My grandmother, Lena Ruffini Fornaciari, was born in Italy. She was fluent in Italian, of course, but also spoke English without an accent, and like so many of her generation growing up in North Plymouth, she was proficient in Portuguese as well. When Lena and my grandfather married, they built a house in 1942 on […]
Tag: Feature
Posted inEnvironment & Health
Hospital to spend $3.6 million on community health programs
Beyond the impact on patient care, major expansion projects ongoing at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth will deliver $3.6 million in community health grants to nonprofit and public agencies serving Plymouth, Kingston, Carver and Duxbury. The grant money is a requirement of the state’s approval of the expansion of the emergency department at the main hospital […]
Posted inPolice & Fire
Faced with more jail time, alleged serial thief withdraws guilty plea
She was supposed to plead guilty last Wednesday for pilfering packages from the Redbrook mailhouse in South Plymouth last summer. But Sunny McDonough, the former hair designer and a self-described “dreamer,” changed her mind when she realized the judge wasn’t going along with her lawyer’s sentence recommendation — one month in jail in exchange for […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health
Judge rules Makepeace violated law by partially filling bog
An administrative law judge has ruled that A.D. Makepeace violated the law when it filled in part of a cranberry bog in South Plymouth to build a road for a future residential neighborhood in the Redbrook development. The judge, Patrick Groulx, of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Affairs Office of Appeals and […]
Posted inGovernment
Memorial Hall closed after union claims workers’ health put at risk.
Town officials have closed Memorial Hall until early next week, when they expect to receive test results from an air quality sample taken July 10, a week after dust was created when a contractor removed a cement covering on a wall. The closure means the relocation of a national dance contest, Take Centerstage Dance Challenge, […]
Posted inBusiness
Savoring the summer traditions of Gellar’s, Bramhall’s
Though I have too often had high-priced but excellent restaurant meals, when the bill comes I inevitably ask myself, “Was that really any more satisfying than a hot dog on a butter grilled bun with brown mustard, relish and onions?” I also have a soft spot for frappes, always mocha (coffee ice cream and chocolate […]
Posted inGovernment
No end in sight for 15-year fight over a modest town pension
They’ve been fighting over a $10,000-plus annual pension for 15 years. No kidding. Michael Daley served as Plymouth’s finance director in the 1980s and early 1990s. When he retired in 2006, Daley began collecting a pension of roughly $9,696 a year. (With cost-of-living increases the amount would be close to $17,000 now). In 2010 […]
Posted inBusiness
Can downtown Plymouth become more like Portsmouth?
Plymouth’s downtown and waterfront businesses are putting together a plan that they hope will persuade residents and visitors to spend more time and money in the district. Their pitch comes as the town is preparing to launch a major transformation of Court and Main streets aimed at making downtown more resilient to climate change and […]
Posted inCulture
‘A powerful force for good’
Marcia Martinson was on a mission of mercy. The past president of Womanade at the Pinehills, a nonprofit group comprised of women who live in the upscale development, was dropping off a check at a residential shelter to help a family in need. “I made a payment for a woman whose family was going to […]
Posted inCulture
A picture perfect Fourth of July
People here and across the country are sharply divided on the state of the nation this summer, but there was consensus in Plymouth on Independence Day: The weather made for a classic Fourth of July holiday, with temperatures topping off around 80 degrees and the humidity low. The ideal conditions seemed to make for a […]