A week after New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell said he would close the Casa da Saudade library in response to $10.2 million in budget cuts for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, he announced that the library branch will remain open but with reduced hours. According to the mayor’s press release, Casa da Saudade’s new operating hours […]
Paul C. Kelly Campos
Paul C. Kelly Campos is a Report for America Corps member who covers democracy and community engagement for The Public’s Radio. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Kelly is a writer, poet and translator of Irish and Nicaraguan descent. His bilingual work has appeared in NPR’s Next Generation Radio, The Washington Post, KQED Forum, KALW, Prism, The Golden Gate Xpress, Seen and Heard, The San Franciscan, and Borderless magazine. He graduated from SF State with a B.A. in journalism and a minor in English literature in 2021. In his spare time he can be found consuming pupusas, reading poetry, or playing with his cat ‘Dr. Otto Octavious Phd.’ all while “The Damned” plays loudly in the background.
Posted inCriminal Justice, Local, South Coast Bureau
Medical oxygen, smoking materials may have caused Gabriel House fire, investigators say
Investigators believe the deadly fire at the Gabriel House assisted living facility in Fall River started in a resident’s room from either a failed oxygen concentrator or smoking materials later found in the room. “During this past week, investigators have retrieved and recovered more evidence, reviewed video footage, and spoken to witnesses,” Bristol County District […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Local, South Coast Bureau
The Bristol County DA says it incorrectly declared a 10th person dead in Fall River fire
The Bristol County District Attorney’s office said Friday it had mistakenly announced that a 10th person had died in the fire at the Gabriel House assisted living facility in Fall River. The DA’s office said yesterday that 66-year-old Brenda Cropper had died. But now, the DA said that mistake was due to “a miscommunication with […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Local, South Coast Bureau
9 dead, 30 injured after five-alarm fire at assisted living facility in Fall River
Nine people are dead and at least 30 injured after a five-alarm fire at an assisted living facility in Fall River on Sunday night, according to city officials. “This is an unfathomable tragedy for the families involved and the Fall River community,” Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said in a statement early Monday morning. […]
Posted inLocal, Politics, South Coast Bureau
New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell announces ‘austerity measures’ in response to budget cuts
New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell announced a series of “austerity measures” on Friday. The moves are a response, he said, to the City Council recently cutting $10.2 million out of his proposed city budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. Among the service reductions announced were a hiring freeze for non-public safety agencies for the first […]
Posted inArts And Culture, Health, Immigration, Politics, The Weekly Catch
R.I. Lawmakers consider the value of community healthcare workers
A New Bedford man – who spent weeks in an ICE detention center – is out. He could pursue legal action for wrongful detainment. We’ll get an update on the story. Also,- community health workers provide a unique service that advocates say is vital to keeping healthcare costs down. Rhode Island lawmakers are considering a bill that forces private insurers to cover many of the services provided by these workers. And Leo’s bar was an institution in Providence. For Artscape we look back on how the bar, and its owner John Rector were so important to so many people. That and more on this week’s show..
Posted inImmigration, Local, South Coast Bureau
New Bedford man arrested in ICE road stop is released on bond
Juan Francisco Méndez is being reunited with his family after nearly a month at the Strafford County Department of Corrections in Dover, N.H. He was released Thursday on a $1,500 bond, according to his attorney, Ondine Galvez-Sniffin. Méndez was detained in April after ICE agents smashed through his car window with an axe. He was […]
Posted inImmigration, Local, South Coast Bureau
New Bedford resident due to be released from ICE detention remains in custody
A Guatemalan man detained last month in New Bedford after immigration agents used an axe to break through his car window is still being held at a New Hampshire detention facility despite a judge’s order to dismiss his case. Juan Francisco Méndez was expected to be released last Thursday after Immigration Court Judge Donald Ostrom […]
Posted inImmigration, Local, South Coast Bureau
Guatemalan man detained in New Bedford due to be released after judge’s order
Immigration Court Judge Donald Ostrom said he was dismissing a case against Juan Francisco Méndez because immigration authorities had failed to properly file the necessary paperwork to charge him, according to his attorney, Ondine Galvez-Sniffin. In court, Galvez-Sniffin said, the the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was unable to account for itself when asked about […]
Posted inImmigration, Local, Politics
Federal judge in R.I. temporarily halts deportation of Venezuelan man to Salvadoran prison
A federal judge on Monday temporarily halted the deportation of a Venezuelan man who lives in Rhode Island. Rhode Island U.S. District Court Judge Melissa R. DuBose issued an order stating that the man cannot be removed “outside the District of Rhode Island without providing the Court with at least 48 hours’ advance notice of […]
