BOSTON – Today, the State Senate passed an omnibus property tax relief bill S2124 – An Act improving real property tax abatements, application deadlines, and deferrals. This bill improves the property tax deferral program for active military personnel, senior citizens and for persons who are deaf. O’Connor Ives filed a bill for an Amesbury resident […]
By: Tom Duggan – July. 2017 This is the third part of our series on the changes in the Boxford Police Department. Part I Part II For this segment, we interviewed Police Chief James Riter on about our previous reports and where he sees the department going under his new leadership. “When I took over I […]
By: Tom Duggan – July 29, 2017 Last week the Lawrence city council voted to ban the sale of marijuana within the city limits. The unanimous vote (9-0) came after a full night of public debate and discussion from Lawrence residents with impassioned pleas on both sides of the issue. In the state ballot referendum […]
By Tom Duggan – July 26, 2017 Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera’s new “Homeless Coordinator” Anil “Nilly” DaCosta has issued a new directive to manage the ongoing problem of dozens of homeless squatters living under the Casey Bridge. The encampment, known as “Tent City” has been a haven for drugs, prostitution, and other crimes in […]
By: Tom Duggan – July 11, 2017 Just two months before the September mayoral primary in Lawrence, embattled mayor Dan Rivera has removed one of his campaign opponents from his city job of DPW foreman, and transferred him to the position of Acting Cemetery Superintendent. Jorge Jaime, who is running for mayor against Rivera, says the […]
VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL – July, 2017 What we have heard from the Democratic Party at the national level, and here in Massachusetts over the past ten years is that police officers (especially white police officers) are evil racists who can’t be trusted not to randomly gun down young black men in the streets for sport. […]
By: Tom Duggan – July 8, 2017 OCPF-contributions maldonado OCPF-expenditures maldonado According to The Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance, (OCPF) an enforcement arm of the Secretary of State’s Office, Lawrence City Councilor Modesto Maldonado has taken more than $2,410 in campaign contributions that have not been accounted for. Maldonado is running for mayor […]
Heroes in Our Midst: From the Pages of The Valley Patriot Copyright © 2017, The Valley Patriot Genre: Nonfiction Softcover: 449 pages includes index Rating: 5 out of 5 Bookmarkers Available on Amazon or Barnes and Noble or at the Valley Patriot Office in North Andover. By: Sue Piazza – June, 2017 Since the first […]
By: Tom Duggan – June, 2017 A support group for family members of murder victims meets in Lowell on the second Tuesday of every month to help those dealing with their heart wrenching loss. The group meets on the second floor boardroom of Lowell General’s Saints Campus. “We are called Parents of Murdered Children, but […]
Lantigua’s Money, Rivera’s Headaches and the Hotly Contested Mayor’s Race By: Tom Duggan – June, 2017 The Lawrence mayor’s seat is a four year term and is limited to two terms. The mayor is in charge of the day to day operations of each city department, from police and fire, to water and sewer services, […]
By: John MacDonald – June, 2017 I attended the controversial special meeting at Lowell City Hall on Tuesday June 20th. As a witness to history I watched the vote for the future location of Lowell High School (LHS) take place at approximately 12:25am. After six hours of prepared remarks from seventy registered speakers that varied […]
PHOTOS HERE By: Tom Duggan – June 21, 2017 LAWRENCE – A two alarm fire at 18 Arlington St. in Lawrence left at least 7 people homeless early Wednesday morning. Fire companies from Dracut and other communities raced to the city as flames billowed out of the second and third floor of the building. The […]
BOSTON – An Andover woman pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to stealing more than $100,000 from her employer. Stacy Fortunato, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf who scheduled sentencing for Sept. 11, 2017. While employed as […]
By: Tom Duggan – 6-19-17 Massachusetts State Troopers patrolling the City of Lawrence late Sunday night pulled over a van on the lower end of Essex St. near the Aqua Nightclub. Massachusetts Troopers ordered a man out of the vehicle and began to do a pat and frisk, when the man, armed with a handgun, assaulted […]
6-16-17 Lawrence Police responded to a domestic violence call late Friday night where the caller stated a man was beating a woman outside the home of 4 Andover St. When police arrived, however, they determined there was no domestic assault and the call was false. While at the address officers discovered a missing 13 year old named […]