One of the most iconic pieces of artwork associated with Providence is a black and white poster with comic book panels that makes the city look like a film noir. Some people know it’s text by heart, which ends with a classic line: “Rich folks live on Power Street, but most of us live off […]
Ben Berke
Based in New Bedford, Ben staffs our South Coast Bureau desk. He covers anything that happens in Fall River, New Bedford, and the surrounding towns, as long as it's a good story. His assignments have taken him to jails, factories, city halls, fishing vessels, bakeries, environmental cleanup sites and the homes of hundreds of interview subjects. Ben joined the bureau in February 2021 after three years in Brockton reporting for The Enterprise. His freelance work has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe and The Providence Journal. When he's not working, Ben can often be found near the beach hiking, surfing and collecting the strange things that wash ashore.
Posted inBusiness, Local, Transportation
What it’s like to (finally) ride the train from New Bedford to Boston
Lea Jarrett rode the train for love. A law student at Boston College, her boyfriend usually has to drive her up to Boston after her weekend visits. But on Monday, he dropped Jarrett at the station in New Bedford. “This is kind of a gamechanger,” Jarrett said. Jarrett was one of about 60 people who […]
Posted inLocal, Politics
Thousands of federal workers now in paid limbo
In late February, President Donald Trump’s administration fired close to 24,000 probationary federal workers in the name of government efficiency. In response to a judicial order that found the mass termination unlawful, the administration began rehiring those workers and reassigning them to a form of paid leave this week. In a series of interviews, many […]
Posted inBusiness, Local, Politics, South Coast Bureau
Fishermen could face stricter catch limits as Trump slashes NOAA
The federal agency that studies the ocean and manages fisheries lost about 1,200 employees in February. But for the fishermen regulated by the agency, it’s still business as usual on the docks. On a recent Wednesday, many crews on New Bedford’s fishing piers were doing gear work for their next trip, as Eric Hansen repaired […]
Posted inArtscape, Education, Local, South Coast Bureau
UMass Dartmouth’s $660 million problem: preserving its Brutalist campus
Brutalism had its heyday 60 years ago, but this polarizing style of architecture is back in the spotlight. At the Oscars, Adrien Brody won Best Actor for his performance of a Brutalist architect. In Washington, President Trump has re-issued an executive order deploring Brutalism. And in southeastern Massachusetts, our reporter Ben Berke brings us this story about a Brutalist college campus designed by a celebrated architect whose buildings are disappearing across the country.
Posted inLocal, South Coast Bureau, Transportation
South Coast Rail set to open in late March
At long last, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has an opening date for South Coast Rail. The MBTA announced that trains will begin carrying passengers from Fall River and New Bedford to Boston starting Monday, March 24, pending final approval from the Federal Railroad Administration. The long-awaited project will revive train service between those cities […]
Posted inLocal, Politics, South Coast Bureau
New Bedford mayor still optimistic about offshore wind in state of city speech
In his annual state of the city speech, New Bedford’s longtime mayor Jon Mitchell expressed a strictly positive outlook for the city’s economy, despite the president’s plans to obstruct the offshore wind industry and deport an unprecedented number of undocumented immigrants. New Bedford’s waterfront includes a pier where offshore wind turbines are assembled and a […]
Posted inEducation, Local, South Coast Bureau
As Star Store campus closed, politician kept six-figure maintenance job
When UMass Dartmouth began renting the Star Store in 2001, the university entered into a public-private partnership that dazzled the city of New Bedford with promises of economic renewal. With an annual earmark of $2.7 million in the state budget, the Massachusetts legislature created a new college campus for the arts in the heart of […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Local
Can Trump really shut down the offshore wind industry?
President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to shut down the offshore wind industry. Before he even took office, the region saw an impact. Last Friday, a company announced it was abandoning plans to build a factory in Somerset that would’ve supplied undersea cables to American offshore wind farms. Then, on Monday, during his first […]
Posted inBusiness, Local, South Coast Bureau
Prysmian abandons plans for offshore wind cable factory in Somerset
An Italian company has abandoned plans to build a factory in Somerset that would have supplied undersea cables to American offshore wind farms. The proposed factory would have created between 200 and 350 manufacturing jobs at the site of an old coal fired power plant in Somerset’s Brayton Point neighborhood. The Prysmian Group announced on […]
