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 […]
Jon Mitchell
Posted inArts And Culture, Local, South Coast Bureau
Nonprofit plans community process to reimagine New Bedford’s Star Store
The Star Store began as a humble dry goods shop in New Bedford’s whaling era, evolved into a grand downtown department store that died when the malls arrived, and re-emerged as a state arts college, only to close abruptly in 2023 with little notice. New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell recalled this winding history as he […]
Posted inArts And Culture, Local, South Coast Bureau
New Bedford’s Star Store sold for $1 to developer of artists’ housing
The Star Store, a former university arts campus in downtown New Bedford that closed abruptly in 2023, has been sold to a nonprofit that develops housing and workspace for artists. The Arts & Business Council Of Greater Boston purchased the Star Store for $1 on Thursday, according to a deed filed with the Bristol County […]
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 inArts And Culture, Local, South Coast Bureau
New Bedford reveals design for Herman Melville statue
New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell wants his city to do more to promote its connection to one of the great American novels. Mitchell unveiled the design for an eight-foot bronze statue of Moby Dick author Herman Melville at a press conference on Friday morning. The statue portrays Melville in a heroic pose with his mouth […]
Posted inEnvironment, Local, South Coast Bureau
New Bedford’s next offshore wind play: More office space
New Bedford’s waterfront is already bustling with the colossal maneuvers of offshore wind construction – there are cranes assembling turbines taller than the city’s biggest buildings, and ships arriving with blades as long as football fields. But on Monday, Mayor Jon Mitchell announced the city’s latest play in the industry: creating more office space for […]
Posted inBusiness, Local, South Coast Bureau
New Bedford takes Star Store owner to court
The City of New Bedford is suing the private owner of the Star Store for more than $500,000 in unpaid taxes through a process that could end with the city seizing ownership of the downtown property if its tax bill remains unpaid. The Star Store, an historic building that fills nearly a full city block […]
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 inBusiness, Local, Politics, South Coast Bureau
New Bedford pols bury the hatchet and try again with State Pier redevelopment
Plans to redevelop a central slice of New Bedford’s waterfront have begun to move forward again after a dispute between local politicians last year cast some doubts over the future of the project. On an industrial waterfront that prides itself for preserving its fishing industry, the New Bedford State Pier has emerged as a unique […]
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 […]
