In the early part of the spring semester in 2013, then advisor of the Bristol Community College Portuguese Club and Co-Director of LusoCentro, José Costa, and then President of the Portuguese Club, Brian Martins, discussed the opportunity to help promote the Portuguese culture, heritage, customs, courtesies and traditions through a special event. Mr. Martins suggested an event similar to the former annual Festas das Bandas Portuguesas founded by the late Heitor deSousa, who also founded the Grandes Festas do Espirito Santo da Nova Inglaterra held at Kennedy Park in Fall River. Mr. Martins was an active participate of the event playing several instruments with Portuguese bands since 1992 until the festival ended in the mid 90’s. The idea with this new event was not only to help promote and assist preservation of the culture, but also to help develop further youth involvement in the culture.

An idea was created for an initial Night of Folklore that will feature several groups, using the income as support for those participating and provide several scholarships. In preparation of this, Grupo Folclórico Saudades da Terra would bring several of their rehearsals from the Fall River Sports Club to the Bristol Community College’s main campus. Students interested in the culture could join the practice and learn to dance; sometimes earning extra credit for Portuguese courses. Unfortunately, Mr. Martins was a first responder/EMT working in the Boston area and responded to the tragedy of the Boston Marathon Terrorist Attack on April 15th . The Portuguese Club under Mr. Costa and Mr. Martins’ leadership then changed plans to help organize a donation collection on behalf of the Portuguese community to help the victims through the Boston One Fund, becoming one of the first state schools to take the lead in helping the victims. Now Mr. Martins has returned to work with Carlos Almeida, the current director of the LusoCentro, to bring the once idea of an event to reality.

On Saturday, April 1st at 6:00 PM, LusoCentro will be hosting the first Uma Noite Folclórica. The night will feature folklore groups and ranchos from throughout New England to share the culture while working together to help raise funds. LusoCentro is hosting the event in the Margaret L. Jackson Arts Center Theater on the main campus at 777 Elsbree Street in Fall River. Sound, which will be provided for by Underground Sound; lighting, tickets, promotional items, scholarships and raffle prizes will be provided for by Mr. Martins, making it possible to have all funds raised from ticket sales and the raffle to be equally divided amongst the folklore groups/ranchos in attendance and LusoCentro. Some of the groups, so far, include Rancho Folclórico Portuguese United for Education of New Bedford, MA; Rancho Folclórico Portugal Canta e Dança of Danbury, CT; the Taunton Portuguese Folklore Group of Taunton, MA; and the Grupo Folclórico do Cranston Portuguese Club of Cranston, RI. The event will close with a performance by Mauricio Morais, the awarding of several scholarships and the awarding of the raffle.

The raffle prizes will be announced on the 1st of March. $1000 will be available for college scholarships to members of the groups in college. The directors of the folklore groups will be given the applications for the scholarships and will team with several professors to decide who will be awarded the scholarships and the amount. A major factor to the awarding of a scholarship will be the level of commitment to the group, culture and family. In addition to this, 4 $150 mini-scholarships will be made available for those younger members attending a Portuguese language school while showing the same strong commitment. These Portuguese Language Schools would include the Discovery Language Academy of New Bedford or the Escola Portuguesa in Cranston.

If any folklore groups have an interest in taking part, but have not been contacted yet, feel free to contact Brian Martins on his cell at 774-417-1295 or via email at Brianma1977@yahoo.com. There will be a lunch meeting for directors at the TA Restaurant (Tabacaria Açoreana) at 12 Noon on February 18th . The address to the TA is 408 South Main Street in Fall River and will be held in the private room. Lunch will be provided by Mr. Martins and scholarship applications, posters and tickets will be available.

If anyone would like to reserve tickets for the event, the tickets are $15 each and you can call Mr. Martins at the aforementioned phone number or email address; or you may contact your local participating folklore group. Bristol Community College Students may present your ID at the entrance of the event and receive a $5 rebate.

Find your polling location here. See if you are registered to vote here. 

FEB 1: First day nomination papers were available. Each candidate is issued five nomination papers. 50 signatures are required to be certified as a candidate 

FEB 8 – 5PM: Last day and hour to officially file nomination papers. 

FEB 24: – Last day and hour to officially file withdrawals or objections.

MAR 8: – Last day to register to vote.

MAR 20 – last day for candidates to file Campaign Finance Reports.

MAR 25 – 9am – 12pm – Saturday Absentee Voting, City Hall, Room 114

MAR 27 – 12pm – Last day and hour to file an absentee application for the preliminary election.

MAR 28 – SPECIAL PRELIMINARY ELECTION – POLLS OPEN FROM 7am – 8pm

APR 4 – Last day to file recount petition.

APR 5 – Last day to register to register to vote for the Special Municipal Election.

APR 14 – last day for candidates to file Campaign Finance Reports.

APR – 22 – 9am – 12pm – Saturday Absentee Voting, City Hall, Room 114

APR – 24 – 12pm – Last day and hour to file an absentee application.

APR – 25 – SPECIAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION –  POLLS OPEN FROM 7am – 8pm

New Bedford suffered five suspected accidental overdoses between 10:28am and 10:44pm on Sunday, February 5th, 2017. One was fatal.  

• 51-year old man accidential overdose on Ruth Street at 10:28am
• 25-year old man accidental overdose on Tallman Street at 12:21pm
• 31-year old female accidental overdose on Tallman Street at 9:36pm
• 54-year old man suspected accidental overdose on Purchase Street at 10:10pm (death)
• 54-year old female on Portland Street at 10:44pm 

The medical examiner’s office is investigating the death of a 53-year-old New Bedford man Sunday at a residence on Purchase Street.

The death is being investigated as a possible overdose. No immediate evidence of drug use was found on the scene.

Medics used CPR to attempt to revive the man. He was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:10 p.m.

By Jonathan Comey

At the approach of a visitor toward the Huttleston Motel office, Orlando came through the door.

The courtyard of the just-closed complex was snow-covered on a cold day, and Orlando crossed his arms over his t-shirt, silver cross necklace dangling beneath.

The crossed arms provided warmth against the cold, and also conveyed the obvious question: What did this visitor want from a place with a condemned notice on all the entrances, and a pointed NO VACANCY notice.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

For two years, Orlando says, this was his standard greeting to a prospective renter. You didn’t get the tourists much, people coming from out of town to stay with family.

What you did get, according to Orlando (who preferred his full name not be used) were people down on their luck. Veterans. Families. People that needed a place that didn’t have a place to go.

He told stories about the efforts that the staff put in to make it a place worth being for a night or two or longer. He told stories about his own life, his own memories with the Huttleston. Sitting, as a child of New Bedford, on the roof of the Huttleston with his dad. They were too poor to go to the movies so watching them on the big screen of the old Fairhaven Drive-In.

The reasons for closing have been well-documented. One of the structures was not up to code, and the owner (who is in his 80s) didn’t get them done by court-ordered deadline.

Orlando wondered if the town would have been so quick to act if the clientele were nicer, if the property itself weren’t in such a prime location.

He talked about reading the comments online about the closing, the glee people seemed to take in its failures: “Now the junkies can go somewhere else to shoot up …”

Orlando talked about his reality, which he said was trying to scramble and fix and help and relocate the people who were calling the Huttleston home. All the while trying to find somewhere for him and his family to live, including a 5-year-old son with Type 1 Diabetes.

He wondered what people would expect from a motel with low prices, one that was willing to book without a credit card. He wondered if people thought the ownership was somehow getting rich off a run-down hotel with a rough reputation.

But mostly, as he talked for 15 minutes, wind whipping against his thin t-shirt, Orlando just looked sad, emotional at times.

He told the story of a hard, imperfect existence, and the sad, damaged people that he met in the halls of the Huttleston. He spent time talking to a man around Christmas, a man who seemed to have money, but said he wanted to be away from his family. He offered to buy Orlando and his family pizza. The next morning, he was dead, likely of a heart attack, his C-pap machine for sleep apnea still strapped to his face.

He told the stories of veterans, and people down on their luck. He talked about banging on the doors where couples were arguing, threatening to call the cops. He talked about an elderly woman who came to the Huttleston because of the memories of her youth, and how she sat with a bible until she died one day.

Orlando won’t deny that people die at the Huttleston. He said that there was a constant battle to keep crime out of the motel’s halls, to keep the ODs and the hookers and the drug deals out of there.

But for better or worse, he talked about a place that, to him, was nothing like the place internet commenters and suburban passersby saw. It was a place where people who had very little tried to get back on their feet. It was a place where people tried to have a sense of community, even for a few fleeting moments.

For others, the Huttleston Motel is just a place where you don’t want to end up. For Orlando, it was home.

At the end of the conversation, he shook hands with his visitor, who wished him and his family good luck.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I hope it can reopen, but when we find a place to go….”

He trailed off, eyes welling a bit, gesturing to the open door behind him, toys on the floor, portable fireplace heater lighting the wall behind.

“I won’t be back. The memories, you know? A lot of memories.”

The Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts, founded in 1995, strives to mobilize philanthropy by matching donors and resources with community needs for the benefit of our region. The Community Foundation serves thousands of people who share a common concern – improving the quality of life in Southeastern Massachusetts.

Since its founding, the Community Foundation has distributed more than $23 million from 225 funds to a wide range of humanitarian, educational and cultural organizations in the region. As it enters its third decade the Community Foundation is going through a change in leadership and is seeking to build a staff to meet today’s challenges while building a foundation for the future.

The Director of Development is a new position at the Community Foundation. The Director will provide overall management and direction for the Foundation’s annual fundraising, marketing and communication efforts, as well as being the primary liaison to current and potential donors, businesses and private foundation funders. The Director will be responsible for raising a minimum of $300,000 in operating dollars annually. The Director will also work closely with the President to attract and secure new funds with a focus on increasing the discretionary assets of the Foundation.

This full-time, exempt position is based in New Bedford, reports to the President and oversees the one part-time communications position.

The Director will be a member of the Leadership Team and along with the President will work closely with the Chair of the Development Committee, the Board Chair and the Board of Trustees. The Director will also have oversight of a part-time Communications Director.

A successful Director of Development at the Foundation will bring a strong passion for and understanding of the work of philanthropy, a love of Southeastern Massachusetts, a drive to elevate the current work of the Foundation, a deep commitment to teamwork and personal initiative, and a great sense of humor.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Build relationships with high-net worth individuals and directly solicit gifts for the operations and programs of the Foundation.
• Create and execute, with support from the President, a plan for engaging professional advisors and other resources in order to create pipeline of potential new funds, including donor advised funds, bequests, scholarships, field of interest funds and discretionary funds.
• Supervise the Communications Director and oversee all aspects of the Foundation’s communications and marketing effort, including developing messaging to targeted audiences, collateral material development and sponsorship materials.
• Oversee the creation of a website that is an effective means for engaging the community, donors, fund advisors, and grant-seekers.
• Oversee all aspects the Annual Fund.
• Build a case for corporate support, develop relationships and solicit direct support.
• Write grants to select private foundations for sponsorships, project support and operating support. Conduct research on potential foundation funders and cultivate
  relationships with private foundations.
• Be responsible for the overall management of the annual Summer’s Last Blast fundraising event, including sponsorships from individuals, businesses and corporations.
• Build long-term and lasting relationships with donors through the cultivation cycle of stewardship with special emphasis on building a donor recognition program.
• Be the staff support to the Board of Trustees Development Committee.
• Effectively use the foundations information management system (FIMS). Supervise staff in updating the systems on a regular basis. Provide reports to the President
  and Board as needed.

Minimum Requirements:

Education and Experience:

• Minimum 5 years’ experience in fundraising/high-end customer service
• Minimum 3 years’ management experience
• Foundation experience preferred
• Bachelor’s degree preferred and/or relevant professional training

Skills/Qualifications:

• High level of comfort with diverse audiences
• Excellent Microsoft word, Excel, Power Point and Outlook skills
• Highly organized with ability to multi- task
• Excellent writing and public speaking skills
• Clear and effective communicator
• Team player
• Confidentiality
• A sense of humor

Other:

• Flexibility to work nights and weekends.
• Other duties as assigned.

Working Conditions:

• Normal office conditions.

Please Note: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of employees assigned to this position.

Application Process:
Please email your cover letter, including salary requirement, and resume to jvasconcellos@cfsema.org. We are only considering applications that submitted through email. Please name your documents as follows: LAST NAME – RESUME and LAST NAME – COVER LETTER.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the positon is filled. No phone calls please.

The Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts is committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity and to compliance with all federal, state and local laws concerning employment discrimination, including the Americans with Disabilities Act. To this end, the Foundation ensures equal opportunity to all employees and applicants regardless of race, color, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, nation origin or ancestry, citizenship, lawful alien status, physical, mental, and medical disability, veteran status or liability for service in the United States Armed Forces.

The Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Churrascaria Novo Mundo (98 County St., New Bedford) makes the BEST rotisserie chicken!

They are having a special platter for the big game on Sunday; a rack of ribs, a rotisserie chicken with fries and rice for $31.50. Give this video a like, share and/or comment and we’ll give away a $20 gift card to TWO people! Call (508) 991-8661 to order your game day feast!

Check out our behind the scenes look at their preparation …

New Bedford police are investigating an armed robbery reported on the 100 block of Clark Street on Friday at approximately 6:40pm.

A 28-year old New Bedford man states that he was approached by a masked male from behind demanding his wallet as he walked to his vehicle. The suspect is described as 5’10, medium build, wearing black pants, gray hoodie and black mask, brandished what appeared to be a black revolver.

The suspect entered victims car and had victim drive approximately a block. The suspect took victims wallet which contained a small amount of cash and ID’s and fled in an unknown direction. The victim was not injured during the incident.

Police are asking anyone with information to please contact us at 508-992-7463 or at tip@newbedfordpd.com

Officers have sought charges against 50-year old John Pisarczyk of New Bedford for OUI drugs and several motor vehicle violations at 4:30pm on Friday.

The vehicle that Pisarczyk was driving was involved in three separate accidents involving four vehicles. Piscarczyk’s vehicle first struck a vehicle at the intersection of Brock Avenue and Rodney French Blvd. He then fled the scene. The operator of the vehicle he struck there sustained a minor injury.

The second vehicle he struck was on Ellen Street. There he struck a parked car and fled the scene as well.

The third location was at the intersection of Potomska Street and Route 18. He failed to stop for the red light colliding into two vehicles there. An operator of one of the vehicle there sustained a minor injury. Piscarczyk fled the scene being followed by a witness. Piscarczyk was finally stopped in the parking lot of the Waterfront Grille located on Homers Warf.

It was determined by the investigating officer that Piscarczyk was under the influence of drugs. Piscarczyk was transported to st. lukes hospital.

Charges are as follows:
1. OUI drugs
2. Reckless operation of a motor vehicle
3. Leaving the scene of property damage (4 counts)
4. Leaving the scene of personal injury (2 counts)
5. Fail to stop for red light

Due to the weather conditions, the overflow will be open tonight.

Guests can start to arrive at Sister Rose House (71 Division St) at 6:00pm. It is a first come, first serve basis and our capacity is 25 individuals. Guests will be offered a meal, showers and a good night’s rest in a safe environment.

Any inquires can be forwarded to Sister Rose and 1-800-homeless. On any given day that the overflow is activated, it will always be confirmed by email no later than 12pm. If the weather forecast stays as projected, the overflow could be open over the next couple of days. Thanks you for your continued support.