Lawrence City Councilor Marc Laplante

08/31/2026

A brief FB interview with Lissy Rivas.

08/31/2026

I’m at the scene where three teens were shot inside the stadium project area. The youngest teen has serious injuries. The incident took place after school dismissal. In talking with law-enforcement officials, I feel confident that they have identified the shooter and actively securing their arrest. Plenty of law-enforcement officials here, including mass State Police, various divisions within Lawrence Police, and environmental Police. I also feel confident that the area is secure. As an aside, plenty of media and 3 helicopters. 

08/28/2026

This week we unveiled the new Capt James A. Mulligan Square sign at the Everett St and Salem St intersection. Mulligan served as a naval fighter pilot. He was held as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam for seven years after his plane was shot down. Here is a brief snippet from my research that will be published later.

"Mulligan ejected, and after about 15 to 20 minutes lying in a rice paddy unconscious, was found by locals and brought to the North Vietnamese authorities. This would be the first of his 2522 days in captivity as a POW. He was held and tortured in several locations including the “Hanoi Hilton” and “Alcatraz.” "They put three sets of irons on my legs and made me kneel. Then they roped my wrists and arms behind my back, pulling them so tight I thought my chest would burst and my arms would fall off . . . they beat me about the head and body; dragged me about the room by my ears and hair . . . . I pleaded pitifully for mercy but to no avail." The worse was Alcatraz where 11 prisoners were singled out at the Hanoi Hilton because of their resistance. Mulligan’s cell “was ten feet long, a little more than four feet wide.” Here, Mulligan was in solitary conferment and slept in leg irons with a maggot infested sanitation bucket used to relieve himself. He was provided very little food.”

More information about Mulligan’s life can be found here: https://queencityma.wordpress.com/2026/08/27/james-a-mulligan-square/

08/27/2026

The City Council received news that the court ordered that any transfer of property to the LRA requires Council approval. Good news to residents is that these proposals that would increase housing units by the thousands now must receive council approval. Short of a loss in a possible appeal, these proposals pictured are likely obsolete.

08/27/2026

Attached is our LSP schedule for September. We have a firefighter (Ord), a police officer (Michael Murphy), a WW1 Vet (Maurice Murphy), and a WW2 Vet who was killed in action (Perry). Each has a story worth knowing and a life worth remembering. Please join us we rededicated their corners with new signs.

08/23/2026

Last week we unveiled the new Phillip V. Moore Square sign at the Isabel Melendez St (Concord St) and Broadway intersection. Moore was a Bronze Star recipient as an infantry man during WW2 and veterans advocate when he returned from the war. Here is a brief snippet from my research that will be published later.

"Besides the Bronze Star for bravery, he received the Purple Heart for injuries in combat, and the Combat Infantryman’s Medal for his participation in ground combat. When he returned home, he worked as a short order cook at Cedar Crest during the early morning shift. ‘At 5am, he opened the restaurant and there would be people waiting for Phil Moore’s oatmeal,’ said Frank Cain in an Eagle Tribune article. ‘There was many a guy who came in and didn’t have a dime, but they had a meal because Phil Moore gave it to them.’”

More information about Moore’s life can be found here: https://queencityma.wordpress.com/2026/08/19/phillip-v-moore-square/

08/19/2026

City council discussions should be in public.

Lawrence residents voiced concerns Tuesday night after learning Mayor Brian DePeña is facing federal charges of wire fraud and money laundering, with some calling for transparency as the City Council considered how to respond.

08/14/2026

This week we unveiled the new Joseph V. Miele Square sign at the Lawrence St and Chestnut St intersection. Miele was a Lawrence High School graduate who fought in the Korean War. He was killed in action on the legendary Heartbreak Ridge. Here is a brief snippet from my research that will be published later.

"Miele was 16 years old when World War 2 ended. Certainly, he and his classmates believed and hoped that the war’s end would usher a period of peace and prosperity. Little did he know when he received his diploma that within three years, another major war would break out and he would be in the middle of Korea fighting in one of the bloodiest battles in that war. Miele, a light weapons infantryman, died from wounds suffered in the battle at Heartbreak Ridge, six months after entering the army. He was killed by shrapnel while he was in a foxhole, during the time when the “on again, off again” peace negotiations between the North Koreans and the United States/United Nations broke down.”

More information about Miele’s life can be found here: https://queencityma.wordpress.com/2026/08/12/joseph-v-miele-square/

08/09/2026

This past week we unveiled the new Daniel F. Maloney Square sign at the Broadway and Cross St intersection. Maloney was a decorated WW1 veteran who was impactful with the Lawrence Fire Department by beginning the fire prevention unit, an ambulance service, and mandatory first aid instruction to all police officers and firefighters. Here is a brief snippet from my research that will be published later.

"After the war, he was promoted to 2nd lieutenant and by 1920, he, along with other returning soldiers, decided to seek political office. While he was defeated by future Lawrence mayor Walter J. Rochefort for a seat in the Lawrence School Committee, he continued seeking public service in other ways. The following year he was selected to serve as a medical attendant for the Lawrence Fire Department’s new motor ambulance and started that new responsibility at the Lowell Street Central Fire Station. Maloney also organized the Department of Fire Prevention of the Grammar Schools of Lawrence.”

More information about Maloney’s life can be found here: https://queencityma.wordpress.com/2026/08/04/daniel-f-maloney-square/

08/02/2026

Last week we unveiled the new Richard T. Kelley Square sign at the Sanborn St and Dana St intersection. Rick was a highly decorated special forces soldier during the Vietnam War and returned home to be a highly regarded local attorney with extensive contributions to our city and region. Here is a brief snippet from my research that will be published later.

"Kelley’s second deployment to Vietnam was in 1969 when he was with the 1st Special Forces Group. During his Vietnam deployments he was involved in frequent, highly classified “combat patrols in remote areas at the intercept of Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia.” It was here that he “fought alongside the 100 or more (Vietnamese Montagnard) tribesmen” in Vietnam’s Central Highlands. Kelley’s unit “would ultimately be deployed to some eighty-five locations in support of 3,500 Special Forces troops across Vietnam…. They were a rare hybrid, bred by the necessities of a brutal war.” Kelley was highly decorated for his bravery during the war as he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with One Oak Leaf Cluster and several other Meritorious and Service medals.”

More information about Kelley’s life can be found here: https://queencityma.wordpress.com/2026/07/29/richard-t-kelley-square/