Throughout 2023, and especially in these final months, the women involved with the NESPAC Women’s Conference have been working hard to get mothers what they need. NESPAC is the acronym for New England State Police Administrators Compact, a mutual aid and assistance partnership among the State Police agencies of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Vermont.

First, with the support of the New England Patriots, they organized Operation Shower at Gillette Stadium to assist military moms-to-be whose spouses are deployed.

Their goals were to celebrate motherhood and build a support network for expectant mothers. Troopers from the six NESPAC states donated boxes of diapers to distribute — they purchased so many, in fact, that there were a lot of boxes left over after Operation Shower, so Massachusetts State Police Major James Bazzinotti and Captain Kathryn Downey arranged to donate them to My Brother’s Table, a Lynn-based soup kitchen and social service non-profit.

Troopers came from around the state to assist in this secondary mission. The Patriots Foundation, the team’s charitable arm, was happy to be involved again and brought along former Patriots lineman Max Lane to speak on the importance of volunteerism.

Dianne Kuzis Hills, the Executive Director of My Brother’s Table, expressed gratitude for the donated diapers, which she said will be of great assistance to families in need. Both she and Major Bazzinotti, the commander of MSP’s Troop A, spoke of the value of community, of supporting others and, in turn, turning to them for support when you need it.

“This is what My Brother’s Table is all about” Ms. Hills said. “Maybe one day you’re the helper and the next day you’re the one being helped.”

The Massachusetts State Police would like to thank everyone involved in the success of both these missions from the bottom of our hearts.”-Massachusetts State Police.

“The City of New Bedford has roadwork sites for the upcoming week of January 1, 2024 – January 5, 2024, and they are as follows: City offices will be closed on Monday, January 1st in observance of New Year’s Dayy.

Eversource will be working on gas main relays and services on:

• Main relay on Central Ave from Church St to Brook St
• Main relay on County St from Cove St to Mosher St
• Main relay on Mosher St from County St to Crapo St
• Main tie in preparation on Church St

Other:

• MassDOT will be staging installation and beam end cleaning and concrete encasements at I-195 East and West bound lanes over Purchase St, County St and State St will is scheduled during the overnight hours starting November 12th and will continue until May 31st of 2024. Work will take place Sundays to Thursdays. Police will be on site for detour and safety setups.
• Contractor (SCR Constructors) will continue site work at the future South Coast Rail station platform locations in the city. (Church St at Carlisle St and Wamsutta St at Acushnet Ave.) If you have questions, please email the project team at SouthCoastRail@dot.state.ma.us
• Contractor (SCR Constructors) will continue site work at the future pedestrian bridge across Route 18 impacting parking along Purchase Street between Willis Street and Pearl Street and at the Division of Career Services on Acushnet Avenue. Temporary detours may be in place pending construction activities occurring.  If you have questions, please email the project team at SouthCoastRail@dot.state.ma.us
• Contractor (PA Landers) will be working at the intersection of Union Street and County Street installing traffic lights. Work may require lane and road closures.
• Contractor (PA Landers) will be working on Kings Highway installing temporary pavement markings. Work may require lane closures and detours.
• Contractor (Green International and Geotech) will be excavating test pits at Buttonwood Park (west side of the pond), Brownell Avenue (between Kempton St and Gaywood St), and Hillman Street (between Walter St and Jenny Lind St).  Work may require temporary detours.”-City of New Bedford.

“On Friday December 22, 2023 at approximately 2132 hours Officer Myers was on patrol when he conducted a traffic stop on a 2009 Acura MDX on Rt. 6. A registration check of the vehicle indicated that the vehicle had an expired inspection sticker and that the registered owner, Derrick Costa, 36, from 196 Collete St in New Beford had an active arrest warrant.

Further investigation and search of the vehicle produced a .38 cal revolver pistol. In addition, it was later discovered that Mr. Costa had an active warrant for his arrest out of New York for criminal possession of a firearm. Mr. Costa was charged with possession of a firearm without a license to carry and fugitive from justice. He was arraigned in the Wareham 4th District Court on Tuesday December 26, 2023 on those charges.

On the same evening Troopers from the Massachusetts State Police were in pursuit of a vehicle on I-195 west heading towards Mattapoisett when they requested assistance from the Mattapoisett Police Department. Officer Parker immediately responded to the area of I-195 and was able to successfully deploy his Stinger Spike Strips and deflate the tires of the fleeing vehicle.

The vehicle safely came to a stop after a short distance and the operator was taken into custody by members of the Massachusetts State Police.”

“ART IN NATURE – Students in Swift Elementary School’s 21st Century Afterschool Program went outside after school to gather items they found in nature and made nature scenes.

They discussed leaves and how they change in the fall. They gathered leaves to make butterflies. Students read about artist Georgia O’Keeffe, and they observed her colorful paintings. They looked at paintings by John James Audubon and used them to create their own bird drawings.

Families and students voted on which displays they enjoyed the most. Ms. Lima, NBPS Out-of-School Time Mgr. notes, “Swift is one of five elementary schools with Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 21st Century Afterschool funding. This is the first year and Swift students celebrated the end of session 1 showcasing their work.

The program runs throughout the school year.” (Photos: Ms. Macedo and Ms. Barboza)”-New Bedford Public Schools.

All photos by New Bedford Public Schools:

On Sunday night, the New Bedford Fire Department was alerted to a fire at Lech Garage & Auto Body at 103 N Front St, New Bedford.

Upon arrival, firefighters encountered a fully engulfed automobile. Preliminary investigation suggests that the particular car had been towed from the Gifford Street boat ramp after being submerged in the water. The vehicle caught on fire at some point after it had been dropped off at Lech’s Garage & Auto Body parking lot.

One astute resident, Jessica Monteiro, mentioned the possibility of it being an electric car, “I don’t know what kind of car it is. But if it’s a electric car then the tow company should have pulled the battery out as soon as it came out of water.

When electric cars are submerged in salt water, something to do with the salt that’s left on the battery and gets in it causes it to self-heat causing it to catch fire. Tesla is [in]famous for it happening.”

The incident is in its early stage of investigation and more details are expected to emerge later today.

All photos by Carlos Pimental Felix:

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Lech Auto Body pulling a car out of the water down at the Gifford St. Boat ramp in New Bedford. Video by Carlos Pimental Felix.

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Video by Carlos Pimental Felix.

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Video by Carlos Pimental Felix.

“The City of New Bedford has roadwork sites for the upcoming week of December 11, 2023 – December 15, 2023, and they are as follows:

Eversource will be working on gas main relays and services on:

• Main relay on County St from Cove St to Mosher St
• Main tie-in on Irvington St from Maywood St to Milford St
• Main tie-in on Irvington St from Arlington St to Ashley Blvd
• Prepare for tie-ins on Church St

Other:

• MassDOT will be staging installation and beam end cleaning and concrete encasements at I-195 East and West bound lanes over Purchase St, County St and State St will is scheduled during the overnight hours starting November 12th and will continue until May 31st of 2024. Work will take place Sundays to Thursdays. Police will be on site for detour and safety setups.
• Contractor (PA Landers) will be working at varies locations throughout the city on roadway and sidewalk patches.
• Contractor (PA Landers) will be working at MassDOT project #609201, located at the intersection of Acushnet Ave & Peckham Rd/Sassaquin Ave.
• Contractors (PA Landers and various utility companies) will be working at MassDOT’s Kings Highway project. Minor traffic impacts and lane shifts required.
• Contractor (PA Landers) will be working on a road reconstruction project at Acushnet Ave from Tarkiln Hill Road to Monmouth Street.
• Contractor (PA Landers) will be working on a road reconstruction project at Wood Street from the town line to Church Street.
• Contractor (PA Landers) will be working on a road reconstruction project at West Rodney French Blvd from JFK Memorial Hwy/ Cove Street to Cove Road. Work will require lane and road closures.
• Contractor (SCR Constructors) will continue site work at the future South Coast Rail station platform locations in the city. (Church St at Carlisle St and Wamsutta St at Acushnet Ave.) If you have questions, please email the project team at SouthCoastRail@dot.state.ma.us
• Contractor (SCR Constructors) will continue site work at the future pedestrian bridge across Route 18 impacting parking along Purchase Street between Willis Street and Pearl Street and at the Division of Career Services on Acushnet Avenue. Temporary detours may be in place pending construction activities occurring.  If you have questions, please email the project team at SouthCoastRail@dot.state.ma.us
• Contractor (Middlesex Corp) will be working on Nash Rd between Church St and Mt. Pleasant St. Traffic will be reduced to one lane and will have police details on site to assist with traffic.
• Contractor (Newport) will be working on Nash Rd between Church St and Mt. Pleasant St. Traffic will be reduced to one lane and will have police details on site to assist with traffic.
• Contractor (K5) will be painting roadway markings at varies locations. Work will require lane and road closures.
• Contractor (Precision Concrete) will be repairing sidewalks at varies locations throughout the City.”

“A federal investigation has found that an East Freetown concrete contractor could have prevented an employee maintaining a soil screener from suffering fatal injuries on Sept. 6, 2023, by following required safety regulations.

An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found John Oliveira & Sons Stamp Concrete Inc. instructed the employee, 24-year-old Josué Deodoro Tiquiram Sam a Guatemalan migrant, to remove a soil screen on a conveyor, after which the employee was crushed between the conveyor and its frame because the company failed to ensure the conveyor’s power source was disabled to prevent its unintended startup as the employee performed maintenance.

“John Oliveira & Sons Stamp Concrete Inc.’s failure to employ well-known safeguards needlessly cost a worker’s life,” said OSHA Area Director James Mulligan in Braintree, Massachusetts. “Employers must develop and rigorously maintain equipment and each element of their energy control plans to identify and minimize hazards and protect workers’ safety and health.”

OSHA investigators found that the company did not do the following:

• Have an energy control program to isolate the conveyor’s power source and prevent an unintended startup.
• Provide locks, tags or other hardware to isolate, secure or block machines and equipment from their energy sources to prevent sudden starts or moves.
• Adequately maintain the soil screener, which had numerous defects and missing parts.
• Forbid employees from riding in a front-end loader’s bucket, exposing them to crush and fall hazards.
• Record each work-related fatality, injury or illness case on the OSHA Form 300 or equivalent.

OSHA cited the company for six violations, including three willful and two serious violations and one other-than-serious violation. The agency assessed $200,905 in proposed penalties. View the citations here.

John Oliveira & Sons Stamp Concrete Inc. has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.”-U.S. Department of Labor.

A Fundraiser started by Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores in his named states that, “Sam was a young Maya K’iche’ migrant from Guatemala who came to the U.S. in 2022. He came from a poor family of subsistence farmers who raised corn on rented land. His goal was to buy a piece of land and build a house for his parents and siblings.

His body was flown back to Guatemala and he was buried there on September 25. CCT is raising money to help his parents defray the costs of sending the body back to Guatemala and the funeral expenses.”

“The City of New Bedford has roadwork sites for the upcoming week of November 27, 2023 – December 1, 2023, and they are as follows:

Eversource will be working on gas main relays and services on:

• Main relay on Brook St from Princeton St to Irvington St
• Main relay on Irvington St from Maywood St to Milford St
• Main relay on King St from Church St to Nash Rd
• Regulator work on Potter St at Rockdale Ave headed east towards Nashua St

Other:

• Contractor (Newport Construction) will be conducting daytime paving and milling work on Nash Rd and Church St from Tuesday, November 27th to Thursday, November 30th detour will be place.
• Contractor (Newport Construction) will be installing wheelchair ramps at the intersections on Hillman St and Acushnet Ave on Tuesday, November 27th
• MassDOT will be staging installation and beam end cleaning and concrete encasements at I-195 East and West bound lanes over Purchase St, County St and State St will is scheduled during the overnight hours starting November 12th and will continue until May 31st of 2024. Work will take place Sundays to Thursdays. Police will be on site for detour and safety setups.
• Contractor (DF Pray) will have Barker’s Ln from Acushnet Ave to N Second St closed for construction from Monday, November 6th to Thursday, November 30th.
• Contractor (PA Landers) will be working on a road reconstruction project at Sutton Street from Shawmut Ave to Harvard Street.
• Contractor (PA Landers & PJ Keating) will be paving the roadway surface at Sutton Street from Shawmut Ave to Harvard Street. Work will require lane and road closures. There will be limited access to and from driveways and parking lots within the affected area during construction.
• Contractor (PA Landers) will be working at varies locations throughout the city on roadway and sidewalk patches.
• Contractor (PA Landers) will be working at MassDOT project #609201, located at the intersection of Acushnet Ave & Peckham Rd/Sassaquin Ave.
• Contractors (PA Landers and various utility companies) will be working at MassDOT’s Kings Highway project. Minor traffic impacts and lane shifts required.
• Contractor (PA Landers) will be working on a road reconstruction project at Acushnet Ave from Tarkiln Hill Road to Monmouth Street.
• Contractor (PA Landers) will be working on a road reconstruction project at Wood Street from the town line to Church Street.
• Contractor (PA Landers) will be working on a road reconstruction project at Irvington Street from Church Street to Maywood Street.
• Contractor (PA Landers) will be working on a road reconstruction project at Van Buren Street from Mt. Pleasant Street to Myrtle Street. Police details and road closures will be required.
• Contractor (PA Landers) will be working on a road reconstruction project at West Rodney French Blvd from JFK Memorial Hwy/ Cove Street to Cove Road. Work will require lane and road closures.
• Contractor (PA Landers) will be working on a road reconstruction project at Elm Street from Pleasant Street to Purchase Street, Purchase Street from Elm Street to Middle Street, Middle Street from Purchase Street to Fredrick Douglas Way and Fredrick Douglas Way from Middle Street to Elm St. Police details and road closures will be required.
• Contractor (SCR Constructors) will continue site work at the future South Coast Rail station platform locations in the city. (Church St at Carlisle St and Wamsutta St at Acushnet Ave.) If you have questions, please email the project team at SouthCoastRail@dot.state.ma.us
• Contractor (SCR Constructors) will continue site work at the future pedestrian bridge across Route 18 impacting parking along Purchase Street between Willis Street and Pearl Street and at the Division of Career Services on Acushnet Avenue. Temporary detours may be in place pending construction activities occurring.  If you have questions, please email the project team at SouthCoastRail@dot.state.ma.us
• Contractor (Middlesex Corp) will be working on Nash Rd between Church St and Mt. Pleasant St. Traffic will be reduced to one lane and will have police details on site to assist with traffic.
• Contractor (Newport) will be working on Nash Rd between Church St and Mt. Pleasant St. Traffic will be reduced to one lane and will have police details on site to assist with traffic.
• Contractor (LAL) will be performing sidewalk and roadway work on Cove Road at the intersection of Saint John Street. Lane closures may be required. Police details and road closures will be required. Work is weather dependent.
• Contractor (PA Landers) will be painting roadway markings at the intersection of Union Street and County Street. Road closures will be required.
• Contractor (PA Landers & PJ Keating) will be paving the roadway surface at Kilburn Street from Belleville Ave to end. Work will require lane and road closures. There will be limited access to and from driveways and parking lots within the affected area during construction.
• Contractor (PA Landers & PJ Keating) will be paving the roadway surface at Vanburen Street from Mt. Pleasant Street to Myrtle Street.  Work will require lane and road closures. There will be limited access to and from driveways and parking lots within the affected area during construction.
• Contractor (PA Landers & PJ Keating) will be paving the roadway surface at Irvington Street from Church Street to Seabury Street. Work will require lane and road closures. There will be limited access to and from driveways and parking lots within the affected area during construction.
• Contractor (K5) will be painting roadway markings at varies locations. Work will require lane and road closures.
• DPI and Contractor (PA Landers) will be installing a new hydrant at the intersection of Irvington Street and Seabury Street requiring a shutdown on the watermain. Water service in this location may be temporarily affected. Residents affected by the shutdown will be notified.”

“A 26-year-old New Bedford gang member was convicted by a jury of his peers last Friday of the second degree murder of Brad Lourenco. The defendant, Ivan Fontanez, is scheduled to be sentenced in Fall River Superior Court on November 27th at 9 am, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.

The two week long trial before Judge Renee Dupuis was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Shawn Guilderson and Matthew Sylvia.

The jury also convicted Fontanez of carrying an illegal firearm and carrying a loaded illegal firearm.

On June 5, 2017, Fontanez and Keeland Rose got a ride from Temple Landing in the West End of New Bedford to Rivet Street in the South End of New Bedford. Fontanez and Rose then walked to Roberto Clemente Park where Fontanez pointed the firearm into a group of individuals at the park, fired the gun 9 times, and one shot struck Brad Lourenco in the back of the head causing his death. They both then ran from the area while being chased by south End gang members, including Bruno Lopes.

Fontanez and Rose both crossed over Route 18 by way of a pedestrian foot bridge. The murder weapon was later located hidden on this bridge. As they continued their flight, they discarded their sweatshirts and Fontanez discarded his sweatpants in a dumpster. That clothing was located, and DNA of Rose was found on one of the sweatshirts while DNA of Fontanez was found on the sweatpants.

The chase continued back over Route 18 when Fontanez and Rose jump into the back of a pickup truck that was in the area hoping to flee the scene. After the driver of the truck stops his car and ordered them out, Rose and Fontanez grabbed hand tools from the pickup truck in an attempt to defend themselves from the gang chasing them. They are apprehended by police within seconds of this occurring.

The shooting was likely the results of an ongoing feud between rival gangs in New Bedford and was in retaliation to an incident that occurred about a week before the homicide involving the non-fatal shooting of Fontanez’s half-brother.

Keeland Rose pled guilty to a charge of Accessory to Murder in 2019 and was sentenced to serve three to six years in state prison.”

UPDATED Tuesday @ 7:50am: Robert is now home safe and sound. Thank you to all who helped spread the word to get him home by liking, sharing, or commenting.
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“Around this time last year my brother Robert went missing with a female that he met online from South Carolina. My mom got guardianship over him, yes he is 21 years old and special needs. He was deemed incompetent by a court appointed professional.

Not many people understand what that is but it’s a real thing. Please don’t hate on something you don’t understand. There was a restraining order put into place so the girl could bo longer contact Robert. She violated it anyway, multiple times.

Fast forward a couple of months, we thought it was over. Here we are a year later and apparently we were wrong. We have court tomorrow for the violation of the restraining order. Same girl is back from out of state, staying at the same hotel she did the first time. And yet again my brother is missing. No meds, no clothes, no money, and his phone is turned off.

If anyone has ever spent any amount of time with Robert you would know his electronics are his life. So for it to be off is unusual. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that she came back and he is missing again.

The Dartmouth Police Dept. is involved and actively investigating. They have already spoken with her to no avail. I could posts my speculations on the multiple theories I have but that will unfortunate not help. Hoping the community could help by just keeping an eye out.

We are very concerned as my brother does not have any instincts of being in danger or when someone is taking advantage of him. He is autistic amongst other diagnosis and he does not function at a 21 year olds level. That’s why he was deemed incompetent by the court.

If anyone has seen him anywhere please, please, please, reach out.”-Becca Tinkham.

Becca Tinkham photo.