“I recently read your New Bedford Guide article concerning the increase in parking tickets, and I definitely agree that the amount of tickets are sometimes out of hand.

I work for a restaurant in Downtown New Bedford, which means during weekdays, I’m paying almost $4-$5 a day just to park downtown. After a while, this adds up, especially on a college student budget. I completely understand that tourists paying the meters downtown helps bring in revenue for the city, but I find it unfair when citizens from the area are helping the city by working for shops and restaurants, but are penalized for going over a meter time. I pay every single time, but sometimes, I can’t just leave the tables that I’m serving to go and pay the meter again because that can be seen as unprofessional and sometimes it’s just too busy to leave.

The other day for example, I was very busy and I was fined for not paying the meter again. When I went outside and saw my ticket, the guy who was patrolling that street had given a ticket to every single car on that street. Another time, our chef was given 5 tickets in one day because it was so busy that she could not leave the kitchen to go pay the meter.

Again, this upsets me because we are working for New Bedford and bringing in revenue for New Bedford. I think the city should allot parking passes to employees in areas such as Downtown where meters need to be paid. It makes our jobs more difficult because rather than being more attentive to our jobs, we’re paying more attention to the time and making sure we aren’t fined for parking.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope that these articles can bring forth some sort of change to make the lives of the employees of New Bedford easier.”

Have a story to share? Send them to mike@newbedfordguide.com.

Or are residents not aware of New Bedford city ordinances?

“I’m curious to know as my household received it’s 4th parking ticket this year in front of my residence, where I have lived for almost ten years and have had more tickets this year alone than all of the other years combined.

The 4th ticket I received yesterday was for ‘not being 5 feet from a driveway’. I personally feel at this point my area and vehicle are being targeted. I called and spoke with the traffic department concerning this issue. I was told a parking clerk patrols an assigned area every day, including residential areas and is to pass out a ticket for every violation on the street and it is city ordinance not to be within five feet of a driveway. I can guarantee that multiple vehicles on my street were breaking that exact ordinance but only two vehicles, including mine were ticketed. I was also told the parking clerks do not patrol an area more than once but I had to confront a clerk almost two hours after receiving my ticket, who was attempting to ticket my second vehicle for the same ‘violation’ which was parked in the same exact spot when my first vehicle was ticketed. Not to mention the car ticketed was parked in the same place for three days due to the driver having an operation and not being able to drive.

I know others who have complained of recent ticketing being on the rise and have heard rumors the city is doing this to bring in more money. I have no facts to that rumor but am curious if this is the case.” – a fan

Have a story to share? Send them to mike@newbedfordguide.com.

Here’s a note sent to us from a fan fed up at seeing brand new high-end cars in public housing:

“I would like to express my disgust with what a lot of people see including myself every day. It’s a taboo subject that people rarely speak about openly… but we know it exists.

Why is it that when you walk through the projects you see brand new cars? Not just a cheap new car, I’m talking BMW’s, Lexus and Mini Coopers.

Isn’t public housing for people who couldn’t afford these things? Can someone please answer this question were all wondering?

It’s very disrespectful to display your riches so openly while people are literally on the streets. The payment on that brand new BMW is enough to pay the rent for a homeless family.

Does nobody that lives in the projects care? It’s pretty obvious just at a gander.

How can these people sleep at night knowing that someone is hurting while you reap the benefits that the state provides? How is this fair?

Can someone please explain how this works? Because a whole lot of people are tired of seeing the people in the projects for so long…doing so well while the rest of us work hard and get very little and pay so much? Just a thought from a bystander with a soul.”

I love spending time in Newport. It’s an amazing city with beautiful mansions, entertainment and sailing. This article is not a slam on Newport, but rather an attempt to point out why you should consider spending a day in New Bedford this spring/summer instead of Newport.

1. New Bedford has better sunsets and sunrises – New Bedford was listed on Expedia’s ’20 places to find America’s best sunsets’ – Newport wasn’t. New Bedford made the list with Hawaii, the Grand Canyon, Miami and Seattle.

Fort Taber is probably the best place to catch a sunrise or sunset and it has an amazing military museum. The south end New Bedford beaches are also great spots and just a minute away from Fort Taber. Anywhere on the New Bedford waterfront and the Elm Street parking garage are also excellent places for a sunrise. Here’s a sunset I captured in the south end during a vigil:

2. New Bedford has a better art scene – There are countless articles over the past few years recognizing New Bedford as a top art city in the United States. Bustle listed New Bedford at #6 for The Best Cities For Young Artists: If You Live Here, You Don’t Have To Starve. Most large cities have a great art scene, but that’s how you get the term starving artist. New Bedford is a very affordably place to live.

New Bedford was listed on Expedia’s travel blog as one of America’s most artistic towns. New Bedford was also featured on Matadoe Networks ‘The 10 most artistic towns in America’ and listed on Complex’s ’10 Cities That Creatives Should Move to That Are Not NYC or L.A.’ Movoto also listed New Bedford in their ‘The 5 Best Cities in Massachusetts for the Arts’ article. When it comes to art, very few places compare to New Bedford in America.

This video shows art activity during a typical AHA! New Bedford.

3. New Bedford is a shorter drive with less traffic and better parking – If you live in Massachusetts, New Bedford is easy to get to. Driving into or out of Newport on a summer day can be as bad as the Boston rush hour. Why start off a great summer day with stress? Not only can it be an hour drive to get to Newport, traffic congestion driving into Newport is the norm in the summer. Driving into New Bedford through Route 6 or Route 18 is rarely congested.

The worst part of Newport during the summer is the parking. Not only is it tough to find parking in Newport that isn’t reserved for residents, the free parking is rare and the paid parking is expensive.

New Bedford has lots of street parking and two large parking garages (on Elm Street and at the Zeiterion Theatre). Good luck finding parking in Newport during the busy season even if you are willing to pay. Want to stay overnight? You need to be a resident for most parking or pay a big fee to park in the tiny public parking spot. There are also no parking garages and no overnight parking in the metered spots in Newport.

4. New Bedford has better food, especially seafood – I enjoy eating in Newport and the food is not overly priced considering you are in a major tourist city. But the food is much better in New Bedford and you won’t have to wait long to get a seat.

There is no better place on earth to get scallops than in New Bedford. The scallops are larger and fresher in New Bedford restaurants. Most of the scallops I’ve eaten in Newport were the smaller bay scallops – I’ve rarely seen them served in New Bedford restaurants.

Even if seafood weren’t an option, New Bedford just has better food. Give me the rotisserie chicken at Novo Mundo, the Best Bacon burger at DNB Burgers, or a Portuguese steak at one of the many Portuguese restaurants in New Bedford over anything served in Newport. Here’s some New Bedford food porn for you:

5. New Bedford has better year-round entertainment – The Zeiterion Theatre brings first class entertainment from around the world and Greasy Luck now provides amazing live entertainment.

Head downtown and most nights you’ll find fantastic live music. Just like Newport, the entertainment scene in New Bedford picks up in the summer. I’ll put up bands and musicians like the Neal McCarthy Problem, The J.Kelley Band, Marcus Monteiro, The Pourmen and James Gangne up against what Newport can produce. In the summertime you’ll find Jazz in the Custom House Park, live concerts on the State Pier and other seasonal entertainment that is comparable to Newport.

One of things I most enjoy about New Bedford is the street music. Spend anytime downtown and you’ll likely bump into a street musician. Here’s a time I bumped into a singing pirate on Purchase Street.

6. New Bedford has a more interesting history – Newport is historic, but mostly for being a vacation spot for the wealthy to spend summers in their mansions. While New Bedford was once one of the richest cities in the world, it’s history is based on hard working families building America through whaling, textiles and fishing. Check out our history articles to learn about New Bedford’s past.

New Bedford has museums dedicated to whaling, the fishing industry, glass and fire departments to name a few. Here’s a look inside the New Bedford Glass Museum:

Head over to one of the many antique centers in New Bedford and they offer more history than most museums. Here’s a look inside the Antique Center at Wamsutta Place:

7. New Bedford has better parks – Fort Adams is a great spot, but Fort Taber is better. Both offer amazing views, but Fort Taber offers more activities. Fort Taber has a first-class military museum showcasing local veterans.

Downtown New Bedford offers a historic park with cobblestone roads and visitors center. A walk on the cobblestone roads and viewing the amazing, historic architecture will bring you back to the era of whaling and underground railroads.

Buttonwood Park is a very large park with lots of activities and monuments. You’ll be able to enjoy some wildlife at the pond or learn about animals at the zoo.

8. New Bedford has more affordable, world class festivals – I love going to some of the Newport festivals, but they are not cheap. Spending more than a $100 on tickets seems to be the norm. New Bedford has a folk festival, jazz festival, Taste of South Coast, The Feast of the Blessed Sacrament, Oktober Festival and a host of other events that are very affordable. Check out our event calendar for things to do.

Here’s the Gin Blossoms playing at the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament a few years ago.

Did I miss something? Have a counter point? Post a comment …

A citizens group is asking voters in New Bedford to support a November referendum that would expand the term of the mayor from two to four years, starting in 2019.

New Bedford Fourward will try to gather the 2,500 signatures required from registered New Bedford voters in time to put the question on the Nov. 7 municipal election ballot. If the referendum passes, it would bring New Bedford in line with other Massachusetts cities with a strong mayor form of government, including Boston, Springfield, Lynn and Quincy.

It would not take effect until the 2019 city election. Whoever wins the 2017 mayoral race will serve a two-year term.

Dr. John Fletcher, a former principal and member of the New Bedford School Committee, said he supports the change to four years because there is a “learning curve, especially in the beginning” when a new mayor takes office.

“Fortunately, (as a school committee member) I had the advantage of a four-year term to ease into my responsibilities and hit my stride,” Fletcher said. “That same comfort zone in the mayoral term would allow for growth into a challenging job.

The mayor, as the CEO of the city, should be allowed to get to know what makes the city tick without an election hanging over his or her head in year one.

“A four-year term will also allow the mayor to establish relationships with constituents, the business community, Beacon Hill and federal officials. In my opinion, a four-year term will take the politics out of the learning process,” Fletcher said.

Victor Pinheiro, owner of Luzo Auto Center, served three terms on the New Bedford City Council.

“I witnessed firsthand the shortcomings of a two-year mayoral term, where sound governance can take a back seat to political expediency in the heat of an always near election,” he said.

“A four-year term allows the city’s mayor to make decisions and implement strategies focused more on the long-term results rather than the electoral pressures of the next and always-near election. Taking this to the voters is the best way to gauge their wishes, it will truly give the voters a voice in this important decision.”

Christian Farland, president of Farland Corp. and owner of Greasy Luck Brewery, is a lifelong resident of the city. He said he also supports the change.

“One of the advantages of going to a four-year term will be the positive message it will send to those who invest and who want to invest in the City of New Bedford.

A four-year term will allow a mayor to work with the business community on projects from start to completion. We have seen in the past when a mayor has a consistent run, progress is made.

“A two-year term sends a message of instability, which is not what the business community likes to see when considering a city to invest in. Two years simply is not enough time to truly evaluate a mayor, nor is it enough time for the mayor to adequately effect change,” Farland said.

One of the more annoying things about driving in Massachusetts is getting behind a school bus. They seem to drop every kid in front of their home and getting behind them can delay your trip by 10-15 minutes. The other thing I find annoying is that whether full of kids or empty, school buses are required to stop at railroad crossings, open the doors and do 10 push ups before preceding. I made up the push up part, but the rest of the requirement is true. Is it really necessary? Let me explain why it’s a waste of everyone’s time.

First, let’s examine the exact requirements for school bus drivers as they approach a train crossing. Per Massachusetts General Law:

“Every person operating a school bus, or any motor vehicle carrying explosive substances or flammable liquids as a cargo, or part of a cargo, upon approaching a railroad crossing at grade, shall bring his vehicle to a full stop not less than fifteen feet and not more than fifty feet from the nearest track of said railroad, and shall not proceed to cross until it is safe to do so. The operator of a school bus, in addition to bringing his vehicle to a full stop, as aforesaid, shall open the service door, ascertain if he may cross safely and thereupon close said door before proceeding.”

I’m not sure the reasoning behind the law. Can you ever recall a school bus getting hit by a train in Massachusetts? Really, when was the last time you saw a train even pass through New Bedford? A quick Google search of ‘school bus hit by train Massachusetts’ doesn’t show any results. Why? Because train companies and engineers literally have a dozen safety requirements when traveling through cities and towns.

First, there are those flashing lights and guardrails that come down well in advance of a train coming through. Having one of these fail would be about the same chance of hitting the lottery.

Second, engineers driving the trains are required to sound bells and whistles before they hit city/town limits and then start to slow down. Even if the guard rail failed, you’d hear the train coming from a mile away.

Third, I’ve seen trains drive through New Bedford and they drove extremely slow. Every inch of rail in America has a speed limit assigned to it. The only way anyone is going to hit a train is by trying to do so. It may be common in Hollywood action movies to have trains drive a hundred miles an hour through cities, but it’s just not reality.

Having school buses stop at train tracks in New Bedford makes as much sense as wearing a bullet proof vest at a laser tag match. It will just slow you down, but do little to actually protect you. New Bedford is also one of the more distracted driving cities that you’ll drive in, and buses stopping in places where most people don’t, just may cause more accidents than they prevent.

It’s a scary time in America as people seem to care more about their political party than their country. There were plenty of times when Americans forgot about political parties and put their country first. World War II and the weeks after the attacks on 9-11 come to mind. Today, we are a country divided not seen since the American Civil War. We are better than this. 

Do you use social media? Read the newspapers? Listen to talk radio? If you do, then you’ve likely experienced the extreme hate Americans have for each other today. Political parties have become cults with their followers on the internet and airwaves defending their cults and leaders at all cost. These leaders not only control us through laws, they seem to control our minds as well. 

It wouldn’t be so bad if Americans simple left their hatred on the internet, but now we’ve seen violence in the streets. All protests see counter-protests and violence. Not only can it be dangerous to express your constitutional right by protesting, you can be harmed if you own a business and simply express your point of view. How much hate has Tom Brady seen for simply having a hat in his locker? How many businesses have received 1-star Yelp reviews because their owner made a political statement on his or her personal Facebook page?

More and more, free speech is being crushed in our universities. Once the center of free speech, universities have become a major GroupThink project with safe spaces. Only speakers that university administrators, teachers and political student groups agree with are permitted to speak. 

There is a simple solution to all the anger; remember that we are all Americans first and we are all sailing this ship together. History has shown most superpowers collapse from within, but history has shown that when Americans join forces for a common cause, anything is possible. We’ve defeated Hitler’s Germany, survived the Cold War, landed a man on the moon and created the largest, most successful economy the world has ever seen. Let’s not define ourselves as Republicans, Democrats or other political cults.

Spend less time attacking your fellow Americans, more time on improving our country and we will all benefit. We shouldn’t need another World War or 9/11 to bring us together. 

It’s mind boggling that President Trump and newspapers across the nation reported that America’s relationship with Russia is at an all-time low. It’s an absolutely absurd statement and while headlines like this may sell newspapers, they are more fiction than the truth. Fake news at its best. 

Who am I to judge this statement as false? I was in the United States Air Force for 20 years and our relationship is nowhere near rock bottom with Russia. Five minutes of research would have pushed the story from the front page to page 20 of any legitimate news organization. But that doesn’t sell newspapers, does it? 

Anyone who lived through the Cold War Era, or has read a few history books on the subject of America and Russia, would laugh at today’s media created crisis. Can anyone with a straight face say relations today are worse than the Cuban missile crisis – when we were the closest to nuclear war with Russia? Or worse than when the Berlin Airlift was going on at a time when the Russians tried to starve millions of Germans? Google Operation Vittles.

Are our relations worse today than when we fought a proxy war against them in Afghanistan? Worse than when Stalin basically ordered the North Koreans south to kick off the Korean War causing over 54,000 American causalities? Worse than the nuclear arms or space races? Worse than the Vietnam War?

Since the absurd headlines that America’s relationship is “at an all-time low with Russia” were printed last week, these same newspapers are now reporting every time a Russian aircraft flies into Alaskan airspace. And will the Russian hacking story ever go away? The media loves a crisis and they are attempting to scare the public into buying their fiction. I’ll also remind you this is the same media that told you that Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump are best friends and working together. 

It’s irresponsible for President Trump to make that statement and just as irresponsible for the media to put the statement on the front page and now give the story legs. Anyone with half a brain and over 40 years old can give you a dozen examples when our relationship with Russia was far worse than today. 

In Massachusetts we have real issues to deal with: a heroin epidemic, increasing homelessness, high property taxes, legislators getting 50% pay raises and a host of other issues. If you live in New Bedford, heroin, panhandlers, high crime areas, high property taxes, low wages and a decaying fishing industry are real concerns. So why are are local, state and federal politicians spending 90% of their time on Trump?

While President Trump may drive some people crazy on social media, he really doesn’t effect your your daily life. New Bedford saw a 75% increase in heroin overdoses in 2016, yet Trump seems to be the only thing Massachusetts politicians are focusing on.

Last month, New Bedford saw 10 overdoses over a 3 day period – 5 on Sunday alone, yet the only thing people were talking about was how two UMass Dartmouth professors had a 3-hour delay at Logan Airport because of Trump’s temporary ban on immigration from seven countries.

From the local, state and federal level, Massachusetts Democrats seem to have one mission: to take down President Trump. If we had that same energy focused on the heroin epidemic, just maybe we could make a dent in the overdoses. Does it take 10 overdoses a day in our cities for our politicians to wake up?

Most recently, a report revealed that Massachusetts was #1 for opioid-related emergency room visits. I didn’t hear any leading Democrat politicians address this in a press conference or even on their social media accounts – yet I did hear MA Senator Elizabeth Warren go on a rant about President Trump dropping a large bomb on ISIS soldiers. 

Drive around any city in Massachusetts and every major intersection will be occupied by a panhandler. Homelessness is on the rises in Massachusetts. What are our politicians doing to solve this? Yes, they provide band aids like shelters and pantries, but what are they doing to solve and prevent homelessness? 

There is a saying, all politics is is local. In New Bedford and Massachusetts, it seems all politics is Trump. Until that changes expect more of the same problems. 

America’s immigration policy can be a hot topic. Just discussing immigration can break up friendships and even cause a rift between family members. With a President Trump, things will continue to get worse before they get better.

The line is usually drawn and sides seem to be forced into two extreme camps: open border proponents or “wall builders.” Even if your opinion on immigration falls somewhere in the middle, passionate people on the subject will place you in one of the two camps. Basically, “you are with us or against us” mentality. But immigration is a complex issue and not that simple. In my case, I’m a pro-immigration, anti-illegal immigration advocate. Let me explain.

I get extremely annoyed when politicians, almost always Democrat, say you are against immigrants when you oppose their sanctuary city policies. It’s like saying you are against rape and they say you are against sex. They are either stupid, not listening or just trying to court the illegal immigration base. Either way they are dishonest and pushing you into the wall builder category. 

For me, we are a nation of laws and I respect immigration laws of other countries when I travel abroad. After serving 20 years in the Air Force, I’ve been to 22 countries and always make sure I enter the country legally; I get my passport up-to-date and get any required visas. Is it asking too much to ask for other people to do the same? I can also tell you that most countries have tougher immigration laws than America. 

If you are an open border advocate, what do you do when visiting other countries? I bet you enter other countries legally. 

Regardless of what side of the immigration argument you are on, you likely agree that the system we have right now in America isn’t working. In an odd way, I fall into both camps on many of topics of immigration. I’m for increased legal immigration while cracking down on illegal immigration.

For example, I believe legal immigrating to America is too costly and takes too long. If I were President I would increase the size of government that processes immigration requests and triple the amount of legal immigration into America. I would also remove most of the cost to apply. Let’s open our country to law abiding citizens and make the cost negligible, so a person has no reason to enter the country illegally. I’ve consistently stated to friends, if you are not a criminal and can contribute to my country, I want you to come to America. That’s what America has always been about and should continue to be. 

While being a strong advocate for legal immigration increases, we have to double down on penalties for those who come to America illegally. If we reduce all barriers to coming to America legally, you have no reason to come here illegally unless you are a criminal. 

Yes, you can be a pro-immigration, anti-illegal immigration advocate.