MBTA officials have announced that South Coast Rail is unlikely to meet its goal of opening this summer, less than a month after the agency quietly parted ways with the project’s highest-ranking manager. At a public presentation in Fall River Wednesday night, a senior project manager for South Coast Rail, Jean Fox, said she could […]
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
New Bedford Market Basket manager charged with sexually harassing employees
A former manager at Market Basket is facing criminal charges for allegedly sexually harassing female employees at the company’s supermarket in New Bedford. Four alleged victims and two alleged witnesses told The Public’s Radio that a former assistant manager, Juan Ernesto Tzoc-Lol, would frequently touch his coworkers inappropriately, make sexually lewd remarks, and in some […]
Posted inEnvironment, Local, South Coast Bureau
Avangrid’s New England Wind wins federal approval for 129 offshore turbines
Another proposed offshore wind development received federal approval on Tuesday, setting the stage for the construction of up to 129 new turbines in the federal waters south of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management granted approval to Avangrid for a pair of proposed wind farms identified as New England Wind […]
Posted inEnvironment, Local, South Coast Bureau
Fishermen displaced by offshore wind farm apply for compensation
On a recent weekday afternoon, fishermen sat around a large table at the New Bedford Port Authority, learning to fill out an online form that could entitle them to financial compensation from a company that some fishermen have treated as their sworn enemy. Vineyard Wind, the offshore wind developer, is constructing a 62-turbine wind farm […]
Posted inEnvironment, Local, South Coast Bureau
Developers seek to get offshore wind back on track with latest bids to New England states
Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island received bids for new wind farms on Wednesday from offshore wind developers seeking to get construction back on track after a string of projects were canceled last year because of rising construction costs. The bids seek to lock in higher electricity prices for offshore wind that manage to strike a […]
Posted inBusiness, Local, South Coast Bureau
New Bedford’s Star Store at center of tax battle after art college’s abrupt exit
The private owner of the Star Store is facing a massive property tax increase from the City of New Bedford, a move that increases pressure on him to return the building to public use following the abrupt exit of UMass Dartmouth’s art college last summer. Local developer Paul Downey leased the Star Store to the […]
Posted inHousing, Local, South Coast Bureau
As home prices rise in New Bedford, is gentrification really to blame?
At a rally outside New Bedford City Hall last April, protesters shared stories about rent increases in their neighborhoods that seem to march in lockstep with the construction of a new train line to Boston that is scheduled to open this summer. Viola Pina, a local landlord and former politician, blamed the train for attracting […]
Posted inArticle, Criminal Justice, Local, South Coast Bureau
Judge rejects appeal based on misconduct claims made in anonymous letters
Anonymous letters accused a New Bedford judge of having an inappropriate relationship with a prosecutor whose cases he oversaw. A man seeking to overturn his conviction on those grounds saw his appeal dismissed on Wednesday due to a lack of credible evidence supporting the allegations.
Posted inCriminal Justice, Local, South Coast Bureau
Jury finds Fall River cop guilty of covering up police station beating
Nicholas M. Hoar will return to Boston’s federal court in April to be sentenced.
Posted inCriminal Justice, South Coast Bureau
Police witness testifies about alleged cover-up at Fall River police station
A booking officer testified on Tuesday that Fall River Police Officer Nicholas Hoar struck a suspect on the head with a baton and filed a false report to avoid punishment.
