If you live in the south end of New Bedford, have you seen an increase of trash in the area of the floating waterpark?

“The news didn’t get the whole story. My dad likes the idea of the water park for the kids. He has 5 grandchildren that live in the neighborhood. He just wants them to have things in place to hold people accountable.” – Adam DeMedeiros

To say that Massachusetts roads have potholes is akin to saying “Water is wet.” It is a part of everyday life in the Commonwealth and we have all mastered the art of adeptly maneuvering around them … or having a tire blown, axle snapped, or alignment ruined.

We complain about them as much as we complain about the weather in all seasons. We notify officials and often the pothole is filled in on Massachusetts time, but often it is ignored. Massachusetts time is different than time in other states. It highlights the mountain of red tape that bogs down every process from small to large in Massachusetts. Throw in that our politicians and officials are mostly feckless and ineffective, you are likely to see a particular pothole left as is for weeks, even months and in some cases, even longer.

While that is all a bit of hyperbole and creative license, there are so many potholes in the state there will never be a point that the city or state will have filled them in. They are like the proverbial whack-a-mole.

Having said that, there are some potholes that I have learned to dodge because they have been there for well over a year in spite of reporting it.

In cases like that, people throughout the country have learned to let go of their annoyance with potholes and waiting for officials to do something about them and alternatively decided to inject a bit of humor.

Here are 5 ways that people who have gotten fed up with potholes have done exactly that and by doing so got the city and/or state to take note and fix it almost immediately. Some of these are “do and walk away” there are ones whereby you don’t want to create a distraction for a driver so you simply take a quick photo and then either send it to the city or make it public on social media and hope it goes viral.

Some potholes are so large that they have turned into a small pond and they’ve been there for so long that surely life began to settle in. Can’t get to a pond, lake or ocean to do some fishing? Set up a chair and cast a line in hopes of catching the “big one”: an official’s attention. Snap a shot and send to local news outlets and post on social media and maybe something will get done about it!

We all have Legos kicking around the house somewhere. Create a scene from your favorite movie using one of the many kinds of Legos, perhaps Star Wars, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, etc.

While a bit crude, this is one that would definitely get the city or states attention. Relax prudes and Puritans, it’s not actually a penis, it’s just a drawing. Officials will definitely get multiple calls and emails about this one.

If the pothole is off to the side of the road, here is one that you could actually do and leave. Brighten up the ugly road canker with a something bright and cheery like. Be sure to visit it daily and give it a little water/ Maybe chat with it since they seem to like that.

Know a pothole that has been ignored for a long time? Celebrate its birthday with some cake, maybe have some friends join you and you can sing “Happy Birthday to you!” and put it on Facebook live.

This is one that takes the term “pothole” literally. While marijuana was legalized in the state some 2 years ago, it seems that New Bedford officials are like the aforementioned ones who need multiple inspections, permits, endless talking and pondering, and creating a mountain of red tape before they follow the will of the people. While no one would leave a pot plant in a pothole, it makes for a great photo op. The officials don’t need to know you didn’t actually leave it there.

Other ideas include a miniature tennis court, taking a bath in one, using CGI to make creative, often hilarious scenes, put some plaster in it and treating it like a handprint like stars do on Hollywood Boulevard, and too many others to mention.

Enjoy seeing creative ways of addressing potholes? One photographer used some models and in some cases CGI to bring attention to potholes. You can see his work here.

Have a good idea or something to share? Send us your essays, photos or videos at info@newbedfordguide.com.

Like every other resident driving throughout New Bedford on any given day I encounter panhandlers at traffic lights. They often camp out at the island – the divider between lanes – or at a nearby spot within walking distance.

While panhandling itself can be dangerous to the panhandler and the even the driver who can be distracted by someone waving a cardboard sign or stepping near traffic, this is about something else. Nor is my issue about out-in-the-open drug use you see occasionally. Those are different issues altogether – ones that are regularly being discussed on social media and in the “real” world.

My issue is that when they are camped on the traffic island they leave behind their trash, e,g. soda cans, fast food bags, cigarette butts, and in some cases their used needles. If I was to play the Devil’s Advocate or give them the benefit of the doubt maybe these needles are because they have diabetes and are giving themselves insulin injections. But it’s illogical to think that is the case with the majority.

Regardless, many people report coming across used needles being discarded on sidewalks and streets throughout New Bedford and not just at these islands. People mention stepping on them accidentally while wearing shoes and others mention close calls while being barefoot.

Sharps containers are what medical professionals use to discard used needles in a safe way. They are inexpensive and made of dense plastic. For very little money, these sharps containers can be placed on a pole or object in the islands or in close proximity to them. If there is a concern about them being tampered with, a metal version – perhaps aluminum – could be an alternative.

The City’s Board of Health could routinely empty them out and dispose of them properly. Placing them at traffic islands will protect the “Joe Public” pedestrian or even other panhandlers and if this idea is extended beyond the traffic island to perhaps where drug users also frequent, e.g. parks, beaches, etc. it will further prevent people, especially children, from encountering a used and possibly contaminated needle.

In addition, the containers could be accompanied with a refuse barrel of sorts so that the trash the panhandlers leave behind aren’t left for the wind to blow into the road and pollute the environment as is often seen.

This is a small cost to the city and one that protects citizens – easy to incorporate and maintain. In addition, tracts about drug addiction, city assistance, and other helpful information can be placed with these containers. While many people can be cynical about drug users and callously rail out with “Let them all OD so they aren’t a problem!”, “Who cares about them?” or “They are a burden on society!” there is a substantial number who do want to kick their drug habit but don’t know how to start the process.

Having information that contains outreach programs or ways to begin the process of kicking the habit is not only a humane, compassionate way to address drug addiction – whether you believe it to be an illness or not – it is also a benefit for society at large. They fewer drug users society has the lower the crime in communities since often homelessness or joblessness accompanies drug addiction forcing them to consider crime as a way to generate funds for their addiction.

Furthermore, the fewer people using drugs the less of a burden on the medical system, resources, and lower rates of diseases that those who share or re-use needles can possibly contract.

It’s a win-win for everyone.

As a society do we care about eliminating drunken driving? I’m not asking about how many comments you or I make on social media about DUI accidents and arrests or complaining about it amongst friends. I mean do we really care about eliminating drunken driving enough to do something about it? More than what we are?

What we are doing now is not working. What is needed is something more pro-active, more progressive, and more thinking “outside the box.” Instead of waiting for someone to injure or kill themselves or someone else, or destroy public and/or private property why don’t we arrest drivers as they leave parking lots of bars, pubs, and restaurants – we know inebriated people have left those places.

Or more progressively thinking we could have an owner, staff, bartender of an establishment monitor the people leaving and have a cab, Uber or Lyft waiting. We are already having the discussion about charging bartenders for “over-serving” people or not cutting patrons off – then hitting the road and then injuring or killing someone so why not have this discussion?

The truth is that we complain, gripe, make posts on social media and say we care but every single one of us who has ever eaten at a restaurant, had some drinks at a pub or bar, has spent hours watching people have multiple drinks and then when we leave we see those people hop in their cars and drive off.

If you’ve spent hours at a bar and leave when the lights come on you have seen half the place hop in their cars inebriated or completely drunk. We see it, the bartenders see it, yet we turn a blind eye. is that because we ourselves are doing it?

We pretend that on St, Patrick’s Day, New Year’s Eve, or any other holiday – even work Christmas parties – that everyone leaving bars, restaurants, and work that are hopping in their cars are not driving drunk. We see them drunk so we know otherwise. If 20 people leaving a bar are inebriated there are 20 drunk drivers hitting the road.

At 1:00 am or 2:00 am you can hear the motorcycles revving loudly as they leave bars. At least three-quarters of them are riding alone – you know they are inebriated. Are we to believe that someone who is riding a motorcycle alone after spending 3-4 hours at a bar was having Roy Rogers, Shirley Temples or Club Sodas?

What would happen if we arrested everyone as they left a parking lot would be that police officers would have so many people that they’d have to call for a paddy wagon and off-duty officers to help out. What this would do after a few weeks or months would drastically reduce drunk driving rates, accidents, and fatalities because people would designate a driver, or call a cab, taxi or Uber.

Of course, we can’t do this because police need probable cause however, those 20 drivers will provide it by swerving, crossing the dividing line, hitting a curb, rolling through a stop sign, etc. If we care about lowering drunk driving fatalities why are we not doing this?

With the increase in arrests, we could take the fines the drivers receive in court and direct some of it towards Alcohol Anonymous programs for adults and various education programs at all levels of schooling.

Police forces spend a considerable amount of time pulling over people for loud mufflers, speeding, not obeying road rules but those things don’t kill people at anywhere near the high rate that drunken driving does – it’s the #1 killer of Americans on the road. So, again I ask – why aren’t we doing this?

After a few months of monitoring people who left these places, eventually all one would need to do is have a police car parked near an establishment at this point and watch the DUI rates and accidents drop. Watch fatalities lower and see a safer community.

Drinking and driving is the #1 cause of death on our roadways. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 29% of road fatalities in 2017 were from alcohol-impaired driving: 10,874 people who were killed and the driver responsible had an illegal Blood Alcohol Content of .08 or greater. Even scarier is that 68% of the crashes the driver had a Blood Alcohol Content of .15 or higher.

So what is meant by “doing something”? Do we just leave things as they are and let 10,000+ people a year die on America’s roads as we make social media posts against it or do we lobby for our politicians to be more aggressive and progressive? Can we ask our favorite establishments to see if a cab or ride-service company will have cars waiting at closing? As business owners can we have bartenders be more aggressive with people who are drinking aggressively by having a cab or ride-service waiting for them and letting them know if they hop in their car the police will be notified?

I know this will trigger people. There will be people who miss the point and bring up a Red Herring, complain about grammar or spelling, or say things like “Then we’ll have even more of a police state!!! I’m telling Alex Jones and Joe Rogan about this!” as they wear their tin-foil hats. They all miss the point: It’s not about you so don’t make it about you. It’s about saving innocent lives, make our communities safer and saving people from ruining their own lives if they get behind a wheel and cause a fatality.

What can be done to reduce the number of innocent people dying on our roads? I am not 100% sure of the solution, but what I do know is that turning a blind eye to the truth of being in an establishment and watching inebriated people hopping in their cars is not one.

The following was sent to us by a concerned parent that lives in Fairhaven, Massachusetts:

“ATTENTION FAIRHAVEN PARENTS: I was just informed that my kiddos were walking with their dad to Livesey park and our son found and picked up a needle (we had never had to talk to him about it till now!) Dad checked him, he didn’t scratch himself or poke himself and dad had serious talk with him. But just putting it out there since it’s so close to home!

Sad world we live in.”

NOTE: The photo is NOT needles found by the child, just a stock photo.

“Earlier today myself and my husband and our little one were out fishing and this is what I almost stepped on.

I get that there’s a huge percentage of people using drugs/needles in the city of New Bedford but please for the love of God don’t leave this around where people can step on them or where there might be children with their parents.

Come on y’all can do better than that. Parents please be careful when you go and take your kids fishing or swimming down at the South End beaches. No judgment on people in active use or are trying to become clean, just throw away your needles PLEASE.

GOD BLESS” -Jenn Bretal.

The 2020 election cycle has begun and it will be one of the most heated elections in U.S. history. With extreme passion comes heated arguments and of course physical assaults.

A viral story on Turtleboy sports got my attention this morning.

On July 1st, a man posted a video showing a woman screaming obscenities, throwing trash and flipping off a man during what he claims is rush hour traffic on Route 128 in Massachusetts. In his text on YouTube, he claims the woman was doing it because of his Trump flag that can be seen in the video.

In the text on his YouTube video, he also claims she swerved at his vehicle and threw other trash at him before the video started:

“So this happened….on route 128 in Massachusetts during the morning rush hour. Before the camera started rolling, this woman had swerved into me, thrown what I think was a pizza box and several bottles of water. Yes, she’s essentially driving a dumpster on wheels.

Either way, I didn’t call the cops – I mean, I could, but she’s clearly nuts and I figure it’s a hell of a laugh.”

It’s very concerning that this woman was screaming “Die!” while throwing objects and barely paying attention to the road in front of her. I also can’t condone filming and driving, but can’t blame the guy for wanting to document a person harassing you with a vehicle.

Unfortunately, this is what our country has come to – physically attacking people for wearing a hat, having a flag on your vehicle or simply having an opposing view. Last Friday, the avowed white supremacist who drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters in Virginia in 2017 was sentenced to life in prison Friday on hate crime charges. Just a few days ago, Antifa members physically assaulted a conservative journalist in Portland, sending him to the hospital with a serious head injury. There are crazy, angry people on both sides of the extreme political spectrum – this woman attacking a Trump supporter is just the example of the day.

We have 16 more months until the 2020 election and I expect things will get much worse between now and then. My suggestion is to try and have conversations with those you disagree with – assaulting them is never the answer. But I expect these final words to fall on deaf ears.

I don’t blame New Bedford police officers for arresting people for marijuana distribution. While marijuana is legal for consumption, It’s still against the law to sell without a retail license from the state.

On Thursday, 18-year old Ryan Chase of New Bedford was arrested on County Street for distributing over two ounces of marijuana. It’s actually legal to gift less than an ounce of marijuana, but since he was allegedly selling more than an ounce he’s now facing charges of possession to distribute, distribution and conspiracy to violate drug laws.

New Bedford is still one of the only cities south of Boston without an approved or operating retail marijuana store, so New Bedford residents have to travel to places like Fall River or Wareham to purchase marijuana legally or buy it through New Bedford’s black market.

It’s clear to me that our State and Federal governments have misclassified fentanyl and partially why the synthetic opioid now accounts for 90% of all the overdose deaths in Massachusetts. Over 1,500 people died from drug overdoses in Massachusetts last year – nearly 1,350 of the deceased had fentanyl in their system. If our government treated fentanyl more like carfentanil, we would reduce the number of fentanyl dealers on the street and reduce the number of overdose deaths in the state.

Let’s examine how police charge people that are arrested for possession of heroin, fentanyl, and carfentanil:

When you are arrested for illegally possessing a drug, you are generally charged with possession (user), distribution/trafficking (dealer) depending on the class of the drug and the amount. For example, someone will be charged with trafficking if they possess more than 10 grams of fentanyl, 18 grams of heroin/cocaine or more than 50 pounds of Marijuana. They’ll be charged with trafficking for any amount of carfentanil and that’s how fentanyl should be treated.

Distribution is simply the act of illegally passing or sharing a drug with someone with the amount not qualifying for trafficking.

The penalty increases as you go from possession to distribution to trafficking, so how we charge people matters. Arresting someone with enough fentanyl to overdose half the city of New Bedford and then charging them as a user shows the lack of understanding our state and federal legislators have on this topic.

Now let’s look at the amount of heroin, fentanyl or carfentanil it takes to overdose a single person. This photo was provided by the Fairhaven Police Department:

This photo also gives you an idea why so many first responders have become high or overdosed at the scene of an overdose where fentanyl was simply present. It takes just a few grains to overdose.

Clearly, fentanyl is more like carfentanil than heroin. In fact, fentanyl and carfentanil are used to mix into street heroin (a diluted form of heroin cut with cheap powders) to make it stronger at a much cheaper cost. By the time street dealers get “heroin,” it’s been cut so many time it has become diluted and weak. Fentanyl, and to a lesser extent carfentanil, is mixed into the heroin to increase the potency. There really is no such thing as a pure fentanyl and carfentanil user. It’s a cutting agent used to spike weaker drugs and fentanyl needs to be treated as such.

Read through any of the city police blotters in Massachusetts and you’ll see a ton of fentanyl possession charges. These charges are inappropriate because these people are distributors/traffickers, not users. Prosecutors and judges have become extremely lenient on users, as they should be. Users need help with treatment, not punished with incarceration. It’s the distributors and traffickers that we should focus our resources on and have tougher punishments for.

It’s a general misunderstanding and classification by our legislators of fentanyl that is partially responsible for fentanyl now being responsible for 9 out of every 10 overdose deaths in Massachusetts. A simple fix would be to treat fentanyl exactly like carfentanil – if you are found with any amount you will be charged as a trafficker, not a user.

The rise in overdose deaths in Massachusetts disproportionately impact the black community – in 2017, there was a 44% increase in non-Hispanic black male overdose deaths. You hear that “addiction doesn’t discriminate”, but clearly fentanyl is impacting the black community more than other communities in Massachusetts.

I’ll be reaching out to every legislator in the south coast Massachusetts area to get their take on this and follow up with an article.

“To the city of New Bedford:

Can’t we do better than broken up parks and fix these things so our children can play safely? The clear bubbles you’re supposed to see through are gone. The ABC music bells haven’t made any noise except for a clunk for as long as I can remember.

The screws are missing off of things that can just be swung on with. They can hurt someone. I’m just trying to maybe spread some awareness about it. Maybe if I get enough people to comment on here or a petition or something to show we want to make a difference.

It won’t change unless we all come together as a community and show that we actually care about these things. We can do better than this – our community has so much potential ❤️❤️❤️ #togetherasacommunity.” -Brooke Hathaway.