When Paul Gauvin was an internal affairs investigator with the Fall River Police Department, his efforts to discipline officers for things like steroid abuse and excessive force were sometimes thwarted by station politics and powerful protections in union contracts. So when Gauvin was promoted to chief in December 2021, he said he tried to overhaul […]
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 inCriminal Justice, Local, South Coast Bureau
Fall River mayor switches police chiefs under pressure from unions
As Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan weighed four internal candidates for police chief, he said Kelly Furtado emerged as a popular choice among the department’s rank and file. Furtado comes from a police family: her father, husband and son have all served as Fall River police officers. She had also worked alongside the mayor at […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Local, South Coast Bureau
Family offers $10,000 reward for tips about fatal police shooting in Fall River
The family of a man killed by Fall River police officers three years ago is offering a $10,000 reward for tips that advance their understanding of the investigation into his death. Their relative, Anthony Harden, was shot in his bedroom in November 2021 by a Fall River police officer shortly after Harden’s girlfriend reported him […]
Posted inEducation, Local, South Coast Bureau
Investigation unravels how New Bedford lost its downtown arts college
When UMass Dartmouth announced the sudden closure of its downtown arts campus in New Bedford last year, just three weeks before classes began, politicians and university officials were quick to point fingers. Conflicting allegations created a confusing tangle of blame, as movers emptied two decades worth of art and studio equipment from the sprawling beaux […]
Posted inBusiness, Immigration, Local, South Coast Bureau
Seafood supplier for top supermarkets sued for allegedly using child labor at Fall River plant
Legal aid groups filed a lawsuit this week on behalf of three migrant teenagers who allegedly worked at a seafood processing plant in Fall River that supplies some of the region’s biggest supermarket chains. The minors, who are not identified by name in the complaint, allegedly started working at Raw Seafoods’ processing plant in the […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Local, South Coast Bureau
Making sense of Rhode Island’s latest offshore wind procurement
Rhode Island officials have set a goal of meeting the state’s electricity needs with 100% renewable energy by 2033, and there’s still a long way to go. Last week, the three southern New England states were hoping to procure enough offshore wind to make serious progress toward their climate goals. But Rhode Island only secured […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Local, South Coast Bureau
Mass. and R.I. to buy power from 3 new offshore wind farms, reviving stalled plans
Massachusetts and Rhode Island officials announced on Friday they plan to buy power from three new offshore wind farms, signaling that energy regulators in both states still consider the renewable energy source economically viable in New England after an industry wide contraction last year. Private utility companies in both states will now negotiate contracts to […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Local, South Coast Bureau
States to announce Friday if New England is ready for more offshore wind farms
The Captain Les Eldridge used to chase bass and tuna out of New Bedford. Now, the vessel has a new role in the nation’s emerging offshore wind industry. “We’re bringing people out to the offshore wind farms,” said Ed Anthes-Washburn, whose company Coast Line Transfers manages the vessel. “People and stuff.” The Captain Les Eldridge […]
Posted inArts And Culture, Local, South Coast Bureau
Remembering the wreck of New Bedford’s last great whaleship
Contrary to the motto on its municipal seal, New Bedford was no longer the city that lit the world by the 1920s. America’s lamps mostly ran on electricity and kerosene. Whale byproducts still had some commercial uses: the oil served as a base for various face creams and machine lubricants, ambergris was a fixative in […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Local, South Coast Bureau
Officers present during Fall River police station beating can keep their jobs
Two Fall River police officers who were present for the beating of a suspect at the city’s police station in 2020 will keep their jobs, after an investigation released this week found insufficient evidence to prove whether they filed false reports in violation of department policy. An earlier FBI investigation into the beating already led […]
