Category: Your View

The Plymouth Independent’s recent article on the debate surrounding a private entity’s role in local development really underscored why we need strong local journalism. The core issue – whether groups [like the Plymouth Foundation] that include town officials should be making public decisions behind closed doors – is vital to the health of our community. […]

Reading the article “Do you know when your trash will be picked up?”  renewed my frustration and brought back bad memories of the town’s implementation of curbside pick-up.  Back about a dozen or so years ago, the town proposed going to curbside pick-up. There was overwhelming opposition from residents, especially seniors, the Council on Aging and the […]

The government continues to be shut down, putting millions of children in the path of hunger and hardship. The current administration refused a court order to release SNAP contingency funds, so we have an immediate emergency at hand. Right now, SNAP benefits have lapsed for 42 million Americans, including 16 million children; a surprising amount […]

The proposal to regulate ebikes is a needed step to make Plymouth roads and trails safer. When I started riding my ebike six years (and 6,000 miles) ago there were few ebikes and nearly all the riders I encountered acted responsibly. As time has passed more ebikes are on the roads and trails and riders […]

The news about emergency repairs (costing $750,000) being required at Memorial Hall solidifies my opinion that this structure needs to be torn down and replaced. Memorial Hall is hardly a “historic structure” by any stretch of one’s imagination. The original intent, prompting its construction, is sacred and should be honored within and by any replacement […]

Do you know that a Goliath 40B development housing project is proposed for already densely populated North Plymouth? Three buildings are proposed, a total of 163 new units, essentially transforming a quiet neighborhood and one remaining woodland area between Prince Street and Hedge Road into paved over outsized housing projects. Housing is needed. Affordable housing […]

We live in a democratic state. I say this not in reference to a particular political party, but because I firmly believe that Massachusetts truly has a democratic government… one controlled by the people, for the people, achieved by the give and take between opposing voices, with compromise being an important component of the process. […]

My husband and I walk on the Grace Trail (the North Plymouth rail trail) daily and observe so many disturbing behaviors by grownups and young people alike on wheels. Grownups with traditional pedal bikes often go like hell, like they’re in the Tour de France. The Grace Trail is hardly long enough to set a […]

Bill Nye’s words about the current administration’s rejection of climate change are an important reminder of the crucial importance of science in developing policy. In some ways it’s the most important thing human beings have ever invented: a way of asking questions about the world that steadily converges on the truth.  While individual scientists are […]

Massachusetts is near the very top for the cost of electricity. This means economic benefits of owning and driving an EV are markedly degraded. This results in more internal combustion engine vehicles and more pollution. With the high cost of electricity, the benefits of switching to heat pumps is also economically degraded. So as compared […]