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Date		The Paying Attention! Archives
07/01/99	*	School Committeeman Mike Sweeney Was Right To Be Involved! The column that started it all. Scool Commiteeman Mike Sweeney was attacked by fellow board members for doing his job. He was asked by parents to sit in on their childs disciplinary hearing because they believed they were being treated unfairly by the school principal, Mary Toomey. The rest of the board says Sweeney was interfering in the day to day operations of the school. Maybe more school board members should start visiting schools! Our source told us that the Principal was "out to get" Sweeney because he criticizes the Mayor and Toomey is her friend. It turned out that our source was right!

07/15/99	*	The Racism Behind District School Committees The federal government is forcing the City of Lawrence to change the City Charter in order to get more Hispanics elected in city government. The plan is to have School Committee members elected by district instead of city wide. But, the Hispanic community is rising to power quite nicely without the fed's help, thank you. This is a racist action by the government which assumes Spanish speaking people are too stupid to obtain political power on their own, as they have done in the last three elections. If I were of Hispanic origin I would be insulted and Suing the government!

08/01/99	*	John Kennedy Jr.'s Memory Disgraced by the Media! John Kennedy Junior spent his entire life trying to maintain his privacy. He hid from the press and begged them to leave him alone. Now in his death they continue to dishonor his memory and his family's wishes.

09/01/99	*	City Councilor Marie Gosselin Must Go! City Councilor Marie Gosselin has broken every single campaign promise she has ever made. She promise to defended resideny, she voted against it. She promised to tear down the train bridge off of Boyd Street and she voted to keep it up. It's time for politicians to be held accountable to the promises they make.
9/15/99	*	Hero Officer Attacked by Councilor Gosselin! Lawrence Police Officer Rafeal Rosa is the most decorated police officer in the history of Lawrence, Massachusetts. But City Councilor Marie Gosselin wants him investigated for taking a report filed by his bosses wife, Alice Baker. Gosselin demanded the police chief suspend Rosa because she claims Alice Baker's report of intimidation and campaign sign theft is a lie. But Rosa only took the statement and filed the report. He did nothing wrong. Mrs. Baker is runnign for Council against Gosselin.
10/01/99	*	Pauline Brown vs. Julia Silverio; Culture Means Nothing! Pauline Brown has been a trusted member of the City Council for four years. Her ethnicity is not, and should not be a factor in this council race. If you think Julia Silverio is going to represent Hispanics better than Pauline Brown, simply because Silverio is Hispanic, think again. It's that kind of thinking that put Ralph Carrero on the School Committee, and where did that get you?
10/15/99	*	A Fair Evaluation of Mayor Dowling Mayor Dowling has some good points and some bad points. Here is a fair and honest evaluation of Mayor Dowling's performance over the last two years. From residency to public safety, from the schools to the city budget, Dowling has some improving to do if she ever wants to move the city forward.
10/26/99	*	Special Edition! City Council Wins One For Censorship! Rumbo sponsored a campaign debate for all candidates running for elected office. The debate was video taped. Mayor Dowling's hand picked candidates refused to show up and now they are mad because Council President Quartarone wants to show the debate on cable access. Councilors who support the mayor are censoring this debate for no other reason, than to stop their opponants from speaking directly to voters through cable access.
11/01/99	*	Ralph Carerro's Voting Record; Just the Facts Ma'am! Ralph Carrero is running for reelection to the School Committee. You should know his voting record before you go to the polls. Carrero has a very lengthy voting record and it is all public record. He voted for Scully's contract after admitting he didn't read it. Then he voted to fire Scully for misspending.
11/15/99	*	School Principal Campaigns on City Time Another Rumbo Exclusive! Our source at the South Lawrence East School has done it again. Rumbo has learned that principal Mary Twomey was handing out campaign stickers on city time inside the school building. Now the evidence is so overwhelming that Twomey admits she sent out a flyer throughout the school for Nancy Kennedy's School Committee election. Strangely, this is the second time this principal has been invoved in a scandal involving politics. See; "Sweeney was Right to Be Involved." 07/01/00

	x	Don't Count Him Out Just Yet; Santiago Tops The Ticket Jose Santiago may have lost an at-large City Council Race but he topped the ticket in every single district he represents as a State Representative. Here are the facts and the figures.
12/01/99	*	A Nation of Pansies Political correctness is out of control. We are a nation which must embrace free speech and stop whining about the insults of ignorant people.
	*	Mary Twoomey is Not A Racist South Lawrence East School Principal, Mary Toomey is not the racist she has been made out to be. She may have been wrong and used poor judgement when campaigning opn city time but it had nothing to do with the race of any candidate. It had to do with her alliance with Patty Dowling.

12/15/99	*	Grandparents' Rights; The Supreme Court Gets Personal Should grandparents have a constituitional right to see their grandchildren? Be very careful what you ask for. If this constitutional question is answered in the affirmative by the supreme court your parents, estranged or not, will have the right to see your children against your will.

	*	Exclusive Interview with Nancy Kennedy: Estevez Declares "This is NOT Racism!" (Another Rumbo Exclusive) School Comittee Woman Nancy Kennedy and Edwin Estevez agreed on one thing, the illeagal campaigning done by Principal, Mary Twoomey, and Kennedy's win over Estevez "had nothing to do with Racism." It had much more to do with the fact taht Toomey is a fried of Mayor Dowling and Kennedy is as well.

01/01/00	*	Welcome to the New America, John Rocker Attacked for....Being RIGHT? John Rocker may be a jerk or an insensative person but his comments had nothing to do with racism. (this seems to be a recurring theme in this column) His comments, though insulting to many, never mentioned race. The media ought to look at the substance of what he said before they play the race card...again!

01/15/00	*	The Bible Should be Taught in Schools, Mitch Harb Is On To Something Mitch Harb thinks the Bible should be taught in public schools as literature and history. He is right. We can teach the religions of the world in public school to better prepare our children for the global marketplace without violating church and state. With so many holy wars and religious problems in the world we are not doing our children any service by keeping them ignorant to the motivations of others.

	*	Officer Sledge Deserves Justice, But Don't Hold Your Breath Lawrence Police Officer Kevin Sledge has been arrested, tried, and found "NOT GUILTY" of raping and assaulting his scorned ex girlfriend. But, why did this case even go to court? There was no solid evidence, no witnesses, and even the scorned girlfriend couldn't remember half the details. Sledge has been called "Buckwheat" by his superior officer at role call and he has been harassed by his own men. This is a case of abuse of power and the Lawrence Police should be ashamed of themselves.

02/01/00	*	Take Down the Confederate Flag! George W. Bush is on the wrong side of this one. The Confederate flag is the symbol of a traitorous army which took up arms against the United States. Slavery aside, there is no Nazi flag flying over the city capitals of any German citiy to respect their heritage. Nor should there be. The Confederate flag must come down and Goerge W. Bush owes it to the country to say so.

	*	School Committee Vice President Profits From School Money Suzanne Piscitello owns and operates concession stands at Canobie Lake Park and votes to spend tax dollars to send students there on field trips every year. She also hired another member of the school board, Carol Bannon, to work at the park. Now they vote together on everything and some people want an investigation. I am one of those people.

02/08/00	*	Dowling Hired Campaign Contributors, City Attorney is Dowling Money Man It is absolutely amazing! Patty Dowling is attacking Superintendent Mae Gaskins for her spending and hiring practices while she has hired campaign contributors at city hall. Mayor Dowling signs all the bills and approves all the spending and contracts that come out of the school department. Tom Bowers contributed hundreds of dollars to Dowling's campaign and he has no experience in labor negotiations, yet Dowling hired him to be the chief labor negotiator for the city. You won't believe this story. It's blatant, it's corrupt, and it is vintage Patty Dowling.

	*	Mayor Conducts Illeagal Negotiations As hard as it is to believe, Mayor dowling has violated another policy. According tot he city charter, no member of the school committee can negotiate on behalf of the committee withouth vote of the committee approving such a negotiation. But Patty has done it again. She's out on her own without any authority, making deals and hiring lawyers.

	*	Character Assasins; The Lawrence Way When you stick your neck out to do what is right in the City of Lawrence you are apt to get your head cut off. School Committeeman Mike Sweeney has been threatened because of his political position on Mae Gaskins. It wasn't a political threat, it was personal. But then again, that's how things work around here!

	*	Why Lawrence High Really Lost Acretidation Lawrence High School lost acretidation in 1997. But the school had been on probation for more than ten years. Why were we on probation? Who was responsible for the 20 years of neglect? Here, for the first time, Tom Duggan gives us names and dates of those responsible.

02/15/00	*	Contract, Contracts, Everywhere Contracts! The headline speaks for itslef. Mayor Dowling has more contracts than anyone can count. She will not tell anyone how many or how much money she has spent.

	*	Good Morning Lawrence City Council, This is Your Wake Up Call! The Mayor of Lawrence has admitted that she doesn't read any of the city contracts that she signs. In fact, she says she doesn't even sign them. Who does? She says she doesn't know. According to Mayor Dowling "someone" in her office stamps the contracts with a "rubber stamp." This should be a wake up call tot he City Council who approves her budgets and takes responsibility for the Mayor's actions once the vote is over. .

	*	Where Are Your Tax Bills? It's February and you paid your tax bills last month, right? No? How come? Oh that's right, the tax bills haven't gone out yet. The state laws of Massachusetts mandate the bills go out in January but Mayor Dowling has a money problem and the state will not approve the tax rate until she straightens it out.

03/01/00	*	Public Wants Answers on Piscitello Profits School Committee Vice President Suzanne Piscitello not only profts from school field trips, but she has hired a fellow board member to work for her at Canobie Lake Park. This gives new meaning to the term conflict of interest! Now the public wants answers in the form of a public hearing before the city council.

	*	School Committee Members Violate Conflict of Interest We have two members of the School Committee who work for Mayor Dowling in city hall. They owe her their jobs. But they are expected to be impartial and independent when sitting as her equal on the board? How realistic is that?

	*	How Many City Lawyers Does it Take to Screw in A Light Bulb? Mayor Dowling hired City Attorney O'Sullivan without school committee approval in violation of state law, the city charter and school committee policy. But this is nothing new for the Mayor. She has been stacking city hall with lawyers who contributed to her campaign for wo years now.

03/15/00	*	Councilor advocates for North Side Location City Councilor Marie Gosselin can't always be wrong. She is advocating that the new Lawrence High School be built in North Lawrence. Since the majority of the School Committee and residents of the city seem to be in favor of the south side location, we thought it would only be fair to present Gosselin's point of view and present a valid case for the north side

	*	City Council Votes To Investigate Mayor's Contracts The city council is waking up and just in the nick of time. Councilor Julia Silverio wants an investigation into the Mayor's contracts and the council is backing her request. Things are going to start getting hairy in city hall when the details of these contracts come to light.

	*	The Resume Dowling Didn't Want you to See, The Best Man for the Job? The School Committee voted to approve a temporary superintendent without an interview, without reviewing his resume, and without even having him show up at his own coronation. Here is the Resume that Mayor Dowling didn't want you to see.

	!	Lack of Outrage on School Committee as Piscitello violates Policies Again I guess it doesn't matter that we have laws and policies for our elected officials to follow. Suzanne Piscitello has no respect for the law and the School Committee shamelessly allows her to get away with it. Can you imagine what would happen if Mike Sweeney pulled this?

04/01/00	*	Your Tax Bills Held Hostage Week 12 & 13 So, now the Mayor has changed her tune! Now the tax bills are a problem but it's someone else's fault. She is blaming Carl Prussing, the budget and finance director. But Prussing has nothing to do with the four million dollars in the health insurance trust fund. Prussing doesn't make the final spending decisions. Prussing only follows the directions and the orders of his boss, Mayor Dowling! This issue is not going away!

04/15/00	*	Leaders We Deserve, Don't Just Blame the Politicians Lawrence has poor leaders. But don't just blame the politicians, they are just giving the people what they want. If we continue to make elections a popularity contest, instead a test of competency, we will always get what we have alwyas had....bad leaders.

	*	The People's Response to Mayor Dowling's Address Mayor Dowling gave a shameful speech to the City Council about the state of the City of Lawrence. But what she didn't say is just as important that what she did! Here is our state of the City address. The difference? Ours is filled with hard facts, not political fluff!

	*	Dowling Attacks Budget Chief, Prussing has the Votes to Stay Budget Director Carl Prussing has been protecting Mayor Dowling from a tax scandal by warding off the press, and taking the heat for her. How does she repay him for his loyalty? She blames him for the tax mess of course. Vintave Patty Dowling! Well, now Prussing is not going to take it any more and he has lot's to say. RUMBO EXCLUSIVE!

	*	Your Tax Bills Held Hostage , Week 14 & 15 You still don't have your tax bills? that can't be! Mayor Dowling's administration has been saying they woul be out "any day now" since January. It's almost May and your second quarter tax bills are now due.

05/01/00	*	State Says School Committee Not Doing Their Job A state audit report says the school committe is not doing their job. No surprise there, Rumbo has been saying that for almost two years. Now, the Department of Education is putting their criticism in writing for the world to see. This report sounds an aweful lot like a Rumbo column.

	*	Should Gay Men be Boy Scout Leaders? The Boy Scouts have decided that Gay Men should not be Scout Leaders because of their sexual orientation. Is this a case of discrimination or the government telling private organizatons what to do?

	*	City Council Should Remove Kivell As President The City Council can not sit by and let Council President Kivell abuse his authority. He should be removed as president for the integrity of the Council and the City.

	*	"Mayor Tried to Set me Up!" Says Prussing, Mayor Forces Prussing to take Breathalyzer Budget and Finance Director Carl Prussing says the Mayor accused him of being drunk one afternoon and forced him to ttake a breath test. According to the North Andover lab Prussing was brought to, he blew a .00, indicating zero alcohol in his blood. Prussing has been fired by Mayor Dowling and may fight that firing at the council level.

06/01/00	!	What the Tribune Won't Tell You and the Mayor s Afraid You Will Find Out Exclusive Interview with Lawrence Police Lt. Bert Baker; (Part 1) Lt. Bert Baker was suspended from his job because his wife was daring enough to run for city council against the mayor's friend, Marie Gosselin. When someone told Mrs. Baker that her signs were stolen she filed a police report in case the person was caught later on. One witness said that it was Gosselin who took the signs. Though Baker never said in her report that Gosselin took the signs, Gosselin immediately called for the suspension of Mrs. Bakers Husband Lt. Bert Baker. Lt. Baker was the official in charge when his wife filed the polcice report.

	!	Mayor Dowling is RIGHT to Stop Jajuga's Free Needle Program I can't believe I am saying this but I am. Mayor Dowling is right about something and it's big! Whether you like Mayor Dowling or not, when she is right we must stand with her and do what is best for the city. Mayor Dowling wants to stop the free needle program from passing at the state house and we must do everything we can to help her. Even if that means making her look good.

06/15/00	!	What the Tribune Won't Tell You and the Mayor s Afraid You Will Find Out Exclusive Interview with Lawrence Polcice Lt. Bert Baker; (Part 2) You can't miss this one. Part two of the Lt. Baker interview. Baker talks about how he came to know Mayor Dowling and how he worked for her campaign. How did he go from a favorite for chief to suspended without pay?

	*	Senate Passes Free Needle Program, House to Take Up Mesure Next State Senator James Jajuga has proposed a free needle exchange program for nine years. This year he finally got it passed in the senate. This bill must be stopped because it takes away local control.

	!	Council Should Fund Toxic Inspectors Look, I'm the last guy in the world to hug a tree or anything but we have a problem here in Lawrence. Toxic waste is spewing into the air 500 feet from my house and the council has an obliagtion to stop this before our cancer rates go up! As if that's possible. We have the highest cancer rates in the country already. Some councilors say we can't ban toxic materials because there is no money to enforce the ban.

	!	Mayor Takes $100,000 from Council Budget, Tries to Audit Herself Here's a great story. The City Council has $100,000 in the budget to audit the management and effectiveness of the Mayor's departments. But she took it out of their account so that they couldn't audit her. Now she says she will give them back their own money if they agree to let her puppets in city hall work on the audit team. The Council doesn't buy it and a showdown may mean no city workers get paid, including the mayor.

07/01/00	!	What the Tribune Won't Tell You and the Mayor is Afraid You Will Find Out An Exclusive Interview with Lawrence Polcice Lt. Bert Baker; (Part 3) Part 3 of an ongoing series with Lt. Baker. He talks about the politics which invades the police department. He is naming names and he's ccalling it like it is. This article made lots of people nervous at 90 Lowell Street.

	!	Free Needles Draws Protest, But No Action From Lawrence Officials Sure they complain and make phone calls but, what are Lawrence officials doing to stop the proposed free needle exchange program? NOTHING!

	!	Department of Ed. Teaches Graphic Sex to Children, Rep. Santiago "Disgusted" Commissioner David Driscoll sponsored a conference where children were taught about sexual positions and graphic sexual topics. Not one member ofhte legislature has spoken out against this....untilll now!

07/15/00	*	Blanchette Shows What He Is Made Of, No Budget Means No Pay! Councillor Patrick Blanchette has drawn a line in the sand. He says that he will not support the Mayor's budget if she doesn't put back the $100,000 she took for a management audit. Apparently the mayor doesn't want anyone to know what she is spending and how it is being spent. The money belongs in teh council account and is only to be used by them. Blanchette is not alone and he has the votes to make the mayor back down.

	!	Paying Attention: One Year Later! How Did We Get Here? Our Source at the South Lawrnce East School strikes again! First she gave us the story on Mike Sweeney and then the story about her principal passing out Nancy Kennedy stickers on school time. Who had any idea that this little "leak" at the school would turn into a regular column, a radio program, and a TV show??

08/01/00	!	What the Tribune Won't Tell You and the Mayor s Afraid You Will Find Out Exclusive Interview with Lawrence Polcice Lt. Bert Baker; (Part 4) This is the final part of a series involving Lawrence Police Lt. Bert Baker and Officer Rosa, both of whom were suspended because Baker's wife ran for office against the mayor's friend Marie Gosselin. Lt. Baker talks about Officer Rosa and his service as the most decorated police officer in the history of Lawrence, Massachusetts. He reveals that Rosa has gone more than 9 weeks without a paycheck because of politics.

	!	Four Die of Lethal Heroin: It's Almost too Good to be True! Heroin users turned up dead because of the high purity of the substace circulating the streets. The police are calling these peope "victims" and so is the daily paper. Maybe if they weren't breaking the law and taking drugs in the first place they would still be alive today! I knew I would get hate mail when I wrote this column but it had to be done.

	!	House and Senate Pass Free Needle Program State Senator James Jajuga has managed to get his free needle exchange program passed in the House and the Senate. One of the reasons for this is because cities and towns complain about losing control but do nothing to actually fight the bill. Governor Cellucci is expected to veto the bill but it could still pass an override vote in the full house.

	!	Dear Seantor Jajuga: The Role of Government is to Protect Liberty Senator Jajuga means well but his philosophy on the role of government threatens the freedom and liberty we all enjoy. Manditory seat belt laws are bad enough but when the cops can pull you over, just because you are not wearing one, that is tyranny!

	*	Cellucci Stops Free Needles, Jajuga has One Last Chance Governor Paul Cellucci has vetoed a budget amendment submitted by Methuen State Senator Jim Jajuga. The measure, if passed, would allow the state health authorities to hand out free hypodermic needles to drug users all over the state. Local cities and towns will have no choice but to accept the needle exchange program. The house can still override Cellucci's veto.

	*	Sullivan Calls for Cemetery Board Resignations! Well, Rumbo published this story on August 1, 2000 but the Eagle Tribune didn't get around to it until August 21, 2000. City Councilor Mike Sullivan says the lifetuime positions on the cemetery board should be purged and new members should be appointed. The controversy began when Marie Gosselin tried to pass a $100 a day fine for properties not kept up to code. Litle did we know that the City of Lawrence itself is the biggest slum lord!

08/15/00	*	Dr. Ghassemian Fights For His Patients' Lives While Blue Cross Fights For Profits Doctor Ghassemian had his lisence taken away for threatening Blue Cross Blue Shield. Ghasssemian's frustration comes from the love of his patients and Blue Cross needs to care more about the suffering of others than they do their bottom line.

	*	The Language of Racism, Who Are "MY PEOPLE?" Isabel Melendez is running for mayor of Lawrence but what is she telling people who don't speak her language? You might be surprised!

09/01/00		Voting Lists Destroyed on Heels of Justice Department Investigation Every year the election department stores the list of voters who turned out at the polls to cast their ballots. These lists are kept so that voters, potential candidates, and scholars doing research on voting trends can analyze who voted and who did not. With the Justice Department investigating the city for unfair election practices you would think the city would be extra careful with this information. You would be wrong though, the 1997 scrubbed list of voters has been destroyed and the election division at city hall is angry that Rumbo mentioned it in the last edition. They wrote a nasty letter saying we didn't do our research. So we did a little research. You won't believe what we found.

		Cancer Reunites Sisters After 23 Years It has been 23 years since Helen last saw her sister. She has already beaten cancer once, but now that it has returned, her husband thought it would be a boost to her spirits to track down her long lost sister and surprise her. It's a nice story.

		Dowling Loses 1.5 Million for Stadium Renovations I am so confused! Mayor Dowling says she lost 1.5 million dollars in stadium renovation money. But, are her answers on this issue consistent with her actions of last spring? THis mess has cost us millions already and the battle is just beginning.

9/15/00		Come On Everyone, Let's Play, Who Wants to Lose 1.5 Million Dollars! Move over Regis, Lawrence Mayor Patty Dowling has her own show here in Lawrence and the tax payers have already lost more than 1.5 million dollars. Come on in and play the game!

		An Exclusive Interview with Marc Laplante, Candidate for U.S. Congress Ok, I've been rough on Marc Laplante in the past, but he deserved it. Besides, he has learned quite a bit since the 1997 City Council race. Now he wants to run against Marty Meehan for Congress. Someone had to ask the tough questions, and I'm glad it was me!

10/15/00		Bilingual Education May Finally Die, May It Rest In Peace! The architect of the nation's bilingual program now admits that bilingual education does not work. Lawrence Superintendent Wilfredo Laboy has taken all science, history, and math books that are written in Spanish and thrown them away, saying these are not language subjects. Good for him! But let's not remember the so called 'leaders' of the Hispanic community who sold out their own people for political power and money!

		State Rep. Candidate Israel Reyes Breaks his Commitment...AGAIN! It's sad, really. Israel Reyes is a candidate for State Representative. He wants to represent Lawrence voters at the state house. But he has so many accomplished lies on his political resume that Al Gore and Bill Clinton would gush with envy!

		Congressional Candidate, Marc LaPlante Sues Over Voting Irregularities Congressional candidate Marc LaPlante says he wants a recount on his loss as a write in candidate. But he can't get an accurate recount because the election department in Lawrence threw away the ballots. Now he is going to court, asking a judge to place his name on the November ballot.
11/01/00		Israel Reyes Talks of Integrity While Launching Personal Attacks- Don’t Let him Get Away With it! Republican candidate, Israel Reyes is preaching about integrity during his campaign. Yet he is not practicing what he preaches. the voters should speak out loud and clear, by rejecting his candidacy.
		Superintendent Angers Teachers Union… By Telling the Truth! There is no doubt that the Lawrence Teachers union is a major part of theproblem with educatio in Lawrence. Superintendent Laboy has called them to task and now he is being attacked for it. Sometimes the truth hurts. But someone has to tell it and I am glad it is the new Superintendent.
11/15/00		Superintendent Laboy Has Proven He Can Talk the Talk, Now He Must Prove He Means It and Walk the Walk! He talks a good game, this new superintendent of ours. But, leadership is about more than talking. He has been here for at least six months and now he must prove himself with actions.
12/01/00		Santiago Introduces a Bill to Mandate Air Conditioning in All Nursing Homes Air conditioing is not provided to all nursing home residents in Massachusetts. State Representative Jose Santiago has introduced a bill to change that.
		Tribune Attacks Lawrencians Who Get Involved, Shame on them! So the Eagle Tribune says they care about getting people involved in the community? Last week Tribune reporter, Mark Vogler, called Lawrene residents who attend City Council meetings "get-a-lifers" and denegraded them for being upset about a meeting being canceled without prior notice.
12/15/00		Lawrence Needs Full-Day Kindergarten For ten years eduction officials have recognized the need for full day kindergarten in Lawrence. For ten years they have done nothing to make it happen. The school committee has an obligation to the parents in Lawrence to make this happen.