Opinions on encounters between North Plymouth residents and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents dominated an emotionally charged Select Board session at Cold Spring Elementary School Tuesday evening. In all, 18 residents spoke about whether the board should take a formal position in response to ICE detentions of immigrants, with most of them decrying the […]
Author Archives: Fred Thys - Independent Staff
Posted inGovernment
Keohan says Town Hall mishandled National Day of Mourning dispute
Select Board member Bill Keohan this week called out town staff for not seeking board approval before trying to make changes to a 1998 agreement regarding the annual National Day of Mourning. Since 1970, the protest has been held on Coles Hill every Thanksgiving to mark the suffering of Native Americans. The Select Board […]
Posted inGovernment
Long-dormant memorials committee gets new members
The town’s Memorials Advisory Committee, which has been unable to take any votes for a year because it lacked a quorum, will finally be able to do so again. The Select Board Tuesday appointed three new members to the five-member committee: Alice Baker, Jeanette Kelley, and Jennifer MacIver Edwards. The lack of a working Memorials […]
Posted inBusiness
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Bert’s razing said to be imminent
Bert’s, the forlorn shell of a former restaurant at the beginning of Plymouth Beach, could finally be torn down during the second week of December, according to an attorney for the property’s owners. Bill Sims told the Independent that he still must confirm the contractor’s availability and make sure that dust suppression measures are in […]
Posted inCulture
Why there wasn’t a rain date for the Thanksgiving parade
When it rains during the annual Thanksgiving parade – like it did Saturday – Katy Thayer feels the impact at Uva, the wine bar she co-owns on Main Street. “When the sun was shining, we did probably twice as much business,” Thayer said. But for the last two years, the weather has been […]
Posted inGovernment
After a year of frustration, a grieving father’s wish is granted
David Berkeley has spent nearly a year focused on one thing: Receiving permission from the town to install public benches in memory of his two late sons. On Tuesday, without discussion or fanfare, the Select Board voted 4-0 to approve memorial applications for benches in remembrance of Matthew Scott Berkeley and Brent Fitzgerald Berkeley for […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health
Fernandes seeks to halt venting of radioactive vapor at Pilgrim
State Senator Dylan Fernandes has introduced legislation that would prevent Holtec Decommissioning International from venting radioactive vapor at the former Pilgrim nuclear power plant in Manomet until state officials can evaluate the potential effect on Plymouth and surrounding communities. “We want a study on this to find out what the impact is, confirm that it […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health
How did a giant wind turbine blade end up in a bog?
A week after a blade from a 300-foot-tall wind turbine fell into a cranberry bog on Head of the Bay Road, RWE, the company that owns the project, says it’s already begun an “exhaustive” analysis of the incident with Spanish company Siemens Gamesa, which built and maintains the equipment. “The project has been shut down […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health
Holtec appears unlikely to win appeal of radioactive water ruling
An appeals officer for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection is recommending that the state uphold its decision to deny Holtec Decommissioning International’s request to dump more than 800,000 gallons of treated radioactive water from the former Pilgrim nuclear power station into Cape Cod Bay. Holtec is decommissioning the Pilgrim plant in Manomet, which […]
Posted inGovernment
Golden, Canty clash again during Select Board meeting
Less than two months after Select Board chair David Golden promised “a restoration of collegiality,” tensions between him and former chair Kevin Canty rose to the surface again during this week’s board meeting. The latest clash began when Golden, clearly directing his remarks to Canty, asked board members not to repeatedly ask during meetings that […]