A move to toss out Plymouth’s Town Meeting form of government – one critics call antiquated and inefficient – is in the works, renewing an effort that’s failed at least twice since the turn of the century. The latest attempt surfaced at Tuesday’s joint meeting of the Select Board, Planning Board, and Plymouth Foundation called […]
Author Archives: Michael Cohen - Independent Correspondent
Posted inGovernment
Plymouth needs more commercial development. Bureaucracy has kept it to a trickle.
As a gloomy fiscal outlook descends on Town Hall, there’s added urgency to bolster local revenue to avoid layoffs, service cuts, or a Proposition 2 ½ override. Growing the commercial sector is not a new idea, but it has not been Plymouth’s strong suit for decades. Most of the growth here over the past 25 […]
Posted inBusiness
Coughlin stepping down as Beth Israel Deaconess Plymouth president
The top job is open at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth. Kevin Coughlin, president for the past nine years, will retire from that post early next year or after a successor is found. While the hospital made no public announcement of his planned departure, Coughlin has reportedly been telling friends and colleagues privately for several weeks. […]
Posted inBusiness
Plymouth Foundation unveils $500,000 improvement program for businesses
The Plymouth Foundation is launching a façade improvement grant program for businesses downtown and along the waterfront. The private nonprofit foundation is committing $500,000 of its funds for the program and will make matching grants of up to $50,000 for applicants who seek to improve their properties. “This program represents a meaningful investment in the […]
Posted inBusiness
The Plymouth Foundation mostly works out of the public eye. Its backers say that’s a good thing.
Should a private entity do the public’s business behind closed doors? The Plymouth Foundation was created in 2001 to straddle the worlds of public policy and private development. (Read a primer on how the foundation came to be and evolved.) But that approach is being questioned by some because of the foundation’s role in the […]
Posted inBusiness
What is the Plymouth Foundation all about?
After nearly 25 years of working mostly behind the scenes, the Plymouth Foundation ran into a public buzzsaw on Hedges Pond Road last year. Perhaps “chainsaw” is the better metaphor. The clear-cutting of trees across 30-plus rolling acres and the ongoing removal of sand and gravel to level the site for a business park incensed […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health
On the road again: Section of Water St. to be dug up
Pardon us if this story sounds too familiar. Water Street will soon be dug up for the third time since 2023, with traffic detoured through early spring. That’s because a contractor needs to repair a relatively new sewer line that has settled, which could cause waste to back up. Northern Construction is expected to start […]
Posted inGovernment
Town Meeting takes up the public’s business on Saturday
Plymouth’s fall Town Meeting is scheduled to convene at 8 a.m. Saturday morning at Plymouth North High School. Among the issues elected Town Meeting members will decide are whether to fund reconstruction of a runway and taxiway at the airport, a full-access trail at Jenney Pond, and a report on the viability of making expensive […]
Posted inBusiness
Cherry’s Bait and Tackle gets the hook
Cherry’s Bait and Tackle shop, a fixture on the waterfront since 1963, closed for good on Aug. 8, with the town taking control of the property for back rent and taxes owed. “Everybody is upset,” said Jessica (Carafoli) Kirk, the third generation of the Carafoli family to run the bait shop. “People have been stopping […]
Posted inBusiness Beat
Kingston vs. Plymouth: Battle over possible Costco looms
Kingston has opened the spigot to speed up redevelopment of the languishing Kingston Collection mall, a move that could flush Plymouth’s hopes of attracting a Costco down the drain. On July 31, the Kingston Water Commission lifted a moratorium on all new connections to the town’s drinking water system – a ban it imposed in […]