Legal aid groups filed a lawsuit this week on behalf of three migrant teenagers who allegedly worked at a seafood processing plant in Fall River that supplies some of the region’s biggest supermarket chains. The minors, who are not identified by name in the complaint, allegedly started working at Raw Seafoods’ processing plant in the […]
South Coast Bureau
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Local, South Coast Bureau
Making sense of Rhode Island’s latest offshore wind procurement
Rhode Island officials have set a goal of meeting the state’s electricity needs with 100% renewable energy by 2033, and there’s still a long way to go. Last week, the three southern New England states were hoping to procure enough offshore wind to make serious progress toward their climate goals. But Rhode Island only secured […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Local, South Coast Bureau
Mass. and R.I. to buy power from 3 new offshore wind farms, reviving stalled plans
Massachusetts and Rhode Island officials announced on Friday they plan to buy power from three new offshore wind farms, signaling that energy regulators in both states still consider the renewable energy source economically viable in New England after an industry wide contraction last year. Private utility companies in both states will now negotiate contracts to […]
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 inArts And Culture, Local, South Coast Bureau
Remembering the wreck of New Bedford’s last great whaleship
Contrary to the motto on its municipal seal, New Bedford was no longer the city that lit the world by the 1920s. America’s lamps mostly ran on electricity and kerosene. Whale byproducts still had some commercial uses: the oil served as a base for various face creams and machine lubricants, ambergris was a fixative in […]
Posted inHousing, Local, South Coast Bureau
With cold weather coming and beds in short supply, advocates want New Bedford to build a city-run homeless camp
TRANSCRIPT: This transcript has been edited for length and clarity. Luis Hernandez: The U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld a ban on sleeping or camping in public places, a decision that’s left many people experiencing homelessness with no place to go. Advocates in New Bedford have responded by encouraging the city to build its own city-run […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Local, South Coast Bureau
Officers present during Fall River police station beating can keep their jobs
Two Fall River police officers who were present for the beating of a suspect at the city’s police station in 2020 will keep their jobs, after an investigation released this week found insufficient evidence to prove whether they filed false reports in violation of department policy. An earlier FBI investigation into the beating already led […]
Posted inArts And Culture, Artscape, Local, South Coast Bureau
El Patio de Comidas: Summer-long celebration of Central American cuisine provides a launch pad for local businesses
Hundreds gather in New Bedford’s Riverside Park on Saturdays throughout the summer to enjoy Latin American food from local vendors who got their start through the Patio de Comidas initiative. The series, which also features music, dancing, and local goods, concludes on Saturday with a grand finale: the Festival Tipico de Guatemala.
Posted inBusiness, Local, South Coast Bureau
New Bedford business improvement district will not move forward
Business leaders hoping to establish a business improvement district in downtown New Bedford have withdrawn their proposal, ending a fierce debate over whether property owners should pay additional fees to spruce up the neighborhood and market it to visitors. In a letter sent to the City Council president on Monday afternoon, a consultant leading the […]
Posted inArts And Culture, Artscape, South Coast Bureau
Not your grandfather’s scrimshaw: Duke Riley engraves pollution scenes on ocean plastic
The New Bedford Whaling Museum’s scrimshaw collection, which includes hundreds of whalebone clocks, pie crimpers, musical instruments, canes and umbrellas, is advertised as the largest of its kind in the world. Naomi Slipp, the museum’s chief curator, said these items weren’t considered fine art when the museum’s founders began collecting them from locals in 1903, […]
