GEORGETOWN TODAY By: Lawrence “Lonnie” Brennan – July, 2012 Family matters have kept me consumed these past few months, and several folks either sent e-mails or called asking why my column, after many, many years, was missing from this August’s publication. Well, a topic for another day. But last week Tim and I […]
THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX By: Dr. Charles Ormsby – June, 2012 You’ve probably heard of “Conservative Democrats.” Lately they have been as scarce as hen’s teeth. Locally, I viewed the late Senator Steve Baddour (still breathing, but no longer a state senator) as a Conservative Democrat. While we had a modest overlap of views, […]
Thinking Outside the Box With Dr. Charles Ormsby Dr. Charles Ormsby – May, 2012 “I was in a meeting once, and I gave an analogy to my staff about my philosophy of enforcement … how the Romans used to conquer little villages in the Mediterranean. They’d go into a little Turkish town somewhere, they’d […]
By: Mayor Bill Manzi – April 2012 The Boston Globe recently published a story on the municipal finance system that detailed the fact that Methuen, on a percentage basis, was tied for first in the State (with Woburn) for being the highest (on a percentage basis) amount below the Proposition 2.5 levy limit. The data […]
By: Tom Duggan – December, 2011 Wakefield – Former State Senator and candidate for Lt. Governor Richard Tisei announced last month that he will seek the republican nomination for congress in the hopes of unseating democrat John Tierney. Flanked by supporters and members of the media, Tisei said that he was going to make jobs […]
November, 2011 LOWELL – In 2007 Clark Smidt of Andover and Sam Poulten of Chelmsford bought 980AM WCAP radio in Lowell from longtime owner Maurice Cohen. At the time, the two pledged to expand the reach of the station and promised to keep the focus of the station “live and local.” Since then the […]
By: Lawrence, “Lonnie” Brennan – May, 2011 Hi. Did I mention that Georgetown School Superintendent Carol Jacobs will garner $174,300 of taxpayer money this year? And that we have a lovely $1.2 million dollar override that, by the time you read this, is supposed to be inflicted upon the taxpayer? Someday, perhaps 20 years […]
By: Lonnie Brennan – January, 2011 A few folks were chatting the other day about the upcoming tax increase for the schools, when my friend Tim cut through the air and simply stated “start saving.” His words cut right to the core. It’s a done deal he thinks. There’s “too many of them, and […]
THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX By: Dr. Charles Ormsby – January, 2011 Our current national debt exceeds $13.9 trillion and is increasing at nearly $2 million per minute. We are headed straight for the cliff at high speed. Life seems fairly normal now and it will continue to feel normal until we go over […]
Kevin Begley talks issues while Torissi launches personal attacks By: Tom Duggan – October, 2010 A debate was held between State Rep. Dave Torissi and his Republican challenger Kevin Begley at the Frost School in Lawrence last month. The debate was sponsored by the Mount Vernon Neighborhood Association. State Rep. Dave Torissi: “Most […]
THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX Reduce the Sales Tax to 3% — Vote YES on Question 3 By: Dr. Charles Ormsby – September, 2010 Why does unemployment in Massachusetts average 16% higher than unemployment in New Hampshire? Why have so many large retail stores fled the Merrimack Valley just to be resurrected in Salem, Plaistow […]
“It’s a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it’s a depression when you lose yours.” – Harry S. Truman THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX By: Dr. Charles Ormsby – August, 2010 Based on Truman’s analysis, the most important unemployment statistic is our own; it is either 0% or 100%. Of course, that is not […]
Calls for casino money to be returned to homeowners, businesses July, 2010 BOSTON – Senate Minority Leader Richard R. Tisei has called for the creation of a new Property Taxpayers Relief Fund that would use casino revenues to annually reduce property tax bills across the Commonwealth. Tisei filed the proposal as an amendment to the […]
By: Lawrence, Lonnie Brennan – April, 2010 It’s spring, and that means it’s time to raise the taxes on local residents and homeowners! Yippee! Let’s take a quick review of just how fun and easy it is to raise taxes in any city or town, and especially in the quaint hamlet of Georgetown. First […]
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 […]