Election results, Sunbeam Bread apartments: New Bedford top stories
As we kickstart a new week, let's take a quick look at the top headlines from last week. Last week we learned that nearly 12,000 people in New Bedford and Fall River have lost SNAP benefits, and advocates say many can't even reach the state to find out why. New Bedford saw 6,308 residents lose SNAP benefits between June 2025 and August 2026, an 18.65% decline in participation, according to the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance. Fall River saw 5,637 residents lose benefits, according to Project Bread. In other news, a New Bedford soldier missing since WWII identified after 80 years. U.S. Army Pfc. William A. Gervais Jr. of New Bedford, who went missing during World War II, has been identified more than eight decades after fighting in Germany. Gervais, 28, was accounted for June 18, according to a community announcement from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. His family recently received a full briefing on the identification, allowing additional details about the case to be shared. A milestone is being hit as New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park is celebrating 30 years of preserving the city's history . Thirty years ago, New Bedford became home to a different kind of