Category: Government

An alleged “sweetheart deal” with the newly hired Plymouth County administrator is being challenged in court as excessive and illegal. Plymouth County Treasurer Thomas O’Brien filed suit against his county commissioners on Wednesday asking a judge to vacate the contract and issue a preliminary injunction on the hire until his suit is decided. The ongoing […]

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 brand-new code of conduct adopted to promote civility among Town officials is being tested after a Select Board member filed the first-ever complaint under the new policy against one of his board colleagues. It’s just the latest salvo amid months of tension among the feuding Select Board members. The public sparring is largely what […]

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 […]

The owner of the now demolished Full Sail bar on White Horse Beach this week sued the town, alleging the price Plymouth paid to take the property by eminent domain was “grossly inadequate.” The town offered the owner Theodore “Skip” Fucillo $269,000, even though Town Meeting had followed the recommendation of the Community Preservation Committee […]

The Plymouth Select board narrowly approved a new civil conduct policy after a long debate Tuesday night that at times lacked civility. By a contentious 3-2 vote, the measure passed requiring all town officials – appointed or elected – to treat each other with respect. “Our goal was to create a clear, transparent process,” said […]

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 […]