“Dartmouth, MA – It protected your boat all winter, now it’s time to protect the environment.

Clean white boat wrap is accepted through this drop-off program at the Dartmouth Transfer Station. Zippers and straps must be removed and discarded. Spray painted wrap cannot be accepted.

“This boat wrap drop-off program enables this material to be collected in a designated container so that it can be recycled. Boat wrap cannot be placed in a curbside recycling cart. It would take up valuable space at the Crapo Hill landfill if discarded as garbage. We are working with the Waterways Commission and the Harbormaster to alert individual boaters of this win-win solution to the annual shrink wrap disposal problem and doing our best to keep it out of the waste stream,” said Tim Barber, Director of Public Works in the Town of Dartmouth.

Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District photo.

Dartmouth residents may take boat wrap to the Dartmouth Transfer Station. A transfer station permit is required. There is a container for boat wrap only. The Dartmouth Transfer Station is open Tuesday and Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. and Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Dartmouth residents who would like to obtain a transfer station permit, or a day pass, may call the Dartmouth DPW at (508) 999-0740.

Remember, boat wrap is only recyclable through drop-off programs. Plastic bags and plastic wraps do not belong in recycling carts. That type of material wraps around equipment at sorting facilities causing sorting to grind to a halt while people work through the challenging task of removing plastic bags and wrap.

Boat wrap can also be reused several times if it is installed and removed with reuse in mind. Look for reuse information online or ask your boat shrink wrap installer about it.

For more information, contact the Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District by phone at (508) 979-1493 or by email at Marissa@gnbrrmdistrict.org. For additional tips, visit Dartmouth Recycling on Facebook.”

“Detectives have placed a man under arrest for trafficking in cocaine following an investigation into his activities.

On April 1st, at around 11 PM, Detective Nathaniel Almeida concluded his investigation into a cocaine distribution service being operated out of 89 Barrett St. The target of the investigation was ANDRES GALVAN SANTANA, 50.

During surveillance, SANTANA was observed in a suspected drug transaction outside of the residence. When stopped by detectives, he was found to be in possession of 2 plastic baggies containing a total of approximately 261 grams of cocaine. A search warrant was executed at the residence which yielded an additional 16 grams along with digital scales and packaging materials.

SANTANA was placed under arrest and charged with trafficking in excess of 200 grams of cocaine.

If you have any information you would like to share with the police, you can do so anonymously by submitting a tip on our website or by calling 508-99-CRIME.”-New Bedford Police Department.

In September of 2022 Governor DeSantis flew migrants to wealthy areas across the country, most notably Martha’s Vineyard in an attempt to make liberal locations feel the impacts of lax immigration policies.

Now, in April of 2024, a federal judge in Massachusetts has ruled that migrants who were flown to Martha’s Vineyard by order of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, can proceed with a lawsuit against the charter flight company that flew them to the island.

However, the judge did also dismiss claims against Governor DeSantis and other political figures named in the suit.

The Massachusetts judge allowing migrants to proceed with this lawsuit has sparked controversy, as many feel that President Biden is currently doing this on a larger scale, specifically targeting Governor Desantis State of Florida.

New data published from the Center for Immigration Studies has revealed over 320,000 migrants have been flown into Miami, Florida by order of President Biden.

Following the release of this information and the Massachusetts judge allowing this lawsuit to proceed, Elon Musk weighed in on the controversy.

Musk noted,

“Whatever lawsuit was filed against the flight company and others who took migrants to Martha’s Vineyard should be filed 100X against the airlines that did this.

Live by the sword, …”

Whatever lawsuit was filed against the flight company and others who took migrants to Martha’s Vineyard should be filed 100X against the airlines that did this.

Live by the sword, …

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 3, 2024

By Sam Drysdale
State House News Service

Lawmakers started negotiations Monday on a bill that’s expected to eventually inject hundreds of millions more dollars into the state’s family shelter system and put time limits on how long homeless families can stay in the system.

Ways and Means Chairs Rep. Aaron Michlewitz and Sen. Michael Rodrigues will lead the negotiations, as they also both work on their budgets for the upcoming fiscal year.

Michlewitz, Rodrigues and conferees Reps. Ann-Margaret Ferrante and Todd Smola and Sens. Cynthia Friedman and Patrick O’Connor held their negotiations open to the public for about two minutes Monday, before voting to go into executive session and closing the discussions to outsiders.

In opening statements both chairs emphasized the urgency of the negotiations.

“I look forward to working with all of you to get this rectified as quickly as possible. You and I are experienced at it,” Rodrigues said to Michlewitz. “So I’m sure we will accomplish that goal quickly.”

The House version of the fiscal 2024 spending bill (H 4466 / S 2711) directs $245 million towards the shelter system, while the Senate bill would authorize the Healey administration to pull from an $863 million state savings account called the transitional escrow fund across both fiscal 2024 and 2025.

State officials estimate that funds already appropriated for the shelter system will run out sometime this spring.

The Senate bill also calls for making permanent pandemic-era provisions allowing expanded outdoor dining and a graduate student nursing program, but in a contrast from the House, it would not allow restaurants to continue selling alcoholic beverages to go — a pandemic-era policy that expired at the end of March since lawmakers failed to renew it before then.

“I’m looking forward to working with you, and all of you, on this supplemental budget bill trying to get it done as quickly as possible. We have some obviously important pieces in there that are of immediate need. And I know we share a desire to see this get to the governor’s desk as soon as we can,” Michlewitz said.

Much of the debate will revolve around the use of reserve funds, which have grown since an influx of federal dollars during the pandemic and state budget surpluses allowed lawmakers to tuck away historic amounts.

Both House and Senate bills also look to cap how long a family can stay in shelter — a departure from the state’s 40-year-old policy that qualifying homeless families can stay in state-run housing for as long as it takes to get on their feet.

Representatives and senators are looking to restrict stays to nine months. The Senate would allow officials to award one or more 90-day extensions to shelter residents who meet criteria, such as single parents of children with disabilities or those who need an extension to avoid losing a job. The House would offer three-month extensions to those who are employed or enrolled in a job training program, pregnant women, people with certain disabilities, veterans and those facing domestic violence risks.

New Bedford has seen a 91% increase in reported “Shots fired” in the city within the past 5 years, according to the 2023 Annual Crime Report by the New Bedford Police Department.

With 35 incidents of shots fired reported in 2019 we have since seen a steady increase year over year until a sharp jump in 2023.

New Bedford Police Department photo.

With 67 incidents in 2023, New Bedford averaged more than 1 incident of “shots Fired” per week. Of these 67 shots fired incidents, 3 were fatal, 21 resulted in the injury of a total of 24 victims, and 42 resulted in property damage.

In 16 cases there was no property damage, injuries or fatalities, but other evidence such as shell casings or CCTV footage confirmed the incident.

There has also been a slight increase in murders within the city of New Bedford in the past 5 years with 3 homicides in 2019 and 4 in each of the following years. Of the 4 homicides in 2023, a firearm was used in 3 incidents, while a knife was used in 1 incident.

New Bedford Police Department photo.

It is important to mention that, although there has been an increase in shootings within the past 5 years, the annual crime report does show a sharp decline in crime in almost every category when comparing the statistics recorded in 2014 to the statistics reported in 2023.

New Bedford Police Department photo.

“HIGH WIND WATCH IN EFFECT FROM WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT:

* WHAT…East winds 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 60 mph possible.

* WHERE…In Massachusetts, Dukes MA, Nantucket MA, Southern Bristol MA, and Southern Plymouth MA Counties. In Rhode Island, Block Island RI, and Newport RI and Washington RI Counties.

* WHEN…From Wednesday afternoon through late Wednesday night.

* IMPACTS…Damaging winds could blow down trees and power lines. Widespread power outages are possible. Travel could be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…Monitor the latest forecasts and warnings for updates.”-Westport Fire Department.

Westport Fire Department photo.

Westport Fire Department photo.

Westport Fire Department photo.

“A 33-year-old Allston woman who shot an Attleboro gas station clerk during a botched robbery was sentenced late last week in Fall River Superior Court to serve five to seven years in state prison, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.

Ashley Weaver pleaded guilty to indictments charging her with carrying an illegal firearm, armed assault with intent to rob and assault and battery.

On May 20, 2019 at approximately 2:30 A.M., officers from the Attleboro Police Department responded to the Mobil gas station on Newport Avenue for the report of a gunshot. When officers arrived, the clerk came out of the store and told the police that he had been shot by someone trying to rob him. The victim lifted his shirt and showed officers that he had a gunshot wound to his stomach. He told the officers that he was outside of the gas station taking out the trash when what he thought was a young, black male approached him brandishing a gun and demanding money. The suspect was wearing a gorilla or chimpanzee mask and appeared to have cornrows in his hair.

The victim did not believe that that the firearm was real and he chased after the suspect and got him in a headlock. The victim then heard a loud bang and felt a pain in his stomach and realized he had been shot. The suspect ran off and the victim went to hit the panic alarm in the store. Nothing was taken by the suspect during the incident. The victim was taken to Rhode Island Hospital where he had surgery and spent several days in recovery.

Several days after the shooting, a tipster called the Attleboro Police and told them that the suspect was actually a female named Ashley Weaver. Police presented the victim with a photo array of several individuals, one of whom was Ashley Weaver. The victim immediately identified her as the person who shot him.

The defendant was eventually arrested in Rhode Island, where she violently resisted while in possession of a firearm.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jason Mohan and the prison sentence was imposed by Judge William White.

“This was a very violent assault in which the defendant shot the clerk during a struggle. The defendant has a history of violence and was a suspect in other similar robbery attempts in Massachusetts. I am very happy the clerk recovered but this is another example of why you do not take matters into your own hands,” District Attorney Quinn said.”-District Attorney Quinn.