A local homebrew club took home first place in the first annual South Shore Farmers Brew Fest this weekend.

Scott Stalter, Jeremiah Katz and Marcos Anello of Ole’ Buzzard Brewing, based out of Acushnet, won the homebrew competition with their India Pale Ale giving them their second first place win this year.

“It’s crazy!” said Stalter about the win. “We’d been shopping it around to everyone like, ’Here try this, you like this?’ and everyone was like ‘Oh my God I want some!’”

The South Shore Farmers Brew Fest was planned and hosted by Black Hat Brew Works in West Bridgewater. Ten local breweries from across the South Shore were invited to participate and served up countless samples of beer to nearly 1,000 attendees.

For taking the top prize, Ole’ Buzzard will have the opportunity to brew a batch of their winning recipe at Black Hat Brew Works to be served in their tap room. All proceeds from sales of the beer will go to a charity of the group’s choosing.

All proceeds of Sunday’s festival will be donated to charity. Half will be given to the Bridge Center which offers programming to individuals with disabilities and the other half will be split among Bridgewater’s police and fire departments.

Along with Ole’ Buzzard, the Southcoast was represented by Buzzards Bay Brewing and Berkley Beer Company while local food truck Fancheezical served up some tasty plates.

Paul Mulcahy, owner of Black Hat, said the idea of the event was to get local craft brewers together to shed some light on the work being done in the pocket south of Boston that is often overlooked when thinking about unique craft brews. It also gave the brewers a chance to hang out and talk shop with one another during the after-party.

“Every one of these brewers are awesome,” Mulcahy said. “What we have going on on the South Shore is awesome.”

Black Hat is also nearing its one year anniversary of operation, so the festival was also a way to celebrate the past year’s success.

The brew fest featured great microbreweries that are within a short drive for any craft beer lover on the Southcoast:

• 10th District Brewing Company (Abington)
• Berkley Beer Company (Berkley)
• Black Hat Brew Works (W. Bridgewater)
• Bog Iron Brewing (Norton)
• Buzzards Bay Brewing (Westport)
• High Limb Hard Cider (Attleboro)
• Independent Fermentations Brewing (Plymouth)
• Mayflower Brewing Company (Plymouth)
• Old Colony Brewing (Whitman)
• Shoveltown Brewery (Easton)

All photographs by Josh Souza.______________________________________________________________________ngg_shortcode_0_placeholder

New Bedford residents young and old passing by the exterior walls of Ash Street Jail have surely wondered what it looks like on the inside. Though the facility is the oldest operating jail in the United States, many would be surprised to find the number of 21st century features within.

A recent tour of the jail, led by 25-year veteran (most of which spent at Ash Street) Captain John Murphy and Jonathan Darling, Bristol County Sheriff’s Office public information officer, exposed some of the surprising coexistence of history and modernity.

Built in 1888, much of Ash Street’s features have remained the same for over 120 years. Murphy told us that since he began working there in 1991, he had never see a floor board, cell gate or brick replaced.

Cell doors are still the original steel bar gates and still operated by a two-stage manual locking system. Each door can be locked and unlocked by a large metal key. An entire cell block can also be locked or unlocked by a manual lever located at the end of each row of cells.

The only electronic component involved with the jail cells is a wand operated by the correctional officer. It buzzes every 15 minutes to remind them to perform their scheduled rounds. Upon completion of each section of cells, they scan a chip uniquely assigned to themselves and then “check off” each section by placing the magnetic base of the wand into a corresponding magnet on the wall at the end of each row. This keeps a digital log of each round.

Another unique piece of technology used by the facility is a Cellsense detector, located in the courtyard just before entering back into the jail. The detector is highly sensitive to cellphones and other contraband prisoners may try to conceal.

As time goes on, trends among offenders that end up in the jail tend to change. Murphy said when he started at the jail, the regional section, where individuals spend their time between being arrested and processed and appearing before a court magistrate, would often be filled with drunks that were sleeping off the night. Now, he says, many of those spending a night in regionals are high on opioids and watched very closely by officers.

The medical bay is stocked with the overdose-reversing drug, Narcan, and officers are beginning to carry it on their person as well. The most recent graduating class of correctional officers were the first to receive first responder training, and it will continue among future classes as well as annual in-service training for current officers.

The jail has also received a state grant to offer extensive addiction and treatment education. Through partnerships with Seven Hills and AdCare, the jail offers classes to inmates and also attempts to educate those who only spend the night in regionals, handing out booklets and pamphlets with information on available treatment assistance.

The Ash Street Jail is also utilizing modern technology from a cost-saving perspective. Through state and federal assistance, the jail is in process of insulating the roof, which itself was just recently replaced, in an effort to save heating costs. They are also cutting costs by installing instant water heaters, eliminating the need for a boiler system to heat up water for showers and other inmate uses. In water savings, timers are being installed in toilets and sinks that will limit water flow to a pre-determined time. This will prevent water waste as well as possible flooding of cells.

In the modern era of operating a jail, officials are constantly struggling to keep up with new technological advances within the general public that could potentially lead to trouble within facility walls.

With the increased popularity of drones, Darling said there is concern across the country about what it means for the security of jails and prisons. Murphy said a resident told an officer one day she spotted a drone near the courtyard, but he said there was no incident and it was likely trying to take pictures.

However, Darling added that the BCSO is working to address potential issues with drones and that it’s something they are aware of.

“In the jail system, you shut down one angle, they open up another,” Murphy said.

All photographs by Josh Souza.ngg_shortcode_1_placeholder

When you enter your respective polling location on November 8th, it’s likely you will see the names of the same candidates you saw two years ago running for the state legislature.

Nearly two-thirds of candidates running for a seat in the Massachusetts Senate or Massachusetts House of Representatives are running unopposed this year, though it’s quite common in the Bay State.

Here on the Southcoast, Bristol County more specifically, 17 of the 20 incumbents running face no opposition. A 21st seat (Norfolk, Bristol & Plymouth District) will be decided in the September 8th democratic primary, though incumbent Brian Joyce is not seeking re-election.

As a whole, 79% of races in Massachusetts in 2016 will be unopposed as of June 19, according to Ballotpedia. The state average from 2010 -2014 was 61%, while the national average for that same time period was only 38%.

Also according to data analyzed by Ballotpedia, 94% of Massachusetts races feature an incumbent, up from 89.7% from 2010-2014, and 88.8% feature incumbents without primary challengers, down slightly from 90.7% over the last three elections.

National averages for those categories are 81.1% and 77.5% respectively.

So, why is nobody challenging most of the politicians on Beacon Hill? Is it because voters are happy with their representatives? Is there a lack of civic engagement among today’s voters? Or does running against a well-established candidate just appear as a daunting, impossible task?

Some experts believe it comes down to incumbents holding the upper hand entering the campaign season.

According to an article published by the MetroWest Daily News this past July, incumbents typically have thousands of dollars stored in war chests and hold greater name recognition than new candidates attempting to break into the political fray.

There are also countless hoops to jump through to establish a campaign from scratch. The state’s elections division outlines the path to becoming a candidate with a helpful guide, filled with key filing dates, requirements, rules and tips, though without much name recognition it can be very hard for a “Joe Somebody” to make their way onto a ballot, let alone win a seat.

Now, if it’s so hard to get yourself on the ballot and you’re looking for change, what can you do about it?

Becoming engaged at any level will yield surprising results.

Politicians want to be re-elected, and they can only do so if you vote for them. They want to make sure you will keep checking off the box next to their names every two years or so. If you reach out to them and share your concerns, many times you will hear back from them or their offices.

If enough constituents call for change by their representative, change may likely come. On the other hand, if those elected to office are doing a poor job, their constituents are responsible for keeping them in check via the ballot box or public opinion.

You don’t need to know everything about the votes they are or are not casting, but periodically check in to see what they are up to. This can be done by checking in with your preferred news publication as well as other resources, such as Ballotpedia.org and the state’s legislature website.

The best thing you can do is vote. This year’s primary elections will be held on September 8th and the general election will be held on November 8th. You can find out your local polling location here, while you can check your voter registration status here.

Who’s running in your district? A look at candidates from 2012-2016.

The Whaling Blues Festival began in 1998 on Pier 3 as a showcase of modern, high-quality music with the city’s iconic waterfront backdrop. It lasted the next eight years and grew to hosting thousands of fans at Fort Taber until its last show in 2006.

The return of the New Bedford Whaling Blues Festival and its partnership with the Zeiterion Theater on Saturday was a homecoming for both the music festival and one of the city’s rising musical stars.

Quinn Sullivan stole the show on a hot and muggy afternoon at Fort Taber in front of a crowd of hundreds of festival-goers. The seventeen-year-old from New Bedford High School kept the crowd roaring with guitar solos that seemed would never end and a strong supporting band behind him.

Sullivan, who has been touring across Europe this summer with legendary blues musician and his earliest idol Buddy Guy, said he was happy to play in front of some familiar faces.

“It was so awesome coming home,” Sullivan said after signing autographs and taking photos with fans for over an hour. “It’s truly incredible to be here. You never expect anything until you walk on stage and see all those faces.”

During his encore, Sullivan played his original song “Buddy’s Blues,” an ode to his mentor who pulled him up on stage at the young age of eight while performing at the Zeiterion Theater.

“He’s shown me the world,” Sullivan said of Guy. “I owe everything to him.”

Other local artists took the stage during the festival, including G and Friends, Shipyard Wreck, The Craig DeMelo Band and The Neal McCarthy Problem.

Sharing the main stage with Sullivan were Johnny Hoy and the Bluefish, Jon Cleary and The Absolute Monster Gentlemen, Shemekia Copeland, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band.

Each band brought their own blues influences to the stage and got everyone up and grooving.

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell was happy to see the festival return to the city after its ten-year hiatus and attract a wide variety of talent.

“This is one of the best public spaces anywhere in the northeastern United States and the quality of music is first rate,” said Mitchell. “There’s so much to love about it and that explains the huge crowd here.”

The crowd was singing and dancing along despite the heat, and many sought out the cool ocean breeze blowing across the peninsula. Dozens were also able to take in the show for free from the waters, where they enjoyed the rhythmic tunes from the comfort of their vessels.

Many fans took advantage of the views offered around the venue and walked around as they sampled some of the area’s food truck and restaurant offerings, including dNB Burgers, Fancheezical, Dorothy Cox and many others.

It has not yet been decided if the festival will return next year as an annual event, though it appears to be a welcome addition to the city’s summertime musical showcase.

All photographs by Josh Souza.

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