-
2 weeks ago | 
newbedfordlight.org | Grace Ferguson
A Cape Cod construction company is proposing a new freight service between New Bedford and Nantucket. The proposed service would carry recyclables, tires, construction equipment, and other materials two to three days a week, using freight boats that the company bought from the Steamship Authority last year. It would use Steamship Authority dock space for loading and unloading. Robert B.
-
3 weeks ago | 
newbedfordlight.org | Grace Ferguson
Residents who live near South Coast Rail facilities complained about unbearable nighttime noise, litter, and service disruptions at a public meeting with MBTA executives in Fall River on Thursday. The noise complaints dominated the meeting. Trains sometimes idle loudly all night at the Weaver’s Cove layover in Fall River, residents said — some likened it to the sound of an airplane right outside their home. Horn blasts have also interrupted their sleep, they said.
-
3 weeks ago | 
newbedfordlight.org | Grace Ferguson
Local leaders surrounded a mechanical arm as it cut the ribbon on New Bedford Research & Robotics’ new building last July. The ceremony kicked off the renovation of a vacant property on Purchase Street, using $2.25 million in federal pandemic relief funds granted by the city. The grant took months to finalize — it needed “all manner of legal opinions” to fit into the complicated funding requirements, Mayor Jon Mitchell said at the ribbon-cutting.
-
1 month ago | 
newbedfordlight.org | Grace Ferguson
A select group of lawyers will soon receive a secret packet of documents relating to the alleged affair between a New Bedford judge and prosecutor. But first, the lawyers must agree not to share the information. A justice for the state’s supreme court shared plans to release the packet at a hearing on Wednesday in a case that hinges on the existence of the alleged affair. The hearing took place one day after the court appointed a special master to investigate the matter.
-
1 month ago | 
newbedfordlight.org | Grace Ferguson
The state’s supreme court has appointed a special master to investigate an alleged affair between a former judge and a prosecutor that potentially resulted in unfair trials. As special master, retired Boston Municipal Court Judge Ernest Sarason Jr. will have access to non-public records from the Trial Court’s late 2023 investigation into the alleged affair between former New Bedford District Court Judge Douglas Darnbrough and Bristol County Assistant District Attorney Karlyn Butler.
-
1 month ago | 
newbedfordlight.org | Grace Ferguson
A state Senate committee has opened an inquiry into delayed and cancelled trains on the new South Coast Rail line. Disruptions have frustrated riders since the MBTA extension opened on March 24, including several canceled trains the weekend of April 19-20. Keolis, the company that runs commuter trains under a contract with the MBTA, has said it cancelled trains because it doesn’t have enough staff trained on the new tracks. Some riders say they were stranded for hours.
-
2 months ago | 
newbedfordlight.org | Grace Ferguson
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell says her strategy to block Donald Trump’s agenda is working. Campbell has sued the Trump administration 14 times in the first 100 days of the president’s second term, teaming up with other Democratic attorneys general around the country. During a call with reporters on Friday, Campbell said her office has “delivered real wins for Massachusetts” by securing injunctions and restraining orders to stop the president’s policies from going into effect.
-
2 months ago | 
newbedfordlight.org | Grace Ferguson
Water was pouring into the William H. Carney Lodge — enough to fill a barrel during some storms. This little clubhouse in New Bedford’s West End was a gathering place for the city’s Cape Verdean community for decades. But it’s been empty since 2020, and two years ago the displaced club’s members started pleading with the city for funding to replace the leaking roof so they could move back in. Without it, they said, the water damage threatened to compromise the structure beyond repair.
-
2 months ago | 
newbedfordlight.org | Grace Ferguson
She pledged to fight President Donald Trump if he broke the law. Then, she moved to the part of Massachusetts where Trump enjoys the most support. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell has sued the Trump administration nine times since moving to the South Coast a few months ago. Her office has led or joined lawsuits targeting Trump’s plan to slash federal programs. She has also denounced Trump’s immigration crackdown and his attacks on diversity initiatives.
-
Mar 24, 2025 | 
newbedfordlight.org | Grace Ferguson
Believe it. Dozens of people saw the first MBTA commuter rail train pull into New Bedford Station just before 4:27 a.m. on Monday. They heard the conductor shout “all aboard!”South Coast Rail isn’t a project anymore — it’s a real commuter rail line you can ride. “I thought this day would never come,” said Rick Platt, a conductor on the 7:25 a.m. train leaving New Bedford Station. It only started to feel real to him when crews began training a few weeks ago.
