A Plymouth district court judge has refused to dismiss identity fraud charges against a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agent who filed a strange traffic complaint with the Plymouth police last year posing as Town Manager Derek Brindisi. With two words — “motion denied”— Plymouth District Court judge John Canavan on Dec. 16 rejected Christopher […]
Author Archives: Andrea Estes - Independent Staff
Posted inGovernment
Select Board won’t support e-bike regulations
Plymouth electric bike riders can keep cycling freely after the Select Board Tuesday rejected proposed regulations that would have set conditions on the bikes’ use. The board voted 3-2 against submitting an e-bike bylaw to spring Town Meeting — even after proponents offered a watered-down version of the original measure. That means rules governing their […]
Posted inPolice & Fire
Sheriff says ICE detainees better off in Plymouth jail
Responding to calls to stop housing ICE detainees at the jail off Long Pond Road, Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald Tuesday said the men are better off here than out of state — away from their families – as they confront possible deportation. In a letter to the Plymouth Select Board, McDonald said he has […]
Posted inPolice & Fire
Police seize crack, fentanyl worth up to $1 million
Plymouth drug detectives seized hundreds of grams of crack cocaine and a kilogram of fentanyl potentially worth more than $1 million in a series of drug busts last week. Four men are being held without bail, including a former bouncer at the Main Street Sports Bar & Grill, until hearings to decide whether they should […]
Posted inBusiness
ZBA member wants to develop land near proposed North Plymouth condos
It’s one of the most spectacular pieces of real estate in all of Plymouth, with beach frontage and expansive ocean views. It’s also just a few steps from where Pulte Homes wants to build a six-story 40b condominium project on Sandri Drive in North Plymouth. It was on the market earlier this year for […]
Posted inGovernment
Proposed e-bike rules hit roadblock: Riders don’t like them
The e-bike regulations proposed by the Select Board in October seemed straightforward enough. All they were supposed to do was to make the increasingly popular electric bicycles safer for riders, as well as for motorists and pedestrians who encounter them. The proposed rules set registration, age, and helmet requirements and limited use of the […]
Posted inGovernment
Sheehan takes on her wealthy family in opposing North Plymouth condos
It was no surprise that a succession of speakers Monday evening implored the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals to deny a permit for a controversial 40b condominium project proposed for North Plymouth. Residents have spoken out against the 163-unit complex at three ZBA meetings where the proposal has been debated. What may have come as […]
Posted inGovernment
Town backs off on imposing restrictions on National Day of Mourning
The National Day of Mourning, the annual gathering to remember Native Americans and the suffering they endured through colonization, will take place again on Thanksgiving in Plymouth as it has for more than 50 years after the town agreed not to impose new restrictions on the event. The United American Indians of New England and […]
Posted inEducation
Some parents believe sex ed program for eighth graders goes too far
Should eighth graders learn that unprotected sex is especially risky, while deep tongue kissing is low risk and holding hands is not risky at all? Should they be taught what constitutes consent for sex— when “no” means no? Some Plymouth parents don’t think so. They object to a new sex education curriculum for eighth graders […]
Posted inPolice & Fire
Plymouth contractor gets nine-month jail term
A Plymouth home improvement contractor bilked Massachusetts homeowners out of more than $500,000, collecting deposits on swimming pools and other projects and never completing the work, Plymouth County prosecutors allege. Steven Docchio, 59, was sentenced to nine months in jail Tuesday after pleading guilty to four counts of larceny over $1,200. Docchio was originally indicted […]