The Joint Hearing of the House and Senate Ways and Means Committee Feb. 9.
At just over three hours long, the hearing to discuss allowing the city of Lawrence to borrow $35 million to dig it out of its overwhelming deficit kept coming back to two sore points: the refusal of Lawrence Mayor William Lantigua to step down from his state rep seat and his absence at the hearing. With the former resolved (Lantigua announced Friday he will vacate his second job as state rep) the discussion moves to whether the state will allow the city to borrow $35 million — it seems likely at this point — and what financial controls will come with that money.
If you missed our live video stream of the hearing last week, you can watch it on the State House archives. The hearing opens about 14 minutes into the video.
Noah R. Bombard is the new media editor for The Eagle-Tribune in North Andover. He is a former award-winning newspaper and magazine editor who has been covering news in Massachusetts since 1997.