🚉 Commuter rail ridership in southeast Massachusetts has surged since the #MBTA's South Coast Rail service began in March. Weekday #commuters are driving the numbers, The Light’s data analysis found. Find out more about what's behind them ⤵️ newbedfordlight.org/commuter-rai...

Massachusetts sued the Trump administration in May to end its wind-power freeze. “Ten months in, I mean, is there an end in sight?” Judge Patti B. Saris asked the government Tuesday. #offshorewind #Trump #courts

Massachusetts lawmakers are inching closer to passing a bill that would prohibit sexual relationships between school staff and students as young as 16. Now, a pair of bills moving through the House and Senate are leaving some advocates and legislators hopeful for their passage.

An investigation by the Massachusetts Inspector General found that Pope’s Island Marina “was and is grossly mismanaged” by the New Bedford Port Authority and the state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Opinion: What was once a notorious fishermen's hangout has been transformed into part of a new gateway to tourism for New Bedford, The Light's Jack Spillane says about the National Club's rejuvenation as a Mexican cantina. newbedfordlight.org/the-new-nati...

🚗🏘️ New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell’s newest strategy to address the city’s housing crisis is a pair of proposals to slash parking requirements for new apartment buildings and make it easier to build on small lots. But skeptical city councilors may question his plans. #NewBedford #housing #parking

One year in, body cameras are helping New Bedford police and defense attorneys. Here's The Light's report on the camera program and related policy⤵️ newbedfordlight.org/one-year-in-... 📹Below is an excerpt from a New Bedford police officer’s body camera footage referenced in the story ⤵️

InPerson: YMCA Southcoast CEO Lucria Ortiz, who took over in June, says the beauty of the Y is that “you see this real cross-section of society every day.” Read the interview: newbedfordlight.org/ymca-southco... Watch the video:

The New Bedford community learned on Friday of the passing of one its giants. School Committee member Bruce J. Oliveira unexpectedly passed away from a medical emergency. Until the day he died, Oliveira, 72, was a ubiquitous presence in the city’s cultural, political, and charitable scenes.

Maria Giesta, the Ward 2 city councilor who lost reelection to Scott Pemberton by 17 votes, has filed for a recount.

SouthCoast Wind CEO Michael Brown said that with Trump's wind memo freezing permitting, “it may be impossible for the parties to execute the PPAs” and the company will be “forced to abandon” negotiations with Massachusetts newbedfordlight.org/ags-trump-wi... @newbedfordlight.bsky.social

Opinion: New Bedford and Dartmouth are working together to reduce waste and keep reusable and recyclable materials out of the landfill, says Marissa Perez-Dormitzer, of the Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District. She lists several ways citizens can contribute. #recycle #reuse

UPDATE: The New Bedford City Council took up Mayor Mitchell’s letter submitting Police Chief Jason Thody's appointment during Thursday night’s meeting and voted to refer the matter to the committee on appointments and briefings, where they will invite Thody to speak and answer questions.

A new statewide grant is supporting school districts’ efforts to revamp #literacyinstruction for younger students, and New Bedford received $1.7 million this year — one of the largest awards anywhere in Massachusetts.

InPerson: For 25 years, Toe Jam Puppet Band has been lighting up area children's events and venues. Tom Poitras and Vinny Lovegrove’s zany kid shows blend rib-tickling songs, energetic movement, and gentle humor into an effervescent elixir. newbedfordlight.org/toe-jam-pupp...

The New Bedford City Council has just won its latest battle against Mayor Jon Mitchell and could confirm not-so-new Police Chief Jason Thody as soon as tonight. Here's what's happening: #NewBedford #NewBedfordpolice #NewBedfordmayor

Opinion: Emma Pimentel, senior manager of Jeanne’s Cupboard, UMass Dartmouth’s student-led food pantry, says that the work she's done there "has made one thing overwhelmingly clear: #foodinsecurity among college students is both widespread and deeply misunderstood."

The Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River is calling out the U.S. government for its aggressive immigration enforcement operations in recent months. Bishop Edgar Moreira da Cunha told The Light that the U.S. government’s aggressive tactics are only creating chaos and will backfire.

Citizens Against Eversource needs 74,000 signatures on their ballot initiatives by Nov. 19. The initiatives target fees for the MassSave energy-efficiency program, the fact that utilities’ profits are separated from energy usage, and fees around new meter technology. Here's their plan:

🏫 Opinion: Real educational progress takes time, coherence, and commitment to the daily work that happens in classrooms. This is the primary message of the Strategic Plan for NBPS 2025–2030, says Andrew O’Leary, New Bedford Public Schools superintendent, who invites the public to review the plan.

On this #VeteransDay, Westport’s Dan George shares a Christmas Day, 1943, letter from his uncle, Lt. Jamil Karam, stationed in Italy during World War II.

A grand jury has indicted five people on charges of conspiring to smuggle drugs into the Bristol County Jail and House of Correction and sell them to inmates. Key to their efforts was a jail librarian, whom investigators say smuggled drugs disguised as paperwork into the facility. #drugsmuggling

The plane that crashed and skidded onto a median on I-195 in Dartmouth last month, killing its two passengers, was trying to make its way back to the New Bedford Regional Airport (KEWB) Airport, according to a preliminary report released Sunday by federal investigators.

Massachusetts will continue to fully fund food benefits through the federal government shutdown, Gov. Maura Healey announced Monday, apparently ending a tumultuous stretch of uncertainty for the state’s highest-need households. Healey said that all #SNAP funds had been restored as of Monday.

SUNDAY SNAP UPDATE: Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey blasted the Trump administration Sunday for threats made Saturday to penalize states that issue the full SNAP benefits. “Massachusetts residents with funds on their cards should continue to spend it on food,” Healey said Sunday.

#SNAP UPDATE: Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced Friday afternoon that eligible residents could start receiving full #foodbenefits as soon as Saturday, after the federal shutdown and ensuing legal battle left over 1 million #Massachusetts residents without them. #foodaid

🍞Some on the #SouthCoast are in more need of #foodassistance than ever, with local benefits like SNAP in question and the holiday season approaching. Seeking help or know someone who is? The Light has compiled a list of local #foodpantries and #fooddrives around the South Coast.

Lying just below the surface of the lives that we dress up in tailored clothing for the outside world are the jagged, prickly edges of our other, behind-the-scenes existence, writes Light columnist Jack Spillane, explored in the play "The Humans."

Immigrants, labor advocates, and local political figures demonstrated Thursday outside Marder Seafood, Inc., after the #NewBedford company let go dozens of workers. Two workers who recently sued the company were among them. #labor #courts #seafoodindustry

Opinion: Visibility on the stump, and the social media town square, trumps all, Light columnist Jack Spillane says about the results of this week's #NewBedford #election.

🔎 In his analysis of the outcome of New Bedford's City Council election Tuesday, Light reporter Colin Hogan says spending on local elections still matters in New Bedford. Knocking on doors still matters, too — enough to change who wins.

Essay: Craig Lindell attended the film ”I Can’t Look Away: The Case Against Social Media,” at the invitation of Rev. David Lima, chair of the New Bedford Suicide Prevention Coalition. "I trembled for over an hour after the film ended," he wrote.

The New Bedford Port Authority and UMass Dartmouth School of Marine Science & Technology (SMAST) are partnering for the first of its kind study in the U.S. that will measure how #commercialfishing boats and their varied gear — dredges, pots, trawls, and so on — behave and operate within #windfarms.

Incumbent Melissa Costa and newcomers Richard Porter and Von Marie Moniz will serve on the New Bedford School Committee next year, snagging three open seats in a four-person race. Costa placed first with 4,831 votes — over 1,300 more votes than Porter, who placed second.

In the biggest shocks of Election Night, two newcomers won seats on New Bedford’s City Council. James Roy, the at-large challenger, finished with the second-highest vote total among the 10 candidates. And Scott Pemberton, the Ward 2 challenger, unseated incumbent Maria Giesta.

The three unofficial winners in the New Bedford School Committee race are: Incumbent Melissa Cost, Richard Porter and Von Marie Moniz. Credit: Grace Ferguson / The New Bedford Light

The unofficial winners in the three contested New Bedford City Council Ward races are: Ward 1: Incumbent Leo Choquette beat Matthew Marko Ward 2: Incumbent Maria Giesta lost to Scott Pemberton Ward 5: Incumbent Joseph P. Lopes beat R. Renee Fernandes Credit: Grace Ferguson / The New Bedford Light

The Light's Grace Ferguson has the election results for New Bedford's at-large City Council race. The unofficial winners: Ian Abreu, James Roy, Shane Burgo, Brian Gomes and Naomi Carney.

BREAKING: The unofficial results are in, and the winners in the 2025 New Bedford elections are (click on photos to enlarge):

🗳️The last box of ballots in today's local election has arrived at New Bedford City Hall. Stay tuned for election results shortly! Credit: Eleonora Bianchi / The New Bedford Light

New Bedford voters take the necessary steps to fill out their ballot today at Buttonwood Park Warming House -- sometimes with a youthful observer at their side. Polling places remain open until 8 p.m. for the municipal election. The Light will post results ASAP later tonight.

A judge granted a federal agency’s request to remand a key permit that it had given in January to SouthCoast Wind, an #offshorewind project planned off the Massachusetts coast. The Light's Anastasia Lennon @aelennon.bsky.social explains what that means.

🚨An Obama-appointed judge just granted BOEM's motion for a remand of the SouthCoast Wind construction + operations approval. The project earned this permit in the final days of the Biden admin., but was without other key federal permits when Trump took office @newbedfordlight.bsky.social

Light reporter @aelennon.bsky.social spoke with some New Bedford voters this morning about why they were casting their ballots in the local election today. Here's what they had to say. Follow us for live updates and find full election coverage at newbedfordlight.org/election2025/

🗳️It's Election Day in New Bedford. Have you ✔️ it off your to-do list yet? If not, brush up🪥 on what you need to know before going to the polls. Seats are open on the City Council, School Committee and, yes, tax assessor. Polls close at 8 p.m. The Light will post results ASAP after.

Vineyard Wind has more than doubled its power production, according to the latest federal data, even as the Trump administration keeps trying to shut down the #offshorewind industry. Find out what that means to Massachusetts residents⤵️

#SNAP: The Trump administration said Monday it will restore food stamp funding but will issue only about half of the usual payment for November while the government shutdown continues. The decision will have a huge impact in New Bedford, where nearly half of all households rely on federal food aid.

For Blue Water, a Navy-backed startup, a crewless ship isn’t a ghost tale — it’s the main point. The company unveiled the prototype of its fully autonomous vessel, the first ship of its kind to operate without any on-site human intervention, in New Bedford last week.

I've been checking FERC daily and of course the Vineyard Wind data for Q3 drops on my day off! The project more than doubled the amount of electricity it sold in July, Aug, Sept from the previous quarter. Some quick math: est. 78,000 Massachusetts homes powered @newbedfordlight.bsky.social

InPerson: Amilcar Lopes, the new executive director of the Cape Verdean Association in New Bedford, envisions arts, theater and music programming at a revitalized North End building. "When I came to visit the building for the first time, I was mesmerized," he said of the former Strand Theater.