Author Archives: Fred Thys - Independent Staff

Town officials told their bosses on the Select Board Tuesday the town has doled out nearly $40 million in taxpayer-funded project grants over the last 23 years without the proper oversight and preservation restrictions. Although they took no vote, the board members who spoke supported Town Manager Derek Brindisi’s controversial position to withhold future grant […]

Unlike hotly contested primaries two years ago, most races for seats in the state Senate and House to represent Plymouth on Beacon Hill are uncontested in Tuesday’s primary election. The incumbent, Dylan Fernandes, D-Falmouth, is running unopposed in the Democratic primary for State Senate, while Bourne school committee member Kari MacRae has no opponents on […]

The leader of Pilgrim Hall Museum says claims the museum has not done everything required to preserve the historic integrity of the downtown building are misguided and untrue. In an interview with the Independent on Wednesday, the museum’s executive director pushed back on allegations made last week by Town Manager Derek Brindisi, who said the […]

A new $6 million project to make downtown Plymouth safer and more climate friendly could start before the end of the year after the Town recently received a state grant for half the improvements. Downtown work will include a tripling of the number of trees along Main and Court streets, improved and raised crosswalks to […]

Millions of dollars in community preservation projects around town were completed over the past two decades despite a “systemic” failure to follow required steps designed to protect historic buildings and open spaces. As many as 40 publicly funded projects since 2000 were completed despite a failure to file the necessary historic preservation or other deed […]

Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald was ordered this week to turn over to The American Civil Liberties Union records detailing medical treatment of hundreds of federal immigration detainees at the jail. The ruling by Suffolk County Superior Court Judge James Budreau rejected McDonald’s argument the public records should be withheld because his ongoing contract with […]

A politically fraught decision to euthanize a dog set off tempers on the town’s Select Board on Tuesday, with two members recusing themselves and a third voting no despite the pit bull terrier’s long record of aggressive behavior. In a rare case, the elected board was asked by town officials to affirm a decision to […]

Forges Field, a network of meadows and playing fields forming Plymouth’s largest athletics facility, won’t likely get a planned expansion and overhaul after town officials were handed a whopping $92 million price tag. The proposal came in as part of a phased plan for a massive expansion and modernization of the sprawling complex over the […]

Gov. Maura Healey’s push to bring nuclear power plants back to the state was dealt a potentially fatal blow earlier this month when state senators voted overwhelming against her idea to take the decision away from voters. On July 1, the State Senate voted 32-8 to adopt a sweeping energy bill which keeps intact a […]