Category: Government

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 […]

David Berkeley’s life is shadowed by a black mass of sadness. At night, it steals his sleep. By day, it burrows into his thoughts. Like others who have lost loved ones – especially under sudden or shocking circumstances – his grief does not come with an expiration date. David’s 41-year-old son, Brent Berkeley, was gunned […]

Thanks to some administrative maneuvering, the Select Board Tuesday voted to legitimize dozens of appointees to boards and committees who were not sworn in within the legally required 30-day period. It unanimously adopted a solution proposed by board member Kevin Canty to retroactively appoint people to boards and committees. “I’m glad that we took the […]

Town Clerk Kelly McElreath appeared before the Select Board Tuesday evening to explain how a systemic failure led to dozens of residents appointed or elected to town positions not being sworn in within the required 30-day period. McElreath was put in the spotlight after a revelation at the Sept. 9 board meeting that 66 people […]

In what appeared to be a preordained move, Select Board Vice Chair David Golden Tuesday became its new chair by enlisting the support of fellow members Dick Quintal and Bill Keohan to oust Kevin Canty from the position. The unusual action – which played out in dramatic fashion during an “on the road” meeting at […]

Betty was eager to share the story of how her happy life in Massachusetts was upended when ICE agents grabbed her husband last month.   But she didn’t attend last Monday’s Town Hall forum on immigration detention sponsored by the Plymouth Area League of Women Voters. Betty said she feared Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials […]

It’s a stunning number that casts a shadow on citizen participation in local government: 66 people appointed to town boards and committees by the Select Board over the past two years have never bothered to get sworn in, as required by town bylaws, Kevin Canty, the board’s chair, told the Independent.   Why people who […]

The Massachusetts Legislature is in its August recess, with members spending more time reconnecting with their districts. It seemed liked a good time to find out what Plymouth’s three state legislators have been up to on behalf of their constituents. The Independent asked each of them to list what accomplishments they are proudest of thus […]

It played out like a civil confrontation between Select Board Chair Kevin Canty and Town Moderator Steve Triffletti, but in the end the board on Tuesday granted Triffletti permission to act in his role as an attorney by representing clients before town boards. The 4-1 vote – with Canty the lone dissenter –  was a […]