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 […]
UMass Dartmouth
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 inArtscape, Education, Local, South Coast Bureau
UMass Dartmouth’s $660 million problem: preserving its Brutalist campus
Brutalism had its heyday 60 years ago, but this polarizing style of architecture is back in the spotlight. At the Oscars, Adrien Brody won Best Actor for his performance of a Brutalist architect. In Washington, President Trump has re-issued an executive order deploring Brutalism. And in southeastern Massachusetts, our reporter Ben Berke brings us this story about a Brutalist college campus designed by a celebrated architect whose buildings are disappearing across the country.
Posted inEducation, Local, South Coast Bureau
As Star Store campus closed, politician kept six-figure maintenance job
When UMass Dartmouth began renting the Star Store in 2001, the university entered into a public-private partnership that dazzled the city of New Bedford with promises of economic renewal. With an annual earmark of $2.7 million in the state budget, the Massachusetts legislature created a new college campus for the arts in the heart of […]
Posted inEducation, Labor, The Weekly Catch
Child labor law violations in Fall River, behind the failed Star Store-UMass Dartmouth deal, and more
A seafood processing plant in Fall River is at the heart of a new lawsuit that claims the plant employed underage migrant workers – and says the teens were exposed to potentially dangerous conditions. The suit comes a year after an investigation by The Public’s Radio into possible child labor violations at seafood processors in New Bedford. Also, a year after UMass Dartmouth abruptly closed its arts campus at the Star Store in New Bedford, an investigation by the Massachusetts Inspector General gives us a clearer picture of what exactly happened and who’s to blame. And we hear a studio session with Providence-based jazz combo, the Leland Baker Trio. That and more on this week’s show.
