Wareham Company Cited for Allegedly Violating Labor Laws

NEW BEDFORD — A clinical laboratory in New Bedford and one of its owners have been indicted for a variety of criminal offenses relating to an alleged kickback and Medicaid fraud scheme involving sober home drug tests. The state Attorney General's Office said Optimum Labs, Inc., which is headquartered...

New Bedford and Fall River firefighters are applauding a decision by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey to file a lawsuit against 13 chemical companies that manufacture ubiquitous "forever" chemicals commonly found in firefighting foams. Healey alleges the chemical makers have caused "millions of dollars in damages to communities across Massachusetts...

Three weeks after Bristol County authorities busted a massive fentanyl trafficking ring in and around Taunton and Fall River, investigators have also arrested an alleged supplier to the organization, the Bristol District Attorney's Office announced Friday. The multi-jurisdictional task force that took down seven alleged drug traffickers and seized around...

NEW BEDFORD — A former teaching assistant is suing a New Bedford vocational school for wrongful termination and breach of contract after he was fired for going to a school event wearing his police uniform — including his firearm. Kyle Mello, a former TA at the Greater New...

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell today announced $3.3 million in funding that will support local businesses and entrepreneurs, as part of the City’s commitment to using a portion of the American Rescue Plan Act funds to help businesses that were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. “The funding will be...

Access to housing is a foundational component of a prosperous society. Decades of studies show a direct correlation between an individual's housing security and their education, earning potential, and likelihood to avoid or end up in the criminal justice system. Despite this, housing availability and affordability remains one of the...

When Fairhaven resident Danielle Hewitt received a notification from her Ring camera while at work today, she assumed it was the package she had been waiting for Amazon to drop off all week. Instead, it was video footage of a cow in front of her house. “It was just strutting...

After a years-long legal battle between the Prisoners Legal Services organization and Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson regarding his office's policy to charge for inmate phone calls, the Commonwealth's highest court recently ruled in favor of Hodgson. The Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the 2009 Act Transferring County Sheriffs to...

HARWICH — Students at a Cape Cod high school have been dismissed early after authorities received an automated bomb threat at around 9 a.m. Friday that school officials said was deemed to be "non-credible." In a social media post, Harwich police said state police received the threat for Monomoy...

DARTMOUTH — Dartmouth Fire District 1 is getting a new firefighter: recruit Alexander Magalhaes, who completed the State Fire Academy training and graduated along with 34 other recruits on May 23. The program graduates are heading to 16 different Massachusetts fire departments, including Dartmouth's District 1 as well as...

The Wareham Police Association did something this week that they may have never done before in their nearly 50-year history: They recognized a resident with an Outstanding Citizen Award. "Geoffrey Worrell is just a super-giving guy," said Wareham officer Calib Larue. "He gets behind all of our efforts, not just...

ACUSHNET — Acushnet police are investigating a break-in at a beloved local ice cream parlor and restaurant. Police Chief Chris Richmond confirmed the break-in took place at the Country Whip on Main Street some time overnight Tuesday. An employee discovered damage to a door at the establishment at around...

Sometimes it takes a village to strengthen a community. Dartmouth has found a way to come together to make a difference. Thanks to Dartmouth Rotary Club, Cornell Pond is looking a lot cleaner these days. Volunteers gathered last weekend on Old Fall River Road for their annual cleanup campaign. Everyone involved began picking up sticks, weed-whacking, removing briars and raking up old leaves simply out of the goodness of their hearts.

The new Baldwin Makepeace Emergency Center at Wareham’s Tobey Hospital will officially open at midnight on Wednesday, May 25. The 30,000-square foot facility will feature twice the number of treatment rooms as the current emergency department at Tobey, including dedicated behavioral health rooms, trauma bays and private overflow spaces, according to a release from Southcoast Health.

New Bedford will soon be remembering Joe Jesus, complete in a soft yellow dress shirt, white slacks, mustard yellow socks, and purple everything else, as '50s Night returns July 21 to downtown. Anyone who knows New Bedford can't think of the downtown without picturing the empress Elaine Lima, the "Queen...

NEW BEDFORD — New Bedford police have arrested two people on suspicion of stealing a purse from a family outside of a North End supermarket. On Sunday, police officers investigating the alleged purse snatching nearby responded to Riverside Park at Coffin Avenue, where they found a man and a woman sitting in a wooded area with backpacks.

Did you ever go to church to play bingo? My Nana did, and so did my Aunt Ella. As a matter of fact, I knew several older women who would visit the church basements of New Bedford to play bingo quite regularly. It seemed as though there was a bingo game almost every night somewhere.

The wheels of economic development in New Bedford sometimes turn very slow, but believe it or not, there is some progress being made. Still, people question "Where's the train?" or "How about wind turbines, when are they coming?" People will likely soon add to the list, "How about the project...

New Bedford Police are investigating the alleged assault of a convenience store clerk early Sunday morning in the city's South End. According to New Bedford Police spokesperson Lt. Scott Carola, South End patrol units responded at about 3 a.m. this morning to the 7-Eleven on Cove Road in response to a clerk who had been assaulted.

Dartmouth Police are seeking a suspect who allegedly pulled a knife on someone during a recent incident at a shopping center. Police shared the photo of the suspect on the department Facebook page Sunday morning, stating that the young male suspect allegedly pulled a knife on someone at the Dartmouth Towne Center plaza.