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 […]
Author Archives: Fred Thys - Independent Staff
Posted inPolice & Fire
ICE protestors’ walk to end at Plymouth jail
Two Massachusetts teachers have spent the past week marching the length of Cape Cod to Plymouth to protest conditions for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility. “It’s something we’ve been passionate about for a while,” said Connor May, 33. He and Chris Tansey, 35, walked from Boston to Stockbridge […]
Posted inGovernment
‘Sticker Shock’
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 […]
Posted inGovernment
Healey’s nuclear plan hits snag
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 […]
Posted inPolice & Fire
Suffolk judge to decide on release of ICE detainee health care records
(This report has been edited to correct the spelling of Jessica Kenny’s name.) A civil liberties group asked a Suffolk County judge on Tuesday to force Plymouth County Sheriff to turn over records detailing the medical treatment of federal immigration detainees at the jail. Sheriff Joseph McDonald has so far rejected a December public records […]
Posted inGovernment
Construction around Jenney Pond to last all year
A few months behind schedule, the $20.9 million project to restore Town Brook near Jenney Pond and the Plimoth Grist Mill to something closer to a pristine state – where the river herring can run much as they did hundreds of years ago – is expected to finish by the Spring. As for now, the […]
Posted inGovernment
Select Board under fire on Landers deal
More than a dozen Cedarville residents showed up at the Select Board meeting Tuesday to vent disappointment at a recent board vote on a nearby land deal some said was fraught with conflict of interest, undue secrecy and a lack of integrity. The ire was directed at a June 9 vote clearing the way for […]
Posted inGovernment
Move to oust Keohan from preservation post fails
(This version of the story has been edited to correct a factual error about a unanimous June 2025 vote on appointments taken by the Select Board. Minutes show David Golden left the meeting just prior to the vote. The Independent regrets the error.) A move to oust Select Board member Bill Keohan from his longtime […]
Posted inCulture
Transplant survivor writes book, plays guitar
Andrew Botieri bellows out a reporter’s name at the top of his lungs as the reporter drives up to Botieri’s West Plymouth condo. You would never know by the volume of his voice that Botieri, a wiry 67-year-old, is recovering from a double lung and kidney transplant. Botieri received his new lungs and kidney on […]
Posted inGovernment
Plan could help fund busing costs
The town’s $6 million cost to take school kids to and from school each year could be getting a boost from taxpayers statewide next year under a new plan adopted unanimously by the state Senate. Under a budget amendment co-sponsored by State Sen. Dylan Fernandes, D-Falmouth, state lawmakers for the first time are considering the […]