Category: Your View

In the past, Memorial Hall benefited the town as a community meeting place. The one time I was in Memorial Hall was for my high school graduation in 1980. There is no longer a need for a hall for such community use as the town now has two new expensive high schools and an equally […]

Sand mining continues to ravage Southeastern Massachusetts. Dozens of sand mines excavate the earth and load it into hundreds of trucks a day. The land is gone forever – parts of Plymouth and surrounding towns sold off to meet the global demand for sand as the shortage grows. Plymouth’s sand mines have the potential to […]

The article describing See Plymouth’s $30,000 grant to operate a free Ride Circuit shuttle between the Kingston commuter rail (CR) station and Plymouth Visitor Center left me with many questions. Shuttles like this are a common solution to the “last mile” problem.” But is it a cost-effective solution and the best way to get additional […]

What happened to the old fashion barber shop?   I’m visiting from Florida, looking for a haircut.  Every place I go you need an appointment – and it’s $30. Ridiculous. Do they all think they’re “hair stylists?” I’ll wait till I get back to Florida, where I can walk into a real barber shop, read […]

The Jenney Pond restoration is beyond expectations. In the last 25 years, the landscape of several parks has changed dramatically but Jenney Pond has always been a special place for us to walk to. In the winter it would be difficult to walk over the icy wooden bridge and now, with the new wide bridge, […]

The Plymouth No Place for Hate Committee presented its eighth annual Outstanding Citizenship Award to two Plymouth high school students at the July 8 Select Board Meeting.  The purpose of this award is to recognize students who have shown a commitment to social justice by challenging discrimination or bigotry through his/her actions, and/or who actively […]

In June, 2024, the Plymouth Independent published a letter from me urging the Select Board to take action to remove the [former] Bert’s restaurant eyesore. Three months later, in September 2024, I spoke to the Select Board during public comment to urge them again to do the same thing. At that time, I proposed taking […]

Several recent letters to the Independent would have you believe that “parking problems impede downtown prosperity,” and that building a parking garage behind Memorial Hall would go a long way towards solving the problem. I’ve heard these kinds of comments for years now. The Downtown Waterfront District’s initiative to bring more events to the downtown […]

Hooray for the union representing Department of Public Works employees working at Memorial Hall. I felt so encouraged reading Fred Thys’s article about the temporary closing of the hall due to the [alleged] presence of silica dust. Union president Dale Weber voiced the identical concerns about silica dust – a carcinogen known to cause severe […]

I am writing concerning the ongoing sand mining in Plymouth. This silica dust – emitted by sand mining – poses a threat to Southeastern Massachusetts and the public health of its residents. Sand mines are permitted in towns approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals and building inspectors in Plymouth. These permits do not require […]