On Friday, an earthquake strong enough to be felt on the SouthCoast was reported in the north-central region of New Jersey, according to staff at the National Weather Service’s Norton office. NWS meteorologist Kristie Smith said the quake had a preliminary reading of 4.8. U.S. Geological Survey.
Known with affection and respect to generations of New Bedford youths as “Mr. H,” Dennison Memorial Community Center Executive Director Sean Hargraves passed away Wednesday, April 3. Hargraves had served as the Center’s executive director since 1982, becoming a part of the history of one of New Bedford’s oldest nonprofit agencies with roots that stretch back to the mid-19th century.
Easter weekend was life-changing for one Massachusetts State Lottery player. Buying a“$4,000,000 Bonus Bucks” scratch ticket turned $10 into a seven-figure fortune for the lucky player. A customer bought the $4 million winning ticket on Friday, March 29, at Star Country Store & Deli in Westport.
Keep up with high school sports with scores, game highlights, and Player of the Week voting at https://www.southcoasttoday.com/sports.
Here are the most-read stories of the week on https://www.southcoasttoday.com:
Three offshore wind energy developers submitted bids last week for a tri-state offshore wind lease auction and each one will benefit New Bedford economically, according to Mayor Jon Mitchell.
Mitchell wrote that these bids will be the first to be evaluated since the state’s comprehensive clean energy bill, An Act Driving Clean Energy and Offshore Wind, was signed into law in 2022.
While each of the developers have made commitments to nonprofit organizations across the state, Mitchell wrote, the developers have not disclosed the full amounts of their cash commitments to support economic development programs.
Bids for a tri-state offshore wind plan: Here’s what New Bedford’s mayor has to say
In the first 50 years of the city’s existence, New Bedford had an abundance of businesses from foundries to electronics and toy companies to cordage and glass companies, and the celebrated whaling industry was going strong.
New Bedford Mayor Charles S. Ashley was the chairman of the General Committee for the semi-centennial that was formed for the celebration.
It was George F. Bartlett at a meeting of the Board of Trades in September 1896 who proposed a semi-centennial celebration, and on March 26, 1897, a joint special committee was formed.
Curious SouthCoast: How New Bedford celebrated its first 50 years in a repair shop
A 35-year-old New Bedford man was convicted last week after a week-long Fall River Superior Court jury trial of raping and molesting two underage girls.
Joel Berberena was convicted on indictments charging him with two counts of rape of a child-aggravated by age difference, four counts of indecent assault and battery on a person under the age of 14, and one count each of rape of a child by force and indecent assault and battery on a person over the age of 14.
Crime watch: New Bedford man convicted of raping two underage girls sentenced to 23-30 years
A state decision on a solid waste processing facility’s site suitability in the New Bedford Business Park has been postponed five times while its noise impact has been under review.
Formerly known as Parallel Products of New England, the South Coast Renewables’ project’s site suitability was to have been ruled on by MassDEP by Nov. 1, 2023.
The project has been opposed by neighboring North End residents who are concerned with the truck traffic, noise and potential pollution from the facility, which would be processing up to 1,500 tons of municipal solid waste each day, including construction and demolition waste, from its 100 Duchaine Blvd. location.
New Bedford Business Park: State decision still awaited on solid waste facility proposed
The 2023 crime report compiled by New Bedford Police shows the city in line with a national trend toward less violent crime, though “shots-fired” incidents were up.
The report shows violent crime down 58% and property crime down 54% over the past decade, police say.
The statistics by year also show aggravated assaults were down in 2023 when compared to the last five years.
New Bedford 2023 crime report: violent crime down but ‘shots fired’ up
All of these stories can be found in their entirety at SouthCoastToday.com.
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Top stories of the week: Earthquake, offshore wind, New Bedford then and now
