Author Archives: billmanzi

Obama Closing the Gap in PA

Posted on April 9, 2008 by billmanzi

Senator Barack Obama is inching closer to Senator Hillary Clinton in the latest polling done for the all important PA primary. From the Washington Post: Two weeks before the Keystone State primary, the Quinnipiac University poll shows Hillary Rodham Clinton … Continue reading →

Posted in National News | Leave a comment

Mark Penn Bites the Dust

Posted on April 6, 2008 by billmanzi

Senior Hillary Clinton strategist and pollster Mark Penn has resigned from the Clinton campaign after the Wall Street Journal reported that Penn had met with Colombian government officials to advise on the free trade agreement between Columbia and the United … Continue reading →

Posted in National News | 2 Comments

And the beat goes on

Posted on April 6, 2008 by billmanzi

The Boston Globe today highlighted some of the many problems facing cities and towns throughout the Commonwealth. Across Massachusetts, cities and towns face the prospect of deep cuts in what appears to be the grimmest fiscal year since 2003. Local … Continue reading →

Posted in Methuen, State News | 5 Comments

Tribune Editorial Right on Mark

Posted on April 4, 2008 by billmanzi

The Tribune today editorialized in support of Methuen’s stand on the grievance and arbitration request of the Methuen Patrolman’s Association. Read the Tribune editorial here. And while a story yesterday had the union indicating that they had made every attempt … Continue reading →

Posted in Methuen | 2 Comments

Methuen High School Gets the nod

Posted on April 3, 2008 by billmanzi

I attended a meeting in Boston yesterday of the Massachusetts School Building Authority. At that meeting Treasurer Tim Cahill and Executive Director Katherine Craven announced that Methuen High School is one of three High Schools in Massachusetts that has been … Continue reading →

Posted in Methuen, State News | 3 Comments

Flag Man Proposal draws flak

Posted on April 2, 2008 by billmanzi

The legislative proposal to allow civilian flagmen to replace police officers on paid details began drawing the anticipated opposition yesterday, with a mobilization by the forces opposed to reform. From the Boston Herald: The hotly debated proposal to curtail police … Continue reading →

Posted in Methuen, State News | 3 Comments

Gore comes storming back on stage

Posted on April 1, 2008 by billmanzi

Al Gore is returning to center stage with a big ad campaign on the threat of global warming. The Washington Post blog “The Fix”, referring to Gore as “the Goreacle”, has written a pretty entertaining entry on the Gore return. … Continue reading →

Posted in National News | 1 Comment

Margery Egan and Sal Dimasi

Posted on March 31, 2008 by billmanzi

There has been plenty of talk lately about the State of Massachusetts and its interactions with the cities and towns, with much of it centered around the ability of cities and towns to join the state health care plan, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Methuen, State News | 1 Comment

Grievance Denied

Posted on March 31, 2008 by billmanzi

I have denied a grievance by the Methuen Police Patrolman’s Association which essentially demanded an extra day off on Christmas Eve, a benefit bestowed by contract on another bargaining unit. The MPPA demand would have cost Methuen taxpayers a chunk … Continue reading →

Posted in Methuen | 2 Comments

Rep. Barbara L’Italien Roasts Manzi in Song

Posted on March 30, 2008 by billmanzi

State Rep. Barbara L’Italien really takes me over the coals with song. Unlike Rep. Linda Dean Campbell Rep. L’Italien can really sing.

Posted in Methuen | Leave a comment