Free Republic

After months of delays, the battle between landlords and tenants in one Bay Area city has come to an end. A rent control ordinance in the city of Concord went into effect Friday after its opponents failed to get enough signatures to place the issue on the November ballot. “We are thrilled that the people of Concord have spoken again in favor of people over corporate greed,” Rhea Elina Laughlin, executive director of advocacy group Rising Juntos, said in a statement. The ordinance reduces the annual percentage by which landlords can raise rent in Concord and bolsters certain eviction protections....

On April 19, 1775, seventy-eight-year-old Captain Samuel Whittemore crouched behind a stone wall next to his home. Whittemore’s old fingers tightly gripped his musket and his pistol. A sword hung from his belt. A phalanx of Redcoats looted homes as they retreated back to Boston. The senior Patriot, who had resisted tyranny and the rule of the Crown for years, planned to fight to the death to defend his home.When the British troops approached, he blasted away, slaying two Redcoats and wounding or killing a third with his sword. The Redcoats then unleashed their fury on Whittemore, shooting him in...

“To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them.” — George Mason of Virginia In April of 1775, the British Royal Military Governor of Massachusetts, General Thomas Gage, sent 800 British Army Regulars, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith, on a preemptive raid to seize guns from American patriots at Lexington and Concord.

During the first six decades of the eighteenth century, the American colonies were mostly allowed to govern themselves. In exchange, they loyally fought for Great Britain in imperial wars against the French and Spanish. But in 1763, after the British and Americans won the French and Indian War, King George III began working to eliminate American self-government. The succeeding years saw a series of political crises provoked by the king and parliament. What turned the political dispute into a war was arms confiscation at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775.

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — The author of “Little Women” may have been even more productive and sensational than previously thought. Max Chapnick, a postdoctoral teaching associate at Northeastern University, believes he found about 20 stories and poems written by Louisa May Alcott under her own name as well as pseudonyms for local newspapers in Massachusetts in the late 1850s and early 1860s. One of the pseudonyms is believed to be E. H. Gould, including a story about her house in Concord, Massachusetts, and a ghost story along the lines of the Charles Dickens classic “A Christmas Carol.” He also found...

by Jason DeWitt | RNNThe blonde varsity cheerleader repeatedly told this bully she did not want to fight, but the big bully didn’t listen. That was a big mistake, and every painful moment was captured on video.Savannah Sprague from California warned a bully that she did not want to fight. Varsity cheerleader Savannah Sprague repeatedly told a bully that she did not want to fight. Apparently, she was left with no choice but to defend herself, fight back, and come out on top. “No, nobody wants to fight. You guys want to fight us. Nobody speaks on you guys, nobody...

The sun never set on the British Empire. It was the largest empire in world history. Out of nearly 200 countries in the world, only 22 were never controlled, invaded or attacked by Britain. In April of 1775, the British Royal Military Governor of Massachusetts, General Thomas Gage, sent 800 British Army Regulars, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith, on a preemptive raid to seize guns from American patriots at Lexington and Concord. George Mason of Virginia stated: "To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them." A warning was sent from...

On April 19th, 1775, at about 5 a.m., 700 British troops, on a mission to capture Patriot leaders and seize a Patriot arsenal, march into Lexington to find 77 armed minutemen under Captain John Parker waiting for them on the town’s common green. British Major John Pitcairn ordered the outnumbered Patriots to disperse, and after a moment’s hesitation the Americans began to drift off the green.Suddenly, the “shot heard around the world” was fired from an undetermined gun, and a cloud of musket smoke soon covered the green. When the brief Battle of Lexington ended, eight Americans lay dead or...

Full title: Archaeologists uncover secrets of historic Revolutionary War battle site BOSTON – Archeologists using 21st-century technology are mapping out the exact spots British soldiers and Colonial militiamen were standing as they fired at each other during a pivotal skirmish on the first day of the American Revolution. Parker's Revenge, as the fight is known, occurred on April 19, 1775, after the battles of Lexington and Concord as the redcoats retreated to Boston. Capt. John Parker, commander of the 77-member Lexington militia, had met the 700-strong British column on the green at 5:30 a.m. Eight of his men were killed...

Listen to the history of the Bedford Flag on Ammo.com’s Resistance Library Podcast! On this episode of the Resistance Library Podcast, Sam and Dave talk about the history of the Bedford Flag. Dating back to the early 18th century, the Bedford Flag is America’s oldest historically attested flag. Previously, historians thought the flag dated as far back as the 1660s, but this was later proven false, as the color “Prussian blue” did not exist until 1704. It looks very much like something carried into battle by medieval knights, so historians can be forgiven for looking so far back to find...

While it’s not celebrated too widely outside of New England, Patriots’ Day (or “Patriot’s Day” if you live in Maine) is a big deal there, primarily in the state where the Battles of Lexington and Concord actually took place – Massachusetts. For anyone reading this from New England who isn’t aware: No, you’re not getting the third Monday in April off so you can stay home and watch the Boston Marathon. Even before the Declaration of Independence was written, there were the Battles of Lexington and Concord – the true beginning of the American Revolution. To be sure, this is...

The Battles of Lexington and Concord, fought on April 19, 1775, kicked off the American Revolutionary War (1775-83). Tensions had been building for many years between residents of the 13 American colonies and the British authorities, particularly in Massachusetts. On the night of April 18, 1775, hundreds of British troops marched from Boston to nearby Concord in order to seize an arms cache. Paul Revere and other riders sounded the alarm, and colonial militiamen began mobilizing to intercept the Redcoat column. A confrontation on the Lexington town green started off the fighting, and soon the British were hastily retreating under...

A 66-year-old Virginia musician and pastor who had questioned coronavirus media coverage died from the disease after a trip to New Orleans. A 66-year-old Virginia resident who fell ill with the new coronavirus, or COVID-19, on a trip to New Orleans died Wednesday morning at a hospital in Concord, North Carolina. The death of Landon Spradlin, an accomplished musician and a pastor, has drawn viral attention online, in part because earlier this month Spradlin questioned whether media coverage of the disease was overblown. Spradlin lived in Gretna, a small town in Pittsylvania County, about halfway between Lynchburg and Danville. While...

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday filed a motion to dismiss charges against a pair of shell companies accused of financing a Russian troll farm that sought to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. Prosecutors argued that the companies, Concord Management and Consulting LLC and Concord Catering, were taking advantage of the discovery process to obtain material about U.S. efforts to combat election interference and that a court proceeding was not necessary because it wouldn't lead to "meaningful punishment in the event of conviction." In a nine-page filing, the prosecutors said that the Concord companies were intent on reaping...

A federal judge on Monday pressed lawyers to prepare for an April trial in the prosecution of a Russian company charged with interfering in the 2016 presidential election, expressing frustration over delays in a case that was originally brought by former Special Counsel Robert Mueller III’s office. “We’re now on a trial track,” declared U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich of the District of Columbia, during a 90-minute court hearing in Washington’s federal trial court. She added: “If I left this up to you all, we wouldn’t be trying this case until 2021.” Friedrich, federal prosecutors and defense lawyers for the...

CONCORD, New Hampshire — Bernie Sanders said at a forum in New Hampshire that women still face obstacles when they run for office, describing being a woman as a potential “problem” and noting that anyone who runs for office “brings some negatives” when it comes to appealing to the American electorate. The language instantly re-opened a conflict between supporters of Elizabeth Warren and Sanders over questions about electability, gender, and a private conversation between the two senators where they discussed whether a woman can win in 2020. “Everybody has their own sets of problems,” Sanders said during a forum sponsored...

Lack Of Water Supply Hindered Concord Mansion Fire Response The closest fire hydrant connected to the town water line was down the hill from the estate. By Samantha Mercado, Patch Staff Dec 28, 2019 11:08 am ET | Updated Dec 28, 2019 3:09 pm ET CONCORD, MA — The four-alarm blaze that leveled a historic, multi-million dollar home in Concord on Friday had a few advantages over the crews working to put it out, namely, a lack of access to water. Dozens of fire departments responded to the call, including Concord Fire, but the blaze still took over four hours...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The former head of North Carolina’s Republican Party formally pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday for his role in one of the state’s biggest political corruption cases. Former GOP Chairman Robin Hayes agreed to plead guilty to lying to federal investigators. He faces up to six months in prison, though prosecutors are likely to ask for less time. No sentencing date has been set. Hayes, 74, is a Concord native who served in Congress for a decade. The former lawmaker also once ran for governor. He was one of four men indicted in March on multiple charges...

Corrupt US Attorney Jesse Liu Was Involved in Mueller Cases Where Evidence Withheld from Defendants -Now She’s Involved in Decision on Whether to Indict Crooked Andrew McCabe! ( Full title ).. ... Jessie K. Liu should not be practicing law. She should be disbarred, impeached and indicted. She is the US Attorney involved in three Deep State Mueller related cases where the government is withholding or withheld evidence from the defense. And she is involved in other corrupt cases. Jessie K. Liu was an up and coming star in the Department of Justice. However her actions of late prove that...

A Robert Mueller with a surprisingly frail voice took to the lectern on May 29, 2019. Visibly uncomfortable, he delivered a puzzling address to reporters curious about the strangely timed press conference. Mueller spoke for a few minutes until arriving at what now appears to be the real purpose of the press conference: damage control. “As the grand jury alleged in a separate indictment, a private Russian entity engaged in a social media operation, where Russian citizens posed as Americans in order to influence an election,” he said. “These indictments contain allegations, and we are not commenting on the guilt...