How’s this for a positive spin on local taxes? Your bills aren’t going down, but the town is giving you more options for paying them. It’s in the process of moving to a more user-friendly online portal, starting with the latest batch of quarterly water and sewer bills. The new system, called InvoiceCloud, has features […]
Author Archives: Mark Pothier - Independent Staff
Posted inBusiness Beat
A (dollar) sign of Plymouth’s growth: More banks
When notorious crook Willie Sutton was asked why he robbed banks, he supposedly replied, “Because that’s where the money is.” Sutton, who died in 1980, denied saying it, but who knows whether he was telling the truth? The guy was a thief. Similarly, when readers ask me why banks continue to open brick-and-mortar branches in […]
Posted inBusiness
Logo alert: The Black Dog is bringing its famous brand to Main St.
Main Street is trading guns and politics for something far less aggressive – a gentle dog. The Black Dog, founded on Martha’s Vineyard in 1971, is bringing its logo-adorned apparel and home goods to 14 Main St., former site of Plimoth Bay Outfitters, as soon as April. The store will add an internationally known brand […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health
Storm fizzles, colder air arrives
Tuesday’s Nor’easter was supposed to produce the first significant snowfall of the season in Plymouth. But the forecast dramatically changed as the storm system slid to the south, leaving little more than a coating of snow in most areas of town. The National Weather Service had issued a winter storm warning that included Plymouth, but […]
Posted inCulture
For this Federal Furnace fourth grader, a trip of a lifetime
It started off as just another day of school for Federal Furnace Elementary School fourth grader Teaghan Bowden. But Wednesday, Jan. 31, turned out to be something extraordinary for the 10-year-old. School principal Stacey Perry, with a supporting cast of Teaghan’s classmates, announced his dream of going to Disney World in Orlando, FL, would […]
Posted inPolice & Fire
‘I saw the smoke coming out, I parked my car, and I just ran in’
When Dylan Oxsen arrived at the scene of a house fire at about 3 p.m. on Jan. 25, he was on his own. Thick black smoke poured from the split-level ranch on Esta Road. He could hear someone calling from inside. There wasn’t time to think, never mind wait for backup. All the three-year Plymouth […]
Posted inBusiness Beat
We know you want a Trader Joe’s in Plymouth. Here’s why it hasn’t happened.
When is Plymouth going to get a Trader Joe’s? That question has probably been asked more times than there are O’s in a box of Joe’s O’s. It popped into my mind the other day as I glanced at a sad display of Stop & Shop strawberries – $9.99 for one measly package of off-season […]
Posted inWe Have Questions
The privilege and pain of being a veterinarian
When our golden doodle died a few weeks into the Covid lockdown, my wife and I grieved in isolation. Norm Stillman rescued us from despair. At the time, the Plymouth veterinarian owned Court Street Animal Hospital, which he opened in April 2005 and sold in December 2020. He tirelessly tended to pets and their owners […]
Posted inBusiness Beat
How many self-storage businesses does Plymouth need?
For months, I wondered what the building going up at the intersection of Commerce Way and Resnick Road might be. An office complex? A manufacturing plant that would create good-paying jobs? A – gasp! – tech startup incubator? Then came the big reveal: Another self-storage facility. What a letdown. The national company’s warehouse – with […]
Posted inCulture
High and mighty: Inside (and on top of) the Spire renovation project
From the perspective of passersby, the restoration project underway at the Spire Center for Performing Arts has transformed the downtown building itself into an outdoor art installation. The former synagogue, with its striking steeple, has been surrounded by scaffolding wrapped in green mesh for months, evoking the monumental works of the artist Christo. The 25 […]