Methuen News

Thirteen people have been charged with auto insurance fraud in connection with a staged accident in May 2003 in North Andover that resulted in more than $76,000 in insurance company payouts.

When public school officials laid off workers in recent weeks, they wiped a family off the payroll.

The Methuen Scholarship Foundation is seeking golfers for its first-ever golf tournament and auction, which will tee off at the Merrimack Valley Golf Club on Sunday, Aug.

Allen is featured on the soundtrack of "The Out-of-Towners'' with Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn .

A marked police cruiser collided with a 15-passenger van while the officer was responding to a domestic dispute July 4. No one was seriously hurt, but the brand-new cruiser was extensively damaged, police said yesterday.

Fifteen people, most in their 20s, were arrested early Saturday morning on charges that included assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and alcohol violations after a party and a fight on Lawrence Street.

While the town will purchase a Mammoth Road apartment building for senior housing, two Housing Authority board members are concerned that the project could end up costing the town more money in the future.

Tonight's Beatlejuice concert has been postponed because of the threat of heavy rain, thunderstorms and hail.

The city's schools will be unable to pay bills after Tuesday and could face legal action by the state if the City Council fails to approve a new school budget by then, Mayor William Manzi is warning.

A Methuen pizza shop owned by School Superintendent Wilfredo Laboy may stand in the way of Mayor Michael Sullivan voting tonight to put the embattled schools' boss on paid leave.

City councilors unanimously approved the city's fiscal year 2010 budget yesterday and plan to meet again on Wednesday to vote on the School Department budget.

A Massachusetts man facing animal cruelty charges for allegedly killing his bulldog with a hammer told police the dog was sick and he could not afford to pay a veterinarian to put it down.

The Lawrence School Committee has placed Superintendent Wilfredo Laboy on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of a criminal probe.

Gov. Deval Patrick appears to have done the impossible in Massachusetts politics: He has the Democrats and Republicans working together on a common cause.

The City Council voted this past winter to skip this year's preliminary municipal election to save an estimated $32,400. But the state Legislature has the final say over whether voters will have a chance to whittle down the playing field before the Nov.

Twenty city officers will be out of work July 1 unless the police union comes up with a way to save $1 million, Mayor William Manzi said last night.

State and local police have seized files, computer equipment and a small black trunk from the Methuen home of Lawrence schools Superintendent Wilfredo Laboy.

Members of the 101st Engineer Battalion of the National Guard will have a new place to call home in about a year.

Smokers have a clear message they want to send to lawmakers about upping the cigarette tax: Don't do it.

The owners of Lawton's Famous Frankfurters stand are vowing to move their business - possibly to Methuen - if work isn't done soon to keep the restaurant from sliding into the canal.