New Bedford Light columnist Jack Spillane joined WBSM’s Jim Phillips on Townsquare Sunday on Aug. 14, 2022 to talk about monkeypox in New Bedford, heat islands, rising sewer bills, shell […]
Category: City government
Posted inEducation
Anatomy of the school budget: New funds flow to arts, special education and more
Thanks to a revised state funding formula, next year’s school budget will increase by $27.2 million, or 13%, bringing proposed spending to $233.4 million.
Posted inJack Spillane column
State of the City is bragging time for New Bedford mayors
Perhaps the areas where the Mayor Mitchell’s accomplishments best live up to his rhetoric is in the scope of the economic development that is taking place on the waterfront, and the upgrades to the city’s parks, streets and sidewalks.
Posted inCOVID-19
Cluster of cases at New Bedford health center points to speed of new COVID variant
New daily COVID cases have been rising in the city after sharply declining from early January and remaining mostly steady through March. The state Department of Public Health reported a total of 127 new cases in New Bedford from April 20-25.
Posted inCity government
New spending will include $5 million for Zeiterion renovations, Mitchell announces in speech
The mayor also cited the “beehive of economic activity” coming to the city’s working waterfront. “Our goal, simply stated, is to establish New Bedford as the top blue economy on the East Coast.”
Posted inJack Spillane column
Councilors finally approve ARPA money with virtually no public discussion
Among the spending approvals: $7.1 million for health and safety; $11.1 million for neighborhood stability and housing; $7.1 million for small business support; $8.7 million for open space enhancements; $4.7 million for water and wastewater; and $11.9 million for arts, culture, hospitality and tourism.
Posted inJack Spillane column
City Council tries stealth maneuvers to gain control of pandemic relief funds
Even more worrisome than the council’s determination to exert more control over the federal ARPA funds than they are probably entitled to, is the secretive process by which the council is trying to exercise that control.
Posted inCOVID-19
New Bedford ends its vaccination or testing mandate for city employees
City workers will no longer be required to submit proof of vaccination. And those who had chosen the option of producing weekly negative test results will no longer be required to do so.
Posted inCOVID-19
Federal COVID-19 aid brings hope to mayors across America, survey finds
Mayor Mitchell has proposed spending $18 million on arts, culture and hospitality; $13 million for neighborhood stabilization and housing; $11 million for enhancement to open space; and significant sums on other investments.
Posted inJack Spillane column
Councilors’ stance on arts funding stalls Mitchell’s bid to use pandemic relief funds
It’s a mystery, really, why a number of councilors should resent the growth of arts and tourist attractions that bring diners, shoppers and visitors to the city year round.