Colin Hogan

The proposal for a total tax increase of $16 million, elimination of 94 positions, and the shuttering of Fire Station 9 was met with fierce resistance from councilors and firefighters.

The Light asked all 11 councilors how they would cut the budget and four responded to the question. They’re weighing layoffs and department cuts. But they say they want to avoid closing Fire Station 9.

But the mayor says the deficit is structural and can’t be closed with “one-time money.” He says reducing the staffing of the city’s fire engines would decrease long-term costs.

Mayor Jon Mitchell had projected the deficit would be close to $13 million, then said it was $32 million. How did the numbers get so big?

Better data helps South Coast schools track absenteeism and tardiness – whether they are students in unstable housing or kids spending too much time at the coffee shop.

South Coast school administrators, faculty and staff find creative solutions to address a persistent problem from the pandemic: chronic absenteeism and tardiness.

A small park overlooks what used to be the crossroads of the world. Gently singing birds and tourists, both en route to somewhere else, pass by what once were the stinking, crowded roads of America's fourth largest shipping port.

“I can celebrate the great people of the time and some of the great progress. But as a Native, I can't honestly say there's anything to celebrate.” — Robert Cox, Chief Two Running Elk

Editor's note: This article was originally published by The New Bedford Light on May 6, 2025.

The Rotch family's decision to carry hundreds of chests of taxable tea from England to Boston stirred colonists to take their boldest action yet against imperial rule.