Town Meeting members Saturday voted by a wide margin to keep in place a ban on firearms in town buildings, playgrounds, and parks, rejecting a call from Police Chief Dana Flynn and Town Manager Derek Brindisi to opt out of a clause in a state law that took effect in October. The spring gathering of […]
Author Archives: Fred Thys - Independent Staff
Posted inGovernment
Town Meeting preview: Much ado about guns, money for Holtec land, zoning for Costco (maybe), and funding a dam project
Plymouth Town Meeting members have a lot of business to attend to when they gather Saturday morning at Plymouth North High School. Among the issues they will decide starting at 8 a.m. are whether guns should be allowed in town buildings and grounds, whether money should be set to buy land around the former nuclear […]
Posted inGovernment
Select Board withdraws its support for allowing firearms in public buildings, parks
Faced with a wave of opposition from residents, the Select Board Tuesday withdrew its earlier support for Police Chief Dana Flynn’s call to opt out of a provision in a state law that prohibits firearms in town-owned or managed buildings, parks, recreational facilities, and other public places. At Tuesday evening’s meeting, Select Board Vice Chair […]
Posted inEducation
Nursing program is critical to health of Quincy College’s Cordage campus
Adam Coste took a roundabout route to nursing. He dropped out of Plymouth North High School in ninth grade, at the age of 16, in 2014. The next year-and-a-half, he said, was a blur. “I was working random jobs, trying to make myself useful in society,” Coste said. Eleven years later, he is one of […]
Posted inGovernment
Why did my property taxes increase by so much?
“How come my property taxes went up by more than 2 ½ percent?” It’s a question heard across Plymouth – and statewide – every time bills are sent out. (The next quarterly payment is due on May 1.) The answer, as you might expect, is complicated. First, Massachusetts’s 45-year-old Proposition 2 ½ law does not […]
Posted inGovernment
With the ‘discovery’ of 588 affordable apartments, town closer to gaining more control over development
The state has dramatically updated the number of affordable housing units credited to Plymouth, bringing the town closer to a long-elusive benchmark that would allow it to reject some residential development proposals. The revised figure comes after local officials discovered that Plymouth had not been given credit for 588 units of existing affordable housing. […]
Posted inGovernment
Select Board may rescind its support for allowing guns in Town Hall, other public places
Town Meeting may not decide whether to allow firearms in public buildings and parks after all. The Select Board next week is expected to reconsider its Feb. 25 3-2 vote recommending that Town Meeting in April approve an article proposed by Police Chief Dana Flynn – and backed by Town Manager Derek Brindisi – that […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health
Trump cuts prompt concerns about funding for Jenney Pond work
A town project aimed at making major improvements at Jenney Pond could be affected by the Trump Administration’s move to dismantle parts of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The work depends on a $10 million NOAA grant to build a herring bypass at the Jenney Pond dam, as well as a new bridge over […]
Posted inPolice & Fire
Plymouth police won’t take people into custody based solely on immigration status
As the Trump Administration attempts to move forward with its plans for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, Plymouth Police Chief Dana Flynn says his department will adhere to state law in deciding when to assist federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. That means it generally won’t cooperate with ICE officials unless there is a court-ordered […]
Posted inGovernment
Town employee discovers nearly 600 ‘missing’ affordable housing units
An enterprising town employee has discovered that there are hundreds more units of affordable housing in Plymouth than previously reported. Town Manager Derek Brindisi told the Select Board this week that the employee’s audit of the town’s housing stock identified 588 affordable housing units that were never submitted to the state for consideration. That’s nearly […]