In Fall River, voters are choosing candidates for the city council, the school committee, and the mayor’s office. Incumbent Mayor Paul Coogan is seeking re-election after four years in charge at City Hall. His challenger is former mayor Sam Sutter, who lost the office in 2015 to a young Jasiel Correia. Sutter also served for […]
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 inArticle, Business, Environment
R.I. wind farm survives cuts to Orsted’s offshore wind plans
A developer that plans to build Rhode Island’s first grid-scale offshore wind farm announced this week it is abandoning two projects in New Jersey, stoking concerns about the commercial viability of a clean energy source that several states are counting on to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. In anticipation of an earnings call with investors […]
Posted inArticle, Business, Environment, South Coast Bureau
Offshore wind cable factory clears tough permitting hurdle in Somerset
The company suggested that it might walk away from the project unless the Somerset Zoning Board of Appeals reconsidered an earlier decision.
Posted inArticle, Education, South Coast Bureau
UMass Dartmouth payments to Star Store developer under review by Inspector General
Two years after a lease-to-own agreement expired, the university continued paying the Star Store’s private owner, Paul Downey, a monthly rent of nearly $160,000. State Sen. Mark Montigny, who passed legislation triggering the review, said Downey collected that money without making any “discernible improvements to the building,” leaving a maintenance backlog that could imperil any hopes of the university returning to its downtown arts campus.
Posted inArticle, Criminal Justice, Local, South Coast Bureau
Years of alleged abuses by Fall River cop reveal limits of internal police investigations
Michael Pessoa remained a police officer for nearly two decades despite receiving frequent complaints of physical and verbal abuse, exposing the limits of the Fall River Police Department’s attempts to police itself. Editor’s note: This story references offensive remarks about race and sexual assault that some readers may find upsetting.
Posted inArticle, Environment, South Coast Bureau
South Coast and Rhode Island play it safe ahead of possible weekend storms
Heavy winds and high surf are expected as Hurricane Lee appears poised to pass by southern New England without a direct hit.
Posted inArticle, Criminal Justice, Local, Politics, South Coast Bureau
Judge fines DA for withholding information about fatal police shooting in Fall River
Justice James Budreau ordered $1,000 in punitive damages against the Bristol County District Attorney’s office — the lowest amount allowed under the law — for shielding the names of police officers involved in the death of Anthony Harden and the subsequent investigation.
Posted inArtscape, Episode, Local, South Coast Bureau
New Bedford says goodbye to a downtown eccentric
Ira Cohen, a bookseller and art model who kept a literary spirit alive in a tough New England seaport, died this January at 70 years old after a brief illness. Cohen was the focus of what turned out to be the last show UMass Dartmouth exhibited at its gallery in downtown New Bedford before the university abruptly closes its campus there at the end of the month. For this week’s Artscape, South Coast Bureau Reporter Ben Berke interviewed more than a dozen people who knew Cohen. The result is a collection of stories, memories and impressions that form another lasting portrait of Cohen.
Posted inArtscape, Episode
Why is UMass-Dartmouth leaving the Star Store and how will that affect New Bedford?
UMass-Dartmouth will be closing its arts school at the Star Store in downtown New Bedford, and relocating all classes and studios to the state university’s main campus in Dartmouth. The school’s chancellor, Mark Fuller, announced the closure in an email to faculty on Monday, less than two weeks before the start of the school year.
Posted inArticle, Arts And Culture, Politics, South Coast Bureau
UMass Dartmouth arts school to leave downtown New Bedford
Faculty and students at the College of Visual and Performing Arts were notified about the Star Store’s imminent closure two weeks before the school year began.
