October 11, 2012 Essex County Superior Court Judge Murtaugh ordered the City of Lawrence to turn over public documents sought by The Valley Patriot “forthwith, and that means immediately, sooner than immediately, I want these records produced,” Murtaugh said this afternoon. At issue is Valley Patriot publisher Tom Duggan’s claim that the City of […]
Massachusetts Officials Have No Plan to Fix Lawrence Schools and No Exit Plan or Timetable to Leave By: Tom Duggan – June, 2012 Massachusetts Commissioner of Education Mitch Chester stood on a stage at the South Lawrence East School last month flanked by Lawrence Mayor William Lantigua, City Councilor Dan Rivera, State Representative Paul Adams, Maura […]
Free Dental for all LPS Students and their Families By: Tom Duggan, July, 2012 LAWRENCE – With the Lawrence Public School under the complete control of the State Department of Education there are a lot of changes coming to the school system, and a lot more money being spent.Where we are – State Commissioner […]
Calls for Third Party Audit, and possible bankruptcy for Lawrence By: Tom Duggan – September, 2010 Massachusetts State Treasurer and candidate for Governor Tim Cahill is calling attention to the budget mismanagement in the City of Lawrence by urging Governor Patrick to issue an independent third party audit of the city’s finances. Last March, the […]
TARGETED! Valley Patriot Exclusive! By: Tom Duggan – July, 2010 Lawrence Mayor Willie Lantigua is targeting Fire Chief Brian Murphy after the chief publicly opposed the mayor’s efforts to layoff more than two dozen firefighters and close two more fire stations, the chief told the Valley Patriot. Since Chief Murphy appeared before the city council […]
Lawrence, Andover North Andover Heroes Honored By: Tom Duggan – Febrary, 2010 The Lawrence Exchange Club held their annual Police, Firefighter and EMT of the year awards last night honoring first responders in the valley. Police and Fire Chiefs from Lawrence, Andover and North Andover were allowed to present each honoree with a plaque and explain to […]
Valley Patriot Questions Tsongas, Governor Patrick on Spending By: Tom Duggan – January, 2010 LINK: How Some of Your Money Was Spent Deval Patrick: As the senator said, we have had to close a multi-billion dollar budget gap in the last few years, nine billion dollars, actually over the last 18 months and we have […]
VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL November, 2009 In last month’s race for the Mayor’s office in Lawrence, Willie Lantigua (da chief) defeated David Abdoo. While we have some serious reservations about Lantigua’s ability to manage the city of Lawrence, as well as the character of those insiders he has surrounded himself with, today is a new day. The election is […]
By: Tom Duggan – September, 2009 First Integrity Mortgage, located in Sal’s riverwalk, has become a local favorite among those purchasing or refinancing their homes. In fact, they were voted Methuen, Lawrence, and the Andover’s “Best Mortgage Company” for 2008 by Market Surveys of America. owners Anne Marie Concemi and Steven Sirmaian, both life-long residents of the Merrimack Valley, credit this to […]
Since the very first edition of The Valley Patriot in March of 2004, this space has been reserved for honoring local veterans who have either performed heroically in battle or made a significant difference in their community. This month we honor Spc. Alex Jimenez of Lawrence whose remains were found last month in Iraq after […]
Lawrence Mayor Michael Sullivan Calls Councilor Carlos Matos’ Remarks Racist Tom Duggan – June, 2008 Lawrence Mayor Michael Sullivan issued a press release this week calling comments in the Boston Globe by former Lawrence City Councilor Carlos Matos in the Boston Globe “racist.” Sullivan also complained about similar comments Matos made when he was spearheading […]
PAYING ATTENTION! with TOM DUGGAN By: Tom Duggan – February, 2008 LAWRENCE, MA – Last month I wrote about the $610,000 lawsuit settled by the City of Lawrence with former Assistant City Clerk Jenniffer Padellaro. (Blanchette was Absolutely Right on Padellaro Lawsuit) Padellaro had been on worker’s compensation after leaving the position because she was exposed […]
Says he will not resign from Lawrence School Committee by Tom Duggan, posted 1/9/08 BOSTON, – January 9, 2008 – Elected Lawrence School Committeeman James Stokes was arraigned in Federal Court in Boston today after being arrested at Top Donut on Winthrop Avenue by Lawrence Police and Federal Agents. Lawrence Police took Stokes […]
City Clerk’s Internet Porn, Harassment Cost City Thousands By: Tom Duggan – January, 2008 Lawrence’s former assistant city clerk, Jennifer Padellaro, settled her workers’ compensation claims as well as her federal lawsuit against the City of Lawrence last month for $610,000. A settlement conference (called a lump sum conference) took place at the Industrial Accident […]
Tom Duggan (07/03/07) Lawrence Superintendent of Schools Wilfredo Laboy has been under fire by critics over the last month for his decision to house newly arrived immigrant students with lack of English proficiency in the “old” high school building on Haverhill Street once the new $110 million campus is officially opened. Teacher’s union president Frank McLaughlin […]