manager has begun to reorganize city government. The first change was to replace the Building Commissioner as the beginning of restoring integrity to the City’s Inspectional Services. The Manager appointed Rosemary Cashman (former Tyngsboro Town Administrator) as Interim Building Commissioner while a search is conducted for […]