South Coast

“[Runnels] are very shallow channels [we dig] to drain the pools that have rested on the marsh due to the effects of sea level rise,” explained Danielle Perry, coastal resilience program director with Mass Audubon, as she stood calf-deep in mud at Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary in Dartmouth this spring.

New Bedford is the nation’s top-grossing commercial fishing port, but most of its catch gets sold up to Boston and exported. A new restaurant in the South Coast city aims to change that.

The New Bedford City Council was sworn in for a new term Monday night — and it’s a younger group than usual. Both first-time councilors are in their twenties and aim to bring a fresh perspective on issues like opioids and homelessness.

Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, the city of New Bedford is calling on more residents to get vaccinated and has announced a slate of new clinics in January.

The offshore wind industry took a big step forward this month. The state awarded contracts for two new windfarms. That could shake up the economies, and even the look and feel, of some South Coast communities. CAI host Patrick Flanary spoke with South Coast reporter Daniel Ackerman about the new wind farm contracts.

This summer, the U.S. ended its 20-year war in Afghanistan. As the Taliban captured the capital, Kabul, tens-of-thousands of Afghans fled the country, fearing repression and economic collapse. One family’s journey out of Kabul led them to New Bedford.

The state’s Department of Elementary and secondary Education held a hearing to gather input about the Innovators Charter School. If approved, the school would enroll more than 700 students from Fall River and New Bedford in grades 6-12.

A cleanup of lead- and PCB-contaminated soil in Dartmouth’s Bliss Corner Neighborhood will begin in spring of 2022, according to state and federal officials who spoke at a virtual public meeting last night.

It was a tough year for Massachusetts cranberry growers.Most farmers saw below-average crops yields—some by as much as 40% according to Hilary Sandler, Director of the UMass Cranberry Station in Wareham.

In an outbreak that began in late October, 78 people incarcerated and 23 staff at the Bristol County House of Correction in Dartmouth have tested positive for COVID-19.