Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Criticism comes as Gov. Deval Patrick is looking for $2B in additional revenue in his Fiscal Year 2014 Budget.
With Gov. Deval Patrick seeking an additional $2B in revenue in his Fiscal Year 2014, Republican state reps from the Merrimack Valley said he had better clean up State House patronage before asking citizens to pay more in taxes and fees. Reps. James Lyons, R-Andover and Marc Lombardo, R-Billerica, called on Patrick to end all patronage in his administration. Lyons and Lombardo claim there has been, "an explosion of six figure patronage jobs" under the Patrick administration. Specifically, the Legislators referenced an article that appeared in the Boston Herald on March 6 that revealed Early Education and Care Commissioner Sherri Killins As noted by the Boston Herald on March 6, 2013, Early Education and Care Commissioner Sherri Killins …
Monday, March 4, 2013
State rep. says the department needs a top-to-bottom overhaul.
State Rep. Jim Lyons (R-Andover) is calling for a full-blown overhaul of the state's Department of Public Health. In particular, Lyons feels the department has overstepped its reach and is imposing on the rights of parents when it comes to childhood obesity and the overall health and well-being of children. He said the so-called "BMI Fat Letters" being mandated by the DPH serve to single out children. "This Department of Public Health is in desperate need of top-to-bottom reform," Lyons. "The DPH acts like bureaucratic bullies, when it deals with families and school children. At the same time, this bureaucracy has manifestly failed to protect public health and public safety in its disastrous lack of oversight of pharmaceutical …
Friday, January 25, 2013
Neither legislator is enthusiastic about plan to raise taxes and fees.
Gov. Deval Patrick submitted a $34.8 billion budget proposal to the legislature Wednesday, calling for investments in trasportation, education and infrastructure and tax hikes to pay for it. And Republican state Rep. Jim Lyons is not happy with it. "To raise taxes on the hard working families of Massachusetts, $2 billion, is absolutely the wrong direction for the governor to be going in," Lyons said. "The last thing we ought to be doing in this fragile economy is punishing small bsuiness and driving them to look elsewhere outside of the commonwealth." Patrick's proposal would raise the income tax to 6.25 percent and reduce the sales tax to 4.5 percent. While agreeing that the sales tax should be reduced, Lyons took issue with Patrick's …
Friday, December 21, 2012
News is mixed as Legislative delegation meets with Board of Selectmen.
Local Legislators were cautiously optimistic when discussing local aid with Tewksbury officials this week. State Rep. Jim Miceli, state Sen. Barry Finegold, outgoing state Rep. Paul Adams and state Rep. Jim Lyons met Tuesday with the Board of Selectmen to discus the fiscal health of the state, the governor's proposed cuts in Local Aid for Fiscal Year 2013 and projections for FY 2014. Miceli told selectmen that given current revenue projections, he doesn't foresee any cuts to local aid in FY '14. Tewksbury was slated to receive roughly $15.5 million for the current fiscal year. "(The town) should be all set if they plan on level funded aid from the state," said Micelli. Finegold echoed Micelli's assessment. "I think we're seeing some good …
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Lyons pledges to carry "the High Road values of our Merrimack Valley" - to the Legislature.
- GOVERNMENT
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Tuesday, November 13, 2012
As election day has come and gone, I write to thank you, the voters and citizens. During my door-to-door campaign, I was warmly welcomed into the homes and neighborhoods of Andover, Tewksbury, Boxford, and North Andover throughout the last six months. I deeply appreciate your kind greetings and helpful comments while visiting your communities. I worked to campaign with the civility and decency that is worthy of you, the voter. I am proud that the Lyons campaign focused squarely on the issues: increasing Local Aid, rolling back the 25% Sales Tax hike, ending rampant political patronage among Beacon Hill insiders, advocating openness and transparency in state government, stopping the waste of tax dollars in the EBT card scandal, ending …
Monday, November 5, 2012
Reader finds Rep. Lyon's legislative priorities "disturbing."
- ELECTIONS
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Monday, November 5, 2012
To the Editor: Remembering the dangers and difficulties women encountered before Roe v. Wade, I am a passionate supporter of a woman's right to choose. I don’t favor abortions; I simply acknowledge the reality that abortions will be performed, and believe the procedure should be as safe as possible for every potential patient. A woman’s right to choose a safe abortion is threatened in too many states, but I had thought that Massachusetts was not among them. The attacks have begun here in the guise of very disturbing legislation supported by State Representative Jim Lyons. The legislation, House Bill 2239, consists of one sentence. It would repeal our state law creating a 35-foot safety zone around facilities that provide abortions. …
State Rep. Lyons thanks voters for their support and makes a final pitch heading into Election Day.
- ELECTIONS
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Monday, November 5, 2012
As this campaign approaches election day, I write to thank you, the voters and citizens. During my door-to-door campaign, I was warmly welcomed into the homes and neighborhoods of Andover, Tewksbury, Boxford, and North Andover throughout the last six months. I deeply appreciate your kind greetings and helpful comments while visiting your communities. I have worked to campaign with the civility and decency that is worthy of you, the voter. I am proud that the Lyons campaign has focused squarely on the issues: increasing Local Aid, rolling back the 25% Sales Tax hike, ending rampant political patronage among Beacon Hill insiders, advocating openness and transparency in state government, stopping the waste of tax dollars in the EBT card …
Readers says L'Italien has a solution-oriented approach to legislating.
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Monday, November 5, 2012
To the Editor: We support Barbara L'Italien for a lot of reasons -- her work ethic, her solution-oriented approach to legislating, and her tremendous accomplishments during eight years as one of Andover's state respresentatives. But after two years of stalemate and partisan rancor, perhaps the biggest reason we plan to vote for Barbara is because of her willingness to reach across the aisle and her history of finding bipartisan solutions. Barbara was first elected in 2002, entering the Statehouse as a Democrat just as Mitt Romney began his tenure as a Republican governor. From the beginning, Barbara made it clear that party politics was not her style. At considerable risk to her own political future, Barbara stood up against Tom …
Reader says the incumbent has been an advocate for local aid.
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Monday, November 5, 2012
To The Editor: Our representative, Jim Lyons, has delivered on his promise to advocate for local aid. Thanks to Jim’s hard work, we have seen the local aid fund increase by 7%. Prior to Jim’s election in 2010, the Beacon Hill powerbrokers had been slashing the local aid budget in order to fund their political priorities, such as patronage hiring and bailouts for Lawrence City Hall. Jim Lyons is a strong voice for local aid funding because Jim understands that our most important services are provided through our local communities, not through the bloated Beacon Hill bureaucracy. When we experience a health or safety emergency, we depend on our fire and police departments. When we are concerned about traffic or roads, we call our local …
Reader believes Lyons' policies are not in the best interests of children.
- ELECTIONS
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Monday, November 5, 2012
To the Editor: The death of a child causes incalculable pain and loss to the parents. Moreover, when the tragedy is due to suicide, that pain is compounded by knowing it might have been preventable. Dozens of gay and lesbian teens every year commit suicide after prolonged anti-gay bullying. Suicide among gay youths is much higher than among their straight peers. However, the risk of suicide can be significantly reduced by counseling and an empathic ear. As a psychiatrist, I understand the value of counseling-- being heard and understood can make the critical difference between life and death. That's why I was astonished to learn about Rep. James Lyons' attempt to make it harder for gay youth to seek and receive this much-needed help. He …
Concerned Parent
2:45 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
I applaud you on behalf of these letters. I have opted out of these letters. Who would receive such a letter and be shocked at the realization that their child was fat? BMI is not a hidden fact. Children are mandated to get a physical to go to school, as such their doctor would tell the parent if their child was overweight, and therefore help them obtain a healthy weight. I highly doubt that … more ›