State Rep. Kathleen LaNatra, a Democrat whose district includes North Plymouth, is running for re-election. LaNatra, a Kingston resident, made the announcement in an email Saturday. She also represents Kingston, Plympton, and parts of Halifax, Middleborough, and Pembroke. LaNatra sits on the powerful Joint Ways and Means Committee, which controls state spending. As a […]
Author Archives: Fred Thys - Independent Staff
Posted inGovernment
Planning Board ousts Kuehn from Community Preservation post
The Plymouth Planning Board Monday night stripped one of its members of her appointment to another key town board, the Community Preservation Committee. Birgitta Kuehn had been suspended from being a representative to that committee after she sent an email to fellow Planning Board member Carl Donaldson on Sept. 27 that he called racist. Kuehn […]
Posted inGovernment
Embattled Planning Board member says she’s being muzzled
The chair of the Plymouth Planning Board has decided to ban public comment during a hearing scheduled for Monday, Feb. 12, at which members will decide whether one of their own – Birgitta Kuehn – should be removed as the board’s representative on the Community Preservation Committee. Kuehn’s attorney, Steve Triffletti, said he also will […]
Posted inGovernment
Outdoor dining is on the menu again, with some changes
Downtown restaurants this year will have to shoulder more of the costs of setting up outdoor dining, a pandemic-born dining option that quickly became popular with many residents and visitors. The Select Board Tuesday decided that the town should stop covering all of the expenses related to installing outdoor dining areas in front of restaurants […]
Posted inGovernment
Nip ban election cost taxpayers $50,000
The Jan. 13 special election that overturned the town’s nip ban cost taxpayers more than $50,000, Town Manager Derek Brindisi told the Select Board Tuesday. That compares with the $57,000 Town Clerk Kelly McElreatch estimated last May’s town election cost. The turnouts for the two elections were about the same, McElreath said, with about 15 […]
Posted inGovernment
MacRae seeks Republican nomination for state Senate seat
Kari MacRae is running for the Plymouth and Barnstable state Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Susan Moran. Moran, a Democrat, announced in November that she would not run for re-election. MacRae, 50, a Bourne School Committee member, is seeking the Republican nomination in the Sep. 3 primary. She’ll face off against State Rep. Matt […]
Posted inEducation
‘You need tissues at these ceremonies’
Josh Charpentier beams as he watches his students enter the room for a rehearsal just prior to the main event: their graduation from high school. Charpentier, co-founder and co-director of Plymouth’s Map Academy Charter School, talks them through the upcoming ceremony: giving roses to those who have come to celebrate with them, bringing their loved […]
Posted inGovernment
Two finance committee members quit over handling of vote on homeless shelter
Plans for a $7 million shelter to house up to 26 families in the Plymouth Industrial Park brought long-simmering tensions to a boil during a Plymouth Advisory and Finance Committee meeting Wednesday evening. By the end of the marathon session, two committee members had resigned in protest of how the meeting was conducted. The Plymouth […]
Posted inGovernment
As expected, Muratore announces bid for state Senate
State Rep. Matt Muratore, a Plymouth Republican, made official his long-expected announcement that he is running for the state Senate, during an event at the 1620 Winery at Cordage Park Tuesday. Muratore, 62, is running to succeed Susan Moran, a Falmouth Democrat, who is not running for re-election to the Plymouth and Barnstable seat. […]
Posted inCulture
As Israel-Gaza conflict rages, Chabad of the South Shore hopes to foster community
A new Jewish community center has opened in downtown Plymouth amid the increasing antisemitism that has surfaced nationwide since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. “Especially with what is going on in Israel, people are looking and wanting to be part of a community,” said Rabbi Levi Lezell, who leads Chabad of the South […]